Survival Of The Fittest

(OOC: They all hear Johnathan, but they're aiming at Bobby. There, problem solved. Anyway, I think you're right. Let's let Clueless post. He's asleep now (he lives in the UK) but he'll be back in the morning.)

((Alright, but I need to catch up with the others.))

Warren heard Neil's orders and pulled the revolver from his pants pocket and aimed it shakily at Bobby. Did I remember to load this thing? he asked himself. What a shame it would be to have no bite behind his bark. But as long as the situation remained stable, he wouldn't need it. He crossed his fingers on his left hand.

Quincy, meanwhile, had doubled back and ran behind the barracks and next to Neil, Warren, and Dennis. Most of his body was concealed from Bobby, but he took the risk of leaning outside enough for him to get a look at the boxer.

((Thanks RatiP and Aaron - I picked a bad time to go to bed, lol. BTW, something is confusing me. Obviously Matt, Johnny and Bobby were all outside, but S.A.D.D were inside. Precisely where is everybody? It seems as though they've all moved behind the confrontation with no mention of them going outside.))

Bobby watched Johnny get into cover without a word. The carbine was a lot lighter than the shotgun, he felt sure, and if he had wanted to it would have been a simple matter to execute a simple quickdraw. Bobby doubted Johnny was good enough with a cumbersome weapon like a shotgun to have fired it from anything more than the hip in that situation.

But... he didn't take the opportunity, and not only because he knew that there was a bunch of other people in the area - as evidenced by the low voices he he had heard inside of one of the barrack buildings. At the same time, he didn't speak because... well, Johnny was bang on the money, wasn't he? Bobby had killed four people - and that was only on the island, if you factored beforehand... his kill count just kept rising. An exaggeration perhaps, but Straton was just as much on his conscience as Tyson Neills or Quale Hutchinson.

Bobby turned around after Johnny disappeared from view and found himself in a stand off with a different person entirely. Of course when somebody called out his name, Bobby did look around, but equally, he kept his carbine raised. Nothing like hearing a name on the announcements to jog your memories of a person. Speaking of names, the one belonging to the girl who was now pointing a pistol at Bobby readily sprang to mind.

Dominica Shapiro. She had her share of blood on her hands too. Not quite as much as he himself though. Not many people on the island could top his kill count. That Wade Wilson character yeah... and Nathanial Harris, last he had heard, was also on four, and that could well have risen in the time since the previous announcement.

"There's no trouble," Bobby told her calmly. "We were just having a little friendly take between ... buddies," he smirked, the two cuts on either side of his mouth splitting and beginning to run with blood - the long slices making a disconcerting extension of his own smile. He wasn't too worried about Dominica, but when another person suddenly arrived on the scene, Bobby started to get uncomfortable, especilly when he saw what gun the newcomer - Neil Sinclair, was using. Definitely an assault rifle.

"Okaaaay,"

Bobby dropped the scalpel back into his belt and drew the SIG Sauer. If they wanted to point guns at him, he would point them back at the others. Of course, accuracy would be an issue, but he really didn't expect a gunfight to break out. In effect, he was calling it.

The carbine remained pointed at Dominica, the SIG was directed at Neil. He would need about five arms to keep guns trained at everybody targetting him, but it made him feel a little more secure.

"I already told your friend I'm not after trouble, and really? You're making a mistake. Neither Johnny nor myself were planning on shooting anybody, so you're the ones overreacting here. I have no intention of trying to kill anyone here," Not trying, at least. Bobby added silently to himself. "Besides... can you blame me for getting jumpy when five people have got their guns on me?" pretty much, he was calling their bluff. Nevertheless, he was feeling a little vulnerable - who wouldn't with that much firepower directed right at you? Still, Bobby could see a handful of places he could duck away to if the shit did hit the fan.

Don't be an idiot. Bobby willed at Neil. I'm not after trouble: but are you?

Neil watched as Bobby pulled out another gun. This turned into nothing more than a standoff which Neil Sinclair didn't like. He just wanted to go back into the barracks with S.A.D.D and figure a plan out. He didn't want to have to pull the trigger on the M16 again. Though the difference between pre-lookout tower incident and after lookout tower incident Neil is that he would now pull the trigger. He would do so without hesitation. He was already stained with his friends blood because he couldn't save him.

Bobby said that no one was going to shoot. If that was the case, then why did everyone still have their guns drawn?

Neil tried to think of a way to end this.

"Ok, we need to find a way to diffuse this situation don't we? The way I see it, you and that other boy need to take your problems somewhere else or argue without weapons drawn. Cause I really just want to go back inside that building and sit down and talk to my friends and I don't want to be interrupted by bullets flying everywhere."

Neil remembered Bobby's name from the announcements. He was playing. He was a killer. Though right now, none of that mattered. Neil just wanted him out of here, because he didn't want to see anyone else get hurt. He couldn't bare to watch another one of his friends die.

If Bobby did start shooting, he was outnumbered, and by a huge lot. Though, he had firepower himself, and wouldn't go down without a fight. Either way, the situation wouldn't end good for both parties. So if Bobby or anyone else wanted to see the sunset, they would need to find a way to settle this without pulling a trigger.

Jonathan had his head against the wall, and listened as the situation got worse and worse. More and more people drew out their guns, all of them issuing threats and intimidation. It was insanity, really. Those other guys said they didn't want a fight... so why were they drawing them?

Jonathan laughed at this, and the fact that he knew nobody was actually going to shoot. Bobby wasn't, as if he did, it was only a matter of seconds before they killed him. None of the SADD people were gonna shoot Bobby, either. They might not be the brightest (as seen from their current actions), but Johnny was sure even they would have the intelligence to know that Bobby was not the type who'd die quietly. He'd wound at least one of them, maybe more depending on how good his aim was.

Neither of those situations were ones Jonathan wanted to happen, and the longer they stayed in that face off, the more likely it was that someone would shoot. Jonathan briefly considered how he could end it, but eventually, he decided on the simplest way: simply telling them to stop. He'd stay behind cover, though; if there was one thing they didn't need, it was another armed participant in the showdown.

"Neil, are you a fucking retard? Me and Jacks were done, finished, and you and your little groupies come out, guns blazing! What did you think that was going to do, exactly?" Jonathan shouted these words, hoping that the anger and seriousness in his voice would show. Hoping, most of all, that the shame would get through to Neil. He was their leader, after all- even Jonathan could see that plainly.

"Neil- you, most of all, should not have the idiotic notion that adding more guns to a situation is gonna lead to a non-violent solution!" Jonathan hoped he had their attention. "But there is a solution, Neil: You and SADD go back into your barracks, and you, Jacks, you leave. Just do it, and you'll make sure no one gets hurt; I'm sure all of you want that."

Jonathan prayed that this would work. But he kept his shotgun close, and made sure he was able to shoot it. If things did go out of control, Jonathan was going to be ready for it.

********

Mark was glad that he was able to help, and walked over to get another cot. As he did, he heard the girl walking over to help him. She grabbed the other side of it, and as they lifted it up, he saw something in her eyes.

She doesn't trust me.

A simple realization, but one that he was glad he had made. This was a big problem. Both her, and the boy that she did trust, were armed, and he guessed the boy didn't trust him either. He'd have to find some more reliable companions soon...

But none of this showed on his face. All that showed was a smile as he looked at her, and then a look of concentration as he lifted up the cot.

"Thank you. Now, I don't think I got your name. What is--"

Mark was cut off by the shouts that came from outside. From right outside of his barracks, it seemed. And they were loud, indeed... But also familiar. And as Mark's tired mind tried to think of who it was, two words came to him: Jonathan Lancer

(OOC: Never mind this one. Sorry for the double post)

Shane groaned and rubbed his eyes again. From what he'd heard and seen from a few peeks through the window, this was getting progressively dumber. Jacks was a murderer. If they let him go, he'd kill again, there was no question about it. With two guns pointed in different directions, he wouldn't be able to hit shit from his current position, especially with that carbine in one hand. Shane drew the Type 77 pistol again and cocked it, trying not to get sidetracked by the feel of the grip, the wooshing sound in his ears, or the fact that everything looked a bit fuzzy. He'd driven while higher than this, so this would be no problem...he hoped.

More inane ranting from somebody else, telling Neil and Bobby to leave.

"Got to end this," Shane muttered. With a considerable amount of effort he got to his feet, pointed the gun toward Jacks, and fired it empty, shattering the window.

"You realise right now that I only have my weapons out because all of you have got guns trained on me?" Bobby queried Neil. He really expected the guy to know better - okay sure, he was a player, that was undeniable, but when he wasn't being overtly hostile, pulling more guns on him was just one hell of a bad idea. "Look man... um... Neil. I'll stow my arms away if you and the rest of your group do the same. You might find it hard to believe, and I don't blame you, but trust me: I am not looking for a fight,"

Bobby wasn't quite sure whether he was grateful or irritated when Johnny intervened with his own take on matters. Effectively he was making the same point as Bobby himself, just rather less diplomatically then he had been trying to be. He didn't have any problem with leaving the area - that was what he was planning on before this collosal Mexican Standoff broke out. Still, Bobby was just putting away his SIG Sauer when the whole situation exploded all over again.

Concentrated as he was on Neil and the others, Bobby didn't see Shane go to the window of the building he was in. His healthy dose of survival instinct, though, led him to immediately dive for the nearby window as soon as he heard gunshots. It wouldn't do much good considering the range - but he had to at least do something.

His first thought was that somebody had been a little twitchy on the trigger finger and just fired - either that or just plain pissed off enough to take a potshot, but in the split second he was falling in, he couldn't see anybody who looked as though they had fired.

Despite his attempts to take cover, Bobby was unsuccessful in avoiding being hit entirely, and two rounds slammed into his abdomen and upper torso respectively, before crashing through the window shoulder-first and leaving the remainder to sweep past, probably causing further harm if all of the members of S.A.D.D weren't swift enough to get out of the way.

Thank god, thank fuck I spent the time picking up this vest.

That made not once, but twice that Bobby's life had been saved by his pilfered bulletproof vest. 'Safely' on the ground, he found the time to yell out.

"Somebody just fucking shot me!" Congratulations on your promotion Lieutenant Obvious... "Now if you wanted the situation difused you went about it in the wrong way!" Bobby managed to locate the shooter whilst he was talking - standing silhouetted in the window of the other barracks, and he retaliated swiftly with a well-aimed shot directed at the chest before he ducked back behind cover and out of sight, royally pissed off and ribs hurting like a bitch.

Neil was about to lower his weapon and return to the barracks. Bobby and Jonathon had both said that this was over, and really it was up to Neil's group to end it. Neil didn't want a fight any more than the next guy, and he was willing to help end the situation before the gunshots went off. He wasn't sure what was going on, since the shots seemed to come from the opposite direction, and lucky for Neil he was already against a barracks. So he just pulled himself completely behind cover, not getting struck, yet not hearing the sound of close shots. Which meant that the shots weren't intended for him, or those near him.

He heard Bobby shout that he was hit, and Neil immediately got angry. This could all have been avoided, and someone had to open up shooting. Guns never solved anything, and this island led to more problems than not. Matthew and Dominica were both already wounded from the lookout tower incident, and Corbin lay dead from it.

Neil wouldn't have a repeat of that, as he pressed himself flat against the barracks wall and pressed his M16 against his chest.

He shouted.

"SADD you guys ok? Who shot!?!"

Hannah listened carefully as the standoff continued. Even from where she was she could feel the tension.

She almost jumped as she heard gunshots, expecting all hell to break loose and the whole outside to explode with gunfire, and was surprised that it didn't, at least for now.

She reached up for her magic hat again, trying to calm down. "Alright, listen...you've looked after me before, right? I mean, there's no way I survived this long without some luck. I really, REALLY don't want to die, especially in a place like this, and I'm sure you don't want to be left in a place like this either, so let's look after each other, all right? Just...just don't let me down."

Now I KNOW I've lost it. She thought to herself. Well, I guess it's expected. At least I didn't turn into a psycho killer. Not yet, anyway.

Shane hit the floor, blood spurting from his right side. A baggy shirt, a grubby window, and a little extra "padding" had saved him from being mortally wounded, but fuck did it hurt.

"Fucking bulletproof cocksucker!" he yelled, clutching the wound.

If you hadn't stood there in plain view with an empty gun and a thumb up your ass, this wouldn't have happened. Had he shot the guy? It seemed like it. More than once, in fact. If I make it through this, no more pot till I'm out of this shithole.

A voice, which Shane recognized as Neil's, asked "Who shot?"

"That was me," Shane shouted back, "My bad!"

Denise had thrown herself on the ground when she saw Shane pull out his gun.

Everyone's mad here!

"You're damn right it's 'your bad', asshole!" she said, scrambling on her elbows and knees towards him. "You stoned sonofabith! What are you DOING?"

Before she knew what was going on, she had him pinned and was shaking him by his collar.

For Shane, things had progressed to full-on "slow motion". His side still hurt, but it was dulled. He heard about half of what Denise was screaming at him, and it wasn't helping him that his head was slamming into the floor while Denise was shaking him.

"Look, I'm a little fucked up right now, but he has to die! He could have gotten away, now he's pinned down! You mind getting off me? You're getting blood on your shirt."

(Irrelevant post count is irrelevant)

She shook her head, running out of her place and finding cover behind the barracks (the one that just so happened to have alot of the people.) There she found Neil waiting right behind the same exact wall, giving him a slight wave. "Oh... lovely mess we've gotten ourselves into, huh?"

She knew who shot, it was some kid that she had never seen before. Dominica sighed, rubbing her temple. "Gah... damn it all. You fool! What the hell is wrong with you?" she directed this at Shane, obviously annoyed that the situation turned into a shootout. She couldn't see the boy per se, but she knew he was there. "We weren't going to shoot him if it wasn't necessary! That's the part of a staredown. We didn't want to pin him down in the first place, we wanted to calm the situation down and NOT have anyone shot."

Matt followed Dominica behind the barracks and met up with her and Neil there. He couldn't move very fast with the gun out, so he shoved it back into his pants, and placed the spear gun into his good hand once more to lean on. More blood had spouted from his shoulder wounds, and he really hated the sight of it. Just one more reminder that he needed it patched up he supposed.

Dominica yelled at the idiot who shot Bobby, and he couldn't agree more. Who was stupid enough to shoot someone who they were trying to STOP from shooting back. Now it seemed like it was all just going to roll downhill. Matt REALLY didn't like that.

"Goddamnit… how stupid can people be?" He sighed. "Well, what's next Mr. Sinclair? Now what?" He asked with a lopsided smile on his face.