Bryan felt like, despite everything, he was doing his job as Tori's bodyguard well. The evidence being that she could sleep as soundly as she did, without one eye open, trusting him to watch over her. It hadn't been easy so far, and it didn't make a whole of sense, but it seemed like the right thing to do, protecting this person he'd just met a few days ago. He looked down at her, keeping his left arm propped over the back of the couch. The other hand held on tightly to the SPAS-12, and he was sure to remain vigilant even in his comfort.
"You're welcome," he mumbled softly.
~~~
((Continued from You Can Feel What You Don't See...))
Shae felt like a drowned rat. Sopping wet, hungry, exhausted; he was a textbook example. He kept a steady pace after the other boy a stretch ahead of him, marvelling at the fact that he hadn't been spotted throughout the duration of their trek to the school building. Then again, night had fallen, and the multitude of charcoal stormclouds in the sky would have all but blotted out the sun anyway.
Yes. His initial destination had been the mall complex. What a shame that, when he'd been so confident that he'd found the ideal shelter, another announcement had blared from a nearby PA to inform the island-dwellers that the treasure trove of goods and perhaps even makeshift weapons had become a dangerzone. He had stopped just short of the parking lot asphault to get the latest stats; it seemed quite neccessary to be aware of which students had been accumulating the most kills. It was true that some would only be out to defend themselves, and he would keep that in mind, but it was likely that those cutting through the competition like a knife through butter were to be dealt with carefully, assuming he could identify them in any way.
'Alright then,' he'd thought, a little discouraged by his misfortune but still quite at ease. He'd pretty much committed the island map to memory by that time.
'So the residential district is off-limits, as is the industrial sector. Those combined with the mall form a Berlin wall of sorts. I have to pick a side.' There was a hotel to the west, but how likely was it that after three days it was still the secure haven it had once been before? Chances were the first player to reach the building would have hoarded every room key for extra insurance.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shae had spotted another moving figure along the border of the parking lot, ducking behind an adjacent car so he wouldn't give away his position as he watched him or her. A 'him' actually, as he could just make out through both front-side windows of the automobile, and apparently he hadn't seen Shae at all. The stranger had eventually decided his direction (east) and begun to depart from the vast parking lot. Shae had felt compelled to follow him, from a distance of course, for two reasons: firstly, he'd seemed to have all the motivation of someone working at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and second, Shae'd had no choice but to head east anyway. So he'd tailed him, hoping that he wouldn't notice, and sure enough he hadn't. Shae had felt a bit like a lurking predator as he followed the other boy silently through open ground and pouring rain; it had been quite a tense pursuit, but at the same time...to be honest...exhilirating.
So here he was, approaching the school, pondering whether the time was right to close in on his 'prey'; he'd gained a little on him, and Shae still couldn't make out what the other boys small handheld weapon was. He had a vague idea, though.
'A handgun would present quite an advantage,' he thought, wrinkling his nose as he glanced at the Chinese sword in his hand.
'At the same time, though, there's a lot of risk involved...'
The dilemma was finally solved as the other boy had decided to take refuge in a small utility shed on the school grounds. Shae could hear the rusty door squeal open even from a distance, and as it made its way noisily shut again his assumptions were stoutly confirmed: ambush was now impossible. Although this was just as dissappointing as his attempt to utilize the mall to his advantage, he did find himself a little more at ease now that the threat of a firearm had been removed. Besides, the school building would be a much more suitable place to set up camp for the night, or at least until the rain stopped. Shae made his way to the front entrance, taking moderate caution as he let himself in quietly. He eased the door shut and was about to venture onward, but there was something lying at the mouth of the front hall that caught his attention.
A body. It was draped with a few jackets in what seemed like a half-hearted attempt to cover it. Shae got closer and inspected the lifeless form, removing the jackets one by one and trying to decide if this building was indeed safe. It was a girl, no one he recognized. Brown hair, hazel eyes, slightly plain features, wearing a purple sweater and jeans. Blood stained her front and had left a slight trail from the doorway to where she now lay. The blood hadn't dried yet. Taking that into consideration, coupled with the fact that she didn't seem bloated and gave off no foul smell, Shae concluded that her corpse was still fresh. The question still remained, though: where was her killer?
He crouched down and prodded the dead girl with the butt of his da dao, studying her closely. His curiousity winning out over his reluctance, Shae lifted her sweater up just enough to expose the mutliple puncture wounds that had apparently been the cause of her demise.
'Stabwounds...so if whoever did this is still around, at least they're probably not packing a firearm. That's good to know. The jackets...I doubt a psychotic killer would bother to cover her body...it might have been in self-defence, but I can't really be sure.' The idea arose to check if the coast was clear, and Shae decided that he would do so. It was, as far as he could tell. Even if anyone was residing in the school, he had a good view down the first hallway and there didn't seem to be an immediate front office; he could relax a bit, for now.
Another thought occurred, one that had been in and out of his mind for a while now. Strange as it was, the more Shae thought about it, the more it intrigued him. He knelt down again to look the dead girl over and bit his lip, deep in thought. He wasn't satisfied at all by what the terrorists had offered him, and after nearly four long days of this game he was really getting desperate. There were various alternatives around the island, but none that would satisfy his selective pallet. There was the moral dilemma to it, but then again right and wrong held little value in a place like this. Did it really matter?
No, it didn't, Shae finally decided. He tightened his grip on the handle of the Chinese sword, scratching his nose quietly for a moment with his free hand as he decided just how to go about doing this.
'Better get the pants off first,' he thought, placing his bag on the floor and crouching over her. He removed her shoes one at a time. Then he undid her pants and slid them off down her legs, tossing them to the side absentmindedly and leaving her in her white cotton panties.
'Looks good.' Shae set the da dao on the ground and patted up and down the dead girls left thigh with both hands. He had made up his mind; it was a dark notion, cutting up the dead body for food, but he was going to go through with it.
Grabbing the da dao back off the ground, Shae gripped the dead girls exposed hip and let the blade float over her thigh for a moment; it was very quiet. Taking a deep breath, he furrowed his brow and made the first cut in a forward sawing motion. Blood seeped from the wound, but he was unsure if it could be described as bleeding seeing as it had finished circulating some time ago. He drew the blade back towards him, widening the incision by nearly double the size. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before; almost mesmerizing. Shae cut further in, severing the femoral artery and spilling more blood down the inside of her thigh. Soon he could feel the texture fluctuating, and he found himself curious as to what the whole thing would look like when he finished the job. Perhaps he would have made a decent surgeon or something similar, because the procedure wasn't bothering him at all. He worked feverishly until he could cut no further; it was the bone, the femur. The strongest bone in the human body.
'I can't saw through this,' he thought, halting his work for a moment to think.
'Although I suppose I could, uh...it's worth a try.'
He stood back up, throwing his hips forward and stretching his back. It was especially convenient that he had such strong legs. Shae gritted his teeth as he raised his knee up over his work, and soon the rhythmic sound of his heel against the inanimate limb echoed down the front hallway, over and over again.