((Kaya Robinson continued from Blue Monday))
Kaya walked for a while. She stopped to drink some of her water and eat some of her food. She only had a little left now. She stared at the near-empty tin of crackers for a long time before storing it once more.
She walked for a while longer.
Silent, eyes forward, gun held up against her chest, military-style. After some point, she stopped in one of the rooms to change out the bandages on her shoulder. There was almost no blood now as she wiped it clean, applied more disenfectant, and wrapped it once more, giving it an experimental turn. She laid down afterwards, staring up at the ceiling, but eventually her eyes snapped forward and she jumped to her feet, ducking behind the wall besides the door.
Nothing happened. Eventually, she moved on.
She kept walking.
Finally, she stopped, in a familiar place. She raised her gun and looked around. She kept walking, slowly. She froze as she approached the corner of the hallway, turning right. She stopped at the edge. The room was silent except for her breathing, and now she was holding her breath. Kaya stepped forward.
A single, quiet click.
Kaya jumped bacwards, stumbling and skidding away from the corner as bullets exploded against the corridor in front of her.
Bombs in the Void
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Applesintime
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"SHIT!"
((Anthony Golden continued from A Captain Without a Crew))
Anthony pulled the bolt of the De Lisle back, ejecting the casing, and pushed it back in to load another round, his feet carrying him towards where Kaya had been not but a few seconds ago. Had her mentor said something to her, or did she just see them or something? It didn't matter. What mattered was there was ten people left, and if Kaya died there would be one less person standing in the way of their victory.
"ASHANTI, C'MON!"
((Anthony Golden continued from A Captain Without a Crew))
Anthony pulled the bolt of the De Lisle back, ejecting the casing, and pushed it back in to load another round, his feet carrying him towards where Kaya had been not but a few seconds ago. Had her mentor said something to her, or did she just see them or something? It didn't matter. What mattered was there was ten people left, and if Kaya died there would be one less person standing in the way of their victory.
"ASHANTI, C'MON!"
((Ashanti Baker continued from Captain without a Crew))
They'd been in hunting mode ever since they heard footsteps. Everything else felt like it happened eons ago. Ashanti teaching Anthony an array of hand signals, some of which probably didn't take; them resting, door blocked, bodies heavy, in separate beds, until the announcement. The announcement hitting, and the two of them finding out that they were, in fact, the last two Crabs left. Ashanti knew that Anthony was her only option now - she didn't fancy her chances on her own, so she needed his support, just as much as he needed hers.
She'd tried to sleep. It wasn't easy. Every time she looked up at the corner, in an attemp to focus and zone, she saw the camera. She thought about everyone on the other side. Not just the camera operators, or Ben, but home. Family. Classmates, the ones who didn't get chosen. In those moments, she'd drifted. Thought about the kind of person she'd be if she wasn't taken, what she'd say about the people she'd watched. It wasn't easy to think about this, especially since she didn't know a lot of what was going on.
But she did spend a lot of time thinking about what she'd think of herself, though. It wasn't pretty. So to distract from that, she'd thought of what her family would think. It had been a while since she'd really sat down and thought about them. In fact, it had almost been as long as it had been since she'd taken out her braids. Hadn't spoken to them. She couldn't speak to them, really, or it just shaved off slivers of her voice for the show, when she was supposed to be saving those slivers for herself.
Ashanti could think about them, though, that was her freedom. She could think about how Dad would have been disappointed in her, robbing herself of her voice like this. She could think about how Mom would have been proud of her, for taking initiative, taking her own person into her own hands. She could think about how Aaliyah would have thought it was cool of her to get ahead like this, much like the snakery it took to succeed when you wanted to be big on social media. And Shakira - Shakira, she didn't know. She'd taken Shakira's language, put it on a major platform, all so she couldn't have her voice stolen. It was selfish, but it was practical. She wasn't deaf, but she was using her sister's language as her own. She hadn't thought about it before, but if she'd won, it could really help Shakira. Funding for disabled people in the country was shit, but if Ashanti Baker won this season, and put American Sign Language on a pedastal, she could help Shakira and kids like Shakira grow up to have lives funded in equal measure to everyone else. She didn't need them to be "normal", or "valid", but she needed them to be secure.
All of this was going through her mind, as the blue became orange, and she was still staring at that corner camera.
It was tough, thinking of it. Everyone else had free reign, she could only pretend.
And then morning came, they got ready, and now they were shooting at Kaya Robinson.
Anthony thought he'd hit. Ashanti did as well. But she dodged at the last moment. He'd gone forward, expressed his discontent, she dove forward, low to the corner. There wasn't time to think, or aim.
The moment she rounded the corner, with Anthony still loading in another round, she fired through the corridor.
They'd been in hunting mode ever since they heard footsteps. Everything else felt like it happened eons ago. Ashanti teaching Anthony an array of hand signals, some of which probably didn't take; them resting, door blocked, bodies heavy, in separate beds, until the announcement. The announcement hitting, and the two of them finding out that they were, in fact, the last two Crabs left. Ashanti knew that Anthony was her only option now - she didn't fancy her chances on her own, so she needed his support, just as much as he needed hers.
She'd tried to sleep. It wasn't easy. Every time she looked up at the corner, in an attemp to focus and zone, she saw the camera. She thought about everyone on the other side. Not just the camera operators, or Ben, but home. Family. Classmates, the ones who didn't get chosen. In those moments, she'd drifted. Thought about the kind of person she'd be if she wasn't taken, what she'd say about the people she'd watched. It wasn't easy to think about this, especially since she didn't know a lot of what was going on.
But she did spend a lot of time thinking about what she'd think of herself, though. It wasn't pretty. So to distract from that, she'd thought of what her family would think. It had been a while since she'd really sat down and thought about them. In fact, it had almost been as long as it had been since she'd taken out her braids. Hadn't spoken to them. She couldn't speak to them, really, or it just shaved off slivers of her voice for the show, when she was supposed to be saving those slivers for herself.
Ashanti could think about them, though, that was her freedom. She could think about how Dad would have been disappointed in her, robbing herself of her voice like this. She could think about how Mom would have been proud of her, for taking initiative, taking her own person into her own hands. She could think about how Aaliyah would have thought it was cool of her to get ahead like this, much like the snakery it took to succeed when you wanted to be big on social media. And Shakira - Shakira, she didn't know. She'd taken Shakira's language, put it on a major platform, all so she couldn't have her voice stolen. It was selfish, but it was practical. She wasn't deaf, but she was using her sister's language as her own. She hadn't thought about it before, but if she'd won, it could really help Shakira. Funding for disabled people in the country was shit, but if Ashanti Baker won this season, and put American Sign Language on a pedastal, she could help Shakira and kids like Shakira grow up to have lives funded in equal measure to everyone else. She didn't need them to be "normal", or "valid", but she needed them to be secure.
All of this was going through her mind, as the blue became orange, and she was still staring at that corner camera.
It was tough, thinking of it. Everyone else had free reign, she could only pretend.
And then morning came, they got ready, and now they were shooting at Kaya Robinson.
Anthony thought he'd hit. Ashanti did as well. But she dodged at the last moment. He'd gone forward, expressed his discontent, she dove forward, low to the corner. There wasn't time to think, or aim.
The moment she rounded the corner, with Anthony still loading in another round, she fired through the corridor.
Kaya paused for just a moment as the shooting stopped, hesitating. Then she heard Anthony shouting and she ran.
As Kaya approached the end of that corridor, sprinting along with her gun clenched tightly to her, she glanced aside at the doors she was passing by. She kept going forward.
More shots just as she reached the end of the hallway, clipping the ground around her feet. She jumped rather than stumbling, skidding into a tight curve around the next corner. She stopped and turned around, stepped back to face the direction she'd come from. She stepped out from the corner and raised her arms, narrowing her gaze.
The Navy Lee answered in kind before a stray bullet tore a chunk out of the coat and she flinched away, ducking back into the corridor and continuing onward, fast as she could.
As Kaya approached the end of that corridor, sprinting along with her gun clenched tightly to her, she glanced aside at the doors she was passing by. She kept going forward.
More shots just as she reached the end of the hallway, clipping the ground around her feet. She jumped rather than stumbling, skidding into a tight curve around the next corner. She stopped and turned around, stepped back to face the direction she'd come from. She stepped out from the corner and raised her arms, narrowing her gaze.
The Navy Lee answered in kind before a stray bullet tore a chunk out of the coat and she flinched away, ducking back into the corridor and continuing onward, fast as she could.
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Applesintime
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Anthony was right behind Ashanti, raising his rifle to cover her as she rounded the corridor. Kaya had disappeared around another corner, and Anthony took a brief moment to catch his breath. "We shoul-" Whatever he was trying to say was lost in time, as a bullet went clean through his hat and knocked it off his head. "Fuck-" Without aiming, he pulled the trigger and hoped the bullet went somewhere towards Kaya's general direction.
That had been close. That had been far too close. His hat now had a hole clean through it, and if it had hit a little lower... lights off. Quick and painless, but that would be no comfort to Beau. To himself. To Mum and Dad. Loading another round into the rifle, ejecting the old one, Anthony continued forwards in a sprint, although with a little more caution than he had earlier. This was the problem; he kept fucking up the stealth approach. He could have shot Matias if he hadn't missed, he coulda popped open the door, shot Diana, he could have snuck up and shot Kaya earlier.
No more fucking around.
That had been close. That had been far too close. His hat now had a hole clean through it, and if it had hit a little lower... lights off. Quick and painless, but that would be no comfort to Beau. To himself. To Mum and Dad. Loading another round into the rifle, ejecting the old one, Anthony continued forwards in a sprint, although with a little more caution than he had earlier. This was the problem; he kept fucking up the stealth approach. He could have shot Matias if he hadn't missed, he coulda popped open the door, shot Diana, he could have snuck up and shot Kaya earlier.
No more fucking around.
Ashanti's heart hit an extra beat when Anthony's hat went flying to the ground. Bullet flying in her direction - again. It hadn't been like this since Seo-yun, since the banquet hall, which itself was somewhere around here. This could all have been avoided if she'd just shot Kaya earlier, but there wasn't time to dwell on her failures as a player. Was she a player? She didn't feel like a player. Maybe she was. She'd ask Anthony what she was once they had a moment to breathe. Once Kaya was dead. It was still perturbing in her head, despite all of those, how quickly that came to the tracks carrying her train of thought, but what even was the right way to think now? She didn't know.
Ashanti followed up Anthony's volley shot with her own, in the same direction, with a sligth second more of aiming. Once the gun quaked in her hand, only having fired its second shot under her care, she turned up to Anthony. Flipped her off-hand into a fist. He knew what that meant, she hoped, otherwise those ASL (Ashanti Sign Language) lessons were for nothing. She started running foward.
No waiting for cover. This wasn't a cat and mouse game. Kaya was the mouse - Ashanti and Anthony were the landlord with the shovel.
Ashanti followed up Anthony's volley shot with her own, in the same direction, with a sligth second more of aiming. Once the gun quaked in her hand, only having fired its second shot under her care, she turned up to Anthony. Flipped her off-hand into a fist. He knew what that meant, she hoped, otherwise those ASL (Ashanti Sign Language) lessons were for nothing. She started running foward.
No waiting for cover. This wasn't a cat and mouse game. Kaya was the mouse - Ashanti and Anthony were the landlord with the shovel.
Kaya stumbled but did not slow down. She kept going, weaving through the corridors and ducking around as many corners as she could.
Panting quickly, face dripping, Kaya kept running as the bedrooms were left behind and she reached a long, empty, dark hallway like a tunnel, leading to a pair of metal double doors.
Kaya sprinted. She had a head start. Bullets chased her down the hallway, but she was running low and fast and she was far away and near the wall and each one only hit the carpet, the plaster, anything but her.
She swerved. She reached the door, lowered her shoulder, and crashed through with a grunt and a slam as she entered the next room.
((Kaya Robinson continued in Tinnitus))
Panting quickly, face dripping, Kaya kept running as the bedrooms were left behind and she reached a long, empty, dark hallway like a tunnel, leading to a pair of metal double doors.
Kaya sprinted. She had a head start. Bullets chased her down the hallway, but she was running low and fast and she was far away and near the wall and each one only hit the carpet, the plaster, anything but her.
She swerved. She reached the door, lowered her shoulder, and crashed through with a grunt and a slam as she entered the next room.
((Kaya Robinson continued in Tinnitus))
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Applesintime
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Anthony nodded at Ashanti's instruction, raising his rifle to cover her as she ran forwards, firing once, pull the bolt back, push it forwards, twice, but it was for nothing. Kaya was too far, and let's be honest, he wasn't the greatest shot. Had he hit something that wasn't running towards him? The active shooter drills told them that running away increased your chances dramatically, and that rang true. "Shit," Anthony panted because he was starting to run behind Ashanti and this was a lot of ground to cover.
Popping out the magazine with a click and slamming another one into the rifle, Anthony watched as Ashanti continued forwards, towards the door Kaya had just burst into. The banquet hall, right? It couldn't be hard to corner her in there. Anthony made to follow suit, keeping the rifle close to his chest as he ran for the door.
((Ashanti Baker and Anthony Golden, following behind, continued in Tinnitus))
Popping out the magazine with a click and slamming another one into the rifle, Anthony watched as Ashanti continued forwards, towards the door Kaya had just burst into. The banquet hall, right? It couldn't be hard to corner her in there. Anthony made to follow suit, keeping the rifle close to his chest as he ran for the door.
((Ashanti Baker and Anthony Golden, following behind, continued in Tinnitus))