Kayo gets out her map, unfolding it with a crinkle of paper before smoothing it out. "We should be...maybe right about here," she mutters, pointing the flashlight at a spot on the paper. Shuri leans over to look, shining her own flashlight onto it.
In the light against the darkness, she can't make out much. The gray indicating cliffs sticks out, however, and a thin line of blue lies below it, so she guesses they're somewhere around there.
One patch of gray in particular is marked near the edge of the island itself, almost touching the blue of the ocean. Shuri studies that point in particular. Is it really that much of a stretch to think the prize could be there? The prize's location was always random each episode, but what they all had in common was being far from the starting point. Obviously.
"The prize definitely has to be around there." Shuri points a finger at the marks of the cliffs. "Farthest place on the island."
"You really think so?" Kayo scrutinizes the furthest point.
"Might as well try," Shuri mutters. "Go for the cliffs, get to the farthest one, and if it's not there, we'll just retrace our steps. Or something like that."
"That works," Kayo mumbles, rolling up the map and keeping to her side as they walk. Shuri takes careful steps as she goes, watching her feet as she moves the flashlight for any rocks or twigs she might trip over. Pebbles crunch under her ballet flats as she goes.
They're out of the clearing, the woods starting to thin. The cliffs look even higher and bigger up close, craggy and sloping, and Shuri has to wonder how they can climb it without at least one of them stumbling or falling and concussing herself.
"So," Kayo awkwardly ventures as they walk, "how'd you...if you don't mind me asking, how'd you get in this?"
Shuri has no idea how to reply without swearing up a storm. "Uh--"
"You said something about your school?" Kayo presses. In the darkness, Shuri realizes, obviously Kayo can't see her expression right now. She's thankful for that, at least.
Shuri sighs. "Let's just say my school has a...deal with the producers to get a contestant from the top senior students. Apparently mine isn't the only one to do this, they've used other schools for other episodes."
"Seriously?" Kayo's voice is full of disbelief. "Jesus Christ. That's...that's messed up."
"Isn't it?" Getting into this topic is uncomfortable territory, so Shuri turns it around. "How'd you get in here, then? Said something about not signing up willingly."
Kayo groans. "It was a joke. A really stupid joke! My friends thought--it was kind of like a prank, you know, they signed me up for the laughs because they'd thought it'd be hi-lar-ious that I'd ever get chosen for this. Poor shy little Kayo, the execs would never want that kind of girl on their show, right? Ha."
She laughs a little, but it sounds awkward and ****. "My, uh, my dad really...well, he wasn't happy about it. Neither was my mom. Said I was setting a bad example for my sister..."
"You have a sister?" Shuri shines the flashlight against a tree trunk. The hollows in the wood are shaped almost like the eye sockets in a skull, and for a moment she wishes she'd gotten a camera with her backpack to take a picture.
"Yep," Kayo replies gloomily. "Chizuru, she's twelve. God, I hope no one told her about this. Obviously she can't watch this, my parents never let us see this kind of TV at home, but I hope they're not watching, either..."
Shuri wrinkles her nose. "Yeah, something about me really doubts a parent wants to watch their daughter get fucked."
"Let's just stop talking about this, okay?" Kayo snaps. Shuri isn't surprised, but she doesn't reply.
They come to a stop at another clearing. More cliffs lie ahead, but it looks like it'll take more walking to reach a point on one where they can actually get off of the ground.
"You want to stop here for a bit?" Shuri asks. "Maybe get a bit more sleep, take turns on watch with the taser."
"Uh...sure," Kayo mumbles, letting out a yawn. "Do you want to start, or--"
There's a distinct crackle behind them in the brushwood. They both whirl around, glancing back and forth between each other and the now still trees and bushes.
The girls raise their flashlights, shining them against the brushwood. Nothing comes into view, but it's obvious someone's there.
"What is that?" Shuri whispers.
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