((Claire Monaghan continued from Wisteria Lane, After the End))
Claire sat at the bottom of a metal slide and sighed. The announcements had just finished, and it was still hard to believe that some people had chosen to kill. Eight people in their class were already dead, and five people had already committed murder.
Theodore Fletcher, Hansel Williams, Joe Carrasco, Katarina Konipaski, Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer. We have to be careful. They've made it clear they're going to be assholes, and we can't let them take us.
Claire leaned back on the slide and looked up at the sky, putting her hands behind her head and her right leg over her left. It was a nice day, all things considered. She and Kyle had spent the evening in a house in a different side of the Gated Community, and had moved out early, stopping at the Quad to try and think of what to do next.
Claire closed her eyes and sighed.
Amon Goeth has his rifle in position, and we have to make sure we're not in his sights. Not me, not Kyle, not Alex, nor Kyran, Jack, R.J, or anyone else.
How Could I Own a Real Chanel When There's So Much Poverty in the World?
Open
((Kyle Fitzpatrick continued from Wisteria Lane, After the End))
Well. Kyle pushed himself up on the swings as he listened to the announcements. The swings had always helped him to think more clearly when he was a little kid. Too bad that he hadn't kept up with it. It probably would've been more fun then just wandering around and letting his thoughts wander, anyway.
Listening to the announcements themselves was a rather surreal experience. He was never close to anyone mentioned, but they were still his fellow students. He had seen them in the halls, had classes with them, maybe even spoken with a couple of them. And now they were gone. Kyle felt empty inside. He knew that he should probably feel worse about the deaths of eight innocent children, but he couldn't really force any more emotion out of himself. He sighed, holding his legs still and waiting for the swing to stop moving.
After a few moments, he got low enough to stop his movement with his feet. Some sand got in his shoes, which was kind of uncomfortable, but that was pretty low on his list of things to worry about at the moment. He looked at Claire, lying back on the slide.
He wondered if he should just make a break for it now, before she could hurt him. After all, who knew what hidden weapons she had?
On the other hand, there was no guarantee that she wasn't trustworthy. After all, it wasn't like he had much choice of who to side with.
Kyle felt a brief pang of embarrassment as he realized that he was mouthing these arguments to himself. Good thing nobody saw.
After a few moments of contemplation, he walked over to the slide. He couldn't really reach her shoulder from where he was standing, so he gave a short knock on the metal of the slide.
"So, what's the plan now?"
Well. Kyle pushed himself up on the swings as he listened to the announcements. The swings had always helped him to think more clearly when he was a little kid. Too bad that he hadn't kept up with it. It probably would've been more fun then just wandering around and letting his thoughts wander, anyway.
Listening to the announcements themselves was a rather surreal experience. He was never close to anyone mentioned, but they were still his fellow students. He had seen them in the halls, had classes with them, maybe even spoken with a couple of them. And now they were gone. Kyle felt empty inside. He knew that he should probably feel worse about the deaths of eight innocent children, but he couldn't really force any more emotion out of himself. He sighed, holding his legs still and waiting for the swing to stop moving.
After a few moments, he got low enough to stop his movement with his feet. Some sand got in his shoes, which was kind of uncomfortable, but that was pretty low on his list of things to worry about at the moment. He looked at Claire, lying back on the slide.
He wondered if he should just make a break for it now, before she could hurt him. After all, who knew what hidden weapons she had?
On the other hand, there was no guarantee that she wasn't trustworthy. After all, it wasn't like he had much choice of who to side with.
Kyle felt a brief pang of embarrassment as he realized that he was mouthing these arguments to himself. Good thing nobody saw.
After a few moments of contemplation, he walked over to the slide. He couldn't really reach her shoulder from where he was standing, so he gave a short knock on the metal of the slide.
"So, what's the plan now?"
Claire kept her eyes shut tight. Her mind felt like she was flipping channels on a television, spending only three seconds on a channel before continuing to flip.
Eight dead students, Eight of one hundred fifty something, One hundred fifty, One hundred fifty Pokemon, Generation One, Several sequel games, Sequels, Good sequels: Empire, Dark Knight, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Lot of tears shed in Toy Story 3, lots of tears shed here, Lotta tears shed back home, Who would be crying now? Mom, Dad, Emma, Mason, Jessica, Dear god, we never finished writing the screenplay for Corral, Can Jessica possibly finish something like that? Would she even finish something like that? Someone finishing a dead person's project, The Song for the Unification of Europe from Three Colors: Blue composed by Zbigniew Preisner, Patrice's version and Julie's version, Who was really composing? Who is really in charge?
Claire's train of thought was interrupted by a knocking on the slide. Kyle was asking her what to do next. Claire pushed her glasses up on her face and began to rub her eyes.
"To be honest," she said as she moved from rubbing her eyes to rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I have no fucking clue."
Claire pushed her glasses back in place and sat up, turning to Kyle.
"There's frankly too many things we could do and too many things we don't do. We could hide, pray the government finds us or that we can find that magic place where we could wait and be two of the last six students in this game. We could move, either finding allies or running into dangerous people. We could take note of the announcements and try to hunt the players. We could find the dead students and properly bury them. We could make a signal fire to catch a plane or boat. We could even just kill ourselves right now and end it all. There's so many things we could do and I just don't know what our best option is."
Claire ran her hands through her hair, knocking her beret onto the slide behind her.
"I feel so mentally fucked. Goddamn, is this what stress feels like?"
Eight dead students, Eight of one hundred fifty something, One hundred fifty, One hundred fifty Pokemon, Generation One, Several sequel games, Sequels, Good sequels: Empire, Dark Knight, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Lot of tears shed in Toy Story 3, lots of tears shed here, Lotta tears shed back home, Who would be crying now? Mom, Dad, Emma, Mason, Jessica, Dear god, we never finished writing the screenplay for Corral, Can Jessica possibly finish something like that? Would she even finish something like that? Someone finishing a dead person's project, The Song for the Unification of Europe from Three Colors: Blue composed by Zbigniew Preisner, Patrice's version and Julie's version, Who was really composing? Who is really in charge?
Claire's train of thought was interrupted by a knocking on the slide. Kyle was asking her what to do next. Claire pushed her glasses up on her face and began to rub her eyes.
"To be honest," she said as she moved from rubbing her eyes to rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I have no fucking clue."
Claire pushed her glasses back in place and sat up, turning to Kyle.
"There's frankly too many things we could do and too many things we don't do. We could hide, pray the government finds us or that we can find that magic place where we could wait and be two of the last six students in this game. We could move, either finding allies or running into dangerous people. We could take note of the announcements and try to hunt the players. We could find the dead students and properly bury them. We could make a signal fire to catch a plane or boat. We could even just kill ourselves right now and end it all. There's so many things we could do and I just don't know what our best option is."
Claire ran her hands through her hair, knocking her beret onto the slide behind her.
"I feel so mentally fucked. Goddamn, is this what stress feels like?"
Kyle watch dispassionately as the beret fell. He didn't really know what he was expecting when he asked for a plan, but he supposed that he gotten the best response possible, given the circumstances. It didn't make him feel any less awkward about it. He scratched his head. What could they possibly do to make a difference in such a hopeless situation?
First of all, trying for an escape was most likely out of the question. There was nobody besides the federal government with the power to fight against these terrorists, and Kyle didn't exactly trust the government to effectively perform a rescue a second time. Hunting players was probably impossible as well, seeing as neither he nor Claire had any sort of useful weapon. He was taking enough chances with her as it is, and he didn't trust that they'd find any other useful allies either. Still, there was one option that intrigued him.
Burying bodies. Kyle had as little desire to be around dead people as the next guy, but it couldn't hurt to show the dead some last respects. It's not like anybody else would.
Movement caught the corner of Kyle's eye as a stiff breeze blew in. He took a few steps after the now moving beret and handed it back to Claire.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to give the dead something of a funeral. To give them some final dignity, you know? We just need a shovel or something."
First of all, trying for an escape was most likely out of the question. There was nobody besides the federal government with the power to fight against these terrorists, and Kyle didn't exactly trust the government to effectively perform a rescue a second time. Hunting players was probably impossible as well, seeing as neither he nor Claire had any sort of useful weapon. He was taking enough chances with her as it is, and he didn't trust that they'd find any other useful allies either. Still, there was one option that intrigued him.
Burying bodies. Kyle had as little desire to be around dead people as the next guy, but it couldn't hurt to show the dead some last respects. It's not like anybody else would.
Movement caught the corner of Kyle's eye as a stiff breeze blew in. He took a few steps after the now moving beret and handed it back to Claire.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to give the dead something of a funeral. To give them some final dignity, you know? We just need a shovel or something."
Claire sighed and placed her hands on her lap. There was too much going on in her mind at the moment, and she wasn't sure which option would be the best one to go with.
She opened her eyes when Kyle walked up to her and handed her the beret. Claire took the beret from him as he mentioned that he was somewhat partial to the idea of burying the dead students. As she placed the beret on her head and adjusted it, she thought about the idea, placing her right hand on her chin.
Well, we would have to find a shovel. There are probably a few places that do have shovels. Maybe there's a garden shed with one of these homes.
Claire put her hands on her knees and cleared her throat.
"Okay, I guess we can do that. It's an action of nonviolence and a big 'fuck you' to the assholes behind this game. Still, we do have to find shovels, as well as the bodies. Then we need to figure out how to bury the bodies, if they are in places that can be buried, and what kind of marker we leave on their grave. That means we'll need shovels for two, a way to move the bodies, probably something to cover them with like a blanket or tarp, as well as a way to mark their burial site."
Claire closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.
"Maybe we should just go for cremation instead. Then we can maybe signal a ship or plane or something."
She opened her eyes when Kyle walked up to her and handed her the beret. Claire took the beret from him as he mentioned that he was somewhat partial to the idea of burying the dead students. As she placed the beret on her head and adjusted it, she thought about the idea, placing her right hand on her chin.
Well, we would have to find a shovel. There are probably a few places that do have shovels. Maybe there's a garden shed with one of these homes.
Claire put her hands on her knees and cleared her throat.
"Okay, I guess we can do that. It's an action of nonviolence and a big 'fuck you' to the assholes behind this game. Still, we do have to find shovels, as well as the bodies. Then we need to figure out how to bury the bodies, if they are in places that can be buried, and what kind of marker we leave on their grave. That means we'll need shovels for two, a way to move the bodies, probably something to cover them with like a blanket or tarp, as well as a way to mark their burial site."
Claire closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.
"Maybe we should just go for cremation instead. Then we can maybe signal a ship or plane or something."
Well, at least now they had somewhat of a plan. Kyle wasn't yet ready to accept death, but if he had to, he'd at least prefer to spend his final days doing something worthwhile. The supplies would be tricky to find, but not impossible. He looked up for a moment before turning his gaze back to Claire.
"Alright. I suppose we can decide what to do with the bodies once we find some supplies.
Without waiting for a response, he bent down and searched through his bag for his map. There was sure to be some sort of place to find a shovel or something. After a few terse seconds, he located the map beneath a couple of water bottles. He pulled it out and unfolded it, making sure it was in a position that Claire could easily read from.
There were several places that could possibly hold supplies, but the closest one seemed to be the local shopping mall. The terrorist certainly couldn't have emptied out all of the hardware stores, could they? He looked back up at Claire.
"How about the shopping mall? We might be able to find what we need there."
"Alright. I suppose we can decide what to do with the bodies once we find some supplies.
Without waiting for a response, he bent down and searched through his bag for his map. There was sure to be some sort of place to find a shovel or something. After a few terse seconds, he located the map beneath a couple of water bottles. He pulled it out and unfolded it, making sure it was in a position that Claire could easily read from.
There were several places that could possibly hold supplies, but the closest one seemed to be the local shopping mall. The terrorist certainly couldn't have emptied out all of the hardware stores, could they? He looked back up at Claire.
"How about the shopping mall? We might be able to find what we need there."
Kyle seemed a little uncertain about how they deal with the bodies, but he recommended that they try and find supplies at the shopping center. Claire put her fist to her chin and closed her eyes.
A mall would have a lot of supplies. Probably could bury and cremate people with enough supplies there. Then again, having a one-shop-stop of all supplies on this island would probably entice a ton of people over there. Some people might be packing real fucking heat, running out with carts full of dangerous materials, like it's a Survival of the Fittest Black Friday sale. No, we might have to be a bit more clever. We might have to go to areas with low traffic.
Claire opened her eyes.
"I think the mall might not be the best place for us to go right now," she told her companion. "There might be a lot of people there, and since it's clear that some people are going to be playing, there's a chance some people are gonna wanna defend themselves."
Claire stood up and pointed to some of the nearby houses.
"There are a ton of homes here, and judging by the state of them, they were probably top real estate when this island was inhabited. Some of these folks probably had groundskeepers and personal maids. I bet any of these homes have some garden sheds full of tools like shovels and pick axes, and there's probably some kerosene and rags we could use. We might even find some matches or lighters inside these houses."
Claire held her right hand to her face and pushed her glasses up with her middle finger. It was in moments like these she felt really intelligent and clever, like a glare on her glasses would obscure her eyes and a dramatic sting would play in the background.
"I think we should start with our immediate area, then maybe spread out until we think we're adequately prepared to go to work," she announced, smirking.
A mall would have a lot of supplies. Probably could bury and cremate people with enough supplies there. Then again, having a one-shop-stop of all supplies on this island would probably entice a ton of people over there. Some people might be packing real fucking heat, running out with carts full of dangerous materials, like it's a Survival of the Fittest Black Friday sale. No, we might have to be a bit more clever. We might have to go to areas with low traffic.
Claire opened her eyes.
"I think the mall might not be the best place for us to go right now," she told her companion. "There might be a lot of people there, and since it's clear that some people are going to be playing, there's a chance some people are gonna wanna defend themselves."
Claire stood up and pointed to some of the nearby houses.
"There are a ton of homes here, and judging by the state of them, they were probably top real estate when this island was inhabited. Some of these folks probably had groundskeepers and personal maids. I bet any of these homes have some garden sheds full of tools like shovels and pick axes, and there's probably some kerosene and rags we could use. We might even find some matches or lighters inside these houses."
Claire held her right hand to her face and pushed her glasses up with her middle finger. It was in moments like these she felt really intelligent and clever, like a glare on her glasses would obscure her eyes and a dramatic sting would play in the background.
"I think we should start with our immediate area, then maybe spread out until we think we're adequately prepared to go to work," she announced, smirking.
Kyle blinked. He hadn't expected her to disagree with him. Well, really, he didn't know what he had expected. He wasn't exactly used to making plans with other people. There was no garauntee that the houses were abandoned either, but Kyle kept his mouth shut. Best to avoid argument, anyway.
You're going to regret that once she kills you.
Kyle forced himself to ignore the possibilities running through his head. As uncomfortable as she made him, it just wouldn't do to alienate his only ally, if he could call her that. He looked down, his head as he thought. They never finished searching the houses, anyway. Maybe they could find something useful. He looked back up at Claire.
"Well, I guess that sounds like a good idea. I'm ready to go when you are. We should probably get working quickly, because those bodies are going to start piling up fast."
He forced his face into an awkward smile after he finished speaking. He didn't want to appear too creepy, anyway.
You're going to regret that once she kills you.
Kyle forced himself to ignore the possibilities running through his head. As uncomfortable as she made him, it just wouldn't do to alienate his only ally, if he could call her that. He looked down, his head as he thought. They never finished searching the houses, anyway. Maybe they could find something useful. He looked back up at Claire.
"Well, I guess that sounds like a good idea. I'm ready to go when you are. We should probably get working quickly, because those bodies are going to start piling up fast."
He forced his face into an awkward smile after he finished speaking. He didn't want to appear too creepy, anyway.
Claire smirked as Kyle agreed to her plan. She didn't know this guy that well, but she was glad that she could get along with him very well and formulate plans that he agreed with. He might become very valuable in the days to come.
"Well, alright then," she said, standing up.
Claire swung her bag over her shoulder and pointed off in the distance.
"We should start with the nearest houses. I say we check the backyards and see if any of them have garden sheds. Remember: shovels, gasoline, tarps. If any danger appears, we just get the fuck out of there."
Claire turned to Kyle and flashed a smile.
"Our journey will be tough and full of many perils, but I think we can survive this. Now, let's begin."
Claire began to walk away from the Quad. Their task was one that would be physically demanding and unlikely to be completed in time, but they had a duty to their classmates. They deserved better then what the terrorists had given them.
((Claire Monaghan continued in Un Coeur en Hiver))
"Well, alright then," she said, standing up.
Claire swung her bag over her shoulder and pointed off in the distance.
"We should start with the nearest houses. I say we check the backyards and see if any of them have garden sheds. Remember: shovels, gasoline, tarps. If any danger appears, we just get the fuck out of there."
Claire turned to Kyle and flashed a smile.
"Our journey will be tough and full of many perils, but I think we can survive this. Now, let's begin."
Claire began to walk away from the Quad. Their task was one that would be physically demanding and unlikely to be completed in time, but they had a duty to their classmates. They deserved better then what the terrorists had given them.
((Claire Monaghan continued in Un Coeur en Hiver))
So it was decided. Kyle folded the map up and put it in his bag. He sighed before looking around one last time. If somebody asked him a couple weeks ago how he expected to spend his last days, he would never have said that he would be burying everyone who had died first. But here he was.
Kyle's legs cracked as he stood up. No point feeling sorry for himself now. He gathered up his things and began following slowly after Claire towards the residential area. All they needed was a shovel or two, then they could get to work.
This was going to be a long week.
((Kyle Fitzpatrick continued in Un Coeur en Hiver)
Kyle's legs cracked as he stood up. No point feeling sorry for himself now. He gathered up his things and began following slowly after Claire towards the residential area. All they needed was a shovel or two, then they could get to work.
This was going to be a long week.
((Kyle Fitzpatrick continued in Un Coeur en Hiver)