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[leiche]

Who: Jeremy Fitzgerald, OTA
What: That care package is only confusing him further.
When: Beginning of week 2.
Where: Forest and surroundings.
Warnings: Mention of head injuries and various FNAF related grossness.



This is hardly what he expected the afterlife to be like.

He wasn't exactly religious or spiritual. He'd always figured that whatever the end of the line would be, he'd deal with it when he got there. Just because he's here a little earlier than he'd expected had nothing to do with his surprise upon finding out what awaited him after death was just more of it.

Kill or be killed is what he was told. But I'm already-- was what he wanted to answer with, but he was only shushed, told to try his best, and then he was out in the middle of it all. He'd stepped out into what could only be described as a warzone, bodies and blood scattered about and his only instrinct - once he could force himself to move - was just to run. Run, run, keep running, hope you don't pass out.

He has no idea how he made it this far, but he's just glad he's remained conscious. It hasn't really hit him yet, the seriousness of the situation he's in. As far as he's concerned ... well, he's still very, very dead. How much worse can it be to die again?

For a long time, Jeremy wasn't even aware of his surroundings. He just ran, and found someplace to hide whenever he heard a noise. It seemed to go well for the most part, and the forest he finds himself in now is certainly different than anything he'd ever known. It's near one of the quiet, shallow ponds that he decides to take a break, sitting down near the water's edge and breathing heavily from the journey. And then he takes out his findings from the odd little parachute that nearly knocked him in the head earlier in the day, keeping a water bottle by his side as he reads the note again.

"Keep moving ... sorry for-- for what ha-happened. Need help, find ... Luna, Sansa ... Firo, S-Sandy, Daryl, Kar...kat, Nick."

He reads it to himself again, before rolling his eyes, crumpling the paper in his fist and letting it fall to the side. "Fat load o'good names do m-- me now."

It doesn't help that the same hallucination has been following him around since day one, usually in the corner of his vision but sometimes - like now - right across the pond from him.

"God-- fuck off, already," Jeremy grumbles at the shadow, frustrated enough to flip his middle finger up at the damn thing as he rubs his scarred forehead with the other hand. What a headache this is. "Leave me alone."

Comments

[shiftingurbulls]

Sorry Jeremy, but this Tribute isn't a killer, or at least not without provocation. Ellis allowed himself to be vulnerable and stepped out, putting aside his weapon for this.

"Jeremy, I'm Ellis. District 4 an' your note's up an' leavin' ya," he remarked, "You got sponsored, tha's a good thing. I can lead ya towards a safer spot an' tide ya over. Y'got a nasty wound on yer head."

[leiche]

Setting weapons aside was a bit of a surprise. Though Jeremy didn't doubt that if the man wanted to, he could easily take him out with his bare hands, at least it was a good sign for now. But he was still going to keep his distance, eyeing the note rolling away but only shrugging his shoulders in response.

"It's just n-names," Jeremy answered, tugging his knees to his chest. "I don't-- don't know what to do with-- with it."

He figured it was only a matter of time before the scars were mentioned, and he only shugs again, making a vague gesture towards his head with one hand. "And it's f-fine. It's old."

[shiftingurbulls]

"Really?! THAT'S old?" Ellis barked in absolute surprise, those were deep enough to break the skull! Either way, the mechanic draws closer, "If a sponsor's referrin' ya to somewhere, maybe I can help. I know a fair buncha people an' they're pretty damn good folks."

He might boast about that now but he knows that if push comes to shove, he'll put up one hell of a fight to win. Not with this one. "Most people don't wanna kill fer th' sport of it. We just wanna survive."

[leiche]

Oh god-- shouting, loud, not good.

"Not-- too loud, don't be loud," Jeremy tells the stranger first, hands covering his ears. Loud shouting voices didn't set him off into panic attacks or anything, but it didn't help the headaches at all, and if he was going to last any longer out here, he didn't want to be dealing with headaches on top of everything else.

He's not sure what the guy means by sponsor, exactly, but once the man mentions other people, Jeremy wonders if the names on the note he was sent were any of those same people. He doesn't trust most anyone here, but this guy seemed nice at least, and if he knew other people who were the same, Jeremy needed any help he could get. So he brings the note back up and unfolds it, holding it out in a trembling hand for the other to read.

"Do you kn-- know ... any of these people?"

[shiftingurbulls]

Yeah, no, Ellis is going to have trouble not calling Jeremy Rabbit if he trembles like this. He took the note and beamed, keep his voice down,"Yep! Daryl Dixon's a pretty neat guy an' Nick's my, uh, boyfriend, yeah...others, ain't too sure myself but like I said, most people don't wanna slaughter ya for the hell of it."

He kneels down towards Jeremy, checking his injuries out, "Come on, this place is full of monsters tha'll tear ya apart..." He's seen the zombie dog tracks and the bloody aftermath.

[leiche]

Well. He supposed out of all possible nicknames, if "Rabbit" was going to be his, it wasn't the worst thing. After all, it was different enough from bunny, and therefore Bonnie, so he could deal with that for now. And ... true, he was trembling and skittish enough for the comparison to be made. At least it was reassuring to know the names on the list really were helpful people, but he still flinches when the man moves closer.

"I-It's okay, don't ..." he mutters, but despite being nervous, he lets the other move in closer to check him. It's really just the scars on his forehead, anything else is various scrapes or bruises he suffered tripping over his own feet when running away - from those aforementioned monsters that they really should get away from. "They're old-- from before ... here. Didn't happen here."

[shiftingurbulls]

"Think y'all can climb a tree, Rabbit? It's the best way t' get outta the dogs' reach an' most of the monsters' reaches without headin' into the city." Jeremy might be taller but Ellis could tell that he'd lost some weight in the process of healing. "I wouldn't risk the city itself...got this bad vibe from it an' I ain't seen people come outta it."

And that was terrifying enough, given the circumstances of this particular Arena. Children were being slaughtered and they would never come back.

"There's an old Castle built around these places, people are probably holed up there an' we'll make better time in the mornin'."

El may sound goofy but he's been through survival enough times to help others.

[leiche]

At this point, Jeremy decided it was probably okay to trust this guy for now. Things could change, but he did see willing enough to help him, and knowing multiple names on the list was a good sign too. Whoever sent the note really was trying to help him, then. So maybe, just maybe, this was the best course of option.

"Tree?" Oh, right, those dogs he'd seen a while back ... if one could call them that. The city normally would seem like the safer option, resources and shelter and such, but "bad vibes" didn't sound that good. But, he wasn't too sure of his climbing prowess either.

"I-I can try ..." Jeremy replied, offering a small shrug of his shoulders. He was exhausted already, but being afraid of everything surrounding him was keeping him awake. There'd be no way to make it to this castle in his current state.

[shiftingurbulls]

Ellis might not have seen the lickers but he's seen the aftermath, he's already lost Luke that way. They roamed the city and right now, it wouldn't be fair for this newbie to meet that sort of fate. He offered his back for Rabbit to hop on and be carried on. "I've been holed up in th' taller ones, so grab yer shit and let's go."

It's been a terribly lonely set of weeks and El is willing to risk getting stabbed for a bit of company. "Tell me a bit about yerself, Ra-erm, Jeremy? Where's home for ya?"

[leiche]

Even though it was for his own benefit and to keep him safe, Jeremy couldn't help feeling like it would be a waste. He couldn't fight, could barely keep his head on his shoulders, and couldn't run for long before having some form of panic attack. It was for those reasons that he hesitated - it was kind of Ellis to offer, and some company not out for his throat would be nice, but he didn't want to slow him down. He could be responsible for getting this guy killed.

"... doesn't really m-- matter," Jeremy eventually answers, still wary, but he does inevitably draw closer to move his arms around Ellis' shoulders. He knew he wouldn't be too heavy, after losing a lot of body weight after the attack. "Back home ... I-I'm already dead."

[shiftingurbulls]

"Ain't that a shame," Ellis sighed out as he picked up Jeremy and held him tight, "Y'seem like the sorta guy who'd really enjoy a beer over a friend's barbecue an' shoot the shit. Probably arms draped over a lady, or a guy, if yer so inclined. I came from a place tha' was ravaged by a zombie-like virus, made people go insane...My boyfriend Nick calls 'em walkers, I call 'em Infected."

He was certain that things would turn out better for the Tribute if they're as far from civilization, hell even find a group or two.

"Yer not dead now, so let's make sure y'get some mileage outta this Arena, all right? Heh...I'm doin' way better than my last two. First one, I was burned alive. Second one was a mini-arena, got gutted...not fun but I learned a lot."

El was basically doing the talking for them both.

[leiche]

The guy was certainly a talker. Jeremy was a little embarrassed, since it was a lot of talk about things he had no particular interest in - he didn't have many friends back home, wasn't often invited to barbecues, and not really the ... draping type. He's pretty sure this is his first piggyback since he was five years old. But he decides not to say anything about it, since he's already being quite a downer as it is.

Zombies, however ... that talk surprises him. He thought those were only myths, horror movie stuff. But everybody here comes from different worlds, and if one of those worlds is a zombie world, well ... his own world has murderous animatronics haunted by murdered children, so anything can happen.

He wasn't enjoying all the death talk, though. It was so weird, to hear someone talk so casually about dying, when it was the most frightening thing he'd experienced. Jeremy lowers his head to Ellis' shoulder and closes his eyes, trying not to think about it.

"I just w-want to go home ..." Where he was already dead and didn't have to deal with this any longer. "I don't want to learn anything here ... just-- want to go home."

[shiftingurbulls]

Ellis felt so badly that he had no answer for Jeremy, only condolences. "Oh Rabbit...This ain't-The Gamemakers found ya interestin', an' yer stayin' here under the eye o' the Capitol. It's a really nice place, kinda like New York on steroids. I-If you get outta here, maybe you can git some help for those headaches."

He lets Fitzgerald have some hope and in some sense, it's cruel. He's a VERY long shot to survive the incoming weeks, let alone win the Arena. What is implicit is Jeremy, like him, has become one of the Capitol's dolls for them to break and rebuild for the sake of entertainment.

"It's-" he found a tree worth a shot and nudged the Tribute up. "This is your new home. It's time to make the best of it."

[leiche]

Well, that was just about the most ridiculous thing Jeremy's heard in a while.

Interesting? Certainly not in a good way. He was a basket case, he panicked over cricket noises, he passed out the second the stress would get to be too much for him. If anything, he was a hassle. The Gamemakers, whoever they were, they were wasting their time on him. Someone like him, he couldn't be that entertaining to watch, right?

With help from Ellis, Jeremy's able to scramble up the tree without being too clumsy, up high enough off the ground so - hopefully - he wouldn't run into anything unpleasant. It's not the most comfortable, but it's better than risking staying on the ground. Still, he's a little concerned as he looks back down at Ellis below.

"Will you ... be okay?"

[shiftingurbulls]

Ellis knew that concern anywhere and he smiled wearily. He hasn't been here as long as other Tributes but he knows how terrible things can get when they don't have friends to back them up. He hoped that Jeremy, with his disposition, could find friends that could take care of him.

"Like I said, this ain't my first rodeo an' I'm makin' sure it ain't my last," he knew his odds of making it to the crown were the same as everyone else's...and he was damn sure therre were others who deserved the win, like the kids here.

"I'll be fine, Rabbit, but if y'find yerself in trouble, holler okay? I will bust some heads-" he paused for a moment, then grinned, "An' if Daryl finds ya, tell him I won our bet: flannel beat camo."

He placed that errand onto Fitzgerald for a reason: Tributes can be friends with others and they care about each other. He tossed Jeremy one of his food stores from his Mentors: a sandwich.

"Keep yer strength up, I got faith in ya."

[leiche]

Well, if someone was comfortable enough with the situation to call a fight to the death battle arena a rodeo, then Jeremy figured Ellis would probably be okay with the rest of it. He still wasn't too fond of the overall idea (and the more he thought about it, he wasn't too sure he wanted to be left alone at all,) but Ellis was skilled and armed - things Jeremy definitely was not.

The tree was hardly comfortable, but it was safer than the ground. He was a little startled when the sandwich was tossed to him, reflexes not too quick, but after a fumble he's able to catch it before it could drop to the ground. Definitely much better than trying to hunt on his own.

"... flannel ... beat camo."

Weird, but okay. He doesn't smile, but he can offer an appreciative nod for the favour. And he'll try to remember that whole bet thing.

"Be careful."