Come on Chris, It's Time to Go!

"Boys! It's time to wake up!" Karen calls from down the hall, flicking on the lights and knocking on the door their room.

Chris shifts in his bed, not wanting to leave the warmth of the comforter and enter the cool air beyond it. Carter, on the other hand, has no issue getting up. He charges to the side of Chris' bed, wearing his trusty cowboy pajamas and a messy bed head. "Come on Chris, it's time to go!"

Chris can only muster enough strength and will to groan in reply. Carter pokes his older brother on the forehead, hard. "Come on Chris, it's time to go!" Chris moves stiffly, attempting to pull his arm out from under the sheets so he can stop his brother.

"Come on Chris, it's time to go!" Another hard poke follows.

"Carter... stop... your finger... hurts..." Chris moans as he struggles to open his eyes. He tries to cover his face, but another poke finds its way through the gaps. 

"Come on Chris, it's time to go! Come on Chris, it's time to go! Come on Chris, it's time to go!" Each punctuated with a violent poke to Chris' head.

 "Carter... Stop. Stop! I SAID STOP!!!" Chris roars, thrusting himself out of bed and finally waking up. 

With a jolt, Chris groggily opens his eyes and swats around his head in annoyance. There is a noise of flapping wings. Chris follows the sound of the commotion, watching the plant creature fly away, before perching at the top of the shelf right next to Chris. The air is thick with dust and a strong peppermint smell. The creature's red eye cuts through the miasma, staring down at Chris and reminding him of where he is and how he got there. 

Now fully awake, Chris orients himself into a sitting position, trying to survey the destruction. Unfortunately, he can't see a thing through the dust. Opening his mouth to cough, he licks his lips and the taste of sweat mixed with something sweet greets his tongue, revealing that the dust is actually powdered sugar. Knowing that none of the food-related stuff in this place is safe, Chris covers his nose and mouth with an arm in a vain attempt at protecting himself. 

Chris checks himself as best as he can for injuries, but besides being exhausted and sore all over, he seems unharmed. Realizing that the poking feeling from the dream was actually the plant creature, he runs his hand through his hair and across his forehead, thankfully not finding any blood. As he staggers to his feet and lurches forward, the creature takes off and flies away into the sugary air. 

With no idea where he is relative to the peppermints, Chris continues marching forward, quickly discovering the toppled shelf resting on the ground. He tentatively hauls himself over the first shelf, which used to be the top, and onto the collapsed wooden frame. It creaks dangerously under his weight. Just as he starts to make his way across the frame as if it were a trapeze, the dusty air begins to dissipate. 

The massive form of the green peppermint crusher is revealed, still standing upright even after everything that has happened.

Chris backtracks as quickly as he can in total fright, almost falling off of the wooden support structure multiple times. He drops down behind the top shelf again, using it as a makeshift barrier as he waits for the monster to rumble forth. After what feels like an eternity, still nothing happens. He peeks over the top of the sideways shelf, watching to see if it lurches forward, but again there is no movement to speak of.

Chris looks for something to throw at it. Not wanting to touch any food, he finds a circular cake pan instead. As if throwing a frisbee, he tosses the metal pan at the monster. It hits the side of the peppermint crusher with a clang before falling to the floor, where it makes even more noise. Even still, the peppermint crusher does not move. Finally, Chris gathers his courage and starts clambering over the toppled shelves again. 

As Chris gets closer and closer to the peppermint crusher, the reason for its lack of movement becomes gradually more obvious. Before, Chris was only able to see the top portion of the monster, with the bottom being obscured by the shelf. Now he can see the base of the creature, where a massive chunk has been blown out of it. It doesn't take much guessing to figure out that this must be the result of the muffin "grenade". 

Chris climbs down from the final shelf, and carefully approaches the monster. As it turns out, the only reason the peppermint is upright at all is because it is leaning against the back wall of the warehouse. The air around it is much more humid, due to the huge portion of blood and guts on display. Chris doesn't survey the carnage for long, surprised and disgusted by the, now confirmed, organic nature of the peppermint crushers. As he looks to the left and right down the main aisle, he sees the red and white crusher, which has finally tipped over after all the chaos. 

Before his curiosity can get the better of him, he hears the return of the plant creature overhead. Instead of landing, it circles in the air above him, obviously trying to indicate his position to Danielle. Not wanting to hang around and find out, Chris trots past the blown-up crusher, following the wall in search of some means of escape.

It isn't long before he finds another door.