Speechless

[Outfoxd]

A voice echoes from Gene's collar.  "You better come clean, dude.  Trust is water in early game, let me tell you, and right now you don't even have a glass of shitty tap water.  This guy's big, too."

[Impereld*]

((Sorry about this post being crap but taking so long, life intervened))

Asshole stranger went down under Gigantor, good guys won, all of that crap. She didn't know what to do next, though. Her teammate was bigger than the boy on the ground, there were two of them against one of him, they had him pinned to the ground. They had won. Now what?

Well, the big guy and the little guy knew each other, it turned out. Brilliant. Great. Maybe he'd know what to do with the guy, as well. The guy's mentor was talking, a voice that seemed faintly familiar, but there was no time for that. Something about coming clean? Damn right he better come clean.

"So," she said, looking down at the guy on the bottom, "anything you wanna say for yourself?"

[Sh4dE]

When Gene's eyes finally found something useful on the table - some cards he could use and some poker chips - he fell.

Gene was grabbed by a boy and his bag flew away from his range.

Before he could react, he was on the ground, the boy had his body under control. Gene could neither move his arms, nor could he escape from the boy. It sure wasn't a pleasure for Gene. It was a terrible feeling.

And then he could recognize the boy, it was Aidan who should have been outside with Laura. But he wasn't and he was insulting him and then realized that the boy he tackled was Gene. He looked for a bandanna and it was almost golden. Just that it was lighter than Gold. It was a yellow, if he was correct.

Wait, so they did not leave?

And then a voice came out from a collar, not from Aidan's but from Gene's collar. He knew the voice from somewhere, but couldn't remember who that guy was. Whoever he was, he was a bad mentor.

Laura's mentor had warned her from me. And my mentor hadn't even told me that I was in danger. Is he even trying to help me? And these metaphoras. He's just doing these comments for the show. And what he states is unnecessary. I want to get allies. But I want to find my teammates. Alliances with guys from other teams are dumb. Especially when you have to flip a coin in the end.

But where was Laura?

When Gene looked around he could see the girl, also with a yellow bandanna. She wanted him to say something.

What should Gene tell to Aidan? Beg for mercy? Say that he shouldn't hurt him? Try to look sad? Or maybe an one-liner.

"Lick a mirror, you crazy motherfucker."

Gene was a bit scared, saying that, but tried to look calm.

"I just wanted you to go, so I could go. I didn't want to live in that bathroom my entire life. So let me go."

[Shangela*]

Gene was a real grim fucking reminder of back home. That little beyotch had up and left the drama department while they were in the middle of their play. Aidan could forgive a lot of things. He could forgive dropping out midway through the play; well, assuming that Gene could have come up with a damn good excuse for making Aidan play three roles in one single production. He could forgive those awkward stares at the hallway, the type of stare that contained some sour potency, but a non-specific type of bitch face. And Aidan could forgive being so afraid of the two voices on the outside, that he’d done something regrettable in order to try and save himself. But Gene was testing Aidan's ability to forgive.

Aidan’s weight shifted on Gene’s back. He let his knee, formerly wrapped around Gene’s waist, rest right on the small of his back. Aidan weighed a whole 190 pounds; though if you ever directly asked him about it, he’d give a more modelesque weight of 175 or something. This was surely going to hurt a bit.

“Lick a mirror? Sorry love, I’d be too busy staring at my reflection do that, prick.” More weight was pressed onto Gene with that comment.

“No. I’m not the crazy one here. That’s on you booboo. Trying to trick us into getting outside is one thing. Being a cock about it is a whole other.” Aidan pressed more weight onto Gene’s back. “You know who’s really crazy? Your mentor, thinking that we’d give you a smidgen of trust.”

Aidan didn’t care if they could potentially be on the same team. Even if it came down to it, Aidan would absolutely never trust Gene. Not as far as he could through the scrawny little Judas. He’d take Laura over him any day.

“Laura, doll, search his bag.” Without moving his hands, clasped around Gene’s wrists, he angled his neck and voice towards the bag sprawled out on the floor. “Take anything that’ll help us out.”

Aidan could be cruel. Aidan could be the biggest bitch of the wicked west that there was. But Aidan was nicer than Gene would probably give him credit for.

“Leave about half of the food and stuff in there. Just take out anything sharper than a hard-boiled egg.” Unless Gene could think of a reason why the pair shouldn't strip him clean of everything, Laura and Aidan were going to feast like queens on the extra rations.

Gene had wanted to send them off to die, maybe even kill them himself. Aidan was better than that. Sure he wanted to live as long as possible. Save everybody that counted on him. But he wasn’t willing to stoop so low as to try tricking people into freezing to death.

“That was a fucking nasty trick to try playing on us. I get that you were scared, god damn it, I’m close to shitting my Andrew Christians too, but that doesn’t mean you get to pick us off at your leisure.”

[Impereld*]

"You got it, man." Extra supplies were something that she wasn't exactly going to pass up. Maybe if it were somebody else, somebody she knew she might have felt bad about taking them, but this Gene guy? Laura wasn't exactly about to lose sleep over taking his stuff. Anyway, they were being merciful by only taking half of it. More of a mercy than Gene would have showed either of them, that she was pretty sure about. Grabbing the backpack, she flung open the top and quickly divided the food into two portions, shoving one into her bag and the other back into Gene's.

Now there was only the question of what to do with the guy on the ground. If they were leaving him half his supplies, then that meant they were going to let him go, right? Maybe that was for the best. If her teammate knew him, if he wanted to let him go, then it was his decision to make. Better then her making it anyway.

"Hey man, I'm done." The supplies were safely stowed away, ready to be shared out as soon as Gene was taken care of. "You wanna let him up, or you wanna leave him here and get out?" Either way was risky. There was no way she was going to trust Gene to not attack them. But there was two of them and one of him. There was no way he could take them both out, not in his current position.

"Whatever you want to do, I'll follow your lead." After all, she was his teammate. What else could she do?

[Sh4dE]

It was stupid to insult Aidan. It generally is stupid to provocate people that have the upper hand. Despite how cool it seems on TV.

This was thought by Gene while he felt the pain of the weight Aidan pressed on him.

He breathed heavily, his bad mouthsmell exhaled.

Well, it would be more stupid to die without having said much.

When Aidan still was angry at Gene's "trick", he tried to defend himself.

"How should I even know if you had weapons? I was stuck in the bathroom!"

He basically repeated the same thing he said last time, but Gene couldn't speak straight, as he focused more on not getting crushed by Aidan.

He looked straight into the blue eyes of Aidan. And he stared into them with an angry face. Gene wasn't actually as angry as he looked, he exaggerated. He could understand Aidan somehow, he probably is one of those guys who snap easily on this death situation. But he was more angry at the directors and at himself than he was on Laura and Aidan. It was just unfortunate that he began the game in this place with these people. And with that weapon.

Aidan told Laura to rob his bag and he then watched Laura, who took his bag. What surprised Gene was the fact that he was not robbed completely.

They split it up? They really split it up?

He was relieved that it happened.

And then she asked if they should leave him here and get out. And that was the real sign that he was not going to be killed by them.

I'm not going to be killed? This mercy is wonderful...and naive in some way...I'm actually happy I met these people instead of gunslinging psychos...even though they will probably send me out to those psychos.

So Gene decided not to insult or attack Aidan, until he is free and safe. Even though he was tempted to headbutt him.

Mercy is awesome. Every kill is important, but every no-kill is too. One kill can change everything. Just like in S44. If Kieran Hanley had killed this moron Mark Ferguson, Kieran would've been killed by Clark Rodgers. But he wasn't, so he managed to win...and how much I'd have wanted that Kieran killed this idiot Mark during his lookout. Mark was seriously one of the worst contestants in S44. I wish Dinah had just survived in place of him. Clark deserved to win the game much more. He had almost won already. But Mark had to fuck everything up. Sure, Kieran was smart, but he was just an asshole who parkered and backstabbed his friends.

And while Gene thought about past SOTF seasons he continued to stare into Aidan's eyes in an angry way, as if he wanted to say something to him.

[Shangela*]

Aidan inhaled dramatically, ravenously sucking in fresh air. He held onto the breath. Time needed to stand still for just a second.

Laura had followed his order, calling him ‘man’ in the process. Aidan couldn’t remember the last time someone had called him ‘man’ or ‘bro.’ He was far more used to his group of friends throwing more loving terms like ‘girl,’ ‘hoe,’ or Jaxon’s favorite ‘Miss Thing.’ Laura was definitely not what he was used to, especially not in that fishing jacket, but Aidan couldn’t help but smile. The smile faded as Aidan returned inside of his head.

Gene had said something, attempting to lash out, or explain himself, maybe, but Aidan wasn’t listening. Sure Aidan had the welcomed sense of control for this brief moment. Sure everything looked to be turned in Aidan’s favor. But this type of calm couldn’t last. Gene wouldn’t forget this. Laura wouldn’t forget this. Everyone watching probably could come up with dozens of avenues for Aidan to take, faster than Aidan could even think to speak. Everything was so easy when one was on the other side of the screen. At least there, one didn’t have their life on the line for a wrong decision.

Gene continued to talk. Laura continued to talk. Everyone’s voices competed with Aidan’s own voices of panic and uncertainty. The breath murmured, trembling out of his nostrils.

A clock ticked on in the background. It’s rhythmic flickering noise was a strange thing to fixate on, but it’s sound won over. Tick. Tock.

Everyone was waiting on Aidan to do something. As scared as he was, someone needed to take a charge. Panic came back. His temples throbbed, his extremities felt numb. He couldn’t keep sitting on Gene and delaying the inevitable. Something, anything, had to be done.

Tick. Tock.

He could feel the bile collect in his upper chest. With every rapid thumping of his heart, he felt the struggle against throwing up. Every fiber of his body was unsuited for any of this.

Laura’s comment resonated. She believed in him. She didn’t have to, but she did. Somewhere, somehow, Aidan seemed like he had it together. People relied on him. Survival wasn’t just for Aidan’s sake, but it would be for Laura, for Will, for Lucy, for Jaxon. Too many people needed Aidan to overcome.

A dramatic exhale signified a return to his senses.

“I know you’re scared, Gene. I’m not fucking heartless. But we just can’t trust you. Not here, not after your little performance.” Aidan couldn’t sound angry. Gene, though they had their bad blood, was just as scared as Aidan was. Gene didn’t deserve this, but neither did Aidan, or Laura, or anybody. His heart tried to reason with him. Gene was scared. He’d lied to protect himself. He wasn’t going to actually hurt them.

Aidan stood up, alleviating the weight off of Gene’s back. For what it was worth, Aidan offered Gene a hand to help him up. Aidan wasn’t a monster. He could at least be satisfied with that. “I’m sorry Gene. It’s just. . . there’s too much at stake here.”

Aidan turned back to Laura. She’d made a valid point earlier. There were two ways to do this. At least they could give Gene a chance.

“Get out.” Aidan delivered his line curt and quick to Gene. That’s all he could say. The longer he’d kept this going, the harder his heart would try to fight for some decency and reprieve. Aidan didn’t like to hate someone the way his brain dictated he needed to feel towards Gene. But survival is survival.

Aidan scanned Laura’s face for approval. He needed someone to believe in him. Aidan hardly could himself.

[Sh4dE]

((Skipping to leave thread, because I'm away for a week and I don't want to freeze the scene. Have a great week both of you (and the people who read this)! And happy birthday Shangela.))

When Aidan finally spoke up and thought that Gene was scared, Gene's angry facial expression faded away. And then Aidan stood up, so Gene did not feel the pressure anymore. Gene felt relieved and his first reaction was to push himself with his foot further away from Aidan.

Even though Aidan offered him a hand, Gene pushed himself up with his hands. After that Aidan apologized, which made Gene think that they might have been friendly for a moment. This was until Aidan told him to go away.

...What? Offering me a hand and then telling me to fuck off?

Gene looked at Aidan and Laura with disbelief.

Well...I can't do anything about that, can I? They outnumber me. And I can't win a fight against Aidan without a decent weapon anyway. At least they didn't took all my stuff. Well I'll have to leave anyway to get new rations and maybe a weapon. So I'd have left sometimes anyway.

"Uhm...okay. Goodbye."

With that Gene turned around to take his bag and ran out of the Casino. When he was outside he tried to remember the map he read in the bathroom.

My mentor is right. I should gain some allies. But I'll find my teammates. I'll just team up with other teams when it is necessary. But I won't do the same mistake Shawn did. Maybe I can even return with more people here in the Casino to defeat team yellow...On the other hand I should probably avoid people like Aidan. People who hold grudges aren't the best allies either. In some seasons there were people who hunt people they hated. I wonder if anyone hates me...

Gene went further and further away from the building.

Maybe the rest of the drama club? But most of them are just a bunch of idiots. Aside from Mr. Peters' club? No one, right? I mistreated nobody. Nobody hates me...

((GHIII Gene Steward, Exit))

[Shangela*]

((Skipping to avoid inactivity))

“Wait.” Aidan almost called out to stop Gene. Sending Gene off without the food wasn’t much better mercy that Gene had tried to give Aidan and Laura. Aidan could read the hurt, the confusion, the fear, all of the stinging emotions strewn across Gene’s face. Gene was never that good of an actor. Or maybe he was. Maybe Aidan was just able to hone in on it because they felt the exact same way.

“Was that. . .” Aidan’s mouth mimed a barely audible whisper of doubt. Was that right? By taking Gene’s food and supplies, they’d left him with little to survive on. They might be here for days, depending on how quick the ‘contestants’ were willing to put on a show. The poor guy would be hungry, scared, alone, and an easy target. How was Aidan any better.

“Come on, gurl. Let’s strut on out of here.” Strut was confident. Strut was bravery. Strut was walking the runway in the fugliest gown the designer could make, yet rocking it as if it were virgin art, displayed to the adoring public. Aidan couldn’t just walk out of here, scared, nervous and shaking like a leaf. Aidan needed to strut.

The bag was slung over his shoulder, slightly weightier from before. Aidan might not have had a weapon, or a strategy outside of finding Will, Jaxon, Lucy and Taylor, but that was all okay. He had drive. He wasn’t going to die here.

Maybe the more Aidan fed himself that line, the sooner he’d believe it. After all, he was the greatest thespian at Davison. If he couldn’t give the best performance, who could?

((Cyan Stingray #5 Aidan Adelman continued elsewhere))

[Impereld*]

Gene was gone, at least. That was one thing to be grateful for. No matter how pissed off Laura was at him, things really couldn't have gone much better. She had an ally. She had extra supplies. Now all she needed was a weapon.

Well, a tub of ice cream, a plane home and enough munitions to rain fiery death upon nigh-on everyone else from said plane would be nice as well, but that might be too much to ask for. What she had was enough for now.

And then they were leaving? Bit sudden, probably not the best idea right after Gene had gotten out of there, but it was a plan. They couldn't exactly just stay in a building for the rest of their lives. It wasn't worth arguing over.

She filed out of the doorway, ready to stride out into a brand new world with lots of people to meet.

Too bad most of them wanted to kill her.


Laura Mason, continued elsewhere