Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing pertaining to the Addams family, beyond this personalized work of fiction. Thank you. :)
As soon as we exited the room, we found ourselves back out into a hall-way which led us back to the circular hall-way with the other doors. I remembered we found a green key just before leaving that last room, which caused my mind to flash back to the door with the green cobra on it. I led the group at my back as we all dashed for the green cobra door before the night got any later. These nutcases were nice enough to provide 2 ways of winning this challenge, either through somehow lasting a full 3 hours, or finding the prize before anyone else did. Though it would obviously take time (which never seemed to be on our side), finding the prize would ultimately be the least dangerous method of winning the game. I know I can't just keep out-running everything in sight, and it's absurd to think luck will continue to bail us out. All the same, we had to keep moving if we're to have any chance of winning at all.
Then, there were the issues of Pugsley and Wednesday to consider. The both of them seemed fairly blood-lusted as they attempted to shoot us repeatedly, and a couple of those arrows nearly made me go down the cavern the HARD way. I had no idea what I was even meant to do to combat their threat, but the best strategy seemed to be staying ahead of wherever they were. It was by far the only thing that made any sense to me tonight.
My sandals skid on the floor as I sharply turned to the left as my memory was working overdrive. Paul did his best to keep pace with me, but was beginning to falter as my longer legs out-did his best efforts. I knew my kid bro better than anyone. He could make a hell of a sprinter, but his short legs and lack of stamina caused him to fall back before anyone else. I held back my pace in an effort to snag his left hand with my right. He grabbed it back firmly as I pulled him back at my side. We proceeded down the circular hall-way, passing by dusty old bookcases, small desks and chairs, and a few creepy portraits as I could begin to see the door with the green cobra in sight.
As we neared it however, I realized a fight was breaking out amongst some of the other kids next to the two doors. There were 6 kids in all, which made me nervous as they matched our own group in number, and more to the point, we now were carrying a key. One kid was dressed like El Zorro, another dressed like Cupid, and the last one of the first trio was dressed like one of those old druid guys from the middle ages.
For the other 3, there was a boy about Bobby's size dressed up like an old-school viking, complete with a large brown beard and toy axe. The 2nd kid was dressed like an astronaut, complete with a glass bowl for a helmet and a hazmat suit. Finally, the last kid was dressed up like a mad scientist from a 50s horror flick. I couldn't quite tell if they were a group having a spat, or 2 separate groups in a fight over another key. One way or the other, it was in all our best interests to slip past them, and open that door to the next room.
As fate would have it though, life decided to hate me today.
We almost collectively slid to a crash as we took in the scene in front of us. The others were all just as surprised as I was, but their responses on what to do largely differed as it usually did with each of us together.
"Something tells me these kids aren't the welcoming committee."
"It's probably best if we just slip past them. We don't want to tip them off to the fact we have keys too.
"Geez, could you guys be any lamer? Am I the only one who gets what this game's about? It's called "survival of the fittest" you chodes! If we take all these wusses by surprise, we'll be walking away with even more keys than before!"
"Whatever you guys think is best. Let's do it!"
Sadly for me, this new group chose to decide for us. They all stopped mixing it up with each other in order to focus their full attention on all of us. Just as I counted from before, there were 6 of them in total as they stood lined up neatly in front of us all. The first 3 were about my size, though the Cupid kid was a little shorter than the rest. I assumed he must have been the youngest of the 6. The other 3 seemed to make a more dangerous threat considering the size of that viking kid, but the other 2 weren't all that scary to me, at least for the moment. I gently put Paul to the rear of us in case a fight broke out.
Suddenly, the kid dressed up like El Zorro addressed us all staring at them.
"You guys got a staring problem or something? Don't tell me you were going to jump us and take our keys while we were fighting?"
Calmly as I could, I attempted to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. Bobby's first instinct might be to punch anything until it stops moving, but mine sure isn't!
"Listen guys, no one wants any trouble here, okay? We just happened to bump into you all while you were scrapping. If you just let us on our way, nobody has to get hurt here!"
Suddenly, I could feel Bobby muscling his way to the front of the group. I could start to feel another anxiety attack coming on as he soon stood by my side and addressed the rival group on his own terms.
"You're damn right that's what we want! Like my friend over here was saying, just hand over those keys nice and smooth-like, and no one gets hurt!"
"That's uhhh...not what I said at all dude."
Bobby just nudged me in the left arm with his right shoulder. Was he really trying to be cool here? It figures it had to come at everyone else's expense, but then again who am I to question the unspoken genius that was Bobby?
The rival group didn't take kindly to this threat, and reacted to it about as well as you might expect.
"Fatty's got a mouth on him! Who wants to get first crack?!?"
The viking kid cracked his knuckles at that statement from the Cupid kid. Bobby seemed a bit nervous having to tangle with someone his own size, but decided to focus on the Cupid kid first.
"Heh, just try it Pixie boy!"
The Cupid kid looked furious at that statement. He began to blush like he had a fever as he stomped on the ground like Paul throwing one of his infamous tantrums. He then angrily pointed his right index finger straight at Bobby before making his retort.
"HEY!! My mom made me this costume!"
I had to use all my force of will to not pull a Paul and rip that kid's costume to shreds. Bobby was kind enough to do it for me anyway.
"Did she now? Well, at least you've earned someone's pity."
The Cupid kid began to lunge himself at Bobby in a rage fueled frenzy. This caused the viking kid to physically restrain him with his right hand, holding him in place by his own costume. He then spoke to him with a firm tone that made it too clear he meant business.
"You leave him to me. You take on the kid that looks like Mulan over there!"
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoooooh...noooo he didn't!!!
Though I'd like nothing more than to shove that cheap piece of carpet down that kid's throat, I know I have to be smart about this! He's roughly the same size as Bobby, if not perhaps just a teensy bit larger. If we're to win this fight and move onto the next room, I have to pick my targets wisely here. The other kids were all about my size and shouldn't pose too much of a threat, especially with Jason, Tommy, and Marcus all chipping in. The problem is without Paul's help, the group still outnumbered us by at least 1 member. I can't in good conscience just put him in harm's way though! What kind of brother would that make me?!?
The others joined to fight with us as Jason, Tommy, and Marcus all pulled up to my right. They didn't look especially excited at the prospect of fighting these kids, and I can't say I didn't share that sentiment myself. Of course, thanks to Bobby now, we no longer had a choice in the matter.
Suddenly, the Cupid kid charges in my direction which prompts both of our groups to start fighting. I had little time to prepare for his advance, but if I'm being honest, there wasn't much to fear here. Like I mentioned before, I'm not a natural fighter in any sense of the word, but this kid looked as though he weighed even less than Paul. The fact he was a couple inches shorter than me wasn't helping his chances at all either. I just stood my ground and prepared to throw the first punch to answer his approach.
I threw a short jab with my right arm at his face as he got within striking range. He sees it coming however, and backs away before it can connect, rolling on the ground to gain some distance. He quickly gets back to his feet and tries to tackle my legs. His enthusiasm wasn't enough to overcome the size difference between us however. I grab him by both his shoulders and tossed him to the ground. While he was down, I checked to see how my friends were doing against the other kids.
Bobby was locked in a test of strength against the viking kid, with neither able to gain the upper hand on each other. Jason and Tommy took on the El Zorro kid, as well as the druid kid. They always worked together beautifully, and their team-work was beginning to overwhelm both of those kids. They switched between fighting them to mix up their strategies, and baited their foes into hitting each other a few times. Sadly, there was one member of the team that wasn't quite enjoying himself right now.
Marcus was getting ganged up on by the astronaut kid, as well as the mad scientist kid. I should have figured the numbers game would have come into play sooner or later, but regardless I had a friend to save before he got hurt!
No offense to Cupid, but I can't afford to waste any more time on him. I ran my way over to Marcus to back him up before they roughed him up any worse. The mad scientist kid was throwing hard punches to his gut while the astronaut held him by both of his arms, locking him in a full-nelson type hold. I threw a sharp left punch at the mad scientist kid causing him to grasp the back of his head in pain. Marcus soon gave the kid holding him by the arms a stiff headbutt, forcing him to break the hold he had on him. I placed my right hand on Marcus's left shoulder as he staggered a bit before getting back to his feet. He managed a slight smile before asking me what happened to the Cupid kid I was fighting.
"Thought you had kid Cupid? What happened to him?"
"I managed to subdue him. It was easier than I was expecting really. I noticed you were getting pasted by those 2 chumps, so I ran over to lend a hand. What else are friends for right?"
Marcus adjusted his glasses and let out a small cough while holding his stomach, before thanking me for my assistance.
"...Y'know, the others might not admit it, but you're a great friend Stewart."
I blushed slightly at this statement, not really used to being complimented much, but it's still great to hear every once in a while. I patted Marcus on the back with my right hand before telling him of a new plan I had to speed things along here.
"Thanks man. Now listen, we're wasting time fighting these guys! All we need to do is find the one with the key, and then we can ditch these losers by going into the next room! As long as they don't have a green key of their own, they shouldn't be able to follow us inside!"
Marcus nodded his head in agreement at this, before turning his attention to the kid who was wailing on him not but a moment ago. I held him down by his arms while Marcus threw a hard slug right to his gut, causing him to double over in pain. We then proceeded to check his costume for a key, while sadly ending up with nothing.
I took notice of the Cupid kid getting back to his feet. He soon charged at me with full speed as he looked ready to tear me apart with his bare hands. Just as before, I held my ground and prepared to deal with his approach again...when something...unexpected happened.
A large piece of debris or rock fell squarely on the Cupid kid's head. This caused him to sway left and right in a dazed stupor, before promptly falling to the floor unconscious. I immediately looked upward to see where whatever it was that fell on him had come from. Much to both my shock and horror, Wednesday and Pugsley were looming over us omniously on what looked to be the 3rd floor. Wednesday was her usual, emotionless, self, whereas Pugsley held a slight grin on his face. He was probably aiming for my head knowing him, but regardless I noticed that they were both carrying brown sacks of some kind. After some inspection on what had fell on his head, I recognized it as black coal. It wasn't lit thankfully, but all the same from that height, the coal could easily knock anyone of us out if it fell directly on our heads.
In a panic, I shouted at the top of my lungs to warn everyone that we weren't alone once again.
"GUYS!!! It's Wednesday and Pugsley again! RUN FOR IT!!!"
Before making my move, I managed a quick frisk of the Cupid kid's costume. I found a blue key hidden in his right pocket, which I quickly snatched up for the rest of the team. I briefly looked over the bump on his head as well, a small wave of relief came over me as I realized it was nothing he shouldn't bounce back from. Even though we'd been enemies here, I can't say I really have anything against him. It was more or less one of those "wrong time, wrong place" sort of things.
Bobby soon broke his head-lock on the viking kid as he ran out of the way of a piece of coal falling on his head. The viking kid chased after him in aggravation, only to be pelted squarely on the noggin by a large piece of coal. The horn helmet he wore absorbed some of the impact, but it nonetheless slowed him down enough for Bobby to break away. Paul bolted his way toward the door when he saw me standing next to it. Jason, Tommy, and Marcus soon joined me at the door with the green cobra on it as the lumps of coal forced them away from the other kids as well.
I desperately scrambled to slip the key I held onto from the last room into the keyhole. I could hear Wednesday and Pugsley ruffling their bags to check if any coal was left, further putting my panic fueled nerves into overdrive. Finally, I managed to twist the key to the next room, granting us sanctuary from our adversaries on the other side.
As soon as we were all safe inside, I briefly took a look at the gang who'd just been in a fight. I knew I was fine overall, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to see how the others were holding up.
"Is everyone accounted for? How you guys doing?"
The group all nodded their heads at my question, though I could see Marcus still favoring his stomach a bit. A surge of guilt began to flow through me at the fact I couldn't have helped him sooner, but at least he was still here with all of us.
Suddenly, I could feel Paul squeeze down tightly on my hand as he tried to draw my attention. Surprised, I leant down with my right ear so he could hear me. He then whispered in a dire tone something I can't entirely say I blamed him for.
"All in favor of knocking Bobby the hell OUT?!?"
I held back a chuckle as Paul's feelings weren't completely lost on me. It was thanks to Bobby's big mouth that we all got into that fight in the first place, but even so we need all the help we could get in this scenario. The group can't afford to take a loss like that, and the very LAST thing we need is to start fighting amongst ourselves. I replied to Paul's request as responsibly as I could manage given the situation.
"Tempting, but I'm afraid that won't be possible Paul. We all need to pitch in if we're gonna get through this."
Paul frowned at this with a dead-pan glare. It wasn't my intention to let him down of course, but I had to be the sensible one here.
"Do you always have to be a boy-scout with everything?"
"I'm the older brother Paul. It's kind of in the job description for me to be the reasonable one."
I pulled my head back up to get a better look at the room itself, and what I'd seen upon doing so was...odd, to say the least.
The room was a bit smaller than the foyer, but still decently sized, it was also much better lit than the first room. The floor itself was a gray concrete with small plastic covering it. The ceiling also was covered with a protective plastic, with some dirt and soil ocassionally slipping through the protective covering. The ceiling also had what looked like a sprinkler system installed.
The room's most prominent feature had to be it's large assortment of bizarre and most likely exotic plants strewn around it. There was everything from carnivorous plants, bushes with dark leaves and sharp thorns at the bottom, tulips with black petals that seemed to hold eyeballs in their centers. If there's such a thing as a garden from hell, it was hard to argue anything else could look more convincing.
"I take it this room must be their green-house. You still have that green key on you Stewart?"
I ran a quick check over my costume to see where I last had it. I pulled it out of the right side of my Gi to show the group I still had it on me. They all smiled in relief as now we no longer had to worry about that group following us. That of course doesn't explain what new dangers we'd have to face with this new room.
Just then, I could hear some kind of microphone or loud speaker screech with distortion and feedback. A loud, booming, voice that seemed far too jolly for what we were about to go through spoke up. The voice echoed throughout the room which caught all of our attentions at once.
"Greetings, dear guests!! If you are hearing this message, that could only mean you have wandered into my wife's garden room! While you are all no doubt enjoying the sights, and the various specimens she's collected over many years, I must inform you all of your objective while in this room.
For starters, at the very end of this room, there lies a most prized species of carnivorous plant found only in Africa. It is called an "African Strangler", and hers is affectionately named Cleopatra. This plant must be fed at least 3 times a day, if not more, and currently it happens to be her supper time!
To the far left of this room, you will find a plate of mutton chops. These are said to be Cleopatra's very favorite sort of meat, and you must bring this plate of mutton chops to her so that she may feed. Move with haste and caution however, for the other plants surrounding you may try to steal the chops before you reach her. I'm afraid I must admit, manners aren't a strong point of theirs. They will attempt to eat you as well, should you falter in your quest to reach Cleopatra.
I wish all participating the very best of fortune! If the collective appetites of her plants are anything to go by, you may in fact need every ounce of it! Good luck...and for some of you...farewell!!!"
Well...at least now I know what to do here.
My friends and Paul all looked rather pensive at what we'd just been told, but I was at least happy to have a good enough clue on how to get through this place. Jason was the first of the group to speak up regarding the best course of action from here on out.
"So uhhh...anyone got a good plan here?"
"Well, we know the basics. We've got to find that plate of mutton chops, and reach this Cleopatra plant before the other plants steal them from us."
After I went over what we'd already knew, Bobby decided to pitch in the discussion with what he related to.
"This kinda reminds me of a football game! We have one member take the ball down the enemy's field. Only instead of quarterbacks and line-backers, we've got dangerous, flesh eating, plants to get by. One of us has got to take that plate of mutton or whatever to this plant thing, while the rest of us stop the other plants from reaching him."
If I actually had anything to drink here, I might be doing a spit-take! Even though I'm not what one would call a big football guy, Bobby's little analogy is making alot of sense to me! The only thing that went undecided as of right now, would be whom among us would be the one to carry the plate of mutton chops to Cleopatra.
"Alright guys, I'll go and collect that plate myself. In the mean time, try not to touch anything, okay?"
Jason and Tommy seemed a bit concerned, whereas Bobby and Marcus just shrugged at the decision. Tommy quickly asked me if going alone was really the best idea.
"Are you sure Stew? Me and Jason could go with you if you need some back-up."
"That's real nice of you Tommy, but I'm pretty sure I'll be okay as long as I hurry. I need someone to look after Paul while I'm gone though...think you can handle him?"
Jason and Tommy both shared a look, before looking back at me with confident grins on their faces. A single nod of both their heads gave me all the reassurance needed to believe they'd take good care of Paul while I was fetching the plate. Paul's grip on my hand tightened once more as he didn't seem at all happy with my decision to go it alone. It was a hard call to make, but at least if I went alone I'd be putting myself at risk, and not the rest of the group, and most importantly not my little brother as well. This of course didn't stop Paul from raging at my choice to play "hero" again though.
"Are you crazy?!? We have no idea what to expect from this room! You could be walking head long into a trap for all we know! Can't you at least take ME with you?"
"Yeah, big no-no there Paul. As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I'm alot more vulnerable when I have to look out for you. It diverts my attention, and it also gives the bad guys something to exploit. Know what I mean?"
Paul looked incensed at this, clearly showing he wasn't fully convinced by what I'd told him. He then began to frown a bit, before lunging at me for a hug. I returned his embrace in kind as I wasn't trying to sadden him by making this decision. It was all an effort to keep him safe on my part.
"Just promise me you'll be careful, alright big bro?"
"I'll be more than careful Paul. I'll be right back before you know it!"
I gave him the best positive smile I could muster to try to ease his nerves a bit. It's not to my liking having to fib to my own brother like this, but I can't afford to worry him at a time like this. I won't lie, his concern for me was pretty flattering, especially since it wasn't often this side of him was present. That said, I can't afford to put him at risk when I don't even know what to expect myself.
I gave the group a friendly nod before going on my way to find the plate of mutton chops. I proceeded onward to the left as I quickly past by several more exotic plant specimens along the way. Some resembled venus fly-traps, others reminded me of willow trees or pine bushes. The main difference to the latter was the pine bushes in question contained sharpened needles as opposed to real pines. They also seemed to be leaking some odd kind of substance that smelled pretty rank if I'm being honest. Not that I needed any further initiative, but the foul odor and threatening look of these plants spurred me on even faster than before.
I briefly looked up as I made my way through this unsettling garden. The first thing I could see was a walk-way that stretched nearly to the ceiling in height. I started to wonder where it may lead to, when suddenly I remembered Wednesday and Pugsley were supposed to be stalking us throughout the night. I cursed myself silently at how stupid I could be! It was obvious this walk-way gave them a method of sneaking throughout the room without tipping off participants to their location!
I had no idea what they could have in store for us this time, but I had precisely zero intention of finding out! I began to run my way through the endless display of morbid plant exhibits before I could finally make out the plate of mutton chops in the distance. It was neatly bagged up with plastic wrap, and sitting comfortably against a wall right next to 2 plants that reminded me of those piranha plants in Mario games. They both had large, green, heads with 2 large petals that looked sharpened around the edges, and small maws lined up with long, sharp teeth that looked as though a single bite could easily rip off a limb. I just bolted to the dish dead-center of them and grabbed it off it's pedestal before scurrying back to my group whom was still waiting for me.
As I raced my way back to my friends and little bro, I could start to hear the plants let out low, menacing, growls that sent an ice cold chill down my spine. With my fear and anxiety reaching their respective peaks, I looked up at the walk-way from before once again. To my absolute horror I could see both Wednesday and Pugsley glaring down at me from above. They began to pick up their own paces as they saw me run ever faster to the only means of sanctuary I had by this point. I had no idea why they wouldn't just go on the offensive considering I was away from everyone else, but my current situation gave me no time to think about it further.
I finally returned to the group just as I promised Paul I would. Before stopping to catch my breath, I gave Jason the plate of mutton chops as I wheezed and gasped from all the running I did to get back. Jason soon questioned me on what I saw since I went to retrieve Cleopatra's dinner.
"You got the dish! Great work Stew! What did you see while you were out there looking?"
As soon as I could speak again, I went into full detail regarding the most important thing I found while searching: the fact that we were no longer alone once again.
"Besides more creepy plants, the most concerning thing I can report is that there's a walk-way above us. It reaches almost to the ceiling, but on that walk-way I saw Wednesday and Pugsley. They're both rushing toward something, for what I have zero idea."
The group all grimaced collectively at hearing that confession. I could tell hearing this was going to send them all into a panic, prompting me to get things under control before we all lost sight of the task at hand.
"Let's not lose our heads here guys. We still have to get this dish down to that plant while avoiding the other plants along the way. I'd do it myself, but I'm a bit worn out from the trip. Any volunteers?"
The guys looked at each other and began to banter a bit before looking right back at me. In my head, I knew there was maybe 2 of us at best that'd be able to do this. Bobby was a big, strong, kid for sure, but his lacking mobility left me unconvinced he could get this plate to Cleopatra before another plant stopped him. Marcus was still pretty thrashed from what happened outside in the hall, so he was definitely out. Paul could sprint like a cheetah when properly motivated, but there's no way in HELL I'm letting him take such a big risk like that! That just leaves me, Jason, and of course Tommy. My lungs feel like they're turning to dust at the moment, so suffice it to say Jason or Tommy were our best (and only) bets here.
"I guess I'll do it then. You all have my back on this right?"
Jason finally agreed to be our star player for this room, although his question understandably showed he wasn't entirely convinced we'd be looking out for him. Of course when I say that, I mean Bobby and Marcus specifically rather than me, Tommy, or even Paul for that matter. Nonetheless, we aren't gonna get through this room by questioning each other's true intentions. I placed my right hand on Jason's back as I tried to comfort him into believing he wouldn't be alone here.
"Of course we do man! You are among friends here after all. Right guys?"
The group all nodded and gave a thumbs up to my statement, causing Jason to beam with newfound confidence in his abilities. The one exception to the rule was surprisingly Paul himself. He looked directly at me in the eyes with a betrayed expression on his face as he started to rant on about me treating him like a baby.
"Are you serious?!? We both know I'm the best sprinter among everyone here!! All I need is some backup and I can get us out of this room and into the next one in no time flat!"
I stopped myself from face-palming to address Paul's statement as maturely as I could. It really did hurt my feelings for him to think me trying to protect him from certain danger was somehow treating him like a toddler. He can whine about it as much as he wants, I've already put us both in enough danger by agreeing to come here tonight. I'm NOT about to offer my only sibling up as plant chow by having him run ahead with a plate of mutton!
"I don't care if you're The Flash Paul! I'm not letting you carry a plate of meat when every corner of this green-house from hell is crawling with flesh starved plants! If you really wanna help so badly, you can help the rest of us keep Jason safe while he delivers the meat to Cleopatra."
Paul curled both his hands up into fists as he began to bite down on his lower lip. His face was beginning to show tinges of red as he let out a low, angry, growl which usually signified when a temper tantrum was coming up. A bubbling mixture of fear and dread began to take effect in my stomach as Paul's tantrums were never a pleasant part of any day, and one happening right now would be just about the worst thing that could happen at the moment.
However, to my surprise, Paul put up no further resistance as he walked his way to my side once again. I was left speechless at this, but decided not to focus on it as we all had bigger problems to worry about right now.
Jason still held the plate of mutton in both his hands as he stared out into the seemingly endless sea of exotic, nightmarish plants. He slowly walked onward as we joined behind him, passing several species of plants by as we did so. I could hear them all letting out low pitched, blood curdling, growls of pure hunger as each stood at least a foot higher than all of us.
The sound of liquid dripping, not unlike a leaky faucet in need of repair was interlapped with the otherworldly howls of hunger and malice that seemed to be growing even louder with every passing second. The dripping noise was also followed by a weird sort of fizzing sound that reminded me of acid dissolving whatever material it made contact with. It should go without saying by now the plants themselves were already disturbing enough between their grotesque appearances and haunting noises. I REALLY didn't need to know just being licked by one was enough to disintegrate my skin like paper catching on fire!
Along the way, we managed to find a couple of spray cans, possibly containing some kind of repellant. They were positioned on a black marbel tablet of some kind a slight distance away from the plants themselves, with a plaque at the bottom-right to where the cans were neatly placed next to each other. There were exactly 5 cans in all, which told me they were meant for everyone else not carrying the plate.
The group started to take a can for themselves one by one, including myself who studied the front of the can carefully. It had little detail to it besides a small gray paper with a large skull and cross bones that usually symbolized some kind of danger or poison. I checked the back of the can to see what it was made of, but to no avail. Before we all continued onward, I decided to read the plaque to see if it had any instructions on what the cans were meant to be used for. It had read in bright gold letters the following instructions.
"Use only in cases of aggression. Aim well at the hostile plant, and avoid contact with your own eyes or mouth at all costs."
I hadn't much time to wonder as to how we were going to defend ourselves against these plants. With these cans in tow however, at least now we had something resembling a means of self-defense. It wasn't much, but I can definitely say something was better than nothing. Jason was the first to acknowledge we were all grabbing the cans off the tablet, and not him.
"What are those cans for? Can I have one too?"
"Sorry dude, there was only 5 of them to go around. Besides, you're already carrying the plate of mutton anyway. With these at our disposal, we should get through this place no sweat!"
Jason looked disappointed at not getting a can of his own, but made no further comment on it as he turned his attention back to walking. The others all tightly gripped their cans in careful positions as we grouped together. We all surveyed our surroundings patiently as we kept on the lookout for signs of aggression with the inumerous plants that cornered our every turn.
Suddenly, one large plant with a bell-shaped head from the right began to stretch out it's neck to inspect the plate Jason had been carrying. I'm no expert on plant life (or on much of anything to be blunt), but I'm fairly positive plants can't just move on their own like that. I also know they aren't expected to sniff things like how a dog or cat would something that could potentially be food or some play-thing. In spite of this, there the botanical monstrosity was, sniffing away at the contents of the plate Jason was bravely carrying in front of us all. It continued to sniff the plate for a full minute before letting loose an awful screech, like some kind of signal it was giving to it's fellow, pot dwelling, brethren.
A massive burst of panic and dread nearly overcame my resolve as almost every plant was beginning to move from that point onward. I could hear each one growling and shaking their thorny bodies like they'd just been awoken from a deep slumber. I noticed the plants to the side of us were all beginning to close off the path-way we were walking. This caused me to shout in desperation to keep us from getting boxed in by the hungry plants closing in.
"They're trying to trap us!!! EVERYONE RUN!!!"
The entire group sprinted forward before the plants that surrounded us could effectively trap us in. Jason high-tailed it first with all the speed he could muster, with the rest of us not too far behind him. I blindly sprayed at every plant lowering it's drooling maw, branches, leaves, or roots at me in a blind, frenzied, panic. I pushed Paul out of the path-way of the unrelenting greenery before myself. He used his spray can to keep the plants that nearly barred our exit at bay, stunning them temporarily so we could move onward. Tommy, Marcus, and Bobby were practically on my neck as their steps thundered upon the concrete floor we were all collectively stampeding on.
We all noticed Jason running on ahead, still firmly grasping the plate of food in both his hands as he ran toward a field of bushes. These bushes had leaves that ranged from a dark shade of purple, to a rather dull burst of grey. They shook violently as they sensed his hurried approach, unleashing long, gangly, light-brown, roots to ensnare and pull him into whatever these freaks had that constituted mouths.
I screamed in pure terror at the thought of one of my best friends being caught and devoured. A powerful sensation of guilt began to nag it's way into my unhinged nerves as I realized my own lack of breath is the reason why Jason was in this position to begin with. If I'd just sucked it up and went with carrying the plate as I planned to do anyway, it'd be ME who'd be getting ripped apart and digested, and NOT one of my closest friends!
"JASON, COME BACK!! IT'S A TRAP!!!"
Jason was too far ahead for him to even hear me, much less react in time. In mere seconds, a swarm of tentacle like roots firmly caught him, wrapping up his average sized frame and trying to pry the plate of meat from his hands. The rest of the group all caught up with me as they stood at my rear. Paul seemed ready to join my attempt at rescuing him, but I quickly forced him into Tommy's arms as I ran by myself to save one of the only three people I could trust tonight.
I practically launched myself toward where Jason was. I firmly gripped the spray can in my right hand as I prepared to blast anything holding him in place. I managed to catch him just as the roots in question were pulling him onto the ground. They turned him around so he could face me directly. My heart sank with disgust as I saw the roots had ensnared his arms and wrapped themselves around his legs. They also wrapped themselves around his neck and I could see even see one in his mouth, essentially gagging him. Even with the condition he was in, he still never dropped the plate of mutton, keeping it safe for us all even at the risk of his own life.
The look of inexplainable fear in his eyes petrified me more than anything I'd experienced these past weeks. The fear that had consumed me was being overrun by a now terrible, blood boiling, rage as I saw one of my best friends about to be dragged underground by some repulsive crowd of weeds. I furiously sprayed at every last root threatening to smother Jason alive. The plants recoiled frantically, seemingly stunned by my barrage of spray can blasts. They finally released Jason after a minute or so. I let out a sigh of relief as I'd come just in time to keep the promise I made to myself before coming to this horrible place tonight.
"Are you alright man?!"
"T-...T-...Thanks Stew."
Jason was literally shivering with fear at what he'd just went through. I felt even more remorse at putting this stupid plate in his hands to begin with, but realized beating myself up over it would accomplish nothing here. I tried my best to lift him back to his feet as we both retreated back to where we last left the group. He stumbled and limped with every single step, and I could hear him stuttering out some indiscernible gibberish as I led him back to the safety of our friends.
Once we'd made it back, Jason was able to move on his own again. He was still pretty badly distressed, but calmly walked his way over to Tommy, whom still had Paul in his grasp. Though Tommy and Paul looked happy to see us both in one piece, Bobby and Marcus looked as though they were both about to faint. Bobby soon asked a question with all the fear and nervousness I'd come to expect from us by now.
"Where the hell even IS this damn thing?!?"
"Yeah, just to answer Jason's question from before...none of us had a good plan going in here!"
Bobby and Marcus brought up fine points, but I had to keep some form of direction. I didn't bust Jason out from the brink of death just to become a banquet to the garden of Satan here! If there was even one thing we could all agree on, it's that we all had to keep moving! I spat out the best course of action I could given the limited time we had before the door shut itself on us.
"I don't know where Cleopatra is exactly, but we've all gotta stay on the move guys! We don't have much time until the door shuts for good! Let's just look down every path-way we can until we find it! It has to be different in some way to the other plants, look for a detail that stands out or something!"
Bearing in mind what Jason had put himself through for the good of the group, I snatched away the plate of mutton chops from his moist, trembling hands. I tossed him my can of plant repellant so he could defend himself in the event something else tried to mess with him. I motioned to the rest of the group to follow me as I led the pack to the left this time.
The savage plants harassed us at every turn. One had leaves like a Ficus plant, only longer and shaped like daggers at the end. Another almost resembled a large mushroom, and from the center of it's cap emitted a stomach churning odor that was taking it's toll on my consciousness. There was another plant that resembled a large oak tree, only with branches that swung loosely from side to side. Those branches attempted to take a shot at my head a few times by now, which nearly made me drop the plate I was being counted on to carry.
As we passed by path-way after path-way, I started to fear the inevitable conclusion that we'd never find this thing. If our situation wasn't so dangerous at the moment, I'd of probably suggested splitting up by now. No matter how much time that tactic would save us, the fact was we were pressured in a big way right now.
At long last, I looked down one last path-way to find a strange looking vine of some kind. It hadn't looked like anything I'd seen before, but to it's front end resembled something akin to a lotus flower. Not that I know much about plants to begin with, but with limited time to work with here, I have to trust my gut on this one! I sprinted toward the odd, vine-like, plant as my friends swiftly followed behind me, blasting everything that stood in their way.
My left eye caught wind of Paul pulling up to my left as I bolted on ahead. He looked at me with a determined stare that reassured me he had my back on this. Before either of us said anything to each other, I returned his stare with a kind smirk that was meant to convey I understood what he was trying to say. I turned my attention straight ahead as I still had to focus on running to reach Cleopatra.
I was about half-way to the plant when I could feel something grab hold of my left ankle. I was so caught up with reaching the plant that I didn't think to watch my footing. I basically flew off the ground I was running on, the plate still firmly clutched in my hands as I did so. I managed to shift my body to the right while I was falling, to keep the plate from smashing on the ground. I landed hard on my side as a result of keeping the plate safe.
Paul saw me crash and burn with his own 2 eyes. He went down to examine my condition as I let out a short groan of pain as I could feel the right side of body aching a bit. I could feel one of his hands on my back as he tried to comfort me to for what I'd done for the team. I didn't notice at first, still favoring the right side of my body, but he quickly grabbed the plate of food I'd been carrying up until this point. He looked down at me with a cocky sneer as he held the plate of mutton in both of his hands. He placed his spray can to my right hand as I gasped in horror at what he was planning to do.
"Maybe after this, you'll stop acting like we're still in diapers!"
Paul zoomed off after this statement, practically leaving behind a cloud of dust and dirt in his wake. My right side still ached a bit, but I scraped together what little energy I could to scream out to Paul for his reckless decision. Of literally ALL the worst times to go and play the rebel, he had to pick NOW?!?
"PAUL!!! NO!!!"
I willed myself back to my feet with pure adrenaline. I grasped the spray can in my right hand as I ran with speed that even rivaled the way I ran from that first nightmare I had. I didn't even bother to pay attention to the rampaging plant life that surrounded both my left and right. I just sprinted toward where my little brother had run off to. My protective older brother instincts were going haywire as I did so. Try as I might, Paul was already at the plant we were supposed to be feeding before any of us. I knew from experience just how fast he could sprint, but this was ridiculous!
It took me about 5 minutes to reach Paul where he was when I saw the plant itself. It seemed to be just one long vine with an odd lotus like flower on the front end, though it also had a smaller vine connected to it by the right. It was isolated from the other plants on a stand with a few steps, a beam of light poured down from the ceiling so as to symbolize it's status from the other plants. As expected, Paul was struggling with feeding it as he clearly didn't know which end was even it's mouth (not that I could blame him). He took the chops off the plate and tried his best to offer the plant the food, but Cleopatra backed away somewhat timidly at his hesitation.
I snuck behind where he was standing in order to enjoy the show. Paul's always loved to prove to me he could do things on his own without my help. It's a crucial part of the sibling rivalry we've had going on since the day we first learned to walk. As much as I'd love to see him stumble some more, I have to step in and feed this thing before it mistakes him for supper!
I ran right past him as he tried in vain to feed Cleopatra again, swaying the plate in his right hand as he did so. I snagged the plate from his right hand as I ran past him, leaving him confused for a moment as he noticed it was gone. I then asked him as kindly as possible what he was doing running off ahead on his own.
"Care to explain how you think it's a good idea to run off by yourself like that?!?"
Paul dodged answering the question by instead focusing on why Cleopatra refused to eat the mutton.
"Hey, I had everything in the bag, alright? I thought this crap was supposed to be it's favorite! I can't even tell if this thing has a mouth or not!"
I held off on face-palming out of pure aggravation as I had to feed this thing, and quick!
"Don't think for a second we're done here Paul! If we do make it out of here, I'd like to have a word with you!"
After getting that out of my system, I turned my attention back at Cleopatra. It seemed timid and shy given it was both hungry ontop of being carnivorous, but I cautiously slid the plastic wrap off the mutton so it could taste it's favorite food. I held the plate out with both my hands so it could smell it. It extended both it's "heads" toward where the plate was, and I could see it's smaller one sniffing out the plate's contents. It seemed to take a moment to contemplate what it had sniffed, before the larger head promptly devoured the mutton in front of it. After it finished the meal, I could swear I heard it let out a purr like it was trying to say it was full, or something. Not really sure of what to say, I just muttered out a quiet "you're welcome" before turning to leave.
My friends caught up with us just as we were about to head back. I wanted to greet them before doing so to let them know I'd just finished with feeding Cleopatra. Before I could do this however, my mind flashed back to Wednesday and Pugsley from before. Damn it! How could I be such an idiot?!? Come to think of it, where even were they this whole time?
Just before I could ponder an answer...I could make out the sound of something squeaky being turned. I instinctively looked up at the walk-way to see if they were there. Sure enough, both of them were turning what sounded like a crank of some kind. It was too high up to tell exactly what, but soon I could hear something akin to gas being released out into the atmosphere. I then remembered the sprinkler system from before. Whatever it was being pumped into the air right now, it has to be coming from it!
With my hands now free, I grabbed Paul with both my arms as I bolted for the door. I made sure to shout to the group to start running now to save time on explaining what was happening.
"TALK LATER, RUN NOW!!!"
My legs carried the full weight of my body like a speeding bullet as I bee-lined through the path-ways we'd crossed before. I heaved Paul through rows of hostile plants as we'd went back through many paths in an attempt to find the door once again. My friends hurried with me as fast as they could, but soon I began to notice that a dark brown smog of some kind was descending upon us all from above. I had to expect it probably wasn't meant to be breathed in. I covered Paul's mouth with my left hand as I ran with more speed than I thought my body was capable of maintaining.
The smog began to reach my face as I could begin to feel it invade my eyes. They began to burn and water slightly, but I still pushed on as much as I could. Out of desperation, I even started to jump on the pots that the plants themselves were on to get to the door faster. My friends caught onto what I was doing as they all joined in. Bobby in particular tried forcing open a path form himself as the rest of the gang followed him.
As if a miracle happened in the nick of time, I could make out the door toward the north of me. I just had to push through a few more of these things before reaching the exit. I leapt from pot to pot with Paul in my arms as quickly as I could, despite my body beginning to give into fatigue and strain. We reached the door with just barely enough time to spare before it closed shut for good. I let Paul to his feet as I held the door open for him. He exited first before anyone. My friends joined him out a few minutes later as I held the door open for them as well.
Finally, with no one left to go through besides me, I joined my friends and brother out the door and firmly shut it behind me, letting out a massive sigh of relief at the fact we weren't going to be made plant bait after all.