Mark's POV
"Why won't you just admit to it?"
"Because I didn't do anything wrong."
This was all I had heard the entire day of travel. It was Yami, demanded to know why Jack was killing everyone and requesting that he admit to it while Jack defended himself by saying that he didn't do anything. Wade walked up front with me while the two put themselves in the middle and continued their squabble. Bob was in the back, claiming that since Yami wasn't paying attention and it was hard to focus, he was sure that someone was following them. He promised to be vigilant, but at this point no one could hear past Yami and Jack.
Part of me wondered what was wrong with Yami. Was he letting the exhaustion and the feeling behind the games get to him? Was it that he wanted it to be real so he could stop it, or was he blaming Jack because he was scared and didn't know what else to do? Another part of me wondered if Yami was right, and if I was defending nothing but a murderer. Bob and Wade claimed to have taken no sides in the squabble, but they'd been weary about Jack the entire day, and they stuck close to Yami, unsure of how to act all of the sudden around the Irishman. As much as it angered me, I didn't want to say anything and risk Yami going off on me.
I did believe that Jack was innocent despite the evidence racking up against him, but Yami's constant squabbling and accusations made me wonder if he was just going mad, or if he actually saw Jack leave and kill someone. This entire thing was rather confusing, and I didn't know what was right or wrong. All that I was sure of was that Jack wasn't the kind of person for unnecessary violence against another human, and I knew that at least. I would continue to defend him for this, whether Yami liked it or not.
"Look, just admit it. You killed Toby, and once you do, we'll kill you quickly." Yami said, and at that point I snapped.
"Yami, shut up." I said sharply, turning my head so he could hear me. "We will not be killing anyone. If you can't control yourself, then at least abide by 'innocent until proven guilty.' Until we know for sure who is running around and attacking people, be silenced." Yami seemed to find sense in my words, and his mouth snapped shut. Jack shot me a grateful glance that I caught out of the corner of my eye. There was silence as we continued walking, and I sighed. It was nice.
"Did you just try to trip me, you fucker!" Jack exclaimed from behind me.
Almost nice.
We continued on through the afternoon with the pair bickering behind us, and I simply wanted to smack them both on the head. Wade said nothing beside me, only offering me a couple of crackers as we walked which I took with a nod of gratitude. We tuned them out, eating the crackers and focusing on where we were going. It felt somehow as if the days were getting warmer, and the sun brighter. The black clothes were a mistake, but I could only assume that this was Sam's idea of making it a bit more of a challenge.
Sam. What the hell was that guy doing sitting in the hotel and watching as us we went through our troubles? I was sure that he had a room full of screens that we could be watched on, and I felt sick at the thought of him watching people die. Was he aware how realistic he had made this game? Part of me wondered if he did this on purpose, just to test the moral values of the people who went through here. Obviously, one of us was insane as people were dying left and right, but that train of thought brought me right back around to Jack and Yami bickering behind me about whether or not the Irishman had murdered everyone. I sighed.
"This is getting on my nerves." Wade spoke for the first time, and I nodded in agreement. I turned to the pair.
"Again, shut up, please." I said. "We can literally figure this out at any other time, but sitting here and yelling at one another when we're walking through the woods makes us an easy, open target." I reminded them, and I looked up as Bob spoke.
"I'm pretty sure we're being followed," he informed us, and we all froze, turning to the direction he was facing, which was directly behind us. For a few moments no one moved, and we didn't dare to breathe hardly. After a few minutes silence, Bob turned back to us, fixing his glasses. "We should get a move on before something catches up with us," he suggested, and I gave a curt nod, moving forward. This time, nothing happened as a result of Yami calling out or attacking Jack, and the Irishman became increasingly silent, bow drawn and arrows waiting patiently in his quiver to be used and shot.
The silence was almost twice as unnerving to us, but we needed it to listen. The bickering had stopped under the pressure of being followed, and all that was heard was the soft crunching of leaves and grass underfoot alongside the wind rustling in the trees above us. The birds themselves seemed to have gone quiet, and the forest around us was holding its breath. All was waiting for something to happen, and the tension was starting to get to me. We had to get out of here, no matter what was happening. It was time to go.
We never got the chance.
I heard the thumping of someone running before we got the chance to turn and fight, and Bob was the first to react, being closest. He whipped around, knife at the ready and instantly slashed out in fear, eyes clamped shut and waving his knife. It made contact, but it made contact with another human's throat, and sent the body crumpling to the ground. I saw Yami stiffen completely as we all turned, and found ourselves looking at what was once Anthony Padilla, or a member of the Smosh crew. Bob gaped, stepping back as we watched the man bleed out. He was also holding a knife that slipped from his fingers and he gasped before his eyes went dead and he was no longer choking in pain.
Bob looked up at us from behind his glasses, eyes wide and mouth even wider as he realized what had happened. He must have been expecting some animal to be tracking us, not another human, and was ready to just put it down rather than worry about what it was. I don't think any of us were expecting a human to fight us, let alone a human that we knew from the YouTube community.
We also didn't expect there to be two humans.
Ian appeared from nowhere, an angry look taking over his features as he lunged for Bob. Time itself seemed to slow, and the horror rising in my chest only seemed to expand to my entire being as his knife dug itself into Bob's throat. I screamed. I screamed loud and I shouted until my voice was completely gone as Bob grabbed at the blade, falling down onto his knees and pulling it. He flung it away, and I didn't bother worrying about Ian as Jack had already put two arrows into him, and Wade was advancing. I made my way over to Bob's side, and he had a hand on his throat where his wound was.
His hands and his shirt were soaked, and the amount of blood coming out was excessive. I sobbed, pressing over his neck as well as I attempted to stop what was happening. I knew better. I knew better, and I knew that. He'd been hit in the throat, it wasn't hard to see that he wasn't going to recover from this injury even if we had a professional surgeon handy. This kind of wound would take his life, and take him from the games. He looked up at me slowly, and took his less messy hand and placed it on my own. I cried, I couldn't hold back from sobbing. I was a mess, sniffling and trying to compose myself. He knew he was dying too, and he had to feel every second of it.
"Don't leave me." I choked out, but Bob only shook his head slowly. His eyes fluttered shut, and I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming again. "Don't leave me!" I shouted, crying as my arms became too weak to hold me up over his fallen body. I collapsed back onto my knees, sobbing as the cannons fired overhead, and hiding my face in my hands, even though they were covered in blood. I cried, and continued to let the tears fall. He was gone. One of my best friends was the first to go; we promised to protect each other and I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't there for him. Wade knelt at my side, biting his lower lip to keep from trembling, and a tear rolled down his nose which he promptly wiped away. We sat there, his arm around my shoulder, as Bob's body faded into pixels that swirled up above us and into the air, floating away. I looked up to watch them, still crying and unable to keep myself together. Wade joined me, and I turned to look for Jack to find him wiping tears from his own face as well. He set down his bow, wiping his face repeatedly and sniffling hard to keep his dignity.
I didn't want to do this anymore. I wanted to go home. I wanted out of these simulations where I knew my friends were out of harm's way and no one was out to kill them. I wanted them to be happy, and free, and away from dangers like this. I didn't want to watch anyone else die, but I knew that there was only one winner out of all of this. There was only going to be one of us standing, and I didn't want to watch anyone else die, especially not the people that I loved and cherished in my life. Never again, if I had to go through this again, I would lose what sanity I had left.
As I composed myself a bit, and stumbled to my feet, Wade joined me, and we all exchanged glances. Jack rested his hand on my shoulder, and we all stood in silence for a few moments, just to remember. Then, Jack suddenly spoke up.
"Where's Yami?"
~~~
?'s POV
I had watched it all unfold from the treetops.
Down below, the two groups had finally met up. The guy Anthony ran full force towards them, thinking they could take the group on. It was foolish, the mistake of an amateur, and I wanted to laugh. He had died almost instantly, and the larger man who killed him look genuinely surprised by it. Then, I watched with a feeling of dread as he didn't expect his death to come right after that. Surely he knew that they were a team. Evidently not, for the man died right there on the ground, and the second man Ian lasted not much longer. I watched as Markiplier, or just Mark I suppose, broke down over his friend right then and there. They all did.
Did no one notice the British man running away?
He had seemed extremely fearful, and sprinted at the sight of Ian while everyone else surged forward. I grimaced at this. Cowards didn't deserve to play this game anyway.
I jumped from my tree in the other direction, deciding to follow him. I didn't remember where he went, I only had a general location. I heard a couple cannons go off, and I followed the man through the woods after catching sight of him. He was stumbling through the trees, and after a few moments I lost sight of him again. How on Earth could I lose someone so noisy and careless?
Suddenly, there was a shout, and several footsteps sprinting away. Had the man run into another player? I caught sight of him sprinting away, opposing the direction he had disappeared in and taking a new path. I guess he had, and my theory was proven correct when I heard another cannon go off. What the hell had just happened? It didn't matter, I would catch up to this man first.
I ducked under a branch and followed him.
~~~
... I'll be held accountable and will pay for all medical bills necessary after broken hearts. I am sorry, but it had to happen.
Please don't hate me. I love you all
Anyway, no questions today, you'll all be in ruins probably (I was just writing this) So have a frantastic week, and I'll see you all on Friday.
~Jay