((Ripley continued from New Game+))
The color drained from Ripley’s face.
Literally—down here, everything was only black and white, including Ripley. Weirder still, every single classroom contained identically organized piles of chairs and tables. Ripley had expected to see some strange modifications to his school—he woke up in zero-gravity, after all, nothing was off the table—but this clean, monochrome hallway wasn’t what he had in mind.
And where was everyone? Like Zorin had said, Ripley needed people. He didn’t know jack about Cyber Reality, so he couldn’t come up with much on how to escape. Honestly, he had only two ideas, neither of which he could implement right now.
Plan A, courtesy of Zorin, was to overload the server until it couldn’t run anymore. Loads of ways to do that, but not a lot Ripley could pull off just yet. How could he duplicate items? What could he do with the physics engine? Why does the system lag when it does? Sure, he could find out through trial and error, but that took time—and that time could cost lives. The sooner he could sort it out, the better.
Plan B… Plan B was something Ripley thought up on his own. It was the epitome of Occam’s Razor in its simplicity, but, much like an actual razor, it was dangerous, too. It was a combination of clever and stupid he wasn’t willing to bet his life on just yet.
Ripley walked into one of the sorted rooms to pace and-
“Agh!”
-and promptly rammed his foot into a chair leg. Damn, that was careless. Ripley began to walk around again, watching his steps this time. Right now, he thought-
“Gah!”
-thought he’d been paying attention, but apparently not, because he’d just run into another—nope, it was the same one as before! Ripley kept his eye on it as he circled the room once again. He needed allies, fast. Zorin said that C, Etienne, and possibly Nate would-
“Ow! What the-”
-would this stupid chair just- Alright, that was it. This- this was getting annoying; the chair had to go.
After storing Ray’s gun in his bag, Ripley took hold of the chair by its leg and yanked it out, quickly realizing his mistake when part of the stack began to topple over. He backed away and put down his chair as a bunch of furniture came crashing to the floor.
When the noise died down, Ripley approached the mess of-
“Ack!”
-of course he’d trip over it.
Ripley set the chair near the entrance and left it there. After dealing with that, he approached the mess of fallen chairs and tables, AK-47 at his side, and wondered:
Who else could he trust?
Uncharitable Circumstances
Open!
Moderator: SOTF: Cyber Staff
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MonteCristo
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[Raj continued from I Don't Hate My Body, I'm Just Afraid Of It.]
Raj sat up with a jolt at the sound of a crash.
Strange. He didn't remember exactly how or when he fell asleep, but he woke up curled up on the hallway floor with a stiff neck, and that was an evident problem. First of all, he had completely lost track of Nicholas, so there was a bit of a wrinkle in his initial plans. At some point, they must've been separated somehow, and he figured that he soon after passed out from exhaustion. Additionally, it posed the problem of how open the area he had fallen asleep was. If someone really were to be looking to kill, he'd be an easy target, and that unsettled him.
Either way, he was left rather vulnerable. That would need to change. He had to be more alert.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he slowly heaved himself to his feet, after hearing multiple bangs, expressions of pain, and a crash from one of the adjacent classrooms. He bit his lip, weighing his options. The safest option, at the moment, would be to ignore the commotion and reunite with Nicholas to continue their pursuit of C, assuming he hadn't already found them.
His end goal was collaboration, to work with the others to not let everyone go all insane and to somehow overthrow Zeph and whoever else was in charge here, ending this fucked up game officially. That didn't take away from the very real fact that some of his fellow students had already begun to succumb to the game — he'd witnessed them thanks to the displayed announcements — but he held on to every last glimmer of hope he could. There had to be some way to dissuade some of his more... unstable classmates from doing anything else rash.
The other option he had, while seemingly much more risky, was to investigate the classroom he'd heard the loud noises from. The truth was, he had no clue what the source of them was. And because of that, behind the closed door could very well be a murder scene — and with that, an active murderer.
Still, if he truly was committed to the idea of preventing as many fatalities as possible, it was a risk he would have to take. If worst came to worst, he could defend himself. He wouldn't allow himself to be reduced to a bystander who walked away and did nothing if someone really was being attacked in there.
He stood in front of the classroom door, taking a deep breath and wiping a bit of sweat from his palms on his jeans. He grabbed the door handle and carefully opened the door, bracing for the absolute worst case scenario.
He was met with an underwhelming result — just one boy, Ripley, alone in an incredibly littered room. He was completely wrong about the potential of an attack, working up a sweat for nothing. He sighed.
"What the hell happened here...?" he asked, bewildered, raising an eyebrow.
Raj sat up with a jolt at the sound of a crash.
Strange. He didn't remember exactly how or when he fell asleep, but he woke up curled up on the hallway floor with a stiff neck, and that was an evident problem. First of all, he had completely lost track of Nicholas, so there was a bit of a wrinkle in his initial plans. At some point, they must've been separated somehow, and he figured that he soon after passed out from exhaustion. Additionally, it posed the problem of how open the area he had fallen asleep was. If someone really were to be looking to kill, he'd be an easy target, and that unsettled him.
Either way, he was left rather vulnerable. That would need to change. He had to be more alert.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he slowly heaved himself to his feet, after hearing multiple bangs, expressions of pain, and a crash from one of the adjacent classrooms. He bit his lip, weighing his options. The safest option, at the moment, would be to ignore the commotion and reunite with Nicholas to continue their pursuit of C, assuming he hadn't already found them.
His end goal was collaboration, to work with the others to not let everyone go all insane and to somehow overthrow Zeph and whoever else was in charge here, ending this fucked up game officially. That didn't take away from the very real fact that some of his fellow students had already begun to succumb to the game — he'd witnessed them thanks to the displayed announcements — but he held on to every last glimmer of hope he could. There had to be some way to dissuade some of his more... unstable classmates from doing anything else rash.
The other option he had, while seemingly much more risky, was to investigate the classroom he'd heard the loud noises from. The truth was, he had no clue what the source of them was. And because of that, behind the closed door could very well be a murder scene — and with that, an active murderer.
Still, if he truly was committed to the idea of preventing as many fatalities as possible, it was a risk he would have to take. If worst came to worst, he could defend himself. He wouldn't allow himself to be reduced to a bystander who walked away and did nothing if someone really was being attacked in there.
He stood in front of the classroom door, taking a deep breath and wiping a bit of sweat from his palms on his jeans. He grabbed the door handle and carefully opened the door, bracing for the absolute worst case scenario.
He was met with an underwhelming result — just one boy, Ripley, alone in an incredibly littered room. He was completely wrong about the potential of an attack, working up a sweat for nothing. He sighed.
"What the hell happened here...?" he asked, bewildered, raising an eyebrow.
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MonteCristo
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“Wh-” Ripley turned and saw—not Daniel, not Ray, not Ilya, not Paris—someone who probably wasn't dangerous. Looking closely, he saw Raj, who he recognized as one of the cool kids in his class, the guy who he'd seen working at the grocery store every now and then. He was pretty chill—at least, he was back in the real world. Here, there was no telling what he'd be like.
“Oh, hey Raj,” Ripley said, “This, uh, whole thing,” he gestured at the jumble of chairs and tables with his gun, “Yeah, that was me. Just- just ignore it.”
Ripley, remembering he held a weapon in his hand, pointed it back at the floor and kept it there. He was still getting used to his newfound status as a walking armory.
“What’ve you been up to?” Ripley asked, “Because I’ve- ” He thought for a moment before turning to face Raj and revealing his left side; even in the floor’s monochrome filter, his clothes were visibly soaked with blood—blood with no wounds to match. “It’s been hell on my end.”
“Oh, hey Raj,” Ripley said, “This, uh, whole thing,” he gestured at the jumble of chairs and tables with his gun, “Yeah, that was me. Just- just ignore it.”
Ripley, remembering he held a weapon in his hand, pointed it back at the floor and kept it there. He was still getting used to his newfound status as a walking armory.
“What’ve you been up to?” Ripley asked, “Because I’ve- ” He thought for a moment before turning to face Raj and revealing his left side; even in the floor’s monochrome filter, his clothes were visibly soaked with blood—blood with no wounds to match. “It’s been hell on my end.”
Raj initially hesitated to enter the classroom, eyeing the AK-47 in Ripley's hands with suspicion. He lets out a short, reassured breath as the other boy pointed the weapon down. That meant the two of them were at least temporarily under a truce, which he figured was a lot better than being instantly shot at.
Well, technically, he wasn't quite sure if Ripley would uphold the truce or not, especially as it was only implied, but Raj certainly wasn't planning on an attack. Ripley seemed generally nice, at least in a way that meant he wouldn't try to kill you. Of course, these were far from normal circumstances, but he realized that overthinking would only lead to paranoia, which would not end well for either of them.
"I've been..." Raj paused as he tried to piece together how he actually did feel about the situation. Obviously, he opposed it all, and would be doing far better had he not been placed in a death game, but he'd had the fortune to steer away from any trouble or danger thus far, which he solemnly acknowledged some of his classmates were not as lucky as to be able to do so (even out of the ones still alive). He stepped forward to enter the room with Ripley—
—and immediately struck his shin against the chair that had been placed near the entrance.
"Ow, shit!" Raj exclaimed, turning around to look at the object he'd just run into, perplexed. While the chair was near the door, it wasn't in the direct pathway, so logically he should not have bumped into it. The acute pain that shot through his leg, however, seemed to say otherwise. He turned around with a sigh, figuring it was just another inconvenient quirk of their modified school.
He cleared his throat.
"I've been fine, considering. My neck hurts like hell and I lost track of the guy I'm supposed to be working with, but I haven't been attacked yet. I think that's a win?"
Raj looked back at Ripley, focusing on the blood patterns that he displayed. Actually, patterns was an understatement. His clothes were practically painted red — well, as close as one could get to red in the modified colours of the room. He grimaced.
"Can I ask what happened there? Or is that too personal?"
Well, technically, he wasn't quite sure if Ripley would uphold the truce or not, especially as it was only implied, but Raj certainly wasn't planning on an attack. Ripley seemed generally nice, at least in a way that meant he wouldn't try to kill you. Of course, these were far from normal circumstances, but he realized that overthinking would only lead to paranoia, which would not end well for either of them.
"I've been..." Raj paused as he tried to piece together how he actually did feel about the situation. Obviously, he opposed it all, and would be doing far better had he not been placed in a death game, but he'd had the fortune to steer away from any trouble or danger thus far, which he solemnly acknowledged some of his classmates were not as lucky as to be able to do so (even out of the ones still alive). He stepped forward to enter the room with Ripley—
—and immediately struck his shin against the chair that had been placed near the entrance.
"Ow, shit!" Raj exclaimed, turning around to look at the object he'd just run into, perplexed. While the chair was near the door, it wasn't in the direct pathway, so logically he should not have bumped into it. The acute pain that shot through his leg, however, seemed to say otherwise. He turned around with a sigh, figuring it was just another inconvenient quirk of their modified school.
He cleared his throat.
"I've been fine, considering. My neck hurts like hell and I lost track of the guy I'm supposed to be working with, but I haven't been attacked yet. I think that's a win?"
Raj looked back at Ripley, focusing on the blood patterns that he displayed. Actually, patterns was an understatement. His clothes were practically painted red — well, as close as one could get to red in the modified colours of the room. He grimaced.
"Can I ask what happened there? Or is that too personal?"
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MonteCristo
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- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
“Oh, all this?” Ripley replied, looking at his bloodstains, “It’s mine. I got attacked on the roof by Paris—they can teleport, by the way, so watch out if you see them—and I almost died. I was lying in my own blood, bleeding out of my side right here,” he pointed to a rip in his shirt, under which his body appeared unharmed.
“But Zorin—Zorin Boddicker, the hacker guy from our class—he was up there with me, and he managed to push Paris off the roof. And he fought like a champ.” Ripley grinned. “Took a sword to the chest and still won. It was- He was unbelievable.
“We’d only met a few minutes before, and we were talking about how we were gonna get out of here. Bust out, break the game, all that. And, I totally believed him back then, but when I saw him toss Paris off the roof and start celebrating, shouting that he was invincible,” Ripley’s eyes seemed to shine as he continued, “That was when I knew this guy would get us out. He was gonna save us. All he had to do was use this magic syringe he had to heal himself, then he’d be good as new.
“But-” Ripley took a second to look away and compose himself. “But he didn’t. He saved me instead. So now I'm alive, and he isn't, and I- Somehow I gotta finish what he started.” Ripley looked at the sky outside. Inhaled. Exhaled.
“Sorry,” he shrugged, “I- I kinda got caught up with myself. Glad to hear you’re doing okay, Raj. Well, except for,” he waved at the chair, “that thing. Yeah, it- it got me too. But enough about that. Could you help me out? I’m trying to find some guys: Etienne, C, and Nate. You seen them around? Zorin said they could help us escape.
“Actually, on that note,” said Ripley, “I gotta ask—and honestly, I should've started with this—you wanna help me break Zeph’s little game?”
“But Zorin—Zorin Boddicker, the hacker guy from our class—he was up there with me, and he managed to push Paris off the roof. And he fought like a champ.” Ripley grinned. “Took a sword to the chest and still won. It was- He was unbelievable.
“We’d only met a few minutes before, and we were talking about how we were gonna get out of here. Bust out, break the game, all that. And, I totally believed him back then, but when I saw him toss Paris off the roof and start celebrating, shouting that he was invincible,” Ripley’s eyes seemed to shine as he continued, “That was when I knew this guy would get us out. He was gonna save us. All he had to do was use this magic syringe he had to heal himself, then he’d be good as new.
“But-” Ripley took a second to look away and compose himself. “But he didn’t. He saved me instead. So now I'm alive, and he isn't, and I- Somehow I gotta finish what he started.” Ripley looked at the sky outside. Inhaled. Exhaled.
“Sorry,” he shrugged, “I- I kinda got caught up with myself. Glad to hear you’re doing okay, Raj. Well, except for,” he waved at the chair, “that thing. Yeah, it- it got me too. But enough about that. Could you help me out? I’m trying to find some guys: Etienne, C, and Nate. You seen them around? Zorin said they could help us escape.
“Actually, on that note,” said Ripley, “I gotta ask—and honestly, I should've started with this—you wanna help me break Zeph’s little game?”
Raj listened to the story solemnly but attentively. He stayed quiet, letting Ripley speak, his eyes filled with sympathy. He wasn't particularly good with grief himself, much less to deal with the grief of another person, so the best he could do was nod, indicating that he was there and he empathized deeply for his situation.
"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly. "But that gives us all the more reason to fight back, yeah? We can do this, if not for everyone's sake, for Zorin's sake."
It seemed he had the potential to turn anything into a pep talk, whether it was effective or not.
Raj took a second to think, recounting the story he had been told and watching Ripley nearly break down (at least, that's what he got from reading the other's body language). While his entire journey consisted of waking up, talking to a few people, doing a bit of searching, then practically passing out for the remainder of the time, others were in a living hell. Others were going through literal trauma-inducing experiences. And that was all the more reason for them to fight back.
"I think I'd like to take you up on that offer. About the whole breaking the game thing, I mean. We had a similar idea," he exclaimed a bit more enthusiastically, somewhat breaking the somber tension. "Actually, Nicholas and I were looking for C together before we split up anyways. If you don't mind him tagging along too, that would be six people joining forces once we unite."
He grinned, at this point feeling pretty pumped up. In one single conversation, his prospective allies pretty much doubled. While just a few minutes prior he had been doubting logistics of being able to save everyone, he found a new hope instilled within himself. Surely six people — maybe even more, if they could get more recruits — would be able to make a change, right? To rebel against Zeph and break the system? It could be a revolution of some sorts.
"Because I think, just maybe, we might stand a chance."
"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly. "But that gives us all the more reason to fight back, yeah? We can do this, if not for everyone's sake, for Zorin's sake."
It seemed he had the potential to turn anything into a pep talk, whether it was effective or not.
Raj took a second to think, recounting the story he had been told and watching Ripley nearly break down (at least, that's what he got from reading the other's body language). While his entire journey consisted of waking up, talking to a few people, doing a bit of searching, then practically passing out for the remainder of the time, others were in a living hell. Others were going through literal trauma-inducing experiences. And that was all the more reason for them to fight back.
"I think I'd like to take you up on that offer. About the whole breaking the game thing, I mean. We had a similar idea," he exclaimed a bit more enthusiastically, somewhat breaking the somber tension. "Actually, Nicholas and I were looking for C together before we split up anyways. If you don't mind him tagging along too, that would be six people joining forces once we unite."
He grinned, at this point feeling pretty pumped up. In one single conversation, his prospective allies pretty much doubled. While just a few minutes prior he had been doubting logistics of being able to save everyone, he found a new hope instilled within himself. Surely six people — maybe even more, if they could get more recruits — would be able to make a change, right? To rebel against Zeph and break the system? It could be a revolution of some sorts.
"Because I think, just maybe, we might stand a chance."
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MonteCristo
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“Damn straight,” Ripley nodded, “Glad to have you on board. And I’m all for Nicholas joining; the more people we have, the better.”
It was a small start, but getting Raj on his side had bolstered Ripley’s confidence. Having a mission in mind but no one by his side—it was disheartening. At times, Ripley doubted if his act of defiance would have mattered at all. But knowing and seeing that there was someone he could count on—now escape seemed less an impossibility, and more an inevitability.
Had that been what Zorin had felt back then? Was this what it was like to be in charge? Ripley wasn’t used to it. It was odd how he of all people had ended up here. This wasn’t his place; he was better suited for the sidelines, where he could watch the others score for him. But he couldn’t complain now. Not when there was work to be done.
“We’re already on our way to getting out of here,” he said, “but we gotta make sure we know what we’re doing. It's gonna be an uphill battle from here on out; here's what we're in for.
"First, we’ll need more allies. We always will. So we’ll take anyone who isn’t a murderer. Look, no matter how great things seem to be going, we can’t forget that this place is, first and foremost, a death game. Either of us could drop dead as soon as we leave this room. Doesn’t matter how strong or kind we are. It happened to Sunny, it happened to Zorin, there’s no reason to believe it can’t happen to us. But as long as we’ve got numbers, it doesn’t matter how many of us die. Even if you and I can’t make it, at least we’ll have someone to pass the torch to.
“Second, we gotta learn as much as we can about how this place works—or, rather, how it doesn’t. We need to find cracks in the system. Things we can exploit and make worse. This place isn’t foolproof—I’ve seen that firsthand. I know we can break it, we just gotta figure out how.
“Third, we have to make sure as many people survive as possible. No matter what we do, we can’t bend the knee to Zeph’s ultimatum. That’d be giving in to fear and playing right into his hand. So I’ve decided I won’t kill anyone. Doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate to fight back if someone comes after us. Doesn’t mean I won’t hurt them—if it keeps us safe, I’ll go as far as I need to. But I’ll never take anyone’s life. And I hope you won’t either.
“But I’m not gonna pretend it’s that simple. When you’re fighting with your life on the line, anything could happen; I’m not gonna condemn someone for self-defense. Besides, it’s a bit easier for me to talk pacifism when I’m packing more heat than the damn sun. Like this,” he lifted his AK-47 a little, “isn’t even half of what I’ve got. Oh, speaking of, what’d they give you?”
It was a small start, but getting Raj on his side had bolstered Ripley’s confidence. Having a mission in mind but no one by his side—it was disheartening. At times, Ripley doubted if his act of defiance would have mattered at all. But knowing and seeing that there was someone he could count on—now escape seemed less an impossibility, and more an inevitability.
Had that been what Zorin had felt back then? Was this what it was like to be in charge? Ripley wasn’t used to it. It was odd how he of all people had ended up here. This wasn’t his place; he was better suited for the sidelines, where he could watch the others score for him. But he couldn’t complain now. Not when there was work to be done.
“We’re already on our way to getting out of here,” he said, “but we gotta make sure we know what we’re doing. It's gonna be an uphill battle from here on out; here's what we're in for.
"First, we’ll need more allies. We always will. So we’ll take anyone who isn’t a murderer. Look, no matter how great things seem to be going, we can’t forget that this place is, first and foremost, a death game. Either of us could drop dead as soon as we leave this room. Doesn’t matter how strong or kind we are. It happened to Sunny, it happened to Zorin, there’s no reason to believe it can’t happen to us. But as long as we’ve got numbers, it doesn’t matter how many of us die. Even if you and I can’t make it, at least we’ll have someone to pass the torch to.
“Second, we gotta learn as much as we can about how this place works—or, rather, how it doesn’t. We need to find cracks in the system. Things we can exploit and make worse. This place isn’t foolproof—I’ve seen that firsthand. I know we can break it, we just gotta figure out how.
“Third, we have to make sure as many people survive as possible. No matter what we do, we can’t bend the knee to Zeph’s ultimatum. That’d be giving in to fear and playing right into his hand. So I’ve decided I won’t kill anyone. Doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate to fight back if someone comes after us. Doesn’t mean I won’t hurt them—if it keeps us safe, I’ll go as far as I need to. But I’ll never take anyone’s life. And I hope you won’t either.
“But I’m not gonna pretend it’s that simple. When you’re fighting with your life on the line, anything could happen; I’m not gonna condemn someone for self-defense. Besides, it’s a bit easier for me to talk pacifism when I’m packing more heat than the damn sun. Like this,” he lifted his AK-47 a little, “isn’t even half of what I’ve got. Oh, speaking of, what’d they give you?”
No rebellion came without its repercussions. And that's precisely why people had to step forward and be prepared to face them. As far as Raj was concerned, he would do whatever was necessary. He took a mental note of everything Ripley said, reshuffling them a bit in his head in order of what he felt like he needed to address in order of priority.
"That's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make," he began quietly. "If we have to die before we can break the system, then so be it. Like you said, we can pass the torch to someone else, so long as the end goal is reached somehow."
Raj was a bit surprised as to how easily that came out, but he meant every word he said. Did he want to die? Of course not, far from it. The first and foremost plan of action was to ideally have nobody die in the process, but every plan needed a backup plan and sufficient preparation for the worst possible scenario. After all, idealism rarely worked out perfectly.
"Oh, and as for the weapons, I got this powerwashing gun thing. Never heard of pressure washing someone to death, but it's got a lot of force on it, so it could probably do some good damage, so it seems pretty good for self defense. It's heavy as hell, though, so I hid it a few classrooms down," he explained, using his hands to pantomime the weapon as he described it. He was aware that leaving it unattended wasn't the best idea, but it would be extremely debilitating if he attempted to haul it everywhere he went. Sometimes you just have to trust in your own abilities — in this case, his ability to hide something well.
"And also this Desert Eagle pistol," he added, taking the gun from his pocket and holding it up as he explained. He slid it back in his pocket. "A lot more portable, obviously. Although I don't really have any intentions to shoot anyone. Doesn't hurt to have, though."
He looked back at Ripley, briefly trying to go through his classmates that he recognized well enough. It was hard to understand why somebody wouldn't want to ally with them and stop the game, but the previous announcements debunked that theory. Because even if only a couple students had already caved in, that meant there was the potential for more. He remembered that Daniel, Ray, and Ilya had been publicly announced as killers, and Ripley confirmed that Paris could be added to the list, and God knows who else could have been out there actively murdering as they spoke. But other than that, it shouldn't be too difficult... right?
Besides, they couldn't afford to be uncertain.
"That's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make," he began quietly. "If we have to die before we can break the system, then so be it. Like you said, we can pass the torch to someone else, so long as the end goal is reached somehow."
Raj was a bit surprised as to how easily that came out, but he meant every word he said. Did he want to die? Of course not, far from it. The first and foremost plan of action was to ideally have nobody die in the process, but every plan needed a backup plan and sufficient preparation for the worst possible scenario. After all, idealism rarely worked out perfectly.
"Oh, and as for the weapons, I got this powerwashing gun thing. Never heard of pressure washing someone to death, but it's got a lot of force on it, so it could probably do some good damage, so it seems pretty good for self defense. It's heavy as hell, though, so I hid it a few classrooms down," he explained, using his hands to pantomime the weapon as he described it. He was aware that leaving it unattended wasn't the best idea, but it would be extremely debilitating if he attempted to haul it everywhere he went. Sometimes you just have to trust in your own abilities — in this case, his ability to hide something well.
"And also this Desert Eagle pistol," he added, taking the gun from his pocket and holding it up as he explained. He slid it back in his pocket. "A lot more portable, obviously. Although I don't really have any intentions to shoot anyone. Doesn't hurt to have, though."
He looked back at Ripley, briefly trying to go through his classmates that he recognized well enough. It was hard to understand why somebody wouldn't want to ally with them and stop the game, but the previous announcements debunked that theory. Because even if only a couple students had already caved in, that meant there was the potential for more. He remembered that Daniel, Ray, and Ilya had been publicly announced as killers, and Ripley confirmed that Paris could be added to the list, and God knows who else could have been out there actively murdering as they spoke. But other than that, it shouldn't be too difficult... right?
Besides, they couldn't afford to be uncertain.
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Pippi
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((Gabby McLeod continued from Strawberry House//Grape House))
Okay, so, like, making it up two floors in the span of, like, two days was totally not usually something to be proud of, Gabby was painfully aware. It sure wasn’t up to the levels of, like, Keke Fortuna’s usual expeditions; it was no journey through uncharted rainforests, or whiteknuckle clamber up sheer cliff faces, or anything at all close to stuff like that. She couldn’t even pretend it has been, like, on the same sorta danger levels either, regardless of circumstances. Zeph’s dumb idiot stupid stinky face had popped up once more to let her know that a bunch more of her classmates, her friends, had succumbed to the idea of killing, for, like. Whatever horrible reason had convinced them they were right. But the corridors in this building had been, like, totally devoid of all life, and totally quiet too; silent enough that she had lulled herself to sleep with her own breathing. It was on the wrong side of eerie, if she was, like, being totally honest, with how still and soundless her surroundings were. But still, undeniably, like, out of harm’s way.
But she was proud, nonetheless.
She was proud cause, like, she had moved herself more than an inch, even with the news from Zeph that the folks she’d lived alongside for the last six years had ceased to exist, without even giving her or their loved ones the chance to, like, see them for who they totally actually were. She’d dragged herself forwards, bodily, all the way through this existential nightmare she was stuck in, the HUD superglued to her field of view an eternal reminder that she was nothing more than a pilot right now, hidden behind one-way glass. She was standing up, right now, just outside one of the classrooms on the third floor.
She’d been, like, constantly tempted to just totally stop everything, and lie down on the floor once again. She had come really really super close at one point, the, like, nagging feeling in her brain reminding her that she didn’t have any plan other than her persistent stop-start movement - she needed to escape out of here, and thus far her only ‘idea’ had been to repeat ‘Log Out’ about a bajillion million times until her jaw ached. Somehow, she’d pushed herself back up again. Cause, like, alright. Fine. So she didn’t have any idea of what she was doing. Guess she’d just, like, have to keep wandering around until she found one.
Also, like, she had come to this reminder while she was on the stairs, and lying down on those would have sucked major butts.
So here she was now, just, like, scuffing her toes against the ground, listening to the faint strains of conversation coming from inside the classroom to her left. She’d been there for, like, a minute or so now, trying to work up the will to push the door open and go inside. If she didn’t have any ideas, maybe someone else would, but like, y’know. Once bitten, twice, like, shy, yadda yadda. She wasn’t likely to forget how pear-shaped her previous encounter had turned anytime soon, and if this all went anywhere near as badly, it was like enough to totally shatter her newfound resolve irreparably.
Not to mention the possibility that they could be, like, y’know. Talking about curbstomping the first person they stumbled upon. Or preparing to do so to, like, one another.
She hadn’t heard any, like, gunfire or sounds of a scuffle, though. And there was at least one way to, like, get an idea of who she might be dealing with, and still give herself some breathing space from totally getting the crud knocked outta her.
Gabby rapped her knuckles against the classroom door, a series of rhythmic knocks that an attentive ear might’ve recognised as the first few notes of Bob-omb Battlefield.
Okay, so, like, making it up two floors in the span of, like, two days was totally not usually something to be proud of, Gabby was painfully aware. It sure wasn’t up to the levels of, like, Keke Fortuna’s usual expeditions; it was no journey through uncharted rainforests, or whiteknuckle clamber up sheer cliff faces, or anything at all close to stuff like that. She couldn’t even pretend it has been, like, on the same sorta danger levels either, regardless of circumstances. Zeph’s dumb idiot stupid stinky face had popped up once more to let her know that a bunch more of her classmates, her friends, had succumbed to the idea of killing, for, like. Whatever horrible reason had convinced them they were right. But the corridors in this building had been, like, totally devoid of all life, and totally quiet too; silent enough that she had lulled herself to sleep with her own breathing. It was on the wrong side of eerie, if she was, like, being totally honest, with how still and soundless her surroundings were. But still, undeniably, like, out of harm’s way.
But she was proud, nonetheless.
She was proud cause, like, she had moved herself more than an inch, even with the news from Zeph that the folks she’d lived alongside for the last six years had ceased to exist, without even giving her or their loved ones the chance to, like, see them for who they totally actually were. She’d dragged herself forwards, bodily, all the way through this existential nightmare she was stuck in, the HUD superglued to her field of view an eternal reminder that she was nothing more than a pilot right now, hidden behind one-way glass. She was standing up, right now, just outside one of the classrooms on the third floor.
She’d been, like, constantly tempted to just totally stop everything, and lie down on the floor once again. She had come really really super close at one point, the, like, nagging feeling in her brain reminding her that she didn’t have any plan other than her persistent stop-start movement - she needed to escape out of here, and thus far her only ‘idea’ had been to repeat ‘Log Out’ about a bajillion million times until her jaw ached. Somehow, she’d pushed herself back up again. Cause, like, alright. Fine. So she didn’t have any idea of what she was doing. Guess she’d just, like, have to keep wandering around until she found one.
Also, like, she had come to this reminder while she was on the stairs, and lying down on those would have sucked major butts.
So here she was now, just, like, scuffing her toes against the ground, listening to the faint strains of conversation coming from inside the classroom to her left. She’d been there for, like, a minute or so now, trying to work up the will to push the door open and go inside. If she didn’t have any ideas, maybe someone else would, but like, y’know. Once bitten, twice, like, shy, yadda yadda. She wasn’t likely to forget how pear-shaped her previous encounter had turned anytime soon, and if this all went anywhere near as badly, it was like enough to totally shatter her newfound resolve irreparably.
Not to mention the possibility that they could be, like, y’know. Talking about curbstomping the first person they stumbled upon. Or preparing to do so to, like, one another.
She hadn’t heard any, like, gunfire or sounds of a scuffle, though. And there was at least one way to, like, get an idea of who she might be dealing with, and still give herself some breathing space from totally getting the crud knocked outta her.
Gabby rapped her knuckles against the classroom door, a series of rhythmic knocks that an attentive ear might’ve recognised as the first few notes of Bob-omb Battlefield.
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MonteCristo
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
“Powerwashing… gun?” replied Ripley, “Like- like with water? That…” Ripley paused to think, “…could actually be really useful. Water’s pretty hard to program, right? So there’s a higher chance something could go wrong—which is good for us—if we try anything funny with it. I’m fine with hiding it away for now; as long as we know where to find it, and other people don’t, we can just grab it later when we’ve got enough hands to lug it around more easily.
“And yeah, keep the gun. Don’t worry about shooting anyone—if anyone comes after us, I’ll hold them off and you dip. Don’t worry about me. Don’t even think about risking your life to save mine. Trust me,” he hefted the AK-47 with one hand and gave a thumbs-up with the other, “I’ve got it. Just focus on staying alive and spreading the word about what we’re doing. So, where-”
At the sound of rhythmic knocking, Ripley stopped talking and turned towards the door. Right, he couldn’t let his guard down for a second. Outside, people were fighting, hunting, killing, dying. Sooner or later Ripley and Raj would have to confront them, because ultimately, they were still stuck in a death game. Though if this new person wanted to murder them, wouldn’t they have simply snuck in and gone for the kill like Paris had? Assuming they weren’t trying to lull the two into a false sense of security as Ilya seemingly did with Julia.
Honestly, there were too many methods and motives of murder out there for Ripley to respond without taking a risk. Might as well bite the bullet. He looked at Raj, mouthed “Get ready to run”, and turned to face the door.
“Whoever’s out there,” he addressed the unknown person behind it, “heads up, ‘cause I’m gonna open the door! Now let’s get this out of the way: Yes, I have a gun. No, I’m not gonna hurt you. Yes, I’m covered in blood. Yes, it’s a long story. But no, I’m not a murderer, despite how frightening or intimidating I probably look. So there’s no need to worry. Just stay put.”
Ripley approached the door and opened it as he-
“Agh!”
-he was so focused on everything else that he forgot about the chair.
As he opened the door, Ripley tripped and fell to the floor. Quickly, he looked up from the ground, trying to determine if the newcomer was any of the four he was looking for or the four he wanted to avoid.
“…I’m not gonna hurt you,” he repeated, like he wasn’t sprawled flat on the ground.
“And yeah, keep the gun. Don’t worry about shooting anyone—if anyone comes after us, I’ll hold them off and you dip. Don’t worry about me. Don’t even think about risking your life to save mine. Trust me,” he hefted the AK-47 with one hand and gave a thumbs-up with the other, “I’ve got it. Just focus on staying alive and spreading the word about what we’re doing. So, where-”
At the sound of rhythmic knocking, Ripley stopped talking and turned towards the door. Right, he couldn’t let his guard down for a second. Outside, people were fighting, hunting, killing, dying. Sooner or later Ripley and Raj would have to confront them, because ultimately, they were still stuck in a death game. Though if this new person wanted to murder them, wouldn’t they have simply snuck in and gone for the kill like Paris had? Assuming they weren’t trying to lull the two into a false sense of security as Ilya seemingly did with Julia.
Honestly, there were too many methods and motives of murder out there for Ripley to respond without taking a risk. Might as well bite the bullet. He looked at Raj, mouthed “Get ready to run”, and turned to face the door.
“Whoever’s out there,” he addressed the unknown person behind it, “heads up, ‘cause I’m gonna open the door! Now let’s get this out of the way: Yes, I have a gun. No, I’m not gonna hurt you. Yes, I’m covered in blood. Yes, it’s a long story. But no, I’m not a murderer, despite how frightening or intimidating I probably look. So there’s no need to worry. Just stay put.”
Ripley approached the door and opened it as he-
“Agh!”
-he was so focused on everything else that he forgot about the chair.
As he opened the door, Ripley tripped and fell to the floor. Quickly, he looked up from the ground, trying to determine if the newcomer was any of the four he was looking for or the four he wanted to avoid.
“…I’m not gonna hurt you,” he repeated, like he wasn’t sprawled flat on the ground.
Raj was paying so much attention that it almost backfired, in a way. He was partially zoned out, even as a knock rattled the door and Ripley was literally indicating for him to be alert and ready to run, meticulously brainstorming ways to break the system. Water, guns, glitches... there had to be some hidden way to add them up, to overload the servers or whatever.
And then there was the powerwashing gun. Okay, say Ripley (and his previous judgement) was right, and leaving it unattended wasn't an issue. After all, nobody but him knew where it was. But what would happen if the classrooms became a danger zone? Would he be able to leave with it in ten minute's time? Would it be worth the risk? Anything that could be a key to making something within the program go wrong — and, he had to admit, that was much more productive than using it to blast people with water — was crucial to keep, just in case. Hopefully, that wouldn't pose a problem.
Of course, there was also the issue of him sort of zoning out in the midst of what could've been an attack. Regardless, it wasn't, so he'd just have to keep that in mind for the next time a potential killer could be at the door, waiting for them.
Raj flinched as Ripley crashed to the ground, ripping him from his thoughts and bringing his attention back to the present. His gaze fell upon the newcomer, who he recognized as Gabby — a girl he had never made much of an effort to speak to before. From what he knew of her, just as someone who had seen her before, she didn't seem like the murderer type. Yes, anybody had the potential to be transformed into a killer during the game, but she had a certain nonthreatening quality in the way she stood at the door — in the same way Ripley didn't seem threatening in the way he was sprawled on the floor and Raj didn't seem threatening in the way one hand was shoved on his jean pocket and the other was waving awkwardly at Gabby, in an attempt to break the tension.
Admittedly, there wasn't much tension to be broken, considering the position they were in.
Even in the presence of the weapons and Ripley's blood-soaked clothes, the group more so resembled three tired teenagers than three students actively participating in a free-for-all death game. None of them had the aggressive spirit that some of their classmates had since adopted, they were just flat-out tired. Not to mention his neck was still killing him. He wasn't necessarily letting his guard down, but it seemed pretty evident Gabby was only seeking refuge, just as he was.
Raj walked over to where Ripley was on the ground, making sure to steer clear of the wretched chair, and crouched down, extending his hand to help the other boy up.
"Watch out for the chair, by the way," he called up to Gabby, as if it wasn't pretty clear from the scene before her.
And then there was the powerwashing gun. Okay, say Ripley (and his previous judgement) was right, and leaving it unattended wasn't an issue. After all, nobody but him knew where it was. But what would happen if the classrooms became a danger zone? Would he be able to leave with it in ten minute's time? Would it be worth the risk? Anything that could be a key to making something within the program go wrong — and, he had to admit, that was much more productive than using it to blast people with water — was crucial to keep, just in case. Hopefully, that wouldn't pose a problem.
Of course, there was also the issue of him sort of zoning out in the midst of what could've been an attack. Regardless, it wasn't, so he'd just have to keep that in mind for the next time a potential killer could be at the door, waiting for them.
Raj flinched as Ripley crashed to the ground, ripping him from his thoughts and bringing his attention back to the present. His gaze fell upon the newcomer, who he recognized as Gabby — a girl he had never made much of an effort to speak to before. From what he knew of her, just as someone who had seen her before, she didn't seem like the murderer type. Yes, anybody had the potential to be transformed into a killer during the game, but she had a certain nonthreatening quality in the way she stood at the door — in the same way Ripley didn't seem threatening in the way he was sprawled on the floor and Raj didn't seem threatening in the way one hand was shoved on his jean pocket and the other was waving awkwardly at Gabby, in an attempt to break the tension.
Admittedly, there wasn't much tension to be broken, considering the position they were in.
Even in the presence of the weapons and Ripley's blood-soaked clothes, the group more so resembled three tired teenagers than three students actively participating in a free-for-all death game. None of them had the aggressive spirit that some of their classmates had since adopted, they were just flat-out tired. Not to mention his neck was still killing him. He wasn't necessarily letting his guard down, but it seemed pretty evident Gabby was only seeking refuge, just as he was.
Raj walked over to where Ripley was on the ground, making sure to steer clear of the wretched chair, and crouched down, extending his hand to help the other boy up.
"Watch out for the chair, by the way," he called up to Gabby, as if it wasn't pretty clear from the scene before her.
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Pippi
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:32 pm
- Location: I'm Pip!
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
Ripley’s little spiel hadn’t totally filled Gabby with encouragement that she was, like, in safe hands, stepping into this classroom. And, y’know, she thought it was pretty reasonable not to feel super duper at ease, like, with firearms at play, and with somebody, apparently, coated in blood. Neither of those things should, like, be normal occurrences! Especially not at school! Ángel might not have, like, ended up using his gun, in the classroom downstairs, but the mere presence of it had totally been enough to turn the tension icy-cold in the blink of an eye. And even if he truly hadn’t, like, been planning on using it, accidents could, and did, still, like, happen. Gabby didn’t know the first gosh darn thing about gun safety, and she was, like, 99% certain the majority of her classmates were in the exact same boat.
She didn’t even know where the heck to, like, begin with the whole ‘covered in blood’ thing.
Still, though, she had totally stayed put in the end, bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet just in front of the door. She had, like, that little kernel of rationality that had sprouted inside of her to thank, she was pretty sure. No doubt a blood-soaked dude wielding a gun was gonna be super duper freaky, no matter what, but, like, a blood-soaked maniac waving a gun around with lethal intent and a desire to put a bullet into her skull wasn’t, like, gonna announce that they were soaked in blood and holding a gun. Right? Yeah, she was, like, totally right. They’d just fling the door open and blast her to smithereens.
So she braced herself, totally prepped and ready for the sight that Ripley had kindly described for her.
A description which had totally not included him toppling forwards through the door like someone had tied his shoes together, and looking for all the world - jeez, that really was a buttload of blood - like one of those spooky animatronics in a haunted house, leaping out of a cupboard to scare your pants off.
“Gwah!”
Gabby stumbled backwards, toppling over almost in sympathy with Ripley, landing with a solid thud on her butt, heart racing and eyes wide and staring, too stunned to attempt to scuttle backwards to safety. If Ripley had been, like, planning on shooting her to pieces, it woulda been, like, the easiest act of his life to pull off.
But, thank gosh, it became pretty clear after a few seconds that he’d been totally truthful earlier. And then even moreso a moment later, as Raj strolled up to help Ripley, like, to his feet, sounding totally exhausted, but definitely not like he was about to be witness to a murder.
Alright. Cool, like, okay. This was safety, at least she was pretty totally almost-definitely sure of it. And she was gonna give herself some credit too, for not totally freaking the heck out again and actually defenestrating herself this time. Maybe this would all, like, get easier, the longer they were all stuck in here. For better or, like, for worse.
“Aga-dah bah guh? Ghk.”
Okay, jeez, wow, abort, abort! The adrenaline coursing through her body had, like, totally overtaken her mouth just now - this was why Izzy did, like, the actual streaming side of things, not her. She blinked a few times, opening and closing her mouth like a stranded fish, before trying again.
“Ah, jeez, um, okay, sorry, like… what’s up with the chair?”
Even when craning her neck to look past Ripley’s sprawled form, she totally couldn’t see much, like, out of the ordinary. Maybe Raj was just, like, hyper vigilant of chairs at all times? Some kinda, like, chair-based trauma from his past or something?
“And, like, what is up with all the bloo- actually, like, y’know what? I totally think I’m better off not knowing right now.”
Jeez, even just looking at it, soaked into Ripley’s hair and clothes, was enough to make her feel like she was about to totally vom all over the place.
“So, like, if we’re all putting our cards on the table, uh… I totally also have a gun on me. In my bag. Two of them, actually. I’m not planning on, like, using either of them.”
She paused to sigh. Her body totally felt five times heavier than usual, all of a sudden.
“Can I, like, come in?”
She didn’t even know where the heck to, like, begin with the whole ‘covered in blood’ thing.
Still, though, she had totally stayed put in the end, bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet just in front of the door. She had, like, that little kernel of rationality that had sprouted inside of her to thank, she was pretty sure. No doubt a blood-soaked dude wielding a gun was gonna be super duper freaky, no matter what, but, like, a blood-soaked maniac waving a gun around with lethal intent and a desire to put a bullet into her skull wasn’t, like, gonna announce that they were soaked in blood and holding a gun. Right? Yeah, she was, like, totally right. They’d just fling the door open and blast her to smithereens.
So she braced herself, totally prepped and ready for the sight that Ripley had kindly described for her.
A description which had totally not included him toppling forwards through the door like someone had tied his shoes together, and looking for all the world - jeez, that really was a buttload of blood - like one of those spooky animatronics in a haunted house, leaping out of a cupboard to scare your pants off.
“Gwah!”
Gabby stumbled backwards, toppling over almost in sympathy with Ripley, landing with a solid thud on her butt, heart racing and eyes wide and staring, too stunned to attempt to scuttle backwards to safety. If Ripley had been, like, planning on shooting her to pieces, it woulda been, like, the easiest act of his life to pull off.
But, thank gosh, it became pretty clear after a few seconds that he’d been totally truthful earlier. And then even moreso a moment later, as Raj strolled up to help Ripley, like, to his feet, sounding totally exhausted, but definitely not like he was about to be witness to a murder.
Alright. Cool, like, okay. This was safety, at least she was pretty totally almost-definitely sure of it. And she was gonna give herself some credit too, for not totally freaking the heck out again and actually defenestrating herself this time. Maybe this would all, like, get easier, the longer they were all stuck in here. For better or, like, for worse.
“Aga-dah bah guh? Ghk.”
Okay, jeez, wow, abort, abort! The adrenaline coursing through her body had, like, totally overtaken her mouth just now - this was why Izzy did, like, the actual streaming side of things, not her. She blinked a few times, opening and closing her mouth like a stranded fish, before trying again.
“Ah, jeez, um, okay, sorry, like… what’s up with the chair?”
Even when craning her neck to look past Ripley’s sprawled form, she totally couldn’t see much, like, out of the ordinary. Maybe Raj was just, like, hyper vigilant of chairs at all times? Some kinda, like, chair-based trauma from his past or something?
“And, like, what is up with all the bloo- actually, like, y’know what? I totally think I’m better off not knowing right now.”
Jeez, even just looking at it, soaked into Ripley’s hair and clothes, was enough to make her feel like she was about to totally vom all over the place.
“So, like, if we’re all putting our cards on the table, uh… I totally also have a gun on me. In my bag. Two of them, actually. I’m not planning on, like, using either of them.”
She paused to sigh. Her body totally felt five times heavier than usual, all of a sudden.
“Can I, like, come in?”
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MonteCristo
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
“Shoot, sorry!” Ripley winced as the newcomer toppled over. “You- you’re Gabby, right? That’s Raj, I’m Ripley, and we- wait, you already knew that. We’re literally in the same class. What am I- Hold on, I need a sec.”
Falling over had messed up Ripley’s train of thought, and he couldn’t figure out where to take the conversation next with his disoriented express. So he focused on taking Raj’s hand and pulling himself up to his feet before answering whatever questions Gabby had.
“Thanks, Raj.” After dusting off his knees, Ripley restarted, “So, that chair’s been a pain in our butt. It keeps tripping us up. Probably just an us problem, though. And the blood’s, uh, mine. If you don’t want the details, that’s fine. Just watch out for Paris. They did this to me. Almost killed me earlier. You’ll- you might see some of it later.
“But enough about that,” Ripley said, diverting from what happened on the rooftop. He didn’t have time to dwell on the past, and it didn't look like Gabby was in the right headspace to hear about it. “Feel free to come on in. Oh, and since we’re sharing, I’ve got two guns, an axe, and five grenades.” The words were spoken half as reassurance, half as a warning, though Ripley doubted Gabby would try to kill them. The way she spoke and Aga-dah bah guh-ed didn’t scream bloodlust.
“While you’re here,” Ripley backed away from the entrance to let Gabby in, away from where the chair was, “I’ve got a question for you. So, you don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here. Raj doesn’t want to be here, either. Zeph says that the only way out is for one of us to kill the others. I say that’s BS. Everyone in this room—everyone left in our class—can make it out. All we gotta do is crash the system, then we’re home free. Right now, though, our chances are pretty slim, ‘cause that ‘we’ is just Raj and me. So, you wanna help the two of us escape, Gabby?
“If you do, then here’s the deal. You’re gonna help us find more allies. You’re gonna work with anyone who wants to join us, even if they’re the most annoying person in our class. You’re gonna do anything you can to glitch this place out. You're gonna keep trying to escape, no matter what happens, no matter who tries to stop you or say you're wrong, even if Raj and I are dead and everyone else, Zeph included, is hellbent on you being next. But you’re not gonna kill anyone. Not Daniel, not Ray, not Ilya, not Paris, not unless it’s the only way to protect yourself if they try to kill you first. But you probably won’t need to worry about that—if any of those guys show up, I’ll deal with them myself while you get away.
“If you don’t, then no sweat. Just stay out of Zeph’s announcements. As for Raj and I, we’re gonna grab as many people as we can and break out. It’s your call.
“Either way, I might as well ask if you’ve seen any of the guys we’re looking for right now. They’d be,” Ripley counted the four names on his free hand, “Nate, C, Etienne, and Nicholas. And if you’ve met anyone else you think could help us, please let me know. Actually, you know what? Let’s go ahead and add Jill and Jon to that list, and maybe,” Ripley sucked his teeth and bored his eyes into the floor before continuing hesitantly, “Ángel, too.”
Ripley turned to Raj and explained, “I saw those three before meeting Zorin. As far as I can tell, Jon and Jill aren’t gonna kill anyone, although they’re kinda skittish. And Ángel… well, we could probably convince him.”
Falling over had messed up Ripley’s train of thought, and he couldn’t figure out where to take the conversation next with his disoriented express. So he focused on taking Raj’s hand and pulling himself up to his feet before answering whatever questions Gabby had.
“Thanks, Raj.” After dusting off his knees, Ripley restarted, “So, that chair’s been a pain in our butt. It keeps tripping us up. Probably just an us problem, though. And the blood’s, uh, mine. If you don’t want the details, that’s fine. Just watch out for Paris. They did this to me. Almost killed me earlier. You’ll- you might see some of it later.
“But enough about that,” Ripley said, diverting from what happened on the rooftop. He didn’t have time to dwell on the past, and it didn't look like Gabby was in the right headspace to hear about it. “Feel free to come on in. Oh, and since we’re sharing, I’ve got two guns, an axe, and five grenades.” The words were spoken half as reassurance, half as a warning, though Ripley doubted Gabby would try to kill them. The way she spoke and Aga-dah bah guh-ed didn’t scream bloodlust.
“While you’re here,” Ripley backed away from the entrance to let Gabby in, away from where the chair was, “I’ve got a question for you. So, you don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here. Raj doesn’t want to be here, either. Zeph says that the only way out is for one of us to kill the others. I say that’s BS. Everyone in this room—everyone left in our class—can make it out. All we gotta do is crash the system, then we’re home free. Right now, though, our chances are pretty slim, ‘cause that ‘we’ is just Raj and me. So, you wanna help the two of us escape, Gabby?
“If you do, then here’s the deal. You’re gonna help us find more allies. You’re gonna work with anyone who wants to join us, even if they’re the most annoying person in our class. You’re gonna do anything you can to glitch this place out. You're gonna keep trying to escape, no matter what happens, no matter who tries to stop you or say you're wrong, even if Raj and I are dead and everyone else, Zeph included, is hellbent on you being next. But you’re not gonna kill anyone. Not Daniel, not Ray, not Ilya, not Paris, not unless it’s the only way to protect yourself if they try to kill you first. But you probably won’t need to worry about that—if any of those guys show up, I’ll deal with them myself while you get away.
“If you don’t, then no sweat. Just stay out of Zeph’s announcements. As for Raj and I, we’re gonna grab as many people as we can and break out. It’s your call.
“Either way, I might as well ask if you’ve seen any of the guys we’re looking for right now. They’d be,” Ripley counted the four names on his free hand, “Nate, C, Etienne, and Nicholas. And if you’ve met anyone else you think could help us, please let me know. Actually, you know what? Let’s go ahead and add Jill and Jon to that list, and maybe,” Ripley sucked his teeth and bored his eyes into the floor before continuing hesitantly, “Ángel, too.”
Ripley turned to Raj and explained, “I saw those three before meeting Zorin. As far as I can tell, Jon and Jill aren’t gonna kill anyone, although they’re kinda skittish. And Ángel… well, we could probably convince him.”
Raj idly tapped his foot, a subtle but surefire indicator that he was deep in thought.
"While we're on that topic, I feel like we could add Marnie to that list. Erica, too," he said after a brief pause, assessing his classmates in his head. Going down the list, an despondently large number of his classmates were either too aggressive to trust, literal murderers, or already dead. He was hoping that maybe, just potentially, he was forgetting a good portion of his classmates, and the circumstances weren't as bleak as he was making it out to be (although, to be fair, it wasn't quite plausible to say that in a game of such nature).
Of course, they did still have a good amount of potential members for their cause. There was the original six they had planned on, hopefully Gabby, and potentially Jon, Jill, Ángel, Marnie, and Erica — in total, that made 12, which was a good chunk of the class (maybe even close to half, depending on how many people had been killed off between the last announcement and that moment, but he didn't want to contemplate that possibility).
He was about to open his mouth to make a remark on the difficulty of gathering everybody they wanted, but Ripley had said they needed as many people as they could get their hands on, and in such a situation it was sort of necessary. Plus, the whole idea was going to be difficult anyways; nobody said it would be easy. And, of course, some of the people they were searching for might be dead, but that was not the sort of idealism Raj was striving for. In his head, everyone could be alive, and they could all escape together — even the fallen. So he swallowed his words, instead moving on to the next topic.
"Oh right, weapons," he added. "I have a pistol. And also a powerwashing gun, but I don't have that on me right now. Is that a weapon? I feel like it could be used as a weapon. Nevermind, we've been over this, I'm not using it as a weapon anyway."
He was lucky Gabby wasn't very hostile, because his words didn't seem vaguely threatening, considering he was very much running his mouth and stumbling over his words.
He stepped back further into the classroom, beginning to pace around with more intense thought. He made sure to weave around the cluttered desks and chairs from the stack that had toppled over before he entered the room (and he wasn't going to ask about it). Thankfully, none of them seemed so stubbornly aggressive as that one dreaded chair.
"Okay, so, we have the list of people we want to find. And I know we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves, but bear with me here, because this is the kind of thing we really need to be three steps ahead for. Once we get everyone, I reckon we have the highest chances of escaping by overloading the systems with information. I don't know exactly how we do that, but it'll probably take some exploring. We gotta find those weak spots, those buggier areas, and exploit them."
He paused mid-step, looking at Gabby.
"Oh, right, we don't know if you're officially on our side or not," he noted, sucking his teeth. "Oh well, it probably won't do any harm if you know, even if you don't join us. Like Ripley said, just try not to kill anyone. I guess it's only really a problem if you're working with Zeph, which I... highly doubt."
"While we're on that topic, I feel like we could add Marnie to that list. Erica, too," he said after a brief pause, assessing his classmates in his head. Going down the list, an despondently large number of his classmates were either too aggressive to trust, literal murderers, or already dead. He was hoping that maybe, just potentially, he was forgetting a good portion of his classmates, and the circumstances weren't as bleak as he was making it out to be (although, to be fair, it wasn't quite plausible to say that in a game of such nature).
Of course, they did still have a good amount of potential members for their cause. There was the original six they had planned on, hopefully Gabby, and potentially Jon, Jill, Ángel, Marnie, and Erica — in total, that made 12, which was a good chunk of the class (maybe even close to half, depending on how many people had been killed off between the last announcement and that moment, but he didn't want to contemplate that possibility).
He was about to open his mouth to make a remark on the difficulty of gathering everybody they wanted, but Ripley had said they needed as many people as they could get their hands on, and in such a situation it was sort of necessary. Plus, the whole idea was going to be difficult anyways; nobody said it would be easy. And, of course, some of the people they were searching for might be dead, but that was not the sort of idealism Raj was striving for. In his head, everyone could be alive, and they could all escape together — even the fallen. So he swallowed his words, instead moving on to the next topic.
"Oh right, weapons," he added. "I have a pistol. And also a powerwashing gun, but I don't have that on me right now. Is that a weapon? I feel like it could be used as a weapon. Nevermind, we've been over this, I'm not using it as a weapon anyway."
He was lucky Gabby wasn't very hostile, because his words didn't seem vaguely threatening, considering he was very much running his mouth and stumbling over his words.
He stepped back further into the classroom, beginning to pace around with more intense thought. He made sure to weave around the cluttered desks and chairs from the stack that had toppled over before he entered the room (and he wasn't going to ask about it). Thankfully, none of them seemed so stubbornly aggressive as that one dreaded chair.
"Okay, so, we have the list of people we want to find. And I know we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves, but bear with me here, because this is the kind of thing we really need to be three steps ahead for. Once we get everyone, I reckon we have the highest chances of escaping by overloading the systems with information. I don't know exactly how we do that, but it'll probably take some exploring. We gotta find those weak spots, those buggier areas, and exploit them."
He paused mid-step, looking at Gabby.
"Oh, right, we don't know if you're officially on our side or not," he noted, sucking his teeth. "Oh well, it probably won't do any harm if you know, even if you don't join us. Like Ripley said, just try not to kill anyone. I guess it's only really a problem if you're working with Zeph, which I... highly doubt."
-
Pippi
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Now that it was, like, pretty apparent she wasn’t about to be turned into, like, paste or goo or some other kind of bloody splatter on the floor, Gabby was able to get an actual factual proper look at the two boys offering an olive branch. Ripley and Raj, two boys who, like… huh. That was another two folks from her class who she had barely any interaction with, wasn’t it? She didn’t have any, like, issue with either of them, not like Bailey - heck, they were both totally lovely guys, all things into, like, consideration, even with Raj’s Shadow the Hedgehogesque ‘coolness’ - she just, like, hadn’t spent any time with them before, outside of class. Like, when would she have had a chance to hang out with Ripley, really? The last time she’d willingly done any kinda, like, physical exercise had been…
Well, probably, like, the mad dash across the school yesterday, actually. But before that it had totally not been since she was, like, ten or something.
It was kind’ve a sobering thought, honestly, even though Gabby hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in her life. Six people now that she’d bumped into, and her relationship with all of them had totally spanned from ‘slim’ to ‘none’. And, like, sure, six outta, like, thirty? Thirty-five? However big their class was, it wasn’t exactly a, like, perfect sample size, but, still. It made her feel a little bit sick. This entire heckhole was one, big double-edged sword, or like a bed that remained totally uncomfy whichever side you tried to sleep on. Here she was, stranded alongside her classmates, with little choice but to either, like, watch them die around her, or flee as they tried to rip her to shreds. But at the same time, like, she barely knew anything about half of them. There had been names relayed to her, Zeph looking so infuriatingly smug and totally sanguine the whole while, that had been little more than strangers. Oh, sure, she, like, recognised the names themselves, obviously, could attach them to faces with pinpoint accuracy, could tell you what they liked, disliked, did as their hobbies, struggled with at school, like, all that stuff. But ask her to name a, like, good memory she’d had with any of ‘em?
Yeesh. She was drawing a total blank.
Gabby blinked a few times, then looked back up at Ripley as he got back up to his feet, the glassy sheen in her eyes slowly starting to, like, dissipate. She’d, like, totally got stuck in her own head there for a bit. Zoned out a little of what he and Raj had been saying, which, like, jeez, was totally not the greatest way to get a potential partnership off on the right foot, huh? She figured she got the, like, general gist of what they’d been saying, though. The real important stuff. The, like, meaty bits and all. And some questioning which had, like, some real simple and easy-peasy answers.
“Jeez, no, I’m not working with Zeph, that guy’s, like, a total mega butthole! Like, look at this!”
She pointed at her own face, gesturing towards the dried mascara and frizzy, unbrushed hair.
“This isn’t, like, the kinda thing you can just fake on command or anything, I’ve felt like I’ve been about to vom literally everywhere since the moment I first woke up, I spent, like, I dunno, like hours and hours just totally lying on the floor cause I didn’t know what to do.”
It struck Gabby that she was still, like, on the floor right now. Sitting rather than lying prone, but, like, whatever. And she didn’t feel like getting up yet, either.
“And, like, I said that I don’t wanna use either of the guns in my bag, right? I’ve never, like, used one before and I totally don’t plan on starting now either. So, like… yeah! Yeah, I totally wanna help you guys escape! Like, I haven’t had any idea of where to start on my own, but, like, if you just point me in the right direction, then I’ll do, like, whatever I can to totally help out, and stuff!”
In truth, it still felt as though the R&R Connection were making things up as they went along, building the bridge that they were already travelling across. Ripley had, like, sounded as though he was pulling names out of a hat, just saying folks who might be eager to join their cause, and Raj had outright stated he didn’t know how they were gonna pull off the idea he had in mind. But there, like, was an idea, at least. Or, like, an end-goal, to be totally specific, and more importantly, he hadn’t been weirdly coy about actually, like, mentioning it.
Speaking of…
“I actually did, like, meet Ángel earlier. He was a couple floors downstairs and stuff, but, uh,” Gabby paused, mid-speech, grimace plain as day on her face. “Like, he said he had a plan to get outta here, but it felt mostly like his plan was just, like, to say he had a plan and hope people totally thought he did, like, have a plan.”
She put her hands on her hips, a gesture that, like, didn’t quite have the effect she was aiming for, in her seated position.
“That and, like, waving his gun around like it was his ding-dong or something. Like, I guess he didn’t fire it or anything, and I GUESS I guess he might be totally on the same wavelength as us, but…”
A noise escaped Gabby’s lips, one that could possibly be transcribed as ‘Mmmmghhhrph’.
“He was just kinda totally, like, freaking me out, alright? Like, it’s your call at the end of the day and stuff, but, like. Just putting it out there.”
She sighed, scooting a little closer to the door, trying to gauge whether she, like, felt like getting up yet or not.
“Also, uh, like, I guess it’s kinda totally too late for this, but should we really be, like, talking about this all totally out in the open? Don’tcha think they can, like, totally hear everything we’re planning and stuff?”
Well, probably, like, the mad dash across the school yesterday, actually. But before that it had totally not been since she was, like, ten or something.
It was kind’ve a sobering thought, honestly, even though Gabby hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in her life. Six people now that she’d bumped into, and her relationship with all of them had totally spanned from ‘slim’ to ‘none’. And, like, sure, six outta, like, thirty? Thirty-five? However big their class was, it wasn’t exactly a, like, perfect sample size, but, still. It made her feel a little bit sick. This entire heckhole was one, big double-edged sword, or like a bed that remained totally uncomfy whichever side you tried to sleep on. Here she was, stranded alongside her classmates, with little choice but to either, like, watch them die around her, or flee as they tried to rip her to shreds. But at the same time, like, she barely knew anything about half of them. There had been names relayed to her, Zeph looking so infuriatingly smug and totally sanguine the whole while, that had been little more than strangers. Oh, sure, she, like, recognised the names themselves, obviously, could attach them to faces with pinpoint accuracy, could tell you what they liked, disliked, did as their hobbies, struggled with at school, like, all that stuff. But ask her to name a, like, good memory she’d had with any of ‘em?
Yeesh. She was drawing a total blank.
Gabby blinked a few times, then looked back up at Ripley as he got back up to his feet, the glassy sheen in her eyes slowly starting to, like, dissipate. She’d, like, totally got stuck in her own head there for a bit. Zoned out a little of what he and Raj had been saying, which, like, jeez, was totally not the greatest way to get a potential partnership off on the right foot, huh? She figured she got the, like, general gist of what they’d been saying, though. The real important stuff. The, like, meaty bits and all. And some questioning which had, like, some real simple and easy-peasy answers.
“Jeez, no, I’m not working with Zeph, that guy’s, like, a total mega butthole! Like, look at this!”
She pointed at her own face, gesturing towards the dried mascara and frizzy, unbrushed hair.
“This isn’t, like, the kinda thing you can just fake on command or anything, I’ve felt like I’ve been about to vom literally everywhere since the moment I first woke up, I spent, like, I dunno, like hours and hours just totally lying on the floor cause I didn’t know what to do.”
It struck Gabby that she was still, like, on the floor right now. Sitting rather than lying prone, but, like, whatever. And she didn’t feel like getting up yet, either.
“And, like, I said that I don’t wanna use either of the guns in my bag, right? I’ve never, like, used one before and I totally don’t plan on starting now either. So, like… yeah! Yeah, I totally wanna help you guys escape! Like, I haven’t had any idea of where to start on my own, but, like, if you just point me in the right direction, then I’ll do, like, whatever I can to totally help out, and stuff!”
In truth, it still felt as though the R&R Connection were making things up as they went along, building the bridge that they were already travelling across. Ripley had, like, sounded as though he was pulling names out of a hat, just saying folks who might be eager to join their cause, and Raj had outright stated he didn’t know how they were gonna pull off the idea he had in mind. But there, like, was an idea, at least. Or, like, an end-goal, to be totally specific, and more importantly, he hadn’t been weirdly coy about actually, like, mentioning it.
Speaking of…
“I actually did, like, meet Ángel earlier. He was a couple floors downstairs and stuff, but, uh,” Gabby paused, mid-speech, grimace plain as day on her face. “Like, he said he had a plan to get outta here, but it felt mostly like his plan was just, like, to say he had a plan and hope people totally thought he did, like, have a plan.”
She put her hands on her hips, a gesture that, like, didn’t quite have the effect she was aiming for, in her seated position.
“That and, like, waving his gun around like it was his ding-dong or something. Like, I guess he didn’t fire it or anything, and I GUESS I guess he might be totally on the same wavelength as us, but…”
A noise escaped Gabby’s lips, one that could possibly be transcribed as ‘Mmmmghhhrph’.
“He was just kinda totally, like, freaking me out, alright? Like, it’s your call at the end of the day and stuff, but, like. Just putting it out there.”
She sighed, scooting a little closer to the door, trying to gauge whether she, like, felt like getting up yet or not.
“Also, uh, like, I guess it’s kinda totally too late for this, but should we really be, like, talking about this all totally out in the open? Don’tcha think they can, like, totally hear everything we’re planning and stuff?”