Dabbler was shaky and felt very weak as she stepped through the blast door. She knew she'd been a hair's breadth away from total destruction. Her heart was still pounding. And even worse, she was really, really low on mana.
Beyond the blast door she found another set of corridors, but these were not old and crumbling. They were bright and new and had many doors and openings which led off to various rooms. It was all a little too utilitarian for Dabbler's taste, but it was a pleasant reprieve from the decayed corridors of the hatch.
"What are you waiting for Dabbler?" Sawyer's voice chided her from hidden speakers. "Come and find me, I'm waiting."
Rage welled up within Dabbler. She'd thought Sawyer would stop playing his stupid games once she'd gotten this far. But it was obvious that he had at least one more up his sleeve - Hide and Seek. "Oh don't worry Sawyer," Dabbler grumbled, "I'm going to find you, and when I do you're going to pay." Smug laughter chortled in reply from the speakers.
Wasting no time, Dabbler searched the nearest rooms. Finding no one she hurried down this hallway and then that, checking out each room she came upon, looking into closets and behind draperies, pulling aside shower curtains and peeking underneath beds. Sawyer wasn't much different from a little chi1d, and Dabbler knew that he would play this game just like one. "Oh Dabbler," Sawyer suddenly broke the silence, "do you need a little help? But of course you do, because you're nowhere near smart enough to riddle out my hiding place. But, since I'm running low on slurpees, I'll speed things up. Right now you are very, very cold."
Dabbler grumbled some more. Sawyer's arrogance was wearing thin on her. And she hated running around like a mouse in a maze, knowing that Sawyer was watching her and laughing. She could just imagine the look on his face, the glee he felt at being the one in control, the sick joy he reveled in as she jumped through every hoop he threw up for her. "Warmer!" Sawyer piped up as Dabbler rounded a corner. "Colder," he informed her with mocking sadness as she searched a library room. "Warm again!" he exclaimed excitedly when Dabbler found the kitchen. "Ooooh, you're very, very warm now," he almost cooed as Dabbler headed down a side-stair. And then Dabbler came to an orante red door. "Hot, hot, HOT!" Sawyer bellowed with chi1d-like glee.
Dabbler was sick of all this, so she just pushed right through the door.
The explosion nearly killed her. Only by throwing up a wall of mana at the last instant, mostly by reflex, did she save her life. She was blown backward and right through the wall behind her. She landed on her back and couldn't get up. Her face was singed. Her hair was sizzling. Her arms and legs felt like putty. "You fucking liar," Dabbler moaned, "you broke your own rules." Sawyer giggled. "What? Me, a liar? Oh no, you have me all wrong, and I didn't break the rules. It wasn't my fault you thought it was the door in front of you and not the secret panel behind you. Hahahaha."
"But don't be too mad," Sawyer continued. "In fact, you should be happy. My games are now at an end. Hide and Seek is over. Turn around Dabbler. You've found me."
Dabbler managed to get to her knees and turn around. Her jaw dropped at what she saw. It was the last thing she expected to see. It was JigSaw. Strapped down on a chair at the back end of the room. And he wasn't dead.
"But-- but-- how?" Dabbler mumbled. "JigSaw must be dead, that's the only way Sawyer could be alive again. Unless--"
Dabbler felt a tapping on her shoulder. Turning her head she was met by a vicious fist slamming into her jaw. She went down like a ton of bricks. And the person standing over her unconcious body began to titter and laugh. "Yes Dabbler, if Sawyer is alive then JigSaw must be dead. But since JigSaw isn't dead, then it can't have been Sawyer who's been toying with you all this time, manipulating you, pulling your little strings. No Dabbler, it wasn't Sawyer at all..."
Go back - Go to the parent episode.
Tue Jun 06 23:25:16 2006