Ricochet

[Shiola]

((Erika Stieglitz continued from Something Better))
((Tyrell Lahti continued from Starting Point for G007))

Erika had finished her joint and left the Waterfall Overlook preparing to find some cover to recuperate, and form a plan as to how she intended to survive the coming days. The limited time she had spent around groups made it clear to her that interacting with others was more of a danger than staying isolated. Eventually they were going to have to kill each other, it was only a matter of when it all started. If she could find a gun and stay light on her feet, Erika told herself, everything might just be okay.

Tyrell had just left the village and was trying to find somewhere to stop, to eat some of his rations. To his delight, the terrorists hadn’t confiscated the two energy drinks he’d stored in his backpack on the bus trip. He sipped on the first one as he walked the island’s dirt roads, pausing to store the empty can in his duffle bag when he finished it. There was little urgency in his step, as he was resigned to the idea of dying in this place. At this point, all he’d wanted to do was find Erika and protect her. If anyone was going to remember him for anything, he wanted it to be for something admirable. His part in impeding Lorenzo’s survival had been played, although he still felt guilty for letting him escape. No doubt Lorenzo was going to hurt someone else before the end, and he hoped it was someone he cared little for. Ivy would deserve something like that, perhaps. He smirked at the thought of Lorenzo challenging the Carter brothers. It would be fun to watch that situation unfold, too.

Erika was used to gauging distance in hundreds of yards, a product of her experience in target shooting. Her chosen shelter for the time being had been a large rock face, across which there was an open expanse of tall grass and a road that led from the lake to the village. A large building loomed in the distance, which the map had marked as the Manor House. From this vantage point, Erika was able to clock Tyrell’s movements at around three hundred yards. He was hard to miss. She could tell that he’d been in some kind of fight, with the blood on his face and on his hands. The crowbar was obvious too, and she hoped it was the weapon he had been issued with instead of one he had stolen from someone else.

Tyrell was absorbed in his own thoughts, and had no notion that anyone might’ve been watching him from afar, let alone Erika. Part of the reason he made little effort to conceal his movements was for her sake. If she did see him, he surmised, she would no doubt come running. He would have to find a way to explain to her that he valued her life over his own, and that they needed to do everything possible to get her off of the island. She would protest, probably jumping to the conclusion that Ty was suggesting they kill people. He would have to explain that she only needed to kill one person to win, and he’d do most of the heavy lifting before the end. His own life wasn’t much of a legacy to leave behind, but if she lived he knew that he could meet his end without fear.

Erika realized this. She knew how he put her on a pedestal, despite her efforts to keep his idea of who she was on ground level. It was a lot of pressure, but she knew what his devotion to her meant for him. It was hope of becoming something better than he was, of finally knowing parts of himself he’d locked away. Except right now, that’s all it was - hope. Back home she’d been able to ignore the worse parts of him, to see them for the old wounds that they were. Broken defense mechanisms, built up to protect a scared kid from his monster of a father. That was all he had now, regardless of what he might be convincing himself he was supposed to do.

Tyrell figured there were a few ways she could do it. The cliff was probably the easiest way to make sure it looked like a murder, not a suicide. She could just push him off of it. That would be fast enough. There wasn’t really any way for someone to interrupt that, either. Hopefully she could move on. He’d have to remind her not to think he was some kind of exception to the rule, and that there were all kinds of people out there who’d love her for who she was, and probably be better to her than him. People who were less messed up and broken. All he could ask of her was that she try and keep his memory alive, and try to find a way to enjoy her life after all of this. That all seemed like the right thing to do, and so Tyrell believed it was the only path worth taking.

Erika knew he could justify unspeakable things if he thought it served some greater good. It was in his nature. She supposed it must’ve been in hers too, after what she had asked Katie to do. Part of her hoped they'd never find one another, either.

Tyrell hoped he didn’t have to do something unspeakable to protect Erika, but he was prepared to. He thought she cared too much for the other students to fight and kill them, or even to ask him to fight and kill for her. It was one of the reasons she deserved to make it out of here.

Though he did not know it yet, he was profoundly mistaken.

Erika paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before tearing off into the wilderness in the opposite direction.

Tyrell continued on his way, completely unaware that the only person on the island who he truly cared about was running away from him as fast as she could.

((Erika Stieglitz continued in Steamed SOTF))
((Tyrell Lahti continued in The Shores of Hell))