Survival Of The Fittest

((Brad Kavanagh continued from 18 & life))

Brad Kavanagh hated messes, and the mess hall was just that: a mess.

Actually the term "mess" was being used loosely. While most people wouldn't consider vines and moss messy, Brad Kavanagh was not one of those people. He also had allergies, so the rain clouds forming overhead along with the assorted plant-life wasn't going to help matters. The wounds on both his chest and arm were itching like crazy, but he couldn't do anything about those since he was carrying (of all people) a wounded Serenity Halos. And while he had thought that having Serenity Halos (who was way out of Brad's league) in his arms would have made things better in the past, it certainly wasn't helping now. In fact, the added weight just served to make him grumble more.

At times like these, Brad really wished God would do something. In that same light, the proof that a deity even existed was becoming slimmer and slimmer.

"Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off! He's a tight-ass! He's a SADIST! He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? NEVER!"

Why the hell am I thinking about The Devil's Advocate at a time like this? What does this have to do with what I'm dealing with?

Brad grumbled under his breath again. "This is as good as we're going to get," he found himself telling Serenity, not even taking into account that she might not even be awake. His eyes were dreary, and it felt as though that he didn't have enough energy to even look down. Thinking also made his head hurt, so he decided not to do much of that either. Thinking certainly would have helped when he arrived at the door to the mess hall.

Now... how the hell is this going to work? Brad thought to himself. Can't let a hand off of Serenity to open the door, I'll drop her. I could have Serenity open it for me... He shrugged slightly. Ehh... best not to bother her. Elbow? He nodded. I guess that would work best.

He turned his whole body slightly, sticking his elbow outwards while trying his best not to lose his grip on the girl in his arms. "Let's see if this works..." Brad said as he rubbed his arm against the door handle, finding it much easier to open than he thought and stumbled inside. Now that he was in the dust-infested corridors of the mess hall (emphasis on dust; Brad's allergies were beginning to worsen), the only thing he had to decide was where to set Serenity down. I could just drop her on the ground... although I suspect she wouldn't like that one bit. A little numbness in her head is the least of her worries...

Instead, he decided to set the girl gently down on the closest table he could find. He sighed softly. "There you go... It was about the closest place we could find, but it's at least shelter..."

*sigh* Are we going to move around any more, because I'm perfectly fine staying here... I liked that jail much better, though...

((Continued from 18 and Life))

I hate storms...

Terrie'd been thinking that for a while now, but she hadn't bothered to vocalize her thoughts. Instead, she had tagged quietly behind her companions as they'd trekked through the jungle and further away from the jailhouse. The trip had been a mostly silent one, and the silence was starting to make her quite uncomfortable. Then again, what had she really expected? Nobody was in a chatty mood after having been shot at for four days now. Everyone was tired and fatigued from the events that had transpired over the past few days.

She was lagging too far behind the group to help Brad with the door to the mess hall. By the time she became close enough to assist him in opening the door, he'd long since done it himself. Instead of following him directly into the building, though, Terrie lingered outside for a moment, leaning up against the mossy brick siding of the building and taking a moment to catch her breath. One glance at the storm clouds looming overhead caused her to shiver slightly in apprehension.

Of course, it wasn't just the weather. The stress of it all was starting to get to Terrie, even though she was trying not to let it show. These past few days had been hard on everyone, and although every last fiber of her being wanted to break down and cry, she felt like doing such a thing would be selfish. After all, she wasn't the only person who'd had it bad over the past few days. People like Serenity, they'd had it far worse than she had.

This is no time to be feeling sorry for yourself, Terrie. You should be thinking about other people right now. Simon and Trey, they're both dead... and Serenity, she's hurt so bad she can't even sit up... and here you are, thinking about yourself. That's so horrible. You should be in there helping Brad. In his condition, he needs to be lying down, not hauling Serenity around the island.

Terrie sighed quietly, her eyes once again turning to the clouds rolling in overhead. At the very least, perhaps, the oncoming storm would ward off some of the island's would-be attackers for the moment. Then again, they also ran the risk of more people barging into the mess hall looking for shelter from the rain. More allies might be a good thing, but what if the people that came barging in weren't friendly?

Maybe it would be a good idea to barricade the mess hall before the storm came.

She'd suggest the idea after they got settled in, she decided. Right now, after they'd just sprinted away from the jailhouse and made what seemed like a long trek through the jungle, she didn't think she should bother the others. Serenity was in no condition to help board up anything, and although Brad would probably insist on helping, he was in no condition to do so either. She'd at least let them rest for a moment. Besides that, from what Terrie could tell, besides a handful of windows scattered throughout the building, the front door was the only entrance.

The sound of the wind howling through the trees and the gust of cold air that danced across her skin caused Terrie to shiver violently for a moment before wrapping her arms around herself and turning to head inside of the mess hall. Her sandals clicked slightly against the floor of the building as she entered, and her eyes moved immediately over to the table that Brad had laid Serenity on to rest. She looked at the sleeping girl, then over to the companion she'd been travelling with for the past four days, and gave him a faint smile.

"Hey, Brad..." Terrie spoke quietly as she moved closer toward the taller boy, "I was thinking... maybe we should barricade the doors and windows with something. It's still early, so we shouldn't have to leave here for the day, at least, and... I don't know, I'd just feel better, you know?"

She smiled faintly, brushing a few stray stands of hair away from her face. She was sure Brad would understand her point of view. Besides, if all else failed, she and Ianto could probably do it themselves. There were only a handful of windows in the building and the doors didn't seem that hard to block. They could find something pretty easily, she was sure of it.

"Then maybe... we could rest."

((Quincy Archer continued from I Wanna Be The Guy!))

Right, then, Quincy thought as he trudged through the forest. This is indeed a serious handicap. I've got effectively no weapon and a shitload of students to outlast. The Terminator approach is right out, so I suppose I shall have to see how much of an actor I am.

He spotted the mess hall and cautiously moved towards it, looking around for other students. Let's try to put on our soiled pants face, shall we? His body began shaking, and he clutched his bag tightly with his arms. "H-hello?" he called out. "Is there anybody in there?"

A soft voice called Brad's name and he turned his head back up. Terrie Brightwell had arrived, and the fears that he left her behind simmered. Good… she's okay. I'm glad… but where's Ianto? I'm really starting to get worried… I hope nothing bad happened to him. Without even noticing what he was doing, Brad just stared at Terrie for a moment while she spoke. In all honesty, all the other times he had looked at her they were only simple glances that lasted for a second or two. He never took the time to actually look at her, or at least not as much as he would have liked… after all, this was the first time he noticed that Terrie was much more slender than he first realized. This was when he also observed that she had been wearing sandals for the past four days instead of sneakers like the ones he was wearing. Her feet must be sore, what with all the walking she was forced to do.

Her honey-colored hair seemed about the same as it had been the first time he saw her, although slightly frizzy and out of place, which wasn't much of a farcry from everyone else on this god-forsaken island. In fact, it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that she was probably in the best looking shape out of everyone else, even though she had been shot by some maniac and had the wounds to prove it. Cute? Maybe. She appeared as a genuine person, someone who doesn't try to act differently to get in with their friends, the kind that Brad liked. The sort of person he really wanted Kara Holmes to be, instead of an anarchic bitch who threw bowling balls…

Although he wasn't entirely sure if Terrie wouldn't do the same if she really got mad. Then again he couldn't imagine Terrie ever getting mad. She's probably the kind of person who'd pout and scold someone with her delicate voice intact, because it was nigh impossible to envision her throwing her arms in the air with a deep, booming voice.

… shit. She's looking at me.

That's when Brad realized that Terrie was talking directly to him, and he gulped. He shifted his eyes away for a moment, nervous and embarrassed at the same time. Fuck, man. I know you're a curious cat and all, but really? This isn't the time to be staring at people for little to no reason at all… Shit, I hope she didn't notice me getting all flustered... Now she's going to think that I'm a friggin' pervert or something. Goddamn it…

He had always had a nervous time around girls.

Brad rubbed his left temple with his hand, sighing softly. "Uhh… Wha…" Now… what the hell did she just ask me? Something about… barricading the doors? He looked up at her again, noticed the faint smile and (feeling that the timing was right) did the same thing. Her logic was right: they really didn't want any unnecessary guests during the day… and he was tired. VERY tired. "Uhh… y-yeah Terrie. That… that's a good idea… don't want anyone coming in the night and attacking us while we're asleep…" He sighed again. "Yeah… rest… something the both of us… well, something that we all need… We have to wait for Ianto though. If we board up this place now, he'll be locked out. Wouldn't want to do that to him, of all people…"

Quincy Archer. If you were to ask Brad if he'd trust Quincy, he would say no without any hesitation. There was just something about the kid that Brad didn't like one bit, and it wasn't like he was the only one who thought this. Not a lot of people liked Quincy, and for that Brad would have felt sorry for him… but he didn't. He wished this wasn't the case, but he hated Quincy for reasons he really couldn't say. And this, alone, was why Brad became very suspicious when Quincy just so happened to wander inside the mess hall, exactly after Terrie did the exact same thing. Under normal circumstances, Brad would have taken whoever wandered in with opened arms, but not Quincy. Even though Quincy looked scared out of his mind, Brad was suspicious. Paranoid? Probably, but he was in a game where the point was to kill others before they killed him. Why the hell shouldn't he get paranoid?

If Brad had a gun instead of a mask (which Brad still couldn't believe happened), he would have pulled it out and had it pointing at Quincy.

"Archer." He stated in a monotone voice. "What are you doing here?" He wanted to pause to let Quincy answer, but he had a much more important question to ask. "Wait. No. Don't answer that. Where's Ianto? Did you see him?"

((Bobby continued from: Point of Collapse))

Bobby was still tired, even after his nap - his rude awakening putting paid to any notion of a good long sleep. At least, he consoled himself, he wasn't as mindnumbingly exhausted as he had been before resting. Sure, Bobby was tired, but at least he didn't feel as if his body was about to give out on him at any second, something that Bobby was regretfully familiar with. It was, after all, what he had been experiencing just before he threw the punch which turned the lights out Christopher Straton out for good.

The encounter with Will and his posse had been ultimately frustrating, but also something of an eye opener. It, at least, was rather thought provoking. Was he just a psychopath? Bobby didn't want to contemplate that. Certainly he was immoral, that was beyond question, but... some kind of lunatic? Was his 'Doing what I have to' justification little more than a thinly veiled excuse to indulge his own appetite for murder?

No... that is not true. I know better than anybody that what I'm doing is wrong, but it's also the only option for me to take. If somebody told me there was a way out, I'd take it in a second, I wouldn't try to kill them anyway. This... game, has got me in its grip, but I can fight my way out of it if I have to. For now though... I guess I'll let myself by drawn along a little longer.

Having been lost in thought for a while, the sight of a building through the jungle was a surprise to Bobby, but he quickly brought himself to readiness, bringing the carbine up to his shoulder and glancing from side to side, checking that he wouldn't be in for any unpleasant surprises. Funnily enough, Bobby didn't exactly feel like getting shot in the back of the head.

Cautiously moving up, Bobby spied a figure standing outside of the building. Bobby wasn't sure which it was - but definitely one he hadn't seen before, meaning it was either the mess hall or the showers. Considering its size, more likely the former. That was immaterial, however, of more import was the student.

Bobby aimed down the sights of the Armalon at the square of his fellow student's back, and hesitated. He was unlikely to miss from this range. Could he do it? Shooting at Quale and Will had been a spur of the moment thing, brought about by anger, could he really, in cold blood, shoot down one of his fellows?

No stopping now. I have to do this.

Uttering a silent apology in his mind, Bobby kept his aim steady and pulled the trigger.

((In case you haven't picked up on it, it's Quincy Bobby's shooting at, although seensas he's the only one outside))

Why is he... looking at me like that?

"Um..." Terrie sputtered out, her face turning a flushed color of red for a moment before her eyes broke contact with Brad's.

She didn't have time to say anything else to her companion, although she agreed with the fact that they should wait on Ianto before barricading the building. Ianto had been one of her close friends in school, and leaving him out on the island to die wasn't something she was willing to do. The fact that he hadn't arrived at the hospital yet, however, had her worried. He hadn't been too far behind them when they'd run away from the jailhouse, but somewhere in the forest, she'd lost sight of him.

Unfortunately, leaving the building unbarricaded until Ianto arrived meant something else, as well. It meant that anyone else who happened to be wandering by at the time could step right in. Sure enough, merely seconds later, Quincy Archer came stumbling into the mess hall, nervously calling out to the group within. Terrie spun around, instinctively stepping behind Brad somewhat as her eyes fell on the other student's form.

The distrust that Brad felt toward the other student was readily apparent, even though he hadn't said anything to indicate it. He didn't have to. The monotone way in which Brad uttered Quincy's last name before interrogating him said everything Brad needed to say. Terrie wasn't particularly familiar with Quincy herself, although she'd overheard more than a few students talking badly of the boy throughout high school. Terrie's line of vision moved toward the unconscious Serenity laying on the table behind them before immediately moving back toward the boy standing in the doorway.

Before Quincy had time to answer Brad's questions regarding Ianto, a loud gunshot echoed out from somewhere outside of the mess hall. Terrie had to stifle the yelp that threatened to leave her lips as the gunshot echoed out. Still feeling the effects of the wounds she'd sustained a few days prior at the hands of Blood Boy, Terrie definitely had no desire to add another gunshot wound to her growing collection.

Whoever was outside firing at them had to be aiming at Quincy. He was the closest one to the doorway and, consequently, the only person able to be seen from the exterior of the building. Part of her wanted to call out to the boy to run for cover, but Brad's apparent distaste for the boy prevented her from doing so. Instead, she found herself tugging lightly on Brad's arm and allowing her attention to float back to Serenity.

"Brad..." Terrie whispered quietly, "We... we should hide."

There was a sense of urgency in her voice as she spoke, and her eyes scanned the room for somewhere to hide, some way out of the building. Her eyes fell on what looked to be the door to the kitchen behind the lunch line. That looked to be the only door besides the entrance in the area. Her attention turned to Serenity once again, then back to Brad.

"In there," she pointed, readying herself to run as soon as Brad grabbed the unconscious cheerleader and made a beeline for the door. Meanwhile, she began fiddling around in her daypack in search of the gun she'd dropped in there sometime prior. Simon had been right after all. Putting the weapon up had been a dangerous -- maybe even lethal -- move on her part.

A gunshot. Wow. A gun. Perfect. Just perfect.

Now while Brad hadn't even noticed that the gunshot was pointed directly at Quincy, it was as though a spray of bullets filled the air. Brad jumped back slightly, out of complete surprise. Holy Shit! He gasped, regaining his balance but struggling to do so. Everything was just going so fast that Brad couldn't even keep up with it all. A minute ago he had been staring at Terrie, and the next he was nearly knocked on the ground. What with his sinuses messing with him, it was enough to make his head explode. He sniffed his nose and forced himself to look in the direction that the shot had come from.

I swear, if it's that freak with the mask again, I'm going to beat the shit out of him...

Brad sighed very loudly, obviously out of frustration. "Goddamnit!" He cursed, looking over at Terrie (as though their lives weren't even in danger at the moment). Obviously he wasn't trying hard enough to keep his frustrations bottled up like he had been doing since day one. "Every time we settle somewhere, there's always some asshole that tries to ruin it. I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick and-"

C'mon Brad, stop being such a bitch.

Brad hesitated for a very long moment, then nodded. He was pissed off but was complaining about it going to change anything? Sure, he had been telling himself this for the past few days and it's kept himself alive. Granted that it may just be pure luck keeping him alive, but he really didn't give one shit what it was pushing him along. So for whatever reason, Brad stopped ranting and nodded. "Uhh... y-yeah, hiding is the only thing that'll save our asses.... but where are we supposed to-"

Oh. Terrie found the perfect place before Brad could even finish. He gulped. What if there's a dead end in there? Damn it, why couldn't this guy attack in an hour, when we're not settling in?!! He moved over to Serenity's lifeless body, picking her right back up. Can't leave Serenity behind. I mean, what if she wakes up to some maniac pointing a gun in her face? I can't let that happen. He stumbled forward without looking back at either Quincy or Terrie, focusing his full attention on trying not to drop Serenity on the ground. Brad was so focused on her that he nearly ran into the wall of the lunch line. He cursed under his breath as he kept moving.

Shit! Deadend!

There was no exit in the kitchen, and even if there had been any the cobwebs surrounding the room would have covered the door. Brad's allergies were getting testy, and they were adding to his problems. "Terrie, there's a deadend here!" Brad called to Terrie, not having the energy to even look back. Although... we could always open that metal door. It must lead to the deep freeze but... what if we get locked inside?

"I haven't seen any-" Quincy was saying before the shot rang out. As he spoke, he stepped forward and leaned to the right, in order to get a better look inside the mess hall. As a result, the bullet grazed his arm rather than embedding itself in his chest.

He screamed in pain and bolted away like a gazelle. From Brad's reaction to his appearance, Quincy already knew that he wouldn't have much luck getting accepted in his group. His best bet was to find someone else, and to get away from whoever shot him.

As he ran, he felt blood run down the skin on his left arm. He would have to get that fixed...

((Quincy Archer continued in Blood, Sweat, and Tears))

((Continued from 18 and Life))

[[ Though I didn't want to come in just yet... ]]

A sleepy sigh escaped the lips of Ianto as he continued his trek along the trail that they had been following for some time since leaving the jail house. Though in the time since leaving and now it seemed almost as if his body had decided to turn on him faster than the French people did the Royal Family, and though it wasn't anything big by his standards it was frankly annoying considering just where they where. He was surprised though, he had barely closed his eyes since he had woken up on this island because it seemed whenever he was ready to try and relax a little something else had to happen before he had the chance too. And now it seemed to be taking its toll on him, pretty sure if it was possible for him he'd fall asleep while walking and hoped his feet would led him in the right direction, though already he had fallen quite behind from the others so sleeping would probably not be in his best interest until he caught up.

Rubbing lightly as his eyes as he attempted to rub away four days of no sleep away, stumbling somewhat in his steps as he continued along the path. Glancing up toward the tree line and what sky he could see, though the only thing that seemed to greet him was a somewhat dark sky. Hoping he found at least make it to the location before it began to rain or something—because then it would quickly get more miserable than it already was. And the last thing all of them needed was his rifle getting wet either, the old looking thing didn't look as though it would be able to take a rainstorm and then they'd only be stuck with… well whatever the other three had. Which he wasn't even sure of, sure they had mentioned it at some point in time but he couldn't remember with his mind in such a fog at the moment, shaking his head likely as he sighed at this fact before pushing himself to continue along down the path where with his somewhat blurred vision he could make out the appearance of a structure.

Cutting down the path, he was ready to just use the last of his strength to dash down there and collapse for a good hour or so but before he had much of a chance to get anywhere he felt his legs locking up at a heart-stopping sound that pierced the air. And it wasn't long after that that a scream tore through the air, Ianto managing to get himself moving and forced to jog the last few feet where the mess hall barely came into view. Overlooking what of the area he could see he spotted a figure dashing out of the area, already out of sight before he could even try and see who it had been—turning his focus back down on the mess hall and the open doors, from his point he couldn't see the other three but there seemed to be movement of some kind quickly passing by the windows which could very well mean that that was Terrie, Brad, and Serenity. Glancing around again as his focused locked on the figure standing outside the mess, the figure that happened to be holding a gun and could very well at any moment go after the three.

Biting down on his lip somewhat he sifted to turn and press against the tree he had been taking some safety behind and let his pack slowly and softly sift onto the ground, sifting his rifle off his shoulder and undoing the safety he had kept on a majority of the time he had been awake. Never thinking he would have to use the thing, scare people away? Sure, but to actually use it… he had no clue who had been shot—not Serenity, that girl's screaming was burned into his memory now—so this guy… whoever he was could have very well hurt one of the others… though it could have been that kid to run off, either way. Ianto moved again from behind the tree and lifted the weapon, aiming it toward the other figure… able to feel himself shaking just a bit with the very knowledge that he might kill someone.

That knowledge in itself was more or less the reason when Ianto finding forced himself to the trigger his arms jerked up sifting the aim from the back of the neck and more toward the figure's shoulder.

Of all the fucking... he moved!

Still, even as his intended target made tracks with a scream (an incredibly girlish scream, Bobby observed) Bobby knew that he would have to take cover as well, lest those inside the mess hall - whoever the guy he had shot at was talking to, decided to return fire. Considering they may well have a gun, which could well be better than the frankly rather pitiful carbine, hitting the deck would be a wise course of action. Bobby ducked behind a nearby tree, crouching as he did so. Suddenly, there was a crack and something whipped past to Bobby's left. His head snapped across, and there, standing not too far away. was one of his fellows, armed with a rifle. It didn't take long to put two and two together.

If I hadn't just moved... Shit, shit, shit...

Bobby couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity if it all. Really, he had been just as fortunate as his original target in avoiding getting hit. Unfortunately for him, escaping wouldn't be quite as easy, running towards the mess could well get him ventilated, wheras moving at the other guy was likely to get him shot too. Bobby quickly worked the bolt of his carbine - before realising that it was the last bullet in the magasine. He hadn't been paying attention after his frenzied shooting, now... this could be costly.

The boxer dived forwards so that he was shielded, at least, from the rifle armed student standing in the opposite direction. With his back to the tree, he could keep an eye on the mess too whilst he reloaded.

Unbelievable. That guy had to be trailing behind his group didn't he? Either that, or he just came by randomly. I hope it's the latter, because there's a greater chance that he's playing. If he is, that means I'm not looking at an attack from both sides, and this could turn into a three way dance. Tch... if he is with them, then I hope to hell they don't have a gun there. Otherwise, to put it delicately, I'm fucking screwed,,,

It took Terrie only a few seconds of digging around in her daypack before her hand came into contact with the cool metal of the gun. Hesitantly, she pulled the gun out of the daypack and made a beeline for the door behind the lunchline, right behind Brad. Serenity's current state didn't make things any easier. Not only did they have to worry about not getting shot themselves, but if whoever was firing at them hit Serenity, it would certainly hurt her even more than she already was, and to top it all off, they'd have no way of knowing she was even injured.

Terrie pushed through the doorway that lead to the large kitchen of the mess hall. It was an unremarkable sight, resembling a common kitchen you'd find in any sort of restaurant or cooking facility. Of course, in a normal restaurant, there wouldn't have been a layer of dust several inches thick running across the objects, and the smell of mildew wouldn't have assaulted her nose as soon as she entered the door. Unfortunately, they were definitely not in a "normal" restaurant.

No sooner than she had finished surveying the surroundings for herself, Brad confirmed that there was no exit from the kitchen. What kind of building was this, anyway? Wasn't that a fire hazard or something? Then again, Terrie supposed that even back when this place was in use, they didn't exactly fly building and kitchen inspectors out to make sure things were nice and lawful. A faint frown formed across her features as she once again surveyed her surroundings. They didn't have many options.

Going into the large metal doors that looked like they lead to a cooler or freezer or some sort was one option, but if there was no exit in the kitchen, there most certainly wasn't one inside the freezer. The electricity in the mess hall didn't seem to work, so the likelihood that they would get trapped inside and freeze to death was slim to none. The likelihood of them getting trapped inside, though, was pretty high. They couldn't hide in the freezer without somehow propping it open, and that would definitely give away their position.

They could always try to find a decent hiding spot in the kitchen, but the large open area didn't have much but a few cutting tables in terms of hiding places. Besides all that, the amount of dust covering everything was bound to make one of them sneeze and give away their position. Their only other option was to go back out into the lobby and face whoever was shooting at Quincy. Speaking of Quincy...

He hadn't followed them back into the kitchen, which was probably a good thing. Brad's distaste for the other student had definitely shown through, and Terrie didn't imagine he'd be very welcome within the group. Come to think of it, Quincy hadn't followed them, and the sounds of gunfire seemed to have stopped completely. Had he been killed outside? She hoped not. Still, it was a possibility. Terrie glanced over at Brad and the unconscious Serenity, then back at the kitchen door which they had just come barrelling through.

"It's quiet," Terrie mused quietly, tentatively approaching the old swinging door and standing on her tiptoes to see out into the cafeteria, "Looks clear."

There was no one in sight... for the moment, at least. Terrie once again stepped away from the doorway and turned back toward Brad. She wasn't the best in situations like these, and she definitely wasn't comfortable giving orders, but for some reason, she had been very in control of the situation so far. They couldn't just sit here in the kitchen all night. Someone needed to go out and make sure the coast was clear. Serenity wasn't exactly an option, seeing as she was out cold at the moment. Someone needed to stay behind and watch over her too, which meant whoever went out in the lobby would be going solo.

"I think we should go check it out," Terrie voiced quietly, "Should I go, or do you want to?"

((Continued from 18 and Life))

Serenity felt as if her head had been smashed in with a brick. She slowly opened her eyes and found that looking at anything made her woozy and sick. She shut her eyes tightly and moaned. She raised her good arm up to her aching skull and attempted to soothe the incessant ringing. He eyes opened in a squint, and she realized that she had no idea where she was. She saw Terrie's face, and attempted to get her bearings, but found that anything she did made her feel like dieing.

"T-Terrie…?" She asked with a cracking voice. "What happened? Where are we? I feel so… so tired… and kind of nauseous."

(sorry for the really short post, we've got only four days to get this death over with. Plus, I'm just not feeling it right now post-wise. Also, I didn't get permission to take the foil beforehand, so if there's a problem with that then I'll edit the post as quickly as I can.)

Brad sighed softly, noticing that Serenity had just awoken from her slumber. "Hey... don't move too much, just.... " he looked around the kitchen for a moment, hoping to find someplace to set the damaged girl down but only found the dirty floor. He shook his head slightly, knowing that he couldn't carry Serenity out with him. "Here, just lay down here and try to stay still. If you move too much, you're just going to tire yourself... T-There we go."

He looked up at Terrie for a brief moment before setting his dufflebag on the ground and zipping it open. "Well... I might as well go. You're the only one here with a gun, so..." he pulled his hockey mask out of his bag, setting the band around his head (hell, if it was going to save him from a headshot or two, then it was worth the trouble), looking over at Serenity's bag. "You're about the only one who could use that without HITTING someone else. Plus, if I do get myself killed for some godforsaken reason, then you won't be left holding the short end of the stick..."

Did he just consider that HE had a chance of getting killed?

Wow. That was sad.

What WAS sad was the fact that the only real weapon he had on him was a foil, a french sword that made Brad feel like he was Zoro when he held it in his hands. Just a bit more powerful, he figured. Letting his mask down over his head, Brad made a beeline for the doorway from the kitchen without saying anything else. There really wasn't any need to say anything else anyway. After all, Terrie and Serenity were going to be just fine, right?

There had been no further shots from behind hi,. whichBobby was thankful for, though he did suspect that the shooter could merely have decided to close the gap a little. That wasn't a comforting thought.

As Bobby considered what to do, the announcement started up. He listened with half an ear, still concentrating on the open door of the mess hall. At the same time, it started to rain, which was just typical really. Of course, the rain shower could give Bobby the opportunity - providing cover,that he needed to slip away, but he really didn't feel like harin goff into the jungle when it was raining, visibility being bad enough already without the added complication of the downpour.

I can't believe what I'm about to do...[ It's risky, and stupid. I don't know how many people are in there, but that guy I hit must have been talking to somebody, he wouldn't have just been lurking there. Ah well, 'damned if I do'...

Bobby picked himself up from his crouch, then darted forward, towards the open door, before throwing himself bodily through the gap, to slide underneath one of the tables, relative safety. Of course, he couldn't stay there for long, a few seconds, Bobby rolled out from underneath his concealment to crouch behind the table, hopefully shielded from immediate harm.

((Sorry for the lag in posting. Since it's my fault, I'm more than happy to extend the time it's going to take for this death.))

It wasn't until Serenity spoke that Terrie even realized the other girl had woken up. Despite the fact that she had been sleeping or, at least, unconscious, for quite some time now, Serenity almost seemed to look worse than she had when she had fainted.

Terrie wasn't surprised that she was feeling tired, weak, and nauseated. After all, she had walked across the island for the better part of a day -- maybe even longer, time seemed so relative in this place that Terrie couldn't rightly remember exactly how long it had been -- with already critical wounds being exposed to the elements.

Maybe... they had treated them too late.

Maybe it was too late for Serenity.

As the thought pushed its way into her mind, tears threatened to well up in the corners of her eyes. She hadn't been particularly close to Serenity in school, but now, on the island, the past few days had brought her close to the other girl. Serenity, Ianto, and Brad.

Since she'd woken up on the island, they were the only people that had been there for her, and the thought of losing one of them made her sick to her stomach. Terrie made some attempt to push the negativity out of her mind and forced the tears back. She couldn't allow herself to think like that.

During the time she'd been thinking about Serenity's unstable condition, Brad had volunteered himself to venture outside the mess hall to see if their attacker had vanished.

She had fully planned on offering him the gun she'd been issued, but before she even had the chance to, he refused it, instead sliding his hockey mask over his face and picking up Serenity's sword. He didn't say much before he walked out the door, just that he'd prefer she kept the gun to keep both herself and Serenity safe should something happen to him.

Of course, that immediately brought up another thought in Terrie's mind. What if something happened to Brad? What if he went out there and got himself killed? They already knew that whoever was attacking them was armed with a gun. After all, he had shot at that Quincy kid.

Things had gotten so quiet after that that Terrie didn't know whether or not Quincy'd been killed, and she was, in truth, far too scared to find out. Brad moved out the door and Terrie couldn't help but feel some kind of sense of foreboding welling up in her stomach.

This couldn't end well.

If Brad did die, could she even protect herself and Serenity? Somehow, she doubted it. Every time she picked up the gun, she felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. She knew the basic mechanics of working it from having read the manual several days ago, but something as simple as point and shoot became so much more complicated when what you were shooting at was alive... when what you were shooting at was another person.

She couldn't even fathom killing someone else. She didn't know if she could, and she didn't know if she'd be able to live with herself if she ever did. Terrie's eyes closed tightly for a moment.

Silence.

That was all she could hear radiating from the mess hall. The sound of Bobby's footsteps as he dove into the open entrance was obscured by the downpour from outside. Her attention turned back to Serenity for a moment and she tried to offer up some semblance of a smile, but given the current situation, couldn't quite seem to muster one. Instead, she found herself returning to the kitchen door, her eyes straining to catch some sort of glimpse of what was going on inside the mess hall.