Okay, so this story isn't dead... just groggy. Been busy with life and random crap, yadda-yadda, so I fell behind. Sorry about that. But thank you to everyone who left comments, sent me messages and actually read any of my crap. I appreciated it.

So this is the second Scare Games challenge, kind of a lot different from the movie but also kinda not.

Chapter 10

Thomas treaded carefully, trying his best not to cause the floorboards to creak more than they should. He was probably the heaviest monster in ROR and made the most noise when crossing them. Every now and then he'd glance back to see if the librarian was still reading her book. They were halfway across the library at this point, having gone up the stairs to get higher. Johnny's plan was to hoist Javier over the ledge and around to the statue to retrieve the flag, Thomas and him doing the heavy lifting.

Chip and Chet were stationed below them at Thomas' urging. Although he was the biggest, he didn't have the utmost faith in his strength. They were be there in case something went wrong, whether it be catching Javier or the flag. Reggie wouldn't be coming since he couldn't stay perfectly quiet for long periods of time.

Thomas glanced over the ledge to see the other teams progress. Jaws Theta Chi were on the opposite stairwell, moving painfully slow upwards. Their entire team- with the exception of Omar- consisted of large, heavy footed monsters, keeping absolutely still must have been difficult for them.

HSS were nowhere to be seen. Thomas last saw them at the starting line where they darted up a staircase and disappeared. The PNKs were edging across the middle of the library, closing in on the ladder. Their light weight meant they could move at a quicker pace. They were probably going to reach the flags first.

But then Thomas spotted Randall crawling across the wooden framework on the other side of the library, making short work of the distance to the flags. A quick search for the OKs came up with nothing. They must have sent him out on his own to get it. It was smart, considering he was the only one who could scale walls and would make retrieving the flag a breeze, but Thomas disapproved of Mikes leadership. This was supposed to be a team effort from everyone, and he was making Randall do all the heavy lifting. He'd discuss it with Randall when they got out of here.

Thomas wondered what would happen if the librarian caught them. She wasn't actively searching for anyone, only looking about when an arbitrary creak sounded. Nobody was going to get caught at this rate.
Then, as if to answer Thomas, a loud groan sounded beneath a student's foot on the library floor. He gasped, eyes widening. Everyone stopped to watch as the librarian shut her book with a bang and raised herself up to quadruple her size, tentacles flowing over the desk. Thomas cursed to himself as she grabbed the blue student below, who was frozen in fear, and pull him up to her face.

"I said quiet." Her ghostly voice sounded out. In a second, the blue student was flung up through the roof and out of sight, screaming the whole way.

Thomas looked back to Javier and Johnny, who both let out nervous breaths. They continued. The trio were only a few steps away from the ledge when a pink face popped up. It was a PNK. She'd climbed the ladder.

She grabbed her flag and gave the boys a little wave and a smile before disappearing again. That was one team through.
Johnny turned to Thomas and spoke in a low voice.

"Get a good spot where you're anchored."

Thomas nodded, passing the two and reaching the banister. He stuck a foot between the beams and tested his flexibility from there. He then placed his right foot behind him in a wide stance. He nodded to Javier.

The insect-like monster came up and climbed the banister sitting on it in front of Thomas. He gave the red monster a stern look before whispering, "Don't drop me."

Javier extended his legs out on either side of Thomas, who wrapped an arm around each and tightened his grip around the other's upper leg. With a slow inhale, Javier pushed off the ledge and his entire weight now rested in Thomas' arms, which buckled momentarily before holding. Johnny stood beside the red monster, ready to intervene if necessary.

Javier, nearly upside down, looked about to get his bearings before seeing the flags hanging off the statue. He reached out with two of his arms, coming up short. He looked back up at Thomas, whose brow was knitted in concentration and motioned to the right.

Thomas angled himself differently, trying to get Javier closer. It wasn't enough though. Javier motioned more aggressively.
Thomas repositioned his foot messily, resulting in a his claws scratching the floor. The trio froze, looking to the librarian for any disturbance. They collectively sighed after seeing they were still safe.

"C'mon, Ghola," Johnny nudged Thomas' side, "let's hurry this up."

Thomas nodded and bit his lip as he pulled Javier around a little more, he was closer now, able to touch the ROR flag with the back of his finger.

"Almost..." The insect muttered through clenched teeth.

Then a loud bang echoed through the entire library. Everyone stopped and looked to see a book, fall to the floor and splay out messily. The librarian whirled around, squinting in the detection of the noise. Directly above the book on the floor was Randall, eyes wide and frozen stiff. He was scaling one of the bookshelves now, practically five metres away from the flags. He must have knocked one of the books loose by mistake.

Thomas bit his lip as the librarian continued to glare in his direction, eventually turning after a couple seconds. Then another loud bang sounded. Followed by another. Books flew from between two bookshelves toward Randall, who flattened himself against his perch, whirling his head around to see their origin. Thomas glared into the dim lighting on the other side and found himself looking at Sullivan, book in hand, one eye closed as he lined his arm up.

"That cheat…" Thomas seethed.

Randall quickly scurried across to the statue, panicking now. Sullivan let book after book fly, his ammunition refueled by the JOX members behind him. What did he think this could accomplish, if he angered the librarian now then it would be hell for everyone to get the flags.

Randall was cut short by a book that connected with the wall directly in front of him. He nearly lost his footing, two of his hands coming loose in the close call. He muttered something to himself before beginning to disappear. Half his body had camouflaged before a large book sailed through the air and hit Randall directly in the back. He let out a yelp before coming off the wall, falling noisily to the floor below.

The librarian at this point was rushing over, her mouth contorted in a sinister growl, hands at the ready.

"No." Thomas whispered desperately.

Randall lay on the ground, bewildered and confused.

The librarian's tentacle reached out, ready to snatch the lizard up and threw him from the library. Thomas looked away, unable to see Randall subjected to the same fate as the previous student.

Then everything stopped when loud popping noises sounded across the room. The librarian stopped in her tracks, bewilderment clear in her face as she turned. In the middle of the library lay one of the Oozma's, the middle aged one, pulling the suckers on his tentacles off the floor.

What was he doing?
The librarian's expression turned back to one of annoyance and anger as she slithered up to the OK. Then just as she was about to reach him, two shouts sounded from the floor above where the twin OKs danced and yelled. A laugh from the purple monster on the floor accompanied by kicking books and lamps off the table drew her attention.

Soon the entire library was a ruckus of noise and chaos. Johnny grabbed hold of the banister and yelled at Thomas.
"Ghola! C'mon!"

Thomas blinked in surprise but with a final grunt he pulled Javier right up to statue, where the ROR flag was quickly grabbed. This short victory came at a price, because Thomas' sudden movement, he'd lost his footing and was tipping over slightly. Johnny cried out as he grabbed the red monster around the waist and shoulder to prevent him and Javier from tumbling over the banister.

Thomas barely registered the HSSs who had reappeared above them, the leader acting as the anchor to create a ladder for the team. The last girl was in arm's reach of the statue, her fingers grabbing desperately.

An orange blur had also appeared from in between the bookcases. Omar Harris pumped his wings aggressively as he sped through the air, closing in on the JOX flag.

Randall had also regained his senses and was making his way up the wall, heaving himself up at tremendous speeds. This was the tie breaker. Whoever got their flag and got out last was out the Games. Thomas found some strength boiling inside his gut, urged on by the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and heaved upwards in Javier, pulling the insect away from a long drop.

Unfortunately, the Oozma Kappa team distraction hadn't been all too effective. The collection of shouts, grunts and leathery wing noises were enough to pull the librarians attention back towards them. With a earth shaking roar she lashed out one of his long tendrils. Everyone tried their best to avoid it, just barely dodging its whip like end as it connected with the statue.

A loud crack sounded, the arm of the marble statue- which held all the flags- came loose. Thomas gasped as Javier pulled himself to the side to avoid being hit with the tumbling stone, losing grip on the ROR flag.

Chip and Chet cried out and they threw themselves in either direction, the arm crashing down where they once stood and shattering even further.

The combination of Thomas' pull and Javier's dodge was enough to send all three RORs back into safety. They gathered themselves up quickly and gazed over the ledge, finding the remaining flags drifting down slowly to the ground, all having come loose of the statue.

"Ah crap." Johnny cursed, pushing away from the banister and rushing down towards the staircase, Javier followed.

The librarian was blindly lashing out now, trying to grab anyone unfortunate enough to be within reach. The JOX were also rushing down to the ground floor, yelling to Omar.

The small, winged monster let out a loud expletive as he beat his wings, soaring down to the slowly falling flag. With almost majestic ease, he scooped it out the air and pulled up, only barely managing to avoid of the librarian's rogue tendrils. He circumnavigated her, bound for his teammates.

Randall was perched on the balcony, watching the OK flag drift downwards, a desperate look on his face. Before Thomas could stop him, the lizard leaped forward, snatching the green flag mid-air and tumbling downwards where he connected with one of the librarians tendrils, holding on for deal life. Thomas had instinctively leapt over the banister, feet catching the ladder below, which he proceeded to push off of.

Just as Randall had done, Thomas reached out and snagged the ROR flag with the ends of his claws before curling up and hitting the librarian as well. He hadn't caught and held on though, and quickly rolled off her and onto a table below, letting out a pained 'oof'. He wheezed out, blinking in surprise when he realized he couldn't breathe.

Chip and Chet were by in side in a second, pulling him off the table and half carrying- half pulling him away from the librarian.
Thomas' eyes rolled around in their sockets, barely registering what was happening around him. Soon Johnny and Javier were before him, helping carry Thomas.

The red monster was slowly overcoming his shock and started taking some of his own weight. Before they got halfway across the library however, a rogue tendril flew beneath the teams legs and knocked them all over. They were separated by the force of it and ended up on either side of the ground floor.

Everyone was quick to get up. Johnny yelled from the other side.
"Run!"
Then he followed his own advice, Chet and Javier close behind him. Chip had helped pulled Thomas back up and began running ahead, the red monster staggering along. Thomas' breathing was haggard and deliberate, his steps crudely placed. He wondered if he had a concussion.

"Hurry up!" Chip yelled over his shoulder, speeding ahead. Thomas tried to match the pace but was cut off by the librarians tendril, which crashed down in front of him, making him trip over it and fall. Chip was already gone.
Thomas quickly yanked himself to his feet, only to be knocked down again by a small figure.

"Thomas!" Randall yelped as he fell beside the red monster.

The furry monster merely widened his eyes in response- only to widen his eyes further when glancing behind the purple lizard. He shoved Randall away roughly, making the reptile slide across the varnished wooden floors and rolled away from another snaking tendril that latched down on the area they once occupied. Thomas cursed loudly in frustration and fear, hobbling to his feet and sprinting away. It wasn't long before the entrance was in sight and he bounded toward it.

The bright sunlight blinded him for a moment, causing him to run straight into Reggie and Chip. The trio tumbled down onto the grass.

"Ghola!" Someone shouted, turning the red monster over and slapping his shoulder. Thomas couldn't open his eyes in the bright light nor could he speak for breathlessness. Instead he raised his hand into the air, flag between his fingers.

A massive burst of cheering and whopping sounded as he did so, causing him to smile somewhat through his pain. Johnny yanked him to his feet and patted his shoulder.
"You did good." he said gently.

Thomas' smile widened further, pride warming his soul. The RORs all celebrated around him, each taking their turn to congratulate each other.

A disturbance at the doorway of the library made everyone turn their attention. The monsters positioned in front and around hopped out the way, including the RORs, as a pile of Oozma Kappas stumbled out and slid across the grass, before the stream. The arch-like monster excitedly cried out.
"We did it!"

Mike was up in a flash, angrily scolding him.
"No we didn't! We forgot the flag!"

"Mike." The pale monster behind Wazowski called, standing beside a haggard looking Randall who held up a green flag in one hand. The OKs collectively praised Randall, making him smile slightly.

Collective screams were heard from above as six dark blurs flew from the top of the library and into a tree before dropping into the stream. The crowd cheered. Brock Pearson was already out on a podium set up with the boards of each team. As Claire pulled out the dark HSS board, he announced, "HSS have been eliminated and Oozma Kappa live to scare another day!"

The OKs bunched up and began chanting: 'We're OK!'.

Randall caught Thomas' gaze and gave a meek wave. Thomas smiled broadly back before the lizard was pulled into the celebration.
Thomas turned when he felt a nudge. Chip stood before him, holding out his hand. Thomas took it and they shook roughly, Chip smiling lazily.
"Let's go grab a bite. I'm wasted after all that running, I dunno about you."

Thomas nodded feverishly, causing him to wince in pain. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was sorry for it. Maybe he should check out if he had a concussion first.
He shrugged it off. It probably wasn't serious.

"Let's go." He answered. Chip walked off, Reggie following. Thomas gave one last look at his competition for the next challenge.

Sullivan and the JOX further in the crowd, talking excitedly amongst themselves. The PNKs already leaving. And the OKs, who were still chanting in a huddle, Mike had joined in. His gaze lingered on Randall for a moment. Then he joined Chip and Reggie, waiting for him on the other side of the stream.

Thomas walked slowly through the neighborhood. He'd been here before the toxicity challenge to visit Randall, but he hadn't taken much notice of the area. The fact that a frat lived in the area was even more boggling.

He'd gone to have lunch with Chip, Reggie and Martin, who'd joined them soon after leaving. He learned more about them when they started chatting. Chip had been in the frat for two years and was picked up much in the same way Thomas was. Reggie however, was the newest member before Thomas, only joining last year. He and Johnny had actually gone to the same high school, which explained the nickname Johnny often called him by, 'Bruiser'. Martin was a senior, like Johnny, and had some history with JOX. He didn't give away much but Thomas deducted he must have been a member at some point.

Chip had first appeared to Thomas as this quiet, indifferent douchebag but after joining ROR he knew it wasn't so. And now after speaking to him- practically one on one since Reggie and Martin were conversing like old friends- Thomas knew without a doubt how cool he really was.

'By the way, there's a party tonight at our place and since you know the Oozma's I told Johnny you'd invite them.'

He'd explained it was an annual mid-games party hosted by the RORs. Every year the remaining frats and sororities in the Games came to have a good time. Everybody was invited, but the teams still competing got personally invited. Thomas agreed and took his leave, thinking it was better to tell them about it sooner rather than later. It also gave Thomas a chance to meet the OKs all personally.

The maroon monster climbed the steps, reaching the doorbell and pushing it firmly, that same winding charm echoing from within. It wasn't long before a monster who looked scarily similar to the pale five eyed OK answered.

"Errr…" Thomas did a double take of the plaque above the door. He had the right house, right? "Hi."

"Hi there, sweetie. What can I do for you?"

"Is-" he tried to peer around her, "is Randall here?"

"Oh, you must be Thomas!" She said excitedly. He breathed in relief.
"I'll go get him. Come on in." She left the door open and went over to the staircase shouting up to the second floor.
"Boys! Thomas is here!"

The furry monster walked into the hall, taking a closer look at the interior design. He guessed the woman who answered must have been the pale monster's mother.
"Which explains the china." He muttered softly to himself.

"Thomas?" Randall's head poked down from the staircase, glasses flashing in the light.

"How's it going?"

Randall thanked the woman and walked in.
"What are you doing here?"

"Are you gonna be this surprised whenever I come over?" Thomas chuckled.

Randall smiled a bit.
"Unless you plan on making a habit out of it."

"I could," Thomas smirked before quickly commenting, "glad to see you held up your part of the deal."

Randall blinked a bit, tilting his head. Thomas chuckled and signed circles around his eyes. The reptile let out a loud 'ooh' and looked down sheepishly.

"Well... yeah. I really didn't want to."

Thomas sensed the unease from Randall. The way he readjusted with his glasses now that he remembered he wore them, the way his shoulders hunched inward whenever he was embarrassed. The red monster smiled, reaching forward to swat away the lizards fidgeting fingers from his face.

"I like them. You're not glaring anymore."

Randall let out a nervous chuckle before looking about awkwardly.
"You… want a drink?"

"I'd die for some coffee. Angie still hasn't learned how to make a good cup yet."

Walking into the connected kitchen and picking up the coffee machine, Randall filled it with water.
"You went to United?"

"With Chip and Reggie. Had a bite after all that mayhem in the library."

"Yeah… that really sucked." Randall switched the coffee machine on, turning to find Thomas in the kitchen, inspecting the pictures on the fridge.

"Can say that again. I thought I'd broken something when I landed on that table."

"Are you alright?"

"Just a couple scrapes and bruises, maybe a little concussion." He laughed. Randall stared back unimpressed.

"That was dumb. Chet could of grabbed it at the bottom."

Thomas shrugged. He hadn't looked down to see what the situation with those below was like, he'd acted on impulse. It got them through the challenge, that's all that mattered.

"So any idea what's gonna happen to the librarian? I mean, she broke one if the statues and messed up half the library?"

Thomas couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Oh, yeah, she's in trouble for that, but so is the Greek council."

Randall huffed.

"This isn't funny. If she hit somebody like she hit that statue who knows how many bones they would have broken."

Thomas shrugged, somewhat unphased. It had happened, nobody got injured, so what was the use of worrying about it.

"Well do you at least care about whether they're going to cancel the Games?"

The red monster shook his head adamantly.

"Johnny heard they considered it, but there'd be too much backlash. This is something the university is known for country wide— to be shut down because of a small accident would be pretty pointless."

"If it was a small accident." Randall pointedly looked at Thomas through his glasses. He really was a worrywort. "How did Johnny know anyways?

Thomas shrugged again. Randall just gave him a short sidelong gaze before looking back at the coffee machine.

"Hey, you guys busy tonight?"

"Don't think so."

"Good, because you're coming to a party."

Randall cocked his head, looking for an explanation. Thomas put back a picture of the OKs on the fridge.

"We're hosting a mid-games party for you guys."

"For us?" Randall frowned.

"Well, for everyone in the Games still— which includes you. So you have to come."

Randall turned back to the coffee machine, grabbing mugs to pour into.
"I dunno, Thomas."

"Dunno what? It's just a party."

"Where Sullivan and a bunch of other jerks are gonna be."

Thomas threw his arms up in an exasperated sigh.
"Who cares? If he gives anyone grief I'll kick him out."

"Doesn't matter. I don't want to be near him," Randall said decisively, "he's the one that nearly cost us the challenge. I can't believe he didn't get disqualified!" He growled out, gripping the mugs a little tighter.

Thomas came around and leaned on the counter, pouting.
"Yeah, he's an ass, everyone but him knows it… but he's not the reason you're going to the party," he twirled a claw around the edge of one of the cups, "you're going because you got the Oozma's through the challenge."

Randall paused, a surprised look on his face.
"I- I guess I did."
He broke into a proud smile.

"And of course I'm going to be there." Thomas smiled his creepy smile.

Randall rolled his eyes.
"But we're gonna have to convince Mike to come as well."

"We're all going." Randall and Thomas turned to the living area, where Mike stood silently.

"How long-" Thomas frowned.

"Long enough," Wazowski walked around into the kitchen, opening the fridge, "we'll be there."

"Great,"Thomas clapped his hands together before turning back to Randall, "I'll see you there."

"Your coffee." Randall gestured to the cup. Thomas was already at the door, in the process of opening it.

"Mike can drink it." Was all he said before shutting the door behind him, Randall staring where Thomas had once been.

Mike shut the fridge door before walking out the kitchen.
"I'm not drinking his coffee."