SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

He...

He actually bought it.

Corey had kept behind Tim as he wrote down the message, and he managed to catch a glimpse of what he'd written down.

Corey was two minds about this. It saved the effort of having to come up with a way to tell Michael that Daniel was dead. However, it was also only delaying the inevitable, and Corey didn't want to have to deal with the inevitable shitstorm.

He sighed.

It was time to move on. The question was, where to? Well, there wasn't a good direction to go, was there? After all, they had no real destination in mind... they had no idea where's Daniel's body was.

This was also why he didn't want Daniel's death to be kept a secret. If they came across it, well...

He exited the building again.

"I think it's time to go," he said.

He looked around, trying to decide which way would be the best way to go. He saw something on the ground that caught his eye, and moved over to pick up.

He turned the piece of wood over in his hands. It was a beam, the kind used to build houses, with a single nail sticking out of it. Light enough to be carried in one hand, but heavy enough that it would require two hands to actually use it as a weapon.

His hands fell to his sides, as he looked over at the other three.

"This way," he called, pointing the thumb of his free hand down the street.

((Corey Esposito continued in Stand Your Ground(s).))

Corey announced that they needed to go. Rachael turned back to the group. It looked like Tim had figured out a way to make Michael believe that no one they knew had died. Most likely, Michael would probably think she was crying over hearing that some of their classmates had killed and that some other classmates had chosen to kill. They'd probably have to fill him in later on who died, but now wasn't the time.

Rachael moved in to get her bag and continued to wipe her eyes. She was still finding it hard to calm down. Daniel was dead, and they were lying to Michael. She hated having to lie to her friend, but she hated being in this game more. All she could hope now was that none of her other friends would fall like Daniel.

Hansel Williams...how could he do this? I need to know why. Why would he kill Daniel?

((Rachael Langdon continued in Stand Your Ground(s)))

Wow. 

Timothy blinked in surprise.

It actually worked.

He took another look at Michael, trying to confirm what just happened. The guy didn't look upset, at any rate. Timothy swallowed, a terrible feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. He had just...lied. To his friend. He was a liar. No matter how he could try to rationalise his actions, that was an incontrovertible fact. 

He turned back to the others. They were leaving. He couldn't blame them. They all felt guilty for what had happened, and the sooner they left this place, the easier it would be to forget. For them, anyway. They were allowed to. The lie was Timothy's idea, not theirs. He had chosen to sacrifice morality for security, and he needed to take responsibility for that. If he had to make the tough decisions for the good of the group, then so be it. He couldn't pretend he was a good person, but the least he could do would be to protect the friends he had left.

The apologies could wait until after they made it home.

((Timothy Abrams continued in Stand Your Ground(s)))

Gah, wait! Why the hell is everybody leaving already? Dammit, guys, don't you know that breakfast is really fucking important?

Corey had apparently made the decision that it was time to go, everybody else following suit without even writing so much as a "Yo, Michael, you incredibly cool dude, we're going to that one place." He could understand why they wouldn't be in the mood to talk, (especially Rachael, she seemed to be hit the hardest by whatever she heard announced) , but it wasn't good to assume that Michael, talented as he was, could just discern their intent through fuckin' telepathy!

What did we get all that paper for if no one's gonna use it? I can only stretch the Crabzilla saga for so long, you dicks!

Giving up, Michael settled for flipping Corey off while the asshole's back was turned, then digging a totally gourmet ration bar from out of his bag. Michael then slung his bag over his shoulder, grabbed his fucking automatic shotgun, and followed the others, munching on the bar as he walked.

You fuckers ain't gonna keep me down. Michael Mitchellson can eat and walk at the same time. All your carefully laid plans, gone to ruin.

((Michael Mitchellson: Continued in Stand Your Ground(s).))