15.
Both Roland and Al struggled to sleep, fighting against their own physical pain. Roland's emotion pain was far worse. Just what is this island doing to him? Exhaustion, along with the pain led Roland to drift in and out of consciousness for hours rather than allow him and real restful sleep and what sleep there was would not last any decent length at all or sustain men the size of these two for very long. Yeah, at dawn the two men awoke to the extremely loud sound of an old-time war siren reaching up to one hell of a decibel level.
The siren seemed to be coming from not so far away and to one side of the two men. Roland awoke and immediately put his hands over his ears. Every muscle in his body was feeling the effects of exhaustion. Al shouted while also signaling to Roland that the two of them should head towards where the sound was coming from. Roland didn't particularly want to head closer to the sound of the siren, but he did agree with Al that it possibly would be the best move to make.
As it would seem, the loud migraine giving war siren was having a similar effect with the remaining contestants on the island for it appeared that close to fifty people had gathered in a wide-open space. This would be it, an end which would beat all previous ends. Kill or be killed ... but not quite yet. A lot of eyeing up the competition took place, and no one would be too quick in getting it all started.
There were a few things that Roland and Al would have as either an equalizer or as an advantage. Looking around it was clear that they were not the only walking wounded within this gathering. There was also the fact that there are two of them, another thing was or is, is that Roland still had the bow and arrows.
The siren's sound came to an end and the current moment continues where everyone in this large gathering takes that time to suss out what they were surrounded by. Al looked at Roland and smiled.
'Whatever you do, do not aim an arrow my way.'
'I could always even things up and stick one in your other leg, that large head of yours could still be a possible target.'
'Speaking of which, how is your head? Think you can shoot straight?'
The two could not help but smile. Roland reached for an arrow from the satchel on his back, took aim, pulled back on his bow and launched the arrow sending it right through the neck of a man who could do nothing to get out of the way. This from a man with diminished sight ... survival may look good, hell, imagine what Roland and Al teaming together at a hundred percent may look like.
A few seconds passed and the biggest, the largest battle the island had ever witnessed took off.
Roland and Al stayed close by each other for obvious and afore mentioned reasons. A team isn't a team if they don't work together. Al, right off the bat, managed to catch a much smaller guy with a clothesline taking him out. Panic can cause a lack of complete attention and for that particular small fellow, paying attention to his surroundings was nonexistent.
'Oh yes, this is the life. I could do this all day long', Al called over to Roland who stood battling about twenty feet away, 'incoming three o'clock.'
Roland threw his fist out directly to his right and it met with the nose of a man who looked like he was about to go all Kung Fu on Roland, but instead the damage from the heavy punch was enough to end another life. His arm had yet to fully extend when his fist made contact. During this battle of all battles, Roland would also get to use all of his arrows and even get to use some of them more than once. This was most enjoyable. Al had the knife that had been used to kill Wolfie and in the name of Wolfie, Al ended more than his fair share of lives with that knife.
Al soon had his hands full with someone on his back attempting to choke him out while someone else on front of him threw punches to his gut. Roland came to his ally's aid by taking out the man behind Al with the last arrow Roland had. Al picked up the man on front of him and threw him at number of on-comers.
'Strike' Al called out with his throw having taken down the maximum number of competitors it could have expect to have done.
Roland took a knock to the back of his head. He fell to one knee but would be far from being done. He quickly got back up, he turned and began running ... mowed down anyone in his way.
A little over fifteen minutes of battle and the mass carnage left just three men standing. And would ya look at that. Roland and Al still stood close by one another, they were bloodied and battered but were still standing all the same. And then there was one other, a shirtless muscular ... Claude Raymonde.
Claude stood a couple hundred meters away. Claude, indeed, shirtless as usual, looked to have no more than a couple of small flesh wounds. The look on his face suggested a 'if we are going to do this then let's do this now' look. The thing is ... Claude is not an official competitor, so the event is as good as over unless either Roland or Al takes the other out.
The two big men did not arrive to the island together, they did not enter as a unit so surely, for the event to finish ... one of the two would need to take the other out but neither man was thinking of that right now.
Al watched Roland's legs move as he walked without actually moving forward.
'I am going to end it now. He is mine. I am taking him out.'
Al couldn't let his ... dare he say ... friend ... do what he is thinking of doing. 'Roland, no, you are in no condition to take him on alone.'
Al's words most likely were not even heard by Roland, such is a current focus, for he just took off after Claude who made off on a run of his own away from the two men. It wasn't that Claude was afraid of these two big men, far from it. Claude would want to take both of them out, his way and on his terms. One on one preferably.
With his leg being the way it was, Al could only hobble in the general direction that Roland and Claude had gone off in. This is not good, not good at all. If Claude kills Roland, Al would just need to retreat and he wins this year's event ... Al is not having it go that way, not if he can help it.
