Falling to Pieces

[Macha*]

((David Burn, continued from Try Not to Fumble.))

Dave had quickly realised how bad an idea it was to travel with Megan and Jenny. Firstly, Megan never shut up. Ever. This on its own would have made him want to kick her in the face if not for his- very rational, and he wouldn't hear a single word otherwise- fear of hitting girls, but what really managed to irk Dave was the fact she had to be doing this while they were travelling. Whatever the fuck happened to stealth? Did she want them to get caught? Murdered by some twat with a rocket launcher instead of the shit they'd drawn?

Secondly, they had no fucking clue where they were going. This one wasn't as important, but it still pissed Dave off, ever so slightly.

He'd just smiled, nodded, and gritted his teeth. He could bear with it. He'd dealt with worse.

But after about half an hour, it was starting to get to him.

Dave wanted to flip his lid, just scream at her to just shut the fuck up already. But that would solve nothing. Just make him look like more of an ass. Right now he was looking like an ass, sure, but he was a funny ass. That was what he was trying to do. Didn't matter whether it was at him or with him, he loved to make people laugh. Simple as that.

But Jenny and Megan? Testing his patience, just a little bit. Dave was starting to doubt his previous decision. Maybe he could just cut his losses and run the fuck away now, before they hurt themselves, or hurt him.

No, he'd give them the benefit of the doubt. Things could get better.

Just a little longer.

[Casey The Undead*]

((Megan Jacobson continued from Try Not To Fumble))

Things were going better then Megan had expected. Which basically meant that Dave hadn't taken Janice or whatever to her face yet, which, really, was a plus. She could tell she was pissing him off. He wasn't very good at the whole "hiding his emotions" thing. Besides, she had reached the point where she was starting to piss herself off. Nervous talking is bad. Stop talking. Right. Now.

She stopped mid sentence, clamping her mouth shut. She briefly considered uttering an apology for her talking, but decided against it. For one, both Jen and Dave would respond insincerely- if they didn't just upright call her out for being the annoying little bitch she was.

Great job, I've done it again. I've managed to make everyone in the world hate me. Yippie kay fucking yay.

She sighed, looking up. There was something very bland and boring about walking in silence. If this was going to be one of her last days on Earth, couldn't she at least talk to people she loved? Friends? Anyone? No? Right then. Deal with the cards you're dealt.

Which happened to be Mr. Helmet, the only part of her current party she was sure wouldn't try to kill her.

Megan sighed again. No more talking. No more pissing off people. The very least she could do was die unhated by the majority of people she'd met on the island.

It didn't matter that she had no idea where they were going. It didn't matter that she was bored and lonely.

She was not going to talk. Period.

"So...where exactly are we going, anyways?"

God damn it.

[Lord_Shadow]

((Jennifer Steinman continued from Try Not to Fumble))

Jennifer was beginning to doubt sticking together was a good idea. Megan just wouldn't shut the hell up. Dave was better, but not by much. She was seriously considering just bolting, if not for the fact that such an action would be utterly idiotic. What moron would just abandon the safety of a group just because they couldn't stand said group?

"Then again, these people aren't really the sort that I hang out with." She sighed. They were too independent. Too annoying. Too self-driven. From the look of it, she wasn't going to be able to get much use out of either of them. Too unpredictable. She felt like ditching them right then and there. But she wasn't going to. For the moment, she needed them.

Megan asked where they were going. "Like I have any fucking idea." Jennifer said, immediately regretting having uttered that. What was wrong with her? Her parents were surely watching. She was letting these people, these stupid people, start to influence her.

That made her mad. She was the one who influenced others. It sure as hell was never the other way around. She glanced around at their surroundings. It was time to take charge of the situation and the group. It wasn't her normal style, but she wasn't going to let these losers make the decisions anymore.

There was just one problem. She really didn't have any idea where they were going. She looked up into the sky with a scowl. "Great, just what the hell am I supposed to do? Do I get a sign or something?" Jennifer folder her arms and looked at the others. "I suggest we not stay here. Being out in the open like this is asking for trouble. But we can't just go anywhere we like."

She thought for a moment. She knelt down and opened her bag, taking out her map and making sure not to accidentally bring the knife inside into view. She went over the map. "Well knowing how The Program is I'd say that some students, like you Megan, would be looking for a better weapon. That probably means that a few people will head to the Armory in the Warehouse in hopes of finding something. They won't but hope can delude you. So we shouldn't go there. Likewise the Mess Hall is probably a bad choice as well. Though I have no idea why the hell anyone would think about finding food here of all places. I'd say that the best place to head for first would be the Watchtower. We could get a bird's eye view of the entire compound."

She frowned. "The only problem is that I'm probably not the only person who thought of that. So the Watchtower is out. I have to keep sounding like I have good reasons for this. Honestly I have no clue where the hell everyone might be going. Personally I think we'd be safest in the Administrative Building. There's little chance anyone would be there."

Jennifer was sure that she would be ignored. She didn't really know what the hell she was saying. Her 'observations' were just general rationalizations and would probably be dismissed as such. But she was sure about one thing. She had to find other people. People she could actually use. What better way to do that than leading these two all over the place to find someone else? What was certain was that she needed to find someone she could get to do what she wanted and quickly. These two were just too much for her to handle. She only hoped that she could get them to do this one thing.

[Cake]

(Wendy Fischer Continued from: It Had To Be Me.)

*

Wendy ran. She ran out of the Mess Hall into the open. Into the brightness of day light. It was very difficult considering the fact she was wearing a thigh length plaid skirt. Finally she stopped and rested herself along the side of a building, finding a spot she wouldn't be so obviously visible.

She sat down into a collapsed and tired heap, perhaps due from the gas or from the frightening, at least for her, moment earlier. Out of no where, tears started forming in the girl's eyes. She dried them up, glad that she didn't have any makeup on, that could have smeared against her face. Shame. Worry. Guilt. Wendy couldn't believe it. She had just left, Sheri, someone she knew in this game, alone, and on purpose. She heard the crash too. For all Wendy knew, Sheri had fell and hit her head getting cut by broken pieces of glass. She justified herself at the time, that Sheri had the baseball bat. That Jessica, didn't seem too dangerous. That Sheri could protect herself.

But that feeling was now filled in doubt. What if Jessica did turn out to be dangerous? Sheri fell, she could have been hurt then she couldn't defend herself. Even if she did have a baseball bat, Jessica was bigger and stronger than Sheri, and in a fresh physical state. Plus Jessica's weapon could have been way better than Sheri's baseball bat. Perhaps Jessica did have that cleaver Wendy guessed earlier and didn't want to chase after the girl running away when she could have easy prey waiting for her in the kitchen storage room?

Some friend she was. Wendy felt like a coward, a weakling, from running away frightened, emotionally hurt, and maybe even a little bit angry. Anger? It wasn't normally a feeling Wendy usually had. In fact several of the emotions she had right now, were ones she usually didn't have. Wendy was the cheery, smiley, optimistic one, who never seemed to have a care or worry in the world, til now. Till this F- (No even in her mind, Wendy couldn't swear, it just wasn't her. She never swore ever. She was the innocent good girl.) Program day. Now Sheri could be dead right now. Dead, and Wendy just let it happen. Doing nothing to stop it, just running away from her problems.

The once bubbly cheerleader sat against the wall, knees pointing up. She had felt like crying again. Putting her face, her eyes on her knees, letting her sadness flow out, while wiping her face clean with the bottom of her skirt.

After recovering a bit from the guilt, Wendy decided to finally look into her pack. What was in there anyway? Some food, a map, flashlight.. oh and what is this? Wendy pulled out a pair of gloves. Gloves? They were heavier than usual gloves, but she examined them further. These were like athletic or combat gloves. Yeah her dad sometimes watched Mixed Martial Arts, tried getting her into it, watching that is, even though Wendy wasn't too into the fighting. These were like the same kind of gloves those fighters she saw wore. She lay the weighted gloves on to the concrete next to the building, taking some water out and taking some sips, using some to wash her face. Following that Wendy took out some saltines and began snacking a little while viewing the map.

With the map in front of her, Wendy looked thoroughly. She honestly didn't know where she was. Pretty much all the buildings looked similar from the outside. But what she did know is she needed to go into one as soon as possible, preferably one with some beds as her body was aching and tired for some reason, which Wendy blamed on that horrible gas. The officers quarters sounded nice, maybe even the field hospital or the barracks. Somewhere that had something soft to lay down on, and had added cover from being inside. Out here, in wide day light would have made Wendy easy prey. She wasn't stupid.

Stupid.
Dumb.
Idiot.

Everyone always thought that about her. They would sometimes even talk about her like that when she was near them, up close. It's like they thought she would have been too dense to figure out that it was her they were referring to. No, Wendy was another ditsy dumb blonde to them, she wouldn't know. Wendy knew though, that it wasn't really in mean spirit when they talked like that about her, heck some people actually talked to her that way as sort of a form of endearment. It was just status quo, her reputation around the school, with so many people passing the term around, that it was the norm, and figured it was ok to refer to her like that. Secretly Wendy found it very condescending, but she was always the nice one, simply blowing it off, and playing along, not making a big deal. Yes Wendy knew she wasn't the brightest girl around, but she really didn't like it all that much at all. She was alright with jokes, but when people meant it, when they were cruel about it, it just hurt Wendy so much in the inside. It was rare as most people liked Wendy Fischer, but there were some select few who had the nerve. She just, she couldn't believe a supposed "friend" in Sheri had insulted her intelligence the moment they met each other in this program game! Not to mention the fact that Sheri had practically attacked her!

Now feelings changed once more. Instead of guilt and remorse, heat was building up along the back of Wendy K. Fischer's neck. The now angry cheerleader pulled off her fuzzy blue sweater and unset her plaid skirt. It was getting really hot in this sun and with her rising anger, the very warm clothing wouldn't help at all. She stood there, with just her pink shirt and strawberry print boy shorts on (with under garments on underneath of course) and her short uggz shoes, with white socks. The cool breeze felt refreshing against the exposed skin of her long slender legs. She bent over picking up her clothing and folding them neatly before stuffing them back into her bag.

Well, at least she could move with more finesse and flexibility without that skirt hampering her some. Being a cheerleader meant she was very limber and in pretty good shape. She needed to get moving soon, so she needed to do some stretches first. Didn't want to pull a muscle out here, especially if worse comes to worse. She started her usual warm ups and stretches, which included bending over and touch her toes.

Then she heard it; a mechanical sound. Wendy turned around trying to spot where that sound was coming from, when she realized what was going on. Some cameras along the roofs and fences, were tuned on her curvaceous derriere for every time she would bend over. Wendy didn't know it, but it was a benefit from having those strong athletic legs; her shapely, firm rear by default had become a source of interest among much of General Pride's Populace. Now the camera's were focusing on them for show, to all the denizens of their great country.

Ugh, how embarrassing! They're getting shots of my strawberry boy shorts. I know they're tacky, but I think they're cute, so whatever. Being concerned about what people think of my clothes are the least of my worries right now.

Bending down again, Wendy picked up her "MMA gloves." So these are my real weapons then? Hey, no wonder Sheri wanted the baseball bat, it was really Sheri's weapon, and I just picked it up. But she didn't need to attack me for it, and call me mean names. If she'd just ask, I'd have given it back to her like that. She knows me, I would have done that.. what a... what a bitch!

Instinctively, Wendy put her hand to her mouth. Even if she didn't say it out loud, it was still a swear word coming from her.

Trying on the gloves, Wendy felt they were a bit heavy for her. They were more of a boys weapon, but Wendy figured she'd get used to them. She lifted her hands up, in a defensive combat position. These are supposed to make my punches stronger, I'm guessing?

The girl knew how to punch. It was something not many people would have guessed from a girl like her. Someone as cute, cheery, and super girly like her. But she could. Wendy was always raised like a son, by her father, the son he never had. He knew that she was a girl, but even girls needed to learn how to protect themselves. It could be any day, that someone might have wanted to take advantage of his girl, so he taught her simple punching strikes, to knock into the face of any nasty guys. Right hook, left hook, straight punch, upper cut, the works. He told her how to put some wallop into those punches, and from a girl, the shock of something like that might even be enough to distract a guy long enough for her to get away. Luckily Wendy never needed to use said learnings. She might have even been quite rusty at it. She was no fighter, not taught anything officially, but at least she got the basics of a punch taught to her, by a rugged man like her father.

There was nothing soft in the area, so Wendy figured she'd practice against the wall. She wasn't going to make any real punches, for fear of breaking her fingers, just practice punches, with little power behind them. She started, left right, upper, than lower, like her dad showed her those few years ago, on that punching bag, when he took her to the gym. Bam, bam, bam. The weighted gloves, had some cushion on it to protect her fingers a little. She could get used to these. Although, Wendy really didn't feel so hot about actually using these on someone's real life face.

At least the practice punching did much to air out Wendy's anger, into non-existance. It was a good release for her.

Ok. Good, now she needed to get moving. She put everything back in her bag, except for the gloves, which she kept on her hands. Wendy looked around. Just try to avoid getting caught by anybody. Hope if you do, you find someone friendly. Then try to find a safe area, with a nice soft, cushion-y bed. Time to move.

Bending over once more, she lifted her duffel bag from the ground, into the air and slung it over her shoulder. Now go.

[Casey The Undead*]

((OOC: Skipping Macha, with permission, because this thread really needs to get going.))

"Like I have any fucking idea."

In retrospect, yes, Megan was talking too much. She was a horrid, evil bitch, who was born with snark where compassion should have been. She was failing at doing anything right at the moment. But really, that was no reason to snap at her, now was it? In fact, compared to before, when she had been wearing a helmet on her head and talking to herself, she was actually doing something sane and strategic- mainly trying to figure out what in the name of all that is good and holy they were going to fucking do. And yet, somehow, it was still an obnoxious and stupid question to ask. Somehow it managed to piss off her traveling companions. And the her pissing them off really pissed her off.

But Megan Jacobson was the queen of idle threats. She could talk all the smack she wanted to, but when it really came down to it she was just scared shitless. And she wasn't going to leave Dave or Jen, because she wasn't going to fucking die like a goddamned animal.

She bit her lower lip, pushing her teeth deep into the already chapped skin to catch any words that would dare to slip out, and to bring her mind to something less painful than the ever growing knowledge that she would most likely not live to see that night.

"I suggest we not stay here. Being out in the open like this is asking for trouble. But we can't just go anywhere we like."

Really now? Well that's just fucking groundbreaking. Lemme guess what the next sentence is going to be- water is wet, right? Or fire is hot. Or, I don't know, maybe you're a stupid fucking bitch who knows just as much as the rest of us and is trying to act like she's better anyways? You know, more stuff that I already knew. It's really fucking helpful.

She bit down harder.

"Personally I think we'd be safest in the Administrative Building. There's little chance anyone would be there."

And how did you deduce that one? With your super power of knowing exactly where people are? Or maybe with the magical sixth sense you've gained. Didn't it ever occur to you that there's going to be someone everywhere? Didn't you ever stop to think that you can't possibly know who's where because you don't know anything? Or do you just really want to get to the fucking Administrative Building for some reason? Why can't you just come out and tell us your goddamned motives? Why is everything so damn cryptic?

She bit down harder. A tear slipped down her cheek, but Megan didn't notice.

Explain something to me, why don't you Jenny? Why exactly are you still here? You don't like us. You want to go to the Administrative Building, just go. Who cares if we even follow? Less attention to you then. Further, why is Dave even still here? I'm a fatass with a helmet and she's a whiny bitch who wants to take control. We're useless to him. Me? No. I fucking need these people to have any hope of anything. And looky here, I'm already so deep in shit that it might not even matter. Maybe, if I'm real lucky, I'll get them both killed too. and then there can be a little circle in hell dedicated to people who just fucking hate me. That'd be nice. Real. Fucking. Nice.

She bit down as hard as she could, finally splitting her lip open and drawing blood. It wasn't substantial, but Megan could taste the salty liquid, and instinctively drew her teeth away. Too much.

"Shit," she hissed, bringing her fingers to her now bloodied lip. She swallowed deeply, trying to keep all of the venom that had attacked her thoughts out of her words.

"Sure. Admin building sounds fine. Now we just have to figure out the approximate direction it is from here. Which means we probably should figure out where we are..." She took a quick glance around. "Which is obviously way easier said than done."

Another noise drew Megan away from the Jen, towards a newcomer. Megan blinked several times before actually registering the new face. The new face that could be very well wielding a deadly weapon, and that would more than most likely not take kindly at all to the bitch queen of the universe, who had already successfully gained a bloody lip in an attempt to not be such a wretched individual.

Goals for Today: Play nice. Don't die.

"Hey." Megan waved weakly, knowing that the gesture seemed awkward and almost immediately regretting ever saying anything at all. Lip's not that bad. It could take another round easy. But she'd already started, and now she had to finish.

"I'm, uh, Megan. And, in advance, I apologize for anything that I might say that offends or insults you."

A shaky breath. She glanced at the girl, up and down, before realizing that she knew her.

"Wendy? Finally someone I know! Kinda... "Well...uh...hi." She trailed off.

Well that sounded pathetic.

She stopped talking, waiting instead for the girl- and hopefully not Dave or Jen- to start talking. The idea that Dave and Jen would not automatically try and be nice to the girl sent a panic through Megan's body. She sincerely hoped that they got her telepathic message of Be nice goddamnit, or I will fuck your shit up.

Megan Jacobson, the bitch queen of idle threats, nasty comments, and over talking, was now silently begging other people to be nice.

This really is a fucked up game.

[Lord_Shadow]

Surprisingly, Megan agreed. "That was easy. Now will Dave do the same?" Truthfully, Jennifer didn't give a damn if the others agreed or not. All she wanted was to find someone else, someone who would be more useful. If these two didn't feel like playing along, she wasn't going to cry over it.

Megan had said that they needed to find out where they were. "Right, we should get right on that. Now if only I had any idea how to do that. Great, I know where I want to go but I don't know how to get where I need to go. Wonderful."

A noise broke Jen's concentration. Another newcomer. "Excellent." Megan spoke first. And what do you know, Megan seemed to know the other girl. Didn't matter. The more the merrier was Jennifer's outlook. She wasn't going to make it unless she had a bunch of people to help her make it. That was just the way it was.

"Wendy. Oh great, one of those cheerleaders. What was her last name again? Doesn't matter. Be nice Jen, maybe you can get her on your side." Jennifer cleared her throat. "Hey there, the name's Jennifer Steinman. What's yours?"

Fake interest, make a few nice seeming comments, make a friend. That easy. For most people anyway. Jennifer silently breathed thanks for running across someone other than the two idiots she got stuck with. Maybe now she'd actually be able to get things done. Maybe.

[Cake]

It wasn't even five minutes, when Wendy stumbled across a group of three.

She had only just started running and already she was in the middle of a large open area in this compound. It wasn't until she made it half way through when she realized it wasn't such a good idea. Open Spaces means no where to hide, and if anyone had a gun, all they'd half to do was take aim and... Well Wendy didn't want to think about that part right now. All she needed to do now was to concentrate on her running, to what ever was the closest building for some temporary cover. She had gone to far already, she couldn't exactly turn back to the familiar buildings from where she had been earlier, where ever that was.

On one side there was what Wendy assumed was the front gate in the distance. Ahead of her was.... Talking? Voices? People! Wendy froze in place, terrified and just watching. They didn't seem to notice her - yet.

"Sure. Admin building sounds fine. Now we just have to figure out the approximate direction it is from here. Which means we probably should figure out where we are..."

Right in front of her about 5 yards away, was a group of three: A boy and two girls. They were standing in the middle of Open Ground, Talking very loudly and each facing each other. They were obviously not worried, something Wendy K. Fischer very much was. Perhaps they had weapons like guns to defend themselves from attacks, or worse yet maybe they didn't need to protect themselves, maybe this group was a group that did the attacking! Wendy's eyes widened as she realized the potential trouble she was in now. She couldn't afford these people seeing her here. They were in the way of the nearest buildings, so Wendy had only one choice. Turn around and run for her life!

She turned around and readied herself to run when she noticed one girl lift her head up and look toward her. Oh no, run, run, RUN! She began to pace when the girl's voice stopped her in her tracks. The girls voice sounded familiar.. and it was friendly? Wendy turned her head to see the girl, not aiming a gun and shooting at her, but waving at her.

"I'm, uh, Megan. And, in advance, I apologize for anything that I might say that offends or insults you."

Megan? Wendy knew a Megan at school, not really BFF's of anything close to that, but someone she knew and was totally cool with. Wendy figured maybe she'd risk it. The three hadn't done anything yet, so maybe she'd take a closer look and sure enough it was her, Megan Jacobson! Hyper girl, maybe talked a little much, but Wendy didn't mind. It was in Wendy's nature to smile unintentionally and she did; her eyes squinting and the corners of her mouth lifting up showcasing that bright smile in that bright daylight. First time she had a legitimate smile since The Program began. Wendy thought she lost the ability. Yay someone I know! Hopefully she hasn't lost it yet. Wendy almost shivered when she remembered her encounter with Sheri Schatcher, who had seemed to lose her mind already. Picking up her pace, Wendy went right to the group, dropping her duffel bag to her side.

Megan spoke first: "Wendy? Well...uh...hi." Wendy was about to answer when the other girl interjected herself into the conversation... right there were two others here. "Hey there, the name's Jennifer Steinman. What's yours?"

This stranger, girl, who Wendy didn't know except for the few times she might have seen her around school, snapped the elated cheer girl, back into focus. Wendy's smile disappeared as she started frantically looking every direction to see if anyone had spotted them. This group of four was already big enough, they didn't need even more people, some possibly dangerous. Bigger crowds in the middle of wide open spaces are easy to see and in this situation it was trouble.

Forcing a small polite smile on her face, Wendy bent over, grabbing the duffel bag and putting it over her shoulder. "Hey Megan! Hello Jennifer... yea Megan got it right, my name is Wendy..." Since the girl gave her last name, Wendy decided to be polite and give hers as well "...Wendy Fischer."

She looked over at the boy. He was blonde haired and blue eyed, about her height, maybe an inch or two higher. He could have passed as male version of herself, if he were, well... a bit more groomed. The whole time the nameless boy had remained silent and simply stared at her. Wendy looked down and realized she was in her mid thigh strawberry boy shorts, her underpants, showcasing her slender legs, in front of a group of people which included a guy. In a normal situation, this would have been awkward and maybe a little embarrassing, but this wasn't exactly the place to worry about that now, and Wendy was very comfortable with herself anyway. She smiled again, feeling a little flattered at his blank stare and silence.

"Is that a Pipe Wrench in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Wendy couldn't believe she was making jokes at this time. There really was a pipe wrench the boy's pocket. A weapon he could use on her... "Sorry, I mean, um, hello to you too."

Turning back to face Megan, Wendy frowned again. Her lip seemed to be bleeding, not a whole lot, but it was there. It was also in Wendy's nature to be compassionate, but she couldn't really talk too much or do anything about it, in open ground like this. They were easy pickings. She looked at the other girl, Jennifer again. Her body language, despite her polite tone of voice, portrayed disapproval of her immediate acquaintances. She didn't seem to like her very much, for some reason.

Constantly looking over her shoulder, with the map in her trembling hands, like the newly paranoid person she was, Wendy spoke her parting words.

"Okay, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to stand here in the open like this. We're like easy prey for any hunter, a group of fish in the open, ready to be caught." She started to move now, walking and picking up her pace; walking backward still talking to the group. The group seemed to walk with her just to let her finish what she had to say.

"So, I know you guys were talking about going to the Admin building, so you can go if you want to." Darn it! According to the map, I went the wrong way. All the buildings with the nice beds and stuff are on that side, where I started from!

"...but if you want to talk, out here is not such a good idea. I'm going to the nearest building, so if you want to come with me, then, I guess you can uh, come with me?" Wendy gestured toward Megan. It was obvious the other two didn't really like Megan, especially Jennifer. She looked toward Jennifer "...Or not, up to you."

Wendy turned around and started picking up the pace in running toward the closest building. According to the map, it was the Garage/Depot.

"Split up, stay together, whatever... but I'm going. Leaving. Now." With that Wendy sprinted toward the Garage and Car Depot, hoping that at least Megan, joined her. She needed company.

((Wendy Fischer Continued To: Question?.))

[Casey The Undead*]

((OOC: Sorry about post order. I guess this thread's ending, though, so...right.))

For the first time since the Annoucement, things were actually going Megan's way. It looked like Jenny was getting Megan's subconscious threat, and actually sounded civil and almost pleasant for a moment. Further, it was Wendy, a friendly face to Megan, and generally a nice person to be around.

Hey! Maybe I won't be the first person to die in this game after all!

"Is that a Pipe Wrench in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"


Or maybe I'm still as fucked as ever.

Bile hissed in Megan's throat. Right, new rule. The absolute worst thing to do a random stranger is hit on them. Especially when that stranger is Dave.

Something about the idea that Dave, fucking Dave could find someone sexually attractive made Megan sick to her stomach. Probably because Dave finding someone attractive meant something absolutely terrible- that Doave was human. And if he was human, then his life actually meant something. He wasn't just something for Megan to vent her anger out on. He was a person, who was either going to die or going to kill. And if Dave was a human, then Jen had to be human too.

Oh god damnit. I'm not supposed to give a shit about Dave! Or Jen! They're assholes!

A small part of Megan told her that the real reason she was upset was because Wendy Fischer was a girl to be leered at, and Megan wasn't. She ignored that part.

"Wendy, what have I told you? Wear pants. Pants are your friend." It was borderline condescending, but Wendy had a good sense of humor, so maybe she wouldn't punch Megan in the face for that comment.

"Okay, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to stand here in the open like this. We're like easy prey for any hunter, a group of fish in the open, ready to be caught."

Right. That was very clear in Megan's mind now, considering it had been said about 8 times in the past five minutes. "Yeah, we-"

Wendy kept talking. Okay, okay. Just be patient. Remember the daily goals? Be nice. Nice is good. Nice will not get you killed.

"I guess you can uh, come with me?"

If three was a crowd, was four a party? Megan couldn't remember. Was four too much? It would probably draw attention, but at the same time what idiot is gonna charge four people at once?

Still, Megan really knew nothing about Wendy. She didn't know the other girls weapon, where she had come from, what her plan was. All she knew was that she was a friendly face, and more than most likely not going to kill her.

"Split up, stay together, whatever... but I'm going. Leaving. Now."


Wait what.

"Wait Wendy we should-" The cheerleader was already sprinting away, leaving the original trio in her wake.

Stay or go? Stay? Go? Stay with Jen and Dave, and you're still lost in the woods with a bunch of jerks. Go and you have no idea what happens to them, are with a new person, and are back to aimlessly wandering without much of a plan. Damnit.

Really, this whole game would have been easier if Megan didn't have to give a flying shit about the people she was with. Damn that stupid heart of mine.

"Look. It's no secret that we don't like each other. And clearly we got off on the wrong foot. Actually, it's like we stepped so hard on the wrong foot that we shattered every bone in that leg, but whatever. I...I trust Wendy. So, I'm going with her. You two don't have to go but..."

But I suddenly find myself caring about you. I don't want you to die.

"It'd be nice to know that you aren't off getting axe murdered is all."

Megan took a breath, looking at the other two carefully.

They won't follow. They don't care about you. They aren't your friends.

"And if not...well...see you in another life, I guess."

With that, she took off running, not looking back to see if they followed her.

((Megan Jacobson, continued in Question?))

[Lord_Shadow]

And suddenly things took a turn from pleasantville to what-the-hell-just-happened-burg.

Jennifer couldn't even believe that the new girl had ditched them as quickly as she had arrived. So much for making use of—

Wait, what the hell? Why was Megan leaving? She was going after her, the stupid bi—

"No." It was the only word Jennifer could muster at the time. Everything happened so fast, she couldn't believe how quickly she had come to be alone. Dave was still there, but he didn't count. He was in his own world. "F-fff." She bit her lip.

"Keep calm. Keep civil. You're above this." She turned to Dave, the only other person left with her. "It's been real. But I am not sticking around you. Mostly because I don't like you. You aren't even my type, even if you are kinda..." She remembered Wendy's 'greeting' to him. "It can't be that..." She snuck a peek downwards. She reddened. No! What was she thinking? She couldn't decide to stick around because of that.

But then again... Dave was the only guy she'd seen thus far. And while his personality wasn't to her liking, for all she knew today would be the last day she would be alive. And she sure as hell didn't want to die without experiencing what so many people she knew experienced. Maybe not with Dave, not unless there was no other choice. But someone else.

Yeah, that was it. All she needed to do was stick around with him for a little while longer. He was bound to run into more people. Maybe even a guy with looks and personality. She shut her mouth. She thought for a second. What would work best? She decided. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I-I'm just not used to not being around a lot of people. Please... don't leave me."

She wasn't going to go first. She suddenly no longer cared about going to the Administrative Building. No guarantee anyone was there anyway.

Dave would lead, she would follow, and if there was a God at all she'd meet up with someone along the way. That is, assuming he didn't abandon her.

((Jennifer Steinman continued in Bat Country))

[Macha*]

((Apologies for the time it took/ general crappiness of the post.))

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a blonde girl showed up wearing a tight shirt and not a great deal more. Dave took a double-take. Was this for real? What? Not that he was complaining, of course. It was just a little jarring seeing a cheerleader running around in her underwear, was all.

Dave kind of wanted to point out the obvious. Make another dumb joke. A simple "Um, hey, I kind of think you're missing the bottom half of your outfit." would have done the trick, but instead he just kind of looked at her, trying to think of something to say. She beat him to the punch though, made a dumb joke of her own about his "pipe-wrench".

"Huh?" It took Dave a second to process the joke. "Oh, right. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the pipe wrench."

The cheerleader introduced herself as Wendy, said how she didn’t want to stay out in the open. Paranoia, Dave figured. They’d been fine so far, walking along for at least a couple of hours. Oh, wait. They'd been in a group. He'd looked pretty tough, most likely. She'd been on her own. In her underwear. Right, justified paranoia. Forget he'd said anything. Thought. Whatever.

Wendy said some harsh words and then left as quickly as she arrived, Megan following soon after. Dave started to walk off, started to follow them, but was stopped by Jennifer. She started to talk about how she was going to leave. Dave though she was stalling, trying to give Megan and Wendy time to get out. Was that what she was planning? No, she seemed sincere, actually. She trailed off, focusing her attention downwards. Um, right. Okay. Dave really didn't want to know why. She was just checking he still had his weapon. Sure, let's go with that. She looked up, blushing.

"Right, Jennifer." Dave quickly tried to change the subject. "Want to follow them?"

Jennifer said she didn't work well in groups. Right. That was okay, he guessed. She'd be fine on her own while he went off after- She asked him not to leave her. That made it a bit tougher. Dave took one look at Megan and Wendy disappearing off into the distance. Go time. Who did he choose? Megan or Jen. Megan or Jen? Who did he think could look after themselves better? That's what it boiled down to, really.

Damn it, why did he always have to be on the spot like this?

Dave thought it through. For once he really did.

"Megan!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at her, hoping she'd hear him. "I'll catch you later, okay? Don't die and shit!"

Stay safe, you nutjob. I'll be pissed if you die on us. Dave turned back around to Jennifer. Set his plans for abandonment aside- for now, anyway. For now, he was keeping her safe. Why? Fuck if he knew right now. It seemed like the right thing to do and fuck it; he was going to the right thing. Just this once.

"Jennifer, you ready to go?” He asked, pulling his daypack up his shoulder and checking his pipe-wrench- the non-metaphorical one- was still stuffed into his jeans. "Alright, then."

Dave lead the way.

((David Burn, continued in Bat Country.))