Taskforce Spongbob

Two Gunshots

“Are you certain, Mike? You understand what this will mean right?” Bai requested confirmation from Micheal regarding his decision.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Just do it, and stop calling me Mike,” Michael replied with a determined look, signaling that he was ready to confront whatever lay ahead.

“Okay Mike,” Bai said, pressing a button, seemingly ignoring Michael’s caution against addressing him in that way.

“BEEP BEEP” The machine emitted two sharp beeps, instantly alerting everyone around.

“I got it,” Bai exclaimed, his expression brightening as the screen illuminated with multiple video feeds.

“Alright, let’s find out what was deemed so significant that it needed to be erased,” Hai remarked, his expression filled with curiosity.

“BEEP BEEP BEEP” The watches on the group's wrists suddenly began beeping, capturing their attention.

“What is this?” Henry furrowed his brow in perplexity, unable to grasp the cause of the watch’s peculiar behavior.

“The scan detected life signals at a distance; we need to investigate,” Yoshi clarified, dispelling the confusion as he glanced at Michael, who then turned his gaze toward the control center.

“Yoshi, how much time do you need to duplicate the video files?” Micheal inquired with a contemplative look.

“A minute maybe,” Yoshi replied, understanding what Michael was implying. He nodded and walked over to the control center, his finger transforming into a drive that he inserted into the control panel.

“They’re slipping out of our sight; we need to act swiftly.” Racheal prompted the others, who glanced at Yoshi, whose eyes twinkled with a light glow that lasted for a minute before fading away.

“I’m done, we can proceed now; I’ve already detected the system activating its self-defense mechanism.” Yoshi withdrew his finger from the control center and faced the others.

“Alright, let’s go,” Michael said quickly before departing. They hurried down to the final floor and exited the control center tower. Just as they were about to leave, Michael discreetly passed something onto the wall, his movements so quick and subtle that the others didn’t notice.

As they hurried away, a sudden explosion erupted from the first floor of the control tower, unleashing a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the entire area: “BOOOM.”

“That certainly caught everyone's attention; I suppose we don't have to worry about being alone anymore,” Bai joked, eliciting chuckles from the others, except for Michael, who appeared to be lost in thought.

“Has anyone observed that the route where we picked up the life signals aligns with the one Captain James referred to as the ‘safe path’?” Micheal inquired unexpectedly, drawing the other’s attention to it at that moment.

“Hey, take it easy. It seems like you might be overanalyzing the situation.” Bai responded with a gentle pat on Michael's shoulder, followed by a yawn as he rubbed his eyes.

“Am I the only one thinking clearly? Why isn’t anyone else noticing that something strange is happening here?” Michael said, his expression reflecting surprise at the others' behavior.

“I believe Bai has a point, Mike. Perhaps we should take it easy for now and pick this up again tomorrow.” Racheal yawned, prompting Micheal to frown as he glanced at Hai and Henry, who displayed similar reactions.

“They seem to be under a certain spell or something,” Yoshi’s voice came from behind Michael, prompting him to turn around and see him behaving completely normally.

“Hold on! Yoshi scanned the air for any chemical particles," Michael said, suddenly struck by an idea.

“What? This is unusual; there are traces of nitrous oxide in the air, which likely explains their odd behavior. Nitrous oxide is typically used for sedation in small amounts, but the abnormal levels present in the atmosphere are concerning. Inhaling too much could incapacitate you or even lead to suffocation,” Yoshi explained, causing Michael to flinch in shock as he turned to the others and placed a hand on their shoulders.

“BZZZ” A sudden jolt of lightning struck Hai and Bai, causing them to spring up in fury, their eyes fixed on Michael, who swiftly directed the same energy towards the others.

“Switch to your helmets quick, there are chemicals in the air,” Michael urged them. The jolt brought them back to their senses, and they quickly complied before letting out sighs of relief.

“Thanks, Mike, that was close. I suddenly felt myself growing sleepy, and I didn’t even realize what was happening,” Bai expressed his gratitude to Michael, who responded with a light nod.

“We need to act immediately; we've already wasted too much time. While you were nearly knocked unconscious, we observed that the life signals we detected were along the designated safe path. This indicates that there may be survivors, or that the safe path is compromised. Given our limited time, we must move swiftly to avoid being caught in the nuclear blast,” Michael urged the others, who were rubbing their shoulders where he had zapped them.

“BEEP” As before, the watches abruptly began to emit loud beeping sounds.

“What is going on with this watch? How do you put it on silent?” Hai said with frustration, pressing it to keep it silent.

“Shut up, just deactivate it. Its voice activated; just say ‘shift voice to helmet,’” Yoshi said with a frown, glancing at the map where several red dots were moving around as the sun rose.

“What on earth,” Henry whispered in disbelief, gazing at the map.

“We need to act quickly; let’s get moving.” Micheal hurriedly navigated the streets towards a house he had spotted, with the others trailing behind him. He turned the knob, only to find that the door was ajar.

“Remain vigilant, move” Micheal swung the door wide, allowing the others to enter with their weapons drawn before he stepped in last, keeping an eye on their surroundings as he shut the door and turned to face the room.

“Hai, Bai, and Henry, take the top. Yoshi, Racheal, and I will handle this floor,” Micheal instructed. The others nodded and split up as directed, with Henry, Hai, and Bai moving up the stairs in a coordinated manner.

“Yoshi, find something to board up the entrance with. Racheal, take that side and I’ll take this side,” Michael instructed his team before moving to the side he had chosen.

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[Micheal POV]

I cautiously walked through the door of the room to the left. As I placed my hand on the doorknob and prepared to turn it, a slight rustle from my left caught my attention. Almost instinctively, my hand moved to the gun, which I aimed at the wall where I noticed a hole the size of a basketball. Switching on the flashlight attached to my helmet, I crept toward the hole, poised to fire at anything that might emerge.

As I approached the wall, a sense of caution enveloped me, my mind racing to envision the force that could have caused such a gaping hole. With each step, my imagination spiraled further, yet rather than fear, I felt an overwhelming curiosity. Perhaps my capacity for fear had faded long ago. This realization brought forth memories that compelled me to pause, close my eyes briefly, and exhale, clearing my mind. I needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

“Hmm, nothing’s there,” I muttered in surprise after discovering that the hole was empty. I looked through to see that it ran through most of the walls in the house. After not finding anything, I moved back to the door and turned the knob to uncover something I never imagined.

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[Bai POV]

I was aware that I had a mission, yet my thoughts drifted to a video of a cat I had watched the day before. This cat, with its sleek black fur, was dressed in red attire and positioned on a tiny pulpit, where it emitted a series of meowing sounds that resembled preaching. The video was quite amusing, especially with other cats gathered before the 'preacher,' occasionally chiming in with their own sounds as if they were responding. After that, I found myself watching another dubbed version of the same video.

What struck me as particularly amusing was how the Preacher cat's voice resembled Henry's. Every time I looked at him, the image of the cat flashed in my mind, prompting a laugh. When I glanced his way, it appeared he caught on, as I noticed him frown just as I quickly turned back, feigning innocence.

“I’m going to take this room; you all can take those two over there,” Henry said, turning toward the room on his side.

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[Henry POV]

“What’s the deal with that guy? He keeps looking my way and chuckling; he couldn’t possibly be….” I turned the door knob and then took hold of the gun, using it to push the door open before stepping inside.

“CREAK” The door creaked open as I entered cautiously, scanning the interior for any signs of an enemy. The first thing that hit me was the strong, pungent scent of blood filling the room, reminiscent of a slaughterhouse that had been sealed for a long time, trapping the odour within.

“Urrg, that’s really unpleasant,” Henry muttered in disgust; it was never easy to adapt to a smell this overpowering.

“What transpired in this place?” I stepped fully into the room, my eyes widening at the sight of blood splattered across the walls. As I approached, the stench invaded my nostrils, evoking a strange sense of nostalgia. I reached out to swipe some of the blood off the wall, only to find it had hardened, indicating it had been there for quite some time. Scanning the room, I noticed a hole in one part of the wall that caught my attention, prompting me to move toward it slowly, my gun aimed and ready.

“RUSTLE” As if aware of my presence, something shifted in the shadows, prompting my finger to instinctively wrap around the trigger, poised to pull at any second.

“Guys, I think I just saw something in the walls. I’m approaching now to see what it is,” I alerted the others while slowly moving toward the hole. As I got closer, my eyes gradually adjusted to the shape of a figure in the dark opening.

“What on earth is that?” I found myself gazing at the figure, attempting to discern its identity, when unexpectedly, something remarkable occurred.

“SCREECH” While I was attempting to discern its identity, the figure abruptly emitted a piercing screech and lunged toward me.

“Damn,” I thought as my finger pressed the trigger.

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“BANG BANG BANG BA….” Gunshots abruptly echoed from two distinct areas within the house, drawing everyone's focus to both the upstairs and downstairs, where the noises originated.

“That came from Micheal’s location,” Yoshi said, immediately spotting Racheal as she rushed toward him.

“Didn’t that originate from Michael?” Rachael inquired, casting a glance toward the room that Michael had entered.

“Yeah, let’s go check it out,” Yoshi said to her before they headed to Michael’s room together.

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“Was that Henry?” Bai inquired of his brother, who nodded in response as they both exited their rooms and cast a glance toward the room where Henry was located.

“Let’s go,” Hai said, gripping his gun tightly as he hurried into the room with his brother to discover what had transpired.