sheriff swanson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sheriffexe) wrote2017-02-21 06:10 pm
sheriffexe) wrote2017-02-21 06:10 pm
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[ WEEK SIX – KILL LOG (XION) ]
[ It's not too late yet, only around 10 or so. People have retired to their rooms, buckled down for the rest of the night. There isn't much to do other than, maybe, grab a late night snack before holding down the fort.
That's naturally what these two find themselves doing this evening. No nefarious intentions at all.
Just the intent to share a cup of cocoa. ]
That's naturally what these two find themselves doing this evening. No nefarious intentions at all.
Just the intent to share a cup of cocoa. ]
no subject
She'd decided she might as well come get something warm to drink; room locks weren't for another few hours, so she had plenty of time.
Barnham joining her had been a nice surprise. She doesn't usually spend this time with another person. This is how she finds herself making cocoa for two, in a little pot. ]
How sweet do you like it, Mr. Barnham? I can add a little less sugar.
no subject
(What is terrible is the sleeping drug he has stowed away in his pocket.
That's what's terrible.
There's no actual justification that can make this anything less than a horrible thing to do.)
He nods to Xion, and musters up a small smile.]
Less sugar would suit me well, but do not feel the need to hold back on my account.
[If you wanna sugar yourself up before you die, Xion, do your thing.]
no subject
It's okay. I can add marshmallows to mine.
[ Xion found a recipe for on-the-stove cocoa, okay!! Instead of using the instant stuff!! So they can have!! Really nice cocoa!! One last time. ]
I was a little surprised to have company, you know. [ A cant of her head accompanies her sad smile. ] Most people are back in their rooms by now. But I'm not going to sleep, anyway. I'm hoping Natalie will fall asleep before I get back, so I won't wake her.
no subject
Ah, yes... I have found myself staying up later as of late.
[He frowns vaguely.]
It shall not do my sleeping schedule any favors, however, I fear.
[A shake of his head, briefly.]
Do you do this often, Miss Xion?
no subject
I know what you mean. I stopped sleeping on Thursdays a few weeks ago. [ after week three goes unsaid, but is probably strongly implied. ] I just ... get anxious.
[ Turning off the heat, she'll pick up the pot and turn from the stove, moving over to the counter. Carefully, she pours the cocoa into the mugs they've got set out for the two of them. Once that's done, she'll move off to deposit her pot in the sink, and then look for marshmallows. ]
Sometimes, [ she calls over her shoulder. Where are those marshmallows... she knows they're here somewhere--
Aha. It takes her a few moments, but once she's got them, she makes her slow, steady way back over. ]
Not usually on Thursdays. [ A hum as she takes a seat, and: ] I've made tea for my friends before, when they needed it.
[ Glancing up at him, she smiles a crooked and warm little smile and reaches out to push his mug towards him, just a little.
Someone just make sure Barnham sleeps, and that's probably fine. ]
We all need someone to look after us sometimes, right?
no subject
Just for a moment.
It's sad to think of Xion staying up every Thursday, scared and wondering when someone will die. Who will die. Which of her friends she'll lose. And it only makes him all the more certain of his actions here, even if he knows they're the actions of a monster. It's time to remove Xion from the game, so that she can rest.
Until the end, until things are fixed--she can and should rest.
Considering his position, and how long it takes her to fetch the marshmallows, it's easy. It's all too easy to slip that sleeping drug into her mug and tuck the empty container away again. It's too late to go back, but he already knew that. When he'd decided on this, he knew there was no going back.
He takes a seat as well, accepting his mug with a quiet:]
Thank you.
[They do. They all need someone to look after them, and that is supposed to be his task. To protect. It's laughable, really--laughably twisted.]
Miss Xion, you are aware I would much prefer you look to your own well-being, correct? You have done a great deal for the people here.
[It's time to rest, though.]
no subject
I know. I just ... always end up feeling like I haven't done enough. Like there's something more I should do, to help... In the end, I think all I've really done is make everyone worry about me a lot. [ A quiet, sheepish laugh. ]
But I've been trying. This week I decided I needed to stop trying to do so much... so everyone might worry a little less, for once.
[ She sips at her cocoa as they talk. It is not a quick process, but it's steady enough.
Soon. ]
no subject
He nods, instead, listening to her simply.]
There is some pride to be taken in knowing when, too, it is necessary to pause and regather yourself, when you are wearing yourself too thin.
[It's a good thing, probably, that she's been working hard on this.
He sips his own cocoa. It's warm--much warmer than he deserves.]
no subject
It is why she stopped interrogating people about whether or not they had roles. She wasn't getting anywhere, and she was making her friends upset. So here she's been this week instead, quiet, reading and cooking and doing little else.
Trying to have faith that they could solve this once and for all.
Xion keeps her mug pressed to her lips as she thinks. ]
... maybe. [ With sheepish gratitude. More of her cocoa disappears. ] It feels strange to be so idle. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. [ Ducks her head, her smile turning guilty as she glances off to one side. ] I have to keep reminding myself it's okay.
no subject
Well.
There was no guarantee, anyway. Barnham hopes, and hopes and hopes that it will work, that everything will be okay in the end, but he has very little in the way of hope.
Only action. And action now... means watching Xion come closer to her death, just like this.]
You are certainly not doing anything wrong, there is no doubting that. [He can tell her that immediately, nodding firmly.] There is no....simple answer as to what we should be doing with our time here. But if you believe that something you have done has been of help to someone, even in just lightening their heart--then you have done well.
no subject
[ A soft laugh. ]
I made all those cookies on Tuesday because ... even if it's not much, I was hoping it'd make even one person a little happier. We've all been hurt so much... if it's really important, even just doing something like that, then ... I'm glad.
[ She'll smile down into her cocoa again, which is just about half gone.
That's about when she starts to feel it.
Xion has had this done to her before. The night the camera was stolen was the worst. It was so quick, so insidious, she didn't even realize what had happened till she woke up the next morning. After that, she came to recognize it for what it was. Drugged. It would happen again, though with far less malicious intent. Painkillers for her leg, necessary after surgery, would send her off to sleep with a much slower but still similar chemical fuzz.
The first approach of it is slow. Slow enough that she doesn't quite recognize it at first, giving her head a shake as her brow furrows. She opens her mouth to speak, to comment how weird it is that she's getting tired,
when it hits her that this feeling is familiar, and her eyes go very wide.
Xion scrambles away from him in an explosion of sudden movement, fighter's instinct taking her five feet away from him in a flash. In her rush she knocks over her cocoa, creating a mess, burning her fingers. Still, fighter's instinct can't replace a broken leg, and fighter's instinct can't stop the drug that's coursing through her. She crumples to the floor and stays there, trembling like a leaf in a storm. It's happening quicker now. ]
Why? [ it's a gasp, and all she can do is twist her body - it's painful, it hurts, but her thoughts are getting muddy. her voice is high and thin and terrified as she stares at him with pure panic and fear. ] Why me? Why...
[ She gives her head a violent shake. She should get away. Scream for help. She knows these things, but somehow they also feel disconnected from her. Her thoughts are making less sense by the second. ]
no subject
He knows this.
He won't try to deny it at all. This is his burden to bear.
He sets the cocoa down, rights her mug as well and frowns at the mess. He'll deal with that later--right now, he has a far more important duty. He crouches next to Xion, and then he sighs.]
I am sorry that it must come to this. I promise you it shall be painless and quick.
[That's the least he can do.]
You have done enough here, Miss Xion. It is time for you to rest, until you are able to live the life you properly deserve.
no subject
[ she trails off, her expression changing as the drug does its work, going loose and confused and still, somehow, a little afraid. She feels so drowsy. She just wants to sleep.
It's the knowledge that she won't wake up again that has her heaving, reaching up for him. All she can do is snag his sleeve in a loose grip. ]
Natalie, [ she slurs, realizing she won't come back tonight, realizing Natalie will spend the night without her and worry and find out the worst. All of them, all her friends, Percy, Jason,
Shinnosuke-- ]
Tell them … I’m sorry, [ she says, not thinking that he obviously can't, because she can’t think anymore, her thoughts won’t work, her head is spinning and spinning and she feels a little sick and she trusted him she trusted him how could he do this to her why is he doing this to her she wanted to save everyone she wanted to live she wants to live she’s
so scared to
die
it makes no sense. she should know that there is a train full of people waiting for her, who will keep her safe, who will watch the end of the game together with her. but she won’t be there for it herself
she won’t be able to save anyone
he’s taking her away.
barnham. mr. barnham. the one who believes in honor. to whom honor means protecting. they’ll need him. they’ll never
suspect
who will they
kill?
they
need ]
Fight. [ The slur has become even more pronounced, her words running together dizzily, and her head hangs. ] You have ... to stop the killing ... win ... for them ... save ...
[ Her grip goes slack, and she sinks back to the floor.
Ah. It seems she is, at last, asleep.
Where did those tears come from? ]
no subject
[The answer comes softly, breathed out in a quiet tone. He has to fight. To save everyone, he has to fight.
But.
To save everyone, it means he can't stop the killing. To save everyone, the killing must continue, and that's the hardest fact of all. But Barnham has known that this is true for too long to doubt it now.
He knows that they have no other choice. Xion sinks to the floor and he scoops her up in his arms easily (she's so small and so light and he feels his heart breaking just a little bit more), and then he carries her outside. There's to be no killing in the hotel, after all.
That's the rule. And if it means saving everyone, Barnham will follow the rules to the letter. It doesn't matter if he has to throw his honor and humanity aside as he does so, if these people can live the lives they were always supposed to have. He carries her to one of the boarding up buildings to the left of the hotel, resting her gently against the building.
And then he pulls out the gun. He still doesn't know how to use it much, admittedly, but that doesn't matter.
He can't miss a shot like this. He lifts the gun, presses it to her forehead...and fires.]
Farewell, Miss Xion. May you rest well, until we are able to bring you back.
[...Then it's back to the hotel to clean up the mess--no hot cocoa, pots or cups will be left in the kitchen, because he's nothing if not precise and careful.
He has to survive. Not because he wants to (not now, truthfully, he really doesn't). But because at this point, he has to make sure the end that's required to bring everyone back is accomplished. Nothing more and nothing less--even if it means killing someone like Xion.]