Camp Murder (Inanimate Insanity)

Chapter 5 - Stuffed

With no forewarning, Test Tube lunged at Fan and the two of them crashed to the grass in a heap. Fan, winded, lifted his head but it fell again when a heavy blow fell upon his back.

"Woohoo!" Lightbulb yelled as if Jesus had come and granted her a miracle. She sat, unharmed, on the Test Tube-on-Fan pile.
"I didn't-" Fan shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't think I'd have people laying on top of me again so soon."

Something wet and warm slid down his face. "Ew! Test Tube, stop!"
"Ugh...." Test Tube was dazed, her mind slipping in and out of consciousness. She was drooling unknowingly onto Fan.

"Wouldn't it have been crazy if I died?" Lightbulb stretched her back nonchalantly.

'Yeah,' Fan thought. 'We'd lose a fan-favorite.'

"Tragic!" He lied, rolling out from under Test Tube. He began scaling the wall but stopped when his head spun.
"How do you reckon we-" Test Tube wiped the drool with her sleeve. "-go about it?"

"Easy! We knock the door down!"
Lightbulb heaved Fan onto her shoulder without warning, dodging his flailing limbs.
"No!" He begged. "Lightbulb, don't!"

"3...!" She announced.
"No!"
"2...!"
"Stop!"
"1!"
Lightbulb sprinted, holding Fan above her head like a jousting stick. He braced himself for impact but it never came- the pair just fell to the floor inside the hut.
"That was anti-climactic." Test Tube taunted, her hand on the door handle. Moments before, she had tried the door to see if it was unlocked. It was.

There were only two rooms to the house - the main floor and upstairs.
"Wow! Cute!" Lightbulb approached a deer head mounted on the wall. It's eyes were strangely lifelike; a fake tongue rolled from it's lips. Fan thought it was anything BUT cute.

In fact, the entire room was not so adorable. Stuffed animal corpses were propped everywhere- there was no escaping them. Sky-blue paint peeled from rotten wood. There was an array of clearly cheap furniture. A makeshift kitchen, some grandma couches and a fur rug. Notably, there wasn't a single lamp. When the door was shut the room was exceptionally dark.

"I'm gonna look around for Cherries, you guys stay here!" Lightbulb switched on a torch from her pocket and disappeared into the depths of the room.

Fan backed up into Test Tube, who made a pig-like squeak in protest.
"Test Tube!" He spun to face her. In the darkness her soft features looked hardened and intimidating.
"Oh, I thought you were gone. I don't wanna be alone here."
"Are you scared?" She questioned. "Cause, um. I'm not. This room is fascinating but it's not-"

There was a lingering silence for a matter of seconds. "-scary."
Fan jabbed Test Tube on the arm, causing her to retract. "It'd be scary if we got caught by MePhone. Then you'd be terrified."
The taller scoffed. "Please. Like MePhone ever comes here."

Crrrrreak.

The duo rushed to each-others side in a flurry of footsteps.
"What if... What if the murderer is in this house with us!" Fan theorised.
"I doubt it. Unless the murderer plans on walking right through that door, there's no chance they could be in here."

Cliche as it may be, the rusted bolts of the front door squeaked and squealed as it was pushed open with a force.
In the doorway stood a silhouette, framed by a hazy grey light from the outside.

Fan and Test Tube couldn't contain their terror. Screams rippled through the house; Lightbulb jumped as she navigated the stairwell.

"Fan? Test Tube?! What are you doing in here?" Paintbrush entered, their face outlined in the same ghastly silhouette as Test Tube's. Behind them, Tissues sloped in. He had a blanket draped over his shoulders and seemed barely awake.

"Umm...guyz...you're gonna get in- ACHOO!" A rocket of snot narrowly missed where Paintbrush stood. "-trouble..."
Test Tube shielded herself with her lab coat. "We're just looking for Cherries. Why are you here?"
"I was just...taking Tissues for some, um...fresh air. Yeah." Paintbrush quickly changed the topic. "Anyone seen Lightbulb?"

"Painty!"
Feet stormed down the stairs, making the whole hut tremble. Lightbulb shot out from the darkness and into Paintbrush's arms. Words sputtered from their mouth as they pushed her away, flustered. "D-did you find Cherries?"

"Oh." Lightbulb stiffened. "Yeah, I did, but..."
Four eyes watched her expectantly.

"I don't think MePad was telling the complete truth."