Survival Of The Fittest

(Wendy Kennedy, continued from Castle)

Wendy wrapped herself in her emergency blanket, nibbled on her bread, and watched as the fire kept crackling. The warmth felt like a gentle touch. She had struggled the whole day to keep this fire maintained. It was essential to keeping her warm. She hadn't moved from this shelter since Shawn and Bethany had left.

Wendy's mind began to wander back to her sisters. She remembered watching classic anime with her older sister Mel. As Wendy reminisce, she began humming the theme to Yu Yu Hakusho. If only she had her phone so she could watch some episodes. But, even if she had her phone, it was unlikely there would be a signal on this island.

She then thought about her sister Cass. If only she could play Super Smash Brothers with her. Cass would probably choose her mains Zelda, or Byleth. If she chose Zelda, Wendy would choose Kirby. If Cass chose Byleth, Wendy would choose Link. Heck, it didn't need to be Smash Bros, it could be Mario Kart, or Mario Party. Wendy wanted something to do in order to keep her mind off this horrible situation.

As she ate her bread, she thought back to her mom's cooking. Chicken parmesan with garlic bread rolls. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Ramen noodles with egg and sriracha added in. Homemade cookies, with milk to dip them in. Wendy began to tear up at the thought of those foods. It wasn't so much the taste she missed, but rather being at the dinner table with her family. Her mom, dad, and sisters. She just wanted to see them again.

The sound of the announcements rang out that morning as usual. And, as usual, it acted as Wendy’s alarm clock. Wendy rubbed her eyelids, waking up from another night of sleeping by a fire in the cold wilderness. For an introvert like her, this was miserable. How she longed for a bed.

Danya read off the names of the dead and their killers as Wendy sat near the ashen remains of the fire she’d spent all day yesterday trying to keep alive. She was grateful to still be alive. Perhaps staying out here in the forest wasn’t a bad way to stay alive. However, she knew staying out here would be risky, as she’d need to keep herself warm. Plus, there was always the possibility a student ready to kill would stumble across her and try to take her out.

Then, from the announcements, the name Ashlee Donovan stuck out to her. Ashlee was a friend of Wendy’s. They attended anime club together. She was a cheerleader, a nice one. Wendy liked her. Maybe even had a crush on her. If there was anyone Wendy wished to have met up with, Ashlee was one of them.

Then, Abhishek Panicker’s name was mentioned. Shawn and Bethony had mentioned running into him, and now he was gone too. Another part of the announcements that came as a surprise to Wendy was that Alex Avanesian and Meena Kumar, who mentioned as killers during the current announcement, died too. Death really does come for anyone at anytime on this island.

When the announcements ended, Wendy grabbed her bag, and began packing. She decided that she wasn’t going to just wait around until someone came along to snuff her life out. Wendy took a look at the map and ventured forth, hoping to find another hiding spot.

(Wendy Kennedy, continued elsewhere…)