Survival Of The Fittest

((Faith C. Marshal-Mackenzie continued from Ghosts Of Missisippi))

Faith's left hand took a firm grip around the now slightly sticky, rubberised handle of the pistol she'd been granted, wishing she had a holster to safely store the thing in as her right hand wiped some of the sweat slicked hair that had dangled across her face back. It wasn't that hot compared to Tennessee, but she'd had to have been walking a couple of hours now. She'd heard what she thought was a muffled gunshot earlier, but other than that, her only company had been the animals of the island that had shied away into the undergrowth as her trekking disturbed them.

The thick wilderness hadn't quite thinned out as much as she'd thought either, the green mass still choking off her vision and movement, forcing her to stick to the decrepit remains of paths that led to houses which were in the process of being swallowed into that growth. She hadn't been able to stop herself admiring the first building she'd come across, with a rotted tree trunk bisecting it, and vines and bushes sprouting from the wound in the structure that it had left.

She was trying to figure out in the back of her mind just how an island had been left for this to happen as she stepped through onto the slightly firmer, paved path that formed a circle, around which all the other houses were connected to. There was a cluster of thick growth in the centre that looked like it had once been a carefully manicured garden, and now was host to an array of thorns and flowers, as the various species fought for dominance in a colourful display.

What grabbed her attention though, was something different, something that made her mouth dry.

She managed not to fall to her immediate impulse and raise her weapon. She didn't want to point at anything she didn't intend to shoot. She swallowed a little, as the two of them made eye contact with one another.

"Hey."

She dipped her head slightly, a nod of acknowledgement.

"Sierra."

((Sierra Cook continued from LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOYZ WHERE WE DROPPIN’))

Sierra had been carefully to keep an eye on her surroundings ever since she had departed from the western side of the village with Willow in toe. Even with another person alongside her she couldn't really afford to let her guard down in this place, it was why she still had her stun gun out, idly rubbing her thumb over the button. She didn't really even trust Willow all that much, keeping the other girl in a position where she could keep an eye on her in case she were to try something. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she wouldn't get very far if she trusted in the benevolence of strangers in a death game.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and squinted her eyes to try and keep some of the sun from blocking her vision. It was quite hot, maybe not as hot as her home state in the summer but still hot enough to make her miss the luxury of her air conditioned hotel room. Since they left the western side of the village, Sierra had taken the time to tie her jacket around her waist and braid her hair while still being on the move. She had considered simply stopping and doing those things, but the idea of standing still too long in any location on this island made her feel uneasy.

Of course, her continued journey into the village didn't help with her general feeling of unease.

There was just something that felt off about going from the largely intact western end of the village to the plant overgrown eastern end. It was like watching time taking its toll in a time lapse as she went from the creepily intact western housing with its houses looking like someone was just living in them not moments ago, to the eastern half with its houses that had been battered by storms and reclaimed by nature.

The nature on the island was also something to behold as well. Were it not for the present situation, Sierra would have felt the urge to simply sit back and enjoy the scenery. Even the eastern section of the village was hauntingly beautiful with its damaged and ruined structures being engulfed by the island's natural plant life. It made Sierra miss her sketchbook and art supplies as she would have loved to have taken the opportunity to sketch the scenes on this island. Sadly those bastards that threw her in here stole them from her.

She walked near a circular path and had a garden of sorts within the ring, having long since overgrow with its array of plants that had been planted long ago when the island had a community. Sierra looked around before her eyes made contact with another pair. Her body went stiff as she realized who she was facing.

Faith.

Faith stood before her, nodding to her and greeting her. This was a bad situation. The two of them never got along off the island, and now they were on Survival of the Fittest where it was expected that they try and kill each other. Sierra didn't reply right away, her eyes drifted down to Faith's hand. A gun. Faith had a gun.

Sierra grimaced slightly. This situation had gone from bad to worse almost immediately. It was one thing to run into Faith, it was another to run into her while she was armed with a gun.

"Faith." Sierra said finally, giving her a nod in return. Her body was tense, her thumb hovering just above the activation button, reading to press it at the slightest sign of trouble.

Faith's eyes hovered on Sierra's weapon for a fraction of a second, trying to figure out what the black lump in her hand was, until the twin prongs caught the light and glinted slightly at her. Non-lethal, at least, that was a blessing. She travelled her attention back up to Sierra's eyes, and noticed her doing much the same, eyeing the pistol clutched in her hands. She couldn't blame her, but it still made her nervous, as they stood there in a moment of silence.

Faith tried to gauge how much distance was between them. A little less than 10 paces. 8, maybe, depending on how long Sierra's gait was. She couldn't help but wonder how fast Sierra could close that distance. Whether or not she'd be able to bring her pistol to bear in time. Part of her just wanted to point it at her to be safe, but she didn't want Sierra to take that as her cue to charge at her, so she kept it clutched against her right shoulder with both hands.

The path beneath Faith crunched as she loosened her stance a little, having been nearly frozen mid-step as she'd turned to face Sierra, the sound of her boots scrapping against the gravel breaking the hush.

She tried to measure her words in the moment she had before she spoke. Sierra wasn't exactly the calmest frog in the pond, and they'd not exactly gotten on well, but as long as she didn't poke at her there was no reason for Sierra to pick a fight. After all, Sierra had a taser, and she had a gun.

"So... Uh.... We're cool, right?"

Sierra's gaze affixed itself to Faith's firearm, occasionally shifting up to look at her in the eyes. Faith hadn't raised it at her yet, which was good since to Sierra that meant that Faith wasn't off her rocker yet. Of course, Sierra trusted her about as far as she could kick her and she wasn't about to let her guard down just yet. The two of them had a history and not a positive one. It wouldn't surprise her if Faith had intended to shoot her in the back if given the chance.

She looked at the distance between them, trying to gauge whether or not she could cross it quick enough to subdue Faith before she could raise and fire her gun. She figured she could cross it quick enough but there was always the hazard of not being quick enough to get up to her before she pulled the trigger.

Her body twitched and tensed as the sound of Faith's boots scrapping against the ground reached her ears. Sierra tightened her grip around her weapon, adjusting her stance so she could spring into action if Faith were to try something.

"So long as you don't try and start anything..." Sierra said, leveling a glare at her.

"Do you really think I'm ready to fight to the death with you just because..."

Faith's mind caught up with her tongue, and she cut herself off before she could apportion blame to Sierra for attract her attention. She chewed her lip for a nervous moment. She kind of wanted to take a step back now. Sierra looked tense, the concentration on her face was clear, her features sharp, brown eyes that had previously been unfocused as they looked over the situation were now locked on hers. She couldn't back down. It'd be a sign of weakness.

She shook her head sternly, and returned the stare, their eyes locking together for a brief moment.

"Look. I just want to find my friends, okay?" she stated, mouth feeling horribly dry as she watched Sierra, trying to hold eye contact as best as she could. Her mouth kept moving, keeping pace for her, as the thoughts slowly coalesced. She needed to get Sierra to just back up, so there'd be enough distance that she could outrun her.

"Let's just like... Back up, a bit?" she offered.

Willow still felt like she was supposed to have the stungun.

((Willow continues here.))

How was she supposed to rob a girl with a pointy shard and duct tape? It felt like a sick joke that Sierra was playing on her, but instead of a joke, it was a scheme to get Willow killed. Still, Willow decided to follow through. She was better off with her than alone.

The girls were talking. Willow wasn’t the most socially adapted person out there, but the tension between the two rivals could be cut with a knife. It was a good thing that Willow had one. Interestingly enough, Faith didn’t straight up shoot Sierra. In a way, Willow would have preferred that. Faith might be a little traditional, but also not a full blown rebellious teenager. Still, Willow wasn’t good at picking the right poison to drink.

Willow had manage to get past Faith with ease. There wasn’t things that could be knocked over and the paths had their own sections, leading to Willow being able to hide behind cover. So by the plan, Willow was supposed to sneak up behind her and forced Faith to drop her bags. Why didn’t she have the stungun? A shocker is better than a duct tape roll when it comes to robbing teenage girls in a murder game.

Willow was now in position. Behind Faith, but also in an angle that let her see her weapon. For a brief moment, she wanted to barf. She knew she couldn’t chicken out and leave, but her mind was created thousands of paths that would end with Willow dying. However, the potential profit at the end was worth more than any what-if’s she could think of. She just needed to act.

Faith started to step backward. That’s when Willow decided to strike. She assumed the element of surprise would be good enough. Willow took a deep breathe then she lunged with her shank.

“Drop your shit. Now!”

Faith didn't have time to think, as the sound of her own boots scuffing the path joined the ones that were suddenly behind her, as she turned around. She didn't have time to fail to recognise the person bearing down on her. She didn't have time to shout something at the figure.

She took half a step backwards, towards Sierra, her eyes wide as she levelled the pistol.

There was just enough time for her finger to snatch at the trigger.

She felt it seep it through her shirt. Willow looked down, seeing a needle sticking out her chest. It was blood. The eye was now bloodied, and her vision went red. She knew she should be feeling pain, but she only felt rage. A tiny part of her tried to keep herself in check, but the anger seeped through everything. Permeating her being, Willow was only rage.

"That's my tit," she raised her fist, "you whore!"

It connected with Faith's face. Willow wasn't done. There was another punch. She looked over at Sierra.

"Help me, for fuck's sake."

Sierra stood frozen as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. Faith had asked her to back up but before she could even respond, Willow was on Faith yelling at her to drop her things. What possessed Willow to even consider this, Sierra had no idea. But she stood watching, events seemingly playing in slow motion as she watched Faith turn to face Willow, raising her gun and pulling the trigger.

Evidently, whatever gun Faith had didn't shoot regular bullets as Willow was still standing... and now very angry.

She stood flabbergasted as she watched Willow throw a few punches Faith's way. Things had escalated very quickly and she was still trying to process everything that had transpired. Willow addressed her, asking for her help, and that finally broke Sierra out of her stupor.

Sierra sprung into action, quickly clearing the distance between herself and Faith. She pressed down on the activation button of the stun gun, the loud crackling of the electric arc it produced sounding out through the air. She reached and grabbed some of Faith's red hair, and quickly brought the stun gun's electrodes to her neck. Keeping the electrodes pressed firmly to Faith's flesh, Sierra violently forced her to the ground belly first, making Faith's body scrap against the gravel path. Soon Sierra was on top of her, planting her knee on Faith's back and applying all her weight onto her to keep her from rising.

Sierra let go of the button, the electricity the stun gun going silent as it stopped producing electricity.

Sierra panted heavily, adrenaline coursing through her. She turned to face Willow, and quickly anger was beginning to well up in her as she faced her companion. She studied her and noticed the needle that had pierced one of her breasts. It was no surprised to Sierra that Willow would be angry about that, but still Sierra's own anger outweighed her concern at the moment.

"What the fuck was that?!" Sierra barked at Willow.

Faith watched as the dart moved out of the pistol, the soft flare of the rocket engine catching her eye as it sailed the few feet between her and the girl, slapping into her chest and sending her off kilter for a moment. She heard movement, and began to turn her head to see what was happening, the dots slowly connecting as this seemed less like a random occurrence and more like a trap.

Her stomach felt like it suddenly weight 100 pounds as she caught movement in her peripheral vision, her eyes forced back to the figure in front of her, as it stumbled the last step towards her instead of crumpling into a pile like she was supposed to.

Faith opened her mouth to swear, but was cut short as the first strike connected with her, hitting just below her left eye. It sent a flash through her vision, and everything felt out of balance all of a sudden. She could feel her heartbeat in her mouth. She reached up with her right hand, knocking one arm away. Another punch came down, hitting her in the side of the head, the girl was shouting at her.

A burning pain in her scalp.

Her vision was replaced with sky, as her neck and head was yanked backwards. She struggled, trying to kick at Sierra's shins.

"Nonononononononono"

The noise came out of her in a rushed, monosyllabic, desperate plea as she felt something metal press against the back of her neck.

There was a choked sob.




Her world exploded into agony. Every muscle felt like it was contracting and releasing at the same time. Faith couldn't concentrate for long enough to form any coherent thoughts. She was vaguely aware of being pushed to the floor, there was a weight on her back, and her mouth was full of something that hurt when her jaw clenched. Her neck and head jerked as she was held there, smacking against the rough trodden path, until finally the blinding white heat faded into calm, cold, darkness.

She was almost happy about it.

"What the fuck was that? I gave you a gun, dipshit." She looked over to the crumbled body of Faith. "Is that not what you meant when you said you wanted an actual weapon?"

"Fucking shit," Sierra screamed. "Tell me next time!"

The pain was now real. It was a vague memory until now, but the as she looked down to her chest, seeing both ends of the dart. One was bloodied, and one was clean; it felt strange, but reassuring to see it didn't bury its head straight through her chest. If it landed a little more to the left, the head would have found its way to her lungs.

Breathing was now a painful task. Every movements reminded her body of the foreign item lodged in it, and Willow's mind went from rage to pain in about thirty seconds. She knew the only way to stop the bleeding, and not walk around with the world's ugliest piercing, was to pull it out. At least, that's what she thought until she pulled on the metal dart because blood flooded her bra and shirt.

Despite the dart being out of her body, Willow quickly realized it only meant there was nothing holding the blood inside of her. She had a hole in her chest and, suddenly, she realized she was about to die if she did nothing. She started to frantically wrestle herself out her shirt. There was nothing going through her mind about her fear of nudity or her prude personality, only her pure survival instinct.

"Pass me some gauze." Her voice was filled with panic, incapable of maintaining any hints bravado she previously had. "Please, I'm fucking dying." She still had the time to look at Faith as she kept her hands over her wounds, trying to keep the blood inside. It was probably doing nothing, but she didn't to let go. However, Faith finally stopped convulsing and Willow only had one question in her mind.

Did they just killed Faith?

Sierra focused on Faith for a moment, noticing that she had stopped convulsing beneath her. That was some what concerning, had she accidentally killed her? The thought of that sent a chill down her spine. Sierra didn't intend to kill anyone and if she had killed Faith then she wouldn't know what to do. Sure, Faith was a bitch and Sierra liked her as much a gargling vinegar but she never intended to kill her. If she was dead that would mean those pricks that kidnapped her would announce it to everyone on the island and at that point she would be a pariah — a murderer in the eyes of her classmates regardless of her intentions at this moment.

Hesitantly Sierra placed her fingers to Faith's neck, searching for a pulse. She had never done this before so it took her a moment to know what she was looking for, but she found Faith's pulse and let out a sigh of relief. Good, she wasn't dead at the very least.

"Pass me some gauze."

Hearing Willow's panicked word she turned to face her, her eyes widened. Willow was shirtless and had two holes going through one of her breasts, blood leaking through her fingers as Willow tried to keep them from bleeding. Sierra also noticed the dark self-harm scars that adorned her companion's body and stared.

"Please, I'm fucking dying."

That snapped Sierra back into reality and she quickly moved and grabbed Faith's fallen duffel bag and opened it up, shuffling through its contents as quickly as she could in search for Faith's first aid kit. She removed the kit from the bag and frantically riffled through its contents in search for the gauze, repeatably muttering the word "fuck" under her breath in rapid succession. Eventually she found the gauze and quickly shoved it in Willow's direction.

"Take it, take it, take it!" she ordered in a panicked tone, her hand shaking the item roughly to emphasis the urgency of the matter.

Sierra put her fingers against Faith’s neck, checking for a pulse. Sierra has a soft smile when she checked. Did that mean Faith was dead or not? They would have to talk about it later.

Willow’s words reminded Sierra of the second urgency going on: the fact she was bleeding out. Swearing under her breath, Sierra finally got her hands on the gauze and waved it in front of Willow’s nose. Willow’s right hand cupped her breast as her scarlet hand grabbed the gauze. She felt more blood falling down toward her stomach. She wrapped the gauze around her wound, and the pure white bandage became immediately soaked with her blood. Holding the bandage with her forearm, she bit off a piece of duct tape. It was about 10 inches in length. The tape bit her skin and the gauze was now glued to her body. Still holding her wounds, Willow started to feel lightheaded.

“Oh gosh,” she whimpered, “if I die because Faith shot me in the tit, I swear to fucking god...”

Willow didn’t end the sentence. She kept holding her wound, she felt the pain going through her body. It was a reminder that Willow’s life was as fragile as anyone else, she couldn’t make another mistake like this.

She ripped out a new piece of tape and then wrapped it around her chest. Willow pointed Faith then her bags. Her voice was shakier than her body but there was a form of resilience in it. Some type of defiance toward her fate, whether or not she was going to die, Faith was going to regret it.

“Take her gun and the manual.” She manage calm her breathing down. Focusing on what remained of her chest, Willow tried her best to ignore the pain. “Don’t forget her food and water,” she coughed, “and I want her shirts.”

The shopping list grew as Willow’s pain turned into spite.

"Okay, first of all," Sierra snapped, glaring at Willow. "You don't get to order me around, okay? Not after the shit you just pulled.. Secondly, if we're gonna work together then we are gonna need to talk to each other. Last thing I want is to get shot because of you."

Sierra moved off of Faith, closing the first aid kit and placing it on the ground. She returned her attention to Faith's duffel bag, looking through its contents. There were some clothes within the bag and Sierra out a sweater to inspect it. Why the fuck Faith would bring a sweater on a school trip when it was summer time, she had no idea. In any case, Sierra tossed the sweater to Willow.

"You get to have that. We have no need to take her clothes, but you do need something to cover yourself up if you don't want to wear your shirt." Sierra said. "I'll decided who gets what. Do not fight me on this."

Digging through the contents of the bag she began to divide its contents equally, ensuring that their new found spoils were shared fairly between themselves. One loaf of bread each, one tin of crackers each, and five high-energy survival ration food bars each. She would have divided the water between them, but Faith had drank out of one of the bottles and was about two thirds full. Sierra thought for a moment and put that bottle back into the bag, she then took two of the remaining unopened bottles and placed it on her side of the supply divide.

Now it was time to decide who gets the weapon and who gets the first aid kit. It seemed like a fine trade off. Sierra picked up Faith's gun and inspected it.

"What the fuck?"

Now that she got a good close look of the thing, it looked sort of like a toy. Apparently it shoots needles but she couldn't see any way to reload the thing. She looked through the bag once more and couldn't find an sort of ammo for it. How many times could someone fire this thing before it was out? Did Willow seriously expect her to use this thing? Sierra would barely call this thing a gun. More like a watergun modified to shoot sewing needles.

"You get this." She said, raising the "gun" and putting it with Willow's share before taking the first aid kit and placed it with her own share. "So this is my stuff, this is your's."

Sierra opened up her bag and began placing her new supplies along side her initial supplies. Once she had gathered everything she stood up and looked to the downed Faith.

"How much tape you got left?" she asked. "Want to make sure she doesn't become a problem anytime soon.'

Willow grumbled under her breath as she put on her new sweater. Sierra was being a pissy bitch, but she wasn't wrong which made it worse. If she was acting unjustified, Willow might have went 'hey, shut up', but she wasn't. Willow fucked up and Sierra had to clean up after her. In a way, she was glad Sierra was taking action as a leader because Willow didn't feel like bossing people around.

Sierra was also unhappy about Faith's weapon. Willow understood that from her face and her voice when she grabbed the gun. Maybe a gun was the wrong word, perhaps a needle shooter would be better. Well, Willow looked down at her chest. It wasn't a needle shooter, more like a harpoon. She kept pressing on her wound, focusing on anything else than the pain. Hopefully, the bleeding will stop soon. The gun was now hers. Willow decided she would read the manual later since she was busy trying not to die.

Willow looked at Sierra as she spoke about Faith. So their victim was still alive, but Faith wanted to make sure she wouldn't go around and ruin their day. It would be easier to kill her, but Sierra wanted Willow's duct tape, so she assumed they were going to tie her up. Willow was fine with the idea, there was worse thing to do to her.

"I mean," she pulled out her duct tape. "A lot? But like, honestly, we should just kill her."