Survival Of The Fittest

(OOC: Got permission to post a new thread here, don't mind me.

(Jessica Pentangeli continued from this thread)

Jessica didn't like to look at herself in the mirror. Every time she looked, she would find herself just staring. Poking at every little problem. So...

In hindsight...

The house of mirrors was probably the last place she should have trekked to.

Her dart gun hung loosely at her side. Only one hand was holding onto it. Her other hand had a tight grip on her flashlight. It was so dark in the Hall of Mirrors. The place was creepy enough with lights on, but the darkness just added to the anxiety. These mirrors were tall, like creepy shadows hiding in the darkness. Ready to pounce, ready to feast. Jessica shivered and tried not to look into the piercing silver eyes of the beast she found herself in.

Jessica turned her head. Wait. Where was Alex?

"Alex?!" Jessica screamed, eyes wide. "Alex, where ar-"

She turned. Alex was right behind her.

"Oh!" Jessica flushed and gave her partner an apologetic look.

She was trying her best not to lose sight of Alex. Jessica wasn't going to wander that far away from Alex on her own volition but the hall of mirrors turned and spun. They were bound to lose each other if they got separated. Jessica knew she wasn't the most logical person in the world but she knew this was for the best. Had to stick close or else they would die alone. Like... that one girl. Jessica looked back up at Alex. Jessica has never seen Alex cry before, but the face she had on told her that Alex was at wit's end. The thought of Alex crying made Jessica's gut turn inside out.

"Uhh..." Jessica muttered, shining her flashlight on Alex. "He - Roman might still be around. S...Should we wait here for him? Maybe go look for him? U-Umm, this place is pretty big, he could be hiding."

She smiled at her only friend, a tiny well-intentioned smile. This was about the only encouraging thing she could do for her friend without sounding like she was trying too hard. She didn't want to fill Alex up with false hope. That would be the worst thing a friend could do. The chances of them finding Roman were slim. They had heard about him heading here hours ago. He wouldn't stick around in a creepy old building like this! It was against every single impulse in Jessica's body but she still didn't complain.

((Alex Jackson continued from Fucking Compasses...How do they work? ))

Alex entered the Hall of Mirrors behind Jessica. So far there had been very little sign that Roman was there. It was an outside chance to begin with that he was still here. They'd decided to check inside, just to make certain that he wasn't here. She walked inside, pulling her flashlight from her duffle bag. Flipping it on she was captivated by how the mirrors sent the light bouncing around. She flipped it from one mirror to another watching how it reflected across the hall. She smiled, until Jessica shouted. Sighing, she rounded the corner and looked at her friend expectantly. "What?"

"Uhh..." Jessica muttered, shining her flashlight on Alex. "He - Roman might still be around. S...Should we wait here for him? Maybe go look for him? U-Umm, this place is pretty big, he could be hiding."

"I'm totally waiting here, at least until it gets crowded. For once there's no one else around. I might actually get some breakfast, and maybe some sleep without worrying about getting shot. Besides like you said we haven't explored everywhere. Is this place cool or what? I love the way that the light reflects," she said once again sending the light beams reflecting off in all directions.

She tilted her head trying to figure out Jessica's expression. Did the girl pity her? Really? Alex thought it a weird sentiment considering she'd been mostly optimistic up to this point. So far both she and Roman had survived three days, and this news was at least pointing her in the right direction.

((*Puts on her Ciel mask*))

The mirrors were making her nervous, especially in the dark. In her mind, Jessica knew they were mirrors. Of course they were mirrors, but some primitive part of her brain raised a tiny alarm every time she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. The mirror girls weren't going to jump out and get her.

Alex turned on her flashlight and the light ricocheted from wall to wall. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed them, having gotten an eye full of light.

Alex wasn't going to budge, that much was clear. She couldn't argue that the sound of food and sleep wasn't enticing, and she wasn't going to leave Alex and go off on her own. Jessica leaned against a mirror and slowly slid down until she was sitting. Her legs went slack underneath her once her bottom hit the floor. The muscles in her legs groaned and she tried to knead the back of her leg with her left hand. Her right hand stayed at the dart gun. She wasn't going to let her weapon out of her sight, not for anything and even if she could see it, Jessica felt better knowing it was right underneath her fingers.

"Y-yeah. Really cool," she sighed.

She closed her eyes. Her body relaxed but her mind stayed on alert, her fingers always trailing along the gun.

"It's quiet in here" she said softly. If there was anyone else around, they were either hiding, sleeping, or…..

((Pays no attention to the woman behind the mask))

"It's quiet in here" she said softly.

"I know isn't it great. I'm thinking I might actually catch a nap," she said yawning. "But first I think I'm going to investigate further, there's gotta be stairs somewhere around here."

She pushed further into the hall. "You know Jess, I was thinking," she called over her shoulder. "Isn't this kind of weird? I mean what kind of island are we on? There was a town here and obviously logging of some kind, but why build an amusement park? And where'd all the people go? Seriously, could they have picked a more horror movie setting to stick us on?" Alex was rambling and she knew it, something about the way Jess had commented on the quiet made Alex think that she didn't enjoy it as much as Alex had. So Alex took it upon herself to fill the silence, saying whatever came into her head.

She continued moving slowly, scanning back and forth with the flashlight. Occasionally, she shone it in the mirrors watching it scatter across the mirrors. She almost missed it, but finally she found a circular staircase. "Hey Jess, I found it. Wanna come explore upstairs with me. It'd give as a better vantage point if nothing else."

(Julian Avery continued from Walk Away)

On a page in a notepad, in a pocket in a daypack on a boy's back, upstairs in a hall of mirrors on an island, there was a list. It was a list of names. Boys' names, girls' names. Some of them had tally marks next to each other. Two, three, four, five of them. The boy had crossed the first name out, but none of the others. Not yet. Keep looking down the list until you get to the third-to-last name. Do you recognize it? It is the boy's name. It is Julian Avery.

Julian Avery, who was actually a little disappointed with how Danya had announced his murder. Really, Danya? No mention of the casual sadism? Disappointing shit. Danya had instead started talking about Julian being out for justice and shit. Now it was like, the moment someone saw Julian and he wasn't riding on a white horse with a billowy cape, they'd be all This is bullshit, I was lied to. And then all of a sudden it comes down to fisticuffs, because dealing with that level of disappointment and betrayal is pretty damn hard.

So Julian had managed to sneak into the upstairs of this place a while back and gone to sleep for the night. It seemed like as safe a place as any to camp out, since it was indoors and fairly out of the way. And besides, with all the mirror around here? If someone wanted to try and kill Julian in his sleep, they'd first have to figure out which one was the real Julian. And so, safe atop his fortress of illusion, Julian had set himself down to rest for the night (murder tends to get you all tuckered out).

And now he was awake, and there were some people downstairs. Threats? No, probably not threats. Probably not in the conventional sense of the word, probably not a duo (trio? He could make out two voices but maybe someone was just being shy) of hardened killers itching to become tally marks next to Julian's name. Probably just a pair (threesome?) of scared folks trying to find a building where they weren't going to get murdered.

Which didn't actually make the situation any better. Not necessarily. Because there was a damn good reason Julian had been avoiding contact with those who hadn't murdered anyone yet. Namely, there was pretty much nothing good that could come of it. Maaaaybe someone had seen a killer and could try to give Julian a location on them? So hooray, he'd know where Max Lombardi had been two days ago and could accordingly use some science and shit to extrapolate his current position.

Way more likely, though, was that something terrible happened as soon as someone innocent saw Julian. Julian, the killer. Julian, the- holy shit, he just moved his arm, is he pulling a gun on us, we need to take him down right now right now right now. Julian, the- oh Christ he's just too scary and we need to run away, run away really loudly and really blindly in a way that leads us into somewhere dangerously and gets our terrified asses killed. Would that count as a kill for Julian? He's looking for some tally marks, you know.

But now this neat little plan of avoiding non-killers had failed. Two (three?) people down there, no exits up here, one of them even talking about how she'd just found a set of stairs. Fuck. Time to make an introduction. Be personable, and all that. Start taking a few steps down the stairs, not too quiet not too loud, and poke your head out so you can get a good look at your new friends.

"Sup?" Julian looked the two (just two) over, hands and his pockets and a calm expression. Oh, that dashing rogue. "Alex and... Jess, right?"

Be nice to these girls, Julian. They seem sweet and they are probably scared and they really do not need any of your bullshit right now.

(sorry about the wait. I could not find the time to finish this, it's been sitting for like two days. :\)

The last thing Jessica needed in her mind was horror movies. Images. Chainsaws. Screaming. It made her shiver. Oh god. Why did she need to think about that NOW of all times? She gulped and tried to close her eyes. Breathe Jessica. Breathe. She calmed down, somewhat. Jessica felt sick to her stomach now. Breathing wouldn't help her there. She spoke up after a few seconds of silence.

"U-Uhh... yeah... It is pretty weird." She laughed nervously.

She kept her eyes on Alex. She didn't want Alex getting too far away - these mirrors liked to play tricks. Alex kept looking back at Jessica, which made Jessica feel a bit guilty. She knew Alex didn't want to lose track of her but at the same time it made her feel like a child who was bound to get lost. It made her grip on the gun tighten just out of reflex. Alex walked around the bend but Jessica did not notice this until she heard Alex calling to her about some stairs.

"H-Hold on," She muttered, rising to her feet. Her left foot was asleep, and a simple task became a pain.

Jessica jumped back. That was a... dead end. A very close dead end. She almost smashed into that mirror. She blushed and moved ahead. It didn't take her long to find Alex. The staircase wasn't that far behind the bend.

Of course, the first thing she saw when she walked up behind Alex was another boy a few steps up.

Jessica did two things then. The first thing she did was lift her rifle up. The second thing was lowering her rifle. She was way too jumpy.

"H-Hey..." She blinked, looking over at Alex for reassurance. "That's... what my parents call me. You're Julian right?"

Julian... where had she heard that name before? It was like she had heard it. Stuck in her head for some reason but she couldn't recall where it was from. She knew who the boy was. Julian Avery right? He was one of the nice boys in her class. Jessica wasn't sure how she remembered his name, they never spoke. Even so, that name was sticking out at her for some reason. Why?

"Sup?" Julian looked the two (just two) over, hands and his pockets and a calm expression. Oh, that dashing rogue. "Alex and... Jess, right?"

Alex stopped at the top of the stairs, surprised that someone else was here and was just now getting around to introducing himself. She'd been making more than enough noise downstairs. What exactly was he waiting for? She looked again and realized it was Julian Avery. Julian who Danya just announced had killed someone. Okay, easy take a deep breath, she told herself. Danya mentioned something about it being justified, and he doesn't seem to have a weapon out at the moment. Although there goes my plans for a nap, there's no way am I gonna bed down with a killer in my midst.

"H-Hey..." She blinked, looking over at Alex for reassurance. "That's... what my parents call me. You're Julian right?"

Alex rolled her eyes, she couldn't help herself. That's the line you come up with. She watched Jess raise and then lower her weapon, and figured that the girl probably didn't remember the announcements as clearly as she did. Maybe she just wasn't listening as closely as Alex had been. Alex stood for a moment longer trying to decide what to do, after her encounter with the boys in the felled forest maybe her traditional approaches weren't the best. She frowned and then shrugged.

"Hey, Julian, what's up," she asked casually hoping that keeping the boy at ease would limit the chance of him attacking them. "You come up here to hide out for a while too?"

Hmm. No cowering, no hasty flight, no weapons hurriedly raised with a desperate attempt to defend themselves from that terrible terrifying boy. Unexpected. Maybe not in a bad way? But still not something Julian had planned for. Maybe he oughta cut these girls some slack, maybe it was just that not everyone was being as OCD about knowing who had bodycounts as he was. Maybe it was that they did know what he'd done, but... for whatever reason, they weren't bringing it up? Eh, no. No for whatever reason about it. Starting a conversation out with some variation of So I hear you're a murderer who does murders is gonna be incredibly uncomfortable. Nobody could be blamed for trying to steer the discussion to a nice safe topic like I enjoy not getting murdered, do you also enjoy this activity? So it looks like it's gonna fall to Julian to break the ice on that one particular uncomfortable front.

Awkward.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. This place seems pretty safe, so y'all and hide out here long as you need, but, ah..." I do murders. Would you like to hear about the murders I do. There is just the one murder so far but it was a pretty good murder and I think more murders will be on their way if I have anything to say about it. "Aight, full disclosure."

"I got me a sword and a handgun that I-" pivoted a little so the girls could see them hanging from his belt, see what he was talking about, "- here, can you see 'em? But I ain't planning on drawin' 'em, so uh, guess you don't need to worry on that front? Sword was my assigned weapon. Gun was something I took off Omar Burt after..."

This pause lasts for an eternity.

"After I killed him. So if you're all of a sudden feeling less than thrilled about staying in the same building as me, I get that." So who's gonna leave, provided they are less than thrilled? It would probably have to be Julian. It would probably be a bit of a dick move if he went and stayed now. I am a murderer, pleased to meet you, now get out of my murderhouse. Or else I will

They'd just let him pass by, right? It wasn't like, well... no, there was definitely a rifle here, so that might have just... just... cost him his life right there. That might have just doomed him to a firefight because they weren't gonna let him go now that he'd confessed to a fucking murder and he didn't even show any remorse look at how he didn't show any remorse look at how nonchalant he was, he seemed like the kind of asshole who wouldn't even cry at his mom's funeral so let's just sentence him to death right here right now. There, Julian will die and the matter is settled. But, uh... cheer up because... well... there are worse things that could happen, right?

There are worse things that could happen, right?

That pause didn't last a lifetime. In fact, to Jessica there wasn't a pause at all. The facts came crashing down out of nowhere. She blinked. She breathed. She stared. What else was she supposed to do? This guy just admitted he killed someone. Maybe that's why she recognized his name so well. She couldn't even remember the announcements though. Had she missed them? She closed her tired eyes for a moment and thought.

Omar Burt...?

"You killed him." Jessica intended that to be a question, but came out as a statement. Then she stopped.

Jessica actually didn't feel any need to flee. The idea of killing, the act, the mere thought scared her. The idea of Julian, a boy that Jessica could only assume was nice, killing another boy was enough to make her freak out. Despite that, after hearing who it was... well, she was conflicted. Omar Burton. She was going to remember that name for the rest of her pathetically short life. And Julian had killed him. Something about that, the way he phrased it, kept Jessica from freaking out. Was that shame she detected too? Was he... actually regretful?

So Jessica looked over at Alex for one uncomfortable moment. Let Alex say what she had to say. Then she spoke.

"You know," Jessica paused, "if," her eyes darted away and she paused again, "there was one person I would be willing to kill myself," her eyes returned to Julian, "it was Omar. So yeah... I'm glad that asshole is dead."

She brushed the hair out of her eyes. "I guess I didn't hear the announcements.... I wasn't aware that he was dead. This is a bit of a shock." Then Jessica looked over at Alex and stated the obvious. "... he's good Alex. I don't think we need to worry."

Alex took a step back, she was all for pretending she didn't know what had happened, but he just announced it. How many more people was he planning on announcing it to? Would she and Jessica be lumped into that same category if they were still with him? Besides she still had Roman to look for and right now that seemed like a much safer option then hanging out with a murder.

"You know," Jessica paused, "if," her eyes darted away and she paused again, "there was one person I would be willing to kill myself," her eyes returned to Julian, "it was Omar. So yeah... I'm glad that asshole is dead."

Alex gaped at Jessica, she would willingly kill people?!? Alex had joked about it, heck even threatened her brother with it, but she'd never seriously considered it before.

Then Jessica looked over at Alex and stated the obvious. "... he's good Alex. I don't think we need to worry."

He's good? Why because he happened to kill someone you don't like? What if he comes after me next Jess, would that still be okay with you? Alex shook her head. "You know that's great, but I'm still you know looking for Roman and so far he's not here. So you know I'm gonna head back downstairs and do another search. I get the feeling he's in trouble for some reason," Alex said in a rush and then made her way back down the stairs and out of the building, stopping only to collect her things.

((Alex Jackson continued in Instinct))

(Sorry Jonny, I was waiting until the last possible minute but Jessie's gotta get moving. I've got a terrible case of writer's block.)

Jessica looked back over her shoulder as she watched Alex walked away. She gasped suddenly. They weren't supposed to be separated! What if something happened to Alex? What if something happened to Jessica? Oh god! She turned back to Julian and gave him an apologetic nod. "Sorry. I have to go." She said with a smile. "... thank you." She spun around and ran after her friend as quickly as possible. "Alex!" She yelled. "Wait up!"

(Jessica continued in Instinct)

He's good.

Who's good? You're good. It's you, Julian. Nobody else here she could be talking about. No, don't act surprised. Don't wonder how she could think such a- don't even try that shit. You know exactly why she's saying you're good. Omar was a bad guy, right? He killed Warren. Warren did nothing wrong. Maybe Jessie here was best friends with Warren, maybe she saw the murder go down. Omar was the bad guy. You killed the bad guy. You slew the monster. Makes you a hero, right? That's what heroes do. Adam Dodd killed some bad guys. Bryan Calvert killed some bad guys. And now you. And now people will like you and praise you. And now the island is a safer place because of you. And now you should just keep saying that, keep saying that, maybe enough times that you'll actually believe it.

Alex has the right idea. She's gonna get the fuck out because that's just what you do when there's a killer in the room. An unrepentant killer, to boot. Right? He didn't say he was sorry about it. Didn't say it was an accident. Didn't try to weasel his way out of the responsibility- oh, how brave that boy is! He would never hold his peace just because he was scared to death of what hell the words would bring down on him. Right? Yeah, of course. So tell them the rest, before they're gone.

Tell them, Julian. You can do it, champ. Start from the top. Tell them,

I lied to him about who I was, so that I could get close enough to stab him without worrying too much about his gun. I listened to him tell me why he'd killed Warren. I listened as he talked about the girl he loved, the girl he was gonna make sure won this game. I listened to all of that, I told him I believed him, and then I stabbed him through his stomach. He didn't fight back. He didn't have time. He just fell back and I stood there not giving a shit. I told him he ought to start repenting for what he'd done. He started to call me out on my bullshit, so I cut his throat. I don't think I left anything out. If you've got any questions, I'm up for answering them.

Oh, hey, look. They're already gone. Funny how that happened.

Thank you. Last thing she said to you. Words of encouragement. Words of hope, in a manner of speaking. Maybe that was why you held your silence? Didn't want to break her heart. Didn't want to pull off the mask and show her that the hero was just another monster. It'd have broken her and you know it. She gets to be happy now. She gets to believe that heroes exist. That she met one. Yeah, no, that made sense. That was why you didn't tell her. That was a perfectly good explanation. That was

Complete bullshit. And you know it. You had your chance. You were so pissed off at Danya when he announced you as a hero. You thought how could he? You thought I'll fix that mistake! You thought, way back when you were coming up with this plan in the first place, that anyone you met from now on would either try and kill you or run like hell. And you thought this was right and proper. And you told yourself that, yes, you would live with the consequences. You would rally your forces and you would spread moral truths. You would watch as they all ran away from you, and you would nod wisely because you knew it had to be that way. And then one didn't run. And what did you do.

You could've made her run. Easy. So easy. Killing Omar was so easy. Being a monster was so easy. And admitting it to yourself, to him, to all the boys and girls watching at home, that was easy too. And yet, right now, one girl, too damn hard for you to manage. How come?

Aww, hell. If you think you're gonna get an answer, you're obviously talking to the wrong guy.

(Julian Avery continued elsewhere)