Scene iii


"Hello Isaac," the sound of the man's voice drew Roy away from his bucket of cool water. He kept his arms in the bucket but his head was turned toward Alison who still held the recorder.

"How many lives have you single-handedly corrupted? Look in the box," Alison placed the recorder down on the table and followed the instructions. She looked through the small stack of photos; each one had Isaac giving a small bag or case of supplies to a different person. The same photo with Roy and Isaac was placed at the very end.

"As you can see, these people noted you as their 'go-to' man. They would pay you lavishly to continue to fuel their unhealthy addiction, and every time you would never disappoint; too impaired by greed to see the error of your ways. You lack an important piece to the puzzle, Isaac. That piece I speak of is willpower. Now your friends will be dragged along with you in a game; a game that will determine who has the weakest will." Isaac got up off the floor, recovered from electrocution, and made his way to Alison and the others.

"You will notice five pedestals in the room you're currently in. Each of you will step onto the assigned platform and a weight will drop on you. The first one to allow the weight to lower too far will meet their end; but a key that will unlock the sealed door before you will become available. Those who can physically carry more will be given a heavier weight, and vice versa, so everyone has an identical opportunity of survival. It is just mind over matter. Prove me wrong, Isaac—prove that I am mistaken in believing you will be the first to turn in your game piece. Hopefully," a small chuckle came from the recorder that caused Isaac's teeth to show themselves in frustration, "When this is over, you will all feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders."

Isaac walked quickly toward the crippled table as the recording ended; Alison couldn't help but notice and kept on her toes. He made a grab for the recorder but Alison took it first. "Give me that damn thing!" he shouted, his intentions for the object were no doubt violent.

"Are you crazy?" she replied, "We need this cassette player!"

"I don't care! I'm gonna find another way outta this fucked up room!" he announced; his index finger pointed at the recorder, "So far, that thing has been nothing but a pain in my ass! It'll be a relief to see it smashed to pieces!"

"We have to follow the rules!" Grace shouted, "We need to keep that recorder! I don't want to die today! Besides, you already tried to find your own way out." She glanced over at the locked door, the first key still inserted in the lock, "Look how well that turned out."

"Never mind that. I doubt you'll find an antidote for our poisoned bodies, within an hour, anywhere else but here," said Kaden in his usual cold, stern voice. "So I suggest you help us play this damn game," he had his arms crossed and locked his eyes on Isaac who challenged Kaden with gritted teeth and squinted eyes.

He walked toward Kaden with his fist in the air. "You better watch what you say or else I'll tear your skinny ass," Isaac threatened. Kaden simply stared without a response.

"Hey!" Alison shouted, giving Isaac a hard push against his shoulder, causing him to stumble forward. "Leave him alone!" she demanded.


Isaac walked down an apartment hallway; the rays of sunset light from behind the brown curtains gave the hallway a bronze-like color.

Despite his size, Isaac stepped softly across the tattered rug. He stopped in front of a worn door, the knob slightly rusted. "Hm…" Isaac hummed, glancing down at a piece of paper with an address written down.

Isaac had a knack for sensing a police setup to catch him red handed with drugs. But for some reason, this odd, and for the most part remote, apartment didn't give him that feeling. He decided to trust his gut and go on through.

He gave a couple knocks on the door, Isaac meant to do a third but the door began to open and he stopped. "Hello?" he asked after a few seconds, hoping for some form of response.

A dim light could be seen from the inside of the room. Isaac moved forward cautiously, opening the door with one hand while gripping a pocketknife with the other. "Hello?" he asked again.

The door fully opened and he noticed the room was basically empty except for two things: the single light bulb hanging from the ceiling—and a black cloaked figure in a ghastly pig mask sitting in a chair placed at the center of the room.

"Whoa," he gasped, stopping for a bit but quickly moved again. "Is that a doll?" he asked, noticing the figure wasn't moving.

Wham!

The door behind Isaac suddenly shut and he spun around, pocketknife in one hand.

Another figure wearing a pig mask gave Isaac a jab with its fist to his face. Isaac stumbled back but quickly countered with a swing of his knife. The masked figure managed to duck but upon pulling its head back up Isaac slammed his forearm into its head, sending it to the ground. "You're dead!" he shouted, still feeling the throbbing pain of the punch.

Isaac's attention was pulled to the first masked figure who was sitting in the chair. It had gotten up and walked toward Isaac. "C'mon!" Isaac shouted.

Isaac swung at the walking figure with his knife but it swung its forearm up and it collided with Isaac's fist, knocking his hand back. The figure suddenly shot its other hand forward, a syringe was held and the needle was quickly stuck into Isaac's neck, "Aaah!" he shouted. The figure used its other hand to cover Isaac's mouth and push his head back a bit.

"I hope you enjoy this taste of your own medicine, Isaac," the masked figure taunted in an all too familiar voice, the same from the recordings. His thumb pushed down onto the syringe and the fluid was injected into Isaac's body.

Isaac's knife fell to the floor and his eyes twitched and he began to stumble backwards. The figure backed up and removed the bloody needle from Isaac's neck. He glanced down at the other masked figure who was just now beginning to get up.

"You—you son of a…" Isaac slurred, his hand reached forward as if to grab the masked man, but his eyes were forced shut and he fell to the floor.



"You stupid bitch!" Isaac shouted; he turned around and pushed Alison to the ground with one hand. "The only reason I'm keepin' any of y'all alive is because I need to for this damn game!" he yelled.

"What the hell is your problem?" Grace screamed as Isaac tightened his fists.

"That's enough!" Roy shouted. It seemed whenever he raised his voice everyone quieted and listened. Roy's tone was incredibly harsh when it needed to be, no doubt from being a police officer.

The cop stood up, looking down at his arms first; they were wet and only slightly red, the vest pieces were no longer stuck onto them. Small patches of burnt skin and blood polluted the bucket of water.

"Look, we need to just do this," Roy said, watching as Grace helped Alison off the floor. "Jigsaw said there was poison in our blood right? The longer we wait the less time we'll have to get through the other challenges," Isaac didn't bother making eye contact with Roy, he simply fixed his eyes on the photos spread out on the table.

Kaden walked away from the group once Roy was finished and he stopped in front of a platform. The name 'Alison' was painted on it. "They each have a name on them," he told the group as he walked to the next. Kaden stepped onto the pedestal and the sound of a click became clear to everyone in the room. "I suggest we hurry and do this," he said.

Alison took the first cassette off of the nearby table with her free hand. She put it in her pants pocket, remembering that the tape recorder still held Isaac's cassette.

Everyone but Isaac moved forward to find their assigned platform, each placed within several yards of each other.

Stepping onto her stand, Grace heard several clicks from below her. "I think we need everyone on a platform before it can start," she announced.

Roy and Alison got onto theirs, the same clicking noise occurred.

Alison looked to the empty stand next to her; it was Isaac's. She then looked back to the wooden table but no one was there either. "Where's Isa—" she was cut off.

Isaac picked her up and pulled her off her pedestal. "Aaaah!" she screamed, "Let me go, Isaac!"

She kicked and yelled but Isaac didn't let go; he dropped her off at his own stand and gave her a punch to the face when she moved to get off. "You stay on this goddamn thing if you know what's good for you!" Isaac threatened as clicking went off under Alison's body.

"What are you doing?" Kaden asked in a stern voice, his first real sign of emotion so far.

Isaac ran back to Alison's stand as she was left on Isaac's, sitting down on the stand, holding her cheek and holding back her tears.

"Isaac! Get on your own stand!" Grace shouted, "Didn't you hear what Jigsaw told us?" Her eyes followed Isaac as he jumped onto Alison's stand, the clicking noise followed.

"Screw Jigsaw and his rules! I'm not dying today!" he said, "Let the weakest one die first."

With all five stands occupied, more tapping noises were heard, but above each person rather than below.

Roy hardly paid attention to all the noises; his eyes were set on Alison who began to get up. That's when he noticed something shaking above her head; it was a large dark object. "The—the weights!" Roy shouted, "They're falling!" He ripped his eyes off of Alison and looked above him.

A black weight fell from above each player, they held their hands up and their palms met with the falling weight. "Aaagh!" Roy shouted, in pain from the weight landing on his hands' burn wounds.

Kaden glanced up at the weight above him, his body straightened up and he held his hands up high. "It's heavier than I thought…" he muttered to himself. He assumed at this rate, he'd have to let it drop in a matter of minutes.

Alison groaned as the seconds went by, the weight was incredibly heavy on her weak arms. She shut her eyes tightly and attempted to push the weight up higher but it wouldn't move more than a few inches. Isaac was taller and stronger than she was, this weight definitely wasn't made for her. "Help me!" she shouted, her eyes opened and she looked at the ground; what appeared to be four blades began to emerge from the floor.

"Damn it, Isaac!" Grace shouted, her voice filled with fury, "This is unfair!"

A smile curled over Isaac's face, "Yeah? Well life isn't fair, sweetheart." He chuckled as he looked up at his weight, this was nothing compared to what he trained with. "Maybe I should've just taken my weight. It would've made a great work out," he bragged as he looked around at the others. "Yeah!" he shouted. Isaac's hands pushed up against the weight and his feet pushed down harder on the foundation he stood on. The clicking continued.

Roy's heart sank as he watched Alison move lower and lower to the stand below her. Her knees were shaking and her arms struggled to keep the weight up. Even with all of his wounds and burns… Alison was still having a harder time than Roy.

Did he really deserve his life? After all the people he hurt: his family, his friends—his wife. How normal of a life would he return even if he was to survive all of this? Would everyone he knew be so willing to forgive and forget?

"Hold on, Alison!" Roy hollered.

He began to bend his knees, lowering himself closer to the pedestal. Roy closed his eyes and began to move his hands lower as well; the weight was still placed on his palms.

Roy was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for someone who, he felt, deserved life.

Shiiing!

Suddenly, four scythes shot up from the floor with lightning speed; blood splattered against the wall as Grace shut her eyes and turned her head away from the gruesome scene. Kaden, on the other hand, couldn't help but watch. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped only slightly, "Jesus Christ," he muttered.

Each of the four scythe heads were deeply piercing flesh at a different angle. One hit the heart, one hit the lungs, and the other two hit the back. Each time the heart pumped another line of blood sprayed forward from an open wound; it landed in front of Alison.

Isaac's hands shook while his feet trembled. Isaac's eyes looked down at his own chest, and he realized with terror that this was the end. Blood ran down each of the scythes as more dripped from his mouth. He took a breath in but he gave out a cough of blood. Isaac's lungs were filling with it and he would soon drown. "Er—r—ack!" Isaac groaned and let his arms fall to his side, his head nodded forward.

The weight above his head fell and landed on the back of his neck.

Crrrack!

A bloodcurdling snap came from Isaac's neck as his mouth fully opened, great quantities of blood oozed out at a disturbing rate, and it splattered as it hit the floor.

The weights, with the exception of Isaac's, began to reel back up as Isaac's corpse leaned forward a bit. It was protected from falling by the blood-drenched scythes.


To be continued…