Adam was in complete and utter darkness, pain coursing through him with the fresh wound on his shoulder from where the bullet had him. And the stench of rotting flesh was ripe. He sat in the corner still shackled by the chain that was binding him while rocking backwards and forwards gently. Why? Why had this happened to me? Adam thought. What have I done to deserve this? Maybe that old geezer was right. I am pathetic. he sighed burying his face in his hands. This was it. He was truly going to die in this godforsaken bathroom. He had lost the key to unlock this damned chain, he'd tried cutting it but with no avail. Although, he had one tiny ray of hope: Lawrence had gone to get help. But there was a slim chance that he'd actually find someone in time with the amount of blood he was losing. Still, hope was the last thing he had and he wasn't about to accept defeat just yet. Lawrence wouldn't let him down, He gave him his word after all.
Lawrence was in agony: his face was a ghostly white, his leg was burning with pain as blood trailed behind him as he crawled across the hallway. He wanted to stop, to just give up and perish, but he had a promise to keep. A promise that he'd made to Adam to come back for him. Filled with determination, he kept crawling until he reached a steam pipe. This was a perfect time to cauterize it. With much struggling he managed to sit himself upright, he pulled up his leg stump and pressed it to the boiling steam pipe: the pain was unbearable. Never in his life had Lawrence experienced this much felt like his leg was surely going to melt. after 2 minutes he pulled his now sealed leg stump away and leaned against the wall. Cold sweat was covering his whole body. He felt exhausted and his body was aching all over. He just wanted to go to sleep but he had to keep crawling…he had to. But his fatigue and weakness from blood loss had gotten the better of him as he slowly dozed off.
Adam was starting to get nervous now. Had Lawrence forgotten all about him? Had he managed to get help? Was he ok? Many questions swirled around in his head. All of this was fucking insane. This so called "game" as the madman had put it. The game that had driven Lawrence to severing his own foot and Adam having to witness it and hear his screams of agony. And to top it all off, the old "dead" guy had risen from the floor and walked right out of the room! This whole thing is just bizarre. What was that bastard trying to do by locking me and Lawrence up together? Why? What for? And why did the crazy old thing tell me where the key to the chain was? Suddenly his thoughts where interrupted by footsteps approaching. His heart hammered. Was it the FBI? He didn't want to call out in case it was another unwanted creep. The bathroom door slid open and a faint light emitted from the background along with a silhouette , his eyes trying to adjust to make out who it was. It certainly wasn't Lawrence, and it definitely wasn't a cop. It looked rather feminine.
"Adam?" she whispered. Stepping into the dark bathroom. "Are you alive? I'm here to help you"
He didn't respond. As he shut his eyes, if she knew that he was alive it was all over. He felt a bad aura on this woman. He heard her draw nearer and nearer. She knelt down to check if he was still breathing. Opening his eyes faintly he could see her touching his neck obviously for a pulse get the fuck away from me! Adam thought furiously. He kept looking for any suspicious items on her, until he saw that she was carrying plastic.
She was going to suffocate him.
Suddenly jumped up, making the woman jump back in fright. She bounced back and got the plastic and tried to wrap it around his face but Adam was too quick for her. He tripped her with his own chain, she fell face first onto the cold bathroom floor. He got his chain and wrapped it around her neck tightly, He wasn't going to die today. Not if he could help it. He yanked even tighter, she gagged. "Why won't you die?!" he yelled. She just stared at him while coughing violently, her face turning purple. He gave a tighter tug then finally she went limp. Now that she was taken care of he began searching her pants for a key, He rummaged around until finally he had found it. He took it and undid his shackle that was binding him, he rubbed his ankle which now had a faint pink circular mark around it. Finally he was free. Next he had to find Lawrence to make sure he was alright. He ran out of the bathroom and set foot in what appeared to be a narrow dingy hallway. He kept walking but still no sign of Lawrence anywhere.
After what seemed like the umpteenth corner, he turned and he jumped back in surprise: Slumped up near a wall passed out was none other than Lawrence. He bent down to check his pulse, he was alive. Adam sighed with relief. Good, he was OK. Although he did feel fairly sweaty and clammy. He hoisted him up by the arms and put him over his shoulder, he staggered a bit under the weight, which is understandable because Lawrence was a much larger man than he was.
"Alright man Let's get out of this shithole".
He heaved him with a massive effort and off he went slowly but surely, through this nightmare of a dump. The hallway seemed endless and dark but he kept going, he had to keep going for the both of them. He had now reached the end of the hallway and into the living room; it was so filthy it made the bathroom look absolutely spotless and sanitary in comparison: the walls were all moldy and grimy, the wallpaper was peeling off, the curtains were ragged and moth eaten and the furniture was all dusty and ripped and shabby. Clearly no one had lived in here for a while. Anyway, Adam couldn't waste his time gawking, he needed to keep going. Lawrence's breathing was getting shallower by the minute and he had to act fast. It wasn't long until he reached the front door, panting from weakness and exhaustion as he pushed it open and breathed in the fresh evening air. Oh how good it was to be free. He stepped on outside on the narrow footpath with Lawrence still over his shoulder. He was too tired to try and find a phone booth so he decided to yell out for help.
"Hey! Anyone there? I need urgent help!"
5 minutes of calling for help, he thought all hope was lost. Until he heard footsteps approaching, it was most likely a jogger passing by,. He stopped in his tracks
"Hey! Can you help me?" asked Adam weakly to the stranger. "me and my friend here were held captive and we were held captive by a madman. We need urgent help
"Shit, of course man, the stranger said looking panicked at the state Adam and Lawrence were in, it certainly was a strange sight to take in: a younger frail looking dude hoisting another man around his shoulder. "I'll dial 911 right away."
"Oh, thank Christ….and make sure to tell them..to get…the foot.." Adam smiled weakly., taking Lawrence off his shoulders and laying him down gently on the ground. The man looked baffled.
And then he collapsed.