Chloé nodded. It was good to know she hadn’t missed it, but she still wished she knew how far off it was. Either way she’d be dreading its arrival, but something about knowing when your fears would be realised made the time before that point more bearable. It removed one element of uncertainty from ...

Fred had to make a split-second decision on how to brand himself: whether to play up his injury or undersell it. Would it be better to convince DeMarcus that he was vulnerable, harmless, not a threat? Or would it be better to present himself as a useful asset rather than a burden? After waiting slig...

Fred nodded at Dominiqua’s response and, eager to placate DeMarcus, repeated the same gesture when he spoke. “Nah, you’re right bro. Can’t trust ‘em.” It was always a relief for Fred to genuinely arrive at the same conclusion as someone like DeMarcus, since he was inevitably going to agree out loud ...

“Hey, Marshall.” ((Chloé Delacroix continued from Veridis Quo )) Chloé hovered in the doorway, letting her eyes adjust to the dark before going any further. Marshall’s form, bobbing up and down in the corner, was the first identifiable object to emerge from the gloom. He was staring out onto the str...

Chloé Delacroix was not naïve, even though people often thought or even said she was, in debate, and model UN, and the student council. Her opponents thought her naïve to believe equality and peace and justice could be reached, and her allies thought her naïve for believing they could be reached thr...

Fred was woken at 9 AM sharp, the first squeal of the speakers bringing the pleasant surprise he’d survived the night and the following announcement the less pleasant news of those who hadn’t. Grief for the death of his aquaintances was cancelled out by relief for the survival of his actual friends,...

Chloé ignored the cold and the fear and the distracting jogging nakedness of Marshall, pushed it all aside as the words of her pitch fell into place on her tongue. She glanced around once more for cameras in earshot, leaned in conspiratorially anyway just in case, and began. “I am going to get every...

“I feel you, man!” Half true. Fred understood the sentiment, if not the frog metaphor. DeMarcus’s paranoia was unnecessary. Fred had no intentions of trying his luck now that shelter was in sight. His companion wasn’t quite as compliant; he picked up on the annoyance in Dominiqua’s voice, and hoped ...

I nominate the most destruction 100 insult of all time:
"you super mega nature freak"
(I love the rest of the line too but I can understand why we might not want slurs scrolling at the top of the front page)

That hadn’t been an invitation for DeMarcus to start spending his bullets right now. But as soon as Fred saw the door crack open and two other kids step outside, he knew things were about to escalate. Fred screwed his eyes shut when the blast went off. The insides of his eyelids were red in the glar...

Chloé stepped back again, this time out of the way so Kai could take a crack at the fire. He seemed confident he could get it started, and that confidence seemed earned. Convinced, she turned her attention instead to Jess and Marshall. She nearly cried with relief when she saw their success and ran ...

Fred dimly recognised the gun as it followed DeMarcus’ gaze towards him. It was a Desert Eagle, star of many a video game and action film. He thought back to his own weapon in the moments before Dominqua mentioned it. Hardly seemed fair. Wasn’t this supposed to be “Survival of the Fittest”? Fred mig...

Chloé’s focus was torn between the log pile taking rough shape in front and the ongoing rescue operation behind; everything else was a blur that only flashed by in each split-second whip of her head. Adding to that the combination of Marshall’s yelling and her own thundering heartbeat which drowned ...

“No pressure to come, Medea, and no pressure to stay, Ash!” Chloé didn’t know who else was included in the ‘we’ that would be leaving early, but she assumed it was Salem. Either way, it wasn’t Medea. Perhaps she had misinterpreted the situation, and this had all been perfectly innocent. Although, Me...

Sure enough, Marshall popped the question. “I’d-” Yet again he didn’t give Chloé much time to respond before blurting out an attempted clarification. Marshall was someone who always seemed very confident in social situations, even if that confidence maybe wasn’t always completely deserved, blissfull...