WEEK 5 - TRIAL

[petoskeymods]

TRIAL

It takes a full day after finding the body, but on Saturday, the counselors call you all to the campfire, the bonfire already roaring away as everyone finds their seats. Stan and Red are seated there, with Stan holding a box saying 'VOTES' written on it.

It looks like you're here to find the killer.

And just like before, you know you'll be forced to vote before the night's over...

And condemn someone to a grisly fate.

VICTIM: Usagi Tsukino
CAMPERS REMAINING: 15

((Remember that Everyone must vote and that Votes are due by 6pm EST!))

Comments

EXECUTION: MOB MENTALITY PART 2/2

[backspacing]

[Not that Red has been particularly enjoying this- she always looks pretty grim during executions- but as soon as Ren steps in and participates she realizes how out of hand this is getting, and she snaps her fingers once more. The zombies don’t stop in their acts though, and continue mangling Boa’s now-dead body. She grits her teeth and snaps them again, and they still don’t stop. That’s when she finally yells at them.]

That’s enough, stop!

[All at once, the zombies (including Ren) stop and look at Red. They stare at her for a long moment, and she just glares back at them. This is when Ren seems to snap out of it, and as soon as he realizes what’s going on he starts to shake a little and cry. Everyone else is as emotionless as ever, though.

Then the zombies, plus a sobbing Ren, will finally let go and drop the rocks. They’re all covered in varying amounts of Boa’s blood, but excluding Ren none of them seem to even notice it. They just walk back to their places and stand as if nothing has even happened, leaving Boa’s bloody and broken body on the ground.]

Function complete.

Just...go.

[Red is done with today, and she can’t decide if she’s more upset or furious.]

[killtheanimals]

[When he's first dragged away, Mitsuru makes a lunge to follow.

No. No, no, no, not today, not anymore, he can't-!]

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie catches the movement out of the corner of his eye. He stumbles to his feet and rushes to grab Mitsuru's arm]

No! They'll... they might take you, too.

[soylentprotag]

Mitsuru!

[Lenka's voice is actually a shout this time, steely and echoing off the structures. He reacts instinctively, pulling his God Arc from his back and using it to reach where Mitsuru is -- it slams down in front of him, blocking his way entirely. Don't touch the thing, Mitsuru. Hopefully the weeks together here have trained you enough for that.]

[killtheanimals]

[He freezes at the touch, freezes when the God Arc crashes down in front of him, craning his neck, trying to see even through the dread seizing his heart because again, once again, someone important to him is being stolen away and no magic and no years of experience have given him any extra help in doing a single thing to prevent it.

Maybe his fate really was twisted from the start. Maybe it should have been a full circle, maybe, maybe--

He shouldn't have left the house that day.

By the time Ren finishes the job, his eyes are wide, and this time, no defiance can stop the tears from falling. Not that he'll allow the others to see for long. After Red's words, one moment he's there, the next--

It's like he's vanished completely. No black cloak, no staff, no Ragnaruk, not a trace left behind.]

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie's going to stumble and fall to the ground when Mitsuru disappears because, well, what is balance right now?]

Fuck!

[He looks around. Not seeing him, he just sighs, dropping his head]

Fuck...

[soylentprotag]

[Lenka puts away his God Arc, because there's no more reason to have it out now -- it wouldn't hurt the coral creatures, he's pretty sure, beyond what's on the surface. Expose more of the bedrock that forms their core and their hearts. He watched the entire execution with the same unwavering and unreadable stare and only flinched when Ren came forward, recoiling because it's...

Not a proxy execution. This is something else, something worse. He ends up focusing on crouching next to Eddie, watching the place where Mitsuru disappeared. There are so may things he can't do. He does this instead.]

We'll have to look for him later. He shouldn't be alone too long.

[linearcrash]

[ Someone better grab Nine as Boa is pulled away. Cause he's going to grab him back again.

And then at first it's just Lillith and he thinks maybe it won't be bad. Maybe they will be merciful? Then the rocks come. Nine is trying to claw his way over to them. Trying to fight to get to Boa because this is too much. This is too terrible and Boa doesn't deserve this! No one deserves this!

Talcott then approaches and Nine finds himself freezing. He feels sick and he starts screaming to get him to stop, but he's no longer struggling. No longer trying to fight to get to them.

Then he's no longer moving or screaming. He just feels something snap and then everything go numb. Everything hurts and he can't think or feel any longer.

It should have been me. ]

[lovecolored]

[ Oh no. Nope.

It's both Nine lunging away and the ritualistic rock-throwing that snaps Marisa out of her stupor. Isn't that how they kill witches? She spares a glance at Lillith, but flings herself at Nine's back, locking her arms around his shoulders. ]

Don't!

[bladeisme]

[As he moves, Ichigo instantly grabs onto his shoulder, grip hard and tight.]

Nine-

[There's nothing he can do.

There's nothing any of them can do.]

[linearcrash]

[ He has Marisa on his back, and Ichigo grabbing on to his shoulder. But he can't feel or really hear any more. All he can see is Boa getting killed. Killed by the zombies. Killed by Ren.

Nine has seen different kinds of death but this is the worst. This is the worst and he'll see this every time he closes his eyes... ]

[trashmouthtozier]

[for the first time, Richie watches.]

[he sees the line, how blurred it is between the stone zombies, and themselves. how quick they all were to jump on Chuuta, their accusations the stones in their own hands. how easily they were manipulated by Boa's lies.

as the first few hits rain down, he doesn't look away. he only flinches and closes his eyes when he sees that rock going for Boa's eye. they'd thrown rocks, before.

he'd been exultant about it.

"ROCK WAR".

his own words ring in his head as Tal brings that other blow down on Boa's collarbone. he's got no reason to hold himself higher than Boa. they could have killed Henry Bowers. they could have killed Belch Huggins, or Victor Criss. they just wanted to defend themselves. they just wanted to survive.

and then Ren turns, and ... and he knows it.

he knows the anomaly.

they aren't turning into monsters.

they already are.]

[itsagazebo]

[After Mitsuru vanishes from his grasp, Eddie stands again. He's shaking and dirty, but he's there.

He slowly walks towards Richie, tears in his eyes.]

Richie...

[He can't handle this. He can't handle any of this anymore. He wants his inhaler, he wants to go HOME. He wants all of this to be a fucking dream... but none of that is going to fucking happen. Right now, though, he can have Richie. And that's enough.]

[trashmouthtozier]

It's gonna be us.

Eventually.

Whether someone does it to us, or we do it to them.

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie just nods solemnly.

He's not going to argue with him that they're going to make it to the end or any bullshit like that... if Boa could snap and just kill Usagi like that? Any of them could be next.

And with the paranoia and hallucinations? What's to stop either of them from thinking someone else was trying to attack them? Things just went from bad to ABSOLUTELY FUCKED BEYOND ALL BELIEF really fucking fast.]

[trashmouthtozier]

[he just ... he's a little too broken to say more than that, right now.

sorry, Spaghetti.]

[bladeisme]

[Ichigo's breath catches in his throat - it's done that before for executions, but this was...brutal. A slow death, done by inches -

And Ren had to be a part of it, because he was more along in the transformation than any of them, and -

God, Boa had suffered so much before he died. Not like this. Give them a quick, clean death - not this horrible suffering, done by people who were once the people they cared about -

But it's done, and Boa is gone. And he instantly runs over to Ren's side, trying to grab his shoulder, because this is too much and he needs to protect his nakama, above everything else.]

Come on - Let's...get you cleaned up.

[He wants to scream, to yell at this whole situation, but -

what good would it do?

Three weeks left, and still three more executions to go.]

[le_mat]

[Ren doesn't respond, just keeps shaking and crying.

...if Ichigo doesn't take him away somewhere, once he can catch his breath, he's going to start screaming]

[bladeisme]

[Yeah, we're going to the bathrooms to clean off. Scream in there, buddy.]

[diesifkilled]

[This is too much.

All of this, the camp, the murders, the rocks. It's worse than the orphans in the church basement. It's worse than the fire. It's hell.

How did he ever think that he could save anyone? He's too weak, too stupid, too proud. He couldn't save any of the victims or culprits. He couldn't save Usagi. He couldn't save Boa. He couldn't save Ren. He'll never save anyone, so he'll never be saved himself.

Falling to his hands and knees on the ground, Shirou curls up on himself and cries.]

[ihatepastme]

[Okay now everyone can hear the laughter?? it sounds close.

Deliveryman's nearby, apparently.]

[diesifkilled]

[okay that actually gets shirou to get up to his feet

There are still tears streaming down his face but he's facing vaguely in the direction the laughter came from and screaming.]

FUCK YOU!

[ihatepastme]

[DID YOU MEAN LAUGH HARDER

BECAUSE HE IS

God he loves his life right now]

cw: emeto

[velocirainbow]

[ It calls back unpleasant memories. He doesn't know when he has to leave and go be ill, perhaps sometime around Talcott. But he has to. He's... not handling this well.

Sorry guys, Cielo is checking out. ]

[homeecspacecop]

[Chuuta stands up, not to protect Boa, not really (though if he could, he would, he'd jump in there and hold the zombies off and make sure that Boa saw that no one was going to kill him, that he didn't need to be scared, because every week, that's what Chuuta wants to do).

He stands up because that's what he did before, reaches out and takes a step forward because he has to, because this is his fault...

Ren picks up a rock and brings it down. It's Boa, but it's also Gucci, it's Michiyo and Matsutaro.

It could have been him. This week, if Boa hadn't confessed, it would have been him. Everyone would have voted for him. Richie would have voted for him, and Eddie too, and Boa, and more people, and there would have been a majority vote and he would have been the one standing there while the zombies sang and threw rocks.

No one would have held anyone back, because no one would have tried to save him, and he would have just been Chuuta, the liar, Chuuta, who wouldn't even confess to killing someone.

He hits the ground on his hands and knees and doesn't move.]