Misery #3

It begins with Paul venturing off through the house while Annie is away. He checks out every room but is on the clock, fearful that he will be caught by Annie, who physically hurts him for punishment. While he’s in the kitchen he hunts for food in her pantry he refers to as a “survivalist’s bomb shelter” trying to find food that she would realize was missing. He grabs sardines, raisins, and a single serving of cereal, hopefully small amounts she wouldn’t miss. Rollin back to his room, Paul finds a scrapbook that catches his eye, “Memory Lane.” While flipping through the book Paul finds many newspaper clippings that uncover even more of Annie’s dark side. Stories of people having accidents. Why would she have these saved in a scrapbook unless they were meaningful? The stories happened almost five years apart and in two different towns, reported by different newspapers. Paul knew Annie was crazy, but now he knows for a fact she’s a killer. Her father, her roommate, children, families, sick patients she was taking care of, people she didn’t even know… the newspaper clippings continued. It seemed as if she was killing people off to better herself in some sick manner. The next day when Annie returns she has noticed that Paul has escaped from the room multiple times. Livid, Annie punishes Paul by getting an axe and severing his left foot, right above the ankle, then taking a torch to it to stop the bleeding. Paul is getting closer to death as the days pass, unless he kills her first.