(no subject)
To sum it up, a random guy(who we'll call Guy A) meets another random guy(Guy B) at a sports bar one afternoon. They hit it off so well that B has A over to his home for lunch, and for some twisted reason B shows A a maimed victim(his leg has been taken) he'd stashed in his basement for days, bound to some pipes with his back propped against the wall. B invites A to help him continue 'punishing' this person. B is somewhat like the Jigsaw Killer, but seeks to punish who he considers bad people instead of making them appreciate their lives. A dresses down B, telling him he has no right to inflict pain on people because he disapproves of their life choices, since everyone is different. B rebuffs A, convinced of his righteousness. Infuriated, A murders B, causing enough of a ruckus to alert neighbors, who call the police. Police arrive and arrest A, because the scene looks bad. Day ends, scene changes. It is left unclear if the police eventually discovers B's guilt due to forensic evidence, but one could surmise they would, given today's forensic tech. Whether or not A's name would be cleared is also unclear.
The next morning, A wakes up in his own bed instead of the jail cell, wearing the same pajamas he'd woken in before, the buzzing of his 8:00 am. alarm chafing his nerves. Much like Bill Murray, A eventually realizes this is the same day he'd just experienced, after encountering many of the same events. Considering this, A concludes he has a chance to save B's tortured victim. A heads to B's home, checking to ensure he's not there. Satisfied that B is indeed out, A breaks into the home via shattering a window, in a rush to save the victim. Getting into the basement, A finds the victim barely conscious, very loopy. The victim's leg is bound with a tourniquet that is loose enough to allow for a slow trickle of blood. The slow blood loss wasn't something he'd noticed the first time, as he was too freaked out by the situation. B is clearly a methodical killer/torturer. Desperate to save this person, A dials 911, informing them of the situation. Per instructions from the 911 dispatcher, A disturbs B as little as possible, to avoid making any other injuries worse, or opening other wounds he wasn't aware of. Medical personnel and police arrive shortly. A is once again taken into custody, but he expected this, and is more concerned with the victim receiving medical care ASAP. Before midnight, A learns from the news(perhaps a nearby guard has a radio? And this incident was leaked to the media...only way I can think to get around HIPAA) that the victim is too grievously injured, that doctors are unlikely to be able to save his life. A falls asleep on his cot with the weight of his failure on his shoulders - bitter, resentful, defeated. For now.
A finds that the day repeats itself again. Over several repetitions, he tries to get to B's home as early as he can, in the hope that the victim will have enough blood left to increase his chance of survival, figuring blood loss was the main reason the doctors and surgeons had difficulty with him. Early on, he switches to calling the police from his own home, wanting to avoid arrest but mostly trying to get the victim medical aid more quickly. He advises them to bring blood, of course. His knowledge of the situation still throws suspicion on him, and it is possible he might be arrested later, if the calendar is allowed to progress. However, through each attempt, the victim's fate is still pretty much sealed. No matter what, A couldn't win. He just couldn't save this man.
Each failure slowly increased his anger, drove him mad. He began to hate B in a deep, dark manner that went beyond rage in the midst of a heated moment. His attempts at rescue cease, in favor of other endeavors. He begins to to study covertry and torture, utilizing various sources on the internet and from the library. Each repeat of the day finds him retaining the knowledge. When he has learned enough, he begins researching B. He finds out where B works during the day, his phone number, lots of pertinent info. Eventually, he goes back into action, this time finding B as soon as A wakes up in the morning. This time A drags B back to HIS place, after rendering him unconscious. He still calls 911 for the victim after getting back home, despite the victim's death being all but assured. A felt the guy deserved to die in a hospital and possibly near loved ones if he had any, instead of some sick bastard's basement. Once that call was completed, A bound B up, and proceeded to lightly beat him while yelling at him about his activities. B is shocked that A knows so much about him, and demands to know how this is possible. A ignores the query, and proceeds to the meat of his plans. He begins torturing B. First he takes his leg, applying a tighter tourniquet than B allowed his victim, and using other methods to keep him as conscious and lucid as possible. A then goes further, utilizing select torture methods he'd learned over several days - or the same day, depending upon your viewpoint. Fill that in with your own imagination, for I haven't the stomach.
Yet the day continues to reset. A's descent into madness is deepened by this, understandably. He ceases even dialing 911 for the victim. His sole focus is B; he has decided in his state of mind that B is somehow responsible for A being stuck in the same day. Making B endlessly suffer becomes A's only goal, his only reason for even getting out of bed in the morning. A varies the sequence of his torture methods, in an attempt to keep himself stimulated and from losing his mind completely.
Eventually, A gives up, and spends the day in bed, several times. This provides him much time for contemplation, in which he slowly realizes how far he'd gone, and his conscience pricks at him, although he tries to ignore it. This leads to an epiphany: if he is the only random element in this day, can't he change things he hadn't thought to even question? Rather than going to sleep at night, he simply stays awake until 11:59 p.m. and then closes his eyes, with tons of caffeine in his system, fully dressed. He counts off 120 seconds in his mind, an odd sensation quickly washing over him before he's finished. At 12:01 a.m., he opens his eyes. He's wearing the same pajamas again, but he's awake rather than asleep, this time. Even though he couldn't control where he began his day, he COULD control whether or not he was awake. Why not, since he retained so much else from previous incarnations of the day, such as his memories of it all? (Yes, I know this is kind of a weak explanation, and holes can be poked in it. I can maybe think of a better way to flesh it out in time)
A had almost 8 more hours in which to accomplish his goals than he'd previously had. Devising a plan(perhaps perfecting it through multiple failed attempts?), A gets to B's home as quickly as he can. He breaks in once more, finding the lights on in the basement, and B holding the victim's head at a forward angle with a little bone saw in one hand. Not giving him the chance to finish, A rushes B and overtakes him, killing him in the process. Some of A's madness had subsided in his days of reflection, but not enough, and not the soul deep hatred he had for B. A was about to mutilate B's body, until the victim called for his help, in a much clearer voice than A expected. A realized that the victim's prior stupor wasn't caused just by blood loss, but some sort of injury to the brain B caused which A had missed before, always preferring not to disturb him per the advice of the 911 dispatchers. It just hadn't made it on the news - not EVERYTHING had been leaked to the media that night. A dials 911. The victim is taken to the same hospital, and A is once again arrested. The next morning, A wakes up in his jail cell.
1 year later, we are taken through a series of prologue scenes. The victim was saved. Without the traumatic brain injury, and almost 8 hours of blood loss prevented, the surgeons were successful. A wasn't charged with any crimes, as investigators were able to confirm his story through the crime scene and other evidence. We then cut to A at a funeral, which we learn is for his recently murdered sister. A feels conflicting emotions After the victim A saved recovered and learned to use his prosthetic well enough, a mysterious string of female murder victims began turning up. The police thought they were all killed by the same unidentified suspect who'd committed similar murders in the past, sporadically. The previous string had ceased almost a week before the day A had relived countless times. A knew who it was, though. He'd received an unsigned note thanking him for his aid, and stating that he could expect a reward soon. Then his sister turned up dead. We learn through flashbacks that they'd been estranged for years. He'd never forgiven her for leaving their childhood home as soon as she'd come of age, abandoning him to the whims of their abusive father's mood swings. But he'd never wanted her dead for it. Some part of him still loved her. It seemed B had good reason for punishing this 'victim'. All of those other murders...
The hate inside A, which had not been erased but merely smoldered, blazed back to life. He would find this man, take his other leg, and make him suffer.