First Page - Planning

[jimmydalad]

Cammy watched her friend meditate, feeling oddly calm as she witnessed the event occur. She managed to get her crossbow back luckily enough and spent her time reloading it while watching her friend calm down. She couldn't begin to understand what was going through her mind at the moment. She shot at a classmate and lost her weapon. Then again, her weapon wasn't the best thing in the world.

The situation was not good, that was for sure. She was on edge and the paranoia of her classmates playing the game frightened her. She didn't want to accept it and her heart was firmly against it, but the facts were laid out in front of her. There was nothing she could do about it. She had to escape with as many classmates as possible. So long as they aren't killers, they should be fine to save. Most of the kids in her year were good people and thus, only a few like Travis would resort to killing.

Still, she had to be careful. Travis put on a nice guy act but it was all just a means towards the end instead of genuine kindness. How many others were just like him? She couldn't be completely open with everyone. Naomi had a point and she needed to play this smart. They just needed to find a way out and save everyone who isn't enthralled in the game. It shouldn't be too hard. People escaped last time. They could escape this time.

Once Naomi had finished meditating, she began to talk to her about plans. She was thankful for someone like Naomi. She was smart, resourceful and was the head of student council back in Aurora High School. If she could think of anyone that could get them off this island, it would be her. Cammy knew she could come up with something. She had faith in her and plus, she didn't think she was going to lose trust in her. They were close friends after all.

As Cammy was going to reply to Naomi's queries, two people came in. Owen Kay and Aileen Aurora Abdallah. Aileen was just one of those girls that Cammy didn't really find approachable. She was pretty arrogant, though Cammy did take delight in the fact that her middle name was the same as the name of their school. Meanwhile Owen was a really nice guy. Normally, she would have a good time with him, but the situation was different. Now really wasn't the time to be buddy-buddy when they first met. After all, she didn't know Aileen well. She could be just like Travis.

"Hey Owen. Aileen." Cammy greeted them unsteadily, chewing her lip as she withdrew her crossbow and aimed it at the two of them. "I hate doing this, I really really do, but you need to show us what weapons you have. If you refuse to cooperate, I-I may have to s-s-s-shoot."

Her face turned away as she continued to hold her weapon at the ready. She felt disgusting doing this. She was threatening her classmates and not just any classmates, but Owen Kay, one of the nicest kids in the year. Her hand started shaking as she tried to get in control of her emotions. She couldn't show weakness. She needed to be strong to survive.

[ViolentMedic]

Naomi hadn't gotten an answer from Cammy yet before they were interrupted by two newcomers. Aileen. Blunt. Argumentative. Negative reputation among many for said qualities. Possibly dangerous. Owen. Soccer player. Much nicer than the other Owen. Likely harmless. Strange people to be accompanying each other, but the fact that they'd chosen alliances over trying to kill each other was promising.

Naomi nodded approvingly at Cammy's actions. She was at least learning not to be so naive. But she motioned for Cammy to lower the crossbow.

"Keep it pointed at the ground. We don't want another accident," she whispered. "Only raise it if you have to." Then she raised her voice so the newcomers could hear her.

"You heard her. Show your weapons. If it's too difficult for you, you can turn around and leave. No need for things to get violent." She kept her voice level, pretending as if a few minutes ago she hadn't been screaming.

[Riki]

That went not exactly like Aileen anticipated. Really, she was surprised that Cammy aimed her crossbow at Aileen. Usually, Aileen would approve of such decisive actions, but this time, Cammy only earned the frowning face. However, Aileen was not as worried. A bit tense now, sure, but not as tense as she was when the girl assaulted her in the hospital. Her reduced concers stems mostly from the fact that even Aileen knew that not looking at your target did not help your accuracy. Further, Aileen heard something in Cammy's voice. Something that made her conclude that Cammy did have doubts. Like Owen.

Aileen wondered whether the dynamic between Cammy and Naomi was similar to Aileen's and Owen's relationship. She could not know, though, so she simply raised her arm to show Naomi the black MMA gloves. Which should answer Naomi's and Cammy's question.

"May I ask what your weapons are? That is, yours, Naomi?"

Aileen's eyes went to Cammy as she lowered her arm again. She was very sure that there was no immediate danger from this girl. But not enterly, since the craziest stuff can happen on SotF. Point was, Aileen readied herself mentally to jump at that girl any moment.

[Pippi]

Owen felt certain his blood had frozen and his heart had stopped when Cammy raised a crossbow and pointed it directly at him and Aileen. At the very least, the blood drained from his already pale face. He wanted to take a step backwards, hell, he wanted to run as far away as possible, but his legs felt glued to the ground beneath him.

He was going to get shot. Of course this was going to happen. Had he been stupid enough to think everyone would be as willing to trust him as Aileen, as ready to accept anyone who just turned up? He guessed he had. He'd honestly believed no one would start killing this early, that no one would try and attack anyone else yet. He guessed he'd been proven wrong twice now.

Owen could feel tears welling up in his eyes again. Damn it. This was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit and there was nothing he could do. He was gonna get shot, by Cammy of all people. Cammy, the last person anyone would have expected to pull the trigger at someone else. This was all so fucked up.

Owen didn't even hear Cammy ask him to show his weapon, and it took him several seconds to comprehend it when Naomi repeated the request. Owen stood there, stunned. Out of nowhere, he started laughing. It didn't last long; the laugh was born out of sheer relief after utter terror and panic. Slowly, Owen raised his right hand, fist still clenched around the scalpel.

"Th-thought... thought y-you were gonna sh-shoot..." Owen said. His heart had thawed and was now beating so fast it felt like it was gonna burst out of his chest. And the stuttering was back. Great. "Th-this is all I've g-got..."

Aileen then asked what Naomi's weapon was, and after a moment, Owen nodded. Just to be safe. It was quite clear what Cammy's was.

"S-sorry..." Owen mumbled. "Safety... y'know..."

[jimmydalad]

At Naomi's insistence, Cammy lowered her crossbow a little. She guessed that Naomi was still frazzled from her accidental shooting and didn't want to get her more agitated than she already was. It was nice to see her put care towards accidents and other such cases, especially considering the current situation they were in. She still waited for the others to show what they had, her conscience chiding her for her behavior. There wasn't really anything Cammy could do though.

The tears in Owen's eyes made her feel immensely guilty. How could she be doing this to Owen of all people? He couldn't hurt a fly, let alone another person. How could she hurt someone like this? Was this what the game wanted to do to them? Mess them up and get them to act in a way which was primal and aggressive. It went against everything Cammy stood for and each passing minute turned into a moral dilemma she didn't want to face. Could she trust her classmates or did she have to kill them?

She exhaled in relief as the two newcomers revealed to them their weapons. At least the weapons weren't complete jokes, that thought becoming a mixture of unpleasantness and comfort. The weapons weren't guns, but they were still deadly, more so with the case of Owen with the scalpel than Aileen's MMA gloves. The gloves made her think about her wrestling friends, Mallory, Paolo and the others. They were probably here as well and truth be told, Cammy did not want to fight them. Not only were they her friends, but they also had experience with fighting, something that she couldn't claim to have.

"It's ok." Cammy comforted Owen, her smile returning to her face as she addressed the newcomers. "Naomi has no weapon. Well, she did have a weapon, but we had a run-in with Travis Webster. He stole Naomi's weapon. That was why we had to make sure. I didn't want something like that to happen again, considering the chaos that ensued because of the incident." Cammy explained to Owen and Aileen. Her mind thought back to the incident and she frowned for a moment, the memory chilling her where she sat. She quickly rearranged her face to a smile so that she wouldn't bring them down as well. They didn't deserve that.

"Oh well, we gotta roll with the punches and whatnot. We're looking for a way off the island, you guys want to join us? I know the chances seem bleak, but there is always a way. I know that there is a way to get off this island. Are you guys planning on playing the game, or do you want to join us?" Cammy offered the two, standing up and extending her hand towards them in a gesture to shake it. She gave them a warm smile, even though her insides were going haywire. She was praying that they wouldn't join the game. She had high hopes for Owen, but she wasn't so sure about Aileen. After all, she barely knew the girl and from what she heard, she wasn't the most friendly person in Aurora High. Yet Cammy knew they wouldn't play. After all, they were good people. Everyone was. Even Travis, though the situation made him act in a way that was not. She firmly believed this and she hoped that her thoughts would be affirmed.

[ViolentMedic]

"Yes. Be careful around Travis. He's..." Naomi was struggling to find a word to describe Travis that wasn't also a derogatory word for genitalia, so she just trailed off.

Gloves. Scalpel. ...Not very threatening, though she supposed the scalpel was potentially handy. But to hurt someone with it would require Owen to be extremely close-range. Not a good choice in the case of guns or anything sharp and with a better reach. Aside from that, she wondered whether either of them would be useful enough to ally with. Owen was fit, yes, enough to keep up. But he looked on the verge of tears already and nothing had even happened yet. As for Aileen, she had a rumored tendency to go off at others and alienate them, which would be an issue if anyone useful came along. Allying with these two might be a problem, and there was no room for problems.

Of course, before Naomi could even figure out a way to leave them behind, Cammy went ahead and invited them into the group. ...Joy. She'd have to talk to Cammy about inviting every person she saw into the alliance. Just when she thought the naivety was improving, too...

Naomi didn't want to be rude in front of anyone who might come back later with a murderous grudge, however. Instead, she nodded slightly to Cammy's words.

"More allies would be appreciated. However..." She looked at them, eyes shifting between Owen and Aileen. "If you have any objectives that aren't escape, we will not have time to devote exclusive attention to it. This includes looking for people. While we can look in passing, we can't divert attention from finding an escape route. After all, if there's no way to escape, there's no use in finding friends or relatives." If they had made looking for people their objective, that would likely scare them off.

After a moment of consideration, she added, "On a related note, have you seen Miles?"

[Riki]

The sudden tears that were on Owen's face displeased Aileen. Made her feel a bit uncomfortable. She was hoping that he would get more stable, but alas, the sight of Cammy aiming her crossbow at him did not help. It definetely was going to be a big amount of work to strenghten his mind. Aileen stepped closer to Owen. She considered putting her hand on his shoulder to reassure him, but in the end did not do so, as something that Cammy said needed all her attention.

"...with Travis Webster. He..."

Aileen squinted her eyes. Of course, she felt confirmed. Travis was dangerous. This was the evidence, but Aileen would be careful about him anyway. Him, and Hansel. And Matt. And... a few others, who Aileen decided to meet with hostility. Cammy then talked about 'escape', and she asked whether Aileen and Owen wanted to play, or join them. Sounding like a false dichtomy aside, Aileen had concerns about both options.

She did not believe in escape. There was exactly one successful one in the last season. She remembered the news, around thirty students were saved. Thirty students escaped. In the grand total of... hundreds, if not already a thousand dead ones. Also, the terrorists likely did not spend the last four years relaxing, and Aileen expected that every possible loophole could not be exploited by a high school student. Not even the more intelligent ones. In other words, Aileen did not believe in escape.

Playing was not an option either. First, there was the fact that Aileen considered herself to be an ethical human, who would not do something as barbaric as attacking someone to kill them. Second, it would also paint a very big red target on her back. She kills one person, and suddenly someone wants revenge. This would not be good. However, she knew that she needed to kill someone. Yet she wanted to keep her innocence, so she hoped that someone would try and kill her late-game, because nothing screams innocence like hoping to kill someone in self-defence.

"He, from this day on, shall be referred to as Penis," Aileen finished what Naomi wanted to say. She wondered whether she should talk informally, but she was in a relative good mood, therefore she decided to stick with her weird speech pattern. She cleared her throat and thought about her reply. Sure, escape seemed impossible to her, but would tagging along be that bad

"You need not worry, Naomi. My - our, directive is continuance of our beings. Certainly, with Owen's superior vigor, my knowledge of wound and injury treatment, aswell as my keen and sharp mind, your popularity, and Cammy's talent to... exist, we may find a way to escape, and therefore a way to survive. What are you thinking about this matter, Owen? ...Oh, and we have not seen Miles."

Aileen did not want to get her collar blown, so Aileen made a mental note about pulling out as soon as things started to get dangerous. Despite that, she was excited due to the fact that she found allies.

[Pippi]

Owen let out a sigh of relief as Cammy lowered her crossbow. He trusted her, as well as Naomi, for sure, but having a loaded crossbow pointed directly at him was making him a tad nervous. He didn't even know what Naomi was carrying, currently out of sight. Still, the fact that she hadn't reached for her weapon at the sight of Owen and Aileen could only be a good sign, right?

That thought soon evaporated as Cammy revealed Naomi had no weapon. So much for that earlier train of thought. It did mean that there was no way Naomi could have harmed them if she'd wanted, but it also meant she was pretty much defenceless now. If they were going to help each other out, which Owen severely hoped they were, then Naomi's lack of weapon would already be a drawback.

Worse still, it turned out that the reason Naomi lacked a weapon was because one Travis Webster had stolen it. Owen's free hand instinctively rose to cup his mouth and chin. Travis hadn't exactly been someone Owen associated with, back at Seattle. He was the kinda guy that trouble just seemed to follow everywhere. Even so, Owen couldn't have imagined him doing something like this. If he'd wanted to steal Naomi's weapon, it must have been good or useful. If he wanted a good weapon, there was one likely reason why... Owen hoped to God Travis' intentions were pure, but the idea just wouldn't shake from his mind.

Owen blinked away the few remaining tears, then looked at Cammy as she began to speak. After a few seconds, Owen blinked again. This time, it was out of utter surprise and almost disbelief. Cammy claimed she and Naomi were trying to get off the island, and Cammy said she knew there was a way. Owen could hardly dare to believe it. His heart was racing almost as quickly as when she'd pointed the crossbow at him. If there was a way out, Owen needed to take it, before it was too late. Before people started listening to Danya, before they decided that the only way out was... was...

Letting out a shaky breath, and trying to banish all thoughts bar escape from his mind, Owen turned to Naomi as she began to speak. The expression on his face had become hopeful upon hearing Cammy's words, but after Naomi spoke, it slowly reverted to one of concern. She didn't want to look for other people. Not for friends, not for acquaintances, and certainly not for enemies. Owen opened his mouth several time to try and speak, thinking of Amy, Brian, Jack, Phoebe, Becca, and so many more people who deserved to escape as well. When Naomi had finished speaking, however, there was a frown on Owen's face, and his lips were shut. Naomi had finished by asking if they'd seen Miles, her cousin. That suggested she was looking out for him, which implied she wanted the opposite of what she'd said.

"O-only person we've seen is L-Lauren..." Owen muttered. He barely heard Aileen agree to try and escape. His thoughts were whirling about his head so fast he thought it might explode any second now. He wanted to escape so badly, more than anything in the world right now. But he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if he left his friends behind, or anyone, for that matter. In a way, he might as well just kill them by hand. Owen looked around the garden for several seconds, opening and closing his mouth, before finally, venturing forth with his speech.

"Y-you have a w-way of escape? Or... or an idea, or something? You're s-sure? Then, y-yes, of course I'm in for th-this. I'd... I'd never f-follow what Danya said! But... but..." Owen sighed, and visibly drooped, head looking down and facing the ground. His eyes found Naomi before he continued talking.

"If... if we're going t-to do this, I wanna f-find people. Friends, teammates, whoever. I don't... I'm not l-leaving them behind. More people we have, th-the easier it'll be... right? Nobody wants to d-die... right?" Owen bit his lip, then carried on.

"Look, you... you want to find Miles, y-yeah? You've g-gotta have other friends out here, don't you? You gonna just... abandon them here, whilst we row to safety, or whatever? I wanna live... you dunno how much... but I d-don't want my friends to die either... And if there's no escape? I don't want m-my last memory of 'em to be some... message from an announcement system..."

[jimmydalad]

Cammy felt offended by Aileen's statement, but made no gesture to suggest this feeling. She needed to keep her morale up in order to stay sane. She couldn't lose her cool to people like Aileen, even though she implied that she was useless. Cammy knew better than just shouting and screaming at people if they offended her. She needed friends on the island and she needed to be smart. If she was going to find a way out, she had to use every resource effectively, and thus she just smiled at Aileen, while in the back of her mind she gave her the middle finger.

Naomi's talk about not finding allies was quite unsettling, but Cammy did admit that it did make some sense. They needed to find a way out and randomly looking for allies on this gigantic island was just asking for time to be wasted. She missed Kyran, but she had to trust that Kyran would be fine on his own. Right now they needed to find a way out. Once they found a way out, they could then find the others. That was efficient and they could save their friends as well.

Seeing Owen's concern wrenched at Cammy's heartstrings. She knew that Owen was not cut out for this game, even though he was technically a "jock". While Cammy did empathize with him and understood the feelings that he was going through, she had to trust Naomi's judgement. Out of all of them, she was the one with the most experience with regards to leadership. She knew that she was smart and resourceful, so she had to trust her judgements, even if they went against what she was comfortable with.

"I know it's hard Owen." Cammy started, standing up and resting a hand on his right shoulder. "I want to find our friends as well like Kyran, but we need to find a way off the island first. I mean, what good will finding our friends be if we don't even have a way to save them. If we try to find them, it'll take too long. This island is large and we know nothing about their whereabouts. It's hard, but we really just have to trust Naomi's judgement. It'll be ok, trust me."

Cammy gave her friend a warm smile in an attempt to soothe his nerves. If there was something she could do, she could keep morale. Apart from having the most effective weapon of the bunch, she was also able to keep positive. The ability to keep positive was something that was crucial in her opinion. If they couldn't keep up morale, they would start to argue and it would get to the point where they may even attack each other. She was a mediator and a social butterfly. If there was anything she could do, she could keep the others calm.

"We aren't going to find a way to escape just sitting around here, maybe we should get a move-on? You know, find some semblance of an idea for escape." Cammy suggested to the group, trying to avoid the topic of finding their friends in order to focus on their objective. The more time they spent talking about their friends, the harder it would be to focus on finding a way to escape the island. She needed to get them to focus on something else and put their thoughts away the well-being of their friends. Cammy didn't like doing this, but she had faith in her classmates.

[ViolentMedic]

"That's an apt way of describing him," Naomi said wryly, smiling humorlessly at Aileen's comment. She nodded at the rest of her words. Despite the misjudgment on Cammy's usefulness (Cammy was just as fit as Owen and had a better weapon in any case) the note about medical knowledge being useful was certainly true. It had been a factor Naomi had been unaware of, and so Aileen seemed like a much better ally all of a sudden. The fact that she readily agreed with Naomi's plan didn't hurt.

But now Owen was now an issue. Him not agreeing would be fine if he just left, but now he was arguing about it. Didn't he understand how selfish it was to prioritize personal 'last' memories over the survival of everybody? The attitude was, like so many things today, grinding against her already frayed nerves. Cammy brought up most of the reasoning against prioritizing friends first, so there wasn't much Naomi could say without echoing Cammy like a parrot.

"Abandonment's not in my plan," Naomi said, and despite her best attempts her words were tinged with anger at the fact that he was questioning something so obvious. "Yes, more people would make this easier, if they're the right kinds of people. Yes, I would love to find Miles, as well as any other friends. But there isn't time to look without sacrificing time we could be using finding a way out. Our personal memories will only matter as long as we're alive, and if we don't find a way out that'll be a very short window. Personally, I'd be much more worried about my last memories revolving around being useless because I picked short-sighted goals."

She picked up her remaining supplies and slung the strap over her shoulder. "If you'd rather focus on finding people and dying with them instead of doing something useful, then do what you want. But chasing friends just so you can see them one last time is tantamount to giving up, so don't drag us down with you."

It was much less diplomatic than Cammy's attempt. Much less fluffy and much less reassurance that everyone would be alright. But this wasn't the time to be coddling people who couldn't hold their priorities together. This was the time to actually do something about the situation. There were some situations where, as the saying went, honey caught more flies than vinegar. But there were times when honey just didn't cut it, and life-or-death situations were one of those times.

[Riki]

Lauren. Oh, good to know the name of that ya khorg of a girl.

The anger she got from having Lauren's name mentioned did not last long, as Owen's statement about not leaving his friends behind. Aileen understood that and she felt a bit sad too. Of course it is understandable to want to see their friends. But quite frankly, Aileen knew that seeing her friends, was not on the top of her priority list. Putting it on top was ridiculous in her eyes. Someone who prefered to die with their friends to accepting life was ridiculous. But she also cared about Owen. Maybe a bit more than she should if she wanted to keep the option open of surviving by winning this game, but still, that hardly mattered in that moment. The solution was clearly to change his mind.

Before Aileen considered using her favorite method to change minds, namely, yelling fancy words at people, Cammy and Naomi attempted to reason with him. That was fine by her, because she partly knew that yelling barely worked, and that it caused arguments and foes, who may be fun in high school and with people who were not as decent than Owen, but not on death island of doom.

Cammy was friendly, and asked for Owen to trust her at the end. Aileen decided not to trust her for now. Woman thought threatening people with a crossbow was an acceptable form of greeting. Also, Aileen was still not really sure if she could count on Cammy if it came down to it. Naomi was less friendly. But she was straight to the point. And Aileen decided that she liked that girl. Someone who was having his priorities sorted. Of course, she did not realize that Owen had his own priorities sorted too, but as she did not like his, she did not accept them.

Aileen turned to Owen. Something to convince him was needed. She took the first thought that formed in her mind.

"Don't worry, you'll have me."

She thought about whether she should correct herself and say something more fancy instead, but decided against that, as there was no point in repeating what she said, essentially.

[Pippi]

It wasn't exactly regret that Owen felt instantly after speaking. No, definitely not; he'd meant what he'd said entirely. He wanted to find his friends yet he also wanted to escape. Simple as that, and surely there was nothing wrong with it. No, the feeling that suddenly blossomed inside of Owen was more that he should have saved these thoughts for a later date, or, at the very least, said something slightly less... antagonistic. He was directly going against Naomi, the de facto leader, and if she decided she wanted nothing more to do with him? Well, he had himself to blame for losing what might be his only chance of escape.

Thankfully, Cammy spoke first rather than Naomi. Whilst Owen could appreciate the blunt and stern approach of persuasion, he much preferred the gentler approach at the best of times. On Death Island, it was even worse. It was antagonistic, and doing anything along those lines would lead to trouble. Something he might soon find out for himself.

Cammy's reassuring hand on Owen's shoulder was definitely a step towards reassuring him, even if her words did not. She was right, of course. Owen had no idea how large the island was. It would probably take a couple of days of non-stop walking to cross from one side to the other, and several more to search in each location; by which time, his friends would no doubt have moved away.

What Cammy's words did do, however, was make Owen see exactly what he'd been missing, and just how blind he'd been. Cammy's mention of Kyran almost brought him to tears again. He'd been too focused on Naomi's hypocrisy when she'd mentioned Miles, but everyone here had friends they wanted to find, and in Naomi's case, family. Of course they hadn't given up on finding them either. But Cammy was right; even if, by some miraculous chance, they all found their friends, there might not be any means of escape. Then Owen would have dragged his friends across the island in search of a false hope, and that would be ten times worse than discovering there was no escape on his own. If there was a way of escape? Then they'd find a way of getting their friends to join them.

Owen returned Cammy's warm smile, shakily at first, then with a hint of confidence to it. He was about to speak up, about to say some sort of apology or something, when Naomi decided to speak. Owen looked over at her, head angled towards the ground apologetically as he listened to her words, most of which were similar to Cammy's.

Then, Naomi finished her last couple of sentences, and Owen looked up, smile replaced with a frown. He had expected Naomi to be blunter and more to the point than Cammy, sure. But to call him useless for wanting to look for his friends, for caring about them? To insinuate he'd already given up because he wanted to search for them? The words stung. Worse than that, they were bullshit. Complete bullshit. Pathetic as he might look right now, Owen was so very far from giving up. He wasn't going to find his friends and wait for the clock to run down. That was not how he was going to be remembered.

Aileen took the chance to speak up now, and break Owen from his thoughts, telling him that she'd still be here. It was not something Owen had expected Aileen to say, but hell, she was right. Maybe he had been misjudging her earlier. Maybe he hadn't. She had still rescued him from his pit of despair, and Owen cared about her and her safety. It was weird thinking that way, seeing as he'd barely spoken to her back at school, but he cared about Cammy too, and Naomi as well in some way.

"... Yeah... Yeah, I know I will... Thanks, Aileen." Owen said. A smile began to appear on his face, as he shook his head. "Sorry... I g-guess I'm still not dealing with all... this too well..." Owen made a vague gesture with his hand, before he turned his attention to Naomi, and a hint of steel entered his voice.

"I haven't given up, and I'm not going to. I'm not laying down and letting d-death come to me and I'm still keeping my friends at the top of my priorities, but... the number one priority is staying alive. So for that, we need to find a way out."

Owen doubted he'd rebuilt any bridges between himself and Naomi. The most important thing was to show he hadn't given up hope. He was going to find a way to escape. Then he could come back for Amy and Jack and Jason and Mallory and everybody else.

[jimmydalad]

There were some times where Cammy was surprised at Naomi's actions. This was one such time and it took her a moment to get over the initial shock of how blunt she was acting. She quickly turned to Naomi and gave her a disapproving look. Cammy was trying to approach the situation in a nice and friendly way that she knew that Owen needed. He was in a state of emotional distress and piling on even more stress and anger on him was just like waiting for a ticking time bomb to explode.

Luckily for her, Aileen spoke as well and her words soothed Owen to the point where he was at least more open to the idea of looking for a way out before looking for their friends. She let out a brief sigh of relief, glad that the situation had smoothed over at the very least. There was something else that was starting to worry Cammy as well. While her experience here had been less than wonderful, she was getting really worried about how the game was affecting Naomi and the ramifications that it had on her as time progressed. She was becoming confrontational and aggressive, and overall her behavior was making Cammy feel uncomfortable staying with her.

"Hey Naomi, mind if we have a talk alone?" Cammy asked Naomi, twiddling her fingers together, her long sleeves concealing her hands from view. She didn't want to get Owen and Aileen involved in this conversation. This was something she felt she needed to address with Naomi alone. If too many people were to take part in the conversation, she didn't want to think about how Naomi would react. She turned to the other two and splashed on a light-hearted, unassuming smile.

"Do you mind waiting for us at the exit?" Cammy inquired politely, hoping that the two of them wouldn't pry into the situation between the two of them. Naomi needed to be told about her behavior. She knew it was going to alienate people and having trustworthy friends on the island was something that Cammy believed should be treasured. Cammy needed to address it now, before it spiraled out of control to the point where she would need to take drastic actions. She wished for that situation to never come, but she had to be careful though.

[ViolentMedic]

Naomi nodded at Owen. "If finding a way out stays at the top of your priorities, then we will work together just fine." He seemed shaky and upset, but she supposed that was normal for the situation. Hopefully he'd improve. If not, Naomi would likely have to convince him to hide in a bush or remain out of the way in some other fashion. But it seemed like these two were accompanying them. She supposed there were worse people out there. Like Travis or anyone who had given into killing already. She was sure there would be someone. No class ever hit that twenty-four hour limit before, after all.

But why did Cammy want to talk to her in private? Was she having more reservations about Naomi's views? The only other reason Naomi could think of for wanting to talk away from Owen and Aileen is that she was plotting betrayal, but that seemed unlikely. Naomi held back a huffy sigh. She really wanted to start moving. She wanted to reach a building or at least somewhere less exposed than a zen garden before night time approached, and she wasn't sure when that would be. The sun wasn't directly above them, but all that meant is that it wasn't midday. It could be nine in the morning, three in the afternoon or anywhere in between. But rejecting Cammy's request wouldn't help.

"If it's quick, Cammy." Naomi turned to the other two. "Sorry. If you want to wait elsewhere, we're leaving via that exit." She pointed in the direction that Gabriella had come from. It wasn't quite the direction of the buildings she'd marked out as potentially useful occasions. But Gabriella had mentioned discarding a ball and chain. Perhaps it was still near there. Naomi needed a weapon. Just in case someone attacked. But only for that scenario. She didn't intend to attack over more minor incidents again.

She turned back to Cammy and waited for her to hurry up and talk so they could leave and get onto doing something useful.

[Riki]

"That, my dear, is the spirit."

Owen's statement that staying alive was his top priority filled Aileen with delight. It'd be a shame to see him go because he disagreed with any of the girls. Then again, maybe she would have gone with him if he decided to leave. More trustworthy than Naomi or Cammy, after all.

Cammy asked to have some little private chat with Naomi, with the latter agreeing reluctantly. Aileen tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. She wondered why they would need time alone. Maybe they want to make a plan to use Owen and Aileen. Actually, was there possibility for anything else? Aileen heard from this one guy, Aaron Hughes, who used his sweet words to form a group that ended up as gullible pawns for him. But Aileen decided not to be a pawn. Actually, Naomi was some kind of politican, or? She surely was one of these scheming kind of people. Manipulative, ruthless and all that. Aileen was certain now that Naomi at least wanted to abuse Aileen. And Cammy was some kind of henchman or something. Henchwoman. Whatever.

Ha! Jokes on you, Naomi. I will use you faster than you can use me!

Aileen walked a couple steps away. Backwards, focusing her gaze on the girls. Her eyes flickered between Cammy and Naomi. She got to the exit and stopped her, eyes still concentrated on the pair.