Survival Of The Fittest

((James Wade continued from The Best Part of Waking Up))

After a couple of hours worth of wandering, James and his travelling companion had finally found something that resembled shelter. He'd been checking his map all morning, and they were lucky enough to have stumbled across the barn after the announcements; it had been in a Danger Zone for the past day or so. Looking around warily, he approached the building and peeked inside.

Nobody home.

It looked a damn sight better than the place James and Veronica had camped out the previous night, at least. He'd lain awake for some time trying to figure out what to do while keeping an eye out in case his new friend decided to take that tire iron of hers to his head. He'd drifted off at some point and woken up at some point just before the announcements. He'd listened to the names of the poor souls murdered yesterday and made a mental note of the new Danger Zones on the island. He'd not given too much thought to what might happen to them in the future; living in the moment would do just fine for now. James called back to Veronica.

"Right, looks clear to me."

For now though, he just had to make it through today.

((Veronica McDonald continued from The Best Part of Waking Up))

Veronica had slept like a log last night, which was the first proper rest she's had since this game began. Ever since she had woken up in that alleyway she had been running around, looting and resting and watching her back. Zero time to take a nap because she didn't know if some crazy murderer would sneak up behind her and roll her sleeping form off a cliff. In retrospect that was exactly what she was doing, since she and James had slept out in the open last night. But they hadn't been attacked, so all was well. Besides, Veronica had slept with her tire iron in hand, so they were at least armed.

So they both groggily woke up to the speakers cackling to life and gathered their things in tune to the announcement. A few more deaths occurred, though none were of any importance to Veroinca. Sure, they were all peers she had gone to school with, but she wasn't in shock because that ditz Kowalski got herself caught in a danger zone. Ruth's killings shocked her, and his name wasn't on the announcements this morning. She pushed him out of her mind as soon as he came up, though; the fact that her boyfriend had killed Lauren was still something she was still in disbelief about.

Her current partner James seemed like an okay person. He wouldn't be the kid who'd stab you in the back or get himself killed on you. At least he was reliable and a person Veronica could trust. She trusted him enough to follow him around, didn't she?

Recently they both found themselves in front of an abandoned barn. James went out to check the place out, though Veronica remained a distance away from it. She mostly fidgeted and kept lookout for anyone, tire iron in hand. The thing practically never left her side nowadays.

James called an all-clear, so she waded through the wheat to get to him.

"Coming!"

The barn seemed safe enough. For now, at least. James was sure to take a good look around after entering the building. It looked like there might have been some activity here recently, judging by the partially-collapsed hayloft, but right now it was deserted. He felt lucky to have been the first to come across this location so soon after it stopped being a danger zone, and set his bag down in the corner before yawning; He hadn't slept very comfortably last night.

Got to stay awake. Stay aware.

He sat down by his bag. Veronica seemed like a decent person so far. Better than Kathryn, who had stayed with her friends once James had been forced to run away. She was better-armed than him, though a stick would've been a better weapon than his Clue box. He wondered why he hadn't just left it behind after waking up on the island a few days ago. They had all played it on their first night on the island; him, Kathryn, Ian, Venice and Amy. He'd been able to momentarily ignore his situation and play a stupid board game for a while. Now two of the girls were dead and he had a new travelling companion. James spoke up to Veronica.

"Well, this place looks safe enough for now."

He wiped his glasses on the hem of his shirt and pushed his long hair out of his face. James wished he'd had it cut before, as he'd been meaning to do for weeks now. Still, there wasn't much he could do about it now. If he got the chance he'd cut it himself, or at least tie it back with something as it would definitely be a problem in a fight. James sighed, and took off the hooded top he'd been wearing for a few days; nights of sleeping rough had turned the white hoodie slightly grey. His black shirt was getting a bit grubby, too. He hadn't paid much attention to his appearance on the island, though by now he felt like he really needed a wash. Most others probably felt the same. He folded the top up and put it by his bag before speaking.

"I suppose we should try and figure what we're going to do."

The barn didn't look too bad up close. It looked a little run down, sure, but it was still standing. If it had lasted long enough to make it this far, it could hold up for another day or two. Veronica sighed and hefted her pack before walking into the barn, skirting a peculiar object that was lying out in the open.

Probably some poor sap's weapon. I feel sorry for them.

Entering the barn, Veronica immediately noticed the half-destroyed hayloft. Certainly a thing of concern. The interior wasn't too shabby either, besides the damage from exposure to the elements for God knows how long. She took a moment to scope the area and found nothing of importance. Listening closely, it appeared that nobody was in here either. Luckily for them, they were alone.

She followed James' voice into the corner of the barn, where he was sat near his bag and his jacket off. Veronica set hers down as well and seated herself opposite of the other boy, tire iron resting in her lap. Sitting somewhere alone was certainly a better change of pace than wandering the island. While Veronica herself was lucky enough to have few close encounters with her classmates since Day 1, she felt that it wouldn't last too long. Soon enough she'd have to put the tire iron to good use.

James was a good ally, there was no doubt about that. While he didn't seem too strong or well-armed, the other boy was trustworthy enough to trust her life with. The worst he could do was whack her with the Clue board, and it didn't seem like a jeopardizing injury. James trusted her too, so it worked out well.

Regardless of that, Veronica didn't feel like confessing her sorta-willingness to play the game. It didn't come up in actual situations since her encounters were scare, and innocent people like James were still around. The game wasn't exactly high stakes just yet, and when the remaining students all had blood on their hands, Veronica wouldn't hesitate using her tire iron. But she knew that James was intimidated by her, and confessing her willingness to kill might just fatally lose her trust in him. Worst case scenario he bashed her head in with the tire iron.

But would she even trust him well enough to let him touch it in the first place?

Maybe she didn't trust him that much.

Veronica just muttered a simple "Yeah, sure," to James in response. He wasn't even asking directly what they should do, so she could by herself time to think. She wasn't used to this sort of careful socialization.

James sighed, and took out a bottle of water from his daypack. He'd have to really start rationing his supplies from now on, considering how long this game might last. Chances were that he'd have to take food and water from others if he had to, which brought his thoughts to what he would have to do to acquire the supplies. He'd tried his best to put it out of his mind so far, but James knew that it was a kill or be killed situation on this island. He glanced over towards Veronica for a moment, and wondered if he could fight or kill her if he had to. She'd been rather friendly to him so far, considering they were on an island full or murderous classmates, but he'd still fall asleep at night fearing that tire iron. Once again, his mind came up with one big blank on that.

I couldn't attack anyone for no reason. It just isn't me.

Then again, the fact that he was with someone at all wasn't normal for James. He'd been something of a loner in the past, but here on the island he preferred to travel in a group. Still, so long as Veronica had his back he'd help her out in turn; it seemed like a good deal for the time being, at least. He took a couple of swigs from the bottle before putting it away. That would be enough to last him a few hours, at least. James would just have to wait and see what happened before deciding if he'd play the game or not. The way he saw it, if someone was hostile, he'd have to kill them. Not that the Clue box was a weapon of mass destruction, mind, but he'd figure out something.

"Well," he began, looking back towards Veronica. "I guess we could stay here for a while, since we've got some shelter."

James turned his gaze towards the door. "There's also the buildings out there. Might be worth a look if you're interested."

At least now he had some more time to think. James had a good ally right now in Veronica, though sooner or later he'd have to start looking after number one.

As she thought her response out, James proposed the idea of staying at the barn for a while or scavenging through the nearby buildings. It certainly wasn't a bad idea, though she was hesitant to leave the barn so soon.

"I guess we could," Veronica replied, leaning on the barn wall and glancing at the door. "But I kinda don't want to leave this barn for now..."

She made a quick check of her rations. All she had left was the bread, one tin of crackers, the food bars and 3 bottles of water. The water was something she was concerned about, and she rummaged through her pack to make sure everything was there.

Once she was finished, she zipped it shut and sighed. Veronica looked up into space and tried not to think of anything.

Veronica's response was fair enough. They had shelter for the time being, and probably needed the rest before venturing out to explore the other buildings. After wandering around the island for just a few hours he was already pretty worn out; his meagre breakfast of bread and water wasn't exactly the most filling meal. James guessed that his companion probably felt the same after living for days on this crap. Still, he felt somewhat relaxed

"Okay, I guess we'll just rest here for a while."

He lay back, placing his folded jacket under his head as a pillow. He yawned once more. Not gonna fall asleep, just resting up for a bit. Need to conserve strength and all that. James glanced over at Veronica. She'd probably keep a lookout anyway, if he did fall asleep. Or she'd bash his head in. That's why I'm staying awake, just in case. He grabbed the Clue box and placed it on his chest. James wasn't sure why, but it made him feel a little better. His eyelids slowly shut.

Maybe some rest will do me some good. Then I'll decide on what to dzzzzzzzzzz...

...

Thankfully James seemed to agree that they should stay, though in Veronica's opinion he got a little too comfortable once they had decided to settle in. Within a minute or two he was fast asleep, clutching that Clue box of his like a teddy bear. Veronica had to admit that it was kind of adorable.

She didn't feel like waking him up. James probably slept horribly last night, so she let him catch some well-deserved rest. Besides, it wasn't like waking him up wouldn't be incredibly awkward. For now, though, she just let him be.

Left alone with her thoughts, Veronica tried her best to occupy herself without disturbing her partner or their surroundings. Neither of them needed someone noticing their presence, and it would just be plain rude to wake James. Veronica simply slumped back against the barn wall and tried to clear her mind.

((Timeskip approved by Handlers beforehand))

James sat up, and yawned. He'd fallen asleep yesterday and had woken up at some point in the late afternoon. Though it was nice to see that Veronica hadn't decided to kill him in his sleep, it also meant that he hadn't slept again until the early hours of the morning. Still, at least he felt rested up after a fairly peaceful day in the barn. James retrieved his glasses from the Clue box, now slightly bent out of shape from where he'd fallen asleep holding it. He placed the glasses on, and yawned again.

Right, I've survived another day. Good for me.

He hadn't spoken much with Veronica yesterday, but was glad that she hadn't left him yet. As James began fishing through his bag for one of the remaining energy bars, the announcement began. He could hear it clearly even over the rain outside, and shook his head sadly as the names of his classmates were read out. Still, he couldn't help but feel somewhat happy that a player or two had died. To him, they had got what they deserved. Then came the danger zones. James sat back, trying to think of ways they could possibly barricade the barn against intruders.

Then their location was marked.

Oh shit.

All of his ideas crumbled to dust as the announcements ended. He had to leave. He had to get out. James quickly pulled on his jacket and grabbed his things, stopping for a second to pick up the Clue box. Can't forget that. Then he turned to Veronica.

"You heard that, right? We've got to get the hell out of here!"

With that, he pulled up his hood and ran out of the barn.

((James Wade continued in Dry Oasis))

To be honest, Veronica was bored. She couldn't have left James, so she was stuck in the barn until sometime in the afternoon. In that space of time, she had walked around the barn and the exterior, inspecting various objects scattered about the area and even looked at the....thing someone had left outside. If Veronica needed anything, it definitely wasn't that.

Eventually, though, James woke up. They spent the rest of the evening camping out in the barn and then the two spent the night. Luckily it looked like they didn't need to protect themselves, as nobody seemed to be in their vicinity for the whole night.

This wasn't too bad of a place.

Veronica woke up again to the cackling of the speakers, getting out of the pile of hay she had been sleeping it. She yawned, greeted James and ate an impromptu breakfast. It was only an energy bar, sure, but it was still something.

She listened to the list of their fallen classmates rattled off, and Veronica couldn't help but feel a tinge of sorrow. Nineteen more kids had died while she and James had been holed up in the barn. It really drove home how lucky the two were, with all the death & mayhem happening all around them. Veronica was feeling quite thankful for her good fortune when the Homestead was declared a danger zone.

Shit.

"You heard that, right? We've got to get the hell out of here!"

He didn't have to tell her twice. Veronica quickly scarfed down the energy bar as she scooped up her tire iron, hoisted her day pack on her back and ran outside into the rain.

((Veronica McDonald continued in Dry Oasis))