Drifting...

[Megami*]

(Continued from the Gazebo.)

Clouds of dust danced and twirled through the air as they were kicked up by Lyndi's tennis shoes. From the gazebo, she had wandered along until she found this dirt path. Now, she was following it. She was unsure of where she was going, but at this point, it did not matter. A soft, subtle sound escaped from Lyndi's lips as she wandered slowly down the old dusty path. The sounds began to form a string of notes. She was humming. It was almost inaudible, but Lyndi was most assuredly humming.

The tune was the same as the song her mother used to sing to her when she was a very small child, way before Barry Coleson High School, and way before moving to New York, for that matter. Somehow, the tune soothed her nerves. Lyndi was almost completely oblivious to her surroundings as she walked. She was lost in thought.

A tall blonde-headed woman sat at a kitchen table with a young brown-haired child on her lap. A map was sprawled out on the table in front of the two, and the woman appeared to be showing the child something.

"Look, Lyndi. That's where Daddy got his new job. It's in New York. That's where we're going to move," the woman narrated as her finger traced over the state of New York.

"But that's a long ways away!" the small child protested, "Will I still be able to see Grandma every day? What about my friends? Is Jared coming too? When will we come back home?"

The woman scowled slightly, unsure of how to answer the child's questions. After a brief pause, she began to speak slowly, as if deliberately calculating her words to transmit her message to Lyndi.

"Well, hun... no, we won't get to see grandma every day anymore. Or your friends. But we'll be able to write to them and e-mail them... and you can call them. Me and you and Daddy and Jared are going to be in New York for a very long time. Daddy got a new job up there, so now we have to go live up there. Do you understand?"

That fleeting image passed through Lyndi's head as she trudged down the dirt path. That scene seemed like something from a book now. It had been so long ago since the Thibodeaux family had moved to New York. Now, she would probably never get to see New York again. She would never see her family, her friends, her home...

"Beat the Panthers!" resounded from the football field, followed by thousands of high school kids clapping and chanting. Barry Coleson had a football game that night against another school near there. A much older Lyndi now stood in a row with about a dozen other cheerleaders. She remembered this pep rally. Lyndi took off in a set of back handsprings across the football field. She hit every one of them on the mark... until... a sickening pop echoed out from the football field as Lyndi fell to the ground in tears. Her leg lay beside her like it was not even attached, angled funny. Somehow, by some fluke of nature, she had landed on it wrong. This day had been a momentous one in Lyndi's life. It was on this day that she messed up her knee, and it was after this day that she was required to wear a knee brace for so long.

Absently tugging at her shorts as they rode up slighly, Lyndi continued her long hike down the dirt path. Images of her past raced through her mind. All these things she had taken for granted, and now she would probably never get to experience any of these things again. She sighed sadly under her breath. Her thoughts went back to her family and her friends. She spoke up, asking a question to no one in particular that she never expected to be answered.

"I... wonder if they're thinking about me," she murmured.

Lyndi continued her walk, completely oblivious as to any of her surrounding or even where she was going, for that matter. Something told her to stay far away from the buildings on the island. It seemed as if everyone would go there in search of shelter and supplies. Maybe... it was a morbid thought but... maybe if they all kill each other, maybe she could go home and see her family again.

[Swoosh*]

((Coming from: G50 - Let it Bleed))

The pain in Callum's chest was immense, but he ignored it for now. He couldn't afford to stop running, not for one second. Not while Beth was still out on the island. He just kept running.

It felt like he had been running forever. The events at the Bamboo coppice had seemed like so long ago now. He vaguely wondered if Cillian had attacked anyone else, before feeling a slight pang of guilt about his apathy towards that situation. Although, perhaps when Beth was safe and well, he could go back and maybe kick him a couple of times. Just, you know. To teach him a lesson. That boy had made Callum feel a fury that he had never experienced before, surely he had it coming. His thoughts drifted off and his pace slowed down...

...Callum shook his head, annoyed at his digression. Looking around him, he saw a girl standing not to far away from him. His eyes widened as he quickly glanced her up and down, to his dismay he realised this girl was not Beth. She looked like she was alone. The pain in his chest was unbearable now as his body struggled to recover from his marathon stint, but regardless, he moved forward slightly, breathing heavily, sweat moving freely down his forehead.

"E-excuse me," he managed. "Have you seen Beth, by any chance? I need to find her..."

[Megami*]

Startled by the sudden appearance of another student, Lyndi stumbled backward, falling down into the dirt. She had been completely oblivious to her surroundings, and she was certainly lucky that it had not cost her her life. But... why had it not? She scanned the sweat covered young man in front of her who was gasping for air, letting it all sink in. He could have killed her just then, and she never would have seen it coming.

Snapping back to reality, she paused for a moment, continuing to eye the boy up and down. As he inquired about the location of some girl named "Beth", Lyndi became even more confused. She had not seen anyone. No one alive, at least. And no one named Beth. Who was this boy? He certainly did not look familiar.

"I'm sorry," Lyndi finally spoke up in an almost inaudible tone, "I've only seen one person since I got here and she... wasn't alive anymore. But, it wasn't your Beth."

Pushing herself up onto the palms of her hands, Lyndi used them as a prop to rise back to her feet. She brushed the dirt off of her clothing, still looking at the young man in front of her. She certainly did not recognize him. Did he go to Barry Coleson?

"My name's Lyndi," she said cautiously, "Lyndi Thibodeaux. I'm sorry, I don't know who you are. Did you go to Barry Coleson with me?"

Watching the boy as she spoke, Lyndi made a visual account of what she saw. He was wheezing and out of breath like he had been running. What would persuade you to run on this island... unless... had he been in trouble? He had a few scrapes and bruises, but she herself had scrapped her knees on several accounts already, so that was no indicator of any physical conflict. Suddenly, a thought occured to her.

"Uhm... you aren't... playing, are you?" she quickly inquired.

If he were playing, you'd be dead, you idiot. Still, Lyndi could not help but wonder how many people out there were playing. Seeing Dahlia's corpse when she first woke up had certainly shocked her, but just because one person killed Dahlia Riviera, that did not necessarily mean everyone here was playing... did it?

[Swoosh*]

Still heavily breathing, Callum felt his heart sink at the realisation that Beth was not here. He put his hands on his knees and bent over, keen on regaining his lost breath. He down up at the girl sat in front of him. It never once occured to him that maybe a courteous thing to do now would be to help her to her feet... his mind was too preoccupied with Beth. She had to be around somewhere... and he had to find her before someone else did. Biting his lip slightly, he began to wonder his next move, when the girl spoke again.

Pushing himself up so he was stood up straight, Callum shook his head thoughtfully.

"No, I don't go to that school," he said slowly, pushing his hair out of his eyes, feeling some sweat on his forehead as he did so. "I'm Callum."

"Uhm... you aren't... playing, are you?"

At this, Callum raised an eyebrow curiously. Playing? There was a game to be played? What was she talking about? He looked Lyndi, his head slightly to the side, always an indication that he was confused about something.

"We're playing a game? This is what this is? A game?"

His mind immediately filled up with questions. Who's playing this game? What are the rules? How do you win? What do you win? Who's idea was it to put an innocent girl on an island (he had seen the sea whilst running around on the island, and had come to the conclusion that they were on an island.) with a load of psycho killer types? Who was behind this? He looked at the girl with a quizzical expression on this face.

[Megami*]

This poor boy. They dropped him in this god awful place and didn't breathe a word to him about what was going on. Why wasn't he briefed? All the Barry Coleson kids were... Lyndi shuttered at the thought. She remembered the hijacking of the plane very vividly. She also remembered the young man getting his brains blown out for wearing his hat the wrong way.

Smiling half-heartedly at Callum, she began to hatch a plan. Sure, it probably was not the right thing to do, but given the circumstances... Lyndi looked Callum over once again. He was a cute guy. Not cute as in the starting quarterback of Barry Coleson High cute, but... cute as in little brother cute, or something. He looked almost child-like. What Lyndi could not help but notice was the weapon that gleamed from his fist... a pair of brass knuckles. It was not much, but she had no clue what weapon she had been assigned, and quite honestly, she had been far too afraid to check.

"Listen, Callum," Lyndi replied sweetly, "These bad men hijacked the plane I was on, and they dropped me off onto this island. There are bad people here. One of them killed a girl from my school. I-I saw her dead..."

Instinctively, Lyndi's eyes began to well up with tears. She was used to getting her way, no matter how much of an act she had to put on. She only had one shot at this. Better make this convincing, girl.

"The people here... they're trying to hurt us. All of us. I know you need to save Beth, but I need someone to save me too. I'll help you find her but... can I stay with you? I'm... so scared."

Tears began to stream down Lyndi's face. It was something she had done often enough. She was always kind of spoiled growing up, and her father could never stand to see her cry. It had always gotten her her way before. Besides, it wasn't like she was lying or anything. She was scared, she did need saved. She just hoped Callum would buy the act. She really would help him find this "Beth" he spoke of.

[riserugu*]

((Continued from the Makeshift Hospital; Arrival))

The pain emitting from his stomach and his shoulder had only dulled with the blood loss, though good in a sense the fact that it felt as if his whole body was on the verge of just collapsing on him was not. Stumbling through growth of green, he fought to find someone… anyone…

Fred had never been one to admit help, heck, being one of the better soccer players at Barry Coleson (beside Glenn, of course) as well as doing a better than average job at his academics he figured help from someone else was the last thing he’d ever need. But coming onto this island – he discovered that without help he probably would have never found his before mentioned brother.

Knowing him, if he hadn’t found the help he had he probably wound have sat, hiding somewhere, hoping for the best to come. Gasping in air as he coughed the slight taste of blood from when he had bit his tongue when he had been shot floating about in his mouth. Giving the most wrenching and worst tastes he had, had thus far in life.

Finding himself tripping over his own feet a couple of times, he finally wound himself on a worn, and no doubt, man-made path… he remembering from his map in seeing the path that traveled from one end of the island to the other. He had never figured of taking this way in his travels, one it being a danger zone for a good long while… and second it was far to out in the open for his tastes.

But at this moment, on the verge of passing out as he pressed tighter against his worst wound he forced himself to walk again. Though as voices began to be picked up, he wondered if actually doing this was the best idea. Whoever had shot at them clearly hadn’t followed him. He was hoping that the rest of everyone could and had taken care of the bastard.

Shaking off all worries and concerns, Fred continued following the voices till the blurry figures of two people appeared in the near distance. And, once again, without much thought picked up into a quick walk toward the two. But as he did he finally felt all the strength left in him leave in a single moment, sending the sandy haired boy chest-first against the dirt covered ground. A gasp of pain escaping his throat as the impact sent waves of pain from the wound in his belly all over his body.

“Bloody… fucking… great…” He found himself muttering softly, as he placed both hands against the ground and began to push up fighting to get onto his feet once again.

[Kuze*]

((Continued from: Dude! FORTIFIED! Pt. 2))

Shinya wandered onto a dirt path holding his Colt M1911 in his right hand and his sword in its sheath. Eventually wandering upon a small group of people, two he has seen around school, a Jock and a bimbo Cheerleader.

"some new weapons ilike that idea"

Shinya mumbled underneith his breath as he walked towards them. blatently not caring if they saw of heard him.

(sorry short post but my eyes hurt)

[Megami*]

In the seconds that she had awaited Callum's response, Lyndi had been oblivious to the new figure joining the scene. She remained clueless as the Hughes boy approached herself and Callum... that is, until he collapsed to the ground, making a loud pounding noise against it as he did so. Lyndi's eyes immediately averted from Callum and were cast onto the newcomer to their little party. He looked familiar.

"C'mon Callum!" she exclaimed, "We have to help him!"

Lyndi jogged over to where the young man was doubled over onto the ground. She recognized him almost immediately. He was one of the Hughes boys. She could never tell them apart, but she knew who they were. After all, both of them were very talented young athletes. The boy appeared to be in a massive amount of pain. Of course, she did not understand why. She had not seen the gunshot wound... somehow.

"Are you okay?" Lyndi inquired gently.

Should she try to help the young man to his feet? Perhaps it was not the best idea. She knelt down beside him, hoping that Callum would come along and offer his assistance. Lyndi herself would probably be of little help, the worst injury she had ever incurred had been that knee injury she sustained during that fateful pep rally. The Hughes boy seemed to be in a genuine amount of pain, though. Lyndi was so preoccupied with the new young man on the scene that she did not see the immanent danger that was quickly approaching.

[Swoosh*]

Callum stared at Lyndi blankly as she explained their situation. So this was like a terrorist thing? It really was an act of sensless violence. He felt a surge of anger and balled his fists, although his face still appeared blank and non-chalant. He was about to say something when Lyndi began crying.

Taken aback, Callum blinked, panicking slightly. He had very little experience of dealing with girls, especially crying ones; he had never had any girlfriends, or even friends who were girls. His emotions instantly changed from fury and indignation to embarrassment. Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he went to say something comforting, something reassuring, only to find the words were unable to come. Should he hug her? Was this the kind of thing he was required to do in this situation? Or was that too much? What was he supposed to do?

Staring blankly at her for a few seconds, he eventually settled on giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and went to move forward, only to be interrupted by a figure falling to the ground some way away from him. He seemed badly injured (well, healthy people just don't collapse on the floor... Callum cursed his idiotic thoughts) As Lyndi rushed forward, he continued to just stand there, silent and motionless.

This was all too much for him. People were... people were being hurt and killed all over this island because of someone's sick 'game'? It was incomprehendable, and it filled him with anger, burning away at him like flames. For a while, Callum knew nothing else. He didn't understand why he was there, why everyone else was there, and why such an atrocisty was allowed to be carried out. All he knew was his fury.

It was at the sound of Lyndi's voice that Callum was jolted back to reality. The girl was knelt down beside the injured boy. He did look pretty messed up. Callum sighed and glanced over to his right.

Beth... I'm still coming. Stay safe for now...

As he turned to make his way over to where the boy lay, he spotted another figure not far off. This figure was holding a gun and a sword. Reacting quickly, he shouted out.

"Lyndi, look out!!"

If Lyndi needed looking after, Callum would act as her guardian. She needed him like Beth needed him. He began to run towards the boy.

[Kuze*]

Shinya's eyes open wider as the boy yelled and started running towards him, This seems really similar to the encounter at the Ravine. Raising his M1911 he aimed it at the running boy, volentarilly shaking to make it seem like he was scared out of his wits.

"Get back! Don't force me to shoot. I mean it."

Shinya slightly backed away from the boy as he spoke. Untill the announcement rang out listing a long list of the dead, a very long one, and the two danger zones. the Hospital, and the Wherehouse. Neither concerned him at the moment.

(yeah couldve been longer but quickie post.)

[riserugu*]

Pressing both hand against the ground, he tried to push himself onto his knees as if doing a push-up, up found the pain coming into the left shoulder from the bullet wound was keeping him from doing much of anything with his left arm. And after a minute once against collapsed against the ground…

Though as footsteps began to thud against the dirt ground, he felt his mind sift into worry if the people he noticed where really killers and if so the thoughts of what they’d do to someone as injured as he was at this point. But when inside the voice of a girl came through, he glanced upward at the face of a familiar girl.

A cheerleader he had remembered from school, a girl he had no doubt and still did (though of course he wouldn’t tell anyone) found to be quite pretty in his opinion. Not because of the typically a jock always has to like a cheerleader type-thing, but just because that’s how he had felt… that and see was talented.

Though he did vividly remember he accident with her knee… least hearing about it. He also remember sharing a class or two with the girl. Though happy still to see a familiar face, he smiled just a bit. “Hey… Lyndi…” He muttered, “I’m actually quite fine, besides the fact I got shot a good two times… they aren’t the nicest felt things in the world.”

But soon after the smile faded as a voice broke out from near them, and another set of footsteps took of into a run before a third voice rang out. Treating to shoot the other… though he sounded scared… it sounded almost… unreal, and fake in a way.

But thoughts switched again, as the newest announcement came on... showing off a long list of deaths. His heart almost stopping when he heard of the newest danger zones at the warehouse, and the hospital where he had left everyone.

'Please... get out of there.'

[Swoosh*]

Callum skidded to a halt as the boy's gun was raised. He may have been furious, but he wasn't irrational yet.

"Ok. If I back off, you promise you won't shoot those two," Callum said fiercely.

The announcement had rang out for all to hear. Callum was listening to the names, remaining fairly stoic as none of them meant anything to him, and then he heard it.

42nd, Jayne Brown, by Jason Andrews.

Jayne... she had been one of the first people he had met on his time on the island. He tried to remember her face... he hadn't left her that long ago but it seemed like an eternity. And she was now dead. Was it his fault she had died? If he had stayed with her, instead of taking off in pursuit of Beth, would she have still been alive now? He clenched his fists in anger and frustration.

This was a sick game. This was beyond inhumane. Callum glared at the floor, bitter tears starting to form. Why did people have to die like this? He just wanted to save everyone. The list of names had now finished being read out, and Callum looked up at the boy.

"Would you really be willing to use that thing?" he asked hoarsely. "Would you be killing to just needlessly kill people? Would you??"

((ugh sorry, I'm a little tired from work))

[Megami*]

As the Hughes boy spoke to her, Lyndi could not help but feel bad. Now... which one IS he? Should I ask? The thought quickly vanished from her mind as the list of the dead was read off from the announcement. A nauseated feeling suddenly came over her. The harsh reality of this game had already set in, but Lyndi certainly did not realize how many people on this island would and had killed to survive.

As the announcement finished, Lyndi remained in her kneeled position near Fred, turning her attention toward Callum and the new boy who had appeared on the scene. She had been so distraught over Fred's injury that she had yet to pay much attention to the scenario unfolding in front of her. Now, though, it had her full attention, and she certainly did not like the way that things were looking.

She looked the new, rather mysterious-looking figure over. Who was he? Did he go to high school with her? He had long, dark black hair. It seemed like she had seen him a few times, passed by him in the hallway or something. Suddenly, it clicked. He was that weird kid who sat in the back of their math class... the one who always seemed annoyed by herself and the other cheerleaders.

She looked the boy over. What was his name? Shinjo or something? Lyndi shrugged off the thought, it really did not matter. Somehow, she was getting a bad feeling from this whole scenario. Callum appeared more and more frustrated and upset as he yelled at the newcomer in a vain attempt to protect herself and the Hughes boy. Fred himself was not in good condition, and Lyndi was pretty much useless. Despite that fact, this new boy was armed, and something about him gave Lyndi the creeps.

"I think we need to get out of here," she mumbled to Fred. "Callum," she addressed him loudly, "Maybe we should leave. Listen, we don't want any trouble. No one here wants to hurt you. My friend here, he's hurt. We're just trying to find somewhere safe to go. Can't you just leave us alone? No one here wants to play this demented little game, okay?"

Her attempt at addressing the boy would probably be to no avail, but she had to try. Somehow, this new boy did not strike Lyndi as the type to swoon over appearances, so her words would probably have little impact. Either way, this situation was looking grim, and it certainly did not appear to be getting any better. In fact, the tension just kept on growing.

Lyndi's eyes wandered over to Fred. The poor boy could not stand up, much less run if need be. Callum... well... Callum seemed ready and prepared to fight this new boy, if need be. Even so, Callum seemed a little worn from his time on the island. In truth, Lyndi was in the best shape, physically, out of all of them, but what could she possibly do?

All at once, something else crossed Lyndi's mind. Why was she so wary of this boy, anyway? She didn't think Shuuyin, or whatever his name was, had been listed as a killer. Then again, it would help if she actually knew what the boy's name WAS. It started with an "S" and it was Oriental, but that was about the extent of Lyndi's knowledge. Maybe he had found those weapons on a body or something. It was a possibility, was it not? Maybe he was just scared, like them. Alarms and sirens were still going off in Lyndi's mind, though. Something just wasn't quite right...

[riserugu*]

Lying on the ground like that, he felt weaker than anytime in his life – coughing against the ground lightly, he pressed both of his hands against the ground, and once more fought to push himself up. Gritting teeth against pain he finally managed to get onto his knees, brushing blood and dirt covered fingers about the location of his wound in his stomach.

Sitting up now he was able to get a good view of the other two in the area, the only one concerning him was the dark-haired one with the gun. Blinking a little with his hazy eyesight, he fought to remember why the said boy looked so familiar to him.

It clocked slowly, but surely… he had seen the boy about the school halls, it was unclear to him at the moment as to if they had shared a class or not. That all but escaping his memory at the moment as he sat watching him. Hearing Lyndi mumble something to him, he glanced toward her lightly, nodding in agreement to leaving.

Fred looked back to the other two males, as Lyndi addressed the other boy he wasn’t familiar with… Callum was it? He watched the exchange as Lyndi changed from talking to Callum, to the boy with the gun… telling them they didn’t want to hurt him and wanted nothing more to leave.

Breathing in deeply, and noting the sharp bout of dizziness that came over in that moment, he pressed a hand to his head not caring of the dried blood or the dirt coating it. Feeling the warmth coming off his skin he frowned a bit casting a look to the one male… Shinji… Shingo… Shin-something-or-the-other, watching for his reaction.

[OnceForgotten*]

((ROOOOAAAARRRRing from Showdown at the Woods))

Cody Jenson flew down the dirth path, his scarf blowing in the wind behind him. He had a gun, and it was time. His destination was the small house, and he wanted to make good time getting there. He kept a sharp eye ahead of him for any travelers who may be on the path, knowing that it would be as good a place as any to ambush someone.

Gonna find Him, gonna kill Him, then I'm gonna killl those girls, then that long haired bastard...

Cody then noticed several people occupying the road ahead of him.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" He shouted, and as he did, he removed the pistol from the front of his pants, firing two shots in their direction, hoping to just scatter them.

He was not planning on killing anyone just yet.