Time, tide and river waits for no one

[Fiori]

It was early in the morning, and a girl found herself alone in the middle of the woods

She had a tin foil blanket draped over her shoulders like a cloak, her eyes crusty and vacant, staring aimlessly into the smouldering embers of a dying campfire. On her lap lay a rifle, loaded and ready to be used at a moment's notice, though she'd trade it away in an instant for a warm bed and a hot meal.

Hell, she'd gladly toss the damned thing off a cliff if that's what it took to see Amaryllis again.

((Lillian Larsen continued from Three Bullets))

Lily hadn't meant to venture so far from camp. She originally intended on investigating the spot where they happened across Kitty and Kai, see if there were any clues as to their current whereabouts. When that (unsurprisingly) proved to be a dead end, she pressed herself to search further afield, to wander aimlessly through the snow looking for a needle in a haystack. If she was thinking straight she would've turned back immediately, reunite with Amaryllis and figure something out together.

But she wasn't. After yesterday's bombshell she'd found herself overcome with a desire for... Vengeance? No, that wasn't the right word at all. She wasn't looking for revenge, she was looking to fix her mistake. To undo an error of judgement that led to Derak and Chiara's deaths, that would likely lead to more if she didn't do something about it.

Deep down, a part of her knew she was being irrational. That it wouldn't help anyone to storm out half-baked, without any kind of plan or strategy in mind. Christ, she hadn't even stopped to make sure Amaryllis was awake before zooming off, so convinced in her mind that she couldn't afford to linger for even a moment.

By the time she started thinking clearly again, it was too late. Nightfall had arrived, and her legs were too tired to carry her back home. So instead she had to improvise, search for one of the dozens of abandoned campsites left by her former classmates, eventually finding one that also came with a pre-built shelter. It wasn't much, but along with her emergency blanket it was enough to see her through to morning.

And now, there she sat. Cold and overwrought with regret. This was the first time since she emerged from that coffin where she felt truly alone, where it really began to sink in just how much she fucking despised that island.

She missed her home. She missed her family. She missed her friends. She missed not having to worry about who was going to die next, or who was on-track to become the next Erika Stieglitz.

She missed Amaryllis. So very, very much.

Lily sniffled, wiping her eyes as she tried to hold her tears back. She didn't want her cheeks getting wet, not when it was this cold.

She had to go back. Apologise to Amaryllis, come up with a proper plan. They needed to do something to make a difference out there, she was certain of that at least. But they needed to do it together. She needed to fix this mistake before it was too late. What good would it do her to keep searching for a girl who could be literally anywhere at this point?

Her mind set, Lily reached down for her bag, unzipping it so that she could rummage for her map... Only to be interrupted by the blare of a microphone, as the morning announcement began. An intense feeling of dread gripped her, anticipating the moment Amaryllis' name was mentioned amongst the dead. Or worse.

Fortunately, Amaryllis didn't get mentioned either way. But Katelyn did. For killing her own sister, no less. Context be damned, it was hard to not feel disgusted, both at Katelyn and herself for believing her in the first place. To think she had bought into all that nonsense Kitty spouted about not wanting to hurt anyone, even making her doubt Liya's innocence. It was hard to suppress the anger rising in her, the same anger that put her in this mess in the first place.

After that, there were a couple repeat offenders brought up. Joshua was dead, Salem was quickly making a name for himself, as was - surprisingly - Evie of all people. That was unexpected, but not as much as what came next.

Lily's heart sank when Iris' name was mentioned. Shot dead by... Richard? What, no, that... That couldn't be right. There must be some mistake, he never would've... There must've been a misunderstanding, some horrible accident or something. There's no way Dickie would've ever actually shot someone, let alone Iris of all people.

She was so shocked by that one particular bombshell, that she almost missed another. One critical piece of information that changed everything.

Katelyn had won the BKA.

Realising what this meant, Lily scrambled to pull out her map and compass, unfolding it quickly to start figuring out her current location. Amaryllis had taught her a little about map reading, enough for her to get a rough idea of where she was in relation to the rest of the island. The mountain was roughly north-east of her, and she recalled passing a dried up river not long before finding this camp. Which if her estimates were correct, would mean...

The research station wasn't that far away.

Lily paused. She bit her lip, thinking things through, her hands shaking as she gripped her map tightly. Her eyes drifted to the spot she marked where their blanket fort was located, where Amaryllis was hopefully still waiting for her.

Her eyes then shifted back to the research station, thinking intensely as her grip tightened.

Several minutes passed before she made her decision, quickly putting her things away before setting off, rifle in her arms and a grim look in her eyes.

She couldn't afford to pass up an opportunity like this.

((Lillian Larsen continued in ...except for those who fear it))