Dark Imaginations

Saw

~This is inspired by the Saw movie franchise, the concept is used and the writing is my own~

A bright light brings me round, blinking at the harsh glare I sit up and look around. I am in a small room with a few bits of furniture including a small table, a mirror on a stand and a trap door in the corner. But weirdly no door. As I regain feeling in my body I notice the uncomfortable weight on my shoulders and neck. I reach up and touch the thing on my neck. It's made of a cold metal and is smooth. Once I can stand I stumble over to the mirror. I gasp as I see the contraption around my neck. It's looks like a mask split in two down the middle. Each half hangs over each shoulder. I turn to get a better view of the mask when I notice three things. A large spring on the back of the thing, a timer set to sixty seconds and that inside each side of the mask there are nails and spikes pointing inwards. I'm starting to panic as I study the contraption, I come to realise that this device is not one that I want to mess with and I would die if the mask closes. As I look up in the mirror I spot the wound directly under my left eye, it's been stitched and cleaned but it's obvious that there's a large cut Abdul looks quite deep too. A loud burst of static startles me as hidden speakers turn on, after a few seconds a deep, raspy voice scratches out.

"Hello Takeo, you don't know me but I know you very well. You are a 'hard criminal' with a record as long as the Nile including four murders, nine rapes and almost fifty theft charges. You are the scum on this earth and don't deserve to live. But unlike many others I believe in a fair chance, so instead of just putting a bullet in your head you are going to play a game. In case you haven't noticed which I doubt, there is a device on your shoulders. One could call it a death mask, but it doesn't matter what it's called. You should only be worried about what it does. At the end of this message the timer will activate and you will have sixty seconds to find the key and unlock the spring and stop it from triggering the mask to close. By closing the nails and spikes will penetrate your skull and brain killing you instantly. Now as for the location of the key, look deep, very deep. If you find it and release yourself from the death mask there is trapdoor with a lock that the same key will open, it will lead you to safety and the rest of your life. But if you fail, the mask will close, you will die and your body will lie where it fell forever. Live or die Takeo, the choice is yours. You have sixty seconds starting in three... two...one !"

Just as the voice promises, the timer starts ticking down from sixty seconds. My heart is beating out of my chest, sweat pours down my face as I try to decide what to do. Yes it's true that I have lived a horrible life and have done horrific things. Maybe I should accept it and let myself die. No, fuck that. I'm finding that key and I'm going to live. I look around, I notice some things on the table. Running over I get a closer look and feel my stomach drop as I identify each object. Some rusty blades, a roll of duct tape and a pair of tweezers. Just by looking at the items I can tell where the key is, inside the wound under my eye. Snatching up the stuff I leap to the mirror and study the cut. I can't see anything inside the wound apart from flesh and a little bone. Using a rusty knife I cut away the stitches. Picking up the tweezers I glance at the mirror to see the timer hit forty seconds. I hold my breath, brace myself and gently slide the tweezers inside the cut. Pain flashes through my head as I push the tweezers deeper and deeper. Blood and tears pour down my face as I wiggle it around looking for the key. I'm about to fall over when I feel the solid shape of the key. Gasping out I snatch a look at the timer as it ticks down from twenty seconds. I sit down on the cold concrete floor quickly and brace again. With a sharp pull I tug on it but it doesn't budge, a wave of white hot pain hits me like a bus. I momentarily lose consciousness, when I come to there's five seconds on the timer. I look into the mirror and see the shard of bone sticking out of the wound. In my desperate attempt of saving my self I had pulled part of my cheekbone off thinking it was the key. I grimace and close my eye as the timer ticks down the last seconds. My life flashes past, growing up on streets, killing for the first time, all that time spent locked up in jail. I scream as the timer hits zero. The mask closes with a thunk. The nails pierce my skin, skull and brain. My life passes through my blood caked lips as I collapse. My scream echoes around the room, fading into nothing but silence...

The End