Rudy sat quietly at the table. He stared down at the bowl of cereal sitting before him. He did eat a few bites, slowly, almost hesitantly. He couldn't stop thinking of what happened the other day. Getting to sleep at night was very hard. It was hard for him to sleep knowing that Snap might be in trouble. He had stayed awake for hours, unable to shut his eyes. And when he finally did get to sleep...
He shuddered as he thought about the horrible nightmare that plagued him. Not long after he had drifted off, he was in the grips of a bad dream. In said dream, he was running along what appeared to be a distorted version of his home street. Everything was black and red, and he saw Snap. He looked so frightened and scared... And then there was some large hand behind him. Snap had called out for him, reached out for him, and Rudy was unable to reach him before the hand just grabbed him.
Rudy had run after him, crying out his name. The hand just dragged Snap way. The panicked zoner had tried to escape, scraping his hands along the ground. But it was useless. And before long, Snap was yanked back towards what looked like a tall, warped house. The house just...swallowed him whole, and Rudy could hear the crunching sound as Snap's bones were broken into pieces. Rudy had fallen onto his knees, staring in absolute disbelief. Then he howled in anguish before collapsing on the ground in a sobbing heap.
That was when he woke up. As he opened up his eyes, he could feel tears leaking out. He could feel that his pillow was drenched in his tears and mucous. He sat up in his bed and looked around. He took in a few quick breaths, trying to calm himself down. It was just a bad dream...it was just a bad dream. He was so relieved...but still so frightened. That was a horrible dream. He hoped with all his might that Snap wasn't in danger, that Penny was right and that he was just hunkered down somewhere. Yeah, they'd go find him later today and he'll be there, waiting for him.
He hadn't told his parents about the nightmare, and he tried his best to hide his negativity. He wasn't sure what he could say to them. He was too distraught to really think of any kind of clever lie. His mind was so muddled with thoughts of what happened the other night that he just couldn't really focus. Luckily, he had been able to keep up a pretty good act so far...but he had a feeling his luck would run out soon. He could only hope that, once one of his parents says something, he would be able to think of a convincing lie.
He thought back to the dream. Such a twisted and sick dream...but as he took another bite of his cereal, he began to wonder if it was trying to tell him something. He wasn't one to believe too much in prophetic dreams, but he couldn't deny the inspiration dreams can give, and what happened in the dream, despite how messed up and exaggerated it was, like the giant hand, something like that could have happened. He hoped something like that didn't happen, but he couldn't just deny the possibility just to make himself feel better. That would not only be wrong, but dangerous. What if Snap was in that kind of danger?
What if Snap was...kidnapped? That was a thought that crossed his mind before. And now the dream was making him bring that idea back to the forefront of his thoughts. There was a possibility that Snap had been kidnapped and that he might be somewhere in the neighborhood. He had little to go on and he couldn't run around accusing people of anything. And it wasn't like the dream was a reliable source. Even if he could recognize the street names in the dream itself, that didn't mean that was exactly where Snap was. They would need to investigate.
Rudy's first thought was to search down the street they trick-or-treated on. That would be a good place to start. It would help if he knew exactly when Snap vanished, but he hadn't heard a peep out of him since they started walking back. It could be anywhere on that street he vanished, or even on the next street. That was a lot of places for him and Penny to look. He hoped that they would be able to comb through these areas and find clues in time to save Snap, if he were in any kind of danger.
He thought about that bush they passed by before. He knew it had enough space for someone to climb into. Perhaps that was a point where Snap could have vanished. It would have been strange, though, that the potential kidnapper would use this bush and not make any noises. Snap couldn't even get in there without shaking the needles a little. Rudy decided that the bushes weren't a likely spot for Snap to get lost in or for a kidnapper to use as his striking point. So that did cross one thing off the list..but there were still other possibilities to consider.
He recalled that the time that he and his friends headed back to his place was during the tail end of the trick-or-treating. It was still going on, but there were so few people out. The street they were on, both on his own home street and the one next to it, was largely devoid of people, at least compared to the start of it all. Most people would be indoors, watching television or hanging out with friends, having fun. They wouldn't be staring out the window so much.
It would have been a perfect time to strike...
What Rudy still couldn't understand is..how did the kidnapper, if there was one, get to Snap without him and Penny noticing? He tried to think of possibilities, such as silent walking, but..no that didn't make sense. Despite the cover of darkness, despite there not being a lot of people, if a man or woman were walking up to a group of children, someone was bound to notice. And they would have heard the person's footsteps as they fled.
Perhaps he should bring the idea up to Penny. She might have an idea. She was always good at coming up with theories and ideas. He could explain his thoughts to her and see what she says. She should be here soon. She promised she'd be over after breakfast. He guessed she'd be here in a few minutes. Knowing that his friend would be here shortly, Rudy started to eat a little more quickly so he could finish up breakfast in time.
He took notice of his mom walking in. She looked down at him, a concerned expression on her face. He stared at her, his mouth full of food. Then he slowly swallowed, not taking her eyes off of her. Why was she looking at him like this? Had he not been as convincing as he thought?
"Is something wrong, dear?" Mrs. Tabootie asked.
Rudy tried hard not to flinch at this. So his acting hadn't been fool proof. His parents, or at least his mom, had noticed something off about him. What was he going to tell her in response? There she was, waiting for a reply. He couldn't just keep quiet, or she would get even more worried. His mind raced with thoughts as he tried to think of something to tell her that wouldn't sound too worrying. There was only one thing he could think of, and he hoped that she would just leave it at that.
"I just..had a bad dream." Rudy said. He didn't want to mention the dream, but it was the only thing he could think of to say without it being too serious. After all, bad dreams were just bad dreams. "That's all."
His mother looked at him. She still looked worried, but she did have a relieved expression on her face. She smiled at him gently and walked closer to him. "Well if that's all it was...I'm glad to hear that you're okay. You seemed so pale when you came out of bed, and you haven't eaten too much. I thought you had fallen ill." As if to convince herself, his mom put the back of her hand on his forehead. "No, you feel fine."
Rudy gently pushed his mother's hand away. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took a few more bites of his cereal. "Hey, is Penny here yet?"
Mrs. Tabootie shook her head. "Sorry, Rudy. She's not here, but I imagine she will be very soon." She paused for a moment. "Just..where are you two going again?"
Rudy said, "We're just going for a walk down the street. It's such a nice day out."
Mrs. Tabootie cocked an eyebrow. "Rudy, there's a chilly wind."
Rudy realized he hadn't really been paying attention to the weather. He turned his head to look out the window. He took notice of what his mom was talking about. There was a wind blowing, swaying the trees a little. It didn't appear to be a strong wind, at least. But his mom did say it was chilly. He probably should have looked outside before he told his mom about how 'nice' it was outside. It wasn't the worst weather, but a cold wind constantly blowing isn't exactly what he felt qualified as 'nice weather'. He made a mental note to himself to put on his jacket before they headed out.
His mind drifted to Snap. He hoped that, if Snap were outside, he found some kind of shelter from the weather. He wasn't sure of all the places he could go, but he was certain there was at least one place nearby that would have enabled him to hide from the strong wind, and rain, too, if there was going to be any. If someone captured him, he hoped that person at least had the decency of keeping Snap indoors during bad weather, and not just keep him tied up outside and exposed. On the one hand, that would make him easier to find. But on the other, it meant that Snap was exposed to the elements, and that wasn't a good thing in the real world.
Realizing that he hadn't said anything more to his mother, and seeing that she was waiting for some kind of reply, Rudy snapped himself out of his thoughts. He looked at her and smiled the best he could. He quickly said, "It's nice enough I mean. No rain."
His mother stared at him, then slowly nodded her head. "Well take an umbrella at least."
Rudy felt a clench in his heart. "Wh-Why?"
"I don't see what the big deal is. You might not even need it." His mother replied as she headed towards the sink to do the dishes. "The weather channel called for a potential rainstorm today. It's not supposed to start until around noon, but you know how inaccurate these weather forecasts can be."
Rudy stared at her blankly, his mind numb. He forced himself to answer her. "Yeah..." After a few more seconds, he added, "I'll make sure to bring an umbrella then."
"Good." Mrs. Tabootie said, smiling gently at her son. "If Penny forgot to bring hers, you can take the spare and let her use it. Just make sure to bring it back when you two are done walking."
"Okay, mom." Rudy said before falling silent, staring at his cereal bowl.
Rain...of all the things...why did it have to be rain? The horrible thought weighed down heavily on his mind. He could feel his blood chilling from the terrible realization that it might rain while they're out there. If Snap were caught in the rain...he would die. As Penny said, he was a smart zoner, but if he was too slow, if the rain came too fast, if the kidnapper left him outside or a not-so-well insulated area..and the rain hit him...
He had seen that happened what a zoner was dissolved. He still had that horrible image of what happened to Howy when Reggie's dog licked him. It was a bone chilling sight, and what made it worse is that Howy could still talk for a while. The way he called out in shock and terror, the way he slowly dissolved like that, and then into nothingness... Even though he turned out to be alive in the end, the memory of that still haunted him. And knowing that it could be Snap's fate...
Rudy tried not to think about it. He tried not to let the images of a dissolving Snap enter his mind. He tried to focus on finding him, because that's all he could do. He could worry all he wanted to, but that was not going to solve anything. It wasn't going to help him find Snap. He had to assume Snap was still alive and he had to try to find him. He couldn't just sit here and do nothing, not like he and Penny planned on that anyway. As soon as she got here, they were going to go look for their friend.
As soon as Rudy finished his cereal, he heard a knock on the door. He knew instantly who it was. He got up from his seat quickly, nearly knocking over his bowl. He rushed over to the door to greet Penny. But his dad was already there. Rudy stumbled and skidded to a stop before he rammed into his father. He watched as his dad opened up the door, and just like he thought, there was Penny standing there, giving a smile to his dad.
"Hello there, Penny." Mr. Tabootie greeted the girl, putting on a big smile.
"Hello, Mr. Tabootie." Penny replied. "Is Rudy available?"
Mr. Tabootie nodded his head. "He sure is. He's been expecting you. Hey Rudy..." The man turned around to find Rudy, only to see he was standing right behind him. His dad looked a little surprised at first, but quickly settled down. "Oh! There you are!" He waved his hand towards Penny. "Penny's here to see you."
Rudy nodded his head. He would have said he already knew that, but he decided not to. He gave a smile to Penny and gestured her to come in. She did so, wiping her feet on the carpet before she went further into the house. Rudy felt some sense of comfort knowing that Penny was here now. It meant that they would soon be starting to look for Snap. And the sooner they did that, the sooner they could be reunited with him, provided that nothing serious happened.
Before they headed out, thoug, he wanted to speak to Penny in private. Discussing about Snap would not be a good idea out in the open, since they could mention things about ChalkZone and someone might overhear them. Best to head into his bedroom and speak there first, and also come up with a plan of action there before they haded out. It was better to at least have some kind of plan and not just walk out on the streets with no idea what they were going to do.
He and Penny headed up into his bedroom. Once they were in, he shut the door behind him to make sure that his parents didn't overhear them. His parents generally respected his privacy, so they weren't going to barge into his room, usually anyway. He then moved towards the window sill, his favorite place to sit down with Penny and chat. It also provided a good view of outside, enabling him and his friend to see what it was like outside. So far, it only seemed windy, but he thought he noticed some dark clouds in the horizon. Kinda hard to tell with all the trees and buildings, but there might be a chance of rain after all.
As he and Penny settled next to each other on the window sill, Rudy cleared his throat and began to speak. "Penny, I need to talk to you about something." Penny looked over at Rudy, wearing a confused expression. He quickly added, "It's about Snap."
Penny nodded her head. "Go on."
Rudy paused for a moment. He wasn't entirely comfortable talking about his dream with her. It was possible they could start this search without bringing it up. But in order for him to properly convey what he was trying to ask of her, he would need to tell her about it. No matter how unnerving it was to think about, he needed to tell her. He couldn't just keep this a secret. Besides, he had to tell someone about this dream. It was so horrifying... And Penny was the only person he could really talk to in regards to ChalkZone.
"I had a bad dream last night." Rudy started to say. He looked to Penny. She gave him an understanding expression and used a wave of her hand to signal for him to continue. "In the dream, I was...trying to get Snap and he was being chased by this large hand..." Penny's eyes widened at this. "I tried to save him, but the hand grabbed him and it dragged him off to some house... and there was some crunching sounds..it was horrible..." Rudy shuddered at the thought. "I woke up after that."
Penny had her hand to her mouth, looking at Rudy in horror. "That was some bad dream..."
"Yeah it was..." Rudy said, recalling the nightmare in detail. "It was horrible."
Penny reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at him sympathetically. "At least it was only a dream..." She paused for a moment. Her expression shifted to confusion. "Why did you want to talk to me about that?"
"Because, Penny, I think there's a chance that...it could be what happened to Snap." Rudy replied.
Penny stared at him blankly. "Rudy, I don't think giant hands are logical in the real world. Maybe in ChalkZone..." She raised her hands up and gestured with them to indicate everything around them. "But..." She shook her head. "..not in the real world."
"I didn't mean literally." Rudy said. He felt a little embarrassed that he wasn't being clear enough with her. "I meant that...he was captured." Penny's expression changed back to worry. Rudy lowered his gaze towards the ground. "I mean...someone might have grabbed Snap and dragged him away. They could have silenced him so he couldn't scream, and they could have taken him to some house." He looked back at Penny. "He might be in one of the neighbors' houses here."
Penny bit her lip. "It does...seem possible that someone grabbed him.. But..." She sighed. "I'm just not sure exactly when they would have had a chance." She turned her gaze down as her mind filled with thoughts. "It would be hard to sneak up behind someone and just grab them without anyone noticing. Though there wasn't a lot of people out when we went back, someone would have noticed a person coming up to us to take Snap. They would have said something."
Rudy nodded. Those were more or less the same thoughts he was thinking earlier. It would have been hard..no, impossible..for someone to sneak up behind them and just grab Snap like that. There would have been too much noise, or at least enough to give the person away. Someone would have noticed it. They would have seen the person's shadow at least casting over them as the kidnapper approached. It didn't seem possible that a kidnapper was involved. It would have required an insane amount of effort to avoid getting caught, and that would have been time consuming.
But he wasn't about to throw this idea out of the window. Not yet. There was still a chance that a kidnapper was involved in this. There might have been a way they could have taken Snap without them noticing. Something that was silent. Something that they wouldn't have noticed until it was too late. But what? He had tried to think of ideas, yet his mind would only draw a blank. He hoped that Penny would have some kind of clue.
"Do you know of any way a kidnapper could grab Snap and flee without us hearing?" Rudy asked. "Let's think for a moment. Let's say that it did happen. How would the kidnapper go about it without drawing attention to himself or herself?"
Penny narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I can't really think of anything, except..." Suddenly her eyes snapped wide open. She stared at Rudy and he could see the realization glowing in her eyes. "Rudy! I just remembered!"
"What?" Rudy asked anxiously.
"Do you remember when Snap was flung into the real world for the first time?" Penny asked. Rudy nodded his head swiftly. How could he possibly forget that? "Well I took him outside and told him to wait there until I came back. But as soon as I started to run, I could hear him go 'hey what's that' and heard him running off." She went quiet, letting Rudy allow this small bit of information sink in. "I'm certain that something in the real world caught his interest at that time, and he just..bolted off towards it."
Rudy's eyes slowly widened. The realization struck him hard. Snap was a curious zoner, like a little kid...because he was one. He was prone to suddenly wandering off when something caught his eye. Sometimes he did it without thinking about it. He had thought about him wandering off before, but that was just a wild guess. Now..he was certain that may have been what happened. Maybe he did run off...and that's when the kidnapper would have...
"That...that would explain it..." Rudy said in as soft voice.
Penny nodded her head in agreement. "It certainly would. If Snap saw something that caught his attention, he may have walked away from us without telling us. He could have gotten lost, depending on how far he wandered. He's not that familiar with the real world, so I can see that happening."
Rudy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Me, too."
Penny continued. "He could have tried to look for us, but for how long, I'm not certain."
"And then at some point after he wandered off..." Rudy added, letting the potential pieces of the puzzle start to come together. "He could have been grabbed by someone... He could have went someplace where there weren't a lot of people, somewhere far enough away from us... Snap could have been grabbed without us hearing about it..."
"Then the kidnapper would have silenced him somehow, maybe hit him with a rock, and drag him off." Penny concluded grimly.
The two friends stared at each other. The horrific realization of what may have happened hit them both like a freight train. They still weren't certain if this is what really happened. It was still just a guess. But it was the only plausible theory they could come up with that would account for everything. Why they didn't hear Snap getting grabbed...why Snap would wander off, but then never call out to them when he got lost... Yes, this might have been what happened.
Now that they had an idea of what may have happened to Snap, they next needed to figure out a plan. They would need to perform a search of the area. They would need to do so as quickly as they could and without drawing attention. It would help them if they could think of a point where Snap could have disappeared... But maybe that wouldn't be so hard. Rudy and Penny both knew Snap well. They could simply walk down the two streets and look for something that they knew would catch Snap's eye, and search those areas.
Rudy spoke up after a few moments of silence.
"Let's work out a plan." Rudy said. "And then let's go find him."
Penny nodded her head. "Good idea." She noted the worried look in his eyes. She grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it gently. "We'll find him." Her voice was as reassuring as she could make it sound.
Rudy turned to her and smiled as best as he could. "Yeah...I know we will."
sss
When Snap woke up, he was all alone. He was confused, and tried to remember what happened. For a few moments, he didn't recognize where he was, how he got here, or anything. His mind was just a blur. However, it took just seconds for his mind to be bombarded with memories the moment that pain began to register in his arm. He flinched, tears forming in his eyes, as he glanced down at his arm. His heart pounded at the sight of the metal cuff still cutting mercilessly into his arm, and in that moment, he remembered what happened earlier.
Mr. Wilter had came in to interrogate him. He had forced some information out of him with the promise of getting the cuff out of his arm. Of course that was a lie. He told him what he wanted to know, and the cuff was still in his arm... Oh wait, he said 'maybe'. He forgot about that. And wait... He didn't tell him everything. Now it was coming back to him. Snap recalled how Mr. Wilter tried to get him to tell him about a way into ChalkZone, and he didn't tell him, then...
Snap whimpered as a wave of pain shot up and down his arm. He clutched it, only to cry and let go. His arm hurt so badly.. And the pain had only gotten worse. Mr. Wilter...he had pulled on the chain, making him hurt so much. He had caused some additional damage to his already mangled arm. Why? What did he do to deserve this? Why won't Mr. Wilter remove the cuff? Can't he see it's causing him real pain?
Apparently not. Snap recalled how mercilessly the man had pulled on the chain, irritating his wound on purpose in hopes of making him talk. The pain, it was so bad that he had passed out. He had never been in that much pain before. For now, it had died down a little, but his arm still throbbed in agony. The longer this cuff was in his arm, the more pain it would cause, the more damage would be dealt. He needed to get it off. He needed to, somehow, remove the cuff himself. But how could he accomplish that? And how much additional damage would he cause himself by removing it?
Mr. Wilter, in spite of how crazy he was being, was right about one thing. He couldn't remove the cuff here without causing more damage, and especially not without having the proper tools. There was no chalk medicine here. Snap would have no way of treating the wound for infection. He would have no medication he could take to help with the pain. That was all in ChalkZone. Perhaps...perhaps he should...
Snap shook his head. No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't give away more information regarding ChalkZone. He couldn't betray the other zoners. He was not going to allow Mr. Wilter to get into ChalkZone. As much pain he was in, he would rather be in this pain than let ChalkZone fall in the hands of a clear madman. He would rather rip the cuff of now and stumble through the neighborhood, bleeding, searching for Rudy, than give vital information to Mr. Wilter. He couldn't afford to tell him anything more. He had already made the horrendous mistake of giving away two big pieces of information.
He had told Wilter about the real world water weakness, and he had told him about how ChalkZone worked, with the drawing and erasing... And now that man could use both of those to his advantage. Snap couldn't believe he told him those things. Of all the information he could have slipped out...it had to be those two things. Mr. Wilter might not have access to ChalkZone...but he can still cause a lot of damage.
Knowing that things erased become real in this world, what's to stop this man from drawing something really dangerous to capture zoners? Destroy large sections of the place? What's to stop him from, oh say, drawing a horrific tornado designed to cause as much wreckage as possible? What would prevent him from drawing his own army of loyal zoners to wreak havoc, or try to find him a way into that world, or whatever else would come to mind? Snap wasn't sure if Mr. Wilter had a chalkboard at home. But he certainly did at school, and that was enough to be of alarm.
And the real world water... Mr. Wilter, if he got into ChalkZone, he could use that water to kill zoners, cause destruction himself. He could use it to control the zoners and force them to bend to his whim. He could send people into ChalkZone with a hose to erase everything if he becomes paranoid enough. He could cause the death of many zoners. It doesn't take much water to kill a zoner. Even the biggest and mightiest zoners would fall victim to real world water. It was like acid to them. It burned...it hurt so much..and it caused them to 'melt' in a sense.
Then there was the possibility of Mr. Wilter using the real world water on him. He now knew what kind of damage it would cause him. Though Mr. Wilter said he didn't want to kill him, that didn't mean he wouldn't get a water bottle and spray him with it, cause him more pain. He already showed he was capable of hurting him horrifically. He proved that with the cuff and the interrogation. There was little reason to think that Mr. Wilter wouldn't use real world water as another means of hurting him to get him to talk. Snap shuddered at the thought of the man coming into the bathroom with real world water, ready to interrogate him further...
Snap knew that Mr. Wilter was not going to give up on that information so easily. He wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. He was going to find a way to make him tell him about magic chalk, the gateway into ChalkZone. There was no way he'd give up just like that. He was going to come in at some point to try to get that information from him. Mr. Wilter was determined to get access to ChalkZone, and Snap had a feeling he was going to do whatever it took to make him talk. Snap just needed to try to stay strong and resist, no matter what happened.
ChalkZone was counting on him. He couldn't let the information slip out. He had to keep Wilter in the dark as much as possible. He had to protect ChalkZone from this threat. Rudy and Penny didn't know... Nobody in ChalkZone knew... Only he did. He was the only one who knew something of this guy's plans. So it was up to him to keep ChalkZone safe from this menace.
As Snap sat in the unfinished bathroom, he took a look around. He looked up at the window. He took notice of how light it was compared to before. He realized that it was morning. He was confused. Had time really went by that fast? He must have been in worse pain than he thought, if he passed out until morning. Though faint, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping, and it caused a pang to rise in his stomach. He wished he could go outside. He wished he could go home. He really wanted to go home...
He felt a growl in his stomach. His throat was a little dry. He smacked his lips a few times, realizing how little saliva there was in his mouth than usual. He was thirstier than he was yesterday. He was starting to get really hungry. Around this time was when he had breakfast. The thought of it made him lick his lips slowly as he imagined going into the Candycane Forest with Blocky and getting something to eat there. Yes, some pancakes and fried eggs and bacon...that all sounded so good right now...
Snap shook his head. He needed to try not to think about food for however long he could. The more he thought about food, the hungrier he'd get. He needed to try to focus on other things. He can't distract himself with wanting food and water, although both are really important, because he could end up feeling worse, perhaps panic... Despite his pain, he needed to stay calm. Panicking would only worsen his condition.
Right now, he needed to try to steer his attention towards trying to find a way out of this mess. He still hadn't figured out how he was going to get past Mr. Wilter. He needed the metal cuff off of him. He was going nowhere with this thing in his arm. But...how would he get Mr. Wilter to take it off of him? It wasn't like he'd just get it off if he'd ask. And he doubted lying to him about the gateway to ChalkZone would work. Knowing that man, he wouldn't let him go until he had gotten into ChalkZone himself. Mr. Wilter would test what he said before letting him go, on the off chance he lied to him. So there goes that potential idea.
Snap struggled up to his feet. His body was a little shaky, and moving his arm even just to get up was horrible. But he managed to get up to his feet. He staggered a little. He looked towards the door. He could hear faint footsteps approaching. He winced, realizing that it was probably Mr. Wilter coming in to interrogate him further. He wondered why, at first, since it should be school now. But then he realized it was the weekend. The realization caused him to gulp and back away.
All of a sudden, a wave of pain struck through his head and his world spun. He fell down to his knees. He put his right hand on his head and stayed there, his eyes shut and teeth clenched in pain. The sudden headache stayed there, gripping his skull for several moments. Then it went away as suddenly as it began. He remained on the ground, stiffened by what had happened. Slowly, he removed his hand and stared at it.
How had that happened? He never experienced something like that before. He never once had a moment where he suddenly got dizzy and a headache at once and so fast... As he sat there on his knees, he realized that the sensation didn't go away completely. He still felt a little off balance. It wasn't horrible. It was faint, but he could still detect it. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as he recalled the pain that swept through it. The pain was still there too. Dull and achy, but still there. Why was this happening? He didn't feel like this earlier.
Then he realized it. As an uncomfortable feeling started to become noticeable in his chest and stomach, as he noticed the worsened condition of his arm wound, he knew what the problem was. And if he was correct on this, he needed to get help and fast. He knew it was only going to get worse from here.
He was becoming sick...
There was an infection in his arm now. It wasn't from the metal, but from his own clothing. Through the torn pieces of his leotard, he could see some discoloration, some swelling. There was some pus starting to form. The wound was definitely infected and it needed treatment fast. It was already so bad it was starting to wreak havoc on his body. Feeling a slight chill, he realized that he was also starting to form a fever. Right now, he didn't feel bad enough that he needed to lay down, but it was only going to get worse from here.
He lifted up his head as he heard the door start to open up. He shuddered and tried to move back. He accidentally irritated his arm and he let out a cry of pain. He gripped his upper arm, carefully avoiding the cuff cutting into his flesh. He turned his head and watched as the door opened up. His eyes widened as he watched Mr. Wilter walk into the room, shutting the door behind him.
In response, remembering the pain he was put through, Snap started to whimper in fear. He cringed back away from the man as he approached. Snap lowered himself to the ground, taking care to avoid pressing on his damaged left arm. He looked up at Wilter with big, frightened eyes, and continued to whine as the man approached. He silently begged him to leave him alone. He hoped that Mr. Wilter would show him some mercy and not hurt him again. He didn't want to be hurt again...
Soon the man stood in front of him, just a foot away. He stared down at Snap with narrowed, stern eyes. Snap shuddered under those eyes. He tried to turn his head away, but it was heard to tear his eyes from this man. His stare was almost like a vice grip. He couldn't help but keep eye contact with him. Memories of how the man yanked his chain resurfaced even more, with a vengeance. His arm started to ache dully, as if it was remembring how it was yanked around like it was nothing. Snap winced at the painful memory and he hunkered himself down lower against the ground, as if somehow that would keep him safe.
Mr. Wilter hadn't tried anything yet. He just stared at him with that cold expression. Snap felt tears pooling out of his eyes. He continued to let out low whimpers. He scooted himself back a little, managing to get about an inch or two away from the man. His body trembled like a leaf. Then, as the man reached out for him, Snap's eyes widened and he let out a cry of fear. He managed to turn his head away and shut his eyes. He shook harder as he waited for the pain to come. He waited for Mr. Wilter to hurt him again like he had before.
But something else happened. Something he wasn't expecting.
There was a gentle touch on his head. A slight warmth. Snap opened up one eye and looked up at Mr. Wilter cautiously. He could see the man now had something of a softer expression. His eyes were still narrowed, but they weren't as hard as they were just seconds ago. The man had placed his hand on his head, and he was gently stroking it a little. Snap opened up his other eye and he looked up at Mr. Wilter in confusion.
Why was he doing this? Mr. Wilter had already shown how little he cared for him, how much he hated zoners. Why was he being nicer to him? Snap wasn't sure if he should feel reassured, or if he should be terrified. He wanted to scoot away more. He didn't feel entirely comfortable with this man's touch. Was he treating him like a pet now? Yeah...that had to be it. This man must want to treat him like a pet, to mess with his mind. Out of fear and a bit of anger, Snap started to growl at Mr. Wilter.
The man stopped stroking his head, but he kept his hand firmly placed on it. He stared down at Snap for a few moments, listening to him growl defensively. "Relax, Snap. I didn't come here to hurt you." He paused for a moment. He added, "And I'm not here to interrogate you again. Not yet."
Snap slowly stopped growling, but he didn't feel any safer. A part of him, out of desperation, wanted to bite the man's hand. The only thing keeping him from doing that was what happened the last time he tried that. He had bitten Wilter's hand before and it resulted in the man yanking his chain so hard that it caused him to black out. He didn't want to experience that again.
"Then what did you come here for?" Snap asked, his teeth chattering slightly from the fear still gripping his body. He turned his head a little. "G-G-Going to rub it in how I c-c-can't escape...?"
"True...I know you can't escape. And I would remind you of that if you tried to get away. However...that's not why I'm here." Mr. Wilter said. He moved his hand away from Snap and stared down at him with an expression that held the slightest tinge of regret. Not remorse, but regret. There was a difference. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday."
"You what?" Snap asked, raising his head. Did he hear right? "You came to apologize to me?"
Mr. Wilter nodded his head. "I was out of line with pulling the chain like that when you bit me. I had lost my temper, I admit. I hadn't meant to hurt you so bad that it caused you to black out. And for that, I am sorry." The tone of his voice did suggest the man was being honest about feeling some regret for causing him to faint. Still, Snap wasn't going to let his guard down. "I promise I won't pull the chain again during your stay, and I'll try to keep my temper in check."
Snap looked up at Mr. Wilter skeptically. He wasn't entirely sure how much of the man's words he can trust. Mr. Wilter had given him very little reason to trust him. All he had done since he captured him was hurt him and threaten him. Why should he believe him when he said he won't yank the chain again? Or that he'd try to control his temper? Mr. Wilter could be saying this just to lower his guard and try to make him more at ease here. Snap had to stay on his guard because if he got too comfortable, he might accidentally slip out how to get into ChalkZone.
Still, regardless of how uncertain he was, he had to admit that Mr. Wilter being this calm and nice to him was a good change of pace. Even if there wasn't that much kindness and even though this could be an act that'll fall apart soon, it was nice to have Mr. Wilter interact with him that wasn't pain and demanding answers from him. The last thing he needed right now was more pain and fear.
"However, don't think this means I'm going to just let you go. You are still going to remain with me until I get the information I want." Mr. Wilter said, narrowing his eyes. "I need to get into ChalkZone... And I know you know a way inside. I will find a way to get the information from you, Snap, one way or another."
Snap narrowed his eyes. "Well, g-goo-good luck... I'm not t-tell-telling you anything more..." He raised his head up more. He bared his teeth at Mr. Wilter despite his fear. "No way in h-hell am I t-telling you how to get into Ch-ChalkZone..."
Mr. Wilter folded his arms. "I thought you might say that, Snap. I know how stubborn you can be. But don't worry...I think I know what will make you crack under the pressure."
Snap watched curiously, a sense of dread filling his stomach, as Mr. Wilter reached into his pocket. Snap's eyes locked onto it, wondering what the man was going to do. Then, seconds later, Mr. Wilter pulled something small out of his pocket. He held it up into the air, pressed between two fingers. He waved it back and forth in front of Snap, letting him get a nice long look at it. Snap's eyes widened in horror at what he saw.
It was a piece of chalk... Not magic chalk, but despite not being magical, the chalk was still very dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. Mr. Wilter hadn't stated what he'd do outright, but the presence of that chalk told him enough. He looked up at Mr. Wilter, horror spreading across his white face. He shook his head, silently pleading with him not to go through with it.
"Don't worry, I won't try anything right now.." Mr. Wilter said as he raised the chalk into the air. "I am going to save it for the next interrogation." He looked at the chalk in his hand. He smiled and examined it as he turned it around a few times. "I had no idea chalk wielded so much power..."
"P-Please...d-don't do it!" Snap begged him.
Mr. Wilter glanced down at him. "I told you, Snap. I'll do what I have to...in order to obtain that information I need. I don't want to hurt you again like I did last night, so this is a nice alternative, and it's just as effective, don't you think?" He chuckled lightly. "I'm sure you don't want your fellow...zoners...to be in trouble, now do you..?" Snap stared at him with wide eyes. "But...don't worry about it for now." He placed the chalk back in his pocket. "It will be for later, not now..."
Snap couldn't believe it. This man...this insane man...he was going to use the power of creation via chalkboard to make him talk. He was going to draw on the chalkboard something dangerous, something to wreak havoc in his homeworld, all just to make him speak. This...this was such a low blow... He couldn't believe how manipulative this man was being. This was worse than what he did before... He was going to cause pain to countless zoners if he didn't speak. How despicable...
And for what? Why was this man acting this way? Snap still hadn't much of an idea of what caused Mr. Wilter to go nuts like this. He didn't understand just what it was about him and zoners that caused him to behave like this. What had he done to Mr. Wilter to warrant this kind of behavior from him? Snap never tried to hurt him before. He had no intentions on trying to hurt him. He only bit him out of self defense. Mr. Wilter was hurting him and he was getting desperate.. What did this man expect him to do?
He couldn't take it anymore. He had to know why Mr. Wilter was doing this. There had to be a reason. There had to be a motivation behind all of this. He narrowed his eyes at the man and pushed himself up on his undamaged right arm. The man just watched him, not saying a word as Snap sat himself up until he was on one knee.
"Wh-Why...?" Snap asked in a low voice. Mr. Wilter tilted his head. Snap continued, raising his voice a little, "Why are you d-d-doing this? Wh-What made you go cr-cra-crazy like this..? Why...?"
Mr. Wilter stared at him for a few moments. He then turned and started to walk away. Snap watched as Mr. Wilter grabbed the door handle. At first, he thought he was going to be left alone with no answers. But the man paused. He turned his head, staring at Snap with one cold blue eye. His eyes narrowed into slits, and Snap could feel the negative emotion practically simmering off the man's body. He shuddered at this uncomfortable sight.
Mr. Wilter spoke in a cold voice. "You made a fool of me... You caused me to be sent to jail for something that wasn't my fault..."
Snap's eyes widened. Was that what this was? What what what this whole thing was about? Revenge? And what was this man talking about? When did he do anything to cause Mr. Wilter to go to jail? He couldn't think of one time.
Mr. Wilter was finished yet. "I know I saw Rudy and Penny climb out of that chalkboard..." Snap gasped in horror at this. He..he had seen that...? "And I know you are associated with those two... I know you planned on doing that. I know you planned on humiliating me...costing me my reputation... And I plan on making you pay for that."
Snap whimpered softly at this, his body trembling. If revenge was his plan, then his hopes of escape had been reduced. Mr. Wilter might have been lying when he said he would let him go if he got the information he wanted. He might do something worse to him. He couldn't believe Mr. Wilter would blame him for that... He had nothing to do with that... It wasn't his fault he went to jail... Yet here the man was, blaming him for that, taking out his anger on him like this...
Snap turned his head to the side and whimepred, "I-It wasn't m-m-my idea...W-We didn't m-mean to..."
"Don't lie to me, zoner!" Mr. Wilter snarled. "I know you were involved!" Snap fell silent and just watched the man in fear. "And besides...there's another reason I'm doing this. Even if I didn't blame you for that humiliation...there's still reason for me not to trust you...to question you..." He turned the knob and opened up the door. Before he went through the door, he said, "I am terrified of cartoons...and that's what you are essentially...a living cartoon..."
Snap stared at Mr. Wilter in shock. He watched as the man walked out of the unfinished bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Snap let that information sink in. Mr. Wilter..had a phobia of cartoons? Suddenly, his anti-cartoon behavior was making sense. Though Snap wondered if there was more to it than that. There had to be something else in addition to the phobia. Something that he wasn't thinking of.
Suddenly, as he tried to think of what more could have caused Wilter's behavior, Snap felt a tingling in his nose. He tried to hold it back. But he was unable to. Shutting his eyes, he let out a loud sneeze, the force shaking through his body. He wiped his nose. Then seconds later, another tingle, and another sneeze. He took in a few breaths as he wiped his nose a second time, cleaning off the mucuous, and sniffling.
Then there was a pain in his stomach. He grunted in pain and clutched his stomach. An uncomfortable sensation spread through it, making him feel queasy. He hunched himself over, holding himself up on his right arm. He tried to control himself. He tried to ride out the sensation. Yet he was powerless to stop it. He opened his mouth and started to cough. Then he started to gag a little as his stomach lurched. Before he knew it, he vomited, emptying a small portion of his stomach on the ground.
Snap leaned back and rubbed his stomach, groaning softly. He was already getting sicker. He was getting hungrier...thirstier... He had to get out of here... Rudy, Penny... He hoped they were looking for him. He hoped they would find him soon.
"Bucko... Buckette..." Snap said, his voice starting to sound a little raspy. "P-Please...hurry..."