THE WAREHOUSE
LEVEL J
"I never imagined in all my life I'd end in a place like this. The choices I had made during my life were minuscule compared to the choices I had to make to survive." - Subject 9-6A (Thrill Seeker)
Silence fell over the pitch black room where a young man, roughly in his mid twenties, lay as still as the moonlight covering him. The jagged concrete floor tattooed his entire back side. In an instant the silence was cut short by rattling metal. With a short click following it, a steady flow of cool air filled the room. The man wakes with a shiver in the darkness. He blinks, but it is still too dark. Again he blinks, but the space around him remains pitch black. He tries to speak, to call out for someone, but to no avail. Some form of cloth, damp between his lips muffles his words. Alone in the dark he can hear his heart drumming against his chest. He lifts his arms as much as possible toward his face. He can only raise them a few inches from his body before he stops. A thick rope around his waist fastened his hands together. The man takes a deep breath and pulls on the rope. His fingers follow it down and as far around his waist as possible. The knot was out of reach, threaded through the belt loops; it was tied in the back of his pants. The man rolls over. Before get can make another move he hears the clicking of chains. He pauses a moment. The sound of his breaths filled the room. He moves his legs again, turning on his stomach. The chains click together with every motion. He pauses and allows himself a deep breath. The man tries to lift his left foot. It only lifts a few inches before the chains pull it back. The same with his right foot. Restrained and blindfolded, the young man weighs his options in the chill of the night.
(Struggle To Get Free)
The young man jerks his body in every way that his restraints will allow, grunting with the sensation of heat overcoming his wrists as the rope aggressively hugs them. The chains bang against the floor as he kicks his bare feet. The concrete scrapes his arms and legs. He pulls his knees up to his chest and takes hold of the chains. With all his might he pulls as hard as he can, but they do not release. He feels around his ankles and finds a small padlock on his right foot. There is a small hole in the center of it. The young man rolls over on his back. He shoves his fingers into the pockets of his jeans and pulls out nothing, but lint. He slams his head against the floor and growls at himself. In the silence of the night, he lays still. Then he hears it. The sound of metal dragging across the ground. There is a long clicking of chains following behind it. The sound is of in the distance. A low, deep growl echoes behind it in the darkness. The young man's breaths pick up. The hairs on his neck stand with the chill of air dancing down his spine. Beads of sweat rain down on his face from his short brown hair. He can hear it's steps pounding the floor. One after another it's claws scratch the ground with every step. The beast was closing in.
(Survey The Situation)
There was no use in struggling. The chains were strong and the rope was too thick. Silence fell over the room. The gentle breeze from the air conditioning brushed strands of his short brown hair across the young man's forehead. He laid still for a long moment, trying to recall how he found himself in such a situation. His memory gave no answers. All he could see was a blur of what he believed was a woman in a white dress. Her whispers danced in his ears.
"If you truly believe you are up to the challenge, then take this. It will enhance every aspect of your physical being and allow you to transcend the achievements of many great sportsman in ways the mind couldn't imagine." The woman's voice echoed in his ears. She hissed as she talked. It was all he could recall before his head started pounding, so he pushed his concerns back for the moment and searched for answers to the more pressing situation at hand.
The young man rolls back on his side and inhales. Gagged, bound, and blindfolded. There must be an escape. He moves quickly. Pressing his fingers to the ground to keep his body lifted from the jagged concrete, he begins feeling his path towards the mysterious sound. The chains on his feet drag behind him. After only moving a few inches, he pauses. His fingers brush across a small metal key.
(Cut the Rope)
The young man runs his hands down his legs, following the chains, and searches the hole in the padlock. He lifts the key towards it and pauses. His wheels were turning. "Why? Why had this been left here? Surly, if you kidnap someone you don't have the one thing they need to escape just laying around... do you?" The key trembled in his hands. What would happen if he used it? His hands were still bound and he was still blindfolded. Even if he could move his feet freely, where would he go? And how would he know to get there? His stomach turned with the key between his fingers. He was already in one trap and there was no need to find another.
The young man gently presses they small key down in his pocket and turns back on his stomach. He crawls forward. He was careful not to cut his skin on the jagged floor. The closer he came to the sound the more he could feel a breeze coming into the room. In the same direction was a loud a quiet humming just above the tapping sound. Once he was close enough to the noises, the young man turned on his back and sat upright. He scoots back using his feet until he feels the chilling concrete press against his back. With the rope restraining him, the young man is forced to scoot closer. Against the wall, on the floor, the young man runs his fingers across a rope pulling back and forth. It is threaded through a hole in the base of the wall. The young man turns towards the rope and sits up on his knees, allowing his fingers to dance up the rope a few more inches. To his surprise, he finds the rope threaded through a metal box. Feeling around it reveals another key hole in the back of the box larger than the previous padlock, facing the wall, and a blade extended downward towards the floor. With each drop of the box the blade taps the floor. He can hear a second tap as the box rises. "Maybe there's a second blade near by!"
The young man holds the rope in his hands. Patiently waiting for the blades to reach a point of holding. He counts from the moment it reaches it's highest peak until it drops. "1...2...3...4...5..." He waits until it's at it's highest point before pushing the rope between his wrists up against the blade. The rope halts the mechanism. He can hear the chains jerking as they try to break free against him. He pushes up against the blade on his toes. Finally, the rope snaps. The young man groans as the blade falls through the rope and slices one arm. The other blade shoots up against the back of the other. It doesn't take long for him to feel a trickling down his arm.
The young man snatches off the blindfold. He covers one arm with the black bandana. With his vision back he scans the darkness. His bare arms were red. His blue jeans had darkened spots at his knees. Over his shoulder he could see a light sneaking into the room as the door creaks open. Heavy breaths enter the room, following deep growls. A single paw steps in, dry skin and bones clinging to each other. The beast was darker than the night itself. The three talons on it's bony-black toes were as sharp as the hanging blades.
The young man frantically scans the room. He looks over the blade set-up. The rope was out of reach of the blades for him to cut it. The threading through the walls prevented him from untying them. The metal box seemed to hold it all together. It had a latch with a key hole in the back for opening.
I have to get out of here! Now! The young man pulls they key from his pocket. He stares at it for a moment, then looks toward the door. There is only one easy way out. The only window was out of reach covered with a curtain, opposite of the vent above his head. His only company was the hanging blades, the key, and the monster at his door.
LEVEL J
"I never imagined in all my life I'd end in a place like this. The choices I had made during my life were minuscule compared to the choices I had to make to survive." - Subject 9-6A (Thrill Seeker)
Silence fell over the pitch black room where a young man, roughly in his mid twenties, lay as still as the moonlight covering him. The jagged concrete floor tattooed his entire back side. In an instant the silence was cut short by rattling metal. With a short click following it, a steady flow of cool air filled the room. The man wakes with a shiver in the darkness. He blinks, but it is still too dark. Again he blinks, but the space around him remains pitch black. He tries to speak, to call out for someone, but to no avail. Some form of cloth, damp between his lips muffles his words. Alone in the dark he can hear his heart drumming against his chest. He lifts his arms as much as possible toward his face. He can only raise them a few inches from his body before he stops. A thick rope around his waist fastened his hands together. The man takes a deep breath and pulls on the rope. His fingers follow it down and as far around his waist as possible. The knot was out of reach, threaded through the belt loops; it was tied in the back of his pants. The man rolls over. Before get can make another move he hears the clicking of chains. He pauses a moment. The sound of his breaths filled the room. He moves his legs again, turning on his stomach. The chains click together with every motion. He pauses and allows himself a deep breath. The man tries to lift his left foot. It only lifts a few inches before the chains pull it back. The same with his right foot. Restrained and blindfolded, the young man weighs his options in the chill of the night.
(Struggle To Get Free)
The young man jerks his body in every way that his restraints will allow, grunting with the sensation of heat overcoming his wrists as the rope aggressively hugs them. The chains bang against the floor as he kicks his bare feet. The concrete scrapes his arms and legs. He pulls his knees up to his chest and takes hold of the chains. With all his might he pulls as hard as he can, but they do not release. He feels around his ankles and finds a small padlock on his right foot. There is a small hole in the center of it. The young man rolls over on his back. He shoves his fingers into the pockets of his jeans and pulls out nothing, but lint. He slams his head against the floor and growls at himself. In the silence of the night, he lays still. Then he hears it. The sound of metal dragging across the ground. There is a long clicking of chains following behind it. The sound is of in the distance. A low, deep growl echoes behind it in the darkness. The young man's breaths pick up. The hairs on his neck stand with the chill of air dancing down his spine. Beads of sweat rain down on his face from his short brown hair. He can hear it's steps pounding the floor. One after another it's claws scratch the ground with every step. The beast was closing in.
(Survey The Situation)
There was no use in struggling. The chains were strong and the rope was too thick. Silence fell over the room. The gentle breeze from the air conditioning brushed strands of his short brown hair across the young man's forehead. He laid still for a long moment, trying to recall how he found himself in such a situation. His memory gave no answers. All he could see was a blur of what he believed was a woman in a white dress. Her whispers danced in his ears.
"If you truly believe you are up to the challenge, then take this. It will enhance every aspect of your physical being and allow you to transcend the achievements of many great sportsman in ways the mind couldn't imagine." The woman's voice echoed in his ears. She hissed as she talked. It was all he could recall before his head started pounding, so he pushed his concerns back for the moment and searched for answers to the more pressing situation at hand.
The young man rolls back on his side and inhales. Gagged, bound, and blindfolded. There must be an escape. He moves quickly. Pressing his fingers to the ground to keep his body lifted from the jagged concrete, he begins feeling his path towards the mysterious sound. The chains on his feet drag behind him. After only moving a few inches, he pauses. His fingers brush across a small metal key.
(Cut the Rope)
The young man runs his hands down his legs, following the chains, and searches the hole in the padlock. He lifts the key towards it and pauses. His wheels were turning. "Why? Why had this been left here? Surly, if you kidnap someone you don't have the one thing they need to escape just laying around... do you?" The key trembled in his hands. What would happen if he used it? His hands were still bound and he was still blindfolded. Even if he could move his feet freely, where would he go? And how would he know to get there? His stomach turned with the key between his fingers. He was already in one trap and there was no need to find another.
The young man gently presses they small key down in his pocket and turns back on his stomach. He crawls forward. He was careful not to cut his skin on the jagged floor. The closer he came to the sound the more he could feel a breeze coming into the room. In the same direction was a loud a quiet humming just above the tapping sound. Once he was close enough to the noises, the young man turned on his back and sat upright. He scoots back using his feet until he feels the chilling concrete press against his back. With the rope restraining him, the young man is forced to scoot closer. Against the wall, on the floor, the young man runs his fingers across a rope pulling back and forth. It is threaded through a hole in the base of the wall. The young man turns towards the rope and sits up on his knees, allowing his fingers to dance up the rope a few more inches. To his surprise, he finds the rope threaded through a metal box. Feeling around it reveals another key hole in the back of the box larger than the previous padlock, facing the wall, and a blade extended downward towards the floor. With each drop of the box the blade taps the floor. He can hear a second tap as the box rises. "Maybe there's a second blade near by!"
The young man holds the rope in his hands. Patiently waiting for the blades to reach a point of holding. He counts from the moment it reaches it's highest peak until it drops. "1...2...3...4...5..." He waits until it's at it's highest point before pushing the rope between his wrists up against the blade. The rope halts the mechanism. He can hear the chains jerking as they try to break free against him. He pushes up against the blade on his toes. Finally, the rope snaps. The young man groans as the blade falls through the rope and slices one arm. The other blade shoots up against the back of the other. It doesn't take long for him to feel a trickling down his arm.
The young man snatches off the blindfold. He covers one arm with the black bandana. With his vision back he scans the darkness. His bare arms were red. His blue jeans had darkened spots at his knees. Over his shoulder he could see a light sneaking into the room as the door creaks open. Heavy breaths enter the room, following deep growls. A single paw steps in, dry skin and bones clinging to each other. The beast was darker than the night itself. The three talons on it's bony-black toes were as sharp as the hanging blades.
The young man frantically scans the room. He looks over the blade set-up. The rope was out of reach of the blades for him to cut it. The threading through the walls prevented him from untying them. The metal box seemed to hold it all together. It had a latch with a key hole in the back for opening.
I have to get out of here! Now! The young man pulls they key from his pocket. He stares at it for a moment, then looks toward the door. There is only one easy way out. The only window was out of reach covered with a curtain, opposite of the vent above his head. His only company was the hanging blades, the key, and the monster at his door.