It's Not a New Wave, It's Just You and Me

[Laurels]

((Sophie McDowell continued from Princess Aquapussy))

Sophie slowed down a bit, taking the time to get some breaths in. She turned back, hoping to see someone else from the lake behind her, but it didn't appear to be the case. While it was unfortunate Jeanette, Tania, and Simon weren't there, at least it meant Bunny wasn't trying to kill her. She put her back to a tree and slid down to the ground. The fishing pole and her duffel bag also fell by her side.

She pulled her knees in close, and leaned her head against the tree. It was hard to think that she was so close to dying. She couldn't remember being so afraid for her life until the moment her teacher was murdered before her. That sensation returned to her when Bunny fired the gun in the air. Sophie had lived quite comfortably, so the thought of being hurt and dying painfully never reached her.

She closed her eyes. She could hear the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. If she listened closely, she could hear birds as well. If the game wasn't set here, maybe this island would be a nice place to visit. She had briefly looked at the map and saw there was a mining colony here, so maybe it was a little more populated and lively before it was abandoned.

"Or maybe it's better that the earth reclaimed it," she muttered to herself.

She opened her eyes, tilting her head up to the sky. It was a nice day, but maybe it'd be better if no one was here. Maybe it would be better once the earth reclaimed all of them.

[Lilith]

((Jeanette continued from aquabussypitchpitch))

"Fuck. Shit. Shitfuck. Raw tits. Asshole. Tits fucking asshole. Shitfuckingtitsfuckingasshole."

Jeanette kept repeating that to herself. She read somewhere once that swearing reduced the amount of pain that someone felt. Jeanie therefore acted accordingly, cursing every time her heart pulsed, sending another jolt of pain to her arm she had been clutching.

She was bloody. She must have lost quite a lot of blood. Her vision was blurry, her legs were wobbly and it felt like her arm was killing her.

It was killing her. She was dying. She was suffering from a gunshot wound. Untreated, it would go infected, go black and she'd die from septicemia. If she was lucky, it would be the bleeding that would kill her; if she was unlucky, she'd die tomorrow or the day after and spending days in pain, feverish and waiting for death to come harvest her like a flower in Autumn.

She'd die and Bunny would be happy. Unless she was already dead, then Jeanette would get the last laugh. Quite literally.

Her top was bloodied, her legs were covered by the dry liquid and her hand was feeling every little edges the little bullet left when it cut through her arm. She walked aimlessly, following sounds she assumed it was Sophie. Perhaps it was someone else, someone that'd kill her and end her suffering. It hurt, she didn't want the pain anymore. She wanted someone to take it away from her.

She saw someone in front her.

Jeanette heard their voice and realized who it was. Sophie was found. She was in front of her, she saw her from the back, exactly like at the lake. It motivated her to walk a little faster, to creep toward her. She didn't care if she would help, she didn't care if she'd kill her. She just didn't want to die alone.

"Hey, Sophie. I think I'm dying."

She crumbled.

[Laurels]

Hey, Sophie. I think I'm dying.

Just like that, the serenity was gone. Sophie turned around and saw Jeanette stumbling towards her. Before she could even speak, Jeanette fell to the ground. Sophie let out a gasp.

"Jeanette!" she blurted, scrambling to her feet.

She hoisted her bag from the ground and hurried over to the fallen girl. She knelt to the ground and rolled Jeanette over. Instantly, she could tell Jeanette was losing color. There was a wound on her bicep that was continuing to leak blood. Considering how pallor she looked, the shot she got from Bunny must have been much more severe than they thought.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay," Sophie muttered to herself, pulling her bag close and unzipping it.

She began to rifle through the bag.

"We can stop the bleeding. They gave us First Aid kits for a reason. We're going to be alright."

Sophie pulled the kit out and opened it up. She wasn't sure how to treat a bullet wound, but surely it'd be like treating any other kind of bleeding. At least she hoped.

[Lilith]

"Sophie, stop."

Jeanette was a broken toy. Her left arm couldn't move. Bunny must have hit something like a bone or an artery because it sprayed out like a hose you punctured with a fork. What a fucking bitch, she should have drowned her when she had the opportunity.

Instead, she chose not to become a monster. She chose to leave with Bunny's bag, kinda dooming her to a death she had coming for trying to fuck with her and Sophie. Jeanette knew she was dying because it felt that the bright blue sky became slowly but surely darker, surrounding her world in darkness.

She was going to die in a forest. Perfect for fairy, or a butterfly, or fairytterfly, she smiled. If she died here, she'd become one for sure. Maybe there wasn't anything like after life but thinking about a warmer place than the dirt below her made her feel at ease.

"I'm dying, Sophie. Do you have makeup?"

It sounded off. Her voice cracked, it hurt slighty. Her body became pain. It was a temple of suffering. She tried to take her mind off it, tried to fade away into the darkness that shallowed her but the pain keep bringing her back. It kept waking her up as she faded away, reminding her she was still alive.

"I want you... to make me pretty, okay? Cover that ugly wound and put flowers and twigs and leaves on me. I don't want to be seen by the world like I am right now."

She didn't know if the sentence made any sense. Her brain hurt.

Her body started shaking. It hurt so badly, why did she have to feel this pain. She didn't deserve it. She derserved to be at the aquarium, checking out cute guys and talking to friends. She didn't do anything to deserve that. Yeah she taunted a girl with a gun and she got shot by said girl but she didn't deserve to be put in that situation. Nobody did.

"If you have a makeup, that's even better."

She smiled softly at the angel looking down at her. Jeanette was angry at herself for thinking that Sophie was dumb. She wasn't like that. She was kind.

"But first."

She opened her mouth, letting her last bit of air escape in her lungs then breathing in slowly the precious air that became a luxury as her lungs struggled to process what was happening.

"You got to kill me."

[Laurels]

Sophie continued to search through the kit. She figured alcohol was needed, maybe some bandages or something to put pressure on the wound. Jeanette started to talk about makeup and looking pretty.

"Hey, hey," Sophie said. "Come on, it's not that bad. I didn't bring any makeup with me to the aquarium, so you can't die just yet."

Sophie gave a weak smile to Jeanette. She then had an idea. She reached back and grabbed the bandanna out of her hair. This was something she could use to put pressure on the wound.

She opened the cap on the alcohol bottle and started to pour it on the bandanna. Before she could apply it, Jeanette said something much more pressing.

But first. You got to kill me.

Sophie froze. She looked away from the bandanna and towards Jeanette.

"What? I can't do that. I mean... you can probably survive this."

[Lilith]

"Put your hands on my throat and press."

She smiled.

"I can't let Bunny win. If you don't do it, I'll shove a stick in my eye or something."

[Laurels]

"Wait, hold on, just calm down for a second," Sophie said.

She pursed her lips a bit, then brushed some hair back. She didn't know why Jeanette was saying such horrible things. Maybe she was loopy from blood loss, or maybe this was just par for the course for her. Sophie wasn't sure, so she had to ask for clarification.

"You're asking me to murder you," Sophie told Jeanette. "That's a lot to ask, especially when I still think that we can save you. Please, just let me try something. Don't give up just yet."

[Lilith]

Jeanette raised her right hand, her good hand, and caught Sophie's. She tugged it slightly, like a kid asking for a story or a lullaby before going to bed. Her grasp was weak but certain, she used her last remaining force. Her fingers wrapped around her wrist, stopping her from digging in her bag any futther with that hand.

"I'm not dumb and y-you're not dumb, and you know it's not like that."

She stuttered. Jeanette never stuttered. She was scared.

"I'm dying. Even if you patch me up, I'm-"

Her eyes fluttered, they begged Jeanette to close them. She felt like she needed rest, like she needed to sleep for a thousand years before being reborn. But she kept them open, staring into Sophie's eyes.

"-going to rot. My arm is going to rot and I can't even move it."

Jeanette choked back tears, swaying her head side to side. She didn't want her last moment to be her crying and sad. That wasn't how she wanted to be remembered like. Anything but a weak girl who said something dumb and got shot.

"Plus... you need to kill someone to go back home."

Jeanette dropped that bomb. That's it. She was going to sacrifice herself to get someone else to go home. That was the right thing to do. She was dying and Bunny was going to get the kill. If Sophie put her hands on her neck and squeezed a bit, she'd probably get credited the kill.

"I'm going to die and there's nothing to do about it. If there was, I'd be the first one trying to save myself."

Her voice was growing weaker, her eyes met a black curtain slowly advancing itself to her. She wondered where the blue sky went. Maybe she'd see it again soon or perhaps the darkness would be her only company for eternity.

"I'm- I'm- I'm gi-giving you my li-life for you to ma-maybe go ho-home."

She didn't feel her leg anymore. Death was slowly going up on her body. She knew she didn't have much time left. Maybe a 10 minutes or a hour, or perhaps a day. She didn't know but she wanted it to end now.

"S-so please take it, and use it we-well."

[Laurels]

Sophie seized up a bit when Jeanette grabbed her hand. The girl on the ground spelled it out for her: she was dying, her arm was useless, and there was no way a bandanna covered in alcohol was going to make it better no matter how much Sophie told herself and Jeanette that it would. The girl was dying. There was no saving her.

Jeanette then brought up some other uncomfortable truths. The first was that Sophie needed a kill to go home. Sophie had almost forgotten that rule. It seemed like the terrorists would hold whoever won up to that rule, so she would have to do it if she really did want to go home. Even worse was realizing that Bunny would get credit for the kill if Sophie did nothing. Bunny was not a good person, and she'd likely keep doing hurtful things while they were here. Letting Jeanette waste away would only help Bunny, but worse, it would hurt Jeanette.

Sophie looked at the pale girl. Jeanette tried to cheer her up when they met only hours ago. She had tried her best to make the most of the situation and save them all from Bunny. If this was her last request, wasn't Sophie obligated to fulfill it? It was wrong to kill, but would it compromise her beliefs and the way her family raised her if she did it at the victim's request? Would it be worse to betray her?

Sophie knew the decision made here would impact her for whatever remained of her life. She just had to weigh them carefully. Help a psychopath further and hurt a friend, or offer mercy despite the great personal struggle it would cause?

Sophie set the bandanna on the ground. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and breathed. After a moment, she opened her eyes. She moved her hand and placed it on the side of Jeanette's forehead. She brushed some of Jeanette's hair out of the side.

"Hey, look up at the sky," she said. "You can just see it through the treetops. "

She slowly moved her hand down the side of Jeanette's face, tracing the tips of her fingers along Jeanette's neck. She curled her hand around it, slowly lifting Jeanette's head to get her fingers on the back of her neck. She then placed her other hand in the same position, crossing her thumbs over the center of Jeanette's neck.

"Isn't it lovely, Jeanette? It looks like it's going to be a nice day."

The choice was made.

She turned her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could. Then, she pressed her thumbs down hard and waited.

[Lilith]

Sophie complied and Jeanette was happy, but she still cried and twitched when she applied pressure to her neck. She didn't fight it, the urge of fighting back or to slap Sophie.

Instead, she drew the outline of Sophie's profile when she turned away from Jeanette. She traced her index along her forehead and slowly going down her face, like the tears Jeanette quietly cried. She cupped Sophie's face with her right hand and softly moved her thumb on her cheek.

Jeanette always loved human warmth: she always loved being hugged, touched, and kissed. Maybe that's why she had sex with a senior when she was 15 or maybe it was because she was really drunk, but she always enjoyed spending time in intimacy with someone.

Jeanette's grip on Sophie's lessen, while her angelic killer's tighten. She was really doing it, saving Jeanie from all the pain she was going to suffer from her wound. Jeanette tried to smile but her face felt heavy and she didn't feel her face. She couldn't cry anymore, her tears were now long dried.

The only thing Jeanette felt was the pressure on her throat, the oxygen in her brain depleting and the warmth of Sophie's hands. She wished she could still the sky again. She wished she could see the sun, the moon, the stars. She wished her teardrops would become flowers, shallowing her body and protecting her until the end of time. She wished it went otherwise, but she was happy. She wouldn't die in vain. A girl now had a chance to go home, to win, to survive.

She wondered if her family watched back home. Would her little brother understand the pain she felt and why she demanded death? Would her parents forgive her killer? She didn't know and she didn't really care. The only thing that mattered was Sophie's hands wrapped Jeanette's neck, pushing away her life away by the second.

Jeanette didn't know it but she died smiling. Her smile wasn't the biggest, brightest, the most mischievous smile she had but it was a happy smile. A serene, content one that she found death in the hands of someone who was nice enough to understand her, even if Sophie wasn't her friend before this and she found her annoying by moment, Jeanette was happy to have met her.

Her right arm slid down next to her torso, the flat of her hand on the floor and her fingers, bloodied from her wound, pointing toward the sky. Her whole life was built toward this moment, she only understood it too late. She wasn't a hero or a villain, she was a young girl who understood that she wouldn't make it and tried to make the best out of it.

The crimson butterfly on her neck gave her the wings she needed to fly to heaven. She would be eternally thankful for her killer to delivered her from her pain.

Jeanette Buendia became one with nature.

[Laurels]

Sophie kept her eyes closed and continued to press down on Jeanette's windpipe. She could feel the girl starting to twitch, but she refused to watch. She didn't want to see Jeanette die, and she didn't want to see her own hands taking the life from her. Sophie could feel tears starting to fall down her cheek. Her hands were also starting to become numb from forcing so much pressure on the girl's windpipe. She started to wish this would end quickly.

As she did, she felt Jeanette touch her face. She felt herself relax a bit. Jeanette wanted this, and maybe that touch was her reassurance that Sophie was doing the right thing. Sophie sniffled, and continued to put pressure on Jeanette's throat.

After a few minutes, Jeanette stopped moving. Sophie let out a gasp and removed her hands from Jeanette's throat. She opened her eyes, fluttering the tears out of her eyes. After a few seconds, she worked up the nerve to look at Jeanette. Her hands left a notable print on the girl's neck, like a Rorschach test. Sophie looked at the print, then at her own hands.

It was strange. These hands were always so familiar to her. They blistered when she played guitar too long. They created music. And now, they had ended the life of another human being. Suddenly, they didn't feel right belonging to her.

Sophie looked back at Jeanette. The girl had a soft smile on her face. Sophie stared at the mouth. Maybe it was a response to her body slowly being deprived of oxygen, but maybe Jeanette really was happy. Sophie choked up, and then started to cry harder than she did earlier. She remained on her knees, with her head hanging low and her tears falling into the grass beneath her.

All she could do right now was cry for Jeanette.

---

But maybe that wasn't all she could do for her.

After a few minutes of crying, Sophie remembered what else Jeanette asked of her. She set out from the area, looking for anything nearby that could be used to fulfill Jeanette's request. She did find some wild flowers, not a lot, but some, and picked them. She also grabbed a few branches around the ground as well. For good measure, she also grabbed some rocks off the ground. With these items, she got to work.

She adjusted Jeanette's body so her arms were crossed over her chest, her legs were together and pointed straight, and her eyes were closed. She used the sticks and rocks to make an outline around Jeanette's body. With some of the flowers, she removed the petals from the stem and placed them around Jeanette's body. She also made sure to take one flower and put it in the bullet wound on Jeanette's arm. It probably was better to cover that up, like Jeanette asked.

She then took the remaining flowers and made a bouquet, slipping them under Jeanette's hands. With some of the smaller rocks, she laid them out on Jeanette's torso, spelling out "JB." That should tell people who this girl lying on the forest floor was.

The last touch was the bandanna. Sophie took her orange bandanna and laid it flat, covering Jeanette's face. No one should have to look upon her face. It was still flushed from being choked out, so Sophie figured she could give some cover for that.

Once she was done, Sophie stood up and sighed. She made the signs of the cross, clasped her hands together, and hung her head down.

"Oh lord, please forgive me for killing Jeanette Buendia. Please understand why I did what I did. Please look after her as she enters your Kingdom, and please look after all of us as we make our way through this horrible game. Please grant us your mercy, Amen."

She made the signs again, and sniffled. She moved her hand through her bangs, pushing them up a bit. She had to move.

She went over and grabbed her bag and Jeanette's. It looked like Jeanette got Bunny's bag. There was extra food and water, plus some ammo that probably went with Bunny's gun. The ammo wouldn't help considering the gun was now in the lake, but Sophie could dispose of it elsewhere.

She slung both bags over her shoulder and grabbed her fishing pole. Sophie took one last look at Jeanette's body. Even in death, Jeanette really did look beautiful. This is where Jeanette would remain, and Sophie gave her one last nod.

"Goodbye."

Sophie turned around and walked away. She wasn't sure where she was going to go next, but she figured she'd keep walking. This experience had taught her that she was right.

In the end, they'd all be reclaimed by the earth.

((Sophie McDowell continued in Viremia))