Fruits of Thine Labor

[laZardo†]

((Continued from Beauty and the Beast))

Nicole Carter-Madison was thankful the TV in her PaCAS-turned-SotF-monitoring headquarters was turned off AND in the other room, especially given the desperately despairing state she was in. She was still trying to come to grips with the fact that her son was now a murderer, regardless of whether it was more or less so than others who were dying. She also had mixed feelings over the boy who so thoroughly abused her courtesy a few weeks prior to the whole island incident. That he too was proving himself a murderer was compensated for only by the fact that he seemed to be getting away with it. All these feelings had kept her away from the TV and surrounded by her colleagues, whom she believed still trusted her.

In reality, many of them were questioning why they aligned themselves with someone who had focused so much on the oppressor that she literally neglected taking care of the oppressed of her own womb.

Reneé Valenti, on the other hand, found herself glued to the screen apart from mealtimes and instances where her parents weren't around. She watched helplessly as the people she had taken under her wing were blossoming into monsters of her own, even as she was somewhat thankful that her personal bitchboy had taken out the girl that other classmates believed was her blonde doppelganger.

And speaking of bitchboys, Damien Carter-Madison was smiling a mostly-deserved smile as he walked into the Marina. Fortunately for him, it was a rather quick trip thanks to the map he had in his (now-currently-his) backpack. The tangy smell of saltwater and the rather calming sound of boats rocking and creaking about the calm waters was an eerily-relaxing experience. Of course, he was already used to that sort of relaxation back in the forest. Still, this sea-breeze completely enveloped him given that there wasn't much in close proximity to disperse it, seeping into his now long-since-dirtied clothing.

On the "most" he did deserve, he was actually feeling relatively well today. Firstly and most apparently, there was the matter that he killed Kristey Burrowell, the ringleader of the Valenti Syndicate...and probably a pawn of my mother. He'd gotten her weapon and combined it with his other acquired bounty to form a wonderfully Spartan combo that would stand up to everything apart from fire-arms.

He had hidden out in a conveniently-located treehouse that he'd found - and spent the good part of half-an-hour trying to get himself and his supplies up there -  in the middle of the forest. It was much easier to climb down when fully rested and fed (AND cleared of fecal material, and he was thankful that he hadn't landed in his own waste on the way down), though there was still a rather visible wobble in his walk.

And when his mother's lackey's announcement started to play, he heard Roland had also been on the rampage, giving him even more resolve to continue his mission. It was practically icing on the offal cake that he'd been literally called by name to receive a prize for his hard work. (Why Nicole would award Damien was somewhat beyond him, but he'd have to figure that out later.)

Unfortunately, the icing gathered ants too quickly.

His smile was tainted because even though he had killed off the person on the very top of his list, Nicole had decided to spite him by forcing him to share his award with some VC who also happened to be on the island with him. He tried to console himself with the fact that there were still others left on his list, and that with all hope, he wouldn't have to worry about being killed by Charlie on the way. That he had even brought himself here gave him second thoughts, as it could mean that his mother would probably have him publicly (per se) executed by her new VC assassin.

Then there was the matter of another name on his list, who was continuing to run away with the kill total, though he hadn't heard many - if any! - names he was familiar with since he heard Marvin died (Roland was going steady...but whichever came to him first would do). It did make Damien giggle a bit though to know that he was in the spotlight...and that the people Franco killed were probably out of desperation from other enemies he might have made prior to his arrival here.

Damien decided to head into a nearby empty boat rental shack and ducked behind the counter. Even though he kept silent, his paranoia still reserved a spot in his mind for that spot where Agent Orange might be spying on him.

((Thanks to rsdb.org for the Vietnamese slurs. XD))

[Cyco†]

((continued from To See With Thine Eyes))

It was a long walk to the marina. Huy said little; Sam's death was weighing heavily on his mind. It was all he could think about. Even when the thought of a useful new item squirmed its way into his brain, it only raised the question: how many more people would he have to kill with it?

'...but I had no choice, he was going to hurt Anna. And I promised her. I have to protect her, no matter what...

...but back there. She was just like...'

The marina came into view. It gave Huy a bad feeling. But then again, why would they call someone who was doing well over just to kill them? The idea of a 'best kill' made his stomach lurch again. 'God, Sam, why didn't you just fucking stay down?'

"Anna, uh..." he felt like he hadn't talked to her in ages. "Is there somewhere safe you can stay until this is done? I don't think they'll let you in here."

[Mitsuko2†]

((continued from To See With Thine Eyes))


"Nothing's safe Huy... But I'll be right here till you return. Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just hurry okay?" She said to him. They hadn't spoken the whole way here. Anna had way too much on her mind to make small talk. She felt so... different now. It was all so strange. Nothing made sense. But in this game, what would?

"I'll wait for you. I'll always wait for you." She pulled him into a quick hug before ushering him off and hiding behind a pile of rocks and debris.

[laZardo†]

Damien had poked his head out the side of the counter to see who was approaching. At the angle which he did, he could spot Charlie in the distance...along with someone else, which worried him greatly. It did not seem to matter any more to him that the girl was very likely his girlfriend/accomplice, rather it worried him that he had another threat on his hands apart from his current list.

Hopefully, they'll kill each other off before I get to them...

He then watched as Charlie's girlfriend hugged him and went off to the side...and out of the limited field of vision allowed by the shack's doorway.

Better not exit that way later on.

[Cyco†]

Anna hugged him. Huy felt a warmth in his chest that diminished his gut rot a little. She told him to hurry. He nodded, and headed towards the solitary marina. It was a little unnerving, but it would pay off in the long run. He hoped.

Taking a deep breath, he headed towards the supposed meeting place. The nagging suspicion that his collar would be activated was at least a little valid; it very well could have been a test to see who was stupid enough to walk into a dangerzone. Fortunately it wasn't, he noticed, as he passed the rental shack and remained unharmed. He assumed (it made sense, pretty obvious) that Danya would send one of his lackeys to deliver the prize via boat, and that there would be absolutely zero tolerance regarding any funny shit.

It suddenly occurred to him. 'Where's the other guy?'

[laZardo†]

Damien watched from a very low angle as Charlie passed the shack, the shadow he cast sweeping over his head, Charlie didn't look too intimidating...well, at least not as intimidating as Marvin Hendrick, even if Marvin was long since dead. Still, the smaller boy felt the need to hold his breath until Huy Tran was safely out of the way and past the shack. Once that had happened, Damien withdrew to an upright sitting position behind the counter and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

He didn't end up in whitespace with his special friend, that was only in desperate times...though he didn't receive any words of advice either. He felt for the barbed-wire Louisville Slugger and grasped its handle hard, and clenched the shield he was already holding harder. If he knew this game, they wouldn't allow him to kill Charlie at this place, at least. Especially if that guy might already have a firearm on him, let alone if he'd win one. Some tracking would be required, but he'd worry about that after it was over.

Damien slowly stood up. It would have been faster had he been carrying a lighter load, but he got up anyway. He slowly walked out of the shack, bat leaning on his shoulder and shield at his side, ready to draw.

He was also smiling, like a child, his eyes conveniently near-closed. He also started humming something creepily cheerful...

((Dr. Tran! 8D))

[Cyco†]

Huy stopped and wheeled around at the dull shuffling which eminated from the rental shack, feeling goosebumps appear on his arms as he realized there was someone behind him. He was compelled to raise the axe at first, but only tightened his grip after getting a look at the stranger (who was really no better armed than he was). Huy's eyes darted down to his feet and then back up to his face. This was probably him. There was only one way to find out.

"You Damien?" he asked, standing perfectly still and keeping the axe at his side. He wanted to avoid provoking him into whatever the hell he'd done to be summoned here in the first place.

[laZardo†]

"That's me~!" Damien giggled in a decidedly androgynous voice as Tran noticed him. "You must be Huy Tran!" he added, also returning Tran's visual inspection.

The only thing he noticed right now was what appeared to be an ax that had definitely seen combat, but he did not discount that it was Charlie's only weapon. Even if that was the only weapon that Charlie currently had on him at the moment, then he could have easily passed off the rest of his firepower to that girl that Damien saw him with. And even in the case that they would not be allowed any funny stuff in the presence of whomever would give them their prizes, Damien would have to make sure that Charlie didn't stalk him out.

The situation was tense. Damien did not want to provoke Charlie as much as the vice versa case held true...at least for the time being. Still, it wasn't as if Damien hadn't been under worse stress before.

[Cyco†]

"Yeah," he replied. He paused and finally added, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you're playing, right?" This was the very definition of a rhetorical question. Huy didn't let it show, but he was deeply disturbed by Damien's childish giggling. It sounded straight out of a psychotic thriller.

Huy wondered how many players had been reduced to such a poor mental state over the past five days. How long would it take him to degenerate into a tittering psycho? And Anna? Then a much more horrifying thought occurred to him: what happens when this headcase gets his hands on the prize? He might not even make it out of the marina alive.

"You...wanna call it a truce, for now?" he asked, carefully choosing his words. "It'd make things go a bit smoother."

[Megami†]

((I apologize for the delay on the staff's part, guys.  I was sort of hoping somebody else could grab this this time around since I've done the last couple, but I guess they're busy too.  No worries.  I've got a final tomorrow that I need to be studying for but then I'll get right to this.  Sorry!))

[laZardo†]

Damien put a free finger to his lips and appeared to be in deep thought. "O-kay!" he replied jovially, "No shaking hands though, mine are kinda full at the moment," he then added, showing his barbed-wire bat and shield.

He then looked past Huy, out at sea, where a boat seemed to be approaching. "Looks like the Prize Patrol's here..."

[Cyco†]

Huy remained complacent, but internally he was breathing a heavy sigh of relief. He didn't know if he could trust Damien to keep his word (he kept getting the mental image of the other boy just casually shrugging and saying with a grin, "I changed my mind.") but at least there wasn't any reason to panic at the moment.

Damien pointed out the arrival of a vessel at the docks, and Huy nodded accordingly. He hoped that he wouldn't be short-changed compared to his counterpart, otherwise it would make his departure from the marina a lot more difficult.

[Megami†]

Sonia Nguyen's expression was vacant as she stood at the front of the ship.  Technically, they were behind schedule.  Still, it didn't really matter... not to her, at least.  If these kids wanted the prizes Danya had so graciously "awarded" them, then they would sit here for days if it came down to it.  

Something told Sonia that these two in particular would wait forever if they had to, as would all the others who would follow them.  That assumption was based on one primary factor... they had been on this island for six long, hard days.  The head count was 78 and rising quickly.  The primary objective for everyone on this island, at this point, was survival.

And this far into the game, new weapons and fresh ammunition were in short supply.

She could see two figures standing on the shoreline in the distance.  Sure enough, they were there... they were waiting.  She was almost surprised by the wiry figures of the two boys standing on the shoreline.  They both looked so young, so frail... still, both had killed someone to get where they were right now.

Sonia herself knew that you couldn't judge a book by its cover.  She was a prime example, after all.  The boat would dock in a few moments, and she'd approach the newest "winners".  Absent-mindedly, she wondered if she would see either of these boy's faces again.  Would they win the competition?  She sized up each of them mentally, then completely disregarded the thought.  Not either of them, they didn't look like winners.

"Prepare to dock!" one of the nameless henchmen yelled out from behind her.

She was lost far too deep in her own thoughts to pay any mind to the soldiers scrambling around and preparing to pull into the harbor.  Her hand trailed down to her thigh, where a handgun had been carefully concealed beneath her skirt.  She wouldn't need a gun... not for these two.  They looked like the type that could be herded like cattle.

[Cyco†]

Huy approached the dock at a slow pace, not wanting to let the boy beside him leave his peripheral vision. He hoped that Damien wouldn't try anything...crazy, lest this woman in charge of the drop-off decided to off both of them for the actions of one. Neither seemed all that far-fetched.

Now he was getting a little antsy, seeing as he'd left Anna back there without any means of defending herself. Huy wished he'd left her the axe.

[laZardo†]

Damien smiled as the prize boat approached, and walked alongside Huy Tran so he could get a closer view of who was on it. It appeared to be a rather lovely (and in Damien's experience, directly proportionally deadly) lady who did not seem armed to the teeth (thus meaning that she very likely was.) at least compared to the soldiers around her. He had learned from Kristey not to be distracted with beauty, though he still kept up that grin as she approached.

That was not to say he wasn't scared, either. For all he knew, the woman - who appeared of very Vietnamese descent - and everyone else on the boat could as well be Charlie's comrades (and probably still sent by Nicole) to lure him into a trap and summary execution to please Nicole for what Damien did to embarrass her. Of course, even if that would happen, the so-called "bitchboy" would make extra sure that he would at least die with that smile on his face - facing whichever camera might be nearby.