Rule the World

[Dr. Nic†]

[Boy #14 - Alex White. Continued from Hurry Back.]

It's a long way up.

And a long way to fall, to boot. He could risk it, sure. He could try and climb up there. But where would it get him? He could barely stand on one leg and the other was still healing. His whole body still ached and it wasn't too long ago that he was hallucinating the fires of hell. So trying to climb something like the ferris wheel? It was a death wish. It was a long way to fall from the top. But reaching the top to begin with? That would be a feat to witness. And he could just imagine the view from up there. Looking out over the surrounding area, out over a good portion of the island. Seeing everything from the woods at the foot of the mountain to the cliffs at the south, and the sea beyond.

It must be beautiful.

But he was stuck down here. Down on the ground with everyone else. Stuck down here in the dirt, scraping by every day, fighting for his survival. He hadn't seen anyone else for a while. Not since the parish. The island was practically deserted. Most of the time, he could make out distant gunfire, or notice little signs that people had been around lately. Campfires, crumbs, blood. Whatever. But now there was nothing. No gunfire. No signs. Just an empty, deserted island. There weren't many of them left, he was sure of that. He tallied it all up. He wasn't sure how many of them made it on the trip, or how many were dumped on the island, but there were over 230 kids dead here. Over 230 dead.

And he could remember each and every one of them.

But that didn't matter anymore. He was alive, and they were dead, and that's all that mattered now. He just had to keep on going. He just had to keep moving, keep living, keep surviving. If he wanted out of this, he had to find someone. If he wanted out of this, he had to kill someone. Everyone. All the other people that remained in this god damned game. People like Teo, and Nick. People like that asian bitch Reiko. He had to find them, and kill them, and earn his way back home.

If he still had a home to go back to.

It may very well end with Alex not having a home to go back to. At least, not one that would welcome him. He was a monster here. He was a murderer, and it was likely that his father and brother saw him as nothing but another piece of shit to put away somewhere. But maybe he didn't go home. Maybe he stayed here and made a life for himself. Maybe he made a life for himself as the survivor of V4. Maybe he became a celebrity as the survivor of the largest game of Survival of the Fittest on record.

Yeah. Live the high life. Rule the world.

But maybe... just maybe, there was another choice buried there somewhere.

To accept his role as a monster, and become something more than just a survivor. To rule the world in another way. To make a name for himself.

It was a long way up. And a long way to fall.

"I wanna rule the world."

Alex stared at the Ferris Wheel.

[Dr. Nic†]

For a long while, Alex just stood there and stared. Marveled at the Ferris Wheel, and wondered what it must have looked like back in the day. He wondered what the whole fair must have been like. All those people, running around and having fun. Started to wonder if the fairgrounds were anything like the State Fair back home. He always loved going, whether if he went with friends or family. It was fun. This place though? Not so much. It was all broken down, decrepit, rusted. The paint was peeling, and the whole fair just seemed... dead.

Like everything else on the damn island.

It was a poor world to rule over.

"You're falling behind, boy. Better pick up the pace."

Alex hadn't seen anyone for what, a day? Almost two? He hadn't run in to a single person since Teo and Nick at the Parish, and that didn't exactly go over too well. Alex actually be alone on this end of the island. There certainly did seem to be more people to the north than there were on the south side. People hoping more boats would come, maybe. People looking for shelter and supplies in the city, maybe. Alex would need to find a way back up there.

Looked like he was going over the mountain again.

Maybe he'd stop at the top, and look down on the world. From high on his throne.

Rule the world, from atop a mighty peak.

Alex turned away from the Ferris Wheel, and shouldered his things. He was still limping, still leaning on the walking stick he'd picked up a while back. Made it easier to move. Turned his pathetic hobble into a decent limp. But it was hard. It hurt. Every step he took sent a little jolt of pain up his leg, up his hip, into his back. Even with all the hiking he'd done and all the camping and even running track, he could swear he'd done more running or hiking in the past two weeks than he ever did back at home.

Step, click, pain. That's how it went. Reminded him of something. Something he read, or maybe something Will read. It just seemed familiar. Step, click, pain.

Alex started north, once again. And he hoped to end this game.

To kill whoever was left.

And rule his world.

[Boy #14 - Alex White. On the move in Over the Hill.