The start of something truly absurd

[SRJJJB†]

Michelle swore under her breath. She had notice that all the kids glance at her. Who knows if one of them saw her. To add her quick fall seem to have made a larger thud than what she had intended. As much as she stood still she didn't know if they had notice her or not. Again they didn't seem hostile but she didn't want to risk it.

She stood up with her hands raise in the air. She kept her hand on the crowbar anyway. No way in hell was she going to let herself go unarmed. She wonder how they would react to her being covered in different kinds of crap. The last three seem completely terrified of the thought. Like they were afraid of getting dirty to survive.

Then she notice something in particular. The second girl had a sword. Michelle wanted a sword. This group suddenly became all the more interesting. She started to walk towards them with her hands still held high so that the gun boy doesn't get any ideas.

"Alright I'm not sure if you guys have notice me but... I come in peace for now. Temporary truce. Whatever you like to call it. My name is Michelle O'Cain. I uhhh... I would also like to know if there was anything I could trade for that sword of yours miss... What's your name" She said while pointing with her crowbar towards Eve. "I'll be willing to give up my crowbar and other supplies for it."

She hoped to god the girl would make her a trade. In her opinion it was somewhat to her advantage. The crowbar was a excellent weapon and tool. Only the sword would be better in Michelle's hands. She was already proficient with light blade. With a bit of practice she hoped she could find a rhythm we this larger one. Why not give the simple weapon to the untrained girl and the more complex one to the professional?

Because it was Survival of the Fittest and a sword looks so much cooler than a crowbar

Hopefully the girl would see otherwise.

[KingKamor†]

The newcomer almost made Ridley draw his gun if it weren't for her hands being up once he saw her. If she had not announced her presence, then he would have tried to shoot. It was only after that thought occurred to him that he remembered that the safety was on. He may or may not have remembered that if he had indeed drawn the thing.

The girl that had appeared was completely covered in dirt and mud. Ridley guessed that her makeshift camo was the reason why nobody was able to see her despite knowing from which direction the noise came from.

"Alright I'm not sure if you guys have notice me but... I come in peace for now. Temporary truce.

Right, "temporary" being the key word, I take it? Ridley thought to himself. He turned to the girls and whispered, "I'll stick with you two for now, okay? I promise that I won't hurt either of you as long as you promise not to hurt me." It sounded corny the instant after he said it, but he didn't rightly care at the moment. The new girl was an unknown factor in the equation, and he wasn't about to let a good alliance go to waste because of that.

"I uhhh... I would also like to know if there was anything I could trade for that sword of yours miss... What's your name" She said while pointing with her crowbar towards Eve. "I'll be willing to give up my crowbar and other supplies for it."

"Trade? Seriously?" Ridley said with a hand on the handle of his gun, which was still holstered. "You come in here and start asking for our weapons right out of the gate after a shitty introduction like that? Fuck you!" It wasn't necessarily the fact that she wanted to trade that bothered him, it was the fact that her issued weapon was clearly that crowbar in her hands. It's much easier to kill people with a sword than it is with something meant to pull nails out of a wall. If she only wanted to defend herself, then the crowbar may have been a better choice than the sword ever would have. "You're playing, aren't you?"

[Chib†]

Ema's eyes widened at the sight of what Eve had produced. She recognised it, but couldn't quite put a name to it, for in her many hours trawling through random subjects on Wikipedia, she'd come to decide that Mamelukes had very awesome swords. What Eve had wasn't quite the same thing, longer and more curved, but the general aesthetic was much the same, and the sword was certainly quite awesome. All she had to say on the matter was "You lucky..."

And then the second - or from Ema's perspective, third - newcomer approached, hands high in the air, a gesture of peace, despite the crowbar clenched in one of them. She was an odd looking one, mainly because pretty much everything about her was obscured by caked-on mud, which the redhead presumed was for camoflague in the swamp. What she could make out was pretty average, generic height and build at least.

"Looks like we've found our next contestant on 'The Price is Right.'"

That had Ema stifling a laugh, just at the sheer randomness of the choice of phrase. She'd watched it a few times, weird show, not really her thing, but Brucie's classy catchphrases really were memorable. She managed to resist the urge to tell Michelle to "Come on down!", too, instead staying silent as the girl introduced herself.

"Alright I'm not sure if you guys have notice me but... I come in peace for now. Temporary truce. Whatever you like to call it. My name is Michelle O'Cain."

Didn't sound familiar. But... temporary truce? Which is to say, I'll not attack you for as long as it's convenient, then when you're useless, I'll kill you all? Way to be obvious, lady.

"I uhhh... I would also like to know if there was anything I could trade for that sword of yours miss... What's your name... I'll be willing to give up my crowbar and other supplies for it."

Had Ema thought the 'temporary truce' goof was obvious? She corrected herself. Offering to trade a handy tool - and being thick metal, good blocking implement - for a deadly deadly sword, that's the obvious part. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Michelle was just trying to get as much as she could out of the three of them, whether or not she planned to off them all afterwards. The revelation of that hit Ema pretty hard. Already, here was someone camoflaguing herself, trying to optimise her equipment for killing, making convenient 'temporary truces'. Already playing along. Already preparing to hunt and kill her friends and peers.

Only a few hours in, and this was already happening. For those few hours, Ema herself had been subconsciously convincing herself that everything was fine. She'd chose to ignore it when her conscious mind had brought up the gravity of the situation. She hadn't wanted to know what she was getting into. Having what she'd tried to hard to ignore thrust straight into her face was a crippling blow. As if physically struck by the thought, Ema released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding in.

Almost three hundred students. She didn't know many of them. She wouldn't have the chance. For all but one of them were going to die.

Ema held her tongue. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do any more.

Her smile turned to a neutral expression. Neutral, and hollow. Empty.

She didn't want to die.

[Dropbear†]

And then everything went cold.

Michelle. Familiar, but probably not the most, saw her around school last year. Friends? Enemies? Neutral at best. Goddamnit, not staying at school longer had really cost Eve.

And the trade. Of all the things she wanted, it was her weapon, although a crowbar was interesting. Lighter, didn't need to have both hands on it. She could go Gordon Freeman on people. But the curved sword... Why was she considering this? Ridley called out Michelle's bluff easily. If it was a bluff. Was she playing? Wasn't she? Who was 'she', Michelle or Eve? Her mind started to explode with questions, each one more complicated than the last.

Fuck playing, fuck the rules, fuck playing, fuck the rules.

Screwing up her face and then exhaling, she walked over to Michelle.

"Three conditions. One, I want a truce till the final four. I don't care what you do, as long as you don't hurt me or them, feel free to run off at anytime. Two, I want you to promise me that you won't kill anyone innocent. Only self defence and revenge, OK?"

Eve looked into Michelle's eyes and squinted.

"And three; I want a fucking candy bar."

[SRJJJB†]

Michelle stares at the three people in disbelief. The first one who spoke up was obviously in a bad mood. Who wouldn't be in a situation like this. Of course acting all bossy and mighty was pissing her off. He even called out that she was playing.

Well duh... Any moron would obviously play knowing there is no escape.

She was irritated by him. She wanted him gone. Hopefully she'll get such a chance later.

The first girl on the other hand creep her out. All she was doing was smiling... It wasn't a happy smile either just... A smile. She didn't like that girl. She seemed on the point of breaking at any moment and going crazy on her friends. So obviously she was going to go on her to eliminate or avoid list.

The second girl, the one with a sword, gave her the opposite reaction of either. She seem confused and lost. Then she suddenly straighten up. She propose three conditions.

First she had to agree not to kill her or her friends. Michelle was surprise how the girl was suddenly demanding something. This girl actually shown she understand what was going on. She might make a actual useful ally. It was the other two she didn't like. Temper lad and smiling girl. Could she make a promise knowing she would kill those two if she had a chance?

Then came the second demand. No killing innocents. Michelle already establish that. So that was a easy promise.

The third demand was unexpected. Literally Michelle was thinking of thousands of questions yet none of them involved a candy bar.

At this point Michelle was once again starring at her. What was she suppose to do? Say no and get shot from the back? Say yes and lie? Why was she even considering saying no? This was Survival of the Fittest. Lying was a must.

Raising her hand to shake it with Eve she smiled and nodded once.

"I agree to the two first conditions. Sadly I can't fulfill the third condition but if I get a candy bar well... I'll give it to you if I ever get one. If your dead then I'll bury it with you. Sounds good?" She replied. "I like you and you know what you can keep the sword if you like. I'll trade it whenever you like do. What's your name anyway?" She asked.

[Palletox†]

[B133, Robert Herrmann, start.]

Great blurs came in multiple waves, splashing against Robert Herrmann as he opened his eyes slowly. He had wanted to have them shut forever, as piece by piece, he recalled the earlier events before arriving wherever the hell he was. The sky seemed different, as if he was in a different world. Struggling to lift himself up to stand, Robert attempted to place himself back on Earth, but he stayed seated.

Survival... of the fittest, he managed to think, his body and mind exhausted, filled with unexplained fatigue. He felt overcome by 'ifs' and 'whys.' Why am I here? If I stayed home... or failed.. Why me? Why this school? It could happen to anyone else, but me? No.. can't..

Robert's eyes started to slightly widen at the thought. He had all the pieces connected, but he just regretted finishing the jig-saw puzzle. Robert remembered he was part of this game, this sick and evil and twisted game that people watched for enjoyment. Right now, there would be people at home, having fun with their family and friends, at the comfort of their own shelter filled with food and entertainment.

He was nothing more than that, a pawn that slightly contributed to the entertainment of people. His life would be played with on this island, Robert already denying the fact that he could possibly 'win.'

Then he remembered he lost track of time. He wondered how far others were, if any lives were taken. His eyes searched, a sudden headache invading his mind. His search ceased when Robert's eyes locked on a strange bag, a foot away from him, to his left. It took a few seconds to register in his mind that the bag was the survival kit that the terrorists had given them. Was he being watched by something other than the camera?

Robert didn't know the other students. Would they succumb to this game? Now that he thought about it, Robert didn't know himself. Would Robert Herrmann, who's dream was to give back to the community that saved his mother, succumb to killing others rather than saving them? How long would he have to deal with the torment of trying to live on this island, filled with 200 something students, all not in their right mind. Robert himself wasn't in his right mind.

Robert's arm extended itself instinctively to his left. This would be the key to his survival, though his life span would ultimately depend on his luck and how he carried out this 'game'. Drawing the kit closer to him, Robert opened the bag and his eyes scanned its content. Map, food, and- his eyes immediately widened at his weapon. The trench knife that sat there so innocently scared Robert.

It would be a tool he would have to use eventually, a tool which would draw blood and take a life. Every life is equal, right? Many books in which I've read stated that, albeit a few which countered it. Do I have the right to take another life? His hand twitched as it reached for the knife, his fingers sliding themselves into the finger-holds. Robert knew he couldn't escape, that he and others would be forced to fight. The weak will perish and only the strong, or strongest in this case, would live on. But even if he did survive all this, he would be a murderer. Could he live with himself?

Robert heard voices behind him. He closed his eyes, trying to think of what to do.. he then opened his eyes quickly, checking to see if he was alive. He was, and he had to hang onto that. He had to live in this island to become a doctor, to live life. His favorite chocolate bar.. if he died, he could never eat it again. His mother.. if he died, he could never smell the lavender perfume she always wore. He could never say hello. If he died, he could never read another book. Robert frowned, a part of him knowing that even if he did 'win' this silly game in which the odds of winning were low, life would never be the same. He'd live with the guilt, or turn insane. The knife looked at him, as if saying 'end it now.' But he shook his head, fighting back a few tears that were beginning to form.

Robert Herrmann stood up, taking in a deep breath. This is the start. Don't mess up.. Many people survived hardships and overcame the impossible. You can do it, can't you!? He hated himself for this. For even considering playing this game. But the hate was only a redirection of the true culprits, the terrorists that put him up to this. "This is what humans.. are truly like," he whispered to himself, finally speaking. His throat was dry and the words came out rasp. He felt as if those were the first words in his whole life, not just where he was. This IS an island, right? The other shows.. the boys at the lunch table at school, they said it took place on an island. It didn't matter, he finally concluded, where the dead bodies piled.

He heard voices, and though they seemed nearby, he didn't pay enough attention to catch what they were saying. He turned to the general direction of the voices, his legs hesitant on moving. If the people who spoke were friendly, then good, a friend or two would help him survive greatly. If they were dangerous... could his knife defend himself? Or would he find himself teamed up on, and killed so early on? Either way, the next few days, should he live that far, would be hell.

[KingKamor†]

Ridley's trust was still far from being won. Despite the fact that the girl seemed to have agreed to Eve's terms (aside from the whole candy bar thing), he had a feeling that there was no way that the four of them would be able to keep it together till the end with Michelle involved. The fact remained that the girl still tried to make a deal to receive a deadlier weapon, and that was a pretty tough barrier for her to get past before he accepted her.

He did not remove his hand from the handle of his gun, even when he stood before Michelle without the aggressive pose he had before. There was still the problem of the sword, which was the most dangerous thing next to his gun. "Fine, but I have another condition," he said loud enough for Michelle to hear. "Ema, unless you want to use it, we need to ditch the sword. We'll throw it into the ocean."

[Chib†]

Ema was still dwelling on just what she'd been thrown into for the majority of Eve and Michelle's conversation, and most of it went straight over her head. She started to hear clearly again around the point Michelle was offering to bury a candy bar with Eve... what an odd thing to say, why would she want to be buried with food? Wait, buried? Was she going to kill Eve or something? She'd already made her intentions to "win" pretty clear, but Michelle certainly didn't look like she was about to attack, nor did Eve look particularly worried. In fact, Michelle was asking her name. She seemed to be averting her eyes from Ema herself.

Part-way through berating herself for spacing out at the worst times, Ema caught the last part of Ridley's own condition. Typical, if she wasn't missing things because she was too busy letting her mind wander, she was missing them because she was talking to herself, inwardly or otherwise.

"We'll throw it into the ocean."

What, the candy bar? Or something else? Everyone's attention seemed to be on the shamshir and the crowbar, so perhaps he wanted them to dump the riskier, more brutal weapons? Made sense to her, they'd look a lot less suspect if they just had a gun and a crowbar between them, just self-defense and utility. Then again, just having a sword available could come in handy, and it was a particularly beautifully made one. Why was Rid even asking her, anyway?

Ema really didn't know what to say. She'd already apparently unnerved Michelle, so she was nervous to speak up, in case she managed to accidentally make some dangerous enemies. Crowbar, sword, gun... none of them things she wanted to go against bare-handed. So instead, she knelt down at the edge of the pier, reaching for the bag she'd brought for the campsite, and lifted it up onto the planks. It was considerably lighter than before, as Danya's people had removed her laptop and (surprisingly helpfully) it's heavy charging lead. But that wasn't what she was looking for. She rifled through the smaller inside pockets, coming to her stash of snacks. She spoke up, timid caution pretty clear in her voice.

"Eh, I don't know about that... but did someone mention wanting some chocolate?"

[Dropbear†]

"What? No!"

Eve brought her free hand up to her face, groaning. How stupid- Ghaak.

"You!" Pointing at Ridley and his gun, she gave a growl. "You think you can defend all of us with that? Limited ammo, and hell, I doubt you can even aim. What am I supposed to defend myself with?! Air? Dodging bullets wasn't taught in dance class."

"You!" Pointing at Michelle and her spraypaint hair, she gave a grumble. "What kind of idiot doesn't bring chocolate on a freaking school camp? Don't tell me you ate it all on the bus."

"And you!" Pointing at Ema, she... she slowly lowered her hand. Ema was OK and wasn't being an idiot like the others.

"...you're cool. Sorry. Ooo! Chocolate!"

Giving a smile and skipping over, she stole a small bar and opened it up.

"You see, Ema has the right idea here. Let's not worry about all this shit. Please. I don't care. Neither should you. All I want to do is eat, sleep and defend myself. And if you guys don't like that? Well, I don't think that we can be friends."

Slowly she chewed on the chocolate, looking at the others...

"Well? What's it gonna be?"

[KingKamor†]

Ridley couldn't believe what he was hearing. One girl was obviously playing, one girl was so out of it that she didn't hear a thing he said, and all the last one seemed to care about was chocolate. "Fuckin' a." He said. "Look, the reason I want to throw that thing away is that I still don't trust Little Ms. Crowbar over there. The instant we fall asleep or turn our backs, she'll just take the sword and kill us all at once. If I were playing, then that's what I would do. It's easy to say you agree to certain terms, and that doesn't by any means tell me that she's telling the truth."

He glanced at the bar of chocolate in the girl's hand. "And fucking hell, all you care about is getting your sugar fix? Simple pleasures, is that it? To hell with that! And what, you think that you can just block bullets as long as you have that sword? This isn't a movie, you know! And I'm not stupid enough to shoot randomly, I at least know how to hold this thing, and that's helluva better bluff than drawing a fucking sword!"

He never acted like this at school. It was the first time he had truly let out his anger on someone freely. Not that it mattered, though, since he was on worldwide television at that point. Peoples' opinions on his behavior were the lowest things on the list of subjects he cared about at the moment.

Ridley glanced at all three girls, one at a time, and let out a sigh. "You know what? Forget it. Knowing me, I'll just screw things up for all of you, no matter what anyone does. I'm outta here." He picked up his duffel bag and swung it over his shoulder. He took out the map and looked it over, looking for a way around the swamp, if there was one.

[Palletox†]

Robert explored the area around him, and walked towards the voices he heard. "You know what? Forget it. Knowing me, I'll just screw things up for all of you, no matter what anyone does. I'm outta here." The voice sounded masculine, and eventually, Robert found himself behind Michelle, a classmate he recognized. Though they weren't great friends, they were decent acquaintances. He opened his mouth to speak, but could only mumble.

Robert scratched his nose awkwardly, while looking at the other people around him. One seemed to be leaving, and the air seemed tense, what with a sword withdrawn and something about a crowbar. He took in a deep breath to speak, but really has nothing to say. He didn't know whether or not they were playing this sick game. Michelle was a friend- would she kill him? And the others, they didn't look like much of a threat, but from the video he saw, anything was to be expected. He noticed he still held the trench knife in his hand, and looked down at it, figuring the situation was awkward enough without him. He cleared his voice, though he still stood there without a word.

[SRJJJB†]

Michelle was slowly losing it. Was the boy stupid? If she was ever in a scenario to steal the sword... Why steal the sword and not the fucking gun? Was he mentally retarded?

Look at me! I'm the smart one! Why not get rid of the girl's sword since it's obviously dangerous and I'll keep my gun! Michelle is obviously too stupid to know that a gun is better then a sword! God I'm so smart!

Michelle leaned over to the two other girls. She didn't want the guy around any longer.

"Look... I like you two... Or more like I think I can trust you girls. Also I'm sorry for not bringing chocolate; I prefer simple meals. Yes I know I'm very boring. Now the thing is I don't trust bubs there with his gun. He's paranoid and talking like some insane douche bag so... How about we take that gun away from him? Without killing him or severely wounding him of course. See the last thing I want is some crazy paranoid kid who can't think straight to be walking around with a gun." She whispered to them. Afterward she walk towards the boy.

Approaching close to him she began to talk. "Alright moron listen up. First your scenario is stupid. Why the fuck would I steal the sword when I could just take your gun? You really think I'm stupid enough to look over a gun for a sword? Second you wanted your only potential ally to throw away her sword? Great job at building trust you moron! Last well you need to work on that paranoia my friend..." She started. She scratch at the back of her head at what to say next.

"And well... Let see..." She ponder for a minute. After a brief moment she puts her left hand on the boy's left shoulder. "We need a way to fix that so let's work together on it alright?" She stated. She quickly position the crowbar's blunt head towards the boy stomach and trusted forwards and hoping she could knock the air out of him. Hopefully he would lose the grip on his gun.

[KingKamor†]

"Alright moron listen up. First your scenario is stupid. Why the fuck would I steal the sword when I could just take your gun? You really think I'm stupid enough to look over a gun for a sword? Second you wanted your only potential ally to throw away her sword? Great job at building trust you moron! Last well you need to work on that paranoia my friend..."

Ridley immediately let one hand go of his map and placed it on the but of his gun. The one he trusted the least was trying to make nice, and he wasn't about to trust her. "My paranoia stems from your bullshit and the fact the we're on this fucking island. You're the one who's strange. You aren't even scared, are you? Now get the hell away from me." But she was clearly insistent on something or another, that much was obvious. Once she placed her hand on his shoulder, his hand wrapped around the handle of the gun and squeezed tight, his index finger teasing the trigger.

"We need a way to fix that so let's work together on it alright?"

His eyes narrowed, and he looked her right in the eye and said, "Get the hell off of me, or I'll--" The sudden jab to his stomach surprised him, to say the least. It hurt like a motherfucker and there would probably be a bruise later, but he was able to keep his footing and the grip on his gun. He thanked God that he was only out of practice instead of completely out of shape, so his abs took the brunt of the hit. His lungs still emptied a lot, so he coughed several times as he dropped his map and swiped Michelle's hand off of his shoulder. He held onto the gun for all that he was worth, but did not draw it from his pocket.

With a jump away from Michelle, almost losing his footing on the sand, he clutched his stomach and shouted with all his might, "You BITCH! Don't you fucking DARE talk about paranoia and trust and suddenly hit me! I may not be good at these kinds of things, but who's the moron now, huh? As far as I'm concerned now, everyone is guilty until proven innocent, and boy did you just step on a big-ass fucking landmine." He felt a distinct sense of deja vu. Ridley had experienced this same scenario several times in the past few years. Someone would pretend to be nice, pretend that they want to talk. You hit it off with them, they seem like a friend, and then they gather all of their pals and beat the living shit out of you. "And in case you were wondering, I said nothing about you stealing my gun earlier because I told myself that I would NEVER let someone like you have something this dangerous. YOU GOT THAT?!"

His heart pounded against his chest as if trying to escape his rib cage, and his breathing had become deep and coarse.

He wanted to shoot her. More than anything, he wanted to shoot her. His trigger finger had just developed the biggest itch he had ever experienced in his whole life, and that arm had begun to shake and wouldn't stop unless he gave in to his urges. The face in front of him was a lion in sheep's clothing, just like everyone else who had made his school days a living hell ever since elementary school. "It's people like you who are always...!"

He stopped. The itch went away, and the shaking had ceased. If Raine hadn't popped into his head for the first time since he had arrived on the island, he really would have drawn that gun. The barrel was already halfway out of the folds of his pocket. Shit! How could I forget? What the fuck is wrong with me? He shoved the gun back into his pocket and said to Michelle, "You need to start thinking about what the hell you're really doing on this island. If you do that again, you're fucking dead!" Leaving his map behind, he turned and began to run along the beach towards the south, where the map told him there weren't any cliffs to impede him in getting around the swamp.

((Ridley Landon, continued in Run From Your Troubles))

[Chib†]

(Hopefully normal order can be restored now, so... from what I can tell, we should be Chib -> Dropbear -> Sky -> Palle. Anyways, to the postan.)

Things seemed to be looking up, for the moment at least. Eve still seemed a little skittish, but the offer of chocolate had apparently calmed her down, and Ema was now "cool" for having it to hand. Seemed that they agreed on strategy too, keep themselves to themselves and hope for the best. Sure, if she thought about it too much, it was obviously a stupid idea and wouldn't achieve anything. So Ema didn't think about it at all. She just thought about how it meant she wouldn't have to kill people out of choice, how it meant she'd have some friends to hole up with, at least for a while. Ironic, really, that it took being dumped on an island and told to kill all her peers to get Ema making friends.

And then everything went to hell. First, Ridley decided to flip out over the sharing of chocolate, acting as though he thought nobody else realised what was going on. Yeah, simple pleasures are great, especially when they're all that's standing between you and breaking down from complete culture-shock. Ema would've said something to that effect, but decided against it. No need to antagonise him when he was already slightly unstable, it certainly wouldn't help matters any.

But clearly Michelle didn't see it that way, and decided to drive things even further south. At first, she seemed to be trying to calm Ridley down, to comfort him. But there was an odd look to her eye, an unsettling tone to her voice. Ordinarily, it would've been imperceptible, and probably entirely innocent too, but quite understandably, Ema's suspicions were on overdrive. Something was wrong.

"We need a way to fix that so let's work together on it alright?"

Before anyone could possibly react, Ridley received a crowbar to the midriff. Ema had no idea what she was actually after, and instantly assumed the worst. She backed up, rifling through her daypack for something useful, only to remember she'd been assigned a useless piece of junk, and nothing else in there was going to be dangerous. Maybe she could try to defend herself with the bag itself? Desperate times, desperate measures and all that...

Luckily for her, she didn't have to. Apparently Michelle had only been trying to steal the boy's gun. She hadn't succeeded. Ema wasn't sure if that was good or bad news; Ridley didn't seem exactly stable, but he'd clearly been reluctant to use it, whilst Michelle had been decidedly aggressive and opportunistic from the word go, but at least she seemed to be thinking straight the whole time.

By the time Ema had finished thinking about that, the situation seemed to have started to resolve itself anyway. Ridley had kept hold of his gun, yelled at Michelle for a bit, then started running away after a few tense moments. Relief flooded the small girl's body. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if a real fight had broken out. It probably wouldn't have been pretty. That much, she was capable of communicating to the others, in no uncertain terms.

"What the fuck were you thinking!?"

[Dropbear†]

Right about now, Eve was wearing a 'you have got to be fucking kidding me' face, her arms crossed over her chest, the blue stripe moving into her eye, the sword now under her arm, her clenched fist holding it in place. First off, Ridley had decided to go mental. As for her not knowing how to handle a sword... well, it's a sword. It's swing quick and hard up close, not much to screw up. And why on earth would she try to steal a sword when he had a gun to top it? And then came the slightly crazy move of Michelle cracking and whacking him in the stomach. While he may or may not have needed it was one thing, another was him bringing out... well, the big gun. Thankfully he had decided to flee. Otherwise...

And now Ema was on Michelle's case. Under her breath, she muttered "For the love of Jack... Fuck playing. Fuck the fucking rules."

What would Jack do?

"Girls. I think we need to find out how fucked we are."

Slowly, she glared at the two, and unknotted her arms, sticking her sword into the sand behind her body. With another motion, she started to sit down, crossing her legs. "Put your weapons behind your backs, and sit down. We need to calm down. And we need to talk."

Glancing at Michelle, she gave a swallow, unzipping her bag, rummaging to find the manual for the SotF game. With a frown, she looked back up.

"Why do you want to live? What would force you to attack a man with a gun, knowing that if you screw up, you'll be shot and die?"