Lost Children

Girl and Boy, No. 1

The island school is relatively small, and, in another place and time, the school may have provided a relaxing setting. The school consists of many classrooms, a basement, a football field, and a small gymnasium. It may prove a valuable place to hide, providing someone else doesn't wish to occupy your room. The structure remains as it was the day the island was evacuated, there are even items left in the students' desks.
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LadyMakaze†
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Lost Children

#1

Post by LadyMakaze† »

He was crawling in darkness.

He saw the dark.  He felt the dark.  And he was so sure that if he dared to open his mouth in this kind of environment, that he would even be able to taste it on his tongue, thick and cold.  Which was why he kept his mouth firmly closed, teeth clenched together.  He wrapped his arms together around his wiry legs in a curled up, fetal position against the floor.  

He was inside the dark.

The world beyond the world of dark was noisy and unclean.  He was afraid of it.  Beyond the dark was a world of noisy.  A world of dirty.  A world of simply more darkness.  Which was why he stayed where he was, and never moved an inch.  Here was 'safe'.  Here was where clean was.  Here was a place away from all the noisiness, and all the dirtiness.  Every now and then, there would be someone from beyond the wall of dark that would come to invade his inner sanctum, and he would either move away...or bite them.

They were all strangers. They were all noisy, and they were all dirty.  And they were all around him.  So he stayed where he was.  Even though it was still dark, no matter where he stayed, anywhere that was away from 'them' was at least safe.

But if only.

If only it wasn't so dark anymore.  

He was afraid of the dirtiness.  He was afraid of the noisiness.  But he hated the darkness even more.

If only it wasn't so dark anymore.

And that was when a light came.  

She didn't try to prod at him.

She didn't throw stones or spitballs at him.

She didn't try to drag him from a place he didn't want to leave, the only safe place he knew.

She didn't fill his ears with senseless noise, meaningless orders, or worthless phrases.

All that the light did was hold out her hand, and ask him his name, and if he was alright.

It was something that everyone else, no matter how much they claimed to care or told him that they wanted to care, had never done to him for all that he could remember since he the day he entered darkness.

------------------------------------------

"Canis canem edit," Mitch mused aloud, as he crouched against the foot of the wall, tracing his finger against the grime of the linoleum floor.  His head tilted from side to side, a thoughtful, almost dreamy expression lingering on his face.  His lips pursed together in a pout of contemplation.  "Dog eat dog.  Dogs don't eat dogs, they eat birds and cats and Kibblebits if they have a family.  Those words are silly.  But I would have gotten that right if that silly glasses boy hadn't answered before me.  Yes, I would have gotten it right."

Green eyes tilted in an oddly thoughtful expression towards Cathalie, who was also crouching, her face hidden and pressed against her knees.  "But why did the glasses boy get a hole in his forehead for answering? It looks quite painful.  Would I have gotten a hole in my forehead if I had answered?"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP, MITCH!"

Shocked into silence by Cathalie's outburst, Mitch bit his lower lip and turned to face the wall instead, humming unsteadily to himself.

"God....fucking....DAMNIT!!"

The smaller, black haired girl sprung up from where she had lain huddled against the floor, launching herself at the nearest chair, heaving it up into the air by both legs, and hurling it against the wall.  With a sickening crack, the flying chair embedded itself into the side of the wall, sticking there for a few seconds before clattering against the floor.  

Far from satisfied, Cathalie turned to grab hold of an entire desk, overturning it completely before lifting it up again and smashing it against the surface of the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Perhaps even a dozen times.

All the while, Mitch watched as Cathalie continued her tirade, looking as calm and innocuous as a summer's day, though he would dodge every so often as a bit of desk-part shrapnel came hurtling his way.

When the sounds of desk bashing against chair finally subsided, everything fell into tense silence once again.  All that could be heard was the sound of Cathalie's heavy breathing throughout the empty classroom.  Tense.  Shuddering.  Sounding almost as though someone in agony were sobbing.

It was all that could be heard for about two minutes before Mitch finally spoke, his voice light and cheerful as always.

"That make you feel better?"

The sound of plastic and metal grinding against linoleum could be heard as Cathalie simply shoved the desk aside, a pained, yet weary looking expression on her face.  Her normally pale face was red, likely from all the effort put into throwing a chair into a wall and smashing a desk against the floor.  Through her dark eyes, dark makeup, and dark locks strewn across her face in disarray, the glint of anguished tears could be seen.

Mitch watched quietly as Cathalie collapsed against the floor, huddling into a crumpled shape, hugging herself tightly for comfort as she lay against the cold linoleum surface.

It was never meant to be this way.  

They were already orphans.  Hadn't fate tormented them enough? They'd had to live without ever enough food, without enough money, without enough, period.  For the better part of their lives, they'd been without someone to truly love them and care for them.  They'd endured as others tormented and ridiculed them, simply for having no home and no family.  Their lives were already painful enough, and now...

Now fate had decided that they were to be thrown into this nightmarish game of survival, where the only way out was for everyone else to die, whether those killed ended up being either you, or your best friends.  

"It's not fair..." came anguished moans from Cathalie's huddled form.  "It's not fair....it's not fair..."

Mitch only watched from a distance as the empty air began to fill with this anguished tautology, tilting his head to the side as he continued to observe.  As always, his sleepy-looking, almost dazed expression revealed not a single clear emotion, other than perhaps mild curiosity and acknowledgement.

But when Cathalie didn't move, Mitch began to crawl over to her.  His movements were slow, and tentative, perhaps in anticipation of being the next one to experience the impact of a flying chair.  

But Cathalie continued to lie still.  And so Mitch gently, tenderly took her in his arms, allowing her head to rest against his shoulder, running his fingers through her hair as she continued to sob silently.

"Don't be sad, Cathalie.  It's okay.  I'm here."
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Endless_Helix†
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#2

Post by Endless_Helix† »

<<Continued from Ghostworld>>

After spending about twenty minutes walking and twently minutes resting, Ernest finally found somewhere to stay. It looked like an abandoned school. Somehow it actually managed to look less inviting than a new school usually did. It was the quiet. It settled on your shoulder and told you things. Things like there are people in there who want to kill you. Good. I'll go out before I'm crazy.

And with that, Ernest stepped inside the building. It seems that there'd been a raffle at one point. It was currently all over the floor. He wandered through the entryway and then he heard raised voices coming from down the hall. Ernest started out the door, but he stopped.

Wait. They're probably frightened and nervous and about to kill somebody. Why are you stopping? Ernest halted. And he thought again. Because, I would be doing exactly what they're doing, if I was anywhere near normal. Maybe I can finally be a human again... Humans have done a lot of good things and a lot of bad things, this is definately a bad thing. Why do they do it to eachother? I have to find out.

Ernest walked back into the building. He heard a loud crashing sound and another raised voice, no... It was definately the same person. As he got farther down the hall, he could have sworn he heard another voice, but it ould just be his mind. It took him a quite a while but he found the door it was all coming from.

"That make you feel better?"

The romantic in Ernest smiled, the cynic puked.

"Don't be sad, Cathalie. It's okay. I'm here."

And so the romantic murdered the cynic. There was no way in hell these two, Well, I suppose it could be one, but it's unlikely. I heard two voices, were playing. They were scared. They were Childish. They were pathetic. They were the most beautiful thing Earnest had ever seen.


So, Ernest did the polite thing and knocked.

Tap, Tap.

"Uh... Hello? Uh... Is anybody in here? Besides me?"

He hoped they would just kill him out of fear.
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LadyMakaze†
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#3

Post by LadyMakaze† »

Cathalie barely registered the fact that she was being held tightly, yet gently by Mitch as she sobbed into his shoulder, staining both her face and his shirt with tears and smeared make-up.  She did, however, register the comfort that somehow eased the anguish in her mind.  To her, the feeling was both familiar and foreign.  This wasn't the first time that Mitch had held her like this.  Then again, the way he was holding her felt as though she were in the arms of someone who was as close as family to her.  And if it was something that Cathalie had never felt in her life, it was the feeling of being held by someone connected to her by blood.

And so the two young orphans clung to eachother in silence for a good minute or so...until the forboding sound of tapping against the door brought Cathalie to her senses, not to mention her normal self.

"Uh... Hello? Uh... Is anybody in here? Besides me?"
In an instant, Cathalie was up on her feet, and Mitch was thrown off of her, tumbling to the floor a bit in mild surprise.  She looked anxiously towards the only door in the room, heavily barricaded by a gigantic mountain of desks, chairs, and overturned shelves.  It was then that she felt a fear that she had never known before in her life.  For all she knew, the person that stood beyond that door, as much innocuous as his words were, could be out for their blood.  Cathalie and Mitch may as well be the next ones killed without a care in the world.

Thinking that the boy would become discouraged and retreat if she did so, Cathalie fell silent, fiercely hoping that Mitch would have the sense to do the same.

Whatever hope she'd had for Mitch failed her completely.

"Cathalie, there's something a-tapping on the door," he remarked in a light, sing-song voice, looking curiously towards the door partially hidden behind a wall of furniture.  "Is it the mailman? Is it the milkman? Is it the debt collectors come to throw us out? But I thought we had someone to take care of the mortgage..."  Tilting his head to the side in an inquisitive manner, he wandered over to the door, much to Cathalie's horror.

"You can't throw us out, Mister Debt-Collector!" he called out to the door as best he could behind the mass of overturned furniture.  "We already paid our mortga-"

"Go away!" came Cathalie's voice from the other side of the room.
Mitch turned to look towards Cathalie, looking suddenly shocked and broken.  Cathalie returned his look of hurt with an exasperated one of her own.

"Not you, idiot!"

"...Oh."

At this clarification, Mitch calmed significantly.

Cathalie turned back towards the door.  "Go on! Get out of here if you know what's good for you! Get gone, before we-"

She turned towards Mitch, "Hey, kinda gun did that redhead use to kill that blonde girl in the footage we watched?"

Mitch answered promptly and confidently, "Remington 11-87, a gas-operated, semi-automatic shotgun commonly used for tactical purposes, capable of blasting a good-sized hole through....hmm, maybe a door this size and this thick from a range of-"

"You hear that, kid?" Cathalie snapped on, hoping to scare off whoever was lurking behind the door, and likely looking for trouble.  At the same time, she began to back away towards the pack that lay at the foot of one of the desks, etched with the number 'G01'. "If you're tired of living, we'll gladly put a hole through your head like Faust did van Garrett! Or else just go and get gone!"

Mitch tilted his head to the side, his face wearing an inquiring expression. "We have a shotgun?"
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Endless_Helix†
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#4

Post by Endless_Helix† »

"Cathalie, there's something a-tapping on the door. Is it the mailman? Is it the milkman? Is it the debt collectors come to throw us out? But I thought we had someone to take care of the mortgage... "You can't throw us out, Mister Debt-Collector! We already paid our mortga-"

Ernest inwardly smiled at that. There was no way in hell his personal demons would come up with something like that. The voices of madness were far more interesting, as they say. However the interruption was far worse.



"Go away!"

Ernest's face just hardened. He'd heard that way too many times. Rationally, however, it was the logical thing to say. They didn't that he wasn't some psycho, just waiting until night to slit their throats. Altthough, he was a psycho. He pondered the different stereotypes for psychotics, like himself, as she continued on with her little talk. The she paused and drew Ernest's attention again.

"Hey, kinda gun did that redhead use to kill that blonde girl in the footage we watched?"

"Remington 11-87, a gas-operated, semi-automatic shotgun commonly used for tactical purposes, capable of blasting a good-sized hole through....hmm, maybe a door this size and this thick from a range of-"

"You hear that, kid? If you're tired of living, we'll gladly put a hole through your head like Faust did van Garrett! Or else just go and get gone!"


Ernest just sighed and fumbled with the handle on the door, paused and then looked down at the handle. The door was open. And it opened outward. You've got to be kidding me... There is no way... It's got to be barricaded.... He opened it a little to find, unsurprisingly, a very large pile of chairs, tables, desks, and other assorted furniture. In fact, he couldn't even see the rest of the room it was so tall. He smiled a little. If you're going to do something right...

"Listen, Cecily, right? Umm... I think that most people on the island are not out for blood at this point, although you and your boyfriend might be out for mine right now... I think that most people are about where you are right now, scared out of their skulls and nervous as hell. I'm not playing," Ernest began to become very nervous, what if they actually did have the shotgun?

"You've got to believe me! I'm not playing! I've got a fucking ball of twine and two days to live and then, poof, I'm fucking gone! Dead in one way or another! I just don't want to be alone for once in my goddamn fucking life!" Ernest paused a second, "Please!"

Oh, Hell... I told them way to fucking much. That's what emotions give you. Goddamnit...
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#5

Post by LadyMakaze† »

Listening intently and fearfully for the unknown figure just beyond the door, Cathalie reached for her daypack, promptly unzipping it forcefully and producing a distinct ripping noise.  Blindly, she thrust her hands into the depths of the open bag, her hand feeling her way through the pages of books, past the first aid case and the flash light.  It was not long until her hands hit something cold, hard, and bottle-shaped.  

With a look of pure bewilderment, she extracted her hand, pulling out what indeed turned out to be a container of sorts, decorated with a thick white label that was printed with huge, dark text and WHMIS symbols.  

"...Chloroform..." She uttered with a tone of utter incredulity and disappointment, staring at the bottle clenched tightly in her hand.  Not a shotgun.  Not any sort of firearm.  Hell, not even a knife, but an anesthetic, albeit a rather potent one.  Just how would she be able to defend both herself and Mitch against someone with a weapon capable of doing more damage? Like a machine gun, or a pistol?

But it was an asset nonetheless, this Cathalie knew perfectly well.  She had an idea of its capabilities.  For sure there had to be some way to put this chemical into good and effective use.  Contemplating the matter, Cathalie bit her lip in grim determination as she looked towards the door.  No doubt the person beyond it would attempt to open it, only to be met with a faceful of furniture.  

Nibbling on a hangnail on the end of his index finger, the ever inquisitive Mitch wandered over to take a look.  

"Tri-chloromethane," he remarked, tilting his head close towards the label of the bottle for a closer look at the huge text printed upon it.  "That looks potent.  Are we going to do surgery, Cathalie? Or are we going to trap an animal?"

"Yeah," Cathalie replied, returning his curious gaze with a grim smile of her own.  "A really big animal."

Immediately, a plan began to set to work in her mind.  It was a dangerous tactic, but if it worked...

She looked over to Mitch, regarding his innocuous, inquiring gaze with a serious one.  

"Mitch... I need you to do this for me, okay? I'll follow after you.  But you have to be promise to be careful."

Mitch gazed at her simply for a long silent moment, before he broke into a reassuring, wide mouthed grin and nodded in affirmation.  "Don't worry, Cathalie.  I can do it.  If it's you telling me, I'll do anything.  Don't worry."

"Okay."

The tone of hesitation and uncertainty of Cathalie's voice did not come from distrust of Mitch's promise, but rather concern for her companion, given the dangerous task she was entrusting him right now.  But she knew she had to play to whatever strengths they had, and when it came to Mitch, despite the flaws he had, Cathalie knew more than anything that whatever strengths he had amounted to plenty.

As she got up and neared the door, she smirked slightly as she heard the boy pleading plaintively from the other side of the door.

"You've got to believe me! I'm not playing! I've got a fucking ball of twine and two days to live and then, poof, I'm fucking gone! Dead in one way or another! I just don't want to be alone for once in my goddamn fucking life!"

She blinked with incredulity.  Twine? Well I could think of worse weapons, but depending on whether or not he's lying....

It was then that she called out, calmly and cautiously.  "...Fine.  But you'd better not end up on our throats if we let you in, or else we WILL blow your guts out through your back.  You got that? And the fucking name is Cathalie."

With a smirk, she leaned her back against the wall adjecent to the wall of furniture, as Mitch stood nearby, crouching against the floor.  He might have looked completely harmless and completely innocuous if not for the excited looking expression on his face.  Cathalie couldn't help but smile as she grasped the bottle of chloroform in her hand.

And waited.

"Well, come in."
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Endless_Helix†
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#6

Post by Endless_Helix† »

Ernest pressed his ear to the door, listening for hint that the two kids might be playing. There seemed to be some general rummaging going on, a faint shuffling.

"oroform..." filtered through the door in a dissappointed tone. Well, at least whatever it was, it wasn't a shotgun.  That was probably a good thing. The girl didn't sound very stable and the boy wasn't playing with a full deck, although it probably consisted of the better cards. So basically, two crazies, with some kind of chemical and an unknown weapon, behind a mountain of rubble. They'll probably want to hit me with the chemical and then use whatever  weapon they have left to kill me.

Ernest smiled; this one time, his skin could be an advantage. The odds that either of the kids had dealt with an albino before would be immensely low.  They'd probably be slightly shocked when they saw him...

-lorometh... slithered through the door. Okay. I don't like this situation. Ernest frowned, I'd better leave. They're probably playing. Dammit. I've got two days before I'm gone. Every second counts.

"Such a shame."

Ernest sighed and quietly walked out of the school.



<<Continued Elsewhere>>
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#7

Post by LadyMakaze† »

Cathalie waited apprehensively with bated breath, clutching the large container in her pale, shaking hands.  Her heart beat wildly as she awaited the entrance of the stranger, looking towards Mitch who was at the ready to act first thing at first sight...though the expression on his face made her wonder if he merely took it all as a simple game rather than with any sort of seriousness.

Either way, the sound of footsteps retreating from the door, as well as a faint mumbling beyond the other side of the wall served as indication that the intruder had given up, likely intimidated into retreating by the prospect of one or more students ganging up on him upon entry.  

Still, Cathalie remained stiffened against the wall, tense in apprehension for any sort of surprise attack...but it never came.  With both her senses and her gut instinct, she could no longer feel the presence of the stranger anywhere near the doorway as his footsteps faded into silence....

"...Haah..."

A sigh of relief escaped Cathalie's lips as she relaxed her trembling form, her breathing still rapid and shaky as she began to calm.  Shifting her hands to balance the weight of the chemical bottle she was holding, Cathalie moved away from the wall to her pack.  There, she knelt down and placed the bottle of chloroform back inside.

Behind her, Mitch was still awaiting the prey to fall into their trap, not realizing that it was a prey that would never come.  Growing obviously and unbearably impatient, he began to whine slightly, his head tilted back in a crouched position as though he were a wolf about to howl to the ceiling above.

"Nothing is coming...." he said mournfully.

"Too bad.  Looks like he got scared off..." Cathalie remarked, though she was relieved more than anything that the boy had enough good sense to leave them alone.  She looked over her shoulder.  "Get away from there, Mitch."

Protruding his lips into a childlike pout, Mitch leaned back in his crouching position until he leaned far enough to roll backwards against the linoleum.  He landed on his feet yet again, assuming a crouching position yet again, though this time he had rolled right next to Cathalie and was now looking towards her, hugging his knees with his stick-like arms.  Still looking sulky and mournful, he watched Cathalie as she began to rummage through her pack, as well as Mitch's.

"The animal got away....how are we going to eat, Cathalie? Will we have to eat mice and rats now? I could try catching birds...on the rooftop.  Like cats do... I remember catching a pigeon on the roof of the school... but it got away when I fell through the cafeteria skylight...the shame."

Somehow, the mention of something as non-delectible and unsavoury to Cathalie as mice, rats, and birds induced Mitch to sink into a dream-like trance, his eyes glazing over as he began to dream of better times...

"....I'm hungry.  I think it's almost dinnertime, Cathalie.  We should have dinner now.  But what are we going to have for dinner if we're not going to be at the orphanage?"

In wordless irritation, Cathalie thrusted a tin container towards him with a curt, "Here."  Mitch's hunger was all but forgotten as his eyes caught the glint of the metallic shape of the box.  His green eyes widened, suddenly hungry beyond any sort of desire for food, Mitch grabbed the box with his bandaged hands and held it in his arms as though savouring it with his mesmerized eyes, basking at the very feeling of holding it in his hands.

Beside him, Cathalie was muttering in exasperation.  "It's dinner."

At Cathalie's remark, Mitch tilted his head to the side, looking at the box this way and that, holding it upright, on its side, upside-down.... basically examining from all angles and at all sides.  Balancing the box precariously on the crown of his head for a moment as he stared up at it, he lowered it until it was level to his face, and sniffed it, looking somewhat confused.

Letting out an agitated yell, Cathalie snatched the box away from him just before he was about to bite a chunk of tin from the whole thing.  Prying the lid open, on the verge of tearing the whole container apart completely, she slammed the now open box on the floor before Mitch, allowing the top layer of crackers to fly into the air and spill over.  

Mitch blinked at this action, as though trying to comprehend the very point of it all.  His interest, however, was suddenly taken by a crackers, and upon popping one into his mouth, his eyes lit up at the taste.  Soon, he was thrusting handfuls of crackers into his open mouth.

Beside him, Cathalie ate more conservatively, not caring much for the bland, stale taste of the crackers.  That, and also her mind was on other matters...

Survival of the Fittest...this really is what's happening.  I didn't want to believe it, but... seeing myself here, I suppose it just has to be true.  Damn it...that means I could be dead the next day, or even within the next hour.  There's people out there looking to kill in order to survive, looking to kill us... How will be survive this?

Now that Cathalie thought of it, considering her designated weapon, what wouldn't she do for a shotgun...heck, just for security sake.  

She stared at the spray bottle of mosquito repellent in her hand.  It had been Mitch's designated weapon, as she had discovered, much to her chagrin and disgust.  All in all, though there could be people out there with fucking guns, and though Cathalie and Mitch may as well both get blown apart by shotguns or eviscerated or beheaded or bludgeoned or what have you, AT LEAST THE FUCKING MOSQUITOS WON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO TASTE A DROP OF LIVING BLOOD FROM THEM! Good God.

But she wasn't completely devoid of resources.  Cathalie had chloroform at least, which, given the manner in which it was used, may prove to be a handy asset.  

She also had Mitch, and though ordinary people would hardly consider that an asset, Cathalie knew Mitch better than anyone else.  The fact that his mind essentially...worked differently from the norm was as much an asset as it was a liability.  All that Cathalie could hope that Mitch and his odd mindset would do her more good than harm.

Furthermore, just looking at him go about his own business, seeking only the basic desires and needs in life: food, sleep, fun, shinies, and Cathalie; even in such a situation was enough to merit a bit of admiration from Cathalie.  Or perhaps it was just the fact that he still remained ignorant, and blissfully so, of the whole ordeal they were thrown into was a source of comfort for her.

She huddled in place on the floor, holding her knees close to her as she looked towards Mitch.  

"Mitch...let's talk."

Such a simple phrase was enough to avert Mitch's attention from his beloved crackers towards his beloved Cathalie.  Swallowing the rest of his current cracker and licking his lips and fingertips abit, he turned to face Cathalie entirely.

He replied with a grinning face covered in crumbs.  "Yes, Cathalie, my dearest one.  Only such a fine, engaging idea should come from a fine, engaging one like you.  Yes, precious Cathalie, we shall talk."

Cathalie couldn't help but smile, albeit with a certain amount of incredulity.  

"Well, I was just wondering....What would you do if I told you that we might die tomorrow? Both of us? Like...say, tomorrow we run into someone who suddenly shot us both in the head, killing us instantly....how would you react?"

At this, Mitch fell silent, looking towards Cathalie with a blank, green-eyed stare.  It was unable to determine just what he felt or thought of the sudden speculative question that was presented to him.  It did, however, seem as though that judging by the way he stared at her for a moment was a good hint that he was taken aback and somewhat off guard by Cathalie's unexpected question.

He fell into a contemplative silence, leaning his head back to tilt his face to the ceiling, rocking back and forth in his huddled position as though he were a rocking chair.  Tilting his head to the side before answering thoughtfully, sounding as though he were carefully choosing his words.

"Wellllllll...." he mused aloud.  "I would wonder if dearest Cathalie had cracked her poor, dainty head upon a wall or something...or if she was trying to be funny.  But I know that my precious Cathalie doesn't lie.  Because the good-hearted Cathalie is straight and pure and true, and a heaven high above the crime of lying."

"Thanks..." Cathalie muttered, on the verge of dropping the subject entirely if she couldn't even get a single straight answer from Mitch.

But Mitch continued, still looking thoughtful and pensive.  "If you said that, then that means it would be the truth.  But what would I do?"  His face contorted slightly as he frowned in thought. "Mmmm..."

His face suddenly brightened up as he looked towards Cathalie.  "I know! I would say, 'Don't worry, Cathalie!' I would tell you not to worry, because we're together, right? We'll always be together, so we're safe.  We're not gonna die, 'cause we can take care of eachother! And if anyone tries to hurt or kill my precious Cathalie... I won't let them! No one is allowed to lay a finger on my dearest Cathalie, my shining star, the light that guides me through the shadows of my own-"

"I get the idea, already," Cathalie muttered, rolling her eyes, though she couldn't help but smile slightly, comforted by Mitch's words however ridiculous they might sound.  "Well...That's good enough, I guess..."

Mitch raised an eyebrow in an inquiring expression, tilting his head to the side yet again.  "Why do you ask such an odd and un-Cathalie-like question? Are you sick?" He suddenly went up to her, placing a hand on her forehead and one on his own to compare temperatures.  "Did you hit your head somewhere? Are you worried? Are you homesick?"

"No, no, no, and also, no," Cathalie replied idly, brushing Mitch's hand away from her forehead.  "And what home do I have to be homesick for? The orphanage? I sure as hell think not.  Anyways...it's just a question I wanted to ask..."

"Oh..." Mitch lowered his arm, taking in what Cathalie had said for a moment before his expression returned to its usual brightness and giddiness.  "Okay! Then it's my turn then! Hmmmmm...what shall I ask.... oh, I know! What if I told you that a huge animal with no face, spouts out water, breathes fire, and is as huge as a giant was going to swallow up the whole world and transport us into a place covered in saltwater and tofu where people are born as old men who grow up into children and eat nothing but soya and mineral water and make daily sacrifices to the god of plumbing?"

As Cathalie stared at him with an utterly incredulous look that plainly had the phrase, 'What the fucking hell?' plastered all over her face, Mitch broke into a grin and laughed out loud.  

"This is a fun game," he remarked happily.  

Cathalie sighed in reply, thinking it better to preserve her own sanity by refraining from coming up with an answer to Mitch's hypothetical question.  But that was Mitch, after all.  She'd been stuck with him as long as she could remember, and no matter how much she thought she knew him, the green-eyed boy covered in bandages would always come up with some way to surprise her.  

But she supposed that leading a simple life without someone as offbeat as Mitch would be somewhat boring and monotonous, which was probably why she enjoyed his company.  Most of the time anyways, when he wasn't fawning over her without end.  Though how he would even begin to deal once he knew what was really going on...Cathalie couldn't possibly imagine.

It was then that she suddenly remembered something that had escaped her mind.  Gesturing to catch Mitch's attention, she thrust the spray bottle she had found in his pack towards him.  

"It's yours," she told him offhandedly.  "Do what you want with it."

Blinking at her for a second, Mitch peered down at the bottle that now lay in his hands.    Examining it from all angles and sides as he had done with the tin box, he held it to his nose and sniffed at it, immediately letting out a sneeze as he caught scent of the solution that was inside.

"....except eating it," Cathalie added quickly, seeing the Mitch open his mouth experimentally, though her warning induced him to decide otherwise.  Instead, he fascinated himself with the label, printed from top to bottom with various instructions, ingredients, and warnings of the particular solution.

"Meta-N,N-diethyl toluamide...." Mitch read alloud, tilting his head in interest.  "It's DEET! The kind of stuffs you use to keep nasty things away! Like demons and evil spirits and stuffs!"
"Well, it IS insect repellent, so I would imagine that it would keep nasty things away," Cathalie muttered, shaking her head.  The next thing she knew, Mitch was up on his feet, the spray bottle cap coming off with a pop in his fingers as he began to spray forth continuous streams of mosquito repellent into the air.

"Away! Away foul demons! Thou shalt not standeth against the purifying agent that I wield with these hands!"

Raising a sleepy eyebrow, Cathalie watched with incredulity and utter bemusement as Mitch began to race around the inside of the room, the hiss of the spray bottle in his hands.  The air began to smell faintly of DEET as Mitch continued to essentially bathe the whole room in it.

Deciding to ignore Mitch for a while, now that he was fully absorbed and fascinated by the very wonders of insect repellent, Cathalie leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes in a light nap.  For a while, it seemed that all was normal and ordinary, even with Mitch running around the room like a maniac with a spray bottle in his hands.  It all seemed normal enough for Cathalie to feel safe, if only for a little while before she remembered what sort of a situation she was in.

She may as well be dead tomorrow, and being the orphan that she was, there would be no one to miss her, no one to remember her if she died.  Now that she thought about it, if Cathalie died, would it really make any sort of difference to the world at all?
In some way, it was just the very thought of it that had made Cathalie angry in the beginning...but now, it had faded somewhat to a sense of apathy and disinterest.  In any case, she didn't feel like wrecking anymore chairs or desks.  Whatever happened would happen, and Cathalie decided to deal with it when the time came.
Leaving Mitch to his purification of the classroom, Cathalie felt sleepiness take over, and she closed her eyes as she sat back against the wall, wondering if her life back in New Jersey had been any better than the way it was now.
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Strawberry Prince†
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#8

Post by Strawberry Prince† »

((Continued from Barbie Girl))

A school, a school that reminded her of Bathurst now stood before her. It truly felt like she was another step closer to home. But no matter how much she can delude herself into thinking it was Bathurst High, it wasn't. A sigh escaped Venus' lips entered the school building, it was empty yet she still heard people running down the halls. She could hear the clank of lockers being opened and closed, and the loud murmer of gossip being exchanged.

But most of all she could see the Sisterhood walking with pride as they plowed through all the nerds, jocks, normals, uglies, and anybody else who dared stand in there way. Ali would be standing at the groups head, blasting any student with an insult or rumor or piece of gossip that stood in her way. Oh, how she missed school already, she'd give anything to go back.

Those kids who say school is a waste of breath is totally wrong. They are just impudent imperfect brats who don't realize what kind of gift going to school is. Venus walked through the halls, her back ached more than it did before, mainly because of the damn sludgehammer she was carrying. Why didn't she dispose of this annoying wrench in her gears? Its was probably because a part of her did not want it to fall into the hands of someone who might actually be able to use it.

Opening the door to one of the classrooms Venus quickly closed it and locked the doors. She dumped her backpack near one of the front row desks and surveyed the place. The classroom, the classroom where students sat down and waited anxiously for the bell to ring. The atmonsphere made her feel like she was in Denton once more, with all her friends, and with all ger goals still intact for her perfect future.

The windows were black, it was finally night on the island. Venus has been gallavanting throughout the place since the morning. At first she embraced the day by having oral sex with a nerd, after being attacked by an crazy asian she fled from the forest. Venus reached the river at mid-day only to be greeted by what seemed normal guy, it turned out that normal guy was a psycho and tried attack her. After fleeing from that scene she traveled across the dam and toward the metropolitan area and came here to the school in the early night.

Traveling throughout the island was no picnic. It was a grand area which took her forever to travel from place to place. When she found a place that looked peaceful she would stay that is until some factor showed up driving her from the place. Hopefully she could actually find some peace here. Venus decided she would spend the night at the school, in this empty classroom.

Her back felt like it was a feather, especially after carrying that sludgehammer everywhere. Looking at the old fashioned chalkboard Venus smiled, with one hand she took the powdery chalk and examined it. The girl remembered how the teacher would pick students to come to the board. Venus banged the erasers togeather and took a wiff of that wonderful chalk smell that drifted to the floor in a cloud of dust.

Tears began to well up in her eyes, she missed home. Venus was homesick, she was confused, and most of all she didn't know what to do. This whole island represented everything Venus' beleifs, or at least what she thinks her beleifs are. Sinking into one of the front row desks Venus sat herself down and buired her face into her arms which she layed on the smooth surface. Her head was down, she couldn't see anything but the dark. Tears continued to come down her face, Venus was crying; At last this perfect person had no plan to follow, no goals to acheive while on this island.

"What do you think your doing!? Get up! Perfect girls don't cry like normal pathetic humans! Sit up straight!" This new voice alarmed Venus, she quickly sat up straight and searched for the person who spoke to her. "Stop looking around like you don't know anything! You must be sure of yourself! Confidence is the key to becoming perfect!". Venus was scared now she had no idea what was going on, had she finally gone insane?

"Over here you ninny!" There was a bang of something hitting one of the desk surfaces. Venus quickly turned her head sharply to the voice that spoke to her. Standing up straight was a tall woman, she was wearing a long old fashioned victorian dress. A frilly white collar surrounded her neck, at the center of the collar was a black oynx brooch. Her hair was grey and tied into a bun, her skintone was also grey, as well as her eyes and lips. The woman looked like she was in her early or mid forties, but the apperance she wore made her look older. In her right hand was a long wooden ruler which made the banging sound she heard.

"W-Who are you?" she asked. "I am your personal tutor on how to become perfect understand? You are here because you've completley strayed yourself away from the path of perfection!" she stated. "I-I'm so sorry...I-Its just that my life has taken an unexpected turn. I have no idea whats perfect anymore! I'm confused a-and I just want to go home!" Venus started bawling now. "Stop that crying at once!" a sharp slam of the wooden ruler to the desk silenced the girl. "You won't get anywhere if you keep on babbling like an idiotic person! Perfect people do not break even under stressful conditions. They always prevail over no matter what the situation is! You must mantain focus and confidence!" Venus dried her tears and nodded her head trying to understand it all.

What was happening to her? Was this some type of angels sent to help her? Venus didn't know but she didn't dare defy the woman, might as well succumb to whatever fate has planned for. Maybe this will actually help her figure out some things that have been troubling her mind. "I-I have so many questions that need to be answered...." "Stop being nervous, its completley screwing up your speech! Repeat that sentence again!" The woman had very good diction, it never occured to her how perfect her being actually is.

"I have so many questions that need to be answered." repeated Venus in a monotonous tone. trying to imitate the womans precise diction. "Good, you might not be beyond help after all." she said. "I'm here to answer any questions about perfection as necessary. Anything to help make my pupil understand more about what it means to be perfect. Now enough doddling! Are you ready?"

Venus looked at her with a puzzled expression. Are we going some where? The girl still didn't understand what exactly has been going on. She prayed that everything will be alright now, she would leave her fate upto this woman. She will decide if she is fit to be perfect, if not than there is no use in continuing. The woman went to the chalkboard and took one of the white pieces of chalk that seemed to turn grey when she touched it. With swift and perfect handwriting she wrote two words which will be the key to Venus' salvation.

"Your Perfect Lessons of course."
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LadyMakaze†
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#9

Post by LadyMakaze† »

It had been long since the first minute of nightfall, and a cold, thick darkness had befallen the inside of the classroom as the last of the sunlight faded.  Within the barricaded classroom, Cathalie slept, though not soundly.  She shifted restlessly in her sleep, and ground her teeth, mumbling at several intervals as she lay curled up against the wall.

Not far off, Mitch was sitting up, also curled up in a fetal position with his hands wrapped tightly around his knees, absently murmuring to himself as she swayed back and forth precariously from where he sat on the linoleum floor.  In one of his hand, he tightly clutched the mosquito repellent with a quivering hand.

"It's dark and cramped and cold in here, it's so cramped and cold and dark in here, it's so cold and dark and cramped in here, it's dark and cold and cramped and clammy and dark and gloomy and creepy and dark and scary and dark in here..."

It wasn't long until his disturbed mutterings gradually augmented into a full-throated, mournful wail, as though he were a crying child scared in the darkness.

"It's so dark and cramped and cold in here!"

There suddenly came a dull *thud*, a yelp of slight pain from Mitch, and a metallic clatter along the linoleum floor.  Cathalie had awoken and had thrown one of the flashlights towards Mitch's general direction.  It had grazed his head and fallen on the floor.  From the wall, Cathalie rubbed her eyes blearily in the dark, casting a sour look towards Mitch though she could not quite see him through the darkness.

"Pipe down and relax, will you?"

In the meantime, Mitch's curious fingers had found the flashlight that had been sent rolling a ways off along the floor, and he managed to switch it on, casting a beam of light directly into his face, illuminating its gaunt contours and his wide eyes for a moment before he turned away, repelled slightly by the sudden brightness.

"It BLINDS us!" he moaned, turning the flashlight away from him and rubbing his eyes.  However, it all faded to curiosity and intrigue as he recovered from his temporary blindness, swinging the flashlight this way and that.  The beam of light that emitted from the flashlight swung in all directions, illuminating the various features and furnitures of the room before it all faded to obscurity again.

"So bright and shiny..." he murmured.  He suddenly caught sight of Cathalie as her face caught the beam of light directly, causing her to groan irritably and turn away as her eyes were assulted by the light.

"Hey look! There you are, I found you!" he remarked jubilantly, crawling closer to Cathalie where she sat by the wall.  "...I thought the evil faceless water-spouting fire demon of death came back and got you. But I guess the Holy Spritz of Light worked..." He looked towards the can of mosquito repellent in his hand as he did so.

"Whatever..." Cathalie muttered, stretching her arms out abit and blinking to adjust her vision to the dim lighting.  "Crap...it's night already...have I been sleeping for that long?"

Mitch nodded and grinned at her in reply, spinning the flashlight around in his hands, and tossing it into the air, causing various parts of the room to light up and darken again at split-second intervals.

"It's actually almost morning," he told her cheerfully. "You've been sleeping for about five hours and twenty three minutes.  Did you have a good sleep?"  His voice suddenly faded into one of concern.  "I heard grinding noises from your mouth.  I also heard you talking to someone in your sleep.  Did you have a bad dream? Did the bad demons get into your head and make you crazy? Did you get possessed?"

It took Cathalie to register all that Mitch was saying...but as soon as the first bit of what he said finally sunk in, she suddenly grabbed Mitch by the shoulders and shook him slightly.

"...wait.  It's almost morning already?! You're not joking are you?"

"Not at all, dear Cathalie."

Cathalie gave Mitch an incredulous look while Mitch only gave her a patient and bemused smile.

"...And you mean to say that no one has dropped by since that wierd guy from before?"

At this, Mitch's eyes wandered to the side in a brief moment of recollection, and he shrugged mildly.

"There was this creepy girl who meandered in after you fell asleep.  She's in the classroom across from us right now.  An odd little kid...she doesn't do anything except mumble to herself and play with the chalkboard.  Very odd.  I think she might be possessed."

Cathalie could only gape with all the incredulity of their current situation.

"...And she hasn't tried to break in? She hasn't tried to attack us or anything?"

Mitch shrugged at her again.  "Dunno if she even knows we're here."

He continued to smile ever mildly, ever patient as Cathalie blinked at him for a moment before letting go of her hold on him, sitting back as she allowed herself to relax a bit.  There was still the feeling of apprehension of being in the same area as another student, one who may as well pose something of a danger to them.  Then again, if she hadn't attacked them yet...

...Cathalie made it a point never to take a nap for more than half an hour if it would let her survive these next few days.

Mitch, meanwhile, seemed quite mild and nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Also, you slept through this announcement thingie," he added, switching the flashlight on and off.  "There was this really loud and obnoxious voice that kept saying all this nonsensical wierdness...It said a buncha things that made no sense...apparently some girl spontaneously combusted.  That doesn't happen, does it? And also, they said somethings about Danger Zones.  The Pagoda, the Lighthouse...the Church....and...I think the School house.  That's where we are now, isn't it?"

There was barely a moment of silence following Mitch's last remark when Cathalie suddenly feel her blood pressure spike again.  In an instant, she was up on her feet, at the same time gathering the cracker tins and the bags that had been assigned to both Mitch and Cathalie.

Mitch gazed her her with a startled expression on her face as Cathalie whisked the flashlight away from him, using it to facilitate her hasty effort to organize their bags.

All the while, her she murmured in a voice heated with pure frustration and panic.

"Shit....fucking shit..."

In an instant, she swirled around and rounded up on Mitch, clenching the straps of both bags tightly in her hands.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO EARLIER!?"

Even in the face of anger personified, Mitch only regarded her mildly, tilting his head to one side with a slightly confused expression.  "But I told you just now, didn't I?"

With an exasperated sigh, Cathalie simply threw the bag at him.  "Just get the fuck up and get ready to run."

With a look of utter surprise, Mitch blinked at her for a moment.  However, his judgement and common sense compelled him to decide that the best thing to do would be to do exactly as Cathalie ordered, particularly while she was in such a mood.  

The next few seconds saw the two children making an effort to hastily tear down the barrier of furniture they had used to barricade the door.  At the very instant that enough room could be made for them for each of them to squeeze through, Cathalie was out the door in an instant, with Mitch following close behind.

While Cathalie bolted through the hallway, her bag in tow, Mitch stopped a moment before the door that stood across the one that he had just exited.  He paused, crouching down against the door and pressing his ear against it, hearing the murmured inquiries of the girl he knew to be hidden beyond the door, mumbling to herself.

He tilted his head towards the side, looking more curious than anything, crouching low to peek through the crack at the bottom of the door, though there was little that could be seen of the room beyond.

It was Cathalie's shouting cue for him to hurry up and follow that caught his attention.  Standing up again, he cast yet another anxious look towards the door, deliberating on what to do before he finally made the decision to leave the girl behind and follow Cathalie out of the school building and towards safety.

((Mitch continued in Humanity.))
((Cathalie continued in Humanity.))
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Strawberry Prince†
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#10

Post by Strawberry Prince† »

"A perfect person has perfect posture. let me see you walk with three books on your head." said the lady putting several old school books ontop of Venus golden blonde hair. This was nervewrecking to the girl, she was scared that the books would topple over. She could nto fail, she just couldn't. The girl started to take a couple of unsure steps. She shaked making the books wobble; Oh no! Their gonna fall! Venus was scared out of her mind, who knows what failure would bring if the books fell.

"Confidence if key, if you do not have confidence the books will fall." she said with a serious expression. Venus looked at her, a gesture meaning she understood. With a deep breath through the nose she walked with a straight back along with a confident expression. "Good job Ms. Gwendolyn, theres hope for you yet." she said slowly walking over to her, lifting the books off of her head and placing them on the teachers desk.

This whole night Venus had learned various things, how to walk straight, how to write correctly, how to talk perfectly, how to act in peoples company. However the question buzzing in the girls ears still hasn't been answered by her headmistress. "Excuse me Headmistress..." she said with perfect pronounceation. "Yes, child?" she replied folding her arms. "Theirs something that has been bothering me, and I need to ask now or else I will never be able to acheive perfection." "Out with it then!"

"Well I was wondering, is it imperfect to kill someone?" The grey lady eyed her carefully before she spoke. "Of course it is!" "But what am I supposed to do then? If I don't kill I'll die." she said, wishing that this answer wasn't the truth of it all. "In circumstances like these perfect people must be salvaged. In order to live and maintain perfection you must elminate the competition." Venus looked at her, trying to make sense of her words.

"Does that mean...?" "Yes. The only way to survive is kill. This is what you must do Miss Gwendolyn.". Venus nodded, all her insecurities dissolved and replaced with pure confidence and knowledge. "Thank you so much." she said with a beaming smile. Not only did her smile beam but the sun as well as it poured into the windows of the classroom. The announcments started to blare up and state the danger zones and the number of those killed.

"It is time for you to leave this place." said the grey lady. She slowly approched Venus and looked down upon her with serious eyes. "There is no more I can teach you. You are officially perfect." Venus' eyes watered up after hearing these long awaited words.   "No go forth and win this contest of survival and become the shinning model of perfection." Venus nodded and and started packing up all her things. She was ready for the world now, nothing can cloud her mind. All those tangled beleifs and sentimental values have been straightened out thanks to this grey angel sent from the Heavens.

After putting on her backpack and strapping her katanas seath she approched the door to the classroom. Before touching the handle she turned back to the grey lady. Her black dress didn't falter shades, he skin tone didn't react to the incoming sunlight, her hair didn't come out in a messy tangle from her neat bun. 'Perfect Lessons' still was imprinted in white chalk letters on the chalkboard, not fading with time or weather. She looked at Venus with the serious eyes she always looks at her with as if waiting for something to happened. She was so greatful for this angel, for helping her make sense out of this imperfect world she's been put into. At last she can venture forth and become become victorious in her quest for survival.

"Class dismissed."

((Continued in Bloody Roses))
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