Lady Of The Island

"I can't..." I held my head out of shock. "You want me...to...oh GOD..."

"Decide! Ruth Hatt, Burnett Stone, or Archie Jobling! One must pay for their actions! Ruth has been a disobedient bastard, Burnett refused to help me get my role back and..."

"The fuck did Archie do to you? He's a cute twink. What can he realistically do?"

Jane took a deep breath. "He's too...snoopy for his own good. He almost figured me out three times. He had all the dots and was going to tell you everything he knew, in hopes that you could connect them! Well, I couldn't let that happen, could I?" She grinned. "I sabotaged his notes and threatened to carve his skull and make furniture out of his skin if he goes near you again...well, he did, didn't he. So...I'll just-"

"Me." I gasped. "Kill me."

"Excuse you?" Jane turned the gun. "What?"

"I choose myself. Don't kill them. Kill me. Look at me in the eyes and pull that trigger, as long as you let them go."

Jane froze.

"Go on. Fire. Ignore the fact that I have a boyfriend, one I plan to give a ring if I get home, ignore the fact that I have a daughter. One who would cry all night, waiting for her daddy to come home. Fire the gun, Jane."

She looked at the gun, then me. She pointed and aimed.
But she didn't Fire.

"Jane, whats the holdup? Not going to fire, no? You've torn enough families apart."

"I...." She stammered. "I-...um...I..."

She lowered the gun.

"I...can't...I can't kill you..."

My smile returned.
"I knew you couldn't."

Jane raised the gun again. "There's an alternative. I'll...kill someone else.."

"You won't."

"I will....I will kill...." She seemed broken. "...myself."

I paused. "No! Jane, you don't have to-"

"Look what I've done, Gray..." She looked me in the eye. The gold shimmer was gone. "I've killed...so many innocents. Out of my control....I never should have accepted the dust..." She began to cry. "So, I must pay the price."

"Mum!" Ruth called through her binds. "Don't

Jane turned the gun on herself. "No. I am the Lady Of The Island. I've killed so many. I've tortured more. I've torn families apart. It's time to pay the ultimate price."

"Jane!" I stepped closer.
She held the gun to her chest.

"Don't come any closer!" She shouted. "Then I'll fire faster! What's the point of being alive anymore?! Once this gets out, I'll be thrown into the darkest pit of hell! I can't go to prison!"

"I'm a reporter! I'll...fabricate a story or something! Don't..."

"Don't put your career on the line for me!"

I held my hand out infront of Jane.
"Come on, Jane. You can redeem yourself from this all...I've been redeeming as soon as I got onto this island. Burnett, Becca, Molly, Clarence, Myself...you see, you can join that list..."

"Liar!" She threw a stone at me. "They didn't kill! I've killed! I've taken innocent lives! Ive-"

Without thinking, I lurched forward and grabbed ahold of Jane's arm and gang. I wouldn't let go as we grunted and wrestled for the gun. For an elderly woman, she was surprisingly agile for a woman of her age. I wonder if she-

BANG

A gunshot cracked through the wind. Someone had fired.
Jane looked at me.
I looked at Jane.
And then I saw the blood.
Lots of blood.
But who's blood?
Who shot who?

...and then I watched everything go dark...very, very slowly.