Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Day 13, early afternoon, on the road between the Inner Circle and the Temple. Private.

The leadership houses, while smaller than the manor house, are no less extravagant. Each one of the six seems to be competing with its neighbor to be as eye-catching as possible, with many different multicolored designs painted across and decorations adorning them. While the insides all share the same layouts, many different modifications have been made by the former occupants; some have added different furniture items, while some have gone so far as to redecorate the entire interiors of their houses, including one where the interior wall was removed and all seating and beds replaced with cushions.
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Shiola
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#31

Post by Shiola »

The smoke cleared, and Erika watched Katelynne with wide-eyed satisfaction. She expected either to hit Katelynne, or to be shot back on the spot. What she hadn’t expected was to hit the rifle Katelynne was holding. The end result was either the magazine or the receiver detonating, with Katelynne’s torso decorated in a startling array of lacerations that quickly began to seep blood. Enough that it was impossible to tell if whatever was left of the massive lead projectile had hit her dead on, though it almost didn’t matter. Katelynne took a few steps, and collapsed.

As she sat up completely, Erika found the black spots in her vision briefly give way to total darkness. When the light returned, she was bracing herself against the ground with one hand, and clutching the other close to her chest. Blood ran down her front, her shirt sticking uncomfortably to her skin as she felt the telltale pins-and-needles of her body telling her something was very, very fucking wrong.

Leaning onto her right side, she found out the hard way that the one gunshot wound hadn’t magically made the other feel any better, and barely was able to suppress the resulting muscle spasm. Almost feeling like the natural result of a repressed scream, she momentarily succumbed to a fit of dry heaves halfway through trying to stand. Her crumpled form knelt, shaking, as she heard Daria shouting for Kate.

the wreckage i leave behind

If all of her blood was still safely within her body, all of this still wouldn’t have felt much better. As much as she wanted to, she didn’t have enough hate and anger to make any of her physical agony diminish, even to the smallest degree. What was happening felt less like fighting, and more like enduring. She still thought of it as fighting in her mind. That was what she had to do. It was comprehensible.

Now there was time to collect what was hers. The pistol in her dominant hand, and the rifle slung over the shoulder that could still bear to carry a weight.

she can have the knife.

The seconds, the minutes, the hours, the days, the years. They had been fought for, and they belonged to her now. No one could take them away. Everyone who tried in this place had failed. They failed because she was still standing. Erika won.

this doesn’t feel like winning.

What she’d done already was enough. She looked between the two of them. They weren’t going to just walk away from this. They’d die here, and she’d survive because she was still standing, just like every time before. She’d keep going, like every time before. If she was lucky, if the others in the Inner Circle had all killed each other, this could be the last time.

Looking down, she couldn’t see the green and black pattern of her shirt all that well anymore. It was mostly red. Colder than she should’ve felt in the tropical heat. Nausea threatened to take hold of her again. Her wounds seemed no less severe.

they aren’t.

Yet she’d press on, there was no other choice, Erika wouldn’t allow herself anything else, she couldn’t allow anyone anything else, this was her world to face, her time, she still felt alive, death was the absence of all, and she wasn’t absent, she wasn’t gone -

yet.

It still felt like living. Sort of. She could still taste the air, even if it tasted like blood. There were still things to hear, even if it was despair.

There were still things to think about, even if all she could think about was how close the end of that and everything else was going to be, even if, even if, she could still, there still was, precious moments, memories, everything and anything, it was all still there, it made sense, it could be fought for, there was a story, it was hers and it would keep going, it had to keep going and I’ll live long enough to find out if I can heal and there will be a way, I’ll get out by going through.

Living was continuing to justify itself, continuing to ignore and rationalize and deny. Everything could come at any price.

please?

Erika started limping away, and stopped as she heard a voice behind her. Turning for a moment, she raised the pistol and fired a shot towards Daria. Without aiming, without much of a thought. Like it didn’t matter, like she was nothing. They were just shapes. Obstacles. Locks on a door. Silhouettes. Enemies. Assailants. Monsters.

Victims?

i’m not like you.

in a lot of ways.

in the ones that matter...


Victims.

She didn’t look back, limping single-mindedly up the path to the Cliffside. A few times she nearly lost her footing, but didn’t stop for a moment, worrying that she wouldn’t be able to start again if she did. All she knew to do was to reach the cliffs, to find safety, and time to wait out the rest of them. Time to heal, to mend, she could find it. There was still time left, time she’d bought for herself.

She remembered the view up there as kind of beautiful. Erika wanted to see something beautiful, again.

Drops of blood marked the path she took up the old road. The island’s insects quickly set upon them.

((Erika Stieglitz continued elsewhere))
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Jilly
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#32

Post by Jilly »

Everything was groggy, with Katelynne collapsed on the dry dirt and leaves of the forest floor. Couldn't see anything, through all the smog. Couldn't hear anything, her ears were screaming. Couldn't smell anything, besides all the sulfur that made her want to throw up.

All she knew was pain. The worst pain she ever felt before. Indescribable. Nothing like when Quinn choked her out all the way back on the first day.

She lied there, wincing and writhing in agony as the smoke cleared.

Someone was shouting her name. But she couldn't see them, they sounded so far away.

She was... she was gonna try to get up.

She pressed her arm in the dirt and grit her teeth through the stinging. She pressed the other hand in, burning and numb.

She collapsed again.
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Grim Wolf
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#33

Post by Grim Wolf »

Crawling, pained and unsteady, her head still spinning, a throb of dull, frozen agony in her side.

"Kate?" she called. "Kate?"

She didn't want it to happen again. She didn't want to lose anyone else. She didn't-

Movement nearby. Daria lifted her head. "Kate?" she said again, but when the figure stood up, she saw it wasn't Kate. Bloody, broken, uneven, but unmistakable Erika, pointing her gun back to fire blindly. Another flash of bright rage rocked Daria to her feet. She took a step after Erika, her hands aching for another chance-

A low thumph behind her. Daria turned, too quickly, almost fell over and caught herself on her scratched up palms. There, still hidden in the smoky haze, a figure she almost recognized.

Daria glanced over her shoulder at Erika, stumbling away with her blood drizzling down into the dust. Daria's hands ached again. Justice...!

But justice meant nothing if she let another friend die.

Daria turned her back on Erika, stumbled towards Kate, sank to her knees next to her. "Gotta stop...meeting like this, Kate," she muttered, looking for ways to help the other girl. "Always murder and gunfire. Couldn't stop by for a cup of fucking tea?" She chuckled, a little hysterically.
Those Whose Time Has Come]

Terra Johnson (female student no. 73, DECEASED): Oh...duh...Abel's...dead...the one who...lives is...

Tom Swift (male student no. 60): It didn't matter what he wanted anymore.

Daria Bhatia (female student no. 56): "I pity you, and everyone who knows you. Because if you can live with this, I don't...I don't think you're human anymore.”

[+] Those Who Have Gone Before
[/url]

V6

Alex Tarquin (male student no. 32: "No more...masks..."

Tara Behzad (female student no. 12): "They don't get to decide how I die."

Lizzie Luz: "I don't want to go."

V5

Tyler Lucas: "I had fun. You?"

Karen Idel: Game over.

Xavier Contel: "G-gotta...trust people, Arthur. G-g-gotta try. C-can't be afraid."

v4

Naoko Raidon (male student no. 54): Dying like...this isn't...so...bad...


Mirabelle Nesa: "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Simon Grey: "I never was a hero, but, God help me, I tried."

David Meramac: "Running towards nothing. Running from nothing."
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Jilly
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Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:54 pm
Location: drinking all of your Dr. Pepper

#34

Post by Jilly »

Katelynne tried again. Same result.

Still groggy. Head hurt. Everything hurt. But could see again. Could hear again.

Someone was with her again. Daria. She was still here. But where was Erika?

Katelynne lifted her head, barely making out a figure limping away with their tail tucked between their legs.

She listened to Daria, and replied back with a groan. Her words were weak, so weak she couldn't properly muster up the anger and humiliation that lied underneath them. "Why do you... keep tryna' help me... what's with you?"

Katelynne tried to get on her feet again. Same thing.

She sniffled. Her eyes burned more than they already were. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry...," she said, both to Daria and to no one in particular.
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Grim Wolf
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#35

Post by Grim Wolf »

Kate groaned, fought to speak. Her words were weak, almost emotionless: "Why do you... keep tryna' help me... what's with you?" She tried to rise again, failed and fell back: Daria was too slow to catch her, crawled closer and put her head in her lap without thinking.

"I'm sorry..." muttered Kate. "I'm sorry..."

"S'okay," muttered Daria. "S'okay, you can rest, you're okay-"

Wasn't sure whether she was talking to Kate or herself. Just that little motion had stirred fresh currents of pain from the knife in her side. She used her left hand, clumsily trying to clear dust and ash from Kate's clothes and face. Her first aid kit was back with Willow. Back at the house. Not their house, though. Not her house.

Steph.

"Keep trying to figure out how to win," Daria muttered. "Not by...playing their game. By beating them. The fuckers who...put us here." She shook her head. "If no one...kills. For 24 hours. They have to kill us themselves. Make it so we don't have monsters. Thought that was better. Tried to...make a safe place, where no one had to...didn't work. Blaise killed..."

"I don't want to lose anyone, Kate."
Those Whose Time Has Come]

Terra Johnson (female student no. 73, DECEASED): Oh...duh...Abel's...dead...the one who...lives is...

Tom Swift (male student no. 60): It didn't matter what he wanted anymore.

Daria Bhatia (female student no. 56): "I pity you, and everyone who knows you. Because if you can live with this, I don't...I don't think you're human anymore.”

[+] Those Who Have Gone Before
[/url]

V6

Alex Tarquin (male student no. 32: "No more...masks..."

Tara Behzad (female student no. 12): "They don't get to decide how I die."

Lizzie Luz: "I don't want to go."

V5

Tyler Lucas: "I had fun. You?"

Karen Idel: Game over.

Xavier Contel: "G-gotta...trust people, Arthur. G-g-gotta try. C-can't be afraid."

v4

Naoko Raidon (male student no. 54): Dying like...this isn't...so...bad...


Mirabelle Nesa: "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Simon Grey: "I never was a hero, but, God help me, I tried."

David Meramac: "Running towards nothing. Running from nothing."
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Jilly
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Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:54 pm
Location: drinking all of your Dr. Pepper

#36

Post by Jilly »

Katelynne took a real long time before saying anything again.

"...Me too."

More silence as she let Daria work, wincing and grunting through all the pain. Until she spoke up again.

"...Can you... help me up? I gotta... ngh."
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Grim Wolf
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Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 8:40 pm

#37

Post by Grim Wolf »

"...Me too."

Daria smiled down at her, found her eyes still sticky with blood and now also hazy with tears. She closed her eyes, took a shallow breath (in, out) so as not to shake the knife still in her side.

"I can try," Daria replied, when Kate asked her for help standing. "Might end up leaning on you, though." She shuffled slightly, positioning herself so she could try and leverage Kate upright without jostling the blade.

Slowly, precariously, delicately, Daria helped Kate up. It was slow, painful going, both of them battered and shredded and torn, Daria wincing against dizziness or hissing softly against pain. But, step by stubborn step, she managed to get Kate upright without toppling over herself. Until the two of them were leaning against one another in the wooded path, bloody and battered but on their feet.

"I'm...holed up at those...fancy houses." She waved in the direction of the Leadership Circle. 'With...you know...Willow? Hoping to...outlast this. Call their bluff."

She looked at Kate's face and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Come...with me. With us."
Those Whose Time Has Come]

Terra Johnson (female student no. 73, DECEASED): Oh...duh...Abel's...dead...the one who...lives is...

Tom Swift (male student no. 60): It didn't matter what he wanted anymore.

Daria Bhatia (female student no. 56): "I pity you, and everyone who knows you. Because if you can live with this, I don't...I don't think you're human anymore.”

[+] Those Who Have Gone Before
[/url]

V6

Alex Tarquin (male student no. 32: "No more...masks..."

Tara Behzad (female student no. 12): "They don't get to decide how I die."

Lizzie Luz: "I don't want to go."

V5

Tyler Lucas: "I had fun. You?"

Karen Idel: Game over.

Xavier Contel: "G-gotta...trust people, Arthur. G-g-gotta try. C-can't be afraid."

v4

Naoko Raidon (male student no. 54): Dying like...this isn't...so...bad...


Mirabelle Nesa: "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Simon Grey: "I never was a hero, but, God help me, I tried."

David Meramac: "Running towards nothing. Running from nothing."
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Jilly
Posts: 1320
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:54 pm
Location: drinking all of your Dr. Pepper

#38

Post by Jilly »

"...Thank you."

Katelynne winced through the pain, carefully following Daria's lead until she was back on her feet, the two of them supporting each other while taking stock of their surroundings.

Daria wanted to take her back. Back to her stronghold. Rest, recover, wait out the rest of the game. Willow... that was a name she hadn't heard in a long while.

It was a nice thought, but...

Katelynne shook her head. "I... I can't. Not yet. I gotta...-"

Woozy.

"-...I gotta. Gotta talk to someone first."

...

"...I... I think I can walk... can you?"
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Grim Wolf
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#39

Post by Grim Wolf »

"I can't."

Daria almost fell over.

"Not yet."

And found strength in her limbs yet again.

Not yet wasn't no. Not yet wasn't never. Not yet was a sliver of hope, from a girl she'd thought she'd never see again.

Maybe it wasn't over yet. Maybe there was still a chance for peace. For justice. For something better than this island. For something better than this game.

"Yeah," Daria said, and couldn't help the smile on her face. "I can walk. Gotta...get back to Will." She squeezed Kate's shoulder again. "Thanks. For..."

She didn't know what to say. Instead she pulled Kate into a clumsy embrace. "I'm...Kate, I'm so glad you're still..."

Tears in her voice again. She had a promise to keep to Steph, so she pulled back and smiled at Kate. "See you soon, Kate. You, and anyone you wanna bring with you."

Daria took a deep breath (in out) and turned away from Kate. She almost tripped over her fallen bat, wet with the blood of the monster she and Kate had fought off together. Gingerly, tenderly, Daria bent over, grabbed the handle, levered herself upright. Then, using the bat as a cane, she started limping back the way she'd come, a steadying hand upon her injured side, a smile upon her bloodstained face.

(Daria Bhatia continued in there only exist slaves to emotions)
Those Whose Time Has Come]

Terra Johnson (female student no. 73, DECEASED): Oh...duh...Abel's...dead...the one who...lives is...

Tom Swift (male student no. 60): It didn't matter what he wanted anymore.

Daria Bhatia (female student no. 56): "I pity you, and everyone who knows you. Because if you can live with this, I don't...I don't think you're human anymore.”

[+] Those Who Have Gone Before
[/url]

V6

Alex Tarquin (male student no. 32: "No more...masks..."

Tara Behzad (female student no. 12): "They don't get to decide how I die."

Lizzie Luz: "I don't want to go."

V5

Tyler Lucas: "I had fun. You?"

Karen Idel: Game over.

Xavier Contel: "G-gotta...trust people, Arthur. G-g-gotta try. C-can't be afraid."

v4

Naoko Raidon (male student no. 54): Dying like...this isn't...so...bad...


Mirabelle Nesa: "I'm a weak little girl who couldn't save anyone, even myself, but god damn it I beat you and god damn it you are going to remember that because I am Mirabelle Nesa and I am a hardened goddamn warrior and I am not going to fucking give up now!"

Simon Grey: "I never was a hero, but, God help me, I tried."

David Meramac: "Running towards nothing. Running from nothing."
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Jilly
Posts: 1320
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:54 pm
Location: drinking all of your Dr. Pepper

#40

Post by Jilly »

Katelynne watched as Daria limped away, bloody face, bleeding everything and all while still smiling.

"...Yeah. See- ngh.... thanks."

She looked down at herself, at her hands, her clothes, her arms ripped to shreds. So much blood. Everything burned. Didn't have her medical supplies on her. Had to make it back to the house. Had to make it back to Marco as fast as she could.

She took-

NGH.

...She took a step.

And then anoth-

NGGGGH.

...And then another.

And then another.

Took another one, brushing her foot against the shell of a rifle.

And then another.

And she kept going, dragging her feet through the ground as she slowly limped her way out of the woods, dripping a blood trail behind.

((Continued down the road))
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