Day Two

[Violet]

Rain sucked ass. A lot. Despite the weather, the speakers that pockmarked the island still worked like a charm. Apparently, they had the good fortune of being in the dead center of a hurricane. Oh, joy!

Violet and her pink-complected companion traversed the valley in pouring rain, fully soaked from head to toe. Luckily for her, her boots were waterproof, so she had that going for her, at least. She couldn’t say the same for her partner, but Blink trudged on, her pride not allowing her to complain about squishy footwear or clingy clothing.

“I think we’re headed up a hill,” Violet pointed out, noticing a slight incline through a light break in the rain.

“I am aware,” Blink shot back. The poor creature looked absolutely miserable. No doubt her shoes were giving her hell at the slight incline, causing her to slide back just enough to be a pain in the ass with each step she took.

“If we get up high enough, we might be able to clear the worst of it. Rainclouds tend to hang a bit low.” Violet marched on, her front being pelted by stinging drops of rain. The winds were really beginning to pick up, and she could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

“People are probably going to try to find buildings to hide in to ride out the storm,” Blink said. “I am going to bet there’s going to be a lot of fights happening while this thing’s going on.”

“Yeah, probably.” She could barely make out the gravel path that they travelled upon. The storm was definitely getting worse. Would a fight really be that much of a nuisance? Her eyes scanned ahead of her, noticing a few square-ish objects in the distance. Could be a mirage, could be shelter. “I think I see something up ahead.”

Blink looked upward, noticing the objects, as well. “What if we run into someone? I’m not going to be much help with this toy.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Violet said. “Weapons are only about as effective as the person who’s using it.”

“That’s reassuring,” Blink grumbled. “It’s been a while since I’ve trained my Barbie-to-face combat skills.”

Violet shot a look over her shoulder at her companion. Blink was unmoved. “There are still a lot of other shelters that people can find. If we’re lucky, the big groups will be heading towards the town or one of the other buildings around it. If we can keep avoiding them for a few more phases, we should be okay when we finally do come up against them. They’ll be weak.”

“Makes sense,” Blink said. “We’re just two people, and only one of us has a decent weapon. Do you think we’ll find others we can trust enough to tag along? Should we even chance it?”

“Honey, I don’t trust anything out here.” Blink tried not to look hurt by the comment. Violet frowned. “Nothing against you, but this is a game where it’s kill or be killed. Ultimately, one of us is going to have to kill the other, if someone else doesn’t do it first. Despite what weapon you got from the draw, you still have to do your best to make the most of it if you hope to last.”

“We need better weapons.” Blink slipped on a muddy patch, but caught herself before she fell. The momentary slippage gave her a chance to peer around her, and she noticed they were quite far up. The clouds were getting lower, the rain fatter and more intense. They hadn’t seen a soul so far. “How far up do you think we are?”

Violet looked around. “A few hundred meters, I’d say. Hard to tell with the rain.”

“The path curves up ahead, so I’m guessing that it’s going to get a little higher.” Blink pushed her wet hair away from her face. “I bet the view is spectacular when it’s not raining like hell.”

Chuckling, Violet cast her companion a smile. “I’m sure it is, but it’s all fake.”

“The death sure isn’t,” Blink said glumly.

“Yeah, it’s not.”

“What do you think’ll happen if we do die?”

“I guess since we’re supposedly immortal, we won’t die-die. We’ll just respawn somewhere.” Violet said. “Back when I was in previous competitions, I was mortal, so death sometimes meant you were really dead.”

“If you were really dead, then how the hell are you here now?”

“Where I come from, if you were really lucky, you could get resurrected by a very special witch,” Violet began. “Baba didn’t do it on the cheap, either, but I had some good friends and they worked some magic.”

“Lucky you,” Blink said. “I guess it does make me feel a little better that we’re not like, dead.”

“You and me both, sister.”

A thick blanket of fog began to roll over them. The rain was lighter here, but it wasn’t as heavy. The threat of lightning was still just as real as ever. “I almost regret not going into town and finding a nice house to hunker down in.” Violet moaned.

“Maybe we’ll find something,” Blink offered hopefully. “If I remember the map correctly, there should be something up ahead.”

“I hope. I’m ready to get out of these wet clothes and hopefully get a little nap in until the storm’s over.”

“I doubt we’ll be able to do all that. Probably better if we keep moving.”

Violet sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. If we stay in one spot too long, the chances of getting reamed by one of the stronger groups increases.”

“Exactly,” Blink agreed. “Let’s keep going.”