It wasn't the light that woke him, it was the cold. Cold, so cold on his skin. Feeling like
chilled steel on his flesh, Mason Behnke woke with a start. The light burned his eyes like
molten coming from an active volcano. "Wher-- where the hell am I?" were Mason's first words
in the hellhole that he was in. He tried to move but something was stopping him. It was then
that he noticed that he was laying down. Not just laying down, but seemed to be trapped in
some sort of cage. He felt the steel going down his entire body down to his feet. Mason
looked around the room he was in. It was a small room made entierly of concrete that looked
to be stained with blood, saliva and vomit. Since the only thing he could move was his head,
Mason could only see to the sides and in front of him. He looked ahead and noticed four
things. The first being a digital clock who's neon green numbers read 11:58 p.m. The second
was much more intimidating that a simple clock. Two metal tables were sitting in front of
him. One on the left and one on the right. Each were positioned directly in front of mason's
arms which were out in front of him so that he looked as if he was an Olympic diver going
for a world record. On the tables were two electric saws, the push kind used for cutting
lumber and soft metals. Attached to the top of each saw was a long metal pole that extended
up and seemed to disappear into small holes in the ceiling. It looked as if the poles could
be used to push the saw blade downward to cut anything in its path.
The third thing Mason noticed was a lever on the ground that was directly under his right
hand and looked as if it was just in reach of him. Finally there was the tape recorder. It
was dangling from a string that was right in front of his left hand. The recorder was
labeled with a small square of paper that read Play Me. When he looked at the tape player,
Mason noticed that there were two key holes punched in the steel right above each hand. Most
obvious they required two keys to unlock each lock and free his body from the cage his
almost nude body was locked in. Because the tape player was just hanging there, it took some
doing to stab the PLAY button with his finger hard enough to start the tape up. The tape
started with nothing but the sound of static, but then the voice started. It was a pre
recorded voice that was certainly not human but was very creepy and sent chills up Mason's
spine.
"Hello Mason, you are a very smart man that lives a good life with a wife, two kids and a
wonderful suburban home. You make an honest living as a college professor teaching future
Bill Gates and Brad Pitts the fine art of advanced chemistry. But behind all the smiles and
A+'s you have a terrible and sadistic hobby. Now no one knows but you have been known to
trap unsuspecting young men and women in your supply closet in the back of your classroom.
Once in the room you tie them up helplessly and force then to solve ridiculous and complex
equations. If they fail you sadly end their short lived lives. Now you know their pain of
not being able to move any part of their body. There is two ways to relive yourself of the
Death Cage that surrounds your body. The first is a puzzle, you like puzzles right? On one
of the tables in front of you there is a notepad and pencil. On that notepad is the puzzle.
You have just enough room to be able to solve it with your arm. The lever that is under your
right hand is used to move the cage forward. With each pull, the cage will slide forward.
Once pull should bring you close enough. Once you complete the puzzle correctly I will
remotely unlock your restraints and set you free, because of course I am watching you.
The second is much less inviting. Encased in the muscels and tendons of each of your forearms
are the two keys you need to unlock the cage. You can pull the lever three times and your
arms will be directly under the rusty saw blades you see in front of you. If you do pull it
three times I will use the pole attacted to each saw to push down the blade and free the
keys inside your arms one at a time. Now that you understand that, there is only one more
thing you need to know. If you are not free within two hours of this tapes ending, the Death
Cage will activate and you will have a great lot of blades impaled throughout your body. How
much blood will you shed to stay alive? Let the games begin."