Season 2 Finale
In silence, Lou and Ally glue their eyes to the porthole, watching the clouds slowly float through the sky, refusing to pay any attention on their final moments, rather enjoying the time they have left with each other. “Did your parents like me?” Lou asks, a dazed, confused, yet surprising aware Ally laughing at the question. “What?” Lou asks with a smile, “where we are now, this is probably as good a time as any!” Resting her chin upon Lou’s shoulder, Ally gazes at the wall in silence, not wanting to answer the question at first, only to offer Lou a choice between the truth and a lie. Looking back at the woman, Lou considers his options, choosing truth and watching the woman’s chin begin digging into his neck. “Not really” Ally replies, unable to make it through the response without laughing, Lou responding with the same reaction. “Really?” Lou asks, breaking his laughter for a moment to request clarification, Lou wanting her mother’s opinion first and foremost. “She thought you and I wouldn’t last longer than a few months” Ally replies, she and Lou unable to do anything other than laugh throughout the conversation, Ally explaining that her mother did try to be supportive.”What about your dad?” Lou proceeds further, Ally’s laughter ending with a mocking grin, veins in her neck protruding at the mention. “He thought you were a bum” Ally replies, Lou’s enjoyment breaking into an uncontainable fit of laughter, wiping the tears from his eyes before admitting her father to have been correct. “I was going absolutely nowhere before all of this” Lou mutters aloud, looking Ally in the eyes, the woman unable to stop herself from laughing alongside the man. “You’re not a bum anymore, though” Ally replies, Lou losing his composure, laughter prevailing again amidst the confession. “But you were my bum” Ally asserts, looking the man in the eyes, “and I loved you regardless… Just as I do now.” The metal bars between them falling to the same fate as their parents once did, Lou and Ally remain joined by the hip, unphased. Their noses pressed against each other through the one obstacle stood between them, their lips soon couple together as Lou caresses the woman’s cheek in his hand, the tear from her eye warm. “You proved my parents wrong” Ally proclaims, the kiss having broken up as her eyes begin to cloud with tears. “Together until the end, as it was always meant to be” Lou replies, his hand taking hers in his own, their foreheads pressing together as they wait for the end to come, “we are the best part of each other.” With a smile, Ally shares a gaze into Lou’s eyes, holding her tears back as the smile becomes a permanent fixture of her expression. “Never has anything been more true” Ally whimpers, her voice broken up from the emotions coming to the surface, the pair closing their eyes as any second can be their last. In a brief moment, the floor vibrates, the couple opening their eyes as they realize what is about to happen, pulling their heads away from the bars and keeping their hands interwoven together. In a split second, the ground goes from vibrating to being shot up with what feels like an infinite amount of force, the impact of which propelling the pair a few inches from the ground, hands still locked together through it all. In almost the same moment as it had come to life, the floor suddenly dies down, the room becoming still once more as Lou and Ally finally return to the ground, their hands breaking apart upon contact, forcing them in opposite directions. A few seconds passing, Lou and Ally stare around the room, awaiting another eruption similar to that they had just experienced, before their eyes finally return to each other. In an instant, Lou’s eyes depart from Ally’s almost as quickly as they had found their way back, his focus belonging to the bludgeoned locks of the cell door, now broken beyond repair, allowing the collection of metal bars to slowly glide outwards, releasing Ally from captivity. His mouth agape, Lou pushes himself to his feet as Ally pulls herself back to her own, the woman stumbling out of the cell and into Lou’s embrace, their reunion coming with a newfound hope for survival. Holding the woman close, Lou begins to understand the nature of the events that had just unfolded, breaking the embrace suddenly to glance out of the porthole, a tear in the ship’s starboard flooding the lowest of compartments with sea water at an alarming rate. “They actually fucking did it!” Lou exclaims to himself, eyes widened in shock for a moment before turning back to Ally, his hand taking her arm over his neck as he guides her from the all-too unattractive metal walls of the holding area. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = The ship quickly falling into irreparable damages, the residents of the Euronam begin escaping through any means they can afford. Some leaping off the ship and plummeting into the frosty waters below, others ripping hatches open to escape into the bowels of the ship, only to allow more access to the undead lurking within to the surface. “We ain’t gonna have long, guys!” Jules exclaims, cracking one of the undead over the skull with a table leg as the group marches on. “Where are the lifeboats!?” Lee calls out, Terry pointing them to the opposite side of the ship. “I’m going after Theo!” Lee exclaims, apologizing to the rest of the group, but insisting he do what he feels is best. “You’re not guaranteed he lived!” Jenn exclaims, Jules doubling down on the woman’s statement, pointing out the massive demand for space on the boats. “If he’s not dead by now, he will be by the time we get off this boat!” the man exclaims, taking Jenn by the arm and personally apologizing to the woman. “If it were Lou, you’d all be doing the same thing” Lee explains, Jenn’s eyes dropping as she accepts the truth behind the man’s statement, shaking his hands as he departs. Goodbyes forcibly quick, Lee splits away from the group, Jules directing the trio into one of the many previously opened hatches, their goal unclear. “We find who we can!” Jenn exclaims, the orders being given out as the trio takes advantage of the electricity while they still have it, opening the skulls of the undead whenever confronted. Hand waving towards the other end of the ship, Jules directs the small band of survivors towards the center of the blast, the lights aligned along the walls all dying out shortly thereafter. “Get that night vision kicked on quickly, guys!” Jules exclaims, ripping a door to the other end of the ship in, the struggle at first made understandable when a rush of water pools out from the other side. “Oh fuck, it’s going down fast!” Halston exclaims, choosing to be brave and diving into the murky waters, pushing her way through the flooded hall in an effort to reach those they fight for on the other side. | “Everyone alright!?” Terry exclaims, his ears having been covered before the blast, though he still remains partially deafened from the sheer force to which the explosion presented. A thumbs up from the other end of the room, Terry knows of it to belong to Elsie, his eyes now dancing across the room as it begins to allow water to seep in, Josie still unaccounted for. “Josie!” Terry and Elsie collectively call out, the woman finding a flashlight in the corner of the room to aid in their search, the carpet beneath their feet quickly moistening with every second. “On the ground!” Elsie shouts, her leg trapped beneath a bookcase, having found Josie from across the room, the woman spread out upon the ground, hand pressed against the back of her head, blood splattered across the wall she lays before. “She’s hurt!” Elsie shouts, watching Terry race for the woman as she struggles to lift the shelf off herself, water flooding the room quicker with each attempt she makes. “Can you hear me, Josie?” the man asks, his voice making it into her ears despite lacking the strength to respond, instead moving her fingers as best as she can to indicate her remaining life. “Her fingers are moving and I’ve got a pulse!” Terry shouts, throwing Josie’s arm over the back of his head and looking at Elsie, the woman remaining helpless beneath the shelf. “Are you good? Can you get out?” Terry calls, Elsie placing her hands against the shelf again to no avail, the little ground she can muster bringing a new rush of water into the room. Placing Josie against a desk, Terry hurries over to Elsie, telling her to place her hands against the bookshelf and assist him in his efforts. Shaking her head, Elsie looks up at Terry, telling the man that the little feeling she has in her legs is that of pain. “My leg’s all fucked up, dude” elsie admits, Terry refusing to allow the woman to give up so easily, telling her to help him anyway. “I’m not gonna make it, Terry!” Elsie shouts, her hair soaked and water droplets left lingering on her nose as the cracks in the busted wall poor in greater amounts of water. “I already left two people I care about behind because they wanted me to!” Terry shouts, the rushing waters increasing in volume, forcing him to yell, “I’m not about to let that happen to another!” Taking it on his own, Terry drives his feet into the ground and drapes his hands over the corner of the shelf, using his entire lower body to force the shelf off the woman. The soppy ground splashing water over his face as the shelf crashes into the ground, Terry takes Elsie’s arm over his shoulder and returns to do the same for Josie, both women led by the man away from the outright dangers and into the foyer, their fight for survival only just getting started as the lights die out. | With a broken pool cue, Lee fights off the undead as he hurries across the main deck of the ship, his eyes locked on the crowd of people pooling together along the bulkheads. “Stop pushing together, you’re only making yourselves bigger targets!” Lee exclaims, his orders directing the passengers to different areas being followed by the desperate survivors. “The boats can only fit eighty people per person!” Lee exclaims, “spread out and board one after another, anyone at the back of the line, hold off the dead!” Finding a row, Lee takes a stand at the very back, turning away from the ship and eyeing down the horde, the survivors he called orders out to taking the man’s lead and doing as told, a line of defense allowing the boats to board as safely as possible in the moment. The undead attacking one by one, Lee finds himself being aided by fellow survivors waiting to board, the more that fail to find an immediate spot turning back to help. With a small army, Lee calls out for a simple pattern to be followed, two steps forward to kill, two steps back and repeat. “Create distance and don’t give them anything to grab onto!” Lee shouts, continuing his efforts before turning his orders to the people in the boats. “Whoever’s at the helm, aim for the coastline, move inland and take refuge in the first neighborhood you find!” Lee exclaims, continuing to put down the horde, which only grows the longer they fight. Finally finding his time to board, Lee takes his place on the ship, changing the course of action for those within his lifeboat. “We go back a few hundred yards!” Lee shouts, “we’ll meet back up with everyone at the neighborhood, I’ve got someone to find first!” Having trusted the man to take them this far, those in control do as ordered, dignifying Lee as their captain for the moment while their ship lowers into the seas. With a deep breath, Lee looks around at the tens of new survivors he had never said a word to prior, now understanding the lack of familiar faces to be his new family as the bottom of their safety net finally touches the surface. | Spilling into the kitchen, Jenn, Jules and Halston pull themselves up and quickly glance around the room for weapons, the section of the ship they find themselves inhabiting being the final with functioning electricity. “Knives, hammers, something sharp, something blunt!” Jenn exclaims, the group rummaging through the drawers and cabinets as the undead take notice of their presence, “anything that can kill one of these creepy dead bastards!” Upon the conclusion of her statement, Jenn retrieves a meat mallet from one of the sinks, taking the spiked end against the skull of one of the undead, the final blow not having been dealt. Glancing back towards the woman, the undead marches forward for a second shot, the fatal blow coming at the blade of the kitchen knife in Halston’s hand. One his lonesome across the room, Jules removes a bottle of wine from one of the coolers and shatters it over the skull of another undead, sticking the jagged end through its eye socket for the final shot. Ready to move, the trio marches through the exit, the restaurant grounds they emerge into filled with a swarm of the undead. “Time for the second plan!” Jenn shouts, leading the trio across the room and into a quartered-off door, allowing them to emerge into a flooded gambling hall. “I’ll take water over the dead right now” Jules exclaims, the first to march forward, leading the trio towards the massive staircase before being grabbed from below. The bright lights flipping on for a split second, Jules spots the undead lurking beneath the surface and quickly stomps away at its skull, splitting its head open and allowing its brains to turn the water red. Reaching out, Jenn fails to take the man by the hands, Jules falling just out of reach into deeper waters. Calling out for the man, Jenn watches Jules fall beneath the surface and fail to reemerge, turning towards Halston and telling her to get back to the surface. “I’m not going without you!” Halston exclaims, Jenn forcing her way through the water and leaping into the flooded pit, diving beneath the surface with her hand held out. Extending her arm, Jenn reaches out for Jules, her hand splashing around beneath the surface for anything to grab onto. Finally catching her fingers on something, Jenn reaches further and takes what lays out of sight to the surface. Emerging from beneath the waters, Jenn pulls Jules to the surface, catching her breath as she looks on in confusion, still pulling what lays below to the surface as Jules fends off the undead a few feet in front of her. Finally emerging, the undead Jenn accidentally led to the surface captures the woman in his view, pushing her back towards the former viewing platform as Halston calls out in desperation. Keeping the corpse as far from her as she can, Jenn keeps a part of her attention of the fight Jules keeps himself alive to pursue, the situation becoming dire as Halston calls out Jenn’s name once more. “The waters aren’t safe!” Jenn shouts, “don’t come past the-!” As she attempts to beacon an order out to her girlfriend, her head is jolted back when the fight in her arms completely fades away. Suddenly, a rebar pipe flies through the skull of the corpse in her arms, its length long enough to split the skull on the reanimated body in Jules’ hands as well, two birds knocked out with one stone in nearly the most literal way plausible. His hand held out, Lou pulls Jenn to the surface, Jules swimming over to what has now become the ledge before being pulled from the waters as well. “You beautiful son of a bitch!” Jules shouts, wrapping his arms around Lou the moment he finds him, expressing his joy that the man didn’t turn out to be dead after all. “There was a time there, y’know?” Lou humors, returning the gesture before suggesting both parties check themselves for bites. “I’m clear” Jenn exclaims, Jules following with the same statement, again pulling Lou into a hug before promising to get him a prosthetic. “You won’t believe how well I’ve done without one” Lou proclaims, turning towards the pool to watch his rebar pipe submerge below, the collection of corpses taking their rightful places at the bottom of the pit. “I liked that pipe, such a shame” Lou mutters to himself, helping Ally stay on her feet and following the trio up the runny staircase. | Finally able to put weight on her leg again, Elsie helps Terry assist Josie through the halls, cramped and dark leading to the light at the end of the tunnel, sunlight appearing through an open hatch just ahead. Ascending the tough climb, the pair finally break into the sunlight once more, the ship tilting to one side as the surface of the cold, unrelenting Pacific becomes visible from deck level. Mostly quiet aside from a few castaways taking on the undead in some heroic final stand, the group races for the opposite end of the ship, avoiding the undead losing their balance and sliding down towards them. After a few minutes, the group reaches out onto whatever structure they can, the water finally reaching the other side of the boat, evening out the flooding and righting the ship, the sinking vessel quickly finding its gravesite to reside off the Pacific Canadian coast. Calling for the group to hurry, Terry marches onward, Elsie volunteering to lead the way, her tomahawk readied to defend. The ship now balanced out once more, the undead flood out from the safety of their hatches quicker, covering the deck and tearing into any unsuspecting survivors they can come across. “We need to get her into the lifeboat right now!” Terry exclaims, noticing the sickly expression on the woman’s face as Elsie buries her bladed weapon into an undead face. Pushing forward, Elsie picks off the undead as they appear, one bad leg unable to keep her from defending those that were there to defend her. Breaching the wall of undead cutting them off, the trio hurry to the very end of the ship, tossing Josie into the boat and standing ready to defend it. “Are you ready?” Terry asks, his knife paired with Elsie’s tomahawk as the woman glances at him. “Were you not just watching?” Elsie asks with a smile, standing to fight by Terry’s side. | Continuing to push, the final set of lights go out in the vessel, engulfing the final hallway towards the surface in an endless sea of pitch black. Forcing their way through waist-high waters, the group suddenly comes to a complete stop, the sound of metal buckling beneath its weight suggesting the ship to be within its final minutes of life. “It’s either now or never” Lou exclaims, continuing to march forward, the sight of daylight only impeded by another wave of the undead. With a sigh, Lou looks around for something to fight with, his pipe submerging beneath the frosty Pacific waters ensuring he’s left defenseless and out-armed. Calling out the man’s name, Jules tosses Lou a steel frying pan, explaining his desire to use it as a shield, but understanding it to be of better use in Lou’s hands as a weapon. “Thank you for the assist, my friend!” Lou exclaims, Ally’s arm draped over his own as the pan rests beside his head, ready to ward off anything thinking this fight will be easy. When the undead make their move, the group makes theirs, establishing a line of defense for Lou to take cover behind, trusting the man to be able to put away their remnants. In defiance, the group continues to fight, marching forward in the name of survival as the undead pool out of their rooms, one after another spilling into the rising water-leveled hallway. Not doing enough on the first shot, Jenn lets one of the undead pass through, Lou taking two shots at it wit the frying pan to fair effect. Leaping off the ground, Lou floats to the surface and places his boot over the corpse’s head, forcing it beneath the surface and popping its skull like a pimple. Another undead passing through with half of its skull caved in, Lou prepares another shot, Ally tripping over the body of the undead prior and falling from the safety of her boyfriend. Glancing back in an effort to catch her before it’s too late, Lou takes his eyes off the undead, hitting it in the face as it lunges its jaw towards him, only to be pressed against the wall for his efforts, hand across the corpse’s throat as the pan floats off from his reach. “How’s it going back there?” Jules calls out, his eyes aimed forward, leaving him clueless to the events unfolding behind him. “Definitely not great!” Lou calls back, trying to shove the undead in such a direction that would afford him leverage to no avail, his body remaining pressed against the wall with no room for error. Grunting as his strength depletes, Lou watches the jaw of the undead inch closer, his head pressing as far back against the wall as he can manage with little hope afforded. Teeth clenched, Lou tilts his head to the side as the undead closes the gap, its teeth inches away from his earlobe until its skull quickly zips out of view with a thud. Cracked across the head with the frying pan, the undead staggers to its feet with its eyes on Ally, wielding Lou’s weapon and reigning down a fatal blow, the side of the pan splitting through the top of the corpse’s skull, the woman finally present enough to hold her own. With a nod, Ally kisses her boyfriend and returns his weapon to him, the pair finally catching up to the group just ahead, the light at the end growing nearer with each undead kill. The final dash to the light ensuing, the group spills out onto the main deck, their fight with the undead still not over as the same remains true for their battle against time, the metal screaming in pain as if to warn those still aboard that the moment is just around the corner. Dashing through the undead, the group marches on their final push, Ally tearing the American flag from the pole it once rested upon, turning the decoration into a makeshift spear. All armed, the group makes the push through the undead, clearing a path that brings them towards the captain’s nest, their sighting bringing a moment of honest relief from Elsie and Terry, who reconvene with the group in the most crucial of times. Filling the boat, the group packs into the vessel one after another, their weapons held safely by their sides as the boat slowly fills, the horde still a fair distance away from them. “Where to?” Jenn asks, Lou pointing towards a visible clearance in the Vancouver skyline. “If we can get there, we’ll be able to get our hands on whatever the scavengers didn’t pick” Lou proclaims, assisting Ally into the boat before taking the first step in himself. Hand pressing the button to lower the ship into the water, Lou pulls his fingers away to ultimately feel them never leave, his eyes glancing up to figure out why before widening in shock. In the same moment he presses the button, Lou’s hand remains shoved against it, his arm ripped back aboard the ship as the boat lowers without him, his group calling out his name as he vanishes over the edge. Staring up in confusion, those deboarding the ship look on at the platform they just departed from, Lou having vanished over the edge, not to return. When the sun from above is cut off by the figure to which is responsible, the group comes to the same conclusion as the man himself, Jenn specifically dropping her jaw as what stands above in triumph smiles down at her, walking away from the platform with its presence known. “You never answered ny question, Lou” the figure explains, turning away from the ledge to stare the one-armed man in the eyes, “I try to make you a star, and you leave me for dead.” Covered from head to toe in the blood and muck of the undead, Matt stands between Lou and the platform for which he has lost out on the final safe ticket off the ship through. “You’re not all there mentally to be trusted in a world like this, Matt” Lou replies, the man staring him down removing a gun from his waistband, trapping him between himself and a wall of the undead. “I’m perfectly there mentally, Lou” Matt replies, Lou silently shaking his head as he backs away from Matt, the distance between himself and the undead closing in. “I tried to make you a king in this world and you completely abandoned me!” Matt exclaims, the barrel of his gun held at Lou’s head while the ship slowly loses its last remaining fight, slowly sinking into the Pacific within its final moments. Nowhere safe other than higher up, Lou eyes the crows nest above, slowly walking onto the steps that lead him to the top as Matt follows after him. “If there’s anyone that isn’t mentally stable enough for this world, it’s people like you” Matt exclaims, “people that can’t see how this world has changed, unwilling to do what it takes to survive.” His head shaking, Lou points his finger towards Matt, the man turning around to fire a bullet at the undead, presenting the facts to Lou that the man he left in the pit has all the chance to blow his head off without question. “Brunskill didn’t want this, that’s why he sunk the ship” Lou explains, Matt cutting the man off before he can lie any further. “Brunskill only found out because your girlfriend wouldn’t stop yapping about you!” Matt explains, “and none of this would have happened had you trusted me!” Ascending the stairs, Lou finally reaches the highest point, walking to the opposite end as Matt hits the final step, the pair both sharing the crows nest, only the spire towering into the sky between them. “That’s still not a good enough answer, Lou” Matt exclaims, “all of this happened because of you, now just tell me why you let all of this happen!” Hand held, Lou pushes himself up against the crows nest, a plummet into the ever-closer ocean an easy leap from his current place. “It would never have worked, Matt!” Lou replies, his hands held out as a sign of surrender, Matt looking on, devastated. “I told you it would work” Matt replies, his hand shaking as the gun wavers in the air, Lou’s fate resting in the balance of an insane gunman as the ship sinks into the sea. “I told you that you could trust me, that you could believe in me!” Matt exclaims, Lou’s eyes staring at the ocean as it inches closer, the deck of the ship plummeting into the cold waters, “you didn’t believe in me.” His eyes falling, Matt’s disappointment takes over, Lou watching on at the man’s face, his expression changing in real time. The sadness suddenly turning into rage, Matt takes his eyes away from the platform and returns them to Lou, his hand calming and the gun steadying. “You didn’t believe in me…” Matt exclaims, finger moving itself from the grip of the gun to the trigger, Lou noticing the change and taking his chance. Pressing his hand against the spire, Lou shoves the metal tube down, prompting Matt to duck out of the way of the falling object, buying the man his moment. Leaping onto the bannister, Lou propels himself through the air, plummeting through the skies as Matt watches on from above, the platform he stands upon quickly sinking into the frosty, Canadian-coastal waters. With a deep breath, Lou closes his eyes and braces, breaking through the surface and disappearing beneath the waves. From above, Matt tucks his firearm into his waistband and leans over the railing, the mob of the undead beneath him still awaiting his return, Matt watching the surface come closer with a scowl. “You’re going to believe, Lou” Matt mutters to himself, watching the bulkhead, deck and horde vanish beneath the waves before taking in a breath, the crowsnest vanishing beneath the waves further and further before the platform meets the same fate, Matt nonchalantly entering the icy waters. | Breathing into the hand he holds in front of his face, Lou rests on the Canadian beach beneath a fading skylight, the sands void of life, either living or dead. Dropping from his side to his back, Lou stares off at the darkening skies above, the only sound he’s left to endure being the waves crashing upon the coastline. Glancing out at sea, Lou stares at the absence of the ship from the waters, few pieces of debris left behind, floating where boats once did. Pushing himself to his knees, Lou stares around at his surroundings, a lack of life in total awaiting for him in that very moment. Unfamiliar with such a sight, Lou forces himself to his feet and takes another look around, an empty beach feeling the early effects of the start of a high tide. Completely alone, Lou is left in isolation, only the wet sands to greet him, scattered debris lining the end of the sand and the start of the sea. Stumbling through the sand, Lou finds a grassy hill to climb up, his fingers digging into the dirt as he forces his way above. Rolling onto his knees, Lou pushes himself to his feet once more, looking around at the sights that await him on the other end. No living, no dead, no undead, just a set of empty streets, a roadside of shacks and storefronts set before a larger, more metropolitan landscape of towering skyscrapers and abandoned city life. Vehicles lining the streets, Lou navigates the surroundings of tables and chairs thrown about, the sights of a city up and vacated practically in the middle of the night left to be found. Holding his ribs, Lou continues walking forward, his feet finally touching down on the asphalt of relatively freshly-paved roads, its one pathway leading into a city left for Lou to explore. Formerly unaware of the outcome the general public was left to once everything fell apart, Lou sees it all in one swift moment, everything hitting him all at once. The sights he once knew left desolate, completely and totally deserted, empty to the most unusual degree. His eyes wandering through the scenery, Lou brushes off the welcoming sign stationed at the street corner, more interested in figuring out where to go from here than the flimsy welcome. Now in completely foreign territory in the most literal of ways,, Lou mockingly thanks the sign for welcoming him to Vancouver Island, his new home now seemingly presenting itself as the forefront of Canada’s western-most coast. Completely empty, the daylight continues dying out on the eventful day, leaving Lou to walk aimlessly through the Vancouver Island streets beneath the warm, orange glow of the sunset sky, forced to search for his identity once more. == RISE and REVOLT ==
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Using the strength he has left to push himself up, Brunskill winces at every move, feeling the sharp, jagged pains increase the harder he fights. Finally able to rest upon his chair, the man takes the moment to catch his breath, glancing out at the sights before the boat as he struggles to take in air. Multiple ribs broken, the pain skyrockets as Brunskill leans in, looking out ahead of the ship to the landmass appearing over the horizon.
“Shit” the man mutters to himself, spinning his chair around and beginning the long journey to the door. Collapsing to his knees, Brunskill drags himself to the paneled divider, using the handle to get himself stood up before using his broken body to rip the exit open, collapsing backwards as he does. Suddenly, the cool summer air begins wafting over his face, the sensation of the sweat dripping from his brow disappearing in one, cold moment. A new rush of adrenaline, Brunskill rolls himself back onto his knees and stumbles out of the cabin, his arms draped over the bannister as he collides with the railing just beyond the doorway. Glancing below, Brunskill watches the ship operate as normal, the events of the past number of days making such a thing feel like an abnormality. With a grunt, Brunskill pulls himself to the stairs, the man throwing himself down the flight almost as soon as he reaches them. Some catching onto the sight and knowing who the man is, a small crowd hurries over to the captain, the man refusing assistance, and instead, offering advice. “Get everyone... you know off this... ship... right now” Brunskill explains, taking one woman by the shoulder and telling her to get her family to safety before the time comes. Brushed away, the crowd leaves Brunskill to his quest, hurrying off to prepare for the worst as the man hurries into the depths of the ship. Continuing deeper into the vessel, Brunskill overhears the sound of fumbling footsteps, forcing himself into cover to avoid detection. Head tilted up in preparation for his final breaths, Brunskill closes his eyes, wincing in pain more while the footsteps grow closer. “We’re gonna find her!” a voice calls out, forcing the captain’s eyes open, the familiar tone easing his tension for the moment. “Lou?” Brunskill calls out, the footsteps coming to a quick stop before hurrying in the man’s direction, his body keeping him from saying much else. Within seconds, Lou races to Brunskill’s side, Lee and Jenn asking how any of this happened. “You need to stop, Matt” Brunskill exclaims, Lou smiling towards the man as he assures him that such business has already been taken care of. Disappointed at what it had to come to, Brunskill lets out a smile of relief, the pain subsiding in the moment he comes to realize that the trauma has come to an end. “Was it quick?” Brunskill asks, the question resonating like rash breaths through worry and suffering. Lifting the man’s blood-soaked white t-shirt, Lou admits that it was anything but. “We locked him in the pit he made” Lou exclaims, “may not have been quick, but it was ironic to say the least.” Sucking in another breath as best as he can, Brunskill looks towards the sky, apologizing to Matt’s spirit for having let it come this far. “You couldn’t have known, Captain” Lou explains, “Matt wasn’t all there… He took things too far, that wasn’t on you.” Letting the breath he took in escape his lungs, Brunskill admits that things don’t get better despite that fact. “I still let it happen… by holing myself up… and letting him run it all… on his own” Brunskill explains, looking Lou in the eyes and making it clear that the truth is that he failed as a captain. His head shaking, Lou informs Brunskill that he refuses to believe such a thing, the look on his face no longer showing attention to the conversation, but rather to the extent of Brunskill’s injuries. “I’m not a doctor by any means, but none of this looks good” Lou admits, eyes travelling down the length of the man’s abdomen, ribcage a dark purple and breaths hard to come by. “Captain, I don’t think this is going to end well” Lou exclaims, his hand letting go of the man’s shirt, moving its way to his side until Brunskill suddenly catches his arm mid-descent. “You can’t put me out just yet” Brunskill explains, desperately keeping Lou from thinking about such a thing, “I still need to hold up my end of the bargain.” Confused, Lou looks at the captain with curious eyes, Brunskill admitting that he told Ally he wanted something done, and he now needed to do it. “There’s only one way to put an end to everything on this ship” Brunskill explains, “and if I’m not gonna make it off this thing, I’ll volunteer to take it down.” Mouth agape, Lou looks towards the captain with confusion, asking the man to explain in more specific detail what he means by such statements. “This boat cannot be allowed to port in Vancouver with all that’s happened” Brunskill explains, forcing himself up by dragging his back along the cold, remorseless metal walls. “You need to get your people off this ship” Brunskill explains, folding Lou’s hand over a key to the lifeboats, “I’ll take care of the guards.” In an act of reverence for the group having delivered such truth to him, Brunskill forces his weight further towards the darkest depths of the ship. “You all need to go now” Brunskill exclaims, nearly vanishing down a staircase as Lou calls back out for him. “Where is everyone else?” Lou asks, Brunskill explaining how to get to the holding cells from their position. “I’ve given them... a leg up, so they might... already be out by now” Brunskill explains, “if so… Well, they’re your people… They’d have some sort of… tricks up their sleeves.” With a blood-covered, missing-teeth smile, Brunskill descends from the view of the trio for the final time, preparing his own grave for the best interest of the ship. “To holding?” Jenn asks, Lou watching the man walk off before turning around and refusing. “Not you… Just me” Lou replies, Jenn and Lee left watching the man as he tells them to get everything else situated for departure. Tossing Lee the key, Lou tells the pair to look out for anyone in the event they had escaped. “I have to do this on my own” Lou explains, “I’m going right from holding to the captain’s nest, meet me there before we line up with Vancouver.” With a deep breath, Lou takes the hallway towards the holding cells before Jenn calls back out, prompting the man to turn around without a second thought. Without the words to adequately describe what she wants to say, Jenn walks up to Lou and pulls him in for a hug, the man responding in kind as Jenn voices her wishes that they will meet again. “I have a hard time thinking this is the last we’ll see of each other” Lou explains, shaking Lee’s hand before going on his way. As the man vanishes around the corner, Jenn and Lee are left in the corridor, the pair glancing towards each other as the focus becomes returning to the main deck. Now on his own, Lou marches onwards with his rebar pipe in tow, eyes narrow as tunnel vision takes over, only one destination in mind, and prepared to make anyone that happens to step in his way a non-issue. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = “Word is starting to spread about something” Theo exclaims, he and Halston unable to avoid talking about the quickened frenzy of residents suddenly becoming paranoid survivalists. “Whatever’s got them spooked, at least it’s another thing to keep the guards off our backs” Halston explains, taking the course pointed out to her by Theo as more residents continue to scramble out from their rooms with large suitcases in hand. Checking down each hallway as if they were children looking both ways before walking into traffic, Halston and Theo swarm their way into the crowded center of the ship. Suddenly, the few families hurrying by their sides turns into a mob of people all demanding they be allowed to deboard at the next exit. Forced to deal with the mass populous, the guards begin to realize how big the meal on their plates have become, Halston and Theo slipping between the crowd unnoticed as a result. “Why are you doing this?” Halston asks, Theo left confused by the question, the pair continuing to sneak their way through the sea as a few eyes take interest in their adjusted course. “Check those two out, Harris” one of the men stationed at the head of the mob calls out, pointing to the pair of residents sneaking through the center in a casual line. “I think we’ve got eyes on the convicts, Drew” Harris exclaims, his words shooting the eyes of the man on the other end of the radio wide open. “Don’t let them out of your sights!” Drew orders, continuing to look around every corner of the ship in search of Matt. “Matt, we’ve got a horde at the front gates!” Harris responds, “we move an inch and we’ll be taken over by the mob.” Refusing to acknowledge the severity of the situation, Drew downplays the issue, demanding Harris do as ordered or face charges for his inaction. His eyes rolling, Harris severs communication by powering off the radio, hurrying off of his platform and beginning to fight through the angered public in search of the criminal pair. “I think we’ve got one on our tail” Halston calls out, the change in the mob’s attitude suggesting a shift in the guards’ focus. “If we’re on limited time, let’s stir it all up while we can!” Theo exclaims, reaching across the woman and pulling the fire alarm, sending a beacon shooting through the air waves. “I fail to see what that was for” Halston replies, Theo laughing before telling Halston to start practicing situational awareness while she can. “Create a disruption loud enough for the guards not to hear orders on the first command” Theo explains, “it may be a few seconds, but we buy our time making the guards repeat themselves.” With a nod, Halston ducks behind cover upon their destination, Theo taking the crowbar to the floorboards and ripping up the already splintered wood. Glancing in each direction, Halston keeps an eye out on the pair’s behalf, looking out for imminent danger until a different sight captures their eyes. Calling for the man, Halston tells him to hurry his efforts as he finally retrieves the hidden sack of wagers, running after Halston as she takes her chance to march on. “Halston, what are you-” Theo exclaims, chasing after the woman before finally stumbling upon the same sight, calling out those before them. In surprise, Jenn and Lee turn around to find the familiar faces awaiting them, the blonde rushing off from Lee’s side and into Halston’s arms, the tensions of the crowd blocked out in the moment it takes for them to reunite. “What the hell happened after I left?” Jenn asks, Theo cutting the celebration short by reminding the foursome of the limited time they have to work with. Keeping the warm welcomes for another time, the new group rush off into the ship, Harris chasing after the pair from a distance. Before he can uncover the identities of the new pair joining them, Harris eyes the white sack in Theo’s hand, immediately turning his radio back on to announce his findings. “We’ve got the wagers in sight!” Harris exclaims, Drew left on the other end with wide eyes, demanding the entire fleet of guards switch their focus. “Let them all jump off the side of the boat for all I care!” Drew exclaims when reminded of the public, “get that bag even if you have to die for it!” His own intentions changed, Drew hurries away from the pit, a sea of the undead aimlessly roaming on, nowhere to go and no one to attack, the bannister along the viewing platform broken on the east wing. | Head resting against the cold metal bars, Ally awaits her fate to arrive as Terry’s first victim reanimates before her eyes. The figure, metal hinge still protruding from its neck, begins growling as it sits up, noticing Ally’s sickly demeanor and moving after it. It’s teeth clattering together, the undead drags itself to Ally’s cell, the woman staring the monster in the eyes as it presses its jaw between the bars, trying to get its teeth within the closest inch of her. Woozy and partially unaware of where she is anymore, Ally remains slumped against the cell, staring into the eyes of the reanimated corpse, blank lifelessness the only thing hidden behind pearly white pupils. “You’re not so scary” Ally responds to the undead’s efforts, her words slurred like a woman just waking from a drunken stooper as she propels herself forward. “You’re just a big, dumb corpse” Ally says to the monster, still knawing away at the air in hopes of the woman coming closer. “We all die eventually, little guy” Ally exclaims, taking a seat on her knees beside the cell door, staring the corpse in the eyes, “the only difference between you and I is that you died first.” Hands on her knees, Ally continues staring into the undead’s eyes, repeating the last line over and over again as the undead growls louder, the woman holding her face closer and closer to its eyes. “What are you thinking up there, dude?” Ally asks the corpse, her fingers wrapping around the bridge of its nose and holding it closer, “what am I in for?” Leaning in, Ally’s nose comes within an inch of the undead’s teeth, her eyes staring into those of the corpse’s as she begins to flutter in and out of consciousness. “What am I in for?” Ally asks herself, the words aimed at the undead, but the question truly left for the fate she faces to determine. Feet shuffling, Ally refuses to mind the noise, repeating her question as she finally loses her ability to stay awake, falling forward just as the undead’s head welcomes a rebar pipe in its skull. Pulling the corpse away, Lou watches Ally’s head fall into the cell bars, the woman completely unconscious and awaiting her fate to determine what comes next. “Where are the keys?” Lou asks the woman, her eyes flickering open for a moment as she musters the strength to point towards the window behind the man. Desperate, Lou holds his head out of the window, seeing nothing but the cold, Pacific waves awaiting him below. With a sigh, Lou walks back to the undead corpse and rips the metal latch from his neck, slamming the flimsy weapon against the porthole rim and snapping the piece in two. Pulling a few small metal rods from the one deadly weapon, Lou begins inserting them into the lock, one at a time to no avail. “I’m gonna die here” Ally mutters to herself, Lou holding back tears as he rests his hand upon her face. “You’re not gonna die here, honey” Lou explains, Ally’s eyes allowing tears to fall without issue, the droplets hitting the ground whilst the woman smiles. “I found you” Ally whispers, her hands resting on the man’s cheek as he responds in the same, Lou confirming her statements, managing a whimper of “yes, you did” to the woman he is helpless to free. “I did” Ally whimpers back, the pair pressing their foreheads together as they come to accept the truth that stares them in the face, no longer able to deny the unavoidable truth. | Descending further into the madness of the doomed vessel, Elsie, Josie and Terry rush against time, passing the holding cells to see Lou and Ally left sat, patiently awaiting the end. “Holy shit!” Terry exclaims, Lou staring at the man in complete surprise, his friend running into the room and pulling Lou into a bear hug. “bro, how the fuck did you live!?” Terry exclaims, “I thought you were gonna bleed out!” “I have no idea, I just woke up and didn’t ask questions” Lou exclaims, his sadness finally allowed to co-exist with something resembling happiness, finally reunited with those he knows are alright. “What are you guys doing down here, aren’t you getting off the ship?” Lou asks, Terry explaining that while everyone else made it out, they knew they needed to do something drastic. “There’s no way they let us off this boat, and there’s no way we live a few hours in the water” Terry explains, “if we can make a frenzy, our best chance is to blend in with the crowd at the lifeboats.” Glancing between Terry and the two women behind him, Lou begins to notice the device in the pairs hands, glancing back to Terry, who is left nodding, confirming the man’s suspicions. “We’re gonna rip this thing open and bury it out at sea” Terry explains, “there’s no other way off this thing otherwise.” With a deep breath, Lou explains that Brunskill’s preparing something drastic, ultimately supporting the decision to sink the ship. An anxious silence falling over the group, Lou cuts the tension with his version of a hot knife, explaining that the crowd should be used as a distraction. “Jenn and Lee are out looking for the rest of you right now” Lou explains, “they’ve got a key to the captain’s lifeboat… Fully automotive, it’ll take you right to the coast.” Hurrying up to Ally’s cell, Josie tries her hand at picking the lock, Lou admitting that a miracle wouldn’t have been performed regardless of how many hands he had. “Fuck!” Terry exclaims, “I lost the filling we used to pick it up on the main deck!’ Pressing his hand against his head, Terry tells Lou that they may have a chance to force the doors open. “If we get enough force close to the lock, we may be able to force the doors open” Terry exclaims, “go a few floors down, line it up properly and the rest is history.” With a smile, Lou pats the man on the shoulder, telling him that such longshots don’t just happen in the world anymore. “Miracles aren’t gonna save us this time” Lou explains, Terry looking at the man with grief, Lou left to admit to what comes next. “I’m not gonna get Ally out of this one” Lou explains, Terry looking the man in the eyes, “and I’m not letting her go out alone.” Lip quivering, Terry tells the man that something else can be done, ultimately for his suggestion to be shot down, Lou refusing to hold him back any longer. “You get our people off this boat and you get them to safety, okay?” Lou asks, Terry pleading with the man to rethink his decision, Lou refusing to do such a thing. “This is it for me” Lou explains, Elsie and Josie left with little understanding of Lou like Terry does, but ultimately feeling the pain of a man they know to mean so much to many others. “I need you and everyone else to keep fighting” Lou explains, holding Terry’s head up to him, “keep going forward.” Continuing to shake his head, Terry refuses to give up, reminding the man of everything they’ve fought through just to make it here. “Survived two outbreaks at the school, your arm being ripped off, a gang of dipshits and now all of this!” Terry exclaims, “you can’t stand there and tell me that, after all of that, this is how it ends.” With a smile, Lou takes a step back, one step turning into multiple as he backs against the cell door, Ally’s hand taking his into her own. “I’m gonna die today, Terry” Lou explains, “and that’s alright as long as all of you make it out.” His head shaking, Terry is left without words, Lou telling him go on and keep moving forward, Elsie and Josie left hanging their heads, nothing to do other than what they’re told, a hesitant Terry walking towards the door with his head hung. Glancing back, Terry watches Lou slides down against the cell doors to sit beside Ally, the couple, from opposite sides of the cell, giving Terry a smile as the man looks back. With a nod, Terry drops his head again, leaving the pair behind with a broken heart, Lou resting his head against the cell as Ally rests her chin on his shoulder, the pair staring out at the window to enjoy what is to be their final moments. | “Stop right there!” Harris shouts, the crowd he aims his gun at including Jenn, Lee, Halston and a runaway Theo. “Give me the bag and we wont have problems here” Harris shouts, Theo the first of his group to turn around, his eyes staring into the face of the man incredibly interested in the property he holds. “If we’re gonna have problems, you should probably make sure you don’t shoot the wrong person” Theo exclaims, Jenn, Halston and Lee all presenting bags of their own. “From my perspective, if you shoot one of us, you’re left with three more” Theo explains, slowly taking a few steps back, “and if we split into three directions, you’ll have to make the kind of gamble that made these things possible.” Hands shaking as the crowd around the area grows silent, Harris demands the person with the correct bag in their possession suggest so now, events unfolding as suspected with none of the four presenting their hands. “I’m not fucking around right now” Harris explains, pulling the hammer on his weapon back before taking aim at Jenn. “One of you fess up or I’m gonna-” Harris shouts, immediately collapsing before his statement can be finalized as Jules bludgeons him in the top of the skull with a table leg. Ears ringing, Harris’ jaw drops completely, the crowd beginning to yell in horror as the man slinks around, watching Jules reign down the final, fatal blow. Stepping over the man’s corpse, Jules suggests company to be appearing soon, a fleet of guards demanding the group stop almost immediately after the statement is made. “Go!” Jules shouts, the group ducking behind whatever cover they can manage as bullets begin flying, Theo leading the way with the bag in his hand, held high and in sight. Before long, the group reaches the captain’s nest, cornered by the guards as they finally catch up. “You’ve got nowhere to go!” Drew shouts, ready to fire upon the entire group if that’s what it takes, Jenn, Lee and Halston joining Theo at the back of the group, hidden behind a wall of their fellow survivors until Theo talks them down. “If you’re looking for your little bag of bets, they’re in my hand” Theo exclaims, Drew taking one hand off of his weapon and stretching it out, telling Theo to deliver them back to their rightful owner. “Brave of you to take such a stand” Drew exclaims, “now give us back what doesn’t belong to you.” With a smile, Theo corrects the man, explaining that none of this is intended to be an act of bravery. “All of you are deprived and sick, I’m just making sure you don’t target my friends” Theo exclaims, raising his foot up to the bulkhead and lifting himself higher than the rest. “Get down from there, kid! Don’t make shoot you!” Drew shouts, second hand placed back upon the gun as it wavers in the air, one eye closed as the second holds an aim at Theo. “You won’t do that, because then what you want falls overboard with me” Theo exclaims, his second hand holding onto the line as he guides himself upon the bowsprit. “You see, what we’re doing here is taking part in a stalemate” Theo exclaims, “there are only two ways out of this… I think you’re gonna have to figure out which you’d rather take.” Taking it upon himself to play the hero, Theo takes charge the way he had prior to meeting with Lou’s group, using his environment to his advantage and pulling all others into his territory. “You’re either gonna shoot me, kill me and lose everything” Theo explains, “or you’re gonna do as I say and hope that I keep my word when I say I’ll give you all of these back.” Biting into his lip, Drew tells Theo to stop playing games and start treating this with the severity that it requires. “Oh, trust me… I’m doing everything that I need to!” Theo exclaims, stepping farther out on the bowsprit before declaring his first order of business. “First thing you’re gonna do is order your men to stand down and leave” Theo explains, a smile coming over Drew’s face as the man becomes helpless to do anything other than laugh. “How is that going to help you in any way?” Drew asks, Theo’s smile fading as his head begins to shake, hair flowing with the wind as he responds. “It’s not” Theo explains, looking over to the group he left aboard the ship, “it’s gonna help them.” Eyes narrowed, Jenn begins to realize with the group what has begun unfolding before them, Theo left on a ledge with nowhere to go but overboard, all in order to give them a chance to live. Hesitant, Drew makes the decision Matt demanded he make, ordering his men down and suggesting they return to the crowd. Unmoved at first, the guards stand with their guns drawn until Drew repeats the command, the loss of Matt becoming more public turning Drew into their leader figure. As told, the men stand down, returning their guns to their hips and slowly walking off, leaving Drew with his gun pointed at a helpless Theo, and an entire group of capable survivors eyeing him down. “I don’t see this ending well for you, so quit while you’re ahead and stop making me mad” Drew exclaims, “I want that bag in my hands right now or I’ll shoot.” His head hung, Theo gives in, slowly walking forward with the bag held out, telling Drew to step onto the bulkhead with his gun by his side. “I’m real glad things could work out this way, Drew” Theo explains, the man before him silently reaching out for the bag as quickly as possible, “I almost thought they were gonna be longer.” “Who?” Drew asks, his question more or less for show, not paying much attention to the man’s words until he pulls the bag back into his chest. “Did you think this was the whole plan?” Theo asks, Drew looking up at him in confusion. Glancing back at the group, Theo signals for the man to do the same, raising the question that never crossed Drew’s mind to ask. “Don’t you remember there being more of us?” Theo asks, Drew glancing back towards Theo in shock. “What are you doing?” Drew asks, Theo tossing the bag to the man without care before staring out at the sea. Suddenly, Theo looks down at Drew, who wraps his hands around the bag in relief whilst staring up at Theo in paranoia. “I bought us time” Theo replies, “I got us a way out.” Within seconds, the ship shakes, a sudden explosion bursting a hole into the ships starboard, the explosion rocking the ship to the side, forcing Theo to hold onto the cables for dear life. “The bag didn’t matter, Drew” Theo explains, Drew looking back at the man in awe and drawing his gun before Theo makes his dying statement, “it was never going to.” Despite a desperation shout to call the man off, Drew fires his weapon at Theo, the man toppling over the cables and falling from the ship, crashing into the cold water with a vicious splash, leaving behind the aftermath. In a frenzy, Drew turns towards the group with his gun raised, demanding they not move as he calls out for the guards. As if he were a beacon in the night, the guards rush to Drew’s aid until a hatch from the stairwell bursts open, revealing the innards of the ship to the surface. Stunned by the sound, Drew leaps back, falling into the awaiting arms of Lee, who holds Drew in a choke hold as the figure having opened said hatch walks onto the deck. A lack of air turning his face purple, Brunskill emerges from the tunnel, Lee looking on in shock until another sound overtakes the surprise. Following after the man, the horde once locked away now ascends to the deck after him, Brunskill firing a gun at the guards as they hurry to close the hatch. Staggering forward in a manner similar to that of the undead behind him, Brunskill stares down Drew, a horrified group of guards left shooting at the horde as it spills into the ship. “Give ‘em to me!” Brunskill shouts with his dying breath, Lee unravelling his arms as Jenn removes the firearm from Drew’s hand, the guard kicked by Lee into the embrace of Brunskill. Nothing more to do other than watch, Lee sees Drew stare at him from within Brunskill’s arms, eyes widened as if to tell Lee that he was responsible for what comes next. Ready for what comes next, Brunskill pulls Drew back in the sleeperhold, yanking the man into the horde and allowing it to tear them both to pieces in a poetic act of murder-suicide. “We’ve gotta go!” Jenn shouts, Halston reminding her that they still have people aboard the ship they have to wait for. All eyes on her, Jenn is presented with the decision of her own, Halston looking at her as if to ask they leave no one else behind. “Then we go after them ourselves!” Jenn shouts, the only key to the captain’s lifeboat in their possession, their ride able to wait for them until matters have been taken care of. As they have become accustomed to, the group rushes into the hostile ship, crowds screaming in horror as the undead are unleashed upon them. In the matter of moments, the halls of the S.S Euronam go from the control of the corrupt to the control of the undead, its current voyage set to be its last. == RISE and REVOLT == “Don’t force my hand into this, Hane” Matt exclaims, his hands and knees doing what they can to drag the man away from the imposing man hell bent on ending the cycle of suffering. “You do not match up with me in any way, Matthew” Brunskill replies, unbuttoning his captain’s shirt and tossing it over his chair, nothing more than a plain white t-shirt covering his bare chest, “I don’t think you have much of a say in the matter.”
Ready to do what he deems necessary with his bare hands, Brunskill pulls Matt to his feet and shoves him into the wall, Matt continuing to make an attempt at talking his way out of dire measures. Breathing heavily through his teeth, Brunskill stares Matt down, eyes practically bulging out from his skull while the blood continues to run down his victim’s face. “We could have done things differently, we could have had it all!” Matt exclaims, the lack of response from Brunskill’s lips made up for in the contact his fist makes against Matt’s face. Struck with the force of a body builder, Matt goes limp for a moment, his shirt still kept in the clutches of Brunskill, who returns the overpowered youngster to the wall, watching him smile despite the beating he has and will continue to take. “You never saw the world for what it needed to be, Hane” Matt explains, “it is evolving for a reason… We were supposed to be the ones that took advantage of it!” His head shaking in disappointment, Brunskill admits that he used to have so much hope for Matt. With another punch, Brunskill throws Matt back against the wall for a third time, watching the pleasure the man takes in the abuse, feeling it all to be worth it to stand by his strongest of beliefs. “When the world gave us metal, we made machines” Matt explains, “and when it gave us machines, we made industries. Redefined what trade was meant to be.” Wiping his nose, Brunskill asks Matt what he truly takes all of this change to mean. “I don’t want any of this pyramid scheme bullshit, I want statements” Brunskill explains, “tell me how this is meant to be capitalized on.” Spitting a string of blood from his mouth, Matt turns back to Brunskill with a bloody smile, telling him that man that no explanation is necessary. “You either see it or you don’t… There’s no middle ground” Matt replies, “everything that happens in the world is meant to be capitalized on. You either do or you don’t.” Disgusted, Brunskill shakes his head, suggesting Matt to be too sick to be trusted with what’s left fighting for its survival before dropping him with another strike. Relinquished from Brunskill’s possession, Matt is allowed to collapse to the floor, the man having beaten him now slowly walking over to the fire extinguisher in the corner of the room. Ashamed of himself, Brunskill takes the weapon into his hands, understanding what he needs to do in order to put an end to the suffering aboard the ship. “I wish you hadn’t made me do this” Brunskill says, taking in a deep breath before turning back to the wounded Matthew. “I’m sorry, but you can’t be here any more” Brunskill exclaims, Matt gasping for breath with a smile as his killer inches closer, “you’re only going to hurt more people, and I can’t let you do that.” With a nod, Matt does as he feels best, lifting himself to his knees and bowing his head, preparing to meet the maker that brought him upon the world. Swallowing his pride, Brunskill resorts to the darkest depths of his mind, preparing to carry out an execution. Hoisting the extinguisher over his head, Brunskill keeps his eyes on Matt, the man beneath him looking up, maintaining eye contact as Brunskill stands there. “Can’t do it, can you?” Matt asks, face still bloodied and red from the beating, watching Brunskill fight within himself to carry out what he knows must be done. With another nod, Matt swiftly takes advantage of Brunskill’s inaction, delivering an elbow to Brunskill’s inner knee before knocking the weapon from the captain’s hands. Despite the pain coursing through his body, Matt fights to live another day, countering the physical response from Brunskill with a few well placed punches of his own. Upon the seventh shot, Brunskill goes down, his back plastered across the cold and bloody ground of his quarters, opening the opportunity for Matt to retrieve what would have been the cause of his demise. Knowing what little chance he has when faced with the fire extinguisher, Brunskill throws himself to his feet and tackles Matt into the wheel, redirecting the ship once more. Still stronger when in hand to hand combat, Brunskill uses his body weight to hold Matt down, knees pressed against the inside of his elbows as he rains down one punch after another. “You can’t be here any more!” Brunskill shouts, ready to kill Matt with his bare hands alone. Lifting his hand into the air for the sixth time, Brunskill finds himself suddenly in a great deal of pain, Matt’s knee having been able to lift high enough to hit Brunskill below the belt. “You gotta be better than that Hane!” Matt exclaims, spitting out the few teeth knocked from their place in his mouth before delivering a headbutt to the man’s orbital bone and crawling over to the bright red beacon of death. Fire extinguisher in hand, Matt pulls himself to his feet and drags the weapon along the ground, finally finding the might to level Brunskill with it the moment he tries to return to his feet. “Not such a big guy now, are you?” Matt asks, properly standing tall over Brunskill as the man tries to ascend to his feet again. Pushing himself up by the wall, Brunskill stands against it to catch his breath before it’s taken from him again, Matt shattering his ribs with extinguisher in an instant. “How does it feel, Hane?” Matt asks, Brunskill angering Matt by going unresponsive, crumpled over with his arms over his ribcage, “I said how does it feel!?” Pulling Brunskill by the hair, Matt bounces his head off the window before delivering a second shot to the man’s ribs, this time watching Brunskill collapse before hitting him a in the back for a second time. Gasping for air, Brunskill lays motionless in the corner of the quarters as the extinguisher drops from Matt’s hands. “We should have had it all, Hane” Matt replies in disappointment, walking away from the man and leaving him to die, pushing his way through the door and walking off. Without remorse, nor care, Matt turns the lights off and closes the door, walking off to whatever comes next. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = “What do you guys think happened to our parents?” Ally asks, the remainder of her group diligently trying to force their way out of captivity while her concussion only gets worse. “Ally, we’re gonna need some quiet right now” Jules exclaims, Terry growing more frustrated with each failed attempt. “Let me try” Halston exclaims, taking over the efforts for the man while Terry walks off, slamming his fist against the wall. “You’re gonna get free” Ally explains, Terry silently pressing his head against the wall as the woman continues encouraging him, “you’re not gonna die like this.” Appreciative of the sentiment, Terry smiles, Theo on the other hand, preserving Ally’s hope where she fails to. “It’s not just us that are gonna make it out of this, it’s gonna be you too” Theo explains, the woman pleading with those she’s faced it all with not to put all of their hope in a pointless plan. “If push comes to shove, leave me behind” Ally replies, “I’ll just slow you down, and they’ll catch us all… If that happens, we all die anyway.” Refusing, Theo presses himself against the metal bars, assuring the woman that they can all make it out alive. “Halston’s pretty good at this stuff, we’ll be out of here soon” Theo exclaims, Terry jokingly telling him to ‘fuck off’ before he can finish the second half of his sentence. “We’ve still got our people out there right now, we’ve got allies on this ship” Theo explains, “and when it comes down to it… I have something they want.” Finally taking his skull away from the wall, Terry turns towards Theo, asking if he’s found something to do with the notes. “If they wanted them when they took us in, they’ll want them again” Theo explains, “if they haven’t found them yet… I can buy you guys time at the least.” “What do you mean ‘buy us time’?” Halston asks, pressing one of the fillers between her teeth as she works with the first alone. “I’m saying that I’m willing to bite a few bullets if it means you guys get off this thing and head for land” Theo replies, “lead them on a goose chase while you guys head for the exits.” “We’re not leaving you behind either” Jules replies, Terry doubling down on Jules’ statement. “You may be an annoying motherfucker, but we’re not leaving you here to die” Terry explains, “so let’s start figuring out where to go with plan C.” Before another voice can be heard, the clicking of the inner mechanisms of their prison bars rattle through the room, the door opening with ease as freedom elicits a quick response. Turning to Ally’s cage, the group begins to hurry up the pace, the woman’s hope returning for a mere moment until dread begins kicking in. Despite the heavy effects of the concussion, Ally glances back and forth between the lock and the door, knowing that the success of one or the other is the difference between a shot at life, and being shot to death. Minutes pass and the cell door remains locked Ally’s hope finally escaping for the final time as the main door begins to spin unlocked, the mechanisms adjusting in such a way that grants access to the dark secret contained within. Taking their cue, the group deviates from the strategy, readying their weapons as the opening finally moves in, a familiar face and her friend emerging from the other side. “Stand back, bro!” Terry shouts, almost too thrilled to finally find himself with a chance to take on those responsible for locking him up, his excitement remaining for a different reason when Elsie and Josie emerge. “Oh thank fucking god!” Terry exclaims, not caring over how little he still knows about the girl, instead wrapping his arms around the pair and thanking the powers that be for offering them familiar faces. “Did the guards do this?” Elsie proceeds, her question answer by Halston as she returns to the lock continuing to keep Ally restrained. “We’re gonna need somethi-” Elsie begins, her words stopped at the sound of unfamiliar footsteps leading their way towards holding. “Stand back, I want these clowns for myself” Terry exclaims, a metal latch from one of the cabinets at the back of the room held in his hands. “Surprise motherfucker!” Terry shouts without concern, driving the sharpened metal end into the throat of Luke, yet another guard falling at the hands of their group. “Payback’s a bitch!” Terry exclaims, his enthusiastic shout immediately turning sour when the radio on Luke’s person reactivates. “Luke, what’s going on in there?” the voice on the other end calls out, Terry removing the radio and throwing it out of the window. “He must have had the thing on just in case” Halston exclaims, speeding up her efforts as the group begins to realize that they’ve been discovered. “You guys need to go right now” Ally exclaims, pushing herself towards the cell door as Halston refuses to do any such thing. “Does he have any keys on him?” Jules asks, Terry unable to come up with anything inspiring from his search. “Not a thing” Terry replies, disappointment beginning to overwhelm him as the rest of the group begins understanding what they need to do. Though understanding what is necessary, Halston refuses to do what’s necessary, continuing to diligently work away at the inner locks against Ally’s demands. Stubbornly refusing to allow Halston to die for nothing, Ally lunges towards the door and shoves Halston away, placing her hands over the key hole and blocking it. “You need to go right now, Halston!” Ally exclaims, the woman pulling herself back up and trying to pry Ally’s hands away from the lock. “We are not leaving you to die down here!” Halston exclaims, continuing to unsuccessfully gain any traction on removing the woman’s hands. “Halston, you need to go… I’m not letting up on this” Ally replies, continuing to stand her ground, even whilst Halston gives into biting her fingers to remove them. With a free hand, Ally takes Halston by the face and shoves her back, demanding she go. Ready to do it all over again, Halston picks herself up and marches right back, Terry’s arms wrapping around the woman before she can go for round three. “Let go of me, Terry!” Halston shouts, the man telling the woman that they don’t have any more time. “We tried, but we failed!” Terry exclaims, “you either die down here for Ally, or help us find Jenn.” Hair dangling over her eyes, Halston tells Terry not to force her to make that choice, which the man responds by absolving himself of the blame. “It ain’t me, Halston” Terry explains, “I wouldn’t wanna make this choice either… But you’ve got to.” Wrapping her fingers around the bars, Ally tells Halston to go, refusing to allow her to blame herself for whatever happens to her next. “I’ll gladly die if it means you guys make it out of here alive” Ally explains, “so go stay the fuck alive, Halston.” Stood in place, Halston progressively goes more limp to Terry’s pull, eventually giving into the man’s grip and allowing herself to be hauled to safety. The woman she came within inches of saving becoming farther away each step. With a smile from behind her prison cell grave, Ally waves goodbye to her group as they vanish from sight, accepting her final moments. | Calling out for the man, Matt groggily stumbles into Drew, the latter helping him remain upright while inquiring about the pit. Confused, Drew holds Matt against the wall, unable to support the body weight himself while he asks for clarification. “The pit, the horde getting out, what happened with it?” Matt proceeds, Drew perhaps even more lost than he was before. “I have no idea what you’re talking about dude, I’m heading towards holding” Drew replies, Matt beginning to question what’s actually unfolding. “The prisoners, the ones from holding?” Drew clarifies, “they killed Luke and made an escape… We’re looking for them now.” Taken aback, Matt asks how they managed all of that, Drew left as curious as Matt himself is. “All I know is they left the amputees girlfriend locked up, which is pretty fucking cold” Drew replies, immediately asking for Matt’s desired action. Beginning to put two and two together, Matt insists Drew keep the girl alive, understanding what needs to be done in order to right the ship in the figurative sense of the phrase. “Don’t let them escape!” Matt exclaims, “if any one of those fuckers make it off the ship, I’ll have all of you hanged on the main deck.” Moods having turned too quickly to truly be understood fully, Drew calls out to Matt as the man shoves himself away. “What’s going on?” Drew proceeds, Matt exclaiming from his stooped further into the hallway that the ship is under attack from within. Taking the man’s word for gospel, Drew calls in Matt’s order, returning to his hurried dash into holding. | Leading the group back to where they originated from, Elsie and Josie collapse onto the floor whilst Halston locks the doors behind them, taking the moment she has to herself to disgrace her actions. Hair falling from her head, Halston presses her hands against the door and catches her breath, her teeth clenched as she refuses to forgive herself for leaving Ally behind. With a sigh, Terry rests his hand upon the woman’s shoulder, telling her to stop holding it all against herself. “If you keep it up with this ‘it’s all my fault’ thing, I’m throw you overboard” Terry jokes, doing little to lighten the woman’s spirits, but managing very little in the least. Leaving his statement as is, Terry lets his hand slowly drift away from the comfort of the space upon her neck whilst returning to the group. “We need to figure out where to go next” Elsie explains, Jules casually complimenting her new weapon of choice as it hangs by her side. “With the ‘hi, how are you’s’ aside, we still have people out there” Terry explains, “Jenn and Lee, Lou even, possibly.” Remaining a realist, Jules makes it known to the group that they won’t fare well without those still apart. “Lou got us here, and Jenn’s his appointed successor” Jules explains, “Elsie and Theo can speak for Lee, but the rest of us are down our first two leaders.” Head hung, Terry places his hands on his hips before telling Jules to retract his statements. “Nevermind what I just said then” Jules exclaims, a smirk on Terry preceding his declaration of intent. “However long I have to be, I’ll take the leader responsibility while we’re short handed” Terry exclaims, the group nothing but compliant. “First measure of business is finding our guys… Then we get the fuck off this boat” Terry exclaims, “so let’s figure out how we’re gonna get this done.” Without hesitation, Halston calls upon Theo, the group immediately allowing their gaze to dart towards the woman, who remains pressed up against the door. “You said you had papers that they wanted” Halston points out, regaining her cool and solemnly returning to the center of the group, “where are they?” Giving it a good thought, Theo begins pacing around the room, double checking his surroundings in order to not have to regret not doing so at a later time. “How the hell do you think they knew I had the papers?” Theo proceeds to ask, “I didn’t say a word to anyone other than you, and they practically burst through the door the second I did.” “Are you suggesting they had our rooms bugged?” Elsie asks, Halston answering the woman’s question by admitting that it makes all the sense in the world. Finishing his sweep, Theo returns to the center of the room, describing a splintered piece of floor board along the main deck where he stashed them away. “The main deck?” Terry proceeds to ask, “your big lifeline is tucked away in the one floor everyone on this boat steps on?” “I didn’t forsee us being held prisoner on what was supposed to be a safe haven, so yeah” Theo replies, “it’s on the main deck and I know they want it badly.” Her hands on her hips, Halston nods to herself, thinking over her options in the moment before volunteering to make the journey out there with the man. “I can get them by myself” Theo replies, desperately trying to ensure any potential life lost is relegated to only his own, an attempt that falls unsuccessful. “You’re not going out there alone, and I’m not staying cooped up in here” Halston replies, glancing towards terry to take it from there. “I guess that leaves it all up too how we’re getting off this thing” Terry exclaims, Elsie explaining that she might have an answer to that. With a deep breath, Terry looks back at the woman, leaving the floor open to her. Reaching behind her, Elsie drags a box out and throws it into the center of the room, allowing it to come to a stop at the feet of Jules. “What’s this?” the man asks, reaching into the box before freezing up, his hand still submerged within as his jaw drops. “What is it?” Terry proceeds, Jules looking up to him with his eyes widened, immediately darting back to Elsie, who remains vague about it all. “We might not have to find a way off it we just force their hands” Elsie replies, her eyes glancing back towards Halston and Terry, who stare at her in shock once they discover the box’s contents. | Bouncing off the hallway walls, Matt staggers closer into the ship’s unknowns as the lights begin dying out. In anger, Matt takes a few swipes at the dying lights, knocking one clean off the wall as the remainder in place yet untraveled go out at once. “Do you think this is funny!?” Matt calls out, his paranoia rising to levels unreasonable, calling out to those which he cannot see and daring them to continue their charades. Talking to himself, Matt gingerly descends the massive staircase leading into the gambling halls, each light he passes dying out immediately. “Real spooky shit you’ve got going on down here, big guys!” Matt shouts, tripping over the final stair and colliding with the ground while the final light bulb burns out. “How cute” Matt calls out, throwing himself back to his feet and strolling through the casino. “A lot of good times were had here” Matt exclaims, pressing his hand against a virtual slot machine, the electronic display powering on at the slightest touch, causing Matt to jump. “Enough with this bullshit!” Matt exclaims, growing tired of the games before growing antsy at the sound of an amused laugh. “I think we’re far from done!” a man exclaims from within, the blacked out casino making it easier to trace the source of a voice. “I’m not fucking around anymore, Lou!” Matt shouts, his hands pressing against his head as he demands the man present himself. Upon request, the hall glows bright with amusing, warm, and welcoming colors, a bundle of noise suddenly triggering at once, disorientating Matt. Allowing himself to get caught up with the change in scenery, Matt calms himself down, rubbing his eyes and catching his breath until he looks up, seeing Lee across the room with his hands folded. As if he had seen a ghost, Matt charges forward, still heavily beaten from Brunskill’s attack, tripping and falling over one machine after another as Lee walks away. “Come back here you backstabbing son of a bitch!” Matt shouts, “I know what you saw the other night, I can have your ass held on murder charges!” The sounds becoming too much, Matt is forced to his knees, where he ducks his head beneath one of the blackjack tables and unloads his lunch. Upon alleviating his stomach, Matt pulls his head free, the lights dying out and music coming to a close all at once. “Fuck you, you son of a bitch!” Matt shouts, his vigor aimed at Lee, whom he no longer has enough track to follow, instead hurrying in the general direction of him. His knees colliding with what seems like every obstacle in the hall, Matt eventually fumbles his way into the back wing, a narrow corridor leading towards the basement, which he takes in a heartbeat. Much to his displeasure, the lights return, engulfing Matt once more and prompting yet another pause. Wiping away his eyes, Matt looks back the way in which he came, Jenn stationed at the door before disappearing behind it, Matt watching her as she locks him in. Throwing himself back, the man begins slamming against the metal, watching Jenn through the window as Lee whistles from the tunnel’s other end. His eyes fixated on the man, Matt hurries forward again, the lights going out with a new target in sight for the deranged Matthew. Descending the boisterous metal staircase, Matt descends into the final stretch, the lights powering on again for the final few feet. This time welcomed with warm yellow lights, Matt’s eyes adjust well enough for him to notice the sound of a coin dropping into the pit when it happens. Knowing where to go next, Matt runs into the locker room, quickly dashing through what used to serve as the final area of safety with retribution in mind. Squeezing through the entry, Matt steps into the pit, faced with a maintained fence holding the undead back and a lack of life. From behind, the door closes in, sealing Matt into the home he once took pride in creating, only to now wish he was responsible for anything else. Within a moment, the presentation lights power on, Jenn speaking through the loudspeaker that the live event has finally reached it’s main event. “How’s it feel down there?” Lee asks, pacing around the viewing platform, his arms draped over the bannister, “roomy, ain’t it?” “Do you think is a joke? All just a funny game for you to play at my expense?” Matt questions, his eyes directed towards Lee and Jenn to the west while his question is answered from the east. “You seemed to think of it this way when I was in there, why shouldn’t I do the same to you?” Lou asks, string in his hand as he stands alone on the bannister overlooking the horde. “Why?” Matt asks, rephrasing the question to present Lou a request. “I tried to make you a star, I tried to make you the kingpin of all of this!” Matt exclaims, “why would you throw it all away for them… For these people?” Rolling up his sleeve to make up for the lack of an arm caused by Matt’s orders, Lou reminds Matt of what the people he locked away mean to him. “You have my girlfriend, my childhood friends, the people I survived through this ordeal with locked away in a cage!” Lou exclaims, “why wouldn’t I fight for these people?” Spitting on the ground he stands upon, Matt reminds him that he’s still just a kid in the grand scheme of the world. “You would just be around finishing high school, you don’t know love yet… You don’t know who your people are!” Matt explains, “I could have been your people… This could have been your home.” “Could have, would have, should have” Lou replies, “the bottom line is… You’re not… They are.” Rolling his eyes, Matt stumbles back into the door before fixing himself up, his eyes firmly placed upon Lou in hopes of sparing his life. “Things don’t have to end like this, Lou” Matt explains, “you still have the chance to make a choice that gets you both.” With a smile, Lou grants Matt the chance to plead for his life and present the points he wishes to, the string in his hand determining whether he is successful or not. “Your people escaped a few minutes ago” Matt replies, watching Lou’s expression alter slightly from afar, “well… almost all of your people.” Clearing his throat, Matt begins struggling forward, the palms of his hands resting upon the fence, too high for the undead to be able to nibble at. “The little love of your life you’re doing all of this for got left behind in the mess” Matt explains, “but I made sure she’d be left alive in the event you and I got to share a few words again.” Teeth clenched, Lou watches Jenn and Lee walk up to him until Matt calls for his attention back. “When we’re talking, your eyes stay here” Matt explains, “and if you wanna make sure Ally stays safe and sound, you’re gonna have to pull me out of here to lead you to her.” “You can’t trust him” Jenn replies, Lou glancing towards her as she glances down at the man in the pit, “he’s desperate… So he’ll lead you there and then take you prisoner for betraying him.” Shaking his head in denial, Matt promises Lou that he’ll take him to her and give him a free pass. “As a matter of fact, however many people of yours are left alive, I’ll spare them all! You hold all the cards!” Matt exclaims, “I just want us to be a team again… Like we were supposed to be!” With a deep breath, Lou glances back towards the pit, his hand held out as Jenn begins to speak, signalling for her to leave him in silence. “Lou, I’m telling you… No, I’m promising you” Matt explains, Lou’s eyes lifting towards the man as he concludes, “we’ll fix this.” With a smile and a laugh, Lou ties the rope to the bannister and leans forward, reminding Matt that he once promised him something before. “You couldn’t keep your word then, why should I believe it now?” Lou proceeds to ask, Matt swallowing his pride and letting his hands drop by his side. “I’m desperate now” Matt responds, a subtle dose of honesty giving Lou all the information he needed to know to make an informed decision. “I actually believe you there… The way you spoke, the way you looked at me… Hell, the way your heart sunk made me believe you” Lou responds, “I didn’t feel that before.” Nodding to himself, Lou explains to Matt that desperate men do desperate things, and he has yet to determine whether or not they are to be trusted in this new world. “But I know right now what I think of you and this stardom you speak of” Lou explains, “and you’re both dead to me.” Without hesitation, Lou reaches down and pulls the string, allowing the fence to fall and the undead to be released. “Why, Lou!?” Matt exclaims, stumbling back from the gates as the undead viciously close in. “Because…” Lou exclaims, joining Jenn and Lee in walking away from the sights, “...you’ll be dead to everyone else, too.” Scores settled, Lou leads Jenn and Lee away from the pit to the chorus of horrified screams and desperate pleas for mercy. “Let’s find the others and get out of here” Lou exclaims, ascending the staircase and turning out the lights on the way out, only eliciting more terrified screams from the pit of hungry growling and ferocious hissing. == RISE and REVOLT == Holding conversation with his fellow bettors, Matt is torn from his discussion at the sound of the Brunskill turning down his end of the hallway and calling out his name. Apologizing for the interruption, Matt turns around to greet Brunskill, long coat flowing with his body as Brunskill pulls him into one of the many vacant rooms. “You can call shots on this boat but don’t you dare pull me to the side like I’m some toddler” Matt warns, Brunskill disgusted at the importance of the man’s image.
“Do you understand what just happened in there?” Brunskill asks, waving off Matt’s concerns as the man brushes it off as a run of the mill incident. “Run of the mill? How often does this happen?” Brunskill asks, momentarily calmed by the assurance that this was the first time, but returning to a state of panic and fear. “How could you even let something like that happen?” Brunskill inquires, Matt passing it off as the woman having gotten past the restricted areas. “I’ve got her group of criminals all locked up, so I wouldn’t expect her to be anything less than them” Matt explains, only leaving Brunskill confused further. “You locked up their group?” Brunskill questions, Matt explaining that it was necessary after they confessed. “We found two bodies in the inventory room, overheard their confession through the mics” Matt explains, Brunskill left to request a further explanation for what he means when he says ‘mics’. “The bugs we put in their rooms” Matt replies, Brunskill’s hand rubbing his forehead as Matt reminds him that they needed to keep a close eye on them. “They boarded under mysterious circumstances, I’m almost positive they had something to do with the bodies in the water now!” Matt continues, the captain of the ship needing to take a seat with the ease in which his legs grow unsteady. “You’ve been spying on them since they got here and just locked them up for murder?” Brunskill questions, Matt nodding his head in compliance as if nothing about that sounded out of touch with reality. In a rage, Brunskill takes a tight grip over a seat beside him and hurls it across the room, leaping to his feet and staring down upon Matt, the seven inch height advantage he holds enough to cast a small shadow over Matt’s face. “Let me make this easier for you to understand, Matthew” Brunskill explains, continuing to speak in order to brush off Matt’s request that he not use such a version of his own name. “There is one captain on this ship, and that captain is me” Brunskill explains, “so if I give you an order, you are expected to either fulfill that request or deboard the ship.” Taking notice of the conversation finally turning down a lane he cares about, Matt’s face rubs the lack of cern away, replacing it with an angry scowl. “Don’t kid yourself, Captain… You’re only the captain in name…. These people listen to me” Matt replies, Brunskill left surprised at the disobedience, “I’m in charge of this ship, you just drive it… And if I wanted you gone, I’d see that outcome to in thee snap of a finger.” Pushing the man back, Matt creates separation between the two, ordering Brunskill to either return to his familiar quarters or continue pressing his luck with the man. “One way or another, things will not end well for you…” Matt continues, stepping back for the door and concluding as he steps through it, “do yourself a favor and don’t push my buttons.” In a rage, Brunskill remains seated there while Matt disappears into the bowels of the ship, anger consuming his every action before his body has had enough. Throwing himself out of the room, Brunskill ventures down the hall and into the wider corridors of the boat, taking the stairs deeper into the boat before finally stumbling upon the lowest point, a cramped corridor meant for operation when the ship was formerly run off coal. Hand pressed against the latch, Brunskill pushes the heavy, metal door in and finds a sight completely unexpected. In the abandoned wing, hundreds upon hundreds of the undead stagger around aimlessly, hoping for food to present itself, and finally having such hopes answered. Noticing this change in events, the undead latch onto Brunskill’s presence marching towards the man until he exits the way he entered, disappearing as quickly as he appeared. Back pressed against the door, Brunskill listens to the army of the dead pound their hands against the single thing between them and a meal, sounds of faint drumming behind him. Catching his breath, Brunskill takes the chance to return the way he came, hurrying for the higher end of the ship, stumbling into different directions before finally seeing something familiar. Now aware of where he stands, Brunskill’s path becomes targeted, every turn and shift he makes leading him to one specific direction. After another few minutes of wandering, Brunskill pushes himself through the door separating himself from the holding area. “Captain?” Ally calls out, her head still bleeding whilst the remainder of her group sits hopelessly in the cell next to hers. Looking around the room, Brunskill’s eyes eventually lock upon a set of keys left in the middle of one of the unoccupied cells. Without thinking, the man walks over to the tiny beacons of hope until the sensation of two pairs of hands shoving him down accompanies a collision with unforgiving steel. Injured and laid out upon the ground, Brunskill watches Matt’s hands reach for the keys and remove them from their place, having served well as bait. “I told you not to push my buttons, Cap” Matt exclaims, Drew locking the cell doors behind the captain and locking them shut. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Matt proceeds to ask, the man’s shoulder in tatters, however, not enough to keep him from pressing himself against the bars, clutching them in his hands and telling Matt that nothing he’s doing is right. “I don’t care if it’s not right, get that through your head!” Matt replies, “this is an opportunity just like everything else in the world!” Disappointed, Brunskill drops his head, Matt reminding him that he gave him plenty of warnings. “I told you to stay in your deck, I told you to stay out of my business, and I told you to know your role here” matt explains, “three chances, three failures to comply.” Extending his hand out, Matt is given the keys by Drew, taking them to the porthole across the room from the prisoners and tossing them through the opening. “You don’t get freedom, you wasted it while you had it” Matt explains, “now you’ll sit there and die so you don’t cause me any more problems.” Wiping his nose, Matt leads Drew out of holding, slamming the door shut behind them and allowing the cool breeze of the cold sea water to flutter in through the opening. “Well what the fuck are we going to do now?” Terry exclaims, his question the same as the one on everyone else’s mind. “What do you mean?” Brunskill asks, the group silent, everyone looking in the man’s direction as he states the obvious. “We find another way to get free” Brunskill explains, laughing when Jules asks how that’s going to happen. Reaching into his mouth, Brunskill glides his pointer finger over his teeth and continues laughing, muttering “this is gonna suck” under his breath. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = Shattering the glass it was thrown through, a folding chair collides with the ground before sliding an extra few feet atop an army of glass bits. Like animals escaping their enclosure at a local zoo, Elsie and Josie make a break for their newfound freedom and rush into the bowels of the vessel. Descending staircases and throwing themselves into different corridors, the pair continue their journey, refusing to slow down until their attention is taken by something worthy of it. “Down here!” Elsie says, suddenly tugging Josie by the arm, ripping her through a vast maze of rooms before finally settling upon the one. Like a bat out of hell, Elsie pries open the door keeping them from the inside, nearly ripping it off the hinges as the pair dive into sanctuary. Sealing the only entrance or exit, the pair catch their breath and survey the new area they’ve discovered, what is mostly a room tossed aside with little purpose now being called home for the moment. Not one to be settled with the blank space, Josie looks for more, quickly uncovering an entire side of the room littered with boxes of discarded valuables. “Is this a lost and found?” Elsie asks aloud, her friend sifting through the boxes in search of something worth taking. “Whatever it is, they’re here and we’re taking them if we need to” the woman replies, removing a tomahawk felt case from the bottom of one box and tossing it to Elsie. Fixated on leaving no stone unturned, Josie tosses anything possibly of use to the side whilst Elsie undoes the mechanisms keeping the felt top shut. With a gentle graze of her finger, Elsie reveals the box’s contents, a tomahawk in pristine condition left waiting for her touch. “New toy?” the woman asks, still seated at the boxes like a child beside a tree, opening her presents on Christmas morning. “Sure” Elsie replies, removing the weapon from its place and waving it in her hand for a brief moment, the weight in her hand quickly becoming familiar, as if it were meant to be. Continuing to shuffle, the pair look through their abundance of makeshift goodie bags until Elsie’s eyes attach to the porthole at the back of the room. Confused, the woman leaves the boxes behind and approaches the view, calling out Josie for confirmation. “Aren’t we on the eastern side of the ship?” Elsie asks, Josie taking the signs along the walls as proof that they at least should be. “Does it matter which side we’re on?” Josie inquires, asking as a joke and turning back to the boxes until Elsie replies in agreement, prompting her head to turn back towards the woman. “Why does it matter?” Josie asks, standing up and joining the woman beside the window. “Because the eastern side should be facing the coastline right about now” Elsie replies, Josie gazing out into the sea of endless blue sea. “What are you talking about?” Josie asks, getting worried that Elsie’s train of thought is taking her to the station she worries about. “What I’m saying is that we should be seeing the coast right now!” Elsie replies, her hands pointing towards the vast ocean before the glass, “where the fuck is the coast?” Jaw dropped, Elsie can’t help but look out at the lack of life anywhere to be seen, she and Josie staring out at the fearsome sight as the realization that something has gone wrong begins to dawn upon them. | “What are you talking about!?” Lou shouts, Jenn apologizing for even considering cleaning up Theo’s mess. “Shit happened, that’s all that can be said!” Jenn replies, Lou left placing his head in his hands as he reminds Jenn that her statement is far from all possibly to say. “Going down there for any reason would’ve put suspicion on everyone” Lou explains, knocking at the door cutting his response short. Opening the entry to his room, Lou’s aggravation turns into rage, his hand reaching through the opening and ripping Matt into the room. Exactly where he wants the man, Lou slams his door shut and locks it, marching back into his room and pulling Matt to his feet. With little concern over whatever effects could be brought by this, Lou shoves the man onto the terrace and holds him over the bannister, begging the man to give him any reason to let him fall overboard. “You might be wanting to wish for the opposite right now” Matt replies, “if you needed a reason not to let me fall overboard, how about I just say ‘Ally’ as one?” Anger devolving into rage, Lou tells Matt to be more specific with his words. “Fine, kill me… She dies!” Matt replies, “let me live, I can get her out for you!” His words not holding fear, Matt sounds eager to fight, enthusiasm in his voice as he pleads for his life, his offerings ultimately sparing him from a certain demise. “What the fuck did you do to her?” Lou asks, slapping the man across the face as he stands to his feet, forcing him back against the wall almost instantly. “I have done absolutely nothing to her!” Matt replies, his back pressed against the wall with the collar of his shirt firmly in Lou’s grasp. “However, I did have her and your friends locked up on murder charges if that’s what you’re asking” Matt replies, Lou instinctively punching the man in the face as a coping mechanism. Not done, Lou shoves the man back against the wall, demanding Matt get to the point. “You showed up at my door for a reason, so out with it!” Lou shouts, Matt insisting he be released from Lou’s hand if he wants an answer to his questions. Reluctantly, Lou obliges, throwing Matt towards the patio and standing between the man and the room’s only safe exit. “Every room other than this one has been bugged since you came aboard” Matt replies, “I got Theo’s confession on tape… In full.” Enraged, Jenn keeps herself from blowing up by shutting her eyes and hanging her head. “I brought Lee to the pit to figure out whether or not some of the people behind bars could be of better use alive rather than dead” Matt explains, “that tape has enough for me to sentence everyone not in this room to death.” “You’d need Brunskill’s blessing for that, wouldn’t you?” Lee proceeds, earning a chuckle out of Matt, who explains that he’s the captain now as far as he’s concerned. “What did you do to the captain?” Lou inquires, Matt holding his hands up, admitting that he has not killed him. “Though, he is making friends with the rest of your group in holding” Matt replies, “and if you wanna get your friends out, we’re gonna have to come to an understanding.” Eyes squinting, Lou approaches Matt, getting close to his face and asking the man what understanding the ships’ new captain has planned. “I run this ship, what I say goes” Matt replies, “I spare everyone other than Theo, the rest serve as my muscle… You included.” Crossing his arms, Lee refuses the deal on Lou’s behalf, telling the man that he won’t allow Theo to remain locked up. “He’s guilty of two murders, he’ll be executed” Matt replies, “but I’ll make sure he wont have to suffer.” Waging expletives, Lee continues to refuse the deal, Matt left to remind him that it isn’t his deal to agree to. Turning away from Lee, Matt looks towards Lou, who stares him down with fire in his eyes, asking him what the choice is going to be. Swallowing the spit in his mouth, Lou glances towards Lee and tilts his head, apologetically glancing back at Matt. “Deal” Lou replies, Matt overcome with joy while Jenn and Lee look at the man they trusted to lead them on this ship agree to a deal with the devil. “I knew I saw something in you” Matt replies, holding his hand out and shaking that of Lou’s, walking by the man and leaving the room. “You son of a bitch” Lee exclaims, storming past the man and slamming the door shut on the way out. “Why would you do that?” Jenn asks, standing from her seat and looking Lou in the eyes, the one-armed man unable to meet her gaze, disappointed within himself. “Look me in the eyes, Lou” Jenn exclaims, the man slowly glancing in her direction as she repeats the question. “Spare the one to save the many” Lou replies, shedding a single tear and looking back towards the view of the patio, “that’s how it has to be now.” Shaking her head, Jenn opens her mouth to speak before falling short of the right words, instead brushing past the man and leaving the space. Allowing the door to shut on her way out, Jenn leaves Lou on his own in the room, the man stepping onto the terrace and gazing out into the ocean. With a deep breath, Lou glances back towards the structures on the boat, the captain’s deck being the first thing to catch his eye. From his pocket, Lou retrieves a compass, looking back out onto the water and nodding when the sights match up with his compass’ suggestion. Closing the top, Lou returns the indicator to his pocket, his eyes traveling from the sea to the captain’s quarters once again. With a smirk, Lou walks away from his patio, taking his rebar pipe and leaving his room, allowing the door to slowly slide to a close behind him. | “Ready?” Halston asks, Brunskill nodding in place of his voice, a string dangling from his open mouth as a bloody hammer rests in his hand. With a shout, Halston yanks on the rope, freeing a brass incisor filling from the man’s mouth, watching it dance across the floor and into Ally’s hand. With disgust, Ally takes the tooth and hands it to Terry, asking around for anything resembling the end of a hammer. “I have a rock if that helps” Jules replies, a visibly enthusiastic Terry dancing where he sits. “That’ll do the trick” Terry replies, taking the stone and wailing against the filling, flattening it to a point. Carefully, terry holds the flattened filling in the air, blood still dripping from the sides, running down the length of his fingers. Before anything can be done, Matt bursts through the door making it understood what is about to happen. “Your friend here is gonna fix the mess he made before he got himself into trouble” Matt explains, unlocking Brunskill’s cell as he goes into further detail. “When he’s done with his work, he will be discarded of” Matt explains, “and once that has been concluded, I’ll have someone come back here to deal with the rest of you.” Pulling the large maan to his feet, Matt meets minimal resistance, Ally asking if she can see Lou for good measure, leaving the man overseeing their fates to laugh. “However long it’s been and you still haven’t learned” Matt jokes to himself, shaking his head in disappointment as he leads the captain away from his new friends. The moment the door closes, the group sits in silence, waiting a further few seconds before making it known that they have little time to waste. “Do what you can, leave me if you have to” Ally explains, Terry assuring the woman that he will not do such a thing. “Jenn, Lee and Elsie are all still out there” Ally explains, “if Lou hasn’t shown up yet, he probably won’t… Save the people you actually can.” In refusal, Jules tells Ally to stop thinking of the worst case scenario, Terry pleading with the woman to shut her mouth if she can’t speak out of hope. “We have a lifeline out of a death sentence, stop thinking of reasons to squander it” Terry explains Ally refusing to allow retaining her life to take more importance to the assurance of the group’s safety. “If shit hits the fan, you go… That’s final” Ally replies, telling anyone that disagrees to stop talking if they’re just going to make another failed attempt to sway her decision. As instructed, the group quiets down, all eyes focusing on Terry as he fits the filler into the key slot, their hope resting on a last ditch effort working against a time crunch. | Looking around the decks, Jenn comes off paranoid and unwelcoming, her worried stumble pushing her into the lap of one of the ship’s guards. “Sorry” Jenn exclaims, brushing Chris’ hands away from her once he becomes slightly too touchy. “Watch where you touch, dude” Jenn mutters, the guard telling the woman that she should be more grateful to the guards. “They could’ve killed you in those halls last night, but they let you live” the guard explains, “and even now we should have your head on a pike… You can thank Matt for that.” Brushing the encounter off, Jenn attempts to walk away, only to be pulled back by the arm, Chris suggesting the woman thank him for his hospitality. With a smile, the woman turns and and presses her finger to Chris’ chest, with a smile on his face, the man back up against the railing while Jenn pulls the key from his waistband. “You can’t do th-” Chris begins, his words stunted when Jenn drives a fork into the side of his neck, aiming his head over the edge before tossing his body over to avoid any further blood stains. Looking around, Jenn deems the area clear enough for there to be no witnesses to take care of, moving back the way she came and meeting back with Lee. “I’m glad to see you still have your schemes about you” Jenn exclaims, a smiling Lou taking the key out of sights of the cameras. “Did you really think I’d let one of our own bite it without a fight?” Lou jokes, heading in the opposite direction of the pair, his eyes set on the captain’s quarters at the end of the ship. | Lonnie slamming the door shut behind them, Matt leads Brunskill into the captain’s chair, welcoming him to have a seat and fix the course. “Do well and I’ll make sure your death is painless” Matt exclaims, Brunskill stumbling into his seat, requesting a course to guide the ship towards. “Take it to Vancouver” Matt replies, the Canadian west serving as his preferred destination. “It’ll take almost a day before you see that coastline come into view” brunskill replies, Matt leaving the man to consider the actions that led him to his death sentence to pass the time. His head hung, Brunskill gives into the demands, telling Matt that he’ll find payback coming for him for what he chooses to do today. “I don’t care about some ay, I care about today” Matt replies, “and today, I want this ship in Canada.” With a sigh, Brunskill does as instructed, grunting through the pain each time he has to move his bad shoulder in any direction. After a few seconds of standing over the man’s shoulder, Matt turns around at the sound of the door being pushed in, Lou bursting inside exclaiming that there’s been a problem in the pit. “I left my tape in the locker room and heard the fence buckling while I was down there” Lou exclaims, “if we don’t act now, that thing’s gonna fall and this place will be swarmed.” With little more than a grunt to respond with, Matt tells Lou to look for another set of guards that are less busy than he is. “I can’t find any of the other guards” Lou replies, “either you or Lonnie… One of you needs to come with me A.S.A.P.” With another grunt, Matt glances back at Brunskill as he reaches through the pain in his shoulder for further controls. His head shaking, Lou enters the room much to the displeasure of Matt and forces Brunskill’s arm back into its socket. “Now you can get your shit done” Lou replies to Brunskill, turning back to Lou and asking him which one will follow him. Understanding Lou’s concern, Matt gives Lonnie the greenlight to follow the man into the vessel’s greatest depths, leaving Matt with a gun pointed towards the captain as the door shuts. “I wish things could have worked out better” Brunskill explains, an amused Matt telling him to give his actions better thought in whatever world comes next. “I’ll keep that in mind” Brunskill replies, the sarcasm in the man’s voice not sitting well with the man attempting to play god. Pulling the beaten man from his chair, Matt pins Brunskill against the wall telling him to repeat what he just said. “I said I’ll keep that in-” Brunskill explains, his words cut short when Matt slaps him across the face, telling him to respect authority. “You just made me captain” Brunskill replies, “as far as authority goes, you’re below me again.” Backing away from the man, Matt returns his gun to Brunskill’s head, daring him to be so confident again. “What does it matter?” Brunskill replies, “you’re gonna kill me anyway, at least it’ll be quick.” Without concern, Brunskill places his head against the gun, telling Matt to get the deed done with. A smile on his face, Matt lowers his weapon, telling Brunskill that he doesn’t get to escape his punishment that easily. With a chuckle, Brunskill tells Matt that he expected nothing less. “You suffer from the same key issue you always have” Brunskill explains, “too hot headed for your own good, but not smart enough to keep yourself from looking like an idiot.” Matt’s enthusiasm lowering, the man tells Brunskill that one way or another, he’s in charge. “I don’t care what I do when I’m in charge, I just care that I’m in charge!” Matt exclaims, Brunskill left quietly shaking his head in disapproval. “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you’re an idiot” Brunskill explains, “than it is to open your mouth and prove them right.” Taking his free hand, Matt holds Brunskill’s face towards his own, the skin of his chin indented with the grip of Matt’s fingers. Refusing to allow Brunskill any satisfaction, Matt takes the wad of spit in his mouth and hurls it over Brunskill’s face, watching the saliva run down the man’s nose as he shoves him back towards the wheel. Frustrated, Matt turns towards the door with the intentions of calming himself down, any more time spent in the same room with Brunskill threatening to create a fatal reaction. Hand outstretched, Matt presses against the handle and pushes forward, a lack of give greeting Matt in a curious way. Repeating his motion, the result remains the same, the door refusing to budge against the sound of steel. Understanding what is occurring, Brunskill looks back at the confused Matt with a anger-fueled frown. Quietly stepping away from his chair, Brunskill loosens up his injured arm and wipes away the line of spit. Knocking of the window, Matt calls for assistance from the outside, oblivious to the threat looming behind him. In a moment, Brunskill’s hand lifts from his side and grabs the back of Matt’s head, forcing his skull against the bulletproof window. Inside, Matt collapses to the ground in pain, Brunskill left standing over the man, looking down at him before glancing back up at the window. Greeting the man on the other side, Lou nods towards Brunskill, removing his bloodied rebar pipe from the handle and moving forward. Inside the quarters, Brunskill watches Lou walk off, his eyes trailing away from the sight and back towards Matt, unfinished business fueling an unshackled, vengeful rage. == RISE and REVOLT == |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2022
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