03-15-2010, 11:20 PM
Save everyone. It was a ridiculous, lofty, virtually unachievable goal that would only serve to fuel the naive, soft-hearted savior complexes of the five captives struggling to survive a madman’s game. Kaden kicked himself for not having been the one to suggest it. Regardless, he wholly agreed with the idea. The thought there might be more captives on the ship – people like them – thrust into the roles of drowning victims nagged at the back of the courier’s mind.
The courier couldn’t help but smile as Victoria made quick introductions. That there was some mysterious hand guiding the Earthly events of late was beginning to seem less and less preposterous. Of course, Sophia and Kaden already knew Sage, and the courier had encounter Alex once before – being shot by someone generally stuck with him. Sophia did a quick double-take at the psychokinetic, leading Kaden to believe they had encountered each other before, though it was a guess on his part.
Despite the troubled circumstances of their last meeting, Kaden held no ill-will towards Trafford. He simply didn’t feel right holding a grudge for actions taken during a ridiculous event like Dante’s Abyss. That would just be petty. Actually trying to clarify their previous knowledge of each-other, though, would have taken time that they didn’t really have.
As Victoria began moving towards the upper decks, Kaden shot a glance around the group. Each person seemed to mulling over her proposition. The courier was also turning thought after thought over in his head, though they had nothing to do with whether or not he would help Victoria. Though they did seem to have to do with everything else. Sage’s ridiculous choice of foot-wear, the screaming from down the hall, the intermittent groan of the ship as water began to pour in, the people Victoria mentioned, still working below deck…
“How…“ the courier ran a hand through his hair. “What do they do when a ship like this starts sinking?”
“What do you mean?” the pink-haired woman stopped and turned back towards the group.
“They begin closing off sections of the ship,” Sophia answered the question, having experienced such a thing first-hand.
“Yeah, makes sense,” Kaden said with a deep frown. He sighed quickly. “I’m definitely with Victoria on wanting to save as many people as possible, but there are probably plenty of people who already need help. I’m going to go lower and see if anyone got trapped. I think Alex should come with me, and Soph and Sage can go with Vicky.”
Letting his eyes wander from one person to the next, Kaden felt suddenly uncomfortable with the stares he was getting. After a moment, they all seemed to exchange glances with one-another before turning back to the courier. He realized he may have been a bit pre-emptive in giving his opinion.
“You’re pretty quick to play the leader.”
“I…” Kaden found himself actually stunned at the source of the voice. Sage, of all people, had all but snapped at the courier. Recovering as quickly as he could, he continued. “I just mean we have no idea what Gamer’s still got in store for us. Maybe there’s nothing else, or maybe there’s some… giant sea monster waiting to eat us. I just think we should be split up as evenly as possible.”
“Well us girls do need to stick together,” Sophia replied. Kaden hoped she was just trying to give him a hard time.
“Well Sage and I are the strongest ones here. With us split up, Sophia and Victoria balance pretty well with Trafford. Seemed like the best way to make sure we’ll be able to handle any surprises.” More strange glances. “But hey, you guys can obviously do whatever you want,” the courier back-pedaled. “Like I said, though, I’m going to go look for people who’ve been trapped. I’ll head back upstairs when I can.”
As he gave a quick smile and turned away from the group, Kaden considered the curious stares he got when appraising the strengths of the group. It hadn’t occurred to him why he knew he and Sage were the strongest of the group, or that Victoria was actually the weakest, but he also didn’t have any doubt, whatsoever, in the analysis. Such a thing was almost as frustrating as it was curious. If he was just going to know things, it would be nice if he knew why he knew them.
Regardless, he had given himself a job to do and he was set on doing it. Fortunately, it was pretty easy to figure out which directions he needed to move in: the opposite direction of everyone else. The rising water and quickly tilting floorboards also helped direct the courier. There were also plenty of people concerned about missing children, valuables, and their own livelihoods. The courier approached a particularly hysterical woman who had hunkered down in the hallway.
“What’s wrong?” Kaden asked, kneeling next to the woman.
She looked up at the blonde and began stammering a string of half-words between her sobs. From what he could gather, she had a daughter who she couldn’t find. She thought the girl was trapped further down the hallway. Giving the mother as reassuring a nod as he could muster, the courier hopped to his feet, took a deep breath, and started on his way.
The courier couldn’t help but smile as Victoria made quick introductions. That there was some mysterious hand guiding the Earthly events of late was beginning to seem less and less preposterous. Of course, Sophia and Kaden already knew Sage, and the courier had encounter Alex once before – being shot by someone generally stuck with him. Sophia did a quick double-take at the psychokinetic, leading Kaden to believe they had encountered each other before, though it was a guess on his part.
Despite the troubled circumstances of their last meeting, Kaden held no ill-will towards Trafford. He simply didn’t feel right holding a grudge for actions taken during a ridiculous event like Dante’s Abyss. That would just be petty. Actually trying to clarify their previous knowledge of each-other, though, would have taken time that they didn’t really have.
As Victoria began moving towards the upper decks, Kaden shot a glance around the group. Each person seemed to mulling over her proposition. The courier was also turning thought after thought over in his head, though they had nothing to do with whether or not he would help Victoria. Though they did seem to have to do with everything else. Sage’s ridiculous choice of foot-wear, the screaming from down the hall, the intermittent groan of the ship as water began to pour in, the people Victoria mentioned, still working below deck…
“How…“ the courier ran a hand through his hair. “What do they do when a ship like this starts sinking?”
“What do you mean?” the pink-haired woman stopped and turned back towards the group.
“They begin closing off sections of the ship,” Sophia answered the question, having experienced such a thing first-hand.
“Yeah, makes sense,” Kaden said with a deep frown. He sighed quickly. “I’m definitely with Victoria on wanting to save as many people as possible, but there are probably plenty of people who already need help. I’m going to go lower and see if anyone got trapped. I think Alex should come with me, and Soph and Sage can go with Vicky.”
Letting his eyes wander from one person to the next, Kaden felt suddenly uncomfortable with the stares he was getting. After a moment, they all seemed to exchange glances with one-another before turning back to the courier. He realized he may have been a bit pre-emptive in giving his opinion.
“You’re pretty quick to play the leader.”
“I…” Kaden found himself actually stunned at the source of the voice. Sage, of all people, had all but snapped at the courier. Recovering as quickly as he could, he continued. “I just mean we have no idea what Gamer’s still got in store for us. Maybe there’s nothing else, or maybe there’s some… giant sea monster waiting to eat us. I just think we should be split up as evenly as possible.”
“Well us girls do need to stick together,” Sophia replied. Kaden hoped she was just trying to give him a hard time.
“Well Sage and I are the strongest ones here. With us split up, Sophia and Victoria balance pretty well with Trafford. Seemed like the best way to make sure we’ll be able to handle any surprises.” More strange glances. “But hey, you guys can obviously do whatever you want,” the courier back-pedaled. “Like I said, though, I’m going to go look for people who’ve been trapped. I’ll head back upstairs when I can.”
As he gave a quick smile and turned away from the group, Kaden considered the curious stares he got when appraising the strengths of the group. It hadn’t occurred to him why he knew he and Sage were the strongest of the group, or that Victoria was actually the weakest, but he also didn’t have any doubt, whatsoever, in the analysis. Such a thing was almost as frustrating as it was curious. If he was just going to know things, it would be nice if he knew why he knew them.
Regardless, he had given himself a job to do and he was set on doing it. Fortunately, it was pretty easy to figure out which directions he needed to move in: the opposite direction of everyone else. The rising water and quickly tilting floorboards also helped direct the courier. There were also plenty of people concerned about missing children, valuables, and their own livelihoods. The courier approached a particularly hysterical woman who had hunkered down in the hallway.
“What’s wrong?” Kaden asked, kneeling next to the woman.
She looked up at the blonde and began stammering a string of half-words between her sobs. From what he could gather, she had a daughter who she couldn’t find. She thought the girl was trapped further down the hallway. Giving the mother as reassuring a nod as he could muster, the courier hopped to his feet, took a deep breath, and started on his way.
![[Image: Kaden2.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v403/Nezumi16/Sigs/Kaden2.jpg)
"It's on my brain, driving me insane. It's on my mind, all of
the time, and if it left... I would be fine."