The Inevitable End

As everyone attends the funeral of Alex Manning, each of the schoolboys realize just how much death has affected their lives. They begin to imagine what could have been if certain things hadn't gone so disastrously wrong, however, this may lead them to realize that certain disasters have their uses.

Plot

Teaser

	My name is Alex Manning. Well, actually it's Reed Porter. But Alex was the name I went by most my life. And what a painful life it was. No one deserves to be in such pain. No one deserves to feel so alone. And no one deserves to hate themselves...

It's Alex's funeral. We zoom down the middle of the church, passing the residents of Wiksteria who are sitting at the benches. We see many children of Wiksteria High, including Liz, Katie and Dean. In front of the room is Alex's coffin, where a minister is speaking.

	I'm shocked to see how many people attended my funeral. And it makes me wish that I had been strong enough to seek other ways of dealing with my issues. I wish I knew that people cared. I wish I knew things could get better. But I guess I wasn’t thinking right...

On the front bench sits Joanna and the schoolboys. The shot zooms on the four boys.

	Of course, death was something all too familiar to the residents of Wiksteria...

We zoom in on Rena, who is sitting on the bench thinking, we flash in his head to Ali stuck under the beam in the Wiksteria High fire, struggling to free her (See "Burning Bridges"). We zoom in on Joe sitting on the bench, entering the flash in his head of Matthew pushing him to the ground, Joe unable to defend himself when suddenly a gunshot silences Matthew, causing him to fall dead off Joe, Annie is standing with the gun in hand (See "The Truth Comes Out, Part 1"). We zoom in to Ben on the bench as a flash in his head begins of himself standing in shock within the boathouse, looking down on the tied up and tortured body of Fraser Gale (See "The Madness Within, Part 2"). And then we zoom into the teary Josh who thinks back of Alex falling from the clock tower (See "Hidden Truths").

	...And as the resides of Wiksteria were told of the pain that comes from death, they began to think back on their own experiences. And wondered how different things would be, had certain deaths not occurred.
Alex Manning

Act I

A blackened and bloody Ali is lying on the burning hot ground, surrounded by rubble and still under the beam. Rena continues trying to push the beam. Ali begins to look drowsy, "Rena..." Rena looks over at her, "Ali, I'm here. I'm here. Just keep it together." Rena continues pulling at the beam weakly, but to no avail. Suddenly he grabs the beam tightly with his hands, he screams in agony as the flaming wood burns through his palms, but he doesn't dare let go, he continues to keep hold, pulling up the beam as the wood sears his skin. The beam is lifted from Ali, she crawls to safety and Rena then drops the beam to the ground. Ali hugs him tightly, "Thank you. Thank you, so much. I love you, Rena. I love you so much." "I love you too," Rena smiles, hugging her back, "Now, come on, this place is going to fall." They turn for the door and they run outside the building, just before the ceiling collapses, engulfing with flames and rubble anything that would have stood there.

Rena and Ali are sitting in the ambulance, after being attended to by the paramedics. "So will we talk about what I was going to tell you?" Ali asks. Rena nods, "I don't understand, you said that you remember me from the orphanage where you grew up." "Yes," Ali nods. "That doesn't make sense," Rena says. "Actually, it makes perfect sense. Think about it," Ali urges him, "You unburied that body in the woods. You said that it was your older brother, a child you have only seen in photos. And your parents buried him there to protect you, because you killed him." "That's right," Rena confirms, confused. "But you remember none of this. And you could never hurt anyone," Ali assures him. "So what are you saying happened?" Rena asks. Ali grabs Rena's hand in comfort, as she prepares to tell him the horrible obvious truth: that his mother is a murderer.

Rena is standing outside his home, with Ali holding him comfortingly, as the police escort his mother outside. "Well, you were right," Rena comments. "I'm sorry," Ali tells him, stroking him lovingly. They watch as the police drag Justine in handcuffs to the car, as she shouts, "How could you do this, Rena?! I'm your mother! I only wanted to protect you!" The police push her into the car, where Mr. Silver is already being detained. They slam the door after her. "Maybe I should find my real parents," Rena utters. Ali looks pessimistic, "I don't know if that's such a good idea, Rena. Those things rarely go well. I'm happy not knowing who gave me up, because I might not like to know why they did." "Maybe you're right," Rena says. "Besides, you aren't alone. You have me," Ali smiles. Rena smiles back, "Forever and ever, babe." They kiss.

We zoom into Hugo's cabin in the woods, where there is shouting coming from inside. "He left the oven on again!" Ali shouts, "You aren't safe in this house!" "He is my granddad!" Rena shouts back. "And he's going senile!" Ali retorts. Rena sighs in frustration and heads for the door. "Where are you going?!" Ali calls after him. "Out," Rena merely utters, before exiting and slamming the door behind him. He walks a little into the woods, and takes a deep breath to cool down. He then notices a girl sitting on a fallen tree. "Oh, didn't know someone was here," Rena says. The girl turns, revealing to be Mary. "Oh, I've seen you around school," Rena says, "Mary, right?" Mary nods. Rena notices her red cheek and he looks at it with suspicion, but he doesn't say anything. He extends his hand, "Rena." Mary smiles and shakes it. Suddenly they both step back as a static shock passes between them. "Oh, a spark," Rena chuckles. "Yeah, I felt it too," Mary chuckles back. They both smile at each other. "So what are you doing out here?" Rena asks. "I just needed to get away from home," Mary admits. Rena nods in sympathetic understanding. "Would you like to join me for a walk?" Mary asks, with a smile. Rena stutters, "Oh, I'd like that, but I, I need to get back to my, my girlfriend." Mary looks disappointed, "Okay. Nice meeting you, Rena." "You too," Rena says, almost miserably, as Mary heads off.

Rena is walking down a neighbourhood street as he comes to Josh coming his way. "You're not walking past her home again, are you?" Josh asks with a judging tone. Rena looks down. "You're becoming like a stalker," Josh comments. Rena sighs and then steps around him, continuing down the street. Rena keeps walking towards the Strange home, however he sees an ambulance outside the home. He runs over and stops by a crowd of people, looking in horror to see paramedics take a covered body from the house. He then looks to see the police dragging Henry towards the car. Rena turns to Katie beside him and asks, "What happened?" "Apparently the new girl's father had been hitting her. He hit her once too hard," Katie explains.
A flash of the incident occurs of. Henry looks up from the breakfast table to see Mary emerge with a short skirt and midriff exposing shirt. Henry drops his fork and looks up in horror, "What is that?" Suddenly he stands and screams in anger, "WHAT IS THAT?!" Mary steps back in fear, "Dad, I..." "You want boys to lust after you, IS THAT IT?! You temptation spreading-whore! You do this after what happened! I warn you again and again, but you just don't listen!" Henry extracts his arm and then brings it forcefully against her face, however it knocks her from her feet and her heads hits into the table. Suddenly Henry looks disgusted with himself as he sees Mary dead on the ground. He drops to his knees by his bloody daughter's body and utters painfully, "Mary?" He begins to weep, "Mary?!"
"...Who knew?" Katie finishes. At this, Rena looks disgusted with himself and turns, running into the distance. Katie looks confused.

Rena enters the school, as Ali comes over and greets him with a kiss. "Hey. Did you hear the awful news about the new girl?" Ali asks. Rena nods glumly, "I did." "Awful," Ali repeats. "Ali, we need to talk," Rena says. "What's up?" Ali asks. "I've realised that...that, we're not happy. There was a time when I needed you, and you needed me. But our futures aren't to be together," Rena explains. Ali looks hurt, "Are, are we breaking up?" Rena nods, "I'm sorry." Ali turns, beginning to tear. Rena sighs.

Act II

Joe is being pinned up to the wall by Matthew, who is unzipping the boy's pants. Annie is crawling along the ground, having just freed herself from Matthew's rope by cutting it with a shard from the broken mug on the ground. As the abuse continues, Annie sees the gun lying on the ground. She goes to grab it but hesitates, and then sees the phone on the wall. She clutches her bleeding knee and worms her way over. Once there, she grabs the phone off the wall and dials 911. Annie mutters the address but a now shirtless Matthew hears something and turns. He sees what Annie is doing and loosens his grip on Joe, before throwing the boy across the room. Annie drops the phone in fear and tries to get to the gun, but Matthew gets there first. He grabs the gun and shoots Annie between the eyes. She falls back, dead. Joe stirs where he lays and sees Matthew grabbing his shirt. "She's called the cops. I gotta go. I gotta go," he says in a panicky tone. Joe passes out as Matthew runs out of the house.

Joe is now seen in the company of Mr. Silver, who's escorting him into the orphanage into the city. "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother," Mr. Silver says. "Me too..." Joe utters sadly. "But I assure you that you have found a home with us here, and you will be as comfortable as we can make you." "I doubt that," Joe says. "Oh?" asks Mr. Silver. "An orphanage is exactly where he'll think to look... he's still out there... he can find me..." Joe mutters. "Are you talking about your father?" Mr. Silver wonders. Joe is silent as he enters the building. "Your new room is just down the hall," Mr. Silver says, pointing, "I can accompany you if you—" "I can walk down a hall by myself," Joe says bluntly. "Very well," Mr. Silver replies, before walking away. Once the orphanage's owner is gone, Joe makes his way down the hall and into his new bedroom. All that's there is an empty bed and a wardrobe, and Joe sits on the bed and sighs, looking around. "This is exactly where he'll think to look..." Joe utters, "He's coming..." And with that, Joe turns around and opens the window. He then climbs up onto the sill and hops out, turning up in the garden of the orphanage. He runs and jumps the fence, continuing to run in a random direction.

Joe's now living on the streets, sitting under a blanket outside some store. He has a cup full of change that he shakes when pedestrians walk by. "Spare change," he says, "Spare change?" People appear to be avoiding him, not daring to make eye contact, and Joe lets out a long sigh. Suddenly, he sees Matthew walking towards him. His eyes widen in fear, but then he blinks, and sees it's just another citizen. Matthew then appears again, but turns out to be another man entering the shop. Joe looks around at the crowded town center and sees that everyone now bears Matthew's face. He looks from Matthew to Matthew and closes his eyes, shaking his head. When he opens them, reality resumes as normal. "Right," he utters to himself, "Time to move." Joe then gathers his change cup and blanket before mixing in with the crowd.

Joe slowly approaches his old home and peers in through the window. Inside, a father, son and mother are seen enjoying hot coco in each other's company. The father says something and the mother laughs, the child joining in. They're happy. Seeing this, a tear streams down Joe's face and be begins walking away from the house. "I knew you'd come back here, which is why I never left," says Matthew suddenly. Joe blinks, but when he opens his eyes, Matthew is still standing here. "It's... you... it's really you!" Joe exclaims, hyperventilating. "Yes, it's me," Matthew says, smiling. "How... why..." "I told you, I knew you'd be back... I've been stalking this place for months. Police are very stupid. Once they check one place, decide nothing's there, they never check it again," Matthew explains, laughing. Joe stares at his father with tears and disgust, and quickly turns around and runs. Matthew sighs, and runs after his son. The chase continues through the town and Joe heads to the park. Matthew is soon chasing his son through the woods and takes a revolver from out of his inside pocket. "I'm coming, Joe!" he taunts as he runs. Joe runs out of the other side of the forest and finds a road, which he heads down. He is soon led into a habited area of Wiksteria and runs down an alley. He keeps running but the alley has a dead end, and Joe turns back around. He tries to run back out, but Matthew is already approaching him. He walks with casual speed and has the gun firmly aimed. "You don't have to kill me... Please... I'm your son..." Joe utters, crying. "Oh, I know... but what sort of man would I be if I didn't settle my scores? And you, Joe, are the biggest score I've ever needed to settle... You should be proud. You're just a child after all." "Exactly," Joe utters, "Please..." "You should know better than anyone, Joe... 'Please' doesn't work," and with that, Matthew pulls the trigger, and the bullet hits Joe between the eyes. Matthew then approaches his son's dead body and spits on it, before beginning to drag it out of the alley.

Act III

Within the boathouse by the river, Ben leaps forward at Fraser, bringing them both to the ground as Fraser hits his head off the flooring, knocking him out. Ben proceeds to being typing Fraser's hands to a wooden pillar, he stands to his feet and takes out his mobile. "You don't want to do that," Fraser utters. "And why on earth not?!" Ben asks. "Because Katie is still alive," Fraser utters. Ben lowers the phone and ponders, but brings it back up and says, "And you will tell the police where she is," Ben continues to dial the phone, as Fraser's smile drops. We then flash to the police taking Fraser away from the boathouse.

Ben is standing inside a church; he looks over to the front to where there is a coffin and a large picture of Katie. Suddenly Joe marches over to him, "What are you doing? You're not welcome here!" Ben stutters, "Joe...Katie was my friend too..." "She died because of you!" Joe shouts. Ben looks down guilty, "That's, that..." "What?!" Joe demands, "She died because you were too weak to help her." "What was I suppose to do? Force it out of him where she was?" Ben asks. "Yes," Joe tells him. Ben sighs, "I know it's hard to see Joe, but I did what was right." "Right? That piece of human trash has been released from jail! He's alive! And she's dead! How is that right? You may have done the legal thing, Ben. You may even have done the ethical thing. But there is no way you did the right thing! There is nothing right about this!" Joe begins marching off. "Joe, I'm so sorry," Ben begins to tear, calling after him. Joe turns to him with contempt, "I don't care. Because we are not friends." Joe turns and walks off, leaving Ben alone with his guilt.

Ben walks to his house sadly, opening the door and entering, however he looks down to see another note lying inside the house. He sighs with anguish and anger, opening it. It reads, I was wrong...you really are as weak on the inside as you appear on the out. You should have stopped me, because I still need justice. And Liz's blood is going to give it. R.I.P Nick. Ben drops the letter with a sickened look and runs out the door.
We switch to Liz jogging through the park. A little ahead, Fraser is hiding in the bushes. He creeps there until Liz reaches him, he then jumps out, swinging his baton at the back of her legs. She squeals in pain and collapses to the ground, with the sound of the bones in her legs breaking. Fraser gets atop her body and smile sadistically, while pushing the baton into her throat. She squirms for freedom, but is unable to move.
Ben runs through the park, his legs and heart racing, however he arrives too late. He looks down in horror at Liz's body, lying on the park ground. He begins to cry in agony and falls to his knees by her body. He looks into her lifeless eyes and grabs her, hugging her body while crying to the heavens.

It's night. Ben is ambling across a bridge. He stops. He climbs on the edge, and looks down at the cold and fierce river beneath him. He takes a deep breath as tears fall down his face and he stares down. "You gonna jump?" a voice says. Ben turns to see a vision of Katie sitting on the ledge. She continues, "You should. How can you live with yourself knowing that I died because of you?" "She's right," says another voice. Ben turns his head to see a vision of Emma sitting on the other side of him. "Your friends wont forgive you. You're going to be all alone. And all you'll have is the guilt that we died because of you. Not to mention the future girls that Fraser will kill," she says. "It wasn’t my fault," Ben tries to argue. "If I wasn’t looking for your ring then I wouldn't have died," Emma tells him. "Sounds like your fault, Ben," Katie adds. Emma continues, "And did you even use the ring? Or did the most important person to you in the world die because of you too?" Ben begins to sob, "Stop it...you're not real, you're just inside my head." "If we're inside your head, then we're only saying exactly what you're thinking," Emma clarifies. Ben begins shaking and he shouts, "STOP IT!" The visions disappear and Ben continues to cry. "Am I an illusion too, Ben?" a voice eerily asks. Ben looks up. It's a vision of Liz, in front of him, hovering off the bridge, above the waters. "Liz?" he utters. "An illusion is all you have now, Ben. It can give you what reality no longer can. Aren't you feeling weak? Aren't you feeling alone? Step forward and we can be together again," the vision says, speaking his own thoughts. Ben looks down in fear at the racing currents below. The vision urges him, "This is your chance to be with me again. Come with me, Ben." Ben looks up at the beautifully smiling vision of Liz and he smiles back, "I'm coming." Ben steps forward, stepping off the edge of the bridge and he drops to the cold waters below, followed by only the plummeting noise of his body against the river.

Act IV

"ALEX!" Josh exclaims, seeing him up on the clock tower. He runs through all of the students in his way and heads up the clock tower stairs. As he does so, he hears someone else. Josh stops on a platform when he sees the collapsed Ericson Lyons, who's tripped on the stairs. Josh looks at him with confusion before continuing to head up the stairs. He makes it to the top and climbs up onto the roof, where he approaches Alex. "Alex... what are you doing?" Josh asks as he approaches him. "I want it all to end..." Alex utters, "I want the pain to go away." "Okay..." Josh says, "But this? No. This isn't the answer!" "Oh, I think so..." Alex utters, taking a step forward. "Alex, please! Don't do this! Please! Think about your family!" Josh begs. "I have no family..." Alex points out. "What about me...?" Josh asks, "You're my brother." Alex turns to Josh, "Y – you see me as your brother?" he asks. "Of course I do," Josh assures him, "I'm your family." Alex begins to tear up, as does Josh. "Please... just get off this roof," Josh begs again, and a tearful Alex nods, "Okay." Josh smiles as the two boys retreat indoors.

Alex and Josh are now arriving home together. "Thank you," Alex says, "Thank you for saving my life." "No problem," Josh says, and the two of them hug. Bob soon approaches. "Hey, I heard about what happened. Glad to see you're okay, Alex," Bob says. "Dad," Josh asks, "What do you say to Alex moving in here? With us?" "I don't know..." Bob says, "What about Joanna?" "She could move too," Josh says. "Definitely not," Bob states. Josh pulls his father aside, so that Alex can't hear. "Dad, that kid tried to kill himself today. We need to be hospitable," Josh says. "But, Joanna..." "Deal with it," Josh orders, "We need to help our family." Josh then turns around and nudges Bob. "Alex," Bob says reluctantly, "We'd love you to stay." Alex appears elated with joy. "Thank you!" Alex exclaims. "It's not problem, son," Bob assures him.

An older Josh is seen to be dressed in a tuxedo, standing up to make his best man speech in front of the guests at Alex's wedding.

	I have known Alex for a long time, and although we may not be related by blood, we are as close as any two brothers I've ever known. Closer, perhaps. Ever since a faithful day many years ago, we have rarely left each other's side. We've grown together, developed together, moved on together. But it fills me with great joy to allow Alex to find happiness and a life of his own, with the person he deserves. May they have a lifetime of happiness. To the happy couple!
Josh Miller

"To the happy couple!" everyone exclaims, raising their champagne glasses and clinking them. Josh sits back down beside Alex. "That was lovely," Alex says. "No more than what you deserve, brother," Josh tells him.

An elderly Josh is sitting next to an elderly Alex in a retirement home. "Two years today since my wife passed away," Alex says. "I remember her fondly," Josh says, smiling. "She liked you too," Alex says, "Been on great terms ever since the wedding." "Remember the speech I gave?" Josh asks. "Every word," Alex tells him, "Even now we're growing together. Developing together. Moving on together." "I suppose we are," Josh agrees. "Ever since that day on the clock tower..." Alex says. "I'm glad you decided to come with me that day," Josh says. "As am I... if I hadn't... I would have missed out on years as your brother," Alex points out. "And what wonderful years there were, too," Josh says nostalgically.

Act V

Henry Strange walks to the front door of the Clark house, using the rock to force open the door, before entering. He enters the kitchen where James utters, "Who...who are you?" "I'm the father of your girlfriend. And I'm very unhappy," Henry explains, lifting a large knife and holding it up, however James immediately runs into the man, pushing him off his feet, as the two fall to the floor, however as James gets up he sees that the knife has accidently plunged into Henry's stomach. Blood stains through Henry's shirt as he collapses dead. James looks in shock at the ordeal, but quickly gets up and grabs the phone. "911, what's your emergency?" the operator asks. James replies, "Hello, operator..."

The five schoolboys are sitting around the school cafeteria table, marking the beginning of the new school year. But everyone, other than James is sitting around with depressed faces. James looks around the sad table, "Guys, you do realize I almost died this summer. We should be happy." "We're sorry," Rena says. "We're glad your okay. Just wasn't a good summer," Ben explains. "What's wrong?" James asks. "Liz is missing. She ran away from a clinic her parents sent her to for the summer, and she hasn’t been since," Ben says. "That's terrible," James remarks. James turns to Rena, "Rena?" "It's kind of awkward," Rena admits. "If it's about my ex-girlfriend, then just say. We were just a summer fling. Besides killing her dad, kind of killed the romance. We were broken up already when I introduced her to you guys," James assures him. "Alright. Well, things between me and Mary aren't going well," Rena says. "Why not?" James asks. Rena looks down. "You can tell us," James says. "It's me. I just haven't been myself lately. I can't sleep. I keep having terrible dreams. And I don't know what they mean. And I don't know who can help me," Rena says, before turning at a girl asking, "Sorry, can I please borrow the ketchup?" Rena hands it to her, barely noticing the girl, who is Ali, "Here." She thanks him and walks off. James looks at her, "Is she new?" Rena shrugs. James smiles to himself, looking at her. Joe then follows from Rena's last comment, saying sarcastically, "You should see my shrink...he's great...." "How's that going?" Ben asks. "Terrible!" Joe shouts, slamming his fists down on the table. Everyone backs away a little. Joe looks up and sighs, "I wanna be alone." He walks off and everyone glances at each other, over the bizarrely random outburst. "You're very quiet," James comments, looking over at Josh. Josh looks up, "Me? Nah, I'm great. Hooked up with a hot blonde last night. And got a hot date tonight. Yeah, life is good." Josh smiles falsely to himself, as the three boys shake their heads with a smile. Once they look away however, Josh's smiles drops and he looks down, looking as miserable as the others.

	No one wants to die. And yet it is the one destination that we all share. It's something we all fear. For no one can forever escape it. But actually, that is how it should be. For death is actually life's greatest invention. It is the world's changing agent...

At the end of the church, by the front door, Inspector Ericson Lyons is standing, watching the service. He stares at the coffin of Alex and a tear falls down his eye in guilt, suddenly he rummages through his pocket for his pills and swallows a couple to deal with the pain. Suddenly he hears a car horn from behind. He turns to see a black limousine pull up by the church, with tinted windows. A driver steps out the car and opens the backdoor; he looks at Ericson and signals for him to get in the car. The Inspector sighs and reluctantly steps inside. As the driver closes the door behind him, Ericson comments, "That boy really didn't have to die." "Yes he did," a voice replies from beside him. The Inspector argues, "He was mentally ill. He had nothing to do with..." "He is one of their brothers. Who knows what he knew?" the voice retorts." "No disrespect sir, but isn't that why you hired me? To know," Lyons says. The camera pans to reveal Thomas and Eloise Gale sitting beside the Inspector. "You were hired to find who killed our son," Eloise says quietly. Thomas gives her a glare before returning his sight to the Inspector, "And I've came to ensure that you're still clear on the direction of your job." "I understand the reasoning behind the actual killer. But all these other boys..." the Inspector tries to argue. Thomas interrupts, raising his voice, "You've been hired to do a job. The reasoning does not concern you! You do not ask me questions and then maybe I'll continue to ensure people don't ask questions about you and your secret, are we clear?!" The Inspector nods.

	...For the world has a way of working itself out, and sadly this involves death. But unfortunately sometimes people come with the intention of messing with the world's plans of death.
Alex Manning

"So, what is the direction of your job?" Thomas asks condescendingly. Lyons turns to face him and confirms he knows the answer, "They all die."