Survival Of The Fittest

(Kitty Gittschall continued from Sacrifice Sheep To GOD!)

There was a room behind the bar in the pub. The pub itself had seen better days, and the door in the back of the bar was no exception. The door handle was rusted, looking almost ready to fall off. Inside there was an old desk, an old chair, a crate with a few small bottles, and a bed. A bed. Not a comfy, large bed by any stretch. It had no sheets, and there was suspicious yellow stain place at it's center. It was a bed though. And Kitty had taken upon herself to scrawl across it.

When she left the church, Kitty had a plan lined out. Stay in the background, only kill when she needed to, conserve bullets. She had thirty-six, she should know she counted several times. Each one had to be used. Thirty six bullets. Thirty six bodies. If it really came down to it, she could kill her way off. Of course, this wasn't what Kitty wanted to do. She wanted her kill count down, hiding behind a curtain until there were few left. Then she could just kill the rest. It was a smart plan, but she needed a place to hide to make it work. She ran into a pub. She hid in there. The pub was empty. She could hide.

Kitty decided instead to get drunk instead.

She really saw no reason for people to judge her. It wasn't like the bar was in short supply, despite how ratty the place looked. So a hour or two of drinking and she found her way into the pubmaster's room, head-first into a lumpy bed. She woke up a few hours later with a headache that made her tear up.

Her body felt warm. Her head thumped. She rolled her shoulders, trying to close her eyes again. She didn't want to get up.

Her eyes were wide open though. She grumbled to herself.

She sat up, holding her palm to her head. It rumbled.

At least it was quiet. Her favorite part about the pub wasn't the alcohol, but the silence. No one wandered into the pub to bother her with their chattiness. No death threats, no guns. No bullshit. Yes, she could get used to this. Perhaps she should just stay there for the rest of the game.

And yet, she could only bring herself to drink. She was only taking sips, taking it slow and steady. The brandy from earlier had worn off, and Kitty was trying to restrain herself. If it were up to her she'd be downing glasses.

Here she was, a cold-blooded killer who just beat a boy into a bloody mess, sitting in a bar with a hangover. What a laugh. What a joke. A fucking riot. Ha ha ha. Problem was, Kitty wasn't laughing. She didn't even crack a smirk.

Kitty shuffled through her bag. She knew that she had some Advil, and she was pondering on whether drinking it down with alcohol was a bad idea or a REALLY bad idea, when she found it. Her cigarettes, thrown into the back of the bag, completely forgotten. She picked the carton out. It had been days since she last had one.

Would be a good time to start again, she figured.

Kitty wondered what her parents would think. She had been very open with them since she was a kid, but they never knew about the cigarettes. She had kept that little secret hidden. As she placed the cigarette between her lips and flicked the lighter on, she imagined her parents looking at the tv in disgust. Kitty was sure that this could be the straw that broke the camel's back. Killing some boy for looking at her funny, oh that was just fine. They could forget all about that. Smoking though, oh man did her mom have a bug up her ass about that.

Her mom had a bug up her ass about a lot of things. Kitty had tried to be a rebel, back home. She tried to be different. She wanted to stand out. She figured the blue hair did the job quite nicely. However, apart from that (and the smoking), Kitty had always been too good for her own good. The only crime she could recall ever committing was shoplifting from a convenience store back in middle school. She never made a habit of it.

... Why the fuck did she go on this trip again?

Oh. Right. So she could be irresponsible. None of her friends went on the trip. She went because it sounded fun. She could relax for a few days. Get away with a few things she couldn't back home. It was all supervised, she was aware, but it's not like the chaperons were going to be around one-hundred percent of the time. Get drunk. Get high. Do stupid shit. Fuck someone. Make a friend, maybe. Who knows? Kitty was only rolling the dice, she had no control. She just wanted a chance to be irresponsible without being judged. The trip was not just a trip to her, it was an escape. And instead of getting drunk she ended up beating someone to death with a bat. That's the thing about rolling the dice - you won't be too sure when you'll get snake eyes.

Which leads right back to the drinking. And the hangover. Yes, her reasons seemed pretty clear now. She understood now.

She was going to make sure she ordered some brandy when she got home though. The high she got from that stuff was just right.

Kitty hadn't noticed her shaking hand. She was still holding onto her cigarette. She blew away the smoke, laid her head against the bed and looked up. She looked down at her hand, cigarette placed between her fingers. She was trembling.

... Hah. Maybe she does feel guilty. Kitty cracked a smirk. Oh. That was rich.

"I..." She heaved a sigh. "fucking... hate everything." She held back a giggle. "God damn..."

She couldn't hold it anymore. She started giggling like a little girl while the hole in her heart grew deeper.

((Fiona Sparki continued from I Am Jack's Inflamed Sense of Rejection]))

It had happened so suddenly, really. She was just walking down the path, minding her own business, when a familiar feeling seemed to be shouting at her from her bladder. Yes, she had to pee, and she had to pee rather badly. Fiona had held her urine for awhile, hoping to wait out for a bathroom or something, but none had ever really come into view and... Fuck. She was just trying to follow her two new friends. She didn't want to embarrass them by asking them to wait while she relieved herself in the bushes, so...

"Whoa! What was that?!" Fiona remembered shouting, chucking her axe into the nearby woods. "Hey, you guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you! Axe totally.. left my hands and, uh, yeah. Just.. Go ahead. Don't mind me! I'll be right there!"

So Fiona went off to relieve herself behind a bush while Jeremy and Garrett trotted off into the distance. She seriously didn't think she would take longer than, like, three seconds, but at the sudden realization that there was no toilet paper, well... Yeah, that deterred things by just a tad. By the time she wandered back to the path (with both an empty bladder and her trusty axe back in her possession - fuck yes for that wonderful excuse), Jeremy and Garrett were long gone by... five minutes. And there was no way in hell she would find them again. She spent the next hour searching, but no dice.

Fiona couldn't even really remember where they were heading, if they had any destination at all, so she mostly convinced herself that she would see them again later, and they could resume their plan. For now, she was a floating leaf in the peaceful wind. She would go wherever her feet would take her, roll with the punches, go with the flow, all that nonsense. In her moment(s) of wandering, she ended up in the middle of the residential section. She had been here previously, right? With Nik? Maybe not, her memory was shot. It was a place that looked a lot like this... That was probably the town center... Yeah, it was. Cause that place had a fountain, and this place had no fountain. Yep.

Fiona decided that now was as good of a time as any to rest, and yes, she did realize that earlier she had made a proposition to not rest, but things changed. She was a little tired, and a slight nap would be absolutely amazing. Fiona just honestly hoped she wouldn't fall asleep for five hours and wake up without a head... Terrifying thought.

She focused on one building in particular, a pub, and decided to see if it seemed like a decent place to rest. She opened the door and took in the scent of alcohol and smoke (not realizing the smoke's scent was recent), but after looking over the place, she decided it didn't seem that safe. It was just a pub, a few tables and stuff. Nothing that would keep people out or... Oh! There was a backroom, it seemed. She could just lock herself in there and-

Wait a minute. She could hear something. It was quiet at first, so Fiona took a few steps inside. The sound grew louder and as she listened, she realized it was giggles. Female giggles. So another girl had the same idea that Fiona did? Excellent! They could rest together! Regardless, she wasn't stupid, and if she was going to make herself known to the girl behind the door, she wanted to be at least... armed. She hadn't come this far to be offed by someone out of surprise. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the door and placed her axe against the wall, absently searching for her gun at the bottom of the bag. Locating Autumn's handgun, Fiona firmly gripped it and knocked on the wall with her free hand.

"Uh, hellooo? I-uh-I know someone's in there. You alright? Everything good...? I was going to ask if I could come in, but that's a bit sudden, isn't it? I'll wait. Just give me the word. I'm fine with waiting.. I'm patient."

Fiona took a step back and rocked on her heels, waiting for the response.

((Autumn O'Leary continued from I Was a Teenage Hand Model ))

Autumn wandered through the woods, wide eyed. Day nine. She hadn't slept more than ten minutes since day.....four maybe? She couldn't tell anymore.

She tried to sleep a little. She always woke up at the slightest sound. Twigs snapping, leaves rustling, they stabbed at her just as she was drifting.

Then it wasn't that anymore. She'd reached a point were she was so tired that even the stray noises and the possibility of danger wasn't enough to anchor her to wakefulness. She slept for a few minutes and dreamed. Autumn dreamed that she was back home. Her parents loved her, Nik was taking her to prom, Evelyn and her were going to the mall later. It was all the things that didn't happen even in real life. In there, Autumn was loved. Perfect. She'd wake up with a start, feeling angry and empty.

It hurt too much to sleep and see that. She started poking herself with a stick to stop herself from sleeping. It worked for a while until she unknowing prodded too hard and broke the skin. She bled.

It was a bad strategy. She started walking aimlessly instead. Autumn was all alone. By now the backs of her legs felt like they were being held together by a thread of floss, up and down her calves. Sometimes if she let her mind wander it just became a gruesome slide show of the dead she'd seen, her teachers and friends. It was a power point in her mind awash with blood. Sometimes she thought she saw a figure she recognized, but it would be gone when she took a second look.

Autumn took a moment and slumped against a tree. She hugged it like it was her best friend. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she felt like she might cry.

A soft hand reached out and slowly caressed her face. She looked up. A blood soaked Evelyn was cupping her cheek in her hand and smiling warmly. Her hair was matted down with dirt and the red bloomed from her stomach, trailing down to her legs, dripping below her into a puddle. Autumn's face twisted and she shoved at her as the tears over flowed.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU COW! I HATE YOU!"

She stumbled away from her. She was gone the second she looked up, but she was frazzled.

"Get away," she whispered, growling. "I hate you."

Autumn staggered towards a collection of buildings. In the dirty window of one of them she saw what was possibly her reflection. She was nothing like the pretty girl she once had been. Tear streaked face caked with dirt and greasy disgusting hair. Her whole body itched. She wanted to tear her own skin off.

"It's a trick. It's not real," she said, looking at the red haired girl in the window that was mimicking her.

From somewhere the giggles of a girl floated down. They sounded so real. A lurch in her heart told her it was Evelyn. She was laughing at her. That stupid bitch was always jealous. She put her hands over her ears and hunched over.

"STOP IT!"

It kept on. She got her gun out and held it protectively to her chest.

"I'll shut you up, you whore," she muttered. Autumn ran into the pub where the laughter was coming from.

"Uh, hellooo?"

Kitty stopped giggling. She sat up straight. Did she just hear something?

"I-uh-I know someone's in there."

Shit. Had she been too loud? Damn it. God damn it. Kitty pressed a hand against her head, pulling out her pistol. She thought about what to do, keeping quiet. The voice was outside, that was for sure. She couldn't make much else out. All she knew was that there was someone out there, and they knew that she was here.

"You alright? Everything good...?"

If she ran over to the door and flung it open, there would be no chance the other girl could ever get away in time. All it would take is a pull of the trigger, and Kitty's problem would be solved. Even though it would be her second kill, Kitty could easily use the self-defense excuse. It was quick and efficient. Kitty could get behind it.

"I was going to ask if I could come in, but that's a bit sudden, isn't it?"

But what if Kitty missed? She was a novice at guns at best. At close range it might sound simple, but there's a chance that Kitty would miss completely. And what if this mystery girl was standing on the side of the door where she couldn't see her? That would give her enough time to get away!

Kitty grumbled. She hated the logistics of killing someone indiscriminately, it was as if she were planning every step.

She stopped herself. Maybe... it was too early to be on the announcement again.

"I'll wait. Just give me the word. I'm fine with waiting.. I'm patient."

She would just have to wait and see. Perhaps there was a perfectly good reason to kill this girl. All it would take was for her to open the door and look. Yes. Plan ahead. She had to be careful after all. Kitty placed the gun in the small of her back, letting her shirt cover it. She grabbed the doorhandle and opened it just a crack, peeking just her eye out.

"Umm," Kitty feigned, "I'm sorry, I just - "

That's when she heard the loud footsteps, and Kitty came convinced that there was another person. She shut the door.

Kitty huffed. Jesus christ. Should she hold the door closed and let the maniac outside take care of this problem for her? Kill two birds with one stone. Kitty wasn't sure though. She cursed, turned her head and peeked out the door again. She was still thinking of what to do.

Fiona was aware that there was someone outside of the pub, but she was more concerned with the person behind the door before her. There was mostly silence, and, at first, Fiona thought that perhaps there was no one there at all. The giggles had been merely a hallucination, a trick of her own imagination, definitely not real! Before she could disprove her theory by attempting to open the door herself, she heard a squeak, and the door opened just a tad.

The tiny movement of the door was enough to surprise Fiona, and she jumped a little, almost loosening the hold on her gun. Realizing that there really was someone on the other side of the door, Fiona calmed down and stared at the tiny crack in the door. She couldn't make out much at all aside from just an eye. Was there really anything to be afraid of? The girl seemed much more scared of Fiona than Fiona was of her! The blonde lowered her gun and smiled slightly.

"It's okay, you can open up. There's nothing to be afraid... of..." Damn. She could hear footsteps, and they sounded shockingly close. They were right outside, but before Fiona realized it, she could hear someone behind her. Did Fiona forget to shut the pub door? Apparently. She gulped and stared at the door, closed again, but as the tense moments passed, opened just a tad again.

The cheerleader twirled around with her gun gripped tightly in her hand, waiting to discourage some ruffian with the threat of violence or at least exchange a few harsh words. She didn't exactly count on seeing someone that knew, for Fiona was almost convinced that everyone she ever knew died in such a short period of time. But Autumn was here, and Fiona couldn't help but smile. She didn't think she would see Autumn again!

And she felt happy. She was happy because Autumn went through the same horrifying situation that Fiona did. Autumn witnessed the aftermath of what happened between Nik, Evelyn, and Staffan. It was crazy to think that they were together again. Perhaps it was just meant to be? Should Fiona have followed Autumn back then? At the time, she was too shocked and scared. She could only watch as Autumn walked off with Nik and Evelyn's things, leaving Fiona with her own gun.

She looked down at the handgun, thankful that Autumn was willing to part with it. Fiona would have only gotten so far with just an axe.

The smile didn't disappear from her face as the blonde cheerleader lowered the gun and ran towards Autumn, immediately pulling her into a hug. "Autumn!! Autumn, it's really you, isn't it? Geez, I haven't seen you since, well, that day with Nik and stuff... Are you alright?" Fiona pulled away and examined Autumn, realized that something was very wrong. She seemed upset, dirtied, discouraged...

Fiona's smile fell, and a sympathetic look took its place. "Autumn, talk to me. What's wrong...? You're okay now. I think we're safe here. Everything will be okay." She placed her gun down on a nearby table and settled down into a chair, eyes not looking away from Autumn's form.

Autumn opened the door a fraction. She couldn't see for sure who was in there. She peaked in. Her hand was trembling on her gun and her blood was pounding in her ears. There was a familiar girl's voice from the other side. It was a voice she knew. It told her not to be afraid.

What if it was Evelyn again? There was a window. She could just look in and see. No, Evelyn was dead. She was definitely dead. Autumn saw her die. Unless she'd faked it. Would she fake getting hurt to draw out Nik and then….maybe….maybe she…..


Autumn shook her head. It was impossible. She was just hallucinating from not being able to sleep. Evelyn, the disgusting ragged girl she saw, the laughing, they were all in her head. But out of the corner of her eye something in the window moved towards the door.

"No."

Autumn knocked hard on the glass. Her heart sped up. Her efforts produced results and someone came to meet her. Her face blossomed into a flawless smile and opposite her through the glass, Niklas Kronwall smiled a goofy smile back at her. While Autumn was walking up to the ice rink she tried not to think about how cute he was, she had to stay clam and not seem like some crazy girl. When she walked up she'd seen a group of kids walking out of the rink after hockey practice. In her mind though, there was no sound from the kids. She couldn't hear anything, but for some reason that didn't seem out of place to her.

She had her hand resting on the glass. Nik motioned that he would be right out. She blushed almost the same color of her hair. Autumn walked over to the penalty box and climbed the wall, trying to be graceful about it. Suddenly she was embraced.

She choked. Autumn coughed and sputtered as she was brought back to the present in which Fiona had pulled her into a hug.

"…haven't seen you since, well, that day with Nik and stuff…"

Autumn froze for a moment before realizing what had happened. Her eyes shot open and she started to struggle and scream until Fiona let her go. She stumbled backwards into a bar and held her gun up shakily.

"You want my stuff don't you?!" she shouted. "My food. My weapons."

Autumn bit her lip and looked up at the girl through the stringy strands of hair obscuring her face.

"You're trying to trick me. It was all you! You were pretending to be Evelyn to confuse me. It was you in the forest. You're the one who was laughing at me, pretending to be that closet-fatty slut. You don't know anything about me," she growled. "Her insides are on fire now," she whispered.

She hated Evelyn because it was easier than thinking about missing her. She hated Fiona now for convincing her that it was real.

"You think it's funny to mess with people? I'll show you how funny it is! I'll do it. I don't need you. I don't need anyone. I don't," she said through clenched teeth.

Her head hurt. She had goose bumps. She was holding onto her gun so hard her fingers were a sickly shade of white-purple.

"Hoooly shit," Fiona muttered underneath her breath as Autumn began to struggle and scream. She hadn't expected that at all, and part of her wondered if Autumn had really flipped her lid. Didn't she recognize Fiona? Fiona was definitely no one to be afraid of! She was a peppy cheerleader, and sure, she may have killed a couple of people, but it was no biggy. It wasn't like she killed those two out of pure malice. "Autumn, it's okay, you can relax. It's just me, Fiona. There's nothing to be scared of-"

Okay, gun in face. The gun, or Nik's gun, was aimed right at her, and Fiona immediately sucked in her breath and quickly grabbed for her own gun, the one that ironically belonged to Autumn herself. "Autumn, really, don't point that at me. We're friends and stuff, and I don't wanna scare you, but if you act like you're going to kill me, then I'll have to react in kind, and like... Wouldn't it suck to die by the hands of your own gun? You don't want that, right? Please... lower it."

"You want my stuff don't you?!"

Fiona frowned deeply, slowly raising out of her chair. The gun was still clasped tightly in her hand, and her aim didn't waver. She could only assume by this point that Autumn had gone psychotic, and if Fiona lowered her gun for even a second, Autumn could, like, shoot her! And that wouldn't be cool at all. She would have to keep her cool. No flying off the handle because, well, crazy people didn't like chaos and upset. They probably didn't like flying or handles either.

"If I wanted your stuff, I would have said so when you were ransacking Evelyn and Nik's corpses. And as for your weapon? You willingly gave me this gun, so I don't really think there's much misunderstanding about that. Trust me, I don't want your stuff. I have my own stuff." Fiona felt like now would be a bad idea to mention that her food supply was running low. Because, yes, if Autumn offered to share some bread or something, Fiona would have to accept.

Autumn went out, shouting out insane accusation after insane accusation. The cheerleader could only stare, forcing herself not to laugh at how ridiculous Autumn sounded at the moment. She really had snapped... It was sorta sad, really, but it wasn't like there was anything she could do about it. She could run away, yeah, but Autumn needed help. She could definitely get herself killed in this kind of condition.

"Autumn, listen to yourself. Do you think there's any way I could impersonate Evelyn? Do we look anything alike...?" Fiona gestured down at her generous figure and ran across her neon-dyed dreadlocks. She was pretty sure that Evelyn had a nice figure and normal hair. It was easy to tell the difference between the two females... Aside from the fact that Fiona was very much alive, well Evelyn was very much dead.

"I-I-uhh... Noo, I don't usually enjoy messing with people.. Uhm, I swear it wasn't me in the woods. I was with these dudes named Jeremy and Garrett, promise. You can ask them, if I find them again... Oh, come on, Autumn! Put the damn gun down! Shooting me isn't going to solve any of your problems. It's not going to bring Nik back. Nik is gone and Evelyn is gone, and it's just us now. We have to keep going, Autumn. It's all we have right now. You shoot me, and I'll shoot you, and it doesn't solve anything...

"Please."

Autumn's hand was numb from her grasp on the gun. Her other hand was clutching the edge of the bar behind her. It kept her upright and steady, but it also kept her from curling her palm into itself and cutting her own skin with her nails. Her finger nails dug into the wood, quaking along with the rest of her body.

The pretty girl didn't so much resemble a girl anymore. Her anger was all that had kept her standing. She could feel it in her chest, in her limbs, warm and acerbic.

Fiona recalled the looting at the house of mirrors. It was true; she could have taken the supplies, but she didn't. Autumn had given her that gun herself. Her hand loosened on the bar and her eyebrows came up a fraction of an inch. Her gun was still held at Fiona.

"I gave you the gun…" she murmured.


She was pointing Nik's gun at Fiona. There were brief flashes of Evelyn and Nik rotting together, hand in decayed hand.

Her lips parted slightly, but enough for them to tremble. She pulled her hand away from the edge of the bar and covered her mouth. The fast motion made her falter. Her knees buckled. She recovered and held the gun forward again, though now she was hunched. The gun was pointed just to the right of Fiona.

Fiona pleaded her case. She looked nothing like Evelyn at all. Autumn knew that. Then why did she think it was her playing a trick?

The light flooded in. Evelyn was never there. Autumn pursed her mouth and bit down on her lip. Her chest shook and there were thin, unbearable strings of pain running down her throat. Fiona blurred in front of her and came back into focus. Autumn so did not want to cry in front of this girl.

"No. You're nothing alike," she agreed quietly. Her voice cracked.

It was all in her head. The gun felt so heavy. She began to lower it. She imagined Evelyn because she missed her. She'd missed her for a long long time. Evelyn had betrayed her trust back when they were just regular girls in school, and they couldn't be friends anymore. The gun clattered to the floor.

She didn't trust anyone after that. Her best friend, her parents, the boy she liked. Trusting them had only ever hurt her. It was safer to rely on yourself. The island was an easy transition for her. Well, not easy, but she was already in a mindset to look out for herself and no one else. Autumn took a step forward. Her tattered flats creaked against the floor.

But no one can do that forever. No matter how hard she tried to bury the feeling, she wanted someone to stand by her.

"We have to keep going, Autumn. It's all we have right now. You shoot me, and I'll shoot you, and it doesn't solve anything...

Please," Fiona finished.

It wasn't fair. No one should have to stay alone. No one should be burdened with shielding themselves constantly. Running on resentment is a method of staying alive, but not a way to live. She just wanted someone. She just wanted to feel someone by her. Somewhere down the line Autumn became desperate enough to start making dead figments for company.

Her arms became goosebumps and she took the last step forward to stand right in front of Fiona.

And she cracked.

Autumn threw her arms around Fiona's neck and squeezed her tightly. Her cheek was almost touching Fiona's.

"Fine," she shakily breathed out.

"Just don't leave m-"

Autumn's breath caught. There was a loud noise like a car back fire and then it was silent and still. She could see the strands of her hair start to come forward from the force of her falling.

Her body slid down Fiona and crumpled into a heap on the floor. She never knew that Kitty had been hiding in the back room.

Blood began to pool out from the wound around her head.

Cherry waves.


G078 AUTUMN O'LEARY: ELIMINATED

(Asked to godmod Fiona here.)

... Well. That was a lucky shot. Kitty wanted to brag and say that she was just a natural. She knew that it had to be beginner's luck. Or maybe luck was on her side. She was the prized horse. The thought pleased Kitty.

"A-Autumn! Autumn, are you - " The other girl gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh my god! Oh my god!"

Kitty opened the door and stepped through. The girl turned to face her.

"You - I - " She looked down at Kitty's gun. "You killed her?!"

Kitty didn't respond.

"She was just scared! I was only trying to - Why did you kill her?!"

Kitty didn't respond. She closed the door behind her.

"Autumn was - she didn't deserve - " The girl wiped at her eye. That was when her face twisted. She puffed her cheeks out. "... Hey. I'm talking to you."

Kitty kept her face neutral. She said nothing.

"I asked you a question." Fiona said. "Why did you kill her? Why did you kill her and not me? I want an answer."

Kitty kept quiet for another moment. Then she shrugged.

A waste of a bullet, Kitty figured. Kitty already knew that this girl would either try to talk her down, or run away and hide. Not worth the effort, or the mark on her kill count. The girl she killed had snapped once. It would only be a matter of time before she snapped again. Better to get rid of her than let her go. That was Kitty's logic. Besides, she wanted the gun. Nothing more, nothing less. This other girl wasn't a threat to her, what with the pea shooter.

That very same pea shooter was pointed at Kitty. Fiona's hand trembled. Kitty didn't moved. She wasn't scared though, which Kitty thought was strange. After all, Kitty was the monster under the bed, one of the things that went bump in the night. Kitty figured she would keep crying and beg Kitty not to kill her. But no, she was pointing her gun at Kitty with the heaviest glare she had ever seen. Was she honestly the only person left on this island with a spine? Or was she putting up an act? Kitty couldn't tell. All she knew was that this girl wasn't going to take the next step.

Kitty lowered and picked up the pistol. She didn't bother getting her gun out again, but she kept her eyes on Fiona all the same. The girl was mad. She could see it in her eyes.

Kitty just looked down at Fiona's gun. She looked back up, shouldered the other bag with a quick flick of her arm. Kitty reached into her first bag and took a step back. She dropped the bat on the floor. It was like she was saying, 'Hey, great job back there. Have this beat up bat. It's yours. This is how much you're worth to me. You're welcome.'

She started to walk away, keeping her eyes on the other girl. For a second, Kitty almost thought Fiona was about to shoot her. The girl looked like she wanted to kill her. She could see the anger seething off of her. And what the hell was she muttering? Was she trying to talk herself into shooting her? Or was she trying to tell herself not to?

Kitty smiled, sick, pitying.

"You're hesitating."

She opened the door.

"You should work on that."

(Kitty Gittschall continued in Livebait)

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief as Autumn dropped the gun and stepped forward. She hadn't exactly expected the hug, but it was nice. She was so glad that she had convinced Autumn not to shoot her, convinced her that everything would be alright if they just stuck together. Fiona felt excited that she would have a companion, someone that she was familar with, someone that could understand the pain that Fiona had experienced back at the house of mirrors.

She smiled and hugged Autumn back, feeling warm and fuzzy at the realization that she didn't want Fiona to leave her. They would stick together, travel together, help each other out. She was giddy, but her happiness didn't last longer than a few seconds before it was quickly replaced with confusion. There was a loud crackling sound and something wet hit her face and the front of her top.

Confused and disoriented, Fiona let go of Autumn and lightly touched a bead of blood that was rolling down her face. She examined her fingers and found deep crimson blood, and her heart began to beat wildly. Things weren't coming together quite yet, the pieces were slow to connect, but as soon as Autumn hit the floor, Fiona was right there with her.

It all seemed to happen so quickly and suddenly. Fiona came to the conclusion that Autumn was dead, a wound to the head, blood pouring out and coating the floor in a crimson pool. The air smelled thick and metallic, mostly unpleasant, but not as unpleasant as the realization that the girl in the back room had killed Autumn.

Autumn was supposed to be her companion. Her friend. They were going to travel together. Fiona didn't have anyone - Nik was gone, Evelyn was gone, Garrett and Jeremy were god knows where. This was too cruel.

She had yelled, demanded to know why Kitty had killed Autumn but left Fiona intact. Fiona kept Autumn's gun pointed at Kitty, but she didn't have the guts to shoot her. She was angry, yeah, and she wasn't sure why she hesitated... Fiona had killed Staffan for doing exactly the same thing that Kitty had. Why was she hesitating? Had she gone soft? Shooting a gun was much easier than smashing a head in with an axe. She could do it.

But once again, time was going too quickly, and Fiona didn't want to kill anymore. She didn't want Kitty to take off with Nik's gun, and she definitely didn't want the bat that the killer had left in her wake, but it was as if she possessed no voice. All she had was misery and a terrible sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why was this happening to her? Was this game one giant cruel joke, aimed at Fiona?

She didn't deserve this. Was this retribution for killing that poor boy who had threatened Nik? Was that it?

"You should work on that."

Fiona's lip quivered, and she pointed absently with one hand at the spot where Kitty was previously standing. "I don't have to work on anything! I know how to not-hesitate! I've killed before - twice!" she screamed, loud enough so that the girl would hopefully hear her. "You.. You just got lucky!!! ...What did I ever do to you?! WHAT? I was being nice to you!! We could have been friends or... I don't need your damn bat, you know! I have an AXE! And the axe is.. better than that stupid gun you stole! Hey, do you hear me?!"

She angrily punched the table beside her, and the wobbly legs gave way, sending the table toppling to the ground. That felt good, but it didn't fix what happened to Autumn. Wiping her eyes, Fiona retrieved her axe and pocketed her gun. She passed a final glance at Autumn, choked down a sob, and out the door she went.

She wished for revenge, but... Like most people in this game, Kitty was probably someone that Fiona would not cross paths with again. Best to forget about it and keep moving on. Sometimes Fiona didn't want to move on, sometimes she just wanted everything to end.

No choice. Keep moving.

((Fiona Sparki continued in Ghosts))