Survival Of The Fittest

((Chadd Crossen continued from Rest and Relaxation.))

Chadd had gotten insanely lost. The entirety of the past twelve hours were a blank, and he had no recollection of how he had landed face down on a group of wooden planks. Little did he know that the drugs used in the knocking out of the kidnapped class had reacted extremely poorly in his system; and even during the events the night prior he was still under the effects. Dreams and reality had merged, and with what little reality he understood, those dreams were nightmares. The ten hours he spent running in circles, freaking out at every shadow during the day; and at every single flicker of light at night. Some of the more common quotes from the evening in stonerville were "OH SHIT A DEMON" and "Oh dear fuck, what was that?!?" at absolutely nothing.

However that was then (and lost in the labyrinth of Chadd's mind), and this was now. And now, he was face first in a grungy bench; somewhere else inside of the residential area.. And as he pushed himself to his rear, he saw water. Water, as far as the eye can see. The sleepers not yet out of his eyes; everything was fuzzy and out of focus. So a pair of weary hands reached up to wipe them, a yawn forcing itself from the boy's mouth. And then back onto his ass he went. While he didn't remember the events of the night prior, he remembered the feelings. Fear, and paranoia were the flavors of the day. And this entire thing felt so much more relaxed. There was just something about the waves lapping up onto the stone barricade that surrounded the town that was so calming; so natural. Even though there was absolutely nothing natural about this hellish island.

And so he sat.

And he waited.

The watch on his wrist passed a full hour at least as he was sitting in this location.

And then there was a crackle, almost seeming to emanate from the town itself; as if this particular place of residence had a mind of it's own. A group of scavenging seagulls flew away in the loudest and least ceremonious fashion possible as Mr. Danya interrupted their breakfast.

And as he sat, in yet another stupor, his blood almost boiled.

This fuck wasn't just in this to get at the American government. This fucker was getting off to all of his classmates dying.

God. Fucking. Damn. It.

The boy pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and began scribbling down names. One page for those who had died, and one page for those who had killed. The first page tallied 19, while the second tallied only to 10. Ten of his classmates were killing. Quite a few names he recognized, and only one or two of the players themselves really surprised him. No one he was all that personally vested in found their way into the announcements though; no real surprise. Most of his friends went to other high schools in the area.

And then the actual important bits, the danger zones. And he mumbled them back as he recorded them. "The Lighthouse... The Groundskeeper's Hut... And the Greens... Alright. That helps so much, I have no fucking idea what the last two are." He shook his head in utter disgust.

For now, Chadd just wanted to be alone. And he received his wish; for a time at least. Forty five minutes of thought, relaxation, and rest.

God damn it I needed this.

The boy rolled back into a seated position on the bench after this bit of rest and really looked through his day-pack for the first time. He was famished... And mildly annoyed at what he found. There were only a couple of bottles of water present, as well as a loaf of bread. Fantastic. Either way he bit into one of the loaves, savoring the feeling of the hunger being staved off as the soft food hit his stomach. The bottle of water cracked open; and try as he might to stop himself, he still downed the entire bottle.

Fuck. I need to ration this shit better.

Taking a deep breath and setting the empty bottle back in his bag, he began to rifle through. A map and compass, a first aid kit, a tazer, more wate- A tazer?

His weapon pull had been a tazer? Fucking. Sweet. At least it was something he could use.

Glancing around quickly, he began to pack everything but the weapon back into the bag, and zipped it up tight. God only knows when he would have to move.

((Etain Brennan continued from A Solitude That Asks Nothing In Return))

It had been a long damn night. After running like hell away from the beach and that crazy chick with the gun, he'd wandered most of the day. He didn't know or have any idea where to go, and it was all a crap shoot in locating Kris. Maybe he would have gone after Tabi, but by the time he got moving, there wasn't any hope of that. The prospect of getting shot in the back the moment he stood up and revealed himself was a powerful motivation to take it slow and play it safe. Then he was alone again, having lost first Kris, then Tabi. The only silver-lining was that Clio seemed to have moved along after hitting Ivan. Unless there was some opportunist waiting in the wings, he was temporarily safe.

Etain wandered the island after that. With nowhere to go, and no idea where his friends might be, there wasn't anything else for him to do. After the incident on the beach, Etain decided to play it safe. Anytime he encountered anybody else, he quickly ducked out of sight, hiding away until he was clear. Whenever he thought about making contact, he rubbed his sore jaw and stayed the course. His primary goal was still to find Kris, but staying in once piece was a close second. It wasn't like he could keep looking with a bullet in the stomach.

Day turned to dusk, dusk to night, and he needed to find some place to bunk down for the night. It had to be someplace safe, someplace out of the way, someplace he wasn't liable to be shot in his sleep. There were a few places he'd made his way through during that day that seemed promising. The scatter of residential buildings he'd passed through not too long ago was the best bet. Etain ended up taking a rock and smashing a window before climbing inside and hiding out upstairs.

He dreamed about Kris, about prom night. He dreamed about her blue dress, her nervous smile, her blush. The kiss goodbye. When he woke up that morning, he woke with a sense of longing. To say that he woke up feeling like a piece of him was missing would be extreme, but not totally inaccurate. There wasn't anything that changed in the night during his rudimentary planning. Aside from the decision to play things closer to the chest, nothing had changed.

After clearing the buildings and starting down the street, a voice crackled to life on a speaker he couldn't see. His interest was more focused on his surroundings then the announcement. It was only the mention of Kris's name that caught his attention. There was only two reasons she could have been mentioned. It took him a second to remember the girl in the swamp. Still, after that, he paid more careful attention. His blood ran cold when the voice mentioned her again. At first, he thought it had to be a mistake, or, or a lie. Kris was no killer. Kris was the sweetest girl he knew, she wouldn't hurt a fly. Yet, the voice said different.

Etain felt numb. He took a seat on a conveniently placed bench without thinking. Kris was evidently a killer. No, no, there had to mitigating circumstances. Something that the voice didn't say. Yeah, that was it. Kris was only defending herself. Someone had attacked her, or she was protecting someone. It was impossible to fathom otherwise. Etain looked up, noticing for the first time he wasn't alone. His first instinct was to run, but what message would that send? Beside, at this point there was no reason to act with any hostility. With a quick grin, Etain tipped his hat at the other boy. "Ah, how're ya?"

G108, MARY ANN WARREN: START.

On the morning of the second day, a young girl left the town that had so kindly given her shelter for the night and set out towards the nearby residential area. Mary Ann Warren had successfully completed what would eventually become the first chapter of her demise.

The previous day was easily one of the worst of her short life- and undoubtedly the best she would see on this island. She'd awakened somewhere near the edge of a forest. After some reflection, she looked through her bags, dumping anything she didn't see herself needing here- books, DS, games, makeup, swimsuit. It broke her heart to lose some of these things... but she bit her lip, stuffed all her remaining possessions into one bag, and kept moving. The most inconvenient item she had to keep with her, though- the large, heavy sword she'd found in one of her bags. Before that day, she'd have been ecstatic to get to hold a sword like this- she would pick it up, (try to) swing it around a bit, and put it down before going back to whatever else she had to do. But here, she needed it. No matter how heavy it was, it could- would save her life eventually. That didn't stop the thing from making her journey that much more difficult, unfortunately. The weapon had changed positions countless times along the way- at first, she'd awkwardly strapped it to the back of her pack. But then it kept hitting stuff (not to mention it made her bag so freaking heavy). She considered putting it over her shoulder like she'd seen people do with guns or hobo-packs, before a moment of clarity told her she'd just decapitate herself. Eventually, she'd resorted to just dragging the thing along in the dirt. Sure, it might dull, but she'd still be able to defend herself. Hell, this thing was pretty scary looking. She might not even have to use it, she'd thought optimistically.

She'd spent the day running, hiding- anything to get away from the screams and gunshots the girl occasionally heard in the distance. She'd eventually came across what looked like a village, so the tired girl slipped into the first unlocked house she found for some much-needed rest. Her sleep was inconsistent at best- the girl jumped at every noise, every voice. She cried if she thought too much about her situation and the futility of hiding. But by morning, she had gotten a total of around five hours... maybe. The important part was, she'd succeeded in avoiding death for one day. She left the house at dawn, her head and eyes throbbing with the usual headache after a night full of tears. Suddenly, she heard a crackle. The police? The Army?

"Kids, I have to say that I'm truly impressed with your first day showing!" Oh. Him. Mary Ann dropped her sword and fell to her knees, listening to the evil man relate the previous day's most gruesome events to the helpless senior class. Nineteen dead. The game had claimed nearly twenty people already. Twenty-four divided by nineteen... six over five, approximately. Five students every six hours. Almost once per hour, one of Mary Ann's former classmates died. This guy seemed so... so... excited. So overjoyed. So frightening. A large knot formed in the girl's throat, and her headache worsened. This was real. She wasn't going to get out of here. Even if she did, she wouldn't leave without blood on her hands poisoning her good fortune. No, it wouldn't be worth it to get out of here that way.

So was this the end?

Mary Ann gazed at the sword lying apathetically beside her. It really is pointless to stay here... She could slit her throat, or her wrists. She could find someone with a gun. She had a belt in her bag. There was water right there if she wanted to...

No. Not yet. There has to be some hope. It's only the first day. No, the second day. She wasn't giving up now. Not here. Not yet. Mary Ann picked up her sword again and kept moving. Maybe if she went to the docks there would be a boat. Or- Oh, great. Two young men were sitting on a bench about ten yards away. Mary Ann immediately hid behind the nearest wall. She wouldn't be able to continue towards the docks without them spotting her. She couldn't recognize them because their backs were turned, but the announcement had conveyed one thing- killing was on everyone's minds here. But then again, she'd definitely gotten lucky yesterday. Other days would be different. She couldn't avoid people forever. Maybe one of these guys could help. They could look out for each other.

Or they could stab her in the back with the sword that dragged silently behind her. She could wait and watch, see if they were friendly towards one another... but what if they weren't? Then what? I'll figure it out when it happens. Until then, the girl hung back, watching, waiting for a sign.

Please give me a sign.

((Note: I'm aware this technically exceeds the thread count. However, one thread here is more or less over/dead, given handlers are away or have left the site. Since there's a death that needs doing in this thread, I'm giving it special dispensation to take place here in order to ensure that it gets done on time))

The other male voice snapped Chadd out of his stupor. Even without the drugs coursing through his system, he was still running on a bit of adrenaline. The sight of the Tazer, while both exciting and good news, still set a bit of realization going through his head. Chadd was fully expected with very little doubt to die. And this simple fact put him on edge; weather he realized it or not. And so when Etain's heavily accented voice broke the serenity, he jumped. And he spun, the Tazer in hand, pointing directly at him. At a glance, Chadd had no idea how to operate it, but he hoped the idea of intimidation would help him out some. The gesture and tone were lost completely on the frightened boy.

"Stay back! Don't hurt me!"

Not exactly how he wanted that to come out. He wanted to sound in command, in control of the situation. However like this, his hunched posture and his startled eyes portrayed nothing but him being a scared little dog. And if this guy wanted to kill him, he was beyond screwed.

"Er, I mean... What do you want?"

Yeah, great job there. Try and retcon what you just said. That's going to work so well.

He pushed himself to a standing position, the Tazer still raised. His foot slid backwards on the salt crusted cobblestone, the boot kicking the open pack to the ground; it's contents spilling to the earth. This entire situation was just getting worse and worse as he attempted to work with it. He was seriously dead if this kid wanted to kill him.

Quick! What's the most badass thing you can come up with. He needed to salvage this and still try to look tough.

"Friend or Foe?" He tried to put an inflection on the question that would make it hang in the air. Make Etain shake with fear if he was here to fight, or feel reassured if he was here to be peaceful. "What's your weapon?" Another solid piece of information to have. If he had to approach everyone like this for the next few days, that was going to get old fast. Very, very fast. And he couldn't wait to find Janet, and... Well, actually what then? Only one of them was getting off of this island alive. Either she would have to die, or he would. And if they were the last two alive... What then? What could he ever hope to do?

Not an issue right now. He attempted to reassure himself and pull himself back into the real world; as fake as this facade of a game felt. Time to deal with this, and figure out where to go from here. No plan would ever be good though. Would he really be willing to kill for anyone else? Especially after what she did to him? His mind traced back to the ring sitting in his personal bag, just waiting to be given to the perfect girl. No, she wasn't perfect, that was something he would have to accept. He still loved her, that was for sure.

But could he trust her?

His mind continued to wander as he stood, thumb on the first button he could locate; not really there as he threatened Etain's with an arc of electricity.

((Courtney Bradley, continued from Take, Eat))

Courtney had walked for what felt like forever, and still not managed to get anywhere. Her map had proven to be pretty much useless to her, and well, without anyway of knowing where she was, she'd gotten lost pretty quickly. She recalled walking by a mountain, but aside from that... she hadn't seen anyone, or anything, of note.

She looked around. She'd come to somewhere interesting, that was for sure. She took a look around. Houses? There were houses on this island? She'd seen Residential District marked on her useless POS map somewhere, but she'd assumed it was some sort of joke and that it would turn out to be a tent and two cows or something. But, no. She was wrong. There were houses.

Didn't that mean the entire island had been lived on?

More shouting. Voices. From somewhere, anyway. Courtney found herself again rushing to find the source of someone shouting. Maybe this time she'd get a different reaction. Someone she knew, Someone who'd be glad to see her.

Please let it be someone who'd be glad to see her.

Courtney looked around. It stopped. Something about someone named some greens and then silence. That was odd. Who was shouting? Why?

She took cautious steps forwards. There were people nearby. Which was sort of relieving, until she saw the situation. Someone was sat on a bench with their back turned and... and someone brandishing... oh what the hell, was that a taser? Was he threatening them with a taser?

Well, she thought about running. She thought about just turning around, letting him tase the guy, throw him off a cliff or whatever and just never think about it again. No. She couldn't. She couldn't live with herself if she did that. She couldn't let herself be a coward. She had to do something, help them out. But she was a coward. She was a runner. All her life she'd been running away from these things.

Courtney shook her head and charged towards him. She was going to prove to the perverts watching at home she wasn't cowardly G002, Easy kill with a box of condoms as a weapon. She was going to prove to him that he couldn't just wave a taser around in people's faces and get away with it, but most of all... she wanted to prove to herself that she was actually worth a damn. Courtney hurtled along towards him, fists balled up.

And then she stopped. Hesitated. Came to a abrupt halt a couple of paces away from him. She couldn't do it. Not now. But she had to do something. If not attacking him, there had to be another way to get him to stop.

"Leave him alone!" She shouted. She doubted it would work, but it was the best she could do.

((Sorry about skipping you guys. However, Chadd needs to die, so here it goes.))

Again, the boy's concentration was broken by another threat. Another threat running very fast towards him. He heard the soft patter of small feet on hard earth. Getting closer, and faster... Chadd whirled to level the Tazer at his assailant when suddenly her momentum stopped dead. And the sight was not what he had expected at all. In fact, the attacker seemed so out of place that he stumbled backwards out of shock, his heel treading the boundary between the cobbles and the sea. A

Little 5'4" Courtney Bradley. He had seen her on occasion when he went to watch Janet cheer, and frankly, she seemed like the last person who would attack a cornered animal. But here she was. And her fists were balled. She looked pissed. The force with which she was running would have been more than enough to knock him to the ground.

"Leave him alone!"

Wait. Wha? His mind was unable to quite process the possibility that this outside observer thought that he was the Assailant, not Etain. In fact, it was if the adrenaline beginning to pump was making him forget that leveling the tazer at Etain was nothing but a precaution. He truly felt in danger for his life. And one Tazer was NOT going to stop two people hell bent on ending his life. So he did the most reasonable thing that came to mind.

Outnumbered, he fled.

However, in his haste, he had forgotten that he was mere inches away from the sea; his foot on the lip of the stone retaining wall that saved the town from flooding.

The momentum from spinning on his heel made him lose his footing. A sensation of falling washed over him, leaving him confused for a moment. That is, until he realized he was really falling. Out of reaction his hands shot in front of him to brake his fall, even though it would do absolutely no good against the rushing waters. This motion was not completely in vain, for as his hands bounced against the cobblestone making the barricade to the ocean, it forced his body into a tumble, sending him hurtling towards a rock outcropping which he would never see.

The scream that was beginning to form as he fell was cut extremely short upon his forceful re-entry to the earth. First, his feet touched down into the water. Quickly followed by his legs, his rear, and his lower back. However his neck didn't follow suit, and a shot of pure pain spread through the area of the impact. His spine had crashed directly into the pointed edge of one of the outermost rocks in the outcropping, and in reaction a visceral, pained yell echoed back up from the depths in which he lay.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

However the torment wasn't even close to over yet. Realization washed over him as his pain addled mind noticed something missing from his hand. Ohgodwheredidthetazergopleasetellmeitsnot-. His eyes went wide as he noticed the item now finally slipping from the wall on which he had just stood, fear of the tiny electric box causing his mind to race. Through the sheer agony he attempted to move his arms or legs to push himself out of the water and save him from that little black box of death quickly falling towards the salty water. However, for some reason, his body wouldn't respond. Little did Chadd know, but the impact had struck him directly in the spine, and severed a nerve, rendering him paralyzed from the neck down. The one mercy to this was that he would never have to experience life without limb.

This mercy was heavily overshadowed by the fact that he would never experience life at all.

"No no no no no nonononononononono!" After what seemed like an eternity, the tazer finished it's fall; Skittering across the rock outcropping and landing next to Chadd's head, teetering precariously over the ocean, the impact from the fall clicking the small electrical arc on; the button ceasing it's function. All of his strength and effort went towards his arms, in an attempt to swat the thing away. However, yet again, they wouldn't respond to his call. And so he resorted to praying.

And despite his attempt to plead with God, a wave washed over the stone on which the item rested, pushing it closer with such speed that he wouldn't have even had time to react if it could. The power from the batteries discharged as the small metal plugs touched the top of the boy's scalp, and loosed the shock into the ocean thereafter.

The adrenaline that his brain had produced was nowhere near enough to even dull the sensation of this pure shock. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell agape as he felt the pain of electricity through water on his skin, coursing through his veins and every part of his being. His heart raced faster and faster as the electricity took a hold of his recently damaged nervous system, the electrical signals anew making it jump and twitch as if he were a marionette, held by the puppeteer's daughter; naught but a plaything for that power which hovered over. Water began to wash into his mouth as he involuntarily gasped for air, his lungs contracting all their own with each shock, jettisoning fresh sea water back out of his mouth and nose each time that he gasped. The gargling noise that returned to the ears of those above was purely unintelligible, nothing but a testament to the gruesome scene which was entering it's final moments.

The convulsions of his body finally; after what seemed like an eternity loosed his neck from the stone which held him in place. The wave that crashed over just as he became dislodged flipped him face down, his lungs still gasping for sweet, sweet breath; and receiving nothing but the salty taste of the ocean. His floating body continued to flail and scream for a few more moments, his head lolling behind the rest of his body in a gruesome way, the ocean's pristine waters tainted by the poisonous red leaked from the wound. The body crashed against the wall, another agonized scream escaping his lips. His mind was pure fire, nothing existing save for the pure agony in which he existed.

The finally dying boy was then swept under the waves, his limp and useless neck jettisoned into the ocean floor. One last look of sheer horror washed over Chadd Crossen's face as his remaining senses detected a faint beeping, lost to all else by the sound of the waves.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beepbeepbeepbeep.

An explosion rocked the sea itself, combined with the power of the ocean's natural flow; jettisoning a massive wave of water and blood back over the retaining wall which Chadd Crossen had fallen not moments prior. The only piece of the boy that remained upon dry land was the small black velvet box, almost untouched, lying haphazardly upon the bench from where it had quietly slipped from his chest pocket not minutes before.

And inside was a small diamond ring, companied by a simple note, the corners of the white paper jutting just out of the tiny box. And a single drop of red flicked from the rest of the water, landing to adorn the bottom of the otherwise pristine text.

"I forgive you for everything. Love, Chadd."

B011 - Chadd Crossed: Deceased

((Sorry about skipping over you Ella, but I wanted to get this post in before Etain goes inactive.))

Etain jumped off the bench as the sight of the tazer. The fact that the guy didn't seem to eager to use it wasn't exactly comfort. Hell, the fact that the guy was terrified was even worse. That meant he was likely to make a rash decision. Like, oh maybe, tazing him? That would certainly not be the best way to start the morning. "Hey, easy mate, Ah'm not after any sorta trouble."

Just the same, Etain took a step back, away from the bench and his bags. It didn't occur to him that maybe this guy was trying to separate him from any possible weapons might have in his bags. "Friend. Aye, definitely friend." Etain held up his hands in a universal display showing he was unarmed. "Relax, boyo, Ah dinnae have anything dat kin hurt ya." He offered a nervous grin, motioning toward the bags sitting on the ground next to the bench. "All Ah have is some extra food, not hardly enough ta make me Rambo." He didn't really know what posses him to like about the explosives in his bag, but it felt like the right thing to do. Beside, he wanted to calm this guy down, not set him off. Ha, set him off. Like explosives.

If anything, the guy seemed more on edge. His explanation didn't do much to calm it down, it seemed. Etain was kind of hoping that he'd get an opportunity to just take off. Forget talking to this guy, just grab his bags his bags and go, to keep looking for Kris. But the guy was still brandishing the tazer and he didn't seem keen to stop any time soon. The prospect that he was about to be electrocuted seemed more and more likely. "Just, easy mate. No one needs ta do anyting crazy, right? Ah'll head me separate way, and no one'll hurt anyone."

Unfortunately, his retreat was cut short. Someone called out, in his defense it seemed, and Etain and the boy with the tazer turned to the newcomer. One of the last people he ever expected to see was charging toward the two of them, Courtney Something, one of the cheerleaders if he wasn't mistaken. And she was rushing to his aid. It was certainly surprising, if nothing else. Not that he was complaining, of course. Help was help. Especially considering that he was probably a few second away from getting his ass shocked.

Then, as thing seemed to inevitably inclined to arrive at, it all went to hell. The boy fell right over the edge before anyone had a chance to stop him. All the same, Etain made a quick grab for the guys hand, only to miss him my a by mile. He watched as the guy tumbled over the side, feeling helpless and responsible. Sure, it was the girls arrival was the final straw, but maybe if Etain hadn't sat down next to him and scared the guy to death...Instead of saving the guy's life, Etain watched in stunned terror as the boy died right in front of him. This was...just, way too much. He needed to get the Hell out of here, to...do something. To find Kris. It was the same goal he'd had since the start, and a perfect excuse to get gone.

((Etain Brennan continued in Lean on Me))

((Actually, I was waiting for you that whole time. If you look at the post order, you can clearly see that I go after you >__> ))

Mary Ann continued to watch the boys, anticipating a camaraderie that seemed less likely with every second. First, one of them pointed... shit, was that a gun?... at the other young man. The receiving end did not take the threat well, and immediately tried to prove his innocence. Mary Ann sighed. It looked like she'd have to move on a-

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

A small girl ran past, quickly approaching the boys. Though she felt mostly grateful that the girl hadn't seen her, Mary Ann couldn't help but marvel at the girl's willingness to come to the other boy's rescue. She decided that the two must've known ea- Oh no. Oh no no no no no.

The first boy had fallen over the edge of the water.

Mary Ann stood, frozen behind her post. She couldn't see what was going on, but one thing seemed for sure- he wasn't coming up. Surely, that girl would've tried to save him just as she had not even minutes ago. How long had he been down there? One Mississippi, two Mississippi... Wait, it's been more than that. Twelve Mississippi, thirteen Mississippi. Why aren't they doing anything?! Mary Ann kept watching, but no matter what, the boy never came up.

He was dead. Mary Ann would learn his name tomorrow morning.

Many thoughts came to Mary Ann at that moment, but only one made it past her brain and into her body. Run.

And so, Mary Ann picked up her sword and ran as fast as she could with it dragging behind her. It was the second day of her demise, and she was not going to spend it here.

Mary Ann Warren: Continued elsewhere

He turned, ran away. That was good. He wouldn't hurt them now. Courtney followed for a few steps before grinding to a halt. They were too close to the water. Someone could fall in, hurt themselves, have to get the rest of them to pull them out.

Courtney stopped running. She didn't want that to happen. He, however, didn't want to stop... or couldn't. Courtney ran to try and catch him, but he tumbled over the edge and into the water. Courtney threw her bag down onto the concrete and knelt down, leaning over, counting the seconds in her head as she looked at the water. Three, Four, Five. She saw him struggle, just for a moment. Someone had to dive in there. Someone had to get him out. Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three. Courtney took her eyes off the water for just a moment. There had to be someone around to help. There was nothing Courtney could do. She couldn't even swim. Maybe if she could she could've dived in, helped him.

Instead, she was watching him drown. Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five. Thirty-Five seconds underwater and no movement. He was a goner. He wasn't going to be getting out in a hurry... or at all. Oh No. Nonononononono. This couldn't be happening. No... he came up! He was breathing! She saw it!

"Stop playing around!" She yelled at the water. "...Stop messing with me! Get up!"

It was no use. He wasn't coming back up. He wasn't coming back up and it was her fault. It was all her fault. Courtney crawled back from the edge and sat on the pavement, continuing to stare at the still water.

Courtney pulled her knees to her head and started sobbing. No use in dressing it up. She had, for all intents and purposes, just killed someone. She could have done something... saved him. But she didn't. She didn't and now she was going to come up on the announcements and everyone he knew was going to hate her now and they were going to murder her. The thought took Courtney by surprise. She wasn't safe here now. She wasn't safe anywhere any more. Everyone on the island could've known the man she condemned to death, and every single one of the could be out for her head by the time the next announcement played. Oh God, she was screwed. So screwed.

Courtney wiped the tears from her eyes and struggled to her feet. She had to get out of here. Courtney slung her bag over her shoulders. She had to run. Run away. As far as she could.

Looks like she was gonna be a coward after all.

((Courtney Bradley, continued in Just Close Your Eyes.))