((Genevieve Erickson continued from Chapter 46: Fantom Frigate))
So things had gone more or less how she expected. Not like she went out of her way to make things less tense or awkward. The first day went by without incident. She was of little help, pretty much just handing medical supplies when asked for them.
Close call with Carol, at least going by the announcement, so there was that. She could've been killed by a killer right then, and never have even known until too late.
Second day came and they moved on. Genevieve didn't have anything to say or contribute. She was thinking. Despite their efforts, mostly Mary's, Leo wasn't going to magically be useful any time soon. Mary had a fucking oar. She had a gun which she had finally got around to making functional, and by that she meant she threw anything she didn't need that could fit inside the barrel. Single shot, no actual ammo or more powder, but potentially deadly.
All this came from fear, unfortunately. She knew in a fight they would most likely face a pretty quick and untimely end. Who were they kidding? They had been lucky not to run into anyone on their way. If anything were to happen at all they'd be dead.
Fucking dead.
Like nothing.
Easy, so easy.
Like it wouldn't even be memorable. Just bam, bam, bam and down go three bodies.
Genevieve froze. Those gunshots were not in her head. Those were real and close by. Then the screaming. She tried to close out the noise, tried not to hear.
She clutched the gun to her chest. She shook like a leaf.
I'm gonna die, gonna die, gonna die
She looked for Mary or Leo. Were they scared too?
No, Leo was not.
He had been shot. He was bleeding.
He was dying.
She opened her mouth but no scream came, tears flowed uncontrollably.
She didn't know what to do. Run to help? How? Run away? How far could she get before being gunned down too?
She had no answers, so she just stood there shaking and crying and screaming inaudibly and panicking and losing it and wanting to go home and praying for a miracle and wishing she couldn't watch this right in front of her and trying to do something anything and failing and being useless and inept and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and
And
"LEO!"
Gene Hackman had it easier in The Poseidon Adventure
Open, a little before noon Day 2
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Lord_Shadow
- Posts: 536
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:43 am
- Team Affiliation: Emmy's Selkies
There was once a dumb psuedo-news line here. Now there's this pretentious nonsense. YOU1 DID THIS, YOU1 KNOW WHO YOU1 ARE!
1. Yeah you, you nefarious ne'er-do-well you.
1. Yeah you, you nefarious ne'er-do-well you.
His screams started fierce, piercing, a voice that had been left unused at the volume it was now penetrating. His lungs were fire, and air. Slowly losing power as the screaming took it's tool, and his tears came forth, and the realisation that he was not going to make it out of here and all of his plans, all of his helping Mary and the others were for nothing.
And he could not even get a good view as he blood seeped out of him where he lay on the floor. His breathing growing increasingly erratic as the toll of his chords and the realiy of it all came crashing in.
He couldn’t see the waves, watch as they went up against the ship and back out towards the ocean. He couldn't see the horizon where he’d rather be with his friends far away, and the sound of it was drowned out by the people around him, footsteps, screams and his raspy breath as the pain in his arm ate away on his mind. Sign after sign sent to his brain of the overwhelming pain that it encompassed only to be reminded of his utter inability to deal with it in any way.
It was too much, all too much.
He felt a hand on his shoulder roll him over to his back, widened eyes staring back at another pair, unblinking, but brimming. The lessening of the pressure on his arm was a relief. What wasn't was who was staring back at him-
“R...J?” He sputtered, as spittle ran down the side of his mouth.
There had been something about RJ back then that had caught his eye, and it only had continued as they talked over several months, comparing ideas and methods. Talk of their favorite authors or books permeated conversations between the two, and RJ was one of the few he felt comfortable sharing excerpts of his book with.
Unequivocally, RJ was one of those Leo would have trusted with his life.
And here he was, gun in hand, standing over him.
"W...hy..."
And he could not even get a good view as he blood seeped out of him where he lay on the floor. His breathing growing increasingly erratic as the toll of his chords and the realiy of it all came crashing in.
He couldn’t see the waves, watch as they went up against the ship and back out towards the ocean. He couldn't see the horizon where he’d rather be with his friends far away, and the sound of it was drowned out by the people around him, footsteps, screams and his raspy breath as the pain in his arm ate away on his mind. Sign after sign sent to his brain of the overwhelming pain that it encompassed only to be reminded of his utter inability to deal with it in any way.
It was too much, all too much.
He felt a hand on his shoulder roll him over to his back, widened eyes staring back at another pair, unblinking, but brimming. The lessening of the pressure on his arm was a relief. What wasn't was who was staring back at him-
“R...J?” He sputtered, as spittle ran down the side of his mouth.
There had been something about RJ back then that had caught his eye, and it only had continued as they talked over several months, comparing ideas and methods. Talk of their favorite authors or books permeated conversations between the two, and RJ was one of the few he felt comfortable sharing excerpts of his book with.
Unequivocally, RJ was one of those Leo would have trusted with his life.
And here he was, gun in hand, standing over him.
"W...hy..."
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AnimeNerd
- Posts: 596
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- Location: A place that can sustain life
- Team Affiliation: Claudia's Krakens
Surgery was supposed to be done to remove a bullet, that was obvious. He had tweezers, a needle, and thread, along with a good number of pain killers and things meant to sterilize and take care of the afflicted area.
It would seriously deplete his supplies, and the stress was likely may well give him a heart attack, but he could deal with the latter when it happened, if it happened, and maybe he could Leo's own supplies as well to deal with the former.
If the dulled sounds he heard were any indication, he might've been able to convince some of the others to help out and donate their own supplies.
Or, worse comes to worst, he could try threatening them into giving up their first aid kits. It would be cruel, but so would doing nothing as one of your best friends bled out from a bullet wound you gave them-
Leo spoke after he turned him over, and RJ froze. There was already so much blood, and he thought he saw blood in Leo's saliva, and there was fear and confusion in his voice. He'd just been shot by one of his friends, and who knew how much time he had left before he bled out without treatment, and he was asking that friend why he had done this-what had he done to deserve this?
And RJ couldn't even think of an answer.
'I didn't mean to?' You shot a fucking gun in his direction, you sure as shit meant what you were doing!
'I thought you were someone dangerous?' What kind of killer shouts at you to get your attention before trying to kill you?!
'I was scared because I just watched someone die?' Yes, because clearly the solution for that is FUCKING SHOOTING AT SOMEONE!
He was to blame for this situation. There was no way around it.
The tears obscured his vision entirely now, and each sob racked his body as he spoke to the blob he knew was Leo.
"I...I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry, Leo."
It would seriously deplete his supplies, and the stress was likely may well give him a heart attack, but he could deal with the latter when it happened, if it happened, and maybe he could Leo's own supplies as well to deal with the former.
If the dulled sounds he heard were any indication, he might've been able to convince some of the others to help out and donate their own supplies.
Or, worse comes to worst, he could try threatening them into giving up their first aid kits. It would be cruel, but so would doing nothing as one of your best friends bled out from a bullet wound you gave them-
Leo spoke after he turned him over, and RJ froze. There was already so much blood, and he thought he saw blood in Leo's saliva, and there was fear and confusion in his voice. He'd just been shot by one of his friends, and who knew how much time he had left before he bled out without treatment, and he was asking that friend why he had done this-what had he done to deserve this?
And RJ couldn't even think of an answer.
'I didn't mean to?' You shot a fucking gun in his direction, you sure as shit meant what you were doing!
'I thought you were someone dangerous?' What kind of killer shouts at you to get your attention before trying to kill you?!
'I was scared because I just watched someone die?' Yes, because clearly the solution for that is FUCKING SHOOTING AT SOMEONE!
He was to blame for this situation. There was no way around it.
The tears obscured his vision entirely now, and each sob racked his body as he spoke to the blob he knew was Leo.
"I...I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry, Leo."
Through increasingly weak eyes, the faint outline of his friend was still there. Movements around him blurred and hurt to see, so what little focus he had was on him. His words reverberating in his skull with a choked out, sobbing voice.
Leo could barely lift his hand before limply sending it towards RJ, latching onto his shirt with his index finger and thumb. There was so much more he wanted to do, but his body was just not capable, weak, falling apart at the seams with blood seeping through his wound.
"Do...n't...."
He tried, but the words were drowning in the sea of uncertainty that clouded his mind. His voice once soft and conversational was now scratchy and hoarse, every word an effort on his part as he coughed and wheezed his way through.
What were his words even supposed to be? What could he even say to him? He was about to die with nothing to show for it, his arm was broken, his faith in his friends was broken.
Everything was broken.
He had been wrong from the start. They had already lost days ago.
But... he couldn’t leave her behind with nothing, he.. has to..do... something...
"M...ar..."
A set of final coughs came forth, racking his body as he twisted in place. His hand leaving RJ's shirt to clutch at his wound. Eventually, he stopped and his head laid back onto the floor with weary, unblinking eyes that opened further as his functions stopped, staring out at RJ. His mouth went slack and his breathing went entirely.
ES04 Leonard Kenter: deceased
Leo could barely lift his hand before limply sending it towards RJ, latching onto his shirt with his index finger and thumb. There was so much more he wanted to do, but his body was just not capable, weak, falling apart at the seams with blood seeping through his wound.
"Do...n't...."
He tried, but the words were drowning in the sea of uncertainty that clouded his mind. His voice once soft and conversational was now scratchy and hoarse, every word an effort on his part as he coughed and wheezed his way through.
What were his words even supposed to be? What could he even say to him? He was about to die with nothing to show for it, his arm was broken, his faith in his friends was broken.
Everything was broken.
He had been wrong from the start. They had already lost days ago.
But... he couldn’t leave her behind with nothing, he.. has to..do... something...
"M...ar..."
A set of final coughs came forth, racking his body as he twisted in place. His hand leaving RJ's shirt to clutch at his wound. Eventually, he stopped and his head laid back onto the floor with weary, unblinking eyes that opened further as his functions stopped, staring out at RJ. His mouth went slack and his breathing went entirely.
ES04 Leonard Kenter: deceased
Dale stared at the carnage before him. RJ apparently shot a friend of his. Dale clutched his chest, his heart and lungs going into overdrive. His eyes continued to dart between RJ and the new, dying boy.
Dale couldn't believe two people just died right in front of him, so close together. He wasn't supposed to be witness to something like this. He was just supposed to wander around, find weapons, and then maybe bumble his way to survival so he could go home and get the acting career he deserved. Now he was probably going to die on this cruise ship and probably at the hands of some trigger happy fuck like RJ.
Dale's attention then came to the two girls who appeared. Dale could barely register them. He knew the girl with ombre hair was Mary, but he couldn't care about her or the other girl. He simply crawled back again, this time, making sure he could grab the strap of his bag.
"Fuck all of this!" Dale blurted out as he awkwardly brought himself to his feet.
He began to walk backwards, pointing at RJ.
"I don't care if you're on my team! You're going to get me killed! Just stay the hell away from me!"
Dale turned and ran for the nearest door. He didn't care if he was leaving RJ to be killed by Mary and the other girl. He was an unstable, reckless idiot who couldn't protect him or Gus. Dale ran through the interior of the cruise ship. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to get away from a cursed area, and from a cursed teammate.
((Dale Hawthorne continued in The Arrow in Your Heart))
Dale couldn't believe two people just died right in front of him, so close together. He wasn't supposed to be witness to something like this. He was just supposed to wander around, find weapons, and then maybe bumble his way to survival so he could go home and get the acting career he deserved. Now he was probably going to die on this cruise ship and probably at the hands of some trigger happy fuck like RJ.
Dale's attention then came to the two girls who appeared. Dale could barely register them. He knew the girl with ombre hair was Mary, but he couldn't care about her or the other girl. He simply crawled back again, this time, making sure he could grab the strap of his bag.
"Fuck all of this!" Dale blurted out as he awkwardly brought himself to his feet.
He began to walk backwards, pointing at RJ.
"I don't care if you're on my team! You're going to get me killed! Just stay the hell away from me!"
Dale turned and ran for the nearest door. He didn't care if he was leaving RJ to be killed by Mary and the other girl. He was an unstable, reckless idiot who couldn't protect him or Gus. Dale ran through the interior of the cruise ship. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to get away from a cursed area, and from a cursed teammate.
((Dale Hawthorne continued in The Arrow in Your Heart))
G014: Mayumi Tendou
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AnimeNerd
- Posts: 596
- Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 1:27 am
- Location: A place that can sustain life
- Team Affiliation: Claudia's Krakens
And like that, Leo was dead. A life snuffed out by RJ's own hand. Purposeful or not, his friend's blood was on his hands and his hands alone.
A part of him wished he could go back in time a day. Go back to the fight with Amy after he walked in on her changing, and instead just offer the gun to her. Let her kill him. Because maybe if that was what happened at the bottom of the ship, maybe Leo would still be alive. Yeah, RJ would be dead, and Leo would probably be depressed about it, but how could that be worse than being killed by some awful, horrible, disgusting person that was supposed to be their friend?
Leo had tried to give some final words, but RJ could barely understand them. One might've been an attempt to comfort him-did he forgive him for shooting him, or did he just think there wasn't a point to holding grudges when you were about to die?-and the other seemed like he was trying to refer to something or someone. Marion? Marielle? Mariko? They didn't have anyone in their school named Mars, did they?
Then Dale decided to make a scene, and not without good reason. An innocent person was dead because he was a trigger-happy idiot. If he was Dale, he would've run away too, even if he would've done so quieter.
Mary. Mary was the person Leo was referring to. She was one of the people nearby-he actually was paying attention to his surroundings now, and all it took was the death of an ally and the death of his friend. Leo probably wanted him to help her.
But...fuck, after that? What the Hell was he supposed to do, repeat what he did at the start of this show and offer to be her bodyguard? Right after he just killed someone that was his friend, and was probably her ally? At best that was the equivalent of spitting in someone's face and then asking for their respect, and at worse that could just lead to one of them killing the other, or maybe Mary killing him while he killed her.
And that didn't even go into his own feelings that he was pushing down and bottling as much as possible. If he tried to logic them into place, it would be like putting together a jigsaw puzzle from pieces of separate puzzles-a fucking pain that would take too long, and he would be better off slamming his head against a wall if he wanted to lose brain cells.
So he wouldn't even try to join Mary. But he still needed to help her somehow. It was the last thing Leo wanted-how was RJ supposed to leave without doing something?
Shifting on his feet gave him the answer. His foot hit something-a backpack. Leo's. It had food. Water. Medical supplies. A weapon.
He could've taken it. If he wanted. He killed the owner, so that would make it his, wouldn't it? Or was that stupid?
He wasn't sure, but it was the best option he had as he opened his mouth to speak.
"You, um...you can have..."
His voice was weak as he nudged the bag towards the girl with his feet. He was only barely holding back the tears. God, did he have to be so pathetic right now?
He kicked the the bag a bit in her direction before spoke again.
"I-I'm sorry-!"
And with that, RJ ran away, hoping no one else would follow.
[[RJ Blackburn continued A Time to Build And A Time To Destroy]]
A part of him wished he could go back in time a day. Go back to the fight with Amy after he walked in on her changing, and instead just offer the gun to her. Let her kill him. Because maybe if that was what happened at the bottom of the ship, maybe Leo would still be alive. Yeah, RJ would be dead, and Leo would probably be depressed about it, but how could that be worse than being killed by some awful, horrible, disgusting person that was supposed to be their friend?
Leo had tried to give some final words, but RJ could barely understand them. One might've been an attempt to comfort him-did he forgive him for shooting him, or did he just think there wasn't a point to holding grudges when you were about to die?-and the other seemed like he was trying to refer to something or someone. Marion? Marielle? Mariko? They didn't have anyone in their school named Mars, did they?
Then Dale decided to make a scene, and not without good reason. An innocent person was dead because he was a trigger-happy idiot. If he was Dale, he would've run away too, even if he would've done so quieter.
Mary. Mary was the person Leo was referring to. She was one of the people nearby-he actually was paying attention to his surroundings now, and all it took was the death of an ally and the death of his friend. Leo probably wanted him to help her.
But...fuck, after that? What the Hell was he supposed to do, repeat what he did at the start of this show and offer to be her bodyguard? Right after he just killed someone that was his friend, and was probably her ally? At best that was the equivalent of spitting in someone's face and then asking for their respect, and at worse that could just lead to one of them killing the other, or maybe Mary killing him while he killed her.
And that didn't even go into his own feelings that he was pushing down and bottling as much as possible. If he tried to logic them into place, it would be like putting together a jigsaw puzzle from pieces of separate puzzles-a fucking pain that would take too long, and he would be better off slamming his head against a wall if he wanted to lose brain cells.
So he wouldn't even try to join Mary. But he still needed to help her somehow. It was the last thing Leo wanted-how was RJ supposed to leave without doing something?
Shifting on his feet gave him the answer. His foot hit something-a backpack. Leo's. It had food. Water. Medical supplies. A weapon.
He could've taken it. If he wanted. He killed the owner, so that would make it his, wouldn't it? Or was that stupid?
He wasn't sure, but it was the best option he had as he opened his mouth to speak.
"You, um...you can have..."
His voice was weak as he nudged the bag towards the girl with his feet. He was only barely holding back the tears. God, did he have to be so pathetic right now?
He kicked the the bag a bit in her direction before spoke again.
"I-I'm sorry-!"
And with that, RJ ran away, hoping no one else would follow.
[[RJ Blackburn continued A Time to Build And A Time To Destroy]]
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Lord_Shadow
- Posts: 536
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:43 am
- Team Affiliation: Emmy's Selkies
He's dead he's fucking dead.
Run
Do something
Get out of here
Help him
Flee for your life
ANYTHING
Every woman for herself
FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE TAKE INITIATIVE
Get out while you can
Mary?
Just run
"Leo"
Live survive live run live go live live live
"I-I"
I'm sorry
I'm so sorry
I'm
I'm
I'm
Sorry
YOU'LL JOIN HIM IF YOU DON'T RUN NOW
((Genevieve Erickson continued elsewhere))
Run
Do something
Get out of here
Help him
Flee for your life
ANYTHING
Every woman for herself
FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE TAKE INITIATIVE
Get out while you can
Mary?
Just run
"Leo"
Live survive live run live go live live live
"I-I"
I'm sorry
I'm so sorry
I'm
I'm
I'm
Sorry
YOU'LL JOIN HIM IF YOU DON'T RUN NOW
((Genevieve Erickson continued elsewhere))
There was once a dumb psuedo-news line here. Now there's this pretentious nonsense. YOU1 DID THIS, YOU1 KNOW WHO YOU1 ARE!
1. Yeah you, you nefarious ne'er-do-well you.
1. Yeah you, you nefarious ne'er-do-well you.
Mary stood still, only feeling the oar in her hands and the heart beating in her chest. Then, her stomach curdled, as she started to process what happened.
He was dead.
Friendly, Seymour RJ.
Complete and utter idiot killer RJ.
And he offered to let her take his things. As if it made everything better, as if it was some consolation.
She wanted to slam the oar across his head. She imagined her hands wrapping around his neck, squeezing out every breath. She could see herself punching his face until he was unrecognizable.
But she didn’t move.
And she hated that. Just like how she hated how he ran off. Just how she hated how Gen and Dale ran off.
Just like how she, eventually, ran inside, curling herself up into her body.
((Mary Cheung continued in The Arrow in Your Heart))
He was dead.
Friendly, Seymour RJ.
Complete and utter idiot killer RJ.
And he offered to let her take his things. As if it made everything better, as if it was some consolation.
She wanted to slam the oar across his head. She imagined her hands wrapping around his neck, squeezing out every breath. She could see herself punching his face until he was unrecognizable.
But she didn’t move.
And she hated that. Just like how she hated how he ran off. Just how she hated how Gen and Dale ran off.
Just like how she, eventually, ran inside, curling herself up into her body.
((Mary Cheung continued in The Arrow in Your Heart))