Another update! Enjoy!
Sunday: June 2nd, 2010 – 11:56 A.M. (Deserted Island: Low Plains)
Andre jumped in his spot after hearing a gun being shot off in the mere distance and shuddered. "J-Jake? Did someone else die just now?"
"Yeah…probably man…" Jake sighed while digging through his shoulder messenger bag with a determined look. He squinted his eyes fiercely as he continued to dig through the random contents in there. A half-dozen USB drives, a rewired gameboy color, a set of CDs for him to enjoy…sadly there was no way he could now, thanks to all the gunshots being blasted around like loud fireworks. Besides, making any kind of noise could give you up entirely…so you had to be careful.
"I… was right there when Moze and Suzie got gunned down. Jake, I was at the bottom of the mountains as a part of their plan but…"
"Hey!" Jake laughs in a laid back fashion. That was Jake alright, laid back and calm as always. "It wasn't your fault bro. You couldn't run up there and help. You would've died also…then what? Moze and Suzie woulda been pissed man," Jake chuckled nervously before stopping once he found what he looking for and became wide eyed.
"I know but…I just wish I stopped them before they ran up their with such hope and optimism," Andre sighed deeply; brown dreadlocks were tied back due to all the heat and revealed his slick forehead. He rotated his thick wrist and checked his fashionable digital wrist watch. The LCD time blinked rapidly on the blue highlighted screen saying '11:58 pm: Sun. 6-02-10'. "The report'll be startin' soon man."
Jake was paying no attention to the dark-skinned boy. Instead, he was toying with some…gadget. It was sitting randomly by his navy blue messenger bag in the tall blades of grass.
"Whoa! What's that?" Andre gasped with a wide smile as he admired the machine. The machine beeped and bopped excessively as the screen consisted of codes speeding through.
"My laptop bro," Jake grinned as Andre fell down next to the golden haired boy and looked at the computer screen in awe.
"Sick!" Andre chuckled while covering his mouth. Then, he noticed something sticking out of one the Pear laptop's ports in the back. "Yo Jake…what's with that?"
"Hm?" Jake looked at him wide eyed before turning to the large block connected to the laptop as it sat in pure holiness. "Oh! That…courtesy of a Ford I found in a garage. Car battery dude. Pretty legit if you ask me!"
Jake! Holy crap bro! Always count on Jake when it comes to the hacking! We're saved! Andre beamed while staring at the technical contraption. "Can always count on the techy wiz kid," Andre laughed with a wide smile.
"You know it," Jake grinned back before getting back to work. His fingers moved at least 3 miles per minute while he was typing roughly on the thin keys. 3 miles…per minute, eh accurate enough. "This baby's gonna be our secret weapon Andre. Trust me…I was pretty surprised once I found out that those government douche bags didn't confiscate or shoot it or anything. Guess they're as stupid as I thought," Jake burst out laughing while typing wildly on the computer. The screen continued to blink every second with confusing codes and numbers. This must be some type of language that only computer nerds like Freddie…just Jake now…like Jake would know by heart and be fluent in.
"This is the shiz Jake!" Andre cried in happiness while nodding his head with coolness. Shiz…don't ask them where they got the word. They really don't know.
"I was thinkin' a little payback Andre. A little cat-and-mouse game with these assholes. So…you game my man?" Jake raised an eyebrow as he grinned mischievously. Andre couldn't believe it…not one single bit.
"Hell yeah! I'm definitely down!"
Oh man…Andre, your luck is about to turn around.
25 Students Remaining
Sunday: June 2nd, 2010 – 12:00 P.M. (Deserted Island: Inner woodland)
Beck sat there in discomfort as the speakers blared once again…playing a song! The song was It's a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong…Wonderful…at this moment…so ironic it's laughable!
I see trees of green…red roses too
I watch them bloom…for me and you
And I think too myself
What a Wonderful World
The song flows over the island in perfect sound…but in the kids' eyes…it was beyond disturbing. How sick was this guy? So sick that he had to play a positive song in such a bleak situation.
Fucker! Beck screamed in his head as the song continued.
"Good afternoon my little warriors," he shouted joyously once the song ended. "I'm so happy to announce, those of you who are still alive…Congratulations! You're officially ten hours and twenty-three minutes into the competition! I wish I could reward you but…I don't have prizes. Boo-hoo, so sad. What I do have though…is another a list of those who went down this beautiful morning," Mr. Eikner coughed into his palm nonchalantly before continuing with his upbeat voice. "First…Boy # 3. Kevin Reed. Then…the class prezy…Boy # 21. Robert Shapiro."
"Damn…" Beck hissed after remembering both Kevin and Robbie's tragic deaths as they flashed through his mind. Tori grabbed his trembling arm and gives it a reassuring squeeze that said, 'You didn't do anything wrong' or 'It wasn't your fault'. She smiled brightly in the sun and turned her face back over to her lap, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She bit her lip with wide eyes once the remaining names were called out.
"Next…well then…Girl # 8, Jennifer Mosely and Girl # 10, Susan Crabgrass…our two peacemakers. Aw, you know…calling for peace was a good idea but hey…can't win 'em all right?" Mr. Eikner boomed with laughter which screamed over the island.
"Bastard! You fucking bastard!" I scream hoarsely while pounding the fresh ground with my blood-stained fist. Katniss sighed deeply before returning to her work which was sharpening a stick she retrieved from the woods on their way to this spot.
"Beck…calm down okay," Tori whispered with reassurance while squeezing his shoulder again. Beck nodded with pursed lips before leaning back against a rutting log.
"Finally, we have…Boy # 8, Kirby Bancroft-Cadworth, whew! What a mouthful eh?" he laughs good heartedly, "And…Girl # 21, our sweet little Molly Garfunkel. Well there you have it guys! Good work so far…I must say, I'm thoroughly impressed with all of you! Now…time for those lovely danger zones."
Katniss whipped the map straight from her bag and pulled out a gel pen from her camouflage backpack. She bit the solid black cap quickly and pulled it off to begin writing the times in the designated areas. Tori held her pencil shakily to her map which was lying gently in her lap.
"Now, at 1:00…H8…got that! H8! At 3:00, F2…then at 5:00…C8! Alright little warriors, Stay murderous and remember…do your best! Bye now!" the speaker silenced and the quietness resumed between the trio. Tori awkwardly looked back and forth between Beck and Katniss with an uncomfortable expression
"Um…you don't think that that shot fired was from Molly or Kirby right?" Tori asked quietly while observing the other two with wide eyes.
"I bet. Those shots fired were probably directed at one another," Katniss says with a deep sigh before going back to work on her 'spear'. Tori didn't get it…how does the 'Rome & Juliet' couple go off on each other like? Unless…they were murdered by someone else. Maybe it was Camille again…oh God.
"So…people are actually dying huh?" Beck said with a trembling voice, still recovering from what just happened with Moze and Suzie. Katniss looked up suddenly and shook her head in order to correct him like a schoolteacher.
"No…killed…people aren't just dying Beck. They're being killed. Slaughtered like godforsaken animals," the braided girl grumbled with each cut she made on the spear. "The sooner you realize that…the sooner you'll realize that people aren't all what they seem…"
Beck looked at her with a big smile and nodded quickly, "Yeah, I know. I wasn't thinking straight you know. I should really be more careful about who I team up with. You're completely right." Katniss simply nodded and smiled back before returning to her carving.
Tori looked up and blinked slowly at the bright sky…it was a bright baby blue and the heat had finally settled down to the point where there were just light breezes here and there. "I wonder…" she began with a lazy tone.
"Hm?" Beck looked over at her with a confused look. Katniss looked at her and began to tilt her head, giving her a signal of 'What the hell are you talking about?'.
"I wonder what it's going to be like once we all escape together," Tori was smiling wide while laying her delicate head in the swaying blades of grass. The breeze was swiftly flying through her hair and into the bright sky. "Once we all escape! I-I really hope we stay in touch. I really hope so," she beamed with a positive outlook. Beck laid down next her with a lily pressing against his ear and stared into the sky as well.
"I never really gave that much thought," he laughed with a bright smile as well.
"We should throw a party…no, first have a funeral for our friends then a party!" Tori threw out suggestions while licking her lips.
"Yeah Tor'! Then we can all go to the same universities! Logan will probably go to some boring medical school though…"
"Yeah! That's him all over," Toir held her stomach due to all the laughs that escaped her. "Andre said that he wants to go to a performing arts school. He said he wants to put his dreams into motion," Tori thought of her close friend…the one she met her first day at Garside along with the velvet haired Cat.
"What's going on muchacha," she heard a voice chuckle from behind her. She spun around with a confused look.
"M-me?" Tori stammered while pointing to her chest.
"Uh, yeah you," Andre laughed at her as she began to turn red all of the sudden and hide her cheeks. "You startin' the sixth grade here?"
"Yeah…are you?"
"Yep. Name's Andre…Andre Harris," he introduced himself with a bright smile. His dreadlocks swayed from side to side as he turned his head.
"Tori…Tori Vega," she babbled and shook his hand.
"Well Tori, I think we'd better get some lunch out in the quad. I'm starvin' and I've got some people that would love to meet you."
That was the day she met all of her close friends…Cat…Andre…Kendall…Carly…Jo…Amanda…Kacey…Suzie…Moze…Lulu…True…and as the years went on…they just grew closer like a tight-knit family away from home. They meant everything to her and hearing their names and deaths was…was too much.
"Carlos and Suzie were gonna go to an Arts school too. For photography go figure!" Beck chuckled as he thought about everyone. "Kendall and James will probably get a scholarship for basketball and play for varsity…that'll be pretty legit."
"It would…Kacey and Carly said that they would be going to college and start studying child psychology to become schoolteachers…" Tori shared her friends dreams while staring up at the birds flying ever so gracefully in the sky.
"Wow…I never would have guessed. Zander said that he'd probably want to go off and train hard in martial arts so that he could be hardcore MMA legend. He's pretty crazy when it comes to all that stuff Tori. Um…oh, Josh was looking into videogame designing…that's kind of cool I think," Beck sighs and feels nostalgia wash over him. Josh…he's described by many of the girls as a 'Teddy Bear'. He was always so kind and caring to everyone he met and was one of Gibby's only friends…only close guy friend actually. Josh always played videogames with the poor outcast and had a great time doing it.
He was obsessed with galaxy Wars though…
"Look! I got a mint condition figure of princess Oblongada! Mint Condition!" he cheered while running over to Gibby who was sitting alone at his desk.
Josh…was always there to make sure Gibby never felt alone…
"Teddy bear…" Tori laughed, thinking about Josh. Katniss sat there in an irritated state but couldn't take it anymore.
"Okay…I hate to crush your little dreamfest. But oonce we escape…we'll basically be labeled as fugitives of the law!" Beck felt like he was sinking deep into the ground and felt terrible.
"You mean…we'll just be running from the government our whole lives? We won't have normal lives once we go back?" Tori said with a disappointed tone.
"'Fraid so…" Katniss sighed in utter disappointed while looking at her backpack. She reached into it and took out her supplied bread rations, sniffing its warmth and aroma into her nostrils deeply. "Anyone want some lunch?"
Strangely…bread reminded Katniss of someone special…someone she cared about more than anything or anyone.
Beck and Tori raise themselves up and begin to stare at the other item Katniss brought out from her bag. A bottle of jam and some cooked meat. Their mouths watered from the beautiful sight and they started to smile, licking their lips for preparation.
"Lucky for you guys, I hunt. I got a lot of practice with my dad when I was younger so while you're with me…you won't have to worry about starving," she grinned after placing the food on a cloth as if they were about to have a picnic. "Got a deer up in the southern mountains this morning and cooked him to perfection before that whole crazy class representative mishap."
Beck and Tori stuffed their hungry mouths with the food…even though their hands were beyond disgusting. Who cares…they haven't eaten for hours and even then it was just a few nibbles of bread. Tori felt the deer meat leak a bit of grease and sent it dripping down her well formed chin.
"Enjoying yourselves?" Katniss chuckled. The ither two nodded their heads making strange grunting noises like they were trying to say, "Yes! Thank You Katniss! You are our savior!"…okay maybe not at that exaggerating level.
25 Students Remaining
Sunday: June 2nd, 2010 – 12:23 P.M. (Deserted Island: Lighthouse)
Kendall's POV
"God! Do you think we…we should have let him in!" Carly cries while sitting in the chair in a trembling state. I feel an overwhelming amount of guilt rush over me. We could have saved them both…Kirby and Molly. If only…if only we persisted!
"How do we know he didn't shoot Molly?" Logan suggests while sitting in the corner with his brown eyebrows raised. James shakes his head and probably feels just as bad as I do.
"Maybe he did…maybe he didn't," I finally say in a loud voice. I feel all eyes focus on me; they all stare intensely at me. Sometimes…it's rough being the leader…oh well. "All that matters is that we stick together and devise a plan to escape. Logan…any ideas?" Logan raises his head like a dog after its name's been mentioned.
"Oh! Well, basically what I'm theorizing is that we could try and disable these collars, but that could take some serious technical software."
"Why?" James asks while doing a hair flip to get his sandy bangs out of his eyes.
"Because…this program is tightly monitored by a government mandated hard-drive. It'll take years to get through their wall and crash the system…" Logan trailed off and realized his plan wasn't going to work after all. Shit! What now? Our whole class is being massacred and here we are in a comfortable little lighthouse…
Think Kendall Knight, think. The court is filled…only three seconds…what last second play do you wanna make?
"What we need…is to gather more people for our alliance!" Carly cheers from her kitchen chair. Her eyes twinkling with hope. She is always so positive…so kind and optimistic. How does she do it?
"I agree completely with Carly! Anyone else?" James blurts out while raising his muscular arm…even though there is no need to. James has always been the least intelligent of the four but we all adore him.
"Hey Kenny! Wanna play Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles?" James cried from my lawn. This happened over ten years ago…it was moments like these that meant the most…
"Definitely! I call being Raphael!"
"Okay…then I'll be Donatello!"
"But…I don't like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," Logan whined in his blue button up shirt and khakis. "You know that my mommy doesn't want me to play rough because of my anxiety…"
"Your anxie-whatty?" James blurted while rubbing his small hands on the back of his neck. Logan sighed in disbelief and shook his head at the brunette.
"Whatty! I wanna play!" Carlos cheered while running up the lawn with his short little legs.
"But…we don't know who we can trust…remember what we saw last night?" I tell them with concern. I remember it clearly. We all came back to the school to wait for James…and we saw the worst thing ever.
"Aw, Sorry Gibs but…you gotta give the people what they want,"
Nelson shot and killed poor ol' Gibby…maybe even Jo…my good hearted ex…
"Welcome…to the Nelson Baxter Killing Spree ladies and gents!"
It was actually starting…my friends were all dying!
"Kendall's right…when we need to think carefully about who we let in here!" Logan says with furrowed eyebrows. Cat nodded in agreement while clutching her Mickey close to her chest. The eyes of the doll looked innocent and pure…just like her.
"Maybe we can…have auditions," Cat suggested with an adorable little smile.
"Auditions?" James laughs at how naïve she is.
"Carlos?" I call over to the couch that sat quietly against the light blue wall in the sparkling kitchen. He snaps from his daze and fixes his tired eyes on me, looking more lost than ever.
"Yeah…w-what's up?" he stammers with exhaustion in his voice.
"Who do you think we should let in?" James asks with a beaming smile as he holds his basketball in triumph. James the basketball noob…ha ha!
"Uh…I don't mind. Really, let whoever you want in here. If you trust them…I trust them too," Carlos beams with a famous 'Garcia' smile to top it off. A Garcia smile was a smile that only Carlos could do. It's a smile filled with joy, happiness and life…something Carlos always had ever since I met him.
"Thanks 'Litos…" Hm…I can't put my finger on it. But something seems off about Carlos…does it have something to do with…Beck?
25 Students Remaining
Sunday: June 2nd, 2010 – 12:37 P.M. (Deserted Island: Clinic)
Stevie's POV
After finally wrapping my 'pain in the ass' leg, I decide to take off from this clinic and head north due to the horrible fact that H8 would become a danger zone…and most likely someone would be bound to hide out in this place. The clinic reeks of disinfectant and even a bit of 'chemicals'…used for bodies disgustingly. I just can't wait to get the hell out of here! After hearing Suzie's cries over the megaphone like that…I feel even more determined to escape, in their honor. Wait! First…I have to find Zander! That's my top priority right now…nothing else.
"Zander…please God…let him live until the end with me," I close my eyes and smile up to my savior, The Lord. My mother is insanely devoted to God…so devoted that we have an entire month dedicated to worshiping him in our calendar… Mom…how is she taking this? How are any of our parents handling this? How are the dead ones' parents-
"Stop Stevie! Stop filling your head with this crap! You have to stuff to do…" I scold myself coldly and look down at the clean bandages on my bronze thigh. Much, much better than before if you ask me…
I smirk and head out the doors, my switchblade is tucked and well hidden behind the hem of my skirt. "Time to find the boy I need," I whisper to myself in a quiet tone, squatting down and shifting over to the side of the wall. Don't want to get another arrow in me…that would just piss me off!
"Let's move Stevie," I take off into the woods with my duffle bag hanging on my left shoulder and my satchel on my right. The blue beanie that he gave me is still nestled perfectly on my auburn hair…Zander…I will find you…
25 Students Remaining
Sunday: June 2nd, 2010 – 12:49 P.M. (Deserted Island: Low Plains)
As Jake continued to type wildly on his laptop, Andre sat near a thick bush and watched him while resting his tired head in his palm. "Molly…Kirby…Kev-" Andre felt tears spring to his eyes after saying the axe wielding boy's name. Out of any guy, Kevin was the closest to him…he did everything with him. Little did Andre know…Kevin secretly held a grudge against him.
"K-Kevin…Kevin," Andre began to cry and let tears fall onto the fresh ground. The bugs around them actually died down a little so it was finally quiet for once…
"Andre…don't focus on that man…you couldn't do anything to save him," Jake told him while tapping the keys in millisecond intervals. Sure, it came off as harsh but Jake couldn't be concerned about others right now. Andre sat in the lush grass; his neck was drenched with sweat from the intense heat that came with the late morning. Luckily, it passed and left a fantastic current of refreshing air that breezed through the island and its sturdy trees. "Besides…he's…probably…looking down…at you…right now…with a huge smile on…his goofy lookin' face," Jake laughed while trying to focus intently.
"Yeah…you're probably right Jake," Andre wiped his eyes with his dry thumb and began to breathe deeply. "Ya know? Amanda…I was sittin' right next to her…I watched her…when that knife was stuck straight in her-"
"Andre stop! Don't over think it man! You'll wind up dying from insanity! Don't dwell on it. We can't save 'em all dude. Suzie, Moze, Jo or even Mindy…we just can't alright," Jake twisted his head over his should and snapped at Andre with friendly…advice.
"Can we save any of them? Any?"
"I…I don't know. I honestly don't," Jake sighed while bringing his motivated face back to the computer screen. Andre bent over and felt the grass slide beneath and in-beneath his dark fingers. "I bet…she didn't even see it comin'. Amanda looked…surprised when she died…I guess that's the best way. You know bro? Not expecting it..."
"Dude…you've got nothing to feel guilty about. You didn't know what was gonna happen did you? Did you?" Jake cried with his dark brown eyes glued intensely on the screen. Andre shook his head and felt his dreads wiggle like a fish's tail while they were pulled back.
"Mike…and Beck they…did something about it! Did you see the riot little Mike caused?" Jake felt warm from the thought as he pictured everyone standing up against that bastard Mr. Eikner. But…Mike was gone and nothing could change that.
"Mike's dead Andre…Beck came close too you know. Dumb fool almost got himself killed-"
"But they were so…so brave!" Andre beamed as he pictured what Beck and Mike did in the classroom that night.
"You're a fucking asshole! You honestly think we'll all subject to this crap!"
"Mike…was so fearless and…and he wasn't scared of anyone! He cared too much."
Jake sat there…actually not typing…and pondered the things Andre just said. He simply shook his head lightly before turning back to his computer. "That doesn't matter now…he's dead and we're still playing this damn game…well, some of us are at least."
"No…I'm going to avenge him…Mike. I'll avenge him…and Amanda…Kevin too! I'll avenge them all!" Andre shouted into the thick treetops that heavily blocked the sunrays.
"What! Don't be a moron," Jake laughed while staring into Andre's rage filled eyes.
"It's not- I'm not a moron! I mean it Jake! I'm gonna do this! I'll take it to me grave if I freakin' have to!" Andre snapped back with a smile of hope…He laid back on the ground and stretched his sweaty limbs to feel the small breezes that passed through the thick vegetation.
"Andre…dude that's…" Jake whispered with a proud grin. "That's impressive my man, who knew you had that much kick in ya."
"Ah shut up you geek!" Andre barked as he stared up into the solid leaves that obstructed the view of the beautiful sky. Oh man…did he miss seeing that sky. Beep. Boop. Bop. Beep. Beep.
The laptop began shrilling like an animal with beeping sounds that shrieked from the speakers. Jake leapt up onto his red Nike shoes and darted over to the laptop with an ecstatic grin. Andre stared at him in complete confusion as the blonde began typing again.
"Jake? What's going on-"
"You remember these little fuckers?" Jake spoke quickly while pointing to his collar assuming that Andre could it and he could see Andre's. Andre looked at the silver metal band and nodded slowly. "Well…in order to get any plan into immediate action, these collars have to be disabled. Mostly because they monitor everything we're up to which will make it just a million times harder…so-" Jake paused real quick and revealed the hacking software on the screen to Andre as it went to work. "So in order to keep our heads from being blown the fuck up…I'm using this software to hack into those pansies' systems and rewire the collar data…just like rewriting the menu for lunch at school."
Andre began to get a hopeful feeling to rise in his stomach.
"So…you going to back down Harris?" Jake mocked with his pale arms crossed. The fabric lightly brushing as he did do.
" B-back down? No way! I'll stick by until the end! You hear me bro?" Andre cried as he high-fived Jake with a relieving chuckle coming out.
"Great to hear that…partner." Jake grinned back at him.
25 Students Remaining
Okay! So... What do you think? Reviews would be much apprciated and hope you like this chapter! :D Woohoo! So many alliances are going on!