Interstice of Time

[Espi]

((Theodore Fletcher's story continues from The Path is Open))

Theo found the clubhouse easily enough.

Having left the aviary after meeting with Cassidy, Theo had, almost arbitrarily, decided that it would make sense for him to find a safe location to wait around in until it became a danger zone. There was a golf course, with a clubhouse, so why not? Theo figured at least it might be nice inside. So he ventured forth, almost apathetically. It was around midday by the time he arrived.

It was...impressive. A mansion, to be sure, one Theo wouldn't mind living in if it wasn't soon to become a location for people to die in. Traveling up the steps into the mansion, Theo entered, slowly, and called out, "Hello? Anyone here?" Theo wasn't sure if he wanted to hear and answer back, but he didn't, so he entered.

Theo discovered that the inside of the building was lavishly decorated, and in quite good condition. He didn't really care that much, though. It wasn't like it was that safe, in retrospect, anyone could come in.

Theo moved over to the stairs to the next floor, and sat down. He was mentally numb by this point; he could barely muster apathy, now after such an emotionally draining first day. He rested his chin on his hands.

[BROseidon†]

(Matt Vartoogian continued from Welcome to Summoner's Rift))

Matt's day had gone fine after leaving the bus.

Ben's warning had been something of a surprised. Matt had figured that Ben would want Matt to pull something stupid. The two had seemed to be on the same page about everything, but apparently Ben wasn't quite to where Matt was yet. Ben wanted to survive, but hadn't committed to making it happen. Still, the threat disturbed Matt as he and Brianna casually walked around the school looking for other people to bring into their group. It meant that Ben was aware that Matt was, if not a threat now, going to be a threat later on down the road. Matt was going to have to manage the situation.

Ultimately, the pair had been unable to find anyone, and they crashed at the busses for the night. The rest of the group somehow hadn't made it to the clubhouse, so they set out as a group to meet up with Carmina. Matt spent his time talking with Brianna. He wanted as little as possible to do with Ben and Chris, and while Jesse was a nice enough guy, Matt didn't really have much to talk to him about. There seemed little use in making a new friend only to have that person die within the next few days.

While they had been walking, the announcements had come on. As Matt had figured, others had started killing first. He wasn't surprised that someone like Hansel or Iselle would have a kill to their name already, but Matt was a little surprised to hear Theo's name. Matt wasn't disturbed or shocked or outraged in any way, but surprised. He had figured Theo to be smarter than that, to wait before showing his hand.

Matt was wrong. Sure, this time being wrong had meant nothing, but he'd have to watch the assumption making and the extrapolation. Any mistake could kill him.

The group arrived at the clubhouse, and Matt was struck by how large it was. He was expecting a small shack with maybe a dining area where the aristocracy would enjoy their pleasant little meals after a dumb game of golf. He was not expecting a fucking mansion.

"So, uh, where in here was Carmina exactly?"

[Shangela†]

((G074- Brianna Battaglia continued from Welcome to Summoner's Rift))

Eight.

Eight people, eight students, eight sons, daughters, and in one case, a father. The way Tracen Danya had read their names didn't capture the humanity that these people had once contained. No mention of who Gabriella Parker had been, what Daniel Whitten liked to do after school, or where Sven Olsen was going after graduation. Just a curt  description of their deaths with gruesome glee. It was clear that this was a game to the terrorists. Any fantasies of negotiation with these people died out the morning of Day Two.

Five.

Five people, five students that Brianna casually shared classes with, ate the same cafeteria food with, even spoke directly to during her campaign in Junior year. These weren't strangers spoken in hushed whispers. These people weren't the Columbine shooters, the Virginia Tech mass murderer, or the Unibomber. Theodore Fletcher, Hansel Williams, Joe Carrasco, Katarina Konipaski and Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer weren't strangers.

Brianna kept replaying every interaction she'd ever had with these people in her life. Did they have this potential all along? How could one even tell where murder lurks in a person's subconscious? Could all of them be pushed to that point? Brianna felt sick at the implications that answers might give.

Everything had not been "alright."

The trek through the woods wasn't a terrible plot, though it would be tremendously easy to get lost amongst the natural labyrinth. Brianna wasn't paying close enough attention to the path. Nor was she paying much attention to the small bit of conversation that the group had attempted while walking. Her thoughts were elsewhere. The only connection the taciturn girl had with the rest of the group was when someone had called her name twice to no response. Upon tapping her on the shoulder, Brianna had snapped back into the group for a brief moment. Maybe they'd just think she was tired or otherwise distracted. Immediately afterwards, Brianna resumed staring directly down at her boots, as if they were something interesting. Her hands continued to fiddle and fumble with her thick black hair, plucking out more than a few strands in her nervousness.

After a moderate hike, the group finally arrived at their new base of operations. Admittedly, the idea of moving to a clubhouse wasn't immediately appealing, but Jesse and Chris had insisted to the group that it was a sturdy, stable and safe place for them. Despite her reservations about Chris in particular, their combined words were now credible.

[D/N]

(Jesse Jennings continued from Welcome to Summoner's Rift)

It was back to the clubhouse with a bigger group than he's left it with; it was exactly what Jesse had known he'd be able to pull off. Sure, there'd been setbacks. They hadn't managed to get it done before nightfall. And those morning announcements had been rough. Seriously, kids were actually killing? What kind of dumb fucks had Jesse been going to school with all these years? He was disappointed.

But you just needed to breathe; look at the big picture. There were eight classmates dead. That absolutely sucked. But there were still a hundred and some odd still alive. And there'd only been what, five out of that number who were actually crazy or stupid or scared enough to give in. Hell, he had five kids right here -- six, maybe more assuming that Carmina was still holding down the fort. Speaking of...

"Alright folks, welcome to the clubhouse," Jesse pushed the door open. "The bar's just down that way if you wanna grab some food or drinks."

They just needed to quickly make sure that everything was still kosher, and then they could get down to some revolutionary business. He'd scored some parchment paper from just inside the schools, and the idea of papering this ridiculous island with some old-fashioned protest posters was bouncing around in his mind, but Jesse wanted to get some more communication going on, some more ideas built up from the group that he maybe hadn't thought of yet. That was just reason number ten or so why the group was the key. Jesse was what you might call an exceptional teenager, but that didn't mean he knew it all. More than others, sure. Not all.

And Vartoogian had to go and ruin some of those vibes by pointing out that there wasn't anyone here to greet them.

Damnit.

"She was here.  Hey, Carmina!" Jesse raised his voice, and got dead air in response.

OK, it wasn't like Carmina was some great loss. She didn't exactly bring that much to the table. But c'mon, Jesse wasn't some kind of sociopath. He liked the girl; she was sweet enough. And an ally is an ally. Not to mention that Carmina didn't strike him as the kind of girl who would just leave on her own accord because he and Chris had been a bit late. Something had to drive her off. At least she hadn't been on the announcements. That was good.

"Alright, I'm gonna check upstairs, anyone want to come?"

He didn't think that something was around, though. After all, Carmina gone missing was enough bad for right now.

Once they'd decided, Jesse headed around back to the stairs alongside whoever else was coming with him.

[Espi]

When Theo looked up from his thoughts, he saw a group of four people suddenly entering the building, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect. He quickly scanned faces, Jesse Jennings, Brianna Battaglia, Chris Harlon, nobody he really knew very well.

Matt.

"Matt?" He said, genuinely surprised to see his friend walk in. He was aware that Matt hadn't murdered anyone yet, not having been on the announcements, and he'd known the guy was still alive for the same reason. But actually seeing him was a bit of a shock. Theo stepped down onto the floor and stood. He didn't approach Matt, though. Who knew how he'd respond to that, after a day on the island.

"What're you all doing here?" Theo asked. "And...yeah, yesterday was a bad day for me, sorry 'bout that." He thought it was perfectly plausible they were a group of vigilantes trying to kill killers or something, and an apology didn't exactly benefit anyone but himself, but whatever, not like it mattered either way.

"So yeah, what's up?"

Theo was perfectly aware his weapons were uselessly tucked away in his bag.

[Lexi†]

((Christoper Harlin continued from Welcome to Summoner's Rift))

The announcement had been like a cold bucket of water to Chris's fears. Rather than intensifiying them, it was more like a cold acceptance of the facts. Maybe it was that he wasn't close to any of the people who were in the announcement and the facts hadn't hit him, but he reacted to the reeling of the names off as a cold acceptance. He didn't recognise them as classmates yet, they were just names, people who he had passed but never sat down with. There wasn't as much discussion as he had thought when the group made their way back to the clubhouse. The night had been rough and the little sleep he had managed to get was crippled by jumping at any little sound. The image of a nice warm bed to just lie in and sleep for a week was vivid in his mind, although the fact that a sleep that long would probably leave him in a danger zone. Still, even as wrong as the thought was, eight dead was eight less people for him to worry about, an extra twenty four hours of life. Who knew, they may be able to find a way out of it yet.

He was thankful that they had picked up some new members to the group and although they lacked somewhat in firepower, he knew there was some smarter members in that group. Although he didn't trust some of them as much as he would like, none of them seemed like they would poison his rations in his sleep. Speaking of the rations, the food bars lacked serious taste. Chris wished he had some pepper packed in his kit, although a gun would have been even more welcome. He had tried to rip the blades from the skates but having failed, had reduced himself to hacking the shoes off with the other blade, leaving most of the fabric in his bag with the blades left as almost a very uncomfortable pair of blades with rags attached to the skate itself. They were easier to hold now, but they were far from comfortable to hold.

The clubhouse thankfully showed up in the near distance and Chris breathed a sigh of relief. Although the relief slowly turned to tension as it was apparent that Carmina was no longer inside. Traces of her remained, most of the blinds and curtains closed, furniture rearranged to block some doors and exits. It wasn't exactly Fort Knox but it was a little securer than it had been. He walked in, sticking closer to the others as they squeezed through the door. The mutterings of the others faded into the background of Chris's ears as someone appeared into view, a name he had heard from the announcement. Suddenly everything from the announcement that he remembered stuck into his mind and his arm quickly swung to the blades hanging from his bag. A sharp pain blossomed in his palm as he nicked the edge of his hand as he brought one of them up in his right hand as he held it out in front him, a weapon aimed directly at the killer before he even realised what he was doing. If Theo was armed with a gun, he could easily shoot Chris down before he could cross the room between them to attack but none of that connected in time for Chris to think.

" Put your hands up and don't start anything, you may be a player but you are outnumbered here! " Chris shouted, anger at the murderer having found his way into their safe haven and Carmina missing. Maybe he had just killed her so the announcements had been too early for her death. Had they left her to die at his hands when they went to find people?

[BROseidon†]

Fuck, it was Theo.

Theo, who had killed two people, who had also made the decision to try to survive, who was a threat stood before him not as an adversary but as a friend. He hadn't drawn a weapon, and his greeting had been friendly, but he'd still killed two people.

Matt didn't know how to respond, but he had to say something, right? He couldn't just leave his friend without any options. Chris or Ben might try to kill him, and that wouldn't be good. Matt needed Theo; Theo had panicked. Theo would keep killing, keep culling the numbers.

And Matt didn't want to see his friend die before his eyes, even if his friend had fucked up so horribly.

Chris had taken the liberty to verbally assault Theo while Matt stood dumbstruck. This gave Matt time to think up a plan.

"Theo, you all right man? The fuck happened?" Maybe he could explain it away, and maybe the others would believe it. If not, Matt could always try to talk Theo into giving up his gun.

[Shangela†]

Ever since the announcements had cast themselves out like an suffocating veil of grimness, those five names were the ones Brianna could not stop mulling over.
Even the most deranged serial killers had some threads of humanity residing in there somewhere. Hitler had a dog, after all. Despite the horrendous murders that the five of them had committed, there was still no way that Brianna could believe there was nothing left of value in these people.

She had crafted hypothetical conversations she'd have with each of them should she ever meet them. She could reassure them that there was a way off the island, remind them of their humanity, and dissuade their fear. Sure all of it was easier said to herself then put into practice, but it worked between Matt and Ben, and then again when Chris and Jesse recruited their group. Deep down, all people needed was not to feel scared and alone. That's exactly how Danya was trying to make them feel. Brianna would save the terrified Aurora High seniors, especially the killers; they were probably the most scared out of everyone.

Yet the second Theodore Fletcher spoke, there was absolutely nothing in his voice. "So yeah, what's up?" His casual attitude in light of the two lives he's callously stolen was unforgivable. She fantasized a broken, sobbing, afraid Theodore Fletcher. She expected remorse, sadness, and overwhelming sorrow for his actions. Brianna was looking for something that made him human. Instead, Theodore greeted the group with abysmal indifference.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. . . Though Brianna said nothing, her flaring temper was strewn across her face. Brianna wanted revenge for Gabriella Parker and Dan Liu. Gabriella had apparently begged for her life while Theo was mulling over the decision. Dan had come to Theo looking for a friend, to not be afraid and alone anymore. Both of these people were looking for a shred of humanity from Theodore Fletcher.

Would Theodore beg us to be his friend? To spare his life?

Brianna stepped away from Matt's side and backed away towards Chris. Despite what had happened yesterday, Matt still spoke so casually to his former friend. It made Brianna feel queasy. How could he still care about that killer? There was no humanity left in him, couldn't Matt see that?
Though she'd had no fealty with Chris Harlin before this, she could sympathize with his rightful anger towards Theodore Fletcher. She stood by the large jock, eyeing the fashioned blades that he held in his hand. Though she'd told herself from the first day that she'd do everything in her power to save everyone, she felt no loyalty to Theodore Fletcher. If he was going to attack them, she wouldn't dream of stopping Chris from defending the group.

Maybe she'd feel conflicted about Theodore Fletcher at some point, but for now, the verdict was reached. Theo deserved to die.

[D/N]

It was just their luck.

Jesse hadn't expected to find anyone squatting in their clubhouse. But on the off chance that he did, surely it would've been just another Aurora kid -- maybe someone hiding scared, maybe someone the knew who would jump on board with them. But no, out of a hundred and some odd classmates scattered around the island, it was Theodore Fletcher, greasy fuckball and more pertinently, murderer twice over.

And not only that, but Theo was just stepping down and saying hey. Oh, yesterday was pretty bad, was it? Fuck you, you fedora-wearing asshole. Dan Liu had been one of Jesse's friends. And knowing that he was dead, and that some kid had actually been stupid or crazy or just straight-up cold-hearted enough to shoot him hadn't exactly made Jesse's morning. Jesse could move past Dan's death, of course; it would just add more fuel to the revolutionary flame and make their triumph that much sweeter, and he'd be sure to honor the memories of the few kids unlucky enough to go down in the first couple days. But meeting up with Dan and Gabby Parker's killer in the flesh was not only going to be another kick at that wall of certainty, it was going to be one hell of a test for their strength in numbers, one Jesse hadn't expected to deal with just yet.

Thankfully, that strength seemed to be holding, at least in the first couple seconds. Chris had reacted quickly, standing his ground and drawing out the closest thing to a weapon they had. Matt spoke up too, and although Jesse found he couldn't give a shit about whatever explanation Theo might have, Matt's words would hopefully help keep Theo from trying anything stupid. Jesse took a half-step forward, Chris and Brianna to his right and Matt to his left.

"Don't you fucking move Theo, we'll rush you, swear to God."

OK. Strength asserted. Now what?

Now you take action, that's what.

Theo had taken a step away from his bag, which lay on the first stair, leaning halfway over the edge. He'd shot both the people he'd killed, so Jesse could wager a guess as to what might be in that bag. Strength in numbers was one thing; strength in numbers and weaponry was another altogether.

"I'm gonna grab his bag. You stay right there Theo, then maybe we can talk about who had a bad day."

Jesse stepped forward, reaching for the bag. If Theo was smart, he'd just stand back and take it like the bitch he was. If Theo wasn't smart (and given that he'd been dumb enough to start playing, that was certainly possible), then... well if he made a move, Jesse would just have to take him down.

[Espi]

((Semi-GMing of Jesse Jennings approved by his handler))

Oh.

Okay then, clearly being friendly here wasn't an option.

As Chris(?) threatened him with what appeared to be some kind of bizarre knife things, and Jesse approached, Theo immediately realized how much he'd fucked up yesterday, and more recently 3 seconds ago. Killing 2 people certainly made him a thread, as intended, but more to himself than others. Nobody would trust him, he'd have nobody to watch his back

and more importantly now he was Enemy #1 on the island.

And of course, while he tried to play it cool, clearly their expectations of him being a heartless psycho worthy of Voldemort-level levels of random dickery were going to be held up regardless of his actual actions. Noo, nobody would talk to him, or listen to what he was saying, just assume he was going to continue playing.

So when Jesse walked over past Theo to his bag, Theo had to make a decision. Let whatever these guys (and Matt...who seemed to be the calmest of the group) wanted to do happen, or make a move to get out, theoretically in one piece, hopefully without any more bloodshed.

Theo stepped in front of Jesse, and stood there. "Don't touch my stuff." Theo said. "Since a converstion's apparently not an option, I'll just tell you what I want to say. I don't want to kill any of you, so don't push me. I am going to take my bag and walk the fuck out of here, and if you try and stop me then we'll just see, but I have a gun and none of you do so you probably don't want to do that."

Theo stared at the others, waiting for a response. Would they attack? What was about to happen? Theo had no clue.

[Riki]

[Joachim Lovelace, continued from Beauty]

In hindsight, it seemed obvious that somebody else could enter the clubhouse during Joachim's and Jaq's absence. However, Joachim was not thinking about that, thus he was surprised when he heard voices as he drew closer to the mansion.

Once again, dozens upon dozen questions formed themself in his mind, intent to avoid any moment of serenity. Who are these people. How many are there? Why are they here? Were they friends of Carmina? Have they found the bags? Did they knew what happened? Did they have weapons? Were they ready to kill any 'intruders'. Would Jaq and Joachim be able to peacefully keep the mansion as their 'base'?

When he stood at the door, he found the answer to a few questions at least.

Theodore Fletcher was among them. Joachim remembered the voice of the boy, as he made a... certain impression on Joachim. Peaceful was out, then.

He was not enterly sure about what he wanted, or rather, what he was supposed to do. His first reflex was looking at Jaq, demanding that she would tell him. There was a slight urge within him though. Theo had killed, yes? Even two people. In cold blood, as it seemed. Like Joachim. It was a stupid urge, but somehow, Joachim wanted to talk to Theo. Sure, what could you possibly talk about. Tips for killing people? No, it was more that Joachim wanted to see someone like him. Someone who suffered due to the guilt as well. Misery loves company, after all.

Stupid urge.

"Jaq... this is Theodore Fletcher in there, with some other people."

He paused for a moment.

"He also killed. Two times."

[Lexi†]

There was something that Chris had learned from playing sports most of his life. No matter how scary or strong the opposing team was, they were always beatable. If not that day, then the next game or even the next season, they would lose eventually. They would get cocky, have an off day or simply end up out gunned. Right now, Chris sure hoped that though yesterday may have been a good day for Theo increasing his chances, right now, the four of them were stronger than him by himself. Strength in numbers, if he survived this, he would have to get that tattooed on his arm as it seemed to have become his new mantra.

Matt then had to play the nice guy, right after Christopher had already aimed his weapon at Theo. A ice skating blade may not be an distance weapon but it was better than nothing. The fury in his stomach at the sheer gall of Matt asking a cold blooded murderer that innocent question. The boy had slaughtered two of their classmates. One could maybe seen as self defece but two in a day? No doubt in Chris's mind at all, he knew that Theo was dangerous to them all. Someone dies, the police catch the killers and justice gets served. So with the absence of law enforcement didn't mean that there was no laws. It was a sick game they were in and Chris would do his best to not sink to the level that the terrorists wanted. If it was kill or be killed in one instant he knew the choice he would take but he wouldn't snap and kill for no reason. Protecting the group though, that was a priority. Without taking his eyes off Theo, he reached and fumbled shortly for the additional blade, before holding it to his side for Brianna, the closest to him to take.

He may not have known her well or trusted her that much, but two armed people would be better than one and with Brianna the closest to him, it made sense to pass it to her if she would take it out of his hand. And with Jesse taking the lead, it made sense to have two people around with a weapon. Unaware of their viewers standing outside, Chris could feel his heart racing, his mind running with scenarios. Theo could shoot them right now, but he didn't have a gun in his hands. That meant that he would have to get the weapon out, if he even still had it. Would they have time to attack him and get him away from his weapons before he could fire on them? He took a step forwards, eyes glaring at Theo.

"You don't know what we have packing but I do know that Carmina was supposed to be here and now she is gone. You add her to your kill list this morning?"  

[umop-ap!sdn†]

((Jaquilyn Locke continued from Beast))

From their window view, things seemed to be getting heated in the club house.

"Jaq... this is Theodore Fletcher in there, with some other people."

That name... why did it stand out. Where had she heard it.

"He also killed."

Oh shit.

"Two times."

Oh shiiit.

The announcements had been too devastating to have picked out and selectively remember specific names. Lucky for her Joachim had thought to pay attention, and he knew the face to the name. What the hell would have happened if Joachim hadn't warned her? She strained herself to try and hear conversation through the window.

"...but I have a gun and none of you do so you probably don't want to do that."

"He's threatening them. Alright, hang here and cover me." It all felt too familiar.

She put her own gun down. There were too many people inside for aggression to be a safe approach, showing off the nice weapon would stir the pot too much. Something needed to be stirred, but not in her direction. They just needed their supplies. If they could manage to get Theo's gun away from him and in their own possession, they would be doubly armed.

Jaquilyn stood and grabbed handle to the door.

"You don't know what we have packing but I do know that Carmina was supposed to be here and now she is gone. You add her to your kill list this morning?"

Oh God. She turned to Joachim, her eyes wide. This was too coincidental an opportunity to pass up. A chance to disarm the top killer, use him as a scapegoat, and maybe claim his weapon. That was all a lot of power. She had to act. She thought for a moment of her choice of words before grabbing the door's handle and yanking it open.

She stepped through the door. A quick glance at the couches showed that all of their bags were still in place. Of the students present, Jesse Jones was easily recognized, Chris she knew too. Theo had also just been identified.

She stared hard at him and clenched her teeth.

"You fucking KILLER!" She pointed her finger.

"We never should have left you with her!"

[BROseidon†]

Holy fucking shit what the fuck was going on why the fuck did everyone have to ruin Matt's perfectly good plan.

Matt was going to talk Theo down, get him to give up his gun, and send him on his way. He'd either die or figure out a way to keep killing, out of sight and out of mind each day until the announcements roared again. Instead, everyone else had to go fucking aggro as balls and then Jaquilyn fucking Locke had to come in and accuse Theo of killing Carmina.

Carmina wasn't there. Carmina was dead. Had Theo really added a third kill to his count? And why the fuck had Jaquilyn and Joachim left Carmina with a guy who had killed twice? Had they left before the announcements, but were just now coming back because they felt like it?

And where was the body? The mansion was big, so it could be elsewhere, but he hadn't noticed any blood anywhere in the building. He felt like he normally did when he would narrowly avoid facechecking a bush with the entire enemy team in it. Something was off, and Matt needed more information.

"Woah woah woah, you're saying Carmina is dead? Jaquilyn, what happened, exactly?

"Also, Theo, you're not leaving. Not until we get this sorted out. Don't let him open that bag."

Hopefully his external calmness would dissipate into the rest of the group, since he was starting to get really nervous himself.

[Shangela†]

In the most harshly coincidental of senses, the day had evolved from Brianna questioning the mentality of killing to being directly snared up in a conflict. Maybe it wasn't coincidence. It seemed all too fitting that the group would have to see first hand what the island did to their students.

No, they weren't a product of the island. One can't blame their environment entirely for their actions. Nature versus nurture, that debate, played out in her mind. Was Theodore a product of the environment that forced students to kill or be killed? Maybe, but there clearly must have existed something in his psyche that had this potential. The line he tossed about not wanting to kill them made Brianna wince. When they were a group, Theodore couldn't do anything. Carmina was all alone.

Carmina.

Brianna had never met the girl, but was told a few things about her. She was supposed to be sweet. She was supposed to be an ally. She was supposed to be here. Theodore had very likely killed the girl before they arrived.

Brianna wouldn't let herself dwell on the timing too much. If she allowed herself to think, she'd blame herself for taking a few minutes in the morning to brush her hair. Or maybe blame the group for briefly stopping in the woods to relieve themselves. Every minute that she could recount could have been a minute closer to finding Carmina alive. However, it was something she could never know.

Instead, Brianna shifted her thoughts to the conflict at hand. Without thinking, she grabbed what Chris Harlin had offered; an ice skate blade liberated from the shoe wasn't a traditional weapon, but it was the first that Brianna had held on that island. Her own weapon was probably somewhere in her duffle bag, buried under the few supplies she and Matt had gathered last afternoon. That was something that Brianna and Theo had in common. Both of their weapons were out of reach.

Matt seemed extremely calm given the circumstances. Theo had been needlessly caustic, Jaquilyn, who'd just arrived out of thin air, had come out accusatory, Chris had taken initiative and raised arms. Even Jesse exerted pressure on Theo. Brianna had contributed nothing except for standing off to the side slack-jawed, shaking as if in an ice bath. She started to feel guilty in the circumstances.

Brianna shuffled from Chris' side and returned in the middle to the fray to Matt. As she traipsed forward, she scanned the large lobby of the clubhouse. Despite how alluring and vast the concept had looked at first, in this conflict, everything felt claustrophobic. The walls, the collar, everything made Brianna's windpipe clamp shut.

She now stood by her friend Matt. Though she absolutely had no trust, no kinship, no warm feelings at all towards Theodore Fletcher, she trusted Matt. Matt was taking initiative, and he needed support. If Theo branded his gun, then... then...?

I defend Matt.

"Why don't we all just pause for a moment? Given the circumstances, I'm sure that we're all a bit on edge at the moment. Don't do anything now that you'll regret for the rest of your life." Brianna urged the group to stop the confrontation. Revenge may taste sweet for a while, but eventually your conscience catches up. Brianna wasn't sure if Theo's would ever resurface, but if anyone here died and Brianna had done nothing, she'd blame herself for however much longer she'd have left to live.

"Theo. Jaquilyn. Everybody. Can we just talk for a second?"