Damn, Bishop had it even worse than Kass realized. The guy had made and lost an ally, witnessed a murder, and nearly been killed himself. The poor guy really needed a break. She couldn't provide him with much aside from a listening ear, an extra pair of eyes, and what she hoped would be some decent protection, but she was pretty sure that he was far better off with her and Marion than he was out there alone, dealing with psychos and murderers without any backup.
And speaking of psychos, what the fuck was up with Bridie? Kass knew that there were going to be people that were going to kill. It sucked, but that was what the Program did to people, and it was what some particularly sick fucks anticipated. But for someone to just say that they were killing because that's what they thought they were supposed to do? And turning around and telling someone else to kill her? That was just a level beyond. Kassandra couldn't fathom thinking like that. Hell, she didn't even know what it would take to make someone think like that. Her best guess would be a total lack of ability to think for oneself.
She never wanted to be like that, not in any way. It was people who thought like that that fed into the Program, that made it what it was. And the worst part was that it could happen to anyone, even people who seemed perfectly normal. People snapped, and people changed. And in the end, there was nothing but destroyed lives, and it doesn't even matter who was left standing. No one was immune to the rot of the Program, and she feared that if she got pushed too far, she would become just like the rest, just another murderer.
She crossed her arms and gave Bishop a downcast look, issuing a small apology for his troubles amidst all of the strife on her own mind. "Shit. Sorry, man."
Twisted Steel in a Twisted World
Phase 1 (0-12 Hours)
"Yeah, that sucks," Marion sympathized. "So what now?"
"I-it's okay, it's not your f-fault. Y-you guys have had it r-rough too. I-it... It's to be expected, really."
Those last words stung a bit as they left Bishop's mouth. 'It's to be expected' is something you say when you lose at a casino, when a girl you hardly know turns you down, or when you lose a match in any competitive game. Not when somebody shoots at you or kills another person right in front of you. But, that didn't exactly change how true that statement was either. They were in a death game where it was either kill or be killed. One where the more patriotic bastards were motivated by their "duty" to make the people who sent them to die proud and the rest by their own will to survive. It was insane, the type of thing publishers would turn away in an instant for being too outrageous a concept for a story. But, for Bishop at least, this wasn't a story. This was their reality, and they had to find out how the hell to deal with it.
But, of course, that then raises the question of how the hell you even do that. How do you deal with something that is very likely your gory and painful encroaching mortality? Can you even do that at all? Knowing that somebody you shared your school days with is going to kill you, or that you'll only survive if everyone else dies instead. It... Wasn't exactly what Bishop would call a comforting thought.
Still, for now at least, he was still alive. And in the end, that was all that mattered. The longer he could put off his impending doom, the better, really.
"As for what now... w-well... After the announcements, I-I was thinking the three of u-us try and like... Try and find Rodney and Mina. I-I mean... If you two wouldn't m-mind me c-coming along...?"
Those last words stung a bit as they left Bishop's mouth. 'It's to be expected' is something you say when you lose at a casino, when a girl you hardly know turns you down, or when you lose a match in any competitive game. Not when somebody shoots at you or kills another person right in front of you. But, that didn't exactly change how true that statement was either. They were in a death game where it was either kill or be killed. One where the more patriotic bastards were motivated by their "duty" to make the people who sent them to die proud and the rest by their own will to survive. It was insane, the type of thing publishers would turn away in an instant for being too outrageous a concept for a story. But, for Bishop at least, this wasn't a story. This was their reality, and they had to find out how the hell to deal with it.
But, of course, that then raises the question of how the hell you even do that. How do you deal with something that is very likely your gory and painful encroaching mortality? Can you even do that at all? Knowing that somebody you shared your school days with is going to kill you, or that you'll only survive if everyone else dies instead. It... Wasn't exactly what Bishop would call a comforting thought.
Still, for now at least, he was still alive. And in the end, that was all that mattered. The longer he could put off his impending doom, the better, really.
"As for what now... w-well... After the announcements, I-I was thinking the three of u-us try and like... Try and find Rodney and Mina. I-I mean... If you two wouldn't m-mind me c-coming along...?"
Finding Rodney and Mina? That job would be a lot harder than it sounded, and considering the possibilities of what they could end up finding, Kassandra couldn't be positive that it would be a worthwhile task to undertake. Obviously, they could already be dead. Hell, considering the situation where they lost contact with Mina, that was a very present possibility. But on the flipside, they could have snapped and started killing, or succumbed to despair in some other way. A day was a long, long time in the Program, and a lot could happen in just a few hours. She could provide a good example just with her and Marion's journey up to that point.
But even with the uncertainty involved, Kass couldn't ignore the possibility of a positive result. More people in heir group would give them a bigger shot at working out a solution, a peaceful way to get them out of the Program. All they would need is a plan and a chance. They didn't have either quite yet, but they wouldn't find either of them if they never did anything about it.
Besides, in times as tough as this, she was going to hold on to everything that even slightly resembled hope.
"Sure. A new friend never hurt." She welcomed Bishop into their tiny group. "We're setting up camp here at least until the announcements, so I'd suggest getting comfy."
But even with the uncertainty involved, Kass couldn't ignore the possibility of a positive result. More people in heir group would give them a bigger shot at working out a solution, a peaceful way to get them out of the Program. All they would need is a plan and a chance. They didn't have either quite yet, but they wouldn't find either of them if they never did anything about it.
Besides, in times as tough as this, she was going to hold on to everything that even slightly resembled hope.
"Sure. A new friend never hurt." She welcomed Bishop into their tiny group. "We're setting up camp here at least until the announcements, so I'd suggest getting comfy."
"That sounds fine to me," Marion said. "Just don't forget we also have to find Brittany."
"Yeah, t-that sounds fair. Though..." Bishop paused for a moment, before asking curiously. "W-what about after we f-find her? W-what do we do then? How do we get the key b-back?"
Kassandra shrugged. "We outnumber her, and we have weapons. If she didn't ditch it somewhere, then we'll take it. Sucks for her, but we wouldn't have to do it if she didn't hit us first."
"Well, first we get the key from her," Marion said. "Then I get out of these cuffs, after which I plan on using them on her, in addition to the ball gag. We'll leave her bound and gagged and left to die somewhere, like she did to me, maybe rough her up a bit before we leave her, vent our frustrations and shit, and hopefully since we wouldn't have necessarily killed her directly, our names wouldn't end up on the announcements for killing her."
She admittedly hadn't realized the part about the announcements until now, but now that she had, she figured she may as well use it to provide justification to her desire for karmic revenge, not to mention it made her sound smarter than she actually was.
She admittedly hadn't realized the part about the announcements until now, but now that she had, she figured she may as well use it to provide justification to her desire for karmic revenge, not to mention it made her sound smarter than she actually was.
"Wait what?!" Bishop exclaimed, somewhat in shock at Marion's answer. "I-I get robbing her, what she did was awful, b-b-b-but..."
What Marion said made sense, kind of. Brittany left her for dead and all so Marion had every right to want revenge. But still, the idea of doing the same thing to Brittany didn't sit right with him. It felt needlessly cruel at best and out right murder at worst. That... Wasn't something Bishop wanted to do.
"C-can't we, like... Not do that? She's horrible, I-I get that, but... We just need to get your bag back, right? D-don't you think anything further is a bit... Unnecessary?"
What Marion said made sense, kind of. Brittany left her for dead and all so Marion had every right to want revenge. But still, the idea of doing the same thing to Brittany didn't sit right with him. It felt needlessly cruel at best and out right murder at worst. That... Wasn't something Bishop wanted to do.
"C-can't we, like... Not do that? She's horrible, I-I get that, but... We just need to get your bag back, right? D-don't you think anything further is a bit... Unnecessary?"
Shit. Kassandra was stuck in the middle now. Marion wanted to extract some pretty brutal revenge on Brittany, and Bishop was pretty clearly against that. Where did Kassandra stand? She wasn't fully leaning one way or the other. On one hand, she thought that Marion's plan was kind of extreme. But on the other, she really wanted to give Brittany a few good punches for the dildo beating and what she had done to Marion.
And that was before she even dug into the personal part of the matter. Bishop had been a friend of hers even before all of this went down, and Marion had an effect on her that she had never felt from anyone else, even though she was still miffed about what went down after Brittany chased her off. She didn't want to risk upsetting one party or the other, so she went with a noncommital reply while she still had time to think.
"I just want the key."
And that was before she even dug into the personal part of the matter. Bishop had been a friend of hers even before all of this went down, and Marion had an effect on her that she had never felt from anyone else, even though she was still miffed about what went down after Brittany chased her off. She didn't want to risk upsetting one party or the other, so she went with a noncommital reply while she still had time to think.
"I just want the key."
Damn, Bishop was way too soft for the program. Marion's attempt at justification didn't seem to work on him. She struggled a bit to come up with something to say, before saying, "Look, I guess we can set her free after we've taught her a lesson. But there's no way I'm letting her get away with what she did to me and Kass unpunished."
Marion was dead set on getting some kind of payback on Brittany, wasn't she? Bishop could understand that. He couldn't help but to feel a little bad about telling her he didn't want to leave Brittany to die, but at the same time did that really make them any better than her? Bishop didn't really think so, especially since all it would really do is please the people who threw them in here. Though, at the same time, he wasn't the one Brittany left for dead, nor was he the one she assaulted. He was just somebody who walked in on the situation telling the people she hurt that their quest for revenge was wrong. Should he really do that?
Ultimately, he decided against it. But he wasn't letting her be left with the same punishment she gave Marion. No way in hell was he going to allow it.
"W-well..." Bishop paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts before saying. "S-she did take all of your stuff, right? Well... I know it won't m-make up for leaving you chained to a gazebo, but... Why don't we j-just... Take all of hers? I-it wouldn't leave her to get tortured to death b-by some crazy person, but it would at least be some kind of justice.
Ultimately, he decided against it. But he wasn't letting her be left with the same punishment she gave Marion. No way in hell was he going to allow it.
"W-well..." Bishop paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts before saying. "S-she did take all of your stuff, right? Well... I know it won't m-make up for leaving you chained to a gazebo, but... Why don't we j-just... Take all of hers? I-it wouldn't leave her to get tortured to death b-by some crazy person, but it would at least be some kind of justice.
Kassandra didn't hate Bishop's plan. It was still payback, but it wasn't really stooping to Brittany's level. Well, not totally, at least. She had to pay, that was for damn sure. Might as well do it in a way that didn't involve having to touch the ball-gag again.
Damn, she hadn't thought about that thing in a while. How gross did it have to be at that point, just sitting in the bag gathering lint, fuzz and whatever else might be in there. She dreaded the next time she had to reach into that bag to grab something, for the mere possibility that she might brush up against it. She almost shuddered just thinking about it.
But even though Kass was down with this idea, she wasn't Brittany's main victim. She deferred to Marion to get her thoughts on the matter.
"Marion?"
Damn, she hadn't thought about that thing in a while. How gross did it have to be at that point, just sitting in the bag gathering lint, fuzz and whatever else might be in there. She dreaded the next time she had to reach into that bag to grab something, for the mere possibility that she might brush up against it. She almost shuddered just thinking about it.
But even though Kass was down with this idea, she wasn't Brittany's main victim. She deferred to Marion to get her thoughts on the matter.
"Marion?"
"I mean, I was already planning on doing that anyway, or at least taking my stuff back," Marion admitted. "Let's not worry too much on what we'll do to her though for now, we can worry about it when we actually find her."
They didn't agree to it.
They didn't dismiss Bishop's plan, sure, but nether of them gave him a definitive yes either before Marion shut down all discussion. This had happened before, back at his old school in fact. When his mother was talking with some board member about that bully that assaulted him earlier in the day. Using the excuse of "I have a meeting" or something to get out of actually talking about it, or even doing his damn job. Almost like he didn't even care about the poor boy or intended to punish the assailant at all. Sure, this wasn't anywhere near the same level as that, he wasn't the victim here, the two of them were, but it still felt just as dismissive.
Still, at this point there wasn't much point in arguing it. If it came up later, maybe he could push them the other way, but for now there was nothing to gain by pushing the subject. Especially in a place like this. So, all he could really do was sigh before asking the girls something else.
"O-okay then... Well, aside from finding people, do you two have a-any other plans?"
They didn't dismiss Bishop's plan, sure, but nether of them gave him a definitive yes either before Marion shut down all discussion. This had happened before, back at his old school in fact. When his mother was talking with some board member about that bully that assaulted him earlier in the day. Using the excuse of "I have a meeting" or something to get out of actually talking about it, or even doing his damn job. Almost like he didn't even care about the poor boy or intended to punish the assailant at all. Sure, this wasn't anywhere near the same level as that, he wasn't the victim here, the two of them were, but it still felt just as dismissive.
Still, at this point there wasn't much point in arguing it. If it came up later, maybe he could push them the other way, but for now there was nothing to gain by pushing the subject. Especially in a place like this. So, all he could really do was sigh before asking the girls something else.
"O-okay then... Well, aside from finding people, do you two have a-any other plans?"