No Title - Chapter 4

A couple hours had passed. Shea was now sitting up as the look-out. She yawned loudly, which turned into a muffled whimper. Shea was scared. She couldn't handle all of this. It was much harder on her than anything else had been in her life. A tear streaked down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily. This wasn't the time to cry, she knew that. But this wasn't an easy thing to deal with. Continuing the search for a way to escape would be even harder. She knew they would run into more and more creatures, and they'd probably run into scarier ones, too. But then staying here was an even worse idea. There's no way they would survive this place. They'd have to search for food, and they'd obviously meet more creatures. They'd either starve or be eaten. "Heh," Shea smirked. The idea was ironic: they'd either starve looking for food or become food for some other creature.

Shea shuddered, partially because of the horrible ideas swimming through her mind, and also because of the cold. She checked her phone. 3:15am it read. She hadn't been up long. And she still had over an hour before she had to wake up Nic to take over the look-out role. She sighed and slumped back against the wall. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing the back of her head. Truth be told, Shea is clumsy, yet a dancer. Ironic, no?

Shea glanced around the room. Joe and Lee were both sprawled out on the floor awkwardly. Both were dead tired, though, so Shea doubted either of them care or were even aware for that matter. Renee and Dave were sitting a good distance away from each other. This event seemed to cause some friction, not that there wasn't any friction to begin with. Renee and Dave have always argue, and always seemed to have problems. This was just straining it even more. Nicole was off in a corner. She seemed a little distant. Most likely have just as many problems dealing with this as anyone else, but not truly knowing how to cope. She looked back at Joe. He hadn't moved at all since they'd found him. She wondered what he had gone through, what he'd seen. Did he know more about this place than the group? Had he met anyone else in this place? Shea just shook her head and slumped down again. She was too tired to really think about it. She just focused on staying awake and the time. Finally, Shea woke Nicole up and got to sleep. She was exhausted. She wondered what she'd find out in the morning.

When Shea finally woke up, the only one still asleep was Joe. Everyone seemed impatient with him; they were either eager to start moving or find out what had happened to him. So to see their desires fulfilled, Dave and Lee took off their socks and started tickling Joe's nose with them. Joe would scrunch up his nose and bat at them, but showed no intentions of waking, which simply annoyed Dave further. Dave raised his hand and swiftly smacked Joe on the ass, mostly as revenge for all the times Joe had gotten Dave with this. Joe jumped a bit and opened one eye, which he used to glare around the room. He saw his companions and said, "What in the bloody hell did you do that for?"

Everyone was slightly shocked. That's not the reaction they had expected, but then realizing who had said it they probably should have. Joe rolled over on his back. Then suddenly sat bolt upright.
"Wait a minute," he started, "when in the fuck did I meet up with you guys?" The laughter intensified.

Dave grabbed Joe's shoulder and tried to explain, but all he managed was "You...fell through...door...can't...breathe" between the laughter.

Joe pushed him away saying, "Can I get someone with half a brain to actually explain? This dork is worthless, even when he's not laughing." So once the laughter ended, everyone sat down and traded stories. Nicole and Dave mostly told what the group had done with the others jumping in from time to time. They talked about their first meeting with a mechanical child; hiding in the closet; the dead child; following the tinkers; the stage; the vent; the strange creature without eyes; and how they found Joe, or more like how Joe found them. Joe listened to what his friends had to say about what they'd been through, spacing out occasionally but bringing himself back before long. During the explanation Joe would ask questions sometimes, and he told his friends that he called the mechanical children "tinker toys" and about the "sniffers."

After the group was done telling about what it had been through, they asked Joe what he'd seen in this place. Joe stared at the ground for a little bit, trying to remember everything. Then he started about how the voices had stopped shortly after everyone left; then he talked about his meeting with Hector and the army of tinker toys; finding the pole and fighting his way out; finding the stage room and the flamethrower; meeting Tyler; his own battle with a sniffer.

Now everyone was caught up on the situation. Everyone was surprised that they kept going to the same places like the cafeteria and the auditorium. Dave, Renee, Nic, Shea, and Lee were most curious about Hector and Tyler. They asked many questions in those parts of the story, most of which Joe couldn't answer. Whereas, Joe was more curious about the see-through people from the stage. What was that? What did it mean?

Joe's thoughts were interrupted by Nicole. "You're not going to disappear on us again, are you?"

Joe looked at her. "Well, Nic, if you prefer I could go right now," he said pointing to the door and starting to move.

"No, no," Nic replied. "Please stay. I love you," she said innocently.
"Pfft!" scoffed Joe. "Go sit down. Sit down. Don't make me kick your apple pie all over this factory."
"Ah!" Nic spouted while Dave laughed.
"That's right. You remember this moment," Joe told her.
"Don't you touch my apple pie." She said putting her back to the wall and sitting down, crossing her arms, pouting.
"I don't think you'll be very effective at stopping him, Nic," Dave said chuckling.
"I know," Nic replied. "But I can try."
"Don't make me cross this room," said Joe with a stupid face, talking with his hands like always.
"I'm sorry," Nic said cowering mockingly.
"No see," Renee stood up and moved over to Nicole, raising her arms. "You just have to kick him in the balls and run." Shea laughed at the comment.

Lee, standing in the back of the room, said, "He'd kill her." He had an odd expression on his face, like he usually did when someone made a stupid comment. Shea nodded slowly, acknowledging the fact.
"And you want her to run off somewhere...here?" Dave asked condescendingly.
"I wouldn't have to kill her," Joe added. "There're plenty of things wandering around here more than willing to do it for me."
"This is true," Shea said, feeling defeated as Renee's only ally.
Renee shot a look at Dave. "You're supposed to be on my side," she snapped, offended.
Lee looked at her weird, "I think he'd rather be with the smart people." Dave nodded.
"Well, Renee," Joe announced standing. "If you wanna run around this factory you go right on ahead and do it. We'll wish you the best of luck...from right here. And then we'll go the other way."
Nicole added, "Yeah I'll stay here. I feel like living."
Renee's mouth gaped offended. "You guys are mean!" She walked over to the wall covering here face with a smile, and turned back a little later. She was getting use to being made fun of.
Joe was staring off at nothing for a while. Finally he said, "You know, Renee's probably the safest one here."
"Why," asked Lee.
"'Cause if anything attacked her she could just block it with her ass. Even if it took a bite there's still plenty left."
"Dammit!" Renee yelled. She didn't appreciate the jokes about her big butt.
"Yeah," Dave said. "She'd probably look more normal." Renee hit him in the shoulder.

Everyone chuckled for a little bit longer. When the silence settled in everyone felt awkward. They knew a decision had to be made soon. They had to go back into this hell-hole of a factory to search for a way out. No one wanted to say it. They stayed this way for a few minutes. Finally, Lee moved to the door and opened it. "We should go" was all he said.

The group moved on. Leaving the comfort of a secluded room was hard for everyone. In there they could unwind, talk, just like a normal day back home. But everyone knew they had to leave. There wouldn't be any more normal days if they didn't. It's just one of the things in life that's hard to do, even if it's for the better. Deep sighs and backward glances accompanied the awkward silence as everyone walked away. Sunlight streaked in through the windows and doors of the offices into the halls, illuminating the faces of the six friends walking side by side. The day was just beginning.

They continued on silently for a while. Turning and twisting through the labyrinth of hallways and corridors, they only spoke to decide what direction to take. The group didn't run into any sorts of monsters or machines this time. The factory was quiet. It seemed to be waiting, waiting ominously.
There was a undeniable foreboding from the noiseless hallways. It sent shivers up Shea's spine. Joe's ears ached and rang. Dave had goose bumps. Renee kept rubbing the back of her neck, wishing the hair would lie down. Lee felt a tingle in the back of his head. Nicole crossed her arms nervously, and willed the feeling in her stomach away. The feeling was horrible. Everyone shifted uncomfortably.

The group stopped at an intersection. Lee looked around suspiciously. He nodded to the left. "How 'bout this way?"

"Go for it," Joe shrugged. He watched as the others passed Lee and sauntered down the hall. Lee also watched them pass. Joe walked up to Lee and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go, Lee-boy." The two followed after their friends. The hallway Lee had chosen opened up. The room was huge. It had several doors leading off to new segments of the factory. Renee looked up to the partially broken glass ceiling. Numerous benches dotted the hall. Streaks of light speared down on a large statue in the middle of the hall. It was a man wearing a suit bowing his head and holding out both arms, welcoming the group.

"Well this is new," said Shea bobbing her head oddly.
Joe stood there scanning the great hall. "Uh huh," he mumbled. Everyone started to spread out.
Lee walked up to the statue and looked for an inscription. "Nothing," he mumbled to himself, disappointed that he didn't find anything hinting to the purpose of this place. Lee sighed and walked away. A smile stretched across the statue's face, Lee walked off to the right of the statue unaware. There was a loud sliding sound, a faded scream, and a clank.
Nicole whipped around. She looked around to the four others, then back to where she heard the noise. "Where's Lee?" she asked. Everyone stopped and looked at her, then looked around the room. He was gone.

"I don't know," Dave said slowly. "He wouldn't have left...so what happened to him?"
"They're separating us," Nicole stated meekly. Everyone turned to her with sad faces. They knew she was right. Depression waved over everyone.
Renee walked over to the wall. She was scared. The floor where she was standing flipped up towards the wall. There was a gasp and a clang. The remaining four stared at the wall Renee had been at. Their friend was gone.
"What the hell is going on?" Dave yelled at the room. "Where are you?" He paced back and forth for a while, then stopping in front of the statue. His arms were on his hips, his face reflected the frustration and hatred flowing throughout him. He looked up at the statue with disgust. The statue stared blankly with its unwelcome smile. "What're you smirking at?" Dave asked the object. The statue raised its eyebrow. Dave's expression changed to confusion. "The fuck?" he said before disappearing through another trap door.

Joe turned to his left and glared at the statue. Dave too, he thought, we're dropping like flies.
Shea screamed and ran to the door. "Let me out! Let me out! I wanna go home!" she yelled yanking at the door. It wouldn't budge. She whipped around in anger, taking deep breaths. She put her hands over her head and screamed. The door she stood next to blasted open and knocked her three feet to the right, and down a shoot under a bench.

Joe and Nicole stared at each other. "Who's next?" Nicole whimpered.
"I dunno, Nic," Joe sighed. Nic went to sit on a bench. "No don't." Joe told her. She looked back at him. "Don't move, Nic. Stay right there. You'll just move to a trap."
Nic dropped her shoulders. This wasn't easy. She looked back at Joe. "So what do we do?"

Joe rubbed his face with a tired expression. "I don't know. I just don't know anymore."
Nic sighed. She sounded like she was about to break. "Well," she started. Then the segment of the floor she was on flipped over. Nic screamed the whole time. The floor slammed back down; the hall echoed with its blast.

"And then there was one," Joe said to the room, spinning and searching its contents. All the doors suddenly slammed shut. The only door still open was at the opposite end of the hall. "Shit," Joe mumbled. The floor to the remaining door began to retract. The gap between him and the only exit lengthened by the second. Joe sprinted off. It was likely a trap. Joe knew that. But it was also the only possible way out. His last chance. He came to the end of the floor and jumped for the door. Midair, the door slammed shut. "Son of a BITCH!" Joe yelled as he slammed into the door. He fell into the chasm yelling his lungs out.