Camp Murder (Inanimate Insanity)

Chapter 20 - Strung Together

Upon Marshmallow's sudden disappearance, the team split immediately. Lightbulb and Paintbrush dashed one way, Fan and Test Tube leaving in the other.

Paintbrush cursed beneath their breath at the storm as they squelched through the muddy camp, Lightbulb trailing behind. "Have some damn urgency, Lightbulb!"
Rain dribbled off the blonde's chin and hid her blush. "S-sorry Painty."

"Fan and Test Tube are so stupid," They stated, ignored her apology. "Marshmallow is in mourning - It... Its not fair for her to be victimised like that!"
"Yeah."
"They think with their asses rather than their heads."
"Yeah..."
"I just hate-"

Lightbulb interrupted the ranting artist to tug their sleeve. "Painty! I know you're upset but we gotta find Marsh, yeah? Come on."

Paintbrush, upset by Lightbulb's unwillingness to listen, screwed up their face. "Alright then." They grunted, turning accusingly to the other on their heel. "If you know Marsh so well, where is she?"

A heavy silence fell upon the pair, rain hitting their skin like acid and contorting their surroundings. Lightbulb felt a sense of unease that she couldn't pinpoint. She pushed it aside and spoke: "The... um... The mansion-y place? She told me she wanted to go there, so..."
Paintbrush scoffed. "She didn't tell me."

"Painty."

Turning back on their heel, Paintbrush sighed an apology and broke into a steady jog through the trees. They felt an overwhelming urge to scoop Marshmallow into their arms; to tell her everything was okay. A ways away, shadowed by the trees, two figures also raced towards the mansion.

"Of-effing-course!" Paintbrush growled. Marshmallow did NOT need to see Fan and Test Tube right now. "Buzz off, you've done enough damage!"

No reply. The figures, merely blacked-out silhouettes against the setting sun, grew on the mansion with increasing speed. They hit the mansion's wall with a thud.

"Oof!" Fan choked. He hadn't expected the wall to be so close; the hazy forest had contorted that too. The wall was crumbling and singed as if it had been struck by lightning.

'Unsettling.' Test Tube cringed with the thought of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Slightly beside the pair was a smashed window. Careless for any other entrances, the scientist hoisted herself in, losing her grip and falling in head-first. Painfully raising her head, Test Tube evaluated the room: books - a lot of 'em, a broken couch, a chair on it's side and Marshmallow.

"Hello Marsh," Test Tube got to her feet. "...Oh."

The sight before her sent a jolt of panic through her spine and into her jaw. It was unsurprising, but the circumstances were... less than ideal. Test Tube's eyes traversed the hanging girl's body. She felt a strange urge to feel the girl's arm, in which she pulled her hand away in horror. Still warm.

With a series of thuds, Fan, Paintbrush and Lightbulb packed into the room. "Test T- Jesus Christ!" The fanboy met eyes with the hanging girl. Marshmallow's expression was frozen in time and horror-struck. Her mouth was hanging open, cheeks pale but lively nonetheless, eyes wide and glaring at the window they entered from.

The tallest let out a choked gasp as their throat tightened. "Oh m-my..." Paintbrush fell to their knees, heart shattering in their ribcage. "You-" Cut off by an unholy sob, their wails echoed in the quaint room and shook their body. Their hard demeanour unravelled before the group's eyes.
"M-Marsh... You IDIOT! Why did you... Why'd you have to go and... W-why..."

A few steps behind, Lightbulb had her back to the sight. Her shoulders shook lightly but she didn't make a sound.

Beside the sobbing mess crumbling on the floor, the nerds shared a look. Test Tube spoke, "Golly... D-did we do this?"
"Um," Fan struggled for words. "N-nah. I mean, maybe... I just - I guess, uh..."
"What, Fan?"

He cleared the lump in his throat. "You were the first to blame her."
"Wh-" Test Tube stuttered before catching her train of thought. "I was reading what it said on the machine! That printer has solved murder cases before, Fan! Lying about it would be... nonsensical!"

A gargled sob of distress from Paintbrush broke up the argument and pulled Fan back to reality. He balled his hands into fist to hide unwelcome tears. "Y-yeah? Then why can't you solve these murder cases?" Through his fingers, Fan glared daggers at the scientist. "Innocent people have died and what have you done? Nothing!"

At the same time, the pair saw something glisten in the rain behind Lightbulb. A yellow sheet of paper. They both lunged for it, knocking Lightbulb down, winding her, and landing in a heap on the floor.

Urgency pulled Fan into fight mode when Test Tube held the paper above his hand with a trembling fist. "Give that to me!"
"N-no! F-F-F-F-Fa-Fan, let me prove it!"
"What?!" He spat at the scientist. "Prove what?!"
"I can solve this now! I-I'm a scientist, and you're... you. Let's do it together from now on, okay? I'm not worthless, so just... j-just let me in!"

Fan inhaled through his nose. Paintbrush's cries had weakened into pained whimpers. "Alright. Read it."
Test Tube retracted slightly at his acceptance. "O-oh..."

'This one was easy! Poor thing was already damaged enough.
Doesn't she look cute with that expression?
I'm joking. That's morbid, sicko.
I bring good news! I'm almost done with this now. Just a little push left.
Have a swell day.'

"Jesus... That's messed up. What do we do?!" Fan asked nobody in particular
"Leave her." The mess that was Paintbrush muttered in a cracked voice.
"Wh-"
"I said - leave her! M...Marsh wanted to die here. So just leave her."
"W-what about MePhone?"

"F**k MePhone."

Behind them, Lightbulb got up on her knees. "Guys... shhh..." Her voice was thick with tears and bewilderment. The girl continued to shush her friends as she rounded all three into her arms, pulling them to her chest. "Just be quiet... Please."

To Fan's surprise, Paintbrush gripped at him and sobbed heavily into his chest.
'Awkward.' he thought, resting a hand on their back.

Fan had never seen them so distraught; he'd never even seen them cry. Against his other arm was Test Tube, frozen solid in Lightbulb's embrace. She was a statue, isolated in her thoughts. "We should go back to camp." she suggested, yet the quartet stayed station on the floor a while longer.

-

(Woo! Christmas break! Finally got my juice back to finish this story, not necisarily because of II, but because I love this story and the characters in whole. Thank y'all for your endless support!!)