#hell's garden

"Snap out of it, soldier. This is real, we're here. It's not a dream or hallucination, or whatever other bullshit you're telling yourself." He'd started to suspect as much, what with Curt's poking and prodding, the fresh gust of air as someone had opened the window, the sounds of the kettle and the microwave from the kitchen. That realization solidified and grew, churning in his stomach, making him sick with a sudden, crushing wave of emotion. And then he heard it, the quick, clickety steps in the staircase, belonging to the woman who'd burrowed under his skin and stubbornly made her home there. Karen.

Is that really our Nao? Maybe we’re hallucinating.

"The thing is, Miss Page," he said in a forcefully collected tone, "that I don't remember anything before waking up in the hospital with my face cut into a dozen bloody strips. Since I managed to escape, a few days before the Snap, I've found out this was the work of my best friend Frank Castle. But no, I have no idea why he would do this to me, or — as you say — what I've done to deserve it. So my question — where is he?" Karen gulped down the rest of her drink, thinking vaguely how the nausea that hit her blended seamlessly with the way his words made her reel, the way her entire night had gone so far, the hunger, the fear, the fury at herself. Why not blame at least part of it on the alcohol? "He's dead," she said as she thunked the empty tumbler back on the coffee table.

"We should get you a white cane," Amy said. "Maybe dark glasses too."

"What's the point of a blind man wearing dark glasses?" Frank growled. He took a careful sip of his coffee and kept his hand wrapped around the mug once he put it down again. "I'm fine."

Amy snorted. "You will need a cane eventually if you want to get around on your own. And it'd be less confusing for everyone else, let them know your blind ass needs some help with description and stuff."

"What?" Amy seemed to have caught his glare. "There's no shame in being disabled. Everyone needs help sometimes."

Frank clenched his jaw and glanced away. Smartass kid thought she knew what she was asking from him. Last he checked, there were no apps for unloading a magazine into some scum that had been asking for it, no friendly passers-by would direct him in a fist fight. And, sure, the whole point of this entire stupid pointless road trip since leaving New York had been to figure out how to live a quiet, civil life, but it had always been about his choice. And now he had none.

"Did you find the Liebermans?" he growled instead.

Hell's Garden (2021)

Directed by Kazuaki Seki

Naoko Tanaka is a 26-year-old office lady (OL). Her job is typical, but her workplace has fierce fights among different cliques. Other OLs are absorbed in the daily clique fighting. One day, due to an OL at the company, Naoko Tanaka's company is targeted by OL from all over Japan.