COCOAS WORLD: chapter 3

Instructions

[ shrimpo , 6:01 pm , elevator ] “FLYTE!!” Shrimpo screamed. Shrimpo listened to the elevator hum as it went up back into the plaza. Tears dropped on the metal elevator floor. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes.“Goddamn Flyte..” Shrimpo choked out. He dropped to the floor and put his head in his legs. “Flyte…” The elevator door opened, and Shrimpo was greeted with the sight of Sprout and Dandy moving boxes. Above them, the grand archway of the main hub gleamed. Cocoa’s stylized name beamed down across the plaza in warm lettering, marking her absolute authority over the entire area as it always had. They stopped to stare at Shrimpo, and Sprout laughed nervously. “Shrimpo? Where are.. the others? Did you get medkits?” Shrimpo didn't look up right away. He couldn't. His chest heaved as another jagged sob tore through his throat, his face still buried hard against his knees. Hearing Sprout’s voice—usually the exact thing that would set off his explosive temper—just made the hollow, heavy pit in his stomach feel ten times worse. “They’re gone,” Shrimpo choked out, his voice cracking painfully. He gripped his own legs tighter, his small frame trembling on the cold elevator floor. “They’re all goddamn gone, Sprout!” Dandy dropped the heavy wooden box he was holding with a dull thud. His usual bright smile faltered, his large eyes widening as he stared down at the utter breakdown of the plaza's most notoriously angry Toon. “What do you mean gone, Shrimpo? The extraction was supposed to be a standard supply run! Where are the others?” “I said they’re gone, flower boy!” Shrimpo suddenly barked, lifting his tear-stained face. The familiar rage was there, but it was brittle, completely masked by sheer panic. “Flutter... Flutter tried to block the vent. Twisted Bassie got her. She yanked her right up into the roof. And Squirm—he just froze. He didn't even fight back! The wires took him too!” Sprout took a step backward, his hands flying to his mouth. The nervous laughter from moments before vanished entirely, replaced by a sudden, sickening dread. He looked at Shrimpo’s trembling hands, noticing for the first time the faint smudges of black ichor smeared across the metal elevator floor. “And... Flyte?” Sprout asked, his voice dropping to a fragile, frightened whisper. He stepped closer to the elevator, his boots clicking softly against the tile. “He stayed behind,” Shrimpo sniffled, aggressively wiping his nose with the back of his arm, though more tears immediately followed. “The elevator opened, and the whole hall was crawling with those silver strings. I fell... I was terrified, okay?! And Flyte just looked at me and told me to go. He shoved me into the elevator and hit the button. I screamed at him, but the doors closed. He’s down there alone with that monster!” Dandy crossed his arms, his expression shifting from shock to a cold, calculated grimace as he looked down the dark shaft beneath the elevator doors, then back to the messy pile of boxes in the plaza. “Bassie is roaming the lower corridors? That entire section of Dyle's map is highly unstable. We need to secure the main floor. Shrimpo, pull yourself together. We cannot let panic spread through the rest of the residents.” “Secure the floor?!” Shrimpo yelled, pushing himself off the ground. He stormed out of the elevator, stumbling slightly before stopping right in front of Sprout. He didn't have the energy to argue with Dandy; all his desperate, frantic focus locked entirely onto the strawberry. “Sprout, you don't understand. Flyte doesn't even have hands to tear those wires off! He’s going to get shredded down there! We have to go back down! You have to help me get them!” Sprout looked down at Shrimpo, his heart aching at the absolute desperation in the shrimp's eyes. Shrimpo never asked for help. Shrimpo hated everyone. But right now, he was reaching out, his defense mechanisms completely shattered, exposing a vulnerability he had never shown to anyone else.Sprout placed a gentle, steady hand on Shrimpo's shoulder. “Hey. Breathe. Look at me, Shrimpo.” Shrimpo flinched at the touch, his breath catching, but he didn't pull away. He looked up, his breathing ragged, his hand twitching weakly as he stared into Sprout's eyes.