Dénouement

[Ares]

Everything had come down to one last lucky swerve in John's favour. The hellcat he was fighting had knocked him right next to the one instrument he needed to end her. He'd killed over 10 people. He had worked his ass off for most, and fought for his life in others. Johnathan Rizzolo was the deadliest person on the island, and despite that, it all came down to lucky break.

As he pushed the girl and rose to his feet, it seemed as though there was no ambient noise in the airfield. It felt as though not even the wind was rustling the leaves of the surrounding forest as Riz stood above the small girl at his feet. With a look of contempt Riz emptied more shots into the girl. Each shot seeming to do nothing. Lulu was still trying to talk herself into fighting. Her battle wounded body still had some fight left in it.

The girl reached out to John again and began to speak but John had had enough. This needed to end. He needed to end it. He pulled the trigger and felt the pop of the gun once again. The bullet embedded itself into the girl's stomach and stopped everything. Her mouth stopped and her body went limp.

John dropped to his knees and let out a primal roar. It was a roar of pain, anger and satisfaction. He threw the gun away from himself as he took in the moment. For the second time on the island, John felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't figure out why the tears were there. He still had other people to fight. He couldn't be crying when there was still a job to do.

John rose to his feet once again, thinking that his best bet would be to try and find his last clip for the MP7 before Trish or Lenny came bounding out of the tower and blasted him the face with some lead justice. The thought was cut short though by the sound of....clapping?

The sound of a slow clap filled the airfield as John scanned the surrounding area for where the noise was coming from. His curiosity was answered almost instantly when the all to familiar voice of Mr. Danya rang through the speakers.

"Congratulations Mr. Rizzolo. I know you're expecting to have to keep fighting, but I have excellent news for you," Danya's voice said in a joyous tone, "Ms. McCarroll was able to defeat our dear friend Lenny, but she just wasn't able to muster up the fortitude to finish what she started. It's a shame we didn't get to see that though when we think about your track record with the ladies out here."

There was a paused as John looked back to Lulu's corpse.

"You are the winner John. Now, if you would kindly ensure that you are not carrying any weapons on you, we are sending in a few of our people to escort you off the island. They will be there before you know it. Congratulations again John, we will be in touch very soon."

John heard the click of the PA and tried to replay everything he had just heard. He had won. He had actually won. A smile broke over his bloodied face at the thought. He had outlasted his entire class to be the last person standing.

John took one last long look around the airfield. It was a place of ruin thanks to his efforts. This was his place on the island. He had owned the area every single time he'd visited. That thought alone sent a wave of serenity through John's mind.

After a moment of thought, Riz began to walk to the nearest aircraft. He checked the pockets of his dirtied and tattered pants for any objects that may be considered dangerous and found nothing. He climbed up on to the wing of the aircraft, albeit with great effort as his body was now losing the adrenaline rush and returning to its throbbing painful state. John looked to his right to see the corpses of his former classmates Ryan Atwell and Steve Digaetano. On Ryan's chest there was a folder piece of paper on which John could out the words: TO THE WINNER

Riz slowly climbed off the plane and scooped up the letter then looked from Ryan to Steve with a curious look on his face.

"Hey kid!" a burly voice shouted from behind him.

John turned around to see a group of 5 armed personnel all with their guns trained on him. John quickly turned to show them that the item in his hand was only a letter, but the gun barrels were not lowered.

"Let's go." the man said flatly from behind his riot mask.

John pocketed the letter and walked towards the group. After the leader of the guards inspected John's pockets, leaving the letter, and checked his shoes, he gave a slight nod, followed by an, "All clear."

John was forced to walk behind the leader, but in front of the other 4, and though he could not see it, he knew they had their guns pointed right at his back.

It's kind of flattering in a way to know they think I'm that dangerous.

The trek to the coastline was not a long one, and as they neared, John could make out a small boat on the shore and a much larger one out on the sea. As John climbed into the boat, he turned one last time to look at the island. It looked so serene despite the carnage which littered the inside.

The ride to the larger of the boats was not a long one either. John was ordered to climb up the ladder to the vessel first. He was greeted at the top of the boat by even more large armed personnel.

"This way." Said one of them.

John was led to the interior of the boat and down several hallways before finally stopping in front of a wooden door with a small red cross on it.

"In there." The guard said in a voice that clearly indicated he thought he was above escorting some kid around the boat.

John entered a room which was clearly a small medical office. The woman inside gestured from him to sit down on the table. After taking a seat, not before noticing that the escorting guards had followed him into the room, the nurse took John's left hand.

Without saying a word to him, the nurse cleaned the wounds and bandaged up his entire hand.

"That is the best I can do until we get back to mainland." She informed him.

"Alright, get up and come on." The guard said gruffly.

John got up off the table without a word to anyone and followed the man back into the hallways.

It wasn't long before they stopped in front of another door which had a small plaque with initials V.D. on it. The lead guard knocked on the door twice and was answered by a voice inside.

"Send him in."

The door opened to reveal a room where a heavy-set man sat behind a desk.

"Come on in Mr. Rizzolo," said the voice John had grown to know over the last 13 days, "We have much to discuss."

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B58: Johnathan Rizzolo - WINNER

[Cactus]

((Continued in V3: Epilogue))