Survival Of The Fittest

Well, everything seemed to be going alright, even though the possibility the map was faked was a very real one. John seemed to be like a good guy to have backing you in this kind of situation, and hopefully Jay and Maria would be just as easy to get on with. Sunil decided to put the map in his pocket (along with the compass) and do one last check in his daypack to see if he had a weapon. Maybe it was something stupid like a string or an extra cracker or something. Regardless of whether he had a weapon or not, hopefully the rest of John's little group would come back soon and they'd all be able to come up with an efficient and clever plan to get out of this, or at least survive as long as possible.

As if on cue, the other, larger part of John's group came back from their bag-hunting expedition at that exact moment. And before the boy could even register their presence, Jay had already started shouting and spazzing out like Sunil was the madman waving a gun about. Before Sunil could react to this, let out a yelp, form a coherent thought or even finish changing the expression on his face, he heard a distinctive click.

Jay had pulled the trigger.

The bastard.

Judging by the fact it was only a click, not a bang, Sunil guessed the gun wasn't loaded. The fact he didn't have any glaring holes in him supported that theory, and as what had happened slowly began to sink into Sunil's mind, he found himself focusing his eyes, ears and thoughts solely on Jay, the boy who very well could have killed him there and then if he hadn't been so lazy or incompetent with loading his gun. Shaking from fear and shock, Sunil stuttered, trying to form a response to the barrage of questions from this Jay guy. All he could do was squeeze onto his bag to try and stay as calm as possible.

After what seemed like a century, a painful, gruelling, confusing century, Sunil's thoughts settled down enough that he was able to notice that John had obviously been pissed off by Jay's trigger-happiness and had his shotgun aimed at Jay. His mouth agape and his body quivering, Sunil was finally able to muster up the strength to speak, quietly muttering "What the fuck was that for? All...all, I did was just find a classmate and talk to them." Sunil paused to let a nervous chuckle, his eyes concentrating on a rotten leaf on the ground, his emotions running all over the place and small parts of his mind still unable to accept the reality of what had just transpired.

Sunil continued, his voice slowly becoming louder and more confident as the normally meek boy subconsciously realised that Jay was unable to do much with an unloaded gun in his hands and a shotgun in his face, and anger began to take over from the shock and fear, "You know, because this is a fucked up situation, all I did was talk to him and then you come back here and see me talking to him, and like a fucking retard, you decide to fucking spazz out and fucking shoot me. And the only reason I'm still alive, is because YOU'RE too fucking stupid to recognise that in a situation like this, loading a gun is quite a fucking good idea, and shooting random people willy-nilly like some paranoid fuck is not gonna help you survive for very long." By now, Sunil was standing up, his daypack dumped, clumsily at his feet, his fists flenched, his face twisted into an expression of pure fury and his voice as loud as possible without full-on shouting.

Click.

Jojo thought things were going so well until that fateful moment, he found a friend, had a goal, and now he could think. So why did it all have to go downhill so quickly?

Shit shit shit shit, Jay's panicking, the other guy is panicking...and Maria is leaving? Ok she's not important right now, gotta defuse this situation before anyone ends up dead.

"Uh I-" Jojo began before Sunil picked up steam and tore Jay a new one.

Damn...ok he's pissed. Did Jay really mean to shoot? I doubt it, he's normally way too mellow to do something like that. He wouldn't be trying to kill everyone right? He's a friend so he wouldn't do that would he? Can't think about that now, gotta get back to stopping this!

Jojo hoped he wouldn't regret this decision later and quickly ran in front of Jay and spread his arms to shield Jay from the others.

"Everyone just shut up and calm down!" Jojo quickly looked back and forth between the two and hoped Fatty John wasn't an ironic nickname as he looked towards the boy with the shotgun. "Hey, you're John right? You have a class with Jay right? He said he wasn't playing right? Shouldn't you know him well enough that he would stay true to his word?" Then he looked towards Sunil, "And whoever you are, I'm sorry Jay almost shot you. But he didn't, whats done is done. If we stay here like this we'll just attract the people who really want to kill us!" After he finished with Sunil, Jojo turned his head towards Jay and whispered, "For the love of God, straighten up and say something! I was about to lose it before you found me, I don't want to be alone like that again!"

I think they're mad at me.

Jay flinched back as John began to yell and raise his shotgun. A yelp escaped his mouth as the boy aimed it towards him, spittle flying from his mouth.

Yes. YES HE IS MAD. HE IS MAD AND THIS TIME IT'S A LOADED GUN.

Whilst the majority of people would cut and run at this moment, staring down the barrel of a loaded weapon, Jay stood firm. Unflinching he looked on, watching the gun bob, about every so often falling on him before bobbing away again. Some might think that Jay was making his peace with God, unwilling to look away from his inevitable doom. Some may say that he was rather plotting the perfect moment to leap forward and snatch the gun away from John, beat his face in and blow the unsuspecting Pakistani Boy next to him away before he could retaliate. In reality, Jay couldn't hear most of John's tirade, drowned out by inner thoughts. Jay was focused on one thing, and one thing only.

Clenching his ass cheeks as tight as he could manage to prevent any shit from involuntarily flying out.

Jay finally was snapped out of his terror induced state by the other boy finally speaking. He was angry, yes, very angry. And why wouldn't he be? A few moments ago, Jay had nearly killed him.

Oh wait, this guy isn't a Paki. He sounds Indian. I wonder if he sounds that way when he's not yelling at me, or maybe his accent only shows when he's angr-WHATTHEFUCKHE'SGOINGTOKILLYOUJAYSTOPDOINGTHAT

Jay put his hands out in front of him and began to wave them rapidly, as if he were trying to signal to a Driver to slow down his impossibly fast race car before he slammed full into him. He bobbed from side to side erratically, trying to keep the Shotgun sights off him.

This was in that movie! That one movie, when he bobs and weaves and the bullet miss him because he can't get a good bead on him, besides Shotgun Pellets don't go that far, it's just like in the video games, that one guy told me it that one time, except he was drunk and he was probably high, and I think he ended up driving his car into a ditch later that night when I was walking with Jojo and Alex but I can't remember because he's got a gun pointed at me, but it's like in that movie with the British Gangsters where he bobs and weaves or something and he doesn't get shot and I REALLY HOPE I DON'T GET SHOT and they're really mad at me but I don't even have a gun I dropped it over there besides it's empty and fuckin' crap what do I do what do I do what do I do what do I DO, DISTRACTION GOTTA DISTRACT THEM MAKING THEM NOT SHOOT ME-

"GUYS GUYS, LOOK, you're seriously, if you just think for a second I like, no it's not what it looks like, you scared me that's all and I knew it wasn't loaded, it was just like, a bad joke, well not a bad joke, I didn't know but it was just reaction, y'know all these games n' shit CoD is all like, shoot on sight, shoot the terrorists! Not that you're a terrorist dude, I'm not saying all Indian guys are terrorists I'm just saying you startled me and I didn't want to get shot so it was instinct but I knew I couldn't hurt you because I'm not like that, you're right John I'm not like that I- I- I- they can back me up, they know I'm not like that, Jojo and Mari-"

He yelled at a breakneck pace, his voice scratchy and barely legible, overridden by the sheer panic he felt.

Jay turned his head at the sound of running. Maria was running. His eyes bulged in fright. He glanced back towards John and continued his erratic dance.

She ran away from me. Fuckin' crap this is not good. This is not good.

"MARIA wait! Fuck, wait! No, nonono I didn't shoot, I tripped, I didn't mean to fire it, just startled, look guys, you know me, you know I'm chill, I'm not gonna hurt you guys, I'm not gonna do that, it was just an accident, we got bigger things to worry about then an accident, you know it's me, I'm Jay, I'm not gonna hurt anyone!"

How the fuck do I talk when my throat is hurting so fucking bad did I swallow a fucking cat and what the- the fuck did- where- Maria, talk about Maria talk about something else, if you talk about something else they won't want to shoot you and that's good that's VERY GOOD because I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GET FUCKING SHOT keep bobbing my head, just like that, keep jittering around so they don't know where the fuck I'm at, I DON'T THINK THIS IS HOW IT WORKS FUCKING CHRIST SHE FUCKING RAN AWAY THAT'S LIKE, GUILTY RIGHT THERE AN- FUCKIN' FUCK FUCK...

"Maria! Guys, we can't just stand here with guns pointed at each other when Maria just ran off, she's probably scared an', y'know we can't leave her out there alone, you know me it was an accident, John, shit, a few minutes ago, I got them to calm down, that crazy fuckin' firecrotch kicked you in the back, I ran out because I know you're a good guy, can you put the gun down? I know you're a good guy, I ran out to help you, you just gotta trust me, I didn't aim it at you anyway, I aimed it at him, but that's kinda a moot point big fuckin' deal whopididdy-do same thing I know I know! I'm- I'm- point is, I'm just jittery I didn't kill you with Daniel, I didn't- I didn't mean anything now, he just surprised me, you can understand right?! Right John!? Ri- Rig-R-..."

He was left gasping for air as he stuttered to a stop. Jay looked around the clearing, at his assailants. Was it really going to be like this?

He's not gonna buy it. He's gonna shoot me, right here, right now in front of Jojo an' this kid, fuckin' shit a few hours in and you manage to fuck up this bad Jay, you're probably gonna wind up last place, fuckin' dead last, no wonder- you stupid fuck, you antagonized the guy with the shotgun, now you're fucked, fuckin' crap I didn't mean it, I swear I didn't mean it! I'm not a killer, it's not that easy, it was a click, but it's different, it has to be different with the real- it's- I'm not a killer that was an accident, I didn't mean to do anything, nothing happened it's all okay- FUCKING JOHN STOP WITH THE GUN STOP WAVING THE GUN PUT IT AWAY FROM ME YOU FUCKING PRICK STOP IT!

Just like that, there was a flash of movement in front of him. Jay flinched backwards away before he realized it was Jojo, arms spread wide in a peace gesture, separating John and his gun from him. Jay cowered behind the other boy as he spoke.

Jojo Joiner. You fucking Saint. If you wanted, I would be your bitch. No questions asked. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

As the boy talked, Jay couldn't help but stand mouth a gap behind him, the sheer disbelief at what had occurred just then sinking in. He was jarred from his thoughts once more as Jojo looked around, this time talking to him.

"For the love of God, straighten up and say something! I was about to lose it before you found me, I don't want to be alone like that again!"

Aye-fuckin-aye to that.

Jay poked his head out from behind Jojo. As uncomfortably as the thought was, he kept thinking of Jojo as more of a human shield at this point, and it wasn't making him feel much better considering the situation.

"Guys, love and peace, what The Beatles taught you!" He laughed at his horrible joke, a quick stuttering laugh before he began to speak again.

"We- look, PLEASE, don't do anything drastic I just fucked up, I fuck up, you know I didn't mean to hurt you. If I did, shit, we'd probably both be dead right now, earlier in that stand off. Look, we- let's just cool off, let's just go find Maria, please?"

Cool off, calm down, chill out, chill your fuckin' balls, whatever- THAT WOULD BE IDEAL. No more gun pointing, no more yelling, no more throat hurting, no more fucking THINKING because I didn't mean it, and nothing you can say can change that and- and- and fuckin' shit I should have been an alcoholic when I had the chance, even if I'm a fuckin' lightweight, I just wanna' sit down with these guys and just calm the fuck downnnn....

John listened as Jay's mouth went faster than the speed of light, trying desperately to explain his actions. Well, the one action. He kept calling to Maria, as if the girl would become a human shield or something. John didn't take his eyes off of the stoner though.

"Everyone just shut up and calm down!"

Until the newcomer did that.

"Hey, you're John right? You have a class with Jay right? He said he wasn't playing right? Shoudln't you know him well enough that he would stay true to his word?"

John blinked, taken off-guard by that. What, did this kid stalk them or something? Regardless, the shotgun went lower and away from the pair. He still hadn't pumped it to load the round.

"And whoever you are, I'm sorry Jay almost shot you. But he didn't, whats done is done. If we stay here like this we'll just attract the people who really want to kill us!"

By this point the shotgun was aimed at the leafy ground and John's gaze had softened a little. He was right. There were people who probably wouldn't drop their gun as soon as it didn't fire...

"This is... This is Sunil." John said, nodding slightly towards the other newcomer. "Who're you?"

He wanted to apologise to Jay - the rambling idiot DID stop ninja-Dan from beating him up earlier. Or worse. But with all the tension and stress flying around, that could probably wait. And where WAS Maria...? Maybe that's why Jay was shouting louder and louder for her...

Sunil was unimpressed by Jay's frantic attempts to redeem himself and somehow justify his impulsive actions. His excuse seemed to vary from 'COD told me to shoot all the Indians' to 'I tripped in such a way that I aimed my gun at you and pulled the trigger', but to be brutally honest Sunil couldn't understand half the words Jay was saying. He did manage to gather something about Maria (judging from what Jay said she'd wondered off to go get lost in the forest) and a guy called Daniel (presumably the guy he'd heard leaving, but what relevance that had to the current conversation Sunil had no idea), but he frankly didn't care what Jay had to say. A growing part of him wanted John to just put Jay out of his misery with a little shotgun blast.

However, a boy who Sunil previously had not noticed stepped in front of Jay and began to go on some holier-than-thou monologue about calming down and stuff, turning to Sunil to add "And whoever you are, I'm sorry Jay almost shot you. But he didn't, whats done is done." That comment did nothing but piss Sunil off even more (would Mr. Peacemaker be saying the same bullshit if Sunil had actually been shot?), and the Indian boy gave the newcomer a quick angry glare, before returning to focusing his eyes on monitoring Jay.

By now, John had introduced Sunil to the two other boys and Jay had rambled on about how it was an accident and that they should go find this Maria girl, so Sunil decided to speak again, trying to speak in the calmest yet most authoritative tone he was capable of, yet it sounded more rude and bossy. "Fine. Fine. I'll stay with you guys, I won't bear a grudge...on one condition. You." He pointed at Jay. "You cannot be allowed to carry a gun except in special circumstances. If your first instinct upon seeing a new person when you're carrying a gun is to shoot them, I don't want you having it. That's it."

He returned to his bags, putting them back in his bag. "If you agree, let's head off and go find that Maria girl. If not, well, I can do perfectly fine on my own and I'm sure you can as well."

Jojo finally relaxed his arms a little and lowered them a little as John aimed his gun towards the ground and introduced Jojo and Jay to Sunil. Then he asked for Jojo's name.

Alright, good he's listening at least. Still Jay is really freaked out it seems and this Sunil guy is a bit hard to read right now...

Jojo found his answer when he saw that quick angry glare before Sunil layed out his terms.

Alright, he's pissed, Jay's panicking, and John is the only other person who is listening to reason right now. Still, he's right that Jay shouldn't be holding it but who else would have it? I can't use it and I don't trust Sunil to hold it without a grudge. Trusting all our guns to John isn't that good either...maybe...

First, responding to John, "I'm Joss, Joss Joiner. My friends call me Jojo." Quickly looking towards Sunil, "I agree Jay shouldn't have his gun out but he should still be allowed to carry it. If he agrees to put it in his bag or pocket with the safety on will it be alright?"

Jojo quickly turned around and dropped his bags in front of Jay and then pretended to go through them while whispering to Jay, "I don't trust Sunil, whatever you do, don't let him have the gun." Jojo then pulled out one of his books on plantlife, put everything else away, and reassumed his position while leaving his hands down and turned towards the other two. "Well, if we go looking for Maria, we can look for food. With my book here, we should do just fine."

As the unbearable tense situation began to unravel, so did Jay. He seemed to shrink a good two feet, slouching down and letting out a nervous laugh.

"Ohhh man..." He mumbled to no one in particular as Jojo began to speak. "Ohhh man..."

You fucked up Jay, you fucked up yet again. If you hadn't have been so jittery, if you'd have just calmed down for one fucking second and used your brain, you wouldn't be on death row in the first place. Because really, that's all that's changed. You were once on the firing line, now you're on death row. And they won't even give you your last cigarette or anything fancy like in the movies.

"I'm sorry man, really, it was my bad." He mumbled out loud to the group. It seemed like the conversation was going on without him. Jay shook his head and began to listen.

What with the most topical event at the moment being me y'know, almost fucking killing someone, it might do me good to hear how my apology went over.

John was going about, introducing this new kid to the group. A boy named Sunil by the looks of things.

I don't think I'm ever gonna be buddies with this kid, no matter how many times I buy him booze...

"Hi." Jay managed to squeak out, something that was mostly ignored by Sunil. Jay couldn't really blame him, given the circumstances. It seemed Jojo's speech had done little to calm him down, hell, it might have even antagonized him more. In any case, the kid was ranting, pointing down towards Jay with disgust, as if he were a dog who just took a shit all over his owners prize Persian rug.

"You cannot be allowed to carry a gun except in special circumstances. If your first instinct upon seeing a new person when you're carrying a gun is to shoot them, I don't want you having it. That's it."

Jay flinched. He'd been lucky, drawing a weapon he could actually use. By the looks of things, Jojo had got clothing. Maria didn't even have anything it had seemed. And now this kid, this Sunil, wanted Jay to give it away?

Fuck that! He's just going to shoot me in the fucking back, first chance I get... He probably wants me gun. That's why he's still sticking around! Maybe he doesn't HAVE a weapon, so as soon as I hand him my fucking weapon, he's gonna fuckin' shoot me in the face..? Oh no, I'm not falling for that you Dickface!

But how? How the fuck am I going to convince anyone, after that spectacular example of failure? Fuck, John was trusting me, I might as well have thrown all that shit out the window. Fucking Maria ran away! If Jojo wasn't here, they'd shoot me and that'd be that. Jay, when are you actually going to start getting shit right? Why couldn't they have dropped me next to Alex? He's probably got off this fucking rock by now, along with everyone within a 2 mile radius. Meanwhile I'm fucking ruining potential alliances as soon as I make them...


Jay zoned back into the conversation. Jojo seemed to be on the same page as him, arguing to allow him to carry the gun. He allowed himself to smile slightly, he didn't dare to try to move or collect his bag, he didn't want to give John another reason to raise his gun. Jojo bent down to remove something from his bag. The boy looked up and whispered at Jay, low enough to avoid the others from hearing it.

""I don't trust Sunil, whatever you do, don't let him have the gun."


Jay nodded in agreement. As soon as he did so, he felt like slapping himself in the face.

You fucking moron. He's whispering something to you. They're gonna think you're fucking nuts, nodding your head to nothing in particular.

I'm lucky. Fucking lucky. I coulda' gotten a shit weapon, I got lucky, I got a pistol. I coulda' got shot by some crazed psycho, I got lucky, I got dropped near some harmless shy hotty and Fatty John. Very lucky in that regard I guess I could say. But why? Why does the useless stoner get all this? I barely even got my diploma, God knows how many times I failed that fucking Literacy Test. So why me? Why not give the gun to J.J or Rob? Or one of the Kronwalls', or Charlotte Cave? Someone who knows what to do, someone who's got a future! Do they expect something of me? Do they expect me to finally fucking do something with my life?

I can't do anything, and for once it's good. Because here? Here if I do something..., if I do something, I might not be Jay anymore afterwards...

Maybe Jojo should just take the gun. Fuck, why don't I just give it to Sunil now so he can shoot my dick off and we can have an end of it?

Jay looked back towards John and Sunil. He adjusted his hat, trying to avoid looking down at the rather menacing shotgun in John's hand.

He loaded that thing. If Jojo didn't come along, I'd have been dead, "Always run in a serpentine fashion" my ass, a fat lot of fucking good that'd do me against that thing. Does he wanna test it out? Would he object to blowing my stoner brains out? Sunil wouldn't, that's for God damn sure... You need to fucking start thinking Jay. You NEED to start realizing that it isn't all well and good anymore. These guys could be plotting to kill you right now, kill you and fucking kill Jojo too. Can I trust John anymore? Did he believe a word I said? They could be coming up with something right now... you gotta watch them. Moreover, you need more people on your side...

"Look.. I'll put the gun in my bag, for now. It'll stay there, I won't touch it. I won't even fuckin' load it- like I did before. Now maybe they'll think I actually know how to use the god damn thing...- you'll know if I even touch it. We'll- we'll just all sit on this for now, we'll go find Maria, how does that sound? That sound all good, just- just relaxing, without any gun pointing. We're off to a good start, now how does that sound?"

John was surprised that Jojo would decide on such an extreme measure. They were here to fight for their lives, after all. Who would protect Jay? They would have to. At the same time as protecting Maria. And why would they want to do that when he could protect himself just as easily?

"I agree Jay shouldn't have his gun out but he should still be allowed to carry it. If he agrees to put it in his bag or pocket with the safety on will it be alright?"

John nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. And it seemed Jay did as well. It would be safest if they didn't let him keep hold of it. He seemed to point and click... But since the ammo was in the bag too, if they got fired upon, he could dive behind cover and load the gun. Or if he got shot or hurt, anyone could grab it...

"Well, if we go looking for Maria, we can look for food. With my book here, we should do just fine."

"I know some things about plants, too." John told Jojo. "I like to garden, so... You know. That's how. I should know some things without having to look in the book. But we can double-check."

He went over to the gun and picked it up - nobody else seemed to be going to it. It was a lot lighter than the shotgun... Probably less deadly to a crowd though.

"Open your bag." he told Jay. "We don't want Maria to get hurt or lost."

Well, his rather reasonable offer had been refused, which sucked, but him carrying it in his pocket or bag with the safety on and probably unloaded seemed fair to Sunil. Jay would probably still find a way to accidentally shoot one of the group, preferably himself, but the gun being safely lodged away in his bag was better than nothing. Sunil, scratching a really annoying itch behind his right ear, mentally assessed the situation. John seemed cool, and was definitely being the most logical person in the group right now. Jojo was annoying and seemed to side with Jay, but overall didn't seem dangerous or crazy, while Jay....well, Sunil wasn't the type to easily forgive someone who almost shot him. Going by the way Jojo and Jay seemed to expect Sunil to forgive and forget, that made him a rare individual.

"Well, if we go looking for Maria, we can look for food. With my book here, we should do just fine."

"I know some things about plants, too. I like to garden, so... You know. That's how. I should know some things without having to look in the book. But we can double-check."

"Yeah," Sunil muttered, "I know some stuff about plants and stuff as well." Which is good, three of the four members of the little team seemed to have a shared interest, which should make getting along much easier, as well as the interest being a very practical one in such a hostile situation like this. Jay, in contrast, didn't seem to be the type to have much interest in most plants.

"So...." Sunil said, sitting on the ground and crossing his legs. He was speaking in a rather formal tone, he didn't yet quite feel like talking to Jay or Jojo in a casual or friendly way. "Err...so, why are we going? And what Maria are we looking for; don't quite know who she is or who you mean." Shifting around on the ground to get more comfortable, Sunil was visually annoyed at the fact he'd chosen to sit on a rather muddy, damp bit of grass, but he had bigger worries at the moment, he'd end up getting rather dirty and smelly by the end of this scenario anyway. Pulling his bags towards him, he produced a bottle of water from the daypack and gulped down a few sips. His throat had gotten rather parched and sore from being so angry.

Jojo was relieved that neither Sunil or John caught onto his act and had a faint smile at the thought of common ground.

Great, maybe our love of plants can make us strengthen our bonds and not get at each other's necks so easily. Though I have a feeling that the only plants Jay knows to identify are going to be in short supply on this island. A shame since they'd help him calm down. Still, Sunil brings up a valid point for once. Who is Maria? I hardly know her and I spouted off a promise to protect her and Jay. I really hope I don't end up regretting that. I hate making promises I can't keep.

"I don't know much about her either, Sunil right? All I know is that its thanks to her I found Jay. She seemed nice enough, I think she just left because she was afraid it might get ugly. So if anything happens to her it would kind of be our fault." Jojo started thinking of all the horrors the island could inflict on her as he began searching through the daypack this time. "So, did anyone get a good idea of which way she went? Maybe she went off and rested nearby." Jojo pulled out the map and compass and began combing it for information. "Well, since I haven't heard or seen any water nearby I think we're in the more inland part of the woods. Taking into consideration that Maria wasn't dressed to travel long distances, I'd say she went into this building to the east of us. However, if we're on the eastern part of the island's woods, she could have gone north or south of us. Do you guys have any idea where we are?"

Jay gladly opened his bag, and watched as John dropped the Nambu pistol into it. As he zipped up the bag, he felt a great sense of relief wash over him, something he wasn't quite expecting.

It's not out anymore. Maybe now he'll trust me again, maybe now they won't kill me. Why would they doubt me when I'm going along with them? They shouldn't doubt me. I'm not going to kill anyone, that isn't me, that isn't Jay. And it isn't Jojo, or John either...Fuck you Danya. Fuck your stupid face...

Jay finished zipping up the bag and swung it around on his back. He looked up at John apologetically, he didn't know if the other boy could interpret his gaze. In the long run, he figured it didn't really matter.

I fucked up. I fucked up, but I've got a chance to finally make good. Jay, no more jokes man. If this game is for real, next time you're dead. Next time, Fatty John might actually pull the trigger. What would stop him, after you nearly killed some kid?

Watch him. He's watching you.

Jay suddenly felt the urge to pull the gun back out of the bag. Could he trust walking with this boy? What if he picked Sunil over him, and they finished him and Jojo off?

Watch him Jay. He's going to kill you eventually. This isn't just paranoia. It's time to grow up and quit your stupid jokes. Watch him.

"Let's get a move on yeah? Maria couldn't have gotten far... We can go find her, then maybe just chill, have a bite to eat... Figure shit out. Food would be good. Yeah. Come on guys. I guess y'know, I'll take point. It's fair. Johnny, Jojo, stick close guys. And yeah, Sunil too."

Jay said, taking a step towards the woods. He was surprised he could move after what had occurred mere moments prior. Surprised but pleased.

At least I'm not one of those pussies who needs therapy after getting a gun pointed at me. That's good to know I guess. And I haven't shit my pants yet either.

Jay walked off, slowly at first but at growing speed when he saw the others following him. He was relieved he was finally leaving the clearing, considering he'd nearly died two times already in it. Scanning the foliage and despite his unease, Jay was glad John was armed and was right behind him.

He'll point that gun at me again. But with any luck, they'll be a few more people before the next attempt... Oh God.. Man, I'm not cut out for this. I wish I was Alex.

He shifted uncomfortably at the thought. The silence was uncomfortable. Jay never did like silence. He was a talkative guy, and talking usually meant things were going well, silence on the other hand, silence could mean anything. He began to talk out loud as he trudged through the forest, to everyone and no one in particular.

"And thus our Journey begins. Four unlikely heroes on a quest to save a beautiful princess with a nice ass from the evil, possibly homosexual, wizard Danya. Who also sucks dick in his spare time. Our Soundtrack shall be Jump on It. For great justice n' shits an' giggles. Feel free to, y'know sing along. It's like 99 Bottles, only less gay. This one goes out to the shawtys fuckin' about on this godforsaken island...

Bummm bum bah bahhh bah bah- Tonto, jump on it! Jump on it! Jump on it! Dum, bum bah bah bah bah- Jojo, Jump on it! Jump on it, Jump on it..."

((Jay Holland continued in One of Three))

"Err...so, why are we going? And what Maria are we looking for; don't quite know who she is or who you mean."

John felt bad when he was asked that. He didn't actually remember the last name... It began with - what? An S? C?

"I don't remember..." he admitted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. How could he forget so fast? It happened ten minutes ago! Sure, there was a hell of a lot of stress during and after that moment, but was that an excuse?

He didn't even know which way she went... He wouldn't have noticed Maria had gone if not for Jay pointing it out. And now their group was entirely male. And from the looks of things, hardly one that would get much notice on Youtube down to just their looks. If he was at least with attractive guys, he could pretend some woman somewhere was getting herself off when watching him. Or some cute guy with a huge -

"Let's get a move on yeah? Maria couldn't have gotten far... We can go find her, then maybe just chill, have a bite to eat... Figure shit out. Food would be good. Yeah. Come on guys. I guess y'know, I'll take point. It's fair. Johnny, Jojo, stick close guys. And yeah, Sunil too."

John inwardly cursed himself for not having his full attention on his surroundings. That was a sure way to get himself killed. No doubt half a dozen of his fellow students - probably ones he knew - were killing or had killed. He'd seen the clips. Everybody doubted it would happen to them. Their classmates were intelligent, well-thinking people. If not outwardly, then inside where it counted.

That was fucking stupid thinking.

Jay began to walk off and John went back to his bags and picked them up before he fell in behind him, the shotgun held in one hand by the barrel.

"And thus our Journey begins. Four unlikely heroes on a quest to save a beautiful princess with a nice ass from the evil, possibly homosexual, wizard Danya. Who also sucks dick in his spare time. Our Soundtrack shall be Jump on It. For great justice n' shits an' giggles. Feel free to, y'know sing along. It's like 99 Bottles, only less gay. This one goes out to the shawtys fuckin' about on this godforsaken island... Bummm bum bah bahhh bah bah- Tonto, jump on it! Jump on it! Jump on it! Dum, bum bah bah bah bah- Jojo, Jump on it! Jump on it, Jump on it..."

... Was Jay always this annoying...? No wonder people ended up killing their friends... Spend a week on an island together and of course you lose your nut... It's why people moved in together before they got married! To find out of they were compatible. Pair that with the inherent stress of having people you grew up with trying to murder you horribly - of course it ended up in more murder.

He grimaced for a moment. Did he really think like that? Not even a full day and he was ready to agree with unjustified killing by civilised people? They were Americans, for God's sake! They couldn't let this bin Laden-supporting douchebag 'Mr Danya' cause them to forget it!

As they walked, he began to feel a little better. He wouldn't resort to murder. Not ever - nor would people he knew. They were right-thinking Americans.

((John Smith continued in One of Three))

Well, no-one answered his question about Maria (neither Jojo or John seemed to know, and Jay was being as helpful as always), but Sunil frankly had no better plan or anything better to do, so he decided that he was going to follow them in their hunt for Maria anyway, at least until something or someone better came along. The next few days would be uncomfortable, boring, depressing and stressful and would probably end in his death, so he might as well hang out with people he'd usually stay away from. Sure, he'd rather that Jay moron was not there, and it appeared the feeling was mutual, but you couldn't have it all. Sunil had hung out with people he disliked before, but that was mainly because they were with his friends, not out of a need to survive.

Anyway, he'd seen this sort of thing in video games and books and films before. A disorganised bunch of people with nothing in common coming together to achieve a common goal (in this case, survive.) And while the beginning was often tough, they came close by the end. So, he'd probably end his time on the island looking past the faults of John and Jojo and even Jay, and becoming firm friends with all of....

"And thus our Journey begins. Four unlikely heroes on a quest to save a beautiful princess with a nice ass from the evil, possibly homosexual, wizard Danya. Who also sucks dick in his spare time. Our Soundtrack shall be Jump on It. For great justice n' shits an' giggles. Feel free to, y'know sing along. It's like 99 Bottles, only less gay. This one goes out to the shawtys fuckin' about on this godforsaken island..."

Oh, God. This was going to be a painful trip...

Letting out a sigh, he scooped up his stuff and slung his bags over his shoulders. Letting out a mumbled "Sure, let's go" he began following Jay and John, trying to block out the obnoxious singing with his thoughts.

((Sunil Savarkar continued in One of Three))

He sighed as everyone ignored his questions in favor of following Jay's lead.

Oh well, at least we're not at each other's throats anymore. I hope it stays that way. he thought as he hastily put his map and compass in the duffel bag's side pocket. With a dash he fell in line with the rest as Jay continued with his rambling.

Well whatever helps him calm down, just as long as he doesn't start... Jojo was interrupted as his friend announced the soundtrack and started singing. I swear to God I'm going to get him back for this when we're off the island.

Jojo just looked towards the ground as they continued their trip. Unaware that elsewhere his promise to Maria had been mangled by the string of fate.

(Joss "Jojo" Joiner continued in One of Three)