For a long time, the girl stood in the shadow of a boulder and ran her fingers over the gun. It was cold. Solid. Heavy. Loaded, now. Reading the manual by the light of her flashlight had been almost comforting. Like being in her bed at home after dark with a book light, except that the stakes were higher. She'd had to read some paragraphs again and again to understand them, but now the gun was loaded.
It was a start. Her dad had taught her that it was better to start at the start of things, and then lay them out from there all the way to the end. Crystal was pretty good at that, now, but by nature she still tended to get tangled up in the middle. She didn't think alignment was a good way to say anything meaningful about a person, but gods, there was something about being Chaotic in a society founded on Law.
Basically, it was a struggle.
This was about normal life, to be clear. Crystal currently had bigger problems. The gun was a start, but the problems still seemed insurmountable.
She was in SOTF.
She was in SOTF, and she had a gun.
It was cold, even with her hoodie now zipped up. The gun in her hand was cold. Her ears were cold. The boulder at her back was cold. Her thoughts were cold.
The buses had been jam-packed. It felt sort of unsafe even before the kidnapping happened, like wasn't anyone worried about getting sick anymore? There had to be over a hundred classmates here, all of them told that only one would live. Over a hundred people Crystal should be afraid of. Over a hundred people who might kill her.
Except that wasn't quite right, was it?
Crystal didn't have to be afraid of a hundred people. She didn't have to be afraid of her classmates, or her friends, or even the bullies. None of them wanted to kill her, probably, and if one of them did, there were rules in place to prevent that. Being Chaotic in a world of Law had its downsides, but it also protected you from the bigger, badder Chaos.
There were a few people Crystal should actually be afraid of, but probably far less than a hundred. She'd seen... maybe three of them clearly? The ones on the stage. Maybe there had been some on the bus too, but she hadn't been paying attention then. It wasn't important. Even three was a generous estimate. They were not all equal. The simple fact was, there was one person Crystal had to be afraid of: Danya. Danya was SOTF, and SOTF was Danya. They said that he'd died once, and that the killings had stopped. She'd been too young to remember or understand, but when it started again, there was a Danya again, and he was once again the crux of everything.
If the buses had gotten to the ski resort, Crystal would have had nothing worse to fear from her peers than minor embarrassment, teasing, and annoyance. If the bus had crashed in the wilderness, Crystal's classmates would have helped each other and tried to stay safe together. She knew they would've. Even if they had all woken up on this island, without instruction to the contrary they would have cooperated. There were told not to by Danya. They were told to kill instead by Danya. Danya did this.
So Crystal didn't have to fear her classmates, because her classmates were not a danger to her. Danya was a danger to her, and to all of them. They were just the medium of enacting that danger. Every one of them was two things at the same time: a victim, and a weapon with the potential to victimize others. Danya could have killed them all with guns or gas, but he didn't. He used other people instead, because he was a terrorist and using people as weapons sowed terror.
People who liked guns tended to say, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Crystal had thought that was very self-righteous, because it presumed that access to guns didn't play a big role in people killing people more often and in greater numbers, and it conveniently pushed responsibility onto those other bad gun owners, but she kinda got it now?
Students don't kill students, Danya kills students.
The gun Crystal held was a tool for a tool, like an interchangeable head to be slotted into a screwdriver. Some of her classmates would have better weapons, and some (many?) would have worse. But they were themselves all potential weapons too. This one was a blade, ready to stab her through the heart. That one was a gun, aiming at her head from too far away to see. This one was a rope, slipped around her neck and choking the life out of her. That one was a poison, undetectable until she was too weak to fight back. But the hand on all of them was the same.
Crystal pushed off the boulder. Stumbled a little. Caught her balance. She took a few steps and peered down the slope through a dense and tangled thicket. She was thirty feet uphill from the path proper, in a place that was more or less hidden, and for the past hour or so nobody else had passed. She wondered if anyone else was around.
She wondered how many of her classmates Danya had killed already.
Casting The Runes
Open
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Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2725
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Casting The Runes
I bid you all dark greetings!
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carduinal-cyn
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2021 5:07 pm
Beneath Crystal's waiting eyes, something began to rustle. Slashing sounds and grunts muffled by sheer distance could be heard only a few feet down the overgrown hill from where the hoodie-clad girl stared in introspective silence. As the rustling grew closer, she could pick out individual branches being trampled underfoot, stalks of plant matter torn through without a care.
And then at last, the bushes parted with the swish of a machete blade...
S066: DAVE DEARBORN — V8 START
A great, hulking man in a dark grey coat and torn-up jeans crashed through the undergrowth and leaned against the boulder with his right hand. His left was wrapped up in what looked like a bird's curving beak, or a Scyther's claw. Hook-handed urban-myth serial killers, eat your heart out — Dave was living the dream, or perhaps the nightmare.
He closed his eyes for a moment and caught his breath as he replayed the events of the morning over in his head. The abduction. The grinning man with the black hair — Danya. And poor Mr. Ramos, with his head blown into a bloody pulp. Dave sucked in air through gritted teeth. His whole body shook. You never think your school is going to be the one until it's too late, he thought. He was grateful, if nothing else, that the terrorists had merely cut the engine. He couldn't bear another crash. He just couldn't.
Fragmented memories, like glass shards in his arm, flashed through his field of vision until he stumbled away from the boulder and growled. All of his senses were hot and crackling and alert. The inside of his head was a thunderstorm; twin streams of tears trailed down his face. He could feel it building. He had to stop. His lungs were doing the metronome thing again — 140 BPM, 150, entirely out of his control, no one wanted it to hit 180—
"...fffffffuck!" he spat, and swung his arm at the boulder with all his might. "Fuck!" he spat again. He'd banged his funny bone. That'd teach Dave Dearborn to punch a rock.
He slumped over against the hard, stony surface and sighed yet again. Gosh, he hoped he was far enough away from civilization to have his little outburst go unnoticed. This'd be Homecoming all over again, if he had witnesses. Hopefully he could explain that he had no interest in taking anyone's life, that he was a humble servant of the Lord, that he wasn't dangerous no matter how violent he might have looked five seconds ago.
Remember your resilience, he told himself.
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
And then at last, the bushes parted with the swish of a machete blade...
S066: DAVE DEARBORN — V8 START
A great, hulking man in a dark grey coat and torn-up jeans crashed through the undergrowth and leaned against the boulder with his right hand. His left was wrapped up in what looked like a bird's curving beak, or a Scyther's claw. Hook-handed urban-myth serial killers, eat your heart out — Dave was living the dream, or perhaps the nightmare.
He closed his eyes for a moment and caught his breath as he replayed the events of the morning over in his head. The abduction. The grinning man with the black hair — Danya. And poor Mr. Ramos, with his head blown into a bloody pulp. Dave sucked in air through gritted teeth. His whole body shook. You never think your school is going to be the one until it's too late, he thought. He was grateful, if nothing else, that the terrorists had merely cut the engine. He couldn't bear another crash. He just couldn't.
Fragmented memories, like glass shards in his arm, flashed through his field of vision until he stumbled away from the boulder and growled. All of his senses were hot and crackling and alert. The inside of his head was a thunderstorm; twin streams of tears trailed down his face. He could feel it building. He had to stop. His lungs were doing the metronome thing again — 140 BPM, 150, entirely out of his control, no one wanted it to hit 180—
"...fffffffuck!" he spat, and swung his arm at the boulder with all his might. "Fuck!" he spat again. He'd banged his funny bone. That'd teach Dave Dearborn to punch a rock.
He slumped over against the hard, stony surface and sighed yet again. Gosh, he hoped he was far enough away from civilization to have his little outburst go unnoticed. This'd be Homecoming all over again, if he had witnesses. Hopefully he could explain that he had no interest in taking anyone's life, that he was a humble servant of the Lord, that he wasn't dangerous no matter how violent he might have looked five seconds ago.
Remember your resilience, he told himself.
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
((Janice Cresner continued from...dunno, just use the wiki, dude))
It was cold in the nature, and despite wearing a windbreaker she was freezing. Hopefully she'd find a good place to hide in soon. She couldn't exactly see where Salem had went to either, she tried catching up with him to confront him to what was up with him, but he had been nowhere to be seen on the streets. She wouldn't give him another chance, their alliance had ended.
The good thing about the nature was, though, that it helped Janice to get Tana's smell out of her nose. It did not help getting Tana out of her mind, though, as she was still preoccupying herself with thinking about what she'd done and empathising with Tana, which made her feel sick. She had too much time on her mind, so naturally her thoughts gravitated towards Tana. She also decided that carrying two bags was not that useful, so she put Tana's rations into her bag and left it at the tree where she had redistributed it at.
Janice's head turned around as she heard a voice cursing. Carefully, she approached the area from where it came from. She could recognise the owner of that as voice as well. It was the cute boy from the Halloween Party.
"Dave! It's me, Janice!," she said with a smile, waving her hands.
It was cold in the nature, and despite wearing a windbreaker she was freezing. Hopefully she'd find a good place to hide in soon. She couldn't exactly see where Salem had went to either, she tried catching up with him to confront him to what was up with him, but he had been nowhere to be seen on the streets. She wouldn't give him another chance, their alliance had ended.
The good thing about the nature was, though, that it helped Janice to get Tana's smell out of her nose. It did not help getting Tana out of her mind, though, as she was still preoccupying herself with thinking about what she'd done and empathising with Tana, which made her feel sick. She had too much time on her mind, so naturally her thoughts gravitated towards Tana. She also decided that carrying two bags was not that useful, so she put Tana's rations into her bag and left it at the tree where she had redistributed it at.
Janice's head turned around as she heard a voice cursing. Carefully, she approached the area from where it came from. She could recognise the owner of that as voice as well. It was the cute boy from the Halloween Party.
"Dave! It's me, Janice!," she said with a smile, waving her hands.
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Grand Moff Hissa
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- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
When the crashing and cursing began, Crystal shrank back against the boulder. Hunched down. Made herself small. Compact. Unobtrusive. She wasn't quite ready for this direct an interaction. Not with somebody stomping and swearing. Not without knowing what she was getting herself into.
Even between the sticks and leaves, she could see the boy was huge. He was wearing some kind of sword-glove. Crystal couldn't tell more from where she was. Wasn't about to get closer, either. Not yet. Not without knowing what was going on. Not without a clear idea why he was cursing. Not without some sort of guarantee that blade wouldn't be rammed into her gut.
Kinda funny. If she was only hearing the boy, she'd assume he was a geek. Probably out of shape. Like her. She might've just walked right out and said something.
She leaned out from the boulder again, took a step but stayed low. The boy was slumped against a large stone of his own, silent now.
Crystal's fingers ran along the gun. She looked at the boy. He hadn't noticed her.
Slowly, carefully and quietly, she adjusted her stance so that the weapon was pointing at him.
Danya's fingers ran along the gun. He looked at the boy. He hadn't noticed anything.
Someone else called out. Janice. The boy was Dave. Crystal shifted again, so that she was pointing the gun in their vague direction but not at them, like "don't try anything" instead of like "I'm about to try something."
From her spot behind the thicket, Crystal watched Janice, all smiles and waves.
They'd learn if that blade was attached to a weapon.
Even between the sticks and leaves, she could see the boy was huge. He was wearing some kind of sword-glove. Crystal couldn't tell more from where she was. Wasn't about to get closer, either. Not yet. Not without knowing what was going on. Not without a clear idea why he was cursing. Not without some sort of guarantee that blade wouldn't be rammed into her gut.
Kinda funny. If she was only hearing the boy, she'd assume he was a geek. Probably out of shape. Like her. She might've just walked right out and said something.
She leaned out from the boulder again, took a step but stayed low. The boy was slumped against a large stone of his own, silent now.
Crystal's fingers ran along the gun. She looked at the boy. He hadn't noticed her.
Slowly, carefully and quietly, she adjusted her stance so that the weapon was pointing at him.
Danya's fingers ran along the gun. He looked at the boy. He hadn't noticed anything.
Someone else called out. Janice. The boy was Dave. Crystal shifted again, so that she was pointing the gun in their vague direction but not at them, like "don't try anything" instead of like "I'm about to try something."
From her spot behind the thicket, Crystal watched Janice, all smiles and waves.
They'd learn if that blade was attached to a weapon.
I bid you all dark greetings!
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carduinal-cyn
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2021 5:07 pm
Well, there goes the rest of my reputation, Dave thought to himself as a familiar face waved him down.
His back straightened against the boulder, and his knees pulled up closer to his chest. His arms rested on either side of his body; only if you were really looking would you notice that his left hand had seemingly been replaced with a fearful machete blade. He briefly raised his right hand to gently wave at the girl. Then he shook it, somewhat violently — he'd just punched solid rock with that arm, and it still hurt.
"Hey... sorry about that, if you heard anything," he replied in his high, slightly sheepish voice. "I was just stressed, 's all. There's so much plants up here, it almost makes you forget about... everything."
Dave's heart was still racing, even though he was now among friends... er, a friend. That damned Tracen Danya had introduced two unknown variables into what would have been a typical social situation anywhere else: the unknown weapon, and the tension and distrust that defined this entire game.
He rested his bruising hand on his chest so he could monitor his heartbeat: 120 or so. That wasn't good.
But, as they say, ignorance is truly bliss. Not even the Lord above knew how Dave would react if he should sight the barrel of Crystal's gun.
His back straightened against the boulder, and his knees pulled up closer to his chest. His arms rested on either side of his body; only if you were really looking would you notice that his left hand had seemingly been replaced with a fearful machete blade. He briefly raised his right hand to gently wave at the girl. Then he shook it, somewhat violently — he'd just punched solid rock with that arm, and it still hurt.
"Hey... sorry about that, if you heard anything," he replied in his high, slightly sheepish voice. "I was just stressed, 's all. There's so much plants up here, it almost makes you forget about... everything."
Dave's heart was still racing, even though he was now among friends... er, a friend. That damned Tracen Danya had introduced two unknown variables into what would have been a typical social situation anywhere else: the unknown weapon, and the tension and distrust that defined this entire game.
He rested his bruising hand on his chest so he could monitor his heartbeat: 120 or so. That wasn't good.
But, as they say, ignorance is truly bliss. Not even the Lord above knew how Dave would react if he should sight the barrel of Crystal's gun.
Forget about things. Well, that seemed nice, actually.
"I think we're all stressed out at this point. I wouldn't mind a coffee right now or...Do you have a smoke?"
Janice wasn't exactly sure if Dave was a smoker, he seemed way too healthy and fit to be a heavy smoker, but he was cool enough to maybe have smoked at some point. Maybe? Either way, she was happy to see him and that he seemed to trust her.
Dave seemed...hurt...(?) though, with him moving weirdly with his arms.
"Are you alright over there?"
Janice walked forward to approach Dave.
"I think we're all stressed out at this point. I wouldn't mind a coffee right now or...Do you have a smoke?"
Janice wasn't exactly sure if Dave was a smoker, he seemed way too healthy and fit to be a heavy smoker, but he was cool enough to maybe have smoked at some point. Maybe? Either way, she was happy to see him and that he seemed to trust her.
Dave seemed...hurt...(?) though, with him moving weirdly with his arms.
"Are you alright over there?"
Janice walked forward to approach Dave.
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Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2725
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
The newcomer was tall. Thin. Tan. Athletic. Very, very blond. A whole bunch of stuff Crystal wasn't, in other words.
She was asking the guy if the guy was okay. He had apologized. They were acting like everything was normal, like nobody had sword-hands or rifles. Well, good for them. They could do that. Crystal was staying right here for a little more, leaning in and watching carefully but keeping quiet.
She tried to monitor every piece of herself and the world around her, all at once. Her ears prickled for voices. Her feet tingled as the blood rushed through them. Her hands held the gun steady.
She took a breath.
She was asking the guy if the guy was okay. He had apologized. They were acting like everything was normal, like nobody had sword-hands or rifles. Well, good for them. They could do that. Crystal was staying right here for a little more, leaning in and watching carefully but keeping quiet.
She tried to monitor every piece of herself and the world around her, all at once. Her ears prickled for voices. Her feet tingled as the blood rushed through them. Her hands held the gun steady.
She took a breath.
I bid you all dark greetings!
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carduinal-cyn
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2021 5:07 pm
"No idea," Dave replied somewhat tersely. "I'm just tired. It's fine."
Talk about culture shock. The Body Improvement/WAP bubble he lived in was far from the world where high school students drank and smoked and did all sorts of illicit things: their little rebellions. You'd think people would have learned from, well, common sense — cigarettes were probably deadlier than "Survival of the Fittest" itself. That's what he thought. But he wasn't about to tell Janice that to her face. No sense in losing allies over something so petty.
"So, er... you seen anyone else yet?" he asked. Maybe if he was lucky, he would run into a friend, or a classmate, or someone else he at least recognized. "Doubt they got far, if you did... Seems like we're on some kind of mountain, so I bet we could get a good sense of where everyone is if we made it to higher ground."
Well, it'd be over for Anakin if Janice agreed to that plan. They'd have the high ground... as dangerous as that could turn out to be.
Talk about culture shock. The Body Improvement/WAP bubble he lived in was far from the world where high school students drank and smoked and did all sorts of illicit things: their little rebellions. You'd think people would have learned from, well, common sense — cigarettes were probably deadlier than "Survival of the Fittest" itself. That's what he thought. But he wasn't about to tell Janice that to her face. No sense in losing allies over something so petty.
"So, er... you seen anyone else yet?" he asked. Maybe if he was lucky, he would run into a friend, or a classmate, or someone else he at least recognized. "Doubt they got far, if you did... Seems like we're on some kind of mountain, so I bet we could get a good sense of where everyone is if we made it to higher ground."
Well, it'd be over for Anakin if Janice agreed to that plan. They'd have the high ground... as dangerous as that could turn out to be.
When she reached Dave, she hugged him. Then, she responded to his question.
"Yeah, I met Salem. You shouldn't trust him, he wants to be the sole survivor."
It didn't hurt to expose Salem's intentions to Dave, after all, Salem and her parted ways. And hey, it might help Dave as well. Janice really liked Dave, so there was no harm done in helping him a little bit.
Now his suggestion to climb the mountain? Not a bad idea. Did she want to? No. But who else would voluntarily climb it? Exactly. No one. Maybe it was a safe spot, as no one in their right mind would just decide to exhaust themselves to climb the mountain.
"That sounds like a plan. It's probably safe up there as well."
"Yeah, I met Salem. You shouldn't trust him, he wants to be the sole survivor."
It didn't hurt to expose Salem's intentions to Dave, after all, Salem and her parted ways. And hey, it might help Dave as well. Janice really liked Dave, so there was no harm done in helping him a little bit.
Now his suggestion to climb the mountain? Not a bad idea. Did she want to? No. But who else would voluntarily climb it? Exactly. No one. Maybe it was a safe spot, as no one in their right mind would just decide to exhaust themselves to climb the mountain.
"That sounds like a plan. It's probably safe up there as well."
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Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2725
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
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PlatFleece
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:29 pm
How long had Jennifer walked since she had woken up by a rocky outcropping with a crippling headache? She must have spent at least half an hour reconciling the fact that she had just seen death firsthand, and was now trapped with almost no way home. She had never really followed much of the news surrounding Survival of the Fittest beyond the surface level stuff, but she knew how many regular kids like her just died...
Jennifer wouldn't take a life. She wasn't a murderer, and she couldn't see herself killing anyone. Except, that wasn't true. The more time she spent ruminating, the more she imagined the ways she could see herself killing someone. Self-defense, most likely, but she'd never do it out of malice or active intent to win. Even though all her life she had been taught to treat everything like a competition.
S095 - Jennifer Farrow - START
It took her ten minutes to come to terms with. Another five minutes was spent looking through her daypack. She couldn't risk panicking. Not here, not now. There had to be some kind of a plan. The other times this happened, the students of those SOTFs had to have been pressured, panicked, and couldn't think straight. Jennifer would be different. She'd gather a group, plan out something, and... she wasn't sure. She'd get there when she got there. The first step to getting a hold of yourself is to have a way forward, and Jennifer was clinging to this hope with everything she got.
The next five minutes was spent on examining her weapon. She had never used this... spear-like halberd thing. Just holding it and reading the manual was hard enough. She didn't know if she should swing it around the trees to test. She certainly wasn't going to give off any wrong impressions, but there was also no way to hide this, unlike guns. So she was just stuck with this scary-looking spear on her back forever. At least she can carry it and walk with it without getting too tired if she paced herself.
The last ten minutes was spent walking down the mountain path, keeping an ear out for anyone. Along the way, she wondered if her friends would kill her instantly. She didn't think they would, but it did stop her tracks for a few moments. She had to gauge if they were willing to cooperate. She needed a team, not enemies. She walked slower then, making sure not to make as much noise. She had never been to military school or anything like that, but maybe there were ways to keep herself hidden along the path from any would-be killers lying in ambush.
Her mind wandered, just slightly. Imaginary snipers, people with machetes waiting behind the trees, hidden mines being set up, only to be put at bay by the idea that all that stuff was ridiculous for people her age to be able to do. Jennifer took a deep breath to calm her nerves. That's when she heard two people talking.
She ran over towards where they were, before realizing that she had removed any element of surprise she had before. Still, now she was face to face with two people, and she recognized one of them.
"Oh my god... Dave? From Halloween?"
Jennifer wouldn't take a life. She wasn't a murderer, and she couldn't see herself killing anyone. Except, that wasn't true. The more time she spent ruminating, the more she imagined the ways she could see herself killing someone. Self-defense, most likely, but she'd never do it out of malice or active intent to win. Even though all her life she had been taught to treat everything like a competition.
S095 - Jennifer Farrow - START
It took her ten minutes to come to terms with. Another five minutes was spent looking through her daypack. She couldn't risk panicking. Not here, not now. There had to be some kind of a plan. The other times this happened, the students of those SOTFs had to have been pressured, panicked, and couldn't think straight. Jennifer would be different. She'd gather a group, plan out something, and... she wasn't sure. She'd get there when she got there. The first step to getting a hold of yourself is to have a way forward, and Jennifer was clinging to this hope with everything she got.
The next five minutes was spent on examining her weapon. She had never used this... spear-like halberd thing. Just holding it and reading the manual was hard enough. She didn't know if she should swing it around the trees to test. She certainly wasn't going to give off any wrong impressions, but there was also no way to hide this, unlike guns. So she was just stuck with this scary-looking spear on her back forever. At least she can carry it and walk with it without getting too tired if she paced herself.
The last ten minutes was spent walking down the mountain path, keeping an ear out for anyone. Along the way, she wondered if her friends would kill her instantly. She didn't think they would, but it did stop her tracks for a few moments. She had to gauge if they were willing to cooperate. She needed a team, not enemies. She walked slower then, making sure not to make as much noise. She had never been to military school or anything like that, but maybe there were ways to keep herself hidden along the path from any would-be killers lying in ambush.
Her mind wandered, just slightly. Imaginary snipers, people with machetes waiting behind the trees, hidden mines being set up, only to be put at bay by the idea that all that stuff was ridiculous for people her age to be able to do. Jennifer took a deep breath to calm her nerves. That's when she heard two people talking.
She ran over towards where they were, before realizing that she had removed any element of surprise she had before. Still, now she was face to face with two people, and she recognized one of them.
"Oh my god... Dave? From Halloween?"
((Skipping to avoid inactivity))
It looked like she wasn't the only one with the idea of climbing the mountain as more people arrived. The newcomer's name was Jennifer, a fellow basket ball player. Janice has a deep respect for Jennifer as she one of the few girls in their team that could actually play well and do not suck. She also always seemed eager to improve, but in this situation, she felt a little bit intimidated by her, though she didn't want to show any of that right now. Because yes, Jennifer was fit, and to Janice that made her dangerous in these circumstances.
"Hey Jenny," she raised her hand. "Stop."
Her voice was strict and there was no sign of friendliness in her tone.
"Don't come close until you've shown us your weapon."
It looked like she wasn't the only one with the idea of climbing the mountain as more people arrived. The newcomer's name was Jennifer, a fellow basket ball player. Janice has a deep respect for Jennifer as she one of the few girls in their team that could actually play well and do not suck. She also always seemed eager to improve, but in this situation, she felt a little bit intimidated by her, though she didn't want to show any of that right now. Because yes, Jennifer was fit, and to Janice that made her dangerous in these circumstances.
"Hey Jenny," she raised her hand. "Stop."
Her voice was strict and there was no sign of friendliness in her tone.
"Don't come close until you've shown us your weapon."
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Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2725
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
A new factor entered play, complicating matters. Crystal watched the newcomer from her hiding place, considering. The girl was well-built, and she had something long and bladed strapped to her back. Not a gun. No guns here, aside from Crystal's.
The names floating around sounded familiar. The faces were familiar. She knew these people, but that wasn't right, was it? She knew of them. She knew impressions, knew how they presented themselves, but none of that meant anything now. Those impressions were who they were before, in ideal circumstances. They were their potential, but right now they weren't those people. They were weapons, all of them, and Crystal couldn't forget it.
It was the weapons she had to be cautious of, not the people. The people weren't here.
Down below, there was a moment of tension. A standoff. The new girl had been told to stay back until she showed her weapon; Crystal had a better vantage point. They still didn't know she was here, and she could've easily left it like that. She could've just left. If she wanted to become known, she could do so in a hail of bullets.
But she didn't do that. She drew back further, closed her eyes for a moment, and then tiptoed around the side of the boulder, before letting her steps get heavier and crunching along through underbrush and snow like she was just arriving from uphill. Then she walked down towards the others, slow and casual. Non-threatening, on a personal level. The gun in her hands was a little threatening, but not, like, actively so. She stopped about thirty feet away, only a bit closer than where she'd been spying, standing openly now.
"Um," Crystal said, looking at them all. Gun in hand. "Hi."
The names floating around sounded familiar. The faces were familiar. She knew these people, but that wasn't right, was it? She knew of them. She knew impressions, knew how they presented themselves, but none of that meant anything now. Those impressions were who they were before, in ideal circumstances. They were their potential, but right now they weren't those people. They were weapons, all of them, and Crystal couldn't forget it.
It was the weapons she had to be cautious of, not the people. The people weren't here.
Down below, there was a moment of tension. A standoff. The new girl had been told to stay back until she showed her weapon; Crystal had a better vantage point. They still didn't know she was here, and she could've easily left it like that. She could've just left. If she wanted to become known, she could do so in a hail of bullets.
But she didn't do that. She drew back further, closed her eyes for a moment, and then tiptoed around the side of the boulder, before letting her steps get heavier and crunching along through underbrush and snow like she was just arriving from uphill. Then she walked down towards the others, slow and casual. Non-threatening, on a personal level. The gun in her hands was a little threatening, but not, like, actively so. She stopped about thirty feet away, only a bit closer than where she'd been spying, standing openly now.
"Um," Crystal said, looking at them all. Gun in hand. "Hi."
I bid you all dark greetings!
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PlatFleece
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:29 pm
Jenny hadn't noticed Janice beforehand. For but just a moment, she had treated it like just any other day, like they were just lost in the woods on a school trip. It was only when Janice asked her to show her weapon that Jenny remembered that they had been kidnapped and forced into a death game, forced to kill each other. The very thought threatened to stress her out, so Jenny did what she always did when faced with mounting tension. She focused up, and try to bring the team together.
They were obviously scared, because without a weapon, Jenny could probably take them one-on-one just out of sheer athleticism and determination in a fight, at least... she hoped she could if it came down to that. Janice was just as built as her, and even if she could take Dave, it was one thing to imagine beating your friends in a fight than it is to actually be defending your life against them. And at this point, with the fear radiating around the both of them, they might take Jenny two-on-one if she made the wrong move. But Janice would see sense, right? They've played ball together, after all.
Slowly, Jenny raised her hands. "Whoa, relax. Not stepping any closer, alright? I'm gonna take out my weapon now." Slowly, she reached out for her spear, and unholstered it from where she had tied it around her back. "Kinda hard to miss, see? It's a... spear-thing, I don't remember what it's called." She gripped it with two arms, not in a motion of attack, just to show the weapon.
It was clear that she could lift it, but her form probably needed work. She's never handled a live weapon like this. The spear-or perhaps it was more of a halberd-was longer than what Jennifer had expected. On the end of it, towards one side, was a banded blade, almost like a hatchet, but large and curved, designed for hacking, constructed well, if a little medieval and morbid. Jenny knew enough from books to know that she'd need to sharpen this thing if she wanted to maintain it, but she neither had the tools nor had any reason to use it... she hoped she wouldn't have to use it at least.
And then the other girl showed up, saying hi, with a gun. Jennifer's mind was so focused on the gun that she didn't even register the girl's face.
"Holy sh-, okay, that is a lot more concerning right now." Jennifer instinctively gripped her Voulge tighter, still awkwardly, and stepped back a few paces.
They were obviously scared, because without a weapon, Jenny could probably take them one-on-one just out of sheer athleticism and determination in a fight, at least... she hoped she could if it came down to that. Janice was just as built as her, and even if she could take Dave, it was one thing to imagine beating your friends in a fight than it is to actually be defending your life against them. And at this point, with the fear radiating around the both of them, they might take Jenny two-on-one if she made the wrong move. But Janice would see sense, right? They've played ball together, after all.
Slowly, Jenny raised her hands. "Whoa, relax. Not stepping any closer, alright? I'm gonna take out my weapon now." Slowly, she reached out for her spear, and unholstered it from where she had tied it around her back. "Kinda hard to miss, see? It's a... spear-thing, I don't remember what it's called." She gripped it with two arms, not in a motion of attack, just to show the weapon.
It was clear that she could lift it, but her form probably needed work. She's never handled a live weapon like this. The spear-or perhaps it was more of a halberd-was longer than what Jennifer had expected. On the end of it, towards one side, was a banded blade, almost like a hatchet, but large and curved, designed for hacking, constructed well, if a little medieval and morbid. Jenny knew enough from books to know that she'd need to sharpen this thing if she wanted to maintain it, but she neither had the tools nor had any reason to use it... she hoped she wouldn't have to use it at least.
And then the other girl showed up, saying hi, with a gun. Jennifer's mind was so focused on the gun that she didn't even register the girl's face.
"Holy sh-, okay, that is a lot more concerning right now." Jennifer instinctively gripped her Voulge tighter, still awkwardly, and stepped back a few paces.
Janice looked at the spear Jenny was holding, didn't seem too dangerous but that doesn't mean it couldn't kill her. If that wasn't enough, some girl with a pixie cut made herself visible. It wasn't the pixie cut that was the problem (though that too was a problem in its own way), but the gun she was carrying.
If she had been friendly she wouldn't have wielded the gun so...threatenling, so Janice reacted instantly. She hid from the gun behind the big and muscular Dave, touching his shoulder.
"Dave, do something."
If she had been friendly she wouldn't have wielded the gun so...threatenling, so Janice reacted instantly. She hid from the gun behind the big and muscular Dave, touching his shoulder.
"Dave, do something."