Phil walked through the unforgiving Canadian wilderness. Neo had called him up here, it was down to just the two of them and that mean that either of them had to be the killer, unless it was someone outside the game, but that's just silly. The remaining people had to stay together. It was just a shame this meeting was called with so few members.
Phil arrived at the cabin Neo told him to meet at. "Hey Neo, you in here man?" he called out. There was a light on in the farthest room. Phil started walking towards it. "Neo is that-" was all he got out before he was knocked out by a hockey stick to the back of the head.
[hr]
When Phil awoke he was tied to a chair in a basement. Remnants of old boxes and torn Toronto Maple Leafs Champions of 1967 posters littered the walls. Phil tried to move but he was held to the chair with strong Canadian twine.
"Welcome to the Great White North, Phil. Boot time you got up to visit. Too bad it's going to be a one-way trip for ya, there." The voice had a distinct Canadian twang to it.
"Neo man, seriously? You were the killer this whole time? Son of a *****!"
"Oh don't look so shocked Phil!" The accent changed as the tall Canuck stepped out of the shadows holding the hockey stick that knocked Phil out, as well as a steak knife. The end of the stick was sharpened considerably. "You can only wrongfully execute a guy so many times before he starts thinking of revenge. First all those times. After all the record keeping I did? That hurt man. Hurt me deep. Right to the heart."
"But why us? And how? And why do you sound so British?"
Neo turned on the radio, it was on low. A familiar tune came on the air, Rocky Mountain High by John Denver. "Good song. And you don't really think we all talk like that do you? That's silly. Anyway, you were the ones who sent me to the gallows, you were the ones who had to pay. As for how, well I guess I have Ownage to thank a little. Even when not existing he was still useful. The fervor he kicked up calling for my death before the game started got me a little sympathy. Allowed me to avoid my usual Round 1 execution, you see. From then I just had to play my cards right. After all, no one suspects the drunk Canadian, am I right? No, not the Canadian. And as I racked up the kills and you left me standing things just got easier and easier. You mistrusting Void at the end? Just the final nail I needed to take the last one of you out. Thanks for that by the way." The whole time Neo was whittling away on the end of the hockey stick, sharpening it into a fine point.
"Dude you're fucking crazy!" As he uttered this, a different song came on. Another jaunty tune. A little bit of Stealer's Wheel.
"How appropriate!" Neo said, slashing out at Phil's ear, taking it almost completely off. He screamed in pain once before seething through his teeth. "I don't take too kindly to insults Phil. Too many people have died learning that lesson for you to just go and repeat it." The blood was trickling down Phil's side as Neo went back to the hockey stick, it was almost ready. "It's amazing. The one who's been killed almost every time has succeeded where all others before me have failed. Pretty good when you have a game plan and people willing to play along, eh Phil?"
"What are you going to do then? Kill me? What will that accomplish?" Phil was starting to get a little woozy from the blood loss.
"Well it'll mean I've won for one thing," Neo said. The stick was done. "And like I said. Vengeance and all that. But look at the bright side, Phil. If this was a regular horror movie, you would have been dead a long time ago. Here, you're the last one standing. Well besides me. Anyways, you should be so happy!" With that Neo stabbed Phil right in the heart. Another cry rang out through the Canadian wilderness, but no one was around to hear. "So happy!" He kept plunging it in and out unless Phil stopped moving. The deed was done. He had won.
Neo left the basement and walked out of the cabin, the smell of propane gas filling the building. He walked outside and looked back at the place, the resting place of this round. He pulled out a matchbook, one from a rinky dink hotel in Moncton, embossed with a red maple leaf. A little bit of Phil's blood had gotten on it, a different shade of red mixing in. He took the last match out and struck it, setting it aflame before carelessly tossing it towards the house. With the gas filling it, it exploded instantly, the cozy little hideaway now a raging inferno.
"Huh, didn't think it would go up that fast....Wonder where I can get a drink around here?" With that he walked off towards civilization, his GM-appointed and self-approved task now complete.