Survival Of The Fittest

((Continued from Beyond the Horizon))

Exhaustion.

Pure, unadulterated exhaustion was all that Kallie Majors' body could register as the old, moss-covered sides of a building came into her view. The tall steeple that arched up from the roof of the building was a dead giveaway that she was at the chapel. She had remembered seeing it on the map the last time she had checked it, but she could have sworn it was somewhere to the west -- or maybe the south -- of the cottage... and hadn't she ran to the east?

She had never been great with directions anyway, and it all seemed so trivial at the moment. Her ankle was killing her, and the long trek through the jungle had drained any energy her body might have had left completely out. It was all she could do to stay awake and keep herself from toppling over onto the ground below.

Still clutching the sword tightly in her hands, the blonde-headed girl moved toward the chapel door, her eyes scanning her surroundings thoroughly. The last thing she needed was to be attacked by some unseen enemy now. She didn't know if she could use the sword they'd given her normally, and right now, she was so fatigued that there was simply no way she could hold her own in a fight.

The only thing she could hear in the immediate vicinity seemed to be crickets, although somewhere nearby she could've sworn she heard the boom of guns going off, and what almost sounded like an explosion. Did someone on the island have explosives of some kind? The thought chilled Kallie to the bone. She wasn't sure, but she thought some of the competitors in the last two games might have had hand grenades, or dynamite, or something. Hadn't one student been killed by the mine strapped to his back.

She shivered at the thought of it.

The coast seemed to be clear on the outside, and Kallie placed her hand on the big, golden handle of the church door and pushed her way inside. The church itself was very small, with a few pews lined up in rows in front of the altar and what looked to be a small storeroom to the side. Reaching down to rub her legs, which had gotten somewhat scraped up from running through the jungle, Kallie sighed quietly.

She moved over to the storeroom, checking inside to make sure it was empty, and closed the door behind her. She couldn't keep running around in a skirt. If her journey through the jungle had been any indication, this place hadn't been used in practically a hundred years, and her whole body was feeling the effects of it. It was dark and hard to see in the storeroom, so Kallie fished out her flashlight and flicked the light on.

It didn't take her long after that to locate a pair of jeans she'd brought with her. Anything was better than the skirt she'd chosen to wear. As quickly as she could, she changed clothes and found a more suitable jacket in the bottom of her pack -- a black one, lined with fleece. It'd be far too hot during the day, but for the cold night ahead, it was perfect. Flipping the flashlight back off and leaving her discarded items on the floor, Kallie opened the storehouse door once again and headed back into the church.

The coast looked clear.

Now, there was only one problem. She was alone. She was completely exhausted, and although she could, in theory, board up the doors of the chapel, that would just ensure that whoever happened upon it would know someone was inside. Kallie closed her eyes tightly. Exhausted or not, she couldn't allow herself to fall asleep. She had to keep watch. She hoped that in a church of all places, she'd find nothing but friendly people -- apparently, she'd missed the freshly dug grave outside. Still, though, as she sat down on the pew closest to the alter, she felt fatigue overtaking her body and her eyes closing of their own will.

((Continued from Start - G07))

'Where did she go?' Matthew wodered for the umpteenth time as he ran through the underbrush that surrounded him. He had followed Kallie out of the cottage and into the jungle, but after that, he completely lost track of her. He silently wondered if he was even going in the right direction. Matt didn't like being alone. He really didn't think it was smart of him to leave that house.

"Ughh... where am I?" He wondered aloud as he stopped to rest. His breat was ragged from running, and his legs felt like lead

He wandered over to what looked like a chapel. He looked over and saw what looked like a person entering. He tried to get a better look, but they had already gone inside. Matt slowly walked over. He tried to peer inside through a window, but they were so dirty he couldn't see a thing. He walked over to the door, and grasped the handle. He wasn't so sure he wanted to go inside. Something told him he should though, so he entered. The door made a small creak as he opened the door. He walked inside and got a glimpse of the person he saw walk in.

"Hello?" She turned at the sound of his voice. Matt smiled.

"Well, well, well. We keep running into eachother, huh Kallie?" Not to mention the fact that he followed her, but that's just a minor detail.

((Andy continued from Flowers Amongst Flowers.))

It wasn't as though Andy had really been that far on the island, but it certainly seemed to have been an endless journey from that pleasant, open field of succor to the little church in front of him. The building was quaint in appearance, though an air of gloom seemed to hang over it; however, that same dread filled the entire island. The trees on the outside of the chapel were some variety that the blonde didn't know, but their brilliant green leaves were a stark contrast to the white of their neighbor the church. Andy was sweating profusely, his entire body glistening from the liquid excrement. It wasn't that the island was that unpleasantly hot, just that the physical exertion was extreme even for an athlete like him. A sigh escaped his lips as he gazed up at the entrance into the church. The wide doors were made of some sort of darkly stained wood, and the gold railing handles were reflecting the bright sunlight nicely.

"Heh. I haven't been to church in a long time. Ironic that it'd be like this," he said to no one in particular, somewhat glad that he was alone. Alone he was safe from harm. He had been hearing explosions and gunshots since his departure in the morning, seen a few groups of other students from afar going into buildings and running in other directions. Scared to death, Andy had to make sure he was hidden from sight whilst he spied. After all, it wasn't as though he was easily protected from anyone else. He had foolishly expected some sort of grand weapon from his daypack, but upon opening it for some water earlier on, he was astonished to find the great, heavy lump inside to be a motorcycle helmet. Something rather useless, to be sure. What exactly could he do with it aside from wear it? He might could hit someone with it, but from far away what could the cheerleader possibly do to protect himself against a gun? Fling the protective encasing at his opponent and flee? That wasn't happening. Hopefully there was something a bit more useful inside of the church.

"Maybe I should just ask God to help me. Fits the setting," Andy said in amusement, mocking himself as he dangled the motorcycle helmet next to his bare legs. His boots were muddy now, dirtied by some of the nastier elements of the island. His hair had become disasterous from all of the running; he didn't care. His delicate face was still flushed, and his chocolate eyes carried a determined stare. The boy steadied himself as he walked up to the chapel's doors. Pushing forward, he was surprised by how easily the wood moved forward, and he eased himself into the building carefully. The darkness was illuminated only slightly by stained glass portraits on the walls, and Andy took a moment to adjust to his surroundings.

'Wow. This is a lot nicer than I thought it would be.'

The small building was somewhat spacy inside, especially with its pews and- well, the two other people inside. One of the two had hair just as blonde as Andy's, though the other's was a sandy brown. Worried for only half a second, the effeminate blonde made his way down the aisle and toward the others, keeping as much a neutral expression as he could. If these people weren't playing, maybe they would provide an alliance until he could meet up with Sean or Izzy. Maybe one of them had seen his boyfriend or best friend. As the cheerleader came closer to the pair, he saw that the female was none other than Kallie Majors, one of the hottest girls at Southridge. Andy had no problem with her; however, as he glanced at the other inhabitant of the consecrated space, he almost glowered. It was Matthew Wittany, someone that he didn't exactly care for. Though it was common knowledge Wittany was an expert photographer, Andy knew firsthand that his photography wasn't limited to normal things. The boy was a voyeur. Mustering a friendly face, he greeted the pair.

"Hey. You two playing? 'Cause I'm not," he said, "All I got was this crappy helmet, so I'm not much of a threat to anyone anyway." At this, he lifter up the safety device by the straps, the black surface of it reflecting what bit of light was in the chapel. Smiling with sincerity, he dropped into the pew opposite Kallie Majors.

((Continued from Archangel))

Ladies and gents, the bad luck continues for our favourite contestant on the Price is Right, Mr. Adam Dodd!

As he pushed himself through the bushes, it occurred to Adam Dodd that with all of the things that had happened in his short, yet eventful life, he'd always had a really shitty sense of direction. Whether it was getting lost driving around town, straying off the paths and finding himself at a different spot while fighting for his life, or trying to get used to the surroundings of a new town - he always managed to fuck up his perception of what direction was what. It didn't make for a great survival skill, and in this situation, it had presented him several different problems during his first go-round. The biggest of course being that he'd strayed away from the cabin after watching River Garraty kill himself, and had been forced to take a life to protect Madelaine and Amanda's.

And what a monumental fuck-up that'd almost ended up being...of course, they'd ended up dead in the end anyways, so Adam had sadly just been able to prolong what had likely been inevitable.

Well, it's all fuckin' inevitable. What's the phrase? You're born...you live...you die...you pay taxes...you die again...

And so here it was, again, that Adam Dodd's sense of direction had once again spun him in the opposite path from where he wanted to be. His body, at the moment, ached like hell from the fall off the ravine that he'd just recently gotten up from, and his efforts to wander back to the top of the ravine to retrieve his pack had been in vain. He'd ended up turned around in the jungle, and he surmised that a lot of it had to do with the fact that he'd sped out of the area as fast as he could.

Gabriel Theobaldt had been one large son-of-a-bitch, and the takedown off the cliff had hurt about as much as the landing had. Adam's ribs were sore from the landing, and his shoulder was still whining at him after having been set back into place with an impromptu body-check into Gabriel from behind. As he walked through the jungle, completely defenseless, Adam didn't really know how to feel. In one respect, he actually felt disturbingly comfortable with what was going on. He knew that it was obviously just a defense mechanism activating that was keeping him from completely breaking down, but in a way, he felt as though this whole situation was but a minor annoyance to him.

How fucked is that shit? I'm not flipping out and going all crazy and shit this time around. But this time, I guess...I guess it's different. I've done it all, I've seen it all before. Weird, though. So...detatched...

It was indeed an odd feeling, but it was one that Adam knew wouldn't likely go away any time soon, and hence, he needed to focus on the immediate issues that he had - primarily the fact that he was lost, and unarmed, with no allies to go searching for sans Izzy.

Fuck, Izzy...

It'd been a while since his mind had drifted to the subject of Zhilan "Izzy" Cheung. Pretty much since the moment he'd woken up on the island, he'd been defending himself from attack from all sides, and he hadn't had a chance to think much about pretty much the only person in the whole school that he actually gave a damn about. The whole thing had started off in the weirdest possible way. He'd found her knapsack that had dropped underneath the bleachers in the gym and had been using it as a pillow while dozing off in between classes. She'd come looking for it and the two of them had ended up having a bizarrely awkward conversation. It had been refreshing, in a way, as he'd noticed that Izzy never looked at him with that same look in her eyes that 3/4 of the student body did. She never judged him, and Adam assumed that it'd probably been that which had been the precursor to him letting her in.

After SOTF, he'd become an incredibly guarded person, not saying much unless he felt outwardly challenged or was having a bad day, and only expressing himself through hockey, and through public speaking. He'd become somewhat of an activist, but didn't have many friends, only aquaintances. The vast majority had shunned him...he'd understood, of course, but it had still sucked all the same. Until Izzy came along, nobody really cared to get to know Adam Dodd, which had been quite the change.

Though if the truth be told, Adam hadn't really wanted anyone to get to know him, either.

Izzy was different, that was for sure. She'd obviously known about his past - who hadn't? But she very rarely, if ever, had referenced it, and it hadn't been until a week before the trip that she'd asked him the only question she'd ever posed about it. They'd been sitting in Izzy's basement, and they'd been playing Guitar Hero 3, as they'd found a habit of doing quite frequently over the time they'd spent together. Adam had just finished getting a near-perfect medium score on 'Bulls on Parade', when he'd glanced over and seen Izzy staring at the side of his head. He'd known instantly what she'd been looking at, and had brushed the hair back over his ear, but the curiousity had obviously gotten the better of her. She'd asked some question about how many injuries he'd recieved, and it had started a long conversation where Adam had talked gently about how each scar had occurred, of course leaving out the emotional scars from watching his friends die, and the scars left by the two rape attempts; the unsuccessful one from Lamika, and the successful one from that terrorist, Kaige.

The whole conversation had led to a very strange moment between the two of them, one that Adam could never really explain what had happened, but set the stage for things to become all that much more ambiguous between them. One moment, he'd been standing there, shirt off, explaining (the only one he did in some detail) the scar on his arm that Blaine Eno had given to him, and the next minute...

The kiss itself hadn't been the kind that was full of lust, but the word that Adam had used to describe it to himself after the fact had been...'tender'. It was strange, really. He'd been softly recollecting memories that most of his psychologists had said he shouldn't dwell on, and the next, he was holding (or was it being held?) in what he could only describe as a delicate embrace.

Adam Dodd and the words 'delicate embrace', who the fuck woulda' figured that those four words might go together in a sentence in that deluded narrator's mind. Oh, Adam. Sit back at your keyboard, and try to make sure you never use those four words together again, you stupid fuck.

As he waded his way through the undergrowth of the jungle, Adam smirked to himself a bit. His imagination was always getting carried away, ever since he'd been a kid. Sometimes, he thought of SOTF as a movie, and as soon as he said his lines, the director leaned over and yelled "cut!" Others, it was a storybook, being written by some guy at a keyboard somewhere for the sole reason that he had nothing better to do with his time. There'd been others, like thinking that Danya was in fact a fragment of his mind, and that everyone was victims of some automobile accident, each in a coma, sitting in a hospital room somewhere.

It was situations like this that Adam had found himself imagining, especially as he'd run from Gabriel, to try and cope with this newfound stress and pressure. And of course, that was the problem. No matter how much he tried to fake himself out, it always came back down to the fact that he knew...very well, that this was real. It was disturbingly real - the blood, the violence, the killing...it was all actually occurring, and it wasn't something he could just get away from. Not him, not Izzy, not Hawley Faust, not Andrew Lipson. Nobody.

That night...that night was weird...

Adam hadn't been sure how long the kiss had lasted, but he knew that the night had ended very shortly therafter. It'd certainly been longer than it had been short, but it wasn't something that they'd ever really discussed. It had just made things between them ambiguous, because neither of them was the type to really confront things like that. It had just...happened, and then things had changed between them.

Except, it hadn't. They never mentioned it, but there was always that tension...that knowing that it had happened...Adam couldn't explain it, and almost felt happy that for the first time in years, he'd actually had a normal, teenage problem to worry about. There was no worrying about running away from kids with guns, or struggling with the guilty feelings about letting friends die. Just a normal, teenaged relationship issue.

As he wandered through the brush, Adam's chuckle turned into a laugh. He was reminded of an old song, some of the lyrics which seemed aptly appropriate. As he made his way towards a clearing, he began to hum the song, breaking out into a soft melody as he neared the opening in the jungle treeline.

It's a church! Well I'll be damned. People can't kill in a house of God, can they?

Looking at the building that had appeared in front of him in a slight surprise, Adam pondered his situation for a moment. Of course, after this moment, he shook his head and cursed himself for not having any sense. Quietly, he mumbled to himself a response to his own internal query.

"Oh, sure they can. But odds are, I'll find a friendly face in here, as opposed to one that's wanting to steal my friendly face and add it to their collection of friendly faces hanging on their mantle."

Sighing, Adam wandered towards the church, knowing that if he wanted to ensure that he lasted at least a day in this situation, he'd be better off in a group...where someone had at least some semblance of working weaponry. As he wandered towards the church, looking around constantly in the hope of avoiding any kind of an ambush, he slowly made his way towards the front door, softly singing along to his song.

"And I wonder, when I sing along with you
If everything'd ever be this way forever
If anything'd ever be this good again,
The only thing I'd ever ask of you
You'd have to promise not to stop when I say when..."

Making it to the doorway without any kind of attack coming his way, Adam was surprised to see that the door was ajar. Hearing voices coming from within, he hesitated. If any of these people had a gun and was playing, this was it, and it'd all be over for him. As he grasped the door handle, Adam hesitated for a moment, as he realized that this could be the last moment of his life.

And that moment felt...

...Everlong.

Just like the fuckin' song.

As he shoved the door open slowly, and stepped into the church, he saw three people sititng in the pews within. They didn't look as though they were ready to attack anyone, nor did they look like players by the way that they were sitting and talking. Of course, Adam knew full well that it could mean nothing. His guard had to be up, at all times. As he shut the door behind him, he silently held a lyric in his head, as he turned around to face the three individuals, none of whom he immediately recognized.

...and I wonder...if everything would ever feel this real forever...

Sometimes, chances needed to be taken, and risks would have to be broached. Adam just hoped that this one didn't blow up in his face.

"Uh...hey. What's up?"

With a sheepish look on his face, he waved hesitantly with one hand, not making any quick movements, trying to handle the situation as delicately as possible.

There's that damn word again...

((Start: B42, Sean O'Cann))

Sean 'Lucky' O'Cann, his nickname now somewhat ironic, was astonished to see a church as he emerged from the surrounding jungle. The building - a holy one at that, seemed entirely out of place. Not only because of the nature of the island itself, but the mere fact that there was a so-called house of God on the island chosen for SOTF V3.

Sean waited cautiously for a few moments, but there didn't appear to be any kind of confrontation going on inside the building - well, not one with guns at least, which was more important. If there was a hand-to-hand fight of some description going on Sean was confident that he would be able to get the hell out of there - there weren't many who could outrun him, he was sure.

He paused for a little while longer though, vague misgivings tugging at him, then pulled himself up out of his crouch - and immediately had to sit back down again as the world seemed to spin away from him. Instinctively, Sean's hand went to the bandage across his head. It was wet. He grimaced at a sharp pang of pain shot through his skull.

Upon waking up, Sean had been assailed by a massive pain in his head - most certainly not a headache. Putting up his hand, Sean had discovered a rather deep wound to his temple and a section of his forehead - quite badly bruised. He could only assume he hit something when being dumped on the island.

Sean had bandaged himself with the aid of his first aid kit, but he was still getting these dizzy spells. Blows to the head, he knew, could cause some serious trouble - Sean could probably have been killed, had he landed differently.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before gradually pushing his way up from the ground and back to his feet. Another jolt of pain went through him, but Sean gritted his teeth and managed to stay upright this time. He had to keep going, somewhere out there, his boyfriend, Andy, was in just a bad situation as he himself was. He couldn't... couldn't... die without seeing him at least once, he knew that for sure.

Sean couldn't really see how he was going to last too long. He was thrilled upon discovering a large amount of ammunition inside his daypack, but after sifting through it, he found that, conversely to what he had thought, there wasn't a gun hidden underneath it all. It was just another great big joke on the part of the game's organisers, most likely that sick bastard Danya...

As he moved closer, Sean spotted that there was somebody in the doorway of the church, somewhat sillouetted there. Dread made its presence known, but Sean pushed it down and kept on going forward. Soon Sean was hardly any distance away, and he recognised Adam Dodd almost instantly.

Dodd's in this? Jesus, talk about your rotten luck...

Sean hesitantly walked up alongside Adam, not sure exactly what to say, before realising it probably wasn't a very good idea to sneak up on somebody in this kind of situation. In the end though, he didn't say anything at all, because he caught a glimpse of the interior of the church past Adam. And lo and behold, inside of the church, seated at a pew it seemed, Sean saw a blond head, and he knew exactly who it was.

"Andy!" he cried with joy. Sidestepping past Adam Sean dashed into the church and practically leapt into the pew that his boyfriend was already seated in, then sat there, just looking at Andy's face. It might have been an impossible situation, but at least they were together...

Matthew took the liberty of thaking a seat in the pew directly behind Kallie. He didn't feel right sitting right next to her. She gave off a vibe that said, don't mess with me. Pehraps that's why he figured she would be a good ally to have around. He set his bag down next to him and took out his camera. Even in a situation like this, he thought photography was the olny thing that would calm him down. Matt looked at the alter. It was gourgeous, for something that hadn't been taken care of in a long time, it still looked amazing. He turned on his most prized possesion, and pointed it at the alter. He took one quick shot of it, then another. After, her turned the digital off, and tucked it away back in the bag. He smiled at Kallie.

Suddenly a new face appeared. Matt turned to look at the new arrival his jaw nearly dropped. Andy Walker. Hs biggest crush since basically freshman year. The one person in the school he'd could have made a damn collage of from his private album. The most amazing boy in the school, just walked in out of the blue. Sadly, Andy and Matt never really hit it off. Somehow, Matt thought he realized that he was taking pictures of him at one point. Andy had never approached him on it, thankfully, but he still felt as if Andy knew. Andy plopped down in the seat across from Kallie, and said he wasn't playing. Matthew Smiled nervously and replied.

"Well... I-It seems that Kallie was the only one t-to get a good weapon..." He chuckled from nervousness and sat back down. He dared not look at either of his companions. The door opened again however, and Matt looked to see who the fourth person possibly was. None other than Adam Dodd, whom Matt himself had interveiwed at the beginning of the year, walked in through the door. He waved slightly and Matt couldn't help but chuckle at his sheepish hello.

"Hi Adam..." He replied, and not soon after, a fifth person came busting through the door. He ran right up to Andy and sat in his pew. He looked aq bit worse for wear, but Matt immediately recognized him as Sean O'Cann. Andy's little Boy-Toy, as he often jealously called him in his mind. This was just becoming a quaint little gathering, wasn't it.

"Well, looks like we've gathered quite the crew, eh Kallie?"

((Hahahaa. Sorry.))

Just as quickly as Kallie drifted off to sleep, she was snapped back to reality by the sound of the church door opening and a quite familiar voice echoing out through the small building. Unfortunately for Kallie, the type of familiarity that the voice held wasn't the type of familiar she was hoping for. Being thrown from her sleep by Guy, Darnell, Keith, any of her friends would have been a welcome distraction. This distraction, however, was anything but welcome.

Matthew Wittany. The same Matthew Wittany that she had inadvertantly run into when he'd barged into the cottage that morning. The other student seemed to have a bad habit of barging into areas unannounced, and it was something that was quickly starting to grate on Kallie's nerves.

Part of her wanted to jump to her feet and brandish the sword at him, then demand what he was doing there. Instead, she found herself picking the sword up off the pew she'd been sitting on and holding it looseley in her hand. She glanced back at Matthew for just a moment to make sure she had correctly identified the other student before remaining dormant on the church pew.

"Seems pretty intentional on your part, Matt," Kallie retorted, "I take it you've been following me this entire time."

It wasn't rocket science. In fact, it was the only logical explanation. She might have been blonde, but she certainly wasn't dumb. She had told the remainder of the cottage group that she was headed outside for some air. After that, she had spent the remainder of the day wandering blindly through the jungle until she had wound up here. The fact that Matt had wound up here too wasn't just dumb luck, that much was blatantly obvious.

She would have asked him why he insisted on following her, but she didn't have the chance. Instead, the door came creaking open again and another figure moved into the church, muttering something about how they must have not been playing either, stating that he'd gotten a motorcycle helmet as a weapon, and taking a seat in the pew across the row from Kallie.

The blonde-headed girl didn't exactly have a response for Andy Walker's sudden appearance into the church. Instead, she simply rubbed the side of her head and shut her eyes tightly, opening them a moment later and looking back over at the rather androgynous looking blonde-headed boy. Kallie sighed quietly, not really sure what to say to the two that had joined her company.

Was this how the entire game was going to play out for her? She supposed it could have been a lot worse -- she could have been stumbling around the jungle in a stupor, waiting on some ambitious player to slit her throat or some wild animal to make a midnight treat of her while she was all alone. Still, she couldn't shake the tinge of annoyance that kept showing up within her thoughts.

Perhaps it would've been a better idea to stay at the cottage with the first group she'd encountered. At the very least, it would've been much smarter to have brought Guy and Darnell with her, or at the very least, have informed them as to where she was going. Instead, she now found herself with one of the people she'd left the cottage to avoid and another who wasn't exactly on her list of "desired encounters".

Andy Walker. She didn't know much about the guy, other than he was very actively, openly gay and a cheerleader. She didn't exactly have a problem with either fact. When it came to issues like gender preference, Kallie had been raised to always keep an open mind, so she simply believed the old "to each their own" philosophy. There was one thing, however, that she didn't care for about Andy Walker. He was a gossip, probably one of the biggest in school.

How much could you trust someone who told everyone's business that they happened to stumble upon, after all?

She wouldn't have to worry about it for much longer, as the door suddenly creaked open again, causing Kallie to spin around once more. This time, though, the figure looming in the doorway of the church worried her, as he definitely wasn't a face she wanted to run into on the island. In fact, he'd been someone that she wanted to actively avoid. The boy standing in the doorway was completely unmistakable -- Adam Dodd.

Kallie rose from her seated position on the peer, scooping up her pack and the sword and staring at the figure standing there. Most of what she knew about the other student, she'd heard from Keith at one time or another. What she did know was that he was the winner of the first televised game of Survival of the Fittest and that he'd killed something like twenty people during that version of the game. If he'd killed that many people back then...

She felt her hands shaking slightly from the anxiety that was overtaking her body -- not just from the sudden presence of Adam, but from the unexpected appearances of Matt and Andy, and from the regret of leaving her friends behind at the cottage, and the fear for her own life and the lives of the people she cared about. It was all starting to boil over, and Kallie was finding it harder and harder to cope.

"A-adam..." she sputtered out, her eyes watching the student standing in the doorway closely, "What're you doing here?"

What a stupid question, Kallie. What do you mean, what is he doing here? He's doing the same thing that everyone is doing here. He's either looking for shelter for the night, or he's looking to off everyone who's looking for shelter for the night. Either way, do you really think that guy's someone you can trust? He killed like twenty people. What makes you think you'd live to see the light of day if he wasn't looking to play?

Her eyes moved from Adam to Andy, then Matt, then back to Adam.

What are you people, stupid? Do you guys have any IDEA who that is? That's Adam Dodd. Adam. Dodd. The winner of the first game. He won because he killed other people... a LOT of other people. How can you guys be so nonchalant about everything at a time like this? How can you not even be the slightest bit suspicious that he's not here to kill us all? That's why... that's why you'll all wind up dead, because you're all such trusting fools.

As soon as her eyes moved back to the door, yet another person shoved their way past Adam and bounded toward Andy in the pew. For a brief second, Kallie almost thought the boy was rushing to attack Andy, but quickly brushed the thought out of her mind. That wouldn't make sense at all. They'd have killed Adam first. Instead, the two boys seemed to be having a tender reunion of some sort, and Kallie could only surmise that they were involved somehow.

Dear God... this place is filling up faster than church on a Sunday morning.

Panic. Fear. Uncertainty. Paranoia. All these emotions were running through the blonde-headed girl's mind, colliding with one another and spiraling into some unknown emotion that she couldn't even begin to describe. Matt had been following her, of that much, she was certain. She wasn't sure what to make of Andy and his apparent lover, and she was just downright scared of Adam Dodd. Overall, the entire situation was screaming at her to run as fast as she could toward the back exit.

And do what, honey? Get lost in the jungle again? Hope you don't die between now and tomorrow? Get it together, Kal. You can't break down like this. If you die, you're never gonna find anybody. You've just gotta stay strong until you can get everybody back together. They'll know what to do. But maybe, for now, you'll just have to co-exist with these people. You remember how to do that, don't you? You never seemed to have a problem in school.

"Dear God..." Kallie muttered inaudibly, running her free hand across her forehead while still watching the group that had assembled in the church suspiciously.

Matt started talking to her like she had just become the leader of this group as well. What didn't he get? She wasn't looking to lead anybody, and she certainly wasn't looking to put her life on the line to defend a bunch of people she barely knew. It was as if being the only one with a moderately decent weapon automatically nominated her to be the "leader", or, as it seemed more adequately deemed, the "meatshield" of the group. She wanted no part of it at all.

"Look..." Kallie spoke up finally, "I don't know why you're following me. I don't know what you people want from me. I get that you're not playing or whatever, and hey, that's great, really. I hope nobody's playing. But you know what? They are, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm scared out of my mind, I don't wanna die, and to be completely honest with you all, I just want to find Keith, and Darnell, and Guy... and my friends, because to be really frank, they're the only people I feel like I can really trust on this whole island."

The blonde girl breathed out shakily, still looking around at the room full of people.

"To be completely honest with you, Matt, I'm a little bit creeped out by the fact that you've been stalking me across the island, and don't even try to lie about it. It's way too convenient that you managed to wind up here too considering I spent the entire day wandering blindly around that god foresaken jungle unless you were following me from practically the time I left that house! What the heck do you want from me? Protection? Safety? I hate to be the bringer of bad news, baby, but I'm looking for the exact same thing! I definitely can't provide it to someone else."

Her attention turned to Andy next, and his apparent lover who was sitting beside him in the pew.

"As for you guys... it's nothing personal Andy, really. The thing is, you have a tendency to gossip... a big tendency. I don't think there's anyone in school I haven't heard you talking about at some point, and don't get me wrong, okay? You're a nice enough guy, and I really don't care what people say about me, but here's my qualm. How the heck am I supposed to trust someone who makes it a point to broadcast other peoples' business across school? And as for you... "this was, of course, directed toward Sean,"I don't even know you."

Last but not least was the redheaded boy blending into the background -- the winner of V1 -- Adam Dodd.

"And you... you know something, Adam? I'll be completely, totally, one hundred percent honest with you. I'm horrified of you. I'm sorry, that's mean, I don't know you, and you might be a really great person when it comes right down to it. But... that's the thing. I don't know you, I never did, and I've heard a lot of stuff about you since I enrolled at Southridge... so you know... I don't even know what to say, honey. You've played this before. You killed a whole bunch of people. I don't have any way of knowing that you wouldn't just pick up where you left off last time around. You've already fought for your life once, babe, and I don't see a guy that persistent laying down and dying this time around..."

Kallie exhaled deeply, still looking wildly around the room. To say the pressure was getting to her was an understatement, and she felt like she was going to completely snap. The fact was, she couldn't bring herself to fully trust any of these people. She couldn't put her life in their hands.

"So... so I'm sorry, but if you're looking for some kind of leader, or whatever, don't look at me. You guys think this sword is a good weapon? I don't even know how to use a sword! I've never used one in my entire life! I'm sorry, but I just wanna find..."

The girl's voice trailed off, and she shook her head. Her vision trailed down from the redheaded boy down to the floor, her thoughts obviously moving elsewhere for a moment before apparently refocusing on the current situation she was in. Kallie once again looked at Matt, Andy, and Sean before slowly walking toward the front door of the chapel. Almost as soon as she walked up to the door, it was like the imaginary lightbulb above her head flashed on and she looked up sheepishly at Adam, who was all but blocking the small doorway.

"I'm sorry... can I... get through?"

"I'm sorry if you think I'm a gossip, Kallie. I'm even more sorry if you don't trust me, but what makes you think we were looking for a leader," Andy questioned Kallie a bit offensively, "I came here looking for peace and maybe to a friendly face. I got much more than that."

At this he looked at Sean with pure adoration, pulling the other boy's hand into his and squeezing gently. The truth was, Andy was a gossip, though it wasn't really something he was conscious about. Being a very open person, he had always been outspoken, even with other people's business. So yes. It was true; but that didn't mean he was a bad person. The blonde frowned as he processsed all of what Kallie had outburst. Her words had probably cut deep into Matthew, Sean was obviously unaffected, and Adam had most likely seen this type of thing in the first installment of the game.

Out of the group, the latter was easily the most experienced in all of this; however, Andy knew that Dodd had been one of the students on defense in the beginning. It was purely for protection that he had killed, so the cheerleader still trusted the redhead; however, he was one of Andy's favorite topics of conversation. The drama that the boy had brought when he came to Southridge had satiated a thirst that the blonde had for something juicy, and Adam had been a great friend(possibly more) to Izzy. So naturally the boy was ok in his book.

"As far as Adam goes, I trust him, Kallie! He's been nothing but nice since he came to Southridge, and most people won't even greet him without incentive. It's ridiculous," Andy defended firmly, "But as for Matt, yea, I agree. He's a stalker. Still taking pictures of boys without them knowing, Wittany?"

The boy was creepy, that was for sure. Cute, a tad bit moreso than a good bit of the senior boys, but too big of a perv for Andy's taste. Instead, he had Sean, and for that he was so very thankful. It had seemed like an eternity that they had been separated from one another; however, they were reunited in ironically enough, a house of God.

'Thank God. I'm back in his arms,' Andy thought as he turned his attention to his boyfriend.

Sean was someone that could only be described as a surprise. The boy had been one of Andy's crushes for years, but he had never come out of the closet. Finally the cheerleader had just kissed him outright, and they had been together since then. Before he said anything more to the others, he leaned over and kissed the brunette on the cheek, then began speaking gently.

"I missed you so much. I was so worried, but now you're here, and I know that everything is going to be ok."

The androgyne's attention was taken once more by the others. Kallie was now attempting to head away from the group, but Adam was blocking her path. It was her decision whether or not she wanted to stick around, but Andy kept thinking that she was making a huge mistake in going off on her own again. How long would she really last out there by herself? The blonde boy didn't know, but he could only hope she saw the morning light. It had been getting dark, and soon it would be nighttime. Andy's thoughts turned to what would happen after dark, and he shivered visibly. Suddenly he felt as though he should offer some sort of truce with the only female in the room.

"Hey, Kallie? Be careful out there. You know, if you're going alone that is; and good luck."

'God help us.'

Matthew was not expecting this at all. Kallie had flipped out. She started ranting and raving about how she didn't want to be a leader. How she couldn't protect someone, that she needed protection. But the one thing that hurt the most was when she said he was stalking her across the island. He wasn't... he just wanted a friendly face. It looks like he couldn't even find that. It wasn't like he had many friends at school... he was too busy with the paper. Most of the guys didn't like him because he was too "girly" and didn't play any sports. Most of the girls didn't like him because he wasn't very talkative. It wasn't his fault... he just didn't fit in very well. He wanted to feel safe... but he couldn't. Matt pulled his knees up into his chest, and buried his head in them. He just wanted to disappear.

What happened next though would leave him devastated. Andy Walker, the boy he'd been secretly in love with for a good chunk of his career at Southridge, the boy who he cried over when he found out he was dating Sean, the boy who he was afraid to talk to in case he made a complete fool of himself... that boy had just dashed every last ounce of love Matt felt for him in the span of ten seconds. He had just told everyone in this chapel Matt's biggest secret.... Look but don't touch... it had always worked before... why did this have to happen now?

"I-I-I don't kn-know what you're t-t-talking about...." He said quickly to the blonde he had admired for four years. It wasn't fair... it wasn't.... Matthew felt his eyes water up and pulled his daypack into his chest, as if afraid one of them might know that his album was there.

"I-I've never done th-that..."

Sean wasn't quite sure what the problem was at first, but evidently his arrival had triggered off something in Kallie Majors. He hadn't really paid much attention to what was going on - he was, after all, too focused on the fact that Andy was there to concentrate on anything else. However, the general gist of it seemed to be that there were more people in the little chapel now than Kallie was comfortable with. It also transpired that she had a few problems with Matt, Andy, and Adam too.

Sean couldn't see that. Okay, maybe Matt was a little annoying at times with that camera of his poking in everywhere for the school magazine, but he didn't seem all that bad a guy. Of course, judging by what Kallie said to Matt, Sean gathered that there was more to that animosity than met the eye, so he couldn't make a definite call.

The slight to Andy, it went without saying, caused Sean to bristle a little. It didn't tend to incline him to friendlyness when somebody insulted (however minorly) his boyfriend. Kallie had a point, Sean could concede, albeit grudgingly, that Andy was a bit loose with his tongue at times (and you could take that any way you wanted to) but it wasn't too big a flaw. Besides, he knew when to keep a secret, Sean was sure.

As for Adam... Sean didn't know what to make of him. He felt sorry that the guy was in the program for a second time - nobody, he believed, deserved to experience this kind of ordeal twice. But he didn't know Adam - well, apart from what Andy told him from time to time. From that, Sean could conclude that he couldn't be all bad. Still... how could you trust, whole-heartedly, somebody who had killed numerous times before? Sean wanted to be able to trust Adam, but he couldn't - not entirely at least.

Sean tugged his earring, as he tended to when deep in thought, face serious, but proceeded to smile again when Andy started to speak, and returned the pressure in the hand they were holding slightly, just to acknowledge him. He sat there awhile, content with just loving, gentle thoughts, eyes closed and smiling again. His eyes snapped open, however, when he heard Andy describing Matt (as Kallie had done) as a stalker. Evidently, there was more to Wittany than met the eye...

Despite his unease, Sean was calmed, as he always was, when Andy leant across and kissed him. He didn't reply when Andy spoke to him, just leant over and buried his head in between his shoulder and neck, his free hand coming around to hug his boyfriend tightly. Sean felt the need to add something, though, when Andy spoke to Kallie.

"Don't leave on my account Kallie. I didn't come here for a leader, I came here to find Andy, and it was just lucky I did. Please... it's getting dark, I wouldn't want you to get hurt out there just because you thought everybody wanted protection or whatever, and you can't give it. Trust or no trust, I'm sure it's a lot safer in here than it will be out there..."

Matt spoke again, and Sean looked across at him, but didn't pass any comment. He still wasn't sure to make of what Kallie and Andy had said about the photographer, but it had definitely unsettled him. Sean glanced at the doorway and back to Adam again.

"Sorry Adam," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to barge past you like that... I was so excited when I saw Andy that I wasn't paying attention..."

As everyone seemed to get up and start speaking at once, Adam Dodd simply stood and listened. He'd taken a chance on wandering into the church in hope of salvation (a bad pun if he'd ever heard one before), and had walked right into an episode of Degrassi. Upon first glance, the three youths seemed to be resting, maybe a small group of friends who'd managed to find each other in the horrific time of need? He'd had the assumption pounded in further when someone pushed past him and ran to another one of the group, obviously elated at who they'd found. A group, indeed, it had seemed.

For all of about thirty-five seconds.

Things had gotten tense within the chapel when the girl of the group stood up and began ranting, as obviously the stress of the matter was having an effect upon her psyche. And as she did, Adam stood where he'd entered the building, blinking and saying nothing as she verbally tore into every one of them, Adam included. As she began to walk towards the door, one of the others had gotten up and retorted her, and another one had weakly defended against the accusations that she'd made against him. And of course, as he processed the information, he couldn't help wondering about one simple question.

Is that what I look like when I fly off the handle like that? Yikes.

From what he gathered, this was certainly a unique group of kids that he'd stumbled into. Glancing them over one by one, he brought to front what he knew about them all. Andy seemed to be a gossip queen, and was the boyfriend of that other kid who sat beside him, whose name he didn't know, or had missed. The other one, with the camera, who looked nervously at the girl, was Matt, who apparently was your classic teen stalker guy. Followed the girl, Kallie, across the island, and took pictures of guys without them knowing it?

Holy fuckin' Richard Ramirez over here. Jeez. What a motley crew. And why wouldn't it surprise me if none of the three of them were even looking at the girl at all?

And as far as Kallie went, she seemed angry, though evidently posessed some natural leadership qualities, as the three in the room seemed to be either looking to her for leadership, or doing it and denying it outright. Adam'd seen that kind before. Leading a group without wanting to, nor having the ability to. Thrust into a situation where you were responsible for your peers, and took that responsibility as a burden? Adam knew people like that very well, in the first SOTF.

He was one of them.

And so here he was, in the middle of a group that seemed to be self-destructing before it even got started. Of course, he figured that it could be much, much worse. They could all have guns. That would make a tense situation so much worse than it already was, especially if one of them got trigger-happy.

So as the silence hung in the air after everyone said their piece, it seemed only natural that most of the eyes turned to the one person who hadn't said a word yet since all of the infighting had began. The same person that Kallie was standing in front of, looking rather sheepish, who Andy's boyfriend was apologizing to for knocking in to him. This was when Adam realized that they were all looking at, and addressing him. Glancing at them, Adam scratched the side of his cheek, and sighed a bit.

"She's right, you know."

Adam paused for a moment, and reached his hand into his pocket. Being as he'd lost his pack, he only had whatever was left in his pockets, which left him with two items, out of his entire pack. Removing the item in his left pocket, he held it in his hand.

"I'm here to kill you all. I've never been so good at lying down and dying, so I've decided to play the game this time. And apparently, I'm pretty good at it. So if you'd all stay where you are, I'll proceed to murder each and every one of you."

Adam stared at Kallie, who was right in front of him.

"You're first. Now, just give me a second, while I text message you to death."

Adam held out the object in his hand menacingly at Kallie, but the expression on his face showed that he was obviously slightly annoyed. He proceeded to point it at Kallie and clicked a button on the side of his cellular phone; a Samsung d807 model, and took a picture. He slid the phone shut, and put it back in his pocket. Shaking his head, he looked back at the others in the room.

"Come on, guys! Give me a fuckin' break! I'm in the same kind of predicament as you are, and I don't like it any better than any of you do. I didn't get any kind of preferential treatment for having won, and I'd say that I'm probably getting worse treatment, being as I'm back in this fucking shithole! I mean...it's a different shithole, but fuck, you know what I mean!"

Adam shook his head slightly, and looked at Andy.

"I appreciate the gesture, but dude - I hate to say it, myself, but Kallie's right. You'd be silly to trust me, knowing my past and my history. We've never spoke in school, and that's for a very good reason. I don't generally socialize unless I have to. I'm not antisocial, it's just that it's too damn hard for me with all that's gone on. Which is fine, because people don't really want to have too much to do with a guy who's got twelve dead bodies to his name. And if I can give you a piece of advice? People aren't who they seem to be, when they come here. Your best buddy could be waiting to stick a knife in your back. Be fucking careful about that, eh?"

Glancing at Sean, Adam shrugged.

"And hey, don't think anything of it, man. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna shoot ya or anything."

Changing his glance to Matt, he glanced at the teen's camera.

"And I've gotta ask, man...pictures of guys? I don't know if I really wanna know. But if there are people who you've done your thing to, and they know, and got pissed? I'd watch your back."

Finally, he turned his glance back to the girl in front of him.

"And you, miss? Horrified of little old me? Wonderful. You, and every single other fucking person on this little island. And yeah, you're right. I won't sit down and die. That's not me. I'm not about giving up. But I'm not exactly going to do all that much with a cell phone and an IPod to protect myself with. Now...I guess that staying here's pretty much out of the question, becuase quite honestly? I don't really want to stick around and watch your happy little group implode upon itself. But speaking of groups...truth is, I kind of should be looking for someone, and so, uh....her name's Izzy...if any of you guys have seen her, I'd...uh, I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me a heads up as to where, so I can look around."

Adam then realized he was still blocking the way, and moved aside for Kallie, gesturing to the door.

"I'm not stoppin' ya. Be my guest, but ...be careful out there. It's not exactly safe."

To say that she was caught offguard when Adam not only began to speak -- but to agree with her -- was an understatement. Kallie was so dumbfounded by the boy's words, in fact, that she could only stand there dumbfoundedly, not even exactly looking at the redheaded boy in front of her but more zoned out than anything, when he confirmed her suspicions about whether or not he was playing the game.

The second he reached into his pocket, Kallie cringed, internally knowing that her journey to find the rest of her friends was about to end in a very brutal way. When Adam removed the object from his pocket and pointed it at her, though, the expression that appeared on her features could only be described as complete and total bewilderment.

A cell phone.

In another time and place, Kallie would have probably busted up laughing, but although Adam's reaction to her words had obviously been a joke, he didn't seem like he was in a joking mood. In fact, he looked annoyed, or maybe even mad. Surely he hadn't expected to walk into a room full of people and instantly gain their trust though, had he? After his past history, after having played the game once before, he couldn't possibly be that naive.

A second later, he proved that that definitely wasn't the case. Instead, he began addressing each of the other students in the room, essentially confirming that she had been right in not trusting him. He basically condoned Andy for trusting him so freely and, in essence, proceeded to tell him how dangerous blind trust was and how it would be in his best interests to watch his back a little more.

Much like herself, he didn't seem to have much of anything to say to Sean. His conversation with Matthew was brief too, simply telling him that he should probably watch his back if he truly had been taking pictures of guys. Kallie hadn't put two and two back together at the small house, but she briefly wondered if that was the object he had been flipping through when she'd stumbled upon him in the living room of the small house.

For a moment, she considered calling him out on it, if only to focus all the pent-up tension and aggression on one person. She quickly decided against it. She hadn't exactly been crazy about the fact that Matthew had practically followed her all over the island. If anything, she found the thought unsettling. Still, it just wasn't her style to do that to somebody. Of course, over the course of the past day, Kallie had come to realize a lot of things about herself that she didn't know.

Kallie ran her hand across her forehead and sighed lightly. Adam suddenly grabbed her attention once again as he turned his focus toward her. She almost felt like he was mocking her for being afraid of him, but did he realize who he was? Of course, it was a stupid question, but Kallie didn't think that he realized the kinds of things people said about him. She was sure a lot of his time during the first game got glamourized and romanticized as time went by, but still...

Adam proceeded on, telling the group that he had no plans of sticking around the church and waiting for the small group that had formed to collapse on itself. Kallie, obviously, hadn't planned on sticking around herself. It was funny, now that she thought about it, how few people she felt like she could really trust in a situation like that. Perhaps that was why she was clinging so desperately to the hope of being reunited with the few people she felt like she could trust.

At the mention of Izzy Cheung, Kallie's ears piqued. She wasn't crazy about rumors, but it didn't mean she hadn't heard them. People talked about Adam and Izzy, and she'd heard things about them more often than she cared to admit. She'd never thought much of it, herself, or really thought it was any of her business, but it struck her as odd that he'd be looking for her. After the first game, she hadn't pegged Adam as the "group" type.

"You're right..." Kallie muttered, moving out the door but turning back to look at Adam after he finally stepped out of the doorway, "It's not safe. Thing is... when you're looking for someone, you don't care if it's safe or not, because the thought of being able to find them greatly outweighs any kind of danger you might be putting yourself in by going out to look for them. But you already know that, don't you?"

Kallie moved outside the building, paying no attention to whether anyone from the church had followed her outside or not. Instead of moving back into the pitch-black jungle, though, Kallie stopped at the last tree lining the pathway leading up to the church. She sighed quietly and flipped her hair away from her face again. Thinking back on it, she should've just stayed quiet in the church and waited until morning.

Still, if she'd done that, the thought that her friends could be dying out there would've eaten away at her until there was nothing left, and it wasn't a feeling she felt like she could take. Inwardly, she was kicking herself for leaving Guy and Darnell, and she was blaming herself for having not found anyone else yet. Somehow, the kind of darkness the island presented seemed a lot more daunting than any sort of darkness she'd been in before. She sighed resignedly, folding her arms across her chest and looking out into the dark.

What now, Kallie?

"Don't you see it? We have to keep trust alive here, Adam," Andy said with unabridged emotion lacing his every word, "I don't care if you killed people! You did what you had to do to protect the ones you love. I just know that you're not a bad person deep down, and I trust you because I know Izzy trusts you. And I trust Sean, too."

Somehow Adam and Kallie's words had both cut into the cheerleader's emotional equilibrium. He had been thrown off balance by the sudden implication that his boyfriend might try betray him and leave him to die or something. But no. Sean wouldn't do that to him, would he? They had only been together for a little while, but that didn't mean that he would hurt him in the game. No. He wouldn't do that. Andy wouldn't even think about something so stupid. He trusted his boyfriend with his life now, however blind it was of him.

'I... I think I might be in love with him. I think that's what it is. I've foolishly fallen head over heels in the worst of times. How stupid can I get?'

But there was Sean, with that pleasantly messy blonde hair and his comforting brown eyes looking only at him. They had been told at one time that they really were both just vain, having gone out with one another on the basis that they looked alike; which was very untrue! Whereas Andy was merely toned and dainty in appearance, Sean was obviously muscular and somewhat bulk. It always put the cheerleader into the position of being the "female" of their relationship. Because of his look, no less. Well maybe he didn't want to be all girly and recognizable anymore. It wasn't like his looks were going to get him anything here, really. He wasn't planning on playing the game to begin with, much less slutting about the island looking to seduce people into a trap.

'Stupid hair.'

That's all it really came down to. It had sent him soaring into the ranks of popularity, his girlish qualities favorable to the elite female ladder of Southridge. Truth be told, Andy now hated his hair. It got in the way of everything, and it was really beginning to grate his nerves how people always assumed he was some big girl just because of it. And what did he have to show for it? Not a damned thing. It was all just a bundle of nonsense here on this island. It would just serve to kill him faster. Reputations and opinions can cause actions, and in this brutal place, actions were deadly. Andy was met with sudden interest and snapped from his thoughts when Adam said the one name he had been dying to hear.

'Izzy...'

His best friend was more important to him than Sean was, even having fallen for the boy. Izzy had been his first friend in Highland Beach, had listened to him for hours talk and talk and just listen. Because that's what a friend did: listened. Andy thought about their friendship's growth and how much he regretted not being around as much during the last few months. He had been so busy with things that he had neglected his best friend's company for his boyfriend and for practice and other things. The times that they had gotten together to actually hang out and do things together seemed few and far between during that time, and almost always they ended up on the subject of Andy's life and how his relationship with Sean was going.

Did that make him a terrible friend? He certainly thought so now. But he had to find a way to apologize to his friend for being so self-involved lately, and Adam was probably his best bet in finding her at all. From what he knew about his friend's thinking, Izzy would probably be looking for the both of them, and it was safer for them all if they didn't go out alone. He knew that Sean would follow him wherever he wished to go, so he gave him a smile before turning to Adam.

"You're looking for Izzy, too? Then that settles it. I'm going wherever you're going. I have to find her," Andy firmly notioned, "I hope you don't have a problem with that. Besides, you should know best that this game is better played when there are numbers to back you up."

All of a sudden, Kallie was gone. She had flown out the door, saying something about not caring about danger when you were looking for someone, and Andy thought that it was the only wise thing she had said since he had been in the chapel with her. That just left Wittany. Grabbing the helmet he had placed onto the pew, the blonde twirled it a bit with his index finger and then looked at the remaining boy.

"I'm leaving it up to Adam whether or not you're welcome. As far as I'm concerned, you're scum. Just because you won't come out doesn't mean you have to stalk people. It's wrong and just downright creepy. Leave that stupid book of yours behind if you end up coming with us, though. And yes. I know all about what's inside of it."

(Madison Conner continued from From Serenity to Shame)

Madison was feeling fairly exhausted. In fact, the word 'exhausted' wasn't nearly a strong enough word to describe what she was going through. Not only was she running for her life, thinking that a few friendly people were going to kill her the second they see her, but the fact that... someone's head exploded. All over her. It was sickening, it was disgusting. She couldn't see the image of someone's head gushing in all directions, blood being sent in all directions... really wasn't the best sort of image one would want in his/her head. Every time she would stop, the image would burn right back into her skull and she would start up all over again, letting out a loud scream. Her body was twinging in pain, her breath was collapsing in on herself. She still ran regardless. She wasn't even too sure if she was running at a fast rate. She didn't care about it neither. Her whole upper body had blood stains sprawled across her, and looking down at herself for even a second would make her want to throw up.

And when she had finally stopped for what seemed like the final time, she did. She threw up. There wasn't much in her own stomach, but there was stomach acids. When they flew from her chest, Madison felt a horrible pain that she could never had felt in any other situation.

She felt horrible, like she was going to die right then and there.

Madison looked up once she had enough energy to force her body to lift up. She let out a soft groan in pain, her stomach grumbling violently. She hadn't eaten anything all day, and it was beginning to look like she wouldn't be eating for a very long time. Loafs of bread really wasn't going to help her. She liked bread, that wasn't the problem. She just needed something else. But... one of her legs gave out, and Madison stumbled forward. As she tried to regain her balance, she noticed something in the near distance.

A church. A sanctuary.

The last time she had seen something looking even similar to a safe house, alot of shit went down there. Alot of bad shit. Madison really didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to re imagine all of the events that had transpired at the lookout tower. The one and only things she did know was the fact that she couldn't go back. She wouldn't go back.

Tiredly... Apprehensively... Madison trudged forward in the hopes of finding the chapel empty. She really didn't want to deal with anyone. Madison wanted to have some alone time, away from other people. Sadly, her wishes weren't meant to become a reality. The second she could see the door to her proclaimed 'Sanctuary', a vision of someone right outside the door, walking right away from it.

The fairly attractive girl from school, Kallie Majors. Madison really didn't have that much of a good opinion about the girl. In fact, one would say that Madison HATED Kallie. The sight of her (or of anyone else entirely) nearly made Madison fall over flat. The fact that she landed on her backside allowed her to get a good grip on her fire axe. She shuddered, scrambling right back up to her feet. She panted, looking at Kallie. Her mouth opened wide, trying to say something.

"H-Hi..." she forced out, her hands trembling violently. "Are... you aren't playing r-right? I... I don't want to fight... I don't w-w-want to hurt anyone... please... I don't want to..."

Matt was barely paying attention while the apparent spat between Adam and Kallie raged on. His head was swimming. What was he going to do? He didn't want to be outed like this. He didn't want any of this to happen to him. He was scared. He wanted to go home. He just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. He wanted to go back to admiring from afar. He wanted to go back to being the loner. He just wanted to be himself again. But not now, he could never go back. Andy may not have realized it, but he had shattered all there was of Matthew Wittany. There was nothing left.

Matt watched as Kallie briskly left the house of God. He didn't care anymore though. It didn't matter. They were all going to die anyway. He wouldn't be surprised if he heard her name on the morning announcements. He didn't care. Only When Andy started to verbally assault him again did Matthew stand up. He looked at Andy with watery eyes and smiled.

"Do you know? Do you really? No... you really don't..." He chuckled a bit and unzipped the daypack. He grabbed the album and held it in his hands. He looked at Andy again. "Andy... You're right. I do take pictures of boys in our school. I take pictures... because I love to look at what I can never have. You have it so damn easy. It's not easy for me. I'm afraid. I've always been afraid. You want to know what's in here? Do you really?!" He started to raise his voice. He opened the album and ripped photo after photo out.

"You are Andy! Pictures upon pictures of YOU!" Matt felt himself crying now. He threw his once prized possession to the side and looked at Andy. "Ever since I met you... you're all I've thought about. I was so in love with you... for four years I was content just to admire you... You had to ruin it for me, didn't you?!" He was so angry. He wanted to hit him, but he couldn't bring himself o do it.

"I'm scum?! I am?! No Andy, You're scum! You! And now I realize that." He shook his head and began to walk toward the door. He felt himself sobbing but he didn't care anymore. "You know... I hope I fucking die here.... I have nothing to live for... I never did... This place is so damn fake... There is no mother-fucking God... If there was, we wouldn't be here." He moved past Adam slowly and walked out of the building. He moved to the wall beside the door and slid down, burying his face in his arms, sobbing like never before in his life.