Hour 49
16 Contestants Remaining
"I must be out of my mind," Paul Holt, a.k.a. Boy # 12, said to himself, "That's the only thing explaining why we are the way we are right now isn't it? I'm sitting here and not doing anything because I'm crazy. Yeah, I'd have to be crazy to be doing what I'm doing when it's not what I want to do or what I believe in. What do I believe in? That's the hard one to answer now, because you think you believe something when you wake up one day, but the next something happens that makes you change what you believe in. You don't want to believe there's evil in the world, that it's just relegated to the greats like Freddy, Jason, Michael and Chucky, but it really is there. There's people here you wouldn't give one glance either way, people who for all intents and purposes look normal, act normal. They go to school, to work, they go out dancing, fall in love, make love, break up, and yet... they have problems, I think. Problems that make them do things, bad things, horrible things, things that would keep most peo-"
"What the hell are you doing?" Ashley Vasquez, a.k.a. Girl # 5 asked as she propped herself up on the belly of the plane.
"A dramatic monologue," Paul deadpanned, "I've got a lot on my mind and I figure someone in the world may be interested in hearing it. Have you seen anything more from the tower?"
"No," Lexie Hawk, a.k.a. Girl # 20, replied through her sounds of digging, "there were those flashes, and then that shadow ran off. Haven't seen either hide nor hair of the shooter, I think."
"Only one," Paul mused, "probably means one of them died."
"You wanna test it?" Ashley asked wryly, "Whoever's up there is good, and I'm not really ready to count them out yet."
"Neither am I, I'm just saying it's a possibility, you know?" Paul continued.
"Are we gonna keep talking about this," Lexie asked as she pulled away from the dig, "or are you gonna help me open up this cockpit just in case this freak is still lookin our way."
"Just a second," Ashley said as she pulled a long, flat piece of metal from the debris that she had been lying in. Going to the edge of the fuselage that she knew better than to cross, Ashley inched the piece of metal out into view.
"Chumming?" Paul asked.
"What's that?" Ashley replied as she began to wave the metal up and down.
"Ever see Jaws?" he fired back.
"No," she responded.
"You're missing out," Paul replied with an attempt to arch his neck to see Ashley.
"I tend to do that, so what's chumming?"
"Well, when they went out looking for this shark that had been killing people they needed a way to draw it out in the open and-"
The distinctive popping sound that they had grown to know and fear over the course of the last day echoed across the airfield once more. The piece of metal in Ashley's hands was suddenly wrenched free as one of the heavy bullets from Marie's hunting rifle slammed into it full force.
"Don't they ever sleep?" Paul asked idly.
"Don't look like it," Ashley replied as she hobbled back to her feet, "they're alive and hale and hearty, which means it's back to work on the dig."
"Seems to be..." Paul mused as he dropped his head low.
He found it funny to an extent, at least as funny as anything could be under the circumstances. Let's face it, we're all being stalked by a mad sniper with infinite patience and stamina and impeccable skill, what the hell could be funny at a time like this? Still, Paul did have the wherewithal to find some humor in the situation. We've always got these quests... First it was the crate, then it was the door, and now it's the dig...
Yeah, the dig. At first it was a big deal to blast open the cockpit door since it was a pretty good assumption that the windshield was more than likely busted out with age just like everything else around here. The whole field was covered in rusted metal, pieces of crap that had been left corroding there for upwards of thirty years by the looks of it, the windshield had to be busted out, right? Well, that much was accurate, the windshield had been broken out in whatever accident caused this plane to be in all the pieces it was in. The bad news though was that the higher half of the windshield was blocked by some immovable control panels that had been blasted free and rusted solid, so they were no good. The lower half of the windshield had no such obstruction, yet it was filled with thirty some-odd years of mud that had since solidified into a heavily packed dirt, but with the recent rains was more of a septic, stinking, powerful sludge. So, for the last hour, Lexie and Ashley (mostly Lexie as Ashley was still pretty messed up) had been using random chunks of metal and their bare hands to dig at the mud to widen a hole enough for them to get out of the plane once and for all. Given that the rain was recent and fresh, the more they dug, the more the hole they created filled with fresh mud. That made Paul laugh.
"This is gonna take a while," Paul mused to himself once more, "don't they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result?"
He looked over his left shoulder to look into that piece of fuselage yet could only see the muted light coming from their flashlights.
"Yeah, I thought so," he continued along without any stopping, "you know this isn't the first time I've come close to insanity?"
No response. He could hear them talking as they dug and felt free enough to continue.
"Yeah, I was thirteen, one of the coldest damn winters I can remember and we all go out of town to visit the family back east for Christmas. Still, we've got some free time to kill so dad takes Simon and me out to this old hunting lodge and we go out to catch us some deer. Good idea, right? Yeah, it'd have been good if it weren't for the massive snowstorm that trapped us in there for two weeks. We had nothing to eat except maybe fifteen pounds of beef jerky, a tube of mixed nuts and three cases of Cheetos. That's not the crazy part though, you'd think it, but it wasn't, no, the boredom, that was the crazy part. We had no power, no TV, no radio, and one walkman. We only had one tape though, some half-assed recording of Huey Lewis & The News' Greatest Hits."
He nodded to himself, trying to prove a point that he already knew to be true.
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the guy and he's got some good music, but when you've got two weeks with nothing to do except eat salt and listen to Hip to Be Square you go nuts. I swear, I was thirteen but I wanted to put a bullet in my head. That's insanity, like this. Same deal, different volume."
He heard no response from either of the girls. Yeah, they weren't listening, but they're looking to get us out of here so who's to say them not listening to you is a bad thing?
A sharp snapping of wood off in the tree line caught Paul's attention. He'd gotten used to the strange and sudden noises that this island had to offer, yeah, they were scary but they weren't that bad overall, once you got used to them at least. This one though was a bit different. This snapping moved, rustling in the grass as it approached.
"Hey guys?" Paul asked as he listened to the sound as it approached, "Guys?"
Neither Ashley nor Lexie responded to his plea. Looking on a bit anxiously, Paul listened. The rustling was getting closer. He could even see it part the tall grass as it moved on over his way.
"Guys?"
The broad was dumb, it was a simple fact. She had to be dumb to be doin what she was doin, I mean, come on, she really trusts a guy like you after all you done? Yeah, she could've killed you at any time and she could still kill you now, but so the fuck what? You trust her, right? Hell no, no, trustin her would be as dumb as trustin you and you're smart enough not to be the kind of person to be trustin you, right? Yeah, dumb bitch. She could've killed you and she didn't, and now she's your meal ticket to making it into the winner's circle. Dumbass thinks I'm one of these big Jesus freaks when she's the real nutjob. She ain't got no respect though, no, she ain't got no respect 'cause she ain't got no fear, and what are you gonna do about that, huh? She's an ally and she ain't got no fear in you, she's the one who thinks she's wearin the pants here. Get rid of her, soon as possible...
"Ain't you gonna ever wash that off?" Boy # 23, Joel Giovanello, asked.
"Wash what off?" Girl # 2, Katie Snyder replied. Her gaze never left the window of the officers quarters as she stared off into the distance. At what, Joel neither knew or cared for. She was doing the sentry duty obviously, and not a bad job at that, but it still bothered him. Her tank top, the vest, her skirt, that blue headband she wore, they were all covered with bits and spurts of blood from Big V, CC, and god only knew how many other people.
"Dunno if you noticed, but you've still got blood all over you."
"Do I?" Katie mused as she took a glance down at her body. She paid it no heed, soon looking up and back out the window.
"Yeah, you do, aren't ya gonna try and clean it off?"
"I thought the rain washed most of it away," she continued, still looking out the window. Joel couldn't explain why, but the fact that she wasn't moving or giving him any of the attention he demanded by initiating conversation was really beginning to piss him off. Not that that was entirely new or unexpected, but still, it pissed him off.
"It didn't," he replied, "wearing their blood, that's fucked up, and you not lookin at me when I'm talking to you, that's a lack of respect and I cannot handle a lack of respect ya know?"
"Respect," Katie mused as she kept her eye on the window, "you demand it or request it."
"Demand it actually," Joel fired back quickly, "We're here for together and we have to act together and if you want to work with me I'm demanding some respect."
"We may be on similar paths," Katie continued, "but I don't believe you have respect, and for one to earn it, they must have it."
"What the hell does that mean?"
Hearing another echoing gunshot in the distance (Marie shooting in the direction of Paul and his mystery noise as things may have it), Katie tensed up as she tended to do, but relaxed when it revealed itself once more to be absolutely nothing.
"You shot your comrade in an effort to murder me," Katie said with a pause, then continuing, "though it was I who finally killed him, it shows your dedication towards survival at all costs. I commend that, but it shows no loyalty, nor does it show any respect. I've followed you here, seen you in school, I've known what respect you had for your associates, and it was none. The large girl broke her neck and your worry was in losing another of your protectors. Show me respect, demonstrate it, and I will give it back to you as more than just another of His servants, but as a person."
"Fuck you," Joel replied angrily as he jumped to his feet from the chair he sat in, "fuck you and all this bullshit!"
"I tolerate your obscenity, but unless you'd like to feel the fire that I can rain, I'd suggest you limit it until absolutely necessary," Katie replied.
"Are you threatening me?" he asked with more irritation.
"You only threaten yourself," she said coolly, "your manner puts you in a state that borders you on the boundary of life and death. Until I saw your talisman I actually had no thought as to how you'd survived this long, since your efforts were crude and... vulgar."
"Oh vulgar, VULGAR!" he hollered, "I'll show you vulgar!"
Catching her off guard for perhaps the first time, Joel rushed Katie. He slammed the butt of his shotgun into the crook between her shoulder-blades, knocking her forehead into the glass with a definitive shatter. Despite the blood running down her scalp and into her eyes, Katie felt not fear, not pain, but oddly enough pleasure. Smiling as she whirled her head around, Katie smacked Joel in the face with one of her pigtails. She caught him stunned, jumping onto her chair and delivering a powerful kick across Joel's face.
Joel spun around a full 360 degrees, falling to the ground with a powerful thud. Jumping on Joel's back, Katie deftly grabbed the shotgun from his hands and threw it across the room and out of reach. He regained his senses quickly, rolling on the ground and slamming Katie against the wall. Quickly getting to his feet (yet minding his injured right ankle), Joel quickly whipped the revolver and Beretta from his belt, firing each pistol in Katie's direction and missing each time as she rolled.
The girl rolled over her shoulder, nimbly getting back to her feet and kicking an end table in Joel's direction. He fired several shots at the piece of furniture, turning it to splinters as Katie then threw a ceramic lamp his way. Joel was not quick enough to strike the lamp however and caught it heavily against his face as it shattered. Joel howled in pain as Katie cooed delightfully, watching as the wrestler fell to his knees and dropped his pistols.
He looked just in time to see her trying to pull off another of her jumping kicks to his face, at which point he grabbed the wiry girl by her leg and swung her bodily into a nearby table. The ancient and corroded piece of furniture splintered as the wrestler swung the small girl through with considerable ease.
Slightly dazed yet smiling from the feelings that flowed through her body, Katie kicked off the floor with her free leg and swung it into Joel's face. He stumbled into the wall in time to feel that same iron foot braced against his throat. Indeed, as his vision cleared, Joel could see that Katie stood on one of her tiny (yet extremely muscular) legs and had the other braced against his throat. Yet, it was neither of her legs that caught his attention, oh no, it was the barrel of that Beretta that she aimed right in his face. Behind the gun there was that angelic, albeit rather insane face as she looked on with an intense, bright smile. He knew better than to cross that smile.
"The blood is what garnered your attention?" she asked with a roll of the tongue. Katie's tone and look was one that Joel did not recognize from her; one he normally would have equated with lust had it not been for the gun she was pointing in his face. Still, he couldn't help but notice that looking down her leg to the shortened skirt she wore that her panties were visible. Baby blue. Perfect.
"I know that given your proclivities this is probably a poor question to be asking, but have you ever heard of Erzsébet Báthory?"
She let the pressure from her foot on his throat drop enough to let him shake his head.
"I didn't think so," she responded with particular glee, "also known as Elisabeth Bathory and The Blood Queen of Hungary, she was an extremely vain woman. Despite her ravishing beauty she always believed her body to be aging faster than it must and resorted to often... devilish measures to preserve her youth. The queen would torture and mutilate her servant girls and bathe in their blood, often drinking it in the belief that this was the source to the fountain of youth, as well as... a powerful aphrodisiac."
Looking down her toned thighs once more, Joel caught sight of that piece of fabric that covered her holiest of holy spots. It now had a barely visible damp spot, but it was most certainly there. No fucking way...
"Do you find me attractive?" Katie asked as she pressed her foot harder against his throat. Alas, she heard no response from the wrestler and dropped her foot to the floor. She cocked the pistol's hammer.
"That was not a subjective question, more of a demand as you might say," Katie continued as she leveled the pistol at his face.
"Yeah," Joel replied as he rubbed his injured throat, "you ain't my type but you're not bad."
"Given the proper circumstances..." Katie continued, asking with words that seemed to have a hard time leaving her mouth, "would you... fuck me."
"Say what?" Joel asked as he eyed the religious library girl up and down. Even he knew what was right and what was wrong with the world, and he knew even more what was really fucked up. This was one of the latter.
Looking back to the wrestler, Katie couldn't help but smile. She threw the pistol across the room and jumped on Joel, wrapping her powerful legs around his waist as she locked her lips over his ferociously. It took him a long time to realize that this was not an attack but her coming on to him, and he was more than one to reciprocate. She tore at his shirt like a wild beast while he fumbled with the clasps on her bulletproof vest. She bit into the side of his neck with great passion, leading to a sizable welt and bloody semi-circle as he slammed her hard against the wall.
It was true, the situation was, even by Joel's standards, pretty fucked up. Still, even he was one to admit that pussy is pussy, and never once had he come across any bad pussy. Even psychotic-redhead-bible-thumping pussy wasn't all that bad in retrospect.
"JESUS CHRIST!" Paul yelled as the beast latched its dull teeth around his boot. He struggled the best he could against this monster, this dark shape that was trying to eat his foot for some reason, but it was winning the fight by a wide margin, pulling him away from the wheel slightly as it gnawed on his foot. Once again that sniper from above fired off another shot and made the situation that much more enjoyable.
"What the hell?" Ashley responded as she saw Paul wrestling with the snorting shape.
"God damn it, get this thing off of me!" Paul yelled as the sniper fired another shot. This one hit the creature, whatever it was, but got only a spray of blood that peppered Paul's face. With his free foot he tried kicking it in the mouth and met with similar success.
"What is that thing?" Lexie asked as she tried to make it out in the low light.
"I don't know, just shoot it!" Ashley hollered back.
Pulling out her pistol, Lexie quickly leveled the weapon and fired off three shots in the darkness, the first two catching air and the third bouncing off Paul's landing gear hideaway.
"Shit don't shoot me!" Paul practically shrieked as he braced his one leg against the ground to keep from being pulled away any further. The thing was merciless, grabbing and wrenching at his boot as he continued to fight. Shit, pull me another foot and you can eat what's left of me if that prick in the tower gets to shooting me, no, can't let that happen now can we? The tale of Paul Holt isn't over yet, it can't be, this has to be a movie someday...
Reaching around to his pack, Paul pulled free his chainsaw and slammed the blunt end into the creature once, twice, three times, enough to force it to let go and take a waddling step back. Although he could hardly see it in the moonlight, he could clearly hear it squeal and howl as it charged him once more. This time prepared, Paul quickly yank-started the weapon and drove its whirring teeth into the side, rolling the weapon until it began carving through bone and flesh. He could feel bits of meat and hot liquid spray all over him, but didn't care in the slightest. It stopped charging.
"God damn!" Paul shouted, "Now THAT was a rush!"
"Jesus..." Lexie remarked as she trained her flashlight on the bloody chunks that Paul had cut apart, "it's a pig."
"Was a pig," Ashley corrected with her own flashlight trained on the now blood-soaked Paul, "think you could've gotten something bigger than that?"
"Funny, thanks," Paul mused, "and for the record I think it was a boar, but, man it's good to remember what this saw's used for."
"You all right Paul?" Ashley asked as she shined the flashlight on his foot.
"I've been better," Paul responded, "I think it bit through to my foot, I'm good, but it bit through. How do I look?"
"Like you just killed a pig with a chainsaw," Ashley replied as she hobbled through the hulk of the fuselage. Heading in to the cockpit, Ashley pulled free the tattered and muddy old uniform jacket from the pilot seat that they'd hung it on. It's nametag read STEEL, but if the set of bones it was wrapped around was any indication, Steel wouldn't be missing it anytime soon. Hobbling back to the edge, she tossed the jacket to Paul.
"You might want to clean yourself up a bit," Ashley continued as she watched Paul begin to wipe himself down.
"This is messed up," Lexie interjected.
"No shit," Ashley replied, "this is all sorts of messed up."
"Yeah," Paul replied as he pulled a chunk of pork from his hair, "I didn't really expect this to be-"
BAM!
"GOD DAMN IT!" Paul yelled in frustration as he cowered behind the piece of landing gear, "THIS IS REALLY STARTING TO PISS ME OFF YOU SON OF A BITCH! I SWEAR I'M GONNA KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS WHEN I GET UP THAT TOWER!"
A long silence passed through the trio as the girls looked to Paul and he looked back blankly.
"Sorry, sorry," he said as he looked to the ground, "I can't, I just... this is getting old."
"Tell me about it," Ashley replied, "tell me about it..."
"We'll get out of here," Lexie continued as she looked to the two who seemed to have lost hope, "we'll get out of here no sweat, just dig ourselves out of the cockpit, run like hell and we'll get out of here."
Her pleas were met with silence as Paul and Ashley just looked the other way. Lexie couldn't help but look on hopefully, even if it was in vain. For the longest time she'd been on the brink of insanity, she'd lost her twin, found herself in a walking state of shock, and yet it was now this crazed hunter who had shown her the light. They may be down, they may be out, but it wasn't over yet, no, it couldn't be over. They'd made it this far, they should have died a long time ago, but no, no, they made it this far. Damn it, they had to make it!
"We're going to get out of here... right?"
