À Tout le Monde

[Sunnybunny]

Thomas and Zach shouted about their feelings, while Sakurako stuffed hers down, down, so deep that when Zach swung with weapon in hand...

She was a slient witness to the awful proceedings.

Her hero became a victim of all that nonsense, shoving Tomtom out of the way and likely saving his life. The billhook penetrated Sean's face, impact and momentum knocking him flat on his back.

Yes, she was teary-eyed. No, that didn't matter right now.

"Sean, did it go all the way through? Do you need stitches? If someone can get me needle and like, fishing line I think I can do that, I've done a bit of patch work and it can't be that hard, right?"

Calm, practical hysteria.

This was fine. This was fixable. When she'd needed it the most, Sean and Thomas had saved her so of course, this was when she paid it back and then they...

"Someone bring me a fucking medkit for fuck's sake!"

She couldn't be emotional, pissed off, furious just yet.

[Catche Jagger]

Zach didn’t run off like Thomas had hoped, nor did he break down crying in another pitiful display. No, Zach went on the attack, whipping out that weapon of his and swinging it at Thomas.

Before he could properly react, Thomas felt something slam into him, pushing him out of the way of the blade and causing him to stumble backward, though he retained his footing.

A lot of information all at once. Sean was one the ground. Blood. Noise.

Thomas’s hand went for the gun again. He was angry, furious. He hadn’t stopped anything.

Pulling out the pistol and aiming it right for Zach, Thomas’s actions were only brought to a halt as Sakurako’s words cut through the haze.

The boy found himself frozen once more, as two conflicting commands met in his head and left his mind in a state of blankness, the air trapped in his lungs releasing in what sounded like a grunt.

Help Sean. Kill Zach.

And there was no doubt that the intent was to kill Zach. Not to disarm, not to frighten or maim. Had he pulled the trigger, that was murderous intent.

Helping Sean. Fuck, he just saved you. Greater value overall.

Wordlessly, face still twisted with rage, Thomas got down and quickly sifted through the nearest bag and roughly handed Sakurako the medical kit within.

“I don’t… I don’t ever… Go the fuck away!” Thomas shouted, more howled, turning back to Zach, waving his gun at the piece of crap.

Thomas felt tears on his cheeks, but tried his hardest to ignore them, determined to keep his eyes and his gun trained on Zach.

[Ryuki]

Zach was stunned by what had just happened. So much so in fact, he hadn’t noticed Thomas had pointed his gun at him. That was short lived however, Sakurako and Thomas were quick to rush to Sean’s aid.

Good going, dipshit! You just brained your best friend after he gave you a second chance.

Zach looked at the billhook in his hand. The funny thing was, there was no blood on the bladed side. Rather the small bloodstain was on the blunt side of the blade. He looked over at Sean, seeing the panicked Sakurako demanding a medkit. Had he just claimed his next victim? And that victim was someone he considered a friend. How could he act so irrationally? He had an opportunity at redemption and he fucked it up.

Before Zach could dwell on it any further, he heard Thomas yell at him again, and had his gun pointed at Zach once more. It’s clear what Zach had to do. But before that, Zach tried to apologize, only for nothing to come out of his moving lips. He backed away slowly, then turned around and quickly made a break for it. In which direction? Anywhere from here, somewhere he could process what he’d done.

(Zachary Beck, continued elsewhere...)

[Ohm]

Sean had been lucky so far in his time here, the most hurt he'd had to go through was the smell of his weapon and the blood at the infirmary. It was nothing compared to the feeling of skin missing and blood trickling down. His stomach churned and he had to fight the hurl.

Sakurako was already at his side screaming for a medkit and asking for needles. Was it that bad? She asked him some questions and he didn't know how to answer them.

"I d-don't know! I-I don't think so?" He couldn't see the damn thing and he'd never been hit that hard before. At best bruises from scuffles with friends and his brother, he'd never had to deal with something like this.

Still, it was nothing compared to what she had to go through with her leg so Sean did his best not to snap.

Thomas, on the other hand. Sean considered it fair game, the guy had to confront him. He had to get angry. And he was still dealing with Zach, same way he's had to deal with other things that had shown up. His hand on the gun, ready to fire. It did not take long for Zach to run.

"Zach? Where are you going?!" He did not stop. He did not turn around to look. He did not say a word as he ran. "Come back!" He was shouting at nothing now, Zach's retreating form long gone at that point. His friends full attention were at his face and the wound that was now there.

Thomas had turned to look at him now that Zach was gone. He had tears in his eyes. Yet, it didn't stop Sean.

"Why! Fuckin'! Why!" It wasn't a lie right? At the cliffs, that couldn't have been lies. He seemed so earnest at the time, was he really that dumb or was there something there. "I could have helped him! Get him to move forward, not back!" Now Zach was out there again. He didn't have a gun anymore, but he still had the sword. Would he fall back to his old ways now that the path forward had been closed? It made Sean bristle.

He was getting better! He had promised to be better. He shook his damn hand and joked with him. He was ready to let that all stay in the past.

But now it had been dragged back and he was gone.

"Why Tom..." He could not stop the tears now from falling. He could only repeat those words as his world came crashing down. "Whyyy..."

[Sunnybunny]

The four of them had become three again, in the worst way possible. While she had her own thoughts on who was to blame for the way things went down, it didn't matter now or yet or maybe ever.

Seeing Zach run hurt, not because she had any particular love for him, but... well, it was two opposite impulses.

He should have stayed, because Sean clearly needed and wanted him to.

He should have stayed, so she could knock the little twerp the fuck out for trying to kill Thomas. The fuck was he thinking?!?

Had he been thinking?

"If you can stick your tongue in the wound from the inside, it cut through. Doesn't look like it, so that's good at least."

Listening to Sean falling apart was dreadful, Sakurako knew she'd hear it in her sleep for days. While her hands dutifully cleaned and gauzed the cut, she looked at Thomas helplessly.

She knew if you put too much heat on when you were frying it would pop and burn you, she just hadn't seen the knob turning. If she saw Zach again, there would be fucking problems... but if Yuka-chan had been in his place, wouldn't she feel like Sean did now?

Well, she and Thomas meant the same to her in different measures, and they knew each other too. This was just a minefield.

Step left, step right, explosions all around.

"Maybe he won't hurt anyone else. Just because things got all screwed doesn't mean what you two meant to each other doesn't matter."

Of course he was going to hurt someone else. But his horrendous lack of self-control wasn't monstrous, just pathetic like most of them were at the end of the day.

The cut was still out in the open, and nothing to stitch meant a thick bandage would have to cover it up. So on it went.

[Catche Jagger]

As Zach finally got a clue and ran off like he should have from the beginning, Thomas finally got the chance to wipe away his tears on his forearm.

It wasn’t over though. Looking back to Sean, bloody and crying, Thomas knew that it was far from over.

Sean just kept asking him why, pleading like Thomas could go and bring Zach back, like there was something reasonable about all of that. No, this was all a mess.

Thomas furrowed his brow and began to rub his forehead, partially to try to focus and partially because looking at Sean finally breaking down would just fuck him up even more and Sean crying already seemed like enough for the three of them.

Sakurako tried to give some token, reassuring answer to Sean’s question. It was kind of her, even kinder was her not digging into Thomas for his part in escalating things. He was grateful for that. He should tell her that. Later.

Still, the words she gave did not represent the world as it obviously was. Zach was not going to get better, maybe he’d be worse now.

But what was Thomas supposed to say? Lie and say that he was wrong and that Zach could have gotten better even though even now he didn’t believe that? Defend himself to someone that was truly in pain now, physically and emotionally?

Should he get into some argument about the uselessness of trying to fix someone like Zach in a place like this. That if Zach had wanted to be better he should have actually done something to show he was genuine rather than feeling bad about the consequences he faced.

Thomas was getting upset again.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

He still couldn’t think of anything to say.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why, Sean. I’m sorry.” Was all he could manage to say, his voice low and quiet as he tried to keep it from cracking.





---





Thomas hadn’t spoken much to Sean in the hour or so since that, though he had tried to help Sakurako however she asked with bandaging Sean up. Now, he sat a bit apart from them, trying to give his longtime companion some space. That was the appropriate thing to do, at least he thought so.

He gazed down at the pistol in his hands, feeling the weight of it, the texture of its surface. He had come so close to killing Zach, not as a reflex, but as a lucid thought. He would have done it. He wanted to do it.

That should’ve meant something, right? That he had wanted to kill another person?

[Ohm]

Thomas had given his own answer. It was weak, he probably knew that judging through hazy eyes as he looked away. Sean knew it, hell, Sakurako probably knew it too. His face was hurting, his friend was running, their comrades were lying around their feet either burned or exploded.

Why?

Why continue? Hope was dying along with their friends and future. Everything they did went their way, this game. What was the point anymore.

He thought he could change them. Talk with them and bring them back to their senses. Maybe get them along with the plan.

It didn't work. It would never work.

Reassurance's were given out by Sakurako. Zach wouldn't hurt anyone, not again. What they had was special. It was nice to hear. A nice delusion for himself to fall into that could assuage the guilt.

It didn't stop the tears from falling.

---

They had patched him up, or rather his face. A bandage to the side. They did their best with what they had, more than he did. He sat there, numbly crying to himself as they worked and went away. Giving him some distance.

It was appreciated, along with the many things they had done for him. It was just a shame he couldn't do that for them. All he could do was burden them now with his baggage.

He still had his bag strapped to him, he hadn't bothered taking it off. They were probably not staying long in this place. Where to then? He did not now, he would leave the planning to them, his friends.

He looked over at them, what mattered now was that they were safe.

He felt his stomach again. The knot had stayed throughout the events and was getting worse. For a second he thought he was gonna shit himself, but then it worked it's way up.

"I need to go. Bathroom." It's all he managed to choke out before he left, his right hand held up against his mouth as he entered a nearby building. He wandered towards a corner indoors before kneeling over, retching.

He hated it. He would always cry when he did this, but it was worse now. A build up of snot had made it's way and made itself know as he hurled the contents of the day onto the floor.

Once he was done, he saw droplets fall down into his mess. Sitting up he spent some time sniffling to himself, rubbing his forearm on his eyes and nose to try and stym the waterfall. He breathed in and out as slowly as he could before standing up to go.

It was then he saw the bag, much like his own. A few steps closer so he could see what was inside as it was partially opened. He could hear his own breathing grow ragged as he stared at it, the number getting etched in his mind.

Quickly, he turned to leave and made a few steps before sounds came nearby and a presence made itself known.

[Sunnybunny]

Sakurako watched Sean go with blurry eyes, resisting the urge to say something to him. He was too much like her, overly permissive of people he cared for, sticking his neck out only to watch everything go off the rails.

But they'd laughed together. Had fun, been on the same page in the same book. This wasn't the end of that, just a rough patch they'd get over.

Scooting along the ground, she rested her body against Thomas's, back to back. Her face was an ugly mess, he saw her like this but couldn't see her like this. It was all so confusing, feelings on a roulette.

"I know you want us to be safe, but you didn't have the right to make that choice for him. Zach's a murderer, and an idiot, but that was still..."

Violet was one thing, but Zach seemed to be someone Sean had a lot of faith in. It was undeserved, but his faith in her, The Plan, the promise of the possibility of escape were equally so, something akin to grace.

"I love you still, but I'm mega pissed at you and I really wish you two had calmed the fuck down and listened. You guys broke his spirit, we gotta fix it somehow."

A sigh, a frown, a bowed head.

"Don't run away from what you did. Not the gun part, he tried to kill you but... you know."

[Catche Jagger]

Soon after Sean started off to handle some business, Thomas felt Sakurako resting her back against his. He smiled just a bit. The boy felt himself relax, something he’d not quite managed since the morning.

Of course, she still let him have it, but in a gentle sort of way, a way that let him not feel like a complete piece of shit over Sean’s current state.

“I’m not… I won’t run away from it. I’m just not sure what to do.” Thomas made sure that his words were quiet and considered. He really wasn’t in a place where he could keep tripping over himself after the day they’d all had.

“I know Sean really cared- cares about Zach and wanted to help him. But… shit, I am sorry and I don’t want this to be me saying that all of it was okay, but just being nice to someone and wanting them to be better doesn’t just make it happen.” The boy snapped his fingers at the end there for emphasis.

“And when it was clear he was already hiding things… I did handle it wrong. I mean, what happened proves that.” He shrugged. He wasn’t particularly emotional in recounting this part, he was just stating what was true.

“I want to make it right, but I also don’t want to lie about the fact that I think Zach was and is, like, a dangerous person to have around. And I feel like if I talk to Sean now, it’ll end up being about that.” He tried to clarify. “I’d feel shitty if I was doing that, like I was treating him like a little kid.”

Pitying him, not treating him with respect.

Would it be like that though? Or are you making this a bigger deal of it in your head?

Maybe he was. Or maybe he was exactly correct.

“I’m sorry to you too, about all that. And the stuff with Violet. I wouldn’t argue against the point that I may have taken the ‘protection’ thing a bit far as a whole.” The sentiment was sincere, even if Thomas wasn’t sure what else he could do.

“And I love you too, in case there was any doubt about that, and I’d gladly take any advice you have on addressing all that stuff I just said.” He was smiling again, even though he probably shouldn’t have been.

[MK Kilmarnock]

There'd been talking, and shouting. It sounded like fighting coming from somewhere nearby.

Screaming and gunshots may as well have been lullabies at this point in the game that they were all playing... and they were playing, because anybody who wasn't was dead. It didn't matter if they were already a corpse or still walking around, they were as good as dead if they didn't want to go along... Aliya was proof of concept.

Benedict was proof of concept too, really, and everybody in between, each of whom had served as a benchmark of progression for coming to understand this lesson. Because of this, everybody still alive was a potential threat simply by virtue of the fact non-threats were being weeded out all the time. At least that brought certainty, the certainty that nothing was safe which was almost more of a comfort than never knowing. For that reason, the screaming and the gunshots, they were more comforting than the silence.

Nonetheless, they meant trouble. Trouble being this close by meant he had to get back before somebody had found the stash.

((Justin Greene, continued from you're nobody till somebody kills you))

Justin kept his back to a wall whenever it was possible to do so. He thought he saw a glimpse of somebody around where the burned house was, fun landmark that... it helped him keep his bearings around this place where all the houses looked the same, if a little nicer than the part of the little village he'd fled from. His biggest fear as he slunk from house to hovel was Ace tracking him down and finding him here, all too eager and able to finish what he started. Justin flinched when he pushed his rear end a little too far back and had it come into contact with the rough siding of the house. His knee buckled for a moment too but he held it together; he could walk, the pain just caught him by surprise. He'd only had enough time to hastily wrap gauze over his jeans, creating a thick band that ran up from his thigh and over his hip, across his ass and back down. Under the cover of darkness he'd need to redress the wound more completely... but that would leave him vulnerable in the process.

Justin made the hollow wish that he'd had a partner in all of this to watch his back, just in time to realize that there was motion in the house... this was the house, right!? He quickly turned his attention to the closest building, taking note of the cross-like marks that had been drawn in with charcoal or something else soot-black. Yeah, this was the house for sure... and somebody was inside. Fuck... his guns were in there! All except the handgun, Nia's gun... but the rifle and his reward, those were both in there, not to mention his other supplies like his medkits and food.

A hand inched along his belt toward the point where he'd stuffed the handgun, but it stopped at the nearest belt loop: guns made far too much noise, and he already knew there were others nearby. Not to mention, while it wasn't a sure bet, but it was possible the people here were working as a group. It'd be another Aliya all over again... Justin would have preferred to avoid trouble until he could get himself fixed, but the risk of losing nearly all of his belongings loomed over his head.

The tire iron which he had been holding out in his right hand, like a stunted version of a blind person's walking stick, was shifted to both hands and he gripped it firmly. One breath in, one breath out. No more hesitation. Hesitation got you killed.

Justin turned the corner through the door and he stepped in, swinging the iron wildly with each step.

[Ohm]

Justin. Fucking. Greene.

Fat dude, liked playing country music, could play the piano pretty well. He was also a serial killer. Sean didn't keep count of how many were dead because of him, but there were enough that shoot on sight was the best option. No talking would help here.

He had burst in with weapon in hand, swinging it around. He was also getting closer.

Without thinking Sean zipped open his bag and grabbed his weapon. He held it out with his right hand as if it were some form of protection. Maybe the smell alone would keep him away. "S-stay back, y'hear!" His voice was as unsteady as his steps that were going backwards, trying to put as much distance between him and Justin.

[MK Kilmarnock]

The kid was further away than Justin had anticipated. Part of him, a very small part of him, felt foolish for swinging once, twice even, at nothing more than thin air. The boy there- Sean, his name was Sean, and he looked pretty banged up from something. The blood was still bright-red looking... a recent wound or a still-bleeding one. Unimportant details in the grand scheme of things, especially when compared to the fact Sean was reaching in his bag for a weapon.

Yeah, well, Justin wasn't having it. No more games, no more fuckups. He'd just have to close the distance and "Whaddahellizthat?" he muttered, unable to stop himself as Sean produced what looked to be a giant spiky dinosaur egg. A giant spiky dinosaur egg that, unless it was just his imagination, spelled like a mixture of pig shit and dirty gym socks.

Seriously, what the fuck WAS that?

Justin cocked his arms back with the tire iron up like Joe DiMaggio ready to swing for the fences, shuffling closer while he led with his left foot.

[Ohm]

The fruit didn't stop him. Not even close. Other than make his face scrunch up like a pig eating shit, which in that case it was success.

"D-didn't you hear?! Stay the fuck away from me!" He was still inching closer, but he was no longer swinging, instead he was keeping it ready for the big one. If he caught him with that, Sean did not think he'd get up again.

He needed to get out of here, back to Thomas and Sakurako. And since the fruit was not gonna stop him.

He threw it at him.

Then he started to run.

[MK Kilmarnock]

The bottom of the ninth, runners on first and third, hey batter batter SWING!

The tire iron was decidedly not a baseball bat and the weird alien spikeball was much heavier than a baseball. The crack of impact, though more of a 'knock' than a crack, was still louder than expected, ringing somewhat hollow as the... giant spiky coconut, or whatever it was, tumbled and rolled quite loudly across the floor. It rested in the corner, not having a whole lot of bounce to it. From there, Sean decided to run, and that's exactly what Justin wanted.

Sean running was not the ideal outcome because Justin had any intentions of letting him get away. He didn't want to kill Sean... but he didn't particularly want to kill anybody except maybe, just in that moment, Jonathan. That was passion talking, just once overtaking nerves and stress and just wanting to come out of this alive. For as much as he didn't want to kill Sean, he needed Sean dead because that was how he was going to get himself out of this. And running meant the boy didn't want to fight back. That was fine. Justin would set up on the backswing and lunge wildly for Sean's knees instead.

He couldn't let him leave the house... if he let Sean leave, he could get the attention of the others, turning a situation that Justin had relatively under control into... well, not that.

[Ohm]

It seemed like a good idea. It was better to have one of them deal with it, they have guns. Sean just had a shitty fruit that now laid in a corner. Meanwhile his face was now getting intimate with the floor as he felt something hit his knee real hard.

Once he hit the ground, Sean could feel him groping for a grip. He hugged his bag, bringing it up closer towards his face to protect it. WIth the other boys weight on top of him it got pushed down onto him.

He started feeling the hits to his sides.

"Guys! Help!" He tried to scream as loud as he could, as hard with his mouth obscured by his bag.