Breaking Point

[Crash†]

(Alexis Machina continued from Rinse, Repeat)

The last few days on the island hadn't been kind to Lex. Her hair, which was previously an already matted and tangled mess, had become a target for spores, bugs, and various leaves and moss from the jungle. Her shirt was ripped in various places and her clothes were stained and soaked through from the rain. She'd somehow managed to cut herself open a number of times as she traversed the jungle. None of them were anything serious, but they proved to be annoying enough to double Lex's level of irritability.

On top of the various physical grievances she'd endured over the last few days, Lex's mind and stomach were also giving her trouble. The numerous annoyances she'd put up with had finally started to get to her at the showers (which she regretted leaving so hastily given her current appearance), and hearing of Keiji's death was the icing on the cake. She was losing all hope of maintaining her life or her sanity on the island. All thoughts of fear or concern had long since been lost. In fact, since she also discovered that she'd run out of food, they'd given way to sheer anger.

Nothing was going right for Lex at the moment.

***

(Nick Jones continued from Finsternis)

Nick Jones was also having a terrible time.

Everything about his trek since he woke up on the island was horrifying. He couldn't find any of his friends, the person he thought he'd heard at the quarry had managed to escape him, and worst of all, he'd even lost Eicca and Eris because he thought it would be smart to wander off on his own. They weren't exactly close, but they were the two friendliest faces he'd managed to find since he woke up, and now even they were gone. Nick was petrified.

As he slowly made his way across the trail he managed to stumble upon some time ago he noticed a rather large puddle and stopped to take a look at himself in it (which was a bit of a challenge through the rain). The constant drizzle had managed to effectively ruin his hair, which on a normal day he would've spent up to an hour carefully preparing. His favourite outfit was soaked through and spotted with dirt and grime, and he could swear Eicca had managed to spill some vodka on his shirt, because it reeked. His face was becoming patchy with stubble, and his normally perfect and sparkling white teeth were caked with plaque and food from the week he'd been trying to survive. Upon closer examination he noticed that he was grimacing, which must've been an instinctive reaction given how he now saw himself in his reflection. They did say old habits die hard, but Nick still couldn't help but wonder why his appearance of all things was still so important to him.

"It's just 'cause you're a Leo. Don't think about it. Keep moving."

Even his dance training hadn't prepared him for the hellish week he'd been having so far, and as Nick continued his trek down the trail he quickly realized that he was becoming increasingly more exhausted. His legs felt like they would give way at any moment, and the heavy weight of the chainsaw that he clutched in both hands wasn't helping matters. Eventually he resorted to dragging it along the ground, caking it in mud on the way. The fact that he'd barely eaten any of his rations (he'd devoured the tin of crackers but had only picked at the loaf of bread) also made him quite weary, and when he happened upon the hollowed out tree that he vaguely remembered being marked on the map he heaved out a heavy sigh of relief. Finally, he'd be able to get some rest.

Eagerly, Nick dragged himself into the tree. As he was about to sit against the side of it, however, he realized that he'd failed to notice that a person was standing on the opposite side of it. A small part of him hoped that it would be one of the cute guys on the baseball team, but he wasn't so lucky. It was fairly easy to tell who it was - Lex had been the target of a lot of talk at Southridge - but seeing her didn't make him feel any more comfortable. She was never the friendliest of sorts, and combining that with the fact that she looked like Medusa at the moment made Nick noticably restless.

"Oh," he managed, squinting a little. He really couldn't bring himself to say anything else; surprisingly enough, he was too tired to even feel startled by her presence.

"...Oh?" Lex began mockingly, venom practically dripping off every syllable she spoke. "Nice to fucking see you too," she spat back.

"What the hell's your problem?" Nick retorted, his reply clearly indicating how exhausted he was.

Lex was quite clearly pissed off, and she wasted almost no time in closing the distance between them with surprising vigor, grabbing two fistfuls of Nick's shirt. The last thing she needed right now was a prissy boy like Nick Jones pushing her buttons.

"Ah, what? Get the fuck off me!" Nick managed, dropping the chainsaw just as Lex was tightening her grip. Suddenly she curled her arms, managing to raise lift off the ground only slightly (as a result of both her anger and the obvious weight difference) and slamming him into the wall of the hollowed out tree. Nick's head impacted against it hard, and his left hand flung back behind it instinctively. "That hurt, bitch!" He screamed right into her face, his right hand reaching for the jitte that he'd carried on his belt. Lex was so caught up in the moment that she'd apparently failed to notice his sword, and the cold steel came upwards quickly in a wild slash across her upper left arm.

"FUCK!" she screamed, retracting her grip and bringing her right hand up to touch her new wound. The cut was deep enough to be bleeding quite fluidly, and her fingers were stained with the crimson ooze almost immediately. She pulled her hand away from her wound and stared at her fingers for a second, then looked up towards Nick's face. He was sporting a contorted look of both pain and rage, but seemed to be pre-occupied with rubbing the back of his head with his hand, glancing up occasionally to look at her. The seconds that passed felt much longer, but Lex wasn't thinking straight. She was seeing red. All the shit she'd had to put up with for the last week was catching up to her, and Nick provided a good outlet for her aggravation.

Resorting to the only method of fighting she was familiar with, Lex drew back her first and took another few steps forward, throwing her weight behind her punch and creaming Nick right in the eye. The jitte dropped out of his hand, and Lex continued the assault by grabbing him by the shoulders and driving her knee hard into his stomach. Nick, helpless against the attack, felt the wind being knocked out of him and fell forward onto the soft earth beneath him on his knees.

Lex seized the opportunity she'd been given and snatched the chainsaw up from the ground beside them, pulling the chain a couple times and revving up the engine. Once it got into full gear Nick raised his head in a mix of shock and fear, but the look in his eyes wasn't enough to deter Lex from her hysteria. Pausing only momentarily to savour the moment, Lex plunged the chainsaw through Nick's back.

Nick screamed in agony as the chainsaw pierced flesh and bone, and his legs gave away beneath him uncontrollably. Sprawled out against the ground, all he could do was wail and cry as the blade carved through his stomach. Eventually it pierced right through him, and almost as soon as it did Lex began slowly pulling it backwards, bringing the spinning blade up through Nick's intestines, and eventually his chest cavity. The screaming only lasted a few seconds, and eventually Nick found himself incapable of saying or feeling anything anymore. He didn't even have time for a last thought or word. The only sounds he heard were his own bone-chilling cries reverberating through the tree, and in the early morning sunrise Nick found his eternal rest.

B50: NICK JONES - DECEASED

***

As Nick's screaming ceased, Lex withdrew the chainsaw from his now bloody and mangled corpse. The five inches or so closest to the tip of it were smeared in blood, bone and stomach acids, but the sight didn't disgust her nearly as much as it normally would. All that greeted her weary mind was a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Lazily, she dropped the chainsaw beside Nick, grabbing the jitte, his loaf of bread and water bottles from his pack and replacing them into her own. Swinging her bag back over her right shoulder (as her left arm was now hurting considerably) and picking up the chainsaw once more, she turned to take one final look at Nick's corpse.

"That's better," she sighed wearily, numbly setting out into the breaking dawn.

(Alexis Machina continued in Blood, Sweat and Tears)