She screamed.
The pain Nate caused was growing. Fiyori didn't know that was still possible. Her body had become a mere flesh bag. Something tossed around by Fiyori's whims and the consequences thereof. And it wasn't Jae's knife, nor Candice's two shots to the guts, but Nate's terrifying bite that reached for Fiyori in the nether of her feelings and pulled her mind back into reality.
With it, everything came back.
Fiyori pressed her body against his. Her hold did not break. After all, she still had another arm.
Rivers in the Desert
Gervais Frans Lambotte 
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Nate was aware of Fiyori's other arm coming under his chin, carrying on what the other one started, but he didn't care. He couldn't care anymore beyond what he was doing right in that instant, because that was all there was left to do. The last act. His last goal.
He didn't let up, not for an instant. His teeth were scraping on bone, his jaw ached from all the force, and there was so much blood everywhere, but he didn't let up.
Even as the choking on his throat went on, he didn't let up.
Even as he started to cry one last time, he didn't let up.
He had to end it this way. He wasn't going to die as a favour. He wouldn't let any of this have been a favour.
But dear God, did it hurt.
He didn't let up, not for an instant. His teeth were scraping on bone, his jaw ached from all the force, and there was so much blood everywhere, but he didn't let up.
Even as the choking on his throat went on, he didn't let up.
Even as he started to cry one last time, he didn't let up.
He had to end it this way. He wasn't going to die as a favour. He wouldn't let any of this have been a favour.
But dear God, did it hurt.
Eighteen years. Eighteen years of a life that she had never asked for. And yet, eighteen years of a life that she remembered so little of. Fiyori tried to think of something. Something comforting. Something like home. She tried to come up with an image of where she slept for so long, and yet she only came up with a blank. She tried to imagine the faces of her parents, but she did not know how they looked anymore.
All of it was a fog.
It had always been a fog. A fog she may never lift.
But now she had learned not to fear. Fiyori was about to step boldly forward. And for that, Nate had to die.
All of it was a fog.
It had always been a fog. A fog she may never lift.
But now she had learned not to fear. Fiyori was about to step boldly forward. And for that, Nate had to die.
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
This was it. He kept on biting, but that was all he was doing anymore. All he could do anymore.
He was still looking outwards, at the island. The last thing he was seeing, as darkness started creeping in. He wouldn't even have the chance to look Fiyori in the eye.
He didn't care. He was tired.
It was getting harder to stay conscious. He felt weaker. He couldn't bear it anymore.
But he didn't feel useless.
He decided, if he could do anything, he could tilt his eyes up, so that he saw the sky instead. So that he didn't have to look at the place where it had all happened.
The sky. Heaven.
That would be nice.
He was still looking outwards, at the island. The last thing he was seeing, as darkness started creeping in. He wouldn't even have the chance to look Fiyori in the eye.
He didn't care. He was tired.
It was getting harder to stay conscious. He felt weaker. He couldn't bear it anymore.
But he didn't feel useless.
He decided, if he could do anything, he could tilt his eyes up, so that he saw the sky instead. So that he didn't have to look at the place where it had all happened.
The sky. Heaven.
That would be nice.
B008: NATE TURNER – DECEASED
2 STUDENTS REMAINING
2 STUDENTS REMAINING
The sound of someone dying by strangulation was such an ugly one. Fortunately, it stopped.
Nate was dead.
Fiyori held on to him a little while longer. No, in truth it was him who held on to her. She had to carefully reach for his jaw and pull his teeth out of her arm. The pain flared up tremendously, but she was able to ignore it.
She would let him down gently.
The step into the fog, then.
Fiyori looked into the sun. Then she turned.
"Nate's dead." Fiyori said, as she drew closer to Min-Jae. "Figured you should know."
Nate was dead.
Fiyori held on to him a little while longer. No, in truth it was him who held on to her. She had to carefully reach for his jaw and pull his teeth out of her arm. The pain flared up tremendously, but she was able to ignore it.
She would let him down gently.
The step into the fog, then.
Fiyori looked into the sun. Then she turned.
"Nate's dead." Fiyori said, as she drew closer to Min-Jae. "Figured you should know."
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
She was back quicker than he had expected, or maybe time was passing faster than he realized. It was hard to think.
Nate was dead. Jae had expected as much. He knew Fiyori. Everything ravaged, everything burned in her wake. He was like that too, he supposed.
Maybe that was why, when his hand finally reached the knife as she drew near, he couldn't decide whether he wanted to drive the end of the blade into himself or into her, one last time.
Her foot drove down on his hand before he made the choice.
He hadn't realized that he would still have the energy to scream.
Nate was dead. Jae had expected as much. He knew Fiyori. Everything ravaged, everything burned in her wake. He was like that too, he supposed.
Maybe that was why, when his hand finally reached the knife as she drew near, he couldn't decide whether he wanted to drive the end of the blade into himself or into her, one last time.
Her foot drove down on his hand before he made the choice.
He hadn't realized that he would still have the energy to scream.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
Stepping on his hand hurt more than she had assumed.
Fiyori lowered her head, and looked down, meeting Jae's eyes. Her sight wavered. Dark spots filled her vision, and at times she felt dizzy. Every muscle, every bone, every fiber in her body had become tired. Fatigued. Felt like melting into the ground. Blood puddled in her mouth. Instead of swallowing, she spit it out next to Jae.
She wished she had felt something more when Jae tried to use the knife. She had nothing left to feel though. Didn't really have a lot to begin with.
"You know... Jae. I've always been one of the weirder kids. Started early with my career as a monster, you see."
Fiyori breathed in and out slowly. Another bloody spit to the side.
"When others celebrated with joy, I felt nothing. When people grieved and mourned, I felt nothing. Good marks on an exam. Bad marks on an exam. The same to me, absolutely nothing. All these people around me so full of emotion, and I just couldn't get it. To me, it was all the same. To me it was all useless.
"But then came Survival of the Fittest. And things got a bit mixed up."
She shot him a quick smile.
"Finally, I got it. I got what it meant. The days of bonding with Georgia Lee Day, and the feelings of betrayal. The shock of Jeremy's death. My guilt when I... when I shot Olivia.
...my gratitude to Coleen for saving me.
I- I loved to kill Isabel.
Brendan, when yo- when I felt so much anger at you for killing him. And damn, did it badass when Alba blew herself up for me."
Her eyes moved away from Jae's. They scanned the horizon, but Fiyori barely registered anything.
"Suddenly, life was not just the burden given to me, but the thing I experienced. I know it sounds silly now, but I thought that... that if- if I just go on and on and on and try out these new depths of my psyche I'd gain some sort of, you know, some sort of revelation or epiphany or that kind of shit.
"Well... I was wrong. There's no fucking catharsis. I don't feel purified. In the end, I feel as if I had even less of this life than I had before. For fuck's sake, I can't even remember the half of what happened these past two weeks."
Fiyori waited a moment. Then she sought the eye contact with Jae again.
"Hm, still alive?"
Fiyori lowered her head, and looked down, meeting Jae's eyes. Her sight wavered. Dark spots filled her vision, and at times she felt dizzy. Every muscle, every bone, every fiber in her body had become tired. Fatigued. Felt like melting into the ground. Blood puddled in her mouth. Instead of swallowing, she spit it out next to Jae.
She wished she had felt something more when Jae tried to use the knife. She had nothing left to feel though. Didn't really have a lot to begin with.
"You know... Jae. I've always been one of the weirder kids. Started early with my career as a monster, you see."
Fiyori breathed in and out slowly. Another bloody spit to the side.
"When others celebrated with joy, I felt nothing. When people grieved and mourned, I felt nothing. Good marks on an exam. Bad marks on an exam. The same to me, absolutely nothing. All these people around me so full of emotion, and I just couldn't get it. To me, it was all the same. To me it was all useless.
"But then came Survival of the Fittest. And things got a bit mixed up."
She shot him a quick smile.
"Finally, I got it. I got what it meant. The days of bonding with Georgia Lee Day, and the feelings of betrayal. The shock of Jeremy's death. My guilt when I... when I shot Olivia.
...my gratitude to Coleen for saving me.
I- I loved to kill Isabel.
Brendan, when yo- when I felt so much anger at you for killing him. And damn, did it badass when Alba blew herself up for me."
Her eyes moved away from Jae's. They scanned the horizon, but Fiyori barely registered anything.
"Suddenly, life was not just the burden given to me, but the thing I experienced. I know it sounds silly now, but I thought that... that if- if I just go on and on and on and try out these new depths of my psyche I'd gain some sort of, you know, some sort of revelation or epiphany or that kind of shit.
"Well... I was wrong. There's no fucking catharsis. I don't feel purified. In the end, I feel as if I had even less of this life than I had before. For fuck's sake, I can't even remember the half of what happened these past two weeks."
Fiyori waited a moment. Then she sought the eye contact with Jae again.
"Hm, still alive?"
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Yes. Still alive. His hand was immobilized beneath Fiyori's shoe, and the knife with it. He hadn't made it far enough to just slide off of the roof in a last-ditch "fuck you". Fiyori had won.
But that didn't mean he had to humor her.
Jae clenched his jaw shut and stayed silent, and hoped that he would sink into the static before she finished talking for good.
But that didn't mean he had to humor her.
Jae clenched his jaw shut and stayed silent, and hoped that he would sink into the static before she finished talking for good.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
"...good."
Cunt till the last drop. Too spiteful to even utter one syllable for Fiyori. Had it been any other way, it would've be the wrong one.
In the end, they two of them were kindred spirits. And in the end, Fiyori knew that this was all that she needed. No, it was all that she had ever wanted.
"Ya want to die, eh? And yet, here you are with me. The last two of over a hundred people thrown into a death game. Not too good at dying, aren't we. Too miserable for life. Too proud for death. Kinda scary, isn't it? How much we do share in common."
She managed to let out a short chuckle.
"With the way we are, there's nothing but suffering on the paths in front of us. That's just how it is."
"Well, for one of us."
Cunt till the last drop. Too spiteful to even utter one syllable for Fiyori. Had it been any other way, it would've be the wrong one.
In the end, they two of them were kindred spirits. And in the end, Fiyori knew that this was all that she needed. No, it was all that she had ever wanted.
"Ya want to die, eh? And yet, here you are with me. The last two of over a hundred people thrown into a death game. Not too good at dying, aren't we. Too miserable for life. Too proud for death. Kinda scary, isn't it? How much we do share in common."
She managed to let out a short chuckle.
"With the way we are, there's nothing but suffering on the paths in front of us. That's just how it is."
"Well, for one of us."
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
There it was.
Finally.
Fiyori's foot lifted from Jae's hand, and he remained limp. There was nothing left in him.
Until everything focused in and crystallized one last time, and the horror and understanding welled up to choke him as Fiyori took her prize.
Finally.
Fiyori's foot lifted from Jae's hand, and he remained limp. There was nothing left in him.
Until everything focused in and crystallized one last time, and the horror and understanding welled up to choke him as Fiyori took her prize.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
All the hatred she had felt. All the love that she had held. Her memories, and her hopes and dreams. Now, they have become her greatest weapon yet.
The question of a lifetime had finally found its answer.
"...I know exactly what I want and who I want to be."
Fiyori took a step forward.
Fiyori Senay, Death by Fall from Height
1 Student Remains
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Even with his vision going gray, Jae knew what he was seeing.
He would have done the same.
But he still made a noise between laughing and screaming and reached out for Fiyori as she tilted and disappeared, too far away to follow her. He tried. He succeeded only in raising himself an inch or two and then sinking down again, shuddering, teeth still bared in the rictus of his last laugh.
".....ation......ber One..."
All gone. All gone except for him.
"You are..."
All gone.
The rain had stopped, but Hell was cold.
"We've lost the girl," Lourvey announced amidst half-stunned silence, eyes glued to his screen.
Greynolds's fingers dug into his shoulder as he leaned unnecessarily over Lourvey to look. "What about the other one?"
"He's... yeah, still alive. For now." Lourvey checked and double-checked the vital signals. "Got a pulse, but he's fading fast."
"Good enough." Greynolds grabbed his radio and turned his attention to it.
"Knight, get your guys in gear and go scrape him up. Don't waste time. Kelley's team is standing by."
"All clear," the radio crackled back, uncharacteristically no-nonsense.
Lourvey had pulled his eyes away from the screen, hands hovering over his keyboard, waiting on Greynold's next words.
One minute passed, then another. Enough time for everything to sink in for anyone watching and for Josie's team to nearly make it up to the roof.
"Cut it," Greynolds said.
Lourvey nodded.
A few seconds more, and the camera's feed went black.
((Continued in V6 Epilogue: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance))
He would have done the same.
But he still made a noise between laughing and screaming and reached out for Fiyori as she tilted and disappeared, too far away to follow her. He tried. He succeeded only in raising himself an inch or two and then sinking down again, shuddering, teeth still bared in the rictus of his last laugh.
".....ation......ber One..."
All gone. All gone except for him.
"You are..."
All gone.
The rain had stopped, but Hell was cold.
"We've lost the girl," Lourvey announced amidst half-stunned silence, eyes glued to his screen.
Greynolds's fingers dug into his shoulder as he leaned unnecessarily over Lourvey to look. "What about the other one?"
"He's... yeah, still alive. For now." Lourvey checked and double-checked the vital signals. "Got a pulse, but he's fading fast."
"Good enough." Greynolds grabbed his radio and turned his attention to it.
"Knight, get your guys in gear and go scrape him up. Don't waste time. Kelley's team is standing by."
"All clear," the radio crackled back, uncharacteristically no-nonsense.
Lourvey had pulled his eyes away from the screen, hands hovering over his keyboard, waiting on Greynold's next words.
One minute passed, then another. Enough time for everything to sink in for anyone watching and for Josie's team to nearly make it up to the roof.
"Cut it," Greynolds said.
Lourvey nodded.
A few seconds more, and the camera's feed went black.
((Continued in V6 Epilogue: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance))
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."