Survival Of The Fittest

Jonathan listened to Emmett as he went on to a hopeless rant about basically giving up on everything and all he could do was still hold onto Declyn as if he was a fragile doll waiting to crumble into pieces in his arms. To be fair, Emmett was making some good points as Jonathan knew that it was getting harder and harder to try to survive and that it was so easy to give up on life. Emmett having to put down Adonis was obviously taking it toll on the other boy and Jonathan wished that he could have done something. Anything to help. He hadn't done anything as he was pretty much useless.

"What I want from you?" Jonathan murmured softly as he glanced up at Emmett and he gently helped Declyn up to his feet, letting out a shaky breath. He felt like he was close to having his own breakdown and he forced himself to take a slow, steady breath to keep himself under control. It seemed like Jonathan had to be the strong one for the other two and he had to keep calm to do so. "I want you to protect Declyn for Cecil with me and I want you to actually DO something to survive. Stop crying about how you can't do anything for anyone. Yes, I know that we're all fucking dead. All but one person. The least we can do is get one person who deserves to go home."

That might have been too harsh for him to say and he knew that he shouldn't put all the responsibility on the both of them. But he didn't want Emmett to take the easy way out that easily. It would be an insult to Cecil. Heck, it would be an insult to Adonis whom seemed to be the cause of breaking this group into pieces. Jonathan was just the outsider. The one who had been walking around aimlessly this whole time as he had felt like he had no purpose on the island and now he had a chance to do something right.

"....We should also get rid of the people who don't deserve to go home right? Erika, Justin, Blaise, Michael, the list goes on. We need someone who can change things, Emmett." He said with a shake of his head and he found himself glancing over at Cecil, Adonis and Lorenzo's corpses with a sense of sorrow ad shame. "Also, who cares if I barely know you... You're a better person than some people that I have met. I trust you more than most others here, so I hope you can deal with me and Declyn for as long as you can."

He let out a small, bitter laugh and he moved away from Declyn, standing near Adonis' body.

"I'm going to move all three of them to the lake." He said bluntly, looking at Emmett and Declyn more seriously. "It's the least that I can do for them and it would be nice for Drew to have some company, right? Give me a hand, guys."

Jonathan glanced down at Adonis' body and he started to get to work. He hoped that Declyn and Emmett understood why he wanted to do this.

((Jonathan Meyers continued in Enouement))

Why did they not deserve to go home? The circumstances always remained the same. Declyn's truth was that they all deserved it, including the ones Jonathan listed. Their dreams and ambitions had all been twisted and turned, challenged, forced.

Declyn's grip on him tightened when Emmett was yelling. A much different energy than the fight they had had in front of their hotel room just a week ago. But hey, at least they had bonded over chicken nuggets after, which was now a much more difficult task and Declyn wasn't yet ready to catch a wild bird and turn it into a faux nugget. Or goat nuggets. Or monkey nuggets.

"I don't… want you guys to protect me," he said, shivering. "I want us to protect each other. Come on." Ugh. He covered his mouth as he felt the smell of blood surge. It made him belch. He realized just how much of it was on himself. When Jonathan moved away, Declyn felt it in his feet that almost gave away again. No time for dizziness. Jonathan looked like he had seen too much shit like how was he so calm?? Declyn had still trouble to take a look and would never get used to it either. But Jonathan's plan was good. They couldn't stay here.

He looked at Emmett with an almost pleading expression with his hand still on his mouth and turned around, walking towards the door with quick steps while uttering "ILLHELPINABITIPROMISE" before he was out.

Too bad the fresh air didn't help either.

[Declyn Grayson-Anthis continued in Énouement]

Emmett's grip on the gun tightened. Make sure the one going home deserved it? Truth be told, nobody deserved it, least of all Emmett, or so he thought. Jonathan went out of his way to tell him that he was the most trustworthy person he ever met, and that only he could change things, and that somehow he wasn't an idiot, which was all wrong. The only thing he was right about, was the fact that he was the only one who wanted to change things.

Emmett realized that Jonathan just wanted him around to do the dirty work for him and Declyn. He'd be the one to kill all the threats, he'd take that weight on his shoulders. When it was the two of them left, Jon would probably expect him to kill himself then instead of now, so that someone who 'deserved' it made it home, right?

Jon was full of shit.

Fuck him. Fuck him for just showing up, and trying to exploit him and expect him to not catch on. Emmett knew himself to be an idiot, but he was smarter than Jonathan thought he was. If it was down to the three of them, Emmett would blow Jonathan away, then himself. Declyn can make it home. Fuck him for using the dead bodies of Cecil, Adonis, and Lorenzo to try and trick him like that.

Fuck him in particular for putting that piece of human excrement named Lorenzo in the same tier as Cecil or Adonis. He didn't fucking know.

Emmett lowered the gun, nails digging into the wood finish. He stared right through Jonathan, as him and Declyn walked away. In truth, he did feel bad for Declyn, and he was sorry for the way he had treated him. He didn't deserve this. If he died, it would be a mercy compared to what's to come. "Fine." It was all he could mutter.

Well, almost.

"...But you got me fucked up if you think I'm carrying that piece of shit Lorenzo anywhere. He's rotting in hell where he belongs. If it was up to me, I'd have blown limbs off one by one so he could see what it feels like to die helpless over a collar tracker. I should've been the one to kill him."

Emmett took his time to grab his belongings. He took a look at what used to be Adonis. That thing wasn't him anymore. It wasn't for a while. Emmett wasn't himself either. He was just a thing too. It didn't matter. It hurt less that way.

((Emmett Bunnell continued in Énouement.))