Lone Wolf

Chapter 4

Natalya's ears were ringing as she slowly opened her eyes. She could hear the mumbling of a large group of people. She went to move, but she couldn't. She was very tightly secured at her wrists and ankles to a large board. As her vision cleared up, she could make out thick lights shining through a curtain in front of her.

"Help!" She attempted to yell before her screams were muffled by the cloth that had been taped shut inside of her mouth.

"We're live in 5...4..." a voice began to count. "...3..." Natalya was more confused than she ever was on the island. "...2..." She was obviously Sheamus's vote off of the island. "...1..."

The curtain raised to allow the stage lights to flood her eyes. Jazzy music played over a loud speaker as a massive crowd of people began cheering. There had to be hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people who were seemingly cheering for Natalya's elimination.

"And here is your host of Redemption Isle!" The voice boomed over the crowd who shouted the host's name alongside the announcer, "Max O'Healey!"

Natalya managed to turn her head to see a man in his mid-20s with slicked back black hair and a well-trimmed beard run out beside her to a standing ovation. He wore a black dress shirt, nicely ironed, with a purple, sequined vest buttoned over it. His purple slacks matched the color of his vest perfectly, all the way down to his shiny black shoes which reflected the blinding light across the stage.

Positioned at the bottom of the raised stage were four cameramen, each shooting at the host who was wearing a smile from ear to ear.

"Good evening, New York!" Max yelled to which the audience shouted back, "Good evening, Max!" in unison.

"Well, we have come to our first elimination for the very first season of Redemption Isle!" the crowd cheered as Max walked toward Natalya who was dripping with sweat and shaking, still unable to make a sound. He reached up and ripped the tape off of her mouth, causing her lips to begin to bleed as he pulled a red, silk cloth from her mouth. "Natalya. How does it feel to not even make it past day two?"

"Where the fuck am I?" she asked quietly as he stuck his microphone into her face. Her mouth was dry.

"You are at O'Healey Studios in the beautiful New York City!" Max exclaimed as the audience cheered some more. "And with the airing of our first episode, we have brought you here for our live elimination in front of a packed house tonight!"

She shook her head and coughed for a minute before beginning to cry. "Let me go, please."

"You'll be let out of there in due time, but first--" a drumroll began, "it's time to reveal your Eliminator!"

The board that she was on spun around to reveal a large screen that hung directly over the stage. It read: Natalya's Eliminator.

"Every week that we have an elimination from Redemption Isle, you, the viewers at home, will decide what the unfortunate eliminator will be! Just go to Redemption Isle dot com to cast your vote!" Max patted Natalya's head as panic began to set in. "Voting for this week's eliminator is already closed." As he began to read the options for the week's eliminator, each one popped up on the screen. "This week's options were: Organ Donor..." Natalya's heart skipped a beat as her eyes widened. "...Human Taffy..." Her breathing became quicker as she shook her head, trying to pull out of her cuffs to no avail. "...and Extreme Extraction..." Natalya screamed before a large, gloved hand covered her mouth. She looked up to catch a glimpse of a giant of a man, hair covering every inch of his neck and chin but with a glowing bald head.

"Now!" Max started, "Let's see those results."

Natalya shifted her gaze back to the board. The drumroll started again, this time seeming like it was continuing for years. The monster of a man looked up as well, not moving his hand.

The screen read:
Natalya's Eliminator
Organ Donor......................19.6%

Human Taffy......................41.0%

Extreme Extraction.............39.4%

Natalya began to scream under the hand of the big man who laid the board down flat.

"Wow!" Max exclaimed, "Human Taffy just barely knocks out the Extreme Extraction. Sorry King," he said to the large fellow who shrugged, "I know how much you were looking forward to deboning her, but this is going to be just as fun!"

Natalya watched as a red light above the stage began to blink. She caught a glimpse of herself on the screen. She looked over as King placed a thick metal board underneath her left elbow. The end of it hung off the side of the board.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen!" Max took a seat on a chair at the side of the stage, "Enjoy tonight's eliminator!"

The crowd roared as King placed both hands at the end of the metal bar and used all of the force he could muster to push down, pushing the bar and Natalya's elbow up and inward, forcing her arm to bend backwards. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the crowd began to chant King's name.

"That's got to hurt!" Max smiled as he watched her facial reactions on the big screen. She begged for mercy as King placed the bar under her right elbow.

Snap.

Roar.

"That's crazy, but she deserves it, right!?" Max asked to a thousand people responding, "Yes!"

Natalya tried to move, but the pain in her upper body was so strong that everything started to go dark. She did, however, feel her left arm uncuff as an itchy rope looped around her wrist.

"Can we count, Max!?" King yelled.

Natalya couldn't see anything anymore, but the blood rushing through her left arm began to burn.

"Let's count with him!" Max ordered as the audience counted down from three.

"3!...2!...1!"

Pop.

Natalya lost all breath as King pulled as hard as he could on the rope, completely ripping her shoulder from its socket. She felt extremely nauseous, but fought the urge to throw up. As King untied the rope, her arm fell off to the side of the board, just like pulled taffy.

She tried to form words, but she knew that the end was coming for her. She wasn't just eliminated. She was being murdered. Her mouth twitched as if to ask King to stop as he slipped the rope around her right wrist.

3...2...1...

Pop.

She began to feel extremely cold and the audience's cheers became muffled. She began rethinking every decision she had ever made in her life that got her to this point, but in the end, she knew that deep down she deserved what was happening.

Suddenly and without warning, a heavy thud smashed into her left knee, then the right.

Max laughed with the audience as King took a moment to kiss the sledgehammer that he had dealt the damage with before tying the rope around her left ankle.

Pop.

Then the right.

Pop.

It was the greatest pain that Natalya had ever felt, but when she felt the rope slip around her neck, she was the most relieved that she had ever been. It was almost over.

A cameraman jumped up on stage and began projecting a close up shot of her face onto the giant screen.

"Snap her neck!" the audience chanted, "Snap her neck!"

Max knelt beside her. Her pupils were dilated fully. "Any last words?" She was silent. "That's what I thought."

Pop.

Natalya felt complete pain as the darkness turned bright, and after a moment, she was completely pain free.