I awoke but did not open my eyes. My bed was unusually cold and hard, but I didn't mind it. I was too happy that I had woken from my nightmare. That's all it had been… a figment of my imagination, some stupid play my mind had written… a side-effect of mixing vodka and limes? Well, maybe not the last one. Something in the back of my mind told me it wasn't just a dream… my head was aching horribly. I dared to open my eyes; I saw a blurry image of a stone floor. The bright light in this room turned my headache into a migraine. I groaned and propped myself up against the nearest wall.

"Ah!" An unfamiliar voice echoed near me.

My eyes grew wide with fear as I studied the man in front of me. I tried to say something, but what came out was unintelligible. I shook and stared at him blankly.

"S-still alive… I thought you were dead… shit…" he put his hands over his face momentarily and sighed.

My heart pounded so hard it almost hurt. I was so excited to find another living person, but exactly who was this guy?

I finally found my voice. "Who are you?"

He looked away from me. "What's it to you?"

I took an instant dislike to him. I glanced at him; he was pretty average; short dark brown hair, medium build, a t-shirt and sweat pants. I slowly got up, but stayed my distance.

"Um, what did you mean by 'I thought you were dead'?"

"I don't know, well… I was just down this hallway and these lights come on and I see you like, right in front of me. So I just freaked and punched you. Yeah, so like I thought you were dead or something. You gave me a fucking heart attack!" He still looked a little wary of me.

My mind clicked and I remembered the voice and the sudden pain. Then I also remembered that I probably wasted a lot of time…

"How long have I been out?" I started to breath heavily.

"I don't know! Like, uh, twenty minutes? What the fuck is this place?" He said loudly, looking around a lot.

"How should I know?" I paused. "Do you have a tape too?"

He looked confused. "What? Oh, that creepy-ass thing? Yeah, but I don't have it with me. Man, this is shit! The guy on the tape is all like, 'If you don't find the key in the next hour, the bomb attached to the belt you're wearing will explode.'"

I shivered. "Did you… find the key?"

"No. Or else I wouldn't be wearing this." He lifted up his t-shirt to reveal a metal-like belt hugging his sides. On the middle of the belt there was a digital clock counting down: thirty minutes left.

"How can you be so calm? You have a bomb on you!" I shook again.

He smiled. "Ha. This is like, so fake."

I couldn't believe him. He was insane. Then I remembered the room with the dead man, Don.

"Didn't you see the dead guy from the other room? That didn't even convince you?" I asked, motioning to the hallway.

He furrowed his brows. "What dead guy? What other room?"

"Didn't you come from the room just down that hallway?"

"Uh, I came from a room inside the hallway. Show me the dead guy…"

My mind was wandering. "Okay… follow me."

We walked quickly back down the dark hallway, it wasn't as bad with someone there. Even though that someone was a complete stranger whom I'd just met and didn't like. I could see the light from the room again; it was much dimmer than the last. As we entered the room, I could almost hear his mouth drop open.

"Oh – shit!" He covered his mouth and swayed a bit.

I'd seen it before, but I still gagged at the sight of it.

"Now do you believe?"

He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. "Oh fuck… oh, god… no…"

I almost felt a little sorry for him. I certainly felt empathy. I sighed heavily and then turned back to the hallway.

"Look, I can see you're not going to help me, and you're not in the position to. So just go your way and I'll go mine."

He finally looked me in the eyes. "No! Shit, don't leave me! Just… help me find the key! Here, come with me to the room I woke up in,"

I didn't want anything to do with him, but I couldn't just leave him… he might try to explode right next to me.

"Fine. But I'm on a timer here, too! If you live through this, you'd better help me out! You're not the only one in mortal danger…" I trailed off; he didn't look the kind of guy who takes insults well.

He led me to the room in the hallway. It was small, circular and dim lighted. There was a chair in the middle of the room and a tape on the ground. I picked up the tape.

"See, when I got out of the chair to get the tape, this string broke or whatever and this timer on the belt started…"

I ignored him and pressed the play button.

"Hello Rick, I want to play a game." So that was his name. "To get by in what you call a life, you go out to parties and slip drugs into people's drinks to make them fall unconscious. Then you rob them of their money and sometimes take advantage of their un-aware state. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Notice the belt you are wearing? There is a bomb attached, when the timer runs out it will explode. You will need the key to take the belt off safely, do not try to force it off by hand, that will make it explode early. Here's a clue: all you have to do is reach in and grab it. Live or die, make your choice."

I stared at Rick questioningly. He breathed out quickly.

"What's the clue mean?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"I guess I know. Follow me." He didn't seem happy, not that he should.

I followed him back into the room I got knocked out in. I noticed that it was not very big, more like a small waiting room. There was a doorway at the end of it, he was taking me there. How many rooms could this place have? My eyes watered, but I kept them at bay.

"What's in there?" I asked, paranoid of everything.

"It's – like, this… uh," he didn't look like he knew how to describe it. "Well, you'll see. It's fucking sick, I'm not doing it." He murmured the last part.

With a flick of the wrist, he flung the door open and let me enter first. Amazingly, this room – if you could call it a room – was even smaller than the last. It was more like a tiny bathroom, minus the fixtures. In fact, the room was bare.

"I don't see anything," I mused.

"Look down…" he said, frowning.

I did, and saw two circular holes spaced a few centimeters away from each other. Curiosity mixed with nausea, I came closer to them and knelt down to get a better look. Inside each deep hole, there were jagged knives positioned randomly along them. I had no idea as to what they were for, but I knew it couldn't be good.

"Here," Rick said, handing me a small, white letter.

I took the paper and read the small, but horrifying words.

Reach in.

For no apparent reason, I started to hack and cough. I quickly cleared my throat as best I could, then I directed my attention to Rick.

"So… I guess… it means…" I stated, glancing up at Rick.

"Get started." He said coldly. I didn't understand him.

"What?"

"Hey, I don't have time to waste! Put your hands down those holes and get the damn key!"

My heart fluttered violently. He was mad. It was his 'game'! Not mine. Why should I help him, like thisEven if I get the stupid key out and he's free – not only are my arms going to be horribly mangled, but I'll have wasted a big chunk of time! I really started to think that I wasn't supposed to find that Styrofoam wall. Ever since I climbed through it, nothing I've seen has had anything to do with me! Wouldn't there be another tape, or note meant for me? Anything! I bet that son-of-a-bitch is laughing at me, safe behind his little cameras. If I get out of here, I swear…

"I-I'm not! That's your job!" I was stuttering stupidly.

He glared at me, he pulled up his shirt. "Look," He pointed at the timer. "You got five fucking minutes to grab the key, or I'll make sure I explode right next to you! Got it?!" His yelling struck my ears hard and made me shiver.

I didn't know what to do, but I decided to do as I was told. There was no way I could escape him, everyone would end up dead that way. The tears I had held back fell freely as my right hand crept closer to one of the holes.

"Please… don't…" I sobbed, pulling my hand away from the devious knives. I glanced at him quickly; he was nervous-looking and sweaty, definitely tense.

"Do it!" he yelled even louder, almost spitting at me.

I didn't know what was scarier; Rick or the knives. I just shook my head and continued crying, hoping he would have mercy.

He clenched his teeth and growled at me, clearly he had anger problems. He'd gone from pretty calm to insanely furious… but I guess that's what happens when you have a soon-to-be-detonated bomb strapped to your abdomen.

He grabbed my arm (almost crushing it in his hand) and stuck it right into the left knife-ridden hole. With all the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I didn't really notice the pain at first. Everything was blurry for a moment and I could hear a small squeaky scream. It was mine. Then the pain finally came, it was horrid. I gazed at my fully engulfed arm, blood everywhere. It was almost up to the shoulder, my head was resting on the dusty wooden floor. The knives tore into my skin slowly as I felt around for the key. They scraped and dug in hard, I screamed and cried but nothing would make him let me stop. Unless, of coarse, the key wasn't in this hole, which was both good and bad news; mostly bad.

"It's not in this one! Stop, stop!" I groaned, watching the skin tear and bleed.

He let go and waited, impatiently. I struggled to bring my arm out of it. Some of the knives were stuck right in my arm, making it even worse trying to get back out. Finally, my gruesome arm was out. I sucked in a deep breath of air and tried to back away from Rick. He glowered at me and took my arm back in his crushing grip, placing it above the other hole. His hand touching the wounds made them sting, tears fell even more. I plunged my arm in the hole myself this time, hoping for it all to end. The pain was even worse, somehow, and once again I heard my screams. I felt what seemed like a key and desperately grabbed at it. I barley got a hold of it, but it was enough. I painfully recoiled my arm up through the hole again and slammed the key on the ground, lying myself on the floor in immense pain. I tried to leave my arm lay on the floor, but it made the stabs and cuts sting more, I could almost feel the pulsing of the blood leaving my veins. I didn't look, but I heard the click of the key in the belt. Rick threw the belt against the wall and exhaled loudly. I moved my head a bit to look at the belt, there were four seconds left, but it had stopped counting down. Everything I looked at was blurred and out of focus. I could hear Rick in the background, but I didn't understand what he was saying. My mouth was really dry and my face felt cold and hot at the same time. I sat there stiffly trying to block out Rick's noises. Then I felt the familiar sense of my mind drifting and I fell unconscious once again.

---

The walls were a pale olive-brown color, they were dirty and peeling. I stared at the walls for a while and felt… melancholy. I had a slight pain in my head, but it wasn't a headache. I slowly recalled what had happened and I looked at my right arm. At that point I didn't know what I felt, but it was mixed with seething pain. That arm was like a rock; it felt heavy and sharp, I didn't want to move it. I noticed that my skin was as pale as it'd ever been, ever. It must have been from blood loss. I wondered how I hadn't died yet. Suddenly I felt nauseous; I tilted my head to one side and waited for it. My ribs felt sore and my stomach churned. It finally came up and so did tears. After it was done, my tired eyes opened and I saw a little vomit, but mostly blood. My heart pounded at the sight and I found the strength to move away from the disgusting sight. I touched my fingers to my lips, there was blood. I was scared and confused, where did the blood come from? It didn't take me long to figure it out. It was most likely an affect of the poison. I cried out in anguish quietly, I knew no one would hear me. But then what about Rick? Where did that cruel bastard go? He just… left me here? I was a little angry, but it was probably best that he wasn't here. I wiped away the blood and tears and then got up. I tried to focus my eyes, but everything was still a little blurry. I was still in the tiny knife-hole room. I gazed lazily at the knives soaked in my blood. The blood was dry; it had been a while since I passed out. I wondered how much time I had left.

I left the room dizzily, bumping against the walls and tripping over things that weren't there. I finally made my way back into Don's room, careful not to stare at the scene to much. I stopped for a minute to catch my breath, I had no energy. I was so weak, but also very desperate. I pushed my hair behind my ears and looked around. A door I hadn't seen before was a couple meters beside me, how had I missed it? I felt like such an idiot. I dragged my sore legs toward whatever else awaited me.