Chapter Five (Part One): Robbery
Please read this blog from the older entries to the most recent, or from the older archives to the most recent.
Running down a long corridor, towards a mahogany door that stood ajar. A man with a mask. A murderer? There were innocents, too. There were people he had to protect. Lots of people. Something about a bank robbery. All of them were captured. He was captured with them. Now they were running down a long hall. The boy was in severe pain all throughout his body. It seems someone had done something horrible to him. He felt as if he'd been tortured for days, and the pain was unbearable. The other people followed in his half-jog toward the door. They all stared at the back of his head, each one thinking the same exact thing. The boy got closer and closer to the door. He began to sweat even more. Something in his heart told him death was behind that door, but still he pressed on. He would not give up, no matter what.
The boy awoke from his nightmare covered in sweat. His pillow was soaked, and he had to get a towel to wipe his head clean of all the sweat. He tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but all he could remember was a man with a mask, several people, and a door at the end of a hallway. He also remembered that there was death behind that door. He didn't know how he knew, but something in his dream told him that. He tried desperately to hold the details in his head, but like all dreams they fell through is memory like sand sifts its way through one's fingers. It was six thirty in the morning, but the boy didn't get the chance to fall back asleep, because he saw another newsletter on his kitchen table. The boy was still in an eerie mood as he read it.
"Bank Robbery Causes Five Missing"
"Early yesterday morning at 7:01AM, an unidentified male assailant stormed in to the Union Bank on the corner of Yamada and Kaisuke St., just minutes after it opened for the morning. Police are puzzled by the nature of the act of this man, for he did not attempt to rob the bank of any money. Instead the man took four hostages - all bound and taped - and forced them in to the back of his armored vehicle. Witness reports from tellers and other customers were unable to identify the man because he was wearing some sort of mask. One teller explains, "The mask had some really weird patterns on it. I can't really describe it, it's like nothing I've ever seen before." Police are still searching for the armored vehicle and any possible clues which may lead to the arrest of the individual."
The boy had no time to think about how to handle this dangerous situation. This was definitely not like anything he ever had to do before. He couldn't call the police, they wouldn't be there in time. All he could manage to think of doing was get to the bank as fast as he could, and assess the situation. He was speeding down Kaisuke St., and arrived at the bank when his car's clock clicked 6:59AM. People were already waiting outside. The boy thought it was strange, but he remembered the bank closed at noon today, and tomorrow was a national holiday, so naturally people would be wanting to take care of their financial business early today. Just as he got out of the car, he rushed in where people were already in lines in front of the bank teller counters. "Did he chicken out?", the boy thought to himself. "Is he already here, is he one of these men?", he pondered even further. Before he could ask himself any more questions, he saw a man in a black suit, black gloves, and black briefcase enter the building. The boy only had time to blink before noticing the man was also wearing some sort of mask.
The boy was frozen with fear. He had no cards to play. There was no sneaking up behind this man like he had with Chad. He also couldn't just let this man beat him up, because he knew he would be killed in a matter of seconds. Something about this man suggested to the boy that he didn't fool around, and he knew he also couldn't reason with him. The man calmly took a handgun out of his briefcase, pointed it at the ceiling, and fired. Everyone in the bank gasped, and turned to face the source of the loud bang. Before anyone had time to drop their jaw, he was already speaking. "I please ask that all bank tellers raise their hands in to the air, and any that refuse to do so will be promptly killed. I ask that everyone else lie on the ground with their hands behind their backs. Anyone who fails to comply will be promptly killed. I also please ask that anyone currently concocting any heroic schemes to please refrain from doing so. All you will accomplish is getting everyone here killed." From the sound of his voice the boy guessed he was atleast fifty or sixty years old. Within two seconds the bank tellers stood with their hands high in the air, and everyone was on the ground with their hands behind their backs where the man in black could see them. The boy was on the ground like everyone else, but he looked up to try and get a look at his mask. Over the eye-holes were two ankhs (Egyptian crosses), and the mouth portion curved all the way around and up to the forehead to make a circle in which a pentagram was situated.
The man began walking around and examining each frightened customer. Everyone thought that he would go straight to a bank teller and start demanding money, but he did nothing of the sort. "If I tap you on the shoulder with my foot, I want you to stand up, but keep your eyes closed and your hands behind your back. If you open them, you will be promptly killed." He walked past the boy, who was on the ground quite a ways away from everyone else. He bent down to get a good look at the people who had been in line only seconds before. "You", he said, and he tapped a girl of eighteen. "And you", he said, as he tapped a portly black man. "Hmmm, decisions, decisions. Who will be the most worthy for me? How about...you", he said, and he tapped a pregnant woman. "I think two more lucky contestants will suffice", he said with a sinister smile. "You!", he said, as he tapped a young and muscular Italian man. The man continued to walk around for another minute. "Well, before anything unfortunate has the opportunity to happen to me, I suppose I should just get along with it, and pick...", he walked swiftly over to the boy. "You." The boy got up, put his hands behind his back, and kept his eyes closed. Soon he felt his hands being bound together from behind with some sort of rope or taping. Likewise tape was secured firmly over his mouth. "All of you follow me, and if you make any attempt to run I will shoot you in the back, and make sure not to kill you before dragging you back against your will."
The young girl, woman, two men, and the boy all followed the man out of the building. The bank tellers were in complete shock. The man with the mask wasn't here for money, he was here for people. Everyone else remained on the ground, and watched as the man left with the five hostages. "I couldn't do anything", the boy kept telling himself. "There was nothing I could do. Anything would've risked the lives of innocent people." He kept repeating it to himself to validate the situation he was currently in. He was now in possible mortal danger with four other, no, three other strangers. The man guided them to his armored van sitting not but five feet from the entrance to the bank. He opened the back and watched them all get in before securing it shut and making sure it was locked. For the first time, everyone began to take in the company they were with. No one had the chance to speak, since their mouths were still taped shut. The young girl looked at the boy with wide eyes. She stared at him as if he were floating, but the others did not seem to notice. Each person was giving the other a confused look, as if to say "Why are we here? What is this guy going to do with us?" The truth was that none of them knew.
The man pulled back the divider dividing his seat with their space in the back. "My name is Carl", he said. "Don't worry, none of you are gonna die", and he slid the divider back shut. After a few seconds, he slid the divider once more and looked back at them. "Yet", he added. The pregnant woman was crying, and the fat black man looked panicked. The Italian man looked furious, and the young girl looked half-frightened and half-bemused. The boy looked like he was praying, but as the others would later figure out, that is probably because he actually was. From their vantage point the divider was a mirror, and the back window was completely blacked out from the inside. No one could tell where they were going, or what kind of landscape they had been traveling on. None of them knew how long they had been driving, but after quite some time Carl slid back the divider again. The others could tell from a glimpse at the windshield that it was now approaching dusk. "I'm going to open the back door now, and I want you all to like belly-first on the ground. If you make an attempt to run, I will shoot you. If you try and attack me with your legs, I will shoot you. Please notice I said shoot you, not kill you. Killing you will be the fun part."
Everyone did as they were told, for they were all too fearful for their lives. The man put a blindfold on each of them, and tied them together using rope. He then led them in to the house they were next to. They went down some steps, then up some steps. Finally through a serious of hallways, and through several sets of doors. The pregnant woman and girl were crying the entire time. He cut the boy loose, for he was at the end of the rope. He faced him with his back away from the door, and cut his hands free with something sharp before shoving him in to the room with the others and locking the door behind him. The boy took off his blindfold and the tape covering his mouth. The room they were in was nothing short of a cell. The only window was a ankh-shaped window high on the wall, which cast an ankh-shaped shadow on the ground. The boy freed the pregnant woman first, followed by the girl and then the two men. The girl stared at the boy again with eyes that appeared panicked and scared. Once they were all free, but before they could introduce themselves, a television came up from a panel in the floor. On it was Carl, who was sitting in a high-back black leather chair, with his black mask and a black robe donned.
"Before you all have a chance to get acquainted, I wanted to properly introduced myself. As I stated before in the van, my name is Carl. You all may be wondering why you're here, but I think that you'll find out soon enough after you start playing. There of course is a very good reason that I've brought you all here, and if you all work together then of course nothing too bad should happen to any of you. It will take equal suffering of all of you to endure these tasks, which is the one and only tip that I'll give you for the duration of the game. The human body can go quite a while without food, but unless you all manage to get your acts together relatively quickly, you should die in about five days to a week due to the lack of water. I hope I've assembled an all-star cast for my viewing pleasure, as I look forward to seeing to how you all react to one another. As I said before, you will all figure out why you are here soon enough, but I do fear I've been rambling on for quite a bit of time now. Well, I do extend my best wishes to you all in the upcoming week! It would be unfortunate to find you all dead and de-hydrated." As the television was descending in to its floor panel, he added with a note of finality, "And now without any further adieu, let the games begin."
Running down a long corridor, towards a mahogany door that stood ajar. A man with a mask. A murderer? There were innocents, too. There were people he had to protect. Lots of people. Something about a bank robbery. All of them were captured. He was captured with them. Now they were running down a long hall. The boy was in severe pain all throughout his body. It seems someone had done something horrible to him. He felt as if he'd been tortured for days, and the pain was unbearable. The other people followed in his half-jog toward the door. They all stared at the back of his head, each one thinking the same exact thing. The boy got closer and closer to the door. He began to sweat even more. Something in his heart told him death was behind that door, but still he pressed on. He would not give up, no matter what.
The boy awoke from his nightmare covered in sweat. His pillow was soaked, and he had to get a towel to wipe his head clean of all the sweat. He tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but all he could remember was a man with a mask, several people, and a door at the end of a hallway. He also remembered that there was death behind that door. He didn't know how he knew, but something in his dream told him that. He tried desperately to hold the details in his head, but like all dreams they fell through is memory like sand sifts its way through one's fingers. It was six thirty in the morning, but the boy didn't get the chance to fall back asleep, because he saw another newsletter on his kitchen table. The boy was still in an eerie mood as he read it.
"Bank Robbery Causes Five Missing"
"Early yesterday morning at 7:01AM, an unidentified male assailant stormed in to the Union Bank on the corner of Yamada and Kaisuke St., just minutes after it opened for the morning. Police are puzzled by the nature of the act of this man, for he did not attempt to rob the bank of any money. Instead the man took four hostages - all bound and taped - and forced them in to the back of his armored vehicle. Witness reports from tellers and other customers were unable to identify the man because he was wearing some sort of mask. One teller explains, "The mask had some really weird patterns on it. I can't really describe it, it's like nothing I've ever seen before." Police are still searching for the armored vehicle and any possible clues which may lead to the arrest of the individual."
The boy had no time to think about how to handle this dangerous situation. This was definitely not like anything he ever had to do before. He couldn't call the police, they wouldn't be there in time. All he could manage to think of doing was get to the bank as fast as he could, and assess the situation. He was speeding down Kaisuke St., and arrived at the bank when his car's clock clicked 6:59AM. People were already waiting outside. The boy thought it was strange, but he remembered the bank closed at noon today, and tomorrow was a national holiday, so naturally people would be wanting to take care of their financial business early today. Just as he got out of the car, he rushed in where people were already in lines in front of the bank teller counters. "Did he chicken out?", the boy thought to himself. "Is he already here, is he one of these men?", he pondered even further. Before he could ask himself any more questions, he saw a man in a black suit, black gloves, and black briefcase enter the building. The boy only had time to blink before noticing the man was also wearing some sort of mask.
The boy was frozen with fear. He had no cards to play. There was no sneaking up behind this man like he had with Chad. He also couldn't just let this man beat him up, because he knew he would be killed in a matter of seconds. Something about this man suggested to the boy that he didn't fool around, and he knew he also couldn't reason with him. The man calmly took a handgun out of his briefcase, pointed it at the ceiling, and fired. Everyone in the bank gasped, and turned to face the source of the loud bang. Before anyone had time to drop their jaw, he was already speaking. "I please ask that all bank tellers raise their hands in to the air, and any that refuse to do so will be promptly killed. I ask that everyone else lie on the ground with their hands behind their backs. Anyone who fails to comply will be promptly killed. I also please ask that anyone currently concocting any heroic schemes to please refrain from doing so. All you will accomplish is getting everyone here killed." From the sound of his voice the boy guessed he was atleast fifty or sixty years old. Within two seconds the bank tellers stood with their hands high in the air, and everyone was on the ground with their hands behind their backs where the man in black could see them. The boy was on the ground like everyone else, but he looked up to try and get a look at his mask. Over the eye-holes were two ankhs (Egyptian crosses), and the mouth portion curved all the way around and up to the forehead to make a circle in which a pentagram was situated.
The man began walking around and examining each frightened customer. Everyone thought that he would go straight to a bank teller and start demanding money, but he did nothing of the sort. "If I tap you on the shoulder with my foot, I want you to stand up, but keep your eyes closed and your hands behind your back. If you open them, you will be promptly killed." He walked past the boy, who was on the ground quite a ways away from everyone else. He bent down to get a good look at the people who had been in line only seconds before. "You", he said, and he tapped a girl of eighteen. "And you", he said, as he tapped a portly black man. "Hmmm, decisions, decisions. Who will be the most worthy for me? How about...you", he said, and he tapped a pregnant woman. "I think two more lucky contestants will suffice", he said with a sinister smile. "You!", he said, as he tapped a young and muscular Italian man. The man continued to walk around for another minute. "Well, before anything unfortunate has the opportunity to happen to me, I suppose I should just get along with it, and pick...", he walked swiftly over to the boy. "You." The boy got up, put his hands behind his back, and kept his eyes closed. Soon he felt his hands being bound together from behind with some sort of rope or taping. Likewise tape was secured firmly over his mouth. "All of you follow me, and if you make any attempt to run I will shoot you in the back, and make sure not to kill you before dragging you back against your will."
The young girl, woman, two men, and the boy all followed the man out of the building. The bank tellers were in complete shock. The man with the mask wasn't here for money, he was here for people. Everyone else remained on the ground, and watched as the man left with the five hostages. "I couldn't do anything", the boy kept telling himself. "There was nothing I could do. Anything would've risked the lives of innocent people." He kept repeating it to himself to validate the situation he was currently in. He was now in possible mortal danger with four other, no, three other strangers. The man guided them to his armored van sitting not but five feet from the entrance to the bank. He opened the back and watched them all get in before securing it shut and making sure it was locked. For the first time, everyone began to take in the company they were with. No one had the chance to speak, since their mouths were still taped shut. The young girl looked at the boy with wide eyes. She stared at him as if he were floating, but the others did not seem to notice. Each person was giving the other a confused look, as if to say "Why are we here? What is this guy going to do with us?" The truth was that none of them knew.
The man pulled back the divider dividing his seat with their space in the back. "My name is Carl", he said. "Don't worry, none of you are gonna die", and he slid the divider back shut. After a few seconds, he slid the divider once more and looked back at them. "Yet", he added. The pregnant woman was crying, and the fat black man looked panicked. The Italian man looked furious, and the young girl looked half-frightened and half-bemused. The boy looked like he was praying, but as the others would later figure out, that is probably because he actually was. From their vantage point the divider was a mirror, and the back window was completely blacked out from the inside. No one could tell where they were going, or what kind of landscape they had been traveling on. None of them knew how long they had been driving, but after quite some time Carl slid back the divider again. The others could tell from a glimpse at the windshield that it was now approaching dusk. "I'm going to open the back door now, and I want you all to like belly-first on the ground. If you make an attempt to run, I will shoot you. If you try and attack me with your legs, I will shoot you. Please notice I said shoot you, not kill you. Killing you will be the fun part."
Everyone did as they were told, for they were all too fearful for their lives. The man put a blindfold on each of them, and tied them together using rope. He then led them in to the house they were next to. They went down some steps, then up some steps. Finally through a serious of hallways, and through several sets of doors. The pregnant woman and girl were crying the entire time. He cut the boy loose, for he was at the end of the rope. He faced him with his back away from the door, and cut his hands free with something sharp before shoving him in to the room with the others and locking the door behind him. The boy took off his blindfold and the tape covering his mouth. The room they were in was nothing short of a cell. The only window was a ankh-shaped window high on the wall, which cast an ankh-shaped shadow on the ground. The boy freed the pregnant woman first, followed by the girl and then the two men. The girl stared at the boy again with eyes that appeared panicked and scared. Once they were all free, but before they could introduce themselves, a television came up from a panel in the floor. On it was Carl, who was sitting in a high-back black leather chair, with his black mask and a black robe donned.
"Before you all have a chance to get acquainted, I wanted to properly introduced myself. As I stated before in the van, my name is Carl. You all may be wondering why you're here, but I think that you'll find out soon enough after you start playing. There of course is a very good reason that I've brought you all here, and if you all work together then of course nothing too bad should happen to any of you. It will take equal suffering of all of you to endure these tasks, which is the one and only tip that I'll give you for the duration of the game. The human body can go quite a while without food, but unless you all manage to get your acts together relatively quickly, you should die in about five days to a week due to the lack of water. I hope I've assembled an all-star cast for my viewing pleasure, as I look forward to seeing to how you all react to one another. As I said before, you will all figure out why you are here soon enough, but I do fear I've been rambling on for quite a bit of time now. Well, I do extend my best wishes to you all in the upcoming week! It would be unfortunate to find you all dead and de-hydrated." As the television was descending in to its floor panel, he added with a note of finality, "And now without any further adieu, let the games begin."
posted by Stephen @ 1:12 PM
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