A/N: Hey guys. Hope you've all been doing well and enjoying the stories out there. So I know I'm in the middle of my other story at the moment, but I needed some time away from overthinking and processing it. This will be a side project to ease my stress on the previous story and will continue it IF you guys want. You decide whether it should continue or not because, if you don't like it, I understand. Hope you enjoy it; now back to "The Blood" (for me). :)
Along a sidewalk of Elmore were five people all walking along a row of houses. Three children, two adults, and in search of one, maybe three others. "You can't do this to us," Gumball shouted behind his back with Darwin quietly following alongside him. "Why do you even need us to come with you in the first place?" The donut sheriff looked at him and explained.
"Because if what this man says is true, then you should remember being there."
"But we don't," Darwin cried out. "We've never even heard of this place." Darwin leaned his head out to the side slightly. "I mean, Molly, you don't actually believe any of this, do you?" Molly was seen walking right beside the cop while Gumball and Darwin were ahead of them all.
"I don't know guys. I don't even know whatever happened to my parents, and if what Rob here said is true-"
"Which I assure you I am," he retorted in his bitter, deep voice. The officer yanked the links to the cuffs, pulling Rob back some.
"Watch your tone, mister. Just because you're not in jail yet doesn't mean you have the right to start being mean to these children."
"Yeah, and I still don't see why you're doing this," Gumball said. "He's a dangerous man who needs to be locked away after the bus incident. I say forget about what he said and don't trust him." Rob responded harshly at Gumball.
"I'm not lying to you. Rachel Wilson is still in that AW-ful place, and when we find her, it'll be my golden ticket away from that rot-hole of a place you call prison." Molly took the floor before anyone to finish her thought.
"If he's right about me and you guys being there, then Rob here might just be the best chance I have at finding my parents. If my house is in that place called the Void, then so should they. Oh, and we turn left here." She raised her arm to the left side down another road. "That's where I used to live; down this street." They all crossed the road with no coming cars from any direction. Ever since Molly made it back from the Void, she's had to live with her aunt and uncle in a different part of Elmore, which made Darwin feel bad for her.
"How've you been holding up since your parents, uhhh… disappearance and all?" Molly acted as if she was fine, but she couldn't express it the same way in her face.
"It's been difficult some, but Aunt Cera and Uncle Don have been really nice to me. They still haven't heard anything about what happened to my mom and dad though." Rob was getting tired of her always feeling down when no one was listening to him.
"Well of course they haven't because I'm the only one who remembers that place and bets you they're there. Let's not forget that someone more important is at stake however.'
"Yeah," Gumball mumbled loudly, "If she's even real."
"She is real! She's the sister of one of your classmates who was on the bus. If I hadn't seen that kid you call Tobias, I may very well have forgotten all about her." Gumball turned around to stare Rob in his one big eye.
"Tobias and his parents said that they don't even remember having a daughter. Officer Donut, you don't actually believe he's telling the truth, do you?"
"Well I can't say I completely trust what he's saying, but I got nothing else better to do with my time or the day."
"Let's not forget the deal," Rob said. "When we find that portal, we go in and save Rachel, and after I save her life, the charges against me are dropped and I get a second chance."
"Don't forget about my parents," Molly said nervously. Rob didn't have much sympathy for her.
"I'm sure your parents are quite fine, but Rachel is who I care about right now."
"Yeah, about that," Gumball stated, "Why do you even care so much about her? Why is this girl, who you claim is Tobias's older sister, so important to you?" Rob began to feel depressed and slightly guilty when the subject came up.
'Well, I-"
"Look, there it is!" Molly started running ahead of everyone and passed the two boys once ahead of her. "My old address was right there."
"Molly, wait," Gumball shouted.
"Yeah, hold on," Darwin called out after. They started running after her and left the two men behind them. With the cop having to keep ahold of the criminal, Rob and the officer walked slightly faster than before towards the energetic children. Before long, Molly, Gumball, and Darwin reached the spot. A wave of deja vu came over all of them, but no one could place it.
"You know what," Gumball said, "I am starting to vaguely remember this place." Darwin stepped forward and held his fin out against the area Molly stopped at.
"*Gasp* Guys, look! This entire thing is flat as a door." They both questioned him and decided to play along, but were shocked to realize he was right.
"What the what?" The only thing more unbelievable than the flatness was a strange sound. It sounded similar to a vacuum cleaner, but before anything else happened, Rob and the officer caught up to the group.
"So this is the spot then," Officer Donut asked anyone of them. Rob looked closely at the spot and analyzed its surroundings. When he discovered the flatness after observing the small little area, he knew Molly found it.
"This is it alright," he said confidently. He looked at the officer and raised his hands up from behind his back. "Now, if you don't mind uncuffing me so I can look for the portal." Officer Donut squinted his eyes at Rob, but complied.
"Just don't try anything stupid, you hear me?" He reached to his side and pulled out his keys to unlock his cuffs. After a few seconds, Rob was rubbing his wrists from the discomfort of the steel. He stepped forward in front of where Gumball and the others were. The kids took a couple steps back to let him work. They all wondered if he would find anything, hoping that is so, they might start remembering again. Molly immediatly realized something and decided to ask Rob while he inspected the zone.
"Say, how is it that you remember all this stuff and we don't? Seems kind of sketchy if you ask me." Gumball looked to her.
"That's what I've been saying this entire time. We shouldn't even have to be here."
"Oh no, I most certainly do need you." He placed one of his hands over the flat surface and began to feel around. "The truth however is that I'm actually not sure myself. It just came to me one day when I was sitting on a bench after being chased by these two. It's like some kind of… force allowed me to-a ha!" He slipped his fingers into a slit in the art. "Found you ya little sneak." He turned around to face the crowd. "This should be it. Everyone grab a portion." He stood up on both feet and wiggled his other hand into the right side of the hole. The cop took the right side with Rob while the kids all took the other end. Everyone was a little scared about what would happen, except for Rob who looked eccentric.
"Everyone pull on the count of three," the officer said. They all strengthened their grip around the slot. "1, 2, 3." They grunted and struggled as pried the hole open. As it widened and grew, air and wind from the outside world was being pulled into the vastness in front of them. WHen they finally opened the gash enough, they opened their eyes to find the incredible thing that awaited them. Just like before, everyone was speechless, except for Rob.
"There it is. The Void." His eye and smile widened at the very sight of the inside. All the misery and loneliness was the last thing he thought of when gazing into the glorious hole that he felt both literally and mentally drawn towards. He couldn't stop thinking about Rachel as he observed the inside. Meanwhile, everyone else looked worried and scared, not wanting to step foot near or in there.
"Actually," Molly said, "this really does ring some bells." She placed her arm on the outside of the side. "Was I actually trapped in there like you said Rob?" He turned his attention over to her and answered.
"You were, Molly." He looked over at Gumball and Darwin as they continued to stare into the dead-looking zone beyond. Mixed feelings of anger and frustration brewed inside of him, causing him to lash out and grab their focus. "Right up until these two went out their way to save you, but left me there to rot!" Both of them, as well as Molly just a slight bit, became a little startled by the outburst. "You should both feel horrible for what you-"
"Hey, hey now, take it easy their, Sling," the cop interrupted. He looked at Rob for a second, but returned his gaze in the inside of portal. He was more shocked than anyone about the hole, having no memory at all about it. "This sure is amazing. But we don't have much time." He pulled himself up and away from the entrance and, as he went on, made sure everyone stayed aware of the seriousness here before them. "If what this criminal here says is true so far, then there's no time to waste. We have to get in there and save Rachel and Molly's parents. So… who's going first?" Everybody looked at each other until Rob spoke up.
"I believe the saying goes women and children first?" Gumball and Darwin gave him a hairy look, but before either one of them could object, Molly jumped up from behind them.
"Well I guess since I'm both, I'll go first." She ran to the portal and leaped in before her peers could object. "I'm coming for you mom and daaaaa…"
"Mollyyyy!" Gumball and Darwin ran up to the edge of the hole and watched her descend. They both looked frightened and wish they had acted sooner.
"Well now I guess we HAVE to go," Rob said with great enthusiasm. They both looked at him with great deplore, but knew he was right.
"Well we can't very well just leave her here," Darwin commented.
"Quite possibly again too," Gumball added. "I actually am getting a strange feeling about this place though." They both pulled one leg over the edge and sat down, ready to push themselves in. "Hopefully we don't fall to our dooms." Without thinking twice, they both fell in after their her and left the adults alone once again. While they had a moment, Officer Donut pulled Rob close to his hole and got serious.
"Just so you know," he began, "I don't doubt for a second that you're planning something here, so you better hope that we find that girl and Molly's parents or else."
"Or else what," Rob responded with an almost threatening tone.
"Well I actually haven't thought of anything yet, but I'd say going to jail after that stunt you pulled works for starters."
"Oh please. So I endangered the lives of a few kids trying to make some money. Big deal. I'm more concerned about being able to get out of there this time. You brought the rope, right?"
"Just like you said we should." He pulled it out from behind him to show to Rob.
"And how long is it?"
"A couple hundred feet or so."
"Excellent. That should be enough to brace the gap between here and there, as well as keep the hole slightly open. The last time I was there, it closed on its own and me and the others almost didn't make it." Rob began to search for something close by the hole on the sidewalk. "Tie the rope to that light post over there. That should make a good enough of a brace for our return." Officer Donut just narrowed his eyes at the culprit.
"How about you tie it since you're the bad guy here. Besides, if I turned my back on you for even a second, who's to say you don't just try and make a run for it when my back is turned?" He tossed the rope to Rob underhand style, pushing him back a step. "Get to it," he demanded. Rob grunted as he walked away to the pole and began bracing it. He took a knee and got to work, talking silently to himself.
"Enjoy your control over me while you can you overweight, pathetic excuse of a cop. The first chance I get, I'll make a break for it back and leave you and the others stranded there after Rachel is found. I feel sorry for Molly, the poor girl, but maybe then you'll understand how bad you should feel, Gumball and Darwin Waterson." When the knoting was finished, he got back up and said one last thing. "This will be my ultimate victory…" He smiled devilishly at the thought of them, trapped in the void and left to be forgotten, but had no time to enjoy it.
The cop shouted "you coming already?" Rob spun around and began walking back looking normal as ever.
"Yes officer, I'm making my way to you as I speak." He handed the other end of the rope over to the cop, who tied himself up and got ready for the jump.
"You first." Rob sighed and grudgingly complied, diving into the hole. Officer Donut was the only one left in reality, but he soon followed after saying some final words. His face as worried and scared as ever to jump in after the rest.
"Something tells me this isn't going to end well… but you've sworn to uphold the law and help all those in need no matter what, so I guess this counts as well. Aly-oop!" He lunged himself into the hole and onto the other side. Only a rope separated the quintet from possibly being forgotten forever. The only one who ran no risk of being forgotten was Rob, but he cared little about himself. He was after someone more important. Someone he shared something in common with. The only person who understood how he felt and hoped he could bring back. Who will come back to life? Who will be left behind? What could possibly go wrong?