Sometimes, you have to take distance from yourself to find yourself
The clouds in the sky went away, revealing first beams of sunlight blazing all over the place. The moment the cloudiness subsided was the one in which Flaky finally had the feeling to regain the ability to breath fluently. It was as if the world itself was taking a gasp of relief. She took a last glance towards the twins "Sniffles, please inform me about anything new. I have to get to work, I can´t let my benevolent entrepreneurs down."
Sniffles, chuckling a bit at her fancy language, she really like that term for her employers, quickly waved his farewells as he got back to work. "Well, the monitors are recording everything and the machines for their vital functions are running smoothly. If anything goes wrong I´ll be alarmed immediately. I guess I can leave them to that for a brief time, I need to tend to my other patients as well."
With that said, Mime rushed into the room, gesturing panicked signs. He keeps flailing with his arms but the times in which that got Sniffles irritated have past. He got used to it. At first it was irritating but Sniffles is a person who tries desperately to accept any kind of people regardless of their lifestyle, and if Mime chooses to stay mute in favor of his creed, then Sniffles would rather accept his choice than judging him for it. "Just lead the way Mime, I´ll follow." He is a doctor to the core and will do anything for his patients. Even if they would be resurrected, he knows that the feeling of being attended to is a pleasant feeling, needed in this cursed place.
"I… I can do this!" Shifty was reluctant at first to enter the second corridor as the horrors experienced from the first one was still nagging on his mind, engulfing it with dread. But he was determined to save his brother nonetheless, and the determination rises with every passing minute. Taking a deep breath, he makes his first steps into the corridor. Unlike the other one this corridor, this one was well-lighted, the walls appealed to be made from marble, its walls revealing some kind of embellishment. It almost appeared as if the ornaments were "telling" a story about something, but it was too blurred to make any sense out of it. Luckily, this corridor wasn´t even half as long than the other. At the end of it were four doors and a large printed address above them
Take the position of a judge and decide who must die. But be warned, even judges can be condemned for making false accusations.
"What the hell?" Upon closer investigation, Shifty realized Photos of three different persons on the door. On the left one his brother, on the second one Flippy, on the third one himself, but the right one had a blank frame on it. Between the four doors is a little strongbox containing a photo of an event Shifty remembers in shock. "This… This is the body of my brother… After it got mutilated by Flippy. He… gave up on himself to save me that day…" Rethinking the event he shed tears as he imagined the ordeal his brother was put through and how nonchalantly he down played it. "It couldn´t be worse than last time…It is clear who has to die here!" Without further hesitation, Shifty opened the door with the frame containing a picture of himself.
His vision blurs on a sudden. At first, he was engulfed with nothing but blackness as he feels a tight grip around his throat. He was grabbed by Flippy. "What? How?" He questioned as he was brought back to the situation which started this whole mess.
"Please! Don´t kill him, I beg you! What do you want I…I´ll g…give you anything you want! Really! If it is in my possibility to give to you I´ll do it but please just let my brother go!"
Flippy glared at him with his emerald eyes, not easing the grasp on Shifty's throat. The struggling of his prey left him in pure relish as well as the sight of tears, either caused by pain, or by despair.
"Anything huh?" The green bear repeated menacingly smirking. "Yeah everything! Just please let him go!" Lifty at the border of crying pleaded and started to feel a glimpse of hope. No matter what he will demand, if he sees a chance to rescue his brother he will surely use it!
"I want you then!"
The green raccoon blinked dumbfounded "You want…me? For what?"
"For a little fun." The green bear stated, remaining in his smugly state of menace. "Either you accept, or your brother will die, look how his green fur gets a mix of marvelous blue…" He said while looking at Shifty who´s struggling now to remain conscious. Flippy tightened his grip as Lifty suddenly yelled "Okay! Okay fine I´ll stay here but please let go off my brother!"
Lifty fell to his knees in exasperation and started crying with many mixed feelings in his stomach. He should just grab the strongbox and leave his brother to die. He will be alive tomorrow anyway, they always wake up in their own bed after dying but… he couldn´t.
Shifty glared at Lifty well knowing what was bound to happen next. The moment Flippy loosened his grasp a little was enough for him to perform his next act. He kicks Flippy in his ribs and breaks free as he got him startled by that. He runs after Lifty, grabbing him by his chest "I won´t let you sacrifice yourself because of my ineptitude! Go! RUN! I´ll be back at tomorrow morning!" With that he pushed Lifty out of the bathroom, slammed the door close and jammed the lock so Lifty won´t be able to open the door on time. "NO! SHIFTY! PLEASE DON´T DO THIS! PLEASE…" He heard his brother wailing but didn´t bother with it.
Flippy recovered fast from the blow. Shifty wasn´t really trained in martial arts so Flippy didn´t really get hurt by this amateurish kick. He grabbed him by his neck and pushed him down to the ground, bonding his hands at the drawer below the sink. He brings his face really close to Shifty's "That did hurt…" He said in a menacing tone.
"Your breath hurts!" Shifty taunted him as he knows that every act now would be pointless. He was now captured by Flippy which means that he will die now, and, thinking of whom he got captured, he will definitely die slowly and painfully. A sort of death he feared the most but the thought that he put his brother through this without hesitation gives him just the feeling that he now deserves any ordeal Flippy will put him through.
"Let´s see how much amusement you can muster after I´m done with you!" With that said Flippy takes his knife and impales him on the right foot. Shifty screams in pain and the banging on the door intensifies together with Lifty's pleads. "Please let go of my brother! Please, do with me what you want but please let him go!" But he gets being ignored by Flippy.
"Why don´t you run away you idiot?" Shifty thinks to himself in despair, but he isn´t left alone to his thoughts for long as Flippy twists the knife and cuts off his impaled foot, blood spurting out of his stump. "I will disassemble you, limb for limb…" He flings his knife right into his right knee cab, twists it a little and tears out his shin. Shifty screams in tantalizing pain, his eyes completely filled with tears. He knows that begging his futile, so he takes the torture, the pain driving him to the edge of insanity. But Flippy continues with his sadistic demeanor and takes it even further as he flays his right thigh to get every little wail of agony out of his victim before he cuts it off, Shifty's right leg is now completely amputated. "Well that was FUN!" Flippy states with maniacal laughter. "How about we double it?" With that said he jolts his knife right into Shifty's left foot, but instead of twisting it he starts stabbing the foot multiple times until the severed tendons give in and release the foot out of his holdings. His cries subside as he starts fainting, but a harsh punch of Flippy sends him back to consciousness. "Don´t pass out on me buddy! We´re far from done yet!" Shifty's screams turn into squeaking shrieks as Flippy starts perforating his left knee. "Let him go let him go let him go LET HIM GO LET HIM GO LET HIM GO!" Lifty wailed, empathically sharing his brother's pain. But it was to late, Flippy already found his toy to play with, and he relished every second of it. But the massive blood loss is taking its toll and Shifty is about to lose his consciousness again. Flippy, realizing that, gives one last cocky smile as he rams his knife straight into Shifty's throat, causing him to suffocate on his own blood. With darkness engulfing him once more, he hears a hollow scream before he dies. "SHIFTY!"
Exasperation is filling his heart. Sadness tightening his chest. Tears are welling up in his open eyes. He´s still unable to move and has to lie still as he feels despair and grief crawling through his flesh. Nobody can hear nor help him as he screams in silence.
"Mime! Get me the diazepam! I want to try to end his seizure!" Mime was already there as Sniffles was looking for him. He brought a lozenge with the active ingredient lorazepam. It wasn´t the ingredient Sniffles was looking for, but it had the same ability he was looking for. "Thanks that will work too!" He put the lozenge into Shifty's cheek pouch, ending his spasms in mere seconds. Mime was puzzled and gestured the question why he wanted to end Shifty's seizure with medicine, Sniffles was able to understand it as Mime only shrugged as gesture. "If you have convulsions you´re clenching your muscles with sevenfold strength. If the convulsions persist for too long or appear to often your muscles will become sour. If they get too sour the muscles' waste products can cause severe damage to the vital organs. As for now we must prevent that to happen by preventing any more convulsions." Mime understood the logic but still simple explanation. He still has much to learn as an assistant doctor.
Many thoughts are running through his head together with the remaining pain seeping through his body. The mutilation is still flashing before his eyes, he whimpered. He feels his strength weakening after this ordeal, he feels bad at thinking how his brother must have suffered as he left him behind. He feels so shabby after all of this. "I can´t give up! Two corridors dow…" But he stopped his sentence as he slowly got up, widening his eyes in terror. "It´s… it´s still there!? What did I do wrong?" He ran to the corridor, alongside the walls he could see the embellishment again, but it was still blurred, making everything on it unrecognizable. As he reached the doors again he noticed that the address above them has changed.
Justice isn´t always served through repentance.
"Fine then!" He glares at the door with the picture of Flippy. "You killed my brother and now you killed me! Justice will be served by a life for a life!" Aggression filling his mind he storms through the door, his vision blurring again.
"Just go!" Lifty yelled at Shifty and he suddenly became unsure if his tears were out of sadness or out of rage. Without any more words he nodded, biting his lips, oppressing his tears, and ran outside the bathroom.
"So, now to the actual fun part." Flippy said, grabbing the raccoons tail and pulling him up so he is upside down. He tightened his grip, made a forceful swing and smashed Lifty on the ground as hard as possible. Lifty screams in pain but his outcry is cut short as Flippy jumped on top of his belly, pressing any air out of the rodent almost completely deflating him. He kneeled on his ribs causing Lifty to moan in agony "I´ll make sure that you will remember this night. You will never ever again pester me here!"
Shifty stands on the outside of the bathroom, seeing Flippy on top of his brother. Anger and rage filling his mind he notices and object in his right hand. It is a gun, he isn´t educated enough to know which type of gun it is but he can tell from his weight that it is loaded, and he is ready to pull the trigger. Flippy pulled out his knife but before he could do anything Shifty started to speak up.
"Hey you fucker!" Flippy turned around but before he could even face Shifty the bullet was already unleashed, piercing his head and sending small pieces of brain matter over Lifty's face. Flippy's visage is wearing a fearful expression as he falls to his side, instantly deceased. Regarding the pain he has put the raccoon twins through, the act of shooting him was merciful compared to it.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Lifty suddenly bursts out. Tears of rage filling his eyes. Shifty was surprised by his brother's sudden outburst. He tries to defend but his brother keeps on yelling at him. "YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM? HE WAS ABOUT TO KILL ME! WE WERE INTRUDING IN HIS HOUSE WE WOULD HAVE DESERVED A PUNISHMENT! HE DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE. IT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT WE HAVE TO LIVE AS THIEVES! I AM NOT ABOUT TO LIVE AS A MURDERER!" With that said he grabbed Flippy's knife, leading it straight to his throat. Realizing with dread what his brother is about to do "Lifty no! Wait!" But it was to late. Lifty cuts his throat right open, severing the vital arteries and sending fountains of blood to the floor. It didn´t take him long to pass out gurgling, dying only mere seconds after it.
Shifty was now shivering. Realizing he had once again made the wrong choice, he points the gun at his forehead and pulls the trigger.
"Damn it Shifty! Are you even trying to survive in there?" Sniffles quickly put another lozenge into his mouth. "This is the last one I can give to you! Overdosing it won´t help much!" Shifty's convulsions ended as soon as they began. "It seems that you will need more of my attention and vigilance than I first thought…" Resting his head on his hand he suddenly heard quiet sobbing. He looks over at Lifty and sees that he is crying in his unconsciousness. "Well, this is a phenomenon…" He said as he could do nothing about it than just watch.
Shifty woke up, struggling to stand as the pain in his head was still taking its toll. The corridor was still there, and he was getting frustrated. "What is it that I´m overseeing? I wish you were here Lifty… I need you so much right now…"
As he walked the corridor the ornaments on the wall are merging into a single effigy showing three figures holding hands peacefully. Suddenly the effigies start moving in a playful circle, hugging each other tightly afterwards as they vanish instantaneously leaving a blank wall behind. Shifty noticed the shadow play without any reaction. Standing before the doors again he sees once again a different address above them.
As a judge you cannot just rely on your own justice to make a judgement.
Only two doors are left, the one with Lifty's picture on it and the one without any picture on it. He quickly makes his decision and goes through the door. His vision blurs one more time and he is sure that this is the last time this event will reoccur.
"Leave him alone! Please let go off him!" He screamed and pleaded and ran towards Flippy only to be pushed back harshly, banging his head against the heating placed next to the shower.
"This time, I will make this right!" "huh?" Flippy was puzzled as Shifty bit his hand to free himself from his grasp. Without wasting any more time, he grabs Lifty by his wrists and makes a run for it. Lifty has problems to not fall over because of his brother's pace. "What are you doing?" He exclaimed, "Saving both of our asses!" But Flippy was faster. With a strong leap he landed right onto Lifty's back, making him grunt in pain and loss of air. But Shifty was thinking fast, he grabbed an umbrella lying in a bin of Flippy's living room and smashed it into the green bear's face. The force was enough to make him go of Lifty and daze him for a few seconds, enabling the twins to get to the outside. It was raining heavily. They make a run for their van but as soon as they reached it Flippy made his way to the outside too, rain pouring on his face. He dashed after them but got slower every second. "huh?" Shifty wondered as he noticed something strange. His emerald eyes were normalizing, the edges of his teeth are smoothening, he turns to normal. "You just have to drench his face in water?" Shifty wondered. "What is happening?" Flippy asked. But as soon Shifty tried to speak up his vision blurred, revealing a room its walls made of the same marble the corridor was made of. In the midst of the room he saw a ghostly, somehow ethereal figure looking like its brother. It was kneeling to the ground keeping his gaze to the ground as it stalked talking.
"I just want us all to be save…and us to be redeemed…"
The figure suddenly vanishes, releasing a burst of blue light, gleaming so brightly that it forces Shifty to close his eyes. As the light got dimmer he was able to open them just to notice that the corridor was gone, leaving a wall. On the wall there is the same picture than on the first wall, Lifty and Shifty as kids hugging each other. But the bottom of the picture left another sentence.
Protect to be protected.
"What are you trying to tell me? How was I supposed to know? I thought that it was so easy to decide who has to die, I completely missed the fact that sometimes… nobody has to die at all…"
With that said he goes straight to the next corridor, the fact that he´s halfway through this only stirring up his determination to save his brother.
Despair and grief left his heart to leave a complete new feeling in him. A long-buried desire covered in hope.
"Let us just hope that this just sticks the way it is now. I hope you´re being all right in there Shifty." Suddenly he heard movement from Lifty's bed. Somehow, his unconscious body managed to curl up. If he wasn´t unconscious Sniffles could swear that Lifty is hugging his own tail for comfort.
