Pitstop

[ViolentMedic]

((Lillian 'Lily' Caldwell continued from Would You Believe? This Isn't Me.))

Lily didn't feel comfortable in the asylum. Too much noise. Too many bodies. And Tina's killer could still be roaming around in there. But every other building she saw in that area on the map looked too small.

She was also afraid of the bridge. What if Mitch was still there? So she started wandering the long way around. Looking for... something. Somewhere to hide.

She didn't see anyone on her way to the shoreline. Perhaps because night was falling. Or perhaps because the shoreline was long, and with lots of rocks and sand. That's what she needed. Somewhere distinctive enough that she'd remember the location, but that it wouldn't stand out.

She had to climb carefully over some rocky outcrops before jumping down into the sand. Once she reached the sand, she checked around to see if she saw anyone. She didn't. Then she started to dig with her hands.

She had an odd sense of deja vu. Of being in a sandpit, digging up sand so she had more to use for her sandcastle. Connor had knocked her sandcastle over. Lily recalled wailing a lot. She must have been young if she was still doing that. Now she dug, and she planned.

She dug a hole. Then she retrieved her belongings, pulling out the bag she'd taken on the science trip. Empty but for some tissues and a sweater. Lily put two bottles of water—one partially drained—two protein bars and a box of crackers into the bag. She also pulled out the notepad and old pencils and put them in the schoolbag too. Then she checked through the first aid kit, wondering what she'd be more likely to need.

After consideration, she stashed some bandages, closure strips, dressing, antiseptic wipes, adhesive tape, the scissors, tweezers and lighter in her old school bag. It was risky not to bring the whole thing, but the box was made of metal. It was tiring her out, and she needed to look at what she'd be most likely to need if she got hurt.

Everything but her schoolbag and sweater went back into the bag the terrorists had assigned, and that went into the hole she'd dug. She pushed the sand back in, then flattened it out as best she could.

She put some rocks over where she'd buried her stuff, then reconsidered and pulled them out, before laying the rocks out in a place some five feet to the left instead. Just in case someone saw the oddly cohesive pattern and started digging.

Now she wouldn't be weighed down. If she picked up anything else, she could move it here.

By now it was dark. Lily pulled on her sweater, covering most of the specks of blood on her dress, before backing up closer to the rocks. It'd be uncomfortable, but she was sure most of the others would be sleeping in buildings. She was sure no-one would go looking for prey on the beach.

Even so, she tucked herself as close to the rocks as she could, and hoped no-one would climb over the rocks and look down. She pulled her legs up, stretching the sweater over them in an attempt to keep her entire body warm.

It wasn't working.

-

She didn't sleep well. She nodded off a lot, only to wake up at every tiny noise. Which, given that the ocean was right there, little waves lapping on the sand nearby, was a lot. She kept waking up, dazed and terrified, before falling asleep again.

She might have dreamed about being chased. Or maybe that was just general fear.

If she stayed awake for more than a few minutes, her mind drifted to Tina. Whenever it did, Lily tried thinking about other things. About what she'd do tomorrow. About what she needed, and what she could do without. When that failed, she started counting sheep. She did everything she could to keep herself distracted.

Once the sunrise peeked over the horizon, causing the sea to look unfairly beautiful given the circumstances, Lily gave up on any more sleep. Instead, she retrieved the crackers from her bag and the partially drained bottle of water, and started eating.

When the sun was higher, she put away the empty bottle—just in case—and pulled out her notepad and pencil. She counted sheep again, trying to keep her mind off what was coming while at the same time waiting for it.

When the sun was a little higher, the announcements happened. Lily was ready, and she scribbled down what she heard.

She tried to stay objective about it, but... the announcement was...

Jennifer Su and Joshua Bracewell had both tutored her when she was behind in her classes. And Scarlett... Scarlett was her friend. Better friends with Lizzie—had she been introduced to Scarlett via Lizzie, or did she only remember it that way because she associated the two—but Scarlett was friendly, chatty and sometimes they traded book recommendations. Lily couldn't imagine Scarlett starting a fight...

And there was Tina, but... she already knew that.

And there were the killers.

She wasn't surprised by Alvaro, though there was this uncomfortable lump in her throat when she heard it all the same. Less that he'd killed someone, oddly—perhaps because Barry wasn't known to her—but because he'd lied to her face about it. Although she supposed she'd only directly asked about Min-Jae, but even so...

Jasmine Reed was on there. That made Lily feel kind of chilly. That situation in the library only didn't explode because Coleen intervened. If Coleen hadn't been there, would Lily have taken Joshua's place on that list? Had Jasmine already been ready to snap? (Although, her weapon had been a hammer, not a sword...)

And the only double killer. But more importantly, the girl who'd murdered Tina. Isabel Ramirez. Now Lily had a name to go with that horrible grin. And now that she thought about it, the name set off memories. Not personal interactions, but Lily associated her with rumors. The nasty ones designed to destroy a person's reputation.

She killed Tina. She killed Tina and Conrad. The first to kill, and the only one to kill twice. Had there been anyone who'd refused to save Conrad? Who'd refused to save the others that had died? Or was she the only one who was that disgu—pragmatic?

As she scribbled down the last of the names (Jasmine on the killer column, Joshua on the dead column) she heard supply depot noted as the danger zone. ...Wait, that was right next to where she was. Did that count the shore she was on? She hoped not.

She made one more note as they announced best kill. She glanced down at her notes as she grabbed her bag, eyes lingering on the list of killers. What the announcements had implied about them, and in some cases her own personal experience.

Isabel Ramirez – 2, glass shard
Nancy Kyle – hatchet
Kimiko Kao – best kill
Alvaro Vacanti – pushing
Conrad Harrod
Alex Tarquin – slashing weapon
Jasmine Reed – hammer, sword

There were holes there, but it'd do for now. No guns. Maybe if she stayed out of range of anyone—

As she headed for the rocks, her collar started slowly beeping. So it did count as the supply depot.

...Oh god. Why did she decided to sleep somewhere surrounded by steep rocks? Why did she bury most of her things? There were so many things wrong with that. What was she going to do if she needed them before tomorrow? What if she slipped on the rocks on her way out?

Too late now. All she could do was toss her schoolbag up to the top of the rocks before climbing up, feet sliding but not quite losing her grip. She made it, but by the end her hands were getting sweaty. From exertion or fear, she couldn't tell.

All she could do was run. And think. And hope she'd made the right choices so far, because she was suddenly very sure she hadn't.

((Lilian 'Lily' Caldwell continued in This World Belongs to the Mad.))