Inanimate Downpour

Paper turned away immediately. "That's.. horrifying."

Suitcase tried to hide a gag. Lightbulb, rather than being frozen, raised an eyebrow.

"I'm wondering what's gotten into her. Sure, her journey took ages and she was probably just starving, but that's a strange way to get rid of that feeling."

She sat down next to Taco, curious as to why she chose Cherries of all people. She secretly grabbed a handful before also trying to ravage the fruit before her. Cheesy couldn't figure out a possible way to make this situation humorous, instead initiating a conversation with Paintbrush.

"Hey PB, I've started to notice anyone who goes up there gets really odd urges. We've got hostility and now twice as much hunger."

"I've been up there and turned out fine. Though, I'm pretty sure that's just Lightbulb being Lightbulb."

Taco then stood up, holding her head and attempting to tiredly drag her legs over to where Microphone was. "God, my head really hurts."

She was then stopped in her tracks by OJ, forcing her to be a bit more awake after getting out of yet another trance. She squinted up at him, cherry juice still dripping on her shell. OJ looked displeased, but ever since he built the hotel, that was a really normal reaction.

"Heeey, so... would you mind if you.. like.. stayed far away from everyone, please?"

"...again...? Look, I get that I tried to sabotage everything in Season O-"

OJ then shoved her into one of the storage cupboards, barricading the door. "She still doesn't get it. Soap, keep her there until her brain fixes itself, or something."

"That's not how it works.."

Surprisingly enough, the day went off as it normally would, except for the fact there was lots of scrubbing to do. Soap got it taken care of. Apple was chosen to go get stuff, but due to her fear of whatever roams outside, she wanted to take Marshmallow with her, even though she had just returned from an expedition.

The two headed out through the door, only to see the entire landscape tinted a dark purple. It was still somewhat afternoon. Some patches of grass had a small bioluminescent effect, glowing a tiny bit every time it was in contact with something. As the two were going to a nearby abandoned challenge area, Apple grabbed Marshmallow by the hand and lead her to the parameters of Purgatory Mansion. The two eventually made it and burst open the door, not even bothering to protect themselves from the dangerous air when on the way. The mansion had hardly changed, still looking as old and dusty as ever. It was still a comforting sight since they used to live here, until the whole "Hotel OJ Party" incident. They were greeted by Bow, Dough and Knife, who were desperate to know the situation outside.

"Oh my gosh, hey Marsh! The outside world has gotten all funky recently, and I was worried you had gotten fried or something!"

"Uh.. hey.. are Salt and Pepper or Cherries here with you?"

"Ew, um, no! Why would we ever have those two freaks over? Cherries, though, haven't got a clue. Why do you ask?" 

"Well, something happened outside, and now there's radiation everywhere, and Salt and Pepper are now, like, these freaky mutant things so I'd suspect they died, and Cherries got mauled by Taco and Lightbulb."

"..No wonder the cell service stopped working. Huh. Well, they're probably still in their bodies or something. Like they're controlled by a parasite. Though I think that's just the definition for Pepper. For the little fruit guys, I dunno. Maybe it's.. because.. I just don't know. Wanna have some soda and chat?"

The group all sat together at the mansion's bar and discussed how both sides, alive and dead, are now confined in a certain spot on the island. The ghosts are in the mansion, whereas the survivors are in the basement. They have somewhat of an advantage, since they can leave the parameters, but coming back healthy is the major disadvantage. Bow helped with getting anything important, while Dough put it in boxes that the two alleged survivors could carry safely. Knife and Marshmallow were just catching up, with her telling him if everyone's alright and how everyone's doing. The two then headed on their way, holding sodas and better ways to pass time than just the same card games over and over. Once the mansion's door was opened, it was already night time, but it wasn't really noticeable with the only difference being the moon and some stars. Before they even started walking, there was an ongoing meteor shower that really caught Marshmallow's eye.

"Look, Marsh! The stars are moving! Do you think they have other places to be? They're getting out! Should we try and put them back?" 

"Those are meteors, silly. But maybe they're like us."

"What do you mean?" 

"We have other places to be, too. One day, we'll get out of here eventually."

They then carefully made their way back to the hotel's premises. For every odd noise that was in the distance, they'd pick up their pace. They eventually opened up the basement's door, put the boxes down and continued on with their evening. The power was back on due to Lightbulb tinkering with the powerbox outside. Marshmallow went up to Suitcase, placing a hand on one of her leather corners.

"He misses you."

Suitcase stared up at her, and smiled.