Survival Of The Fittest

Tall grass was not fun to hike through. You couldn't half-shuffle your feet through it since the grass would always get in the way. Instead, you had to make giant awkward steps like you were preparing to stomp with righteous fury onto an anthill. The heavy backpack on Peter's shoulders did not help; he had to take extra care to not fall over with every lurching step.

Okay, maybe that was being a bit too unfair to the grass. As he slowly tromped his way toward the building, he could at least feel some appreciation for the surroundings. The vibrant green grass brushed his knees as they reached for the sky, evidence of several months or more since the grass had last been tended. It was refreshing in a way, being able to experience nature in a pristine state. Even when he had gone hiking, much of the environment close to the trails bore evidence of the regular passage of people: fallen logs sawed apart to clear paths, steps made of embedded wood or rock, and all the conveniently cleared underbrush. What he was walking through now was more like that time he had gone on a difficult trail up in the mountains. That trail itself was extremely rugged, as only a handful of people went up every summer. Some parts of the trail were still snowed over, while others could only be passed by a little bit of rock climbing. It had been a good experience, though other people seemed to shy away from trying something like that again.
Maybe because it's stupidly hard, and I'm crazy enough to want to do it again. Can't blame other people for being sane.
Peter was so busy admiring the scenery and reminiscing that he almost didn't hear his name getting called out. He whipped his gaze around from the grass at his feet to see if it was the group he had just left behind, but they weren't making any motion which might note that they were trying to catch his attention. Peter shook his head and turned back to continue walking. Not even a day in and I'm already hearing voices.
Try looking forward, dumbass. She's right in front.
He was about to take another step when he noticed a pair of legs mixed in with the blades of grass right in front of him. At least he had avoided crashing into somebody. That could've been embarrassing. Peter looked up from the grass and was confronted with a girl's face, which seemed red and puffy from what probably was a whole lot of crying. Where the hell did she come from? Was she crying? What can I do for her?
Wow. Back to the knight in shining armor routine? Doesn't that get old?
A few realizations hit Peter almost simultaneously. First was that the girl in front of him was Eiko Haraguchi, a Japanese girl that had transferred to Bayview at the beginning of the school year. He hadn't had any classes with her, since she seemed to focus more on courses like economics or the more artsy stuff. There was that one time he had been dragged to GODspeed that she had popped in to audit the club. Rachel clearly hadn't been amused with Eiko though. Peter felt sorry for her. She had been pulled out of her home to come to America, and then just when that had started to be okay, she was thrown into this game.
She also has few friends. Few close connections that would keep her from playing. Best to keep an eye on her.
The second thing he realized was that she was the one that had called out his name a few moments ago. Now that he thought about it, the voice had been afflicted with the slight accent that was unique to Eiko. Maybe it had been harder to recognize because it lacked her usual air of formality mixed with snootiness. Or maybe it was because Peter was just bad at recognizing people by their voices; he made do by being better with visual identification.

The third thing he realized was that he had the compelling urge to step up to her and give her a comforting hug. Of course that was highly inappropriate for the occasion. He barely knew the girl, and she might assume his approach was a threat and do something rash. If she made a lot of noise, or started running, then things could get out of hand really quickly.
She also might have a weapon and attack. Don't be fooled by the tears.
Looking into Eiko's eyes, Peter gave a curt nod to acknowledge her presence. He raised his arms up to show that he was unarmed and took a slow step toward the girl. "Eiko," he said in a voice he hoped was as comforting as it sounded in his head, "are you hurt? Are you okay?" He took another slow step, doing his very best to not make the motion intimidating. He was going to make sure she felt safe. "Everything's going to be okay, Eiko. I'll..." I'll what? Hug her? Kill her? What the hell am I going to do?
I can't do anything for her. May as well just kill her now, and save her the pain of going through this game.
He looked again at Eiko. Her face was streaked with some of her makeup that had started to run from the tears. In another time and another place, he might've even thought she looked somewhat cute. But now the only thing that crossed his mind was how much he wanted to hold her close, so that she would feel safe. He wanted to protect her from this game.
I can't protect anyone. She'll die, and I'll die. It's not worth it.
I'll protect her.
So because there's a damsel, I become the knight? God this is so cliche.
"I'll protect you," Peter muttered, almost inaudibly. Saying the words gave it power. The words were a binding contract to his will. So he repeated the words, once again, with more volume and confidence. He'd protect the girl. It was what he'd always wanted to do. Be the hero and stand up against the aggressor. Fight for the sake of the people close to him. Sacrifice his own comfort and safety for those of others.

He'd protect everyone.

Eiko wasn't expecting much of anything from Peter. The two of them had only barely crossed paths at one GodSPEED meeting, and if their leader's reaction was anything to judge, her appearance did not go over well. She appeared stuffy back then, as she was wont to do when making a first impression. Plus, there was the game to consider. There could only be one winner. No friendship could survive. It would be completely natural for Peter to pass her by without one word between them.

But he didn't. Instead he greeted her with concern in his voice, taking a couple steps toward her. She flinched and stepped back. What did he want with her? Why did he want to get so close? Nightmarish possibilities flickered past her eyes, and she found her breath catching in her throat. Was this it? All that planning wasted because of a moment's hesitation?

His lips moved. She couldn't hear him. What was he saying? She imitated the movements and blinked.

He wanted to protect her?

She took another look at him. He was no killer. There was no way he could hurt a fly. Whatever this game did to people, it hadn't done to him. She remembered the GodSPEED meeting more clearly now, remembered that of all the attendees, he was the most polite and welcoming of them all.

His empty arms, bereft of weapons, still hung apart from his body. Almost on impulse - almost - Eiko leaned forward. Imitating the main character of an old shojo manga she used to read, she closed her eyes, teared up, and hugged Peter, looping her arms around his chest and burying her face in his shoulder.

"<I want to go home!>" she sobbed in her native tongue. It was a genuine sentiment borne out of despair; she was certain of it.

She wanted Peter to feel sorry for her. Wanted him to help her. He was already inclined to do it anyway. Might as well give him a little nudge in that direction.

She just wanted a friend. These were real tears and she couldn't hold them in any longer. All this time, pretending to be a pillar of respectability was just a front. This was the real her.

No, that was not the real her! She just humiliated and debased herself, letting her emotions get the better of her and instantly turning into a sexist caricature! She hadn't even discovered her weapon yet! This wasn't necessary!

The onslaught of conflicting thoughts made her open her eyes, disengaging from the hug as quickly as she started it. "I'm... I'm sorry about that," she said, looking away towards the crowd of people on the greens. They were far away, too far to see or hear the two of them now. "That was unbecoming of me." She looked back at him, wondering how he'd taken it all.

Madelyn couldn't help but laugh as Hayley introduced her to Alex. She'd never formally met the boy, per say. Of course, they'd been in a few classes together over the years at Bayview, but she couldn't really imagine saying much more about him than the stock 'he seemed like such a nice boy' if she were ever asked about him.

Well, Hayley trusted him, so that was all that mattered in Madelyn's book.

"Yep, I guess we're bestest friends now, since Hayley says so, right?" She said to him, winking ever so obviously sarcastically before offering him a genuine smile and a friendly fist bump to solidify their newfound friendship.

The others, she wasn't so sure about.

Watching them bicker and practically wave their guns around in the background made Madelyn feel as if both of them were posturing to see who had the bigger dick. Definitely not the best first impression she'd ever gotten off two people before. It was a shame that Peter had apparently just left the group; Madelyn quite liked him.

She wasn't entirely comfortable about joining forces with the apparently dysfunctional group, even if they did have guns to protect them. After all, their primary mission right now was to rescue Ema from... wherever she happened to be. It would be a miracle right now if they could even find her, let alone 'rescue' her. However, the fact that Alex apparently had a plan to get off the island was pretty jazzy. Just as she was about to ask him about it, Hayley beat her to the punch...

And then proceeded to completely shit all over it.

"Alex... kid, you know I love you and all that, but... fuck, haven't you ever watched this show? Shit, smarter kids than us have tried to escape and you know what happens? They die. They don't even have a chance. Think we can do better? Do you really? Stupid fucking question, actually, I know you, boo, you totally think we have a shot, but I don't. I don't know what your plan is and I'm still pretty damn sure it's not gonna work. No offense, kid. But, like... right now I'm prioritizing finding the people that I don't want to die. Like you. We've gotta find the others, man! Like, what about Jay? I have this mental image of him bugging out somewhere without us and are we just gonna fucking leave him so we can plan our amazing magic escape? Fuck, man. I love you, and I wanna stick with you through this shit, but like... priorities, man. Priorities."

Madelyn knew Hayley was rather pessimistic about their whole situation, and she couldn't really blame her. After all, Madelyn knew it as well as anyone else who had watched the show: No one ever escaped the game. But that didn't give Hayley the right to take a giant dump over Alex's (and indirectly, her) dreams.

Madelyn snapped.

"Hey!" she interjected, somewhat more forcefully than she'd admittedly meant to. "I still think we have a shot to get off this fucking hell-hole, thank you very much! I know it's not much, but there's always a chance. Nothing is ever a foregone conclusion, no matter how bad things may look!"

She knew she couldn't have sounded more corny than if she had ended her little motivational speech like Han Solo, shouting 'Never tell me the odds!' even when logic dictated they would have no chance. They probably didn't have one anyway, even if Madelyn was loathe to admit it, but the possibility that there was a chance was the tiniest light of hope that was keeping Madelyn's grief at bay right now. Hearing Hayley, one of her best friends, completely rip into that hope had hurt Madelyn more than Hayley probably knew.

"Come on Alex, tell us about your plan." She said sternly as she turned her attention towards him, trying to collect her wits and calm down now that she'd said her peace on the matter. She took a few deep breaths to calm down before turning to Hayley as well. "Let's at least hear what he has to say before we pass judgement on it."

Charlene was in a staredown with Jon, until Alex decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Put your guns away. You two are not going to kill each other. No one is killing anyone Look, here's how it is. You can either play, die or take a third option. It's not the best plan in the world. It probably won't work. But it's all I've got for now. The more people we can pull together, the more likely it is to work. My boat may be full of holes, but the martians are invading and it's the last one out of England."

Charlene just stood there for a second, then lowered her gun. No fucking way was she about to die here.

"Jon, we all have people we care about here. We'll find people with this, try and recruit them, rescue them when necessary. We've got no way of knowing till we find them. But we'll try. There are people that are dear to me as well on this island."

Charlene's eyes went down for a second as her friends came to mind. Come on, Thea, Acacia, even Ricky or JJ would be good at this point. It was then that she was greeted with a shout.

"ALEX!" She looked up again to see two girls approaching them. Alex smiled for a second before turning back to Jon and herself.

"We're all cool, aren't we?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Charlene stated in that tone that kinda suggested that she was still slightly upset, but she was just going to drop the issue. Then Alex, Hayley and the girl with the punk look started to talk, when Hayley essentially shot down Alex's plan, and then Madeleine protested said shoot-down. Charlene just put her gun back into her bag (keeping her grip on it, though. She would admit it to only a precious few, but she was terrified).

"Hey, guys. Why don't we just try it? We don't exactly have anything better to go for."

"Someone has to be the leader" said Jonathan.

The sentence blindsided him and he hesitated for a second. He hadn't intentionally been trying to be a leader. He just had a plan and the desire to make it work.

Jonathan's sentence caused his ego to swell for a second, but also his self doubts. It was only when it was stated so plainly that he realised the responsibility he was taking on, the trust he was asking them to show him.

These doubts were not assauged by Hayley and her less than enthusiastic response to his plan.

He listened to her. Nothing about what she said was incorrect. It just wasn't right. When she had finished he was silent for a moment. In his head voices ricocheted around his skull, encouraging him but at the same time needling him.

"Someone has to be the leader"

Oh, Alex what the hell are you getting yourself into.

"Nothing is ever a foregone conclusion, no matter how bad things may look!"

But Hayley's right, it really is as bad as it looks.

"Hey, guys. Why don't we just try it? We don't exactly have anything better to go for."

We could play...

Suddenly he felt cold, despite the warm morning. The cold gripped him with an icy calm. A leader then. If you say so.

He looked back to Hayley. Gently he reached forward and took her wrist holding the sword. He guided her blade to his throat, letting it press against.

"A simple logic problem." he said.

"Can you do it?" he said. "Can you cut my throat? Watch me bleed to death and shit myself on the grass in front of you during my final moments?" he said. He hadn't even noticed he was doing it, but a gentle lilt of his accent was creeping in. Soft and subtle, only perceptible on a few select words.

"I'm staking my life on the hope that none of you can. Because this is a very simple maths problem." he said. He smiled at Hayley, even as he held her wrist in place, keeping that blade firm against his throat. "So simple that even I can figure it out." he said, joking with her.

"You don't play, you die. Within Danya's rules, those are your two options. But then, killing to save your own skin? I couldn't. I couldn't live with myself. It would be like dying." he said.

"Which makes this a zero sum game. No winning solution." he said.

"Think hard. All of you. Can you kill 274 people? Can you live with yourselves afterwards?" he said.

"Because if you can't, you're all dead. It hasn't caught up to your body yet, but your dead." he said.

"That's what I figured out in the hall when we watched the video. This morning I figured out something else. See, I'm dead. I know it. The odds are so against me, I know there's no way I'm getting off this island alive." he said. "What's more, I know that everyone I care about is dead as well. This is true for all of us. All of us! Everyone here is dead."

He stepped away from Hayley's blade and grinned softly, turning between them, addressing them all. "Do you know what that makes us?" he said. "It makes us powerful. Because we're dead and our friends are dead and our teachers are dead and we have NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE!" he said, getting more and more worked up now. "He has nothing.. NOTHING to threaten us with."

He turned back to Hayley and pulled the GPS from his pocket. "SO, here's the deal." he said. "We're going to use this thing to find everyone we can. We're going to recruit who we can, protect who we can't and if we find players we'll deal with them." he said.

"And before anyone interrupts me with questions about how we do that without killing folk? To paraphrase a certain preacher: I'm quite vague on the issue of kneecaps."

"And along the way, we're going to be figuring out how to do the plan i've got in mind. I'll write it down for you once we get somewhere a bit safer, these collars have ears don't you know. Because if i'm a dead man, then i'm not missing a chance to fuck with the man who killed me."

He stood in the center of a circle between all of them. The speech had taken a lot out of him. He took a long draw on his cigarette, then threw it to the floor, stubbing it out with his heel before he looked up at them.

"Any questions?"

Jonathan moved back to the group as he listenied to the tail end of the argument one of the new girls had with Alex. He stopped next to the one girl, the one with orange and pink hair as he silently clicked his gun's safety back on and bent down, placing it in his bag. Alex seemed shaken about something, was the game getting to him, Jon wondered. The tennager snorted, figured as much, group this size, made sense they wouldn't last this long. He would of given up long ago himself, he had looked up enough about suicide that it wouldn't take long, hell he had a gun now, one quick shot back of the throat.

But no, Jon clenched his fist as he glared off to the distance as Alex made his big Braveheart speech. He was right, they didn't have anything to lose.......except....

Jon stood, using his six foot body to it's full imposing figure. "I have three questions, Alex." Jon pointed out toward the woods and he hoped other people. "I honestly couldn't give a crap about half the people in this school, I mean I don't want them to die or anything but I wouldn't bother carving a ephitet if they do, but I need you to promise that you'll let me look for one person in patricular, Anna Chase. Can you do that?" Jon stopped as he held brought his hand back holding up two fingers, "S
econd, I want to make sure you won't do anything stupid, this dealio is fine and all but if you go running into a place that's going to be a danger zone soon, don't expect me to bail your ass out."


Jon stopped as he bent down, checking his boots, he had put socks in them before they left if only due to the bugs that frequented cabins during this time, but as he did, he sighed. "It's not that I don't trust you will be able to pull this off, mate, but I'm just keeping an realistic view here, something your girlfriend" Jon nodded to Hayley as he stood up, "seems to realize that every plan needs one. Now that my point has been made, I have one last question"

At this Jon grinned as he looked at the group, "Group Campbell, could any of you spare a cigarette?"

Madelyn's words hit Hayley like a ton of bricks.

"Hey! I still think we have a shot to get off this fucking hell-hole, thank you very much! I know it's not much, but there's always a chance. Nothing is ever a foregone conclusion, no matter how bad things may look!"

That...that hurt, somehow. That stung. That was illogical of Hayley and she knew it. She knew Madelyn was an optimist, that she was going to hold on to whatever hope there was. But there isn't any hope. Why is everyone hanging on this bullshit right now? That was a stupid thought and again, she KNEW it. This was what she SHOULD be like. She SHOULD be holding on to hope and all that crap.

I should be being an idiot, basically. That's the right thing to do. So why can't I just give up the bitch-mode and do it?

Hayley didn't connect her thoughts to her friends- she didn't think of her friends as stupid. At least, not consciously. She was just...that was just who she was. The party girl, the skank, but at the end of the day, she was just a walking superiority complex.

But these were her friends. She couldn't leave them, idiot idealism or no. She loved them. And she hated that Madelyn was...was angry at her. For trying to take that hope away.

Oh, Maddy...

And then, there was a hand on her wrist. Guiding her hand...her eyes went wide.

Oh. Alex's turn, then.

"Can you do it? Can you cut my throat? Watch me bleed to death and shit myself on the grass in front of you during my final moments?"

Hayley almost allowed herself a moment of nervous laughter, but managed to hold herself back. Besides, she was slightly distracted. God, I'd forgotten how cute Alex's accent is, he hides it so well...fuck, Hayley, focus for three and a half fucking seconds!

He gave a pretty speech, Alex did. Hayley had to have expected that. After all, he was Mister Hero in the present situation. Heroes had to give dramatic, inspirational speeches. It was in their contract. As it were, Alex's goals didn't seem to stray so far from her own. "Recruit who we can..." - that's my priority. Find my friends and keep them close. - "...protect who we can't..." - whatever on that one. We can't save everyone on this fucking island, no matter what Alex thinks. "...and if we find players we'll deal with them."

Hayley remembered her words to Madelyn back at the hut.

"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, okay? Anyone tries, I'll take 'em down. Take 'em all down."

So she had no trouble on the 'dealing with players' front.

Hayley opened her mouth to speak. There was a lot to say.

"First of all...I know. I've known since the second I've woken up. I'm dead. We're all dead. That's the fucking truth of it! I'm...shit, I can't say I'm ready for it. I'm gonna fucking fight my ass off before I let these bitches take me out. But in the end...I'm dead."

She took a pull of her cigarette, now looking right at Alex.

"You know I'm not gonna kill you, angel. You know that. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna kill anyone else." She laughed, a rough sound tinged by nerves. "I told you my priorities. Finding my friends, and keeping them alive. That's all that matters to me. I'm not here to save everyone, a'ight, hero-boy? That would be fuckin'...double, triple suicide. That's stepping into a warzone. I mean, we're already in a warzone, but..."

She shook her head, taking another pull.

"Whatever. I'm sticking with you for now. I'm gonna hate myself later otherwise. But...I'm looking out for us. That's me, you, and Maddy. I don't trust either of these two-" Hayley nodded towards Jon and Charlene- "far enough to fuckin' throw them. But...ugh..."

Hayley laughed- this time an honest laugh.

"I'm having both of you enshrined in the halls of the Gods of Idealism after this. Fuck, Alex, you're lucky you're so cute when you play hero or I'd be out of here." She grinned. "So yeah, I'll stay. I might jump ship later, but for the moment we're just trying to stay alive, yeah? We can do that."

And then the other boy spoke. Jonathon. The asshole. Hayley didn't like him, but hell, he had a gun- it was better to have him on her side than off of it. He spoke of someone who he wanted to find- Hayley understood that, she had several people of her own that she needed to locate. He spoke of not going into danger zones, which struck Hayley as a 'duh' point. And then-

"It's not that I don't trust you will be able to pull this off, mate, but I'm just keeping an realistic view here, something your girlfriend seems to realize that every plan needs one.

Hayley blinked and was about to respond to that girlfriend comment before he spoke again.

"Now that my point has been made, I have one last question. Group Campbell, could any of you spare a cigarette?"

Hayley blinked at her cigarette- nearly down to the filter now, and looked back up at Jon.

"Kid, I'm on cigarette rations right now. I have forty cigarettes to last me god knows how many hours. This does NOT look good for my nicotine addiction." She sighed. "Well, that's gonna do my health wonders. Maybe I'll live longer." She laughed again. It was strangely easy to laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation.

Peter hadn't really worked out all the possible outcomes of him trying to be all chivalrous to Eiko: a side effect of doing things impulsively instead of thinking it through logically. Not that it was easy to be all reasonable when faced with a cute crying asian girl. Now that she was hugging him, and crying on his shoulder, and being a model distressed damsel, it was even harder to think straight. This is awkward as fuck.
Take advantage of this. She's weak and an easy target.
Again, instinct took over, and Peter gently wrapped his arms around Eiko's shoulders, rocking her gently as she cried. It felt oddly natural for him. In the past, Peter might've been that shoulder to cry on for some close friends, but Eiko was just someone he knew in passing from school. If it weren't for Survival of the Fittest, he might never had spent much time with her or even talked to her. Regardless, they were together now because of the circumstances imposed by the game. Still, he didn't know her very well, and he felt limited in his options to comfort her.

Still, he didn't want to let go. It was a position that felt too right to give up. Something in his head was telling him that he needed to take a step back and look at the whole situation again. That was unimportant. What was important was that he was going to protect Eiko.

Then, as sudden as it had begun, Eiko pushed herself off him, sputtering an apology. She was back into her calm collected self that she kept up back in school. Peter couldn't blame her, it was a mask that she was comfortable with. Just as it was for him. Now that she wasn't hugging him and making him feel sort of fuzzy and non-thinky, he could tackle the situation the way he always tried to do: with a plan.
Because plans always go well. Face it, plans don't stay intact past step 1.
"I won't tell anyone," he said jokingly. Not that anyone would be surprised to see a girl break down into tears because of the game. He caught her gaze drifting past him to the people that he had left behind. "Don't go near those guys," He said as he gestured to the group with a jerk of his arm. "They've got a stupid plan that'll probably get all of them killed. Jarocki's with them and he'll probably-" Peter cut himself off before he completed the thought. Wait. Am I really thinking that?"
Honesty only works when I'm NOT filtering everything through my brain first.
"Jarocki's with them and I don't trust him," he amended. He then pointed forward toward the large mansion not too far away. "I'm heading there to drop off some of my stuff," Peter shrugged his shoulders, making the heavy backpack bob in unison with the motion, "then we'll figure out what to do from there." Stepping past her, Peter started to make his way toward the mansion.

What plan? In retrospect, Peter had no idea how he was going to protect Eiko. He couldn't just hide her in a hole or something like that; somebody could stumble on her and then he'd be nowhere nearby. So he had to bring her along with him as he looked for people that wouldn't play. But that didn't answer the question of how he was going to protect her.

Would he take a bullet for her? It seemed like a very inefficient way to protect somebody. He'd die after jumping in the way, and that would just leave her vulnerable again. Also, lots of pain was involved. Peter wasn't even sure if he could bring himself to do that for Eiko. He still barely knew her. Sacrifice wasn't something to be thrown around lightly.

Maybe help her get away if a situation went bad? He could distract an enemy while she ran away. But then they'd be separated, which would lead to other possible bad things. Also, there was no guarantee that he could come out of something like that in one piece.

He could take out anyone that was a threat. Preferably not killing them, but players would probably not stop killing just because they'd been knocked out or disarmed. Peter only had a sword, but he knew it was better than a lot of other weapons that some kids got. He didn't know how to use it beyond swinging it at random, but hopefully that'd be the most he'd need to do. Still, this option likely involved killing others. Peter wasn't sure if he could do that, not even to protect somebody else.

Peter mused on this as he continued to walk toward the mansion. There were no other plausible options: all of them boiled down to one of the scenarios he had considered. With a sigh, he pushed it out of mind again. There were too many things riding on the decision. He'd cross the bridge when he came to it. That was the only way to handle things now.
Missed an option: kill her. That'll protect her from the rest of the horrors of the game.

((Peter Siu continued in Don't go breaking my heart...))

She continued to look over the group that formed on the greens when Peter expressed his disapproval. He specifically mentioned Jarocki, the bespectacled boy with curly hair. From what she'd heard of him, he was socially maladjusted, preferring to seek refuge in exploitative, violent movies and games. She understood well what Peter meant; he was the most likely of the five to lose his composure and start slitting throats.

The other four members of the group managed to surprise Eiko with regards to their diversity, seeming to prove that the former clique system of high school mattered less on the island than whom you wake up nearest to. They seemed to flock around Campbell, a skittish-looking Scot with a fondness for music and a rather uneven GPA. The rest of the team were girls: Norris, an athlete who Eiko found somewhat dim; Prowers, a girl who was very interested in Eiko's homeland, or at least the superficial, flashy, pop-culture aspects of it; and Kelly, an irresponsible delinquent who drove Eiko mad by wasting her natural talents. An honor student like Eiko would have a hard time mixing with such company under normal circumstances (though she would try). Peter's word was all that was necessary for her to turn and walk away, following him into the mansion.

As she walked up to the backdoor where she first saw daylight, her thoughts turned back to the motley crew outside, even though her head didn't. This wasn't the class trip they were promised; it was deadly serious. Statistically speaking, it was virtually certain that this would be the last time Eiko saw at least one of that group alive. The odds of them all being dead before Eiko met any of them again were lower, but still a definite possibility. She began to feel lightheaded as she dwelled on her self-centered abandonment of several peers simply because they believed too much.

Peter's abandonment, she meant. All Peter's. Peter didn't even blink, spoke of them with open contempt. Eiko's hand reached for the door as she followed him into the mansion's dark confines.

Better them than her.

((Eiko Haraguchi continued in Don't Go Breaking My Heart...))

Madelyn stifled a fearful squeak as Alex suddenly grabbed Hayley's hand and guided her sword to his throat.

"A simple logic problem. Can you do it? Can you cut my throat? Watch me bleed to death and shit myself on the grass in front of you during my final moments?"

Madelyn certainly didn't think she had it in her. It was hard for her to even imagine killing someone in cold blood, just because they were there, not unless that person just so happened to injure or kill anyone she loved. Then, all bets were off.

"You don't play, you die. Within Danya's rules, those are your two options. But then, killing to save your own skin? I couldn't. I couldn't live with myself. It would be like dying. Which makes this a zero sum game. No winning solution."

There was Logic in Alex's words. If they tried to play by the game's rules, the likelihood of their deaths was near 100%. Trying to find a way out of the game, the third option, was like cheating the system. This was the hope that Madelyn was looking for. If they could somehow figure out a way to bend or break the rules, they could possibly cheat their way to victory. A mischievous grin crept onto Madelyn's face as Alex continued to speak.

"That's what I figured out in the hall when we watched the video. This morning I figured out something else. See, I'm dead. I know it. The odds are so against me, I know there's no way I'm getting off this island alive." he said. "What's more, I know that everyone I care about is dead as well. This is true for all of us. All of us! Everyone here is dead. Do you know what that makes us?"

Zombies? Madelyn jokingly thought to herself. This was a game, after all, and a proper horror game should have zombies... clearly this was not the best time to think of something absurd like that, but little things like being able to joke around was what made life worth living. She'd be damned before she let the terrorists take that away too. So then, what have we learned? Funny thoughts > Terrorism... I should probably keep that to myself though

"It makes us powerful. Because we're dead and our friends are dead and our teachers are dead and we have NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE! He has nothing.. NOTHING to threaten us with."

Nothing left to lose, everything to gain. Even if they did play the game, eventually everyone they held dear would have to die before they could win. At least if they gave a crazy plan a shot and had one last hurrah, they had a better chance to survive. Plus, it gave them a chance of giving a big ol' Fuck You to Danya by cheating his system, the thought of which entertained Madelyn immensely. Alex apparently shared the sentiment as well.

"And along the way, we're going to be figuring out how to do the plan i've got in mind. I'll write it down for you once we get somewhere a bit safer, these collars have ears don't you know. Because if i'm a dead man, then i'm not missing a chance to fuck with the man who killed me."

"Damn straight!" Madelyn added in emphatically. She was beginning to like this Alex fellow, and she could see why Hayley liked him as well.

However, Hayley didn't seem to share their enthusiasm. She was still somewhat irked by Hayley's earlier comments, but she knew Hayley well enough to know that she hadn't meant them as barbed shots towards her undying optimism. However, for what she lacked in optimism, Hayley made up for it in sheer determination.

"First of all...I know. I've known since the second I've woken up. I'm dead. We're all dead. That's the fucking truth of it! I'm...shit, I can't say I'm ready for it. I'm gonna fucking fight my ass off before I let these bitches take me out. But in the end...I'm dead."

Madelyn wished she could be as strong as Hayley was right now. Her only strength seemed to be the ability to blindly hope against all odds. If the time came to fight, would she be ready? Madelyn could only hope that Hayley would be there to lend her some of her strength when the time came. Especially if Alex's plan failed.

"Whatever. I'm sticking with you for now. I'm gonna hate myself later otherwise. But...I'm looking out for us. That's me, you, and Maddy. I don't trust either of these two-" Hayley nodded towards Jon and Charlene- "far enough to fuckin' throw them. But...ugh..."

Madelyn was somewhat caught off guard by Hayley's laugh, but it was good to hear it. The fact that they were still able to laugh and joke around was comforting to her.

"I'm having both of you enshrined in the halls of the Gods of Idealism after this. Fuck, Alex, you're lucky you're so cute when you play hero or I'd be out of here."

For now, at least, Madelyn was content to sticking with the group along side of Hayley. Alex seemed like a good enough leader, and though the chick and the dude with the guns were a bit odd, they didn't seem to be players. At least they could be helpful until Hayley and her managed to find Ema.

It wasn't long before Jonathan began to ask a few questions himself. He seemed to have someone else he cared about on the island as well, at least. Maybe he wasn't that much of a jerk as his first impression made him out to be after all. She figured Alex would field his first two questions, what with him being the de-facto leader of the team and all.

"Now that my point has been made, I have one last question. Group Campbell, could any of you spare a cigarette?"

Madelyn laughed as Hayley mentioned that she was on cigarette rations. Knowing Hayley's habits, it would take almost all of her strength to make those cigs last for the time being. However, unbeknown to Jon, his question had sparked an interesting point in Madelyn's mind.

"Group Campbell, huh? We're gonna need a better team name then that!" Madelyn jokingly responded to Jon's question for a cigarette. "How about 'The Scotsman's Brogues' or something? If we're going to call ourselves something, we should at least have a good team name."

It was a bit of an argument. First, Alex made some dramatic speech about whether any of them could kill him in cold blood. About how they had nothing to lose because they were already fucked anyways. Then Jon butted his head into the discussion again.

"I honestly couldn't give a crap about half the people in this school, I mean I don't want them to die or anything but I wouldn't bother carving a epithet if they do, but I need you to promise that you'll let me look for one person in particular, Anna Chase. Can you do that? Second, I want to make sure you won't do anything stupid, this dealio is fine and all but if you go running into a place that's going to be a danger zone soon, don't expect me to bail your ass out." Jon knelt down for a second as Charlene smirked.

Well, glad to know where I stand.

It's not that I don't trust you will be able to pull this off, mate, but I'm just keeping an realistic view here, something your girlfriend seems to realize that every plan needs one. Now that my point has been made, I have one last question ... Group Campbell, could any of you spare a cigarette?" This one Charlene had to choke back a snicker. They were fighting for their lives and these guys were arguing about who gets the next cigarette? But it was part of what Jon said that prevented it from making a full-on laugh. Anna Chase. She wasn't exactly one of the popular girls, but Charlene had definitely heard of her. Her thoughts on Anna Chase were something she would have kept private, but her brain-to-mouth filter had decided to take a break at that moment.

"Anna Chase? Short, skinny girl, looks kinda like a freshman. Shit, she doesn't stand a chance." She looked around as she realized that she had just made that statement aloud.

Backpedal! BACKPEDAL!

"What I meant was, it depends on her weapon, but if we don't find her soon, she might end up in trouble."

Okay, go on with the "yeah, I may not trust you, but better you guys than risking it with some psycho" talk. You never heard that.

"So about that name. What about 'The Smoking Weirdos?' Because not only are we imitating a smokestack right now, but we're probably the people nobody would expect to join up." It was kind of true. Charlene hadly knew any of these people, and had there been some sort of mock SOTF thing at school, she would have never even thought of them as partners but then again, this was real. Danya said anything goes ...

One by one, the group gave their hesitating agreement. Hesitating was good. It meant they still had their wits about them. Their plan was almost certainly doomed to failure, even now in it's embryonic stage Alex could see holes wide enough to drive a truck through.

His group wasn't the greatest example of cohesion either. Hayley's agreement, to his frustration, was the most hesitant of all. Idealism. Alex smiled at that. He could stand to be called cute a few more times as well, he had to admit to himself.

Jonathan seemed to have his back, at least for now. The girl was important to him. Alex could tell how he felt. His eyes widened slightly at the girlfriend comment.

"Oh, we're not-"

Hayley cut him off, firing off a shot about cigarette rations. He had to smile, as he took his own packet from his pocket. He threw a cigarette to Jonathan.

"Maybe we should take this as a sign." he smiled wryly at Hayley.

"I hear these things can kill you."

Charlene spoke up about Jonathan's friend. Not the most helpful thing to say but she seemed to figure that out by herself.

"Look, all of this is moot." Alex spoke up. "Jon, this thing has no names on it. The only way I know of finding your girl is to go with the plan and hope that we find her before anything happens to her. We all have people we want to go find. We all want to panic and go off half cocked and be at each others throats." he said. He looked at all of them. "That's what Danya wants. Have no illusions." he said.

He smiled at the suggested names.

"The scotsmans brogue?"

He chuckled.

"Lets see what other suggestions come up?" he smiled warmly to Madelyn. He liked her. It was nice to have at least one person trying to be optimistic.

"The Smoking Wierdo's?"

He looked over at Charlene. "Mm, close, but not quite it." he said. He began to move north, walking slowly and casually, not outright asking them to follow him, just beginning a casual walk. He reached into his bag to take out the map. He let them talk about the name for a little while.

Just like being in a band. The name's the first thing to sort out.

Finally he interrupted the discussion. "Alright, so. North of here we've got a wee town. Now a place like that isn't going to be safe long, but if we can get there quickly enough, we can find somewhere to hold up for a bit. It's a bit of a trek and i'm willing to bet there'll probably be people there."

He frowned thoughtfully.

"We don't know whether they'll be playing or not." he said. "So our tactic should always be this. Assume they are not. But try and arrange things for if they are. For example, stick together." he said.

"Keep looking around you. We're a big group. Noticable. Armed; that's a good thing, and many; that's a better thing."

"But being armed and being together means that we're broadcasting that we're not playing." he said.

"I know you guys don't all necessarily trust each other. But you've all seen fit to trust me, at least for now. Most of us haven't met before today. Charlene's right, aside from maybe me and Hayley, I doubt any of us would have expected to be together in something like this. That doesn't matter. We are. Trust is something we have to earn from each other. We don't get the benefit of being good guys unless we act like them. Watch each others backs. I don't care if you like each other. Frankly, I don't care if you like me. But watch my back and i'll watch yours."

Jon raised an eyebrow as Hayley made a comment about not trusting him. He understood but he had also seen enough horror movies to know that people who didn't trust the people with the best weapons didn't last long. He reached down pulling his gun out as he clicked the safety back off. Better to be safe than sorry if this was going to be the feeling of this group.

Alex tossed him a cigarette which Jonathan barely managed to grab as he mindlessly reached into his back pocket to put it away and ask for a lighter when he brushed against something metal. Jon stuck the cigarette in his mouth as he pulled out one of his lighters, the black one with a rose pattern on it, as he chuckled. "Sorry man" he grinned at Alex as he lit his cigarette, taking a long drag of it as he put the lighter in his jacket pocket. Then Charlene put in her two cents, saying Chase was probaly already dead.

"Shut up!" Jon shouted as he pointed the gun at her, not paying attention to the fact that he was pointing a gun at her as he glared at her with fury of a thousand suns, his hand clenching mindlessly into a fist as the trigger was pressed down and the gun went off, firing the ten bullets towards Charlene as Jon dropped to the ground, the gun falling from his hand. His hand hurt like hell, he gritted his teeth as he refused to look up to see if they hit, or even pay attention to what the others were saying. He couldn't hear anything, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry" he muttered, repeating it over and over as his eyes started to water. He hadn't meant to shoot anyone, he wasn't even suppose to be here. He was supposed to be at the camp, talking with Chase, maybe saying hi to that group who made those horror films. The cigarette butt dropped to the ground, the flame snuffing out as Jon stopped on it as he rose, grabbing his bag

Jon picked up his gun as he turned and rushed away, his bag slamming against him as he headed toward the woods as he tripped over a bump in the grass, falling to the ground as his gun wielding hand flew up, hitting him in the mouth.

This...this is gonna work. We can do this.

For a little while, anyway...until we all get blown to pieces. ...Or we all make it to endgame. What happens then?

Hayley's little moment of mental optimism was, of course and as usual, immediately crushed by her overwhelming natural pessimism. It was that last point that interested her the most. What would happen if the five of them were the last men standing. She knew, really- the group dynamic would break down. They'd all end up dead. Except one. Probably Charlene or Jon. They have guns, and they're not close with us to being with. Me and Maddy have melee weapons and hers isn't even...like, a real weapon. And Alex...doesn't have any way to defend himself, really.

She shook those thoughts away. Yeah, it was REALLY gonna help foster team...uh...team-ness by bringing up that, oh yeah, even if they DIDN'T all die in the next few days they were gonna end up killing each other later. Besides, all that mentioning that would accomplish was that Alex would restate that, oh, they'd be off the island by then! Obviously! Whatever...playing along and all that.

"How about 'The Scotsman's Brogues' or something? If we're going to call ourselves something, we should at least have a good team name."

Hayley laughed. That was so like Maddy, stuck in fucking Survival of the Motherfucking Fittest and trying to think of a clever name for their little group. Now that she'd mentioned it, she knew that they totally needed an awesome group name. If she was gonna die horribly, she was gonna be remembered, dammit.

"Alright, so. North of here we've got a wee town. Now a place like that isn't going to be safe long, but if we can get there quickly enough, we can find somewhere to hold up for a bit. It's a bit of a trek and i'm willing to bet there'll probably be people there."

Hayley blinked at Alex and took a look at her own map. The town, the town...she found it. It was due north. On practically the other side of the island. Now, Hayley was not what you'd call the most active person. In fact, most people would likely call her lazy. She would call herself lazy. She was, at the end of the day, extremely lazy. Besides, whatever Alex's optimistic mind thought, she doubted they'd find safety in the town. Lots of people had probably thought the town would be safe and headed there. She wouldn't be all that surprised if there was a gunfight going on there at this very moment. She looked back at the map, looking for another, closer destination. She saw some cliffs (not exactly safe- with my luck I'd probably fall off of 'em), the hut and the mansion she'd just came from and past, and...she blinked.

The...fun fair?

This happened to appeal to Hayley's sense of irony.

"My only issue with the town is that there's bound to be loads of people there by now. Possibly hostile people. Plus it's really far away. And it's an obvious choice. Yeah actually I've got a lot of issues with the town. Whatever. How about we check out the fun fair? I'm in the mood for a ferris wheel, don't know about you guys..."

"So about that name. What about 'The Smoking Weirdos?' Because not only are we imitating a smokestack right now, but we're probably the people nobody would expect to join up."

Hayley looked at Charlene- a girl she knew by reputation but not actually as a person. The girl was right, of course- three of their five members were smoking- though, she realized, at this point she was basically just chewing on filter, and so she tossed the butt to the ground- and outside of her and Alex (as Alex stated immediately afterwords) and her and Hayley. Jon and Charlene were totally out of it here, and Alex and Madelyn wouldn't be working together under normal circumstances. She was about to say something when-

"Shut up!"

BANG.

Time stood still, for just a moment. There was a gunshot.

A real gunshot.

Holy fuck, this is for real.

It was Jon. Jon, the asshole. Yeah, I'm supposed to trust these people. Fuckin' right! Those thoughts passed through the back of her mind, as the front of her mind was presently occupied with freaking out. He'd shot at Charlene. Why'd he done that? She'd said something about that girl he was looking for. Was that it? Was that enough for him snap?

Why the hell was anyone snapping?

This was exactly what Danya wants. He wants us all snapping like fuckin' rubber bands.

She didn't know what to do. Her mind was in panic mode. Which seemed like a fair response to a goddamn gunshot, especially from someone she'd spent the last few minutes trying to trust. What the hell was she supposed to do?

She couldn't move. Her instincts told her to move in every direction, but she couldn't move. The panic was probably showing on her face.

She settled for a tightened grip on her sword, flailing for a moment. Jon had ran.

"What the fuck, man?!" she shouted after him.

It took every ounce of self control in Hayley Kelly's body not to run after him.

And make the bad thing go away.

"Alright, so. North of here we've got a wee town. Now a place like that isn't going to be safe long, but if we can get there quickly enough, we can find somewhere to hold up for a bit. It's a bit of a trek and i'm willing to bet there'll probably be people there."

Madelyn peered over Hayley's shoulder as she rolled out the map of the island, leaning gently on her slightly shorter friend to get a better look. The town Alex mentioned was on the other side of the island, with plenty of possible hot-spots on the way.

"My only issue with the town is that there's bound to be loads of people there by now. Possibly hostile people. Plus it's really far away. And it's an obvious choice. Yeah actually I've got a lot of issues with the town. Whatever. How about we check out the fun fair? I'm in the mood for a ferris wheel, don't know about you guys..."

"I really don't like the town either." Madelyn chimed in. "It's too obvious. There will probably be tons of people setting up camp by the time we make it there. It's bound to be one giant powder keg waiting to happen. I think we should slowly move north and see if we can find a few more friends on the way, maybe even hang out on the outskirts of the town for a while just to see if we can spot anyone we know."

"I'm also down with checking out the fun fair for now to see if we can find a few of the people we're all looking for." she said, sheepishly grinning before she added an addendum to the list.

"...and maybe some cotton candy."

Yes, more friends would be great. People Madelyn knew she could trust. She wasn't sure just how ready she was to put her life in the hands of the two gunslingers in their group with their constant squabbling. Hopefully their little group could last until they found a few more trustworthy allies. And firepower. That would be nice.

Unfortunately, Charlene happened to sling an underhanded insult at the boy before adding her own two cents into the name game.

"Shut up!" Jon shouted at Charlene. Her words had clearly struck a nerve in the boy. His gun rose up in his hand, pointing menacingly at Charlene.

"Whoa, no worries dude!" Madelyn quickly interjected, hoping to play peace-keeper between the two. The last thing she wanted to see happen was for everyone to start threatening each other over the slightest provocations.

"We'll totally..." Madelyn started to say, cut off as the boy let loose a parade of bullets in Charlene's direction. Just like that, any hope of their little group earning each other's trust flew out the window. Madelyn screamed as she quickly ducked her head, cowering instinctively at the sound of the gun.

Jon had already turned and ran before Madelyn even dared to look up again. Was that really all it took for someone to snap in this game; a snide comment? She quickly looked to Hayley for support as her mind raced between fight or flight responses. Yes, Hayley would know what to do. Wouldn't she?

"What the fuck, man?!" she heard Hayley shout after him. Her grip was tight on the sword in her hand, but she made no movement after Jon. What did that mean? Should they just let him go, after he had open fired on Charlene? Maybe it was just better to let him go. After all, what could they do to stop him; shake a sword and a pointy stick in his general direction?

Instead, Madelyn turned her attention towards the girl, unsure if she was still alive or dead. Thinking quickly, she dropped her spear and tore though her daypack to find the medkit that was included in her supplies before rushing over to Charlene, desperately hoping that she would be alright despite not really even knowing her.

"Please be OK. Please be OK. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease be OK!"