Survival Of The Fittest

(( Jonathan Gulley continued from Return of the Manatee))

Jonathan walked to the doorstops of Dorm B. This was the closest area to the Radio Tower, and Darius probably thought it was a good idea to head here as well. He hoped so anyways...

He sat down and thought of his plan. They were going to have another day to do it after all...

He pulled out his tape recorder. Maybe he should do something with this?

He looked back at the trail he came from.

What about Brendan? He won the 'best' kill award... He might be heading this way to get his prize. Jonathan would have to confront him to see why he killed Jeremiah.


He needed a moment to calm down. There were a lot of things happening at once, he just had to slow down. The Radio Tower had no power, but maybe they could give it some? Maybe a gas generator at the vehicle depot. If they could get some gasoline and fix it up... There was a very real probability of living. But then again, their collars could get blown.

They'd need to get rid of the collars first. There had to be something they could use. EMP's or something. Maybe even radio signals?

He leaned his back against the wall and sat down.

"Damn, Barry... What'd you think we should do?"

He awaited an answer that'd never come.

((Brendan Harte continued from Devil's Choir))

Brendan rubbed at his eye with his free hand. He couldn't believe how close he was to the radio tower. He didn't want to go there yet. He was sure that no one would be stupid enough to actually go into the danger zone and try to get the prize before they hope that their collar would not explode. He thought that he should search around the area more.

Maybe he would find Jonathan and Darius. Didn't they plan on going to the radio tower? Maybe they were still close by. He hoped that they were. Even if he didn't really want to see Darius, he wanted to make sure that Jonathan was alright. He should have stayed with him. Then he wouldn't have murdered Jeremiah....

"You could have killed someone else anyway...." He muttered to himself softly. "....I...."

What was he supposed to do now?

Brendan glanced around and his eyes fell onto a familiar person. His heart tightened, his chest was tense, his breathing was hollow. He blinked a few times to make sure that he wasn't imagining things. The person that he had been looking for was right there. Not that far away from him.

"J-Jonathan...!"

((Alba Reyes continued from This Be The Verse))

"Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap."

Alba muttered these words to herself as she began to look around the area. She had Bradley's gun slung around her shoulder, with her day pack on the other. She had the back of her right arm pressed to her forehead as she looked around. She failed. She completely failed in her plan, and now Bryony was going to be really upset with her. Along with that, Kimiko was still out there, and could still kill someone if she wasn't caught. Alba stomped her foot on the ground and continued walking.

Finding one person and trying to capture them alive was a lot easier than it looked. Alba wasn't a forest ranger or a mercenary, so tracking someone was out of her skill set. Maybe Kimiko was really fast, or maybe Alba really did waste too much time before going after her. Either way, the girl was gone like a ghost.

Alba had a vague idea of where she could go. The girl won a weapon for killing someone the first day, so surely Alba could head near that area and find her without having her collar blown. That would be the case, if she didn't get lost. Which she did. Often during the second day. The forest was a lot more difficult to navigate. She could, through dumb luck, find the coast, but that didn't help her get oriented to which way led to the supply depot and which way led back to the gym. As a result, her promise of being back in an hour was broken.

Alba spent the night sleeping outdoors, and got up when the announcements blared. Alba tried to listen carefully to hear if Bryony or the other two from the gym were okay, and to hear if Kimiko had killed again. For the most part, it wasn't as bad as Alba thought it could be. Bryony was alive, and Kimiko had only killed Bradley. It wasn't great to hear all these deaths, but she at least felt some relief.

That is, until the announcements told her Brendan had killed someone.

Alba was frozen in shock. Brendan Harte, the sweet guy she went to Sadie Hawkins with, was a killer. The guy she had such fun with after literally running into him in the park had blood on his hands. From the sound of the description, it wasn't self defense or a mercy kill. It was murder. The fact that he was being rewarded for it all the more confirmed it was murder.

Alba wanted to cry. She wanted to figure out why this had happened. Why would Brendan do such a horrible thing? She had these thoughts as she walked through the forest. Finally, she passed a clearing and found herself facing a building. She felt some joy, knowing it was likely she could find the gym soon and see if Bryony would forgive her for being gone so long.

Alba held the rifle close to her side, keeping her hand near the trigger. She walked along the side of the nearby building. She was back in the civilization part of the island, and she needed to be ready for anything. The horror of the island was real, and she could end up like Bradley if she wasn't careful. She was nearing the entrance, and had to be ready in case there was anyone nearby.

Jonathan stared upward, trying to think of something to get help. People had to come here...

But they didn't know. They didn't know where they were! How could he have forgotten that one part! They had to know where they were at before they could find them! He had a realization, he could make a plan, he-

could get interrupted... The voice was familiar, and Jonathan thought it was Darius at first, but once he turned his head.

There he was. He was familiar all right. But he wasn't Darius, wasn't Michael, no...

Brendan Harte, the killer was looking right at him. He killed Jeremiah, and from the sounds of the announcement, it wasn't in self defense. The fact he had a spear in his hand made it all the more apparent.

Jonathan got up immediately, and stormed towards Brendan.

He was about to verbally lay into him when he realized something else.

Brendan had found Jonathan at his worst. He gave him his jacket, he watched him while he slept. He could've killed him. This was before Brendan even knew if they were gonna plan an escape with Darius, shit, Jon just realized he still kept Brendan out of the loop! He didn't know a thing going on!

He could have killed him, but he didn't... Why'd he leave. He said he wanted to find his friends, but was it really true? Brendan might have kept him out of the loop on something... Maybe Brendan wanted some insurance in the rare chance he outlives this game, if their escape plan failed.

Was that all Jeremiah's life amounted to? Life Insurance?

"Brendan... Why?"

There was nothing else he could say, he had to know the why's before he questioned Brendan's morality. It's not common for someone to watch over someone, then kill another person later on. He had to know why.

"W-why, why'd you do it?"

Jonathan couldn't be angry at this point, he was only disappointed now.

Brendan almost flinched when Jonathan came towards him. He shouldn't have been surprised by Jonathan's reaction. But he had been. He thought that Jonathan would be hit him. Or yell at him. But he didn't. He just wanted to know why. And Brendan wanted to tell him what happened. It was going to be hard to get the words out. Would Jonathan even believe him? That he wasn't sure a cold-hearted person? That he thought he was doing the right thing at that time? He was never going to get Jeremiah out of his head. So much blood....

He felt like a complete monster.

"I-I....."

He was stuttering. It frustrated him to be like that. He needed to be clear with his words. He couldn't be a babbling mess while speaking. He wanted to be brave. He didn't know if Jonathan would trust him anymore. He was afraid that Jonathan would walk away. But he still wanted to tell him the truth. There was no point in lying to him. He wasn't going to achieve anything with being a liar.

"I found Jeremiah and Michael in the asylum..... Michael was taunting a girl and they were planning on killing her. I couldn't see who the girl was. But I just took action. I-I wanted to save her. I didn't even know if she was an innocent person or a killer.... I stabbed Jeremiah from behind.... I.... The blood..... I shouldn't have....." His voice was trembling as he thought about what he did and his hands around the weapon was shaking. "I regret doing it..... How could I do something so disgusting like that? I should have stayed with you and Darius, Jonathan. I can't get over it.... I can't get him out of my head....There was so much blood.... I just feel so much guilt that I...."

He had to blink back the tears that he felt that were coming. He didn't want to look like a crybaby in front of Jonathan.

".....I should have let Michael kill me...."

Alba continued to walk along the side of the dorms, keeping the rifle close to her side. She'd probably be able to figure out how close to the gym she was once she knew what building she was by. Bryony and the others had survived the night, so maybe they had fortified the gym. She'd have to figure out a way in if that was the case, but she was sure they'd have a way to know she was there.

As she neared the front of the building, she could hear some chatter. She couldn't make it out entirely, but she could hear what sounded like a guy talking. Alba slowly stepped forward, finally reaching the corner. She heard "kill me" as the first audible thing she could hear. That's when her eyes widened.

She was staring at Brendan. He was talking to another guy. She felt her stomach get heavy. There he was, one of the notable killers on the island. Notable enough to get a prize for his murder of that guy from yesterday. He looked miserable, but Alba wasn't sure what to do.

With nothing else in mind, she raised the rifle up and stepped out from the corner of the building.

"Brendan..." was all she could muster.

The gun was raised, slightly off from where Brendan was standing, but still vaguely in his direction. She tried to smile, but it looked quite awkward on her face. This was her friend, and she owed him the benefit of doubt. But if someone as generally harmless as Kimiko could kill without issue, why couldn't Brendan?

She bit her lip and prayed he had a good reason.

Jonathan watched as Brendan looked like he was just about to break down. He regretted his decision to question him, it was clear Brendan didn't plan on or want to do what he did. But even preparing himself for how Brendan reacting to his question didn't prepare him for what he told him.

"Y-you're lying."

Jonathan put his hand over his mouth as he heard Brendan tell his story. Jeremiah and... No way, no. Jeremiah and Michael were taunting a girl, t-that they were going to kill her?! No, no no no no... Something's wrong here...

"You're lying to me, y- he couldn't have..."

Michael wouldn't be one of them. He wouldn't murder someone like that, o-or draw it out, laughing like some sort of hyena...

Jonathan didn't know what to do, he didn't know who to believe. He needed to find Michael, to talk to him, but...

---

Jonathan was walking home from work before he ran into Michael. They had a rather average conversation before Jon asked how Darius was doing. Apparently Michael had found a problem with Brendan not waving at Darius, or something petty like that, so he had threatened him until he did it right.

Man, you shoulda' seen the look on his face! Fucker learned some manners after that, an' I didn't even touch him. Fuck man! He waddled home like he shit his pants!"

Jonathan just shook his head at it, he always put stories like that in the back of his mind. He knew Michael just did it to impress him or one of his other friends. He never really meant it. He looked back at Michael to see a woman with an assault rifle standing a few feet away from them.

---

Jonathan snapped out of his day dream just long enough to realize the woman with the gun was real.

"Brendan! Behind you!"

Jonathan pushed himself between Brendan and the newcomer with the gun. He didn't have time to question Brendan any further, right now the only thing he could do was try and make whoever was pointing the gun at them stop.

"Don't, j-just ,wait a minute..."

He raised his hands to show he wasn't a threat.

"Let's talk, okay?"

Brendan knew that Jonathan would think that he was lying. Maybe because he didn't want to believe that Michael would do something like that. Brendan wished that he had never witnessed what happened back at the asylum. Now Jonathan would possibly-

Huh? Behind him? Did someone sneak up on him? He should have been more on guard. He was feeling foolish for not checking around for other people more. Was this person going to hurt him or Jonathan? Did he have a weapon?

Before Brendan could even turn around fully to see who the mysterious person was. Jonathan moved between him and the other person. But why? He didn't understand. Was Jonathan trying to protect him? He was feeling a bit lost. But he also felt.... something else. He wasn't sure what it was.

He was also sure that the person saying his name sounded so familiar as well. He turned to see the arrival's face. His breathing got a bit funny. Alba.... She really was okay. He was just glad to see that she was alive. Even if she did have a weapon that he found terrifying. He didn't think that she would shoot at Jonathan. But he needed to speak to her.

"Alba.... You're not hurt, are you? We don't want any trouble...."

Alba's eyes widened as the other guy moved in front of Brendan. It was Jonathan, someone Alba had seen in some of her classes. Now she was worried that they were getting the wrong impression. Yes, she had a gun raised, but that didn't mean she was going to shoot them. She just wanted to be careful approaching people. They had to know that before they began to associate her with some of the real dangerous people on the island.

"What? Oh, yeah, that's fine with me," Alba said. "I'm all for talking. I just..."

Brendan seemed okay to see her, asking if she was hurt. He and Jonathan were looking for a peaceful interaction, to which Alba was fine with. However, the weight of everything from the last three days was starting to push down on her.

Alba swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry, I'm not physically hurt, but I'm not doing fine otherwise. I'm lost from my group, I saw someone die yesterday, and I know there's several dangerous people around. So I..."

Alba felt the weight of the gun in her hands, causing her to shake a bit.

"...I just need to know I can be okay right now with you guys. If that's okay with you."

Jonathan's tension eased when the gunman. Gunwoman? It was Alba. Her and Brendan knew each other so that might make things easier. Jonathan could find out what's really going on, and in return tell Brendan the truth about his plans.

Alba wanted a talk too, she wanted to be with people. Jonathan really didn't blame her. That time he spent alone after what happened to Barry? He wouldn't be surprised if some of the insane people on this island started that way too.

Alone...

Jonathan looked up at the sky only to see Brendan above him. Well, he was about a foot taller than him, Jonathan felt kind of embarrassed about it. All Alba had to do was aim up if she wanted Brendan dead. Or shoot twice...

Jonathan shook his head of any negative thoughts and moved aside, leaning against the wall. He still thought about what Brendan told him. It couldn't have been true, but the way Brendan was so shook up over it...

"We were... We were just talking about what happened yesterday."

He needed answers first, then he'd tell him his part.

Brendan could see that Alba was not doing alright but he had to ask. She saw someone die? That must have been horrifying to witness. He had only seen that girl's corpse. And he caused Jeremiah to die. How different would it had been if he had just been a witness? He didn't want to know. It was too late to think about that now. He had to think about Alba and Jonathan. He should tell them about the others at the chapel. But first....

He took a slow step closer to her, making sure that his own weapon was still lowered towards the ground. He was keeping an eye on the gun for a second before he raised his gaze towards Alba's face. He really wanted to hug her but.... but....

"I'm sorry that you went through that, Alba. I.... I'm sure that you will be safe with me and Jonathan. We won't do anything bad. I...."

You can't make a promise, Brendan. You could screw up again....

Brendan didn't want to be reminded of what he and Jonathan had been talking about. But he knew that he had to tell Alba as well. Would she think that he was a bad person? Would she just shoot him after he spoke about it? He had to chance it. He already told Jonathan so she was allowed to know. He thought that Alba and Jonathan were more deserving of going home than him anyway.

"Alba.... About what I did.... Killing Jeremiah.... I just...." He couldn't get the words out. Why was it so difficult to speak up? He just felt so.... tired. "I was wrong. I just wanted to save a girl from him and Michael. They were planning on killing her and I just...."

He let out a choked sob and he could feel something wet on his face. Tears...? No, no. He didn't want to cry. He had wanted to do it in private.

He realized that he couldn't handle what he had done and he hated himself for it. He wished that he could have bottled up everything inside. But it was too hard for him to do so.

"I-I-I'm sorry..... I'm so, s-so sorry...."

Alba's arms started to shake. She should have been more used to holding a gun up, what with her history of carrying golf bags and younger siblings around. The gun had to be less than ten pounds, but she was finding it hard to keep up. Fortunately for her, Brendan began to explain himself. He said he killed that guy because he and some other guy were about to kill a girl. He was even crying and apologizing for it.

Alba sighed in relief. She had to know Brendan would never murder someone in cold blood. He was such a nice guy, and he seemed genuinely hurt by what he did. That told her that he had to have done it knowing it was necessary despite how wrong it was.

Alba lowered the gun, finally giving her arms some relief from the weight.

"Hey, it's fine," she said, reassuringly to Brendan. "I mean, it's not good to kill, but if it was to save someone, than I guess it's fine. I'm sure that girl is grateful to you for what you did, and I'm sure the authorities will understand when help comes. I know you, Bren, and I know you're not a monster like Kimiko or those other killers. So I'll trust you. Okay?"

Alba gave Brendan and Jonathan a smile. After a night of wandering alone, it was good to see some people were still nice on the island.

"So, um, I guess we should talk business, or whatever. Do you guys know where the gym is? My friend, Bryony, is supposed to be there."

Jonathan watched as Brendan and Alba spoke to each other. His head lowered as Brendan kept to his story. He shouldn't be so selfish, Alba had lost someone, and Brendan was...messed up to say the least for what he had to do. Jonathan had wished Brendan didn't tell him who the victim's accomplice was. He wanted to find Michael, to talk to him. He really wanted to hear his side to it.

He couldn't do that though, he still had to plan out how to get everyone off this island. He had promised Barry, and he couldn't break it now, he's spent too long not getting anything done. He had to do this.

Had to.

Jonathan pulled out his map, pointing towards the gym.

"H-hey Alba? I think if you follow this trail you'll get there, but before you go I gotta tell you something; you too, Brendan." He pointed towards the radio tower on the map.

"Me and Darius think we can get this working. If we can, we can set up a signal, one I don't think the terrorists could block without shutting down their show."  Jonathan looked at the two.

"I don't know a thing about radio signals or anything like that, but if we get it working, we'll become a glowing blip for any rescue party's radar, or the terrorists shut down all their broadcasts to hide it. People will come for us, or the people who put us here won't be able to show this any more."

He sighed. He didn't know a thing about radio broadcasts, this was all wishful thinking, that if he got this up and running he wouldn't die for nothing, but that possibility was still very real. And that was even if they got it working. He wouldn't scare them with 'what if's though, he had to stay positive.

"Alba, I hope you find your friends, and if you do, can you tell them about us? We could use all the help we can get."

There was another problem. There was Brendan, who just looked too messed up, he had to help him out. He couldn't lose hope yet, even if... He had to block that out of his mind. There were reasons, and he'd ask if he got the chance. Brendan may have done something wrong, but he...

Brendan believed he did it for the right reasons. He saved someone else's life, and that's all that mattered. If he could have done it another way, Jonathan believed he would have done it.

"It's okay Brendan. You tried to do the right thing, you saved someone. The important part is you tried to help. It wasn't for something selfish. And for whatever reason, the terrorists are giving you something for it. It sounds fucked up, but you need to take it. You might need it to save your life later on. Go and grab it, than come back here, we still believe you Brendan."

He opened the door, looking inside the building.

"If any of you see Darius, could you tell him I'll be waiting here? I don't think I'll be going anywhere else for a while."

Brendan felt himself calming down after his sudden crying when Alba was trying to comfort him. He felt somewhat guilty for breaking down like that. He wished that he never did cry. He felt embarassed about it. He couldn't let it get to him. He needed to stay in control of himself for a little while longer. He had to for Alba and Jonathan's sakes. Alba mentioned something about the gym and someone named Byrony. It seemed like Alba wanted to here to find her friend. The first place that he had woke up in. He wanted to go with her. But he didn't want to leave Jonathan again.

He tried to wipe away his tears and he sniffled. He was about to speak until Jonathan mentioned the radio tower. It seemed like he and Darius has a plan of some sort. Brendan just listened to Jonathan explaining the plan. Brendan wasn't sure if it would work but they had to try. It was better than doing nothing. But what if no one would come for them? What if they would be too late to save everyone? What if it would be all for nothing?

Stop being so negative, Brendan. Look on the bright side....

Jonathan was talking to Alba as if she was going to be on her own to look for her friend. Brendan didn't want her to be all alone. But.....

"Alba, if you find Byrony. Please come back here with her. If she isn't there.... Just come back alone and then we can try to help you find her. Wherever she may be, I'm sure that she will be alright."

Brendan almost felt like crying again when Jonathan started to say kind words to him. He finally believe him? Brendan felt a bit relieved. Although, he was worried about what Jonathan would think of Michael now. If they saw each other again, Brendan had a feeling that things would end up badly. Especially since Michael wanted to kill him. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"J-Jonathan...."

He was fiddling with the wooden stick in his hands as he spoke quietly. Did he finally manage to get through to Jonathan for now? Jonathan was right. He needed to go to the radio tower and get his.... prize. The thought of winning something for just killing someone made him feel sick. Maybe he could give it to Jonathan when he came back. He wouldn't feel comfortable with whichever it was anyway.

"I..... T-Thank you. Both of you for believing in me. I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel to hear those words from the both of you...." Brendan was being honest to them and he shifted his foot lightly. He had to go to the radio tower. He had no choice. "I'll get whatever it is and I will come back to you, Jonathan, I p-promise! If I see Darius.... I'll tell him about you, Jonathan."

Brendan turned his head towards where Alba was standing and he showed her a kind smile. He hoped that he would see her again. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her or Jonathan. He needed to be more responsible. He wanted to protect them. He couldn't make that a promise, but he had to at least try to be a better person.

"Good luck, Alba...."

((Brendan Harte continued in I Don't Feel Like A Winner))

Jonathan had a plan to get help to the island. That was more than Alba had beyond hope that help could suddenly appear in the form of ships on the horizon. If he had a plan and was looking for help, she'd definitely join in. It sure beat wandering around aimlessly looking for people she was less likely to find. Besides, the sooner help came, the sooner they could deal with dangerous people like Kimiko without the need for violence.

Alba nodded at their suggestions and their information. Now she knew the right way to the gym, and now she could bring Bryony and anyone else at the gym into their plan. Brendan was showing enough reason that anyone who still suspected he was a vicious killer could have their doubts crushed instantly.

Brendan was now going to get his prize from the tower, suggesting Alba come back after investigating the gym. Alba nodded.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll definitely come back. And I'll be sure to be careful. Besides..."

She raised the rifle, giving a big smile as she did.

"I doubt anyone will try anything while I'm packing heat. See you soon!"

Alba turned and ran off in the direction Jonathan said led to the gym. She had to make this quick. She had a friend with a plan, and she had to get back to be a part of it.

With that, she hurried down the path, ready for the next step in her time here.

((Alba Reyes continued in Malagueña Salerosa))