Time flew by as Florence fell through this thick substance. Only hours or days had passed. How would she know that without a single ray of light penetrating this dense matter?

In a heartbeat, a burst of light exploded beneath her. Then, for some reason, her hair slapped her face with the wind blowing past her. She blinked. Instead, she freed herself through the dyed clouds, plummeting closer to the oil-painted ground.

Her heart jumped out of her chest.

Someone tapped her back.

She looked over her shoulder, finding Aisling falling closely behind.

“Sup,” Aisling said.

“Pardon?” Florence flapped her arms. “We are absolutely dead.”

Stella burst out of the oil-painted clouds. She screamed, hugging the packaging boxes, and a fainted Yuze.

Aisling smiled, giving a thumbs up. “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

“Medically speaking, we are not fine,” Florence said. “We might as well classify ourselves as deceased.”

“Nothing makes sense here. So, seriously, you gonna have to stop worrying about it.”

“Why?”

Sam dove out of the oil-painted clouds above, spreading out his body. His face said it all like a typical Tuesday morning.

“Why should we not be worried?” Florence put her hand on her head, rustling her hair. “We are going to die.”

“At least, if we die now, it’ll be painless,” Aisling said.

“We’re absolutely dead in every way possible.”

“It’s not kinda that bad.”

The oil-painted ground zoomed closer.

Splash.

Florence closed her eyes, but her bones didn’t crack, and her muscles and nerves didn’t ignite in pain.

She opened her eyes to find herself completely intact. Not a single scratch in sight.

Her face got pushed into the ground as Sam landed on her head with his paws.

“Give a round of applause, pleb,” Sam said. “As I’ve arrived… or landed… or whatever. Never mind, scratch that. Could all of you forget what I just said?”

Florence tilted her head up. “Why am I still alive? Also, how did you even come down so quickly?”

Three different thuds onto her back. She groaned, swinging her fists in the air.

“You see, I told you it is weird,” Aisling said. “Nothing makes sense here… at all.”

Yuze blinked, rubbing her eyes. She yawned, laughing. “Come.”

“Pardon me, why are all of you this heavy?” Florence asked.

Aisling slapped Florence’s rear end. But three weights pressured down on Florence’s spine. Another one was on top of her head.

Florence wiped the oil colorant from her face. “Sorry, I did not mean to say that out loud. So, I beg my pardon that you please kindly get off my back.”

Sam sniffed, pointing his nose upwards. “The exit. Is a lot closer than before.”

At this moment, a tense, nutty, but bitter artificial fragrance drifted across the plain, punching straight up Florence’s nostril.

Aisling slid off Florence’s back, standing up on her feet.

“It’s definitely close by,” Sam said.

“I don’t see anything,” Aisling said. “Like, where is the exit supposed to be here somewhere?”

“Behind us… I think.”

“What?”

Aisling spun around. She stumbled backward in splashing steps, tripping over Florence.

“Watch out,” Florence said. She turned towards where Aisling looked at. In front of her, a peanut towered over her, casting a looming shadow.

“Sam, that’s not a door,” Aisling said.

Sam hissed, jumping down from Florence’s head. He bared his fangs. “Of course, I know what a door is, pleb. I’ve got the intelligence of a Player.”

From the corner of Florence’s eyes, the nut quivered.

“Yup, I can tell,” Aisling said. “Intelligence of a six-year-old.”

“Very rude, pleb.” Sam pawed his face. “It takes forever to train a Player properly.”

“I’m quite sure this is supposed to be the other way around.”

“Aye, sure thing, pleb.”

The nut shook again. This time, a crack spread across the shell.

“Guys,” Stella said. “I think… I mean… the peanut.”

Yuze whistled. “Yeah.”

“Should we run?” Florence asked.

The nut shivered, sprouting two human legs from the side. The nut stood up on its feet, staring them down.

The oil paint splashed under Sam’s paws as he prowled closer to the nut.

Within seconds, Aisling scooped Sam under his belly, picking him up.

“Wonderful. Sam is now a bird,” Florence said, “even though he is still clearly a cat.”

“Let me go, pleb,” Sam said, whacking his tail at Aisling. “You’re letting my prey get away.”

Aisling’s eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Really? I didn’t know that peanuts are kinda like those small birds you hunt.”

“I mean… we should go,” Stella said.

Yuze grabbed Florence’s hair, whipping it.

“Pardon me, but what are you doing, Yuze?” Florence asked.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Go horsey,” Yuze said. She slapped Florence. “Go.”

A muffled Jack in the Box music played within the nut. It trembled, spreading wider cracks across the shell.

“We definitely gotta run… now,” Aisling said.

Three beaks blasted through the shell of that peanut. The mouths gaped open, sticking their tongues out and screeching.

Florence, Aisling, and Stella screamed.

Yuze took her phone out, pointing the camera lenses at all of them.

“Is that supposed to be a peanut or a bird?” Florence scurried up to her feet. She carried Yuze and Stella, dashing away from the peanut with human legs and beaks.

Aisling coughed. “Seriously? Do you want me to break the shell of that peanut and find out?” Her feet splashed on the oil-painted floor, catching up next to Florence.

“Pardon me, what is Yuze doing?”

“Filming us… Honestly, kinda obvious if you asked me.”

“Since when?”

“Just now.”

“Absolutely not; I am asking when a phone could film.”

“Way too long ago.”

“So, what else could it do?”

“Procrastination. Wait a minute… why’re you asking this now?”

Florence glanced over her shoulder. The peanut chased behind them, snapping its beaks.

Sam pushed his paws on Aisling’s hands under his belly. Then his maw opened wide, sinking his teeth into Aisling’s forearm.

Aisling winced. She smiled, thinning her lips.

“Let me go, pleb,” Sam said.

“Yup, sure.” Aisling coughed. “I really should feed you to that peanut chasing us.”

Florence raised her hand. “I suggest that we should not threaten each other like that.”

“I… I agree,” Stella said.

“This pleb is right over here,” Sam said, pawing at Aisling. “Stop preventing me from playing with my prey.”

Aisling sighed. “Who? At this point, I just wanna give him up right now,” she said.

“Would that not be too cruel?” Florence asked. “Never give up, Aisling.”

Sam meowed. “Exactly, I agree with this, pleb.”

“Scar chasm,” Yuze said. She rested her head on Florence’s shoulder. “Aisling.”

“It’s not scar chasm.” Aisling cleared her throat. “It’s sarcasm.”

In an ear-piercing screech, the peanut lunged over them. A long shadow flew past them. The ground quaked as the peanut crash-landed before them with a thud.

Splash. Splash. Splash.

The peanut prowled closer. Saliva dripped down from its beaks, splashing on the oil-painted ground.

“We are certainly dead. Are we?” Florence inched backward, away from the peanut.

“You seriously don’t have to state the obvious here,” Aisling said. “We do kinda know that.”

Sam pushed his chest up. “I’m your god, pleb.”

The peanut screeched to a halt. It bowed, pushing its knees to the ground.

Sam wagged his tail. “Now, do a backflip.”

“How are you certain that… thing will do it?” Florence slipped, her legs kicked up. Her chin slammed against the back of Aisling’s head.

Yuze and Stella crushed on Florence’s spine. Florence clenched her fist, turning her fingers white. She grinded her teeth, groaning.

The peanut jumped, flipping backward. It swished in the air, landing on its feet with a splash.

Florence clapped. “I am… not certain if that thing is supposed to be a peanut or human or bird… or even a dog,” she said. “Also, Stella and Yuze, please kindly get off my back?”

“Am I that heavy… I mean… I’m sorry,” Stella said.

“Bad girl,” Yuze said. “Really bad.”

“Absolutely not what I meant. I should be the one apologizing.” Florence slapped her face. “Just add to it. I am not quite certain about this peanut… being our exit.”

“That’s definitely an exit. Even though it might not look like it,” Sam said.

“Yup, sure.” Aisling rubbed the back of her head. “Whatever… Eamon just… don’t.”

“Who is Eamon?” Florence asked. “Secondly, how are we supposed to get out of here? Lastly, how did we get into such deep beef with it?”

Yuze sniffed. “Beef where?” she asked. She stood to her feet and stomped on Florence’s spine.

Florence screamed, smacking her hand.

“Okay, then do another backflip,” Sam said.

Again, the peanut backflip without breaking a sweat. Well, mainly because its shell does not have any sweat glands.

“Honestly, how… Did you order the peanut to do that?” Florence groaned. “Are you secretly a peanut trainer this whole time? Pardon me, Yuze. Could you not stand on my back?”

“Yeah, I’m indeed one, pleb,” Sam said. “Not just because of that. But I’m also the sixty-ninth and ninety-six chess world champion.”

Aisling squeezed her nose. “No one cares.”

“Cat therapist,” Yuze said.

“Yeah, and also that as well,” Sam said. “I almost… forgot about it.”

“Sorry, but who is Eamon?” Florence asked.

Aisling scratched the top of Sam’s head. “It’s none of your concern.”

The peanut backflipped… again for no apparent reason.

“You see that?” Sam meowed, pointing at the peanut. “I made it do a backflip again without saying a single word. It’s such a good peanut. I would feed you a peanut if I had one.”

“That is… weird.” Florence jerked her head back, widening her eyes.

Aisling frowned, squeezing Sam around his chest.

“Can’t… breathe,” Sam said.

“You know what you said,” Aisling said.

“What did I even do?”

“I’m gonna be honest here. I don’t know if you’re egoistic, stubborn, or just plain stupid.”

“I’m just a small and innocent cat. What else could I possibly do? Commit war crimes or something?”

Yuze jumped off from Florence’s back, landing with a splash.

“So… could you stop suffocating me, pleb?” Sam asked, pawing at Aisling’s forearm.

Aisling shook her head. “I would rather have you kinda faint.”

“Anyways, I do not want to repeat this again,” Florence said. “But could all of us focus on getting out of this place? I need to get back home soon after finishing this supernatural investigation. And that is if we could exit this place.”

“Never,” Sam said.

“You almost forgot our delivery,” Aisling said. “Very important, by the way.”

Florence turned her head, looking over her shoulder with this ache lingering on her spine.

Stella remained on Florence’s back, not budging as she held those packaging boxes for some reason.

“Stella. Hungry,” Yuze said.

Aisling spun around. “Nope, I don’t think so.”

“It’s definitely that pleb’s fault,” Sam said.

“Which one?” Florence asked. Then her brain clicked, remembering what she just said to Stella. “Never mind, I think I know who you are talking about.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Aisling flapped her hand up and down. “Stella is going to be fine… I think.”

“How are you certain about this?” Florence asked. She poked Stella’s forehead.

Stella wobbled back and forth, sliding onto the oil-painted ground.

“Yup, she is definitely fine,” Aisling said.

“It certainly does not look like it,” Florence said. She wrapped her arm under Stella’s armpit and picked her up to her feet.

“What?” Stella blinked, shaking her head. “Sorry… I might have… I mean… you know.”

Yuze nodded, slipping the phone back into her pocket.

Florence scratched around the scab on her forearms. “Pardon?”

The peanut convoluted. With a crack, its shell shattered. Its legs limped, collapsing to the oil-painted ground. In a splash, its beaks fell off. However, no pod rolled out of its shell, not even an organ or organic matter resembling life.

Only a roughly sketched red eye faded into an empty void inside its external hull.

An eerie silence rang.

Sam squeezed his way out of Aisling’s hug. With his claws extended, he scratched Aisling’s face.

Aisling cupped her face, pacing back and forth. “Stupid cat. What was that for?”

“You, pleb, murdered my peanut,” Sam said. He retracted his claws.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Stop lying. I know you did.”

Florence raised her hand.

Aisling smiled. She closed her eyes, tilting her head. “Sorry. I might have kind of lost my… you know.”

“Pardon me, how about we all jumped inside the peanut?” Florence asked.

“No, my peanut.” Sam pushed his paws up to his ears. “How could this have happened?”

“This is insane,” Aisling said. “And that’s kinda why we’re doing it now.”

Florence shrugged. “Countdown?”

Yuze smirked, kicking Florence on her bottom, thrusting her into this void inside the peanut.

Florence gripped Stella’s blouse, pulling Stella along.

Stella screamed, losing her footing.

“Lady first,” Yuze said. “Pair.”

Sam wiped his nose. “Do any of you pleb have catnip? I really need to drown myself in catnip right about now.”

“What was that for? This is absolutely not what I meant by jumping in together,” Florence said.

Around this point, Aisling, Yuze, and Sam appeared as dots, getting farther away from Florence…