A Generation Lost in Space

[Acidic*]

((Madelyn Conner continued from Foreshadowing/Hindsights))

Damn it.

They didn't find Jake.

Damn it.

Mikaela and Madelyn had been searching for sometime. Luckily there were no dead bodies, but the darkness made it hard to see anything but stars and shadows. Using the glow sticks or the flashlight was out of the question as it was pretty much like using searchlights for an easy out. It was likely they would have to stop until daylight. After a frustrated sigh Madelyn put her pack on the ground and said,

"Lets stop here for the night. We can start looking in the morn." It had been too long since Madelyn slept. When was the last time? She didn't know, maybe she'd been awake since the beginning of the game, or she just forgot the last time she snoozed. Either way she couldn't go on. Maybe a quick rest before they looked for a good place to stay.

Madelyn rested her back to a tree as she slid down to the ground and crossed her legs. After a minute she decided to dig around in her bag and pull out her jacket. The night was cold, offering no love. When the jacket was on Madelyn knew she was going to fall asleep unless she did something. Maybe talking to Mikaela would keep them awake. Madelyn just needed a deep breath first. So, closing her eyes she inhaled, exhaled, and fell asleep.

[Acidic*]

((OOC: I'm just going to post so it's not too close a call when Namira comes back))

Madelyn's eyes opened to the bright island day, and she thought,

No, it's still night out. Closing and opening her eyes she expected it to be dark so she had, in fact, just blinked instead of falling asleep.

Still day. Madelyn looked around and remembered the mentors, Jake walking off, and their attempt to find him. Yet she didn't remember falling asleep. Because it wasn't a good idea to doze off in Sotf-TV in the open like she had. Good thing no one decided to got an easy kill.

With sleep evaporating from her eyes Madelyn groggily looked for Mikaela. The bruises on her face aching as the sun warmed her face. It was a soft agony that Madelyn could live through.

[Lord_Shadow]

((Timothy Walker continued from Deconstruction))

Timothy wandered around the Forest for a while, trying to figure out where to go. Vincent and Lexi were gone and he had no idea where they went. Not that he wanted to follow them. Especially since Vincent left him a little gift, what a nice guy. A nice melee weapon to smash people's faces in when Tim didn't want to use his gun. How thoughtful.

So his encounter with potential targets didn't turn out so well, so what? He was still a villain, still the guy that everyone rooted for right up until he crossed the line and made himself someone everyone hated. He hadn't crossed that line yet, no sir. He looked around, really more scanning the surroundings. Time to get moving. The Forest was dead, no one left in it, maybe a return to his roots would yield better results.

To the Inland Lake it was. Just a quick stop in the Open Plains to find out where he came from anyway. He made his way across the open terrain until he came upon an interesting sight. A body, a dead body just laying out on a bench in the middle of nowhere. "Oh, too bad for you eh. Must be sad to be dead lying out in open air. Well, not like it matters." Tim made his way closer to the body, maybe it might have something for him to take. You never know with situations like this, after all didn't that other boy leave him a gift?

As he got closer, he could see it was a girl's body. A familiar body. His paced slowed, his eyes widened, and his breathing became irregular. "No. No. No. NO. NO. NO!" He ran over to the bench, tossing the oar aside. When he got to the bench, his fears were confirmed. She was dressed exactly as he remembered. Her face likewise was the same. There was no mistaking who it was. Kathy Clements was dead, and he had just mocked her dead body mere moments ago.

"No. No Kathy. S-say it ain't so. Get up. C'mon, get up." Tears streamed down his cheeks, watering up what was left of the dried blood on his face. "Get up. GET UP. GET UP KATHY!" He tried to shake her awake. No response, but he wouldn't accept it.

He slid to his knees, cast his face down. "This is my fault. I scared ya, made ya run. I said I'd protect you and I didn't. I-I..."

"You what?" she replied.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If I was here this wouldn't have happened. If I were here, I'd have gutted the bastard that even thought about laying a finger on you."

"A little late for that." she sighed. Tim looked up at her, a wicked grin on his face once more.

"No. No it's not. Payback. REVENGE! I'll find who did this. Find them and smash their face into bits, carve their goddamn arms into confetti. They'll pay. OH THEY'LL PAY!." She didn't say anything back. She just looked at him with the most disappointed face he ever saw. For a moment, he was ashamed, but nothing was going to stop him now. Not even Kathy herself. "I-I have to go now. I promise, I'll be back." He got up, wiped his tears off, retrieved the oar, and headed further into the plains.

She just shook her head.

---

"Gotta find who did it. Gotta find them. Can't let them live. No no. Not right. It's not right. She was an angel. My angel. My whole world here, my reason for living. Gotta get revenge, gotta get bloody satisfying revenge." Tim mused to himself as he walked along going nowhere in particular. He felt weak, physically and emotionally.

The one person he said he'd protect was dead, he was covered in blood, exhausted, and completely alone. He was nobody. Nothing anyone would want to see. But he had to push on, had to believe he was something. At least until he got revenge. Then he'd go to sleep. He go back to where Kathy was and they could dream together. It would be the best dream. A dream where he wasn't like the crazed monster he was now. He'd just be the boy he was before all this craziness.

"As if you could do that, killer. You'll never go back now. You enjoy this new you too much." He grit his teeth at that thought. No, he could go back. All he had to do was finish. Finish off his task and get some peace for that pretty girl he met who stabilized him.

He collapsed. He wasn't sure when he ran out of steam. He just did. The grass was so comfy. So warm. He lay there a while, just breathing. "I'm a terrible person aren't I, Kathy? I'm just the scum of the earth. Why am I even alive?"

"Because you need to get revenge. Get up boy, get up and kill again." He couldn't. As much as his new self wanted to, he couldn't. He could barely even keep his eyes open. He was so weak. He let the blackness close in on him, and slept.

---

Daylight crept up on him. Somehow he made it through the night. He struggled to get up, but he just couldn't. Even after a rest like that he was too weak to move. He must have looked so pathetic.

"Hey." His voice came out as a whisper. He took a breath, and tried to speak as loud as he could.

"Hey! Is anyone there! Anyone! Please! Help!" The words came out slow, but louder than before. He repeated them over and over, hoping to god someone would answer.

[Namira]

((Mikaela continued from Foreshadowing/Hindsights))

Mikaela was sick with frustration. After what had happened with Marion, Jake had taken off, made an excuse... and then decided to completely bail on them! And she knew that he'd ran out on them, because otherwise, he'd have come back. Cold as it was to think it - he hadn't been on the announcements either, and they'd definitely have heard something if Jake had been jumped close by to the pits, as close as he would've been if he'd just been taking a leak. Mikaela didn't know whether to be furious with him, or just upset. For christ's sake, Madelyn was his girlfriend, even if what he'd had with Mikaela was just superficial - which in itself hurt... they weren't serious about each other, of course, but he still meant something to her - Jake had to surely care about the other girl.

So now they were out looking for him. After an explanation? Making sure he was safe? Heck, Mikaela didn't even know, but the abandonment had shaken her fragile confidence. How was she supposed to keep her friends safe when her friends decided to strike off by themselves? Madelyn was propping herself up against a solitary tree, talking about resting, and Mikaela was inclined to agree, not that she thought she'd be able to drop off now. Mad managed it well enough though, so Mikaela simply nominated herself for watch, another painful reminder of the fact that the group had once been four, making shifts far easier.

Whatever. She planted her own back to the tree and just brooded for a couple of hours, lost in thought. The sun peeped up over the horizon and was soon rising into the sky. Madelyn didn't take too long to awaken in the end- figured that she was probably too on edge to sleep properly - but before Mikaela could greet her, somebody called out. Somebody asking for help. Nearby.

Mikaela hesitated, not sure whether or not she could trust the caller, not sure whether it was a ploy...

Ultimately, ethics won out.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Where are you?"

[Cake]

A voice echoes quietly from Timothy's collar...

"Oh my. You're quite the character, aren't you? Muttering and rambling to yourself and to the deceased, while looking like a horrific mess makes you come off as genuinely insane and in dire need of a strait-jacket. I can only imagine, what is going on in that mind of yours. I think I'll explore writing about something like that in my next Novella. Glad to have you on my team!"

[Acidic*]

Someone was calling for help. Before Madelyn could talk about what to do she heard Mikaela shout. Great. One could always count on Mikaela to do the right thing. Regardless, Madelyn had to fight to keep annoyance from taking her face over. The girl stood up, stretching while she did so. When she became more alert she said to her friend,

"I'll go check it out. If something happens you have to run." With that Madelyn left. Heading towards the voice Madelyn looked for other kids were probably waiting to jump her gullible ass. Than she realized that she slept though the announcements, Jake must've not been on them because Mikaela would've told Madelyn. Still, she made a note to ask Mikaela about them if and when she got back.

The she saw a body. At first Madelyn though it a corpse; it was breathing, so it must've been who she was looking for. She paused, half wanting to turn around, go back to her friend, and say it was a trap. But she remembered the girl in the hotel, sure she was fine as far as Madelyn know, but taking off like that the first time was cowardly. After a deep breath Madelyn forced herself to approach the body.

Upon closer distance Madelyn realized the boy was Timothy Walker. Isn't he the kid who used to hold bets for some of my fights? One thing she knew was that he was a killer, and what she had to do.

First thing she did was take the gun off him. At first she expected him to fight for it, but he just stayed there. What the hell is wrong with him? Madelyn's brows scrunched in confusion, but she didn't go further into the question when she saw it.

The paddle she lost to the blonde kid earlier. She picked it up, half expecting it to be an illusion.

Nope, unless the game had burrowed that far into her brain.

"Where'd you get the paddle, Tim?"

[Lord_Shadow]

Honestly, Tim didn't expect anyone to answer him. He was a pathetic, sad little sack of nothing lying on the floor like the useless idiot he was.

"This body is so weak. So weak. What kind of killer can you be with such a weak body?" Even now, that part of his mind refused to let things go. It refused to acknowledge he was losing this game.

Someone called out, asked who where was. "That... ain't helping." he said to himself. A voice echoed from his collar. His mentor? She said something about him needing a straight jacket or something like that. "Huh... didn't... know that." It kinda was a surprise to hear someone else acknowledge the fact that was in his mind. That he was off the walls crazy. Thinking about how someone else recognized it and called it out brought a faint smile to his face.

He blinked and tried to move with no luck. Maybe he'd just rest there for a moment longer.

"Get up Timothy. Someone's here for you." For a moment, he thought Kathy had spoken to him. It sounded like her voice. But there was no voice. There was only the sound of someone approaching, coming ever closer. Someone walked right up to him and took his gun and the oar right off him. He didn't even struggle, he didn't have the strength to.

"Where'd you get the paddle, Tim?"

He tried looking in the direction of the voice. Nope, too much effort. But he'd try to answer audibly. "It was... a gift. A nice guy... left if for me... after he clocked me on the head." He smiled. "But who... are you? You're voice is... familiar. Say, could you help me out? I'm so... tired."

His mind rushed through everyone he'd ever known. No luck. The voice wasn't enough, even if he knew it was a girl. He'd have to see the face to tell. "Please. I'm at your mercy." It was the second time he spoke those words. The only difference was, this time he meant them.

"Weak," the killer in his mind reiterated, "so weak."

[Acidic*]

((Okay, I'm close to inactivity so I'm just gonna post. LS, pm me if I gm out of line))

She frowned when Tim answered her question, but doing nothing wasn't going to help. Plus, if this took too long Mikaela might come looking. With a groan Madelyn put the weapons down behind her, and turned the boy over.

When he was on his back Tim's face looked listless. Madelyn decided this wasn't a trap. She turned her head back to where she came from and shouted,

"It's alright, Mikaela." Turning back to Tim she decided to repeat the question at length. Madelyn picked up the weapons, and held up the paddle for emphasis.

"This was mine," the young woman paused before adding, "and the guy that took it from me did this." She motioned it to the bruises on her face. Retelling the fight made her slightly impatient with the killer in front of her.

"So where did did this happen?" She'd inquire into his condition as soon as he answered this, maybe.

[Mini_Help]

((Ferric Tam continued from Wrong Direction))

Eric had not made much progress in retrieving his teammates. He was also starting to feel some of the strain and fatigue of spending time in this game. He had not gotten proper sleep. He was starting to worry that he would be hurt or killed through simple inattentiveness. He was wandering through the open plains now, not for any specific reason, but simply because it was the area with the best lines of sight. He would be most likely to come across Brennan or other members of the Orange Team if he could actually see them.

He seriously hoped he wasn't paired with cowards. It would be awful to get killed just because his assigned allies were too busy hiding to come and help him.

After a time, though, he spotted people. It looked like a small group, two or three. One was standing over a boy, who was sprawled on the ground. It looked like she might be caring for him. That was a good sign. There was a decent chance that one of them would be on his team and, if not, they might be able to tell him the status of his allies.

"Hello?" he called, quickening his pace, getting a little closer to the group. He made sure to keep his knife close at hand, just in case. It didn't seem all that likely that he would need it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. As he neared the group, he realized he could recognize all of them. Fellow members of SDA. That was a good sign.

"I'm looking for members of the Orange Team," he said, ignoring whatever distress the boy seemed to be in. He wasn't screaming, so he was either alright or way beyond help. "Have you seen any?"

---

A voice echoes from Ferric's collar...

"Be careful, Mr. Tam! There's a killer near you. You need to be cautious. Best to back off, find somewhere else to go, you know? You have to stay safe. I'm counting on bringing you home alive."

---

And just like that, Eric realized how rash he had been. He could take care of himself, though. He was in good shape, armed, and ready to fight if it was required for his survival. He hoped it wouldn't be, hoped this would end peacefully, but he could no longer count on it. Incompetent or not, Dr. Smith had just given him a serious leg up.

"Alright," Eric said, drawing his knife. The announcement from his collar hadn't been quiet, not at all. "What the hell is going on?"

[Lord_Shadow]

Being turned over to face her, Timothy finally recognized who was speaking to him. Madelyn, good to seen another SDA kid. He smiled for a second, remembering how much money he used to make collecting bets on her fights. She reiterated her query, as if she would get a clearer response.

"Told you. A nice guy left it for me in the forest." It wasn't as difficult to speak now that he wasn't lying on his face, but his speaking pace was still fairly slow. "He hurt you huh? Hurt me too. Just clubbed me on the head and left me for dead. You got your paddle back, no need to-"

He stopped when he saw another boy approaching. It was difficult to tell from his position, but he could have sworn he saw orange on the guy's arm. He smiled and tried to get himself up. The best he could manage was to sit upright.

The boy confirmed he was from orange team, asked if there were any of his teammates nearby. "What kind of an idiot would ask enemies to help him?" Tim wondered, completely ignoring the irony of him asking that in his situation.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the boy's collar, warning him of a killer and telling him to get out of there. Tim's smile grew wider. He turned toward Madelyn. "You got two choices. Kill him yourself or give me back my gun and let me do it. Clock's ticking sweetheart, make your choice."

He was at a disadvantage for sure, he wasn't even sure if he would be able to kill this guy in the condition he was in. But the killer inside him was back at the forefront of his mind, and he couldn't be anything but excited at how things were turning out.

"Kill the boy, then the girl, then the one she called out to. 3 lined up for you Timmy boy! Doesn't lady luck love you?" The killer within him was nothing short of gleeful, and for the time being, Tim himself was inclined to agree with that assessment.

[Acidic*]

When Tim repeated himself Madelyn inwardly groaned. Well, that was useful. But he is right. I have my paddle, and his gun. I'll just get the hell outta here then. Before she could walk away, however, Ferric Tam came up. When he asked for help fining his team mates Madelyn raised an eyebrow. Before she could reply to his question his collar spoke.

Mr. Smith?

That aside he warned him of a killer (Tim), and to get away. Ferric's knife came out and asked to know what was going on. Before Madelyn could give a sarcastic reply it clicked how bad the scene looked. Tim on the ground motionless, her with a gun.

Aw shit!

"It's not what it looks like." Christ, how many times had she heard that one while watching the show? Then she noticed Tim had sat up and presented Madelyn a dichotomy.

Either to kill Ferric herself, or let Tim do it.

Madelyn swung the paddle towards Tim's head instead.

[Namira]

Mikaela wouldn't wait forever, especially not after what had happened the last two occasions somebody had gone wandering off. She wasn't even certain why she'd agreed to stay in the first place. She should have refused, told Madelyn that they'd be safer together, regardless of any potential argumen-

Ah. That would be it, wouldn't it? Mikaela didn't want to cause strife between the two of them. Not when she was the only person she could call an ally right now. She was usually stronger than that, but she could see any fight going south in a hurry - not necessarily becoming violent, but a split seemed altogether too likely. Maybe it was just paranoia and fear talking. In any case, she didn't argue.

But eventually, she did decide to move. There was no shouting, but Mikaela was pretty sure she could hear voices. Madelyn hadn't called out to say that the coast was clear, so she went cautiously, although also as quickly as she dared. If her partner had ran into trouble, she'd never be able to forgive herself for staying. What gave her hope was that there had been no indication of a struggle, which meant that any fight would have had to be exceptionally quiet to escape her straining ears...

Then Madelyn DID call out, and Mikaela's pounding heart calmed, if only a little. She'd jumped the gun, it seemed, though she didn't feel guilty about it. For all she knew Madelyn could have been abducted over there, and heck if she would have taken Madelyn's order to run off if she heard a commotion. Soon enough, Mikaela drew up behind her partner just as somebody else appeared from the opposite side. Her eyes narrowed as she recognised him. Ferric Tam. Stuck up douche...

By Madelyn's feet was somebody else Mikaela recognised. Tim Walker. She didn't actually know a whole lot about him, but he definitely was looking a lot worse for wear. Mikaela briefly wondered what happened to him, then focused on the matter at hand.

"We haven't seen orange team," Mikaela told Ferric calmly. "And if you're trying to hook up with them to play, then I suggest you turn around, because we're not going to help you."

Tim spoke, and Mikaela rounded on him with a glare.

"Shut up!" she barked, more vehemently than she'd intended. "Nobody needs to kill anyone! Just because YOU might hav- MADDY NO!"

[Lord_Shadow]

((Apologies for lateness.))

The tension was slowly building up. Orange boy was sure to make a move in the next few moments, Maddy was probably tearing herself up inside trying to figure out what to do. It was all so exciting. Someone was going to die, or at least get seriously injured, in mere seconds.

Mad's partner finally showed up, late but no problem to the situation, and shot him a glare at his suggestion. Started protesting about it too. "If you don't like it that's your problem. But it's kill or be killed and I—"

Tim was suddenly presented with Madelyn's decision. A hard choice no doubt, but one eloquently expressed to him. He took an oar to the face, knocking him flat on his back again.

"Sonuva." It was all he could manage to reply, weak as it was. His nose was bleeding, probably broken. The pain helped keep him alert though. For a few moments at least before unconsciousness took him again.

"Point... yours." He chuckled once. "I'll just... wait here..." With those words he let himself drift back into his mind.

All alone with his thoughts. He was getting sick of being there. But a blow to head is pretty adamant about not letting you be completely conscious.

He just hoped he wouldn't be taken out while he was under. That would be completely humiliating, as if this wasn't bad enough already.

[Mini_Help]

It was too confusing. All he knew was that someone else showed up, the boy spoke, telling the first girl to kill Eric or return the gun so he could kill Eric, and then there was shouting and the girl was swinging the paddle and it was impossible to say what was going on. They'd all said that nobody from Orange was here, but he couldn't necessarily believe them, and, more than that, he couldn't just walk away now. Besides, he couldn't say who the killer was, and even if they weren't on his team, he wasn't about to let someone get murdered in front of him.

"Stop it," he called, and quickened his pace. He wasn't going to let the girl kill this boy. She'd said it wasn't what it looked like? Eric didn't care. Whatever it was, it was bad enough. He didn't lead with his knife, but he did lunge in towards her. He'd take the paddle from her, and then he'd calm her down. He'd make her listen. He was stronger than her, in all likelihood. He was rational, while everyone else was panicking. Maybe he'd turn them into a team of his own, to help him find the rest of his actual teammates. Maybe he'd have to put someone down like a mad dog, if this really was some cluster of murderers. He'd figure it all out soon enough.

But first, he just had to end this mess that had been stirred up.

[Acidic*]

Oh God.

Did she just do that? The idea of smacking Tim with the paddle hadn't even come up, her body just did it. It was how a lot of the fights started, and how the accident happened in fifth grade. One moment a school snitch was telling her Stacy Jones pushed Zak off the play set, and next her arm was broken in the middle of the road. It hadn't happened in a while, but when it did her blood refrigerated. Especially now that it happened here of all times. Then again with Marion corpse on the shoulders of her conscience, and Jake off on the longest piss break ever.

Or maybe he just figured I wasn't worth staying with.

The thought hurt Mad's heart like a bullet, considering she was willing to kill for him only a few days ago. But how long had they been going out? Apparently not long enough for Jake to stay with her. Then again she lived 17 years before she started dating him, it'd be easy enough to go back. Just another high school "romance". Then she noticed the orange team kid was running at her with his knife. She raised Tim's gun at him.

Everyone needs to calm down, now. Especially me, before I do something stupid again.

"Stop!" Madelyn commanded, giving the boy an opportunity to live, walk away, and find his teammates. Madelyn's finger went around the trigger, to show she was ready to fire. Plus the safety was probably on, right? Too bad she never held a gun before, because if she did she'd know that her finger would be pressing too hard on the trigger.

"No!" The gunshot seem to shout.