Island Beach, Night [Open]

[Gardsorm]

From the sound of things, the others were simply worried about their existence outside of the prison. They were right in most regards though: No one was keeping the prison complex under control, and any survivors were likely good enough at fighting that they wouldn't mind choosing combat against them if they came back. At the same time, once they were done fighting, they would simply wander off outside and look for ways off the island.

Lucas didn't have it in him to involve them intentionally with their troubles. They'd lived and served all their lives, they deserved a chance to live comfortably somewhere. Their best bet was looking for those apartments only of the others had mentioned existed on the island, at least until they could secure a way off the island.

Turning away, Lucas decided to leave them to their discussions and head for the remaining vehicle that had been left behind by the reptiles. None of them were going to miss anything in the vehicle, so Lucas decided to sit within the vehicle and started rummaging to see what he could find.

"Am I really going to spend the rest of my life nursing a grudge? Hmph..." He mumbled quietly, popping open the glove compartment and feeling around to see what he could find. He had no home anymore, no job anymore, and no family anymore. What did he really have left but that grudge and rage to carry him forward, to deny her a chance to escape and continue the things she did before? Who was he doing that favor for? 

What did he owe them?

"... You still have your morals, Maxwell. Don't let them die. Not yet." He had to berate himself for even considering wavering. He had to keep himself together, if not for his sake then for the sakes of the others, especially Delmar and Celestine. It was thanks to them that he was still here, so he needed to make sure they could go as far as they needed to, maybe escape. What happened to him after that point was anyone's guess. 

[Kissa Deactivated]

“Inga, they found the key to the collars.” Celestine told her fellow vulpeculan as she offered her the key. Ingaril nodded her thanks as she took the key and tried opening the lock so clumsily that Celes decided to help her. “Have you decided where we are going next?”

^That’s the thing…^ Ingaril hesitated.

^We… I mean, not all of us don’t want to leave.^ The crocodile answered her question.

“What do you mean? We can’t stay here. Those people… the other criminals, they are coming here. We have to go before they come here. They won’t forgive this…” Reluctantly she gestured at Rein. Celestine wanted to forget what had happened here and pretend it had been just a bad dream, which was difficult when there was a fresh corpse lying on the ground.

^We aren’t going to stay here on the beach. We are going to venture deeper in the woods.^ Celestine was bewildered. There were so many reasons why that was a bad idea. She was speechless and the crocodile granny took it as a sign to keep on speaking. ^This was just the first conflict. There are going to be more and they are going to be just as bad as this one. I fear they are going to be much worse, to be honest and we aren’t fighters. We aren’t young anymore, Celes. There are truly vicious people out there. The things they are going to do to us, to those who can’t defend themselves… It’s something out of nightmares. Celes, come with us.^ She took the fox’s hands into hers and looked up into her eyes, pleadingly. ^You are a young woman. The things they would do to you… Please, come with us.^

Celestine felt chills and her heart froze for a moment. There was no need to go into details. She could guess well enough what the old woman meant. She wasn’t wrong either. It was something she was afraid of, but would this really be a solution…? 

“How are you going to survive out there? Even climbing one flight of stairs makes some of these people snap their heart medication like they are candy. The terrain there isn’t easy to walk and we don’t know what exactly lives in the wild. Not only that. We don’t have proper supplies or equipment for camping outdoors. If it rains you are going to die of pneumonia.”

^It’s the risk we are willing to take. Celes, we have lived the most of our lives already. We don’t want to die like animals in agony and fear. This… This is our way, our decision.^ 

The others were quiet as the two spoke. Celestine was quiet again. She knew she couldn’t understand them fully as they weren’t in the same situation. Her natural life wasn’t near its end. The vulpeculan felt desperate. She didn’t want the group to separate, but how could she make them change their minds? Especially when she wasn’t sure if she was the one who was wrong.

The car didn’t have anything out of ordinary to offer to Lucas. There was the car’s manual, package of tissues, a box of eucalyptus bonbons that had already gone old, a pair of sunglasses and a cap with Falkcrest logo. Under the seat was a first aid kit. If the man checked the trunk there was a small fire extinguisher in its bracket, a foldable warning triangle, a cross wrench and a spare tire.  

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Del would make his way out to make sure there wasn't more to take or if Lucas needed some help but the conversation caught his ears instead. It seemed the old ones wanted to split off to go...die in the woods? He had an understanding of what they did imagine but at the same time he felt like it was a little foolish of them.

Del would speak up not to far away "You should at least come with us to the apartments." he'd chime in "I get your need to settle down but if you're afraid of death there is probably no quicker way to do it than to hang out in the woods." he said "Especially since, as you said, none of you can fight. You'll have even less chance of getting anywhere without Lucas and myself." which might have been the idea really. He didn't feel like they had any intention of surviving or at least not really.

"Just come to the apartments at least. You can at least go out with a roof of your heads proper." though looking at Celestine he nodded his head "Better you stick with us either way though unless you know anyone else you can go to." it was an idea at least but obviously it was their choice. It was pretty clear Celestine really didn't seem comfortable with the idea either way but who could be sure of anything right now?

[Gardsorm]

"I swear, none of these fools ever have anything useful lying around in these vehicles..." Lucas groused, throwing everything that he felt was useless toward the back... Well, except the sunglasses. He could definitely find use for those, especially if he got his collar off sooner rather than later. The first aid kit was definitely also worth keeping, more to give to Celestine as she was definitely the more medically inclined of the group. The inside of the car had nothing useful, but maybe the trunk... He popped the trunk and stepped out to survey it.

"I don't know what I was expecting... Oh well." It wasn't a total loss, at leastm he claimed the fire extinguisher, cross wrench, and warning triangle, before he shut the trunk. The fire extinguisher was carried under his arm along with the triangle, cross wrench in one hand while the first aid kit was held in his other. The sunglasses were perched on his head as he approached Delmar and Celestine, noticing the mood seemed a little bit heavier. 

... He could have asked, but he got the idea that someone might call him out for not reading the mood, so he waited a few moments to make sure the conversation was over with, before he held the first aid kit out to Celestine. "Found this in the car, I figured it would be better off in your hands than ours." He spoke up, before he looked to Delmar, and then the older people.

"So... What's the deal? Everyone looks like they got condemned to death row. Do we have a destination in mind for the bus?" Even though Elias was gone, he was still more than capable of driving the bus to move everyone around as needed. 

[Kissa Deactivated]

^Do you know where the apartments are?^ The cat woman asked Delmar.

^No one has ever seen them. Who knows where they are.^ Someone chimed in.

“They must be somewhere on this island. They can’t be that far from the prison because people have to commute.” Said Celestine who didn’t understand that some people commuted over an hour each day just to go to work. “Ah… Thanks.” The vulpeculan replied quietly when Lucas brought her the first aid kit.

^No matter what we decide, we should get on the road soon. This island isn’t that big. If they are going to come after us, they are going to be here soon.^ Ingaril urged the others. ^There is no place that offers a certain safety. We might as well look for the apartments. Please, come with us. Even if you don’t want to stay there, you might find some useful supplies. Maybe clothes and more food.^ 

“Sounds like we are going to look for apartments. I think Inga is right. We should move. If you want to… ask questions from those people, carry them on the bus. It’s not safe to stay here for much longer.” Celestine told Lucas.

The collar key circled from person to person and they simply dropped the collars to the ground as soon as they got them off. The group that had wanted to leave was still hesitant, there was some mumbling, but in the end all of them started shuffling towards the bus.

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

"Nearby. If we want to find them we can just follow the road. It might be a little off the simple path for reasons but we'll need to go." at least that was Del's idea. They'd need to keep an eye out though just in case. They could find it and continue unraveling this mystery and hopefully...a way to freedom or an understanding of things.

Del would look at Lucas "They're thinking about leaving. I'm just making sure they do so at a better time." he said watching him hand off the medical kit to Celestine. Was she medically trained? Well it seemed so since she asked him if he needed help. Good move on Lucas's part. Celestine was right of course, even if they didn't want to stay there weren't prepared to try and survive in the woods. It was just smarter and of course good for Celestine if they at least went that far.

Del sighed and looked at Lucas "Losing hope clearly." he said to him watching them walk back. He sighed "I'd rather we just leave those freaks. If we take them with they'll be more problem than they're worth." Del would add making his way towards the bus but he was waiting, if slowly, to see what Lucas might want to do with them.

Edited September 11 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[Gardsorm]

"There's no need to thank me, I'm just leaving it with the person most likely to make use of it." Lucas insisted as Celestine thanked him for the medkit. It was a small thanks, if anything, considering there were much greater concerns at the moment. Namely what they were going to do going forward, and how many were going to do it. From what little he was told, it sounded like the elderly were so demoralized that they rather choose a suicide pact out in the forest than fighting to survive.

At least, that was how Lucas saw it. He knew they still had sparks of life in them, after all they had banded together to defend themselves a little while ago. They just needed a chance to collect themselves.

"No, Delmar is right. As much as I want to question them, bringing them in the bus is going to endanger us all in the long run. There's no shortage of bad guys for me to question on the island, I'll just grab another one later. Let's find a roof for everyone to relax under first." the redhead weighed the options of bringing them versus leaving them. The survivor probably had magical talent, and keeping him in the bus was going to put everyone needlessly in harm's way.

Lucas would approach the bus, but not before realizing the group had been using the single key to unclasp their collars. Given the key had exceeded his expectations so far, there was no point in leaving the collar on anymore, borrowing the key to remove his own collar, before keeping the device around for later. He could certainly weaponize the collar if it came to that. He kept a tight hold on the key for a moment, before he handed it to Del when he approached the bus.

"Better we leave something like this with someone more trustworthy. You're a better judge of character than me, so I expect you'll find better opportunities to use it than I might." He finished with a whisper to his fire-forged companion, before climbing aboard the bus to sit in the driver's seat. He was certainly no Elias, but he hoped he could get everyone to their destination when the time came. He waited to see how many would climb aboard the bus, making sure everyone was seated and safe within the vehicle, before he shut the doors to the bus and began to slowly step on the gas.

It was a short, eventful time at the beach, with more downs and ups, but now he hoped he could get everyone safely to the apartments, wherever they existed on the island.