Jen’s next shot came prematurely, leaving the barrel of her rifle before Ajay had properly entered her vision, racing off into some distant thicket. Air hissed through clenched teeth as that ridiculous hair once again properly crossed into her line of sight, standing about twenty feet ahead of her. So close, not close enough.
Ajay’s weapon erupted and, before Jen could respond in kind, she felt her legs give way as she was thrown onto her back.
In an instant, the boy had been replaced in her vision by the orange sky, framed by treetops in half silhouette. Jen’s lungs screamed for air, and even as she gasped and swallowed, the sensation would not fully subside. At the same time, a burning pain blossomed and spread through her whole body.
But this wasn’t from one of her old wounds, but rather seemed to fan out from her very core.
Letting out a low whine, one arm keeping the rifle in a death grip, Jen brought her free hand up to rest against her stomach.
It was wet, warm. Blood, she knew without looking.
The pain sharpened, a knife twisting in her guts as she let out a trembling howl.
United by the Moment
SOTF: International - Endgame
Moderator: SOTF International Staff
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Catche Jagger
- Posts: 743
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 7:40 pm
- Team Affiliation: Ben's Crabs
After that last shot, there was nothing but silence. Then, a yowl. He’d stood there, almost in disbelief.
Someone fell. It wasn’t him.
A grin formed. He was alive. He’d won. He’d slowly walked forward, weapon aimed at the prone figure. He had to see, he had to know.
Ajay saw blood. He saw Jen writhing, bleeding. He got her. It wasn’t a trick.
He got her.
He’d stepped forward again, and kicked the rifle away from her hands. So long as she was still living, even if it wasn’t long, she was a threat.
The grin faded, the face behind the shades oddly stone faced as it loomed down over Jen, the barrel of Ajay’s rifle slowly forming into view.
“You wanna know why you lost?”
There was a shakiness in his voice. Anger, fading adrenaline, a healthy helping of maybe even fear, that there was one more trick waiting for Ajay.
“No… you already know don’t you?” He shook his head. He’d earned this, all this time being hunted, he lived.
“You lost because you’re still naive. I thought for a moment you took me seriously, that you had me. Truth was you never had a chance.” He sneered.
“This was all a game to you. Even when I killed your partners, again and again, this was a game. You never took me seriously until it was just me and you; and then? When you had EVERY chance to kill me, you played with your food! YOU FUCKIN’ POE! You-“
Ajay turned away. She was dying, but even then she was gonna beat him. She had Ajay shaking. He moved his free hand through the blonde flop on his head before resting it on his hip. There was anger in his laugh. He inhaled, and then exhaled. Turned around and looked back down at Jen.
“For me it wasn’t a game. It was my life. I’m not your fuckin’ prey, and that’s why I won.”
I won.
It all clicked for Ajay. He learned. He knew what-
He knew what he was going to do when he got home. He knew how to make it big. Top dog. Straight gangster. Professional cleaner.
Professional…
“I knew I was taking lives each fight… I wasn’t playing with them. That’s why I won.”
Ajay aimed the barrel of his gun at Jen, reflective lenses reflecting her face back at her. His lips peeled apart, his gold tooth gleaming. He racked the bolt.
“Goodnight, bitch. You were never going to win this, even IF you beat me.”
Someone fell. It wasn’t him.
A grin formed. He was alive. He’d won. He’d slowly walked forward, weapon aimed at the prone figure. He had to see, he had to know.
Ajay saw blood. He saw Jen writhing, bleeding. He got her. It wasn’t a trick.
He got her.
He’d stepped forward again, and kicked the rifle away from her hands. So long as she was still living, even if it wasn’t long, she was a threat.
The grin faded, the face behind the shades oddly stone faced as it loomed down over Jen, the barrel of Ajay’s rifle slowly forming into view.
“You wanna know why you lost?”
There was a shakiness in his voice. Anger, fading adrenaline, a healthy helping of maybe even fear, that there was one more trick waiting for Ajay.
“No… you already know don’t you?” He shook his head. He’d earned this, all this time being hunted, he lived.
“You lost because you’re still naive. I thought for a moment you took me seriously, that you had me. Truth was you never had a chance.” He sneered.
“This was all a game to you. Even when I killed your partners, again and again, this was a game. You never took me seriously until it was just me and you; and then? When you had EVERY chance to kill me, you played with your food! YOU FUCKIN’ POE! You-“
Ajay turned away. She was dying, but even then she was gonna beat him. She had Ajay shaking. He moved his free hand through the blonde flop on his head before resting it on his hip. There was anger in his laugh. He inhaled, and then exhaled. Turned around and looked back down at Jen.
“For me it wasn’t a game. It was my life. I’m not your fuckin’ prey, and that’s why I won.”
I won.
It all clicked for Ajay. He learned. He knew what-
He knew what he was going to do when he got home. He knew how to make it big. Top dog. Straight gangster. Professional cleaner.
Professional…
“I knew I was taking lives each fight… I wasn’t playing with them. That’s why I won.”
Ajay aimed the barrel of his gun at Jen, reflective lenses reflecting her face back at her. His lips peeled apart, his gold tooth gleaming. He racked the bolt.
“Goodnight, bitch. You were never going to win this, even IF you beat me.”
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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Catche Jagger
- Posts: 743
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 7:40 pm
- Team Affiliation: Ben's Crabs
How long was it before Ajay came over and kicked her rifle away. Quick enough that she couldn’t do anything to stop him, long enough that she’d had the time to remember how to breathe properly.
Did this make him right about her? Left without anyone to depend upon or hide behind, Jen had been caught fumbling out in the open, out of her depth and incapable of doing anything for herself.
Of course Ajay couldn’t leave it at that. He took the opportunity to gloat, to rub it in and explain just why he’d been destined to kill her from the get go.
Regardless of whether or not the words were true, they did bring Jen to a realization: she hated Ajay. Maybe it had been that way ever since she’d seen him kill her first genuine ally in this hell and she was only coming to accept it now, or perhaps it was a fresh wrath that began to burn in her.
Jen attempted to move, to push herself away by her elbows, but pain shot up from her very core, drawing yet another cry of pain as she fell flat once again. Of course that wouldn’t work, the red coating the palm of her left hand should have told her as much.
She could only stare up at the vainglorious murderer as he loaded his weapon, delivering one more insult before a stillness seemed to return to the air about them, waiting on the inevitable.
Jen hissed and tried to think of something to do, something to say, but there was nothing. What could there be, really?
A terrific blast ripped through the lull. She flinched.
Did this make him right about her? Left without anyone to depend upon or hide behind, Jen had been caught fumbling out in the open, out of her depth and incapable of doing anything for herself.
Of course Ajay couldn’t leave it at that. He took the opportunity to gloat, to rub it in and explain just why he’d been destined to kill her from the get go.
Regardless of whether or not the words were true, they did bring Jen to a realization: she hated Ajay. Maybe it had been that way ever since she’d seen him kill her first genuine ally in this hell and she was only coming to accept it now, or perhaps it was a fresh wrath that began to burn in her.
Jen attempted to move, to push herself away by her elbows, but pain shot up from her very core, drawing yet another cry of pain as she fell flat once again. Of course that wouldn’t work, the red coating the palm of her left hand should have told her as much.
She could only stare up at the vainglorious murderer as he loaded his weapon, delivering one more insult before a stillness seemed to return to the air about them, waiting on the inevitable.
Jen hissed and tried to think of something to do, something to say, but there was nothing. What could there be, really?
A terrific blast ripped through the lull. She flinched.
Ajay flinched, glancing behind him. That was his cue. One more fight to go.
He leveled his barrel at Jen.
“You know what? I’d waste you; but I don’t got the claps to spare. While you’re lying there, leakin’ out, you think of the people you got killed carrying your doff ass to the end, and for what?
Most of all, you think of me.”
Ajay left Jen where she lay. She was a dead woman anyways. One more fight left.
He made it about ten paces before he remembered Jen probably had more ammo. He turned around, and partially ran back; then stopped.
He wasn’t familiar with her gun. In a battle that takes seconds, every moment counts. He just needs one shot; or barring that, to close the distance before he gets shot. He could take Seychelle, he’s done it before.
“Ah, fuck it!”
He turned around once more, going towards the sound of gunfire.
He leveled his barrel at Jen.
“You know what? I’d waste you; but I don’t got the claps to spare. While you’re lying there, leakin’ out, you think of the people you got killed carrying your doff ass to the end, and for what?
Most of all, you think of me.”
Ajay left Jen where she lay. She was a dead woman anyways. One more fight left.
He made it about ten paces before he remembered Jen probably had more ammo. He turned around, and partially ran back; then stopped.
He wasn’t familiar with her gun. In a battle that takes seconds, every moment counts. He just needs one shot; or barring that, to close the distance before he gets shot. He could take Seychelle, he’s done it before.
“Ah, fuck it!”
He turned around once more, going towards the sound of gunfire.
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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Catche Jagger
- Posts: 743
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 7:40 pm
- Team Affiliation: Ben's Crabs
With that, Jen was alone once more.
She was stunned to find that Ajay hadn’t been the one to fire, but she should’ve known better. The sound was too distant, but in the midst of all the pain and anger and regret, any thought of Clara and Seychelle had left her.
Looking to her right, Jen saw her rifle only a few feet from her, left behind by Ajay and now only just out of reach. It wouldn’t take much to pull herself toward it, and then… and then…
What would she do? Kill herself?
She was in the basement again, in the caves, in the dark, but there was no one coming to her rescue now. Even if Ajay was a monster, he had not been wrong about her being carried along by those that surrounded her. But that had been her life all along, hadn’t it?
Moving back from America to Fiji, working alone at the family store, nodding along as her father spoke about tradition, Jen was pushed along all the way by others And now, her family would never see her again, just like Kate’s family would never see their daughter.
In all of it, she could see so many places where she might’ve done something different, but had she really been given a choice in those moments? Was there anything that could have averted this moment, where she lay bleeding among the trees?
What would she have wanted, given the choice, given a real choice?
Jen’s eyes wandered, gazing into golden shafts of light which shone through the wooden columns and limbs scattered about, a gleam which fell on her crumpled form. Were she a more morbid soul, she might have considered it an intriguing composition, something worth capturing.
Her gaze instead focused on the shadows cast between the shining rays, wherein she saw again a familiar staircase. Slowly, her pain seemed to dull as her eyes followed the stairs up and up.
She was stunned to find that Ajay hadn’t been the one to fire, but she should’ve known better. The sound was too distant, but in the midst of all the pain and anger and regret, any thought of Clara and Seychelle had left her.
Looking to her right, Jen saw her rifle only a few feet from her, left behind by Ajay and now only just out of reach. It wouldn’t take much to pull herself toward it, and then… and then…
What would she do? Kill herself?
She was in the basement again, in the caves, in the dark, but there was no one coming to her rescue now. Even if Ajay was a monster, he had not been wrong about her being carried along by those that surrounded her. But that had been her life all along, hadn’t it?
Moving back from America to Fiji, working alone at the family store, nodding along as her father spoke about tradition, Jen was pushed along all the way by others And now, her family would never see her again, just like Kate’s family would never see their daughter.
In all of it, she could see so many places where she might’ve done something different, but had she really been given a choice in those moments? Was there anything that could have averted this moment, where she lay bleeding among the trees?
What would she have wanted, given the choice, given a real choice?
Jen’s eyes wandered, gazing into golden shafts of light which shone through the wooden columns and limbs scattered about, a gleam which fell on her crumpled form. Were she a more morbid soul, she might have considered it an intriguing composition, something worth capturing.
Her gaze instead focused on the shadows cast between the shining rays, wherein she saw again a familiar staircase. Slowly, her pain seemed to dull as her eyes followed the stairs up and up.
Clara's effort was met by a flash of light on the other side of the circle, followed the sound of a bullet flying past, a few centimetres away from her head. She pulled back behind cover, her heart pounding in her chest as she maintained her white-knuckled grip on her weapon. The hard stone of the statue behind her began to dig into her shoulders as she pressed herself flat against it, painfully aware of just how close she had come to having decorated it with a spray of blood and brain matter.
She took a deep breath in and out as she tried to stop herself from shaking, the combination of fear and adrenaline pumping through her body filling every second with agony. What was she supposed to do? Poking her head out again would be another gamble with death, but waiting for Seychelle to sneak up behind her or something was hardly an attractive idea either. Every path ahead was a gamble, none of which held good odds.
The seconds ticked by as the distant gunfire that had punctuated her battle came to a halt, the absence of shots becoming more and more conspicuous with every passing moment. The terrifying possibility of a newcomer intruding on this fight loomed ominously overhead as Clara finally made up her mind, quickly popping out once more and firing in the direction that the previous shot against her had come from, praying desperately that this time she might actually hit something.
She took a deep breath in and out as she tried to stop herself from shaking, the combination of fear and adrenaline pumping through her body filling every second with agony. What was she supposed to do? Poking her head out again would be another gamble with death, but waiting for Seychelle to sneak up behind her or something was hardly an attractive idea either. Every path ahead was a gamble, none of which held good odds.
The seconds ticked by as the distant gunfire that had punctuated her battle came to a halt, the absence of shots becoming more and more conspicuous with every passing moment. The terrifying possibility of a newcomer intruding on this fight loomed ominously overhead as Clara finally made up her mind, quickly popping out once more and firing in the direction that the previous shot against her had come from, praying desperately that this time she might actually hit something.
The prayer had come true.
The bullet hit her in the face. There was heat from the bullet, and then, there was the cold of the blood. The girl toppled to the ground, her body lolling like the boys she had shot. She dropped, first on her butt, then on her back. Her knees formed a pyramid toward the sky with one muddied barefoot and one shoed at its base.
The girl laid there around bullets and shells and knives and tridents that were all in her mind, but some of them very real as she felt one of them deeply lodged in her skull.
The bullet hit her in the face. There was heat from the bullet, and then, there was the cold of the blood. The girl toppled to the ground, her body lolling like the boys she had shot. She dropped, first on her butt, then on her back. Her knees formed a pyramid toward the sky with one muddied barefoot and one shoed at its base.
The girl laid there around bullets and shells and knives and tridents that were all in her mind, but some of them very real as she felt one of them deeply lodged in her skull.
Clara felt a rush of excitement as her bullet struck the target, sending her opponent crumpling to the floor. She leapt to her feet, spurred on by adrenaline as she moved out from behind the rock, finally able to leave the safety of cover, even if only for a minute. For one anxious moment, she stumbled, catching herself against a stone before rushing across the circle, her runners pounding against the well-trodden ground as she made a direct line for her target.
There was no time to think. It wouldn't be long before another opponent was upon her, and she had to finish this before then. Maybe Seychelle was dead, and maybe she wasn't, but whatever the case was, Clara had to know as soon as possible. Her fingers clung tightly to her weapon as she approached her destination, the crumpled form of her enemy clearly in view. If she was lucky, that shot would have been enough, but if it wasn't...
Well, she'd know in a moment.
There was no time to think. It wouldn't be long before another opponent was upon her, and she had to finish this before then. Maybe Seychelle was dead, and maybe she wasn't, but whatever the case was, Clara had to know as soon as possible. Her fingers clung tightly to her weapon as she approached her destination, the crumpled form of her enemy clearly in view. If she was lucky, that shot would have been enough, but if it wasn't...
Well, she'd know in a moment.
There was a flash of white from the girl's sclera.
It looked around for its pair, but the other eye was drowning. A wound kept bleeding into it. It flowed down the girl's face, dripping down onto her nose and mouth. The girl spat it out. The white of her remaining unstained sclera turned red. A crooked laugh came out. It was wheeze. Her teeth were clacking and chattering together. The girl tried to blink away the blood in her remaining, but she was incapable of keep it from spreading.
Then, the eye focused on Clara.
With one hand, the girl hand raised toward her forehead, touching the wound. Her fingers met flesh. Her broken laugh turned into a plaintive sob. A realization that the bullet she had imagined had actually went through, and that whatever she was touching used to be where her hairline had been. She pushed further, feeling her hair, embroiled into the wound.
She pushed further, her eyes rolling into the back of her skull. Her other hand holding something metallic. She wasn't sure which one was which anymore.
It looked around for its pair, but the other eye was drowning. A wound kept bleeding into it. It flowed down the girl's face, dripping down onto her nose and mouth. The girl spat it out. The white of her remaining unstained sclera turned red. A crooked laugh came out. It was wheeze. Her teeth were clacking and chattering together. The girl tried to blink away the blood in her remaining, but she was incapable of keep it from spreading.
Then, the eye focused on Clara.
With one hand, the girl hand raised toward her forehead, touching the wound. Her fingers met flesh. Her broken laugh turned into a plaintive sob. A realization that the bullet she had imagined had actually went through, and that whatever she was touching used to be where her hairline had been. She pushed further, feeling her hair, embroiled into the wound.
She pushed further, her eyes rolling into the back of her skull. Her other hand holding something metallic. She wasn't sure which one was which anymore.
That... that was a lot of blood.
Clara stared at the girl on the ground beneath her, the awful noises coming from her counterpart's mouth filling her with nausea. She would have thought that what happened with Caleb would have at least made this a little easier, but, unfortunately, she had no such luck. If anything, this was worse - at least with him, it was all over in a flash. This time, the consequences of her actions were up close and personal, the pain she had caused getting more and more obvious with every passing second.
She sighed quietly as she lifted her gun, aiming it at the bleeding mess that remained of Seychelle's head. There was no way out of this - she might not have started the fight this time, but the least she could do was finish it. She was a bastard, and she knew it, but if she had locked herself into killing Seychelle, letting her slowly suffer would be the worst way to go about it. The least she could do was to put her opponent out of her misery. Clara closed her eyes as her finger pulled on the trigger one more time, bracing herself for yet another explosion of light and sound.
All that rose to meet her expectations was a painfully loud click.
Clara stared at the girl on the ground beneath her, the awful noises coming from her counterpart's mouth filling her with nausea. She would have thought that what happened with Caleb would have at least made this a little easier, but, unfortunately, she had no such luck. If anything, this was worse - at least with him, it was all over in a flash. This time, the consequences of her actions were up close and personal, the pain she had caused getting more and more obvious with every passing second.
She sighed quietly as she lifted her gun, aiming it at the bleeding mess that remained of Seychelle's head. There was no way out of this - she might not have started the fight this time, but the least she could do was finish it. She was a bastard, and she knew it, but if she had locked herself into killing Seychelle, letting her slowly suffer would be the worst way to go about it. The least she could do was to put her opponent out of her misery. Clara closed her eyes as her finger pulled on the trigger one more time, bracing herself for yet another explosion of light and sound.
All that rose to meet her expectations was a painfully loud click.
Hunger, thirst, even being strangled, they had all been sensation that she could deal with. On a basic and integral and primal level, she had been okay with it. She could have dealt with being hurt in a temporary way. She, at least, had rationalized that it was temporary. That it was going to go away after she had won, that it wouldn't last longer than a month of recovery, or maybe six months, or maybe a year.
In the grand scheme of things, that was nothing compared to a life she had to fight for.
As her finger found her skull, it dawned on her that this injury wouldn't go away. It would be a permanent wound, never leaving. Did it hit her brain? Was she warped into someone else so quickly? Did she have fragments of bullets and stones and dirt lodged into her skull? Was she already dead despite still being breathing and screaming and laughing?
The jammed gun of her opponent brought her back to reality.
If she had lost, then so was everybody else.
Seychelle gritted her teeth, aimed the gun at the girl, and shot her final bullets into the body of Clara.
In the grand scheme of things, that was nothing compared to a life she had to fight for.
As her finger found her skull, it dawned on her that this injury wouldn't go away. It would be a permanent wound, never leaving. Did it hit her brain? Was she warped into someone else so quickly? Did she have fragments of bullets and stones and dirt lodged into her skull? Was she already dead despite still being breathing and screaming and laughing?
The jammed gun of her opponent brought her back to reality.
If she had lost, then so was everybody else.
Seychelle gritted her teeth, aimed the gun at the girl, and shot her final bullets into the body of Clara.
Confusion rushed through Clara's mind as she found herself falling backward, the world rushing by in a blur as she went down. Questions began to swirl around in her head, stabbing at her like a swarm of angry bees. What happened with her gun? How was Seychelle still moving? Most importantly, why did her chest hurt so fucking much?
That last one was soon answered by looking down to see the growing red stain on her shirt. She immediately turned her face away, her scattered brain clutching desperately to the childish hope that if one couldn't see something, it didn't exist. However, tragically, she still did, in fact, possess an understanding of object permanence, and no matter where she looked, she couldn't ignore the searing pain that shot through her body with every ragged breath. As badass as it would be keep the struggle going, refusing to admit defeat, no amount of defiance was going to change the reality that lay in front of her as she turned back to look at her ruined chest one final time.
Her head fell back, eyes staring upward, the sky's grey, featureless expanse seeming to stretch out infinitely, indifferent to her plight. This was where she was going to die: alone, on some insignificant rock of an island, an ocean away from home. Depressing, wasn't it? Her thoughts wandered back to the day she had been taken, becoming painfully aware that the hasty goodbye that she threw out to her parents as she rushed out to school was now going to have been her last. It was one more regret to add to the large pile she had long been accumulating, and now it was time for those regrets to cash in and decide to weigh in on her all at once.
Ever since she got here, her entire experience had just been a parade of one bad decision after another. She had thrown away so much for her stupid revenge quest against Taryn and Caleb, and in the end, she hadn't gotten anything out of it other than a constant, nagging sense of guilt that was clearly going to follow her for the rest of her life, however long (or short) that was going to be. The one consolation about that was that dying here meant that her parents would never find out about her crime, able to keep an unstained image of her in mind as they mourned. It wasn't much of one though. Whether or not they found out, she had still let them down nevertheless.
Of course, when it came to people she had let down, the worst of all betrayal of all was how dirty she had done Lex. She really hadn't appreciated him nearly as much as she should have, sometimes slipping into seeing him as more of a sidekick than a friend, and yet he had still thrown all of his weight behind her. He had given up everything so that she could go home, and, as much as she wanted to make excuses about it, in the end she had still taken that gift and then recklessly tossed it away as quickly as it had come. What a terrible friend she was.
A cool breeze gently caressed Clara's face, temporarily distracting her from the intense pain in her chest as her fingers finally let go of the pistol that she had been desperately clutching ever since she first entered the stone circle. Everything was going dark now. She let out a sigh, continuing to stare up into the uncaring sky, barely audible words spilling out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry, everyone."
That last one was soon answered by looking down to see the growing red stain on her shirt. She immediately turned her face away, her scattered brain clutching desperately to the childish hope that if one couldn't see something, it didn't exist. However, tragically, she still did, in fact, possess an understanding of object permanence, and no matter where she looked, she couldn't ignore the searing pain that shot through her body with every ragged breath. As badass as it would be keep the struggle going, refusing to admit defeat, no amount of defiance was going to change the reality that lay in front of her as she turned back to look at her ruined chest one final time.
Her head fell back, eyes staring upward, the sky's grey, featureless expanse seeming to stretch out infinitely, indifferent to her plight. This was where she was going to die: alone, on some insignificant rock of an island, an ocean away from home. Depressing, wasn't it? Her thoughts wandered back to the day she had been taken, becoming painfully aware that the hasty goodbye that she threw out to her parents as she rushed out to school was now going to have been her last. It was one more regret to add to the large pile she had long been accumulating, and now it was time for those regrets to cash in and decide to weigh in on her all at once.
Ever since she got here, her entire experience had just been a parade of one bad decision after another. She had thrown away so much for her stupid revenge quest against Taryn and Caleb, and in the end, she hadn't gotten anything out of it other than a constant, nagging sense of guilt that was clearly going to follow her for the rest of her life, however long (or short) that was going to be. The one consolation about that was that dying here meant that her parents would never find out about her crime, able to keep an unstained image of her in mind as they mourned. It wasn't much of one though. Whether or not they found out, she had still let them down nevertheless.
Of course, when it came to people she had let down, the worst of all betrayal of all was how dirty she had done Lex. She really hadn't appreciated him nearly as much as she should have, sometimes slipping into seeing him as more of a sidekick than a friend, and yet he had still thrown all of his weight behind her. He had given up everything so that she could go home, and, as much as she wanted to make excuses about it, in the end she had still taken that gift and then recklessly tossed it away as quickly as it had come. What a terrible friend she was.
A cool breeze gently caressed Clara's face, temporarily distracting her from the intense pain in her chest as her fingers finally let go of the pistol that she had been desperately clutching ever since she first entered the stone circle. Everything was going dark now. She let out a sigh, continuing to stare up into the uncaring sky, barely audible words spilling out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry, everyone."
With the last volley of gunfire, there was nothing but silence as Ajay moved closer to whoever was left. As he made his way to the final clearing, he saw it was over. He wasn't expecting this. One of them had to be alive. There was no way it would be this easy.
He walked towards Clara first. Never knew her name, never knew what she did or didn't do. He knew she was doomed from the getgo, but that was it. Was her friend still around or did he drop too? He thought he saw him die. Ajay looked behind him in reflex.
Nothing.
He had a pit forming in his stomach. There was one more body to check. One more enemy to fight to go home. One more person on this island who filled him with nothing but dread to deal with.
He turned towards where he'd thought she'd be and started to move closer.
He felt cold without his jacket.
He walked towards Clara first. Never knew her name, never knew what she did or didn't do. He knew she was doomed from the getgo, but that was it. Was her friend still around or did he drop too? He thought he saw him die. Ajay looked behind him in reflex.
Nothing.
He had a pit forming in his stomach. There was one more body to check. One more enemy to fight to go home. One more person on this island who filled him with nothing but dread to deal with.
He turned towards where he'd thought she'd be and started to move closer.
He felt cold without his jacket.
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
She saw him first.
The hole in her brain felt like the size of a fist. She stopped touching it, lowering her hands back onto her chest. She took slow breaths, trying to remember what she was trying to do. She knew she wanted to win, she knew she wanted to go home, she knew she wanted to go see 'Chelle again; but was it worth the cost? Was everything she had done worth it?
Did she mean it the way she shot Archibald?
Did she mean it the way she clubbed Jevaun to death?
Did she mean it when she killed Rainbow after she had saved her from the man - no, boy - coming toward her?
Did she mean it when she killed tricked Zander into giving him a broken and useless gun?
Did she mean it when she stabbed Matthew in the back?
Did she mean it when she gunned down Lex and Clara?
The hole in her brain felt like the size of a fist. She stopped touching it, lowering her hands back onto her chest. She took slow breaths, trying to remember what she was trying to do. She knew she wanted to win, she knew she wanted to go home, she knew she wanted to go see 'Chelle again; but was it worth the cost? Was everything she had done worth it?
Did she mean it the way she shot Archibald?
Did she mean it the way she clubbed Jevaun to death?
Did she mean it when she killed Rainbow after she had saved her from the man - no, boy - coming toward her?
Did she mean it when she killed tricked Zander into giving him a broken and useless gun?
Did she mean it when she stabbed Matthew in the back?
Did she mean it when she gunned down Lex and Clara?
Yes.
Yes she did.
Seychelle nodded softly at herself, unsure if her head actually moved. She didn't blinked, stared at Ajay, and waited for him to kill her. It was only fair. She tried and she failed. She didn't want to lose. She didn't want to die. She wanted something else for herself. Maybe a happy story that ended with love, maybe a bittersweet story that ended with a lesson.
But she had to accept that losing was part of life, and if this was where she learned it, at the end of it, then so be it.
Yes she did.
Seychelle nodded softly at herself, unsure if her head actually moved. She didn't blinked, stared at Ajay, and waited for him to kill her. It was only fair. She tried and she failed. She didn't want to lose. She didn't want to die. She wanted something else for herself. Maybe a happy story that ended with love, maybe a bittersweet story that ended with a lesson.
But she had to accept that losing was part of life, and if this was where she learned it, at the end of it, then so be it.