Into Darkness

Baseball

"BAAAAAASEBAAAAAAAALL!"
Lightbulb's cry echoed across the filthy, decrepit expanse, offering her no reply but her own echoed voice. As she scrutinized the field of ravaged furniture, Suitcase yelped in protest and scrambled over to the door. "L-Lightbulb, stop! We don't know what's out there!"
"Uh, yeah we do, it's Baseball." stated Knife matter-of-factly. "Unless you're afraid of the dark, that is. Or, uh, chairs." "Now now, Sharpie, don't make fun," chastised Lightbulb, turning to face the both of them. "There are also some very intimidating tables over there that she might be afraid of, let's not jump to conclusions."
Knife barked out a laugh and Microphone snickered as Suitcase weathered the ignorant comment with a huff and an insulted frown.
Meanwhile, Test Tube was still rummaging around in the shed behind them, her efforts led by Lightbulb's brightness. She'd happened upon a few more scraps of paper, but none of them contained anything legible other than the occasional, shudder, pretentious bit of poetry. She was beginning to become frustrated with her lack of success when Lightbulb stepped up next to her and plucked a nondescript black object off of a shelf above where Test Tube had been poking around.
"Hay Tube, does this match your definition of 'important'?" "HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?!" spat Test Tube, swiping the rectangular dust-covered treasure away for herself to inspect. Lightbulb just choked back a laugh and bit her lip, her eyes gleaming with as much amusement as the rest of her was with artificial light.
"What's so funny?" asked Microphone, raising an eyebrow. Lightbulb giggled in delight and waved her off. "Nothing, nothing, it's... hay tubes are what horses eat, ehehe!"
Test Tube smiled briefly up at her friend, but her eyes became distant. "Heh, Fan woulda liked that one." At this, Microphone rolled her eyes. "Yeah, alright, it was barely a joke, Test Tube."
"Yes, well, Fan is not very smart." Test Tube stood up suddenly and coughed to catch the attention of Suitcase and Knife. "Alright everyone, I've determined that this is, in fact, a VHS tape!"
"GASP! An ancient relic from a forgotten era!" exclaimed Lightbulb, theatrically placing her hands on her cheeks and gazing upon the dirty tape with awe.
"I got bullied by a VHS tape in high school, I wouldn't call that forgotten," grumbled Microphone, a far more suspicious look trained on the harmless item. "Okay, well, this one doesn't have arms or legs, or, y'know, a face, Microphone," Test Tube explained helpfully. "Guy at my school didn't have arms either," Microphone shot back. "HAH!" Knife crossed his arms. You got bullied by an ARMLESS kid?" Upon noticing Suitcase's glare, he coughed and put up a hand in defense. "Uh, no offense, of course."
"Plenty taken, thanks," Suitcase grouchily muttered, a bit weary of the amount of belittlement that had been being flung her way in the past half hour.
"All of you, please hush!" Test Tube held up the tape again and wiped some stray dirt off the side. "Now then- if we're lucky, this tape will be indispensable towards our escape. I suspect it contains wildly useful information that will apply perfectly to our conundrum!"
"Is there a tape player?" asked Knife.
"Well, no," replied Test Tube.
"Okay, it's useless then," said Knife.

A moment of silence passed.

"I would like to have this. Can I just, have this? Let me have this, please." Test Tube rubbed her forehead and groaned, her inflection bordering on pleading. "I want out of this rotten place as much as you all do, and I'd prefer not to be shut down at every avenue I reach."
"Well, he's not wrong," remarked Microphone, earning her a glare from Test Tube. "We don't have a tape player, or a TV, and on top of that, Baseball is still missing."
"I bet he wandered off to find a dark corner and off himself!" Lightbulb punctuated this by miming her own throat being slit, much to the chagrin of her companions. Test Tube winced and raised an eyebrow. "Geezaloo, Lightbulb, even for you, that joke's in pretty poor taste."
"I wasn't joking," Lightbulb replied simply.

Another moment of silence passed.

"That's terrible." Suitcase frowned. "That's awful, actually. Sickening."
Microphone and Knife made no effort to refute Lightbulb's sentiment, but Test Tube shook her head and moved to go back to the small shack's door, tape in hand. "Yes, well, all of that foulness aside, we-"
CRUNCH

TINGtingting

Microphone was the first to speak.
"Oh!"
Nobody else dared to move. Suitcase barely breathed, the only proof of her consciousness being her terrified eyes darting about.
Microphone squinted out into the abyss and frowned. "I think one of the piles of junk fell over, we're fine."
The tension eased, but nobody was entirely comfortable yet. Test Tube laughed awkwardly and pushed past Microphone, stepping out of their little shelter. "Oh, look at us! Jumping at shadows! Running for cover when something in the night goes 'bump'! Come on, guys, we aren't that pathetic."
Knife grunted and followed suit, not bothering to check if the others were following. They did, of course. Suitcase, had it been up to her, would have boarded up every orifice available throughout the tiny wooden structure and hidden under a table, which itself would be beneath a larger table, just to be extra careful. That being said, she disliked being alone in a terrifying, unfamiliar locale FAR more than she disliked being dragged around said locale by people she knew. Being alone with her thoughts was the last thing she needed when faced with a challenge so harrowing. Oh, now that's a thought...
"So, do we think this is a challenge? Did we come to any sort of consensus on that?" Her fear temporarily pushed aside, she scrambled to keep up with Test Tube, who in turn was struggling to keep pace with the cheerfully marching Lightbulb who had since taken the lead.
Test Tube, in turn, offered an extremely unsatisfying shrug. "I can't say for sure, but if it is a challenge, then maybe us not being formally told it's one was part of the point? For all I know, there was a bit of amateur poetry back there that'd explain this whole mess, but I just can't force myself to sit through it all."
"Seems like maybe we should've spent more time with that," offered Knife, throwing a glance back at the hut. It was quickly being obscured by the sickening haze, and he already had to squint to make it out. "Yes, well, it was all nonsense, trust me. We were plenty thorough; whoever cobbled those sad excuses for literature together was obviously insane, incredibly pompous, or both." Test Tube waved him off and focused on the area in front of them.
"SIGH," Lightbulb sighed loudly, "Fan would have LOVED an outing like this! So much to analyze! So many baseless theories to cobble together! This nightmare world is just BEGGING for his touch!" She punctuated this with a theatrically longing pose, reaching out into the abyss with closed eyes brimming with tears. She balanced masterfully on one leg, the other lifted behind her.
Test Tube, huffing in annoyance, opened her mouth to respond. Before she could say anything, however, her eyes shot open wide and she stumbled to a halt as fast as she could.
"Gah- jeepers! Lightbulb, whatever you do, don't lose your balance, and for the love of anything sane, please don't look down!"
Blinking in confusion, Lightbulb immediately looked down and let out a yelp of surprise, losing her balance in the process. The group had come to a stop on the edge of a deep, dark pit- Test Tube estimated a diameter of 20 feet- and Lightbulb was promptly proceeding to tumble down inside.
"EYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"