One By One

A huge tree, bursting with foliage, straddles part of the overgrown trail. A large part of the tree has been hollowed out on the inside, making it large enough for army vehicles to pass through. It's large enough to house quite a few people, and the age-old carvings on the inside of the tree are testament enough to that. It's not much in terms of shelter, but it's better than spending a night in the deep, dark jungle.
Candescence*
Posts: 65
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:36 am

#61

Post by Candescence* »

((Since this is a danger zone now...))

Liam growled, continuing to hold his arm up. He was safe... For now. Kimmy's options were pretty much nil now. Carson and Eris had her cornered.

Then, he heard Morgan's voice. Morgan Green, one of the local nerds. He was urging them not to hurt her. "Well, excuse ME, Morgan! Why would a scared person attack on si-"

Then the annoucement came on.

Fuck. There goes his theory... Wait, not yet. Despite Danya's obnoxiously cheery voice, something was off. He didn't even give an excuse as to why there was no annoucement previously. And now...

A list of the dead? No causes of death, no names of the killers? This was fucked up. This wasn't usual for him. Suddenly, a few names stood out. Clive Maxwell, for starters. Good riddance, the stupid bastard.

James Martinek. Lauren Howard. It seems Shamecca had found Lenny after all, and things went south. Liam knew now that he was probably right. "Lenny, you fucking..."

Then he spoke out a SEPERATE list. What the hell is going on here? This made absolutely no sense now. And Neil Sinclair. No, that didn't sound right. He and SADD killed BLOOD BOY. And he was in a seperate list. Why?

Then the best kill award was announced... And no mention of danger zones. Wait, WHAT?

Then his collar started beeping. "Aw, son of a submariner...!"

In his panic, he managed to loosen the flag. Kimmy must have been too busy either head-butting him, or she had stopped altogether. Either way, he threw off the flag, pushed out from under her, and got up, limping away. "Fly, you fools! This place is a danger zone now!"

He didn't think Kimmy would chase him now. His main concern was getting away from this damn tree. In his rush, he had almost forgotten about his wound. He would have to take the pain, and he hoped he'd be fast enough to get out of there...

He cursed to himself. Another in a long line of bad luck. Why? Was it karma? Did God hate him for what he did?!? THEY DESERVED IT! He just didn't get it...

And there was the announcement. Though Danya was damn convincing, he left out important details, and this was unusual for him. Chances are, he was hiding something.

As Liam left the Hollow Tree and made his way to parts unknown, he continued to dwell over these things.

((Liam Black continued in Death and All His Friends.))
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Mimi
Posts: 329
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:56 pm

#62

Post by Mimi »

(Sorry for taking ages, guys. School has been terrible.)

Kimmy's relentless barrage of head butts were stopped almost as quickly as they had started. After the satisfying crunch of Liam's nose being crushed, his elbow darted outward, causing her to slam her forehead onto the hard surface. Her assault was thwarted as she sat on the boy's abdomen. Her hand had parted with the flag and made it's way to her forehead out of instinct- something that would end up costing her her kill.

"You... prick," The girl moaned wearily, unable to think of anything else to insult the boy with.

Before Kimmy had a chance to collect herself, a stern, feminine voice called her attention. The small girl turned toward the voice and, blinking a few times to focus more clearly, was surprised with the sight before her.

Eris Marquis was never really one of Kimmy's favorite people, but she never went out of her way to make it known. She was just one of those uptight kids. Nothing more, nothing less. Kimmy had never made an attempt to get to know the girl, and she never wanted to, either. The chick was just a bitch with a gun. A bitch with a gun who would probably shoot her the first chance she got.

"Alright, alright. No need to jump down my throat," Kimmy said, raising both hands up in the air. She knew when she didn't have a chance, and this time she didn't have a bag to throw.

Before Kimmy actually had a chance to get off Liam, another student burst onto the scene. He was screaming something that seemed entirely unnecessary, but when she recognized the boy she knew exactly why. Carson Baye wasn't entirely right in the head, or at least not in her mind. He walked around school quoting cartoons or some shit and frankly, it was really annoying. On a number of occasions, she had been tempted to just punch him right then and there, but she had never gone through with it. What a shame.

Kimmy opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted, yet again, before that could be accomplished. Another kid had found his way onto the scene, though Kimmy wasn't sure of the new arrival's name. Something with a 'P', maybe? But there was something different about the new guy, he was probably the only one not trying to protect Liam. In fact, he was actually trying to protect her. As if she needed any help.

"I'm not scared at all actually, you dick," Kimmy spat the lie. Of course she was scared- she had a gun pointed in her face and a cartoon-fag yelling at her. Had Eris not of been there, just the mere sound of Carson screaming ridiculous things was enough for her to wet her pants. "And I can handle myself, thanks" It probably wasn't the smartest thing to refuse help, but Kimmy wasn't just going to throw away her pride like that. She was worth more than that.

Almost as soon as the girl finished her sentence, the speakers around the island creaked to life and the area was filled with the familiar voice, listing off names of the not-so-dearly-departed. She couldn't care less who was dead and who wasn't, so long as she was alive. It's what they get for being weak. Survival of the fittest, and all that jazz.

Then the announcements ended. No mention of dangerzones, whatsoever. It was shady, but Kimmy couldn't help but feel a tad bit relieved. She was safe for-

Beep.... beep...

A murmur of in-sync beeping filled the area, surprising everyone in the area. It didn't make sense. The hollow tree wasn't a dangerzone! They had been there for at least half an hour and nothing had happened! Why now?

The sudden movement from below caught Kimmy off-guard. Liam was attempting to get out from under her and, in a panic, he had managed to push her off of him. The girl's look of confusion was almost immediately replaced with one of loathing. Kimmy spat at the hobbling boy, blood boiling once again.

"YOU HAD BETTER LIMP FASTER, LIAM! YOU DON'T WANNA GET YOUR FUCKING HEAD BLOWN TO BITS, FUCKER!" The girl's dagger-like words called after him.

Kimmy quickly got to her feet and started to run, glancing at Carson and Eris as she passed them. They wouldn't try to stop her from getting away, not now. The worms would want to save their own necks before they tried to keep her from living. As she approached the forest, she stopped shortly to stare at Morgan.

"You're lucky I was busy," She snarled. She didn't need him to save her, if anything he was just distracting her.

Kimmy sprinted off yet again into the forest, running away from the silent dangerzones that were tailing her.

(Kimmy Redmond continued elsewhere)
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DetectiveArcher*
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2018 7:45 pm

#63

Post by DetectiveArcher* »

He braced himself for an argument. The small girl was their prey by right; she'd attacked them and, apparently, almost succeeded in killing one of them. Morgan doubted very much that they would just let the situation slide. But, he was already working on a number of plausible stories to twist the state of affairs in his favor.

"Take her and leave, then."

...What? He blinked a few times before composing himself again. Just like that? Was this woman just that lenient? He supposed it really didn't matter why she wouldn't want to argue the point. Best to just take his prize and just gracefully bow out of the whole scene. And the girl opened her mouth. She denied needing assistance and flatly refused any help, the little bitch. Oh, well. Roll with the punches come up with something quickly and leave just as soon as you can.

"Oh, don't mind her. I've been trying to find her for a while. We got separated when our area got declared a danger zone. She's just trying to look tough. She's normally harmless. It's just the game is screwing with her head." Morgan had to struggle to hide a pleased smirk as the lie fell from his mouth with surprising ease. Everything was going to turn out in his favor, this time. The little walking weapon would come with him, because it had to be better than the alternative, and the two boys wouldn't be stupid enough to try and overturn the gunwoman's word. At least he hoped not. He could do without the unnecessary complications. In any event, as it stood, the situation was going very well.

The speakers dotting the island suddenly crackled to life as Danya returned with the announcements. Quite the staggering number of enemies had been eliminated. A chill worked its way across the boy's shoulders and into the small of his back. He'd had classes with more than a few of the names in the announcement. The sensation caught him by surprise. Morgan thought he'd moved past the shock of such things, but it seemed he wasn't as detached from his emotions as he'd imagined. Set those thoughts aside right now. They're dead and they're not coming back. No need to worry over anything other than how you're going to avoid getting into the same situation. Think logically; only one was going to make it off this island anyway. Better them then you, right?

The sudden chirp from his collar snapped Morgan's thoughts back to reality. Dangerzone. Shit. Some days, things wouldn't go right if you paid them. The bloodied boy managed to worm his way free and escape. The girl ran off too. With a short huff of disapproval, Morgan fled the scene as well, trying to keep a mind as to where his prize might run to. It would be a shame to lose her after putting himself on the line, but self preservation had to take priority. If he got lucky, they'd wind up at the same place. But for the moment, he just ran.

((Morgan Green continued elsewhere))
dinah_shore*
Posts: 126
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:53 am

#64

Post by dinah_shore* »

"Well excuse ME..." Eris didn't like the tone that Liam had adopted so she stopped listening.

He's got quite a mouth on him. Dig your own grave then, Mr. Black.

Everyone was talking at once, with little to no regard for what anyone else was saying. In the middle of it all, Eris stood, pressure building in her temples. Her eyes darted from person to person, and then to the exits. Her comfort level in the situation had been exceed long ago; she could only hope that something, anything, would give her a chance to bolt. A blush was starting to form on her sallow cheeks, she could feel the nervous heat rising from her body. Her forehead would begin to perspire soon if--!

"Good morning, children!"

There went Liam's theory. Danya's cheerful voice crackled over the speaker and quiet fell on the group as they listened to the name of the dead recited.

"...Nick Jones...Eicca Hietala...."

"Eicca the celloist, Nick the gay guy, and Eris the loner. Wonder where Doc and Dopey are," Nick had said in the quarry a few days ago. Where ever Doc and Dopey were, it was certain that they were in better shape than Eicca and Nick.

Eicca was still lying on the hard, wet ground. Squinting and bending at her waist over him to better see, she saw a bloody bruise on his forehead. He'd probably be fine.

That was where she had left him. It was good that she had ditched the dead weight (pardon the pun) when she did, lest Danya be reading her name at this moment as well.

There was still a surprise for her when she heard Jim Middleton's name echo against the walls of the hollowed tree trunk. For a moment, Eris' mouth hung open in shock. She'd been so drunk she'd nearly forgotten the empty, hollow sound.

"I said..." she began, her voice a low growl. Her hands tightened their grip on the bottle neck.

"...WAIT!"

The word was punctuated with a dull
thunk! as the thick glass bottle collided with the back of the boy's head.

She was remembering things too quickly. He'd said-- and then she'd--

...bashed in the back of his head.

Temples roaring, Eris groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Someone else could have come along after she'd left, but she realized now just how hard she was throttling him, and how terribly still he was afterwards. The announcements were over; she could hear a little of what was happening but little of it could be heard over the migrane slamming itself mercilessly against the sides of her head, and causing her eyes to feel strained.

The unfamiliar sound of her collar beeping snapped Eris out of her reverie. The colour that was left in her face vanished as her hands flew to the collar, trying to pry it off. After three tugs in she stopped, dumbfounded. What she was doing was profoundly stupid. Her gun was pointed in the general vicinity of her face, saftey off; and the collar she was trying to tug off was rigged to explode if removed.

Snatching her pack off the ground, Eris darted out of the tree. She ran until the beeping stopped, and threw herself at the roots of a towering tree trunk, winded. Her gasps for air became muffled sobs as she buried her face in her arms.

After some time Eris quietly left the area, hesitantly weaving her way through the thicker foilage.

((Eris Marquis continued elsewhere))
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SOTF_Help
Posts: 921
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:26 pm

#65

Post by SOTF_Help »

In the time between his outburst and announcements, Carson Baye had ceased his internal monologue and his attack. The cause of the cease? A rumbling in his stomach that just could not be ignored.

"Oh, this isn't good." Carson said as he dropped his corkscrew and darted into a nearby bush. He quickly dropped his pants to his ankles and squatted. This was to be a shit that most people could only dream of.

The first wave flowed from Carson like the Amazon. It had been two days since his last bathroom break, and the food he'd been forcing down was not making this situation any easier.

After grabbing a few leaves for cleaning up, Carson pulled his pants to his knees, before he felt a gurgle that could only mean Round 2.

This time he knew he'd be here for a few minutes, so he pulled out his trusty DS. As he was playing, he noticed that there was a noise that was not part of what was going on, on his DS.

The announcements!?!

Carson's facial expression turned to one of shock. He wasn't finished shitting yet, and this was a dangerzone. The first beep of his collar came.

"Shit-shit-shit-shit!!!" Carson frantically shouted as he pushed to finish. Once he realized he wasn't going to be able to finish this deuce before the collar, he jumped up, not even bothering to pull his pants up and began shuffling towards what he thought would be a boundary line, a small nugget popping out, every now and then.

To quote Jessie of Pokemon

"I hope I can make a dramatic exit that doesn't involve a life-threatening explosion!"

Unfortunately for Carson, this was not to be. His collar had gone to a steady beep and with a tremendous explosion severed most of his neck. His body fell forward, landing on the knees, followed by Carson's head slamming into the ground. The stench of charred flesh and shit filled the area. Carson Baye died, leaving nothing but his ass to wave to the rising moon.


B123 - Carson Baye - Deceased
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