When There's Nothing Left to Burn, You Have to Set Yourself on Fire.

[Kermit]

((Continued from like pretty much the same place.))

He lost the girl. By the time Everett had begun his chase, she was just too far away and he was just too slow. They'd just have to partake in their own respective Blaine-hunts.

He hoped bandage-eye'd get him.




He glanced back. No Zubin, either.

Everett was alone again. He sighed.

He began to shamble back to the ruins. He was exhausted from the lack of sleep and his above-average physical activity, but he could rest once he was back at the ruins. Just rest, not sleep.




It took him about an hour to reach his destination. Zubin wasn't there anymore. It was for the best; Everett wasn't able to deal with people right now.

He was just so done right now.

He saw the wall he'd encountered bandage-eye and Zubin near, and he shuffled towards it. He slumped back against it—not having the capability to actually give a shit whether his clothes got ashy—and began softly weeping.

[Primrosette]

((Scarlett McAfee continued from Falling Back To The Earth))

Scarlett didn't know how long she had been running and she had no idea where she was heading. She hadn't even bothered to look at her map ever since she left those girls back in a field of flowers and she felt slightly guilty for abandoning them. But right now, her own focus was on trying to find Everett and Michael. She was afraid of being alone. But she was always afraid of losing either of them. She felt like she had strange bond with the guys and she didn't want to lose that right now.

Scarlett stopped running after a while and she was almost about to collapse. But then she saw the building in front of her and she thought that it would be a good idea for her to rest there. Sure, it was in ruins. But she'd take anywhere to rest. She needed a break.

She took a few steps foward and she noticed somebody's form out of the corner of her eye. And that crying....

I realize that crying from someone I know.

Scarlett lowered the targe to her side and she couldn't help but smile. It possibly wasn't the right thing to do. But she didn't care. One of the people who were important to her was right in front of her. She was just glad that she was able to find him by chance.

She started to move towards him, taking gentle paces in her steps.

"E-Everett...?"

[Kermit]

Everett just felt empty; like if somehow when he shot Aaron and lost bandage-girl, he'd lost a bit of himself each time. He'd found a purpose with bandage-girl's hunt for Blaine, something to keep him from turning the gun on himself, but now?

Now he had nothing.




"E-Everett...?"

A voice, a familiar voice-no, not just a familiar voice. Scarlett's voice.

He stood up, staring at the girl. He wasn't crying from despair any more, instead from joy or hope or some other emotion that would inevitably be destroyed.

"Scarlett?"

He went in for a hug.

[Primrosette]

Scarlett could only watch as Everett approached her with open arms and she suddenly dropped the shield to the ground beside her. She ignored it as it made a loud noise and all she could do was focus all of her attention on Everett in front of her. She was just so relieved that she found him. She had been so worried about him. She was still worried about his well-being. Since Aaron.... She wondered what Everett was thinking.

She welcomed the hug and she felt herself starting to choke up herself. She felt tears running down her cheeks and she didn't even care. She was just so glad that her friend was safe and sound.

"I-I was so scared that something happened to you. I lost track of you and Michael. I was all alone and.... and...."

She didn't want to let go of Everett. She was afraid that she would lose him once again.

[Kermit]

The hug was reciprocated. Scarlett began crying and Everett started crying harder and the whole damned thing was a mess, really.

He just couldn't say anything. Anything that he could say would be best left unsaid; it would just be redundant.

Scarlett began cry-talking and all Everett could do was comfort her.

"H-Hey, it's okay. I'm here now." He gave her a few pats on the back. "I-It's okay now..."



Wait...

Scarlett had mentioned she wasn't with Michael.

He moved out of the hug.

"I-I thought Michael was with you..."

He stared down at the ground.

[Primrosette]

Scarlett sniffled a few times, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and then she glanced at Everett, feeling lost and confused. So Michael wasn't with Everett. She was hoping that they would have been together. But it seemed that she had to look for Michael as well.

"I thought he was with you. I didn't realize that we all separated from each other." Scarlett said honestly, brushing a strand of her hair out of her face. "Well, I think that we should go and look for Michael. I don't think that we are safe. I mean, you know.

This isn't a good start after finding each other.

She placed a hand on Everett's shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "I'm going to stay with you this time. I'll make sure to not let you out of my sight, Everett." She was trying hard to lighten the mood. "I wanted to ask. This might not be the right thing for me to ask but.... Do you think about Aaron?"

She paused for a few seconds.

"Because I do. It's my fault that you pulled the gun. I should have just walked away. But I thought that maybe we could have had more allies and then.... I don't know."

[Kermit]

Scarlett confirmed that she hadn't seen Michael. Everett should've felt all right with that—Michael'd proven himself to be a liability—but he didn't. He didn't feel all right at all.

Scarlett asked him a question. A question about Aaron. She answered it herself before Everett had a chance to.

"L-Listen..." He didn't know what the fuck he was doing. "I-I'm the one who shot him. It's my fault. And you know, I wish I could go back, change the way things happened, but..." He inhaled. "I can't. We can't. We can't change the past." He looked down at the ground. "There hasn't been a second I haven't regretted what I've done, but I can't do anything about it. We've just gotta figure out how to...make it not happen again. We need to find Michael..." He looked back up. "And Blaine."

[Lord_Shadow]

((Tania Chell continued from Princess Aquapussy))

The walk had been mostly uneventful, they even got to stop and rest for the night in a somewhat safe space. It was a little cold maybe, but it was alright. Tania freed herself from the burden of the vest, having let her new best friend borrow it. Poor Bunny certainly needed it more now that she was hurt.

The announcement came on sometime during their resumed walk. Tania tried to shut it all out. She remembered hearing about the announcements from the last game from some of the regulars at the cafe. They sounded so gruesome sometimes, and this one was no different.

She felt a little guilty at the mention of two names in particular. Jeanette, having died at the hands of Sophie. The remark made it sound like she had wanted to be killed. She must've been dying from her injuries at the lake.

If only, if only Tania hadn't been so indecisive and helpless. She could've said or done something to defuse the situation and no one would've gotten hurt. She hated herself for being so spineless. She was a useless liability right now, and that needed to change. She resolved to do better and to be a more assertive person.

She had to be now that she was carrying the weight of that guilt. It weighed in her soul even more than the vest had on her body.

---

She trudged along toward the shipping yard. That had to be the safest place here now. She would get there with Bunny and maybe find some others who could help and they would all work together to figure out what to do. Maybe some bit of folklore or cultural mythology could give her an idea that could help.

It was in this train of thought that she came across the Scorched Ruin. The place looked like it had seen much better days. "We're not the only ones who have been affected by things beyond our control, I guess." She missed to herself.

It was then that she heard the voices, and what sounded like sobbing. Someone was in trouble, just like she had been. Time to redeem herself. She looked back at Bunny. "I'm gonna see who that is. You can wait here or come along if you want. I don't want to put too much pressure on you with your injuries."

She stared moving closer to the other people. She turned a corner around some rubble blocking her sight and saw them standing together. "Hey, is something wrong? Do you need help?" She called out the first thing that came into her mind.

Sooner or later she would have to make the decision to be selfish, she knew, but right now she needed to be the most helpful person in the world.

[Primrosette]

Scarlett knew that Everett would say that it was his fault as well. She never blamed him for what happened. But he was right about one thing. They had to make sure that it didn't happen again. She wasn't going to tell him to give back her former gun. No, she didn't distrust him. She didn't think that he would even shoot her. They had just cried and hugged each other not that long ago. She trusted him completely. Yes, he was now a killer but he was no Blaine who had been aiming to kill pretty much everyone.

Before she could even say anything to him, she heard a girl's voice calling out to them and she turned her head to see who it was. She could barely see the girl but her name was coming to Scarlett's mind. Tania?

"Oh, hi there." She said, feeling slightly awkward and she leaned over to pick up the shield. It was better to be safe than sorry. "We...." She glanced over at Everett, unsure if she should try to be friendly this time. She didn't want to have another 'Aaron' sitution. We were just leaving. We don't need any help. But thanks for the offer."

Was it okay for her to try to make the both of them leave? She didn't want to come off as rude, but she didn't want to cause trouble again. She didn't want anyone else to die.

[Pippi]

((Bunny Barlowe continued from Princess Aquapussy))

Bunny’s mind was also fixated on Jeanette’s death the previous day, as the two made their not-so-merry way towards the shipping yard. The announcement looped endlessly in her head, the same section over and over. Her head swam as she walked, a constant throbbing pain behind her brand-new bandages plastered over her forehead. It felt as though Danya’s words were slamming against it and trying to push through.

Jeanette was dead. And Bunny hadn’t been credited for her kill.

She supposed she ought to be happy, now that that waste of good air was out of her hair permanently. Heck, she doubted she could even count the number of people who’d miss her on one hand. But, man. The death left a bad taste in her mouth. From the sounds of things, Jeanette had asked to be killed. Either she had been dying, or she wanted to die. If she had been dying, then it was probably from Bunny’s own bullet. If she wanted to die… well, why not let that wound kill her? Once you were dead, the whos and whys of your death didn’t really matter, did they?

It should have been her. It should have been Bunny’s name on the announcements, it had been her rightful kill, the one thing she absolutely needed to escape this place. Even beyond the grave, that cunt had managed to hurt her.

Whenever Tania had turned to talk with her during the long walk from the lake towards the shipping yard, Bunny had turned on the charm full blast, all bright smiles and giggles and making sure that Tania knew that they were best friends, friend! As soon as she turned away, her expression became sullen and moody, a glint in her eye that a basilisk would be proud of.

They had gone in a straight line from the lake, and that path took them straight through the scorched ruins. Her head pounded as they strode through the debris and charred remnants of buildings. She barely heard Scarlett and Everett’s conversation over it, and it took several seconds for her brain to process what Tania had said. She nodded, and gave the girl the weakest of smiles.

“I’ll be with you in a tic! I’m just… gonna rest here for a lil’ bit…” Bunny mumbled, not knowing nor caring if Tania had heard her. She slumped against a crumbling wall, breathed heavily, and shut her eyes as she rolled her head back, her skull making a gentle thud noise as it hit blackened wood.

The sun felt warm on her face, and her vision behind her eyelids was bright white. She could feel every fibre of her being sighing in relief at a chance for some rest. She could feel the gross sweat clinging to her back and her boobs, and the pain in her forehead and the stitch in her ribs pounded an uneven rhythm. As happy as she was to have gotten the bulletproof vest with the exact opposite of resistance, it had made an already arduous trek across the island twice as exhausting and painful.

“Oh well…”

A delicate Bunny-Speciality smile crept onto her face. Just a little bit of rest. Then she’d see who was around the corner. Hopefully they’d be a lot more accommodating than Sophie and Jeany Beany Rotting In Hell-eeny had been.

[Kermit]

Everett was silent for a few seconds. There wasn't really anything he wanted to say, anything he could say.

Someone else sure did have something to say, though.

"Hey, is something wrong? Do you need help?"

Everett fished the revolver out of his pocket, clicking down the hammer whilst doing so. He turned his body towards the new arrival, aiming the gun down at the ground near her feet.

He really hoped he wouldn't end up like Aaron right about now.

The new girl was Tania Chell. He knew her, kind of. They ran in the same kind of social circles. He made eye contact with her.

"Hi, Tania."

Scarlett told her that no, they in fact did not need any help, and that they were just leaving. Everett nodded his head towards Scarlett.

"What she said."

[Lord_Shadow]

Tania froze when the gun came into view. This was the second time she had a gun pointed at her in as many days.

The first was by her new best friend Bunny.

She tried to smile, but it came out forced and strained. "Oh. My mistake, I'm sorry to have troubled you. I meant no offense." She forced herself to keep that strained smile as she closed her eyes.

Please oh God don't shoot me. Please dear God I don't want to die. Not again not again not again no no no no why me why me fucking fuck shit dammit fuck fuck hell I don't wanna die die die die die die die die die

Die dead death dying just like Jeannette no one will miss me no one will care oh god why did I give Bunny my vest stupid idiot dumbass moron you're gonna die die die die die shot shot shot

"It's crazy, but this is actually the second time someone's drawn a gun on me. Funny how that works out huh?"

Oh my god why are you telling them that what is wrong with you stupid idiot moron imbecile shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up

"I'm scared. I don't wanna die. Please don't kill me."

[Primrosette]

Scarlett knew that Everett was being cautious with the gun this time. He had a right to. But she thought that Tania didn't seem like the type to hurt anyone. But she couldn't judge a book by its cover. She could be way off about Tania. However, her questioning side was starting to take over. She needed to know who had been pointing a gun at Tania.

She looked at Everett for a moment and then she shook her head slowly. "Don't, Everett." She whispered to him quietly, pleading with her eyes. "I don't want this to turn into a bad situation again. So, please, lower the gun. For now."

She glanced back at Tania, biting at the corners of her lip with her teeth.

"We're not going to hurt you, Tania. Really, we don't want any trouble. We're just being more protective of ourselves. We don't have anything against you. Okay? I have a question for you though. Who was the one who pointed a gun on you the first time? We can keep a lookout for whoever it is if we know them."

Is it Blaine? If so, I will be very unforgiving....

[Cake]

[[Wendy Fischer Continued From: I'm Looking For a Place to Start, But Everything Feels So Different Now]]

"Hi Bunny."

Wendy very casually addressed the resting girl with a delicate smile sitting on the ground, strolling right past her without a single thought. She tossed the crumpled-up wrapper of a survival ration bar she'd been eating on the way, behind her, where the bunny sat as she headed into what used to be the interior of this blackened building space.

Maybe if she was lucky, she could find some pants here. This skirt simply wouldn't do. It was getting more and more of a hassle to travel in it. Torn up at the seams the more she wandered. Plus, there was no place to conveniently store her new knife. She needed pockets and they were found on pants.

With every step in, Wendy imagined the flames, similar to the campfire but larger, wilder, eating up the building from the inside out. She wondered how it happened.

Wendy spun the tar rod she held as a walking stick, the cooler in her other hand. Maybe it was the tar. Maybe it was a gas leak. Maybe some kid just went ahead and lit themselves on fire. Who knew, really. So many ways it could have played out, so many unexplained explanations.

She touched the blackened lumber that still stood tall, flat and resembling its previous life as a wall. Then she envisioned the screams, the shouts. The gunshots, the burning boy. Her own smoking, crisp, charred corpse, sans pigtails, collapsing onto the smoldering floor in ash.

"Oh F-" Wendy stopped herself, mid-curse. She lifted her hand from the wall. This imagination of hers was too much. She took a step in reverse. Backed away.

As she delved further in, Wendy heard the words, the questions, a conversation between three people. Excitement rising. She turned the corner. With a gasp, her eyes opened to the fullest.

"Oh-my-gosh. Everett!" Wendy blurted cheerfully, her blue cooler chalked into grey, puffing up a small cloud of ash as it landed with a thud onto the dust-stricken floor.

Her heart pounded at the sight of the heavy-set boy in a white-collar button shirt and tie, with a big fat handgun to match. There were two other girls in here too.

One of them had been speaking to the other before Wendy had interrupted mid-sentence. It was Scarlett, asking a question to one of the girls Wendy had seen at the lake, early yesterday. She hadn't been the one spoken to, but Wendy felt like replying anyway. It was fun responding to questions she already knew the answer to.

"Oh, you mean Bunny?"

A look at Scarlett, a second to the other girl, Tania; attention to both, back and forth, eye to eye to eye.

"She's sitting right outside."



[Pippin Approved]

[Pippi]

Y’know what? This was nice. So nice, in fact, that Bunny laced her fingers together and slid her hands behind her head. She didn’t quite look like she was sunbathing – the bloodstained, mud drenched outfit she was wearing in place of a cute bikini was a fairly big giveaway – but for someone who had been sent through a wringer of emotions the previous day, she looked the picture of relaxation.

She felt warm, maybe a little too warm, but it was better than being cold. She could feel her aches and pains begin to melt away as her breathing slipped back into its regular pattern. Best of all, she felt confident.

This all hinged on one simple fact; that Tania was duller than a broken sandwich. She’d had a run in with four other people on her very first day out here, and she had deemed all of them suspicious. All of them except for Bunny. That fact still felt pretty alien to her, but hey, whatever worked worked! She was going to win this. She would be the last person alive. And if Tania was willing to give Bunny her weapon for nothing more than the promise of friendship, then, surely, she’d be willing to do a lot more for her. Just so long as Bunny kept up the pretence of trust.

She didn’t like to think of it as Tania wrapped around her finger. It was an uncomfortable reminder of what she was planning on doing. It was easier to consider it a partnership with mutual benefits, weighted slightly in Bunny’s favour. But a rose by any other name still had thorns.

Now, obviously, she couldn’t just go and repeat what she’d done at the lake. That was a big no-no for a lot of reasons, but most prominent was-

Wait, hold on. Someone had just greeted her, hadn’t they?

Bunny opened her eyes just in time to see a flash of blonde pigtail whip around the corner. She narrowed her eyes, ready to call out to whoever it was who had greeted and departed in the space of a breath. It took about a second for her to change her mind and rest her head back against her hands. The Mysterious Newcomer had gone in the same direction Tania had. Bunny would find out who she was in a second.

So, where was she? Oh, right, no repeat performances of the lake. Even someone as dumb as Tania would probably lose a lot of trust if Bunny decided to draw first. She would have to try a different tack.

Bunny scrambled to her feet, stretching her arms up above her head until she felt her back click, before heading into the scorched building, softly humming to herself.

It didn’t take long for her to stumble upon the other occupants. There were four of them, including Tania. Wendy, total airhead and ditz, Everett, kinda a patsy, and Scarlett, who had terrible taste in films. A big smile broke onto Bunny’s face, and she waved cheerfully at them all. Even with the gun that Everett was clutching onto, this should be a piece of cake.

“Hey guys!” she chirped. “What’s all the commotion?”