... does it even matter?

[DerArknight]

((Chris Tyrell continued from But The Wellerman Never Came))

He didn't know what time it was, nor did he care.

After his latest failure, Chris had retreated into a random room in the corridors and done what might barely pass for first aid. All the glass shards where removed from his body, and all three of his first-aid kits were mosty depleted. Once it was done, his arms and legs were completely covered in bandages, making him look like some shitty mummy.

And so he lay on the bed, facing the ceiling above with all limbs spread away. His submachine gun was right next to him, but he probably wouldn't reach it in time when some broke through the door.

He didn't care. Right now, he just wanted to lay down and do nothing. Except maybe punching his past self in the face, but that was impossible.
















"Hey Jewel," he finally spoke once the silence got too loud for his liking. "Wanna hear a joke?"

[MurderWeasel]

The response is fairly quick, as usual, though there's not a lot of cheer behind the voice.

"Hey, Chris.

"I think that would be nice."

[DerArknight]

"Before all of this, I was planning to go to a good university and become a surgeon.

"...

"That was the punchline."

[MurderWeasel]

There's a soft chuckle. A few moments of silence, and then a reply.

"Last year, I worked after school at Homeland—it's a grocery store in Oklahoma. I did a four-hour shift twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then eight hours on Sundays.

"I wanted to go to art school, but I didn't have enough money, so I was just going to keep working at that store. Probably forever."

[DerArknight]

Chris was glad about this answer.

Not because he cared about the content. He had already figured that Jewel and probably every other survivor of this show had been fairly normal before being casted. Instead he was glad about what she didn't say. She didn't try to cheer him up. She didn't tell him that he still had a chance of achieving his goals. She didn't tell him that his joke wasn't funny. She didn't say anything that a mentor who only cared about making sure their last remaining tool would be useful to bring them some more fame would say.

In other words, she was nice to talk to right now.

"Would you mind if I ask something?" Chris inquired. Then, since he assumed she wouldn't mind, he provided the question.

"Who were my teammates? I know you couldn't tell me before because that would be helping, but now they are all dead, so knowing who they were won't change my odds, right?"

He wanted to know. He already had seen Amy's corpse with the black bandanna. And he knew about Mary.

He wanted to know who else he had failed.

[MurderWeasel]

Only a second of pause passes before the answer.

"Alright.

"Aside from Mary, it was Nura, Luciano, Seth, Beau, Jasper, Leah, Amy, Laura, and Mariko."

[DerArknight]

Chrsi hadn't expected such a fast answer. He hadn't even expected a slow one.

That is why for quite a while, he didn't answer. Some members of the audience wondered if he had slept in from exhaustion. They were the ones most surprised when the sole remaining Leviathan spoke once more.

"She probably didn't knew it, but Nura saved my ass once by setting off the fire alarm back in junior year. I hadn't done my homework and if the teacher had found out, I would have been in deep shit. Guess I never thanked her for that.

"I once saw Luciano climbing out of a cupboard. Some others did too. They laughed, but I somehow had the feeling there was more to this story. I could have asked, but I didn't. Guess I will never know.

"One time I showed Seth one of my stories and he told me it sucked. I was pretty offended, we never spoke again. I wonder what exactly he didn't like about it.

"To be honest, I have trouble picturing Beau in this arena. He was way too nice for any of this. He shouldn't have been here.

"Man, everyone knew Jasper. And from what I know, there were barely people not liking him. I mean, his flirting was annoying, but I don't remember ever seeing someone offended.

"Mary told me she teamed up with Leah. I don't know what happened then apart from what the announcement said. I am not sure if I want to know.

"From what I remember, Amy was good friends with Mary. Maybe if the two of us had found her the other day, we could have... nevermind.

"Laura... was Laura.

"...

"Sorry. I have nothing to say about Mariko. I think she was the senior with the pigtail puffs."








For a while, he said nothing.






"Right now, I feel like in one of those video games where your choices affect the story. And I made all the wrong decision.

"What about you? Are you disappointed with how all of this went?"

[MurderWeasel]

This time, there's a little more pause before the reply.

"I'm not disappointed in you—in any of you—if that's what you're asking.

"I don't know if you remember, but back at the start I said that all I wanted was to help the people on my team achieve their goals, whatever they were. I meant it. My mentor wasn't supportive. She patronized me and abandoned my team, and I didn't want anyone else to have that happen to them.

"So... I guess what I'm saying is, the only thing I'm disappointed about is that I haven't been able to do more for all of you."

[DerArknight]

Chris remembered.

A lot of stuff had happened between these two moments, but he remembered Jewel's briefing.

He also remembered how he came to school on casting day, wondering what the big cars were doing on the parking lot that was reserved for teachers.

He also remembered slipping out of the house on that morning, careful not to wake his father, who was sleeping on the couch with more than one empty bottle next to him.

He also remembered the evening before that day, when he and James had an ordinary dinner, with Chris talking about something trivial that happened at school and James nodding along.

He also remembered that he found men who cried in public pathetic.

In the present, Chris wiped his face with the back of his hand and then the back of his hand on the bed.

"Um, Jewel," he spoke. "Say, in the case - just in the case - that I don't make it, could you do something for me?

"Could you look after my father? He will be devastated and down. I am afraid he might" - Chris stopped himself before revealing his father's alcohol problem to the whole country - "not take it well. So could you make sure he is looked after? And that the televisionguys don't screw him over with whatever money he is entitled to?"

He had no clue how Jewel would respond. After all, her job was to talk to the team during the season. As far as he knew, her job was completed once the season wrapped up. In a few months, she might be as nonchalant about him as she had been about her first team.

But she was the only one he could ask.

[MurderWeasel]

The voice is quiet and soft.

"Of course. I'll do everything I can."

[DerArknight]

He believed her. Not because he wanted to, but because he did.

"Thanks."

Chris closed his eyes. For ten long seconds, he said nothing, almost pondering of there was anything left to say.

"..."

Then he realized something depressing.

Seeing how endgame was apparently one big fight, this might be the last decent conversation he ever had in his life.

"... So, do you have any last words before the showdown? Like some tipp on what to do in endgame? I barely know this show, but I know that endgame is this one big fight. Anything I should keep in mind about it?"

[MurderWeasel]

There's a quiet "hmm," sound, and then a pause for a few moments before the answer arrives.

"Okay. Endgame isn't necessarily just a big fight, but they do box you in and make it hard to hide. With the other people you're dealing with, I think it'll become violent right away.

"Your big advantage is that nobody is specifically gunning for you. With a choice between you or some personal enemy, you won't be the priority. You don't have to fight from the start unless you get caught out, and you probably shouldn't unless you get a great opportunity. But when you are fighting, put everything you have into it.

"Everything will happen fast. Keep your wits about you, be adaptable, and don't hesitate when the time comes.

"Oh, and... if there's anything else you need to say, you should say it now. You don't want any regrets distracting you at the final hurdle."

[DerArknight]

Chris took his sweet time replying.

But finally, he spoke.

"Something I still want to say? Thank you, I guess. I don't know if I would have made it this far without you.

"We didn't get along the whole time, but in the end, I believe you were trying your best to help, and that is what matters. So thanks for that.

"...

"If I make it out of here, let's meet again face-to-face."

And unlike last time, he actually meant it.

[MurderWeasel]

The voice is soft.

"I'd like that a lot.

"Good luck, Chris."

[DerArknight]

"You too." Chris answered.

And then he was alone again. Except for the millions watching him, of course.

For the next 30 minutes, Chris just lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to find some rest without falling asleep.

---

Finally, the announcement played.

Chris listened intendedly as Ritzy Daggers accused him of having a hand in the death of Ashanti, which he acknowledged as true. Back then, his intention had been to get it all over with, hoping that the exploding jetpack would kill everyone. It had been a quick decision, and a shitty one, since it didn't account for Mary and himself being within the blast radius. But it had been his decision and he would have to live with it.

"It pays to keep an eye on what's behind your target, just in case you miss." Ritzy chided, and Chris felt like it was fully directed at him.

Anthony was revealed as Mary's killer. Not very surprising, if one thought about it. Anthony had killed many, and Mary had told Chris about her encounter with the former anti-SOTF-brit. Fucking lunatic.

The news of Fisk's demise didn't feel as satisfying as Chris would have assumed after their meeting at the restaurant. Just another name on the big list of kids who died while Chris wasn't looking, followed by a drinking-related pun that made no sense to him. Maybe the audience, who actually saw Fisk dying, was laughing about the joke right now.

Who exactly were the announcements made for? For the audience, or for the contestants?

Since he barely watched the show, Chris was taken aback when Ritzy started to adress each endgamer one by one.

"Representing the Leviathans is Chris Tyrrell. You got an awfully late start to the game, didn't you, Chris? Thinking back on those early days, do you have any regrets? Or do you think your stint as shopkeeper prepared you for what you now have to face? Have you really figured out what you're doing, or are you just going where someone points you once again?"

Really? That was how the outside watchers viewed him?

In some way, he understood it. So far his achievments boiled down to spending half of the game doing nothing before losing everyone and collecting a few weapons. Probably not what the average viewer would call primetime-material.

Well, the average viewer also had the fortune of not being stuck in this damn show.

Realizing that he was getting worked up, Chris hold his breath to slow himself down. It was obvious that the chatty DJ was provocative on purpose to get the contestants riled up for the final battle. Chris hated that it worked on him in some capacity.

Then came the final surprise, and an opportunity opened up.

"Well then. Normally, we'd shepherd you all to a specific location to finish this off, but with everything going on we think you'll have plenty of motivation to find each other quickly. You're to remain onboard the cruise ship, and outside of the lower decks, but aside from that you're free to go anywhere that's not on fire. Don't take too long. Even if you don't choke on the smoke, most of you are barely standing."

Chris barely heard the final line because his brain was already working. So they were implying that the ship would burn down of they didn't hurry up? Bullshit! He was by no means an expert, but a big cruise ship like this one should be made sturdy enough to withstand a fire or two. Chris had made some distance between him and the banquett hall, and it had been obvious that the fire had barely left the place of origin. And the second part about most them "barely standing"? It might be true for Ivan or Anthony, but not for Chris. His limbs ached and were bandaged up and he had maybe broken some ribs from the explosion, but he would be fine for now.

Strategically speaking, the smartest thing for him to do right now was to keep lying on this bed and do nothing.

With so many cabins, even someone looking for him would need to search for hours. And if Chris barricaded the door, they would need to make a lot of noise to get in, meaning he would even be able to sleep without worry. Meanwhile, the other five would tear each other apart like they had done for the last few days. And in the morning, Chris would leave his cabin rested and with a full magazine in order to round up whatever was left of the competition. Maybe they would even mutually kill each other, making him win by doing nothing at all.

Yeah, that's how he would win. By just hiding from everyone until it was over.

Just like back at the restaurant.

"...

"...

"Fuck this!"

Chris stood up, took his submachine gun, took his axe, took his harpoon bolt, took his hydrogen tank, took the two backpacks he still owned, threw the almost empty first aid kit into a corner and left the room.

---

Survival Of The Fittest TV Season 67 Endgame
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