Cool Ranch

[decoy73]

The reactions to Alan and Jimmy's presence would have merited something, given the circumstances, were it not for the trademark crackling of the loud ... huh?

KKSSSSSHHHH

Wait. That's not right. Jimmy looked up, as if trying to confirm the time of day and reconcile it with the loudspeakers suddenly coming on.

"Good afternoon, students. I've been instructed to read out a prewritten statement from Mr. Danya regarding an incident that has taken place on the island." It was a good thing that Jimmy hadn't been drinking any water, as the voice of Mr. Kwong would have reflexively caused him to do a classic spit take.

"And I quote: It's come to our attention that one of your number has been interfering with their collar. This is clearly unacceptable. After all, we wouldn't want anybody refusing to play ball, would we? The student in question is Liz Polanski, some of you might know her. I'm speaking to you in order to bring an offer from Danya: should anybody successfully kill Liz Polanski, they will immediately be awarded a weapon from our very own stash of best kill prizes as a bounty." This managed raise Jimmy's eyebrows. Not because Jimmy was only slightly surprised, but because the proverbial one-two punch of both Mr. Kwong not being dead and this Liz Polanski's screwing with the (evil) system was in fact almost beyond belief, to the point where Jimmy was almost shocked beyond response.

"Miss Polanski, if you instruct anybody, verbally or by any other method, in your techniques, we will immediately detonate their collar. If we see you persisting in trying to break our rules, we will detonate collars at random. If you remain at large, we will send in a team to hunt you and anybody found to be allied with you down. We may also ... we may also see fit to eliminate your beloved teacher."

There was a small part of his brain that had managed to keep itself grounded in reality: if Liz was as big of a threat as they saw her to be, why not blow her ... unless she succeeded. Unfortunately, it also meant they were playing hardball: to ensure compliance, they were using a sort of classic carrot-and-stick method: appeal to the baser, more desperate part of the student body, while trying to scare Liz into surrendering.

"It has also come to our attention that Miss Polanski has recklessly destroyed one of our cameras, as a punishment, we will now detonate a collar ... What!? No! I - you can't make me - " A scuffle. "I ... I will be commencing this punishment now." This was what jolted Jimmy fully back to reality. His left hand reflexively went to his collar as he gasped, visibly fearful that they were going to pick him ...

"B148, Daisuke Nagazawa, eliminated. This is your teacher, Kwong Lei, signing off. Kids I believe in -!" Jimmy just stood there for a couple seconds, shocked beyond all thought, until.

"Did that just happen?"

[Limisios†]

The introductions of Jimmy and Alan seemed to have gone rather according to plan, as neither of them seemed to be dead. Alan began to relax; when suddenly, once again the speakers started to crackle to life. This was strange, Alan could have sworn he had already gone through this once today. Nonetheless he listened intently to the announcement. For the first time, Alan was happy with what he heard. It seemed that someone had actually managed to rebel against Danya, and even though the message wasn't from him himself, Alan could tell that he had wound him right up, and now he wanted to get rid of her, through fear naturally.

Alan nudged Jimmy "Jimmy, can you hear this." He whispered to him. "I was right, there is hope, someone is rebelling, can't you imagine how scared Danya is because of this? This is the best news I've heard since I came on this island, and now Danya's gotten so angry that he..." Reinitialisation suddenly hit Alan. "So this is what happens when you go against Mr. Danya; he sets every turned player onto you, he could... He could..."

Alan trailed off, leaning on Jimmy's shoulder.

[Badb†]

Courtney's head was swimming right now. Too many people. If things got violent, there was no way she was gonna gwet out of there unharmed. She had to move now, get out of there before the situation exploded. Someone stupid- probably one of the new arrivals- would do or say something that'd set them off and then boom. They'd pull out guns or something, and she'd get caught in the crossfire.

She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't jeopardize her own life because of some idiots who got themselves into a fight. She had to make a move. Get out of there.

Jessie made her own excuse and left. Now she had a perfect moment to go. Two options, how she looked at it. She could either just run, or make an excuse. Running would make her seem more suspicious, Excuse it was, then. Not that she was going to kill Liz. No, no one would buy that one; she was too tiny and British for that. No one would believe her if she said she was going to go collect on the bounty they'd put out on Liz. No, she had to think of something that was believable.

Confidence. Normally she didn't lack it. She was nice, talkative, outgoing. Not now. Now she felt small. Smaller than a bug on the floor. These people towered over her, tall as skyscrapers. She'd have to speak up, say something. Make up her excuse, and make it good.

"A-Alright, um, I, um..." Stammering, tripping over her words. Her confidence was plummeting as she scrambled for an excuse. Any excuse. "I... uh..."

"Well, um..." Courtney took a few steps back. Oh God, this was a bad idea. Wrap it up, here and now, then get the bloody hell out of there. "Uh, see... um, well... See you in the future, I guess."

She backed off further, turning around when figured she was far enough away. Far enough that they wouldn't shoot her in the back, she hoped.

From there, she started running and didn't look back.

((Courtney Bradley, continued in Darken Your Clothes and Strike a Violent Pose.))

[Hallucinojelly†]

Well, the announcement had really done its job, hadn't it? Everyone had been instilled with a brand new fear, which forced them to look at this entire thing in a whole new light. Random selection, their teacher, and any attempts at escape didn't result in punishment to those who "deserved" it, no. The punishment instead was handed over to the palms of fate, which meant that playing by the rules seemed pointless now. It didn't matter what they did anymore, not after this. Now they were playing a giant version of Russian Roulette, and Liz had a bounty on her head after somehow managing to break her collar. Which... was amazing.

Violet didn't have the know-how to work out her own way of doing it, and she didn't want to try in case she blew herself up. But knowing that girl was out there, changing the game, making a difference. That was brilliant. That was inspirational stuff, and if herself and Mike didn't take this chance to shake things up then they probably wouldn't get another one again.

With Jessie and Courtney leaving, and the other guys looking just as dumbfounded by these events as themselves, she took the opportunity to grab her things from the floor and work out a plan.

If she could find Liz...

If she could talk to her...

She felt herself stop suddenly, biting hard on her lip. If she went after Liz, would Mike come with her? How was he taking all of this? She hadn't even asked. They needed to move quickly though, in case somebody got to the girl first. They couldn't let that happen, otherwise all of her hopes would be lost. If they were going to get out of this place and survive, then they needed to find her. Sure, the girl would probably be wary of them, but they'd get her to come around. Her eyes fell to the blowtorch in her hand.

It was there, waiting, ready for her command. If Liz wouldn't tell them how she did it - how she freed herself from the rules - then they'd have to force it out of her. They didn't have a choice. It felt cold in her grip, and heavier than it did before. It was a proper weapon now, not just a tool. It was intimidating, and powerful, because it could hurt someone. It could burn a hole right through someone's face if she wanted it to, but she knew that she never would. Even if Liz resisted, she doubted she could bring herself to kill her. Just hurt her a little bit; scare her. That was all she could do.

"I'm going, Mike. I'll get it if you don't wanna come, but I need to find her. Just to talk. That's all."

At first.

God, she hoped he'd follow her.

She couldn't do this alone.

[Limisios†]

"Well, um... Uh, see... um, well... See you in the future, I guess."

Alan watched as several of the people in the group started leaving. This was good and bad, it was bad because he and Jimmy were still pretty much on their own, but it was good because he still hadn't had his organs rearranged on the grass and turned into a PETA ad campaign. Alan thought again of the that girl who had gotten right up Danya's bonnet. She would be able to help the movement. Alan didn't know if she'd agree but he had to try. But how... How could he-

"I'm going, Mike. I'll get it if you don't wanna come, but I need to find her. Just to talk. That's all."

One of the remaining people spoke, was she going to find the girl? She could have easily been talking about any girl on the island. Alan swallowed his fears and asked. "So sorry to interrupt... Again. But I don't suppose that your planning on going after the girl on the announcement... Only if you are, perhaps me and Jimmy could help in some way... We don't have much in the means of protection but we do have a sword... Knife thingy. Only for protection of course. You see it's just... I have a plan to really give one in the eye to Mr. Danya... It's actually quite a stupid plan but... If someone has managed to rebel against Danya already, then she needs all the protection she can get."

Alan was starting to get slightly more confident in his words. "I can understand if you can't have us, really. It's just... Leaving that girl to the first blood-crazy savage isn't the right thing to do. Right Jimmy." Alan looked to Jimmy for support.

[blastinus]

Maddy had to admit that being ignored was preferable to drawing too much attention, but having her supposed best friend ignore her was a bit of a sharp stab to her diminutive ego. But rather than dwell on it, she simply focused on what her friend was suggesting. That...wasn't too good either. Rather than taking the natural route and hunting down Liz before she could hurt more people, Violet was suggesting that the group find her and save her FROM the people who would hunt her down. To Maddy, this was tremendously stupid, and she was about to say so, but the words died in her throat.

If I tell her that I'm hunting Liz down, will she still be my friend? Will I have to kill her too?

Rather than relate the news, Maddy opted instead to sneak away while Violet was asking for Mike's opinion on the matter. Stealthiness was something that the little artist did well, and she was very good at making herself scarce. And so, she fled, hoping to find Liz before Violet did, and deal with her in the only way that made sense.

I've got this gun for a reason. If I take Liz down, no more people will die because of her.

Yes, but they will still die. Whatever you do will just be buying them time. In fact, if you weren't a potential victim of her antics, it might be in your best interests to let her keep on with it. Thin out the competition a little, hmm?

Maddy once again had to shake her head to clear it. The thought of actually competing in this sick game made her stomach drop, and she had to renew her vows to not be a killer.

I'm not going to play. I'm NOT! I just...I just need to kill Liz. I don't want to. It just has to be done.

(Madeleine Smith continued in The Middle Children of History)

[Ella†]

"I'm going, Mike. I'll get it if you don't wanna come, but I need to find her. Just to talk. That's all."

What? No. She couldn't just leave him here. Besides, who was she- wait. Liz. She wanted to find Liz Polanski.

One of the two guys started to say something, about helping out or something. If nothing else, Mike had learned one thing from the past few days- regardless of these guys' intentions, Violet was not going to respond well. He turned around and put a finger to his lips. "I got this," he mouthed.

"Violet-" He needed to say something. Not something stupid, he needed to be confident and self-assured and stuff. But he had to get her attention before she went. Before he knew it, he'd grabbed Violet's wrist- probably not a good idea in hindsight.

"Sorry." He let go- she'd stopped, but she didn't turn around. "Look, Violet- we've never been like, best of friends or anything. In fact, if we hadn't just been thrown together at the beginning I wouldn't have given you a second thought. But-" Still here. That's good.

"Well, you're kind of all I have here. I guess what I'm saying is, I want us to stick together. I know we're not supposed to be doing that or whatever because both of us aren't supposed to survive, but fuck that. You're the only friend I have here, and I don't want to die without that."

Dude, what. He sounded like the token female character in a cartoon. Time to wrap up.

"Anyway, if this Liz has actually found an answer, I'm willing to look with you. It's... it's not like we have anything to lose here."

Mike looked around. Courtney was gone, Jessica was gone... so much for the badass standoff. And Maddy... she was gone again. All that was left were these two guys, who were still awkwardly standing there mumbling about the "friendliest group" or whatever. It was definitely time to leave.

"Well, ready when you are. What's the plan, Vi?"

[Hallucinojelly†]

Nothing to lose...


That wasn't true.

Not for Violet.


She had plenty to lose, and the fact that he thought otherwise made her realize just how little they really knew about each other. The two of them hadn't even spoken before the trip, and she'd only seen him around school a couple of times - just another face in a sea of a thousand. But having him around these past few days... it was a comfort nonetheless. Did he really mean it though? Was he prepared to die for a chance to go home? What would they have to do in order to leave? Who would they have to fight? Their classmates? Their friends? Maybe it was that simple for Mike, but not for her. She had a home to go back to; she had friends that needed saving; she had all her life to live, and she wasn't about to let this girl slip through her fingers without a few words.

Her blowtorch shimmered in the sun - metallic blue and sleek, like one of the cars in her Dad's workshop. It was all well and good asking whether or not someone else could do this, but the real question was: could she? Honestly? Gearing herself up and mapping it out in her head was one thing, but to drag someone else along into her half-baked dreams... that was just selfish. He needed to find someone else; someone better. Someone who could help him survive, or at the very least knew what they were doing. Turning to face him, she tried her best to dissuade him, but it was no use. As soon as she saw that determined look in his eye, and he asked her what the new plan was, her doubts ebbed away and her director's soul began to glow once more.

With her heartbeat pounding against her chest, she swallowed her nerves and readied a steely composure - one that she hoped her partner would believe in, if this suicide mission was going to work - then turned to the two boys remaining. A quick headcount later made her notice that Maddy has vanished again, but she had a sure feeling that the girl would be okay, for now at least. She had a very nice gun, after all.

As for the others, she had to admit she saw them as a hindrance. They seemed to have the same goals in mind, but she couldn't trust them. Not this far into the game. From here on out it'd be Mike and Violet all the way, until she found Trent and the others (God I hope they're okay) and had everything she needed from a certain Miss Polanski.

Hitching her daypack up on her shoulders, along with her duffel bag and Trent's, she strained a little under the weight before giving them all a thumbs-up to show that she was fine.

"The plan, right."

Saluting Jimmy and Alan together, she then flicked a bothersome hair out of her eyes and started to walk the other way.

"The plan, Mike, is this:"

Raising her arm far out ahead, she pointed out at the hills in the distance.

"Me and you are gonna find that girl."

[decoy73]

((Sorry about the late post - review is a bitch))

Needless to say, everyone was pretty shocked at the announcement, why exactly he couldn't pick out, but it was most likely either because someone had screwed with the collars, which meant that another collar could be tampered with, the fact that Danya was now detonating collars, and nobody wanted to die by collar, or because of the threat now placed on Liz Polanski's life. Then, everybody started to leave. First the redhead, then the short girl.

It was at this time that Alan spoke up about finding Liz Polanski, and Violet agreed.

"Yeah," in response to Alan's question. "She's the only one with both the know-how and the guts to screw over the game, plus, there's probably a bunch of other people looking for her for the same reason. If she's really destroying cameras, then maybe we can all meet up and rise up against Danya - either go home or at least die on our own terms." At least that's what he would have said if Mike hadn't mouthed something to them.

"I got this." As a result, Jimmy was able to very clearly and confidently say "Yeah, she's - " before clamming up. It was something about how he mouthed it that suggested that maybe Jimmy and Alan should shut up. They talked for a bit before Violet offhandedly saluted them. Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Forget it," he whispered to Alan. "I don't think we stand a chance of them joining us. Let's just find someone else."

[Limisios†]

It seemed that Alan's request was going to be declined, not that he didn't expect it to in the first place, these people seemed to know what they were doing anyway. What could Alan do but polity salute back.

"Forget it, I don't think we stand a chance of them joining us. Let's just find someone else."

This came from Jimmy, Alan agreed with him in an instant, but felt that he couldn't leave these people without some sort of goodbye.

"You're right, there's not much more we can do for you but wish you the very best of luck... Not that it counts for much here. Still, here's hoping that when you do find this girl... That she's still in one piece." Alan trembled at the thought of the poor girl swarmed by turned students, all hunting her down the moment Danya throws several litres of metaphorical steak sauce over her. "So Adéu to you both. Although it doesn't mean much... I'll pray for you both... It seems to be the only thing I ever do on this island."

Finishing his piece, he turned and began to walk off into the distance, he had no idea what he could do to survive, but at least he had Jimmy, and he had Zoey; in his heart he knew that she was watching him, and hoping for his safety. Before walking completely off, he turned back to the group that he had just left and saluted once more, before walking off out of sight.

((Alan Rickhall continued in Darken Your Clothes and Strike a Violent Pose.))

[decoy73]

((Sorry about how short this is. Gotta set Jimmy up.))

"You're right, there's not much more we can do for you but wish you the very best of luck, not that it counts for much here. Still, here's hoping that when you do find this girl ... that she's still in one piece. So Adieu to you both. Although it doesn't mean much, I'll pray for you both. It seems to be the only thing I ever do on this island."

Alan said his piece and left, saluting them. Jimmy just smiled mirthlessly as he said his goodbyes.

"I hope I'll see you around. Hopefully one of us can find Liz and find out how she can help us. And if you do find out, tell Danya that he can go to hell." Jimmy nodded as he followed Alan out of there.

((Jimmy Robertson continued in Darken Your Clothes and Strike A Violent Pose))

[Ella†]

Just like before this whole fiasco, they were alone again. Alan and Jimmy had walked off just like the rest of the small crowd they'd just drawn, leaving nothing but Violet's words hanging in the air.

"Me and you are gonna find that girl."

Mike knew full well that doing so was going to get him killed. But then again, what wasn't going to get him killed here? It was just like he'd said before. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain, especially if it meant a chance to go home without submitting to the foul game.

Of course, that didn't mean the plan was completely without flaws, at least at this point. As far as Mike could tell, neither he nor Violet knew where to find this Liz Polanski. And even if they did, how were they going to get there without getting blown up like Nagazawa? All kinds of plots and solutions filled his head, but none seemed successful or even possible. In the announcement, Danya had made things sound as airtight as possible... well, as airtight as a security breach could get. Mike's head began to hurt, partially due to fatigue and partially due to stress. It was definitely time to leave.

"Alright, Vi. Let's get the hell out of here."

They quietly packed their things, still not completely aware of what came next for them. All they knew for sure was that they were looking for someone and that what they were looking for wasn't here. It was still something though, and knowing that was to be their one comfort as they set out for whatever the rest of the game would bring.

[[Michael Moretti and Violet Druce, continued in Tactic Static. Thread concluded.]]