The Beginning of The End

Part 4

For some reason, things between Mark and I became better. I still don't appreciate him calling me "kid" all the time, but I know how to pick my battles. He's being nicer to me than he ever has before. Maybe he's scared I'll cry again. But I'll take any kindness I can right now. I was sitting at our "dining table" with Mark talking about my favorite book for the millionth time when John slammed something down onto the table. It was the trap we had been working on for weeks. The Floss, dammit it still needs a better name.

The metal frame curved in a U shape was meant to go around the shoulders, with little hooks on wire coming from the front of it. Connected with a cable were the buttons lined up with each tooth that would pull them from the socket. We had designed a new method of motivation instead of the nail bombs, electrocution. The metal around the neck was linked up to a small voltage book. The combination to the safe with the key for the device was etched into each tooth. The victim had 2 minutes to complete the task, I'm a bit more forgiving than John.

"Soooo, we're finally done with it?" I asked excitedly, I wanted nothing more than to look at something new. "We are, and you get to test it."
"John, are you sure about this?"

"She needs to see things how we see it," He turns to me, "Veronica, if you're going to be doing this you need to be completely on board. Can you do this?"
I looked down at the trap and took a shaky breath.
"Of course I can, what else would I be training for?"

"I so cannot do this." John had put Mark in charge of being the one to assist me as him and Amanda were working on a new game. "This is what you chose, you have to." He said not looking at me. "There he is, get ready." A man had stumbled out of the bar we were parked outside of, clearly very drunk. It seemed unfair to attack him when he was already blinded but John said this needed to be easy for me. I put the pig mask on, it was too big for me and slid down, blocking my vision. I could hear Mark laugh at it as he pulled it back on my head. "Here, use this." He handed me a hair clip and I clipped the mask back. "There, better." He said pulling his own one on. We got out of the car and hid behind another one, the man's. "I'll be the one to tranquilize him, you just need to distract him."

"How am I supposed to distract him? Hey random guy, wanna hear about our lord and savior Jesus christ, but please ignore the pig mask?" I snapped back.
"Just do something, quick he's coming."

I peaked out and saw the man had walked over to the driver's side about to open the door. I jumped out and grabbed him from behind. I'm not exactly a small girl, I'm 5'7 and 160 pounds but he still got the better of me. Cursing, he grabbed me and pulled me up, almost over his shoulder. I waved my arm and managed to knock my elbow into his jaw, making him drop me and howl in pain. God, where the fuck was Mark? He came back at me, grabbing me by the throat. I felt his fingers dig into my neck and crush my windpipe. I gasped for air and tried to claw at his face to get away, when Mark appeared behind him and stuck him in the neck with the needle. He dropped to the ground, releasing me and allowing me to breathe again.

"Where the fuck where you?" I whisper-yelled.

"I needed to get a good steady shot, plus you need to work on your fighting. Remind me of that when I get you home." I rolled my eyes at him, I doubt he could tell with the mask I was wearing.

"Don't roll your eyes at me." Nevermind, he's a weirdo psychic now. I helped him carry the man to the trunk of the car and lock him in. Getting into the front seat, I finally got to take the sweating pig mask on.

"Not even crying, huh?"

"Fuck you." I said looking out the window.

It took a bit to get the man into his test, turns out he was missing a few teeth so I needed to make a few more calibrations before putting everything into motion. As Mark and I went to shut the door to the room, I looked back. "What if he fails?" Mark contemplates before he answers, I'm sure he wants to say "then he'll die."

"He won't." He finally answers and then locks the door.

"Hello Ryan, you've made your living off the secrets of others. You took your honorable place as a therapist and used it to blackmail others. Taking their dirty secrets and turning it into money for you. You promised people help and you ruined their lives. Now you must pay the price in blood. The device before you will pull out the very things that helped you destroy. Failure to do so, will result in the shock collar around your neck going off. The key to your salvation is in the safe in front of you, the combination etched into your teeth. Tell me Ryan, how hard is it to lie through your teeth when you do not have any left? Live or die, make your choice."

I had to look away as the man, Ryan, screamed in agony at the hooks pulled through his teeth. It's one thing to see it on paper, another to see it in real life. Mark forcibly turned my head back to the peep hole I was using. "Don't look away." I swallowed but my mouth was so dry it did nothing. I watched as the timer started and Ryan screamed in pain. It took him 30 seconds to even muster up the courage to start pulling his teeth. He managed to get halfway with 45 seconds left before collapsing from the pain. I was worried he wouldn't get back up again, when he started screaming.
"No! NO! This can't be how I die!" I heard it coming from the room. Then use the damn machine, live. Come on Ryan, live. I silently prayed to whatever god was out there, that my first test subject would live. He still had 3 teeth left before the shock collar went off.

Have you ever seen a person die from electrocution? I always thought it would be quick and painless since the government used it for the death penalty. Either the government is some sick fucks or I didn't use the proper voltage. Ryan screamed for what felt like forever as the smell of burnt meat and hair swarmed out of the room. I could see the blood dripping from his eyes before he collapsed to the ground, permanently this time. When his body hit, that's when the first cry came out.

I knew that I shouldn't cry, I couldn't cry. Then Jigsaw would know I'm not ready, and I'll be thrown out. Or killed. "Ronnie, please-" Mark said, putting his hand on my shoulder again. This time instead of staying where I was, I threw my arms around him. I don't know what I was doing, hugging him. We weren't close and we sure as hell haven't become some weird murder family but I just needed a hug. I could feel him tense up and then eventually return the hug with a soft pat on my head. I just needed to get it all out, my family, Greg, my own test, living in squalor and loneliness for months. I sobbed into his shoulder for what felt like forever before I finally stopped.

"Please don't tell him."
"I won't."
"I promise next time I won't cry...I-I can do this. I just didn't know he-he wou-would d-die like t-that.'' I managed to choke myself up again with the remembrance of how he moved as his body was fried from the inside out. Mark pulled away to look me in the eye.
"Kid, it. Is. not. Your. fault." He stated plainly.
"I just wanted to help someone." He actually pulled me back into a hug after that.
"You are, you're gonna help a lot of people. He just didn't have what it takes. But you do, you survived for a reason, Ronnie. You can do this."

"What if it scares me, what if I can't handle this?""Kiddo, you've got bigger balls than I do." I laughed at this. "You will, it'll just take time."But what if I don't have enough?