Miles to Go

[Swoosh*]

((Coming from http://s10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfT ... =729&st=15& at the Gazebo))

Mallory had continued to jog since leaving Jeremy behind at the gazebo. While unsure of how vunerable a position that had left him, she knew that it was neccessary to do it. Besides, she didn't particularly want Jeremy to come with her to this.

As soon as she'd left the gazebo, she knew exactly where she needed to go. It would be forever burnt into her memory- the closest thing she'd experienced to Hell... the lookout point, where she had seen Glenn killed. She knew she had to go there, and she had made her way across the island to make it here.

No one in Mallory's immediate family had passed away, and so she had never been to a graveyard before in her life. But as she jogged, she had the same pang of sorrow in her heart that someone else going to visit their deceased friends and family might have. The realisation that Glenn was never coming back had hit the girl hard and she desperately blinked to avoid repeating the crying fit she had had the last time she was at the lookout point.

As she grew nearer, Mallory began to slow her pace to a quick walk. She could see a figure on the floor up ahead and knowing what it was, it took every inch of self restraint she had not to start screaming and crying; taking a huge gulp, she took small, timid steps to where Glenn lay, bloody and riddled with gunshot wounds. She knelt down beside him. It wasn't any shock to see him like that- after all, he was like that the last time she saw him- but still, a wave of nausea passed over her and she closed her eyes tightly until it passed.

Although his torso was relatively messed up, his face was unharmed- a little dirty maybe, but there was no wounds. It still wore the same pained expression it had done when he had passed away. Mallory smiled sadly, stroking Glenn's cheek. At least that was one, if the only beneficial thing about Glenn's death- she hadn't been able to do much with him while he was alive. The idea that Glenn could hear what she was thinking became a lot more promising as he lay there next to her (regardless of the fact that he was, well, dead) and taking a deep breath, Mallory voiced her concerns.

"I really need your help... I know, you can't help me much now where you are," Mallory looked down at the corpse. "But I just... can I really kill this guy? He's armed to the teeth. I need to, I have to... I just don't know how." She sighed hopelessly and gazed out over the island. The view really was incredible. "I just wi-"

BEEP!

Loud and shrill, the sound made Mallory jump out of her skin. Falling backwards, she realised with an unmeasurable amount of horror that the sound had come from the collar around her neck.

This was a danger zone... Danya made this a danger zone... oh God...

BEEP!

"Oh my God... no... not now, not now..." she began to mutter. "NOT NOW, DANYA YOU BASTARD!" Her voice echoed around the surroundings. No wonder no one else had been here, how could she have been so stupid to forget? Who would be so stupid as to come into a danger zone?

BEEP!

Fumbling at her collar desperately, she broke out into a sweat. Not unnatural, considering she was faced with a very serious death threat. Glancing between Glenn and the rest of the island wildly, she muttered quickly and to herself.

"Not now... not now... I have promises to keep... not now, not now..."

BEEP! BEEP!

The noises began to get quicker, along with Mallory's heartbeat.

I promised you... I promised that I'd kill him for you, Glenn... I said I'd do it and I failed... I'm so sorry...

The tears began to gush out. Looking down at Glenn with blurry eyes, she reached into her pocket and once more withdrew the packet of tissues Glenn had given her back at the makeshift hospital. She laughed through all the tears.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Guess I won't be needing this now, huh Glenn?" Sniffing, but with a smile on her face, Mallory reached over for his cold hand and held it tightly in hers, the tissues clamped in between the two.

Miles to go before I sleep...

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

It's not whether you win or lose, it's what you learn along the way. It's how you change as a person on the journey. How you got to be on the journey, or where you end up... none of that matters. It's what you pick up on the journey. Jeremy, you taught me what it was to be a friend, and Glenn, you too. Even if I only figured this out now, just before I die, it's something. I guess I'm ready...

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The smile ever left her face as the collar exploded- a sea of red shot out from her neck and splattered all over the surroundings. Swaying precariously, she eventually fell forward onto Glenn's corpse, still smiling almost grotesquely. Her hand was still tightly holding his as she fell. She couldn't do it alone- she didn't do it alone. She wasn't alone. Not anymore.

And if I've learned nothing else... it doesn't matter, does it?

Girl #50 - Mallory DeLuca- DEAD

((I'm not sure whether that was how the danger zone deaths worked, I just copied from the original format))