Lotus Lab

Chapter 22

Grace and Lee established the time they'd leave the lab – in a couple of days. The countdown began, and everyone started preparing. Four animals, the original SUG without reinforcement were going back and forth, collecting supplies and worrying about every single step. Ben was still unsure about going out, but Michael tried to keep him enthusiastic.

Obviously, everyone was freaking out, because as the time passed they all realized what they were about to do. Lee was the one who spent the least time here, they've been working in the lab for about two years. Although it didn't seem like a long time, Lee was still a little bit worried about the perspective. Everyone relied on them to remember the most about the outer world, and it didn't quite make them feel pleased.

One of the great tasks was to leave and come back unseen. The biggest threat wasn't even TRF, it was Stephen. As Grace said, if they find out they will all be done, for their contracts obliged them all to stay within the confines of the tree.

During the preparation time Cotton was enviously looking at Grace, Lee, Michael, and Ben. He seemed so offended that Grace started worrying for him. She hadn't changed her mind since they decided to go out, Cotton was not allowed to go with them. She asked Georgia to look after him, which they had a minor argument over, because Georgia had already been doing everything she could to calm Cotton down. He didn't seem to care at all.

"A couple days" passed, and SUG packed their bags. The bags were found in Stephen's pantry while they were sleeping. The time to leave would come in a couple of hours, and they had one last thing to pack.

Grace was standing in the middle of the room and repeating the plan to the rest of the group over and over again, until they knew it word by word.

"So, as soon as it's 5 AM, we will head out. We're going through the main door and will probably spend some time guessing the code on it. Ben said he had some ideas and I rely on him. Then, we'll spend about 4-5 hours outside and if we don't get back by 12 PM you will have to cover for us. Do not let anyone outside SUGAR on this floor by any means. We can't let them know we aren't here. Stephen sleeps the longest, but if she wakes up early and goes looking for any of you, just send someone else and let them say you slept here because you were sick and the wind was bad. She might not believe, but you have to convince her. Georgia, I assume you told Noah about our plan and they will stand up for us if anything happens. I know they've always got millions of dumb ideas, and those could be useful today. Now for our preparations – let's check if we have everything on the list packed," she pulled out a piece of paper and got to reading, while others checked their bags, "So, check if everybody's packed:

All of the equipment for meteorite samples (just check if the little bags are there, I packed them and I know I got everything);

Emergency kits and pigs army knives;

Skyrockets (just in case);

Water bottles;

Blankets to sit on;

Sunglasses and sunscreen;

Enderman language dictionary"

"Wait, is that really all we need?" asked Lee.

"We're counting on coming back in a couple of hours, what else do you need?"

"Eh, food?"

"Exactly," Grace sighed and scratched her ears, "We need food and I really doubt Niki's going to give us any at 4 AM."

"Why didn't we get food earlier?" asked Michael.

"Because I forgot," admitted Grace, helplessly smiling, "I was so busy with other stuff that I forgot the essential thing. Maybe we can go without it and hope for the best?"

"I am not going without food," Michael said, "we can't risk it."

After some consulting they decided to send Georgia to the kitchen, because since she wasn't going out, she would confront Niki if she asked about it later. To everyone's surprise, she got back in ten minutes with big bags of food. Georgia said Niki was puzzled but generous.

It was time to head out. Grace, Lee, Michael and Ben were at the front door with relatively big bags. Grace was leading the squad, but as soon as she faced the door, she stepped aside and let Ben deal with it. It took some time, but they figured out that the password was Cotton's birthday. They opened the door and stepped outside, and the outside embraced them, even though they haven't seen her for quite some time. 

helloooo Jupiter here :D ma bros are on the outside!!!