Choose Your Ending: Kingdom Come

                                    

                                          
They had been at sea for six days, and they were coming down the home stretch. They had been travelling at 24 knots nonstop. Using the on-board distillation device, they were able to get fresh water at any time. Food supply was running low, but water supply was running high. They had a few hours left, and Matthew could see the coastline of his country in the horizon. He smiled to himself at what was to come for his...friends. He felt Kat's gentle fingers run through his hair.
"Ah, Kat." He muttered softly, leaning his head into her hand. "I can't believe I've managed to get everyone this far."
"You're a hero, Matvey," she cooed to him, embracing him from behind.
"That's...a word." He chuckled, an element of darkness in his voice. Kat stood back from him, confused.
"Is something wrong, my love?"
"No, nothing at all. Gather the others on the top deck, please?" He shot her an eerie, innocent grin. She frowned at him, but obliged. As soon as she left, Matthew shut the door, leaned forward on the control panel, and smirked to himself. "Nothing is wrong for me, anyway."
He was exhausted at having everyone forget him. He had gone through life without anyone knowing his name. Not even Alfred remembered, sometimes. He was so sick and tired of it that he aught to have vomited right there. Not anymore, oh, not anymore. His smirk widened into a malicious grin as he watched the coastline approach. There was nowhere left for his team to turn. He turned quickly and went to the deck to address his crew. Standing in front of them, he suddenly broke out into a maniacal laugh. They stared at him as he laughed, spat, and shuddered with content.
"Ah, you've actually all followed me this far!" He cried happily. "That's hilarious!"
"Hey, what's going on with you, Matt?" Eliza snapped at him.
"Nothing, nothing. You're just idiots, is all." He grinned, a sparkle in his eye that nobody had ever seen before.
"Matthew, I demand you give us answers. Are we close to shore?" Ludwig growled.
"Yes, yes!" Matthew snickered at him. "I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?"
"What? But we're a team." SK crossed his arms.
"No, YOU are all a team. A team that has survived this far for nothing."
"Wh--what...but...what about all the research being conducted?" Vietnam hugged her binder close to her chest.
"It's all bull!" Matthew cried cheerily. "It's all a ruse to get you good-for-nothings to the kingdom."
"The...the kingdom?" Ludwig asked apprehensively.
"MY kingdom, to be specific." Matthew swept his arm forward and stepped aside to reveal to the group the port of Halifax, overrun by zombies. It was as if they had anticipated the group's arrival. They mindlessly spilled off the docks and into the water, crooning and gasping and reaching out to the vessel as it began to pull in. 
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Matthew stood on the top deck, watching his team of misfits try to fight off their impending doom. He grinned maliciously, his eyes darkening as he watched one of his own fall into the water and another go down after a bite to the shoulder. 
"Matthew, there's something wrong with you." Kat growled. "Why are you doing this?"
"I thought I answered that. I'm tired of being forgotten. If the last thing they remember before going down fighting is my name, then so be it. I'll take it."
"But you'll never be forgotten again, after the way you orchestrated us into a team and brought us to...to...what we thought was safety." Kat cried desperately, terrified of what Matthew had become.
"It's safety for us." Matthew turned to her and brushed the hair out of her eyes gently, and caressed her cheek. "We have a boat, and fuel, and the whole world to explore. And we have each other."
"Matvey...I lost my brother and sister for this...for...for nothing...and now I'm losing hope..." She whispered, nevertheless leaning her face against his hand.
"Don't do that," he tilted her head up gently. "Don't you go and lose hope, you're all I have and I'm all you have." He smiled a little, a genuine, soft smile. "Come with me. Explore the world. Everyone will know us, our names. This kingdom is ours to explore, not just mine." 
"But...but...the child...all the children...our team, and...and...a-and everything I know and love..." Kat began to weep.
"Nothing is what it seems anymore, my love." He laced her fingers with hers. "Sometimes it requires leaving your comfort zone behind in the dust. We'll create a new one together, a new home. You and me. Forget our family, our friends. Sometimes the good guys just don't win."
Kat slumped back against the wall, in a state of shock, trying to process everything happening around her. Sometimes the good guys just don't win. Her family was dead, she had no bloodline. Sometimes the good guys just don't win. Matthew's brother was gone, the hero had perished, and sometimes the good guys just don't win. Her friends were out their, risking and...losing their lives, trying to fend for themselves. The team had fallen. They just...didn't win.
"Let's explore the world," she looked up at Matthew, pleased to see the excited, adventurous glint in his eye. "You and me."
A wide grin spread across Matthew's lips and he slid an arm around her waist. The two embraced and looked out at the team, now dispersing themselves across the nearby land and brandishing whatever weapons they had. There was barely anyone left. "Well then, my love," he chuckled, "Let the games begin."