The Main Attraction
Chapter 1: Five Years
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Do you believe that time heals all wounds?
-The Older I Get, Skillet
sss
How long has it been since that day? How long has it been since those terrible set of weeks, the ones filled with horror and uncertainty and blood and death?
The answer was quite easy for anyone to guess. No one really lost count of the days. The day itself when it all started would always be remembered...as would the day when it finally came to an end. How could anyone forget that day? How could anyone forget the tragedies that had befallen them?
And yet... five years still felt like a short time. To those who were more personal to the tragedy, and to those who were directly targeted, it felt like a lot longer. It was as though entire centuries had gone by, zipping past them without being noticed. It was...truly something else entirely, like they existed on a different plane altogether.
But anyone with a calender would know that, despite how short it might seem, five years really was how long it's been since everything happened...and when everything had finally ened.
It had been five years since those zoners had been killed in the explosion. Five years since many zoners had gone missing, having been consumed by unassuming zoners. Five years since Sandra's plot was uncovered. Five years since Snap had been framed. Five years since so many had nearly been killed.
Five years since Sandra was convincted and sent to prison...
Despite the time distance, however, many were still quite unsure of just how safe they truly were. In the wake of Sandra's actions. many of the zoners went on tighter alerts. They were much more cautious now than they had ever been when it came to newcomers. Suddenly zoners who were new to the city were under tighter scrutiny until they proven themselves trustworthy. While some considered this overboard, many others welcomed this new security. They felt it was just too dangerous to just let any zoner wander around nowadays.
In addition to the increased security, there was also a few other changes around the city. The most notable one was the change in Sandra's location, where her restaurant originally stood. It had been revamped several times until the zoners finally settled on its final new purpose: a new restaurant run by another zoner, Haney's Diner.
Admittingly, however, not many zoners were entirely comfortable with this. Though the same could be said about any restaurant lately. Sandra had more or less soured the taste of many zoners and business for restaurants had dropped until there was certification that said restaurant wasn't doing anything wrong.
This change in attitude hardly surprised anyone. It was something that they had all come to expect, really. Sandra had left a mark on everyone in the city. She haunted many dreams and nightmares. Her very name had become something of a Boogeyman term. The mere utturance of the name 'Sandra' was enough to give many a heart attack. Zoners would look over their shoulders to make sure that she wasn't there watching them, waiting to take action. And for those most harmed by Sandra's actions, this held doubly true for them...
"Hey, Snap?"
"Come on, Snap, it's your turn!"
The blue and white zoner shook his head when his friends' voices called out to him. He looked over at them and gave them a somewhat sheepish smile. He hadn't really realized that he had been staring off into space like that. He couldn't help but wonder just how long he had been doing that before their words finally got to him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I'm not sure what got into me." Snap said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. He looked down at the bowling ball which sat on the machine beside him. "It's my turn, you say?"
Penny nodded her head. "It's been your turn for the past five minutes."
"Oh?" Snap tried not to blush in embarrassment at this. "I was...for that long..?"
Mint nodded his head. He took a few steps towards him, his prosthetic foot tapping more audibly against the ground than his real one. "Go ahead and roll so we can finish this game. You know I have to meet my father in about an hour. And you know what he's like when he doesn't see me five minutes past when I should be back there."
Snap gave a small nod. He did recall some rather...unfortunate incident regarding Mr. Zandophen. He would rather not think about it. "Yeah...I know." Without hesitation, he reached down and he grabbed onto the ball. He grunted as he tried to steady its weight. "Okay, here I go..."
Snap cradled the ball against himself, making sure that it didn't slip or fall onto the ground or, he shuddered, his foot. He positioned himself on the lane. He narrowed his eyes, glaring intently at the bowling pins before him. He took in a deep breath and, once he figured out how he was going to go about this, he took a step forward and pulled his arm back. As he rushed his arm forward, he released his grip on the ball. With a loud thud, the ball moved down the alleyway. Snap watched it carefully.
This wasn't exactly the type of bowling that he would have preferred. As Penny had put it, this place functioned more like one of those lame, simple bowling alleys from the Real World. But Penny had insisted on trying this out, and she never was a fan of the Polar Bear Bowling. But oh well, he was outvoted anyway. Both Mint and Rudy wanted to come to this one as well.
At the mention of Rudy, he flinched for a second. Forgetting that his ball hadn't reached the pins yet, Snap found himself turning his head and looking over at where Rudy stood. He watched as his friend pushed himself forward, leaning back against the wheelchair that he almost never leaves. It served as a painful, visual reminder of what Sandra had done, what her influence had accomplished.
Even to this day, Rudy still sometimes complained about pain in his neck. The doctors didn't think it was anything to worry about. X-Rays don't show up anything that was worth getting concerned over. That didn't stop Rudy from having to take aspirin or whatever else every day to try to cope with the discomfort his neck brought him.
But it wasn't the physical pain that got to Rudy the most. That wasn't what really got to Snap and his friends. No, it was the emotional pain that was the worst of them all. It was the mental impact that had struck Rudy that got them all to tear up once in a while.
Rudy had never been able to walk again after that incident. The doctors had high hopes that, if he could regain use of his arms, surely his legs would follow as well. But nope. There was some slight feeling back and he could register cold and heat well enough with them. But very little movement was brought back to them, and they were entirely useless for walking. This caused him to remain trapped in the wheelchair indefinitely.
This had been hard blow on them all. His parents were quite devastated, and they did what they could to help Rudy around the house, even finding ways to help him be more independent. Snap, Penny, and Mint helped him get back into ChalkZone and tried to bring him with whenever they could. But due to limitations, Rudy was no longer able to visit as much as he used to. That made this particular day quite special, as it was the first time in about two weeks that Rudy was able to visit. What with his parents almost always with him nowadays and all.
The one who had been hurt the most by this was Rudy himself. There were times where he wanted to get up and run with his friends or do something else physical, only to realize that he was stuck in his wheelchair. It was quite painful for him to not being able to do everything that he used to, especially when it got in the way of helping someone, and even more so when it resulted in him being the one helped. He didn't like being a burden to others and he strived to do what he could do everything possible on his own.
This strive for independence at times worried Snap and the others. They didn't want Rudy to push himself too far. The teenager insisted that he was fine. But a good look at his facial expressions painted a different story.
But in the end, there was really nothing they could do to stop Rudy from pushing himself. They could only warn him to take it easy and hope that he would take their advice. They didn't want to see him getting more hurt and it would devastate them if they found Rudy collapsed out of his wheelchair somewhere all because he was trying to push himself too far.
Snap's attention was torn from Rudy when he heard a loud bang sound from behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he whirled his head over to see what happened. He immediately settled himself down when he saw that it had just been the bowling ball striking at the pins.
"Nice shot, Snap!"
Snap felt himself momentarily swell up with pride when he saw the bowling ball knock over all but two of the pins. Not a perfect strike, but it was still enough that Snap couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and make a show offy stance.
It did feel good, really. Even after all this time, he still usually felt a little more...bummed out than he usually had been. Sandra was permanently etched onto his mind, still feeling her teeth in his stomach... He gritted his teeth as he rubbed his belly a little, his smile faultering at the mere memory of her.
It wasn't just Sandra; he had grown nervous around most of the zoners in ChalkZone City, with few exceptions. Even though he understood that it wasn't their fault, even though they had all apologized and tried to make it up to him, Snap couldn't help but still feel nervous around them. He could still hear their terrible words that they spoke five years ago, and he could still see their death glares in his mind. It was something that hardly diminished since...those horrifying few weeks...
Snap thought fast and quickly put a smile on his face before any of his friends spotted it. He walked back over to the machine to get ready for his bowling ball again. He was about to turn to Rudy and tell him it was his turn when he noticed the expression on his creator's face.
"Snap...what's wrong?" Rudy asked carefully. It was almost ironic, really. The one who had been the most physically damaged asking Snap if he was okay. "You look a little pale.. Well I mean, paler than usual."
Snap felt his heart clench. Not wanting to dwell on the subject matter, he simply shook his head. "No..I'm fine." He motioned towards Rudy, giving the best smile that he could muster up. "I do believe it's your turn, Bucko."
Rudy narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. "Snap..."
The blue and white zoner glanced at his friend before turning his head to look at the others. Penny and Mint were silent, but he could see the way that they were looking at him. Even Ripclaw, who was curled up against the wall, was staring at him suspiciously. When even Ripclaw was clearly not buying into his act, he knew that he wasn't very convincing.
He dropped the smile completely and lowered his head. It hadn't been his intention to ruin the day with this. He had always tried to avoid the subject of Sandra, as the very memory of her shook all of them to their core.
Yet it was something that he found was unavoidable. Rudy was proof of that. No one could really talk about his condition without bringing up Sandra. This caused poor Rudy to have horrible flashbacks of that blue dragon, and there had been a couple points in the past when he would have a damn near heart attack. An unfortunate reality, but it was one that they were currently trapped in.
Snap lifted his head and turned back at them. He didn't even attempt to smile anymore. They weren't going to buy it. So why bother even attempting? In a dulled down voice, he said, "You all know what I am talking about..."
At this, their eyes widened and flickered. They looked at one another. No words, just expressions of horror and understanding. They then looked back at Snap, Penny licking her lips nervously, Mint flinching, and Rudy leaning forward, staring at Snap intently.
"Oh Snap..." Whispered Penny. "I can...understand why you.. I mean, we all are..." It was not everyday that Penny would be speechless. But there was always a first for everything.
Mint gritted his teeth as he rubbed his hand along his jaw, as though remembering how it had been dislocated. "That's...kinda put a damper on things, didn't it?" After Penny shot him a glare, he brought up his hands. "Not that I'm blaming him or anything!" He looked over at Snap sadly. "Do you..want to stop, Snap?"
Widening his eyes, the blue zoner shook his head. "N-No, of course not! I want to keep playing!"
"Are you sure?" Rudy spoke up. He grunted as he used his arms to push the wheelchair a little closer to his friend. "We don't have to keep playing if you don't feel up to it..."
"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" Snap winced as he noticed how bitter he sounded there. He didn't mean to sound like that. He shook his head and cleared his throat. He attempted to speak once more. But this time, he took care to speak more softly. "I mean... I don't want to ruin your day just because of my..."
"Snap, you could never ruin our day." Penny walked up to Snap and put her arm around him. "We were all there. We were all in it together, and we still are. You're our best friend. If you are not feeling up to continuing bowling, we can try doing something else to help you get your mind off of..her."
Snap looked over at the others. He saw how they were nodding their heads up and down in agreement with Penny. He couldn't help but smile at them, grateful that they understood. Still, he didn't feel that it was fair to stop the bowling just because he started having flashbacks. He opened his mouth to try to issue the game to continue...
...only to be suddenly interrupted by the sound of quacking and waddling feet something towards them.
"Hey! Great Creators! Hold up!" The penguin squawked at them. Ripclaw gave a low growl of curiosity as she lifted up her head and watched the penguin scurrying by her to get to the three humans and their blue superhero zoner friend. "I need to talk to you!"
Snap looked at the penguin curiously. He hadn't seen him before. He guessed he must be new. He kind of reminded him of that one penguin zoner who had tried to stop Pie Day. Only this guy was a little taller and skinnier than that guy was, and his voice was more high pitched, as though he were perpetually excited about something. The fact that he was wearing a badge indicated that he was some kind of law enforcer.
"Yes? What can we do for you?" Rudy moved his chair around to face the officer. "I can..."
But the penguin zoner didn't really look at him. Instead, he just shuffled past him and went right up to where Mint and Penny stood. This blatant ignoring of their friend did not go over so well for them. They immediately showed their displeasure by folding their arms and glaring at the penguin zoner.
The penguin zoner hardly seemed to notice. "I need your help with something." The penguin zoner then motioned his flipper towards the door. "There seems to be some trouble at Haney's Diner. I need you two creators to..."
"You mean, three creators..." Rudy spoke up, his embittered voice practically ringing in their ears.
The penguin zoner finally seemed to acknowledge Rudy. He stared over at the teenager bound in the wheelchair. Then he gave a simple shrug before he turned back to Penny and Mint, much to their displeasure. "Anyway, it's urgent that you..."
"Hey...hold on there. Why are you treating Rudy like that?" Snap asked. He had forgotten about his own troubles. He glared harshly at the penguin zoner, his arms still pressed against his body. "I do hope you have a good reason for deliberately ignoring him like that." He tapped his foot impatiently.
"He is still one of us, you know." Mint pointed out, showing just as much disapproval towards the penguin zoner as everyone else. "Just because he's in a wheelchair doesn't mean he can't help."
"Oh I know that. It's just..." The bird's voice trailed off.
"It's just...what?" Penny inquired as she leaned herself closer to him. "Is it because of the fact that, now that he's crippled, you don't think he's capable anymore?" Nevermind the fact that he wasn't around when Rudy could still walk. That still wasn't an excuse for how he was treating him.
The black and white bird immediately began to look nervous. "I-I'm sorry, I..." He pressed his flipper tips against each other. He gave Rudy a quick glance before he turned to face Penny and Mint, still looking more interested in them than poor Rudy. "Anyway, let me take you to Haney's Diner. I need your help to quell the crowd before things get out of hand."
"Hold on!" This time, when Rudy called, the black and white bird actually turned his head and looked at him, rather than full on ignoring him like he had before. "What's going on over there, anyway? Did someone get hurt?"
"Someone will get hurt if something is not done soon." The penguin zoner narrowed his eyes. "It seems that the owner, Haney, has fallen under suspicion."
"Suspicion...?" Snap struggled not to shudder at the memories that such a simple word brought to him. "What kind of suspicions...?"
"They think that he is following in Sandra's footsteps... And eating zoners."
The group of friends immediately gasped in horror at that. Their previous anger towards Rudy's treatment was replaced with raw terror. They stared at each other, sending one another silent messages as they tried to comprehend this.
Even though this could just be another false alarm like all the others had, that didn't weaken the impact that the very idea had suggested. None of them could ever forget the horror they felt when they discovered Sandra's so-called secret recipe. Snap could feel bile rising up inside his stomach when he was forced to remember that he had eaten Howdy, one of his best friends, without realizing it. And so many others... He felt so awful for them.
Snap had his doubts that Haney would do such a thing. But unfortunately, accusations against restaurant owners had become quite common since the incident with Sandra. And it was not hard to see why. The zoners were simply more on edge, and it wa hard to blame them for being extra cautious with the food industry lately in the wake of Sandra. It was just...how things had become now.
And it didn't look like it would settle down any time soon.
The black and white penguin stared at them for several moments. His face contorted into one of pleading. When he spoke, his tone had shifted to match how his face looked. "Please...I'm begging you. My attempts had failed and I don't want another potentially innocent zoner hurt. Please just...come with me.."
Snap glanced over at his friends. He noted the expressions on their faces. They still didn't speak to each other. There was really nothing to say. They all knew what they were going to do. They all knew what had to be done. They had to make sure that the citizens of the city did not get carried away. Not like how they did years ago, when they thought that Snap had...
Snap pushed aside those thoughts the best that he could. Focusing his attention on his friends, he gave them a nod, which they all returned. They all knew they had to do this. They felt like it was their job to ensure that a repeat of what happened years ago didn't rear its ugly head. None of them wanted another zoner to fall victim to false accusations the way that Snap had. And of course, none of them wanted the potential of another Sandra incident to happen. Not after the recovery the zoners had managed to go through.
So without further hesitation, Snap and his friends made their way towards the penguin zoner as he began to guide them out of the bowling alley. Ripclaw attempted to follow, but a few hushed words caused her to lay down on the concrete beside the building. Seeing her looking so sad was not easy, but Snap understood the need to leave her behind; her large, imposing presence may not do so well for peaceful negotiations.
Without another thought or word, the group of four followed the penguin zoner down the sidewalk.
sss
Oh why... Why did he have to do this...? True, he hadn't actually been the nicest guy. True, he had caused a lot of trouble in the past. But surely.. surely, he didn't deserve a fate like this.
"Hurry it up there! We need to get this food to her before our bosses kill us!" His partner shouted at him, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Stop being such a crybaby and get a move on!"
This didn't make him move any faster. The tension that swelled up inside of him caused him to slow down and he couldn't help but let out a small whimper. It was so hard to believe that, a few years ago, he had been a loyal follower to his king. And now this...
Okay sure, he wasn't exactly the most loyal. Okay fine, he was very disloyal. He had pined for the crown. He had tried to use the human creators to get what he wanted. He feigned being the victim. But really, given with how the king was, should it actually be considered a crime? If anything, he was trying to improve his kingdom. Why in the world did he deserve a fate like this?
But the king was not merciful. He had specifically chosen this task, for he felt that it was a fate worse than death.
He was right.
"Get going, Rondol!" His partner shouted. "Or do I have to wring your neck to make you move?!"
Rondol gulped nervously, bringing his arms against himself, his humanoid body trembling. It took a lot of will power to make himself move forward. Not even his partner's threats were enough to make him do anything. It took a strong, conscious effort to get anywhere near where Sandra was being held. It didn't matter that Sandra's cell was sealed behind a portal and contained high security. That did not make him feel any safer.
After a few painful long minutes of moving down the hallway, his body covered up in a protective suit, he and his partner did soon arrive at their destination. The end of the hallway where the door to the portal was located. Apparently this was a relocation of sorts, though the details as to why were never told to him. He assumed that Sandra tried to get out and failed, which left him feeling even more at unease doing this.
His partner rolled his eyes when he saw that he was not willing to press the digits required to get in. With a grumble, his partner pushed out in front of him and typed in the numbers. Each beep sounded worse and worse, as it meant that he was getting closer to hell. And when the doors opened up and the swirling portal was revealed, Rondol nearly felt like fainting.
So this is what it had come to for him. He had once been the king's advisor and was quite noble in his own eyes. Now he was reduced to being such a coward. He felt so ashamed. Yet he just...couldn't bring himself show much courage in this situation.
His partner grabbed his shoulder and pushed him. "Get through the portal! I am not going to leave your sorry ass behind!"
"B-But..you're the one with the food..." Rondol stammered. "M-M-Maybe you should..."
"Oh do I...?" His partner smirked darkly. Then without warning, he suddenly shoved the plate of food against him. Rondol let out a grunt and soon found himself being the one holding the plate. "Looks like you do."
Rondol's face paled in horror. "B-B-But..."
The other zoner rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. It won't be that bad! All you gotta do is walk in there, place the food down, and leave. Simple."
"But...Rum... What about..."
"Oh for the love of... She can't use her powers on you anymore! She is defenseless!"
"Yeah, right..."
"Just go!"
Rondol looked back at the portal, licking his lips slowly. He really didn't want to go through with this. All corners of his body was telling him to give the food back to Rum and make a run for it. He didn't care if he was fired. He only cared about getting away and living ot see another day.
Yet that was not an option for him. This wasn't just some plain old ordinary job. This was his punishment. If the king were to find out that he dissed out on his punishment...
With a cold wave of terror rushing through him, the feeling of wanting to throw up taking a hold, Rondol gripped the plate of food tightly and began to make his way towards the portal. His legs wobbled and shook and he was honestly amazed that he could even walk without falling. He could feel the heat and chill of the portal as he got closer. He paused for a moment, staring at the swirling vortex, licking his lips nervously. Then, giving Rum one more glance, he walked into the portal.
Going through the portal always felt so strange to him. This hadn't been the first time he was forced through here. It was like walking into a wall, and then being surrounded by a rather fuzzy sensation. Even almost...watery. It was so hard to explain. It just felt like many things at once, swirling about through his body, confusing the hell out of the nerves in his skin.
At least it only lasted a few seconds. All the swirly sensation and the disorienting colors did vanish quite quickly. He had to stop for a moment and shake his head before he was completely fine and able to walk. He looked down to make sure that Sandra's food was still in tact. He heard a blip kind of sound, a strange thing that came with this particular portal, and he looked behind him to see Rum walking up slowly behind him.
Rum narrowed his eyes further. "Well? What are you waiting for?" He motioned his hand forward. "Go on."
Rondol gulped and then looked out ahead of him. They were located now in a rocky tunnel. Swirling around and around as though dug out by a large machine. There was another door in front of him. A relatively new security feature likely do to an escape attempt by Sandra. The golden bars deterred her from entering and kept him and Rum safe. But that did not put him at much ease.
He walked slowly towards the bars, taking his time. He tried his best to ignore the irritated grunts of his partner. He could feel his own body shrinking, trembling harder, as he got closer. He could see the bars getting closer and closer to him, and he could practically feel their heat against his skin.
Once he got close enough, he stopped and looked at the lever. This was what needed to be pulled so he could get the food out to Sandra. But in that brief time, the blue dragon had a chance to get at him. If he were too slow...
"Just pull the fucking lever!"
Rondol nearly jumped when he heard his partner screech at him like this. He turned his head over his shoulder and gave Rum a glare. It was easy for him to act all brave. He wasn't the one being forced to feed one of the most notorious and dangerous zoners that had ever existed.
But there was really no point in arguing with him. It wasn't like he was going to listen. With a heavy sigh, Rondol turned his head back over to the lever. He licked his lips nervously and reached over with a shaky hand. He inched it over slight by slight, and then, swallowing hard, he grabbed onto it.
Suddenly, there was a loud screech echoing just outside the rocky walls. Rondol let out a scream and jumped back. He looked left and right, trying to find the source of the sound. He didn't hear it again, and as the seconds passed, he felt his breathing increase, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest. Then, just when he thought it had quieted down, he felt something snap and scrap, the sound of sharp talons wrapping around something...
Rondol shook his head, his teeth gritted. He couldn't handle this anymore. He backed up from the bars, his mind racing frantically. He was shaking so hard that he could no longer hold onto the plate of food. He ended up dropping it and ran away from the door, whimpering loudly. For the time being, he didn't care how cowardly he sounded. He just wanted to get away from there.
He didn't get far before Rum grabbed onto his shirt collar. Rondol grunted as he was pulled towards Rum's face. He stared at him with wide eyes and gritted teeth. He struggled to get free of his grasp. But Rum had always been the stronger of the two and he pulled him up into the air easily.
"Oh you coward!" Rum hissed softly. "Even when you can't get hurt, you still freak out!" He shook his head slowly. "I wish that king of yours thought of a better punishment than this. You're useless even here!"
Rondol didn't answer. He could only breathe in and out quickly, struggling to calm his racing heart. Rum glared at him harshly for several seconds before he simply dropped him. Rondol let out a grunt and rubbed his head and stared as Rum walked over to the plate of food. "Rum...?"
"Since you are not going to do it, I will." Rum grumbled. "Consider yourself lucky that I am not going to tell a soul about this."
"Rum, wait!" Rondol held out his hand, hoping to stop his partner. Even though they didn't like each other, he still didn't like the idea of Rum going out there alone. Not while she was there...
But Rum ignored him completely. With the plate seized tightly in his hands, he walked straight over to where the lever was. He did not hesitate to grab onto it and pull it down. With several cracks sounding out and the bars disabling, fading away entirely, Rum walked out of the safety of the tunnel and into the open area where Sandra laid.
Rondol felt himself shake even harder, which he didn't even know was possible. He pressed himself against the wall, his legs shaking so much that he was certain they were banging against each other. He watched the entrance carefully, licking his lips nervously as he looked for any sign of his partner. He couldn't hear anything and that only made him even more nervous. He gripped onto one of the sharp, rock interfaces stickin got of the side and hid behind it the best that he could. He didn't dare come out until he saw Rum coming back.
Which he did a short while later. With not much of a fanfare, either. No loud screeches. No shouts from Sandra. No claw scrapes. Just a disgruntled humanoid zoner coming back, now entirely devoid of the plate. No big event, nothing to get worried about. And the way that Rum glared at him as he pulled the lever to turn the beams back on made Rondol feel even worse for chickening out.
At least Rum didn't attempt to scold him further for it. Instead he merely took in a deep breath and sighed. Slowly, very slightly, he softened his expression at Rondol and placed his hand on his shoulder. "The deed is done now." He said. "Come on. Let's get going."
Rondol watched as his partner headed back toward the portal. He started to follow, and then paused for a moment. He turned his head and stared over at the entrance. He could have sworn that he heard Sandra's laughter over the sound of the beams. He shuddered, and then turned and rushed over to caught up to Rum.
He didn't want to stay here.
sss
Sandra couldn't help but smirk, spreading her slips across her reptilian face. Despite the glob of meat that had been presented before her, this wasn't what caught her interest. No, instead, her eyes shifted towards that blasted tunnel that had been recently constructed, guarding the entrance that would get her out of here. Through the indestructable tunnel, she had heard the sound of whimpering...and she had acted.
She wished that she had been able to see the reaction to her little playing. It wasn't like she could have done anything to the caretaker. That just made it all the more satisfying when a few little things, like her scraping against the wall, was enough to nearly make the guy wet himself.
Though all and all, it was more or less a..hollow victory. She didn't smile for long. She could feel the corners dropping down as she lowered her head. She once more stared at the food, the smell tantalizing her nostrils, making her mouth start to water. Yet it was all so bittersweet. How pathetic is it, that even the sight of her meals was enough to cause her to have flashbacks to...that time...
She felt a brief flash of hot anger rush through her body. She clutched her right hand tightly, nearly causing blood to be spurted out from her palm. She folded her ears against her head and her lips curled up to expose her sharp teeth, ready to rip into any flesh that she could get her hands on.
But that wouldn't happen any time soon, if ever. This had been her home for the past five years. She had never gotten out of here. Oh she tried... Oh how she tried... But she had always failed. There would always be something that would stop her from getting out. Usually always painful and so embarrassing.
Oh well. She shrugged it off. It was only a matter of timing, anyway. One day, she would find a way out of here. Perhaps not today or tomorrow. But someday...
In the meantime, she felt like releasing her frustrations against the meat glob here. She wanted something for her talons to tear into, and here it was, presented right before her. And the great thing about it is that it couldn't fight back. Although, on level, she wished that it would. It would be even more satisfying.
For a brief moment, she thought she could see Snap's face in the meat. Her eyes instantly widened up at this. Then, as she felt emotion rushing through her, making her shake, she gritted her teeth and nearly broke them. She stood there, trembling like a leaf, her mind rushing through several memories of that horrible little blue and white zoner. Then, releasing a loud roar, she launched herself at the piece of meat.
In a matter of seconds, her sharp teeth began to tear into the meat. She sank her teeth in deeply, piercing the flesh. She growled loudly as she pulled her head back and ripped out a large chunk of flesh. She swallowed it in a single bite, feeling it move down her gullet. She looked back down at the helpless hunk of meat as she drove her claws into it, causing the sides to leak of red fluid. Not blood, but it served for the same effect. Grinning almost maniacally, she began to lap away at the dripping fluids.
As she tore out another chunk and stared down at the slab of meat that she had gripped in her talons, her mind began to wander. She couldn't help but ponder a single question.
Just how was Snap and his human friends doing...?
The thought of Snap caused her to give a shudder. She gritted her teeth and growled. That stupid zoner's name had become like a curse word in her mind. Well his and Rudy's. Hearing a mere mention of either of their names was enough to make her want to strike a wall and break one of her own bones. The very thought that they were both running around free... She shuddered to think about it.
And to think that the zoners aren't doing a damn thing to...
Okay, she needed to calm herself down. She took in slow, steady breaths. She could feel her anger start to seep out of her finger tips as she settled down. She couldn't allow herself to get too worked up over this. Anger would not help her think all that well. The last thing she wanted to do was hinder her ability to properly. Or else, she will never get out of here. She had succeeded in calming her more savage self about two and a half years ago. She could not allow all that effort to go to waste.
And besides, she would get her chance one day. There was a saying that she had heard off and on. Nothing lasted forever. And that was something so true of her. So yeah, her business did not last long and she was found out and the zoners turned on her. But you know what they say...
The river runs in both directions.
And when it was time for her to get what she so richly deserved, she will be waiting with eager, open jaws.