Chapter Text
It was just meant to be a quick supply run. That was of course, before Shelly’s party had barely found anything worth salvaging on the first couple of floors. Really just some wrappers from protein bars, a few gumballs here and there, and a half-full can of soda. No doubt the work of Shrimpo, everyone knew he was always leaving rubbish around.
This was, of course, bound to lead them to a very specific warehouse. After all it was 10 floors directly downwards from the ground floor that all that all the toons took refuge at. Shelly never liked this warehouse, especially after the whole Dandy debacle. She was never one to be superstitious, but she is sure this warehouse is cursed. Nothing good has happened in this room.
Shelly had no time to be worried about the bad reputation this warehouse has, no. Right now, Shelly had to flee from the claws of a legless Finn, dragging himself across the ground. The ichor had filled up his bowl further, and demented his appearance even more than the last time Shelly had seen him. His teeth were sharper, eyes were more red, and Shelly could spy a faux spine of ichor starting to grow out of his back. She is equally fascinated as she is disturbed by the ichor growing new limbs. Finn had snuck up on her not too long ago while she was trying to extract from a machine. She must have spaced out. Now that she thought about it, that has been happening a lot more lately, hasn’t it? But, she couldn’t blame herself really. There has been quite a bit that has happened in these past few months. With Astro going missing, the whole Dandy… situation.
Shelly shuddered at the thought of seeing her old friend’s body be twisted and melded into a beast. That, of course, was followed by Vee going missing after she couldn’t make it to the elevator on time. Shelly does everything to not think about the horror painted on Vee’s screen. The fear in her eyes. It was one of the rare moments it switched from its typical smug look. Then followed the mechanical screech that Shelly could hear clear as day, even after the door closed.
It has been hard on her. All of it has. Shelly was actually quite thankful for Tisha being there for her when she lost her friends…
Augh! Now is not the time to think about this. Shaking her head clear of those darker thoughts, Shelly took a sharp turn around a bookshelf, praying that Finn would lose her trail. She doesn’t think she can run much longer. To her relief, the sound of diluted ichor swishing around in a bowl did not follow her. Shelly leaned against the dusty shelf, she clutched her arm tightly and listened carefully. The sound of Finn’s body dragging across the ground grew quieter. She finally released a breath that she never realized she was holding. Relief washed over her.
The chase was over for now.
Shelly slid to the floor with a soft thud. Trying to catch her breath. No matter how much she ran these past years, she never got used to running such long distances. She honestly wouldn't doubt it was a side-effect of her time searching for fossils, back when Gardenview was open to the public. The dust that was kicked up always managed to irritate other toons into a coughing fit. It had never bothered her then, she guessed the years old dust in her lungs were finally catching up to her. Yippee…
Shelly did miss it though, the golden days. Her eyes found their way to the floor as she recalled the past. The past where she searched for fossils, where she explained the process to any curious child (or adult), or even when she told about her greatest finds to anyone who would visit the history exhibit in Gardenview. Oh! Like this one time she uncovered the mandible of a carnivore -she soon discovered it had belonged to a Dromaeosaurus- with nearly all the teeth intact. She was so happy that day, she had likely talked Tisha’s poor ears off that day. If she had them of course.
Letting out a soft chortle from the nostalgia. Look at her, Shelly being reminiscent of the ‘Good ol’ days’. She’s acting like her namesake, a fossil. It was always better to be present, and now Shelly needed to get back to extracting. She rose to her feet, dusted off her dress and took a good look at her surroundings. When she recalled where the machine was, Shelly wove around the shelves. She swerved her head around at any small movement. She’d rather not be chased again. Although Finn never really gave much of a chase, especially now when he’s barely half her height.
Shelly always felt a bit of pity for the fishbowl. The both of them got along quite well, she’d listen to his fish facts and he’d listened to her ramble on and on about dinosaurs. It was a shock to hear the news that he became hostile like Flutter or Gigi. Shelly does kinda wonder where the rest of him is though. They could never really find his legs. Not that they were actively searching for them, of course.
Shelly gets pulled out of her thoughts by the familiar voice of a particular strawberry, Sprout. “Shelly! There you are.”
“Sprout, hey!” Shelly greeted with a smile.
“I saw Finn come through here, are you alright?” Sprout asked sternly, Shelly didn’t miss the way his eyebrows scrunched together in worry.
Shelly let out a small laugh to ease the tension, “Oh! That? Haha.. Yeah. I’m alright. He didn’t get me, don’t you worry!” She flipped her hand and brushed at the air. Shelly hoped it would ease his worries.
Sprout let out a sigh of relief. Shelly could see the tension release from his shoulders. Not too much though, everyone knew he was always worried about something, or someone. “Good,” He began. “Since I’ve run into you, Cosmo wanted to ask a favor from you.”
Shelly tilted her head slightly, “Hm? What’s that?”
“Cosmo is having trouble with the machines. He just doesn’t understand how to do it. I tried to explain it how I know, but I guess it still wasn't clicking.” Sprout explained. “So, I offered to go find you. See if you could give him some pointers.”
“Oh, sure!” Said Shelly, always happy to help. “Where’d you see him last?” She asked.
Sprout pointed off in the distance, “He should be in the back. By the emergency exit. I would lead you to him, but I’m going to go make sure Pebbles is alright, especially since Finn was over here.”
Shelly nodded in understanding, “Thank you! Good luck!” She did her signature fist pump, and they both went their separate ways.
She’d have to put her mission to the other extraction pipe on hold, her friend needed her help. She knew Cosmo always struggled a bit with extracting. It was so different from anything he knew, so she didn’t blame him. Really there were only a few of the toons who knew how to properly extract from the machines well. Shelly of course being one of them, there was also Gigi, but she unfortunately also suffered the same fate as Finn. Literally, what was with them losing their legs?
Although she did miss Gigi, she had always unnerved Shelly. Especially after Gigi claiming she didn’t have an ammonite in ‘her collection’. What did she mean by that? She’ll never know. It would have been a lie if Shelly said she wasn't relieved that they hadn’t spotted her on this supply run yet. Gigi always had quick hands, even after she’s been demented by ichor.
Once again, her train of thought was broken by the sound of a loud buzzer which rang throughout the warehouse. Its echoed screech bounced off the walls. Shelly had felt her shell rattle from the noise. It was almost nauseating. When she recovered from the shock shortly after, she rushed towards where the noise came from. Keeping an eye peeled for any assailants.
Just as she assumed, Cosmo was there and he was hiding behind some crates. He reasonably seemed startled from what just happened. The spot he picked wasn’t a bad hiding place. It was in a desolate corner behind an iron shelf and some old boxes. The only downside was the emergency exit stairway. She recalled seeing some of her fallen friends come out of there before. She assumed that's how they managed to travel from floor-to-floor. Shelly slowed down her sprint to a crouch-walk as she snuck over to where Cosmo hid. She didn’t spy any other toon so she was safe for now. “Hey there, Cosmo!” She greeted, rather louder than she intended it to be.
Cosmo practically jumped out of his skin. He let out a yelp and jolted around to face her. “Oh… It’s just you.” He sighed a breath of relief. Speaking in his usual soft voice.
“Just me.” Shelly's contrasting louder voice had reassured him.
“Sorry, you startled me..” Cosmo looked to the side and rubbed his arm to soothe his nerves.
“Hah.. Yeah. I noticed.” Shelly tried to brush it off. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to unintentionally sneak up on someone. Shelly tried to tell herself she was just sneaky, although some other part of her said otherwise. She knew this situation was different, that didn’t help that she still felt a pang of an old wound being scathed.
“Uh… What do you need?” Cosmo questioned, just barely above a mumble.
“I heard the machine buzz, I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” Shelly replied, a smile in her tone. She tried to cut out the fact that it might’ve been him that caused the machine to go off. Shelly didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Oh! Yeah.. That uh-… That was me.” Cosmo responded rather awkwardly. “I’ve been struggling with the machines a bit..”
“Do you want any help?” Shelly offered.
Shelly could see Cosmo thinking for a moment, if his silence wasn’t a give away. “Yeah, please. That would be good..” He finally responded.
“Alright! What have you been struggling with?”
“Mostly just with the valve. It’s not that it's too difficult to move, but it’s when I need to know when to pause to not trigger anything..” Cosmo explained.
Oh! That's it? Shelly knew just how to explain this perfectly. “You just have to listen to when the ichor starts stuttering. It’ll eventually work itself out.” She tried to explain.
“Yeah.. That’s what Sprout said, but it always sounds the same to me.” Cosmo clarified.
“Then I’ll show you! Where is this machine at?” Shelly began to look around, putting a hand over her eyebrow line for theatrics.
“Um.. It’s this way.” Cosmo pointed off past the boxes. “Is the way clear?”
Shelly nodded. “Mhm! Should be.”
“I’ll lead the way then.” Cosmo shuffled out of his hiding place, Shelly stepped off to the side to allow him to move. She was near the emergency exit’s door. She could’ve sworn she heard the sound of heavy footsteps. It caused her to pause. But after hearing nothing, she followed Cosmo to the machine.The machine was a quarter of the way filled. Its ichor was still from the lack of any disturbance at the moment.
“So,” Shelly began, she clapped her hands together before she reached the pipe’s valve. “First things first, you’ll need to get a steady flow of ichor going. Any sudden changes in pace can cause the pipes to clog.” She explained. Cosmo nodded in understanding, it was likely he knew this already, but you can’t just start on step-two. After a short while, Shelly started to hear the pipes start to stutter a bit. “Listen closely, the pipes are starting to rattle.”
Cosmo leaned a bit closer, “How are you able to hear that?” He asked.
“I’m not sure, I think I just have good hearing, haha..” Shelly chuckled nervously. It was the truth of course. For being a shell without any ears, her hearing was one of the best out of the toons. She remembers Gigi not having excellent hearing but a good eye. It’d probably be easier for Cosmo to watch the pipes than to listen to them, Shelly thought. “You can also keep an eye on the pipes above the machine.” Shelly paused extracting, the ichor was sputtering in the pipes. She noticed them rattling a bit more aggressively too.
“I didn’t know the pipes rattle.” Cosmo said, astonished at the discovery. His voice rang a little louder.
Shelly chuckled, she always had enjoyed teaching others. It was why she was practically beaming whenever someone asked her about dinosaurs. “They do!” Once the sputtering had quit, Shelly returned to turning the pipe at an even pace. “You can thank Gigi for that trick.”
“Ah right..” Cosmo’s voice got softer yet again. Shoot! Shelly hopes she didn’t bring down the moment by mentioning Gigi.
She started to berate herself internally for messing it up. Shelly never really got to talk to Cosmo outside of runs, so she felt like she ruined her only chance at being his friend. Mostly because if he wasn’t by Sprout, he was off in his room. The kitchen that he and Sprout used to bake in was off limits to go in alone. Shelly knows Cosmo is too cautious to venture down by himself. She couldn’t blame him. Whenever Shelly ventured off to go reminisce at the exhibit catered to her, she always came back with a scratch or two.
“Do you ever wonder if they still recognize us?” Cosmo broke Shelly from her train of thought, she noticed the machine was nearly completed.
“Hm? Who?” Shelly questioned.
“Gigi and the others who.. died.” Cosmo clarified.
Shelly blinked a few times. They weren’t dead. Call it denial, but Shelly refused to think of her friends as dead, “They aren’t dead, I don’t think.” The machine rang completed. Ichor leaked off of the valve and caught on Shelly’s feet, dang it Finn..
“Then what are they?” Cosmo asked genuinely. He looked at the floor. If his expression was contemplation or frustration Shelly couldn't tell.
Shelly furrowed her brows as she thought on the matter. Their bodies may be twisted and bleeding ichor, but they for sure weren’t dead, “I’m not sure, but definitely not dead.” Shelly shook her head of any lingering dark thoughts. She never liked thinking about the state of them. It never led to any good thoughts, and she couldn't count the amount of time she went into a spiral from them. “Well off to the next machine?” She asked.
“Yes, I think I understand better now.” Cosmo blinked a few times before responding to her. Shelly led the way to where she originally was going before her plans were changed. Unsticking her feet from the puddle of ichor, her boots leaving a small trail before finally being shaken off.
“Well, come on! I’ll let you do this machine yourself.” She wandered off with Cosmo in tow. She finagled herself away from any open areas. She wasn’t sure where Pebbles was at the moment, but it would be best to not interfere. She looked off in a direction near a bunch of crates, Shelly guessed the machine should be over there.
After they both finally spotted the machine, Shelly made way for Cosmo to extract it from the machine. She rested a hand on her hip as she watched closely. She noticed Cosmo flickering his eyes up quite often to keep an eye on the pipes that filled the machine. Shelly heard the machine stutter, she watched carefully. When the pipes began to rattle, Cosmo stopped spinning the valve. Tension had rung throughout the air. Both of them waited for a buzz that would never come. After a moment, Cosmo smiled. Shelly could see the confidence enter his body as he slightly straightened his posture.
“Yeah! That’s it! Keep it going, I believe in you!” Shelly cheered on. She watched for a moment before she decided that he got a decent idea of what to do. Shelly started to walk off towards the elevator exit. If she could recall correctly, the machine Cosmo was working on would be the last.
It felt nice to help out Cosmo, it reminded her of the times when she held mini-excavations as an activity when Gardenview was open. It wasn’t the real deal of course. Children's parents would go nuts if they found out their dear child was using an actual chisel. That, as well as any toon was prohibited from leaving the building ever. So, Shelly made do with a controlled environment. To be honest, it would've been a lie if Shelly said she didn’t crave freedom of the outside world. However, ever since Gardenview shut down, no train stops by anymore. It would be nigh impossible to catch a train with her appearance alone. It never stopped her from hoping though.
Shelly’s train of thought is broken by the sound of paper being crinkled under her boots. Stopping abruptly, she lifts her foot from the offending object. Surprise caught her in its grasp as she noticed a familiar figure on the paper. It was a drawing of her, a crude drawing. There is no doubt this was the work of a child, but still a drawing nonetheless. And for her. Shelly picks up the paper with care, taking extra caution to not pierce or creese the drawing with her dull claws. Shelly rarely got drawings for her, not a lot of folks were really interested in history unfortunately. But that was fine, she told herself. She carefully inspected the drawing, looking over every detail. The messy crayon lines were endearing, it was the hard work of someone. The drawing was just of her standing and smiling, it brought a smile to her face. She noticed some near chicken-scratch writing just above her depicted-self.
’SORRY I FORGOT YOUR NAME’
Shelly’s smile dropped. Ah, of course. Just a silly child who forgot something. That's not new. It was never new, no matter how many times it happened to her. No matter how many times she wasn't seen. No matter how many times she was left in the dust. She knew that this was not the kid’s fault, they wouldn't have known! But it still never stopped hurting. Shelly could feel her eyes sting as tears were threatening to fall. It never stopped hurting, whether it be ignored or just plain out forgotten. It always hurts her. It alway-
Oh. Her claws tore it a little. Ugh.. Great job, Shelly. Now look at what you’ve done this time. She let out a breath she never realized she was holding, it felt like all the pressure that was building up finally released. She sniffled a bit and wiped at her face. This poor kid put their hard work into this, she should be grateful. She’ll tape up the small tear when she gets back. For now, she needs to get back on task.
After folding the drawing neatly into a square and safely tucking it away in her dress’ pocket. Shelly took a deep breath to recompose herself. She shook her hands a couple times and bounced a bit. Only to be startled by the sound of the emergency buzzers kicking into action, it wasn’t terribly loud but she for sure didn't expect it. Red flashed in the room, yelling at her to leave now. Shelly made haste, picking up the pace to return to the elevator. Hopefully they’ll call it here. Shelly wasn’t really in the mood for much anymore. There was the sound of a gargled screech up ahead, she guessed it belonged to Finn based on the pitch. So, Shelly did some quick thinking and took a detour to another path. It’ll take a bit longer than she’d hoped but she’d still get to the elevator on time.
She heard footsteps. It was a little too noisy for Shelly to really pinpoint whose, but they were nearby. How odd, she could’ve sworn Finn was the only one on this floor, and he doesn’t have legs. Shelly decided to slow into a crouch-walk to sneak by where the footsteps were. She heard it before she saw it. It was an electronic screech that crackled through the air. Its tone had glitched in the midst of the scream showing damage. It had pierced whatever she had for ears, and rattled inside her shell. She couldn’t help but flinch. She really shouldn’t have turned around, but she wanted to prove herself wrong.
She wished she was.
Time froze as she processed what exactly stood a distance away from her. It looked like the deformed body of a missing friend, her missing friend. Vee. No longer missing, but was she the same? Nothing of this thing in-front of her was the automaton she once knew. Its appearance was demented, it was several heads too tall. All she could get a good look at were the needle-thin claws rushing towards her and its neon-green eyes that bored into her soul.
Finally, her body reacted and she made a run for it. There was an ear-piercing sound of feedback around her. It felt hard to move as Shelly fought to cover her head. The sound of metal slamming against concrete practically vibrated the floor. She couldn’t hear anything else but the sound of her and the thing that disguised as her friend’s footsteps, the feedback from the speakers, and the ichor rushing in her head. Shelly took a sharp turn and practically dove into an office. Thinking quickly, she shuffled under a desk and held her breath. There was no way she would make it to the elevator while being chased by that thing. The overwhelming sounds alone would kill her.
After a moment, Shelly couldn’t hear any heavy footsteps near the office. She crawled out from under the office desk, peered around the corner and tried to catch her breath. Shelly did her best to ignore the feeling of eyes on her. It wasn’t near the office, thankfully. She could hear it off in the distance wandering, though. She’ll have to be quick if she wants to make it back on time.
Shelly took a deep breath in, and sprinted towards the elevator. She saw them there, Sprout, Cosmo, and Pebbles, looking around. She saw them exchange looks as they backed up into the elevator. No..
“Wait!” Shelly shouted, her voice cracking as she pleaded to no one in particular. She knew it was out of her control.
Shelly and Sprout made eye contact, he looked shocked. “Shel-”
SLAM
Shelly stared dumbfounded at her reflection. She ran out of time. Thoughts raced through her head, bouncing back like an echo chamber. Shelly couldn’t bother to move as devastation coursed through her. She just stood there staring back at her vague reflection. One thought was loud enough as it repeated through her mind enough times.
She was stranded here.
Shelly cursed at no one once she snapped out of her stupor. Damn it! She shouldn’t have got caught up in her own feelings over a silly drawing. She knew she had to get to the elevator. Shelly pressed her back against the cool, metal door and slumped to the concrete floor. She shouldn’t have dove into the office. That automaton was slow after all. Maybe if she pressed through the noise, she could have made it to the elevator on time.
Being stranded never ended up well. The only few that ever got stranded were Flutter, Gigi, Glisten, Poppy, and Boxten. Boxten was the only toon ever successfully recovered, he wasn’t in great shape though. Odds were not looking in her favor. She was also more fragile than Boxten, all the main characters of the show were. They had more ichor within them. Why? Shelly didn’t know. A lot of the decisions the owners made in hindsight weren’t really the greatest. She was sure they were good in theory, of course! However, things like making an emergency exit elevator, and then also refusing to ever repair it. Shelly was sure it violated at least one OSHA regulation.
Trying to stifle the grimmer thoughts in Shelly’s mind, she did her best to reassure herself. She considered herself on the tougher side, more ichor in her system aside. She was pretty strong too, and had a general sense of what to do if she got hurt. She considered herself resourceful as well. She had to be. She’d be fine. She could survive here until the others came back for her.
If they come back for her, that is. A grim thought slithered its way into her mind.
She shook her head a little. They would! She knows Sprout cares about her, just like anyone else. If they don’t she’ll understand! It was tough work keeping everyone in good health after all. She could just find a way back up after all. Shelly stood up and brushed off her dress, whether or not she had to give herself a false sense of hope didn't matter. She still needed to get back to everyone up-top. She’ll surely die down here if she doesn’t. Besides, Tisha might miss her.
She took a deep breath in to soothe her nerves. The elevators usually don’t open back up until the next time the surviving toons needed supplies, hopefully Sprout will alert Roger that she is still down here. Roger knows the elevator’s schedule best. That, however, does leave the elevators out of the question. If memory serves her correctly, the warehouse branches off into different areas. She saw the emergency exit in the back of the large room, but that could be risky knowing those are typically in use by frenzied toons. They’re always stuck by the main elevator anyway. Shelly could find a more desolate exit. The doors in the offices lead to hallways which could lead to the stage rooms. That, or a larger office complex. For someone who’s lived in the same facility her whole life, Shelly sure never got a hang of the building's layout. It was a bustling place after all. There were also places the toons weren’t allowed in.
Before Shelly could fully make up her mind, a familiar electronic tone rung throughout the air. It was the sound of static followed by the same microphone feedback, then followed a series of clicks. There was a tense silence that hung in the air. What was it doing? Shelly felt the return of anxiety, but she couldn’t help but listen. The feeling of being watched returned, except without the additional stress of making it to the elevator on time, Shelly searched around the room for any eyes. While nothing in the gateway to the warehouse caught her eye, something else in another room did.
The computer in the office was on.
That was unusual, she had not seen those monitors powered on in a year or two now. What was causing them to turn on now? Curiosity got the better of Shelly as she inched closer to the office. Taking care of her steps so as to not create too much noise. Once she reached near the hallway, the ammonite peered around the corner. No signs of “Vee”. As quickly as she could without making too much noise, Shelly snuck over to the office desk to look at the computer. Having to stand on her toes, she spies just a simple pop-up window. More specifically, an ad to Vee’s gameshow. The date was obviously wrong. There hadn't been any gameshow’s for god knows how long. What else caught Shelly’s eye was a blinking red light next to the monitor's camera. Was it on?
Shelly’s question was quickly answered by the sound of quickly approaching footsteps, heavy on the ground. The feedback returned to the air. Shelly flinched, looking around frantically for anything to hide behind. There was the desk but, she was sure it would see her now if it came into the office. Shelly could risk it and make a dive back to the elevator. There wasn't the promise of safety but at least she wasn’t cornered.
Shelly quickly made up her mind as the sound of steps grew dangerously close. She dove out the door and darted across the hall. She knew it saw her, she could tell by the sound of static that nearly sounded like a snarl. Shelly shoved her hands into her dress pockets to see if she had anything on her person. Nothing, just the familiar ribbon of the participation reward she got so long ago. Shit! Gritting her teeth, Shelly made a loop around a partition wall, going deeper into the warehouse with the automaton hot behind her trail. She spotted some boxes in her path. Maybe Shelly could gain some ground if she knocked them down? Anything is better than being caught by the claws of something pretending to be her missing friend. As Shelly passed the boxes, she rammed her shoulder into the crates, and made them tumble to the ground and right into the path of her pursuer. She saw it landed on the automaton, she even heard a sickening crunch. It let out a pained screech. Its voice only came out in spurts, and it was loud. It made her blood run ice-cold.
She’s heard that scream before.
Year-old memories that stirred back up had made Shelly too distracted to notice a pile of ichor and some small shards of glass on the floor. She slipped, letting out a yelp and she slammed against the hard ground into the puddle of ichor. It was cold. Shelly could feel a shard of glass dig into her knee, she winced at the sharp feeling. She assumed that must have been what she heard earlier. Did one of the toons land a hit on Finn? She started to claw at the ground. Scrambling to get up. No matter how much her head hurt she couldn’t lie here. Not when a mangled body that could be her friend but she wanted to deny it so much- was in pursuit after her. When she finally got to her feet, she darted to take cover. The glass in her knee shot pain through her every time she extended her leg. It made her limp, which means she was slower. It didn’t help that she couldn’t hear much of anything with the sound of her own panicked breaths. Luckily, the feedback had stopped. Not so luckily, she swears she heard it move faster.
For the second time that day, Shelly wished she was wrong. Heavy claws swung at her. She got knocked into the air and tumbled back down a good few feet away. She heard her shell crack. Shelly could barely move her body from the sheer pain the impact had on her. Shakily, she opened an eye to get a look at her assailant. It stalked forward. Shelly attempted to get back up, but that was futile and a hand made of ichor grabbed her by the torso. Her eyes shot open, it held her up like she was just a rag doll. It squeezed her tight, the air being nearly squeezed out of her. Since she was much closer and not actively running away. She got a better look at it. She just wished it was in better circumstances. She took in every detail of her killer, she wanted to remember what it looked like when the inevitable happened. She would never stop hunting it, she swore that.
The televisions outer shell was a faded green unlike Vee’s usual mint green. There was paint chipped on its head. Its antennae were too long, to belong to her friends. They were coated in ichor. In fact, its screen practically seemed to be leaking ichor. Its eyes were far too uncanny, nearly realistic if they were the lime green. She could spy a red ring in its pupil that damn-near burned a hole in her face itself. It was mad. SHE made it mad. Good. She never wanted to go out without a fight. She drew her lips back into a snarl as she returned the glare, full of rage.
They stayed like this for a few moments, an intense staring contest. That is when the unexpected happened. The machine blinked a few times. Its expression unchanging, but Shelly could’ve sworn she saw something click in its mind. Maybe it was a slight shift in its posture, or that its gripped loosened a bit. It made her uneasy. She furrowed her brows as she watched the broken machine carefully. Its eyes flickered around before it dropped her. Shelly hit the ground with an oof. Now dumbfounded, she looked up at her former assailant. It was already stalking away.
What.
Even with her dangerous curiosity, Shelly knew better than to follow a lion into its den. She took this opportunity and made a run for it the other direction. She’ll have to find a spot to set up temporarily so she can get some rest and treat her wounds. She might barricade herself in the office. That wasn't a terrible idea.
She slowed to a limp, Shelly didn’t want to be on her bad leg much longer. She hobbled into the office, and took a seat in the office chair. She moved the computer monitor to face the wall. Then she got a good look at her knee. The glass was protruding out and dried ichor seemed to have trickled down her leg at one point. She was lucky it was a big enough chunk to pick out. Should she have used tweezers for this? Yes. However, Shelly doesn't have access to things like that right now. She plucked out the sharp glass carefully from her knee. As painful as it was there was a relief that washed over her when the offending object was out. This, however, did reopen the wound. Ichor steadily dripped out. It wasn’t too bad. However, it was better to clean it up than leave it. Shelly searched around the desk for anything she could wipe up the ichor with. Opening up a drawer gave her a small box of bandaids and another she found a stray napkin. How lucky. She pressed the napkin onto her knee, and wiped off any other ichor that was on her. After she applied the rainbow bandaid to her knee, Shelly let out a tired sigh. She’ll need to get some sleep. Toons luckily had some regenerative abilities. While they couldn’t regrow full limbs, cracks and gashes could be healed up quickly and they would look good as new. The ichor helped with that.
Shelly rose out of the seat, she looked around the small office for things she could use to barricade the opening to the room. Her eyes landed on a metal shelf, she could likely drag it over to cover the entryway. Using the items on it could aid her from others detecting her in here. She could also use the chair to add to the blockade. She decided it was final and started to drag the shelf over the entryway. Her boot hit something underneath the shelf. It was soft. She looked down and to her surprise it was an old mat that was used for children to sit on. She smiled slightly, at least she doesn't have to sleep on a rough carpet now. Moving the shelf and chair in place for a makeshift barricade. Shelly sat down on the mat in the corner of the office. She leaned against the wall. It was cold, but everything down here was cold. She didn’t have room to complain. She should be grateful that she didn’t die today.
Shelly looked up to the computer monitor that was facing that wall. Her brows furrowed as she remembered everything that happened today. The words of Cosmo echoed in her head.
“Do you ever wonder if they still recognize us?”