A Little Piece of Heaven
Closed; Content warning for graphical violence
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
She didn't stop running.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
She didn't stop running.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
With a surprised yelp, she tripped over something and fell on the floor.
It was Hailey Thompson.
Just as the announcement had proclaimed, Sofia's fellow senior had been the victim of her collar exploding. For a moment Sofia felt hopeful upon finding the corpse. But then it dawned on her that someone had already taken Hailey's belongings. In the end, Hailey was just another body lying around.
How many corpses had Sofia seen so far?
She remembered Lucille, the two corpses at the ferry, Keegan, Lucille, the dead Buccaneer in the shop boat, Mariko, Lucille, Jodi, Mateo Hanna Hailey Lucille Lucille Lucille...
This wasn't a flotilla. This was a swimming graveyard.
Sofia picked herself up and resumed running.
It was Hailey Thompson.
Just as the announcement had proclaimed, Sofia's fellow senior had been the victim of her collar exploding. For a moment Sofia felt hopeful upon finding the corpse. But then it dawned on her that someone had already taken Hailey's belongings. In the end, Hailey was just another body lying around.
How many corpses had Sofia seen so far?
She remembered Lucille, the two corpses at the ferry, Keegan, Lucille, the dead Buccaneer in the shop boat, Mariko, Lucille, Jodi, Mateo Hanna Hailey Lucille Lucille Lucille...
This wasn't a flotilla. This was a swimming graveyard.
Sofia picked herself up and resumed running.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
It took her a while until she realized that her footsteps were the only sounds she heard.
No sound from Akeno.
For the first time in what felt like hours, Sofia slowed down. She listened for a noise.
Nothing. Maybe Akeno had taken a wrong turn? In this case, running would alert her to Sofia's position.
Sofia decided to be less noisy from now on, walking at a brisk but still silent pace through the barely-lit corridors.
And then barely-lit became moderately-lit.
And then moderately-lit became just lit.
And then Sofia saw the stairs.
Promising and hopeful were they, appearing after another turn as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Releasing a breath she didn't even knew she held, Sofia approached.
Camera CSB23-A, the camera inside the ceiling right above the lower end of the stairwell, gave the viewers a bird-perspective of Sofia starting to ascend the stairs.
One step at a time.
She made it. Somehow, she had lost Akeno and found the way out of this maze. Sure, the loss of her new weapon was a shame, but at least she hadn't been hurt.
Now she just had to find James.
((Sofia Kowalski continued el
No sound from Akeno.
For the first time in what felt like hours, Sofia slowed down. She listened for a noise.
Nothing. Maybe Akeno had taken a wrong turn? In this case, running would alert her to Sofia's position.
Sofia decided to be less noisy from now on, walking at a brisk but still silent pace through the barely-lit corridors.
And then barely-lit became moderately-lit.
And then moderately-lit became just lit.
And then Sofia saw the stairs.
Promising and hopeful were they, appearing after another turn as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Releasing a breath she didn't even knew she held, Sofia approached.
Camera CSB23-A, the camera inside the ceiling right above the lower end of the stairwell, gave the viewers a bird-perspective of Sofia starting to ascend the stairs.
One step at a time.
She made it. Somehow, she had lost Akeno and found the way out of this maze. Sure, the loss of her new weapon was a shame, but at least she hadn't been hurt.
Now she just had to find James.
((Sofia Kowalski continued el
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Akeno's voice cut into Sofia like a blade, sending shivers down her spine and actually making her stop out of shock.
But then she got a hold on herself and rushed up the rest of the stairs.
Just as she stepped on the upper end of the stairs, something else cut into her.
Something more physical.
All of a sudden, the world stopped. Sofia stopped. Her breath stopped. The shivers stopped.
The only thing that didn't stop was the pain that only multiplied when the head of the harpoon sprang outwards, ripping even more of her innards apart.
But then she got a hold on herself and rushed up the rest of the stairs.
Just as she stepped on the upper end of the stairs, something else cut into her.
Something more physical.
All of a sudden, the world stopped. Sofia stopped. Her breath stopped. The shivers stopped.
The only thing that didn't stop was the pain that only multiplied when the head of the harpoon sprang outwards, ripping even more of her innards apart.
Akeno wasn’t going to let Sofia get away; she couldn’t afford to.
Winding the rope around her hand, she pulled the harpoon back with a solid tug, reeling Sofia in like she was a fish caught on a hook.
Winding the rope around her hand, she pulled the harpoon back with a solid tug, reeling Sofia in like she was a fish caught on a hook.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
And then gravity decided to betray her as well.
Sofia was sent flying backwards. Her eyes were fixed on the hallway she had been so close to reaching until she fell to far away from it. Her arms were flailing helplessly around, trying to grab the air.
The landing on the end of the stairwell was without any grace or dignity. Without grace because she kept flailing until she touched the ground.
Without dignity because she landed right on the harpoon that was stuck in her back. The force of the impact allwed the weapon to finish its journey, bursting out of her chest like a newborn Xenomorph, bringing to light a fountain of blood and some of her already messed up innards. Since her landing point was right under camera CSB23-A, the audience members that were fascinated by the violent aspects of the show were treated to an interesting shot right from above. There was no doubt this scene would make it to the best-of-montage later that day.
But none of that went through Sofia's mind, nor would it have interested her.
Through the veil of tears and blood, she saw herself sitting in a McDonald's after a rough day, eating some shitty fastfood with a boy she didn't knew that well back then while Vasily was in the background. She saw herself and the boy getting closer over weeks, finally confessing and all that stupid crap teenagers in love do. She saw herself moving out of her goddamn house that felt less like a home every day, using the money from her frivolous part-time job. She saw herself attending college and succeeding in getting an art degree. She saw herself finding a good job she loved doing. She saw herself still writing letters to her father despite knowing they would never be answered anyway. She saw herself eventually moving in with the boy. Marrying. Having little kids they would call names they would have found embarrassing when they used to be children themselves. Being happy together.
But most of all, she saw herself dying on the cold floor of some old ship she had never wanted to be on, partly disembowled by a harpoon from behind while her killer stood over her and a uncaring audience gobbled up every bit of her demise, all the while laughing, debating, chatting, liking, commenting, theorizing, betting, or plain guessing how this development would impact the rest of the season.
Just where... did it all went so wrong?
SB11 Sofia Kowalski - Deceased
4 Buccaneers Remain
Sofia was sent flying backwards. Her eyes were fixed on the hallway she had been so close to reaching until she fell to far away from it. Her arms were flailing helplessly around, trying to grab the air.
The landing on the end of the stairwell was without any grace or dignity. Without grace because she kept flailing until she touched the ground.
Without dignity because she landed right on the harpoon that was stuck in her back. The force of the impact allwed the weapon to finish its journey, bursting out of her chest like a newborn Xenomorph, bringing to light a fountain of blood and some of her already messed up innards. Since her landing point was right under camera CSB23-A, the audience members that were fascinated by the violent aspects of the show were treated to an interesting shot right from above. There was no doubt this scene would make it to the best-of-montage later that day.
But none of that went through Sofia's mind, nor would it have interested her.
Through the veil of tears and blood, she saw herself sitting in a McDonald's after a rough day, eating some shitty fastfood with a boy she didn't knew that well back then while Vasily was in the background. She saw herself and the boy getting closer over weeks, finally confessing and all that stupid crap teenagers in love do. She saw herself moving out of her goddamn house that felt less like a home every day, using the money from her frivolous part-time job. She saw herself attending college and succeeding in getting an art degree. She saw herself finding a good job she loved doing. She saw herself still writing letters to her father despite knowing they would never be answered anyway. She saw herself eventually moving in with the boy. Marrying. Having little kids they would call names they would have found embarrassing when they used to be children themselves. Being happy together.
But most of all, she saw herself dying on the cold floor of some old ship she had never wanted to be on, partly disembowled by a harpoon from behind while her killer stood over her and a uncaring audience gobbled up every bit of her demise, all the while laughing, debating, chatting, liking, commenting, theorizing, betting, or plain guessing how this development would impact the rest of the season.
Just where... did it all went so wrong?
SB11 Sofia Kowalski - Deceased
4 Buccaneers Remain
Dropping the harpoon gun on the ground, Akeno backed away from Sofia while keeping her eyes locked on the top of the stairs leading out of the bowels; the goal Sofia had been aiming for this whole chase and the place she had almost reached before Akeno put a stop to it. If they were going to come from anywhere they would come from there. She retreated, one step at a time, back into the maze and around the first corner she reached, out of sight, and pressed her back against the flat wooden side of a crate. She caught her breath and she waited.
And she waited.
And she waited.
Akeno peered around the corner. The expected arrivals hadn’t made an appearance and nothing else had changed; Sofia hadn’t moved an inch, almost certainly dead by now, or soon would be with the harpoon through her chest if she wasn’t. There was no movement, no sound other than her own breathing. She was alone.
Her knees bent and she slid down the crate to sit on her heels at its base. Closing her eyes she tilted her head until it met the wood with a bump and let out a long, slow exhale. She was alone.
“Hey, mentor.” But it never hurt to check. “Is there anyone else near me right now? Anyone with a white hood?”
And she waited.
And she waited.
Akeno peered around the corner. The expected arrivals hadn’t made an appearance and nothing else had changed; Sofia hadn’t moved an inch, almost certainly dead by now, or soon would be with the harpoon through her chest if she wasn’t. There was no movement, no sound other than her own breathing. She was alone.
Her knees bent and she slid down the crate to sit on her heels at its base. Closing her eyes she tilted her head until it met the wood with a bump and let out a long, slow exhale. She was alone.
“Hey, mentor.” But it never hurt to check. “Is there anyone else near me right now? Anyone with a white hood?”
Emmy's voice is thick, heavy with tears.
"No... no, you're alone right now."
"No... no, you're alone right now."
Akeno’s eyes snapped open and her head titled forward slowly. She let out another breath, shorter and sharper this time, almost like a laugh.
That hadn’t been the voice she had expected to hear. Not the man who had answered her on the ferry, whose name she still didn’t know; that was Emmy’s voice, she thought. It was more recognisable by the emotion it carried than anything else, the same tear-laden tone that she had used during the initiation video; it was more familiar to her than Emmy’s normal voice, with how little they had spoken to each other before this.
She was by herself then; which meant Sofia had been as well. Alone. No allies nearby lying in wait, no trap. Akeno had killed her for nothing. Again. She had killed for nothing again. The harpoon gun was already hers.
Pushing herself back to her feet, back sliding against the wall behind her, Akeno stood and walked back to Sofia’s body. She walked past it and sat on the stairs, in the light and where she could see the body.
“I really did just want to talk to her.” Maybe. “I think. I think I just wanted to ask her some things, nothing else.”
That hadn’t been the voice she had expected to hear. Not the man who had answered her on the ferry, whose name she still didn’t know; that was Emmy’s voice, she thought. It was more recognisable by the emotion it carried than anything else, the same tear-laden tone that she had used during the initiation video; it was more familiar to her than Emmy’s normal voice, with how little they had spoken to each other before this.
She was by herself then; which meant Sofia had been as well. Alone. No allies nearby lying in wait, no trap. Akeno had killed her for nothing. Again. She had killed for nothing again. The harpoon gun was already hers.
Pushing herself back to her feet, back sliding against the wall behind her, Akeno stood and walked back to Sofia’s body. She walked past it and sat on the stairs, in the light and where she could see the body.
“I really did just want to talk to her.” Maybe. “I think. I think I just wanted to ask her some things, nothing else.”
"I don't think a harpoon is much of a conversation piece.
"...she wasn't creeping around for social calls, either."
"...she wasn't creeping around for social calls, either."
“Yeah.”
Emmy had a point, but the fact that Sofia had attacked at her first didn’t change the fact that she could have just walked away after that. Just taken the gun, Mateo’s bag and left the situation richer than when she’d started. Instead she’d hunted the other girl down, stalked her through the maze and shot her in the back as she ran away.
That didn’t sit right with Akeno.
Sofia was still a threat; she’d killed Lucille, almost killed her too and was still a member of Fisk’s group as far as she knew. If Akeno had let her go then a few hours from now, maybe a day, they likely would have run into each other again, only this time with Fisk’s full cadre of psycho’s behind her; Akeno didn’t think she would walk away from that a second time. Killing Sofia now, when she was alone, weakened a dangerous group of people who had killed two of her friends and tried to kill her twice now. When she considered all that, there was no reason to feel bad about this. Even if Sofia did stop and they did just talk, Akeno might still have killed her in the end regardless; it was hard to say.
She still shot a fleeing, unarmed person in the back, for little to no benefit to herself.
“I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Standing up from the stairs, Akeno walked over to Sofia’s body and looked down at it; there were tears in her eyes and blood on her lips. Her chest was a gruesome mess where the harpoon had burst through, but she still managed to look more alive than Mateo had; that would change in a day or two. It was messed up that she had seen enough corpses now to be able to draw points of comparison between them, but here she was.
She’d wanted to ask Sofia about Lucille. Her last moments. Akeno had her own suspicions about how that had gone down and Sofia’s answers likely wouldn’t have changed anything, but it would have been nice to get some closure on that point.
Too late now.
“I said I was going to find the rest of the team, but I don’t think I can anymore. I keep coming back to the idea that I’m better off on my own. Sorry about that, I know you wanted different.”
Emmy had a point, but the fact that Sofia had attacked at her first didn’t change the fact that she could have just walked away after that. Just taken the gun, Mateo’s bag and left the situation richer than when she’d started. Instead she’d hunted the other girl down, stalked her through the maze and shot her in the back as she ran away.
That didn’t sit right with Akeno.
Sofia was still a threat; she’d killed Lucille, almost killed her too and was still a member of Fisk’s group as far as she knew. If Akeno had let her go then a few hours from now, maybe a day, they likely would have run into each other again, only this time with Fisk’s full cadre of psycho’s behind her; Akeno didn’t think she would walk away from that a second time. Killing Sofia now, when she was alone, weakened a dangerous group of people who had killed two of her friends and tried to kill her twice now. When she considered all that, there was no reason to feel bad about this. Even if Sofia did stop and they did just talk, Akeno might still have killed her in the end regardless; it was hard to say.
She still shot a fleeing, unarmed person in the back, for little to no benefit to herself.
“I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Standing up from the stairs, Akeno walked over to Sofia’s body and looked down at it; there were tears in her eyes and blood on her lips. Her chest was a gruesome mess where the harpoon had burst through, but she still managed to look more alive than Mateo had; that would change in a day or two. It was messed up that she had seen enough corpses now to be able to draw points of comparison between them, but here she was.
She’d wanted to ask Sofia about Lucille. Her last moments. Akeno had her own suspicions about how that had gone down and Sofia’s answers likely wouldn’t have changed anything, but it would have been nice to get some closure on that point.
Too late now.
“I said I was going to find the rest of the team, but I don’t think I can anymore. I keep coming back to the idea that I’m better off on my own. Sorry about that, I know you wanted different.”
"That's...
"it maybe fell off the table, already, anyway.
sorry."
"it maybe fell off the table, already, anyway.
sorry."