Survival Of The Fittest

((GMing of Nick LeMonde done with permission from Ruggahissy))

"Jessica! Watch out." Nick fully entered the building and closed the door behind him, grasping a sword in both hands and standing beside the new girl, right in the corner of Simon's line of sight. He looked at Nick, then at Teo, who probably had more reason and ability to hurt him, what with having been hit in the forearm and wielding a crossbow. He stepped around, inching himself away from them ...

What the ...

It was that second when Simon made a slight error. In the heat of the fight, he had paid too much attention to Teo. More accurately, Simon wasn't paying enough attention to Nick. As Simon had stepped to his right, closer to Teo, Nick moved. At first, it was a shuffle, but it became another full out charge. Simon turned his head as Nick swung the sword at Simon's neck and ...

"GGAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Simon managed to stop the sword from decapitating him, but in order to do so, Simon had moved his left arm into the path of the blade. As a result, Nick's swing had caught Simon in his left tricep, causing Simon to also hit himself in the temple with his fist - although with the searing, white-hot pain of the cut, the whack to the head barely registered to him - in fact, for a couple seconds, the whole world drowned itself out in a sea of red, reducing him to pure instinct as he wildly swung his arms: his left arm to the the blade out, and his right arm to get Nick or Teo out of the way.

Now, he found himself drawn not just to the company, but to the action. A fight had broken out in the ranger station, one that could quite possibly result in death - something that had, putting it mildly, become his obsession. Wherever he'd gone on his way here, there were corpses. Some had been there for days. Others, like Max, had been freshly killed. If this was what Death did to people, then he was no longer simply afraid, but fascinated.

"Cisco...Cisco; it's me, come on. Hurry, let's go before they hear me."

Maybe that was the voice of his conscience finally getting its 15-second time on its lonely soapbox during the ongoing looting and arson. Maybe that was Joseé Tremblay, having finally caught up to the two. Either way it was still one voice in the crowd, literal and mental, only this time he could probably hear it now.

Almost as loud as the sound of a door slamming in front of him after someone pushed a girl toward out to him and Josee, and probably a lot softer than the sound of a horrific scream from inside the building. As the rules of the mob went, the voice that spoke the loudest was the one that was obeyed. The one that fed their bloodlust.

Cisco walked right up to the door, and gave it a good knocking. They'd probably be able to hear it as well from the inside as he could hear what was going on from the outside, which he wagered was pretty damn well.

"Hey...you sound busy..." he began, with an innocent, childish smile, "But if you need any help-"

Come to think about it, he figured as he cut himself off, that wasn't a good idea. If they needed anything, it was another corpse to add to the pile, and the person in front of the door when they answered it would probably be their most likely candidate. Still, they probably weren't gonna open it up immediately and make that little prophecy come true so quickly. And in any event, there was still his little obligation, muddled but not forgotten.

So if they allowed him one little luxury before they invited him in with his sweet music and granted him his deliverance from the mortal coil, Jessica would have been it. It all worked out!

He turned to Joseé and then slowly to the other girl, his back to the door and his smile still plastered on his increasingly-gaunt face.

"So...do you like music?" he asked.

(GMing, such as it is, approved)

Everything was happening so fast she heard Nick yell and then the door slam. She jumped, but was slightly reassured when she realized that he now stood next to her. Looking around she realized he'd gotten Jessica to safety. She sighed and was trying to decide what to do when Teo lunged towards Simon.

She was trying to figure out what to do when Nick too, joined the fight. She ducked instinctively as the sword flew through the air and winced as she saw it connect with Simon's arm.

Gracie had stood almost frozen this whole time and decided that it was time for her to join the fight as well. She wasn't sure what help she was going to be, but she was tired of standing by while violence occurred around her. It occurred to more as she stepped forward that there was probably a flaw in her reasoning somewhere, but she was tired of being a spectator. She was tired of being threatened and tired of being on this island.

She took another step forward and was trying to decide where to hit Simon since his attention was focused on Teo and Nick. So focused was she on where she was going to hit him, that she missed the swing he sent at Nick. The tire iron that she'd now stepped in front of and was hurtling towards her head.

Gracie got her arm up in time but managed to only hit his arm, the tire iron still connected with the side of her head. She grabbed the side of her and fell forward the ground rushing up to meet her. Her vision blurred as pain radiated through her head. She concentrated and managed to focus on Simon. He was still swinging madly and she saw the sword fall from his left arm.

"Hope you bleed to death," she said weakly. Her eyes widened surprised at the sound of her own voice. The world began to grow dark around the edges and she blinked her eyes to clear them. When it didn't work she tried again. ‘I'm making it worse,' she thought and tried to not close her eyes again. She lasted only a few seconds before she lost the fight and her eyes drifted closed.

G-084 Gracie Wainwright - deceased

Everything was happening so fast, that Maddy didn't even have time to react. First Teo, then the other boy, and the girl who had first entered all rushed Simon, who was swinging wildly with his weapon. It was complete and utter chaos. And all she could do was watch as if it was a show.

Then, the girl fell. Maddy didn't see what exactly happened, but judging from the wound on her head, and the fact that she wasn't moving, she knew that she was dead. The boys were still fighting, and all Maddy wanted to do then was to scream at them, to tell them to stop being so stupid and killing each other, but she couldn't find the words. So instead she looked around herself, and that's when she realized that the door wasn't blocked anymore.

Without so much as a word, Madeleine took off into a run. She sprinted as fast as she could out the door, ignoring the other people on the other side. She didn't even know what she'd have done if any of them tried to stop her. Probably just yell and scream. Either way, she managed to get by them without incident, and continued to run away from that damned building.

((Madeleine Smith continued elsewhere))

(Jessica Pentangeli continued from Aching Chest and Blurry Sight)

Jessica had tried to ignore Cisco. It was a good thing too - gladly he didn't recognize her. She would rather forget the trip to the lake. Even so, she couldn't help looking. Jessica could have listened to Nick... but Jessica was worried. There was a commotion, loud noises, and it worried her. She had spent so much time looking for Nick, feeling so much doubt. Now she didn't want to leave him alone! How could she?! So she stumbled back to the door, passing Cisco on the way out and looked in just to see -

just to... ... ...

The first thing that traveled to her mind was the taste of pie. Cherry pie. She liked Cherry pie. There was a sweetness to it that she couldn't get enough of. There was a tiny bitterness to it too, like a tiny contradiction. She couldn't wear a white shirt when she ate it, sure, unless she really wanted to stain it. Jessica was never the most dainty eater. Maybe nowhere close to Nick. Nick was worse. She never minded. Nick was just fine. Perfectly fine. But this. This wasn't one of Nick's messes. This was...

This wasn't cherry pie.

... Oh

god.

Oh god.

Oh god the pies.

Jessica had not eaten much on the island. The rations were sparse, and Jessica didn't eat much to begin with. She had seen blood too, much more blood than this, but to think that Nick could - she felt ready to cough up everything in her stomach. She quickly kept herself under control. This wasn't Nick. It couldn't be Nick. Not her Nick.

Jessica had missed the announcements. She had never heard Nick's name. She heard a Nick, but not her Nick. So the thought of death being so close to Nick was a surprise. Jessica never thought he could be in any sort of danger. She thought everything was just fine! Now she couldn't think of such a thing. It was like a virus, spreading through her memories and corrupting them until every single moment, every breath, every smile, every tear. Her memories of childhood, her middle school graduation, the day she met Nick, the time where she didn't go to the prom and stayed home and pretended it was canceled, the pie shop, the time where Alex invited her to go on the trip, the time where she learned Nick was going, the drive, everything now prominently featured a dead Gracie Wainwright with her brains practically splattered across the floor like a crushed pumpkin!

And what surprised Jessica was that she didn't turn away in shock, or reacted with disgust.

No. All she saw was Simon, with his tire iron dripping. He was dangerous. He killed someone. Bashed their head in. Nick was in the room. Jessica liked Nick. Someone had to save him. So Jessica lifted the rifle quickly and shot a round at Simon without even flinching.

((GMing of Jessica Pentangeli approved by Ciel))

The pain finally subsided somewhat, while it still hurt like a bitch, Simon could now see ...

That's not Nick.

The body lying on the ground, not just unconscious, but clearly dead, wasn't Nick or Teo. It was that girl that Nick had been standing by. Simon was ... less than satisfied with this.

No, not again! I killed another innocent person!

CRACK There was a prick in his right shoulder. Simon looked up to see another girl holding a rifle in her hands, aimed directly at ...

Whoa. Suddenly Simon felt a little woozy. He looked over at where the pain had been to note a bright yellow something sticking out of his shoulder, just like the one when Milo Taylor had been ...

Concentrate!

As his vision blurred momentarily, Simon noted Jessica standing in the doorway, then the body.

Seems that fate has given me only one choice ...

Simon reflexively grabbed the dead girl's regulation bag as he went low, charging the girl with the rifle, slamming into her with as much force as he could, knocking her down, and going in a crooked path, stumbling out of there as fast as he could.

((Simon Telamon continued in A Slight Change of Plans))

What was going on? WHAT WAS GOING ON?!

Teo couldn't think, he was moving but the pain stemming from his forearm made it difficult to think. He had blocked the blow but been pushed aside briefly then Nick was in there, swinging around in close quarters and then Gracie...

Gracie

Teo heard the sickening crunch and the loud 'pop' of the tranquilizer gun going off but there was a loud ringing in his head, he wasn't sure why. He wasn't hit in the head but he could hear his heart pumping. He tried another swing at Simon as he barreled away but it was disjointed, lacking the speed and the power to truly hurt the boy. Adrenaline still flowed through him and he almost pushed off to chase Simon.

A gurgle gave him pause.

He stopped and looked down on Gracie. Her body was quickly cooling and her once pretty face had been smashed in, blood dribbling across the grisly remains of her chin, smashed to one side from the tire iron. The room had gone eerily quiet with Simon's footsteps echoing away in the aftermath of Jessica's gunshot. Teo whirled on Nick in a furious rage, grabbing his compatriot by the neck of his shirt. A red fury had taken him after seeing Gracie like that and now he was filled with rage, the usually calm and smiling veneer wiped from his face replaced by the implacable look of someone who was about to destroy everything that got in his way.

"Nick lets go. We are going to find that fucker and rip his butt fucking leg off anda beat that mitromem mizdayen batahat to death with it."

Teo slipped in to hebrew. He didn't care anymore. Releasing Nick's collar he turned, every muscle in his body tense and paused only to grab Gracie's rifle from the ground, holding it like a club. As he slammed the front door open once more he yelled out to Nick.

"And tell that Sharlila mizdayenet that's tagging along to carry our shit. She may as well be useful if she wants to stay alive."

He was neither surprised to find the pacafistic Josée nor the clearly insane Cisco standing agape outside the Ranger hut. Teo didn't have time to stop now. Shoving Cisco to one side he growled as he set off at a jog. "If I ever see you Mishugena's again I will kill you, now get out of my way!"

He quickly disappeared in to the tree's roaring out to Simon as he did so.

"You better run you ben zonah, cause when I catch you I am going to rip your throat out!"

((Teo Weinstock continued in Full Circle))

((All GM approved by Ciel ))



There were incredible flashes of movement as the scene became a blur of bodies. Nick's sword slid through the skin of the other boy, reaching his arm instead of anything more damaging. The blood dripped and marred the ground with a few specks of red. Before he knew it the specks were joined by a torrent when Gracie slammed to the floor. Nick stared slack jawed at her.

"G-Gracie?"

Her head was dented in where Simon's tire iron had made contact like he was swinging for the outfield.

Nick reached out his clumsy, thick fingers to her face. Fine wisps of her deep brown hair, now matted and dirty, were stuck to her face with blood. It was that smell again. The smell nearly made him vomit a second time. He tried to imagine and pretend that he was just in the butcher's section of a super market, but there was some pungent quality about the smell of human blood that just made it impossible to disguise. He tried to swallow back a wave of nausea.

She was filthy and the terror in her glazed over eyes was awful, but she was still a girl, even if she was a dead one. She looked like a broken doll with her limbs sprawled around haphazardly where they landed. Gracie….this wasn't her. It was just some shell. She may not have been the nicest girl ever, but she'd stayed by them since almost the beginning and there wasn't anything left of her now other than a pile of parts. It was something Nick didn't feel like he could get used to. He felt strangely hollow.

This mountain of observations took fractions of a second and was hardly even processed by Nick because just as soon as Gracie hit the floor, something went whizzing behind him. He turned and saw Jessica with her rifle pointed at Simon. He followed and saw a dart stuck in Simon just before the boy barreled through them.

"You shot him!" he said in dead shock.

Teo grabbed him by the shirt and told him they were going after him. He looked possessed, screaming at him and ripping open the door to the cabin.

Nick picked up his bag and Jessica's, despite what Teo had told him and reached out for her. He put an arm on her shoulder and looked down at her for a moment. Nick thought it was strange, but he needed very badly to be able to touch her and hold onto her. He needed this person to take care of. Some strange yearning kept him near her as they walked forward together out of the nearly destroyed hut. She looked back up at him.

He felt a chill when their eyes met. He remembered what she looked like back when they first met in the library. So shy. So sweet. She'd spent less than two days with him now and she'd shot someone. Not with a bullet, but still, it weighed heavily on him that she became someone who could pull a trigger. He worried it was because of him. He was afraid he'd ruined her.

Nick put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. He just wanted to protect her. He turned away from her and looked up.

I just don't want her to end up…..

Like me.


((Nick LeMonde continued Full Circle))

Josée dived to the floor as all Hell broke loose inside the station. She didn't want to look, she couldn't bare to think of what could be happening to Cisco inside. But she couldn't go in, it was too dangerous, it would be all too easy for her to get caught by a stray bullet or knife. She would have to wait and pray for Cisco's safety. Eventually the noise drew to a disorientating silence. Josée dared to look as she saw the group of killers leave the station one after one, not even noticing Josée. She saw Teo leave, a sense of superiority and pomposity on his face as he walked away, feeling pleased with himself in some way. But Cisco wasn't with them. Beating a thousond miles an hour, Josée had to clutch her chest to stop her heart beating out of her rib cage. She took a deep breath to look at the damage. The first thing she saw was Cisco, standing alone in the station, save from the corpse of a girl on the floor.

"Cisco?" She whispered into the room, "Checking to make sure there was no-one else around to ambush her. "Cisco! Thank goodness you're alright." She smiled, running upto him and hugged him tightly. "What did they do to her?" She asked, indicating the girl lying on the floor, dead. "I should have got us away from them when I had the chance. I'm sorry, I won't do that again." She stopped momentarily to look over her shoulder, out the door to make sure that they had indeed gone. "Well, they're gone now. We're both safe." still gripping Cisco she whispered. "I promise I won't let any harm come to you ever again."

One hundred and fifty hours worth of starvation rations and constant paranoia had done even less for his hand-eye-leg coordination than it did with his own fragile state of health. When suddenly pushed aside by a very threatening Teo Weinstock, there was absolutely no solace to be found in luck either. And perhaps the complete opposite sensation from the sweet music he had come to love as his only true friend.

The force of the push dislodged what even he had figured was a calcified grip with both arms on the sweet music only slightly. Bent, worn and torn from wear, tear and sweat from constant clinging and just being goddamn 40 years old, the old Carol Channing record sleeve had as much protection from its contents as - well - a wet paper bag. The circular sawblade pierced straight through it and shredded through the strange tubetop Cisco wore on his upper body into the flesh beneath, and from there into the layers of muscle and the blood vessels and capillaries that supplied them.

It didn't slice him in half or tear a gaping slit in his jugular, but the effect was something akin to drag a large-bore cheese grater across the left side of his chest.

If he wasn't treated soon - and he had lost his bag with first aid kit long ago, it was quite possible that the boy who had evaded death by others' hand would end up dead from betrayal by his own "sweet music." This irony was not a very pleasant thought. All things considered, it was actually a pretty pathetic way to go out. In fact it was probably almost as unpleasant a sensation as the smell of someone else's blood already permeating into his nostrils - that of what used to be Gracie Wainwright on the floor. But as far as thoughts went, it was the first one that actually motivated him to want to live, rather than merely survive against the inevitable.

The one obstacle at that point was putting those thoughts into action.

The only time he uttered any noise in reaction was the moment the circular blade actually went through - it was a yelp similar to that of a small, wounded animal. He found himself facing the wall, stunned practically silent not just with pain, but a revelation that was almost as big as ending up on an island and forced to do the bidding of the Grim Reaper.

"Well, they're gone now. We're both safe...I promise I won't let any harm come to you ever again."

Perhaps Josee Tremblay, who grabbed him and turned him around might have an idea how to bridge that gap. At least if she was prepared to face what was almost certain to be inevitable disappointment.

The next minute was a blur. It was like a puzzle with a few of it's pieces missing. She knew what had happened. Simon ran into her, Jessica fell. She couldn't remember how hard he had hit her but it was enough to draw blood from her nose. It wasn't broken. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Her head was spinning. Maybe she should have eaten more.

She tried to find her bearings. She struggled to her knees just as Teo screamed, using baby gibberish or something. She couldn't tell what it was but - but she knew that he had referred to her. That was when Jessica realized that she didn't like Teo. She didn't know what a 'Sharlila mizdayenet' was, but she just assumed that it meant 'whore'. Teo just called her a whore. She pouted.

She was dazed, and she struggled to get up to her feet. Then Nick came over and helped her up the rest of the way, holding her shoulder. Guilt. That's all she felt. Nick had screamed "You shot her." Yes, Jessica knew that. She wasn't guilty over shooting Simon though, she was guilty over Nick's reaction. She tried to explain herself.

"I-I had to - " she gasped for air. Her breath was gone. She clung to Nick, her fingers trembling as she clutched his sleeve. " - he - he was going to hurt you Nick."

In her mind, everything she just did felt justified. That's what you did, wasn't it? You put yourself in the line of fire, take a bullet, die a honorable death. That was it! She was willing to do all of that! And when she stared into Nick's eyes, she didn't see gratefulness but instead a look of confusion. He didn't understand why she did what she did. It made Jessica's heart fall into the pit of her stomach, burning and melting into a pile of goo.

"I - I didn't do it because I hated him -"

She gasped. Hate? She remembered the time in the Hall of Mirrors, where she said she was glad Omar was dead. Alex had looked at her in shock, and Jessica could never understand why. Now that she was standing in front of Nick... could she possibly let him know that she ever thought that? Would he judge her? She hoped not. Oh lord she hoped not.

" - I don't hate him - I never hated anyone! I mean - b-but he killed someone Nick, that's, umm, bad and I-I was afraid that he would come after - "

She gasped for breath. She had to explain it, she just had to! She didn't want Nick to think Jessica was a nut, not after a week! She had to tell him, she just had to.

"I wanted to -"

He put his arm around her, and she instantly tensed up. Her body slackened, she pressed closer. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his torso, cheek against his shoulder. Jessica had never been so close. She had hugged him. Clung to him. Held hands. But this was different. It was calming in a weird way. It was not romantic, not even vaguely sexual - not that Jessica's mind ran that way. She was more of a prude than anything else. Should she be thinking about that? No, she couldn't imagine Nick being so forward or so perverted. He was a good boy, and she was a good girl. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. But still, she wished this were an embrace. Jessica let out a needy, painful sigh as she held onto him. She hoped Nick didn't look in the bag. Jason's sword was in there... it was bloody.

Jessica's mouth was dry. She started to speak again.

"Nick, I -"

She suddenly found it hard to speak. She made a tiny whine as she struggled to continue.

" - I'd do -"

Her shallow whine turned to a murmur.

"... I'd do anything for you... Nick, I lo..."

The rest changed to a tone so low that it could not even be considered a murmur. Quiet enough so that Nick couldn't hear, loud enough for Jessica to feel like a buffoon.

(Jessica Pentangeli continued elsewhere)

Josée's feelings of happiness and relief lasted for the best part of ten seconds as she noticed the massive record sticking into Cisco's chest. "Cisco?" She started, open mouthed and feeling slightly sick as a faint trail of blood trickled down to the ground. "Cisco, what did they do to you?" She started to panic, she wanted to do something. She looked around for the first aid kit that she had been issued; before she remembered that it had been stolen days ago. "Cisco, perhaps you should lie down, does it hurt? how deep is it in? how much blood are you losing?" Josée ran off every basic medical questions that she could remember hearing on television at one point or another.

She was panicking. They needed a miracle. They needed to get out, fast. Josée stopped panicking when she heard an extremely faint, mechanical noise. It sounded very ominous and not at all like any sort of announcement Danya would make. It was too quiet to hear from the station, but if they followed the noise, it could be their only hope at survival. "Cisco, do you hear that?" she paused to give Cisco a chance to listen. "If we follow that noise, it just might lead us to some sort of rescue... Maybe... But I don't know what other option we have, I won't let you stay here and die. Do you think you would survive long enough if helpped you stay upright?"

"Cisco, perhaps you should lie down, does it hurt? how deep is it in? how much blood are you losing?"

Joseé Trembley was asking him so many questions. And he could hear every last word. He hadn't lost THAT much blood yet from his circular sawblade's wound, and for all either of them knew it wasn't something he could bleed out from in the very short term if it wasn't bandaged quickly. He could still walk for all his starvation- and dementia-induced lack of hand-eye-leg coordination could still afford him before the bleeding eventually got too severe.

"It...it was just an accident...and I-"

Hell, he was already starting to hear things. Unusual things. If he actually paid attention to whatever time it was, he would have heard Danya's regular announcement. But as Danya's voice was one of the few constants already etched into his mind, he would have at least recognized that smarmy tone of his.

Clearly it seemed this island still had some surprised up his sleeve when Joseé appeared to be hearing them too.

It had not occurred to him that he had been separated from Josee long enough to find out exactly why she clung to him as much as she did, let alone why she was so intent on "helping" him. That didn't necessarily guarantee he'd trust her with his life to the bitter end, however inevitable that was.

But any sort of doting was better than that nagging, nagging feeling that Death was soon to manifest itself through Cisco's own actions rather than through the forms of people he once knew. Or perhaps that too was to throw him off guard for some kind of surprise deathly double reacharound: get him paranoid of others so that it would surprise him that he would die by his own hand - then surprise him doubly when it turns out that it was something delivered by others after all.

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

The only thing that didn't surprise him was the fact that he still insisted on holding onto the sweet music that had held him in its seductive grasp to the point where it literally backstabbed him...from the front.

GODDAMMIT, JUST MAKE IT STOP.

And at that moment, amidst the mental rioting, looting and pillaging, there was a fleeting moment of clarity like someone threw in a flashbang.

Perhaps the reason so many things still somehow surprised him here despite his paranoia was because he let himself be surprised.

That the sole reason why he had willingly risked severe bodily harm so many times before coming face-to-face with Death was because the inevitable harm had become just that - a surprise that he subconsciously wanted to recreate since the "surprise" car accident that robbed him of his biological parents and most mental coherency.

Of course, having been almost fatal the first time, there didn't need to be a third time for the surprise to finish what it started.

And although it would not miraculously cure his immediate physical or long-term mental ailments, he at least resolved would not wait for that to happen.

"If we follow that noise, it just might lead us to some sort of rescue... Maybe... But I don't know what other option we have, I won't let you stay here and die. Do you think you would survive long enough if I helped you stay upright?"

"Yyy...yeah..." he stuttered to Joseé, trying to force a bashful smile. "Let's go...but I can...walk fine, thanks..."

He squinted and seethed as he started to make his way out of the ranger station toward wherever the hell that noise was coming from. Maybe it really was a way out, or maybe it was Death's final trap. At this point in time, Cisco Vasquez wondered why he even cared.

When Death inevitably caught up with him, he resolved to not die like a surprised coward. Surprised was likely. But he hoped that he would remember not to die running when the mental rioting resumed.

He then smiled back at Joseé. If he was going to die, surprised and perhaps running, then at least he wouldn't die alone either.

...hopefully.

((Cisco Vasquez continued elsewhere))

"Yyy...yeah... Let's go...but I can...walk fine, thanks..."

Josée wasn't sure if Cisco was being truthful when he said that he could walk without her assistance; she didn't know if he was trying to impress her or convince her that he was still well enough to survive. But he was already on his way towards the noise. Josée wasn't sure if they'd be able to make it in time or if there was any rescue at all, but she had to cling onto her last shred of hope that they could get off the island, she walked close next to Cisco. "If you're sure, but if you want me to give you a hand, just say. When we get to the rescue party I don't want to arrive with just the top of you."

((Josée Trembley continued in The Cavalry Arrives.))