Well That's Not Good

Chapter 8 - It's About Time!

True wasn't sure how he's know when they got there. It's surprisingly easy, however, when the trio suddenly finds themselves pulling into a sparse parking lot in the middle of nowhere. True turns off the engine and looks up at the large, smooth, white building with "The BAD Guys" printed in bold black letters on the side. 

"Huh." Lox nods in agreement. The sun is beginning to set, casting a menacing red glow on the building. 

"Do we... knock?" Lox asks hesitantly. True shrugs. Despite the hype of rescue and having three days to plan, actually getting to the place suddenly seems more real. 
"I guess? I don't know." True slips the keys into his pocket and gets out of the car. Lox gets out as well, helping guide Sky along the way. It's about as quiet as one might expect from the middle of nothing. The three approach anxiously, but still nothing happens. As they get closer, smaller text is visible under the larger words. 

"Bringing anarchic destruction?" True reads slowly. 
"That's cheesy," Lox huffs, "There are so many other things BAD could stand for." 
"Like big amazing d-" 
"Okay Sky, don't finish that. Let's just find Seto," True cuts in. 

The front of the building has a set of clear glass doors, and they slide open as True reaches to try them. Without much other choice, the three walk in, finding themselves in a white lobby room with one sad looking cactus in the corner. 

"Well that's depressing," Lox mumbles. True smiles. Despite the unnerving nature of it all, it's good to know he's surrounded himself with people that can lighten any heavy mood. 

"It smells like smoke," Sky comments. True and Lox stop, True glancing up and Lox following his lead, switching his camera to thermal. 

"There's people above us. Let's find a way up. I can tell there are two directly above us, and someone even higher," Lox explains, counting the heat traces. 
"That must be Seto. Maybe we can avoid the middle floor?" True suggests. 
"Jellyfish!" Sky cheers. 

For a moment, it seems random. An offhand excited moment from the often confused Sky. Then, it clicks. 

"Seto's Jellyfish! I mean, that could be a good distraction, but they're miles away. We might not find the place again..." True mumbles, thinking out loud. Sky grins. 

"Nope! I kept some!" 
"Kept... some..?" 
"Yeah!" 
"Sky where the actual heck-word did you keep magical flying jellyfish where we wouldn't notice?" 

Sky's grin grows wider, and True feels anxiety tug at every point in his body.
This is how Lox ended up driving True's pickup truck into the building. 

The plan dissolves into panicked improv almost instantly.
True is impressed by the amount of magical jellyfish Sky had managed to shove into his car without him noticing, and more impressed with how quickly they fly to fill every space. It's through the jellyfish that Lox is able to find the staircase, and the trio makes their way upstairs with their army of brainless flying blobs. They run through a group of evil looking BAD members in black suits, letting the jellies be their cute little distracting selves. It feels so fast and flawless, no one notices the bottles and jars getting knocked off tables. 

The upstairs contains only a small room and a large desk covered in brightly colored buttons. True takes a step closer to investigate, but before he can do anything, Sky marches over and slams both hands down on the deck, hitting several buttons and setting off multiple alarms at once. 

"SKY!" True yells, panicked. Before he can say much else, the wall in front of them dissolves, revealing a tired, charred, and wide-eyed Seto. 

"Uh. Sup guys." Seto gives a short wave. His hair is a mess, his clothes are burned, and there are dark circles under his eyes. True runs over and hugs him, almost knocking the two of them off their feet. 

"Hey, it's great to see him and all, but Sky set off every alarm in the world," Lox casually announces, "so how about we wrap this up for the car?" 

"We need to get my stuff back!" Seto insists, holding onto True's arm. 
"These guys... They're not good. I think they're up to something!" 

True sighs. He had really been hoping it would all finally be over once they found Seto, but sadly for him, this is a zombie apocalypse story, and that hasn't happened yet. 

"First, let's get out of here. Spend the night in the woods maybe, and take anything we can as we run. We don;t want all of us to get caught," True explains. Seto nods, appearing distressed but too tired to protest. 

The four make their way back downstairs, finding the floor below unnervingly still. The BAD men in suit lie on the floor, unmoving. Jellyfish drift silently through the air. Seto looks worried. 

"Um. Guys?" 
"Oh no."
"I think they're dead." 

Lox stops. True makes a choking sound. The glow on Sky's face dims. 

"...dead? Seto-"
"We need to get out of here." 
"Seto what do-"
"We need to get out of here!" Seto pulls True forward, pushing the group back into motion.

 With the sun having set and Seto finally free, our heroes stumble down the stairs and into the lobby, back the car out of the building, and let Sky into the driver's seat. Just like that, they depart, driving back the way they came, not knowing just how bad things can get.