The Hills Are Alive

[Arscapi*]

((Samaya Boen-Hilstrand continued from Random Spawns are a Bitch ))

Samaya sighed and walked up the terrain that was gradually growing steeper. She wasn't sure why she'd suddenly decided to climb the mountain, but she didn't seem to have anything else to do.

When she'd finally made it out of the swamp wilderness stretched in front of her. She curled up under a tree to catch a few hours of sleep. She'd awoken to find herself still trapped on this island. Sighing, she'd pulled herself to her feet, brushed herself off and started walking. She dug in her pack and pulled out a mostly crushed loaf of bread. She pulled a couple of slices out and returned the loaf to her pack. She began walking again, munching on the bread as she went. Not the most filling breakfast, but it'd have to do.

Samaya had wandered without a clear destination in mind, when she paused to look around she found she'd traded swamp for forest. Not much of an improvement she thought. Well at least the ground's not squishy. She continued walking and came to a clearing, looking out she figured she must be at least halfway up the mountain now. It provided a pretty good view. She spun in a circle taking in the view. She spun again and let out a little giggle. The spinning reminded her of the opening of one of her favorite movies.

"The hills are alive with the sound of music," she began singing softly to herself. "With songs they have sung for a thousand years," she continued her voice getting louder with every line. "The hills fill my heart with the sound of music…"

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Ugh... my lungs... how the frack can you sing!?"

((Felicia Carmichael continued from Random Spawns are a Bitch))

Felicia panted, groaned, huffed, and made noises that could be described through other synonyms as she trudged up after Samaya. Of all the places that they could have gone on this island, of all the paths to get there, Samaya had to insist on the chuckle-fucking mountain. Her body simply wasn't made for this sort of trip; Felicia's muscles were toned for the strenuous activities of clicking a mouse, jamming away on a keyboard, slamming her hand down on a desk and pointing an accusing finger at a prosecutor during a mock court case, and strenuously arguing with trolls on the internet. They weren't made to combat a freaking mountain.

To see Samaya being so joyful, spinning around after a nice rest (something that Felicia didn't get earlier. She had the weapons, after all), while Felicia was finally reaching the point where she could really use a couple hours of shuteye herself was... immensely irritating. She wished she could throw a rock or something at Samaya, but the girl could only huff and puff her dissatisfaction, and try to catch up when the other girl had stopped for a little whirly-gig break.

Yeah, yeah, Sammy... you spin me right round and all that, but I'm gonna spin you right off this damned rock!

Finally, after those last few agonizing steps decided to stretch themselves into miles, Felicia leveled herself with Samaya. She raised her finger to say something, but her arm flopped downward. The rest of her body followed suit, with her turning to land on her butt first, then flop backwards into a completely prone state. Felicia could feel the slight weight of the gun in her hoodie pocket pressing against her, and the daypack leaning on her a bit, but she didn't care... she really didn't feel like moving.

"Ha... h-" Felicia encounted the painful experience of exploding into a coughing fit and laughing at the same time. As an interesting lesson learned, it turns out that doing that SUCKED. After the coughing and pain had subsided, though, she went back to her chuckling.

"Man... we're... we're gonna make it, Sammy. You just keep spinnin' and I'll hang onto you, and you can be a helicopter!" Mumbling the last few words, Felicia adjusted herself and shut her eyes.

G082 - ASLEEP

[BetaKnight]

((Aislyn McCreery continued from Random Spawns are a Bitch))

Aislyn kept her eyes trained on the ground in front of her, carefully placing her steps to avoid stepping on any sharp objects. She had been brooding since leaving the swamp and fully intended on continuing her dark mood today. Normally, a decent night's sleep and a refreshing swim would help her put problems into perspective but today she had to do without both.

She could hear Felicia huffing and blowing up head of her. ‘She sounds like some kind of animal in distress,' she fumed silently as she brought up the rear. ‘At least I'm in back and not counting on her to watch my back. If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then my chain is in need of serious reforging.'

As she caught up with the other girls, she could only stare incredulously as the much smaller girl did her very best Julie Andrews imitation while Felicia found a spot for herself on the floor. "You've got to be kidding me." Neither one seemed to be concerned with making sure the area was secure. Nobody was watching for threats.

‘I guess you don't have to worry if none of your stuff gets stolen and crazed bitches don't hop out and threaten you.'

Aislyn's eyes darted around the clearing as she wished for the millionth time that she'd gotten a better weapon assignment than that damned Rubik's Cube. ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.' She could hear her father's teasing tone in her head as the familiar admonishment came to mind. ‘Nobody likes a whiner or dead weight, Cess. Adapt. Improvise.'

"Overcome," she said aloud, finishing the mantra. Aislyn began to scour the ground for a decent fist-sized rock. "Hey, do either of you see a sturdy looking tree limb or stick laying about? "

[Tythanin*]

(Melissa Li continued from Random Spawns are a Bitch.)

'Why am I here climbing a mountain of all things?' was just one of the random thoughts going through her mind as she struggled after the other girls, staying just a few steps ahead of Aislyn. Sweat poured off of her brow as she tried to ignore the burning feeling in her chest. She never thought of herself as out of shape, but climbing mountain trails was more than she had ever bargained for. Her feet were killing her and while her shoes and socks had dried out, they were now stiff with the remains of the swamp water and she desperately wanted to change into something more comfortable. And despite how beautiful the scenery looked, there was a growing voice in her mind that kept reminding her how easy it would be just to...push someone over the edge and watch them tumble to their doom down the mountain.

'I can't handle this...please tell me we're going to take a break soon...' Melissa silently begged, her pride and more than a little fear at the solemn and hard expression on Aislyn's face keeping her mouth shut. Her prayers were answered as they arrived in a clearing and Melissa slumped on the ground with a tired sigh. She dropped her bags next to her and folded her legs together, leaning against the mountain wall as she dimly heard one of the other girls begin to sing. "Finally...rest for a moment..."

Breathing heavily, she looked tiredly at Aislyn as she began searching around for something. Melissa shrugged at her question before slowly getting to her feet and helping the other girl look around. She licked her dry lips. "I haven't really...seen anything like that. Sorry..."

[Arscapi*]

Samaya spun around and blushed prettily; she'd forgotten about the others for a moment, as she'd been walking by herself for the last ten minutes of the trip. She didn't know how she'd ended up as the leader of their little group, especially since Aislyn seemed to have all kinds of experience in this kind of thing. How do you get that kind of experience? Samaya wondered and then debated whether or not she should ask.

She turned around to answer Felicia's question and found that she'd fallen asleep. She shrugged and looked across the clearing at the other two girls. How was it that she was the only one that had managed to grab some sleep? Everyone looked positively exhausted.

"If you guys needed to take a break, you could have mentioned something earlier. I'd have been happy to stop." She looked around and picked up a good sized branch from the ground. "Does this work," she asked carrying it over to Aislyn. "If you wanna catch some sleep, I'll stay up and stand watch. Is that what it's called…standing watch?"

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Ngh..."

Yeah, that sounded about right for her addition to the conversation. Felicia was quickly drifting away into the land of electronic sheep and counting coconut crabs or whatever other nonsense there was to do when one was basically in an 8-hour coma. Soon, the girl could be wherever she wanted to be, maybe flying even twice as high as any butterfly in the sky. Her dreams would probably be some sort of metaphysical form of her intense desire to just go back home, something Felicia could only grasp at the moment because she was still half-awake.

She WAS making her best efforts to sleep. Indeed, she was well on her way, and nothing short of little bunny foo foo coming out of nowhere and beating the ever loving shit out of her was going to stop that, but sleep was hardly ever immediate, no matter who you were or how exhausting your day had been. That being said, it was with some mild (and sleepy) amusement that Felicia could pick out the voices of Melissa and Aislyn. Whenever the latter girl spoke, Felicia just mentally added the two screamed words 'MY SHOES!' It was enough to cause one of her sleepy exhales to be riddled with the skeleton of a giggle.

One of the last things Felicia could pick out before falling deeper into her slumber was something about a 'tree branch'. Who knew what Aislyn wanted a tree branch for, though. ... Seriously, a tree branch? Maybe to build a lean-to or use as a walking stick, seeing as they were on a mountain. Then again, they weren't walking, and if they were, well... fuck that, Felicia was still taking her freaking nap. Fuck that walk. The only viable option remaining was to use the tree branch as a weapon but... really?

How the fuck do you kill somebody with a tree branch?

"Zzzzzzzz..."

[Tythanin*]

(Skipping Beta to move the thread along a bit.)

'I can't believe I wish I was back home with my parents...' Melissa thought to herself as she gave up looking for some...stick or rock or whatever Aislyn was looking for. She was tired, her head was pounding, and she wasn't even sure what time it was. She just felt terrible in general and wanted nothing more than to find herself back home, get yelled at her parents for letting her appearance deteriorate so much, and take a nice, long shower. She wasn't used to slogging through swamps, hiking up mountains, and walking halfway across a freaking island. She wasn't used to freaking out about someone killing her and she definitely wasn't used to some jolly, possibly fat, man rattle down names of her dead classmates.

The worst part was that she knew one of the names on his list...one of the killers. She sighed, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she thought about Rob Jenkins. From all she knew of him at school, he was a nice guy...a little frazzled and rough, but well-meaning with an honest desire to better himself in life. 'Was I wrong about him at school? Did he ever think about killing someone before? What happened...did he just cold-bloodedly kill her? Was there a fight? Was it an accident? ...I wish I could just talk to him and find out but I'm scared. What if he kills me too...?'

The stress from her life just compounded on itself and she was feeling absolutely terrible. Grinding her knuckles into her forehead in a half-hearted attempt to make the pain go away, she sat back down. 'Mom...Dad, I'll do anything you want me to. I promise. I'll study hard like I always have...I'll practice the piano. I'll make you two proud of me, I promise. I don't care how much you yell at me...you're right. Just get me out of here, please...'

Life never was so convenient that a heartfelt beg would make wishes come true and Melissa knew she was still on the island when she heard Samaya's cheery voice come to her ears, concern obvious in her words. She lifted her head to give the other girl a smile. "S-Sorry...I'm just not used to so much...activity. And I didn't want to be the one slowing us down so...chalk it down to foolish pride?" She gave a self-depreciating laugh before tucking her head in between her knees again and closing her eyes. She wished she could just fall asleep like that other girl, Felicia, but Mr. Sandman was being a huge jerk and not coming to her. With the throbbing in her head and the pounding in her chest, she doubted she'd ever get any sleep unless she simply fell unconscious.

"You bring shame to the Li family!"

Melissa gave a start, looking around for the source of her father's voice. Seeing no one else besides the same three girls she had been traveling with since the beginning of this damn game, she just laughed softly to herself and buried her face into her arms. 'Great, I'm going crazy now. Hearing my dad's voice out of nowhere. I wonder if he's watching the game right now...watching me. He wouldn't say something like that about a game like this. Sure, if it had been me doing badly on a test or a quiz...but in Survival of the Fittest? Of course not...'

"You have to put your fullest effort into everything! To do anything else is to fail not only yourself but all your ancestors!"

'Shut up!' Melissa flinched as she heard her father's voice again. She had no clue what the hell was going on and she wanted it to stop. To try to put the full effort into Survival of the Fittest, a game devoted to killing as much people as possible, was something only a crazy murderer would do and Melissa was one-hundred percent certain her father didn't want her to be one. She didn't know where the voice was coming from, but she'd like it if her mind would stop bringing it up. It was getting annoying, hearing her overbearing father's voice echo at a time when she wanted nothing more than peace and listening to the beautiful sounds of the 1812 Overture.

"I'm...uh, going to see if I can take a short nap. Is that okay?" Melissa asked, her voice sounding dead as she drooped on the ground. She was low on energy, high on stress, and she didn't want to think about anything as long as she was on this stupid island. Ignorance was bliss.

[Arscapi*]

((Aislyn's movements approved by BetaKnight))

Samaya looked over and smiled as Melissa and Felicia took her up on her offer. She took her guard duties seriously and began walking the edge of the clearing. Glancing over after a couple of laps around the clearning, she discovered that Melissa and Felicia were still asleep and Aislyn had begun work on the stick. What she was doing, Samaya couldn't tell from the far side of the clearing. She continued her circle around weaving in and out of the woods.

She took another step forward and was pulled to a stop. Twisting she discovered her bag had snagged on a low branch. She shrugged it off, which caused most of the contents to empty onto the forest floor, the bag still hanging from the branch. With a loud sigh, she freed the bag and then dropped to her knees to pick up her belongings. She reached out her arm for a wayward shoe and something flashed out of the undergrowth and bit her on the arm.

She scrambled away from whatever it was, in time to see a snake slither away from her. She cursed and looked around for the first aid kit that was still on the ground. She wrapped her arm and then finished picking up her bag. She stood and swayed on her feet, resting a hand on a nearby tree to steady herself. She shook her head to try and clear it and made her way across the clearing to Aislyn.

"Hey, I don't feel so good all of a sudden," Samaya told her, sinking down into the grass next to her. She found herself looking up at the clear sky and wondered how she'd ended on her back. Her vision began to darken around the edges and the more she blinked and struggled to stay away the harder it became. Finally, she decided a nap might just be what she needed.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep, several minutes later the poison that was slowly working it's way through her system took full effect, shutting down her vital organs.

Samaya Boen-Hilstrand deceased.

[MK Kilmarnock]

You ever get that feeling...

Felicia twitched in her sleep, letting the grass that served as her bed call out in a nice, brushing 'swish' sound. Who didn't like going outside on a nice sunny day, complete with a light but so invigorating breeze, and flopping down on the ground to relax and take a short nap? Felicia usually didn't, preferring to take her alone time in the form of gaming or (secretly) looking at yaoi, but 'outside' was almost all of her options in a place like this. It's also surprising what you'll sleep on when you haven't slept in over a day.

Her dreams had been peaceful, perhaps as a method of Felicia's mind trying to let her recuperate from such trying times as these. In all honesty, she hadn't had a dream like this in... well, maybe a week or so, but that was certainly long enough.

"Edgeworth, I... I honestly don't know where I'm going here."

The spikey headed man in the blue suit leaned against the balcony, looking out to the dusk skyline. "I thought I had it all figured, out, but..."

The other man there with him softly pressed a finger to the blue-suited man's lips.

"... Objection... you think too much, Wright."

They shared a kiss, and somewhere, a sleeping fangirl was squeeing.

[BetaKnight]

Aislyn tried to ignored the sleeping girls as she relentlessly scraped her stick with the coarse, fist-sized rock she had found. She tried to stay focused on the task at hand, namely, grinding down the edges of the stick to make a sharpened point. Holding the branch at an angle, with sure, steady strokes, she worked, determined to create a weapon to defend herself with. While the task was physically demanding, it wasn't exactly visually or mentally stimulating.

As she watched the other girls enjoy their peaceful slumber, she found herself apply more force to the stick than was absolutely necessary. The methodic rasping of the stone on the wood filled her ears. With each stroke of the stone, her irritation began to grown into something more. Treacherous, poisonous thoughts began to creep into her mind.

Let's just take a nap.

On a mountain.

With no cover or anything.

Just in case the crazies come back.

We can be completely helpless.

Easy targets for even the clumsiest hunters.

Slowly, Aislyn's gaze travelled from Melissa to Felicia before resting on Samaya's peaceful form. It would be so easy to just end it here for them. It would almost be a mercy, an act of kindness to spare them from the indignities and cruelties that some of the other students would surely inflict upon them. They would never know or feel a thing. She was fairly certain she could make it quick and painless for them.

But she couldn't do that. This was her team. Her team...who were sleeping on the ground without a care in the world. They were relying on her to keep them safe while they slept. She couldn't betray that trust. The situation wasn't hopeless yet. They had only been here a little over a day. There was still time. Her thoughts drifted to a comforting starry night from the not too distant past.

________________________

It was easier to talk to her father about his job and their lifestyle and what that meant for the future when the only illumination came from the comforting, flickering flames of their campfire and the distant twinkling of the stars overhead.

The McCreerys were a tight-knit and loving family, but neither father nor daughter was entirely comfortable with things that were ‘touchy feely'. The dancing shadows cast by the firelight obscured enough that neither one of them had to be embarrassed about witnessing any awkward displays of emotion. Aislyn prodded the fire with a stout stick, causing the fire to flare briefly before settling into muted glow. The dark, as her father liked to remind her, was your friend.

Setting the stick aside, she absently twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt as she tried to figure out how to approach the topic. Even though her father had been a sailor for as long as she could remember, the final few days leading up a deployment never got any easier. It seemed so selfish to ask him to reassure her when he was the one heading off to an active combat zone.

"Penny for your thoughts, Cess."

Her father's gruff voice startled her. Aislyn looked up from the fire, her eyes wide. "Wha…what, Dad?"

Across the fire, her father lifted his metal coffee mug and gestured to her hands. "You're twisting up your shirt there pretty good. That usually means you've got something on your mind. So why don't you just tell ole' Dad what it is you're thinkin' about?" He raised the mug to his lips and took a deep drink while knowingly watching his daughter.

"It's nothing. It's stupid," she mumbled, feeling like a small child again.

"Ah, so it's the old ‘you're going away and leaving me' bit again, is it?" he asked in a knowing tone.

Aislyn blushed hotly, cringing a bit. "Well, when you say it *that* way, it really does sound stupid," she barked, unhappy with her father for his teasing. "I mean, why should I be upset that you're going to a place where people get killed on a regular basis." She tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. "Why would I worry that one day you're gonna go and not come back? You're right. It's stupid." Staring at the sullen embers embedded in the ash, she willed herself not to cry.

Sighing, he put aside the coffee mug and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Aislyn, we've been through this before. This is what I do. I go out with a team, we kick ass, take names, and come back home to brag about it. You know that no matter what happens, I will always come back. SEALs don't –"

She finished the statement for her father. "Leave other SEALs behind. Yeah, Dad, I know," she sighed. "It's just…what if something happens while you're gone? Like that train bombing in Spain? Or the one in London? What if something like SARS sweeps Italy and they won't let you guys come back? I don't want to be alone if something like that happens." Aislyn squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable at the amount of vulnerability she was revealing.

Her father stood and walked around the campfire to sit beside her. Settling down, he picked up her stick and began to poke at the fire. "Aislyn Grace, what have I said to you every year since you started school? What does the note that goes into every emergency kit and deployment package I have ever given you say?" All teasing was gone from his voice. He studied his only child out of the corner of his eye as he moved small pieces of wood around.

"Not to worry. That you love me and if something has happened, to sit tight and wait for you to come and get me," she mumbled as she leaned against her father's comforting bulk. "But-"

"No ‘buts'," he said, his tone serious. "There are no ‘buts' to that statement. You are the most important thing to me in the world, and if you need help, I will come and get you. It doesn't matter if it's a natural disaster or a man-made one. I *will* come and get you. Your job is to hang on until I get there. And I will get there. Because there's nothing in heaven or hell that can stop a SEAL for coming to get a team mate."

Not trusting her voice, Aislyn nodded her head. After a moment, she cleared her throat and spoke, her voice low. "Thanks, Daddy. I'm sorry."

Her father slung his arm around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Hell, I'm nervous too, Cess. And I know we do this song and dance every time I go. But never forget, you are the most important thing in my life, and I will always come if you need me. Even if I have to *walk* back from Iraq. I will come. "

"I know," she whispered, her voice almost inaudible.

Giving his daughter one last squeeze before releasing her, Lucas McCreery leaned back and studied the fire. "Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't we make some s'mores before we call it a night? And you can tell me if you can finally pick out the Northern Cross," he said, gesturing at the sky.

"Sure thing, Dad," Aislyn said, discreetly wiping a few stray tears off her face as she got out the s'mores supplies. "I'm pretty sure I've got it nailed down this time."
____________________________

The rustling of some leaves snapped Aislyn back to the present. ‘Stupid stupid stupid!' she silently chastised herself. ‘You're on guard duty! You don't get to wander down Memory Lane! You're lucky nobody got killed by your inability to focus!'

Hefting her makeshift spear in one hand and the rock in the other, Aislyn cautiously crept towards the edge of the clearing, where the sound had originated. Weapon at the ready, she waited for the inevitable attack. When none came, she lowered her arm, feeling incredibly foolish. Relaxing a bit, she walked back to the other girls.

"Rest time is over, ladies," Aislyn called out as she neared them. "This isn't a secure location. We've got to keep moving."

Seeing no immediate movement, she took a deep breath before barking out the three girls' names in rapid succession. "FELICIA! MELISSA! SAMAYA! GET YOUR ASSES UP! IT'S TIME TO GO!"

[Tythanin*]

Sleep had never come easily to Melissa, even when she was back at home in her warm, soft bed. Now here in SotF, sleep remained even more elusive and it was only after shifting in place several times and using her bag as a pillow did she finally feel comfortable enough to actually fall asleep. Breathing softly, her face turned away from the mid-morning sun, she almost could believe that she was on a fun camping trip with her parents and that she and her friends were in no danger whatsoever. A bitter smile crossed her lips as she began to drift off. 'Camping trip...fat chance...'

It seemed like only a moment before there was someone suddenly bellowing in her ears and she quickly sat up in fright. There was a dull pounding in her head and she winced as light struck her bleary eyes. She covered her face with her hands, a tired groan escaping from her lips as she looked up to see the imposing figure of Aislyn McCreery standing in front of her. Feebly trying to rub the sleep sand out of her eyes, she mumbled, "S...Sorry Aislyn, I didn't mean to sleep for so long...it's just that I...No, nevermind."

Yawning again, she got to her feet and began to stretch, taking in a deep breath as she worked out the pains and cramps in her body. Sleeping on the uneven surface of the mountain clearing did nothing for her physical condition and she winced a bit as she heard a particularly loud crack as she bent her arms. Still, once that painful process was finished, Melissa felt almost...normal. Her head was still pounding a bit and she was not looking forward to another trek across the island, but she almost felt giddy. It was a strange feeling, but she didn't feel like questioning it at the moment.

"So um...where are we going to head next?" She offered a quick smile to Aislyn as she slung her bag over her shoulder, walking over to the others to help wake them up. She gave Felicia a shake on the shoulder just to make sure Aislyn's message came through and then headed to Samaya. The short girl looked rather peaceful lying there on the ground and Melissa felt a twinge of jealousy, wishing she had the chance to sleep a bit more. She knelt next to her, giving her a quick shake as she said, "Hey Samaya, wake up, we've gotta go."

She gave Samaya another shake, a slight frown on her face as she saw no reaction. "Hey...wake up. You okay?"

Another shake. Still no reaction. Samaya didn't even seem to be breathing. Melissa's frown deepened and she felt her heart begin to clench in fear. "Hey...uh, Aislyn. I think...I think something's wrong here."

'There's no way she can be dead, right? Yeah, that's silly. It couldn't have been because of some sort of fight. We would have definitely heard it. And there isn't any blood so it's not like it was suicide. Was it? No, no...Samaya was easily the most happy-go-lucky out of all of us. She was goddamn singing for Christ's sake. But I don't see anything...' Melissa thought frantically to herself as she tried to rouse the unconscious girl. She quickly took one of Samaya's arms, hoping beyond all hope that her fears were unfounded and Samaya was just really, really good at pretending to be dead. 'No, this is impossible. No way, no how. She has to be alive...'

But the power of hopes and wishes weren't enough to bring someone back from the dead and after a few seconds of trying to find a pulse, Melissa just gave up, sitting down on the ground with a thump. "No...no way. H...Hey Aislyn, this is just a dream, right? She's...Samaya can't be dead. Maybe I just suck at finding a person's pulse or something. She's just in a really deep sleep. It's...it's not fair, Aislyn. She was laughing...she was talking just a couple of hours ago and now she's dead! And I don't even know why!"

She looked back down at Samaya's peaceful face and decided she hated the other girl for dying like this. Dying in her sleep looking peaceful and happy. Not having to worry anymore about this whole game...about anything at all, really. Samaya didn't have to trek across this dumb island where students and friends were killing each other just because some fat man in a suit told them to. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming even though she didn't even know why she was crying.

She had barely known Samaya before this whole perverted game came about and even then it was only for a day. And yet here she was, losing all control over herself because one girl, one girl in an island of at least two-hundred seventy people, had died in front of her.

"She died without a reason, too. What a waste. She could have been so much more in this game. So much more for you. But she's gone and shitted her life away and you're left without a foot to stand on. You could have killed her, Melissa. You could have gotten your name out there. Showed the whole world what a Li is capable of. Made your parents proud. But don't worry. There are others out there. Do your best. Rack up those kills."

Melissa froze in shock, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to ignore the voice. It didn't even sound like her dad anymore. Instead, it was her own voice that was speaking to her. Her own thoughts, to be exact. 'No...nonononono. No, no voices. I'm not going to think like that. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.'

"Denial, huh? You really like that coping mechanism, huh? Well...don't worry, I'll always be here." Hollow laughter rang in her head.

Without another word, Melissa turned and punched the mountain wall as hard as she could. Pain flared in her right hand and she was certain that she had injured something, but she didn't matter. The pain snapped her out of whatever the hell was happening in her mind right now. Taking in a couple of longer breaths, she turned around to flash Aislyn and Felicia a smile. "Sorry about that...just...trying to get my emotions and mind in order. Let's um...let's just go. I don't...want to stay here anymore."

"You always were weak. That's why you clung to every scrap of praise your parents tossed to you, huh?"

[MK Kilmarnock]

Yeah, yeah... there were more polite ways to wake up a gal than the militaristic siren Aislyn's voice was blazing. Felicia's body gave a jolt at first, sitting up an inch or so, and then flopping back down on the grass. Her dreams had been ripped from her like Giygas ripped away at the sanity of young children, but her mind still clung to sleep madly.

"Ngh... five more minutes..."

As vain as the plea was, she had to hope that Aislyn might find the grace to say 'okay' and have her catch up on those last few minutes of shut-eye. And maybe she'd forget it was just five minutes, and give her ten. Or fifteen. Or sixty. Then, much to Felicia's dismay, the old familiar foe of the late sleeper began to arise. Her stomach, somewhere juuuust above the navel, had the slightest, most unintrusive itch.

And she needed to scratch that devil.

"Augh... fine, fine, I'm up!" the girl growled, fighting to sit up straight and rub her eyes open. She was feeling terrible from not having a true and proper sleep in quite a while, and her belly had to betray her like this. Well, fuck it... she just wouldn't feed it! That'd show... um... that'd show it? No.. that logic wasn't making sense, but not much of her logic WAS making sense after, on the looong trip they had made, they had heard those announcements. As much as Felicia was trying to hold things in a positive light, sadly, they didn't catch her off guard as much as she had hoped. At least it was nobody she knew...

Well, no, that wasn't true.

She knew all of them, there was no denying that, but the girl tried to shut it out the best she could, keep it inside to a certain point so it couldn't break her. In the same breath, though, she knew that until she accepted it, she just wouldn't feel right. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep... or maybe it really was Aislyn's barking. Who the hell knew. Either way, Felicia managed to get up to her knees, then looked to Melissa. Melissa was over Samaya now, trying to wake her up.

So... ... why isn't she getting up?

Felicia waited with a smirk on her face, getting some slight revelry from the fact there was somebody in this little group of hers that could sleep deeper than herself. The smirk faded a little in irritation when she still didn't give up. Irritation subsequently gave way to discomfort... then discomfort to fear.

"Sam? Sammy, why.... get up!"

She wasn't sure at what point she finally figured out what happened, but the knowledge of what was truly taking place finally hit Felicia. It was a blow to the heart, a blow that punched right past the sternum as though the bone wasn't there. "Sam... Sammy, oh god... you're not, get up! GET UP!" Her head was pounding as she stumbled on all fours to her friend, shaking her shoulders.

She was fine when I went to bed... how long was I out!? I wasn't asleep for that long, the sky's the same... Sammy... Sam, please, you're not dead, there's no way you could have even died!!!

She looked fine, even. No blood, no outright wound or gaping hole... Samaya's shut eyes were just so peaceful-looking the way they were shut. It was like she was sleeping, and now blisfully dreaming of a world in which she didn't have to kill her friends.

She envied her, really, but envy was drowned by the tears that flowed down Felicia's face as she leaned her head against the fallen girl, sobbing.

[BetaKnight]

Aislyn watched the other girls' outpouring of grief as they crowded around Samaya's corpse. She knew she was supposed to feel something at the passing of the other girl, but they had barely known each other. It seemed wrong to carry on and wail over a relative stranger. She knew she was supposed to feel sad, but in all honesty, she actually felt a little envious of Samaya. The hard part for her was over.

Leaving Melissa and Felicia to their own devices, Aislyn grabbed Samaya's duffle and began rifling through it. Grieving was a luxury they couldn't really afford. Like most emotions, it distracted you from what needed to be done. The remaining girls were proof of that. Someone had to be level-headed if they were going to make it out of this. Later she would cry. Now she had work to do.

She began making a pile of items to take and items to leave. ‘Extra rations are a take. Sad as it sounds, one less mouth to feed now. Flashlight is a definite take as well.' Aislyn fished out Samaya's first aid kit and contemplated the object. She had her own, and it would be nice to have more supplies in case they needed them later on down the road.

However, extra weight meant extra energy expended. Taking it with them now would deny some unknown hostile to it. Unless she stashed it somewhere. Which might be the best idea since it meant that if the supplies were lost or stolen, she could come back to a hidey hole and replenish what had been lost.

‘Unless someone finds it and takes it. Then all my supplies go to support the enemy's actions against me.' She caught her bottom lip in her teeth and worried it as she weighted the pros and cons of using Samaya's gear to create a fall-back pack.

[Tythanin*]

Melissa hovered at the edge of the clearing, wishing the others would just hurry up and get ready to leave. Maybe if she left fast enough, the memory of Samaya's death would leave quickly as well and she wouldn't get any bad dreams over it. But it didn't look like either of the other girls were sharing her desire for haste and she just gave up and trotted over to Aislyn, dropping her bag next to her. Sitting down next to their unofficial leader, she looked over at what she was doing, a slight frown on her face. "You're just um...taking her things?"

"What, it's not like the dead chick's using them anymore."

"Do...do you want me to help carry anything?" Melissa offered, opening her own bag and revealing some space that could be used to hold any extra equipment. Her Jetboil stove was there as well and the Chinese girl couldn't help but scowl when she saw the joke she got as a weapon in this game. She had contemplated throwing it away, but you never knew when something like a portable stove would become useful, so she had kept it.

"Maybe if you ask politely enough, they'll let you cook them at a horrifyingly slow pace."

'Shut up.' Melissa thought to herself, trying to push the other voice to the side as Aislyn continued to rummage through Samaya's pack. She was really beginning to get irritated at this other...other 'her'. It was like all of her bitterness and despair over her current life had decided to manifest itself inside her brain and its sole purpose was simply to drive her crazy. 'I'm not going to let it get to me...I just have to keep surviving and get back home. That's all I want...to be back home and forget this whole game exists...'

"Then all you have to do is just kill everyone else on the island. Sounds like fun."

"Um...I could take the first aid kit. Maybe if we split it up..." Melissa closed her eyes to think about it. "That way it won't be...that much heavier, right? I'm sorry, I've never had to think about...you know, things like this before. It's kind of hard to deal with...especially since so many people are already dead."

[MK Kilmarnock]

The fact that there was no heartbeat to be found in Samaya's body... that was the most painful part. Felicia listened for one, begging for the impossible to happen, for the girl's spark to be re-lit. Samaya's heart stayed in darkness, though, and Felicia's was quickly falling in that general direction.

Through her sobbing, she heard a few noises, some rustling and repositioning. Snorting the mucus in her nose and throat down and swallowing, Felicia looked through her teary eyes. Aisyln didn't seem to be grieving much, if at all. In fact, the first goal in the military girl's mind seemed to be going through Samaya's things and taking what suited her. The heartlessness of it all astounded Felicia's mind... weren't they all friends? Maybe the didn't all know each other too much (Felicia, for one, was the type of gal to stay home and play video games rather than go to the mall), but they all knew each other to some degree and were still friends... but Aislyn wasn't crying. Contrarily, Felicia's body was putting most of its effort into trembling and producing more tears.

The irony of it all never struck her, for she wasn't in the mood to appreciate it, but she subconciously attributed the scene to one of the times when she, herself, had roleplayed a character on a fan-forum of SoTF that she had started. The character that she played, mostly a self-insert, had done the same thing Aislyn was now doing... every body was a resource, something to loot.

How funny, it was, how different real life could stray from fiction.

"Aislyn, I-I..." Felicia choked out, standing up and wiping her eyes with one sleeve, then her nose with the other. She sniffed again and turned away from Samaya, still crying. Half of her wanted to lay over the other girl's body and wait until she died, but...

Sammy would have wanted me to live. Right?