In Charlotte's Eyes

ONE: [C] Pulling The Plug

Charlotte was slow to get up from the floor. Everyone else was already crowded around the newly rejoined Soda Bottle. Everyone talked over each other in a panic. Charlotte watched from behind, stepping a bit closer, upset for Soda Bottle. He didn't deserve to be back here.

“Why am I here?” She overheard him ask. “Why am I here?” He repeated loudly, angrily.

Scenty forcefully hugged him, apologizing profusely that he was back. “Airy said he was letting someone rejoin the competition, and it happened to be you.” Tray explained.

His eyes twitched, the rage apparent. “..Are you fucking kidding me?” He muttered.

“Welcome back, Soda Bottle..!” Airy’s voice cut in. “You have.. rejoined the game.”

The bottle’s fists clenched.

“Okay.. I'm gonna go.. I need to-.. figure out the next.. challenge. ..I'll be back.” There was a shuffle heard before Airy went silent.

All eyes were on Soda Bottle. “No..” He shook his head. “No. We are ending this.” He turned quickly, Scenty’s grasp falling from him. He glanced at everybody. “We have to do something, goddamnit!”

“Like what?” Subway Seat asked. “We have been powerless ever since this competition began.”

“I don't care, we are going to figure something out before he comes back!” The rest of the group remained silent, looking around at one another. Soda Bottle threw out his arms. “Well? Any ideas? You guys have been here for months longer than me—you guys must know this place well.”

“..How about The Plug?” Atom suggested.

“The Plug? The hell is that?” He asked, glancing around, trying to figure out who made the suggestion.

“It's on the other side of The Plane.” Subway Seat explained. “If you keep walking straight in any direction, you'll end up getting there. Backpack was the first person to find it.”

“What would we even do, though?” Tray inquired.

Charlotte glanced at Amelia. The candle was staring at the ground, miserable, eyes filled with tears. She could see the guilt in her eyes.

“Isn't it implied in the name?” Whippy Creamy raised a brow. “‘The Plug’; shouldn't we try to unplug it?”

“Pull it out of the ground?!” Subway Seat exclaimed, uncertain.

“Sounds like a damn good idea to me.” Soda Bottle interrupted. “Let’s hurry up and go.” He started walking away.

“Wait- hey!” Whippy Creamy ran up to him and grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. “Hold on, man.”

“WHY?! WHY SHOULD I WAIT?!” Soda Bottle snapped loudly at him, causing the whipped cream to take a step back.

Whippy Creamy stuttered. “Y-You just got back, man! We need to talk out our options first. Backpack spent months trying to destroy The Plug, and he couldn't do it.”

“Who cares?! I'm not going to sit around here and wait to do the next challenge! I was helping Liam try to save you guys, and I refuse to do nothing while,”

Charlotte tuned out of their argument, looking at Scenty. Tray went over to Whippy Creamy to assist him, while Subway Seat remained planted, watching with concern as Charlotte sat next to Scenty. Charlotte sighed through her nose. “It's gonna be okay. We'll figure this out.”

The girl sniffled, palms against the grass. She pushed herself to sit down straight, legs pitifully sprawled out in front of her. She drew a shaky breath. “..I hate it here.” She whispered. “We're never getting out of here.”

Charlotte went silent, unsure of what to say. It was only today she really tried talking to anyone. She didn't know what type of response Scenty needed.

“Uh- guys?” Subway Seat interrupted, looking at the two of them. “Listen to Soda Bottle. He's gonna explain something, I think.”

Charlotte stood up, staring the familiar face down. She hadn't even noticed that the shouting had calmed down already. All eyes were on him. Whippy Creamy looked up at him expectantly, weakly gesturing in Charlotte’s general direction. “Alright, tell them the situation.” His tone was hasty.

He nodded. “Ever since Liam got eliminated, he has been-”

“Who’s Liam?” Atom asked.

“Backpack.” He shook his head, remembering that they didn't know him by that name. “Backpack went out of his way to find where I live when he got eliminated. He and I have been working to figure out how to save you all.”

“So..” Amelia’s soft voice cut in, sniffling. “That means that.. Backpack is doing it alone now..?”

“Yeah, no shit.” He affirmed, annoyed. “We have to figure out a way out. At the very least, make Liam’s attempt to save us easier. We need to come up with a plan right now.” He pointed at the ground for emphasis. “We all want to leave this damned place, right?” He looked at all of them.

Nobody made any objections.

“Great.” His expression was stern. “Does anybody have any ideas?”

There was silence among the group.

A few moments passed. “..Then I guess we're gonna go to this plug and unplug it.” He turned to Whippy Creamy. “Show me the way.”

Without another word, everyone went off to The Plug.