Chapter 24: The Survivor
"Is he okay?" Camie (girl number 5) asked, watching as Shirley (girl number 16) took Kohza's (boy number 21) pulse. Shirley bit her lip, saying: "His pulse is steady, so he hasn't gotten any worse as far as I know, but…"
"But not any better, either" Nami (girl number 12) finished, eyeing Kohza's rifle. It seemed to be undamaged. Shirley nodded, saying: "But I suppose it was quite a hit; it's no wonder he's still out cold. It's too early to panic."
"I know" Nami said, putting the rifle down and covering her face "I know…"
They were quiet after that, Shirley and Camie not knowing what to say. And Nami, well, she simply didn't feel like talking. At the moment she just felt… empty. Way too empty.
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Robin (girl number 4) had her gun out, ready to use it at moment's notice. She'd told herself how unlikely it'd be to run in to anyone here, but that didn't mean she could let herself get careless.
"It's a little dark here; all the sunlight can't get in because of the mountains" Robin noted, not sure if she should be glad or not "I should be near the center of the place soon; I should find some place I can hide."
A hollow tree trunk, or perhaps a cave? There might be on or two at the base of the mountains. Not that she was sure of the safety of such things, but nowhere was really safe in this place.
"I just hope I don't run in to any bears or such; there's no guarantee there aren't any" she thought, a small amused smile finding its way to her face "Or squirrels."
She let out a small chuckle, but then realized what she was doing and immediately shook her head. No, she mustn't think of it, mustn't think of him. She was here to win and nothing else mattered.
Nothing else at all.
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"This place is a mess…" Paulie (boy number 25) mumbled as he walked around the burned area. Maybe it was a waste of time, maybe he really wouldn't find anything useful from here.
"But it's not like I have any better ideas, so better check the whole place thoroughly." he told himself. The chances of finding something useful were minimal he knew, but as long as there was a chance…
He jumped suddenly, sure that he'd heard something. Making sure his ropes were ready to be used, Paulie cautiously started to walk towards the direction he'd heard the sound from. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, after all. He was about to call out to check if someone was there, but thought better of it. If someone was around and they were playing, it was safest to not give himself away since there was a chance that he hadn't been noticed yet.
Having a feeling he was close, Paulie took a deep breath before rounding a corner. And his feeling had been right; there, in a pile of debris, was a mouse, all the junk falling and rolling around as it moved. The blond blinked in disbelief, letting out a chuckle before starting to laugh full blow. He felt ridiculous.
"It's a mouse… just a mouse…" he muttered as he got himself under control, still amused. Looking down at the mouse again for no reason, he noticed that it was looking straight at him, staring at him.
"That's a bit creepy… mice don't attack people, do they?" he thought, knowing that rats sometimes did. Maybe mice too? "I'm stuck on an island filled with armed people and I'm worried about a rodent. Ridiculous."
Paulie shook his head, deciding to continue his tour. It'd take a while since he had to watch his footing very carefully alongside keeping a careful eye on his surroundings. He hadn't walked all that long before his footing gave a way, and with a yelp he fell on his backside, thankfully not getting hurt. Right, just making sure not to trip on anything wasn't enough; he had to look where he stepped as well. Not that he hadn't been doing that, but apparently looks could be misleading.
"There's a lot of sharp stuff here; it's dangerous. Should I just leave after all?" he wondered, considering his options. If he stayed, he'd be in the danger of hurting himself with all the rubble, but if he left, he'd most likely get nowhere. That was the case here too actually, but here he had at least a bit better chance of finding something useful "Don't be a chicken, just carry on."
Despite telling himself this, Paulie jolted as he heard something again. Turning his head, he saw a mouse, wait no, the mouse again. It was the same furry little creature. Was it following him?
"Shoo" he said, trying to wave the creature off "Go find some cheese or something."
Paulie's efforts did next to nothing to get rid of the animal. In fact, it was the opposite as the little furry creature scurried even closer.
"Ah hell" Paulie cursed, standing up. It's not like he was afraid of mice or any other little creatures, but it was best to not let it close in case it tried to bite him. Who knew what kind of illnesses the thing might carry "Just go away. Shoo!"
Should he throw something at the damn thing? No, that would be animal cruelty.
"Not that anyone would give a shit with people going around killing each other, right?" he thought as he shook his head. Looking down, he saw that the mouse had stopped right in front of him. Did mice usually come this close to people? "Maybe it used to be someone's pet."
Paulie wasn't an animal person, but looking at the mouse, he got the sudden urge to take it along. As ridiculous as it sounded, some company would be nice, even the company of a mouse.
"I'm losing it alright" he thought with a heavy sigh, crouching down and holding his hand out. If the mouse came-
"That was fast" he thought as the animal climbed on his hand without a moment's hesitation. It was definitely used to people alright "Well, I suppose you'll be coming with me."
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"Oi, Chopper" Zoro (boy number 18) said "Where are we?"
"With these many trees, E13, I think" Chopper (boy number 3) said "Might also still be F13, but if we walk straight ahead a bit more, we'll definitely be at that zone."
"Okay, let's go"
"Yea- ZORO I SAID STRAIGHT AHEAD, NOT LEFT!" Chopper yelled "If you accidentally went southwest from here, you'd end up in a forbidden zone!"
Zoro turned back, looking slightly embarrassed, but mostly just annoyed.
"Why are you giving such unclear directions?"
"I'm not; you're just hopeless!" Chopper bit back "Just follow me, stay right behind me, and don't you dare leave further than five, no, make it three, meters!"
Normally Zoro would've argued, but Chopper looked and sounded angry. Really angry; he supposed it was best to shut up and obey. He was a little worried about letting Chopper take the lead; he'd be slower to react than Zoro would be if they encountered an enemy. Then again, if they were approached from behind, he could act accordingly.
"It'll be fine; Chopper has a gun" he reminded himself "And as long as anyone we come across doesn't have one, I can easily move past him fast enough if needed."
Yeah, if they didn't run in to anyone with a gun.
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"This place should work" Robin thought as she found a lone building from the valley. She hoped there'd be an easily openable window or something, but if there wasn't, she could just break one; no one would hear her here. Circling the place, she could see all the windows and even the door boarded shut. She supposed she could move the boards from one window and go inside, but there was a risk: if someone did come to the place and saw only one window uncovered, they'd know someone was inside. And they'd also know that someone's only escape route.
"No good, then. But maybe I can find something useful" like some kind of fabric used to protect the furniture outside; it could get cold at night and it'd be stupid to light a fire. She'd seen a small, hastily built shelter that was meant to protect logs from the rain, but it was made of plastic and wouldn't be that warm, not to mention it'd be too big. Perhaps she could find an abandoned jacket? Or a blanket someone had taken out while working during cold nights and forgotten outside?
"I should've taken a blanket from the village or searched around for a jacket" Robin thought with a sigh. If only she'd been in the right state of mind… shaking her head, she told herself to not to think about it. What was done was done, and now she just had to focus on not repeating the same mistakes. If she could find a coat, she'd take it along. If she'd find a blanket, she'd modify it to make it in to a cloak or something so it wouldn't get in the way. She wasn't good at needlework, but doing something so simple was by no means a challenge.
Going to the back of the building, she saw a lot of junk piled up against one wall, and among it was an old looking, very worn out blanket.
"Beggars can't be choosers" Robin thought, hoping that it wouldn't have any fleas or anything. Picking it up, she was surprised to find a basement hatch under it, one that wasn't boarded shut no less. If she was lucky it'd be connected to the house and even if it wasn't, it would still do as a shelter as long as she hid the entrance from view.
"Unless someone else thought the same and is already inside" she thought, biting her lip. To risk it or not to risk it, that was the question.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" she'd go in, but cautiously. She'd also leave the hatch open just in case she had to make a quick escape. Taking out her flashlight and turning it on, she put it in her mouth since her hands were occupied by the machine gun. Opening the door, she shined the light down and saw steep stairs. They'd be a little troublesome since she had to carry her weapon, but she supposed one hand for it would be fine temporarily. It wasn't that heavy as long as she didn't need to do it for long. Going in, Robin supported herself by leaning her free hand to the wall, careful to not put too much weight on one leg for too long. The stairs felt rather sturdy so far, but she couldn't be sure they were all like that.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here" Robin thought, taking the flashlight in to her now free hand as she got all the way down, pointing it around the room just in case. No one was around, but there was a door. She hoped it'd lead to the house itself instead of just another part of the basement. She sighed, feeling tired, but knew she had to check the whole place for safety reasons before resting. Going to the door, she carefully tested it. It was open, thankfully. Opening it, she saw there was no one in and that there were stairs leading up. Good; she'd get to the house.
"So far there's no sign of anyone… should I go close the hatch? I doubt there's anyone here, but if there is…" both options were risks. But the smaller risk was in- "I'll close the hatch."
She went back to close it, trying to do it in a way that would get the blanket to cover the hatch. She couldn't check, but she was pretty sure she'd managed. Going back, she made her way up the stairs, ones that weren't nearly as steep as the first ones. She hoped this'd be quick; the machine gun was heavy with just one arm and she needed the other one for the flashlight.
"This'd be easier with two people" she thought, but shook her head immediately afterwards. No, two people would just be unnecessarily dangerous. She was better off alone. Wanting to get things over with, Robin opened another door as she reached the top, coming to a hallway. There was no one in sight, which was good. There were five doors, two on each side and one straight ahead, that one clearly being the front door. There was no point in going to the end of the hallway, but she had to check the other four.
First room from the left didn't take long; a very small, simple bedroom with a bed, drawer and a small desk. There was one window, but it was boarded shut just like she'd seen from the outside. But the important thing was that the room was clear.
"Next" she thought, closing the door behind her and moving on. The second space was bigger, a kitchen living room combo. Whoever had lived in the place had apparently preferred sleeping on the couch, for while the bedroom had been tidy, perhaps untouched, this place was a mess with clothes thrown around along with dirty dishes. And it smelled.
"I should look for food later" Robin thought, moving on to check the other rooms. She did consider that she should go through the rooms more properly in case someone was hiding, but she doubted it. The place was dusty and untidy; if someone was there, they'd leave a trace.
Next was a bathroom toilet compo. Clean enough, if not a bit dusty. For a moment she wondered if the shower would still work; using it wouldn't be all that risky in a place as isolated as this. Well, maybe she could check it later.
Last door. Judging from how big the building looked from the outside and the sizes of the previous rooms, Robin knew that this one would be the biggest in the house. She was actually a little eager to know what it was for. Opening the door, she walked in to a see a study of some kind, but it could also be called a library. In one corner there was a messy desk with papers thrown around and a few books here and there, but the rest of the place was stocked with shelves full of books. If someone could've seen Robin at that moment, they would've known she was delighted, that's how clear it was on her face. She loved libraries.
Suddenly snapping out of her delighted state, Robin rapidly shook her head. No, she couldn't get careless. If someone were to be hiding in this building, this was the place they would most likely do it in. Getting a good look at the room with just few glances was impossible; hiding would be easy. She had to go through this room far more thoroughly than the others.
With that in mind she gripped her weapon tighter, starting to go over the room. Even if someone was here, they'd probably heard her and moved to hide. However, if someone was there, they'd be pound to leave traces behind and if she found some, she'd be more on guard. Of course, there was a chance that someone would attack her before she noticed anything, but she doubted it'd happen. The place was so eerily quiet that she'd definitely know if someone came closer to her.
It seemed there was no one, but she did find another door, a locked one this time. While there was a tiny possibility that someone was inside, Robin highly doubted it. It was probably locked just to keep intruders out.
"I could look for a key, but the chances that the place won't really have anything all that useful are high" she thought "Better not to waste energy on it."
The important thing was that the place was clear. Now she's just had to secure the entrance better, then she could finally rest a little bit.
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"Good evening, my killers!"
"Evening, shithead" Nojiko (girl number 17) greeted back as the 6 pm announcement started.
"Tonight, we have three dead, all women" Nojiko froze. If she had counted correctly, there had been twelve women alive, including her. If three of them were dead, then-
"Girl number 7, Kalifa. Girl number 10, Margaret and girl number 28, Boa Hancock" Nojiko let out the breath she'd been holding in; her sister wasn't among them. Good, that was good.
"As for forbidden zones, I'll give you D13 from 7 pm, I12 from 8 pm and C8 from 11 pm. Have a nice night!" Nojiko let out a breath she'd been holding in; she was safe. For now, at least.
"Maybe I should go to south a bit more… north is all forbidden zones from here, so I'm unlikely to run in to any trouble… but I won't find Nami like this, either" she thought "And I don't want to wander off to a forbidden zone on accident."
South it was, then. Just a little.
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Law (boy number 12) was glad that Luffy (boy number 7) had chosen north to be the direction they headed in; had they gone south, the new forbidden zones could've become a problem.
"Not that we don't have to be careful now; there are forbidden zones directly in both north and south. But as long as we head directly to the east…" Law thought, trailing off as he heard what he thought were footsteps. He turned around in order to warn Luffy, only to see that the boy had stopped and raised his head, looking straight ahead. He had heard the same it seems, not to mention pinpointed the direction of the sound. Law supposed he shouldn't be surprised about it at this point. Adjusting his grip on his weapon, Law prepared to face whoever was coming. Hopefully it was someone weak with a useless weapon… or an ally, but that was very unlikely. He wasn't all that well liked.
"Come to think of it, I don't know Straw hat-ya's weapon" he realized, glancing at Luffy "He isn't taking it out, so he has either lost it or it's useless. Well, as long as the person coming doesn't have a firearm of any sort, we should be fine with my sword and two on one."
There was just one clear miscalculation in that: it wasn't one but two people that approached them. That was something Law soon learned, and as he saw the gun in the hand of one and blades in the hands of the other, he cursed. If these two decided to come after their lives, their chances of survival were slim. Very slim.
"Luffy? You're okay?" Law narrowed his eyes at this, keeping his eyes firmly on the man with the gun. Were he and Luffy close? …No, not as far as Law could recall, but he could be mistaken.
"But I'm pretty sure he, both of them, were close with Ace" Law thought, remembering that he'd seen them together often "So maybe… we're in the clear?"
"It's you" Luffy muttered, walking a little closer. Law didn't try to stop him, but would do so if the boy went past him "Have you seen Sabo? Or Zoro? Nami, Chopper?"
"None of them, I'm afraid" Izou (boy number 20) said, glancing at Law "What happened to Ace and Vivi?"
Law wasn't stupid; he knew what that glance meant. Izou was suspecting him to be the killer. Well, lucky for him, Luffy had seen the truth with his own eyes, so he wouldn't be suspected for long. Assuming that Izou and Haruta (girl number 19) believed him, that is.
"They died" Luffy replied "It was Lucci and Box nose."
Izou's eyes widened. Since Luffy said it like it was a fact, he must've seen it happen. Or had he seen the two close to the bodies? He hoped that'd be the case; that'd be less traumatizing… probably.
"How can you be so sure? Did you see them do it?" Haruta asked, making both Law and Izou grimace at her lack of tact. Luffy however, didn't bat an eyelash as he answered "Yeah."
Izou shot Haruta a glare, and only then she realized that it wasn't exactly the right thing to say.
"Ah…" she let out, trying to come up with something to say "I'm sorry… for your loss?"
Izou bit back a sigh. Not that he wasn't sorry too, but that was just…
"Do you two need something?" Law asked. Right, he was there too. Izou wasn't sure yet if he could be trusted or not, but since Luffy was with him and still alive, he might not be playing… probably.
"We were looking for others, mainly Luffy after we heard…" Izou didn't finish, not that he needed to. Law knew what he meant and, while the guy wasn't all that smart, he was sure Luffy knew too.
"You've found him" Law said "Now what? Do you have some kind of plan?"
Haruta looked at Izou, wondering if he'd come up with something, but to her disappointment the man just said: "No. Do you?"
"…No" of course he didn´t, but admitting it felt annoying. He didn't like it when he didn't know what he was doing, and something he liked even less than that was letting others know he didn't know what he was doing.
"So, the best course of action to take is to find someone who does have a plan" Izou said "Any ideas?"
"No" Law said, narrowing his eyes "But something tells me you have someone in mind."
"Had. He died in the explosion, or at least that's what I think since he was listed dead. Could've been before it or slightly after, too" Izou told "It's farfetched, but there might still be something useful left in the ruins of that place. It was some type of laboratory… since there is no better plan, I'd say we should take a look."
Extremely farfetched, Law'd say. But did he have a better idea? No, he didn't. All he'd been planning was to find someone who could come up with something. He supposed these two counted, especially since they hadn't encountered anyone else.
"We'll go with that, then" he said "Lead the way."
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"Everything's in ruins… I suppose it was a waste of time to come here" Paulie (boy number 25) thought as he looked around in the place the lab used to be "I should leave; even if there's no one else around, it's dangerous here since I can never be sure where to put my feet on."
He already had some small bruises and cuts, not to mention there'd been a few close calls for serious injuries.
"What was I even thinking, coming here?" he wondered, shaking his head. He should've known it was hopeless.
Feeling the mouse move on his hand, it had been still for quite a while now, Paulie looked at it. Did it want down or something?
"Well, let's see" he thought with a shrug, kneeling and putting his hand to the ground. The mouse didn't waste time before jumping off, scurrying around in circles for a moment. After that, it ran ahead for a little while before stopping and squeaking loudly.
"What is it?" Paulie asked, about to go over but stopped after a step. Was he just about to follow a mouse? What was getting in to him? "Well whatever, I got nothing better to do."
He knew it was pointless, yet he went over to the mouse anyway. And that's when he noticed the drops of blood right behind it.
"But it's not wounded, so the blood is from something else… or someone else" he thought. The drops left behind a trail, and some spots had more of it than others. Should he follow the trail? Since it wasn't under the ash and debris, it had to be pretty fresh. What or whoever was in the other end of the trail might still be alive.
"Following the trail definitely wouldn't be safe" Paulie thought, but that didn't mean he wanted to turn around "But this could actually lead to something, and if nothing is done, I'll just die anyway. Even if I hide, I'll run out of time."
Mind made up, Paulie chose to follow the blood stains, picking up the mouse as he went. It was stupid; there was most likely nothing and if there was, there was a huge chance it was dangerous. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.
As the blood stains got bigger, he started to get more and more nervous. For something to lose this much blood and still move, it had to be big, right? How much blood could a living being lose before fainting, anyway?
"Remember: no pain no gain" Paulie told himself, taking a deep breath "I won't achieve anything without taking some risks."
He continued walking on, a bit slower this time. He was cautious, ready to use his ropes at a moment's notice. And he might need them very soon, for the blood stains got bigger. Tensing, he rounded a corner. He thought he'd be prepared to see whatever had left the blood behind, but he wasn't.
"Franky…" he muttered as he saw the huge man, laying on a pool of blood. He'd thought that Franky (boy number 15) and Iceburg (boy number 17) would've both died at the explosion or the fire, but apparently not. It seemed that Franky had somehow survived, even managing to bandage his injuries. That explained why there was only a little blood at first; it had started leaking through the bandages little by little, yet he'd still continued walking.
"Why? Is there something in the direction he aimed for?" Paulie wondered "Or was he in too bad of a condition to think, simply walking ahead?"
That was highly likely, taking the amount of blood lost into account. But wait-
"The blood seemed really fresh… but Franky died over half a day ago, right?" Paulie realized. Something wasn't right here. Had someone else dragged, or even carried, Franky's body here? But would someone who had been dead for hours bleed like that? He wasn't an expert, but he was pretty sure they couldn't.
But the thing is, someone who was alive could.
Paulie wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes but, just now, Franky had moved. He'd shifted, just a little, but he'd done it. Paulie was sure of that; it definitely hadn't been a trick of light or anything.
"But the announcement said he was dead" the blond told himself. There was no way Franky had moved, he'd just seen things. It seemed that the fatigue was finally getting to the man. He should go somewhere safer and take a rest. It was pity for Franky, but Paulie decided to leave his body where it was. Making a grave for such a big man would take a lot of energy, as well as moving him. The blond couldn't afford to lose that energy. Still, he wished he could do something, even a little, for his friend.
"If his eyes had been open I could've- "Paulie's line of thought was cut off as he noticed that they indeed were open "I could've sworn they were closed just now…"
"Franky?" he said the man's name again, just to be sure. Still, he wasn't actually expecting to get a response when-
"Yeah?"
If someone would've asked Paulie later had he screamed like a girl, he would've absolutely denied it.
Three days, 18 hours and 34 minutes of the game gone
24 students remaining
A.N: Franky is alive! Don't worry, the way how will be explained in the next chapter. But while waiting for that, what do you think happened?
And of course, I listed Franky as dead earlier just in case that some of you are counting, but now that he's revealed to be alive, I'm counting him among the living again. That's why last chapter said "23 students remaining" and this one "24 students remaining."