SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

Brendan knew that Alba couldn't understand his reasons. But it sounded like she was trying to understand. Understand why he was getting pushed into a mindset of looking for two people that he needed to take down. Wanted to take down. He couldn't continue to talk to them both. They both didn't seem like they wanted to listen to him. Jae had shot him in the shoulder. Jon almost got him killed with bullets. He couldn't stop them unless he took action himself. He would have to go down a darker path and there was a chance he could never turn back from that path. Could he try to make Alba see his side?

Brendan shifted on his knees a little and he decided to get back up to his feet. "I have to find them, Alba. I know that it might be hard for you understand why I want to do this. But I can't let either of them to go on hurting other people who don't deserve it. Even if I fail.... At least I'll be doing something useful. Right?" Brendan told her as he started to pace back and forth, staring at the revolver in his hand. "I can't even try to reason with them anymore. I've had enough, Alba. I'm sick and tired of being a complete weakling."

He glanced over at Alba with a sad smile. What would he do afterwards? He could go and look for him

".....Then I will have to find Ty. Because.... you know...."

So this was the plan for now. Kill Jae and Jon, then find Ty and apologize. Alba looked at Brendan with his weak smile, but glanced down slightly after a few seconds. There was something about how Brendan was speaking that was hard for Alba to accept. She slowly shook her head.

"Brendan, killing people doesn't make you strong," Alba said. "Killing Kaitlyn didn't make me feel any stronger or better for the situation we're in. Yes, Jae and Jon are dangerous, but you don't have to kill them to prove you're stronger than they are. That's what those people want."

Alba looked back up at Brendan.

"Listen, I'm your friend, and I'll gladly help you out on this island, but if you're really planning on hunting down people to prove to everyone you're not what they think you are, I think it'll end really badly. Please just think it over."

((Jaime Steinbeck continued from Takao))

Jaime just ran.

Fuckfuckfuck.

She didn't want any more. No more fucking shotguns, no more fucking liars. She just wanted to get out.

Ugh. Jaime had to stop and take a breath. This was fucking stupid.

Brendan felt his mindset wavering due to Alba's words. Was she right? Was he just thinking irresponsible about this? Killing Jae and Jon was possibly a really bad idea for him to have. But then.... What if they continued to kill other people? People who deserved a chance to survive this terrible, messed-up situation? Was he really supposed to do nothing? Was that what Alba wanted to do? Maybe he should really think things over. Just to see if he changed his mind or if he didn't.... Then he would have to tell Alba about it.

Brendan stopped his pacing and he turned to face her, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Okay, okay. I'll think it over, Alba. I guess I'm not thinking straight. I just wanted to be as honest as I could with you, Alba." He nodded his head lightly. "I think that we should get moving and...."

Brendan stopped speaking as he was pretty sure that he heard something outside the room. Was that someone's footsteps? Were they a friend? Or were they a foe?

He gave Alba a worried glance. "....Do.... Do you think that we should let whoever that is in here...?"

Alba sighed in relief when Brendan said he'd think it through. That was good. They had been relatively careful the last week, and being careful would probably keep them going for another week. She was sure they could work it out and find a better course of action. Unfortunately, there were some sounds in the hall that grabbed Brendan's attention and made Alba freeze up.

"I don't know," Alba whispered. "Let's just stay quiet, see if they go somewhere else."

Maybe it was another friend. Maybe it was another player. But caution was the word-of-the-day, so Alba figured they should follow it. They could wait and let this person pass, just to be safe.

Alba then slowly lifted the rifle and held it in her hands, again, just to be safe.

Nothing.

Jaime was looking around. Looking for just a place to sleep or something. She was in a dorm of some sort, looking around the rooms. Of course, few, if any, of them actually had anything.

Goddamit.

She just needed a room to sleep in. She opened up the next one.

Nothing

She opened the next door down the line.

Brendan nodded quietly. Alba had a good point. It would be better if they stayed quiet and waited for whoever the person was to leave the area. But it seemed that they were not going to move on at the moment and that was making Brendan feel very uncomfortable. He just hoped that they wouldn't try to get into this room. He just couldn't face anyone else right now and he didn't want to feel more paranoid than he already was.

The door was opening and it scraped over the top of the desk. The door was getting open too easily.

So, Brendan's reaction was pretty careless.

He raised the revolver towards the door, his finger was on the trigger unsteadily.

"What do you want?" He snapped out of frustration towards the person outside.

Alba remained in place as Brendan made his way to the door. The person in the halls began to push on the door, moving the table blocking it. Alba mentally cursed herself. She thought the table was high enough to block the door, or at least heavy enough. But it wasn't, and the mysterious person was coming in.

Brendan was already on the defensive, pulling his gun on whoever was coming in. Alba remained sitting on the bed. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but she hoped Brendan was going to be cautious.

She wanted to say something, but found herself unable to speak. She just wanted to see who was there.

"What do you want?"

Brendan was looking at her with this irritated look on his face. Jaime just glared.

"I want to sleep. More importantly, I want you to get that fucking gun out of my face."

Brendan was looking at a girl that was unfamiliar to him. He was trying to see if he could remember her from school. He remembered a name. Jaime.... Something. But that was pretty much it. He barely even knew her other than her first name. He wasn't going to know everyone here. And that terrified him more. People who he didn't know were strangers to him. This girl with an attitude was a stranger to him. And for that, he was not going to lower the gun.

Just shoot her already, Brendan. One less person for you to worry about....

"No." He said simply. He was really talking to his thoughts he was having but it would appear like he was saying it to Jaime. He couldn't take back that single word now. "....You're not the one who is in control here. I.... I am the one with the gun, not you."

Jaime snorted. Had she been thinking clearly, as in, in Kingman or New Jersey,

"Look fucker, I didn't come here to dick around. I want a bed and some sleep," she said, pushing the gun in her face aside. "Now fuck off."

Brendan panicked. His finger accidentally (or had it been purposely?) squeezed the trigger. A shot was fired. The bullet hit the wall. It had been so loud. Brendan's ears were ringing. A wave of slight dizziness came over him and he blinked a few times.

This girl had just made him waste a bullet. And the way she had done it had either been really brave or stupid. Brendan was now picturing that she was both. Still he wasn't happy about it. Alba could have been standing next to him and he could have ended up shooting her instead of the wall. He was just glad that Alba wasn't near him and Jaime at the moment.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Brendan glared at Jaime and the revolver was shaking in his hand. The ringing in his ears was slowly going away. "That was a bad mistake you just made, Jaime."

He now had the gun pointed at Jaime's chest. He didn't speak. He was daring her to make the same move again. He honestly didn't care if he did end up killing her or not.

She would deserve it....

Jaime flinched as the gun went off. Jesus Christ, that was loud.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"Uh, I did that because you had a gun pointed at me," Jaime replied, as if the answer was obvious, and in fairness, it was. "Maybe you should keep your finger off the trigger and not point that gun at me." Jaime pushed Brendan's gun again and pushed past Brendan himself. It was irritating when people didn't know when to shut the fuck up.

That was the last straw for Brendan. Jaime shouldn't think that it was so easy for her to push him around. He wasn't the same person that he was before. He knew what he was doing was wrong. But he already made his choice beforehand. He didn't want Jaime to get closer to Alba. He had to do it. He couldn't hold back and feel like he couldn't do anything. He wanted to do something! Anything!

He aimed the revolver at Jaime's back. She should have known to never turn her back on an enemy. He would make her regret it.

"Bitch....."

He then pulled the trigger, smiling bitterly.

"Bitch." Jaime scowled and turned around.

"Yeah, well fuck -"

BANG

Jaime's eyes widened just as the gun went off. She went down and hit the floor, so she probably

Motherfucker!

That fucker hadn't just shot at her, he'd shot her.

"You fucking piece of SHIT!" Jaime charged forward, fueled more by rage and adrenaline, and swung for Brendan's face.