Chapter 6
Finn's eyes stung as a bright light snapped to life with a loud bang. Once his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, he found himself in a small dark room.
He also found that his ankle was no longer chained or shackled. However, he quickly noticed that he was sporting a new restraint.
Locked painfully tight around Finn's neck was a thick metal collar. There was no chain connected to the collar, which Finn thought nothing of at first.
But the more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
"What the…" Finn muttered as he ran his hands over the collar's surface.
Embedded into the cold metal of the collar were two large gemstones. One was green, and the other was a dark red. Both shimmered and hummed with a strange magical energy the likes of which he was unfamiliar with.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Finn shouted angrily into the darkness that surrounded his little illuminated spot.
As if to answer the young adventurer, a low mechanical hum suddenly filled the room. From out of the ceiling, a small projection player flickered to life.
The projector shined its image down onto the wall before Finn. After a short count down, the image abruptly changed.
The new image was that of a ventriloquist's dummy riding a red tricycle. The dummy had black messy hair that matched his black tuxedo.
Its face was ghostly white, with protruding brow and cheeks. Red spirals were painted on the dummy's cheeks that matched his red bow tie.
Two large black and red eyes stared down at the young adventurer.
"Hello Finn, welcome to your first test." The dummy spoke as its slotted mouth opened and closed. "The songs of praise that those you have helped sing about you have painted a very distinct image. They paint the image of an adventurer, a champion, and a selfless hero. But we both know that isn't the case, is it?"
Finn stuck his tongue out defiantly and blew a razzberry up at the projection.
Ignoring Finn's response, the dummy continued his speech.
"You don't go on adventures for material gain, or for the praise that such actions would bring. Something that I find very noble of you. But the thing I find troubling is that you adventure for the simple thrill of it. It is not for the reward, or even the morality of the quest. But for the simple, primal pleasure it brings you. It is this pleasure that has clouded your view of the life you have been given. The life that you carelessly risk for the fleeting high that you get."
Finn hadn't put much thought into it, but the dummy wasn't completely wrong. Sure, Finn had never adventured solely for the rewards, but he hated to admit that he probably should have questioned the morality of some of his quests. And, yes, he did find the rush of adventuring a bit addictive, but there was no way that it was his sole motivation.
"You are no stranger to sacrifice. Your right arm is testimony to this. But you didn't choose to make that sacrifice, did you? So, the lesson was not learned that day."
Suddenly, a third light flashed to life, illuminating a large, deep thick glass basin. Finn crept closer to the glass basin and noticed that setting at the bottom of it was a set of keys attached to a tiny buoy. Standing ominously before the basin was a metal box frame with rows of saw blades jutting up from underneath a series of metal braces. Through the metal frame was a hand grip with a red button on the end. A thin metal tray sloped down from underneath the metal box and lead to the glass basin.
"What the flip is this?" Finn asked, awestruck.
"This is how you learn your lesson." The dummy spoke.
"What lesson?" Finn asked as dread began to creep through his mind.
"The lesson of self-sacrifice."
Finn's head and chest suddenly began to pound. It felt like someone was stomping down onto his chest. He looked down at his arm and saw that his veins were bulging.
"By now you will have noticed the pain in your chest." The dummy spoke. "The human body can hold one-point-five gallons of blood but can only loose zero-point-fifty-three gallons before shutting down."
Finn let out a painful groan as the gemstones around his collar flashed.
"The two gemstones on your collar are of my own design and enchantment. The green one is a gemstone of healing. Any wound you inflict will quickly be healed. The red gemstone is one of sanguine magic. It forces the human body to produce more blood than it ever could naturally."
The pieces were beginning to slide into place in Finn's head, and he really didn't like where this was going.
"The keys to your collar are at the bottom of the basin that you see before you." The dummy spoke again. "The game is simple. Fill up the basin and free yourself. Or, do nothing and fill up with more blood than your body can hold until you burst."
Finn let out another cry as another sharp pain tore through his chest.
"Live or die." The dummy spoke. "The choice is yours."
With a flicker, the projector went dark, leaving Finn alone.
Panic rushed through him as Finn tried to force the collar off of his neck. But with each passing moment, the pains in his chest only grew worse. After one last attempt to pry the collar off, Finn relented.
"Alright, dummy. I'll play your game." He spat angrily as he marched over towards the metal box frame.
Finn took one last look at his arm before carefully sliding it into the box. He flinched as the cold metal of the saw blades gently grazed his skin.
His fingers firmly grasped the hand grip. Finn looked down at the keys at the bottom of the empty glass basin.
"That is gonna take a lot to fill…" he muttered nervously.
Finn shook his head and huffed loudly as he tried to ready himself.
"Don't chicken out now! This thing has got nothing on you!" Finn shouted as he hyped himself up. "You beat the Lich, you can beat this!"
After taking another moment to ready himself, Finn steeled his mind and braced himself.
"This is for you PB, Marcy, and Phoebe!" Finn shouted as he pressed the red button.
With a terrifying whir, the saw blades sprang to life. They effortlessly cut through Finn's wrist like a knife through butter.
They cut through the skin and tissue until they finally sliced clean through his veins. Blood sprayed out into the box frame and splattered across Finn's terrified face. Finn screamed in pain and let go of the button, silencing the saw blades. Finn felt his stomach lurch as he watched his blood gush out from his shredded wrist and pour down into the basin. Finn was no stranger to pain, but he had never truly grown immune to it. The white hot agony that he was feeling was like nothing he had felt before.
"Okay, okay, okay, you got this." Finn stammered as his legs wobbled. "It's just a little blood. No biggie."
A wave of dizziness washed over the young adventurer as the blood loss began to set in. Finn's eyes followed the crimson stream down into the basin. It was hardly even filled.
Suddenly, the green gemstone flashed, and Finn's arm stopped bleeding. This was followed by the red gemstone flashing, sending another jolt of pain tearing through Finn's chest.
"Are you kidding me?!" Finn shouted in angry disbelief.
It didn't take long for Finn to figure out the sick twist to the dummy's game. Cutting himself once wouldn't be enough.
The green gemstone would always heal the wound, while the red gemstone would continue to force his body to produce more blood.
The only way to keep a constant flow of blood was to continuously cut open his arm.
He wouldn't bleed to death so long as the red gemstone was stuck around his neck.
And in order to get the keys from the bottom of the basin, he was going to need to keep bleeding.
Finn felt yet another pain in his chest, this time rather than panicking the young adventurer, it galvanized him.
Finn pulled off his signature hat and held it between his teeth, giving him something to bight down on.
Finn quickened his breathing as he readied himself for the horrible shock that was approaching.
"Let's do this." Finn hissed as he grabbed the handle.
With a press of the button, the saw blades awoke once more and sliced into Finn's freshly healed wrist. Finn screamed through his teeth as he bit down hard onto his wadded-up hat. Blood gushed and poured out as the blades spun loudly. With each heartbeat, a blast of crimson splattered against the box frame and pooled into the glass basin. With each heartbeat, the pressure on Finn's chest lessened. The green gemstone flashed green, once again, healing his wounded arm.
This time, Finn wasted no time in pressing the button. He screamed in agony as the saw blades once again sliced through his healed skin. Crimson surged out of his mangled arm and pooled into the basin below. Slowly, the blood level in the basin began to rise, and with it, his keys to freedom.
Finn eventually lost track of time. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. With each flash of green, Finn would press the button and carve open his wrist.
The pain never relented. Every time he pressed the button, the pain was still as fresh as it had been since the beginning of his nightmare of a test.
His eyes lazily watched the basin fill with his life blood as the minutes dragged on.
The metallic stench of blood filled the dark room, leaving Finn in a constant nauseous state.
"Woah, that's a lot of blood, dude." A familiar voice spoke.
Finn looked above him to see the happy face of his brother.
"Jake, man am I glad to see you." Finn said dreamily, dropping his hat out of his mouth. "Can you believe the get up this guy has me stuck in?"
"Yeah, it's a doozy alright." Jake said with his usual confident voice. "But only you can get yourself out of it."
Finn was confused. If Jake was here, then why wasn't he going to help him free? A horrible thought tore through his mind.
"You're not really here, are you, Jake?" Finn asked quietly, closing his eyes and prying to glob the he was wrong.
Finn opened his eyes, and he found that he was once again alone. No Jake, no help, nothing. No one was going to help him, and he knew it. Tears began to swell in Finn's eyes. In that moment, he had never felt more alone.
Sadness was quickly replaced by anger. Finn picked up his hat off the blood slick floor and placed it back between his teeth.
His wild, crazed eyes looked out over the basin. He had easily drained more than three gallons into it, double what the human body was supposed to produce and over four times what the human body was meant to lose before shutting down. But none of that mattered to Finn. The keys that once eluded his grasp, were now so close that he could practically touch them. All he needed, was to give just a little more blood.
"Alright, all or nothing!" Finn growled as he braced himself. "This one is for you, Jake."
Finn pressed the button again, waking the saw blades from the momentary slumber. He was so tired that he couldn't even bring himself to scream as the blades sliced through his tender flesh once again. All he could feel was the warmth of his blood as it ran out of his body and pooled into the basin.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the basin was filled, and the keys were within reach.
Finn quickly pulled his arm out of the box frame and let his arm hang loosely to his side. Using his robotic arm, Finn stretched out over the pool of blood and plucked out the keys. With his still bleeding wrist, Finn fumbled with the slick keys until he managed to get them into the collar's keyhole.
With an audible click, the collar fell off, freeing Finn from the magical powers of the gemstones. A blessing, and a curse.
Had Finn waited just a little bit longer, the green gemstone could have healed his gashed wrist and stopped the bleeding.
"Yep…didn't think that one through." Finn muttered as he watched his blood seep down his arm.
Thinking quickly, Finn took off his shirt and tied it tightly around his arm, just above his wrist. His improvised tourniquet did little to stop the bleeding.
"Oh, man. I really donked this up!" Finn exclaimed as his legs began to grow weak.
Finn's vision began to fade as blood loss began to set in. Through the darkness, a door opened, and the room was flooded with a bright harsh light.
Two figures rushed into the room and restrained the young adventurer.
"Pig people!" Finn shouted as he struggled against his assailants.
One of the pig-masked figures grabbed Finn's still bleeding wrist. The assailant's hand was made of metal and it glimmered in the harsh light.
With a loud metallic crack and a hiss of steam, something clamped down hard against Finn's open wounds.
Too weak to scream, Finn managed to let out a squeak of pain as the assailant released his hand.
Driven haphazardly into his wrist were several surgical staples, sloppily closing most of his wounds.
The second assailant held their hand over Finn's arm, and with a flash of blue light, encased it in ice.
Overwhelmed by pain and blood loss, Finn's eyes rolled back into his head, and his body went limp.
The two figures each took Finn by the arms and began to drag him out of the test chamber.
"What do you think he sees in this batch?" the first figure asked, their mask and robes hiding their femininity.
The second figure remained silent, their mind was solely focused on the task at hand.
"Here I thought I was the one that gave people the cold shoulder." The first figure spoke with a hint of amusement.
The two figures walked into the familiar confines of the holding room.
"Looks like he's the first to finish." The first figure stated as they roughly dropped Finn in the center of the room. "I wonder how the others are doing."
The second figure keeled down and rolled Finn over onto his back. They lingered on his face for a moment, running their fingers along his features.
"Uncanny, isn't it?" the first figure asked. "Come, we are needed elsewhere."
With nothing left to be said the two figures left through an open door, leaving Finn alone in the dimly lit room.
As the two figures walked down one of the countless hallways, the first figure spoke.
"Do you think he has what it takes to win the game?"
The second figure was silent before a cold, and collected female voice spoke.
"I know he does." The figure stated firmly.
"And why is that?" the first figure asked curtly.
A hidden smile stretched across the second figure's face.
"Because I survived the same tests he will take."
I told you there would be blood...
Been a while since I've had to get this graphic. But with Saw, you either go big and bloody or you go home.
Hope you've enjoyed this little taste of what is to come.
Next Time, Princess Bubblegum gets one hell of a toothache...
