BLINDSIDED

CHAPTER 3 "Splat!"

I don't think I ever hardly dream. It's hard to, really, in a poetic sense. I felt stiff, my head pounding. I opened by eyes, comfortingly met with Tangy's gaze. It wasn't exact, since he was blind and had bandages wrapped around his eyes. Tangy put his hand on my wrist, and jumped in excitement. "Oh gosh! You're awake!" He'd happily purr. I sat up, putting my other free hand on his. "Yeah, im..okay i guess.." I rasped out. Tangy tilted his head. "Are you sure..?" I nodded. "Tangy, i'm more worried about you than anything right now."

He'd look in the direction of my voice, his mouth hanging a bit open. Tangy stayed silent for a bit, until he turned away, seemingly putting his hand over his mouth. "O-oh.."

I'd hesitate myself. "Anyways, uhm..do you know how long until we'll be let out?" I'd let out a sleepy yawn. Tangy turned backed. "I-i don't know..i think we were just tossed in here, speaking of which, my arm kinda hurts." He'd seem to wince. "Is there something wrong with it?" Tangy showed me his right arm, rubbing on the spot on his upper arm. I grabbed a hold of his arm, rubbing the spot softly. "It's badly bruised Tangy.." Worried plunged within my thoughts, it was a deep purple, and it covered a large area. Only God could know what happened to him. "I'm sure you'll be okay, just try to avoid running into things with it." Tangy sighed with a small frown. He rubbed the spot again, and laid down next to me. A thick silence hung in the air, until Tangy spoke with his soft voice. "We failed Mint.." he sighed, all curled up in my lap now. I rubbed the top of his head, looking away. "I know Tangy. Escaping might be difficult. We just...we have to keep trying..okay?" I'd let a reassuring tone fill up in my mouth. "What if..you die..what if I die..before we make it?" Tangy would sob just a tad, shifting a bit. "We won't. I'll make that a promise." I grabbed one of his hands and intertwined my fingers with his. "Listen. We'll get out. Go back to Taflina, find a place to stay, and get your eyes checked. We won't be sick little experiments. We'll live a happy little after. Alright?" I looked down at him. Tangy sniffled, shifting a tid bit again. "That's really sweet.." he'd let out a little smile. I chuckled, rubbing his hand with mine. The door suddenly opened, and light quickly filled the room. Coco was standing at the entrance.

"Uhm..?" I felt a bit embarrassed, being caught so close with Tangy with Coco staring at the both of us. She seemed to play a motherly figure towards him, and I didn't think she had any good opinions about me just yet. That embarrassment was quickly spat to the floor until my eyes adjusted and I saw the horror on her face. "B-banana.." she'd croak out. Thoughts ran through my mind, confused. "Banana? That one dude? Is he okay?" I got up, letting Tangy latch onto my right wrist. Coco shook her head, her breath becoming heavy. As soon as I reached her, she bolted off into the hallway. I followed her to Banana's cell. Lined along the cells where identification cards. They were more like screens, but they rested by the side of the door. It would include a picture, a name, and status of a taffy. All the cells would include two taffies. Coco pointed to Banana's card, at his status. My heart sank. Most of the time the status screen would say 'Released.', which would mean we were outside our cells and in the pasture. When we were in the cells, it would say 'Contained.' and sometimes even 'Experimenting.' As I gazed upon Banana's status screen, it said none of those. All that was displayed was the words 'DECEASED.' in neon red. "What!?" I took a step back, my throat starting to close up. "Is everything okay?" Tangy whimpered. "His..status says 'deceased' Tangy.." I'd finally admit to him. Tangy jumped, crouching down a little, tightly gripping at my arm. "He's..dead?" Tangy would reply, worriedly. A sudden voice boomed from the entrance to the pasture down the hallway. "They killed him on purpose in his testing today. They found out he was snooping around and spreading information to us. They tested a formula on him, but it didn't work. They drowned him."

It was strawberry. Me and Coco would stare at him as he came closer. He walked past us and placed his hand on his picture on his card. "He was a good fellow. A good brother. He would've made dad proud." He sighed, looking down at the ground. "Banana was your brother?" I gently asked. Strawberry would nod. "I remember playing outside with him. We were wandering in our grandpappy's forest, playing tag. He suddenly got snatched, and eventually I did too." He sat silent for a moment. "Where you all born here?" Strawberry would lift his head up, turning to us three. "No, me and Coco were friends back in Taflina! Uhm..yeah..it's all a long story.." Tangy would blurt out, but he became overwhelmed at the mention of what actually happened. Coco tiptoed over, giving him a gentle hug. "Yeah, i was from Taflina. Me and my mom where snatched up. I can't really remember what happened, but..i remember everything from Taflina." I'd put in. Strawberry sighed. "I'm sorry you kids have to go through that. I'm sorry they're still doing this bullcrap." He'd grunt in anger. "I've been in tier 1 as long as I can remember. After my 3 trials, they just..forgot about me. Which is good, I suppose, but I've seen so many of my loved ones pass and it's hard." Strawberry looked down. "None of Taflina knows about any of this yet. Our princess is our only hope right now. How the scientists even got a hold of her is unimaginable."

I hummed, scooting a bit closer to Tangy. "She doesn't even know where she was, or even if we exist. But, I'll make sure of that." I'd confidently pout out. "You kids are gonna make me worried sick if they manage to find out what your plans are. Even so, i wish you luck. I can't really stop you." Strawberry sighed, turning around, walking out into the pasture. Me and the group followed him, along with Tangy. "Strawberry! Can you take a look at my arm?"

He turned around right as we reached the humid room, bending down to Tangy. He examined it. "Do might know what happened?" Tangy asked. "I saw them come in with you three and throw you in your cells. You were all unconscious, so im assuming you landed on your arm pretty hard. Those jerks." I felt a bit angered. "How long ago was that?" I asked. "Oh you've kids been asleep for a while now. Why don't you kids go get yourselves something to eat." Strawberry pointed to the open cafeteria doors. I nodded, guiding Tangy with me, Coco following close behind.

We sat down at a table, each had gotten our small meals. We all ate in silence. In the moments of the pure quietness, I started to realize that my vision was slightly blurred. I looked around the cafeteria, and words seemed a tad unable to read. I kept rubbing my eyes, but it never seemed to go away. Whenever i squinted, it seems to come back to me. I shrugged it off, and instead pour my attention to daydreaming about life in Taflina would be like. Walking downtown and gazing at what the markets had to offer, enjoying the smell of fresh cherry blossoms that lined the grey pathway in the park. Sitting on the stone brick wall by the shore, the orange lamps reflecting off the night's starry black water. Having Tangy sitting close beside me. Tangy...he had such, beautiful orange eyes. They were so round and friendly before they were wrapped in bandages. His hands are really soft too..

"Mint!" Coco blurted out. I quickly sat up, shaking my head. "H-huh what?" I looked towards her. She gave me a questioned look. "You? Okay?" Coco tilted her head, her right wrapper flicking. "O-ooh..i'm uh, i'm okay." I nervously looked over to Tangy, who was happily crunching down on a granola bar. "Just a bit tired.." Tangy turned to me, swallowing what was left of his snack. "Tired? But, we just woke up!" I could admit, even though that terrible diversion, i was indeed sleepy. "Maybe that Tranquil they gave us junked me up." I'd sigh, rubbing my forehead. "Well if you're tired then we can go to sleep!" Tangy offered. "Yeah, i don't mind heading back, you gonna be okay Coco?" I'd ask, looking in her direction. She would nod. "Alright then, see you later supposedly." I looked at the clock in the center of the cafeteria, the time stating [3:27 PM]. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to go to bed early. Standing up, I gently reached my wrist under Tangy's small hand, and he followed along, latching on. We walked out, and into the hallway with all the lined cells. I tried to ignore Banana's cell, trotting over to me and Tangy's. We walked inside and i let Tangy sit on the floor. I sat down next to him. "When do you think we'll try escaping again?" He asked. "I'm unsure. I'll figure out something tomorrow, for sure." I gave him a little smile, before laying down. I closed my eyes, taking in a sharp breath. I'd hear him shift, opening my eyes to see him lying further away from me. I chuckled a bit, before crawling over to him. "And who said you were sleeping without a buddy huh?" Tangy would giggle, rolling over a bit, putting his hands over his face. I'd cradle myself around Tangy, latching my arms around him. It felt nice to finally hold him, it felt weird, but, it was a wonderful feeling. "Thank you Mint." He'd sleepy chirp out. "Don't thank me for caring, you deserve it." I'd whisper calmly. Tangy would make a small noise, before falling asleep. I would soon as well, everything becoming numb as I faded out. My heart still stung at the thought of Banana being gone. We'd get out soon. That was a promise.