Chlorine Induced Misadventures

even in hell, i have friends

A blinding light pierced my eyes, rendering me stunned. Was this the light to the afterlife? I blinked, and squinted hard at it. No, it was just the sun. I stopped staring at it, in fear of damaging my eyesight. I looked at the room around me, and realised I was in prison. The room was cramped, leaving little space to breathe. The walls were a dull grey, lifeless in every way. The cell bars were rusting, the dark orange infection slowly spreading. Wilting plants were dotted in the corners of my cell, struggling to even live.

The main attraction of the room, however, was the rotting corpse to my left. It was Big Pancake. They didn't look so good, which was one of the cons of being dead. Their whole body was singed, like they were doused in flames. The suit was messy, and ripped. Big Pancake's skin was decomposing and some parts were just exposed fluff. I retched in reflex of the smell of rot that emanated from them. Flies buzzed around them, picking it apart for a free meal.

Speaking of hunger, I was quite peckish myself. I stared at the corpse, my mouth beginning to drool. I grabbed a chunk, and took a small bite, then immediately gagged out of reflex. It was absolutely putrid, I could barely describe the taste. I could feel vomit rising from my stomach, and I retched, puking on the wall. I vowed I would never eat another pancake again, but just in case, I stuffed a little more into my pocket.

I decided to look out the bars, see if there was anything I could use to my advantage to escape. Guards patrolled, wearing strange, yellowish uniforms. They looked a bit like bananas, if I'll be honest. One of them looked at me while walking past, and with a smug grin on his face, spat at me. He was a terrible shot, though, and it landed harmlessly at my feet.

The cells all around me were empty, except for one. For some reason, the light wouldn't reach the cell, and red glowing eyes pierced the shroud of darkness. I began to sweat, the hairs on my neck beginning to rise. The fear paralysed me, frozen in terror. As it stared deeply into my soul, I felt like whatever was behind those eyes was analysing me, seeing right through me. With a voice that could stop a bear in its tracks, the creature spoke.

"You want out of this place?"

"Uh... I guess?" While I certainly didn't trust this person, I was going to take any chance I could get. "Do you have a plan?"

"I do." I watched the eyes scatter across the darkness, scanning for guards. "Listen, kid. If you do everything I say, we just might be able to get outta here alive. I'd do it myself, but they got certain... modifications on my cell. I'm trapped in here till you nick the key to my cell. I managed to get the others, but they never patrol with mine."

"Does this mean you have mine?"

"Yeah, duh." The creature fiddled with something, metal ringing against one another. It threw a couple of keys into my cell, saying "Try these."

I tried a couple of keys until I heard a clicking noise on my cell door, slowly swinging open. I cautiously peeked my head out, checking left and right for any guards. When I realised the coast was clear, I stepped out. Which of course, was the opportune moment for a guard to walk in the hallway.

Now this was a very awkward situation. He looked at me dumbfounded, his jaw slowly dropping as he squinted his eyes. I gave him a patient smile and a little wave, not daring to say a word. I wasn't entirely sure how obvious I was, given the guard outfit was a mustard yellow coat and I was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.

"...You come here often?" He broke the silence, his voice cracking at the end of his question.

"No, no, my first time" I scrambled for a response, one that would be equally as awkward.

"Are you meant to be out here?"

"Do you want to come over and check?"

He stared at me for a few minutes, scepticism in his eyes. Then, to my surprise, he slowly walked over, until his face was right up at me. He turned, looking at the remains of Big Pancake, then peering into the darkness of the creature's cell.