Survival Of The Fittest

"A fire?" Perante walked over to Chester, peeking a couple steps back as he pointed towards his map. Getting a first look at their surroundings, his immediate thought was that he wasn't sure how long of a walk that would take going from where they are now to the snowfield.

"Not a bad idea, because like, there's planes flying everywhere or something. And if this is being broadcasted, surely with the amount of people watching this at least one person has got to like, try and fly out and figure out where we are. And hey, there's snow, we know it's not a tropical island."

Right, let's talk about other obvious things that everyone else probably picked up on.

He only realized now that he unconsciously put his hand up to his collar. He put it back in his pocket.

The image of Mr. Ramos's death flashed again and again in his mind.

Escape wasn't impossible, he knew that. Vague things were heard about some of the previous kidnappings. But would it really be as simple as just lighting a fire and praying? It felt just as effective as going up to one of the cameras, and just asking politely if they could leave.

"It sounds a lot better than sitting here and dying."

Aion thought about the possibility of starting a fire and he was pretty sure that wouldn't really be enough. He squinted as he was staring at the area that Chester was pointing out and he noticed that it would definitely take them a while to get there. His eyes were blurring up a little and he suddenly stopped squinting, rubbing away the wetness from his eyes with the back of his hand. He had seen some of the other areas and he was thinking about them while Perante was talking.

"Fuuucck...." Aion murmured softly under his breath, frowning and he tapped his foot against the ground.

He slowly got up to his feet, trying to not move his head too much and he focused his gaze on the other boys.

"A fire might not be enough. We could try to search through the research station. Maybe we can find like, shit, uh.... a radio?" He suggested with a shrug of his shoulders, and he crossed his arms across his chest. "If there is one, that is. It might not work, but we have to try anything. Still, trying a fire can be a good way to start things tho."

He wished that he got more time to rest. Oh, fucking well, he guessed.

"Yeah, yeah. I agree with that. I rather not fucking die doing absolutely nothing."

A plan was formed by the others. Amos stood to the side and kept a cautious eye on Aion in case anything happened. He did not like him moving around like that, but if he was all set on this idea then Amos would have to tag along. He was not sure how the others were when it came to dealing with something like that.

He kept his arms crossed, His hands gripping them somewhat with cold fingertips brushing up against the flannel. The cold had settled in his bones and seemed to be here to stay if they were venturing again.

Amos grimaced at the thought.

"Where is this station?"

“My guess is we’re in the mining area,” said Chester.

It dawned on him that if they were going to enact this plan for an SOS fire, they’d have to do a lot (seriously, a lot) of traveling on foot. That would include traveling to places where they could find flammable material, stops to rest and take shelter from the cold, and getting to the best spot for the fire. Then again, who says they needed one specific spot for the fire?

“If the snowfield is too far,” Chester said, “We could find somewhere closer, like in the mining town. I’m sure there’s stuff to burn there.”

"A radio- Oh, wait, it's like a-" Well he felt stupid for a moment. It's a research station, of course there's gotta be like some tech or something. Perante may have had his phone taken away once he's gotten here but if they could actually manage to snag a radio, then... Okay, what to do afterwards felt a little out there, but that's a step in a direction. The right one though? Ehhhhhhhhhh-

It was sounding like there were two different ideas floating around though, either they burn some stuff or they grab a radio and signal for help. Problem was that it felt like that'd be more time than he'd like to travel to both and it really felt like they really had to be efficient with time if they wanted to do anything worth a damn.

"So like, what are we doing then?" He clasped his hands together. "Signal fire, or radio? Cause I really don't think both can be done today..."

Aion was wishing that he was at home and in bed right now. His head was still being a little bitch and he wanted to scream at it. Not like that would help him out. That would make him feel a lot fucking worse than he currently was feeling.

....

He blinked while the boys were talking about what they wanted to do, and he gritted his teeth. A bad habit.

....

"Maybe we can split up?" Aion suggested, while he was glancing around the room and trying to see if there was something that they could maybe use. "Chester, right? You could focus on the fire since you came up with it, right?" He then shifted himself closer to Amos. "And you can make sure I don't pass out like some weak bitch..."

....

"Even if this doesn't work, at least we are fucking trying..." He grumbled softly. "....Wait, should we... shit... wait, give me a moment.... Feeling a bit dizzy..."

He leaned over and placed his hands on his knees, letting out a few breathes. Then he leaned back up slowly and steadily.

....

"Fuck my life. R-Right. We need to meet up somewhere, right? Just in case, we don't meet until tomorrow or something. Danger zones and all that jazzy shit." He was rambling a little now and then he waited for their responses.

No answer about where it was. Amos clicked his teeth; it was whatever. He stood near Aion with his hands in his pockets as the plan had diverged into two lines of think for the same purpose. He was not keen on either, but he kept that to himself. The other three were keener on the idea/s, churning out suggestions and such. If they were all a hydra, they would be the one up front, and Amos would be the one, all the way in the back, unable to see everything.

That was fine by him; less likely his head would get cut.

Amos raised an eyebrow as he listened to Aion whose words were more concerning than anything else, but it was not what he was saying; it was the strength behind it.

The lack of it.

"Hey, hey!" Amos snapped his right finger repeatedly at Aion as he leaned over, hands on his knees.

He was well enough to keep talking, but that was not a sign of good health.

"Are you sure your alright? I'll stick with you through this, but you got to keep your eyes open."

Two lines for the same idea, and Amos did not like the sound of Aion playing with fire.

"If we're going to do this, let's pick the one that's less likely to end with you eating shit, the station, maybe?"

"Alright," Chester said, "So, I guess you two can travel to the research station, and me and Perante can gather supplies for the fire."

Chester turned his head towards Perante. "If he want to join me, that is. I don't want to force you into this."

Chester then looked over to Aion, who looked like he was in no shape to move. Dude probably needed to rest.

"We should probably wait until you're feeling better," Chester said, "I guess we coud stay here for the day."

Chester then remembered the orientation by the terrorists. There was a possibility this area could become a danger zone. And if Aion was still in rough shape tomorrow morning, that could be troublesome.

"If this place becomes a danger zone," Chester said to Amos, "I'll help you carry him."

-----

The next morning, Chester was awakened by the sounds of the announcements.

He held a thumbs up towards Chester. From the looks of it, he didn't seem against the idea of doing this whole fire thing.

That night, sleep was something he found hard to get.

No no, it wasn't like he didn't trust any of these people. He was just being cautious, that's all. Yeah. A lot of people on this island, if someone showed up it'd be nice to have someone awake.

That's how he justified it anyway, he had constantly tried going to sleep that night, but found himself drifting in and out of sleep. Waking up in thirty minute to an hour intervals (Not like he knew that specifically. Time for him to get a watch he guessed).

He just needed a walk or... Something. He didn't fucking know. He told himself to be back before anyone noticed.

A bit slow he was being, because by the announcement the only trace that Perante had been here was the duffel bag labeled S027.

(Perante Losoa continued at Tranquility.)

Aion had wanted to get going, but he knew that he shouldn't be so stubborn. The exhaustion was too much for him to keep on his feet the whole time. He sat back down on the chair, knowing that it might not be that comfortable to rest on. He listened to the others talking and he almost wanted to move off out of embarrassment about the comment to carry him around. But in a way, Chester was right. He had no idea if his condition would get better or worse. So, there was no point in him having a bitchy fit about it.

----

Time went by.

Aion woke up in a bit of a groggy state of mind when he heard the announcement going off. Listening to the terrorist was making him boil with anger on the inside. Just hearing the names of the victims and the killers were making him feel sick to his stomach. He wasn't close to the people who died, and he wasn't close to the ones who killed them either. Still, it was all so fucked up. He knew what it was like to see a dead body. He remembered his brother's funeral. The open casket....

No. Stop thinking about that.

He needed to think about the now. Not the past.

He didn't even notice that one of them was missing yet.

"Dammit..." He let out a frustrated sigh after the announcement ended and he crossed his arms across his chest, leaning back in the chair with a grumpy look on his tired face. "...So many people already? Fuck that shit...!"

The plan, for the time being, was two groups, him and Aion in one group, Chester and Perante in the other. Cover more ground like that. And if it all went wrong, maybe not all of them would... fail.

They were staying in this place for now, and Amos was fine with that. Looking outside, he did not want to trudge through the cold again, especially with Aion in his current condition. That could wait till the morning after he'd seen how he was.

----

Amos slept well, all things considered. A lot of tossing and turning, but in a place like this, that was to be expected. The hardest part had been closing his eyes; a part of him wanted to keep them open, just in case. He did not have a huge amount of trust in their ability to defend themselves here.

But he got himself some nice shut-eye after he convinced himself that everything would be fine. That was until the morning when the announcements came on.

Amos had his eyes shut and could sigh; he kept them closed as he listened as the voice recounted all the dead and their killers. Trying to remember their faces, burn them into his mind.

It confirmed one of his worst fears, something that had stuck with him ever since Aion got hit in the head a day before.

Amos was not surprised that some of his classmates were handling this in a shorthanded manner that was going to hurt others and backfire on them. They had been lucky it only resulted in injury in Aion's case. But it made it clear that they were running on a timer now; his classmates could be an obstacle to what they were trying.

He could hear Aion reacting, not much happier about it than he was. Amos could only nod at the statement.

He opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly and rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the morning gunk.

"What a mess."

Listening to the announcements felt disheartening. At the same time, it was important to note who had killed their fellow students, that way they could be avoided. Another important note was that the cave area was declared a danger zone, so that needed to be avoided too.

As much as Chester didn’t want to believe it, he could imagine that being put in a death game against your will would make some people crack.

“Damn,” Chester sighed, “This sucks.”

Chester noticed Perante was missing. He hoped wherever he was, he was okay and not in any danger. Chester needed to refocus his efforts on the plan. The announcements might have also given him extra motivation to put it into motion.

“Listen,” Chester said to Amos and Aion, “I’m gonna find Perante, and maybe get this plan for a fire going. You two good here?”

Aion noticed suddenly that Perante was not there and he almost thought that the dude had ditched their asses for a few seconds. That was until he saw that Perante's bag was on the floor and he was a bit relieved. As it seemed that Perante would come back here, but it did seem like Chester wanted to go out there on his own to find the other boy. Aion didn't want to get on him for that. Shit! He almost thought that Perante abandoned them anyway!

"Uh, well, shit. Yeah, go and find him and give him back his shit." He moved slowly to where the bag was and held it out to Chester for him to take it. "Yeah, I think we're both good right now. While you go and find Perante to get the fire going, we can go and see if we can find a radio or anything else that can help us out at the research station. R...Right, Amos?"

He decided to take another pill as his head was starting to pound itself to a pulp once again.

One of them was gone, apparently overnight. Their bag was still here, so maybe they were just out for a walk or something? A bit dangerous given the environment they're in. Chester was getting ready to leave to find him.

"I think we'll be fine; you find your friend and make sure he's alright," Amos said before standing up, reaching up, and stretching his arms with a grunt.

If Chester was going to go off and find Perante, should they stay here? Make sure they were safe, or get while the going is good? He pondered this as he felt something in his right shoulder.

Chester took Perante's bag from Aion and picked up his own. Just as he put his hand on the door handle, he turned back to the two boys.

"Good luck guys," said Chester, forcing a smile, "Stay safe."

And with that, he set out.

(Chester Folk, continued elsewhere...)