Your Cross to Bear

[D/N]

"Wha-the?"

To say that Imraan had been unprepared for the shots being fired his way would have been a gross understatement. He hadn't expected it, he hadn't even *thought* about it, and if it had crossed his mind, he certainly wouldn't have expected the shots to come from the direction they had. All his attention had been focused on the new arrival to the area.

So when the loud, dry popping sounds suddenly came from behind him, he didn't have any chance to get out of the way, or react in any fashion at all. All he did was turn his body, wondering what the heck that noise was, when Cody Jenkins barreled into him.

"What the heck, man!"

If he'd been on the court, Imraan would have been able to hand a short, kinda fat kid running into him with ease. He was a bit on the skinny side for his height, but that was only because it took some time for body mass to catch up to length, and he was used to brushing aside people who wanted to knock him around. But he'd been completely caught off guard by whatever was going on, and instead of keeping his balance he stumbled backwards. Then his legs crashed against each other and he went down, dropping the shotgun and suddenly aware of something buzzing by his head.

He hit the ground and rolled away from Cody, grasping for the shotgun in the dirt a few feet away from him. All he could figure was that Cody was for some reason trying to get his gun, and he couldn't let that happen. He crawled a couple feet and grabbed the shotgun's stock, still dazed but expecting Cody to jump on top of him at any moment and go for the gun, mentally preparing himself for the fight that he thought was coming, and then he rolled over again and saw that Cody Jenkins wasn't going anywhere. He was lying in the dirt, either dead or dying.

For a second Imraan just stared at that, blinking, unbelieving. Then he realized what had happened, and he turned and saw Maxwell Lombardi off on the distance, jumping into the cover of the trees.

Maxwell Lombardi. Killer. He'd opened fire on them. No, scratch that. Maxwell had opened fire on HIM, and Cody had shoved him out of the way. And now Cody was dead, and Maxwell was off in those trees somewhere.

Now what? He wanted to say something, he wanted to THINK something, but somehow it was all going blank right now. He was taking huge gasps of air, filling his lungs, but he wasn't going to scream, or yell anything at the guy hiding in the woods.

Instead, he just began walking towards where he'd seen Maxwell disappear. He brought the shotgun up, and pulled the trigger. He wasn't quite prepared for the force of the weapon, and the blast stopped him for a moment, but that was all. He kept walking, ready to fire again.

[Fiori]

(OOC: Blatant GMing done with permission. Feel free to tell me if theres anything I should change...)

......1! Now's the time to...

BANG!

As usual, it seemed for Maxwell that even the most simple plans were prone to unforeseen complications. Whilst he'd been spending the whole time worrying about the paki carrying a shotgun, the stranger who he'd spotted hiding in the woods earlier had completely slipped his mind. It wasn't until a bullet embedded itself in the tree Maxwell was leaning against that he was alerted to Daniel's presence, the tall student standing several metres away behind the cover of an old oak tree with his gun aimed at him.

Jesus Christ, he's armed!?! Son of a...

Before Daniel could fire at him a second time, Maxwell quickly dashed from his spot and fired off two rounds from his pistol and another seven from his TEC-9 in Daniel's general direction. All of which missed, naturally, seeing as the recoil of firing both guns simultaneously meant that his already shaky aim sent every bullet wildly off-track. Not that Daniel's counter-attack fared any better, with all four of the shots he fired at Maxwell missing him and embedding themselves in the various trees that were scattered about. Rather then firing back, Maxwell continued on running through the woods, making sure that he didn't stay still long enough for him to be an easy target. Another bullet whizzed through the trees nevertheless, barely missing Maxwell's shoulder by a few inches.

Before long, the dark forest became the scene of an extended chase between the two. With Maxwell ducking a weaving through the woods as Daniel followed along in pursuit. He turned around and fired off another eight rounds from his TEC-9 to keep Daniel off-guard, but as before it failed to slow down the black-haired student who fired another two shots in his direction in retaliation.

Eventually, it looked as though he had finally managed to outrun his assailant, giving Maxwell the opportunity to sheath his pistol once more as he rested his back against a nearby tree. Being centimetres away from death was something of a reality check for him at that point... He nearly died right then because he started getting excited and careless. This wasn't some lame videogame where people get extra lives, or a paintball match where all you have to do is sit on the sidelines until the next round began. Here, if you get shot then tough shit. You'll be lucky if you survive long enough to have any last words, let alone get off the island alive and well...

For god's sake, get a hold of yourself! Having fun is one thing, getting your head blown off through sheer idiocy is another!

It wasn't long until he heard the footsteps of Daniel making his way through the woods, his weapon poised and ready to fire. He had not idea whether or not the paki had decided to follow them or not, but from the sound of things Blackie had come along on his own. A bead of sweat rolled down Maxwell's brow, his heart pumping as he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable struggle that was about to unfold. There was no way he could let this bastard go after all he'd been through... Only one of them would make it out of this forest alive, and Maxwell would be damned if that turned out to be him.

From the looks of things, he hadn't been spotted yet. Good, that gave him to chance to take off that damn bag which slowed him down. He slowly but surely took it off his shoulders, placing it gently on the ground alongside his TEC-9. He'd wasted too much precious ammunition on this prick already when all it would take to finish this would be a single well-aimed gunshot. He retrieved his Glock from his inside pocket once more, holding it up as he waited for the perfect opportunity to fire. I'll wait until this cock is barely a metre or two away... Then it'll all too easy to take a single shot to end this little ridiculous game of car and mouse.

Daniel was now standing right on the other side of the tree Maxwell hid behind, still clueless as to just how near his quarry was. Maxwell waited a moment more, a smile creeping onto his face as Daniel moved slowly past his hiding spot, before showing himself and aiming his gun at the side of Daniel's head.

"I'd like to see you try to dodge thi......"

Before he could either finish the one-liner or pull the trigger, Daniel reacted with astonishing speed and managed to twist around and pin Maxwell's arm against the tree with his left hand, bringing up his own pistol in his right and pulling the trigger. However, after being very briefly taken aback by the speed in which Daniel reacted, Maxwell's left hand quickly shot out and pushed Daniel's arm out of the way just as he pulled the trigger. They stood there for a moment, both surprised by the other's reactions before Maxwell finally headbutted Daniel out of the grapple. Both of the student's guns fell to the floor as Daniel stumbled back, only to grab his footing as moved forward and attempted to kick Daniel in the side of his chest. Before his kick could reach its target however, Daniel quickly grabbed a hold of Maxwell's leg and spinned him onto his back. He then attempted to stomp on Maxwell's chest, but luckily for the British student he managed to roll out of the way in time and get back onto his feet.

The two observed each other for a moment, each posed to attack once again in their own relative martial arts stances. This man, as it now seemed, was going to be a lot harder to kill then the other victims who'd failed to stop him. He actually knew how to fight for one... These were not amateurish moves. He wasn't sure what style this guy was using... Judo, maybe? Either way, the fact of the matter was that he was standing in Maxwell's way. If its a fight this guy wants, then its a fight this guy gets...

"Well, okay, that didn't go down too well... Seems this is going to be a lot more interesting then I first anticipated." He said with a cocky grin, prompting Daniel to move forward and attempt his own kick which Maxwell easily dodged. They exchanged blows for a minute or so, dodging and blocking each other's strikes are they both attempted to breach the other's defense. On one occasions, Daniel attempted to capture Maxwell in a choker hold only to be pushed back and kicked in the chest for all his trouble.

The two circled each other for a moment, waiting for the other to strike first. They were both more tired and weary by this point, but nevertheless neither of them dropped their guard or showed a single sign of wariness. If anything, Maxwell felt more energized then ever, the adrenaline from before returning as he gave Daniel another confident half-smile. Eventually, Daniel broke the silence as he returned Maxwell's half-smile with a flurry of vicious blows. Most of which managed to break though his defense, ending with one final punch in the face which sent Maxwell stumbling into a nearby tree with a loud thud.

The British student coughed hard several times, spitting out his own blood as he recovered from the attack. He wiped most of it from his face onto his sleeve, only to be repulsed when he realised that he'd just stained his favourite suit in the process. BASTARD! How DARE he cause me to bleed like this! What're the chances that I had to run into fucking Neo of all people...

He stood up slowly, glaring at Daniel with intense hatred and contempt. He, just like Nick Reid, had actually caused Maxwell bodily harm. Unlike Nick on the other hand, Maxwell had absolutely no intention of letting him go with a warning. The same feeling of disgust he felt towards Augustus shortly before his imminent demise was beginning to return, fire burning in his eyes as he anticipated Daniel's inevitable attack.

Sure enough, Daniel moved forwards and attempted to strike again, only for Maxwell to move out of the way just in time. There was a sickening crack as Daniel's fist made contact with the hard bark of the tree Maxwell had fallen against. Not wasting any time, Maxwell then quckly unleashed his own flurry of relentless strikes on Daniel before he could recover from the pain in his right hand. First, he viciously punched him the stomach before uppercutting his chin. Then he unleashed a series of blows on Daniel's defenseless face and chest, pushing him back away from the tree. Then, to finish Daniel off, he ended his merciless assault with a brutal roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him off his feet onto the floor.

OUCH! Damnit, I think I pulled something... Not trying that again in a hurry.

Seeing Daniel sprawled across the floor helplessly was a satisfying sight, to say the least. His rage from before temporally subsided as he took the moment to enjoy the feeling of superiority he had over this cretin who had caused him harm, prompting him to kick him mercilessly in the chest to keep him down.

"You know, I have to say. Ruining my best suit aside, that was actually rather fun. Its been a while since I've had the opportunity to spar with someone of more-or-less equal skill..." he said smugly, giving Daniel another kick to keep him down. "That being said, in the end you proved to be no better then any of the other sad sacks of tedium that seem to make up this island. Being skilled is one thing. Being clever enough to survive is something completely different..."

He stamped his foot down on Daniel's back, pinning him onto the floor as Maxwell leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "To tell you the truth, I'm actually quite disappointed it had to end this way. With those skills and that gun, you could have made yourself quite a force in this game. You may have even been able to remove some of the more dangerous members of the competion and save me the trouble of doing so myself! But instead of taking advantage of the opportunity lent to you on a silver platter, you had to go ahead and try to play the hero in a game where everybody in the end is out for themselves. And now, thanks to your ineptness, you're about to die alone and unloved in the middle of some godawful forest. Now THAT'S what I call a heroic death, if you ask me...

He stood up, lifting his foot from the helpless student before him. "Anyway, enough faffing about... Now where is that gun you so rudely knocked out of my grasp?"

He moved away from Daniel, his eyes searching amongst the undergrowth for his firearm. Sure enough, there it was, lying a foot or so away from the tree he had originally hid behind.

"Ah, there it is..." he said as he bent over, reaching his hand out for the instrument of death that had served him so well in the past...

It was at then that Daniel shot up and pounced onto Maxwell's back, knocking them both to the floor.

WHAT IN THE...!?!

The two struggled as Daniel grabbed Maxwell from underneath his chin with one hand, whilst his other grabbed the top of his head. The British student wasn't exactly sure what Daniel was trying to do at first, but as he began to feel pressure on his neck it became all to clear what the black haired bastard was attempting.

NO! Nononononooo! I'm not going to let it end like this! Now way in hell I'm going to allow this BASTARD to break my neck like in some kind of cheap action movie!

His eyes darted about, looking for some way to get the taller student off of him before it was too late. Eventually, they laid upon the gun he was reaching for barely moments ago. He reached his arm out as far as he could reach, the gun barely inches away from his fingers...

Almost there......

It all seemed hopeless. Here he was, barely seconds away from having his neck broken by some Neanderthal, with his only salvation just out of reach...

...Only, it wasn't quite out of reach. His middle finger just about reaching it, allowing him to drag it slightly closer for him to grab a hold.

YES!!!

Barely a second later, he pointed the gun over his shoulder and pulled the trigger.

The bullet pierced his assailant's shoulder, causing him to loosen his grip and allow Maxwell to throw him off. He'd originally intended on the bullet hitting Daniel in the head, killing him instantly. Not that it mattered... The rage that had subsided earlier was back in full force, prompting Maxwell to his feet as he aimed the gun's sights at the injured boy in front of him.

"THATS IT! No more fun and games... I'm going to end this now you fucking SHIT!"

He pulled the trigger, expecting a loud bang followed by a spray of blood as it hit Daniel in the neck... But instead, he was met with a telltale click.

"...Empty? EMPTY?!?" he growled, before throwing the gun away. Never in his life had he ever been as furious as he was at that very moment, enraged that his every attempt to kill this guy failed over and over again. He was far beyond what he was like when Augustus nearly shot back by the beach. Back then he was in a murderous fit of rage... This time however, he felt like doing more then just choking the life out of this bastard. This time, he felt like tearing the miserable cunt limb from limb. Of course, seeing as that wasn't humanely possible, he had to settle with something a little less drastic...


So instead, Maxwell Lombardi lunged on top of Daniel and jammed both his thumbs into the helpless boy's eye sockets.


"DIE! WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING DIE!!!"

They struggled at first, naturally. Daniel desperate to get away as Maxwell applied pressure on his head. But despite his best efforts, Maxwell refused to let go of him. He wasn't going to move one inch, not until he knew for sure that this time Daniel wasn't going to get back up. A vicious, sadistic smile crossed his features as Daniel slowly but surely began to stop moving. It took a while, but eventually the boy stopped struggling and lay still. It was over...

......Finally!

He took a moment to catch his breath, wiping his bloodied hands on Daniel's clothes before moving off. Gouging another man's eyes out wasn't something you quickly got over. And after realising what he'd just done, Maxwell couldn't help but feel a little shocked that he was capable of doing such a thing. Not that he felt the slightest hint of remorse for Daniel or anything, its just that he found the feeling of satisfaction he felt as he ended another man's life with his own bare hands to be somewhat... Disturbing. Not that I'm a psychopath or anything... God no! I think I'd of been the first to notice if that was the case. I'm just being pragmatic, thats all. How else was I supposed to finish him off? I mean, sure it was a hell of a lot of fun watching him squirm as I...... You know what, I really shouldn't be standing around here. God knows how far paki boy could be right now...

And so, on that note, Maxwell went about quickly retrieving his stuff, including Daniel's handgun and duffle bag, before cracking his neck and retreating from the premesis. I'll just head off until I'm 100% sure I'm in the clear, take what useful stuff I can get from this guy's bag before dumping it, reload and call it a day. Sounds like a plan to me......

((Maxwell Lombardi continued in Lean on Me))

[chibinanashi*]

((OOC: Fioriboy....that...was...pure...BADASS!))

This was the decision. Daniel bit his lip anxiously as he loaded up his gun for what might be the final time. This guy...he's just murdering us left right and centre...It can't be allowed to continue. I'll take down this motherfucker no matter what. Raising his gun, Daniel took careful aim and made his first round of attack.

Before Daniel could fire at him a second time, Maxwell quickly dashed from his spot and fired off two rounds from his pistol and another seven from his TEC-9 in Daniel's general direction. All of which missed, naturally, seeing as the recoil of firing both guns simultaneously meant that his already shaky aim sent every bullet wildly off-track. Not that Daniel's counter-attack fared any better, with all four of the shots he fired at Maxwell missing him and embedding themselves in the various trees that were scattered about. Rather then firing back, Maxwell continued on running through the woods, making sure that he didn't stay still long enough for him to be an easy target. Another bullet whizzed through the trees nevertheless, barely missing Maxwell's shoulder by a few inches.

Before long, the dark forest became the scene of an extended chase between the two. With Maxwell ducking a weaving through the woods as Daniel followed along in pursuit. He turned around and fired off another eight rounds from his TEC-9 to keep Daniel off-guard, but as before it failed to slow down the black-haired student who fired another two shots in his direction in retaliation.


Daniel panted as he fought to keep even with his enemy. Somewhere the student had disappeared into the woods and Daniel tried his best not to be seen. How many bullets had been fired? He felt frustrated that he hadn't been able to kill the stranger, but at the same time he felt relieved.

Those bullets fired...were just fired. They didn't strike another student.

"I could die just knowing that..." Daniel whispered, his thoughts going back to Lucy. He remembered trying to help her, trying to get her to go to the prom with him. She had been too scared of him. I'd probably scare her right now if she saw me right now...

There was movement in the woods. Daniel could see the student and finally recognized him. Maxwell!? Him of all people!?

"I'd like to see you try to dodge thi......"

Daniel took the initiative and pinned that bastard to the tree. "I think I did." Daniel retorted, not grinning or smiling from getting the upper hand. It was just grim determination that was written on his face. His head pounded with thoughts of stopping this student from taking more lives. It'll have to be by hand if this doesn't work...I don't know how many bullets I have left.

However, after being very briefly taken aback by the speed in which Daniel reacted, Maxwell's left hand quickly shot out and pushed Daniel's arm out of the way just as he pulled the trigger. They stood there for a moment, both surprised by the other's reactions before Maxwell finally headbutted Daniel out of the grapple. Both of the student's guns fell to the floor as Daniel stumbled back, only to grab his footing as moved forward and attempted to kick Daniel in the side of his chest. Before his kick could reach its target however, Daniel quickly grabbed a hold of Maxwell's leg and spinned him onto his back. He then attempted to stomp on Maxwell's chest, but luckily for the British student he managed to roll out of the way in time and get back onto his feet.

"You're good." Daniel breathed out as he took on his stance once more. "Why couldn't you have helped your fellow students? Why couldn't you use that strength for good!?"

"Well, okay, that didn't go down too well... Seems this is going to be a lot more interesting then I first anticipated." He said with a cocky grin, prompting Daniel to move forward and attempt his own kick which Maxwell easily dodged. They exchanged blows for a minute or so, dodging and blocking each other's strikes are they both attempted to breach the other's defense. On one occasions, Daniel attempted to capture Maxwell in a choker hold only to be pushed back and kicked in the chest for all his trouble.

The two circled each other for a moment, waiting for the other to strike first. They were both more tired and weary by this point, but nevertheless neither of them dropped their guard or showed a single sign of wariness. If anything, Maxwell felt more energized then ever, the adrenaline from before returning as he gave Daniel another confident half-smile. Eventually, Daniel broke the silence as he returned Maxwell's half-smile with a flurry of vicious blows. Most of which managed to break though his defense, ending with one final punch in the face which sent Maxwell stumbling into a nearby tree with a loud thud.

Daniel watched, confused when Maxwell looked absolutely pissed about the blood he spat out. The only thing he could think of was that the guy had been pretty much untouchable during the game and this was the wake up call for him. Maxwell had learned just now that he wasn't completely invulnerable. I wish I hadn't done that though. Wake up call or not, this guy will be more careful in the future rather than drunk and careless thinking he's invincible.

When Daniel attacked again, his fist met the tree instead of Maxwell. The pain rushed over him in a wave of heat as he fought not to scream obscenities. Instead, Daniel settled on biting his lip until it bled. He returned his concentration to kicking Maxwell's ass when suddenly he was hit by a relentless wave of attacks from the british student which climaxed with the roundhouse kick to the face.

Fuck...

The pain...That's all he could feel. Bruising hot pain...Licking his lips, Daniel tasted blood. I must look like a mess right now...Lucy...She'd definitely run from me right now...too...scary to look at.

"You know, I have to say. Ruining my best suit aside, that was actually rather fun. Its been a while since I've had the opportunity to spar with someone of more-or-less equal skill..." he said smugly, giving Daniel another kick to keep him down. "That being said, in the end you proved to be no better then any of the other sad sacks of tedium that seem to make up this island. Being skilled is one thing. Being clever enough to survive is something completely different..."

Maxwell stamped his foot down on Daniel's back, pinning him onto the floor as Maxwell leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "To tell you the truth, I'm actually quite disappointed it had to end this way. With those skills and that gun, you could have made yourself quite a force in this game. You may have even been able to remove some of the more dangerous members of the competion and save me the trouble of doing so myself! But instead of taking advantage of the opportunity lent to you on a silver platter, you had to go ahead and try to play the hero in a game where everybody in the end is out for themselves. And now, thanks to your ineptness, you're about to die alone and unloved in the middle of some godawful forest. Now THAT'S what I call a heroic death, if you ask me...

He stood up, lifting his foot from the helpless student before him. "Anyway, enough faffing about... Now where is that gun you so rudely knocked out of my grasp?"

Maxwell was turning away. This was his chance! Even if he were to die...He'd be okay with it. Daniel moved his head in a nod, accepting that fact. He would fight like he would die. That way, he'd go all out. If he fought to live, he'd die as he'd constantly be looking for a way out. Planting his hands on the forest floor, Daniel clenched his fist around the dirt and pushed himself up as if the fate of the students on the island were bearing down on his shoulders.

"Ah, there it is..."

Daniel stood up now. He took a deep breath and blew out loudly mocking the british student, "CHEERIO, MOTHERFUCKER!", and leaped onto his back.

Everything was a whirlwind now. Things had to end and end it Daniel would. His bloodied hands grasped at Maxwell's head, trying desperately to snap the students neck. Flashes of images went through his mind; playing the piano as Lucy played the flute...first arriving at his new foster home...practicing martial arts...and finally Lucy and him at the mall. This had to work! It had to!!

There was a loud bang. Pain erupted from his shoulder as Daniel realized he had just been shot in the shoulder. He fell backwards onto the ground, one hand grasping the wet wound and the other grasping for the gun that had fallen to the ground. I have to find it...I have to find it! Before...before....

"THATS IT! No more fun and games... I'm going to end this now you fucking SHIT!"

There it was! The gun!

"...Empty? EMPTY?!?

Just then, Daniel looked up to see the other gun being pointed at him. He almost smiled when Maxwell lunged at him and dug his fingers into his eye sockets. All Daniel could do was scream. He screamed and screamed. He would have preferred being shot!

"AUUUUGH!" He shot into the air blindly, emptying the gun of bullets. His other hand tried to pry Maxwell's away.

"DIE! WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING DIE!!!"

His world was going dark, literally. The bullet wound bled and bled...All he could see now was Lucy. His unrequited crush on her...He never had that chance to tell her or to show her...He had failed in that. However, as he laid there dying...there was a faint smile on his lips. For every bullet fired...a life was saved...

Enjoy the empty gun...tea drinking bastard...

((Daniel Blessing, DEAD))

[D/N]

Maxwell had disappeared into the trees even before Imraan had fired his first shot. He took a few more steps and raised his shotgun, ready to fire again even if there was nothing to fire at. But something, he wasn't even sure what it had been, had stopped him from pulling the trigger again.

He's gone, man. Forget it.

Imraan pulled back and looked at Cody's body again, then at the sign they'd spent a whole night building. Janet was still there, but the other kid that had arrived, the one with the gun, was not.

"Janet, did you see--"

Then there were more gunshots, from off in the direction Maxwell had gone. Imraan's head snapped up.

Oh God. Don't tell me, DON'T TELL ME he's done it again!

He grabbed his duffel bag off the ground, and turned to Janet.

"Janet... you shouldn't follow me. Go find other people. Just, just try to stay alive."

Then he rushed off in the direction of the shots.

------

The other kid was dead. Dead? That was too kind a word. His eyes were gone, that was all Imraan could really tell, and all he really wanted to know. The rest of his features were hidden beneath the blood.

Imraan crouched next to the body, keeping his eyes away from the kid's face. He hadn't even known this guy's name. He was just someone that Imraan recognized from school, and now he was the second person here who'd died because he hadn't reacted. He must have gone rushing after Maxwell when Imraan didn't, and then, well, Imraan didn't even know how it had ended up like this, but it had.

"So what am I supposed to do?" he muttered to One and no one in particular. He glanced down at the body again, and found he couldn't take those eye sockets anymore.

"Sorry about this, man." He reached under the body and flipped it over, leaving it lying facedown. That was better. Not much of an epitaph, though. He should at least know his name.

The kid's wallet was still in his pants pocket, and Imraan pulled it out with fingers that were feeling numb, then opened it. He pulled out a student card for Daniel Blessing, then closed the wallet and replaced it in Daniel's pocket. He didn't want to look at any pictures or mementos. Just a name was enough. He'd keep the card, and then he'd... he'd do what, exactly?

What was he supposed to do?

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, HUH?!"

Imraan stood up, growling. His teeth were grinding together audibly. His body felt covered with cold sweat, and then he looked down at his hand and saw the cross he'd drawn on there. It was a reminder of what was supposed to be his strength. And he'd betrayed it. He hadn't been willing to stand behind what he'd believed, and now Cody Jenkins and Daniel Blessing were dead.

He had been scared. It was that simple. Too scared to get involved. Too scared to accept his fate, to stare it in the face. He'd told himself since the first day that he could handle this, for everyone else's sake, but hadn't that just been posturing? For all the strength he had told himself he had, what had he done? He'd ran. He'd ran away from the group on the road, rather than keeping them all together. He'd ran to the very edge of the island, and made a futile, useless SOS sign, pretending he was accomplishing something.

He was weak. Weak in faith. Weak in spirit. Weak in conviction. And weak in his actions. But not any more. From now on, he would face evil, and he would do battle with it.

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Imraan reloaded the shotgun and set off, after Maxwell Lombardi. Maxwell or any of the others he had heard from the announcements. Any of those who had preyed on others.

He would find them, and he would not be afraid of them. And then he would-- what? Would he just kill them, like he'd told himself a day ago he would never do?

No. He would stop them. That was the word. He would stop them from killing anyone else. Whatever it took.

(Imraan Al-Hariq continued in Keep Yourself Alive)

[Slam]

((Slamexo adopting Janet Claymont back from Vanikoro.))

Everything had been going fine. Yeah, it was tiring, and yeah, Janet was doubtful that a bunch of logs spelt out as an SOS was going to help anyone, but it was better than just standing around like an idiot waiting to get picked off. She wasn't an A grade student, but she wasn't stupid either.

Morning rolled around soon enough and Janet sat down on one of the assembled logs to watch the sea, thinking of everything that'd happened since she'd arrived. The gazebo catching fire, that kid burning... then this. In hindsight it wasn't all that much to think about, but still, from the announcements going on, it was obvious that people were playing the game, and that meant she had to watch her back. The people she was with now seemed safe, but she had taken care not to let her guard down.

Finally, the second announcement blared across the speakers, echoing across the island for all to hear: Janet listened for want of anything else to do, no idea of what was coming up. In truth she hadn't given him much thought since she'd awoken on the island, being more concerned with her own survival.

Not thinking about someone doesn't meant they're safe.

"Chadd Crossen"

It didn't mean anything at first, Janet barely even registering the name. But she had heard it, and it was impossible for her to miss it; Chadd had been called out. The rest of the announcement became a blur, as the realisation hit home.

Chadd was dead.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG

The gunfire coming out of nowhere, Janet fell off the log as she whipped her head around to its source, blood streaking across the air as Cody was mercilessly ripped to pieces by the bullets piercing his flesh. Her mind filled with horror, as the helpless kid died before her.

"Jesus!" was all she could yell, looking at the scene from behind the wood, watching Imraan chase after them with his shotgun. She took heed of his words, and grabbed for her bags, before sprinting away along the cliffs, the sound of bullets ricocheting following behind her. She had to get out of there: she had to run!

She ran until she was out of breath; she ran until her heart pounded against her chest; she ran until she collapsed to her kness; all she could do was remember what she had heard:

Chadd was dead.

((Janet Claymont continued in Star-Crossed Lover))