Survival Of The Fittest

((Norbert continued from Put Coach In))

Moving around too much out in the cold would drain away energy very quickly. The assigned supplies were inadequate for long term nutrition, and with the chill, everyone would be burning calories even faster than normal. For Norbert especially, he was a slow mover and would wind up spending more time outside to cover less distance, resulting in an even bigger impact. Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice. Sitting around in one place was no different than laying down and waiting to die. If he was to gain the information and supplies he needed, then the only option was to explore. However, that wasn't to say he couldn't be smart about it. There was a reason he'd set out for the town as soon as he'd got his bearings, and it wasn't because he'd been lucky enough to wake up nearby. The most built up area meant the most possibilities for exploration and the shortest distance between getting back indoors. With frequent breaks to rest, he could conserve his energy and keep himself in decent condition for when he'd really need it. He didn't doubt he'd have to venture further afield soon enough, so he should take advantage of anything he could.

The relatively run down and separated building didn't look like much, and Norbert figured that this would probably be a quick trip in and out. Being thorough meant that he had no intention of skipping it entirely. He doubted he was going to stumble across a toolshed anywhere, so his search needed to think outside the box and avoid dismissing anything out of hand. He was staking his life here.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Norbert entered the lodge and almost walked right into Victor's back, barely catching himself on the doorframe and pulling away at the last second.

"Whoa! Sorry. Didn't realise someone—" he caught sight of Ashlee, hey he knew her, and somebody else had just moved past, he thought. "—people were in here."

A wrinkle. Not the worst one—nobody looked to be killing each other—but it would complicate things. Was bound to happen sooner or later, right?

Stay inside?

"Sure. I can do that." Victor stepped forward, putting the bourbon back in his bag as he took a step forward and

"Hey!" He looked back at the guy who had almost walked into him. Nick? Nathan? Neil? Something beginning with N.

"Ugh." Victor just stepped to the side so that K could leave and Noah could get in. "Yeah, yeah. Pool sounds good right now."

Ashlee felt K brush past her in the search for more cues. And hey, Victor agreed to stay inside while he sobered up, which was good. Good… good…

Maybe things would work out, right?

She didn’t know K that well, but she had an idea of what Victor was like. But she flinched. Someone else had shown up.

“Hey Coach,” she smiled wearily.

She could relate to him kind of, because they both had sports injuries that took them out of commission. Ashlee could still see the brace on his knee. That was kind of the reality of being athletic in any way. Sometimes while being up in the air your spine twists in the wrong way, and something while playing football you tear something in your leg. Ashlee had mostly recovered from her accident, but still.

Ashlee stepped forward, the tears still visible on her face.

“... Everything okay?”

"Sorry guys, no dice. Err, no cues," K. said as he walked back into the room, "but I did get a couple of- alright quit it with the mitosis in here."

K. sort of knew this Norbert guy? Not personally. He just hung around the football team and acted all motivational and such. That was too strong of a personality for K. to put himself above, at the moment. K. couldn't imagine the strength of will it would take to voluntarily spend time speaking to those freaks. Even if you had been one of them for a while; wasn't it supposed to cure you, taking all that time away from it? It was enough to play music and watch them pratfall into fake grass for the better part of an evening, on a semi-weekly basis. Talking to them? That's the kind of quality that wins you Survival of the Fittest.

He put two of the pool balls in his coat pocket and held the third in his free hand. It was the striped number #11, with some of the red paint chipping off. In his heart of hearts, K.'s most secretive and confidentially held desire, one of the utmost sincerity, originating from deep in the chasm of smoldering emotion, was to chuck it up in the air and use the mace as a baseball bat to send it through the window. It was getting stuffy and K. could use a draft.

K. could use a few things, right now. Even, maybe...

"Hey Victor," he said, "I'll trade you this ball for a shot of that bourbon."

Even saying it grossed him out. But, drink was drink. And his sister would be proud.

Norbet's arrival passed with only mild comment, which he considered to be much better than the alternative. He sidled past Victor, though turning in that manner put a slightly uncomfortable strain on his leg, causing him to favour it heavily for a couple steps.

"Ashlee," he nodded to her, before shooting off a smile halfway between apologetic and sheepish to K., who turned out to be the person Norbert had spotted right as he was entering. Mostly an acquaintance, not somebody Norbert could say he knew a whole lot about. The thought gave him a prickle of paranoia, which he nudged firmly to the side in an effort to refocus. Nobody knew anybody inside and out. That was kind of the point of all of this. Norbert should keep his eyes open, sure, but he'd get nowhere fast if he got twitchy around every last person.

Norbert needed to pay more attention to the words, not the person. No cues, which, two and two together, was referencing that pool table over there. No cues meant that the time had been taken to clear the place out of the obvious, at minimum. Left his hopes for this particular run kind of dim. No point giving up before he even got started, though. It'd be worth a once-over at the very least.

Not wishing to interrupt a possible response from Victor, Norbert just gave Ashlee a quick thumbs up and smile of appreciation.

K asked him if he wanted a shot of his stuff. On the one hand, it was his bourbon. On the other hand ...

"Sure." Victor held out the bourbon. "Just give it back when you're done, okay?" Things were starting to clear up a little for him. "Don't want to waste any."

Things were also starting to cool down for him. Maybe it was the drink wearing off, but he'd at least had the good sense to put that jacket they gave him on.

K. nodded, and walked toward Victor. He tossed the pool ball up and down in his hand. Held it out to Victor, took the bottle of bourbon in the other hand. A shot didn't take more than a second and a half or so, right? That's about how long that he held the bottle to his lips and drank. Bourbon tasted like a roaring campfire. All alcohol burned, but only bourbon tasted of that which was burn and burn alone.

He took the bottle down from his mouth. The meniscus was just a little lower. Perfect. And that was about all the bourbon he could take, anyway. It was just enough to get him to leave.

"Thank you," K. said. "Not to get depressing, but I think I'm going to take my chances out there. Just needed a little push."

He gathered his things. Took the mace back in his hands, slung the bag over his shoulder. Gave a halfhearted salute to Ashlee when he caught her gaze. Nodded at Norbert. A shallow bow for Victor.

"I'll try and make it back before last call."

K. moved past them and walked out of the bar. The cold winter air shook them, but it was nothing they weren't used to. Besides, the bourbon had lit a fire inside. He turned toward town, walking down the street towards the rows of houses. He was going to find a place. His own place, with nobody locked in a closet already inside.

In his left coat pocket was the white cue ball. In his right was the black eight ball.

[K. Emerson continued elsewhere.]

“Wait–”

But he was gone.

Were people just up and leaving? Right after drinking? In SOTF? Ashlee frowned.

She shuffled her feet. Then clapped again.

“Uh! Right. Maybe… maybe…”

Maybe what?

“Do you think he’ll be safe out there? Like, drinking will make you colder but feel warmer, and, uh…”

She remembered the intro.

“I… don’t know who’s dangerous.”

But they were their classmates, right? Maybe it’ll be okay. Maybe.

(Karen Nguyen, continued from Prison Within a Prison)

Outside the hunting lodge, Karen, with Julia in tow, still holding her hand, had treked through the town, looking for Han, who had fled from the sheriff's office. At first they were ran, but after losing sight of Han, they slowed to a walk. Karen grew worried for Han, as the girl had only a drill to defend herself with. They encountered Beatrice Briggs, who had a big axe. Who knows what other kinds of weapons other students possessed. At least Karen had a gun. But what if someone else had a bigger, more powerful gun?

As the girls came upon the hunting lodge, Karen turned her head to Julia.

"Sorry if the hand holding makes you uncomfortable," she said, "I just don't want to be alone right now."

((Karin Han continued from Prison Within a Prison))

Karin watched Karen+ and Julia approach the hunting lodge from her hiding spot across the street. She was still breathing heavily. Karin considered herself a decent runner in gym class, but going flat out with a loaded bag and a heavy power drill was an entirely different beast. So she slid into a shadowy gap between two buildings and watched. Her mind conjured up images of a blood-soaked Beatrice skulking after her, Karen+'s blood dripping from her axe.

But, no. Karen+ had apparently made out just fine, and had even picked up a new friend. Julia Garcero. She was the girl from the bathroom, maybe? Karin had been too busy fleeing to pay much attention to that one. She felt just the smallest twinge of guilt overhearing Karen+ confess that she didn't want to be alone. But that was quickly smothered by the realization that Karen+ had replaced her in what, ten minutes? Great way to treat someone who saved your life, Karen+.

She thought about slipping out from her hiding spot and calling out to them. She could apologize, claim that she'd been caught up in the heat of the moment and had just been running in a blind panic. That wouldn't be a tough sell since it was pretty much entirely true. But then again... maybe she'd wait just a little bit longer. In case Beatrice came roaring up the lane, looking for those wascawwy Karins who'd outsmarted her. Or in case there were people inside the lodge who weren't feeling like company. She could pop out if the coast was clear, and if it wasn't... well, she'd just slip through the gap and be gone.

Norbert slipped out of the way of K. Bye? Something he said? It didn't matter so much. His priorities didn't need K.

Damn. Little cold there, coach. No need to go all stone hearted pragmatist just yet. Staying ordered didn't mean dismissing anyone who wasn't lining up with him. Getting hold of some allies and support would maybe help, and Norbert did do his best work as part of a team, but the rub was communication. Even if he went out of his way to circumvent the possibility of eavesdropping, the very fact he was making those efforts would flag up with the team up in Murder Control that something wasn't right. Toughie. Keeping the circle to one person meant the best security and the worst depth.

"He'll be okay if he's careful," said Norbert, trying to be reassuring. "I heard something about cues, were you guys trying to stock up on useful gear?"

[S119 - Julia Guercio - continued from Prison Within A Prison]

Julia arrived outside panting for breath. She'd always considered herself to be fairly athletic, keeping fit through her swimming, but the added weight of the heavy snow as it pulled against each step mixed with the fear that any second she would be struck down by Beatrice and her axe was a recipe for disaster. As they gathered their breath she looked around, desperately trying to make sure they were safe. The first girl to run from the prison office was nowhere to be seen. Was she hiding? She was only a small girl and maybe Julia could overpower her if needed but she was visibly distressed when she bolted from that room and nothing good could come out of menacingly waving that drill around.

It looked clear but they daren't risk be lulled in to a false sense of security. There was something sinister about the scenic snow-covered town, with distant echoes of muffled cries from far away haunting the air being suppressed by the white blanket around them.

"Sorry if the hand holding makes you uncomfortable,"

Julia looked at Karen as she spoke before looking down at her right hand. This was the first time she had even realised the two girls were still connected through their hands gripped to each other.

"I just don't want to be alone right now."

She smiled reassuringly, trying to hide her own internal struggles against panic and anxiety, squeezing Karen's hand gently.

"Don't worry. We need to look after each other," she said with a small grin appearing on her face trying desperately to make light of the situation. "Besides, I never knew you could run so fast! You were the one pulling me out of that mess!"

It was an unexpected moment of intimacy as the girls stood there holding hands. The soft clutch of Karen partnered with her innocent smile was comforting. Furthermore, her hand may well have been the only exposed bit of skin on her body that wasn't reeling from the bitter cold so there was no way you'd find her complaining. Julia longed for her sister to be with her, to tell her it would all be okay and to take her home. Whilst Karen and her had never been close in school, there was a feeling of safety there which felt essential to uphold. For both of their sakes.

As they collected their breath she looked around once more for the other girls, making sure that Beatrice hadn't found their hiding spot or that Karin could join them if she wanted. With nobody around, their attention was diverted to the vintage clubhouse-like building in front of them.

The stillness of the snow-covered grass was a perfect juxtaposition to the uneasy crunch of every step as they approached the wooden exterior.

As they crept up on the front entrance, still hand-in-hand, she laid eyes on several people inside, gathered around looking strangely jovial with a big half-empty bottle of liquor on the bar beside them.

She looked at Karen to decide their next steps and with a small nod opened the door and entered the bar.

Victor picked up his bottle after pocketing the ball. At least he had something he could use before finishing this thing up. And then K. left. That was fine by Victor. Right now, he couldn't really worry about anyone or anything that wasn't directly in front of him. Right now, he could team up with the other people in front of him, have them be useful in some way, even if it was as a meat shield.

Okay. Head was definitely clearing up.

"Nah. He just wanted to play some pool." Then the door opened.

VIctor just looked at the pair that entered. Julia and ... some short chick. His eyes just narrowed.

“Uh, yeah! He was looking for something to take his mind off, I guess,” Ashlie said, echoing Victor.

She shuffled.

“I dunno, though. Even without the whole… thing, it’s cold out. He could freeze.”

Before she could continue that thought, some girls came in. Two girls named Karen and Julia. Ashlee knew Karen was a closed-off, academic sort. And Julia was on the swim team if she remembered correctly.

Ashlee noticed that for some reason, Victor’s eyes narrowed. Did he have beef with them or something? Be careful about that.

She smiled and waved slightly. Gulped, then put her club leader voice back on.

“Hey Julia. Hey Karen. We’re just holing up here,” she said. “Holding up okay?”

Ashlee sat down at a table, close by to Victor. Maybe it’d help to sit down. Both for calming her nerves, and for calming others’ nerves.

“Um, hello,” Karen said to the group in the lodge.

Karen was initially hesitant to enter the lodge. However, it was possible that being out in the open too long would draw unwanted attention. Plus, they needed to find shelter from the cold. The group in the hunting lodge didn’t seem like a hostile bunch, so the two decided to enter, hopefully to take shelter, and have safety in numbers.

“Yeah,” Karen answered Ashlee, “Although, there was one more with us. Karin Han. We lost track of her when we ran from the sheriff’s office. We ran from Beatrice Briggs. She had an axe.”