Chapter Two: Arthur

As he said this, he watched Alfred outstretch his arm, his finger managed to touch the jagged side of the tool, making it spin over to the handle side.

Letting out a small sigh of content, he grabbed ahold of the handle to the saw and pulled himself upright. He clasped ahold of the tool like he had just won the lottery.

Flinging it up, he smiled widely at the other across the room. "See? This is too easy!"

Arthur found himself just nodded, but didn't return the smile. This didn't make any sense. This was too easy. There has to be something more than just grabbing a saw a few feet in front of them.

Managing to snap out of his thoughts, Arthur glanced up to see if the other was making any progress. Alfred had grabbed ahold of the chain, bringing the saw down to it. He moved the jagged part back and forth against it, which made a metallic ringing sound that echoed across the room.

After a moment or two, Alfred's face scrunched up in annoyance as he tried moving the saw more quickly. The chain wasn't budging.

Seeing the sudden rage in the other's eyes, Arthur raised his voice. Worry and panic flushed through him"Alfred! Alfred, stop!"

Giving a few more cuts, Alfred let out an exasperated sigh, placing the saw down by his side and faced Arthur. He leaned his back against the wall near the pipe.

"We have to think this through," Arthur continued, wringing his hands together in nervousness. "We can't just jump to conclusions here. I don't know what it is, but I don't trust that voice... Maybe... Maybe we have to think about what he said? There's bound to be something that he said that could help our situation."

Alfred shrugged at the other's offer. "All that voice said for me was to break out of the chain." He picked it up, tugging slightly on it again. "And in case you haven't noticed, this thing is locked on pretty damn tight. I can't even break it off. I mean, I'm strong, but I'm not that strong."

Even though there was a hint of amusement in the other's tone, Arthur still remained unmoved. This wasn't the time for such silly little remarks. Instead, he just found himself nodding in understanding at Alfred's explanation. This was all just a big mystery. How could they get out?

"Wait..." He held up his hand, a thought had occurred to him. "The voice said for me that I had to cut myself in order to get out..."

Alfred raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Yeah?"

"Here. Give me the saw. I think I might be able to cut through my chains."

"Hold on!" Alfred protested. "If you get free, then what about me?!"

"Just let me do this, okay?" Arthur snapped aloud, shooting a dangerous look at the other.

Alfred couldn't help but stare at him in alarm.

Arthur didn't mean to be so intimidating towards the other, but it seemed that their lives were on the line.

Nevertheless, Alfred cautiously slid the saw across the room. Arthur stuck out his foot, stopping the saw before the jagged edges could get to the rest of his body. Picking the tool up gingerly, he examined it carefully, as though suspicious that it was some sort of bomb about to go off.

Whew, close one. He told himself. Just a small thought of the saw going through his being gave him the chills.

Once his suspicions died down in his head, he positioned himself so that he was near his own chain. Placing the jagged edges of the saw against the metal, he began doing the same action that Alfred had been doing, except not as roughly.

After those few moments, he hadn't been making any progress. The chain didn't seem to look anywhere like it was going to snap anytime. In fact, it looked as though the saw wasn't making any markings against it.

This didn't make any sense. How could they get out if they couldn't cut through the chains? There wasn't any way else, was there?

"Are you willing to cut yourself even more down to size in order to save your life? Or will you let yourself rot knowing the fact that you cannot truly express yourself. The choice it yours." That was what the voice had said.

That sinister voice seemed to echo around the caverns of Arthur's mind like a broken record not wanting to stop.

Cut yourself down to size to save your life.

Cut yourself down to size.

Cut yourself.

And in that moment, to his horror, Arthur understood what the voice had meant. There was only one way to get out. And he knew what it was.

Picking up the saw, he looked at it with wide eyes like he was holding a loaded gun about to shot someone. He didn't even bother to look up at Alfred as he let out a yell, throwing the saw across the room. It landed with a loud clang! But Arthur didn't bother to see where it landed.

"Woah!" Came Alfred's voice in surprise. "What the hell, man? Watch where you're throwing that thing!"

To Arthur's guess, it had probably almost hit Alfred. But he didn't bother to check. He was only wallowing in his own self grief with the information he had just picked up.

"Arthur? You okay?" Alfred's voice had suddenly died down to something of concern. It was strange, since he sounded so calm now.

Glancing up at him, Arthur's eyes were glassy with tears that were on the verge of streaming down his face. He pulled against his hair, as though there was a way to rip the horrid thought that he had out of his head.

Alfred moved from his position on the wall into a more interested pose. He looked like he was about to spring into action of some sort.

"Arthur, what's-"

"You don't cut through the chains." He muttered quietly, looking down at a pile of the reddish dirt on the ground in front of them. His head was spinning with the information he had just collected.

Alfred had grabbed the saw again, turning it over in his hands and looked anxiously up at the other. "What?"

"We don't cut through the chains!" His voice was a desperate cry now.

"Then... What do we do?"

Arthur buried his head in his hands, letting a few of his tears slip out. "He doesn't want us to cut through the chains." Letting out a much needed sigh, he looked back up at Alfred with a sad look. "He wants us to cut through our feet."