run xian, run!!

[yumi22*]

((Continued from: The Threesome on the Move))

My fault...I killed him...allll my fauuuult... Xian half sings, half laughs as she runs away from the schoolhouse. Her face is twisted in a sick grin, combined with her eyes oggled wide in fear and panic. Flecks of drool outline her lips, as she runs along, not sure where she is going, or where she was coming from.

She bursts out from the dense forest, into a clearing. In front of her, she sees a decorated gazebo. Laughing, she runs to it, making the distance in a matter of seconds. Once inside the shaded gazeebo, she drops to the floor of it, her back pressed up against the hard walls, as she curls her knees to her, hugging herself tightly.

[Cactus]

((Continued from: Starting Place for Boy #33))

Cole Hudson wandered aimlessly, trying to find some semblance of building or shelter that he could hole up in, maybe try and gain some sort of strateigic advantage. After all, he figured, there was only so much range that a sledgehammer had, so if he were up against someone with a gun, he'd be in some hot water.

It wasn't before long that he came upon the gazebo. He raised his eyebrow at the tall structure in front of him, and figured that it was as good a place as any to come to. As Cole strode up to the gazebo, he heard a faint sound, almost like a whimpering. Instantly, he sprang to attention. Hefting the hammer, he slowly walked up to the gazebo. As he approached, he saw the curled up figure of Xian, clutching her knees in an almost-fetal like position.

Kill her, she's weak. Just pick up the hammer and bring it down...

Cole blinked in surprise. He wasn't a cold-blooded killer. He would kill those who gave him reason. This...this wasn't something he had a reason to do. Wreching his mind out from his internal struggle, he looked at the shaken girl in front of him, and did the only thing he could think of. He didn't recognize her right out, but he knew he had seen her before.

"Uh...hi?"

[yumi22*]

Xian didn't know how long she had been alone in the Gazebo...minutes, hours, days??? But, she had used that time to try and re-collect her thoughts, or more importantly, her mind itself. Things hadn't started off that bad, considering the position they had all been put in. Syd had scared her when her first pounced on her, but, in the end, he had turned out to be fairly harmless. But, if she had not lost it back in the schoolhouse, he might not have died.

Xian had realized that she didn't kill Syd, not directly at least. Tayli had come in, looking for her no doubt. There was a loud crack, and Syd laid there dying. Tayli shot him, there was no doubt about that, but Xian's actions had put Syd in that position. She didn't know if she could live that down, but she was going to try.

She had collected her bag, and was about to get up, when a new vocie starlted her. Quickly, she pulled the corkscrew from her jeans ,and held it at arms length. She looked up, into the eyes of a young boy, hardly taller then herself.

C..Cole....right? From the school newspaper...right? Y...you remember me...Xian..from the cheerleading squad? You had interviewed some of us once, remeber?

Xian stood to her full height, which was still a few inches shorter then Cole. She studied him carefully, looking to see what his intentions were.

I'm not playing....but...I warn you....Ill play if you force me to..I swear!!

[Cactus]

Cole took a second to mentally assess the situation. Sure, some of the cheerleaders had been downright rude to him, but from what he remembered, Xian had been one of the more pleasant ones. She had never spoken a word to him outside of a few interviews he had conducted for the paper, but really, he had nothing against her.

You need to stab her in the back before she takes you down.

He again had to blink in surprise. This voice that seemed to be eminating from the sledgehammer that hung from his knapsack was really beginning to get to him. She wasn't taking anyone down, of that he was fairly certain. He decided that it would be in his best interests to leave the hostilities alone for now, and take a more diplomatic approach.

"Um...yeah, that's me. I remember you. I wrote the piece that focused on cheerleading at the school, and covered the competition that you guys won. As I recall, some of your other teammates weren't all that impressed with the article..."

Cole recalled back to when he had written the article, mainly including a scathing comparison of the head cheerleader to a medieval Captain Blood-like figure. He hadn't gotten along well with many of them after that, although he did always think Xian was kind of cute.

"...so, uh...yeah, don't kill me or anything..."

[yumi22*]

Xian kept the corkscrew raised, but she did relax a bit. He did remember her, and it seemed to be an indifferent, maybe plesent memory.

I remember that article...and I thought it was right on target. Some of the girls were hurt by it, but I guess the truth hurts. It's good to know you have integrity. Most boys would have written a fluff piece, placing the squad on a pedastal, in hopes of scoring with some of us. But...you didn't..you just wrote an honest account, even if it was harsh.

Xian lowered the corkscrew a bit, and smiled. She kept her distance though, wanting to be sure Cole was OK, and not just trying to lure her into a false sense of security.

So, what do we do now??

[Cactus]

Cole smiled a little smirk, and then shrugged. He skimmed his memory over all of the articles that he had written for the paper over the past two years. There had been quite a number of them, and while solidifying his reputation as a straight-shooter, he recalled that many had been lauded by the staff of the school for being right on target.

"Well...I don't really know. I suppose for now, I could sit down, rest my legs a few minutes...that is, if you don't mind..."

Lull her into a false sense of security, then bash her skull in with the hammer. One quick swing, that's all it takes.

Wincing involuntarily at the intrusion, he gave his head a quick shake and ignored the words that fell into his head. That wouldn't be appropriate. This girl had done nothing to him. Sure, he hadn't ever acknowledged his presence at school up to now, but that didn't mean that she was a bad person. Besides, she was being legitimately nice to him, and well, that didn't happen often.

Cole walked over to the opposite corner of the gazebo and slid down to a seated position. He tossed his bag a few feet to his right, and instantly, the constant vocalization in his head ceased.

Weird... he thought, but mentally shrugged it off.

"So, you...you uh, remember that article, huh? I worked pretty hard on it. I, uh...I didn't go out there to crucify anyone, really...but that girl...well, I guess she just seemed like such a bitch. Bossed all of you around and all that...I, uh...I didn't see the need for that."

Cole mumbled his way through his sentence. He wasn't really accustomed to speaking candidly like he was, but hey, the odds were that everyone would be dead within a few days anyway, so what was the problem with it?

[NyteDarkness*]

Girl number 10, Cassandra Roivas, had long left her glaringly obvious position in the Gazebo. She had some bruises on her legs after being shoved from that helicopter, but she got over it and made her way to a dense wodded area where she couldn't be noticed, from afar at least. She slumped down behind a tree, tossing her very heavy bag off to the side. She could hear something metal rattling around. Yeesh, just what was in there? She was a little scared to look inside, what if she found something that would put her in an even more hopeless situation? Would she start crying? No, no amount of worrying she did would change what was in that bag.

She reached in and, to her surprise, pulled out a fairly large gun, it weighed her down quite a bit as she propped it up on her shoulder. She couldn't tire herself out by supporting it the whole time, but on the flip side she couldn't dare let the shotgun out of her grasp. Who knows if anyone was quietly waiting, someone whos weapon was a little less desireable, that couldn't wait to grab her gun and shoot her to bits the moment she put it down.

These other kids on this island...they were all on a trip, were they? Well, the ones that weren't brought here randomly like her, anyways. Lucky them. They had friends with them, someone to trust, someone to say their last goodbyes too. Actually, looking at it from a different perspective, perhaps she was the lucky one. No one knew her, meaning no one would hunt her down for a past grudge, and, if she really had to...it would be easier to kill these other people.

She heard voices in the distance, two figures had arrived at the Gazebo while she was deep in thought. Ah, yes, this was her chance, she got a little closer, peering out behind a bush. She prped her shotgun up on her shoulder, closes one eye, and aims as best she can at the head of one of the people...wait, no! What was she doing? She was going to kill somebody. This was more than a game, these were the lives of real people.

The gun shook along with her body, her finger now slipping on and off the trigger. She couldn't shoot like this, even if she wanted to. She lowered the gun, pointing it away from the people. The next thing she heard shocked her, a loud bang that made her tese up inside. Oh no. No no no. Her hand was still stiff with fright, she hadn't noticed she was slowly pulling the trigger as she lowered her weapon. A smouldering bullet embedded itself into a nearby tree. She ducked as best she could, maybe these peoplewould just run away? Did either of them have a gun? Would they shoot her? She cowered in fear behind the bushy covering.

[yumi22*]

Following Cole's lead, Xian slumped in the opposite corner, her eyes on him. She reached into her bag, and took out a bottle of water, sipping it.

You mean Carol Danvers...right? Called her the Bloody Baron I tihnk? Well, you pegged her right. She ruled over us with an iron thumb. I mean, cheering is competitive, but its also a very social and fun activity. Carol could never see that...actually she couldn't see alot. Her single minded focus blinded her to the world around her. I think, thats how she ended up pregnant. Funny though...because of that, she isn't here with us now.

Xian paused, sipping yet again.

So....Cole, you did an expose on my squad, but I don't recall seeing anything on me, save a few quotes. We're here now...I'm not going anywhere....tell me, honestly, what you would have written.

As Xian waited....a loud BANG echoed not far from where they sat.

Xian ducked low, looking across to Cole....


Are you ok??? Did they get you??? What the fuck was that??

[Cactus]

With the bang, Cole had flattened out onto the floor of the gazebo. Checking himself, he slowly pulled himself back up to a sitting position.

"I...I don't know...sounded like a gunshot..."

Of course, you let your guard down, you fool. Dispose of the cheerleader, then go and dispose of whomever else is out there!

The voice, it had returned. Cole grimaced and shook it out again. That was the last thing he needed to do. Being as a sledgehammer wasn't a projectile weapon, by any standards.

"Do you see anyone out there?"

[yumi22*]

With the bang, Cole had flattened out onto the floor of the gazebo. Checking himself, he slowly pulled himself back up to a sitting position.

"I...I don't know...sounded like a gunshot..."

Of course, you let your guard down, you fool. Dispose of the cheerleader, then go and dispose of whomever else is out there!

The voice, it had returned. Cole grimaced and shook it out again. That was the last thing he needed to do. Being as a sledgehammer wasn't a projectile weapon, by any standards.

"Do you see anyone out there?"

[Cactus]

Cole swore under his breath, and shook his head as he looked carefully out into the surroundings.

"Well my weapon won't do much more than a potato gun would at this range, so...yeah, if somone comes in looking to do some damage, we're fucked..."

Thoughts raced around in Cole's mind. He wasn't ready to die here. There was so much he wanted...NEEDED to accomplish.

[yumi22*]

Xian crouched low, her body close to Cole's. She was afraid, for the first time since she got to this island, she was afraid. What if someone was out there, hunting them down. Neither had a gun, and were pretty much exposed out here.

Maybe...t..they didn't see us. Lets, just lay low...and they'll go away.

[Cactus]

Cole was surprised at the warmth that the shivering girl gave as she huddled down close. It was something new, an odd feeling...no matter. There were bigger things at hand.

"Should...should we call out, see if anyone's there? If they have a gun and they get into the gazebo, we're fucked, to put it lightly..."

Of all the scenarios that raced in his head, that was the least pleasant one of all...

[NyteDarkness*]

Cassandra looked up, she could hear slight conversation going on. The two people in the Gazebo looked quite scared, neither of them appeared to have a gun. She felt a little guilty, she had no right to terrify them, she wasn't playing. At least, not yet she wasn't, who knows what could come up?

Carefully, she stood up, still holding her gun but not aiming it at the boy and the girl, she walked slowly over to them, making sure not to take her eyes off them in case of a surprise attack. She was the one with the gun, but who knows what these people could be hiding, she was outnumbered.

"It was me, I fired the gun," she said, "It was an accident, I wasn't firing at you. I was going to stay hidden, but I felt guilty for scaring you in a situation like this."

There, that was easier than she had thought. She made sure to stay at a position far enough away so that she could still fire if they decided to attack her. What was she thinking? Heading towards people she'd just shot at, even if it was on accident. She kept her gun pointed at them, and ran away.

(Continued in The River)

[yumi22*]

As the girl approached, Xian was sure that they were dead. She had a gun, and had the advantage. On instinct, she hugged tightly to Cole, burying her head in his chest, waiting for the gun blast.

But, no blast came, the girl appologised, and ran off. Xians heart was racing, as she held onto Cole, in a state of shock.

Oh god...oh god....oh god. I thought we were dead...oh god...oh god.