Well, Rashid seemed to agree with Harun's idea. That was good. Convenient. Harun wasn't exactly comfortable setting out and exploring the island on his own, and having Rashid accompany him would make things a lot easier and a little less....lonely, yeah. Despite many of his lunchtimes walking unaccompanied and ignored around the school corridors, and much of his free time spent holed up in his room mindlessly browsing the internet, he'd never had to deal with the threat of being truly alone before. In the school corridors, there was always a chance of bumping into a friend, even if it was an obligatory hello and then continuing in their separate directions, and in his room he always had his various internet forums as a form of social interaction. A pretty sad form of social interaction according to his parents and half of his school friends, but still.
But here, the threat of being lonely was a bit more serious. Even if he did meet someone while venturing around the island on his own, half of them would probably try to murder him, either out of paranoia or just to add another name to their kill tally. Being alone back in St. Paul was often a relief when Harun was seeking to get away from others, otherwise it was a source of minor depression. On the other hand, being alone on an island home to a killing game could very well be a death sentence. Being with someone could be a death sentence as well, but Harun tried not to think about that. Rashid was a joker, but he wasn't dangerous.
And at least with Rashid travelling alongside him, he'd have some company, someone to talk to, someone that would hopefully prevent him from getting too bored and grouchy. And those of his classmates who'd lost their sanity (but still had retained at least a tiny bit of intelligence and tactical skills) were a bit less likely to attack a pair. And Rashid had iodine pills, which could be pretty useful in a somewhat mundane way.
Mia, on the other hand, seemed to disagree. "Why? What's so great about staying here?" The mansion was frankly giving Harun the creeps. It was an ugly building in a state of serious disrepair, and any tactical advantage it may seem to offer fell apart on closer examination. There was the pretty annoying fact it seemed to be a magnet for curious fellow students who were under the impression they could just waltz in and claim it as their own. The only way they could avoid that was if they barricaded each and every exit and entrance of the building up securely, which would take time and effort Harun just couldn't be bothered to give, even in this life and death situation, and would mean any disagreement in the group could easily escalate to all but one of them ending up dead. Supplies weren't infinite, and claustrophobia would get to them eventually. Not to mention that being holed up inside a ramshackle old mansion made them a big target for Danya's dangerzone policy. Hell, Harun had no reason to really want Mia to come with him, he didn't know her that well and he didn't know whether he'd be able to get on with her, especially as the impression he'd got from her island behaviour so far was an impulsive snarker.
"Actually," Harun said while massaging his aching forehead, cutting off any explanation she may have been making, "scratch that. I'm out of here. You can stay here and annoy Peter and whoever he's with, or run around playing the role of creepy butler." He was being uncharacteristically grouchy and snappy. The stress of the situation was beginning to get to him, and instead of manifesting itself in a deep depression and a state of panic (both of which would probably come later once the fact that he and everyone at school he cared about were all going to die had had the time to sink in properly), it was currently taking the form of a short temper.
"Mia, I'm going. You can follow us if you want", he picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulders, grunting under the weight as he did so, "or you can stay here and do whatever the fuck you want." Realising he'd probably just come off as incredibly rude and aggressive, he hastily added "Sorry for the rudeness, it would be great if you'd come with us, but I'm not staying here any longer. Sorry, but...yeah. Your choice." He was about to add free country, but that phrase probably wasn't applicable any more. For all the criticisms he had of the current US government, they had enough respect for freedom to not tie freakin' explosive collars around your neck and tell you to slaughter your friends.
Hell, what country was this again anyway? North Korea? The Caribbean? Some abandoned Pacific colony? An island Danya built himself? Hell, if Danya was loaded enough to be able to just kidnap a class of high school students and plop them on some island in the middle of nowhere and make them massacre each other for shits and giggles, he probably had enough money to build a couple of islands or too. How did Danya get so rich anyway? Drug smuggling, lottery wins, sensible investments in the IT industry?
Wait, why was he worrying about where Danya got his money from or where the island was? For now, that was irrelevant. He should be getting all teary-eyed about the fact he'd never see home again, or getting all panicky about how any one of his classmates could kill him at any time, but no, he was wasting his brain cells speculating about how Danya got his money. Mentally chastising himself for his off-topic internal diatribe, he turned to Rashid and Mia as he began backing out of the dining room. "Come on Rashid, let's get out of here. Find somewhere to rest for a while. Mia, come with us if you want. If not, good luck, bye."
Turning away from the dining room, he headed towards the mansion exit. Pushing the doors open and finally stepping into the open air for the first time in what was probably over twenty-four hours, he glanced back to see Rashid was following, then headed off into the island. These next few days would be a bitch.
((Harun Kemal continued in Calculations.))
Don't go breaking my heart...
...I couldn't if I tried... (G019 start)
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General Goose
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"Sorry for the rudeness, it would be great if you'd come with us, but I'm not staying here any longer. Sorry, but...yeah. Your choice."
Rashid hadn't paid attention to Harun asking Mia to join them. Instead he stared longingly at the little bottle of iodine pills in his supply bag, glinting a little from the setting sun. He bit his lip to try to contain whatever mix of disappointment, frustration and depression had slowly wafted back into him now that he had no current reason to feel confident.
Sure, these pills could provide some useful role given that they were out in nature and everything, but it wasn't as if it would actually kill someone. Whatever polluted the water here could probably kill someone faster. Hell, even Harun could probably gut him while he slept and then take his supplies just fucking because. Until he could find (or, as the thought had occurred to him while he wielded that heavy dining chair, make) some kind of weapon that would at least enable him to defend himself, it was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.
"I... I would prefer we remained here." Mia then said, trying her best to appear calm. She definitely seemed to do a better impression of staying calm than Rashid did trying to exude confidence. Neither he nor Harun would have it though. Rashid had already made up his mind to follow Harun.
After all, staying here meant he'd wake up the next morning and probably find himself about to be killed by someone else before he even started to say his prayers. Not that he could remember to do them after forgetting to have done so the last three times he'd been scheduled to, but these were now what his family deemed "extraordinary circumstances." Prayer would amount to nothing if not combined with concrete action. Fight or flee, something was better than nothing.
And at least Harun wasn't as likely to gut him while he slept and take his supplies 'just fucking because' compared to Mia (who would probably make the final things he heard some cruelly befitting monologue) or whomever else might happen upon this mansion later on. And that wasn't if they'd end up barricading themselves in only to find they couldn't escape if and when the mansion became a danger zone.
"Come on Rashid, let's get out of here. Find somewhere to rest for a while. Mia, come with us if you want. If not, good luck, bye."
"Right behind you, man..." Rashid replied, taking a deep breath as he zipped up his supply bag and held it under one arm. A cold breeze seemed to gust straight into him as he walked into the outside world, the sun already setting...as if to remind him of his impending demise.
The world awaited, however short a time he would have to savor it. And he wouldn't have to savor it alone for the time being.
All he had to do was sleep with one eye open.
((Rashid Hassan continued in Calculations))
Rashid hadn't paid attention to Harun asking Mia to join them. Instead he stared longingly at the little bottle of iodine pills in his supply bag, glinting a little from the setting sun. He bit his lip to try to contain whatever mix of disappointment, frustration and depression had slowly wafted back into him now that he had no current reason to feel confident.
Sure, these pills could provide some useful role given that they were out in nature and everything, but it wasn't as if it would actually kill someone. Whatever polluted the water here could probably kill someone faster. Hell, even Harun could probably gut him while he slept and then take his supplies just fucking because. Until he could find (or, as the thought had occurred to him while he wielded that heavy dining chair, make) some kind of weapon that would at least enable him to defend himself, it was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.
"I... I would prefer we remained here." Mia then said, trying her best to appear calm. She definitely seemed to do a better impression of staying calm than Rashid did trying to exude confidence. Neither he nor Harun would have it though. Rashid had already made up his mind to follow Harun.
After all, staying here meant he'd wake up the next morning and probably find himself about to be killed by someone else before he even started to say his prayers. Not that he could remember to do them after forgetting to have done so the last three times he'd been scheduled to, but these were now what his family deemed "extraordinary circumstances." Prayer would amount to nothing if not combined with concrete action. Fight or flee, something was better than nothing.
And at least Harun wasn't as likely to gut him while he slept and take his supplies 'just fucking because' compared to Mia (who would probably make the final things he heard some cruelly befitting monologue) or whomever else might happen upon this mansion later on. And that wasn't if they'd end up barricading themselves in only to find they couldn't escape if and when the mansion became a danger zone.
"Come on Rashid, let's get out of here. Find somewhere to rest for a while. Mia, come with us if you want. If not, good luck, bye."
"Right behind you, man..." Rashid replied, taking a deep breath as he zipped up his supply bag and held it under one arm. A cold breeze seemed to gust straight into him as he walked into the outside world, the sun already setting...as if to remind him of his impending demise.
The world awaited, however short a time he would have to savor it. And he wouldn't have to savor it alone for the time being.
All he had to do was sleep with one eye open.
((Rashid Hassan continued in Calculations))
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Clearly, Peter had overpacked for the trip. That was the only explanation for him having two fleece jackets, three sweaters, two hoodies, two pairs of jeans, his gore-tex jacket, five button-up shirts, four ties, cargo khakis, a pair of khaki shorts, and... a box of Cranium? Coupled with his sleeping bag, that was just way too much weight and bulk to be carrying around an island for however many days he'd be spending here. He could put most of the situational stuff in this room, and come back for it if something came up where he'd need it.
He checked over his shoulder again. The door hadn't been disturbed yet, but it would still be better to be cautious and move quickly. Eiko was looking around as if she wanted to do more exploring in the building, but Peter was definitely planning to get far away from this house. It wasn't his style of a place to stay in this environment, and it was still early in the day. There'd be time to find a better and more defensible location to settle in.
He emptied out his backpack and threw his sleeping bag into the corner of the room. Then he haphazardly piled on some of the extra clothes that were just plain heavy: jeans, jackets, and sweaters were the biggest offenders. He only needed a few things to handle a few days out in the woods. Extra clothes would just be extra weight and would be a drain on energy to carry around. He kept all his shirts and ties though. They were light and if nothing else, he wouldn't feel totally terrible wearing the exact same clothes from day to day.
After repacking the backpack with the few clothes he had decided to keep, Peter hoisted it back onto his shoulder. In a way, it felt weird. The backpack was probably a great deal lighter than what he'd been used to for long hiking trips. Then again, it wasn't like he was just going hiking. Outdoors skills and being able to hike for hours weren't skills that would see him through the next few days alive.
Survival of the Fittest. The game could have really started for Peter a few minutes ago in that hallway. There were swords and guns being pointed at people, and people could've gotten hurt. People like Eiko, or Mia, or himself. Things could've gotten bad, and it was because he'd been too straightforward, too assertive. The whole thing had been on the fast track to going to hell if Eiko hadn't stepped in when she did. He looked over at where Eiko stood, a few feet away, and wondered if maybe she was putting up a front. For all he knew, she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and was just stringing him along because he was easy to manipulate.
Correction: she thought he was easy to manipulate.
Of course, that was under the assumption that she was actually being a conniving bitch. Eiko didn't seem like the girl that would do that. The tears he had seen earlier were real. He had to believe that. Just because there was the possibility didn't mean he was going to treat Eiko differently. He had given her his word. There were still ways to play it safe with her without breaking any codes he had set.
"Let's get out of here," he said to her after buckling all the straps and putting the sword in its sheath. "There's a small hut not too far from here," Peter jerked his head at the outline of the little building in the window. "It's smaller and safer than here. It'll be impossible to watch all the entrances to this place." In his head, he'd already mapped out a route out of the house and through the fields without alerting anyone who would still be in the vicinity. With some luck, they could get to the little hut and hole up there for a few days.
He led the way, sword in hand. There was no better place to carry it, at least not without making it unwieldy to draw. He made his way down the stairs and crept around to the back door. He didn't see any other people, which hopefully meant that they had gotten a similar idea and left. In the house, he didn't need to turn around to check Eiko's progress, he could hear her footsteps on the floorboards and could tell that she was still keeping up.
It didn't take long to clear the doors and out into the late morning air. He couldn't really see the hut from the lower vantage point, but he knew that it was somewhat to the northeast to some degree. He stopped for a moment to point the direction out to Eiko and confirm their heading before starting off again to tromp through the tall grass. Now that his backpack was half as heavy, he was able to move way faster.
It was a good pace. He hoped he wouldn't need to stop before the next destination.
((Peter Siu continued in Not an Easy Out))
He checked over his shoulder again. The door hadn't been disturbed yet, but it would still be better to be cautious and move quickly. Eiko was looking around as if she wanted to do more exploring in the building, but Peter was definitely planning to get far away from this house. It wasn't his style of a place to stay in this environment, and it was still early in the day. There'd be time to find a better and more defensible location to settle in.
He emptied out his backpack and threw his sleeping bag into the corner of the room. Then he haphazardly piled on some of the extra clothes that were just plain heavy: jeans, jackets, and sweaters were the biggest offenders. He only needed a few things to handle a few days out in the woods. Extra clothes would just be extra weight and would be a drain on energy to carry around. He kept all his shirts and ties though. They were light and if nothing else, he wouldn't feel totally terrible wearing the exact same clothes from day to day.
After repacking the backpack with the few clothes he had decided to keep, Peter hoisted it back onto his shoulder. In a way, it felt weird. The backpack was probably a great deal lighter than what he'd been used to for long hiking trips. Then again, it wasn't like he was just going hiking. Outdoors skills and being able to hike for hours weren't skills that would see him through the next few days alive.
Survival of the Fittest. The game could have really started for Peter a few minutes ago in that hallway. There were swords and guns being pointed at people, and people could've gotten hurt. People like Eiko, or Mia, or himself. Things could've gotten bad, and it was because he'd been too straightforward, too assertive. The whole thing had been on the fast track to going to hell if Eiko hadn't stepped in when she did. He looked over at where Eiko stood, a few feet away, and wondered if maybe she was putting up a front. For all he knew, she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and was just stringing him along because he was easy to manipulate.
Correction: she thought he was easy to manipulate.
Of course, that was under the assumption that she was actually being a conniving bitch. Eiko didn't seem like the girl that would do that. The tears he had seen earlier were real. He had to believe that. Just because there was the possibility didn't mean he was going to treat Eiko differently. He had given her his word. There were still ways to play it safe with her without breaking any codes he had set.
"Let's get out of here," he said to her after buckling all the straps and putting the sword in its sheath. "There's a small hut not too far from here," Peter jerked his head at the outline of the little building in the window. "It's smaller and safer than here. It'll be impossible to watch all the entrances to this place." In his head, he'd already mapped out a route out of the house and through the fields without alerting anyone who would still be in the vicinity. With some luck, they could get to the little hut and hole up there for a few days.
He led the way, sword in hand. There was no better place to carry it, at least not without making it unwieldy to draw. He made his way down the stairs and crept around to the back door. He didn't see any other people, which hopefully meant that they had gotten a similar idea and left. In the house, he didn't need to turn around to check Eiko's progress, he could hear her footsteps on the floorboards and could tell that she was still keeping up.
It didn't take long to clear the doors and out into the late morning air. He couldn't really see the hut from the lower vantage point, but he knew that it was somewhat to the northeast to some degree. He stopped for a moment to point the direction out to Eiko and confirm their heading before starting off again to tromp through the tall grass. Now that his backpack was half as heavy, he was able to move way faster.
It was a good pace. He hoped he wouldn't need to stop before the next destination.
((Peter Siu continued in Not an Easy Out))
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Harun's words... hurt, actually. She wasn't prepared to admit it but her heart was racing and she felt the same feeling of speechlessness she'd faced when Peter was threatening her. Even after his apology she didn't quite know where she stood, whether they actually wanted her around or not, and whether she wanted to go with them. And before she knew it, they were leaving, giving their farewells.
She wasn't sure what to do. She felt like she needed their protection but she didn't want to go wandering around in the wilderness for no reason with people she barely knew. After a couple of minutes of indecision, fidgeting, turning to leave before changing her mind several times, taking minutes longer than she thought, she grabbed her bags and swiftly made for the exit. By the time she was outside, however, they had already disappeared.
***
The rest of the day passed listlessly, as did the next. No-one else came to disturb her and she had time just to read by herself. It was lonely, yes, but she had long grown okay with that. The rest of the mansion was more bare than she'd expected, nearly everything of use or value seemed to have been stripped from it. The cellar was dry, apart from a single bottle of port she found behind one of the shelves, and there were still some books in the shelves which she had perused. She supposed she could read some of them if she got bored with shakespeare.
One is never bored with shakespeare.
The other useful thing she found, some time on the second day, was a long wood-fire poker lying in one of the fireplaces. It was a lovely object, a single piece of forged iron, with a smooth handle, and a spiralling twist running down its shaft until it came to a blunted point. It was at least better than a plunger.
Each time she ate breakfast she'd imagine Emily was there with her, toasting her sister through the camera as she broke the bread. It could have been any time back home, but she liked to pretend they were in the same timezone anyway.
She'd been pacing herself with the food as well, managing to spread, by her calculations, one loaf over three days or so. She'd had a sip of the fortified wine with each meal, it seemed to make the largely tasteless food a little more pallatable.
Mia woke on the third day to the low growl of her stomach. Shortly after she'd risen and begun to satiate herself the announcements blared through the mansion . She'd located the speaker overlooking the staircase the day before, so it's clarity didn't surprise her a second time. The deaths felt like news of some approaching apocalypse, one she was kept from worrying about bye her splendid isolation. She could easily have remained there until the whole problem blew over.
Well, except that Danya had other ideas.
"Alright kiddies, all the current dangerzones are cleared. But, it wouldn't be any fun if we had none, so I'm going to go ahead and name The Infirmary, The Key and The Mansion as our latest dangerzones. Don't pull a Codreanu, folks - haul ass!"
It took her a second to accept that she had to leave and had to do so hastily, she ran from the dining room back into the bedroom, shoved her clothes back into her bags, slung them over her back, and ran back towards the dining room, stashed the bottle of port, grabbed the bread in one hand, the poker in the other and raced out into the corridor.
Only for her foot to catch in the hole she'd made earlier, dragging her down with a thump.
Her collar beeped.
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck she wasn't usually one for swearing, but prevailing circumstances seemed to require it. "FUCK!"
She fished her foot out of the slightly widened hole, got back to her feet and made off with a slight limp as the collar beeped again.
"UuuuUGH, come ooOON."`
Another beep halfway down the hallway, and again as she reached the front door. Even though it hurt like hell she broke into a sprint, trying and failing to favour her injured foot. The gate was a long way away across the lawn and as she closed the distance the beeps grew quicker and more incessant. She was almost there, almost there. She really hoped the fence was actually the boundary...
beep beep beep beep beep
As she cleared the wrought iron gate the beeping suddenly stopped, and she tripped and hit the ground hard as she reached the grass on the other side of the gravel. Hyperventilating and with a burning pain in her legs she sat there for a while, trying to regain her composure. Her breathing slowly calmed. She was safe.
Well, sort of.
Out of the frying pan, and into the fire...
((Mia Kuiper continued in Heartbeat Symphony))
She wasn't sure what to do. She felt like she needed their protection but she didn't want to go wandering around in the wilderness for no reason with people she barely knew. After a couple of minutes of indecision, fidgeting, turning to leave before changing her mind several times, taking minutes longer than she thought, she grabbed her bags and swiftly made for the exit. By the time she was outside, however, they had already disappeared.
***
The rest of the day passed listlessly, as did the next. No-one else came to disturb her and she had time just to read by herself. It was lonely, yes, but she had long grown okay with that. The rest of the mansion was more bare than she'd expected, nearly everything of use or value seemed to have been stripped from it. The cellar was dry, apart from a single bottle of port she found behind one of the shelves, and there were still some books in the shelves which she had perused. She supposed she could read some of them if she got bored with shakespeare.
One is never bored with shakespeare.
The other useful thing she found, some time on the second day, was a long wood-fire poker lying in one of the fireplaces. It was a lovely object, a single piece of forged iron, with a smooth handle, and a spiralling twist running down its shaft until it came to a blunted point. It was at least better than a plunger.
Each time she ate breakfast she'd imagine Emily was there with her, toasting her sister through the camera as she broke the bread. It could have been any time back home, but she liked to pretend they were in the same timezone anyway.
She'd been pacing herself with the food as well, managing to spread, by her calculations, one loaf over three days or so. She'd had a sip of the fortified wine with each meal, it seemed to make the largely tasteless food a little more pallatable.
Mia woke on the third day to the low growl of her stomach. Shortly after she'd risen and begun to satiate herself the announcements blared through the mansion . She'd located the speaker overlooking the staircase the day before, so it's clarity didn't surprise her a second time. The deaths felt like news of some approaching apocalypse, one she was kept from worrying about bye her splendid isolation. She could easily have remained there until the whole problem blew over.
Well, except that Danya had other ideas.
"Alright kiddies, all the current dangerzones are cleared. But, it wouldn't be any fun if we had none, so I'm going to go ahead and name The Infirmary, The Key and The Mansion as our latest dangerzones. Don't pull a Codreanu, folks - haul ass!"
It took her a second to accept that she had to leave and had to do so hastily, she ran from the dining room back into the bedroom, shoved her clothes back into her bags, slung them over her back, and ran back towards the dining room, stashed the bottle of port, grabbed the bread in one hand, the poker in the other and raced out into the corridor.
Only for her foot to catch in the hole she'd made earlier, dragging her down with a thump.
Her collar beeped.
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck she wasn't usually one for swearing, but prevailing circumstances seemed to require it. "FUCK!"
She fished her foot out of the slightly widened hole, got back to her feet and made off with a slight limp as the collar beeped again.
"UuuuUGH, come ooOON."`
Another beep halfway down the hallway, and again as she reached the front door. Even though it hurt like hell she broke into a sprint, trying and failing to favour her injured foot. The gate was a long way away across the lawn and as she closed the distance the beeps grew quicker and more incessant. She was almost there, almost there. She really hoped the fence was actually the boundary...
beep beep beep beep beep
As she cleared the wrought iron gate the beeping suddenly stopped, and she tripped and hit the ground hard as she reached the grass on the other side of the gravel. Hyperventilating and with a burning pain in her legs she sat there for a while, trying to regain her composure. Her breathing slowly calmed. She was safe.
Well, sort of.
Out of the frying pan, and into the fire...
((Mia Kuiper continued in Heartbeat Symphony))
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the former handler Gwbiiii.
Hours before Mia made her mad dash out of the building, Eiko decided to defer to Peter's decision. As much as she hated leaving behind the relatively comfortable rooms of the mansion, she had to admit that there could be other advantages to be had outdoors.
She slid the strap of her bag onto her shoulder and followed Peter back out the door, leaving the mansion for the second time. It wouldn't surprise her if she ended up coming back later. "Mmmf. As long as we get to this hut soon, Siu-san. I don't think I can remain coherent for much longer." She raised her hand to stifle a yawn, concentrating on walking after Peter to the extent that she had trouble focusing on much else. There would be time for a plan after they got to a new location.
((Eiko Haraguchi continued in Not an Easy Out))
She slid the strap of her bag onto her shoulder and followed Peter back out the door, leaving the mansion for the second time. It wouldn't surprise her if she ended up coming back later. "Mmmf. As long as we get to this hut soon, Siu-san. I don't think I can remain coherent for much longer." She raised her hand to stifle a yawn, concentrating on walking after Peter to the extent that she had trouble focusing on much else. There would be time for a plan after they got to a new location.
((Eiko Haraguchi continued in Not an Easy Out))
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Solitair. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.