Wednesday

10:03 AM

1.856 inches

Lt. Blake was furious. That stupid Jayden... How dared he to act like a boss over him? He had no right to question Blake's actions, that fucking bureaucrat!

Now, however, there was nothing the man could do. Jayden, Blake, Ash AND Mars, all of them, where at Jayden's so called "office", ready to open the first Origami Figure.

"Damnit, we're wasting our time with this bullshit!" Exclaimed Carter "Why can't we just open them all at once and send a cop to each one of the trials?" Norman rolled his eyes.

"The killer is no ordinary murderer! If he knows Mars, he is surely to keep an eye on him to garantee he's playing his game."

"Oh, right! And I suppose you wanna play his game?

"In case you've forgotten, Carter" Answered the FBI profiler, calmly "he has Shaun's life in his hands. He can do whatever he wants with him before we even have time to move. That said, we have to act the way he wants us to or else we won't be able to save the kid."

Blake didn't answer. Jayden opened the bear figure and read it loud:

"'Are you prepared to show your courage and save you son? Joe's Garage and Parking Lot 4988 Roosevelt Avenue Lexington'".

"What the heck are we going to do on a Parking Lot?" Blake exclaimed once again.

"I supposed we'll find out as soon as we get there!" Ethan said, shy.

"Mars is right" Agreed Ash "We should go as soon as possible."

That said, Ash and Blake left the room, leaving Norman and Ethan behind. The stared at each other, both wondering if they were doing the right thing.

( - - - )

The police had just arrived. There were three cars, including the one where Jayden, Blake, Ash and Mars were – Jayden and Ash in the back seats. The other policemen were surrounding the place.

"Very well, here we are! Are you coming, Ash?" Carter asked.

"Hold on, Blake!" Jayden interrupted "I think we should let Mars go in alone."

"What? Are you nuts?"

"The trials were made for him to accomplish! I thought you would understand when I told you about "playing his game"."

"He's right!" Ethan agreed "I'll go in, see whatever is there and then come back with news!"

Before any of them could argue, the architect stood up and went into the garage. A big plaque read "City Garage: General Hire Service". Feeling chills down his spine, Ethan swallowed hard and entered the place.

The garage was a pretty old one. It was really silent and the only sound heard was of the falling rain outside. There were only a few cars in here and there and also a mechanic who seemed to be working on another one.

"Excuse me…"

No answer.

"Hey!"

"Oh, ah, sorry; didn't see you" _The mechanic answered, getting up and facing Ethan "What can I do you for?"

"I'd like to get… My car?" Ethan said, unsure, and handed the ticket.

The mechanic took the ticket by his hands and smiled in a… Weird way. That made Ethan nervous and, leaving him alone with his thoughts, the mechanic went to get the keys.

"Hey, you're a pretty patient guy, you are!

"Have I been here before?" Ethan asked himself, still worried about being the killer, approaching the man "Don't remember it!"

"That car's been there for two years! We took it out for a drive every month and checked the tires and batteries, just like you said."

Damnit, the car had been there for two years! What did that mean?

"Here! It's the third floor down. The service elevator is at the far end of the garage."

Lost in thoughts, Ethan didn't listen to the mechanics last words. He just picked up the keys and headed to the parking lot, wondering why he had been sent after a car. Getting to the right one, he entered it and waited. His breath was failing him and, somehow, he knew there was something in there for him to see. It didn't take long until he found a GPS and turned it on.

"Your destination is four miles from here. Leave the parking lot and take the first right" A woman voice said.

Outside, Blake was cursing at the sky.

"Damnit! And there goes more of my precious time! If we had entered there ourselves, we would have already found whatever there is to be found!"

Jayden sighed. His head was aching and to stay in here listening to Blake blabbering around made it even worse. Thankfully, it didn't take long before Ethan parked by their side.

"So…?" Blake questioned him.

"Ahn… The… The killer left a GPS. We'll have to go where it wants us to."

"Very well, then. Take the lead, Mr. Mars." Jayden told him, thoughtfully. Before Blake could say anything else, Ethan went ahead. That was enough for Blake.

"Who do you think you are, Jayden? You can't give him orders just like that, I'm the Lieutenant here, not you! I give the orders, not you! Do you understand?"

"We're going to lose him if you don't hurry up." Norman answered and kept silent, staring at the street. That only seemed to make Blake even angrier but he just looked away from the Agent and followed Mars.

( - - - )

The rain was pouring down violently today. Ethan kept on the lead, three police cars right behind him. He was scared; he didn't know what was waiting for him. At the same time, he thought of Shaun in that well… He seemed exhausted, lonely like that…

"You have reached your destination" The GPS announced. Alright, the time of the truth!

Ethan bit his lips after realizing the GPS was talking to him:

"Are you ready to show your courage in order to save your son? Listen carefully: Take the highway and drive against the traffic for five miles. If you haven't reached your destination in five minutes, you will have failed."

Couldn't stop his hands shaking! He wasn't gonna make, he knew it! It was insane! On the other side, if he succeeded he would get more letters for the hangman… But he didn't want to die. Not here, not like that! Still… Still he had to do it! He'd do anything to save his son! No turning back now!

He pushed the hand brake lever.

He had to do it! For Shaun's sake! He had no choice!

He was about to pull the gearshift lever when he heard someone knocking at his window. He jumped: Lt. Carter Blake was there, soaked. Shit, he had totally forgot about the police being here with him…

"What are you waiting for?" Blake screamed as soon as Ethan opened the window, regretting doing so because of the rain "We've reached the destination, what now?"

"He…" Ethan started, not sure about telling it to the man. It was already too late, though "He revealed the trial."

"The killer revealed the trial? How? Have you got his phone number or something?" Blake asked, sarcastically.

"No, he… The GPS told me."

For a moment, Carter stood there looking at him with no emotions at all. Suddenly, however, he burst into a sadistic laugh and raised up his voice:

"The GPS… Right… Are you fucking kidding me?"

"N-No…!" Ethan answered, freaked out. He didn't want to get into trouble, mainly because that would make him lose the precious time he had to save his son "I mean it! It told me what I have to do and-"

"And what is it you have to do?"

"I… I'm suppose to drive against the traffic for five miles" He took a deep breath: He knew the man wouldn't like the idea "And get in there in five minutes. That way, I'll… I'll get the letters for the hangman and we'll be able to find the address!"

The only sound they could hear was of the water hitting the car and street. They stared at each other for a while, Blake probably wondering why the man had decided to play with him...

"Blake, what's going on?" Norman Jayden's voice resonated and he approached both of the men, fastly soaked.

But Ethan couldn't wait any longer.

"I'm telling the truth, for fuck's sake!" He screamed and Jayden jumped "I need to drive against the traffic for five miles and I have five minutes to do so!"

"Wait, what, drive against the traffic? 5 minutes?" Jayden exclaimed and felt nervous. Time was running out, they had to do something!

"You can't possibly be thinking about letting him do that!" Blake warned him.

Norman closed his eyes, his mind working like crazy. Time was running out, there was no way they would ever-

"You'll excuse me!" Ethan announced... "But I've got to save my son!"

…And left in a fraction of a second, heading for his destination. Blake cursed and thought about going after him, but that would just make things even more dangerous! Stupid man, how could he be so stubborn?

"Shit!" Jayden exclaimed and ran into the car at the driver's seat. Before Blake could even notice it, he had already pushed the hand brake lever.

"What the fuck? You're going after him? That'll only 'cause more trouble!"

"He's our only lead on the killer and I'm gonna make sure he gets there in safety!" He said and left, Ash still on the back seat, realizing he was being left with the psycho FBI Agent.

"We can't run against the traffic, that's insane!" Ash told Jayden, thinking about the tragedy it would be to have two cars going against the trucks that were coming.

"I'll just keep an eye on him in case he needs us; I'm not stupid to go against such traffic!" He explained, and headed towards the right path, the highway aside the one Ethan was in.

For Ethan, all that was left was despair.

"COME ON!" He kept screaming, trying to remember himself he would be able to do it!

But there were just too many cars going against him! He had managed to dodge a few ones but his attention was suddenly caught when he hit one of the dozens that were coming.

"I can do this, come on!" He kept telling himself, trying to believe in his own words, thinking about Shaun…

At the other side of the road, Jayden kept following him, forgetting about slowing down (Ash kept telling him to be more careful) and just making sure he kept up with Ethan's car. He couldn't lose his sight, and he had to make sure the man would get out of this one alive! But then Ethan's car started spinning and he felt distressed.

"Shit, he's not gonna make. Not gonna make it…!"

"If you don't watch your step, we're not gonna make it, Jayden!" Ash told him. But it was useless trying to call his attention.

Ethan managed to get back at his feet with no harm done. He kept moving on, his heart beating up like it never did before making him feel sick. Especially when he saw workers in there.

"MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" He screamed and managed to avoid hitting the man. And then he saw other ones, three of them and -

"You still have three miles to go before you reach your destination" Announced the GPS.

Three miles? It already felt like he had traveled the whole world from his point of view! Trying to keep calm, he forced the accelerator until he saw two Police Cars right in front of him! Shit, they would follow him as soon as he went through, shit, shit…

There was no choice. And as soon as he went through them, they started following him.

"Oh fuck, not that!" Norman thought to himself. Having to drive like crazy against cars and trucks was bad enough and having the police right behind you… Shit, this only got worse by the minute!

"You still have one mile to go before you reach your destination" The GPS announced for the second time. The police was trying to close him between both cars and Jayden noticed it. Not only that, he noticed they were going through the tunnel. Fuck, he would lose their sight…!

"Keep driving!" Ash said, trying to help "If he makes it, we'll meet him as soon as they get out of there."

Norman nodded. Of course, he had to act rationally! Thinking about that, he accelerated even more and kept going on ahead.

Inside the tunnel, Ethan was still fighting for survival! The police cars were still after him and they didn't seem to be stopping now. As there was another car coming against them, however, Ethan accelerated and got to a safe point in front of his followers, allowing himself to dodge as the car hit the Police Car.

He left the tunnel and saw three trucks coming against him. Without thinking twice, he made his way through and all he heard was a crushing sound as the police car got smashed by one of the trucks.

And a shot.

A shot right through the tire. He lost control of the car. He was thrown off the highway.

"OH FUCK!" Jayden screamed and stopped the car without even thinking about the other ones behind him. Ash was thrown against the seat and, seeing he was ok, the FBI Agent ran off the car trying to get to the other side of the highway.

The car was upside down. His head was bleeding, he felt dizzy and weird, being held by his seatbelt… But he had to get out of here!

"Destination reached! Please, press the screen!" The woman voice kept saying and, as soon as Mars managed to press the fucking screen, it told him "Your reward is in the glove compartment. The key is inside the GPS."

The damn voice kept telling him the same thing all over while he attempted to break it. As soon as he did, he opened the glove compartment and got his "reward", a memory chip for his cell phone. It was when he felt the hot breath hitting him in the back. He tried to free himself of his seatbelt but to no avail. He couldn't stay here; the car was going to blow!

And, suddenly, someone opened the door, desperate. Ethan looked at the man: It was the FBI Guy, didn't remember his name… Of course he didn't remember it: he was trying to save his life, for fuck's sake!

"Ethan! I'll get you out of there!" Jayden told him, trying to calm him down and helped him to take his seatbelt off. It worked and, with the door open, the architect managed to get off the car.

Both started running and stood up a few meters away from it. Ethan had his head bleeding and looked exhausted, but he stood still and showed the memory chip to the man.

"My… Reward…" He told him and used it.

A video appeared on the screen and tears rolled down Ethan's face aS he saw Shaun asking for help from inside the well. Norman couldn't help but feel worried about it: This was happening now…!

Mars fell on his knees and saw what he was waiting for: A few letters for the hangman appeared on the screen.

- 5 - - - - - - - -

R - - - E - - - T - - - -

Ethan started crying. All he had done for mere three letters? If this was the first trial, what would the last one have for him? What if he wasn't able to save his son?

He felt a soft slap on his back and looked up: The FBI guy was staring at him with compassion, as if he understood or at least tried to understand what Ethan was feeling now. Not only his look made Ethan understand that but also his silence, a supporting silence. He knew he could trust him.

"Please…" Ethan said, breathing slowly "They'll try to take me to the hospital but I… I don't have enough time for that."

Norman nodded. Ethan was right: They didn't have enough time to lose at a hospital: They had to open the second Origami Figure right away.

"Do you want to go to your house, change clothes…?"

"No, thanks" Ethan said "If the first trial made me bleed, I'm sure the next one also will."

"But you should at least take a shower!" Norman said "You need to relax at least for a few minutes in order to be able to accomplish the other trials, don't you think?"

Ethan looked at him and nodded, thankfully. The man was right. He needed to get prepared for whatever he was going to face next.

"Oh, and, ahn…" Ethan started, kind of embarrassed "I forgot your name."

"Norman Jayden. But you can call me Norman, it's just fine."

"I see… Thank you, Norman. You saved my life."

Norman smiled.

"Glad to know that."