Oh Man, Not THIS Again?

[Somersault]

((G12 Natali Greer Start))
Natali was crouching in a creaky bathroom stall, praying to whoever was above, Buddha, God, Allah, whatever, that she was not going to die here. Or, at least for some form of salvation for this entire mess. She wouldn’t consider herself religious, but in a time like this, Natali figured that she was going to need all the divine assistance she was going to get. So, she continued to curl herself up into a ball, her bag next to her, hoping that no one would find her like this. Lost, scared, thinking about how her next few days were likely to end up as badly as a goldfish trying to pick up a fight with a shark. Eaten up whole.

And only a few hours earlier, her primary concern was about how there were so many other, better aquariums they could go to other than the one right in Denton.

Now, Natali was simply at a loss for what to do. Perhaps some soldiers could come in and rescue her? Maybe they were just too slow the first time something like this had happened? She gulped.

She hoped, she desperately did, that there was going to be a peaceful way out of this situation, a way for everyone to not just go up and get murdered. Or be murderers.

In any case, she wasn’t exactly hopeful about the situation, but maybe, just maybe, something could be done. Something. Anything. She didn’t know what to do, but maybe this was all just an elaborate prank. Maybe it was all just fake. Maybe Mr. Doplh wasn’t actually dead, laying in the bus like half his skull was gone and maybe they weren’t being forced to play this…this thing.

Looking back at her bag, Natali tried to reason that it was really unlikely anything harmful was in there, right? If everything was a prank, which it must be, then it was probably gonna be a short letter saying “HAHA GOT YOU!” or something, right? There was nothing else it could be, right? Nothing. Nothing at all.

She tried to laugh a bit, to relieve the tension, to make herself feel less scared, but all that came out was a nervous giggle. She heard it reverberate all around the place, bouncing from wall to wall, carrying her voice. It just made her more anxious.

Now though, Natali hesitantly turned and began to slowly grasp for her bag. She looked at it, for the first time since this game began. In all honesty, it looked like a normal daypack or something, something she would use if she was going to go out for a small trek, and take some photos. That thought just made her feel even worse. She was never going to be able to do that again, was she? But no, no, it was all going to be fine. It was all just a prank, and when she opened it, it was just a joke, right? So, Natali opened the bag.

She saw a gun. Not a toy gun or anything, an actual real gun, shiny and metallic and all of that stuff. Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, she kicked the bag away and pushed herself back into the corner. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

She was dead, wasn’t she?

[Primrosette]

"Could you be any louder? It's like you really want to be killed, don't you?"

((B03: SIMON LEROY start))

That was definitely not the best way for Simon to respond to the first person he was seeing since he had awoken a few minutes ago and he had made his way into the showers. But he didn't really care that he wasn't being nice. Why should he be when right now he and this girl were in a crappy situation?

He really didn't want to be here. Being in some very illogical so-called 'game' had never been on his list of what he wanted to achieve. But now here he was in a room with a girl screaming bloody murder in a shower stall as if she was that female character out of 'Psycho'. It would have been a hilarious re-enactment to be honest.

But now it was not really a laughing matter.

Simon was standing next where the girl had kicked her bag and his eyes wandered down to it briefly before looking back at the frightened girl. At least she actually has a bag; he hadn't been able to find his own yet. The one thing that was important to him right now was a weapon. He needed to have something to defend himself with. But there might be a possible that he had to kill one person in the future to get back home. It was a selfish thought nonetheless.

But first, he knew that he should try to calm the girl down. As much as he didn't want to stay with her for too long; he needed a distraction from the images in his head of seeing their teacher getting murdered right in front of him. He was trying to bury it into the back of his mind. He knew that it was going to get worse as students would be dropping off like flies soon.

It was reality after all. Human instinct to survive.

And he was going to make sure to be the winner.

"Sorry for being insensitive there. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Simon sounded like he was being sincere, even though he was faking it with a small smile on his face. "I'm just feel scared and I lashed out at you. I apologize for that. What's your name?"

Perfect.

[Somersault]

Natali was still cowering in the corner of the stall when she heard footsteps nearby. Shit. Fuck. Could she run? Not really, and so she simply stayed stuck in the corner, as she watched the guy walk into the stall, and then berate her on her lack of survival instincts.

Well, that was fun, and so she just continued to stare at the guy blankly as he continued to walk into the stall, getting close to her. Suffice to say, she felt trapped. Suffocated, kind of, but it wasn't exactly as if she could just stand up and walk on right out of the stall. She looked back at her bag, and then up at the boy. Who was he? Natali was sure she had seen him before, but she couldn't put a name to a face. At least he wasn't trying to attack her. That was good, wasn't it?

She kept her eyes on the guy as he continued to speak to her. Now, he was apologizing? She was a bit surprised by the whole change in attitude, but she decided to awkwardly accept it. It was probably better to be with someone else than alone, even if she was kind of put off by the kid. Maybe she was just being judgmental. In a situation like, well this, she supposed she couldn’t be peeved by the little things. Probably wasn’t very wise.

Natali slowly got back up to her feet, making sure to keep her balance, before finally responding to his question, scratching the back of her head. “Oh…I’m Natali. Nice to meet you, I guess, although they probably could’ve been under better, uhh, circumstances. You are?” She asked, looking down on her feet. Oh, she was still wearing flip-flops. Probably something to keep in mind for later.

Looking back up, Natali offered a tentative smile, trying to ignore the sound of her heart pounding against her chest. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

[Primrosette]

Ah, so the girl's name was Natali. It was better for him to know her name for the time-being. He just had a feeling that he wasn't going to stick around for long. Unless she wanted to be an ally of his, but he wasn't going to ask yet. He didn't want to accept her too quickly. He didn't even know her at all. So he had to be cautious of a stranger like her. For now.

He could always throw Natali to the wolves later on.

Simon let out a light-hearted chuckle. He wasn't laugh at how awkward Natali was being. No, he was laughing at the thought of using her as a decoy or bait for other students to take out. He was strangely digging that idea, but it was so wrong for him to even be thinking about just a few minutes after he had woke up and had just met Natali.

He realised that he had been silent for a little too long and he had to answer Natali's question. He couldn't let her start thinking that he was a strange guy or something like that. A creep would be the better word for it.

"I'm Simon. Yeah, us meeting like this was not really what I would imagine of. This is really a lot of bull to be fair." He said, taking a few steps back to let Natali have more room to breathe and move and then he cleared his throat a bit. "So why were you screaming, may I ask?"

He didn't really care. But he had to keep his nice guy act up for her. He didn't want to make or have her as an enemy yet.

[Somersault]

Wait, Simon? Simon, Simon, Simon, now she was sure she had heard that name before. Wasn't he on the swim team or something? Natali wasn't sure, but if he was, she considered that a good sign. She also was pretty sure she had heard some stuff about him being a bit of a jerk, but she tried to put that aside for now. They were being forced to kill each other, the game probably was real, should she still be able to judge?

Natali guessed not, at least for now.

Then, he laughed. Why? She wasn't going to just ask him why, because that would be kind of awkward, so Natali just continued to keep her back to the wall, smiling at Simon. This was totally not awkward. Totally. Trying to find something else to do with her eyes then continue staring at Simon, she looked back at the bag. SHIT. THE BAG. The bag with the gun, the real gun. An actual gun.

She turned back towards Simon. Well, he was getting a bit further away. And asking about why she was screaming? Still, Natali couldn't keep her eyes off the bag for long. Could he take the gun? Should she take the gun? But, for now, maybe she should just focus on the conversation at hand. Not get carried away like a fish in the undertow.

But, maybe a little white lie wouldn't hurt. Just a little one, to keep her safe.

Carefully stepping over her bag to make sure it was behind her and out of reach for Simon, Natali began to speak. "Well, when I woke up, I just remembered everything that happened on the bus, with Mr. Dolph's...brain and everything, so I kind of freaked out." She hoped that was a good enough response, enough to keep him from getting suspicious. No, nervous. They were all friends here, right?

Still, Natali felt uneasy. Like her guts were churning inside. She decided to break the silence once more. "But, enough about me. How've you been holding up?" This time, she tried a small grin, to reassure him, to make sure nothing was wrong, even if her voice sounded like it was trembling. At least the conversation was in his ballpark now.

She felt a lump in her throat.

[Primrosette]

It wasn't that hard for Simon to see that Natali was trying to keep her bag out of reach from him. He wasn't going to comment on it. He really didn't want to make things more uncomfortable for the both of them. Still, he really to find his own bag soon. It was important for him to have it with him.

"About Mr. Dolph.... That's understandable. What happened was.... was...." Simon felt that he wasn't able to keep eye contact with Natali and he was casually staring down at the ground. "It was just so awful. Those people are complete bastards...."

He felt like an asshole as he was still willing to use Natali as a meat shield later on if it was a possible option. He had to remember the goal: There could only be one winner at the end. He had to make sure that it would be him.

"How am I holding up? Let's see...." He glanced back at Natali with a serious expression. "Well, I can't see my own bag anywhere at the moment. I could just not be looking hard enough."

[Somersault]

Now, Simon was staring at the ground too. Honestly, Natali could empathize with that. There was just so much shit going on, flying about, that it was hard to really focus on things. She still felt a bit guilty about lying about how why she was screaming, but the truth was, she was still at a loss for anything to do. Surviving, yes, but what else? There had to be more than this. Had to be.

"Yeah, it was...it was really awful. But what can we do now? Try to survive?" She said, with a half-hearted shrug of her shoulders. She was still scared, but maybe she and Simon could partner up for now, try to make sure that neither of them ended up getting murdered, at least for now.

Natali really could've used a hug, but there was no way she was going to ask Simon for one. That thought didn't exactly sit well with her. Instead, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep herself warm. At least she was wearing her hoodie. Now, she wouldn't be able to freeze to death! Yay. On an island.

She then heard something that took her out of her reverie for a moment, and she snapped back to attention. Wait, Simon hadn't found his bag yet? Weren't they supposed to be like next to them or something? In any case, Natali supposed that the best thing to do was to be a good samaritan and help the guy out. Maybe doing a small good deed would make her feel less crappy.

"Wait, where did you wake up, then?" Natali said, looking at Simon. She wasn't prepared for a trek throughout the entire place, s maybe they could backtrack, and see where his bag was. That would be good.

"I mean, we could go search for it, right? Let me just go get my bag."

With that, she bent down and quickly checked her bag, trying not to look at the gun hidden within. She hoped Simon wasn't looking, too. Out of sight, out of mind. Then, she got the bag she packed when she still thought they were going to the aquarium, and stowed it inside, putting it on top of the gun. Quickly zipping it up, she then rose to her feet once more, using the long strap of the duffel bag to carry it on her shoulder. Now, she was ready to look for a missing bag. At least, she thought so.

[Primrosette]

Simon was determined to be the one to survive through all of this. He just needed to kill one person. He wasn't going to go on a killing rampage. He didn't want to be some deranged psychopath. He just needed to calculate when he would do it. Girl or boy; it didn't matter to him. He had to do it to someone that no one would feel sad about or care about. His thoughts briefly went to Michael or Adonis for a few seconds. Could he take one of them on? Would it be too risky? He did not know. But he knew that he had to handle things the right way. He was thinking like a like selfish scumbag but he couldn't worry about that anymore. He had to play - only once and that was it.

Natali was offering to help him find his bag which was just so perfect. Having her as a partner for a while would be useful. Until he didn't need her anymore. He would just leave her, he didn't want to kill her. He just wanted to use her and then find other people on his own. Like Sebastien.  

He felt a lump in his throat. His best friend was here and he didn't know if he wanted to find him or face him at all. He could try to avoid that outcome.

"I actually woke up outside the showers. I didn't get to look around outside as I heard you screaming in here and I wanted to see if you were alright." He said which was partly true and partly false. "It's good that you have calmed down on. If it was someone else; there could have been a possibility that they would not be as nicer as I am being right now. I really appreciate you trying to help me, Natali."

As much as he didn't really want the help. He could take what he was given. He was pretending that he also hadn't noticed that Natali really didn't want him to see what was in her bag. He was thinking that she did have a weapon that he would like to have. But he was going to leave the bag out of their conversation for now.

"So I guess that we are partners now, right?"

[Somersault]

Wait, wait, wait. Was Simon saying that she was lucky to have found him? Natali wasn't entirely sure, but she was very, very confident in her assumption that that comment was kind of really patronizing. But, she decided to ignore that comment for now. He did have a point in that killers could be lurking around, trying to go and take her out, like a killer whale on the hunt for prawn. But, that didn't mean that she was some kind of damsel in distress either, you know? Maybe she wasn't exactly strong right now, but that didn't exactly mean she was dead in the water either.  

Well, she believed she wasn't. Wasn't that was it meant to be all about, keeping hope? But Natali wan't exactly sure she should be hopeful, either. Perhaps just surviving would be enough? She held her bag even more tightly, and gulped. She still wanted to help, but she wasn't sure if she could just keep on silently taking his comments in stride. Probably would be better for her to find even Paris or something.

But, she promised him she would help find his bag. That counted for something, right? Trying to go out of this game being a good person. Actually, no. She wasn't ready for the death talk. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Instead, she distracted herself fro those thoughts by continuing her conversation with Simon. That would be good, wouldn't it? Look outside for his stuff, find his bag, decide what then to do later?

It sounded good to her.

Mustering up a smile, she looked at Simon. "Like, you woke up just outside of the showers?" They probably did need to know that,  so they could find the bag more quickly. She guessed time was ticking now, to go and find the bag.

She hoped Simon wasn't gonna attack her as soon as he got his bag. That would be shitty. Think about the positives. Think about the positives. Wait, was he asking if they were partners now? Well, she guessed so, even if Natali kind of felt that was a big jump. But, maybe it was one she needed to take.

"Well, I guess we are, then!" She said somewhat hesitantly, trying to look happy. Oh dear, this just felt really awkward. "So, let's go?"

She then began to walk towards the entrance of the showers, as she felt her flip-flops clack against the tiles. At least they'd be able to see the sun when they got out. Or the ocean. It would be nice to see that.

[Sh4dE]

((Blaine Eno continued from We died but we learned from dying))

At the entrance of the shower, however a pair of two green eyes stared at them. As Blaine saw Simon and Natali he began to smile, showing his teeth, free from any cigarette as it was already consumed long ago.

"Hey! Natali!"

His body shook. He waved with one of his hands, while the other one was at his bag. What was the name of the fedora-wearing guy again? He did not know.

"What are you doing here?", he asked in a tone that was rather enthusiastic if you compared it how he normally talked.

[Primrosette]

And just like that; as soon as Simon had turned towards the entrance, there was some guy there. And it seemed like the guy knew Natali. The guy was even acting very happy for some reason. Why? That was just making Simon feel too suspicious of him already.

Simon's eyebrow was raising and his eyes automatically looked towards the other boy's bag. He was curious to know what the guy had for a weapon. Why shouldn't his mind be full of curiosity?

His eyes wandered back to Blaine's face and he had a feeling about this guy. Something was bugging him about the guy. But he wasn't going to say that to Natali. Besides, if what's-his-name knew her, then once he got his bag; he could leave her with the strange guy.

But first, a question was on Simon's mind for Blaine.

"Why are you being too happy in a kill or be killed situation like this?" He asked out of a feeling of suspicion. "Especially in front of your friend here. Oh, and we're about to leave. Together. As allies."

Without you. He wanted to add but he didn't. He wasn't going to try to provoke the other boy without a weapon on him. Too risky.

[Somersault]

Natali was just about ready to go up and leave the showers for greener pastures (and Simon's bag), when she saw a guy appear in the entrance of the hallway? Who has what? And then, he started calling out her name. Wait, she recognized that voice before? Blaine? It wasn't as if she was particularly close to Blaine, because she only knew him through like Paris. But now, he was acting as if he was her best friend. But, um, no.

Natali wasn't sure how to think about that. She didn't really trust Simon, but Blaine appearing out of the blue just like that, on this deathtrap of an island, left her a bit uneasy. But, he was standing in front of the entrance and only exit of the showers, so she would have to go through him, wouldn't she?

Looking back down, she was pretty sure she couldn't just attempt to barrel through him. She was kind of tiny, after all. Besides, if he was acting this friendly, he probably wasn't trying to murder her, right? Well, she hoped. Never could be 100 percent sure. But, she could hope, right?

One tentative step turned into two, to three, to four. She waved.

"Oh, hey Blaine...." Natali trailed off, unsure of what to say next. She swallowed. Because what could she say? Nice to see that you're on this island where you're probably going to die? What could she say? The words that then cme out of her mouth came out  in a mumble and a raised eyebrow.

"Hope you're having a good day?"

She hoped it'd make for good small talk.

She clutched her bag tight.

[Sh4dE]

Blaine clutched his bag tight, too, but for a different reason.

Natali was now in the perfect range for Blaine to take out his meteor hammer from his  bag. He dived forward and swung it at her knee.

[Primrosette]

Simon didn't say anything as Natali was approaching Blaine as he thought that things were going to be fine and dandy. Not really. He was just more curious to see what was going to happen between the two of them. He had a morbid curiosity as if he was a bystander watching a car crash. That wasn't the best example but it was better than nothing.

So the guy's name was Blaine? Simon felt like he had to remember the name for some reason. It did sound like he had heard it before. But it didn't really matter, right? He was hoping that he couldn't have to see Blaine alive later on. Yes, he was thinking that he would rather see the other boy's as a corpse. It was a sick thought that only lasted for a few seconds.

Simon didn't really have the time to react to what was happening next. He could see that Blaine had taken something out of his bag and what came after was so fast. Blaine was attacking Natali. He was stating the obvious in his head but that was all he could manage to do.

"What the fuck?!"

Okay, he had to do something right? Not just stand there like a complete idiot while his new ally was getting attacked by a so-called friend. As much as he wanted to leave her after she was going to help him find his bag; he couldn't let her die. Not yet.

With that, he started to spring into action and he charged right at Blaine. Hoping that he could knock the guy down so that he could get away with Natali.

[Somersault]

A short gasp was all Natali could let out as she fell, fell towards the tiles. She barely managed to get her arms up in time to avoid hitting the floor face-first, but only barely.

The first thing she felt was surprise - because oh God, she was gonna get murdered here, wasn't she? She walked up to Blaine, and just like that, now she was on the ground, he had that - that thing, and he was gonna hit her again, and she was gonna like die, and Natali didn't want to die, she couldn't die here, no please no, not like this, not pleading for her life desperately. She tried to crawl forward, try to crawl away from all of this, crawl somewhere where there weren't people and hide forever. When she tried to do so, however, she found she couldn't.

The second thing she felt was pain. She felt her knee fucking throb, like it was pulsing in time with her heartbeat which was filling her entire head - and it hurt, it hurt so much, it was probably black and blue and everything, like when she broke her nose - but this time, she didn't just do a dive wrong or something, she needed to get up, needed to get out of here. Eliza, Mom, Dad, the people running through her head, she had to live for them, if for no one else. She had to.

Trying to muster up the energy for another attempt to crawl away somewhere, Natali was distracted when she heard...Simon shouting something? The frantic thump-thump of her heart still meant that what she heard was muffled, the adrenaline in her veins flowing, but he was charging at Blaine? Natali would've been kind of shocked and happy at that act of selflessness for her, if she hadn't been currently engaged in getting the fuck out of here. On her shitty leg and her flip-flops. She could do it. She knew she could.

Grunting as she tried to inch her arms and legs forward, she could feel the sweat roll off her forehead onto the floor, and suddenly, the walls of the showers just felt that much smaller. Pushing herself forward, second-by-second, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her knee, she finally found purchase. A wall. Never had she been so grateful for a wall, other than that time she got a bit overzealous looking at the fish in the aquarium, but now, all she could think of was living. Not getting murdered in that present moment.

Turning so that her back was now touching the wall, she tried to catch her breath, fuzzy head and screwed-up knee be damned. She remembered none of the breathing exercises that Coach Harris taught her, but she tried to recall them, unable to turn her head away from the scene unfolding in front of her, like a car crash. Her eyes were stuck.

She didn't want to see anyone die. But she didn't want to die either. She just couldn't.

So, she stared.