Mid-Month Rolls

[Megami†]

The light buzz emitting from the computer in front of him and the pale lighting provided by the black and green screen were the only cause of disturbance in the otherwise tranquil room. Everyone else had already called it a night and headed off into the bunks, but he was still there, idly staring at the monitor in front of him. Dorian hated nights like this. The silence really got to him... it always had, especially since that horrible incident a few years ago.

That incident...

Dorian clenched his eyes shut tightly as images and memories suddenly flooded back into his mind. Even though the world around him was shut out, the images still persisted. They had, ever since that day... they'd haunted him. It wasn't at all what he'd imagined when he'd taken the job. After all, they had told him he'd be working on the technological side of the SOTF ACT. That was his forté. He was no combatant, that much was for certain. But still, Danya felt the need to shove them into that... that thing. He had been one of them that was forced into it.

And he had failed.

For all intents and purposes, he had "failed" the training exercise. The fact that he wasn't executed on the spot for his performance was, in and of itself, a miracle. They called him a "weak link", and ever since he'd emerged from the island, he'd constantly lived in fear, forever watching over his shoulder, afraid that the slightest move in the wrong direction would result in the forfeiture of his own life. And to think, he had first taken this job as a means to help his sick mother. Easy work for easy money was what they'd called it. Man, had they ever lied.

For a while after that horrible "training exercise", Dorian had resorted to taking what could only be described as "happy pills". He couldn't remember the technical name for them, and he didn't care. All he knew was that for a while, he didn't have to relive the things that happened to him on that island. For a while, all the painful memories were blocked away in the back of his mind and he could rest easy. For a while... he was able to repress all those horrible events.

But when his mother took a turn for the worse, Dorian had been forced to drop the medication in order to supply her with hers. Dorian loved his mother dearly, in fact, many people called him a momma's boy. For her to get the medicine she needed, he'd gladly do without himself. Only... since he'd done that, he'd begun having the nightmares and flashbacks again. He'd gone from being a little jittery to being the person he was when he'd emerged from that island... always cowering, always shaking. Sometimes, it was almost too much to bear.

His eyes opened widely and seemed to zone out as he stared at the glowing computer screen in front of him.

---

"Next up is... Pello!"

W-what?!

"Come on, come on. Get up here, Pello! Get your gear!"

"Sir?!"

"DORIAN PELLO! I know you're back there. Get up here and suit up, you're moving out!"

N-no! No! This can't be happening! I'm tech support! I'm not a soldier! I'm not a soldier!

Dorian felt a firm push on his back from one of the other AT members standing behind him. He stumbled forward before his eyes trailed up, nervously peering at Danya from behind his glasses. He blinked in confusion a few times as he looked at the rotund man, but Danya simply offered him a wide and mischevious grin as he tossed a large bag at Dorian. Dorian attempted to catch it, but it fell to the ground. He immediately pulled on the bag, fearing that dawdling around would get him into trouble. He struggled under the weight of the bag for a moment before exiting the room and moving into the door to the left.

"Well, well, well..." a booming voice echoed from immediately beside him, "Didn't expect ta see you here, lil' guy."

Vincent Trilby. They called him "Big V". He was the kind of rough-around-the-edges type of guy that you might expect to find in an operation like this. He was currently suited up in dark grey battle gear and holding what looked to be an assault rifle in his hand. A large grin was spread across his features, as though he were about to go on a hunting trip or something. In a way, Dorian supposed they were.

"I don't think I'm cut out for this..." Dorian squeaked out, only furthering the grin across Big V's face.

"Chill out, guy! S'just a little game! Think of it that way, yeah? We're just... we're goin' huntin'. You ever go huntin' with yer old man or somethin'?"

"I-I didn't..." Dorian stammered, causing Big V to frown somewhat.

"Well, you jus' stick with us then! We'll show ya tha' ropes!"

---

Big V... he was dead now.

---

It was pitch black outside, and even the large gun Dorian held shakily in his hands provided no relief from the fear and anxiety that was welling up in the pit of his stomach. Sometime after they had left the boat back on the shoreline, he had lost sight of Big V, and now he was stumbling through the forest all alone.

G-get it together, Dorian. You're a soldier now. Y-you can't be scared of these kids. They aren't the ones with the guns! You're in control here! Don't let them intimidate you!

The internal pep rally he was giving himself was failing miserably, and his hands still shook nervously as he traipsed through the forest. The sound of foliage cracking and breaking under his feet made him even more nervous, and he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. Dorian stopped in place and wheeled around, checking behind him to ensure that he wasn't being followed.

"AWHOOO!"

Dorian let out a loud yelp as the noise hit his ears. He trembled violently at the sound of the wolf's howl, but it appeared that it wasn't anywhere nearby. He looked around nervously, his eyes scanning the woods around him once again. Nearby, he could hear the sound of rushing water. Somehow, it seemed to pacify him a bit, and he found himself running through the jungle toward the water.

Within moments, he saw it. A river, seeming to cut the island in half. The deep, dark woods gave way to a somewhat illuminated clearing. Dorian breathed a sigh of relief as he moved closer toward the running water. There was nothing and no one in sight. It was peaceful... relaxing...

A resounding crack suddenly echoed out and a horrible pain flared up near the back of Dorian's head. He felt himself falling to the ground and his hands instinctively moved to cradle his throbbing head in them. A sharp foot suddenly impacted with his side, causing him to roll over and face upward... right into the face of his attacker.

Much to Dorian's surprise, his attacker... was just a kid. Dirty face, dark brown hair, dark eyes... he looked like the football player type... but still, definitely just a kid. Perhaps more horrifying than the fact that he'd been floored by a kid was the fact that the same kid currently held a gun much akin to the one Dorian had. The look of pure hatred on the boy's face made Dorian cringe, and suddenly, he knew his fate was imminent.

"You bastard," the boy spat out quietly, "I should kill you right now. How's it feel, huh? How's it feel to be hunted down?"

"Hey."

Another voice. Dorian's eyes nervously darted around, and that was when he saw them. A large group of students, some armed, moving toward him. Dorian began shaking violently, sure that his life would end then and there.

"That's enough."

To his surprise, the student who had spoken up moments before seemed to be calling his friend off. Was he crazy? Given half the chance, any member of the taskforce on the entire island would riddle their entire group with bullet holes, but this boy was going to let him go? It was almost too good to be true. Before Dorian could utter out any words, he suddenly felt the barrel of the first boy's gun on his forehead.

"Get up and drop your gun. Make any sudden movements and I'll blow your fucking brain outta your skull. Got it?"

Dorian nodded nervously and rose to his feet, allowing the assault rifle in his hands to clatter to the ground before raising his arms up in surrender.

"He's not like the others..." the second boy -- the one who seemed to be their leader -- spoke up, his blue eyes seeming to pierce Dorian to the bone with their gaze, "Maybe we can use this guy. Take him back to the base."

"With pleasure," the other responded.

In the next second, another loud crack resounded from the area, and an unconscious Dorian fell to the ground.

---

Dorian suddenly snapped out of it, deeply inhaling a shaky and uneasy breath. He remembered that night as clearly as if it had happened that day. He remembered the events that had followed as well. The thought of it all frightened him, and his hands shook as he readjusted the glasses on his face.

"Burning the midnight oil, I see."

Dorian yelped and spun around to face the intruder. Much to his surprise, it wasn't an intruder at all. Rather, it was someone he was quite familiar with. Someone he hadn't thought he'd see ever again.

"I-it's you."

"Mm," the figure grunted in response, "You've been staring at the computer screen for a while now."

"Y-yeah... I-I... just... lost in thought, you know."

"I think... I can relate," the figure stated with a nod, running a hand through his messy brown hair.

"You know... I'm surprised that you c-came back," Dorian stated solemnly after a moment of silence, "I'd ask the details, but..."

"You know how it goes..."

"Y-yeah..."

The large man sighed slightly and moved to walk out the door.

"H-hey... I meant to ask you, but... y-your eye..."

"... Call it... part of the welcoming ceremony."

"I-I see."

The figure only grunted as he left the room. Once again, Dorian was left in silence, staring at the green and black of the computer screen. He sighed quietly to himself and shook his head before pulling up his email account, only to find that sometime during the course of the night, his mother had written him. Fortunately, she didn't know about the horrors of his job. She just knew that he had a cushy computer tech position for a very important company. At least he could spare her some of the anguish they had to endure.

---

The Rolls:
I'm gonna keep it short and sweet this time around. Only two rolls were conducted for the mid-month rolls. The two characters rolled were Guy Rapide and Quale Hutchinson. To those rolled, if you plan on using a swap card or if someone plans on saving you with their hero card, you must notify me as soon as possible. Deaths are to begin within 72 hours (Friday by 4:30 PM CST) and MUST end within five days (Sunday by 4:30 PM CST). Begin!