Dry Oasis

[Aster]

Before James could reply, the speakers came on for the announcement. Veronica groaned and sighed in relief. She had lived to see another day.

The announcer went on to say that they've gotten slow on the killings before moving on to the list of the dead. Veronica listened quietly and attentively to the spiel of her deceased classmates, quietly mourning and getting quite nervous. Most of these kids were ones she'd never heard of before that somehow made it this far before dying. The herd was thinning out, and sooner or later Veronica would be forced into a situation with an experienced killer. She gripped her tire iron in her hand nervously as the man concluded the list.

Then came danger zones. With any luck they'd have to bolt from this place too; just the terrorists' way of shitting with them. Veronica had seen nobody but James for the past two days, and clearly they didn't want that; she and James were clearly just some background characters to be killed off and forgotten, only remembered as being a part of someone's killcount. Sighing, she went over to move the barricade.

"As such, for the remainder of the game, you're all to stick to the north-western, built up section of the island."

Her heart sank.

"That means that the Woodlands, the Nuclear Plant, the Nuclear Living Site, the Airstrip, the Golf Course..."

Shit.

Veronica wasted to time in shoving over the barricade and scooping up her bag. James probably didn't need being told. They've been through this before; the two knew what to do. She glanced down at her map; they were fairly close to an open spot, and they'll probably head over there. She figured that James would follow her lead too.

Without waiting, she dashed out the door, down the hall and into the night. It wasn't raining and fairly clear out; to be honest, it was pleasant weather. Her collar began beeping, and Veronica ran.

((Veronica McDonald continued in Dreams Walk on Powerlines))

[LordB†]

Before James could make it clear that he agreed with Veronica's view on playing, the announcements started again. He listened to the usual readout of names, barely taking in the deaths of his former classmates as he waited for the important section; Danger Zones. He hoped that they'd be able to stay here for  a bit longer, sort out a proper plan for the remainder of the game.

Then they read out half the damn places on the island.

Shit, shit, shit.

James scrambled for his stuff, grabbing his bag as he went for the exit. Veronica had moved much faster than him and was already out of the door. He wasn't too far behind her when he stopped in his tracks and turned back towards the room they'd been talking in.

He'd forgotten the Clue box. His Clue box.

Knocking over a bench, he scooped up the battered cardboard box and ran for the exit as fast as he could. James had no idea how much time he had before his collar blew, so he sprinted faster into the night. He could just make out Veronica leaving the area some way ahead of him and ran after her. She seemed to be going much faster than him and didn't look back. James' collar began to beep as he rushed ahead into the dark, trying to keep up with his only friend on the island. He began to panic.

Don't you leave me, don't you fucking leave me here!

((James Wade continued in Life's a Beach))