This is a message from Lord Nergal. "I await you on the Dread Isle."

[Riki]

A quick glance to the side revealed a very tense Owen to Aileen. Not in the way Aileen is tense, but more a 'I am scared' kind of tense. Aileen thought that he was lucky to meet her. It did not matter how strong physically one was if one also did not have the necessary strenght of mind. Actually, that body strenght could be useful. Aileen was far from fragile, but she could still use someone tall and strong as Owen. She just had to make him a bit more... decisive. Somehow. But that was a thing for later.

At that moment, however, she focused on that girl in front of her, who did not tell Aileen her name. That 'no' likely meant that she, whoever she was, did not hate Aileen and thus did not mean any harm. Hopefully. The way she gripped the strap of her bag tighter did not lessen Aileen's suspicion. She slowly walked towards the girl untill the distance between them was only a few feet big. The intruder asked whether there was anyone else here. Aileen did not think of giving an answer before she got hers.

"I repeat, who is the one that stands before us?"

[Pippi]

The mysterious newcomer only spoke a few short, simple words, but Owen recognised the voice. It belonged to Lauren Something, Owen wasn't sure of her last name. The two weren't close, especially because Lauren seemed to prefer her own company, but Owen had spent enough time at school to put a name to faces and voices.

She said she didn't have any "feelings of ire". Well, of course she would say that. It would be suicidal and downright dumb to say she did in fact plan to assault them both. The tone of Lauren's voice was even, but Owen just couldn't trust her. Not yet, anyway. He'd had no problem with her back at school, but here? No, he couldn't trust her yet. Not until he'd seen her properly. It was kinda odd. Owen wasn't used to not trusting people. But then again, he wasn't used to the situation they were all currently in. Paranoia ruled, and for the moment, it was overwriting his naivety. For now, at least.

Aileen made her way out of the office, and Owen cautiously followed a few steps behind, tightly gripping the scalpel in his right hand. Now, he could definitely see that it was Lauren standing in front of them. She was gripping her bag pretty tightly, and didn't seem to have a weapon. Owen relaxed ever so slightly. Very, very ever so slightly. But he felt as though he could trust Lauren a little more than before.

Aileen again asked for Lauren's name. Owen could have answered for her, but it just didn't seem... right somehow. It felt slightly condescending. It was weird, on one hand, to be thinking of social graces right now, but on the other hand, irritating people probably wasn't a wise idea either. Instead, Owen decided to answer Lauren's question, rather than letting it just hang in the air. First, though, he needed to assure Aileen in some way.

"I... It's okay, Aileen... I think." Owen then looked at Lauren and continued speaking. "There's n-no one else here... w-well, not on this floor, at least. I, uh, we haven't checked upstairs..."

[Iceblock†]

The Aurora girl was pushing her, trying to get her name. Normally that wasn't a problem. Normally Lauren might have answered, like she had for Carmina. A short answer, no extra information. The girl was getting close, though, and Lauren didn't trust her tone of voice at all. She couldn't read the girl's intentions. That was a problem.

Maybe any information was too much at this point.

Her other hand went to the strap of the duffel bag, so that she was holding it with both hands, feeling its full weight on her fingers.

"Step back," she said, keeping her voice as level as she could.

In the back of her mind, she registered that Owen had answered her question. That had been really all she needed to know, that there was no one else here except for the three of them. Surely her teammates wouldn't stay on the upper floors, not in the darkness and slow decay. She thought of turning her head, nodding to him, but it wasn't the time. Not until the girl showed she was going to back off.

It was time to leave, but Lauren wasn't leaving until this was settled.

[Riki]

Aileen did not really believe Owen's statement. This whole situation was definetely not okay. She heard that Owen stated that, on this floor, they were alone. Frankly, Aileen did not gave a damn. It did not matter if there were people above them, if there was one girl in front of her who refused to answer a simple question. Aileen figured that there had to be a malicious reasoning. But she could not figure out what exactly that reasoning was, which made her feel sick with anger.

She noted that the girl was holding the strap with both fingers now. Aileen interpreted that as the girl readying herself for throwing the bag Aileen. Her response was to tense up and to put herself into a position that allowed her to dash at the girl. She stretched her right hand out to Owen, and commanded with a firm, yet quiet, voice:

"The scalpel."

It did not matter anymore whether they went to the same school anymore. That person was a potential treat to Aileen. Someone who could hinder her survival. Someone who defied her. Aileen decided that it would be acceptable to use violence, as she regarded this as 'self-defence'. She just hoped Owen would listen to her.

[Iceblock†]

Lauren heard the words. Saw the outstretched hand.

Scalpel. The girl was going to stab her.

Her heart was racing now, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and Lauren knew what she needed to do.

The strap of the bag rubbed against the palms of her hands as her arms tensed.

The duffel bag wasn't a baseball bat, wouldn't move like one, but it was heavy enough with her spare clothes in there. Her syringe. The metal box she hadn't bothered to check through.

Force was equal to mass times acceleration.

She accelerated the bag.

She swung.

[Riki]

Fortunately for Aileen, she saw that attack coming. A duffle bag was not a good weapon, and accelerating it took some time. So Aileen immediately knew that she had to dodge.

Unfortunately for Aileen, she dashed forwards to the girl in order to punch her attacker. Thus she was hit by the bag.

It hit her arm, and it was not a very painful or damaging impact, but it did disturb her balance and she nearly fell on the ground. In the last second though, she was able to support herself with her other arm. She quickly realized that in that position only her duffel bag would protect her back. As she pushed herself out of the girl's reach, she yelled to Owen.

"Stop her!"

[Pippi]

Owen hadn't really had any idea how the scene in front of him was going to pan out.

He had hoped that Lauren would simply give her name, and that Aileen would recognise her, and that they'd manage to form a stronger alliance. Lauren wasn't doing anything suspicious or aggravating at all, so it seemed likely she'd be willing to join up with them. Owen knew that he'd feel safer among greater numbers, that was for sure.

Owen really shouldn't have hoped for things to go anywhere near as smoothly. Things managed to go downhill almost instantly. Instead of answering Aileen, or even acknowledging Owen's answers, Lauren had reacted defensively, telling Aileen to step back. Her duffel bag was now being clutched tightly with both hands, almost like a makeshift club.

Owen's eyes flicked from Aileen to Lauren and back to Aileen again. Both girls looked ready to launch at each other, and Owen couldn't figure out how this whole situation had turned so ugly. Well, no, he could, Lauren hadn't answered Aileen for whatever reason. Perhaps a better thing to say would be that Owen couldn't figure out why everything had suddenly gone to shit.

Then Aileen commanded him to give her the scalpel. She didn't ask, she commanded. Owen instantly knew this was a bad idea. Even so, he stepped forwards to hand it over. One step. Two steps.

Lauren swung her bag at Aileen, and Owen let out a gasp of shock. It didn't seem to have been particularly painful, being a bag, after all. But Owen knew that the intent was the important factor here. Lauren had just attacked Aileen and he had been so fucking stupid for trusting someone he barely knew. Everything he'd told himself earlier about nobody playing for a good while suddenly seemed horribly fake and stupid.

Aileen had moved to safety, yelling at Owen to stop Lauren. Owen hesitated. Aileen had partially been at fault. She had perhaps aggravated Lauren, and asked for the scalpel as well.

He hesitated but for a second, however. Aileen had been the first person to find him. She had tried to keep him safe, had managed to help him out of a pit of despair. He wasn't about to let her get hurt. Owen stepped in front of Lauren and faced her, the scalpel pointing directly at her.

"Step... Step back. Step back, Lauren, I swear to God. O-one more step..."

Owen hoped his size and weapon would be enough of an intimidation tactic. God knows his words and nerves alone wouldn't cut it.

[Iceblock†]

The other girl went down, and Lauren hefted the bag back up into position, ready to defend from any retaliation.

She looked up. Owen was pointing the scalpel at her.

It looked like she was the enemy here. He thought she was the enemy here, not the girl who had been planning to cut her up. It surprised Lauren for a moment how much that hurt.

At least she'd been right not to trust them.

She took one step back. Another. The bag was still up, her senses still at high alert. She was worried that Owen might try something, and while she didn't know him well, he seemed the more decent of the two. But she wasn't afraid to swing again.

"Don't-" Sharp intake of breath. Lauren swallowed hard, had to compose herself, taking steps backwards the whole time. "Don't follow me."

Maybe she should have thanked him for the information he'd given, but it seemed hollow now. They were getting farther and farther away as she backed out of the hospital, into the open sun.

She didn't loosen her grip on the bag until they were completely out of sight.

((Lauren Rowe continued in Assumptions))

[Riki]

Aileen's breath was heavy. Not due to exhausting, no, but due to that anger that was within he. In her mind, the situation was clear. There was an intruder who refused to properly answer Aileen's question. There was some girl who readied herself to attack Aileen. Everything Aileen did was self-defence. She believed to have no fault. That girl was a vile assaulter. Nothing more.

And she also was so on Aileen's shit list.

However, something happened that made Aileen feel much better. Owen listened to her. Somewhat. Aileen may have told him to stab the girl, and he threatened her, but it worked. The girl retreated. A grin formed on her face as she stood up and saw the girl walking away.

She turned to Owen. She was pleased with him. She concluded that the one she found crying grew some spine thanks to her influence. In that moment, she also decided that she needed to keep him around. Someone who listened to her commands is someone useful to have. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she needs him. Aileen had many enemies. Every friend was valuable and must be protected. In fact, if even people who she did not know attacked her, people like Owen become even more important. It was necessary to keep him. No matter the costs.

"You see, we need to stick together. Just imagine what would have happened if I wasn't here when that girl attacked."

[Pippi]

By some miraculous chance, Lauren had listened to Owen. She was backing off. Slowly, for sure, and still with the bag held up as if she was ready to attack again, but still. Now that the two girls were away from each other, maybe now they could talk this over properly, make it clear that this was all just a misunderstanding.

Again, Owen's naivety betrayed him. Lauren continued to back away, telling them both not to follow her. Owen tried to say something, shook his head slightly to try and get Lauren to understand she could stay, but for some reason, the words failed to come. Slowly, Lauren backed out of the hospital and out of sight.

Owen stared at the hospital doors for a few moments, before looking down at the scalpel in his hands. Had he really expected Lauren to stick with them? He'd just threatened him with a scalpel, for God's sake. He had just threatened a girl with a blade. The stark realisation of his actions suddenly hit Owen, and he felt like he was going to slump down and cry again. He'd just threatened one of his classmates. He hadn't been sure what he'd have done if Lauren had stepped forwards, but the fact remained that he'd pointed a scalpel at her and verbally threatened her.

Owen wasn't sure if he could justify that. He'd been scared, and he'd been trying to protect Aileen, but still. That wasn't him. That wasn't the sort of thing he did. Had the island already changed him? Was his desire to live so great that he'd hurt someone else, one of his classmates? Surely not... right?

He didn't want to think about that right now. Or ever, for that matter. He hoped it would never be a decision that would happen to him. Owen spun round to look at Aileen as the girl started talking. There were no words of thanks, although Owen didn't notice, and hardly cared. What did make him pause was her second sentence. What would have happened if Aileen hadn't been here? Owen felt sure he'd still have been in a pathetic pile on the floor when Lauren walked in and... attacked?

Was that the best way of describing her actions? Would she have attacked Owen if Aileen hadn't been there? Would Lauren have been the one to pick Owen up? Owen still wasn't in the right frame of mind to work out what this all meant. He just knew that nothing was clear-cut on this island. There wasn't right and wrong, attacker and defender. There were just... people.

"Right... y-yeah, you're right." Owen said. Because Aileen was still right. They did need to stick together. He still owed Aileen, and even he hadn't, their chances of survival would be greater if they stuck together.

"We should probably leave, r-right? I... I don't want to stay here any l-longer. Do... Do you have any idea where to go ne-next?"

[Riki]

Aileen studied Owen. For a moment, she was worried that he might in a way that would not please her. Fortunately, he did not. Still, was that uncertainity she heard in his voice? Because he doubted the importance of Aileen? Or was it still his mind not being really adjusted to the situation? Irrelevant for now, he decided to stick with Aileen. For the moment, that was enough for Aileen.

Owen asked to leave this place. Aileen agreed. There was not much point is staying around that hospital. Plus, she would love to finally feel the full sun on her skin. Where to go, though? Aileen could have pulled out her map and checked potential destinations. She decided against it. They'd run into potentially dangerous classmates -no, foes- one way or another. Also, Aileen thought that it cannot be so hard to get lost.

"Follow me."

With that, Aileen began walking out of the hospital. After a dozen steps she stopped though, and turned to Owen. She tried to look into his eyes. She didn't want him to die, but for that he must be certain in his decisions. For Aileen, any doubts would mean doom. While he was on a good way, which apparently meant 'obeying Aileen', Aileen figured that he still needed help.

"Owen, I like you. So here is a tip. Every second you hestitate, your foe gets a chance to strike you, or me, down. So do not doubt, because doubt means..."

Aileen inhaled slowly before she spoke the last word. Brief mental images of the corpses of her, Owen or any of her friends flashed before her inner mind. Aileen exhaled. That truth was harder to digest then she thought when she woke up, but she already decided to survive. The incident in that hospital showed her that 'surviving' was the only acceptable goal.

"...death."

[Aileen Aurora Abdallah, continued in First Page - Planning]

[Pippi]

Owen raised his hand slightly, opened his mouth in an attempt to speak. Surely it would be wise to get a map out of either of their bags? Owen had checked through it earlier; he knew that he had one, and he was pretty sure everyone was given the same items, aside from weaponry. He didn't like the idea of wandering around the island, aimless and clueless.

Aileen had already turned and was walking out of the hospital, however. Owen clenched his fists briefly in frustration and fear, before quickly ducking behind the reception desk again. His own personal bag had been left there, but he hadn't been carrying it with him; his 3DS, DSi, iPod and all his books had been removed, something that had pained him a lot more than it really should have. All that was left were clothes, some food, and most importantly, his sports goggles.

Both bags in his possession, Owen jogged to catch up with Aileen. Given how well his luck had been going recently, he was almost surprised he didn't slam into her back once she suddenly stopped. Aileen had some sort of speech prepared for him. It started off supportive, but soon developed into one simple statement-Don't doubt your actions. Doubt meant death.

The advice was totally sound. Aileen had a huge point. But if that was the case, why had Owen's breathing stopped once she mentioned the word death, rather than him being reassured? And why were doubts suddenly filling up his mind? There was a question now pulsing in his head. Had Aileen's words been referring to all of his actions on the island? Or did they simply respond to the situation a few minutes ago, in which Aileen was the important one out of the two? Was he the expendable one? Would he even be able to do something similar again, pick up a weapon and threaten a friend with it?

Owen realised he hadn't retrieved the spare scalpel for Aileen. Right now, it didn't seem necessary. He wasn't certain if he wanted to. If the worst came to the worst, Aileen could just take his own. Because he wasn't going to use it again, and he definitely wasn't going to use it on anybody.

Right?

Owen tightened the hoody around his waist, flicked a speck of dirt off of his glasses, and left the hospital with more doubts than when he'd woken up.

((Owen Kay continued in First Page-Planning))