After witnessing what was on Dexter’s tape, R.N.A. knew one thing. Nobody should be subjected to what was on their own tape, whatever it could be. But they had to do this. For everyone. For everyone else. They had waited… and waited… Watching as everyone slowly congregated on one part of the island, before sneaking away to the other side. A Treevee awaited them, and they stuck in a tape, with the label heavily damaged.
All that remained on the label was an “N A” and a lot of empty space. Odd.
Unfortunately, right as they moved to finally play the tape, they realized all too late that one of the group’s more antisocial members seemed to have had a similar idea to get away from the group.
They wanted it to stop. They didn’t want anyone else to see this.
But it was too late. The tape began, whisking them both away whether they asked for it or not.
(TW: Bullying, Suicide Baiting, Arson)
The scene opens in a warehouse. An old, abandoned looking warehouse. One where dust flitted through the sunlight streaming through the cracked panes of glass on the windows. Crates, tarps and disused machinery sat around, doing nothing but hiding away from the world.
Two people stood before each other, both looking fairly sweaty and out of breath. You couldn’t recognize either of them, but they both wore the same outfit. The same… school uniform? They both looked fairly young, barely teenage age.
One was short and had dark, shaggy black hair and tanned skin, whilst the other was far more tall, muscular and pale, with their hair cut short to the point of an almost buzzcut.
“Give… Give it back…” The shorter one said, in-between gasps for air. “Give me my project back…” They sounded upset, on the verge of tears.
“You mean this half of a project?” The taller one replied, voice clearly full of anger and disdain as they held up a bunch of sheets of paper, the writing hard to make out inside the warehouse. “You were supposed to do the whole thing!”
“I told you… we’d do half each! It’s not my fault you didn’t do it!” The shorter one tries to push themselves up to a standing position, having recovered a little.
“I told you I wasn’t doing my half!” The taller one replies.
“Kado… This isn’t my fault! I told you to do your half of the work and you didn’t! You just didn’t take me seriously. We’re project partners so we’re supposed to share the workload…” The shorter one replies.
“Oh, please, you goody-two-shoes. Do you know how annoying you are when you yap yap yap on like that? It makes me sick. It makes the whole class sick. Nobody likes you. Nobody wants you there. Why don’t you just stop coming, already? How many more flowers do we have to leave on your desk before you get some sense and do what we ask for?” Kado spits these lines out with venom. You can almost see the other kid’s resolve crumbling as each word drills into them.
“I… I have to go to school. It’s the r-right thing to do. Give me my project back.” The other kid begins to hyperventilate.
“I’m so sick of you talking about what’s right and wrong? Who are you, a judge?” Kado reaches into their pocket, pulling out something shiny and rectangular. Flicking the top open reveals that it’s a lighter.
“Wh-What are you doing?” The other kid takes a step back instinctively.
“I wish… I wish I could just set you on fire. All my problems would be solved if you just burnt up… If you just died. You ruin everything. You have the gall to act like a goody-two-shoes when all you want to do is ruin my life!” Kado seems beyond reason at this point.
Click. Click. The lighter fails to light.
“St-stop! That isn’t funny! Fire is dangerous!” The other kid begins to panic. “Just… Just stop! I’ll do the other half, so stop!” They put their head in their hands.
“No. No. You duped me. You duped me on purpose so I’d get in trouble. If I didn’t stop you at the gate, you were gonna walk in like nothing was wrong, right? You deserve to be punished. So you know not to mess with me again.” Kado replies.
With one final swish, the lighter comes to life, and so do the pages of the project held just above it. They burst into flames quickly as Kado lets it drop to the ground.
“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” The other kid screams, rushing forward in what seems to be a vain attempt to put out the flames. To recover even the smallest bit of the work that is burning up in front of their eyes.
But Kado refuses to let the happen. They grab the other kid, wrestling with them. “Oh no you don’t! This fire is gonna burn burn burn!” They reply, laughing maniacally.
The struggle continues, until eventually the two of them crash into a pile of crates. The crates collapse, with one of them breaking open, pieces of wood scattering everywhere.
All it took was just one getting a little too close to the fire, and suddenly a blaze breaks out. The fire explodes, spreading all over the warehouse in a matter of moments. Kado looks afraid. Terrified, even. They scamper to their feet, rushing towards the door.
“H-HELP! I’M… I’M STUCK! HELP… ME!” A voice breaks through the sound of the fire, with coughs between. Kado turns back to see the other kid, stuck under a pile of boxes, struggling to free themselves.
“KADO! KADO! PLEASE! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! HELP ME! PLEASEEEEEEEEE!” They’re begging. They’re pleading. They’re still struggling against the boxes, but no progress seems to be made. The fire only seems to be getting worse, closing in on them.
Kado thinks for a moment, face frozen in terror. Body just frozen. To risk it and help, or to leave them to die and ensure your own safety. It’s a tough decision.
But a decision is made.
Kado turns their back on the other kid, running to the exit whilst they can. They fling open the door and run out of the warehouse, slamming it behind them as the flames continue to blaze.
The tape ends.
R.N.A. is still. Silent.
