Garten of Banban: Hell Awaiting

Chapter Eight: "Double-Crossed"

Banbaleena and I walk through the long corridor together in silence, the only sound echoing throughout the hallway coming from our footsteps against the floor and Banbaleena humming a cheerful tune under her breath. I'm still a little shaken from the encounter with Josh earlier, although my fear seems to have largely subsided. So I suppose that's something at least.

We pass by several doors on our way, all leading into each mascot's personal rooms. Most of them seem to be vacant, which I'm thankful for, because I'm really not in the mood to deal with another round of escaping crazy monsters. But I can't help but wonder what exactly they're doing all the time in their rooms. Is this what their days usually consist of? Pure banality?

As we walk, I find a tape laying in the corner of the hallway, the words "Catch Me If U Can" scrawled across the top in messy handwriting. I frown down at the tape curiously, picking it up and putting it into my pocket, thinking nothing of it. Hm, I wonder who left it here. Perhaps I should watch it when I have some time...

We finally reach the end of the corridor, walking right through the cafeteria from before and entering the main lobby. Banbaleena wastes no time in heading over to the elevator I used to come down here earlier. Once she steps aboard, she turns to look at me once more.

"I'm heading back to class, and I expect you to be there before the fourth lesson starts. Trust me, you do not wanna miss that one!" She gives me a stern look and points her finger directly at me. "Children are eagerly awaiting my return, so up I go!" With that, the elevator begins its ascent and Banbaleena disappears from view without giving me time to say anything else.

Yeah, right... There are no kids here. She must be delusional or something. I shake my head, deciding that I need something to distract my mind from what just happened a bit ago. I mean, I did get this tape, right? I happened to notice a TV somewhere in this lobby when I first arrived, so maybe I could watch that while I ponder my next move.

With that thought in mind, I head over to the TV in question and insert the tape into the slot. As soon as the television switches on, the screen displays some kind of old camera footage, the scene showing a dark grey room with a floor littered with crumpled up papers and drawings scattered across the floor. That's when a familiar boy comes into view, and my eyes instantly widen.

"It's been a while, huh, mama?" Jack says into the camera. My heart sinks to the bottom of my stomach. I can tell that his face is covered with dirt and grime, even some blood smeared across the sides of his cheek, but his eyes... Those bright yellow eyes that I used to know so well are nowhere to be seen. They were replaced by dull lifeless orbs of pure sadness.

"I'm sorry about what I said to you in that dream..." So he really was there in that nightmare I had? Wow, that makes me feel a whole lot better. However, he keeps talking. "I'm just... mad. I have so many friends here in this place, I'm happy now, and you wanna take me away from them?" He stifles an angry sob as his shoulders slump forward.

"I thought the jellyfish told you to leave... So I don't know why you're still here anymore..." His voice breaks slightly at this point. By 'jellyfish', does he mean Stinger Flynn? There's no way Jack has some kind of alliance with that jerk. Even if he did, wouldn't Flynn have told me that he had Jack with him the whole time?

"But you know what, mama? That's fine. I have plenty of friends here anyways, I don't need you anymore." Jack lets out a bitter laugh. I can almost hear Flynn laughing along. God dammit, I knew that dumb jellyfish was lying to me! And I believed him! Banban was right; Flynn is just playing tricks on me.

"So I'm gonna make sure you don't come near me ever again. And that way, nobody will stop me from helping my friends." The look of pure joy and love in my son's eyes has been completely erased, replaced by a glare as cold as ice. "Catch me if you can, mama. But I'm not leaving them alone." As soon as the words leave his lips, the video ends abruptly.