Survival Of The Fittest

((Meredith continued from Death at a Funeral))

Meredith eyed the mountain in the distance. It seemed that the craggy geological feature was a bit further away from her than she expected. The sun was beginning to sink over the edge of the horizon and she was starting to see stars come out. She put her bags down in the middle of the concrete path she was walking on, not really caring where she was sitting. There were probably no cars around to run her over. Even if there were, she doubted she'd care at this point. She lay down and closed her eyes.

Sleep didn't come. Meredith felt hot and grimy in her unbreathable vinyl clothing. Sticky too, considering all the sweat pouring off her head during her travels over the first two days. Her hair itched. She scratched a little, trying to relax again, but finding it impossible. She sat up and pulled her coat off her body, wincing as the sticky vinyl caught on her skin a little. She dozed off a little after that, lulled into sleep by the gentle trickle of the water in a nearby river.

About an hour or two later, Meredith awoke to find herself curled up against and somewhat stuck to her vinyl coat. Her eyes took a while to adjust to the complete darkness of the island's night atmosphere. She blinked a few times. It never occurred to her how dark and quiet night time could be. Without street lamps to illuminate her way, without the comfort of a night light, without televisions or computers to entertain or generally make noise, the world seemed to stretch out into an infinite and inky blackness on all sides as far as the eye could and couldn't see.

Meredith realised that she was terrified. She wasn't frightened of her impending death on this island, which would come sooner or later. She wasn't even really sure what she was frightened of, just that the pitch darkness of the night sky terrified her.

She looked up at the stars and made a silent wish.

Then realising that she was grotty from two days of walking without the benefit of showers or toilet paper, she stood up and grabbed her bags, using her hearing and her night vision to guide her to the river's edge.

((Thea Kairos continued from Watch Your Step ))

Thea continued to mutter to herself long after she'd separated herself from the group. She felt a fleeting sting of guilt as she realized in her haste she'd managed to ditch James. She got over it quickly considering how he'd been acting. They'd found themselves in this awful situation and he'd barely had time for her. She didn't need to be looked after, but a little concern on his part would have been nice.

She hoped that the cheerleaders, or Ricky, or maybe even Jason would follow her lead. Being out here alone was better than being with the losers, but not by much. Still Thea was used to being by herself. She wandered without purpose and happened across a river. She decided to follow it, if nothing else it provided clean water. A bath wouldn't be that bad of an idea, she thought. Too bad James isn't here, maybe we could get it right this time. She smiled to herself and continued walking, digging in her pack for the flashlight she'd seen earlier.

A few feet ahead she caught the outline of figure nearing the river's edge. In the dark she couldn't make out who it was. Please, please don't make it another loser, she thought, sending up a little prayer.

((Evelyn Reed continued from Cold, Wet, and Tired))

Evelyn sniffled as she walked, wallowing in self-indulgent pity as she backtracked the route that had taken her to the key, currently a danger zone. Nothing about this trip had gone right. They should have been out camping, enjoying the wilderness and allowing her to break in her brand new LL Bean hiking boots. In a place that had plumbing so she wouldn't have to squat like some kind of savage in the woods!

As she looked out at the unnatural darkness, she bitterly hated this disgusting chunk of rock. She should have been wandering out under the stars with Nik. She should have been holding Nik's hand while he professed his undying love for her. He would gather her close and hold her as she let know now *exactly* how she felt about him. It would be lovely. It would be perfect. It would BE HAPPENING SOME PLACE OTHER THAN THIS DAMN ISLAND!

Instead of being held and cosseted like the treasure she was, Evelyn Reed was alone. If the next 48 hours were anything like the previous, nothing good would happen before she died. No friends would offer comfort and understanding. No Nik would appear to keep her safe and protected. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Only the dregs of humanity she'd run across who all seemed to think that now, because they were here in the fifth circle of Hell, they were all friends and shit or something. And while they killed her, she would probably look like complete and utter shit so that, even in death, she would be robbed of her dignity as the pictures and video circulated endlessly around the internet.

That thought alone brought out another sob. Which was immediately followed by a growl from her stomach. "Quiet you," she said, poking the offending organ. "You could do with skipping a few more meals." A day without food was not a new experience for Evelyn. She had often skipped meals, especially after her "activities" during stressful periods. Which was disgustingly ironic. Nothing in her life had been more stressful than this, but here she was, stranded without a package of Oreos in sight.

Pausing long enough to get out her water bottle, Evelyn drained it dry in a few swift gulps. Not hydrating, however, was completely unacceptable. It dragged down your performance AND was bad for your complexion. Examining the now empty bottle, she wondered what she would do to replace her supply. She supposed she could try to steal some from her classmates, but honestly, that sounded like a lot of effort and a good way to end up dead.

"I'd just die of embarrassment, getting shot by some loser while trying to jack their water bottle," she said with a disgusted snort. "Any way but that."

A familiar sound teased her ears. The sound of moving water. Just as she had run out of water, another source had made itself known. Finally, something was going her way. Water to drink and clean herself with!

With an extra bounce in her step, Evelyn headed for the sound of the water.

The river's edge was barely illuminated by the moonlight. If Meredith hadn't been so careful, she might have fallen in. She peered over the bank, looking at the inky blackness of the water below. She put down her bags. Slowly, she pulled off her boots and, sitting by the side of the river, dipped her legs into the water to test the strength of the current.

It was strong, but nothing that she couldn't handle.

Meredith leaned back and looked up at the stars for a moment, watching as they twinkled in the sky and enjoying the feel of the cool water against her skin. She was in an oddly contemplative mood. She turned to the side, pawing through her things until she found her soap, shampoo and towel. Making sure that they were within reach, Meredith stood up and began to strip. First her coat, then her shirt and pants, then finally her bra and panties. She didn't bother folding them, leaving them in a pile where she stood.

Naked as the day she was born, Meredith pushed herself off the grassy bank and into the water. The water was freezing cold. Meredith shuddered and panted for a few moments, trying to adjust to the temperature. She treaded water for a while, then held her breath as she lowered her feet. The water didn't look too deep , but she wasn't about to take her chances. Her feet touched the rocky river bottom – the river was about neck deep, which served her purposes well.

She wondered if anyone was watching. She wondered if there were any creatures in the river. She squirmed as she imagined a number of things that could happen to her unprotected body while she was out here. She waded to the side of the river and picked up her weapon, draping it around the back of her neck and over her shoulders and breasts so that it didn't get carried away by the current. It was probably not the best idea, but she wasn't about to have it stolen either. The wet chain slung nicely over the front of her shoulders, moulding its shape to her body.

She herld her breath, shut her eyes and bent her knees, sinking her head into the river to wet her hair, keeping a grip on her weapon as she did so. As she dipped her head under the water, she realised (a little too late), that the chain had caught on her long hair.

She yelped a little as the hair ripped out of her scalp, bubbles rising to the surface. She swallowed some of the water and resurfaced, spluttering a little.

[Girl #101 - Sofia Martelli. Continued from When the Bite Just isn't Sharp Enough.]

She was alone.

---

♪ And we keep driving into the night. ♫

She had been alone that first night too, when she was wandering through the thick pine forest, flashlight in hand to illuminate her lonely path, her lonely road through the hell that was now her life; Always fearing the unknown just out of sight, the possibility of death and despair behind every turn, behind every tree and every bush hidden in the shadows. Her pace was slow but steady, determined and ever stubborn, yielding to no obstacle that stood in her way whether it was physical or otherwise; She didn't stop to sleep, didn't stop to rest, determined to find the one she was looking for, determined to find the safety in his arms that she desired now more than ever before.

As she moved ever onward, she thought back to every shared moment, every memory she had made with him, every day they spent together or every occasion they were together; All the times they helped one another, offered up a shoulder to cry on or a leg to stand on, every time a hand was extended in kindness. Every time she had to give him a kick to get him going or every time he helped her deal with something that, even though she never would admit it, she couldn't handle on her own. The days and weeks and months and years they spent together, growing up together, sharing stories and making memories...

She missed those days.

She wanted to go back and change things now, make things better than they had been, change something she had done to alter how things would turn out; She wanted to go back and figure out exactly how she felt, tell him what she was thinking and how he made her feel, how important he had been to her and how she cherished his friendship. Tell him everything that was on her mind, what she really felt about that night at prom or the kiss that ended the night, why she did what she had done and why she wasn't able to tell him anything before. But she couldn't go back and do any of that now, she had to keep pushing herself to move forward, to find him and tell him now everything she could; This could very well be the last chance she would get and she didn't want to ruin it.

Not again.

♪ And we keep driving into the night. ♫

She kept moving onward, kept pushing herself to keep going, to keep moving no matter what, to find the one she needed to find and tell him everything she wanted to admit; Everything she would have to admit not just to him but to herself as well, everything she had been doubtful of in the past that she wanted more time to figure out, but time is one thing no one had very much of anymore. Once you were in this hellish game of twisted design, your time was limited unless you were willing to do anything, willing to strike down anyone in your way; She wouldn't let anything or anyone stand in her way, keep her from her goals, but she didn't fathom the thought of actually having to kill someone to reach those goals.

But even as she pushed onward, she was brought back to every little memory that they shared, every little thought she had about him; In school or when she was working, when they were together or when she was alone. Without even noticing, she had delved into memories she had pushed aside, thoughts and feelings she had ignored so long ago, daydreams and wandering ideas that caught her breath in her throat and brought a flush to her skin; Memories melted away to reveal long forgotten fantasies, lonely moments in her car or alone in the dark of her room, the false and created memories from her own mind, her secret imagination.

♪ Your breath hot upon my cheek, and we crossed... that line. ♫

In the dark of the night, her red tinted skin was barely noticed but the heat that suddenly permeated her body, the feeling of her cheeks burning and the quickened pace of her heart, the feeling of nervousness and the sudden, secretive effects brought forth from the thoughts did not escape her notice. Everything disappeared from sight as she closed her eyes, as she tried to calm her racing thoughts and the sudden inescapably baser demands of nature, the demands of her body and her struggling rationalizations to ignore them; A long breath in and a slow shuddering exhale, the barely noticeable trembling and the chill running down the center of her back, the building warmth of her skin and the sudden collapse of her will. After all that had gone on, with everything that they would be forced to face in the days to come, a moment to relax, a moment of reprieve from the stress and the thoughtlessness that would come with a lonely night... It was a temptation that couldn't be passed up.

♪ You made me strong when I was weak... and we crossed, that one time. ♫

---

♪ The Devil grins from ear to ear when he sees the hand he's dealt us. ♫

"No!"

She couldn't listen to that first announcement, the morning of the second day, when she listened to the glee in that horrible voice as it called out the list of those dead and the list of those who had done the killing; She didn't want to listen to that man take any sort of enjoyment from the suffering that was going on, from the pointless deaths that never needed to happen or the precious lives cut short by the horrible hand of fate. She wanted to cover her ears and pretend she never heard the names or the voice, pretend none of it had ever happened and they weren't all going to end up dead, but she couldn't. She couldn't find the strength to move at all when she heard that list get called out over the loudspeakers.

Each and every name.

Right down to the one that mattered most.

"NO!"

There was nothing she could do to stop the tears from coming or the violent sobbing, nothing she wanted to do but hear that it wasn't true, that he wasn't dead, that someone hadn't killed the only person she wanted to be with more than anything else right now; She pulled her backpack close, wrapped her arms tightly around the relative comfort of the clothing filled bag and buried her head into her pillow. She wouldn't stop crying, couldn't stop sobbing and didn't want to; She wanted him back, she wanted him to be there to hold her and help her but now he was gone and she would never get a chance to tell him how she felt. She would never get that chance to tell her what he meant to her.

It was too late.

Hours passed and she remained in that very spot, she never moved and never stopped crying, never wanted to get up and keep moving down her chosen road. There was nothing left for her, nothing for her to chase after and no one for her to find, no reason for her to keep going or to keep pushing herself. She had nothing left to fight for, nothing left to justify her presence there, nothing to hope for and no one left to save her, to help her get through this living nightmare. She didn't have any reason to keep moving and so... she never continued. She never got up from where she had chosen to rest, never saw any reason to keep pushing herself to continue. She just mourned the only person she wanted to be with in this terrible place, the one person who had always been there for her when she needed him, the one person she could always count on to help her no matter what.

Day would give way to dusk and dusk would melt away for the night, as the moon rose into the sky and the only noise that permeated the night was the mournful weeping of a lonely girl. A girl who had lost someone very close to her, a friend she had known for years and someone she could count on; A boy who had shared so many moments with this lonely little girl, a young man who had bared his heart to the young woman he had grown to love. Every memory that was brought to the sorrow filled mind of the young girl only brought more tears with it, more moments that she would always regret not changing, every time she had the chance to tell him how she felt but she never did.

That night at prom came to mind and the agonizing grief only built, regret piling upon regret as she remembered the moment he wore his heart on his sleeve, the moment he pulled her close and sealed the night with a kiss; The moment she regretted more than anything else, the moment she broke his heart and tore her own, the moment she should have admitted to him and to herself everything she knew to be true. Alone in the woods, a young girl filled with regret and sorrow cried. Mourning a loss that was too great for words, a piece torn from her heart that would never be replaced.

The lonely girl mourned her first love.

♪ It's a late goodbye. Such a late goodbye... ♫

---

She was alone.

The sun had yet to come up again, brief bits of light from the moon peeking through the thick canopy of pine and fir trees above her, revealing the path she had reluctantly begun to follow; She had managed to pull herself back up less than an hour ago, no more crying, no more sobbing, no more thoughts of missed chances and lost opportunities. Just a blank stare and tear stained cheeks, dirty clothes and consistent grip upon the lead pipe in her hand, a trudging pace through the woods to the sound of running water in the ever nearing distance. She may have wanted to remain where she was, to mourn the loss of Tony and do nothing but sit in the dark, but she had a new path to follow, a new road that had been set out before her. Not one she made herself but one made for her.

She had a path to follow that early morning and she would follow it willingly, the bag that had brought her a tiny sense of comfort hanging from her back as her footfalls broke the leaf litter below her, broke the twigs and crushed the needles; All she could see before her was a dark path and a noise in the distance, a temptation to wash away what had happened and be rid of the filth that clung to her body and soul that she would give in to. No more sorrowful lament, no more mournful weeping, no more grief or regret. Just the choices to be made and the consequences of those choices.

♪ On the asphalt underneath, our crushed plans and my lies. ♫

A familiar feeling came with the goal in mind, the task she had set out to do and was focused on to the point of being single minded; A feeling she had reveled in when she first woke up in this nightmare, a feeling she had intended to keep with her as long as she could but one she failed to hold on to when it came down to it. But now, it had returned stronger than ever, had returned with a new focus in mind and would never leave her this time; This time, she had a far stronger reason to keep that feeling, to hold on to it with all her strength and make sure it was put to good use. This time, she wouldn't fail in her goal and wouldn't let the bubbling emotions slip through her fingers. Not this time.

She wouldn't ruin it.

Her destination was close now, a chance to wash away everything she didn't want clinging to her and a chance to come clean with herself; With it came a second chance at rest, at relaxation where she could get it and a moment to herself that she wasn't about to pass up. A change of clothes and a chance at something normal, something familiar, something that was exactly what they would have been doing had this trip turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary camping trip with those of the senior class lucky enough to go.

Lucky...

She tightened her grip.


She stared into the river.



At the naked girl bathing within it.




"Not so mysterious now, are you--"





"Meredith?"

Thea stopped amazed that the girl, for now that she'd taken a few more steps she could tell it was a girl, proceeded to strip in front of her and lower herself into the river. Thea shrugged, but knew from experience that the water was cold. She came over to the side of the bank where the girl had dumped her clothes and groaned. The clothes were enough for her to keep walking. She was one of those Goths, who thought that dark make-up and corsets made them fashionable. And half the time they didn't even have the equipment to properly pull off the corsets. She stepped away from the pile of clothes intent on continuing on when she noticed Evelyn approaching.

"Evelyn," she practically shrieked and then looked chagrined. Shrieking in the middle of the night probably wasn't the best idea. "Evie, oh my God, it is so good to see you," she tried again her volume much lower this time.

Her conversation was interrupted when another voice called out of the darkness.

"Not so mysterious now, are you--"

"Meredith?"

Thea turned to see that another girl had approached them, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt from what Thea could see illuminated by her flashlight. She turned back her attention on Evelyn, leaving the two of them to discuss the fact that, in the middle of the island with apparently killers on the loose, Meredith had decided to totally strip. While she and Evelyn discussed much more important matters.

"How have you been? Have you seen anyone else from the squad? I ran in to two of them, but had to bail cuz all these losers keep following me around. I finally had to just tell them off. Hopefully, they've gotten the message. And James you will never believe he actually started to like fawn over Winnie Clark, can you imagine. I honestly don't know what came over him," the words came out in a rush now that she actually had someone who spoke her language.

((Jason Clarke continued from Watch Your Step))

Jason walked along the path, trying to relax and take in some of the scenery as he dragged the flat of the sword's blade along the ground.

If I didn't have a death collar around my neck, this would be quite the camping trip. In truth, he was worried (although he would have had to have been stupid to NOT be worried). Forty students dead within forty-eight hours. This was not good. For all he knew, he could be next, and speed, intelligence, respect ... none of those things were anything a bullet cared about. The names of the killers ran through his head.

Reiko Ishida. The lead killer, at four. She'd been a bit of a celebrity back when everyone was normal, a good figure skater (Jason didn't really understand what the big deal was - obviously it took a lot of practice and skill, but he had never been all that interested in that), but how did she kill some of those people? Was she playing the victim? Or was she aggressive? Or was she just unlucky?

Sarah Atwell She'd recorded her kill. If that was true, then according to what Danya said, she went off the wall. What type of a person videotaped their own kill (Of course, it went through Jason's head that the recording had simply been coincidence, but the way Danya said it, plus Sarah's win of best kill, made Jason doubt whether Sarah was innocent)?

… had to bail cuz all these losers keep following me around. I finally had to just tell them off. Hopefully, they've gotten the message. And James you will never believe he actually started to like fawn over Winnie Clark, can you imagine. I honestly don't know what came over him." Jason looked ahead, at the light. He had basically had to do a mental coin flip when he left the Hall of Mirrors - go with Roman, who had never been his type, or Thea, whom he at least had a (very slight) rapport with. He'd chosen Thea, and now he was starting to regret it a little.

Not that you can go back in time and change it. If you could, you'd have just gone back to before we all boarded the bus and slashed the bus tires, or revealed what was going to happen or something like that.

Jason just walked in closer, rubbing his neck right above the collar, raising his sword just enough so that it didn't drag, and decided that the best thing to do was ...

"Hey. Thought I'd be all alone here."

"Evelyn!"

The blonde cheerleader's heart actually skipped a beat as her name was called out. OHmygodit'sTHEA!

"THEA," she joyously screamed back before running up to her teammate and friend. Finally, someone who she could count on. First water, and now Thea. Things were actually starting to look up. She vaguely noted that there were some other people around, but they weren't Thea or her boyfriend, so it really didn't matter.

"Ooooh my gawd, Thea. You are the first person I'm actually glad to see. I've been looking everywhere for the others. The only one I've come across was Janet, yesterday, while was doing her best ‘I'm a drunken ho' routine. Right around here, in fact," Evelyn explained with a quick wave of her arm. "There was a bunch of nobodies. Well, nobodies and Janet, but that's pretty much same diff," she allowed.

"I was asking if anybody had seen you guys or Nik when some crazy kid ran up and set one of the boys on fire." The memory of…whatever his name was burning up brought tears to Evelyn's eyes. Her earlier sniffles resumed with a vengeance as she started to shake.

"He was all on fire, Thea," she whispered in horror, her gaze distant as she recalled the horrific scene. Dropping her gear, she blindly reached for Thea's hands as she stepped closer. No one but Thea needed to know what she was going to say next.

"He was screaming and crying and I didn't know what do to help him." Evelyn choked on the last few words. "He was burning and he needed help and I couldn't think of anything except to run."

With that admission, Evelyn broke into huge, heaving sobs. She had successfully managed to ignore her feelings about the attack for a long time. The boy had seemed like a really nice boy. He didn't deserve what had happened. He had reached out to her while he was burning, but she was too scared to come closer and help him. So he burned up and now he was dead because she was a coward.

She hadn't even really meant to tell any of that to Thea, but she had to tell someone. She couldn't tell Nik that because he would think her a monster for not saving that boy. Nik would have saved that boy, but she wasn't Nik. Thea was her friend. She wouldn't judge. She would help make it all okay.

Meredith squinted and instinctively threw her arms up to cover her face as the light from the torches carried by other people illuminated the immediate vicinity. Thankfully, most of the intruders were female and there was little need for modesty. The river water was surprisingly clean and clear, but it was dark enough that most of her body was hidden.

Disoriented by the light, she listened to the girls chatter, hearing Sofia's vaguely familiar voice addressing her, but for the moment unable to see who was around. Meredith unslung her weapon, not because she would have any tactical advantage by readying it, but because she felt safer that she was at least making some sort of effort to defend herself.

She felt it pull and rip out some further stray hairs as she held it out in front of her. Now that she was wet, it was harder to keep a good grip on the weapon. She could feel the river's current pulling at it as well. She glared at the light, waiting for the moment when the gunshots started and she died.

She shut her eyes and continued to wait for a few more moments, her arms shivering as her numb fingers held tight to the ends of her weapon.

{{continued from Keeping The Faith}}

Sebastian was still freaked out. And why wouldn't he be, after watching that bible thumper girl stab someone to death with a rock? At the start of the game, even though he could easily confirm that he really was on an island with a weapon and was supposed to kill people, and that yes, people really were dying, he still felt some strange sense of detachment. He'd yet to see any dead bodies, acts of violence, or even anybody with a proper weapon, and that gave him the ability to see things logically and with a cool head, as if outlasting over 200 people, most of them better armed and more suited to all this than he was, really wasn't that big a deal.

But now he caught a glimpse of his first dead body; his first murder. That could've been him down at the bottom of the cliff, lying in a pool of his own blood. If he'd managed to piss off that crazy bible thumper before the other guy assaulted her, she could've gone after him first. Before, he could think about the most advantageous ways to survive the game no problem, but now he could barely think straight. Every tree, every building, every anything that provided any kind of cover became a hiding place for a prospective killer to pop out and add him to his kill list.

He stopped as he began to hear voices nearby? Stepping with more caution, he began to move forward, making use of whatever cover he could find. Moving closer and closer, he eventually caught sight of...

A naked girl standing in the river.

...

Okay.

Sebastian pondered whether he should make his presence known, hearing other voices nearby. Quickly deciding on lying in wait for the time being, he soon realized that his body wasn't going to let that happen as he started to feel a sneeze coming on.

No. No I am NOT going to be found out because of some goddamn...

Oh, son of a bitch.

"Ah-CHOOO!"

Four girls, gathered around or in the river, all there with their own intents and their own goals, all coming to the source of running water with the same idea; A small reprieve from the nightmare, a chance to relax with something normal, a chance to bathe and rid themselves of the dirt and grime and overall filth of what they had been through. Up on the ground, close to the bank, were Thea and Evelyn, cheerleaders and apparently quite close friends who found solace and safety in each others presence; In the river was Meredith, the girl who'd suddenly adopted the goth culture at some point in school, seeking attention from everyone who met her with a guise of mystery and darkness.

With more than a few people gathered around her, Meredith looked to be panicking, grasping at her weapon and baring it at everyone she could, fighting the current as it threatened to take not only the very implement she held from her grasp but also sweep away her footing and drag her into the swiftly shifting depths. Perhaps it was Sofia she was seeking to defend herself from, the one who had confronted her with a tone in her voice wreathed in malice, the one who stood closest with a weapon in hand. Not the best first impression, that was certain, but she only needed one question to be answered and she didn't need to be nice to get it.

"Stop cowering, you're not the one I'm looking for."

Sofia's words were spat out at Meredith with annoyance and anger in her voice, a tone that betrayed her feelings at the moment towards everyone involved in this little game, but perhaps they spoke of her feelings towards the nude girl before any of this ever happened. Meredith wasn't exactly the most enjoyable person to socialize with, calling herself that ridiculous name and insisting that others use it as well, steeping herself in a culture obsessed with loneliness and sadness and depression, with morbidity in some cases and often times death.

She was never too fond of 'goth'.

There were more people gathering now, two boys that had emerged from the darkness and the woods, one near the cheerleaders with a sword and the other having given away his position by sneezing and doing so quite loudly at that. She would have spun around and bared her weapon at either of them, out of fear or out of anger, but it wasn't in her interest to make enemies with people who may have kept her from her goal, may prevent her from following the road she'd inevitably chosen to follow. What she did do, however, was turn the flashlight on them with a glance and then addressed anyone within earshot, asking each of them the question that she desperately wanted the answer to.

"Have any of you seen Colin Falcone?"

((Sorry to break post order, but this is gonna get good ...))

((Charlene continued from Break Up and Break Down))

Charlene had to take a break. She had been carrying Alex for who knows how long. It wasn't the weight that was getting to her - she'd dealt with that while running (Of course, she was in a kind of desperate situation at the time, and wasn't really thinking about it.). No, it was the smell. With Madelyn ostensibly following her, she was starting to worry. Alex had been jabbering about cutting off his arm, and with no time to look at a map (the fact that his arm was rotting off while still on his body took precedence), Charlene hadn't noticed that she had been going the wrong way, as the sight of the Gazebo would tell her (if she had looked further, she would have noticed the burned body of Daniel Vaughan).

Need to find someone. Need to find a guy who can operate on this.

With her flashlight in her left hand (she'd been forced to stick her gun into the waist band of her pants again to free up a hand to do so), she looked around, finding nothing really until she noticed the glint of a sword. Well, Alex did say he wanted his arm chopped off ...

"HEEEEYYYY! I need help here! Something's wrong with him! I need your sword to keep him." She kept her flashlight trained on Sword Boy.

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Jason was taken aback by Evelyn's admission. She'd been unlucky enough to watch Daniel die. And not even a quick death, either. If she was telling the truth (she was), then Daniel had suffered greatly. He elected to keep quiet (he didn't want to risk saying anything utterly daft at this point), until he heard a voice call out, as a light flickered over to him and some other guy whom he just noticed.

"Have any of you seen Colin Falcone?" He looked at the short girl who had made the inquiry.

"No. I'm afraid I don't know who that is - what the ..." A light flashed directly into his eyes, temporarily blinding him.

"HEEEEYYYY! I need help here! Something's wrong with him! I need your sword to keep him."

"Well, don't get yourself in a twist, just get that light away!" Jason closed his eyes as he fished through his regulation bag for a flashlight. He found the metal tube in his bag, flicking it on before taking it out backwards as he averted his eyes to adjust to the light. He squinted in a struggle to make out anything, looking at his flashlight, realizing that he was pointing it the wrong way. With his light finally oriented the right way, he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know why you would need my sword to dear Lord, what happened to you?" The striking beauty of the heterochromatic blonde (how funny it was that he noted that fact even now) was sort of overshadowed by the sweaty boy beside her. Or more specifically, his arm. His right arm was swollen and gray, centered around a wound on the upper portion of his arm (This was due to an infection he had incurred, which had created gangrene, either due to the direct exposure to the air, or because some cloth had gotten stuck in the wound, contaminating it). At best, he was looking to losing a decent part of his arm.

((One week has passed. I can't afford to keep Meredith hanging.))

Meredith kept her eyes shut tight. She heard people talking at her, but didn't quite manage to analyse the content of their words. Each second that passed seemed like a miniature eternity as she waited for the inevitable shooting to occur.

It didn't.

Meredith cracked opened one eye, peeking through her wet hair to see what was happening. Someone was talking to her, but the general din that was occurring around her made it difficult to figure out what was going on. She decided that continuing with her current course of action was best.

Now a little more careful to consider her hair, Meredith carefully redraped the weapon around her body and waded up to the bank. As she approached the bank, she noticed the presence of members of the opposite sex. She frowned, rather irritated by their intrusion on her personal space – moreso because she'd have to change her plan for scrubbing her body with soap. At least the shampoo didn't need to be used onshore.

Realising that the weapon going to do more harm than good if it were sitting on her body, she shut her eyes tight and dived into the water, feeling along the bottom of the river for a crack between the rocks. She jammed the weapon into the crack as hard as she dared, then placed her foot on the trailing chain so that it didn't wash away completely. Having secured her weapon on the river's bottom, she grabbed her shampoo bottle and measured out an amount of shampoo into her hand, scrubbing her hair with her fingers to ensure that she'd thoroughly cleaned her scalp.

Thea rolled her eyes and smiled at Evie's perfect description of Janet.

"I was asking if anybody had seen you guys or Nik when some crazy kid ran up and set one of the boys on fire." The memory of…whatever his name was burning up brought tears to Evelyn's eyes. Her earlier sniffles resumed with a vengeance as she started to shake.

Thea's eyes widened as Evelyn's story continued and Thea silently thanked whoever was watching out for her at the moment, that she hadn't seen anything like that. She took Evelyn's outstretched hand and put her other arm around her, while the girl continued her story.

For once Thea didn't have anything to say. What could she say, she wondered. I'm sorry you saw someone catch on fire. Somehow that didn't seem to cut it. Instead she settled for murmuring nonsense words to try and get her friend to calm down. For the most part she just held on to Evelyn and let her cry. She stood like that for a while tuning the other's voices out. However, she straightened when a familiar voice rang out in the night.

"HEEEEYYYY! I need help here! Something's wrong with him! I need your sword to keep him."

"Charlie," she called. She kept an arm around Evelyn and turned to find her best friend in the dark. She hadn't even crossed my mind, Thea thought guiltily. I was so worried about James and now he's up and ditched me.

Thea saw that Charlene seemed to be dragging someone along with her. She sucked air through her teeth creating a "tsk" sound. What loser has she hooked up with now? Seriously we're going to stage an intervention of something. And what in the world does she need Jason's sword for? Her curiosity peaked she gave Evelyn's shoulder a squeeze and walked over to stand next to Jason.

She waved at Charlie as she joined the group. She wanted to give her a hug, but not with that boy hanging all over her. "Hey Char, what's up? What do you need a sword for?"

Evelyn leaned heavily against Thea and sobbed. To others, it might appear that Evelyn was deeply grieving for the nameless boy who had died. In reality, Evelyn's tears were ones of relief. She had been terrified at thought of being rejected by Thea. If Thea couldn't understand and forgive her inability to save their classmate, there was no way that Nik would ever be able to do the same. If Thea and Nik rejected her, she had no idea what she'd do. They were among the few people who would ever really understand her.

Evelyn was momentarily stunned as a new thought hit her. Her relief quickly turning into shame.

Sally.

Sally would have understood and stood by her as well. But Sally was gone now, thanks to that disgusting little freak, Reika. Or was it Reiko? It didn't matter. One of them was already dead while the other one had killed Sally and a bunch of other people, the evil, spiteful little thing. Whichever one was left, she had to go.

Eyes narrowed, Evelyn tried to think up the most horrible thing she could do to make the little wretch suffer. Just as she was about to bring up Sally's demise to Thea, she heard a familiar bellow.

"HEEEEYYYY! I need help here! Something's wrong with him! I need your sword to keep him."

Evelyn mutely rolled her eyes as Thea called out to her best friend. ‘Of. Course. Boobs McGee is here. And she's making perfect sense as usual,' she silently snarked in deference to her squad mate.

Sniffling once more, she stepped back and turned to see what in the hell Charlene was yelling about. Her jaw dropped as she noticed the boy being carted along.

"Seriously, what the hell did you DO, Charlene?" she blurted out in horror.