Survival Of The Fittest

Lulu listened to Anna speak, paying extra attention. Lulu had always been a good listener. She was a good listener and paid some good advice at times. She tended to be a little soft-hearted and more sympathetic than most. Lulu suddenly wished that she had known Anna a little longer. She seemed like a good friend. Now, they probably wouldn't know each other for long. It was a dim thought, but Lulu couldn't help it.

"Haha, yeah...Glasses are alright. Except not exactly the ideal thing to have to wear in this situation..They keep falling or sliding off..I knew I should have gotten contacts when I had the chance!", Lulu said, grinning.

Anna apologized for bringing Lulu down, when she mentioned she wouldn't be getting much reading done. "No, it's fine. It's the truth after all. I myself was hoping to get some drawing or something done.", She said with a shrug. "I try to be positive..but I'm mostly a realist. Realistically speaking..we couldn't positively get out of this situation.", Lulu said with another laugh. She vaguely wondered if that was a crude joke and went quiet.

She silently cursed herself. She shouldn't be making jokes. She should be making efforts at survival, but instead she found herself holed up in the woods with some other girls. Yes, it made her feel more safe and comfortable, but was it really benefiting her? She didn't quite know for now.

When Anna complimented Lulu's hair, Lulu perked up a little. "Thank you!! I always thought it was just kind of...Not really my taste..", Lulu admitted. "I think I like more normal shades of hair colors like browns or blondes..", She told Anna, as she brushed through her hair.

Lulu seemed to have a very strange perception of the situation and this rather confused Anna. She didn't mind it much though, as she brushed Lulu's hair. Indeed, the confusing thing was why Anna had offered to comb her hair in the first place. Conversation? Anna was certainly struggling to say something and combing someone else's hair occupied time, could give Anna a chance to come up with something to say. What was there to say? They wouldn't be alive for much longer, idle chit-chat wasn't going to solve matters like it had back home.

This was pointless. Anna continued brushing.

"They say," Anna started, "that smiling uses less muscles than frowning and that staying positive during times of stress can actually be healthy for you. Not that I would know anything about it. I don't pay attention to consumer reports, they're just another form of propaganda. That's how I see it at least."

There was a certain motherly quality to Anna's voice, along with a distinct feeling of depression that one could only get from a game like this. Strangely, Anna was feeling the urge to scowl at her current predicament. Anna finally finished the job, Lulu's hair was looking especially pretty and she had done a job well done. It made her smile just a bit.

"I'm done with your hair." Anna smiled. "Wish I had a mirror.

"Are you single?"

"I have a boyfriend," Lauren answered truthfully. "He graduated last year."

She probably could have pretended that she didn't hear him. She could have told him about her brother instead, or changed the subject to something less awkward. She didn't, though, because there was no point in evading the issue once it had come up. It might make things more problematic, certainly, but it was usually best to be honest.

It didn't mean that they had to dwell on the subject, though.

"Do you have anybody at home?" she asked him. "Your parents, siblings... are there people who are waiting for you to get back?"

Carson was stunned by the question. His "Uncle Sascha" was certainly back home... but was he watching? He decided it was best to assume that yes, Uncle Sascha was indeed watching.

"Yes, I do have someone at home. Does the name 'Sascha Konietzko' ring any bells for you?" he asked, with a sort of grim humor.

Lulu remained quiet as Anna brushed her hair. She couldn't find the words to speak. She vaguely wondered if Anna considered her rude. After awhile, she started to zone out, her mind wandering. She thought of her parents, her parents, her home life. Her home life was so simple and quaint. During this time, she heard the announcements, but barely took note of what they were saying. She felt so distracted, like it was hard to pay attention.

After Anna finished, Lulu flashed her a bright smile. Or, as bright as she could manage. Lulu didn't exactly have a pretty smile, she had a few crooked teeth and they weren't blinding white. "Thank you very much.", She thanked Anna, and then dipped back into an awkward silence. Lulu couldn't think of much else to say.

She turned her attention to the others. Amanda was still asleep while Lauren and Carson were chatting about something or other. As she tuned in, she realized that Carson asked if Lauren was single. Maybe he liked her or something. Then Carson began speaking of some guy, using a name that Lulu had never heard of. However, he spoke in a manner that hinted that they should be well aware of the name. She shrugged.

Standing up, she dusted off her clothing and realized the rain wasn't pouring as hard. Her mood immediately lifted a little, but not too much. "Maybe we should look around the forest a little. Staying in one spot can't be too good..", She mentioned. Then again, she was fine with staying in one spot. She was fine with pretty much anything, as long as she wasn't completely alone or in the face of death itself.

(Edit: I edited about Lulu mentioning Carson talking about his uncle, I forgot that he hadn't mentioned his uncle yet, sorry. I had a lot on my mind yesterday, just ignore that.)

Anna slowly put her brush back into her bag, looking towards Lulu with another surly smile. Lulu seemed nice enough. She looked over at Carson and Lauren before returning her gaze back to Lulu, sighing softly. "Oh, it was just bothering me. Very lovely hair, if you ask me... though I've been telling you that alot right?"

It appears that Anna did not overhear the part where two people's collars exploded (especially the part where Danya mentioned they were both student council members), and she simply continued to speak with Lulu. "I believe," she began again, "that we should stick here.... then again... It wouldn't be so smart to just stay in the same area all the time. It sounds like a good idea." Anna looked over at Amanda, sighing softly. "I suppose... we could leave without these people knowing. Should we take... whatever in the blimey hell that thing is? That could be very useful to us..." Anna shook her head. "No, that isn't very necessary. I have a shelter set up about a few miles from here. If we're lucky it'll still be up... you can take the launcher if you want, I certainly don't mind it if you steal it."

Anna's internal compass was functioning just fine although the shelter was north from where they were right now. They could hide there for the time being and if anyone from the group wanted to join them they would be welcomed to it. For reasons she didn't want to be around Carson. There was something... not right about him. She couldn't put her finger on it. He wasn't a player but from the way he was talking to Lauren he aught to be.

"You two." she called, picking up her bag. "We're leaving for another piece of shelter... this one is certainly nowhere near perfect. I have another place set up about five paces yonder so it could hold us up. If you want to come join Lulu and I then there's no problem with that." Anna smiled. "I made it using spare pieces of cloth from my bag. Should be big enough to house about ten people though don't quote me on that."

She turned and smiled at Lulu. "Are you ready to go?"

"If you want to come join Lulu and I then there's no problem with that."

A new location? Lauren didn't mind moving, although there wasn't really anything wrong with their current location. If Anna had shelter, though... She was about to reply to the offer, but stopped herself at the last minute.

It might turn out that not everybody would want to move to the new location. It wouldn't surprise her if either Amanda or Carson decided to refuse the offer because they were getting tired of sitting around without doing anything. In addition... something about the way Anna had suddenly brought up the subject implied that they might not want for certain people to follow them. Lauren might have adopted the idea that the five of them were one group of people, but to the others they might just be five individuals who just happened to end up in the same place at the same time. Not a team, not friends, just allies of convenience.

Lauren wasn't going to be alone again, that much she was certain of. At the same time, she was reasonably comfortable with any of her current companions and reluctant to leave anybody wandering about the island alone. If it turned out that only one person wasn't going to join the rest, Lauren wouldn't mind traveling with them. It wouldn't be as nice as having the whole group together, but it wouldn't be the end of the world just yet.

Anna and Lulu probably weren't going to wait around for everybody to contemplate the offer, and Amanda didn't even look like she was awake at the moment.

"What do you think?" she asked Carson quietly. "Are you going to take their offer?"

"Let's go. I think there's probably going to be some action around here, and I don't want to be in the general area when shit goes down. Plus there's a sporting chance of someone having destroyed the cameras where we're going... apparently a group's been going around doing that," Carson said.

He slung his daypack over his shoulder, like a rifle. He picked up his corkscrew with the other hand and put it in there.

"Maybe we can find a corpse with collar still attached there, too, and we can see how those things work.

((Liam Black continued from Slow Chemical))

Liam dashed into the jungle, frustrated at things doing oh so horribly wrong for him. First he gets into a fight with a bitch and that guy who stole Clive's gun, Wednesday was killed via collar detonation (he had sworn to kill Neil Sinclair for that), and Clive had deserted him thanks to snapping for no particular reason. And now he was running through the jungle, nobody around besides him and a corpse with an exploded-

Wait, what?

Liam stopped in his tracks, slipping thanks to the wet ground and landing on his hands... And getting a bit of mud on him. He stood back up, taking a look at the corpse in question, grabbing a stick, and poking it. It was Wednesday's corpse, alright. Most people wouldn't have been able to tell. But the clothes, and her figure... The only thing missing was her head.

Liam kneeled, taking a closer look. She was one of the only people he was actually close to in school, despite the fact that they didn't talk very often. He suspected she had a crush on him. A fairly elementary conclusion. However, another thing was missing. He had managed to pass her by days ago... He knew she had a katana, he'd be able to recognize it easily. Someone had nicked it.

He stood up, and decided to list the priorities in his mind...

#1: Retrieve Wednesday's katana, or at least make an alliance with the person who nicked it...
#2: Get some new allies
#3: Get better weapons (the katana and Clive's gun, perhaps)
#4: Kill the guy who stole Clive's gun (and take back the gun)
#5: Kill the bitch that flashed him with the laser (get the laser, too, that'll be useful)
#6: Kill Neil Sinclair, and perhaps the rest of SADD too

Then he realised he was hearing noises. Someone else was nearby. He carefully made his way over to the source of the talking, and found a small group. Three girls, one guy. And they were well-armed. Engaging them would be suicide. Wait... He had an idea. Priority #2 might just be fufilled already. He took a deep breath, and hoped to make a good first impression, walking towards the group innocently.

"Excuse me. Can I join your little group? All I've got is this stapler and a garroting wire, and I really, really don't want to get myself killed."

He put on an innocent smile. He really wanted to have some fun with them... But he pushed those urges away for the sake of survival.

Amanda had been awake for a while. Her dream had ended abruptly, in one of those open-your-dream-eyes, accidentally-open-your-real-eyes moments. She had stayed where she was, however. Initially, it was because she still wanted more sleep, but as she began to listen to the others, and then the announcement, another reason entered the front of her mind. Dammit! How the Hell could I be so stupid? Trusting anyone in a game of life and death was suicide, and she was about to lose both her weapon and her plan. With Danya watching their every move, it would only work once.

It made the soccer forward feel sick inside. And she couldn't exactly call them out on it. What would it accomplish, making them bring her? No. That wouldn't work. There was only one thing to do. Get her weapon and leave. Amanda pressed one hand against the ground, about to push herself up, when a new voice caught her attention. There was something about his tone that she didn't like. A garrote... Strangulation did not sound like a fun way to go.

Amanda was on her feet in a moment, bag in hand. "Do what you will." Her words were flat and cold. It was that, or scream and cry. "I'm leaving, before you try to take anything else of mine." She hefted up the still-jacketed grenade launcher up onto her shoulder, slipping her daypack on. Amy gave the pile of weapons a half-assed kick, and stormed off back into the jungle. "Good luck, and for your sakes, I hope I never see any of you again." Probably blow themselves to Hell trying to fire the thing anyways.

((Amanda Redder continued at Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer.))

Lulu grinned at Anna when she complimented her hair. Lulu had never been complimented so much before and it actually felt nice. Not like this was the place to care about appearances. Lulu hadn't even seen herself in a mirror in days!

When Anna mentioned leaving and taking Amanda's weapon, Lulu's eyebrows immediately raised and she looked almost shocked. Lulu would feel terrible about leaving their small group and taking someone's weapon. "No..I couldn't do that. We should just tell them..But I can't take anyone else's weapon...I don't have the guts..", She muttered.

Lulu had to admit that a shelter seemed pretty nice but she felt even more relieved when Anna invited the others to come. Lulu may not have trusted all of them one-hundred percent, but she didn't want to exclude anyone.

Lulu nodded at Anna. "Yep."

Suddenly, another person seemed to approach. Someone Lulu had only seen a time or two. Was his name Liam or something? He asked to join their group and didn't seem to have any weapons of mass destruction. She felt like the decision wasn't up to her though. If Lulu decided who was and was not in their group, it would consist of everyone, killers and all. She was far too trusting.

Before Lulu could even respond to this newcomer, Amanda immediately sat up, grabbing her weapon. She seemed angry. "Amanda? What's wrong?", She asked, but the edge in Amanda's voice told her. She had heard Anna suggesting to steal Amanda's weapon. She suddenly felt extremely bad and had to keep herself from crying. Amanda was the first person she had met. Lulu felt at a loss. She just made an enemy, didn't she? "Wait..", She whispered.

(Sorry if I made mistakes in this post somewhere down the line, I was trying to respond to a lot of posts at once. )

((posting now as per Ciel's request.))

"I guess I'll come along as well"

Lauren felt bad about letting Amanda run off alone (especially right after she had made up her mind that something like that wouldn't happen). Logically, the other girl probably wouldn't have wanted anybody else with her, but still...

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Carson turned towards Lauren.

"You realize a guy just walked up to all of us, right?" he asked.

The question was obviously rhetorical, as he turned to the new guy.

"Name's Carson Baye. Liam's your name, correct? I think you were in my Biology class back in freshman year."

((You can run with it or say that I'm wrong, doesn't matter to me.))

Just as planned...

Liam smiled, as Carson addressed him. He needed to get his trust. "Ah, yes... I remember. I don't often forget a face... And you're quite correct, Liam Black is my name."

Biology, one of his favourite classes. Especially when it came to the human body, but disecting the many specimens that the class used to study was no less enjoyable. If only he could kill someone, then he'd be able to do similar disections... Shame he lacked a scalpel.

Oh, Carson... Carson Baye... He lost the military hairstyle that Liam remembered... He was a total jackass, if memory served Liam right. Had a short temper. He heard about what Liam had done to the football coach's son. How... Curious. "Still watching anime, Carson?" Liam joked. "I hope you've had a better time than I've had. I hate the rain. I hate that stupid flower field. And I got attacked by some African-American guy with blonde hair... How is that hair and skin combination possible? Oh, and a girl with silky brown hair with a FUCKING LASER. And now one of my only friends, Wednesday Ryan, is dead because of Neil fucking Sinclair. Still looking for her katana, someone nicked it. OH, and my partner ran away for no reason. I hate my situation. HATE HATE HATE."

Anna stared. This boy is... very strange. Very very strange. Her lip curled up. When Anna actually saw someone and thought of how strange they were, it probably meant something. After all, Anna was a very odd individual herself even SHE knew that. She looked back at Lulu, a visible frown crossing her face. Was he talking about HER weapon? She didn't find it by any bodies.... Anna actually remembered who Wednesday was so she would have remembered. Strangely enough Anna didn't know the name of her sword so a name like "katana" didn't strike her right away.

"I don't know..." she whispered to Lulu. "This boy sounds rather 'out there', don't you agree?"

It wasn't that Anna had problems trusting people, it was just that she had a hard time trusting people who scream "HATE HATE" at the top of their lungs and are looking to join their group. It was suspicious as all get out and Anna took notice of this right away. Carson was in their group and while he seemed genuine and outspoken, the fact of the matter was that he appeared as an asshole and it was making Anna distrust him even more.

It was her fault that she lost Amanda for something she said but taking in a boy she did not even vaguely remember was stupid to say the least. Anna turned to look at the boy, a shiver running down her spine. I don't like this situation... I don't like it at all.

"Sir... Liam, whatever your name is. Can I ask you a question..." she sighed. "Are you playing us for fools or do you really want to join us? I know for a fact that alot of people would stab people in the back in a situation like this and frankly, since I've never seen you once in my entire life, I haven't a clue if you..."

She paused, then shook her head. "Wait... let me ask you another question Liam. I'm just wondering... What was Wednesday's middle name?"