David steadied the camera carefully. Laurie was sleeping in her parent's bed, peacefully. When he reached the perfect angle, he pressed the small button, there was a small whirring sound, then a flash.
He looked at it on his camera screen, then scanned it onto his computer, where his contrasted and adjusted the lighting.
After printing it, he placed it in a frame that he had saved to buy.
"Emily..." He said.
"David"
"Yeah, I um.. have something." He produced it from behind his back shyly.
The picture was of Laurie sleeping, thumb fixed between her lips, her cheeks rosy, the frame pink glass. Emily welled up.
"Oh David!" She said, flinging her arms around him. "Its so beautiful. This means so much to me"
David gave a crooked smile.
"I er... knew Laurie is special to you, Nigel told me. So I did that, thought you'd like it..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
Emily gazed at it.
"You have such an eye." She said admirinly. "You'll be a great photohtapher one day"
"Nah.. I just do this as a hobby. I dont want it to be a career or whatever." He said.
Emily hugged him.
"I'm gonna go show this to Nigel, then hang this above the fireplace." She smiled, then hurried off.
David blushed, pleased.
It was raining heavily, David stared out of the kitchen window.
"That would be one hell of a landscape photo..." He said, looking at the moist grass, the flailing trees.
He pulled up the hood on his jacket and made his way outside.
"Shit." He murmered as he took out his camera, the lens had gotten wet. He wiped it with his sleeve.
Just as he was about to take the photo, he felt a soft tap on the shoulder.
"Oh come on I was about to take this.." As David started to turn around, he received a hard knock on the head. He fell to the ground, mud staining his jacket.
The room was dark, and small.
David came to, and sat up slowly.
"Where the fuck..." There was another man in the room with him, spread unconcious, his artificial foot noticable.
"Hey.. wake up." David shook the man, untill his eyes blinked open.
"Ali? Diana?!.. Where...?!" The man sat up quickly, panicing. Then he focused on David. That face, those stone coloured eyes, that dark floppy hair.
"Adam?!" The man gasped, grabing him by both shoulders. David stared at him, stunned.
"No... I'm David." He said. The man suddenly loosened his grip on David's shoulders, dissapointed.
"Sorry... you.. you just looked like someone I knew." He looked at the floor grimly, then browsed around. "My name is Lawrence Gordon"
They shook hands. Lawrence looked around, his heart racing.
"Okay... we.. we need to stay calm." Lawrence took a deep breath, and saw a tape player on the floor.
"No..." He said, not picking it up. David reached for it and pressed the play button.
"Wait.. !" Lawrence said. Too late.
"Hello David. Almost your whole life you have been plagued by the thought of who your father may be, yet you never got an answer. Tonight, you will meet your father, if you play a game, and win"
"Dear god no." Lawrence whimpered, burying his head in his hands.
The tape continued.
"The room before you is bare, just like your knowledge of your paternity. When this tape is finished, the left and right wall will start to close in on you"
"There is a man in the room with you. His name is Lawrence Gordon, a father himself. He once knew your father. You and him must work together to ensure you make it out of this room alive. Just remember, not everything you need, is at your feet. Live or die, make your choice"
The tape stopped, and sure enough, the walls, slowly, but surely, began to close.
"Shit, FUCK!" Lawrence yelled.
"My god!" David screeched.
"Right, ok, he was giving us a .. a clue. He said, not everything we need is at our feet, there has to be something here..." Lawrence said, searching the bare room.
"There's nothing!" David said, indicating the room with his arms, much like Adam had in the bathroom, Lawrence had noticed this.
The walls edged closed. David then looked up.
"Hey, what's that?" David said, pointing at a loft door on the ceiling.
"It's our way out! How do we get to it?" Lawrence said, then he thought. "Quickly." He knelt down. "Get on my shoulders"
"What?" David said.
"If you get on my shoulders, you can open the door, climb out, then pull me out, okay?" He said, David nodded.
David sat on his shoulders and placed Lawrence's head between his knees, Lawrence steadied him as David pushed the door lid up. He then grabbed the edge of the door opening and used it to steady himself as he stood upon Lawrence's shoulders. With al his strength, David pushed himself up through the opening, safe.
But not finished.
There was a pole in the room David was now in. He wrapped both his legs arond it and dangled himself into the below room and grabbed Lawrence by both arms. The walls dangerously close to him.
"Hurry!" David began to drag himself into the above room, and with an almighty pull, brought Doctor Gordon up with him.
The walls slammed together. David and Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good teamwork." Lawrence sighed.
"Your fucking heavy." David joked. Lawrence rolled his eyes.
"So, er.. I didnt know that, Adam had a son." "I dont know anyone called Adam." David said.
"You look like him." Lawrence said, he then reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet sized photo of Diana. "Diana looks like her mother"
He passed the photo to David.
"She's beautiful." He said.
"Yeah, Adam said that"
"Listen, whoever this Adam guy is, I've never met him. My mom raised me." David sniffed.
"What's your mother like?" Lawrence asked. David sighed.
"She's a feminist vegan punk who yells alot." David said. Lawrence raised his eyebrowes, astonished that David was mimicing almost everything Adam said. David handed him back the photo.
"Thank you.." Lawrence said.
He then stood and looked around this new room. There was another tape player, neatly placed on a table.