Page 16 of The Taskmaster
“I’ll take that as a no, so let’s proceed. The object of this game is to find your way around the maze, or rat run as it’s otherwisecalled. In the middle of the maze is a trap door and a key that opens it. Find it and you’ll be set free. Fail, and... well... things won’t look so good for you. You’ll have five minutes in which to complete this task. And there may be a few surprises in the maze along the way. Are you ready?”
“A fucking maze?” he scoffed. “What are you, a fucking circus freak?”
“A freak? Yes. But not from the circus. This is real life, Peter. Now, answer me, are you ready or not?”
“I’m ready.”
“Then let’s begin.”
I flicked a switch to activate the sliding wall to the side of him, revealing the first tunnel he’d have to take to begin his task. I had cameras set up along every tunnel and turn that he’d be taking. I didn’t want to miss a minute of this game. And as I watched him step forward slowly, his hands out in front of him as he navigated his way out of the cell and down the dark tunnel, I realised this was the first time I’d had a guest play one of my games that wasn’t directly linked to my childhood. A player who’d wound up in my game all on his own merit. He wasn’t one of them. Maybe my work as a vigilante was evolving. I knew there was a whole world of opportunity out there for me to play with, if I wanted to.
Did I want to?
Was that what this was?
Maybe.
But I couldn’t deny, the girl, Abigail, she was at the back of my mind. Tapping away like a little woodpecker on my conscious, making me question why I was excited to get this game wrapped up so I could go and take a closer look at the girl that’d stopped me in my tracks tonight. A girl that I could torment for my pleasure. A way to get back at Officer Dan and all the ways he’d let me down.
Peter was walking against the wall of the tunnel, leaning against it and using his hands to feel his way in the darkness. He came to an opening and had to choose left or right.
“Is there any fucking clues for which way to go?” he hissed.
“Why would I give you a clue? You have to figure this out for yourself.”
He laughed to himself. “I’m not a fucking moron. I know about the hand on wall method to navigate a maze. I’ll be out of here in no time.”
“Then why did you ask for clues?” I taunted back.
He ignored me, keeping his hand on the wall as he took a left turn and walked slowly forward.
The hand on wall method was a way to beat a maze, but this was no ordinary maze, and I flicked another switch to close off the tunnel he was walking down, creating a dead end where there wasn’t one before. When he reached it, he cursed, “Fuck,” and then kept his hand on the wall as he turned around and retraced his steps. Steps that were going to get a hell of a lot harder to take soon.
“That’s one minute gone,” I called out, and he snapped, “Shut the fuck up,” making me laugh down the speaker.
He went straight down the tunnel, hands still in place, and then I laughed again as I heard him cry out in pain.
“Ah! You, fucking... ah!”
He stopped walking and stood still, lifting one leg and trying to pull the shards of glass from the bottom of his foot. Then he tentatively put his foot down and did the same to the other. But it was pointless. There was shattered glass all over the floor. Enough to rip his skin to shreds.
“Almost two minutes up,” I teased. “No time to stop for a pedicure.”
“Fuck you,” he seethed, and started to walk again, screaming with each step as the floor became slippery with his blood. Hesqueezed his eyes shut, and then he stopped and shouted, “This is bullshit. I’m not doing it anymore. You can take your fucking game and SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!”
This fucker was really testing my patience. But I kept my cool, stating, “There’s no way out for you. You do the maze, or I kill you now.”
“THEN FUCKING KILL ME!” he screamed.
I was seconds away from losing it.
“Before I kill you,” I replied. “Tell me, who should I address the parcel with your fucking head to? Your wife or your son?”
“You can mail it up your fucking ass,” he snarled, and that was it.
I snapped.
I was so fucking done with this asshole. I’d wasted a fucking good game on this loser. He didn’t know what a privilege it was to play with me.
