The Broken Loop

Chapter 28: The Quest for Soup

I was counting both of us.

We are basically the same person right now, so we both count as one.

Good point.

"Is that including me?" Norman asks.

"No, I was including both Wally and I." Buddy replies.

"Okay." Norman says as he looks around.
"What's that?"

"What's what?" (What's what?) All three of them ask at the same time, although only Buddy heard Wally.

They watch as Norman walks over to the corner and grabs something out of the ink, he wipes it off, Wally tilts their head.

Can you not act like a dog?

No.

Norman hands it to Sammy who examines it.

"It's a cassette tape, it doesn't say who, though." Sammy says.

It looks familiar. Wally says to Buddy as he holds put his hand for the tape.

Sammy hesitantly hands it to him.

You're right. It does. Play it.

That is exactly what Wally does.

The voice is Henry's voice, and it was apparently near the end.

"- but he lead them there again.
He overpowered them again. And he robbed them of the only thing that they had. Again. I don't know how those tiny breaths of life came to inhabit those machines. But they will never find rest now. Not like this.
I have to call them all back.
All of them.
Together in one place."

There was a few moments of silence while everyone tries to remember where they heard this before.

"When we were free." Buddy says, "When our bodies were soulless, sentient beings made of ink they listened to this, remember?"

"Yes, actually." Sammy replies.

I do as well.

"Kind of." Norman says.

Wally decides to nod.

"We might as well bring it with us." Sammy says.

They continue walking, until Buddy sees something in the corner.

What's that in the corner?

Wally looks over to the corner

The other one, to our left.

Be more specific next time. Wally replies as he looks over, both of them recognizing what it is.

Doesn't that dispense bacon soup?

Yes.