(Partner chapter to the previous one "The Trap")

"Uhh are you sure this is where we're supposed to be, Marshie?" Sekah asked warily, already ready to turn a complete 180 and head right back to the tower.

Marshie nodded. "The exact building Charlie said in her note! Doesn't it look cool?"

He looked at her wordlessly, wondering just how many screws his friend had loose. The building was on the complete other side of town, a large brick-built place decrepitating on its own.

It has multiple windows with varying degrees of broken glass, but one large one didn't appear to have ever had glass in it. It was bordered in metal and off to the side of the side wall, a good fifty feet from the ground. Scuff marks in the shape of a perfect square were etched into the sun burnt ground right below it.

Sekah groaned, dragging his normal hand down his face. "Why am I here again?"

"Charlie needs more friends and you're a good enough friend," Marshie said, tugging on the front doors. They were either locked or stuck, not even budging. She slumped her shoulders and looked to Sekah with a small pout. "Do you think your robot arm could open it?"

"Tch, why should I when you just called me a 'good enough' friend?" he protested, but she just kept staring pitifully and he finally sighed. "Fine!" He threw up his hands in defeat and gripped the door handle, pulling until it came free.

Inside, the building had multiple levels, the only way up and down them via ladders attached to the concrete walls. A conveyor belt stretched across the entire room, from the third level to the wide open window.

"Ohhh," Marshie admired, looking everywhere with child-like wonder. "What do you think this was for?"

Sekah shrugged. "Distribution factory?" he guessed, walking up to a barrel full of scraps of metal and tipping it back and forth to peer inside. "For machine parts I guess?"

"Maybe we can bring some back for Bri!"

"We'd have to lug it all the way to the tower, we can't do that without our vehicles."

"Charlie can help us!" Marshie looked around. "I wonder where she is...maybe she's up there!" She pointed to the conveyor belt level, where the only room-looking place was. She tugged on Sekah's sleeve. "Come on!"

They climbed the ladders up to the third level, more tired from the climb than they were walking to the factory. A swinging cart was poised above the conveyor belt on the next, much closer, level. Sekah narrowed his eyes, wondering how it was swinging with no wind or person pushing it but before he could raise his concerns, a loud bang came from outside.

Glass exploded somewhere above them, raining down onto the platform between them and the ladder back down. Sekah quickly wrapped his arms around Marshie's stomach and lifted her away.

After that, everything seemed to happen at once.

Something clicked...and clicked...and clicked. The meticulous noise was close to grating, jabbing their ear drums, and Sekah covered his ears. A suspicious crunching joined in and Marshie flinched, face scrunching up in inward pain.

A beam above them cracked with a thunderous shake and broke free, falling straight down towards them. Sekah froze, every limb even his robot arm twitching with effort to move, but he was stuck to his spot. Marshie shoved him out of the way and he slammed into the ground, his metal elbow colliding straight into the concrete. His whole arm vibrated and he gasped as the feeling of mixed pain and emptiness rang through his upper body.

Marshie jumped back herself, falling onto the conveyor belt. The beam hit the floor, fracturing into wood splinters that scattered across the rough concrete. Before either of them could breathe in relief, they heard what sounded like metal churning.

They looked at each other just before it was replaced with a soft drone and the belt started to move. Marshie yelped and Sekah stumbled to his feet. "Get off that thing!"

She nodded and tried to hurriedly get up, only to be yanked back down. Her eyes widened with panic. "I'm stuck!" she yelled, pulling at the bottom of her jeans now lodged between the rubber belt and the revolving track bolts.

Sekah watched in horror as the conveyor carried her away from him and towards the open window. He took a step towards her but stopped short as another ceiling beam fell down, nearly taking another limb off.

"Sekah! Help!"

He shook his head and mentally slapped his face. 'Come on, get it together. Think.' He couldn't get to her from the ground now, he'd have to get on the belt. Shoving down all (most) of his nerves, he raced up the ladder leading to the next platform.

He shoved the swinging cart out of the way and, taking a deep shaky breath, jumped down onto the moving conveyor belt. At the last second, he remembered to roll as he hit it and skidded on the rubber with only a few scratches.

Running on a slow moving conveyor belt was nothing like running up and down an escalator, something he was an expert at. It was somehow much more jarring. Especially since it was meant for still chunks of metal and wood logs, not partially-able-bodied humans.

Sekah wobbled as he ran, struggling to keep upright and not fall off. In the short time since the outbreak, the machine must've taken on more wear from the non-use more than normal; it shook dangerously as he ran, threatening to drop him and Marshie the fifty-odd feet to the floor.

Another window shattered from seemingly nothing, covering the belt with shards of glass. Sekah forced himself to keep running, using his robot arm as a useless shield. Quick stings burned into his cheeks and he tried dodging the glass without falling.

As soon as he reached his fellow Misfit, he dropped to his knees and inspected the damage. The cuff of her jean leg was being ripped string by string but didn't release her from its forceful hold.

"Ugh, why couldn't it have been your jacket to get stuck?"

"I'll remember that next time I get stuck in machinery," Marshie said somewhat humorly, but he could still hear the underlying fear.

He yanked on the jeans, but it was futile. He could see the hem wedged between two furiously gyrating idlers. Sekah cursed under his breath and looked forward. They were getting closer and closer to the window. The idlers would only let her go when it was too late.

Marshie clutched his sleeve. "What are we going to do?" she asked. Her voice was trembling to match her pale, fear-stricken face.

"I, uh..."Sekah sat up on his knees, checking all around them. Thoughts ran a hundred miles in his head and he couldn't focus on anything. He normally did fine under pressure until life was at stake-

Marshie's hold wavered. "You're not gonna leave me, right?"

Sekah sucked in a breath. Flashes of stampedes, people running for their lives from the first outbreak, involuntarily snapped their way in his mind. People falling to the ground, their pleas for help getting ignored as the zombies got closer. Left for dead by those who were just scared. Who couldn't handle being in the position of attempting to save someone's life.

But the Misfits weren't like that. They were family and protected one another. Colin and Panda didn't leave him behind in that store. This was basically his third chance at life in this apocalypse. And he wasn't going to leave Marshie in it.

With rejuvenated determination, he fixed her with an incredulous look. "Tch, of course not! Misfits don't run away from danger!"

A dozen feet away, one of the bigger shards of glass from the blown out window was lying on the belt. Sekah tiredly flung himself towards it, landing harshly on his stomach. He grabbed the glass, clutching it tightly and letting it scratch up his metal hand. With a couple quick, anxiety-fueled strokes, he cut at the fabric of Marshie's jeans until she was free.

He yanked her up and the two ran with what little energy they had left back down the conveyor belt, glass crunching underneath their feet. As soon as they reached the second level, they leapt off.

Marshie rolled onto her side and very poorly caught Sekah as he landed right beside her. They grappled for each other's arms, helping each other to their feet. As the belt continued rotating around at the end, the broken glass fell out of the window and they could hear it smash into the ground below

"Should we..."

Sekah shook his head, stepping over the broken wood and glass and pulling her towards the ladder. "Let's get out of here before the entire building collapses on us."

They left in silence, both taking a peek at the pile of glass outside before heading towards their tower.

"I have to find Charlie," Marshie spoke up. "She never showed up and I'm worried about her. She wouldn't do this to us."

He hummed in response. "I'll help you."

She smiled and tapped her fingers on her leg in rhythm. "Hey Sekah?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we not tell Austin about this?"

"I wish we didn't have to." He met her eyes sadly, already anticipating their leader's confusion and frustration.

Marshie held onto his hand the whole walk back, fingers nervously twitching while she wondered what happened to her doctor friend.