Coming out of Ed’s apartment, the two make their way back to their desk, with Zara laughing all the way. “God, did you see her face? She was looking around all lost, then POW, dodgeball right to the face. All the blood and snot just pouring out, whoever threw that ball did a great job.” Having had lunch in Ed’s apartment, the two had just enough time to watch the highlights of Josephine’s day before Buddie called them back to the desk.

While Zara thoroughly enjoyed herself, Ed was less than excited about what he just watched. If she’s already being sent to the nurse’s office on her second day, I can’t possibly imagine what they’ll do to her later. Ed shivers at the idea of what tortures Josephine will have to endure. There’s no way it was this bad for Barbara when it first started. Is it because of how she reacted in the principal’s office? That might be it.

Sitting down at the desk, Ed’s screen flickers to life, showing the scene of a quaint suburban street. As children are leaving their homes, and heading off to school, a delivery truck is making its way down the street. As it turns onto the main road, the camera cuts to inside the vehicle.

Despite the lack of light, Ed and Zara can see clearly as Brigid is thrown into the wall by the vehicle’s momentum. Not long after she wakes, the darkness is filled with her crazed laughter.

This isn’t going to end well. Listening to the laughter, Ed can already tell that Brigid isn’t in the right state of mind to escape.

Zara tilts her head to the side while watching. “I wonder what she’s thinking about?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s probably for the best that we don’t know.”

“... That child was innocent and had nothing to do with your problems with her father. Which in and of itself was something completely fabricated in your mind. Mr Wallace was not targeting your family. You grew desperate, and in your desperation, you did something despicable. And now you are being punished for that. Your captor has trapped you here in the back of a truck, and your only chance to stay alive is by escaping. However, be careful. Your captor is as delusional as you are. Good luck Brigid.”

As they Listen to her fiery response, the two get the impression that she doesn’t quite understand the severity of the situation. However, she does quiet down soon after, and even manages to cut herself free from her bindings.

“At least she’s smart enough to not just sit there and wait for death.” Ed says, keeping his attention on her as she walks around the truck, eventually being thrown into the wall again as the truck takes another sharp turn. She manages to open the back door, but hesitates about jumping out, deciding instead to wait it out.

She just lost her best chance to escape.

As the truck comes to a stop inside the warehouse, the camera pans out, allowing them to watch as Brigid’s double steps out from the driver’s seat. At the same time, Brigid tries to make her escape.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The scene plays out much like Ed expected it to, with Brigid falling into the arms of her captor, waiting helplessly for Mr Wallace to save her. How ironic.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Not having to wait too long, a second camera appears, showing the outside of the warehouse as a car pulls into the parking lot. Quietly, armed guards spread out, searching for different entrances so that they can get a jump on the criminal. Grabbing the duffle bag, Mr Wallace readies himself as he steps towards the door.

Brigid stood no chance. Ed thinks as he looks at the heavily armed guards, wondering just what Mr Wallace did for a living to have access to this amount of firepower.

As he steps inside, both Brigids stared at him as if they wanted to eat him alive. He shows concern as he looks at his ‘daughter’, making sure she wasn’t hurt. The guards quietly get into position, ready to fire on his signal. He tosses the bag over, while signaling for his daughter to run.

Unfortunately, things don’t go to plan for him, as both Brigids are distracted by the money, but one is able to pull themselves together much faster than the other.

“Good. Looks like it’s all there.”

BANG.

“It looks like you were unable to escape in time, missing multiple chance to keep your life. Your fear blinded you from jumping out of the truck, making you lose your first chance. Your hatred of Mr Wallace clouded your judgement, making you unable to seize the opportunity to hurt your captor. That was your second chance. Finally, your greed made you lose your last chance. You were blinded by the wealth before you, but so was she. Enjoy Hell Brigid. Goodbye.”

The last thing they see before the footage switches off is the expanding pool of blood beneath Brigid’s fallen body.

“That went about as well as I expected it would.” Ed says before turning to Zara. “I forgot to ask, but what was your guy like, what kind of sin did he commit?”

“Oh, you know. He killed a few people. He was a contract killer. He even sometimes did work for the mafia.” Zara answers nonchalantly.

Shit. Sounds like a pretty bad guy.

Their attention is drawn to Zara’s screen as it shows the room a moment before the light flickers on. Almost instantly, the man jumps off the ground, on full alert as he looks for something to protect himself with.

“Good morning, Tom. As you have already discovered, you have been trapped in a room, and all of your equipment has been taken away from you. Your only chance to escape from this room is by getting the key...” As Buddie starts to speak, the lid for the container opens up, and a box drops into it, causing liquid to splash out over the sides. “...which happens to be in that box. The vat contains a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide and water...”

Sodium hydroxide? Just what kind of trap did Zara make?

Ed watches with a disturbed look on his face as the man dives straight into the liquid without any hesitation. The camera joining him to provide them with a clear view of what is happening. Ed winces at the sight of the man’s skin being slowly eaten away at, burning up and quickly turning red.

“I always wondered what would happen to someone in this situation. Guess now I know.” Zara mumbles quietly, fascinated by what is happening on screen.

The man does his best to try and protect himself from suffering any internal damage, but as he struggles to find the box, he eventually resorts to opening his eyes. He pushes through the pain as he reaches the box, grabbing it tightly before swimming back up.

He might actually make it. Ed watches in disbelief as the man climbs out of the vat, slamming into the ground below. However, his eyes are too damaged, and he has difficulties trying to find the box.

Although he finds it in the end, he doesn’t manage to make it to the door before succumbing to his injuries.

Damn. He was so close.

“Unfortunately, it looks like you were unable to escape. Although you managed to successfully retrieve the key from the vat of sodium hydroxide, you have succumbed to the injuries you sustained in doing so. Do you regret what you did with your life? Enjoy Hell, Tom. Goodbye.”

The footage switches off, leaving Ed and Zara alone in their thoughts. Another day down. I think it’s safe to visit Urdhuri again, but first I want to check up on my actors.

“Now that you have both completed your projects, you are free to spend the rest of your day doing whatever you want. You have each been paid ten credits for your traps.” Buddie says.

“I’ve got to check out the body. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye!” Zara says, giving Ed a quick hug before running off through the door.

Well, guess I can go ahead with my plans without any worries.