Survival Of The Fittest

And now Jerry was threatening murder if they told him to calm down one more time. That was exactly what Nadia was afraid of. He was likely too dangerous to stay around, so she started to hope he'd vanish into the upstairs area and be out of her sight for the rest of her time here. It also didn't help he was making comments to Brendan that sounded like vague threats. At the very least, Nadia hoped they'd stay geared towards Brendan so she wouldn't have to face Jerry's fury.

Brendan did ask her if she saw anyone else. He rattled off a few names, some familiar, some not. One she recognized.

"I haven't seen the first three," Nadia said. "I did see Maxim earlier."

Nadia pointed in the direction she was sure led to the bridge.

"On the other side of the bridge is an old asylum. I saw him there about an hour or so ago. I don't know if he's still there, but that's likely where you'll find him. It's a big building, so you'd probably need to be careful if you're going to search around."

Her eyes briefly darted towards Jerry, then back to Brendan.

"You never know who's around."

Now Jerry was really threatening to kill him? Brendan really didn't want that to happen. If he died now, he would never find his friends. Maybe one of them would find his corpse- No, he couldn't think about that right now. That was a thought that he wanted to hide into the back of his mind. Lock it away. Still he wished that Jerry didn't have the weapon. Brendan had a feeling that the terrorists were enjoying this. Like it was all a sick joke.

Brendan felt more relieved to hear that Nadia had seen at least one of his friends. Maxim. What would he do in this life and death situation? Brendan needed to find him and the others soon. He couldn't handle it if any of them would kill or be dead. He shivered at the thought. Would people actually start to kill this early? Maybe. And that actually scared Brendan.

Brendan nodded towards Nadia. "Thanks for the heads up, Nadia. The bridge, huh? I'll go over to have a look at the asylum after I am done here." He said, feeling happy to hear about Maxim. But then he felt a pang of worry. "Uh.... Yes, I should make sure to be careful. I wouldn't want to get ambushed by someone with a... gun."

Brendan took a few steps backwards so that he was out of Jerry's way and he kept an eye on him cautiously. Jerry would go up there too? He didn't really want to be in Jerry's unwanted company anymore. He would rather have Nadia with him because she wasn't being unreasonable like Jerry. Actually Brendan thought that it would be a good idea if she came upstairs with him. Away from being stabbed for no reason.

"A-Actually, Nadia. Would you like to come with me? Um.... Upstairs, I mean."

Jerry sighed. Were they ignoring him? He kinda felt like they were ignoring him. At least Brendan was backing off.

Theeeeeen again, it looked like they both wanted to go upstairs and check things out. Well, sheeeet, what was so magical about going upstairs all of a sudden? Did they have it in their heads that there was a weapons cache up there? For all Jerry knew, there was still some boogeyman-esque killer with a machete waiting to hack them to pieces the moment they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs. If he were smart, he'd let the both of them just clear the area and follow them up.

Then Jerry thought again. He was better than smart: he was smart AND calm, and confident. If anybody was in total control of the situation, he thought to himself, it was him. If there was a killer trying to get in his way, he'd just say 'fuck you', kick 'em in the face with his energy legs, and quite possibly just shank them ten or eleven times. That's right, neither Brendan or Nadia had shown off a weapon of any sort. It would be more responsible to have him go first, wouldn't it?

"Hold up. Change of plans." If these other two had half the brains he did, they'd be rational enough to listen. Jerry felt his genius go unappreciated often enough; now that they were in a life-or-death situation that catered specifically to his badassitude (he made a self note to trademark that word when he got out of this alive - plan on how to do that to come later), they'd have no choice BUT to recognize it.

"I'll go up first. I've got the knife, after all. Just check it out, make sure the coast is clear." Jerry stepped backwards up the stairs, taking care to look at his heels to make sure he didn't land square on his ass. That'd... that'd just be unnecessarily embarrassing.

Nadia quietly listened to Brendan's request. Why did he want her to go upstairs? Would she somehow inspire confidence in him as he searched the halls and rooms up there? She wasn't that tough in a fight, and her walkie talkie was pretty pathetic. Nadia didn't see any reason to go upstairs, especially when she knew the downstairs was clear and had exits within sight.

Then Jerry decided to one-up Brendan by offering to go check the upstairs first, owing to his weapon draw as reason why. Nadia wouldn't disagree with that. He did have a better weapon than her and Brendan (whatever Brendan had), and she really didn't see any reason why she wouldn't let him go up. It was kind of harsh to think about, but if people were going crazy and going to start killing each other, Nadia wouldn't necessarily mind letting Jerry take the dive into the unknown area. He had already shown to be quite unstable and a braggart, so perhaps it'd be safer for her, and by extension Brendan, if he checked it out.

"Okay, Jerry," Nadia said, gesturing to the upstairs. "If you want to, go ahead. I won't stop you."

Nadia walked over to a nearby couch and sat down. The couch didn't look very comfy, but even she needed a break.

"Feel free to shout if anything happens."

Brendan stared up at Jerry when he changed his mind. So he wanted to make sure that upstairs was safe? Brendan was starting to feel confused about Jerry going from threatening to kill him to the role of trying to be the good guy. Nadia didn't seem to be objecting to Jerry's suggestion. So Brendan decided that he should just agree to keep the peace between the three of them.

"Uh.... Sure. You can do that, Jerry."

Brendan shifted slightly on his feet. He guessed that meant that he should stay downstairs. That was possibly the better option for him. Brendan still wanted to explore but he will wait until Jerry was done trying to be the.... hero. Should he just go and sit down like Nadia? He did want to have a look through his bag again. He was still watching Jerry on the stairs.

So nobody was following him up? Wow. Okay. Fuck you guys, too.

Actually, maybe it was for the better. If somebody popped up out of nowhere up there, it'd be for the best that Jerry had enough room to beat a hasty retreat. Obviously such a retreat would be for better tactical positioning for a brave, sure-kill strike... yeah. Definitely that. And seriously, where the fuck was Ben? Did that guy seriously get lost on the way here? What part of 'let's meet up when we find something interesting' did he not understand?

Up the steps Jerry went, stair by stair, inch by inch. Anybody jump out at him yet? Nope. How about now? Nope.

Tentatively walking all the way up to the top, Jerry led with the knife as he peeked this way and that. Seeing no signs of life returned shreds of bravery to his heart. He took a moment (and ONLY a moment, lest he earn a shanking from the greatest Hide and Seek player of Cochise High) to call behind him. "Seems clear!!"

Nadia sat patiently, flexing her hands and stretching her legs a bit. Jerry was free to search the upstairs, but she wanted to be ready to bolt if she had to. She exerted herself a bit when she ran across the bridge, and so she needed to build some energy up if there was some Boogeyman upstairs waiting to pick off everyone in the cabin. Either way, she wanted to feel comfortable on the old couch.

She cricked her neck as Jerry said the coast was clear. Nadia let out a long exhale.

"Great," Nadia said. "Are you absolutely sure? Cause those would be horrible final words if there was someone upstairs."

Nadia pulled her bag onto her lap and began to search through. She had no idea when she last ate, so she was feeling slightly peckish. Brendan had been quiet, but Nadia wasn't going to disturb him. Not when she could at least see if the crackers in the tin she found were any good.

Brendan waited patiently until Jerry spoke about upstairs being clear. He was about to let out a sigh of relief but he stopped himself from doing so as Nadia came up with a good question. It almost felt like they were in a horror movie. The three of them in an abandoned cabin and that a possible killer could be upstairs. Waiting to take them out one by one. He shivered at that. He didn't want to think about it. It did make him worry for Jerry's safety. A little.

Brendan glanced up the stairs, thinking about what he should do. Join Nadia? Join Jerry? Make them stay together? Become allies and have each others' backs? What about weapons?

He cleared his throat, licking his lips lightly. He was feeling thirsty again. He was also a bit hungry. Which was odd as he was still remembering Mr. Graham's death. Maybe he wasn't as traumatized by the man's murder as he thought he would be. Brendan had no idea why.

"H-Hey, Jerry. Thank you for checking up there. But.... Maybe you could come back down and maybe we could come up with a plan of what we should do." He suggested as he took a few steps towards where Nadia was sitting. He wasn't going to sit down. Not yet anyway. "W....We could work together. Right?"

He hoped he found some people willing to ally with him. Even if he and Jerry did get off to a bad start. He placed his bag down on the ground and he kneeled down. He unzipped the bag and he got out his 'weapon', raising an eyebrow.

"I got this out in case you wanted to know what my so-called weapon is." Brendan could feel himself getting red in the face and he felt embarrassed. "I....I'm not a threat to you or Jerry."

"AAAAUGH, SHIT!"

Silence.

"THERE'S LIKE A HUUUUUUUUUUUGE PUDDLE OF PUKE UP HERE!"

And so there was. Jerry Fury was staring down at a sizable, half-dried glob of vomit on the floor, part of which was already covered by his sneaker. He pulled it back and squished his shoe against the wooden floor, attempting to absolve him of his messy mistake. His efforts were largely in vain, though he did manage to get a few drops of the horrible, horrible body fluid smeared elsewhere on the floor. Seriously, puke was the worst. THE GODDAMN WORST.

"Wait... WAIT..."

Jerry jerked back in his revelation, then turned back toward the stairs. Shit, gotta go down, gotta go down... puke means somebody was there. Or IS there. Hiding in a closet, waiting to strike? Well, no sir, that opportunity wasn't going to any old nauseous schmuck! Not death rights on Jerry Fury! Nobody made him bleed his own-

His ankle rolled on the stairs. Ooooooooh butterscotch.

Jerry tumbled, reaching a hand out for the railing. He was only half-successful in catching himself and tumbled down the remaining five steps, practically watching events play out in slow motion as the switchblade landed on the floor... and then he landed on it chest-first.

Fuck. Well, goodbye, world.

B019, Jerry Fury - DEC-

Wait, hold up. He landed on the handle.

Nadia began to nibble on one cracker. It wasn't that great, and sadly it was likely all she'd get to eat along with the bread and ration bars. She suddenly didn't feel like eating much more, so she put the tin back in her bag. As she did, Brendan came over. He was talking about the three of them making a plan or allying. Nadia raised an eyebrow, especially when he revealed his weapon.

"Cat food? Really?" Nadia muttered.

Brendan said it was to show he wasn't a threat. Nadia held up the one walkie talkie she had.

"I got this along with an extra," Nadia said. "So we're both on the low end of the threat spectrum."

Before Nadia could say more, Jerry was back to shouting again. At first, she was worried her snark about there being someone deadly up there was about to be proven true, but it was just vomit. Nadia rolled her eyes. That wasn't worth screaming about, not on Murder Island.

"Um, I think-"

Before she could say anything, there was a loud crashing sound. She jumped off the couch and turned to face the sound. Jerry had fallen down the last few stairs and flat onto the ground. She grimaced at the sight.

"That can't be good," she said.

Brendan glanced at the walkie talkie thoughtfully. Nadia said that she had an extra one. It wasn't useful as a weapon. But what if there was a chance that they could get separated later on? Maybe he could ask her if he could borrow it. Did they both work? It would be a good idea to check and make sure that they do.

"Maybe we-"

Brendan was suddenly interrupted by Jerry's yelling. It made him jump in surprise and he raised his free hand to his chest. His heart was beating like crazy. Was there really a killer there with them?! Oh. No. False alarm. Jerry was talking about some vomit. Which made Brendan cringe a little. At least Jerry wasn't getting attacked by-

Brendan heard some crashing noises and he turned around to look at the stairs. There was Jerry. On the ground. And possibly in pain. Maybe Brendan should check on him to make sure that he was alright and not too badly injuried.

Brendan started to approach where Jerry was laying on the ground and he quickened his pace. "H-Hey.... Uh...." Brendan had no idea what to say. He couldn't ask if he was okay. Because Jerry was not okay. At least Brendan didn't think he was. "....L....Let me help you up, Jerry."

"NO! NO THAT CAN'T BE GOOD!" Jerry screamed in a shrill voice, clearly irritated with the slim prospects of looking awesome whilst having a post-tumble lay on the floor. He landed on his goddamn knife, too! What if that thing had been pointy-end up or otherwise positioned in a way that he landed on the blade? Then he'd look like an idiot AND he'd be in pain.

Oh. Wait. Pain. That was starting to come to him in waves. And lord was it starting to come, his knees likely scuffed up and his wrist crying out in agony from having taken much of the fall so his teeth didn't have to. "I swear, there's something up with these stairs!" Jerry whined. Whining was yet another thing that ended to shoot badass credentials in the face, leave them bleeding on the floor, then offer for them to stand up so they can die an honorable death.

"Yeah, sure, thanks..." Jerry grumbled. "These fucking stairs. It's the stairs, I tell ya. The steps are too narrow... I bet you ANYTHING I'm not the first person to fall down them today!" He pulled his hurt wrist away from Brendan's efforts but tugged on him for leverage all the same, heaving and straining until he was standing. He looked down to see that he was the proud new owner of another hole in his jeans. He rubbed the skin revealed beneath the hole and confirmed that his knee was scraped up, and a gash trickled a fair amount of blood. He'd had worse happen to him while running, and it was nothing compared to the parkour incident that shall go unmentioned.

He stooped down to pick up the nigh-forgotten switchblade, bashfully tucking the blade away with a 'click' and slipping it into his pocket.

"Well, needless to say, if anybody HAD been upstairs, that ruckus would have scared them into making some noise," Jerry expertly concluded without making direct eye contact with anybody.

Nadia remained in place as Jerry continued his howling. Brendan stepped up to go check him out. Nadia turned away from the boys as Brendan helped Jerry up. Jerry wasn't hurt terribly, although Nadia had to wonder if this would further rattle him compared to before.

Jerry noted that this must have made it clear no one was upstairs. Despite that, Nadia turned to look at the stairs in case someone did come rushing down to attack. It looked clear, so perhaps Jerry's tumble had ensured the three of them were the only ones in the cabin. Nadia sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we're in the clear," Nadia said.

"Well, relatively."

Brendan stared at the stairs after he had helped Jerry up. He still wondered if he should check upstairs. It seemed like the three of them were safe. Now that no one had appeared at the top of the stairs with a gun or a knife or something else. He felt hesitant to go up. Maybe he could find something to protect himself downstairs. He just wanted to not get serparated from the other two. Because he thought that something might happen.

Brendan was feeling more relieved when Jerry had put his weapon away. At least now he wasn't being too much of a threat. Brendan was still going to keep a cautious eye on Jerry. Just in case....

"Well, I guess we are safe for now...." Brendan was unsure. How long would they really be safe? What if they turned on each other? Kill each other? Don't get paranoid, Brendan. "....The truth is.... I actually came here to see if I would find a better weapon... To defend myself with."

Brendan thought that there was no point in him lying to Nadia and Jerry. He couldn't pretend that the can would be useful to him. What would he even be able to do with it? Nothing helpful.

"Tough shit, man," Jerry said, limping away and finding a nice cushioned place to sit down. There was a couch near Nadia; that would do. "My knife is my knife. You want a weapon, go find your own."

He reclined on the far end of the couch, still a little grumpy at having ruined his own moment. "Though I mean, this place was a hunting lodge of some kind. I didn't get the best look around upstairs. You'd think there'd be a gun or a bow or something you could scrounge up, but I didn't see anything. Worth a second look. But fuck, watch out for those stairs. The steps are like... they're too narrow for your feet, you know?"

Jerry squinted at the steps as if they were a sworn enemy.

"Don't say I didn't warn you about those things." Something else came to mind. "Oh, right, and there's that puddle of puke. If you go up there, try not to step in it like I did. Guess somebody got sick recently. They're not there anymore, though. Pretty sure."