Survival Of The Fittest

((Zubin Wadia continued from Glory and Gore))

"… Let me be brief: ten of you remain. …"

That was enough to get Zubin's hackles up. For all he knew of these guys, out and out lying was not one of the things they were known for. He was in the final ten.

Holy shit. I have a chance.

He looked down at his notepad as he scribbled away, recording the new killers and crossing off the dead guys before flipping to a new page to record his ratios of the eight people he knew that were left.

Gray Emerson, one kill, ratio of 2; Joe Carrasco, 3 kills, ratio of two-thirds; Mara Montalvo, 4 kills, ratio of 1.25; Hansel Williams, 11 kills, ratio of … wait a minute, he's out to get me anyway.

Zubin looked down at his gun, and back at the notepad.

Katarina Konipaski, 9 kills, would shoot me no matter what happened. Matt Vartoogian, one kill, already tried to kill me

Zubin looked around, licked his lips nervously.

It's getting close. They may as well all be out to get me …

Zubin simply kept on his guard. No telling what the other nine people were going to do to him. They all wanted to get him, after all, they were all each others' obstacles to a ticket home to actually live out their lives. There wasn't really any more point in keeping notes anymore, so instead, he just had his gun. He was doing everything he could to stay alert when

ksssh

"Good afternoon, kids. As I promised, I'm here to give you the skinny. You know what that means. There are only four of you left, and it's time to whittle that down to one.

He was in the final four.

He was in the final four.

HE WAS IN THE FINAL FOUR.

He only vaguely listened to what Danya said about the kills, until he got to the guys that were still alive.

"Zubin Wadia, you've been trying to play it so smart, haven't you? You sure were full of ideas earlier, always busy with your notes. You're not so subtle as you think you are—if you'd ever had a chance of making trouble for us, you wouldn't be here now. The real question is, are you smart and dedicated enough to finally figure out the real way home?"

Zubin bristled at that. He was alive, armed, and uninjured. It seemed to be a given that he'd get to go home.

"Joey Grey—who? I have to say, the degree to which you've managed to avoid everything going down is almost supernatural. You've seen death once or twice, but I don't think you've even been hurt by anyone but yourself in your time here. You're in the freshest shape, but can that matter if you don't have the stones to back it up? It's time to show your true colors. Nobody lives through this by mistake.

Hansel Williams, as of Ms. Konipaski's demise, you have officially taken the record for single-version eliminations. You know what has to be done, you know how to do it, but has the road to this point taken too much out of you? All you have to do is hold it together for a little bit longer, and you'll be home free. Take a deep breath and taste it, and do your best not to choke. The others will be looking hard at you if they want to have a shot.

Finally, no introduction is really needed for the singular Amaranta Montalvo, in no small part because she's the only one of you who's met all the others. Well, Mara, you've killed one of your best friends and gotten yourself pretty torn up on your way across the island. I can't say you always make the best choices—your little fireworks display wasn't a very efficient use of resources—but you invariably leave an impression. Can you manage one final show?"

So, Mara, Hansel, and, well, whomever. Just three people left between him and sweet, sweet victory. He took out his gun as he looked around.

"We'll see which of you takes it home soon enough. This is my final goodbye to three of you. I want you all to make your ways to Central Park with all due haste. As soon as you're there, every other area will become a permanent danger zone. You should be in the park itself; don't get too close to the Duck Pond."

Well, one part done. Zubin simply started walking and searching. He left the notebook behind. He wasn't going to be taking any more notes. His mission was now clear. Take out the others.

There wasn't anything else for him to do.

((Zubin Wadia continued in v5 Endgame - Paradise))