Saw: The Next Generation 2
Chapter 10
Alison went back into the checkpoint room with the mats and food. Maddie went after her. "What are you doing?"
"Kelly and Maya are coming for us. In 2 more days. Why don't we just stay put until then?" Alison said.
"Those aren't the rules," Maddie said.
"Where do the rules say we can't take our time?" Alison said.
Maddie looked over at the cameras in the room. "They're watching. Our captures. They can-"
"What?" Alison folded her arms. "This a safe room. They can't hurt me in here."
The speaker in the room switched on. It made a blaring sound before a deep voice said, "move on to level 4 or you will be disqualified."
"Great," Alison said. "Sounds good."
"Disqualified means death," the voice said.
Alison stood up and whimpered. "I don't want to play anymore."
"If you want to survive this, you have to," Maddie said.
The two girls went back through the passage through the bathroom. The dark and thin hallway led them to a huge room with a giant, deep hole. There were a few thin bars going across the whole 50 feet long hole.
When Maddie and Alison entered the room, a tape began to play. "Welcome to level four. The Tightrope Walk. You each must walk across one of three bars. One per bar at a time. Choose wisely. At any time, a bar can drop down, slide back into the wall, leaving you to fall 50 feet to the bottom. Let the game begin."
A timer on the wall went off. They only had three minutes.
"I call the right one," Sofia said quickly.
"Me too," Maddie said.
"Me three," Alison said.
"There's no time, Daniel said. "There's three bars, that two at most for each of us." He stood in front do the bar on the left. He put his foot on the three inch bar and began walking across.
Sofia started on the right bar and Maddie went to the middle bar.
Slow and steady, the three went across the bar. Frank and Alison waited as the three players went across. Daniel was in the lead, taking regular strides with each step. Maddie shuffled her feet along the way. Sofia took time steps along.
"Can you go any faster?" Frank asked Maddie.
The timer said they had 2 minutes left.
"I have a huge fear of heights," Maddie said.
"So don't look down," Alison said.
"I need to look down to see when my feet are," Maddie said.
Daniel made it across first. "I made it!"
Alison and Hank ran over to the bar on the left. Frank pushed Alison over to get to it first.
"Hey!" Alison said.
Frank got on the bar and began walking across it.
From the control room, Amelia and her dad were watching them live.
"I think it's time to activate the real challenge of this level," he said.
"Allow me," Alison said. She sat in the seat and looked at the many different buttons on the panel. On section was labeled 'Level 4.' She flipped a switch.
Back in the 'game,' the beginning of the middle bar began to disappear, sliding, door by foot, into the remaining bar.
"Maddie you gotta hurry," Daniel said.
"Why?" She asked.
"Don't look back!" Alison said. "Just hurry."
The bar on the right fell front one end, created a sort of slide. Unstable and rough. Sofia fell through.
"Sofia!" Maddie lied down on her beam, reaching for Sofia.
She was too far away and Sofia fell into the darkness.
Daniel covered his mouth. Alison screamed. Frank continued to walk across.
Maddie lied on the beam, hand still outreached. She stayed there, paralyzed in shock and sorrow.
Frank made it across next. "Alison, go!" He called.
Alison looked away from the right beam where Sofia fell and over to the left one. It was beginning to disappear too.
"You're gonna have to jump," Daniel said.
Alison backed up and covered her eyes. She shook her head. "I don't want to do this."
"If you don't you'll die," Frank said. "Just jump the damn bar!"
"Maddie you need to get up too!" Daniel said.
Maddie looked down and saw her beam disappearing. It was almost at her feet. Maddie quickly got up.
There was less than a minute on the clock.
Alison ran and jumped over to the left bar. She almost fell off the bar. She pulled herself up and walked across the bar quickly. Maddie and Alison reached the other side at about the same time.
The bars had completely disappeared as the time ran out. The four remaining players stood on the other end of the hole together. Alison and Maddie held each other.
Beyond the hole was a door. Daniel opened the door, unsure of what was to come.