Light flooded the interior of the small room, bouncing into the eyes of the two people strapped down to the table. They both woke up with a start, breathing heavily.

“Aleks?”

“Nina?” They both called out at the same time.

They both calmed down slightly at each other’s voice, but that didn’t last long, as their eyes adjusted to the sudden outburst of light, and they could finally see where they were. A saw blade whirled above their heads, moving at a blazing fast speed.

Straps were wrapped tightly around their arms, legs, and necks, making it nearly impossible to move at all.

“Where are we?” Asked Nina shakily. Everything felt cold and terrifying to her, completely jarring with her memory of falling asleep in their soft, warm bed. The only consolation she got was that Aleksander was still by her side.

“I-I don’t know. I can’t remember anything. Can you?” Aleksander said

“I remember putting little Ivan to bed and... Where is he? Is he safe?” She asked, her voice now trembling with fear and worry. She looked around to try and find her child, but all she could see were the walls that tightly surrounded her.

“Someone must’ve broke in...” Aleksander whispered to himself worriedly. “It’s okay Nina. It’ll be okay.” He said, trying to console her.

“How do you know that? They’ve already taken us, who knows where they’ve taken him?” She asked, almost to the point of hysterics. She completely ignored her current situation, entirely worried about what has happened to her child.

“Your child is safe.” A voice called out, causing Nina to choke back her tears. “He is still sleeping safely in his crib. No one has touched him.”

They both breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that their child wasn’t harmed.

“What do you want from us?” Asked Aleksander.

“I want to test you. I have seen the foul ways in which you treat others, and yet you seem to truly love each other. I want to see whether this is true, or if it’s merely a facade. This is a game of sacrifice. Do you see that saw blade rotating above your heads right now? It won’t be long before that comes down and ends your miserable existence.” Said Buddie.

Their faces paled, as sweat made their clothes cling to their skin. The temperature in the room plummeted, as they stared death in the face.

“But you do have a choice to make. Each of you has a lever beside you that can control the saw blade above. You have a few minutes to come to a decision. Who will die? And who will go home to take care of baby Ivan? However, you have to agree on this decision, or both of you may die. Remember, this is a test of love and sacrifice. Good luck.”

Stolen story; please report.

The moment the voice came to a stop, the saw began to spin with a newfound intensity.

THUNK.

The ceiling began to lower, as the saw etched closer and closer to them.

“What are we going to do?” Nina asked shakily, her voice barely above a whisper.

I-I don’t know... Were we really such horrible people?” He asked.

“I don’t think we did anything wrong. At least, nothing deserving of this.” She said, breathing heavily.

Moments passed in tense silence as the blade drew closer and closer to them.

“It should be me.” Aleksander whispered.

“What?”

“You’d do a better job at raising Ivan than I would.” Aleksander said, grabbling tightly onto the lever.

THUNK.

He pushed the lever to point down towards his feet, causing the saw to shift slightly in his direction, but not enough that it wouldn’t still kill them both.

“What are you doing?” She cried.

Aleksander tried to turn his head to face her, but the strap around his neck made it impossible to do so. “Listen to me, we don’t have that long left. I need you to send the saw over to my side.”

The saw got closer and closer, having now halved the distance between them and where it had started.

“I-I can’t.” Her voice trembled. “I don’t want to lose you.” She stubbornly refused to move, watching the blade get closer to their heads.

“Don’t be an idiot, Nina. If we both die here, who will take care of Ivan?” He calmed his breathing, lowering his voice to try and convince her. “Please, Nina. You have to do this. Ivan needs his mother.”

“He needs his father too! I need you...” Her voice trailed off.

“I know, I know. But we don’t have a choice. We are running out of time, Nina. You have to do it, for Ivan’s sake.” He whispered

“Okay...” She whispered to herself. Her voice so frail that Aleksander couldn’t hear her.

THUNK.

The saw shifted over one last time, now fully sitting above Aleksander. He looked up at it and breathed a sigh of relief. “I love you, Nina. Teach Ivan to be a better man than I was. And be better yourself. Only one of us should have to suffer this fate.”

“I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked as she wept. She closed her eyes, not willing to watch the horror that was about to unfold.

The sharp teeth of the saw hooked into Aleksander’s chest, tearing through his flesh. Blood gushed from his chest as the saw shattered his ribcage.

At the same time, Nina’s side of the desk lowered, as she was spared from the bloody sight.

The saw powered down as it wedged itself into the desk, having cut clean through his chest.

Nina opened her eyes after hearing the saw come to a stop. She found herself in complete darkness. “Aleks? Aleks!” She called out.

The room remained silent, The reality of the situation weighed heavily on her soul, as she wept.

“You have made a choice, and now Ivan will not be left without a parent. Aleksander bravely sacrificed himself so that you could live. It seems that his love for you was true, and for that, he has somewhat redeemed himself. His soul shall wander in Limbo, then maybe he will get a second chance to do things right. Unfortunately for him, it seems that that love didn’t go both ways.

You didn’t even consider the option of sacrificing yourself. In the end, he was guaranteed to die. Know that for now you may live, but your soul will forever be damned with the knowledge that if only you had also tried to sacrifice yourself, then you would’ve both been spared. Goodbye.”