(Vincent Sullivan ORA1 continued from Reflection)
With a click Vincent snapped the chamber of the Colt Anaconda back into place, giving it a spin like they did in those old westerns before sticking it back in his right pocket. The six shots from his now dry and loaded revolver would be his first line of offense, after his trusted oar of course; if they failed he had the Desert Eagle in the back of his waist band with seven shots and another seven from the clip in his left pocket next to his walkie-talkie. He wasn’t going to lose his weapons ever again.
Vincent’s fight with Lynn at the lake had been an awakening, it had made him realise he had been going about things the wrong way. As weird as it sounded it was as if he hadn’t been taking things seriously; he had been treating everything as if he was back on the streets of Detroit, at one of his fights eyeing up everybody as a potential threat rather than as another contestant, another person who was fighting for their life.
It occurred to him now that the only people who he had taken seriously, the only two he had killed, were the ones he had considered threats in a fight. Isaac had a gun, he could have gotten the drop on him and killed him easily so Vincent dealt with him quickly and cautiously, but even then when he shot it had only been a reaction, a primal part of his mind telling him once he’d picked up that gun that guns were for shooting so pull the fucking trigger.
With Lynn it was because he knew her from back home; he knew she could fight as well as he did so he treated her as a credible threat, but even then once he realised he could beat her he had gone easily, not finished her off as quickly as he could have and letting her hurt him more than he should have.
But the others – Jonas, that girl at the field, that guy in the cabin – he had let them all go or he had gone easy on them because he didn’t think they were a threat, didn’t think they were a problem, and he was starting to realise now that those actions could end up killing him.
Jonas, Vincent had even let him keep his gun he was so useless, but what if he managed to get the drop on him now? He had a sub machine gun, he was a shitty shot but with that kind of fire power you didn’t even need to aim. What if he just jumped out from behind a tree now and got a lucky shot on him? When he had needed a gun Vincent was fine with ending him and taking his stuff, but once he had the Desert Eagle he had just left him there. Now, because Vincent hadn’t finished him, because he hadn’t even taken his gun he was a threat, a loose end.
The girl at the field; he had thought she would be easily, just sneak up on her and bang, free kill. Then she had turned around and handed him his ass in a fight; Vincent had managed to drive her off and take her weapon but know there was someone out there who knew his face, who knew his stance in the game and who had a grudge against him. If she got a gun, if she told other people to watch out for him she could fuck him over badly later on.
That guy at the beach? Fuck, what if he actually did have a gun? He was an idiot and a bit of a wuss but he really could have had a shotgun. Just because all Vincent saw was that stick didn’t mean he wasn’t packing, hell Vincent was pulling the same trick himself; revolver in his pocket, pistol in his waistband – both hidden – wooden oar in his hands. If someone is too tough to beat up you put a bullet between their eyes instead, who’s to say someone won’t try the same on him?
… Thinking about all those people he had attacked so far, the two he’d killed, and how they might come back to haunt him was making him think about just how many enemies he had out there waiting for a chance at revenge. Jonas and the beach guy definitely, they were both Pink team after all; they might even have teamed up against him right now, bonding over their mutual hatred of him. That girl from the plains would be looking out for him and once the next announcement came he would have to watch out for any of Lynn’s friends as well.
Would the weapons he had and the bullet proof vest be enough to pull him through this game? Maybe. He was better armed than most at this point, and better prepared, but there were people on the island who had bigger guns, bigger kill counts and who were just as prepared, if not more, as he was to kill.
There was one in particular that he was worried about, someone who had reason to kill him should they ever meet and who he knew would have no qualms about doing so. Thinking about the book his had hidden away in the depths of his pack Vincent reached into his left pocket and drew out an item he hadn’t thought about for a few hours. Bringing the walkie-talkie up to his mouth his pushed down on the button and waited for the static to die down.
“Hey Karen. Are you still alive?”
Know Your Enemy
Semi-Private. PM before joining
Vincent waited for what seemed to be several minutes for a reply, standing there like an idiot in his bright orange t-shirt and holding the walkie-talkie up to his mouth. Maybe Karen had decided to ditch the radio after all? Maybe it was turned off? Or maybe, and here he felt a twinge of different emotions he couldn’t really tell apart from each other, she really was dead?
”Yes”
“Shame”, Vincent wasn’t sure whether to be worried the island’s top killer was still up and at it or relieved that nobody had gotten to her before he got his chance. He told her as much. “Though I guess I should be grateful nobody’s killed you yet, means I can still pay you back for running out on our duel. Bet it wasn’t for lack of trying though was it? How many people have you murdered since we last spoke like this?”
”Yes”
“Shame”, Vincent wasn’t sure whether to be worried the island’s top killer was still up and at it or relieved that nobody had gotten to her before he got his chance. He told her as much. “Though I guess I should be grateful nobody’s killed you yet, means I can still pay you back for running out on our duel. Bet it wasn’t for lack of trying though was it? How many people have you murdered since we last spoke like this?”
”Three. One orange. You?”
With that short reply Karen had managed to derail Vincent’s train of thought. He had originally called to… actually he wasn’t sure why; to brag about his latest kill, to taunt Karen from afar where she couldn’t retaliate? The urge had just struck him when he thought of her and he followed through on it. Whatever the reason it had changed now.
His shock at hearing that Karen had managed to kill so many people in such short a time warred with his anger at losing another teammate. Still, anger at this point was useless, shouting down the radio at Karen would achieve nothing other than making her hang up and then he would have to wait until the next announcement to find out anything more. Better to stay calm, play along with her and try to keep her talking, try and get more information out of her.
“Oh yeah? You really shouldn’t target my teammates because you missed your chance at me Karen, it makes you seem petty. I only killed one, but she put up quite a fight. I probably should have just shot her, but sometimes I just like to get my hands dirty if you know what I mean? Course you do”, Vincent hoped all these cheap shots weren’t going to drive her away, but he couldn’t resist and even if he did it would just give something away to Karen. Girl like her didn’t get far in this game without being smart. “So, was it anyone I knew?”
With that short reply Karen had managed to derail Vincent’s train of thought. He had originally called to… actually he wasn’t sure why; to brag about his latest kill, to taunt Karen from afar where she couldn’t retaliate? The urge had just struck him when he thought of her and he followed through on it. Whatever the reason it had changed now.
His shock at hearing that Karen had managed to kill so many people in such short a time warred with his anger at losing another teammate. Still, anger at this point was useless, shouting down the radio at Karen would achieve nothing other than making her hang up and then he would have to wait until the next announcement to find out anything more. Better to stay calm, play along with her and try to keep her talking, try and get more information out of her.
“Oh yeah? You really shouldn’t target my teammates because you missed your chance at me Karen, it makes you seem petty. I only killed one, but she put up quite a fight. I probably should have just shot her, but sometimes I just like to get my hands dirty if you know what I mean? Course you do”, Vincent hoped all these cheap shots weren’t going to drive her away, but he couldn’t resist and even if he did it would just give something away to Karen. Girl like her didn’t get far in this game without being smart. “So, was it anyone I knew?”
”Kathy Clements. She killed a boy on Blue Team”
Vincent frowned at her reply, not from what she’d said, though that was interesting, but because she didn’t seem to have reacted at all to what he’d said. Damn, he was hoping to at least get a rise out of her, or make her speak with something other than he usually indifference.
“Kathy huh? Don’t know her”, the name rung a bell and it was definitely spoken as if he should know the name as well, probably a Detroit girl, but he couldn’t put a face to it. “Guess it doesn’t matter now, thanks to you”
This was getting him nowhere, Karen hadn’t told him anything that he wouldn’t have found out on the next announcement anyway – she was keeping her answers annoyingly short and to the point – and he had the feeling his longer answers were giving away more than he realised.
He tried to think of everything he knew about Karen so far, thinking of ways he could draw more out of her, but realised that he really didn’t know anything about the girl, even before this ordeal. She was noticeable only in that she was unnoticeable, the quiet girl who always shied away from everyone else; Vincent hadn’t really known she’d existed until that thing a few years ago when her brother or whoever had been shot, then it was impossible not to hear about her, whether you wanted to or not.
That made Vincent wonder; how did that girl go towards being the island most prolific and feared killer. He could see how someone like him or Lynn, people with a history of violence could become a killer, but Karen? How did that happen? Vincent thought this over for a few moments before speaking again, this time with an uncharacteristically thoughtful voice.
“What does that make now Karen, six, seven kills? I’ll admit I’m a little impressed. But I’m wondering how a girl like you goes from being the quiet one in the corner to the name on all the announcements, the killer everyone fears. How long did it take you to become a killer Karen, or have you always been this way?”
Vincent frowned at her reply, not from what she’d said, though that was interesting, but because she didn’t seem to have reacted at all to what he’d said. Damn, he was hoping to at least get a rise out of her, or make her speak with something other than he usually indifference.
“Kathy huh? Don’t know her”, the name rung a bell and it was definitely spoken as if he should know the name as well, probably a Detroit girl, but he couldn’t put a face to it. “Guess it doesn’t matter now, thanks to you”
This was getting him nowhere, Karen hadn’t told him anything that he wouldn’t have found out on the next announcement anyway – she was keeping her answers annoyingly short and to the point – and he had the feeling his longer answers were giving away more than he realised.
He tried to think of everything he knew about Karen so far, thinking of ways he could draw more out of her, but realised that he really didn’t know anything about the girl, even before this ordeal. She was noticeable only in that she was unnoticeable, the quiet girl who always shied away from everyone else; Vincent hadn’t really known she’d existed until that thing a few years ago when her brother or whoever had been shot, then it was impossible not to hear about her, whether you wanted to or not.
That made Vincent wonder; how did that girl go towards being the island most prolific and feared killer. He could see how someone like him or Lynn, people with a history of violence could become a killer, but Karen? How did that happen? Vincent thought this over for a few moments before speaking again, this time with an uncharacteristically thoughtful voice.
“What does that make now Karen, six, seven kills? I’ll admit I’m a little impressed. But I’m wondering how a girl like you goes from being the quiet one in the corner to the name on all the announcements, the killer everyone fears. How long did it take you to become a killer Karen, or have you always been this way?”
” Seven. It took me a few hours to succeed. About thirty minutes to start trying. The reason is simple: I would like to survive. And you?”
Vincent was obviously onto something here, this was the first time Karen had actually asked him a question in return, the first time she had made an active effort in this conversation. Even so, Vincent was at a loss for what to say next; how much did he reveal? Was it even important? How long it had taken him to start killing was hardly information that would lead to his death, but just before he had initiated this conversation he had been warning himself about creating loose ends that would lead back to him.
Still, if he didn’t say anything Karen would turn off her radio and he might not get another chance to get information from her again. This was the biggest threat on the island and he had a direct line to her, he couldn’t lose that advantage.
“I must have woken up after you; it only took me about an hour to get my first kill but it was after yours on the announcement. He had a gun, I didn’t, I knew he would use it so I took it from him; simple as that", Vincent left out the part where he had attacked Jonas even before Isaac turned up. "Still, seven kills is a lot more than surviving Karen; it might have started that way but… was it really necessary to keep killing till you got to this point?”
Vincent was obviously onto something here, this was the first time Karen had actually asked him a question in return, the first time she had made an active effort in this conversation. Even so, Vincent was at a loss for what to say next; how much did he reveal? Was it even important? How long it had taken him to start killing was hardly information that would lead to his death, but just before he had initiated this conversation he had been warning himself about creating loose ends that would lead back to him.
Still, if he didn’t say anything Karen would turn off her radio and he might not get another chance to get information from her again. This was the biggest threat on the island and he had a direct line to her, he couldn’t lose that advantage.
“I must have woken up after you; it only took me about an hour to get my first kill but it was after yours on the announcement. He had a gun, I didn’t, I knew he would use it so I took it from him; simple as that", Vincent left out the part where he had attacked Jonas even before Isaac turned up. "Still, seven kills is a lot more than surviving Karen; it might have started that way but… was it really necessary to keep killing till you got to this point?”
”Seven is nothing. The only numbers that matter are one and ten”
Vincent had to ponder that for a moment; why would one and ten be significant? One maybe because it was your first kill? That was pretty important, it marked you as someone who was playing this game, as a threat to everyone else on the island; it was the point of no return as it were. Why ten though?
Maybe that was how many kills Karen was aiming for? But why… ten kills gets you a free ticket home. The first announcement had said something about Karen shooting at her own teammates; obviously she wasn’t planning on making it to endgame with the rest of Team whatever she was. She must be looking for the quick way home by racking up ten kills; just surviving huh?
“Why are you killing?”
The question caught him off guard, he had been about to speak again when Karen spoke, and it took him a moment to come up with an answer. Might as well be truthful at this point; no point in posturing and trying to intimidate when it wasn’t having any effect anyway.
“To survive, same as you. I may have attacked a few people, stolen their stuff to give myself a better chance, but I’ve only killed when I had to”, mostly true. The girl at the field was the one time he had tried to kill someone without provocation; he was riding high on his successful elimination of Isaac and he tried to do it again. Except he got cocky about it and she ended up smacking some sense into him instead.
“Like I said, Isaac had a gun and I knew he would use it, so I grabbed him first. And Lynn…”, Vincent had reservations about telling Karen who he had killed last, but it wasn’t like it would remain a secret for long and it was fair trade for her telling him about Kathy he supposed. “Lynn started it, I just finished it”
As Vincent had realised earlier though, his way of surviving wasn’t very effective in the long run; all he’d managed to do was make himself a lot of enemies. “But that’s going to change now; I’ve been too soft so far, I need to start taking out anyone I see. I need to be more like you”
A short pause, let that sink in. “I’ll stop short of killing teammates though, that’s too cold even for me. I’ll stop before I reach ten kills as well, if I can help it; I like the idea of making it out of here with my teammates, the idea of winning. That ten kills shit? That’s the cowards way out, that’s for people who don’t think they can last. Who knows Karen, maybe we’ll both get out of this alive? Maybe we’ll see each other again in the outside world? Then we can settle this once and for all”
Vincent paused again here, stepping back from the conversation and looking around. He had decided to head north after leaving the lake; his ‘mentor’ had told him his teammates were north and south, terrible clues but he wasn’t going looking for that SDA guy at the Geysers. The Ski Resort was the first place he thought of and the last place he wanted to go, but he did anyway. All he’d found though was a dead body and an empty building.
“Goodbye Karen. It’s been nice talking to you but I want to get the fuck off this mountain, I’m freezing my ass off up here”
(Vincent Sullivan continued in Deconstruction)
Vincent had to ponder that for a moment; why would one and ten be significant? One maybe because it was your first kill? That was pretty important, it marked you as someone who was playing this game, as a threat to everyone else on the island; it was the point of no return as it were. Why ten though?
Maybe that was how many kills Karen was aiming for? But why… ten kills gets you a free ticket home. The first announcement had said something about Karen shooting at her own teammates; obviously she wasn’t planning on making it to endgame with the rest of Team whatever she was. She must be looking for the quick way home by racking up ten kills; just surviving huh?
“Why are you killing?”
The question caught him off guard, he had been about to speak again when Karen spoke, and it took him a moment to come up with an answer. Might as well be truthful at this point; no point in posturing and trying to intimidate when it wasn’t having any effect anyway.
“To survive, same as you. I may have attacked a few people, stolen their stuff to give myself a better chance, but I’ve only killed when I had to”, mostly true. The girl at the field was the one time he had tried to kill someone without provocation; he was riding high on his successful elimination of Isaac and he tried to do it again. Except he got cocky about it and she ended up smacking some sense into him instead.
“Like I said, Isaac had a gun and I knew he would use it, so I grabbed him first. And Lynn…”, Vincent had reservations about telling Karen who he had killed last, but it wasn’t like it would remain a secret for long and it was fair trade for her telling him about Kathy he supposed. “Lynn started it, I just finished it”
As Vincent had realised earlier though, his way of surviving wasn’t very effective in the long run; all he’d managed to do was make himself a lot of enemies. “But that’s going to change now; I’ve been too soft so far, I need to start taking out anyone I see. I need to be more like you”
A short pause, let that sink in. “I’ll stop short of killing teammates though, that’s too cold even for me. I’ll stop before I reach ten kills as well, if I can help it; I like the idea of making it out of here with my teammates, the idea of winning. That ten kills shit? That’s the cowards way out, that’s for people who don’t think they can last. Who knows Karen, maybe we’ll both get out of this alive? Maybe we’ll see each other again in the outside world? Then we can settle this once and for all”
Vincent paused again here, stepping back from the conversation and looking around. He had decided to head north after leaving the lake; his ‘mentor’ had told him his teammates were north and south, terrible clues but he wasn’t going looking for that SDA guy at the Geysers. The Ski Resort was the first place he thought of and the last place he wanted to go, but he did anyway. All he’d found though was a dead body and an empty building.
“Goodbye Karen. It’s been nice talking to you but I want to get the fuck off this mountain, I’m freezing my ass off up here”
(Vincent Sullivan continued in Deconstruction)