Survival Of The Fittest

((Ericka Bradley continued from In For a Penny, In For a Pound))

A pile of furniture and debris sat in the corner of the bedroom of one of the houses near the center of town. It was positioned in such a manner that someone could crawl in and out of it. Ericka Bradley awkwardly crawled out of a gap in the pile. She turned around and reached back in for her bag, then stood and stretched.

It was dark, probably night. She had gotten here shortly after the announcement and had decided that it was a good place to hide and rest. Now that she had awoken, she slowly made her way to the building's entrance. The front of the building was in poor shape, the windows were broken and the door was missing.
Ericka peeked through the broken window, no movement. She moved to the door and leaned against the frame. How many of her classmates were still alive? She yawned, staring at the sky. It wasn't as if she liked killing her classmates, but there wasn't any choice. The fact that there was a rescue didn't change that, quite the opposite in fact.

Ericka looked around. There were certainly more places to hide in the town then at some of the other parts of the island, but that was only a good thing if you wanted to stay hidden if you wanted to avoid an ambush then this was a poor area to work with... On the other hand, if you want to stage an ambush... That was something she could work with.

Now, how should she go about this. Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration. She walked over to another building and cautiously stepped inside. She used some debris to prop up her flashlight pointed it at the window and turned it on. Then she went back to the building she had slept in and silently watched. Hopefully someone would see the light and decide to investigate, allowing her to get the drop on them. Or maybe not, whatever. It was better than nothing.

((Madeleine Smith continued from You'll Have To Excuse Me, I'm Not At My Best))

Maddy was frantic after leaving the sawmill. Her body was on auto pilot, taking her away from the latest scene of her adventure on this island. One that ended in someone dying. And it was her fault they died. Sure, she had killed before, but this time was different. The first time she was just defending herself, not to mention that Jarocki kid was a creep. This time, she had no such excuse. Not to mention he was friends with the one person she had been so desperately trying to find on this island. Now she had nothing. No doubt as soon as he name was called on those announcements Violet would be out for her blood.

In her mindless wanderings, Maddy found herself in the residential district. She wasn't sure what brought her here, but it was getting dark, so maybe finding somewhere to rest would be a good idea. Lord knows how long it had been since she was able to sleep on a bed. Pushing any thoughts of Trent or Violet or anything like that into the back of her mind, Maddy began to walk through the darkened and silent streets. One particular house caught her attention however. Namely, the one with the light.

Maddy stopped walking for a moment, looking at the illuminated house. Well, to say it was illuminated was probably exaggerating. It was more dimly lit in a single point. Chances were there was someone in there. She didn't know if they were friendly or not, and logic told her she really should just stay away. Another part of her just wanted to be able to reach out to someone and find comfort. Or maybe pick the wrong person and die. She wasn't sure if she deserved to live anymore anyway. It was this more than anything that caused Maddy to step inside that building.

It was taking a long time for anyone to walk by, but that was to be expected, especially when a trap is made for someone or something that might not even be that close. But then, no one said it was gonna be quick, or easy... or that it would work at all. In fact, no one had said anything, since she'd been alone the entire time.


Eventually someone came along and noticed the light. It was a small miracle that, given the way Ericka's luck had been going, would probably result in major injury or death. Ericka decided not to dwell on the last part, instead readying her gun and slowly making her way toward the other girl.

When she thought she had a clear shot, Ericka pulled the trigger...


...Aaannd a miss. Fuck. FUCK! Doesshehaveagun? Whatifshehasagun? Notimetothink! Gettocover! Firefromcover!

Ericka ran quickly back to the building she was hiding in, she could still smoke out her prey, but if she let the tables get turned she might not get another chance. She had to be cautious!

Maddy instinctively ducked when she heard the gunfire, scrambling to get behind cover. Thankfully she was right next to the door, which meant cover was easy to find. Part of her was kicking herself for falling into such an obvious trap, but she quickly shoved that thought aside. Deep down she knew that something like this was bound to happen. The question now was what to do.

Someone was out there, and that someone had just tried to shoot her. Maddy's natural reaction would have been to fire back in return, but after her incident with Trent, she wanted to avoid that at all cost. She didn't need more blood on her hands. Maybe they could talk it out, see if the issue could be resolved without anyone dying. Then again, that didn't work so well either.

Maddy breathed slowly, trying to get her nerves in check. She needed a way out, and fast. Eventually she just decided to try talking. It was better than the alternative. "I... I don't want t-to fight!" the girl yelled from behind her cover, hoping just maybe her assailant would have a change of heart or something.

Ericka was trying to calm herself down, but it wasn't really working. The girl didn't want to fight, though, so that was something, kinda.

"I don't really want to fight either..." Ericka began, halfheartedly, "but that's not really the issue is it?"

She let out a sigh, "Look, I have nothing against you, personally, but it would be better for me if you were dead."

She looked for some way that she could move around if this became a firefight,

"Those rescue boats aren't coming back, you know, and even if they did our captors would probably be able to blow the collars this time. Which means that there is only one way off now, doesn't it?"

Maddy didn't know what to say in response to the girl's reasoning. Everything she said made complete sense. The chances of being saved were slim to none at this point, and it was a well known fact that you were set free if you won. On some level, Maddy knew that was why she was still trying to survive. At some point she was going to have to set aside her morals or whatever it was she was clinging to in order to keep herself sane on this island and kill someone else. She'd already done it twice.

Fortunately, or unfortunately as it would turn out, the announcements came on. She felt her chest tighten as her name was called, and even more so when the location of their little stand off was declared a dangerzone. Now he concern wasn't so much the other girl, it was getting out of where she currently was and being safe. Of course, the fact she was thinking this while someone was threatening to kill her was somewhat surreal to say the least.

"L-look...." Maddy found herself saying. She needed to do something here. "This place.... is go-going to be a dangerzone soon. I-I know you don't want to die. And um... neither do I. S-so maybe we could.... could call a truce. Either w-we both leave, or uhhhh.... neither of us do."

Her efforts to find wiggle room in order to attack or escape were rendered moot when the announcement revealed that they were in a dangerzone.

"A truce? Well, I guess I don't really have a choice." Ericka began in a hurried panic, "Deal."

She rushed out the door and away from the center of town.

"And I assume that there is going to be some kind of grace period once we're out so the last one out doesn't get a chance to shoot the first one out in the back?"


((Ericka Bradley continued in Through and Through))

Maddy sighed with relief when the girl took her offer. She wasn't exactly ready to die yet, so it was nice someone was still reasonable around here. She heard the other girl run off, and after a couple of minutes Maddy followed suit, going as fast as her fatigued body took her.

((Madeleine Smith continued in Wandering Minds))