His morning thoughts were interrupted when Jessica rolled to face him. Her functional eye was closed.
And her damaged eye was totally missing.
The only thing in its place was a round, gaping hole.
Woody jerked into a sitting position, one hand reaching out for her shoulder. His whimper pulled her from the morning fog. Her functional eye opened. Seeing the horror on his face, she quickly sat up. Staring past him, she realized she could only see out of one eye.
Slowly, her hand lifted to her face. As Woody watched, she sank a finger into her empty socket. Grief twisted her face.
Laying a palm flat over her missing eye, she scrambled onto her hands and knees. Woody found the fallen eye before she did, and he picked it up in trembling hands. They stared at it.
"Gooooood morning!" Barbie practically cheered. "Rise and shine, my friends! The children will be here in five minutes!"
Jessica snatched her eye from Woody's cupped hands and stood, looking panicked. She whirled, and the toys all stopped and stared at her. She looked wildly from one toy to another, taking in each horrified face. Her anger resurfaced - why couldn't she be like any other toy? "Oh, don't look so surprised," she muttered. "This is going to happen to all of you."
She stomped away, holding up her eye near Buzz's face. Trying to hide his disgust, he pressed himself into the wall, letting her pass.
She nearly sprinted down the corridor, sliding to a stop when she came to the door. A hulking shadow was on the other side and she could hear the jingle of keys. She cast a quick look behind her, but the hall seemed much too long and didn't seem to offer a hiding place.
So she dropped to the floor and smiled like her world was still intact.
The door swung open and the man spotted Jessica right away. He bent, picking her up by the leg. Retrieving her eye he bumped the door closed and carried Jessica into the nearby bathroom. Opening up a pull-down door built into the wall he threw her and her eye down a long, vertical duct. She fell a long ways, bumping into the metal sides as she hurtled into the darkness. Her arms and legs flailed and the functional side of her face contorted in fear, but she forced herself not to scream.
Finally she landed on a KFC container sitting atop a stack of tissues. Her eye bounced off her head and disappeared somewhere in the materials beneath. Sobbing, she rolled off the food container and began to dig for her eye.
-0-0-0-0-
The toys were all inanimate when the monitor got to the Butterfly Room. He sat at his desk with a coffee and waited for the first parent to arrive.
It was a blue-eyed blond woman, with a little boy. "Afternoon, Eric!"
The man turned and smiled at the woman. "Hey, Molly - why, who's the wee little prince?"
"My son, Jason."
"Wow!"
"Yes, I know, it's been awhile." Molly blushed and set her son down, digging into her pocket. "Listen, he has asthma, so - please, just keep an eye on him; if he starts to panic just tell him to take this. And call me."
"Will do. But, uh...Why don't you just give him the inhaler?"
Molly raised her brows like he was stupid for asking. "The cap counts as a small piece. Oh," she turned back to face him. "He also has a cavity, so nothing sweet."
"Sure."
"Thanks, Eric. Back at three!"
Molly left, and Jason picked up Rex and began to play. As time passed, more parents dropped off their children; and each kid was gentle and kind to the toys. And as he was charging the aliens with invasion, Woody wondered where Jessica was and wished she'd stayed.
Seven wonderful hours passed before the humans had all left. When the door closed and locked, the toys slowly began to thaw.
"Where's your double?" Slink asked Jessie.
"No clue," Jessie answered, as she untied Bullseye's tail from a wagon.
"Eh, good riddance," Mr. Potato Head cut in. "She's rude anyway."
"Hmph. That's the potato callin' the cowgirl black," Hamm snorted.
"I'm not rude; I'm sarcastic. It's an art form."
Big Baby unlocked and opened the door and Woody carefully leaned out, looking both ways before stepping into the hall. He quietly wandered the corridors, but there was no sign of Jessica. The only thing he heard was the clock ticking away on the wall, close to the ceiling for some reason. Perhaps a really tall toddler attended the daycare?
"Jessica!" he called. "You still here?"
He walked a ways further, stopping when the toe of his boot landed on a strand of red wool. He looked up and found himself looking into the bathroom.
He crept inside, peering pessimistically for humans, perhaps a janitor staying in the building after hours to clean. He bent low, peering into the stalls, hoping to see her cow-patterned jeans rather than a human's shoes. He saw nothing. "Jess," he whispered fiercely. "Come on, let's...let's go back to the Butterfly Room."
She didn't answer. He peered out into the hallway and crept from the bathroom.
When he returned to the Butterfly Room, he hovered by the door and flagged his friends over.
"No luck?" Buzz called, as the toys approached.
"No, I can't find her anywhere."
"I'll help ya, Woody," Slink offered, tail wagging.
"Yeah, me too," Mr. Potato Head said. "I'll stay right here in case she comes back."
"Why am I not surprised?" Woody chuckled. He stepped back out into the hallway with Slink following close behind.
"So, which way'd'ja look?" Slink asked.
"Well, basically the only thing I haven't done is look down the trash chute."
The toys paused and looked at one another, then began to run for the bathroom.
Slink slid to a stop on the linoleum and watched as Woody began climbing the counter. Pulling himself up onto the flat surface he ran for the trash chute handle. His boot cuffed the lip of the counter and shortened his jump, able to grab onto the handle with just one hand.
Stretch appeared like a giant, shiny purple angel with six extra arms. "What're you doin'?"
"I need this open," Woody gasped, and dropped uselessly to the floor.
"Alright, alright, hang on...Don't get your belt in a knot." She moved stickily across the floor, walked up the wall and pulled the trash chute open. She stepped off onto the counter and left as Woody jumped onto the open lid and peered down the dark passage.
"Jessie?" he yelled, and his voice echoed.
There was only a brief pause. Suddenly her face appeared in the ray of light. "Woody! Please, help me!"
Woody looked at Slink. "Get that octopus thing back. Tell it we need the trash chute outside open!"
Slink ran across the floor, his paws sliding on the linoleum as he scrabbled around the corner.
"We'll get you out!" Woody yelled down the shaft.
Jessica watched from way down below as he disappeared. The door slammed shut with a thunderous racket that defeaned her as she was quickly cast back into utter and complete darkness.
