Survival Of The Fittest

"A victorious leader plans for many eventualities before the battle; a defeated leader plans for only a few. Many options bring victory, few options bring defeat, no options at all spell disaster." - Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

((G003: Naomi Bell - START))

Right now, Naomi was the picture of calm.

The zen garden she'd woken up in contributed a lot to the calm aesthetic she was currently absorbed in. She was sitting, legs crossed, on one of the stone benches overlooking the picturesque garden. She had her eyes open, despite the fact that she usually closed them when she did her yoga breathing exercises.

Inhale. Hold it. ...Exhale.

Anyone looking at her would think she had it all together. And that was precisely what Naomi wanted. She wanted to look in control. She wanted to be in control.

And she wanted to pretend that, a few minutes ago, she hadn't thrown a huge screaming tantrum at the nearest camera. That upon waking up, she hadn't, to put it crudely, completely flipped her shit. There were still gouges in the sand pit nearby where she'd kicked the sand viciously while screeching incoherently.

She was still the angriest she'd ever been in her life, despite her current calm exterior. She felt this strong, burning sensation in her chest, like she was about to vomit molten lava and her heart was thumping like a terrible rock band.

How dare they. How. Dare. They.

Everything had been going perfectly for her. She'd done everything she'd wanted to do during high school. President of the student council and head of the debate team. Straight As in her classes. She'd even earned a place at Yale. She'd been going places. She was going to be president one day.

And then this happened. Survival of the Fittest. A terrorist act that had supposedly been put to an end back in 2008. Only to appear again, completely out of the blue, in time to ruin everything she'd worked for.

That was what was going through her head. That was what she'd screamed at the cameras. It was more screechy and had several more curse words in it, but that'd been what she'd screamed. But she'd gotten out the screaming. And no matter how angry she was, it wouldn't do her any good to keep going. No. She had to consider her options. That's what she was doing. Trying to calm down and think.

The way she saw it, there were three options. Escape. Play. Die. Those were her three paths. Dying, of course, was not on the agenda, so really there were only two. Escaping vs. playing the game their way.

Naomi knew about the escape in V4. She didn't know all the details of SotF, of course. But like any high-profile terrorist act, it had been a major topic in politics back when President Bridges was in power. Of course she'd paid attention, even back then. Followed the news items about it, studying how Bridges responded to such a crisis.

She thought he'd done terribly. If she'd been president, she was sure she could have done something more. But that wasn't the issue. There had been escapes before. She was sure she could recall something that had been mentioned during the news items about how the rescuers hadn't taken killers. Strong message. If she killed, then the only way out was winning.

So... the pros and cons.

The pros towards escaping. She'd have help, because most of the other students would go for hope of escape rather than hope of being the one left standing. And why wouldn't they follow her? She was the student president. They'd picked her as their leader! If anyone could get the students here to form an alliance, it was her.

It had happened before. Thus she knew it was possible. Furthermore, many more children had survived Survival of the Fittest by escaping than by winning. How many had escaped last time? Only a small percentage... but twenty? Thirty, maybe? Compared to the four winners of four versions. Four versus up to thirty spoke for itself.

Finally... Naomi's chances of winning against her classmates were slim to nil, if she went the more blood-splattered route. She didn't think it was a matter of whether she had the stomach or not to kill someone. Naomi was sure she could. If it was a matter of her or them... well, she just deserved to live more. She had more to contribute to society. But physically speaking... she wasn't a fighter. She was a thinker. An intellectual who'd never been in a situation where brawn won out over wits.

The pros for playing the game their way?

…

…...

…......

Well, there weren't any.

So, of course she had to pick escape. That was just obvious.

The question was... how? That was what was confounding her right now.

Naomi uncrossed her legs and climbed to her feet. She approached the sand pit. She'd left her bags by it. One was the little purse she'd brought on the plane. But everything she'd kept in it, with the exception of a small, hand-held mirror and a tube of lip-gloss, was missing. Her cellphone, the notebook she always carried with her... gone.

The other was the bag that the terrorists had given to her, with 'G003' printed on it. Naomi wondered how they ordered students. Was it by how much promise they showed? If so, she supposed they at least had the intelligence to recognise her as promising in some way. She unzipped it to check her supplies and came across... what on earth.

Naomi hefted out what, at first glance, looked like a small chainsaw. But further inspection showed that the edges weren't as sharp. This was a hedge trimmer. ...They gave her an electric hedge trimmer.

"Assho—" Naomi caught herself before she finished. No more swearing. She was calm. Composed. In control. She placed the hedge trimmer beside her before zipping up the bag. Better to have it out. Better than no weapon at all.

She spent some time smoothing out the sand pit, removing the marks of her earlier tantrum. How embarrassing, to lose her cool in front of the wide audience that was surely watching. Once she was done, she stared at the grains of sand before reaching out and tracing some stick figures in the sand with her delicate fingers.

She needed allies.

((Enter Camilla "Cammy" Davidson))

Waking up disorientated, Cammy tried to get her bearings straight. Her mind thought back to what seemed to be a horrible nightmare at the time. However, it wasn't a nightmare. It was reality. Survival of the Fittest was back and that thought alone filled her with dread. She watched it like everyone else and she followed the social media and news. Hearing about the deaths that occurred everyday was horrible and while it was horrible, it was always something that Cammy could disassociate with herself. It wasn't her problem. She felt bad for the kids, but there wasn't anything she could do.

She felt disgusting for thinking like that now. She was now in the game. There was no way she could see it coming. She thought she was going to go to Disneyland and have fun with all of her classmates. Instead of having fun with them, she was now in a situation where it was kill or being killed. She wasn't going to kill. After all, they were her classmates. She knew most of them. It was hard to believe that they were going to kill. After all, they were good people. They wouldn't kill. She knew they wouldn't. They couldn't... could they?

No. She had to shake the doubt from her mind. She had confidence in her classmates. She trusted them. After all, they were good people and Cammy knew this. They would thwart the people who put them in this game. The thought cheered up Cammy a little as she started to smile. Smiling was just natural for her. She liked smiling. It was nice.

Looking around, the place had a calming atmosphere to it that set her mind at ease. It was an escape from the reality of the game. Cammy enjoyed it. She took it in and let it flow into her, taking a few deep breaths to calm down her initial worries and replace them with happy thoughts. They were going to survive. All of them. No one would kill each other. The thought was preposterous. The people in her school were good people. They wouldn't kill. Of course not.

Her smile grew wider as she continued to walk. She had spotted a familiar figure.

"Oh my god! Naomi! I'm so glad to see you!" Cammy exclaimed, running up to her and grasping her in a joyful hug. She was so glad she could find her. One of her close friends in Aurora High. She continued to hold her in a hug as she let the good feelings flow into her and make her even happier. She had to be happy in this situation. She couldn't be broken. After all, there were people at home who were watching them. There was still hope.

After a few more moments, Cammy let Naomi go and noticed the carvings in the sand.

"Hey Naomi, what's up with his?" She asked curiously, tilting her head as she tried to make sense of the images.

As Naomi traced out stick figures, she heard someone call out and instictively reached for her hedge trimmer, but didn't even get there before Cammy Davidson reached and hugged her. Part of Naomi was pleased about this. Cammy was a friend, which was a relief . She was also on the track team, so fast and used to running, which meant she wouldn't slow her down. Naomi couldn't afford to be slowed down right now. Any moment could be their last and it would only get more dire with time.

The rest of her was displeased because if Cammy had been attacking her Naomi would be dead already. She needed to keep a better watch.

"Uh, yes, hello." Naomi half-heartedly hugged back, still disorientated by the sudden appearance. She was rather relieved when Cammy let go. Normally hugs were fine. Just... not right now. Not in this situation. She had to keep as many emotions out of this as possible. She could be emotional when they were on the way home. "It's good to see you. Glad no-one's gotten you yet."

Naomi went back to tracing stick figures. "I'm thinking. They took my notebook, so this is all I have to write and draw on." Her thoughts were still all disorientated and all she had was a bunch of stick figures that represented general allies. "There's... a lot of work to go, but for now... allies. Which reminds me. Weapons." Naomi jerked her head at the hedge trimmer sitting next to her. "Do you have anything better?"

"Weapons?" Cammy asked in a worried tone, looking in her duffel bag and letting out a gasp of shock. Withdrawing the crossbow from her bag, Cammy's eyes opened wide with shock as she realized what she was given. She had no idea how to use a crossbow. Was there a guide in there? Something to tell her how it worked? There had to be. They had to tell her how it worked, or it was nothing more than an elaborate piece of wood. Luckily, there was and she let out a sigh of relief as she sat down next to her and rested the weapon on her lap.

"I have this. Though, I hope I don't have to use it." Cammy told Naomi, muttering towards the end and frowning. Having a weapon made the situation all the more real to Cammy. She didn't want this to happen. This was a nightmare. Killing her classmates. No. That couldn't happen. She wouldn't let it happen. For her sanity alone, she wasn't going to kill. She hoped Naomi didn't plan on doing so.

"You are trying to find a way off this island, right? Why are you asking for weapons? You're not going to kill anyone, are you Naomi?" Cammy asked apprehensively, biting her lip softly. There had to be a way out of the island. After all, last time a whole bunch of children were saved. She knew if she worked for it, there would be an escape. After all, she was with Naomi and there could be others as well.

Cammy clutched the weapon closer to her, instinctively hugging it as if it gave her protection. The game made her feel naked somewhat. Cameras were everywhere and there was no way she could get any privacy while she was here. Everyone was watching. That thought chilled Cammy. They watched her survive and they'd watch people kill. Then again, Cammy thought that there was no way any of our classmates would kill. There couldn't be.

"If we're looking for allies though, maybe we could look for Kyran. I'm sure he'll be happy to join us." Cammy suggested, plastering on a smile in an attempt to calm herself and hopefully Naomi. She was used to smiling. Even if it was fake, the gesture still made her a little happy. After all, she wasn't alone anymore.

"Aaah!" Naomi couldn't help the little yelp she made as Cammy pulled out a crossbow. She hadn't been prepared, despite the question. It was one thing to know someone might have a weapon. It was a completely different thing to see a crossbow being held by a friend. Thankfully, Cammy wasn't doing anything stupid like pointing it at her. "Be careful with that, okay?"

She stayed quiet as Cammy talked. She needed to phrase her words well. It was a high-stress situation.

"We can keep an eye out for him," Naomi agreed. Kyran was a decent sort, occasional suspension notwithstanding. "But if we're going to escape, we can't spend time specifically seeking him out. It'll waste time."

Naomi etched a box into the sand with her finger next to the stick figure depiction of allies. "As for the weapons... Well, I don't intend to explicitly go after people with the intent to murder. It is my intent to get as many people off this island as possible." She stared at the currently empty square she'd etched as she spoke. "However. Not everyone will think like that. There will be people who think the only way out is to slaughter their way there." She knew the ones who almost certainly would. Those who were violent, impulsive or just plain idiotic would pick up their weapons and go after classmates. There was no way around that.

"There will definitely be players. If one comes after us... I would rather we were the ones left standing. A weapon will be necessary, no matter how much we dislike the fact."

Cammy nodded at Naomi mentioning not to look for Kyran. She continued to smile, but inside felt horrible. They were just going to leave him? No. She couldn't think like that. She was sure that they will find him. They'll find others as well. Everyone would be able to be together. Maybe they could rebel against the game. No one would kill each other. They couldn't, right?

She then mentioned it. The fact that there will be killers. At this, Cammy had to shake her head. She looked visibly freaked out and her smile changed to a heavy frown. There was no way. They were classmates. She had known these people for at least 2-3 years, some even longer than that. The thought that people would kill. Cammy didn't believe it.

"That can't happen. Our school is a good school with good people. The thought that our classmates, the people we have been with for the past few years, are going to kill? I don't think that would happen. They are good people. They wouldn't kill." Cammy expressed in a worried tone. The statement at the end seemed like an attempt to convince herself. She didn't want to accept the fact that the kids would kill. Her friends, the people she knew in school, killing?

"You seriously believe that our classmates would try to kill us? We're good people. We all are. We haven't done anything wrong. T-they wouldn't kill us, right?" Cammy asked Naomi, her voice growing more unsteady the more she spoke. The words that Naomi said were rattling in her brain. There will be people who think the only way out is to slaughter their way home. Would she have to kill her classmates if they attacked?

The thought of killing was heavy in her heart. She didn't want to kill. She shouldn't have to kill. There had to be a way to save those kids as well. There had to be. Maybe they could convince them peacefully. It shouldn't have to end with death and murder. That should never be the answer.

"N-Naomi... is there a way we could, I don't know, save the kids who murdered as well? I-I mean most of them would probably only kill because of what you said, they thought it was the only way. Maybe we could help them. Tell them that there is another way out. W-we can defend ourselves, like disable them, but not kill them. I-I don't want to kill me friends." Cammy whispered, tears falling down her face at the thought of killing her classmates. Her body started to shake, the fear of the situation getting to her. She shouldn't have to kill. She shouldn't.

Naomi couldn't stop a small frown from appearing on her face. How could Cammy be so naive? Had she even met some of their classmates?

"Really, Cammy? Really?" Naomi said, her voice getting slightly high-pitched for a second before she regained her composure once more. "Sorry. I'd like to believe our classmates won't do anything. But first of all, consider the following. This has happened four times before. Every time, students killed. A lot of them killed. Did you see the clip they showed us or not? Those two were apparently best friends." Naomi had to admit, that had disturbed her quite a bit. But she didn't want to dwell on it. It didn't help her. She raised a hand. "I'm not going to smother you with a pillow, that's not my point. But four times where people killed each other. Against zero times when they didn't.

"But also... consider our classmates. Would you say to every one of them that you don't think they'd killed? The violent classmates. The impulsive. The outright dumb." Naomi started ticking people off on her fingers as she listed them. "The ones that'll just crack under pressure or panic. They'll be the cynical who don't believe in escape and want to live more than they want to see their friends live. They'll be those who panic at the end of each day as the twenty-four hour limit for killing draws closer. After all, better one person dead than all of us, would be their reasoning."

Naomi traced a vague shape that didn't represent anything into the box. She quickly rubbed it out again. Something symbolising a plan was meant to go into that box, but she still didn't have a clue. "Don't be naive, Cammy. It'll get you killed. And the people that rescued the students last time... they don't take players." Naomi remembered that, because it had come up during the news. There'd been this massive debate on whether the mysterious rescuers had been justified in this. "If we kill in self-defence, they'll accept that. If not... they leave you on the island. That's what happened. Anyone who starts killing is murdering themselves by proxy." Her face darkened a little. "And I wouldn't trust anyone who slaughters on the same boat as me. We'll help anyone who's thinking about it to reconsider. But once they kill for no reason they're beyond help. We can't save everyone. And I'm not wasting my time."

Cammy flinched at Naomi's reply. Part of her didn't want to hear it and she was tempted to close her ears and just block out whatever Naomi was going to say. Yet Cammy realized that Naomi was only doing what she thought was right. Cammy may not appreciate it or enjoy it, but she had to begrudgingly admit that Naomi did have a point. This had happened before. People had killed their classmates in the game before. What would make her class different? What would prevent them from killing each other? Cammy didn't have an answer to that.

Her reasoning continued. Each argument made Cammy feel like her heart was being ripped apart. This was so unfair. Why did their class have to be chosen? Listening to Naomi list all of the students who could turn into killers. She thought of the classmates that could resort to killing. Her mind drifted to the fighters in Paulo's backyard. They were nice and sure they had different interests to her, but they were still people she would consider friends.

Cammy continued to listen, trying her best to hold back the tears that were falling down her face. The rescuers wouldn't accept killers. That was what she said. She remembered it clearly herself. When she heard about the rescue attempt, her heart felt warm that the kids had a chance to escape. However, the killers were left to kill. Was it even their fault in the first place? Some people would say it was, but Cammy felt that all of them were victims of circumstance, not murderers. Cammy realized however that Naomi was only trying to protect her. She wanted her to stay safe, but that would mean potentially having to attack her classmates if they attack her. She didn't have to like it, but it was still something she had to do.

"T-thanks Naomi. I-I think I understand. I know I'm not going to like it, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I know you're trying to protect me. I'm so glad I have a friend like you." Cammy said happily, a smile forming on her face as she tried to shake off the tears. She wasn't an idiot. She just hoped that there was a way to save the killers. She had hoped that there would be no killers. However, the truth was that there will be killers. There will always be killers in this game and she needed to accept that, even if the killers are her classmates.

"So, where do we go from here?" Cammy asked her in a reproachful voice. Her face bore a weak smile was she waited for Naomi to come up with something. After all, it seemed like she had a plan. Cammy had faith in her. She couldn't lose that faith. It helped keep her sane.  

Gabriella Parker, who had been listening from the entrance, decided at that point to make her move.

She'd arrived by chance, not long after Cammy herself had arrived. If she'd been a few seconds earlier, she would've even seen Cammy round into the garden, but she still arrived soon enough to hear most of the conversation. What had convinced her to eavesdrop, she wasn't sure. It wasn't something that she usually did.

She had already come to terms with the fact that she had been kidnapped and put in Survival of the Fittest, even though it was all supposed to be over and done with. She hadn't accepted it, nor did she have any plans to, but she wasn't denying it. Davidge's murder wouldn't have been some sick joke, and the video of the girl's smothering each other wasn't fake, not to mention it was too elaborate-

She hadn't come to terms with it immediately.

Eventually, as her breathing had evened and her stomach settled, she'd picked herself up. Her heart was still racing at the time, and it still was, but she'd gathered herself. A part of her hadn't wanted to; instead she'd wanted to just stay down on the ground and perhaps even cry. That wasn't her though. Even when things got their worse, she'd never been one to cry. It wasn't in her nature, and she didn't want to start now. Even as bad as things were, as bad as they could very well become, she wasn't going to start.

So she'd gotten back up off her feet, dusted herself down, and set off. She'd left the meteor hammer she'd been given behind: it was too heavy for her, and what would she do with it anyway? She wouldn't know how to use it even if she wanted to, and all she could think to do with it was maybe strangle someo –

She'd left it behind.

So it was that she chanced upon Naomi and Cammy, and so it was that for whatever reason she hadn't stepped in straight away. She knew Naomi: she was smart, ambitious, a good mix. Too austere for Gabby's tastes, but she was still alright. Cammy wasn't even an acquantince, but from the brief things she'd gathered from her talking to Naomi, she was probably fine too. She wasn't sure what she was worried about, or rather, she didn't want to be sure.

So it was that she finally stepped forward, into plain view. She had no plans for what to say, and her mind remained blank as she faced the girls. All she could utter was a quiet, but steady, "Hey."

"I'm glad I have you as a friend, as well," Naomi said back, smiling at Cammy. The smile was strained, of course, because friendship didn't change the situation at all, but... well, friends were nice. Just as long as they didn't do anything stupid, but at least they were beyond the 'complete naivety' stage. Naomi managed a brief pat on Cammy's shoulder before looking back at her diagram in the sand.

"Just... trying to get my thoughts straight." Naomi traced a circle around the stick figures. "Gather allies first, and then..." Naomi tapped the square. "Well. Escape plan's meant to go there. I'm... not that far ahead. But I'll think of something."

Her brain was ticking as she talked. She didn't know how the students had escaped last time. She'd been more focused on the political side of things, rather than the terrorist act itself. The main things standing in the way were the collars, the terrorists likely surrounding the area, and the fact that no-one knew where they were.

...Hm. Strong issues. Naomi forced down the urge to return to kicking sand and screaming.

A noise came from behind them. Gabriella Parker. Singer. Drama club. Very tall. Nothing dangerous there. Whether she'd be useful was debatable. But nothing that suggested she would play at the flick of a switch.

"Hello," Naomi said back, just as steadily. Her hand instinctively reached out again for her hedge trimmer, touching the handle. "Don't take this personally, but I want to know what your weapon is and if you have any violent intent. Can't be too careful, wouldn't you agree?"

A sound caused Cammy to jump with a start as she quickly turned around to find the source of the noise. Oh, it was Gabriella. She had seen her around school and known her name. However, she never really had a chance to get to know her well. She knew the clubs she was in, the drama club and the chess club. She was another victim though. All of them were.

"Hey Gabby." Cammy replied, giving her a nice smile in an attempt to cool her nerves. Right now she needed to smile. Calm the others down. Someone had to smile in this situation and Cammy was determined to do so. After all, that was what she was known for back in Aurora High. The always happy, smiling girl who cheers other people up. She had that reputation and she had to live up to it. No one else was going to do it, so she might as well.

Naomi then began to talk. She said her greetings, then addressed the issue of weapons. Cammy's eyes opened wide in shock for a moment as she looked from Naomi to Gabby in an attempt to gauge their feelings. She noticed that she didn't seem to be carrying a weapon, or it was still in the duffel bag. Cammy could not be sure. However, by the virtue of not having her weapon out, Cammy assumed she was innocent. After all, if she was going to attack the two of them, she would have taken the weapon out of her bag at the very least.

"N-Naomi!?" Cammy whispered, startled by what she just heard. After that though, she had to repress herself. Naomi did warn her of the dangers of being too naïve. She took a few deep breaths, trying to get over the hurt feeling inside her for the way they were acting towards Gabby. It couldn't be helped though. She had to tell herself this repeatedly. This was Survival of the Fittest and there are killers out there.

"I hate to do this, but we just need to be sure. After all, who knows what could happen?" Cammy called out in an attempt to convey confidence. Her voice did quaver eventually though as she was trying so hard to do the rational thing, even though her emotions were crying out to her to stop. She hated doing this and felt so bad for Gabby. She had to be strong. For Naomi. For everyone.

She hadn't expected such a hostile reaction. Maybe that was foolish of her, given the circumstances, but she gave that no thought. Rather, she chose to script her response. Watching the two with a steely, but askew, glance for the quiet moment it took her to organise her words, she decided how to react to their demand that she surrender any means or motive.

"Fine." She finally settled on, choosing compromise over a needless argument that she had no reason to fight. Her tone was flat, almost robotic, as she answered with carefully controlled words. "They gave me a ball and chain, but I left it behind. I couldn't do anything with it, anyway."  She exhaled, keeping her throat tight as she did so in order to keep it subtle. Her shoulders were tense, but she tried to slack them. She knew that she must have looked as on edge as she felt, and it wasn't a look she liked the idea of.

"And I'm not going to hurt you." She answered. There was a brief rise in volume at the start, as if she was irritated with the implication rather than just trying to sound more natural, but it had trailed off long before the end of the short sentence. Her body remained as tense as before whilst she looked down at the two.

She could feel the hostility in the air, her presence unwanted or at least unwelcome as far as Naomi went. Cammy was just following Naomi so far, and from what she'd heard before she walked in she'd keep doing that all the conversation. In other words, the leader here did not want her there.

That was fair, and maybe she didn't want to be there either. She didn't want to be anywhere near them at that point, in fact, but that wouldn't have worked out. So far, with everything that had happened, staying near people was the only thing she had thought to do. Under better circumstances, though, she would have been leading rather than following. Serving the questions, rather than returning the answers.

Then again, it was easy to switch by just asking a question of her own. She wanted to know the answer, anyway.

"You're planning something, Naomi?"

Well, shit...

B044 - Travis Webster: Start

As he slowly opened his eyes, Travis Webster could not help but smile as he saw the warm, blue sky. When he'd been witnessing the brutal murder of poor Mr. Davidge he had thought he'd never see the sky again. Even as the metal ring pressed against his throat, reminding him of the all but certain death that awaited him... Even as the nearby camera filmed his plight. Even as he heard the sounds of his classmates waking up nearby and screaming... It was good to see the sun again. He just wished he had some weed.

As he lay there, observing the clouds, he thought about what Danya had said. Survival of the Fittest. One person gets out alive. One. Not him and his friends. Not him and Joe. Just one.

He quickly sat up and shook his head. His eyes teared up. FUCK. He would never get to see his family again. No chance to reconcile with his mom. No chance to befriend his brothers again. Why had their class been chosen? Why did he have to die for their pathetic agenda? COULDN'T THEY HAVE PICKED SOMEONE ELSE!?

He felt warm. Flustered. He angrily picked up a small rock and threw it in a random direction. God fucking damn it! This wasn't fair!

Then he stopped. Calmed down. Took a couple of calm breaths. Peered up at the soothing blue sky. Looked around. Had anyone seen him? Heard him? It didn't seem like it. Someone was throwing a fit closeby, but it was none of his concern.

Then he simply laughed to himself. What a fucking joke. That kind of thinking was probably what every other kid had thought when they woke up in a similar situation, even as half the nation had tuned in to watch. Truth be told, they weren't special in any way. This was all just a matter of bad luck. Really really bad luck.

It was no use moping about it. It was time to formulate a plan.

As he saw it, there were two ways to get off the island. By escaping, much like in the previous versions, or by killing each and every classmate on the island. The first option was.... improbable, at best. Like the terrorists had said, they were more prepared than ever. Those paramilitary guys were not. Everyone thought this entire organisation had been stamped out, including himself. Even as he had woken up in the hall, he hadn't connected the dots. This was simply a thing of the past.

So no rescue, huh? That left one option.

Travis shook his head again. It wasn't really an option either. He had read up on this subject before. Hell, you couldn't accurately discuss the political climate of the United States without at least having some knowledge of what had transpired on those islands. The way of the so-called "Player" was... less than appealing. Not so much because of the whole "killing"-aspect, but rather because killing anyone in your path simply made you out as a target. Names and fates like Lombardi and Gabriella came to mind. It simply wasn't smart, and killing indiscriminately would only lead to your own death.

And even if it didn't, and you won...?

Well, he had read all about how Riz had gotten shot by a vigilante a year after he got back. Fuck. So there really wasn't a way to get off this island unscathed, huh?

He sighed. Whatever he chose to do, he would have to try and fly under the radar for a while. Becoming an early target was just... stupid. He'd made enough enemies at Aurora already.

He quickly picked up the bag that had been lying next to him.

"B044, huh?", he mumbled to himself. That was his number. His identity in the eyes of the scum who put him here. He smiled at it. This was how he'd be remembered, huh?

He quickly opened and looked through the pack. A bunch of medical supplies? He got an idea. Perhaps he ought to find Joe. No matter what path he chose to take, and no matter how angry Joe had been at him when they left for Disneyland, it could be good to have a future doctor with him.  Especially one as well-read as Joe! Travis had never been a fan of Mr. Carrasco's hardass attitude, but dear lord, he could have kissed the man if he was in front of him now. Joe would probably be of great help no matter the circumstances! And that way, they could have someone to watch their back as well.

His basic plan was beginning to form.

Stay under the radar for a while. Avoid being mentioned in announcements. Find Joe.

"Now then, let's see what weapon I got..." he said with a bit of glee in his voice. He hoped he got something good. He didn't WANT to use it this early, but if he had to defend himself... well...

As he found his weapon, he sat there quietly for a few seconds, completely flabbergasted. Then he stood up, turned to the camera and began waving his "weapon" around.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? YOU GAVE ME DUCT TAPE!? YOU PIECES OF SHIT!"

This would not do. He needed a new weapon.

He quickly stood up and stretched out his back. Audible cracks were heard. Sleeping on the ground would be a bitch. He quickly picked up his pack and began approaching the place where he'd heard screaming before. The girl who had throwing a fit earlier seemed to have found friends, from what he could hear. Conversation. Two girls. Travis grinned.

He doubted he'd have any trouble gaining the upper hand. He was rather muscular, after all. As long as he caught them unaware, their weapons would probably be nothing to worry about either. He'd go in. Get a weapon. Get out. No need to hurt anyone. That would just make him a target. He needed something to defend himself with, not to make several mortal enemies.

He skulked around the wall, listening in. A third girl had appeared...? Shit, the more people there were, the harder it would be for him to do this cleanly. The area wasn't optimal either. There was only one way he could do it, and that'd be approaching them, gaining their trust, and then exiting the scene before they knew what he had done. Hopefully they were dumb enough to fall for it. Careful not to make even the slightest sound, he was approaching the entrance now, only a few meters away from the new arrival. That's when he heard one of the girls in the garden mention the name "Naomi".

Fuck me. Naomi BELL? She will be a much harder nut to crack. This is less than optimal, but I can't start wandering around without a weapon...

He calmly stood there for a few seconds, waiting. The girl mentioned leaving her weapon close by, but a ball-and-chain seemed... less than optimal. He made note of it, however. He'd go pick it up later.

"You're planning something, Naomi?"

Travis couldn't help himself. He'd probably make the girls jump a bit, but he'd have to approach them one way or another.

With an eerie sense of familiarity, he laughed and said:
"Of course she is. She's Naomi. What else do you expect?"

He slid around the corner as gracefully as he could, observing the girls present. He tilted his head a little and gave them a friendly smile.

Let's get me a weapon, then...

It seemed the people turning up were slowly decreasing in quality. Cammy was good. She could run and they were friendly, plus she had a weapon. Gabriella was more or less a stranger and had been dull enough to leave her weapon behind. A ball-and-chain was a lot better than some other potential weapons. But she was still better than loud, obnoxious, generally drug-addled Travis Webster. The only way it could be worse was if Owen Veveris turned up, but he'd missed the trip. She wasn't sure if she was happy or annoyed about that.

"Yes, thank you for your input, Travis," she said coldly, before clearing her throat. "Well, can't agree with you leaving your ball-and-chain behind, but whatever you think works." Naomi gestured back her sketches in the sand. "I'm just thinking about escape plans.

"Obviously security would have been tightened. But the chances of us all surviving through escape are much greater than surviving through the, shall we say... 'traditional method.'"

She reached over and unzipped her bag, before rifling around for something useful. She'd seen a map in there when she first opened it, so she picked it up and started to unfold it.

"Obviously the plan's still in progress. But it's only been a few minutes." She looked back at Travis. "Weapon? No offence. Safety first."

She hoped he had nothing dangerous. A drug-addled moron with a gun... urgh, that was a disaster waiting to happen.

Cammy let out a sigh of relief at Gabby's words. She wasn't going to attack them. That was good. She didn't have to risk being killed by her. On the flip side though, she had no weapon. Apparently it was some sort of ball and chain. The question of how she would use it was bound to come up if she still had it as she wasn't sure Gabby was able to even use her weapon. However, she didn't have it with her, so that avenue of questioning was gone.

A smile stretched across her face as she realized that she had found another potential ally. Naomi may have rubbed her the wrong way, but she was hoping that she could get over it. She didn't want to alienate people and she could notice that Gabby looked to be a little uncomfortable. In any case, Cammy had the fortitude of looking at the manual that came with the crossbow and loading it up. She remembered how Naomi said that she couldn't be naïve in this game. She had to be prepared for anything.

Like the sudden appearance of Travis. Cammy gave him a hesitant smile and waved as a sign of goodwill. She had heard things about Travis. It was well known that he was a drug addict and a moron. He also was generally a pain in the ass to be around, but as long as he was not going to do something drastic, Cammy was fine with him. She would have to bear with him. After all, it wasn't like he was a murderer.

"She's like this with everyone Travis." Cammy explained in an attempt to make him feel calmer. He might have taken personal offense from Naomi's words. Cammy was starting to get a bit worried about Naomi. She seemed to be affected by the game, more agitated and nervous. This worried Cammy, but she didn't want to talk about it now. Not in front of all these people. It was a topic that was better left for a more private time.

A plan for escape? Cammy knew there had to be a way out. After all, kids managed to escape in the last SOTF. Sure security may have tightened up, but Cammy knew that there had to be a flaw. There always is. Nothing is perfect and this security system is the same. If she and the others committed to it, she was sure that they could find a way off. Help would come and they could be free. That was what she hoped for. She hoped for it so bad. She didn't want to have to kill, but what if she had to? She didn't want to think about it. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that.