Floyd's Tomb

[midnight_twelve]

Fred's eyes were still trying to split themselves between Kai and DeMarcus when he heard the click of the hammer. That was when he screwed them shut, just like he had back on the first day, when it was Betty and whoever else in the firing line. The bang came shortly afterward.

Fred turned away, feeling sick. He hadn't wanted Kai to die. He hadn't wanted anyone to die, that's why he'd said they should leave. Why did no one listen? Now Kai had been shot, and DeMarcus would be on the next morning's announcements, and Kitty and whatever other pyschos Kai had called friends would have it out for them. This was what he got for throwing his lot in with DeMarcus. He'd known the guy was crazy for years- "Kai's a mole" wasn't his first insane conspiracy theory- and he'd known he was trigger happy since their first encounter on the island. But he'd stuck with him for protection, and he supposed that's what he had got. If Kai had been a murderer or an accomplice or a fucking mole, at least he wasn't any more. Better him than Fred, or than Dom for that matter.

Eyes open now, Fred turned carefully until he could see DeMarcus again and no further.

"...Did you get him?"

[backslash]

Kai was familiar with gunshots. Heard them now and again when out hiking or camping, and they didn't necessarily line up with hunting season. He'd had some morbid thoughts once or twice about whether the shots he heard were aimed at an animal or something else. Never tried to find out.

He felt the shot that hit Dominiqua. The few seconds of their confused and frantic shuffle had moved her into the line of fire ahead of him. He was pretty sure he cried out in horror, because what else could you do? His ears were ringing from the shot. His voice once again was not his own.

Kai caught Dominiqua under the arms as she fell. Had a second to think about how she felt just like Mallory, but still warm.

Still alive. Still bleeding.

He followed his first instinct and dragged her back into the darkness of the cave as quickly as possible. Some kind of shelter. His hand found the gunshot wound, and his stomach lurched. He pressed down anyway to try to stem the bleeding.

"It's okay, you're okay," he told Dominiqua uselessly. His voice echoed back at him. Cave walls and his own lies closing in around them.

Kai brought Dominiqua to the ground as carefully as he could when his entire body was shaking with adrenaline and the certainty that DeMarcus was going to pursue them. He knew distantly that he needed the first-aid kit. His hands wouldn't move away from the wound.

[Ryuki]

Everything felt and sounded faint. The sensation of falling stopped. Or rather, it felt like time had froze.

Then gently, Dominiqua laid down. She felt pressure on her chest. Kai was hovering over her.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Dominiqua wanted to say something, but ended up coughing up blood instead.

Then her mind went back to her family back home. Her parents, her brother Lovell, her grandparents, and her dog. She missed them. Dearly. If only she could see them one last time.

Her mind went blank. And she was no more.

S033: Dominiqua Ashmore- Deceased

[Outfoxd]

DeMarcus watched Kai carry the girl into the cave, and for a cold second he saw it as a gaping maw swallowing them, as if it was the mouth of some jagged-tooth creature that had just been waiting for prey. Maybe that was why he didn't move to follow the pair, or even fire another shot, for fear of enraging such a beast. This new sense of control he had found, that was creeping in around the edges of his subconscious, would be lost if he went in. And he relished that feeling.

DeMarcus looked at the ground, at the splotches of blood that the girl was leaving behind. It took him a few moments to even notice that Fred had said something. He let the gun fall to his right side.

"Yeah, I got him." He said, still looking at the stains. He took another deep breath, a smoother breath. The air felt crisper than a moment before. Cleaner.

"I know how to take care of things." He said. DeMarcus didn't know if he said that for Fred or himself. "Let's get out of here."

[midnight_twelve]

Fred didn’t know what to say when DeMarcus suggested they leave. The cave wasn’t as desirable a rest station now that there were two corpses lying about, but that didn’t change the fact that he simply couldn’t walk for much longer. He’d need Dominiqua’s shoulder again at least, and he felt guilty asking her for it when she was so tired herself. She was the one who’d actually asked DeMarcus for a rest, after all.

When she didn’t respond to DeMarcus, Fred spoke on her behalf. It was slightly easier than protesting himself.

“Uh, I think Dom wanted to rest…”

He doubted DeMarcus would be persuaded, since she’d just called his conspiracy theory stupid. She did seem to have calmed down quite quickly, though. Fred had expected her to be pissed about Kai, but she hadn’t said a word.

“…Dominiqua?”

[backslash]

Kai didn't know how long he sat there. He kept his hands pressed to Dominiqua's chest, but the blood kept flowing and soaking into his gloves. His eyes stayed fixed on the mouth of the cave. Two figures silhouetted against the cool morning light. He expected DeMarcus to come charging in after them and finish the job by putting a bullet in his head, but everything was quiet now except for the hammering of Kai's heart.

When he looked down again, he finally realized that Dominiqua wasn't breathing.

"Oh. Dom," he croaked. He didn't have anything to follow with. An apology maybe, because someone ought to be sorry. She just lay there unmoving. No heartbeat under his hands anymore.

He'd just replaced one body in the cave with another.

And Kai had nowhere run now.

[Outfoxd]

DeMarcus turned on his heels, shifting away from the mouth of the cave and toward a new direction. He'd look at the map later.

"She'll get her rest and catch up." He said. He took a few steps. "Come on."

He took a few steps and glanced back at the other boy. His shoulder hid how tightly his jaw was clenched.

[midnight_twelve]

Fred stared blankly at the back of DeMarcus’s head. They couldn’t just leave Dominiqua behind, especially after what just happened. Why would she want to stay behind, anyway? Why wasn’t she protesting? Already, he missed her standing up to DeMarcus, the backtalking that had so stressed him out at the time. Without her, he was completely at his mercy.

Something didn’t add up. In the moments following the gunshot his brain had taken a break from catastrophising but now it was back at it again. Fred had to know what was going on. It’s just a body, he told himself. You’ve already seen a few. Mr Perez, Mr Ramos, that girl Kai was dragging. Wincing, he turned around.

The dead girl from earlier was still there, glassy eyes staring back at him. Other than that, the rocky slope was empty. No Kai, no Dom. He exhaled, the tension in his body releasing slightly. Had they both ran away? Just like on the first day, had DeMarcus missed again, just scared them off? Or maybe Kai’s wound wasn’t fatal, maybe Dom had helped him limp away, just like she’d helped Fred all this time.

“She left me…”

Scuffing his feet, he turned around and took a few obedient steps towards DeMarcus.

((Fred Hobbes continued elsewhere.))

[Outfoxd]

With Fred's trajectory decided, DeMarcus gave a little nod. He resumed walking, eyes settled on the horizon of the direction he had selected. He had control. He had the ability to make it make sense. That's all this was. That's what Dominiqua dropping was. That's what Fred following him was. It was control. It was confirmation. He stole a glance down at the weapon, the thing that ensured he was one of the people that could deal with everything. He wanted to be sure it was still there and when he knew, he gave it a little nod too.

((DeMarcus Miller continued elsewhere.))

[backslash]

Kai stayed hidden, breathing hard, until long after the figures of DeMarcus and Fred had faded away. When he finally moved, his arms and legs were stiff from cold and ached from the stone and dirt floor.

He tried to be careful, but his movements were more mechanical as he once again took Dominiqua under the arms and dragged her back out into the light.

Mallory's body lay where Kai had left it. Three sets of footprints led to it. Two led away.

Kai laid them both out side-by-side with an energy reminiscent of the very last hour of his workweek stocking shelves after school. Autopilot. Efficient.

Dominiqua had offered a spare jacket to cover Mallory with. Kai did as she'd suggested and covered her own face with the one she'd been wearing.

When that was done, he started to walk away. Got a few paces before he stopped.

Everything was still and silent, save for the faint ringing in his ears.

He doubled back and ducked back into the cave once more. Found his umbrella, but also Dominiqua's bag. He knelt by it, opened it, and began pawing through the contents. Tried not to think at all about it even as his hands moved, because he was only going to hate himself all the while.

Extra rations. That was what she had been given. Different packets of food. Nothing to even defend herself with or shield her from the elements. Nobody was going to be here long enough to starve.

He took them anyway.

((Kai Rosado-Prince continued in new liver, same eagles))