DISCLAIMER: I own nothing

The Jigsaw killer's recent string of gruesome murders cast a shadow over every one's day to day life. The murders had started less than 2 months ago, but the whole state had been thrown into panic. As the police uncovered more and more details of the diabolical, intricately gruesome tests he had subject his victims to, the residents of Philadelphia, where the string of murders was centered, as well as those of the greater Pennsylvania area, watched with horror. Horror and morbid fascination. Dwight, in his capacity as a citizen, tracked religiously the timing and location of each new murder, searching for clues. Michael made jokes, although even he had a hard time making light of such a shockingly evil turn of events. Pam was just glad she lived in Scranton and not Philadelphia. Big cities attracted psychos like that, and although Scranton could be suffocatingly claustrophobic, it was simply too small to register with a nut like Jigsaw. Thank God.

Jim agreed with Pam, which is why, when after leaving the office alone one Thursday evening, he was oblivious to the shadowy figure in the dark coat that appeared in the parking lot and moved silently behind him. He had just started to open his car door when he felt the stranger's presence. Then his world went black.

He came to slowly. Where was he? Probably in bed... what a weird dream. Then it hit him. The cold. The overwhelming cold. Jim's eyes sprung open. What the hell? He was alone on a cold, dark, concrete floor. Oh God. He was panicking now. He couldn't see anything, so he cautiously flailed his arms around until he felt something. Anything. Then he found it... a small flashlight. It was not there by accident, but Jim was too panicked to realize this yet. He flipped it on. The windowless room he was in was nothing more than a bare concrete cell, barely larger than a closet. On the far wall was a steel door. As he spring to his feet and reached out for the door, Jim saw something that made him freeze.

A small tape recorder. His brain confirmed what it had been subconsciously suppressing. Jigsaw. How could this be happening to him? Oh God I don't want to die. The fear paralyzed him for a moment, and then he forced himself to pick up the recorder and press the play button. The voice was icy. The words hit like a hammer.

"Hello Jim. You have been given a blessed life, and yet you squander it with your own inaction. Everyday, you kill those who love you a little bit more by refusing to rise up and live your life, to enjoy the gifts you were given. Well now it's time for you to make some changes, Jim. Its time for a test."

Test. Oh shit. He had read about this. About the eerie recordings found at the murder scenes. Always a test.

"Taped to the back of this recorder is a key. The key will open the door in front of you. When the door is opened, a timer will start. After one hour, the room will fill with gas and be ignited, killing everyone inside. Inside the room you will find the two victims of your sinful apathy. Karen..."

Oh God.

"and Pam. You are going to be forced to do what you should have done a long time ago. You will have to make a choice, in order to pass this test. Each woman is locked down at five points. In order to free them, you must unlock each of the locks, with a different key. There is a box in the center of the room with a button on it for each woman. Whichever button you push will dispense a key for that woman, and dispense a large, painful shock into the one you don't choose. This is of your doing, Jim. Your indecision has caused their pain. Any attempt to tamper with the equipment or disconnect the batteries will cause the gas to be released. The pain will get worse with each key until the last one is fatal. The last key will unlock the final restraint, behind which is the key out of the room. If you pass this test, Jim, you will have made your choice, and also chosen to live. Do you choose to live, Jim?"

Jim tried to force himself to wake up. Please, God, just let this be a bad dream. He was already awake. Dammit. He fetched the key and opened the steel door. Nothing he had heard could have prepared him for what he saw when he stepped through.

The room was about 20 feet square. Concrete. There was a steel door with a large lock on it, but otherwise the walls were bare. There was a single light hanging from the ceiling, providing minimal illumination. There were 2 tables bolted to the floor, with a small box between them with two blinking lights. Then he saw them.

They were pinned to the tables, flat on their backs. Each woman wore a sinister looking steel collar which had an extension which drove a horizontal bar into her mouth, painfully gagging her. The collars were also bolted to the table, leaving them completely immobilized. The worst part was all the wires. There were two large cables running out of a large black steel cube between the tables. Each cable split into several thinner ones which ran to several spots on each of the woman's bodies. They were both clothed in their pajamas, which appeared intact except for small holes cut around the abdomen to allow the wires in. The psycho must have snatched them from their beds. They were both trying to speak, but could only moan through the gags. He looked at Karen first. The only freedom of motion she had left was her eyes, and they quickly darted to meet his. She was blinking rapidly to clear out the residual tears. There was so much fear, so much pleading in those eyes that he had to look away. He looked over at Pam. She had none of the hint of defiance that he had glimpsed in Karen. She looked so very sad, resigned, defeated.

Jim couldn't stand to look. He had to make a choice. Those were the rules. Otherwise they'd all die.
So he chose. Oh God. I'm so sorry. He approached the control box and made his choice.