SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

(Dorian Ibanescu continued from Freedom or Bust)

Dorian couldn't tell which was pumping faster; his heart, or his legs. They'd both begun racing uncontrollably as the sounds of gunfire erupted from the armory behind them, and after taking Marnie's hand (for the first time, and albeit somewhat clumsily and considerably unromantic as his sweaty palms were most certainly not appealing), the pair had quickened their pace in hastily escaping. They'd avoided the trail and consequently left everyone else behind, and they were basically directionless. He didn't dare look back to see if they were being followed, for his mind was on one thing and one thing only.

Marnie.

...No, escaping!

So his legs had propelled both of them through the undergrowth, until eventually the stars piercing the sky and the crashing sounds of waves alerted him to the presence of the coast. As the trees dispersed Dorian slowed down, motioning for Marnie to be quiet and stay low. His eyes lit up against the pale moonlight as he recognized three rigid structures docked against a wooden port walkway that wound its way across the coastline. They were boats, and they were big. Enough to house everybody and then some. He made to turn to Marnie, but the sounds of muffled speech interrupted his joy.

Together the two crouched, and almost instantly the tension in the air threatened to suffocate them.

They weren't alone.

---

The night is always darkest just before the dawn.

Lucas Grossi's mother had always spoken to him in terms of universal truths. As her brilliant son progressed through the years she quickly found that she had less and less to offer him, but her infinite knowledge and experience provided a more solid foundation for the young man than she could ever know. He'd always hoped that one day he'd have the chance to tell her. To repay her, even.

And now...he was a terrorist.

He sighed desparagingly, taking a look out over the cascading ocean. Ever since he'd snuck on board with Squad 2 and they'd docked on the island he hadn't been able to leave the boat. His self-deprecating thoughts chose a fantastic time to manifest themselves, and while he had tried to get in contact with Garnett multiple times, each had been met with the same response...none. It didn't really surprise him. If he had his radio on his person Danya could contact and track him. It was the very reason Grossi decided not to bring his after trying for the last time to contact Garnett from the base. He didn't really blame him. Danya was the last person either of them wanted to deal with right now.

And all at once, Grossi's mind was made up. He realized that together with Garnett, only him and the possibly non-existant rogue students had a chance of standing up against Danya...against everything. This program was disgusting, and his involvement with it was about to be over.

He unholstered his .45, handling it loosely in his right hand as he disembarked the boat and landed safely on the pier. His determined march towards the brink of the jungle was unexpectedly interrupted, however, by one lone guard patrolling the beach. Konrad seemed to have called for full backup, which Grossi couldn't help but be thankful for. At least his escape route was clear.

"Lucas...what brings you here?" Came a condescending bass, and as Grossi curiously tilted his head in the direction of the soldier he realized it wasn't just any squad patrol.

"Raiger..." he muttered, observing the coloured man. Grossi didn't often associate with Danya's foot soldiers, but Raiger was one of them who you couldn't help but notice. His hulking form wasn't one to be trifled with, let alone easily ignored. "I've been here the whole time," he fessed up finally, drawing a curious glance from the soldier.

"Danya's been paging you for hours. You're telling me he sent you here?" Raiger interrogated menacingly, which send warning signals off in Grossi's mind. There was no other way. Raiger had caught his scent...but there was no turning back now.

Without hesitating, Grossi raised his .45 magnum and braced it, firing two rounds into Raiger's chest.

The brute toppled breathlessly backwards, dropping the rifle he'd clutched so fervently mere seconds before. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Grossi was polite enough to lean down and close them for him. The man was a scumbag, but he deserved at least common courtesy.

A high-pitched gasp broke the impending silence, coming from the direction of the jungle.

Lucas only smiled, realizing that the students had progressed faster and farther than he thought. It must've been them. "You can come out..." he urged. "There's nobody else here," he indicated, holstering the magnum again and indicating the three empty boats.

---

Dorian's breath caught in his throat as Marnie's gasp alerted the strange man to their presence, but something about him didn't seem quite right. He wasn't like the others...

He just killed one of the other terrorists. So...he is trying to help us?

Dorian clutched the shotgun tightly and stepped out of the bushes, eying the man curiously. "You're not the guy from the armory..."

"...Ah," Lucas began, looking directly into the boy's face. "You must've met Garnett. The two of us are here to help," he indicated simply, jerking his head in the direction of the boats.

"Y-...you're serious?" Dorian inquired in disbelief, his heart fluttering a little.

Grossi merely looked down towards Raiger's corpse, then back up to Dorian. "Dead serious."

Dorian stood silently for what must've been a good twenty seconds, then after taking a thorough look around the area he turned back to Marnie. "Come on, now's our chance!" he whispered towards her, then turned back towards Grossi, his eyes suddenly hardening.

"There's a lot of others. At least ten of them," Dorian started, and Grossi's pleasantly surprised lips curved into a smile. The terrorist reached into his pocket and suddenly produced the keys to the boat he'd snuck onto, which one of the terrorists had evidently left behind.

"It's for the one in the middle. Get it started," he directed, and without hesitation Dorian yanked the keys out of the man's hand, turning back toward Marnie.

"What are we waiting for?" He exhaled dreamily, unable to believe that after two weeks of torture and absolute hell, the end was finally in sight. The prospect of escaping had him acting hasty and irrational, but none of that mattered now. They were almost home free.

((Maxie and Sean continued from: Freedom or Bust))

At some point during his mad pursuit of Garnett, Sean had lost the terrorist. It had been a very simple matter to lose track of the man he was after. A chance stumble here, a dizzy spell there, and the guy was out of sight, gone. That hadn't mattered that much to him though. The terrorist had given them a destination: eastern shore. Even if the whole thing was an ambush... well, at least Sean would have caught up with him.

Sean knew that he had reached his destination when the sounds of the sea met his ears. However, moments later, two gunshots ran out. Sean's time on the island had made him used to the sound, and after so many days... it was unmistakeable. Were some of the other students fighting? After all, there were more survivors than the group at the armoury.

Soon enough though, Sean spotted a trio of figures standing together. As Sean drew closer to them, he began to make out the details. Dorian and Marnie, who were a part of the group, and... who the heck was that? Sean's feelings were immediately conflicted. The man wasn't anybody that Sean knew, but he was certain it was another of the terrorists. But... Dorian was talking to him, or at least seemed to be. Did that mean he could be trusted? Or maybe it was just another guy trying to lead them all along. But... fuck, there were boats. and a shape beside the group that looked much like a body. Sean couldn't see Dorian and Marnie being stupid enough to skip merrily over to a guy with a dead student at his feet. Which meant...

Okay, perhaps that other guy didn't really have something else going on after all. Fuck, we could really make it.

Sean continued towards the group and gave them a half wave.

"Hey guys! Um... what's going on? What's with all of these boats?"

*

Maxie was not happy at all. She'd managed to get separated from the group during their exodus from the armoury, and was no alone, unarmed, and most of all scared. A few days ago, Maxie wouldn't have been bothered about being on her own. Heck, she would have been relishing it. There wasn't anybody Maxie could trust 100%, not outside of her family or friends from outside of school. - Nobody on the trip, at least.

But after... that, Maxie felt vulnerable on her own, isolated. She was essentially defenceless, no weapon, nobody to watch her back and too battered and bruised to put up much resistance against an attacker.

...I'd sooner bite my own tongue an' bleed t'death than go through that again.

She looked like hell right now. Her face was badly bruised, especially on the left side, her hair was ragged, the dyed tips now few and far between. She hadn't slept properly in what felt like a month. What Maxie needed was a solid few hours rest... which was something she wasn't likely to get anytime soon.

Maxie breathed a sigh of relief as she broke the treeline and saw other students at the shore. She couldn't see collars, so they had to be people who had left the armoury. Safety? Maybe permament, maybe temporary. At least she wasn't on her own any longer.

((Terrie and Brad continued from Freedom Or Bust))

(long time coming guys. I've had this post situated for like a week.)

Terrie was surprised when she noticed that she was the only one who arrived at the coastline. She was definitely sure that a bunch of others were ahead of her. Terrie even had a screwed up sense of direction that had been holding her back and despite that how did she end up at the coastline and no one else was? It didn't make any sense. Was she in the wrong place altogether?

She wanted to cry but she just couldn't.

Brad arrived just after her, panting loudly. He had been trying to stick with her ever since he left the Armory, not really sure of where she was heading. He did assume that she was going after the terrorist who had promised to help them escape but at the time his mind didn't come up with that. He gave a gasp, lifting his head up and realized that there was no one there.

"Wait..." He said, startling Terrie. "Where is everyone? Didin't we all..."

He paused, looking down at the ground. He finally realized that no one had been behind him, that people were staying to fight for revenge. Brad wasn't looking for revenge - killing a bunch of terrorists wasn't going to make this situation any better. They didn't see it that way though.

"...Fuck me. Fuck... They're all still back there aren't they? None of them left."

He felt a horrible pain in his heart, one that shook him to the very core and made him want to vomit. He had ran after Terrie because running was about the only thing that he could do, and he had followed Terrie for the same reason he had been the hellish two weeks he had been here - because the both of them were partners. Maybe even friends. Brad had his share of friends, none of them whom Brad could 'really' trust (other than Troy, though that friendship was strained to begin with). He could trust Terrie, a girl he barely knows. It was as if he had known her for years, almost like this had never happened. Knowing this gave his desertion a reason until he realized that they were the only ones who had reached the coast. And that terrorist had said to arrive at the coast. So Brad and Terrie were the only ones who arrived, which meant that either everyone stayed and were pretty much dead or that they were lost in the jungle.

Brad was probably the luckiest son of a bitch in the whole entire world now, but even then he wasn't exactly proud of it. He had a bad taste in his mouth, like he had ripped someone's neck open like a vampire.

"I really hate it but... we can't worry about them now Terrie." He looked around the coastline. "We have to find the boat first before anything else. This terrorist guy said there'd be a boat right?"

Brad gave a wave of his hand, brushing his dirty hair back. The only problem was that the boat wasn't here. If they were looking for a boat then Brad and Terrie were in the wrong place altogether. The chance of there being a boat somewhere along the beach was probably slim but it was the only chance they had of getting off this island – and when he thought about it if the terrorist was leading them into a trap then he would have left them stranded at the armory instead of telling them they were coming. He had to be on there side although it gave him chills to even consider.

Brad gave a sigh, taking the compass from his pack (luckily it still worked) and looked down at it. "Well... It's at the eastern coast right? We have the coast, the only thing we need is the east..."

Terrie really wanted to slap Brad for stating something so blatantly obvious but she thought against it. Brad had been the one person that had stuck with her whole time on this island and if he was as tired as she was his brain must have been fried. It was blatantly obvious that he wasn't thinking straight.

Instead Terrie came over and hugged him as tight as she could. Brad gave a little surprised look but shook his head. He hesitantly hugged back, feeling a little awkward. He knew that Kara had never hugged him, or ever treated him like he mattered. Even though he had rushed into it, he regretted ever having anything to do with her. The pain he felt from her wouldn't exist had he not done anything with her. He hugged her closer, letting a sigh out.

"I... I'm sorry for arguing Terrie, I should have come with you."

She shook her head. "No, don't worry about it. I was being kind of selfish there. I'm just so tired Brad, I just want to leave. I want to forget about all that happened here, like it had never happened. Like SOTF never existed. I figured that I would never see you or Ianto again, I was scared. I'm glad you decided to follow me."

Brad only gave a frown.

The compass read them at a little bit southeast – certainly not the eastern close, but pretty damn close. Brad had figured out that if they were to head north along the beach they were sure to find a boat somewhere. Terrie asked what they would do if they couldn't find the boat and Brad didn't answer. He didn't have an answer or at least an answer that either one of them would want to hear.

They started walking north hoping that they were lucky enough to stumble upon something. They both hoped that there was a ship waiting at the beach or something along those lines, although the chances of that even being remotely possibler were slim. Brad had this thought nibbling at him ever since he left the armory and the only reason he was still even involved was because of Terrie. He just couldn't leave her to herself, he had to be there for her. The last time she got seperated some maniac tried to kill her, and it wouldn't have ever happened if it were for him.

He was certain that he would never let it happen to her again.

They didn't speak once while they were traveling until they noticed the bullet-ridden corpse of Julie Mikan. Terrie was the first one who noticed the body in the darkness, and Brad only noticed when Terrie let out a loud gasp. He probably would have walked right past it had Terrie been focusing on something else. He wouldn't have vomited if Terrie had not called attention to it. It felt like he was passing glass through his mouth, it hurt so much. Terrie looked over in concern walking closer.

"Oh my god. Brad are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah..." He gave a wheeze. The island was spinning like a top and he wanted to get off. He wanted to jump off and run away. "I-I'm fine... I just wasn't expecting to see a body. My god it's..." He pointed. "It's Julie isn't it?"

Terrie looked down at the body in grim resignment, something that usually didn't come naturally to her. "Yeah..."

"Didn't she kill a bunch of people?" Brad gave another wheeze. "I wonder... who did this?"

"Well I hope it's the terrorists. If it was then..." She looked down at the butterfly sword, walking slowly over. "Then the boat must be close."

Brad shook his head. "Well... well... I guess it had to be them, y'know. I mean... any student with half a brain would have... picked up that sword in a heartbeat." He looked down. "But if that's the case then... then... then what's going to become of us? I only have this pistol you got... that isn't going to be enough to take down an army of people if the soldiers come looking... h-here."

Terrie shrugged. "I'm actually surprised you haven't already realized this. The odds are against us you know, we really don't have a chance in hell standing up against them."

"I KNOW that..." Brad's eyes shifted back and forth, thinking about what he just said or rather how he said it. "Sorry. Fuck, I really hope there's a boat. I REALLY hope we find a boat, anything, maybe even a fucking raft that'll send us back to shore or at least halfway there. I'm just so tired of people hyping escape up like it's as possible as tying your shoes."

"Yeah..."

Terrie picked the butterfly sword from the sand and held it in her hands. It was alot more light than she had first anticipated and she gave it a good swing before saying anything back to Brad.

"You know, when I get back to the island... I mean Highland Beach... the first thing I'm going to do is go to Shooters."

Brad lifted his head and looked at her disbelivingly. Did she just say that? Before he could even register this in his mind Terrie turned to look at Brad and gave him a gentle, kind smile.

"I haven't eaten there in a long time, maybe in months. I was going on a diet to lose some weight." Her eyes wandered for a moment. "I gained, like, twenty pounds during Christmas, could you believe that? One minute I was on the scale one day and then one day a few weeks later I was overweight. I was way too upset when I think about it because I had been training so hard for Swim Team that I was one of the best. Ever since I was nine I had been training because my mother was on the team too. I felt like I had to... I mean I love the water, but it was her decision. I really had no choice. And when I gained all that weight I felt like I was a monster, that I didn't care about anyone but myself, that I had let everyone down. I didn't tell my mom, no one about it. And when I found out that I could swim as fast as I usually did I thought it was the weight. I thought it was me that was the problem so I pretty much went on a extreme diet. Nothing but greens and fruit. Just because I had to impress my mom."

Brad stared. "Umm..."

"This might seem confusing Brad but going after the boat on my own, wanting to leave this island... this was my decision, not anyone else's."

"I was guessing that much." Brad gave a wry smile, and Terrie giggled.

"I know you knew that but you don't understand Brad. Back home I never made a decision for myself, I let everyone do it for me. It wasn't that I was lazy but it was just the fact that I felt obligated, that it was what was expected. And ever since I got on this island I only had you to lean on... and then you weren't there. You left."

"Umm..." Brad looked confused, as though he should be guilty.

"But that's okay... because once I was all alone, and I have no idea whether this happened suddenly or that it just took over slowly but I found out that I was depending on myself. I... I even killed a man. I'm not proud of it, not in the least. In fact I'm disgusted, shocked that I could ever do it but I did it and no one really had to tell me to do it. And after that I was... I did things by myself. I felt like I could do it. That there was no one in the world that could hold me back. That I didn't need anyone else to tell me what to do... I think I've changed. I'm a different person but at the same time I'm the same. I think, I'm not really sure.

"Maybe I should thank Dayna when I see him. Maybe I should hug him. I hate the man so much but he really needs it. I don't think I've ever made a decision for myself without it somehow involving another person. I always leaned against people, you should know, on the first time we met with Gabriel. I was with you the whole time but when I was alone I had no idea what to do. I'm not sure if you could ever understand what this island has done for me Brad, but I can tell you that for every single amount of hell it's forced me through I've become stronger than I did before. I now understand so well that there are so many kids that could have cracked and said 'Screw this'. I've realized that I'm so much stronger than I was before, and the island is the reason why.

"I'm not a baby anymore... I'm my own person and all that needed to happen was to get kidnapped."

She looked at Brad, falling silent for a moment."Haven't you ever felt that Brad? Do you think this island changed you at all?"

Brad's mouth felt dry. He froze.

"I..." He coughed, looking down at the sand. He looked back up. "You asked me... days ago... just why I got put away. In jail I mean... Terrie, I think the old Brad would have went out the same way Tegan did. I would have killed myself. I think that Jail made me strong enough to get over and just do my own thing... " he shook his head, knowing that he was only muttering nonsense. "They said I killed an elderly woman but I didn't. They called me a murderer but I could have never thought to do it. I didn't think I could do it... and up to this point I haven't done that..."

Brad shook his head again. "I... I guess what I'm trying to say is that... well, I've already felt this pain before so I can handle it. That whatever change that could have happened happened already... I think the only thing that's been on my mind has been you, Ianto and my sister – wanting to keep you safe..."

Terrie nodded, her face mixed with both a smile and a frown. "Oh...

"Yeah... Oh..."

They stood in silence for awhile. It was Terrie who broke the silence. "Brad.... I have to ask you a question."

Brad looked back. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you usually this nervous with girls? Do you stutter like that all the time?"

Brad went pale. "Uhh, I..." He caught on quickly that she was joking around but he still felt a bad twinge in his stomach. "I guess. I have a hard time I guess..."

"You guess?"

"Yeah. I feel comfortable around you but... to be honest I don't think this stutter is going to go away just now..."

Terrie nodded then tilted her head to the side. "Brad. When we get back home no one's going to know we're alive. Our parents think we're dead so there isn't going to be anyone waiting for us... so do you want to go to shooters and just eat there? The two of us, just because?"

Brad didn't hesitate. "Yeah... Yeah, I would. I've never ate at shooters."

"You haven't?" Terrie sounded shocked, though she really wasn't. "The food there is to die for! I'm surprised you never even set foot in there."

Brad lied through his teeth. He had been in there once but a fight broke out. He didn't like to talk about it. He changed the subject suddenly, hoping she wouldn't press too much on the subject. "Anyway..." He said this as though they weren't in a life-or-death situation. "I'm not even sure if I have any money... And I doubt that you have any money either, right?"

Terrie gave a playful smirk. "I think when they see two dead kids come walking through the doors, they'll make us whatever we want."

Brad couldn't help but smile at that. "Okay..." he said. "Okay! That settles it! We'll escape and then we'll..." But then the sinking feeling came back, and then he realized just how slim of a chance that escaping from this island was.

Terrie finally kicked off the sandals she had on for days. They looked like they were ready to rip apart - they had walked back and forth along an island for days and they had served their purpose. They had done their job better than any pair of sneakers could have done. Her bare feet touched against the sand, letting out a light sigh from her throat. The sand actually felt better than it really looked. She walked closer to Brad who was still thinking hard. She tugged on the sleeve of his shirt and he looked at her.

"Hey..." she smiled. "I know that we've been through a lot but... try not to think too much."

"Yeah..." He nodded. "Yeah. My friends say that I have a habit of overthinking things. What.... i-is it annoying you?"

Terrie shook her head. "No. But life just isn't complicated when you overthink it. You would know that if you shut your head off once in awhile."

"Oh..." Brad gulped. Terrie seemed like she was pressed close against him. "Umm..."

Terrie smiled. She leaned in suddenly, too suddenly for Brad to notice what she was doing.
Her lips pecked his in a quick motion, sending a chill into Brad's back.

The kiss was brief but it left Terrie in giddy and Brad in a state of pure shock. Terrie giggled at the expression Brad's face, which showed so many shades of confusion that it almost comical.

"H-Hey..." Brad made a cross sound. "W-What's so funny?"

This made Terrie laugh even harder. Her eyes teared up something awful, leaving Brad confused.

"Haha... I-I'm sorry Brad." She sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. "You know...Haha, B-Brad... with that beard of yours, you look like my dad when he's angry."

Brad rubbed a hand against his jawbone. Wow, he hadn't shaved in a week and the hairs were almost half the size of the hair on his head. He couldn't see it but his beard must have been pretty long to get the sort of reaction Terrie just gave him. He gave a soft laugh, his hand going to the back of his neck. "Umm... haha... I didn't even notice I had any -"

Bang Bang

Terrie turned. She knew that sound all to well to forget it. She gave a sigh, looking back over at Brad with concern written on his face. "I think we should keep moving. Something's happening just a while ahead, there must be something there."

Brad frowned. "What makes you think it's what we're hoping it'll be? What makes you think it isn't Harry caving in someone's skull with his gun? How are we supposed to know Terrie?"

"I don't know. That's why we should check."

They headed in that direction, kept running as fast as they could go. Terrie left her sandals on the sand but it didn't matter, she didn't need them. Brad took the gun out of his pocket, holding it level with his cheek.

They arrived at the boats before long. Their expressions looked similar to those of kids on Christmas day. Terrie hugged Brad tightly and didn't appear as though she was ready to let go. Tears were pouring out of her eyes, shaking violently. Brad didn't say anything but his smile was wide and his eyes were fixed on Terrie. And nothing but. They knew exactly what this was, this was salvation and nothing other than that. They were glad. No, they were fucking happy.

Brad eyes turned to Grossi. "Umm... I have no idea who the fuck you are man but you don't know how happy this makes me. " He laughed. "Fuck man I-I don't even know what to say but 'what the hell do you want us to do?' We know that there are a lot more kids but... I think they might be lost. Do you want us to go out and get them? I wouldn't have a fucking clue where they are b-but... It's the only thing I can think of!"

Although it was selfish of him Brad wasn't thinking of all the other kids. The only ones he really cared about were Ianto and Neil. They deserved to be here more than anyone else. Terrie knew this quite well but didn't say anything, just giving a slight wave to Maxie. They knew each other although not as well as she knew her friends. She smiled but didn't say anything, just leaving her hand hanging there.

If we're the only ones still alive... I wouldn't like to know what our chances are. I would hate to know. she thought to herself grimly.

(Marnie Yaguchi continued from Freedom or Bust)

Marnie's tank was running on empty. Sleep was a far away dream that she didn't even dare think about, as danger lurked around every corner. The same could be said about food, too. She hadn't eaten anything since the caves and her stomach never missed a chance to remind her. It was okay though. All she needed was the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins the minute she woke up.

And Dorian.

Marnie glanced at the back of Dorian's head as they ran and was instantly struck with a surge of admiration for her companion. He had found her when she really needed him to- when it mattered the most. He was her hero, and as cheesy as it was, there was no way around it. He would get them out of the hellhole they were stuck on. She truly believed he would.

Her legs and chest were on fire, but she persisted and followed closely behind the tall boy. As if sensing her struggle, Dorian quickly reached out his sweaty hand and grabbed hers. Despite being such a small offer, it was a comforting one all the same and gave her another burst of energy to keep running.

Almost as quickly as it started, the running ended. Dorian's abrupt halt confused her and sent a questioning look toward him, but he was too focused on something in front of them to notice. Marnie slowly inched closer towards Dorian, in order to get a better look at the object of his focus. What she saw wasn't what she was hoping for, however. Two older men, probably both associated with the guy who killed Alex Miller, were having an argument on the beach. Marnie didn't dare say a word, or breath for that matter, for fear of alerting the men to their presence.

A sharp gasp forced it's way out as the large terrorist toppled to the sandy ground. Her hands shot to mouth, desperately trying to halt anything else that might free itself. Her heart sank into her stomach as the other man's head turned toward the bush. This was it. She was going to get them killed all because she couldn't hold her shock in. She nervously turned toward Dorian and buried her head into his shoulder. She wanted to say something- anything- to him before they died, but nothing came out. Instead, the man's soft voice called to them and reassured them that he wouldn't hurt them.

Marnie peeked out from Dorian's shoulder and peered at the man. She wasn't entirely sure whether or not to believe him, and Dorian was apparently as confused as she was and he started questioning the man. Marnie remained silent- mostly out of shock and fear. She had no clue what would happen next or if they'd get off the island. Her mind wandered back to the kids at the armory and her heart stung. There were tons of terrorists there and she knew most of the kids on the inside wouldn't get out- if any at all.

Marnie could feel Dorian stand up beside her and she followed in his lead, walking slowly beside him onto the beach. She surveyed the man in front of them up and down. He hadn't even told them his name, but something about him was soothing- trustworthy even. She didn't know why, but Marnie was strangely calm, which was weird in and of itself. A large smile spread across her face when the man handed Dorian the keys to one of the boats sitting at the docks and immediately ran over to the boat with Dorian, though not without thanking the man

Once on the boat, Dorian jammed the key into the ignition and started the boat like the man instructed. Marnie remained at the back of the boat- hoping to catch sites of her fellow classmates emerging from the dense forest. Her eyes scanned the expanse of the beach that she could see, searching desperately for anyone. "I don't see anyone else, Dore," She said softly, though something caught her eye in the direction of the forest.

Focusing on that spot, Marnie strained her eyes, hoping to catch site of what it was. Almost as if on cue, Sean McCann and Maxie Dasai emerged from the wooded area and Marnie's heart nearly leaped from her chest.

"GUYS!! OVER HERE!!" She called to them, cupping a hand around her mouth and waving desperately with the other. She watched with a smile as Sean came running over, a wide smile plastered on his face.

Looking down the expanse of the beach once more, Marnie saw another duo walking down it and almost instantly recognized the figures of Terrie and Brad. She smiled to herself and called out to them as well. They'd all get out alive.

The sight of the coastline glowing in the early morning light was an odd sight... well not odd in itself, but perhaps it was odd how the sight was making him feel compared to how he had been feeling during his time trapped on this island. Ianto could almost say that the sight put him at almost a sense of ease.

Maybe it was because the sight reminded him of a sight he had seen so many times before back home, for a moment he was almost taken back to that time, back before all this when his biggest thing to worry about was if he was going to make it into a good college or not.

He's jolted back into his current reality as something slumps against his side, gazing over toward the person he is currently trying to help walk. Though the distance itself hadn't been long Izzy seemed to be having a harder and harder time walking as she continued to clutch at an area along her hip, it clear to him now just what is wrong and this continued walking is probably not helping the wound or her condition.

Adjusting the weight of his rifle and pack on one shoulder he moved to get a better grip on the girl and pull her up from where she had begun to slip toward the ground. Making his steps careful as to not not inflict any further pain on her than what she was probably already feeling as they moved from the hard under surface of the jungle and onto the softer sands of the beach where his attention quickly focuses on the voice shouting from somewhere further down the beach.

Glancing up and focusing on the sight of the two other pairs walking ahead of them, including both Brad and Terrie he noted happily, before finding the owner of the voice that had been shouting.

Ianto isn't sure if what he feels is surprise or intense happiness over the sight of Marnie on what seemed to be a boat--it was a boat, but Ianto was starting to wonder if his mind was simply wanting to trick him--seated in the waters along a dock. It had been a long shot, a real long one to throw their trust in the man that had ran up to them back at the armoury and to follow him based simply on words alone.

After all that each of them had gone through it wasn't anything that would be close to surprising but it seemed that this time that stupid, naive trust had worked in their favour and it seemed as though they'd finally get--

The sound had sounded like thunder and for a moment Ianto wondered if it was the sign of another storm to come.

It was two more of the similar sounds following shortly after that told him that this wasn't likely to be the case and a fourth that seemed to shake the area around them and sent both Izzy and himself onto their knees as the early-morning sky went bright as a large mass of fire was sent upward into the sky from a location not to far from their own, from a location that made his stomach drop as he realized it could only be one place and with the further realization that only people that had been following behind them had been Matt, Kyrie and Dean made the joy and happiness he had been feeling just seconds before drain away.

The harsh smell of smoke and heat seemed to be the only thing the explosion left them a moment later as everything seemed to fall into a harsh silence--well, not so much silent in thanks to the harsh ringing in his ears. Lost in the shock it took him a moment of delayed senses to notice that Izzy was no longer kneeled beside was instead struggling onto shaky feet and was taking steps not the boat where most of their group was waiting but instead had began back toward the jungle they had just left and had probably just been decimated by the explosion that had rocked the entire island.

Watching this for a slow moment before everything seemed to click back together in his mind and he launched up from where he had fallen, leaving the rifle and pack in the sand and dashed the short distance to grab Izzy around the shoulders to try and pull her back.

After everything he almost didn't register the brief pain in his side, it taking a moment for him to notice that it was Izzy throwing her elbow into his side that was causing the pain as she seemed to be intent on removing him from holding her back. Gritting his teeth though he ignored, sure if the girl wasn't already about to collapse this might have actually hurt a lot worse but for the most he ignored it and simply wrapped his other arm over her arms and middle, grabbing at the elbow.

"L-let go!"

"Can't." He muttered quickly and to the point, pulling more and trying to get her going back toward the boats and not where she seemed determined to head to.

"S-s... just let me go! Bill... and Adam are both..."

"And so could those terrorists."

"That doesn't ma--"

"Yes it does matter!" He found himself shouting, surprising himself a little. "They stayed behind in that place to help us. And an explosion like that... it probably wiped out the area surrounding that place too, do you think the terrorists would purposely do something like that while they were still so close that means that... that they probably..." It was hard to finished the thought, it was hard to think that those that had seemed to stay behind to throw off the terrorists would have actually...

It was the sound of crying that brought him back this time, sighing a little as the girl seemed to finally stop struggling and almost collapse again. "Th-this wasn't s-supposed... th-they both--all of them..." Her voice is drowned out by more sobbing as he's finally able to get her to turn and move toward the boats as he gave a strained glance to those around before moving to get at least Izzy on the boat and seated, off her feet and the strain taken off her wound. Watching as she pulled a knee closer and wrapped an arm around it, no longer sobbing as loudly.

Hopping back onto the dock he rubbed weakly at his eyes, staring with a soft expression back down the beach.

With Dean, Matt, and Kyrie that makes eleven... only eleven of us out of everyone minus the winner. I still--I still can't bring myself to actually believe any of this.

((From: Bale Out))

The sound of two pairs of feet sprinting through the trees as explosions rocked the very ground itself was barely heard. The duo could feel the heat on their backs as they ran, hoping beyond all else that they could reach the shoreline. When the explosions started, they had no idea what had happened, but all they knew was they had to run. As the treeline ended, they picked up their speed, the girl a few feet in front of the boy, and finally broke it, running as far as their legs could take them before falling onto the sand in a heap.

Matt picked his head up, and shook the grains from his greasy hair. "Well... that was interesting." He said in between shortened breaths.

Kyrie surveyed their surroundings, and caught a glimpse of Izzy and Ianto ahead.

"Looks lik' not too many of us made it 'ere..." She said solemnly. They had been attacked afterall. Many had stayed behind to help in the fight and create a diversion. Who knew how many had actually survived.

"Yeah..." Matt stood shakily, still on edge from the explosions, and glanced in the direction they came from. All above the trees was smoke. Smoke and ashes covered the area.

"Well... it's not over yet..."

"That's true..."

"I-I wanna get out of here..." He hadn't said it outloud to her yet, but it was the truth. He rubbed his neck where his collar used to be, and sighed. Throughout his time on the island, he'd been relying on others to make it through. First Kallie Majors, then Neil SinClair and SADD, now Kyrie. It was time for his to take care of others for a change.

"C'mon... let's follow them." He offered her his hand, and hoisted her to her feet. The two began to walk towards Izzy and Ianto, gaining a view of the others who had escaped as they walked. Kyrie's eyes darkened as they went. It was now or never really. She had to prove to herself that she was strong.

"It's a boat..." Matt whispered to himself. There was their salvation. A craft to help them escape this hell. But at what price? The deaths of over a hundred people they grew up with? What price would they pay now? Nothing was free.

[ Alright ladies and gents, let's bring this to a close already. ]

Stumbling through the thick under brush the former leader of Squad 2 (only former because Chevalier was sure none of the men she had sent ahead to that armoury were likely returning) clenched tightly onto her rifle, mind ablaze with what had just happened in the moments before. After having taken out one of the stumbled across students it was long before more gunfire seemed to erupt from a nearby location. Still in the midst of going over things over her radio--and frankly already bored with this search mission--she had sent her group ahead to locate where the gunfire was coming from and if the other groups had become in engaged in something to assist them while she followed behind at a later time.

She had barely finished her conversation and cigarette when the explosion had happened, knocking her off her feet and making the whole area feel as though it was being burned up as the large fireball engulfed the sky. Once she had recovered, her ears ringing and balance awkward now, she had attempted to reach the base only to discover her radio to have been destroyed in her fall. Cursing the situation and the fact she could very well be the only one to have survived of the Squads she decided her best option would to be to return to the boat and leave this place now.

Finally as the dense jungle ended and the beach appeared, she began to jog forward only to stop in her tracks at the oddest of sounds.

The sound of laughter and chatting, younger people chatting at that.

Slowing her walk, she eased forward so the view of the boat came into view and almost had to admit some shock in what she saw. High school kids, rather happy looking high school kids, surrounding and boarding the vessel. Scanning the beach and locking on to the body of a familiar man... could these kids have actually done this? It was clear from here that they didn't have collars either, this was beyond anything that had before in any of the other versions. Chevalier's thoughts ran short though as something else familiar came into her view, that being one Lucas Grossi.

Just... standing there, seeming to be happily chatting with some of them.

"That..." She wasted no time, drawing her rifle up and taking aim through the tree line. Though as she pulled back on the trigger to release the shot a sharp wave of dizziness overcame her as her ears began to ring once again, aim slipping as the bullet left the chamber.



After making sure Izzy was doing okay on the boat, Ianto had moved back on the beach to get his pack and rifle he had left behind. Not sure just why, though he supposed some of his personal things were in the pack and it just felt weird now not to be holding onto the rifle. The sound of gunfire though, it had become so common to him he really didn't find himself even registering the sound that erupted through the air and when he found himself knocked off his feet, an absolutely painful sensation racing through the right side of his back as he found it suddenly so much harder to breathe.

It wasn't hard to register the odd warmth staining both his front and back and how the sand was turning such an odd shade of red, whatever he might have been trying to scream turning into odd gasps and covered by the fit of coughing up blood his body had taken.

Dorian's nervous fingers fumbled with the ignition as he slid the key into its respective port, the engine of the boat roaring to life a few seconds later. The thought dawned on him for a moment that he didn't know how to drive a boat, but was instants later replaced by the comforting notion that either "Garnett", he'd been called, or the other strange man most likely knew how to drive it.

His eyes flickered over the controls momentarily before Izzy and Ianto burst into the room, the former seemingly incredibly distressed as she was practically forced into a chair in the middle of the cabin. Dorian only caught fragments of the panicked things she was saying to Ianto, but as she broke into sobs and seemed to relinquish control over her emotions, Dorian cast a concerned glance to Marnie and moved over to Izzy's side.

Ianto left the room, and Dorian put a comforting arm around Izzy's shoulder.

"Adam said we'd get out of here, and look at us now!" he started, the dull roar of the engine thumping in the background as he attempted to console his companion. "Do you really think he'd miss the grand finale? I think Adam's had his fair share of explosions in the last few years," Dorian jested, his eyes looking over towards Marnie as if crying out for some kind of backup.

"And besides..." he concluded, turning his attention back to Izzy. "If they are...gone...we can't let their deaths be for nothing. If they died, they died to save us. We can't just throw that back in their faces," He rationalized, hopefully calming her down.

A gunshot rang through the air, and Dorian's frightened eyes immediately hardened.

"Get to the back," he steeled, rounding his shotgun up off the floor and backing against the door of the boat. He took a careful few seconds to listen for any signs of approaching threats, then glanced around and out the door, just in time to see...

***

...a panicked Lucas Grossi reaching for his revolver.

One of the students behind Grossi fell, a crimson pool of blood drenching the sand. Before he even had time to register who it was or where they'd sustained the wound he found himself, reacting, the gun instinctively pointed towards the treeline where it didn't take him long to recognize the fading figure of Chevalier among the foliage.

Lucas braced his revolver with both hands and fired three stinging rounds into the trees.

It was almost as if nothing wanted to make any sort of sense in her mind anymore, everything seemed to want to jumble up and leave her with nothing but the sole fact that she was face with; the fact that there was a good chance neither Bill nor Adam made it out of that place. Not just them but everyone that had remained behind when they had left. Izzy wasn't even sure how to explain what she was finally if such a thing was possible, but after holding back from showing any emotion whatsoever in this place since she had woken up in that field finally seemed to catch up with her. By the time Ianto returned she had forced herself to calm back down, despite the every urge she was feeling to do otherwise. Again though it seemed like his words were barely getting through everything else and in the end all Izzy found herself able to do was curl into herself as the student council member once again left the cabin area.

Izzy was surprised though at the pressure of someone's arm coming to rest across her shoulders, looking up through what tears still remained and sniffing somewhat as she gazed to Dorian.

Listening, she knew he made sense... a lot more sense than her sitting here sobbing. Giving a shaky breath as he finished and nodding, "I k-know. It's just they..."

Any words she might have had to say though were cut off by a gut-wrenching tearing through the air.

-----

Chevalier was already moving by the time Grossi began to fire his revolver toward her location. Cursing that she had missed her chance and hit one of the brats instead, but she supposed in the end it wouldn't matter. Ejecting the spent clip from her rifle as she ran the tree line, patting her pockets and cursing under her breath as she flung the now useless rifle into the surrounding woodland. Reaching to her hip instead and removing the pistol from its holster and making a sharp turn, no longer running the tree line and instead charging down onto the beach toward the man. Rosemarie very much hated close-quarter fighting of any kind, but she would much rather deal with this than anything she'd have to face if she managed returned to base a failure. Raising the weapon and firing off two shots toward the other.

Much better to die here than face any sort of punishment that man's mind could think up.

(Sorry for screwing with post order, but this thread needs revival.)

A flittering noise through the trees signified that his shots had failed to do their intended job, and quickly Grossi cast a glance back towards the injured student. He was bleeding pretty heavily, and given that the danger that still threatened all of them was a mere few feet away in the jungle, he unfortunately didn't have the time to tend to him, lest others end up the same way.

I've gotta keep her away from the kids...

Hesitantly, Grossi cast his attention to both sides of him before beginning a dash along the coastline to his right. The other students had congregated towards the boats, which were now far behind him on the left, and this way Rosemarie's attention would be ensured towards him, and not on the other kids. His racing thoughts grasped for an idea, any idea...

But they didn't work fast enough, for almost immediately after he noticed Chevalier exit the treeline, a 9mm bullet ripped through his upper left bicep.

Grossi limped and crumpled to the ground, wincing for no more than two seconds before he painfully brought both hands up once more, squeezing two of the remaining three chambered rounds towards the young woman who was now running in a straight line towards him. He'd taken more than a 9mm to the arm before, and hoped that Rosemarie's tactless mistake would be her last.

[ Yeah, sorry loves. ]

I'm not going to let you leave this island.

Rosemarie narrowed her eyes faintly as one of the bullets met its intended target, watching as the man crumbled the ground and she slowed in her paced dash toward him. Already starting to push herself in another direction knowing what was likely to happen, no one would allow themselves to much time to dwell on wounds before starting to return fire. She needed to get out of his likely intended range of target before he had the chance to do such a thing...


Strangely enough Ianto found himself without a whole lot of thoughts on his mind as he laid there in the sand, able to feel as he bled out from the shot he had taken. He was amazed he able to focus on anything expect the pain currently rushing through him. But listening he could hear the sounds of more gunfire near him as their little moment of happiness--when everything seemed to have slowed down and for once he felt as though he could relax after everything that had happened to all of them--was hit hard by the reality of the situation they were still in.

Would this really be it? Even after the possible sacrifice of the others to get here...

A figure rushing past him caused him to focus, staring at the back of what seemed to be a woman as two loud cracks erupted from the weapon in her hand. Giving a shaky breath as his grip tightened on the rifle in the sand.


If she had been cocky she might have smirked as the man did as figured, quickly recovering and already starting to move, now she needed to move and quick. Coming to full stop as the weapon turned on straight on her and moving to dive when a sound she was hardly familiar with ripped through the air and a sharp pain torn through the knee in her right leg that sent her collapsing toward the ground as two more sounds cut through.

She had only been vaguely worried about the student and what weapons they might have but she certainly didn't she would have to worry about ones she thought she had already killed.

Sure enough, both shots reached it's intended target--striking her forehead and through her right eye and killing the woman instantly as she slumped lifelessly into the sand.


A wheeze escapes the lips of the former vice-president as he lets his grip go on the rifle and rolls to his back from where he had managed to roll onto a shoulder. Staring carelessly toward the sky as he lets an incoming wave rush over his out-stretched arm with another wheeze leaving him, trying hard to laugh around it and the tears forming in his eyes.

"The... fuck?"

Sean had been fully intending to get the hell inside the boats once the shooting started. What could anybody expect him to do? He had a head wound and a freaking poker for God's sake, not exactly the ideal equipment for a firefight now was it?

It pissed him off though, it really did.

Why couldn't they catch a damn break? It was just one thing after another. They get the collars off, but then the terrorists turn up. They get away, there's a hugeass explosion. They make it to something approaching safety, the terrorists catch the fuck up again!

So Sean was just stepping towards the boat itself when a pain flared up in the small of his back.

Oh holy FUCK that hurts.

Sean staggered, hit the sand on his knees. What the hell had happened? Jesus... Sean clutched at his back briefly, then had to put out his hands to stop himself from falling on his face. His hand was bloody, and even as he realised that, Sean felt wetness trickling down his back, and he was quite, quite sure that even now a red stain was spreading across his white shirt.

"I fucking hate this island," Sean muttered, beginning to crawl towards what he hoped was safety.

*

"We fuckin' beatcha ya no good sons of bitches! We got th' goddamn collars off - we're gettin' outta here, and ya can't fuckin' stop us!"

Maxie Dasai wasn't really making much sense, but in the circumstances, that was perhaps understandable. After all, she'd had it pretty rough, even by the standards of the game.

Well, enough was enough. She wasn't going to let anybody else take her hits for her. They were so close to escape that they had to make it, and no fucking bunch of psychos was going to stop them. No more hiding behind other people, it was time to actually do something.

Despite the fact that Maxie was pretty much already in safety, she immediately left the boat and charged towards where Ianto was lying, hurt. She couldn't see anyone other than the lone terrorist who had come out of the trees and shot Ianto (and that other guy, whoever he was), but Maxie didn't want to take the risk there would be more.

"C'mon, let's getcha someplace safe," Maxie muttered to Ianto, looping his arm around her shoulder and neck, her nerves jangling at the contact. She shoved her discomfiture away. Now wasn't the time. Maxie grabbed Ianto's rifle with her free hand, although she didn't try and take it off him - she just didn't want to stop to retrieve it if Ianto wound up letting go. Paranoia told her they'd be needing their weapons. After that was done, Maxie began dragging Ianto back towards th boats, trying to be reassuring as she spoke to him.

"Stay with me now, c'mon. You're gonna be just fine."

Kyrie and Matt both jumped at the sound of gunfire from directly ahead. The two stared at one another and immediately jumped to action, drawing their weapons and charging for where the boat sat in wait. Kyrie knew this was it now. Time to fuck this place over once and for all. The greatest way to stick it to Danya and his insane followers was to get off the island. They were halfway there. Thease terrorists weren't going to get in their way.

Upon arrival, they found a man and a woman exchanging fire, while Maxie Dasai attempted to drag a bleeding Ianto Murphy towards the boat. Kyrie knew what had to be done. The two ran over to Maxie.

"Who got him?" She asked hesitantly. He looked bad. Maxie answered her, and Matt began to get up. Kyrie grabbed his hand.

"No. You help Maxie get him on that boat. I'll go help the guy. I-I need to give you guys time to get that boat started. We need to get out of here. Once it's started, I'll jump on, alright? Just... just get covered!" She quickly commanded before running from the trio and towards the gunfight.

Kyrie aimed the two handguns at the female terrorist. She fired first one then the other. Three shots each. She damn hoped they'd hit her in the head.

Matt looked at Maxie after Kyrie ran off. "You heard her. Let's do this. We have to lift him carefully so we don't aggravate the wound..." He said as the two of them began to lift Ianto's body. "Let's get him inside!"

Brad held the gun and the trigger did not go off. He couldn't do it. He couldn't even think of doing it.

What was amazing to him was the simple fact that he had so many angry emotions bottled up inside toward these people. That should mean that Brad, who had spent time in jail and had hurt people before, could let this anger out. He could have killed that bitch.

And yet he didn't. The gun just wavered, following the terrorist along as she ran across the beach. It stayed on her form even after bullets riddled through her body and she landed on the ground like a sack of potatoes. It stayed on her form, even after he knew for damn sure she was dead. Why? What could make him hesitate the way he did, for that long, like he was frozen complete fear.

"Oh no! Ianto! Ianto!"

Soon enough his aim wavered and he looked away from the woman. He felt like he wanted to cry. He wasn't sure why he wanted too. Too much stress, the sight of a dead body... it could be a huge list of things. Brad couldn't conjure up a singe letter to explain why he wanted to cry. So he didn't. Just because there was no reason at all.

Oh my god. No!

Brad just looked to his left, only a little tilt of his head.

Terrie was losing it. She was following after Ianto and Maxie, completely stundned. Brad really couldn't blame her. Ianto had been one of their friends during the two weeks they were here, and he had just been shot. Brad would have thought to run over there too but he felt so numb that it never occurred to him. He couldn't think straight. He just stood, very silent. He let out a deep breath, looking at Kyrie for a moment before over to the downed man over on the beach.

Grossi.

No one was moving an inch to help him up. Now he had his chance.

Brad went over and reached his hand out, attempting to pull the man up. He didn't even know the man's name but all things considered he was the one who was making this all possible. Brad knew that he owed it to him to get the man off the island, not after everything he put into allowing them to escape. Brad would never forgive himself if he had let that happen.

"It's going to be alright!" He said, almost too loudly. Like he was unsure. Unsure if everything was going to be alright.

((Joseph Hurst and squad three continued from: In this Waking Hell I am))

The group of men under Hurst's command weren't too happy, and truth be told, he himself wasn't either. Ever since that huge explosion ealier, Konrad and Squad 1 had stopped responding, and it was a no-brainer as to what had happened to them. Actually, at about the same time, they'd lost communication with Squad 2 as well. Those from headquarters were still coming through fine, so something similar must have happened to them as well...

What the hell could have caused that kind of explosion anyway? Hurst knew that it was nothing they'd issued to the kids for weaponry... could they have missed something whilst combing the island over?

Speculation was curbed, however, when he and the others reached the treeline and were able to look out onto the coast. Something was wrong. Big time. Somebody who looked very much like Chevalier was sprawled out on the sand, very dead, and a number of students were clustered around a group of boats. Their boats.

On the ground, injured, was none other than Lucas Grossi.

"That whelp is selling us out..." Hurst turned to his Squad. "I don't particularly want to do this, but we can't afford to have anybody make it off of the island. Kill them all."

With the faintest twinge of regret, Hurst opened fire on the students around the boats. Moments later, his men followed suit. This was it. Game over.