Hey all! I finished this whole chapter/made up the trap in like..30 minutes. Whew! I'm quite proud of myself. So yeah, thanks to all my Myspace friends who are totally in love with this..ya'll need to get names on here and review! And to anyone who has read, thank you!

-Emily

Chapter Two: "Not You, Not Anymore"

"You will be home for dinner right?" Daniel looked up from his breakfast, his eyes meeting the form of his mother, who stood before him with hopeful a smile on her face. He chewed his waffle longer than needed to avoid answering, the knowledge of the fact that he would disappoint her once again making him wish to be anywhere but under her gaze.

"I, uh, promised Drew I'd hang out after school..I'm sorry, Mom..you should've warned me ear--"

"When's the last time we really spent time together, Dan?" His mother, Karen, took a seat, her face falling into the awful frown that made Daniel's stomach churn with discomfort. "I was just hoping that we could sort of, hang out?"

"I know, Mom. I just didn't think. I'll be home tomorrow night, I promise..okay?" Daniel pushed up from the table and placed his dirty dishes in the sink, paying no mind to the sigh Karen let out as he passed. He hated when she tried to guilt trip him into breaking off plans with his friends. Besides, it wasn't like he wouldn't be home later that evening..they could spend time together then. "I'm going to be late if I don't get going. I'll be home around nine, love you," he said, placing a hand on his mother's shoulder and pressing a kiss to her cheek before snatching his bookbag up and heading out the door so quickly that he didn't even catch Karen saying that she loved him too...

"We should fucking blow the rest of the day at this shithole," Drew snickered, tossing his lighter over to Daniel, who sat next to him on the brick wall outside of their high school, the arms of a pretty girl named Cassie draped over his shoulders.

"Yeah, for real. I hate Mrs. Davis anyway..it's not like I give a shit about History anyway," he said, taking a long intake of the Newport before passing it back to Cassie, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she puffed on the cigarette as if it somehow depended on her survival.

"Man, let's just get out of here. I can think of a few things better to do with my time than sit here," she said, looking down at Daniel, who rolled his eyes and looked away, shifting nervously as he watched some passing cars. "I don't know about you two but I'm out..ya'll can come if you want." Cassie swung her purse casually over her shoulder before setting off across the school grounds, sending a look over to both of the guys as if to urge them to come along.

"Dude, should we?" Drew asked slowly, looking over to Daniel with a look of utter confusion.

"Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere with her. She'll fucking rape me or something..you know her, she's your cousin," he replied, a look of pure horror crossing his features as she stared after Cassie. "Besides, if I get one more detention, I'll get suspended and you can forget about us going to that concert this weekend."

"Pussy!" Drew laughed, jumping up to grab his stuff. "C'mon, dumbass. You go back in there and they'll know you snuck out for sure. I'll make sure she contains herself..c'mon, bro!" Daniel reluctently slid off of his comfortable spot on the wall, placing the cigarette between his lips to ensure it's safety as he now threw his bookbag over his shoulder.

"Christ, I swear.." he muttered, following after Drew who was now running after his cousin, making sure he got her attention before she left without them. "I'm gonna regret this.."

xxxxx

Amanda's dark eyes followed after Daniel's retreating figure, a faint frown playing on her lips as she watched the three teens from the safety of her car. She was annoyed that he continued to act like this..everyday he'd do something remotely stupid with the two he now trailed after. She had been hoping that when she drove by his high school today that he wouldn't be in what she began to realize was his smoking spot..but much to her dismay, he was. Amanda wanted to lie to John and say that he was cleaning up his act but there was no chance in hell that she could get that passed him or passed herself. She couldn't fail on the job she so desperately loved. It was more than clear that Daniel was wasting away..but then again, Amanda was far more compassionate than her mentor. As long as the victim continued to mistrest themselves or their precious gift of life, John had not one ounce of mercy for their possible demise, for if they failed, they would be deemed unworthy to even breathe..in John's eyes. She hadn't quite gotten over this yet but it was something she felt she owed John for saving her from herself. Amanda pulled off, biting down on her lip as she glanced over at the clock on her dashboard..tonight everything would come into play..this could be the last night Daniel Matthews had on this Earth..and that fact scared her to death. Here she sat, weighed down with the duty of making sure he was drugged and brought to the warehouse, where John would show her exactly where to put him..and they would wait, together, for the second in which he awoke to test him..and hope for his survival. Amanda took a deep breath and shook the thoughts from her mind..this was it and she couldn't fail..she wouldn't let herself. Once in the cover of darkness as Daniel would take his usual route home from Drew's, she'd seal his fate as another wayward victim and there was to be no turning back..none whatsoever.

xxxxx

The cloudless night sky had turned an unforgiving shade of black and only the light from the moon could guide Daniel as he walked through the darkness, the terrible sensation that he was being watched causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up. He had this paranoia every time he followed this path home once the sun had fallen into pure darkness but it wasn't hard to see why. This was exactly how he'd found himself in that house three months ago..he had been caught off guard by that man..shit, he couldn't remember his name. He just knew that the same feeling he had that night was now hanging over him like a plague. Daniel shook his head and laughed softly at himself, running a hand down his neck as he turned on the spot to reassure himself that no one was following him. An eerie silence rang in his ears, as the only other sound was his own breathing..no, he was alone..and he wasn't that far from home. He'd be fine. He needed to stop living in that nightmare and thinking that every time he walked at night, he was going to wake up in that hell. It wasn't going to happen. Daniel switched his mind to the events of the day in an attempt to drown out the paranoia. A gentle smile tugged at the corners of his mouth..it felt good to know that he actually had something to do this weekend instead of sitting at home in his room, soaking in the angst of being abandoned to a deathly silent home. He was looking forward to losing himself and just forgetting all the shit that still ate at his insides. Daniel glanced down at his watch and suddenly frowned, stopping in his tracks to curse at himself. It was eleven thirty. How could he just let it slip his mind that his mother wanted to spend some time with him? Jesus, how fucking stupid could he be? But the anger at himself disolved the moment a stick snapped behind him in the woods, the sound of distant footsteps suddenly becoming noticable to Daniel as he stood frozen to the spot. No..he needed to stop hearing things. He whipped around and drank in his surroundings, his heart pounding rapidly against his chest as his eyes scanned the darkness. He was a fucking nutjob, that's what he was. Nobody was there. Daniel shook his head firmly as if to somehow shake some sense into himself but before he could continue on, another stick snapped. This time it became hauntingly clear that he wasn't imagining it.

"Fuck.." Daniel breathed, his breath freezing in the night air. He needed to run for it, no matter how stupid it was. If only his goddamn legs didn't feel like weights. Snap It was closer. Panic began to melt away and solid, cold fear clung to him as he glanced around desperately, fully trying to convince himself that it was nothing. But the forth and loudest snap made something inside of him burst..no more thinking, he was being followed. He wasn't sure how he got his legs to work but he soon found himself running, not daring to once look behind him. He could see his house coming into view..he was almost there. Daniel was so caught up in the sight of what he thought was salvation that he didn't catch sight of the figure dressed in red that came at him from the right. His scream sounded out into the night as the pig masked stranger jumped at him, his cries almost automatically fading into silence the second the syringe was stabbed into his arm, the tranquilizer released into his blood stream. Daniel's world faded into nothingness and as he fell to frozen ground and stared up at the night sky, the last thing he caught before everything disappeared was the frightening image of a pig faced figure holding an empty syringe, lurking over top of him..and then..nothing..

xxxxx

Daniel's heavy blue eyes burned as he finally came to, the rememberance of what had happened to him not once crossing his mind. His eyes were streaming although they remained closed and he couldn't seem to bring his hands up to rub at them. Daniel attempted to shake his head but he failed at this too, now aware that something metal and cold was holding his neck into place. His eyes flew open in shock, his breath catching in his chest at the sight that met his heavy orbs. A dimly lit room, not much bigger than the small bathroom off of his bedroom at home, was illuminated by a light bulb dangling from the ceiling and in front of him was a metal trunk that sat bolted to the floor. Daniel began to panic as he attempted to pull at the strong duct tape that binded his hands together behind his back, ignoring the metal collar that was fastened almost too tightly around his neck. His lips quivered with desperation as he continued to struggle with the tape, his eyes filling with panicked tears as his heart pounded almost nonstop against his chest. There was no way that he could call for help..it was more than evident what was happening to him. Daniel sobbed as he attempted to pull his wrists apart in another desperate try to break the tape, not one bit surprised when he failed. He stopped struggling and caught his breath, now aware that he was fastened against the wall by this metal collar that was practically cutting off his ability to breathe and swallow. The sudden sound of static seemingly blared into the silence from nowhere, Daniel's eyes moving to the left in shock to find a TV in the corner, the sight of a sadistic clown puppet now appearing on the screen.

"What the fuck?" he whispered, his voice breaking as the clown now turned slowly to face him, it's painted red eyes almost burning into his. The deadly silence that followed it's stare made even more tears fall down Daniel's paled cheeks, the salty droplets coming to rest on his dry lips.

"Hello again, Daniel. I trust that you very well remember who I am. By now, you've realized that your hands are bound securely behind your back and that your neck is held in place by a tight metal collar. I'm sure you have also taken notice of the trunk that sits in front of you at arms length." Daniel turned his eyes momentarily to the box that was hauntingly close to him.

"After taking in your surroundings, you are probably wondering why you are here so I'll inform you. Three months ago, you were a victim of mine, something I assume you have not yet forgotten. You survived..but at what price? The death of your father, while tragic, has left you even more desperate than before. You turn to harmful atcs as your only way of release, something that I have not failed to notice." Daniel trembled as his widened eyes watched the screen helplessly, the sadistic, deep voice that was Jigsaw's chilling his very soul.

"The door to this room is on a timer. If you do not locate the key inside that box, that is both for that door and your collar, in three minutes time, it will be locked forever. Right now, you are also breathing in a deadly toxin, one quite similiar to the very poison you inhale with every cigarette you smoke. Being familiar with the affects of a slow acting toxin, I need not remind you of it's harmful damage that will be done to your body if you do not escape this room. Break the ties that bind you, Daniel. Live or die..make your choice." The screen went to snow and the loud ringing of the static followed as the face of the clown disappeared, leaving Daniel blinking in rapidly, the tears that had once formed in his eyes now falling down his face once again. The timer he had failed to notice in the corner began to count down, it's bright red numbers burning against Daniel's eyes. There was no more time to think..or feel. Daniel began to tug relentlessly at the duct tape still binding his wrists, his blue orbs never once leaving the timer. 2: 25. No, no..he had to get this fucking tape off. 2:19. Time was wasting. 2:10. After what seemed like an eternity, Daniel's binds were finally broken and he reached out to the box, his numbed fingers desperately fumbling to open it. He flung the top back and jammed his arm inside, immediantely opening his mouth to scream, only to have nothing come out. His arm was trapped in between a thin line of razors, all in which were fastened to the side of the box, their blades facing out so that they would severely slice his arms if he dared to stick them in. Daniel tried to moan out and yank his arm free, this movement being the last thing he should've attempted. One of the razors had caught his wrist and buried itself deep into his vein, slitting open the skin without mercy at the movement he had previously made. His own warm blood now ran down his hand. Daniel didn't dare glance up at the clock and instead reached into what he realized was another compartment for his other arm, this time turning his arm to the side so that he could attempt to fit it into the thin line of razors so he could reach the bottom. There was no way around it..he had already slit both of his wrists severely. The toxin and the razors were being used against him..both representing his cutting and his smoking. Blood seeped from the open wounds that were still caught on the razors as he fumbled through the box to reach the bottoms on both compartments. The key had to be in one..but which? More straight razors were at the bottom of the box, making it even more difficult to find a single key amongst the objects that felt no different. Daniel panicked as he continued to reach as far as he could, this being a burden due to the fact that his neck was being held back. Glancing up at the clock, he saw the bright red numbers that made his heart skip at beat. 55 seconds.

"Fuck!" Daniel growled, slicing his fingertips as he dug threw each seperate compartment with a single hand, feeling for the much needed key. In what must've been a miracle, his fingers stopped on string that was tied onto the key, knotted through a small hole in the metal object so that it was securely tied. Daniel wrapped the small string around his fingers and began to tug at his arms, the razors once again unmercifully slicing at his wrists as he ripped them from the box. Aware that the gashes in his arms were extremely severe, Daniel began to search for the lock on his collar, finding it as the time read 15 seconds. Daniel struggled with it, the blood that was covering his fingers causing the lock to slip in his grasp. Finally freeing his neck from the device, he jumped to his feet at 8 seconds and ran to the door, the room spinning at his massive blood loss and the toxin he was breathing in. 5..Daniel attempted to find the lock for the door..4..he found it but missed..3..he fumbled with the lock..2..he turned it and heard the click that represented it being unlocked..1..he flung it open and collapsed into the hallway, a loud buzzing from the timer going off meeting his ears as he began to sob from both relief and agony. Daniel lay on the ground and cried obsessively, his whole body shaking, his slit wrists seeping continuous blood. He was going to die..he was going to. He looked down at his arms and sobbed out, the gashes allowing him to see into his veins, the very veins that were cut open and unrelentlessly bleeding. The sudden, loud sound of a door being slid open brought Daniel's eyes up from his injuries. An elderly man limped into the hallway, his face covered by a large hood, one that was black but lined with red, just like the rest of his cloak. The man pulled back the cloth that was shielding his features from view. Daniel cried silently, his tears dropping to mix with the puddles of blood that were flooding the ground before him. The face of the man was firm yet gentle and his almost sky blue eyes shined in the dim lighting.

"Congratulations, Daniel. You are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful..to be alive. But not you..not anymore." The voice was clearly that of Jigsaw's that had been on the TV. Daniel stared up at the figure with barely open eyes, nausea washing over him in a furious wave of discomfort. As he fell back to the ground, still bleeding terribly, he caught the face of what appeared like an angel in the darkness, a brunette woman so beautiful that he almost forgot his pain.

"A-Amanda..?" And he collapsed, his world, like before, becoming nothingness..