SOTF Mini

Yumi smiled when Wendy came to sit with her. It made her feel better to know that she wasn't alone in this.

"I can't s-sleep." She said with a yawn. "I want to, but I can't."

She wondered if the request that she was about to make would sound silly, but she didn't think that it was something that sh should be too worried about. Neither of them were in a position to really consider anything worthy of mockery at the moment, so she saw no harm in coming out and saying it.

"When I was a kid, there was this s-song that my mom would sing when I couldn't s-sleep. The blackbird one, by The Beatles. I liked that."

She went silent for a moment as she became lost in memory, reminiscing about earlier, better times. Her voice returned to her, and the looked up to Wendy again.

"Could you s-sing it to me? I think it might help me."

Singing?

Wendy tilted her head. How strange a request. Might have had her feeling a little jittery of all things, but she could.

"Alright. I'm not the greatest singer and I probably won't get the words right, but I'll give it a try."

Cough. Clear throat. Cough. Swallow.

"Well, uh, ok. Don't laugh." Wendy made an anxious grin. "Here it goes..."

Yumi laid her head back on the ground, her eyes glancing to the side to watch Wendy while she sang.  She put her hand into her pocket and rummaged for a bit before pulling it back out, Felicia's GPS now in her palm.  It was the last remnant of her old friend, and holding it gave her a sense of comfort, almost like a sort of security blanket.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

She could already feel her eyes getting heavier.  The song brought her back to when her mom would sit with her at night, whether she had a nightmare or she just couldn't sleep.  Not just her mom, but everyone.  Mom, Dad, Grandma Agata, Grandpa Esteban.  She missed them all so much.

She hoped they would understand.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

She knew what was coming.  She knew what would happen when she fell asleep.  It was something that she had been absolutely terrified of the the past week.

She wasn't scared anymore, though.  Wendy was going to take care of her.  She was going to make sure everything was okay.

Her last sight of Wendy faded away as she closed her eyes.

Blackbird fly
Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Yumi fell asleep to the sound of Wendy's voice.  Her head lulled to the side, and the GPS slipped from her grasp.  A calm smile sat upon her lips.

She was ready.

As Yumi drifted off to Never Never land, the tune faded as well. Replaced by the whistle of a different melody to sweet Daisy Bell.

Wendy wrapped her hand around one of Yumi's giving a small kiss to the back surface of the girl's hand.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
I'm half crazy all for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two.

As Yumi laid on one side of her face, Wendy turned away, not wanting to be reminded by a visual sure to resemble their teacher's fateful day on the bus.

"I'll say hi to Saachi Noodle for you."

Then Wendy pressed the muzzle to Yumi's temple.

The shot went clean through Yumi's brain, shutting her body down before she had time to register any discomfort and leaving her serene expression undisturbed.

The past week had been one of trauma and misery, with all of her previous hopes for her life slowly being eaten away by pain and torment before fading completely.

And now it was over.

Wendy slid the green up to Yumi's head, hiding her under Felicia's jacket.

A second chance.

Yumi had allowed her a second chance at gifting a death they wouldn't feel. Unlike the last, it was so. As intended.

It felt hollow somehow, but perhaps now, Yumi was somewhere better and happy. It was her wish after all and Wendy merely granted the painless escape she desired.

As the boom of the shot echoed, so did the loud-speakers blaring out the familiar voice.

Not much else had happened on the island outside of these tar pits. The same tar pits that Yumi would soon be laid to rest as well.

Wendy sat back on the cooler and listened, then watched as the other girl, the third, now second and only other survivor stirred to the sounds.

It had all been too much information to process for Irene's brain, all the death and the sorrow and the funerals, and when all was said and done there hadn't even been anything for her to say. A muttered "sorry", a whispered "it was for the best". No. Better to say nothing, to leave the dead to their peace, or something.

Irene had felt like she should be thinking more, reflecting more. Something that was as final as death should've merited something like that, even if, at the end of the day, she had only shaved a couple days off. But she only had it in her to go to bed, to escape her brain, the echoing pounding silent emptiness that her mental faculties had converted themselves into in the wake of becoming a killer.

Sleep didn't last long enough.

And sleeping while awake didn't last long enough either. It's funny to think about it at a time like this, but Irene was not a morning person. She hated mornings. She liked to stumble through her mornings, her body moving but her brain off, or at least only half-on, functional enough to avoid walking into walls, to pick up every other word that was spoken to her, to occasionally spit out something resembling an obligatory response.

Guess she'd done something like that last night, or something like that, though she couldn't exactly figure out what exactly it was she'd done last night. Not a morning person and all. But it looked like she was going to have to be, cuz a shot just went off and now that man--The Man--there, you're pulling yourself together, Irene--The Man was talking over the loudspeakers again. Hello, hell no, how low. How low that yesterday had happened.

Irene rose to a sitting position and stretched, even as half her brain screamed for her to jump to her feet, alert and screaming and ready to fight or flee.

"Morning Sunshine."

Wendy was crouched, knelt - right next to the formerly sleeping beauty, a foot placed firmly on the flat edge of the blood-crusted harpoon. Staring at her with a soft grin and attentive, watchful eyes as the survivor shook herself from her slumber.

"You know, I was thinking about what you said yesterday, and you know, I totally agree, entirely."

The pistol emerged, previously hidden behind Wendy's back, gripping it in her hand, as she rested her chin over the back of her same, pistol holding hand. A sly, cutesy expression and squint adorned Wendy's appearance.

"The Terrible," Wendy continued. "They - are - The Poison; and Irene, listen. You and I, are the antidote."

Irene yawned when the pistol came out, which was right and fitting. Not entirely sure why it was right and fitting, or else she wouldn't need to be oxygenating her sleepy brain, but at least she was going through the motions of being herself correctly. And that was good enough to make her feel alright, and that's what really matters, right?

Except now she'd ruined it by thinking, because now she wasn't going through the motions anymore and it all came flooding back, and she wished she could go back to being asleep and in the place where she didn't have to worry about whether faking it was making it, because hell she didn't even have to fake it.

And then Wendy spoke, and Irene had to jog her memory a little, but there it was. Poison, terrible. Poison was terrible. Something more poetic would be nice.

Some more memory jogging was in order, it seems. Though she shouldn't work herself up too much over it if it didn't come easily, because that would defeat the point, wouldn't it? It would.

In any case, it came. Irene spoke slowly, trying to remember the whole quote.

"I see no reason for why a girl who finds herself in prison shouldn't try to get out and go home. Or if, when she cannot do so, she thinks about things other than jailers and prison walls."

She paused.

"A corollary: Anyone who gives me a bad day is a jailer. And Poison makes for very, very annoying jailers."

A smile twitched on her lips. Yeah. This was a good game for Irene to play.

It took her a few moments longer to realize why Wendy was brandishing a gun.

Wendy furrowed her brow, then raised one, her face scrunched up, her mind blank, her brain hurt.

"Uh - wha- huh?"

She blinked a few times.

"I dun get it," she paused. "What's a coro-larry?"

"Don't worry about it."

That was kinda disappointing, but oh well. It didn't diminish the value that Wendy had to Irene's existence. That much, anyways.

"You want certain people to die, yes? I don't particularly care either way, but. Might as well if they're giving me a headache, right? Since that seems to be what floats your boat."

"Oh."

Wendy bowed her head in thanks for the explanation. She smiled, sliding the harpoon back to Irene.

Hopefully Irene didn't think she was dumb. It would be unfortunate for this survivor to eat a bullet so soon.

"Yeah," Wendy stood, walked over a few feet to the sledgehammer Sophie had previously owned and brought it to Irene dropping it with a solid thud to the ground.

"Let's be friends," she grinned. "Good friends."

Friends? Friends was stretching it. Maybe something close to an alliance or...

No. Friends it was.

"Yeah, let's."

She frowned at Yumi's corpse, gestured at it.

"That means no killing me without my permission, you know? I'm assuming that...well, you know. You did get permission for that, right?"

"Yes."

Wendy turned and looked behind her.

"It was what she wanted."

She let out a heavy exhale of warmed air.

"Yumi was already gone. Long before she begged to be shot. She wanted escape, quick and peaceful in her sleep. Saachi Noodles is her real killer." Wendy turned back around and faced Irene once more.

"You and Mr. Dolph are right. Everyone is going to die anyway, but Saachi and Bunny in particular: I'd like to do it."

Wendy walked over, crouched near Yumi's body.

"But I'll need to bury her first. She wanted that too."

Right.

"Okay then."

Yumi was her burden to carry. Don't look, nod wisely, and carry on.

"If killing Saachi Noodles and Bunny would make you happy, I don't see why not. Unless it turns out that they're not poison, in which case. Well. Guess I'd have to kill you for being poison."

A wink to let Wendy know that Irene's serious, but in a joking way.