Part 40: Horrors That Hide

Hours had passed in The Funhouse Room where Cherry woke up in a cold sweat. The gumball machine from the outside was getting colder than usual and the air became thin. Without any oxygen, the toy capsules were suffocating some people to death.

All the while, her head was starting to get a bit hot. It was looking more and more apparent that the odds were stacked against her. All she could do at the moment was sit there in agony.

The container she was in reminded her of being on that stage again by herself. All empty with no one there to witness the storm of grief she had endured while laying there. It came to a point where visions of that life overwhelmed her state of mind. It was like walking up an arctic mountain where mirages of a toasty warm home was only a dream. In this case, the fear of reliving that helplessness kept insisting that her life in that mansion was real.

Depressed at seeing so many people around her that were struggling to get out, Cherry wanted to try and help them. She was the only one that freed herself after all. There had to be a way to further stop what was about to happen. While thinking this out, she started to deduce her observations in whispers.

“However they got me in here is so strange. If this thing had a physical lock, I could have gotten out instead with the Lockmeister-X1.“

Reassessing what she knew so far, the first thing to note was that these were a certain type of toy capsule known as a gachapon. It was fairly common knowledge in Animearth that these popped open like how doors would since they had a hinge, but the opening mechanism was entirely different. Being round as they were, the top looked to be sealed like a treasure chest without a lock. Lifting the plastic latch from the outside would seem like the only way to get out.

But she was inside, not outside.

Then it donned on her…

The Lockmeister-X1 was only able to effectively open a door by itself using a special adhesive known as geckel. No matter the surface, the device could mimic the strength of a gecko (which was holding something a hundred times its own weight) while opening doors effectively. Since it weighed about three pounds, multiplying it by that offered the possibility of shooting the force of the decoy key out straight like a metal dart so that it could crack through the plastic and open the latch.

Fortunately for Cherry, the heaviest part of the gachapon was where the latch could be located thanks to gravity. This meant it was right next to her jacket and jeans. Taking the Lockmeister-X1 out of her jacket’s pocket, she aimed at the latch carefully and let the device reproduce the same key structure that got her into Dream Academy. Grabbing hold of it as tightly as she could, the machine automatically stuck the key in fast enough to shake the entire capsule. At that moment, Cherry broke open the capsule and pushed the top forcefully to create a drop zone.

Descending lower and lower through any open spaces, she would land on each gachapon and pop a few others open to help free people that were stuck. As they began to assist more hostages out of their situation, Cherry finally found the exit.

Peeking through the gumball machine’s metal flap, she saw a large clear tube that would roll the toy capsules into the deep pit of pink frosting below. Looking at the time beneath the date of October 13th, she saw there were only three hours left. Upon feeling the material of the slide, it turned out to be also made of plastic.

Using the Lockmeister-X1 once again, she cracked the tube and subtly dislocated its position so that a narrow opening could be squeezed through. This would also stop anymore capsules from sliding down so people could run outside and escape.

In her last ditch effort, she managed to land safely on the hard chocolate ground while hiding behind different rides at the amusement park without being caught.

Soon after avoiding any trouble of being seen, she quietly left out through the gingerbread door without making a sound.

Cherry had finally survived The Funhouse Room.