Some Sunny Day [ A JTW SEQUEL ]

Part 4: The Reaper

This is gonna be tough.

OJ's body was shattered into a ton of little shards and pieces from his fall, and Test Tube wasn't even sure if this was everything. It was a smaller amount than it would normally be. Either way, she attempted to stick all of his pieces back together.

It took at least an hour or two, but she eventually finished gluing him back together.. kind of. He was still missing a giant part of his glass, specifically his upper left side, and there were no extra shards that would fit. Crud. She decided to place a piece of glass cloth tape over where the gash was.

She forgot to get orange juice. Fuuuuuuck, today is the worst. She texted someone for help, because she didn't wanna head out herself.

'Hey, Pickle! Is there any orange juice in stock back at the hotel? If so, could you please drop it off at the vending machine? Thanks! 😁'
'This is Test Tube, by the way! I noticed you and I haven't saved each other's contact information in the other's phone just yet, so I got your number from Knife a while back. I'll save you on my phone now!'

As she did what she promised, Pickle had texted back. That was quick! She went back to check what he had said.

'Ok.'
'I'll check.'
'There is.'
'Heading over rn.'

Wow, what a boring typer. She rolled her eyes at her phone, even if he couldn't see it. She just needed to get it out.

After a few minutes, he knocked on the vending machine. She quickly went up to greet him, but he didn't look to be in the mood for it. He had huge bags under his puffy eyes, and he looked absolutely broken. His voice was purely monotone as he spoke to her, handing over the jug of juice.
"Take it."

"The whole thing-?"

"Take. It."

She took the carton from his hands and watched as he drifted away from the path to take a shortcut back to the hotel.
His hotel, for now.

She brushed off his behavior and went back into the lab, placing the jug near OJ's body as she prepared the IV as usual. She would know better than most how uncomfortable he would feel if he were empty.

Once she finished all of the preparations, she started the machine back up again. The steam spread quicker this time than usual, and she was very obviously concerned. After a while, the steam made way for smoke instead, causing her to cough heavily and shut it off. Something must've gone wrong, but she did it the same as last time! Maybe it rusted?? She didn't have time for specifics at the moment.

Surprisingly quickly, OJ actually sat up on the table, a bit dizzy. Test Tube held him still to pour the juice into his glass and take out the IV before he could do anything. He held his head for a moment longer before glancing around his environment.

"Before you say anything, you're in my lab and I just brought you back to life. Don't question the logistics."

He looked.. surprisingly normal to her. She expected him to seem different - rabid, maybe? Angry? She didn't know, but she knew she didn't expect him to be normal.

"I'm.. What?? Hold on- Can I have a moment?"

"Of course."

He continued looking around, seemingly taking note of what Test Tube had said as well. He was just making sure she wasn't lying, or at least, that's what she assumed he was doing.
"...He's gone."

"Who?"

"Vellum, he- Oh my God, he's gone. I did it!!"
He thrust his arms into the air, hopping off the table to give Test Tube a big hug. She was confused.

"OJ, who's Vellum? Isn't that a form of parchment??"

"Oh- Oh you have no idea. He's dumb anyways, I don't care about him, and you shouldn't either! I'll never have to hear his stupid, scratchy voice EVER again!!"

She genuinely believed he had lost it. Or, if he hadn't, he had just jinxed it big time. She gently nudged him to tell him to please let go and back away, and so he did. She glanced over what he looked like before he could do anything, just to see if anything was different from the others that she revived. There was only one outlier in that sense. The fact that his eyes were red - not even just maroon, BRIGHT RED - instead of white. She thought it might be because of the malfunction that happened with the machine, but she couldn't be sure that there wasn't anything else that could've caused it, either. OJ started speaking when her observations were over, coincidentally, and she didn't wanna be left out of her own conversation.

"Sorry- I'm just a little overwhelmed. Positively! Two days ago, I would've never thought that you could create life without a Meeple product with you."

She stared at him for a moment. What did he just say?
"Sorry if this is rude, but could you run that by me one more time? Two days?"

"Yeah? Why? Are you surprised you finished this in such little time, because I am, too!"

She had to take a moment to process that. Does he think it's been two DAYS since he went on that psycho murder spree?? God, this is a hassle. She attempted to keep a poker face up, but she still felt bad for him. She began to try subtly telling him, not stating it explicitly just yet.
"OJ.. You weren't alive two days ago. I started up this project way back in '25. I knew something like this would happen, or that someone would die, at least, so I've been working on this for three years."

He let out a small, nervous giggle.
"But- But that would mean-"

"It's the day after the second anniversary of your death. Congrats."

He shook his head slightly, not believing it for a moment. After it all sunk in, he looked uncharacteristically calm about this whole situation, nodding as he fidgeted with his hands.
"Thank you, I guess. This is a lot to take in after, you know, just waking up from some form of a long nap. I'm a little shaken up."

"And that's understandable. I wouldn't blame you at all for feeling that way right now, but there's still one last thing you need to do."

"And that is?"

"You need to go back to the hotel. Immediately. Pickle hasn't been doing the best job at running the place, and last time I saw him, he looked overworked and tired. He needs at least a sliver of a break."

OJ nodded slowly, glancing around once more as if trying to find an exit. Test Tube pointed out where it was and he took his leave, waving back at her as he went back and out to the path.

All he has to do is follow the path. He's done this before! That huge hotel is a borderline beacon, screaming to every local business and every person visiting Inanimate Island that it's here and proud. He started trotting slightly quicker to get to the hotel, almost tripping and falling on multiple stones. Once he got to the place, he shut and locked the door behind him, turning around with a gasp to see a familiar face staring back at him.

"OJ-!?"

"..I'm back."