((Nate Chauncey continued from she lit the bridge and burned it))
Running was hard, especially coming from a smoke-filled building. Nate didn't make it far before needing to rest, but at least she was out of danger. Not quite, though; only the immediate danger of the firestarting girl was resolved. There were still killers out here.
She'd progressed slowly through the island, making a token effort to avoid open areas. It had only been three days, but Nate had already been changed; she could see it in herself, and even though she didn't like it she couldn't bring herself to force a return. She had been trying to pay attention to her surroundings ever since the pair on the beach, but it was no longer for beauty.
The crimson-magenta sky just told her to find shelter before dark. The gentle breeze was unimportant, compared to the chance for disturbed brush to hold an attacker. Little things were threats, warnings, or exploitable turns. It felt bad, that she was letting pragmatism overcome her normal temperament, but what could she do?
Shelter. Food. Water. Warmth. Was that all there was, for the rest of her life?
--
She'd found a bit of irony in going from the burning warehouse to the charred ruins, where she'd slept. Unfortunately, almost the instant the announcements of the deceased been completed, Nate had begun circling around the blackened remnants only to discover Everett.
She'd slept on the other side of the building, apparently, and had somehow missed the discovery of his corpse. 'Bunny' had killed him apparently, just yesterday.
Nate was unenthusiastic about gawking at the poor guy's corpse, but she couldn't look away. The bodies before had been indistinct, burned and blurred by flame, almost unreal. He was very real, very physical. She could poke him if she wanted.
She didn't really want to. So she just stood there, awkwardly trying to find something else to look at or focus on, not this corpse.
To The Ashes Of Yesterday
Open, Day 4
It wasn't the peppy announcer that woke her up or the cold steel of an enemy, but a quick peck on her leg as she laid face down on the ground. She didn't move the first time, then a second peck, digging deeper made her roll over on her back. She looked at her aggressor, the blood-stained white bird soared and flied away. She laid on her back and watched the birds fly around her.
Maybe she will become one of them soon.
The announcement were clear. The Mess Hall was free and three new places she didn't care about became forbidden. People died and people killed, either in that order or in the opposite. She didn't care. Nat's name came up and she realized her last name was Greer and not Winter. She wondered who was Natalie Winter and why she thought Natali Greer was her.
She was heading toward the location she wanted to camp out. The Mess Hall was where she was born, where she woke up, where she learned the rules, and she smiled when she thought about it. Something about it made her feel good, made her feel happy. She didn't know why but thinking about sleeping on the kitchen floor behind the broken glass window made her feel happy.
It was warm and Tina was slowly but surely becoming less and less clothed everyday. She gave her scarf to a girl she didn't know and her sweater was left out for the birds.
What would be next?
Her pants? Her shirt? H e r s k i n.
She yawned loudly into her hand as she walked toward the burnt building. Her gun was still in her bag, she had nothing in her hands. Someone could could wake up to her with a knife and slit her throat and she could only call them worthless like her recurring nightmares.
She saw her again. She wondered if she was unintentionally following her. She moved as Nate moved, trying to avoid making as little sound as possible. Nate looked at the body, Tina stared at it, and the corpse's open maw shallowed them whole. She didn't know how to break the silence so instead she stayed here, unmoving, staring, stalking.
Maybe she will become one of them soon.
The announcement were clear. The Mess Hall was free and three new places she didn't care about became forbidden. People died and people killed, either in that order or in the opposite. She didn't care. Nat's name came up and she realized her last name was Greer and not Winter. She wondered who was Natalie Winter and why she thought Natali Greer was her.
She was heading toward the location she wanted to camp out. The Mess Hall was where she was born, where she woke up, where she learned the rules, and she smiled when she thought about it. Something about it made her feel good, made her feel happy. She didn't know why but thinking about sleeping on the kitchen floor behind the broken glass window made her feel happy.
It was warm and Tina was slowly but surely becoming less and less clothed everyday. She gave her scarf to a girl she didn't know and her sweater was left out for the birds.
What would be next?
Her pants? Her shirt? H e r s k i n.
She yawned loudly into her hand as she walked toward the burnt building. Her gun was still in her bag, she had nothing in her hands. Someone could could wake up to her with a knife and slit her throat and she could only call them worthless like her recurring nightmares.
She saw her again. She wondered if she was unintentionally following her. She moved as Nate moved, trying to avoid making as little sound as possible. Nate looked at the body, Tina stared at it, and the corpse's open maw shallowed them whole. She didn't know how to break the silence so instead she stayed here, unmoving, staring, stalking.
Nate closed her eyes. She turned around.
It wasn't right. It was disrespectful to gawk at the poor man. She should go. Around to building, maybe. She'd rested over there, maybe just spending some time in a peaceful area would make her feel better.
Nate turned around. The girl who started the fire was there. Tina, wasn't it? She hadn't killed anyone yesterday as far as the announcements were concerned, but death was only one thing to hurt someone with. Where was 'Natalie Winters'?
"Good morning." Nate was even-toned, a bit subdued. She sounded calmer than she felt, still a little startled from the sudden arrival of the other girl. If it was someone else, she could be dead. She would be dead.
"Why are you here?" Nate asked, absently batting at her knotted web of hair as if she could ever hope to untangle it. Even though it was her question, she didn't know if she wanted to know the answer.
It wasn't right. It was disrespectful to gawk at the poor man. She should go. Around to building, maybe. She'd rested over there, maybe just spending some time in a peaceful area would make her feel better.
Nate turned around. The girl who started the fire was there. Tina, wasn't it? She hadn't killed anyone yesterday as far as the announcements were concerned, but death was only one thing to hurt someone with. Where was 'Natalie Winters'?
"Good morning." Nate was even-toned, a bit subdued. She sounded calmer than she felt, still a little startled from the sudden arrival of the other girl. If it was someone else, she could be dead. She would be dead.
"Why are you here?" Nate asked, absently batting at her knotted web of hair as if she could ever hope to untangle it. Even though it was her question, she didn't know if she wanted to know the answer.
Tina scratched her face with her broken and dirty nails. She didn't really know why she was there. She just happened to me. It was a landmark on her way toward the Mess Hall and she just happened to enter it. She kept staring at the corpse, unable to get her eyes off of it. She sniffed the air, it smelled horrible but Tina kept breathing it.
"It's on the way toward where I'm going."
She started to fidget with strap of her daybag. She enjoyed this. It was a quiet place with a quiet conversation about nothing important. Her lungs hated the smell, but other than that this place was nice. She assumed she would get used to it over time. Maybe she'd spend eternity here, waiting for something to happen.
"So, Natali Greer killed someone, I think that's funny since that's how I learned her last name is that and not Winters."
It wasn't funny but Tina lacked of a better word to explain how she felt about it. She scratched her cheek again and raised her eyes. She could see Nate, her bad eye was being a dick and blurring it but otherwise it was fine. She squinted her eyes and raised her brows as she looked at her.
"Did you lose anybody yet?"
"It's on the way toward where I'm going."
She started to fidget with strap of her daybag. She enjoyed this. It was a quiet place with a quiet conversation about nothing important. Her lungs hated the smell, but other than that this place was nice. She assumed she would get used to it over time. Maybe she'd spend eternity here, waiting for something to happen.
"So, Natali Greer killed someone, I think that's funny since that's how I learned her last name is that and not Winters."
It wasn't funny but Tina lacked of a better word to explain how she felt about it. She scratched her cheek again and raised her eyes. She could see Nate, her bad eye was being a dick and blurring it but otherwise it was fine. She squinted her eyes and raised her brows as she looked at her.
"Did you lose anybody yet?"
There was probably some kind of metaphor Nate could ascribe to what Tina said. Maybe something about roads, and road trips, and pit stops; for one person here, this place was a pit stop, one where they had to switch to a spare tire and continue on, perhaps struggling and perhaps not, until they reached the natural end.
For everyone else, the pit stop would explode and kill everyone while they were eating Burger King. A bit literal, maybe, but not totally wrong.
Oh, right. 'Natali' had killed someone. The Natali from yesterday had at some point shot a blind boy in his sleep. Nate didn't think anyone at school was blind, so something dreadful must have happened to Aria beforehand. Natai had murdered a sleeping person, though; there was little room for misinterpretation here, unless it was somehow an accidental discharge. Maybe an act of mercy. Probably not.
Nate felt uncomfortable. Yesterday she had been in the presence of an armed killer. Had Aria died by then? Or was it yet to come? Nate wondered if she had been in danger then. Was she in danger now?
Nate suddenly thought of the beach, on the first night here. The two with the gun, the sinister thoughts that prodded her, made her paranoid. Had she been right? Would they have killed her? Clair, she realized; that had been the girl. Clair was once a person who was dismissive and rude to Nate. Then it had stopped, within the last few years. She had seen Clair since then, who had seemed more accommodating. Perhaps she had changed.
She was dead, now. Nate had learned this moments ago, that Clair had been killed by KK Konipaski. The girl with the most kills on the island. No, not kills; victims. To call them kills was to equate them with a score, earning points. As if it said, 'KK is currently at the top of the leaderboard with Saachi Nidal and Bunny Barlow gaining on her!'. As if KK was the frontrunner in a competition or game, a real game, not this abominable torture by circumstance.
Nate had wondered if she would ever see Clair or that boy again, before she'd been frightened off. She had been right; she never would.
Lost in thought, it took Nate a couple of seconds longer than was probably polite to respond. She blinked, returning her drifting gaze from the treeline to Tina. "Yeah. Aria, right?" Nate rubbed the back of her neck. Her hair was never in top condition at the best of times; now it was so tangled and greasy that she couldn't run a finger through it.
As for loss? The people she loved and cared about, crumpled and abandoned somewhere, victims of misfortune and human cruelty? The undeserving dead?
"No. I don't know many people here." Her gaze drifted to the ground, to a pair of dirt-colored loafers and aqua sneakers stained in what might have been soot.
For everyone else, the pit stop would explode and kill everyone while they were eating Burger King. A bit literal, maybe, but not totally wrong.
Oh, right. 'Natali' had killed someone. The Natali from yesterday had at some point shot a blind boy in his sleep. Nate didn't think anyone at school was blind, so something dreadful must have happened to Aria beforehand. Natai had murdered a sleeping person, though; there was little room for misinterpretation here, unless it was somehow an accidental discharge. Maybe an act of mercy. Probably not.
Nate felt uncomfortable. Yesterday she had been in the presence of an armed killer. Had Aria died by then? Or was it yet to come? Nate wondered if she had been in danger then. Was she in danger now?
Nate suddenly thought of the beach, on the first night here. The two with the gun, the sinister thoughts that prodded her, made her paranoid. Had she been right? Would they have killed her? Clair, she realized; that had been the girl. Clair was once a person who was dismissive and rude to Nate. Then it had stopped, within the last few years. She had seen Clair since then, who had seemed more accommodating. Perhaps she had changed.
She was dead, now. Nate had learned this moments ago, that Clair had been killed by KK Konipaski. The girl with the most kills on the island. No, not kills; victims. To call them kills was to equate them with a score, earning points. As if it said, 'KK is currently at the top of the leaderboard with Saachi Nidal and Bunny Barlow gaining on her!'. As if KK was the frontrunner in a competition or game, a real game, not this abominable torture by circumstance.
Nate had wondered if she would ever see Clair or that boy again, before she'd been frightened off. She had been right; she never would.
Lost in thought, it took Nate a couple of seconds longer than was probably polite to respond. She blinked, returning her drifting gaze from the treeline to Tina. "Yeah. Aria, right?" Nate rubbed the back of her neck. Her hair was never in top condition at the best of times; now it was so tangled and greasy that she couldn't run a finger through it.
As for loss? The people she loved and cared about, crumpled and abandoned somewhere, victims of misfortune and human cruelty? The undeserving dead?
"No. I don't know many people here." Her gaze drifted to the ground, to a pair of dirt-colored loafers and aqua sneakers stained in what might have been soot.
"Yeah, me neither."
That's all she had to say. She didn't have many friends. There was Daniel, her sister, her cousins and some people here and there. Mainly people that was in her family or not at her school. There was still a possibility there was another Luz roaming on the island but as people died, she noticed a lack of her last name.
She wanted it to be a good thing but she couldn't feel that way. She tried to think about her family, rooting for her but the image was blank. There was nothing but emptiness as she tried to remember home. She felt truly alone in that moment.
"I almost killed Nat, by the way."
She did. She almost smashed her face in until Natali pulled the trigger of her gun. Her moment of hyperviolence died down as the cue hit her ear. She felt bad. Part of her wanted to kill her, another wanted to maimed her and another didn't care about the girl. Kill, maim, ignore: all would result in the same fate here. Tina would be the monster she created.
"I don't really know why I didn't. I don't really know what I'm doing, really."
She sighed. That's all she had to say. She didn't feel like talking about it anymore. A feeling gnawed at her stomach so she instinctively reached out for a bar and took a bite out of it. It was tasteless.
"I'm going to leave now. Want something? I have spares like extra food and water and first aid. You must start to be running low on these things."
That's all she had to say. She didn't have many friends. There was Daniel, her sister, her cousins and some people here and there. Mainly people that was in her family or not at her school. There was still a possibility there was another Luz roaming on the island but as people died, she noticed a lack of her last name.
She wanted it to be a good thing but she couldn't feel that way. She tried to think about her family, rooting for her but the image was blank. There was nothing but emptiness as she tried to remember home. She felt truly alone in that moment.
"I almost killed Nat, by the way."
She did. She almost smashed her face in until Natali pulled the trigger of her gun. Her moment of hyperviolence died down as the cue hit her ear. She felt bad. Part of her wanted to kill her, another wanted to maimed her and another didn't care about the girl. Kill, maim, ignore: all would result in the same fate here. Tina would be the monster she created.
"I don't really know why I didn't. I don't really know what I'm doing, really."
She sighed. That's all she had to say. She didn't feel like talking about it anymore. A feeling gnawed at her stomach so she instinctively reached out for a bar and took a bite out of it. It was tasteless.
"I'm going to leave now. Want something? I have spares like extra food and water and first aid. You must start to be running low on these things."
Right, food. Nate hadn't eaten since...yesterday? Yesterday morning, maybe. No, mid-afternoon yesterday, she had paused at some point and eaten some of the crackers. She had also drunk some water. Right?
Nate adjusted the strap on her shoulder; the weight shifted within her bag, and she was pretty sure she had enough supplies in there to last. To last how long? Did it matter?
"I'm okay." Nate looked down at the ground. There was a lot to take in here; Tina had almost murdered that other girl, but that other girl had murdered someone herself. That wasn't why Tina wanted to kill Natali, though. They hadn't known that she was a killer yet.
Was it justice to take revenge on someone who did something wrong, but not be punishing them for the thing they did wrong in the first place? Did a set of wrongs ever add up to a right? Did it matter?
Nate started walking, back from where Tina had come from. "Sorry. Goodbye." She said, quietly but clearly. She didn't want to stay here with the corpse of Everett. If she tried hard enough, the burned-out building was like a symbol for society here.
That made sense, actually. Coming here, everything the seniors of P.J Hobbs had lived through or lived for was gone, burned to ashes, and now they just had to scrounge what they could from the grime and soot. Fascism, anarchy, and riots in the streets. They didn't even have that much here.
She stopped. Turning back to face Tina, Nate smiled, almost, a wry curve on her lips. "It's okay. I don't really know either." She gave a little wave and kept walking.
((Nate Chauncey continued in Bread And Cirruses))
Nate adjusted the strap on her shoulder; the weight shifted within her bag, and she was pretty sure she had enough supplies in there to last. To last how long? Did it matter?
"I'm okay." Nate looked down at the ground. There was a lot to take in here; Tina had almost murdered that other girl, but that other girl had murdered someone herself. That wasn't why Tina wanted to kill Natali, though. They hadn't known that she was a killer yet.
Was it justice to take revenge on someone who did something wrong, but not be punishing them for the thing they did wrong in the first place? Did a set of wrongs ever add up to a right? Did it matter?
Nate started walking, back from where Tina had come from. "Sorry. Goodbye." She said, quietly but clearly. She didn't want to stay here with the corpse of Everett. If she tried hard enough, the burned-out building was like a symbol for society here.
That made sense, actually. Coming here, everything the seniors of P.J Hobbs had lived through or lived for was gone, burned to ashes, and now they just had to scrounge what they could from the grime and soot. Fascism, anarchy, and riots in the streets. They didn't even have that much here.
She stopped. Turning back to face Tina, Nate smiled, almost, a wry curve on her lips. "It's okay. I don't really know either." She gave a little wave and kept walking.
((Nate Chauncey continued in Bread And Cirruses))
"Oki, bye."
These are the only words she told Nate as she walked away. The girl waved at and Tina waved back. These could be the last word she'd hear or say to her but they were appropriate. It wasn't an insult or a taunt, a casual goodbye.
She then looked at the body. She walked closer to it. She stared at it. She flicked her lighter, lighting the skirt on his head on fire., it was gross, it was smelly. That would be another good reason to never eat meat again but she imagined she would missed chicken. She kicked it slightly, she didn't know what to do with it. She burnt the other bodies. She pressed on the body again with her foot. It didn't ooze out fluids the same way as the other body, especially Blaine's.
She raised her gun and pulled the trigger. She unloaded her clip on the body's head. He was dead for sure and Tina was alive. That's the only that mattered. She kicked the body back. There was no head anymore. Only pieces of it, splattered on the floor and some of it barely hanging on the spine. She inhaled deeply and exhaled quickly.
She then look back at the body, muttered false apologies and walked away.
These are the only words she told Nate as she walked away. The girl waved at and Tina waved back. These could be the last word she'd hear or say to her but they were appropriate. It wasn't an insult or a taunt, a casual goodbye.
She then looked at the body. She walked closer to it. She stared at it. She flicked her lighter, lighting the skirt on his head on fire., it was gross, it was smelly. That would be another good reason to never eat meat again but she imagined she would missed chicken. She kicked it slightly, she didn't know what to do with it. She burnt the other bodies. She pressed on the body again with her foot. It didn't ooze out fluids the same way as the other body, especially Blaine's.
She raised her gun and pulled the trigger. She unloaded her clip on the body's head. He was dead for sure and Tina was alive. That's the only that mattered. She kicked the body back. There was no head anymore. Only pieces of it, splattered on the floor and some of it barely hanging on the spine. She inhaled deeply and exhaled quickly.
She then look back at the body, muttered false apologies and walked away.