Survival Of The Fittest

((G096 Start))

And then, a light turned on.

For the one the terrorists had dubbed G096, it was better than sitting in the dark. Sure, it wasn't the brightest idea she'd ever come up with, since she was no longer hidden in the darkness of the tunnels she'd fled to. She knew this too, but the fear of someone lurking in the dark was simply too much for her to take. Even if they weren't able to see her they wouldn't have any trouble finishing off this helpless little girl.

Katelyn slumped against the rock wall behind her, running the torch beam around the tunnel she was in. This wasn't good. She knew of SOTF, and of what it meant. What it, up until now, had meant for other people. What it now meant, if she was willing to believe where she was, for her. The fear that had been bundled up in Katelyn's chest came up as a choked sob.

She couldn't kill anyone! Who could? They were all friends! Classmates! Who'd even think of something like that? But it'd happened before, hadn't it? That's what happened the other times. Already there could be someone coming to get her. Katelyn wasn't even sure if she could defend herself when the time came.

With that thought her attention returned to her bag. Her hand had brushed against something strange in the bag. She was scared of what she thought it was. Reaching back into the bag she felt her hand close around the handle of a gun. Her fingers fell on the trigger and she started to cry. This was real. They expected her to shoot her friends. In tears, she drew the weapon out of her bag. The weight and shape felt odd; she couldn't imagine why the gun would feel like it did. Confused, she turned her flashlight down to the gun.

"Hehehe."

Despite everything, Katelyn started giggle when she saw the white and red shape of her megaphone. That made everything a lot easier.

(Marion Summers G074 start)

Marion groaned and sat up slowly. She looked around in an attempt to take in her surroundings. It wasn't easy to do, in the darkness. She must be in a cave. But what was she doing there? She remembered a particularly disturbing dream. It had to be a dream; her teachers couldn't possibly have been killed in front of her. People were better than that. They were supposed to be on senior trip.

Although, how'd she get here? She let out a sigh; she wasn't going to figure anything out sitting here in the dark. Marion stood slowly and a bag dropped to the ground landing with a thunk. That's not mine, she thought. Wait, that man said something about a pack of essentials. She bent to scoop it up. Wow, it's really heavy. Opening it she found the items that had been described and something else. A sickle with a heavy chain attached to it. It looks like something from a karate movie. What am I supposed to do with it?

She sighed again squinting into the bag in the darkness. This must be my weapon, she thought, and then froze. Wait, if this is my weapon and bag then that means this dream was real! She took several deep breaths trying to fight off the overwhelming panic. It can't be real, can it? She'd seen SOTF a couple of times, but wasn't an avid fan. People didn't interest Marion as much as the environment, and if a bunch of actors wanted to go around pretending to kill each other. Well let them. Except, except she wasn't an actress and yet somehow she'd ended up on this, this, wherever she was.

Realizing again that standing here in the dark wasn't gaining her anything; she took a cautious step forward. She'd gone a few feet when suddenly the tunnel ahead filled with light. Moving more confidently now that she could see where she was going, she headed towards the light. She let out a nervous giggle at the realization of how that phase was normally used. Marion stumbled forward and found a giggling Katelyn…Katelyn something staring down into her own bag.

Marion froze and was suddenly cautious. A little late now, she told herself. Keeping a small distance between them she waved to get the other girl's attention. "Hi," she said simply. "Any idea where we are?"

(( G113 Aston Bennett Start))


Aston sniffed a few times.

The smell of dirt and moisture.

She opened her eyes and found darkness.

Sitting up, she rubbed some dirt off her cheek and felt around for her pack as she thought about what Mr. Danya had said.

Survival of the Fittest huh? Never thought she'd find herself smack dab in the middle of this game. Then again, she suspected no one did.

Aston found two packs in the darkness. The one she'd brought for the trip, minus a few things, and the provisions pack.

What else had he said was in here?

Oh. A weapon. She rummaged around for a minute before feeling cold metal. She pulled the handgun out and tried to focus on it in the dark. Frowning and placing the gun back in her bag, she slung both packs over her shoulder and began to walk down the tunnel.

Aston squinted and threw up her hands at the sudden light from the tunnel she'd turned into, expecting someone to attack while she was blinded. But when she regained her sight she realized it was just a couple of girls sitting there, talking. Normally she would consider both of them beneath her but she didn't really have another choice at the moment. She sighed and stepped into the light, calling out to them.

"Hey! Either of you know what the hell's going on?"

When Katelyn saw movement just out of the circle of light she instinctively flinched. She brought the torch over to face this new threat and simultaneously turned her head away. As she moved her fingers closed reflexively around the trigger of the megaphone. A pop of feedback burst from the device, echoing down the tunnel.

Katelyn let out a small scream at the noise and instantly dropped it, ending the noise in a rough clatter of hard plastic. The noise had hurt her ears somewhat, but it was the shock of it all that had got to her. Trying her hardest not to run off crying, Katelyn lifted the torch to see who had scared her and saw the first relief this horrible game had allowed her. The person approaching her was Marion Summers, a nice, bright girl Katelyn knew from round school. Sure, they weren't close or anything, but Katelyn knew she wasn't a psychopath or anything, wasn't she vegetarian or something? Realising she was shining her torch in Marion's face, Katelyn quickly brought it down to the ground.

"Sorry," she replied, "I guess I got a little startled there..."

Another person stepping into the light produced a similar reaction from Katelyn. Flinching again, she glanced at the newcomer. Aston or Ashlie or something. She'd always seemed a little wrapped up in herself, which Katelyn considered bad enough in normal circumstances, but in the present situation it could be fatal. She hadn't shot them or anything, which was a plus, but Katelyn's greeting stuck in her throat. This girl was making her anxious, and the fact that she was nearly a foot taller than Katelyn wasn't helping things.

Marion put her hands up in an attempt to block the light that was now shining in her face, then quickly moved them to her ears as whatever Katelyn had let out a squeal and then dropped to the floor. Marion was grateful when Katelyn finally moved the light from her eyes, although now on top of the darkness, she was seeing spots too. She blinked rapidly trying to clear her vision.

"Sorry," she replied, "I guess I got a little startled there..."

"Yeah, I think this whole situation is enough to make us all on edge," Marion replied turning to face the newcomer who'd joined them. Wow, this is one busy cave, she thought to herself. Although now that she looked around in the light, it looked more like a mine than a cave. She shrugged and filed that information away for the time being.

"Hey! Either of you know what the hell's going on," the athlete, something Bennet asked them. She'd covered most of the sports teams at one time or another, and knew that Bennet had been on a couple.

"Apart from being stuck here in this cave or mine or whatever, I don't know much else. Well, I mean I don't know much else, besides what we all know about this being SOTF," Marion said. "You guys have any more information?"

Hmm. Neither one of these two looked like they were particularly suited to her usual requirements. However, they would do for temporary company. They didn't seem threatening and even if they proved themselves dangerous she could take care of them with ease. She sat down and looked at the two of them, disinterest etched on her features.

Marion...whatever her last name was...had covered sports teams. Asked her a few questions, which she'd been more than happy to answer. Katelyn whoever she only knew by name and a few passing glances in the few classes they'd shared.

"You guys have any more information?"

"Of course everyone knows that. Kind of hard not to know, wouldn't you think? I thought information was a specialty of yours...Marion. Am I right? You wrote for the paper, didn't you?. As for extra information, I don't anything more than what we were told. To be honest I just woke up and took off walking." She looked around a bit, narrowing her eyes.

"Do these tunnels unnerve anyone else?"

Katelyn wasn't really in a state fit to answer questions. The reality of the situation was still sinking in. She felt she wasn't even as close to being capable of answering their questions as they were themselves. Katelyn didn't know why they were on the island, why out of thousands of schools they were the ones playing this sick game, why such a game even existed! Confronted with these questions she tensed up, struggling against the stress. She couldn't say anything to them! Awkwardly silent, she bent over to retrieve her 'weapon'. Clutching it to her chest Katelyn surveyed the other girls, keeping the torch pointed at the ground.

Lit from below by the reflected light, both girls looked sinister, and Katelyn was aware she must've appeared much the same. She wondered whether her tears were hidden by the shadows cast from her cheeks. Perhaps these girls had been crying too, and she just couldn't see it in this light. They were probably just as scared as she was.

Despite her doubts, Katelyn felt sorry for them. They were all stuck on this island together, scared and confused. They weren't killers; she didn't have to be scared of them. Katelyn let herself relax, and even permitted herself a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty creepy in here..."

Marion shifted as Bennett studied her from her seat on the ground. From the look on her face, she wasn't exactly pleased with her company. Join the club, she thought although she mostly meant being stuck in these tunnels or whatever they were and trapped in this sick game.

"I thought information was a specialty of yours...Marion. Am I right? You wrote for the paper, didn't you? As for extra information, I don't anything more than what we were told. To be honest I just woke up and took off walking." She looked around a bit, narrowing her eyes.

Marion rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Marion Summers. And for the record, being a reporter doesn't mean I automatically have all the answers," she clarified. "My job is to uncover the facts, which begins with asking questions."

"Do these tunnels unnerve anyone else," Bennett asked

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty creepy in here...," Katelyn answered before Marion had a chance. Instead Marion nodded her agreement at the unnerving nature of the tunnels.

"I think it makes an excellent excuse to get out of here," she suggested. "See what the rest of the island looks like, or at least where these tunnels lead."

"I think it makes an excellent excuse to get out of here," she suggested. "See what the rest of the island looks like, or at least where these tunnels lead."

Aston looked at Katelyn and Marion, standing to her feet.

"It looks like I'll have to agree. It's not sensible to stay in one place for a long time. We need to keep moving. We'll have to be alert, though. I hate to suspect our classmates hold ill intentions, but this is a game of survival. Come on. I'll lead."

She shifted her packs a bit and waited for the other two to respond.

Katelyn glanced aside for a moment. The idea of going out looking for trouble didn't appeal to her very much, but she had to remind herself that none of her classmate would become killers this easy. Sure, sometimes people didn't get along, but it was a pretty big step between being annoyed by someone, and taking a gun and shooting that person in the face. Just being told to do so doesn't bridge that gap. There weren't going to be any killers stalking the island; Katelyn just had to stop doubting that.

But people could get scared. They could shoot first without realising what they were doing. They could kill friends, and end up wrapped up in this stupid game. Katelyn wanted to hide, to find somewhere they'd never be able to get to her and wait till it was all over, but that was just being emotional. She had to be rational here, not to give in to the fear this game was trying to instil in her. She couldn't hide in the dark, where she couldn't see who was coming, and everyone would surprise her. The other girls had the right plan. At least, Katelyn hoped they were right.

Gathering her resolve, Katelyn gave a firm nod, and, adjusting the strap on her bag, turned to head onwards into the tunnels.

((Katelyn Wescott continued in Ishida Hunting))

Marion took a minute to pull her own flashlight from her pack. Rummaging around further she found her notebook and a pencil. These two items comforted her, in a way she hadn't realized. She rearranged her pack so they sat on the top. The first thing she was planning on doing was writing all this down. It would make for an awesome story. Take that school paper! I could actually get this published in a real paper. She shook her head at the direction her thoughts had taken. Nothing is going to happen if you don't get yourself out of these caves. She flipped the flashlight on and followed after Aston.

When the group started forward she broke the silence. "I've decided that I'm going to treat this whole experience as research for a story," she said. "Some day my story will be found and then I'll get printed in the Milwaukee Times or maybe the New York Times."

"I've decided that I'm going to treat this whole experience as research for a story," she said. "Some day my story will be found and then I'll get printed in the Milwaukee Times or maybe the New York Times."


Aston let out a short, bitter laugh.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. I don't know that the greater American population really cares about us or about knowing the story of our lives, but it's a nice thought I guess. Maybe if there was a way you could get it to those people. Not like there's a nice little post office waiting to mail it when you're finish."

She tossed her flashlight from hand to hand, making the light play across the tunnel. Deep down she felt...apprehensive about the whole situation. Not that she didn't have more than enough faith in herself, but she didn't know what kind of challenges lay ahead of her.

Marion scoffed. "If I win I won't need a post office. Someone will figure out where we are eventually," she said forcing cheerfulness. "I disagree with you on people not caring about our lives. I mean haven't you ever watched the SOTF program, so people follow it like obsessively. That's us now. But apart from that historians are always fascinated by how people live through traumatic times. Didn't you have to read The Diary of Anne Frank?" She shrugged realizing she was rambling as usual.

"Anyway maybe I should be worrying less about what's happening when we get off this island and more about how to get out of these stupid tunnels. Any ideas?"

Aston had been tuning Marion out for most of the journey. She'd forgotten how that girl loved to ramble. She'd scoffed a little inside at the idea of Marion winning. Over Aston Bennett? Not likely.

"Anyway maybe I should be worrying less about what's happening when we get off this island and more about how to get out of these stupid tunnels. Any ideas?"

She looked around for a moment, trying to think of something but coming up with nothing.

"The only real solution is to keep going I guess."

Marion looked around the tunnel. "I guess it's as good a plan as any," she said with a shrug. She took a few steps forward and then realized that she was still addressing the girl by her last name. If she was going to write all this down it might be nice to actually get the girl's name right.

Turning back to face the girl. "Hey, since I'm keeping track of this and such, it's probably a good idea that I get your first name. I'm sorry, but all I can think of is Bennett."

Unfortunately Marion asked the question to any empty tunnel. She had been so busy trying to write down what had happened thus far that she had failed to keep up with Bennett. "Well, great," she mumbled to herself. "Now I'm by myself again." With a loud sigh she tucked the notebook and pencil into the pocket of her jeans and focused instead on making her way out of the tunnels.

((Marion Summers continued in Pearl and Destiny ))