Ducks Love Fireworks

A medium sized duck pond is in the middle of the park. Old row boats are still tied to the edges of the pond. There are stands near the edge of the pond that advertise birdseed, and there is a sign near the water that says swimming is prohibited.
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JamesRenard†
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#16

Post by JamesRenard† »

Luca hated to admit it, but Bianca was right. Focusing solely on the negative was not the best way to go about things in this kind of situation. I gotta stay calm, gotta stay focused. Losing my temper out here is just going to get me killed.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right about that, sorry. I should be alright for aspirin by the way, I probably have some in my own kit. And as for my shoulder, I crashed into a cyclist. Knee was hurt as well, that's still a little sore as well. Oh, this didn't happen here. This all happened about a week ago when I was back..." Luca trailed off, suddenly feeling an emptiness in his stomach as he continued to speak. "When I was back home."

Wow... home. That was painful to think about. Holy crap, am I even going to see home again? Or my family?

Luca was then fortunately distracted from his thoughts by Adonis speaking to him again. And if he was trying to apologise to Luca for his earlier laughing fit, he was doing a pretty bad job of it.

"Yeah, well, it's all I got. Better get used to it," Luca simply stated to Adonis in an even tone, then turned back to Bianca. "But yeah, what he said. I want to know what kind of fireworks you got as well, so we see what you can do with them." He paused for a moment, a thought going through his head. "Say... do you suppose we could attract attention with the right kind of firework? Use it like a flare or something, attract a passing ship or plane or something?"

Someone then called out to the group from off to the side. Luca whipped his head round to face the newcomer and instinctively raised his lightsaber like a baseball bat - like it would do anything. He saw a kid with dark red hair, identifying himself as Garrett. I swear I've seen that guy around before, doesn't he go running or something? Whoever this guy was, he seemed to be dragging something that just peeked out from behind the shrubbery.

"Hey, we're all good here. What's that you got there?" Luca asked loudly.
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Arscapi†
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#17

Post by Arscapi† »

Bianca smiled becomingly at the two boys whose attention she held. Who would have thought that the mystery of fireworks would generate this much interest? She didn't mind at all being the center of attention. In fact, she preferred it. Bianca definitely felt the most comfortable here. She thought over what Luca had said, but before she could answer another voice called from the bushes.

Bianca pouted prettily as the newcomer stole Luca's attention. Well, that didn't last very long. Bianca placed her hand on her hip as she surveyed the newcomer. She recognized Garrett from the water polo team almost instantly. She didn't know him well, he kept mostly to himself. What was with people hiding in the bushes around here? It was really starting to get creepy. And what was he dragging behind him? Was it a gun? What in the world did you use it for, and how do you even fire it?

She cleared her throat hoping to recapture the boys' attention. "I have roman candles," she said. "I'm not sure they'd act as flares, unless we could see the ship or the plane."
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#18

Post by Aura »

As Adonis watched Biance go through her bag, someone suddenly called out to them.  He looked up for a second to see where the voice was coming from.  It was some guy named Garrett, who told them not to shoot.  Adonis scoffed at this.  How were they supposed to shoot when none of them had a gun?  This guy must have just arrived, since there was no way he could have missed the laughing fit that he had over the toy lightsaber a couple minutes beforehand.

Adonis turned his attention back to Bianca, who turned out to have roman candles as her weapon.  He chuckled. "Nice.  You could probably shoot someone with those like an old Tom and Jerry cartoon if you wanted to."  He had to admit, they might not be the best weapons to have, but he sure as hell wouldn't want to mess with someone that was pointing a roman candle at him.

He looked back to see if Garrett had come out of the bushes yet.  Sure enough, he had.  The guy looked to be dressed oddly nice for what was supposed to have been a trip to Disneyland, and those nice clothes sure as hell weren't going to help him out on the island.  Adonis changed his tune once he looked down and saw Garrett dragging what appeared to be a shotgun behind him.  He had already dealt with one of those today, and he didn't want to see another one so soon.  He pointed at the gun and tried to sound tough, but still had a twinge in his voice as he spoke.

"Hey, what the hell is that?"
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LoneArcher†
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#19

Post by LoneArcher† »

He didn't see a gun on anyone. It was immediate relief that at the very least, it didn't look like anyone had a gun.

But there was Adonis. Garrett had never really talked much to Adonis, but then again he never really wanted to. He was big, tough, and assuredly intimidating. It was then that the first realization hit him, and it took all his mental power to suppress it. He wasn't the type of kid that would come out of this alive. The kids that survived these things were strong, fast, and smart. They were remarkable, or forced to become remarkable. They were Adonis. If he had struggled finding a place for himself within a competition-less high school, how was he--

Luca shouted a question, forcing Garrett to shake his worries off. Worrying about the end would get him nowhere. Worrying about the end was something people who survived didn't do.

"It's my weapon. Is that a lightsaber? It doesn't work, does it?"

That was a stupid question. They were going to think he was stupid. He clenched his jaw and tried to appear powerful.

"This is stupid. No one's taking this seriously, right? Wasn't this supposed to be over?"

And never missing a beat, the flood of anxiety returned. In a few days, everyone he was looking at would be dead, with the possible exception of one person. Even if it were just the four of them, he didn't think he could win. There'd be no way. Bianca could blow everyone up or Adonis could beat the shit out of everyone before he could even position his gun. What the fuck was he supposed to do with almost two hundred other students? There was no winning.

"No one's actually... right?"
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#20

Post by JamesRenard† »

Luca turned back to face Bianca as she announced what kind of fireworks she had on her. Roman candles? Damn, I was hoping we'd got rockets or something else like that. Luca was a little disappointed with Bianca's luck of the draw, but it was better than nothing. "Hmmm... I'll be honest, not the kind of fireworks I was hoping for," he said, "though I guess it's better than firecrackers or those pathetic little snakes. It's something we can probably work with."

Garrett then called out and grabbed Luca's attention once more, explaining that the large item with him was ideed his weapon. Before Luca could ask him what that weapon actually was, the newcomer beat him to the punch and asked if Luca's weapon actually worked. The blond opened his mouth to respond, but the question was so... so dumb that he found himself struggling to find an appropriate answer.

Is... is this kid for frickin' real?

Luca sighed and rolled his eyes at the ridiculous comment. "Yes, this thing works," he responded with a voice that dripped with sarcasm. "In fact, I'm going to slice my hand off with the blade right now." Luca then proceeded to swing the lightsaber back and forth, smacking the green plastic pole lightly against his left wrist. "Of course it doesn't work," Luca continued, looking back up at Garrett. "It's just a crappy piece of plastic. And if I was taking this seriously and trying to kill anyone I see - and that's to say I'm not - then I would be quite the moron for thinking I could do anything of value with this."
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#21

Post by Arscapi† »

"That's a thought," Bianca said at Adonis' comment about how she could potentially make a weapon out of her roman candles. She nodded at Luca's comment. "What type were you hoping for? I'm just glad I didn't get the kind that scream; I hate those." Before the conversation could continue the newcomer made his way to them.

Bianca bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at Luca's sarcasm. She didn't really want to piss anyone off, but it really had been a lame question. Bianca reached out and put a gentle hand on Luca's arm. "Easy, he admitted that it was a stupid question. He's probably just a little scared and out of sorts just like the rest of us."

She gave the newcomer one of her most charming smiles. "If you're asking if we're planning on murdering you because you came out of the bushes I think I can speak for the guys and so no that's not going to happen. You're safe, unless there's other people hiding in the bushes. As far as taking it seriously, I'm pretty sure this is a serious situation, and we'd be foolish to not be worried and start looking over our shoulders."
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#22

Post by Aura »

Adonis didn't even take the time to laugh at Garrett's crack about that stupid lightsaber.  All he was focused on was that damn gun he had with him.  Normally, Adonis viewed himself as the kind of guy that wasn't afraid of anything, but that gun... it scared him.  He supposed that it had something to do with his getting held at gunpoint by the cowboy earlier, or perhaps it was just because it was a gun, and humans were just naturally supposed to be afraid of them.  Whatever it was, he just didn't like it.

Garrett didn't seem to want any trouble, but Adonis wasn't too trusting.  In his opinion, someone that didn't want trouble wouldn't have a gun in his hand.  Still, he was trying not to rock the boat too hard for his own sake, so he just tried to roll with it.

"Yeah, we're cool.  None of us are playing, so can you just... put that shit away, man?  I really don't feel like putting up with any shotguns right now."
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LoneArcher†
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#23

Post by LoneArcher† »

He didn't know why, but he was getting more anxious by the second. The way the three of them were talking, the way they were moving, the nonchalant discussion of weapons. What were they planning? Were they planning anything? How could they be so calm? He surveyed the three of them, still trying to seem as calm as possible and likely failing. There wasn't a good way out of the situation. None that he could see at least. They seemed to know each other reasonably well, but Garrett only knew their names and faces. If he tried to approach them, he'd have to drag his damn gun along with him. And either way, there was no point. Best case scenario, he got on their good side, made it to the end and then what? He'd still be screwed. He'd still be stuck with absolutely no combat experience, no wits about him, and his goddamn blazer.

This was a dead end. He knew no matter which way he turned, he'd run into another dead end. But at least he'd still be running.

"There's no winning."

"If you're asking if we're planning on murdering you because you came out of the bushes I think I can speak for the guys and so no that's not going to happen."

Hardly reassuring.

Adonis made a comment about Garrett's gun making him glance feverishly in the direction of his fingers. One shot. That's all it'd take. It was a stupid decision. Only an idiot would do it. But he'd be an idiot that would be alive. He had never handled one himself, but by the size of it and the sheer circumference of the barrel, Garrett could be sure it would do what he needed it to do. It was stupid. This was stupid. He was stupid. Then again, he'd always been. Brushing the thoughts of doubt that swelled up in his mind, he exhaled and focused on the three in front of him.

"I'm going."

Garrett pulled the trigger and the world around him disintegrated from his view. He had shot right where the barrel had been resting near the bushes pointing at the ground. Plumes of dirt and dust swirled around him, the massive spread displacing bits of earth beside him and sending him off his feet. He had expected recoil but he obviously had never fired a gun as large as that.

"Shit! Fuck!"

His arm hurt. His back hurt. His head hurt. The deafening sound from the shotgun rang in his ears endlessly and as he finally caught his wind he remembered what he had planned to do. Run. Run. Run. He tried to grab the punt gun and sprint as fast as he could, but after a couple of seconds he gave up. It was too heavy and the dust was already settling. He let go of the weapon in favor of his daypack and sprinted as fast as he could.

Stupid. Ridiculously stupid. But at least he knew he was alive.

((B010 Garrett Cobbler continued in And God Said...))
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#24

Post by Arscapi† »

(Skipping because this is the end of day 11 for me and I'm potentially going to be away next week.)

Bianca honestly couldn't figure out what was making this kid so jumpy. None of them had made a remotely threatening move towards him. And she was pretty sure that he'd woken up here, like she had. It wouldn't have been easy for him to sneak in, not carrying that weapon. Bianca had just decided that she didn't trust him when he announced he was leaving.

She jumped and let out a short scream as the ground behind him exploded. She automatically took a step backwards trying to get away from him. Bianca put her hand to her chest, trying to still her racing heart as she watched him sprint away.

Bianca couldn't say anything for a few seconds. "Okay, what was that please," she demanded when her brain had calmed down enough to form a coherent sentence.

She walked over to the abandoned gun and pushed in gently with her foot.  
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#25

Post by JamesRenard† »

((I am so sorry for how long this took to put up))

There was something about Garrett that didn't seem quite right, but Luca was unable to place his finger on it. It was at times like these that he truly envied those conspiracy theorists who posted videos online while noting down strange behaviours, explaining just why those people in those videos were lying/faking and were not to be believed. Those people had got reading people down to an art, able to pinpoint things like hand movements, gestures, microexpressions, etc.

Luca was trying to do the same with Garrett, but wasn't having much luck. He seemed pretty nervous, but that was totally understandable given that anyone hostile could just emerge from the bushes at any moment and pop a cap in his head.

We're unarmed ourselves, so that's not the best thing to think of.

Garrett was looking down at what turned out to be his gun (what the Hell kind of gun is that?), which would have sounded some alarm bells in his head had it not been for the sheer size of it. The barrel looked to be longer than Luca was tall, making it far too unwieldy for the other boy. If he was having difficulty pulling it from the bushes, how was he supposed to shoot it effectively? Garrett, man, you officially have a crappier weapon than mine. Congratulations.

Garrett then suddenly announced he was leaving. "Oh," was all Luca said towards him, actually a little surprised by his decision. The three of them had all told Garrett that they weren't going to harm him, so he didn't really get what the problem was. Not sure what we did to scare-

The trigger on the punt gun was pulled and the booming gunshot that immediately followed drowned out Luca's thoughts. "Holy fuck!" he cried out at the top of his voice as the soil around Garrett and the gun simply evaporated, the boy suddenly obscured in a massive dust cloud that billowed outwards. Bits of earth, dirt and leaves rained down on Luca, some minute particles getting into his eyes and temporarily blinding him.

By the time Luca was able to wipe and blink the dirt out of his eyes, the dust veil was starting to dissipate and Garrett had already sprinted away, leaving the three of them to wonder just what had happened in the past ten or so seconds. Luca's heart was now pounding in his chest like never before, and his ears rung. "I'm not even sure I want to know," Luca replied to Bianca's question. He breathed heavily still, then coughed loudly as he inhaled some lingering dirt. One thing was for certain though; Luca had never been so frightened in his entire life.

"Guys, I-I think we should think about moving out from here," Luca suggested, his clammy fist clenched tightly around the handle of his plastic lightsaber. "That's bound to have attracted some unwanted attention, surely?"
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Aura
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#26

Post by Aura »

Adonis was seriously getting creeped out by Garrett, who was still just standing there with his gun in his hand, looking at them.  Somehow, Adonis thought that that was creepier than it would've been if he had just been waving his gun around and shouting.  At least then he would've know what Garrett was up to.

Adonis saw Garrett pull the trigger on his gun, despite it not pointing at anything from what he could see, and was caught off guard by a loud gunshot that sounded very much like an explosion.  He stood there, as if his feet were frozen to the ground, and saw as Garrett disappeared into a massive dust cloud.

Once the shock of what he had just witnessed cleared up, Adonis took a few steps back.  He didn't want to be there anymore, not after seeing that.  Bianca and the other guy had started talking about leaving, and he decided to voice his opinion on the matter.

"Fuck this, I'm out of here.  I don't give a shit what you guys do, but I'm not sticking around here after... whatever that was."

Adonis turned around and started to leave.  He began at sort of a jogging pace, but quickened his pace within a few steps, eventually reaching a full-bodied run.  He just wanted to get out of there.  He didn't care where he ended up, as long as it wasn't where he was now.

((Adonis Alba continued elsewhere...))
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Arscapi†
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#27

Post by Arscapi† »

"Well, it looks like it's just you and me," Bianca told Luca as she watched Adonis head off in the opposite direction. "Where were you thinking of going?"


She looked down at the giant gun that lay on the ground before her. "Seriously, what is this," she asked. Bianca was just making conversation now, she didn't want to be left alone here. It was fine when she woke up, but now that she'd found people, she really didn't like the idea of being all alone. Especially in the wake of Garrett's actions. If he was willing to fire his weapon just because they'd made conversation, what was happening with the rest of her classmates?


Bianca bit her lip in uncertainty, she cursed whoever it was that decided this was a good idea. She'd been happy in her neatly ordered Seattle world. She'd worked hard in school and in sports and was happily enjoying her status as one of the in-crowd. Bianca should be worrying about which of the colleges she should go to, not standing by an empty duck pond staring at an enormous gun and the hole it'd made.
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#28

Post by JamesRenard† »

Luca would have cussed Adonis out for abandoning them, but he was running far too quickly for him to hear anything. Goddamnit, Adonis, there was no need for you to leave us behind like that!

"Where I'm going? Anywhere that isn't here, that's for sure," Luca replied, tapping the lightsaber against his leg in frustration. His nerves were calming down, but his ears were still ringing a touch after that explosion (he couldn't call it a gunshot, not when it practically blew a crater into the ground). With each passing second, he became angier with Garrett. He'd scared them half to death and caused Adonis to leave. And for what? It still mystified Luca why he pulled the trigger anyway when it wasn't even pointing at them. Kid must've been crazy.

"So, did you want to head towards the shoreline and see if we can use one of your fireworks? Keep a lookout for any boats and fire a roman candle off if we see one?" Luca suggested, watching Bianca as she approached the huge gun. "I have no idea what that thing is, but whatever it is, I don't know if the two of us can carry it around well. Maybe if Adonis was still here..."

Yeah, he wasn't going to let that one go.

He walked towards Bianca and the punt gun, a little smoke still escaping from the end of its ginormous barrel. "Do you think we can manage it?" he asked.
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#29

Post by Arscapi† »

"I don't even know it it's worth it," Bianca said as she stepped away from the gun.  "I don't know how many shots it has, but it's not like we could aim it. I guess if we were going to stay put we could prop it up on something. If nothing else it would scare the crap out of somebody. Maybe we should do it anyway, might discourage anyone from following us."

Bianca stepped over to her bag, pulled the map from it, and consulted it. "I don't know the beaches seem kind of far away. Maybe we should just head into town."

She brought the map over to him. "What do you think?"
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#30

Post by JamesRenard† »

"Well, we're not staying put, not after the racket this thing made," Luca said, gently kicking the barrel with his foot. "I guess this is staying where it is and how it is. I just hope a group doesn't come along and try to use it." He walked next to Bianca and tried to check out her map as well. Unfortunately, due to his long-sightedness, the map appeared blurred and the text was just unreadable. Reading it was a sheer impossability.

"Hold on, I need to get my glasses out my bag to look at this," he said, rummaging through his pack to search for his spectacle case. He found it, pulled out his glasses and put them on. At once, everything on the map sharpened into focus and he was finally able to read it properly.

"Ah, yeah, the town sounds pretty good," he agreed, nodding his head and examining the map further. "The northern part of town is practically on the coast anyway. If we can get up onto one of the houses or buildings, or just get to any higher place nearer the coast, those candles will be a lot more effective in signalling for help."

He removed his glasses and looked around, trying to see if any other students were lurking around nearby. "We should get going quick, before anyone else comes running," he said, starting to walk away in the direction of the town.

((Luca Johanssen continued in Leap of Faith))
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