SAW 6.5 (Warning, Graphic Violence, Swearing)

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Prologue...

Keith McCallister awoke to find himself in a dingy elevator shaft.  He was hanging in a seat harness resembling a toddler's bouncy swing.  He was surrounded by 6 braided steel cables, and 8 braided steel wires attached to the harness, around his waist.  The cables and wires came together in a sleeve, over him, making it hard to tell which wire came to what switch pin.  A TV screen sat in the open elevator doors before him. The door was blocked by chain link fence.

"HELLO!?" shouted Keith.  He had been attacked from behind, and hit with a chloroformed handkerchief earlier that night.  Now he was here.  Who was that guy in the pig mask standing over him before he blacked out?

The TV monitor flickered to life, the screen went from black, to static, then a ghoulish ventriloquist's dummy appeared on the screen, turning to look at Keith.

"HELLO KEITH! I WANNA PLAY A GAME...A GAME IN WHICH WE WILL PLAY, FOR YOUR LIFE!  FOR YEARS, YOU'VE ENJOYED A GOLDEN PARACHUTE RIDE, RUINING YOUR EMPLOYEES AND BILKING TAXPAYERS AND INVESTORS, BEING REWARDED FOR YOUR FAILURES, YOUR LAZINESS, GREED, AND STUPIDITY....WELL TODAY IS YOUR DAY OF RECKONING!  YOU'VE LEFT OTHER PEOPLE HIGH AND DRY, AND NOW THE EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE TABLES HAVE TURNED!

YOU ARE IN A HARNESS, SUSPENDED 15 STORIES UP, A FEW STORIES ARE ABOVE YOU, WHERE A WENCH CAN EITHER SAVE YOU, OR KILL YOU.  IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, YOU MUST DO WHAT YOU DO BEST, AND THAT'S TO REACH THE TOP!  YOU HAVE SIX CABLES...AND EIGHT PINS TO PULL.  ONE PIN WILL ACTIVATE THE CRANE TO RAISE YOU TO SAFETY ON THE PLATFORM ABOVE, AT THE TOP FLOOR.  THE OTHER PIN WILL MAKE ALL 6 CABLES BREAK FREE FROM THE WINCH, DROPPING YOU TO YOUR DEATH! 

AS FOR THE OTHER SIX PINS..WELL, IF YOU'RE TOO DUMB TO FIGURE IT OUT, AND I KNOW YOU ARE, SO I'LL EXPLAIN.  EACH OF THE SIX REMAINING PINS BREAKS A CABLE FREE FROM THE WINCH, RIGHT AT THE POINT WHERE IT'S ATTACHED TO THE WINCH, MAKING IT HANG UNDER YOU SO YOU CAN'T HANG FROM IT AND SWING OR CLIMB TO ANY SAFE AREA IN THE SHAFT. 

YOU HAVE 30 MINUTES TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND ON WHICH PINS TO PULL, OR YOU'LL SIMPLY BE DROPPED AUTOMATICALLY.  BY THE WAY, JUST BECAUSE YOU PULLED THE RIGHT PIN, DOESN'T MEAN THE TIMER WON'T STOP.  YOU HAVE TO REACH THE TOP TO WIN.  THE WINCH IS A BIT SLOW, SO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T TAKE TOO LONG TO FIND THE RIGHT PIN.  WHICH PIN DOES WHAT FUNCTION?  THAT'S FOR YOU TO FIND OUT...WHO KNOWS? YOU MAKE GET LUCKY ON YOUR FIRST TRY, HEH HEH!  LIVE OR DIE, THE CHOICE IS YOURS!"

The screen flickered to static, and went dark, as a ghoulish, high pitch cackle was heard.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Keith, as the digital red LED timer next to the TV and  the video camera counted down.

Keith pulled a pin, after 10 minutes.

*BOING!*

Out popped a cable, from above.  "AAH!" Keith shouted.  He searched on the belt.  He pulled anther pin. 

*BOING!*

Another cable broke and dangled uselessly below Keith, hanging with the first popped cable from his harness.  15 minutes to go.

Keith began to panic. What was he going to do? He didn't want to pull the pin that would make him fall altogether...he pulled another pin.

*BOING!*

Another cable down!

5 minutes left!

Keith screamed at seeing all of this, and finally, after sweating profusely, pulled one more pin. 

*ZZZZZZZ! WHIRRR!*

The winch stirred to life, reeling Keith upwards.  Unfortunately, the winch WAS very slow, and Keith had only 3 minutes left, and it took 5 minutes to get to the top.  The timer was still going!

*BUZZ! BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!*

All the cables broke from the winch, and down Keith went!

"NOOOO! IT'S NOT FAAAAIIIIIRRRRR!"

Keith shouted, as he careened down the shaft!

*THUD!*

Keith McCallister hit the bottom, where he died immediately upon impact, the workers utility light, and its caged bulb, illuminated the bottom, showing Keith's mangled corpse, and a jigsaw puzzle piece cut from his skin.

Somewhere up the shaft, Billy the puppet's ghoulish high pitched cackle was heard on a continuous audio loop CD, played on the speakers from an untraceable source.

*that's it for this chapter*

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 1

I was reviewing Keith's case in my office.  I was working with the Seattle PD, as a private detective,.  Now normally the Jigsaw Murders took place on the East Coast, but this time it happened out here in Seattle.  I, Julius Quasar, had moved from L.A., and got my Private Detective's license and my Carry Concealed Weapons Permit, and was a detective for hire in Seattle, WA.  I helped insurance companies, especially worker's comp departments, bust laborers who claimed to have hurt themselves at work, yet they're out on the nightclub dance floor that very night, or on the golf course the next day.  It was an okay living for me.

Detective Novelle called me on my cell phone.  "Julius!  Drop what you're doing, and get your butt down to the station! NOW!" she said, before hanging up.

***

Nicole Houghton woke up, after being drugged.  How did she get here?  She remembered partying at a club in L.A., she sipped another drink, then...here...she was in a cage, in an auto wrecking yard.  She tried to get out of the cage, but there was a row of locks on the side, holding the lid shut.  She found a small tape recorder, and a large ring, with lots of keys on it.  Countless keys...Nicole pressed the button.

"HELLO NICOLE...I WANNA PLAY A GAME...YOU HAVE BEEN BORN WITH MORE PRIVILEGES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND ADVANTAGES COUNTLESS OTHER COULD ONLY DREAM OF.  YOU WHORE YOURSELF IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.

YOU'RE A SPOILED JETSETTER WHO HAS NEVER WORKED HARD A DAY IN HER LIFE, YET YOU ARE PAID $400,000 TO PARTY AT A TRENDY NIGHTCLUB, AND THAT'S JUST DISGUSTING!  AND YOU'RE ONLY FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS.  YOU'RE A THOUGHTLESS, TALENTLESS, WORTHLESS, DEGENERATE PIG!  YET PEOPLE STUPIDLY WORSHIP YOU, FOR YOUR SHALLOWNESS, LEWDNESS, AND STUPIDITY.

YOU'RE A STUCK UP SNOB, WHO SPITS ON THOSE WHO AREN'T RICH AND FAMOUS, OR THOSE YOU PERCEIVE AS 'LAME', BECAUSE TO YOU THEY'RE NOT 'HIP'...IF ANYONE IS LAME, IT'S YOU!  YOU AREN'T FIT TO LIVE ON THIS EARTH...BUT SIMPLY KILLING YOU STRICTLY FOR THESE REASONS ARE WRONG...I OFFER YOU, A LIFE LESSON, AND SHOULD YOU SURVIVE THIS ORDEAL, YOU WILL EMERGE FROM IT YOUR NORMAL, TERRIBLE SELF, BUT PERHAPS A LITTLE WISER FOR THE WEAR, ALTHOUGH THAT LAST PART IS DOUBTFUL, SINCE YOU ARE, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE A FOOL!  BUT I KNOW YOU STILL WANT TO SURVIVE!

YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ON THE INSIDE, LOOKING OUT, BUT NOW, IN THIS CASE, YOU'LL MOST LIKELY WANT TO BE OUTSIDE, LOOKING IN...YOU HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES TO FIGURE OUT WHICH KEYS OPEN WHICH LOCKS ON YOUR CAGE.  AFTER THAT, THE CAR CRUSHER YOU AND YOUR CAGE ARE INSIDE OF WILL ACTIVATE, CRUSHING EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE INSIDE OF IT.  IF YOU DO NOT ESCAPE IN TIME, YOU'LL SOON LEARN, THAT 'IT'S HIP TO BE A SQUARE'...HA HA HA! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

Nicole screamed in horror, realizing the situation. She went through the large ring of keys, testing key after key in the row of locks, as the red LED lighted digital timer counted down from 15 minutes.  Nicole struggled furiously, but got only half of the locks open by the time the counter reached zero.  The Car Crusher started up, and Nicole screamed in terror as she and the cage she was trapped inside of were both crushed.  A figure in a long red and black cloak and a pig mask walked out of the auto wrecking yard, which was somewhere at the edge of L.A. County.

*MUCH LATER*

Barney Maddenoffen awoke in a dingy old abandoned restaurant kitchen.  He had a collar around his neck.  it had a wire and a pin attached to it, and as Barney stood up, he saw a TV on a corner stand, near the ceiling.  The screen hissed static, and a ghoulish ventriloquist dummy stared at him.

"HELLO BARNEY...I WANNA PLAY A GAME...DID YOU HONESTLY THINK HIDING HERE IN OREGON WAS A GOOD IDEA?  IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T, YOU DUMBASS!  THE PONZI SCHEME YOU PULLED, RUINED MANY, MANY LIVES.  YOU EVEN RIPPED OFF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, YOUR FRIENDS...TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, YOU GOT AWAY WITH IT!

I OFFER YOU A CHANCE AT SALVATION.  THE DEVICE AROUND YOUR NECK, CONTAINS ONE THREE-INCH DECK SCREW THAT WILL BE TURNED, AND BORED INTO YOUR NECK, PIECING YOUR JUGULAR...YOU MADE A FORTUNE SCREWING OTHERS, NOW POETIC JUSTICE HAS A CHANCE...HOWEVER, YOU MIGHT LIVE ANOTHER DAY, BUT IT WILL COST YOU...INSIDE THE CAGE, ON TOP OF THAT STOVE, IS ALL YOUR MONEY IN CASH FORM, REMOVED FROM YOUR HOME, WHERE YOU HID IT...I FOUND IT, AND HID SOMETHING OF MY OWN IN IT.  THE KEY TO YOUR COLLAR.  IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PART WITH ALL YOUR MONEY BY BURNING IT ON THAT GRILL WITHIN THE CAGE, THEN THE KEY WILL FALL THOUGH THE GRILL, INTO THE TRAY FOR YOU TO RETRIEVE, AND SAVE YOURSELF.  WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?  YOUR LIFE, OR YOUR LIFE'S WORK?  LIVE OR DIE, THE COICE IS YOURS.  MAKE YOUR CHOICE."

The dummy's eyes lit up as it emitted a grotesque, high pitched cackle, and the TV screen went blank.  As Barney stepped out of the far corner of the room, the wire attached to the wall on one end, and a pin in his collar on the other end was stretched taut, and the pin was pulled from his collar, out from the mechanism inside the 5 inch tall metal oblong compartment, welded to the pipe coupling frame of the collar locked around Barney's neck.  A mechanical timer clock began ticking, set at 60 seconds, it was next to the oblong compartment containing the screw and the tiny motorized mechanism that would drive the screw into Bernie's jugular .

"NOOOOO!  NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NOOOOOO!"

Bernie shouted in fear.  He tried to stop the mechanism that was going to drive the screw into his neck, but the metal oblong compartment blocked his fingers, and it was welded to the collar. He tried to put his fingers through the cage wires, which were that of strong chicken wire with a wood frame, nailed to the counters. He'd never dismantle it in time, and couldn't get his fingers through the wire, let alone his hands, to go through the stacks of money where the key was hidden.

"I can't burn my money!  What's the point of living if I'm gonna be broke!?" shouted Barney.

*DING*

The timer reached zero, and a whirring noise was heard as the tiny motor drove the screw into Bernie's jugular, and he bled to death on the floor.  Sure enough, Barney never burned the money.

***

I drove my car out from the garage of my live in office/loft, which used to be a small factory building, converted and gentrified with a Conditional Use Permit.  I headed for the Seattle Police HQ to see Detective Novelle.  It had to be important, Detective Novelle and I didn't have a sit-down-and-chat-over-beers type of relationship.  I didn't hate her, but she didn't seem to like me that much...she and the Seattle PD hired me for help on some criminal cases.

I pulled into the parking lot, locked my 3 handguns in the glove box, locked my car, and went into the Police HQ building.  After going through security checkpoints, I was told to wait for Detective Novelle in her office.  She finally arrived, ten minutes later, as I was looking at my Private Detective's license, and badge, both in a special wallet I bought for 'em.

She wore black, short sleeve leotards, a burgundy red skirt, white tights, ballet style Mary Jane slippers, and a black leather motorcycle jacket, and a plain black leather collar around her neck.

She snatched my badge wallet from my hands, and examined it.  "What cereal box did you shake this out of, squirt!?  Or did you have to clip the box tops and save 'em!?  Or, did you order these of the back of one of your comic books, while you got the pages all sticky after reading about the scantily clad super-heroine vixen's latest adventure/lingerie purchase!?" she sneered unpleasantly at me, before handing me back my badge wallet.

Nice greeting, huh?

"What do want, already!?" I asked.

Detective Novelle was three years older than me, I myself being 27 at the time.  She was a beautiful redhead, with piercing blue eyes, and her hair in a short, 1920's "Short-Bob" hairstyle.  She had creamy white, perfect skin, and a VERY pretty face, with a busty, svelte, ballerina build...she danced ballet, as well as many other dances, ballroom, jazz, tap, foxtrot, waltz, samba, mambo, cha-cha, heck, she even attended and graduated from "The Rockettes Experience Workshop" in NYC, and danced professionally for a short time, but then she retired, deciding that she would dance for recreation, knowing her legs and joints would be getting too old.  She studied dance, music, art, photography, writing, and criminal justice, along with chemistry in college.  She held an MBA in Criminal Justice.  She looked like and reminded me of Ivy, from the TV show "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" in her looks and personality.

"I want you to go pick up the pizzas the boys on the lower end of the feeding trough ordered and paid for earlier...here's the slip for 10 pizzas...the boys are too cheap to pay for delivery...GO!" she sneered at me.

"You dragged me down here for this!?" I said in disbelief.  "What are you waitin' for, asshole!? GO!" she shouted to me.  I got up, and headed out of her office.  As I left, I passed Sgt. Nostra , who was sitting in a chair, and he tripped me as I walked through the break room.  I regained my balance, and said to him "Do you always have to trip everyone who walks by!?" and he replied "Yes." and the other cops in the room laughed at me.

"Well, you can't help it, since your gut sticks out in the way, it would do you no good to scoot back.  The last time you saw your toes was during the moon landing being first broadcast on TV..." I sneered.  "HEY! Why you..." Sgt. Nostra tried to get up, but it took him three tries.  He finally gave up.  "Eh, the 'Third Hardly Boy' ain't worth it!" he said, waving me off.  The guys on the force laughed.  "Hey, Encyclopedia Brown-streak!  Why don't you go back to the treehouse, or the clubhouse, or stinky plastic Fisher Price playhouse, or your mommy and daddy's garage, basement, attic, or den and play something besides detective?  Maybe fireman?" Patrol Officer Erickson jeered.

"Why don't I play "I'm too stupid to join the Air Force like I wanted, but not too stupid to be a dopey, last rate cop in Seattle?" I replied.  "WOOOOO!" the guys in the room said.  "Why you little...!!!" Erickson tried to punch me, but one of the other cops stopped him.  "He ain't worth it!  Besides, didn't you parents raise you better than to hit retarded kids?" said Patrol Officer Matthews.  "Your parents sure didn't believe in that, since they beat you up all the time when you were a kid...it's no wonder you freaked out, and beat up a suspect in a sting operation, and got busted down to patrol officer!" I jeered at him.  That was a low blow, but I'd had enough of these gimps.

"That does it!  I'm gonna...no...dammit! Let go of me, I'm gonna kill that kid!" shouted Officer Matthews, as the others held him back.  "SHUT UP, and leave him alone!" said Detective Novelle, glaring at them.  The room fell silent, and Erickson, Matthews, and even Nostra looked down at the floor in shame.  I got out of there, and drove to the pizza place.

I got there, and as I waited for the pizzas, the front desk clerk said to me "Hey Julius...I know this is none of my business, but why do you let those pigs treat you like a slave?  They push you around, and walk all over you...you can't let 'em do that!" he said.  He meant well, so I didn't get mad at him. "Jerry, I'm only putting up with their crap until I can solve my first big case they hired me to help them on...if I can solve it before they do, I can rub it in their faces.  For now, I only have my foot in the door 'cause I caught a vandal they were after for 6 months, and I got him in under 6 hours..man, they were bitter about that, but it got me a foot in the door...if I could crack something REALLY big before they could, they'd have no choice but to kiss my ass...and I'm still gonna stand up for myself..." I took the pizzas, opened each box, and took the pepper shaker, and held it under my nose, sneezing into every pizza.

"NICE!" Jerry said, laughing.  "Yep..it'll get better for me, in regards to those jag-off cops..." I said.  I gave Jerry twenty bucks "Consider this a tip" I said, winking at him.  "THANKS!  Hey, you're all right...those cheapskate cops purposely pick up the pizzas so they don't have to tip, and they never tip on pick ups like this...good going, kid, I like you..." Jerry said.  I bade Jerry goodbye, and headed back to the station with the 10 pizzas.  The cops snatched them from me, and ate them, never offering me a slice, just gobbling them down like the pigs they are.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.  Detective Novelle.  "C'mon, kiddo, let's go to my office..she smiled at me.  We went to her office, and she closed the door.  "I saw what you did to the pizzas...I was right outside, watchin' ya'...bad Julius...sneezing in the pizzas like that..." she smiled at me.  "How did you...?" I asked.  "I followed you, I'm a detective, remember?  A real detective.  But, hey, gumshoe, why don't we discuss the real reason I dragged you here...

She showed me more on the Jigsaw deaths.  There was one in L.A. we talked about, it happened several months ago to some annoying bitch named Nicole Houghton, and then a few months ago, a Ponzi con man was found dead in Oregon...I already knew about these murders, but Det. Novelle and I were discussing the details of them, and of Keith's death, the latest Jigsaw incident.

After a few hours, I told Det. Novelle I would do my best to figure things out, and she was surprisingly nice to me..weird.  Oh well. After we were done, I left her office, and headed back home.

*that's it for this chapter*

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 2

*THIS IS A GRUESOME PART OF THE CHAPTER, SCROLL DOWN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT*

Evan woke up and found himself sitting in a hard wooden chair, his restraints were made of metal, and they held his ankles, wrists, and neck in place...it was made like an electric chair, it even had the metal cap on his head, with a wet sponge under it.  "WHAT THE...!?" he said. He noticed his clothes were stripped off of him, and there was something attached to the chair, between his legs..."NOOO!" Evan shouted, seeing what it was.

A TV monitor in front of him flashed on.  A ghoulish ventriloquists dummy appeared on the screen.

HELLO EVAN, I WANNA PLAY A GAME...FOR YEARS, YOU'VE BEEN A LOTHARIO, NO RESPECT TOWARDS WOMEN, OR THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN YOU'VE MADE WITH THEM, AND NEVER SEE, LET ALONE SUPPORT IN ANY WAY.  YOU'RE LIKE AN UN-NEUTERED ANIMAL.  I CAN FIX THAT FOR YOU!  THE CHAIR YOU ARE IN IS A MAKESHIFT ELECTRIC CHAIR...

IN SIXTY SECONDS, YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE A MAJOR DECISION, ON WHETHER YOU WANT TO DIE, OR LIVE, BUT NO LONGER AS A MAN...CERTAIN ANATOMICAL PARTS OF YOURS THAT MAKE YOU A MAN ARE IN THAT MINIATURE GUILLOTINE ON THE SEAT THERE...IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, YOU'LL HAVE TO PRESS THE BUTTONS ON THE EDGE OF YOUR ARM RESTS.

DOING THIS WILL RELEASE YOUR RESTRAINTS, AND STOP THE ELECTRIC CHAIR FROM FRYING YOU, BUT YOU'LL LOSE WHAT'S MATTERS TO YOU THE MOST WHEN THE GUILLOTINE BLADE DROPS...WHATEVER THE OUTCOME IN YOUR PREDICAMENT, SOCIETY'S PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED, YOU'LL NEVER REPRODUCE AGAIN...THE CHOICE IS YOURS...LIVE OR DIE, MAKE YOUR DECISION.

The screen went dark, and the timer counted down...sixty seconds later, Evan was electrocuted to death. 

***

I was on the scene, with Detective Novelle, and her precinct of the Seattle PD.  We had found Evan in a dingy old garage, unrecognizable.  EWW!  When I was told of the nature of the situation, what Evan would lose if he pressed the buttons, I was amazed.  "Tough call..." I said.  "It was only a matter of time before someone would make a Jigsaw contraption like that.." said Sargent Nostra, standing behind me, looking at the device, after Evan had been extracted from it and carted away.

"This is sick..whoever did this is demented..though knowing Evan, and the killer's intent, I can't say I blame anyone for doing this to Evan...what a pig!" said Detective Novelle.

*NOW YOU'RE SAFE FROM THE SCARY PART*

***

I was back at my apartment, looking over the files I had made.  Nicole, Barney, Keith, now Evan.  I decided to take a break, but before I could get up, Detective Novelle came into my office.  I could've sworn I locked the front door.  "Hi, Julius..." she said, strutting up to me...she wore a long black trench coat, and black, high heeled boots.  "Hi..I wasn't expecting you.." I said.  "I know..." she replied, smiling at me...

Detective Novelle removed her trench coat, revealing a black leather leotard-teddy she was wearing underneath the coat.  She also had a studded leather collar, and she sat in my lap on the chair, and pressed her lips to mine,

I woke up in a start at my desk.  It had all been a dream.  Detective Novelle never came into my office, dressed like that, doing that stuff.  Dang!  It was a pretty cool dream.  I had fallen asleep at my desk, studying the files on the Jigsaw incidents.

I decided to go up to my apartment upstairs, and sleep.  I put away my files and locked them up.  I'm always VERY organized.  I locked the doors to my building, and double checked them, then I went upstairs, and watched some TV.  I needed a break.  I suddenly fell asleep again, and when I awoke, John "Jigsaw" Kramer, and Amanda Young were sitting in my living room, staring at me.

"WHA-! AHH!" I fell off of the couch.  As I sat back on the couch, and looked at John and Amanda, they smiled at me.  "Hello Julius." they said.  "Uh..hi?  It's..an honor...can I get you guys something to eat?" I felt stupid asking that question, and slapped myself on the forehead for asking them that.  "Oops, wait..sorry!" I said.  "Thanks, but no thanks, obviously..." Amanda said.  "That's very kind of you, thank you, but..we're not here on a social call, Julius...we've come to tell you something very important.  About you." John said.

"ME!?" I asked. "Yes..you have a major test coming up..not one you pay attention for in class, or study for in order to get a license...this is something that could change your life forever, if you survive." he said.  "We just want to wish you good luck!" Amanda chimed in, and she hugged me, and said "Hope you make it." as she rested next to me on the couch. 

"I admire the fact you are trying your hardest.  The quality of your work isn't exactly what I would approve of, but your intentions are what mattered.  Everyone deserves a chance, at least.  I know that, and you know it.  I wish that Lieutenant had known it.  But that's old news.  You're not like him, fortunately." John said.

"That's why you're gonna see a major change in your life, hopefully for the better, but we're positive you'll survive.." said Amanda.

"Well...thanks, guys..I'm sorry for the things that happened in your lives, and that you went out that way..." I said. "It's all over and done with...for us..." said Amanda.  "But for you it's only beginning..make good use of it, and remember why you started in the first place, why you chose to start, and why soon it will also be chosen for you, and by you at the same time.  Good luck, Julius...it's starting now." John said to me as he got up, opened the closet door, and then shut it.

I was awoken by the sound of a door shutting, not like John had done in my dream, but also in reality, somewhere downstairs, was the unmistakable sound of one of my doors shutting.  Someone was in my home!

*that's it for this chapter*

[Asper Sarnoff]

I like it. That is perhaps not the right word for it. More like it keeps me on the edge of my chair.

But be carefull about what you post here, many of the members here are minors after all, wich shouldn't read some of the more violent parts, even tough I bet most have seen worse already.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

I like it. That is perhaps not the right word for it. More like it keeps me on the edge of my chair.

But be carefull about what you post here, many of the members here are minors after all, wich shouldn't read some of the more violent parts, even tough I bet most have seen worse already.

Oh, thanks, I'm glads someone's reading this! Thanks Sylum! Asper!

Yeah, I know it's violent and dark, but I did put warnings on it, and if they ignore them, I can't be held responsible. >__> :D

[Asper Sarnoff]

SYLUM!?!

What have you been smoking?  :lol:

[Guest Julius Quasar]

SYLUM!?!

What have you been smoking? 

RRGH! I'm sorry, I meant to say Asper!

Thanks, Asper!

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 3

I've seen enough horror movies to know, "why don't they just get out of the damn house?" when a situation like this arose.  I grabbed my badge wallet (which doubled as my money wallet, it was a fine quality badge wallet I got from a police supply company catalog, along with my Private Detective Badge), which contained my badge, money, credit cards, Washington State ID, Driver's License, CCW Permit, Private Detective's License, and my store cards, and stuffed it into my front left pocket.  I put my coin pouch in my right front pocket, unplugged my cell phone from the charger and put it in a zip lock plastic bag (it is Seattle, after all) and I grabbed my Bianchi shoulder holster off the wall hooks, and strapped it onto me, and I loaded the holster on my left with my Glock .40 caliber, and the spare magazine cases on my right with 2 back up Glock Factory Magazines.

I put on my waterproof lightweight nylon jacket, which hung on the hooks, and quickly but quietly climbed out onto the fire escape, and closed the window.  I climbed down to the street, and ran out into the main street, since keeping to the alleys would be a bad idea.  It was 3 AM, deserted, but the streetlights lit up the wet streets of Seattle for me, and I ran as the rain began to pour.  I was going to the Seattle PD HQ, even though they hated me there, and I hated them right back, I still knew that the Jigsaw killers wouldn't mess with me in a well lit, crowded, camera watched Police Station....Right?

I ran for several blocks, something flitting out of the shadows of the alleys and doorways now and then.  I was being followed!  Whoever broke into my home must've figured out I left!  Or maybe they meant to flush me out, knowing I wouldn't be dumb enough to search my home for 'em!  Uh-oh!  I could hear high pitched, grotesque laughter echoing all around me.  It was Billy, the Jigsaw dummy!  I was really in trouble!  I couldn't tell where the laughter came from as I ran, but I knew it was gaining on me!

I was heading for the Police HQ, there it was up ahead!

I got into the lobby, but it all looked deserted. I ran to the counter, protected by the bullet proof Lucite, and hit the call button.  "Hello!?" I yelled.  No one answered, or appeared at the desk.  Something was wrong here.  I turned around to see someone in a pig mask and long dark robe standing there before the entrance, and the door to my left, which buzzed people into the station, flew open, and a guy in a black tuxedo with red bow tie and a dummy mask, like Billy the Jigsaw puppets face, came out of the door, firing a taser at me.

I woke up, seeing a metal floor with diamond tread patterns on it.  I heard an engine running.  "He's waking up!" shouted a familiar voice, and someone jabbed me in the neck with a needle.

I awoke to the sound of dogs barking. Not good.  I found myself in a grimy, smelly room, and as I looked up, the room's lights came on.  I was in a large, round atrium.  A large, glass domed ceiling was above me, and I could see a gray, overcast sky through cracked, broken, filthy, or missing glass panes.  I was surrounded by large cages, filled with the meanest, scariest collections of rottweilers, dobermans, and pit bulls!!!!  There was a huge digital red LED timer, about to count down.  I had 6 Hours, according to it.  My gun, backup ammo, heck, my whole holster set was gone, as was my wallet, my phone, and my coin pouch.  The guys who kidnapped me had stolen them, obviously.

As I got up, I saw a TV screen on a cart nearby hiss, flicker static, and there was Billy the dummy looking at me.

"HELLO JULIUS, I WANNA PLAY A GAME!  YOU ARE STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS OF YOUR LIFE.  THIS WILL DETERMINE HOW TRULY WORTHY YOU ARE OF LIFE, AND WHAT IT HAS TO OFFER YOU!  ALTHOUGH THIS PLACE IS ABANDONED, IT STILL HAS MANY AMUSEMENTS!  AND YOU MUST SUCCESSFULLY MAKE IT THROUGH THEM ALL TO ESCAPE THIS PLACE, IN 6 HOURS, FOR IF YOU DO NOT, THE DOGS IN THESE CAGES, ALL OVER THE PARK WILL BE RELEASED. THESE DOGS HAVE BEEN STARVED, TEASED, AND SUNG TO OFF-KEY, SO EXPECT THEM TO MAKE SHORT WORK OF YOU AFTER THEIR RELEASE!  YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, 'IT'S A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD', HA HA!  YOU WILL BE GIVEN CLUES ON HOW TO FIND THE KEYS TO UNLOCK THE GATES TO THE FRONT EXIT, AND YOU MUST SURVIVE THE TESTS TO GET THESE CLUES.  GOOD LUCK, AND LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

I heard Billy's trademark laugh, and then the screen went blank. The doors to the atrium opened, and I found a map of the place on top of the TV monitor.  I was in an abandoned amusement park, somewhere in..the Midwest!?  Wow, how long was I out!?.  The map was marked, telling me where to go first, and I walked out of the atrium building, and stared around at the creepy abandoned amusement park around me.

There were more dog cages filled with snarling angry dogs in the park, outside where I had been, and I could hear the dogs inside some of the nearby attractions, too. Oh man...

*more to come*

[rainfyre66]

Woohoo! Sorry for the delay in my reading of this and replying, been pressed for time, but I'm glad I have time to read this tonight. Very gruesome parts, for sure, but c'mon, would you expect anything less from something called Saw 6.5? 

Anyhoo, I like how you incorporated yourself into the story, not only do you capture the essence of the brutally intense Saw games very well, but this story also has a bit of a noir detective story flavor, I like it! Can't wait for more!

Also, was the part about the dogs being starved, teased, and sung off-key to a nod to Chief Wiggum?

"I've been starving them, teasing them, singing off-key- Mi my mo moo! Mi my mum mum!"  :lol:

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Woohoo! Sorry for the delay in my reading of this and replying, been pressed for time, but I'm glad I have time to read this tonight. Very gruesome parts, for sure, but c'mon, would you expect anything less from something called Saw 6.5? 

Anyhoo, I like how you incorporated yourself into the story, not only do you capture the essence of the brutally intense Saw games very well, but this story also has a bit of a noir detective story flavor, I like it! Can't wait for more!

Also, was the part about the dogs being starved, teased, and sung off-key to a nod to Chief Wiggum?

"I've been starving them, teasing them, singing off-key- Mi my mo moo! Mi my mum mum!" 

Thanks a lot, rainfyre66, and yeah, that was a nod to Chief Wiggum. 

I'l work on this more later...

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 4

I found a souvenir map of the park in my back pocket.  Hmmm....it must have been, hell, of course it was-planted in my back pocket while I was out.  I removed it and unfolded it.  I saw where I was supposed to go first, circled in bright red ink.  It was the log flume ride.  I made my way across the park, trying to drown out the barking, growling, snarling dogs. 

I finally arrived at the log flume ride.  It was a large, artificial mountain, next to a wooden, sawmill like structure, with a large, watery canal running in and out of it.  I went to the ride area, the sagging ropes on rusted, bent, and broken poles.  I hopped over the broken turnstile spokes, and walked to the dock, where a log like boat, with seats that seemed to be carved and smoothed into the boat, 4 tandem seats, no restraints or harnesses.

A voice came on over the rusty speakers, "Hello and welcome to your first test, here in the lumber camps and sawmill, Julius.  Keep your eyes peeled, for all opportunities on this ride, as you have done in your life.  Don't miss out on what chances that are dangling right in front of you!!  And please, watch your step.  No flash photography, eating, drinking, or smoking on the ride.  Also please keep your hands and arms inside the ride, except if you see something that you need to take.  Thank you, and enjoy!" 

I rolled my eyes, and hopped into the log flume.  The ride started.  The log boat bobbed on the surface, and took me around the bends of the water track.  I was then taken up into the saw mill structure, and up into the ride's artificial mountain.  This ride reminded me of Splash Mountain at Disneyland, except not all sap happy.  I traveled through a fake bucolic countryside, and saw what was supposed to be animatronic loggers cutting down trees.  Instead, it appeared to be people in pig masks and robes, and tuxedos with painted Billy the Jigsaw Dummy faces.

The were singing Monty Python's "I'm a Lumberjack" song, and I burst out laughing.  Someone must have replaced the original record.  I came to a sudden turn, and I saw a Billy the Jigsaw Dummy pointing upwards, and I looked up to see a waterproof envelope hanging above me on a string. I stood up and grabbed it quickly, and I sat down just in time, 'cause that jigsaw dummy who was pointing up was in a hole in the wall positioned over a steep drop, a downward slide.  I didn't see the slide, 'cause it was dark below, and the way the track was set up, the riders were not supposed to see the drop, just whatever was in that hole in the wall in front of them (I think an animatronic lumberjack dummy was there before).

"WHHHHOOOAAAAA!" I rode downwards, and continued along the track.

I came to the lumber camps, but although I heard the Monty Python Lumberjack song, I saw the animatronic Lumberjacks, fishermen, Mounties, and sawmill workers, all now either painted on their faces and wearing the black tuxedos so as to look like Billy the Jigsaw Dummy, or the pig masked hooded soldiers, I also saw rows of dog cages, filled with more angry, snarling attack dogs.

I was finally led to a large incline, all the way up.  I saw, at the mouth of the cave, near the end of the incline at the top, another, larger package dangling from a wire from the roof of the cave.  I waited until it took me to the top, and when I came to it, I grabbed it immediately and saw down.  It was a good thing I sat down when I did!  The second I sat down, the log zoomed down the steepest incline on the ride,, and in the overhead fake tree branches above me was a large, old fashioned two person lumber saw, stretched above the canal!  If I were still standing up, that saw would've beheaded me!  Ugh!  I only had a split second, as is!

As the log pulled into the docking area, I got off of the ride, and sat on a nearby bench outside the ride.  I opened the small package first.  Inside it was a small key, with a brass round tag attached to it.  The number "29" was stamped into it.  Huh?  Oh well.  A note included with the key, written on another souvenir map, this time with a mine train ride circled in red on it, said "The key from this package will unlock the gate to the next ride!". 

I opened the bigger package.  It had a thick, 5 page stapled stack of papers.  The first page read, "Glad to see you kept your head on that last ride!".  I saw the next 4 pages showed map of the mine train ride with marked switches at the junctions, and there was a found a 4 D-Cell Mag light, which had batteries, and did work, in the package, the words "Use this to hit the switches on your map." were written on the piece of paper taped to the end cap. 

I made my way to the mine train ride.  I walked to the train, at a small artificial "Train Depot" building, in a fake Western Mining Town, and a TV screen in the "Ticket Booth" came on.  A pig masked soldier wearing an engineer's striped cap said to me "Hello there, Julius!  Are you ready for the next test?  Board that train and find your next clue!  Be sure not to make a wrong turn on these tracks, you don't get a second chance if you go down the wrong path.  Remember to check your map for the switches, if you got it...Happy Trails, Julius!" UGH!

I boarded the train, and unfolded my switch map, and held the Mag Light in my right hand, as I placed the map on the front of the car I rode in, I used the tape from the note on my flashlight to hold the map in place as best I could, knowing I might need to switch hands holding the flashlight to hit a switch on the right or a left side of the track.

The train entered the first tunnel...I heard more barking dogs somewhere in the tunnel up ahead.

*that's it for this chapter*

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 5

I rode into the dark tunnel, it was made to look like a mine tunnel with wood buttresses, the train tracks below, the fake stone and dirt ceilings, ground, and walls, and the old fashioned hurricane lanterns, lit by flickering fake candlelight, and old fashioned rail road lanterns hanging in the mine flickering the same way.  The train slowed, climbed an incline, then as I disappeared into the darkness, I suddenly came outside into the daylight, shooting downwards at high speed.  I saw a switch up ahead.  I swung my Mag Flashlight out and hit it, leftwards.  It swung left, changing the tracks, and I was on the correct track

I saw the other two tracks, the right and central tracks...the central track simply dropped off, it had been dismantled!  The bridge it ran over was destroyed...if I hadn't switched tracks, I could've been killed! The other track, the one on the right, led into a boarded up tunnel.  Wow!  That would've been bad.  As I raced along on the train tracks, I hit the next switch to go forward, straight.  If I missed even one switch, I'd go off the track, and probably not find the next clue in this ride.  I passed through a train trestle bridge, over a small, fake western town, and there were more of those snarling, barking, caged dogs, looking at me with such hatred in their eyes I couldn't help but look away.  I hit the next switch to go left, and then the next one to go right, then right again, then straight.  After a while, I went up a steep incline, and a fake water tower ahead dropped a small package, and I caught it.

I then shot down a fast, steep hill, and passed a cliff-side fake mountain mining town, and caught a large package off of the Post Office's hanging arm, in front of the tracks!  Score!  I switched the tracks, and almost missed the next to the last switch, but then I turned around and hit it, and got moved to the track on the right.  I hit one more switch, and went to the far left, and pulled in front of the train depot.  I did it!

I got off of the ride, and opened the small package.  It contained another souvenir map, with the route drawn for me. I was to go to the Haunted Manor House ride, and there was a key, with a round brass tag, the number "66" stamped on it.  A note read "You should know by now each key with a brass tag opens the next ride,  the larger package contains something that will help you on the ride.". True.  I had to use my flashlight in the train ride to see the switches in the dark tunnels, and to hit all the switches.  Now it was time for the big package.

I unwrapped it, and found...a small hammer, a small crowbar, and a small military style folding shovel, with the belt holster/sheath included.

Oh well...I had an idea of what they wanted next.

I hurried on to the next ride.  I came to the Haunted Manor House Ride. It resembled a beautiful, but neglected, gray stone mansion from yesteryear.  It had high stone pillars with wrought iron fences between them, surrounding the grounds, an old, ornate wrought iron gate with spider web patterns on them creaked open for me.  The roof of the mansion was black, and the walls stone gray, with pointed Gothic arched windows, and doors, resembling hooded eyes, and howling mouths.  There was a belfry with a clock that had roman numerals on it, and gargoyles, and  vacant large stone patios and balconies, covered with dead, overgrown vines.

I walked to the covered porch, went around the side, and entered the parlor, after unlocking the door.

I stepped into a dimly lit parlor, with old fashioned wall paper, old, flickering, cobweb covered light fixtures, with fake flickering candle and oil light coming from them.  There was dark wood wainscoating. batten board, plate rail, crown molding, and ornate medallion work around the ceiling chandelier base.

I heard a pipe organ wailing, and a voice greet me over the speakers.  "HELLO, JULIUS! KINDLY STEP INSIDE, WON'T YOU?  WELCOME TO OUR HOME!  YOU MUST FIND THE CLUES, WHENEVER AND WHEREVER THE RIDE STOPS.  THE TOOLS IN YOUR HANDS, CAN ASSIST YOU THERE.  CAN YOU DIG IT?"  I had the shovel, the crowbar, the hammer, and I still had the flashlight. I'm glad I kept it, I knew it would be REALLY dark in here.  A door on the opposite end of the room opened, leading down a dark, twisting hall way.  I walked across the spider web patterned wooden floor of the octagonal shaped parlor, and into the hallway.  I came into a waiting area, and boarded a dark buggy with hearse "S" levers and bat wing fenders on the sides, and rode into the darkness of the Haunted House ride.

I came to a stop in a parlor.  It had dark, cob web covered, moldy chairs and couches, rotted wood coffee and end tables, glass orb lamps with porcelain bases, glass front cabinets with dust in the glass pane doors, and in an alcove of the room, a long, slim, black, oval coffin surrounded by dead flowers, flanked by an easel on each side, one containing a dead floral bouquet, the other a faded oil painting of a man in a suit from the Victorian Era, obviously the remains of an old funeral.  I got out with my tools, and searched around. I pried open cabinet doors with my hammer, or my crowbar.  I pried the lid off the coffin in the parlor alcove.  The smell was...just...AWFUL!  But, I found a small package in the coat pocket of the corpse.

I took the package, and gathered up the tools, and I got back on the buggy just in time, because it pulled away.  I rode through the mansion a while, though spooky hallways, weird parlors, dining rooms, and game rooms, all containing cages of snarling, vicious dogs put there to attack me upon release.  I then came to a stop in the attic.  I got out, took the tools, all but the shovel, which I left on the floor next to the track (I didn't want to leave ANY of my tools in the buggy, even if I wasn't using them at the time, I didn't want the buggy to pull away from me with any and/or all my tools in it, I'd get separated from them, and have to wait for them to return, and that would take too long).

I searched the attic, prying open trunks, bureau drawers, and boxes.  I found, inside one large trunk, my wallet, with all my stuff-including my badge- in it, and my coin pouch, my cell phone, and my gun, with its spare magazines and my shoulder rig holster set.  I put my stuff in my pockets, except for my gun and shoulder holster rig set, which I strapped onto myself.

But the when I checked, I found out my gun and its magazines, the main one and the 2 spare magazines, were all empty!  The bullets were removed from them!  Oh well, at least I had my stuff back.  I tried to turn on my cell phone, and when I did, I found out that someone had rigged my phone so I was locked out! They put in a password, but I didn't know what it was, 'cause they had set it!  RRgh!  They gave back my stuff, but made it mostly useless just to mock me!

As I stood there, fuming, the ride started up again.  I grabbed the tools, hopped into the buggy, and rode down to the catacombs of the mansion, and there were "graves" in the dirt floor of the mansion catacombs.  The mansion catacombs had dogs in their cages, the dogs barking and snapping at me.  I got out, opened the coffins in the catacombs, but found nothing.  I dug up the graves in the floor, which was three separate holes, filled in with cocoa bean husks, used in ground cover for yards.  Nice touch!

I found the first coffin.  Nothing.  I dug up the next coffin.  Nothing. Both just contained bad smells, and fake corpses.  The third coffin had a fake corpse, but it also had a large package gripped in its hands, resting on its chest!  I took it, gathered the tools, and boarded the buggy.  I rode to the end of the ride, and walked out of the mausoleum, into the back gardens of the mansion.  I sat down on a garden bench to examine the next clues.

*that's it for this chapter*

[rainfyre66]

Love the whole dark carnival setting, this story is a thrill-ride indeed!

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Love the whole dark carnival setting, this story is a thrill-ride indeed!

Aw, thanks, I appreciate it!

[Asper Sarnoff]

Really entertaining reading. Looking foreward to the next chapter.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Really entertaining reading. Looking foreward to the next chapter.

thanks, Asper, I'll try to set it up as soon as I can.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 6

I unwrapped the package I got from the spook house, and I found another key to another ride, and the map to it.  I also found a helmet, in the package.  A crash helmet, like you see a race car driver wear.  Wow.  I put  on the helmet, and I saw the marking on the map lead me to the bumper car area.  When I arrived, I unlocked the gates, and entered...I came to the entrance of the ride, and I came to the only car I could get in to, the others were occupied by some kind of machinery.  The car had the same number on it as the tag on the key I used to get into the bumper car arena, 30. 

I saw a TV by the gate flash on.  There was Billy the Dummy.  "Don't adjust your set!  Welcome to the John 'Jigsaw' Kramer school of driving!  Students! Start your killing!"  The other cars started up, as did mine.  The bumper car arena was one of those old fashioned bumper car arenas, with the electrified floors.  "Be careful, Julius, that floor is electrified, and the only way to survive this bumper car demolition derby is to get  the package, and try to get out of here your own way.  By the way, when you do bump each car, you'll set off its armaments.  You must bump the right car to find the package for the next round.  Happy Driving, and don't fail this 'driver's test'!". 

Billy's grotesque chuckle sounded off, and the screen went blank.  I steered my car towards the other bumper cars.  They were all painted black, with white question marks where the numbers should've been.  I rammed one bumper car.  A machine gun, mounted inside it, poked up and began firing at me.  "Oh, damn!" I shouted.  I aimed for the next car, and rammed it.  A shotgun poked up, and fired at me. 

Uh oh! Next car I rammed, a grenade launcher fired towards me.  I was running out of time.  I rammed one more car, and up popped a package.  I reached out, and missed it, and the machine gun bullets missed me.  Barely.  I came around, avoiding the shots, and reached for the package in that car again.  I got it!  As I pulled away, the grenade launcher car blew that package holding car apart.  I steered towards the hole blasted in the side of the arena, and I was now on the cement ground, outside of the arena.  I climbed out of the car, holding the package.  I found a place to sit, and opened the next package, after pocketing the number 30 tagged key, and removing my crash helmet.

Now I had a key with the number 77 on it.  I also had a map to the roller coaster.  I put the crash helmet back on, and observed what was in the package.  It was  a small, hand held fishing net.  Hmm...I went to the amusement park's roller coaster track marked on the map.  I got into the cart, and a TV screen flashed on. A pig soldier said to me "Congratulations, Julius, you're so close!  To stay on the right track, you need to use the net to grab the package at the top of the highest hump on this roller coaster track!  Enjoy the ride!".  The screen flashed off, and then the ride started up, the bar pinning me in place.

I rode the roller coaster, as it climbed upwards, on the first hump.  The package wasn't there.  I looked for the highest hump, and saw it, with a string stretched across the tops of the flag poles there, and a package hanging from a string in the center of the horizontal string above and across the tracks.  I suddenly shot downwards, and lost sight of the package. I rode around the tracks, which were old, wooden, and rickety.  I realized with horror that the tracks were falling apart behind me!  I had only one chance to get that package!

As I climbed the highest hump of the tracks in my cart, I got the net ready.  I swept the net upwards, as the car passed under the package...and...I....got it!  I held the package, as I zoomed downwards, and then after a few more climbs and plummeting, I finally came to a stop back at the beginning.  The rest of the track, except for the highest hump, collapsed.  If I had failed to get that package, I'd never have another chance, all right...I was glad I got that package when I did.

I unwrapped the next package, which was no bigger than an office mailing envelope.  There was a key with a brass tag on it, with the number 15 on it, another park map, with the route marked out, and...a pair of...earplugs? Huh?  I hurried to the next ride.  It was....A kiddie boat ride! UGH!

*that's it for this chapter*

[rainfyre66]

Woo hoo, up next, a murderous kiddie boat ride? Can't wait, this story is lots of fun!

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Woo hoo, up next, a murderous kiddie boat ride? Can't wait, this story is lots of fun!

Thank you!

I'm glad to get back on this project....

>=]

It's a world of laughter, it's a world of tears,

It's a world of hopes, it's a world of fears

There's so much that we share

that it's time we're aware

It's a small world after all...

There? is just one moon

and one golden sun

And a smile means friendship to everyone

Though the mountains divide

And the oceans are wide

It's a small world after all...

[rainfyre66]

Uh oh, It's a Small World is scary enough without Jigsaw's renovations 

And dangit, now you got that song in my head. Nothing gets that out...

[Asper Sarnoff]

Nice to see you picked up at this one again. I like it!

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Nice to see you picked up at this one again. I like it!

thanks  I'll try to work on it more next week....I'm almost 3/4 of the way done...

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Chapter 7

I made my way to the boat ride.  "IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL!" proclaimed the sign in front.  I unlocked the gates, and went aboard the little boat, which looked like that boat from "Apocalypse Now", except its guns weren't real.  The water in the canal was brown, and murky.  Terrific.  In the little "boat house" another TV screen came on.  Billy was there, wearing a ship captain hat. 

"HELLO AGAIN, JULIUS!  THIS IS THE THIRD TO LAST TASK IS BEFORE YOU.  YOU ARE GOING TO RIDE THE CRAPPIEST LITTLE CRUISE THAT EVER SAILED AROUND THE THIRD WORLD.  YOU WILL SEE WHAT MANY, MANY, PEOPLE FROM THE FIRST WORLDS MISS, WHAT THEY TAKE FOR GRANTED.  THIS IS AN EDU-TAINING WAY TO SHOW YOU WHY YOU SHOULD BE GLAD YOU LIVE SOMEWHERE LIKE AMERICA...AND WHY YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE LIFE, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THESE PLACES, SELDOM GET OR RETAIN THE GIFT OF LIFE.  THOSE EAR PLUGS WILL COME IN HANDY FOR THIS RIDE! HA HA HA!  DON'T MISS GETTING THE PACKAGE, FOR IF YOU DO, YOU'LL MISS MORE THAN THE BOAT!  THAT SONG YOU'LL BE HEARING IS TORTUROUS ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU INSANE!  LITERALLY!"

The screen went dark, and I heard the laugh of Billy.  The boat moved forward, under the bridge, and into the archway, where I could hear the sounds of...little kids singing, this particular song:

"IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL!

IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL!

IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL,

IT'S A THIRD, THIRD WORLD!

It's a world of slaughter, or a case of aids

It's a world that's hopeless, with attacks and raids

There's a stench in the air

that it's time you're aware

It's a third world after all...

We do hard work for free

our sweatshops smell like pee

And the sunlight is something we all seldom see

And we barely can eat

Some of us have chained feet

It's a third world after all...

IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL!

IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL!

IT'S A THIRD WORLD AFTER ALL,

IT'S A THIRD, THIRD WORLD!"

That song looped continuously.  I put in the earplugs.  But I could still hear that music!

I rode through "Eastern Europe" first...little Eastern European puppets were Georgians fighting against Russian tanks.  There were puppets fighting in the Balkans.  Mafia thugs in the streets, battling.  The machine gun fire was so loud, and realistic sounding.  I saw ruined homes, buildings, destroyed vehicles.  I saw more of the horrors of Eastern Europe you read about in the papers, see on the news...

Now we were in Asia.  I saw Russia in it's deteriorating state, the crime bosses, and  then I saw the third world sweatshops of China, Thailand, and places like that...I saw The horrors of North Korea, with their dictator's stupid parades, and the puppets who were depicted as soldiers, torturing political prisoners.  The wastelands these countries had become, yet I saw palaces among the wastelands. There was either ruin, or opulence.  Everything looked so out of date, from time to time...it wasn't just Asia where I saw these factors, it was all the continents I was visiting on the ride.

I then went to the Middle East.  I saw the universal factors of the third world nation, again.  I also saw puppets depicted as battling militants, suicide bombers, and marching militants, firing off guns and cackling.

I was then Africa.  More battling militants, I saw Somali pirates firing at my boat, and at a ship in the distance. I saw Janjaweed goons attacking Sudanese refugees. There were UN officials being bribed.  World relief supplies being stolen, hoarded.  People dying of disease and starvation.  I was sick.  I suddenly saw something in the water.  It was a bottle floating towards my boat, with a piece of paper rolled up in it.  I grabbed it, and took out the paper.  Taped to it was another key with a tag, #5 on it.  Also, there was a drawing of a Ferris wheel on it. Perfect.

I rode through South America, seeing the destruction of the rain forest, rebel militia groups, and drug gangs, the plight of Brazil's cities.  I was seeing more horrors in Central America, and finally, I saw a nation with ruined cities, empty factories, crumbling infrastructure.  This nation was...I saw a sign that said "USA(?)".  I could see their point. 

Finally, I came to the end, out the tunnel, outside, and to the boat docks. I got out, and was glad not to have to listen to that ride song anymore. That wasn't so bad.  Although listening to that song, with non working earplugs was torture enough!

****

I was at the mammoth, rusty Ferris Wheel, now.  I got into the lowest cage, and shut the door.  I heard a voice on the speaker.  "HELLO JULIUS, YOU'RE ALMOST DONE!  YOU MUST GET THE PACKAGE HALF WAY UP, AND...COME OUT ON TOP, WITHOUT REACHING THE TOP!  GOOD LUCK!".  The Ferris Wheel started up.  I suddenly heard crashing noises above me!  I looked in horror to see the ride cages for the Ferris wheel being disconnected, and falling down when they reached the top.

Uh oh!  I removed one of my boots, and tried to throw it at the control panel to hit the emergency stop.  But then, at the frame work girder, halfway up on this Ferris wheel, I saw an envelope with my name on it hanging off the girder.  I had to get it!  I waited, reached out and got it! I then threw my boot at the control panel.  It he the lever, bring me in the opposite direction, but not stopping me!  I removed my other boot, and threw it at the large red button on top of the panel.  *BUZZ*  The Ferris wheel stopped.  I grabbed my envelope, squirmed out from the bars of the riding cage, and jumped down about 10 feet, and landed safely enough on the ground. I put my boots back on, and then I opened the envelope, which contained a key, with a brass tag stamped with #28, and...

*that's it for this chapter* :)

[Guest FoXXX]

This is probably better than the movies :)

[Guest Julius Quasar]

This is probably better than the movies

Thanks, dude! :yes: