Watch Your Step

[Arscapi†]

((Skipping post order because it's getting way to close to inactivity for my liking.))

Thea turned to see who else had entered the area and smiled when she say Autumn walking towards them. This is definitely better than before, she thought. At least now I get some time with actual people. She waved at Autumn and the turned to listen to Ricky as he came up beside her.

"Hey Thea. I think James is comin', don't know about any of the others we were with though."

She nodded at his comment, but before she could continue Jason Clarke shouted to the boy that Thea hadn't recognized. Roman, huh, she shrugged and filed the information in the forget soon part of her brain. By now the boy who'd decided to run into the building had climbed to his feet declaring he was fine. Yeah, like we honestly care. Seriously, what you didn't see the giant building looming in front of you. And you wanna call yourself an athlete, she thought.

"So, does anyone here have an idea of what to do," Simon asked.

Umm, here's a thought not crash into buildings, Thea thought, before the comment could come out of her mouth more people appeared. Reina and the two losers she was trying to get rid of entered the area. Oh, hell no, you have got to be kidding me!

"Oh, I think I know what we need to do," she said specifically motioning to the two cheerleaders beside her and Ricky. "What we need is for you losers to stop following us around. I mean seriously it was cute and all when we were in school, but you need to stop now. I mean, can you honestly think, we want you around at all? Hello, how did you not get the message?" Somewhere in the middle of her rant Thea's arm hand had found its way to her hip where it now rested, hip stuck out to emphasize her disgust.

With a large roll of her eyes she continued. "So what we're going to do is head out of here and you followers you need to find someone else to follow." And with a click of her tongue she pushed past the newcomers and out of the area, not caring if anyone else followed, just needing to be away from the rabble that had suddenly decided to plague her existence.

((Thea Kairos continued in Cleanliness and Loneliness ))

[BetaKnight]

Things were happening way too fast for Roman's liking. New people were popping out of the woodwork, and none of the latest additions looked terribly friendly. And some of them didn't appear to be terribly bright. 'How do you miss the building?' he wondered as he studied Simon in completely bafflement. 'I mean, it's a big ass building AND it's right in front of you. It didn't jump out in front of you or anything.'

Completely ignoring the arrival of the cheerleaders and Ricky Fortino, Roman left Simon in Acacia's capable hands when a familiar voice call out to him. His spirits soared as Jason Clarke appeared. 'If Jason is here, maybe...'

Craning his neck to try and peer in the direction Jason had arrived from, Roman desperately hoped to see Alex following in her prom date's wake. When it became obvious that Alex was not there, Roman fought down the irrational urge to leap at Jason and punch him in the face.

'It's not Jason's fault that Alex isn't with him. You can't attack him now. If you couldn't take him at prom, it's probably not a good idea to try now. You have no idea what kind of weapon he got, and the last thing you need is for him to steal yours from you,' his brain ruthlessly pointed out to him.

Just as he had managed to calm himself, three more people showed up, bringing their conflict with them. That was not good. So not good.

"There are entirely too many people here," Roman muttered, hoping Acacia was paying attention to him. "Large groups of people attract attention. And attention here equals death. We've got to get out of here."

Slowly backing up and hoping everyone else was too busy watching the drama, Roman began what he hoped was a strategic retreat. He jerkily twitched his head at Acacia, motioning for her to follow him. He needed to leave this drama behind and find his sister.


((Roman Jackson continued in Living In The Aftermath))

[xylophonefairy†]

Acacia blinked as suddenly people started appearing from nowhere, over the hills, around the corner. Why were they all here? It was good to see Thea and Autumn though, friends from the team, their presence added a bizzarre sense of normalcy to the proceedings; she saw them every day, in all kinds of settings. Different schools in the state, unfamiliar places. If it weren't for everyone else and the fact that she was still holding her gun, she could possibly have just about convinced herself that they were at an away game... in the middle of nowhere... with some free time to visit a funfair...

Wincing as Thea cut down Simon with a well placed cheerleader style insult, Acacia stepped back a little bit. That had always been one of the more uncomfortable parts of being a cheerleader for her, the fact that it was almost a requirement to look down on everyone else. Generally, she tried to stay out of it, though it was difficult, when sometimes what was being said was so true. This was just pointless. She opened her mouth to speak, just as Thea stalked out of the scene, and Acacia closed her eyes for a moment (she figured she could get away with this, she had a gun after all).

"For God's sake," she muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "We're all equal here." Unconsciously she looked towards the weapon that was dangling, nonchalant in it's danger, from her right hand. But some are more equal than others... Roman was talking to her, suggesting that they get out of there, and she wholeheartedly agreed. But it was difficult for her to sneak away as subtly, being stood pretty much in the middle of the group that was crowded around Simon. Nodding to Roman in agreement, she melted into the group.

"Excuse me, I just want to get a bit of air. Claustrophobic, you know," she added by means of explanation, motioning to the crowd of people. Autumn would quite possibly know that that was total crap, but she didn't really care. Catching up to Roman, Acacia put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm coming," she said softly, glancing behind her briefly to see if anyone had decided to join them.

((Acacia Salinger continued in Living In The Aftermath))

[JamesRenard†]

'Wait, was... that the second announcement? I thought... just how long was I out for?!' Marco thought, scratching his head in confusion. 'I haven't slept for that long since the coma after the accident! Hope this isn't a side effect of it...'

As he glanced out the open door more, he noticed that the area directly outside the Hall of Mirrors was starting to get extremely crowded now, students seeming to come from every conceivable direction like there was some kind of rendezvous Marco hadn't heard about. It was getting way too busy for Marco's taste out there, and as each student gathered outside, Marco felt the odds of being attacked slowly stacking up against him.

'Staying here is just asking to get killed,' Marco thought, slowly and stealthily stepping out of the building and keeping his gaze fixed on the people, watching their movements just in case they noticed him and he needed to run for it. So far they seemed to ignore his presence, which suited Marco fine as he turned the corner of the building and disappeared from their field of vision, recalling the ending details of the morning's report.

'Key, infirmary and mansion. Danger zones, gotta avoid those areas,' Marco thought as he disappeared into the treeline behind the building, his bleeding hand still clutched tightly around the candelabra.

((Marco Stonecastle continued in Still Going Strong))

[decoy73]

The sudden influx of people coming in was both a potential boon and a drawback at the same time: while it meant a greater chance at defense (more people = more weapons = intimidation factor = less people likely attack upon sight), it also created a chance of an attack from the inside: more people meant more opinions, meant more chances of disagreements splintering the group. Simon was first to speak up:

So, does anyone here have an idea of what to do? Thea was the first one to ... respond.

"Oh, I think I know what we need to do. What we need is for you losers to stop following us around. I mean seriously it was cute and all when we were in school, but you need to stop now. I mean, can you honestly think, we want you around at all? Hello, how did you not get the message?" Okay. That was definitely not the best response. Her short fuse was probably not a unique property in a game like this, and doing that to the wrong person could be a lethal mistake.

"So what we're going to do is head out of here and you followers you need to find someone else to follow." Great. This was not good. And with that, Thea left. Then Roman and the blonde cheerleader left. And just like that, the situation solved itself ... or degraded even further, depending on how one would take to being in a group of what, eight people (In fact, it was eleven, apart from Thea, Ricky, Roman, Simon, Raine, Acacia, Autumn and Jason himself, Ridley Landon and Rena Peters had followed, and Marco Stonecastle had woken up there)? He knew one thing: the group was splintering, and he had to take a side: stay or go? Jason sighed, rubbed his developing beard (both habits that had developed over the past two days), and walked off.

No matter how I survive, I can't do it alone ...

((Jason Clarke continued Cleanliness and Loneliness))

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Simon had expected worry, even some slight irritation. The entire class had been fighting for their individual lives for two days.

"Oh, I think I know what we need to do. What we need is for you losers to stop following us around. I mean seriously it was cute and all when we were in school, but you need to stop now. I mean, can you honestly think, we want you around at all? Hello, how did you not get the message?" He looked quizzically at her. He had gotten there first, independently of her. If anything, she had followed him.

"So what we're going to do is head out of here and you followers you need to find someone else to follow." Then she walked off as he put his leg back onto his stump, watching as Roman and Acacia also left. He shook his head as he stood up, gingerly putting weight on his prosthesis, ensuring that it wasn't going to break on him. Then he packed his bag, slung them over his shoulder, and walked off with calling out some choice words to Thea Kairos:

"Yeah, well you're a bitch!"

((Simon Telamon continued in Fucking Compasses ... How Do They Work?))

[chibinanashi†]

"Ridley!?"

The voice sounded so familiar. Raine blocked everyone else out in her mind and ran right to the source of the voice. When Eva's name popped up in the announcement, she felt her blood run cold. Ridley didn't tell her too much about his ex-girlfriend except that she was into some of the things he was and was a great artist. Was...Raine didn't want to think of it as was now and not is. Still, she kept moving toward Ridley.

"Ridley...." Her voice broke as suddenly she found her own eyes leaking tears...Tears for someone she knew only by association. For someone who made Ridley they way he was today. For making him someone she deeply adored. "Ridley, I'm here." She wrapped her arms around him, letting him lay his head on her chest and gently stroking his hair. "I'm here." Raine whimpered, trying her best to stay strong for him.

[Casey the Undead†]

Rena turned to face Ridley, understanding that his sudden cries meant that yes, the Eva on the announcement had been his friend. Guilt crept through her system; no one she cared deeply for was dead yet. She hadn't lost anyone. He had. How was she supposed to deal with this? She wasn't good at the whole comforting thing; usually others were comforting her. Find Raine. She'll know what to do. Find her! Rena's eyes shot up and scanned the rapidly dispersing group of people in front of her. She was mostly tuning them out, but she caught onto little pieces of the conversations they were having. The voice of Thea Kairos rang through the air. Apparently being trapped on a deserted island didn't stop her from being the most important person in the world. But as quickly as the voice came it was gone, and so was Thea, along with a group of other people she didn't recognize. Rena was clinging onto the hope that Raine hadn't gone with them.

A girl walked towards them, seemingly unfazed by all that had been going on. Or at least Rena thought that until she saw the tears streaming from the girls eyes. She bent down next to Ridley, who seemed to have a music player in his ears, and stroked his hair. "I'm here."

Raine. It had to be. This had to be her. She was here. She was here! Rena nearly started dancing right then and there. They'd found her. It had taken an entire day, but they'd found her, and she was alive, and somehow everything was going to be okay. This girl, whoever she was, was the only thing that had kept Rena going this past day, and now she was here. This game wasn't cruel enough to snatch her away from Ridley. The very idea elated Rena.

But that didn't stop the fact that she was fighting for her life. Or that this crowd was falling apart. She was sure that they needed to go, but could she just drag them out of this emotional moment? What would Clara say?

Clara said nothing. Jake's voice broke through Rena's thoughts instead. No one would care that much about you... Why was it that her brother was always around when she never needed him? She groaned outwardly. They had to move.

"So then...you must be Raine." Rena smiled weakly, her face flushing. This was so awkward. "I'm Rena. I'm sorry about...Eva, Ridley, but..." She took a deep breath. "We should get moving. Find a place to rest and reorganize...and get to know each other. We can have a memorial for your friend there, if you want."

Maybe that sounded stupid, but she felt like the girl, who's family would never get to bury her or see her one more time, deserved some sort of respect.

"I just think we need to go. I'm sorry. Really."

She'd found Raine for him, but somehow it wasn't enough. She couldn't save his friend. She couldn't even comfort him when he needed it. So much for being the person he deserved. She sighed. A girl was dead and she couldn't even find tears for her. How horrible. This game had made her cold to others death's. All that mattered was her life, and the life of her friends.

God Damn this game.

[KingKamor†]

The violin solo cut between Ridley's ears as if the sound itself cut his thoughts in two. With a shout and a touch from the outside world, he became dangerously close to acknowledging his situation. When he chose the song, he chose it based on how "thick" the sound was, rather than the meaning, but the words from outside made him turn his thoughts towards the meaning of the song's lyrics. They may have been in a made-up language, but the internet had kindly provided him translations in the past.

Was au ga whai pauwel ferda enter whou na nedle sor,
Why does power dwell in those who are unselfish?

What about those who are selfish? They clearly have enough power to kill people.

en whai pauwel gaunji yasra whou na cenjue sor tou zuieg.
Why does power torment kind people who wish not for dispute?

That's what I want to know!

Ridley remembered that in the video game's story, the hymn was sung by a character in order to seal away the villain.

en nedle eterne falfa,/ slepir tes pauwel en hyzik
If you seek eternal peace/ Then let your power and flesh fall asleep together

The singer was telling the evil to be sealed away. Ridley did not believe signs that much, but his thoughts began to wander. What if this is a sign that I need to go after these people-- the ones who are killing everyone? It went against his very morals to kill people, but leaving such atrocities to be committed by teenagers such as himself did was even worse than that. As the song ended, it was followed by a soft tone that did not go with the song at all.

The battery was dead.

Ridley's moist eyes snapped open to find his face up against a girl's chest. Though embarrassed, a look up at the girl's face told him that he did not have be be. After what felt like an eternity of being sealed off from everyone outside, he wrapped his arms around Raine's waist. He took in a breath and let it out in a hard huff. "I'm glad you're okay... Thanks, Raine." Despite his words, he could not fake smile to save his life. His gun sat propped up against a tree, no doubt jostled from when he tossed it aside before. A twinge of fear manifested in his gut when he could not decide between going to retrieve the gun or to stay in Raine's embrace.

[D/N]

(all posts will be better once I've moved my characters on, I promise. And apologies to everyone for the inactivity)

Ricky was in total agreement with Thea. Get the fuck out and stick with people he KNEW. No offense to the others of course. It was too damn bad that Acacia didn't look like she was coming, but hey, her loss. Ricky'd stick with the plan he had. It had kept him alive this long, hadn't it?

He turned and followed after Thea.

(Ricky Fortino continued in Follow Them Size Fives)

[chibinanashi†]

(Posting order seems screwed up, hope it's okay if I post)

Raine continued to softly stroke Ridley's hair as her gaze lifted up to meet Rena's. She had never seen the girl in school that much before. However, she did owe this stranger so much. She did after all lead Ridley back to her. "Rena..." There were tears still in Raine's eyes. Slowly, she reached up and wiped them away. "Thank you...I owe you for this. I'm in your debt."

Her attention went back to Ridley and she said quietly, "She's right. We need to give Eva her peace. We need to let her know that no one will forget her and that her death was for naught. Ridley..." Softly, she brushed his hair from his forehead and pressed her lips to it in comfort. "We're both here for you, Ridley."

[Casey the Undead†]

As Rena stood, helplessly watching Raine and Ridley sit in their sorrow, a thought popped into her head. Where exactly would they go from here? It was luck that even lead them to Raine in the first place, when Ridley was leading, and they'd followed Raine here. But neither of them seemed to be up to trailblazing right now, which left Rena at the head.

Panic struck her. She'd never been a leader before! She was a terrible leader! They'd just get lost and be forced to wander aimlessly. And who knows who they'd stumble upon next. She'd run blindly into four different groups of people, and only one had turned out perfectly. The rest either disbanded or turned hostile quickly. How long would she survive emptily running around an island until someone just decided to make her a quick kill?

"Rena...Thank you...I owe you for this. I'm in your debt."

A voice pulled Rena away from her thoughts and back towards the people she was with. Raine was looking up at her, and Rena was struck with the scene she was watching. Here was a boy she barely knew, and yet somehow still trusted with her life, sitting on the ground, weak, defenseless, and crying, his only comfort coming from his girlfriend, who he'd just spent an entire day looking for. And what was Rena thinking about? Herself. About how long she would live. She shoved the thoughts away. This wasn't about her. Not now.

Raine was thanking her? I don't deserve to be thanked. What had Rena done? She'd gotten shot because of her own stupidity and then imposed upon a stranger's hospitality. Finding Raine was the least she could do, and yet Raine was the one who felt that she owed a debt?

"No." Rena looked Raine in the eye. "Don't thank me. It's...it's the least I could've done. I owe Ridley more than this, probably." She paused before turning to face Ridley, even though she was unsure if he was even listening. "As soon as you're ready, we'll go, okay? I don't know about you guys, but I haven't actually slept since waking up here. I think I might be seeing things." She laughed weakly. This might not have been an appropriate time for humor, but she was in desperate need of laughter, so maybe Ridley and Raine could use a bit too. "I know that this isn't easy but..."

Everything's going to be okay? How? Rena bit her lip, hesitating on her next words.

"But we found Raine. We did it! And if we could find her, then maybe...maybe there's still hope."

Rena extended her hand towards Ridley, ready to help him when he needed it.

"I know there's still hope. You've just gotta believe me, okay? It's small, and it's hiding, and it's fading, but it's still here, somewhere. We can't let go of it yet. Because once we let go...the game wins. And you can't let that happen, understand? You can't. Because we...Raine and I need you. We can't do this by ourselves. You're her boyfriend and...you're my friend, Ridley. You can't give up. Not now."

The pessimistic side of Rena, which always seemed to speak in her brother's voice, chimed in. But you'll give up eventually, won't you? She shook her head. She wasn't going to give up. She wasn't going to let Ridley or Raine down.

[KingKamor†]

Taking the kiss to his forehead as a cue, Ridley tapped Raine's arms, motioning to her that he was better than before. Once out of her embrace, he looked at the mp3 player in his hand. It tended to have a habit of coming back to life after a time of inactivity, so he stuffed it in his pocket.

"I know there's still hope. You've just gotta believe me, okay? It's small, and it's hiding, and it's fading, but it's still here, somewhere. We can't let go of it yet. Because once we let go...the game wins. And you can't let that happen, understand? You can't. Because we...Raine and I need you. We can't do this by ourselves. You're her boyfriend and...you're my friend, Ridley. You can't give up. Not now."

He raised an eyebrow at her and burst out laughing. "Oh, man, what the hell's up with the corny lines, you two? Ha ha!" He wiped what was left of the tears from earlier and walked over to the spot where he threw his gun. Picking it up and sliding it back into his pocket, he added, "All of what you two said goes without saying, but come on, we're not trying to write a dime novel here."

Walking up to Raine, he hugged her tightly around the shoulders and said, "But I guess we need corny lines from time to time. I'm glad we found you, Raine." He drew in a deep breath through his nose, as if to cement her scent into his mind, and let go. "But there are people out there who want us dead, and I'll tell you two right now; it's gonna be a bitch and a half to survive this. I know that you two are hopped up on 'hope' right now, but the fact is that... someone I knew died." He paused for a moment and grabbed his bag. "Are you ready to go?"

[chibinanashi†]

, "But I guess we need corny lines from time to time. I'm glad we found you, Raine."

"Ridley..." His name was all she could choke out as she hugged him tightly in return. Raine buried her nose into his shoulder and she relished what closeness they could share for the spare moment. When he pulled away to grab his bag, Raine gave herself a quick inventory check.

Speargun...check...bag...check...inappropriate for hiking pink blouse and blue pleated skirt? Unfortunately, check...

"Where would we go from here, Ridley?" She asked him, looking over to him and Rena.

[Casey the Undead†]

"Oh, man, what the hell's up with the corny lines, you two? Ha ha!"

Well, she made him laugh. It wasn't exactly what she'd been intending, but it did the trick all the same. Rena smiled, relieved that things were starting to get a little less depressing.

"But there are people out there who want us dead, and I'll tell you two right now; it's gonna be a bitch and a half to survive this. I know that you two are hopped up on 'hope' right now, but the fact is that... someone I knew died. Are you ready to go?"

He was right, and Rena knew that, even if she didn't really want to believe him. She chewed slightly on her thumbnail, weighing the options in her mind. Finally, she fished her map out again, opening it wide and showing it Raine and Ridley.

"So we need to avoid dangerzones which were..." In all the madness of the past few minutes, she'd entirely forgotten where they weren't supposed to go. "Uh...somewhere. And we're..." A quick glance around and she spotted the building, finally figuring out where Raine had led them. "At the Hall of Mirrors, which is here." She pointed to the map. "So...we probably want to find somewhere a bit more peaceful, where we can avoid trouble, but there's no way to tell where everyone is, so I guess we're guessing, huh?"

Rena looked up from the map, as if staring at the area around her would somehow give her the answer she was looking for. Alas, it didn't.

"So basically we're running around a giant island with no idea of where the scary areas that blow our heads off are. Awesome. I can do this." Rena muttered under her breath.

No you can't... She gritted her teeth. Yes I freaking can!

She paused, taking a breath. But not alone, and not like this.

"I don't know what we're gonna do." It sounded bleak, but Rena knew that it was the truth. She looked at Raine and Ridley.

She swallowed slightly, fear creeping into her system.

"So...uh, any ideas?"

[KingKamor†]

"I don't know what we're gonna do." She looked at Raine and Ridley. "So...uh, any ideas?"

Ridley let out a sigh as he looked at the map and grasped Raine's hand. He wasn't about to lose her again. "We just need to keep moving. We just have to stay out of the danger zones, right? Then we should just pick a direction and stick with it."

Looking over the map, he decided that they needed to have a more concrete direction, and his stupid advice wasn't helping. "Okay, new plan. Let's go for the tunnels. We might be able to hunker down in there for awhile if we're lucky. Until it becomes a danger zone, anyway." The thought of what would happen to them if they entered a danger zone gave him a rather graphic image of his head detaching from his shoulders. Adjusting his collar, he said, "Hoo. Okay, let's get going."

He looked back at the spot where he had crashed to the ground in despair, and felt his eyes begin to well up slightly. Shaking his head to get it out of his mind, he couldn't help but think about how Eva died, and where she was when it happened. R.J. Lowe... he thought to himself. I'll have to remember that. He felt at the gun at his side and put on a neutral face as he began to walk northeast.

(Ridley Landon, continued in It Knows Nothing of Whim)