Survival Of The Fittest

This was not good.

Derek watched as the girl under the bed failed to drink properly, spasmed a bit and then just kinda stopped moving.

Whatever went on with her seemed to be more than just fear about the situation.

"Are you okay?" Derek instinctively asked while getting closer. One moment later he chastised himself for this stupid question. Of course she was not okay. How could anyone be okay on this island?

"Anything we can do to help?"

That sounded marginally better.

There were no response.

The girl could barely drink the water. Chiara moved the bottle away and watched the girl spasm a bit. Chiara tried to reach out and pat the girl's head, comfortably shushing her.

Suddenly, the girl fell silent. Derek asked if she was okay.

The girl didn't respond. Chiara felt like she was a little too quiet for someone who was just talking to them. She leaned closer, trying to put her ear up to the girl's mouth.

Chiara assumed she would have felt air tickling her ear. But there was a stillness between her and the girl.

Chiara lifted her head back up and stared at Derek. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape. She then turned back to the girl and covered her mouth again.

There wasn't anything she could say right now.

One look was enough to tell him everything.

Except for how in the world this girl had just died right in front of them.

She clearly didn't choke on the water. And while there was some blood on the floor, it wasn't enough to hint at a serious wound.

Maybe she had taken a cyanide pill and was just waiting for the effect to kick in when Derek and his companion entered? That was a chilling thought, albeit a disturbingly realistic one, since it offered the closest thing to a sufficient explaination.

Whatever the case, there was now a corpse lying under the bed. Derek would have loved nothing more than to run away. Despite not even a minute passing, this room already felt like death. But there was something to do.

"Listen," he said, quiet once more. "I know this sounds heartless, but now that she is... gone, I think we should take her backpack. She won't need it anymore, but we surely do."

He hated to say it, but this was an issue too big to ignore. Thanks to Donovan taking all of his belongings sans the sword, they were currently sharing the rations meant for one person. This second backpack could easily save them from starvation.

He took another look at the girl, halfway hoping she would wake up after all. She didn't. Instead, Derek noticed something in her hands.

Is this... a knife?

Chiara could barely focus on what Derek was saying. She was starting to tear up at the realization the girl had just died. They didn't even know her name, but it was clear she was gone. Someone was already dead from this game, and someone else from their class was this girl's murderer.

Chiara looked back at Derek, finally cluing in to his explanation that they needed her supplies. She looked back to the girl who was only a few seconds dead. It was painful to think about, but he was right. They needed supplies if they were to last longer, and Derek already lost his stuff in the woods. They needed the extra rations and they also needed...

Chiara looked down at the knife that was in the girl's hand.

She nodded to Derek. Then she slowly reached for the knife. She gingerly pulled it free from the girl's hand, slowly prying her fingers off it until it was freed from her grip. Even if she was still a bit warm, it felt unsettling to touch a dead body.

Derek watched the girl doing the dirty work of freeing the knife from the corpse's hand. Something he could have done. Should have done, if he was honest. His companion had saved him back in the woods and helped with his injured hand, but he had done nothing to repay her so far. It just didn't feel right.

Even wronger felt how someone just died in front of them. Could they have done something for the girl under the bed? Even if the answer was yes, should they have done something? Neither answer appealed to his conscience.

All Derek wanted was a place to sit down and rest, preferably for as long as possible.

Grabbing his nodachi and "his" new backpack, he turned to the door.

"We should go."

To where, he had no idea.

((Derek Caldwell continued in The Red Butterfly))

Chiara nodded at Derek and pocketed the dead girl's knife. She reached to the girl and closed her eyes. She let out a long exhale as she slowly stood up.

Derek was already on the way out of the room. She looked back at the girl on the ground. Chiara quickly made the sign of the cross and nodded towards her.

She didn't have time to say a prayer for her. She'd have to do so later.

With that, she turned away from the girl and hurried out of the room.

((Chiara Masina continued in The Red Butterfly))

(Zhijuan died peacefully offscreen)