𝟎𝟎𝟗
It took me a good five seconds to process what happened. The electricity was visible, as was Zack's agony. The gate before him had shut, so there was no way to get to him. Eventually, the zaps stopped, leaving Zack's body literally steaming. My breath hitched, my mind immediately rushing to the conclusion that... he died. He's dead. Zack is dead. He won't be able to kill Rachel now, but... If he just got out of that-
"Agh, that hurt!" I gasped and looked back up at him, seeing that he was still very much alive and pissed. "What the hell do you think you're doin'?!"
"Wow! He's alive! You're alive!" Cathy exclaimed, "A homicidal maniac and a monster! You're practically my ideal criminal!"
"Shut up already! Quit actin' so happy! You're dead meat! Just lemme outta this thing!"
"I see... In that case... I'm going to start giving you a nice, long shock in your electric chair, Zack. And while I do, Rachel Gardner and [NAME] [LASTNAME] are going to have to figure out how to disable it! I'll even let you go if you do it right!"
"... Stop," Rachel said, her voice firm but still devoid of emotion, "Even he would die from that."
"Oh, you silly child. I'm going to find out just how much of a monster and a hardheaded criminal Zack is... That's the fun of it! And anyway, who said the criminal gets the final say? Okay, time to commence the execution!" At her words, the dolls behind Rachel and I suddenly lifted their heads. Eerie smiles appeared on their faces, and they directed their attention towards Zack. "Ladies and gentlemen! Prepare to enjoy the spectacle of the detectable criminal writhing in agony!"
"Hey, guys!" Zack called out, getting our attention, "Ya get the situation, right? Ray, you'll be breaking your word if you fail! You gotta do a good job here! You said you'd make yourself useful, remember?! Once you do, I can kill this sadistic bitch!"
"... The onlookers stare at the criminal with hatred in their eyes. It's these looks that give meaning to the death of a criminal. Here, punishment is delivered by the eyes of the spectators. Okay! Begin!"
The electric chair went off again, sending volts of electricity through Zack's body once more. He screamed in pain, his body jolting desperately against his restraints. My eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
...
Is it so bad that I want him to die?
No, no! I can't think that...
I shifted my attention back to the dolls. Eyes of the spectators... So they must be the spectators.
"Mm... So I'm guessing we just have to break their heads off, right?" I hummed.
"Well, I was just thinking of taking their eyes off of him, but that'll work, too," Rachel replied.
I looked around the room for something good enough to break the dolls. There was nothing... Nothing except Zack's scythe, which was clutched tightly in his hand.
"Zack!" I shouted, "Give me your scythe! Throw it over here!" Despite his pain, he looked down at me like I was insane. "Do you wanna live or not?! Give it to me!"
He hesitated for just a moment before sucking up his pride and throwing me his scythe. It didn't land over the gate, though. It was within reach, but it was hot.
"Here," Rachel said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a cloth.
It was old and dirty, with very visible tatters.
"... Where'd you get that? Actually, don't tell me." I grabbed it from here and used it to pull the scythe onto our side. "Ugh, this thing is so heavy... How do you swing it around all the time."
Zack simply shouted a curse at me, making me roll my eyes. Using the cloth, I got a good grip on the scythe with both hands and went to my first doll. I swung at it with all my might, breaking off its head. The electric chair got stronger with the break. I gritted my teeth and tried to get through the dolls quickly, the electricity current getting stronger and stronger each time I broke a doll. Finally, I broke the last one, making the chair stop abruptly.
I looked back at where Zack was. The gate had opened, allowing Rachel in. Still carrying the scythe, I followed in after her.
"Zack?" Rachel called out softly, "Are you okay?"
He sat there limply, his body twitching from the electricity that still remained in his body.
"Is he...?" I uttered, my words trailing off.
The scythe suddenly felt so much heavier. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
...
"Took ya long enough!" I yelped when Zack suddenly lunged up at me, grabbing both of my shoulders harshly. "You got any idea how numb my body got cuz of you?!"
"Oh, shut up! I just saved your life!" I retorted, shaking him off. He snatched his scythe out of my hand and pushed me out of the way. "Ugh! Honestly, Ray, I don't know how you get along with him!"
Rachel simply shrugged, indifferent about it like she is with everything else.
"Amazing," the broadcast came again, "Truly amazing! To think you'd survive that...! I thought our monster of a homicidal maniac might be tough! And the way you refuse to die only makes you that much more attractive! Yes, indeed! You're a model specimen! A platonic ideal! Zack... To be honest, I was getting excited about watching the moment you died. But I'm a kind person. In light of all their effort, I'll let you through!"
The other side of the room blocked off by bars opened with a click.
"Damn sadist..." Zack grumbled, "I'd slaughter her if she were here in person..." He took a moment to view the scene of the dolls, their heads scattered every which way. "It looks like I'm lookin' at a mutilated mannequin crime scene..."
Zack kept grumbling as we continued on. He complains so much... Maybe I should have let him die... No, no, I can't think that!
The door led to another hallway. At the very end were... more bars... They didn't block anything off, though. It simply just looked like a prison cell. So, we were forced to go into the only other room, which literally had "DANGER" written on it in big bold letters. I was the first to step inside. It led to... a restroom?
It looked like any normal storage room besides the fact that there was a corpse in the middle of the floor. It was of a man, his body so bloodied and bruised that he was unrecognizable. Rachel and Zack walked in behind me, making the door shut and lock automatically.
"Looks like we need a key card to get out of here," Rachel stated, gesturing to the card reader that was beside the door.
"Even so, it smells kinda mad in here..." Zack mumbled.
Once again, another TV came down. Or, in this case, TVs, as there were multiple small ones. They broadcasted Cathy again.
"Hello there, and good day!" She greeted, a sadistic grin plastered on her face, "This video is intended to be viewed by criminals! I'm about to explain how this room works, so listen carefully if you don't want to die! The executions carried out in this room are a bit harsh. The chamber in which you currently find yourself in will be sealed. Air can either come in nor go out, and soon, it will fill with something wonderful! Something able to provide criminals with a humane and painless death! It's my specially made poison gas!"
⋆｡‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.
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