Saw: Jigsaw Puzzles
The blank monitors flickered on as the cameras in each room buzzed into life. The man sitting behind them tapped a few keys on the keypad as he checked and double checked that the traps were all set. Smiling with satisfaction, he turned his head as a young woman walked into the room, slipping off the pig mask as she did so.
"You did well." He grinned, showing a set of perfect teeth, even though he was over 50 years old. "This is promising to be a good game."
"Remind me why we're using teenagers again." Groaned the young woman, flopping down next to him.
"Amanda, as I've explained before, 13 year olds are more able to learn lessons than adults." The man sighed. "It's a shame really. If more people just listened, they would still be alive right now."
"And that is meant to explain why we're using loads of the old traps a second time."
There was a silence as the man pretended to be very interested in what was being shown in a empty room shown in the monitor. "Jigsaw I want an answer!"
"Because of the recession." Jigsaw said between clenched teeth. Amanda burst out laughing. "It. Isn't. Funny."
"Yes it is!" Cackled Amanda, almost falling off her chair. "Jigsaw! The biggest psychopathic killer ever! Hit by the recession!" Jigsaw glared at her.
"It isn't my fault if no-one chucks away their stuff anymore!" He growled. "Without the materials, how can I make new traps?"
"Yeah yeah," Chuckled Amanda, rolling her eyes. "That's what they all say…" Jigsaw glared at her, and then turned his attention back to the screens as he caught a flicker of movement. He smiled. FINALLY something he was actually in control of.
"Let the games begin." He said softly.
"W…what the hell…?" Groaned Amy. She looked around the empty room…or tried to. There was some kind of metal thing strapped across her face, with a metal slit for her to be able to see. "Oh noooo…" She groaned as she realised what had happened.
"Amy? Is that you?" Came a voice from next to her.
"Kat? Is that you?" Amy craned her head round to try to see her friend.
"Of course it's me, who the hell would it be?" Kat snapped.
"Umm…Kat…" Said Amy slowly, a horrible thought coming to her. "If I said that we are probably in the biggest heap of crap in the whole world, what would you say?"
"I'd say, AMY WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE NOW?" Yelled Kat.
"What? Something bad happens, and you immediately think that it's something to do with me!?"
"Well it usually is! Remember that time you thought it would be a good idea to push that button down at the military centre?"
"Umm…it wasn't that bad…"
"AMY WE ALMOST CAUSED WW3!!! I ALMOST GOT SHOT!!!"
"The look on your face…"
"AMY IT WASN'T FUNNY!!!"
The girl's bickering was cut short when the TV facing them buzzed into life. A mannequin puppet appeared on the screen.
"Hello Amy. I want to play a game. Up till now one of you has watched my judgement with no care for the pain being inflicted on the person. Well now you will understand. You are in one of your favourite traps-I'll take it that you know how this thing works. Will you risk losing your friends, or will you risk losing your life? Let the games begin.
"AMY I COMPLETELY HATE YOU!" Kat screamed, starting to stand up
"No Kat, stay sitting down!" Cried Amy. "I've seen how this works. If we stand up then the timer will get activated and in 60 seconds time your jaw will get ripped off!"
"Well, this is great!" Seethed Kat. "I could be going shopping with Shannon right now, and instead because of you I could die at the hands of some freaking clever puppet!"
"Umm…it's the guy behind puppet-"
"SHUT UP!!!"
"Kat…?" Kat looked up sharply at the groan that had interrupted their argument.
"OH MY GOD HOW THE HELL DID I GET HERE?!?" A girl was lying on the floor near them. She was staring round the room with large brown eyes, which fell on Amy and Kat. "AMY WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE NOW?!?"
"You see?" Smiled Kat triumphantly. "Everyone blames you!"
"Oh, shut up." Groaned Amy. "Shannon, are you OK?"
"Of course I'm not OK. And why is there some big question mark on my stomach?"
"Oh nooo," Groaned Amy. "We've got to cut you open to get the key to get out of these things."
"I could just throw up!" Said Shannon brightly. Kat and Amy looked at each other.
"I wonder why no-one else thought of that one." Grinned Kat.
"Same here," Grinned Amy. "I-SHANNON PUT THE VODKA BOTTLE DOWN!"
"You wanted me to throw up,; you've gotta be pissed to do that, otherwise you just look anorexic!" Shannon took a deep swig from the bottle, threw up and collapsed. The key glinted in the middle of the sick.
"OK, you stay there." Said Amy, standing up, snapping the wire and starting the timer. She undid the trap, then took it off and gave the key to Kat.
"So what do we do now?" Asked Kat after chucking her trap away.
"We pick up Shannon and get out of here."
"THAT'S IT?!"
"What do you want me to do, find Jigsaw and shoot him til he's dead?"
"That was my plan…"
There was a pause.
"Fine. You take her legs, I'll take her arms."
"But we can't take her with s to find Jigsaw!"
"We can-when she wakes up with a hangover, she'll be in such a bad mood that she'll really want to hit someone…"
"Good point. Let's go."
The girls opened the door and walked out of the room, carrying a stoned Shannon.
"Well that went well."
"Shut up."
"I must say I didn't think about the girl throwing up the key-"
"I said SHUT UP!"
Jigsaw was beginning to feel severely pissed off. Not only did none of the girls play by the girls, just to rub salt into sore wounds his apprentice was making fun of him.
"I bet YOU didn't think abou-"
"SHUT UP AMANDA!" Amanda shut up. "Trust me," turning his attention back to the screens. "In this next game, EVERYTHING is going to go to plan."
"Hello. I want to play a game. You are-" The TV screen smashed into a thousand pieces as Georgina kicked her shoe at the screen. This was not a good day. Her toast came out burnt, none of her friends picked up the phone, and now she was chained up on the floor with some sharp knife on a pendulum swinging lower and lower.
"AMY I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" She screamed, having a violent hissy fit.
"Oh come on, it can't be Amy's fault." Said the girl next to her who was also struggling to get free. "She's not that bad."
"SHE ALMOST STARTED WW3 FOR CRINE OUT LOUD!!!" Georgina screamed, and then paused in her struggles as her mind took in the conversation. "Hang on. How do you know Amy?"
"I was friends with her in Primary school." The girl said, smirking at some unknown memory. "God, she was such a spaz."
"She still is. Well, she got something right." Grinned Georgina.
"And what is that?" Whimpered Caroline as the knife grazed her belly.
"I really don't know my own strength." Georgina laughed, snapping the chains, and stopping the pendulum in mid swing. She used the knife on the pendulum to pick the lock on the other girl's chains.
"Thanks." Smiled the girl, putting her glasses back on. "I'm Caroline by the way. How come you know Amy?"
"I go to her school. I kinda slap her a bit, but only because she really winds me up. Speaking of which," She looked at the pendulum. "I bet you she is behind all this."
"Oh come on," Laughed Caroline. "She isn't-" Georgina glared at her. "Fair point."
At that moment Amy and Kat walked into the room, now supporting an incredibly hung-over Shannon.
"Georgina!" Grinned Amy, stepping forward with her arms held open for a hug. "I thought I heard you. How did you-AAAAAA!" Amy dived out the way as Georgina sprang at her. "NOT THE HAIR, NOT THE HAIR!"
"YOU COMPLETE COW AMY!!!" Georgina screeched, pulling her hair with one hand and slapping her hard with the other. "DIDN'T YOU LEARN FROM THAT TIME AT THE MILITARY CENTRE?!?"
"Yes." Whimpered Amy. "I still have the bruises."
"WELL WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!?"
"Umm…Georgina…" Kat said slowly. "Amy didn't do this."
"But she's the only one that's watched all the Saw movies!"
"Actually I haven't watched the 5th one ye-"
"SHUT UP AMY!!!"
"OWWWW!!! KAT SHE'S TRYING TO BLOODY KILL ME HERE!!!"
Kat dragged Georgina off Amy. A handful of her ginger hair came with it. "Georgina. Amy may do many completely retarded things, but this wasn't one of them. Trust me."
"OK, OK." Georgina stood up and smiled apologetically at Amy. "Sorry Amy, but you've got to admit that whenever something bad happens-"
"It's mostly my fault. Yeah I've heard that several times now." Amy grinned shakily. She held out her arms again. "Hug?" Georgina hugged her-and then slapped her. Hard. "OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO SHANNON?!?"
Jigsaw seethed quietly as he watched the friends pull Georgina off Amy again and explain what had happened. Why couldn't teenagers just follow the rules and go with it? NO-ONE was learning a lesson here.
"Man, that Georgina girl is MEGA pissed now!" Sniggered Amanda as Georgina screamed several choice swear words at the camera and smashed it up. "Looks like she's joined your teenage hit squad." Jigsaw stood up and began pacing the room. "You scared of some likkle 13 year olds or something?"
"I AM NOT SCARED OF SOME FREAKING 13 YEAR OLDS!" SCREAMED Jigsaw almost tearing his hair out. "I cannot believe this. I want a bunch of teenagers so scared they'd be filling their pants right now, but what do I get? A stone drunk girl, a kid that needs anger management, and a complete spaz who almost started WW3!" He sunk back into his chair. "This day cannot get any worse."
"Hoffman's been arrested. They found his fingerprints all over the last game victim." Amanda said. Jigsaw put his head down on the table. "You wanted to know!"
Jigsaw just groaned.
In a different room, two more girls were staring blankly at a just as black screen.
"OK THIS IS JUST TAKING THE PISS NOW!" Jemma screamed at the now blank screen. The water was now up to her ankles. "THIS IS SUCH A BAD JOKE!"
"It's not a joke." Sighed Coaralie. "We're gonna have to do what he says if we want to get out of here."
"NO FREAKING WAY AM I PUTTING MY HANDS IN THERE!" Screamed Jemma, staring at the small hole in front of her.
"We're going to have to do it though." Coaralie tentatively put her hand in the hole. "There's some kind of handle here…"
"DON'T YOU DARE-" Yelled Jemma. Coaralie yanked the handle. A trapdoor opened underneath her, and she slid down a chute into a room just below the tank. Coaralie could hear Jemma screaming as the trapdoor closed again and the water crept ever higher. And above the rush of water and Jemma's screams she could hear very distinctly two words.
"Game over."
A minute later the water drained out of the tank and Jemma slumped through the remaining trap door. And Coaralie started screaming.
"Oh God, what the hell was that?" Groaned Shannon, putting her hands over her ears.
"That sounds like Coaralie!" Cried Georgina, sprinting to the door. "Come on!" They ran towards the sound of screaming.
"By the way Shannon, how the hell did you get that vodka bottle in here?" Asked Amy.
"You really don't want to know." Grinned Shannon, tapping the side of her nose.
They burst in on Coaralie smashing the wall of the tank and dragging out an unconscious Jemma.
"OH MY GOD!" Screamed Amy. The girls attempted to perform some CPR on Jemma, but in vain. Jemma remained dead. Amy burst into tears.
"Oh for goodness sake Amy, get a GRIP!" Georgina snapped, slapping her and pushing her out the way. Tearing a cable out of the floor, she applied in against Jemma's leg. Jemma convulsed and suddenly sat up, panting hard. "What the hell just happened?"
"Umm…Georgina…that shouldn't be possible." Remarked Amy.
"What the hell, let's just go and kick some Jigsaw arse." Shrugged Georgina.
"No offence, Georgina, but all I want to do is to get the hell out of here!"
Georgina glared at her. "Amy, do you want to know what has kept our friendship going for so long?"
"What?"
"I make the decision, and you follow it or else."
"That's a bit harsh…"
"I'm joking. But in this case, it is true." Georgina turned around. "Let's go."
Amanda had never seen Jigsaw have a hissy fit before. She was seriously hoping that it would also be the last time. In fact, the last time she saw him at all. He'd been breaking anything in sight for ages, and she had escaped the room when he'd chucked one of the monitors at her head. She could hear his muffled screaming right through the walls, and she was sure that most of it was swearing. She sighed and rolled her case towards the waiting car. Hopefully Jigsaw wouldn't notice that she was gone for quite a while yet.
Hoffman was lounging on the side of the car. He got up when he saw Amanda coming, and helped her get her suitcase into the boot.
"So, do you think he believed you?" Hoffman asked, chuckling slightly. "Arrested indeed! I'm head of the bloody homicide team, they can't possibly suspect me!"
"Yeah, but he's got a game gone wrong going on down there," Grinned Amanda. "He didn't want to know the details."
"Ok." Hoffman slammed the boot shut. "So, who are the poor suckers this time?"
"A bunch of 13 year old kids. When I left they were going up there, and Jigsaw was having a mega hissy fit."
Hoffman let out a snort of laughter, and shook his head in disbelief. "13 year olds…so, you still sure you want to do this?"
Amanda smiled softly. "Of course I do."
Hoffman looked relieved, as though he had been expecting her to change her mind. Why the hell would she, she thought, when she loved him so much? He kissed her softly on the cheek. "Then let's get going before grandpa upstairs finds out you've done a runner." Amanda laughed-a happy, exhilarated laugh-and kissed him back.
Then they got in the car and drove away, leaving Jigsaw behind.
Meanwhile, Jigsaw paused in his ranting. He was sure he had heard a car drive off, but it wasn't possible; no-one came down here anymore. He looked down at the one unbroken monitor. The girls were now right outside the main room, and were trying to bust the door open. Jigsaw was stunned. For the second time in his life, someone was going to find him and try to kill him. He traced the thin line in his neck where one of his victims had cut his neck open with a circular saw. Luckily, he and Amanda hadn't been the only ones in the warehouse…
A sudden bang pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked down again. Dammit, they were almost through the door. Unexpectedly, he smiled. The smile was completely mad. He slipped a knife into the sleeve of his red and black trench coat, and picked up another. People had tried to kill him before. This time, he wouldn't be following his rules.
The door burst open. The girls fell through it, Amy rubbing her head.
"Georgina, you really didn't need to use my head!" Moaned Amy, picking herself up.
"Yeah, well, you were really starting to wind me up again." Georgina grumbled. "You're too pessimistic.
"Amy does have a point though." Caroline pointed out. "We really should have got out of here. I mean, we could die."
"Oh, and that has only just occurred to you, has it?" Jigsaw said sarcastically from the top of the stairs. The girls stared at him for a while in silence.
"You should be dead." Amy finally said.
"I know." Jigsaw snapped.
"You're having a hissy fit."
"I know!"
"You want me to shut up cos I'm annoying you."
"I KNOW SO DO IT!"
"You have a knife hidden under your coat."
"Umm…"
"Amanda just dumped you for Hoffman."
"WHAT!?!" Jigsaw screeched. Now he understood why some pieces of Amanda's story didn't add up, and why he'd heard a car drive off. He suddenly felt betrayed. He'd really cared for that girl, and then she just dumps him like some old garbage and scoots of with that pompous detective Hoffman…it was more than he could bear. Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Jemma remarked, "Cheer up grandpa; she was way out of your age limit anyway!"
Jigsaw snapped.
"I NEVER FANCIED AMANDA!" He screamed at Jemma.
"Uh huh." Georgina rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say."
At hearing those words, Jigsaw slipped even further towards the realms of insanity. He stormed down the stairs, whipping out the knife. He pressed Georgina against the table. "You are so dead, kid." He snarled, bringing the knife up.
Georgina acted. She drew the pendulum knife she had pocketed it and sliced it across his throat. Jigsaw loosened his grip and grabbed his throat. "Damn, not again!" He gasped, before falling heavily onto the floor.
Amy looked from Jigsaw to Georgina and back again. "Ommigod you just killed Jigsaw."
"Yeah," Georgina walked towards the stairs. "I guessed that."
"Ooooooo!" Squealed Shannon from the room at the top. "They have KFC up here!"
"Excellent," Grinned Kat, following Georgina. "I'm starving!"
"WE JUST KILLED JIGSAW," Yelled Amy at the retreating backs of her friends. "WITH HIS ACCOMPLICES STILL OUT THERE SOMEWHERE AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS EATING BLOODY KFC!"
"Well, we are hungry grinned Georgina, poking her head round the door. And there's a phone up here, we can phone the police from…WHAT THE HELL?!?" Amy whipped round. A hooded figure was dragging Jigsaw's motionless body out of the room. Amy started forward, but the figure slipped through a side door with Jigsaw and locked it.
"Dammit!" Groaned Amy.
"Don't worry!" Called Shannon. "I've called the police and they know where we are, and we have tons of KFC up here."
"Come on Amy!" Laughed Georgina. "For us, its all over, and we can snack on KFC and watch TV until the police get here."
"Hey, there's a Chelsea Vs Arsenal game going on here!" Caroline called down.
"I'm coming!" Cried Amy automatically, bolting up the stairs.
As she sat in between her friends, Amy realised Jigsaw had taught them a lesson. Sure, Georgina could be a bit crazy at times, and sure they all had their moments, but what really counted was how much they counted on each other-or cared for that matter. As Amy launched into a debate with Georgina about whether Frank Lampard was offside or not, and the sound of a police siren whined faintly in the distance, Amy smiled. Life couldn't be better than this…
…And a black car slid silently away from the warehouse. The inside of the car was dark, but it was plain that there were two men in it; one driving, the other lying over all three back seats.
"So, any plans for those 13 year olds?" The driver asked.
"Not yet." Wheezed the man in the back. "I have more important things to do at the moment."
"Ahh," The driver nodded to himself. "Would this have anything to do with Hoffman and the lovely Amanda?"
Jigsaw leaned forward. "Just shut up and drive," He snapped, tracing the stitches in his skin. "The girl may not have made any serious damage, but I'd rather get checked up properly."
The driver chuckled. "Wow, you ARE feeling sore about Amanda dumping-"
"JUST DRIVE."
"OK, OK,…"
The car rounded a corner and slipped out of sight.