7 – And That's a Wrap
The penguins and the monitor starred at each other, not a word was uttered, until… ˝This isn't what it looks like,˝ tried Alexander. Rico shielded Private's eyes and Skipper cleared his throat, ˝Well umm, I expect to see you at the base in 20 minutes. Come on men, let's roll out!˝ The birds slid out of the reptile house.
˝Well that totally killed the mood… again,˝ the medic looked back down at the raven and grinned, ˝What's so funny?˝ he lowered his head and liked the feathers on her neck and then moved his head up to her ear-slit, ˝You know, we can still finish this.˝
20 minutes later in the penguin HQ, ˝Umm Skippah, what was Alexandah doing with Iris?˝ Oh no, the question, what now. Is it really time for the talk, ˝Ah young Private, there are many secrets to life, that you are yet to learn. Fortunately for us, we now have a doctor to pin the job on.˝
Speaking of the devil, the reptile dropped in, ˝Nice of you to join us,˝ greeted Skipper. ˝What a warm welcome, the total opposite of the cold shoulder you gave me a few days ago,˝ the captain shot an angry glare. ˝How did you manage to free yourself anyway?˝ asked the lieutenant.
˝Let's just say, that I've got a guardian angel,˝ replied the monitor. ˝It doesn't matter. Listen, we went over to your pals at the Bronx and they told us that you can whip up a mood stabilizer.˝
˝Lithium, valproate, carbamazepine, quetiapine, olanzapine, Lamotrigine,…˝
˝That last one!˝
˝Ok, but wouldn't you rather consider the lobotomy, it has none of the chemical side effects on the body.˝
The captain scowled, ˝Listen, that outburst you had can't happen again or I'll put you on ice, permanently.˝
˝Actually, I feel great, I haven't felt this good… well since never. I don't have any urges or anything, feel… happy.˝
Skipper raised and eyebrow and looked over to Kowalski, who just shrugged. ˝O-k… as for the drug, how soon can you have it ready?˝
˝I'll prepare a batch tonight, it should be finished in the morning.˝
˝Good, now listen up everybody, tomorrow we'll have our morning training, followed by a quick briefing and the day off.
The penguins and monitor exchanged high-fives and then left for their bunks. Alexander left the HQ with a mischievous grin on his face, ˝Don't worry my dark mistress, you'll receive my full attention, but first I have some other obligations first I have to tend to.˝
Some time later, a dark room, groaning was heard, the single figure inside was waking up. At first it was confused, so it stood up and tried to walk around. The figure felt the weight of a shackle on its leg, but decided to ignore it. Soon it found out the length of the chain and pulling it, triggered a mechanism that turned on the lights.
The figure was revealed to be Barry, still buff from the effects of the super-ray. He shielded his eyes at first, but soon adapted to the new environment. It was a small room, he saw the shackle around his ankle and a steel door on the wall opposite to the one the chain was attached to. There was a TV, on the wall on his right, which suddenly turned on.
˝Hello Barry,˝ it was Alexander, ˝I wanna play a game. You have intimidated other animals with your venomous touch long enough. It's time for you to experience the pain you have put them through. The room, in which you are located, will transform into an oven and also, if you fail to accomplish your task, your final resting place. Behind you, you will find the tools to your escape.˝ The frog turned around and saw a table with a surgical scalpel, a hacksaw, a rope and a vial filled with a purple substance.
˝I'm sure you will find, that losing a limb, doesn't always have to be the answer, but it's the least you can lose. You have one minute.˝ The screen turned to a timer which began the countdown. Barry grabbed the chain and began pulling it, trying to get it out of the wall, but it was no use, the screws were too tight, ˝FUCK YOU ALEXANDER! FUCK YOU! YOU HEAR ME! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!
He looked at the table and grabbed the hacksaw and began sawing his shackle. Well you can guess that he was about to find out the same thing as the two victims from the first Saw movie, ˝This thing can't cut shit.˝ He threw the tool at the wall and looked back at the TV; 34 seconds left.
Back on the table, he grabbed the vial and looked at the label; "Antidote", Barry stood there, going through the options in his head, return to normal, slip out of the restraints. Keep the life, but lose the power, ˝No way am I drinking this.˝ He put it back down and grabbed the rope, he sat down and tied it around his leg, above the shackle. He reluctantly grabbed the hacksaw again and brought it in its place. His breathing quickened, ˝Come on Barry… it'll grow back.˝
Time seemed to slow down as he closed his eyes and began moving the saw back and forth. He bit his lip, trying to fight the pain, to hold in his screams, but he had no choice but to stop after reaching the bone. The frog removed the tool from the bloody wound. He grabbed his leg and screamed, after finally calming down he saw it all just heal back, ˝NO! FUCK! DAMN IT!˝ All the pain for nothing, he looked at the TV; 17 seconds.
How does it feel, to actually see your life, compressed into mere seconds. ˝Fine! I'll do it,˝ Barry grabbed the vial and drank its contents, he was soon shrunk back to what he was, the puny, yet still untouchable, amphibian. His foot was now small enough to get out of the restraints; 10 seconds.
He hoped towards the door, he pushed it in all direction, but it didn't budge; 7 seconds. Barry looked up and saw the handle, he jumped and grabbed it. His entire body weight was pulling down on it, but it didn't turn; 4 seconds.
That's when it hit him; 3. The antidote was never one of the options; 2. It was just a trap, the saw was the choice; 1, 0. Flames started coming from holes in the wall. A frog can't sweat, and its skin has to stay moist.
Barry felt the air become unbreathable, the flames weren't touching him, but he still felt their heat radiate on his body. He looked at his hand, the skin was already cracking from the fluid loss. He leaned back at the door, but it was already white-hot. He had to jump away, but not before receiving a burn on his back.
He remembered the instruction on what to do in a fire, he laid on the ground, but this was a furnace, not an open fire. The amphibian's lungs soon dried up from the hot air and his eyeballs cracked up. The flames continued until he was reduced to nothing more than a charred corpse.
Alexander was sitting in a chair in front of a computer monitor, there was an expression of disappointment on his face. ˝A wolf would've chewed off its own paw to escape, knowing that it wouldn't grow back, that's how strong its survival instinct is. You were unworthy of the power you took˝
With a flip of a switch, he turned off the monitors, and the room went black.
That's it, hope you liked it. Special thanks to Hipturtle15 for reviewing all the chapters. I have no idea how school is going to affect my writing, so don't expect too much from me. Here's what Leonardo says.
Art is never finished, only abandoned.