Survival Of The Fittest

((Cho continued from Grey Skies, Grey Ground))

Cho disliked walking at the best of times. Walking whilst carrying a large pack and a major league shield sucked even worse. She found herself having to pause to shift the weight one side or the other, exchange the shield between hands over and over again. Just as she felt like she was getting used to the thing, all of a sudden, the fatigue would kick back in and at that point, Cho was just considering dumping it. Like that'd be much good in a fight, anyway. Like she'd be much good in a fight.

Another part of her, though, just plain hated the idea of up and abandoning it. Maybe it was just pure stubbornness. She'd hauled the damn thing that far, why give up now?

Urgh. Doing something just cause you're too obstinate to admit defeat.

She'd arrived at a place that, upon inspection of her map, appeared to be some form of aviary. No birds that she could see though. That made Sunny sad, for some reason, even though it wasn't as if birds were her favourite animals. The place being empty just felt like another kind of graveyard.

Making her way inwards, Cho had found the garden. Swanky. Five star rated accommodation, clearly. However, at that point Cho was just so damn tired and so damn weary that she threw in the towel. It was getting dark out and the nearest buildings seemed a trek away. It was sheltered, at least.

Crawling underneath a bench, Cho propped the shield up as a makeshift canopy, and tried, as best she could, to sleep in a bed made of two t-shirts, with a jacket for a pillow.

--

Sleep was fitful, coming in short, inconsistent bursts. Just when Cho thought she was about to drop off, she heard something at the edge of her awareness and was jolted back awake. Was someone there? Another Stacy, less nervous and more killtacular? Each time, it turned out to be nothing. Each time, it didn't leave her nerves any less shredded.

When eventually the announcement came, speakers crackling from seemingly everywhere, a slumbering Cho had just barely had the chance to grab some decent shut eye, and again, she was ripped from it.

After that voice died down, the next pair of eyes to enter the area would simply find Cho seated on the bench, hugging her knees to her chest and staring off into space.

((Paris Ardennes continued from The Doll's House))

It was morning. He'd made it to morning somehow without further incident. He'd almost preferred if someone would have come up to him while he was alone. Without anyone else around he was alone with his thoughts. All he could do was replay his first 10 minutes on the island over and over again.

He saw Iselle kill Sven thousands of times. The announcements woke him up and he had to be reminded of it again. Paris gathered up his bag, bursting at the seems with both his and Sven's supplies, and set off hoping to find someone. He didn't like being alone.

He knew what had happened, but the announcement wasn't a reminder that he wanted to have. He started sobbing again, openly and loudly. The way you'd cry if you wanted someone to come up to you and ask you what's wrong. His eyes were red, but the irises became a particularly bright shade of green when he was crying.

Paris trudged past a place called the aviary. Inside were huge bird cages. His hand trailed across the dirty bars and he was placated for a moment. He liked bird cages. He walked into the zen garden and noticed something out of place. There was a riot shield leaned up against a stone bench. He looked around cautiously. No one.

He walked quietly, holding his breath and stepping heel to toe. Paris pulled back the riot shield and saw Cho. He pushed his hair back away from his face and quickly wiped his eyes.

"Good morning," he said quietly.

The words from the PA turned over and over in Cho's heads, sweeping back and forth, back and forth, until they all just became completely meaningless. She felt numb, like she'd been dumped into a bath filled with ice water, had her dunked beneath the surface. A night on this island and already things were- so little time and people had - everything had just gone wrong so quickly, so -

It wasn't until a hand moved aside her makeshift canopy that Cho blinked and snapped back into apparent life. The only thing preventing an immediate heart attack and/or nervous breakdown was that the face that this revealed was a somewhat familiar one. Paris. Cho knew Paris. They'd crossed paths in the music room at school a couple times, and once, had actually jammed for a bit together. He'd seemed nice, and was a good guitarist, which always got praise where it was due from her.

So she tried a smile. It didn't work.

She tried to answer and found that her voice was gone.

Cleared her throat.

Paris had been crying, she could see that easily enough. The red eyed look was distinctive. He'd probably lost someone, too, or hell, had maybe just been breaking down at the shittiness of it all. Sunny wasn't sure why she hadn't cried yet.

"Hey, uh. Morning Paris. How about that there... weather?"

Paris gave a terse laugh. He sighed and looked down before looking back up again.

"It's....wonderful. The weather has been wonderful."

His fingers tapped, faling one after another against the riot shield. Tap tap tap tap.

She was a girl who was good on the guitar. He had to respect that and he did. She was nice, but otherwise he didn't know very much about her. She looked small and scared hiding behind the shield.

He took a seat next to her on the ground, swooping in one fluid motion into a cross-legged position.

"Everything else hasn't been so great," he said, hand cupping each other as he looked down. "Iselle killed Sven. She killed my best friend right in front of me and there wasn't anything I could do to help him. I've known him since we were just little kids. I can't accept that someone who's been around for so long is just gone like that. Then again, this whole place is so different I can hardly even process it as being real, as happening to me."

He looked back to Cho, eyes big and concerned. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling and I'm sure this hasn't been the easiest thing for you either."

He sat with his knees up now, resting his elbows on them. He reached on and gently touched her shoulder as he inspected her.

"You don't look hurt. That's good and it's lucky. I can't believe what's already happened. It's just completely, like, just like this place I can't process it."


Sorry.

Sunny didn't really know why Paris was sitting down next to her, just that she appreciated it. A lot, actually. Would've been easy to see a motionless girl and just walk on by, or, or... do what Theo had done. Having company was good. Didn't make her feel better, or anything hurt any less. Distractions, though, they were good.

Paris spoke, and Cho glanced sidelong at him and said nothing, listened. Let him speak his piece. Tears welled up and then died back down again. It was hard to describe how she was feeling. Hot and cold, in agony and in just numb deadness. More of the deadness than the pain, like someone had reached inside of her and sucked out every emotion, leaving her lifeless, soulless. His story mirrored her own. Slight differences, she hadn't seen Gabby- there were slight differences, but it was the same story, just about.

He touched her shoulder and there was a perceptible shiver.

"I uh... understand," Cho glanced up at him, trying to turn it over in her head. She didn't want to say this out loud but he'd shared and she felt she should, too. "My friend, Gabby she... I don't know if you ever saw but we had this duo... she sang and I played guitar and I guess it's, I mean," she clenched a fist, shook her head. "Rambling. Sorry. Theo, the guy on there twice, he... y'know."

She still couldn't say it. Fuck. Sunny shivered again, moved a little closer to Paris, had to stop herself from just clinging to him like a lost child. "This island sucks so hard it should be standing on a street corner."

"Hey, sure. I know- um, knew her. I'm really sorry, Cho. I remember hearing about Theo. He....he's really gone off the deep end I guess. That's really awful."

He reached up to her face and wiped away a few of the tears, passing his thumb across her cheek. He smiled up at her.

"It's alright to cry. Crying help release stress."

He laughed shortly at her assessment and shrugged.

"If it were a person I'd say that was a bit unkind. But it isn't and frankly it's true. This place isn't really any one's idea of a vacation, not these days anyway."

He closed the space between them and gave her a hug. His fingers gripped her and he let his head rest on her shoulder. He released her and then went to his bag. He produced a pistol.

"You're a nice girl and I don't think this riot shield is all that good for protection."

He held onto the barrel and held the gun out to Cho, with the handle nearest to her.

"I took the bullets out so I wouldn't accidentally hurt someone, but you can scare someone off with it. It'll certainly make anyone think twice. Please accept it."

Cho was crying and smiling at the same time. It was insane - this whole thing was insane. Here they were trying to put into words the fact that someone had gone, as an idol across the pond might put it - stark raving bonkers. And murdered her best friend. Couldn't forget about that wonderful detail.

Paris's hand was touching her face gently, warm to the touch. Unobtrusive and comforting, at least a little bit. It was... good of him to be trying to lend a hand when he had to be torn up just as badly on the inside. Sunny couldn't imagine how he-

Well.

Yes she could.

And if he was feeling just as broken and hurt and ripped apart as she was, she was amazed he could muster the strength to try and help someone else out in any way. She could barely bring herself to talk, let alone reassure.

He hugged her. Cho hugged back. She felt it then. That slight tremor that was saying to her that Paris was having trouble too, that he was 'holding it together' more than anything else, just like her. It made her feel less weak, but so did the hug, and hugs were nicer than sniping at other people. No point trying to bring everyone else down to your own misery level.

Paris moved around, produced somethin-Cho stared. Swallowed. Oh. That was a gun. That was most certainly a gun and... he wanted her to have it? Sunny blinked and took the grip, hand dropping a little when Paris let go. It was heavy, heavier than she thought it would be.

Did Gabriella have a gun? Would she have scared Theo off if she'd been armed?

Cho nodded. "I... all right. Okay. Okay. Armed but not dangerous, I see your point," she glanced to the side, a little shy, perhaps. "I'm guessing you're planning on sticking around- I mean, not that I wouldn't want you to. Just y'know. Checking. I'm not exactly miss universe."

"There's that smile. Still crying so that's no good, but you're halfway there."

His stomach twisted a bit when she accepted the gun. It didn't show, he shrugged cheerfully.

She was hesitant and she was scared and unsure. His trust was shaken and he wouldn't trust any of them. Not after what had happened. He had hope, but then Sven was struck down. Now he had a new sort of hope. It took awhile for him to reason this through. Why had Sven been taken from him? Why was he on this horrible island under such conditions? It had taken awhile, hours of solitary reflection with only the memories of his dead friend to keep him company, but he got it.

It was a painful realization, but it was also one that gave him a grim sort of hope. And he was sorry because she seemed nice and she was a good guitar player. It was a waste and a shame, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made in the grand scheme of things. Big picture thinking.

She accepted the weapon and asked if he would stay. Paris nodded deeply. He took her hand in his and placed his other on top of hers so that she was between his palms.

"It wouldn't be very chivalrous for me to just say some nice things and then leave you. I'll stay by your side for as long as you'd like me to."

He hands pressed firmly against hers and he smiled his sharp smile.

"Are you hungry?"

The hand holding the gun trembled a little. Cho didn't look at it, and hoped that Paris wouldn't look that way either. He was trusting her, putting a lot of trust in her, even without the thing loaded, he was looking at her and saying 'I think I can rely on you to ward people off'.

Big responsibility. Sunny knew that she could talk, keep things rolling, smooth over problems... yeah, but that was high school stuff. Not... this type of stuff.

Don't call it 'stuff'. Killing. Death. Murdering. What happened to Gabriella - what was done to Gabriella wasn't 'stuff'. Theo had killed her. Cho didn't know why. She wasn't really sure if she even cared why. Her best friend was dead. And now someone else was telling her that it was okay, he was, well, there for her. Even with everything that was going on, and the fact that Cho only knew Paris a little, that meant something. A lot, actually.

Cho squeezed the hand atop of hers, managed that smile again, even if it were obvious enough that she was forcing it. He deserved the effort for actually bothering with her, though.

"A little. I guess. I haven't really thought about eating so much."

"See, you're getting more cheerful every uneasy minute."

He stood and dusted his pants off. Paris stretched his hands above his head. He picked up his bag and the rifle. He unzipped the bag, gently put the rifle inside and removed a food bar.

"I don't want to have to use it," he said quietly.

He reached down and put his hands around Cho's waist, lifting her up off the ground into a standing position like some sort of ballet lift.

"Good as new," he said as he turned back to zip his bag up.

"Maybe we should head towards something that's a bit more like a building. We're rather exposed out here, don't you think?"

Paris picked up the riot shield. "It's not terribly heavy, but imagine it's annoying to haul around and would start to get heavy over time."

He slung the bag over his shoulder and hooked his left arm into the shield.

"Come on. Let's find somewhere safer." He made a sweeping motion with his right arm towards the exit.

"Ladies first."

((Paris Ardennes and Cho Lee continued in The Farmer and the Viper))