The Secret Fate of All Life

The quad has fared much better with time than the rest of the northern town. The grass has overgrown, but is still a lovely shade of green, with several types of wildflowers growing around the park. A metal jungle gym, a metal slide, and four swings offer kids an afternoon of fun. There are still plaques around the park with instructions on several easy-to-do exercises.
Ciel*
Posts: 859
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:30 am

#31

Post by Ciel* »

"God damn it."

Ami turned away. She buried her one hand in her hair, hit her forehead with the other.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

She started shaking her head. Her eyes darted, staring straight at the same camera from earlier. The gun hit the back of her shoe but Ami did not turn again.

She killed Sara. She killed Maynard. And she had to kill Joachim. That was three people. She could justify Maynard, maybe, but not Sara and certainly not Joachim.

She did not want to consider winning. She knew that ever since she woke up on an abandoned street a week prior

But she did not want to lose, either. She realized that she pulled the trigger for the first time.

Ami... Ami didn't know. She didn't know.

So she stood there, shaking her head.
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Latin For Dragula
Posts: 1802
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:37 pm
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#32

Post by Latin For Dragula »

"Pick it up."

Joachim's eyes bored into Ami as his fingers tensed around the knife. She wasn't going to walk away. He wouldn't let her. One of them was going to die.

That was the nature of the game.

"You won. Pick it up."

He was supposed to lose. He was always supposed to lose. This was how it was meant to be.
[+] SotF Characters
[+] V5 Characters
ImageG056, Alda Abbate(Adopted)
It was difficult to nail down exactly when the anger started. Remembering a time when it wasn't there, coiled up and waiting to strike or alive and thrashing, was growing more and more challenging. It'd been with her for so long that it no longer felt like an intruder in her mind. It felt like a part of her.
ImageB062, Garrett Wilde
I multiplied. Then I subtracted. That's what we do now. That's how we keep the most people around.
ImageB014, Joachim Lovelace(Adopted)
Your turn.
[+] V6 Characters

ImageG037, Abby Floyd:This place was vile. Overwhelmingly, terribly vile. Character Theme: Everything's Alright-Emily Scholz
ImageB016, Ty Yazzie: You ever wonder if you still got a home to go back to? Character Theme: Warrior People-Medicine For The People
ImageIsaac Brea(Adopted from Espi): Isaac's well of fucks was bone-dry. Character Theme: The Whiskey, The Liar, The Thief-Patent Pending
ImageG011, Caedyn Miller:So...how did you wanna do this? Feeling an open casket? Or is that dumb? Nah, don't say it, that's dumb. We'll be soup by the time they send us home anyway. Character Theme: Sleep-My Chemical Romance
ImageG032, Irene Djezari(Adopted from CicadaDays): Death was not worse than Meme Hell. Character Theme: A Beautiful Lie-30 Seconds To Mars
[+] V7 Characters
ImageB066, Blaise d'Aramitz: I am not fucking dabbing on a corpse, Carl. Character Theme: The Nurse Who Loved Me-A Perfect Circle
ImageG032, Helena 'Hel" Fury: I hope my family’s waiting. The one I made out here. I hope you’ll be a part of it again. Character Theme: Fix Me-10 YearsImage
ImageB073, Jeremiah Anderson: "GO--GO--GO." Character theme: The Big Sleep-Murder By Death
ImageG066, Marco Hart: I'm not satisfied anymore. I don't think I'd want to be if I could. Character theme: Maurice's Monsters-Small Leaks Sink Ships
ImageG080, Nikki Nelson-Kelly: The fools. The morons. The aBsOlUtE cReTiNs. Character Theme: Movement-The Whip
ImageG062, Tonya Collins: The girl, the person, the thing, the shape on the screen, that wasn't her. Character Theme: Get Down-Isador
Ciel*
Posts: 859
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:30 am

#33

Post by Ciel* »

"Yeah."

Ami turned back to Joachim, shot him a sad look.

"I guess you're right."

Slowly, she picked the gun up with her right hand. Everything else went quiet, save for her breath and her own sputtering heart.

This wasn't like Maynard.

She had a choice.

She wasn't leaving the quad with clean hands. Ami spent her entire life keeping them clean.

She had to finish what she started. She owed that to Joachim.



"Do you - " Ami coughed. "Any last words. Do you have any last words?"

Ami did not want to burden herself. She made that mistake with Sara and Maynard.
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Latin For Dragula
Posts: 1802
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:37 pm
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#34

Post by Latin For Dragula »

Joachim sighed and rested back against the tree. His eyes kept watching her as she slowly picked the gun up.

As she turned back to him with a face weathered by the inevitability of the situation. It seemed she finally understood.

He didn't shut his eyes yet. He couldn't. She might still have second thoughts. He would keep watching her until the barrel came up and he could stare into it. Until her finger squeezed around the trigger, and her stance hardened. Until there was no turning back, and he was finally out of...

"Ami," he mumbled out softly, "what has a face but never cries?"

Then, he could shut his eyes.
[+] SotF Characters
[+] V5 Characters
ImageG056, Alda Abbate(Adopted)
It was difficult to nail down exactly when the anger started. Remembering a time when it wasn't there, coiled up and waiting to strike or alive and thrashing, was growing more and more challenging. It'd been with her for so long that it no longer felt like an intruder in her mind. It felt like a part of her.
ImageB062, Garrett Wilde
I multiplied. Then I subtracted. That's what we do now. That's how we keep the most people around.
ImageB014, Joachim Lovelace(Adopted)
Your turn.
[+] V6 Characters

ImageG037, Abby Floyd:This place was vile. Overwhelmingly, terribly vile. Character Theme: Everything's Alright-Emily Scholz
ImageB016, Ty Yazzie: You ever wonder if you still got a home to go back to? Character Theme: Warrior People-Medicine For The People
ImageIsaac Brea(Adopted from Espi): Isaac's well of fucks was bone-dry. Character Theme: The Whiskey, The Liar, The Thief-Patent Pending
ImageG011, Caedyn Miller:So...how did you wanna do this? Feeling an open casket? Or is that dumb? Nah, don't say it, that's dumb. We'll be soup by the time they send us home anyway. Character Theme: Sleep-My Chemical Romance
ImageG032, Irene Djezari(Adopted from CicadaDays): Death was not worse than Meme Hell. Character Theme: A Beautiful Lie-30 Seconds To Mars
[+] V7 Characters
ImageB066, Blaise d'Aramitz: I am not fucking dabbing on a corpse, Carl. Character Theme: The Nurse Who Loved Me-A Perfect Circle
ImageG032, Helena 'Hel" Fury: I hope my family’s waiting. The one I made out here. I hope you’ll be a part of it again. Character Theme: Fix Me-10 YearsImage
ImageB073, Jeremiah Anderson: "GO--GO--GO." Character theme: The Big Sleep-Murder By Death
ImageG066, Marco Hart: I'm not satisfied anymore. I don't think I'd want to be if I could. Character theme: Maurice's Monsters-Small Leaks Sink Ships
ImageG080, Nikki Nelson-Kelly: The fools. The morons. The aBsOlUtE cReTiNs. Character Theme: Movement-The Whip
ImageG062, Tonya Collins: The girl, the person, the thing, the shape on the screen, that wasn't her. Character Theme: Get Down-Isador
Ciel*
Posts: 859
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:30 am

#35

Post by Ciel* »

"... What has a face..." Ami blinked. "Is that a riddle?"

He was using his final words to ask her a riddle. Was he serious? He sounded pretty serious. Ami wasn't sure anymore. But it was his final words.

"What has a face but doesn't cry?"

She stared down at the gun in her right hand. She tapped her foot against the ground and canted her head in thought. She took a minute to think. What has no face but never cries? In the time that it took for her to think of an answer, Ami almost forgot that she was supposed to kill Joachim. Almost. Enough to be funny.

"A... cork?" Ami winced.
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Latin For Dragula
Posts: 1802
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:37 pm
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#36

Post by Latin For Dragula »

In some ways, their guesses had been equally poor. He couldn't imagine the face of a cork, but there might be some nuance he was missing. It didn't matter. Simply a reminder of better, clearer moments.

He shook his head, clearing the memory away. "Not important," he whispered. "You won. Do it."

Please.
[+] SotF Characters
[+] V5 Characters
ImageG056, Alda Abbate(Adopted)
It was difficult to nail down exactly when the anger started. Remembering a time when it wasn't there, coiled up and waiting to strike or alive and thrashing, was growing more and more challenging. It'd been with her for so long that it no longer felt like an intruder in her mind. It felt like a part of her.
ImageB062, Garrett Wilde
I multiplied. Then I subtracted. That's what we do now. That's how we keep the most people around.
ImageB014, Joachim Lovelace(Adopted)
Your turn.
[+] V6 Characters

ImageG037, Abby Floyd:This place was vile. Overwhelmingly, terribly vile. Character Theme: Everything's Alright-Emily Scholz
ImageB016, Ty Yazzie: You ever wonder if you still got a home to go back to? Character Theme: Warrior People-Medicine For The People
ImageIsaac Brea(Adopted from Espi): Isaac's well of fucks was bone-dry. Character Theme: The Whiskey, The Liar, The Thief-Patent Pending
ImageG011, Caedyn Miller:So...how did you wanna do this? Feeling an open casket? Or is that dumb? Nah, don't say it, that's dumb. We'll be soup by the time they send us home anyway. Character Theme: Sleep-My Chemical Romance
ImageG032, Irene Djezari(Adopted from CicadaDays): Death was not worse than Meme Hell. Character Theme: A Beautiful Lie-30 Seconds To Mars
[+] V7 Characters
ImageB066, Blaise d'Aramitz: I am not fucking dabbing on a corpse, Carl. Character Theme: The Nurse Who Loved Me-A Perfect Circle
ImageG032, Helena 'Hel" Fury: I hope my family’s waiting. The one I made out here. I hope you’ll be a part of it again. Character Theme: Fix Me-10 YearsImage
ImageB073, Jeremiah Anderson: "GO--GO--GO." Character theme: The Big Sleep-Murder By Death
ImageG066, Marco Hart: I'm not satisfied anymore. I don't think I'd want to be if I could. Character theme: Maurice's Monsters-Small Leaks Sink Ships
ImageG080, Nikki Nelson-Kelly: The fools. The morons. The aBsOlUtE cReTiNs. Character Theme: Movement-The Whip
ImageG062, Tonya Collins: The girl, the person, the thing, the shape on the screen, that wasn't her. Character Theme: Get Down-Isador
Ciel*
Posts: 859
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:30 am

#37

Post by Ciel* »

Ami frowned. She remembered. She really didn't want to remember but Joachim wasn't having any of it.

"Sorry."

And that was that. Ami brought the gun back up and pointed it straight at him, one-handed, though she was close enough that it did not matter.

Mr. Danya asked her, simply, 'Could you kill your best friend?' Joachim was no friend of hers. But she had an answer, all the same. All that mattered was whether it would be enough.

When Ami Flynn shot Joachim, she didn't do it for him. She didn't do it for Sara. She didn't do it for her family, for power, for religion. She pulled that trigger for herself and no one else.
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Latin For Dragula
Posts: 1802
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:37 pm
Contact:

#38

Post by Latin For Dragula »

For a moment, he wondered if it would really end. Would Ami really go through with it? Would the gun really fire? Or would it jam? Would the bullet be a dud? Would he have to get up once again, and leave another body in his wake? Would he win?

Then the muzzle flashed.

The sharp crack that filled the air matched the brief spike of pain in his chest.

It started to get dark.

In those last, few moments, his fingers traced across the grass and laced through Paris's cold, dead hand.

He wanted to hate him. He wanted to be glad he was dead. He wanted to take back every second he'd lost chasing the intangible dreams of this madman.

Still, as the last spark of life tapered out in Joachim Lovelace, he couldn't help but feel a brief taste of that compulsion that had drawn them together. In that final moment, there was no Ami. There was no game. There was no island. Just the two of them, side by side.

Just us. As it should be.

B014, JOACHIM LOVELACE: DECEASED

30 STUDENTS REMAINING
[+] SotF Characters
[+] V5 Characters
ImageG056, Alda Abbate(Adopted)
It was difficult to nail down exactly when the anger started. Remembering a time when it wasn't there, coiled up and waiting to strike or alive and thrashing, was growing more and more challenging. It'd been with her for so long that it no longer felt like an intruder in her mind. It felt like a part of her.
ImageB062, Garrett Wilde
I multiplied. Then I subtracted. That's what we do now. That's how we keep the most people around.
ImageB014, Joachim Lovelace(Adopted)
Your turn.
[+] V6 Characters

ImageG037, Abby Floyd:This place was vile. Overwhelmingly, terribly vile. Character Theme: Everything's Alright-Emily Scholz
ImageB016, Ty Yazzie: You ever wonder if you still got a home to go back to? Character Theme: Warrior People-Medicine For The People
ImageIsaac Brea(Adopted from Espi): Isaac's well of fucks was bone-dry. Character Theme: The Whiskey, The Liar, The Thief-Patent Pending
ImageG011, Caedyn Miller:So...how did you wanna do this? Feeling an open casket? Or is that dumb? Nah, don't say it, that's dumb. We'll be soup by the time they send us home anyway. Character Theme: Sleep-My Chemical Romance
ImageG032, Irene Djezari(Adopted from CicadaDays): Death was not worse than Meme Hell. Character Theme: A Beautiful Lie-30 Seconds To Mars
[+] V7 Characters
ImageB066, Blaise d'Aramitz: I am not fucking dabbing on a corpse, Carl. Character Theme: The Nurse Who Loved Me-A Perfect Circle
ImageG032, Helena 'Hel" Fury: I hope my family’s waiting. The one I made out here. I hope you’ll be a part of it again. Character Theme: Fix Me-10 YearsImage
ImageB073, Jeremiah Anderson: "GO--GO--GO." Character theme: The Big Sleep-Murder By Death
ImageG066, Marco Hart: I'm not satisfied anymore. I don't think I'd want to be if I could. Character theme: Maurice's Monsters-Small Leaks Sink Ships
ImageG080, Nikki Nelson-Kelly: The fools. The morons. The aBsOlUtE cReTiNs. Character Theme: Movement-The Whip
ImageG062, Tonya Collins: The girl, the person, the thing, the shape on the screen, that wasn't her. Character Theme: Get Down-Isador
Ciel*
Posts: 859
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:30 am

#39

Post by Ciel* »

Joachim wasn't Maynard. He was close, though, closer than she wanted to admit.

So when it was all over, Ami took her shirt out of his lap. She covered his face, letting it sit in such a way that it would not fly away if another gust of wind came through.

Then she finally crossed the street.

(Ami Flynn continued in Layabout.)
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