Survival Of The Fittest

[[Jasper-Declan MacDermott continued from Revenge Is Best Served Cold]]

Time passed slowly, or quickly, as it was wont to do. Jasper-Declan was honestly not sure which adjective was more fitting. On one hand, there was nothing at all to break the monotony. As he and Alex walked from the woods, leaving behind his former, temporary allies, they encountered no one and nothing of interest or note (at least nothing of interest or note to a normal person; Jasper-Declan could find something interesting on every leaf of a tree). Certainly there was no conflict, no gunfights for them to stumble into. No corpses, either, which was a relief to Jasper-Declan, who had not yet fully recovered from the sight of the lifeless body of Carly Jean Dooley. The absolute quiet and the accompanying feeling of peace that would have certainly been present in a different setting was probably unusual on the island, and to an outsider looking in the silence that passed between the two boys would have likely seemed awkward. But Jasper-Declan himself didn't feel it, not that the boy knew the meaning of the words awkward silence. Or the word awkward on its own, for that matter.

On the other hand, the monotony rolled up every moment of time into one, and the time compressed itself in Jasper-Declan's memory, leaving the impression that perhaps an hour had passed when it had in fact been a good 36 hours since they'd left the woods.

They'd walked a long way, that much was clear and to be expected considering the amount of time they spent on their feet. They didn't do much map consulting- it wasn't like they had a destination in mind, so doing so seemed quite pointless. They did use their map to carefully steer clear of the inland woods- death by collar explosion wasn't particularly high on either of their lists of priorities. They were nearly out of the woods when they were forced to stop and camp for the night, and during the day they made their way past the swamp, across a bridge, back the way Jasper-Declan had come, through to the dead forest.

It was getting dark out, but even so, they walked through enough of the area to come across corpses. He averted his gaze from a headless...he believed it to be a girl, but it was difficult to tell considering the multitude of insects crawling over her skin. Though Jasper-Declan found the sight rather fascinating, it nonetheless made him the slightest bit...ill.

He did not eat that night. Unusually for him, he did not think much, either.

Instead he and Alex continued north, as far north as they were capable of, partially to escape those bodies and partially to escape everything else. The cliffs proved a failure in the former respect- there were corpses here too, muddying Jasper-Declan's enjoyment of the view. He was possessed by the urge to jump from the cliff, into that blue water, but it passed quickly- it wasn't a suicidal urge in the least, only an intense want to be swimming again. The bodies floating in the water served as clear warnings against that.

It was there they made camp for the night. They were unlikely to do much better.



As was usual, Jasper-Declan was awoken by the sound of the announcements. He sat up, immediately awake, and listened in a detached sort of way. He had hardly taken notice of the names on the announcements the day before- now that he had found Alex the fate of the other students was unimportant to him, given that he didn't really have any other friends. He did find it interesting that over a hundred people had been killed. Disturbing, yes, but interesting. I cannot imagine how such a massacre could have come about. It does seem quite incredible how many students found the selfish strength necessary to take a life...I wonder if I ever could. His gun had been away in his bag for a while now- he saw no reason to carry it when no threats had made themselves known. It didn't make him feel safe- it only made him feel uncomfortable. ...I suppose, likely not.

"Hayley Kelly waltzed out of nowhere and blew Jennifer Romita away before she could blink, for our hundredth death of the season..."

Jasper-Declan was suddenly snapped out of his own thoughts by the mention of a very familiar name. Ah...Hayley. The source of Alex's...troubles. Troubles seemed like a good word. He turned to his friend, focusing on his expression even as Danya continued, "Hayley Kelly continued her trend of wandering the open areas before randomly blowing someone away when she caught up to Jason Clarke..."

He didn't speak. Just waited. Perhaps now Alex would be ready to speak.

Jasper-Declan couldn't sympathize, but he could certainly listen.

((Alan Rickhall continued from The Long Road Home.))

Alan had been walking all night, eating a small tear from a slice of bread every so often to keep his strength up. It was an unfortunate habit of Alan that whenever he worried, he forgot to eat. Too busy worrying to bother about his own health and well-being. The sun was coming up now. Holding Jimmy's naginata in one hand in case anyone attacked him he wandered aimlessly, Alan didn't care where, it had started to become second nature to him, to just wander and not have the foggiest idea where you were going. But now Alan was tired and couldn't walk any longer. He stopped dead and collapsed in a sitting position, but what he saw was actually quite beautiful.

He was on the top of a cliff, in front of him was the ocean. He had seen the ocean before, on the beach that he and Jimmy had wandered to on their travels on the island. The beach where Jimmy... Looking down at Jimmy's knife he noticed that the moon was reflecting off it, inviting Alan to hold it. In the split second that he touched the metal he could have sworn that he saw Jimmy's face in it, just like the last time. It was a reminder, a reminder of Jimmy's wish to Alan on his deathbed. An island where all the students could be free of the 'turned'. But Alan couldn't fulfil it. He was talking nonsense really. A silly little legacy he was making up to keep him going. But in reality, all Alan could do was barge in on his own kind looking like a knife-wielding maniac. He was lucky to still be alive. He hoped Dutchy was aright, he looked in an awful state when Alan saw him; but he was among friends, better friends then Alan. Dutchy was the strong one, Dutchy would have organised every student on the island against Mr. Danya if he was aware of the courage and charisma he had. Alan wished Dutchy was here to support him. If he was there with him and Jimmy, then Jimmy would probably be alive right now. Alan wasn't quite sure how Dutchy's presence would have have saved Jimmy from an evil 'turned' creature but it probably would have. Somehow.

But Alan couldn't do this. He didn't want to do this. Why should he? It was pointless. How could he do it alone? What possible reason-

"Once again, good morning, kids!"

"Good morning Mr. Danya." Alan said under his breath in a mocking sing-song tone. Alan listened as he rang off name after name of 'turned' and victims. But then, although Alan should have expected it, the toxic words infused inside him.

"Then James Robertson left us with some truly touching and tragic last words, after Reiko Ishida filled his stomach full of lead."

There it was, his best friend plastered on the wall of the dead. Tragic last words! Alan didn't even think that Danya had listened to those "tragic words". And it was too bad too, because they were the beginning of his downfall.

"Ms. Ishida's schedule seems to be slipping, as that was her only kill today."

So it was someone called Reiko Ishida who had killed his best friend. The name didn't even sound human. Well it certainly wasn't one that he recognised. He hadn't paid much attention to the announcements but Alan was sure that he recalled the name coming up a few times. It was just like Danya to care more for the killer then the victim. Except, obviously in reality Mr. Danya didn't care about the killer. To Mr. Danya, everyone was just another little plastic student for him to play with as they kill each other. In Danya's eye's they were all worthless and they could all be stepped on. At least, Alan was certain that this was the case.

Getting to his feet, he shouted to the nearest camera. "So this is it Danya! You think you've got us beaten! You think you can just watch us pull each other's eyes out and watch. Well I assure you that your days are numbered, and Alan Rickhall will not dance the dance of death for your amusement! Jimmy Robertson's death will be avenged!" He looked at Jimmy's knife, it looked almost like it was smiling at him. "Well I may not know how to bring you down! But I put this towards you: There are hundreds of us on this island, and whether they kill or not they are against you. If they're hiding in a decaying house somewhere waiting for death they are against YOU! If they're plotting the downfall of their enemies they are against YOU! If they're you're personally hand-crafted, brain-mashed, psycho student... Then they're against YOU!" Yelling into the nearest camera, the world around him vanishing around him.

"And the good men and women at home! You think that because you provide quality television across the world that everyone who watches your show doesn't want you dead? At the end of the day, everyone's watching four hundred teenagers kill each other, and you're to blame. Well you shan't get away with it by dear manipulator. There are wheels within wheels on this island, and fires within fires."

Alan didn't know what else to say, so he fell to the ground and began to cry.

Alex listened to the announcement in a grim silence. He hadn't more than three words since they'd left his erstwhile ally's. Hayley had killed two more. His defensiveness of her was starting to sound more and more mistaken by the minute. She had still been ok on day 2. Still been the girl he cared for.

Alex was laying prone on a table, staring at the sky and waiting idly for class to start. It was the night after the mushroom tea. He thought of the kid who he'd bumped into. Jasper, wasn't it? Jasper-Something. Most of his memory of last night was rather shaky. He couldn't have been as strange as he seemed. That must have been the mushroom's talking.

Maybe I'll see him around.

He rose up off the table. It was time to at least wander classwards.

She passed him as he was shutting his locker. Little more had passed between them than a nod. She looked like the kind of person he would know and it was only a few weeks later that they began to bump into each other at the same parties.

They hadn't properly become friends until about six months later. She'd come over to his house looking to buy some smoke. They'd spent the following afternoon getting high and playing video games.

That night Alex had to admit to himself he had a crush on the girl.

Not once had he mentioned it to her.

He looked over at Jasper. "I'm..." he said. He looked down and sighed softly. "I'm beginning to think my judgement may be clouded... On the topic of Hayley Kelly." he said. The oddness of the sentence stuck out in his head. He was trying to be rational.

Inwardly he was a turmoil. The half of him that was processing what Danya's announcement had said couldn't deny the idea that Hayley might be playing. The part of him that loved her was completely in denial of the possibility. But it was an angry denial. The kind that was wrathful when proven wrong. A thought suddenly passed through his head.

"If I'm wrong about you... I'm going to kill you."

He was revolted by the idea. Every part of him shied away from it. But he knew it was true.

"What-" he started to say, looking at Jasper. Suddenly a sound came from near their camp. Someone ranting in discontent at Danya. Alex listened for a few seconds and smiled. "I knew there had to be someone!"

He took to his feet and ran. He was smiling for the first time in days. He crested the nearby hill that had obscured the voice from view. There he was. Alex didn't recognise him, didn't care, running towards the guy, holding his remaining arm aloft showing he was unarmed. Finally he came to a stop. "Hey! You really believe that?" he said, gesturing at the camera.

"Fuck, I thought I was the only one." he smiled.

"I'm...I'm beginning to think my judgement may be clouded...On the topic of Hayley Kelly."

Jasper-Declan did not speak, only nodded slowly in response to Alex's words, inwardly noting how oddly that particular structure of sentence sounded coming out of Alex's mouth. Odd. I would have supposed that stress would revert one to the mode of speech they feel most comfortable in...but Alexander's troubles seem to have had a very different effect on him. His words sound exceptionally...unnatural. I do wonder exactly what thoughts must be going through his head...

Admittedly Jasper-Declan agreed with Alex- it was quite clear that he was very much conflicted. He didn't personally know Hayley all that well- though she was close to both Alex and Jay and that guaranteed that he knew her, she didn't have the patience that Alex in particular had to put up with Jasper-Declan's particular way of thinking and acting. He did know that he'd prefer not to spend time in the company of a girl who had killed now 4 others. Of course, he'd stick by Alex no matter what he intended to do, so it wasn't like he'd have much choice in the matter...

"Wha-"

But whatever Alex's question was to be, it was cut off by another voice.

"So this is it Danya! You think you've got us beaten!..."

Jasper-Declan listened the entire rant without changing expression. To be honest he thought the new arrival was being a tad more dramatic than the situation called for, but he saw the smile split across Alex's face and knew at least that his friend was happy to find someone with such strong opinions.

That reminded Jasper-Declan. Alex wanted to escape.

He'd learned his lesson, way back on the beach, that expressing his concerns about an escape plan- namely that forming a successful one would be completely impossible- would not endear him to anyone. As he could not afford to lose Alex at this point, he had not yet said a word. He supposed that was how he was to die, helping Alex with an ill-fated escape attempt, but considering he would die here regardless, there was no point in complaining.

Alex spoke to the boy, who had fallen to the ground in tears, and Jasper-Declan did not speak. He was Alex's silent sentinel and would be a witness to this conversation, but he doubted he had anything worth adding.

Alan pulled himself away from the vast ocean before him when he heard a strange rustling coming from behind him. He picked up Jimmy's knife and tried to work out which way the noise was coming from, and if it was coming towards him. His hands were shaking; he looked about as intimidating and scary as a puppy that had just been pulled out of a river. The noise got closer and closer and a figure popped out, holding his hands in the air.

"Hey! You really believe that?"

Someone had heard him. Alan should have guessed that someone would, but it hadn't actually crossed his mind, but even so, he had to say something, but he was beyond saying anything sane at the moment. "Do I?" He started. "I don't know. I don't know what I believe any more. All I know is that my best friend has been killed and all that bloody Danya does is sit and laugh. But he doesn't care, you can kill every kid on this island and it probably won't amount to shit. Danya doesn't feel, or care, or anything. He may as well be programmed." Alan laughed at the thought of Danya really being some sort of artificial intelligence. "But there has to be some way. Some trick or plan or something that can end this." Alan slumpped back down in front of the cliff. "Something to bring Danya down with it..."

[[OOC: Obligatory crappy inactivity avoidance post a gogo~]]

The boy seemed scared for a moment, as the two of them came out of the bushes. A natural response, considering the surroundings, and Jasper-Declan didn't react at all to the knife the other boy was holding. He'd long since learned that his feeling at the beach, and later at the warehouse, that he was the only person with an actual functioning weapon was beyond false. And besides, after a moment of fear the boy seemed to...not calm down. Calm down was the wrong phrase, as the boy was in a passionate frenzy, but at least he didn't appear likely to stab them in the near future.

"I don't know. I don't know what I believe any more. All I know is that my best friend has been killed and all that bloody Danya does is sit and laugh."

He almost nodded before remembering that he and Carly hardly qualified as friends, let alone best friends. It disturbed him slightly, how her death still didn't sit with him.

"But he doesn't care, you can kill every kid on this island and it probably won't amount to shit. Danya doesn't feel, or care, or anything. He may as well be programmed."

I wonder. I wonder what Danya is like, outside of this game? Does he have a family, a wife and children? Do they know that it is their father, her husband who created this game? I wonder if Danya is his real name...perhaps he uses a fake one, to hide from his family, or perhaps they know all about it. Or perhaps this boy is right, and Danya does feel nothing. It seems odd to me that any man with children of his own would create a game like Survival of the Fittest. Does he not see his own children, when he looks at us? ...Yes, perhaps he is all alone.

"But there has to be some way. Some trick or plan or something that can end this. Something to bring Danya down with it..."

His reflex reaction was to speak. To yet again deny any hope. There was no way to escape. They would all die and there was no way around it. But Jasper-Declan decided to let sleeping dogs lie, and he kept his mouth closed, waiting for Alex's response.

He had that feeling one gets when one's about to be dragged into something.

Not that that mattered much. It wasn't as though he had much else to spend the rest of his life doing.

Alexander couldn't help but smile, though he knew the boy didn't know what to make of him. He supposed that he wouldn't know either. He was hit with a sudden mental image of himself. After six days on the island he supposed he looked skinnier. Looking down, he was suddenly struck by how much weight he had lost. He had been light with his food, allowing himself only a few snatches of it when hunger became too much to bare, a snack during a walk, or in a hastily caught moment of rest.

He considered also how dirty he must by now have gotten. He hadn't washed once in six days, after all he'd been through. He reached up to run his hand through his hair and found he couldn't. It had become a tangle mess over the last few days. Greasy too by the feel of it.

He suddenly realised that he'd done his reaching with his left hand without having to force himself to think about it. He looked down at his arm, or rather, the space where his arm had once been.

Alex looked up at the guy and at Jasper and suddenly found himself telling them about his time on the island. It seemed an almost surreal experience. He'd avoided most of the fighting. That was the part that surprised him. On tv, it seemed to be a rapidly edited thing. The island seemed like a warzone. But that wasn't what this was. This was fear and paranoia and wearyness and hunger and boredom.

"And I'm not going to have it any more. I'm tired. I'm done. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to try and find a way off this island. We avoid the fighting. There's probably not many like us left now. So ideas. Start thinking, not speaking. I've got some paper in my bag. We're going to come up with a list of people who we know, who know anything about latitudes and longitudes, stars, anything that could help us figure out where we are. Once we know that, we can start thinking about where to go from there. When we finish the list, we go and see if any of them are alive."

He stopped. There had barely been time for a breath.

The scruffy kid with the greasy tangled hair and the missing arm looked from Jasper to the boy.

"In?"

"And I'm not going to have it any more. I'm tired. I'm done. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to try and find a way off this island. We avoid the fighting. There's probably not many like us left now. So ideas. Start thinking, not speaking. I've got some paper in my bag. We're going to come up with a list of people who we know, who know anything about latitudes and longitudes, stars, anything that could help us figure out where we are. Once we know that, we can start thinking about where to go from there. When we finish the list, we go and see if any of them are alive."

The other person had started his own speech, which was good, Jimmy had always told him that it was good for people to express their feelings, at least that's what he told Alan. But they were asking for people who knew about all geography. Alan didn't know very much about Geography, it was not his favourite subject; as for other people who might be able to help... Being a social reject the list was very small to begin with, narrowing down further and further. He vaguely remembered the name of one girl who was very interested in camping, apparently her father took her on a ton of camping trips or something, but Alan couldn't remember her name, he hadn't even talked to her properly before.

He continued thinking until only one name was left in his mind.

"Zoey?" He got out the photograph of him and Zoey, she did know a few things about Geography, she had gone stargazing a few times, she had always told Alan that she did and she seemed to know a lot about it. But what was he thinking? He remembered that Zoey hadn't gone on the camping trip because she didn't go to the same school as Alan, so she couldn't have been kidnapped. He lowered the photograph and looked at the people who had found him. "I mean... Sorry, I can't think of anyone... I don't really... Know many people." Alan slumped his head in shame.

Jasper-Declan listened with interest as Alex finally began recounting the long story of what had happened to him on the island so far. It had been...a very long week, to hear him tell it- he himself had gone through much of the week sleepwalking and had mentally condensed the six days into a series of important points. Alex had for the most part escaped trouble, as Jasper-Declan himself had- though he hadn't quite escaped trouble enough as evidenced by his missing arm. He was filled with an odd...what was this feeling, gratification?, at the realization that the boy who was responsible for Alex's pain was dead- he shook that feeling away, feeling slightly sickened by his own reaction.

I do not wish to kill anyone. I do not wish for anyone to die. I should not...I cannot.

He returned his attention to Alex. He gave a pretty speech, Alex did. He always had, it was just part of the boy's personality, just like it was part of Jasper-Declan's personality to wait and listen and nod. Alex's blind optimism was making him ill again, though. If anyone deserved to go home, for goodness and idealism alone, it was certainly Alexander Campbell, but Jasper-Declan had learned the hard way that goodness didn't guarantee your safety on Survival of the Fittest. Carly had been good, and now she was dead, and he was quite sure she wasn't the only one gone that way. But really, he cared too much about Alex, he was too afraid to lose him, to voice those thoughts. For now, at least, he could humor him.

"You know I am...in, Alexander," Jasper-Declan spoke quietly, emphasizing the slang that he'd never use himself with some amusement. "Though I am afraid I will not be of any more use than..." He realized he did not know the other boy's name yet, and settled for a vague gesture in his direction. "I do not know anyone that you do not know."

For maybe the first time in his life, he wished he'd bothered making more friends, back at Bayview. He felt utterly useless, even with the gun at his side, for he knew Alex would never forgive him if he used it.

Alexander took the next blow well, as his two associates admitted to not knowing anyone useful to their cause. He shook his head and chuckled. "Then we go and find someone who'll join up with us who does." He smiled over at Jasper. "You know, I haven't heard all of the announcements... But I can't recall hearing Jay's name." he said. "That boy was always the most popular of all of us. If anyone knows, it might be him."

He pulled out his map and consulted the Danger Zones, before indicating a path that would slowly take them across each location on the island one by one. "We look for Jay everywhere. We recruit anyone that we can in the process. And then we find a way off this fucking island." he said.

He walked back to where he and Jasper had made camp the night before. As he picked up his bag, he felt a strange sensation of finality. Like someone walking over his grave. Suddenly he was sure that his charmed time on the island would come to an end on this trip. He looked down at the bag, frowning, before lifting it up to slide it over his shoulder. He looked around on him, reflecting on the relative peace of the island and the sensation of being in the eye of the storm.

So be it. If this is where I die, I'm at least going to die trying.

The boys didn't seem to mind too much that Alan wasn't any help to them as they laughed off the situation. But it seemed that at least one of the other boys had some sort of idea.

"Then we go and find someone who'll join up with us who does. You know, I haven't heard all of the announcements... But I can't recall hearing Jay's name. That boy was always the most popular of all of us. If anyone knows, it might be him. We look for Jay everywhere. We recruit anyone that we can in the process. And then we find a way off this fucking island."

Alan couldn't say that he knew anyone called Jay. He noticed that the group was walking away, so he quickly ran to the edge of the cliff and picked up Jimmy's knife before running to try and catch up with them, keeping the blade pointed away from them until they got to what appeared to be some sort of camp, or at least a place to sleep. Alan cautiously spoke up. "I'm happy to help you in any way I can." He looked at the knife in his hand. "Unfortunately I'm not very good with actually using this thing, I..." For a second he saw Jimmy's smiling face reflected in the glass. "It was a friends..." Alan knew that he was leading them into an awkward conversation, so he quickly changed the subject. "But if you don't mind me asking... Who exactly is this... Jay person?"

"But if you don't mind me asking... Who exactly is this... Jay person?"

Jasper-Declan couldn't help but give a small smile.

"Jay Holland is...an interesting character, to say the least. He is also a close friend of ours. And Alexander is correct in stating that he knows quite a few people that us two would not likely speak to. Hopefully we can locate him, and hopefully he can help us, assuming he's..."

He paused. Assuming he's...? Assuming he is willing to participate in a scheme doomed to failure? Assuming he is willing to spend the short remaining time in his life running around this island, searching for help that might not exist at all? Assuming he is suicidally optimistic, the way Alexander is...?

"...Disposed."

Jay is...intelligent, in his way. Certainly he isn't the quintessential idealist hero, like our Alexander. He is not a hero and I doubt he has any desire to become one. He is a very...different creature. It seems likely that he'll agree with my earlier opinions, that he'll realize this is absolutely useless, and he is more likely to say so to Alexander than I am, I would think. Though Jay might be desperate enough for company that he would throw aside his reservations and join us regardless.

As I did.

He shook his head, escaping the oppressive nature of his thoughts for the moment as he recollected his belongings from their temporary campsite and was once again shocked to note that there was still a gun in his hand. The device seemed absolutely normal, a natural extension of his arm, until those inevitable moments when he again noticed it was there and it felt like a heavy bit of deadly metal again. He considered putting it away, escaping it for the moment, before deciding against it. Though Alex likely wouldn't forgive him for killing, he didn't want Alex to die for those ideals.

Jasper-Declan slung his bag over his shoulder, looking back and forth between Alex and the boy. His smile had long since left his face, leaving the usual blank expression, concealing the usual torrent of thoughts which turned away from the escape plan and back to the ocean, as he said his farewells as to an old friend.

I will see you again, I am sure.

As he walked away, towards whatever their next adventure would be, a thought struck him. He turned to the boy, frowning.

"I apologize...I never asked your name?"

[[Jasper-Declan MacDermott continued in Inevitability]]

((Apologies for any confusion here. Alex went terminally inactive shortly before nowave's last post. Said post was in part the result of a miscommunication.))

They were off to search for Jay, then. Jasper had agreed, and this new fellow seemed pleasant enough. His impassioned speech from before meant he was on the same page as Jasper and Alex, and he didn't seem particularly unstable or kill-happy.

That was good. Alex's sudden certainty as to his fate had him somewhat worried. He hoped that they'd be able to carry on if anything happened to him. He'd done his best to be a good leader. He'd tried damn hard. There had been setbacks and issues, poor choices and unreliable companions. Jarocki had been a mistake. His instability had cost Alex his arm. Hayley... he still thought she might be salvageable. Maybe.

Thinking of Jarocki and his arm made him notice the burning sensation along the wound. They'd sterilized it as best they could, but it was still a field surgery performed inexpertly. He couldn't even be sure that the gangrene had been entirely neutralized.

It was a terrifying thought.

He'd have to keep up a good facade, though, for the others.

He followed quickly after Jasper.

((Alexander Campbell continued in Inevitability))

"Jay Holland is...an interesting character, to say the least. He is also a close friend of ours. And Alexander is correct in stating that he knows quite a few people that us two would not likely speak to. Hopefully we can locate him, and hopefully he can help us, assuming he's..."

The boy paused, Alan leaned in slightly.

"...Disposed."

Alan couldn't help but swallow loudly on that last remark. "We have to try." Alan mumbled. "If there's a chance he can help us, then I want to be a part of it." He started to smile. The boy started to walk off, Alan followed. For a brief second the boy stopped and turned to Alan.

"I apologize...I never asked your name?"

"It's Alan. Alan Rickhall." Alan smiled as he said this, there was something about the polite sincerity in the boy's tone that sounded familiar.

((Alan Rickhall continued in Inevitability.))