Experiment 21

6: Freeze and Fix

It has now been a week and  three  days. So far, nothing bad has happened. But 4 has been awfully quiet. She refuses to speak to anyone, and her vitals have slowed down. I'm worried she may have gotten Strep or  gone mute due to the situation. Strep is the worse of the situation. I'll quarantine her later on today. Fan, er- 3 has finally given up on looking for a signal. He took the longest to give up hope. Maybe it has to do with gender ratios? I'll do a study later. 1's chirpyness has returned, which is comforting. 2 is still remaining their simple state. Note: Do a blood withdrawal to 4 in a day. Log Date:1547.

Narritive P.O.V:

Everyone sits around the room enjoying simple bread and honey sandwiches and bottled water. They chat as usual, Marshmellow only slightly conversing. She spent most of her time staring at Lightbulb, who never noticed. She was busy rationing her food. She tore her sandwich in half, and set it in her pile of food and water. She started doing this because she knew they only had four days until they stopped getting food. Fan is typing away on his phone, writing about nothing. 

Marshmallow's P.O.V:

She doesn't suspect a thing. She's just chattering away, continuing to mock me. I'm waiting until everyone stops eating and settles down. I wish the echo would leave me alone. When I tune back in, I realize Paintbrush and Fan are laughing. Laughing with her. She gave them the one thing I still can't have, even though it's clearly temporary. Screw this....I can't take it.

Narritive P.O.V:

Fan and Paintbrush laugh at Lightbulb's terrible pun about Bread, when they pause. They notice how twitchy Marshmellow is, even though her eyes are clouded with thought. "Marsh, are you okay?" Paintbrush began, when suddenly she lunged at Lightbulb. She was still laughing so she didn't see it coming. Being shoved down onto the floor made her gain a small crack. "Wha-....Marshy?" Lightbulb held a dire expression of fear. Clearly Marshmellow had no mercy. Lightbulb saw this and got up, starting to run. She tripped over her food pile. Marshmallow caught her, then slammed her into a wall. Mainly, then viewing windowsill. That itself knocked a medium sized hole in the side of her head, not to mention tons of cracks spreading across the right side of her face. The sound of glass breaking and cracking was sickening. Marshmellow stood over the now unconscious form of Lightbulb. The twisted part about it? She was smiling. Small bits of blood leaked from Lightbulb's cracks. The others backed away in horror, trying to avoid a similar fate.  Marshmallow was clearly about to strike another blow when the door to the room slammed open, then shut, locking whoever came in. This made Marshmellow snap back and pause. "What was that?" She asked, before her expression froze and she collapsed on the floor. In her arm was an empty syringe. The figure who stabbed her? Test Tube herself.

Test Tube's P.O.V(Ten minutes earlier):

I watch my subjects carefully. Marshmellow is clearly sick or going mad. I can see it in her eyes and actions. I've noticed Lightbulb has started a rations pile. Should've known she was too smart for that timeframe. I'll make a note for next time. I begin to write it down,  when I hear glass shattering. I look down through the viewing window, and I gasp. Marsh has attacked Lightbulb. I throw my notes down, grab the room key and an anesthetic, and rush down there. Luckily, I make it there before she kills Lightbulb. I unlock the door, rush in, quickly administer the anesthetic, and it does it's work. Both Fan and Paintbrush stare at me. Fan pipes up quietly. "Is she dead?" He asks fearfully. "Which one?" I question. "M-Marshmellow." He replies, clearly shaken. I laugh, which makes Paintbrush give me an even worse glare of disgust. "Heavens No! I just temporarily knocked her out. She'll be up in two hours." Then Paintbrush walks forward. "Well, what about the woman who was just shattered to bits?! She's going to die!" Their hair sparks up, and I step back. I look at Lightbulb. Large Hole, many cracks, bleeding. Unconscious. Could be worse. "She isn't going to die, she just took a lot of damage. It's an easy fix, if you have the missing piece" I suggest. Paintbrush walks over to Lightbulb, cringing at her condition, and picks up a loose shard of yellow glass. "Here." They said, handing me the piece grudgingly. "Thank you. Now, to fix things" I walk over to Marshmellow. Before I take my syringe, I draw some of her blood. Task Complete. I turn to Lightbulb. "I need to go get a cart for her. Keep a close eye on her, alright?" Paintbrush nods, and Fan just stares in fear. I grab the blood filled syringe, unlock the door, shut it, and relock it. I heard the sigh of disappointment when the door relocked. 

Paintbrush's P.O.V:

I can't believe it. Marshmellow just went completely ballistic on Lightbulb. Not my everyday rage like fire ballistic, but attempt to murder her, ballistic. Lightbulb's barely breathing, which worries me. I glance over at Marshmellow, who's unconscious. It's like she's taking a nap. That would've been cute, if she hadn't just tried to kill someone. When I look back at Lightbulb, I feel horrible guilt. She only brought us here for fun. All I've ever done is yell at her.  I feel the salty sting of tears. No....I refuse to cry here. Not in front of Fan, not in front of anyone. I learned that lesson a long time ago. I just wipe my eyes and keep watching Lightbulb, just like I said I would. Then....that memory resurfaced. 

Me and Lightbulb were just sitting in our team cabin. Lightbulb had been sitting silent for the past hour. Then, she turned to me. "Painty... can I ask you something?" I glanced up from my phone. "Sure, what is it?" I replied seriously. I took note of her expression. This was a serious question, which is odd for Lightbulb. "If...something happened to any of the Bright Lights...would you blame me?" I study her expression. Then I think of the question. One on hand,  of course I would. She's our leader, her job is to keep us safe. But on the other, she's only one person, one optimist. So I went with honesty. "It honestly depends on what happened" I said, staring at her. I've always liked her unnatural eye color. Blue-grey was uncommon umong objects. She takes a deep breath, and speaks. "Well, I promise I'll do my best to protect you, and our team. But also let us have fun!" She chirped, half serious, half smiling. I grin slightly, knowing she's fine. "I promise that too" "Pinky swear?" She asked, holding her hand up. "Pinky swear" I said, my finger meeting hers. 

Why...Of all memories, must I remember that one? I failed her....But now I have a new goal. Protect her, and our team at all costs. Even if that means risking fun, or risking my life. I'm going to get us out of here.

Fan's P.O.V:

Well that was down right terrifying. Not only did Marshmellow lose it, Lightbulb was severely injured! And Test Tube herself had to come in here and stop her! I have to log this down on my....phone. My phone...It's dead. I have no charger. My phone is dead, and I have no charger. This is it. This is how I'll die. In a blank white room with an unconscious corpse without communication. I curl up, hoping Paintbrush won't notice. They clearly don't. Good.

Test Tube's P.O.V: 

I can't believe this.... this helps my study so much! I think as I walk down the hallway. The lights flicker, but it's only because of how deeply underground we are. I grab a medical cart, set the syringe down on the corner of it, and roll it back down the hallway. That was your friend. You let her get hit. You are a monster. I-I didn't say that....or think that. Where did that even come from? Not important. I open the door back to the room, and Lug Lightbulb back onto the cart. She's a lot heavier then some may think, despite being made of glass. Either that, or it's the fact I have no muscle from lack of exercise. I take one last look at my participants. Paintbrush is watching me with Lightbulb's cart, Fan is curled up on the corner, and Marshmellow is still unconscious on the floor. Could be worse. I roll the cart out the door, and shut it, locking it back. No sigh of disappointment. I roll Lightbulb down a lighter hallway, and into my machinery repair room. This'll work. I gently place the glass shard back onto where it belongs. I turn to a shelf in the room, put on my metal working mask, and grab a blowtorch. Now all I have to do is melt the glass back together.

(A/N: Oof, this one is long. Sorry about that! This chapter is dedicated to @CloverThe3rd thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed)