[Original Fiction] Bad Trip Part 12: Setting the Trap

Bad Trip Part 12: Setting the Trap

Taylor felt himself falling into the pitch darkness below, until he landed with a thud. Grateful that he didn't break anything in the fall he looked around, trying to see if there were any gaps in the darkness. There was nothing that he could see. No sense of the beasts that had been chasing him. He stood still, trying to get a sense of any company, but there was nothing. Just silence, and darkness.

After a few long fear inducing seconds a bright light turned on, startling Taylor. He turned quickly to ascertain the nature of the space he was in. And it was not at all like he expected. He could see what looked like a small interview room. A desk and a chair sat sternly in the middle. To his right there was door, and in front of him, on the wall opposite a mirrored window. They reminded him of the police rooms he had seen on television shows. Am I to be interrogated, he wondered?

"Take a seat," the voice ordered him. The voice that had spoken with him in the maze was back. Same booming sound as before. Taylor did as instructed, and sat, facing the window.

Looking around, he noticed nothing untoward. He had no idea what had happened to the maze space from earlier, or at least the hole in the ceiling that he must have fallen through. Or the beasts. Like room minus one, he thought. Things changed instantly.

Taylor continued to remain seated, patiently awaiting further instructions. Minutes ticked by. Nothing, no voice, no people. The minutes ticked away – possibly an hour had passed, he couldn't be sure. He found himself staring blankly at the window. Who is on the other side of it? Who is watching me? The fear increased within him with every ticking second. This has to be a part of the Game, he told himself. Not necessarily this room, but this induction of fear. He took a big deep breath and tried valiantly to steady his nerves.

As he considered the purpose of the room, and it's role in the Game, the duplicate Taylor entered. Taylor - the original - stared at him, without expression.

"So this is not part of the Game?" Taylor asked him.

"No, the maze above was part of the Game. This here is my territory. I call the shots here."

"And what have you brought me here for? Was that you who caused the floor to cave in above?" Taylor asked the second Taylor.

"It was me, indeed. I have brought you here as I have a need for you. So too does the Gamemaster. Seems you are rather a popular fellow at the moment. But I'm willing to offer you something that he isn't."

"And what would that be?" Taylor enquired.

"A way out of here."

"You can get me out of here, out of this Game entirely?" Taylor enquired, hopeful of some good news for the first time since his previous abortive rescue attempt.

"I can, yes. I do possess that power."

"So why exactly am I still here?" Taylor asked, exasperated. "Why am I even here at all?"

"You are still here because I have a need for you. You should be grateful, as that need of mine makes you of some value to me, although don't get too far ahead of yourself. You see, if Jim is unable to rescue you, then the Game will terminate you, eventually. That's where I come in. I won't let them terminate you."

Taylor felt somewhat reassured by his duplicate's words. But not completely, as he couldn't determine the level of their accuracy. Will he really spare me, he wondered? Or only so long as I am of use to him? Seems I don't have a lot of choice right now. Taylor remembered the Gamemaster's words – "layers within layers." The Game is living up to the hype it would seem. But who is really in control here?

"So what exactly do you need from me?"

"I need you to bring Jim to me," the second Taylor replied. "Jim is my target. You are the Game's target. Right now I have you. And it seems the Game is working to prevent Jim's entrance into this world. And that contraption you had would have brought him to me."

"What contraption?"

"The one you lost in the maze, whilst those beasts were chasing you. You didn't notice, did you?" Taylor thought through the past events as best he could remember them. He remembered the wires, the box, and the button to send a signal. He felt his head – nothing. It's gone, he thought. But I don't remember a thing.

"But the Master of Ceremonies wanted me to use it? Why would they make me lose it?" Taylor asked, starting to remember the details, and becoming more confused as he did.

"I don't think they really know what they are doing. They are trying to get to me by making an alliance with Jim? But Jim is trying to rescue you. And it's you they want. You are the reason all of this is happening right now. You are their initial target." The second Taylor tried to explain, but the circular reasoning of it all failed to penetrate Taylor's understanding. He wondered as to whether confusion was a part of the Game. Designed to make him break, just trying to understand who was playing who?

"So what happens now?" Taylor asked.

"We lure Jim."

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This fiction is my own work, written for Steemit
Image Credit: Unsplash.com

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Bad Trip	My Sister's Keeper
Chapter One	Chapter One & Two
Chapter Two	Chapter Three & Four
Chapter Three	Chapter Five & Six
Chapter Four	Chapter Seven
Chapter Five	Chapter Eight
Chapter Six	Chapter Nine
Chapter Seven	Chapter Ten
Chapter Eight	Chapter Eleven
Chapter Nine	Chapter Twelve
Chapter Ten	Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Eleven	Chapter Fourteen
	Chapter Fifteen
Short Fiction	Chapter Sixteen & Seventeen
Bang Bang You're Dead	Chapter Eighteen
Where Did the Time Go?	Chapter Nineteen
Run From the Screams	Chapter Twenty
Saved By the Rain	Chapter Twenty One & Twenty Two
I Think I've Remembered This Before	Chapter Twenty Three & Twenty Four
A Mother's Love	Chapter Twenty Five
	Chapter Twenty Six
	Chapter Twenty Seven & Twenty Eight
	Chapter Twenty Nine & Thirty
	Chapter Twenty Thirty One
	Chapter Twenty Thirty Two