G125, JACQUELINE MYRIE: START
Towards midday on the first day of Survival of the Fittest (Version Four), a small and thoroughly livid girl stomped through the some of the last remaining forest on the island.
Fuck my school. Fuck that fatass who sent us out here. Fuck this rock- At this point, she kicked aside a small stone that had been in her way- Fuck humanity. Fuck... ugh. The young girl allowed herself to collapse onto a fallen log.
Her name was Jackie Myrie, and she was not supposed to be here. Maybe the rest of her class was, but not her. She had a family. She had pets relying on her to take care of them. She was needed in Bayview. She was not meant to die here by the hands of some idiot who she'd insulted in Algebra or something. Someone comes near me, they'll regret it. But she knew this was futile- even if she could bring herself to actually hurt someone, the terrorists seemed to have forgotten to supply her with a weapon like she'd seen some people marching around with.
Jackie looked through her bags again to double check, but sure enough, there was nothing she could hurt someone with. Just a bunch of food, her regular luggage, and some booklet about survival. Fuck tha- but wait... underneath the bread was a shiny cellophane package with a plastic set of vampire teeth.
"Oh my god, are you serious?" She said aloud before tearing open the package with her own teeth. She stared at them for several seconds, and then, without thinking, put them in her mouth over her teeth. They didn't quite fit, however, and she probably looked ridiculous, so she took them out. There was some blood on the little plastic seam where it had scratched her gum, and the rest of the teeth had a faint green color that suggested they glowed in the dark. Great. Instead of a weapon, they'd given her something that would only hurt her and at night, bring attention to her. She couldn't even take her own life if she wanted to. Was this some kind of joke?
Jackie suddenly realized that it was very hot. Adjusting her position on the ground, she brought her knee towards her and began to unzip the bottom half of her black cargo pants, turning them into shorts. What else had she brought that she could use to protect herself? She'd seen a movie once where a girl stabbed someone with a pen. Could you do that in real life? If not maybe she could strangle someone with a belt or chain... or she could clobber someone with a book, or one of those loaves of bread if it got stale enough. If she survived long enough.
For lack of any better ideas, the girl laid down on the ground, not caring if her hair got dirty or if someone more vicious found her there. For the moment, Jacqueline Myrie didn't care about anything at all.
When the Bite Just Isn't Sharp Enough
((G123, Alison Walworth.))
Alison trudged through the forest, daypack on her back, map in her good hand and her right shoulder throbbing like hell. She'd guessed that when they dropped her out of the planes, helicopters, flying saucers or however they got them on there, somewhere along the line she'd landed awkward and was certainly paying for it now.
She took a couple of deep breaths and stopped to take a look at her map, struggling to unfold it with her good hand. When it came to the forest, it was about as useful as a five-year-old's finger painting for finding her way around. Allie sighed, refolded it and stuck it in the pocket of her jeans, squashing it in the narrow gap between the fabric, her inhaler and the actually pretty convenient epipen she was given as part of her 'weapon'.
She took her hand out of her pocket, put it up to her injured shoulder and tried to push her arm up. She remembered being told you should do that for something to do with your shoulder, but Allie couldn't remember what. Nevertheless, it didn't work, and only made her shoulder hurt more.
She heard something and turned her head. Someone's voice. Some girl's... No one's she could remember, but she didn't really remember anyone's voice any more. Allie moved in the vague direction of the voice she heard, pushing past branches, stepping over tangles of roots from the trees and crushing unheard of numbers of leaves underfoot. She didn't particularly care, at this point, who the voice was, or what their intentions were. She just desperately wanted to meet someone else, to know that there were other people on the island and she just hadn't been sucked out of a plane flying overhead or something.
Allie, even you know that's stupid.
She sighed and pushed her way through a final bush. She looked around, stepping forwards a couple of steps before almost walking straight into a fallen log. On the other side was a girl, lying down.
Is she... Is she dead?
Allie walked around the log and looked over. Her chest was rising, so that pretty much ruled out her being dead. Alison had no real clue what to do until she blurted out a surprisingly cheery sounding "Hey. Are you okay?"
She wasn't really expecting a response.
Alison trudged through the forest, daypack on her back, map in her good hand and her right shoulder throbbing like hell. She'd guessed that when they dropped her out of the planes, helicopters, flying saucers or however they got them on there, somewhere along the line she'd landed awkward and was certainly paying for it now.
She took a couple of deep breaths and stopped to take a look at her map, struggling to unfold it with her good hand. When it came to the forest, it was about as useful as a five-year-old's finger painting for finding her way around. Allie sighed, refolded it and stuck it in the pocket of her jeans, squashing it in the narrow gap between the fabric, her inhaler and the actually pretty convenient epipen she was given as part of her 'weapon'.
She took her hand out of her pocket, put it up to her injured shoulder and tried to push her arm up. She remembered being told you should do that for something to do with your shoulder, but Allie couldn't remember what. Nevertheless, it didn't work, and only made her shoulder hurt more.
She heard something and turned her head. Someone's voice. Some girl's... No one's she could remember, but she didn't really remember anyone's voice any more. Allie moved in the vague direction of the voice she heard, pushing past branches, stepping over tangles of roots from the trees and crushing unheard of numbers of leaves underfoot. She didn't particularly care, at this point, who the voice was, or what their intentions were. She just desperately wanted to meet someone else, to know that there were other people on the island and she just hadn't been sucked out of a plane flying overhead or something.
Allie, even you know that's stupid.
She sighed and pushed her way through a final bush. She looked around, stepping forwards a couple of steps before almost walking straight into a fallen log. On the other side was a girl, lying down.
Is she... Is she dead?
Allie walked around the log and looked over. Her chest was rising, so that pretty much ruled out her being dead. Alison had no real clue what to do until she blurted out a surprisingly cheery sounding "Hey. Are you okay?"
She wasn't really expecting a response.
Remaining in her hopeless, self-pitying stupor, Jackie was just about to roll over and grab a candy bar out of her backpack when a loud, overly cheerful voice jerked her back into reality.
"WHOA!" She yelled, sitting straight up with her fists ready to pummel her assailant... who turned out to just be some fat chick. Jackie'd seen her before, but she hadn't realized she still went to the school. As far as Jackie could tell, the girl had dropped out after junior year. The hell was she doing here? Keep your guard up keep your guard up keep your guard up. Jackie had spent years trying to convince the world she could hurt it if she wanted to, and she would be damned if it had all been for nothing. She tried to take the chain off of her discarded pantleg bottom for an improvised weapon, but when it refused to come off after a couple seconds of fiddling, she simply held it up with her hand, fabric and all.
"Look, lady, I know we all wanna get out of here alive..." Oh Christ, what was she saying? "But if... if you come any closer, I'll- I'll hurt you." Only when she finished talking did Jackie realize how ridiculous this all was. She was threatening a larger person with a pantleg, and worst of all, she couldn't even get out her threatening speech without stuttering like an idiot. Could she even take this bitch? People get fat because they're not fit, so they're not strong, right? Or was size enough to overpower her? Maybe she'd run off if she just pushed her a couple times, like Rebecca did when they were younger? Of course, that was all meaningless if the girl happened to be toting anything more powerful than freaking glow in the dark fangs. At that moment, the fabric finally fell away, leaving Jackie with a metal chain dangling from her left hand.
This is going to suck.
"WHOA!" She yelled, sitting straight up with her fists ready to pummel her assailant... who turned out to just be some fat chick. Jackie'd seen her before, but she hadn't realized she still went to the school. As far as Jackie could tell, the girl had dropped out after junior year. The hell was she doing here? Keep your guard up keep your guard up keep your guard up. Jackie had spent years trying to convince the world she could hurt it if she wanted to, and she would be damned if it had all been for nothing. She tried to take the chain off of her discarded pantleg bottom for an improvised weapon, but when it refused to come off after a couple seconds of fiddling, she simply held it up with her hand, fabric and all.
"Look, lady, I know we all wanna get out of here alive..." Oh Christ, what was she saying? "But if... if you come any closer, I'll- I'll hurt you." Only when she finished talking did Jackie realize how ridiculous this all was. She was threatening a larger person with a pantleg, and worst of all, she couldn't even get out her threatening speech without stuttering like an idiot. Could she even take this bitch? People get fat because they're not fit, so they're not strong, right? Or was size enough to overpower her? Maybe she'd run off if she just pushed her a couple times, like Rebecca did when they were younger? Of course, that was all meaningless if the girl happened to be toting anything more powerful than freaking glow in the dark fangs. At that moment, the fabric finally fell away, leaving Jackie with a metal chain dangling from her left hand.
This is going to suck.
Allie nearly jumped out of her damn skin when the girl sat up, yelled, and balled her fists up, ready to punch her out. Allie took a couple of slow steps back, until she heard a large crunch. She jumped and looked around, discovering that she'd basically just freaked out over crushing a twig.
Well Allie, not only have you just embarrassed yourself in front of a girl you've never met before, you did it on live TV. Way to go.
She looked back at the girl, who was messing around with a piece of fabric or something. She'd managed to get what Allie could only assume to be the leg of her cut-off shorts and held it up to Allie. What the hell was she doing? Had she hurt herself? Maybe that was why she was lying on the floor. She seemed to sit up fine, though, so Allie guessed she couldn't be hurt that bad if that was the case.
The girl started to talk about getting out of there alive and stuff like that, waving the pant leg about. Allie wasn't exactly sure why. Was she threatening her? She hadn't done anything to warrent it, all she'd done was say Hi... Allie picked up the fact that she didn't sound very confident about it. Perhaps she was intimidated by her? Allie didn't really think she COULD be intimidating, but whatever. Intimidation helped, right? She hoped it would.
The girl ripping the chain off of the pant leg, however, quickly changed her mind. Was she going to use it as a weapon? It didn't look like something that would hurt that much, but Allie really didn't want to find out, either way. She had to say something to diffuse the situation.
"Sorry, but... um..." Allie stopped herself. She spent a moment to think over what she was going to say. She had no clue what the girl's intentions were at this point. Allie wouldn't have been surprised if she just jumped up and tried to throttle her. "I'm not a threat, don't worry."
Well Allie, not only have you just embarrassed yourself in front of a girl you've never met before, you did it on live TV. Way to go.
She looked back at the girl, who was messing around with a piece of fabric or something. She'd managed to get what Allie could only assume to be the leg of her cut-off shorts and held it up to Allie. What the hell was she doing? Had she hurt herself? Maybe that was why she was lying on the floor. She seemed to sit up fine, though, so Allie guessed she couldn't be hurt that bad if that was the case.
The girl started to talk about getting out of there alive and stuff like that, waving the pant leg about. Allie wasn't exactly sure why. Was she threatening her? She hadn't done anything to warrent it, all she'd done was say Hi... Allie picked up the fact that she didn't sound very confident about it. Perhaps she was intimidated by her? Allie didn't really think she COULD be intimidating, but whatever. Intimidation helped, right? She hoped it would.
The girl ripping the chain off of the pant leg, however, quickly changed her mind. Was she going to use it as a weapon? It didn't look like something that would hurt that much, but Allie really didn't want to find out, either way. She had to say something to diffuse the situation.
"Sorry, but... um..." Allie stopped herself. She spent a moment to think over what she was going to say. She had no clue what the girl's intentions were at this point. Allie wouldn't have been surprised if she just jumped up and tried to throttle her. "I'm not a threat, don't worry."
[[Tobias Elwin continued from The Dilemma]]
It had taken Tobias some time to make his way into the woods from the barren landscape of stumps he woke up in, but the long walk hadn't helped quell the boy's rage at having been attacked and disarmed due to his own naivety. Instead, it had given him plenty of time to both stew in his anger and dwell on the words of his assailant.
Never. Trust. Anyone.
These were the words of wisdom imparted upon him for his willingness to believe that people could be civilized on this uncharted island. He cringed as he rubbed his nearly crushed hand, the pain a constant reminder that he had been beaten and disarmed.
At first, he hadn't understood what drove his classmate to attack both him and that girl who managed to slink off instead of come to his aid when he needed it most. He couldn't comprehend what could drive them to act that way before. But now? Now he knew what it was that drove them to act that way; survival.
Rob had said, no, Rob KNEW that there was no hope of escape. That was why Rob was perfectly willing to attack a girl armed only with a hockey stick and was even willing to try to disarm him of his gun at point-blank range. It was because he KNEW that there was no other option but to survive at any cost.
Since then, he had taken Danya's manual and words much more seriously than before. He knew now that there would only be one winner. One survivor. Just like Rob knew. Of course there would still be people that were naive enough to think they could trust others, just like he had been. They might even work together for a while until they were inevitably betrayed.
Tobias no longer believed that anyone was coming to save them. His long walk had given him plenty of time to realize that there was no way for anyone to know where they were. The military still couldn't even find Osama bin Laden after nearly 7 years of searching. Tobias figured him and his fellow classmates would be lucky to be alive for the next 7 days.
Tobias' mission was now simple: First, find a weapon. Second, survive. Third, If he was lucky enough to find the right tools, see about removing his collar. Then he could really get to work. That was the plan. It was simple; he'd avoid any groups that formed for now and focus on catching someone alone. Then, he would steal their weapon and play the waiting game. Eventually his fellow students would do his dirty work for him and kill each other off. Yes, that's what would happen. And then, once everyone was injured and tired and...
"WHOA!"
A loud yell in the distance shook Tobias loose from his thoughts and schemes and back into the reality of the game. Someone was nearby. Perhaps this would be the opportunity he needed to get a weapon into his hands once again? With that goal in mind, Tobias carefully made his way through the forest towards the source of yell, deftly avoiding stepping on twigs and breaking branches with a hunter's expertise.
From behind the cover of a shaggy pine tree, Tobias got his first glimpse of two girls that appeared to be engaged in a standoff. One of them was a heavy-set girl in baggy looking attire. The other was a smaller girl mostly clad in black. Neither of them looked to have armed themselves for this particular fight. If they had weapons worth taking, they would probably have been easy targets for him to overpower. Unfortunate. And yet, despite their obvious lack of weaponry, Tobias couldn't bring himself to just walk away.
Maybe they just haven't drawn them yet. Tobias hoped to himself, not wanting to waste a potentially easy opportunity to improve his situation. He couldn't be sure that they didn't have anything useful to him, at least not from this distance. This was too good of a potential opportunity to pass up just because of a little uncertainty. With that in mind, Tobias began to stalk forward from behind his tree, slowly moving closer under the cover of several trees to observe his potential prey.
It had taken Tobias some time to make his way into the woods from the barren landscape of stumps he woke up in, but the long walk hadn't helped quell the boy's rage at having been attacked and disarmed due to his own naivety. Instead, it had given him plenty of time to both stew in his anger and dwell on the words of his assailant.
Never. Trust. Anyone.
These were the words of wisdom imparted upon him for his willingness to believe that people could be civilized on this uncharted island. He cringed as he rubbed his nearly crushed hand, the pain a constant reminder that he had been beaten and disarmed.
At first, he hadn't understood what drove his classmate to attack both him and that girl who managed to slink off instead of come to his aid when he needed it most. He couldn't comprehend what could drive them to act that way before. But now? Now he knew what it was that drove them to act that way; survival.
Rob had said, no, Rob KNEW that there was no hope of escape. That was why Rob was perfectly willing to attack a girl armed only with a hockey stick and was even willing to try to disarm him of his gun at point-blank range. It was because he KNEW that there was no other option but to survive at any cost.
Since then, he had taken Danya's manual and words much more seriously than before. He knew now that there would only be one winner. One survivor. Just like Rob knew. Of course there would still be people that were naive enough to think they could trust others, just like he had been. They might even work together for a while until they were inevitably betrayed.
Tobias no longer believed that anyone was coming to save them. His long walk had given him plenty of time to realize that there was no way for anyone to know where they were. The military still couldn't even find Osama bin Laden after nearly 7 years of searching. Tobias figured him and his fellow classmates would be lucky to be alive for the next 7 days.
Tobias' mission was now simple: First, find a weapon. Second, survive. Third, If he was lucky enough to find the right tools, see about removing his collar. Then he could really get to work. That was the plan. It was simple; he'd avoid any groups that formed for now and focus on catching someone alone. Then, he would steal their weapon and play the waiting game. Eventually his fellow students would do his dirty work for him and kill each other off. Yes, that's what would happen. And then, once everyone was injured and tired and...
"WHOA!"
A loud yell in the distance shook Tobias loose from his thoughts and schemes and back into the reality of the game. Someone was nearby. Perhaps this would be the opportunity he needed to get a weapon into his hands once again? With that goal in mind, Tobias carefully made his way through the forest towards the source of yell, deftly avoiding stepping on twigs and breaking branches with a hunter's expertise.
From behind the cover of a shaggy pine tree, Tobias got his first glimpse of two girls that appeared to be engaged in a standoff. One of them was a heavy-set girl in baggy looking attire. The other was a smaller girl mostly clad in black. Neither of them looked to have armed themselves for this particular fight. If they had weapons worth taking, they would probably have been easy targets for him to overpower. Unfortunate. And yet, despite their obvious lack of weaponry, Tobias couldn't bring himself to just walk away.
Maybe they just haven't drawn them yet. Tobias hoped to himself, not wanting to waste a potentially easy opportunity to improve his situation. He couldn't be sure that they didn't have anything useful to him, at least not from this distance. This was too good of a potential opportunity to pass up just because of a little uncertainty. With that in mind, Tobias began to stalk forward from behind his tree, slowly moving closer under the cover of several trees to observe his potential prey.
[Girl #101 - Sofia Martelli. Start.]
Merry go round and around and around
Her head was spinning, still reeling from the shock of what had just happened just a short while earlier. She saw everything that happened, screamed when her teachers were cut down before her in a hail of lead rain, cried her eyes out and couldn't believe any of it was really happening. She remembered one thing very vividly, the strongest memory she had of the final moments before everything slipped from sight and sound, sliding into darkness as she was no doubt drugged once again; She had prayed. With all her might and with the last conscious breath in her body, she prayed loud and long, calling out to the god that her parents insisted on worshiping. She hadn't prayed like that in years, not since her great-grandmother died in the nursing home or her great-uncle succumbed to cancer; She wasn't religious, she didn't pray day in and day out for good things to happen or fortune to befall her.
It was such a silly thing before...
But despite all her beliefs, her skepticism and cynicism, all those remarks she had made when discussing the subject with her sisters; Despite all of that, she had broken down and prayed to something she so vehemently denied believing in. It was such a silly, small little thing before, nothing that really came to mind nor bothered her; It was just one of those things everyone goes through, deciding what your faith would be, if any. But now, after everything that had happened, after being taken from all that was familiar and safe and secure and just plain happy, after being put into this game with nothing to look forward to besides pain and death and sorrow and the metallic taste of blood. And to make it worse, they expected her to participate, to fight for her survival with the weapon they had provided her, to bring down her own special brand of lead death upon her classmates; She had one answer to that.
"Fuck you."
She spat the words at the nearest camera, pointing the thick hollow tube of lead at the mechanical device. But those were far from the last words she would speak to the cameras, far from the last she had to say about the people behind this and what they expected of her. Daddy's little girl was pissed, that much was certain; The sorrow and sadness of what they had been forced into, the feelings of dread and fear, the sickness in her gut, and most of all, the infuriating point of feeling sorry for herself, it had all passed. All that was left in its wake was anger, rage, and a furious little girl with a thick metal rod and something to say.
"Fuck you, Danya. I swear, right here, right now, that if I make it out of this, I'm going to personally drive my caddy as far up your ass I can get it. And then? I'm going to make you eat this gift you gave me. Got it? Good."
Oh, she was far from finished, but everything she had left to say could just as easily be said while she was walking. With an eye locked on that camera, she grabbed her bags, slung them unto her back and decided upon a direction to start walking, with a little help from the compass that she quickly returned to the bag. Before she set off, she searched her path, looking for another camera; If they wanted a show, she'd give them one, spotting her goal and setting out on her chosen route. She had a sudden desire to break down again, just as she had in the auditorium, to close her eyes and pray as hard as she could; But why should she do that if she didn't believe her own words with a clear mind. What good would it do now anyways, when there was nothing she could do to stay the hand of god if he wished to strike her down like this. Why should she fall to her knees and pray, and wait for something to happen to save her from this fate?
Why should I wait for nothing to wait for?
"Y'know, I've been thinking, sitting there for as long as I had been. And I've come to a realization that no one is going to save me, not my family, or my friends, or even the lord almighty. I choose the way to go, but the road won't set me free; No, if I want to get out of this, I have to make the way myself, don't I?"
If I get out of this.
The words played through her mind again, the words she chose as the first ones to utter in her tenure on this god forsaken island. It may have been a mistake, choosing those words, now that she thought back; It conjured up thoughts of failure, of not being able to achieve what she sets out to do, of not surviving this challenge set before her. She didn't want to think about it, and didn't want those thoughts to be any where near the forefront of her mind, pushing them aside and forcing them back. She didn't want anything else to come back to her, not sorrow or fear or panic; She wanted to keep this anger, this fueling rage, for as long as she could. She knew it would be the only thing that would help her stay alive, that if she gave in again, if she let go and cried until her eyes were bloodshot and sore, it would all be over; If she didn't stay strong enough to cut her own path, someone else would, and theirs may end up going right through her.
As she walked, without even realizing it, she had moved her hand up to her hair and begun to caress the pin that held her hair in the state it was; The feel of the old chrome, the twisted and bent pieces of metal long since set in their form and function, it was comforting to escape with it, to think of where it came from. She'd give everything she had to be back home now, to sit in the seat of her car once again and just relax into a new leather seat. She closed her eyes, clutching the ornament in her hand as she breathed deeply, reliving the moments long passed; The feel of the wheel in her hands, the caress of the seat behind her, the deep satisfaction as she turned the key and listened to the engine roar to life. Opening her eyes and letting her hand fall back to her side, she stopped; Looking at the camera, the serious, stern look upon her face melted away, leaving a smile that lasted little more than a moment in its wake.
"Are you watching, Dad? Keep it safe for me. I'll come back. I promise."
And as fast as it came, the smile was gone from her face as if it had never been there, a biting glare and a thin lipped snarl replacing it.
"And Danya..."
She wanted to spit out another comment, to throw another venomous dose towards the ever present eye of the man in charge, but no words came to mind, nothing filled her throat, and try as she might, she couldn't force it. So she turned away from the camera, silently flipping it off, and continued down her chosen road; She didn't know where she would end up, or what would happen when she got there, but it was her path by choice, and she wouldn't let anyone keep her from it. Not Danya, not his people, not the trees or the cameras upon them nor the people that the nearing voices belonged to. She heard them, barely making them out enough to tell who they belonged to. But they were in the way of her path; She would need to make a choice soon, as the silhouettes came ever closer, as her legged carried her ever further into the darkness.
"Fuck fear."
"Fuck worry."
"Fuck panic."
"Fuck prayer."
"And most of all, Fuck Danya!"
Merry go round and around and around
Her head was spinning, still reeling from the shock of what had just happened just a short while earlier. She saw everything that happened, screamed when her teachers were cut down before her in a hail of lead rain, cried her eyes out and couldn't believe any of it was really happening. She remembered one thing very vividly, the strongest memory she had of the final moments before everything slipped from sight and sound, sliding into darkness as she was no doubt drugged once again; She had prayed. With all her might and with the last conscious breath in her body, she prayed loud and long, calling out to the god that her parents insisted on worshiping. She hadn't prayed like that in years, not since her great-grandmother died in the nursing home or her great-uncle succumbed to cancer; She wasn't religious, she didn't pray day in and day out for good things to happen or fortune to befall her.
It was such a silly thing before...
But despite all her beliefs, her skepticism and cynicism, all those remarks she had made when discussing the subject with her sisters; Despite all of that, she had broken down and prayed to something she so vehemently denied believing in. It was such a silly, small little thing before, nothing that really came to mind nor bothered her; It was just one of those things everyone goes through, deciding what your faith would be, if any. But now, after everything that had happened, after being taken from all that was familiar and safe and secure and just plain happy, after being put into this game with nothing to look forward to besides pain and death and sorrow and the metallic taste of blood. And to make it worse, they expected her to participate, to fight for her survival with the weapon they had provided her, to bring down her own special brand of lead death upon her classmates; She had one answer to that.
"Fuck you."
She spat the words at the nearest camera, pointing the thick hollow tube of lead at the mechanical device. But those were far from the last words she would speak to the cameras, far from the last she had to say about the people behind this and what they expected of her. Daddy's little girl was pissed, that much was certain; The sorrow and sadness of what they had been forced into, the feelings of dread and fear, the sickness in her gut, and most of all, the infuriating point of feeling sorry for herself, it had all passed. All that was left in its wake was anger, rage, and a furious little girl with a thick metal rod and something to say.
"Fuck you, Danya. I swear, right here, right now, that if I make it out of this, I'm going to personally drive my caddy as far up your ass I can get it. And then? I'm going to make you eat this gift you gave me. Got it? Good."
Oh, she was far from finished, but everything she had left to say could just as easily be said while she was walking. With an eye locked on that camera, she grabbed her bags, slung them unto her back and decided upon a direction to start walking, with a little help from the compass that she quickly returned to the bag. Before she set off, she searched her path, looking for another camera; If they wanted a show, she'd give them one, spotting her goal and setting out on her chosen route. She had a sudden desire to break down again, just as she had in the auditorium, to close her eyes and pray as hard as she could; But why should she do that if she didn't believe her own words with a clear mind. What good would it do now anyways, when there was nothing she could do to stay the hand of god if he wished to strike her down like this. Why should she fall to her knees and pray, and wait for something to happen to save her from this fate?
Why should I wait for nothing to wait for?
"Y'know, I've been thinking, sitting there for as long as I had been. And I've come to a realization that no one is going to save me, not my family, or my friends, or even the lord almighty. I choose the way to go, but the road won't set me free; No, if I want to get out of this, I have to make the way myself, don't I?"
If I get out of this.
The words played through her mind again, the words she chose as the first ones to utter in her tenure on this god forsaken island. It may have been a mistake, choosing those words, now that she thought back; It conjured up thoughts of failure, of not being able to achieve what she sets out to do, of not surviving this challenge set before her. She didn't want to think about it, and didn't want those thoughts to be any where near the forefront of her mind, pushing them aside and forcing them back. She didn't want anything else to come back to her, not sorrow or fear or panic; She wanted to keep this anger, this fueling rage, for as long as she could. She knew it would be the only thing that would help her stay alive, that if she gave in again, if she let go and cried until her eyes were bloodshot and sore, it would all be over; If she didn't stay strong enough to cut her own path, someone else would, and theirs may end up going right through her.
As she walked, without even realizing it, she had moved her hand up to her hair and begun to caress the pin that held her hair in the state it was; The feel of the old chrome, the twisted and bent pieces of metal long since set in their form and function, it was comforting to escape with it, to think of where it came from. She'd give everything she had to be back home now, to sit in the seat of her car once again and just relax into a new leather seat. She closed her eyes, clutching the ornament in her hand as she breathed deeply, reliving the moments long passed; The feel of the wheel in her hands, the caress of the seat behind her, the deep satisfaction as she turned the key and listened to the engine roar to life. Opening her eyes and letting her hand fall back to her side, she stopped; Looking at the camera, the serious, stern look upon her face melted away, leaving a smile that lasted little more than a moment in its wake.
"Are you watching, Dad? Keep it safe for me. I'll come back. I promise."
And as fast as it came, the smile was gone from her face as if it had never been there, a biting glare and a thin lipped snarl replacing it.
"And Danya..."
She wanted to spit out another comment, to throw another venomous dose towards the ever present eye of the man in charge, but no words came to mind, nothing filled her throat, and try as she might, she couldn't force it. So she turned away from the camera, silently flipping it off, and continued down her chosen road; She didn't know where she would end up, or what would happen when she got there, but it was her path by choice, and she wouldn't let anyone keep her from it. Not Danya, not his people, not the trees or the cameras upon them nor the people that the nearing voices belonged to. She heard them, barely making them out enough to tell who they belonged to. But they were in the way of her path; She would need to make a choice soon, as the silhouettes came ever closer, as her legged carried her ever further into the darkness.
"Fuck fear."
"Fuck worry."
"Fuck panic."
"Fuck prayer."
"And most of all, Fuck Danya!"
-
Sister Grimm*
- Posts: 172
- Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:38 am
((B112, Michael Raynor Start))
It would be easy to say he was dreaming. Really, really easy, in fact. After all, this sort of thing didn't happen outside movies and games. Looking at it from a realist perspective, this was all highly unlikely to say the least. A whole senior class, picked up and transported to a mysterious island with the aim to whittle it down to one? Improbable, if anything. Yet, here he was. On Survival of the Goddamn Fittest. Very unlikely, and not something he would have gambled on earlier. Of course, the possibility of waking up in the middle of this particular forest was not something he considered a possibility. Then again, this was no doubt what he got for making a final effort to acquaint himself with his classmates before he went of to live his life. Sitting in his room on the computer may not be him living every day like his last, but it was enough to be content. But no, he had to let his mom talk him into coming along on this asinine camping trip. Wonderful.
So, when he did wake up in the middle of the forest in a spot that was decidedly not a camp ground, he was alarmed. His surroundings were a mystery, and for a moment he had to bite back the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. Not only was he (shudder) outdoors, he was alone and scared. Even if other students weren't exactly his friends, it would be better then waking up in the middle of nowhere by himself. Micheal began to hyperventilate, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to pick up on the slightest hint he wasn't alone. This was bad, horrible even. Aside from the bags lying on the ground next to him, there wasn't a hint of other people ever being around.
Micheal wanted to call out, wanted to believe he wasn't alone, but he stopped short. No, he had to think, had to try and remember how he got here. Outside some bits and pieces, it was a blur. Some screaming, some loud noise that reminded him of assault rifle fire, then horrified realization. It was only after focusing on that line of though did he out everything together. Even after putting the pieces together, he had to pray he was wrong, had to pray he was making some sort of mistake and didn't remember things right. This had to be a joke, or a dream, or something. Anything that wouldn't justify that feeling of dread he felt in his gut.
It had to be something else, because the alternative was that he was screwed. He wasn't fit, wasn't some kind of tactical genius, didn't even have a lot of friends he could fall back on to watch out for him. Shit, most of his friends hadn't even come along on this trip. Unless he got a damn minigun or something, he was as good as dead. Looking at things from a practical perspective, he wasn't going to do anything without a firearm. For a second, he cracked a faltering grin. Watch him get a rubber ducky or something equally useless. Micheal pulled the day bag over to him, scrabbling through it for his assigned weapon. He was hoping for a pistol or smg, but what he found wasn't too terrible either. He pulled out the bagh nakh and turned it over in his hands, before finally holding it by the grip. It looked like something he'd seen on tv. That or a Wolverine knock-off. At least it was pretty clear it would do some damage. It reminded him of a tiger or lion's claw, with the grip fitting neatly in his hand and the five blades settled against his knuckles.
At least he wouldn't be completely helpless. Of course, he couldn't very well carry it out in the open, lest people shoot first and talk later. Just because he had a weapon didn't mean he was eager to slash everyone he saw. No, he wanted to find group of people trying not to kill everyone on the island and settle in with them. This wasn't one of his video games, he wouldn't get a second try if he fucked up. At least he'd grabbed his contact lenses this time. The last thing he would need was to be blinded this early on.
Distant voices caught his attention and helped him decide he first direction. Micheal stuffed the blade gauntlet thing back in his bag and climbed to his feet. His actual bag gave him pause. True, it would slow him down. Also true, some of his favorite shirts were packed inside. He had on one of his favorites now, a black t-shirt with an N7 logo over the heart, but that still left his whole bag. True, the voices didn't sound too terribly angry, but he couldn't exactly hear them either. Well, he'd take his bag with him for now and take the important stuff out later. Once that was settled, he threw a bag over either shoulder and started his way through the trees in the general direction of the voices. Another voice, closer by, caught his attention. A second later, the source of the speech stepped into his field of vision. Sofia something. The mechanic girl. She didn't seem to notice him, so he hesitantly offered a little wave to catch her attention. "Uh, hey. Going my way?" He asked, somewhat lamely in his own humble opinion, before offering a nervous smile.
It would be easy to say he was dreaming. Really, really easy, in fact. After all, this sort of thing didn't happen outside movies and games. Looking at it from a realist perspective, this was all highly unlikely to say the least. A whole senior class, picked up and transported to a mysterious island with the aim to whittle it down to one? Improbable, if anything. Yet, here he was. On Survival of the Goddamn Fittest. Very unlikely, and not something he would have gambled on earlier. Of course, the possibility of waking up in the middle of this particular forest was not something he considered a possibility. Then again, this was no doubt what he got for making a final effort to acquaint himself with his classmates before he went of to live his life. Sitting in his room on the computer may not be him living every day like his last, but it was enough to be content. But no, he had to let his mom talk him into coming along on this asinine camping trip. Wonderful.
So, when he did wake up in the middle of the forest in a spot that was decidedly not a camp ground, he was alarmed. His surroundings were a mystery, and for a moment he had to bite back the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. Not only was he (shudder) outdoors, he was alone and scared. Even if other students weren't exactly his friends, it would be better then waking up in the middle of nowhere by himself. Micheal began to hyperventilate, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to pick up on the slightest hint he wasn't alone. This was bad, horrible even. Aside from the bags lying on the ground next to him, there wasn't a hint of other people ever being around.
Micheal wanted to call out, wanted to believe he wasn't alone, but he stopped short. No, he had to think, had to try and remember how he got here. Outside some bits and pieces, it was a blur. Some screaming, some loud noise that reminded him of assault rifle fire, then horrified realization. It was only after focusing on that line of though did he out everything together. Even after putting the pieces together, he had to pray he was wrong, had to pray he was making some sort of mistake and didn't remember things right. This had to be a joke, or a dream, or something. Anything that wouldn't justify that feeling of dread he felt in his gut.
It had to be something else, because the alternative was that he was screwed. He wasn't fit, wasn't some kind of tactical genius, didn't even have a lot of friends he could fall back on to watch out for him. Shit, most of his friends hadn't even come along on this trip. Unless he got a damn minigun or something, he was as good as dead. Looking at things from a practical perspective, he wasn't going to do anything without a firearm. For a second, he cracked a faltering grin. Watch him get a rubber ducky or something equally useless. Micheal pulled the day bag over to him, scrabbling through it for his assigned weapon. He was hoping for a pistol or smg, but what he found wasn't too terrible either. He pulled out the bagh nakh and turned it over in his hands, before finally holding it by the grip. It looked like something he'd seen on tv. That or a Wolverine knock-off. At least it was pretty clear it would do some damage. It reminded him of a tiger or lion's claw, with the grip fitting neatly in his hand and the five blades settled against his knuckles.
At least he wouldn't be completely helpless. Of course, he couldn't very well carry it out in the open, lest people shoot first and talk later. Just because he had a weapon didn't mean he was eager to slash everyone he saw. No, he wanted to find group of people trying not to kill everyone on the island and settle in with them. This wasn't one of his video games, he wouldn't get a second try if he fucked up. At least he'd grabbed his contact lenses this time. The last thing he would need was to be blinded this early on.
Distant voices caught his attention and helped him decide he first direction. Micheal stuffed the blade gauntlet thing back in his bag and climbed to his feet. His actual bag gave him pause. True, it would slow him down. Also true, some of his favorite shirts were packed inside. He had on one of his favorites now, a black t-shirt with an N7 logo over the heart, but that still left his whole bag. True, the voices didn't sound too terribly angry, but he couldn't exactly hear them either. Well, he'd take his bag with him for now and take the important stuff out later. Once that was settled, he threw a bag over either shoulder and started his way through the trees in the general direction of the voices. Another voice, closer by, caught his attention. A second later, the source of the speech stepped into his field of vision. Sofia something. The mechanic girl. She didn't seem to notice him, so he hesitantly offered a little wave to catch her attention. "Uh, hey. Going my way?" He asked, somewhat lamely in his own humble opinion, before offering a nervous smile.
"I'm not a threat, don't worry."
Yesterday, any day before now, Jackie would have been much quicker to believe these words. She wanted to believe them now, but the back of her mind kept repeating one thing over and over and over- Trust and they'll kill you. But then, a new thought dawned on the girl- that didn't mean Jackie couldn't try to make this fatass trust her.
"Alright, I believe you. Just, um... keep your weapons where I can see 'em." The girl did seem legitimately nice, and it wasn't like she would have any enemies since no one really rememb- Trust no one, Jackie! Right. Gain her trust first. Got it. Jackie made sure not to smile as she looked at the girl- which wasn't too hard, since she rarely smiled anyway. When did she smile? Oh right, with Rebecca, who she would never see again... Don't think about that. This was no time to get emotional. And I WILL see her again, she confirmed in her mind- as far as she was concerned, it was only a matter of time before cops or something got here.
But have they ever arrived in the other seasons?
Jackie was NOT going to think about that. Fortunately- well, UNfortunately, rather- her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. And voices. Jackie looked around, but she couldn't see where they were coming from. She turned back to the larger girl. "Someone's coming. Get down if you know what's good for you, but if not then don't freaking blow my cover." She ducked back behind the log, knowing the other girl would heed her request if she really wanted Jackie to trust her.
Yesterday, any day before now, Jackie would have been much quicker to believe these words. She wanted to believe them now, but the back of her mind kept repeating one thing over and over and over- Trust and they'll kill you. But then, a new thought dawned on the girl- that didn't mean Jackie couldn't try to make this fatass trust her.
"Alright, I believe you. Just, um... keep your weapons where I can see 'em." The girl did seem legitimately nice, and it wasn't like she would have any enemies since no one really rememb- Trust no one, Jackie! Right. Gain her trust first. Got it. Jackie made sure not to smile as she looked at the girl- which wasn't too hard, since she rarely smiled anyway. When did she smile? Oh right, with Rebecca, who she would never see again... Don't think about that. This was no time to get emotional. And I WILL see her again, she confirmed in her mind- as far as she was concerned, it was only a matter of time before cops or something got here.
But have they ever arrived in the other seasons?
Jackie was NOT going to think about that. Fortunately- well, UNfortunately, rather- her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. And voices. Jackie looked around, but she couldn't see where they were coming from. She turned back to the larger girl. "Someone's coming. Get down if you know what's good for you, but if not then don't freaking blow my cover." She ducked back behind the log, knowing the other girl would heed her request if she really wanted Jackie to trust her.
"Oh, I don't have a weapon, only some Benadryl and some, um, bandages." Great. She'd just given the girl a free pass to throttle her. Although, really, Allie expected that if she was going to try something she would've done it by now. She didn't look like the type to slowly and methodically plan out a method of manipulating the first person she met until she could just jump up and throttle her with something. "Just a bunch of medical stuff, really, Nothing that could, y'know, hurt anyone."
Great, she'd made herself paranoid. Well, more paranoid than she was, anyway. Right now, she didn't think she could afford to be paranoid, or something like that. She needed to find someone who knew what they were gonna do, who had a plan, to get them off or something. That's how it always worked. Granted, it always failed, but it had to have been worth trying if they'd repeated it so many times, right?
Footsteps. All around. Lots of them, too, rustling leaves everywhere. The girl told Allie to get down, duck behind cover. Allie guessed she meant hide behind the log, and she quickly ducking as low as she could to stay out of sight. She was pretty short, so she guessed she wouldn't have that much trouble pulling it off. Just had to make sure to stay away from the roots or anything.
"Alright, I think we're hidden?" Allie turned her head and whispered to the girl, just to check, really. Just in case the girl was some kind of espionage expert and was gonna throttle her for getting it wrong. "They shouldn't be able to see us, right?"
Allie put her hand on the log, peeking her head over. The pain started back up. She grunted and gritted her teeth. Had to keep quiet, stay out of sight. She ducked back down and pulled her arm down this time. The dull click that she heard meant that had to have done something, right? Allie wasn't sure, but her arm wasn't hurting as much now. Down to much more bearable levels. Allie slumped down, leaning her back on the log and taking a few deep breaths, keeping her inhaler at the ready.
Great, she'd made herself paranoid. Well, more paranoid than she was, anyway. Right now, she didn't think she could afford to be paranoid, or something like that. She needed to find someone who knew what they were gonna do, who had a plan, to get them off or something. That's how it always worked. Granted, it always failed, but it had to have been worth trying if they'd repeated it so many times, right?
Footsteps. All around. Lots of them, too, rustling leaves everywhere. The girl told Allie to get down, duck behind cover. Allie guessed she meant hide behind the log, and she quickly ducking as low as she could to stay out of sight. She was pretty short, so she guessed she wouldn't have that much trouble pulling it off. Just had to make sure to stay away from the roots or anything.
"Alright, I think we're hidden?" Allie turned her head and whispered to the girl, just to check, really. Just in case the girl was some kind of espionage expert and was gonna throttle her for getting it wrong. "They shouldn't be able to see us, right?"
Allie put her hand on the log, peeking her head over. The pain started back up. She grunted and gritted her teeth. Had to keep quiet, stay out of sight. She ducked back down and pulled her arm down this time. The dull click that she heard meant that had to have done something, right? Allie wasn't sure, but her arm wasn't hurting as much now. Down to much more bearable levels. Allie slumped down, leaning her back on the log and taking a few deep breaths, keeping her inhaler at the ready.
((Sorry about the edit and run. Tobias has to go die now D:))
Tobias carefully prowled towards the girls, careful to stay low and avoid making too much unnecessary noise. The two girls seemed to be focused on each other more than their surroundings. Good. maybe they wouldn't even notice him before he got close enough to strike. He was making a decent amount of headway towards creeping up on the girls, when suddenly, the two girls dove behind a nearby log.
Shit, they heard me. Tobias thought to himself as he quickly ducked behind a large fir tree. His heart raced with panic at the thought of getting caught so easily. They know I'm here. They heard me. He needed a weapon, and if those girls had one, taking it without surprise on his side would be difficult, if not impossible. Can they see me? he asked himself, not daring to move a muscle. His heartbeat echoed throughout his chest as he held his breath, hoping that he would neither be seen nor heard again.
...
Footsteps and chatter further off in the distance. More people were coming. More chances for weapons... but more chances for death as well. Tobias decided it wasn't worth the risk to take on more unknowns into this little equation. Plus, the element of surprise might no longer be on his side. With his sneak attack compromised, Tobias decided to make a run for it in the hopes of catching easier prey. With as little noise as possible, Tobias crept away from his previous targets slowly, fading back into the forest until they were out of his sight.
[Tobias Elwin continued in It's A New Day]
Tobias carefully prowled towards the girls, careful to stay low and avoid making too much unnecessary noise. The two girls seemed to be focused on each other more than their surroundings. Good. maybe they wouldn't even notice him before he got close enough to strike. He was making a decent amount of headway towards creeping up on the girls, when suddenly, the two girls dove behind a nearby log.
Shit, they heard me. Tobias thought to himself as he quickly ducked behind a large fir tree. His heart raced with panic at the thought of getting caught so easily. They know I'm here. They heard me. He needed a weapon, and if those girls had one, taking it without surprise on his side would be difficult, if not impossible. Can they see me? he asked himself, not daring to move a muscle. His heartbeat echoed throughout his chest as he held his breath, hoping that he would neither be seen nor heard again.
...
Footsteps and chatter further off in the distance. More people were coming. More chances for weapons... but more chances for death as well. Tobias decided it wasn't worth the risk to take on more unknowns into this little equation. Plus, the element of surprise might no longer be on his side. With his sneak attack compromised, Tobias decided to make a run for it in the hopes of catching easier prey. With as little noise as possible, Tobias crept away from his previous targets slowly, fading back into the forest until they were out of his sight.
[Tobias Elwin continued in It's A New Day]
♪ The enemy's approaching from surrounding sides. ♫
Sofia had gotten lost in her own world of seething anger and hatred for everything that lead to her current situation, cursing and spitting and lashing out at every thought that came to mind with the rage that filled her veins and bled into her mind; She paid very little to where she was going by this point, or how far she had gotten from where she started, but she snapped out of it as another voice slipped into her mind. Someone was there, someone was nearby, closer than she had been comfortable with and a lot closer than the silhouettes she'd spotted earlier; With a tightening grip upon the metal pipe in her hands, she snapped to attention, swinging around to face the source of the last thing she wanted to hear.
♪ Awaiting the first strike...
All her anger, all her rage and seething hatred, all the things she didn't want to think about and all the things she didn't want to worry about, all came rushing to the forefront of her mind; Her heart climbed into her throat, the increasing speed of the once steady thrumming becoming the loudest thing she could hear, a quickening sound of thunder in her head, cutting through the noise of the forest and the once deafening silence she'd awoken to. Panic seeped into her thoughts, tightened her grip upon the weapon in her hands, weakened the resolve of her legs to hold her up under the sudden pressure and weight of the situation as it bore down upon her; With all her might, she wished to scream, to use all the strength she could muster and all the air in her lungs to convey the sudden wave of fear that had struck her.
But nothing came out.
...As catapults are drawn. ♫
It took all she had just to hold the weapon in front of her, to hold that white knuckle grip upon the heavy piece of lead; She knew exactly what would happen if she let go of it, if she ever left herself without a weapon, without a means to protect herself. Despite this, she couldn't summon the strength to do anything but stand there, fear holding her legs in place and a wavering will the only thing keeping her standing; In that moment, she wanted nothing more than for someone to reveal themselves, for a guardian angel to come forth, for all of this to suddenly disappear and for everything to be alright again. But that wasn't going to happen, nobody was going to suddenly appear to save her, not her parents or her siblings, not her friends and not even... not even Tony. She didn't know why everything started to blur at first, or why her eyes stung and her cheeks were wet, but it didn't take long for her to realize that she had started to cry again.
Why now?
This was the last thing she wanted now, the last thing she needed to worry about and definitely the last thing she wanted to think about. But as she finally regained control of her legs, enough to take those first slow steps backwards, everything started to slip from the deeper places she had stashed them; All her worries of not going home, of not seeing her family again, of not being able to see Tony again. Especially after what had happened at prom, after everything she was wrestling with, after conflicting feelings and memories and what she wanted and what he wanted; But if she wanted to make it back, to see Tony again, to have the time to figure out what she wanted, she would have to fight for it and make her own path.
♪ I hold the key to what lies beyond. ♫
The path was set before her, just as it always had been, and the only thing that could change it, the only thing that could determine which way she went, was her choices; With her heart in her throat and a death grip upon her assigned weapon, she had to make a choice now, she had to choose how to deal with the situation in front of her and worry about the rest later. She was the only one who could decide what would happen, and was the only one who was capable of forging that path; If she wanted to make it out, to see Tony, to feel his arms wrap around her and to feel safer than she ever did since waking up in this hell, she would have to make the right choices. This 'game' and these choices had a price.
♪ A price paid in blood. ♫
Slowly, her grip upon the pipe loosened, her arms lowering the weapon from its previous position; Her muscles had strained to keep it steady, and now they strained to obey her commands, to loosen and relax. She struggled to regain her composure, to keep breathing normally, to force her heart out of her throat so she could speak and respond; She didn't know how much time had passed, how long she had stared at the boy with tear soaked eyes and weapon bared, but she knew that she had to make a choice. She could fight, pay the price of this 'game' and that choice with the blood of others, or she could avoid that; She could talk, try to avoid the worst until she had no choice, and hope that she wouldn't regret that decision.
"I... sorry. You kind of surprised me."
An apology for the bared weapon, as she took a hand from the lead pipe she'd been assigned and wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping he hadn't seen, that no one would have to see that; She'd made her decision early not to cry, not to break down and give in to everything that was weighing upon her, and she had to stick to that decision. With cleared vision and her choice made, she stepped forward, regaining the space she'd ceded in her panic just moments earlier; It was dark, but not too dark that she couldn't make out the person before her, though it took a little longer than she had hoped. She couldn't help but smile, almost laugh, when she remembered the name that matched the face and the first thing that came to mind when she heard that name.
"Raynor, right? Like the guy from that computer game?"
She didn't know why that was the first thing that came to mind or why she had blurted it out, but it was too late to try and prevent the slip of her tongue; She just hoped that anything she said, everything she said, didn't come 'round to bite her in the ass later on. But she kept the smile on her face, trying to seem as friendly as she could with tear stained eyes and a pipe in her hand, on a island that might as well be part of hell, a missing level from Dante's tale. She hoped she wouldn't regret her choices, her decision so far to lower her guard, to try and diffuse what was already a terrible situation for everyone involved. But she had made her choice, and every choice had a price of blood in this place.
♪ Just pray that blood is not yours. ♫
"Are you the only one out here? I thought... Nevermind."
I could have sworn there were two people here...
Sofia had gotten lost in her own world of seething anger and hatred for everything that lead to her current situation, cursing and spitting and lashing out at every thought that came to mind with the rage that filled her veins and bled into her mind; She paid very little to where she was going by this point, or how far she had gotten from where she started, but she snapped out of it as another voice slipped into her mind. Someone was there, someone was nearby, closer than she had been comfortable with and a lot closer than the silhouettes she'd spotted earlier; With a tightening grip upon the metal pipe in her hands, she snapped to attention, swinging around to face the source of the last thing she wanted to hear.
♪ Awaiting the first strike...
All her anger, all her rage and seething hatred, all the things she didn't want to think about and all the things she didn't want to worry about, all came rushing to the forefront of her mind; Her heart climbed into her throat, the increasing speed of the once steady thrumming becoming the loudest thing she could hear, a quickening sound of thunder in her head, cutting through the noise of the forest and the once deafening silence she'd awoken to. Panic seeped into her thoughts, tightened her grip upon the weapon in her hands, weakened the resolve of her legs to hold her up under the sudden pressure and weight of the situation as it bore down upon her; With all her might, she wished to scream, to use all the strength she could muster and all the air in her lungs to convey the sudden wave of fear that had struck her.
But nothing came out.
...As catapults are drawn. ♫
It took all she had just to hold the weapon in front of her, to hold that white knuckle grip upon the heavy piece of lead; She knew exactly what would happen if she let go of it, if she ever left herself without a weapon, without a means to protect herself. Despite this, she couldn't summon the strength to do anything but stand there, fear holding her legs in place and a wavering will the only thing keeping her standing; In that moment, she wanted nothing more than for someone to reveal themselves, for a guardian angel to come forth, for all of this to suddenly disappear and for everything to be alright again. But that wasn't going to happen, nobody was going to suddenly appear to save her, not her parents or her siblings, not her friends and not even... not even Tony. She didn't know why everything started to blur at first, or why her eyes stung and her cheeks were wet, but it didn't take long for her to realize that she had started to cry again.
Why now?
This was the last thing she wanted now, the last thing she needed to worry about and definitely the last thing she wanted to think about. But as she finally regained control of her legs, enough to take those first slow steps backwards, everything started to slip from the deeper places she had stashed them; All her worries of not going home, of not seeing her family again, of not being able to see Tony again. Especially after what had happened at prom, after everything she was wrestling with, after conflicting feelings and memories and what she wanted and what he wanted; But if she wanted to make it back, to see Tony again, to have the time to figure out what she wanted, she would have to fight for it and make her own path.
♪ I hold the key to what lies beyond. ♫
The path was set before her, just as it always had been, and the only thing that could change it, the only thing that could determine which way she went, was her choices; With her heart in her throat and a death grip upon her assigned weapon, she had to make a choice now, she had to choose how to deal with the situation in front of her and worry about the rest later. She was the only one who could decide what would happen, and was the only one who was capable of forging that path; If she wanted to make it out, to see Tony, to feel his arms wrap around her and to feel safer than she ever did since waking up in this hell, she would have to make the right choices. This 'game' and these choices had a price.
♪ A price paid in blood. ♫
Slowly, her grip upon the pipe loosened, her arms lowering the weapon from its previous position; Her muscles had strained to keep it steady, and now they strained to obey her commands, to loosen and relax. She struggled to regain her composure, to keep breathing normally, to force her heart out of her throat so she could speak and respond; She didn't know how much time had passed, how long she had stared at the boy with tear soaked eyes and weapon bared, but she knew that she had to make a choice. She could fight, pay the price of this 'game' and that choice with the blood of others, or she could avoid that; She could talk, try to avoid the worst until she had no choice, and hope that she wouldn't regret that decision.
"I... sorry. You kind of surprised me."
An apology for the bared weapon, as she took a hand from the lead pipe she'd been assigned and wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping he hadn't seen, that no one would have to see that; She'd made her decision early not to cry, not to break down and give in to everything that was weighing upon her, and she had to stick to that decision. With cleared vision and her choice made, she stepped forward, regaining the space she'd ceded in her panic just moments earlier; It was dark, but not too dark that she couldn't make out the person before her, though it took a little longer than she had hoped. She couldn't help but smile, almost laugh, when she remembered the name that matched the face and the first thing that came to mind when she heard that name.
"Raynor, right? Like the guy from that computer game?"
She didn't know why that was the first thing that came to mind or why she had blurted it out, but it was too late to try and prevent the slip of her tongue; She just hoped that anything she said, everything she said, didn't come 'round to bite her in the ass later on. But she kept the smile on her face, trying to seem as friendly as she could with tear stained eyes and a pipe in her hand, on a island that might as well be part of hell, a missing level from Dante's tale. She hoped she wouldn't regret her choices, her decision so far to lower her guard, to try and diffuse what was already a terrible situation for everyone involved. But she had made her choice, and every choice had a price of blood in this place.
♪ Just pray that blood is not yours. ♫
"Are you the only one out here? I thought... Nevermind."
I could have sworn there were two people here...
-
Sister Grimm*
- Posts: 172
- Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:38 am
It never occurred to Micheal that the rest of the Bayview students would forget about playing the game so immediately. For him, the idea of playing along with that bastard voice on the speaker in the cafeteria was so alien, it wasn't even worth thinking about. After all, these people were, if not his friends, his acquaintances. He may not like them, in fact he was sure he didn't, but killing them? That was alien and ridiculous. His classmates weren't killers. They may be many things, but they weren't killers. If he couldn't believe in that, what else was there? That everybody he ran into was just waiting to frag him? No thanks. Paranoia, you can frak off.
So, when the girl's reaction to his sudden appearance was less then overjoyed, he wasn't too concerned. Maybe he was curious at her reasoning, but he wasn't that concerned. He would just smooth things over, explain he didn't mean her any harm. She was cared, was all. No problemo. Micheal took a step forward, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. "Hey, easy. I'm cool." Was Sofia a spaz in school? Well,k not so much a spaz, but was she the nervous type? What he was getting at, would she kill him, because he'd surprised her? He really hopped not. Not only did he want to stay alive, but that would be a really gorramn stupid way to die.
"Hey, really, relax." Micheal offered a reassuring smile, a smile that faded as he saw the white-knuckled grip on that lead pipe and the tears streaming down her face. Now that he was closer, he was really wishing he'd maybe waited before approaching her. This girl was obviously pretty shaken, and maybe not even in her right mind. Fair enough, he guessed. This really wasn't the type of situation you prepared for. All the same, sympathy or no, he was starting to regret rushing in like this. Assuming this girl didn't smash his skull right here, he'd be sure not to be so rash in the future.
The possible ramifications of this situation slowly started to sink in when it was apparent the girl wasn't going to back down. He might die, right here. It was a lot to take in. To be honest, he always expected growing old and dying in his old age, maybe soon before or after his beloved wife. Naturally, that type of thinking was typical for everyone outside the suicidal. No one expected they would be murdered, or that they'd perish in some terrible accident. Facing the very real possibility right in front of him was hard to process. Considering that, it was maybe excusable that he didn't remember his own weapon as he stared at her in petrified silence. It wasn't likely he'd have been able to bring his own weapon up in time, anyway, so it was probably for the best.
When Sofia did relax, Micheal let out an open sigh of relief and released the tension he didn't even realize he was holding in. She didn't seem like she was going to kill him, and that was good enough at the moment. "Geez, you didn't brain me, all is forgiven." He said with a shaky grin. Even in the fading light, he caught her smile, and he thought for a second that she was smiling because it was as comforting to her as it was to him that neither of them were dead. When she did speak again, he had to admit his surprise. A Starcraft reference? Oh, that was bonus points if he ever knew them. Affecting a horrendous southern drawl, Micheal grinned as he spoke. "This is Jimmy." Back his normal voice, Micheal continued. "Micheal, actually. If you didn't know, I mean."
With the ice hopefully broken and with Sofia hopefully not planning to kill him, Micheal took a second to view his surroundings. She was right, he'd caught at least two voices as he was moving in. "Now that you mention it..." He couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean they were alone. "I did get the impression that there were others out and about. Here's hoping that they're friendly too, huh?"
So, when the girl's reaction to his sudden appearance was less then overjoyed, he wasn't too concerned. Maybe he was curious at her reasoning, but he wasn't that concerned. He would just smooth things over, explain he didn't mean her any harm. She was cared, was all. No problemo. Micheal took a step forward, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. "Hey, easy. I'm cool." Was Sofia a spaz in school? Well,k not so much a spaz, but was she the nervous type? What he was getting at, would she kill him, because he'd surprised her? He really hopped not. Not only did he want to stay alive, but that would be a really gorramn stupid way to die.
"Hey, really, relax." Micheal offered a reassuring smile, a smile that faded as he saw the white-knuckled grip on that lead pipe and the tears streaming down her face. Now that he was closer, he was really wishing he'd maybe waited before approaching her. This girl was obviously pretty shaken, and maybe not even in her right mind. Fair enough, he guessed. This really wasn't the type of situation you prepared for. All the same, sympathy or no, he was starting to regret rushing in like this. Assuming this girl didn't smash his skull right here, he'd be sure not to be so rash in the future.
The possible ramifications of this situation slowly started to sink in when it was apparent the girl wasn't going to back down. He might die, right here. It was a lot to take in. To be honest, he always expected growing old and dying in his old age, maybe soon before or after his beloved wife. Naturally, that type of thinking was typical for everyone outside the suicidal. No one expected they would be murdered, or that they'd perish in some terrible accident. Facing the very real possibility right in front of him was hard to process. Considering that, it was maybe excusable that he didn't remember his own weapon as he stared at her in petrified silence. It wasn't likely he'd have been able to bring his own weapon up in time, anyway, so it was probably for the best.
When Sofia did relax, Micheal let out an open sigh of relief and released the tension he didn't even realize he was holding in. She didn't seem like she was going to kill him, and that was good enough at the moment. "Geez, you didn't brain me, all is forgiven." He said with a shaky grin. Even in the fading light, he caught her smile, and he thought for a second that she was smiling because it was as comforting to her as it was to him that neither of them were dead. When she did speak again, he had to admit his surprise. A Starcraft reference? Oh, that was bonus points if he ever knew them. Affecting a horrendous southern drawl, Micheal grinned as he spoke. "This is Jimmy." Back his normal voice, Micheal continued. "Micheal, actually. If you didn't know, I mean."
With the ice hopefully broken and with Sofia hopefully not planning to kill him, Micheal took a second to view his surroundings. She was right, he'd caught at least two voices as he was moving in. "Now that you mention it..." He couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean they were alone. "I did get the impression that there were others out and about. Here's hoping that they're friendly too, huh?"
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
They'd seen her. She hadn't hidden well enough. Or maybe that fatass hadn't. Damn it. Jackie looked over at the girl crouched down next to her, breathing heavily and clutching her inhaler. Oh great, asthma. THAT'll help a lot. The girl's breathing could not have been any louder at that moment. But as Jackie kept looking at the inhaler, a different feeling tugged at the edges of her conscious- her conscience, perhaps. It was the same feeling she had when she adopted animals. You can't do that now, you can't even protect yourself! Right. Jackie looked back at the pair standing mere yards away. Did they seem alright? That girl seemed pretty skittish, but the guy had acted friendly. The problem was, they both had weapons. Crap.
Well, if they knew she was there, she'd have to come out at some point. Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it. This was NOT going well. "Here goes nothing," she muttered to her companion as she rose.
For a split second Jackie thought to grab the chain again, but she decided not to- this would be a train wreck with or without a pathetic improvised weapon.
"I- my name's Jackie. If you don't recognize me, I mean." Now what? Um... "I mean, I'm not really good with names so
I figure it'd-" She was rambling. Come on, wrap it up. "Anyway. If you're actually friendly, good. But if you try anything, I will hurt you." Her mind went back to her companion behind the log. No, don't. She still has a chance to get out of here.
"So uh, who are you guys?"
They'd seen her. She hadn't hidden well enough. Or maybe that fatass hadn't. Damn it. Jackie looked over at the girl crouched down next to her, breathing heavily and clutching her inhaler. Oh great, asthma. THAT'll help a lot. The girl's breathing could not have been any louder at that moment. But as Jackie kept looking at the inhaler, a different feeling tugged at the edges of her conscious- her conscience, perhaps. It was the same feeling she had when she adopted animals. You can't do that now, you can't even protect yourself! Right. Jackie looked back at the pair standing mere yards away. Did they seem alright? That girl seemed pretty skittish, but the guy had acted friendly. The problem was, they both had weapons. Crap.
Well, if they knew she was there, she'd have to come out at some point. Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it. This was NOT going well. "Here goes nothing," she muttered to her companion as she rose.
For a split second Jackie thought to grab the chain again, but she decided not to- this would be a train wreck with or without a pathetic improvised weapon.
"I- my name's Jackie. If you don't recognize me, I mean." Now what? Um... "I mean, I'm not really good with names so
I figure it'd-" She was rambling. Come on, wrap it up. "Anyway. If you're actually friendly, good. But if you try anything, I will hurt you." Her mind went back to her companion behind the log. No, don't. She still has a chance to get out of here.
"So uh, who are you guys?"
She knew it wouldn't work. Why had they even tried to hide? It was pointless. They'd probably already seen them before they'd even hidden, or heard her stepping on the leaves, or something.
Allie kept her head down, crouching as low as she could nonetheless. Best for them to think that she wasn't moving, she guessed. In hindsight, she would probably had no idea why she thought that, but for now, it seemed like a good idea.
Allie poked her head around the corner of the log, using her good arm to support her unsteady frame. Crap. Two people. They looked like they were just talking, but Allie figured you could never be too careful, right? She ducked back into her cover. She needed something to defend herself if anything happened. In her mind, something happening was a certainty at this point. Allie felt around on the floor with her good hand, her fingers curling around a small rock. She was always a terrible thrower, but it would have to do. Not like there was anything else lying around that she could use with one good arm.
The other girl started shouting at them. Apparently, her name was Jackie. Allie got the feeling that even if she'd been in school more often the name still probably wouldn't ring a bell.
Jackie was... asking for them to come over? Wasn't that what they were trying to avoid? Great, she couldn't make her mind up. Well, she sounded a bit... mixed about calling them over, even as she was saying it, going from inviting them over to threatening them in a single breath. She sounded like she needed some help, really. Allie decided to chip in at least something, considering that she figured she was at least a tiny bit more threatening-looking than Jackie was.
"Yeah!" Allie said, trying to make her voice sound as threatening as possible. It didn't quite work. "And I'll, er, throw this rock at you!"
Allie kept her head down, crouching as low as she could nonetheless. Best for them to think that she wasn't moving, she guessed. In hindsight, she would probably had no idea why she thought that, but for now, it seemed like a good idea.
Allie poked her head around the corner of the log, using her good arm to support her unsteady frame. Crap. Two people. They looked like they were just talking, but Allie figured you could never be too careful, right? She ducked back into her cover. She needed something to defend herself if anything happened. In her mind, something happening was a certainty at this point. Allie felt around on the floor with her good hand, her fingers curling around a small rock. She was always a terrible thrower, but it would have to do. Not like there was anything else lying around that she could use with one good arm.
The other girl started shouting at them. Apparently, her name was Jackie. Allie got the feeling that even if she'd been in school more often the name still probably wouldn't ring a bell.
Jackie was... asking for them to come over? Wasn't that what they were trying to avoid? Great, she couldn't make her mind up. Well, she sounded a bit... mixed about calling them over, even as she was saying it, going from inviting them over to threatening them in a single breath. She sounded like she needed some help, really. Allie decided to chip in at least something, considering that she figured she was at least a tiny bit more threatening-looking than Jackie was.
"Yeah!" Allie said, trying to make her voice sound as threatening as possible. It didn't quite work. "And I'll, er, throw this rock at you!"
With a soft smile and her mind at ease, at least more so than it had been, Sofia relaxed and let the tension in her muscles drain away; She couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness, of the idea that she should never drop her guard completely, but for now, with the thought that he wasn't going to suddenly attack her, she relaxed. She even laughed, however slightly, at his response to her comment, enjoying that moment of peace and enjoying that it made her feel as if everything was going to be alright, that nothing had really changed; As if they had never really left school, with the pop culture humor and the awkward moments, with the bad jokes and teenagers just being teenagers. It was nice, no matter how long or short it lasted.
They spoke for a moment, trading brief suspicions of who could be around, if there indeed was someone else around; She knew she saw silhouettes when she was still a fair distance away, but now she was starting to doubt her once adamant assumptions. They could have been trees or bushes or even the shadows playing tricks on her mind, on her eyes; After all, she hadn't seen or heard anyone run away, hadn't noticed any quickly darting silhouettes behind the trees and near the bushes she could make out. It really could have just been the shadows playing a trick, with the light from above peeking through the canopy of branches and leaves.
"So, do you know wh-"
In the middle of her sentence, in the middle of asking Micheal a question, there was movement a short distance away; A voice and someone standing up suddenly, something Sofia hadn't expected. She had been right before, she shouldn't have assumed she was wrong when she hadn't seen anybody when she got closer, but now it was too late and she was... she was... falling. Tripping, to be precise, in her frantic attempt to back away from and turn towards the suddenly appearing girl; She'd had time enough to point the lead pipe out at the girl before she hit the detritus covered ground.
"Holy crap!"
Not the best way to approach a new presence, falling on her butt and shouting as she did, but there was little she could do about that now; She had to act fast, she had to recover from her short drop and sudden stop. Scrambling to her feet, she backed up, holding the weapon out in front of her with both her hands, her white knuckle grip returning as she stared at the girl, listened as she spoke; Her name was Jackie, not that introductions were completely necessary. She wanted them to be friendly, which was understandable... and then she made a threat, making herself appear non-so-friendly; While at first fearful, Sofia was just slightly confused now, especially since the girl didn't appear to have any weapon to speak of and she was threatening Sofia, an admittedly tomboyish girl with a lead pipe.
And then, the second voice chimed in with a threat of... a rock.
"....You're kidding, right?"
She was supposed to the scared of that? Of a girl with nothing, of another with a rock, hiding behind an old log; Sofia realized then that she was probably going to be much more intimidating than either of them, that the boy nearby was probably more intimidating than both of the girls. She didn't need to be scared, didn't need to be fearful of everyone she met; She wasn't the only one who was afraid, who was fearing for her life. Everyone was. No one really wanted to hurt their friends, they were all just scared and alone and just like her.
"Come out from there. We're not going to hurt you. And I doubt you'll hurt us."
Sofia let her arms drop back to her sides as she shook off her doubt and made her decision.
She smiled.
"It's okay. Everything will be alright."
They spoke for a moment, trading brief suspicions of who could be around, if there indeed was someone else around; She knew she saw silhouettes when she was still a fair distance away, but now she was starting to doubt her once adamant assumptions. They could have been trees or bushes or even the shadows playing tricks on her mind, on her eyes; After all, she hadn't seen or heard anyone run away, hadn't noticed any quickly darting silhouettes behind the trees and near the bushes she could make out. It really could have just been the shadows playing a trick, with the light from above peeking through the canopy of branches and leaves.
"So, do you know wh-"
In the middle of her sentence, in the middle of asking Micheal a question, there was movement a short distance away; A voice and someone standing up suddenly, something Sofia hadn't expected. She had been right before, she shouldn't have assumed she was wrong when she hadn't seen anybody when she got closer, but now it was too late and she was... she was... falling. Tripping, to be precise, in her frantic attempt to back away from and turn towards the suddenly appearing girl; She'd had time enough to point the lead pipe out at the girl before she hit the detritus covered ground.
"Holy crap!"
Not the best way to approach a new presence, falling on her butt and shouting as she did, but there was little she could do about that now; She had to act fast, she had to recover from her short drop and sudden stop. Scrambling to her feet, she backed up, holding the weapon out in front of her with both her hands, her white knuckle grip returning as she stared at the girl, listened as she spoke; Her name was Jackie, not that introductions were completely necessary. She wanted them to be friendly, which was understandable... and then she made a threat, making herself appear non-so-friendly; While at first fearful, Sofia was just slightly confused now, especially since the girl didn't appear to have any weapon to speak of and she was threatening Sofia, an admittedly tomboyish girl with a lead pipe.
And then, the second voice chimed in with a threat of... a rock.
"....You're kidding, right?"
She was supposed to the scared of that? Of a girl with nothing, of another with a rock, hiding behind an old log; Sofia realized then that she was probably going to be much more intimidating than either of them, that the boy nearby was probably more intimidating than both of the girls. She didn't need to be scared, didn't need to be fearful of everyone she met; She wasn't the only one who was afraid, who was fearing for her life. Everyone was. No one really wanted to hurt their friends, they were all just scared and alone and just like her.
"Come out from there. We're not going to hurt you. And I doubt you'll hurt us."
Sofia let her arms drop back to her sides as she shook off her doubt and made her decision.
She smiled.
"It's okay. Everything will be alright."