escape → JIGSAW ✓

n i n e

CHAPTER NINE
( HEART OF GLASS )

     THE TIMER WAS ticking too slow; but it was all too fast at the same time for both of the young adults as the slab of steel begins to move downwards from the ceiling. It was a gut-wrenching feeling that ate at Ayson's insides as she watched Aidan build up the courage to press the red button to his left. With a steady face, he clenches his jaw and presses down on it.

Aidan yelps as the nails begin to dig into the flesh of his back. The pain startled him, making him jerk away from the button. The nails sink back down into the bottom slab of metal, waiting for Aidan to press the button again.

"Press the button, Aidan!" Ayson yells from across the room. "I know you can do this. Beat him at his own game!"

The girl knew that her encouragements probably didn't help a bit— and maybe they even made him aggravated. But all she could do was be supportive from the sidelines and encourage him. It kept her from crying, it gave hope that he would make it out of this alive. Otherwise, she'd have to watch him get crushed.

And so Aidan planted his palm firmly on the button this time, yelling out as loudly as he could. But as the pain singed into his body and made his limbs go weak, he closed his eyes and thought of nothing but the life he would have after he got out of this place. He thinks of how his life will change for the better; of how he'll truly get to know Ayson, and never take anything for granted ever again. He'll ride a rollercoaster with the girl, and take her to the beach while they eat ice cream. He'll build snowmen with her in the park, and collect leaves for a scrapbook.

He will change for her.

And suddenly, the thirty seconds is over. He was unaware of the fact that the nails had completely sunken into him, only realizing when they are yanked back out. Aidan gasps out, gritting his teeth as the straps are released, and the metal had stopped moving from above him. With a relieved but pained sigh, Aidan sits up, grunting in pain before standing.

"You did it," Ayson breathes, her eyes alight with a sparkle he hadn't seen before. "Well, that proves that nothing is impossible. But now . . . now I have to go."

She frowns at the mere thought of being dragged into a trap, scared and worried about how she would manage to get out. But she would have Aidan there to guide her through it. "Let's just go," she says quietly. "I want to get this over with."

As they moved towards the next room, Aidan limps, watching as the girl opens the door wide. Stepping inside, Ayson feels a bike ride up inside her throat at the mere sight. This room was large, so much larger than all of the others. A few steps ahead led her straight to a cage; an open one at that. It spanned out nearly a hundred feet, the floor inside completely covered in broken glass. The top half of the cage, starting at Ayson's waist and going up, was blocked off by large sheets of plywood.