Disclaimer: Now if I owned Saw, or Michael Emerson, the world would be a very scary place. I also don't own the friends in this chapter. They all volunteered to do this, don't worry! (xXerineilXx)
Chapter 7: Friends or Love?
As the group of four approached the next door, Amy was still beaming from the kiss.
"He kissed me! He kissed me!" Amy sang, skipping next to Allana, who was crossing her arms angrily.
"We know." Allana snapped. "Get over yourself!"
"I think Allana's a bit jealous…" Izzy nudged Ricky and laughed.
"Am not!" Allana hissed.
"And technically, you kissed him." Ricky added. Amy ignored him and continued to sing.
All of a sudden, they heard shouts from inside the double doors in front of them, which had a giant red swirl painted on them.
"What's going on? Someone help me!"
"I can't! It's dark; I can't see a freaking thing!"
"Guys, calm down, I'm sure there's a solution."
"Why are we spinning?"
"This is the government's fault! I swear they put me here! I knew Bush should've stayed President!"
"Clams, clams, glorious clams!"
The group looked at each other in confusion. "What the hell?" Amy asked, pressing her ear to the door to hear more random shouting.
"I swear I heard something about Bush staying President and clams…" Allana mumbled.
Izzy arched an eyebrow. "I think I recognize most of those voices."
"I thought my test was supposed to be next?" Ricky asked.
Izzy sighed and pushed open the double doors. All of a sudden, lights turned on and in front of her was six people spinning on a carousel-like machine. "Hmm…" She took in her surroundings. "Now where have I seen all this before?"
"Saw VI! Duh!" Amy piped up. Izzy looked like she was about to say something else, but the people riding the carousel started to shout again.
"What the heck is going on? Someone answer me!" A skinny teenage girl with dark brown hair and looked like a dancer-type shouted.
"Amanda? Is that you?" Izzy shouted, running up to the bars separating her from the carousel.
"Izzy? Oh my God, what's going on?" Another girl shouted. She was fairly tall and had short curly light brown hair.
"Lizzie!" Izzy shrieked. "And…Conor? What are you doing here? I don't even like you!"
A chubby dark-haired boy with a baby-face glared at Izzy. "Shut up! You would put me here, now let me out, you bitch!"
"She didn't put you here, don't worry." Allana spoke up. Everyone on the carousel realized the three other people behind Izzy were there and got even more confused.
"Who the hell are they?" A short, skinny girl with straight blonde hair asked.
"Taylor, I barely know you. Adam too." Izzy pointed at the tall boy with orange-blackish hair that was singing about clams. "I have no idea why you guys are here."
"Who's the dude in the back that isn't freaking out yet?" Ricky asked, squinting to try to see him. When he came into the light, the group noticed that he was definitely older than everyone else, possibly in his mid-twenties. He had spiky black hair and was awkwardly silent.
"I swear that's…" Allana began but trailed off.
Izzy gasped and finished her sentence. "Zep! Oh my God, are you alive?"
"What does it look like?" Zep responded sarcastically.
The TV near the carousel suddenly turned on and all eyes moved to Billy's familiar face.
"Hello again Izzy. I'm sure you know what's going on here, due to the fact that the Carousel trap was a favorite of my work to you. But let me tell you know that things will be a bit different this time around. Seated on the carousel in front of you are eight different people. Two are close friends, people you've come to know and love." Izzy sighed and glanced at Lizzie's petrified face and Amanda, who was trying not to watch. "Two of them are people you don't know as well as you should. Will you ever get the chance?" Taylor looked straight at Izzy. Adam continued to sing. "One of these people is someone you despise and hate with every fiber of your being. Do you hate him enough to kill him?" Conor gasped and looked at Izzy with angry eyes. "And last but not least, you may have recognized what you came to call your 'true love'. Do you really love him more than your friends? Today you'll choose between your friends, your love, your hatred, and your opportunity."
"You little bitch!" Conor shrieked.
"Calm down, kid." Zep mumbled.
"This is the part that's unlike the original. Each person will get the chance to explain why they think they should survive before shots are fired. Instead of piercing your hand to choose who lives, you'll press the buttons near your feet, once with each foot. Remember, six ride the carousel, but only two can get off. Make your choice." The TV faded and everything went into a frenzy.
Amy and Ricky looked at each other nervously as Amanda pulled up to the front.
Amanda pulled up next. "Please Izzy, you know I'd do anything for you! I love you like a great friend, I'll do anything!" The carousel started again, and Adam pulled up next.
"You know, I really like clams and shrooms. Maybe my idea about putting heroin in the water supply will work sometimes soon and I'll rule the world!" Adam cheered.
"You do that, crazy." Ricky commented, smirking.
Lizzie pulled up next. "Izzy, please. I've been your friend since sixth grade! I was there for you when no one else was! Remember when your dad got into that accident? I helped you through that!" Lizzie sobbed. "You know all the things I have to live for, you can't do this to me!"
Conor pulled up next. "You little bitch, why wouldn't you let me live!" He snapped. "Who are you gonna work with in Earth Science, huh?"
Then Taylor. "I know I've been a bit mean to you. I guess we just had different friends, that's all!"
"Yeah." Izzy said, crossing her arms. "I remember when you and your 'friends' all got up and left when I sat with you at lunch."
Taylor shrieked in fear and Zep pulled up last. "Izzy, I don't deserve to live as much as the rest of these other wonderful friends of yours do. It's your choice to who lives or dies, and I'm not going to try to convince you."
Amanda pulled up to the front once again. "I know they might deserve to live more than me, but you can't do this!" She said more calmly as the shotgun slowly lowered and leveled so it was in line with her chest. "Please!" Izzy looked down at her feet at the buttons, but before she could push it, the shotgun fired and straight through Amanda's chest. Blood soaked the back of Conor's shirt and Amanda's body fell over, limp.
"Whoa, what just happened?" Adam shouted as he pulled up to the front. "What's going on? What is that thing?" The shotgun lowered and Izzy covered her eyes with her hands as Adam met the same fate as Amanda, his blood splattered all over Taylor's back. Taylor screamed and Izzy buried her face in her hands.
Lizzie pulled up and started squeaking. "Please Izzy! You know my family! My mom, my dad, Nick, you couldn't let them see their little girl go!"
Izzy glanced one more time at the buttons, and stepped on the leftmost one with her adjacent foot. A spinning blade swung up from the ground and sliced into Izzy's leg and the shotgun slowly moved back to its old position and shot the bullet up, missing Lizzie completely.
"Thank you." Lizzie's hysterics slowly faded. "Thank you so much Izzy, I knew you were a great friend."
Conor pulled up and went into complete hysterics. "You better save me, you brat!"
"You've done nothing for me." Izzy growled, leaning down and dabbing at her leg wound.
"From what I've heard from her, you're a real asshole." Ricky added.
"What?" Conor shrieked as the shotgun lowered. "Please Izzy; you can't do anything without me! Anything at all!" The gun fired and Conor fell over dead.
Taylor was next. "I guess I've been mean to you, but that was middle school! Everything's different now! You have to save me!" Izzy looked down at the button again, but when she looked back at Taylor, she shook her head as the gun lowered and fired at Taylor, hitting her square in the chest like the rest.
Zep finally rounded to the front. "This means you're choosing me, right?" He asked. Izzy nodded and stepped on the final button, and the shotgun went back to its original position and fired the bullet at the ceiling. "You didn't have to do this." He said as the blade sliced into Izzy's other leg.
"Yes I did." Izzy said softly. Clutching her arm and walking with a severe limp, she started heading towards the next door. Amy, Allana, and Ricky shrugged and followed as Lizzie continued to sob, and Zep fell dead silent.