Chapter Four – Caught
Ralph sat inside his room, trying his best to take his mind off the meeting that had happened earlier. He looked at himself in the mirror, seeing back a boy with wild bushy hair and huge hands.
"Excuse me!" he said, deepening his voice in order to sound like his father "Heard ya needed some help wreckin' some rocks!"
The boy snickered, brushing back his hair "Why YES. These fist o'mine ARE naturally big! Its tha only way ta go!"
There was no doubt about; Ralph was a spitting image of his great big papa and the boy LOVED that fact. If things worked out as he hoped, he'd be just as big…no, BIGGER and stronger than Rudy!
The best wrecker in the forest.
"RALPH!"
The boy shouted out upon hearing his name ROARED at him, dropping to the floor and ducking.
"Hehe, whad' I tell ya guys…." laughed a cruel voice "Down he goes!"
Ralph looked up, seeing Tilly and a few other kids with her, the girl sneering down at Ralph. The boy stood on his feet and gave the older girl a mean look; he had had enough of her antics for one day. He wasn't about to get suckered in for more.
"What are ya doin' here, MATILDA?" Ralph growled "Daddy isn't pamperin' ya enough?"
Tilly snorted; Ralph's insults meant NOTHING to her.
"Aw, tha widdle baby is UPSET!" the girl jeered back, her followers all laughing with her "I only came here 'cuz I wanted ya to head out of the village with us tonight, short stuff!"
Ralph crossed his arms "An' what in tha world would make ya think I would want to go ANYWHERE with YOU, Tilly?"
Tilly slid her way into Ralph's room from the window, walking up to the boy and glaring down at him.
"That wasn't a SUGGESTION, Ralph." She growled, backing Ralph near a wall "That was an ORDER."
Ralph felt as tiny as a Nicelander as Tilly overshadowed him, his hands feeling the sides of the wall.
"N-No!" Ralph growled, putting his foot down "I'm tired of this Tilly! Ya can't do this ta pe-!"
Tilly reached down and picked Ralph up by his collar, her jagged teeth showing through a crooked smile.
"I don't think you heard me the first time, RALPH. I'm not SUGGESTING that you come with us…."
She gripped the boy's collar TIGHTER, choking Ralph a bit.
"I'm TELLIN' ya."
Ralph could feel his body shaking in Tilly's hold but before he could say ANYTHING, the girl clamped a huge hand over his mouth and SHOVED him out the window.
"Make sure he doesn't make a peep!"
Before Ralph could get away, a large group of giant children grabbed him, their combined strength too great for the younger and smaller giant. He thrashed and he kicked but it was no use! He was TRAPPED.
"S-Someone HE-!"
Tilly slapped Ralph on his exposed belly, the boy crying out through a muffled mouth "Aw, quit your belly achin'! This is gonna be fun!"
"Say Tilly?" asked a boy "Where are we headin' anyway?"
"Back down to the Niceland village…" the girl sneered "Daddy was all a'glow about how we did such a fine job tearin' 'em up the first time. Let's see how proud he'll be once we do it again!"
Ralph's skin went cold once he heard his destination.
The Niceland village? His father had already told him how much it hurt him to even go near the place and now Ralph was helpless to run away from it.
He could only hope that things didn't turn out as messy Tilly was making it sound. From the way the girl was talking, she was ready to crush a few Nicelanders under her massive feet.
"Don't let Gene get away!" Mary called at the top of her lungs, laughing like mad "Get the blueberry! GET THE BLUEBERRY!"
Gene was crying his head off as he ran as fast as he could down the halls. If only he could reach his apartment, then things would be safe! But as he turned around, he saw a WAVE of kids heading his way, Felix right behind Mary, his father's golden hammer above his head.
"GENE! JUST LET ME FIX IT!"
"I'M GONNA SHOVE YA INTA A PIE!"
"GUYS! WHY ARE WE RUNNIN'?!"
"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Gene screeched but as he did so...
Trip.
Something came under his tiny feet and with a little BUMP and a BOUNCE, Gene began ROLLING down the hall like some sort of tiny ball wrapped in a blue sweater. Mary continued to laugh, watching Gene bounce from wall to another during his journey.
"Told ya he rolled!"
"Mary!" growled Felix, picking the girl up "I told ya NOT ta-!"
The little boy said nothing more, taking Mary in his arms and chasing after Gene "Phew! Ya guys pick up so much speed when ya begin' rollin'!"
Outside the apartment, a few visitors crept their way closer to the building, the sounds of screaming children only peaking their interest.
"Whoa, ya guys hear THAT?" whispered Tilly, holding out a hand to stop the others.
"Sounds like some bruh-ha-ha is goin' on in there!"
"Pfft, they're NICELANDERS!" the girl chuckled to herself "They're always doin' somethin' stupid!"
On her signal, the group of giant children moved ever closer to the building, getting towards the windows. As it was nightfall, no one took notice of them as they reached the window and as they glanced inside….
"Some one stop him!" shouted Felix, his hammer still held in his hand as he chased after Gene.
"FELIX! PUT ME DOWN!"
"What in the world-?!"
Tilly and the others looked on as they saw the PARADE of Nicelander kids running and yelling down the hallway, the children much too preoccupied to even notice what was going on.
"See?" said one of the giant kids "THIS is what we're up against."
Ralph said nothing. Granted, he COULD say nothing as Tilly still had her mouth over his hand. She moved further down the length of the building, the younger boy still stuck in her grasp.
"Hehe, now this is where our plan comes into ACTION!"
"What plan?"
"On the count o'THREE, we throw Ralphie-Boo here INTA tha apartments!"
Ralph let out a muffled CRY as he shook in Tilly's arms but the girl was just too strong for him. Tilly LOVED to see Ralph squirm in her hold and she wasn't doing this just for him to get a taste of harassing Nicelanders.
She was doing this because to her, Ralph was the PERFECT scape goat for everything.
IF the Nicelanders retaliated, they would retaliate on RALPH, not her. She would be free to do as much damage as she wanted to and if someone got caught it wasn't going to be her.
"One-!"
"MMP!"
"Two-!"
Ralph thought back to the words his father had said, feeling terrible for what he was being forced to do.
"TH-!"
"Matilda, DUCK!"
"What are ya babblin' a-?!"
"LOOK!"
Tilly looked back into the building but what she saw stunned her into silence.
She had been caught.
Before her stood the smallest Nicelander, the girl decked in purple and bows, staring up at her in shock. Tilly hadn't anticipated being caught so soon and as she looked down at the tiny thing, she found she was unable to move.
"UH."
"GIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT!" the little girl screamed, running as fast as she could "GIANT IS HERE GIANT IS HERE GIANT IS HERE!"
The other children stopped in horror, Gene only stopping when he crashed into a WALL.
"BLUGHTH!"
"Nel?!" gasped Felix, realizing that in his haste, Nel had fallen behind….
And now it seemed that she was the target of an another giant attack!
"Oh, BOO!" Tilly shouted, throwing Ralph behind her and jumping forward, SMASHING he huge fist through the wall "STUPID THING! GET BACK HERE!"
The sound of breaking mortar and glass was enough to knock EVERYONE in the building off their feet, the adults running from their apartments and into the hall.
"What the HELL is going on?!" screamed one Mayor Raymond, the man furious as he ran in front of the others but as he saw the continuous PUNCHES flying through the wall, it was only obvious what was happen.
"Oh dear Lord!"
"PRUNELLA!" cried another small Nicelander, panic on her face "They're after my baby!"
Nel cried helplessly as she tried to move faster but every step she took, another FIST exploded from the wall, trying their best to grab her.
"RALPH, HELP US!" Tilly barked outside, her hands pulling out from the wall "You're a FOREST GIANT! Don't waste your talents, do somethin'!"
Ralph only stood, shaking his head "N-no…"
"RALPH!"
"NO!" the boy bellowed as loud as he could "I'm TIRED of this, Tilly! I'm tired of ya BULLYIN' me, I'm tired-!"
"Oh my god, there's one of them!" shouted a voice from above.
Ralph looked up, seeing a few Nicelander adults looking down at him from the top stories of the building.
"W-wait!" the boy cried, waving his hands franticly "I-I can GAAAH!"
With a SPLAT and a CRACK, Ralph felt something EXPLODE on him. He opened his eyes, feeling something cold and slimy going down his face.
Eggs?
"Get away!" cried Nicelander Nathan, the large red-head throwing a sack of flour down upon the helpless boy, not even NOTICING the other giant kids wrecking the apartment from below.
"B-But SIR-!"
"LEAVE US ALONE!"
"GO BACK TO THE FOREST!"
Ralph was pelted by an onslaught of kitchen items, the boy falling back as he crawled back to the forest but meanwhile, Tilly looked back, smiling.
She LOVED seeing Ralph suffer.
"Hehe, WUSS."
She turned back, continuing her onslaught on the inside but she had no idea what was happening with the others inside.
"Felix?! FELIX?!"
The small boy looked back, his parents running around the corner.
"Mama! Papa!" the boy cried happily "We're-!"
"Is….is that my hammer?!" Felix Sr. asked, aghast to see it in his son's hands "Where did you get THAT!?"
Felix Jr. gulped, shrinking back "I-I was-!"
"NEL!"
"Violet!" Felix Sr. gasped, getting up and pushing his son out of the way but not before RIPPING the magic hammer out of his hands "Get tha others an' STAY back!"
"But papa!"
"I SAID STAY BACK!" Felix Sr. roared "You're in ENOUGH trouble as it is young man, now listen an' stay down!"
Felix Jr. shook in the presence of his father but he did what he was told, leading the other children out of the way as the attacks continued.
"W-What do we do?!" asked Nicelander Val, clutching onto her husband, the apartments coming down.
"Phyllis! Take care of those fist!"
Phyllis nodded, grabbing a broken base board and running towards the fray, smacking the hands out of their holes.
"Back! BACK!"
Felix Sr. on the other hand was darting to and from, repairing the collapsing building around everyone. The hammer glowed and rang with each hit, the building regaining its strength to the Nicelanders' delight. From her point of view, Tilly watched as the small repairman continued to fix everything, her eyes widening at the sight.
"Its…its even better than what daddy said!"
"Get the kids outta here!" someone called from inside, snapping Tilly from her stupor.
Right, she had some Nicelanders to catch.
Nel was still trying to get away from the hands but she tripped, Tilly's large fingers grabbing on her skirt! The tiny girl screamed in terror as she felt herself being pulled back.
"Got one of 'em!" Tilly laughed, tugging harder, pulling Nel out from the hole.
"MAMAAAAAAAAA"!
Nicelander Violet screamed horribly but she was held back by the others, the small woman no match for the giants that lay outside.
Tilly seemed proud of her prize, grinning evilly as she held Nel upside down by her skirt.
"Hello, fatty..."
"PUT ME DOWN!" Nel screamed, tears in her eyes.
"Oh, I will…" the larger girl smirked "When I get home that is!"
"HEY!"
Tilly looked back, seeing a flour covered Ralph charging at her "PUT HER DOWN, MATILDA!"
Without warning, Ralph PLOWED into Tilly, sending both her and himself through the walls of the apartment, landing RIGHT in front of the other Nicelanders and the Fix-Its! The group gasped in horror as they saw the two giant children before them, but Nel was still clutched in side Tilly' hand.
"MAMA!"
"Someone, HELP HER!" cried Violet, Raymond holding her back. Before either Nicelander knew what was going on, Phyllis jumped forward again, the base board still clutched in her hands.
"Ya big brute, LET HER GO!"
With a large WHACK, Phyllis hit Tilly square in the face, the giant girl crying out in pain as she let go of Nel. The baby flew through the air but was caught by Felix Sr. who happened to jump by in the nick of time.
"GOTCHA!"
Tilly recovered quickly, growing angrily as she looked at Phyllis.
"Annoyin' WHIMP! I'm gonna make ya-!"
*BAM!*
Ralph SLUGGED Tilly in the face, tears of anger in his eyes as he held her down.
"STOP IT!"
"What do ya think you're-!?"
*BAM!*
Another hit and Tilly was knocked to the floor once more. Ralph was BEYOND angry this time, letting out all his anger and fear the girl had placed on him for YEARS.
"Stop bein' so MEAN!" the boy shouted loudly, the Nicelanders in AWE at what they were seeing "THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU! STOP BEIN' A BULL-!"
*KA-POW!*
Ralph might have been strong, but Tilly was STRONGER. One punch from HER fist and the boy went FLYING out of the apartment, crashing on the ground. Rage was in the girls' eyes as she busted her way out of the apartment, looking back at the Nicelanders in anger.
They weren't worth her time nor anger now for something else had taken her spot.
"Grab him." The girl ordered the others, the older children swarming over Ralph, making sure he couldn't escape. The girl growled angrily, turning her head back to the panicking Nicelanders.
"As for YOU, boils!"
The girl swung a fist, knocking another large hole in the wall but this time, the surrounding area began to collapse within it.
"Everyone get back!" cried Felix Sr., picking up his son and wife as he rushed out of the way.
There was a large crash and an enormous cloud of dust but once all was clear, the group found that the giants had VANISHED into the night. Everyone slowly began to recover, looking at the unholy mess that lay before them.
"O-oh GRACIOUS!" Violet sobbed, clutching tightly onto her daughter "Th-they're getting BOLDER!"
"It's going to fine, Violet…" Mayor Ray said but here wasn't comfort in his voice, only anger "Felix."
"Y-Yes sir?"
"I don't care WHAT has to be done but we need to come up with a way to keep those filthy brutes AWAY from us!"
"I-I know sir, but-!"
"Don't you DARE BUT ME, FELIX!" the tiny man said, turning red in the face "I'm sick of having EVERYONE panic around here! If we have to find a way to CAGE those people up, so be it! I'm NOT having us cower in fear any longer!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down Mayor…" said Nicelander Jon "Caging people up? Isn't that taking it to the EXTREME?"
"Was that your son out there, Jon? Wasn't that Nolan who almost got CRUSHED under the hand of those DISGUSTING animals?!"
Jon stepped back, a little shocked at how Ray was talking to him "B-but he's fine now. We-!"
"Everyone, listen up…" the mayor growled "I knew the day would come when those backwoods FREAKS would get bold around us. They've crossed the line THIS time, attacking our children! We've been 'kind' towards them long enough!"
"But Mayor-!"
"I AM NOT FINISHED YET!" the man roared, the others stepping away. He stopped, panting and fuming but finally seeing that his fellow Nicelanders seemed SCARED of him. He then looked over to the side, Gene staggering out of the mess and looking dizzy.
"W-what happen-NYAAAGH!"
"Gene…" growled the mayor "Care to explain WHY Felix was chasing you with his FATHER'S hammer?"
Gene looked at his father with huge eyes. Forget the tooth ache, the way his own FATHER was looking at him was enough to take his mind off the pain. The small Nicelander began to whimper, unable to take the eyes his father was giving him.
"GENE!"
"MY TOOTH HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURTS!" the young boy wailed, Ray holding him some distance away as if he were disgusted with his own child.
"ANNE."
"I've got him…" the woman in dark mauve sighed, gently taking her chubby son into her arms "Gene, stop. There's no need to cry like this at your age."
"What!?" Felix Sr. yelled "You took my hammer for a TOOTH ACHE?!"
Felix shrank back, the other Nicelander children behind him "B-But I was just tryin' ta help, pa-!"
Felix Sr. scooped his son into his arms but he wasn't happy, not in the least.
"We will talk about this once we get home, SON." The man said, clearly disappointed "Until then, ya are ta sit in tha corner!"
"But pop-!"
"NO BUTS!" the man ordered, shoving Felix into the apartment "Do ya have ANY idea what kinda danger we would have been had ya LOST tha hammer?!"
"Do ya have ANY idea what type ofd trouble you're in, Wreck-It?!" growled Tilly, the girl poking Ralph in his chest.
"M-Me?!" Ralph meeped "B-But this was all YOUR idea!"
"Yes, it WAS my idea but WHO messed it up, HMM?"
Ralph lowered his head, his left eye aching something horrible after having it punched in by Tilly. He growled, raising his head against the girl.
"Tilly, ya know what? I don't care!"
"What?"
"I don't care WHAT ya do ta me anymore! I'm sick of ya pushin' me an' everyone else around! Ya can't do this ta people!"
"An' why NOT!?" the girl bellowed, making Ralph bend back with her height "I'M tha daughter of tha leader here! I can do whatever I want!"
"No, you CAN'T!" Ralph shouted, pushing the girl back "An' when I tell, YOU'RE gonna-!"
"Right…" the girl snickered "Tell, I DARE ya ta tell, Ralph."
Ralph looked over at the girl, noticing the face-eating grin she gave him. He shivered at the sight but he knew he had to stand his ground against her. If not him, who else?
"Ya can cry an' cry all ya want…." Tilly purred, tussling Ralph's hair "But there's one than ya keep forgettin'….Since I'm the HONORABLE daughter, MY words will ALWAYS go up against yours!"
"Th-that's no true!"
"Then try it, short stuff…" the girl smiled, crossing her huge arms "Try it an' see how many people believe ya. Ya see all these bruises ya put on my face? When I tell people YA got angry at me for no reason an' hit me, they'll be on ya faster than a bear going after a honey-covered Nicelander!"
Ralph turned red in anger, balling his huge fist "B-but what about tha people who say ya got beat up by a kid like me?! HUH!?"
"I'll just say I would NEVER put my hands on such a WEAK an' WAYWARD wrecker like ya!" Tilly cooed, tickling Ralph under his chin "Why on EARTH would I hit a kid who is CLEARLY not right in the head!"
The others began to laugh at Ralph, the poor boy feeling surrounded as their jeers continued. It was bad enough that the Nicelanders had attacked him for doing nothing but to have his fellow forest giants LAUGH at him?
It was just too much to take.
He began to cry, tears rolling down his cheeks as he looked down at his feet.
"Awww, don't cry WUSS." Tilly laughed "I gotta story all cooked up for daddy an' your parents so NONE of us will get in trouble."
Ralph shrugged Tilly's hand away but she grabbed him painfully by his shoulder, leading him back to the village.
"Trust me, Ralph. Everythin' will be fine soon enough."