Survival Of The Fittest

Bryan approached the two from the lobby and whistled sharply to get their attention, brandishing the shotgun. "Hey Mari," he grunted, raising an eyebrow as he looked the blood-stained girl over.

"...that time of the month?"

About time... Seriously, where does she get off threatening me like that? I have Bryan here... Ha! Two out numbers One an....

....

'Hey Mari'?

....

Fuuuuuuuuck.... it is her then!

Looking back at Calvert, then again to Mari, Tori couldn't help but feel alittle uneasy about the fact that they knew eachother... well... as far as she remember Ali saying that is. Though, Bryan's first comment to Mari caught her off guard. So much so, that she actually laughed out loud. Then, pausing only for a second, laughed for about just as long as the girl did just a moment ago, mocking her.

Ha, that'll stick it to her!

Well THAT was very unexpected. Mariavel blinked a bit at Bryan's nonchalant entrance and giggled sarcastically at his comment. He always was an asshole. But he was a friendly face. That was good enough. She decided to put away her weapon and shoved the Handaxe into the bag, followed by replacing the tomahawk in the back of her jeans. She smiled a true smile at Bryan and started.

"If it WAS that time of the month I wouldn't be as clean as I am now. Seth's here too. He's upstairs keeping Walter…. Busy." She looked down as she said the last part, wondering if Seth was indeed alright up there.

The other girl began to laugh, mimicking the chortle that Mari had paid her just moments before. She sighed and looked to Bryan.

"I'm guessing she's your accomplice? Well, that's all well and good, but is she trustworthy? I mean… Do you know her well enough to keep her with you? She doesn't look all that smart, or powerful for that matter." She said the last part giving Tori the once-over. She she glared at the girl a bit before returning her gaze to Bryan.

Bryan slowly lowered the barrel of the shotgun to aknowledge that she'd put away her weapon. He did have the right to be a little suspicious though; her name had been on the morning announcements, plus she looked like she'd just performed open-heart surgery. On the other hand, his name had been on that same announcement. And he'd wasted another kid not long after that...well that one was kind of an accident, but--

'--oh hey, did she just say Mattlock was here? Who the hell's Walter?'

He ignored Mari for a second and tried to remember where he'd heard that name before. He fuckin' hated it when that happened, now it was going to bug him until he figured it out. Walter. It seemed obvious...

He tuned in again, soon enough to catch Mari's question. Trustworthy? What was she getting at? "I trust her," he said, glancing at his 'accomplice' and then back to Varella. He recalled the day at the beach. "She bought me a corndog."

'Walter...oh yeah...that's right. He was on the announcements. The guy Danya was blowing. And he's up there with Seth?'

"Tori, you stay here. No wait, you come with me. You too, Bloody Mari." He opened the door to the stairwell and was about to step inside, that is until he saw what was on the floor. He wrinkled his nose.

'Goddammit, Mari...'

Tori sighed at the situation at hand. She would have been happier if it was just Bryan and her... without a tag along. Then again, it would be cool to have another girl around.. even if she didn't trust her fully. That, and it's always a good idea to have allies in these types of deals. If Bryan was okay with it, she could deal with it.

"Hey, uh... sorry bout the outburst... you just caught me by surprise. I'm Tori."

Tori handed out her sash that was around the rope dart towards Mari, motioning for her to use it to wipe some of the blood of. Turning towards the stairs, she followed Bryan to the steps, only then to be surprised once again by the site of another mangled corps.

".... Uh...... Impressive..."  

God that's gross!

Mariavel was still in surprise about finding Bryan here. Maybe it was fate that they all would meet here. Even this girl. She was also fated to be here. Walter and the boy too. Fate had brought them all here. Her, Seth, Bryan, Walter, this girl, and that boy. All of them would play a part in puppet master Danya's production. That's all they were. Puppets being controlled by Danya. It really pissed her off. She clenched her fists at the thought. Bryan made his way over to the stairwell, commanding the girl and Mariavel to follow.

The girl introduced herself. Tori. That name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. She shrugged her shoulders mentally and thanked the girl for the cloth. She used it to wipe some blood off of Seth's jacket, and the girl also made her way to the stairs. Bryan opened the door and scrunched his nose. Tori looked scared out of her wits. Mariavel frowned and walked over to them.

"The bastard deserved it. He tried to have his way with me. I've had enough. Because of this body… First Walter… then him… I had enough!" She screamed and slowly backed away from the two. She felt tears falling down her face and she fell to her knees. She braced herself with her hands and let the tears fall. She was so afraid. She just wanted to go home!

For someone who seemed so strong willed, Tori was shocked to see Mari suddenly break down into tears. She could understand though. People wanting you just because you're something they want to fuck isn't cool. The fact that she had to kill just to get out of it, well... it's stressful.

"Bryan, wait."

She could tell by Mari's behaviour that she, like herself, just wanted to be somewhere else. Somewhere that was safe and well... not full of dead bodies.

"Mari and I can stay here. You can go check things out, and just come back once everything is clear okay?"

She looked at Mair with sympathy and understanding in her eyes. She knew how the girl was feeling. She walked over to where she was kneeling and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay..." She whispered, "It'll be okay..."

Bryan snorted and shook his head. "Whatever." Given the situation, he tossed his daypack on the floor in front of them and headed back through the door to the stairs. 'Makes it easier, actually,' he thought, getting a more comfortable grasp on the SPAS-12 without having to sling his bag over his shoulder.

The door closed behind him, and he eyed the corpse over for a second. The right eye was missing. "Hope it was worth it," he mumbled to the dead boy. He chuckled softly as he climbed the stairs.

((continued in Stopping for the Night))

Mariavel was lost in her own little world of memories. She could see them. They all surrounded her. Those whom she had seen. Those she had killed. Those she had lost… They surrounded her in a vast ocean of pain, and heartbreak. How her father drank insistently. How her mother ignored her cries for help. How her brother lay dead in his coffin. How her ex-boyfriend (Tyler Klein) had ridiculed and laughed at her pain. How Ali Grayston and the sisterhood ruined her life continuously, day after day. How Mr. Wilson sold them all out to the terrorists. How she was forced to kill Jaime Dibenidetti. How she ran from Jin Li-Jen. How she scuffled with Tanesha Lexx. How she ran from the church. How she was raped by Walter Smith. How she killed Nich Finlayson. All of it burned within her. No matter what… something always happened to her. She… she wanted to go home. She wanted to be safe. She wanted to be normal.

She didn't even hear Bryan leave, but she felt Tori's arm wrap around her shoulder. She told her that it would be ok, but it wouldn't. It never would. It would never be alright. Not until this hell was done. She looked at the girl. Her face was filled with a look so sincere it made Mariavel's heart wretch. This girl. She was going to die here too. She didn't deserve it. None of them did. Mariavel pulled the girl into a tight embrace, crying into her shoulder.

"We're dead…. We're dead… we're dead…" Over and over she said it. Like it was the only real truth, which it indeed was.

Tori was used to people crying. She was used to having to say the same old things like, "It's fine, You're okay, It'll get better" and so on. Even now, in a situation where she knew nothing was alright at all, she still heard herself mutter those words. Almost as quickly as they left her mouth, she cursed herself for saying it.

Mari's arms wrapped tight around her, as she began to cry over and over again, "We're Dead". The hug comforted Tori, as she to began to cry alittle. Returning the hug, she also softly stroked Mari's hair as she began to quitely 'shush' in her ear. She'd seen it done before, with her aunts shushing their babies to calm them down, and help them fall asleep.

Tori felt even worse about her outburst from before now. She wished there was some way to stop it all, to make everything go away. She wanted to be on the beach again, eating corndogs and skipping class. She wanted her childhood back.

We're Dead... We're Dead... We're Dead...

In a quite and calm voice, Tori whispered once again into Mari's ear, "I know..... shhhh.... I know....."

Mariavel was thankful. Thankful that this girl whom she had just met was helping her. This girl she'd threatened to KILL was helping her. Irony, no? but she was thankful. Tori whispered soothing words to her as the two girls sat there like sitting ducks. But Mari could care less. She was happy just sitting here. She didn't even think, that this place might become a danger zone. It was a lottery in a way. But it was one that they'd won.

The announcement's music blared on the speakers and Mariavel pushed Tori away a bit. They were still in arms reach, Mar's hands on her shoulders. She listened intently to the announcements. Tanesha Lexx… She was dead…. She died… Was she… was she feeling guilt? No… not for Tanesha of all people.

"Just a gang whore," Tanesha muttered, a crazed look glistening in her eye as she spoke, "That's all you are. Just a gang whore. Why would you play, whore? What do you have to live for? You have no life to go back to. Nobody's gonna miss you when you're gone. Nobody. Nobody except the guys looking for a prostitute. Rumors have some truth behind them, whore. If they didn't, no one would believe them. You're nothing... just a disgusting piece of trash with nothing to go back to. Nobody wants you back home, that's why they shipped you off. Shipped you off to die on this island!"

Mariavel shuddered as she remembered Tanesha's words. They were hurtful. Very hurtful. She… she was wrong though. She wanted to live! Tanesha… She was weak. That's why she died. She died because she couldn't meet the challenge. The announcements continued. 18 dead in one day? What the…. That many were playing? Gods… so many dead. Danya praised her for killing Nich. So that was his name? The bastard deserved it.

Why would you play, whore?

Mariavel thought for a moment and looked to the stairway door. Just beyond, lied the corpse of Nich Finlayson. Mariavel wondered what his last thoughts were. Same thing with Jaime. And Tanesha. What would she thing before she died? She didn't really feel like finding out. When Danya said the Hotel was now a danger zone, Mari stood quickly. She tried to think of a way to get out, but still keep Bryan and Seth on their trail.

"I have a plan. I'll need that rope though." She said, looking to Tori. "We need to leave here before the boys do. Don't argue. We have limited choices. I don't want to leave them either." She took out the Tanto and sliced a piece of the rope off, handing the rest to Tori. "We'll leave them directions." She smiled. "I'll use this rope and Nich's blood to write where we're going. The school's not too far. With me?"

"Nich's blood? You want to leave them a letter written in a dead guy's BLOOD?"

Tori was now holding what was left of the rope dart in her hands. There was enough of the rope left to tie around her petit waist once. If anything happend, she supposed she could just use the dart as a blunt object and maybe shank someone with it.

Getting back on track, Tori had to deal with the fact that she was now going to be seperated from Bryan, and all that would be left behind was a note. How could she be sure that he'd get the note? Was he even okay? Where was he anyways? What if he ran into trouble?

"With me?"

"Yes."

Realistically, with the hotel just being named a danger zone, she couldn't waist time running around looking for him. He was a smart cookie, he knew how to handle himself. Tori on the other hand, had to get her ass in gear if she wanted to make it. It was her and Mari now, and if they wanted to live they had to move... fast.

"Let's go. I'll get the bags, you write... and fast."

Mari smiled. A real smile. Just like the one she gave Seth not too long ago. They had to move. She nodded her head. She hoped upon hope that they got the message. If they didn't….. well.. she hoped they did. She looked at Tori. This was her new partner. They'd have to rely on each other now. They had to survive together. They were…. Friends. Yeah. Friends. So good to have friends here.

"Why not in a dead guy's blood? Have you like, seen ANY horror movie EVER? That ALWAYS works!" She said with a nervous laugh. If she didn't know any better, she'd say she was scared. But no. She was just worried about the boys.

She made her way to the door quickly and scooped some blood with the frayed end of the rope. She ran over to the wall across from the door and wrote. She wrote quickly, and from time to time ran back to scoop more blood. The smell was awful, but it did the trick. She dropped the rope when finished and looked at her handiwork. She was glad. It was legible. And to the point.

Bryan, Seth.

We went ahead. Meet us at the school. Hurry. Don't die.

Mari + Tori

Yup. It'd work just fine. They better see it. She ran over to Tori, who was by the door and took her daypack from her. She smiled at the other girl.

"Let's get the heck out of this place!" She said before running, Tori at her heels. She ran to the school, and hoped to god that the boys would be right behind them.


OOC: Continued- We survive by friendship