Jonah.
That was the first word in his head.
Jonah.
His name, surely.
His back was in pain and he felt very cold and vulnerable. With a sudden need to address his chill, he glanced down and was met with the sight of a black skintight costume.
Jonah.
The name echoed in his head again. He tried pulling at the clothing but it seemed stuck fast, and worse, lycra.
Fire.
He suddenly became very alert. "What?" he said out loud. He felt his heart quickening.
Jonah.
Fire.
He quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed he was in a small bedroom. There was a dark brown bed standing across the floor from him and multiple pieces of furniture placed around the room.
Fire.
The words kept repeating. He suddenly noticed a background noise that he had been ignoring. A quiet beeping. Now he had noticed it, it was obvious and infuriating. He had to find the source of the noise.
Fire.
Jonah.
Fire.
The damn words, he was getting very stressed. Fire, the beeping tone, they seemed so familiar, and terrifying at the same time. He intently started searching the room for the ringing noise but to no avail.
Jonah.
Jonah.
Fire.
Jonah.
He started screaming through his teeth as he frantically started dragging items off shelves. Books and ornaments went flying into the ground.
Fire.
Jonah.
Fire.
Jonah.
He desperately turned to where he had woken up and his jaw dropped. He had been completely oblivious to the huge wall behind him. The huge screen. He took a step back and a tear rolled down his face. Every time the noise played the timer on the back wall went down by one. The timer currently read 02:17.
Jonah.
Fire.
Jonah.
Fire.
Fire.
He screamed, grabbing at his skull. He started edging backwards until his legs hit the bed. Tears crowded his vision but he managed to make out a smudge about a metre above the timer. He wiped his eyes and found the smudge was a small silver container labelled "Helpful box".
Jonah.
Fire.
Fire.
Jonah.
He ran at the wall and smacked his head against it, trying to get the words to stop. It took him a moment to recover but he quickly decided to drag chairs over to reach the box. He ran over to a chair and pulled it across the room. He jumped on top of the chair but still couldn't reach the container.
Jonah.
Fire.
Jonah.
Fire.
Jonah.
He slammed his head against the wall to momentarily relieve himself of the words. He jumped off the chair as he felt blood trickle down his forehead. He kicked the chair over and ran to a nearby table, taking a moment to check the timer.
01:43.
He grabbed the table and yanked it towards the container. After a few pulls he managed to reach the bottom of the wall. He threw the chair onto the table and started to climb on.
Jonah.
Jonah.
Fire.
He stumbled and fell off the table, proceeding to hit his head on the floor. He quickly stood up and tried again to climb. This time he managed to balance on the chair and reach the box. Relieved, he picked his way back down to the floor. He glanced at the container and saw a four digit lock on its surface. In scrawny writing slightly above it read the single word "painting". He immediately looked up and set eyes on the painting he had knocked off the wall earlier.
Fire.
Fire.
Jonah.
Fire.
Fire.
Tearing at his hair, he stood up and made his way towards the other end of the room. With shaky hands, he gripped the painting and stared at the design. It was an image of a horse, but seemed to have no significance. After a moment, he thought to turn it over. On the back in large red letters read the words "under the bed". He gritted his teeth and ran for the bed. His eyes caught a glimpse of the time as he moved.
00:58.
He shook his head frantically and dove to go under the bed but there was a wooden board protecting the underneath of it.
Jonah.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
He clawed at his scalp as he head-butted the floor below him. As the pain of the words started disappearing he took another look at the time.
00:35
He looked around the room for a tool that could be used to break through the wood. And he looked, for the first time, straight upward. His body went still as his eyes rested on a large set of saw blades directly above him. They perfectly covered the ceiling and shone menacingly at him. With a sudden outburst, he clawed at the wood in front of him, weeping, trying desperately to get underneath. He looked at the timer.
00:19.
Fire.
Jonah.
Jonah.
Fire.
Jonah.
Fire.
He let out a guttural roar and smashed his head against the wood in front of him. Again. Again. Over and over. The wood splintered. He bled. The barrier released a huge snapping sound as it subsided and he hastily crawled past the splintered lumber. Underneath the bed he saw a large hole across from him. He took another desperate look at the timer.
00:08.
He crawled forward as fast as he possible could. He counted the seconds as he heard the beeping.
00:07.
He noticed the container still in his hands as he shuffled under the bed.
00:06.
He shoved the box forward and it fell into the hole in front of him.
00:05.
His fingertips managed to touch the edge of the hole and he gripped the edge, using it to pull him closer.
00:04.
He reached the hole and peered in. It was completely dark and he stared blankly into nothingness.
00:03.
He noticed that he hadn't heard the container by the ground and it could still be falling.
00:02.
He edged forward lowering his head in and his head hit a wave of cold air.
00:01.
He turned to lower his legs into the hole.
00:00.
Silence.
He froze.
Buzzing.
A screeching sound.
Metal gears turning.
Getting faster.
Getting closer.
He jumped.
Jonah, fire!!
