Survival Of The Fittest

((Mitch continued from Lost Children))
((Cathalie continued from Lost Children))
((Franco continued from Restraining Order: Part Two))

"See if I care? There is no way these bastards are getting away with this!"

"But Cathalie, we've been out here for five days now..." Mitch Gunther trailed off, he didn't really want to incur the wrath of Cathalie, but he knew it was coming anyway.

"Well, one way or another, these fuckin' terrorists aren't getting away with this," normally she would have snacked Mitch for speaking out of line, but it didn't seem appropriate these last few days, despite her frustration.

Mitch fiddled with the dirt around his feet, pulling a clump of grass out from the forest floor. He dug through his bag of supplies, he had done a pretty good job of rationing things, considering he wasn't a big eater anyway and he offered a small hunk of bread to Cathalie. She snatched it out of his hands, long depraved of her own rations, and mumbled grudging thanks through chewing teeth.

Mitch smile and continued to dig through his pack, he picked out his assigned weapon, mosquito repellent, and rolled the can around in his hands. He hadn't used any of the stuff yet as the bugs weren't really a bother too him, but he offered the can to Cathalie, she waved a hand dismissively.

"You know? We shouldn't even be a part of this mess, what does any of this have to do with us anyway?" Cathalie sighed as her head fell into her hands, her dry locks of stringy hair flopped over around her; her time on the island had not treated her well. "It's like no matter what we do we get the short end of the stick. Nobody gives a fuck about us, I doubt even the people watching at home care if we live or die. I hope you're all fucking satisfied with yourselves!"

Cathalie looked into one of the nearby cameras, too hard to reach, but not out of sight, Mitch sat idly by as she yelled into the camera.

"We survived this long, Cath," Mitch mumbled. "Maybe we can make it out of here."

"So what?! Even if we do get out of here it's not going to be a whole lot better," Cathalie threw her arms into the air and stomped around the camera. "There are kids out there who want to kill us, Mitch. You heard the announcements. There's only one way out of here short of a body bag. We have to kill everyone else! Nobodies coming to rescue us. What do they care about us! We don't fit in anywhere and you know that as well as I do."

Mitch looked up at Cathalie apologetically, he had an odd sense of understanding and he knew full well what she was saying, but he really didn't like to hear it, didn't like were it was going.

"But... Cath, someone has to try to save us. There are other kids here too, important ones, if someone is coming for them, and they are coming for us as well."

"And then what, Mitch?" Cathalie fumed and glared at her fellow urchin. "We go back to social services and bounce through another few foster homes? Fuck that! I'm not putting up with it anymore."

Cathalie stomped over to her bag and rummaged through the contents. She threw everything aside as she dug in search of her designated weapon. She had enough of it that the effects would be painless, the bottle was still full. She palmed it and looked over her shoulder, still fuming with rage.

"Come here, Mitch," she beckoned with her hand. He obediently followed, but kept a wary distance, he would do anything for Cathalie, but he was getting the impression that she wasn't herself right now.

"What are you doing, Cath? Its okay, we're going to get out of here. We've gone this long, remember?"

"This is for your own good, Mitch," her eyes lost a degree of her intensity as she looked at her long time companion. "You heard what they said in the beginning, ‘could you kill your best friend?' Well, this is the only peaceful way out of this for us. You've seen the bodies, Mitch, we both have. I don't want to die like that and I don't want you to either."

"But Cath, I don't want to die at all..."

"Just breathe this in; I'll do the rest-"

"No!"

Mitch pushed back Cathalie as she tried to swab his face with the damp chloroform rag. Cathalie stared at Mitch, bewildered; she'd never seen him like that before, not around her.

"I'm going to get you through this Cath," Mitch whimpered as his eyes began to turn red, swelling with tears. "If I have to I'll kill all the other people, I don't care, but you deserve better. I'll get you through this, and in the end...well, I'll get you through this Cath. You, you need to get through this. You're always stronger than me..."

Mitch trailed off and stared at his feet a few tears rolled off his face and left damp little dots in the sand. He sniffed and wiped at his face. Cathalie walked over to him slowly, placing the bottle down on the ground.

"You're right, Mitch," Cathalie put an arm around his shoulder, an unusual sign of friendship coming from her. "We can pull through this. We've gotten this far right? I don't want you to kill anyone because of me. I just-"

The tree directly behind Cathalie burst into splitters. The leaves scattered into the air like confetti as the shards of wood sheered through the air like piercing bullets. It was like the sound of a thousand splitting axes and the cacophony set both Mitch and Cathalie's ears ringing.

Shards of wood pierced her back and line her spine like awkward acupuncture needles. As she turned a hunk of wood raked across her face, ripping open her right cheek. Dirt and debris flew everywhere, blinding her, as she looked back to see Mitch falling backward, impaled by tiny shards as shrapnel ripped away at his chest and stomach.

[+] UNPLEASANT THINGS SPOILERED BY KERMIT

They both fell to the ground, writhing in pain and blindness. Cathalie cries and screams came through mangled by her ripped cheek and her bloody tongue. She gurgled and moaned in pain, spewing blood to the ground as she tried to reach for Mitch.

He wasn't doing much better. One of his eyes was sliced open and his chest was riddled with wounds. He groaned and tried to mop up the blood with his shirt as he slowly crawled over to Cathalie. He craned his neck and noticed a pair of black oxford shoes slowly prowling up towards them.

"I apologize for the mess," Franco Sebberts face was grim, the sight was not an easy one to behold, the two of them writhing in bloody agony. He had not meant to hit the tree, but at least it did the trick. "I was going to come and have a word with the two of you, but after she started raving like a banshee I figured this was a better idea."

Franco placed the grenade launcher in his bag, and removed the Star Catha-Star pistol. He gripped it in one hand, it felt hefty and powerful, but lighter than his grenade launcher. He was pleased with his new weapon. He pointed it first at Cathalie's head. She groaned and rolled about the ground, she called out, her mouth filled his blood.

"Mith...Mith jus leave me... Mith... jus leave me, run away..."

Franco looked up just as Mitch crawled to his feet and charge in with all his might. He grunted and reached out for Franco's throat, defending his friend, throttling his enemy. Franco fell to the ground with a bloody Mitch on top of him, his eyes widened with terror as the wounded beast reached for the white skin on his pristine neck. Mitch gripped Franco's gunned are fiercely in one hand and squeezed his neck with the other, he would pay for what he had done to Cathalie.

Franco gasped and coughed his free hand inched back, reaching for his back pocket, he groped for the tazer, patting only the waist of his black suit pants. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, tears began to well in Franco's eyes. He couldn't go like this, he wouldn't. Is this what it was like for Russell? For the girl who had granted him with this tazer? He squirmed again; he felt a small hard object against his hand. He felt his way around it like a blind man, and pulled it out from underneath him.

He shoved his arm up, pressed the button just as he punched Mitch's remaining eye.

"GAH!"

Mitch arched back in pain and pulled at his face. He fell back as Franco panted and grunted for air. Franco pounded his chest and coughed violently as Mitch spasm in the dirt, Cathalie was laying very still, but still moaning.

Franco eventually found his way to his feet, his face was reddened, he was completely dishevelled, his eyes were more fierce and angry then ever before, he'd learned to contain his rage as a child, but his blood with malice. He felt like he was breathing smoke.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO WANT OUT OF THIS HELLHOLE!"

As Franco screamed at Mitch and Cathalie they both visibly cringed. Franco's outburst sated his rage to a degree, but he wasn't done yet.

"You think you and your little girl friend are getting out of here! Fuck you! I need this; I need to get out of here! If you wanted to get out of here as badly as I do, you'd have started killing a long time ago! This is reality folks and this is what you get for fucking with me!"

Franco grabbed Cathalie by the hair and dragged her over to the tree, his adrenaline gave him the strength to prop her up against it as she whimpered and cried for Mitch. He glared at her and marched over to Mitch, he turned him over so he was facing Cathalie.

"I hope to hell you can still see out of that eye because I want you to see what I'm going to do to your little girlfriend! If not, I'm sure the screams will be enough."

Mitch moaned in agony and protest, Franco tazered him again for good measure.

People say that a tazer is the worst pain you can ever endure, every single nerve and synapse in the body clenches and stirs in agony. It's torture in two seconds. Combine that with rape.

Franco drove the sparking tazer into Cathalie's crotch; he held it there for a moment as she screamed in pain and disgust. He pulled away. Giving her a minute to cry and plead him to stop. He didn't.

He held down the button and pressed in harder, he worked the tazer around, pulled away for a second as she whimpered and cried again. He used the tazer on her breasts briefly and ran over to Mitch as Cathalie cried. He groaned in rage and writhed, trying to find his way around. Franco paced around him like a predator; he kicked him several times and then pulled him up by the hair.

"This is what you get! This is what you when you cross me!"

He threw Mitch down to the ground again and kicked him a few more times. A whimper became audible from the nearby tree as Cathalie sputtered more blood to the ground.

"Please...just stop this...please..."

Franco grunted and glared in frustration, had he really gone this far? It seemed like he was in a dream, watching himself do it, but he couldn't stop. He stood there for a moment, tazer in hand and looked around. He regained his sense and gathered his supplies. He put his weapons back were they were supposed to be and took the pistol in hand.

He walked over and held the pistol to Cathalie's head.

"I'm putting you out of your misery, but I'm not sorry for what I did," he lied. His eyes flickered the same way they had when he'd given up Russell. He could feel he was loosing himself.

"Thank you..."

Bang.

Mitch cried out in rage. Franco strolled over to him calmly.

Bang.

He walked away.

B01 - Mitch Gunther Status: Deceased
G01 - Cathalie Meguro Status: Deceased

((Continued in A Hunting We Will Go, A Hunting We Will Go))