Survival Of The Fittest

(( I was gonna wait for Laz... but he's taking too long. *Cast's Raise2 on Topic*))

"Thank god he didn't..." Melina seethed slightly. The idea of Paul Smith coming on to her made her throw up a little in her mouth. That cyclops would have been mauled had he even tried to cop a feel. She smiled a little on the inside though. Monique was quickly falling into her trap. At last she'd have a willing partner to rid the island of competition, and rack up a nice arsenal to boot. The men were her biggest competition to escape this island. If they were gone, no one would be in her way. After she used Monique to her fullest extent, she'd toss her aside like the tool she was, but that time was far off. For now she needed the other girl.

"The only thing we can do is fight back. You know it's true. In you're heart you do. If we want to survive we have to protect ourselves. If that means killing them to stay alive, then so fucking be it."

((Sorry for the wait, guys...college snuck up on me and ad its way with me before leaving me passed out on my doorstep.))

Renee had been waiting for a while. Or rather, it felt like a while, since she'd been tuning into the conversation to make sure she hadn't been noticed. Either way, it seemed to drag on for quite a bit, enough that she'd started to doze off, slumping against the cliff face to what appeared to be a sitting position. She let go of her bow and arrow, but the bow leaned against her while the arrow fell into her lap. It was going to be a brief nap, but at least she could relax somewhat...

At least until she'd thought she'd heard someone else in the distance. Specifically speaking, she'd thought she'd heard someone talking to her in the distance, and the wait was making her jumpy as all hell that she couldn't tell if it was really someone or just her own imagination. She turned her head away from the cave entrance and tilted just enough to have a look.

Although she couldn't see it, someone was moving in the distance, and the first name that came to mind betrayed her.

The sound that the baseball-sized rock made as she reflexively kicked it off was fairly faint, it wasn't as if she'd just triggered an avalanche or something. However, the rock had been ominously timed with a gap of silence in the conversation, so whoever was inside could have heard it loud and clear. It was a sound followed by - to Renee anyway - the sound of her heart pounding in her chest and her scrambling to her feet in an attempt to even try to back away from the cave entrance before she was spotted. Of course, that was an awkward attempt as her legs were still trying to wake up with her, and she fumbled for her bow and arrow.

"Fuck," Renee muttered, definitely just loud enough to be heard.

If Melina Frost and/or whoever she was trying to exploit had a gun, Renee was about to find out whether she wanted to or not.

Melina was waiting for Monique to answer her. It was almost too easy. Monique was the perfect candidate for her new ideal. She was prepared to take out the entire competition, but getting her own hands dirty just… well it wasn't exactly Melina's preferred style. She'd much rather convince another to do that messy stuff for her.

It was when she head movement from outside the cavern that Melina diverted her attention from Monique. She held up her hand to Monique to signal her to stay still. She held out the saw and the chain, ready to strike the person outside should it be an enemy. She stepped outside, to be met with the second red-headed bombshell of Southridge High fumbling with a Bow and Arrow. Melina smirked and held the saw level with the other girl's face.

"Why Renee, how good of you to join us. Won't you come in?"

The relative weariness of Renee's limbs prevented her from simply grabbing the arrow and getting up. On the contrary, she almost dropped it over the edge and down into the quarry before she got it into its proper place in the bow. Of course, by the time she'd gotten up to aim at the person whose shadow was about to cover hers, her heart frantically pounding in her chest, she found herself staring down a saw and a chain being held by none other than Melina Frost herself.

"Fuck..." Renee said again, when she found the edge of the saw - not necessarily its serrated blade end - pointed at her face as she got up. She could see the face behind the arm that held the saw, smirking a razor-sharp smirk. A smirk that reminded her of her own had she not known Melina to be a bit of a nymphomaniac.

Bondage connotations aside, that chain she held could easily deflect her arrow, though with only the best of timing. And were Renee to let go now, she could easily slip one past her arm and into her breast or hips. The thing was, Renee didn't want to fire. Not necessarily because of the possibility of what would happen if she missed, but more because of what could happen if she let Melina live and play her cards right.

"Sure," Renee replied, trying her actress best to cleanse her fear from her voice, "Don't want any trouble."

Monique was much more receptive to Renee's arrival than Melina's. Melina's... way... with boys didn't sit well with Monique, so she was glad someone a bit more normal finally showed up. At least, as normal as people get in this game. Monique was no longer sure anybody would ever be "normal" after all this.

"Renee! Don't worry, we won't hurt you!" she said excitedly. Perhaps a bit too excitedly. Don't seem so eager Monique. You'll scare her away. Put your brave face on! Her visage went back to stoic, as she turned to Melina and said "So... ummm... now that we've made this little group of ours, what do we do Melina?"

For whatever reason, Monique had decided she'd follow Melina's advice first. Maybe it was because she had a strong presence, or maybe it was because she seemed to be the most dangerous of the group. Either way, Monique was now no longer as afraid of her as she was before. It seemed sort of silly how badly she freaked out on her earlier. She felt mildly embarassed at the situation now. She figured the best damage control she could do was latch onto Melina's strength and trust her as a giver of better judgement. At least this way she wouldn't feel so guilty about shouting at a girl who had just killed someone out of self-defence.

Melina quickly ushered the other Redhead into their acquired hiding spot. She took a look around outside before turning to the two females she was in the company of. Monique with her Axe… Renee with her Bow… it was a combination to die for. Oh… so many would die for it. She smirked to herself. It was time to leave this place, and find our who was fit to survive.

"Hehehe… Yeah…. Let's get out of here. I'm in the mood for hunting… how about you girls?" She smiled darkly at them. "My Poison Angels… We'll spread our toxins throughout this island. Those pitiful fools who stand against us will tremble when we arrive. None will stand against us. We will be powerful… we will survive…. We're their Arsenic ladies. We're the poison angels of this island." She chuckled and left the cavern. She smiled up at the setting sun.

"It's beautiful… the color of blood. A color we will all too soon familiarize ourselves with." She turned to the other girls.

"It's time. Let's leave this place. I'm ready to take it all. You with me? My Poison Angels?" She smirked and began to walk off, expecting the other two to follow.

((Melina continued elsewhere))

Renee went into the cave as Melina gestured, and slumped by the cave wall beside Monique, keeping her eye on Melina just in case she actually did have a gun and would finish the two of them off in the cave. What an unspectacular death that would be. She'd accepted Monique's little exclamation though she'd half-expected that out of fear or coercion...after all, Melina was a girl known for getting her way no matter the cost. Or maybe she was thankful that Renee's appearance had also saved her from certain death. The other redhead turned to them and smiled darkly, but rather than executing them, she began to speak.

She stepped off the bus out into the city streets
Just a small town girl with her whole life
Packed in a suitcase by her feet...

But somehow the lights didn't
Shine as bright as they did
On her mama's tv screen...

Melina's bit about declaring a hunt for whomever it was they were hunting would have sounded like some cheap TV script - an irony given that this was an event being broadcast on American (and probably international cable) television. But this wasn't a scripted event. This was a game where people actually died. And as dubious as Melina sounded, this was something they actually had to believe.

And the work seemed harder,
And the days seemed longer,
Than she ever thought they'd be...

But you know you got to stick to your guns
When it all comes down...
Cause sometimes you cant choose...
Its like heads they win,
Tails you're gonna lose!

Renee sat down by the edge of the hiding spot as Melina went out into the light. She could have used that opportunity there to give her an arrow to the back of the head and escape with or "free" Monique from whatever Melina had convinced her to do, but somehow, that just didn't override her own survival instinct. The more she was with them, the less likely she was going to be killed by Blood Boy. She shivered a bit, even though this was one of the warmer parts of the day...the thought of what BB would specifically do to her was bone-chilling before it even got to specifics.

Win big, mama's fallen angel,
Lose big, livin' out her lies...
Wants it all, mama's fallen angel,
Lose it all, rollin the dice of her life!

"The color of blood..." Renee muttered to herself, and somewhere inside, she breathed a metaphorical sigh of relief. She remembered Blood Boy had given her 24 hours to escape. Unless that shadow she'd noticed prior to her discovery by Melina was actually Blood Boy making good on his own promise, this would be about the time when the death pact would set over the horizon like the neon-red-colored sun. Did that mean she was now no longer someone to be killed on sight by that masked freak? Probably not. Who knew what sort of mechanics of betrayal went on in BB's mind?

Now she found herself in the fast lane livin day to day
Turned her back on her best friends, yeah
And let her family slip away

Just like a lost soul
Caught up in the Hollywood scene
All the parties and the limousines...

Such a good actress hiding all her pain,
Trading her memories for fortune and fame...

If there was one thing for certain, blood was a color Renee was going to have to familiarize herself with. And, whether she liked it or not, she'd found herself as part of a gang again. The concerns she'd had about redeeming herself for Damien were made that much more complicated, especially if they'd have to end up killing someone who was bullied (or perhaps turning on Monique).

Just a step away from the edge of a fall,
Caught between heaven and hell,
Where's the girl I knew a year ago?

"Poison Angels...sounds like a bad song..." she muttered as she holstered her arrow and got up. She turned back to Monique, looking forlornly at the scared girl. "Let's go..."

Win big, mama's fallen angel,
Lose big, livin' out her lies...
Wants it all, mama's fallen angel,
Lose it all, rollin' the dice of her life!

((Continued in Lady So Divine))

Monique sat in her little cave for a minute or two, before slowly crawling out after the two girls. I can't belive this is happening. What happens if we meet up with someone? Will Melina actually KILL them? What if they don't mean any harm? No, Monique, don't think like that. Melina must know what's best for all of us. She doesn't want to die here just as much as I don't. She's not a cold-blooded murderer either. I'm sure this is just a big protection thing. That's all. We only fight in self defense.

But wait... what about what that man said. "Only one survives". Can I trust Melina? What happens when it's just us left? I wonder if Renee is feeling the same way. Mon dieu, I wish I was home... I wish I was lying in my comfy bed right now. The biggest problem I had then was getting to track meets on time. Now look what's going on. I'm being forced to HUNT my FRIENDS!

I hope Melina knows what we're doing...

((Continued in Lady So Divine))