Author's Note:
Final chapter, people! It's aftermath time!
The worst part was getting back to Boney Island to see the families of the people they had lost.
For the past two days, the survivors of the Wawanakwa had finally felt the effects of shock setting in over everyone they had lost. Sheriff Sanders had brought along several medics to check the kids out on the water. Many of them, aside from a few cuts and bruises, were fine physically. Chef Hatchet had a concussion, but he recovered as well. Trent, on the other hand, was in rougher shape. The moment the boats had returned to Boney Island, he had been rushed to the hospital.
Gwen's family had been happy to see her. Her mom had cried all over her, and even her brother showed some relief seeing her alive. The families of the other survivors were equally relieved to see their children alive.
And then there were the families who had to experience firsthand the loss of their kids. It broke Gwen's heart to see the families of Beth, Tyler, Lindsay, Justin, Owen, Eva, and Heather react to the deaths of their kids. Even Duncan's parents were upset, though proud when they had been told what Duncan had done to save everyone.
As for the survivors, many of them had been whisked straight to the police station for questioning. Sheriff Sanders hadn't asked them any questions about the events of the cruise on the boat ride back. She didn't want to press the matter. But now that they were on the mainland again, she wanted answers.
"The mayor was behind what happened?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Gwen explained. "The shark was an experiment created by the Drama Corporation. The mayor was working for them. They're the ones behind everything."
Deputy MacArthur snorted. "Don't make me laugh. The Drama Corporation doesn't deal with experimentation like that. They store film cameras and stuff like that."
"No, they don't!" Gwen exclaimed. "If you'd just send people to search their facility near the island—"
"We don't have a warrant to search their facilities," Sanders interrupted.
Gwen slammed her fists on the table in frustration. "I'm telling you, they're the ones behind everything!"
Sanders sighed. "I want to believe you, kid. But it's your word against there's. Without evidence—"
Another officer came into the room and whispered something into the sheriff's ear. She nodded and looked back at Gwen. "Someone wants to talk to you." She, MacArthur, and the third officer left.
A few moments later, a man entered the room. "Hello there," he said simply, adjusting his suit tie with one hand. The other hand, Gwen realized, had been replaced with a large, shiny hook.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man sat down across the table from her. "My name is Chet Pakawa. I represent the Drama Corporation."
Gwen instantly tensed up. "Are you here to kill me?" she asked, her hand reaching into her pocket where she had kept Duncan's knife.
Chet let out a slow chuckle. "Why would I kill you, my dear?"
"Because you want to cover your tracks," Gwen replied. "You know that we know all about your shady experiments, and you don't want that information getting out."
Chet smiled slightly. "You really think anyone would believe you?"
Gwen narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say a word.
"Let's get one thing straight, kid," Chet went on. "You don't have any evidence against us other than your word. Yes, McLean may have screwed up by talking, but no one is going to believe a bunch of traumatized kids and a washed-up war veteran. And when all is said and done, the press will report that it was a murderous juvenile delinquent that caused all the murders."
Gwen instantly realized who he was talking about. "You're going to frame Duncan for all of this?!"
Chet chuckled. "A bad seed going on a murder spree is far more believable than a mutant shark."
Gwen clenched her fists in anger. "I'll stop you," she swore. "I'll find a way to take you down for good."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Chet warned, leaning forward. "You fail to grasp the situation. The Drama Corporation owns this island. And the next one over. And the one after that. And the one after that. If you go and stir up trouble, you'll find that trouble tends to strike back against the people you love."
Chet stood up then. "Let's be honest though, kid. You did the Drama Corporation a great service taking care of Project Fang. That damned monster's been pestering us ever since it escaped. But now that it's dead, we can continue our great work."
Chet turned to go, pausing at the door. "And trust me, kid: you don't want to get between us and our experiments. It'll be the last thing you ever do." He held up his hook hand one final time before opening the door and leaving the room.
It was only when he had left that Gwen let the tension in her shoulders drop and she could start breathing again.
Trent was looking much better when Gwen checked up on him in the hospital. "Hey," he said, setting the book down.
"Hey, yourself," Gwen responded, giving him a brief hug. "How are you feeling?"
"Getting better. The doctors say I'll be out of here tomorrow." Trent gestured to his heavily bandaged chest. "Still hurts like hell though."
"He's a tough soldier," a new voice spoke from the corner. Gwen whirled around, instinctively drawing the knife only to find Chef leaning in the corner.
"Chef! What are you doing here?" she demanded to know.
He uncrossed his arms. "Figured you'd stop by here after they let you out of the station." His voice got lower. "Heard some Drama Corporation mook came by to threaten you."
Gwen nodded. "Yeah. He warned me not to go after them, or he'll kill everyone I love."
"And are you going to listen to him?"
Gwen thought about it for a moment. Duncan's words echoed in her mind. "Make those bastards at the Drama Corporation pay."
"No," she decided. "Those creeps killed people with that monster of there's and are going to cover it up. They're going to frame the real hero of this story as the villain." She held Duncan's knife up, fingering hilt. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to take them down. For Duncan."
Chef nodded in approval. "And you?" he asked Trent. "You willing to follow her into Hell?"
Trent nodded his head. "If only to make sure she doesn't get herself killed."
Gwen blushed slightly at his comment.
"Good." Chef grinned savagely. "I'm going to help you too."
"Chef—"
"No butts," Chef interrupted. "The Drama Corporation's got an army. You need all the help you can get."
"I'm sure we can get the others to help too," Trent spoke up. "Izzy, Bridgette, and all of them."
"You're going to have to learn how to fight," Chef added. "It'll take time, but I can help with that."
Gwen nodded. "Whatever it takes." Her fist closed around Duncan's knife, while her other hand found its way into Trent's.
Whatever it took, however long it may take…she was going to take the Drama Corporation down.
Alive: Alejandro, Bridgette, Chef Hatchet, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Izzy, Leshawna, Noah, Sierra, Trent
Dead: Katie, Sadie, Blaineley, Beth, Tyler, Lindsay, Justin, Owen, Chris McLean, Eva, Heather, Duncan, Fang
And that's a wrap! This story has finally ended! I'd like to thank everyone for sticking this out despite the breaks and long periods without an update. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it. There were a lot of correct answers from those of you that did the poll on who would survive. Obviously, everyone was correct with Gwen's survival, but I got half of you with Duncan. Mwahahahahaha!
Chet Pakawa is based off a very minor Total Drama character. I think it's pretty obvious which one. Hint: his name is made up of the initials of this minor character's long title (as he wasn't given a name in the series; only this title).
Beyond that, there's not really much to say. It's pretty clear that Gwen and the others will be trying to fight the Drama Corporation in the future. But will they succeed? Or will the Drama Corporation end them? Maybe we'll find out one day. Maybe we won't. WHO KNOWS?!
But anywho, that's about all from me. Make sure you drop a review to let me know your final thoughts on this story. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, reminding you that superhero movies almost always have credit scenes. Ciao!
Speedboats and submarines had been scouring the area where the Wawanakwa had been destroyed for several days when they found it.
A pair of soldiers threw a net into the water and reeled in a piece of debris to their ship. The commander watched impassively as they brought the thing on board.
His expression changed into a slight smile as he walked forward, running his hand over the large, bloodied shark fin that they had uncovered. He picked up his radio and made a call.
"Sir…package is secure. We're ready to proceed."