SOTF Mini

“I understand.”

Felicia knew that it wasn’t a good idea to force Yumi to do something she was not only unsure of, but was clearly terrified of. She was pretty much shaking in her boots! Aside from the potential danger of someone who would think of attacking others, it would be cruel to drag Yumi outside while she was still clearly shaken up.

And Felicia… Felicia still felt her skin crawl from time to time. Before Yumi came in, sometimes she had wondered if there was a way out. Sometimes, she even wondered if there was a way to make whatever pain that was going to happen go away. It was a scary thing to think about, but it was there. But she didn’t want to. She… just didn’t.

She looked Yumi over with a frown on her face. Poor girl. She didn’t want something to happen.

“Hey… I’m…”

Was it good to tell her?

“I’m scared too.”

She looked back at the GPS. The blips hadn’t moved much. Felicia still wanted to know if they were people they knew, but moving out was an issue.

“Hopefully things will turn out okay, right?”

Wait, wait, searching the church? Searching the building that was standing right in front of them. That was probably a really good idea. Ramona wished she had thought of it first, but it was always important to listen to what other people had to say. "Mm, you're right!" She commented, nodding at Lyndi. In a situation like this, people were likely to turn to Allah, Jesus, whoever they believed in, right? So, the church sounded good. It sounded real good.

At the very least, Lyndi sounded a lot better, less like she was just crying out all the tears from her body a few minutes ago. Deciding that there was no better time than now, she walked over to the grand, if somewhat musty entrance, and peered inside to see if she could see anything. Well, she could definitely see that this place had seen better days, but Ramona wasn't here for Extreme Makeover: Murder Island Edition or anything. She had different priorities, like not getting murdered, finding a group, and getting the hell out of here. But still, yeesh. It really didn't look that holy anymore.

As she continued to look over the pews, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. People? If so, that was great, because people were great. More people meant more people able to work together, and as much as she liked Lyndi, she still wasn't exactly sure if the other girl was completely fine. Then again, who was, because this situation was just a steaming pile of dung, but in general, finding more people would be good.

"Hey, hey, anyone there? It's Ramona and Lyndi here. We ain't looking for no trouble."

She tried to smile her most comforting smile, tried to look as if she wasn't anywhere but here. Had to stay calm, had to look calm, at the least. Confidence was key.

That was the plan. Avoid the psychos and the murderers, and find a way out with the people who hadn't lost their minds. It sounded pretty good.

At least Yumi knew that she wasn't alone in feeling scared. But even though Felicia was dealing with the same anxieties at the moment, she was still trying to make her more timid friend feel better. Yumi was touched at the gesture, but she wished that she could do more in response. She couldn't offer much at the moment, but the least she could do was give her a smile and some positive reinforcement.

"Yeah, it'll b-be all right, right?"

Truth be told, Yumi wasn't quite convinced of that herself. There was still too much that she didn't know aside from the danger of the situation, and she didn't really feel comfortable hiding her true feelings like that. However, she wanted to repay the kindness that Felicia had shown her, so she kept her pleasant expression up, hoping she was believable enough.

Then she heard someone else's voice, an unfamiliar voice. Her shoulders shot themselves back and her neck extended upward in surprise. Her first reaction after that reflex was to look down at Felicia's GPS again. The dots had moved. The outsiders were ready to come in.

Yumi didn't way a word, instead shrinking behind the altar. She wanted to be brave and strong, just like Felicia was. However, with the unfortunately timed new arrivals, she couldn't keep herself from retreating. She knew that she had probably been seen, but she couldn't keep her cowardice from taking hold. From her makeshift hiding spot, she whispered a nondescript plea to her friend.

"F-Felicia..."

Suddenly, the blips got closer.

And, just as suddenly, the door opened, and Felicia’s head snapped up. She mouthed a curse under her breath, but the rest of her body froze. She glanced back at Yumi, who only shook and stammered. But, once again, Felicia poked her head out.

And her heart stopped.

“Lyndi… is that you?” she whispered.

More people. More friends. Ramona was there too. She didn’t know her as well, but she was here. If she was with Lyndi, she was probably friendly too. She was back home, if Felicia remembered correctly.

Despite everything, her face turned into a warm smile. Yumi was here. Lyndi was here. And Ramona being here was probably a good thing too.

Wait, Felicia? Ramona didn't know her too well, but she guessed any friend of Lyndi's was a friend of hers, and from the few conversations, she seemed pretty chill, which was something she most definitely valued on Death Island. Definitely something to keep in mind, and so she made the sign of a cross and thanked Jesus for this gift. Usually, she wasn't this religious, but she was in a church, so it definitely seemed appropriate.

"Yeah, she's here. We're gonna go inside now, is that okay?"

Making sure that Lyndi was behind her, she slowly started to make her way into the parish, and once inside, she slowly looked over the pews, and there! There they were, sitting behind the pulpit.

Felicia and some...Asian or Hispanic girl? She could've sworn she'd seen her around before, maybe with Rachael or something? In any case, she looked plain scared, but they weren't homicidal. That was pretty important.

Now looking at Felicia, Ramona grinned, excited to have finally found some more people on this hellish place. "So, how're you dealing with...all of this? Coping okay?" Break the ice a little, get to know them. That was good.

Seriously, if they needed to get out, they needed to know each other, right? Get buddy buddy and all of that cool stuff.

Yumi cautiously came out from behind the altar. Felicia was happy to see these people, so she took that to mean that they were probably friendly. She gripped the strap of her daypack tightly. She hadn't taken it off since she first picked it up in the woods, and she didn't intend on letting it out of her grasp. It didn't matter how friendly the company was, losing her supplies would be a virtual death sentence, so she couldn't take the risk.

She wasn't quite sure how to react to the inquiry of the girl who had just shown up. She didn't seem to mean any harm, but Yumi was reluctant to trust someone she didn't know well that had only just appeared to her. Sure, it was a pretty harmless question, but the path between Yumi's mind and mouth didn't seem to feel that way. She had no prepared response, and just gave a wary stare that didn't do anything to help relations between them.

Feeling that this conversation wasn't going anywhere, she looked to Felicia in hopes that she would have something to say. Hopefully she would be able to get things moving in a peaceful direction.

((Saachi Nidal continued from There's No Die in Team))

Eventually, Saachi had decided to take the pair to the parish. As appealing as it was to go back to the warehouse, she had concerns that Kyran would ruin any plan that they would try to make if they continued to linger there. The parish was in the same direction, but a bit further. That way, they couldn't get lost. Saachi was not going to make the same mistake of blindly wandering in a direction and hoping to randomly find someone on the way there.

She had been quiet for most of the trip, deep in thought about the game. Saachi tried to hide her concentration behind the map, looking down at it to make sure they were going the right way. It was pretty convenient for the organisers to provide them with landmarks. As she thought about it, she came to the conclusion that it must've been to increase the odds of the kids meeting with one another. After all, the others would be more likely to head towards recognisable structures than just wander blindly around the area. It was rather clever design, though Saachi couldn't help feeling a bit unsettled by the competence of the organisers of the game.

She wasn't sure what Jay was thinking, and was a bit unsure about how to proceed with him. He seemed to be friendly enough to smile at her before, but Saachi could never shake the fact that Jay attacked her at the beginning of the game. She needed to remember that, galvanise around that idea at the moment she needed to take action against him. Her life was far too important to her.

The parish started to appear in the distance. The serene nature of the area just added to the nervous intensity bubbling inside her. People should be around. That meant more prey for her and Jay. It was quiet on the outside, at the very least, but Saachi didn't let her guard down. Making a shushing motion towards Jay, Saachi pointed towards the entrance and made her way towards there. The door was open. Signs of life? That was good. Turning back to Jay, she pointed at him, and then the left side of the entrance, behind the door.

Saachi made her way to the other side, making sure to stay as quiet as she could as she began to stalk her prey. There was no sense in alarming their targets. It would give them time to react, time that Saachi was not planning on giving them.

As the tiger and the lion took their places at the entrance, they waited for their first meal.

((Jay Harland continued from There's no Die in Team))

Jay moved into position at Saachi’s direction, net in hand and ready to go. He recognised how he felt with nary a doubt: it was the same excitement that came before a big game. Excitement that, for some reason he could never understand but which endlessly annoyed him, was mixed in with an undeniable nervousness.

There was no reason to be worried, just like on the pitch. He was Jay frickin’ Harland, ace of the soccer team, who could win a game by himself if he really had to. He was unstoppable, and this was no different. He’d already proven it on his partner in crime just a few hours ago, and with her and her cleaver the second time was sure to go flawlessly.

All it took was waiting for someone (and he could definitely hear people inside) to come out, then bam, they’d be in the net, Saachi would do her thing, and they’d be one step closer to being done, to winning the game.

Yep, he just had to do his part and then Saachi would kill someone. Easy.

He turned the net in his hand, tensing up good and tight. It wasn’t the tension of a tiger on the prowl, but he could convince himself otherwise.

Lyndi had followed close behind Ramona as they headed inside. She wasn't about to let the only friend she had right now lose her, all things taken into account. So when she saw the familiar blonde head poke out from behind the church's alter, a wave of relief washed over her.

"Feli!" she cried out almost immediately after her friend asked if it was her. It was! And it was Felicia! Things were looking as up as they could already.

Following close behind Ramona, Lyndi soon overtook her and rushed to her friend, pulling her into a hug from the floor.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said, before retreating from the hug to hold her friend by her shoulders.

"At least you're doing better than me. I'm such a mess right now."

She was of course referring to her red flushed eyes and her inflamed nostrils, but unknown to Felicia she was also referring to the fact she was clueless. Directionless. There was nothing close to an idea in her head of what she was going to do. She hoped that with the four of them together, they could think of something. Anything. What else were they supposed to do?

With a bit of hesitation, she nodded. Maybe inside was better for all of them. She knew Lyndi, and, hopefully, she knew Ramona well enough. But, she kept her smile on as Lyndi scooped her into a hug. And, despite everything, despite everything that’d happened over the past few hours, despite her own hesitation, Felicia returned it. It was proof that Lyndi was safe, that she wasn’t hurt or anything.

Once they let go, Felicia glanced at Yumi, who was still quiet. She’d looked to Felicia, as if she wanted her to deal with Lyndi and Ramona personally. Felicia didn’t think she knew them too well. But, she was sure Yumi and Lyndi would probably get along. Lyndi was usually peppy, but she knew that they wouldn’t have any issues.

“It’s been… well, it hasn’t been the best,” she said, her fingers still wrapped around the GPS. “You two are the only other people we’ve seen so far.”

To be honest, Felicia was barely holding on herself. She knew she was around friends, so it helped some.

“I’m glad to see you. I mean, if something happened- “

Another glance at Yumi. But, when she looked back, she saw something. It was something that lurked just outside, right at the entrance. She was almost hesitant to look at the GPS another time. But she did. Then, she looked up. Her smile faltered.

“Guys… did you see anyone else?” she whispered, stretching to look past Lyndi and Ramona.

A shudder couldn’t help but run up her spine. But, she slowly walked towards the door, to get a closer look. If it turned out it was nothing, fine. But if it was something… no, it was something. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for the GPS to make something up.

"Surprise, bitch!"

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it was better to go back, tell the others what she saw, and then… hide. Maybe she was being silly. Maybe the other people were safe.

Of course, Felicia knew they were all “maybes.”

But as she got closer to the door, curiosity won out. She looked outside, and-

Someone yelled, and something-

Something grabbed her, it was on top of her, and she couldn’t move her arms or look at the GPS. She had no idea what was going on. Was this a net? Did someone just throw a net at her? Oh god, she was going to die, and it’d be her fault, because-

They shoved her. Felicia felt her feet stumble, only barely keeping balance.

She screamed.

As the footsteps got closer, she could slowly feel the adrenaline pumping through her body. Her heart began to pump in her head as she began to think about how to finish them off.

In the end, she probably should make it quick. No need for them to suffer for that long. That came with the problem of how to execute that. She didn't know how strong her cleaver was, could she drive it into someone's head? Would it be able to pierce the skull? Maybe the neck was a better option? It'd be hard for her to hit that accurately, however, if they were struggling. She envisioned herself being surgical about the entire process, but that was difficult when she didn't even know where to strike in the first place.

Time to think didn't seem to be a luxury she could afford, however, as Jay had already begun moving.

Almost instantly, Saachi followed up Ahab, jumping on top of their victim. Now that she was straddling her, Saachi could focus. She did her best not to think about who she was. The more she thought about it, the harder it would be for her. In the end, she was just a competitor. Someone that she was going to have to deal with sooner or later. She might as well be faceless, or at the very least Saachi tried her best to scrub out those features.

Still, her struggling made things difficult. If she wanted this to be quick, she certainly wasn't making it easy. Saachi hesitated slightly, unsure about how to proceed. Her cleaver was high in the air, but she didn't know where to hit. She just wanted it done quickly. In and out. Make it easy for the both of them. Seconds stretched on for minutes as she tried to navigate the situation. She didn't want to make this unnecessarily painful for them. It was bad enough she was killing them. She didn't want to torture them.

"Stop moving!" She yelled out in frustration. Time was passing and she knew she had to do something. The neck wasn't going to be an option. Her head was moving too quickly for her to hit it accurately. That probably left her head, if she wanted to make things quick. Hoping that the process would be over for both of them after this, Saachi swung her cleaver down.

As Felicia went to the door, Lyndi turned back to Ramona. She smiled.

"I know Felicia, she's good. If all of us stay together, we're going to be fine."

'All of us' included the girl that appeared with Felicia. Lyndi wasn't exactly sure who she was, but the fact she was with Felicia was good enough. Felicia was as good a judge of character as anyone else she knew, so if Felicia was fine with her, then Lyndi was fine with her.

There were other matters to attend to, however.

"Uh..." Lyndi glanced back towards Felicia as she asked her question, then back to Ramona.

"I don't think I did? Did you, Ramona?"

It was something to be concerned about, of course, but it didn't look like anyone was in danger right now. It's not like any of them had a magic device that could tell them if anyone dangerous was approaching, was it? As she walked over to the nearest pew, Lyndi slid her bag from her shoulder and onto the ground underneath the seat. She was about to follow suit when she heard the scream.

Felicia's scream.

Not even wasting a beat, Lyndi's reflexes kicked in. She saw Felicia disappear from the view of the door, and immediately ran. She bolted as fast as her legs would allow her to go until she reached the threshold from which Felicia disappeared.

Her heart stopped as she saw the scene from the doorway. A boy she'd never seen before was standing there as a girl she'd never seen before was on top of Felicia, who was in a net of some sort. Before she could even process what was going on, she saw the cleaver in the other girl's hands.

Despite what people knew of Lyndi, despite how she'd acted in the hours since she'd been awake on this island, and despite what could easily have been the consequence of her choice, only one thing came to mind when she realized what would happen if she did nothing. The thoughts would come later. The interrogation would come later, because if she did anything but act then Felicia would be dead.

"NO!"

If there was anything she was sure of about this girl, she knew that she had never experienced one of her school's best cheerleaders screaming and barreling into her as fast as it was possible to move before. For her, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Saachi wasn't expecting a sudden force to slam into her like a hammer, causing her to barrel backward. Then two of them were entwined in a mess of limbs as the other girl grasped onto her tightly. The strength of the attack caused Saachi to lose her grip on her meat cleaver as she instinctively braced herself. Her weapon flew in the air, dropping a few feet in between Jay and the two girls. At the moment, Saachi had more pressing things to worry about.

The two of them continued to roll as Saachi continued to try and shield herself from damage. The world spun for Saachi as the momentum of the other girl's charge carried them backward. Once they came to a stop, Saachi had only a second before she recognised that the other girl had pinned her hands to the floor. Saachi struggled against the girl, trying to push her off and get free of her grasp. The only sounds that came out from her at first were grunts and frustrated yells as she impotently tried to wrestle free from the other's grip.

It was like being caught in the net all over again. Things couldn't end like this, at her first attempt. That would just be so pathetic. She couldn't let her family see her like this.

Panic was pumping through her body now. She struggled again. No success. Her actions were becoming more desperate. Not now. Not like this. She writhed and wriggled, but she wouldn't budge. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she was caught. She probably would be dead. If the girl had a weapon, she would be. The more she struggled, however, the more she realised she couldn't get out. In the throngs of her panic, she realised that she had to turn to what she considered the unthinkable.

"Jay, do something!" Saachi cried out, her normal composure cracking as the fear of what was to come drenched over her.