(OOC: Sorry, short)
For a few terrifying seconds it seemed like Simon’s comments had angered the girl, and the last thing you want to do is make a crazy person with a gun angry at you, but then she seemed to be placated by something he had said and calmed down; though the gun was still pointed in his direction.
Still, the things this girl was saying now at least gave Simon a better idea of what had happened here, if he read through the crazy to get the truth. Seems he was right and the two had killed each other after getting into an argument and apparently the girl had been travelling with them or at least witnessed the killing like he thought.
“Urm, right Iris. I’m Simon, from Chicago”
I'm In Despair! Mad Science Has Left Me In Despair!
Iris had not asked for his name. She knew this. She found it very rude but she didn't call him out for it.
"Chicago?" She was aware of the name and recognized it as a city. Day one, in the church with Holly, Iris would have pressed Simon on the subject. She would have asked him where Chicago was, whether he had family there, what life was like for him. Iris had been a very curious creature. That was then. Now, in the beautifully pathetic place that she found herself, she knew that such questions were pointless. She was with her friends. Knowing more about this random boy would only serve to waste the precious time she had left.
So Iris smiled. She stroked her friend's cheek, and gave Simon a tilt of her head. It was a look that someone might call cute, under normal circumstances.
"S'been almost two days." She said, turning grave all of a sudden. As grave as a smiling girl could turn. "Y'all must have been walkin' fer some time. I'd let yah stay but... I ain't sure how they'd feel." She motioned to her lively friends.
"Chicago?" She was aware of the name and recognized it as a city. Day one, in the church with Holly, Iris would have pressed Simon on the subject. She would have asked him where Chicago was, whether he had family there, what life was like for him. Iris had been a very curious creature. That was then. Now, in the beautifully pathetic place that she found herself, she knew that such questions were pointless. She was with her friends. Knowing more about this random boy would only serve to waste the precious time she had left.
So Iris smiled. She stroked her friend's cheek, and gave Simon a tilt of her head. It was a look that someone might call cute, under normal circumstances.
"S'been almost two days." She said, turning grave all of a sudden. As grave as a smiling girl could turn. "Y'all must have been walkin' fer some time. I'd let yah stay but... I ain't sure how they'd feel." She motioned to her lively friends.
Upon hearing her words, Simon could feel the weariness he had abandoned earlier seeping back into his body; she was right, he had been walking ever since he left the Cable Car Station and before that ever since the game had started, the few short breaks along the way notwithstanding. He stayed alert though, forced himself not to give in and just collapse right then and there, there would be time for rest later.
Iris’ next words helped keep him awake though, the implication behind them and the dissonance between what she was saying and what was reality a strong reminder that letting his guard down around this unhinged girl would not be a good idea.
Just as he was trying to come up with what to say next, carefully choosing his words as to not set up some hair trigger within the girls fragile mind, the speakers positioned seemingly everywhere burst to life as the latest announcement was made.
It’s got to be getting down to the wire now. How many people are left?
As usual Simon endured the usual rambling at the start, this time some nonsense about an apple Danish, barely paying enough attention to catch the first name she would read out. There it was, Johnny Marsh, a failed attempt at humour followed by the next name, Holly Chapman; apparently these two had killed each other, were they the same two people who currently occupied the beach along with him and Iris? In some part of his mind he knew this would happen eventually, he just hoped he would have more time.
Some part of him still listened to the announcement as his mind scrambled, the familiar name of Chris Richardson being read out and the silly idea of him being cursed becoming slightly more plausible. Four people dying straight after meeting him and another going crazy literally just as he arrived? He was practically a walking bad omen by this point.
But back to Iris, the more than a little unstable girl who had just been confronted with the fact her two best friends were in fact dead. Simon wondered how she would deal with it; would her insane denial of the truth right in front of her be more powerful than the harsh announcement of the facts? Would she calmly accept it, carry on like she never heard it, burst into tears or simply just go on a rampage with him as the first victim?
“Iris?”
As if the hazardous situation couldn’t get any worse, the list of the next dangerzones to be activated included this area and again Simon was faced with a decision between what was smart, and would let him live, and what was right, and would most likely kill him. He should just leave the girl there, run now and escape the Danger Zone while the crazy person played with her corpse friends right up until the second her implanted chip exploded. Or, he could try to take the girl with him, reason with her, help her through what ever mental, emotional anguish she would go through once the fact her friends were dead sank in and hopefully let them both live till end game. Or, more likely, attempt to do all the above and end up dying alongside her when the timer hit zero.
“Are you ok?”
Iris’ next words helped keep him awake though, the implication behind them and the dissonance between what she was saying and what was reality a strong reminder that letting his guard down around this unhinged girl would not be a good idea.
Just as he was trying to come up with what to say next, carefully choosing his words as to not set up some hair trigger within the girls fragile mind, the speakers positioned seemingly everywhere burst to life as the latest announcement was made.
It’s got to be getting down to the wire now. How many people are left?
As usual Simon endured the usual rambling at the start, this time some nonsense about an apple Danish, barely paying enough attention to catch the first name she would read out. There it was, Johnny Marsh, a failed attempt at humour followed by the next name, Holly Chapman; apparently these two had killed each other, were they the same two people who currently occupied the beach along with him and Iris? In some part of his mind he knew this would happen eventually, he just hoped he would have more time.
Some part of him still listened to the announcement as his mind scrambled, the familiar name of Chris Richardson being read out and the silly idea of him being cursed becoming slightly more plausible. Four people dying straight after meeting him and another going crazy literally just as he arrived? He was practically a walking bad omen by this point.
But back to Iris, the more than a little unstable girl who had just been confronted with the fact her two best friends were in fact dead. Simon wondered how she would deal with it; would her insane denial of the truth right in front of her be more powerful than the harsh announcement of the facts? Would she calmly accept it, carry on like she never heard it, burst into tears or simply just go on a rampage with him as the first victim?
“Iris?”
As if the hazardous situation couldn’t get any worse, the list of the next dangerzones to be activated included this area and again Simon was faced with a decision between what was smart, and would let him live, and what was right, and would most likely kill him. He should just leave the girl there, run now and escape the Danger Zone while the crazy person played with her corpse friends right up until the second her implanted chip exploded. Or, he could try to take the girl with him, reason with her, help her through what ever mental, emotional anguish she would go through once the fact her friends were dead sank in and hopefully let them both live till end game. Or, more likely, attempt to do all the above and end up dying alongside her when the timer hit zero.
“Are you ok?”
(Sorry Fenrir, this is kind of short.)
"Yes?" Iris said quickly, as though to distract Simon from the announcement. He asked her if she was alright, and that down right angered her. "No no I'm fine. Nothin' yah need to worry bout."
Yes she heard the announcement. Yes she knew exactly what she heard. So what was the conclusion? That, obviously, that there was another Holly and Johnny on this island who croaked. It was obvious wasn't it? The Holly and Johnny SHE knew were sitting here, perfectly fine. They weren't dead, just a little tired. Yeah. Yeah. That was it. Nothing else to it. It was all just one big misunderstand on her part and there was nothing she had to worry about because her friends were fine? Okay?
Why was Simon looking at her like that? Like she was crazy. How dare he!
"Why yah lookin' at me like that?!" She screamed. "Stop lookin' at me! Who told yah you could look at me?!"
She still had her gun out. Still loaded, still aimed at him. She could kill him - yeah, she would do it. Just... kill him like the bastard he was. The bastard he was. Iris never cursed. She would have felt bad. Daddy would have slapped her for saying, and yet Iris felt not a single drop of guilt. Iris stopped panting. She looked up at Simon, expression softening. Then she turned to her friend Holly and smiled.
"This boy is just'a big nut, right Holly? I'm perfectly fine, right?"
"... go on. Tell him Holly. Tell him he's crazy."
"... H-Holly?"
"...Holly...?"
"... Holly?! Talk damn it! Why are yah bein' so quiet?!"
"Yes?" Iris said quickly, as though to distract Simon from the announcement. He asked her if she was alright, and that down right angered her. "No no I'm fine. Nothin' yah need to worry bout."
Yes she heard the announcement. Yes she knew exactly what she heard. So what was the conclusion? That, obviously, that there was another Holly and Johnny on this island who croaked. It was obvious wasn't it? The Holly and Johnny SHE knew were sitting here, perfectly fine. They weren't dead, just a little tired. Yeah. Yeah. That was it. Nothing else to it. It was all just one big misunderstand on her part and there was nothing she had to worry about because her friends were fine? Okay?
Why was Simon looking at her like that? Like she was crazy. How dare he!
"Why yah lookin' at me like that?!" She screamed. "Stop lookin' at me! Who told yah you could look at me?!"
She still had her gun out. Still loaded, still aimed at him. She could kill him - yeah, she would do it. Just... kill him like the bastard he was. The bastard he was. Iris never cursed. She would have felt bad. Daddy would have slapped her for saying, and yet Iris felt not a single drop of guilt. Iris stopped panting. She looked up at Simon, expression softening. Then she turned to her friend Holly and smiled.
"This boy is just'a big nut, right Holly? I'm perfectly fine, right?"
"... go on. Tell him Holly. Tell him he's crazy."
"... H-Holly?"
"...Holly...?"
"... Holly?! Talk damn it! Why are yah bein' so quiet?!"
(OOC: That’s ok, mines even shorter. I’ve realised that there’s almost no way Simon is getting out of this situation unhurt, so feel free to take a shot at him if I slip up)
Simon, against his better judgement and every one of his brain cells telling him it was a stupid idea, stepped closer to Iris, slowly closing the distance between them. It seemed as if the girl was slowly starting to realise that her friends weren’t just sleeping, the announcement giving her reason to question her delusions, but she still wasn’t quite there.
He needed to think very carefully what to say at this delicate time, he didn’t want to risk Iris snapping and finally pulling the trigger on that gun, just like he didn’t want her to completely close off once the reality set in. He favoured outcome was for Iris to come with him, leave the danger zone with him before the signal to blow their brains, or where the chips were planted, up. Preferably all without him getting shot.
“Iris, Holly isn’t going to answer you, neither is Johnny. Now listen, did you hear the announcement? It said that the cove is about to become a danger zone, that means here, and we don’t have a lot of time left. We need to leave right now, and I don’t think your friends are going to be coming with us”
Simon, against his better judgement and every one of his brain cells telling him it was a stupid idea, stepped closer to Iris, slowly closing the distance between them. It seemed as if the girl was slowly starting to realise that her friends weren’t just sleeping, the announcement giving her reason to question her delusions, but she still wasn’t quite there.
He needed to think very carefully what to say at this delicate time, he didn’t want to risk Iris snapping and finally pulling the trigger on that gun, just like he didn’t want her to completely close off once the reality set in. He favoured outcome was for Iris to come with him, leave the danger zone with him before the signal to blow their brains, or where the chips were planted, up. Preferably all without him getting shot.
“Iris, Holly isn’t going to answer you, neither is Johnny. Now listen, did you hear the announcement? It said that the cove is about to become a danger zone, that means here, and we don’t have a lot of time left. We need to leave right now, and I don’t think your friends are going to be coming with us”
No. No no no, he was WRONG. The announcement was wrong! They were all wrong! Holly and Johnny were fine, they were alive! There was NO danger, her friends were fine! Perfectly fine! ABSOLUTELY FINE! IRIS WAS FINE! Why were they all trying to tell her something that she knew wasn't true?! It wasn't good to lie. Momma told her that. Lies were always bad because it was only a matter of time before people find out the truth, so don't ever lie Iris. So why was this boy lying? Why were they trying to fool her? Iris wasn't an idiot!
Iris held the hand with her necklack against the side of her head. The world was spinning, oh lord the world was spinning, someone help her, Holly, Johnny, Cristo, Momma, Daddy, anyone, help her! Help Iris Landon! In her mind she was screaming for help, waving flags, writing out SOS on the beach and yet no one was coming to rescue her. She was desperately, totally lost at sea and she couldn't take it.
"Shut up," she breathed heavily. She barked. "Shut yer mouth! Shut yer hole you son'ofabitch! I ain't listening to a word you're... saying... You're lying to me! I know it... I..."
Simon was right though. He wasn't wrong, he wasn't trying to fool Iris. The cove was becoming a dangerzone. Her friends were gone. Everything was gone. Nothing was left. Not for Iris. And this boy, this very nice boy was trying to get her out of the area as soon as possible. He was risking his life to save hers and the only thing she had to do was listen to him and follow him. It was the only thing Iris could do if he wanted to live.
And so she let out a scream and pulled the trigger.
Iris held the hand with her necklack against the side of her head. The world was spinning, oh lord the world was spinning, someone help her, Holly, Johnny, Cristo, Momma, Daddy, anyone, help her! Help Iris Landon! In her mind she was screaming for help, waving flags, writing out SOS on the beach and yet no one was coming to rescue her. She was desperately, totally lost at sea and she couldn't take it.
"Shut up," she breathed heavily. She barked. "Shut yer mouth! Shut yer hole you son'ofabitch! I ain't listening to a word you're... saying... You're lying to me! I know it... I..."
Simon was right though. He wasn't wrong, he wasn't trying to fool Iris. The cove was becoming a dangerzone. Her friends were gone. Everything was gone. Nothing was left. Not for Iris. And this boy, this very nice boy was trying to get her out of the area as soon as possible. He was risking his life to save hers and the only thing she had to do was listen to him and follow him. It was the only thing Iris could do if he wanted to live.
And so she let out a scream and pulled the trigger.
Simon had been gradually stepping closer to Iris as he waited for her response, getting ready for whatever that response might be, but stopped as soon as she reached up with her empty hand to clutch at the side of her head. It seemed like she was still trying to fight off the reality of the situation in her own head, still denying that anything was wrong though her voice seemed less sure the longer she went on; either way he didn’t move from his current spot, not wanting to get too close and risk spooking her in this state, nor seeing a reason to back away just yet.
After a while she suddenly went quite, her words tapering off into silence at a point that made Simon think that maybe she was finally starting to see the truth, a thought that brought a small smile to his face as it meant that they would both be able to get out of this alive; then she suddenly let out a startling scream and pointed the fire the gun that she had held pointed at him during the entire conversation. Luckily for him her recent mental crisis had thrown off her aim somewhat, sending the bullet wide by a large margin to bury itself in the sand a few feet away from where he stood. Nonetheless the bullet served its purpose in scaring Simon away, scampering away from the troubled girl as he did as soon as the trigger was pulled.
When it became apparent that Iris wasn’t about to suddenly fire off a second shot, Simon stopped in his retreat and looked back at the girl in front of him. He debated to himself the idea of trying to get close to her again, try to convince her to leave with him or even just drag her out of here himself if he had to, but he wasn’t sure if he would even survive a second attempt to get that close or if he would be able to do anything even if he did. Furthermore, he has no idea how long it has been since the last announcement, or how long they both have left before the danger zone is activated but he knows it can’t be long now.
As much as he hates to admit it, he doesn’t think he can save this girl, not with the time he has, not with her in the state she is right now and certainly not with his hands rendered useless by this stupid, fucking power they gave him. Is frustrated him to no end how helpless he had been for the majority of this game; everybody he had ever run into had died, he hadn’t managed to do anything in the way of escaping this experiment and he still hadn’t gotten any sleep since the start of this game. Still, the more he saw how much the thought of her friends being dead seemed to hurt Iris, the more he started to think that saving her life was inhumane, especially considering that neither of them would live much longer past this point anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to just let her die now is blissful ignorance than to drag her painfully along with him only to get shot a few hours from now?
Dejectedly, Simon pushed himself back to his feet and began stepping away from the scene, back to the trees that he had first emerged from when he first came here after hearing the gunshots.
“Sorry Iris, didn’t mean to bother you and your friends, I’ll just be leaving now. So hi to them from me once they wake up ok?”
Before she could say anything else Simon was gone, disappeared back into the trees and breaking into a sprint as soon as he was out of sight, pushing his tired body once more past its limits to keep him alive just a little while longer. He didn’t know which way he was going, still not having access to his map but just figured that if he ran far enough in one direction that would be enough to get him clear, he just kept running for that invisible finish line that marked the difference between ‘safe’ and ‘not quite far enough’. After that it was just a matter of finding a nice safe place to pass out for a few hours before continuing on with the futility of trying to escape.
****
(Simon Matthews Continued In Paper Dolls)
After a while she suddenly went quite, her words tapering off into silence at a point that made Simon think that maybe she was finally starting to see the truth, a thought that brought a small smile to his face as it meant that they would both be able to get out of this alive; then she suddenly let out a startling scream and pointed the fire the gun that she had held pointed at him during the entire conversation. Luckily for him her recent mental crisis had thrown off her aim somewhat, sending the bullet wide by a large margin to bury itself in the sand a few feet away from where he stood. Nonetheless the bullet served its purpose in scaring Simon away, scampering away from the troubled girl as he did as soon as the trigger was pulled.
When it became apparent that Iris wasn’t about to suddenly fire off a second shot, Simon stopped in his retreat and looked back at the girl in front of him. He debated to himself the idea of trying to get close to her again, try to convince her to leave with him or even just drag her out of here himself if he had to, but he wasn’t sure if he would even survive a second attempt to get that close or if he would be able to do anything even if he did. Furthermore, he has no idea how long it has been since the last announcement, or how long they both have left before the danger zone is activated but he knows it can’t be long now.
As much as he hates to admit it, he doesn’t think he can save this girl, not with the time he has, not with her in the state she is right now and certainly not with his hands rendered useless by this stupid, fucking power they gave him. Is frustrated him to no end how helpless he had been for the majority of this game; everybody he had ever run into had died, he hadn’t managed to do anything in the way of escaping this experiment and he still hadn’t gotten any sleep since the start of this game. Still, the more he saw how much the thought of her friends being dead seemed to hurt Iris, the more he started to think that saving her life was inhumane, especially considering that neither of them would live much longer past this point anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to just let her die now is blissful ignorance than to drag her painfully along with him only to get shot a few hours from now?
Dejectedly, Simon pushed himself back to his feet and began stepping away from the scene, back to the trees that he had first emerged from when he first came here after hearing the gunshots.
“Sorry Iris, didn’t mean to bother you and your friends, I’ll just be leaving now. So hi to them from me once they wake up ok?”
Before she could say anything else Simon was gone, disappeared back into the trees and breaking into a sprint as soon as he was out of sight, pushing his tired body once more past its limits to keep him alive just a little while longer. He didn’t know which way he was going, still not having access to his map but just figured that if he ran far enough in one direction that would be enough to get him clear, he just kept running for that invisible finish line that marked the difference between ‘safe’ and ‘not quite far enough’. After that it was just a matter of finding a nice safe place to pass out for a few hours before continuing on with the futility of trying to escape.
****
(Simon Matthews Continued In Paper Dolls)
Simon finally left and Iris lowered her gun. She sighed and quickly looked back at Holly, her only friend. Who did that boy think he was? Talking about her friends like they were dead! Who-
Who did he think...
Who... who was she kidding? She was...
Wrong. Wrong? Wrong.
That boy could have saved her. Instead she just scared him away.
"I-" She coughed. "I-"
Iris slapped herself across the face. As hard as she could. She winced, and took it. She braced her hand and hit herself again. And again.
Iris let go of Holly's head. She held onto her cheek, staring back down at her friend. Her face showed so much pain. Why did Holly have to die? Why couldn't she just accept Johnny? Why did they have to die? Why didn't she do anything to stop them?! Iris wanted to curl up into a ball, shut out the whole world and just rot. She wanted to just die. Most of all, she wanted to wake up from this terrible dream she was in.
And then Iris found herself alone. And she did not cry.
... she had time, right? A hour if she recalled correctly. Less than a hour at this stage.
Iris didn't have a very large list of things to wanted to finish, but there was one more thing she had to do. The reason why she came here in the first place. So she closed Holly's eyes with two fingers, kissed her cheek and rose.
She walked. As she walked, she thought. She thought about Holly. She thought about Johnny. She thought about... everything and nothing. About this game. This was all just a game right? It was not like any other game she played. People died in this game. They killed each other. So Iris had been lucky... she had made it further than a lot of the rest. Did that mean she was better than them? Iris never liked to compare herself with such terms. Better. Worse. We were all the same weren't we? So why should she ever consider herself better than Holly?
Holly... maybe Holly was the only reason she was still alive.
That made Iris frown. Frowning hurt everything.
Time passed. The cove was huge.
She really hoped she could find him. She had to find him, had to find him. Her heart was pounding.
There was an odd buzzing in Iris's arm. It scared her. Was her arm SUPPOSED to do that? Iris didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to find -
She gasped. She dropped her bag, rushed over to the little nook, fell to her knees.
"... C-Cristo..."
Her mouth tasted of metal suddenly and she slowly ran the tips of her fingers down the latin boy, the one she found herself hopelessly devoted . Iris was known to let her mind dramatize things, to twist things so that they looked... better. Iris had always known about this terrible little habit of hers. With Cristo, it was different.
Cristo. The only boy that... touched her. She would have given him anything just to feel wanted. Wanted for her body, wanted for her. Her cheeks turned a tint of red. That was a very dirty thought, wasn't it? Iris wasn't as innocent as everyone thought she was... She was just a girl who just wanted to be pretty. And Cristo made her feel pretty.
And still her mouth still tasted like metal. What was that? It was so unusual.
He was dead, there was no question about. His expression was blank. Had he died quickly? Poor Holly, her face looked terrible, nothing at all like Cristo's. Iris thought, for just a quick moment, on how her face would look once she died. Iris chewed at her lip. and this was around the time where she realized that she had put her gun to her lips. She resisted at first. Then she gave in very quickly. The gun was in her mouth. The thought of suicide had always disturbed Iris but she was willing to forgo that. There was nothing left for her to do.
She only had two choices. Either she got up and fought or... The choices were quite similar, two pieces of dialogue that lead to the same Shakespearean conclusion. As Iris sat there with her pistol buried in her mouth, she realized the mechanics of the pathetic game she found herself playing. Even if you win, you don't really win. So what was the point in playing? All of the paths looked the same and arrived at the same place. So why should Iris bother? Iris never liked playing games anyway. She never liked being the winner, never liked losing either. The whole mechanics of games, the winner and loser, points and penalties, rules and regulations. They were there to make someone feel better. Like they accomplished something when really all the effort was for nothing.
The problem was, or at least the problem for poor Iris, was that she couldn't get the thought of this being a game out of her head. It floated in her head like a terrible nightmare. She knew she couldn't just stick around with Holly anymore and pretend desperately that nothing was different. She was dropped into a game of life and death and she just wanted to throw in the towel and watch from the sidelines. Of course she couldn't do that. Unfortunately life wasn't that fair.
So with pistol in mouth, finger over the trigger, knowing that she would never see her mother again, she squeezed
and pulled the gun out of her mouth.
"No..." Her hand squeezed around the handle. "NO. No no no no no no!"
She lifted her head. It was the only thing she had done on her own. This was Iris talking. Every time Iris did something, it was usually because someone had told her to do it. Or perhaps she did it with another person in mind. Iris was such a selfless person. That was what momma called her. Selfless meant that someone was caring to others, almost to a fault sometimes. The opposite of selfish, where someone thinks only of themselves. Momma always told her to take charge... well, she had never told Iris, she had said that to her father once when Iris was supposed to be in bed. The circumstances didn't matter, did it? To this day this has been the only instruction that Iris had never accomplished. The one thing Momma asked that Iris didn't immediately follow.
Perhaps this game had been the best thing that ever happened to Iris Landon.
"I ain't a bad person. I-I ain't nevah done anything to deserve this. I've always been a good girl. "
Her fragile heart was pounding. She had never screamed so much in her entire life. First at Holly, and now here she was. Her voice was harsh but she let one last battle cry out, desperately fighting the buzzing.
"IF I'M GONNA DIE, THEN IT'S ON Y'ALL, NOT ME!"
The buzzing continued. Iris realized that she was sweating. What would become of her? Would she die very slowly? Would it be quick?
"JUST DO IT! I AIN'T AFRAID!"
Why was everything so cramped? It was like the walls were closing in on her, like in Star Wars, she loved that movie with all her heart. Her father took her to see it when they were in the city, they were replaying it in a small cinema that had seen better days. She pictured the walls of the trash compactor closing in on her, ready to squish her like a piece of trash, and everything felt so claustrophobic and she couldn't stand it, but she knew it would be over very soon. Yet... There were so many things that she never got to do. Iris wanted to travel the world. Become famous. Do things. Feel things. ... kiss a boy. No, she's never kissed a boy before in her entire life. She always thought she would. It was a better time than any. The only time, she figured. No time like the present. Momma always told her that. And Iris always listened to whatever Momma said.
Amidst the buzzing and the tears and the knowledge of impending doom,
Iris lowered her head, hand pacing up, her heard ready to burst,
her lips quivering, the buzzing growing, the heat rising,
she lowered down as far as she needed to,
Her mouth tasted of metal and his
tasted of nothing. How ironic.
Then lifted herself off,
saliva stained lips,
and then she,
and then,
nothing.
Subject C02, Iris Landon: ELIMINATED
Who did he think...
Who... who was she kidding? She was...
Wrong. Wrong? Wrong.
That boy could have saved her. Instead she just scared him away.
"I-" She coughed. "I-"
Iris slapped herself across the face. As hard as she could. She winced, and took it. She braced her hand and hit herself again. And again.
Iris let go of Holly's head. She held onto her cheek, staring back down at her friend. Her face showed so much pain. Why did Holly have to die? Why couldn't she just accept Johnny? Why did they have to die? Why didn't she do anything to stop them?! Iris wanted to curl up into a ball, shut out the whole world and just rot. She wanted to just die. Most of all, she wanted to wake up from this terrible dream she was in.
And then Iris found herself alone. And she did not cry.
... she had time, right? A hour if she recalled correctly. Less than a hour at this stage.
Iris didn't have a very large list of things to wanted to finish, but there was one more thing she had to do. The reason why she came here in the first place. So she closed Holly's eyes with two fingers, kissed her cheek and rose.
She walked. As she walked, she thought. She thought about Holly. She thought about Johnny. She thought about... everything and nothing. About this game. This was all just a game right? It was not like any other game she played. People died in this game. They killed each other. So Iris had been lucky... she had made it further than a lot of the rest. Did that mean she was better than them? Iris never liked to compare herself with such terms. Better. Worse. We were all the same weren't we? So why should she ever consider herself better than Holly?
Holly... maybe Holly was the only reason she was still alive.
That made Iris frown. Frowning hurt everything.
Time passed. The cove was huge.
She really hoped she could find him. She had to find him, had to find him. Her heart was pounding.
There was an odd buzzing in Iris's arm. It scared her. Was her arm SUPPOSED to do that? Iris didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to find -
She gasped. She dropped her bag, rushed over to the little nook, fell to her knees.
"... C-Cristo..."
Her mouth tasted of metal suddenly and she slowly ran the tips of her fingers down the latin boy, the one she found herself hopelessly devoted . Iris was known to let her mind dramatize things, to twist things so that they looked... better. Iris had always known about this terrible little habit of hers. With Cristo, it was different.
Cristo. The only boy that... touched her. She would have given him anything just to feel wanted. Wanted for her body, wanted for her. Her cheeks turned a tint of red. That was a very dirty thought, wasn't it? Iris wasn't as innocent as everyone thought she was... She was just a girl who just wanted to be pretty. And Cristo made her feel pretty.
And still her mouth still tasted like metal. What was that? It was so unusual.
He was dead, there was no question about. His expression was blank. Had he died quickly? Poor Holly, her face looked terrible, nothing at all like Cristo's. Iris thought, for just a quick moment, on how her face would look once she died. Iris chewed at her lip. and this was around the time where she realized that she had put her gun to her lips. She resisted at first. Then she gave in very quickly. The gun was in her mouth. The thought of suicide had always disturbed Iris but she was willing to forgo that. There was nothing left for her to do.
She only had two choices. Either she got up and fought or... The choices were quite similar, two pieces of dialogue that lead to the same Shakespearean conclusion. As Iris sat there with her pistol buried in her mouth, she realized the mechanics of the pathetic game she found herself playing. Even if you win, you don't really win. So what was the point in playing? All of the paths looked the same and arrived at the same place. So why should Iris bother? Iris never liked playing games anyway. She never liked being the winner, never liked losing either. The whole mechanics of games, the winner and loser, points and penalties, rules and regulations. They were there to make someone feel better. Like they accomplished something when really all the effort was for nothing.
The problem was, or at least the problem for poor Iris, was that she couldn't get the thought of this being a game out of her head. It floated in her head like a terrible nightmare. She knew she couldn't just stick around with Holly anymore and pretend desperately that nothing was different. She was dropped into a game of life and death and she just wanted to throw in the towel and watch from the sidelines. Of course she couldn't do that. Unfortunately life wasn't that fair.
So with pistol in mouth, finger over the trigger, knowing that she would never see her mother again, she squeezed
and pulled the gun out of her mouth.
"No..." Her hand squeezed around the handle. "NO. No no no no no no!"
She lifted her head. It was the only thing she had done on her own. This was Iris talking. Every time Iris did something, it was usually because someone had told her to do it. Or perhaps she did it with another person in mind. Iris was such a selfless person. That was what momma called her. Selfless meant that someone was caring to others, almost to a fault sometimes. The opposite of selfish, where someone thinks only of themselves. Momma always told her to take charge... well, she had never told Iris, she had said that to her father once when Iris was supposed to be in bed. The circumstances didn't matter, did it? To this day this has been the only instruction that Iris had never accomplished. The one thing Momma asked that Iris didn't immediately follow.
Perhaps this game had been the best thing that ever happened to Iris Landon.
"I ain't a bad person. I-I ain't nevah done anything to deserve this. I've always been a good girl. "
Her fragile heart was pounding. She had never screamed so much in her entire life. First at Holly, and now here she was. Her voice was harsh but she let one last battle cry out, desperately fighting the buzzing.
"IF I'M GONNA DIE, THEN IT'S ON Y'ALL, NOT ME!"
The buzzing continued. Iris realized that she was sweating. What would become of her? Would she die very slowly? Would it be quick?
"JUST DO IT! I AIN'T AFRAID!"
Why was everything so cramped? It was like the walls were closing in on her, like in Star Wars, she loved that movie with all her heart. Her father took her to see it when they were in the city, they were replaying it in a small cinema that had seen better days. She pictured the walls of the trash compactor closing in on her, ready to squish her like a piece of trash, and everything felt so claustrophobic and she couldn't stand it, but she knew it would be over very soon. Yet... There were so many things that she never got to do. Iris wanted to travel the world. Become famous. Do things. Feel things. ... kiss a boy. No, she's never kissed a boy before in her entire life. She always thought she would. It was a better time than any. The only time, she figured. No time like the present. Momma always told her that. And Iris always listened to whatever Momma said.
Amidst the buzzing and the tears and the knowledge of impending doom,
Iris lowered her head, hand pacing up, her heard ready to burst,
her lips quivering, the buzzing growing, the heat rising,
she lowered down as far as she needed to,
Her mouth tasted of metal and his
tasted of nothing. How ironic.
Then lifted herself off,
saliva stained lips,
and then she,
and then,
nothing.
Subject C02, Iris Landon: ELIMINATED