Survival Of The Fittest

This sucks.

That was what Andrew thought when he woke up, usually because his sleep had been groggy and hard to wake up from, but it took on a new level when his brain ran on full power.

He was on SOTF. He had not thought of that in years; his mother would blow a gasket if that topic was ever brought up. One of those topics you never entered with her; it was the same with any big tragedy that would happen.

And here he was; expected to murder people, and they gave him this tiny thing to do it with. A capsule in his hand. His "weapon". He'd have a better shot if he had his guitar instead.

He had put it back after examining it for a bit; he knew what it was thanks to the manual they had provided, but that did not make the situation any better, nor did the fact Andrew did not know where the hell he was.

Andrew looked across the room he had found himself in. A decent-looking place, things considered. It had a bunch of tables set up with chairs and a swing door.

Some dining area? With his luck probably had no food or cutlery left over.

He walked over to a nearby table and scooted a chair from it. He seated himself and cracked his neck from side to side before lifting his arms above his head with a yawn.

"Could be worse." He mumbled to himself as his feet seated themself comfortably against the table surface. It was now a balancing act between the chair and gravity, and Andrew had experience.

It was at that point that Shawn fucking Bellamy of all people crashed through the door, slamming it shut behind him as he dropped his bag to the floor and wiped his brow.

((Shawn Bellamy continued from Bishop's Mate))

He'd literally just left the rec room after his encounter with Spike, quickly scanning his surroundings before spotting the large green building ahead of him. Not wanting to dawdle in the opening like fat pheasant, he'd scramble forward and shoulder barge his way inside, slamming the door behind him and catching his breath.

"Aaah... Jesus, fffuckin'... Crazy mother..." he'd gasp and pant, before suddenly realising he wasn't alone. Worse than that, he recognised almost instantly who he'd just stormed in on.

"Oh for fuck's sake" he'd sigh.

Could not give him that, could you?

Andrew figured he could get a few z’s where he sat. Properly get off the grogginess, y’know, be fully rested and all that jazz.

And then fuckin’ Shawn Bellamy, of all people, crash through the damn door like a bat out of hell. Almost scared the shit out of Andrew, not that he’d admit it.

He’d give him one thing, he’s got the flair for the dramatic; not sure how that’s going to help this guy, but it’s something.

"…Sup." He said where he sat, his chair now formally on the ground with no fun balancing act in order. Not taking the chances of that if folks are seemingly keen on dropping in like this.

"...sup" he'd respond, after a short pause to catch his breath.

Whilst he wasn't exactly thrilled to bump into Andrew Lapson of all people, the fact that he didn't open their interaction by yeeting a television at his head was a huge improvement.

"I..." he'd cough, wiping his brow. "Was just minding my own business when that... That fucking guy, whasshisname..." he'd say, clicking his fingers a couple times. "Spike whateva-the-fuck showed up and tried to cave my head in! Tried to fucking bash my brains in with a television set, like, who the fuck DOES that?"

He was maybe bending the truth just a little to paint Spike in the worst possible light, as even he could tell the guy was just trying to blow steam in his own misguided way. But hey, a little white lie goes a long way...

"Spike? The calm guy? Huh…" Andrew knew the guy was polite, but willing to talk for the smaller guy. Listens to nu-metal, so; awful taste in music, and he was bigger than him. Not someone he’d want to be on the bad side of, so it figures Shawn would find a way to do that.

A TV though… what the hell happened? And if he’s that rage now then boy is he gonna keep his eye out for that.

"Did he do anything else? Where was this?" Andrew straightened himself up as he asked this; as far as he knew, the weasel over there might have led the hulk into his humble abode.

"Oh, the building just across from us..." he'd say, bluntly, making a particular point about how he was keeping his back up against the door to keep anyone else from barging through. "Think I gave him the slip though... I mean, if you wanna check if he followed me here, you're more than welcome to."

He was only half-joking about that last part.

Andrew reached down to the floor and grasped his bag strap before getting up on his feet and walking by the table, haphazardly flinging his bag onto it as he did.

He kept a neutral face as he approached Shawn by the door. His hands furled and unfurling themselves from fists and back as he stopped in front of him.

"Then let me check." He was not going to take chances on Shawn’s word people like that; you’d have to double-triple check whatever they say.

Shawn blinked, watching as Andrew approached before slowly pulling away from the door. "Y-yeah, sure, you go do that..." he'd say, shifting away to let him take a look outside.

He'd watch Andrew make his way over to the door, briefly glancing back at his bag before looking back down at Andrew. He couldn't tell if he was armed with anything, no guns tucked into his back pocket or blades by his side which meant one of two things... Either he got a shit draw just like himself, or his weapon was still tucked away in his bag.

He cautiously pawed at the glass bottle hidden away in his jacket pocket.

No need for undue risks, just yet. Besides, if he was lucky Spike might be just on the other side of that door...

Andrew carefully and slowly opened the door. His eyes peered out, and he could not see a soul, least of all the giant muscleman that had become Shawn’s mortal enemy.

He kept this lookout for at least a minute, furrowing his eyes as he stared. He could not take any chances if Spike was this angry and willing to chuck a fuckin’ TV at somebody. Then maybe…

Eventually, he straightened himself out of the door’s way and closed it. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"…threw a TV? Probably didn’t have anything then…" Andrew mumbled as he turned towards Shawn, attempting to keep his neutral visage going.

Shawn took a deep breath as Andrew peered outside...

Nothing happened. Damn.

"Maybe, didn't see anything else on him..." he'd reply, looking a bit more relaxed now that the apparent danger seemed to have passed, leaning back against one of the various tables with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"What about you? You luck out too?"

"Me? Eh, nothing good." He answered with nothing to show, having left his weapon in his bag back at the table, a plausible excuse for why Shawn did not get to see it.

"Left it in the bag."

It's not like Andrew will have a chance to use it, anyway.

What was he playing at here? Was he trying to find out what he had under the disguise of concern? If so, two could play at that.

"How about you?"

"That so, huh?" Shawn replied, taking a brief glance at Andrew's bag. Very interesting that he opted to not be specific, either he genuinely didn't care for it, or he preferred to keep Shawn in the dark about a potential ace in the hole.

Well, two can play at that game.

"Nothing useful" he'd respond with a sniff. Truth be told even if they weren't being coy about their assignments, he couldn't be bothered opening his bag up just to show off his dainty little copper rods. "Starting to suspect none of us got anything good at this rate, like we're all expected to get... Creative" he'd add, with a shudder.

He'd take a quick glance around the dining hall, for the first time really taking his new surroundings into consideration. Quite the large building compared to the lounge he started out in, with what appeared to be a kitchen area near the back. Thinking back to how big the building was from the outside, and the height of the ceiling, he suspected there to be another floor just above them.

"Have, you, uh... Already explored this building?" he'd ask, in apropos of nothing.

They were in a stalemate, neither willing to give on that piece of info. Andrew was not dumb, he could recognize that Shawn was in the same boat as him, but that did not mean he could not be a threat, what with his eyeing Andrew's bag. Andrew cocked his head over to his bag briefly to see if it was still there before turning his stare back onto Shawn; he did not like the addition of"creative" at the end of that sentence.

It was the thought that he did not want of his classmates, that they would get "creative" so fast with so little, but maybe he had more faith in them than Shawn, or at least in the people he knew. Whatever crowds that Shawn ran with might do that, but... no, Andrew was not going to bundle into that line of thinking.

It's what they want.

"I woke up here, so this room is the only thing I've seen so far." He crossed his arms and sighed to himself. There was a temptation to move back to his bag, fish out his map, and figure out how big of a shithole they'd put him in, but not with Shawn in the room. No, he kept his eyes on him for as long as he needed to.

Shawn had been running from another building, so this one and the other one, but how big was this place? And was it worth "exploring"? Wandering around blind like a bat was the worst thing he could do. A proper plan would be to find someone that Andrew trusts and then figure things out, hopefully.

"Got any ideas?"

It did appear that they were in a bit of a bind. It was clear neither of them trusted each other, and in fairness, Shawn could hardly blame him. He hadn't exactly done much to endear himself to Andrew back at JEM, especially after word got out that Andrew's friend Scott had gotten himself expelled. Apparently on account of an anonymous tip from one of his classmates about his drug habits.

Shawn couldn't possibly comment on who that could have been, not that it didn't stop several of his classmates pointing fingers in his direction.

Still, for now they weren't at each other's throats just yet. He still would have preferred to bump into one of his friends, he bet Matthew and Corbin would be able to handle themselves out here, and as for Bethany...

Bethany

"Well..." he'd start, focusing on the situation at hand. "It's a helluva lot warmer here than it is out there, so long as Spike doesn't come knocking I'm in no rush to go wading through the snow again just yet. Think I saw a couple other buildings on my way over, and noticed another floor above this one, so I dunno about you but I for one want to make sure if we're alone here..."

He would then heave his bag onto his back and start slowly making his way towards the backrooms, where he suspected there to be a staircase leading upwards. Before getting there, he'd stop and turn back to Andrew. "If you wanna stick around, or we part ways here, be my guest. I ain't exactly fussed either way."

On that note, he'd turn back to the backrooms and make his way through the door, to start exploring the rest of the building.

((Shawn Bellamy continued in Little Lost Bunny))

Shawn talked about a floor above here that he wanted to check, and it didn't take long for him to go there, but not before offering whether he can follow or not. It was not an offer Andrew excepted, seeing it had become quite clear how little either trusted the other.

Shawn was soon gone, leaving Andrew alone in the dining room once again. He moved back towards the table where he had sat his bag and gingerly dragged his hand along its strap.

He could either stay here, which would probably have another person crash in like Shawn, and in that case, he was damn lucky, or he could make a tree and split from this joint and see what was out there.

...

Well, shit, now that he mentioned it, maybe it was time to see more of this place. He gripped his bag and hauled it over his shoulder before going towards the backrooms where Shawn had gone.

((Andrew Lapson continued elsewhere...))