Survival Of The Fittest

((If anyone remembers the original post order, could they please post it, I'm so confused...))

Alan had dropped himself right in it, and what was worse was that he had dropped Jimmy right into it too. There they stood, transfixed on the spot, glared at from a short distance by a madwomen and her gun. Thought raced through Alan's mind, he clutched the photo of him and Zoey, taking it out of his pocket for comfort. He had no idea what to do; it was as if his brain had mutated into a tossed salad, incapable of running. "Jimmy... Why aren't we running?" Alan whispered to his partner, but before he could answer, a horrible cracking noise tore the air apart. In panic, Alan dived head first into the sand, plunging his face into the gritty world underneath him.

After a few seconds, Alan turned his head upwards. "Jimmy?" Alan whispered, but with no answer. "Jimmy!?" Alan said, louder this time, still no answer. Alan sat up to see the horrible sight of his best friend bleeding in the sand. Alan was unfamiliar with such a horrific sight, he didn't know what to do. He crawled over and looked over his friend. "Jimmy, please. Why is this happening? Why won't you answer me?"

"Alan ..." A wisp of a voice answered. Alan gasped gently, "I don't think I've got ..." The crippled figure on the ground let out let out a cough the even seemed to strangle Alan's throat. "Aagh. Just keep fighting ... but remember ..." Jimmy could hardly speak.

"You've done more for me in a few days then anyone has done for me in years." Alan didn't know what to say, but he didn't want Jimmy to die. He couldn't let his best friend die at the hands of Danya.

"Forget what I just said. Tell Reiko, that ... that I don't blame her. I mean, we're all just victims here. The only one who's really to blame is Danya." Alan couldn't help but feel his own tears starting to flow from his eyes onto Jimmy's bloodstained shirt. He was right, Mr. Danya was the one responsible for Jimmy's pain. "Just keep fighting these guys, and ..." It was getting harder and harder for Jimmy to speak. "... stay strong. Don't turn into one of them. It's what he wants." Alan nodded in agreement through floods of thin, silent tears. "You're a good guy, so long as you don't turn. Just ... just keep the others from following that path."

"Jimmy, I promise, I won't rest..." Alan choked slightly on his tears. "I will not rest until the movement has toppled the one who did this to you." Alan unzipped his favourite cotton jacket and laid it over Jimmy's body like a blanket.

"Stay strong, Alan, and ..." Alan watched in disbelief as Jimmy smiled weakly at Alan as eye began to draw shut. "Jimmy? And what? Jimmy no, please don't go yet, I can't survive without you, please. Wake up, please... You must wake up... Why won't you wake..." At that point Alan erupted into tears, throwing his arms around his dead friend.

"No, no, no, no, Jimmy please, no! I don't wanna be left alone on this island. Please Zoey, please just take me away from this place, I don't wanna die... I... Don't... Wan... Na... Die..." Alan cried like a baby while clutching his dead friend like a life preserver. "I love you Jimmy." he whispered into his deceased chest.

Alan wasn't exactly sure why he had said those last words. Being heterosexual and dedicating all his love hopelessly to a girl who didn't feel the same way it would seem strange to say those particular words. The most obvious reason would be that in his confused state of mourning Alan didn't have a clue as to what words exactly were coming out of his mouth. But the real reason was that after being dropped in a world where everyone was against him, Jimmy was the only person he could trust, with each group that Alan had to face, Jimmy was there to protect Alan from the dangers the group may contain; although for the most part no danger existed.

Jimmy was the only thing that was normal to Alan in a world that to him, could not be an island on Earth, as his photo of himself and Zoey was a reminder that there was hope of surviving, Jimmy was the only thing that really reminded him that sanity could actually exist on SOTF. And in all honesty, how else would you feel about a person like that?

((I honestly have no idea what the post order is myself.))

Moments ticked by, and Courtney noticed a bag lying between them and her. She began to formulate a plan of sorts. The second Reiko fired at them- if she fired at all- Courtney would dash for the bag and pull out whatever was inside. Use it as leverage to get them to go. Alright, just needed some time to ru- bang.

Crap. No time to think it through. Reiko fired the gun. Courtney ducked and ran forwards, rushing to the bag and rummaging through, checking what it contained. She hefted out a huge shotgun of a make Courtney couldn't determine. Like hell that she could fire the thing, but it might have been a good idea to give them that extra push to get them to leave. Courtney raised the shotgun at them.

Except they didn't need that push. Jimmy-boy was lying on the floor. The bullet must have hit him. Reiko was struggling to get back up in the water. Oh damn. He'd be fine though, right? Stomach wounds were usually non-fatal, he'd be fine. The other kid was blubbering about nothing. Courtney took a few silent steps forward, still holding the shotgun tight. Couldn't show that she was scared.

Courtney stood there, the shotgun sitting awkwardly in her hands while Alan blubbered and clutched his friend. Professing his love? Really? He was being that melodramatic about it? Courtney sighed, moving one of her hands away from the shotgun to adjust a strap of her tank top.

"You know we're both standing right here, right?" Courtney put her free hand on her hip, the hand holding the shotgun started to shake. "Get a hold of yourself, slap your friend awake or something, then both of you can get the hell out of here."

A dark thought crossed Courtney's mind. She silently hoped his friend was okay.

((Ash Morrison continued from Too Late))

The situation Ash had stumbled into was something she definitely could not handle. Reiko Ishida, one of the more prolific killers on this island, was aiming a gun at a group of fellow students.

It would have been a smart idea to stay out of this mess and let her kill them, if that was what Reiko was after. But the persistent nagging feeling in the back of her head changed her mind. Ash looked down at the two bags she held. These were the only thing she could part with out of all of her current possessions. However, she was reluctant to do so, having risked her life to steal them.

I can throw the lighter one and distract Reiko that way. It would take some of the supplies I need, but it could bring her attention away from them.

She looked over the group again. One of them had been shot, judging by the pool of blood. The face and upper torso of the student was obscured by one of the others, so she couldn't tell if he or she was still alive. It confirmed her worst scenario: Reiko was out for blood.

Ash thought about this more carefully. Would her throw actually do anything positive, or would it startle Reiko into shooting randomly? Also, she had to consider her own life. What if the bullets flew in her direction next? She had to look out for herself as well.

She paused, staying in the dark like she always did. Maybe she'd see a better opportunity come along soon.

For a brief moment, Reiko was assaulted with silence. Even with the tide slowly receding, there was still enough water for her to be fully emerged. The sensation of the water as it silently embraced her body made her almost feel at peace.. Here she could escape from it all. From the blood and tears that had been shed because of her. The salty water didn't judge her for who she was or what she had done. It was just glad to have her there for company. Reiko would like nothing more than to stay with it. Just let it wash her away and never have to worry about anything again. Except, she still had something she needed to finish here on the island.

Reiko resurfaced to chaos. The boy that was close to where she had fired was on the ground, and even from this distance the girl could see the red. His partner was at his side, no doubt trying to comfort him in his final moments. Reiko couldn't hear what he was saying, but she didn't need to. She knew. He was dead, and it was her fault. Again.

Reiko looked at her left hand, the one holding the weapon that had taken the boys life. She wanted to throw it away right then, to get rid of the instrument of murder. Toss it into the sea and maybe finally be able to stop killing people once and for all. In the end though, she knew that getting rid of her last line of defense was just asking for someone to kill her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Reiko noticed that Courtney had picked up her other gun, and was pointing it at the other boy. The girl had all of a couple seconds to process this until another voice entered the fray, this one much louder, and very angry. Reiko found herself looking at yet another person, who was yelling and looking angry in her general direction. She didn't know what her problem was, but she didn't much care. All she knew was that she was soaked from head to toe, she was on edge, and she was starting to get cold in that water. Reiko shook her head slightly, pushing her feelings on the back burner for the moment. Right now she needed to get out alive.

"Yeah, or you'll do what?" Reiko retorted at the new girl without really thinking.


Not a good start to that whole "getting out alive" thing.

((Skipping post order to get Courtney out of the thread.))

A new girl showed up. Under normal circumstances, Courtney would have turned and ran immediately. These weren't normal circumstances. That much was certain. Making no attempt to acknowledge her, Courtney kept her gun lowered for now. Courtney wasn't thinking this through much, was she?

No time to decide. Point the gun. How many bullets? Didn't matter for now. Courtney ducked down and picked up the one she'd dropped on the floor, though. Stuffed it into the pockets of her sweatpants. Were they called sweatpants in America? Courtney had never asked. Normally just called them what she called them at home. She'd never wanted to be here anyway. Courtney missed home, even more so now. If they'd have never moved, this wouldn't have happened. This wouldn't be happening. She'd be back in London, see it on the news, maybe a small story in the paper about the kidnapping of a senior year from Minnesota. One survivor found, the rest still missing. Sad story for the day, forgotten by tomorrow.

It wouldn't have mattered to her. She was on the other side of the world, right?

But no, her Dad had to get the job, he had to make them leave the country. They had to go to St. Paul, not Minneapolis. They had to put her in Bayview, instead of lying and getting her into the Catholic School. She could have dealt with a Catholic school. She'd have adjusted eventually. But no, Mum and Dad had to say "Sorry, Courtney, you're going to Bayview! Don't worry, it'll be fun!" She had to go on this trip. All of the fucking chances she had to avoid this and still she was here.

This shouldn't have happened. Not to her.

She shook her head and looked around. Judged the situation. Reiko was distracted with the new girl, the other guy was still whispering sweet nothings to his out of it friend, the noise she'd heard earlier hadn't shown up since. Things were going to get messy, Courtney was certain.

Still barefoot and shouldering her bag, Courtney quietly slipped away.

((Courtney Bradley, continued in That's a bout. Salute. Shake hands.))

Sense slowly started to seep into Alan's body, he realised the danger that he was in. He couldn't let Jimmy down; as Jimmy's last words rang through Alan's head like a powerful speedboat, he picked himself up from the floor, leaving his jumper over Jimmy, tears still staining his face. Alan briefly looked over to the student that had killed his friend; already she seemed pre-occupied, probably luring in another student already. Part of Alan wanted him to do away with her right on the spot, but he knew that it would be far too dangerous. It had already shot Jimmy without any thought, it would probably take out Alan in an instant.

"I promise, I will not let you down." Alan whispered to Jimmy before running off in the opposite direction to his killer. As he was running he felt his foot step on something flat and solid, which was strange when you're walking on a beach. Alan stopped running and looked down. The metallic shine of Jimmy's naginata stared back at him. Without thinking, Alan picked it up by his handle and continued running.

Alan couldn't quite explain it, but when he picked up the blade, he could have sworn that he saw Jimmy's face in the reflection, staring back at Alan for a split second. But Alan had already started running again, with nothing but his backpack and his friend's unused weapon. But Alan was on a mission; a mission that was bestowed upon Alan by Jimmy on his deathbed. To rid the island of the students who have already signed Mr. Danya's contract of murder, and to topple Lucifer's island empire once and for all and create a shining beacon of hope for every human student on the island.

((Alan Rickhall continued in The Long Road Home.))

"What'll I do?! Didn't you hear the announcement? I'm a murderer, just like you!" Jackie held up the knife so it would be clearly visible. "See?!"

When she thought about it more, she was right- She and Reiko might not be so different... just that Reiko was about six times more not so different. Or something. Either way, Jackie didn't consider herself dangerous, per se (unless, of course, your name was Anneliese Hansen). Just sort of unstable. Everyone here was like that, right? Anyone who wasn't got shot, like Allie. Maybe it was a good thing, to be more "stable" like she was. But it also meant death. So really, people like Jackie and Reiko were the better ones... right?

It was with that logic that Jackie slowly began to approach the scene. She still held her knife visibly, but she walked slowly, watching as the other girl and the remaining boy walked away in opposite directions. It would probably be better for Jackie to do the same. Oh well. If she died here, it would only mean she wouldn't die a couple days later instead.

She was trying to intimidate her... with a knife. Reiko had to stop herself from laughing. Something about the absurdity of this girl wielding her little knife and trying to act all menacing made the smaller girl want to laugh despite the situation. She didn't even feel the need to hold her gun up any more. Her arms hung loosely at her side, the firearm in her hand, but the finger of the trigger. Another shiver went up Reiko's body. She needed to get out of that water, and fast.

"You're nothing like me." Reiko retorted to Jackie's most recent verbal assault. "Sure, maybe you got lucky, once. But that doesn't make you anything like me."

Of course it didn't. It made her a better person really. Sure, she killed someone, but for all Reiko knew it was an act of defense. Hardly something she could be held accountable for. She could probably use that to her advantage as well, pull the sympathy card. Get people on her side to protect her. Not like Reiko. Reiko had that chance. A chance that now lay somewhere on the island, rotting. Whatever, she was probably better off alone. She sure as hell wasn't going to be teaming up with Jackie.

Reiko raised the pistol again, this time quite deliberately pointing it at the other girl. "I suggest you move bitch, before I add you to my little pile of corpses I got going over there."

Her presence here was unnecessary after all. Reika wasn't going to shoot the girl in cold blood. Ash's prediction had been wrong, which was not surprising to her. She was about to leave when she realized her problem. What was she going to do now? She wasn't so stealthy that she could walk away without making a sound. Being hit by a stray shot and bleeding out was not the way she wanted to go out.

Good intentions lead to ignoble ends, it seems.

She should've stayed away. The little compassion she felt dragged her into this situation, where a single misstep could get her killed. The wet sand was not an easy surface to run on, especially with the rather heavy bags in her hands. Ash frowned, promising to herself that she would never let her feelings get in the way of her survival again.

No matter what, she had to go back to her family. Even if she did something terrible and turned them away from her, Ash desperately wanted to see their faces one last time. She bit her lip in an uncharacteristic display of anger. Her time would come soon. Whether it was death or salvation from this forsaken island would remain to be seen.

((Sorry guys ; ~; This will be my last post with Jacqueline Myrie; after this she will be handled by Dom. I quite enjoyed my time handling Jackie, and I hope you guys enjoyed my writing with her.))

"You're nothing like me."

Those words burned themselves into the recesses of Jackie's brain, seeping into what would become a humiliating memory. Reiko Ishida was dismissing her. She was better. She was scarier. Her hands were bloodier. This bitch was hardcore, and she knew it. And she was willing to piss on other people to make that clear.

That fucking bitch.

"I- shut up. SHUT UP!!!"

But she didn't. And neither was that gun, apparently.

"I suggest you move bitch, before I add you to my little pile of corpses I got going over there."

Wait. There was only one corp- that wasn't the point. This was another gun in Jackie's face, and she didn't have time to lunge forth with the knife again. She picked up her bag and turned around, trying to shake as little as possible (it was a futile effort, but mentioning that to Jackie at the moment would've been a bad idea).

"This isn't the last you'll see me!" It was a cliche. A cheesy one. But it would have to do. Her tail between her legs, Jackie jogged back towards the mainland.

[[Jacqueline Myrie continued elsewhere]]

(Oh, god. I hope that this still counts.)

Ash cursed silently. She had been way too slow. If she had paid attention to the girl and not herself, she could've seized the opportunity to run away without attracting notice. She would just have to disregard the low chances of success and get away ASAP before Reiko turned and saw her.

Hesitantly, she set the bags she stole down. The only thing she could take with her would be a mere bottle of water. Still, it was better than nothing. There would be other opportunities later.

She got on her hands and knees, slowly clawing at the sand as she tried to crawl away from the scene. The sound of the waves covered up her shuffling almost perfectly, although it was still barely noticeable.

Remember that poster. Keep calm and carry on. That's what I need to do here.

With a quick glance behind her to confirm that Reiko was still looking away from her, Ash slithered off towards safety.

((Ash Morrison continued in Make Your Own Kind of Music))

Reiko finally lowered the gun as the last person left the beach, leaving her all alone, ankle deep in water and shivering. The first step was to get out of the surf and onto dry land. Once she did this, the small girl dug through her bag to find an extra change of clothes. Staying in the ones she was wearing now would just cause her to catch a cold, and she didn't have time for that.

Reiko peeled off the soaked red sleeveless shirt, leaving herself completely exposed from the waist up for a brief moment before a similar green shirt took it's place. Her pants were replaced with a pair of black cargo shorts, which would allow her to dry out a bit better. Not to mention that it had been getting really hot in the heavy pants. She didn't bother with a new pair of underwear, instead opting to go without them for the time being. It wasn't like she was going to be taking off her pants any time soon. Her feet had managed to stay relatively dry, but she did take a moment to change her socks just in case. She knew all too well the horrors of athlete's foot.

Folding the wet clothing as small as she could, the small girl deposited them into a corner of her bag where it would hopefully not get into anything else. Her pistol went into the pocket of her shorts, safety on. She went to grab the shotgun from it's place, only to remember that Courtney had run off with it. Whatever, it wasn't like she would use it. Heaving the bag back onto her shoulders, Reiko began to head back inward. Maybe she would have more luck there.

((Reiko Ishida continued in Suum Venite Faciamus Latere))