Survival Of The Fittest

(Zachary Beck, continued from 7 Rings)

Zach sat at top of the warefall, the manual for the gun in his hand. As expected, it functioned similarly to a revolver. Zach had at least 28 bullets for the gun, with 7 bullets loaded in, 1 for each barrel. He took his time and learned how to load and recharge, practicing how to aim, but not firing.

Funny, when it came to studying in school, he couldn’t give two shits about the material he was learning, like math equations or historical events. However, when it came to using a firearm, he was actually putting in the effort, probably because he was certain it really mattered.

Zach felt a bit more confident. He felt as though he’d be able to take on the whoever posed a threat to his person. Of course, he needed to keep in mind the number of bullets he carried. He felt like a protagonist from one of his favorite survival horror games. His resources, limited. Danger, imminent, but unpredictable. He needed to be as vigilant as possible, otherwise, he was screwed.

Afternoon

Zach laid on his back, his arms resting behind his head. He stared up at the sky, watching for any clouds, or birds, maybe even an airplane. Would anyone on an airplane even notice, or even care about, a tiny island like this? They probably wouldn’t even think that there was a death game taking place on what would be considered insignificant island like this.

Zach thought back to the first day on the island. He believed he hadn’t a snowball’s chance in hell to survive this game. Now he’s made it to the final thirty. With everything that’s happened up to this point, everything he’s witnessed, everything he’s done, he kept wondering how lucky he was to still be alive.

He remembered Demetri calling him an idiot. Zach felt that statement rang truer in hindsight. He thought back to his argument with Thomas and hitting Sean in the face. If Zach had better control of himself back then, maybe they’d all still be alive. That’s what Zach wanted to believe, but he could never be certain. When Sean’s name came up during the announcements, he felt a heap of guilt. He kept blaming himself for his closest friend’s death. Justin Greene was it? Yeah, that’s the name of Sean’s killer, wasn’t it. Perhaps, if Zach found Justin, and took him out...

Zach tried to shake the thought from his mind. He shouldn’t be trying to pick fights with big name killers. Still, if Zach killed Justin, he thought, maybe, it would be like repentance for what Zach did to Sean. But, revenge wasn’t Zach’s top priority (not supposed to be anyway). Survival was top priority. Zach needed to survive long enough to make it to the end, and do what he needed to in order to get home. Although, if Zach were to come across Justin before then, then Zach might be able to avenge Sean. He figured he could do it, he had a strong enough weapon, hopefully. He’ll just leave it to fate.

It was about time for Zach to move on. It looked as though the sun was ready to set. Zach sat up and got to his feet. He stretched as he consulted his map to find a place to hide.

(Zachary Beck, continued elsewhere...)