Scene ii
"Hey, the key!" Kaden said; he had his hand out and was looking directly at Alison who was removing the cuff from Roy's ankle.
With Roy's foot now free from the iron cuff that held him captive, Alison tossed the key over to Kaden. Noticing the lack of compassion he had for what Roy just went through. Did Kaden even glance at Roy's burnt and skin-peeling arms? But the situation was life-or-death. The water conducting the electricity was still drawing near.
He easily caught the key. "Thank God," he praised, undoing the lock on the cuff; the iron cuff smoothly opened up.
Kaden stood and began to walk toward the other end of the room. "Hey!" Isaac shouted for his attention; Kaden glanced over and quickly dropped the key at his feet, not speaking a word.
"Come on, Roy!" Alison shouted; she was looking down at her friend's brown eyes, "Please, get up! I can't keep dragging you!" But the cop refused to respond, "Roy! We don't have much time!"
He continued to lie there, staring up at the ceiling, ignoring the danger of the situation. He was in pain and deep thought. What he had just went through. What Jigsaw told him. How many people had he neglected?
"Roy, please! Get up!" she begged.
Roy quickly sat up, his scorched hands pressed hard against the filthy floor. He was at eye level with Alison, "Shut up!" he screamed; he had enough of her distressing. Did she not see what he just had to do?
Suddenly, a jolt of pain shot through his arm from the tension. Roy gave another cry of pain. He lifted his arms up off the floor, curling his fingers as he squeezed his eyes shut. All Alison could do was bite her lip and stare.
"Alison," Grace called out, "The box!" She pointed toward the stove. Water had just touched the red box containing the photos and recorder.
Those painted words 'Keep Me' flashed in Alison's mind. She got up and ran for the box, stopping a bit before it. She bent down and grasped the top of the open box and hesitated. She stared down at the photos in the box and the few that were becoming soaked on the floor. Alison simply grabbed the tape recorder and ran back.
"Let's go!" Kaden cried, waiting at the iron door at the end of the room.
The cuff snapped open and Isaac leapt up, "Hurry up!" He tossed the key toward Grace and made his way to Kaden.
"I got it!" she cried, catching the key and unlocking the metal cuff from her ankle.
Alison stopped at the side of Roy, looking down with sympathetic eyes, "Roy…" she whispered; she held the tape recorder with both hands.
"God damn it, Alison!" he shouted, refusing to let his hands turn into fists. "Just go! I'm coming!" her shoulders twitched a bit and she moved her eyes to the side and moved past Roy.
He looked up and watched the water come in closer, only a yard or so from touching his feet. Roy gave a grunt and quickly got himself off the ground without having to use his hands.
"Come on! The key!" Isaac shouted to Grace; his left hand banged on the iron door. A keyhole was clearly visible on it.
Grace quickened her pace and handed the key to Isaac. He snatched and inserted it.
Roy continued his slow walk behind Alison. His head tilted back as he attempted to soothe himself. All the while his arms still in burning pain.
The front door creaked open as a man walked inside. The midnight sky provided very little light.
He made little sound as he hung a set of keys on a hook and strolled down the dark hallway. His appearance made him look like he had just rolled out of bed. Not come home from work.
He pushed open his bedroom door and a lamplight flashed on; the man covered his eyes from the sudden light. "Roy," said a blond-haired woman who sat on the bed.
"Sorry, honey…" he said in a hushed tone, "Tough day at work." He didn't make eye contact for a second but soon looked into her worried and angry eyes.
"Oh, bullshit," she responded, pulling out a small, clear bag from underneath her pillow and slamming it on the bed sheet. The bag held the remains of a grassy looking material. "What happened to quitting?" shouted Roy's wife.
"No, honey, those were from before! I swear!" he replied. Roy could feel himself sweating now.
She quickly got off the bed and banged her hand against the wall. "Stop fucking lying to me!" she screamed; her arms flailed to her side, "The department called today and asked why you hadn't come to work yet! You won't answer your cell phone! Then I find your bag of damn drugs hidden in your drawer!"
Roy didn't give an answer. He simply stared down at the floor; his mouth opened once in an attempt to talk but continued to keep quiet.
"Whatever," she said hurtfully as she grabbed a large suitcase from the side of the bed. "Call me when you get your damn life together. I've had enough of your lies," she walked past Roy and made her way down the hallway.
"Wait!" he said as she came to a stop, "I can't help it. It's still so hard—I miss her so much, Jade."
"Stop lying to me!" she shouted as her head turned towards him, Jade's eyes filled with tears, "It's not even about that anymore! Stop using your mother's death as an excuse to use drugs! You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me anymore, Roy."
He watched her walk off, suitcase in hand. She opened the door and hesitated, "I thought you said you were my valiant officer." Jade slammed it behind her, leaving Roy alone in the hallway.
After a few minutes of idly standing Roy walked back into his room and sat down on his bed, his hands clutched his hair and he shook his head slowly. "What have I done?" he whispered to himself.
Another creak occurred, Roy's eyes shot up at his closet. The closet door opened slowly but nothing could be seen inside, even with the dim light of the lamp.
"J-Jade?" he asked, getting up from the bed. Too emotionally disturbed to recognize fear.
Roy moved forward and pushed the closet door fully open. He attempted to peer inside the closet.
Without warning, a black-cloaked figure wearing a horrid pig mask emerged from the darkness of the closet. Using one hand, it grabbed Roy by the neck and using the other it jabbed a syringe into his neck, injecting the fluid through his body.
"Ah!" Roy shouted; using both hands to push the cloaked figure back as Roy stumbled backwards himself, grabbing his neck with his left hand. "What did you—" he gave a moan and fell back, his body, luckily, landing right on the bed.
The stranger moved forward, empty hypodermic in hand. "With any luck, officer Roy," he muttered, the same imposing voice found on the recorder and television, "This will be the last non-prescribed drug you take."
No longer able to keep his head up, Roy let it drop onto his sheets as his vision blurred. He quickly fell into unconsciousness.
"Thank God," Alison said as Isaac pushed the door open; it banged against the wall.
Kaden walked off to the door and removed the key as everyone but himself and Roy moved into the room more.
Roy stopped in front of the door, glancing over at Kaden who stood near him. Kaden's eyes were focused on Roy's arms but then the two met at the eyes. Kaden said nothing but some pity could be seen before he walked off into the room.
"Roy, Roy!" Alison called out, "There's water!"
His eyes widened and he quickly moved past Kaden and stopped next to Alison, glancing down a wooden bucket; it was placed on an equally soiled floor as the last.
The room was just a bit darker; the florescent lights above even murkier. The walls were tattered and ill-boding while several pedestals had been positioned around the room.
The burned-armed cop crouched down, looking at a plain, white, index card standing up against the bucket. Written in a small font it read, 'For The Valiant Officer'. He picked it up with his fingers and flipped it over. 'Don't Worry,' it read, 'The Water Is Uncontaminated. Hopefully Like You Shall Be. Wash Away The Sins, Roy.'
Letting the paper drop, Roy stuck his arms into the bucket of cool water. "Ah-hah…" he chuckled. He closed his eyes and tilted his head; hopefully his arms would be able to recover from this.
"Hey!" Isaac shouted, looking at Grace who began to pull the door shut.
Startled, she looked back at the drug dealer. "What's wrong?" Grace replied.
"Watch what you're doing, dumbass!" he pointed toward the wire attached to the top of the door, "The wire's gonna set off something else."
"Well the water is getting closer to us still. We don't have very long," she said, replacing her innocent look for a harsh one, "I wouldn't be calling me names considering your line of work. How many years of college did it take to get your degree in medication?"
Isaac gave a scowl and quickly replied, "Well to wind up here I'm sure you're no angel either."
"Just wait 'till Roy's ok before shutting it," Alison interrupted, her eyes fixed on Grace.
"No, go ahead," Roy said, he still had a small smile on his face, "I'll be fine."
Grace looked back at the door and pushed hard on the door and shut it completely. The wire snapped and the sound of metal grinding came from the other end of the room.
"Hey," Kaden called out, "It's locked." He was standing in front of the door leading to the next room; cold iron bars sealed it shut. A single keyhole was visible near the center.
"Damn it!" Isaac said as he walked to the door, "I told you it was a bad idea!" He snatched the key once again, but from Kaden's hand this time.
"Don't try the key!" Grace warned, "You shouldn't do anything until we know for sure!"
"I'm done listening to your bitchin'!" he shouted as he inserted the key and twisted it. "Aaaah!" he screamed. The sound of electricity flowing could be heard as Isaac quickly gave up on pulling out the key and fell to the ground. "God damn it!" he cried.
Alison's head turned and she quickly noticed something off against the wall. She walked over to a crippled, wooden table located off to the side of the room. "There's a cassette and box," she announced, quickly drawing Grace's and Kaden's attention. Roy and Isaac busy attending to their wounds.
Alison removed the first cassette from the recorder, placing it down on the table and inserted the new one that was set right next to the red box. Painted on the new cassette was the phrase 'Don't Use The First Key'.
Kaden walked past Isaac who continued to scowl and start at the ceiling, too humiliated to move.
Alison clicked play and the usual voice was heard. Roy's eyes widened as it hit him. The voice from his bedroom and the voice from the recordings… they were one and the same.
"Hello Isaac," the man's voice greeted. Isaac sat himself up and looked to Alison who had placed the cassette down and opened up the box, a set of photos neatly placed inside.
To be continued…
