The Scarlet Garden

[backslash]

((Min-jae Parker continued from Flowers Hurt))

Jae hadn't made it far down the hallway before realizing he had to turn back for his makeshift walking stick if he wanted to get any significant distance. All of the exertion and falling down for various reasons was doing his injured knee no favors, splint or no. So he had shambled back to the room for the walking stick, thought of taking the taser, but his hands were full and Dorothy was still there on the floor and sure he was abandoning her, just like he had abandoned Hazel, but at least he hadn't left her with nothing.

In a sick, selfish way, he was glad she hadn't regained consciousness at any point before he finally left the wards behind. She was a piece of Asha that he didn't want to face.

(And he already had pieces of Asha all down his front anyway...)

Outside. Outside was nice, though there was a chill. Fresh air. Good for his smoke-craving lungs, much as they protested. The nicotine headache was ever present, dull and grinding like the constant anger in the pit of his chest.

God, how he hated everything in existence.

He held onto that. It kept him moving until he reached the edge of the gardens, where he stopped to catch his breath.

The announcement helpfully informed him that he could keep going without losing his neck. Isabel hadn't had the decency to go and die, of course, but there was a minuscule comfort in that she hadn't won anything from Asha's death. Brendan, the stupid fuck, had managed to... what, trip into somebody hard enough to kill them? Bernadette, of all people... he knew for a fact she and Brendan had been close, if all the times she'd gotten in Jae's face for how he treated Brendan were any indication. Brendan spread disaster like toppling dominoes wherever he went. It was a good thing Jae had driven him off when he had.

Not that it had mattered in the end.

He caught a brief, horrible glimpse of Jane's corpse as he moved deeper into the gardens. He didn't stop to look. She was long dead and so was her killer, and she and Jae had very few kind words for each other when she was alive anyway. Nothing to be gained from ogling her humiliated corpse.

It was cooler in the shade of the willow tree that dominated the gardens' center, enough to cause him to shiver. Why had he ever left his jacket with Hazel? What the hell was he trying to prove?

Jae sat with his back against the tree, staff propped against the trunk and crossbow resting on his lap. After some indeterminate amount of time, he reached for his bag so that he could reload the crossbow.

Would he fire if someone approached? Maybe. Maybe. He didn't want to see anyone right now, that was for sure. Oh, he could hate most of the ones still alive, for the simple fact that they were alive when so many others who deserved it more weren't, but that didn't mean his hands would be steady or his intent fatal.

But it didn't mean that they wouldn't, either.

So Jae sat and tried not to think, listening to the island slowly waking up around him.

[Laurels]

((Alba Reyes continued from El ángel exterminador))

"Okay, think it carefully, girl," Alba muttered to herself, circling the church and approaching the gardens.

She kept the rifle by her side and her gaze mostly towards her feet, with occasional glances up to see if anyone was near. Her free hand was moving around, punctuating each sentence with a random gesture.

"Brendan's your friend," she continued to mutter to herself. "You've been friends for some time. You went to Sadie Hawkins as friends. You two would stay friends after graduating. Well, if we weren't abducted, but yeah. And now you kissed him. You made a show about protecting each other and then you kissed him. Crap, is it wrong to kiss someone in a church? No, it's fine cause weddings happen in churches. But we're not getting married. Not on this island at least. Wait. No, what am I saying. Craaaaaaaap what do I do now? What do I do now? What do I-oh."

Alba was now closer to the tree in the gardens. She noticed a boy sitting under a willow tree, holding something in his hands.

"Um, hello?" she said, keeping her rifle by her side and her free hand out. "Please don't attack me. I come in peace."

[backslash]

Jae's eyes snapped open. He wasn't sure when he had closed them, or how long it had been. An exhaustion that had nothing to do with how much sleep he had gotten was weighing down on him, at odds with the morning sun filtering through the willow tree's branches and the quiet sounds of nature.

And now some random bitch was yelling at him.

"The hell do you want?" He rasped, almost inaudibly. Right, he had screamed his voice out. He wasn't sure if the girl had heard him properly.

She had a gun, an outstretched hand, and a declaration of peace. She didn't look deceptive, but god, he had made that mistake before. Any retreat he had gotten from violence here had always ended worse than before.

Jae didn't lift the crossbow yet, but his finger settled on the trigger.

[Ciel]

(Jasmine Reed continued from Kiss Land.)

Jasmine slapped a hand over her mouth. Her arms, her hands, her knees were trembling.

She clutched the falchion in the opposite hand. When she first clutched it, it felt like a ton of bricks. Now, though, with the adrenaline and fear in her veins, it felt light. Like a cloud.

She could kill Min-Jae. Jae did not know Jasmine was there. Jae was injured. Jae was trapped. Most importantly, Min-Jae killed someone. That meant he was a possible threat.

Killing wasn't what scared her though. Nor was the appearance of a second person -- with a gun no less. No. It was who Min-Jae was, or, rather, Min-kun. She liked to call him that. Min-kun. It was cute. Min-kun was cute. There was a time when Jasmine wanted to go out with Min-kun, before she realized Jae hated Jasmine, hated being called Min-kun.

Anxiety, social or otherwise, glued her back to the opposite side of the willow tree. At an angle neither Min-kun nor Alba-tan could see. Jasmine did not call Alba that, not out loud at least. She had no attachment to Alba-tan. Alba-tan had a gun but that did not seem to stop Min-kun from confronting her. Jasmine imagined him pointing the crossbow at her, leveling it at her chest and pulling the trigger. She also imagined Min-kun missing by a mile, causing Alba-tan to shoot him in the forehead.

It was funny how comfortable she felt about death, about killing. She could thank Caedyn for that.

Caedyn wasn't... here though.

"Just wait it out. See if one of them makes a move."

Jasmine almost wanted to deny her best friend forever. Just step out from behind the thick trunk, wave and say hello. But Jasmine was scared. She already lost Kay. Caedyn was still alive but she was at the dangerzone. On the other side of the island. All Jasmine had to do was wait it out. But that required Jasmine to stay alive. She could not take any chances. She had to listen to Caitlyn.

[Emprexx Plush]

((Caedyn Miller Continued From Hunter's Season))

Coming back to the garden just felt...right, for some reason. It was some kinda weird circular fate thing, y'know? Maybe in a little lighter mood she would have said Ja was guiding away from Babylon, or something dumb like that. She never knew what any of it meant, and she didn't really care. It was just another thing to piss off her parents and make her stand out over all her boring classmates. Well, she didn't need anything else to do that now. Between the blood, the gun, and the name ringing out over the island, she stood out plenty.

Which was a bitch, because right now she was trying to get by without being noticed by anyone else but Jazzy. It was shocking to see here, but she couldn't say anything to her yet. She was too close to Alba and whoever was around the other way. There was a voice or something over there, but it wasn't loud enough for her to make out anything. For now, it didn't matter as long as Alba didn't see her. She stayed low in the brush and tried to stay around Jazzy's field of vision, with the big tree between her and Alba as much as possible.

Jazz had to see her now. Caedyn's hand came up in a quick wave as she held her gun up to her lips, trying to urge her to stay quiet. They had to get closer. Then maybe they could deal with these losers and talk about yesterday. Or forget about yesterday in the rush of it all and just move on. That sounded pretty great as a plan of action.

[Primrosette]

((Brendan Harte continued from El angel exterminador ))

Brendan felt like he had been in the chapel for too long. He just had that gut feeling that he had let Alba wander around on her own for too long. He glanced around to make sure that no one was behind him. He had to be careful himself as he knew that there were still people would be out to get him and make him pay for what he did to Jerry and Bernadette. Had Ty heard the announcement? Maybe. Would he kill Brendan for Bernadette?

.....

If Brendan was in the same situation, then yes. He would kill him. Or beat the crap out of him. One of those two choices. Ty would never forgive him for his accidental murder of Bernadette. Murder was still murder. He couldn't justify what happened yesterday. He couldn't make any excuses for his actions. He had to take responsibility and accept his punishment whenever it would come to him.

He let out a tired sigh. He wanted to find Alba fast and then they could get back inside for a while to rest. Then they would need to make a plan of what they should do next. They still needed to talk about that kiss that was on his mind at the moment. He smiled at the thought. It was too bad that they never had the chance of discussing whether or not, they could have been boyfriend and girlfriend before all this hell had started. He had thought of asking her out while they were on the trip but things never went the way he had hoped they would.

"I never got the chance to ask her out...." He mumbled to himself, getting a little distracted and he made his way around Jane's decomposed body. It was sad to actually see her like that. Who could be so disrespectful like that? "I....I'm sorry, Jane."

That was all that he could say before he moved onwards, he then noticed that Alba had come across someone. And that someone was Min Jae. Brendan didn't think that he would see him again. But there he was. Alone. Dorothy wasn't with him and Asha was.... gone. What could he even say about Asha? Jae had lost a friend while he had killed his best friend. What the heck was he supposed to do?

Brendan was a bit of a distance away from the both of them and he had his weapon lowered by his side. He had to go over there. He had to move. Something just didn't feel right.

"Jae...." He took a very hesitant step forward. "....I'm sorry about Asha...."

[backslash]

The universe was taunting him. That was the only logical explanation for this. Hey Min-jae. Hey buddy. Who do you least want to see right now? Surprise!

Jae gritted his teeth. "Brendan." It was just a hiss. There was so much he wanted to say, to yell, and he had practically no voice. "Why are you still alive?"

Because that was the real question, wasn't it. Why was Brendan still alive when Asha wasn't? What gave him the fucking right to stand there and apologize, like Jae had ever given a single fuck about what he thought? Why should Alvaro and Alessio and Isabel still get to run around killing when Jae had lost so much? What the hell had any of them lost that compared?

Oh, they would get what they deserved, in death if not in life. Everyone would. He knew that. In a few days at the most, they all would get what was coming to them. Jae didn't know much about SOTF, aside from what everyone else knew, but he knew that the people like them didn't make it out. Isabel and Alessio and Alvaro and the fuckers behind it all would be insects, or starving ghosts, or would rot in Hell for a trillion years to pay penance for what they had done.

Wasn't it a hell of a thing, waiting day by day to hear that someone had died like you would wait for your birthday, or Christmas?

"Well?" He snapped. Croaked. His grip tightened on the crossbow. He could shoot Brendan right now, and he wasn't sure he gave a fuck that Brendan's little girlfriend or whatever would probably put a bullet in his head for it.

[Laurels]

Alba jumped back a bit when the guy shouted at her. She didn't raise her gun, but became immediately worried. She didn't want to come off as dangerous to this person, but clearly, after five days, he was having a much worse time than she had.

"Hey, it's fine," she said. "I don't really want anything. I just saw you there and figured I should say 'hello' or something. That's all."

Alba smiled at the boy. As she did, she heard Brendan approaching. She smiled a bit when he appeared. Brendan called the boy Jae and apologized about Asha. Alba's smile lowered. Ahhhhhh. So Jae just lost a friend. Now it made sense to her.

Unfortunately, Brendan's sympathies only seemed to bother Jae even more. Jae had to ask why Brendan why he was still alive.

"Hey, Brendan's not that bad," Alba told Jae. "Okay, he killed two people, but one was to save a girl and the other was an accident. I don't think he deserves that much hatred."

[MK Kilmarnock]

((Jerry Fury continued from Hemochromatosis))

Now he was actually starting to feel it. Jerry was a terrific runner by any metric. He was certain people would agree he was one of the best, if not THE best runner, in school. At least, the ones who didn't get all hoity-toity about the fact that he didn't want to participate in the cross-country club or whatever. It was funny, honestly... he considered running an activity or a way of locomotion, a way that people who aren't lazy and fat got from their couches to the grocery store to buy an ice cream sandwich.

If there's anything running across this stupidly shaped island had taught him, it was that running was a sport to be respected. It ALSO told him that the genius who decided to make crossing the bridge punishable by necksplosion was a TOTAL DOUCHER and deserved to have an explosive collar affixed to his nuts.

He was coming up on the garden now, a pretty little sight. Or maybe it was pretty once upon a time, before it became all overgreen and creepy. The willow tree was a nice touch, but also spooky as balls.

Jerry made the tactical decision (one borne of bravery and NOT pussing out on approaching anybody who may want to possibly kill him for any slight, real or imagined) of running around the group he could see congregated in the garden. It's possible he could double back, maybe try to give Trav the slip, maybe have him meet up with these bunch of something-somethings and have them direct him towards the asylum, a place Jerry definitely did NOT want to return to.

"Heh... he went that-a-way," Jerry quietly panted to himself, taking a hard right and booking it for the ocean. Maybe if he quietly, cautiously doubled back to those docks he passed...

((Jerry Fury, continued in Wombo Combo))

[Ciel]

Jasmine turned her head. She saw the bush. She saw Caedyn.

Her hand tightened over her mouth. She gasped into her palm.

"Kay..."

Jazz saw Caedyn wave. She saw the gun. At once she understood everything. Jasmine gave a quick nod, silent as a mouse. The girl stood up slightly, up on her haunches. She took a hold of her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She tried to be silent, slow, because who knew if the people on the other side of the tree could see her move. If she made it over to Caedyn, that would be it. Two on three was still bad odds but that gun? Wow. That gun was...

Caedyn had a big gun.

Jasmine giggled. Then she pursed her lips, eyes darting. Yeah, they didn't hear that. No way.

She took hold of the Falchion and began to scramble towards Caedyn on her hands and knees. Soon she was scurrying into the bush. Jasmine did not care where Caedyn was yesterday, all that mattered was that she was here now.

"There's three of them," she whispered. "It's Jae-ku - Min-Jae, Alba and Brendan. Alba has a gun, I think Jae has a bow or something. I dunno about Brandan. I didn't get a good look."

Jasmine squeezed Kay's arm. Her face turned serious.

"What are we going to do?"

The two of them were on the same wavelength.

[Emprexx Plush]

There it was. That giggle, that touch, those big hazel eyes trying to work out what they'd gotten themselves into. She didn't need to worry at all about coming back. Everything was right where it was supposed to be. As Jasmine looked up at her, she gave her a coy smile and leaned in next to her ear. "Not a thing, little bird," she whispered reassuringly. Her hand came up to squeeze on hers, before settling next to her on the tree with the gun in her lap.

"They're mad, they don't see us, and they're armed." Each fragment came with another brush of her fingertips across the back of Jazzy's hand. "Problem's gonna solve itself." From the sounds of things, that's how this was gonna play out. Jae popping off and shooting at somebody, Alba shooting back, Brendan probably pissing himself and curling up in the bushes. She frowned slightly at that thought. Hadn't his name come up a couple times? She'd never figured he'd have the guts. It must have been an accident, or a mistake. Crazy things were happening out here, but she'd believe Brendan was a cold-hearted killer about the same time she believed Bryony was coming to kill her for Bridgette. As easy to rile up as they were, it would have been a miracle if those two made it through graduation without slitting their wrists. Every second they stayed alive here was nothing but dumb luck.

Well everyone's luck was bound to run out eventually. Especially now that she had a way to help them along. If Min-Jae decided to start something with that pissy attitude of his, she felt like she and Jazzy had a pretty good chance of finishing it once the dust settled.

[Primrosette]

It hurt to be asked by someone who was angry at him why he was still alive. Why did it hurt him? He didn't know why. But he couldn't go back to being a babbling mess over why Jae clearly disliked him. Disliked was possibly the wrong word, maybe Jae always hated him. And that had always bothered Brendan.

Why are you still alive, Brendan?

He had a reason. It was Alba. He wanted to live as long as he could for her. She was defending him to Jae. He felt a bit happy about that. But he wished that he could defend himself. He needed to come out of his shell and try to calm Jae down somehow. But how? He had no idea what he could say to him.

He moved closer until he was pretty much beside Alba and he was focusing on Jae's reactions. He didn't want Jae to shoot as he thought that it wouldn't help the situation and it would only make things worse.

Say something!!

"....Alba. Let's just leave him alone. It's obvious that there is nothing I can say that will stop Jae from shooting at you or me. I don't want to be the target of his anger anymore." He whispered quietly to her in her ear and then he concentrated on looking at Jae again. "....Jae. I'm alive because I have to survive for Alba. Please understand."

He won't understand, will he?

[backslash]

Please understand.

Please understand.

Please understand why I'm here and my useless friend is here and your friends aren't. Please understand why the world doesn't work the way it should and never will, Jae.











A ragged breath, almost a whisper.

"No."

And he fired.

[Laurels]

((GMing approved))

Alba tried to keep a soft smile on her face as Brendan replied to Jae. Brendan was right about walking away from Jae if Jae was going to be so upset by their presence. They could go barricade inside the church like they had planned before. Alba nodded, and waited for Brendan to finish talking to Jae, explaining why he was alive and why the others weren't.

Alba smiled a bit more when Brendan said he was alive because he needed to for her sake. That was pretty romantic of him to say. If this was romance. Was it? She wasn't sure between the kiss and the chat in the church. Still, she couldn't help but love hearing him say something like that. She'd have to make sure that she had the chance to say something similar.

Her smile then disappeared completely. Alba's eyes widened as she saw something fly from the object Jae was holding. She turned and saw an arrow sticking out of Brendan's shoulder. Her mouth fell open as Brendan fell backwards. She let out a quick scream.

"Brendan!" she cried out.

She began to look back and forth from Brendan on the ground, blood starting to slightly pour out of the wound, and Jae by the tree. Alba gulped, then raised the rifle at Jae. She wasn't sure if she was ready to fire it, or if she could, but she needed to make good on the words she gave Brendan back in the church.

"D-d-don't! Don't do that again!" she blurted. "J-just go away or I-I'll shoot!"

Alba's hands were shaking as she pointed the rifle at Jae. She kept her gaze at Jae.

"Bren, if you can, run," she softly said to him. "Get out of here. I'll come after you. I promise."

Alba gulped again, fluttering her eyes to deal with the tears starting to form. This was the first time she was directly in danger since she arrived here. Bradley and Bernadette were cases that didn't directly threaten her, but this was a new scenario. She might have to decide whether or not Jae would live in a few moments, and the thought didn't stop her hands from shaking as she moved her finger to rest on the trigger.

[Ciel]

"Little bird?"

Jasmine grinned like an idiot. Holy shit did she want to kiss the hell out of Kay. Caedyn seldom called her that, her 'little bird', but when she did it made Jasmine's heart sing. Was it strange that she wanted to kiss a killer? No way. That never stopped Kay, did it? Jasmine almost returned the sentiment, 'Kay-chan' was a pretty cute nickname, but she decided against it. This was serious business after all.

She'd totally kiss her after things calmed down though. Totally.

Kay told her that the problem was going to solve itself. Jasmine wasn't too sure about that. While she wanted to believe in Kay totally, absolutely, one-hundred-and-ten percent, there was part of her that thought about things rationally. Jae-kun wasn't looking too good, last she checked. Wasn't he limping? If someone was going to come out on top it was Alba and Brendan surely! And Caedyn had a gun, sure, but Alba did too. And Brendan... she didn't even know what he had!

Still, Caedyn's plan was the smartest move, nevermind it being Caitlyn's idea. Wait it out, see how things progress. Swoop in when the time was right. Jasmine was antsy though, bubbling with excitement. She hovered in the bushes, stooped on her haunches, rocking on the balls of her feet. Was it the adrenaline running in her veins? Or was she just happy to see Caedyn? It could be both -

Alba screamed.

Jasmine shot her head up. She squeezed Caedyn's arm.

"This is our chance."