Author's Note: Happy Sunday! Also, this chapter, along with a few of the following, are considerably short, but that trend won't stick. Trust me.
Chapter Four - The Cephalopod
Fizzy is walking.
With William Beaver.
And Squid Nugget.
Well, just Squid Nugget now.
William has gone up the path ahead to scout.
They are walking through the town. Everything is covered with snow, Fizzy notes. It must have snowed last night. Or maybe yesterday? This, he does not know. Perhaps he'll ask the airliner pilot who has been sneaking around, following them the entire journey.
Or maybe he won't.
It would be quite boring, and also rude.
Yes, he'll leave the pilot be. The poor soul has probably been trying to sneak unnoticed all this time, and Fizzy doesn't want to spoil whatever the pilot is trying to do. Whatever it is, it may be important, and the last thing Fizzy wants to do is be a nuisance and ruin something important.
So, instead, he turns to Squid Nugget, whom he's never seen until today, due to the chap's ridiculously long naps. But Fizzy doesn't know that. The peculiar figure is an upright squid with only four tentacles, sporting a red party hat atop his blocky head.
"Hello," says Fizzy. "I've never seen you before."
"Hm?" Squid turns to face Fizzy Elephant. "Oh, yeah, I was napping."
Fizzy blinks. "Napping? For how long?"
"Oh, about three months." Squid Nugget replies.
"Huh."
Silence.
More silence.
"For some reason," says Squid. "I expected you to be more surprised."
"Oh, nah," Fizzy says. "I've slept for nearly four years once."
"Oh, um...wow," Squid says, clearly surprised. "That certainly is an, erm...accomplishment."
"I was in a coma." Fizzy explains.
"Oh," says Squid. "That explains it."
A pause.
"How did you get in the coma?" asks Squid.
"I don't remember exactly," Fizzy replies. "But I think I was just really bored, so I had a nap and took ages to wake up. Or was it something to do with that weird creature from that alternate dimension...?"
Squid is visibly stunned. His eyes are wide and he opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Suddenly, a shout comes from farther up the path.
"Guys!" William Beaver comes racing down the path towards them. He's nearly out of breath by the time he reaches them. "You may want to see this," he rasps. "I've just spotted HitTheTarget!"
"Where?" Squid demands, running up to William Beaver, ready immediately.
"In the woods," William gasps. "Just beyond the big Funland sign."
Squid nods and dashes past William, who follows weakly, limping out of exhaustion.
"You stay here," Fizzy tells him. "You're too tired. We'll be back right away, anyway." He sprints away in the direction Squid Nugget has run.
Soon he catches up to the cephalopod, who is standing at the edge of the town, overlooking the field in front of the Funland sign. He's staring at the snow-covered trees at the other side of the grassy plain.
"Over there, then?" Fizzy asks.
"Apparently," says Squid, before dashing off towards the trees.
Fizzy follows, slightly reluctantly. He feels a sense of foreboding deep in his stomach, but shakes it off. It's going to be fine, he tells himself. But even his own thoughts sound unsure.