by John Mathews
“This species of snake is becoming more endangered due to the hunt for them to extract their precious venom for clinical usage. The venom of the Taiwanese krait snake is very valuable when extracted properly.”
“On top of the cage you will see a jar covered with a latex membrane and a long metal device with a forked end. You will be required to use these tools to extract venom from each of the two snakes. Use the handling tool to catch the snake inside the cage, and then grab it just below the head. Get the snake to bite down onto the latex and gently squeeze the lower part of the head until all of the venom comes out and into the jar. Be careful not to harm the snakes in any way – doing so will cause you to be disqualified, and a very SEVERE punishment will soon follow. Return each snake carefully to the cage after you are finished extracting the venom. And be careful – one bite from either of the snakes will most likely kill you.”
“You have 15 minutes to complete the required tasks. You may begin.”
John quickly grabbed the ink pen, opened the folded sheet of paper, and signed it. His heart began to pound through his chest as he eyed the covered cage. He slowly slid the sheet off the top of the cage until it fell onto the floor. Inside were two serpents, each around five feet long and quite thin in circumference, with alternating black and yellow patches. John knew very little about snakes and although he was terrified, felt a bit of relieved that the snakes were not as big as he had pictured in his mind.
He took the metal rod and examined it more closely. The shaft was long and thin, with a handle on one end, and two rigid prongs on the other. Then he moved the jar that was on top of the cage onto the floor, and opened the cage from the top. The snakes stayed still, resting, seeming to be quite subdued in their shelter.
John held the rod firmly and poked around inside the cage in an attempt to trap one of the snakes under the prongs. The once still serpents became lightening quick in an instant, darting away from the rod. John yanked his hand back. He tried again, being careful not to hurt the reptiles, and once more they were too fast for him, undulating along the bottom of the cage. After several grueling minutes of a cat and mouse game, John finally got the prongs on top of one of the snakes, holding it down a few inches below the head. John held the rod firmly to keep the snake from escaping, as its tail slithered back and force in an attempt to wriggle free.
John wanted to try and grab the snake he had trapped, but the other serpent was also agitated. His hand was trembling as he reached slowly into the cage. He got within a few inches of the snake’s head, and yanked his hand back in fear, as the second snake squirmed closer to him inside the cage. With sweat dripping down profusely from his brow, John mustered up his courage once again. He wanted to trick the other snake if possible. This time, he reached his hand in the cage from the opposite side, away from the second snake’s head. The creature stayed more still, and John brought his hand around the edge of the cage very slowly, and then just above the two metal prongs.
He grabbed the snake firmly on the neck just below its head. Then he raised the rod slowly and set it on the floor. As John lifted the snake out from inside the cage, its body was wiggling wildly, and its tail thrashed against John’s chest. He grabbed the other end of the animal, near its tail, with his other hand. The snake opened its mouth, trying to attack, exposing two small fangs. John brought the snake’s head over the top of the latex-covered jar. He pushed the upper part of the snake’s open mouth against the latex. The fangs penetrated the membrane, and, as he released its tail and squeezed it just above the mouth, yellow venom oozed out of the animal and into the glass jar.
After the venom extraction was finished, John gently placed the snake back into the cage and let go, watching it coil stealthily into a corner.
He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking violently, but John tried desperately to maintain his composure. The second snake was also coiled up, in the center of the cage. John poked it with the forked instrument to get the snake to move. It lifted its head up and turned it, as if staring back at him. John moved the forked end over the snake’s body. He slid the prongs slowly up towards the snake’s head. The serpent tried to slither away and escape the grasp of the metal. John got the fork up just below the head and applied more pressure to keep the snake firmly in place.
He carefully reached his hand just below where the metal fork held the snake in place, and grabbed the body. John let go of the metal instrument and picked the snake up with both hands, using one hand to keep its long body from wriggling.
He carried the snake and held its head over the latex-covered jar, but its mouth was still closed. John let go of the back end of the reptile to grab the jar and hold it under the snake’s head. Suddenly, the serpent thrashed its body wildly, and as its tail smacked John in the face, he lost his grip with his other hand. The snake was free from his grasp and fell to the floor. John staggered backwards in dismay, and the serpent lunged at his throat, mouth open and fangs exposed.
***
Kevin and Nancy were seated in the long hallway, while Jeffrey paced back and forth anxiously.
“How much time does he have left?” Kevin asked.
“Less than a minute, I think,” replied Nancy.
“Well then where in the hell is he?”
Just as Kevin finished speaking, some blood began to ooze out from underneath the door marked “Punishment” and into the hallway. Nancy and Kevin just stared at the growing pool of blood in terror, while Jeffrey jumped back against the wall.
“You still wanna know where the fuck he is and what happened to him? I don’t!” Jeffrey shouted at Kevin and Nancy in anger.
“His time is up. Another one of us needs to go – now. Who will it be?” said Nancy.
“Forget it,” Jeffrey replied. “If one of you is stupid enough to trap yourself…”
“Me. I’ll go.” Kevin stood up reluctantly and went over to stand in front of the door marked “Money”. After a few moments, the door opened. Kevin went inside, and the door slammed shut and locked behind him.
SIX
There was a computer desk with an Apple IMac personal computer on top, a swivel chair, a pad of paper, and another small recording device. The room was otherwise empty, with another life-sized poster of the same intimidating figure on the back wall. His eyes peered through the eyeholes in the black mask. And now his right hand was holding a thick file folder.
Kevin stared at the figure in the poster. The eyes were menacing pits of evil, like nothing he had ever seen before. He took a deep breath, sat down, picked up the recording device, and hit the play button.
“Mr. Kevin Thompson – the young man who had his parents pay off the prosecuting attorney to avoid murder charges. It must be nice coming from a wealthy family and not having to accept any responsibility for your wrongdoing. It was you who lured Michael into your ‘group’ that day to break into the house, now wasn’t it? And it was you who decided to pin the blame on Michael and let him take the fall for the death of poor Henry Walker. You got off with just 3 years served for breaking and entering, while Michael won’t be up for parole until he is 70 years old. It was money that saved your ass then, and it will be money that can save it again now.”
“In front of you is a computer screen. You can get onto the Bank of America home page and log onto your parents’ savings account using their personal account number and password. Written on the pad of paper next to the computer screen is your parents’ account number that was obtained from their money transfer sent to Nancy Dorsey. I do not know the password to the account, so you will need to get that. See the Skype icon on the computer screen. You may sign onto Skype – there is already a name and password ready, just hit ‘sign in’. Click the ‘call phones’ button and call your father through Skype. He will need to give you his account password. I suggest that you explain the direness of your situation and don’t give him any ‘financial specifics’.”
“Then you will flip
to the next page of the pad of paper. Written there is a name and email address connected with an account with Bank of America. I want 300,000 dollars wired to that name and email address. And be sure to request a ‘confirmation email’ for the transaction. When I receive the confirmation of the money transfer sent to this email address, your task is completed.”
“If you are unable to get the money transferred in the required time, there is one more option. Flip to the last page on the pad of paper and you will see a letter. This states that you, Kevin Thompson, are partially responsible for the death of Henry Walker through your own negligence. Then it goes into detail about your actions during the break-in that day, your lies about Michael, his complete unawareness of the situation, and your bribe to the attorney. It also details Jeffrey’s participation in the crime since he was the one holding the weapon and forced entry into the house. You can sign this letter, and then hit the ‘record’ button on this tape recorder, and repeat what is in the letter in an oral confession.”
“No matter what you choose to do, you will not have any murder charges brought against you for the re-trial of Michael Jaworski, as long as you complete one of the required tasks. You have 15 minutes to finish. You may begin.”
Kevin turned off the recording device and buried his face in his hands for a moment, trying to comprehend the gravity of the situation. Then he turned on the computer screen and saw the Internet Explorer and Skype icons. He fidgeted nervously with his cell phone until he found his father’s phone number, which he had not memorized. He signed onto the Skype account and then hit the call button to dial his father’s cell phone. It rang and rang, many times without a reply, and then went to voice mail. He spoke with a sense of urgency into the cell phone. “Dad, can you hear me? It’s me, Kevin. This is an emergency, ok? I am gonna call right back and please – pick up!” His high-pitched voice was shaky and he sounded frantic as he spoke.
Kevin waited for a minute and then called his dad’s cell phone again. This time, after the second ring, Mr. Thompson answered.
“Kevin, what is it?”
“Dad – listen. I’m in big trouble. Someone knows about the bribe to the attorney. I’m bein’ blackmailed and we have to give them some money. Ok? If we don’t do it immediately, they might hurt me or send me back to prison!”
The phone was silent for a few moments.
“DAD? Did you hear me?”
“Yes, Kevin. What on earth are you talking about?”
“Dad – listen! Some guy lured me up into this old warehouse. He’s blackmailing me for money. We have to pay him off or he will expose the bribery to the police! I am trapped inside this big warehouse with no way out. We only have ten more minutes to get him the money! Ok? I need to get your account password and send a wire transfer – RIGHT NOW!”
“Who is this guy, Kevin? How did he find out about the bribery? How is he threatening you and how much does he want?”
“I dunno dad, I have no IDEA who he is. But he knows every detail about the case. He even knows about Michael having nothing to do with the crime, okay? I think that he just wants to free Michael from prison. I’m trapped in a room. If I don’t do what he says right away, something awful will happen to me! There is some deadly gas that comes out of the heating ducts and into the rooms! I fell into a trap, dad.”
“Didn’t you try to just get out of there? Or call the police? How can someone kidnap you and blackmail you, Kevin, that’s illegal!”
“Dad – I DON’T KNOW! I can’t get out, and have no cell phone reception. We have to just wire the money to him, that’s it, and then I can leave! I need your bank account password, NOW! If I don’t give the money, I have to sign a contract admitting the bribery and what really happened!”
Kevin’s father breathed deeply into the cell phone, trying to stay calm and keep his son from panicking. “So what is he going to do if you sign this contract? Re-open the case? Then that would also incriminate the prosecuting attorney. I don’t really think that…”
“Yes, dad, she is here too – the attorney! This was a set-up for all of us! Someone wants us all here to free Michael, do you get it? I have seven more minutes to do what he asked me or I think I’m going to be gassed! Can’t we just send them the money and be done with it?”
“How much do they want?”
“Three hundred grand.”
“Fine, send them the goddam money – we’ll get even with them later. I’ve got my ways. Here, write down the damn password.”
Kevin scribbled his father’s account password on the pad of paper, thanked him, and hung up the cell phone. Then he logged onto his father’s bank account on the Bank of America home page. He entered the recipient name and account number, the amount of transaction, and verification email address. Then he hit the send button.
A message saying “Transaction processing – please wait” appeared on the screen. Kevin waited nervously, pounding his heel back and forth against the floor. More than a minute passed, and the little blue wheel indicating that Windows was “busy” was still spinning. Kevin checked the time on his cell phone. There was one minute left to complete the required task.
Fuck, why isn’t it going through? Do I need to hit send again? Come on, dammit – WORK! The computer mouse icon danced over the screen as Kevin wiggled the roller ball back and forth. Thirty seconds left. Feeling desperate, he hit the send button once more. As the last few seconds of his 15-minute time limit ticked away, a message appeared on the computer screen saying “Sorry, our system is down at this time.” Kevin let out a plea for help. “WAIT – whoever you are, I need more time!”
SEVEN
Nancy and Jeffrey were seated on the floor against the wall of the long hallway. “Which one of us is going next? We’ve got a couple minutes left and need to decide now.” said Nancy, keeping an eye on the time.
“All I can tell you is that I ain’t going into no fucking death trap inside one of those rooms.” Jeffrey was vehement. “We haven’t seen John OR Kevin come back out. What does that fucking tell you?”
“What other choice do we have? If we don’t do what is asked of us, that gas starts pouring out of….”
“I’ll TELL you what choice we have. I’m gonna find out what the fuck is going on around here. Something happened to John behind that door marked punishment and I want to know what.”
Nancy saw a look of pure rage pass over Jeffrey’s face. He is dangerous. I’ve got to be able to use that aggression to help get me the hell out of here. “You need to stay rational. The video said that if each of us does what is asked we will be set free. There is no reason to jump to conclusions.”
“Set FREE? I don’t like being caged up. We are getting into tighter and tighter confinement. When we were downstairs we had the whole damn warehouse space available. Now we have one hallway, and soon to be locked into a small room? No fucking way.”
Jeffrey jumped up and rolled up his sleeves. His veins bulged on his muscled and painted forearms. “I am going into THAT room that John went into. I want to know what’s happening.”
He’s an out of control idiot. Is he trying to get us both killed? I should have locked this bastard up for life when I had the chance to. “Jeffrey – wait! If something awful happened to John behind that door then what’s to say it won’t happen to you?”
“I’ll assume that something awful DID fucking happen in that room. So, in that case, whatever it was has finished. Whoever is behind all of this shit expects that we are each forced to go into the rooms assigned to us. We need to screw this game up, right now. Nobody is expecting that I can get into that room with the door locked.”
“I don’t really think that is a smart idea, Jeffrey.” Nancy replied, exasperated.
Jeffrey ignored her warning. With all his might, he launched his body like a catapult against the locked door. His shoulder made a thunderous sound as it hit the wood. Still the door remained closed. Then, more gas began to pour out of the ventilation duct into the hallway. Nancy cov
ered her eyes and nose with her hands, and buried her face between her knees.
Jeffrey hurled his shoulder against the door again. The sound of wood splintering made a squeaking noise. Jeffrey bellowed and closed his eyes as the gas made them itch mercilessly. He ran back several feet, and charged the door marked Punishment once more. This time, it flew open, with Jeffrey falling to the floor inside in a pool of blood. Nancy ran in after him, screaming from the irritation of the gas. She slammed the door closed behind her.
Jeffrey was panting heavily, out of breath, and still squinting to keep his eyes from itching more. Nancy squatted down on the floor, rubbing her hands against her face, wiping it with the fabric of her blouse. Slowly, each of them opened their eyes, expecting to find John’s body somewhere close by. They found the covered cage with both Taiwanese krait snakes inside, a jar with some venom in it, and the long metal device. The stone slab had nothing on top of it, and there was no sign of John at all. The room was otherwise completely empty and the poster on the back wall was gone.
Nancy looked up at Jeffrey. Now we can’t even leave this room and go back out in the hall. “So now what? Do you see what you’re hoping to see?”
“Well where in the hell is he? John came into this room. What the fuck are those snakes doing in here? And look at the pool of blood. Where’s his damn body?”
Nancy muttered. “You’re the genius, you tell me. I don’t know what’s going on here any more than you do. But now we’re stuck in here. We can’t go back out into the hall, or should I say GAS CHAMBER.”