Author's Note

Hour 01 (12:00 - 12:59 AM)

Danger Zones: G7.

Student(s) Remaining: 42.

Running through the thick, dampened jungle, Ciel Soleil (Female Student No. 8) already had a goal in mind as soon as she had exited that infernal facility. It was a simple one admittedly, probably not the type she'd make if she had more time to properly think it over, but in a game such as this, she only has so long, especially when her classmates were filing out of the school as fast as they were.

As soon as she had exited, she had already determined the location she would camp out; H8. There was no particular personal reason why, to be honest, her mind had just gone to eights since she was the eighth girl out. Best stick to a pattern. Plus it was quite close so she wouldn't be walking long. Sure, she didn't mind physical activity, but she'd prefer not doing it if she could. Unfortunately, she hadn't really found a lot in the area. Mostly just jungle still, though in the distance, she could at least make out a large, concrete structure, comparable to a sort of parking garage. Bit of a weird choice for the middle of an island, but that didn't really matter much to her.

Ciel had a feeling that, if she were around someone at the moment, they'd probably be...Disturbed, by how well she was taking this. And she was, that couldn't really be denied of course. As soon as she was told what the game was, it didn't really bother her is all. The only truly scary thing in the mind of a Soleil, especially Ciel, was confusion Confusion leads to mistakes. Mistakes pile up. And eventually, a mistake will be your last. A rather morbid way of putting things to be sure, but it worked as a motivator.

Though something that definitely didn't help her motivation was her "weapon".

It was a box. Pitch black in color, made of something more comparable to paper than cardboard, and seemed thrown together last minute. It had the words, 'The Program', painted onto the front of it, and inside...Well, it was certainly something. In a way, she had gotten what amounted to a survival kit...Except for murder.

First was some sort of tracker. It had a full view of the island on it, along with glowing, yellow dots scattered all across it...Sort of. Right now most of them were still around the neighboring areas of G7. It seemed pretty obvious each of the dots was one of her classmates, and to her luck, she wasn't near any of them. In fact, just about all of the class had gone off towards the exact opposite direction. And the second item...It was a book. She hadn't sat down to read it yet...Maybe she should. Could give her something. And since she has time…

And just as suddenly as she had run off before she came to a stop, sitting down against one of the larger trees near her, and flipping open to the first page. It was mostly blank, with the exception of text in the middle, which read, "Class of Beacon High; Student Bios". She rose a brow at this, though soon after shook her head, turning a couple of pages, and landing on one of actual worth, as she began to read to herself...

"Male student number three, Jaune Arc."

In a way, it would be an understatement to say Jaune Arc (Male Student No. 3) didn't know what to do. For...Oh man, who knows how long, he had just been running, trying to put distance between himself and the school. He almost debated on waiting for his friends, but...Who knows how long that'd take, and who'd be out before them.

And if they'd be willing to play…

No, he couldn't think like that, he needed to focus on the present. He had all he needed to survive out here. If all goes well, he wouldn't even have to worry about playing this game. He could just camp out in some nice spot, move when he needed to, and repeat until the last day. He had the food and water needed, and worst-case scenario, he had a weapon in case-

Ah crap, did he forget to check his weapon?!

Grinding to a halt in his tracks, Jaune smashed his body against a nearby tree for cover and lowered his body to look through his bag. As expected, he saw exactly what Torchwick had described; MREs, water bottles, a map, a compass, a flashlight, all the good stuff he'd need to make it out here. But as he moved around his supplies, it slowly revealed some kind of shining, metal plating of some kind on the bottom of the bag, which only made him go faster. And faster. And faster...Until…

To say Jaune was shocked as he slowly pulled out a large, metal shield would be an understatement. He was even more shocked as he hooked his left arm under the leather straps on the inside of it, and saw that it seemed almost custom-built for his body type. He admittedly couldn't tell what type of shield it was, but...Best guess...Maybe a heater? Weapons weren't really his thing. If someone wanted to know about this sort of stuff they'd usually ask Ruby Rose (Female Student No. 3), not Jaune...Then again they probably wouldn't ask him about much of anything.

...Well, now he's bummed out.

Jaune swung around the shield for a moment. It was pretty light and seemed more than sturdy. To be honest, if he whacked someone with it, it'd probably be hard enough to at least stagger them...N-Not that he planned to go around smashing kids in the face, of course, he just means if he has to- Why is he defending himself to himself?

With a calm sigh, he laid down on the ground and zipped the bag back up, keeping the shield firmly strapped to his arm. He could've asked for a lot worse to be honest-

However, Jaune's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of...Crying?

As soon as Weiss Schnee (Female Student No. 2) had left the school, she hadn't stopped running, not for a single second. She was scared, that much could be seen by anybody, especially thanks to her bloodshot eyes and the tears rolling down her face.

"Look at yourself, a Schnee, crying...Disgraceful."

All Weiss wanted to do was just break down crying, and wail out all of her fears into the dark, night sky, unafraid of who'd hear her as long as somebody could. She wanted to be free to show the world just how utterly, horribly fucked she was. But she couldn't. She'd be killed, or worse...W-What if they left her alive just to mess with her. To do what they wanted with her delicate frame.

"Complaining and whining like a spoiled child. Father would be so disappointed."

Instead, here she was, leaning against a tree in a small clearing, the palm of her hand covering her mouth, as she sniffled and let out muffled cries. She couldn't handle this…

"Yo...Schnee. That you?"

Weiss' eyes grew wide at the voice, as she shuffled her body and pushed it further against the tree, turning to the voice, only to flinch as a light shined into her eyes. Blinking rapidly, her visage soon began to adjust, better making out the image before her. School uniform, so a boy. Dark skin. Average height with a semi-toned build. Those delicate, soothing eyes…

Flynt Coal (Male Student No. 2). She couldn't say she knew him that well, though really, who did she know? Besides Ruby and her friends, Weiss didn't really talk to most people. But Flynt...He always had this oddly calming aura around him. Back at school, he'd just be hanging around between classes, playing his trumpet for all the world to hear, and the music he'd make was spectacular. Downright mesmerizing even. As such, basically everyone liked him, even Weiss, though she had always felt he wasn't an especially big fan of hers, especially since she had caught him sending her dirty looks a couple of times.

And yet, here he was, the first person she had encountered in the program, shining a light in her eye, his sunglasses still resting on his face. She was almost shocked they hadn't taken those away from him before he had woke up, though maybe those sick freaks wanted him to stand out from the crowd. Why would they? She wouldn't know, but considering the situation, could you blame her for thinking there might be malice behind it?

She continued to stare at the boy in relative silence, eventually forcing out, "F-Flynt?"

"Oh, so you do know my name then," Weiss couldn't help but flinch at his tone, which sounded...Frustrated almost. He turned off his flashlight and walked forward with narrowed eyes. She couldn't lie, with his whole demeanor, and body, and general personality even...He kind of gave off the feeling of a mobster, which made her feel a bit more tense, "glad to know the rumors about the heiress being blind to everyone around her was slightly exaggerated."

Okay, that one kinda stung a little.

"Flynt...I'm glad to see you're okay," Weiss choked out, attempting to force a smile that seemed to crack almost instantly.

"Yeah, uh-huh," Flynt responded, his voice hollow of emotions, as he stared her down, "sure you are…" Weiss could swear, he was practically scanning her with his eyes as if trying to figure something out. "...Won't lie, kinda glad I ran into you first. It gives me a chance to finally get some answers…"

And just like that, Weiss could feel whatever color was left in her face drain, as she saw Flynt pull something out from his back...Something familiar. She had heard Ruby tell her about the many nicknames it had gained through its years of use; the Tommy Gun, the Chicago Typewriter, the Annihilator, the Chopper, the Organ Grinder…

In his hands, Flynt Coal was holding a Thompson submachine gun; a former favorite of the Italian Mob, and in the darkness, Weiss couldn't lie, Flynt definitely fit in with that picture.

"Back in class, you never gave anyone the time of day, Schnee. But out here...I finally have a chance to have my voice heard," Flynt growled out, his finger hanging off the trigger, "my family and I used to run a little cafe you know. A pretty damn good one too...Then your father ran us out of business with that devil company of his. My dad was dealing with so much debt, we lost practically everything...And now, I'm gonna make you lose something."

Weiss simply stared, cradling her knees against her head as tears started to run down her face, "Please-"

Flynt held up the gun and aimed it at her, though she could make out his reluctance as his arms shook in fear. "Give me your bag, Schnee." She didn't respond at first, causing him to scream even louder. "Give me it-"

However, his voice faded upon hearing the sound of a snapping tree branch nearby, causing him to flinch and turn toward the sound. Standing nearby, Jaune Arc stood tall, his face contorted into an unnatural scowl, a metal shield strapped onto his left arm. "Flynt...I really think you should stop now."

For a moment, Flynt almost seemed to shake upon spotting Jaune, though nonetheless grit his teeth and held up his gun, though Jaune continued to approach. "You really don't wanna do this, Arc. We both know how things will end if I pull this trigger."

"Then do it, cause I'm not going to just standby and let you do this," he called out, seemingly unaware that Weiss Schnee was slowly inching away, tears still running down her face as she reached for her bag.

"This ain't none of your business," Flynt growled, his arms still shaking, "I don't wanna hurt you! I wasn't even gonna hurt her! I just want her to know the feeling of having something stolen away from you...To know the pain of not being sure when your next meal is. To face whatever struggles are ahead of her same way I had-"

Before he could finish though, his eyes bulged in pain, as he let out a screech, as his left leg collapsed in on itself, falling to his knee. Crimson blood slowly began to run down from some kind of deep cut on his thigh. Next to him, her weapon raised high, Weiss stared in uncertain panic, as she held in her hands a thin-bladed weapon; a rapier.

Flynt silently gripped onto his leg in pain, mumbling, "Y-You-" However, he was cut off as a metal shield abruptly smashed against the side of his face. His glasses shattered instantly, and has his eyes not been closed, there was a chance he could have been blinded instantly. Flynt's upper teeth ground against his bottom lip, tearing it slightly, and a single stray tooth came flying out. And before anything else could be said, his way collided with the muddy ground, as he coughed out in pain at what had just happened.

The world was a daze to him, almost entirely blurry, and the volume? Almost mute...Man, what was happening?

"Weiss, we gotta go, come on!"

W-Weiss...S-Schnee...She can't get away...She needs...To...To…

Flynt Coal slowly rose up from the ground, his mind all over the place and face bruised, as he lifted up the machine gun, and pointed it toward the two blurs off in the distance. He pulled down on the trigger, and almost instantly his body was thrown back from the force, as a series of bullets flew off into the air, completely off target, as Flynt landed on the ground once more.

With a groan, he stared up at the stars above in silence. His leg hurt like a bitch, though he could tell it wasn't too bad. Only really a scratch, even if a deep one...Though he should probably get it out of the mud.

Grunting out in pain, Flynt slowly stood up from his spot, having forgotten the fact his bag was still wrapped around his arm, as he gradually began to step forward in the opposite direction. All the while, he reflected a bit on the events that had just occurred, and for a moment, a smile formed on his face, as he couldn't help but laugh at himself. "That was a gutsy move, Schnee...I dig it."

And with that, Flynt Coal walked off into the night, gun in hand, prepared to carry on his vendetta in the morning...If he could make it till then at least.

"Ya hear that?" Scarlet David (Male Student No. 9) stared toward the trees in silence, his eyes raised as he ran his free hand through his red hair, calmly continuing, "Think I heard like...Gunshots or something. A grunt was all he needed in response from Sage Ayana (Male Student No. 8), who was taller, larger, and far more muscular than Scarlet in every way. At least he had him outclassed in looks though, so really, who was the real winner in terms of genes here?

"Eh, best not to think too hard on it," Scarlet continued, as he began to step forward along the gravel path, "none of our business. That and dying ain't on my to-do list."

"You really think someone's dead?" Sage grumbled out, following along, as each step he took shook the ground where he stood.

"Either that, or they missed. One or the other." He confirmed, seemingly content with not caring. After a moment, he looked back at him, "You sure this is the right way?"

"Yup," Sage soundly and bluntly confirmed, as he held up his compass, "he was very clear with the plan...Well, as clear as was possible really."

Scarlet smirked a bit at this, chuckling to himself as he threw his arms behind his head, "Good. Once we meet up with Sun and Nep, ain't no way we're not finding a way off this rock, someway or another." He let out a few resounding laughs to himself, seemingly unaware of a deep look of concern on Sage's face, as he attempted to shake his thoughts away silently.

It was going to be a long night.

42 Students Left to Go.