Survival Of The Fittest

((Theodore Fletcher's story continues from The Genesis))

Theo eventually made his way to the Zen garden, following the map. He had picked a spot basically at random, that was within walking distance and would probably be less crowded. After all, who would look for violence in a Zen garden of all places?

Theo found a nice, clean bench, and sat down. He set his bag besides him, and quickly dug through it to find his handgun. Theo clumsily played around  with it for a bit, trying to figure out how to get the magazine out. Eventually, he pulled it out, and shook it. There appeared to be bullets remaining, and he recalled from the handbook on it that it had a 13 round capacity.

Theo sighed, and shook his head as he reloaded the gun. He really needed to figure out a plan. First off, he needed to decide if he was still going to kill people. Well logically no. He had a target on his back now; top killer on the island and all. So what could he really do? He could stop killing now, hope his reputation kept people away long enough to make it to the end, and try and win, right? That wasn't how the island worked; people would hunt him to kill him in vengeance or whatever.

He could kill other killers, call himself a vigilante who got unlucky a couple times, and maybe earn some respect? Theo doubted he could lie well enough to pretend he hadn't ruthlessly murdered two people

oh he probably should drink some water. He felt nauseous.

Theo could keep killing, bleed his way through the competition, and make it to the end top killer. A terrible plan, for sure, since it would be both dangerous and probably harmful to his already damaged psyche.

Theo needed some time to think. So he sipped his bottle of water, and he thought.

((Cassidy Kant continued from We've All Been Sorry, We've all Been Hurt))


She dragged her feet as the announcement seemed to drone on. How many deaths could have possibly happened already? Eight, apparently. After the eighth round of data, the man had stopped listing them. Eight students. No particularly close friends, but Daniel had always been kind, and he loved books too. It was a real tragedy, all of it. All of the- The opinion didn't actually need much justification. Eight kids were dead, five kids were named killers.

Her name was off the list. A not guilty verdict by the announcers standards, despite how scummy he must have been to be so cheery, was actually comforting. He said there had been tapes that they'd reviewed several times, and if they claimed it seemed to be accidental, then hopefully everybody could see that.

But, Katarina. Theo. Iselle. Hansel. Joe? All apparently were killers? There couldn't have been a mistake. She'd accidently killed, and been omitted from the announcements. These were legitimate. And David's suicide... That was a scary thought. Being held at gun point and shot was one thing, but having convinced yourself that death was the best option... That was some seriously dark shit.

Her reflection on the announcement caused her to forget herself in the physical realm, and her footsteps became louder as she entered the tranquil garden. David's sabre was in one hand, the other gripped the strap of her bag. She wasn't alone. She wasn't safe. That wasn't Matt. That wasn't somebody she could trust.

Standing clearly in plain view, it wasn't somebody she could hide from either. Theo had killed twice already, right? Maybe he'd gotten it all out of his system? Cassidy's fingers twitched around the hilt of the sword, but she lowered it, letting her arm relax at her side. Theo's gun was on his lap, holding up a sword was challenging a marked killer with a superior weapon.

Thinking quickly, she turned the thin, wirelike blade to the side. Maybe he could see some of the blood on the end of it.

"You aren't alone."

Interesting opening, but she probably had his attention.

"I killed too. They just thought it was an accident..."

Hopefully she could reach a camera later and explain that she was just lying.

"I convinced David to let me see his sword, swung at him, and chased him into a room in the hotel."

Now she was blatantly lying, the people watching would realize this was just for show.

"I cornered him on the balcony, and he fell trying to run away."

Just crazy enough to sound plausible? What reason did he have to believe she was lying? There was blood on her shoes. Maybe that could account for something.

"Apparently if you don't land the killing blow, they don't mention you."

The announcement had mentioned a trip, how closely had Theo listened? Probably closely, he'd killed twice, he needed to know what was being said. He would have needed to know if there was competition, and he was probably going to go after the girl that had won the prize over him.

Her hand holding the bag was trembling, she clenched it into a fist to try to hide her angst.

"I just... Can't believe I killed somebody..." She was sounding more genuine now that her words carried more truth.

"I don't want to win... I just needed more time... How are you holding up?"

He couldn't have been doing great, but she didn't actually care just yet. Matt was alive, and Theo was a killer. Her time was limited, and if this heavy situation went south, it might even be over. She tried to look comfortable. She tried to look calm. She held her breath waiting for a response, or for movement. Her eyes darted around for places she could quickly jump behind should the situation demand it. Her knees were slightly bent. Her eyes were on his hands. Her ear's ready to process anything he might say, but she couldn't grant him eye contact.

Theo had seen the girl as she came in. Cassidy Kant. A relatively nice girl, a cheerleader he thought, but not someone he knew very well. As she came in, Theo's first reaction was to put his hand on his weapon, just in case, but he didn't even have the safety off. He was kind of sick of the sound of gunfire, to be honest.

"What do you-" He started to ask, but then she spoke. She told him how she'd attacked David, and he'd fallen from the balcony to his death apparently. David Zimmer, presumably, since the announcements described his death as by a fall. And yet, if he remembered the announcements, hadn't a trip been mentioned? That sounded like it was an accident, not a murder attempt.

Why'd she lie? To make herself sound more dangerous? Theo saw that sword, he could probably shoot her if he wanted to, but the thing was...he really didn't. He really really didn't want to shoot Cassidy, or anyone for that matter. He was ashamed now, he'd probably be guilty for the rest of his short life that he'd killed Gabby and Dan because he'd thought that he was already a killer.

But he wasn't.

So now he wasn't about to kill anyone, at least not out of a desire to "play" or some bullshit.

So Cassidy's words made him feel like, if she was actually telling the truth, she was far more likely to attack than he was, because he really had no fucking interest in murdering another person.

"I feel like shit right now." Theo looked over at her, then sighed and stared at the ground. "I thought...I killed Gabby because I thought I'd killed Hansel Williams, know the guy? We'd met up and I accidentally shot at him but he didn't die. I thought he did, though, so I thought that there was no point in not playing, you know? So I killed Gabby, and Dan approached me later and I killed him, too.

"And it sucks and I feel like a monster but there's nothing I can do.

"So how're you doing?"

Crazy. His rationale was crazy. His tone sounded down to Earth, and maybe even sad, but the words made no sense. He thought he killed somebody, so he went ahead and actually killed two people? He couldn't have just checked to see if he actually killed somebody? And Hansel Williams, another killer? How the hell was Theo so calm, talking about the people he had just killed, intentionally?

Cassidy's feelings of fear were joined by those of confusion and hesitant curiosity. He said he felt like shit. He said he felt like a monster. Was the fucking all he had to say about his double murder rampage? What the hell had happened all of a sudden to inspire this guilt? Had the announcements calling out his name scared him out of his big-bad-villain persona? Had one of the other victim's been a close friend? What, all of a sudden, could have made somebody kill, AND THEN KILL AGAIN, regretful?

Hansel wasn't dead. Theo's reason for playing had been unearthed as imaginary. His justification, though lame, no longer existed. He'd been too scared to see if he'd actually killed Hansel. Had he been too scared because he was afraid of the guilt, or because if Hansel wasn't dead he would have no motivation to "keep" killing. Convincing himself that killing was his only option made him the game's ideal killer.

"I'm... also regretful... I'm glad I have more time to find the people I love... and..." What? Say good bye? Die at their side, bleeding out painfully together?

"I-I've been looking for Matt for awhile..." Wrap it up, girl. Even if he's regretful now, Mr. Hyde is going to reemerge any second.

"I don't want to win this game, I just want to... go out..." She struggled for words. She didn't even know what was true to her anymore, she just knew she needed to say something that she could even believe. Deciding what the hell she actually could wait until she was out of this sicko's company. "I just wasn't ready to die. I'm not now either, but I might be soon."

There, that was fine. Ambiguity was her friend. "Anyway, we are on a bit of a time crunch, and I really need to be finding someone..."

Theo listened to Cassidy, and he wondered if she was scared of him. She sounded really nervous, and she kept stuttering. Theo wondered if she thought he was going to murder her. That might be why. Yeah.

Theo didn't really want to kill her, though. There just...was no point. What would result from murdering her? She'd be dead, her friends (including "Matt, whoever that was) would be after her, people would hate him, and he'd have more blood on his hands.

What a waste that'd be.

"Kay. Later"

Theo wasn't sure what else to say.

Later? That was how the number one killer on the island was going to end this confrontation? After murdering Dan Liu and Gabby Parker, that was his sendoff? He was going to play big shot murderer on the first day, and now he was going to revert to a shy, sad victim? Whatever pity Cassidy might have had for the kid was diminishing. You didn't get to murder and then feel bad for yourself. No how much it might "suck" to feel guilty, Theo had caused two families to lose children. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, innumerable people were just devastated by his actions, no, his decisions, and he was going to sit there and wallow because he "felt like shit."

"Bye." She started to turn away, but now she, despite her disgust, started to feel pity for the kid. She stopped and turned back.

"I killed David, but it wasn't on purpose... I still feel fucking terrible about it, but I am doing what I can to make sure his life wasn't a waste."

Her voice grew stronger as she spoke. Honesty was fueling her confidence, as was the fact that she knew she was doing the right thing now. Theo's actions were irreversible, but if he truly regretted it, he would find a way to apologize.

"You can't go back, but if you really regret killing them, you'll find a way to try and make it up to the families." Whether that meant burying the bodies, speaking on behalf of the deceased, or apologizing in front of a camera before blowing his brains out was up to him. Whether or not he actually wanted to try was also his call. Cassidy had her own business to attend to.

Not shooting Cassidy on sight had been a good start for Theo's potential change of heart. Letting her walk away would be a bigger step towards rehabilitation, if such thing was possible.

"Sorry for lying, but... I was scared." They were all fucking scared, Theo could probably relate. "Thanks for... erm... not..... thanks..."

She turned back, holding her breath as she waited for the sound of gunfire and the sharp impact to bite her between the shoulders. A steady job broke out, she didn't know where the hell she was going, but getting out of the garden would be enough for now. Her running might offend Theo in his delicate state, but the importance of her safety trumped that of his feelings. She ran faster, vaulting from one leg to the next. Holding the sword far from her body as though it were a pair of scissors.

((Cassidy Kant continued in Am I Still Your Charm?))

As Cassidy ran off, Theo decided she was most certainly terrified of him. It was an odd feeling, that someone was terrified of him, like having far too much power for his own good. He'd successfully scared someone away with his reputation alone.

It sucked.

Cassidy also seemed to think he could make it up to the families. Theo thought that was kind of funny. A murderer, making it up to his victim's families? The only thing they'd want was to see him die, and he had that in the bag already. He was going to die pretty much regardless of the circumstances, barring a shocking win.

Theo didn't know if he deserved to win. Sure, he certainly wanted to, but how could he? The idea was almost surreal, almost wrong; he was certainly not worthy of victory. Plus, he'd probably not have much life once he'd gotten out. He'd need therapy, for one, and he'd always be stuck with the killer title over his head.

Theo wanted to pretend Cassidy had given him a lot to think about, made him a better man or something. But really, all that chance meeting did was make Theo feel like was that nothing had changed other than confirming his previous theory, which was not a good thing.

Theo packed up again and left with a heavier heart than when he'd entered.

((Theodore Fletcher's story continues elsewhere))