One of Three

[Little Boy*]

((Jay Holland continued from I'll Need a Saviour))

"Ohhh! Some day! Love will find you!
Break those! Chains that bind yooouu!
One night will remind yoooouuuuu....
Something, something, something, THEN IT GOES-
IF HE- Ever hurts you!
TRUE LOVE- Won't desert you!
You know- I still love youuuuuu...."

Jay strode through the forest, branches snapping noisily underfoot. It had seemed like forever since the foursome had left the clearing in search of Maria. At first Jay was convinced they'd find the girl in a few hours, wandering around in the woods. Unfortunately, they had no such luck. With minutes turning into hours, Jay was getting more fidgety. Despite not actually seeing anyone else in the woods since they had lost Maria, he was still on edge. Maybe it was BECAUSE they hadn't seen anyone else. To be completely honest with himself, Jay would have rather had a psycho pop out brandishing a machete than spend another few minutes in the deep woods.

Silence just wasn't something he could deal with. His companions had been mostly quiet since they'd left, Jay doing most of the talking. His attempts at leading them in song had failed miserably, although he still sang, mostly for himself.

And for the kids' back home of course. Danya hasn't changed me, not one bit. No sir.

Jay had taken the lead without question, mostly in an attempt to redeem himself in John's eyes. Sunil was still giving him the stink eye. Or Jay at least assumed he would, if he turned around to look at him. Jay knew no amount of humor, or attempts at humor, would bring the boy around to his side again. John on the other hand? He had no idea. He wanted John to trust him, badly, not only for protection, but because he hadn't meant to freak out in the first place.

I'm calm, I'm cool. I don't freak out, it was silly to even think John was going to shoot me. Yeah- yeah it was up... he had the gun- it was up.. but he wouldn't have shot me. This is Johnny, he wouldn't shoot me. Because I'm Jay, and I'm calm..

As much as Jay tried to avoid thinking on it, his thoughts kept drifting back to what would occur if the "group" fell apart at this stage. Jojo had his back, but Sunil would want his head. Would it be two on two, Jay and Jojo vs John and Sunil? John had a gun. Jay didn't like the odds, and he certainly didn't relish having a shotgun pointed at him for the third time today. Could he pry it away? Would Jojo help him if he made a move against Sunil and Johnny? Would-

No. No no no, that isn't going to happen. Shut up Jay. You're acting paranoid. They won't kill you, but unless you start paying attention someone else will. You can't fuck up again. You just can't.

Jay continued through the brush, pushing stray branches and bushes aside. The forest didn't exactly have a path, he'd mostly been blindly weaving in between trees, looking for anything that didn't blend in with the foliage. Once, just once, Jay was nearly certain he'd heard a gunshot. He'd stopped the group, but all he heard was silence. Despite his growing unease he'd continued onwards.

"Hey Johnny, John. Did I ever tell you about the time me n' Alex Campbell found this uh- this, what's the word- chaperone, yeah, this chaperone drunk at a school dance? I swear man, funniest shit ever. Jojo, I think you were there too? Maybe. It was strange man. I thiiiink, it was Grade 11, not totally sure. I think someone slipped something in his drink. Wasn't me though. I'm not a huge drinker. I think I had like, a mickey, and I was out of it. It was a fun night man. You drink? I fuckin' suck at drinking. I'm such a lightweight..."

Jay had been in truth, rambling endlessly for quite some time. His stories had elicited laughs on occasion, but not enough to lift the dark mood hanging over the group. Jay persisted anyways, if not for anything more than to keep the group thinking. Trust was important. Trust was something he really needed.

What happens when it gets dark? What the fuck are we supposed to do, huddle together for warmth? Cut open Fatty John and huddle inside for warmth?

Jay stopped, feeling a strange sensation rise up in his gut. Bending over, Jay began coughing, over exaggerating the actions somewhat.

I better not be getting sick...

"Ughh... Christ, excuse me." He rasped, his words barely able to be heard. He awkwardly massaged his throat, taking pains to avoid touching the collar. "Haha, look at me. I sound like I'm a ghost or some shit. Scrooooge... Anyone have a throat lozenge?"

Jay swung his head around looking through the forest.

Nothing, fucking nothing. How big is this forest? All there is is green as far as the eye ca- oh hey, a hill?

Jay squinted. Yes. In the distance Jay could see the trees giving way as the ground slowly sloped upwards, and at the top of the hill, some sort of structure? It was hard for Jay to tell at this distance, but he was certain it was a building of some kind. Jay pumped his fist in delight.

"Awright, I think we're on the right track guys!"

Maria isn't stupid. She'd head for a safe place, someplace remote. This cabin, whatever, it's perfect! She's gotta be around here somewhere.

He readjusted his pack and made for the hill, branches snapping underneath his feet.

[Fiori]

OOC: Yay, 200th post!

As much as Vera wanted Craig to just get the hint and go away, it seemed that Rosa had other ideas...

She wasn't exactly sure how to react to Rosa picking up her unloaded gun... She was tempted at first to complain profusely, but quickly shot down that idea when she remembered about the 6'7 giant standing right outside the door. As much as she hated to see someone else handling her weapon, making a big fuss about it would only exacerbate things... And quite frankly, this situation was tense enough as it was already. So instead she simply nodded her head in approval.

Still, she did wonder at first why Rosa thought Craig would find an unloaded TEC-9 at all threatening... Then again, when she thought about it, most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an unloaded TEC-9 and a REALLY large handgun. At a first glance anyway... The fact that there was an empty slot right in front of the trigger was a huge give-away to the watchful eye. That being said, this wasn't some redneck gun-nut who could tell the difference between a Remington Model 770 and a Remington Model 700 just by looking at it. This was Craig Hoyle.

God, I still can't believe i'm going to have to spend the rest of the day with some fatass and his comatose friend... *sigh* Oh well, her decision. Not like its really my place to complain about it anyway...

She watched on as Rosa shifted the armchair aside, folding her arms as she watched the events unfold from the corner of the hallway. After some painfully pitiful attempts at getting through the door, Craig managed to eventually squeeze his way through. Carrying the unconscious Trent Savage along with him as he stammered thank you multiple times. He didn't seem to notice her yet... Not that she particularly cared. She was still quite bitter over the fact that the room had suddenly gotten a lot smaller with the humongous Craig's (unwanted) presence.

Seeing Craig and Rosa in the same room was... Strange, to say the least. Two were practically polar opposites. One was relatively short, had olive skin, a toned body and was exotically beautiful. Whilst the other was incredibly tall, had pale skin, an unbelievably fat body and was anything BUT beautiful...

She had to hide her smirk when Craig started to tremble at the sight of Rosa's gun... Not at the idea of holding the fat bastard at gunpoint, but more because of his somewhat amusing reaction. She briefly considered telling Craig that he didn't have to worry about anything, but decided that it would better to leave that to Rosa. Besides, it was much more funnier this way......


It was at that point that she heard the very distinctive noise of a window being smashed open.


"Jesus, what the hell?!?" she screamed, taken completely off guard by the sudden intrusion. She tried her best to stay calm... To not panic as it quickly dawned upon her that someone was apparently trying to break in. Only, unlike Vera, they decided to be far less careful about it... Something which made trying to stay calm a VERY difficult task for the red-haired girl Do they know we're in here?!? Why the hell would somebody be so blatant as to breaking a fucking window? Either they're REALLY stupid... Or, they're REALLY confident in their own abilities to take us all on at once...

This was not looking good... Whilst whoever the invader was hadn't made any attempts to show themselves YET, she knew i'd only be a matter of time before they showed up. Probably wielding a deadly weapon of some description, like a sledgehammer or a gun or a......

DAMNIT! If only I had something to defend myself with... Wait, what the hell am I thinking? You already HAD something to defend yourself with! Only, Rosa now has it... And she may not be terribly inclined to give it back either... Shit! Chose a great time to unload your only gun, didn't you?

She looked towards Rosa, her eyes shifting towards the TEC-9 in Rosa's hands, only to then return their attention to Rosa once more with concerned look on her face. What the hell are we supposed to do NOW?!?

[Acelister*]

((John Smith continued from I'll Need A Savior))

John had followed Jay, trusting in the loud-mouthed classmate to lead them the right way. Whichever way that may be. He wasn't sure, but there were a couple of familiar trees once or twice during their hike.

More than a few times, he found his mind wandering. Thinking about the Game, how he'd never get to read the end of Tsubasa Chronicles, whether or not he'd be able to kill his classmates... With Jay not shutting up though, it was getting harder to block him out.

'Probably the stress of this shit...' he thought to himself, disguising an un-needed shrug as him readjusting his bags.

The main problem with all of this walking and hiking - he was sweating. The areas of his top directly under his arms were soaked with it and it beaded down the back of his neck every time he had to step over a larger rock. It was getting to the stage where he either needed to remove his top, or get a towel.

"Hey Johnny, John. Did I ever tell you about the time me n' Alex Campbell found this uh- this, what's the word- chaperone, yeah, this chaperone drunk at a school dance? I swear man, funniest shit ever. Jojo, I think you were there too? Maybe. It was strange man. I thiiiink, it was Grade 11, not totally sure. I think someone slipped something in his drink. Wasn't me though. I'm not a huge drinker. I think I had like, a mickey, and I was out of it. It was a fun night man. You drink? I fuckin' suck at drinking. I'm such a lightweight..."

John frowned - did he just hear something?

"Ughh... Christ, excuse me."

"Jay..." John said softly, looking around to see if Sunil and Jojo had heard it too. It sounded like something smashing glass... Very faint though.

"Haha, look at me. I sound like I'm a ghost or some shit. Scrooooge... Anyone have a throat lozenge?"

"Jay." John stated firmly, wanting to other guy to be quiet whilst they figured out what that was.

"Awright, I think we're on the right track guys!"

John dropped his shotgun and bags and grabbed Jay from behind, clamping his hand over the loud-mouthed boy's mouth.

"Shut the fuck up!" John hissed at him. keeping the hand in-place "I think I heard something..."

He only then noticed what Jay himself had seen. A cabin. It was far away, but surely it had windows.

"I think somethin's up." he said slowly removing his hand from Jay's face. "Someone else is up there an' I don't think it was Maria..."

[Whirlpool531*]

(Joss "Jojo" Joiner continued from I'll Need A Saviour)

Jojo was absent-mindedly following Jay for most of the journey. He couldn't care less about the singing. He was more focused on finding Maria and making sure she was alright.

"...Jojo I think you were there too? Maybe..." He perked up at his name's mention and smirked a bit as the memories of that dance flowed into his mind again. It seemed so long ago, like it happened in another lifetime. Away from the nightmare of SOTF.

"Shut the fuck up!". he heard John exclaim. Jojo instantly stopped his daydreaming and looked towards John as he voiced his thoughts. A cabin? Where? Jojo took a minute before he caught it up ahead. He was unsure if John was right or just paranoid but Jojo did know one thing. If John did anything that put Jay in danger's way he'd be caught with a book smashed into his face. Jojo tensed his grip on his book as he waited to see how this would play out.

[T-Fox*]

Jackie was essentially dead to the outside world. For the first time in her life, she was unable to restrain her emotions in favor of logic. Not a minute ago, she was convinced that killing this girl would bring her one step closer to getting off this island. That no one life was more important than another, so it really didn't matter in the grand scheme who got to leave and who didn't.

But now, here crouched in the leaves, bloody saw in hand, her mind had finally unlocked something which she had hidden away for years.

Her ability... no, her willingness to feel.

The breeze blew around her, picking up her hair and tossing it to and fro. Her mind and her body became two separate entities as she tried to grapple with what had just occurred. A warm stream of tears made their way from her cheek on their journey to the ground. How long had those been there? She couldn't even recall beginning to show her sorrows.

And the worst part was, she didn't still even understand why she was in so much pain.

"Blood..." she croaked out, her voice dry and hoarse with regret. "on my hands..."

"...The life of another had to be given so that you could understand... And this is the price you will pay... The burden that will hold on your shoulders for the rest of your days..."

That voice. That woman. The scene came rushing back. A sob escaped her lips as she remembered the hallucination that was just a moment too late.

A small wretch.

Why does this hurt so much... Why?!

Her hands fell to the ground, breathing heavily through the sobs, raising herself to her knees.

Another wretch.

Why is this happening?

This newly dubbed killer's guts erupted as they had a reaction of their own. Everything that remained in her came back out of her mouth, as each and every different part; system in her body slowly began to shut down for the time being.

A sharp breath, and a gasp.

I'm a murderer...

I'm a killer...

On her hands and knees, she pulled herself to the nearest tree a few feet away. She could not stand to see that poor girl lying there like that. Curling up against the strong, stalwart trunk, she let the tears silently fall as she slipped into a coma of depression, the murder weapon still lying next to the fallen Angel's form.

Maria was the one going to heaven. Jackie was the one going to hell.

[General Goose]

((Sunil Savarkar continued from I'll Need A Saviour))

Stifling a yawn, an unenthusiastic Sunil had been spending what felt like several hours following behind Jojo, John and Jay, dragging his feet along and uprooting dirt and stones as he did so. He had managed to finally block out most of Jay's constant babbling about irrelevant nonsense, and focus instead on important things, like angsting quietly to himself about the fact that he was going to die and he'd never see his family again or achieve his life-dreams. Eventually, he decided that not only was this worrying and fretting about his situation depressing and useless, but also getting quite boring and repetitive, so he decided to return his senses to focusing on the real world. And just in time, as he had almost ran into a droopy, but still rather thick, branch that was hanging off of one of the many ancient trees in the forest. Brushing it aside, he continued walking, and heard Jay rambling once again, this time telling a supposedly funny anecdote about a drunken chaperone at a school dance.

Truth be told, when Sunil had been listening to Jay's attempts to keep the group entertained and keep conversation going, he had found a few of the stories actually pretty funny. Most of them were the ones that would cause polite laughter at best, but a few of them had genuinely been pretty amusing. Not that Sunil would admit it. Jay was one of the people Sunil had no patience and no tolerance for, one of those people he would behave like a completely different person towards. With Jojo and John, they seemed like decent, honest, helpful people, and they shared at least a couple of common interests, but Sunil did not see any redeeming feature in Jay, and was actively trying to ignore any potential positives he could see. Sure, a good relationship would make an alliance over the next few days much more bearable, but Sunil didn't care. The fact that Jay had almost shot him had made the chances of a potential friendship that much lower.

Now Jay was doubling over a bit, coughing slightly. Any hopes that this would shut Jay up were dashed when he continued talking, even though it looked like John was also getting exasperated with their companion's verbal diarrhoea, judging by the fact he'd told him to shut the fuck up and placed his hand over Jay's mouth.

Still, it looked like Jay, who appeared to have appointed himself group navigator, had spotted a cabin and he reckoned Maria was there. And John was sceptic, worrying about the possibility that others were there. Resting against a nearby tree to take some of the weight off his tired, worn-out legs, Sunil spoke up for hours as he pulled out a bottle of water. "Yeah, I agree with John here. We ought to be careful." As he brought the bottle to his lips, he looked around to see Jay, once again looking like he was rushing into a situation and taking action without thinking it through.

Sighing, Sunil dumped the half-empty bottle back into his daypack; he decided to wait for his two more responsible companions to take action before moving himself.

[Namira]

Seeing Craig squeeze into the building, carrying Trent along with him (Savage, as it happened, but the guy was out like a light so it didn't matter), it... well, it didn't exactly move Rosa, but it made something spring into the forefront of her mind. Hoyle was scared, he was panicked and he was goddamned huge. If the football player, albeit the one whose bulk was more muscle than fat, was so helpless, how the hell were the others going to be getting on? What was Ilario going to do, given this situation? For crying out loud, her brother seemed on the verge of a nervous break down anyway, let alone with people killing each other. Frankie? Jeez, that wasn't exactly any better. She was less of a pussy than Ily, but that also hinged on her not being high.

What the fuck was Rosa thinking? How was holing up going to help? Somewhere out there, on this goddamn island, were the two people that... she cared about most. Beyond that Frankie always mocked her for her... habits. Beyond that Ily was the apple of Junior's eye. In spite of the fact that none of them saw eye to eye on more or less anything and that their personalities were poles apart from each other... They'd been born together. They'd grown up together. They were three and one.

And Rosa had decided to hide. To retreat into herself. Make them search, make them do the work. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could she? At that very moment, JJ could be punching Ily's teeth down his throat. Dustin Royal, captain asshole, could be drawing a bead on Frankie's chest. ...And Rosa was fucking around with Craig FUCKING Hoyle!

Rosa gritted her teeth, knuckles whitening as she clenched the TEC-9 tightly. A moment later, it went clattering to the floor, bouncing with the impact as Rosa flung the gun from her. The Fiametta's head snapped towards Vera, daring her to make a quick play with eyes filled with rage. Then, she swung around and stalked into the bedroom, grabbing hold of her bag and swinging it over her shoulder.

Swiftly, Rosa returned to the main room, gaze swinging between Vera and Hoyle. No time for them or any more of this bullshit. They were welcome to the shelter, were welcome to sort out the paranoia between them. Rosa was filled with a new sense of urgency, Craig's blubbering snapping her into the realities of what was happening. Every second burned was another second closer to one of the others coming to harm. Sooner or later, it would happen. That meant Rosa had to find them before sooner could even lace up its boots.

"I have something to do. ...Good luck, I guess. May-" Rosa was cut off by the sound of shattering glass. From the direction, it had to have been the office that Vera already entered by.

Fuck! Just what I don't need!

Rosa spun again, looking for an escape route. Vera might have had firepower enough to be considered capable of driving any would-be attacker off, but it happened that the Fiametta didn't trust the other girl. Rosa wasn't a psychic, which meant a healthy dose of paranoia could only be a good thing.

Swiftly, Rosa's eyes alighted on the back window. With a murmured "Bingo," she made a beeline for it.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Craig had scooted back a bit away from Rosa, and towards an area that looked to be a small kitchen of some sort. Somewhere in his subconcious, the view of the kitchen hung a reminder on the wall to tell Craig that he was hungry, but the gun in his 'benefactor's hands told him that if he wasn't careful, he wouldn't live to see another meal.

Rosa's actions had, for the few seconds Craig had been graced with her presence, gone from somewhat agitated to full-out imitation of a caged lion faced with a fat kid covered in bacon and cheese. Her posture, everything from her eyes to her teeth to her hands... had Craig done something wrong? His mind spazzed out and fluttered back and forth between reason and flight, and his body had decided to take the third route of staring at her in some cross of being spaced out and being ready to completely evacuate his bowels.

There was a quick blur of movement, but it went way too fast for Craig to really register with the way his mind was still overloaded and stressed. Then, following the movement, there was an unsettlingly loud 'clack' noise, and Craig threw up his hands to protect his face as the only reaction that came natural. By the time he had looked back up to see that nobody had been shot (most importantly, him), Rosa was coming back in from some other back room, a bag slung over her shoulder. A few quick, sweeping glances would show the boy that the gun had been thrown rather unceremoniously to the floor, where it lay - far away from him.

The thing was, why would Rosa throw her gun to the floor? Just like Trent, her actions did little to explain any of what was going on, but at least Trent had the excuse of being unconcious, while Rosa... she was just terrifying. Craig decided that his best manner of survival was to make himself appear a bit less threatening, which he did for each girl by easing himself into a sitting position. Maybe tucking himself away with his back against the kitchen counter would help, too. Or maybe it'd just make him look pathetic.

If Rosa was leaving, then that would leave Craig with the other girl. He concentrated on slowing his breath and fighting his urges to hyperventilate while his imagination went wild with what might happen... most realistically, would she grab the gun and then shoot him without provocation? Craig didn't have any manner of defense except for the possibility of a weapon inside his bag, which he hadn't checked, and was still a few feet away by Trent's sleeping form. It pretty much looked like he was at their mercy.

And... what the HELL was that noise!?

Craig's gaze shot towards the sound of breaking glass as well, only he didn't hold the dark confidence Rosa seemed to be displaying. He was thinking more along the lines of 'somebody was now ready to come out of nowhere and completely ruin his day'.

[ET.Requiem*]

He didn't know if that faint clacking sound was the sound he wanted to hear, but he decided to make a gamble anyways. Kevin immediately ran for the door and pushed it open. With the barricade partly dislodged by the large man's efforts, Kevin was able to enter without much difficulty.

Thank God that Craig made the gap large enough for himself. With shovel in hand, he made a rather undignified entrance into the cabin, clattering and nearly tripping as he forced his way in.

"Hold it right there." He clanged his shovel against the wall to draw Craig's attention. "If you take even one step, I'm going to brain your friend with this shovel. You understand?"

This was no bluff, although the chances of this plan backfiring were ridiculously high. If Craig attacked, his shovel wouldn't be enough of a weapon. He looked around the room, finally settling his eyes on the weapon that he desperately needed.

If he remembered correctly, it was a Tec.... Tec something. In any case, it was a gun that he could use to defend himself. Kevin started circling around the two, forgetting about the other inhabitants of the cabin as he carefully made his way to his prize. "Stay put there." He pointed the shovel at the unconscious guy on the floor. "Trent won't make it if you dare to charge me."

Don't botch this. Nice and easy now. Life's on the line here.... You're more scared than excited, remember that. No rushing.

The football player was cowering now, but he had to get the Tec before Craig manned up. Sweat ran down the back of Kevin's neck and down into his dirty shirt. That fear wouldn't last forever, so he had to hurry it up. Five steps. He was just five steps away from his first real achievement in this game. He could do it. He could get the gun.

[Hallucinojelly*]

There was a long silence after Trent spoke, leaving the words hanging in the air like a foul odour (befitting of his filthy attire). It only ended once Ron began to chuckle to himself, slowly building in volume until his laughter permeated every inch of the dark world.

"Oh, Trent, you are a funny one. So very funny, aren't you, boy?"

Ron laughed away the end of his sentence before he too rose to his feet. Standing just a yard away from his stepson, his moustache flickered at the ends as he drew a long breath. Wary, the boy took a few staggered steps back, wondering what this guy would do after saying something to him that he'd never dare try in the real world.

"Wh-what? You gonna hit me? Dunno if I'd feel-"

SMACK.

He had no idea what had just happened, but he sure as hell felt it. His body propelled through the air by the sheer force of Ronald's fist, all he could do was panic as the ground came racing towards him in a blur of black and lights. Teeth cracking, nose crunching fun soon followed, and soon after his body came to a stop it slumped face-down in the dirt with it's ass raised in the air. Fire was his first thought; the feeling of fire burning away at every part of his frame while he screamed out for some form of gentle release. Just a pill, or maybe two. How many was it before you overdosed? Twenty? Thirty? Well fuck it, this was agony, and it wasn't going to stop any time soon.

"Need a hand?"

Came Ronald's voice, ringing far across the plain as he floated towards his human-looking punching bag. Trent coughed and spluttered as a spatter of blood sprayed over his hands and the floor below. What the fuck was this? Wasn't this his dream world? His subconscious? So how the hell could he be in this much pain?

"It's because I'm a dream-walker."

The boy's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y-you're a- what?!"

"...I'm joking, Trent. You dreamt me here, so, everything I do is up to you. Not that you can actively control it though. Shame."

SMACK.

A sensation so painful this time, that the boy only uttered air as he limply flew further down the way. His balls throbbed with the imprint of Ronald's shoe, and he curled up into a broken heap.

"You wanted me to do that? Boy, you have a lot of problems."

Trent's fingers ripped at the ground as his entire body clenched. The amount of pain he was in was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, having only been the subject of verbal abuse from the guys at school, so this... this was hell to him. And he knew that if he didn't stop it soon the pain would only get worse and worse and worse.

He didn't even hear Ronald sigh as he floated right up behind him, readying his leg for another strike.

[Little Boy*]

Jay had been more or less in how own little world for the last few hours, trying to cope and work things out the best way he could think of. John had more or less ripped him from his own world, kicking and screaming, regardless of what he wanted. Jay did what he was good at when someone else was lecturing him. Shut his trap and listened.

His eyes buldged as John clamped his fat fingers around his mouth, whispering a warning. Jay chastised himself yet again, smacking himself on the side of the head.

You STILL aren't thinking!

"Alright, alright. Good point.. We jus' gotta, be quiet about this, I gotcha' loud and clear..." He whispered to the other boy. Motioning, he saw Jojo and Sunil approaching out of the woods. He got down into a crouched position, eying up the building in the distance.

" 'aight, okay. We're still all cool, we're good. But we gotta think then, time to be stealthy." He whispered again. Adjusting his hat, Jay once more stood, glancing through the foliage towards the location. John was right, something WAS off. The entire situation began to remind him of a particular scene in a war movie he'd once watched at a friends house. Much to his growing horror, Jay slowly realized that in a few moments his group problems would be the least of his worries.

"Yeah. There's nothing wrong here, except there's nothing wrong here... Friggin' Vietnam shit right here. Too quiet out here for a death game.." He once more began making his way through the brush, but this time more carefully, taking great care to watch his footing and move branches out of the way.

Alright Jay, easy. You can show'em what you're made of here, show'em you've got your head screwed on correctly.

"Okay, so, just- just follow me, carefully... keep your eyes open for Charlie, or whatev'."

The building loomed in the distance, and Jay began to realize it wasn't a house but a cabin of some sort, an outpost. If John had heard any noise earlier Jay hadn't picked up on it yet, more cause for concern. Jay could feel his heart beating fast once more and his throat felt rawer than ever.

Suddenly, Jay's gaze flickered over to his right... something, something not green or brown in a greeneybrown forest.

"Shit!"

Jay shot downwards, gripping a nearby tree. Peaking his head out, he saw the lump remaining where it was. He swung his head around back to his companions, motioning for them to frantically drop down.

"Downdowndown!" He hissed. "I- I don't think they saw us yet, whoever it is..."

Jay peaked out once more, taking a passing glance at the strange shape. It was a person, for sure. But what were they doing? The possibilities ran wild in his mind. He strained his eyes trying to see what was happening.

Is this a trap...? Shit! John, killin' some bad guys would be welcome right now!

[Fiori]

Vera wasn't sure whether or not she should be feeling terrified beyond measure, or insanely furious at this new intruder.

She knew for a fact that the longer she pussyfooted about, the worse things were going to get. Any second now, some asshole was going to break in and start exacerbating things. She hadn't a clue what the hell he (Or she) wanted, but whatever it was they were certainly not being subtle about it. Vera herself was just trying to be careful when she sneaked in through the window, seeing as from all she knew whoever was in here could have been some cold-blooded psychopath. This guy on the other hand made no attempts at masking his presence whatsoever, which only fueled her paranoia even further...

It became clear to her then what she had to do... As long as the TEC-9 was unloaded, they were all in potential danger. Herself in particular... And as much as she didn't like the idea of giving Rosa ammunition which she could very well use against her, it was a far better option then leaving themselves defenseless.

Without even saying a word, she quickly dashed back into the office, not even bothering to alert the others as to her intentions. As she scrambled to open the dufflebag which she had left zipped up on the floor underneath the computer table, she heard a clatter back in the main room as Rosa dropped her gun on the floor. She's just leaving it on the floor?!? SHIT! I need to get there fast before...

It was then that she heard a door opening slowly, shortly followed by the sound of someone clanging something against the wall.

"Hold it right there."

She froze on the spot in fear. That voice... She vaguely recognized it from somewhere... She slowly moved towards the open doorway, one of the TEC-9's magazines held firmly in her grip as she listened to the situation outside.

"If you take even one step, I'm going to brain your friend with this shovel. You understand?"

Now she recognized who it was... Kevin Harding. One of those brainless football jocks she despised so much. She didn't really know that much about him apart from that, and the fact that he happened to be ugly as sin to top it all off. At least assholes like JJ were pleasant to look at, Kevin on the other hand...

Damnit, what the hell does HE want? Is he playing? If so, then why the hell isn't he just beating Craig to a pulp and getting it over with? There must be SOME reason as to why he's here... Maybe he's looking for something? Or someone... But what do we have that a bastard like him could possibly......

Then it clicked.

...Son of a BITCH! He thinks he can just waltz in here and steal MY gun? Of all the......

It wasn't until then that Vera realised how much she relied on the TEC-9 she'd been assigned with. She wasn't exactly the kind of person suited to hand-to-hand combat, or long-term survival skills, or anything that'd come of real use her. But unlike many of her peers, she'd been blessed with a weapon that was actually of some use. She didn't realise until then how lucky she was to HAVE such a lucky draw... She'd seen people get all kinds of useless weapons back when she used to watch Survival of the Fittest on TV, from Bunny Ears to freaking Slinkies! So the fact that she was lucky enough to get a submachine gun of all things was practically a miracle!

She couldn't believe now that she'd been so quick to disarm herself of her only defense... This gun was her salvation! Her ticket out of here! The one thing keeping her safe from dickheads like Kevin... And there was no way in a million years she was going to let a bastard like him get his hands on it. Even if she had to gouge his eyes out and bite off his jugular vein, there wasn't any way in hell she was letting him take was was rightfully her's...

She had barely seconds to snatch the gun away before HE got his greasy hands on it. She had to be fast. Had to be swift. Any cock-ups now and it'd all be over. But she knew she could do it, knew she was quick enough to grab that gun away from him before it was too late. She didn't care about the fact that he was apparently threatening to bash Trent's brains out should Craig make a move... As far as she was concerned, Trent was pretty much a goner either way.

Alright, here goes!

She dashed from her hiding spot and snatched the gun from the floor before jumping back, slamming the magazine into the chamber and flipping off the safety all in one swift movement. She immediately aimed the weapon at Kevin's chest, grasping the weapon steadily with both her hands as she took another step back.

"Move so much as a fucking muscle, and I'll drop you were you stand! I am SO fucking close to just wasting you on the spot right now, so don't give me any more reasons to pull this fucking trigger!"

Her heart was pumping, adrenaline running though her veins. Whilst her threats were anything but empty, she really did hope that she wouldn't be forced to open fire anyway. Being an outspoken opponent of the 2nd Amendment herself, the last thing she wanted was to become the very thing she hated. She was being hypocritical enough as it is by relying on a gun to protect her life. That being said, it also happened to be the only thing stopping her from filling Kevin full of lead right there on the spot. Something she prayed the dumb jock realised...

"Now then... Tell me why I shouldn't just snuff out your existence and get it all over and done with?"

[Acelister*]

John rolled his eyes when Jay began acting like a commando leader. All he had to do was the stupid fist-fingers-hand wave signal crap, and he'd be a shoe-in. He followed slowly as the 'leader' showed them which way to go, moving slowly towards something or other.

"Downdowndown! I- I don't think they saw us yet, whoever it is..."

Despite himself, John ducked. But only for a second. He rolled his eyes and moved past Jay, looking at what he'd found. It was someone, certainly.

"They don't look very threatening..." he told Jay in a whisper.

"Come on, I've got this thing" he dropped his bags and held up the shotgun in both hands. "If they're dangerous, just hope they don't have an RPG."

Even as he chuckled, he felt a pang of fear. What if this person DID have an RPG? What kinds of weapons were given out? Nothing, shotguns and card? What about RPG's? Suitcase nukes? Anthrax?

He stood and walked through the bushes, the shotgun aimed down but ready to be used if needs be.

"I'm not playing." he said in - what he thought was - a firm voice. "I'm Joh-..."

He froze, his eyes trying to make sense of what he was seeing in front of him. Maria laying in a pool of her own blood, a hacksaw on the ground next to her and not five feet away was the acne-ridden culprit.

"Oh fuck..." he gasped, feeling his heart beating faster and faster, his breathing increasing and the world starting to tilt from side to side like a fairground ride. He couldn't even level the shotgun straight at Jackie. His mind raced with questions, recriminations, wanting time to be reversed... How did this happen?!

[Whirlpool531*]

Jojo wound down after John let go of Jay, disappointed in himself for assuming the worst so quickly.

Get it together Jojo, John wouldn't start something three versus one. Besides he said he didn't want to play right? Just need to relax, I'm sure Maria is around here somewhere.

Jojo didn't know how right he was when he saw the two ahead crouch down. Following suit, he bent down a little and tried to get closer.

Did they see someone? Was it Maria?

As Jojo got to Jay, he heard John speak as he stepped forward towards the other person. As he went silent, Jojo creeped up behind him to see what was wrong when John regained his voice, "Oh fuck..." Jojo quickened himself and stepped out behind John before stopping dead in his tracks. Time seemed to slow to a halt as he took the sights in. A figure lying down, the bloody hacksaw, and Maria lying in her own blood seemingly at peace.

"...I just want you two to know, no matter what, I'll always have your back..." His oath from mere hours ago was obliterated by what he saw before him. Just as shattered glass cuts the flesh, this oath's breaking dug into Jojo as he fell on his knees in shock, his book dropping from his hands.

No no no no, this isn't happening. I promised...I promised I'd help her and Jay get through this! I hardly knew her but she didn't deserve this! Why did this have to happen!? If I had watched her she'd have been fine! This is my fault! Her death didn't...have to...happen...

His thoughts slowly trickled to a halt, his brain shutting down at the thought that his inability to keep his word got someone killed.

[Namira]

Since she'd already been searching for ways out as the sound of the breaking window first reached her ears, Rosa was already most of the way to the back of the station's main room when the front door swung open and Kevin Harding entered, toting a shovel and a threatening demeanour. The Fiametta, making tracks towards the window alongside the sofa she'd hidden behind earlier, turned as Harding spoke, but continued to backpedal, closing the gap to her objective.

Dammit, today was just not her lucky day. Well, it wasn't really anyone's lucky day, but hell if that was going to stop Rosa reserving her own little niche of complaint about it. Kevin Harding... yet another fucking football player. Maybe not one that was on the team consistently, but ...still, all of those guys knew JJ. That meant bad news. It was an unexpected boon that Harding decided to threaten Craig of all people (guess that meant they weren't that much of a hive mind), but hell, the dude could wave shovels at Trent all he wanted. Rosa didn't give a flying fuck about Trent.

Good luck with the gun, bonehead... it's not even fucking loaded.

Then Vera, out of nowhere, turned on the ninja moves. Rosa's jaw dropped slightly as the other girl made a running dive for the TEC-9 and managed to not only snag it, but slam a magazine home too. Harding's shovel at Trent's head was looking all of a sudden a little less intimidating. Much as it was tempting to see Harding wet his pants, Rosa still had no interest in sticking around. After all, what if Vera wasn't trustworthy? Rosa would be next in line after the jocks' blood painted the walls.

Cowardly not to stay and make sure that wouldn't happen? Nope. Rosa had more important things to worry about. Family came first. Always.

Taking the opportunity of the distraction Vera provided, Rosa yanked open the window behind her and just about managed to slither through the opening, though her bags almost got caught on the way through. Landing awkwardly on the ground outside, the Fiametta quickly got to her feet, looked this way and that, then took off. There was no time to lose. Any one of those echoing gunshots could be getting fired at Frankie or Ily.

Or fired by them.

((Rosa continued elsewhere))