Chris woke up, finding himself stuck to a chair with his left hand strapped and stuck to the chair. The world around him felt eerily dark, but he couldn't pinpoint why. He took notice of a gun on the table in front of him.
Who the hell leaves a gun there? he wondered to himself.
It had taken him a while to notice that his head was pounding. He shut his eyes, trying to alleviate the pain, at least by a sliver, but it still bothered him. He just opened his eyes, the pain in his head was still there.
"Ugh, my fucking head," he groaned.
He took another look at his surroundings, wondering if this was just some messed up prank that someone decided to pull off. He took notice of his friend Ashley whose head was slumped down, and he was worried that she was dead.
"Oh shit, oh crap. Ash? Ash?"
The girl in question looked up at the young man calling her name. Chris was relieved to say the least, but then noticed that her left eye was black and swollen. His eyes widened in horror to see her like this.
"Aw, Jesus Ash, why did he do to you?" he asked.
"I think he hit me," she replied solemnly.
Chris was angry, and that was putting it lightly. He had a bit of a list as to why he was angry to see the black eye on Ashley. He was angry that the maniac probably had the audacity to punch the redhead to the point that she had gotten a black eye. He was angry that whoever the piece of shit maniac would have tortured him and his friend to the point that now, they were stuck here. Lastly, he was pissed that the maniac probably decided that it was okay to hit a girl at all.
"Shit, I'm gonna murder his fucking face off," he said, sounding furious.
"What is this?" Ashley was crying as she struggled to lift her arms, only to realize that her wrists were locked to the chair she was sitting in.
The blonde young man knew the answer right away.
"This is him," he said firmly. "This is the guy who killed Josh."
"No, Chris," sobbed Ashley. "Oh my god no. Oh god, Chris!"
"You murdering piece of shit!" shouted Chris to the ceiling, unsure if the maniac would show up, but he'd figured that he would give a warning. "You monster!"
"Look around! We're gonna die, Chris!" cried Ashley. "I don't think I'm ready to die."
"No one is going to die," Chris tried to reassure her, though he wasn't exactly so sure what would be their fates.
Ashley's thoughts changed to something different. Through her tears, she saw the very young man who she had a crush on for a long time. She remembered how much fun she had with him. She remembered that despite their few differences, their friendship to her seemed to blossom into something bigger. She wanted so badly to tell him how she felt, but now, she felt like that was beginning to slip from her fingertips.
"I wish I could tell you. It's just not fair!" The redhead cried harder.
Chris looked at her, confused to what the girl was saying.
"What? Tell me what?"
"It's too late. Chris, what's the point?"
"Stop it, just say."
"We're always talking around it, now, I mean, we've wasted everything."
"Ashley, none of it was wasted."
"What do you mean?"
Chris gave her a careful glance, looking at the girl who he had a crush on for a long time. He remembered the times he spent with her and he was beginning to realize how much he liked her. It was something beyond just friendship. He decided that if he and Ashley were going to die, the last thing he would mention to her was to confess how much he liked her. He had to do it now or never.
"Every second that I spent with you, was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my time," he confessed.
"What are you saying, Chris?"
"I'm sorry. I should have told you how I felt."
"Chris..."
"Ashley, I swear, when we get out of this- "
A horrible grinding sound cued up to interrupt Chris. He and Ashley looked up to see two saws slowly coming down towards them. Their eyes widened with horror.
"Oh god!" cried Chris.
Ashley was crying harder for a few seconds.
"No! Help, Chris!"
"Ashley, I'll you out of this, I won't let you die!"
"Hello there, my special little subjects." The victims looked around, the voice was all too familiar. The maniac.
"Aw, shit," muttered Chris.
"I'm so scared, Chris," said Ashley.
"Don't be scared," said Chris.
"Oh, you should be Ash," taunted the maniac. "Because here's the twist: Chris has made one fatal choice already today, and now, he must make another. Chris, you can take that gun in front of you and shoot Ashley, or you can shoot yourself. Whoever is left, can live. The choice is yours."
Chris couldn't hold back his anger at the maniac for causing so many atrocities. From capturing Ashley, to killing Josh, to possibly holding Sam and Imi hostage, to torturing him and Ashley, to punching Ashley in the face, to leaving them in another game of life and death. Chris was fuming that he picked up the gun then tried to shoot the saws, only for there to be no effect.
"Don't be so silly Chris," chortled the maniac.
Chris found himself stuck in a huge decision. Would he shoot Ashley to spare himself, or would he shoot himself to spare Ashley? Oddly enough, he found it easier than he thought to make up his mind as he pointed the gun to his neck. He was going to spare Ashley. He said that he wouldn't let her die, and he meant it.
Ashley though gasped when she saw him do this. It scared her to think that he would shoot himself, right in front of her. She couldn't let him do it.
"Wait, stop, you can't do it Chris," she sobbed. "It should be me. You chose to save me before, let me choose this time. Let me choose to save you. If I do one last thing in my life, let me do this. Chris, please, oh god. No!"
Even though he heard her plea, Chris refused to direct the gun to Ashley. He knew how scared she was and scaring her even more than how scared she was right now would add further damage to her sanity. He couldn't shoot her.
I won't let her die, he thought. I told her I won't let her die. I'm doing exactly what I said I was going to do. She deserves to live.
He pressed the gun slightly further into his skin, his heart was racing from the profound panic. He knew he had to do this for Ashley.
"Oh fuck!" he hissed, prepared for what would come next.
The next thing to happen, Chris pulled the trigger. A sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the room. The next sound to erupt was complete silence.