Antisocial Darwinism

[Espi]

((Johnny had never been to the beach.))

He had nothing better to do with however much of his life was left, so he decided to go check it out. What with them being on an island and all. There was a 'beach' and a 'bay' on the map. The bay was closer, so Johnny went there first. Maybe he'd make it to the beach today and camp there overnight. Maybe not. Who fucking knew?

After the 'excitement' of getting shot at, Johnny was in a pretty bad mood. Who could blame him? Some smug asshole taking shots at him, and it wasn't gonna be the last time. He'd go hang out by the ocean and see if there were some fucking fish or, like, dolphins. It was pretty warm here, so maybe he'd see something tropical.

The jungle was loud and he heard what sounded like bird and monkey calls. The fuck were monkeys doing here? Actually, Johnny could guess. They were probably feral escapees from the menagerie. Whoever lived here had been gone for a while, but based on the places on the map the place had been pretty built up. What had happened?

Fuck, Johnny didn't give a shit. Those people could be sunk in the fucking swamp for all he cared. Unless they saw the footage and came to the rescue, but that wasn't especially likely. There was a delay or something. Whoever recognized the place would be way too late.

Johnny exhaled sharply, gazing out into the water. This beach was garbage. Covered and kelp and shit. Maybe the other one was nicer, but now Johnny was tired. Well, sort of. He could easily keep going, but why bother? The beach would still be there when he got there. And he had some time alone now, so he might as well take advantage of it. He was out in the open, though.

So much for the beach. Johnny sat cross-legged, perpendicular to the shoreline, turning his head to the left to check the trees at any given noise, turning to the right while he chewed. The bars were basically just fucking concentrated carbs or something. Flour, water, and sugar. Disgusting.

Johnny gulped another bite.

[Sunnybunny]

((Sakurako A. Jackson continued from The Hunger Artist ))

If Sakurako let herself drift off enough, she could almost pretend she was somewhere else, but that was something she couldn't afford. With Addie's shopping cart, being sneaky wasn't really an option, so the next best thing was to be vigilant. With eyes and ears open, she was aware enough that Things were happening on the island, something none of them felt the need to run into. Living was the goal here, living and ensuring as many other people she could help did too.

After coming up with a general game plan, they'd been quiet for the most part. Smart, but boring to the point of tears. The various sounds of the animal's channel amused her a bit, and she could just imagine attempting to use a creature for something.

Inciting Animal versus Human Fight Night was probably not the brilliant, life-saving idea she'd been trying to cook up for hours.

The sight of the Bay, besides the oddly cheerful sign welcoming them to the area, was rather a disappointment. She'd seen way better land next to water, and what it lacked in scenery, it also lacked in seeming usefulness. But then again, was she expecting a boat? An obvious landmark? A miracle?

Yet another student she didn't know?

Seeing him eat reminded her she hadn't bothered to try yet, but that was a problem for a hungrier her. She waved to the guy sitting down casually, found Minecraft pick still in hand. See, they were cool, no need for static or ramming carts or Blake threatening to make someone pay. 's good in the hood, besides the very obvious stich they were in.

"Are we early for the beach clean-up?"

[Somersault]

The sight of the water, the waves rushing in, out, and then back in again reminded Adele of sand castles and sunbathing, sunglasses perched on top of hopefully not sunburnt heads. It was just like home, almost, a home she'd left behind long ago, trading in the Big Easy for the River City, but a home nonetheless. She wasn't sure whether that realization was meant to motivate her, or depress her even further.

Maybe it'd be best just not to dwell on that train of thought.

((Adele Jones, continued from The Hunger Artist))

The walk from the waterfall to here had been pretty uneventful, all things considered. No one really felt up to the business of talking, the silence almost defeaning compared to the sounds of their feet on the ground, the sounds of the cart continuing to roll on.

The silence was kinda depressing, Adele had to admit, and it also left her yearning for 'Nisha, Joanne, all the other unlucky bishes stuck out here, the thrumming still in her veins a constant reminder of just how little she had in the tank. Least she wasn't just wearing her wedges anymore, those were tossed into some random bush, replaced with no-show socks and her trusty old blue running shoes.

At least, that's what she told 'Rako and Blake. Really, the wedges were stuck at the bottom of her numbered duffel, considering there was a whole lotta space in there besides all the food and water, but they didn't have to know that. It was just a piece of home to keep, a reminder that even here, this God-forsaken place, they were still people. Not just survivors, but people with dreams, hopes, ambitions.

The running shoes did help with walking, to be fair, but again, wasn't as if she was just gonna say that out loud. No real need to, after all.

Adele was still pushing the cart, when Sakurako began waving, that stupid pick still in her hand. Still joking, too, when this place really wasn't the place for it, but again, she could play along, go with the flow. Still wasn't Showtime at the Apollo, but cool, cool, fine, awright. Who the dude was, she wasn't really sure, not from this point, and making assumptions was one of the worst things to do as a cop. 'Least, that's what the parentals always said.

"Mmm," she said, motioning to the shopping cart with the duffels all stacked in like a bunch of sardines. "Even brought a container thing, if y'all were willing."

Men just sittin' down eating typically weren't about to go ham and kill someone, but maybe erring on the side of caution would just be a little bit better.

"Ready to go save our planet?"

[Super Weegee]

((Blake Davis continued from The Hunger Artist))

The walk from practically one end of the island to another wasn't exactly eventful. He expected to walk into at least one other person, but it was about as quiet as it could get. Well, asides from the shopping cart and sounds of the various animals. The fact that there were animals got him thinking: Were there any bears? Poisonous snakes?

Blake quickly shook those thoughts from his head. As long as he didn't piss them off, they'll likely ignore him. That said, he needed to find an actual weapon soon. It's going to be very likely that Dane is not going to be the only person with a gun. Guns were his forte, but he could settle for a knife if he can't get his hands on one. He felt naked. Even more so when the girls wanted him to put his bag into the cart earlier for convenience. It was stupid, someone could just walk up and run off with all of their bags if one of them isn't watching.

Still, he needed to gain their trust even if it meant sacrificing a few brain cells. Blake took a second to memorize his number before plopping it with the others.

B039

A number. That's what those bastards gave him. His name didn't matter to them. What was he, a lab subject? Someone they can just throw away when they get bored?

Actually, yes. That was exactly what they think of him. A pawn used to entertain the masses.

Before Blake could get much further with his thoughts, he caught sight of the bay. The water was as beautiful as expected, but the land itself was another story. If that ugly kelp-covered sand qualified as a 'beach', then he didn't want to see what the actual beach looks like.

As he walked alongside Adele, Sakurako waved towards someone with the pick still in her hand. Why did she pick that up again? Opportunity for more jokes? He decided to give her a small smile, even though she couldn't see it, and looked over to see if he recognized the guy sitting down. Yep. It's Johnny.

Or 'lazy prick' in other words.

He couldn't stop himself from grimacing upon seeing who it was as Adele and Sakurako decided to make some environmental quips. He wanted to make a snide comment, but the dude seemed to be eating right now. No point in being aggressive here and needlessly starting shit.

Instead, Blake just stayed silent and waited to see how he was going to react to him and the two girls.

[Espi]

Well at least the inevitable arrivals had the decency to announce their presence.

The food bar dropped onto his bag, and he grabbed his weapon in about the same motion. Johnny stood up, shotgun cradled in his arms as he turned to look at the trio. He opened his mouth, but stopped, his brain trying to understand what was happening. Sakur-whatever was a weird girl, one of those wacky theater types. Adele was...loud, but seemed harmless.

Blake was a cunt. And he was the kind that everyone knew he was a cunt but himself, which was the worst kind. Here, being that kind got you killed. Nobody would feel bad for him. Johnny leveled the shotgun vaguely in the arrival's collective direction.

On the other hand, maybe shooting a dude might not be the best way to start his day. Gervais had started it, and Johnny wasn't like Gervais. He'd hold off for the moment. Besides, he was still trying to wrap his head around this...whatever these girls and Blake were doing.

Johnny lowered the barrel towards the ground, but still held. "You know this isn't a fucking joke right?" His tone was inquisitive. He honestly wasn't sure if they were just loopy or wanted to pretend things weren't fucked. They didn't deserve that luxury. "A dude already shot at me, and you're walking up to a guy with a gun-" he shook it slightly to emphasize it, "-and making cracks about...environmentalism? With a shopping cart?!"

He shook his head. "You guys are so fucking screwed!" He almost laughed. What the hell were they thinking? He could have killed all three of them in seconds if he'd wanted to. He exhaled. "Do you actually want something or are you just here to, I dunno, go for a swim?"

[Sunnybunny]

She could hear a record scratch in her head, clear as day.

While everyone else had been as civil as possible, this guy had decided he wanted to play the villain, and had the sheer gall to ask if they were joking. Pointing a gun at someone, even someone she wouldn't have thought of in any serious way yesterday, was upsetting to her. He didn't even have the courtesy to be civil about it like GG. Her hands shook with fear, as her heartbeat increased, thumping a soundtrack she could feel just like the rushing waves of the waterfall.

Standing in front of the other two didn't take any courage at all, her feet nearly moved by themselves. Now she was nearly in tears, a mirror image of the upset girl most people would expect her to be. A person on this island without a weapon? How long could she be expected to live? How many students with guns and weakness could she possibly be expected to survive?

Sighing, shaking, she looked at her hypothetical killer like the child he was. It really wouldn't do for someone like this to ruin her mood, would it? Why couldn't she calm down, or cower?

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so angry at someone.

"To answer your questions... it's cool to care about the planet now, and we came here looking for supplies. Since there's nothing super useful here, I figured we might as well pick up some seaweed. It could be useful for the nutrients, even raw."

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Sakurako forced herself to stop talking and smile grimace as brightly as she could at the Stranger at the Bay.

"Shitsureishimasu. Your threat isn't carrying the weight you think it is, especially considering the last person that had a gun pointed at us was rocking an semi-automatic."

[Somersault]

If they were back in 'Nooga, Adele would have stepped right in front of Johnny's face, gave him the business right then and there, chewed him up and spit him out. All with appropriate language, of course, but still showing that it was not right to disrespect someone like that, not right to be so rude.

If they were back in 'Nooga, she wouldn't have been afraid to raise her voice and shout, s-h-o-u-t like she wanted to with all of her heart, decibels upon decibels increasing in volume like a tidal wave, because it was right to do that, wasn't it?

The sand crunching beneath her feet reminded that this place wasn't right. This was not 'Nooga, and it would never be 'Nooga, and being upfront, out loud, trying to stop conflict by shouting it all down? That wasn't smart, not when guns were being passed around like candy or vodka, like to the jackass right in front of them. Again, though, she would not partake.

Cross on chest, silent prayer in her heart. Just like that, Adele took one, two, slow steps forward, next to Sakurako, hands up in the universal sign for "we won't do anything please don't kill us now". From this distance, she could see the jackass, Johnny, who okay, was sort of a jackass back in school too. Still, she stopped moving forward. Sudden movements got people killed, got the boys in blue sent home with blankets over their heads. She was responsible, right? She was cool, she would stay cool, if only because when everything was going to pieces she'd have to be the one to keep things together, keep things from falling apart.

"So, we haven't, uh, started super great," Adele said, throwing a pointed look at 'Rako. Jokes weren't helping before, and they weren't gonna help now. Maybe not ever, anymore. "But there's no need to go pull any triggers, lose any heads." Her head, too, was pounding, but they couldn't see that. They shouldn't see that, because she could bring peace, even if she had to make it with her own bare hands.

Her voice was steady, controlled, forcibly calm. Had to be steady. Had to be good. She wouldn't shatter. She couldn't shatter.

"We just trying to live out here, same as you, right? So, please, let’s just, like, talk it out."

Please.

[Brackie]

((Aditi Sharma continued from Pandorama))

Before she encountered anyone, Aditi took off her knee brace and stowed it away in her bag.

This was a stupid move for a number of reasons, but in just as many ways it was the smartest thing she could do. With it on, she could gouge sympathy from the right people, find someone who would take pity on her and not expect her to do heavy lifting or any real work, and it would make escape a lot easier. But it also meant she was a prime target for anyone in her vicious grade ready to pounce on the weakest wolf in the pack, with the only way of telegraphing her injury more clearly was to paint legs-a-breaking on the front and attach flashing lights and sirens onto it that played every time she walked. It didn't matter how many people sympathetic to her condition were around her, working with her - antagonistic forces took their shot when available, a lesson she'd learned from many years navigating the intricate mores of George Hunter. She'd known quickly to hide behind people when such forces were about, to make sure she was never the target, and it worked for the most part. And to survive here, she was going to have to implement the exact same lesson, but in a different way.

She still had to figure out the exact specifications of her plan, and for that she did need those people.

More specifically, the ones Aditi had been following since they left the waterfall. The main shouters and screamers and criers went in a different direction, but three harmless yet seemingly well-intentioned teenagers were now on their way to the island's bay - Sakurako Jackson, Adele Jones, and Blake Davis. They were silent harmless teenagers, though, which meant Aditi had to walk more careful than usual without the leg brace and without making a sound that would give away her tracking. It wasn't the best way to spend her first day, but all things considered, boring was safe, and safe meant alive, at least for now.

And when all three of them got to the beach, with Aditi herself watching from near to afar, they had seemingly inadvertently met up with another potential group member in the form of Johnny, at least until he began whining like a petulant child. The start of his time here clearly hadn't been the best, but to take it out on what was obviously a group of harmless well-intentioned people meant he had problems beyond their shared situation, which meant Aditi had no intention of including him in anything.

To that end, she stepped out onto the beach, following the footsteps and shopping cart trail in the sand until she was behind the group of three.

"Honestly, Johnny, what did the beach ever do to you? You'd think an attitude like that would be left for those who could fight back."

She felt like adding something considerably more sinister and aggressive, and considering the company Johnny currently kept she didn't feel she would get any noteworthy social backlash, but Aditi could see the workings of the gun in Johnny's hands even from where she stood a considerable distance away, and that was a stone best left unturned. If he was truly on the hunt, like people often were in situations like this against their best interests, the three in front of her would be zero and Aditi would be off to find new people, but they were not. But Aditi knew better than to press her luck.

Aditi felt like adding something to the Sakurako, Adele and Blake, but the ideas that spun in her head were meaningless small talk, not a good barrier for sounding like one had plans, so she just awaited their response to the new situation.

[Super Weegee]

Of fucking course the prick has the gun. Blake wasn't surprised by that considering the last guy who had it. What did cause him to nearly gasp was Johnny pointing it at him and the girls he was with.

Oh shit!

Before he could say or do anything, like holding his hands up, Johnny lowered the barrel of the shotgun. He...wasn't intending on doing anything with it right now? Then what the hell was that?! Does he even realize one of the most important rules about it: never point a gun at something you do not intend to shoot and destroy?

After that bit of tension, he glared at Johnny as talked about how this whole situation wasn't a joke, funny considering how he was acting just a few seconds ago, and how he was already shot at.

...Ok, that made the way he was acting make some sense, but Johnny had to go the extra mile and make fun of their situation. Jesus, is he trying to be as big of an asshole as possible? Not everybody deals with the situation the same way as him!

Still, Johnny was armed and Blake was not. As long as Blake didn't give him a reason to shoot, it should be possible to at least walk away somewhat peacefully. He was curious on one thing, though.

"You got shot at this early? Who did you piss off that badly?"

A voice suddenly popping up behind Blake nearly made him jump out of his skin. Turning around, he saw a girl that he didn't know all that well. Now that he actually saw her, he believed it was...Aditi, if he got that right? Actually, that reminded him of the one thing that he should've done as soon as they stopped. Keep an eye on the damn bags.

Taking a second to look back at the others, he took a few steps so that he was between the handle of the shopping cart and the new arrival. Not wanting to get caught off-guard, he turned to the side so he could move his head to see both her on the left and Johnny on the right.

"Are you a friend or are you looking for trouble?"

[Espi]

There were now four other people on the beach and all of them could go fuck themselves. Johnny observed the collection of arrivals with a scornful glare.

He was close to going off-he wanted to, fuck these guys-but he took a moment to listen to what Adele was saying. She...kind of had a point, at least in that he didn't really feel like shooting a bunch of people if he could help it.

First, though...Johnny turned to Sakur-Japanese-whatever. She was saying Japanese shit now, too. "If you're thinking you can rush me, I can still blow at least one or two of you open first, so unless you're volunteering, can it." He took a deep breath. That shit never made him feel better. "But...fuck it. If you guys don't try to fuck with me, I don't give a shit what you do."

There was also Adi-what-the fuck. She apparently also took issue with his conduct because this was just moral-judgment day and they got the high ground for some reason. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He addressed to her. "But really, I don't actually want to fuck with you. But..." He sighed. Y'all need to be more careful if you're just gonna walk up to people. If that's how you wanna run it, be my guest, but don't be surprised when she's right." He gestured with one hand to Adele.

"Like, I ran into Gervais. Baseball kid, afro, thinks he's hot shit? He took some shots at me like, within seconds of me getting on my feet. He ran off but yeah." What the fuck was he giving these losers advice for? He shook his head. "Fuck, I don't know."

He was tired already. He'd been angry for hours and now he was out of steam. But he couldn't afford to let his guard down. "Shit sucks, so don't pretend it doesn't." He shrugged again.

[Sunnybunny]

Her heart kept beating, beating... it wasn't fair that she was more angry than scared. If she'd been alone with this Johnny person, she may have considered answering his threat worth the risk. Sakurako's hands still shook, even as Adele chastised her with a look

(grandmother)

Aditi showed up, and Blake questioned. Her mind was swimming in the possibilities of giving in whatever was inside her, visions of retribution dancing in her head, and it always hurt so much when she was misunderstood.

It hadn't happened in a very long time.

She glanced at the water, then at Johnny again. Him being shot apparently for no reason was reason to be so upset, but it wasn't as if she'd pulled the trigger. Funny how the shotgun hadn't saved him from being hurt. Actually funny, considering how he thought he could control her with it. Shaking her head, hair twisting in the wind, she responded to him.

"Not trying to fuck with you. But all this is a joke, except no one's laughing but terrorists and sick people at home who enjoy it. I'm not going to act like I'm already dead inside for the sake of keeping the peace."

I'm all I have here, and-

But since he seemed all fussed out and non-shotty, she let herself look at the new arrival. Aditi always had really nice clothes, and the island hadn't seen fit to change that. Sakurako didn't know her beyond that, but any sort of greeting was better than what the other girl was getting so far, yeah? Though B's cautiousness was good, especially since she'd been so careless they'd been snuck up on.

"We could really use a friend."

She took a deep breath before smiling weakly and giving a wave.

[Somersault]

Adele blinked, and then blinked again. They were...listening? Blake was still being a prick, but that was a given by now, and 'Rako seemed to be toughening up, just a bit more real. Most of all, Johnny wasn't gonna shoot. He was standing there, still as a statue, complaining, like in Chattanooga. Still complaining, yeah, but complaining the way he always had. Gervais was a name she'd heard around before, not really someone she spoke to, but yeah. Wasn't a great situation, but they could make it better. Just a bit.

Aditi was there, too, loitering in the back, saying something cutting as always, and okay to that too. Like, wasn't as if Adele didn't know that she had a taste for gossip, nuh uh, but it was fine. It was good. Things were peaceful, because of what she'd done. Handled it just like a professional. Things could stay. Things could remain.

There was hope, just a glimmer, yet her skin still felt like there were a million little pinpricks dancing along, sensations running up and down while all she could do was grin and bear it. She should've felt great, should've felt like the world was at her feet, because yes, she was getting it done, but no revelation of the sort came. Just more dull pain.

"We know this this is shitty," cuss coming out of her mouth if only for Adele to focus her attention on something else than the tingling. "We ain't idiots."

She tried to stand up taller now, assert some kind of authority over the situation. The waves were still rolling in and out. She tried to use that to focus, to center herself, to make sure that what she said had weight, that what she said would get through their brains, make something better than just dreams lost to the tides. Maybe her eyes still felt dry, maybe her arms felt like they had sandbags on them, but darn it, she was still here to speak. And they were still there to listen.

"But," Her eyes darted from Aditi to Johnny, trying to include everyone in her sweep of the area. "That doesn't mean we gotta lay in the sand and wait for whatever's gonna happen to happen to us."

Her look softened, just for a moment.

"Friends?"

[Brackie]

At first, her attention was commanded by Blake, who stood between herself and their trolley of bags like she was a grifter ready to snatch the entire palette.

"I don't believe I'm friends with any of you yet, but I'm not looking for trouble. Fighting is too much energy at this point."

But it had to return to the angry little boy with the gun. Aditi really hated being lectured by people who were beneath her, and that was all Johnny seemed to be interested in doing right now, as though he was declared arbitrator by the mere fact that he'd been shot at. Maybe if he was more pleasant or interesting of a human, he wouldn't have been shot at? Either way, he was irrelevant now, or at least he remained so in Aditi's mind. Her attention was very much on the group that she'd followed in the first place, who were much more open to working as a group.

The fact they seemed still so open to working with someone as unpleasant as Johnny was a mite concerning, but if she ingratiated herself with them she could course correct.

"I'll be upfront and honest with you at this point, and say that I'd like to join the three of you only because you have numbers and you don't seem like you'd kill me the moment I turn my back. And if I joined you, I can promise to do the same, and I would do my best to help out however I can."

She leaned over slightly, making sure to get a good view of Johnny, raising her voice in the process.

"Not him, though."

[Super Weegee]

He raised his eyebrow when Johnny pointed the finger towards Gervais. Either Johnny was a really bad liar or he started it and wanted to make Gervais out to be the villain. Regardless, Blake didn't believe a single word of it. Sure, Gervais could be a prick at times, but he respected him for his honesty when it was asked for and for being pretty good at baseball. No fucking way would he just murder someone right out of the gate without a really good reason.

As much as Blake wanted to correct him, he didn't want to give Johnny a reason to point the gun at them again. Instead, Blake decided to pretend that his warning was effective and turned his head to address him.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him."

And ask him if you're leaving out some things. Which you are.

Turning his head back to Aditi, he listened as she offered to join up with the three of them. Adele and Sakurako were pretty open about it, which pretty much meant that he couldn't turn her away even if he wanted to. He didn't really know if he could completely trust Aditi, but it's better right now for her to be with them than against them. Though he couldn't help but stifle a snort of amusement when she said that she wouldn't help Johnny.

"We weren't really asking him to join," Blake said, "but you're welcome to join us. Before that, though, you should hear what we're trying to do."

He then motioned towards the water.

"Right now, we're trying to find a way to get off this island without killing anyone. Unlikely as it is, we're looking for boats that we can salvage or any stuff that we can use. Are you up for that?"

If she did agree, then it might convince a few people with lesser numbers to back off. Safety in numbers, right?

[Espi]

Wow, what a fucking asshole.

Johnny was inclined to point the shotgun at Aditi, but like, that gave her too much credit. She wasn't worth his time. The barrel idly swung back and forth over the sand, before he steadied it with his other hand.

He shot her a look that couldn't quite kill but it was damn close, and turned back to the others. At least Adele and Sakura(?) were like, trying to be decent human beings. That was as good a reason as any to not take a shot at Aditi. The thought didn't sit well with him, either. Murdering people was...he didn't feel like it. He'd probably have to eventually but like, why bother now.

Ugh. Fuck these people. And Blake was talking about escaping. What? What did he think was going to happen? These guys were fucked. Adele and Sakura(???) eventually got better, but if they thought they could just get on a boat and sail off, they were fucking retarded.

Johnny hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. "Fine, what the fuck ever. You guys have fun without me." There was no bitterness, just as much cavalier apathy as he could muster. He didn't want to be around them, and they didn't want to be around him, so it was win/win. He held the gun close and took a wide berth around them, eyes on them at all times, until he'd gotten around them and next to the woods.

He couldn't let it go without one more point. If they wanted to listen, good for them. If they didn't, they'd get fucked. They'd probably get fucked either way, but, at least one was less pathetic. "And by the way, pretty sure they can hear us. Just in case you didn't know." He turned and left, looking over his shoulder as he departed into the woods.

((Maybe the nice beach would be better.))