Survival Of The Fittest

There was such a long stretch of silence following Francis' outburst that he honestly considered just walking up to them and entering the school. If they weren't going to even respond, then they probably weren't in a good state to do anything of deep significance, which included attacking them. But maybe that was their plan; lulling the group into a false sense of security before pulling out gatling guns or some other shit. Francis was getting mighty impatient, and yet he knew that unless he wanted to possibly have his brains forcibly removed, he needed to stay right where he was.

Finally, after what felt like an age, one of the girls decided to speak up. Francis felt sure he recognised the voice... shit, was that Megan? It sure sounded like it, but Francis couldn't be sure, until a second flashlight beam entered his field of vision, emanating from the two girls' location. Blinking once, Francis was finally able to get a good look at the duo.

One of them was... fuck, Mirabelle, something like that? Swimmer, dancer, normally pretty when her eyes weren't red from crying. The other girl, to Francis' pleasant surprise, was Megan. Now this was definitely a stroke of luck. Two girls, one he knew pretty good, the other less so, but still, neither of them seemed like they'd cause any trouble.

Megan's appearance did, however, bring forth a memory in Francis' mind. The school library, where he'd sat with her and talked about Mortal Engines. Gavin and Gwen had been there too. Simple, innocent days, where they'd had no idea what would soon be happening to them. Even if they managed to escape-Francis wasn't going to delude himself, the chances of getting out alive were slim at best-none of them would be able to go back to life as normal. Too many memories, too many friends that you'd never see again.

Francis had to get these thoughts out of his head. They weren't helping his already jumbled up mental state, for one, and that certainly wasn't going to help him survive. Besides, this was supposed to a positive occasion, wasn't it? Two of his classmates were safe, which was only a good thing.

"Hey Megan, uh, Mira. Good to see you both again. You o-" No, that wasn't the right route to take. It was obvious that Mira-something wasn't okay, mentally at least, judging by the state of her eyes and cheeks.

"You unharmed at least? Can't really ask for anythin' more..." A pause, then. It would have been nice if Francis could have just left it at that, but...

"Look, I don't wanna be a dick, but... what weapons d'you both have? It's for all our safety, understand? I got this blanket, Takeshi got a firestarter, ‘n Juhan got a fuckin' party bag."

As they got closer, the White Knight rushed to Bella's side. Megan did feel a little...hurt that Juhan didn't even seem to notice her, but she couldn't blame him, not after what everyone in their class was going through. Megan practically woke up next to Bella - not everyone was so lucky.

Megan flashed a smile to Bella, and after a tight squeeze divorced their bond and passed the baton to Juhan. They would be fine on their own, but most of all Megan wanted to talk with Francis.

The Asian guy (who Megan now knew was named "Takeshi") was the first to speak, just introducing himself and asking how they were. Poor kid; he must have thought he was the 5th wheel or something, not that Megan and Francis were particularly "close" or anything other than being a good source for book recommendations.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks." Megan said as she walked to where the other two boys were standing. "I mean, fine as we could be, I guess. Bella's a little shaken up, but she'll be ok. We've been looking for people, but you're the first ones that haven't either run away or dismissed us entirely. Sorry about, ya know, not saying anything until now."

Then Francis asked- well, more like insisted- to know what weapons they had, again. He must not have heard them the first time or their answer wasn't good enough, but whatever. Now she knew what they were packing: a blanket, a party bag, and a firestarter (never heard of that term before, though; was it like flint or something?).

In any case, it was official; they were screwed.

Megan reached into her bag and pulled out the bottle of fake blood, handing it to Francis so he could see for himself. "Can't say I had any better luck unless I wanted to make a horror movie. We did have a golf club, but...well, that's another story. So, for now it's just that."

"So...anyways..." Megan cleared her throat, "...assuming you guys were here for the same reason as us...do you maybe want to team up, at least for tonight? We could, like, sleep in shifts; look out for each other; find things to write with; make a plan in the morning...assuming..."

"...I'm sure we all wanna feel safe to sleep, ya know? Bella and I haven't been on this side of the island, and we haven't heard anything. I dunno about you guys, so..."

Megan shrugged. "What'dya say?"

"Thank you" wasn't what Bella expected to be her first words to one of her closest friends, but it was enough. Saying anything else could lead to her letting all of her emotion and fear out, something that she'd done too much already. It was either repress it or curl into a hysterical ball, and Bella knew what option she'd prefer to take. She flashed Juhan and the others a smile. Smiling covers everything. Smiling makes it all better.

"I'm fine, really. I've neglected my pills, is all, and this island isn't exactly the least stress-inducing place in the world. Megan's been great, staying with me. Oh Juhan, I'm so so glad to see you. You um...you haven't heard anything of Garrett, have you?"

It was difficult to resist asking it, but Bella couldn't help it. She needed Garrett with her, and any news was good news. Unless it was the obvious. But she couldn't afford to think of that right now. No, not yet. Not ever. He'd find her and the two of them and everybody else would get out. It'd been done before, so why not now? Sure security could've been improved, but there had to be flaws. Nothing was ever perfect.

Fake blood, a blanket, a party-bag, and a firestarter. It wasn't the best selection of arms in the world, but they could all be useful. Maybe. The party-bag might have some extra food in it, and the fire starter and fake blood could be used in more desperate situations. And a blanket was a blanket. I hope Aria's putting that club to some use. Some non-killing use, mind.

((Sorry for skipping and timeskipping, but... deaths and stuff))

A frown crossed Francis' face as he took the small bottle from Megan, turning it over once in his hand. Once he realised what it was, his only reaction was an exasperated sigh. Great. Fucking... great. A bottle of fake blood to go along with the rest of their stellar weapons. Maybe they could fool an extremely dim killer into thinking they'd been hurt already. Worse still, they'd managed to lose a golf club, somehow, which could actually be a potent defence tool. Francis knew he had enough strength to deter someone from attacking if he had been forced to swing it. But instead of that, they'd been given the world's worst selection of weapons.

Francis shook his head slightly. Wow, wasn't that an incredibly negative way of looking at things? They'd found Megan and Bella, which had to be short for Mirabella, who both seemed to be okay, and more importantly, friendly. Bella was simply stressed, exacerbated further by the lack of whatever pills she needed. They'd simply been suspicious of people they couldn't quite identify at the time, and Francis couldn't say he hadn't felt the same way.

Megan then suggested that they team up for the night, and Francis couldn't agree faster. The more people in a group, the safer the group, particularly if he was almost certain he could trust all the members. More people also provided strength, and although he wasn't certain, Juhan and Takeshi didn't seem like the most physically fit guys in the world.

"A team-up sounds great, right now." Francis said, smiling confidently at Megan as he handed the bottle back to her. "Can't see it doin' anythin' but benefittin' us all. We should probably head inside then, yeah?" Francis looked around, hardly able to see anything, which basically added to his point. "Don't wanna get caught out here, do we?"

With that, Francis made his way inside the school building.

---

Ransacked. Dirty. Empty of all but desks and the scattered belongings of whoever had studied here... before. There wasn't much of a choice when it came to what room to use as their safehouse. There had been one classroom, on the second floor and close to the stairs, however, that had seemed mostly clean in comparison to the others, had no cracked or outright broken windows, and a hefty looking metal pole leaning against one wall. Francis had taken that as a good omen.

"Good a place as any" Francis muttered, looking around the room for what felt like the hundredth time. He guessed there was always gonna be that niggling sense of paranoia that there were people hidden behind every object, no matter how small. Well, better safe than sorry, right?

"I guess we should probably, I dunno... set up guard rotas, or somethin'..." Francis muttered. He'd never claimed to be a good leader. That sorta thing was best left to the Naomis and Mileses of the world. But he'd gotten through this along with Juhan and Takeshi without being hurt. That had to count for something, right?

((OOC: I'm going to go through the timeskip to speed the thread up to Day 2. If Zabriel and Maraoone are okay with it, it'd be advantageous for them to briefly step out of the post order since this death will need a few rounds to prepare for. If that's okay, the post order will be reinstated upon the death post.))

Bleh. Being inside the school confirmed Megan's suspicions that this island had seen better days, which made sense considering the state of the airstrip too. Dirty windows and random shit scattered through these classrooms...it's had to have been a good few years since anyone was here, discounting any intervention by these terrorists.

Whatever happened, these people left in a hurry. Wonder why...

Not like it really matters or anything; it doesn't exactly change the fact that everyone has to kill each other.

With Francis taking lead, they were able to find a relatively decent room to hole up in on the second floor by the stairs. Of course, "relatively" was putting it lightly but hey, there weren't any gaping holes in the floor or anything. If she was going to die, dying by falling in a pit was on the lower end of her Ways I Want to Die list, right next to dying of asbestos or...

Oh, right. Too soon.

Francis suggested they decided on a watch routine, which was fine by Megan.

---

Megan's watch went fairly okay. Just sitting outside of the classroom got boring fast, so she spent most of her time wandering through the school. It was on this sweep where upon investigating one of the desks in a classroom, Megan found what she and Bella had come here for: two of those generic black composition notebooks, one unused and the other barely used. And with it, two still-sealed ballpoint pens. Sweet; one for her, and one for whoever wanted it. Besides that, her watch was rather uneventful.

She could barely sleep, but it wasn't like anyone really could.

---

Megan restlessly sat in one of the desks, pen and paper at the ready as soon as the first announcement came on confirming that someone on this island was a murderer. Since 150-something students was going to be hard to keep track of, it would be a good idea to write down who to avoid along with who was...for lack of better euphemism, "gone"...

At any rate, she told herself she would not stop writing until the announcement concluded, no matter who was said. And that's what she did, the pen flying across the lines writing the announced names with the marking system she devised: tick-marks for killers and a cross for those killed. Something simple and clean, though her handwriting was anything but.

It was only when the announcements concluded when Megan could really think about the deceased. Eight people already... She was relieved no one she really knew was named, but at the same time it dawned on Megan how few people she bothered trying to talk to at school. Of course she recognized some of the higher profile names like Sven who knocked up that softball player Andi, but other than that she couldn't put faces to names. It doesn't make it any less tragic, though, and it confirmed that people were willing to kill each other for the sake of their own life.

Looking back at those marked for killers, though, was a different story. She couldn't stop staring at the list, at the two names that jumped out at her: T. Fletcher and H. Williams.

Her hands shook.

Mirabella's first night on the island had been blissfully uneventful. After the quintet had scoured the rooms of the school, finding the paper and pens Megan and her had been searching for, the hours until morning passed by without much transpiring, beyond the rotation of watchers. She'd even managed to snatch a few hours of sleep that night, but the time that she did spend asleep was fitful and uneven.

When the soft intone of the morning announcements rang through the building, she'd been awake for a few minutes, still blurry eyed and physically unadjusted. The announcements came just as she was going over the notes she'd scribbled during her watch.

[font=frenchscript]Dear Da Fath Moth Family,

I don't exactly know what to write. Here's hoping that I won't have to write anything. You've been nothing but the best parents in the world, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I mightn't make it back alive.

No. I will. There's no need to write this. Soon I'll be back in your arms, with Garrett by my side. We'll get out, daddy and mommy.

I love you.[/font]

The paper was scrunched up and the handwriting a chaotic scrawl. Bella could scarce recall what'd gone through her mind as she'd attempted to write whatever that was. A farewell note, or...something.

There's a chance. There's a chance I mightn't make it. I have to write something, just in case. I don't want it to happen, but I have to be prepared. Oh god, all I want is my Garrett. I just want my Garrett, and then everything will be okay. I know it will.

[font=frenchscript]Dearest Family,

It's me, Mirabella. I'm writing this note in case [/font]

"Good morning, everyone. I hope those of you who slept got some good rest"

Oh no.

Please, just don't say Garrett. Please, I beg you. Not Garrett. Not Rachael. Not Venice. Not Alice. Not Naomi. Not Claire. Not Mallory. Not Ami. Not Rosemary. Not Meera. Not my friends. Please. Please.

Her wish was granted, but Danya's words still echoed in her head. Those who'd killed, and those who's lives were cut so brutally short.

Why? Why was this happening? How could they all kill each other so quickly?

David Russell, Gabriella Parker, Daniel Whitten, Dan Liu, Jason Meyers, Kelly Peterson, David Zimmer, Sven Olsen...rest in peace, all of you. You didn't deserve any of this.

Two names stood out to her in particular: Zimmer and Whitten. Zimmer was a fellow swimmer, and although the two of them hadn't exactly been friends, he seemed a nice enough kid. And Daniel...the tall book clubber who seemed so sweet the few times that they'd interacted...

So nice and friendly. Why would anybody see any reason to kill them? I don't understand...

It was the killers, though. The killers who stood out to her most.

Hansel.

Oh good god, Hansel. What did you do?

The first night had gone well, all things considered. Simply not dying and not getting hurt would have been enough for Francis, but the group was thankfully undisturbed all through the night. The school was silent, eerily so given it's normal purpose, but the silence did mean that they'd probably be able to hear anyone opening the front doors.

On the flip side, it did mean that every small noise gave Francis a short lived heart attack. Still, aside from a few creaks and the like, nothing of any significance had happened. Francis had still taken his turn on watch, however, holding the metal pole and balancing it on his shoulder like a baseball bat. Half the time was spent outside the door of the classroom, reminding himself not to irritate his allies by tapping the metal pole on the door. The other half was spent wandering the various halls and classrooms. The metal pole seemed to be the only good find, however. The only other things of noteworthy interest were a sickeningly mouldy banana in a desk drawer, several dried out pens and some notebooks. Those might have been useful if they met that one deaf kid, but what were the chances of that?

Sleep still wasn't easy to find, but after a while, Francis managed to nod off.

---

Francis had been woken up long before the announcements had started. He was sat on top of one of the desks, blearily rubbing his eyes, hoping nobody tried talking to him extensively just yet. He was not a morning person in the slightest.

When the announcements started, however, Francis' head jerked up, as if looking for the source of the disembodied voice, suddenly alert and awake. He'd known this time was coming, they all did, and there was nothing any of them could do about. People would decide to play, for whatever stupid, selfish reason they'd concocted in their heads. The only thing he could hope was that the damage was minimal, that all of his friends were alright. Alright meant off the announcements entirely.

Once they'd finished, Francis let out a sigh, a mixture of relief and frustration. His best case scenario had been achieved. No-one he was close to was on the list. No Summer, no Miles, no Stacy, no Travis. He'd thought that would be enough. And yet, the anger within Francis was building higher and higher. Daniel and Jason had both been killed, neither of whom were close friends, but were both soccer teammates. That stupid fucking cowboy idiot Hansel had decided to kill Dan, and Francis could hardly say he was surprised. Guy was a nutjob.

Most importantly, Francis was pissed at the fact that people he'd gone to school with, people he had trusted if not cared about, had made the decision to slaughter their classmates. Someone had to, sure, so they could all stay alive. But for so many people to make that decision?

"God... god fuckin' dammit." Francis muttered. "Can't say I'm surprised at a couple of ‘em... but still, this is fucked up..."

Megan tapped the pen on the desk repeatedly, tap tap taps syncing with her beating heart. This was just too surreal, like some sort of fever dream.

But it was real; this game has started, and the proof is right there in her face. Of all people, though...Theo? That...that couldn't be right. It wasn't right.

Right?

Megan glanced over at Bella when Francis mentioned that he wasn't "surprised" by the names of the killers. Let's be honest here; he was probably talking about Hansel. No one liked Hansel. 'Course, as nice as he was, Francis was notorious for his bitching, so it was probably best just to let it run its course.

Whatever.

Takeshi was glad for the alliance, and for the company. Being alone seemed like the most frightening prospect of being on the island. Players played the game alone. Anybody alone was a player or prey for one.

And that's why people become players...this...game, it's designed to shatter our trust in the goodness of humanity, and it works. It only takes one weak link. One person gets scared and starts killing...they've already won. What prize are they expecting?

The night had been uneventful. He took a notebook and one of the working pens, but he had no idea what he would begin writing. He explored for a while but found little to interest him. Eventually he fished out the manga book he'd brought to read on the plane and began to read, using his flashlight to illuminate the pages. It reminded him of being young and staying up past his bedtime. He fished the remaining box of pocky out of his bag and nibbled as he read. It was almost normal.

When the morning came Takeshi listened and after seeing Mira pick up her notebook he quickly got the idea to take notes as well. He was glad that they'd left the Haunted House behind as the whole Amusement Park was a danger zone now. His stomach turned at the mention of the Best Kill Award. Now the psychopaths were being rewarded for creativity.

This is too much...

Bella's eyes darted from her paper to Francis. That was a rather unsavoury comment. Still, maybe that was just part of his nature. Bella wasn't one to blurt out her thoughts, so maybe it was good to have someone to say what they were all thinking.

However, she couldn't in anyway agree with his last comment. How could he say something like that? We had classes with this kids. We were - are - friends with them. They're not killers. I know they're not.

She had to convince him, show him that there was some semblance of hope left for them all. It would've been better if she'd had preparation time, but this wasn't debate club, and nobody was going to allow her that luxury. She clutched her pen between her fingers as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Francis, but...I don't understand. What d'you mean, you're not surprised? Look, I mightn't be acquainted with everybody on that list, but I can certainly say that none of them are cold-hearted murderers. There has to be some other reason behind it. Maybe it was an accident, or something. Take Hansel, for instance. He's a sweet enough kid - I had a couple of classes with him - and I can certainly say that he wouldn't hunt down someone, especially not Daniel. It might've been an accident, or any myriad of things. Also, how could any of them killing another be unsurprising to you? Has anybody at school shown any latent psychopathic tendencies? 'Cause I can honestly say that everybody I know seems to be reasonably well adjusted."

She trailed off, loosing whatever tangent she was headed for. A lock of hair had slipped from her hairband during her talk, and she gently tucked it back before picking up her pen. She had important writing to do, and she didn't want to get distracted.

"I'm sorry if I sounded caustic, but that's just my opinion."

Francis realised that all attention in the room had been drawn to him after he'd spoke. Probably due to that last comment of his, that he hadn't been surprised at a few names. Francis had known it might cause some friction or discomfort, but fuck it, if he couldn't speak his mind in what might be his last few days, in the company of people he could trust, then he might as well leave right now.

Nobody responded immediately. Francis stretched out a little, and yawned, left hand covering his mouth. He made a move to jump down from the table, prepare to make a much more thorough search of the building, when Bella decided to pipe up.

Oh, here we go...

Bella had taken enough offense to his comment that she'd decided to respond, it seemed. Francis listened to her speak, and his confusion and anger steadily built all the while. Really? She was honest to God trying to defend fucking Hansel of all people? The cowboy-acting freak who used his religion as an excuse to act like an asshole? It had only been a matter of time until that moron had either justified playing or pissed the wrong person off, and it seemed he'd chosen the former. And trying to justify all those deaths, the deaths of Jason and Daniel, as accidents? That was just fucking absurd.

Francis didn't want an argument. Not right now, not with allies. But he wasn't going to let this slide. He'd started this, he had to finish it.

"Funny, that." Francis muttered, trying in vain to keep his annoyance and growing anger hidden. "Cos Hansel was exactly the guy I was talkin' about. You sure you're not thinkin' of a different kid? Cause the only Hansel I know's fuckin' crazy. Tellin' people they'll burn in hell if they don't agree with ‘im and shit. Heard he punched some guy in the face for disagreein' with him. And you seriously think all those deaths were accidents? Seriously? One, maybe, sure, but all of ‘em? You're crazy too."

Okay, whoa, back up there. The words had left Francis' lips before he'd realised what he was saying. He didn't need to insult Bella, had no real right to, but what she was saying just... pissed him off. Damage control was probably necessary, not that he was ever good at that. Francis rubbed his forehead, trying to keep his temper down.

"Look, I just... I'm not fuckin' sayin' Hansel was a fuckin' psycho murderer back home. But this place does stuff to your head, and he was this close-" Francis held his index finger and thumb millimetres apart. "-to breakin' already. Head was as messed up as anythin'."

Megan didn't say a word, but it wasn't like she really could...not in front of Bella at least. All she did was grab her duffel bag she consolidated during the previous night, stuffed the notebook and pen in her hoodie's pocket, and quickly walked over to the door.

She turned and said with a stern face, "Francis, I need to talk to you. Now." Megan marched out of the room and waited by the stairs, arms crossed and resisting the urge to go back in and smack him right there.

She was going to stop this before it got out of hand.

No, no, that's not what I meant! I only meant that we shouldn't jump to conclusion oh god I'm so stupid. Whenever I speak without thinking it through only bad things arise from it.

Tears welled in her eyes at Francis's words, but she choked them back. Blunt, that's what he is. He didn't mean it like that. I'm not crazy, Garrett said so, and Garrett is always right.

What Francis said lingered in her mind. Everything about Hansel. And her. Hansel's not a killer. I know he isn't. He's sweet. He brought me peonies, and he...he...he liked me. No. If he is, then I'll be able to stop him.

Maybe.

"I...oh..."

Megan was leaping to do...something. Bella hoped it wasn't a brash decision on her part; Megan had stayed with her so far, and Bella wasn't going to let herself be responsible for any falling out between this alliance they'd established.

No. I can't do anything. If I do anything then something worse'll happen. I'll just sit here, and everything'll be fine.

Oh, Christ, was Bella about to cry or something? Francis could see the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. That comment he'd made about her, he regretted that, if nothing else. She wasn't crazy, not at all. Just misguided, naive, and he'd wanted to tell her that she was wrong, wrong about everything she'd said. In the long run, she needed to lose that trusting attitude. It was just Francis' quick fucking temper that had caused him to start with the insults and swearing, like so many times in the past.

And now Megan wanted a word with him outside. The steel in her eyes told Francis exactly what the conversation was likely to be about. He raised his arm in annoyance, but really, he had no cause to complain. At least Megan had decided to berate him away from the others, but it still only added to Francis' temper.

"Alright, fine." Francis muttered, hopping down off the table, leaving his bag and newly acquired weapon behind. He strode out of the door after Megan, hands in his pockets, and closed the door behind him with a little more force than necessary.

"Didn't mean to call her crazy" Those were the first things out of Francis' lips once the door was firmly shut behind him. It was true, after all. He didn't want to insult members of his own alliance, but he'd just been so pissed at the announcement, and at what Bella had been saying, that she'd just managed to light a fuse inside of him.

"But she needs to stop being so fuckin' naive. And don't even try tellin' me I'm wrong, cos she's tryin' to defend the guy who killed my fuckin' friend!"

A small, ignored voice inside Francis' head was telling him to stop talking, to calm down and at the very least apologise, or something. That very anger that the voice was trying to control was blocking it all out.

This whole situation felt so very familiar, to arguments with Miles, that Debbie girl, Baxter, anyone who'd pissed him off. But those situations had always managed to resolve themselves soon enough. Surely that'd be the case here.

"You can keep your damn opinions to yourself, Francis." The first words out of her mouth after Francis came out certainly weren't the nicest, but it had to be said, now more than ever for Bella's sake.

With furrowed brows, she kept berating with a crescendoing voice. "If you haven't noticed," Megan's index finger flung out at the classroom they came from, "that girl is this close to breaking down, and I'll be damned before I'll let something happen to her, so help me God. She barely made it last night, and she won't make it three days before breaking unless she remains calm, and I don't see how telling her off is making it better."

Megan made sure to keep her fierce eyes concentrated on Francis's. "I honestly don't give a damn about your opinion on Hansel, but don't you dare pick a fight with Bella again or I'll make sure you don't make that mistake."