Chapter 5—
6:00-7:00 AM, Day One.
Dante waited outside the school, hoping for the next batch of students to exit quickly. The last student to exit was Stephanie Mitchell, Girl Number 11, so Ike would be coming soon. Dante just hoped it would be quickly, seeing as tensions were running high.
The bullet wound from Erin Bournes ached terribly, though the bleeding had ceased. Dante rubbed the wound. Although it was from a gun, it didn't hurt anything inside of Dante; just a minor flesh wound, which Dante was grateful for.
Zachary Schmidt exited the building, his short hair perched elegantly atop his head. Although he looked like a snob, he was a joker at heart. He sprinted off to the south, most likely looking for Edward.
Lauren Johnson then emerged from the building. Upon her exit, she reached into her bag for her weapon. Dante could hear what sounded like a toy car set as she pulled it out. Although it wasn't anything close. It was a crossbow, with a small quiver full of ammunition. She smiled as she brandished it in the air. Dante didn't think Lauren would kill. She must have been pleased that she had a decent weapon to defend herself with.
Dante and Lauren had been friends in junior high, but things fell through when Dante developed a crush on her. One day, he asked her out, but Lauren shot him down. Since then, things have become too awkward for them to rekindle their relationship. Knowing this, Dante kept his distance from her. She ran off through the woods, her bags flying about and her crossbow held tightly in one hand.
Eric Steinbach sulked out of the school, his head drooping. Eric had obviously realized this was the end of him and Amber's relationship. Since there would only be one winner, and there is no hope of escaping in one piece, he was too depressed to be able to kill anyone. He took out the weapon that was inside of his bag; a hair dryer. He threw it to the ground and stalked off through the trees.
Kim Grawitch then followed. She took in her surroundings, absent-minded. She walked off to the west.
Michael Lees sprinted from the school so fast, he barely left a trail in his wake. Dante thought he saw him toting his flashlight.
Nicole Zimmel then emerged from the school, her makeup running and her face wet with tears. She sobbed and sniveled as she tried to decide which way to take. Without Jesmund by her to protect her, she didn't know what she was going to do. She decided to take the route to the east.
Lee Noble came out from the school, carrying a small spherical object. He looked around, trying to decide where he should go. It took him a while, but he decided to try and find shelter in the residential area to the south.
Janet Cayley exited the school, sneering at her surroundings. Her and Samantha Lynes were going to meet up, so she waited outside the school. Waiting outside the school? Dante raised an eyebrow. Even though only Ike was next, it was still a dumb idea.
Ike then made his way out of the school, shocked at how stupid Janet could be. "Dumb idiot! I could've been an axe-toting mad-man! What the hell is the matter with you! Are you fucking retarded?" Janet sneered and rolled her eyes, whereas Ike flipped her off and stomped along the dirt floor.
"Ike!" Dante stood up among the bushes, his spear sticking out from behind him. Upon hearing his name, Ike turned around to face Dante. "Dante. You were waiting for me all this time?" Ike was a little pale, though his jet-black hair provided a good enough contrast with his skin so as to make it look exaggerated.
"Yeah," Dante ruffled his hair and adjusted his spear. "I got shot though," he turned around and showed Ike the bullet wound.
"Fuck," Ike replied, raising his eyebrows. "It's pretty bloody. Who did it?"
"Erin," Dante swelled with hatred at the mere mention of Erin's name.
"Erin? I didn't know she'd do that," Ike said in disbelief.
"Well, she did. Let's get out of here." Dante beckoned for Ike to follow.
"Don't you want to wait for Ruby? You like her, don't you?"
"No! Not here!" Janet giggled with glee at the thought of a schoolboy crush. Oh, the gossip!
"Damnit, Ike." Dante slapped Ike and motioned for him to follow.
"Seriously, Dante. What if we don't see her? Or if…" Ike stopped at the thought of a fellow classmate being killed by another.
"Don't worry," Dante said. "I know how to find her."
Dante flipped Ike off and said, "Come on, let's get out of here. This bitch'll go crazy with the thought of… oh, what a retard."
The two of them then ambled through the forest, talking to each other about where the best spot will be.
10 or so minutes later…
Justin Lutley, Boy Number 21, exited the school. He had panicked somewhat in the room, it seemed like forever while he was waiting for his name to be called. It was only him and that new girl towards the end… He didn't even know her name. She was new. Without any emotional attachment to anyone, she wouldn't think twice about killing someone.
Justin's mind ran full of paranoia. There wasn't a single person he DIDN'T suspect. Except Cedric. The two of them went way too far back. There's no way Cedric would turn on Justin! No way, man.
Justin thought of where he would be able to find Cedric. The two of them didn't have enough time to agree upon a meeting place, seeing as Cedric was the first to leave. Justin sighed, thinking it would be nigh-impossible to find Cedric on an island so big.
Yes, they were on an island. The exact location was undisclosed, though Justin had assumed it'd be off the coast of the Pacific, the nearest coast to Cochrane which was in inland Alberta. They must be near Vancouver. The weather was pretty warm for it being so dark; the sky looked as though it was on fire as the sun was about to rise.
Justin reached into his bag and pulled out his weapon, which was a calculator… Or so it appeared. Justin tampered with the buttons on the "calculator," so as to find out what it's true use was. He pressed as many buttons as there were on the screen. There were two blue buttons, one with a + sign on it, and another with a – sign on it. There were to other buttons, a red one and a green one. Upon pressing the red one, the device turned itself off, and when he pressed the green one it turned on. The screen showed only one thing on it, a red blip with the number 21 inside of it. Justin poked the screen with his fingernail, attempting to weave some sort of fluky, technical magic upon it. He gave up on put it back in his pocket.
He ambled through the trees until he reached the edge. Justin marveled at the magnificent scenery showcased below him; it looked like a picture.
He was atop a great valley; in it's bed was a small lake, with a cabin at the edge of it. There was also another forest inside of it, tucked neatly inside. The bed of the valley looked like a … bowl. With, uh, broccoli, or peas and something, and uh, water. (Justin sucked at English.) Across the valley were houses, with trees surrounding them. Justin was facing south. To the east, there was some flat grass, which looked as though it stopped abruptly. A cliff, maybe? Along the east of the valley, there was a rocky wall, and at it's base was the cabin. It was pretty much isolated, one on side there was the cliff and on the other there was the lake. The person who resided there must have been quite isolated, for it was impossible for land transportation to reach this spot. Along the west, there were some more houses, and Justin could see a road. Below him along the hill was the same road, which looped around from the western edge along the north, then it snaked around the hill Justin was on top out of sight. Justin smiled, then ran down the hill. The road was empty. The community seemed bleak and empty, which seemed logical. The island had probably been evacuated prior to the game. Justin ran onto the road. From the edge of the road, he could see the lake at a closer view. The cabin had indeed been inhabited by a student. A boat was moored by itself at the cabin's dock.
Justin then tried his calculator once more. Pressing the green button, he saw the red 21 in the centre again. Then, he realized what this "calculator" was. It was a map! Well, not a map, but a student tracker. He looked into the corner of the device, and saw a red number 1. It was enclosed in a beige-colored rectangle. Justin put two and two together; the red 21 on the map was him! So, the red number one must have been…
Cedric! It had to have been. Justin was Boy Number 21, as was showcased in the student tracker, while Cedric was Boy Number 1, which was represented in his solitary red circle. Cedric was in the cabin on the far side of the lake. Justin could see the boat moored at the cabin's dock. The only problem was how would he get there? And if he can't get there, how will he get Cedric's attention? Looking again at his student tracker, Justin saw the red 1 had not moved from its spot. Justin thought that swimming would be a bad idea. There was no way he could not get his bags wet. Justin sat down on the edge of his side of the lake's dock, pondering.
Suddenly, he heard his name being called from a long way away. "Justin! Justin!" The call of Justin's name echoed throughout the valley, ricocheting off it's many hills and walls. Justin stood up, trying to find the source amidst the echoes. "Over here! The cabin!" Justin looked towards the cabin and saw what looked like a black blob amidst a stickman. It was Cedric! Justin leered against the opposing sun, grimacing. Cedric hopped into the boat moored at their dock and he began to row towards Justin's dock.
A minute or two later, Cedric arrived at the dock. Justin helped him out of the boat as Cedric panted heavily from the rowing.
"Hey, Ced!" Justin clapped Cedric on the back.
"Easy," Cedric replied. "It's tough rowing that boat alone."
"Don't worry about it," Justin was ecstatic. "Here, I'll get in and we'll row to the cabin together!" Cedric agreed, and the two threw Justin's bags into the boat. They then rowed the boat to the cabin's dock, got out and entered the cabin.
"Whoa…" Although from the outside the cabin looked small, the inside was roomy. There was next to nothing inside; stains on the walls from what must've been pictures or ornaments that were left for a long enough time to leave a permanent mark on the wood. There was a rug in the middle of the room, as well as Cedric's things tossed to and fro about the room. His weapon was a hatchet, shining in the beam of sunlight that burst through the window.
"I had to race Jesmund here," Cedric said. "He wanted it, too."
"You beat Jesmund? You?" Justin couldn't believe someone as skinny as Cedric had managed to beat someone as muscular as Jesmund.
"Yeah… What's your point?" Cedric eyed Justin suspiciously.
"Uhm… Nothing," Justin smirked slyly as Cedric continued eying him. "Where is a bathroom?"
"Out there. There's also a shed. I haven't checked if there's anymore food in it though. The bread they gave us tastes like ass, and the water is pretty much tasteless."
"Oh… Well that's good then," Justin sat down on the cabin floor as he said this. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, at an obvious loss to say.
The game had taken a huge chunk out of Cedric and Justin's self confidence. The two of them were both quite humble to begin with, but upon the game beginning, the two realized that they were both lacking in physical fitness. However, they did have their smarts. Neither of them had received decent weapons either; Justin's weapon was useful, though, he couldn't exactly defend himself with it. The most it could do was aid in Justin and Cedric avoiding everyone else, assuming they weren't anyone to trust. Cedric had a hatchet, which was useful at close range, though in a game like this, guns were more likely to be effective. Plus, neither Cedric nor Justin had a useful amount of dexterity and strength required to wield it most diligently.
Justin sighed as he realized him and Cedric didn't stand much of a chance in this game. He laid back onto the floor, his hands behind his head, as Cedric sat in the opposite corner of the shack examining his hatchet.
Dante and Ike made their way through the woods, heading north. The two of them finally reached the edge of the woods. The sun was rising in the east; checking his watch, Dante saw it was 6:15 AM. The man in the school had stated that he would be making announcements every 6 hours on the sixes, so what was taking him?
Dante and Ike were atop a great hill. Below them, the hill became rocky. On the ground below them was a flat plateau on which a farm sat alone in the prairie. It's field was empty and muddy from rain. Further in front of them was the ocean. Dante figured the bastards had taken them to the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of maybe… Vancouver? Dante scoffed and turned to Ike, who was admiring the quaint scenery.
"Ike," Ike suddenly turned to face Dante, who was eying him with a look of 'What-do-we-do-now?'
Ike smirked and scratched his head.
"If we're looking for shelter, the farm would be good. However, it's in the middle of everything… It's likely that someone's already in there, or that someone would come in on us anyway if we stayed there." Dante agreed with this.
"Maybe there's a cave tucked in here amongst these rocks?" Dante suggested.
"Maybe," Ike began, "but it's likely that if we were to be found by a killer in there, there'd be no way out except the way he came in from. I think our best option is to keep looking, or just hide somewhere in the trees." The two of them continued walking, searching for good hideouts.
As they walked, neither of them dared to speak. Apart from the fact that neither completely trusted the other, the two were too scared to speak about their other classmates dying. Just as they reached a bend along the hill, a deafening blast emerged from an unknown source.
"What—what the fuck?" Ike staggered as he cupped his hands to his ears. As soon as the blast settled, feedback burst rapturously from the source, until finally, the noise settled and a dim fuzz hummed throughout the island.
The two boys looked at each other, as if to silently ask, "Do you know where the sound is coming from?" They then began to search the area, looking for the strange sound.
Suddenly, a voice cut out the fuzz, and it's call echoed throughout the entire island.
"Greetings, Class 1 of Cochrane High!" It was the man from the classroom. His cheerful voice broke the eerie silence of the island. "I hope you're all having fun out there! God knows the weather is beautiful. Just look at that sun! It's… it's so pretty…" Ike and Dante's eyes met, bewildered.
"He's gay," Ike stated. Dante laughed and continued listening to the mans report.
"Know what else is pretty? DEATH!" Upon hearing this, Dante looked at Ike, who was trying not to smile. As creepy as it was, they would've laughed in any other situation. "Yes, that's right folks. We've got a death!" Dante and Ike opened their ears to hear the first death. "The first death! Numero Uno! STEPHANIE MITCHELL!" Dante nodded, expecting it to be her. So that's that then. It was Tom.
"It was Tom," Dante said to Ike. "I know it."
Ike nodded in response, and the two continued their journey.
"Well? Fun, huh? Okay, now for your forbidden zones; at 7:00, A-4. That's A-4 at seven o clock. At nine o' clock, I-4. At nine o' clock, I-4. And, at 11:00, E-1. At 11:00, E-1. Don't forget folks! Now, until noon, good luck!" The fuzz cut out and the man's voice disappeared.
After marking the forbidden zones on their maps, Dante and Ike continued their search for a suitable hiding place.
"That sucks. Stephanie Mitchell's already dead," Dante said.
"Yeah… Brianne told me she liked me," Ike replied.
"Ew," Dante said, but after saying this, he felt terrible.
"Haha… Jesus, Dante. How subtle of you," Ike laughed, which made Dante feel better. "Jeez, what a jackass I am," Dante thought.
The two then wandered off towards the west.
Ryan Dick, Boy Number Eight, sat in a clearing in along the borders of B3 and C3, not too far west of the school.
Upon leaving the school in eighth place, he had decided to hide until the rest of the students cleared out. They were all dangerous, he figured. He didn't care if he died in this game, as long as he got to see Alex again… His best friend. How was he supposed to survive in this game without Alex? She'd know what to do. She'd help him out. But Ryan had no clue where she was. She was the second person to leave, after Rodriguez, the quiet Spanish kid.
Ryan had been trying to find out where Alex may have hidden herself, though it was no good. He knew he couldn't assume where Alex was hiding because of her personality. He had been dissecting his absurd thoughts as he sat pondering in the trees earlier, thinking, "Okay, Alex likes trees. Maybe she's hiding in the trees! What's her favorite letter… D? Maybe she's in, uhm, D3? HAH! Yeah! Wait, her favorite letter is G! And if she likes G, then she's on the shore… Which means she doesn't like trees… sigh." Ryan ran through thoughts like these for a whole hour until he realized there was no way he could accurately predict Alex's exact location. He had given up hope and decided to rest up against a nearby tree trunk, trying to assemble a game strategy.
He didn't want to kill; his weapon, which was a shuriken, was difficult to use. It had an awkward shape, and he knew he had to throw it, though he wasn't exactly sure how. He had tried throwing at the tree on the opposite end of the clearing as practice, though all that happened is he'd just throw the shuriken straight down, or it would wobble in mid air and collide with the tree with one of it's blunt edges. He had give up hope trying that, too, and had decided just to rest.
Basically, Ryan knew that his only goal in this game was to find Alex. Nothing else would satisfy Ryan. He didn't even care if he died trying to find her…
47 STUDENTS REMAIN
