(BOOK 2) MARK/HOFFMAN: A Saw Fanfiction

TWENTY SIX

Mark knew he couldn't show his face for a while.

After Jill had tried to kill him, he'd gone back to a place that he'd ultimately made his hideout, a hangar on the outskirts of town. He would be able to use this to finish out what he intended to do.

It had been two weeks since everything had hit its crescendo. The feds were searching for him, but the hangar was under a completely different name than his, and there was really no reason for them to search, especially without a warrant. Still, he had anxiety about suddenly getting raided. The name it was under was Logan Nelson, but he was in the military right now and had used it with John before even Mark was around. He wasn't even sure Logan knew John was dead. 

Mark was working on the final game. He was currently reading S.U.R.V.I.V.E, the book by Bobby Dagen that would go from fiction to reality in the next few months. Mark didn't want to read the whole book, but there wasn't much to do. He stared down at the words, eyebrows furrowed, holding some ice against his healing cheek. 

The point of Jigsaw's games are to teach you to appreciate your life. In that sense, it worked. I took everything that came afterwards as a blessing. Most of us don't realize that we are able to die, so when we're faced with death it is impossible to know if we're prepared or not. I felt a new sense of love for myself after my game. I had control over my life, so why not try and do better? 

Mark scoffed. Bobby's book was interesting, but knowing it was a lie made it easier to see how he tricked people. Most of the book was just an autobiography about his life leading up to his game, then the game itself, and how it affected him. Sure, it sounded good, but it was all very surface level once the game section came around. Besides, what kind of stupid game was that? Piercing your pecs and pulling yourself up to a plug that needed to be connected by letting go of the chains, testing the strength of the pierced muscles? It made no sense. 

However, the trap had already been built, so Mark finally knew what it was about after reading the book. 

As he read, he glanced up at the TV, which was playing their local news. 

His face was everywhere. Every county in the state had been notified and were looking for him. Mark had no idea how he was going to pull this game off or even escape the feds. Suicidal thoughts plagued him often, but he needed to speak to Abby at least one more time before it got to that point. It was a last resort, but there weren't many resorts left now that the cat was out of the bag. 

He needed to get to Jill.

She was the last piece of this puzzle, the puzzle that turned him into a murderer and took his life away. Once she was gone, he could go into hiding, gain a new identity, start fresh. Judging by the last conversation he had with Abby, it was a toss up on whether or not she would join him.

He wanted to be selfish and ask her to come with him, but felt he couldn't do that.

Even though his cheek had been ripped to shreds and they'd figured out that it was him, he felt very different. Maybe John's tools really did do something for people. He felt powerful.

He'd survived. He had what it takes.

Oh his ego had most definitely been boosted.

But Jill had sold him out, had somehow gotten away scot-free when she herself had been involved and had turned a blind eye to what her husband was doing. She tried to kill Mark, not giving him a chance to escape. Whether it was John who intended that or Jill, he didn't care. She had fully intended on killing him, because if it was truly a game where either outcome was okay, she wouldn't have been scared to see him win. The point was to kill him and end everything, which is why she sold him out.