“So, anyways, uh, that’s my reasoning for why cereal is a stew. A cold stew, but still a stew.”
((Mary Cheung continued from Divided We Stand, Together We Fall))
She’d perked up some since last night. If anything, though, she was talking to take off the nerves. And she knew Chris was rolling his eyes, even if mentally. Mary didn’t see anything, but you just know. Go figure. Whatever.
Gosh, everytime she closed her eyes, she still saw Leo and Leah. Leo’s rotting, seagull-consumed corpse, Leah’s… last moments. She was trying her best to push it down, smile. Hide what she actually felt. She still remembered how she felt when was last here, too. A lot of pondering. Her body still sometimes shook. She still sometimes wondered.
Mary had taken care of herself a bit. She’d changed clothes. Now she was wearing the plain black t-shirt, but with the sleeves rolled up, the bottom tucked into jean shorts. She put some of her old accessories on, just to make it feel a little more like her. And she finally, finally, got a shower too. She remembered that she got those things, the fresh clothes, the toiletries, the newer makeup, with… with Leah, and...
Anyways. She was clean now. And she ate. Read a bit of Jewel’s book. She was a little over halfway when they decided to go back up the deck to look around, maybe grab some more stuff? And now they were back here. She had her oar draped over her shoulders, and her bag, where Leah's things were, too. There were still blood stains, and--
Mary’s foot hit a bag. And she jumped.
And she wanted to yell at herself to pay more attention.
Blue Monday
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DerArknight
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
"Yes yes, whatever." Chris answered, finally ending their thirty-minute-discussion about... what exactly? He had tuned out at some point.
((Chris Tyrell continued from Divided We Stand, Together We Fall))
The morning announcement had been a disappointment in two ways. Firstly, he learned that the friendless freak called Leah Hemingway had almost managed to kill Seo-yun before "just giving up". Just how useless could one girl be?
And secondly it had turned out that his teammates, who until this point seemed to do well on the headcount, had suddenly decided to drop like flies. Wow. Great timing, guys! Of course they had to get themselves slaughtered the moment he started to seek them out. If it wasn't such a shitty situation, he would have laughed.
At least there had been some good news: Several big killers had bite the dust or where released. That would make survival hopefully easier. Also, the death of Junji had been attributed to both Fisk and Verity. So unless Fisk had found a new friend this late into the game, Verity was the fourth person who had attacked the restaurant. Chris was unsure what having identified the last of Stokes' killers would bring him, but he guessed it was good to know.
So far, the new day had brought them nothing but more cardio. On one hand, that meant they hadn't found any other Leviathans or weapons. But on the other hand, cardio was always a good thing and it meant they hadn't encountered any players.
Players, huh?
Now that he thought about it, what exactly were he and Mary according to the SOTF-lingo? The terms he had heard in relation to the show were player, player hunter, escape groups and heroes. But he had no clue where to start on escaping, they didn't plan on looking for people who had killed, they weren't trying to help others and if they were players, they fucking sucked at their job.
Well, at least they were still alive unlike the two bodies they just passed. One was a classmate of him, Gustavo Thicke. Not someone Chris had socialized much with, so no big feelings. But the other one was RJ, a fellow musical kid. While Chris hadn't even tried to memorize every single name called on the announcements, he had realized that his group was getting decimated. First Marion, then Dale, then RJ. Verity on the other hand had killed, and others like Cierra or Ashanti hadn't been mentioned so far, meaning they might be sitting at home watching him right now. He kinda hoped at least one of them was. In any case, odds were that the musical wouldn't happen unless the school found another Orin and Seymur.
Chris really hoped they wouldn't have to replace the radio announcer as well.
In this moment, Mary kicked against something, interrupting Chris' inner musings.
"Goddammit Mary, what-"
He copied Mary by interrupting himself when he saw what Mary had stepped on.
A backpack with blood on it, just sitting there waiting to be picked up.
Seriously?
((Chris Tyrell continued from Divided We Stand, Together We Fall))
The morning announcement had been a disappointment in two ways. Firstly, he learned that the friendless freak called Leah Hemingway had almost managed to kill Seo-yun before "just giving up". Just how useless could one girl be?
And secondly it had turned out that his teammates, who until this point seemed to do well on the headcount, had suddenly decided to drop like flies. Wow. Great timing, guys! Of course they had to get themselves slaughtered the moment he started to seek them out. If it wasn't such a shitty situation, he would have laughed.
At least there had been some good news: Several big killers had bite the dust or where released. That would make survival hopefully easier. Also, the death of Junji had been attributed to both Fisk and Verity. So unless Fisk had found a new friend this late into the game, Verity was the fourth person who had attacked the restaurant. Chris was unsure what having identified the last of Stokes' killers would bring him, but he guessed it was good to know.
So far, the new day had brought them nothing but more cardio. On one hand, that meant they hadn't found any other Leviathans or weapons. But on the other hand, cardio was always a good thing and it meant they hadn't encountered any players.
Players, huh?
Now that he thought about it, what exactly were he and Mary according to the SOTF-lingo? The terms he had heard in relation to the show were player, player hunter, escape groups and heroes. But he had no clue where to start on escaping, they didn't plan on looking for people who had killed, they weren't trying to help others and if they were players, they fucking sucked at their job.
Well, at least they were still alive unlike the two bodies they just passed. One was a classmate of him, Gustavo Thicke. Not someone Chris had socialized much with, so no big feelings. But the other one was RJ, a fellow musical kid. While Chris hadn't even tried to memorize every single name called on the announcements, he had realized that his group was getting decimated. First Marion, then Dale, then RJ. Verity on the other hand had killed, and others like Cierra or Ashanti hadn't been mentioned so far, meaning they might be sitting at home watching him right now. He kinda hoped at least one of them was. In any case, odds were that the musical wouldn't happen unless the school found another Orin and Seymur.
Chris really hoped they wouldn't have to replace the radio announcer as well.
In this moment, Mary kicked against something, interrupting Chris' inner musings.
"Goddammit Mary, what-"
He copied Mary by interrupting himself when he saw what Mary had stepped on.
A backpack with blood on it, just sitting there waiting to be picked up.
Seriously?
The oar clattered to the ground in a heartbeat. You’d think that the way she was holding it over her shoulders would make it more stable, but well. Mary knelt down to pick it up, but looked at the bag. Paused.
“Chris… I… I think this was Leo’s,” she said, running her hands all over the bag. “RJ left it here, and I didn’t take it. I remember that on the first day, Leo and I swapped food. You know how I can’t eat meat or wheat? Yeah, so we arranged a deal, and… when I came back up here, I didn’t take it because- because-”
Her voice was rapid. It was hard to get words out.
The memories came back.
Of Leo’s last moments. Of the last time she was here.
Mary gulped. Tried again.
“- I wasn’t feeling good, so I just wanted to go inside, right? I didn’t even think of taking it.”
She laughed awkwardly, before turning her gaze.
RJ was sitting right nearby, she noticed. Sitting right there, as some sort of macabre display. Didn’t notice him last night. He didn’t look so good. She frowned, and ripped her eyes away. She wasn’t sure if she was the right person to decide what to do with him.
She breathed.
“Anyways, if there’s anything there, any breads or meat there… it’s yours. Dunno if that’s what he wanted, but it’s my peace offering, I guess?”
She choked on a forced laugh.
“Chris… I… I think this was Leo’s,” she said, running her hands all over the bag. “RJ left it here, and I didn’t take it. I remember that on the first day, Leo and I swapped food. You know how I can’t eat meat or wheat? Yeah, so we arranged a deal, and… when I came back up here, I didn’t take it because- because-”
Her voice was rapid. It was hard to get words out.
The memories came back.
Of Leo’s last moments. Of the last time she was here.
Mary gulped. Tried again.
“- I wasn’t feeling good, so I just wanted to go inside, right? I didn’t even think of taking it.”
She laughed awkwardly, before turning her gaze.
RJ was sitting right nearby, she noticed. Sitting right there, as some sort of macabre display. Didn’t notice him last night. He didn’t look so good. She frowned, and ripped her eyes away. She wasn’t sure if she was the right person to decide what to do with him.
She breathed.
“Anyways, if there’s anything there, any breads or meat there… it’s yours. Dunno if that’s what he wanted, but it’s my peace offering, I guess?”
She choked on a forced laugh.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Interestingly, Chris did indeed remember that Mary was vegan.
However, this information was not so important compared to the rest of her lines.
Chris remembered Leo, and at the same time, he didn't. For him, Leonard (or Leopold?) Kenter had been a background-character in his life. Their biggest relation had been RJ, making Leo kind of a friend's friend. He could count the times they interacted with each other for longer than five seconds on his left hand.
What he did remember was Leo's death being announced. Ritzy Daggers had made sure to explain the concrete circumstances with RJ shooting in panic mere seconds after Gustavo's demise. That explained why Gus' corpse was close. But it didn't explain why RJ had died on the same spot or where Leo's corpse had gone.
This was a mystery Chris had no motivation to solve right now. Afterwards, he would be able to watch the footage back home and see what exactly had transpired.
There would be an afterwards, right?
For some reason, Chris found himself wondering if Stokes had spend time thinking about what to do once the season was over. Or had she known her shop was doomed? Or maybe she had pushed this questions aside?
Suddenly, Mary presented him Leo's stuff, calling it a peace offering. This was unexpected and unneeded, since Chris had filled his backpack before leaving the restaurant and probably carried enough food and water to get both of them to the end of the season, but he still appreciated the gesture. It showed that Mary saw the importance of sticking together and was ready to make at least a token effort to preserve this partnership.
More than he had given Stokes towards the end.
"Thank you," he said, externally bending down to pick up his new possessions while internally trying to push away the weird feelings of guilt. To further focus on the present, he opened Leo's backpack.
What greeted him was much more valuable than some extra food.
Despite having zero experience in the field, Chris recognized the scuba gear on sight. Most of it was useless, especially since the Danger Zones were confining them to a single boat. One component of the set, however...
Ignoring Mary for a moment, Chris took out the hydrogen tank and stepped to the nearest camera, which had been looking in their direction for quite some time. He made sure to hold the part of the tank that had some text on it into the camera's view.
"Hey, Jewel. I faintly remember you saying something about having a internet connection. So here's some homework:
"How much power will we need to make this tank explode?
"How big will the resulting explosion be?
"And how much distance should we keep in order to stay safe?
"This will probably take a while to google, so I don't expect an answer right now. Just hit us up once you have got something useful."
With that, he lowered the heavy tank again. Time to prove your worth, mentor!
However, this information was not so important compared to the rest of her lines.
Chris remembered Leo, and at the same time, he didn't. For him, Leonard (or Leopold?) Kenter had been a background-character in his life. Their biggest relation had been RJ, making Leo kind of a friend's friend. He could count the times they interacted with each other for longer than five seconds on his left hand.
What he did remember was Leo's death being announced. Ritzy Daggers had made sure to explain the concrete circumstances with RJ shooting in panic mere seconds after Gustavo's demise. That explained why Gus' corpse was close. But it didn't explain why RJ had died on the same spot or where Leo's corpse had gone.
This was a mystery Chris had no motivation to solve right now. Afterwards, he would be able to watch the footage back home and see what exactly had transpired.
There would be an afterwards, right?
For some reason, Chris found himself wondering if Stokes had spend time thinking about what to do once the season was over. Or had she known her shop was doomed? Or maybe she had pushed this questions aside?
Suddenly, Mary presented him Leo's stuff, calling it a peace offering. This was unexpected and unneeded, since Chris had filled his backpack before leaving the restaurant and probably carried enough food and water to get both of them to the end of the season, but he still appreciated the gesture. It showed that Mary saw the importance of sticking together and was ready to make at least a token effort to preserve this partnership.
More than he had given Stokes towards the end.
"Thank you," he said, externally bending down to pick up his new possessions while internally trying to push away the weird feelings of guilt. To further focus on the present, he opened Leo's backpack.
What greeted him was much more valuable than some extra food.
Despite having zero experience in the field, Chris recognized the scuba gear on sight. Most of it was useless, especially since the Danger Zones were confining them to a single boat. One component of the set, however...
Ignoring Mary for a moment, Chris took out the hydrogen tank and stepped to the nearest camera, which had been looking in their direction for quite some time. He made sure to hold the part of the tank that had some text on it into the camera's view.
"Hey, Jewel. I faintly remember you saying something about having a internet connection. So here's some homework:
"How much power will we need to make this tank explode?
"How big will the resulting explosion be?
"And how much distance should we keep in order to stay safe?
"This will probably take a while to google, so I don't expect an answer right now. Just hit us up once you have got something useful."
With that, he lowered the heavy tank again. Time to prove your worth, mentor!
“Aha… you think it could be used as a bomb kinda?”
In retrospect, it was weird to think that Leo technically had a potential explosive on him the entire time, and it was just… sitting here. If the bullet went elsewhere, it could have easily caused an explosion. That would have not only taken out Leo but potentially other people. Maybe RJ. Maybe herself, depending on the timing. Like, she had an idea of what was in his bag, of course, but to realize it after the fact was a weird one.
Mary looked to the side. She shuffled from where she was kneeling.
“You know… if we run into the Purge cult, maybe… a form of crowd control, perhaps?”
Gosh, the Purge cult thing was so weird. She only heard bits and pieces about it, but by the sound of things, Blofield had gone full Jim Jones. She had no idea how he gathered so many people in such a short time, with or without teams, but then he remembered that Fisk had a type of charisma. Something that passed as charisma? Depends on how you feel about him. In a way, he kinda made her feel better about her potential facial scarring. But, well, the guy liked villains, so…
She could only imagine a bunch of masked psychos exploding like something out of a gory action movie.
Mary tugged at the bottom of her jean shorts in thought. Just something to do with her hands.
In retrospect, it was weird to think that Leo technically had a potential explosive on him the entire time, and it was just… sitting here. If the bullet went elsewhere, it could have easily caused an explosion. That would have not only taken out Leo but potentially other people. Maybe RJ. Maybe herself, depending on the timing. Like, she had an idea of what was in his bag, of course, but to realize it after the fact was a weird one.
Mary looked to the side. She shuffled from where she was kneeling.
“You know… if we run into the Purge cult, maybe… a form of crowd control, perhaps?”
Gosh, the Purge cult thing was so weird. She only heard bits and pieces about it, but by the sound of things, Blofield had gone full Jim Jones. She had no idea how he gathered so many people in such a short time, with or without teams, but then he remembered that Fisk had a type of charisma. Something that passed as charisma? Depends on how you feel about him. In a way, he kinda made her feel better about her potential facial scarring. But, well, the guy liked villains, so…
She could only imagine a bunch of masked psychos exploding like something out of a gory action movie.
Mary tugged at the bottom of her jean shorts in thought. Just something to do with her hands.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Chris nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.
"You know, back at the restaurant Fisk's little group consisted of four people. Two of them have been announced as dead. So I guess it is done to Fisk himself and Verity." He shrugged. "Judging by how often they were brought up, they must have gotten a lot of experience here. Honestly, I doubt that they will fall for something like a single bomb. But in our position, I think we have to take every possibility in concern."
And even with Fisk and Verity out of the picture, there would be other problems. Chris hadn't exactly counted how many of them were left or remembered every noted killer, but it couldn't be more than twenty survivors. He knew that from the people who had visited the restaurant as customers, only Gregory, Kaya and Bethan hadn't been named among the fallen. Anthony and Akeno had killed during the last announcement, so they were probably still kicking as well. Same was likely for Ivan. And lastly, there were the two of them plus Fisk and Verity. Meaning that ten people were accounted for. The rest could be anyone and their dog. Okay, probably not their dog. At least not unless SOTF-TV had decided to be more inclusive towards non-humans.
"However, I think we should go inside again." Chris proposed. "We walked the whole goddamn morning, after all. Also Jewel might contact us any moment, so we should find a cabin to rest and have a uninterrupted conversation." Because just because they hadn't seen anyone didn't mean they wouldn't run into someone during the next five seconds. And right now they were out in the open.
With this thoughts, Chris put the tank/bomb back into the backpack, closed it and stepped to the closest door leading into the ship.
((Chris Tyrell continued in Attention!! This Oneshot Contains Crucial Information That Is Totally Important To Understand The Rest Of The Version!!!))
"You know, back at the restaurant Fisk's little group consisted of four people. Two of them have been announced as dead. So I guess it is done to Fisk himself and Verity." He shrugged. "Judging by how often they were brought up, they must have gotten a lot of experience here. Honestly, I doubt that they will fall for something like a single bomb. But in our position, I think we have to take every possibility in concern."
And even with Fisk and Verity out of the picture, there would be other problems. Chris hadn't exactly counted how many of them were left or remembered every noted killer, but it couldn't be more than twenty survivors. He knew that from the people who had visited the restaurant as customers, only Gregory, Kaya and Bethan hadn't been named among the fallen. Anthony and Akeno had killed during the last announcement, so they were probably still kicking as well. Same was likely for Ivan. And lastly, there were the two of them plus Fisk and Verity. Meaning that ten people were accounted for. The rest could be anyone and their dog. Okay, probably not their dog. At least not unless SOTF-TV had decided to be more inclusive towards non-humans.
"However, I think we should go inside again." Chris proposed. "We walked the whole goddamn morning, after all. Also Jewel might contact us any moment, so we should find a cabin to rest and have a uninterrupted conversation." Because just because they hadn't seen anyone didn't mean they wouldn't run into someone during the next five seconds. And right now they were out in the open.
With this thoughts, Chris put the tank/bomb back into the backpack, closed it and stepped to the closest door leading into the ship.
((Chris Tyrell continued in Attention!! This Oneshot Contains Crucial Information That Is Totally Important To Understand The Rest Of The Version!!!))
“Yeah! Yeah…”
Her mind was elsewhere. Not that she didn’t want to listen, but that she couldn’t think. Her brain was fuzzled, like static on a television screen that only showed trace amounts of visual and something resembling audio.
Mary breathed.
Forced another smile.
“Yeah, let’s uh, rest.”
She began to follow Chris on the way out.
((Mary Cheung continue-
…
Wait.
She saw something.
“Chris?” she called out.
Her mind was elsewhere. Not that she didn’t want to listen, but that she couldn’t think. Her brain was fuzzled, like static on a television screen that only showed trace amounts of visual and something resembling audio.
Mary breathed.
Forced another smile.
“Yeah, let’s uh, rest.”
She began to follow Chris on the way out.
((Mary Cheung continue-
…
Wait.
She saw something.
“Chris?” she called out.
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DerArknight
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
((Chris Tyrell continued from Attention!! This Oneshot Contains Crucial Information That Is Totally Important To Understand The Rest Of The Version!!!))
Back on deck he found Mary exactly where he left her.
Only that now she was staring at something in the distance. Chris followed her view and saw...
... a backpack leaning against the railing about fifty meters away from them.
And right next to it, also leaning against the railing, was a gooddamn gun.
Just sitting there waiting to be picked up.
Chris' reaction was similar to the moment they stumbled upon Leo's backpack. Only that this time, he even blurted his thought out.
"Seriously?"
Back on deck he found Mary exactly where he left her.
Only that now she was staring at something in the distance. Chris followed her view and saw...
... a backpack leaning against the railing about fifty meters away from them.
And right next to it, also leaning against the railing, was a gooddamn gun.
Just sitting there waiting to be picked up.
Chris' reaction was similar to the moment they stumbled upon Leo's backpack. Only that this time, he even blurted his thought out.
"Seriously?"
“Seriously.”
Mary giggled. Again, the sort of giggle you make when you’re uncertain what to say. Her fingers twitched.
“Uh, Chris? Do you know anything about guns? Like, what kind is it, or if you’ve ever fired one or…”
Mary honestly never had much experience with guns. Sure, some of her dad’s friends loved them. Miami was distinct from Florida, but, well, some Florida-ness leaked in, like the giant people from that one anime. Dunno. Bad analogy, but still.
“Yeah. I guess we can have a gun now. Maybe. And more food.”
Mary giggled. Again, the sort of giggle you make when you’re uncertain what to say. Her fingers twitched.
“Uh, Chris? Do you know anything about guns? Like, what kind is it, or if you’ve ever fired one or…”
Mary honestly never had much experience with guns. Sure, some of her dad’s friends loved them. Miami was distinct from Florida, but, well, some Florida-ness leaked in, like the giant people from that one anime. Dunno. Bad analogy, but still.
“Yeah. I guess we can have a gun now. Maybe. And more food.”
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DerArknight
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
"Well," Chris answered to Mary's question. "I guess I saw some movies, if that helps." He doubted it did.
But Mary didn't seem disappointed at this and pointed out that they now could have a weapon and more food.
"I don't think we need more food." He pointed at his two backpacks. "With Leo's stuff and what I brought from the restaurant, we should have enough rations to last for two more days. And judging from the announcements, I doubt this whole game will last longer than that."
His last remark sounded much more depressing when he said it out loud. It reminded him that while right now it might not seem like it, everything was coming towards an end. Odds were that in two days both of them might be dead while the assholes who put them into this arena would be counting their profits and the audience would discuss the season's most noteworthy moments for some weeks before everyone moved on to season 68.
Chris shook his head to get away from this spiral of negative thoughts. Now was not the time to think about the showrunners or the audience. Now was the time to check out the weapon Mary had found.
Taking a closer look at said weapon, he couldn't help but feel antsy. At first glance, the sight of a free firearm would be awesome news. But a shiny new weapon with a whole backpack just lying around after almos a week? It sounded too good to be true.
"Let's be careful." He told Mary. "This could be a trap."
Drawing his axe out of his backpack, he began to advance, but slowly, so that he had time to look in every direction for enemies and so that his ally would hopefully go first.
But Mary didn't seem disappointed at this and pointed out that they now could have a weapon and more food.
"I don't think we need more food." He pointed at his two backpacks. "With Leo's stuff and what I brought from the restaurant, we should have enough rations to last for two more days. And judging from the announcements, I doubt this whole game will last longer than that."
His last remark sounded much more depressing when he said it out loud. It reminded him that while right now it might not seem like it, everything was coming towards an end. Odds were that in two days both of them might be dead while the assholes who put them into this arena would be counting their profits and the audience would discuss the season's most noteworthy moments for some weeks before everyone moved on to season 68.
Chris shook his head to get away from this spiral of negative thoughts. Now was not the time to think about the showrunners or the audience. Now was the time to check out the weapon Mary had found.
Taking a closer look at said weapon, he couldn't help but feel antsy. At first glance, the sight of a free firearm would be awesome news. But a shiny new weapon with a whole backpack just lying around after almos a week? It sounded too good to be true.
"Let's be careful." He told Mary. "This could be a trap."
Drawing his axe out of his backpack, he began to advance, but slowly, so that he had time to look in every direction for enemies and so that his ally would hopefully go first.
It was almost over.
That was a weird thing to think about, wasn’t it? She honestly didn’t expect to make it this far. If you’d asked her when she got picked, she’d probably tell you she expected to die on the first day. It was just… she knew she was an underdog. Someone like Seo-yun, someone like Lucille, someone like Bethan, someone like Amy, someone like Fisk, someone like Dale, someone like Bacchia, someone like Marion…
They all had something going for them that would make you think they’d last a long time. More driven, more smart, more sociable and well-liked, more knowledgeable…
And here Mary was. All she really had going for her was that she was kind of funny and pretty. She knew she wasn’t as smart, or as driven, or as ruthless, or as well-liked, or as cool-headed. What truly surprised her, looking back, was that she’d realized this a long time ago and decided to fight those odds.
And she was still here.
Maybe it was luck. Maybe she had a special talent. Maybe she was doing something ri-
…
Anyways!
“Yeah, uh! I’ll keep watch,” Mary piped up, holding the oar close to her.
She looked around.
It seemed like they were the only ones here right now. But then again, you never know.
That was a weird thing to think about, wasn’t it? She honestly didn’t expect to make it this far. If you’d asked her when she got picked, she’d probably tell you she expected to die on the first day. It was just… she knew she was an underdog. Someone like Seo-yun, someone like Lucille, someone like Bethan, someone like Amy, someone like Fisk, someone like Dale, someone like Bacchia, someone like Marion…
They all had something going for them that would make you think they’d last a long time. More driven, more smart, more sociable and well-liked, more knowledgeable…
And here Mary was. All she really had going for her was that she was kind of funny and pretty. She knew she wasn’t as smart, or as driven, or as ruthless, or as well-liked, or as cool-headed. What truly surprised her, looking back, was that she’d realized this a long time ago and decided to fight those odds.
And she was still here.
Maybe it was luck. Maybe she had a special talent. Maybe she was doing something ri-
…
Anyways!
“Yeah, uh! I’ll keep watch,” Mary piped up, holding the oar close to her.
She looked around.
It seemed like they were the only ones here right now. But then again, you never know.
-
DerArknight
- Posts: 684
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:47 pm
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Unsurprisingly, his plan failed.
Seeing no point in starting a discussion, Chris began his way to the new loot. His steps were careful, but slowly gained speed as his desire to just bring this moment of awkward anxiety behind him grew. While Mary said she would look out, Chris found himself watching the nearby doors and windows.
Finally he was standing in front of the backpack/weapon-duo. His fingers tasted for the firearm.
If the livestream was on, some suspenseful music had to be playing right now.
The gun felt cold in his hands, hinting that it had rested outside for quite some time.
Apart from that, nothing happened.
No sniper bullet dug into his brain. No player jumped out from the nearest hiding place.
He had made a fuss over nothing.
Both relieved and abashed over having been so tense, Chris shook his head and opened the backpack. It didn't explode.
The inside was inhabitated by the same stuff as every other backpack he had seen so far. Apart from the spare magazines that would hopefully fit into their new weapon.
"You can come." Chris said over his shoulder while picking up the gun. "Still no clue who left this here, but it seems like this is no-"
He didn't know what made him look in the direction, but suddenly Chris spotted it.
A plain cream-colored bandanna, dancing on the ocean's surface a few dozen meters under him.
...
Okay, that explains a lot.
Seeing no point in starting a discussion, Chris began his way to the new loot. His steps were careful, but slowly gained speed as his desire to just bring this moment of awkward anxiety behind him grew. While Mary said she would look out, Chris found himself watching the nearby doors and windows.
Finally he was standing in front of the backpack/weapon-duo. His fingers tasted for the firearm.
If the livestream was on, some suspenseful music had to be playing right now.
The gun felt cold in his hands, hinting that it had rested outside for quite some time.
Apart from that, nothing happened.
No sniper bullet dug into his brain. No player jumped out from the nearest hiding place.
He had made a fuss over nothing.
Both relieved and abashed over having been so tense, Chris shook his head and opened the backpack. It didn't explode.
The inside was inhabitated by the same stuff as every other backpack he had seen so far. Apart from the spare magazines that would hopefully fit into their new weapon.
"You can come." Chris said over his shoulder while picking up the gun. "Still no clue who left this here, but it seems like this is no-"
He didn't know what made him look in the direction, but suddenly Chris spotted it.
A plain cream-colored bandanna, dancing on the ocean's surface a few dozen meters under him.
...
Okay, that explains a lot.
Mary, with her oar poised, trotted out.
“Yeah… coast clear, and-”
She noticed Christ looking over the edge. With a bit of hesitancy, she stepped closer, and looked over the edge.
“... did someone drown?” she asked.
Oof. She winced. Yeah, that wasn’t tactful. She could hear people yelling in her ear about talking about the dead in casual ways. Whatever. She didn’t feel like being too formal right now. Someone probably did drown. It wouldn’t be surprising, what with them being in the middle of the ocean. Or maybe their corpse was dumped. Or maybe--
Mary tried to push that thought away.
“Yeah… coast clear, and-”
She noticed Christ looking over the edge. With a bit of hesitancy, she stepped closer, and looked over the edge.
“... did someone drown?” she asked.
Oof. She winced. Yeah, that wasn’t tactful. She could hear people yelling in her ear about talking about the dead in casual ways. Whatever. She didn’t feel like being too formal right now. Someone probably did drown. It wouldn’t be surprising, what with them being in the middle of the ocean. Or maybe their corpse was dumped. Or maybe--
Mary tried to push that thought away.
-
DerArknight
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"Dunno. Maybe." Chris answered after some hesitation.
"With how orderly the backpack and weapon were, I doubt there was a fight. They probably jumped."
He found himself once more looking down onto the sea, where the bandanna was still floating on the bright water. There was no sign of blood or a body. Merely the bandanna. It was a lonely sight.
Just what had happened to whoever died here that they did something so drastic? Chris had seen this show messing up people in the form of Fisk and his gang, but suicide was a bigger thing than being willing to hurt others. At least in his opinion.
Chris forced himself to look away. For reasons he didn't understood until he started speaking, he faced Mary.
"Do you want to... make a short prayer or something?" He remembered something about her family being religious or so.
"With how orderly the backpack and weapon were, I doubt there was a fight. They probably jumped."
He found himself once more looking down onto the sea, where the bandanna was still floating on the bright water. There was no sign of blood or a body. Merely the bandanna. It was a lonely sight.
Just what had happened to whoever died here that they did something so drastic? Chris had seen this show messing up people in the form of Fisk and his gang, but suicide was a bigger thing than being willing to hurt others. At least in his opinion.
Chris forced himself to look away. For reasons he didn't understood until he started speaking, he faced Mary.
"Do you want to... make a short prayer or something?" He remembered something about her family being religious or so.
“They jumped?” Mary asked, mostly to herself.
That was like Leah. That was like her.
She curled into herself a little. They weren’t alone. Someone might have had the same idea. Someone who… couldn’t take any of this anymore. Someone who wanted to escape from the pain they were feeling.
She coughed up an awkward laugh. Sucked in a breath through her teeth.
“Uh, I could try. I mean, I am the preacher’s kid here, right?”
Another cough in the form of a laugh.
To be honest, maybe she wasn’t the most iconic of ‘PK’. Like, yeah, she went to church and youth group. But she did a lot of things you… weren’t supposed to do if you wanted to be a good Christian. It was an ideal she knew she wouldn’t be able to properly even come close to. So she dropped that a long time ago, went for another ideal of her own choosing, and left out the parts she knew her parents wouldn’t like whenever they were in eyeshot or earshot.
She set down the oar.
“Do you want to join me? Uh… I’m not going to proselytize you or anything. I mean, if you don’t want to. Just… uh, if you’re religious, or have good thoughts, or… you know…”
That was like Leah. That was like her.
She curled into herself a little. They weren’t alone. Someone might have had the same idea. Someone who… couldn’t take any of this anymore. Someone who wanted to escape from the pain they were feeling.
She coughed up an awkward laugh. Sucked in a breath through her teeth.
“Uh, I could try. I mean, I am the preacher’s kid here, right?”
Another cough in the form of a laugh.
To be honest, maybe she wasn’t the most iconic of ‘PK’. Like, yeah, she went to church and youth group. But she did a lot of things you… weren’t supposed to do if you wanted to be a good Christian. It was an ideal she knew she wouldn’t be able to properly even come close to. So she dropped that a long time ago, went for another ideal of her own choosing, and left out the parts she knew her parents wouldn’t like whenever they were in eyeshot or earshot.
She set down the oar.
“Do you want to join me? Uh… I’m not going to proselytize you or anything. I mean, if you don’t want to. Just… uh, if you’re religious, or have good thoughts, or… you know…”