Survival Of The Fittest

(Typed this up in a rush yesterday and forgot to post it. Holy Jebus, sorry guys, I know the deadline is soon!)

((Cassidy Kant and Matt Masters continued from I Promise You Forever))

Cassidy stirred. Matt's embrace loosened as he sensed her movement. She smiled and pulled his hand up to her lips. It had been a passionate night of sexual exploration, and the two had finally become one. Sex had never been a part, or much of an idea, of their relationship before. Now as their time together seemed to be tapering off, it had become time.

Cassidy rubbed her eyes as she sat upright, pulling the bottom of Matt's oversized shirt from under her. She turned back to look down at him. He looked peaceful, calm within all of this madness. Thank God for that, she could at least piggy back off of his apparent sanity.

His eyes opened groggily and pushed himself up, moving to sit behind her with his legs to either side. His arms came around her and he kissed her neck. Cassidy blushed, but put her hand on his thigh to ask him to stop. She turned back and gave him a "good morning, lover" peck.

Cassidy pushed herself up and turned around, looking. Her bare legs felt the cool, late morning air. She glanced around, wondering where their third companion had gone, and hoping she hadn't seen or heard any of last night's activities.

"Leona?"

[Travis Webster from An Ironic Choice of Scenery]

Travis Webster was in a poor mood. Except for his chance encounter with Edgar, the entire day had been wasted. He hadn't found anyone that he could steal supplies from, he hadn't found anyone with information about Megan Emerson or Miles Strickland... And he hadn't found Joe. There were often hints of life... shouts from time to time, a gun firing in the distance, a shadow at the very edge of your peripheral vision... But nothing more had happened. Eventually he'd taken refuge by some bushes. When he woke, his body ached from sleeping on the hard, cold ground.

And so, he'd skulked around buildings and roads for a couple of hours already. He hadn't found anyone as of yet.

Eventually, though, he'd reach the next area on the map, a Park of some sort. There HAD to be people there, right?

((Leona Van Kamp Continued from We'll Never Fall, We'll Never Fade ))

Leona, not being one much for intervening where she wasn't wanted, had camped herself a few feet away from the other two when she was sure they had finished their....festivities.  She had taken her coat off and was huddled under it like a blanket.  When her name was called, she stirred and rose, pulling it back around her.

"Yes?  I'm here."  She said.  She kept her eyes averted from where her companions were.  "Are you decent?"

Cassidy's mouth clapped shut. It seemed Leona was up to speed with everything. That was beyond uncomfortable. Sure, no girl pictured her first time on the middle of an island full of teenage murderers, but no girl wanted her first time to be walked in on. Cassidy's face went red and her tongue fumbled as she searched for a socially graceful way to answer the question. She looked down to see Matt's giant shirt and her bare legs. Crap. She wasn't decent.

"Uhh..."

Matt groggily rolled over, rejecting the morning's invitation. Cassidy smiled as her gentle giant turned away like a big sleepy kid. Even here on the island, and after finally sealing the deal, he was unchanged. The cross tattoo on his back looked manlier than ever now. Thank God she had him around in the midst of all of this.

"One second!"

She walked over to her bag and pulled out a pair of red denim shorts. They didn't exactly match the shirt, but she was in a hurry. She stepped into them quickly, pulling them up and buttoning them in a quick gesture. Matt was still in his boxers, she unzipped his bag to throw some gym shorts at him. She heard the groan as they landed on his face.

Pulling the hair-tie off off her wrist, she flipped her disheveled hair up into a pony tail. It felt too loose. She let it back down, shook it out, and tried again. Before she could turn around, Matt's long, strong arms were around her again. He kissed her on the shoulder and moved up towards her neck. She giggled and pushed his face away before turning around to complete the embrace. One long, deep kiss was followed by several short ones. Intimacy could wait. They had a third wheel and an island full of armed and dangerous classmates to deal with.

Matt rubbed the small of her back, and she felt her hand slide down to his waist. He had the gym shorts on.

Crap again.

"Yeah! We're good, hehe!" They were both blushing now. Hopefully the conversation wouldn't dwell on their escapades.

He finally heard voices. Not just voices in the distance like yesterday, no... This time it was actual people nearby.

He skulked around the park, looking for the source of the noices. Finally, he reached some bushes close to the gazebo. He quickly put down his backpacks on the ground and tried to get a better look.

As far as he could see, there were three people there. Two girls, and one boy. If you could call Matt Masters a boy. The guy was a mountain. Big, tall and unmovable. Typical. Without a gun, there was no way Travis would attack them head on. But with some stealth and some luck, he might be able to snag another backpack. And that was worth it in his book. Worst case scenario, he would just run away.

He put his hand in his pocket. He still had the ballpoint pen if he got really desperate, but hopefully it wasn't necessary. He'd prefer this to be a quick operation, in and out.

With a grin on his face, Travis Webster was now slowly moving around the vegetation to reach the Gazebo. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

The conversation was certain to dwell.  Because Leona, almost as much as she loved magic, enjoyed mischief.

"So..."  She said, moving closer to the gazebo, gaze no longer averted now that she was sure the pair had something resembling clothes on.  "Any good?"

She came to a rest against the fence making up the walls of structure.

"You guys were gone for awhile, is all."  The grin lighting up her face was almost sharklike.

Two faces turned beat red. Matt scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. The embarrassed Cassidy pulled away from the embrace. As much as she wanted to go back for another helping, it was time to regroup. She moved away from the gazebo, skipping down the steps. Even if Leona and all of America's viewers knew her business, it didn't mean she wanted to talk out all the details with her outdoor voice.

There was a brief awkward silence before she felt herself mirroring Leona's expression. She liked this girl. Even in the midst of a fight to the death and being left alone so that her allies could sneak off to do the nasty, she was finding reasons to smile. It wasn't even as awkward as she had thought it would be. Hell, it might actually be nice having a gal pal around. A slight laugh came out before her answer. "Definitely not bad."

Matt laughed and looked away humbly. He put his hand on the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Just, uh, did what came naturally..."

He clapped his mouth shut. Leona was probably just teasing, nobody was looking for a play-by-play. It was time for a change in topic before this got too uncomfortable.

"Cass, can you grab a few waters?"

She gave a slight nod and changed directions. The waters were buried in bag, and one of the loaves was looking a little smushed. She unscrewed the cap of one, hearing the clicks of the plastic seal breaking. Before she could bring them back to her friends, or even take a sip, a dirty hand clapped itself over her mouth.

He'd been watching the three of them for a while now. Any doubts or moral issues he would've had for stealing these peoples supplies were long since buried. No, ever since he found his position in the bushes, all he'd done had been preparing to strike, and waiting for the most opportune moment to do so. He could get in and out in thirty seconds, grab a backpack, and it'd be enough.

Once the group had begun splitting up, he moved across the uncut lawn towards the bags.

However, things didn't go exactly according to plan. Once Cass had changed directions towards the water, he realized there was no way for him to avoid detection. Now, all he could do was damage control. He quietly dove down, hoping she missed him. As it turns out, he'd done so just in time. And so, once Cass bent down to pick up the waterbottle, he quickly skulked up behind her. With one hand over her throat, and one over her mouth, he quietly hissed the words:

"Be quiet and don't make a fucking move..."

He could still keep control over the situation! As long as that ogre up at the Gazebo didn't notice, he'd be fine...

Moments passed.  Then minutes.  Seemed like an awful long time to grab some water.  Leona craned her neck around to where Cass had gone, but the girl was hidden by the structure.

"Cass.  You get loss looking for the bag, girl?"  She said, her tone light and teasing.  Even so, something felt off.

Leona looked to Matt, tilted her head quizzically in Cass's direction, her intent evident in the gesture.

((If you guys want to burn this death out, go ahead and skip me when it's my turn and I'll catch up)).

((subject to edits ))

This was it. She'd gone days without having run into anybody trying to kill her. She'd survived an encounter with Theo, who had been surprisingly docile. She'd been threatened with a giant, circular saw, cutty-spinny-doom-trap thing, but now somebody was actually showing aggression. You didn't grab somebody's throat and cover their mouths with benevolent intentions.

"Be quiet and don't make a fucking move..."

You don't threaten somebody with benevolent intentions. The fingers on her neck tightened menacingly, the boy's voice was serious as ever. Her heart pounded, she could feel her own pulse against Travis's hand. She tried to scream, but the hand over her mouth muffled all attempts while the other choked out her voice. She tried to throw her weight around, but she was held fast.

She started to feel dizzy, the side of the gazebo started to spin. Her shirt was splashed with water from the bottle she'd retrieved. It was still about half full. Cassidy held her breath and flung it by it's cap towards the wood.

Thunk.

Now she was in trouble. She hadn't heeded the warning, and she'd made "a fucking move." There was no way this guy was going to just let that go, Cassidy needed to get away now. She followed up her throw with an elbow from the opposite arm. She twisted and brought back her other elbow. She managed to get a gasp of air before falling to the ground. She got to her knees, then into a sprinter's position. But before she could take off back to her friends, she was caught again.

The girl thrashed and struggled, her screams muffled by a grip made of iron. Travis Webster was starting to get angry. This fucking bitch, why couldn't she just do what he said!? She ought to know that there was no point in struggling against her much stronger assailant, but he supposed that she was desperate. He gripped harder, trying to make her pass out, like one of those stupid games he'd played in middle school. It wasn't much different, was it? Soon he began feeling her resistance weakening. He smiled. He'd be okay. He'd get away, maybe not just with one bag, but all of the-...

Thunk.

God fucking damnit! With her last strength, she'd flung her goddamn bottle into the fucking gazebo! The others would know! His grip tightened even further. Why couldn't she just stay quiet and go to sleep for a little while!? Now she had made everything so much more difficult!

That was when her elbow hit him in his ribs. With a groan, he let go of her. He stumbled back a few steps. He hadn't been prepared for that, and now he couldn't breathe properly. He heard her gasping on the ground. His eyes shot up. She was about to try and run away.

No fucking way, bitch.

He tackled her just as she was about to take off, sitting down ontop of her, gripping at her throat. His previous anger and annoyance had transformed into full unadulterated rage. He ignored the voice of another girl coming from the other side.

Why couldn't she just do as I said!? GAH! Fuck the others and fuck the bags!

She was going to stay still and be quiet, even if he had to choke the life out of her!

The water bottle bounced off the railing, spilling water down the wood in long, dark rivulets before falling and coming to a rest in the grass.  It had the desired effect.  Attention had been garnered.

Leona looked up with alarm, saw, an elbow, a leg, through the latticed railing of the gazebo.

"What?"  Was all she could manage.  She looked to Matt, who she expected would be the one making the action.  Her hand sought her pocket, to pull forth the coins, but she halted its descent.  There would be plenty of time to indulge her nervous tic after.

After what?  Jesus?

She moved closer to the gazebo, but again, what was she going to do?  She got a cheap carnival prize as her deathday present.  

For the first time Leona wished Matt wasn't so scared of guns he let one get stolen out from under them.

The weight of Travis on her back seemed to be getting heavier. The grip on her neck was definitely getting tighter, and her energy seemed to be failing her.

She was stupid for leaving Matt, even for a second. Her scream rose as a choked gurgle, she didn't even know who was killing her. This wasn't right, this wasn't the way she was supposed to go. Everything was looking brighter and darker at the same time, everything was blurring out, fading to back. Her chest felt like it was on fire, and she was only getting weaker. Her struggling slowed...

Matt looked around.  He could have sworn that he heard a rustling sound coming from somewhere.  He saw Leona looking at something with a clearly distressed expression on her face.  He wandered over to he to see what she was looking at.  When he saw it, his jaw immediately dropped.

It looked like someone was being attacked.  And from what he could tell, it looked like it was... Cassidy?

Once it got into his head that Cassidy was in danger, he immediately switched gears.  He began running as fast as his legs would take him over to where the trouble was.  He saw Cassidy being restrained by a dark-haired kid.  Matt identified him as Travis, the British stoner kid.  Matt hadn't really pegged him for a killer, but it looked like he was willing to go for it.

"HEY!"  Matt shouted as he charged at the stoner that held his girlfriend hostage.  He didn't want to hurt anybody, but if Travis wasn't going to go away peacefully, Matt knew that he would have to get physical.

Travis heard the shout, but it didn't matter. He was too focused, too angry, and too scared that anyone else might notice him. His fingers tightened around the girl's throat even further.

Suddenly he felt all 230 pounds that was Matt Masters descending on him. Before he knew what was what he had been thrown off the girl and was soaring through the air.

What?

He landed hard on the grass, and before he could recover from it he had a thick muscled arm around his own throat. How ironic. Just a second ago he'd been choking a girl out, and now suddenly, here he was. Karmic justice if he'd ever heard of it. He tried tearing into the arm, he tried kicking, he tried to get loose, but there was no way. Matt Masters was a wrestler, and many times heavier and stronger than Travis.

Was this how the tale of Travis Webster's time on this island would end? Before it had even properly began?