Survival Of The Fittest

So the girl claimed to be unarmed. So what? She had a pack of her own, and could be carrying anything. Jimmy, for one, was not the sort to believe everything people said. However, he did let Eddie push his pistol down, for the simple reason that he didn't have the right angle, the right lighting, or the ability to fire his pistol without injuring himself. Besides, he had Kimmy at his mercy. And this time, he wouldn't let his gaze waver. Of course, with the dim lighting of the cave, he probably could be staring intently at a patch of moss, and not know the difference.

Whatever the case, giving Eddie a nod, the blind boy leaned against the wall of the cave. He only heard one shot, so assuming the revolver had been full, he now only had five shots in it. Five shots, to a boy with Jimmy's skill, meant he could defend himself against one person. Two maybe if one of them stood still. "You can put your hands down now," he said to what he assumed was Kimmy, as the fuzzy shape he was addressing appeared to have two arms raised on either side of it. The sooner he left this cave, the more chance he had of avoiding embarrassment.

I hope nobody on this island has a mannequin or a cardboard cutout. Then I'd really be in trouble.

"So," he said, trying to sound casual over the fading ringing noise and the pain in his arm, "you two know each other? You're both acting like you've talked before." For all he knew about the student body, the two of them were probably friends in school or something. He'd come into the school way too late to learn anything about much of anybody.

(Sorry for skipping over you, Ted, but I don't want no blowy-uppy.)

Kimmy's pride was in desperate need of repair. A kid who could barely see past his own hand was waving a gun in her face and she was letting him push her around. She was letting Noname, who's name was apparently 'Jim', make a fool of her. As much as she wanted to kick the kid's ass, she knew she wouldn't stand a chance. He had a gun and already proved that he was ready to shoot at her any minute, which he would obviously do if she tried to attack him.

And then there was Eddie. He was making it so incredibly hard for her to hate him, despite the fact that she was trying so hard to do just that. It was amazingly selfless of him to stand up for her when she had hurt him. In the very back of her head, Kimmy wondered what it would of been like if they had met under better circumstances. Would they would've been friends?

No..

Kimmy quickly dismissed the thought. She couldn't be thinking of things that weren't ever going to happen. It would just make things ten times harder when it actually came time to do the task at hand. She'd have to kill sooner or later to be able to get home and she wanted that way more than she wanted friends... right?

"You can put your hands down now,"

Thankfully 'Jim' spoke up and interrupted the girl's thoughts, but he was ordering her around again. Kimmy's eyes narrowed into a glare as she stared at the blind boy. She wasn't sure if he could see how displeased she was, but she tried as hard as she could to telepathically send the message or the vibe or whatever- she didn't care as long as the boy knocked it off.

He obviously didn't receive the message, because a second later the stupid boy questioned her relationship with Eddie. This sent her over the edge of annoyance. Did he think he was some police officer or something? Someone that could question someone and point a gun at them all willy-nilly?

"Don't tell me what to do," Kimmy's voice became sharp as a dagger as she stared the boy down, hoping that she could intimidate him even the littlest bit. "Just fuck off and go die somewhere, you handicapped dickhead."

As if some karmic force was out to set things right, a distinct beeping noise began to emanate from her metal collar. Her heart felt heavy in her chest and she began to panic. This place wasn't a danger-zone! They weren't stupid enough to walk into a danger-zone, right?! Her breathing was quick and she could feel herself getting lightheaded. She did the only thing she could do and ran for her life, literally.

(Kimmy Redmond continued One By One)

Time seemed to stand still following Kimmy's outburst. Jimmy's eyes widened, and his grip on the pistol tightened. Fortunately, his finger was nowhere near the trigger, or things would have gone south quickly. As it was though, his other hand clenched into a fist, and in a flash, he had come forward off the wall, sheer force of will being the only thing that prevented him from punching Kimmy in the face.

Handicapped? I've got her at gunpoint, and she has the gall to call me handicapped? Who does she think she is?

Jimmy's mind was a lot more calm than his outward appearance. Kimmy had discovered his anger button, and given it a hard press. As such, he appeared on the verge of being murderous. "What did you call me? What did you–HEY! GET BACK HERE!" All of a sudden, Kimmy had turned and run, with panic in her eyes. Had she seen the reaction to her statement? Was she afraid he was going to kill her? And where was that beeping coming from?

Wait, beeping?

Looking down at his own collar, Jimmy suddenly realized the situation. The collars had become activated, and were now signaling that they were about to detonate.

But there wasn't an announcement. Wouldn't they have announced danger zones? Does this mean that anywhere could be dangerous? Oh geez, this is not good.

His anger at Kimmy only a small sensation in the back of his mind, the blind man turned to Eddie, still with the wide eyes, but for a decidedly different reason. Without warning, he ran for the exit as well, barely remembering to snatch up his daypack on the way out. "Run, Eddie!" he yelled into the cave. "We can meet up in the forest, assuming that's safe." Heedless of any possible danger waiting outside the cave, he ran, hoping that Eddie would make it out safely. He didn't know or care much about the fellow who had been inside the cave, but he somewhat hoped that that fellow would make it out too.

(Jimmy Trejo continued in Death and All His Friends)

Eddie let out a sigh of relief as Jimmy let the barrel of his pistol fall away from Kimmy. The tension was slowly bleeding out of the air as the sun finally broke over the horizon. The light filtered through the trees and gave the tired boy a vague sense of hope. Until Kimmy opened her mouth.

Jimmy stiffened as the girl's barbs hit home. Kimmy seemed to have a talent for saying just the right thing to get on your bad side. It might have been a useful skill when in a safe, social environment, but it wasn't so handy when you were held at gun point. Eddie felt his jaw drop as his companion flew off the stone wall of the cave and approached the girl with the wounded pride. For a terrifying moment, Eddie thought that Jim might actually kill the girl.

Forcing himself to step forward, Eddie opened his mouth to speak when the beeping hit him like a punch in the chest. A dangerzone. No warning, no announcement, just the steady chirp of his suddenly primed collar. The calming words died on his lips as his throat slammed shut and his stomach rolled. For a moment he thought he'd be sick, but the quick movements of Jimmy and Kimmy fleeing the area brought him back to his senses.

Turning to follow behind them, Eddie only managed a few, faltering steps before stopping. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he thought about the person he'd spoken to in the cave. Could he really just leave that guy? His instincts roared in his head. Just go, you moron! He'll hear the beeping and get himself out; you don't need to worry about anything but running! But, what if the person in the cave had been injured? What if they couldn't get out fast enough?

Then it's better for them to die alone. What would you accomplish, except for dying next to him? For a long moment Eddie couldn't move. The rifle in his hands suddenly felt like it carried with it the weight of the world. The beeping of the steel choker around his neck brought gathered his thoughts for him. Turning away from the cave he began to run off in the direction Kimmy and Jimmy had gone.

He'd only a few more steps when he slid to a halt again. The sun lazily trickled down through the jungle's thick canopy, dancing across Edward Sullivan's face. For some reason, the situation distantly reminded him of the tower. "It's a small step from refusing to help someone in need to actually delivering the killing blow yourself. That was my reasoning, wasn't it?" the boy wondered aloud to himself before casting another glance at the stone mouth. This time his gaze wouldn't drift back towards the trees. "Shit."

Turning back towards the mouth of the cave and sprinting back into the cavernous gloom, Eddie wondered again if the heroes in books felt the same fear he did. A terror so deep in your bones and water that it made want to vomit. Probably not. Courage was always something that belonged to other people, and Eddie always knew he never was a hero. He was just someone who was too nice for his own good.

Stumbling and almost tripping over shadows, the out of breath boy finally came to his goal. Doubling over, his hands firmly planted on his knees, he tried to form a coherent sentence. "H-hey…need t-t-to…outta'…here. Collars…g-gonna go off."

Gabe had spent the last few minutes just dazed in the back of the cave. He'd decided it was in his better interest to stay away from where the bullets had come from. He heard the people up front talking, and it sounded pretty hostile. Hostility was not something he needed right now.

**Beep**

"What the hell? This isn't a dangerzone." Gabe said grabbing his collar. Frantically he rose and fumbled around in the dark for his bag. He rose and began to make his way out when Eddie came barreling into the cave sputtering about the collars.

"Yeah, I know, just go!" Gabe shouted as he continued his sprint. Running-back speed pays off when you need to get out of somewhere in a hurry.

((Gabe continued in:3's and 7's))

The boy in the cave was already up and moving by the time Eddie found him. The larger student sprinted out of the cave and into the jungle. Huffing and puffing, Eddie swore to high heaven that if he got out of the situation alive, he was going to start a running routine. Five miles a day. If he got off the island alive.

((Eddie continued elsewhere))