Stephen Cornfoot (Boy 3, Ravenclaw) had a very bad feeling about his friend's plan. Not only wasn't he sure on whether the plan would work or not, but he thought that they were far too conspicuous, trailing the rope behind them the way they were. Anyone looking their way could easily see the rope floating behind them, supported by the Helium-filled garbage bags (that was what Kevin said they were, at least). Stephen just knew that they were going to be attacked. He was surprised that they hadn't been already, to be bluntly honest.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his shaky nerves. Although he wasn't entirely convinced yet, the same thoughts kept running through his mind. After the gunfight earlier in the evening, he hadn't heard any guns fired since. He held on to the tenuous hope that maybe the shooter who had terrorized everyone before was dead. It wasn't very comforting, though. And only two people had been announced dead at midnight. Of course, the shooter might be dying, but not dead yet. They could be lying in a pool of their own blood, unable to move. That thought didn't comfort him much either. Maybe it was because he simply could not believe that someone out there was actually killing their classmates. Although some of them could be jerks at times, he just could not believe that someone who he had gone to school with for the past five years could kill someone. And there were probably multiple killers, too, to be perfectly honest.
He didn't even realize he was shaking until Kevin Entwhistle (Boy 5, Ravenclaw) put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get out of here. We all will," he said.
Stephen nodded, although he wasn't entirely convinced. They were traveling out in the open, where it wasn't safe. They had to, so that the rope wouldn't get caught in the trees. Although Kevin had a gun that he could protect them with, it was still rather dangerous. Stephen himself only had a pocketknife as his weapon. Not much good in a fight, really.
They needed to move quickly, before the killings started up again. It wouldn't do much good for them to blow up the school if they were the last ones left. Taking another deep breath to calm himself, Stephen followed, carrying the packs and laptop with him.
17 students remaining
September 3 -- 2:41 a.m.
Neville Longbottom (Boy 11, Gryffindor) couldn't help but marvel at some people's stupidity. It had been bad enough that the Patil twins had moronically declared their positions all over the island a little over twelve hours ago, but now someone else was doing the same damn thing, albeit a little more quietly. It made no sense. Did they think that they would go unnoticed?
He had been wandering around aimlessly when he noticed the rope suspended by balloons in the sky. Well, he supposed they weren't really balloons, but close enough. Shaking his head, he decided he might as well follow.
And so he trailed the two figures from a distance. He thought about just opening fire on them, but was actually rather intrigued by their idiocy. He figured he might as well see what they were up to. Maybe see if they even realized how foolish they were. And he was certain that others would be attracted to the scene. Whether it would be to warn them, or to kill them, he didn't really care. In either case, it just made his job easier.
17 students remaining
September 3 -- 2:45 a.m.
Blaise Zabini (Boy 20, Slytherin) looked at his watch. It wouldn't take long now for them to arrive at their new destination. He wanted to get back to where they had camped out by the lookout earlier, because there was always the possibility that Harry would think to look for them there since the store was in a forbidden zone now. Granted, it was possible that someone else had commandeered their campsite, but they would deal with that once they got there.
He glanced at Hermione Granger (Girl 8, Gryffindor). Although she still looked upset -- he couldn't blame her -- there was also a quiet determination about her. Out of the corner of his eye, toward the general direction of the school, he could see something that just seemed... off.
"Son of a bitch--" He stopped, turning to that direction. It was difficult to see what exactly it was, due to the trees, but he was able to see that there was definitely something that did not belong in the sky.
Hermione stopped as well, following his gaze. "Balloons?"
He nodded. "Someone's going to get themselves killed."
She turned to him. "We have to warn them, then! We can't just sit here!"
Blaise gave her a tired look and sighed. "It would take far too long to get there, and by the time we did, they'd be dead. And before you ask, a warning shot would do no good from here, either. We're too far away. They'd probably just think someone had been found and killed or something." He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Dammit."
Hermione sighed dejectedly. "It's not fair..." She let her voice trail off as she let her thoughts wander. Her eyes widened and she turned to Blaise. "What if it's Harry, trying to contact us? We should go!"
Blaise shook his head. "I doubt he'd be that stupid. Go if you want, but I'm not." He watched as she bit her lip, seemingly debating on what to do. She made a move as if to go, but before she had moved even a half step, she stopped and sighed.
Hermione sulked, looking frustrated. "It's still not fair..."
"Life never is."
Just as they were about to move on, though, the bushes began rustling. Blaise raised the shotgun, aiming it in the general direction as a figure stepped out.
Vincent Crabbe (Boy 4, Slytherin) froze as he saw them. He glanced once at Hermione, then let his gaze fall upon the shotgun aimed toward him.
"We're not playing," Blaise said as he kept his shotgun trained on the other boy. "But I'll shoot you if you try anything."
Crabbe nodded slowly. "I'm not playing, either."
Blaise lowered the shotgun, but kept his finger near the trigger. "So we understand each other. Good. Harry said you weren't playing."
"You saw him?" Crabbe asked. "When?"
"Most of the day," Hermione answered. "Until Neville attacked us and we split up."
Crabbe nodded. "So that must have been you in the gunfight, right?" They nodded. "I hope Harry's alright."
"Me too," Blaise said. "You headed anywhere in particular?"
Crabbe shook his head. "Not really. I might as well try to find Millicent, though. I think Neville's trying to hunt us Slytherins down."
"Eh?" Hermione looked at him. "What makes you say that?"
He hesitated, then looked to the ground. "I saw Ron earlier in the afternoon. He told me." He looked back up at them. "You don't think Neville..."
Hermione shook her head. "Hannah killed him." Her face hardened. "And if I find her..."
"I'm sorry." He paused. "Maybe if we hadn't parted ways, he might still be alive..."
Blaise shook his head. "Or else you would be dead, too." The others looked to him. "It doesn't do any good to dwell on 'what ifs'. You have to concern yourself more with the here and now, and look to the future as well. Concentrate on keeping alive. Won't do you much good to slip into melancholy."
"Yeah..." Crabbe looked back toward the school. "We can't have been the only ones to notice, right?" He turned back to them. "I'm getting as far away as possible. Stay alive."
Blaise stopped him as he turned to leave. "Hey, wait." He glanced at Hermione, then back to the leaving boy. "If you feel like joining us later, we should come up with a way to contact one another. We were going to try to contact Harry with bird calls."
Crabbe quirked an eyebrow. "Bird calls?"
Blaise nodded. "Like hooting like an owl at night, and cawing like a crow during the day. Not sure how well it'll work, but..." He shrugged.
Crabbe nodded. "Better than nothing." He looked toward the school. "You might want to get as far away as you can, too. I'm getting a real bad feeling." He waved once at them, then continued his journey north.
Hermione looked to Blaise. "You trust him?"
Blaise shrugged. "He's a decent enough guy, once you get to know him. Not sure I completely trust him, but trust is hard earned. I guess I just have to believe that he'll do right in the end." He paused. "Or maybe I'm just getting really tired or something. Regardless, we must move on." He looked toward the school. "Because I'm sure that something's gonna happen, and I don't want to be too close when it does."
And so they journeyed on.
17 students remaining
September 3 -- 2:53 a.m.
Kevin handed the Stephen the gun as he looked up at the tree he would be climbing. It was a lot taller than he thought it would be, but that would work out to their advantage, as a tall tree was just what he needed. It wouldn't be very easy to climb, however. Some of the branches were a mighty distance from one another, and he would have to carry the rope and bomb up with him. To make matters worse, it was starting to rain. That would make climbing all the more dangerous.
Even so, they couldn't wait until the rain cleared. They needed the cover of night, and it might continue to rain all throughout the day as well. And they had to implement their plan before any more students died. Too many lives had been lost already.
It was now or never.
"So... Abigail--"
"Just Abby."
"Yeah. Abby. So, uh... I suppose you're here to talk me out of carrying on the fight and all, right? Made a promise and all?
The older woman chuckled. "On the contrary." She leaned against the tree she was standing in front of and sighed. "I've never liked funerals. Buried too many good friends."
The funeral for Kevin's Aunt Lorelei had ended, and now he found himself off to the side talking to one of his Aunt's friends. His parents were off socializing with some of the other mourners, although truth be told, few people actually looked very sad about Lorelei's passing. Kevin knew that his mother wasn't very broken up over her little sister's death. She had never really approved of Lorelei's decisions in life. And although he knew better, most everyone else believed the line that Lorelei's death had been a suicide.
"How lame..." he said softly, looking towards the other funeral goers.
"I agree." Abby took out a silver box from the inside pocket of the jacket she was wearing. It looked like it was one of those boxes some people used to put cigarettes into. Kevin never really could quite understand why people did that, but he had never been a smoker, so didn't think of it too much.
Abby put a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "Hey," she said, handing him a small silver tube she had taken out of the box. "Lori... She wanted you to have this..."
Kevin quirked an eyebrow. "You know she always hated being called Lori." He looked down at the object in his hand. "What is this?"
Abby smiled. "She never minded when I called her that." She shrugged, then her face turned more serious. "I'm not sure. She said you'd figure it out on your own if you had paid attention to all the things she taught you." She stood up straight. "Goodbye, Kevin. Do us proud."
He looked back up to her. "Wait! Are you sure? I mean... Maybe you should hold on to this."
Abby shook her head. "I've done my part." She glanced over to Kevin's parents, who were laughing with another couple in the distance. "Fighting wasn't the only thing they disapproved of, you know." She turned away, slowly walking to her car in the parking lot. "Farewell."
Kevin watched her leave as various thoughts whirled in his mind.
Kevin had already removed the contents of his pack and placed them into Ste phen's so that he could put the bomb inside. He tied the end of the rope to the pack, then slung the pack across his back. He looked to his friend and nodded, then turned his gaze to the tree again. Biting his lip, he gathered his resolve and grabbed onto one of the branches, hoisting himself up. Due to the slickness caused by the rain, he almost lost his balance. He was able to hold on, though.
Slowly, he began making progress. He didn't even bother to look down to see how high he had gotten. Climbing trees had never been one of his strong points, and he didn't want to do anything that might make him fall.
Just as he was reaching for the next branch, gunshots fired below him, nearly startling him out of the tree. He was able to quickly regain his footing, and wrapped his arms as best as he could around the tree so he could look down.
He hadn't made as much progress as he thought he had. He was only about 15 or 20 feet off the ground. Nowhere near as much progress as he would have liked. However, the most distressing thing right now was the guns being fired below him. "Stephen..."
To his credit, Stephen wasn't nearly as bad with the gun as he thought he'd be. But the other boy... The one with the horrible gun...
"No!" Kevin shouted as bullets tore through Stephen's body. His eyes widened as his friend fell to the ground, not moving. The shooter looked up to him, and he froze. Kevin knew that there was no escape. He was sure to be shot before he had the chance to get down and get back the gun. He had no weapon...
The bomb! He didn't want to use it yet, but there might not be much of a choice. Things were getting really ugly. Quickly but carefully, he slung the pack in front of him. He could hear the rattling of the machine gun fire from below him, and could feel bullets tear through him, but he gritted his teeth, determined to maintain his footing and focus on the task at hand.
'You see this coming, Aunt Lorelei?' he thought as he took out a small tube from his pocket, removing the top of it. 'Can't imagine how much uglier things could get.' He clamped the tube to one of the wires protruding from the bomb. He grimaced as more bullets tore through him, then pressed the exposed button on top of the tube. Releasing his hold on the pack, he let it drop to the ground. If he was going to die, he was going to take the shooter with him.
Neville stopped shooting just as soon as he saw the pack drop from the tree. Whatever the boys had been doing, it wasn't anything good. He doubted that they were flying balloons just for the hell of it. And the pack had something to do with it. His instincts told him to get the hell away from it as it descended, and he wasn't about to argue.
Kevin's eyes widened as he saw the shooter begin to run away. "No..." He closed his eyes in anticipation of the blast to come. 'How lame, huh Aunt?'
He wasn't sure if he would ever regain his hearing as his eardrums burst and he flew through the air, propelled by a shock wave. He was sure that everyone on the island could see, hear, or feel the blast. Yes, it would have blown up the school if given the chance. He just hoped it blew up the shooter.
He nearly blacked out with pain as his flight was interrupted with him being thrown against a tree, and then falling to the ground. Groaning, he tried to get up so he could crawl away, but found that his limbs weren't responding in the least. "No..." He quickly realized that his back must have been broken when he slammed against the tree.
He opened his eyes when he felt a strange heat emitted from nearby. Even though he couldn't properly turn his head to see, out of the corner of his eye he saw that the explosion set some of the trees on fire. He might have let out a stream of curse words, but then he saw a figure emerge from the fire. A rather angry-looking figure with a gun.
Damn...
"How... lame..." He barely felt the pain as his body was once more perforated with bullets, and then he felt nothing at all.
Neville looked down at the still boy in front of him, holding the still smoking gun. He had just barely been able to get away from the blast in time, although he was bleeding in a few places where the shrapnel had hit. He was lucky he hadn't lost an eye as a piece of metal embedded itself only centimeters from his left eye. With one hand, he carefully removed the fragment, and threw it onto the corpse in front of him. He didn't bother to say anything as he turned away to collect the gun the other boy had dropped.
15 students remaining
September 3 -- 2:58 a.m.
As soon as he had seen the flash of light coming from the direction of the school, Blaise had quickly pulled Hermione down to the ground with him, and covered his ears. As soon as they heard the gunshots, they had started running as fast as they could away from the school, and it was a good thing they did. Even from where they were, they could feel the ground shake, and hear a deafening explosion coming from that direction.
Hermione whimpered as debris flew over their heads. They stayed down there on the ground for a few minutes, letting the debris fly overhead. When it appeared as thought it was safe to stand up again, they got up. "What was that?" Hermione asked as she slowly stood up, brushing leaves and twigs off of her.
Blaise shook his head. "Dunno. Want me to check it out or--" His voice stopped as he looked toward the school. "Shit. We need to get out of here." He pointed, and Hermione turned around.
Her eyes widened as she saw that some of the trees in the distance were on fire. "The whole forest might burn up!" she whispered.
Blaise nodded. "Yeah. We need to hightail it to the coast. I hate going out in the open like this, but it's better than burning up in the forest."
"Yeah... Won't the rain put out the fire some?"
Blaise shook his head. "Might slow it down, but I doubt it'll stop it completely. Hurry!"
Before Hermione could protest, he grabbed her hand and started running north, leading her behind him. As soon as she had regained her bearings and ran alongside him on her own, he let go of her hand.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked as she ran.
"The coast," Blaise said as he breathed raggedly. He wasn't the best runner in the world, due to a lack of stamina. "Maybe you're right. I should quit smoking."
"Or quit running," Hermione teased.
They continued to run, although Hermione had to slow down her pace considerably to match Blaise's dwindling speed. Eventually, before they came to the edge of the forest, he stopped completely. Sensing that he was no longer running alongside her, she turned around, then ran back to him.
He smiled weakly at her. "After all this is over, I'm quitting."
Hermione smiled, then patted him on the head like one would a dog. "Good boy."
He mock growled at her, then stood up straight, trying to hold his breath. He held up a hand at her. "Did you hear that?"
Hermione looked in the direction he was facing. "Hear what?"
He shushed her, then gestured towards a pair of trees. There was a figure standing between them. He raised his shotgun, although he doubted that he could hold it very steady. "We know you're there," he called to the figure. "Come out with your hands where I can see them!"
Slowly, the figure emerged, silhouetted by the moon in the background.
"I'm not playing," a female voice called back. Blaise lowered the shotgun slightly. "I just... I'm scared..."
As she walked closer, hands raised in the air, she moved slightly to the side so she was no longer a silhouette. Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"Please..." The other girl continued. "Don't shoot."
Hermione's face darkened at the sight of Hannah Abbott (Girl 1, Hufflepuff).
15 students remaining