CHAPTER 1: THE BLACK BOX PART 1 As buttercream ran to catch her, the guards, who were holding something, went through the black box, leaving a flash of so many things buttercream couldn’t explain. What he knew now was that he used to know what those were. He banged on the box, and he would cry if teardrops could be rendered as a shape in adobe draw, let alone if he knew what that was. He felt different. A tiny bit of his body, which was now leaning on the box, pushed through and caught back like a trampoline. He then heard a guard come back. He hid behind a white rectangle. The guard was holding a button. A savior button! Buttercream knew he had questions about why all the city’s buttons were perched, but what he needed to do now was stop the guard from pushing the button. Because they would never remember this if he did. Buttercream knocked the button, which thankfully landed correctly, and pushed the guard back in. That’s what they were holding when they went in! He jumped towards the box. He went through and lived happily ever after. That’s what he thought would happen. He bonked into the box. He wondered what happened when he slightly went in. Just then, Hammie walked by. Buttercream was silent but they both knew what happened. “Hammie. I’m going outside. There are things that we can’t explain there. I’ve never felt so alive. And trust me, the committee doesn’t care the least bit about our safety. Because they would’ve told us about these.” He held up the button. Hammie said, “You don’t need to convince me. Because they’re holding my sister there too.”
