((Ian Williams, Cyrus White, Mirabella Strong, Juhan Levandi, and Takeshi Yoshikawa all continued from: The two people in the distance were Paulo and Becca))
((Credit for these posts goes to VysePresident, SimpleInsanity, SansaSaver, Maraoone, Zabriel, Grim Wolf, Ghost of Ravenstar, JillSandwich, Randomness, Laurels, and Firedog. All GMing approved.))
((Credit for these posts goes to VysePresident, SimpleInsanity, SansaSaver, Maraoone, Zabriel, Grim Wolf, Ghost of Ravenstar, JillSandwich, Randomness, Laurels, and Firedog. All GMing approved.))
They'd made a major mistake.
At least, that seemed the most probable explanation to Ian, as he looked across the sands of the Western Beach. It was admittedly a rather idyllic scene that met his eyes. The sun had just started peaking over the edge of the horizon, casting a beautiful orange glow across the ocean even as the surf continued its timeless beat against the shore. Seashells were littered across the sands that had once attracted the rich and affluent to this now forsaken island, and the quiet roar of the sea would have lent a feeling of peace to most anyone.
Of course, appreciating the natural beauty was hardly at the top of Ian's mind at this particular moment, as he led his newfound group across the sands. No, the only thing he could focus on now was his desperate search for any sign that somebody was still here, anything at all to indicate that there was still some hope now that they were hours past the time set for their meeting with Karen. However, the long, empty stretch of beach seemed to doom that hope to disappointment.
To think how everything had seemed to be going so well, after they'd left the mansion...
Juhan, Bella, Takeshi, and Cyrus had all quietly chosen to accompany him on the long trek across the island. They'd made slow progress, of course, as none of them were in exactly the best condition to be hiking across the island. Ian fared better than most of the others, thanks to his old exercise routine, but to be completely honest, even he wasn't too unhappy when they took a rather longish break. Nonetheless, they still managed to find their way to the coast with plenty of time to spare before the evening, and had even found a nice hill from which to watch and wait. While the Northern Coast was far too long to patrol adequately, they had a good view over most of the surrounding area, all but guaranteeing they would see anyone who had come in answer to Karen's notes.
Of course, it hadn't occurred to anybody that maybe, just maybe, Karen had another coast in mind when she wrote her note. It wasn't like there was, say, a Western Beach clearly marked on the map. So they stayed on their rocky little hilltop through the cold night, setting up camp as best they could. At any point, one of the five was on watch duty, both for security as well as the unspoken hope of finding whatever group Karen had managed to pull together.
Except, of course, there had been no sign of either Karen, or any group of people whatsoever.
And so, they spent a rather uncomfortable night, for which Ian had apologized to the point of redundancy; there really wasn't much he could have done about it, perhaps, but he was still left feeling somehow at fault, which only served to make a miserable night that much worse.
By the early morning, he was left pondering so many unanswered questions. Had something happened to Karen? It was hardly unlikely given their predicament, but even so, wouldn't there still have been others who got her notes? Why were they the only ones here? It was almost like they'd gone to the wrong place or...oh.
Oh heck, no.
Sure enough, his worst fears were confirmed with the aid of his flashlight and the map, on which not only was another beach marked, but it was all the way across the island. Naturally, what else should he have expected?
At least it had been relatively easy, letting the others know. By then, most everyone was already awake; about half had already finished a breakfast of the delicious terrorists rations - truly, they must have broken their budget on the food, but that was neither here nor there.
He hadn't dared tell the others outright, not when the terrorists were so easily capable of listening in, and even letting them know about the planned meeting had the potential to be dangerous. Instead, since they were still nominally following the half-baked plan he'd come up with back at the mansion, he apologized for how clearly his plan had failed, and suggested that perhaps they should head somewhere like the apartments, with a little addendum that, if they weren't sick of the idea, perhaps they could give the other coast a quick sweep. It wasn't paranoia if everything really could get you killed, right?
Thankfully, they'd seemed to have gotten the hint without him pushing too painfully hard. Well, hopefully not too hard. Now, here they were, after hours of travel through the night, and so far...nothing. Not a sign that anyone had even been here tonight, with only the occasional bits of trash and broken glass to indicate the beach had ever been frequented by humanity at all. Still, he wasn't ready to give up quite yet. Oh, he wasn't oblivious to the odds, of course, but he couldn't just let this opportunity go, not without giving it everything he had, not until he'd searched every corner of this beach, grain by grain if he had to. And while it was fairly level, there were still piles of sand and other obstructions that could easily hide someone from view. It wasn't much to work with, but there was too much at stake to allow himself to turn back.
"Well, we're here." Ian said, turning to the others with a wry grimace. "Let's...let's look around a bit before we do anything. We're probably alone, but it can't hurt to check right?"
"Sure," Bella said, surveying what little of the beach she could see under the glow of their flashlights. She couldn't help but grin as their quintet milled around the beach; having made it there was the happiest she'd felt since waking up on the island, even more than encountering Megan and Juhan, or even when the plan of escape had been brought up. They'd actually achieved something in making it there, and if they'd achieved that much then they could achieve their next goal, and the next, and...
Garrett.
No, they had to find Garrett. There was no reason for them not to. That doubt at the back of her mind was wrong - Garrett had taught her that much. They'd escape together, and it'd be like all of the stories she'd read as a child. He'd rescued her, so long ago. Now she'd help rescue him.
The journey there hadn't exactly been without issues, even with the exclusion of their misdirection. More than once she'd whacked her foot against a piece of debris, and even in the dim torchlight she could see how matted and ruined her sneakers had become over the days they'd spent on the island. Having Francis's bags with her hadn't helped matters either. Having four bags strung over her back didn't exactly help her balance, she realized. There'd been offers of help, of course, but she'd refused them. She'd been the catalyst for Francis's death, and there was no way in hell that she was going to pass up on this attempt at atonement, however small it may have been.
Bella had clung to the others for most of their journey to the beach; initially for warmth, but after she'd taken advantage of their temporary sojourn to slip into a thick grey sweater her mother had plied her with the morning of the trip, it'd been more a matter of comfort and security than anything else.
"To think that we've actually made it here is just so..." She laughed, and gently swung her arms around. "...exhilarating."
"I'm just glad that we all made it here together," Takeshi said as he looked around. He was fortunate to have only lost Francis. Some of the names from his clubs may have come up, but he hadn't registered any he cared about, whether through preoccupation with the situation or just feeling unattached to anybody in particular.
He knew that they were doing something that might get them killed, but unless he was willing to take life he was going to be killed anyway. And better to die in defiance of evil than to succumb to it, he told himself. That being said he still didn't know exactly what they were doing, but anything was better than playing the game as far as he was concerned.
"The beach is beautiful. It could almost be just a normal day." Takeshi knelt down and picked up a seashell. It was about the size of a pedometer, fan-shaped, and bright purple. He held it out to Bella. "I'll trade you for one of the bags," he offered with a smile. He could understand why she had insisted on carrying Francis' bags, but she'd carried them long enough.
Besides, we're all in this together.
Bella managed a smile in reply to Takeshi's offer, before shrugging off her school satchel. While it was far from being light in weight, it was still a lot less heavy than the other bags she carried with her.
"Thank you, Takeshi. You're a sweetheart." She gently passed the satchel towards the smaller boy by the leather cord, and took the purple seashell in exchange, clasping it firmly. It was pretty, and almost her favorite color. She couldn't remember the last gift she'd received before this one.
"If I'd known that a seashell was all it'd take get one of those bags off of you, I'd have offered you one sooner." Ian said with smile, and at least it had come out as a grin this time instead of a grimace. "I don't have anything as cool as Takeshi's, but if you're willing to accept credit, I'll be glad to take one of those bags too."
Oh, well, I uh, I only gave it because, I..." Bella racked her brain, trying to come up with an adequate response. "I guess I subconsciously wanted to get rid of some weight, really. But, the lightest bag I've got now is Francis's personal stuff, and I'd like to keep his stuff with me. The alternative is my dufflebag, and it's quite heavy. I wouldn't... I wouldn't want to burden you with anything. You've helped so much already, Ian."
She suddenly realized what she'd implied, and turned to Takeshi. "Not to say that you haven't helped, Takeshi. You've been such a sweetheart, so far."
Takeshi smiled and bowed his head briefly. After a moment he made a suggestion. "We could probably divide up the edible stuff and then combine the rest into one bag. Should make carrying things a little less awkward, and then we'll have an empty bag for anything we might need an empty bag for."
"We could, actually. That's a smart idea, Takeshi! Maybe we should get our bearings first, though." Bella looked towards Takeshi again, and rubbed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate it, really." She shifted the three remaining bags around, making the most of the weight off her back. "Now, let's see if we can find something to make those Mickey Mouse ears you wanted for your sister."
"Not sure we'll find much here. We could definitely make some pretty awesome seashell necklaces though." Takeshi replied, looking around the beach.
"For once my embroidery skills might have some use beyond making presents, then. Even if it is just threading seaweed or dental floss through a seashell," Bella said in reply. Making seashell necklaces was a rather interesting idea, really. It seemed to harken back to her childhood, but Bella couldn't remember if she'd made seashell necklaces before. She could remember daisy chains, though.
---
As the conversation continued on without him, Ian gave a quiet little sigh. Those two were so cheerful, so confident of success, and that made it all the harder for him, because they didn't seem to get that none of them had any right to expect Karen to still be here, or anybody else for that matter. They were putting so much more trust in him than he deserved, and he'd almost certainly let them all down with his mistake. So, when he saw a flash of movement in the distance, he wasn't entirely sure it wasn't just wishful thinking.
Except...there it was again, closer this time, he thought.
It wasn't much, just a small flicker of motion near the edge of the beach, quickly obscured by the piles of sand scattered across the area. Even so, in that brief moment, he could almost have sworn he'd seen a person running...well, this was something he needed to check up on.
No point in involving the others just yet, not when there was still such a large chance that he'd been leading them on yet another wild goose chase. Besides, a quick glance back showed that they were starting to lag behind again anyway, so the idea of letting them rest again seemed a bit more reasonable at the moment.
"Hey, umm, guys..."
Such eloquence. Let's try that again, okay?
"Look, there's not a lot of the beach left to explore. Why don't you all rest here for a moment while I take one last look from that hill over there." He gestured at the nearby object in question as he spoke, though perhaps it was more of a glorified sand pile than a hill. Still, it offered a decent vantage point, as it wasn't so far as to leave him completely separated from the others in the event that something happened. That was what counted.
"If that doesn't work out, well, I think those building are the Apartments listed on the map. I guess we can at least try to find a place to sleep, if nothing else."
"Well, I'll be back in a moment."
With that, he was off, almost jogging despite his near exhaustion. Despite his best efforts to avoid getting his hopes up, he was more certain than ever that he'd seen somebody.
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of luck: bad and worse. Murphy's Law dictated that he'd either fail to find anyone...or that he'd find someone after all, named Theo, or Hansel, or anyone like them, really. But life likes to keep you on your toes, and sometimes...well, sometimes you get a third type of luck called 'dumb'. It was a foolish and unlikely hope, but when he crested the hill, he saw that it was one that had been completely justified. There, not too far in the distance, was the girl they'd all been looking for.
Allowing himself a quick, relieved grin, he went down to meet Karen. Hopefully she'd had better luck than he'd been having, up to this point.