Survival Of The Fittest

OOC: Sorry for the wait, I thought you guys were ahead of me in the post order so I was waiting. Real dumbarse, huh?

Darnell had never seen Kallie cry. She'd gotten upset before, true, but she'd never cried as far as he knew. If she had, it was always out of his sight, and he hadn't heard anything of it. Sure, he'd seen plenty of other people cry, in fact in some of his darker moments he had made said "other people" cry, but Kallie had never shed tears in front of him, and even though in the past when she'd been upset he'd moved almost instinctively to try to comfort her, this time he found himself completely transfixed, unable to do anything. It was completely alien to him, seeing her so overwhelmed that she broke down in tears, and he just didn't know what to do. Even more disturbingly, the tears reminded him that he should be crying, too. Kallie wasn't the only one hit hard by Guy's death, looking at Keith showed that he looked about as numb as Darnell felt, but why couldn't he bring himself to cry, or even react? He wanted to say something, anything, if just to make the two feel a bit better, but he couldn't think of anything.

What right do I have to cry? It's my fucking fault...Guy, damn it! Guy, you son of a bitch! Why did you have to get yourself killed? Why couldn't I keep you alive? Friends are supposed to watch each others' backs! Fucking idiot, we were supposed to escape together! Kick Danya's ass and show him why you don't fuck with Southridge!

The footsteps behind him as someone walked in caused him to break eye contact with Kallie at around the same time as she started to get up and wiping the tears and makeup lines from her eyes, looking over his shoulder to see Alice Jones walking in, giving them a quick 'hello' while cradling her pack and walking towards one of the cells. Like the others, he couldn't help but watch her walk to the cell, saying she just needed to rest. Darnell barely knew Alice at all, they'd never really spoken or done anything together, but something did seem off. Just the way she held the bag and spoke in that soft tone she was using, and the fact that the bag appeared to be...dripping? Why was it dripping?

Something's not right.

As Alice reached the cell and sat on the bed, rebuffing Boxer's question by telling him it was a secret, holding the bag to her lap and seemingly oblivious to the odd dark red stains on her skirt from whatever was in the bag, the liquid on the bottom soaking through. As Keith asked what was in the bag and Kallie moved closer to him, Darnell stepped forward so he was slightly in front of them and the gargantuan Boxer. Something was very wrong with this picture, and if there was something horrible in that bag, or if Alice went berserk and attacked, Darnell wanted to be sure it was him who was hit, not Boxer or Kallie or Keith. His hand moved to grip the Uzi in the waistband of his pants, ready to draw if necessary.

Kallie, Keith...maybe this will make up for me letting Guy get killed.

"Alice...I know that whatever is in that bag is important to you, but it's probably important to us, too. Please, can we see what's in there? We want to help y-"

"SHORYUKEN!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Darnell couldn't help but jump as the Street Fighter sound effect blared through the speakers, echoing throughout the jailhouse. He didn't have time to look around to see where it came from though, as Alice cried out and the contents of the bag they had been asking about came spilling out. Namely, Guy Rapide's severed head. A stunned silence fell upon the jailhouse when Guy's head fell off the bed, rolling across the ground.

Wh-what the...? Why would she...?

Darnell's stomach churned as his gaze alternated between Alice and Guy's head, completely at a loss for words. Kallie tried to stammer out a question, but Darnell was completely lost. He felt like he was going to be sick. How had she gotten Guy's head? She hadn't killed him, Danya said as much, so what was he doing with...? Why would she take his head? He didn't know what Kallie and Keith and Alice knew, so he was totally dumbfounded.

"What the fuck, Alice..." he muttered, "What are you doing with Guy's head?! How could you take it from him? Doesn't he at least deserve that much, enough respect in death to be allowed to keep his head?!"

Darnell couldn't help the slight anger that came out of his voice as he found himself almost involuntarily moving towards the cell, until he practically loomed in the cell's doorway. Truth be told, he wanted to retch. He just couldn't understand why Alice would be carrying the head around. Had the game been messing with their heads so badly that they had no idea how to respect the dead anymore? True, he sounded a bit silly, but he was just completely taken aback at the revelation. Did this mean Alice was playing? No, that was stupid. He sighed, and took a different approach.

"L-let me start over...why did you take Guy's head, Alice?"

Wary of any of the three behind him trying to attack Alice, or Alice trying to attack them, he braced himself in the way so that if either party wanted to hit the other, they'd have to go through him first. No matter what was going through Alice's head, he wouldn't let her try to hurt anyone, and he sure as hell didn't want any more blood to be shed, especially if he had no idea what was going on.

"Yo, Keith, can you close the door please? You're closest to it, and I'm not sure if we want any more people in here right now."

((And nothing of value was lost with the turn order.))

The titan linebacker felt curiously refreshed finally getting out of the rain and into solid cover. He could get his hair out of his eyes without it being washed back into his field of vision again. Not that it was a complete refresher, having witnessed yet another person getting killed in his field of vision.

Boxer stayed to the side, trying to avoid confrontation despite his massive bulk, and yet it was the temptation to confrontation that was most heavily on the leviathan's mind. Darnell was quite literally in front of him. For all he knew, one good "tackle" with a chokehold could place Darnell between him and the path of Keith's shotgun. The blast would probably take them both out, but that didn't matter. All he had to do was reach out and grab the fucker and the rest would take care of itself.

But he couldn't. And it wasn't a very pleasing thing not to do it. Even as he glanced at Kallie, who was trying to regain her composure from crying earlier, he started to wonder why she would matter if he took out Darnell in front of her as well.

He's right in front of me! Why can't I take that chance!?

A loud Japanese-sounding exclamation over the loudspeakers derailed that train of thought with heavy casualties, and at the same time, gave him the answer he was looking for. Boxer reflexively drew one foot back and held the cell doors (and whatever contents of his stomach in) as his gaze shifted to the gruesome, splattering appendage that fell out of Alice's bag.

"Jesusfucking-" he exclaimed at the sight of Guy Rapide's severed head. Something deep inside told him to breath easy as at least it wasn't Eddie's head, but that didn't take away from the fact that IT'S A FUCKING HEAD! The sight caused him to choke out the "Christ" that was attached to the end of that expletive, and turn away.

Keith was already on his way towards closing the door when the loud sound boomed out from the microphones, startling everyone in the immediate area. As everything seemed to stop, all eyes flew to Alice, who dropped her bag, causing the mystery object to tumble out and roll along the floor, coming to a stop right in front of the door to the cell that Alice was sitting in, staring back at them all with lifeless eyes.

It made Keith sick, and it took all of the effort in the world not to lose what little was in his stomach right there in the jailhouse.

Jaw dropping in surprise, he stared at the head. It had a horrific expression on its face, as though Guy had died in a mixture of intense agony and pure bemused terror. It was a sight that Keith knew would haunt his dreams likely for the rest of his life, and it took even more effort to wrench his eyes away from the sight that Guy's head was; lying on the ground like a discarded piece of trash. In a mixture of shock and awe, Keith ignored Darnell's request to close the door, and walked right over to Alice, carefully stepping over the head on his way over. Coming to a rest in front of her, he wasn't really sure what to say.

There ain't a lot TO say...she was carrying around poor buddy's head, and...she's obviously lost it...

Bending his knees and kneeling a bit so he came up to Alice's eye level, Keith looked her straight in the face and slowly pointed to the head on the ground. Like he might a child, Keith spoke as clearly and as coherently as he possibly could.

"Alice. That is NOT a toy. That is Guy's...fuckin'...head. Why are you carryin' around...Guy's...decapitated...head?"

He didn't know if there was much else to say. Ball was in Alice's court now. Obviously she hadn't killed Guy, but if she'd lost it enough to mutilate his corpse and take his head with her, then she was far too much of a liability. At this point, he just wanted to get out of here. He didn't trust anyone except Kallie anymore, and at this point, all he wanted to do was leave the rest of them behind. Screw Daniel, screw Darnell, screw Alice.

There was only himself, now. That was his number one concern.

...and Kallie, of course.

OOC: Eh, since we've already kicked the post order in the nads earlier, I'll just throw something up quick. Just so Darnell's not standing there gaping at Guy's head like an idiot the whole scene. That's not the kind of humour I go for in posts.
IC:

G-guy's head...she had Guy's head...bag...with a head in it...Guy's head...took Guy's head and shoved it in a bag...why would she shove a perfectly good head in a bag? Heads don't go in bags...Guy wouldn't want his head in a bag, either. He looks like some weird mix of scared shitless and in incredible agony...that's not the kind of thing that puts you in the mood to be shoved in a bag. Why would you carry a kid's head around in a bag? I don't get it. Head...bag...doesn't make sense...this GAME doesn't make sense!

Alice hadn't immediately responded to his inquiry, as far as Darnell knew, but if she had he wouldn't have heard anyway. Just like with Kallie and her tears, Guy's head caused Darnell's gaze to almost freeze on it, leaving him completely unable to look away. After his initial question, he couldn't help but stare at Guy's head on the ground in shock, his eyes widening as he took in Guy's revolting expression, his dead friend's face stuck in a look somewhere between intense pain and abject horror. He kept feeling like he was going to throw up just looking at it, but he couldn't take his eyes off it. Was this what people were talking about when they mentioned the "train wreck effect"?

Head...in a bag...a bag with a head in it...she put my friend's head in a bag...why'd she do that? "Hey, Guy, can I put your head in a bag when you die?" "Sure, why not, Alice? We're such great pals that I'd be honoured to have my decapitated head carted around in a glorified backpack!"

Stuck in a sort of infinite loop, all Darnell could think about was the fact that Alice Jones, innocent, harmless Alice, had put the decapitated head of one of his best friends in her bag, and was carting it around like it was a teddy bear or something. "It's really important," she had said, "It's a secret." What the hell was so important about taking some kid's head and putting it in your bag? Darnell was far from stupid, but he just couldn't wrap his head around what must've been going through Alice's own, causing his thoughts to endlessly repeat the same basic information, that Guy's head had been in Alice's bag.

Funnily enough, Keith ignoring his request to close the door and pushing past him (since he was more or less standing right in the cell doorway, Keith would've had to push past him to get in) a bit to get to Alice, stepping over Guy's head (Man, couldn't you step around it? Over seems rude to do to a buddy.) to reach her and starting to talk to her calmly asking why she had put Guy's head in a bag was what had broken Darnell out of that brief trance. Shaking his head a bit, he looked to Keith and then took a step back, moving out of the doorway to the cell. Good ol' Keith, always the calmer one. All the years they'd known each other, it seemed like Keith was almost always better at keeping a cool head when the going got rough. Yeah, Darnell himself had gotten pretty good at that eventually, but back in the old days (What old days? I'm barely even an adult and I'm talking about "the old days" like my grandfather used to, heh.) that hadn't been the case. Shrugging a bit, as if to say "Eh, I'll take care of the door myself", he moved out of the way.

"Yeah, good idea, thanks; prolly better that you take care of talking to Alice. You're putting it better than I could."

Moving away from the cell, Darnell knew Keith had probably ignored him, but he was half muttering it to himself anyway, already having decided to head back to the door to close it himself. At least then he'd be somewhat useful, instead of getting in the way. With the door closed, if more people showed up they'd at least have warning, time to defend themselves if a player came around. Every second counted with that kind of thing, he assumed. Had his naive "everyone can be trusted" approach really done anything other than make him look like an idiot? Oh, yeah, there was the "helplessly listen as more and more of his friends were killed because he was too much of an idiot to find them sooner" thing, but that didn't really count.

Maybe I was wrong...I mean, it's been six days. How does trust work when you're in something like this?

As Darnell passed by Boxer and Kallie on the way to the door, walking at a careful but still brisk pace, he shot each of them an apologetic look, strong but brief. He couldn't help but be ashamed of himself, daring to meet either of their eyes. If he had found either of them more quickly, if Eduardo hadn't been playing, so much of what had happened wouldn't. Maybe if he'd been more competent, he would've found Kallie sooner, and Guy too. He'd have been able to stop Mary, and then Wade, and they'd all be one big group trying to fuck Danya up, like Darnell had originally wanted. It was a wonder some small part of Darnell's mind still had any hope that escape was possible, but it had to be. Nothing was impossible.

I've been such an idiot this whole game. It's all my fault things are this bad. If I were smarter, Guy would be alive now. Eduardo and Simon and Dan Brent would be alive. So would Evelyn and Trey. Well, either way, I'm not going to let Danya take any more of my friends. Fuck him, fuck this game, and fuck Death itself!

Sighing a bit as he reached the door, Darnell found his right hand reflexively reaching for the Uzi in his pants. That caused him to shudder a bit. Was he really so into the game that he was perfectly willing to draw a gun on any potential classmates outside? Would he even have the guts to pull the trigger? The thing about swords were that they were so much more personal than guns, all three times he had killed he'd felt his victim die. Even with the simplicity of pulling a trigger, he didn't know if he could do that again. How did he know he wouldn't just freeze up and get shot when push came to shove?

I'm going to have to take that chance. No matter what, I'm not going to let anybody kill what friends I have left. I'm a wrestler and football player, it's not like willpower's some alien concept to me.

Reluctantly tightening his grip on the gun as he stepped forward a little bit more, he pulled the gun out and held it loosely at his side, ready to be brought up if necessary, and extended his free left hand carefully to the doorknob. If nothing happened, he'd eventually take hold of it and pull the door shut.

At least now there won't be any more surprises.

The door firmly secure, assuming nothing had gone wrong, he'd turn back around to face the others, moving back a bit to the cell but not as far up as he'd been before, positioning himself where he wasn't too far from any of the involved people (not counting the cell being in the way in Keith and Alice's case) but at the same time far enough that he hoped he could keep an eye on them equally.

For a long moment there was only the rain. And then came Keith's voice, almost inaudible over the hiss of the downpour:

"Alice. That is NOT a toy. That is Guy's...fuckin'...head. Why are you carryin' around...Guy's...decapitated...head?"

Eddie swallowed the lump forming in his throat. That low, almost understanding tone couldn't be good news. The only thing worse than when someone went on a screaming tirade was when that very same person became rational and collected. Cold logic was far more dangerous than self-righteous fury. It was entirely possible that Keith was nearing his breaking point. No, no. That's the books thinking again. This isn't a book or a game or some shitty sci-fi flick, this is real life! Jackson wouldn't hurt Alice. People don't just...they don't just....

Don't just what? Kill their friends? Turn into murderous psychopaths when pushed too far? The truth of the matter was that anyone could snap. Anyone in the world could do the most brutal, horrific, inhuman things to other people if pushed too far. Edward Sullivan knew from experience. He'd had a front row seat to Wade Wilson's insane rampage. Edward Sullivan also knew that when he got hold of Wade Wilson, he would do brutal, horrific, and inhuman things to that insane fuck.

Catching up with his thoughts, Eddie was stunned at the direction they'd gone off in. Was he going to snap eventually too? Could he really kill someone if he had to? Would he really torture Wade if given the chance? Everything was getting too confusing. Black and white morality was quickly being replaced by shades of gray. The game was starting to mess with his head. No time to think about that. Any minute Keith might go psycho and try to hurt Alice.

Edward couldn't let that happen. Alice wasn't dangerous; she was just starting to lose it. The poor girl just wanted to be around Guy for a little while longer. Even if the girl was carrying around Rapide's head, that didn't mean she deserved to die. If she'd gone of the deep end, that still didn't necessarily make her a threat. Shit. I'm defending the actions of a girl who's carrying around a severed head. How fucked up is that?

Dismissing the thought, Eddie took a firmer grip on the rock in his hand and inhaled deeply. He needed to pay attention to what was going on inside. Nobody was going to die if he could stop it. He wouldn't let anyone else die while he waited and watched on the sidelines. People had died because he'd been too afraid to stand up to a killer. Jodene was dead because he was a coward. He wouldn't let the same thing happen again.

Movement. Someone was coming towards the door. Oh crap, did they hear me? Thoughts of heroism dried up as fear snaked its way through the boy's chest. This was it. He needed to do something. No more standing on the sidelines, no more waiting and listening. Forcing his churning stomach under control Edward closed his eyes.

"E-excuse me? There are p-people in here, right? C-can I come in out of the r-rain? I'm n-not playing."

His voice wasn't as sure as he'd have liked, but at least he'd managed to croak out his greeting. They'd have to give him a chance to at least say something, right? The soaked boy waited for a response.

[Sorry for the holdup, convention's been hectic and shit, but the Maka's back in business.]

They were looking. They were looking at her. Eyeing, staring... And Alice could tell by the expressions on their faces that they were looking at something utterly terrifying and repulsive. All of them were staring at her as though she'd suddenly grown a second head, like she was a freak. An alien. Or just a hideous deformity.

Alice wilted under all of that attention.

And then she remembered Guy's head, fallen on the ground, and in a split second that was all she could think about right now. She quickly gathered it up in her arms, almost protectively, as though it were a treasure or a prize. Checking the state of it after it had impacted on the ground, Alice looked as though she were about to cry when she saw that it had acquired several new bruises...dark, bluish-grey, and blotchy.

And then they started muttering and gasping in disgusted horror, throwing their accusations at her.

"I....I didn't do anything!"

Wrapping her arms around Guy's head, she held it tightly as though she were hugging it as to try and draw comfort. "It was....it was that other girl! Mary something-or-other...anyways, she was the one who made him like this. Not me! Y-you heard the announcement...didn't you?!"

She looked sadly at the decapitated head in her arms, still dripping blood. "I...I couldn't leave him.... He always s-stuck by me, even though I was always f-falling on my own feet and slowing him down... He never left me behind, so I won't leave him behind either! We'll always stick together..."

A faint smile played upon Alice's lips...her eyes seemed hollow, empty, as she held up Guy's head towards them, so that they could see it more clearly...the expression on his face, the severed neck, the blanched flesh, the dripping blood....all of it.

"The lot of you are his friends right? ...I'm so glad I bumped into you. Look at Guy, doesn't he look happy to see you too?"

Still holding up Guy's head a bit, she tilted her head towards the door, where the newcomer was.

"Who's that person? Another friend?"

Everyone seemed to have been thinking the same thing that Kallie was, and with good reason. After all, Alice Jones had just loosed the decapitated head of one of their best friends. Now came the awkward part... the explaining. The most everyone else could seem to do was stagger out incoherent sentences, much like she had. Finally, though, Keith approached Alice, talking calmly and quietly, like one would to a child.

Perhaps the oddest thing of all was Alice's reaction to the whole situation. She adamantly denied doing anything wrong, cradling Guy's head in her arms like it was some sort of prized possession that she was afraid would get taken away. Indicating that Mary had been the one to kill Guy, and nervously sputtering out that Danya had even said so on the announcement, Alice was quite the pitiful sight.

In a way, Kallie almost felt sorry for the mousy girl.

On the other hand, she was completely weirded out.

Alice went on and on, holding Guy's head like a newborn baby, stating that she couldn't leave him behind. If she had wanted to bury him, it might have been one thing... but walking around the island with the severed head of someone you cared about in your pack? It went beyond weird. Her reasoning was almost logical. Her actions? Bizarre at best.

Alice held up the head to show them all, and upon taking the time to really look at it, Kallie felt like she was going to be sick. The look of anguish and horror on Guy's face was almost too much to bear, indicating that he had gone out in a horrible manner. Dying the way he had, she wouldn't wish something like that on her worst enemy, let alone one of her best friends.

Alice claimed Guy was "happy" to see them. Under different circumstances, she would have been absolutely right... those circumstances, of course, required Guy Rapide to be alive... and Guy? He was most definitely not alive. Not anymore. Kallie finally managed to break her gaze from the severed head as another newcomer, someone she didn't know, poked his head through the door. An irritated sigh escaped her lips as she looked the pudgy boy over.

"Get out," she stated flatly, a frown spreading across her features, "We've got enough to deal with right now, we don't need someone else to babysit on top of it all."

Her attention turned back to Alice, and despite the growing nausea that was forming in her stomach, she forced herself to maintain eye contact with the girl. Unsure of how to handle the situation or what to say, Kallie found herself simply staring blankly at the rather plain girl for a few moments. Kallie was normally good with words. She normally knew just what to say to people.

Then again, absolutely nothing about this situation was normal.

"Alice..." Kallie began quietly, breaking eye contact and casting her eyes toward the ground almost immediately, "Listen... I know losing Guy was hard on you... it was... really hard for all of us... but... carrying his head around... it's not gonna bring him back. I think... maybe... we should bury it. That way we can show him some kind of respect... you know? Would you... like to do that?"

The words were drawn out and the sentences pieced together very thoughtfully. Truthfully, Kallie was ready to slit the meek girl's throat for having the audacity to wag one of her best friends' severed heads into the area in the first place. Guy wouldn't have wanted that, though. There was something between him and Alice, she knew it as soon as she ran into the pair.

For that reason, and that reason only, Kallie felt some sort of obligation to protect Alice. That's what Guy would have wanted, and since he was no longer able to do it, somebody else had to. It wasn't going to be easy, that much was for sure. After the stunt she had just pulled, talking Keith into bringing her along was going to be almost impossible, and even if she did convince him, Kallie wasn't entirely sure how much she trusted Alice herself.

Overall, things were looking pretty bad.

"No...no, we're good here." Boxer replied to the kid, adding to the unanimity that this was a moment that was not to be disturbed by the newcomer. It was tense enough for the titan already, seeing as how he was really one wrong word away from receiving a hot buckshot injection. Not that the kid was any more attention-grabbing than Guy's severed head, which - after managing to keep his meager stomach contents down - Boxer returned his gaze to, slumping against a cell door.

"I could...I could help if you'd like..." Truth be told, Boxer's offer to help came not so much out of respect, sympathy or even empathy as he did out of restraining himself from kicking the head out of her hands like the field goal posts were 50 yards away.

She was still "protecting" him out of her own delusions. It certainly didn't take a genius to notice that anyone who cradled a severed head like a newborn baby had to be very unsettled in the head...but this was the intended effect of whatever the hell they were playing right now. Yet it also got Boxer to wonder...if he was just as delusional for trying to avenge a dead man who was as close to him as Guy was to Alice. Would it really satisfy him to sink to Darnell's level just to avenge Eddie? Right now, his bizarre sense of morality was agreeing, but now was not the right time to ruminate.

"...for the team. For all our sakes..." Boxer's mutters had an air of gravitas to them, though it wasn't necessarily Guy's memory he was thinking of honoring.

"I've gotta' get the fuck outta' here."

It was a sudden outburst, and it sounded enough like the cool exterior of one Keith Jackson betraying itself and requiring an immediate evacuation from the area. In truth, Keith couldn't take much more of this. Alice was beginning to talk to the head as though it were still alive, and this was Guy - this was his friend, his buddy. Guy was dead, and it looked like whatever had remained of Alice's sanity had died with him.

She carried the head like one might a child, being careful to cradle it, even stroking it on the forehead once. Looking back on it, Keith probably figured that this was the one thing that made him lose it. Such an insignificant little action, but it was just such a god-awful mental picture, that Keith wanted to scream out loud.

He didn't scream, though. Instead, he simply stood up, uttered a statement to nobody in particular, and shook his head. Stepping out of the jail cell, he looked around at everyone, taking the scene in before his eyes. Everyone was standing around, aghast at Alice, and unable to think clearly. Keith least of all. In Keith's own mind, what he was seeing had no place on this world, and just didn't register with him.

I can't take this anymore.

He'd killed twice since he'd been dropped off. Six days had passed, and the world didn't make sense anymore. Six days, and everything that he knew had been turned upside-down, and inside-out. He'd made a conscious effort not to think of anything, just to focus purely upon his actions alone - keeping himself alive had been the primary motivation up until now. It had been all he'd thought about, not caring who he pissed off or what happened in the meanwhile. But now...?

All it had taken was a careful touch to a severed head that had allowed Keith one true moment of introspection and brought the walls tumbling down. A glazed-over look in his eyes, Keith began to shake his head. He looked at them all, shaking his head. Kallie, who he'd been trying to protect, and had essentially turned into someone who he'd been dragging along. Darnell, who could be plotting their demises at this very moment, having killed three people himself in what he highly doubted was self-defense. Boxer, who seemed angry at Darnell enough that Keith almost began to believe him...and all of the other faceless kids who'd passed through the jailhouse - from the dead kid, John Cox, to the other one whose name he didn't know. Finally, back to Alice, cradling the head of Guy Rapide as she looked at the newest person to enter in the jail house.

Nobody said a word, but Keith knew one thing for sure - he couldn't take this anymore. He was about to die - it was essentially a foregone conclusion within the next week, and he couldn't spend what might have been his last hours watching a crazy girl talking to the head of one of his best friends.

The glazed look in his eyes, Keith stopped shaking his head, looked up at the sky, and then at the ground for a moment.

"I can't deal with this anymore..."

No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, than did he start towards the door, shoving aside whomever got in his way - and someone did, but he didn't care. He needed to get out, get some air. The atmosphere was dank, and stank of dried blood and death. Something bad was lurking in the air, about to happen, and Keith wanted no part of it. He just needed to disappear...

...and as he threw open the door, and plunged into the rain, and further into the jungle, he halfheartedly wondered if he'd ever see any of them alive again. He silently hoped so, but as he ran off into the rainy jungle, he knew that he was just wishing against fate.

This was Survival of the Fittest - they were all dead already.

((Keith Jackson has left his friends behind and is continued somewhere else))

OOC: Temporary control of Boxer was given by Laz to get him out of the danger zone. Boxer carrying Alice was also done with permission.

Laz's PM wrote:Because I'm having a bit of writer's block trying to get Boxer out of there, I'll give you one-post control to get both Boxer and Darnell out of the Jailhouse.

I'm also seriously thinking of heroing Boxer in if Darnell gets rolled. Still working out the details.

Maka and I's IM session wrote:Kyle says:
Have a second? Writing the post in the Jailhouse and need to get your input. Laz gave me one-post control over Boxer to get him out of the jail, so I was thinking that Boxer would go to try to get Alice to come along, and if she didn't try to basically pick her up and carry her out. Are you alright with that?
Maka- Rage against the karaoke machine! O_@ says:
Sure sure
Maka- Rage against the karaoke machine! O_@ says:
Go ahead.

IC:

Darnell hadn't been expecting the pudgy form of Ed Sullivan to appear out of nowhere as he went for the door, so when Ed suddenly showed up in front of him asking to come in Darnell was understandably startled. Having prepared himself mentally to do so, he found himself stepping back and raising the Uzi up at Ed, his free hand grabbing the grip safety as his finger slipped inside the trigger guard and prepared to pull the actual trigger. Fortunately for Ed, however, Darnell didn't get past that point. Instead, he froze up, disgusted and shocked at himself for so easily pointing a gun, a tool for killing, at a classmate. Sure, he'd killed three others already, but it didn't feel right to him that he could so easily prepare to kill a fourth. Still, he didn't lower his aim, instead opting to leave his gun as it was in case Ed tried anything, though loosening his grip on the trigger so he couldn't accidentally shoot him.

This isn't right. Ed hasn't been on the announcements, he wouldn't hurt a fly! Why am I pulling a gun on him?! If anyone deserves to have a gun pointed at them, it's me!

Darnell wasn't sure what to say to Ed's request to be allowed entry, but Kallie and Boxer almost immediately spoke up, denying him. Really, as much as he hated to say it, Darnell had to agree. This far in, anyone could be playing, and if too many people joined the group they'd be a huge target. Not only would Ed be safer on his own, but Darnell wasn't going to allow anyone to attack Boxer, Kallie, Keith, or Alice, and if Ed made that prospect more likely he just couldn't afford to let him in.

Man, what happened to the Darnell that actually had some fucking compassion?!

As if the idea wasn't making him hate himself enough, his conscience joined in, berating him for leaving Ed in the rain, possibly to die, after holding him up at gunpoint. At the start of the game, Darnell would've let him in no problem, but that kept getting him attacked, and he was sure at least some of the many friends that had died were killed for just that mistake. Way too many of his friends had already been killed, and regardless of whether he survived or not he wasn't going to let one more die on his watch just because he was a bleeding hearted good samaritan.

Is there such a thing as being too nice, sometimes?

"Look, um..." Darnell started to say, trying to recall Ed's name and where he knew him from, "Ed, from Physics, right? Ed Sullivan? Anyway, I'm sorry, but we can't fit any more people here right now. Kallie and Boxer are right, we can't afford to have too many people, we'd be like fish in a barrel if we were attacked after that happened, and really I've been attacked by almost every single person I've come across, so I've got no idea how I can even trust you around me, or around my friends."

Darnell sighed, lowering the gun some as he stopped his particularly long winded comment, but he continued speaking after that pause if Ed hadn't started to talk. He was usually pretty quiet, so he wasn't used to long answers like he'd just spat out, and would've stopped for a second even if it weren't to see if Ed had a reply.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but I think we'd both be safer if you went your own way. The jungle's got some pretty good shelter from the rain, and it's huge so your odds of running into a player are low. Wish ya luck, man, but we can't afford to have too many people here, so yeah. We'd prefer it if you left."

The way Darnell worded the last bit would carry the implication that he'd force Ed to leave if he didn't go away willingly, but he really hoped he wouldn't have to do that. As odd as it sounded, he'd really had enough of violence for a while and would rather have at least one day where he didn't see someone hurt and/or killed, especially if he was the one doing the hurting and killing.

Just go, man. Trust me, you'll be better off.

Regardless of if Ed left or not though, Keith soon spoke up about how he had to leave, causing Darnell to turn around. His friend was walking out of the cell Alice sat in, looking deeply disturbed. This caused a look of concern to appear on Darnell's face, but before he could ask what was wrong he saw for himself. Alice was stroking Guy's head as if it were a small child, and just like Keith (unknown to Darnell) he found a chill going down his spine. He suddenly felt a great deal of pity for a girl who he'd been enraged at only a bit earlier, realizing that Guy's death must've made her crack entirely. Maybe she had witnessed it?

Nobody should have to see something that horrible, if Danya's description is anything to believe.

After quickly looking around the room at each of them, Keith took off before Darnell or anyone else could say anything, bolting out the door with surprising speed for his bulk (Keith was more toned as opposed to Darnell's stocky and powerful build, but he was still strong and muscular). Soon after, Keith disappeared in the treeline, and as Darnell turned to face out the doorway to call out and possibly go after him, he noticed one forboding fact.

It was dawn, day seven had begun. True to form, the speakers blared to life as Danya's voice rang out, cheerfully reading off every kill from the last day, and the sheer number was still horrifying to Darnell, even though part of him had been desensitized to hearing about the deaths. Turned out Blood Boy was the Nathanial Harris Danya had been talking about, and he'd died. The first person to kill in the game, and definitely not the last. Darnell didn't really know whether to be happy about that or not.

Blood Boy...damn, it's always the people I don't expect to play...

Darnell wouldn't have time to dwell on it as Danya reached the dangerzones, though, and his eyes widened noticably. The area his group was standing in was a danger zone, a building that would make their heads explode if they didn't get the fuck out immediately.

Shit, what do I do?!

Half of Darnell just wanted to turn around and run like Keith did, considering his back was already to the open doorway, but looking at their faces he knew he couldn't do that. What if they got killed? He'd never forgive himself for surviving. Of course, then he realized he was blocking the door while debating with himself and immediately snapped into action.

"Alright, you heard the man! LET'S MOVE!"

Moving with a panicked speed granted to him by his years of grueling training in football and wrestling, Darnell was stepping forward before his booming shout even stopped reverbarating in the jailhouse air, stooping down to pick up both his and John's pack (he was moving too quickly to discern them immediately and didn't want to risk taking the wrong one) and sling them over his shoulders before returning to full height, fixing everyone a quick look before starting to talk again. If the broadcast wasn't fucked (again, Darnell didn't know that it was) viewers would say he sounded almost like a drill instructor.

"Boxer! Quit being a fucking fifth wheel, get Alice and get the hell out of here, we'll bury what's left of Guy later! If she dies, I'm holding you responsible!"

Daniel "Boxer" Carvalho was taken aback for a second by Darnell's authorative tone, but even he knew that there was no time to contest the issue. Darnell may have been a cold blooded killer, he may have been the one who took Eddie away from him and ruined his face and sense of smell by literally smashing his nose, but he couldn't afford to dawdle, and the threat on his teammate's lips was readily apparent. He'd always found three things easiest to understand: orders, threats, and violence, so even as thick as he was he knew not to fuck around with what Darnell told him to do. Getting shot wouldn't help Eddie, though some part of him still refused to believe that there was nothing he could do to help Eddie anymore, that even if it were possible Eddie would've refused to be helped even up to the point where he'd forced Darnell to kill him in self defense.

Your time will come, pendejo, but not now. I may not be the brightest, but I'm not dumb enough to pick a fight with you while you've got a fucking machinegun and I've only got my fists.

As Darnell turned, Boxer moved into the cell towards Alice, narrowly avoiding banging his head on the doorway with a quick duck. Moving urgently but nonthreateningly towards the girl, he took the head from her and tucked it in his armpit before hoisting her up (easily, considering how much lighter and smaller Alice Jones was than the hulking Boxer Carvalho) onto his opposite shoulder, the pack also being grabbed in his hand as he walked out of the cell, ducking low enough for both of them to clear the doorway of the cell, making a run for the actual exit once he got the chance. Once he got to the treeline and safely out of the Jail area, he'd set Alice and her pack down, absentmindedly pass the head to her, and run off.

Darnell was ignoring this though, putting his hand on Kallie's shoulder for a second. The touch was urgent and quick, but not as forceful as his words had been earlier.

"Look, Kallie, I don't know if you still trust me, and to be honest at the moment I don't care since we can talk about it later if we get the fuck out of here on time, just run already, I'll be right behind you once everyone's gone, but I'm not going to leave you behind and risk your collar going off! You've got all your supplies, right?"

If she didn't, Darnell would go back to find and grab them, before handing them to her and repeating his instruction to get out. Of course, if she still hadn't left by that, especially if Boxer and Alice were gone, he'd let out an exasperated "fuck this" under his breath, too low for Kallie to really hear, and attempt to grab her hand and hold it as he himself ran out. If she had left, of course, that wouldn't be necessary and he'd just run after her, though slowing down for a second if Ed was still there to give him a "what the fuck are you still doing here?! RUN!" type look before again continuing to catch up. His delay would mean his collar started to beep just as he was exiting the area the SOTF systems defined as the "Jailhouse" (basically the building itself and the immediately surrounding area, including a bit of the treeline) but his speed meant he'd make it out fine.

Heh, all those sprints were good for something other than the football field after all.

An inappropriate thought, maybe, but a relieved man who'd been afraid for his life tended to think of inappropriate things.

OOC: Boxer, Alice, and Darnell continued elsewhere, if maybe not the same elsewhere. Same for Kallie I think, since Darnell's not leaving until she does even if that means he blows up, but I'll wait for Meg to write that post or at least say something on the matter.

Everything was…fine. As fine as that sort of situation could be, at least. Nobody looked even the slightest bit like they were going to hurt Alice. In fact, everyone seemed to be fairly understanding. That was a relief, but Edward found he had more urgent matters to think about. Butler hefted his gun, eyes full of shock. Maybe the boy thought to himself, it wasn't such a good idea to pop out in front of shell shocked teenagers equiped with firearms. The intimidating fullback's finger tightened around the trigger of the machine gun.

Squeezing his eyes shut, the eavesdropper prepared himself for what was about to come. Oh, shit. I'm really gonna' die, aren't I? Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I didn't even get to kill Wade. Sorry, Jodene.

But, the shots the boy expected never came. Opening his eyes, Edward found that while Darnell was still aiming for his chest, the football player seemed unlikely to actually pull the trigger. He's not gonna kill me? Shit, I musta' just startled him.

Almost immediately after the scare with Butler, the others spoke up. Alice asked if he was a friend. Opening his mouth to answer somewhat to the affirmative, Eddie was cut off as Majors spoke up. She and Carvalho were both set in their answers. Eddie wasn't needed.

Looking at the scene, Edward had to agree with them. Nobody was going to hurt Alice. They just wanted to take care of her. Shit, I'm losing it. Why would I think they would kill each other? They're all friends. Maybe, Alice isn't the fucked up one here. Edward almost missed Butler speaking up.

Edward's mouth nearly dropped open as he heard the words come out of the footballer's mouth. The bigger student actually knew his name. It should have been a disappointment that the others were asking him to leave, but Ed was glad. He didn't hold the group's decision against them; it was the only smart thing to do.

"I understand. It's ok, you don't really know me. I could be some raving psycho, right? Thanks for the advice and for…y'know, not shooting me. I'll leave now. But, Butler…just take care of these people, ok? You didn't kill me, which shows you're at least a decent guy. Don't…don't let the game fuck you up."

Taking his pack and turning to leave, Edward was surprised when Keith Jackson blew past him, easily pushing aside the obstruction. Struggling to keep his feet, Eddie watched as Jackson continued onward. Why was he leaving? Didn't he want to stay with his friends? Following close behind, the eavesdropper called out to the escaping boy. "Hey, where're you going? They need your help." Jackson was muttering something.

Straining his ears, Edward managed to catch the gist of it the disgusted mumblings. "Too much? How do you think they feel? You can't just leave ‘em… Hey, are you listening?!" Not bothering to so much as slow his stride, Jackson disappeared into the jungle.

Teeth clenched in frustration, Edward thought about going after Jackson, dragging him back and making him help Darnell protect the others. While debating with himself on the subject, the speakers burst to life, Danya's cheerful voice breaking through the quiet of the early morning. The same listing of dead students. Edward listened as names were rattled off like some kind of sick raffle. People even got a fuckin' prize. The whole thing was still stomach churning, but Edward couldn't bring himself to feel as shocked as he once had been. That was the game's purpose.

If you saw enough death, heard about your friends getting butchered like pigs long enough, got your arms covered in enough blood, it got easier. The more you saw and did, the more you could stomach. The more you could stomach, the more killing you could do. And more killing meant more ratings. Sick bastards.

The announcement of the Jailhouse turning into a Danger Zone snapped Eddie out of his musings. No time to think about that. Turning back at towards the jailhouse, Eddie heard Darnell telling everyone to get ready to move. I had you pegged wrong, Butler. All things considered, you're a stand up guy. If someone needs to win, maybe it should be you.

The thought of Darnell having to kill Alice, Carvalho, and Majors crossed Edward's mind.

Then again, maybe it would be more merciful if someone gave you a quick death. It might be easier on you.

Sighing at the hopelessness of it all, Eddie left the Jailhouse behind.

((Continued in Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer))

((Sorry, too exhausted to make a decent post.))

Hearing the announcement, Kallie fled the dangerzone along with the others.

((Continued somewhere.))

After Keith's penultimate warning, Evan had decided it would be in his best interests to get as far away from him as possible. Darnell showing up was the icing on the cake, and as soon as the jailhouse began to get crowded he found himself somewhat hypocritically backing away - out of sheer fear more than anything else. The fact that Keith had just blown John Cox to bits was probably what had done it, but now he found himself hiding in the bushes, waiting to see how everything played out.

"Selfish fucking prick. Doesn't he care about anyone other than himself? He's gonna get Kallie fucking killed."

After a few minutes elapsed, John found himself struggling with his conscience yet again. What the hell was he doing hiding in the bushes? Had anything he'd just tried to convince Keith of a minute ago been more than just hollow words? There was strength in numbers, wasn't there? If fear got the better of him now, how could he survive the rest of the game?

"Okay, that's it!"

Finally, Evan got up and started to make his way over towards the structure again. He got close enough to get a good peek in, but no sooner had he looked around did Guy Rapide's head roll across the floor towards the people gathered around there. Stunned, Evan stared at the thing for a moment, forgetting completely about the fact that everyone else was around him. They seemed not to notice him, anyway.

Evan, of course, was so entranced by the spectacle that the announcements that rang out over the island were drowned out by his own thoughts and cursing.

"Alice was carrying...Guy's head? What the fuck is wrong with her? And they're all just sitting there staring at her? I can't believe Keith was yelling at ME to get the fuck away from him and he's sitting there babysitting that crazy-..."

Before Evan could finish running through the many thoughts swirling around in his head, everyone was sprinting away from the jailhouse. Had Alice done something? Maybe they were all completely freaked out by her and left? At any rate, the building was empty now, and Evan had what he wanted all along. A safe place to hide.

Making his way into the structure, he decided to get as far away from where Guy's head had been as he possible could and started his ascent towards the second floor. It was much neater up here, and the stench of death that blanketed the island like an unyielding fog didn't seem to reach him...

Beep.

Stunned, Evan stood in place for a moment, unsure of what was happening.

Beep. Beep.

The first thought that flashed through Evan's head was how stupid he felt. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew this had to be too good to be true. Somehow he'd missed that the jailhouse had apparently been marked as a danger zone, which explained why everyone had hastened their escape and abandoned him. Turning on his heel, he bolted back in the direction of the staircase, bounding down them in twos...

...that is, of course, until he tripped over his now untied shoe and barreled down the last seven or eight steps ass over teakettle. Evan's head collided with the concrete hard, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sounds of the final warnings his collar gave off were lost to him, and a few seconds later the source of his imprisonment exploded, severing several arteries and sending his blood spraying all over the floor and first couple stairs of the jailhouse.

B76: EVANGELOS GAGE - DECEASED