The Usual Suspects

[BetaKnight]

((Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer continued from The Doll's House))

After her encounter with Sven, Iselle spent the rest of the day and into the evening hiking back through the woods. Eventually, she came across this parking garage, a hulking shadow in the dark. Carefully making her way through, she found an unlocked car and slept fitfully in the backseat, every little sound waking her up with a start.

Then came the announcement. Iselle shook her head again. They were lying. She hadn't killed Sven. She couldn't have killed him.

Hurt him, yeah. She needed to do that to get away before he killed her. But she hadn't killed him. Sven, that stupid fucker, was working with them to make her look bad.

Iselle wondered what they'd promised him to get him to go along with this smear campaign. Knowing the idiot, it probably hadn't taken much. Maybe a beer.

She drew her knees up to her chest, making the seats creak and the open door groan. She looked down at the walking stick that was laying on the floor of the car. She couldn't have killed him. There was no way. She wasn't a bad person. She wasn't a murderer. She wasn't.

[Casey the Undead†]

((Alda Abbate continued from Sup, Nerds?))

Alda walked for what felt like hours. She looked at her map periodically, but she had zero sense of direction and no real clue of where to go outside of that, anyways. Every single place had people who could kill her, and Alda still had a shit weapon. She knew that was the priority -- the Cat was vicious but it wouldn't do jack for the "killing all motherfuckers inbetween" part of her plan. She had a weak sketch in her head of how the perfect encounter would go. She stumbled upon Random Classmate with Gun or Knife or Something Actually Dead. She feigned nice and peaceful for about 60 seconds, just to get close enough to whip said classmate. Classmate drops weapon, Alda gets weapon, Alda kills classmate with weapon. She steps one person closer to home.

She didn't manage to actually run into anyone before nightfall, however. She was wary of falling asleep for too long alone -- if someone caught her by surprise it didn't matter how good and foolproof her plan was. She slept restlessly for a few hours, and woke up at the first light to walk again. She drank, and she ate, and she walked. Alda fucking hated walking. Okay, to be fair, Alda really hated quite a few things, but seriously. Walking? Walking was the worst. Running she could take, standing she could do, hell, even sitting around and doing nothing was better than walking. Walking was pathetic, and slow, and trudging and repetitive. Walking felt like doing more work and getting no farther. But she didn't have much else to do, so Alda walked.

She frowned when she got the nuclear plant. "What the fuck is this doing here? I thought this was some fucked up island or something?" She supposed that there was no reason for there not to be a nuclear plant on an island, but she couldn't shake the idea that it was a bad place to host an illegal murder game. After all, didn't the government have complete lists of all the nuclear power plants in the world, even the shut down ones? Wouldn't they know something weird was going on at this abandoned place? She frowned even deeper. Except no one knows we're here, yeah? Our plane "crashed" and everyone on board died. And who would even think to question that? I certainly wouldn't. She sighed and shook her head. "Well, let's see what this fucker has to offer, yeah?"

She beelined for the parking garage. Cars probably didn't work, but they would be good hiding places to jump someone who wandered in. Surprise was the key part of Alda's plan. She didn't have much else to go on.

Which is why it was kind of ironic that she found herself shocked near silent when she stumbled into the structure.

She probably should have seen an announcement coming, but honestly Alda had nearly forgotten about the concept altogether. She groaned and covered her ears a bit, her heart still hammering from the surprise of the start. "You Smarmy Motherfucker," Alda said to no one in particular. She liked that, though. She thought it was apt. She listened a bit diligently to the names, making her way slowly into the garage. One name stopped her short though.

"Fuck. Did that Smarmy Motherfucker just say Dan bit it?" She spat onto the ground and glared at a vague, grey chunk of ceiling. "Dan was mine, the cocksucker. I told that moron he was gonna get himself killed, but I meant by me. Fuck." She spat a second time, if only because she was slightly at a loss for what to do. What was she supposed to do? She didn't like Dan, she didn't want to be near Dan-- she only tried to help him because she wasn't a total bitch monster. Not that anyone would actually believe that, the self-entitled, hypocritical assholes. But he'd ignored her and sped away, to an early fucking grave. Pathetic, really. "You dumb asshole," she said her left shoe. "If you'd just stayed with me this shit wouldn't have happened, but of course you're a goddamned moron like everyone else in this game, and you had to -- " her voice caught a bit.

Fuck. That was pathetic, yeah? She didn't like Dan, she had zero reason to feel sad for him. She wasn't sad for him. She wasn't sad for his stupid parents who raised his stupid ass, or his stupid girlfriend -- if he had a stupid girlfriend, Alda couldn't be bothered to actually know that type of shit. Alda didn't care. She didn't. She just -- she wanted to do it herself. That was all. "Yeah," Alda muttered. She bit off a sigh and slinked against a car door, rusted and worthless. She slid down and sat near the back tire, face buried in her hands.

She wasn't sad. In fact, she was so busy not being sad that she didn't even notice the girl in the backseat.

[BetaKnight]

The sounds of someone approaching, complete with commentary, caught Iselle's attention. The footsteps stopped uncomfortably close to her. With as much stealth as she could manage, she crawled across the car's rear bench to peer out of the opposite window.

While the door wasn't much coverage, it would be enough of a barrier to give her a few precious seconds to escape if needed. Her last encounter with classmates had seared the lesson about a few seconds of lead time into her thoughts.

However, as she spied her new companion, Iselle realized that it would be completely unnecessary. "Alda," she croaked as she sagged against the door.

Alda was someone she could trust. "Oh, thank God it's you. The only thing better than you would be a Winchester. Where have you been? Are you okay?"

[Grim Wolf]

(Xavier Contel continued from Grey Skies, Grey Ground)

Xavier had never tasted despair quite like this before.

A day's wandering in Arthur's company hadn't revealed much--no bodies, no one hurt, no one in need of saving. Sometimes gunfire in the distance, but Arthur generally made the point that it wasn't much point running towards it if there wasn't more of it, and there rarely was.

That, and in spite of his resolve the gunshots made his insides crawl and his throat go dry, because if he ran to them he might get shot, stabbed, hit, beat, wounded, killed. Because he wasn't Vash. Because he wasn't that strong, or that good.

So. A peaceful day. A useless day. They camped out in an old rusty van with musty pillows.

And Xavier woke up to the sound of the Announcements, and realized just how useless he was.

Didn't save anyone. Not a soul. Lotta people dead. Maybe I could have stopped that, if I ran to the gunfire. Stupid. Stupid!

Couldn't have. Didn't...there wasn't a chance. Wasn't a chance for me to do anything.

Was there?

"Shit," he mumbled, and slid the door open, just in time to hear voices from farther in the garage.

[Casey the Undead†]

Alda shot up so fast she felt her back crack. She'd let her guard down, she realized belatedly -- stupid! Someone else was here, someone who could kill her, someone who could take her by surprise, it could be anyone --

Her eyes focused as her heart rate slowed. It wasn't anyone. "Iselle?" Alda let out a shaky, out-of-breath laugh. "Holy shit, it's you. Freaked the fuck out, there." She found her smile growing larger. "Jesus! It's you! You're alive!" Alda let out a strange, hyper laugh. She was she tired she almost felt like she was vibrating with nervous energy. "I can't believe it, I can't believe my fucking luck! I was talking mad game about getting the girls together, and here the fuck we are!"

She rubbed a hand across her forehead, leaning back on her heels absently. "I can't tell you the shit I've been through, girl. Met motherfucking Dan Liu, left him -- bastard got his ass killed near instantly." Alda thought that story sounded better than the truth. She'd met Dan, she'd left Dan, and without her help Dan had tragically and inevitably perished. Alda wasn't sad about it. Seeing Iselle was a reminder of that, obviously. She wasn't sad for Dan, she just wanted to make sure her friends were alright, and Dan's death was a reminder that anyone could die at any minute. That was it. That was all.

"I'm okay, though," Alda breezed on. "Tired, you know, but -- good. Healthy." She held up her whip with a wicked grin. "This kitty's carrying a Cat, if you get me?"

Alda was fucking pleased to see Iselle. Sure, she knew everyone in the game, but everyone else in her school was like Dan. They could leave at any moment, guilt free. Iselle would stick by her side. Iselle would find Paulo with her. Iselle and I could get home.

The thought was unbidden and brilliant. Of course Alda needed to knock some people back to get her top spot -- she knew that, instinctively. She'd already made the choice. Anything for team, anything for family, anything for home. But she did still need a better weapon, and she needed some way to gain the upper hand. A second person. A team. The best team in Aurora High: girl's softball. Iselle would get it, too, not like some of the other girls on the team. Iselle would agree with Alda. She'd want to go home, too. Not the whiny, angsty longing of a "hero," a kid with no backbone and a desire to ride his way back to his mommy's arms on the coattails of someone else's hard work. People who didn't kill didn't deserve to get home, Alda thought. What was the point of the game if the winner didn't compromise their morals? Wouldn't that make the whole thing pointless?

Alda didn't want to think that the whole thing was pointless, regardless, but it was. She knew that.

Iselle would agree. Iselle would have to agree. Alda was too afraid of what would happen if Iselle didn't agree.

"Hey, this is gonna sound crazy but -- fuck, I've got an idea. What if we got the girls back to--"

Alda stopped short. Something on the back of her neck prickled. It was the same feeling she got walking down the street, when gazes would follow her, unwanted and unwelcome. It was the feeling of being watched. Alda glanced around, frowning. She saw nothing. "Did you--?" She took another glance around. Maybe it was just the cameras? "Yo, something don't feel right to me."

[BetaKnight]

Iselle grinned and opened the door of the car, climbing out with all the grace and dignity of a newborn colt. Her grinned faded a bit as Alda's rambling commentary abruptly shifted into lightweight paranoia. She tensed and glanced around, actively scanning for any dangers. After a few silent seconds ticked past without anyone hopping out to threaten them, she exhaled a breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding.

"I think you're tweaking out a bit, Alda. You get any sleep last night?" she teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Sure, being on edge and vigilant was normal here, but the rapidity of Alda's switch worried her. Was the stress of being here getting to her already? Would her friend be capable of holding up for the duration if she was starting to crack this early into the game.

However, since Alda had been kind enough not to ask about the Sven incident, Iselle sure as hell wasn't going to awkward up their meeting by accusing one of her closest friends of losing her mind. She dropped a friendly arm around Alda's shoulders and have her a reassuring one-armed hug. "If you want, you could grab some sleep now. It's about as comfortable as sleeping on the benches of the team's bus."

[Grim Wolf]

(Gotta get going, I'm afraid!)

Voices from farther in, but after a moment's tense listening they didn't seem to be violent or distressed, and Xavier didn't want to make them afraid by approaching. They were safe. There were others who weren't.

Others. Like the people who'd died yesterday.

What if he hadn't talked to Sunny? Convinced the shotgun girl it was okay? They could be trusted? Would there be one more death to add to the list?

And how many more were there, because he'd done nothing?

Not your fault. Not your fault. You didn't kill anyone.

All the great tragedies happen because of indifference and inaction. Isn't it worse to do nothing? The killers had a reason to kill. People like me...people who could have stopped them...what reason do we have to hold still? What reason but cowardice?

He fingered the drill around his neck. Glanced back at a still-sleeping Arthur. Swallowed.

Couldn't drag him into this. Maybe Xavier was wrong. Maybe it was a stupid way to live. But he had to try, didn't he? He had to.

So he grabbed his bag and took off, away from the voices, looking for another exit, looking for a way to stop his classmates from killing each other.

(Xavier Contel concluded in Calamity)

[Casey the Undead†]

Alda let out a huff of air. She barely had the energy to sigh, anymore. She still felt as if her body was vibrating nervous energy. Iselle seemed calmer, thankfully. Alda hated to admit it, but the whole lone wolf gig never really worked out for her. It probably didn't really work out for anyone, though. You always needed one or two other solid people to ground you when you went out of whack. Iselle was absolutely that for Alda, and had been since Alda had joined the team really. "I'm losing it, yeah?" Alda laughed and shook her head. "I caught a few z's yesterday but nothing too substantial. I was out in the open with no one watchin' my back. Every time I blinked I thought I was letting my guard down."

She shrugged and dropped her bag to the floor, rolling her neck to get a crick out. Sleep was a good idea, but truthfully Alda didn't think she could sleep if she tried. It wasn't so much a comfort thing, anymore. Old Alda could fall asleep in the worst positions if she had too, didn't matter at all. Tired was tired. Now though, sleep was too close to death. Dark, and terse, and dark. Alda couldn't do the dark, not yet anyway. Dan was dead. She'd forgotten how he died already. Someone had killed him -- why didn't she get the name? The manner? Did he know? Was he surprised? Sad? Sleeping?

He was dark, now. Alda couldn't sleep. She was bouncing on her heels and grinding her teeth just a bit, and she could have run a half-marathon on an empty tank if it meant not having the face the dark.

"Look," she said instead, dodging the question. "What I was gonna say earlier. The team." She gestured between her and Iselle usually. "You and I should get the team back together. The girls. We could -- fuck it, Iselle, we could win."

Killing wasn't so serious a word when you were saying it to yourself, when you were whispering it at night where no one could hear you, where you were declaring things to the corners of your mind. Killing was easy to carry in places where it was weightless, but Alda wasn't dumb -- out loud, to another person, Killing was a word that could drown her. It wasn't that Alda thought Iselle would kill her. But, honestly, if Iselle said no, Alda thought she would be better off dead. There wasn't a point to trying to fight if she was alone with a whip and blurred vision. She'd lose, and she'd lose alone, and she'd be swallowed up by darkness and no one would miss her.

Paulo might, she thought for a second, and then nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. For all she knew, Paulo could be dead already. Until the announcements proved it one way or another, he was both, right? That was some science shit or something.

"I just --" Alda cut herself off with a bite of her own tongue. "I wanna find my brother, and I wanna go home, and --"

Alda thought about Dan walking away only to get himself killed. She thought about Paulo's lame ass friends who would wrestle in the backyard when no one was looking. She thought about the vapid people in her classes, who roamed the hallways with dazed, dumbfounded looks of highschool glory. Kids who were now shitting their pants and crying for their mommies and wondering what they did to deserve this and questioning the existence of God. She thought of all of their vague, bland, high-school faces, their high pitched voices, their empty little pretty little heads. They were not her friends. They were not her lovers. They were just bodies who stood in the way of her locker.

"I think I'm starting to get that you and I don't owe these people anything."``

[BetaKnight]

Iselle stepped back to look over her teammate when Alda talked about them winning. They both understood exactly what was meant by 'winning'. Coldly and methodically eliminating the opposition. The thought of 'winning' turned Iselle's stomach and she grimaced.

'Like you haven't done it already,' her conscience reminded her. But that wasn't the same. That was a life-or-death situation, she rationalized. Sven had been actively trying to kill her. She flexed her hands in memory of the burning sting she experience when her walking stick made contact with Sven and his friend.

"I think I'm starting to get that you and I don't owe these people anything."

Iselle flinched as if Alda had slapped her, reminding of her of duty. The only people she owed something to were her teammates. Growing up, it had been drilled into her that your team was an extension of your family. They were the girls you laughed, cried, ate, roomed, and fought with. The girls who helped you bandage up your scrapes and dole out smackdowns when necessary. To screw with one was to earn the wrath of all. You looked out for the team and the team looked out for you.

While the Aurora team wasn't nearly as tight-knit as her travel ball team, they were still her team. Her team, hers and Kathryn's. It was her responsibility to look out for them as best she could. They were her family, her sisters, here on the island. Alda was right. There was safety in sticking with people you knew you could trust. If they would support each other back at school, when dealing with trivial things, then they had to support each other now, when there was an actual need.

'Too bad you didn't decide this earlier, when you might have done poor Kelly some good,' her conscious goaded. Their small group was already being whittled down. She hadn't been able to save Kelly. What if someone popped up right now? What would she do to defend herself or Alda? What could she do?

A cold chill stole over her as she frantically scanned the room for any signs of a threat. Iselle shivered and rubbed at the gooseflesh that had popped up on her arms. Alda's paranoia was apparently contagious. The skin between her shoulders crawled and she ignored it. It wouldn't do for her to start acting as twitchy as Alda. Keeping it all together was vital. She puffed out her cheeks and gave her braid a quick anxious tug before starting to speak.

"You're right, Alda," she said, nodding. "We don't anyone but the other girls anything. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that the rest of us get home. I just- I don't know what to do. I know I should have some answers, but I don't." Iselle hated not having the answer to things. That was her job: read the field, observe the batter, call the play. She scrubbed at her face in frustration.

"I would give my left nut for everyone to just appear here, right now," she growled.

[Solitair†]

((Arthur Wells continued from Grey Skies, Grey Ground))

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Arthur Wells considered himself lucky to be alive right now. Lucky and undeserving. Somehow in his stupid, lazy brain he'd gotten under the impression that he was just sleeping in on the weekend or some shit. Hey, no school means he doesn't have to get up early, right?

WRONG! Minutes after he rubbed his eyes and got up, he remembered what was supposed to happen in the morning. There were supposed to be announcements. There should have been notifications of who died and what was a danger zone now, vital information for those who wanted to play the game, and he fucking slept through it all! How the fuck did that even happen?

And guess what? He couldn't ask Xavier what he missed, since Xavier was nowhere to be seen! All that excitement about running into a fellow dorkadoofus on the island, someone who identified with his online screen name, none of it apparently meant anything, since Xavier fucking left him behind. Not even he thought sleeping on the job was excusable. Of all the people he thought would leave him, shame him for fucking up, Arthur wasn't expecting Xavier to go.

He didn't know whether to fume and sputter or cry. Whose fault was this? His? Xaviers? No, it was the people upstairs, the people behind the camera. The second he started blaming a student, the seed of murder was planted. Or rather, it would be planted if he had any actual fighting prowess or a weapon more lethal than fucking candy.

Next question: now what? He could chase after Xavier and ask him what the fuck. The guy had left footprints behind, a trail that even Arthur could follow. Or her could cut his losses and meet up with some new people. There were folks talking in the garage. He could listen in on them.

"I think I'm starting to get that you and I don't owe these people anything."

That didn't sound good at all. No, these two girls inside the garage were not friends. He needed to stay far, far away from them. Following Xavier didn't sound like a bad idea at all.

((Arthur Wells continued in Calamity))

[Arscapi†]

[Originally posted by Arscapi]

((Kathryn Nguyen continued from Dead End))

Kathryn had pretty much decided that there weren't any buildings on this island when she caught sight of the nuclear power plant in the distance. She briefly wondered if that's why the place had been abandoned, if there had been some kind of accident. But that wouldn't explain the miles and miles of green that she'd been stomping through since leaving the lighthouse.

She was grateful to have some goal in mind now. Wandering aimlessly through the woods wasn't going to get her anything but attacked by some of her class mates. She'd woken to the announcement and had taken a moment early in the walk to offer a quick prayer for those that had been killed and their families.

What she couldn't wrap her mind around was that Iselle's name had been announced. And that she'd killed Sven. While it was true she and Iselle didn't like Sven, she knew it was not enough for Iselle to have killed him. Hoping that she would get the chance to ask her co-captain what had happened she kept walking towards the parking structure.

She hesitated as she saw someone make their way out of the structure and suddenly wasn't sure if she wanted to know who else was inside. What if it was Theo Fletcher, who apparently had gone insane and was now running around killing classmates with no rhyme or reason.

However, Kathryn really didn't want to spend another night camping under the stars. With a sigh she headed towards the parking structure. She stood to the right of the entrance and peered around the corner, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness.

Her face broke into a wide smile as she recognized the two figures standing in the garage. She bought back the urge to shout a greeting, not wanting to startle them. She settled instead for dragging her feet as she walked, sending rocks and dirt skittering across the floor.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said happily as she got close. She hugged her teammates and then focused her attention on Iselle. "What happened with Sven," she demanded.

[LordB†]

((James Wade continued from Dead End))

After spending a while trudging along after Kathryn, James had begun to get worried. He'd heard the announcements broadcast throughout the island, which had revealed the killers among them at least. It was chilling to hear familiar names being casually read out, knowing that his could be on there next time.

He'd done little but follow Kathryn since they'd left their campsite and Amy, keeping quiet and hoping that they wouldn't run into a killer like Theodore Fletcher or those other guys on their little trip. James took slow, deep breaths, a little technique he'd learned to remain calm when he felt stressed. He knew he couldn't afford to have another panic attack in this kind of situation. When they finally came to some buildings, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved that there was some shelter on the island to hole up in. Oh look, people, was his first thought. Oh shit, please don't be armed, was his second. Kathryn seemed to know these guys at least, so he stood back and allowed her to greet the two others.

When they didn't whip out guns and shoot the pair of them to pieces, James walked a little closer, raising one hand in a sheepish, half-assed wave. Hardly the hug Kathryn had given her friend, but it was about as sociable as he'd get. He kept his useless weapon, the Clue box, clutched tightly to his chest like a talisman. He still wondered why he was carrying the damn thing around, though it was oddly comforting to hold.

"Hey guys," James said, trying a smile.

All he had to do was not freak out and he'd be fine.

[Casey the Undead†]

As if summoned by Iselle's command, someone appeared almost immediately.

Alda was taken aback to see Kathryn, and found herself grinning at the site of her other teammate. She was enveloped in a huge quickly. "Dude! You have no clue how wicked your timing is."

This was perfect. This was exactly what Alda was thinking -- her team fighting back and taking this game into their own hands. And with the co-captains here, Alda knew they would be unstoppable. They could find the others, and they could win. Alda knew it would happen. It had to work.

Still have to find Paulo, though, her mind supplied, and her grin slipped a bit. Of course, always a damper to good news.

Another damper -- Kathryn seemed to have brought someone with her. Alda tried not to glare at James, but the task was proving difficult. It wasn't even someone she gave a shit about. Kathryn brought a totally unremarkable kid with her. Useless, really, just some long-haired nobody. They'd have to get rid of him. She glanced back at her captains, knowing there was no subtle way to breech the subject, when she heard something concerning.

"Sven?" Alda glanced between the other two girls, completely lost. "What do you mean what happened with Sven?"

In retrospect, she probably should have listened a bit closer to that announcement.

[BetaKnight]

Iselle basked in the warm fuzzies Kathryn's brief hug produced. However, those fuzzies completely evaporated as both Kathryn and Alda called her onto the carpet for the Sven fiasco. They couldn't possibly blame her for what happened. She had to clear the air between them. There was no way she could get through this ordeal if her friends turned their backs on her. "I didn't do it," she blurted out as she reached up and tugged on her braid again.

Unable to look at them, Iselle turned and started pacing. She didn't go far. Four quick steps away, then four quick steps back as she ordered her thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain something she wasn't completely sure about herself. "I mean, I did hit him," she quickly clarified. "But it was in self-defense, I swear. I was walking and I got hung up on a tree branch or something. When I pulled myself free, I walked through some bushes and there were these two boys. One of them was Sven. I didn't get a good look at the other one. He was tall and had dark hair and pointed a gun at me. At first, I didn't even know Sven was there."

Fingers tangled in the bottom of her braid, Iselle gave the braid a sharp jerk as she spoke. "They both had guns, and the other boy pointed his at me. I didn't think. I just swung the walking stick I had and I hit him. When I did, something caught my eye and it was Sven. He looked at me and I looked at him. I went to apologize. It was an accident and I was scared. But when he saw it was me, when he looked right at me...."

She took a shuddering breath as she recalled the moment she and Sven made eye contact. "He looked *right* at me and pulled the trigger." Iselle finally made direct eye contact with her teammates as she stopped in front of Kathryn. "He tried to kill me."

Releasing the braid, Iselle wrapped her arms around her torso and hugged herself. "Sven looked at me and tried to shoot me in cold blood. I...I don't know." She shrugged awkwardly and resumed pacing. "I swung at him with my walking stick. I swung hard. I meant to hit him, hurt him. I wanted to stop him," she confessed in a soft voice. "So I swung at him and his gun like I was swinging for the fences and then I ran."

Several steps away from Alda and Kathryn, she stopped and stood still. It was now or never. They were either going to believe her or not. "Yes, I hit him but I didn't kill Sven. I *didn't*. He was alive when I left him, I swear it."

Iselle stood and waited for their judgment.

[Arscapi†]

Kathryn stood for a moment trying to figure out what to deal with first. Iselle was the obvious first choice. "Hey, hey, easy," Kathryn said in a calming voice. "I knew it had to be something like that. I knew that you wouldn't kill someone on purpose. Sounds like it was all his fault, he's dated one of us long enough to know that you should surprise a softball player. What was he thinking, threatening you anyway? Besides you don't need to worry about that now, Alda and I are here and we're going to look out for each other."

She pulled Iselle into another quick and then turned towards Alda. "How did you not hear about Sven? What were you doing sleeping," she asked. Glancing around, she remembered poor James that who was probably feeling totally out of place with all this team drama.

Stepping away from her teammates she smiled. "Guys, this is James. We met up the first day. I woke up literally in the middle of nowhere and James came strolling down the path. He got the game of Clue, so that's what we spent most of yesterday doing. What'd you guys get weapon or fake weapon wise? I got a rifle, which looks impressive, but I have no idea how to use it."