((Apologies for skip, time to go))
Before anyone could get a word in, the announcements blared as loud as they could be. Maria was getting real tired of hearing that son of bitch speak. The usual 'good job you murdering psychos' buzzed through her head. She ignored it, shut it out to concentrate on the situation at hand.
And then the danger zones were announced. Her eyes widened with fear as the Chapel was mentioned. She looked right at her partner in survival, and made her choice.
"Sorry. Can't protect you after all. Every girl for herself." With that she bolted out the door, after the guy who had just seconds before ruined the moment of safety.
She turned another way and kept running. No way in hell she was running in the direction of someone she didn't know here.
(Maria Hall continued in Exhausted)
Open Grave
M07 Start; Open
-
Lord_Shadow
- Posts: 536
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:43 am
- Team Affiliation: Emmy's Selkies
There was once a dumb psuedo-news line here. Now there's this pretentious nonsense. YOU1 DID THIS, YOU1 KNOW WHO YOU1 ARE!
1. Yeah you, you nefarious ne'er-do-well you.
1. Yeah you, you nefarious ne'er-do-well you.
((Unfortunately, the already-extended DZ time is up))
The others were running, fleeing because of the words spoken by that awful Sheriff. Lucy, however, wasn't so sure that was the right idea. After all, he hadn't said what would happen. He'd just implied loosely that they were in grave danger should they choose to remain. He seemed like a literal sort most of the time. Why be so vague with this? Perhaps that was the trick. She was beginning to suspect that was it, the big secret. It would make sense. There had to be a way out of this besides killing and fighting and dying. The same instinct that had led Lucy to hide in the cupboard was now telling her to stay here, to tide things out.
After all, she'd known that her classmates, including those newly transformed into killers, were lurking outside. She'd wanted to stay here to avoid them. That plan seemed more likely to work than ever. The Sheriff had given her a gift. He'd told everybody to leave her alone here. He'd given her a protected place to stay.
There was, of course, a chance that she was wrong, that she would somehow be killed for remaining. It seemed highly unlikely, though. This game functioned on fear. The Sheriff was trying to work them all up into paranoid fits. It was possible he had even lied about who had killed, though, grim as it was to admit, Lucy was pretty sure he had not falsified the deaths. Logically, objectively, doing so would be a bad idea. It would only be a matter of time before someone living came across someone "dead", and then all credibility behind the announcements would be lost.
Still, once again taking what seemed a logical viewpoint, it seemed implausible that there was any easy way for things to go badly for her if she stayed here. The Sheriff would have to send someone to chase her out, and then she could just run. Better still, she could hide for a short time, until whoever was looking for her left. Then she'd have hours alone, to prepare herself for whatever came next. At the rate things had been going, the crazies would be whittled down pretty quickly. It was too bad Maria was out there among them, but it couldn't be helped. Lucy hoped that Maria would be alright. Maybe, when the next announcements came up without Lucy's name on them, the other girl would realize what had happened. Maybe she would lead someone else back to the chapel, so that they could enact their plan to steal weapons.
Yes. This could all work out brilliantly. Lucy just had to find a way to avoid the Sheriff's goons or whatever sort of enforcement method he had. If the deaths and kills were real, and he was announcing them, that meant he was watching somehow. That meant there were video cameras somewhere in here, and probably a helicopter or something outside. It was best, however unlikely it seemed, to assume that was the case and be pleasantly surprised when it turned out there was nothing to worry about. That meant Lucy had to get out of the possible cameras' line of sight. The only problem was, she hadn't seen any cameras. Those things came pretty small these days She had to assume they were well-hidden. Even so, there'd be a blind spot, but she couldn't begin to guess where.
No. Wait. She knew exactly where no cameras would ever be.
Lucy scrambled back to the cupboard and retreated into it once more. There was no way any observation devices would be in here. The Sheriff's men, if they came by, would be unlikely to search thoroughly enough to find her. It was perfect. She had this down. She was going to make it through this, no matter what happened.
For the first couple minutes, Lucy's plan seemed to be working perfectly. The cupboard felt a bit claustrophobic, almost like it was hard to breath, but she was fine. It was all in her head.
Except, a half minute later, she realized it wasn't. She really was having a hard time breathing, because the collar, which she had pretty much forgotten about and written off, was tightening around her neck. It was impossible, but it was happening, and it was tightening more quickly by the moment, squeezing her throat, cutting off her airway. Lucy gasped in horror. Okay. The Sheriff was serious, and he had an enforcement method she hadn't thought about, one that shouldn't—couldn't—exist.
She jolted in her panic, planning to squirm free and flee as quickly as she could, but misjudged the size of the cupboard and smashed her head into the top hard enough to make her see stars. She just lay there for a few seconds, stunned by the pain.
It was a few seconds too long. Lucy had pushed her luck a bit too far, and the collar, its timer reaching the end, hit its final stage, the blades engaging and slicing into Lucy's throat. She felt the flash of pain, reached to her throat and froze in terror as the blood poured over her hands. There was nothing she could do, though, no matter how hard she panicked, and with the depth of the cuts into her arteries it was mere seconds before blood loss took its toll and plunged Lucy into blackness.
A small trickle of blood dribbled from the cupboard to the floor.
The others were running, fleeing because of the words spoken by that awful Sheriff. Lucy, however, wasn't so sure that was the right idea. After all, he hadn't said what would happen. He'd just implied loosely that they were in grave danger should they choose to remain. He seemed like a literal sort most of the time. Why be so vague with this? Perhaps that was the trick. She was beginning to suspect that was it, the big secret. It would make sense. There had to be a way out of this besides killing and fighting and dying. The same instinct that had led Lucy to hide in the cupboard was now telling her to stay here, to tide things out.
After all, she'd known that her classmates, including those newly transformed into killers, were lurking outside. She'd wanted to stay here to avoid them. That plan seemed more likely to work than ever. The Sheriff had given her a gift. He'd told everybody to leave her alone here. He'd given her a protected place to stay.
There was, of course, a chance that she was wrong, that she would somehow be killed for remaining. It seemed highly unlikely, though. This game functioned on fear. The Sheriff was trying to work them all up into paranoid fits. It was possible he had even lied about who had killed, though, grim as it was to admit, Lucy was pretty sure he had not falsified the deaths. Logically, objectively, doing so would be a bad idea. It would only be a matter of time before someone living came across someone "dead", and then all credibility behind the announcements would be lost.
Still, once again taking what seemed a logical viewpoint, it seemed implausible that there was any easy way for things to go badly for her if she stayed here. The Sheriff would have to send someone to chase her out, and then she could just run. Better still, she could hide for a short time, until whoever was looking for her left. Then she'd have hours alone, to prepare herself for whatever came next. At the rate things had been going, the crazies would be whittled down pretty quickly. It was too bad Maria was out there among them, but it couldn't be helped. Lucy hoped that Maria would be alright. Maybe, when the next announcements came up without Lucy's name on them, the other girl would realize what had happened. Maybe she would lead someone else back to the chapel, so that they could enact their plan to steal weapons.
Yes. This could all work out brilliantly. Lucy just had to find a way to avoid the Sheriff's goons or whatever sort of enforcement method he had. If the deaths and kills were real, and he was announcing them, that meant he was watching somehow. That meant there were video cameras somewhere in here, and probably a helicopter or something outside. It was best, however unlikely it seemed, to assume that was the case and be pleasantly surprised when it turned out there was nothing to worry about. That meant Lucy had to get out of the possible cameras' line of sight. The only problem was, she hadn't seen any cameras. Those things came pretty small these days She had to assume they were well-hidden. Even so, there'd be a blind spot, but she couldn't begin to guess where.
No. Wait. She knew exactly where no cameras would ever be.
Lucy scrambled back to the cupboard and retreated into it once more. There was no way any observation devices would be in here. The Sheriff's men, if they came by, would be unlikely to search thoroughly enough to find her. It was perfect. She had this down. She was going to make it through this, no matter what happened.
For the first couple minutes, Lucy's plan seemed to be working perfectly. The cupboard felt a bit claustrophobic, almost like it was hard to breath, but she was fine. It was all in her head.
Except, a half minute later, she realized it wasn't. She really was having a hard time breathing, because the collar, which she had pretty much forgotten about and written off, was tightening around her neck. It was impossible, but it was happening, and it was tightening more quickly by the moment, squeezing her throat, cutting off her airway. Lucy gasped in horror. Okay. The Sheriff was serious, and he had an enforcement method she hadn't thought about, one that shouldn't—couldn't—exist.
She jolted in her panic, planning to squirm free and flee as quickly as she could, but misjudged the size of the cupboard and smashed her head into the top hard enough to make her see stars. She just lay there for a few seconds, stunned by the pain.
It was a few seconds too long. Lucy had pushed her luck a bit too far, and the collar, its timer reaching the end, hit its final stage, the blades engaging and slicing into Lucy's throat. She felt the flash of pain, reached to her throat and froze in terror as the blood poured over her hands. There was nothing she could do, though, no matter how hard she panicked, and with the depth of the cuts into her arteries it was mere seconds before blood loss took its toll and plunged Lucy into blackness.
A small trickle of blood dribbled from the cupboard to the floor.
F06, Lucy Johnston: GAME OVER
18 Students Remaining
18 Students Remaining