((Amy Barrows-Shaw continued from Try Like the Devil))
Amy’s past hours had been spent in long solitude. It had been nice, if boring.
She had been playing Bond movies in her head, trying to remember how each scene went: who said what, what blooper had appeared, things like that. It wasn’t something she had done for a while to pass the time, but it was proving useful given the circumstances. It helped distract her from the meaningful silence, interrupted only by the conclusive gunshots.
She had been hiding out on a boat in the jetties, obscured from view by a tarp. If someone investigated the boat closely, they’d find her fast, but as long as she laid low and under the cover, she could remain unmolested in her solitude. She knew she couldn’t just lie around waiting forever, and her muscles were getting stiff from doing so for so long, and she would need to use the bathroom again soon, but it was a safe place for now. It was good for catching her breath, and there was nothing to hit her head on above her.
The announcements blared to life, catching her off guard. She paused the scene in The Living Daylights, Necros’ duel with a very competent waiter flickering with a static grain that only existed on her dad’s old VHS, as she listened. The crackling low quality was strange, and somewhat alarming. She hadn’t heard RJ’s name, but she hoped it wasn’t missed. She still wanted to find him.
She knew he had killed someone now, and that was startling. When she remembered how he had looked after she had tried to rob him though, she wasn’t sure she was surprised. They said he had been spooked; had he just become too jumpy after she had assaulted him? Was Leonard’s death indirectly her fault?
It didn’t matter. Everyone could die at any minute, she had come to terms with that. Or at least, she thought she had. She didn’t like it, but that meant nothing. Even if she had indirectly lead to his death, he probably would’ve wound up dead anyway. Besides, the kill credit lied with RJ no matter how you looked at it. She didn’t blame him; she wasn’t sure she could blame anyone except for Seo. But she wasn’t about to blame herself.
Maybe it didn’t make sense to blame Seo either, as she was just another player in the game. But the difference was how active a player was. She was already halfway to the ten kill escape clause. Five people she’d murdered to save her own skin. She probably thought it was necessary. The idea didn’t sit well with Amy, but she couldn’t reject it outright. But she couldn’t forgive Seo, either.
The announcement wrapped up after a long period of nothing. She wasn’t sure what had happened there, but she hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat occurance. She needed to know what was going on. She didn’t have a reason to move though. She could lie there as long as she wanted to. She wasn’t sure how much longer that was.
The game was still playing, and people were still dying. She had no idea how many Leviathans were left. She knew Nura was dead, and she knew her name now. She had puzzled it out from the announcement the night before: Nura Al-Tarek didn’t sound like a Caucasian name, and even with her ravaged face, her body was distinct from Virginia’s. Virginia wasn’t on her team, so she wasn’t supposed to feel as bad, but she couldn’t help but continue pitying her for being murdered by Seo.
If the Leviathans were running low on numbers, would the announcements have said anything? Or would they have left her hoping she might find another ally soon, one whom she wouldn’t feel the need to almost rob at gunpoint. Maybe her team was in last place in the kill count. She hadn’t killed anyone, and she didn’t remember Luciano killing anyone either. It was too bad she didn’t know how big teams were on average, or she could’ve tried to do some math. It would’ve helped kill the boredom, as much of a last resort as it was.
She meditated for a while, the film in her head still flickering as it waited for her to press play. She felt the collar press into her neck as she adjusted her position. She had almost forgotten it was there. How unpleasant it was to grow accustomed to a bomb around your neck.
There was a voice inside the collar, waiting behind a little transceiver. She hadn’t heard from her in a long while, but she was starting to feel lonely.
“Hey, Jewel. How are the Leviathans doing? Do we still have a chance?”
She paused. She had so many questions.
“Do I still have a chance?”
A Moment of Respite
Day 3, Morning Announcement Time - Mentorshot
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3462
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
The reply is prompt, volume on the lower end but tone calm and conversational.
"Hey, Amy. I hope you're not too uncomfortable there.
"We're doing okay. Far from the worst, at least.
"And you definitely have a chance. As long as you're alive, you always still have a chance."
"Hey, Amy. I hope you're not too uncomfortable there.
"We're doing okay. Far from the worst, at least.
"And you definitely have a chance. As long as you're alive, you always still have a chance."
So they were still surviving, people like Nura excluded. That was good. She felt a small but refreshing wave of relief at the rare occurrence of good news.
They still had a chance. She still had a chance. She laid there a moment longer, meditating on just what that meant.
She wasn’t going to roll over and die, she had already decided that. The team was still surviving, still with decent numbers. Luciano hadn’t killed anyone, and neither had she, but that didn’t mean the rest of them hadn’t. The only people she did know and knew had kills, Seo, RJ and Mandy, weren’t on her team.
How many players were on her team? Was anyone close to Seo, but just not on her radar? She wished she had a better memory for who had how many kills in the announcements. Maybe she’d write it down next time, if she could find some pen and paper.
Jewel was still waiting for a response, she realised. This was just an ingrained habit from nervous pauses in conversations, of course; she had no way of knowing for sure whether Jewel was even still listening. She continued her questions regardless.
“How many kills do the Leviathans have? Who has the most kills? What’s a good number of kills to have?”
‘A good number of kills’. That’s the sort of world she was living in.
They still had a chance. She still had a chance. She laid there a moment longer, meditating on just what that meant.
She wasn’t going to roll over and die, she had already decided that. The team was still surviving, still with decent numbers. Luciano hadn’t killed anyone, and neither had she, but that didn’t mean the rest of them hadn’t. The only people she did know and knew had kills, Seo, RJ and Mandy, weren’t on her team.
How many players were on her team? Was anyone close to Seo, but just not on her radar? She wished she had a better memory for who had how many kills in the announcements. Maybe she’d write it down next time, if she could find some pen and paper.
Jewel was still waiting for a response, she realised. This was just an ingrained habit from nervous pauses in conversations, of course; she had no way of knowing for sure whether Jewel was even still listening. She continued her questions regardless.
“How many kills do the Leviathans have? Who has the most kills? What’s a good number of kills to have?”
‘A good number of kills’. That’s the sort of world she was living in.
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3462
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
The reply once again arrives quickly.
"We have two total, both relatively recent. The most kills... individually, that's Seo-yun. On a team basis, the Crabs.
"The best number of kills to have is ten, of course. But aside from that, it's not a question with a simple answer. It depends on the person. If you kill someone, will that make you more effective, or less? Will you benefit from being known as a threat, or will it lead you into trouble? Will you pick up valuable resources, or will you sustain crippling injuries?
"Ultimately, you'll have to kill at least one person if you want to control your own fate, and if that's your first time it's going to be a lot riskier. You can win without, but that's down to luck even more than this usually is."
"We have two total, both relatively recent. The most kills... individually, that's Seo-yun. On a team basis, the Crabs.
"The best number of kills to have is ten, of course. But aside from that, it's not a question with a simple answer. It depends on the person. If you kill someone, will that make you more effective, or less? Will you benefit from being known as a threat, or will it lead you into trouble? Will you pick up valuable resources, or will you sustain crippling injuries?
"Ultimately, you'll have to kill at least one person if you want to control your own fate, and if that's your first time it's going to be a lot riskier. You can win without, but that's down to luck even more than this usually is."
OK, so they weren’t in last place. They weren’t winning, but someone on the team was playing. Or two people were.
But it was only two kills. There had been so many already, and only two of them had been done by the Leviathans. Was that a good thing? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t think so. There weren’t any players on her team. Not real players.
They were just reacting, surviving. It was nice to think that her teammates weren’t bloodthirsty Seo maniacs, but people didn’t just survive SOTF-TV, did they? She didn’t know much about the franchise, but that didn’t sound right. It didn’t feel right. And Jewel said that that sort of win was just sheer luck, too. She didn’t feel lucky. Lucky people didn't wind up in battle royales for ratings.
It felt like if you wanted to win, you had to be willing to fight. Two kills by the third day, and recent ones at that, didn’t sound like much of a fight. Her team wasn’t going to win at this rate, she had to consider. She knew she didn't know that for sure, but that's what it felt like.
She lay there, still, as she felt the tarp weighing down on her. The LIving Daylights was starting to fade from her thoughts as scenarios unfolded instead. All her teammates being killed off by people who shot first. Seo killing the rest of them before they could fight back. Seo killing her by blowing her face off and staining her outfit crimson red, which would eventually fade to rust. She squeezed her fingers into her palms.
She didn’t want that to happen. She still wasn’t sure how to feel about her teammates, but she hadn’t wanted to risk Luciano dying pointlessly. She hadn’t wanted Nura to die for her either. She didn’t want any of this to be happening, of course, but that wasn’t something she could anything else about. It was the nature of her life at this point, and lamenting that wouldn't change it. Even if it was unfair, and wrong, and terrifying to think about.
She didn’t want her life to end as this. She wanted to get out alive, and she didn’t want people to die pointlessly. That only meant one thing, really.
“Jewel.”
She started, but only one word came out. She had to pause again, because what she wanted to ask wasn’t easy, and it was a horrible thing to have to consider.
But she had to ask, because she had to know. She did want to control her own fate. She wasn’t going to just leave it down to luck.
“Is it hard?”
But it was only two kills. There had been so many already, and only two of them had been done by the Leviathans. Was that a good thing? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t think so. There weren’t any players on her team. Not real players.
They were just reacting, surviving. It was nice to think that her teammates weren’t bloodthirsty Seo maniacs, but people didn’t just survive SOTF-TV, did they? She didn’t know much about the franchise, but that didn’t sound right. It didn’t feel right. And Jewel said that that sort of win was just sheer luck, too. She didn’t feel lucky. Lucky people didn't wind up in battle royales for ratings.
It felt like if you wanted to win, you had to be willing to fight. Two kills by the third day, and recent ones at that, didn’t sound like much of a fight. Her team wasn’t going to win at this rate, she had to consider. She knew she didn't know that for sure, but that's what it felt like.
She lay there, still, as she felt the tarp weighing down on her. The LIving Daylights was starting to fade from her thoughts as scenarios unfolded instead. All her teammates being killed off by people who shot first. Seo killing the rest of them before they could fight back. Seo killing her by blowing her face off and staining her outfit crimson red, which would eventually fade to rust. She squeezed her fingers into her palms.
She didn’t want that to happen. She still wasn’t sure how to feel about her teammates, but she hadn’t wanted to risk Luciano dying pointlessly. She hadn’t wanted Nura to die for her either. She didn’t want any of this to be happening, of course, but that wasn’t something she could anything else about. It was the nature of her life at this point, and lamenting that wouldn't change it. Even if it was unfair, and wrong, and terrifying to think about.
She didn’t want her life to end as this. She wanted to get out alive, and she didn’t want people to die pointlessly. That only meant one thing, really.
“Jewel.”
She started, but only one word came out. She had to pause again, because what she wanted to ask wasn’t easy, and it was a horrible thing to have to consider.
But she had to ask, because she had to know. She did want to control her own fate. She wasn’t going to just leave it down to luck.
“Is it hard?”
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3462
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
This time, there's soft, slow laughter before the words.
"It's both harder and easier than you would ever imagine."
"It's both harder and easier than you would ever imagine."
Amy stared at the floor she was lying on, Jewel’s words sinking in. She knew they probably meant a lot, because Jewel wouldn’t talk nonsense. There was no reason for her to.
But the words didn’t help. It was a non-answer. It was difficult and easy at the same time. That didn’t mean anything, not to Amy.
But those were the only words she had to go by. And it didn’t really matter what she thought, or wanted, did it?
This was SOTF-TV. There was only one way out that wasn’t in a body bag. There was only one way to take control of the situation, and not die pointlessly.
And that, as they say, is that.
((Amy Barrows-Shaw continued in this cheeses me))
But the words didn’t help. It was a non-answer. It was difficult and easy at the same time. That didn’t mean anything, not to Amy.
But those were the only words she had to go by. And it didn’t really matter what she thought, or wanted, did it?
This was SOTF-TV. There was only one way out that wasn’t in a body bag. There was only one way to take control of the situation, and not die pointlessly.
And that, as they say, is that.
((Amy Barrows-Shaw continued in this cheeses me))