Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin
Lenny struggled harder with each passing second, but it was no use. The straitjacket wasn't going to break. Looking back down underneath his head, he realized that the blood was getting closer. Suddenly, he noticed that there was a small red light blinking on the cuffs around his ankles. 'What the fuck is that?' he thought to himself as panic set in. The coppery odor of blood intensified as it rose higher in the tank. For a quick second, Lenny saw another red blinking light. But this one was in the blood. Straining his neck to see underneath him, he once again saw the light. It appeared to be a small remote of some kind, with a round button on it.
'Will that free me?' he asked himself. Seeing no other way out, he took a deep breath and hesitantly let his head be submerged in the rising liquid. The blood was cold and it felt as if the liquid was seeping through his pores. Mentally, he was screaming. He moved his head around frantically, searching desperately for the small remote he had seen. After a few seconds, he felt something bump against his forehead.
'That's it!!' he yelled in his mind. Regretfully, he opened his mouth and tried to catch it. He nearly choked once the blood ran into his open mouth, the icy feeling of death invading his body. No remote. Running out of air, he quickly pulled himself into a sit-up position as he hung upside down, hovering over the rising blood. He coughed and spit, the blood splattering all over the glass walls around him. At this point, the blood rose higher and he found himself submerged once again. Having only gotten half a breath, he searched faster; knowing that if he didn't find the small remote this time, he'd definitely drown. His body swung back and forth as he tried his best not to exhale. He could feel the cold blood reaching past his waist, waiting to claim his life.
As if he was bobbing for apples, he searched for his prize. Just then, he felt the remote against his nose. Quickly, he opened his mouth and grabbed it inbetween his teeth; the scarlet substance around him invading his gums and rolling down his tongue. Lenny screamed as he bit down on the remote, desperately hoping the button would save him. 'Please!!' he yelled mentally. By now, the blood was rising above his knees and still nothing happened. Releasing some air, Lenny bit down again and again on the button, waiting for a reaction...but nothing happened. Bubbles traveled to the surface of the liquid as he exhaled.
Blood creeped down his throat and up his nostrils as he could feel his body giving up. Suddenly, the red light on his ankle cuffs turned green. Both cuffs opened, leaving Lenny's body to plummit down further to the bottom of the tank. No longer holding his body weight, the hook that was holding him retracted towards the ceiling, yanking all the other chains with it. The sound of glass shattering filled the air as all four of the walls collapsed onto the ground. The blood that was once held back inside the tank spilled freely onto the cold ground, taking Lenny's body along with it.
Immediately, he coughed, regurgitating the blood he had swallowed. Once he was done coughing, he harshly took in a few breaths of air. Turning to lay on his side, he rested his head against the ground and let the life flow back into him.
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It was dark. Lori's eyes opened slowly, squinting through her broken glasses. Her short black hair fell across her face, blocking her vision. Remembering nothing of how she got here, she began to panic slightly. Her first instinct was to raise her hand up to her face and move the hair from her vision but when she attempted to do so, she was stunned with surprise. She couldn't move her arms. Upon further examination, she realized she couldn't move her legs either. She was standing inside what looked to be a coffin, arms and legs strapped to the backing. A horrified gasp escaped her lips as she noticed barbed wire wrapped around her torso in a corset-like fashion, attached to a chain that traveled behind her and through a hole in the backing of the coffin. On the other side, another woman woke to the same predicament. Also strapped inside a coffin, the older woman struggled in her restraints.
Peering her head outside the coffin, Lori realized that it was bolted up against a wall. Feeling some sort of resistance tugging at the barbed wire belt around her waist, she noticed that the chain must've been tied to somebody else too. Even though both of the women couldn't see it, they were both back to back on opposite sides of the wall, being connected by the chain around their waists.
"Hey! Stop moving!" Lori tried to yell as the barbed wire corset cut into her skin through her clothing. The person on the other side didn't seem to be able to hear her. Meanwhile, the older woman looked forward as a television screen buzzed to life. It was the same for Lori on her side as well. Both women watched as a pale looking puppet with red cheeks turned its head towards them.
"Hello. I want to play a game. You both work for a system known throughout the nation, but oddly enough, neither of you uphold the standards of justice with which you use to punish others. Hypocrisy is the greatest irony, and true justice will be served. Hanging in front of you is a key. In order to receive it, you must both do something that you are unaccustomed to. Endure this trial and you will be one step closer to freedom. Patience is the key. Live or die. Make your choice."
As soon as the video screen buzzed off, the arm and leg restraints on both women snapped open, allowing them to move more freely. Suddenly, a timer with large red numbers began counting down from exactly two minutes. Both women gasped, somehow sensing that something potentially fatal would take place and the end of the countdown. Lori slowly took a step forward, stopping to search for any other danger. The older woman on the other side also started to move forward towards the key, the chain uncoiling on the ground the farther she walked. Once they reached a certain point, the chain pulled a pin out, getting Lori's attention. She turned to see that the door of the coffin, which had been sitting wide open, now had multiple metal spikes protruding from it. Gasping, she increased her efforts to reach the key, moving forward with the chain uncoiling behind her back. Before long, the chain would unravel no more and Lori could feel the resistance pulling her back. As it tugged her back, the barbed wire corset cut into her torso deeper.
"Ahh! Oh my god!" Lori yelled as blood began to soak her shirt underneath. She reached around and grabbed the chain, pulling on it so that she could get closer to the key. On the other side of the wall, the older woman let out a painful cry as her barbed wire corset cut into her now. Her long wavy brown hair fell across her face as she realized she was being yanked back towards the coffin. She too noticed the spikes on the door of the coffin and didn't want to get anywhere near it. The more she struggled to move forward, the more it became apparent that only one person was going to be able to reach their key before the timer finished. Ignoring the pain as best she could, she wrapped the chain around her fists and pulled as hard as she could, hearing Lori screaming in pain as a result.
The two engaged in a battle of tug of war, fighting each other to reach their key. Tears streamed from Lori's eyes as much as the blood flowed from her body. Try as she might, the other person seemed to be stronger than her. Looking forward, she noticed the key hanging from a hook on the ceiling just a few feet away. Meanwhile, the timer continued to get closer to its end. Noticing this, the older woman opposite Lori yanked the chain again, bleeding and screaming as she got closer to her key. Lori couldn't bear the pain any longer as she was practically dragged back to her coffin. With just twenty seconds left, the older woman finally reached her key and pulled it off the hook. As she undid the lock on her back, she heard Lori scream in terror before a sickening crunching sound silenced it.
The timer finished just as the woman collapsed to the ground, having freed herself from the barbed wire corset. To her surprise, the hook that was holding the key traveled across the ceiling on a pulley, stopping right in front of the coffin. An uneasy feeling came over her as she forced herself to raise to her feet. Lights flashed on, illuminating the room. To the right, she could see a door. The sound of her heels clicked against the ground as she approached it. She wasn't sure what she was going to see, but she knew she couldn't just sit in this room forever.
Using the key she had taken, she unlocked the door and kicked it open. Carefully, she walked in and kept her guard up. Looking to her left, she screamed in horror as she saw the other coffin against the wall. It was shut tight and blood seeped out from the bottom. Now she knew what became of the other woman. But that wasn't all. Something else caught her eye. There was a key sitting right in front of the closed coffin hanging from a similar hook. It was then that this woman realized her mistake.
'He said patience is the key....we weren't supposed to go for it. If we had just waited for the timer to finish, the key would've came to us and we both would've survived...' she thought to herself. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she saw that she had basically killed somebody. Shaking her head and tossing her long brown hair over the shoulder of her business jacket, she said aloud, "If it wasn't her, then it would've been me." At least thats what she would tell herself for now. Ignoring the scene in front of her, she saw another door across the room. With a deep breath, she took her key and approached it.
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"No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you'll NEVER be the man HE is!"
Lenny's eyes snapped open and he lifted his head from the cold ground underneath him. His body covered with blood head to toe, he realized that he must've passed out. Taking a minute to gather himself, he managed to get to his feet. Again, he tugged his arms inside the straitjacket. Still, it was no use. He wouldn't be able to free himself from it alone. In front of him sat an open door, leading into darkness. In the corner of his eye, he saw something. It was a camera and it seemed to be watching his every move.
"Fuck you, asshole." Lenny said before moving forward. Somehow, he knew this next room would be even more dangerous than the one he stood in.
