RPG Stranded [M-VLS]

[Zen]

[color=darkgreen][size=1]The pyramid-like temple was an impressive site. The entire structure was magnificent in scale and artistry. Plant life and moss grew on the old stone monolith, showing it?s age. It was obviously a remnant of an ancient civilizations, a people of great wisdom and talent. The building was adorned with beautiful carvings and statues of Gods, Goddesses, and haunting depictions of humanoid demons, which battled the Gods and Goddesses in the carvings. They had monstrous faces of rapid dogs and clawed hands.

[B] ?So... what do you guy?s make out of those ghouls??[/B] Kat questioned in her quirky British tone.

[B] ?Not sure. They look pretty nasty to me. Eh??[/B] Alex commented, looking to Michael who was busy staring directly at the creatures with an expression of incite on his face.

[B][I]I?ve seen that those things before...[/B][/I] he thought to himself.

[B] ?Something wrong??[/B] Alex asked him. Kat was looking at him concerned aswell.

Mike looked to them with a hint of caution in his face, [B] ?That thing... that thing I saw last night...?[/B] he stumbled with his words for a moment, looking up again at the demon creatures, [B] ?I think it was one of those...?[/B] he gestured towards the demon statues. Kat and Alex turned and took a deeper look at the statues.

[B] ?That?s impossible, Mike...?[/B] Kat replied skeptically.

[B] ?Yeah, I mean. Maybe it was the lighting or something. These things are monsters, there is no way they exist. Just monsters dreamt up by some crazy islanders....?[/B] Alex added with the intention to ease Mike?s tention.

[B] ?I gue-? [/B] All of the sudden a vibrating feeling of alarm sprung Mike into action as he spun around with amazing speed and a kick to slam his shin into the body of a rushing dark figure behind him. The dark figure fell to the ground limp with a thud. The three of them stared at it for a moment, all of them in shock of both the creature and Mike?s uncanny sixth sense and reaction time.

[B] ?What the hell...?[/B] Kat muttered as the three looked down at the dark figure on the ground.
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[B]OOC:[/B] Alright, so. We?ve just been attacked by one of those mysterious creatures. Did Mike kill it? Is it still alive? What is it exactly? It?s up to Blayze and Astdis...[/color][/size]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Alex, Mike and Kat all looked down at the strange creature, which was writhing around on the floor, clutching at what seemed to be it's stomach. It was about the size of an average human male, maybe a little taller, but with charcoal-grey skin, and the head of a dog, along with clawed, vicious-looking hands.

[b]"What the hell is that thing?" [/b]said Mike, a little stunned, both by the appearance of the creature, and his own reaction time, [b]"How is that thing alive?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," [/b]said Kat, moving a few steps back as the creature flipped itself onto its feet, shaking the pain out of its system. It looked at the three survivors, and licked it's thin, wiry lips, before snarling, a hideous, inhuman snarl, and baring its fangs, strings of saliva flying from them.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the creature keeled over forwards, blood spurting from it's head. It wriggled on the floor for a moment, and Kat and Alex both looked away, not wanting to see a living being in such discomfort, but Mike looked on, strangely transfixed by the bizarre sight.

Alex looked up to see where the gunshot had come from. At the entrance the plane had created, the hole in the side of the temple, there stood a man, wielding a long, old-fashioned rifle. The sun was gleaming on his bald head, and as he moved further into the temple, Alex could see that he was wearing tattered clothes, and his face and neck, and probably the rest of his body, were covered in scars, including a long, thin one over his left eye, which turned the eye a milky white colour.

[b]"You wanna be careful of these things," [/b]he growled, his accent a Southern drawl, his voice a deep, growling rumble, [b]"They can secret a venom from their fangs which can knock ya unconscious for a week. That is, if they don' eat ya first." [/b]He lowered his rifle and poked around at the body with the barrel. It was definitely dead. He shouldered the gun, and drew a long hunting knife from his belt, and began slicing chunks of the creature's flesh off.

[b]"They taste pretty damn good, though, and they'll keep you healthy for weeks. Plenty of minerals in them things," [/b]he said, thrusting the chunks of meat into a small brown leather bag.

[b]"Excuse me, but...who are you?" [/b]asked Mike, the first to snap out of the shock.

[b]"My name's Gregory Sharpe. Mos' folks jus' tend to call me Sharpe, as it is. And you might be?" [/b]he asked, extending a hand to Mike.

[b]"My name's Mike. This is Kat and Alex," [/b]replied Mike, shaking the offered hand.

[b]"You got the island amnesia, huh? Can't remember anythin' abou' yourselves 'side from your firs' names, right?" [/b]said Sharpe, going back to work on the creature, [b]"God knows I been there. I could barely remember how to walk firs' few weeks I was on the island. But I remember mos' things pretty clear now."

"How long have you been here?" [/b]asked Kat.

[b]"About six months. The one thing I can't remember is how the hell I got here in the first place, though. I jus' remember wakin' up on the shoreline, an' wonderin' where the hell I was. No idea how I got here, though."

"Where did you get the gun?" [/b]asked Mike.

[b]"Oh, I got a whole stash o' these back at my camp. I found 'em in a tiny li'l bunker jus' north o' here. Beats me how they got there, but they come in useful."

"Can we use some? We could really use some protection," [/b]said Alex.

[b]"Well, sure. You can come back to my camp later. I got food, water, everything a body needs to survive out here. You're all gonna be my guests of honour tonight."

"There's a few more of us out here. You mind if they come along as well?"

"The more, the merrier! I haven't seen another soul out here for months, and all of a sudden a whole plane-load of 'em turn up. Mus' be my lucky day!"

"Well, we need to search around a little more, and then we'll come back here. You mind if we meet you back here in a little while?"

"I don' mind at all, young man. Take as much time as you need. I been waiting a long time, I'm sure a little longer couldn' hurt."

"Thank you."

[/b]Alex, Mike and Kat left the temple, leaving the strange new face to deal with the creature, which he had almost completely ripped apart.

[b]"We'll find Dash and the others and then go back to this guy's camp. We could use a good night's sleep, and the others shouldn't miss us for one night. He sounds pretty trustworthy," [/b]said Alex, [b]"And he has weapons and protection, which is more than we can offer the others. He could be a useful ally."

"Agreed," [/b]said Mike, [b]"And he seems to know more about the island than us, so we can probably get some information from him."

"Good, that's sorted then."

[/b]The three of them walked away to find Dash and the other members of the party.

[b][i]"I guess I'm gonna have some company at dinner tonight," [/i][/b][i]said Sharpe to no-one but himself, [b]"Let's hope they have strong stomachs..."

[/b][/i][/size][center][size=1]----

[/size][left][size=1]Back at the survivor's camp, everything was still. The waterfall was the only source of noise, aside from the birdsong that echoed through the forest.

[b]"They're all gone..." [/b]whispered a voice. Deep within the cave, Jane sat, her arms and legs folded together, her head buried in her arms, rocking slowly back and forth. Blood stained her hands, her face and her clothes.

The cave floor was slick with crimson, and the cave was littered with bodies, and body parts. The rest of the survivors had been ripped apart by something inhuman, something terrifying.

And Jane was the only survivor...

[b]OOC: [/b]Alrighty, guys, a mysterious character has appeared. Dash's team, you finish up looking around. Astdis and The Boss, our team is trying to find Dash's. Next post I will take us to Sharpe's camp. madnessofthecat is away for a little while, so nothing major will happen with her character until we get back.
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[Sandy]

[B]OOC:[/B] I hope everybody's cool with my "wild people"...

[color=seagreen]Dash, Avian, Clark and Luther backed away towards the horrendous wall. The group of savage people kept approaching them with gleaming eyes.

"They're barking mad!" Avian yelped. Then she began muttering to herself. "What can I do?! I'm going to die here, and I don't want that!"

Dash stared at the blood-stained people. Six in total, four males and two females, wearing tatters of modern clothing and pieces of grey fur. Now that they were much closer, Dash noticed that the biggest man leading the group had a dark skin under all the blood.

Black-skinned tall man... It was [I]him[/I]!

"Guys! They're survivors from the plane! I recognize them!"

"Yeah, I think I've seen some of them too", Luther agreed. "But why are they acting like that?"

The leader raised his spear. The others began growling and swinging their weapons.

"Never mind that - we're screwed!" Clark squeaked.

"NO!!!" Avian screamed to the savages suddenly. "You will not hurt us! You were on the same plane that carried us to this island! You are civilized people, not beasts! Get ahold of yourself!"

The girl's courageous outburst seemed to baffle the assaulters. They stared at her with their gleaming eyes for a moment. Then they made their move.

Just as the wild people were ready to pierce them with their spears, a creepy howl came from the ledge above them. A huge shadow leaped over Dash and the others who were huddled against the stone wall. It attacked the black man, ripping him in two. The others ran away howling in fear, but the beast catched them.

Dash couldn't quite tell what the beast was. It was roughly feline, twice as big as a bear, and it's grey fur had white stripes, black spots and a red mane. Also, it had a pair of horns sticking out of it's forehead.

The last surviving savage ran to the woods towards the city, pursued by the hellish beast, and soon they were both out of sight.

Dash and his companions sat silent for a long while.

"What the fuck?" Dash finally exclaimed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"What kind of monster was that?!" Luther couldn't help asking.

"Whatever it was, I'm sure glad it didn't notice us!" Clark answered. They all stood up and tried to wipe some of the dust from their clothes.

"Oh no!" Avian cried out, pointing towards the city. "There's more of the wild people!"

Three people approached them, walking hunchbacked. Dash looked for a way to escape, but soon a sensation of relief filled him as he recognized the comers as Alex, Kat and Mike.[/color]

[B]OOC[/B]: Blayze and the others, maybe you barely avoided encountering the "hellion", but you could've seen a glimpse of it. Just something for you to write about...

[Blayze]

[size=1]Alex ducked as something vaguely cat-shaped, but much, much bigger, leapt over him and the others, and sped away into the distance. He saw Dash and the others close by, and ran towards them.

[b]"Are you alright? What the hell was that?" [/b]asked Mike, running over as well.

[b]"I have no idea, but it saved us from the wild people," [/b]said Dash, a little out of breath.

[b]"Wild people?"

"We thought they originally lived here on the island, but it looks like some of the survivors have turned savage. The thing killed one of them, but then it ran off. What did you find?"

"Plenty of water and food, and we took a look inside the temple. It's pretty empty in there, but there was this...thing...that attacked us. Kinda dog-like, but also kinda humanoid. But this guy, Sharpe, came, and he shot it."

"Sharpe? There's another human on the island?"

"Yeah, he's got food and weapons, and a camp as well. He's been on this island a long time, he probably knows it better than us. He said we could go with him and spend the night at his camp. It seems like a good offer."

"I agree. We could all use a good night's sleep, not to mention some decent food," [/b]said Clark, the first thing he had said in a long time.

[b]"All in favour of going back to his camp?" [/b]said Alex, and the others all raised their hands.

[b]"It's decided, then," [/b]said Kat, [b]"Let's go meet him."

[/b]The ragtag group walked slowly back to the temple, where Sharpe was waiting outside.

[b]"Well, don't we have a fine group here. We'd better get goin', it's not far to my camp, but night can fall pretty quick around here. Plus, it looks like it's gonna rain," [/b]he said, looking to the sky, which was becoming black with stormclouds. The group set off towards his camp.

---

Pretty soon, the rain was bucketing down, soaking right through their clothes and chiling their skin. But they didn't mind too much. They had been out in the heat for a long time now, and they needed some water to refresh them.

[b]"Not far now, kids," [/b]said Sharpe, turning a corner, past a thick cluster of palm trees. The rest of the group turned the corner, and gasped.

Sharpe's camp was incredible. He had made small huts, out of apparently nothing but bamboo and twine. He had a communal area in the centre where there was a pit big enough to make a fire in. There was a small outhouse as well. It all seemed too good to be true.

[b]"Make yourselves at home," [/b]he said, throwing his bag into a shelter, [b]"That one's mine, but I think aside from that you can fit two people in each shelter, so take your pick."

[/b]The group hurriedly threw their stuff into various shelters, not really caring who they were in with. Then they all settled around the pit, where Sharpe had lit a small fire. He scooped a small box from his bag and emptied out the flesh he had cut from the beast earlier. Skewering bits onto small sticks, he placed them over the fire, where they could cook gently.

---

After they had eaten the meat, which was surprisingly tasty, they moved into their huts, and almost all of them fell asleep instantly...

[b][i]"He's beginning to respond," [/i][/b][i]said a soft voice, [b]"He's already wiped out a lot of them."

"Is that good?" [/b]asked another voice, this one female, concerned.

[b]"Yes. It means that you will have your husband back soon. Only the dominant ones are left."

"Dominant ones?"

"Yes. The more powerful of the survivors are left, and they will be the hardest to dispatch. We are going to have to increase the power. It will hurt him, but the painkillers should deal with that quickly enough..."

[/b]Sudden, sharp spikes of pain jolted through his body, and he jolted upright...

[/i]Alex's breathing was heavy, and he was, once more, soaked in sweat. The dreams were getting more vivid now, more graphic, and more painful. This couldn't be good.

He rubbed his temples with his palms.

[i]What does it mean? "The dominant survivors"? Who were those people? Was one of them my wife? Do I have a wife?

[/i]Thoughts ran through his head, causing blood to pound in his ears. But then he heard a shuffling...

He poked his head slightly out of the hut, and saw a dark figure creeping around the camp, something glinting in it's hand.

[b]"Not quick enough...they can't do anything...They're all mine..." [/b]it said, it's voice hissing, throaty.

Alex pulled himself back into the shelter, but his arm scraped across the bamboo, making a slight noise. The figure stopped, and it's head snapped in his direction. The eyes were glowing red.

[b]"Who's there? Nosy little thing...you'll be the first to go..."

[/b]Alex pulled himself back into the hut, and grabbed his pack. He pulled his shirt on and threw the pack onto his back. Whatever this thing was, he had to deal with it himself.

He drew a knife from his boot, one that Sharpe had given him earlier, and cut away a small section of the back of the hut, just big enough to allow him to crawl through, and then he replaced it.

He ran, quietly, over to the hut where Sharpe had earlier explained was where he kept all his weapons, and he pulled the door open.

[b]"Nasty little thing," [/b]hissed the voice, and the figure struck Alex around the face, throwing him to the floor. He felt his cheek. Blood was pouring from three scratchmarks the thing had made across his face.

It pounced, and kicked him in the chest, delivering a blow that felt like it broke at least one of Alex's ribs. He choked, and clutched his chest. The thing pounced again, and kicked Alex, sending him flying through the wall of the hut.

By this time, the others were waking up, and they pulled themselves out of their huts, to see what all the noise was about. The creature turned and leapt at the first figure it saw.

A gunshot rang out, throwing the creature to the floor, saving whoever it had just leapt at. Alex stood in the doorway of the gun-hut, a smoking rifle in his hands. He had not scored a direct or lethal hit on the creature, but just enough to scare it away.

It ran, scurrying away into the undergrowth.

[b]"That was too close. We need to find out what that thing was, and how it got into the camp," [/b]said Alex, before realising that one of his ribs was broken, and falling to the floor.

[b]"Are you alright?" [/b]asked Kat, dropping to his side.

[b]"That thing broke one of my ribs," [/b]replied Alex, gasping for air.

[b]"I'll see if I can find something to fix it," [/b]Kat said, running into the nearest hut, but coming out again momentarily, her face white as a sheet.

[b]"What is it?" [/b]asked Mike.

[b]"Clark...Clark's dead..."

"Dead?!" [/b]shouted Mike, running into the hut, and coming out again after a few seconds, [b]"How can he be dead? That thing didn't get in there!"

"He wasn't killed by the creature. He died of bullet wounds to the head. Someone shot him," [/b]said Kat, stunned.

[b]"Where's Sharpe?" [/b]shouted Alex, scrambling to his feet, ignoring the shooting pain in his chest, [b]"That bastard killed Clark!"

"You don't know that. It could have been any one of us," [/b]said Avian quietly.

[b]"We all knew Clark! We wouldn't kill him!"

"We might. None of us really know each other, Alex. And you're the one with the gun in your hand," [/b]said Mike softly.

[b]"I only just picked this up!" [/b]shouted Alex, [b]"I haven't been in the gun-hut until just now!"

"We don't know that," [/b]said Mike, his temper rising. He strode into the gun-hut, and picked up a bundle of rifles, handing one out to each of the other survivors, [b]"And while we don't know that, we don't know if we can trust you. So you'd better start running, Alex, because I'm giving you one day's head start, and after that, I'm coming for you."

"Do the rest of you think this way too?!" [/b]cried Alex, [b]"Do the rest of you want to hunt me down and kill me?"

"All the evidence points to you killing Clark, Alex," [/b]said Kat, [b]"I'm sorry, but it's probably better if you go."

[/b]The others didn't say anything, not having had a chance to talk to Alex much, so Alex took up his rifle.

[b]"Fine," [/b]he said, [b]"I'll go. But can you kill a man? You'll have to find that out before you hunt me down."

[/b]He threw his pack onto his shoulder and left the camp at a run, feeling the need to escape from them before Mike could shoot him in the back...

[b]OOC: [/b]Ok, I needed to step this up a little. The Boss, you are now in charge of your group, but the rest of the group, don't co-operate with him completely. Sharpe is no longer in the camp, and he won't come back for a while. madnessofthecat, if you are reading this, then I will include you in this very shortly. Enjoy!

EDIT: By the way, my apologies to Starwind, but you knew the rules. There will be more deaths in the playable characters at a later stage, you were just the first casualty of STRANDED
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[Frankie]

It was all happening to quickly for her, the people, the creatures, the camp, the comfortable sleep, and then this. Clark being dead. She liked clark, she trusted him. He was one of the few she did trust. Now she didnt know who to trust.

With alex being suspected for Clark's murder she didnt know what to think. She didnt think Alex did it but she didnt think anyone else in their little group did it either. That little feeling of sadness was covered up by the need to ramble. She started whispering to herself. After all the creature that was in the camp went after her after it hurt Alex.

She was shooken up and didnt like it. She suddenly felt alone even though she was with the others. She clutched her head which began to ache alittle and thats about when Mike ran Alex out of camp. She liked alex, she didnt think he could do it... but now she didnt know what to think.

She flopped down onto the ground in a ball and sat there staring at her feet. They even gave her gun. She didnt even know how to fire a gun... Or did she. For some reason she knew how to load the particular weapon they handed her. And she found herself knowing how to aim and hold it... But WHY did she know? She was only 18 after all.

She stood up and got quiet. [b]"Guys... Now what?"[/b] Although she felt like rolling up into a ball and never moving again she didnt want to die in doing so.

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1][B]OOC: Apologies for the lack of posting, and sorry if this is short, but I'm not on my own computer and the keyboard makes louds noises while my parents are watching TV.[/B]

---

[I]"You idiot, you should have stayed at the cave with everyone else. You shouldn't have come along. Now look, someone you actually knew is dead."[/I] Luther thought. He hadn't known Clark too well, what was really troubling was that he wasn't a stranger. What if everyone else would die? What if he would die as well? He clutched the weapon he had given and just hoped to god he knew how to use it.

And Alex... Luther didn't know whether to trust him or Mike. Either of them could be right.

[B]"Don't you think that was a little... well... stupid? Maybe he didn't kill Clark and if he's out there on his own he could die."[/B] Luther said to Mike, speaking properly for the first time. Maybe he had actually found his voice.

[B]"He was holding a [I]gun[/I],"[/B] Mike said quite firmly.

[B]"And where do you think he got a gun? Where did we get these guns? That guy... Sharpe or whatever... obviously got these from somewhere. Where's he now? Don't you think he'll have a gun?"[/B] Luther asked him. He felt he was getting a little angry now and definitely wasn't scared of talking anymore. He didn't think Alex would shoot a man, he didn't think it was right to run him out of the camp.

Mike didn't reply at first. Luther didn't know what the look on his face meant, either he was getting very angry at Luther or he didn't know what to say. Luther reckoned he was just getting very angry. Thinking it wise not to get himself into much trouble with the only group that would possibly help with his survival, Luther backed down.

[B]"Sorry, I'm sorry... it's just... I don't think I've ever... no, I'm sorry."[/B] Luther stuttered. He walked some distance from the group and sat himself down, sighing and hoping he didn't make too much of an idiot of himself. But just because he backed down didn't mean he changed his mind, Luther didn't think anyone would kill Clark, especially Alex. Luther wasn't enough of a talker to say something.

Luther found himself wishing he had a knife, instead of a gun. He wondered why, but his thoughts were broken when he heard one of the girls asking a question. Luther sighed.

----

[B]OOC: I hope I didn't screw up. If I did, sorry, I'll change it XD[/SIZE][/B]

[Sandy]

[size=1][B]OOC:[/B] Ah, [I]now[/I] I get what this game is all about! I won't go ruining it for those who didn't figure it out from your previous post, Blayze, but I'll play along...[/size]

[color=seagreen]Dash was shocked. Clark was suddenly dead. They had had a great conversation just before they had went to sleep, and now he was dead. Just like that.

"I need to get out of here..." Dash thought to himself, in the verge of panic. He felt the need to leave the camp immediately, but he came to second thoughts after everybody started to point their fingers at Alex, which caused him to leave.

Dash didn't know if Alex was quilty or not, but he didn't want to take the chance of wandering into the woods alone with so many possibilities to die everywhere. If it wasn't the beasts, it was the people gone crazy. Now they were going crazy as well, it seemed...

Dash's thoughts went back to the cave, where they had left the other eighteen survivors. Dash couldn't help wondering if they were still alive...[/color]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Alex ran, as fast as he could, through the jungle, the rain beginning to fall once more, his rifle clutched in his grasp. The weapon was all that stood between him and death at the hands of the others, namely Mike.

[b]"Where ya runnin' to, boy?" [/b]came a loud, brash voice, which caused Alex to stop and turn on the spot. It was Sharpe, a rifle in his hand and another on his back. He also had at least three hunting knives on his legs and a handgun in his waistband, [b]"You got somethin' to be runnin' from?"

"Sharpe...how did that...thing...get into your camp? I thought you were guarding it!" [/b]sputtered Alex, out of breath.

[b]"Well, me and the creature you saw, we have a little deal goin' on. I let it into my camp and give it fresh meat any time I can, and in return it don't kill me. You can't expect no more o' me, I'm jus' lookin' out fer number one, like anybody would."

"So you let that thing in to eat us?"

"Yeah, it's been a while since it tasted human flesh. A long while, in fact, about six months."

"It's been six months since you landed here. You weren't the only one, were you? You just let that thing eat the rest of your crew, or the rest of the survivors, whichever they were. You let it kill them just so you could survive."

"It's what anyone would have done in my situation, Alex. You can't blame me. I'm a traitor of circumstance. I only betrayed those people because I had to."

"That's exactly what Judas said before he betrayed Jesus. You're no better than that thing you let into the camp, Sharpe."

"Well, I can't let you be talkin' to me like that, Alex. You're just gonna have to apologise," [/b]Sharpe snarled, raising his rifle and aiming it at Alex, [b]"And there'd be no point in runnin'. I got more ammunition than you, and I know this island like the back o' my hand. You try to escape me, and you lose."

"I'm not planning on running," [/b]said Alex, nuzzling the butt of his rifle into the crook of his shoulder and aiming at Sharpe.

[b]"There's no good gonna come o' doin' that now, either. I'm a far better shot than you could ever be. I could kill you before you even think about pullin' the..."

[/b]BANG

Sharpe looked down at his chest. A drop of blood was slowly flowering into a massive stain across his chest. Alex had shot him directly in the lung. He wasn't going to survive for much longer.

He fell to one knee, feeling his lungs begin to fill up with fluid. He gasped, a few rattling breaths escaping. Blood began to seep out of the corner of his mouth.

[b]"I'm sorry, Sharpe. I couldn't let you put any of us in any more danger."

"You're...a stronger man than I ever...was...Alex..." [/b]gasped Sharpe, [b]"I can accept to be killed by a better man than myself..."

[/b]Alex nodded and walked away, his mind wandering. Had he done the right thing?

BANG

Alex fell to the floor, his shoulder bleeding. Sharpe, in his last few moment of life, had fired a shot at Alex. But the instability of his body caused him to miss anything vital and hit Alex in the shoulder blade.

Alex spun round and fired a single shot at Sharpe, killing him outright. Then he collapsed to the ground, slowly losing his consciousness...

[b]OOC: [/b]Astdis, if you do post, then please delete your last post beforehand. Anyone is welcome to find Alex, but don't get too involved. I want to keep him pretty isolated.
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[Astdis]

Kat kneeled at the door of the gun storage, back against the wall, a riffle strapped to her back, ammunition at her waist with her back pack beside her. Most everyone had gone back to sleep believing it had been Alex that attacked them. They felt safe. But it didn?t feel right to Kat. So she stayed up, as did Mike. Mike[I]? why was he so quick to turn on Alex?[/I] The three of them had been together since the start, he should have listened to him. [I]He had been really quick to judge and loudly voice it. He wasn?t the oldest of the group, he had maybe been a high school star jock before this. So he was built. Didn?t mean he could kill anybody.[/I]

Shots echoed through the trees to the camp. Kat stood as did Mike. They looked at each other.

[B]?I?ll go.? [/B] She said, picking up her bag. [B]?I?ve got water and food in here. As long as no one tries to shoot me while my back is turned, I?ll be fine. You need to stay with everyone else.? [/B] Mike hesitated, then nodded. Kat tossed her hair back and started into the trees. It was daylight when she reached the source of the shots. Two bodies. Their host from the night before armed to the teeth, and Alex, probably passed out with a wound in his shoulder. She checked both their pulses. She then took a couple hunting knives from their ?host? as well as the hand gun. She then started to clean Alex?s wounds?

Kat sat and watch Alex fight for consciousness. He shifted and shook his head, pushing himself up to meet her gaze. She held the hand gun coolly, watching him. He froze.

[B]?So, you gonna shoot me??

?If I was going to kill you I would have done it long before now.?

?Fair point. Can I get up??

?Sure.?[/B]

Alex finished pulling himself to his knees then saw that she had bandaged his shoulder. [B]?So, why didn?t you??[/B]

[B]?Why didn?t I what??

?Shoot me.?[/B]

Kat tilted her head slightly to one side.[B] ?Not exactly sure. Except, I?m not convinced you shot anyone. I heard you get up last night. What I didn?t hear was a gun shot afterward. Means they were shot before you woke up.?[/B]

[B]?But you sided with Mike! You told everyone the evidence pointed to me.?

?At first I thought it did. But I?ve had time to think. It doesn?t fit.?

?So now what??[/B]

Kat looked at him over the gun in her hand [B]?I like my odds better with just one person to worry about than a group.? [/B] Kat stood and holstered the gun. [B]?We?d better get moving.? [/B] She offered him a hand to help him to his feet. He looked at her questioningly for a moment then took her hand and she pulled him to his feet.

[Zen]

[color=dimgray][size=1]

Mike was growing restless. This entire series of events was beginning to wear on his mind. The death of a comrade was something he found hard to get over, and his promise to Alex still stood. He would find him... now. Mike rose up from the group?s gathering around a fire and walked over to Luther. It had been a couple of hours since Kat had left and he needed somebody responsible to watch the camp.

[B] ?Luther...?[/B] Mike said quietly to him, trying not to be noticed.

[B] ?Y-yeah? What?s up??[/B] he replied with a shake in his voice. Most likely from Mike?s earlier outburst.

[B] ?I?m gonna go find that bastard Alex. He needs to pay... I need you to watch the camp while I?m gone. I?m trusting you...?[/B] he said to him with a strong tone, looking Luther directly into his eyes. Luther just looked back and nodded with assurance. Mike nodded back and raised up, making his way for the weapon?s hut. He would fight Alex like an honorable man. Reaching onto the wall, Mike withdrew two long hunting knives. Their blades where fine and sharp, and they carried a decent weight to them. He spun them around on in his fingers and tucked them both in his belt. He then picked out his first rifle and made his way past the inhabitants of the camp, giving Luther one last look of confidence.

Not to long after, Mike was deep in the jungles, trailing the broken branches and deep foot steps left by Alex. He also noticed the smaller feet of Kat. He worried about her safety, and hoped she hadn?t found Alex. There wasn?t a doubt that she could handle her self. Mike just wanted Alex for himself. For his honor...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Mike had been wandering the jungles for sometime now. Alex?s trail was pretty far out. Then Mike stopped as he looked out into a fine clearing where Alex?s foot steps led. Looking out, he noticed a horrifying site. The dead body of Sharpe, the old man who had helped them out... Mike ran over to his body to find two gun shot wounds in him, and his body stripped of a few items. Alex was the only suspect in Mike?s mind, and he looked up from the body to see a new trail, this time with Kat?s foot prints following Alex?s. [I] [B]Had Alex kidnaped her? Was he holding her hostage or something?[/I][/B] He thought to himself with anger and fear.

Mike ran as fast as he could following the trail, adrenaline and rage pumping though his veins. He could feel himself growing closer to them, then Mike saw them. He could see Alex?s back and he dug his feet deep into the ground and propelled his body at amazing speeds Giving out a great cry of fury, he tackled Alex, hearing Kat scream in shock as they rolled fiercely on the ground. Mike released him and let his body fly into the base of a thick tree trunk with a thud.

Alex looked up after rubbing his soar back to see Mike crouching, a scowl of anger on his face. They stared into one another?s eyes for a moment, fire coming between them. Their rifles had wound up on the ground, crossing over one another in an ironic way. Suddenly, Kat ran in-between them with her limbs out stretched, facing Mike.

[B] ?Mike, listen! Alex didn?t do it! It was Sharpe! You gotta believe me!?[/B] she hollered at him. Mike gave an angry grimace to her.

[B] ?You think that murderer wouldn?t lie to you?! Didn?t you see Sharpe? He?s dead! Alex killed him too! He helped us!?[/B] he yelled back at her. [B] ?That bastard?s probably trying to cover the first murder with another...?[/B]

[B] ?No! He explained it all to me! It?s true! I know it...?[/B] Alex cut her off.

[B] ?Forget it, Kat! He isn?t going to listen... his head is too hot. He?s got blood lust in his heart...?[/B] Alex said with an spiteful tone.

[B] ?So say?s the pride less killer...?[/B] Mike replied with another scowl. Alex stood up, and walked past Kat. He continued to stare into Mike?s eyes. With this, Mike withdrew one of the hunting knives and threw it into the ground in front of Alex?s feet. Alex didn?t even give a flinch as he continued to stare into Mike?s fiery retina. Then Mike drew the second and held it in his hand.[B] ?This is how it will be... a knife fight. You may not have honor... but I do. I refuse to sink to your level and kill an unarmed man.?[/B]

[B] ?I?m telling you, Mike... I didn?t do it.?[/B] Alex gave one final warning.

[B] ?Save it for God...?[/B] Mike cut him off, gripping his knife tightly. Alex leaned over and withdrew his own, and sat back in a defensive stance.

[B] ?So... it comes down to this.?[/B] he said with regret in his voice. Mike gave a smiling growl and flew at him with a burst of beastly speed, making the first strike...

[B]OOC:[/B] Okay, now for Blayze to reply to this. We have a pre-agreement for what happens.[/color][/size]

[Sandy]

[color=seagreen]Dash watched silently as first Kat snook out of the camp, and not much later Mike, his eyes burning with rage. Dash couldn't understand Mike's mood - it's not like he knew Clark very well or anything. Dash guessed that Mike just had a strong sense of justice...

"This is stupid!" Avian sighed to Dash and Luther. The three of them were the only ones still remaining in the camp. "Why are we three waiting here to get eaten or shot or otherwise butchered when the others helped themselves and left?! It's not like we can trust that Sharpe-guy. He could be the killer for all we know!"

"But Mike..." Luther started.

"What about him? He's a bull-headed fool!" Avian nearly screamed.

"Alright!" Dash said sternly, standing up. "What do you suggest we do, then? Where do we go?"

"Back to the waterfall to the others, of course!" Avian replied, grabbing the small backbag she had brought with her on the excursion.

Dash nodded. "I'm fine with that. I just have this awful feeling that something horrible has happened to them as well..."

Avian and Dash headed out of the camp. Luther looked at the way Mike had gone, and made his decision.

"Hey, wait for me!"[/color]

[Frankie]

Avian and the two guys walked quickly through the dense jungle. She didnt like this game anymore. Whatever was going on she had a bad feeling coursing through her vains. She stopped for a second to catch her breath which gave Dash and Luther time to catch up. After all she had been running faster than either of them. She thought maybe she was on a track team or something. She didnt remember being fast but then again she didnt remember anything.

Out of the corner of her eye she frowned. There it was again. That strange light. She decided to ignore it... after all if she looked at it the others would look. She had a feeling they wouldnt see it and wonder why she was acting crazy. That was the last thing she needed right now.

"We should keep going. We have no idea what is out here..." Dash said to her quietly.

Luther nodded, "Lets go."

They ran some more. And a little more. And a just a bit after that. Eventually they were back at the cave. Avian was the first to go in, however, a few seconds later she was out with dash and luther again.

"What?" One of them said. She wasnt paying attention to care who said it.

Before she could answer she went to the nearest bush and puked. She felt someone rub her back but she ignored it. She saw blood and dead people before but that wasnt anything she ever expected to see. She stood up and faced the boys after taking a drink of the water she had.

"Its terrible in there. Blood, so much of it..." Avian was shaking, not out of fear, she didnt know what it was but it wasnt heling. "So much death, so many others dead, I..." She flopped down onto the ground. She sat there with her arms hanging down at her sides and on the ground as if they no longer worked.

"What is going on...." She heard one of them ask.

She sighed and stared at the ground, "who cares..." She muttered.

"WHAT!?!?!"

"I said who cares... Even if there was a way to find out everything... I have a feeling im not going to live long enough to know... so why should i care... "

One of them stamped their feet into the dirt near her hand. She ignored it.

"Just going to give up are you? Thats it for you then? Gonna sit here and just let one of those those things get to you?"

Avian sighed, "I dont want to die but i doubt i could change anything at this point. Sure i know how to fire my weapon but what good will that do. I mean the only person who really knows what they are doing isnt looking out for OUR best intrest. OUR survival. Its all about himself and his accusations. I dont know why but i remember small things... Like movies where splitting up and blaming others with no real proof was always the downfall to the group in the movie or show or whatever. Accusing him of killing clark, running him off, then going after him to tear him apart because of this so called revenge, justice or whatever the hell he calls it. He may think its best but i dont think so. Not that what I think matters anymore."

At this point, after all the stuff that had happend she felt like she was about to lose it. She stood up clenched her fists tight, digging her nails into her palms. She felt them dig deeper and figured they were bleeding at this point but she didnt care. She glared off into space. "Will the killing ever end? I dont think i can take much more of this..."
----
ooc: I prolly messed something up or something but oh well. Pm me and ill edit or uh... something. I just figured avian wasnt one of those types to be all like "oh..darn...dead people... oh well lets go kill some monsters" i figured after so much she might have...one of those mental breakdowns or perhaps lost hope or something even though it will probably get her killed... again pm me if there is anything needing editing or...deleting.

[madnessofthecat]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]"A[SIZE=1] little help over here!"

Jane dragged a suit case with more coconuts in it, not surprised to find out the tall skinny man with the shaggy beard that had come with her had left her there to find food on her own. She had really been a pain in the ass that day. She kept asking questions that they couldn't really answer and putting a damper of there false hope of getting off the island that they decided to give her some thing to do, sending her to go get some more coconuts.

She did leave without complaining, she needed to get away from the people for a little while. They were just as irritating to her as she was to them. She walked past the blood stained tree heading to one near by that was more fruit full and filled two suit cases with coconuts, the papers and other items had been placed in other places in piles for the moment along with the papers with you are going to die scribbled on it.


"guys!" her voice sounded raspy and tired, she had only a few minutes earlier been calling for the man that had accompanied her to the beach, but when he disappeared and after a while of searching for him, she gave up and decided he most likely abandoned her to her own to search for food.

"send me out there, left me, and you Bastards don't even come to eat." her muttered cursing continued until she abandoned the bags and stomped over to the cave

"Its terrible in there. Blood, so much of it..." she whipped her head around quickly hearing voices by the bushes stopping a little bit away from the entrance of the cave. She had been spared the blood shed, minus the people in the plane and the little girl ripped in half by some unknown creature, but besides those incidents nothing. She walked towards the bushes, obviously now someone had spotted her walking near them, she was surprised they didn't hear her calling until she actually tried to talk."Hey...where's everyone..." her voice was barely above a whisper and raspy, she had lost it.

Avian's words seem to play over in her head, the words she heard before she had come walking towards the cave in an angry fit of rage."What the hells going on?" She asked and crossed her arms being silent after her question.

"don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to..." Jane looked at Avian.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

OOC: hope this is okay.x_x))

[Blayze]

[size=1]Alex dodged, but only just, swinging his knife-blade up, letting the blades of the two weapons clash together, sparks falling from the edges. Something took over him, and he swung the blade towards Mike, who dodged and stabbed his own knife at Alex.

A few drops of blood fell from Alex's arm, where a small gash had opened. He smiled, wiped the few drops off, and flicked his knife round in his hand. Something had come over him, something he had never felt before, at least, not to his knowledge. He felt perfectly capable of fighting with the knife, and, in fact, he felt more than capable, he felt like he was close to expert level in knife fighting.

From the confused expression on Mike's face, Alex assumed that he was having the same wash of new feelings. Mike turned to face Alex, a devilish smile spreading across his face, and he lunged once more, the blade of the knife just missing Alex's face, as Alex slashed downwards, opening a gash on Mike's leg.

[b]"This is interesting," [/b]said Alex, [b]"Did you know you could do this kind of thing?"

"I had no idea," [/b]said Mike, ripping off a portion of his shirt to wrap around his leg as a makeshift bandage, [b]"But it looks like we're pretty evenly matched."

"Maybe we both learnt from the same teacher," [/b]said Alex thoughtfully, taking Mike's lead and wrapping his own arm in a rag.

[b]"Maybe so," [/b]said Mike, tying the bandage off, [b]"But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get away with what you did."

"Please, just stop fighting!" [/b]shouted Kat, [b]"There's no need for this!"

"He killed Clark, and he killed Sharpe to cover it up, Kat," [/b]replied Mike, [b]"And he deserves to be dealt with properly."

"He's got to get this bloodlust out of his system, Kat, and this is the only way," [/b]said Alex, tying off his own bandage.

[b]"But it's almost night. There could be more of those things out there. We need to get somewhere with protection!"

"Screw that, Kat," [/b]shouted Mike, [b]"The only thing we need protection from here is Alex! He's the only monster on this island!"

"Look out!" [/b]cried Kat, as darkness truly fell. Something swooped down, huge, leathery wings sweeping past the trio. Mike only just ducked to avoid it in time, but Alex was thrown to the floor.

[b]"Call a cease-fire?" [/b]Alex asked.

[b]"For now," [/b]replied Mike, [b]"But this isn't over!"

"Kat! Grab a gun! You need to cover us so we can get to some!" [/b]shouted Alex, and Kat nodded, crawling over to the stash of rifles that Mike had brought with him, as well as the one she had brought and Alex's.

By this time, more and more of the winged creatures were gathering, perching on the tree-tops, waiting for their prey...

[b]OOC: [/b]I'm gonna let you carry this one on, Bossman. You know what you wanted to happen
[/size]

[Sandy]

[color=seagreen]The four of them looked at the waterfall, trying not to think of the carnage behind it. Luther turned to Dash.

"What do we do now?"

Dash knew what he wanted to do - he had wanted to do that for quite a while. "We go to the temple. We will get our answers there, I'm sure of it."

For the first time in this whole time he had spend in the island, Dash was calm. Not moody, angsty or hyper, just serene, and sure of himself. Luther and Avian nodded, but Jane hesitated.

"But there was this man..." Jane said, but Avian just took her by the shoulder.

"Whoever he was, you're safer with us. We have somehow managed to survive even though people all around us have been slaughtered. Come with us to the temple, okay?"

Dash turned away from the waterfall towards the ruined city.[/color]

[Astdis]

Kat whipped the hand gun from her belt and nailed the flying creature through it?s heart. It dropped with an empty thud as the creatures came in behind it as a back drop. Kat stood and continued firing. Each shot did some damage, at least half of them fatal. [I]Without even checking she knew. She knew where to aim, where to shoot, her hand seeming to move by it?s own will so fast that she didn?t even stop to think. [/I] The hand gun clicked empty and she grabbed a raffle from her feet, leaving the one on her back and started following the boys? retreat into the woods, continuing to turn and fire shots when things got too close to them. She saw Alex struggling to run. She caught a glimpse of Mike ahead of them [I]?I have half a mind to whack that kid over the head with this thing?[/I] she thought as she moved. They seemed to be nearing something solid through the trees. Maybe there was hope of shelter after all?

[Blayze]

[size=1]One of the things swooped, claws outstretched, at Mike's exposed back. Alex leapt into action, leapfrogging over Mike and plunging his blade into the beast's head. Hot, thick blood spurted out, all over Alex's hands, and he fell to the floor, the beast's leathery body following.

[b]"You saved me," [/b]said Mike.

[b]"No time for that now," [/b]said Alex, [b]"Keep running!"

[/b]The three of them ran, branches and creepers whipping against any area of bare skin that was available to them. Kat continued to whirl around and blast one of the creatures out of the sky every time they got too close, but there were hundreds more of them plaguing the skies, two replacing every dead one.

[b]"We need to get to the temple!" [/b]shouted Alex, his hair plastered to his body from the rain that was now bucketing down, [b]"It's the only safe place we have!"

"How do you know these things won't follow us in there?!" [/b]shouted Mike over the thunder.

[b]"I don't. I just have a feeling!"

"I think you're right, Alex," [/b]said Kat, [b]"Let's get to the temple! Maybe there will be some others there!"

[/b]They turned, quickly running in what they thought was the general direction of the valley, and soon enough they were sliding down the mud-slicked walls of the valley down towards the temple.

[b]"Quick! Get in!" [/b]shouted Alex, hurrying people inside the temple, and following them, jumping down from the wrecked portion of the plane into the darkened temple.

[b]"Hello?" [/b]said a voice. Alex pulled out his Zippo, and sparked it. Surprisingly, it still worked after all this time. He looked around, using the measly spot of light the lighter offered to look deep into the darkness.

A face met his gaze, and he jumped. But it was Dash.

[b]"Alex," [/b]he said calmly and coldly, [b]"I wasn't expecting to see you here after what you did."

"Dash!" [/b]shouted Kat, [b]"He didn't kill Clark! It was Sharpe. I saw everything properly! You have to believe me."

"I'm struggling. He was the only one with a gun, and would an innocent man run?"

"He would if there was someone pointing a gun at him," [/b]said Mike, [b]"I guess I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion. I mean, he did save my life back there in the jungle."

"I don't care what you all think of me!" [/b]shouted Alex, [b]"I didn't kill Clark, and yes, I killed Sharpe, but that was in self-defence. I didn't exactly come out of it too great myself, I mean, he shot me in the back."

"How come you don't seem to be having any trouble now?" [/b]asked Kat.

Alex stopped. He didn't really know what to say. Since Sharpe had shot him, he had passed out, but when he woke up, it didn't seem to hurt at all. He turned his head as far as he could, and looked at his back. There was blood on his shirt, sure, but there was no bullet-wound underneath it. It had completely healed, in the matter of about an hour.

[b]"How the hell did that happen?" [/b]he asked no-one in particular. He sat down, and held his head in his hands.

[b]"There's something very strange about this island," [/b]said Alex, [b]"It's not just a normal island. And I plan to find out what the hell is going on."

"I'm with you. We need to find out what this island really is," [/b]said Kat, [b]"And I think we need to stick together to find that out. We need to forget anything we might think about each other, and start afresh. What does everybody say?"

[/b]The rest nodded, even Jane and Avian, the quiet ones in the group.

[b]"I don't think you're right," [/b]said one voice, and Luther emerged into the small pool of light, [b]"I think that this is all some kind of bizarre trick, some group hallucination or something. I'm not sticking with everyone else. You think you're right about everything, but what if you're not? What if this is something completely different? I plan to find that out without you narrow-minded idiots holding me back!"

[/b]He stormed off in a rage, disappearing into the darkness. Alex sighed.

[b]"We have everyone but one of us now. And there's gonna be no more splitting into groups. We stay as one from now on. We are all going to get some sleep, and in the morning, we are going to find out what the hell is going on on this island," [/b]he said, [b]"Which means going deeper into the temple than we have before. I don't know about the rest of you, but I believe this temple is the key. It is the centre of this island, and we need to find out what is going on deep inside it. Is everyone with me?"

[/b]Assorted agreements came, and the group headed to their various locations to try and get some sleep.

---

[b][i]"We almost have another erased. That doesn't leave too many," [/i][/b][i]said a cold voice, [b]"We have five left. Well, six, but it will be five very soon."

"So how far off is he to total recovery?"

"Your husband will hopefully be back with us within the month. But these later stages are the hardest we will encounter. The survivors left are now the most dominant, the most powerful, that's why they weren't wiped out when the others were. But, targeting them one by one will allow us to dispatch them a lot easier. We will now being the process of termination..."

[/b][/i]---

Alex woke up, leaping to his feet.

[b]"Everybody wake up!" [/b]he shouted, [b]"Is everyone ok?"

"We're fine, Alex," [/b]groaned Mike, rolling over, [b]"What is it?"

"Someone else is going to die. I know it. We have to find Luther!"

[/b]He ran into the darkness, and was confronted with a cold, solid object in his way. He touched it, and, although it was solid, it was also soft to the touch. He dragged it into the small pool of moonlight that was allowed in by the gash in the top of the temple.

It was Luther. He was dead.

[b]"Shit!"[/b] cried Alex, dropping to his knees, [b]"I knew this would happen! Why didn't I talk him out of it?!"

"Oh my God!" [/b]screamed Avian, coming into the moonlight, [b]"Luther's dead! He's dead!"

[/b]---

[b]OOC: [/b]Apologies, vicky, but you are the second casualty of STRANDED. Reactions to this unfortunate event in your next posts, everyone.
[/size]

[Sandy]

[color=seagreen]Dash was slowly becoming numb of all these deaths. It seemed that just as he was getting to know one of the others better, he would wind up dead.

Everybody else were looking at each other suspiciously, but Dash just stared at the body without a trace of emotion in his face.

"What's the matter, Dash?" Jane asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"He won't be the last. This will continue until we are all dead", Dash said grimly, yet still calm. He sensed that his serenity frightened the others, who had known him with all his mood swings.

"But who or what could've done this?" Avian asked in despair. "It's like the life was drained out of him! There are no marks of how he died."

"What kind of pathologist are you?" Mike grunted. "I say we head on! Dash is right; whatever killed Clark and Luther and the others will take us out one by one. Our only solution now is to reach the heart of this temple."

"What makes you so sure?!" Avian screamed so that her voice echoed through the hallways. "There could be nothing but darkness down there! Endless, suffocating darkness..."

"What are the options?" Kat asked quietly. Alex nodded, and slowly they gathered their few belongings, covered Luther's corpse with one of the blankets, and walked deeper into the temple.
[/color]

[Frankie]

OOC: I too am thinking i kinda recognise this pattern... and I slap myself. If im right in my brain then I am ashamed i didnt realize it sooner :) Anyways *hums to self*
----------
Avian walked silently behind the others. Sure another person dead. She wasnt surprised but still shocked at the same time. This confused her quite a bit but that wasnt what worried her most. The others babbled about how they were all going to die... one by one. She shook her head. She knew this already, why repeat it. If they hadnt realized it till just now... she felt sorry for them.

"Sure wander deeper into some ruins.... Find more dead bodies, aliens bent on taking over, or some freaky headed guys with guns... I dont care anymore..." Avian said quietly but with the echos she knew everyone heard.

"But you wouldnt talk about it if you didnt..." She grummbled back at herself.

She ignored the fact she had gotten a look from one of the others. After all she was talking to herself again.

Kat looked at her, "I know this might be a stupid question Avian but are you all right?"

Avian glanced up at her, "Doesnt matter does it. Whether I am or not... I wont say anymore..."

"Why not? It isnt good to keep things inside."

Dash nodded, "Yes but She doesnt want to get to know anyone else or talk to them about anything because we are all going to end up dead and all that. She wouldnt be able to handle it much longer and all. Im sure she figures if she shuts herself out from everything and doesnt connect with anyone in any way she mightn ot hurt so much."

Avian frowned, "No... I dont want to talk with you people, get close, trust or anything like that not because of my own feelings after one of the group dies... but for when Its my turn to bite the dust... Ill be just like... someone that silently tagged along you know... so you wont care all to much."

Kat glared at her for a moment and slapped her, "Quit it. We will figure something out. Dont go dooming yourself or anyone else yet!"

Avian was shocked at that "rude awakning" but it did make her stop thinking about it so much. She was silent for the most part now. Silently looking at what parts of the ruins she could in the darkness. It was facinating dispite all it took to get into the temple in the first place. She decided to push all thoughts to the back of her mind and ignore everything but the ruins...

[Zen]

[color=dimgray][size=1]

The numerous deaths on the island were causing Michael to become paranoid. That may have been the reason for his jumping to conclusions when one survivor had been shot and killed. Alex had proven his integrity to Mike before saving his life, and it was wrong of him to conclude he was anything but innocent in this case. But the most recent death of Luther was even more eerie than the previous ones. There were no telling marks of his death. No wounds or bruises, just a cold body. It was possible he had died from some poisoning, maybe from a bad mushroom, but Mike doubted it. Luther was smarter than that. He knew better. It was apparent it was puzzling the other survivors as well.

[B] ?Alex...?[/B] Mike whispered into his ear as they walked.

[B] ?What??[/B] he replied with a reasonable frustration. He gave Mike a harsh look.

[B] ?Listen... I?m sorry. I shouldn?t have done what I did. It was wrong. It?s just...?[/B]

[B] ?I understand. Let?s just forget about it. We have more things to worry about than a misunderstanding.?[/B] Alex said with a softer approach.

[B] ?Thanks... but, hey. How do you think Luther died? You don?t think it was poison, do ya??[/B] Mike questioned with concern.

[B] ?I don?t think so. We probably would have seen some sort of signs of sickness if it were.?[/B]

[B] ?Jeez... then what??[/B]

[B] ?We?ll probably find out soon...?[/B] Alex replied as he looked on into the darkness. As he did, Mike stumbled slightly over a hard object. He leaned over to see it was a long piece of dry wood. Leaning over, he picked it up and tore the sleeve from his shirt. Wrapping around the end of the stick, he gave it to Alex.

[B] ?Use this. We?ll be able to see better.?[/B]

[B] ?Thanks, good thinking.?[/B] he said, lighting it up with his Zippo. The flame caught soon and lit up the dark hallway to the point were detail could be seen in the walls. Their were some sort of hieroglyphs engraved on the hallway?s entirety. It portrayed a story of transformation, of some sort. Kat walked up to the wall where Mike stood, touching her hands on the walls.

[B] ?What do you think these mean...??[/B] she questioned her self more than the others.

[B] ?They look like the monsters we saw earlier.?[/B] Alex said, bringing the light closer to the wall.

[B] ?Definitely Let?s hurry up and get to the middle of this.?[/B] Mike said to the others. They all nodded and they continued their journey, reading the hieroglyphs as they walked. Something troubled Mike however. As they came closer to the center of the temple, the ghastly stench of blood grew stronger... Mike had a feeling he wasn?t going to like what they found at the end of this hallway.

-----------------------------------------------------[/color][/size]

[B] OOC:[/B] Alright, so... I apologize for not posting when I was supposed to. Long week end. But yeah. Let?s get it on.

[Blayze]

[size=1]Alex peered down the hallway, the overwhelming stench of old blood filling his nostrils, assaulting his senses. He took a deep breath and plunged into the gloom, lifting his shirt up over his nose and mouth to filter out some of the air.

He moved down, waving the torch in front of him to light the way. The flickering light cast eery shadows across the walls, illuminating the bizarre hieroglyphics that had been carved on the walls. Mike followed close behind him, a rifle aimed in front of Alex.

[b]"Hand me a gun," [/b]whispered Alex, feeling the need for some kind of protection. Mike handed over a small but powerful handgun, a revolver of some kind, Alex didn't really know guns. He flicked the safety off and aimed it ahead of him.

At the end of the hallway there was a small opening, a miniature door of some kind. Alex ducked to have a look inside. He waved the torch around, trying to find anything that distinguished the new chamber.

[b]"Oh dear God," [/b]he gasped, not truly believing what he had seen in that darkened chamber. He stumbled out of the room, and Mike asked:

[b]"What? What was in there?"

"You really don't want to know," [/b]replied Alex, passing Mike the torch. He ducked inside the room, and saw exactly what Alex had seen.

The room was massive, a vast, cavernous room, easily as big as any office block in America, like a skyscraper, definitely too huge to fit inside the temple. And across the entire room, every wall and the ceiling, there were human bodies strung up, dried blood staining the floor. There were literally thousands of them.

And the worst part for Alex wasn't that. The worst part was much worse than anything Mike could have imagined...

He recognised every single one of the people strung up, dead. They were all people he had met, interacted with and talked to in his life. The memories suddenly came rushing back to him. Every conversations he had had with every one of these people, everything. He knew his name, his age, what he used to do, the fact that he was married.

He collapsed to the floor, clutching his head.

[b]"Are you alright, Alex?" [/b]asked Kat, crouching down next to him.

[b]"I'm...I'm fine...I remember everything...my name is Alex Masterton...I'm 27 years old...from London, England. I have a wife named Eleanor...and two kids named Zack and Isobel. We call Isobel Izzy. She hates her real name. We live in a semi-detatched house just outside London. I've been married for six years. Izzy is four and Zack is only six months. Eleanor and I both wanted kids as soon as we got married. We are in love, and we have been since we first met...It's all come back, Kat. I know who I am!" [/b]he shouted triumphantly, leaping into the air, [b]"I know who I am!"

"If you've got your memory back...why haven't we yet?" [/b]asked Avian nervously, from the rear of the group. The rest of them turned to her.

[b]"Good question," [/b]said Dash, [b]"How did this happen?"

"The room...I know everyone in there...they were all a part of my life," [/b]said Alex.

[b]"This is getting weirder by the minute..." [/b]said Mike...

---

[i]A dark figure watched them from the darkness of the temple...[/i]

[i]You all think you're so damn smart, don't'cha? Bunch o' kids, takin'me out on my island? Well, there's gonna be hell ta pay...and I mean that literally...
[/i]
[b]OOC: [/b]You can have whatever you like happen in your next posts, the weirder the better, but one very important thing...you do not get your memories back, or not yet at least...
[/size]

[Astdis]

[I][B]?England?? [/B][/I] Kat whispered, rolling it over her tongue in her accent she?d known was different from everyone else?[I] accept Alex[/I]. Yes, that sounded right to her ? but nothing else triggered. She knew there had been someone, a guy, she?d seen him in her dream that kept repeating. [I]She was good at healing? and shooting? and? [/I] She stood and walked further into the room with everyone?s eyes on her. Kat stood and starred into the blank dead eyes. [I]Nothing. No chill, no fear, no queasiness, nothing. She felt nothing[/I]. Just like the other deaths on the island. None had bothered her. [I]Why? They should, this should. [/I] She shook herself and turned back to Alex.

[B]?Well, we?re going ta hav? to use your memories of these people. Come up with things they had in common? other than you.?[/B]

[B]?Sure, ok, I?ll work on that.? [/B]

Kat walked back to the group and leaned against the wall. Mike walked over to her

[B]?You ok??[/B]

[B]?I don?t know.?[/B] She responded with a wry smile. [B]?Somethin?s not right, I?ll let you know what when I remember it.?[/B]

Mike laughed lightly at the memory loss joke.

[B]?What was with that knife fightin back there then? I took ya for a high school jock.?[/B]

Mike shrugged [B]?I don?t know, there are weird things I don?t remember either.?[/B]

[Frankie]

Avian wasnt feeling all that good with the smell and just knowing what it was everyone was seeing. She kept her eyes on anything else.. the walls the floor the darkness anything worked for her.

She saw it again, that funky light. But she knew no one else saw it... After all if if was there they would have turned to SEE what was creating the light. She then thought of something.

[i]If no one else can see that light perhaps its parto fm y past, like a ghostly vision of something i have forgotten. Now if only I could remember what it is that I have forgotten, you know aside from everything. Perhaps its something from a game, or a movie, or.... uh i dont know. I suppose if Alex can remember who he fully is and all his memories then maybe I will too. If im not dead that is...[/i]

She thought about this for a while then realized thinking about the light made it go away. She sighed and waited... Too long.

[b]"What now people? I dont like just standing here letting my skin marinate in this lovely stench."[/b]

[Sandy]

[color=seagreen]It was confusing that Alex had suddenly regained his memory. Dash couldn't still remember anything but the trailer wagon he used to live in, and now even it was fading away, like it had just been a dream...

Dash couldn't bear to look at the room filled with corpses. Alex claimed that he knew them all, but Dash was sceptical. How did they end up here? What kind of island was this? Were they even on Earth anymore?

"This is insane!" Dash exclaimed. "Why can't the rest of us remember anything? Aren't we real? Am I even [i]real[/i]...?"

He felt a hot tear running down his cheek. [i]Here we go again...[/i]

The feeling of depression returned in an overwhelming wave of sensation. Was it a sign that he did in fact exist? Dash didn't know.

All he knew that he wanted to huddle up to a distant corner, far away from everybody else, and cry himself to death.

"No", Alex replied suddenly. "You will get your memories back too, I'm sure of that. We're [i]so close[/i]!"

He then gave an encouraging smile at Dash and patted him on the shoulder. Dash looked at the others through his teary eyes. Alex, Mike, Avian, Jane and Kat. Just the six of them...

"Let's move on", Mike grunted.[/color]

[size=1][b]OOC:[/b] Hope I didn't give out too much. Whatever the reality is, I felt that Alex feels the need to encourage the others, [spoiler]as if to hold on to them, perhaps[/spoiler].[/size]

[madnessofthecat]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]She looked forward at the others thinking silently to herself a million questions rushing into her head at once and then as soon as the looked at the walls painted with dead bodies she went pale and forgot them all. Jane continued to walk forward and look at the others her mind in scatters while she quickly tried to think about something else besides the blood stains and figures.

"God..." she looked down at Avain and then looked up focusing on the torch in Alex's hand that she wanted so desperately to get her hands on at the moment."this is horrible..," she said her voice was still raspy but she tried to raise it enough so it was at a some what normal volume."Were spending a ridiculous amount of time in here.." She moved up a little rushing herself.

?We?ve barely been here ten minutes.? Mike responded to her raspy whining.

?Enough for me.? She responded quickly entertaining the thought of turning back around in her head for a brief minutes and then remembered what they said about the importance of sticking together now. That wiped her idea clean out of her head. She paused for a second ,staring up at the bodies on the wall again, a wave of horror ran through her body she froze up again for a brief second before walking forward again, she was making her way towards the flame the only thing she remotely remembered besides the fact that her name was Jane, and that her unrestrained or censored habit of stating the negative and obvious tended to get others a little upset.

The fact that Alex was the only one that could remember anything still puzzled her, she was quiet for a few minutes. She frowned at him, in the spirit of envy more than anything else. Jane rubbed her nose and sniffed a little quickly getting irritated with the way their little trip through the room was going. ?Is there a door coming up or what...? she asked and frowned pulling a few braids behind her ears.[/COLOR]