Survival Of The Fittest

Regina’s eyes fluttered from Mike to Matthew as they sarcasmed their way through the situation. She didn’t blame them. Someone screaming like that all of a sudden was unsettling, and the unspoken fear that they were next on the chopping block if someone really was attacked was palpable. Even so… Regina took a deep breath and stood up as straight as she could. Connor had no hesitation is trying to locate the voice, and she had to try and follow that example.

“Let’s just go.” She stated to the others as she followed right behind Connor.

Before long, Connor slowed to a stop, and Regina walked around him a bit to see what he’d found. Drew Woods was there, in a terrified little ball on the ground, shaking with fear and begging not to be hurt. Regina felt her heart break a little. Her initial reaction when she awoke wasn’t much different. She remembered the abject terror, and the memories of watching their teachers slaughtered digging their way back into her brain. Se knew full well how scared and alone Drew must be feeling.

Matthew walked up and asked Drew if he needed a blanket because he looked comfortable. Regina shot Matthew a look that said he should stop. She knew that he tended to be extra sarcastic no matter the situation, and usually she didn’t mind, but right now it wasn’t very appreciated. She stepped forward towards the mess of a boy on the ground and knelt down beside him, reaching out her hand to rest it on his shoulder and rub it comfortingly.

“Hey… It’s okay Drew, no one is going to hurt you. Do you remember me? It’s Regina, remember?” She cooed as soothingly as she could.

“Everything is going to be alright. You’re safe.”

Well, shit. There was someone screaming in the bushes, which meant that everything 'bout going chill? Everything 'bout being alright, staying cool, going with everything, yeah? Not really workin' out so hot at the moment. Still, people were going, and it probably meant that someone needed help, and it wouldn't be real nice to go and just leave a man down or something. Also, everyone else was goin', so it was probably best that Mike just continued going along right behind.

Things seemed a mighty bit frosty between Connor and Matt, but it really wasn't his place to go and interject or somethin', and 'sides they weren't crazy, which meant that it was okay. Probably. They could still work out their differences, still work together, and that was that was needed in this here moment.

He was still right behind, still following and keeping pace, when they finally came upon whatever it was in the bushes. Whatever that was turned out to be Drew, volleyball player, all-around chill dude, who was presently not so chill, curled up like a baby as he sobbed. Now, that certainly wasn't good, not at all, especially 'cause Drew had one of those baby-faces which made him feel a hell of a lot worse when it was covered in tears. Like, they were still gonna die here, life's magic eight-ball still keenly set on that being a certainty, but that didn't mean it had to be such a shit thing, either.

Once again, Mike held up his hand, the one with the airhorn, in front of Matt's face as he continued to snark.

"Dude, lay off just a lil' bit, okay?" He turned back to Drew, laying there, while Gina too was shooting looks like daggers right at Matt. "Man's obviously not doin' so hot."

Gina was getting down on the ground now, all mama-bear like to protect Drew, and considering there wasn't much else to do, Mike went to Drew too and crouched down, tryna give him space but also comfort. All about ease, all about encouragement. Just like home.

See, one advantage of spending half of all games stuck in the bullpen meant that you were able to spend a lot more time talking to the team, especially the nervous underclassmen who looked about ready to puke 90% of the time. Meant he was the one in charge of making sure that they didn't just spew their guts on the patch, nah, the one in charge of telling Jones that yeah, he could go hit a homer if he just believed.

He tried to offer a small smile at Drew, to put him at ease. Certainly wasn't the old bullpen, no sirree, but same situation was happenin' all over again.

"Yeah, it'll all be good, my man," he responded, trying to make his voice sound as casual as possible, as if this was just another game. "We got something going on here. We got something...pretty good."

All horse-shit, of course, but Jones was never getting a home run, and things were definitely never gonna be all good, but those words helped in spite of that, didn't they? Just a little lie to tide things over, just enough to keep everything from completely going completely to shit.

"You ready to sit up now?"

Crouched down, Connor nodded as Regina took charge of the situation. It was perfect. Since she was very much the nurturing, take-care-of-everyone type, it saved him from having to stoop down and coddle anyone. He didn't fault Drew for freaking out; after all, this was a traumatic, horrifying set of circumstances, but after a certain point one needed to get their head back in the game. A part of him almost smiled at the good fortune for whom he'd managed to come upon. Drew was a member of the volleyball team, and word around the grapevine said he was nice enough, if not a bit of a pansy.

In other words, he was a perfect fit for Connor's new team.

Pausing to give Matthew a questionable look; they'd have to work on that wholly inappropriate sarcasm, he looked back at Drew with a reassuring smile. Mike did his part as well and tried to reassure the frightened boy that he was around friendly faces, that everything was going to be okay. Connor was impressed; it was complete nonsense, but he sold it well and earnestly. Regina had told him that he was safe for now, which was a really sweet thing to say and a great way to slow someone's heart rate, but it was also maybe the most preposterous thing that had come out of anyone's mouth yet.

Safe?

Here?

With explosive devices around all of their necks?

God bless Regina, she meant so very well, but she also had her head shoved so far up her own ass that she could lick her nostrils clean. For all of the sentiment, if Drew was truly traumatized, it was going to take a total team effort to get him to calm down. Platitudes were nice, but he needed to hear some truth, so he could have something to cling to, a foothold to establish to right his mind.

So now it was his turn.

"C'mon there, big guy. You'll be all right. Just try and focus on that. Get your mind right."

He glanced up at everyone else and nodded, as though commending them for their efforts. After a moment, he looked back down at Drew, still crouched down beside him.

"Mike here's right. We're all in the shit, there ain't no doubt about that," he took a more friendly smile out of the toolkit, "but we're all in the shit together. Ain't none of us interested in hurting you, or anyone else, for that matter."

Connor extended a hand to Drew.

"Why don't we get you back on your feet. I bet we get some water in you and you'll feel right as rain."

Without taking his eyes off of Mike, he reached back with his non-extended hand and beckoned to one of his teammates to hand him a bottle of water. If they could calm Drew down, this would go a long way to establishing a sense of trust in one another. It would have been a first step to check off, and right now, Connor knew that these poor, frightened teenagers desperately needed it.

Everything according to plan.

Amber marched steadily onward through the tropical forest she had found herself in, following the hiking path that had been placed there so long ago and whistling a tune to herself.

This is ridiculous, I can't believe you're so calm.

It was hot, and Amber was working up a sweat from her constant walking. The surroundings were bright, and very green, contrasting heavily with her very red hair and making her stick out like a sore thumb. She had the bag she had woken up next to securely fastened to her, the belt gently rubbing against her body as she walked, with the weapon she was given safely tucked away inside, as little as she planned to use it. One hand was empty, swinging back and forth with the rhythm of her movements, while a water bottle sat, clutched tight in the other, occasionally being brought up to Amber's lips for a sip. Trees rustled gently from the very gentle breeze sweeping the area, and the sounds of animals (particularly the parrots) could be heard clearly over the mild white noise of the background.

Still, nothing was as loud to her as Blue's voice.

Amber quit whistling, before opening her mouth to finally respond. "I already told you, Blue, just after the both of us woke up." Amber paused, considering whether or not she should be replying out loud to her tulpa like she was. She figured she was fine, given that she hadn't seen anyone since she woke up, and would probably continue to see no-one until the conversation had already been put to bed. "Like I said before," she continued, "there's no point in worrying about how we're both almost inevitably going to die here. As much as the catharsis of pitying ourselves might feel good, worrying and crying won't magically teleport us home."

She shrugged, before bringing her water bottle up to her mouth and sipping from it, letting out a brief sigh of satisfaction before lowering it back down to her side. "We should just try to enjoy the time we have left, as little as we might have."

She stopped her march, briefly staring up at the bright blue sky above them. "...And, at least as much as we can when everyone around us is dying."

As she continued to walk, Amber began to hear indistinct voices in the distance, but was consciously oblivious to them, focused entirely on the conversation she was having.

How can we possibly enjoy it? How can YOU possibly enjoy it when you had so many things you wanted to do with your life? All of that is gone with the wind, now.

Amber shrugged again, before responding. "Yeah, it sucks, but like..." She tilted her head to one side, considering her words. "It's like... we could have died before the trip in a random car accident, right? Should we have, like, constantly worried about the potential car crash? Or should we have just continued to enjoy what we had going for us?"

I don't think this situation is comparable to a random car crash.

"I think it is," Amber said, "this is just one big car crash in slow motion. As far as I'm concerned, we died back on the bus. Best to just ride it out, now."

"And, also... how could I enjoy it?" Amber raised her free hand, gesturing into the air. "For starters, I have my best friend constantly here with me, and there has never been a time where I haven't enjoyed talking with you."

Aww, that's... really sweet.

The voices in the distance grew more distinct, being less vague murmurs and more patterns of speech. If one were to pay close enough attention, which Amber was not doing, words and sentences could be made out, and understood.

"And," Amber continued, "nothing can take away the time we have already spent together. We'll always have that, that's a fact." She paused, taking a moment to run her fingers through her hair. "And... when the devil comes a-knocking, at least we'll be together. We won't be alone."

I guess all of that makes sense, but I'm still afraid.

"It's okay to be afraid," Amber responded, quickly, "you can probably feel how frayed my nerves are, all this still has me on edge, even with everything I just went through with you in mind. Speaking of which, actually, I could really go for a cigarette right now, I'm starting to get itchy..."

With that last thought, Amber went around a large patch of underbrush, only to stop dead in her tracks, her mouth falling agape in response to what she saw.

A person! More than one, in fact!

And they probably heard her talking.

Her face involuntarily turned beet red, her body taking on a shocked, defensive stance. She stared at them, they stared back, and it didn't take long for her to let out a scream.

"Ohmigoshohmigoshtheyheardmetalkingandtheyprobablythinkimcrazyiwentsomanyyearswithoutfuckinguplikethisandsuddenlyimoncameraandithinkthingsarefineandohwaitimoncamera-"

She kept going, dancing back and forth on her feet in a panic...

"-itotallyforgotaboutthefuckingcamerasnowtheinternetisgoingtoseemelookinglikealunaticgirlthattalkstoherselftheyregoingtomakefunofmeontheirforumsandintheirchatrooms-"

And going, her arms joining in on the panicked movements by clutching her face...

"-ohgodthey'regoingtomakememesabouthowstupidiamandimgoingtobealaughingstockforeverhowcouldidothistomyselfwhydidblueletmedothistomyselfohgodohfuckicantbelieveimthismuchofanidiot-"

And... going...

"-ohshitnowtheyrestaringbecauseimdoingthisbuticantfuckingstopand-"

Drew was still curled up in a ball, shaking and trembling like a leaf. Connor was definitely the first person that he had seen and he wasn't sure if things were going to be okay. He was still crying as more people were coming over and he wished that no one had seen or heard him freaking out like that. Matthew was the first person to approach him and his snarky comment did not make Drew feel back. It felt a bit hurtful and uncalled for. It just made Drew want to disappear into a hole and never want to come back out.

"I-I...."

Drew couldn't get a word out that far since Regina and Mike came to his defence against Matthew's unnecessary remark and he just wanted to cry more because of how kind the two of them were being to him. They were trying to show him that everything was going to be okay, but he knew that it wasn't going to be okay and he needed to calm himself down. Mike wanted to see if he could sit up. Drew's breathing was slowly getting back to normal and his sobs were becoming less.

He sniffed. Trying to wipe away the tears with the back of his hand. He then heard Connor's words and noticed that the other teenager was holding out a hand to him. Together...? We really are in this nightmare together. Drew felt like his panicking side was starting to slide away and he pushed himself up carefully with his hands pressed down on the surface under him. He then glanced at Regina, then at Mike, then at Connor and then at his hand.

"I.... You guys, I-"

A girl suddenly appeared from somewhere off to the side and Drew couldn't help but stare at her in confusion. Then she let out a scream which in turn make Drew let out a startled yelp and he was now starting to feel unsafe again. The girl was now rambling on and on about something that he could not understand as she was talking too fast and he didn't want to deal with whatever was happening.

He was overtaken by fear once again. But this time he didn't curl up into a ball and cry. This time he pushed himself backwards away from the three people who were trying to help him and his hand hit against something. He turned his head and noticed 'B54' was on it and he felt a lump form into his throat. It was really reality. They were really all going to die. All expect one. But the only way to get home....

...Kill one person.... I had to kill someone? Someone I've known for a long time? I.... I don't....

"N-No, no, no, nononononononononononono!" He said quietly at first and then he started to scream the words. Maybe he was as crazy as the other girl screaming. "NONONONONONONONONONONO!!!"

He wished that someone would slap him to make him shut up.

Ok, Regina and Mike clearly aren't in the mood for the comments. Matthew raised his hands in front of him.

"I'm sorry." he said, "Can't help it."

Before he could do much else, Regina was already caring for Drew kinda like his mother would. Matthew couldn't help but smile at that. It was honestly cute, not that he would tell anybody that. He had a feeling that nobody would let it go if he did.

Or worse, ship them. Actually, that might not be so bad but still.

The situation looked pretty much covered, with Mike giving some encouraging words and Connor was being all corny again as well as trying to get Drew on his feet. It felt like that he didn't really have to do anything, leaving him to awkwardly scratch his head while they do the work. Jeez, not ten minutes passed since they agreed to be a team and they were already acting like one. Maybe Drew will get his shit together soon after all.

Matthew was about to open his mouth again when he heard a strange noise somewhat behind him. He turned to notice Amber. The universe seemed to love him right now, considering that he kept running into friendly faces. And she was a movie-goer like him! But why does she look like she's on edge-

His mental question was quickly answered when she loudly screamed, making him step back a bit in surprise. Oh come on, two emotional wrecks that they have to deal with? Drew was already bad enough, and when he took a second to look back, he was panicking again. He had to calm her down quickly.

"Hey, what are you-" Matthew tried to say over her ramblings, which proved to be useless, "hey-can you calm down-I just want to-HEY!"

Since talking alone wasn't doing anything, he tried the next best thing that came to his mind. Carefully walking over to her, he moved to place his hands on Amber's shoulders and shake her.

"heyheyHeyHeyHEYHEYHEY!" he said in a raised voice. "It's alright! We're here! You don't have to worry!" He then lowered his voice slightly, "You're safe here, Amber."

Regina smiled at Drew. She was glad he seemed to be calming down a bit. Thankfully both Mike and Connor had jumped in alongside her to assure him he wasn’t in any immediate danger and helped soothe the poor boy. She had to admit, she was happy to have run across a group like this one. Everyone seemed to be in their right minds, poor Drew withstanding. Connor seemed like he had it together, and for some reason it gave her a bit of confidence as well. Heck, maybe they would make it out of this after all?

Well… maybe that was being a bit too optimistic, but hey, a girl could dream, right?

Drew had finally pushed himself up from the ground, and Regina moved in closer, rubbing his back up and down and shushing his calmly. He was still in shock, obviously. She couldn’t be upset with him for that. This whole situation was well outside her ability to properly process. She couldn’t imagine anyone really being able to be one hundred percent together right now. Her legs were still shaking a little from the fear, but she was still willing herself forward.

She had no choice. It was either keep moving or find yourself dead.

She felt a chill run down her spine at the thought. Best to leave that for later, she had more important things to do right now. Once they’d calmed Drew down, maybe they could start making some sort of plan, and they could get out of this awful forest for a bit.

But when did anything ever go to plan, right?

All of a sudden Amber Yates stumbled onto the scene, and before anyone could get a word out she started to absolutely lose her mind. Regina stared in shock at the other girl as she rambled incoherently at a volume that was more than Regina’s eardrums were expecting, quite frankly. It didn’t help that as soon as she started to lose it, Drew reverted back about ten minutes and balled himself up again to start wailing alongside her. Regina looked back and forth between the two screaming classmates with no idea how to solve this problem.

That’s when Matt decided it would be a grand idea to shake poor, obviously terrified and emotional, Amber whilst yelling at her to be calm. Regina looked at the scene with an utter loss for words. That was not going to help this situation AT ALL. She looked over at Mike, and gently pushed Drew over into his outstretched hand, nodding at him before standing herself up and marching over to Matt and Amber. She grabbed the boy by the upper arm and pulled him away with a gentle tug, looking him in the eyes and shaking her head. She released him and moved over to Amber, gently grabbing her by the hands and moving her face into her line of vision.

“Amber, sweetie? It’s okay, you’re with friends. Just calm down, hon, no one here is going to hurt you.” She gently tugged on Amber’s hands and led her forward a bit, hoping to try and sit her down alongside Drew, so they could work on calming the both of them down.

So, yeah, all that pep-talk experience seemed to be paying off real well on Death Island. Drew was starting to chill the fuck out, he was starting to get up, and it was all going good. Even Matt wasn't bein' a dickhead anymore, so he could just relax and -

"A-Amber?"

Ah, fucknuggets. Abel's girl was here, and she was frickin' losing it too, screaming her head off, and soon, Drew started screaming his head off again too, everything combining into one unpleasant melody that was ringin' all the way 'round in his head. To put it mildly, it hurt like a bitch. He offered a token pat to Drew, some kinda way to get him all fixed up and back together again, as he grimaced at the sight before him.

Nothin' about this whole thing was pleasant, nothin' pleasant about whatever fucked-up shit was in store for them, but this? This was a real pain in the ass, as much as he hated to admit. It already wasn't goin' good, and this? Matt trying to fucking throttle Amber to sanity? That just made sure that this whole thing went burning down in a scrapheap. Despite all those misgivings, though, Mike just sighed, before Drew was forced onto him like an unwanted baby. Which, okay, he sorta was. Still didn't make it cool. Not one bit.

There also sorta was a big difference between pep talks and babysitting, but fine, okay, he was here now. Drew was now in his care, for whatever-the-fuck reason, so he supposed it was his time to go and try to help him. Again.

"Hey," Mike began, trying to make his voice sound soft, just as if he was talking to his baby cousin. "This'll all be over soon, ya know? We're all here for you." It certainly would all be over, 'cause certainly they'd all be dead, but what mattered most was that peace was restored, no matter the method.

His luck was fucking shitty, yeah, but he could deal. Sorta. This'd pass, too.

Aw, damn. They'd been so close to getting Drew calmed down, until another girl - Amber, he noticed with familiarity - had wandered out of the woods and immediately started to panic-spew words all over the place. This set Drew off once more, to the point where he was basically screaming incomprehensibly.

The two screamers actually made kind of a nice harmony, in a disturbing sort of way.

Regina and Matthew were quickly over to Amber to try and shake her out of her terror - not literally fatty; good gracious Matt was making every single wrong decision he possibly could - so that left Connor and Mike to continue dealing with Drew. Chagrined, he allowed himself a smirk at the ridiculousness of the situation before reaching out and clamping a firm hand on Drew's shoulder, as if to try and anchor him back to the world. Mike gave it the ol' college try to calm the boy down, and Connor nodded along for reinforcement. How effective Mike's words truly were at getting through to the terrified boy was a crapshoot at best, but he appreciated the effort. The divide and conquer strategy made a lot of sense, and Connor felt a small sense of pride at how quickly everyone had come together.

It was a powerful circle, with he at its core.

Mike tried the good-cop, soft touch approach, so naturally Connor took a corresponding beat, his voice firm yet reassuring, the sturdy foundation for his new teammate's words.

"He's right, Drew. Ain't none of us have any intention of dying any time soon, you hear? There's bound to be some way out of here; all we have to do is find it." He shot Drew with a killer smile, the type that he knew would be on a magazine cover someday. "I believe we can do that, but we're stronger with you on our side. So just take a breath, okay? In and out - count to ten in your head. Can you do that? Mike and I are here with you; we're not going anywhere."

Connor kept his eyes firmly locked on Drew, his hand also firmly holding onto the boy's upper arm, reassuring but also to prevent him from running away in terror. They needed this win; hell, they needed both of them. In a sense, he almost wished he were over with the others tending to Amber. As part of the cheerleading squad, he had a personal frame of reference with her - they weren't close or anything like that, but on team functions or parties she was usually there and as a result the two held a sense of familiarity. While she wasn't the first cheerleader he'd have hoped to have by his side - Madison held that prize, of course, she did fit rather well into this motley little crew; a crew of B-type personalities and followers.

Just what the doctor ordered for Connor Lorenzen's Survival of the Fittest journey.

Amber was still going amid all the chaos of her arrival.

"-andthenmyparentswillfindoutandtheyllthinktheydidntraisemerightandtobehonesttheysortadidntbutistilldontwantthemtothinkimcrazyoranything-"

Her verbal diarrhea was finally interrupted by being violently shook by Matthew, snapping Amber back to reality. She felt dizzy, the world spinning around her, her body swaying slightly to and fro. The occasional confused noise escaped her lips as she gathered her bearings, before having her hand taken by Regina.

Shaking her head to clear the final bouts of nausea, Amber finally turned her attention to the group properly. All in all, there were five people in front of her: Drew, Regina, Mike, Matthew, and Connor.

Drew was a mystery- Amber had seen him around in George Hunter before, but she had never actually interacted with him. Overall, she was indifferent to his presence.

Mike and Matthew were more familiar to her- Mike was a friend of her boyfriend, and therefore at least somewhat of a friend to her. Matthew she had previously discussed various movies with, and while she wouldn't call him a close friend, she'd at least call him a friend. She was glad to see both of them, running into friendly faces so soon boded well for her remaining time.

Connor and Regina, meanwhile, were a bit less familiar to her than Mike and Matthew. She had talked to both of them, she knew both of them, but she couldn't say that she actually understood who they were as people, and how they thought. They weren't as much of an enigma to her as Drew, but she still didn't know what to make of them. Regina was trying to help her and Connor was trying to help Drew, so those were good signs. Overall, she was indifferent-but-hopeful at their presence.

She blinked, taking in the whole situation. Even with all the words that were being said and all her thoughts about the people in front of her, there was still only one thing that Amber cared about. "W-wait, so you're telling me... you guys didn't hear me talking?" She kept going, not letting anyone respond to what she was saying. "There's no way, you guys must have heard me!"

She had been only a few meters away from the group when she had been loudly talking to Blue. There was no way that they could pass off what she had said as her just talking to herself in the normal-person way, too. She had clearly been talking to someone or something else. That could mean only one thing.

Amber don't do what I think you're about to do.

"Wait! Hold on... does that mean..." Amber said, as she began grinning, her posture shifting as if she had just received the best news of her life. "Does that mean you guys don't think I'm crazy for having a tulpa?"

Well, there's no going back now.

Amber's grin widened, her free hand balling itself into a fist in excitement.

There's no need to worry, Blue. I have found my people.

Drew knew that he shouldn't have been freaking out again like that and he didn't know why he was still taking things in a fearful matter. He was now being taken care of by Connor and Mike. They were trying to use words - encouraging, kinder words - to help him stop screaming his head off and Connor's firm grip on his arm was somehow helping with that as well. Drew has always been the type of person who would cling to people for comfort. Especially Declyn. …Declyn! He need to cool his head, think things through and then maybe he could find him.

Drew's screaming had stopped and then he was still breathing in a panicky state. He closed his eyes slowly and then he did as what Connor had instructed him to do. He was now counting in his head to soothe his mind.

One.... Two.... Three... Four.... Five.... Six.... Seven.... Eight.... Nine.... Ten....

Drew was feeling his heartbeat going back to normal and he then opened his eyes slowly but surely. He was now looking at Connor and Mike again and he was trying to think of what to say to them. His throat was feeling a bit sore and he wished that he could have something to drink. But first he had to talk to the two guys who were pretty much having to take care of him and he felt a bit embarrassed by the way that he had been acting up in front of them.

"I.... I'm sorry, guys... I just.... just couldn't handle it. I can't handle t....this." Drew said in a sore, quiet tone of voice and he shifted a little, his arm was still gripped by Connor. "I'll try to uh... keep it together. I can't make any promises. But.... yeah...."

He glanced down at the bag and he took hold of it with his free hand. He had to keep it close to him now. If he had to leave this group at some point; then he would have to-

Wait. What did Amber just say?

Drew suddenly felt very confused and he glanced over to where she, Matthew and Regina were. "A.... A what...?" He asked curiously.

A couple of seconds after he stopped shaking, Matthew was pulled away by Regina, who gave him that look. Specifically, the look that pretty much said 'you're doing it wrong, idiot'. Well, how the hell was he supposed to know? He's not exactly an expert on calming screaming people. Of course, like with Drew, she got to work on calming Amber down.

"God, should I give you some kids to make you feel like a real mother?" was what he wanted to say before he bit his tongue. Considering the fact that Regina's doing a better job than he is, it really wasn't warranted. Instead, he said, "I was only trying to help."

In hindsight, maybe violently shaking someone wasn't the best course of action. But really, how else was he going to react to someone screaming and rambling like a nutjob? Hell, it actually accomplished one thing: getting her to shut up. Ok, it wouldn't have helped much, but it was still something.

He noticed that it strangely got quiet after Amber stopped screaming. Taking a second to look back, it looks like...Connor and Mike managed to get Drew to stop screaming his lungs out. Matthew didn't have time to really pay attention to it, because Amber was talking again. Thankfully, it was slow enough for him to actually understand her. She seemed surprised that nobody heard her talking.

"Well," he said, "we were a bit occupied with Drew at the time."

That was partly a lie, considering his role with Drew. That is to say, none at all. Now that Matthew thought about it, he really needed to start making himself useful soon. He doubted that they would-

...

Wait, what? A...tulpa?

The hell was she on about?

Just as words of confusion were about to escape his mouth, he saw Amber's face. She was practically beaming when she said that. That was quick. Didn't she have an emotional breakdown just a minute ago? Not to mention saying stuff about talking to herself? Hell yeah, she's crazy if that's true!

...

Wait. He researched this for a project a couple of years ago. Wasn't a tulpa essentially a separate mind? That...makes a little bit of sense, he guessed? It's still crazy, though.

...

Ah, screw it. This opportunity was too good to pass up. Matthew smirked at her and crossed his arms.

"You got room for me in your mind?"

“I know. It’s okay.” Regina looked at Matthew for a moment and smiled softly.

She didn’t mean to make him feel bad, and she knew that his attempt had come from a good place, so she wasn’t angry with him. Besides, it was a bit hard to keep thinking rationally right now, with everything going on. Amber seemed to have calmed a bit, and that made Regina let out a little breath of relief. From the lack of noise behind her she could only assume that the boys had been able to soothe Drew as well. Now that everyone was calm, maybe they could all relax for a moment and she could get her heart to stop beating like it wanted to jump from her chest and join the party.

She released Amber’s hand and smiled at the girl warmly. Amber seemed to still be getting her bearing, and that was more than understandable. Everything about today had been a roller-coaster, and it couldn’t have been more than an hour or two since she awoke. She took a second to look around at the group she found herself in, and allowed herself to be a bit grateful. It seemed she’d found herself with a decent crew. A motley one for sure, but she could take solace that they were all good people, and that none of them were willing to do what the people who trapped them here wanted.

She had to believe that.

Amber spoke up, and Regina returned her attention to the other girl. She listened to her question and cocked her head a bit.

“I’m sorry, what?” She repeated Drew’s question.

Matt took that as another opportunity to make an inappropriate joke, but this time Regina let him slide a bit because she was mostly confused. What did that even mean, Matt? And what was Amber talking about? Of course no one here thought she was crazy, but Regina had literally no clue as to what a ‘tulpa’ was. Regardless, it didn’t really seem all that important at this exact moment, because Amber looked elated that they didn't think she was losing it. Regina just wanted to make sure the other girl felt as safe as she could under the circumstances.

“Um, no sweetie no one here thinks you’re crazy. I don’t know what that is, but you’re among friends, okay?”

For what felt like the millionth time, things were starting to chill again. Stress was simmering down like a pot of chili left out for too long. Strangely enough, that thought calmed Mike, gave him space enough to breathe in, breathe out, let bygones be bygones and just let everything be for once. Things were...okay, maybe not good, but they were aight, and in this moment? In this place? That was certainly more than enough.

He nodded, smiling at Drew as he settled. Connor was keeping him down, not letting wild bucks roam free or whatever, and so it felt like no words were really needed for the moment. Just some reassurance, some good vibes, some TLC to get everything back together. Not like 100% together, but like held by duct-tape-and-prayer together. Not as if they really could do some Dr. Oz stuff to really fix up Drew, after all.

So yeah, that was all good, he was still smiling, finding all of that going just fine, he and Connor the dream team keeping it lean, when Amber started talking. Started saying shit about...a tool-pa? Mike blinked. Mike blinked again. He blinked, in an effort to clear up whatever the hell she was saying, because it really wasn't making a whole lot of sense. People started talking again, after that, joining in asking if she was 'kay, but she probably wasn't if she was gonna be using words like that, honestly, but fine. Maybe he wasn't the one meant to be judging all of this.

Didn't make the situation any less weird, Matt a little shit again, Gina a concerned mom again, and Drew left confused or something. Honestly, Mike agreed most with Drew, if only 'cause he had a whole bunch of question marks going 'round the whole place, but yeah, okay, okay. He could deal. Just go with it. The flow.

Maybe, though, the guy right next to him would know what to do? Not that he thought Connor knew what the t-thing was, naw, although he definitely could've but things were kinda going off the rails and he seemed like the best man for the job. He'd gathered them all in the first place, right? That meant he'd know, right?

Mike turned his head to Connor, sporting a sheepish grin. "Ey, dude," he started off, voice casual but soft, hopefully enough so that no one else could hear a bit. "You got like, any ideas?"

"It's okay, big guy. You'll be alright."

Giving Drew's forearm a reassuring squeeze, Connor let go as he stood up to deal with the latest headache that had manifested itself in the form of Amber Yates. Her statement had caused confusion throughout the lot of them - outside of Matthew, who had taken yet another chance to be inappropriate which was really going to start grating on him - yet she seemed to be relieved or quite happy to have gotten it off her chest. As he rose to his feet, Mike looked to him for a game plan, which strengthened his resolve. By the time he'd gotten back to his full height, he was smiling again, any hint of uncertainty or confusion around Amber's statement gone.

"Got a few," he answered Mike's question with a smirk, indicating to the boy that he had in fact been concocting a plan that he felt comfortable with. That was, of course, utter hogwash, but if the rest of them felt like Connor was in control of the situation it would go a long way towards keeping everyone in line.

Which now, for his next trick, he would figure out how to get Amber back onto this plane of existence. As a cheerleader, they were familiar, but most of his time spent with the cheerleaders had been at the behest of Madison, while trying to avoid Ivy - or at least tolerate her. She'd always seemed like a nice enough girl, but as he was finding, stressful situations had a way of breaking down people's barriers and causing all of their inner demons to emerge. For Amber, hers was in the shape of a tulpa. Whatever the hell that was. It sounded like some sort of fungus, or a disease. Was it cousin to a tumour? Maybe it was some sort of religious thing?

Hell, Connor didn't know, but as he walked over towards Amber, stopping a few feet in front of her, his expression was warm and one of comfort. Whatever issues this whacked-out girl had, he needed to calm her down, lend a hand. Be supportive, be a shoulder. But by God, he was still amazed that some of these people had managed to survive high school, let alone Survival of the Fittest.

"Amber, sweetheart, it's okay. None of us think y'all are crazy." Connor wasn't sure about the validity of that statement but he sold it like a champion anyway. To punctuate it, he shook his head, turning to look at the group with a confident smile. As he turned back to Amber, he took a second to shoot Matt a 'right?!' sort of look. He had to keep the fatty in line. As he had almost a foot on the girl, he crouched down a little, giving the two of them more of an eyeline. Subtly he allowed himself to crouch just a little lower than her, to feel as though she had a bit more control.

Control was going to be key in this hellscape.

"This is a terrible thing we're all stuck in. Ain't no one going to criticize you for tryin' to keep your head on straight. Lord knows I spent a good long while havin' conversations before y'all got here."

Gauging the situation, Connor gently placed a reassuring hand on Amber's shoulder, far gentler than he'd been with Drew. If Amber wanted to talk to herself, she could do so all she wanted. As long as she fell in line, she could host a whole dinner party in her mind for all he cared.

Three days. It was all he needed, worst-case scenario.

"You're scared, I reckon. I know how you feel. Some of us are laughin', some of us are cryin'. Everybody deals with it differently. It ain't important. What's important is that we're all here together, and we need to lean on one another if we're gonna get out of this."

Connor let his voice falter a little, lowered his tone and changed his expression to a hopeful one.

"Can I lean on you, Amber? Can y'all lend us your strength to get through this?"

Adding Amber's strength would be like reinforcing a wooden fence with a wet paper bag, but if he could keep them all together for enough time, maybe he'd be able to ride out the storm long enough before the walls came a-tumbling down.