Das Kartenhaus

[Salic]

When Lara made schedules, they were made preciseness and meticulousness. No detail was overlooked, no minute was wasted. They were houses of cards that were immaculately constructed, each edge fitting in lock-step with the others to create an unfailing structure. When a card was put in place, it was set in stone.

Lara was already in the process of building a schedule for the ski trip before she had even reached the bus. She'd read up on all the accommodations, all of the activities, and began the process of puzzling each piece together accordingly. She sat for an hour, building her schedule perfectly, fitting each piece into place. In the end, she made something she had thought to be infallible, something that would see her through the trip and back home in no time.

Instead, Survival of the Fittest swooped down and blasted though her schedule like a tornado, tearing her perfect house of cards asunder.

((S003: Lara Bullock - GAME START))

On the outside, Lara looked almost as serene as the landscape around her. Really, it was pretty. The glistening white snow underneath her feet. The minty leaves of the trees tinged white with snow. A majestic mountain somewhat near to her, its peak soaring above the landscape. It was a sight to behold. If only she didn't have to experience sights like this when she was in a death competition.

If her body language and her face did not reflect her true emotions, then it was her eyes that did. They darted back and forth, not focusing on anything before hopping over to something else. A hollowness permeated from her pupils to her sclera, A million thoughts, a million questions raced through her mind, though a certain few stuck out more than others:

Where's you precious schedule now, huh? Oh, need to make a new one? What about bludgeoning Juanita at 10am? Stabbing Lúcio at 2pm? Maybe finishing off your day by strangling Marshall at 9pm?

You always wanted to take another trip with Uncle George. Maybe if you didn't agonize yourself so much over every little piece of work you gave yourself, maybe you could've squeezed in one last outing with him before your demise. A shame, really.

You're an only child, you know? You were expected to carry on the legacy of your parents and those who came before them. The potato farm, as simple and mundane as it was, carried with it a proud legacy and history that will die with you.

Lara shook her head as if to clear out the unwelcome thoughts, and it worked. Her mind cleared before a new, much more rational thought painted itself upon the empty canvas:

You can't dwell on the past, Lara. Not here. That'll get you killed. Your past life, your past friends, none of that makes a difference here. There's only forwards. It's the only direction that you can take. It's the direction of life, of time, of victory. To move back, to look back, is to stare into the abyss.

She gulped. Surely what her mind was saying couldn't be true, could it? Could she really leave everything she had worked for socially behind? She didn't want to. While her friends were still sparse, she had her lacrosse friends on the island with her. She knew that Juanita, Lúcio, Marshall, and Josh had all gone on the trip. They'd be on this island too. She had to find them. She had to find them and make sure they were okay. They were a team, right? Teams stuck together and won together. That's how it worked. That's how it worked in any other situation other than here.

Survival of the Fittest isn't a team sport. On this island, there's only one person who has your best interests in mind. You saw the video of that boy and that girl with the shovel. Who says you wouldn't be the girl underneath?

Remember, to look backwards is your own doom. On this island, there is only forwards.

Lara sputtered and looked down at the ground, not wanting to believe what her brain was telling her. It seemed logical. It seemed rational. And yet it was so alien that she couldn't help but push it away. She needed something to distract herself. A schedule.

She scanned her eyes around her, spotting some buildings off in the distance. There. That was a good start. It would be better than standing out here in the middle of a snowfield with no cover or protection. She could spend a few hours scavenging for supplies. Yeah, that would work.

And with that, Lara scooped up her bag, hoisted it on her shoulder, and took her first tentative steps towards the cluster of buildings to her north. She kept striding forwards, drawing ever closer to whatever it was that laid within those buildings.