Chapter 12: Wool Works

Peg woke up to find her head throbbing and her vision still blurry. Memories of exploring the factory flooded into her mind until she remembered being struck in the back of the head. She tried to sit up but realized her wrists and ankles were strapped down to a cold metal bed.

“Wouldn’t move if I were you.” A voice called out in the darkness.

Peg focused her eyes as best she could but then a bright light flashed in her face nearly blinding her. Once her vision returned she found Mairzy standing in front of her in a whole new outfit. She had traded the sharp suit for a doctor’s outfit and goggles sinking into her fluffy white hair.

“Mairzy,” Peg asked in a groggy tone. “What the Hell is this?”

“What did you call me?” The fluffy haired doctor asked, squinting her eyes. “You think I look anything like that bossy busy body Mairzy? Don’t make things worse for yourself.”

The doctor turned away from Peg fiddling with a tray covered with different medical tools. Medical tools that as far as Peg could tell looked sharp and painful. At this angle Peg was also able to see the nametag on the woman’s jacket, it said ‘Doctor Lamzy Doe.’ With the uncanny similarity in looks and the same last name Peg assumed they must be sisters who work together. Sisters who most likely can’t stand each other. She didn’t keep focusing on the mystery of the ‘Doe Sisters’ and instead in getting out of whatever predicament she'd caught herself in.

“So I don’t know what you have planned…” Peg spoke, trying to buy time while scanning the room. 

The overhead lamp illuminated the immediate space around them but most of what Peg needed to see was on the outskirts of the light’s reach. Chairs, Potted Plants and documents were all she could really make it out and nothing immediately came to mind as helpful.

“But if you think Josie isn’t on her way to free me and kick your ass, you have another thing coming!” Peg continued, Lamzy continued fiddling with her tools giving Peg a quick glance.

“Josie? Who’s that?”

“She’s my team-...She’s my friend! She’s strong enough to knock you halfway across the island and when she finds you that’s exactly what she’s going to do!”

“Oh! The battered child!” Lamzy exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “I don’t know what you did to her but she was in really bad shape, we put her out of her misery for her own good.”

Peg’s heart sank for a moment until she realized she already saw Josie come back to life less than a week ago. Peg didn’t know what to expect when they went above the clouds, but one thing she knew for sure is that if Josie could survive a bullet to the head she could handle whatever these people threw at her. Peg steadied her heart and called Lamzy on her bluff.

“Bullshit! Josie’s made of tougher stuff than whatever you threw at her. She’ll be here any second.”

“Ok then, let’s see.” Lamzy pulled up her sleeve revealing a gold watch. She raised her hand in the air while focusing on the minute hand. “One minute staaaaarts now!”

The room fell silent as the countdown began. Lamzy’s eyes didn’t move, focusing on the watch face and as each second passed Peg grew more and more stressed. The silence was so heavy that she began mistaking her heartbeat for the sound of Lamzy’s watch. She wondered if maybe she oversold what Josie could do but she assured herself that even in her current condition she wouldn’t go down that easily.

“3…2…1! BZZT!” Lamzy yelled, imitating the sound of a buzzer as she slapped her wrist. “See? Told ya, dead as a doornail. Your friend ain’t coming any time soon, now…”

Lamzy had snapped on a fresh pair of rubber gloves and brandished what Peg believed was the world’s biggest scalpel. 

“Let’s get to work.”

“W-Wait!” Peg stammered, feeling sweat form on her brow. “Shouldn’t you be using gas to put me to sleep or something?”

Lamzy tilted her head puzzled. “I think you're misunderstanding. This isn’t just a dissection, it’s a test of pain tolerance. Do they say ‘two birds, one stone’ down on the roots?”

Lamzy gripped the scalpel tight in her left hand and used the other to lift up Peg’s shirt to reveal her belly. She drove the scalpel down and Peg slammed her eyes shut with a scream. Her body tensed up waiting for the sharp blade to pierce her skin but she never felt it, not even a tickle. Moments later she heard the sound of Lamzy struggling. When she opened her eyes she couldn’t believe it, the scalpel was an inch away from Peg’s skin but Lamzy’s hand was constricted by vines holding it in place. Peg’s eyes followed the vines and their source was the house plant she glanced at moments earlier. The plant had sprouted intense vines and deeply rooted itself out of the pot and into the desk it sat on.

“What the Hell are you?” Lamzy asked through gritted teeth.

Peg wished she could answer that question but she hadn’t the slightest clue anymore. She immediately thought back to the end of the race and how Miguel nearly killed her but giant leaves grew to keep her from harm. She also thought again about something that briefly passed her mind when floating in the clouds. If her thoughts summoned those leaves did she somehow use plants to return Josie to Midnite Cruiser? Did her thoughts, her prayers reach these plants? All these thoughts spinning in her head caused her to lose focus on Lamzy which in turn loosened the vines grip.

Lamzy didn’t immediately go back into trying to dissect Peg but instead stepped back in a mix of horror and disbelief once she looked at the plant and then back to her. She slowly stepped away, dropping the scalpel and reaching into her pocket for a bell plant similar to the one Mairzy used before.

“M-Mairzy,” Lamzy spoke. “Come in, I think we hit the mother load. The Lady is going to freak, I think we found a green-”

Before Lamzy finished her sentence a  “BOOM” could be heard from outside. Seconds later the force of something slamming against the building made Peg nearly fly from her restraints. Lamzy dropped the plant she was speaking into, opened the door, and ran into the hallway to look out a large window. The sunlight poured in and along with it, the screams of the workers amongst the chaos. Peg couldn’t see from her position but the sounds of the craziness outside came in loud and clear. Lamzy was yelling out the window, asking for the cause of commotion but soon enough she got her answer.

A monstrous sized elephant trunk crashed into the window and pulled Lamzy right out. Her screams faded as her body was flung far off to the other side of the factory. Peg saw none of this but what she heard intrigued and frightened her. Then the room shook again, much harder than before. Peg tried to focus on reactivating the plant that once saved her from surgery but nothing she did caused it to move again. She almost accepted her fate to fall along with the building until the walls surrounding the doorway crumbled. 

When the dust settled Peg's eyes widened at the sight. Standing in the demolished building around her were beasts of all shapes and sizes. She thought of them as beasts because none of them were quite normal animals. Their bodies seemed correct outside of being multiple times larger than usual but what really threw everything off were the human faces where their usual snouts and jowls would be. Strangest of all was a giraffe with a man's face and sitting on his head was none other than Josie.

“I knew you weren’t dead!” Peg boasted as she watched Josie slide down the giraffe’s neck and walk over to free Peg.

“Nah, just sleepin’.” Josie replied, easily snapping Peg’s cuffs. As she did Peg noticed that Josie now had a strange fluffy wristband that she certainly didn’t have when she was unconscious in Midnite Cruiser. 

Peg stood to her feet and looked up at the gaggle of gargantuan animals seemingly waiting for Josie’s next order. Josie proudly placed her hands on her hips and turned to Peg with a huge grin.

“Alright Peg, let’s get the Hell outta’ here.”

‍To Be Continued