SDF Round 4 - The Final Cut - Part 6

The hysteria in the room was palpable. All Karl could do was stare at the screen overhead, and at the creature that closely resembled the freak. It had to be his cousin, Rorin. Which meant… oh, feck no.

He really was dead.

Karl made a mad dash towards the exit, but an unseen force placed the tiny gecko back into his seat.

“Look, ghosts. I got nothing to do with Winston’s murders. Let me the hell out of here!” demanded the gecko, visibly shaken.

Admittedly, it was a lot easier to grasp the whole “ghost” concept without the seeing part. Sure, he’d seen one piddling duck before. But this...this was too much to digest all at once.

On one of the screens, he could see the diplodocus smile weakly at the baboon, “All these poor younglings here. Everyone hurt by this weasel. The tiny dinosaur is right, you know. Almost all the ghosts here are people Winston brought here. His old opponents on the brink of death from the Dile days, and those who refused to keep his secrets. Some say it’s a mercy, better than death. But it’s not.” He then paused to steady himself, teeth bared in apparent frustration. “As ghosts we’re unable to affect anything outside of the studio. We no longer feel any of the pleasure of the living. And worst of all, is being stuck with the psychopathic Dile family. Watching them kill innocents at Winston’s behest, like that poor Ian.”

Several of the ghosts wailed louder at the mention of her name.

Winston frowned, “You got you wanted Mr. Ripley. You got your acting career back. You are on the path to being immortalized forever. Need I remind you that no other studio would take you? Not at your age and certainly not with that missing eye.”

Phildegard winced at the remark, his face contorted in evident agony, “This is not what I wanted. This is not how it was in the old days. This reality you created is hell. All I want is to be reunited with Margaret.”

As though on cue, one of the german shepherds let out a blood-curdling howl, and then stepped forward, “We can’t take this any longer. I don’t want any more people to die, but there’s no other choice! We can’t be free until Winston is dead. His magic keeps us here.”

The antlered raptorfisk spoke next in a voice no louder than a murmur, “Please. Don’t let my cousin see I’m here. I don’t want him to see me like this.”

Karl had been intrigued by all the conversations, but immediately dropped his gaze away from the screen long enough to see Martin being held in place by two of the talent agents. His yellow eyes were as wide as saucers. He kept calling out Rorin’s name, but the ghost didn’t respond.

Phildegard stepped back into the screen, “Please help us. I don’t relish in anyone’s death. But this madman can’t be allowed to hurt anymore people.”

"Blood! Blood!"

"Justice! Justice!"

Sudden footsteps resounded across the set, and a flicker of movement registered in the gecko's field of vision.

Vulgare leapt onto the stage and then yelled, “Please, Winston you have to get out of here! I’ll-"

Before the talent agent could finish his sentence, his neck was snapped and he fell to the floor with an audible thud.

Winston ran to Vulgare and kneeled beside the dead caiman. He turned his head and looked at others. In a calm that bordered on hysteria he said, “Nobody else is to move from their post.”

He rounded on the ghosts, “This was not part of plan! You shouldn’t have fucking touched him. He wasn’t a part of this!” The weasel looked around and seemed to notice something. He then regained his composure, “Ah. I...I apologize for the outburst. I’m never in a good mood when one of my employees die. But Josefina, Umozozi, and Karl, you’ve heard what the ghosts have to say. What’s your response?”

The caiman’s death sealed it in Karl’s mind. He was going to die here. But if he lived, he was going to expose the double crossing weasel.

The crocs who'd been previously watching on the sidelines with Kuan-tai, Martin, Scott and Dex looked at a loss. The others remained at their posts, eyeing the screens warily.

The insect ignored Winston, and turned to the wolverines. "You both need to get out of here," she told them. "Quickly."  

Suvi was pushed backwards by an invisible force. "How do you propose we do that, huh lady?" he asked, eyes wide. "We're trapped. Look."

He pointed at one of the screens. And she saw too, that they were all boxed in by the enraged, chanting figures.

"They don't have anything to do with this," the baboon added. "Let them go."

Winston shook his head. "Not so fast. You see, they are waiting for an answer. They need a reason to let them go.”

"You have to be kidding me!" Karl groaned. "Ah, c'mon ghosties. What do you expect a bliddy gecko to do, huh?"

“Oh, they wish for you to kill me, I presume.” Winston said. “I’m the one who keeps them prisoner here, after all.”

Karl blinked. “What? If they want you dead so ruddy bad, then why are they doing your bidding?”

“It’s not a two-way process. I can control them, to an extent. Like a director to their actors. Give them a script, a direction, and they’ll latch onto it if it means they’ll get compensation. They do react strongly when violence is involved. I get the feeling it appeases them. The mindlessness of it all. However, they cannot touch me. Not without my express permission. My magic is what immortalized them, and unfortunately for them, they cannot take their justice out on me. I am out of their reach. That’s why they need you. Well, you or Mr. Ntembara and Ms. Figueroa.”

“Cripes almighty! Suicidal much? I’m not going to kill you. That’s not what I came here to do.”

"Oh, yes. That reminds me. I hope you haven't forgotten about my offer, Karl. It's time to make a decision."

Karl didn't answer. There was no way in hell he was going to trust that weasel. Not after everything he’d seen and heard. He wasn’t going to play the idiot any longer. Plus he had one burning question.

Winston's eyes narrowed. "You wound me, Karl. Have you still not made up your mind? Such indecision will get you nowhere."

“What were they talking about earlier? About being your heroes and all?”

“Well, I was going to tell you but then you had to be late for the meeting. This tournament has been a movie from the start. I cast you initially as the antagonist. But my offer still stands about you joining me. Or perhaps you would rather turn me in? And get the fame you so craved? Or maybe you would rather play the hero and let me die. Though the one thing I can assure you is that you’ll never be happy. No matter what you do. But the choice is up to you.”

“Oh, shove it up your arse, Weasel,” said Karl, as the ghosts continued to scream around him.

The baboon snapped his teeth at the air, “We don’t have time for this! Jo and I will do it. We’ll do our best to stop Winston. Just get Tuuli and Suvi out of here.”

“Excellent!” Winston clapped his hands, “Scott. Dex. Please take our fine friends out of here. As for the rest of my crew, do not interfere with anything that happens next.”

Reluctantly the squirrel and lizard approached the two wolverines and escorted them towards the exit.

The ghosts quieted as the four left the room. Tuuli wavered at the doorframe, and looked back at the insect and the baboon as though wanting to say something. But then he simply shook his head and kept walking.

As Karl watched, it came to him. He was going to come out on top and he knew exactly how to do it.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’ll be your bliddy antagonist, Winston. I’ll be the best damn antagonist you’ve ever seen! I can’t trust a ruddy thing you say. But I came here to expose this studio and I’m damn well going to do just that. I’ll take pleasure seeing you rot behind bars, Winston. Let’s see if your Abomination and Macho Man can take me on,” Karl said assuredly, “But you better keep your bliddy ghosts off me.”

"I shall try, but no promises," Winston replied with a small smile. "As you saw, I don't have complete control over them. This industry tends to bring out the worst in people. And... hm, how to put this? When someone’s immortalized by me...well, they slowly gain something of a hive mind overtime. Mob mentality, and all that jazz. But, I want you to know you've made an excellent decision!"

"...feck!"