Dr. Wicker's Broken Psyche

Level 4: Clockwork Gears

The silver key gleamed under the light above us. bouncing around ever so slightly as the gears around it turned and ground against each other. It was not touching anything but the string keeping it up in the air, but I swore I heard it jingle as if there were a set of them right in front of me.

I ground my teeth as I looked at the small space in between three rotating gears. There was only enough room to stick my arm through and that was it. Not only that but it was so far back that I would have to stick my entire arm through. Push completely through to my shoulder.

A strike of fear stiffened my spine as I realized I would have to feel through it while blind. Once I got up to my shoulder id have to be in a position where I could not see through the holes. I would have to rely completely on chance and luck for this. It was all in all a total and terrible risk to be making. But I had to make it.

If I didn't Jeff would die. Not only would I then be alone for the rest of this, but I would have left a man who had repeatedly saved my life to die. I would never be able to live with myself after that.

I lifted my hand and moved it closer to the hole. As soon as I did, the churning of the gears seemed to grow in volume by ten-fold. It was suddenly all I could hear, It practically reverberated all throughout my body and vibrated my bones.

Sweat ran down my face as I watched the teeth of the gears roll and connect with each other in a never-ending cycle. Flashes came to my mind once more. Of my arm getting caught and ripped from my body.

My skin, muscles, and bones twisting and cracking as they disappeared in a spray of blood that bathed everything, including myself in scarlet liquid. Then me bleeding out on the floor as Jeff was slowly crushed to death in the next room.

All of a sudden it was not just my hearing that was intensified, it was all of my senses. I could smell the chemical gas-like smell the machine was giving off. I could see every scratch in the gears. I could feel the vibrations of the entire wall moving in the other room.

However, unlike before, things did not slow down. They speed up, and I was thrust into a situation where I had absolutely no time to think about it. It was not like before when I was falling and everything slowed down. When I had absolutely no control over if I died or not then.

Was this how Jeff felt when he grabbed my rope? Did everything speed up and intensify for him since my life was in his hands? And if he failed my death would be in his mind forever?

The slamming on the door was the loudest thing I ever heard in my entire life. It might as well of blasted my eardrums. Tears were leaking down my face so fast that someone might think I was holding a hose.

Why was I thrust into this?!?! I couldn't even save my own hide let alone someone else's?!? Literally, the only reason I was still alive was because of Jeff...and now he was going to be dead because of me.

I let out a frustrated scream as I smacked myself harshly on the face. Glaring down at the key right in front of me. I had absolutely no time left, I had to at now or Jeff would die!!

I aligned my arm placement in my head, moving my hand through the hole and into the area between all of the gears. I could feel the heat they were giving off. It felt more like a humid area than it did a hot one.

With the sound ringing so loud in my ears I tried to not freeze and get in and out in one swift motion. I took one last look at it and tried to burn the memory of it into my brain as I got to where I had to turn my head in order to get my entire arm in.

Almost... I almost froze... But I didn't have the luxury to freeze. I knew that if I did two things would happen. My arm would get caught and ripped away, and Jeff would die.