Survival Of The Fittest

((Lulu Altaire continued from All Time Low))

It had been quite a walk from the cottage to the field, but Lulu didn't mind. The walking kept her mind off of things. In normal circumstances, she would have been nervous the entire walk, keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. Anything or anyone that might potentially hurt her or pop out of the bushes.

But not now.

The whole walk was more or less a silent blur. Lulu didn't talk. Madison didn't talk. Lulu kept running the past events in her head, over and over. "Why..why?" she kept repeating in her head.

Why did this have to happen?

In her heart, Lulu knew that everyone was inevitably going to die. Well, everyone except the winner. But, to actually experience those deaths were something different. Especially Anna's death.

And all Lulu had done was watch. She didn't try to stop Lenny or interfere or anything. Maybe if Lulu had stepped in, would things have turned out different?

"Yeah yeah, we both know the answer Lulu. You and Anna would be dead, instead of just Anna. So stop feeling so guilty and pick it up. You knew she was going to die sometime. Oh and guess what? Surprise! You're going to die too. So stop moping and do something."

This was the little pep talk that Lulu gave herself and in a way, it did make herself feel better. Her conscience always knew exactly what to say. She looked out at the vast amount of flowers and took a deep breath. Breathing in all the good thoughts and breathing out all the regret and guilt. It was pretty here, at least. She knew that there were probably bodies hiding around in the flowers, but she tried not to think of it. Besides, weren't there bodies everywhere?

Lulu placed her duffel bag and scythe on the ground, then sat down. She glanced over at Madison. "How ya holding up..?" she asked.

((Dacey continued from: Break Out, Break Out))

There was little Dacey hated more than being confused. It was probably as a result of how she went about her life in general. Other than in disguise of course. Dacey was a bright girl and she was used to understanding coming naturally to her. When she encountered a problem that stumped her, she became annoyed indeed. Wasn't Dacey supposed to be one of the more intelligent people around? Shouldn't she be able to see through to the root of her problems?

Apparently not.

Dacey had never really been able to understand just what the big fuss was about relationships in general. Oh sure, she wasn't some kind of naive innocent, but... Dacey was pretty, yeah, couldn't they get over that and move along? She wasn't just a pretty face with a reasonable figure and nice legs. She was a perosn... not an object. Where did the obsession come from?

The trouble was - Dacey couldn't figure it out herself, and it felt to her like she was experiencing something of the same. Her advances at Rick hadn't been some kind of bizarre method of flirting - her intent to make him feel uncomfortable was geniune. But at the same time... there was a lot of underlying feeling admidst the slightly malicious objective. Doubtless, given time or experience, Dacey would have been able to figure out where she stood with Rick by herself. Unfortunately, she had neither.

Hell of a time to finally start feeling what had caused her so much trouble in life.

Dacey was feeling a little guilty (as well as bemused) for leaving Rick behind. Judging by the bullet that had buzzed past her head as she made tracks from the brook area. Of course, she'd looked over her shoulder to check Rick was okay, but really, she should have doubled back instead of plowing on ahead... well... now she'd made it to an area wihich at least had distinguishing features, she'd wait.

Even though her thoughts were scattered, Dacey was collected enough to be at least paying attention to her surroundings. In the distance, she caught a glimpse of another person in the field, and the tall girl quickly ducked down. She was greeted with a decidedly unwelcome sight.

"Oh god..." Dacey's hand clamped reflexively to her mouth. Somebody had run afoul of a dangerzone... However, even though the ... headless corpse was sickening, there was something interesting about it. "Something the scavengers didn't pick up yet," she murmured, eyes alighting on the weapon held in one hand of the body. Gingerly, Dacey attempted to pry the gun from the body's fist, but it was harder than she anticipated, the fingers stiff and unyielding.

"Jesus..." there was a sudden snap and Dacey's stomach roiled as two of the fingers broke, flopping at an angle that no living person could possibly endure. This was sick. Still... Dacey managed to retrieve the pistol, and proceeded to pull the blood covered daypack from the corpse as well. Hopefully there would be ammunition of some description.

She felt... dirty, doing this. It was a body, this poor guy didn't deserve to have his fingers snapped off... but... she couldn't go around with a butter knife forever.

"I'm sorry..." Dacey whispered to the body, stepping well back from it and hoping fervantly Rick would arrive soon.

((Madison Conner continued from All Time Low))

Why was it so hard for Madison to believe that she had accomplished something during the ten days she's been here? Why did it feel like she was just running in circles? Was Madison destined to keep on running?

Madison didn't speak. She just couldn't. It's was like she had completely forgotten how to speak at all. Lulu... did she still have hope? Madison was pretty much run dry on that... she finally remembered all that had happened during the course of the game. She finally remembered all that she had done. Every single mistake, everything she thought... all of it was in her head. And all Madison could think was "what was the point".

They finally came to a large field of flowers. It was all so beautiful, and had she been back home she would have sat in the field and just looked at all of the flowers... They were all so beautiful. It was too bad her sense of beauty was pretty much broken.

"H-How am I holding up? I..." Madison didn't finish her thought right away. "I... I'm fine... I don't feel so good, but I'm fine.... I think. I guess..." There were so many thoughts running through her head that it was making her want to vomit. "Lulu... I have to ask you a question... umm... do you still have that gun? That's mine but you can keep it... It's not like I need it."

This was the simple truth. Madison had a gun that could literally blow someone's arm off with a single bullet. She didn't need a pistol. Madison smiled, but it was a very crooked smile and even a girl like Lulu could tell that she was suffering badly inside.

As Madison looked away from Lulu she noticed a large hole in the flowers... The flowers were all parted away. Was there something in there?

"Uhh... I think..." Madison kept her mouth shut, and walked forward slowly.

There were many things that she was expecting there to be. A bag, a body. It had to be a body, the island was festering with them but she couldn't see over the flowers that towered close to her knees. What she wasn't expecting was there to be was the body of the nefarious Bobby Jacks. The one that used her as a human shield oh so long ago, the one she wanted to die... he was dead.

Rather than having the feeling of regret, Madison felt happy... she lasted longer than some of the other more fit people... she had won over so many others... when she was back home she imagined herself being one of the first people to die but... she's killed two people (it wasn't the sort of thing she felt proud about, but it meant that she had been able to do what she couldn't imagine herself doing), she's survived without much food or water, and while her chances were grim she was proud. She was proud of herself.

Her mother would be ashamed to see her thinking this way. Fuck her mother, she never gave a shit. Madison Conner had survived this long and goddamn it she was going to live for alot longer.

Madison looked over at Lulu. "Lulu. Come over here and look. It's... Bobby Jacks, he's dead."

A thought crossed her mind - did Bobby kill himself? There wasn't anyone around with a gun... there was a gun lying right next to him. Yes, it appeared that he most definitely killed himself. It seemed... understandable. After all a normal person who would be able to feel the same emotions as Madison would feel guilty for hurting so many people. Maybe Bobby wasn't as big of a monster as Madison thought. This made her feel slightly guilty for kicking the corpse in the head.

"Bastard..."

Madison remembered that Lulu was here. She looked up, and her cheeks turned a crimson color.

"Oh... uhh... I think I remember that he has a gun... A rifle... do you want it?" she asked Lulu, then looking down to her feel in a shy sort of way.

((Dorian continued from Guns For Show, Knives For A Pro))

What do you do when you're not sure?

The last thing Dorian expected to be running through his mind at this time was the opening soliloquy from a play, any play, least of all a play about pedophilia in the Catholic church. But it the situation, it seemed oddly appropriate.

Last year, when President Kennedy was assassinated, who among us did not experience the most profound disorientation? Despair?

Dorian plodded through the jungle, putting as much distance between him and the Sea Cliffs as possible - putting as much distance between him and the killing as possible. He had to stay isolated, this much he knew. Why he had to was a completely different story.

But think of that! Your bond with your fellow being was your despair. It was a public experience. It was awful, but we were in it together. How much worse is it then for the lone man, the lone woman, stricken by a private calamity?

Dorian had a very real idea of what had come over him at the Cliffs when Mark had attacked. He had felt the same drive that Mark felt, and he didn't like it. It wasn't justified, no matter what the consequences. It was against everything he had stood for.

Had?

No one knows I'm sick. No one knows I've lost my last real friend. No one knows I've done something wrong.

No one knows I nearly killed a man, Dorian added, unable to bring himself to forget what he desperately wanted to.

Imagine the isolation. Now you see the world as through a window. One one side of the glass, happy, untroubled people, and on the other side, you.

Dorian had preached pacifism and non-violence during his whole time on this island. He was convinced, even now, that it was the only way to get off - if everyone stopped being violent. Yet something was infecting Dorian, something unthinkable. It was frightening - he was rating human life.

There are those of you in church today who know exactly the crisis of faith I describe. And I want to say to you: doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.

Dorian only wished these words were true - this game, however, begged to differ. Everyone here was lost, and everyone here was alone. Doubt was driving everyone apart, and splitting people down the middle. Dorian knew he was only the latest casualty of doubt, and he wasn't special because of it.

Dorian reached the edge of the forest, the submachine gun still swinging at his side, the daypack dragging him down, a rogue vine hanging off his head.

"Oh, fuck, not here again."

The vibrant field of flowers stretched out before him.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Lulu was pleased that Madison had answered her question. She was worried about the concussion that Madison had gotten earlier, but it seemed to be getting better. She could at least walk and answer questions now, something she was unable to do earlier.

Lulu was also pleased that Madison said she was fine. "Yes..I'm fine too," Lulu answered, though it was a lie. She didn't feel fine at all. She still felt shaky at the loss of her friend.

When Madison mentioned her gun, Lulu remembered it. She recalled shoving it into her bag before they left the cottage, since at the time, it didn't appear that Madison would be able to carry it. "I don't know Madison..it is your gun. I think you should have it." Lulu opened her bag and pulled out the gun, staring at it. She wasn't aware of how powerful it was. "You may need it."

But Madison's smile made Lulu frown a little. She looked...there wasn't a word for it. Sad was the obvious, but wasn't everyone a little sad? Maybe Madison had seen worse things than Lulu had. "Hey Madison...did you see any of your friends die?" she asked, staring at the grass. She followed Madison over to where the flowers were parted.

"Bobby..Jacks..? His body..?" Lulu asked, her face paling. She really didn't want to see anymore corpses. Whatever, she had seen a ton, one more wouldn't hurt. But where did she hear that name?

Lulu took a look, then quickly looked away. Eew. "Bobby..Bobby, oh yeah! Back with Lenny..yeah..there was a guy named Bobby there. At the northern coast..he was saving someone or something like that. He was a good guy.." Lulu said, not very aware that Bobby had quite the kill list.

When Madison kicked Bobby, Lulu looked shocked. "Don't do that..it's mean.." 'It's mean', was the only answer she could think of as to why you shouldn't kick dead people in the head.

When Lulu was questioned about whether she wanted the rifle, she got a tad bit flustered. "..W..What? N-..No I couldn't! I mean.." Honestly, Lulu was afraid that Bobby's ghost was still attached to the gun. "I don't know Madison..should we really mess with it?"

((Rick Holeman continued from Break Out, Break Out))

"Take everything."

Rick Holeman had been late to the party it seemed. When Dacey took off, Rick tried his best to follow, but he moved at a slower pace. The last thing he wanted was to be caught off guard, to be cut down before he could even start to make a difference on this island. Approaching the girls, Rick lowered his gun and looked at the body they were all looking at.

Bobby Jacks.

Rick was happy to know that this guy was dead. It was a name that Rick remembered, and quite possibly, the worst offender on the island. He had killed so many, and now he was dead. Suicide it looked like, only because none of his stuff had been raided yet it appeared.

"As long as none of you are playing, it would be wise to take everything that man has."

Rick looked at Dacey, and nodded at his partner.

He hoped Dacey would get something, and Rick wondered just how many weapons and items Bobby had on him. Dacey needed something to keep up with Rick. He had a feeling things were only going to get more difficult from here.

"Seriously, it doesn't matter to me at all..." Madison shrugged. "I-I'm serious. I don't care, just take it all. Bobby Jacks was a bastard... a-and a cold blooded killer. He almost killed me... That I'll never forget..."

Madison spoke in a tone that gave the impression that she had known Bobby Jacks for all her life. In truth she knew him as well as she knew Lulu, but all in all it was all the same. Bobby was a monster, a complete monster but Madison also recognized that he probably wasn't as bad as she thought... but again that didn't matter, it was all the same.

Rick Holeman was someone that Madison remembered as well. What girl in their right mind wouldn't know who he was? He was built like a solid rock, a complete stud... but no, this wasn't because she had a crush on him (then again even if she did she wouldn't even admit it to herself much less anyone else). That was just how her mind worked. She would have smiled at him if it weren't for what he told her and Lulu. 'Take everything...' the thought made her scared, but she understood.

"Lulu... please, just take the bag... search his corpse, he-he's gotta have something on him."

Madison felt uncomfortable telling Lulu what to do. She rather prefer it if Lulu was giving her orders... but she wasn't giving her any.

"I..."

But then she looked over Lulu's shoulder. What was that....

Was that...

Oh god. That guy, he had a gun. No, a fucking gun! Oh god no!

It may have been a trick of her eyes. Maybe it was something that was a result of her concussion - maybe she just wasn't thinking straight. Maybe the humidity was getting to her. Whatever the reason, Madison really thought that Dorian was holding that gun at them. With the distance he was covering anyone could have seen him holding onto it but but only a person like Madison would think that he was out to kill them.

"Guys, get down!" Madison cried, holding the machine gun in both of her hands and fired at Dorian from across the field. One bullet could kill a man but she was way too far to get an actual hit. She felt herself being forced down by the recoil, falling onto her backside as the shots flew across the field.

Gunfire was a sound Dorian had become all too familiar with in the last couple of days. It wasn't a sound he liked - it symbolised everything wrong with this whole scenario, and then there was the whole bullets = death thing. Dorian figured he could go his whole life never hearing gunfire again, happy.

Unfortunately, the powers that be disagreed with Dorian.

"Holy Jesus fucking Christ!" Dorian swore, diving as the gunfire echoed throughout the quiet field. Dorian pushed himself back up, crouching on the ground, and whipped out his butcher's knife from his daypack. He scanned the field for people...oh, you bastards.

A group of four people were gathered around a flowerless patch, a slightly crazy-looking girl squeezing off rounds at him and pushing the rest of them down. The recoil forced her on to her arse, giving Dorian a few seconds to try and settle what the fuck her problem is. He stood up and ran over to the group, butcher's knife in hand.

If Dorian had been able to step back from his body and see what he looked like, what he was doing, he would have been horrified - here he was, looking like a genuine killer. However, Dorian didn't have any powers like that, and so found himself consumed by his own anger at the sheer audacity of this...this player.

Dorian may not have been repeating it in his head - if he had, he would've rejected it out of disgust and fled - but subconsciously, his mind had already decided what had to happen.

Madison Conner had to die.

The bullets missed as expected. How could Madison be so stupid?

No. He saw her. He was running over to her, as quickly as he could, with that huge ass knife in his hand. Madison sat in shock, just sitting on the ground with that gun in her hand. The images running through her head were filled with so much gore that it was hard for her to stop herself from screaming. She kept her mouth shirt, staring at Dorian as he made his way closer. He looked mad... like he wanted to kill her. That was exactly what she was expecting him to do but not with 'that' look on his face.

No no NO! OH PLEASE GOD no, don't kill me, I don't want to die! Oh christ please help-

She lifted the gun up again and stammered. "Stay the fuck away from me you creep. I'm warning you, I know how to use this..." She looked over at Rick then over to Lulu. "For christ sakes guys this guy's a loony! Do something!"

Lulu looked up and jumped a little. She had been staring at Bobby's corpse for a few minutes and hadn't noticed that some guy just approached them. His name was Rick, if she could remember correctly.

"Take..everything?" Lulu asked, looking a little dizzy. This was too much to handle. She honestly didn't want to touch anything that belonged to a dead person but she realized that Rick was right. It was probably the better choice.

Lulu glanced over at Madison when she recommended to search her corpse. Her eyes widening a little. "S..Search his corpse!? N-no way..I'm not t..touching anything.." she stammered. Honestly, she didn't want to touch a single thing that belonged to Bobby, this dead guy, so she didn't.

But before Lulu could do or say anything, Madison started yelling about a guy with a gun and commanding them all to duck. Lulu immediately ducked down beneath the flowers. She listened as Madison began firing at him. The potential murderer. Her heart began to pound and she desperately prayed that no one was to die as a result of any of this.

Lulu peeked up a little from the flowers. She didn't see a gun at all on the boy, but she did see a fairly hefty knife. He looked angry too! Lulu kept a firm grip on her scythe. She didn't want to use it. She didn't want to use this cursed weapon, but reminded herself that she had used it before. If she truly wanted to, she could do it again.

Lulu had simply watched as Anna died before her. She even reminded herself that she had watched Lauren die in front of her as well. She could not watch Madison die. Madison had done nothing. Not this time. This guy really was nuts. He had no reason to attack them!

Lulu gave a slight nod at Madison and took a few steps forward, holding her scythe in front of her. "Y..yeah, d-..don't c..come over here!!" Lulu was trying to sound threatening, but she sounded more like a meek little stuttering mouse, too afraid to move.

Get down.

When the warning had been spoken, Rick looked around, shocked when he heard the girl, Madison, fire at the boy a distance away. Rick was instantly in a crouch, his Desert Eagle brought up, awaiting some sort of retaliation. However, what he saw was a man charging at them with a butcher knife.

Now, if Rick had time to think clearly, he would be wondering why Madison shouted for them all to get down if the boy was only armed with a butcher knife. Also, why would any sane person charge a group obviously armed, with only a knife?

Though, Rick had to act fast. This wasn't the time to pull some John Wayne bullshit and disarm the kid and everyone walk away with their lives.

The players needed to be eliminated. All of them.

Rick aimed his handgun at the boy and pulled the trigger two times.

"Stay the fuck away from me you creep. I'm warning you, I know how to use this...for christ sakes guys this guy's a loony! Do something!"

"Y..yeah, d-..don't c..come over here!!"

What are these people, fucking dense?

Dorian stopped dead in his tracks, baffled. The girl on her arse, babbling as if her firing on him was some kind of joke to be brushed off and ignored. The other girl, standing in front of her with the scythe, clearly not capable of swinging it yet, in an oddly admirable manner, putting her life on the line for the psycho dipshit girl on the ground anyway.

"What the fuck?"

Dorian stood there, eyes wide, the butcher's knife in his hand aching for blood, but Dorian's brain suddenly deciding against satiating the knife.

"What the fuck are you doing? I was minding my own fucking business and she fucking STARTS SHOOTING AT ME?! And I'M the one in the wrong?"

Dorian tossed the butcher's knife from one hand to the other, a glib gesture that he would've done ironically were it not for his emotions running so high.

"Fuck this..."

Click.

Dorian hadn't noticed Rick Holeman, fucking self-appointed American hero, a student who Dorian had never liked, despite Rick doing nothing to him. Dorian also hadn't noticed Rick Holeman stand up, pull a gun, and pull back the hammer.

Luckily, Dorian had heard the sound of the hammer clicking into place, and dived to the ground just as the two shots rang through the field. Dorian waited a beat, and then got back up and stared at Rick.

"For fuck's sake, sit down and keep your nose out of business that ain't yours, you reactionary shit! I don't want to do something to you I regret." A hollow threat, yes, when Dorian and Rick were compared, but Dorian thought it better than nothing.

Dorian turned to the two girls. "You," he said, pointing to the one with scythe, "I have no beef with you, so get the fuck out of my way. You," he said, as his finger shifted to focus on Madison, "we need to talk."

The thought of killing Madison was being pushed to the back of his mind, as pacifist, talk-out-our-problems Dorian returned. He wasn't homicidal any more - just pissed.

((Just to drop a quick OOC note in here, given that I've been away for a few days and I don't have time to post properly this instant. Bobby's bag isn't actually on him, he threw it into the field before he killed himself. The other thing is that Dacey wasn't anywhere close to Lulu and Madison, so it's a bit weird for Rick to be talking to all of them at the same time. Anywho. Be posting soonish.))

(I've got a cold right now...)

Madison looked up at Dorian. He was yelling at her and Rick at the top of his voice, he was waving a knife around in his hand and most of all he was trying to hide the fact that he was pointing a gun at them only a moment ago. He wasn't fooling anyone, especially not her. She squinted her eyes at her.

"Shut up! Just shut up! You had that 'gun' aimed at us, and then you were coming at us waving that knife around! What the fuck are you doing aiming a gun at us?!! You can't lie to me goddamn it, I saw you with my own two eyes."

Madison's hand was shaking, holding the gun up at Dorian just in case he made a move. Just in case he decided to hurt somebody.

((Alright, thanks for telling me Clueless. Ixnay Lulu picking up the bag and I'll edit my post in a little bit. :]))

Lulu flinched when she realized that Rick was shooting at the guy. She didn't want anyone to die, but in cases like this, maybe it really was for the best. This guy did seem a little nuts. Okay, maybe not just a little.

Then the boy began yelling at them. Wasn't his name Dorian or something? "W..well not exactly.." Lulu started, trying to gather her words. This guy appeared to only be wielding a knife, but Madison had just said he had a gun. Who to believe? Maybe the boy had quickly put the gun away when Madison started firing at him. But would he have time to do that if he realized he was in jeopardy?

"You had a gun..so we're just being cautious.." Lulu said, looking confused. She hadn't actually seen the gun yet, but she didn't want to take any chances.

Lulu was a little disappointed and relieved at the same time when she realized that Dorian hadn't been shot by Rick. It was a strange feeling but she had no time to contemplate it since he was pointing at her. She looked at him, her eyebrows raised. He requested her to get out of his way, in a not so nice manner.

Feeling a little defeated, she lowered her scythe a little and stepped back. "..." Lulu honestly didn't want to cause any unneeded trouble by being defiant.

When Madison started yelling at Dorian, Lulu instinctively took a step closer to Madison. She didn't want anything to happen to this girl.