Living In The Aftermath

[xylophonefairy†]

Acacia put a hand on Roman's non-injured shoulder, pushing him gently back to the ground, her face had gone white with shock. John had run off, and she had to fight the urge to run after him. Coward. No, she would get him later. Patting the gun that she had at some point hooked back into the waistband of her trousers, she watched his retreating back with such a feeling of hate that she felt almost sick. Deep down, she knew that he was scared, they were all scared, and fear made people do crazy things, but that was suppressed by another thought. You're not the only one with a gun. And if he dies, I will hunt you down and kill you.

He's not going to die. If she kept saying it, then it would be true.

Fortunately someone else, someone who's name was eluding her but that she knew she would be eternally grateful for, was helping. They had come flying from the same direction as John, which probably meant they were affiliated with each other. But that didn't matter. There would be time for confrontation and answers later, right now she had to make sure that Roman lived a little longer. Just a little bit longer. He'd shown her how to use the gun, been her company for three days solid, and sort of been her protector. He couldn't die!

"Stay with us," Acacia said desperately, not knowing where it had come from. That was the sort of thing people said in really bad action movies. Usually followed with... "You're going to be fine, we're gonna make everything okay?" Where was this shit coming from. Possibly the last things Roman would ever hear and she was talking such utter crap. Just then, Simon Telamon appeared. She barely registered his presence, barely questioned the fact that he'd gotten there really not very long after they had last seen him slumped against the outer wall of the Hall of Mirrors.

"John fucking Smith shot him," Acacia said shrilly inresponse to his question, not turning away from Roman. Where had his surname come from? Minutes ago she'd barely remembered his first name, let alone his second one. Perhaps the adrenaline that was coursing through her system, raising her heart rate and making her sweat, was also improving her memory capabilities. She looked at Jojo and continued speaking without taking a breath. "What do we do?" she demanded.

[Whirlpool531†]

Jojo was about to answer Acacia until Roman suddenly started trying to get up, screaming while doing so. Jojo tried to lighten the pressure he was putting on Roman without completely ruining his efforts to start the clotting process.

"I'm sorry it hurts but I've got to keep the pressure on your arm. You just took a hit from a shotgun and we need your arm to start clotting." He tried to say that as calmly as he could but wasn't sure if he was convincing. Trying to address everyone, Jojo continued, "Listen, lets get him onto a bed, theres a bunkhouse right down this way. Acacia, gather the packs you and this guy had and start moving them in. Dig through his packs for any clean clothes and make one of the beds up using them. Whoever you are who I'm trying to save, if you get up you need to help me keep your left shoulder raised as we move you. New guy who just came in, help me support him as we move. If there are no objections lets get to it!"

[BetaKnight]

Roman could feel other hands trying to keep him down. He had no choice but to stop fighting them. His attempt to get up had used up what was left of his reserves. He was so tired. It was all he could do to try and lower himself back to the ground rather than simply giving up and crashing face first again.

And when did it get so cold? The night had been fairly temperate a little while ago which had left his shirt and face damp with sweat. Now though, he would swear that God had turned the world's A/C up to 'artic circle' setting on them. He couldn't fight the shivers that were beginning to wrack him.

He could hear voices around him although he couldn't really make out anyone's features without his glasses. His mother had always warned him that if he continued be lazy and wear his glasses while working on his models or the computer that his eyesight would get worse. Where the hell are my glasses, anyway?

Ignoring the glasses issue for now, he tried of concentrate on the voices. Immediately, he recognized Acacia's voice. After all, they'd been travel buddies for several days now. He tried to smile but the gesture came across as more of a grimace than anything else. She was being so nice, reassuring him that he was okay.

Wait, what was that?

He was shot? John Smith had shot him? Seriously? He really was shot? Why? He hadn't done anything to anyone. John shot him because he had yelled about the bug?

Oh God. The bug. Roman's heart skipped a beat as the significance of what had happened hammered down on him. He got shot because he yelped like a little girl about a bug stuck to his face. He was never gonna live that down. *Alex* would never let him live that down. She couldn't find out about it. She just couldn't.

" 'Cacia," he ground out, blindly reaching towards the shape that sounded like the cheerleader. " 'Cacia, I've been shot? You can't tell Alex I've been shot," he pleaded, realizing how lame this whole thing sounded. "Not over a bug. She'll never stop making fun of me. When we find her, say I was protecting you or something. Just don't metion the bug. Please."

One of the other people-shaped blobs giving everyone orders. Roman found himself nodding, agreeing with everything that blob man said. "Oh-okay," he said shakily as another series of fine tremors ran thorough his body. It just kept getting colder and colder. Moving indoors to a bed was sounding more brilliant by the second. "Help you keep my arm up. I'll try. Are we moving on three? A countdown would be helpful, so we can move together."


((whoever's going to undertake the actual moving, please feel free to GM Roman into the buildilng))

[decoy73]

((GMing of Roman Jackson and Joss Joiner approved by BetaKnight and Whirlpool531))

"John fucking Smith shot him." Acacia replied as she urged Roman to stay conscious before asking the other guy for advice. Then the new guy barked out directions:

"Listen, let's get him onto a bed, there's a bunkhouse right down this way. Acacia, gather the packs you and this guy had and start moving them in. Dig through his packs for any clean clothes and make one of the beds up using them. Whoever you are who I'm trying to save, if you get up you need to help me keep your left shoulder raised as we move you. New guy who just came in, help me support him as we move. If there are no objections let's get to it!" Simon nodded as he picked up Roman's right shoulder, remembering Roman's request.

"Okay: one, two, three, UP!" Simon counted as he and Jojo lifted Roman into a standing position, with Roman raising his left arm with assistance from Jojo to slow the bleeding, walking steadily in the direction that Jojo indicated.

Funny. I find the girl he's looking for, to then find out that he's not okay. They walked through the work area to the bunkhouses, laying Roman down in the first bed that they saw, with Jojo keeping pressure on the wound as Roman lay down.

"Is there anything else we can do? I know a little first aid, so we might be able to clean and plug the wound up a little more."

[xylophonefairy†]

" 'Cacia, I've been shot? You can't tell Alex I've been shot. Not over a bug. She'll never stop making fun of me. When we find her, say I was protecting you or something. Just don't mention the bug. Please."

Acacia chewed on her bottom lip to stop it from trembling, and shook her head. Her heart was filled with momentary hope as apparently he remembered what had happened. It was also filled with longing. She was rarely called 'Cacia in Minnesota, it was something that had been lost with her childhood, something associated with those long Indiana summers that encompassed her earliest memories. Of her friends whose names she could barely remember, Vicky something? Why hadn't she stayed in touch with Vicky? Perhaps she was on facebook.

Jojo was giving her instructions, and through a haze of reminiscence, Acacia tried to listen, nodding dutifully. She patted the hand that had been on Roman's shoulder as Jojo and Simon went to move him.
"I promise," she said as she moved out of the way, looking around through slightly blurred eyes for their bags. Hers was over by the desk where she'd made her imaginary phone call. Roman's was close by him, and she had to gently extract the strap from where it had fallen beneath him. Just as they started the lifting, Acacia remembered her job and rushed ahead into the bunkhouse, spreading a couple of shirts on the nearest bed seconds before they deposited him there.

Somehow the fact that he'd been moved made it seem less like he was going to die instantaneously. She didn't know how to deal with the island without him there. Fumbling in her pocket, she reached for his glasses and pushed them haphazardly onto his face.
"Here," she said, trying to straighten them. "I got your glasses."

[Whirlpool531†]

Jojo was relieved that moving the injured boy went well, still there was much left to be done. Jojo looked up to Simon while holding a shirt to Roman's shoulder.

"Ok we'll clean the wound in a bit after we're sure it has clotted." he looked down at Roman next, "Are you feeling any better? Do you want some bread or water?"

Addressing everyone now, "Alright, theres not much we can do after this. We can rest for a while after this is done, share our stories and decide what we're going to do. I don't have any hatred for any of you so if the feelings are similar we can stay together. Oh, I guess we can start with names for now, I'm Joss Joiner, but I prefer Jojo."

(If there isn't anything big left, lets make this round of posts our last one before we timeskip this topic into Day 4.)

[BetaKnight]

Roman groaned as he took up position on the bed, trying not to move his left arm. The burning in his arm and side was starting to turn into an insistent throbbing. He inhaled the smell of the bed, its musty scent not terribly dissimilar to the dirt outside. Strangely, he found the smell sort of comforting, familiar. Like the beds at his uncle's cabin. He tried to will his body to relax as the others tried to help him.

He was so relieved that Acacia agreed to keep the particulars of this situation from Alex. If his sister found out what happened, she would spread the story around the island like wildfire. Roman was so concerned about Alex that he almost missed John's question. "No, I'm good, thanks," he responded with a small shake of his head.

Roman was still paying attention when John went and introduced himself as Jojo. Well, at least he knew for sure who was helping him. Jojo must have been a real stand-up guy to have stuck around despite the gunfire to help him out. It was very reassuring to know that, despite the situation they were all stuck in, there were some people still out there who were being decent human beings. Maybe Alex had gotten lucky like he had and was with some really awesome and good people who were keeping her safe.

Dropping his head back down onto the bed, Roman inhaled the scent of laundry detergent and the musty mattress. His eyes felt so heavy. He was going to close them, but just for a minute. He only needed to rest for a second.

A few breaths later, Roman Jackson was sleeping.

[xylophonefairy†]

Acacia watched, biting her lip anxiously, as Roman drifted off to sleep. He looked... peaceful. More peaceful than he had done in all the time that she'd really known him, that was, the last four days they'd spent on Craphole Island. Jojo had suggested that they introduced themselves to each other, which she agreed internally was a good idea if they were going to start spending any significant amount of time with each other. Though here, every hour is significant. Every hour could be yor last...

"I'm Acacia Salinger," Acacia said, trrying to inject sometime of a note of enthusiasm into her voice. She couldn't remember if she'd already introduced herself to Simon back at the Hall of Mirrors; as she'd known his name she'd just assumed that he would have known hers in return. That was the way it should be, though she knew that that didn't always happen at school, at least usually it was the other way round. Being a cheerleader brought her good exposure. Acacia indicated the sleeping form on the bed.

"And that's Roman Jackson," she said on his behalf, noting suddenly that she felt very sleepy. She looked around for a bed that looked vaguely acceptable, and picked the one behind the door, figuring that should a gun wielding maniac burst in she'd have time to find her own gun and shoot them before they could spot her and shoot her instead. Which was, she realised, basically the opposite of altruism, and kept her thoughts to herself.

"We should, you know, keep a watch," Acacia said, vaguely indicating the door and windows. "I have a gun we can use for protection, but I'd, like, rather we didn't have to use it."

[decoy73]

"Okay, we'll clean the wound in a bit after we're sure it has clotted. Are you feeling any better? Do you want some bread or water?" Roman didn't respond, rather he quickly fell asleep.

"Alright, theres not much we can do after this. We can rest for a while after this is done, share our stories and decide what we're going to do. I don't have any hatred for any of you so if the feelings are similar we can stay together. Oh, I guess we can start with names for now, I'm Joss Joiner, but I prefer Jojo." Simon chuckled a little before Acacia spoke up.

"I'm Acacia Salinger, and that's Roman Jackson," Acacia motioned over to the guy on the bed (although Simon already knew their names, it was mostly due to his misadventure at the Hall of Mirrors). "We should, you know, keep a watch. I have a gun we can use for protection, but I'd, like, rather we didn't have to use it."

Simon's eyebrows went up momentarily when Acacia said that, mainly because he hadn't noticed that Acacia had been holding a revolver (specifically, an FN .357 Barracuda) back at the Hall of Mirrors, which was currently tucked into her pants. Of course, she was actually willing to share the gun, rather than use it just because she could (cough, Nick LeMonde, cough). Still, keeping watch seemed like a good idea, and a gun would nominally scare off any attackers (Simon hadn't thought about it, but most was a better word than any - people like Reiko Ishida, Maxwell Lombardi and Clio Gabriella, who were either leading in kills or in the process of doing so, weren't going to be scared off by such).

"I'm Simon Telamon. Unfortunately, they gave me a key, which I'm hoping has a corresponding lock somewhere on the island, although I've had no luck so far in finding it. Anyway, having a watch sounds like a good idea, and I know guns a little as well," Simon introduced himself. "Boy Scout," he quickly added. It seemed weird, but at Bayview, he never mentioned the gun fact because he was afraid he might have been seen as a weirdo if anybody had heard out of the blue that Simon Telamon knew about guns. Here, that might count even more against him without some decent justification.

[Whirlpool531†]

The rest of the third day quickly passed for the four of them. As they watched over Roman, they shared what they wanted to share about their own struggles on the island. Jojo talked about his start and how he along with Jay, John, and Sunil had found Maria murdered by Jackie Broughten. He skimmed over the fact he was out of it on the journey to the Sawmill, not wanting to be seen as a liability, and ended with the statement of his goal being to find Jay.

After their brief story-time, they all agreed to take shifts that night watching the others. They agreed to bring Roman up to speed whenever he woke up and just let him rest. Jojo explained his plan to find some wood and make some make-shift weapons using the sawblades. As he searched for a big enough piece of lumber for a weapon, he found a sledgehammer. Not seeing or hearing anyone nearby, he quickly took it back to their camp as the day came to a close.

------ DAY 4 BEGINS ------

The night quickly and uneventfully passed for them. Jojo was on the last shift, as the loudspeakers began to creak and moan in preparation for an announcement he woke the others up. He listened tensely as Danya went over the last day's slayings, only relaxing when it finished and Jay was still absent from it. He didn't feel like chatting everyone up, he just took out some of the bread from the rations, drank some water with it, and just thought how he really wished he brought some food for the trip after all.

[BetaKnight]

Roman shifted slightly and winced as Jojo woke him. His entire left side throbbed in time with the pounding in his head. A deep, nagging ache was building behind his eyes. His sleep had been fitful and punctuated with dreams of Alex. Horrible, terrible images of death and destruction. In every scenario, she had called out to him, begging him to help her. Save her. He hadn't moved fast enough and every time she paid the price.

Listening to their "host", his heart was in his throat as the list of the fallen was recited. He swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes closed against battered, bloody image of his sister. Thankfully, her name was not uttered. He knew that he should feel ashamed at the fact that others were dead, but he didn't. He could only feel a sense of restless relief that, so far, his sister was fine.

Gathering his energy, Roman took a few deep breaths. Mind over matter, buddy. It's all mind over matter. He knew what he had to do. He had let himself get distracted from his original goal. It was time to get back to it. It was time to go find Alex.

With movements that made a turtle look speedy, Roman incrementally levered himself into a sitting position. The action left him a little short of breath and covered in a fine sweat. He could feel the slowly spreading wetness as the moisture rolled down his skin. At least, he prayed that it was just sweat and not his injuries continuing to seep and weep. Not that any of that mattered. Finding Alex was all that mattered.

The hard part finished, he shakily stood. For a moment, he feared that his legs would not support him, that he would have to climb to his feet again, but his body did not betray him. Taking this as an encouraging sign, he looked at Acacia, Jojo, and Simon. "Thanks for taking care of me, guys. I really appreciate it. But I have to go now. I..."

Roman trailed off, looking towards the door as he absently wiped his brow. He winced as the action made his left side pull. Alex was out there somewhere. She was waiting for him. He had to go find her. Reaching down with a hiss, he awkwardly grabbed his bag. "I have to go. Thanks for everything, but I have to go now. My sister needs me."

Flashing Acacia an apologetic smile, Roman walked out the door. Somewhere, Alex was waiting for him. He could feel it. He could feel her. He had to go find her.

((Roman Jackson continued in Instinct))

[xylophonefairy†]

Acacia had barely slept, taking more turns on watch than she probably should, partly out of possesiveness towards her gun and partly out of the fact that she couldn't sleep anyway. She had just drifted off into a dreamless sleep when the announcement crackled into life around them and the others started wakening too. Sitting up too quickly she clutched her head in her hands to stop the room spinning, seeing as it came back into focus that Roman was trying to make his getaway. And, for the most part, succeeding.

"Fuck," Acacia blurted, scrambling to her feet. She hoped her Dad wasn't watching, he always hated it when she swore. He would then generally go on to blame the Minnesota state schooling system, though Acacia had never thought that was quite fair. With a bullet in his shoulder, Roman was making remarkable progress in his escape from the sawmill, apparently the night's sleep had done him some good. It was the most comfortable one they'd had so far at any rate, and getting up was difficult no matter how bad the night's sleep had been, but when Roman smiled, almost guiltily she thought, at her as he left her brain suddenly sprang into action, and the relative softness of the bed was forgotten.

Scrambling to her feet, her head span from lack of eating as she searched round for her belongings. How had they gotten so spread out? She took a quick inventory, grabbing her gun, the clothes she'd put on the bed to make it slightly more palatable (if she ever made it off the island, well, they were quite nice clothes!), the bottle of water and her watch which were on the little bedside table, her torch which had fallen behind it. By the time she had found them all, Roman had actually left and was making slow progress. Grabbing her bag and jumper, Acacia flew after him.

"How on Earth did you think you were going to get anywhere without one of us?" she said rhetorically, slightly breathless from the sudden exertion. She rooted around in her bag for some bread, that short run should not make her tired in the slightest. Finding her loaf, she pulled off two slices, offering one to Roman. "In case you had forgotten," she said, taking a bite out of it and swallowing painfully before she had chewed, "you still have a hole in your shoulder."

((Acacia Salinger continued in Instinct))

[decoy73]

Simon's day in the Sawmill had been ... up and down. On the one hand, he'd actually gotten to substantially eat and sleep outside of standing watch (and an uneventful one at that). On the other hand, the key he had gotten didn't match any lock he'd found, and to top it off, Clio Gabriella was back on the list of "top killers." He had started the game with the intent of joining up with her, and now, well, the reunion, if it happened, would be a little uneasy at best. He'd shared this small fact (before the announcements, of course), and now it was ...

"I have to go. Thanks for everything, but I have to go now. My sister needs me." Roman started to walk off.

Wait a minute. Roman got shot. Not "the shot got blocked by an object I was wearing" shot, but full-out shot in the shoulder. They hadn't even managed to remove the bullet yet (Simon didn't realize it, but there was no reason for anybody to remove the bullet - in fact, it may even be to Roman's benefit to not remove the shot - too many movies). Simon, well he didn't run (mainly because he didn't have to - Roman wasn't moving that quickly), but he definitely booked it to where Roman and Acacia were (not before taking a nice swig of water - if you feel thirsty, it's probably too late).

"How on Earth did you think you were going to get anywhere without one of us? In case you had forgotten, you still have a hole in your shoulder."

"Uh, yeah. What she said. Not to mention, out of all of us, Acacia's the only one with any weapon that qualifies as useful."

((Simon Telamon continued in Meet Again))

[Whirlpool531†]

Jojo scrambled to get everything together as Roman started to leave. It took him a little longer partly due to his tiredness, partly due to having a new 10lb sledgehammer to lug around. As he caught up to them, he heard Simon's remark and wondered how useful the sledgehammer would be in a battle. At the least, he figured it was better than trying to use his fists against a knife or something. He continued to follow the others as he pondered their situation while hoping they'd find Jay too.

((Joss Joiner continued in Instinct.))