Dan's POV

None of us said anything as we stared above ourselves. The ceiling had completely disappeared, but there was still a wall behind Phil. I glanced at Nate to find him sniffing himself. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He looked up at me. "I smell like Febreze or something."

I sent him a confused look, but Jason spoke before I could, "I do too. Maybe that was what the spray was?"

Phil shrugged. "Probably. We are going to a laboratory, after all."

I sighed, "How many people do you think know we're here? I'm willing to bet that the alarm wasn't just going off in this room."

"Just go along with it," Phil replied. "Act like we belong here, I guess."

"Do you think we're supposed to climb out of here through the hole above us?" Jason asked.

Before anyone could answer, the floor began shaking. "Well, it was nice knowing you guys–"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" I yelled at Nate. "We aren't going to die!"

"Actually," Jason started, "this is probably an elevator. If the scientists heard us and know that we aren't supposed to be here, they could likely press a button that drops the elevator–"

"Stop freaking everyone out!" Phil demanded. "Why would they go through the trouble of spraying us with that stuff if they were just going to kill us?"

"They want us to smell good as corpses?" Nate suggested. Phil facepalmed, and a few seconds after, the platform we were on began rising. "Uh, no thank you," Nate mumbled.

"Alright guys, team plan. When we get up here, we're likely going to be asked a bunch of questions or killed. Don't try to hurt the people up here. Go with what they say. We might still have a chance to rescue Percy," I whispered.

Everyone nodded at me and got ready to stand up. Once the platform stopped moving, we got a clear view of the room it had brought us to. There were several people, who seemed to be dressed in guards uniforms, walking around the room. There were two tables and, what appeared to be, a metal detector. Instead of walls, glass encased the room. Through the glass, I could see a gymnasium-sized laboratory with tables in rows. Children laid on the tables with wires connecting them to machines while scientists roamed between them, writing things down on notepads.

Two guards approached the four of us and I felt Jason tense up beside me. I smiled at him as calmly as I could before standing up. The guards glanced over me before one of them asked, "Name?"

I heard Nate snicker quietly as I answered, "Uh, my name tag says Jennifer–"

"Your name's Jennifer?" the other guard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N-No. My name is, uh," I paused as I thought for a second, "J-Jeremy."

"Then why does your name tag say Jennifer?"

Nate began snickering harder, but quieted down once Jason elbowed him. "The name tag company misheard me."

The guards sent me questioning glances before the first one asked, "Why are the two kids with you guys dressed in lab coats?"

Before I had the chance to stutter out an answer, Phil spoke, "They're young college graduates who want to be scientists. We were told to let some of the more experienced scientists show them around."

The guards glanced over Nate and Jason skeptically before responding, "Okay, we're going to need you four to go through security."

I nodded my head and we followed the guards off the platform to one of the tables. They told Nate that he would have to leave his backpack in this room and grab it on his way out. He agreed and obediently placed his backpack near the platform. After making us walk through a metal detector, the guards handed Phil and me slips of paper with numbers on them. My number was thirty-eight.

"What're those for?" Jason asked.

"They indicate the person you're testing and caring for. The two kids will follow you adults around." The guard pointed toward a stack of notebooks next to a book the size of a dictionary. "Find the notebook with your number on it. That's the patient's file. The larger book next to the notebooks describes what you're doing to the patients and how to do it."

"So the notebooks give the patient's information?" Nate asked.

"They also give a step-by-step of what to do to that specific person." The guards told us to find the notebooks we needed and to go to the laboratory. They left us to go stand next to the rising platform.

We walked to the stack of notebooks. "Alright," I whispered, "Phil, skim through some of that big book. The rest of us will find the notebooks we need."

Phil flipped through the pages while Nate, Jason, and I rummaged through the notebooks. We found my number first, but I refused to open it until we were in the laboratory. Phil's number was forty-two, which we found shortly after.

Nate handed Phil his notebook while Jason ran ahead of us to open the door to the laboratory. The door led to a fairly long staircase. The four of us walked down it to find that it ended where the tables of kids started.

"Okay, so who's going with who?" I asked.

Jason sent me a confused look before Phil explained, "The guards said that you and Nate are supposed to follow me and Dan around, but Dan and I have different numbers. There'll be at least a few tables in between us, so who's sticking with who?"

"I want to watch Dan explain his name tag to more people so dibs on Dan," Nate decided.

"I guess I'll go with Phil?" Jason asked.

"Okay, I think the numbers are on their tables," I sighed, "so to find our patients, we need to look at the tables."

Phil smiled at me. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too difficult. Umm, I have a question, though. Did you guys ever find out where Percy was?"

I facepalmed while Nate mumbled, "Dammit."

"We'll just have to look around for him, I guess," I muttered.

"I see no problem with that!" Jason tried to be optimistic. "As long as we find him!"

"Honestly, I think that's the least of our problems. We just broke into a laboratory. It won't be long until someone finds out that we aren't supposed to be here," Phil commented.

"Alright guys, let's make this quick," I started. "We should probably check in with our patients first, but right after, we need to start looking for Percy. Keep your eyes open for him at all times."

Nate grinned at me while Jason nodded. Phil smiled while stating, "You make this sound really easy."

"We'll be fine," I replied as I began walking away from the stairs.

I looked at the tables and cringed upon seeing the pools of blood beneath each child's body. They were all practically bathing in their own blood, and most of the kids had odd mutations bursting out of their bodies.

I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to look at the kid I was supposed to be taking care of. Or Percy, for that matter.

I pushed the thought away and continued looking over children of all ages covered in bruises and scars, trying to find number thirty-eight. I wondered if any of us would even be able to recognize Percy.

Or if he was even here.

What would we do if Percy wasn't down here? Would we keep looking or would the realization that he's likely dead kill our spirit.

What would we do if we found him, but he wasn't breathing? How the hell would we even begin to comfort Nate and Jason?

I shuddered as I thought of all the horrible things that could be happening to all of our friends at that very moment. Phil and I could have split up. I could've come here looking for Percy while he tried to find Felix or Cry. Nate could've come with me while Jason went with him. We could've saved two people in the time it took to save one. We could've saved two of our friends in the time it took to save one.

So what the hell were we doing?

A/N

Y'all I'm laughing really hard because I was just informed that several of the shows that I watch are going to have a "musical episode"

bOI

I'm ready

Anyways, BUH-BYE BROTATOES!