Survival of the Fittest- Flashpoint

| Three |

The island was completely deserted. There was no signs of life anywhere. Well, other than the 16 competitors, of course. Or however many were left of them, now.
Tidal and Emburn have already come across the first deaths in the Survival Games. Yet, they weren't the bodies of previous contenders.
"Fresh," Tidal had studied. "And they didn't just drop dead." They had been in a fight with a different team, and obviously they lost. There was no armor on the bloody bodies, no weapons, not even food. Either they had nothing to begin with, or the winning team stripped them down to nothing. Whoever this team was, they were looking for victory and all the blood they could spill to get there.
As much as Tidal enjoyed a good challenge, wasn't this game a bit much? A little cruel?
Moving on from the bodies, Tidal and Emburn had finished looting a chest or two from a cave along a hill; chainmail leggings and a stone sword, which Emburn insisted Tidal should take. Now, with a bit of armor and a slightly better sword swapped with the weaker one, Tidal was leading the way up the hill. Once at the top, he noticed it was a lot flatter than he expected. A fairly small distance from where he stood was did he see the hill slope downward. The slope ended at the barrier of smooth stones with the crashing waves of the ocean carrying on for endless miles. At the edge of sight, barely noticeable, was a thick group of grey clouds disrupting the baby blue sky. And from the looks of it, the storm was heading toward the island. It would most likely arrive within a few hours.
Tidal and Emburn had been stuck on the island for at least an hour, maybe two. The only excitement they've seen within that time was the pair of corpses. That wasn't much, though, despite the fact that one team down was one step closer to the top of three; to first. The sun overhead was only an hour from setting, meaning the time was about 8 o'clock. They had on the plane for 12 hours.
Tidal continued along the hilltop to the left, Emburn still following. If it was a storm coming, they had to find refuge. Sure the rain wouldn't be a problem. But if even one drop tapped his circuits...
He had a hood. Why worry?
And, knowing Emburn, she would hate to get her fur wet. If he could walk along the same hilltop around the island, he could easily find someplace out of the coming rain. Then again, they could've stayed in the cave.
Two small, Tidal thought. If an enemy team invaded, blocking both exits, that would give Emburn and him and disadvantage. They would be trapped, even of the invading team wouldn't stand a chance. No, he wasn't cowardly. No, he wasn't going to back down if something like that did happen. He had years of training, he was prepared. He was just thinking ahead.
Now, in a larger-spaced area, someplace with a hiding spot or two, someplace with higher ground, that was what they needed. A place where they would have an advantage against the enemy teams. Yes, the invading team would have a better chance at escaping, but given who they were up against, not so much. Even if they did escape, just scaring them off was enough to show who the rightful place of first belonged to.

* * *

Finally! The perfect place to wait out the storm. A little crumbly, but just the right amount of space; it'll do.
It was a teo-story brick building. Half a wall was knocked down, leaving a large opening and a pile of rubble lay where that part of the wall once was, not to mention the noticeable giant hole in the boards of the second floor. Next to the building was a tall and yellow crane tower standing beside a neat pile of logs tied to the ground. That crane, though; up there was the biggest advantage. Of course, the victories would either have to be now or after the storm. The rain would just make it harder.
While looking up at the building, Tidal noticed the sky growing a more pink over the pale blue and white. Turning to see the sun slowly making its way toward the ground only made it all the more beautiful. That gave him an idea.
"Emburn, follow me," he turned to his friend. She merely gave him a confused expression as he led her to the latter on the crane tower's side. Once he climbed to the top with Emburn still following, they went to the far edge of the crane and sat down- just to make sure neither of them fell off accidentally. Emburn was still looking confused. Tidal simply pointed, just like he always did on the balcony on the mountainside. It was a bit strange that she didn't expect it, at this point. When she looked up at the now setting sun, she fell silent. Yes, she loved sunsets.
The sky was now a bizzare golden orange with stripes of pink. The island was darkening slightly, and a star or a few began poking out of the blackening blanket of it. The sun was the only source of light in the area, and the more it sank behind the hill, the more stars shimmered above, the more shadows crawled below, the more the night came to be.
Pulling the backpack in front of him, Tidal reached inside and pulled out the small bag of cookies. He took one for himself and another for Emburn before putting the bag back inside the backpack, handing one of the two cookies to the Iumi.
"Wow," Emburn commented, taking a bit of the cookie. "Sunsets just never get old."
"Yeah," was all Tidal replied with as he enjoyed his own cookie.
"It reminds me of home," Emburn went on. "Who knows if we'll make it back."
"We will," Tidal simply said.
"I have my doubts," Emburn shrugged. "But, okay. I'm just glad there's something pretty in a place as heckish as this."
"Welp," Tidal moved on from the matter. "We'll win and then we'll be home like nothing ever happened." Even if the crash was unforgettable enough, he decided not to say.
If there were to be three teams remaining but first was the last to stand- even if it made no sense- Tidal promised Emburn and himself would make it to the top. They had to; it would be a solid 110% certainty that they could go home to the mountainside in peace. They wouldn't have to worry about these Survival Games anymore!
Plus, they still had a pool to build.