Cherreads

Chapter 82 - New Gadget

A/N - I rewrote the cassette tape a little bit, in case it did take place when they were hiding in Shelf Ventilation Block B6 in Chapter 4.

---

The group entered a large room and looked around; Michelle spotted a lever before approaching it. When Michelle was close to the lever, she turned her head to the glass pane and spotted a key hanging on a pegboard. "That key has to be important," she said.

Michelle looked at the lever before grabbing it and pulling it down, which turned the light on. As the group walked past a large tube-like home, they saw an Outimal near the door through a broken glass pane.

After Michelle went through the broken glass pane, she spotted a glowing red standing light and a lever next to hanging hooks. Michelle stepped to the right before aiming her left arm at the lever.

The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the lever before pulling it down, which turned the light on and made the Outimal run away while making pained noises.

After the blue hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist, she approached the door as the group went through the broken glass pane. After Michelle opened the door, she spotted the lever near some hanging hooks before approaching it.

When Michelle was close to the lever, she grabbed it before pulling it down, which turned the light on and made the Outimal run away while making pained noises.

As the group entered the room, Michelle spotted a yellow pen-like gadget with a five-pointed star connected to it on the ground before approaching it.

When Michelle was close to the gadget, she kneeled and picked it up; the smaller toys gathered around her. "What is that?" a mini CatNap asked.

Michelle examined the gadget. "It's a Glowby," she said. "It acts like a flashlight, a cassette player; it even has a blacklight because of the invisible ink it uses."

The smaller toys stared at Glowby, amazed. "Is it usable?" a mini KickinChicken asked.

Michelle looked at Glowby's screen and noticed it was blank. "Not this one, unfortunately..." she said as she placed it back on the ground. "It's dead..."

The smaller toys were upset as Michelle stood up. "Thinking about it now, having a Glowby would be a good idea," she continued. "If I'm in an area filled with Outimals and no standing lights around me, their light will help a lot."

Michelle looked at the door on the left before approaching it, which made the group follow. After Michelle opened the door, the group walked forward until they saw a standing light with a red light on and spotted an Outimal near the door.

Michelle looked around before spotting a lever on the left and junk covering the path. "If one way is blocked, there's always another," she said before walking forward a bit and turning left.

When Michelle was close to the shelves near a conveyor belt with hanging hooks above it, she got on the conveyor belt before crouching and moving forward until she was near the lever. Michelle got off the conveyor belt before standing properly and approaching the lever.

When Michelle was close to the lever, she grabbed it before pulling it down, which turned the light on and made the Outimal run away while making pained noises. After Michelle caught up with the group, they approached the door; Kevin opened it before they entered.

The group looked at the tunnel with a conveyor belt and hanging hooks on the left before crouching and going through it. When Michelle was close to the end, she spotted a few Outimals in their small homes.

After Michelle got out of the tunnel and turned right, an Outimal with orange fur sticking out of it roared and leaped toward her; the claws on Kevin's right hand sharpened before he shot his arm forward.

Kevin's claws stabbed the Outimal's chest before it hit the wall hard. Kevin pulled his claws out of the dead Outimal, which made it hit the ground before giving the other Outimals death glares while his body bubbled. "Who else wants some?" he asked with his fangs out.

The other Outimals were terrified before they hid in their homes. "Thanks, Kev," Michelle said, which made Kevin nod as he shook the blood off his claws.

Michelle turned her head to the right and spotted a lever before approaching it. When Michelle was close to the lever, she grabbed it before pulling it down, which turned the standing light ahead of them on and made an Outimal run away while making pained noises.

As the group walked forward, Michelle opened the door on the left; she spotted an Outimal near a cardboard home before looking at the conveyor belt and getting on it. Michelle crouched before moving along the conveyor belt until she spotted a lever on her left.

After Michelle got off the conveyor belt, she approached the lever before grabbing it and pulling it down, which turned on the standing light near the double doors and a corpse hanging by their arms on hanging hooks.

When the toys were near the double doors, Michelle walked past the hanging corpse before she got close to them. As Michelle opened the doors and the group entered the room, she heard pained noises, which surprised her. "That noise..." she said before looking around.

Soon after, Michelle spotted a Glowby in between gears while they made pained noises. "A functioning Glowby; nice," she continued before looking around.

Soon after, Michelle spotted the lever and a button next to it with a closed case before approaching it. When Michelle was close to the lever, she grabbed it before pulling it down, which turned the light on and made the button case open.

When Michelle pressed the button, the gears moved, which made Glowby fall out of it, and the lights short-circuited. Michelle looked at the conveyor belt and noticed the Poppy Gel. "All I have to do is not touch that gel," she said before stepping to the left.

When Michelle spotted Glowby, she aimed her left arm at them. The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed Glowby before it retracted back to her wrist.

The group gathered around Michelle as she examined Glowby; their screen booted up before revealing a smiley face on the screen. Michelle slightly smiled at Glowby. "Welcome to the team, Glowby," she said.

Glowby smiled at Michelle while making a happy noise as she examined them. "I personally have never owned one, but if I remember correctly..." she continued before looking at the green button with a circle at the center.

When Michelle pressed the green button on Glowby, the light turned on, and their screen turned the smiley face into a sun symbol with a smiley face at the center, which amazed the smaller toys. "Alright, we now have a functioning flashlight," she continued. "Now then, let's find the room that leads to that key."

The group nodded before approaching the opening; when they were close to the double doors, they spotted an Outimal inside a makeshift home made of barrels and a blanket on top growled at the group.

Michelle stared at the Outimal before aiming Glowby's light at it, which made it run away while making pained noises. Michelle looked at the double doors. "I'd like to check out this room; see if there's something important inside," she said.

Kevin nodded before approaching the double doors. "Roger that," he said.

When Kevin opened one of the double doors, a few Outimals growled at the couple; Michelle aimed Glowby's light at them, which made them make pained noises before running away.

As the couple entered the room and looked around, Michelle spotted a note on the ground before turning her head to Kevin. "There's a note on the ground," she said.

Kevin approached Michelle and picked up the note before looking at it as she held Glowby out. "Are these... instructions?" she asked.

As Kevin read the note, he gripped it, and his body started bubbling, which made Michelle look at him, concerned. "These bastards... they treated us more like livestock than people..." he said. "If they were still alive, I'd kill them again..."

Michelle frowned a bit before wrapping her arm around Kevin's arm, which made him look at her. Kevin looked forward and closed his eyes before taking a deep breath.

After Kevin exhaled, his body stopped bubbling before he opened his eyes and looked at Michelle. "I'm fine now; thanks..." he said.

Michelle smiled a bit before looking at the note. "As for this... we could hold onto it," she said, which confused Kevin. "It can provide evidence to the police... let the public know this company's dark side."

Kevin chuckled a bit. "I like the way you think," he said as he folded the note before they approached the door.

After the couple returned to the group, Michelle looked at Miss Delight. "Hey, Miss Delight, we need to place this note we found in my bag," she said.

Miss Delight nodded. "Of course," she said before approaching the couple.

When Miss Delight was close to the couple, Michelle let go of Kevin's arm before he approached her.

When Kevin was close to Michelle's bag, he carefully unzipped it and placed the note inside; after he zipped it, he looked at the others. "Let's move," he said, which made them nod.

As the group left the room, they heard growling, which made some of the larger toys take fighting stances. "I think someone is lost..." an Outimal said.

Glowby made an alert sound, which surprised the smaller toys; Michelle looked at their screen and noticed a lightbulb symbol with an exclamation mark in the center. "That's supposed to indicate that I should use the blacklight," she said before looking at the green button. "If I press the green button twice..."

Michelle pressed the green button twice, which activated the blacklight, and Glowby's screen changed to a smiley face wearing sunglasses.

When Michelle aimed Glowby's blacklight at the ground, the group saw symbols on a poster and an arrow pointing forward, which amazed the smaller toys. "We'll need to go back the way we came," she said before the group walked to the right.

When the group was near the conveyor belt with hanging hooks, Michelle spotted hopscotch on the ground, which made her frown a bit and look down. Even though they appear like monsters, they were once children too... she thought.

Before the group got close to the tunnel-like area with the conveyor belt, a couple of Outimals growled at the group, which made Michelle look at them before looking at Glowby.

Michelle pressed the green button twice, switching the blacklight to the flashlight before aiming it at the Outimals, which made them run away while making pained noises.

After the group went through the tunnel-like area, Michelle pressed the green button twice, switching the flashlight to the blacklight before they entered the other room.

The group spotted an arrow pointing toward the opened door before approaching it. After the group left the other room, they spotted another arrow pointing toward the door; they looked past the standing light and saw a Huggy drawing before leaving the room.

As the group walked forward, they spotted another arrow near the broken glass pane before they went through it. Michelle looked at the ground before spotting an arrow pointing to the right; she turned her head to the right and spotted an Outimal growling at her.

Michelle pressed the green button twice, switching the blacklight to the flashlight before she aimed it at the Outimal, which made it make pained noises before opening the door and running away.

Michelle looked at the door on the left. "Before we go through there, let's check the room on the left," she said.

The group nodded before Kevin approached the left door; after he opened it, Michelle entered the room and looked around. When Michelle stepped to the right, an Outimal with green fur sticking out of it made pained noises before running away.

Michelle walked forward and spotted a red cassette tape on the ground near a toolbox. "There's a cassette tape in here," she said before turning her head to Kevin. "It might have recorded something important."

Kevin entered the room and approached the cassette tape before picking it up. Kevin looked at Michelle as she turned Glowby to their back. "If I remember correctly, you just press the upper white part on Glowby," she said.

Kevin nodded as he retracted his second claw into a blue finger; he carefully pressed the white part on Glowby, which made a slot opened. The group approached the couple as Kevin put the cassette tape inside the slot before carefully closing the white part on Glowby.

Michelle turned Glowby around and looked at the red button with a triangle at the center. "And if I press this red button..." she said, lowly.

When Michelle pressed the red button, the screen changed to a cassette tape playing. Soon after, the group heard Poppy making a shushing noise before they heard noises in the background. "Keep looking; they couldn't have gotten far," a male voice said.

The group stared at Glowby as the audio started going quiet for a moment. "I think they're gone," Poppy said. "And hopefully, they're far away from them..."

The group heard chirping. "It was an ambush. I... somehow Prototype's hunters knew that we'd be there. All we can do is keep them away while the others—" she was interrupted when they heard crying, which broke some of their hearts.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this... I'm supposed to be..." Poppy said, lowly.

Michelle stared at Glowby. "Hey, I... I'm here for you... I feel it too," Poppy continued. "Let's be scared together; you and me. I hold onto you, and you hold onto me, just like always. Let's... let's just wait it out a few more minutes; until we know it's safe, and we can regroup back with the others."

When the cassette tape ended, the group stared at Glowby as the white part on their back opened. "So Poppy and Kissy were going to come back to the elevator," Doey said before crossing his arms, puzzled. "Then... what happened to them?"

Michelle remained silent and looked down; Katelynn looked at her, worried. "Big Sister?" she asked.

Michelle gripped Glowby a bit, which made them look at her while making worried noises. "She was protecting us... and I was blaming her for being selfish..." she said, lowly.

Kevin pulled the cassette tape out of Glowby before tossing it on the ground. "Well, as you said, the past is the past; we worry about right now," he said, which made Michelle look at him.

Kevin looked at Michelle with a serious expression. "So... what do you want to do right now?" he asked.

Michelle remained silent and stared at Glowby before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

After Michelle exhaled, she closed the white part on Glowby before looking at the group with determined eyes. "We move forward; if they've been captured, we'll find a way to rescue them," she said.

The group remained silent until Kevin smiled a bit. "Sounds like a good plan," he said, which made most of the group smile and nod in agreement before they left the room and approached the opened door.

More Chapters