Postmortem

[Dogs231]

((Cory Cartwright continued from Zeitnot.)

Cory's eyes opened back up as a sharp pain shot through him. He couldn't quite tell what time it was, but he guessed that it was some time around midnight. The stars were bright in the sky, and they reflected clearly on the almost still waves.

He remembered that Emmy was now unable to serve as their mentor. He wanted to speak to whoever had replaced her. He moved his right hand to touch the side of the collar, tapping at the metal with his pointer finger.

"I'd like to speak to you."

It hurt to speak, but he had questions to ask. His voice was rough and creaky.

[Namira]

There's a brief delay, but a man's voice emerges from the collar, a little subdued.

"Hey bud."

[Dogs231]

The calm voice of a man came from the collar. He didn't recognize it. It was probably somebody that he didn't know.

"Hello."

He glanced down at the wound in his abdomen. He closed his eyes and sighed. It hurt badly.

"In your opinion, is it fatal?"

He believed that he knew the answer, but it would be good to have confirmation.

[Namira]

"Gonna have to level with you here, the prognosis is not good. That's the kind of thing that you survive if it's at the end of the game and the medics come running in to save your bacon. I can... try and walk you through what you'd need to do to try and fix yourself up but, uh...

"Yeah. Chances wouldn't be great. Not sure I'd put them in double figures."

[Dogs231]

Cory attempted to adjust himself against the railing of the jetties. The coarse wood rested uncomfortably against his back. The sharp pain of the wound shot through him once again, causing him to wince. As his new mentor said, his chances were low - the likelihood of survival was in the single digits. He sighed.

"Okay. That's what I thought."

While he had expected this to be the case, it was hard to accept the fact that his life was soon to end. However, at this point, he did not have the energy to panic or protest, and instead, he felt resigned to his fate.

"How long do you think I have left?"

He would decide whether to attempt treatment depending on the answer.

[Namira]

"Hard for me to say without being there on the ground. At this point, that's pretty much down to luck. You'll see through the night, maybe. Anything past that is a bonus."

[Dogs231]

The man said that he could not quite tell how much longer Cory had to live. He might live through the night, or he might not. It was all down to luck, to chance. The sharp pains continued around and below his injury.

"Alright."

He tilted his head backward and looked at the stars. The moon was bright in the dark sky.

"I'd like to apologize to Emmy. For not being able to escape."

She had believed in his ability to find a way to deactivate the collar mechanism, but he hadn't made any progress in his two days in the arena. He hoped that someone else would be able to do better than he had.

[Namira]

"...Yeah. I'll tell her.

"Hey, bud? You did your best."

[Dogs231]

The mentor responded and stated that he would tell Emmy. He also told Cory that he had done his best. The words felt hollow in his ears. He didn't believe that. He could have been in a better situation for escape if it weren't for his failings. He had made crucial mistakes, which had begun to stack against him as time had gone on. He had failed.

For several seconds, Cory did not speak and instead chose to listen to the sound of the calm ocean waves. The wood railing pressed against his back, having become more uncomfortable as time went on. He took the bag off of his arm and set it down beside him, staring at it for a moment. Whoever would find his eventual corpse would be the one to make use of his supplies, and he hoped they went to a worthy cause. He paused for a moment to choose what he imagined would be the final words he said to his mentor.

"Thank you. I think I'll try to sleep now."

He had grown tired again. Despite his lack of activity, the wound seemed to drain his energy. He shut his eyes and pondered whether or not his life would continue into the next day.

((Cory Cartwright continued in Annotation.))