#vindixta

            a pause.  she crosses her arms across her chest and assesses veronica.  reading body language.  facial expressions.  god,  just looking at her pissed mi-kyung off.  what specifically was it about her overdramatic makeup and tryhard clothes that inspired such vexation?  no — those truths were trivial in the grand scheme of things.  it was that nauseating personality,  utterly hot-headed and as stubborn as a mule.  it’s not mi’s fault the other woman simply can’t handle hearing exactly what she needs to.  

          but,  uncharacteristically, she relents.  a deep sigh escapes from between glossy lips.  ❝  whatever.  ❞  and so,  mi-kyung returns to the more crucial task at hand:  this stupid generator.  for a moment,  the only sound reverberating throughout the rusted school hallway is the purr and clicks of heavy machinery.  the familiar,  mundane task almost distracts her from the lingering aggravation rooted firmly in the back of her mind.  almost. the near-silence doesn’t last long.

          ❝  i’m just saying you should definitely know how not to blow up a generator by now.  like,  if the killer had heard that and come over here to murder us,  it would’ve been your fault.  but,  it’s not that big of a deal,  i guess.  it’s only our well-being on the line.  ❞

            ❝  ughhh.  ❞  she tilts her head back against the dilapidated brick wall, dark eyes rolling as an exaggerated sigh escapes her.  ❝  between running into the murderer and being stuck with your skanky ass,  i’d almost rather take my chances.  ❞  almost.  mi-kyung isn’t quite that petty. despite all their bickering,  she would rather not have veronica meet her untimely demise via machete to the face.  safety in numbers,  after all.  

            choosing a random direction,  she pushes off the wall and delves deeper into the fog.  she steps over a rusty trap barely hidden in the grass,  metal maw open wide.  someone’s getting lazy,  it seems.  not that she was complaining.  ❝  let’s just find the stupid generator and get this over with.  ❞  does not regard veronica when she speaks to her,  gaze locked forward.

Observing the new survivor for a long moment, Frank decided to follow her, trying to figure out if she knew how to do the generators.

“Hope you’re a frosted cookie enjoyer.”

[ Veronica received a ‘Frosted Cookie’ ]

“I hate them all the same,” she says coldly. She’s not one who tends to get attached to survivors; that would be counterproductive to her goals. “But…Mikaela lets me try on her hats…so sometimes I spare her.”

It’s much easier to pick the ones she wants to kill the most. “Yoichi may have escaped years ago. It won’t happen again.” Every time she has the chance to hook him - or, even better, kill him herself - she always takes it. She finds it cathartic to watch him meet the same fate as his father before him, over and over again.

          a  harrowing  performance  nears  its  natural  conclusion  after  a  climactic  third  act.   four  actors  arrived.   two  are  left.   little  progress  had  been  made  before  the  others  were  picked  off;   too  much  work  remains  for  only  a  couple  pairs  of  hands  to  reasonably  complete.   neither  woman  needs  to  say  what  they’re  both  thinking.

          one  of  them  will  die  this  trial.   ❝  yeah.   funny  how  it  keeps  working  out  like  this.  ❞

          mi - kyung  glances  warily  at  the  sky  from  her  place  on  the  ground,   back  pressed  up  against  the  idle  generator.   dark  cloud  formations  swallow  up  another  survivor  as  they’re  lifted  into  what  she  can  only  assume  is  the  entity’s  waiting  maw.   nothing  else  could  have  been  done  to  save  them  even  if  she  wanted,   and  she  hopes  veronica  realizes  this  too.   blamed  for  the  deaths  of  others  one - too - many  times;   the  sentiment  is  long  old.   this  killer  had  not  spared  them  a  second  to  breathe.   won’t  rest.   unfeeling  and  merciless.   it’s  a  miracle  they  have  this  moment  to  talk.

          she  gives  her  a  wry  smile,   mask  pulled  down  to  halt  the  layer  of  sweat  building  up  beneath.   fate  is  truly  a  cruel  mistress  to  keep  leaving  them  together.   of  everyone  to  be  paired  up  with  time  and  time  again …   ❝  let’s  do  our  best,   okay?  ❞