The Jellies Experience

[Shangela*]

((CS5 - Aidan Adelman continued from Gravity))

In fear of reprimand from the tv crew, as well as admitted uncertainty about the logistics, Aidan kept the details of his plan very shallow and very hushed. He told them just enough to justify heading to the Aqua Museum. Aidan hadn’t quite figured it out yet, but an idea struck him while he was absent-mindedly staring out the window.

Walking out of there was a terrible idea, since they could very easily be caught up in some boobytrap, or electric fence, or what have you. Aidan could imagine the scenario of the trio marching out of there, only to walk right into a field of landmines. They’d have to be sneakier. They’d have to escape some way that they couldn’t possibly anticipate, much less guard against.

The Aqua Museum wasn’t a terribly far walk, all things considered, but it was a tense, cold one. The weather felt a refreshing bit nicer than the frigid chills of yesterday, but by no means was it comfortable. By no means was it home.

With the tentative escape plan starting to be set in motion, Aidan felt no bit better about his circumstances. At least it was a start. Aidan had to keep reminding himself. It’s better than playing like them. There was a bitter, disgusting taste in his mouth as he cycled through their names in his head. Vahka Basayev, Jewel Evans, Gabriel Munez, Gene Steward. They were all killers, playing in the name of some sort of infamy that this show would grant. Aidan couldn’t possibly know their motives. For all he knew, they could have had a similar narrative to Lucia. But it didn’t matter. He needed to hate them. Hating what they became would keep him from becoming it himself.

Vahka and Gabriel had both killed once each, but they may as well have killed a whole platoon. Taylor and Lucy respectively were taken from him by these two. Jewel could kill five total strangers, but it didn’t equate to even a half of what his friends were worth. Aidan had failed to save them in time, but he wasn’t going to find that narrative. He was going to find Will, Jaxon, Bella and Sebastien. They were getting out of here together.

As Aidan approached the museum, he thought he could hear Will’s voice. It was like a soft, muted murmur in the back of his head. He could start to hear Bella’s too. It was a comforting noise that he’d imagined for himself.

Wait.

Aidan’s pace picked up, leaving the girls behind. This wasn’t made up, right? It sounded so real. He could swear that their voices were carrying. Aidan couldn’t let himself believe that after a full day of searching, he’d finally find his friends. It couldn’t be.

Aidan’s bag smacked across his thigh as he broke into an excited sprint. That was them! They were alive! They were together! Oh thank you, God, Shiva, Buddha, Lady Gaga, which ever deity had a hand in this. Aidan wore a thick, toothy grin as he approached. Their voices became clearer and clearer.

Stop. Gene. Please. Please stop.

The corners of Aidan’s mouth sharply turned downward. He felt an invisible blow in the gut, like his stomach detached from it’s secure location and dropped with the descending speed of a runaway elevator. He felt sick to his stomach. He felt faint. His lungs drastically expanded and contracted, compensating for the sharp rise in his heartbeat. No. NO. NO. NO.

Aidan didn’t recognize when his bag flew off over his shoulder, landing in the cold, frost kissed sandy ground. He didn’t recognize when he’d nearly lost his assigned weapon, the bandanas, as they hung precariously in his dress pocket. All he could recognize the burning pain that flooded his thighs as he raced towards the entrance.

In the maddening blend of adrenaline, panic, and the implacable voices of anguish and terror, Aidan narrowly missed running into Will, Bella, and two strangers that somehow got caught in the cross fire.

Instead Aidan found himself running into a familiar, twistedly devious face. “GENE.”

“Gene, you stay right the hell there.” Aidan repositioned his gun, now pressed square into his chest. From his vantage point, the gun was squarely targeting Gene’s murderous little heart. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?”

[Sh4dE]

Speaking of the devil.

For a second time on this resort, Gene met Aidan. This time however Aidan had a shotgun.

"Who did you rob to get that shotgun? And how's Laura? I think she survived, right?"

Gene stood there, like Aidan said. He didn't want to get a shotgun blast, after all.

"It's been a while since we met...uh, I did a lot."

Gene then tried to reply to Aidan's question as calm as possible.

"Well, I met some psychopaths, met a girl who wasn't good at...SurviValerie...and I was betrayed by an ally."

Gene had to do something, he knew Yagmur had the guts to shoot him. Maybe Aidan hadn't. Gene couldn't talk himself out of this situation. He needed to shock Aidan. That'd give him time to escape. Or attack.

"...And the blood on the pogo-stick might be Wilson's."

So he took some steps and a swing with his pogo-stick and tried to remove the shotgun from Aidan's grips with it.

[KamiKaze]

Yagmur had wrestled Gene away from Will, and as he did so Bella noticed red all over the pogo stick. The chill went up her spine. Red was never good. Her eyes forced open, she couldn't help but keep staring. There was already a coppery smell in the air, and it was revolting.

Some cracks came out as they struggled against each other. She guessed it was the gun going off, but it didn't seem to hit either of them. She could only continue to watch, tears running down her face, her skin pale and clammy, her heart racing.

Gene broke free, running for it.

Bella slid herself up, her knees wobbling. He had ran around the corner, but something had stopped him. A roar. It sounded familiar.

Stepping closer in a daze, she realized it was Aidan. He was here too, now, and... this was the first time she had seen him so angry. His gun was pointed straight at Gene, demanding answers.

"Aidan..." her voice wavered.

Gene was talking again. She didn't know about what. Bella felt her fists ball up. She still had tears down her face, but her eyes slightly narrowed. At that moment, Bella still had tears on her face, still felt her heart race, but she couldn't help but feel something else.

He took another swing, this time at Aidan.

"St-stop..." she repeated.

[Rattlesnake]

A voice echoes from Bella's collar.

"Hey, I dunno if this is a good time for you and all, but I figured I'd say hi. So yeah, don't tell anyone this but you're my fave. Catch you later."

[Maraoone]

And while all this went on in the aquarium, Cathryn sat in the middle of the museum.

Very few pictures were left on the wall. The rest were simply shards of glass, scattered around the floor.

The shouts of alarm and panic were background noise to Cathryn. The only thing in her mind at the moment was anger, familiar anger. She wasn't content yet, and she probably never would. Nothing would really take away the pain Leah's death had caused her, never.

But maybe this would help.

She slammed her flamingo into the various memorabilia on display in the museum.

[Rattlesnake]

A voice issues softly from Cathryn's collar.

"So, I just told Bella this, but she's kinda busy right now, so I don't think she's gonna overhear—you're my favorite kid on this freaking island. Don't let anyone take that from you. Even if you're a bit loose with the birds. I can respect your point of view, but you should still consider that birds are pretty freaking sweet."

[Shangela*]

((GMing approved by Rockythetiger))

Aidan’s face was plastered with a grimace. Every slimy little movement that Gene took, made Aidan’s skin crawl. His mere existence felt like a cascade of cockroaches hissing and violently scurrying up the small of Aidan’s back. Gene’s words were painful, shrill hisses that agitated as the crawled into his head. No matter how much fortitude he could fake, Aidan couldn’t shake of the figurative cockroaches and they violated his flesh with their insidious, vile, scurrying. Aidan’s body was tense, feeling every inch of Gene’s prescence crawl across his flesh with itch provoking, rapid strides, but his face could only show rage.

Aidan wanted to lash out. To fire back at him with the righteous fury that was becoming and fitting of him. But Aidan restained himself. It wasn’t for camera presence, or for some fleeting concept of vanity. But he needed to know something. Why?

“I didn’t steal anything. You should consider the paltry amount we took from you, asshole tax.” Aidan tried to sound confident, secure. Certainly he should be. He was the one with the gun here, while Satan himself was armed only with a pink pogo stick. If Aidan could have watched this moment from across the screen, he might have found it funny. Aidan wasn’t in a laughing mood.

“I’m surprised you care enough. Yes. Laura’s fine. Still with me, in fact. Still with us. She’s doing a lot better than I can say you will.” Aidan didn’t need to explain himself. An approaching step, gun held at a stiff mast towards Gene’s chest spoke volumes. The boy had proven himself to be a killer already. Any hesitation would just delay what needed to be done. He didn’t need his dad to tell him that. He didn’t need Dr. Warren to tell him that. He didn’t need the captive audience shouting at their televisions right now to tell him that. Gene Steward was a cancer that needed to be removed.

“Yeah. I’ve heard. You pushed that poor girl down a flight of stairs.” The poor thing died such an unnecessary, morbid death. Without any explanation other than that she was “good at surviving.” The way his words flowed so eloquently was truly haunting. How could he talk about another human being like she was so insignificant? The building they were in was completely insulated, a bit stuffy actually. Yet all Aidan could feel was that cold chill on his nape.

“You know, I always thought you were a bad actor. You were always too stiff, too committed. It always seemed like an act with you.” Aidan took another step closer. The tip of the rifle practically within a short rush to Gene’s chest. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you were fucked since day one. Were you always this type of person? Someone with so much hate, so much ugly inside? People don’t just kill with such… such a…blasé attitude about this.”

He was a monster. Gene Steward. Mediocre actor, wallflower and deserter, was actually the most cunning, cold-hearted cockroach. There was something inhuman about him. He spoke about death and pain as if they were inconsequential factors that ultimately amounted to nothing. As if Valerie had no family to return to. As if Laura and Aidan were in the wrong for trying to defend themselves.

Aidan should have shot him dead then and there. He almost did. His finger flirted with the thin metal trigger. Aidan didn’t have time to read the manual in full, but how hard could it really be. Just pull the trigger a couple times, and Gene Steward would be dead. Valerie’s parents would have closure, and Aidan would be a hero for stopping such a cold blooded monster. But he had to continue.

“You’re lying.” Aidan’s immediate gut reaction snapped forward. There was absolutely no way that Gene could have hurt Will. Aidan ran as fast as he could. He was going to be there in time to stop Gene. He made a promise the second he heard Will’s name called directly after his in homeroom. Aidan was going to get him out of there. Somehow, they’d escape together. It didn’t make sense logistically, but in his head, it was clear as day. Gene tried to complicate it with a twisted, sadistic lie, but Aidan couldn’t be fooled. “Maybe I was wrong about you. That’s a damned sad little lie.”

There was that voice. A voice spoke softly, yet completely outweighed any drivel that Gene could spew out. It would have been a comforting, familiar voice, but it had an unnerving tone. Aidan’s head whipped around in the direction that it came from.

Bella. Bella Bianchi was a seemingly unapproachable beauty. She stood proud, svelte, and intimidatingly quiet. Anyone who didn’t know her might have some preventative guards around her. Anyone who didn’t know her was a damn idiot, as far as Aidan could judge. Bella was unshakably loyal, kindhearted, sweet. If Aidan had days to think on it, even then he couldn’t remember seeing her look so solemn and broken. Not like this.

Everything clicked. Bella’s tears. Will’s cries. Gene’s malicious lies. No. Truths. Gene wasn’t lying. Aidan wasn’t quick enough. Aidan could have dwelled on the implications of what this realization meant. There was so much blood. Will couldn’t. No. He couldn’t be dead. Not after Aidan had gotten so close. Fate couldn’t be that cruel, right? To give him his friend, only to yank every small fledgling of hope out from under him?

He didn’t get the time to think about it, as that unintimidating pogo stick launched right towards his face. Aidan’s reflexive blink couldn’t stop the stick from flying full force towards his jaw.

Aidan faltered. His gun was drawn upwards, away from any discernable target. Before Aidan could even contemplate developing a semblance of attack, a hand grappled with the gun. Aidan tried in a meager attempt to bring it down, but Gene’s weight pressed it up and away. Aidan struggled to regain the grasp on the gun, grapping at the tender trigger.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Aidan indiscriminately fired four shot into the ceiling as he struggled to regain control. Blows were traded to quickly. Aidan was taking a brunt of a beating. The pogo stick found its way on the floor almost as quickly as it had drawn that horrendous copper taste in Aidan’s mouth. Flurries were matched, striking Aidan square in the ribs, right on his chest, lower onto his gut, and a well placed stomp on Aidan’s boat shoes.

After the third volley of blows, Aidan could hear Bella’s shuttering voice. Sorry Bella. Aidan loved you dearly, but this was a fight that needed to happen. Aidan needed to be able to do this.

Without hesitation, Aidan jostled the gun sharply upwards, away from Gene’s scrambling grasp. As soon as it was drawn up, it clattered to the ground. Aidan instinctively turned to retrieve it, only for Gene to take the undefended opportunity, sharply striking Aidan on his hip. Aidan couldn’t get to his gun, but by no means did that make him powerless.

The boys faces drew close together as Gene went on the offense. Aidan didn’t have some calculating plan of attack as his hands contorted in Gene’s wild hair. He didn’t think to sharply tug and tear at the strands, ripping scalp away with each violent jolt through his arm. He certainly didn’t think about capitalizing on their proximity, as his teeth sunk into the apple of Gene’s cheek. With a malicious jerk of his head, Aidan liberated his snarling jaws away from Gene, tender, bloodied flesh still coating his lips.

As a parting grace, Aidan fired an unexpected shot right to Gene’s temple. The boy contorted inhumanly. Aidan was no boxer. Consciously, he was absent throughout the altercation. His thoughts were fixed solely on Will. If Gene had seriously hurt him, so help him God. Aidan would make it hurt.

Gene was stunned, giving Aidan just enough time to scramble wildly across the floor towards his rifile. Without missing a beat, Aidan’s legs propelled him to his gun. His weapon made an audible cut through the air as Aidan whipped it back in the direction of Gene.

Gene had spend the entire last day trying to make a name for himself in this game. He played just like they’d wanted him to. He’d been the perfect little cog in the grand, televised machine that broadcasted their sensationalized murders. He was the perfect piece. None of this was real to him. Every motion, every heartbreak, was this unimportant consequence of him getting through this game. Gene stood a good couple feet away from Aidan’s unshaking steady grasp. The gun once again found it’s home securely fixated on Gene’s chest.

Game over.

[Sh4dE]

Gunpoint. Again. The same situation again, except everything hurt now. Gene was injured due to the brawl with Aidan, this time it was less gentle than the one in the casino. His head hurt. Aidan spoke some words before the fight, but Gene forgot all of them. And barely cared.

GG, well played.

He couldn't attack him. Aidan might shoot him.

But he could talk.

"Killing me is fucking stupid. I know how to survive, hell, I know how these collars work and could easily escape with somebody. I watched all seasons, I have the most experience. And a resort isn't a challenge."

Gene never wanted to escape, however. He had many reasons not to.

"Pulling the trigger would be a mistake. But at least I predicted that you're a killer. A hypocritical one, even. My kill made at least sense. Your won't. You probably wouldn't be able to get the ten kills. Hell, I am able to do that and see my family and friends again. But you probably won't. They would be disappointed of you, don't you think?...So think about it. Some hyprocrites like you could hunt after you because you killed somebody."

After releasing his tauntful last words, Aidan didn't shoot. And he still didn't seem to shoot. And then Gene hoped Aidan still wouldn't shoot.

A chance.

He picked up his pogo-stick and ran forward, avoiding Aidan and ran into another hallway. He had the urge to scream Aidan some snarky words.

"See Aidan? I told you I know how to escape!"

Gene touched some doorknobs, while running through the hallway until he opened a door and ended up in an office.

The office had windows, therefore, Gene could escape the museum.

Gene took a run and used his elbow and hoped the window to shatter. It didn't.

So he took his pogo-stick and hit the window. A crack. Then he hit it another time, and then again. And then the window was broken and Gene climbed through it, away from Aidan, Will, Yagmur and Bella.

((GHIII Gene Steward, Exit))

[Outfoxd]

A voice echoes from Yagmur's collar.  "I know I said your team would be a safe bet but....yeah, my fault on that guy. But hey, I will say the rest of the team looks less...fucknuts."

[Pippi]

((Lucia del Pirlo continued from Gravity))

For being such a short distance away, the walk to the Aqua Musuem was incredibly uncomfortable.

It would have been even worse had Lucia not changed the previous night, with her new track pants admittedly providing better protection from the cold air than her skirt had, but that hardly counted as even a small comfort. She still felt chilly, after all, and her sandals were letting more air in, as well as small deposits of frost every time she walked through a built up patch. Her feet were beginning to feel numb.

Worse still, Lucia was uncomfortable about their escape plan and the mechanics surrounding it. All Aidan had really told her was that no-one had attempted anything of the sort before, and that it required them to go towards the Aqua Museum. Lucia didn’t even know what an ‘Aqua Museum’ was supposed to consist of, let alone whether it would assist them in their goal. She understood that Aidan and Laura couldn’t discuss it in great depth, lest the producers hear them, but by keeping Lucia out of the loop, she was going to remain nervous until the time came to actually pull it off.

But Lucia kept on trudging forwards, because the promise of escape was the only thing here that might grant her safety.

The Aqua-Museum itself drew into view, rather unimposing and impressive compared to the many other buildings in the resort, the sports centre included. Lucia planned on asking Aidan what the plan now was, what exactly he hoped to achieve in the museum, but she never got that chance. Something spurred the boy onwards, his pace only quickening at first, before he broke into a full-blown sprint. What on earth had caused that reaction? Excitement? Or maybe fear. Lucia took one nervous glance at Laura before she too started to gain speed. Lucia wasn’t an athlete, though, and even with her change in clothing, Aidan had already disappeared inside the building before she was anywhere near it.

The pistol weighed heavy in her hand and the stuff in her bag jabbed into her back as Lucia made her way towards the museum. She supposed she could have put the handgun in her pocket, now she actually had some, but it felt much, much safer to keep it in her hand at all times. One moment of hesitation, and that could be the end of her.

Lucia was almost sent flying a few metres away from the museum entrance, feet stumbling over something lying on the ground. She knelt down to investigate it. Aidan’s bag. She picked it up, stood up, then jumped back with a cry of fear as several cracks shot out of the museum. It was scary just how familiar the sound of gunshots was now. Something was going on inside there, and Lucia didn’t think she wanted to be caught up in the middle of things.

She hesitated for a second, then another. Then, heart pounding in her chest, Lucia slowly made her way inside the museum. She had her gun, at least. And right now, Aidan was pretty much the only thing that would help lead her to safety. She didn’t know how much she could help, but if she could, she would do it.

Lucia entered just in time to see someone running off down a different corridor. In front of her was Aidan, and Lucia’s heart froze as she saw that in the space of less than a minute, he’d managed to get himself injured. There was another person here, Bella, someone Lucia knew but not incredibly well. Not as well as Aidan, that was for sure. Was that why Aidan had wanted them to come here? Had he known Bella was here and wanted her to join in on the plan?

“Wh-what... what h-happened here?” Lucia asked, voice quiet and throat dry.

“A-are you... okay?”

[General Goose]

"Yeah. I got that," Yagmur muttered less-than-gratefully to the voice from his collar. "Have you ever been told you're an expert at reading people? They lied. Now, next time you chime in, tell me where I can find some booze." He ceased talking to his collar. All he had left to say was explain that there should be alcohol, as that'd make the TV show at least somewhat more entertaining and less morbid, but he didn't expect these collar-speaking arseholes to be up to date with good business practices.

Anyway, it looked weird.

There he was, lying on the ground, hands clutching the sore cuts on his face, gently running over them to check no serious damage had been done, that the bones were all regular and the cuts weren't too deep, mumbling to what an observer could justifiably think was just himself. Seemed fine. The collision had hurt, had knocked him to the floor, sent his senses in every direction and destroyed his thoughts at that second, but everything seemed in order.

He'd have to trust that.

Gene had long gone, and knew people had arrived. Before he could stop himself, he yelled out. "God fucking dammit, can't I meet one asshole in this fucking resort who went to my school who isn't a complete asshole?" Fuming as he finished climbing to his feet, a few seconds of heavy breathing allowed him to clear his mind. "Sorry guys. Sorry. That Gene shithead was on my team. So I'm technically obligated to stand by him."

"So when you catch up to him, just make it quick."

[Shangela*]

((Skipping to help facilitate this death))

By all accounts, Aidan should have shot Gene then and there. Whatever he was before casting day was long gone. Or maybe he was like this all along. Aidan still couldn’t guess whether his crazy was bred under the proverbial spotlights of this show, or if he’d had it since birth. It didn’t matter either way. When Gene lashed out, back up against the wall, Aidan could really see how lost he really was.

It wasn’t fair. Aidan wanted to hate him. Aidan needed to hate him. Gene wasn’t a cancerous growth that sapped life away indiscriminately. The American audience would never know it. Valerie’s family would never know it. Hell, maybe even Gene didn’t know it himself. But Aidan knew it.

Gene wasn’t this hardcore, unfeeling Schwarzenegger-esque terminator, no matter how much he tried to pretend to be. Gene Steward was a scared, half starved, fully crazed teenager. The producers didn’t cast Karen Ruiz as she was, before any of this started, she was just like any other kid out there. Gene was the unfortunately same narrative. Perhaps he’d been fed lies of glory and infamy that came with this show. They all must have. Everyone fantasized about being cast; being an iconic figure for the rest of the country to gawk at and admire. It was a dream to be cast on here.

But the second they woke up, it quickly became a nightmare. Kids that were cast weren’t these hardcore killers that they sensationally became. They were simply kids, warped and twisted by the events that this show threw at them.

Gene was no exception. The boy threw taunting, cruel comments back at Aidan. Gene must have thought that they stirred anger, pain, any appropriate reaction to his malice was what Gene was feeding off of. He needed to be the grand villain in his own story. It was the only way he could cope. Too bad Aidan couldn’t bring himself to hate him.

All he felt was pity.

Jesus. What’s left in there?

Aidan barely heard the faint shattering of a distant window. He couldn’t let himself dwell on how he’d let Gene escape off to keep his demented fantasy afloat. Frenzies of voices interrupted his introspection. Voices that were familiar, but hard to identify in the comedown off the adrenaline rush.

“Gene Steward happened.” Aidan broke his silence in a matter-of-fact tone. “He’s playing, and I-I… just let him go.”

Aidan tried to stand back onto his feet, but lancing pain coursed through his body like throbbing aftershocks. His torso cried in agony, as did his jaw, but both felt minimally discomfortable compared to the searing pain of his foot. The stomp had crushed down on his toenail. He could feel his toes become coagulated in a sheet of blood. The ghastly sight of it would be enough to make him retch, so he tried to ignore it.

“He got some cheap blows in, but --- but I’m okay.” For an actor, Aidan’s voice was remarkably unconvincing.

Aidan might have been “okay,” but Will wasn’t. The last sounds he’d heard before the violence erupted was his best friend’s cries. Aidan’s blood chilled as he heard Will’s voice echo in his head. Each step towards Will was a painful ordeal.

He limped gracelessly past Lucia, and past Bella, and past the new stranger who’s admission as Gene’s teammate fell on Aidan’s deaf ears. He’d spent the entirety of his time here looking for Will. Nothing could keep him from Will now; broken toe and ruined pedicure be damned.

“Will!”

Will’s body twisted into an inhumane arch. His fingers were bent, broken and bloodied, revealing jagged cracked bone and painfully tender flesh. His chest bobbed irregularly, three rough short breaths, then panic-inducingly long breaths with long pauses. Will beautifully peach skin grew sickly and pale and blood drained from the wounds tucked away in his matted strawberry blonde hair.

Aidan didn’t think, he just fell to his knees and let emotion run through him. He cast his gun sloppily towards his side, freeing both arms to grab hold of his friend. He’d spent so long away from him, that Aidan wasn’t going to dare let him slip away from his grasp. “Will, I’m here now. It’s all going to be okay.”

Aidan sniffled, breaking apart his speech. “He-He’s gone. Gene isn’t going to hurt any of us anymore. I promise. We-We’ll find a way out of here together. You, me, Bella. We’ll even find Jaxon and Sebastien and really get out of this mess.”

Will responded with a gurgle. “It’ll be okay, dear. We’ll get through this.”

Aidan ran his fingers across the boy’s cheek, smearing his friend’s blood across his cheek. There was so much blood. Aidan didn’t know how it would ever be okay. He just needed it to. Somehow it all had to work out. Aidan was here now, and he wasn’t going to let anyone else down.

He daintily shoved his arms underneath Will’s battered torso and brought him to his chest. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

[SansaSaver]

Will lay silently upon the icy floor for a long while after Gene’s bludgeoning stopped, with nary a sound or breath to show he was still alive as a pool of cherry-red warmth leaked around his head. He fought the urge to intake anymore than the shallowest of breaths or to inspect his wounds or cry out for the searing pain they inflicted, terrified that any movement, however slight, would bring Gene right back. A cacophony of shouts and cries were being exchanged around him, though he was unable to distinguish between them through the haze his hearing had become. Through his clenched eyes, a trail of tears trickled down the length of his face, landing with an inaudible splash upon the linoleum below him.

The sound of panicked footsteps brought him out of his stupor, and despite his best efforts to remain silent a pathetic whine passed through his lips as terror raced through him once more. He opened his eyes weakly as they stopped in their approach, the world around him spinning and producing multiples as he struggled to aptly focus on the figure stood before him. He thought for a second it truly was Gene, returned to finish the job, and motioned to protest but found he was too weak to manage even that. But it wasn’t Gene, it was Aidan; his best friend, the boy who’d instilled so much confidence within him, the boy he’d just let himself be beaten to defend, the one person he wanted to find on this island above all others, whom was now beside him whispering so softly and holding him so gently.

He dug a tooth painfully into his lip, a desperate attempt to keep alert as he clung to consciousness, unable to accept that his life could ending now, not when everything was so close.

“Aidan...” He said softly, vision gradually coming into focus as he slowly lifted his head. “You always did stick up for me, didn’t you?”

A twitch of a smile began to quirk across his lips before a pained gasp interrupted it, his body beginning to shake as shock began to set in. He felt dizzy, eyelids growing heavier and breathing increasing in difficulty with every second that passed, his vision blurring once more with the tears staining his eyes. He could feel Aidan sitting beside him, gently pulling him into his arms with a softness he wouldn’t usually expect of someone as well-built as Aidan was. Will exhaled deeply as his friend spoke, trying his hardest to focus upon the other boy’s words. He shifted his head slightly, and even through the vagueness of his vision, he could make out the dark imprint his blood had made upon the black of Aidan’s peacoat. It was one of his favourites, if he recalled correctly; they’d been shopping together when he bought it, and the look of joy on Aidan’s face when he found it hidden away never ceased to bring a smile to his face.

“Sorry about the blood,” he whispered, the few words that passed his lips almost draining him of what little strength he had left. “Didn’t mean to ruin your jacket.”

Another wave of agony spread over him once more, and he could feel himself slipping away from this world and into the next, his grip on consciousness tricking away second by second.

“You’re my best friend, Aidan. Don’t ever forget that, okay?”

He stopped resisting after awhile, content to leave his head nestling in the warmth of Aidan’s lap, savouring the comfort of his friend’s presence in his last moments as a final farewell passed his lips.

“You’ve... always got...”

RF4 - WILL BRACKENRIG: DECEASED

50 STUDENTS REMAINING

[KamiKaze]

Bella felt... numb.

Her knees continued to shake as Aidan scooped Will up. Her skin was pale, clammy. He was still alive, though seriously injured. Will couldn't die though. Maybe it only looked bad. Maybe he could still hang in there a while longer.

Bella stepped closer to the two, leaning forward only to feel her stomach turn. He wasn’t going to make it, she realized. His forehead was smeared with red, and he seemed in pain. His entire body was twisted, as Bella looked closer.

Another girl has approached, but she didn’t say anything even though she asked what was going on. The question just floated by. Same went with the mentor; his comment was received, but never registered. Being someone’s favorite right now wasn’t high on her priorities.

Aidan tried to comfort Will, but it was something she knew was only that. Comforting. She wasn’t sure if Will could last much longer.

But it was Will.

Will, her friend. Aidan’s friend. Friend to a lot of people.

Will was someone who it was hard for most of the class to hate. Impossible, even. He was kind, friendly, and all around… nice. Bella thought of all the times in drama club, and all the times she had sneaked off to go to Curiositea. Will was someone very close to her, and now he was being taken away.

It wasn’t fair.

There were times on the show where she would feel emotionally attached to a person, only to have them die. It was nothing like this, though.

Back at school, Bella didn’t hate Gene. He was inexperienced as an actor, sure, but it was that: inexperience. She didn’t hate him when he got angry at being criticized, or even when he left the club. In fact, she was sad when he stopped showing up. Gene was someone who seemed to be insecure, she felt.

But this?

Will’s movements were slowing, and as he tried to get out his last words, he stopped entirely. Bella tried to look away, but it was difficult.

Something stirred inside her, past the nausea, fear, and sadness. She had felt it during the whole scuffle, but with each passing second she felt it more and more. Bella gritted her teeth, trying to push it aside, but it kept coming up.

She wasn’t sure if now was the time to say it, but she honestly didn’t care. It needed to be said.

“We need to find him”, Bella said. Her voice still wavered with fright and nausea, but this time it came up cold.

[Maraoone]

"Fuck you."

Out of all the times her mentor could have spoken, he only chose to do so now? Why not before Jewel came? Or when she just woke up? Why couldn't he have helped her then? Why only now? Oh, so she was his favorite. Yeah, really, really encouraging. Super. And she shouldn't be 'a little loose' with the birds? Well, if they'd just given her something else, maybe the poor little flamingo wouldn't be used as a club.

After a few more minutes, there wasn't anything left to break. Every single painting, portrait, and artifact in the museum was in pieces. And yet her rage was still there, still not quite ebbing. Nothing would make it go away. But it was pointless staying here. She walked out of the room, stepping over the shards.

As she walked through the hallway, the voices that, earlier, had just been background noise started getting clearer. She was alarmed by the new voices. Someone had gotten in while she was in the museum. And then there was Bella's voice, shaking. What happened? She continued walking towards the aquarium and

Two new people.

Blood.

Will in someone's arms. Almost unrecognizable, misshaped.

"What... wh-why... who did this?"