Chapter Four: Fears (xXErineilXx)
"Teach me how to dougie, teach me, teach me how to dougie!"
"I thought you hated that song?"
"It's catchy…"
Ashley shot Lizzie and Izzy a confused look. Ever since Izzy had first heard the 'Teach me how to dougie' song, she hated it, but the chorus got so stuck in your head, you couldn't help but sing it.
"Oh by the way," Izzy said with a smirk. "You just lost the game."
"Damnit!" Ashley shouted, kicking the wall of Rite Aid. The three had walked there after school ended and were eating ice cream from Kimberly's, which was right across from Rite Aid. "Yeah, well, toilet tank cover!"
Izzy cringed at Ashley's words. "Please don't say that."
"Are you sure you don't need a ride home?" Lizzie asked Izzy.
"Nah. I live 45 minutes from here by foot, I'll be fine." Izzy assured her friend.
"But I thought you were going to the movies with Lucas and Emily B in half an hour?" Ashley asked.
Izzy sighed and rested her chin on her hands. "Nah, my dad told me I had to babysit Diana tonight because he and The Step-Mom are going to dinner."
"When are you going to stop calling her The Step-Mom?" Lizzie asked.
"As soon as her and my dad get a divorce and my real mom comes back." Izzy grumbled. She threw her empty ice cream cup and spoon in the trash, and then stood up. "I'm gonna head back home now, alright?"
"Okay, see you Monday!" Ashley and Lizzie waved as Izzy shuffled off.
Izzy had memorized how to get home from the Nice & Easy plaza because she had been there so many times. Behind all the rocks, there was a little pathway that could get her to the main street instead of walking on the busy road where she could be hit by a car. Plus it was pretty out of the way and quiet. Izzy walked down the path and took in her surroundings. The plants, the trees turning orange because of fall, and the houses in a nearby neighborhood.
But behind her, Izzy heard a noise in the bushes. She spun around on her heels and saw a figure cloaked by a pig mask. "Damnit!" She shouted. The figure lunged at her, needle in hand. They grabbed her around the neck, but Izzy countered by grabbing their hand and flipped them over her back. She turned to run and scream, but the figure grabbed her by her leg and pulled her down. Grabbing her hair, they pulled her down and jammed the syringe into her neck before she could retaliate.
"Why?" Izzy whispered before she fell under. The figure mumbled some words under their breath, and then picked the unconscious body up. They stared at her for a moment, sighed, and headed off.
"At least you fought back." Ricky scoffed.
"None of us did." Amy pointed out.
Izzy shrugged and looked at the ground. "What can I say? I've been taking karate ever since I could tie my shoes. Maybe even a little earlier than that."
"Wow, you must've been taking karate for a while." Ricky said.
"Nah," Izzy shook her head and laughed. "I just never really learned how to tie my shoes."
The next room, for the most part was fairly empty. There was something in the corner, but no one paid attention to what it was. There was a tape recorder with a tape in it in the middle of the room. It had a sticky note attached that said 'Izzy' on it. Izzy picked up the recorder and pressed play.
"Hello Izzy. Today, you're going to be facing your worst fears. I'll explain more in the next tape, but you have to find it first. I'll give you a hint. Check the notepad."
"Notepad?" Allana asked. "What notepad?"
"The one I found when we woke up!" Izzy reached into her pocket and found the notepad. She flipped through the pages and found, written in very neat handwriting, 'Check the corner. There lies your worst fear.'
"We totally could've thought of that…" Amy face-palmed herself. The four turned their attention towards the corner and found…
…a toilet.
"A toilet?" Ricky asked. "You're afraid of toilets?"
"No, I'm afraid of toilet tank covers." Izzy shuddered. "Will someone please find the second tape for me?"
Amy took the cover off and reached in. There she found a tape that said 'Izzy 2'. She handed the tape to Izzy, who put it in the recorder.
"Hello again Izzy. Ever since you watched the first Saw movie, you've been deathly afraid of toilet tank covers." Izzy cringed and looked down. "You've even been known to cringe when anyone says the word." Allana snickered, but Izzy shot her a glare. "Now, you may have noticed that you're wearing arm warmers, which is strange because you've never owned a pair in your life. They have a bomb hidden inside the left one, which was activated as soon as you started this tape. You have 5 minutes to destroy the bomb. The only way to destroy it is by hitting it with the only other object hard enough to break it in this room-the toilet tank cover. You cannot take the arm warmers off, so as you destroy the bomb, you'll likely also break your wrist, which will break your record of never having broken a bone. Will you sacrifice your arm to save yourself? Make your choice."
Tears began to well up in Izzy's eyes. "Guys, I can't do this myself. My right hand may be my dominant hand, but I can't physically hit my own arm."
"You mean one of us has to break your arm?" Amy gasped.
Izzy nodded grimly. "I couldn't do it to myself anyways." She closed her eyes. "Eenie, meenie, minie…" Izzy pointed at people one by one and when she opened her eyes, her finger was pointed at Ricky.
"No, not me." Ricky shook his head. "I can't do that to you."
"Do you want to watch me die?" Izzy asked, looking into his eyes.
After a brief moment of silence, he finally gave in. "Okay, I'll do it. But I can't watch."
They walked over to the closest wall where Izzy put her left arm against it. He looked her in the eyes one more time, and then quickly shut them. Allana handed him the toilet tank cover, and he slowly swung back and hit her arm with as much force as he could.
Izzy cringed. "Keep going. I think I still hear it beeping."
Ricky hit it again. Then a third time. He ended up hitting her arm about seven times before the beeping finally ended.
"Izzy, are you okay?" Amy called. Ricky dropped the cover and opened his eyes. Izzy had been crying throughout the ordeal, and her arm warmers had been soaked with blood.
"I'm really sorry." Ricky apologized whole-heartedly.
Izzy wiped a few of her tears away, but they still kept falling. "It had to be done." She whispered.
"Maybe we should move on." Allana said softly, looking towards the door. The rest of the group nodded. Amy caught up to Allana who was working on how to open the door, and Ricky put his arm around the still-sobbing Izzy before they caught back up.
"Dad, will I ever see Mom again?" Izzy asked.
Her father shook his head. "I haven't heard from her since your seventh birthday."
"I'd rather live with her than you." Izzy whispered before walking away.