Survival Of The Fittest

Lyn stood up slowly. Eddie gave a sigh of relief. Maybe she'd turn out ok after all. The blow to the side of his face sent the boy sprawling. Head pounding, he tried to shake off the unexpected attack with little effect. He managed to raise his head enough to see Laeil's face. Rage painted her pale features red. Her eyes were shrink wrapped in unshed tears. The dark haired boy was lucky to catch one word in seven, vaguely aware of the thin streak of black standing above him, pouring her hate out into the world.

Blood trickled down his chin as he struggled to make sense of everything. Of Laeil's words, her anger, his shattered sense of trust. Too much information, too much stress, too much sadness scattered any chance at coherent reflection.... The click of the revolver's hammer focused his thoughts nicely. Raising his head again, he found the frozen look in the thin girl's eyes was more terrifying than the fire that it replaced.

"Now," the hollow young woman demanded coldly, "how are you going to make it up to me?" The stone cold facade shattered as she erupted again, shoving the barrel of the gun in Eddie's face. "TELL ME!" Adrenaline dumped into his blood. His heart hammered in his ears. You've still got Jimmy's rifle, the voice deep in the back of his head pointed out, move quick and you can stop her. Fingers tightened around the stock of the gun.

The rifle dropped to the ground. Dragging a fist across his mouth to wipe away the blood, Eddie rolled himself over, sitting up. He kept his eyes well away from hers. "I'm s-sor-." He stopped and cleard his throat.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I won't say anything like 'I understand,' or 'I know how you feel,' because...I don't. I can't. And...you're right, this is my fault. But, I...I've got nothing to give you." He paused a long moment, not wanting to say what he was thinking. One look at the girl's dead eyes had the words tumbling out on their own.

"I...suppose that's not true. You know, there's something you could take. Something that might be equivalent. I'm not sure it would make you feel any better, but it's about all I have." He couldn't bring himself to say what he'd implied. To the cowardly boy's credit, he didn't look away from the specter's glare, knowing she understood. "Do you want it?"

Laeil froze, completely taken aback by Eddie's response. This was the last thing she expected. Begging for his life, sure. Hell, even pointing his own gun back at her and turning the situation into a standoff was a possibility in her mind. But for him to just willingly give up, to throw everything away as some kind of reconciliation. She just couldn't understand it. A look of utter confusion passed over her face before being replaced with a look of sheer annoyance.

"If you're willing to give up that easily, then she must not have meant that much to you." She finally said, her voice dripping with venom. "And if that's the case, I don't see you killing Wade at all. You're just a loser, a useless waste of space, and you should just die." And with that, the pulled the trigger.

She pulled the trigger.

She pulled the trigger.

Dammit, why couldn't she just pull the fucking trigger!? She said it herself, this guy was a waste of space. He could have all the ambition in the world, but he was just too much of a pathetic fucking nice guy to actually do what he wanted to do. Not only that, but he had cost her the one thing she wanted most on this island, what had kept her going these last three days. He DESERVED to die!

Her mind continued to scream at her. Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Go on and kill him! Hurry up and do it! Go on, kill him already! Do it! DO IT! KILL HIM! WIPE THAT MISERABLE FUCK OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH!

She dropped her arm, turning around to gather her sword and pack. "A little advice." She said. "If you really want to do what you keep saying you want to do, I suggest you stop being such a fucking nice guy. Sentiment will only get you killed." She threw her pack over her shoulder. "You'd better pray I never see you again."

And with that, she stormed off down the hill, stopping at Nathanial's corpse just long enough to deliver an angry sword swing his way, the end of the sword burying itself in his torse, then pulling it back out and continuing on her way. She was pissed. Pissed at Melina for dying, pissed at herself for letting her die, pissed at Jimmy for dying, pissed at Maggie for betraying her, pissed at Danya for putting her in this situation, pissed at Eddie for being so FUCKING PATHETIC.

Once again, since Anthony died, nothing had gone her way. And now her long term goal on the island was gone forever. She had no idea what to do now. As she disappeared into the jungle, all she knew was that SOMEBODY had to pay.

{{continued elsewhere}}

As he offered up his life, Eddie wondered silently to himself. Why was he doing this? He still had things to do, didn't he? The idea left a bad taste in his mouth, though the prospect of dying didn't bother him at all. Well, a life living through other people isn't much of a life to lose, is it?

Yes, he supposed that was it. Brushing the thoughts away, he calmly looked up the barrel of the gun at Laeil. She didn't seem to understand what he'd told her. Or, if she did, she wasn't quite sure as to what his intentions were. Eddie wasn't surprised. He barely understood his actions himself. Maybe you're starting to get develop a death wish? He didn't think so. In fact, the boy just wanted to help the only person he might still consider a friend.

Right. Time to stop kidding yourself. You were never going to find Wade. Supposing you did find him, you'd probably just fuck it up. I mean, look at all the other times. Eddie couldn't deny the accuracy of the thought. He hadn't been able to help Jimmy, he hadn't be able to help Lyn. He couldn't save Jodene. He probably wouldn't be able to kill Wade anyway. At least dying here and now might give Lyn some peace of mind. Probably not, but it was the thought that counted, right?

"If you're willing to give up that easily," Laeil said, "then she must not have meant that much to you." The words knocked the wind from his lungs. Before he could mount a coherent response, she was speaking again, kicking him in the ribs while he was down. "And if that's the case, I don't see you killing Wade at all. You're just a loser, a useless waste of space, and you should just die."

Dark eyes fell to the ground. He couldn't look at her anymore. Shame wouldn't allow him. Of course, she was right. Most people were right about him. All he'd ever been was a waste of space and oxygen. Jodene meant everything to him and he was still too afraid to actually do anything. How pathetic. But, why should he be any different now? Old habits, no matter how pathetic, are always difficult to overcome.

The conspicuous lack of gunfire was punctuated as Laeil turned and gathered her things. "A little advice." She said. "If you really want to do what you keep saying you want to do, I suggest you stop being such a fucking nice guy. Sentiment will only get you killed." Maybe she was right. Kimmy, Jimmy, Lyn; trying to help them hadn't brought him any closer to his goal.

Laeil threw her pack over her shoulder, her eyes colder than Eddie'd ever seen them. "You'd better pray I never see you again." She said as she walked away. And so it came to pass that Edward Sullivan was alone again. Drawing his knees to his chest, he felt the weight of the past few days crushing him. The absence left behind by Jimmy and Lyn hurt more than he thought it should have. He'd only known them a few days. The knowledge didn't make the anguish any easier to deal with.

And so, he sat and he thought. Memories of blood and fleeting flashes of gratitude plagued his thoughts. When Eddie came back to the world, he was slowly rocking himself, hands clamped tightly on his arms. Releasing his grip, he absently wiped away tears he didn't remember shedding. Looking around, at the empty clearing, a single thought gnawed away at him. Not finding any answer, he voiced his concerns to the lonely stretch of land.

"What do I do now?"

((Renee Valenti continued from Where The Sinners Gather))

"This...is it?"

The once-raging redhead stood over the corpse of Nathaniel "Blood Boy" Harris, her pursuit of Emma Babineaux sending her down the wrong direction and away from her target toward the lookout tower. The shattered mask seemed to stare back at her, the face it was attached to - or at least what was left of that too - like a portal to hell now closed.

At least now she was sure that this ghost had been silenced, once and for all. Not that it was all just a formality for someone whose sole purpose now was to avoid following him into the grave. It did allow her to breathe a sigh of relief. Only problem was, all she had right now to prevent that from happening was a bow with a single arrow (that she hadn't proved very good at firing), and a chain.

"Fuck. What do I do now?" she said with another frustrated sigh, before realizing that she had possibly echoed a voice in her head...no...a voice nearby. She gasped and looked around...but there didn't seem to be anyone in the vicinity. Or at least her side of the building. She coiled her chain around one hand, ready to lash it out as she crept around the tower to see if anyone else was there.

There was someone there, facing the clearing. A guy, sitting down and rocking himself in his own depression. She moved toward him, slowly but not too stealthily, chain at the ready but not quite to attack him first. Not being able to see his face meant she couldn't identify him...and not be able to figure out if he was playing.

The rifle leapt into his hands, quickly lining up with the approaching figure. "St-stay back!" Eddie cried, remembering the encounter at the lagoon. Even during his bout of introspection, the practiced eavesdropper kept an ear out for approaching threats. He wasn't going to get caught by surprise a second time. "I-I'll...I'll sh-shoot if you d-don't stop!" He wasn't quite sure if he was bluffing or not, but he hoped he sounded desperate enough to actually make good on his threats.

Several heartbeats later, the haze of panic had lifted enough to allow Eddie to identify his new company. The girl's fiery red hair and bright green eyes almost tripped him up. "Y-you're that girl. R-Rio, r-right?" he said. He hoped he was right. If not, that meant Melina's ghost had come seeking revenge on Lyn, only to find an innocent bystander. The dark haired boy didn't think innocence would save him from a vengeful spirit, especially if that was the spirit of Melina Frost.

Ghost? There's enough real trouble here to keep you from having to make shit up. Focusing on the reality of the situation, Eddie examined Renee's weapons. The thick length of chain wound around her fist would make a suitable weapon in a pinch, but the only real weapon she carried seemed impractical. Shooting a bow and arrow had to be hard, and Eddie couldn't imagine anyone successfully using it, particularly with only one shot left. In any event, his rifle gave him the upper hand. Lowering the barrel, he kept his body tight. He wanted to be ready in case Renee proved dangerous. "Are you…p-playing?"

((*imagines Renee telling him "You forgot to take the safety off, rookie." and then CQCing his ass*))

"I-I'll...I'll sh-shoot if you d-don't stop!"
Fuck.
The boy she was approaching quickly jumped up and aimed what appeared to be a very powerful gun straight at her. So not only was he depressed, but also armed. It was miraculous in itself that he didn't suddenly pull the trigger and give Renee a hot lead injection.

The redhead's reaction, mainly consisting of stopping frozen and wide-eyed in her tracks (almost stumbling from the reflex) and putting her hands up with her elbows at shoulder level was probably enough to convince the boy that she definitely wasn't the ghost of Melina Frost. The chain still dangled from her left hand.

Just as he couldn't tell (at first glance, anyway) if she was playing, Rio couldn't seem to tell if he was bluffing, or if his rifle was loaded. The one thing she hoped for at this moment, staring down the barrel of a gun, was that his depression would not have made him a good shot.

Double fuck.

"Are you…p-playing?" he asked.

"I would be lying if I told you I wasn't at this point..." Rio replied, sighing as she tried to calm herself down as well. "Or at least...I've tried to. I haven't had much luck at it." She looked away every now and then but tried to keep eye contact, both with the boy and his gun. She was also trying to be sincere...though just because it was what she'd really been going through did not guarantee that he'd believe it.

Eddie swallowed hard, gathering his feet under him. Standing up, he kept the Remington aimed carefully in Renee's general direction. He wasn't going to give her the chance to attack. "N-no l-luck, huh? Well, that's a g-good thing. But d-don't think you're g-gonna make your first k-k-kill with me." Slowly backing away, he edged closer towards the edge of the clearing.

"N-now, maybe you got f-fucked up enough to hunt down other p-people, but not me." He didn't want to mention Wade. It might come off as hypocritical. "I j-just wanna go home. I just wanna g-go to school and read in a c-corner. I wanna graduate and go to c-college. I wanna...just wanna live a normal fuckin' life." Steping closer to his pack, he wondered if he was right to be leaving Renee on her own. He hadn't abandoned Lyn, even though she was a player. Yeah, the voice in the base of his skull gibed, and that turned out so well, didn't it? A bloody lip and a gun to your forehead. Make that mistake again and you'll wind up with your brains painting the ground, Eddie. Maybe Laeil had been right. Virtue wasn't an asset here, it was a liability.

If that's the case, you should just kill her now, you know?

The thought caught him off guard. She hadn't done anything to him. She hadn't killed anyone, yet. Of course, he only had the girl's word on the matter, but why admit to being a player and lie about killing anyone? Her name hadn't been on the announcements, had it? But, she freely admitted to being a player, didn't that make her a danger? Killing her now might save someone else later.

The disturbing string of thoughts stopped Eddie dead. What the fuck was he thinking? Wade was enough, wasn't he? Would he really kill someone for something they hadn't even done yet? He shook his head. He couldn't be around her, right now. It was inspiring...bad thoughts. "Listen," he began, his voice a dull monotone, "j-j-just t-turn around and walk away. In fact, I'll b-be leaving now. Stay there and d-don't follow me. I d-don't wanna have to hurt you."

Carefully taking a knee, he took up his pack, the rifle still locked on to Renee. Rising once more, he slowly backed away. After a few more steps, Eddie hit the tree line, turned and ran. He seemed to be doing a lot of running, lately.

((Edward Sullivan continued in Cause and Effect))

((Sorry it isn't much...))

Renee didn't turn around and walk away immediately, instead standing still, hands raised as Eddie backed off and left. She could tell he was getting paranoid from his speech, but decided not to go after him just yet. Not that she could make the decision, as she actually started shaking a bit from when Eddie once again raised the rifle at her. Only when he had turned around and finally bolted away did she finally move...by dropping to her knees.

"Dammit..." she groaned, gathering her thoughts and her breath.

No way...am I going to kill him first.

Renee had been doing too much running lately. As she got up and left, wanting to leave Blood Boy and his corpse behind her, she reminded herself - probably for the umpteenth time, that it wouldn't keep her safe forever.

((Renee Valenti continued elsewhere))