Survival Of The Fittest

((ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL. I'M BACK BABY!))


((Emmett Bunnell continued from Life Is Just A Memory))

It was night now. Another day of nothing accomplished. At least Emmett wasn't alone. At least he had that going for him. He was glad to be with Cecil, but he wished Sapphire was here. He wished Emil could be here too, he wished they weren't dead. He wished Lorenzo was here so he could fucking kill him, but he wasn't. They weren't. Emmett just wished he could do something, that they could get somewhere without waiting to die. He wished he could at least do something for Cecil.

He knew what Cecil was experiencing. It's hard losing people, let alone losing them without a chance to say goodbye. Emmett almost envied Cecil a little bit. At least he didn't have to watch it happen, helpless. At least he didn't cause it by getting in the way, again, and again. Emmett gripped the volley gun tighter. "I think we're getting to the lake. Maybe we should stop here for the night..." Emmett just wanted to stop anywhere and take his mind off of all of this. "Wait here a second, I'm going to have a look around before we go out there."

Emmett stepped off of the trail, gun pointed in front of him as he looked around. He saw nothing except a garden in the middle of nowhere. As he turned around, something about it caught his eye. He decided to investigate, and regretted his wishes. "Drew..." All the times he's seen it on this island, death has been nothing but a bloody, frantic, and painful mess. Yet, when he looked at Drew, Emmett saw peacefulness for the first time since... Since this wasn't happening. He froze in place, staring. If his body was set up like that, maybe it wasn't the way the announcements described it. Maybe Cecil could still find Declyn before it was too late. Maybe Emmett could do something right in the end.

"H-Hey. Hey Cecil! You're gonna want to come see this!"

He looked on until he heard the footsteps behind him.

"I-It's Drew..."

((Cecil Salazar-Loveless continued from Life Is Just A Memory))

The cup was still filled to the brim, but the table wasn’t shaking anymore. Nonetheless, one small jerk was all it was gonna take for everything else to overflow and spill all over the floor, perhaps nothing more than like a house of cards.

A whole day should probably be enough for Cecil to calm himself down. At the very least, his eyes were dry now. His mind had eventually slowed down to a standstill after a couple of hours of him uselessly fretting and panicking way too quickly than he could handle. His best friend’s death still fresh but placed at the back of his mind along with her killer, the latter shelved but ever-ready to be pulled back out to be dealt with once the opportunity arises. The mystery around Drew’s death was an ongoing case, albeit one on pause as Declyn’s whereabouts became a top priority. But not like we got anywhere close to finding something, he bitterly thought.

At one point, he finally realized just how helpless he was to do something. Cecil had kept telling himself to keep moving forward ever since he woke up, and he tried, he truly tried and did. Cecil Salazar-Loveless from Chattanooga would maybe feel distressed and helpless and beat himself up, but he would always somehow get over himself, admittedly with help from his family, and find a way to solve his problems and failures. Boy #014 was a clueless idiot who had nothing to fall back on, nobody to cry to, and no useful idea in an island wherein he and his friends could die, and they did die. He has kept moving as it was the only thing he could think of, and it had already failed.

And so when his restlessness started to wane, his pace slowed down, and his eyes were clouded over by a blank haze. He ended up following Emmett from behind, attempting to be sharp and watch out for anything even when he would get distracted by himself and space out. He pinched himself periodically to snap himself out of it.

He abruptly stopped himself when Emmett told him to wait for a moment, almost missing what he had said earlier until it finally registered. Cecil wasn’t able to give a response back, but he dutifully stayed where he was and patiently waited.

We’d be camping by the lake, huh? he mused before wondering. Should the water be good for drinking?

Emmett's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Cecil couldn’t tell if it sounded frantic or not, but the way he called him over sounded like he really had to be there, so he swiftly went on his way over to the direction his ally went.

Just before he finally reached him, Emmett gave him a clue on what he apparently was gonna want to see.

He froze on his tracks for a very quick moment, and then he was hurrying his way towards where Emmett was looking on.

And there he was. Drew.

Cecil had slowed again, but did not stop. Carefully, he walked towards Drew’s corpse, his eyes inevitably drawn towards the direction of his mangled arm and then to the unmistakable bleeding bullet shot in the chest. Fuck. He knelt down beside it, his hand reaching out to touch him before he thought better, reluctantly pulling back.

“Oh Drew, I’m so sorry,” he shakily whispered.

This was such a contrast to the first time he saw his first dead body of his closest friend. They both were bleeding out, but Camila’s eyes were glazed open, while Drew’s was peacefully closed. Camila’s body was on the ground back then, her puddle of blood mixed with mud and rain. Drew’s body was so deliberately placed in the nicest spot possible. Instead of a lifeless corpse splayed out on the scene of a crime, he came to what would probably amount to a wake or a funeral. And that’s what it is, right? With his body lied down so comfortably and his face looking like the perfect picture of serenity, his resting place was all in its flowery grave.

Sitting down on the ground beside Drew’s body, he focused his attention on it, trusting Emmett to give him space and snap him out of it if trouble was afoot.

Cecil remembered going to a funeral once; it was a distant relative of Ma’s, and he was quiet and somber the whole time, just like he was supposed to be in somewhere like that. This is the closest thing like it, right? Drew’s corpse might never be injected with formaldehyde and would probably start looking not so good in a few days, but now in its natural state surrounded by flowers, just by a lake and at night, it might just be the best for now.

It was like a huge weight was taken off from his shoulders at the sight for that moment. There was an imbalance, and a few drops were spilled to the table.

Cecil quickly wiped his eyes.

But perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to pour some more out…

Cecil never told anybody about Camila, but with Drew here, dead but finally resting…

And so he looked at Emmett, a ghost of a smile on his lips before he started talking about a dead boy he might have grown to care more about if they had more time.

“I didn’t know Drew that much,” he revealed lightly, but a sort of fondness was evident in his tone. “Our first actual conversation was him asking me to prom, telling me he liked me. Sure, it never went anywhere the way he wanted it to be, but I thought he was nice. I could only learn a few things about him during prom after all.”

Taking a deep breath, for a moment he was blank on what to say next, so he just started talking about the stupid shit flashing by his head as he continued briefly glancing back at the boy he failed.

“I have a sister whose name is also Drew,” he said next, bitterly chuckling as he continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever told him something like that. I never even realized how close he was with Declyn until it was too late!”

Shaking his head, he looked around at the scenery then back to the splotches of blood that would still be visible on Drew’s body.

“Somehow managing to arrange his dead friend’s final resting place to be at this beautiful enough spot in this damned island…that sounds like Declyn, don’t you think?” he wistfully smiled before it slowly turned strained and pensive. “But shooting him down?”

Belatedly, he realized that he was now in the same boat as Emmett concerning the situation about Adonis killing that boy named Tristan a few days ago.

That Declyn killed Drew…it was a fact, Cecil could admit that. But no matter what anyone would say otherwise, he was not just a mindless fool who would listen to the voice of authority with no hesitation. There was also that selfish idiot who could listen to his own thoughts, whether wanted or unwanted, and believe them until reality would slap him back into it. It was what could keep him going for now.

This hurt to watch. Seeing Cecil sit down next to Drew brought back all too familiar memories of a long time ago that Emmett would hardly believe was still this week. He listened as Cecil spoke, and everything became even more familiar. He didn’t really know him all that well, and just learned small details about him in that short amount of time. It was just like... Emmett sniffed. This wasn’t about him, not right now. This was about Cecil and he had to be there for him.

So he did. He sat down next to Cecil, and listened to him speak. He listened to him talk about his sister, then Declyn. He looked at Drew’s body while Cecil pondered how Declyn could do this. Emmett saw how peaceful Drew looked, then he saw Emil there in that bed, then Sapphire. Even if they were posed like that, they’d never look this beautiful. Emmett spoke.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t think it was murder.” He looked back to Cecil. “It wasn’t an accident, that much is clear, but, I don’t think Declyn murdered Drew.” His voice cracked. Emmett choked. “Y-you don’t look this peaceful when you’re murdered. I... I should know. If he was, he’d look scared.”

Cecil had never felt more grateful to Emmett at that moment. He had the same idea about Drew's death not being so straightforward with Declyn's involvement, and he seemed genuine about it, validating the thoughts that Cecil wanted to believe in. With the both of them sitting together by Drew's body, as if funeral attendants silently paying their respects and sending their condolences, Cecil felt as if he could truly sympathize with Emmett as of this moment, especially when he sensed the deeper sadness as he choked out how he would know what an outright murder would look like.

He did mention being there when Emil was killed, he reminded himself sourly. And he mentioned that girl Sapphire. Both killed by the same person. He was there both times, and they still both winded up dead.

"Would it matter if I was there?" he ended up blurting out in wonder before catching himself, profusely shaking his head. "Wait, no. Not the—not the right time for that. Sorry."

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he attempted to articulate the appropriate but genuine response for Emmett's support.

"But thank you," he said to him with a sad smile. It was a bit difficult to accurately pinpoint what exactly he was thanking Emmett for, but it felt like the right thing to do for Cecil, and he didn't regret it. "Drew—he was so scared—I was with him on the first day. He got his arm almost blow off him before he—before we got separated. If...if what you were saying...and what I am hoping is true, then...that's..." he trailed off.

That's the best thing we could get, right? The best thing for Drew? For Declyn? Me?

"...that's good, and we should find Declyn sooner."

High chance Declyn killed Drew here after all. Cecil finally got close. He felt himself becoming a bit more stable, more focused, and he was more determined than ever.

"I don't think it would have changed much, to be honest." If Cecil was there, would he have been able to do anything? No, Lorenzo was too bloodthirsty, he didn't care who he'd hurt in the end, worst case scenario would be that Cecil died too. "Maybe, maybe we could have killed Lorenzo, but, I don't think we could have saved Sapphire or Emil. It happened too fast. Emil didn't even get a chance to run or, or say anything before he... left."

He looked at the dirt as Cecil thanked him. Emmett didn't really do anything. Nothing was accomplished from this. His eyes moved to Drew's arm as Cecil talked about what had happened. This whole thing was horrible. If Drew was scared then, he didn't look it now. Cecil wanted to find Declyn. Emmett didn't blame him.

"We should."

Emmett though about how he still didn't know why Adonis had killed. He wanted to find him too, he wanted to know. That was for another time though. Right now they had to use what they knew. They knew that Decyln wasn't too far gone. They knew that Lorenzo had to be killed as soon as the opportunity showed itself, same with Erika, same with Marco, or Quinn. Emmett wasn't letting anyone else with him die. He had to let him know that.

"I... I want to find Adonis too. I don't know what happened to him, but I hope it's like Declyn. I hope he did it for the right reasons." Emmett paused, thinking his next words. "If we see Lorenzo, or Erika, or any of the other names we keep hearing, I'm not going to hesitate. Every time I could've acted, I didn't, I froze. I'm... I'm done. If we see any of them, I'm going to kill them, and nothing is going to stop me, because if I don't do it, then that's someone else dying, someone like Drew, or Declyn, o-or like you."

"I'm not gonna let that happen anymore."

Ughhhhh. I just want to sleep forever....

((Jonathan Meyers continued from Memories Keep Haunting Me, Help Me Chase Them All Away))

Jonathan really needed to take a break. He was really thirsty and he stopped the bicycle to catch a bit of breath, sweating quite a bit. He moved his dufflebag and he unzipped it, taking out a half full bottle of water. He frowned as he knew that he just wanted to gulp down the rest of the water and he had to be more careful of how he was handling his rations. He really was getting more low on supplies and there was no way that he go on without food and water. Well, he could but still....

"Not worth it." He muttered to himself.

He took a small sip of the water, screwed the cap back on and he tucked it back into his bag. He just stayed where he was for a minute, hidden by some trees and bushes. If he remembered what the map was like; then he was pretty close to where the lake was and he guessed he could try to have a quick and fresh wash. He could still smell his metallic blood.

He then heard two voices in the distance and he remained silent.

Cecil stared at Emmett for a moment, trying to discern how much of what he said was true. It wasn't like he was doubting his sincerity; it would admittedly be too late for that now, as he actually let himself open up to him already, despite the setting and circumstances that were screaming at him to stop the moment he started talking about Drew. Emmett was an open book. It was reassuring, and at times annoying, but if Emmett said something with that determined focus instead of his hysterical tantrums, Cecil could easily believe him. No, he was doubting whether he had the time and capability to show to him that he meant what he said. Cecil could trust Emmett with his intentions and surprisingly good nature, but circumstances change fast in this island. Their confrontation with Lucas came to mind.

But that was yesterday, right? It should be different this time. All this overthinking himself to a bad mood was counter-productive anyway. So...

"I'll be counting on you," he said after blinking himself out of staring at him in silence for too long. It felt good to say that to someone. For now, at least.

Averting his gaze, he tried to think of the words that Emmett probably would want to hear about Adonis, the same way he said the right thing to Cecil about Declyn.

"I was in the swimming team with Adonis," he revealed in an attempted nonchalant manner. "He seemed nice. At Mikki Swift's party, he drove me and Declyn home safely." He still wasn't one hundred percent convinced that he was intoxicated back then, but he was admittedly and shamefully too distracted that night, although he wouldn't say it was regrettable.

"...anyway. Should we camp somewhere farther?" Should I leave Drew in peace now?

“It’s your choice. We can go somewhere else if you want.”

Emmett was surprised at Cecil’s reaction. He was expecting the worst, which became rather common by now. To have Cecil behind him on this just increased his resolve.

“I hope Adonis is doing okay. I wished I didn’t act so stupid and paranoid... Whatever. I can’t do anything about that now, there’s a lot I can’t fix anymore. I should just worry about what I can.”

“You have anything you want to say to Drew before we move on?”

Jonathan found himself listening more to the voices and he found himself cycling a little closer to where they were coming from. The voices sounded somewhat familiar to him and he wondered if he should stay hidden or not. He was mulling over the thought as he got closer to where the two people - two guys - were with what looking like a corpse. No, not just a corpse....

Declyn's best friend. Drew Woods.

Jonathan felt like he couldn't breathe as he found himself staring at the broken body that looked like it was in a peaceful grave surrounded by flowers and that's when he realized that there was no way that Declyn had killed Drew with absolute malice. He felt a sigh of relief come out of his mouth and he stared at the other two that were still there talking.

Emmett and Cecil. Huh.

He remained silent until he thought it was necessary for him to come out and talk to them. How was he going to explain that he had been with Declyn for a while? He really should have stayed with Declyn. But it was too late for that now.

And there is no way he was going to tell Cecil that he had kissed his cute boyfriend? Nope.... That was a big mistake!

“Nothing that should matter. He’s dead now,” was his impulsive response. He immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say. Welp, I suppose that’s enough opening up today.

Finally standing up, he patted down his clothes to remove the dirt that stuck to him while sitting. His hand fiddled with his knife for a moment, as if the activity was sustaining some sort of balance back into him. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.

“Just…I’m sorry,” he said as he looked down on the dead body. He slightly raised his head, planning to find a camera to face but suddenly stopped himself to a pause and ending up staring straight at something somewhere far away.

“And to his family. I’m truly sorry.”

He had been taught to never dare have regrets, and in this case, he supposed he had to leave them behind with Drew’s body now. There was no doubt that regrets would be an inevitable part in this island, so maybe he couldn’t avoid them, but he would have soldier on through them anyway. Cecil had a lot of apologies piled up to his own family, but he might just as well kill himself if he ever let himself deeply think about them.

His eyes just moved to the lake as Cecil spoke. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he just listened. His hand tightened on the barrel of his gun as Cecil apologized. Then he apologized to his family.

Emmett didn’t even want to think about that. He looked away, at the ground. He should apologize too. He didn’t have the courage though. It’d feel hollow and pointless if he did without doing anything.

Jonathan found himself staring for too long and he feel a cobweb suddenly hit him in the face, making him claw at the web that was on his face and he was spitting some bits of it out of his mouth that had been gaping a little. He groaned in disgust and he didn't even realized that he had move forward more quickly with the bicycle. He then-

The wheel of the bicycle collided with a slight hole and a rock at the same time.

Shit!

Jonathan felt his body going over the bicycle as he heard it falling and thrashing against the ground. He felt his body doing some kind of awkward flip and he landed on his back, groaning in pain. He felt his vision black out for a few seconds and he didn't feel like he had broken anything. At least he hoped he hadn't. Teresa would possibly be laughing at him for such a stupid fuck-up.

"Ugggh…. Damn."

He didn't move from where he was and just continued to lay there.

There was silence for a moment there, both of them solemn as Cecil gave himself a few more moments before he should turn away from Drew's lifeless body and towards somewhere else. Even though a certain amount of weight had been lifted from his shoulders, it turned out to be only a temporary relief. It was getting suffocating for him for some reason, and now Cecil needed to get out.

Then suddenly there was a crash and a yelp of obvious pain.

Not too far from them, a boy with a bicycle had landed and while definitely awake, simply laid there.

To his surprise, he recognized the boy as someone from the Volunteering Club.

That didn’t stop him from aiming a knife towards him.

Emmett turned around, pointing his weapon at the source of the noise. He took a second to look before lowering the gun. Just like, out of the blue, Jonathan rode in and crashed his bike, like a doofus. Emmett smiled.

Okay, that was pretty funny.

Jonathan lifted his head up slightly and he noticed that Cecil was pointing his knife at him, making him like out a tired sigh. He had been too distracted to notice what he had collided with and now he was a bundle of mess on the ground. He raised his hands a bit in a obvious case of surrender and that he wasn't going to start anything bad. If he had wanted to, he would have gone about it without announcing his presence like that.

"Hey.... Didn't mean to drop in like that."

Did.... Did I seriously just make a joke...? My head really needs to be bashed in again.

"I mean.... You're looking for Declyn, right?" He said, not taking his dull eyes off of Cecil. "...I was with him for a while. I just didn't want to believe that he was a bad person.... And after seeing what he had done for Drew.... There's no way. I want to find him..."

He slowly sat up, keeping his hands up. Just in case. He could never know how people would act anymore on the island. One minute they could be your friend and the next minute they could turn around and stab you in the back.