Katya Edition: Second Edition

Twenty Third Corpse: The Island Retreat

❝You two act like you can't stand each other but you're actually best friends, aren't you?❞

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Twenty Third Corpse | The Island Retreat

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[Z-day +5 | Apr. 19 | 16:07hrs]

"Rap," I murmured, dropping my hand to reveal a side of three fours and a side of seven, eight and nine of diamonds with Ace of Spades for points.

Thomson scowled and dropped his cards to the table, "That's the fourth match in a row! How are you doing that?!"

"Trade secret," I said with a smirk.

My smirk dropped when Shiki revealed his hand with Ace for points as well. This time he was smirking at me and I was the one scowling. I'd just been crossed.

"Ha!" Thomson cheered, "In your face, Calico!"

"What are you so excited about?" Shiki asked him, arching an eyebrow in amusement, "You have negative-two games under your belt so far, she has nine and I have six. You're in no position to throw shade."

The roles reversed once more with me snickering and Thomson going back to sulking angrily.

"The two of you are slipping each other cards..." He muttered crossly, "That's the only way you could beat me so many times."

"Or you just suck," I quipped with an amused snort.

"This is actually sort of painful to watch," Saya remarked with a wrinkled nose.

"Think you can do better, princess?" Thomson snapped, glaring at her.

She scoffed, "Anyone can do better than you, Thomson--you're awful at this."

His face flushed, whether in embarrassment or anger, I had no clue--it was funny either way.

We were currently in the upper cabin of the catamaran. I didn't know much about boats but I recognized this one because my stepfather had one similar to it. It was a multihull boat with an upper and lower cabin, a reasonably sized deck space at the front and to the sides. Honestly it was ideal for someone like me who hated water so much. I almost couldn't even tell we were on the water and everyone in the know had done their best to keep my focus elsewhere. Kohta was our captain because he was the only one who knew a thing about sailing.

Rei and Takashi were in the lower cabin while Saeko and Quinton had taken Alice and Zeke on the deck for a bit. Alice had never been on a boat before and they wanted to give her the full experience. Shizuka was taking a nap in the cockpit where she'd originally gone to keep Kohta company and Saya had opted to stick with me. Thomson and Shiki remained with us and we'd found a sealed deck of cards and decided to amuse ourselves. Well, it was amusing for everybody but Thomson anyway--he hadn't won a single game yet. His luck with cards sucked big time.

He stood up, still scowling, "This is boring. I'm gonna go find some alcohol."

Shiki frowned at him, "At this hour? We still have to sweep the island, do you really think it's wise to get intoxicated now?"

Thomson made a face at him, "I'm not some wet behind the ears kid, Okada. I can handle a few glasses without falling over myself." He walked off after that.

Shiki sighed and stood, "I should probably go keep an eye on him. Will you two be okay by yourselves?" He asked us.

"We're not going to seize up and die if you're not guarding us, Shiki. Take a break," Saya told him.