Survival Of The Fittest

Willow had one skill that made her a good little henchman: she was just that good at compartmentalizing things. Everything was a little box that she pulled out whenever it was needed. Whether it was beating someone unconscious or trying to get a free sandwich, Willow worked the same. If she wanted something, she would do whatever it takes to get it. While guilt was part of her vocabulary, especially when it involved bystanders, Willow’s emotional range was quite limited. When the box was back in the storage room, it was as if nothing had happened. Whatever emotions or actions or thoughts or ideas she had when she was in a particular state were now in the back room, ready to be brought back whenever Willow needed them be around.

Right now, she didn’t need them so Marco was in trouble. The only thing she could think of was taping the boy to the tree and removing him from the game temporarily. His insults didn’t hurt Willow because she knew she had deserved it but she didn’t consider taping both his nose and mouth so he would suffocate.

It was only an afterthought after having tied up the boy to the tree. It was only the first day and she already went through quite a bit of tape, she couldn’t afford wasting it on that kind of kill. The needle gun would be the next viable option, but Sierra didn’t want her to kill people like that so she couldn’t quite kill him. Marco was now mentally out of Willow’s reach. He was perfectly safe from her.

Willow got back to Sierra. She had the gun and Willow pointed the bags. “I’m done.” She said on a quiet tone. “I never taped anyone to a tree so I’m not sure I did a good job.”

Willow looked at her wound. She decided this would be the right moment to sanitize it and patch it up again. “I’m just going to bandage myself up, but I’ll keep a look for people. You know.” She looked at the forest and gestures toward the possible enemies laying inside. “Arjen and all.”

In the time it took Willow to tape Marco to the tree, Sierra manage to collect their own bags and was in the process of dividing the supplies between them. She figured splitting the supplies between them would be easy as between the two of them, they could each take one of the bags supplies each and divide the third among themselves. Sierra was opting to keep the gun with her, so she had to look through the bags to find Marco, which fortunately she manage to find on the second bag. She collected of everything of value in the bag and placed it into her own. But the time she got to putting supplies into Willow's bag, Willow was done with the task Sierra had given her.

"Sounds good to me. Here." she said as she pulled a first aid kit from one of the bags she was raiding and tossed it over to Willow before returning to her own task. Willow could keep that kit, Sierra figured. They had new stuff and the divide made sense as now they would each have three.

Sierra opened one of the three bags, taking its supplies and putting them into Willow's bag. Judging by the lack of weapon, she assumed it was Arjen's. Funny, she only just learned his name after the fact. She wondered if Willow knew him before all this. It as a likely possibility. Sierra knew quite a few people in her class but she would be hard press to remember everyone's name. They all just sort of existed in the background while others took center stage, so to speak.

Once she was done, she closed Willow's bag and handed it back to her. She picked up her own bag and the third unchecked bag.

"Alright, let's get going." she said as she adjusted the bags around her shoulder. "We'll divide up the third bag later, but right now i just want to get out of here before someone shows up."

She gestured in a direction away from the cliff, away from the forest that Arjen ran into, and began walking. She spared Marco a glance and grimaced. She didn't want to do this, but she kept telling herself that at the end of the day it needed to be done. She just wish she could believe it herself.

((Sierra Cook continued in Left, Right, Left, We All Fall Down...))

Sierra had already decided the share of the loot, and it annoyed Willow. She wanted to have a say in the matter, there were things she wanted. For example, she wanted their shampoo, their conditioners, their beauty products in whatever shape or form they were, clothes that were too tight but not too loose. Sierra didn't quite understand Willow's need for grooming producys. The lack of them would drive her insane, but they might be something that Sierra saw as superficial.

They need to have a talk. ASAP.

Anyways, patching her wounds were not as annoying as she thought it would be. It was true that every single time she looked at her chest, it reminded her how lucky she had been. A little bit more to the left and the needle would have went through her lung. Other than the constant reminder of her failure through the pain the wound emitted, she was doing fine when it came to that. She shallowed some pain killers as Sierra started to speak.

As she walked away, Willow was back in a familiar situation. She could just kill Marco right here, but it would bite her in the ass because of her allyship. She should kill him because he was now a weak tiny boy without any way to defend himself, and she would be doing him a favor by killing him while he was unconscious. That's how she wanted to die: unconscious and without pain. However, she couldn't do that just yet. Willow needed to wait for another day or two.

"Alright, bye bye Marco." She put the shank next to him. "It's a gift, so appreciate it." There. Better. Now, she didn't feel so bad by leaving him.

((Willow continued here))

The only thing worse than waking up from a good dream into a shitty situation, is waking up from a good dream into a shitty situation and not remembering how you got into it. One moment, Marco was tied to a chair, getting grinded upon by best cat boy Chat Noir, then the next moment he woke up, tied to a tree, not getting grinded upon by best cat boy Chat Noir. Motherfucker...

He looked around and everything looked fucking weird. Like the world was cut in half weird. One side looked pretty much normal, the other side looked like a hellscape during midnight, being all dark, foggy and red. He turned his head to look around, and no matter where he turned, everything was half and half. He looked up at the sky and screamed and slammed his eyes shut, as an intense pain filled the right hand side of his face, as the hellscape world lit up into nuclear fire and atomic lightning.

Marco remembered now. That bitch Sierra jammed her taser into his eye and fucked his shit up, turning his eyeball into a fucking Kaleidoscope. Now he had one good eye, and one fuckshit eye he could barely see out of. Fuck. Marco tried to shuffle himself out of the tape, but that just wasn’t happening. He looked and saw a glass shiv, next to his foot...

Those stupid fucks forgot one of their weapons! Haha! Fucking idiots! Now he could cut himself loose and hunt them down for fucking him up and taking his shit!

Marco slid the blade with his foot until it reached his hand. He grabbed hold of the duct tape handle, and tried to reach the blade up to cut the tape. He couldn’t reach it.

Okay, yeah, Marco got it now. They left it there on purpose, just to taunt him. You know what that means? Yep. He was forced to rely on someone to cut him loose. Marcus Volker was forced to rely on someone from GHHS. Marcus Volker’s life was in the hands of his classmates now. Yup. You know what that means.

Marco looked up to a nearby camera, nodding. He had no words to say to properly describe the amount of seething he was currently feeling. He was at an absolute loss of words. Marco gave a quiet chuckle. He stopped. He inhaled.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

[[Arjen, Enter]]

That was Marco. Arjen's footsteps followed the scream. When Arjen walked out of the trees, he was visibly shocked to see what they had done to him. Arjen talked without looking him in the eyes- eye.

"I-I think they are gone. We're safe now."

Marco had returned to silence again as a familiar voice spoke up behind.

You have to be kidding. There’s no fucking way. He actually came back. That was...

Okay that was fucking infuriating. Arjen could have very well gotten the drop on the both of them with his fuckhueg sword and Marco wouldn’t have had to worry about being taped to the tree. Sure, he’d have still probably gotten a damaged eye out of it, but he wouldn’t have had as much damaged pride.

What Arjen had said next awakened the inner blessings of the blood God himself within Marco, jumpstarting the transformation into a greater demon of Khorne.

“I think they are gone. We’re safe now.”

We’re safe now. We’re safe now.

We’re safe now...

Marco’s eyelid twitched, and his teeth chattered. He inhaled. He exhaled. He inhaled. He exhaled. He inhaled until it felt like his lungs were going to burst.

“I... I’d really like it if you cut me loose, please.”

"I can't."

Safety reasons. Arjen was aware that he would be the one in danger if he dared to let Marco loose.

"I, just, wanted to apologise to you for my childish behaviour. I got some time to recollect and I also am sorry for not stopping them. Now, I would too, but earlier I was in a panic, you know?"

Arjen tried looking into Marco's face to show a friendly smile of empathy and pity.

"We cool?"

“What?”

Did Marco not hear Arjen right? Was he hallucinating this? He had to be. There was no reason for him to not cut him loose.

...Marco listened to his spiel and realized that he was in fact hallucinating this. He saw Arjen just give their shit up and run off like the poon he was. Everything Arjen said before that was self centered and entitled and he had no motivation to help return the bags that didn’t belong to either of them. In fact, Kelly’s was the first he handed off.

Now suddenly he comes back, and is seemingly apologetic about the whole thing, willing to turn a new leaf? Yeah that was already improbable, and the fact that he turns a new leaf but was unwilling to help? Yup, Marco was dreaming again. He’d humor him.

“We’re cool if you get me off of this fucking tree.” Marco stared up at Arjen.

“Otherwise if you could turn back into Chat Noir that’d be great. I’d rather not have my subconscious dress up like you to mock me over my current situation.”

He had to be a hallucination right? There was no way in hell Arjen would come back just to tell him to fuck off, right?



Right?

"I really want to, but I can't help you there."

Arjen shrugged.

"But you cannot blame me for what I did, I didn't act wrong."

Marco didn't seem that angry. Doesn't mean he's not dangerous anymore, but it gave Arjen the impression that Marco was not that angry at him. Marco had other problems. The wounds, for example. Arjen doesn't feel great seeing Marco like this. It was a pityful sight. But it felt great seeing how he dodged a bullet, because Arjen was acting like Arjen and not like Marco.

"You know, you should've ran away, too. Could've avoided this. Sometimes flight is better than fight. Doesn't make me a coward. Juliette ran away, too! It's totally natural. But you ain't mad at her for running away."

Arjen was angry.

Okay.

Okay. Marco got it. Marco understood what Arjen was getting at. “Fuck Juliette. If she was here, I’d call her a coward too.”

“So you’re just gonna leave me here, right?” Marco swallowed his spit. His chest raised and lowered as his face changed color. “Why did you come back then? Wanted to see if I was dead? Is that it? That’s what you were hoping for right?”

Marco smiled. “I’m happy to disappoint you there. What the fuck do you want from me? You enjoying this ‘haha I told you so’ shit? You knew Sierra was there. The moment I turned my back to check on you, you saw her, and you didn’t say shit. You left me for the wolves. It isn’t the fact you ran that makes you a fucking coward. It’s the fact you sold me out first thing. Didn’t even think of any other options, you used me and then you left.” Marco’s fake smile turned into a scowl.

“You know the worst part about it?” Marco looked Arjen in the eyes, and that motherfucker better not look away. “You know as well as I do, that I wouldn’t have did you like that. If our rolls were reversed, I would have shot both of those bitches dead to help you. Even when you were giving up on yourself, I didn’t give up on you, and you do me like this?”

“I’m willing to forgive you this one last time. Cut me loose, or get the fuck out of my sight.”

Arjen looked away.

"I returned to save you. I owe you that."

Guilty conscience. He had been hiding in a bush nearby prepared for Sierra and Willow coming to get him. He was not sure how long he hid there, but it was a longass time until Marco screamed.

"But it looks like you're safe now. So my job is done. I can leave again. Because I'm free to."

Part of Marco's words were true and they hurt. Arjen was still upset enough that he had to comment back on the accusations. Marco used HIM. He didn't choose to be with Marco.

"You think it's so easy being in the situation? You really wouldn't be shocked? You would be able to think straight like a soldier? Shot them, really? What are you talkinabout? You were the one with the freaking gun. I had the bags. You had one job. Jesus Christ."

Arjen still was not behind Marco's survival plan or their duo, but blaming Marco felt really good. Catharsis.

“I was walking into an ambush and you didn’t do shit! You could’ve called out or ran forward and helped!” Marco didn’t know what type of mental gymnastics Arjen used to justify what in the hell he was doing, but Marco did not care for it at all.

“I’m not safe. I’m taped to a fucking tree. There’s literally nothing I can do if someone wants to walk up and kill me. There's nothing I can do if someone wants to do worse! But whatever... yeah leave.”

Marco was tired of Arjen’s bullshit. He shouldn’t have shown up in the first place if this was his plan. “ You’re complicit in whatever happens next. If I die this shits on you. You may as well take your fucking sword and kill me with it right now...”

Disclaimer: Marco really hoped Arjen wouldn’t take his sword and kill him.

“So what are you gonna do? Are you gonna quit being fucking petty and get this shit off of me, or are you gonna take responsibility of your actions?”

Marco was really, really, tired of Arjen’s shit. “Or are you just gonna wander off and not think about it and hope something else makes the decision for you?”

Arjen could've done that, Arjen should've done that! Fuck this bullshit. This was supposed to be a fun trip.

"Your scream was pretty loud, so someone will come. But you're way too fucking paranoid. No one will come to fucking kill you. Not everyone is bad and your hostility is your own problem."

Arjen felt hurt and confused by this convo.

"I got to go. Bye."

[[Arjen, Exit]]

“I hope you can explain that shit to Kelly if she asks you where her shit went.”

NoT EvERYoNe Is bAd. yoUr HoSTilItY iS yOuR oWn PROblem. Yeah, that’s all nice and dandy Arjen, that’s funny too. That’s a good joke. That’s funny coming from the guy who spent the last four hours being all doom and gloom. Hell, let’s forget that part for the moment.

That’s hysterical coming from the guy who DIDN’T get mugged for all his shit and given permanent eye damage. That’s funny coming from the guy who watched all that shit happen. “Fuck you, Arjen. You’re full of shit.”

If Marco got out of here, he was certain he was gonna kill Arjen. At the very least he was gonna fuck his shit up, and turn him into that sniveling worm he was back on the yacht.

“I’ve got nothing left to say to you. You’re hopeless and I hope I never see you again; for your sake.”

This was what he gets. Marco tries to help people, and HE gets his shit fucked up for it. He should have left Arjen curled up on the boat. He should have said fuck it and told him to figure it out. He shouldn’t have cared if Kelly got her shit back, or if she starved or drowned.

Maybe that was a lesson. Maybe that “durr hurr hurr we’re free” meme was right. Maybe people are just naturally shitty, and he shouldn’t give a fuck about being nice.

Marco slid the ceramic shiv into one of the belt loops on the back of his pants.

((Adonis Cohen continued from “Sing us a song of the century…”))

Adonis had wondered off from where Angie and Myles were resting and he had wanted some time to himself to look through the 'weapon' that he had gotten. He didn't want to say that he didn't trust them. He just thought that it would be better to look through it himself for the time-being. There was only one other person that he would want to show this to. He hoped that he was safe out there somewhere and Adonis wanted to find him soon.

Adonis was sitting on the ground, taking a bite out of a dull cracker and he was looking through the binder that he had gotten as a weapon. A weapon that was not to be used for combat, but for knowledge. He had to remember 159 students. All of them were here on this island that he had no clue where it was. In the middle of nowhere? Adonis let out a soft sigh as he finished off his cracker and he was about to look through the pages-

But then he heard a long 'Fuck!' and he jumped up to his feet quickly. He had recognized the voice and he put the binder back into his dufflebag. He put his belongings away and he moved forward with a more determined pace of walking towards where he had heard the voice coming from. He then heard two voices talking more as he got closer a while later and he hid behind a tree in waiting.

After a while, he saw a boy from behind leaving with a sword and Adonis waited a few more moments. Then he stepped out into the open, turned his head to his left side and he let out a startling gasp, dropping his dufflebag to the ground. He then rushed to the boy who was tied up to a tree.

"Marco! What happened to you? Who did this?!" Adonis asked in a worried tone of voice and he noticed that Marco's eye was pretty messed up. "G....God...."