The main game begins here. Enjoy.
Chapter 4
Matt awoke in the room and the first thing he felt was the coldness of metal below him. He was lying on a metal, bed, would be an appropriate word for it. His wrists and ankles were tied down and he could only raise his head to a certain degree, just enough to see around the rest of the room. Not like there was much to see that is.
"What the hell? Where am I?"
He tried tugging at the straps holding him down but they were secured tightly. That was when he saw above him the large metal panel the same size as the surface he was tied to. It was identical to the one below him except it was fitted with rows and rows of big, sharp nails, pointing down at him. The TV to his left burst on and cut him off from his survey of the trap. He moved his head to see the face of Billy the puppet on the screen as he explained the trap to him.
"Hello, Matt. Welcome to your redemption. As a wealthy bank consultant you seem to have become detached from the community that is less financially stable than you. You have a long history of bending the rules and regulations of the banking industry which has caused, on multiple occasions, the lives of your customers to take a turn for the worse. Not that long ago, after a great bank scandal that left hundreds of people close to bankruptcy, you decided to enforce a new system for compensation. A system that meant not everybody could get the help they needed to recover their lost money. But now you will be given the chance to pay for your wrongdoings, in blood."
"Hang on. Who the fuck are you? You can't do this!"
"You will see above you a metal panel linked to a hydraulic contraption. If you fail to escape this trap the panel will be lowered continuously until the nails have penetrated your body so much that it will end your life, slowly. I call it the bed of nails. All you have to do to release yourself is find enough strength to break the straps holding you down. You'd better hurry. The clock is ticking, Matt. How much pain will you endure to survive?"
The TV then returned to silence and a blank screen. Matt was able to hear the machinery as it prepared to lower the nail ridden panel onto him. Matt understood what he had to do, he had to pull on the straps enough for them break under the strain. But as he tried to do so with one hand at first the strap cut into his wrist and cause it to bleed.
"Agh!" He shouted in pain.
The nails were now descending. Slowly, but they still seemed to go so fast. Matt tried once again to free his left hand and, with all the strength he could produce, he tugged the strap right out of the surface he lay on. Blood dripped down Matt's wrist and onto his hand as he proceeded to repeat the painful process with his right hand. Again the same outcome occurred and Matt managed to free his hand. Just the ankles left to do now. But the nails were getting dangerously close to Matt's body as he sat up a bit to try and put more force on his legs and feet. It wasn't as painful on his ankles because he still had his socks and shoes on, but it still hurt all the same.
"Agh, fuck!"
It was an agonising task but eventually Matt got the ankle straps off, and just in time too, as the nails brushed the back of his neck as he slid himself off of the metal bed and landed hard on the floor. When he shuffled to his knees Matt could see the nailed panel had completely lowered and there was now no space left between the two surfaces. He had made it just in time. A light flickered on by the wall on the left side of the room, illuminating a painted message on the brickwork.
'Move on to the next test.'
Matt looked over to where the arrow on the wall was pointing. A metal door was propped open with a dirty chair that lead into another room.
"Fuck you." Matt mumbled as he got to his feet and lumbered towards the door.
It was cold to the touch as he pushed it open and moved the chair out of the way using his bleeding foot. The next test awaited him on the other side.
He's completed his first test. Will he do the same with the next? Next chapter up soon.