Oh god oh fuck she's gonna shoot you now isn't she this is transparent as fuck what are you doing Irene why are you listening why are you laying it down and look if you're gonna actually listen you could at least wipe that stupid smirk off your face.
Ahem. Everything is okay. Ignore the butterflies. Suppress the teeth chattering. Your teeth aren't chattering, and there are no butterflies. Everything is okay.
God, what a stupid way to die. Except Irene wasn't gonna die. Not now, not yet, not ever, until she got old. She had to believe that. She had to believe that, or everything was most definitely not going to be okay.
"Now, you too."
Erewhon
Day 2 Afternoon, Private
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Latin For Dragula
- Posts: 399
- Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:28 pm
The barrel of the gun started to go to the ground. She let it fall to her side as she smiled and started walking over towards her. "It's a scary world out here." She shifted her hand away from the trigger towards the stock and let it dip as low as she could hold it.
You never should have trusted me.
Her smile didn't flinch as the empty gun swung up to smash into the side of Irene's head.
You never should have trusted me.
Her smile didn't flinch as the empty gun swung up to smash into the side of Irene's head.
What's that? Is KK actually listening? Well, of course she was listening, there wasn't a chance that she wouldn't listen because--well, what else could she do?
But she wasn't putting down her gun and now she's walking towards Irene and why doesn't she put down her gun if she's not gonna shoot with it why is she walking towards Irene and now the alarms are going off in Irene's head and telling her that something's wrong no nothing's wrong nothing's wrong nothing's wrong wrong wrong
Irene's vision exploded into fireworks as the gun barrel slammed into her head and pain split her skull open and she went down, hard, KK looming over her, the rifle butt coming down towards her head and oh no not again. Stars. Everything was fire. The pain jolted through her body and into her legs and she kicked at KK's feet, half-reflexively, half-intentionally, which is to say that she would've thrashed around anyways but now she was directing that energy into thrashing at KK's legs?
Irene closed her eyes as KK raised the rifle again.
But she wasn't putting down her gun and now she's walking towards Irene and why doesn't she put down her gun if she's not gonna shoot with it why is she walking towards Irene and now the alarms are going off in Irene's head and telling her that something's wrong no nothing's wrong nothing's wrong nothing's wrong wrong wrong
Irene's vision exploded into fireworks as the gun barrel slammed into her head and pain split her skull open and she went down, hard, KK looming over her, the rifle butt coming down towards her head and oh no not again. Stars. Everything was fire. The pain jolted through her body and into her legs and she kicked at KK's feet, half-reflexively, half-intentionally, which is to say that she would've thrashed around anyways but now she was directing that energy into thrashing at KK's legs?
Irene closed her eyes as KK raised the rifle again.
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Latin For Dragula
- Posts: 399
- Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:28 pm
The satisfying crack of the girl's skull was still ringing in her ears, but her body had already moved on with mechanical precision. Hands climbing and shifting to grip the middle of the gun and the arc of olive furniture descending towards her face followed in sync. Her death would be just as unremarkable as the body's behind her.
Eris's blood is on my shoes I can feel it sliding why am I sliding
When did she get on the ground? Why was everything blurry?
"Hi there, KK! Fancy seeing you here!"
With more time to focus she might have recalled the girl's leg scything her own out from under her, or her head colliding with the ground behind her, or the few seconds of disorientation that left her helpless and barely clutching her gun like a security blanket. Between the shooting pains in her skull, her unfocused vision, and the sensation of weight pressing down on her body from above, however, her attention was more than occupied. Two things cut through the fog:
How did I get here?
The girl was on top of her.
Why does her name hurt so much?
Irene was going to kill her.
Eris's blood is on my shoes I can feel it sliding why am I sliding
When did she get on the ground? Why was everything blurry?
"Hi there, KK! Fancy seeing you here!"
With more time to focus she might have recalled the girl's leg scything her own out from under her, or her head colliding with the ground behind her, or the few seconds of disorientation that left her helpless and barely clutching her gun like a security blanket. Between the shooting pains in her skull, her unfocused vision, and the sensation of weight pressing down on her body from above, however, her attention was more than occupied. Two things cut through the fog:
How did I get here?
The girl was on top of her.
Why does her name hurt so much?
Irene was going to kill her.
Fear and pain bubbled into Irene's throat too late; she had been too stunned to scream, too scared to even let the animal take over, tell her to fight or fly. She was screaming now, though; a wordless howl for KK to go away, go away, just stop and go away. But then there was no pain. Irene opened her eyes, saw sky and sun and the glare was covering KK or maybe Irene was really so stunned that she couldn't make out shapes against an empty sky, but still. No further pain. Realization kicked into her body a second later, her feet finding ground and her fingers digging into earth to push Irene to her feet again because maybe, just maybe, there was a chance. The world came into view, tilting, rising and falling, and Irene almost fell to the ground again, but there she was in front of her. Irene stumbled forward, fell on KK more than anything else, felt her hands come up and reach around KK's throat and make her go away make her go away make it go away just make it go the fuck away so that Irene can stop screaming. Just stop. Stop, let this end, let Irene go on.
Irene's elbows found KK's wrists like they'd been made to do this their entire lives, found them and pinned them to the ground, and body weight took care of the rest. Legs locked around kicking legs, and Irene was no longer on top of KK but lying on the ground, too, and KK's legs were free again and kicking, kicking at Irene, kicking at the ground to spin them around on the ground, her body contorting and flailing, dragging and scraping and cutting Irene open every which way, lizard brain searching for purchase on something, anything, that would let her dislodge Irene. Irene held on. None of that mattered, so long as Irene's hands stayed on KK's throat. They were part of each other now. Inseparable. Body fighting itself. Just stop. Let go. Let Irene go.
Irene didn't know when she came to her senses, when the roar faded and the red filter came off, but suddenly KK's lips were tinged blue, and her struggles were weakening.
Irene's heart jackhammered into her throat, cutting off her screaming, but she had to let go, she had to stop she had to go. She had places to be, things to do. She had to make this stop, just let it stop already but oh my god KK's eyes are dimming and holy fuck please don't stop already, please don't let this happen, and Irene felt her arms shoving KK away, her grip relaxing, letting air letting life into KK's mouth her throat her lungs.
Let her go.
Irene's elbows found KK's wrists like they'd been made to do this their entire lives, found them and pinned them to the ground, and body weight took care of the rest. Legs locked around kicking legs, and Irene was no longer on top of KK but lying on the ground, too, and KK's legs were free again and kicking, kicking at Irene, kicking at the ground to spin them around on the ground, her body contorting and flailing, dragging and scraping and cutting Irene open every which way, lizard brain searching for purchase on something, anything, that would let her dislodge Irene. Irene held on. None of that mattered, so long as Irene's hands stayed on KK's throat. They were part of each other now. Inseparable. Body fighting itself. Just stop. Let go. Let Irene go.
Irene didn't know when she came to her senses, when the roar faded and the red filter came off, but suddenly KK's lips were tinged blue, and her struggles were weakening.
Irene's heart jackhammered into her throat, cutting off her screaming, but she had to let go, she had to stop she had to go. She had places to be, things to do. She had to make this stop, just let it stop already but oh my god KK's eyes are dimming and holy fuck please don't stop already, please don't let this happen, and Irene felt her arms shoving KK away, her grip relaxing, letting air letting life into KK's mouth her throat her lungs.
Let her go.
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delicateMachine
- Posts: 295
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm
- Location: void
Hm. Irene hadn't actually died yet. Assuming that was her screaming, at least. If it wasn't, maybe the girl had managed to accomplish something worthwhile.
Alice shifted in place a bit and continued to bide her time.
Alice shifted in place a bit and continued to bide her time.
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Latin For Dragula
- Posts: 399
- Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:28 pm
Hands clenched tight around her neck.
I'm dying
Already unresponsive limbs refusing to cooperate.
I don't want to die
Only sluggish movements.
You have to get up
Like they didn't know who they belonged to.
You can't let me die
Dark.
Move
Cold.
Please move
Letting go.
you have to protect me!
Air rushed back into lungs heaving on the ground. It blinked at the girl. One. Two. Three.
Me.
Stared into her eyes until it caught its breathe.
Protect me.
Smashed the side of her head in as hard as it could.
I'm dying
Already unresponsive limbs refusing to cooperate.
I don't want to die
Only sluggish movements.
You have to get up
Like they didn't know who they belonged to.
You can't let me die
Dark.
Move
Cold.
Please move
Letting go.
you have to protect me!
Air rushed back into lungs heaving on the ground. It blinked at the girl. One. Two. Three.
Me.
Stared into her eyes until it caught its breathe.
Protect me.
Smashed the side of her head in as hard as it could.
Irene sat on her haunches, waiting for KK to come to her senses. She looked into her eyes, watched as the life went back into them, as they became KK's eyes again.
KK didn't come to her senses.
Fists were comparatively mild after getting the butt of a gun in her face, but given the energy Irene had already spent, it was more than enough to knock her over.
For fuck's sake. Just stop.
There was Irene, flat on her back. There was the harpoon, just out of reach.
No.
It's okay. She wouldn't shoot it or even need to shoot it, but it wouldn't do to let KK go on. She needed a breather. She needed to stop.
Irene lashed out with her feet, knocked KK away. Rolled over, reached out, arm straining.
KK didn't come to her senses.
Fists were comparatively mild after getting the butt of a gun in her face, but given the energy Irene had already spent, it was more than enough to knock her over.
For fuck's sake. Just stop.
There was Irene, flat on her back. There was the harpoon, just out of reach.
No.
It's okay. She wouldn't shoot it or even need to shoot it, but it wouldn't do to let KK go on. She needed a breather. She needed to stop.
Irene lashed out with her feet, knocked KK away. Rolled over, reached out, arm straining.
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Latin For Dragula
- Posts: 399
- Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:28 pm
It wasn't looking at the body crawling away. It forgot it existed.
Protect me.
Crawling.
Go.
Stumbling.
You can't stop.
Something heavy around its neck.
Get the bag.
Hurt.
You have to.
Ringing. Can't stop. Heavy in the hands.
Good. Now turn around.
It kept walking.
Turn around.
No.
Kill her.
No.
You have to kill her.
You do it.
...I can't.
It kept walking.
((Katarina Konipaski's next target sighted.))
Protect me.
Crawling.
Go.
Stumbling.
You can't stop.
Something heavy around its neck.
Get the bag.
Hurt.
You have to.
Ringing. Can't stop. Heavy in the hands.
Good. Now turn around.
It kept walking.
Turn around.
No.
Kill her.
No.
You have to kill her.
You do it.
...I can't.
It kept walking.
((Katarina Konipaski's next target sighted.))
Irene's hand found metal, and she flipped herself over back onto her back just in time to see KK stalking off into the brush. Irene opened her mouth.
Why was she opening her mouth again? What was she gonna say that was gonna make this go right? Power of friendship, peace, hope, love. Make her see the light. And, of course, it would work. Why? Don't ask why. Of course it would work. It had to had to had to work.
So she had to. But she didn't want to. Not right now. And she couldn't--not wouldn't, couldn't--do it if she didn't want to. That's not how the system works.
Irene closed her mouth.
Well. KK still has a gun, doesn't she? So Irene doesn't really have a choice in the matter. If she was up to it she needed to; if she wasn't up to it she didn't need to but her classmates needed her to. They needed her to stop KK. Kill her. They needed Irene to die a cold and fucking miserable death in the end, unless she went and died an infernal failure of a death, nowhere near the end. Anything but dying happy. Flip a coin, decide while it's in the air. Take your pick, Irene.
Irene groaned, staggered to her feet. It didn't matter anyways, right now. All paths led to KK. And other people, maybe. But for now--mostly KK. And she had as much a chance of running into them by chasing KK as she did by walking around looking for them, anyways.
Irene dusted off her skirt. She couldn't do as good a job of it as she should've been able to. Her hands were trembling.
Alice. Irene's gonna try to hide the tremor in her voice. Try not to shit on her when she talks, okay? This stuff is hard, and Irene's doing her best. The least you can do is appreciate that.
Dammit. Same mistake as before. The only reason this is something Irene has to do is because she wants to do it.
Irene trudged over to the lighthouse door, went in, and called up to Alice. Her teeth chattered freely.
"S-she's g-gone. Eris is...dead. But KK is gone. I-I'm not gonna make you follow me because this way lies death and misery and so on and so forth, but you can c-come."
Why was she opening her mouth again? What was she gonna say that was gonna make this go right? Power of friendship, peace, hope, love. Make her see the light. And, of course, it would work. Why? Don't ask why. Of course it would work. It had to had to had to work.
So she had to. But she didn't want to. Not right now. And she couldn't--not wouldn't, couldn't--do it if she didn't want to. That's not how the system works.
Irene closed her mouth.
Well. KK still has a gun, doesn't she? So Irene doesn't really have a choice in the matter. If she was up to it she needed to; if she wasn't up to it she didn't need to but her classmates needed her to. They needed her to stop KK. Kill her. They needed Irene to die a cold and fucking miserable death in the end, unless she went and died an infernal failure of a death, nowhere near the end. Anything but dying happy. Flip a coin, decide while it's in the air. Take your pick, Irene.
Irene groaned, staggered to her feet. It didn't matter anyways, right now. All paths led to KK. And other people, maybe. But for now--mostly KK. And she had as much a chance of running into them by chasing KK as she did by walking around looking for them, anyways.
Irene dusted off her skirt. She couldn't do as good a job of it as she should've been able to. Her hands were trembling.
Alice. Irene's gonna try to hide the tremor in her voice. Try not to shit on her when she talks, okay? This stuff is hard, and Irene's doing her best. The least you can do is appreciate that.
Dammit. Same mistake as before. The only reason this is something Irene has to do is because she wants to do it.
Irene trudged over to the lighthouse door, went in, and called up to Alice. Her teeth chattered freely.
"S-she's g-gone. Eris is...dead. But KK is gone. I-I'm not gonna make you follow me because this way lies death and misery and so on and so forth, but you can c-come."
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delicateMachine
- Posts: 295
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm
- Location: void
It was a good thing that Irene was still alive. Her death wouldn't have accomplished anything. She did not deserve to die.
Alice repeated these phrases over and over in her head, trying to find the emotional resonance she knew she should be finding. They were all factually true, after all. The girl had never done anything wrong to herself or Eris; she had even put herself in danger several times trying to help them. Why, then, wasn't she the slightest bit relieved? Why had she been hoping to never hear her voice again?
Not matter how much she tried to force herself to feel otherwise, all Alice could think of was how irritated she was.
Eris's only sin had been being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Leaving the tower hadn't been a tactically sound decision, of course; but it had been a reasonable one. It had been nearly an entire day since their last sighting of anyone closer than telescope range, and keeping your body active was a method of keeping your mind alert.
Irene, though? She knew what she getting into, and she chose to do something that should have gotten her killed in almost any foreseeable outcome. Yet here she was, maybe not unscathed, but still intact enough to worry about following Katarina. Again. The stupid girl had no right to be alive, but she hadn't even been punished.
Was this a pattern, now? Would she continue on her suicide mission, failing to die at every turn? She had already outlived Eris - would Alice be the next to fall? Would Irene luck her way into a ticket home, free to live an entirely insignificant life, walking on top of the corpses of every single person who actually gave a shit about their life, but found that the universe didn't give a single damn about their merit?
Alice didn't trust herself to talk. She hoped Irene would accept her silence as the answer that it was.
Alice repeated these phrases over and over in her head, trying to find the emotional resonance she knew she should be finding. They were all factually true, after all. The girl had never done anything wrong to herself or Eris; she had even put herself in danger several times trying to help them. Why, then, wasn't she the slightest bit relieved? Why had she been hoping to never hear her voice again?
Not matter how much she tried to force herself to feel otherwise, all Alice could think of was how irritated she was.
Eris's only sin had been being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Leaving the tower hadn't been a tactically sound decision, of course; but it had been a reasonable one. It had been nearly an entire day since their last sighting of anyone closer than telescope range, and keeping your body active was a method of keeping your mind alert.
Irene, though? She knew what she getting into, and she chose to do something that should have gotten her killed in almost any foreseeable outcome. Yet here she was, maybe not unscathed, but still intact enough to worry about following Katarina. Again. The stupid girl had no right to be alive, but she hadn't even been punished.
Was this a pattern, now? Would she continue on her suicide mission, failing to die at every turn? She had already outlived Eris - would Alice be the next to fall? Would Irene luck her way into a ticket home, free to live an entirely insignificant life, walking on top of the corpses of every single person who actually gave a shit about their life, but found that the universe didn't give a single damn about their merit?
Alice didn't trust herself to talk. She hoped Irene would accept her silence as the answer that it was.
No response.
That was Alice's loss, right? Too many other people Irene needed to help. Even though they were all gonna die anyways. What was the fucking point of this, again?
...
Well, might as well save them all, right? Like, why not? They're all gonna die anyways. Might as well. Yes.
"Um...okay, then. See ya."
((Irene Djezari continued in Asleep Or Awake, I Will Never Part With My Dream))
That was Alice's loss, right? Too many other people Irene needed to help. Even though they were all gonna die anyways. What was the fucking point of this, again?
...
Well, might as well save them all, right? Like, why not? They're all gonna die anyways. Might as well. Yes.
"Um...okay, then. See ya."
((Irene Djezari continued in Asleep Or Awake, I Will Never Part With My Dream))
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delicateMachine
- Posts: 295
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm
- Location: void