Now I'm radioactive! That can't be good!

[Slam]

"Whatever." Alex repeated, much in the same tone as the first time, save for the extra air in her lungs. She tossed her bags down on the ground behind her, as she began to pace around the lobby.

Whilst the nuclear plant itself was still her prime target, an office complex was probably just as good a place to be for now. There must have been a copy of the blueprints to the plant around here somewhere; probably posted on a wall somewhere, wherever the technicians did their work outside of the plant itself. Finding those would make Plan A. a hell of lot easier.

However, that part still had to wait. Between the kidnapping, and the nearly dying, and looking like a moron by having her first plan screwed up, the only plan she could push herself into was still just finding somewhere to take a fucking nap.

"I'll look for the staff room." She called back to Cassandra, heading towards the first door she saw. Whilst she may have been hoping to find a comfy sofa to rest her weary head, what was on the other side of the door was, in fact, a block of cubicles. As Alex got closer and closer to opening the door, Adam was still approaching it from the other side.

[MurderWeasel]

Adam heard them talking, moving towards the door. He'd taken up position on the other side, making very sure to figure out which way it swung this time. The girls would have to pull it towards them, and if Adam wouldn't be hidden from sight, well, he also wouldn't break his nose if one or the other was feeling enthusiastic. That was good, since by the noise they'd made earlier, they seemed to be a bit agitated.

That made him pause for a second. If they opened the door and he was right there waiting, it might look funny. If, on the other hand, he beat them to the punch, he'd have a lot more sway in how things went. It'd give him the element of surprise, and would establish his claim to the area. He didn't mind newcomers, but they'd have to play by his rules and be people Maynard and Natali could deal with. Adam wasn't going to prioritize newcomers over his proven allies.

So he stepped up to the door and pushed it open.

On the other side was Alex King. Shit. Adam was pretty sure Alex was one monster of a bitch back at school, and that wasn't what anyone needed for their nerves right now. It didn't mean she'd be dangerous, just a huge pain in the ass. He kept his face studiously neutral, suppressed a sigh.

"Oh, hey," he said. "Uh, welcome to our hideout, I guess. 'sup?"

He couldn't quite see the other girl yet. He hoped she was someone good at keeping Alex in check, because otherwise this could be a long night.

[Sansa]

Maynard blushed as Natali squeezed his arm - he felt immediately reassured. She was a sweet girl, and really pretty as well. Pretty...oh god, Gwen...where are you?

He had to make a list, note down everyone he could find. Gwen, Daniel, Juhan, Ian, Ami, all of the other book club and anime club kids...jeeze, I actually do have a lot of friends. To think that I used to believe I didn't have too many...I didn't appreciate them enough. I'm going to find them and talk to them one last time before...before...

"You're so sweet, Natali. This place is just so...I still can't get over how this has happened. It just feels so...unnatural. Like I'm about to wake up at any second. But I know I'm not. I mean, I know I'm gonna die. I just hope it's quick."

Well. That was something of a pessimistic viewpoint, but Maynard couldn't help it. All he needed was to find Gwen and tell her how he felt. To spend his final moments in her company was all he wanted. Is that too much to ask? he wondered.

Just then he heard the sound of voices, and leapt to his feet. It wasn't like he was about to charge in, weapon in hand and battle cry in his throat, but he knew now that he had to be alert. For everyone's sake.

[BROseidon†]

Cassandra started moving her clothes from her messenger bag to the black duffel. It was the first time that Cassandra had opened her bag, and she realized that the books she had brought with her were gone. She was miffed, but it wasn't a huge deal at that point. She had bigger concerns.

Her supplies were not that numerous. She was being weighed down by what the terrorists had given her. She was going to need to make that stuff a bit lighter if she wanted to be able to travel at all and not wear herself down. And what better way to start than to start munching on a loaf of bread.

As Cassandra reached for the food, she heard the male voice at the end of the hallway. She couldn't quite make out who he was or what he was saying, but he was a person.

She should probably go back Alex up.

So Cassandra pulled the kama from her bag and began walking down the hallway. If Alex got into trouble, maybe Cassandra could bail her out.

She didn't know why she was making such an obviously bad decision.

[backslash]

Natali felt a knot form in her stomach at the way Maynard was talking. She wanted all of this to just be a dream too, to wake up at home in her bed, or even sprawled out on her floor surrounded by homework because she'd stayed up late cramming again. She wanted her mom and dad, and Eliza, and her friends.

And if she wanted to really have a chance to see them again, she couldn't give up.

"Look," She whispered, "Don't... don't talk like that. We have to keep it together. People were rescued last time, remember? I'm sure someone will find us too. They've got to."

Natali paused and swallowed, trying to steady herself. "And if we want to make it until we can get rescued, then we can't just let go, alright?"

Voices. Someone other than Adam.

Natali tensed again and stood along with Maynard. Her palms were sweating, making her grip on the crowbar slippery. Hopefully, that wouldn't be a problem.

Hopefully, there wouldn't be a situation where it could possibly become a problem.

She reached out and lightly touched Maynard's shoulder, partly to get his attention and partly because it made her feel better. "Take a step back from the door. I don't think Adam would be very happy if he got knocked in the face again."

And he'll be even unhappier if you accidentally stick him with your spear-thing...

[Slam]

Alex's heart skipped a beat when she met Adam on the other side of the door. Had she been less angry and more tense, she might have even yelled out in surprise, but instead she just flinched. It was unexpected, that was all.

"Uh, yeah." She responded, as her wits returned to her after the momentary relapse. "Whatever." She peered behind Adam, looking for any sign of company, but she couldn't see them from where she was stood. However, unless his buddies that fell under 'our' included some assholes that would only make her life worse, she didn't really care to meet them right now. Hell, she hadn't really cared to meet Adam either. Not part of her crowd, just some sport guy or whatever, and not someone she cared to spend any more time with and any less time away from a bed for.

"Look, I'm just trying to find the staff room. You seen it?" she asked. Well, she was still looking for all that other stuff too, but the staff room could come first. And besides, there was no reason she'd have to share her plans with the other guys, and no reason she'd even want to. Cassandra should've counted her lucky stars she was still tagging along.

Though the thought occurred to her they might have already been camping in the staff room. That woulds make things either really uncomfortable, or just really unpleasant until whoever these people were got the fuck out of there. It was going to be a pain in the ass, either way.

[MurderWeasel]

((The loose outline of this timeskip and GMing has been approved by everyone involved. I'm keeping the specifics vague so everyone can fill in their own stuff, but if anything needs editing, let me know and I'll fix it. ))

"Nah," Adam said. "Probably past the next bit. It's just cubicles. Me and a couple other people are holed up there, probably gonna spend the night. Don't mind if you pass through, though, long's you're not gonna cause trouble."

He didn't really want more people joining in right as Maynard and Natali got settled for the night, especially not unknowns. Maybe if Cassandra and Alex stuck around and didn't cause trouble they could all consolidate in the morning. Until then, they had a different goal in the building than Adam and his team, so there was no reason for them to come into conflict.

And it worked alright. Cassandra and Alex went on to wherever they were going, and Adam let Natali and Maynard know what was going on. Then they tried to make themselves comfortable to wait out the darkness.

There were a few little flaws in Adam's plan. The cubicles, already dim in the day, went totally black at night, the walls cutting off what scant moonlight made it through the windows. Having nothing to look at became boring in a hurry, and Adam wasn't able to get to sleep easily. He'd made a tactical miscalculation in offering Alex and Cassandra the staff room, which was presumably a whole lot more comfortable than the office chairs in the cubicles. He was half tempted to march in and demand a swap, but pride didn't allow it.

He talked with the others, a little, but there just wasn't a lot to say. They traded watches, and on his, Adam stalked through the darkened maze of dividers, sword in hand, listening and trying to get a feel for his surroundings. At one point, he misjudged and caught his shoulder on a wall, the sudden contact nearly dropping him on his ass, but he managed to recover and avoided letting out a squeal.

It felt like days before morning finally came, the wait a sort of hazy timelessness as he drifted in and out of consciousness and awareness, not always at the same time. But finally, when light was streaming through the windows, the world became real again.

All the more so as speakers all around rumbled to life, bringing the words of the terrorists to the students.

Adam just sat. For once, no course of action presented itself. He'd known that this was real, but it hadn't quite felt that way until right at that moment. No amount of running could keep the thoughts at bay now.

[Sansa]

Maynard had spent most of the night curled up on the floor, snatching a few fitful hours of sleep in between watches. He'd found the pitch darkness incredibly disconcerting, and it'd taken him a while to get used to being near blind. When the sun finally rose and light returned to the offices, he was bleary eyed and sore, still crouched in the corner with a slight ache drumming the back of his neck. The crackle of the announcements only served to make it worse, and Maynard was in the process of rubbing the sore spot when the death toll arrived. The rest of the announcement went by unheard the second the name was said.

Daniel Whitten.

Immediately his heart tightened in his chest and any chance of him standing up vanished as his legs turned to jelly beneath him. He clenched his eyes shut, and the image of the boy flashed through Maynard's mind, Daniel with his wide innocent eyes and perpetual smile and his forever friendly nature. He was always there for me. Always had a kind word, never did anything bad. One of my best friends and they just...

Maynard's eyes flickered open. "Daniel," he whispered, as hot tears streamed down his cheeks. "Please come back."

He stumbled upwards and forwards, gripping onto a nearby chair, dizzy with grief and confusion over the fact that Daniel, the boy he had every intention of reuniting with and sharing one last moment together, had breathed his last breath. His vision blurred as the tears continued to burn his face, and he heard a voice, nasally and loud, pass through his lips.

"Daniel, oh Daniel please no. Please not him, not Daniel. Please no, no Daniel was good! He wouldn't have hurt anybody! I was meant to find him! I was meant to find all of them! Please, stop it, please! I'll do anything, please, just bring back Daniel! I promise, please..."

The words hovered in the air for a moment, and then he fell to the ground.

[BROseidon†]

Cassandra's fears were quickly mollified when Alex and Adam were able to easily broker a deal about how to share the office space. Cassandra moved her stuff quickly to the staff room, and with the little remaining daylight she had left, she packed everything into the one bag, and she had enough time left over to eat a decent meal of bread. The pair didn't spend much time talking, and it was not long until Cassandra tried to go to sleep.

There was only a single couch in the staff room, which Cassandra let Alex take. She could have tried to sleep in one of the large chairs, but the floor felt like the better option. Cassandra did not think she could sleep sitting up.

The floor was uncomfortable. Even when she was horrifically poor in Detroit, she had always at least had a mattress to sleep on. It had never been a particularly comfortable mattress; the springs created awkward pressure points that would leave Cassandra sore if she did not sleep in the exact right position, but it worked. The hard surface of the floor provided no cushioning to Cassandra, and it was cold. Cassandra had to pull out an extra sweater from her bag to keep warm.

She did eventually fall asleep, though, and she still woke up well before the announcements. She pretended to be asleep, though, hoping that maybe this was a dream and it would all go away. She would be back in Seattle with her computer and her finance books and everything would be okay.

But it was not okay. Eventually, the blare of the speakers forced Cassandra to come to terms with the reality of the situation. People had killed; Cassandra did not know any of the listed people particularly well, but she immediately felt sad. Her chest felt hollow and she wanted to cry.

She wanted to see her mother again. At the end of all of this, maybe she would.

But there was probably something to do today. Alex still had not executed on whatever plan she had, and maybe they could get something going to escape.

[backslash]

Arrangements were made, watches were decided on, and Natali curled up in a chair in their chosen cubicle, using her hoodie as a blanket.

If she dreamed, she didn't remember it.

---

There was noise coming from somewhere. Somebody making announcements, the news or something. Natali tried to curl up tighter, but her bed wasn't very comfortable right now. She'd probably slept in a weird position or something.

"Dad," she called out without opening her eyes, "the TV's up too loud."

There was no response, either in the form of an answer from her father or the noise lowering in volume.

"Dad?"

Natali sat up and opened her eyes, and her hoodie slid off her and onto the floor of the office.

Oh.

That... hurt a lot more than it probably should have. Waking up and realizing that she wasn't at home in her bed, with her parents just downstairs. It hurt more than anything she'd ever felt, actually, more than waking up the first day had. One day of wandering around an island could be attributed to a lucid dream, but going to sleep and waking up in the same place...

It was real. It was all real and knowing that made her feel sick to her stomach.

Natali's morbid thoughts were cut short by a loud, keening noise very close to her, and she jumped. It took her a minute to realize that it was coming from Maynard, and she slid out of the chair, legs wobbling.

"Maynard! What happened, what's wrong?" Even as she spoke, things came together in Natali's mind. The voice coming from nowhere, Maynard wailing inconsolably. Survival of the Fittest. She'd tried to sleep through the morning announcements.

People were dead.

Maynard sobbed and collapsed, and Natali stumbled over to him.

"Maynard!?"

[Slam]

Alex had already been awake for an hour when the announcements blared. She'd never been the type to sleep in, not that she'd ever had much of an opportunity to. It was either school, work, or her parents fighting in the other room. Or rather, it would be her prick of a father shouting at her mom. So, she'd been smoking her morning cigarette, staring out of the opened staff room window that only overlooked the reactors, rather than what was probably a pretty nice view on the other side, when the names of the deceased aired.

She'd wanted to pretend that it hadn't surprised her, that she'd thought little enough of her 'peers' that them starting to freak out and kill each other was predictable, but it wasn't. Fuck if she knew any of the victims, and fuck more if she'd be able to ID the killers on sight, but she was still surprised.

Eight people were a lot.

She'd tried to write down the names of the people who were playing, as well as the danger zones, just to get her mind off of it, but of course they'd taken her pen and paper. The staff room was empty of the stuff, probably because whoever worked here whenever ago wanted to keep their mind off of charts and nuclear fission and whatever, so she was shit out of luck as far as keeping prepared went. It didn't matter though: she'd probably remember anything important if the names came up, she usually did. She managed to find a small amount of humour in the fact that the airstrip would now kill her too, so that helped.

But eight people were still a lot.

She hadn't tried to wake Cassandra up yet, not that she was actually still asleep. When they came into the room last night, she hadn't said anything as she'd eyed the couch, but she'd expected they'd at least rock papers scissors for it or something. When Cassandra hadn't said anything about it though, she wasn't even sure whether she should have first. Cassandra hadn't said anything though, so she just took what was there. If Cassandra wanted to make a piss about it, then she should have done so earlier.

She didn't though, so that was cool. Whatever, she could have the next couch.

"Yo Cass, wake up." She finally called from the window several minutes after the announcement had been and gone, as she flicked the butt of her cigarette out the window then moved towards her roommate. She crouched down closer to Cassandra before speaking again. "You want to see the other guys, or should we just fuck out of here?"

She really didn't care for making an escape party, but fuck it, they might come in handy. Cass could decide and save her the trouble.

[MurderWeasel]

Maynard wasn't taking things well. Natali seemed clueless about what was happening. This was all hitting Adam pretty damn hard too, but he was at least still functional. He knew how to keep his cool, knew that when you couldn't say what you meant you were best off just not opening your mouth. And so he took a few moments to let it all roll through his mind, the realization that people he'd gone to school with wouldn't ever do anything again, that others were out there killing, like they thought they were some sort of badasses, that nothing could ever be the same again.

Then he set it aside, because there were more important things right now. He leaned back, rocked his chair a few times, drummed his sword against the floor, until he felt he could speak.

"Guys," Adam said, and his voice was flat like always, his face blank. "Guys, hey, listen. I know it's bad, but we need to hold together."

He didn't know how to do this. Adam wasn't the sort for comforting others. He could step in and kick some ass, or get his ass kicked, if that'd help someone. He could coax smiles if people needed to lighten up. When it came to this stuff, though, drama and deep emotional pain, he had nothing but his own coping mechanisms. Could they possibly work here?

No reason not to try.

He rolled his shoulders and stood, looking at the others. They seemed so desperate, so devastated, so weak.

"Do you think that, well, that we should get moving?" he asked.

Because moving meant not thinking. If they just kept going, goal to goal, then there would be no time to drown in misery. Maybe they could find other people they cared about, focus on what they had rather than what they'd lost. Maybe they could just let exhaustion wash away any other cares. Maybe none of that would work. No way to tell.

Adam wanted to punch something. That was simple. He could always blow off some steam with a little action, even if he was on the wrong end of it, but now the days where that could be free of consequences were gone. He'd been robbed of an outlet, and that realization made him all the more aware of the pressure mounting inside.

"I think we should move."

[Sansa]

Natali's concerned tones did little to stop the tears and snot that streamed down his face, but it did remind Maynard that there were actually other people in the room with him, people who were no doubt grieving for their own friends. He couldn't be so self-absorbed, to wallow in self-pity like this. There were so many other people who had loved Daniel, people who had more a right to burst into hysterics like he had. People like Michael and Rachael. What they were going through...it didn't bare thinking about.

Maynard rubbed a sleeve along his face, trying to return it to something other than a blubbering mess. He had to be strong, else they'd leave him. Their patience couldn't be this unbreakable, could it? I have to look my best for when Gwen comes, he told himself. I have to look like something other than a crybaby when we find her. He didn't think she'd appreciate the look he'd had etched on his face a moment ago.

So he stood up, his legs still shaking beneath him, and nodded fervently at Adam's suggestion. He'd made a total of two allies so far, and while they'd stuck by him he knew they needed to bulk up their alliance, just a little bit. Besides, they weren't covering much ground sitting in an office cubicle. No, moving on was definitely for the best. He attempted a smile for Natali, although it probably would've been better for him not to try at all.

"It was D-daniel. Daniel Whitten. He was one of my b-best friends, and it still seems so...so..."

He couldn't find the right words. He'd never been the most eloquent boy. The fact that he'd managed to get through that sentence without collapsing again was a miracle in his opinion.

So he trailed off, as he so often did, and grabbed his bag from where it'd been shunted against the wall.

"I kinda didn't hear the end of the announcement. Only up to Daniel's name. Didn't hear his killer or anything." He bit his lip, and looked at Adam and Natali. "I don't think I'm in the right state of mind to hear. Not yet."

"But if you want, let's move."

If I couldn't save Daniel, I have to save Gwen. I have to.

[BROseidon†]

Cassandra sat up in response to Alex. She was putting the decision-making on her about how to treat the others.

Cassandra remained silent in contemplation for a few moments while she mulled over the pros and cons of teaming up with the others in her head. The main pro was protection; Adam had a decent weapon and was fairly athletic. Cassandra would also have more people that she would be able to interact with, all of whom would probably help keep Alex in check. The cons were that a large group would start to get unwieldy. They would grow less mobile as they picked up members, which could hinder Alex in her endeavors. Endeavors that Cassandra remained in the dark about. Cassandra also did not know any of them, and they could potentially be emotional or strategic liabilities later on.

"I say we just leave. We should map out where we are going for the day, figure out what we are going to do. You said you had a plan, right?"

Cassandra realized that she was moving into potentially dicey territory with the conversation, so she needed to be indirect. There was no way the terrorists could not hear what they were saying.

"I don't want to hear about what you're planning to do while your here. I'll just tag along and take orders."

Hopefully Alex would realize that explaining anything would be a bad idea.

[backslash]

All Natali could do was give Maynard the hug she'd promised him yesterday and then take a step back to let him have his space. Her head was still spinning, and she'd barely even heard the announcement. For Maynard to lose one of his best friends without even getting to say goodbye...

Things were getting very bad, very quickly. To be honest, she really didn't want to move. The plant was secure, for the most part, and they had a place to hide if they needed to. On the other hand, sitting still probably wouldn't help. It looked like Adam was already starting to get cabin fever, and all they'd done was spend the night.

"It might be safer to stay here..." Natali began. "But if you really think we should move, then I think the woods would be our best bet if we don't to run into anyone else." She rubbed her arm, feeling goosebumps that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. "I don't think I'd be comfortable seeing anyone besides you guys right now."

Natali moved back over to the chair she had slept in and gathered her hoodie from the floor, tucking it back into her bag and zipping it closed. She shouldered her bag and picked the crowbar up from where she had leaned it against the chair.

She took a deep breath. Held it. Let it out. Be calm.

"Yeah, let's move."