Woof Woof, I'm a Dog. Kill Your Friends.

[randomness]

He knew Alex was trying to scare them.

It was the way he was speaking, presenting himself, his actions almost certainly calculated to make himself seem larger than life. He was either absolutely off the wall crazy, or he was hiding something, but at this point, Jordan was more than willing to give it to him. He was already as scared as he could be, regardless of whichever it was.

Alex wasn't the most likable at the best of times, but here, with his delusions of grandeur, or whatever it was that was driving him at the moment, together with the machete in his hand, he was infinitely more dangerous than he ever was in school.

He could only stare blankly at Alex with surprise and disgust. Some of his words made sense, but the people outside, killing, dying, and everything in between were ever so distant compared to the here, the now, the person standing in front of him. A dozen Nancies and Isabels made no difference to him right now when they were god knew where on the island.

Besides, Jordan realised, that Alex was claiming that they were all the same as those who were killers, but somehow he was different from everyone. And perhaps that was what was really scary about this. That Alex was so self righteous after killing Rea. That he was still same old over the top Alex despite what he had done.

Alex finished his speech with little incident and Jeremy saw fit to provide a welcome that did absolutely nothing to his complete lack of confidence in the situation. He was holding up a clipboard, complete with paper and everything, and on the paper was a list of names.

"Oh yeah, we met Liz at the radio station thing. Yesterday? We met her there with Vanessa and... um, yeah..." He'd almost forgotten about yesterday with everything that had happened in the last few minutes. Luckily Hazel didn't seem to worry as much as Jordan himself was, or maybe it was just that she managed to hide it better. Still, the less said the better.

"Well, we haven't really met many other people, though. Sorry..."

"So I guess you guys were looking for your friends?"

[Grim Wolf]

The tension was broken.

The specter of violence was gone. He felt it go. It was some small, strange, subtle thing. Something about how unguarded Hazel was, and how clumsily Jeremy tried to interpret for him and change the subject. Even Jordan, looming quietly in the corner...he felt so secure. None of these people were a threat to him. Things were easy at this moment. He could relax a little, so long as he didn't let his mask slip too much.

"Hobo maze," Alex answered Hazel. "With the cans."

Jeremy asked his questions.

"You saw Liz?" he said in surprise. He tapped the large sword on his back. "She gave me this. Said she didn't want it. How is she?"

Jordan asked his question. Alex smiled slightly. "Finding friends," he agreed. "The people we care about, before the end. It was Jeremy's idea, but it is quite infectious. It's why I'm rather glad to see the two of you."

[Yugikun]

“Thanks, although she’s not really who I’m looking for.”

No, she wasn’t. Again though, the gesture was appreciated. Hazel tried. She wasn’t getting up on him or anything for being in kahoots with a murderer, which was an improvement on what he understood of the previous situation. Besides, not like she would have known that he wasn’t friends with Eliza. Maybe it would have made a little sense if he was. Social nomad. No real group to belong to. That kind of shit. The most Jeremy really cared about his social position, he imagined. Don’t really take him on that. Short of it was: him and Eliza were totally separate, socially. He was with the nerds and the other cool people. She was with… the other non-cool people, he supposed. She wasn’t someone that made lunchtimes cool for him. That belonged to Serena. Al. BB. Those people.

And now he was thinking of the “back thens” again. The things that happened back home. His house. His bed. His life.

…

He supposed now he knew a part of why the people of the announcements did what they did. Maybe not all of it. Maybe not the entire reason, but a small part, at the very least.

A familiar name emerged into the room, though. One he now remembered. One he only now knew was here.

“Wait, Vanessa Stone?” Not like there was another Vanessa in his year, but he had to make sure. Also had to lead into the next question, as well. “Where’d you see her? What’s she doing?”

Questions were important. Determined whether or not she was on the list. Well, maybe she couldn’t be there, given it was written down, but he could put her name somewhere. Put her name on the paper. Say hi, if they ever met.

And then a third voice rejoined the group, talking to him. Well, about him. Didn’t stop the fact that he was apparently popular. Didn’t stop the fact that Alex was down with the idea of finding friends with him.

…

Huh.

Maybe they weren’t so different, after all.

Maybe he didn’t have to leave.

[Ruggahissy]

"Oh," Hazel responded to Alex. She kicked one of the cans gingerly, causing them to rattle a little.

She was now being asked to recall information about Liz and Vanessa, but a lot had happened since they'd encountered them. She squinted her eyes and tries to remember.

"Vanessa was...fine? I guess. Friendly. Liz was...um...crying and not doing so great."

Hazel smiled awkwardly at Alex's declaration that he was happy to see them.

"Would you mind if maybe we hunkered down some place less...cornered and creepy?" she ventured. "Not that I don't love what you've done with the place.

((Hazel Jung continued The Way the Sun Can Still Burn Down))

[randomness]

Jordan didn't know how he felt about Alex being glad to see them. It hardly seemed genuine after his shouting at them earlier, but it wasn't as if he had any deep insights into the mind of Alex. But he didn't seem likely to attack them now, a relative calm after the rush of things that had happened that day.

And yet, his fixation was on the sword, the sword that Alex claimed Liz had given him, that Alex had killed Rea with, where he could half-see, half-imagine blood specks left upon its metallic surface.

Why would Liz have passed it to Alex? Why was she crying? Did Liz leave with Vanessa? He couldn't remember any of the details from yesterday. Did he even know in the first place or had he just simply spaced out back there?

"I think Liz went off with Vanessa? Vanessa was looking for her bandmates, I guess. I don't actually remember who was on the trip though."

He remembered now though, that same envy he had yesterday. Jeremy had at least fifty percent more plan than they had when they'd reentered this room. And his friends were still alive. He had a list of dead friends and acquaintances he wasn't sure he wanted to find.

But helping Jeremy find his friends seemed... not terrible. He felt like he messed up though, that he wanted to help Jeremy now, but had just left Vanessa behind yesterday. That was dickish, probably. He'd have to do something to make up for that if he had the chance, even if just to assuage his internal guilt.

Hazel floated the idea of leaving. Jordan wasn't sure himself, after all, they'd already gone in and out a couple times, and he would have been more than happy to settle down for a bit. But she seemed set to leave, and even if Alex and Jeremy weren't dangerous now, that didn't mean that they were people he'd want to be left behind with.

"Yeah, I guess if we wanted to find friends, this isn't the best spot. Not to diss the hobo maze or anything."

He followed after Hazel. The last thing he wanted right now was to be left behind.

((Jordan Green continued in The Way the Sun Can Still Burn Down))

[Grim Wolf]

"Crying, huh," Alex muttered, fingering the large sword upon his back. "I can't blame her."

How could he? So many dead. He knew many of them had been her family. How many had been his friends?

Jordan and Hazel started to leave. Alex hesitated.

Cornered and creepy, she had called it, and Jordan had a point: this place wasn't ideal for tracking down their friends, before they died. But neither Alex or the man he was pretending to be could leave this Asylum. For Alex, it meant certain death: for the megalomaniacal, ever-prepared villain, it meant compromising his goals and his point. Dangerous. Very dangerous.

Besides which, cornered and creepy had been his intention. Cornered meant there was only one entrance. Creepy would war off anyone he didn't want to see. The perfect combination.

But of course, there was one small problem.

He looked over to Jeremy, who had his own purposes and hopes. Jeremy, who seemed to believe the lies that Alex had spun about himself, and had his own private goals. Goals of seeing the people he cared for, in the short time they had left to them. Jeremy, who had drawn a gun on Crowe when he had every reason not to.

"Jeremy," he said. "The thing that matters to you...you want to find the people you care for?" He looked over at the man who he'd met standing over the tortured corpse of a murderer. "It's not how the game should be played," he said. "But it's certainly something I can respect. Playing the game on your terms, not theirs." He considered for a moment, then said, "I will win this game, Jeremy. But being seen with me...doing the things I will have to do...you may not meet your friends that way."

He gestured down the hall where Hazel and Jordan had gone. He smiled, and allowed some of his sadness and fear to creep into his expression. He didn't want Jeremy to go. It was so good to not be alone. To have someone who seemed his friend, who he could trust and count on in this hell.

But Alex had chosen his path. Perhaps Jeremy had to choose his.

"It may be better for you to leave me behind."

[Yugikun]

Bandmates?

Wait, no, that was right. She was part of that band, along with BB. Along with some other people he didn’t really know about, as well. Yeah, okay, there was that connection there. He didn’t really know what to do with it per say but yeah. He needed to find her. Say hi. Figure out what else happened when he got there. The lack of a plan and the lack of her being on the list was an issue, though, but that was part of the top thing. Have fun. Don’t fret. He was gonna die one day or some shit so why was it important now? Yeah. Yeah. He got that. He knew that. He had it right there at the top. The people on the announcements were wrong. There was no point. Yeah. Yeah. He got that. He knew what was important. Find his friends. That’s all that mattered.

And what better way to find them than actually moving? He liked Hazel’s suggestion. Cool as their base was he’d probably get more by moving around. Yeah. He was down with that. No objections. Take his steps forward and-

And then a third voice rejoined the group.

Alex wasn’t down with the plan.

And he was right. If Jeremy wanted to find his friends, if he wanted to go along with Hazel and Jordan, he couldn’t have Alex with them. He knew that they were scared of Alex. He knew that everyone was. He wasn’t going to find his friends staying with Alex. They would be scared. What would Serena think of him? Emma? Clarice? He knew it wasn’t good. He knew they wouldn’t think good of him. Of Jeremy, either, for sticking with him. No. He couldn’t. If he wanted to find his friends, if he wanted to make sure his last days meant something, he had to go. He had to strike his own path. He had to leave Alex behind.

The choice was clear.

The right option was right there.

But he couldn’t pick it.

Because, you know. There’s this guy. Standing right there in front of you. He’s a cool guy. Fun. Makes you forget that you’re on an island playing a game where the only way to win was to watch everyone you know die. Makes you think about what you’re doing, makes you think why you’re going along with him, but he shows you why you do it. You do it because he’s interesting. He’s a monster. He goes off on these things about being strong but you know that he’s not telling the truth because you’ve seen otherwise. He’s a human. He’s scared and lonely and friendless and you know if you leave him things won’t work out for him. He’s interesting. Better than the other people he’d met. So he knew he had to stay. He knew he had to stick with his friend.

Plus, he had a list to fulfill. Have fun. Make his last days the best he’d ever have.

But could he do that? He knew it was important, but…

…

Wasn’t that a selfish way of looking at things? Yeah, he had to look out for number one, but he sorta had to think about number two through four, as well. Josh had died before Jeremy got his chance to say goodbye. Clarice had gotten a fucking axe through her arm right before his eyes and he hadn’t done anything about it. He knew how had it hit. He knew how much it hurt. So how could he let that happen to them? Emma, Serena. Al. It’d hurt if he lost them. Maybe the feeling was mutual. Maybe it was as important to them as it was to him that he find them. He knew that now. He’d figured it out. He knew what he had to do now.

And maybe now he could finally make the right choice.

He turned around.

Looked Alex in the eyes.

“You’re right. I guess-”

He didn’t know what to say.

Because no matter how he said it, no matter how good he had been at talking before, he knew that he was leaving his ally- no, his friend behind. He knew that Alex wouldn’t find any others. And he knew that this would be it. This would be their last time. He knew that once he left this room, he’d never see Alex’s face again.

He knew that this would be his last goodbye.

So he couldn’t.

He couldn’t do it.

So he wouldn’t.

He’d give himself hope. He’d assume. He would make sure that they saw each other again.

He turned around. Took his steps. He was right in front of the door.

And then he stopped.

“Hey, Alex?”

A pause. Silence, in the room. Hazel and Jordan had left. It was just the two of them.

It was his last chance.

“Stay alive.”

His last goodbye.

“We still have that promise we gave one another.”

Make it count, Jeremy.

”Don’t break it.”

Good enough.

1. Have fun, above all else.
2. Get to Emma. As soon as possible.
3. Find Serena. Make sure she's safe.
4. Figure out what the fuck to do with Alex.
5. Find Al. Say hi.
6. Find Clarice. Apologise for earlier.
7. Figure out who else should be on this list. Retroactively add them.
8. Find Josh's corpse. Give last respects, for what they're worth to him.
9. Find Jasmine. Figure out what happens when you get there.
10. Find Caedyn, get closure in that area, if you can.
11. Pursue hopeless venture of survival, if above conditions have been fulfilled.

He stepped out the door.

((Jeremy Frasier, continued elsewhere))

[Grim Wolf]

Alex smiled confidently, and raised his voice a little, "I'm the Fittest man on this island," Alex said.  "I'm in no danger of breaking our promise.  You watch your back, Jeremy.  Not everyone's as nice as I am."

Jeremy left the room.  Alex leaned back against a wall, smiling a little, his eyes sweeping the room, finding the cameras here and there.  Always being watched, so he always had to be on guard.  Let his mask falter for even a moment, and it would all come crashing down.  No hope of glory.

Alone.

Hazel, gone after being kind enough to touch him.  Jordan, with fear in his eyes.  Jeremy in search of bigger things.  The narrative should have required that they die, but Alex thought he'd spun that lie well enough.  It was a useful line--'honor' and 'not playing by their rules' justified a wide range of behavior outside of what should technically be required of him, in order to be a villain.  And it allowed him to make these little compromises.  To let old friends and new friends go, in spite of the little voice inside insisting that he should be cutting them down where they stood.

Alone.  Yes, alone.  He had left Tara and Lizzie behind, even with Lizzie's gift upon his back.  He had intimidated some, betrayed others.  Rea's blood was still on his sword, and the scratch from the bullet fired by her avenger hadn't quite healed.  Michael Crowe's bloody had joined Rea's. Hazel and Jordan had been afraid. Only one man had treated him as a friend.  Only one man had believed the story he'd told.  That man had other causes ahead of him.

And besides, if Alex was to prove himself the fittest...if Alex was to truly become the villain the story required...then he would have to stand alone in the end.  Either someone else would kill Jeremy, or Alex would have to put an end to the man himself.

He maintained his smile, because his eyes were burning and he felt like crying.  He set off down the hall, studying each room and each junction, following the path and laying can alarms in his wake, blocking out the stage on which he had to execute his final performance.  The performance where, in the end, he would stand alone.

(Alex Tarquin EXIT: to Lord of Lunatics)