((Yukiko Sakurai continued from Allow Me To Begin.))
They had been walking for a while, and the sun was almost done setting by the time they reached the obstacle course. It was exacerbated by the fact that their pace was slow, and almost sluggish. Normally it wouldn't take this long, but they were pretty much wandering, at this point.
When they finally reached the obstacle course, Yukiko looked up at it, and decided to do a once-around. Then she began to make her way onto one of the towers and sat down.
That's when Yukiko realized that she was very, very tired. The incident at the hotel had taken a lot out of her, and the walk did nothing to help that fact. She was also hungry, so she rummaged through her bag, digging out one of the food bars and staring at it. She wasn't sure what to think. She simply unwrapped it and took a bite. She chewed, slowly, trying to ignore the taste of it as she reflected on her situation.
David was dead.
Cassidy had killed him.
Much as wanted to avoid it, it had happened, and there was nothing that she could do about it. But she had to try harder next time. She had to make sure none of her friends suffered the same fate again.
Even if it meant she had to kill.
The thought scared her. She knew there would be consequences. She knew that doing so would violate the rules that she had lived her entire life by, up to this point. She found that she didn't really care.
That thought also scared her.
She laid on the floor, stifling a yawn. This was going to be uncomfortable, she already knew. But she was tired, from dealing with David's death, to the trek here, to the tumultuous thoughts in her head.
"Sorry, Jenna... Jack.. I'm... I'm going to take a short... nap..." she said, before closing her eyes.
And with that, she was out.
The Bastion
-
CondorTalon
- Posts: 479
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:17 am
((Jenna Rhodes continued from Allow Me To Begin))
Jenna hardly said a word as she followed Yukiko, occasionally glancing at the map to make sure that they weren't heading towards a dead end.
Normally, she would have been much more vocal about where they were heading. She would have wanted to get together to decide on an exact location for the group to head towards, rather than wander aimlessly without any goal or specific destination in mind. She particularly wouldn't have wanted to head into the middle of nowhere, seeing as a night spent underneath a solid roof beat sleeping out in the open any day of the week.
But for that evening, she hadn't voiced any of these concerns. All she really could think about was David's unfortunate fate, and how it could have been avoided. She knew that she had no reason whatsoever to blame herself. That what happened to him was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone, one which would have been practically impossible to predict. That said, if they hadn't decided to explore the rest of the building he wouldn't have ended up falling off the balcony, would he? And she could have easily told him to not lean against the railing back when she still had the chance.
Then there was Cassidy. A part of her still wondered whether or not she had made the right decision by allowing her to leave. She knew that she shouldn't be angry at the poor girl. That she was just as big a victim as David in all of this. But at the same time, the fact remained that indirectly or not, she had been the main instigator in David's death. Had she not been so clumsy, then David would probably still be alive and travelling with them.
Not helping matters was the fact that when Jenna inspected David's body at the bottom of the hotel, she found out that his bag had been looted. His rations, his weapon, his equipment. Everything that had belonged to him was gone, taken by some vulture who had obviously decided to take the opportunity to rob the first corpse they happened across. She didn't know for certain whether or not Cassidy had been the one who had taken his stuff, but she sure as hell didn't rule it out. Maybe thats why she had been so quick to leave, so that she could take his stuff before anyone else could beat her to it. The thought sickened her much more than it probably should have. Sure, they arguably didn't have any more of a right to David's things than anyone else on the island, but the thought that her classmates were looting each others bodies horrified her to no end.
Eventually, they decided to make camp at the obstacle course, Jenna taking the opportunity to have a bite to eat alongside her friends. When Yukiko decided to take a nap, Jenna found herself drifting off as well not too long afterwards.
The next day, Jenna found herself being awoken by the sound of a microphone screeching loudly above her.
Typical, the tower she had decided to rest on had one of the microphones attached to it. Jenna slowly got up and moved away from it, her eyes still adjusting to the sunlight as she listened intently to the first announcement. She took mental notes as to who was named, silently cursing the fact that the terrorists had decided to confiscate their writing equipment. Still, she didn't think she would forget any of the names brought up, particularly not Theodore's. One kill could potentially be justified as self defence or a misunderstanding, but two? Within the same announcement? Inexcusable. No doubt about it, Theodore was a threat she had to be weary of.
She was surprised that Cassidy's name hadn't been brought up. From what she understood, the terrorists had a tendency to twist the truth for their own purpose, so she had assumed that they would have used this opportunity to make out that Cassidy had caused David's death on purpose. Not that it really mattered, his death was still joked about as if they were on some lousy gameshow. That's all these terrorists seem to see them as. Punchlines to some awful gag. To think that there were people who actually watched and enjoyed these atrocities, who laughed along with these evil men as though none of their lives ever meant anything. Despicable, truly despicable.
Thankfully, from the sound of things they had made the right decision by leaving the hotel, which was amongst the first three dangerzones along with the airstrip and the amusement park. She prayed that nobody had been unfortunate enough to be caught in any of them, seeing as the thought of someone falling victim to these collars made her shudder.
She looked towards Yukiko, who had perched herself on the tower next to her own. Whilst this rope course wasn't exactly the most ideal of save havens, it did at least provide them with a decent view of the surrounding countryside.
"Morning. Sleep well last night?"
Jenna hardly said a word as she followed Yukiko, occasionally glancing at the map to make sure that they weren't heading towards a dead end.
Normally, she would have been much more vocal about where they were heading. She would have wanted to get together to decide on an exact location for the group to head towards, rather than wander aimlessly without any goal or specific destination in mind. She particularly wouldn't have wanted to head into the middle of nowhere, seeing as a night spent underneath a solid roof beat sleeping out in the open any day of the week.
But for that evening, she hadn't voiced any of these concerns. All she really could think about was David's unfortunate fate, and how it could have been avoided. She knew that she had no reason whatsoever to blame herself. That what happened to him was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone, one which would have been practically impossible to predict. That said, if they hadn't decided to explore the rest of the building he wouldn't have ended up falling off the balcony, would he? And she could have easily told him to not lean against the railing back when she still had the chance.
Then there was Cassidy. A part of her still wondered whether or not she had made the right decision by allowing her to leave. She knew that she shouldn't be angry at the poor girl. That she was just as big a victim as David in all of this. But at the same time, the fact remained that indirectly or not, she had been the main instigator in David's death. Had she not been so clumsy, then David would probably still be alive and travelling with them.
Not helping matters was the fact that when Jenna inspected David's body at the bottom of the hotel, she found out that his bag had been looted. His rations, his weapon, his equipment. Everything that had belonged to him was gone, taken by some vulture who had obviously decided to take the opportunity to rob the first corpse they happened across. She didn't know for certain whether or not Cassidy had been the one who had taken his stuff, but she sure as hell didn't rule it out. Maybe thats why she had been so quick to leave, so that she could take his stuff before anyone else could beat her to it. The thought sickened her much more than it probably should have. Sure, they arguably didn't have any more of a right to David's things than anyone else on the island, but the thought that her classmates were looting each others bodies horrified her to no end.
Eventually, they decided to make camp at the obstacle course, Jenna taking the opportunity to have a bite to eat alongside her friends. When Yukiko decided to take a nap, Jenna found herself drifting off as well not too long afterwards.
The next day, Jenna found herself being awoken by the sound of a microphone screeching loudly above her.
Typical, the tower she had decided to rest on had one of the microphones attached to it. Jenna slowly got up and moved away from it, her eyes still adjusting to the sunlight as she listened intently to the first announcement. She took mental notes as to who was named, silently cursing the fact that the terrorists had decided to confiscate their writing equipment. Still, she didn't think she would forget any of the names brought up, particularly not Theodore's. One kill could potentially be justified as self defence or a misunderstanding, but two? Within the same announcement? Inexcusable. No doubt about it, Theodore was a threat she had to be weary of.
She was surprised that Cassidy's name hadn't been brought up. From what she understood, the terrorists had a tendency to twist the truth for their own purpose, so she had assumed that they would have used this opportunity to make out that Cassidy had caused David's death on purpose. Not that it really mattered, his death was still joked about as if they were on some lousy gameshow. That's all these terrorists seem to see them as. Punchlines to some awful gag. To think that there were people who actually watched and enjoyed these atrocities, who laughed along with these evil men as though none of their lives ever meant anything. Despicable, truly despicable.
Thankfully, from the sound of things they had made the right decision by leaving the hotel, which was amongst the first three dangerzones along with the airstrip and the amusement park. She prayed that nobody had been unfortunate enough to be caught in any of them, seeing as the thought of someone falling victim to these collars made her shudder.
She looked towards Yukiko, who had perched herself on the tower next to her own. Whilst this rope course wasn't exactly the most ideal of save havens, it did at least provide them with a decent view of the surrounding countryside.
"Morning. Sleep well last night?"
((Jack McDonald continued from Allow Me To Begin))
The journey from the hotel was conducted mostly in - pardon the pun - dead silence. Jack was personally happy to comply with that - there was nothing he really had to say, nor was there anything he really wanted to say.
At the same time, it felt... awkward. Like they were ignoring the elephant in the room. David was dead, yes. The hours of repeating the fact over and over in his head had slowly gotten him used to the idea (at least a little). It felt weird not openly discussing it, considering they had all seen it.
There was a time and a place for it, though. So far, neither of those had come up.
The hike took up most of the rest of the day. This at least gave Jack a lot of time to think about... well, pretty much everything he could think up. And he DID have a lot to think about.
"Try to think back to what you've read about SOTF. Has there been anyone... well, like you, that's made it all that far?"
He didn't have an answer for that one. His mind wasn't exactly in the state to remember obscure things he had seen during 3 AM Internet browsing. Still, the question lingered.
At some point, he looked up at Jenna and Yukiko, who were still in front of him. So... he guessed they were a group now. That was nice. Not to mention the company would help keep him sane, and there were much worse people he could think of that he could have teamed up with. Still, he couldn't help but get anxious that they didn't want him there, especially with them nearly leaving the hotel without him. If they were to ditch him...
No. He couldn't afford to think like that. Not now. Cross that bridge when you get there, as his mom always repeated.
The rest of the day passed without incident. By the time the sun started setting, they had reached some sort of... weird obstacle course thingy. Lots of towers and platforms and stuff. Jack figured it was as good a place as any to stop. At least being high up would stop them from being... ambushed or anything.
Even when they stopped, there didn't seem to be much want for conversation. Jenna and Yukiko had a quick bite to eat, but Jack decided against it. Better to conserve his rations for later on, he supposed. Not to mention opening his bag was something he was still putting off - to him, it was the one thing that would REALLY lock him into this game. More of a superstition than anything, but he didn't have much else to cling to.
Then the night came and fatigue seemed to slap Jack in the face. Dang, that hike really took it out of him. He guessed everything else had played a part in that too. Either way, sleep came to the forefront of Jack's mind.
The other two climbed up the towers, so Jack simply shrugged and went along with it... though he did go up a separate towers. No need to make things more awkward by sleeping near any of them.
"Night," Jack weakly called out as he settled in, deciding to use his bag as a pillow. It was the closest thing he had at the moment. Now he was back to only his thoughts keeping him company.
"So... now David's gone. Only one person survives this... usually. Really, who's next?"
Jack wasn't able to come up with a solid answer before he passed out.
---
"One day survived. Yaaaaaay."
That was Jack's first thought upon waking up, and it did genuinely give him hope. There was nothing more crushing than coming in last, and he had managed to avoid that.
However, that meant someone else HAD come in last, as the loudspeaker kindly informed him.
Jack lied face down, only seeing black as he heard the announcement. The audio was enough - he didn't need any visuals right now.
The speaker's voice did make him want to punch something, though. It was so... cheery. He wanted to sit up and scream, "YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MY DEAD CLASSMATES HERE."
But he didn't. He sat and listened.
Well, it hadn't been just David. There were eight deaths total. Two of them were done by that Theo guy. Jack guessed he would be the first counted as a 'player'. Jack didn't really know him all that well, which he supposed was a good thing. Took a lot of guilt out of the whole thing.
Luckily, no one else on the list was anyone Jack knew all that well... though he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt when he thought that.
"They're still DEAD, you douche."
Still, he supposed the shock of David's death had sort of... desensitized him a bit. He was too drained to get all that emotional about who he didn't know. Maybe later on it would really hit him.
Jack finally sat up with a groan. His head was pounding - whether that was from using a hard duffel bag as a pillow or just general stress, he couldn't tell.
"Finding someone with some medical knowledge would be nice, come to think of it..."
Holding one hand on his head, he called out to the others in the group, who also appeared to have woken up at the announcement.
"Morning!"
"Let's take this one day at a time."
The journey from the hotel was conducted mostly in - pardon the pun - dead silence. Jack was personally happy to comply with that - there was nothing he really had to say, nor was there anything he really wanted to say.
At the same time, it felt... awkward. Like they were ignoring the elephant in the room. David was dead, yes. The hours of repeating the fact over and over in his head had slowly gotten him used to the idea (at least a little). It felt weird not openly discussing it, considering they had all seen it.
There was a time and a place for it, though. So far, neither of those had come up.
The hike took up most of the rest of the day. This at least gave Jack a lot of time to think about... well, pretty much everything he could think up. And he DID have a lot to think about.
"Try to think back to what you've read about SOTF. Has there been anyone... well, like you, that's made it all that far?"
He didn't have an answer for that one. His mind wasn't exactly in the state to remember obscure things he had seen during 3 AM Internet browsing. Still, the question lingered.
At some point, he looked up at Jenna and Yukiko, who were still in front of him. So... he guessed they were a group now. That was nice. Not to mention the company would help keep him sane, and there were much worse people he could think of that he could have teamed up with. Still, he couldn't help but get anxious that they didn't want him there, especially with them nearly leaving the hotel without him. If they were to ditch him...
No. He couldn't afford to think like that. Not now. Cross that bridge when you get there, as his mom always repeated.
The rest of the day passed without incident. By the time the sun started setting, they had reached some sort of... weird obstacle course thingy. Lots of towers and platforms and stuff. Jack figured it was as good a place as any to stop. At least being high up would stop them from being... ambushed or anything.
Even when they stopped, there didn't seem to be much want for conversation. Jenna and Yukiko had a quick bite to eat, but Jack decided against it. Better to conserve his rations for later on, he supposed. Not to mention opening his bag was something he was still putting off - to him, it was the one thing that would REALLY lock him into this game. More of a superstition than anything, but he didn't have much else to cling to.
Then the night came and fatigue seemed to slap Jack in the face. Dang, that hike really took it out of him. He guessed everything else had played a part in that too. Either way, sleep came to the forefront of Jack's mind.
The other two climbed up the towers, so Jack simply shrugged and went along with it... though he did go up a separate towers. No need to make things more awkward by sleeping near any of them.
"Night," Jack weakly called out as he settled in, deciding to use his bag as a pillow. It was the closest thing he had at the moment. Now he was back to only his thoughts keeping him company.
"So... now David's gone. Only one person survives this... usually. Really, who's next?"
Jack wasn't able to come up with a solid answer before he passed out.
---
"One day survived. Yaaaaaay."
That was Jack's first thought upon waking up, and it did genuinely give him hope. There was nothing more crushing than coming in last, and he had managed to avoid that.
However, that meant someone else HAD come in last, as the loudspeaker kindly informed him.
Jack lied face down, only seeing black as he heard the announcement. The audio was enough - he didn't need any visuals right now.
The speaker's voice did make him want to punch something, though. It was so... cheery. He wanted to sit up and scream, "YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MY DEAD CLASSMATES HERE."
But he didn't. He sat and listened.
Well, it hadn't been just David. There were eight deaths total. Two of them were done by that Theo guy. Jack guessed he would be the first counted as a 'player'. Jack didn't really know him all that well, which he supposed was a good thing. Took a lot of guilt out of the whole thing.
Luckily, no one else on the list was anyone Jack knew all that well... though he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt when he thought that.
"They're still DEAD, you douche."
Still, he supposed the shock of David's death had sort of... desensitized him a bit. He was too drained to get all that emotional about who he didn't know. Maybe later on it would really hit him.
Jack finally sat up with a groan. His head was pounding - whether that was from using a hard duffel bag as a pillow or just general stress, he couldn't tell.
"Finding someone with some medical knowledge would be nice, come to think of it..."
Holding one hand on his head, he called out to the others in the group, who also appeared to have woken up at the announcement.
"Morning!"
"Let's take this one day at a time."
-
CondorTalon
- Posts: 479
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:17 am
Yukiko wasn't even paying attention to announcements when they came on. She only took note of how long the announcements were, realizing with concern that already eight people were dead. She also realized that the hotel had been named a danger zone. Well then. It seemed they had gotten out just in time.
She sat up after the announcements ended, taking the cricks out of her back.
"Good morning," she called out after the others, "I slept as well as I could have, I guess."
She stood up, looking out into the distance. Chase was out there, somewhere. He was still alive, so that had to count for something. She bit her lip, silently chastising herself. Eight people were already dead. Someone on this island had lost someone they loved surely. What made her so special.
She looked to Jenna, then Jack, then back out in the distance.
She needed to find Chase.
She sat up after the announcements ended, taking the cricks out of her back.
"Good morning," she called out after the others, "I slept as well as I could have, I guess."
She stood up, looking out into the distance. Chase was out there, somewhere. He was still alive, so that had to count for something. She bit her lip, silently chastising herself. Eight people were already dead. Someone on this island had lost someone they loved surely. What made her so special.
She looked to Jenna, then Jack, then back out in the distance.
She needed to find Chase.
"Same here. Can't say I'm used to sleeping without a roof over my head, but I suppose it could have been worse."
Jenna slung her bag over her back and began to walk over a rope bridge, taking care to not lose her footing as she made her way over to Yukiko's tower. Whilst this was far from the first time she had been on an obstacle course like this, she couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy about being so high from the ground, seeing as she was used to having appropriate safety gear on to make sure that she wouldn't fall and hurt herself. The fact that David's fate was still fresh in her mind didn't exactly help either.
That said, she made it to Yukiko's tower without any incidents, sitting herself down as she motioned Jack to come join them.
"Have to be careful up here. One wrong step and..." Jenna began, only to stop mid-sentence when she recalled the previous day. It was still surreal to think that he was actually gone, along with several other students who just a couple of days ago were all alive and well. Real, living people who had been robbed of their futures because of some stupid cause that she wasn't even allowed to be aware of. That was probably one of the worst parts about all this, that none of them really knew why any of this had to happen. Then again, perhaps it was better that they didn't know what twisted goals the terrorists had in mind.
In any case, the fact remained that there was a gigantic elephant in the room that they had been avoiding for far too long. So as much as she wanted to avoid the topic, Jenna sighed to herself as she began to discuss it.
"Okay, I think it's time we talked about David..." she began, biting her lip as she tried to get her thoughts straight. "I mean, I guess there isn't much to talk about. What happened was... I mean, none of us could have predicted... Christ, I don't know what to say really."
She ran her fingers through her hair, briefly wondering whether or not this island had any working shower facilities before she continued.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, David was... David was a good guy. Whilst I can't exactly claim that he and I were the best of friends back home, if I had the chance I would have loved to hang out with him more. Kind of regret in hindsight that I didn't make a better effort to get to know him."
She thought about the other names mentioned during the announcement,
"Same goes for everyone else. Dave, Gabby, Jason, Kelly, Sven and the two Dans. None of them deserved to have this happen to them. None of us deserve the same fate either, or anyone else on the island for that matter."
Jenna's thoughts then drifted to their captors, her fists clenching with anger as the thought of them sitting around a computer monitor and laughing at their suffering crossed her mind.
"But these terrorists... We mean nothing to them, do we? No, we're all just contestants in some twisted reality show to them, aren't we? They're all so happy to just sit back and watch us tear each other apart, laughing at our misfortune as they come up with their oh-so hilarious jokes. We're not even allowed to know why any of this is happening in the first place."
She looked into the distance. "Something has to be done about this. I... I don't know what exactly, but I can't just sit idly by whilst my classmates continue to butcher each other out of fear that the same will happen to them."
Jenna paused for a moment, letting her words sink in before clearing her thought and turning back to her friends.
"I, uh... Sorry if that was all a little melodramatic. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment, so it's nice to let it all out, you know?"
Jenna slung her bag over her back and began to walk over a rope bridge, taking care to not lose her footing as she made her way over to Yukiko's tower. Whilst this was far from the first time she had been on an obstacle course like this, she couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy about being so high from the ground, seeing as she was used to having appropriate safety gear on to make sure that she wouldn't fall and hurt herself. The fact that David's fate was still fresh in her mind didn't exactly help either.
That said, she made it to Yukiko's tower without any incidents, sitting herself down as she motioned Jack to come join them.
"Have to be careful up here. One wrong step and..." Jenna began, only to stop mid-sentence when she recalled the previous day. It was still surreal to think that he was actually gone, along with several other students who just a couple of days ago were all alive and well. Real, living people who had been robbed of their futures because of some stupid cause that she wasn't even allowed to be aware of. That was probably one of the worst parts about all this, that none of them really knew why any of this had to happen. Then again, perhaps it was better that they didn't know what twisted goals the terrorists had in mind.
In any case, the fact remained that there was a gigantic elephant in the room that they had been avoiding for far too long. So as much as she wanted to avoid the topic, Jenna sighed to herself as she began to discuss it.
"Okay, I think it's time we talked about David..." she began, biting her lip as she tried to get her thoughts straight. "I mean, I guess there isn't much to talk about. What happened was... I mean, none of us could have predicted... Christ, I don't know what to say really."
She ran her fingers through her hair, briefly wondering whether or not this island had any working shower facilities before she continued.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, David was... David was a good guy. Whilst I can't exactly claim that he and I were the best of friends back home, if I had the chance I would have loved to hang out with him more. Kind of regret in hindsight that I didn't make a better effort to get to know him."
She thought about the other names mentioned during the announcement,
"Same goes for everyone else. Dave, Gabby, Jason, Kelly, Sven and the two Dans. None of them deserved to have this happen to them. None of us deserve the same fate either, or anyone else on the island for that matter."
Jenna's thoughts then drifted to their captors, her fists clenching with anger as the thought of them sitting around a computer monitor and laughing at their suffering crossed her mind.
"But these terrorists... We mean nothing to them, do we? No, we're all just contestants in some twisted reality show to them, aren't we? They're all so happy to just sit back and watch us tear each other apart, laughing at our misfortune as they come up with their oh-so hilarious jokes. We're not even allowed to know why any of this is happening in the first place."
She looked into the distance. "Something has to be done about this. I... I don't know what exactly, but I can't just sit idly by whilst my classmates continue to butcher each other out of fear that the same will happen to them."
Jenna paused for a moment, letting her words sink in before clearing her thought and turning back to her friends.
"I, uh... Sorry if that was all a little melodramatic. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment, so it's nice to let it all out, you know?"
Looked like there was some sort of meeting being formed over at Yukiko's tower. Jack couldn't help but feel a little more relieved. A meeting meant a plan, and a plan meant no more wandering around aimlessly. And that was good.
Trying to ignore his slight headache (Had his mom packed him any ibuprofen? God, it felt like forever ago that even mattered...), Jack slipped on his glasses, scooped up his bag, and headed over the bridge. Even with the security of being far above the ground, Jack didn't feel comfortable leaving his bag all alone. Couldn't be too careful, especially in this game.
The rope bridge was for more rickety than Jack would have liked; whether that was because it was unstable after years of disuse or Jack's legs were still sore and uncoordinated, he wasn't sure. Might have been a mixture of the two. Either way, with a couple deep breaths and a bit of a slowdown, Jack made it over to the tower and sat down in a corner, plopping his bag unceremoniously next to him.
Jenna started talking. Jack hadn't really paid her much mind back at school, but if this little more than one day was indicative of her true personality at all, she was definitely a leader-type.
Huh, that was something Jack hadn't even thought of yet. There was that thing people always said, how people's true selves were revealed in times of great importance. He guessed he'd be learning a lot more about the rest of his classmates over the next... however long he was still even alive.
"Already learned a great deal about Hansel and Theo and them."
He tried his best to shake these morbid thoughts, especially when he noticed that Jenna was already in the midst of talking. That was good. Back at school, he had always wished people talked more about things that mattered, let him figure out where they stood in relation to him. It would have been more satisfying had it not been for the subject matter.
The good news was that David's death was finally out there in the open. The bad news was, once it was out, it just sort of hung there, like a bad odor. Now it was truly inescapable, no matter how hard any of them tried. The rest of the deaths, too. Now it was really sinking in that they were on Survival of the Fittest.
"Not who I would have imagined joining with in this sort of situation. Life always sort itself into a nice, neat, three act structure it seems."
Jack had some things he wanted to say, about... pretty much everything, really, but he didn't dare interrupt Jenna. He wasn't the best at dealing with grieving people, but he was pretty sure letting them vent was a good start. So he let her talk, and he listened.
She shared what she wanted to share, and then stopped. Jack counted his mandatory two seconds to make sure she wasn't just taking a pause, and then he started.
"It's fine. I think it's nice to let lots of stuff out. They say it's not healthy to keep all of your thoughts bottled up, or something."
"Try to sound more... like you know what you're doing."
"In terms of escaping or anything like that... well, I don't have any ideas, but to have a chance at escaping, we need to survive long enough for that to be a possibility. Really, we need to be smart about this. We could..."
He paused for a moment, drawing a blank.
"... Well, I don't know, just don't go rushing into anything you can't handle. That's where we should start. And finally... we need to stick together. There's power in numbers, and I think the fact that we're already sort of building a group could be an advantage. We just need to be clear that there's no lying, and no... back-stabbing of any kind."
He sort of hesitated at using the phrase "back-stabbing", considering how real of a possibility getting stabbed was in this game.
"I guess... maybe I'M being too melodramatic now. But... yeah. That's what I've got."
He looked from Jenna to Yukiko and back to Jenna. They could do this. At least, they could do this and not do it terribly.
Trying to ignore his slight headache (Had his mom packed him any ibuprofen? God, it felt like forever ago that even mattered...), Jack slipped on his glasses, scooped up his bag, and headed over the bridge. Even with the security of being far above the ground, Jack didn't feel comfortable leaving his bag all alone. Couldn't be too careful, especially in this game.
The rope bridge was for more rickety than Jack would have liked; whether that was because it was unstable after years of disuse or Jack's legs were still sore and uncoordinated, he wasn't sure. Might have been a mixture of the two. Either way, with a couple deep breaths and a bit of a slowdown, Jack made it over to the tower and sat down in a corner, plopping his bag unceremoniously next to him.
Jenna started talking. Jack hadn't really paid her much mind back at school, but if this little more than one day was indicative of her true personality at all, she was definitely a leader-type.
Huh, that was something Jack hadn't even thought of yet. There was that thing people always said, how people's true selves were revealed in times of great importance. He guessed he'd be learning a lot more about the rest of his classmates over the next... however long he was still even alive.
"Already learned a great deal about Hansel and Theo and them."
He tried his best to shake these morbid thoughts, especially when he noticed that Jenna was already in the midst of talking. That was good. Back at school, he had always wished people talked more about things that mattered, let him figure out where they stood in relation to him. It would have been more satisfying had it not been for the subject matter.
The good news was that David's death was finally out there in the open. The bad news was, once it was out, it just sort of hung there, like a bad odor. Now it was truly inescapable, no matter how hard any of them tried. The rest of the deaths, too. Now it was really sinking in that they were on Survival of the Fittest.
"Not who I would have imagined joining with in this sort of situation. Life always sort itself into a nice, neat, three act structure it seems."
Jack had some things he wanted to say, about... pretty much everything, really, but he didn't dare interrupt Jenna. He wasn't the best at dealing with grieving people, but he was pretty sure letting them vent was a good start. So he let her talk, and he listened.
She shared what she wanted to share, and then stopped. Jack counted his mandatory two seconds to make sure she wasn't just taking a pause, and then he started.
"It's fine. I think it's nice to let lots of stuff out. They say it's not healthy to keep all of your thoughts bottled up, or something."
"Try to sound more... like you know what you're doing."
"In terms of escaping or anything like that... well, I don't have any ideas, but to have a chance at escaping, we need to survive long enough for that to be a possibility. Really, we need to be smart about this. We could..."
He paused for a moment, drawing a blank.
"... Well, I don't know, just don't go rushing into anything you can't handle. That's where we should start. And finally... we need to stick together. There's power in numbers, and I think the fact that we're already sort of building a group could be an advantage. We just need to be clear that there's no lying, and no... back-stabbing of any kind."
He sort of hesitated at using the phrase "back-stabbing", considering how real of a possibility getting stabbed was in this game.
"I guess... maybe I'M being too melodramatic now. But... yeah. That's what I've got."
He looked from Jenna to Yukiko and back to Jenna. They could do this. At least, they could do this and not do it terribly.
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CondorTalon
- Posts: 479
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:17 am
Yukiko smiled as Jenna and Jack made their way over. It was comforting, in a way, to know that her friends were close by. It made her feel secure.
They sat down, and Jenna began to talk. Yukiko hugged her knees to her body as she mentioned David. She didn't want that to be brought up again. She listened as Jenna, and then Jack, talked about their plans. Jack mentioned sticking together, saying that there was power in numbers. Her thoughts turned to her other friends again.
She had to find them.
She turned around, letting her legs dangling off the side of the tower, her feet resting on the top rung of the ladder. She didn't say anything after Jack had finished, instead staring out into the horizon.
"I don't want to stay here."
They sat down, and Jenna began to talk. Yukiko hugged her knees to her body as she mentioned David. She didn't want that to be brought up again. She listened as Jenna, and then Jack, talked about their plans. Jack mentioned sticking together, saying that there was power in numbers. Her thoughts turned to her other friends again.
She had to find them.
She turned around, letting her legs dangling off the side of the tower, her feet resting on the top rung of the ladder. She didn't say anything after Jack had finished, instead staring out into the horizon.
"I don't want to stay here."
Escape? Now there was a word that brought about mixed thoughts and emotions.
After all, escaping from the island was pretty much the best possible outcome they could hope for. She'd be surprised if there was anyone who didn't wish that they could return home with their conscience intact, proving Danya's terrorist organisation to be wrong as well as finally bringing them to the justice they rightfully deserved.
That said, whilst Jenna didn't consider herself to be a cynic, she knew fine well that such an ideal conclusion to this story would not come about easily.
"Agreed. Regardless of what we decide to do next, we definitely have a better chance of survival if we stick together. Even then, like you said Jack we have to be careful out there. We could probably fend off a lone attacker with a melee weapon, but anyone with a gun and the desire to use it would be too big a threat to even consider dealing with."
Deal with in what way exactly? It's not like she could just call the police, or convince bloodthirsty killers to turn a new leaf with a few wise words of advice. The only obvious way of making sure confirmed killers were no longer a threat was the very option Jenna hoped she wouldn't be forced to make. She wasn't even entirely sure if she could make that kind of decision, knowing very well that even the most sadistic of her classmates were just as big a victim of this mess as she was.
Although, if it truly was a life or death situation...
"As for escape, I... I'm not sure. I don't think it's impossible, not by any means. But I'm not sure if... Well, I don't even know where we would begin! I doubt even the smartest of our classmates would know how to disable these collars on their own, and even if they did the they would still be stuck on this island in the middle of god-knows where. Besides, after what happened last time, I imagine they would have taken extra precautions to make sure that something like that never happened again."
Jenna glanced up at the nearest camera, wondering whether or not their conversation was being listened to. Of course it was, everyone was being watched weren't they? It was bad enough that were expected to kill each other without the fact that they weren't even allowed any privacy.
"That said... I'm almost certain that the government must have some kind of contingency plan for this kind of situation. It's only been four years since the last Survival of the Fittest ended, so there's no way that they wouldn't have something prepared in case something like this were to ever happen again. I bet they're already making preparations for some kind of rescue operation even as we speak."
She was making a lot of assumptions of course, and there was also the niggling feeling that if the government couldn't prevent them from being kidnapped in the first place what hope did they have at even finding out where they were, let alone rescue them? That said, she ignored those doubtful thoughts for now. At any rate, being rescued by the government sounded much more likely then a bunch of students finding a way off all by themselves.
"All we have to do is stay alive, as well as make sure that the rest of our classmates stop tearing each other apart. Not sure exactly how to do that last part, but... But I'm sure we'll figure out something."
After all, escaping from the island was pretty much the best possible outcome they could hope for. She'd be surprised if there was anyone who didn't wish that they could return home with their conscience intact, proving Danya's terrorist organisation to be wrong as well as finally bringing them to the justice they rightfully deserved.
That said, whilst Jenna didn't consider herself to be a cynic, she knew fine well that such an ideal conclusion to this story would not come about easily.
"Agreed. Regardless of what we decide to do next, we definitely have a better chance of survival if we stick together. Even then, like you said Jack we have to be careful out there. We could probably fend off a lone attacker with a melee weapon, but anyone with a gun and the desire to use it would be too big a threat to even consider dealing with."
Deal with in what way exactly? It's not like she could just call the police, or convince bloodthirsty killers to turn a new leaf with a few wise words of advice. The only obvious way of making sure confirmed killers were no longer a threat was the very option Jenna hoped she wouldn't be forced to make. She wasn't even entirely sure if she could make that kind of decision, knowing very well that even the most sadistic of her classmates were just as big a victim of this mess as she was.
Although, if it truly was a life or death situation...
"As for escape, I... I'm not sure. I don't think it's impossible, not by any means. But I'm not sure if... Well, I don't even know where we would begin! I doubt even the smartest of our classmates would know how to disable these collars on their own, and even if they did the they would still be stuck on this island in the middle of god-knows where. Besides, after what happened last time, I imagine they would have taken extra precautions to make sure that something like that never happened again."
Jenna glanced up at the nearest camera, wondering whether or not their conversation was being listened to. Of course it was, everyone was being watched weren't they? It was bad enough that were expected to kill each other without the fact that they weren't even allowed any privacy.
"That said... I'm almost certain that the government must have some kind of contingency plan for this kind of situation. It's only been four years since the last Survival of the Fittest ended, so there's no way that they wouldn't have something prepared in case something like this were to ever happen again. I bet they're already making preparations for some kind of rescue operation even as we speak."
She was making a lot of assumptions of course, and there was also the niggling feeling that if the government couldn't prevent them from being kidnapped in the first place what hope did they have at even finding out where they were, let alone rescue them? That said, she ignored those doubtful thoughts for now. At any rate, being rescued by the government sounded much more likely then a bunch of students finding a way off all by themselves.
"All we have to do is stay alive, as well as make sure that the rest of our classmates stop tearing each other apart. Not sure exactly how to do that last part, but... But I'm sure we'll figure out something."
Jack's eyes occasionally drifted away from Jenna and out to the surrounding area while she was speaking. There was his need for some sort of movement acting up again. That wasn't to say he wasn't listening though - he was, at least the best he could. He just had to hope it came off that way.
In terms of escape... what really COULD they do? The idealistic possibility was heartening all by itself, but there was still the plain and simple fact that none of them had any idea what the first step towards that would be. That would require finding someone who DID know what they were doing, and that was no easy feat. Even if they were to ignore the five people who had already murdered, there were probably at least a couple more who were attempting to play and just hadn't killed anyone yet. Even ignoring THAT, they'd have to find someone who not only knew enough about tech, but would also be willing to step up to the challenge. The odds weren't all that great.
Jack didn't want to damper anyone's spirits, and he didn't really have much else to say. Still, because he was who he was. he felt a compulsion to speak, and he did.
"I agree. With all of it. I think the best thing to do would be to take everything one step at a time. Over-planning could be bad, because there's a lot of stuff that could screw us up on that."
He continued speaking, just letting his thoughts spill out. It was what he needed at this point.
"Maybe... like, there are probably a good amount of people out there who aren't really playing the game. We've already got a group of three people, which I think is pretty good. We find more people willing to join us - heck, maybe some will even have weapons - and start getting a bigger and bigger group. Then, even if we DO meet up with someone hostile, maybe we'll have enough people around that we can stand a chance."
There. That sounded like enough of a plan... for now, at least. Jack errantly glanced over at his assigned bag.
Yukiko spoke up.
Jack's head whipped over to her direction. He had almost forgotten she had been there at all. Then again, considering how quiet she had always been, that wasn't too much of a surprise. What was more surprising was her intent to leave. Jack... hadn't even considered that. That was probably because it was still pretty early - a thought that made him stifle a yawn - but he had figured they would be nice and safe so high above the ground.
"Well... maybe... I don't know. I guess that's not a bad idea..." The idea of leaving their current location unsettled him even more because he had no idea where they'd head off to. Anywhere they went could be the location of a player...
Still, he had to try, if only for her. He turned back to Jenna.
"Let me see the map."
In terms of escape... what really COULD they do? The idealistic possibility was heartening all by itself, but there was still the plain and simple fact that none of them had any idea what the first step towards that would be. That would require finding someone who DID know what they were doing, and that was no easy feat. Even if they were to ignore the five people who had already murdered, there were probably at least a couple more who were attempting to play and just hadn't killed anyone yet. Even ignoring THAT, they'd have to find someone who not only knew enough about tech, but would also be willing to step up to the challenge. The odds weren't all that great.
Jack didn't want to damper anyone's spirits, and he didn't really have much else to say. Still, because he was who he was. he felt a compulsion to speak, and he did.
"I agree. With all of it. I think the best thing to do would be to take everything one step at a time. Over-planning could be bad, because there's a lot of stuff that could screw us up on that."
He continued speaking, just letting his thoughts spill out. It was what he needed at this point.
"Maybe... like, there are probably a good amount of people out there who aren't really playing the game. We've already got a group of three people, which I think is pretty good. We find more people willing to join us - heck, maybe some will even have weapons - and start getting a bigger and bigger group. Then, even if we DO meet up with someone hostile, maybe we'll have enough people around that we can stand a chance."
There. That sounded like enough of a plan... for now, at least. Jack errantly glanced over at his assigned bag.
Yukiko spoke up.
Jack's head whipped over to her direction. He had almost forgotten she had been there at all. Then again, considering how quiet she had always been, that wasn't too much of a surprise. What was more surprising was her intent to leave. Jack... hadn't even considered that. That was probably because it was still pretty early - a thought that made him stifle a yawn - but he had figured they would be nice and safe so high above the ground.
"Well... maybe... I don't know. I guess that's not a bad idea..." The idea of leaving their current location unsettled him even more because he had no idea where they'd head off to. Anywhere they went could be the location of a player...
Still, he had to try, if only for her. He turned back to Jenna.
"Let me see the map."
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CondorTalon
- Posts: 479
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:17 am
They were wasting time. The map wouldn't help them find any of their friends, because their friends weren't marked on the map. They needed to move now, but Jack and Jenna showed no signs of getting up.
They were too slow.
Yukiko quickly turned and started to head down the ladder. They were never going to get things done if the sat around, twiddling their thumbs. The quicker they moved, the quicker they would find their friends.
"Hurry up," she called, her voice monotone.
They'd have to start getting it together if they wanted to catch up with her.
She was on a mission now.
((Yukiko Sakurai continued in Rise and Fall of a Teenage Girl.))
They were too slow.
Yukiko quickly turned and started to head down the ladder. They were never going to get things done if the sat around, twiddling their thumbs. The quicker they moved, the quicker they would find their friends.
"Hurry up," she called, her voice monotone.
They'd have to start getting it together if they wanted to catch up with her.
She was on a mission now.
((Yukiko Sakurai continued in Rise and Fall of a Teenage Girl.))
Jenna nodded her head in agreement. "Sounds good. I imagine most of our classmates are still averse to the idea of 'playing the game' as you put it, so as long as we don't dawdle we might be able to get most of them together before it's too late."
She stroked her chin, giving the subject some thought. She couldn't help but find it curious that Jack referred to this hostage situation as a game, despite the fact that he made it clear that he was just as repulsed by the whole thing as she was. Maybe it was just her, but for some reason the thought of even classifying this horrific situation as a game just seemed wrong. It was like calling war or a bank robbery a game. As far as she was concerned, referring to this as a game just devalued the lives of every victim of these terrorists, even if used in a negative context.
"The thought had crossed my mind that maybe we could... I don't know, find some way to get as many people as possible to meet up at a single location. Leave notes lying around, or... Something. I'd have to give it some thought."
Yukiko spoke up, voicing her desire to head off. Jenna had almost forgotten that she was even there. She'd been so quiet since the hotel. Infectiously so in fact, seeing as none of them had really spoken this much since they had left. David's death must have hit her particularly hard. Jenna could understand why, seeing as she got the impression that Yukiko and David had already been friends before all this had happened. That said, she also knew that they had to keep their heads clear if they truly wanted to stay alive on this island, so as much as she wanted to comfort her friend she also wanted her remain calm and rational.
"I don't want to stay here either, but I think we should decide on where we're heading first. No point in rushing about without a clear destination in mind, right? We'll find the others eventually, you'll see...."
On that note, she unfolded her map and tried to figure out where they were, holding it at an angle that her companions could see it as well.
"Wow, did we really walk that far in one day? At any rate, this island doesn't seem that big, so if we started walking now we could probably make it to the other side of the island by sundown. There seem to be living areas in the western side of town, so maybe they might be a good place to set up camp after we've finished looking for our classmates..."
She turned her head towards her friends. "What do you guys thi..." she began, only to then notice that Yukiko was already making her way down the ladder.
"Yuki, wait! Oh for pity's sake, fine, we'll decide on the way..."
Jenna tried folding the map in a hurry, only to get impatient and grumpily pass it over to Jack as she began to make her way down the ladder. She wasn't particularly happy about Yukiko's attitude. Sure, she understood that she wanted to find Chase and the others, but that was no excuse for blindly wandering about with no clear destination in mind. If she kept rushing off like this, they were sure to find themselves in a heap of trouble.
In the meantime, she may as well start thinking about that idea she had brought up.
((Jenna Rhodes continued in Rise and Fall of a Teenage Girl))
She stroked her chin, giving the subject some thought. She couldn't help but find it curious that Jack referred to this hostage situation as a game, despite the fact that he made it clear that he was just as repulsed by the whole thing as she was. Maybe it was just her, but for some reason the thought of even classifying this horrific situation as a game just seemed wrong. It was like calling war or a bank robbery a game. As far as she was concerned, referring to this as a game just devalued the lives of every victim of these terrorists, even if used in a negative context.
"The thought had crossed my mind that maybe we could... I don't know, find some way to get as many people as possible to meet up at a single location. Leave notes lying around, or... Something. I'd have to give it some thought."
Yukiko spoke up, voicing her desire to head off. Jenna had almost forgotten that she was even there. She'd been so quiet since the hotel. Infectiously so in fact, seeing as none of them had really spoken this much since they had left. David's death must have hit her particularly hard. Jenna could understand why, seeing as she got the impression that Yukiko and David had already been friends before all this had happened. That said, she also knew that they had to keep their heads clear if they truly wanted to stay alive on this island, so as much as she wanted to comfort her friend she also wanted her remain calm and rational.
"I don't want to stay here either, but I think we should decide on where we're heading first. No point in rushing about without a clear destination in mind, right? We'll find the others eventually, you'll see...."
On that note, she unfolded her map and tried to figure out where they were, holding it at an angle that her companions could see it as well.
"Wow, did we really walk that far in one day? At any rate, this island doesn't seem that big, so if we started walking now we could probably make it to the other side of the island by sundown. There seem to be living areas in the western side of town, so maybe they might be a good place to set up camp after we've finished looking for our classmates..."
She turned her head towards her friends. "What do you guys thi..." she began, only to then notice that Yukiko was already making her way down the ladder.
"Yuki, wait! Oh for pity's sake, fine, we'll decide on the way..."
Jenna tried folding the map in a hurry, only to get impatient and grumpily pass it over to Jack as she began to make her way down the ladder. She wasn't particularly happy about Yukiko's attitude. Sure, she understood that she wanted to find Chase and the others, but that was no excuse for blindly wandering about with no clear destination in mind. If she kept rushing off like this, they were sure to find themselves in a heap of trouble.
In the meantime, she may as well start thinking about that idea she had brought up.
((Jenna Rhodes continued in Rise and Fall of a Teenage Girl))
You know, in a weird way that even he himself couldn't really understand, Jack was kind of excited. They were still stuck on a deserted island with their fellow classmates trying to kill them, yes, but at least they were starting to form some sort of plan to avoid that. And hey, Jenna went into her bag to dig out the map, which meant he had actually put forth a worthy idea. That was always nice.
To get a better view of the map, Jack stood up and walked a bit closer to Jenna, crouching next to her and scanning over the different areas of the map. Wow, they HAD walked a fair amount of the island over the course of yesterday. At least that meant all of their hard work wasn't for nothing. While he did his best to remember all of the other locations on the map - there was a nuclear plant here?! - he listened to Jenna's plan. She was definitely right; if the plan was to gather up more students for their group, going to a notable and livable building would probably be a good start.
Jenna's voice trailed off suddenly. Jack looked over at her, starting to ask what was up, when he noticed where her gaze was. He didn't even have to look over; the clanging of the ladder was enough.
"Yukiko!" he cried out in a mix of surprise and frustration. He dashed over to that side of the tower, peering over the edge. Dang it, she was already well on her way down the ladder by now. Jack was too shocked at the moment to comprehend why she would just go running off like that, but by god he was going to do his best to get that answer out of her.
Unfortunately, he was first going to have to catch up to her.
He turned around, only to have the map quickly shoved at him by Jenna. He could tell by the forceful way she did it that she was just as frantic and frustrated as he was. At least they were in it together.
Getting down the ladder took longer than he had hoped. He had his bag slung over his right shoulder, which made balancing cumbersome, and that map was still in his left hand, which just made more things he had to grip. Jack was sure to have a lot of wrinkles to iron out of it when he got the chance.
The minute he hit the ground, though, he hit it running, doing his best to follow Yukiko. The bag was still annoying to run with, but luckily the various times he had been forced to run halfway across the school with his tennis bag had made it a bit easier. Yukiko still had a lead on him and Jenna though, which wasn't going to make it a walk in the park either.
"What did I JUST say!" he cried out.
((Jack McDonald continued in Rise and Fall of a Teenage Girl.))
To get a better view of the map, Jack stood up and walked a bit closer to Jenna, crouching next to her and scanning over the different areas of the map. Wow, they HAD walked a fair amount of the island over the course of yesterday. At least that meant all of their hard work wasn't for nothing. While he did his best to remember all of the other locations on the map - there was a nuclear plant here?! - he listened to Jenna's plan. She was definitely right; if the plan was to gather up more students for their group, going to a notable and livable building would probably be a good start.
Jenna's voice trailed off suddenly. Jack looked over at her, starting to ask what was up, when he noticed where her gaze was. He didn't even have to look over; the clanging of the ladder was enough.
"Yukiko!" he cried out in a mix of surprise and frustration. He dashed over to that side of the tower, peering over the edge. Dang it, she was already well on her way down the ladder by now. Jack was too shocked at the moment to comprehend why she would just go running off like that, but by god he was going to do his best to get that answer out of her.
Unfortunately, he was first going to have to catch up to her.
He turned around, only to have the map quickly shoved at him by Jenna. He could tell by the forceful way she did it that she was just as frantic and frustrated as he was. At least they were in it together.
Getting down the ladder took longer than he had hoped. He had his bag slung over his right shoulder, which made balancing cumbersome, and that map was still in his left hand, which just made more things he had to grip. Jack was sure to have a lot of wrinkles to iron out of it when he got the chance.
The minute he hit the ground, though, he hit it running, doing his best to follow Yukiko. The bag was still annoying to run with, but luckily the various times he had been forced to run halfway across the school with his tennis bag had made it a bit easier. Yukiko still had a lead on him and Jenna though, which wasn't going to make it a walk in the park either.
"What did I JUST say!" he cried out.
((Jack McDonald continued in Rise and Fall of a Teenage Girl.))