2.1 The Mountain Range

[SOTF: Discord]

A range of mountains raised up on the western edge of the island. The mountains are beginner-friendly and as long as one is cautious, traversing should be possible even without equipment.
The only sign of human interference are a few bridges to make travel across some places possible.

[SOTF: Discord]

[+] King Bitch Adrian Carver of Bullshit Mountain

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 03:02
Name: King Bitch Adrian Carver of Bullshit Mountain
Time: Day 1
Status: Closed

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 03:02
((Adrian Carver starts here))
Along some crumbling fence in the mountains of god-know-where, Adrian practiced his marksmanship. It didn't matter that all he had to shoot was scattered bottles and other bits of trash. It didn't matter that his "gun" only fired rubber bands. It was still marksmanship, and practicing it was still something to do. Something at least resembling practical work.

The rubber bands were (mostly) resuable, at least. Made practicing this way less wasteful than when he got a real gun, eventually. They frequently failed to knock over the bottles they hit, but the sound they made meant the hits were unmistakable nonetheless. There weren't many of them, but with enough effort he'd surely improve and it'd surely be applicable to an actual firearm.

He tried not to think of what would happen if someone with a real weapon showed up. This was something, the only thing, he needed to focus on.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 24/09/2021 03:15

+ B010 — ...- .- .. .-.. --..-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-..: START.

.... . / ..- ... . -.. / - .... . / ... .. --. -. .- .-.. / .-.. .- -- .--. / - --- / -.-. --- -- -- ..- -. .. -.-. .- - . / .-- .. - .... / - .... . / -... --- -.-- / ..-. .-. --- -- / .- / --. .-. . .- - / -.. .. ... - .- -. -.-. . .-.-.-

".... --- ... - .. .-.. . ..--.."

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almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 03:34
Something distracted him from his futile task. The shining of a light, off some ways away, turning on and off again. Clearly not random, but also not any pattern Adrian understood.

"... the fuck?" He stared, confused.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 24/09/2021 03:40

.... . / -.. .. -.. -. .----. - / ... . . / - .... . / --- - .... . .-. / -... --- -.-- / .-. . ... .--. --- -. -.. .-.-.- / .... . / .- - - . -- .--. - . -.. / - --- / -.-. --- -- -- ..- -. .. -.-. .- - . / .- --. .- .. -. --..-- / - .... .. ... / - .. -- . / .-- .. - .... / .- / -- --- .-. . / .-. . .- -.. .. .-.. -.-- -....- -.- -. --- .-- -. / ... .. --. -. .- .-.. .-.-.-

"... --- ..."

.... . / .... --- .--. . -.. / .. - / .-- .- ... -. .----. - / .... --- .--. . .-.. . ... ... .-.-.-

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 03:55
Was this some, like, weird threat or something? A signal to some hidden ally to attack?

The light seemed maybe just within range, tucked away in the trees. Adrian impulsively fired a withering volley of rubber bands at it.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 24/09/2021 04:00

- .... . / --- - .... . .-. / -... --- -.-- / .-. .- .. ... . -.. / ... --- -- . - .... .. -. --. / .. -. / .... .. ... / -.. .. .-. . -.-. - .. --- -. --..-- / .- -. -.. / ... --- -- . - .... .. -. --. / ... - .-. ..- -.-. -.- / .... .. -- / --- -. / - .... . / ..-. --- .-. . .... . .- -.. .-.-.- / .. - / -.. .. -.. -. .----. - / -.- .. .-.. .-.. / .... .. -- --..-- / ... --- / .. - / .-- .- ... -. .----. - / .- / -... ..- .-.. .-.. . - .-.-.- / .... . / .-.. --- --- -.- . -.. / .- - / .-- .... .- - / .. - / .-- .- ... / .- -. -.. / ... .- .-- / - .... .- - / .. - / .-- .- ... / .- / .-. ..- -... -... . .-. / -... .- -. -.. .-.-.- / .... . / .-. ..- -... -... . -.. / .... .. ... / .... ..- .-. - / ..-. --- .-. . .... . .- -.. / ..-. --- .-. / .- / -- --- -- . -. - --..-- / - .... . -. / ... .. --. -. .- .-.. . -.. / .- --. .- .. -. .-.-.-

".-- --- .-- .-.-.- / .-. ..- -.. . .-.-.-"

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almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 04:22
With his vicious attack, he flushed the weirdo out. A boy, vaguely familiar, clambered down from the trees. Probably no more a threat to Adrian than Adrian was to him.

"Hey! What the fuck was with that light show?"

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 24/09/2021 04:25

He straightened the collar of his shirt, then adjusted his glasses.

"Morse code."

It was a little frustrating that the other boy didn't understand.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 04:56
"Who even knows that shit anymore? Why didn't you just talk?"

He was definitely no threat, then. He was just kind of an idiot.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 24/09/2021 05:17

He twirled his shoulder-length hair absentmindedly and glanced back up at the tree.

"Dunno. Why'd you shoot at me with your rubber bands?"

He held out the rubber band for emphasis.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 24/09/2021 16:24
((Tad Livingston: START)

Tad had been watching the mess from a distance and he had remained silent. He didn't recognize the two boys from his school and he was safe to assume that they were both from different schools.

It would make it easier for me to kill them, right?

The 6'2 giant boy shook his head, feeling like he was going too fast to wanting to go down that route. What did he think he was thinking? He wasn't like a villain in a TV show or some shit.

He guessed he should be nice.

Gross.

He moved a bit closer towards them, but not too close.

"HEY!"

Whoops. That was too loud.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 18:41
That was... fair. Shooting people with a toy hot off the shelves of your local Walgreens wasn't itself a smart move.

There wasn't much time to retort anyway. Some new dude, entirely unfamiliar, loudly butted into the scene.

"Who... what do you want?"

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 24/09/2021 23:16

He stared unamusedly at the boy with the rubber bands, who seemed in some way familiar. He then turned to the new arrival and communicated.

".... --- ... - .. .-.. . ..--.."

He hoped this time it would work.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 24/09/2021 23:29
Tad squinted at the two boys and he twirled the screwdriver that was his weapon in his hand absentmindedly. "Well, I'm-"

The other guy with some weird thing that Tad didn't care about started to flash it in his face, making him scowl due to feeling suddenly annoyed.

"What the fuck are you doing, moron?!"

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 24/09/2021 23:41
Adrian whirled back on the wannabe telegraphist. Clearly he wasn't getting the hint.

"Would you stop with the Morse code!? Literally no one but you understands it!"

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 25/09/2021 00:07

- .... . ... . / .--. . --- .--. .-.. . / .-- . .-. . / .- -. -. --- -.-- .. -. --. --..-- / .- -. -.. / .... . / .... .- -.. / -. --- / -.. . ... .. .-. . / - --- / -... . / .- .-. --- ..- -. -.. / - .... . -- / .- -. -.-- / .-.. --- -. --. . .-. .-.-.- / .... . / ..-. .-.. .- ... .... . -.. / - .... . / ... .. --. -. .- .-.. / .-.. .- -- .--. / -.-. .-.. --- ... . / - --- / - .... . / ...- .- --. ..- . .-.. -.-- / ..-. .- -- .. .-.. .. .- .-. / --- -. . .-.-.-

"."

.... . / - .... . -. / .-.. . ..-. - .-.-.-

[B010 — ...- .- .. .-.. --..-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-..: CONTINUED IN "INTO THIN AIR"]

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 00:16
Tad blinked a few times. His eyes were not that great anyway, so that felt like a dick move on that weird guy. He almost felt like he wanted to gut him with the screwdriver for just an annoying act.

And the boy has vanished. What the hell was all that shit about?

Tad turned his attention back to the other boy who seemed distracted. Tad moved closer without even thinking about it. What if he started shooting rubber bands at him?

Tad almost snorted at that dumb thought.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 25/09/2021 00:21
One more flash of the lamp shot a dazzling array of colors into Adrian's eyes. In addition to being a weirdo, this guy was a fucking dick.

By the time Adrian could open his eyes again, the boy was well on his way down the road. Just as well. Clearly there was nothing to gain from talking to him anymore.

"Asshole" he muttered.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 00:30
Tad almost felt sorry for this poor pawn of a guy. His feet started to rush forward a bit and he didn't want the guy to turn back towards him. The distraction was just too perfect to use for a kill.

Tad's foot almost stumbled over a rock and he leapt over it elegantly.

Geez. That was fucking close. I could have died because of a shitty rock!

He then thrusted the sharp edge of the screwdriver towards the boy's back as he was right behind him now. He hoped that he wouldn't miss....

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 25/09/2021 00:43
So busy he was with lantern boy, Adrian near-totally forgot about the other kid who'd just shown up.

The metal instrument impaling him through the back proved a pointed reminder.

Adrian staggered forward, the weapon still stuck in him. The shock and pain of the blow seemed to paralyze him.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 00:48
He didn't miss.

But Tad felt himself freezing up and just stared in shock and bewilderment. He honestly thought that the other guy would have collapsed or something. But no. The screwdriver was just sticking out of his back.

"Shit...."

Tad needed to do something, right..?

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 25/09/2021 01:04
Adrian gingerly touched the weapon, still stuck inside him. He stifled a yelp of pain; even that minute nudge felt unbearable. He glared, confused and revulsed and scared and fuming, at the boy who'd done this.

Son of a bitch.

Son of a BITCH!

He grabbed screwdriver's handle, tearing it out with an agonized shriek. So armed and already fading, he gathered whatever he still had in him into charging the other boy down.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 01:12
Tad felt his eyes widen as the boy had taken the screwdriver out himself and he felt himself stepping backwards a couple of steps, feeling a sudden rise of panic surging up inside of him. He had really messed up his first kill so badly and-

Oh crap!

The boy was lunging right at him and he quickly dodged to the side, doing a side roll to save himself from getting stabbed with his own weapon. He groaned slightly as he had landed a bit awkwardly, but he raised up to his feet quickly and he glanced to look back at Adrian.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 25/09/2021 01:25
The charge was not nearly the defiant last gasp Adrian had hoped. The boy dodged the strike, and Adrian was left to trip over a rock and crash to the ground. The screwdriver clattered away along the ground, out of his reach. He lay there, in agony, the furious energy from moments before snuffed out like a candle.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 01:39
Tad noticed that the rock had screwed the guy over instead of him and he guessed that in a way that he should be thankful for it. He could only watch the boy withering in pain for a few seconds before he knew what he had to do next.

"I guess in a way.... That asshole helped me out. Taking you all out.... I need to be smarter about it, huh?"

He chuckled as he picked up the screwdriver and he averted his eyes away from the sight of the boy's blood coating it. He let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding.

He approached the fallen boy, standing in front of him and he just stared down at him with a slight look of disbelief.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 25/09/2021 01:46
He glared pitifully up. It was about all he had left in him.

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 02:03
"Aww, don't be like that. Well, it's fine. Taking you out will get me closer to victory." He commented simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

He then crouched down in front of Adrian and he then got the screwdriver ready, making sure to let out a steady breath. He was a bit squirmy about eye trauma so he wasn't going to do that.

Then he plunged the tip towards the side of Adrian's temple.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 25/09/2021 02:08
((Adrian Carver deceased))

Undead Sweetheart | Tad, Evan — 25/09/2021 02:22
Tad felt like he was gonna throw up for a brief moment and he forced himself to keep his stomach contents under control. The screwdriver was making a squishy noise as he pulling it back out with a struggle and he let out a small whiny sound from deep in his throat.

First kill.... Not.... bad-ish...?

Tad needed to get out of there in case someone else would come in the area and see him in the aftermath of just plain murdering someone that he didn't know. He wiped the blood onto Adrian's clothing, made sure to pick up the boy's bag and the rubber band gun (to use it as a distraction at some point) and then he booked it after staring at Adrian's body one last time.

((Tad Livingston continued What You Are In The Dark))

[SOTF: Discord]

[+] Into Thin Air

Laurels | Flora — 27/09/2021 16:32
Name: Into Thin Air
Time: Day 1 (early afternoon)
Status: Closed

Laurels | Flora — 27/09/2021 16:33
((G008: Flora Katsura: Start))

Flora stumbled over a rock and dropped the pitchfork to the ground. She threw her hands against the rock wall and clung on tight. She felt herself panting.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay," she muttered to herself, her black hair falling over her eyes. "Just a little more, and you're free."

Flora had woken up in the mountains a few hours ago, quite high up. Flora had never been good with heights, especially when the area was open and the wrong move could send her plummeting to her death. So she had spent hours trudging down the path to hopefully get to ground level. Of course, that was easier said than done with how treacherous the path was.

Flora could tell she was getting closer, so she bent down, picked up the pitchfork, and began to slowly walk again, keeping her body close to the wall.

"Get off the mountain, then worry about anything else," she told herself.

Flora could feel her lips quivering and her eyes watering. She never had to think about death before this. The closest she got was when her dad's horse almost kicked her in the head once, but that was it. Now she was either going to fall off a mountain or be murdered by one of her classmates. Flora wasn't sure if she could take it.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 27/09/2021 18:00
((Johnathan Vanhorne starts here))

As Flora was slowly picking her way down the path, someone else was engaged in quite the opposite idea.

Which, frankly, seemed like the smartest move to Johnathan. These mountains were likely the highest point on the island, and this path was seemingly the only way up this particular peak. Others might understandably consider it suicide to go up such a dangerous way, and that was exactly what he was counting on. It'd be the perfect place to hide, and wait out...

Well, to wait it out.

Of course, what he hadn't considered upon waking up halfway-up the path already was that someone would be deposited further up still. Judging from how she clung to the wall, as far from the path's edge as possible, she wasn't taking the trip down so well.

Johnathan paused. The path seemed wide enough for him to pass her, and she certainly didn't seem like a threat. But even so, to be on the outer edge of such a narrow path so high up... frankly, if the roles were reversed, the opportunity would be tempting, as awful as that sounded. There was, after all, only one way out of here.

Still, there was no other way up, and for her, no other way down. Clearly, this passing needed to happen if either wanted to get where they were going. Cautiously, he called out.

"Hey there. You alright?"

Laurels | Flora — 27/09/2021 22:10
Flora gasped a bit as she heard someone ahead of her. There was now a boy before her. Flora grabbed the pitchfork with both hands and held it close to her chest. She wasn't going to hold it like she was threatening him, but considering where they were, something told her he could be someone who took the game's rules to heart.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine," she said.
And now she had to figure a way around him so she could get off the mountain.
"Just...heading down."

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 27/09/2021 22:28

[B010 — ...- .- .. .-.. --..-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-..: CONTINUED FROM "KING BITCH ADRIAN CARVER OF BULLSHIT MOUNTAIN"]

As he made his way forward towards the zenith of the island, he saw the outline of people from a distance. He wiped his glasses with his shirt pocket, placed them back on his face, and looked towards them. They appeared to be trying to take the same pass through the mountains - one up, one down. He judged that his voice may not carry the distance between them and raised his signal lamp to communicate.

".. ..-. / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. / ..- -. -.. . .-. ... - .- -. -.. / -- . --..-- / .. / -.-. .- -. / - .-. -.-- / - --- / .... . .-.. .--. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.-"

There were small cracks and ridges in the face of the rock below them - while he was more used to rock climbing, Samuel felt confident that he could help them navigate down them, which would lead onto the same path he had walked up earlier.

Laurels | Flora — 27/09/2021 22:34
"Um, was it hard to get up here? Like, was it just a path or-"
Flora then noticed something flashing in the corner of her eye. She glanced over and noticed there was some guy flashing a light at her.
"um...what?"
She squinted a bit, spots starting to appear in her vision from the repeated light flashes.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 27/09/2021 23:07
The girl seemed less tense, if only a little bit. Maybe (hopefully) enough to let him pass without incident. It's not like either had a choice but to pass each other here anyway.

Something seemed to grab her attention, though, off in the distance. Some dude, on another path through the mountains, shining a light their way. On, off, on, off. Clearly in some pattern, though John had no clue what it was trying to say.

He adjusted his cap, moving its brim out of his eyes, and stared his way, as if doing so would somehow let him decipher his meaning.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 28/09/2021 01:09

"Oh, for-..."

He cut himself off and sighed, then cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"If you climb down the rock face, you can get on a different path that'll take you further down! I came from that direction!"

He hoped that the understood English better than they did Morse.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 28/09/2021 15:51
He looked down at the cliff below. Less for his sake - he wasn't going that way after all - but for the girl's. Though if she was having this much trouble merely walking down the path, rock climbing seemed out of the question. He shouted back across the pass.

"You sure that's safe?"

Laurels | Flora — 29/09/2021 03:15
Flora turned away from the light and blinked her eyes to refocus her vision. The boy with the light shouted something about directions to get down. The boy on the path asked if that was safe.

"Wait, did you walk up the mountain, or did you wake up on it?" she asked the boy before her.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 29/09/2021 05:03

The other boy shouted to him, asking for confirmation on the safety of it. While it looked simple to climb upward, Samuel didn't have as much experience with abseiling, and he doubted either of them had a rope. He thought he could probably have made it, but someone with less experience might have their work cut out for it.

"Unless either of you has a rope, then the best I can do is direct down the face. It shouldn't be too far if my estimation's right and the footholds look solid, but it's not exactly easy. If you have a better solution in mind, then I wouldn't gamble on it."

He hoped that his experience had led him to the correct conclusion, but he doubted his judgment. He hadn't done free solo, much less the downclimb back afterward - he'd usually done traditional or sport climbing back in New York.

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 29/09/2021 06:53
"Kinda both, honestly," he responded, flashing a smirk. "I woke up further down the path. Got to figuring the mountaintop would be abandoned, and a good place to hide."

"Uh, didn't count on you being further up." His smile grew sheepish. "And now we're kiiiiiiinda in each other's way."

Regardless of what the other boy said, there was no way this girl was climbing that rock face. Hell, if Johnathan wanted down he probably wouldn't risk it either.

It did give him an idea, though.

"I can try, uh, climbing down a bit. To let you pass, I mean."

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 01/10/2021 02:11
He looked below, at the rock face, at its many sharp edges and rocky outcroppings. If he screwed up he was gonna half-roll, half-fall down all that into whatever uninviting terrain lay below - it looked vaguely swamplike, and not terribly nice to land in. But it wouldn't matter, because surviving that fall was unlikely, and the shape he'd be in if he did would probably make him wish he'd died instead.

But he'd made the offer, and he'd stick with it if she asked him to. He'd only be climbing a little ways before coming back up, for only a minute at most. How hard could it be?

"How hard could it be?"

Laurels | Flora — 03/10/2021 00:40
"Oh..." Flora said.

She looked down the rock face. She may have some upper body strength from farm work, but climbing a rock wall was different than that. Plus, how was she supposed to climb with a pitchfork? She couldn't abandon it in case some crazies showed up on the ground.

She turned to the boy on the path.

"Well...if you think you can try," she began. "Go ahead. Just be careful, please."

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 03/10/2021 04:00
He looked down the path's edge again. He kinda wished she'd said no.

"Ok. Let's just..."

He could do this. He only had to maintain his grip for a minute or so. It'd be fine.

He turned his back towards the edge, lowering himself down. He reached his right leg out for the closest foothold he could find.

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 03/10/2021 19:08

The other boy decided instead to step down in the girl's place. It seemed fine regardless to Samuel - the boy didn't look out of shape and could probably hang for a minute or two while the girl crossed. The boy stretched his leg to reach a foothold - one which looked unstable to Samuel.

"Don't. That one's not-"

almostinhuman | Monica, Douglas — 03/10/2021 19:19
The second John put his weight upon the rock, it gave. With nary a word or exclamation, he plummeted, his baseball cap and left sandal falling from him and being left behind on the cliff's edge.

He rolled down the rocky slope, taking several brutal hits, before coming to a sheer drop and plummeting off it and to the ground below.

((Johnathan Vanhorne continued in Come Fly With Me))

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 03/10/2021 19:21

The sound of rock crumbling.

"-stable."

He watched as the boy fell and slammed several times against the mountain rock, then plummeted into the abyss below. He turned to the girl, eyes wide with horror and regret.

"I'm sorry."

He disappeared out of view as he moved further towards the highest point of the island.

[B010 — ...- .- .. .-.. --..-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-..: CONTINUED IN "..-. ..- -. . .-. .- .-.. / -- .- .-. -.-. ...."]

Laurels | Flora — 03/10/2021 23:55
Flora felt her grip on the pitchfork tighten as the boy began to climb. She thought her hands were going to snap the handle in half from how tight it was being gripped.

It looked like it was going fine, but then the boy across the way shouted, and suddenly, the boy was falling.

Flora screamed.

He disappeared from sight, falling down into the swamp below. The other boy said something and disappeared. Out of nowhere, Flora was now completely alone.

Flora dropped the pitchfork on the path and collapsed to her knees. Her mouth quivered, and then she let out the longest, loudest scream in her life. Tears began to streak down her face as she continued to scream.

Laurels | Flora — 10/10/2021 03:03
Flora sniffled and wiped her eyes. She had been crying for about an hour, and her eyes and throat hurt.

"...Okay...I guess I don't have a choice..."

Flora affixed the pitchfork to her bag and then began to climb. She had to go much more slowly than the other boy. Somehow, she would get to the bottom, and she would get to safety.

She tried to monitor her breath, and kept climbing.

((Flora Katsura continued elsewhere))

[SOTF: Discord]

[+] ..-. ..- -. . .-. .- .-.. -- .- .-. -.-. ....

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 15/10/2021 03:18
Name: ..-. ..- -. . .-. .- .-.. / -- .- .-. -.-. ....
Time: Day 1
Status: Oneshot

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 15/10/2021 03:19

[B010 — ...- .- .. .-.. --..-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-..: CONTINUED FROM "Into Thin Air"]

He thought he would have needed to know more about a life to end it.

A tear rolled down his face as he continued to forge further up the mountain and the cold wind howled around him. His breaths were short, and he chose to ascribe it to a lack of oxygen in the mountain air. Deep down, he knew the culprit was hyperventilation.

The only thing he could recall about the boy he had lead to death was that his name had once been Johnathan.

[B010 — ...- .- .. .-.. --..-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-..: CONTINUED IN ".--. --- .-.. .- .-. .. ..."]

[SOTF: Discord]

[+] .--. --- .-.. .- .-. .. ...

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 15/10/2021 03:35
Name: .--. --- .-.. .- .-. .. ...
Time: Night 1
Status: Oneshot

Nigel Sullivan | Ahn Phan Phuc — 15/10/2021 03:36

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[SOTF: Discord]

[+] Business Decisions

DerArknight — 27/02/2022 19:09
Name: Business Decisions
Time: Night 2
Status: Private

DerArknight — 27/02/2022 19:22
((Rose Everest continued from Big Iron On (Her) Hip))

Rose didn't remember how they had ended up in this place.

Her last clear memory was Claude leading her back into the rain. Then there were some pictures of running through the trees, but nothing concrete. However, she must have fallen down somewhere along the way, because her head ached and her left knee hurt like hell.

Her right arm on the other hand might as well have been dead meat stitched onto her. The bleeding had stopped, but she still couldn't move it or even feel anything.

And now they were in a crevice that must have been created by an earthquake or something. Ten meters to her left was the rain. Two meters to her right the crevice became too small to even sit down. The ceiling was five meters above them. Or maybe fifty. Rose didn't care as long as the place was dry.

"Hey," she adressed Claude. "Can you give me some water?

... Please?"

Ashley Wright/Claude Sanders — 28/02/2022 11:15
"I hear ya, don't worry."

It was still raining cats and dogs. The forest and its trees would block some of the rain, but a lot still came through. It soaked his hair, and his pants were wet from drudging through all of this. His leather jacket caught most of the flak saving his t-shirt, but his fingers up to his hands still got the chill from it. He couldn't keep them in his pockets as long as he had been carrying this sack of potato. In contrast, he had been lucky with his boots that they could handle most of the muck, mud, and puddles of water through this place.

But all he could concentrate on through this venture was the girl hanging off his shoulder. For the most part, she had stayed silent. So silent in fact, sometimes he had thought she had died till he could hear, and feel, faint breathing from her. A clench on her hand was his way of checking. At one point, she fell down to the ground, and Claude had to scoop her up before she decided that it was a nice bed to sleep on. He did not know how long he had carried her before or after that.

They took shelter in a crevice. Why was that there? Claude did not care, it was a place to stay. At least briefly.

"Here, more's where that came from." He said as he handed her one of the bottles from the bag he had snatched before doing a stretch with his hands above him.

She looked pretty bad. Soaked to the bone, red covering the right side of her. The mixture of blood and water gave it a different texture. Claude could not tell if she was long for the world or not.

DerArknight — 02/03/2022 01:37
Rose had never imagined she would one day struggle to drink out of a water bottle.

Once Claude held the bottle in her direction, the fight began. At first, Rose managed to grab it. Then she realised she had no way to open it with only one functional hand. Her first attempt was to grab the neck of the bottle with four fingers and try to rotate the bottle cap with her thumb. But the bottle was fresh, so more force was needed. She tried to use two fingers to grip the cap, but then she couldn't hold it strong enough to stop from twisting. Next she considered ramming the bottle into the ground so she could use her full hand to work on the cap, but the ground was to hard for that. In the end she managed to open the bottle by biting on the cap with her teeth. It took three tries, but it worked.

During all of this, she pointedly ignored Claude and any help he could have offered, not wanting to humiliate herself.

When she finally brought the bottle on her lips and drank, she proved to act too greedy. Some water ended up in the wrong pipe, and Rose quickly vomited it all back up in a coughing fit while also dropping the bottle.

So much to humiliation.

Despite Claude's insurance that they had plenty, she didn't feel like asking for another bottle.

"..."

For maybe the first time since awakening on the island, Rose found herself thinking about home.

"Do you have siblings?" She spoke the question before considering what answer she might get.

Ashley Wright/Claude Sanders — 02/03/2022 10:52
"No brothers or sisters, or mother for that matter." He answered. He did not know what made him answer. Maybe it was seeing this girl struggle just to open a single bottle of water, or how she managed to puke it all over herself when she did manage to get it in her mouth.

She did not ask for another bottle. Instead, asking that kind of stuff. Claude did not exactly like it, but right now seeing her like this... damn, it was making him soft.

"Just me and my dad. Me and him against the world." It was giving him unpleasant thoughts talking about this stuff. Thinking of how his dad would take him being out here like this or the murder of Yalli for that matter. He did not always see eye to eye with the old man, but they had an understanding back home. Something he was not keeping here.

Or maybe his mother might recognize him...

"You?" He asked in the hope for these thoughts to go away.

DerArknight — 04/03/2022 22:45
Rose almost felt bad for being asked that after Claude's answer. But she wanted to be honest, at least this one time.

"My parents, my siblings and I are still living together in a small house my mother inherited. We always play board games on Saturday and watch some stupid kids movie on Sunday, which is also the day we all go to church.

"I have three siblings, two of which are younger than me. The youngest is my sister Cloe. I sometimes tell her bedtime stories about speaking animals and monsters that are actually peaceful and protect children from danger. Then comes my little brother Tim. He can be really annoying and is in puberty right now, but he owes me big because I always help him with homework and one mention of this will shut him up most times. Finally, my older sister Jessica is in her last year of university. She aims to become a vet, a dream she had since she could talk.

"My father works as a lumberjack and looks the part, but he is the nicest person I know. And my mother bakes the best pancakes in the world. If I remember correctly, she wanted to make them on the day when-"

Suddenly Rose realised she was crying. Why did she have to cry right now?

She knew the answer. And she knew what was now left for her do to. Facing this gave her the strength to hold it together and finally look Claude in the eyes.

"Have you seen Starship Troopers?"

Ashley Wright/Claude Sanders — 06/03/2022 14:50
Rose was crying now. What he was afraid of would happen to him was now in front of him. The memories were raw, much like picking at scabs, all it was good at was making them sad. And for that matter, the fuck was Claude supposed to do now? He was never the one that you went to for comfort, and yet, here he was, trying to find words to say to her. Anything to get away from this uncomfortable situation.

He had nothing.

All he could do was watch over her as she recalled more and more. He got to hear about her house in Arizona. Her family, their habits, jobs, what they meant to her. A lot to take in at once, and during all of it, she did not look at it. Instead, staring off into the distance with eyes growing more strained by the second.

It was only towards the end when she finally looked at him. He had knelt down earlier when she began to talk, and so they were now eye to eye. He immediately blinked when she did, more so to keep whatever emotions threatening to leak out in check. One of them had to be in control here. They never knew what kind of shit was lurking around.

But a puzzled expression came forwards when she asked if he watched Starship Troopers. That was by the... Robocop guy, right? He watched that ages ago, but why now?

"I have. What about it?"

DerArknight — 06/03/2022 15:02
"Well..." Rose said before trailing off. Her current position felt uncomfortable, so she leaned back against the cold wall of stone.

"Then you know what to do."

Ashley Wright/Claude Sanders — 06/03/2022 15:18
"Oh..."

Claude's grip on his Smith & Wesson grew lax upon hearing what Rose said. He stood firm on the spot but had to look away for a brief bit, let silence fill the crevice. Let himself think fast.

He was tempted to drop it on the ground. Maybe walk away. Maybe do literally anything else than that. Threats were one thing. He was good at those. Maybe even back them up if necessary. But this was different. It was not like Yalli were it was between him and her, and even then... he would have liked to have her around.

Rose was willing to play along. Rose had been willing to follow his plans, and be someone he could talk to. Both of them were killers, not of the same cloth, but close enough.

He kept closing his eyes while staring up, struggling to swallow his emotions down.

"You're helluva girl, you know that?"

DerArknight — 06/03/2022 17:43
An annoyed sigh escaped Rose's lips. Of course he had to ruin it.

"Let's not pretend we were anything, okay?

"If the two of us had made it to the end, I would have stabbed my knife into you without a second thought or you would have shot me without a second thought. We were a company of convenience, nothing more. So please spare me this crap about friendship and respect and just do what needs to be done."

With that, she closed her eyes, hoping it would just end already.

Ashley Wright/Claude Sanders — 06/03/2022 17:52
He allowed himself a small smile at her response.

"A bitch to the end, huh. Alright then."

He looked back at her now. Her eyes were closed, sighing at him. Whatever then. Let's get this over with.

His grip had returned and in full force. He carefully, deliberately lifted his gun at her. Taking in sharp breaths, slow exhales. Thumb closing in on the hammer.

He slowly pulled it back

"Here's looking at you, Rose."

And released.

DerArknight — 06/03/2022 17:54
There was nothing.

No noteworthy final thoughts.

No last-second-realizations.

No doubts.

Rose's journey was over. That was all there was to it.

G020 Rose Everest - Deceased

Ashley Wright/Claude Sanders — 07/03/2022 11:35
The bullet tore through her skull. He could hear it hit the wall behind her, both it and her head. Blood started leaking out immediately, staining her for days to come. Her body seemed to take a bit to lessen the strain on the muscles, he could see it on her face. Her eyes stayed close which saved him the bother of trying to close them for her, but her mouth opened ever so slightly.

"That was all she wrote." He said to Rose's form that was now slumped against the wall. He knelt down to her and reached out; closed her mouth shut. Or, at least attempted. He quickly pulled his hand away and stood up. He tried to look away from her, to his hands. Saw the smoke billowing out of his gun, ever so faint. He had wielded it before, threatened with it before, read about it, looked at it a lot. But it was the first time Claude had fired it.

Unlike Yalli, he didn't need to use both hands to end her life. That was what frightened him the most right now. With one hand, one gun, and one bullet, he ended Rose's life in an instant. Yalli was an intense affair, he did not know how long it took, but it was longer than this.

He had another tally to his name. That would make him a target and it wasn't likely he would find another Rose out there. Better be prepared and careful in that case.

Claude marched over to the bags they had gathered. He had three bags to organize and deal with. At best he could carry two of them. So what he needed to do was some inventory, pull the most important stuff from the bag they had stolen, haul it over to another and move on.

He could wait a little bit to see if the rain would let up. If it didn't then he would just have to brave it. There was nothing left for him in this crevice.

((Nothing at all.))