Born as Ghosts

[Ares]

((continued from A Fallen Comrade))

Rob wandered back into the park, the spot where he had made the mistake of leaving Matt to chase Felix. Rob pushed thoughts of Matt out of his head as he glanced around.  He hadn't really looked at the park when he had been. There was a fountain, see-saw, and a rather large jungle gym. From what he could tell there was no one around.

"Fuck..." Rob gasped.  His shoulder had decided to remind him he had been shot.

Grasping his shoulder in pain, Rob felt the dampness of the bandage which indicated it needed to be changed. He decided the jungle gym would provide some minor cover while he made the switch.

Rob arrived on the jungle gym, and quickly scampered up to the top tier which was partially shield with a plastic wall, one of those ones with the steering wheels he'd seen kids playing with at the parks in Jersey. Rob pulled back the used bandage and looked at his wound.

Dammit.

The wound looked pretty bad, and it was obvious that it was becoming infected. Rob rummaged again through his overly crowded bag and found a bottle half-filled with water. He unscrewed the cap and began to slowly run the water into the wound. Wincing at the stinging it brought on. Once a good portion of the blood was off, he applied his last bandage. It went on a little faster this time around. Then came the voice that Rob had grown accustomed to hating for the last week.

Once it was over Rob felt even worse. Matt had shot someone Rob didn't know, but worse yet, one of the girls he had left Matt with did indeed turn out to be his killer.

The dangerzones didn't affect Rob as he had been floating between the hospital, school and park over the last day anyways, and he was still safe as long as he stayed in the park.

Yeah, safe until someone else comes. I need to be ready. I'm not a fighter, I'm not a "good" killer, but damn it, I won't die without a fight

[Mitsuko2†]

((From: Heart Of A Devil))

Mariavel looked at her surroundings. This place was somewhere she'd never been during the last week on the island. She was quite surprised; she'd thought she'd been everywhere. Mariavel sauntered in, rifle at the ready in case some idiot decided to try to take her life. She wandered over to the park's fountain. The water was red. Red as blood. Had she known that this was where Lavender Heart had been assaulted, she might have cried.

She began to search around the park quietly. She kept the rifle steady, ready to kill anyone in her path. Even if she'd rather let them kill her. She sighed when she figured no one was around. She turned her head and smiled slightly. At the top of the Jungle gym she could barely make out the form of a person. Great, now she had to fight... she had no choice. She had to keep telling herself that.

She lifted the rifle and fired a warning shot at the bottom bars of the Jungle Gym. It made a loud clang when the bullet came in contact with the steel bars. She smiled at the startled person, and walked closer.

"Hello! Who might you be? Isn't this grand? Only ten of us left... and after this... only nine, because you won't be leaving here alive, Hun." She chuckled. "I am Mariavel Varella... your executioner."

[Ares]

((OOC: Little recommended listening for most of this thread, "One Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children))

The bullet struck the bars below Rob with a few loud pings

Then came the voice. That voice that so many people on this island had heard before dying. Rob ducked down to avoid any higher shots, quickly placing the Saiga 12 on the ground. It was useless to use the Saiga since he now realized it would be to difficult to maneuver it in the close quarters.  Placing his desert eagle into the back of his pants, and putting one of his two remaining clips in the H&K 53, while the last clip was pocketed, Rob realized this was it.

Mariavel fucking Varella...God damn it. I know, I did say I have to hunt the killers to win, but why did I have to run into the person who likes to kill first?

Rob peeked through a small gap and could see the girl approaching. Even in the dim light of the morning he could make out a far away look in the girl's eyes. Her face showed the sick emotion of a murderer, but the eyes were just emotionless. There was another emotion building, but it wasn't coming from Mariavel, it was coming from Rob. A hatred, burning for this girl. Rob had indeed killed twice on this island, once in cold blood, but this girl, had taken around a dozen lives. She had nothing. She was a waste now. The rage decided to make itself vocal.

"Who might I be? My name is of no concern to you. You call yourself my executioner eh? Like all those other people you killed? You may kill me, but what the fuck do you have to gain? You're a fucking murderer Mariavel, you played this game and killed willingly. Are you going to go home, walk in the front door, smile like some stupid angel and say 'Daddy, Mommy I'm home!' and expect them to come give you a nice big hug and some chocolate chip fucking cookies? Well I'll tell you what, you think I'm going to lay back take a bullet from you, you're dead fucking wrong."  Rob paused. He knew she had an advantage on him skill wise, but Rob knew he could outplay her mentally, and so he continued his speech, all the while prepping his right arm, "I do have something to win for. I won't go home knowing that in cold blood, I destroyed nearly a dozen families. Though, I don't think I'll have a problem destroying yours!"

With the last word Rob popped up, swung his H&K 53 to the girl's direction and pulled back the trigger.

[Mitsuko2†]

Mariavel heard the bang and pop of the gun as the bullet soared towards her. It skimmed her shoulder and made her cry out in pain. Foolish boy... She'd just kill him and take that gun away. He didn't know anything. He really didn't... Mariavel had nothing to go back to. She had no home. No family that loved her... Nothing. It was not his place to make such assumptions. She hated people like him. He reminded her of the Sisterhood. Always assuming people had the same kind of lives as them. Disgusting. She glared at the boy.

"You assume I care about anything you just said. You're foolish. To think that I even want to go home... Damn fool. Even if I were to win, I'd never go back to that hell! You really think that everyone has a family that cares about them?! I don't! My parents took everything from me! My brother, my life! I have nothing left... That's why I have no problem taking your lives! Because you all have everything that I never did!" She screamed. This was the reason she fought... they all had the nerve to flaunt their happy lives at her.

She pointed the rifle at his enclosed space and fired repeatedly. The rifle was self-loading, so she didn't even have to worry about stopping her assault. The boy's only chance to survive was to leave his perch and come out in the open, exactly where she wanted him.

[Ares]

Thats right, spend your ammo. I still got half a clip and one waiting for you.

Problem now was that Rob was trapped. His best bet would be to cover fire blind and make for the trees. He stood a better chance against the girl with the cover of nature.

"Boo hoo princess. Learn that things aren't handed to you. I'll agree, those people are unworthy of what they have, but that is no excuse to splatter their guts over the ground on live tv?  Oh, maybe thats it? You think of this contest as a way to show off your acting skills? Hope to get some exposure?"

The sun was beginning to shine down on the park, and Rob had to move. Get the girl to follow him to the forest. Taking a quick glance, all he could do was break for the fountain, then hope to God she didn't have any grenades or something. If he could get to the fountain, he could get to the forest.

Making one last quick switch, Rob reached down and grabbed the Saiga 12 along with the last 6 shots for the shotty that he had in his bag.  Pocketing the extra ammo and keeping as low as he could, he make a dash for the slide, one of those complete tube ones. The exit of the slide spat him out on the far side from Mariavel of the jungle gym.  Taking one deep breath, Rob rose and turned the Saiga, aiming in the general direction of the girl. He began his dash, firing in a quick rhythm.

[Mitsuko2†]

Mariavel looked confused as the boy disappeared for a fraction of a second. She'd used a quarter of her magazine to get him off of his perch, she decided the pistol would be easier to work with under these new conditions. She threw the rifle to the side and pulled the pistol from her pants. A sudden blast alerted her of his presence. Now the boy was armed with a Shotgun. Not good.

Mariavel sprinted out of the was as he sent another shell twoards her. The blast nicked the back of her calf, but she didn't feel it. She scooped up the rifle and made a beeline for the fountain, where the boy was headed. She dumped the daypack and the rifle behind a statue and heard another shell go off in her wake. She sprinted from behind the statue and ran at the boy, firing the pistol at him repeatedly.

"Die you bastard!"

[Ares]

"Urgh!" Rob grunted as one of the bullets found its target. It hit Rob in the right rib cage. He could feel his warm blood begin to seep out on to his stomach and stain itself on his shirt. Despite the shot, Rob was able to dive and roll behind the safety of the fountain.

Quickly catching his breath, he planned his next move. It had to be fast, for he could hear Mariavel's footsteps as she continued her chase. The park's forest was just a short dash away, and Rob was the faster runner.

"Go!" He screamed to himself, as he rose, turning to fire a shot at his on comer. He ran full speed for the forest, emptying the last two shots of the Saiga 12 in her direction for cover.

He made it to the bushes, running about 10 yards in, dashing between trees before finally dropping himself low behind some small bushes. His ribs were screaming in pain from the wound and the running. This let him know that despite his superior speed, he could not continue to cover fire and out run the girl.

He took the brief time he'd given himself to reload the last 6 shots he had into the Saiga, before turning to see if the girl was still in hot pursuit.

[Mitsuko2†]

Mariavel felt pleasure radiate through her body as one of her shots sunk into the boy's ribcage, He soon covered himself behind the fountain, and she continued her sprint towards him. The boy ran out from behind the fountain and towards the forest surrounding the park. She cursed under her breath and fired a few bullets at him. He fired two shells at her. One hit the fountain, blowing the once beautiful white structure to gravel. The second shot imbeded itself into the ground behind her. She felt a gash in her cheek, realizing it had skimmed her face.

She faltered and sprinted back to the statue. She hoisted the rifle over her shoulders and pointed it towards the bushes the boy had escaped into. She was quite sure he hadn't run off. She saw what looked like a leg through a gap in the underbrush and fired at it. She fired again where she assumed the head would be. And again and again where the body would be. She had him now. She was the reaper... the killer of men...

[Cyco†]

((continued from Never In Anger))

Jana's heart raced as the gunfight going on around her continued. There had been raised voices, opposite sexes from the sound of things, but laying down flat on her belly among the gnarled branches of park shrubs she couldn't get a clear view of either of them. The only familiar face here was that of Kevin Kapustiak's lying a few feet away from her, which was missing much of its forehead and curiously jovial in expression.

'Please,' she prayed inwardly, hoping the man upstairs could hear her over the roar of gunfire. 'Please don't let them see me here...'

Shots rang out again, and Jana watched in horror as Kevin's body twitched from being hit a few times. Had she been seen? Suddenly a crushing feeling of vulnerability swept over her as she realized that the next shot might have her name on it. Panic took over. Without even making an attempt to grab her gear lying next to her, Jana scrambled to her feet and ran blindly out of the bushes. She wasn't sure where she was going, but it didn't matter as long as she got the hell away from here--fast.

[Ares]

Rob had not seen Mariavel come into the woods, but the shots let him know she was indeed in the forest. His head turned in the direction of the shots and he could barely make out the form of the girl firing the rifle into what looked like a rather large lump.  Rob realized as he looked around that this was the spot where he had killed Kevin Kapustiak, and that very same Kevin Kapustiak's corpse was now taking an even worse lead beating.

"Holy shit!" Rob yelled as a figure suddenly appeared running in front of his hiding spot. Instinctively he pulled the trigger of the shotgun, firing a blast at the figure.

[Cyco†]

The moment she'd gotten to her feet Jana had felt nearly certain that she would be shot in the back. She was surprised to find herself shot in the front instead, so surprised in fact that she stopped running. Unfortunately for her, in fleeing from one 'Final 10' killer she ended up running straight into another.

She clutched her stomach and managed to stagger forward about a pace-and-a-half before gravity took effect, bringing her down onto the wet grass. Somehow landing shook her more than the searing gunshot wound. Maybe it was the sudden realization that came with it; she wasn't getting back up. This was game over.

Jana's thoughts turned to her family. Her small family, which had been through so much and still held together so resiliently. What was left of it now? Her eyes welled up with tears as Jana envisioned her father all alone. Maybe, just maybe, Eric was still alive. They could make it as long as they had eachother.

'Dad...Eric...we're still a family, no matter what. We'll all be together again someday...' The park began to sink into darkness, as if the sun had gone back down again to keep from shining on such a violent atrocity. Jana knew what was really happening.

G35: BROWN, JANA -- DECEASED

~~~

Eric couldn't watch anymore. Although Mr Brown had been too shaken to even keep track of his daughter's progress on the program, Eric had still held onto the slightest bit of hope that Jana could still come home. Until now that is.

Things hadn't been easy since the abduction. For a while it had actually seemed like she might have pulled through; she was dropped much later in the competition, she was assigned a fairly adequate weapon, and most importantly she was able to make it into a group (for a while). Of course, there was no way to simply watch SOTF if a family member was involved. Eric had gone about reviewing footage of Sera Wingfield, Kevin Kapustiak, Rob Adams...Matt Drew...none of which he trusted to look after his sister.

The live feed image of Jana's fall was cut off and gave way to his computer desktop as he closed the window. The time display in the bottom right corner of the screen said 6:30 AM. School had been closed all week anyway, and it had been hard to keep his sleeping habits regular while keeping tabs on his sister. It didn't matter anymore though; he couldn't sleep now if he tried.

It took a moment to fully sink in. Eric hunched forward in his chair, putting his hands up in front of his eyes as if there was anyone around to see him cry. It would be hard to tell his father the awful news. It would be hard for both of them to go through another death in the family, even with a weeks notice. Still, he couldn't help but feel that Jana had done their family proud with her actions in the face of adversity.

'Mom's waiting for you, sis. I love you so much...'

[Ares]

Rob froze on the spot. His shot had not hit Mariavel Varella, it had instead planted itself into the form of the other of the two girls that he had met at the park before leaving to chase Felix.

"No...she didn't do anything. She wasn't fucking playing." Rob said as he dropped to his knees.  While Rob had said he knew he needed to hunt the killers, he had failed to realize that there were still people who were not playing. Still people scared and confused about what was going on, and why it was going on.

Rob threw the shotgun aside violently. Anger once again raced through him.

"Mariavel, I'm over here you cunt.  You want to kill me? You want to prove your an executioner then come fight me. No weapons. Lets do this hand to fucking hand." Rob screamed at the direction where Mari's shots had come from that minute earlier.

[Mitsuko2†]

Mariavel jumped slightly at the sound of the shotgun blast. She dared not look at where the shot had come from. She was afraid he might shoot her dead on. Suddenly she heard something slam to the ground. She peeked from behind the statue to see a girl lying flat on her face. Not moving. Her adversary had killed another in his haste to kill Mariavel herself.

He called out to her and threw the shotgun to the side. Fool. He wanted to fight her hand to hand. She could deal with that. He looked like he had some muscle to him, but he was injured. He wasn't that much taller than her, and she figured she could easily overpower him if she used the right tactics. She stepped from behind the statue. She pulled the rifle's strap off her shoulder and let the gun fall to the ground. She next pulled off Seth's jacket, leaving her clad only in the tight white tee-shirt and her jeans. Both things stained with the blood of other students.

She smiled to herself. "As I walk into the Vally of Death, I fear no Evil..." She turned to him and smirked. "Cause I'm the meanest Motherfucker in the Vally." She pointed at him. She was going to end this now. Now was the time to not fear death, but to embrace it.

"Come at me. Make me feel pain... make me feel alive!" She charged the boy. She swung fist  after fist, occasionally throwing a kick in for good measure. It was on.

[Ares]

The fist were easy to parry, but her kick caught Rob off guard. He felt the toe of her boot planted into stomach, causing a bit more pain than it normally would because of the bullet still lodged in his ribs. She went for another kick, but Rob was able to roll, quite painfully, out of the way.

He quickly rose, the blood still seeping from his wounded chest. This time it was he who charged at the girl. He led with his leg, throwing a fake, hoping she would open herself to a punch in the face.

[Mitsuko2†]

Mariavel smiled when she felt the toe of her shoe crash into the boy's stomach. He rolled away from her next kick. She turned to him and he charged. She blocked the incoming kick, but was unprepared for the incoming punch to the face. He hit her in the nose, causing her to scream out in pain and fall flat on her ass. She felt the red sticky fluid flow through the fingers of the hand the held her injured face.

She grabbed his leg with her free hand and pulled, hoping to slam him to the ground next to her.