The Fourth Announcement

[Megami†]

Five long, harsh days on the island had had a profound impact on almost everybody in the area.  Everybody, that is, except for Mr. Danya and his entourage of terrorists.  Now, the slightly heavy man once again sat in the plush chair of his office, preparing once again to make an announcement concerning the fates of the children on the island.  Day four hadn't been particularly impressive, by any means.  The storm had been a large deterrent in killing, it seemed.  However, Danya couldn't help but be overjoyed that he was finally back home.  His trip hadn't been a pleasant one, needless to say.

The rain had finally come to a halt on the island after two long days, although the clouds had yet to completely disappear.  Instead of pouring rain, the entirety of the island was now covered in a dense fog, making it hard for even the cameras stationed around the island to catch a glimpse of the action that could've been going on.  Danya grimaced slightly.  How was the viewing audience at home supposed to enjoy the show when they couldn't see it?  Still, perhaps it was better that way, for now.  The intense winds of the thunderstorm that had billowed through had knocked many of the cameras loose, if not shut them down completely.  What an utter nuisance.

"Mr. Danya, s-sir?" the trembling voice of Dorian spoke up, throwing Danya from his reverie.

"What do you want, Dorian?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, sir, but we're having problems with the cameras again.  We're getting nothing but static from most of them.  The only ones picking up signal are the ones inside the buildings.  Nearly all of the outdoor cameras are down."

"And?" Danya interjected carelessly.

"W-well sir... we're working on getting the links back up, but... but I think some of them are gonna have to be fixed from the island itself."

Danya shrugged lightly, "So why're you telling me this, Dorian?  If that's what needs to be done, assemble a team and do it.  You're good with computers, aren't you?  Go yourself."

"Sir?"

Dorian tried to hide the fact that he was trembling visibly.  He didn't even want to participate in this hellish program.  Not after the first one.  Now, Danya was trying to send him out onto the island to fix camera signals.  It was like the man was signing his own death sentence with not a care in the world.  It made Dorian angry, but he was resigned to his fate.  He let out a light sigh.  Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad.  He could assemble a team of soldiers and head out under the cover of the fog.

"Get a move on," Danya huffed, "I've got an announcement to make, you know.  You're taking up valuable time."

"Yes sir.  Sorry sir.  I'll be heading out shortly to fix the cameras."

~~~

"Good morning, boys and girls!" five days in a row, the same greeting had blared through the PA systems spread across the island.  The rain had messed with the speakers a bit, making the announcement scratchy, but still audible, "I take it you're all glad to see that the storm is finally over.  Then again, with all that fog out there, I bet it's pretty hard to see much of anything, isn't it?  Well, let's get on with it, then.  Fourteen people died over the course of yesterday, which isn't tremendous, I must admit.  Still, I guess I can cut you guys a little bit of slack, the weather was pretty bad.  First on the list of the dead is Annabelle Buchannon.  Apparently, Miss Buchannon got fed up with the game and decided to hang out in the Industrial District till we blew her up.  Pity."

"Second to die was Russ Gofis.  Our infamous Boy #2 had the right idea when it came to Mr. Gofis, and simply used him as an expendable asset.  It seems they were looking for supplies in the mall before it became a dangerzone when Mr. Gofis got pinned under a shelf.  His allies left him for dead.  At least they left him a gun, so Russell shot himself rather than allowing his collar to be detonated.  Number three to die was Adam Amato.  He found himself on the wrong side of Brandon Cuthbert's shotgun, it seems.  Fourth to die was Brandon Cuthbert, who was killed by Sera Wingfield right after offing Adam Amato.  Fifth to die was Edgar Judah.  What a pity, after having his brother on the last show, I was almost rooting for little Edgar.  He was killed by Dan Johnson, who injected air into his heart with a syringe.  I hear that's painful."

"Moving right along, number six was Andrew Ponikarovsky.  Apparently, Mr. Ponikarovsky hijacked a car on the island and was aimlessly driving around... at least till he nearly hit a student on the expressway and rolled the vehicle in an attempt to avoid her.  The accident, of course, killed him.  What a complete idiot.  He should've just ran her over.  Then, not only would he still be alive, but he would've gotten credit for her death!  Number seven to die was Alex Ovechkin who was shot with his own gun by Mariavel Varella.  Miss Varella proceeded to finish off Rupert Stockton next, giving her two kills for the day.  Ninth to die?  Alice Nichols, eliminated from the competition by Roland Kelly.  Number ten was Shae Arnav, axed by Bryan Calvert while trying to cannibalize one of the island's many corpses.  Eleventh to die was Steven Smith.  Mr. Smith died at the hands of Matthew Drew.  Congratulations on your first kill, Mr. Drew!  Twelfth down was Andrew Swainson, offed by Peter Rosenthal for being at the wrong place at the wrong time and walking in on something very... shall we say, intimate.  Last, but not least, killed by Mr. Damien Carter-Madison, the final student to die yesterday was Eli McConnell."

Danya sighed lightly.  This game was going to rival the first one in tems of length, it seemed.  Slowly but surely, though, it was getting down to the wire.  He supposed it was time to start fencing them in.

"Now then... dangerzones.  The residential district, industrial area, and the mall are now cleared and you can once again access them.  This time, though, we're going to have a whopping five dangerzones, and they'll be permanent.  What's that mean, kids?  That means we're getting down to the wire here.  From now on, the mansion ruins, the mountain ranch, the wheat field, the cliffs, and the farmhouse will no longer be accessible to any of you.  If you're there, I'd suggest clearing out immediately, and don't plan on coming back."

A light smirk passed over his face.  He'd force them all into the center of the island.  It was sure to be a bloodbath.

"Just one last thing.  It's prize time for a very lucky little person out there on the island!  Boy #12, we like your work!  We like your work very, very much!  Head on over to the marina and pick up your prize! ... Well children, I suppose that's all for today.  I expect you to rack up quite the count today.  Not only has it stopped raining, but you've got the cover of fog to work under, so get to murdering the competition.  About half of you remain, and with every one that dies, you increase your own chances of survival.  Remember that.  Good luck, kids!  Keep on keepin' on, and all that jazz!"

With that, Danya shut off the public access system and rested his head in his hands.  Dorian just had to ruin his victorious return with that bad news about the cameras.  Still, what the students didn't know wouldn't hurt them.  Besides, they'd be sending a team to take care of the downed cameras soon enough.  It was just a matter of getting the links back up and seeing which cameras were actually out...

~~~

First and foremost, congratulations to CycoKiller for winning this month's best kill award.  Also, congratulations to Leo for winning this month's best death.  Leo's got her choice of a multitude of different handler-oriented prizes, if she chooses to accept them.  Bryan's weapon will be rolled later today and presented when he heads to the marina to pick it up.  The only other thing to go over is rolls, so I'll get to it.  Mitsuko did the day five rolls for us, and the characters rolled were: Mihiro Duli, Walter Smith, Lee-Ann Collier, Ali Grayston, and An Linh Tuan.  Rights to inactives Lee-Ann and An Linh have already been given away.  Mihiro's handler seems to have disappeared, so if we don't see anything from them in the next three days, Mihiro's death will also be up for grabs.  Any and all handlers wishing to use their swap card, or any handlers volunteering to use their hero card, need to let me know ASAP please.  Slowly but surely, we're winding V2 down.  As always, thanks for your patronage!