Survival Of The Fittest

((Meredith continued on from Mirror Mirror))

Meredith didn't really walk out of the mirror house so much as she strolled out of the mirror house. Lacking any particular direction, but wanting to avoid the other students whom she'd met so far, she decided not to head towards the fun fair. Instead, she scanned the horizon and noticed the black gazebo in the distance and walked towards it.

Her nose wrinkled as she approached the gazebo. The structure stank of burned flesh that had begun to rot. She walked up towards it to see what the cause of the smell was, peering over the edge of the railings as she carefully walked up the charred steps. The sight of Daniel Vaughan's immolated body caused her to stumble backwards onto the grass in fright. Flies had already landed on the body and were starting to lay eggs in the festering tissue.

Meredith covered her mouth swallowed. She wasn't about to vomit now. She had already given the beast the satisfaction of watching her ill earlier. She was not going to feed the beast. Slowly, she got back to her feet and walked back up to the gazebo, pulling a black faux-silk handkerchief out of her pocket. She placed the handkerchief over the fallen boy's face, hiding it from view.

"I did not know you in life, but you still deserve some dignity in death." She said, "May the next world be as you wished it."

There was no time for mourning. Meredith walked around the gazebo, finding some half-melted pieces of glass. She carefully picked one up between thumb and forefinger, then placed it in her pocket. Meredith pulled out her notebook and read through the names she had taken down earlier, stopping as she reached Daniel's name.

"So, in life your name was Daniel? This island will serve as your graveyard as it will for the rest of us." She murmured.

Meredith walked a little ways from the gazebo, standing on the grass near it. She would have sat inside it to write her next letter, but she was unable to because of the stench.

((Alice Blake continued from Obstacles In Our Path))

Alice was fluctuating from a dizzy nausea to barely suppressed anger as she made her way from the beach. The pounding in her hand hadn't subsided after some time like she'd initially thought. If anything, it had gotten worse now that she was up and moving. It made the trek through the forest all the more dicey as she made her slow way over tree roots and fallen logs. Several times did she have to stop while she waited for the throbbing to subside. The passing thought on the beach concerning a concussion seemed a foregone conclusion now. Simply put, it was not ideal. If she had to stop every hundred feet to catch her breath, it could make her easy prey for anyone who may be harboring an inclination to take her out.

When she did break out the denser part of the forest, Alice let out a sigh of relief. While she may be more open to hose wishing her harm, at least she wouldn't die tripping over a damn root. She could see a blackened structure in the distance and decided that as her destination, if only for some form of shelter to hide her while she tried to recover. How did one treat a concussion, anyway? Rest and hope it wasn't serious? It was quite possible she'd gotten one in that car a-in the incident three years before. At the time, it was the least of her concerns, but absently and impossibly wished she had payed more attention as the doctors spoke above her.

Even as she drew closer to the burnt gazebo, her thoughts began to wander once more. Where would she find Victoria and Bounce? What were they doing right then? Were they alright? Had they found safety in friends or like-minded students? What would she do if they were already dead? No. Nonononon, can't think like that. Not about that. But it was hard not to dwell upon that dread idea. What if she was too late? Was if some opportunistic fuck had already killed them? Well, then Alice would kill whoever had taken the people that were important to her. Simple as that. There would be no debate over the moral ramifications, no claim of retribution. Alice would kill anyone who hurt those close to her.

If they were still alive.

The girl reached the gazebo almost without noticing. She had been so busy trying to sort her thoughts that she almost tripped over the horribly burned body beneath her feet. For a fleeting moment, before the realized that the body belonged to a boy, the idea that this was Vic flashed through her fevered mind. A fierce wave of adrenaline fueled dread shot through her system, only to subside when she realized how off she was. For one, the body wasn't tall enough to be Vic. Two, boy. After that rush of emotion, Alice had trouble conjuring up anything else. It might very well have been more tragic for her if she had known who he was. As it was, all she could feel was a faint sense of revulsion and mild disquiet. She wanted to say something poignant, maybe apologetic, but instead murmured, "Better you then me."

Distantly, Alice realized she wasn't alone. There was another girl there, a short distance off to the side of the gazebo. Alice didn't recognize her, but that didn't keep her hand from going to the grip of the revolver in her waistband. Her instinct was to draw the firearm, the brandish it at the girl, to give her the distinct impression that Alice meant business and was not to be trifled with. Of course, she wasn't that far gone yet, and the revolver remained in her waistband. "Hey!" Alice called out before she actually had a chance to plan out what she was going to say. Without any other options, she choose the most obvious question. "Did you see who did that to the boy?"

Meredith wrote slowly and deliberately, making sure her handwriting could be easily written. She wrote about how she found the body. She wrote her regrets that she was too late to record Daniel's thoughts. She apologised to the parents of a boy whom she had never even met.

Someone called to her. She looked up from her writing, but was little too late to draw her weapon from her bag. Not that she was going to. Lazily, she dotted the last i and crossed the last t, listening to the other girl as she spoke.

"The heart of the dead burned long before I reached this forsaken tomb." Meredith said in reply, "But I covered his face."

Meredith looked held out her notebook and pen for the other girl. Her arm throbbed, a dull ache from the mirror she was thrown into.

"I am Pandora Black." She said to the other girl, "I keep the records of the world of the dead for those of the living to read. Would you like to send your regrets to your family?"

Perhaps the other girl might not understand what she was saying. The cryptic poetry thing was becoming a lot easier now that she was surrounded by death and destruction, but it wasn't the most clear or apparent way of communicating. Meredith sighed and cleared her throat.

"Write a letter home... I mean." She clarified.

Alice's head was still too scattered to fully comprehend was the girl was saying to her, but she felt like she should be annoyed. Alice rubbed her eyes with the hand not on the revolver, bowing her head slightly. It was hard to focus, but she felt she needed to, if only to pick up what this girl was talking about. The heart of the dead? A forsaken tomb? Alice hoped that was the concussion talking and that was not the answer to her question. If it was, Alice may be forced into shooting the girl in the kneecap. Alice considered leaving then and there, if only to spare her aching head. Company or no, she did not need this at the moment. Alice glanced over her shoulder at the gazebo, trying to find this 'forsaken tomb' the girl mentioned. But, no. It just looked like a gazebo.

It was when the girl mentioned her name that Alice drew the line. Pandora Black? Really? She could understand giving out a fake name, maybe, especially if you were called out on the announcements. But wasn't a fake name supposed to be believable? Yet, this girl was throwing out Pandora Black. "No, that isn't your name." Alice said simply. What reason would she have to lie already? It was suspicious, at the very least. This girl had only said two things, but she was already significantly adding to Alice's stress. The idea of simply packing up and moving on was growing more and more enticing.

Then the girl spoke again, and Alice felt her irritation growing. Was the girl doing this intentionally? The crypt keeper routine wasn't winning her any points, and if anything, just pissed off Alice more. At this point, Alice was less concerned with the ravaged body behind her and more with punching this girl in the mouth. She had approached her hoping for a straight answer, something explaining the scene at the gazebo. Instead she got...this. Alice didn't even really care anymore. The boy was dead, and no amount of suffering through the girl's faux-poetry was worth finding out who killed him.

If the girl had said something else that sounded like a line out of a crummy vampire movie, Alice really would have punched her. Instead, she spoke plainly, and it was a relief. Alice thought about it in passing. She thought about her grandparents back home. Sure, they'd drifted apart over the last two years, but they were family all the same, the only family she had left. It was almost tempting. If Alice thought the girl had any real hope of delivering her letters, she might have taken her up. "Is there some magical way that you might have to deliver said letter? Last I checked, there wasn't much in the way of communications with the outside world here."

"It's my soul name." Meredith snapped at the other girl. "Besides, you gave me no name for yourself."

She never understood why the mundanes didn't just take her at face value when she gave them her name. Still, her name wasn't an important talking point here. She shrugged, still holding the pen out to the other girl. She didn't even seem to see the other girl as a threat.

Meredith had long resigned herself to the fact that she was not going to leave the island alive. Heck, she'd come to terms with her eventual death long before she even got to the island. It was just coming sooner rather than later.

"The many-eyed beast watches us all." She said, indicating the camera in the gazebo, "Images that will be left behind long after our bodies rot in the dust."

"I have no way of ensuring your words reach your family. This notebook will leave the island only through my death, I expect." She smirked, feeling the irony of what she was about to say next, "But hope was left when Pandora closed the box. Hope within terror."

Meredith gave a coughing laugh. "Do as you will. Write, or don't. I only offer what others will not - closure."

Any reprieve gained by the girls short deference to speaking like a normal fucking person was short-lived. Alice groaned before running a hand through her hair. Even in the best of times, she would not want to deal with this. Some Poe-wannabe definitely did not rank high on her list of people she would want to talk to. Alice would almost have preferred staying with the body. "I'm not calling you that." Alice said, fighting back an irritated sigh. This was why she kept to herself. Well, maybe not this specifically, but people kind of like this? Maybe? Okay, not really, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear this chick talk like this was some RenFaire.

Out of curiosity, Alice followed the girls hand to where it was pointing. Cameras. Was that so hard to say? 'Hey, there are cameras over there.' It wasn't difficult. Alice watched the cameras, glancing briefly over at the girl as she spoke again. There was no reason for her to explain that anything she needed to say to her parent's, she could probably tell them herself in a few days. The only people she wanted to talk to where on the island, and leaving a sickeningly sweet note wouldn't help her find them.

The taller girl felt the corner of her mouth twitch into a frown. Alice felt her nausea and dizziness returning, as well as her annoyance. Whether it was simply due to her head injury or the girl, Alice couldn't tell. Whatever the reason, the pounding in her head was growing worse. Alice pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. When she spoke, her teeth were gritted together as if in an effort to block out the dull ache. "Look, I'm having a bad day. This way you insist on talking? It's not doing wonders to improve it. Either you talk like a normal fucking person, or I'm going to punch you."

Meredith stared at the other girl. She withdrew the book, putting it away in her pack. From the other girl's threats, it was obvious to Meredith that her presence wasn't appreciated or even tolerated. She wasn't about to change her mode of speech for some mere mundane, especially one who had insulted and threatened her.

"Very well." She muttered, "We all are having a bad day. I make no exceptions for the mundane. If you do not wish to write, then I shall be on my way."

Having said that, Meredith turned her back to the other girl and began to stroll away. She was in no hurry to leave and in no hurry to get anywhere, but she had better things to do than to talk to someone who was hostile towards her.

This was not what how she wanted this to turn out. The first person Alice had met since waking up that hadn't attacked her, and she'd driven her off. All because she couldn't keep her damn mouth shut. This was an awesome way to establish that she wasn't some psycho waiting to snap and kill everyone who crossed her path. No, threatening the girl, annoying as she undoubtedly was, it was stupid and it would only make things worse. Assuming the girl wouldn't add her to some mental list of people who wronged her, it was really just a bitch thing to do. She should apologize, make amends, smooth things over. Just tell the girl she was sorry and move on, whether 'Pandora' accepted it or not.

"Hey, hold on." Alice called out. She started to form her apology before stopping short with a weary sigh. What was the point? The girl would b dead soon, anyway. Alice herself would probably be joining her soon after. What did it matter if the girl's feelings were hurt? They were all done for anyway. Damned if they don't, damned if they do. The only difference would be who would be going before her, by her own hand. No. No, no, no, no. That kind of thinking wouldn't do any good. She was no killer, Danya and his ilk be more damned then they already were.

With an exhausted groan, Alice took a heavy seat, bracing her hands behind her. God, she just wanted to find Vic. That was all. Vic and Bounce, the two people that mattered to her. No one else was important. She just wanted to find the people she cared about. Was that so much to ask for? On this fucking island, was that really too much? Alice figured she had to have a break coming, something. Whether it was her aching body or her throbbing head, she deserved a respite, even if it was only the faintest suggestion she wasn't too late. That she wasn't searching in vain for two people who were already dead. Because God knows what she would do then.

"I'm sorry." Alice managed to say after some difficulty. Alice opened her mouth to explain herself, to tell the girl that she was just frustrated, pained, and exhausted. Then she realized that the girl didn't need to know any of that. She was lucky enough to get an apology, that didn't warrant a full explanation for her behavior. Beside, Alice wanted to take a breather. This would be as good a time as any. "Alright? I'm sorry."

Meredith turned around. It was the first apology she'd heard since... well, since ever. Most people didn't apologise for their behaviour towards her because she was so weird. She did not mind this. She rather liked creeping people out.

Still, it was a nice gesture.

Meredith walked slowly back to the other girl.

"It is not your fault." Meredith said, "The beast trapped us here and fed us rage..."

She looked at the girl, noticing that her pupils weren't quite of an equal size. Meredith had seen that before. She'd fallen on her head once during a trapeze lesson, and she'd seen other students at the classes do the same.

"... and you hit your head." She said lamely. "You need rest and ice."

There was just no poetic way to say that someone hit their head.

Alice put a hand to her forehead, pausing only to glance briefly up at the girl as she returned. The girl was treating her like a cornered animal, approaching her slowly like Alice was going to snap back at her any second. To the girl's credit, Alice did want to clobber something. Maybe not 'Pandora', but it was a wise enough precaution. Her headache was worsening, and it had no doubt a lot to do with the girl's constant talking. It might have been fine if the girl had been talking plainly, but she was clearly determined to keep up talking like a Poe character. It was infuriating, exasperating.

Alice was tired, aching, pained. She wanted to be somewhere else, somewhere she could relax without fear of being shot in the head. She just wanted to take a breather, a chance to catch up and make some sort of plan. Outside of finding Vic and Bounce, what should she do? Find a safe place to hide, maybe? Try and wait it out, try and find a way to survive. That was all she could do, in the end. They weren't going to escape, they weren't going to be rescued. All they could was survive for as long as they could.

This was going to have to serve as her breather. She needed to keep moving, to find the people she loved. With a pained groan, Alice climbed to her feet. "This is just a rotten situation." Alice agreed. She ran a hand through her hair, patting the gun in her waistband to make sure it hadn't fallen out when she sat down.

Alice knelt to grab her bag, glancing up at the girl again. "I'm fine." Alice said simply. "I appreciate your concern, but I need to keep moving. there are people who need me." Alice shouldered the bag, sparing a glance at the gazebo and the body inside. It was a grim reminder of what could happen if she waited much longer. That Vic and Bounce might be beyond her help if she didn't keep a move on. Alice started off in down the hill, glancing over her shoulder as she went. "Wonderful meeting you."

((Alice Blake continued in Civilization at any Price.))

"Take care of yourself as best as you can." Meredith waved goodbye to the other girl as she started down the hill.

She kept watching the other girl until her head disappeared in the horizon and she was alone again. Sighing wistfully, Meredith scanned her surroundings for her next destination. The funfair was probably a no-go. She wasn't sure how long the others lingered there or if they had moved on, but she preferred not to run into them so soon after she'd embarrassed herself.

She noticed another tower in the distance. Perhaps that could be her next destination. She picked up her bags, put away her notebook and began to walk.

((Meredith continues on in Cleanliness and Lonliness. This thread is now CLOSED.))