Adam couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
He could only stare at Rockstar, with her chocolate brown hair and dark, serious eyes. The power she had in that stairwell — in the scene forever captured by Adam's camera — was gone.
She was standing there, eyes wide, completely helpless.
And apparently, she hadput him here.
"Is–is it true?" Adam asked.
For all he knew, it was a lie. He wouldn't put it past the lying scum that put him here to try and trick him with that too. Make some kind of game out of it.
Look at Zep, and all the lies surrounding him.
Rockstar nodded. "It is."
How fucking typical.
She had told him she was "just visiting."
Adam wanted to believe that this was all another trick. Some kind of twisted addition to Jigsaw's game. That someone told her to say that, and she was just as innocent as him and Lawrence.
But the look in her eyes said it all.
Like a snake, a fly on the wall, Rockstar had stared him in the face and lied. Gathered whatever information she needed on him while she was "hiding" in the lobby, clear as day.
He should have been broiling. Some girl had scoped out his apartment, then snuck in and ripped him away from his home. He had fucked up every bit of their encounter, but he had never earned that.
But seeing her there, as the timer clicked on in the background…
"R-Rockstar…"
"Amanda," she provided.
The puppet was next to her. It was on its tricycle, staring up at him with the same sinister grin, judging his every move…
Adam shook his head.
Amanda. He needed to focus on her.
He could still hear her voice in his ear, deep from the darkness and the haze of death. In the bathroom, she had said she would help him — free him. Instead, she had come seconds from killing him.
But she failed, and that's what mattered. That's all that mattered.
"I'll get you outta there, Amanda."
He reached his hand out to her.
He didn't need the timer, or the rules, or death traps to do that. He would never abandon people when they needed him. Not even her.
She stood on her toes, and he extended his hand out as far as he could, pushing against the edge of the pit.
He wasn't sure if his left hand could grip well enough yet — the burns from the cigs still made his skin rage. So he had to use his right, and the pain radiating from his shoulder made him shake.
But he needed to steady. Her life depended on it.
They both stretched out, reaching for each other in a morbid recreation of a Michaelangelo painting. He felt their fingertips graze, and he pushed out one more time, his upper body dangling off the side of the pit.
Their palms interlocked.
Her life in his hands, he pulled up with all the strength he had left. He lifted her off the ground, bringing him closer and closer to doing something good—
Adam felt pressure on his ankles, and he was yanked away.
He dropped her. Her body slammed to the ground with a thud.
When the pressure on his ankle finally went away, he found himself near a corner of the room. He rolled over onto his back.
Scott was standing over him, breathing heavily. "'I'll get you outta there'?"
Adam huffed for air and held his hands out to Scott. Surrender. Protection. He didn't know. "Calm down," he whispered.
"I will fucking 'get you outta there'?" Scott spat, "Are you kidding me?"
Adam shuffled to his feet as fast as he could. He glanced at the clock.
96…
They were wasting time yet again, and Scott didn't even seem to care.
"Scott, come on!"
"What the fuck was that, Adam?"
91…
"I have to get her out."
Scott was trembling, fists at his sides. His knuckles were turning white.
It was like they were in high school all over again. Adam would make mistakes, and Scott would give him this same look before beating the crap out of him. The first time he saw that look was on Adam's sixth birthday.
The most recent? It landed Adam in the hospital.
Adam stepped back as far as he could, and he found himself in the corner.
Scott's expression softened.
"You don't have to do anything. I will do this."
86…
"What does that mean?" Adam asked with a scoff.
"You took charge when I was about to get ripped apart, and when we were about to get burned. Now, let me help." Scott pointed to the closet that held the camera. "If we get those shots, think about what that would do for us. We can take down Jigsaw. People would line up to see the band. You could buy your own vet clinic if you wanted!"
Scott was losing it. The nerve agent was eating away at him. There had to be a way to help him. He needed to talk Scott down and figure everything out.
You're smarter than that.
The note echoed in his mind. Taunting him.
All Adam could do was shake his head.
72…
Scott groaned. "Dude, she kidnapped you, and you're really willing to throw this all away for her?"
"Yes!"
How could Scott not be willing to do this?
Lawrence risked everything to save Adam, but Scott was willing to get this woman killed over publicity?
"Well, I'm not." Scott sighed. "I need you to get out of the way."
64…
"Good fucking luck," Adam replied.
"Do you not realize that since she kidnapped you, she also could've gotten me? Gotten Lawrence? It pisses me off that you refuse to j—"
"Scott." Adam's jaw clenched, but he fought down the rage seeping into his voice. "Back off."
He could talk Scott down, he had done it before. His friend was reckless, irresponsible, but he wouldn't stop Adam.
He couldn't.
"It's okay. We'll be fine. Please, calm down." Adam looked at the pit. "We can't just let her die, man. I know you want this, but it isn't right. Let me handle this."
"Adam!"
He hurriedly brushed past Scott. His friend grumbled incoherently, but Adam tried to ignore it.
58…
He skidded to the edge of the pit, sliding onto his stomach.
"Amanda!"
She looked up at him, and he smiled at her. He reached his hand out. "Come up!"
Adam extended his hand out again, scooting as close to the pit as he could get. His burned hand supported his weight. She stood on her toes again.
Once more, their fingertips touched. She jumped up to give them an extra bit of height.
He felt her palm graze his, and their hands interlocked.
Adam sat up, pulling with everything he had. The force was ripping the wound in his shoulder back open, but he closed his eyes and pulled even harder.
She used her leg to propel herself up.
He grit his teeth, pulling against the pain.
And she was out.
42…
Adam helped her to feet, and he looked her in the eyes.
He looked at the living, breathing person in front of him. Who just moments ago was so full of fear, and regret, and torment.
And he had saved her.
The apathetic and pathetic pawn.
His heart pounded against his ribs, and his shoulder was throbbing. He gasped for air, eyes darting between her and the clock, waiting for the game to end.
He heard footsteps behind him.
35…
It all happened so fast.
One moment, he was standing there. Then the next, before he even really knew what he was doing, he pushed Amanda out of the way and side-stepped from the mass that came crashing towards them.
And Scott fell down in the pit.
Adam heard his friend scream as he landed on his stomach, forehead slamming into the concrete.
There was a sickening crunch that made Adam's stomach drop.
"Scott?"
No response. Adam knelt back down.
"Scott!"
He found a pebble. Lawrence had looked dead in the bathroom, but throwing these at him worked.
He needed to try, and they would work.
They had to.
He threw it at Scott.
27…
"Scott, please wake up!"
His friend shuffled around, groaning into the small pool of blood forming around him. "Adam?"
Without hesitation, Adam reached his arm back down into the chasm.
"I've got you!"
Just like he always did. Like he always would. He just had to hang on.
Scott clumsily stumbled up, and he looked at Adam with a horrified look in his eyes. He stood on his toes, and he grabbed Adam's hand.
Adam's eyes squeezed shut. He yanked up with every ounce of energy. Their sweaty palms kept slipping apart. Adam fixed his grip over and over. He got Scott up a bit further, but he coughed and everything gave out on him—
Adam fell.
He stumbled straight down into the pit, rolling on his back.
The thud knocked the wind out of him. Sharp pain radiated throughout his entire body, every wound screaming at him. He looked up, shaking, staring at the pit surrounding him. Adam's heart pounded against his chest as he fought to his feet.
"Adam!" Amanda yelled.
The puppet started to laugh.
It cackled and the sound bounced off at all sides, ricocheting off and forcing its way into Adam's ears.
Scott whispered, "What the fuck just happened?" and gripped his head.
Amanda reached her hand out for Adam. He looked at Scott.
"You're coming, too."
Adam raced over to Amanda, clasping her hand as he jumped against the wall. He used his feet to help propel himself upwards.
He heard Scott scream behind him and the puppet laughed on.
He brought his leg out of the pit and swung himself over.
And he was out.
2…
Time seemed to slow. The pit now wasn't just in the floor. It had made a home in Adam's chest, spreading across his entire body.
It was too late.
"Adam?" Scott whispered.
0…
A machine whirred to life. Adam got to his feet and helplessly looked into Scott's wide eyes.
The empty hole in the middle of the ground was sealed with some clear, hard cover. He heard Amanda walk towards the door.
And the puppet's eyes lit up before its mouth mindlessly bobbed up and down.
"Hello again, Scott."
Scott was unreachable, and Adam couldn't force himself to move. He stood still as a statue, heart thumping away, staring back at his friend.
And Scott stared right back. "Wh-What the fuck was that?"
His voice came out in a shaky, hoarse whisper that barely pierced through the cover on the pit. He was trembling, doubled over.
Adam wasn't doing much better. His legs could barely hold his own weight.
"Adam has already learned his lesson on the value of a human life. This was your test. I wanted to see if you had learned the same lesson."
Lies.
How many fucking lies—
"Adam, please…"
"And if you found yourself in this pit, then you failed."
Amanda came up from behind him. It made him jolt, and he barely caught himself from stumbling towards the glass.
She scowled at him, and she shoved pictures in with Scott, between a hidden slit in the cover.
These bastards thought of everything.
"Those shots are so important to you. Now, you are more than welcome to take them with you and do what you wish with them."
"Let him out!" Adam shouted. "Amanda, I saved your life! Please let him—"
"You really thought I was in danger there?" Amanda asked with a scoff. "That we didn't have a plan?"
She smirked.
"'You're smarter than that.'"
"That is, if you manage to find your way through the maze in front of you."
He heard another mechanical whir, and a compartment was revealed in front of Scott. Adam couldn't see it from this angle, but it didn't matter anyways. He kept his eyes on his friend. Always would.
Scott screamed.
"Adam already received his painful reminder of when you stabbed him in the back, over and over."
"What do you see?" Adam screamed. He turned and faced Amanda. "Let him out! I played your game and got you out of there, now let him go!"
Amanda only whispered, "It's the rules."
The rules. Always the rules.
Fuck the rules.
"He already dealt with his test and the painful reminder of the pain you have put him through your entire lives."
Adam circled around the pit to look at what Scott's eyes were trained on. His mouth widened and he put a hand to it.
The tunnel in front of Scott was covered with nails. Razor-sharp nails that all angled towards the center. Small openings throughout the room showed a dark, seemingly endless trail.
Scott was silent.
A tear rolled down Adam's face.
"You gave him scars. Now it's your turn to deal with the pain you have caused others."
Adam fought out words. He had to. "I'll get you outta there, Scott! Just hang on!"
Amanda scoffed. "That is literally impossible."
He waved her away. "Scott!"
"Will you live or die?"
Scott looked up at him, eyes tinged with red.
The lump in Adam's throat felt like it would never go down. He struggled for air, and tears poured out as he looked at his friend.
His rock.
"You'll be okay, Scott."
Always.
"Time to find out."