Chapter 11: His Never-Ending Torment

"We found this taped to the fridge."

Simon handed the piece of paper to Phelan. The ink was smudged in most parts, but there was no mistaking the large and untidy scrawls as Alvin's handwriting.

Dear Dave, Simon, and Theodore,

I've been up all night thinking, and that's when the problem hit me – I just can't think straight.

I know it's bad enough that I've lost the trust of my best friend, but for you guys to lose your trust in me, there's so much pain going through me right now; I don't know who to turn to anymore.

So I'm leaving, in the hopes that things will cool off when I'm gone. If you hate me, I'll understand completely, because I know I'm in the wrong. If anyone deserves to be called a jerk, it's me.

Don't worry about me, and don't call the police. I just need some time to clear my thoughts.

Love you always,

Alvin.

"He didn't even mention my name. He still hates my guts by now, I know it," said Phelan. "This is all my fault." Panic was beginning to creep into his veins.

"Hey, it's not your fault, okay? We never blamed you for letting this happen," said Dave, still doing his best to remain calm. "Alvin made the decision himself, and we couldn't have done anything to stop this from happening unless we knew about it."

Phelan sighed. "What are we going to do? About Alvin, I mean."

Dave pulled a coat over him. "I'm going to check out the neighbourhood. You boys stay here in case he decides to come back."

"Still... can't we just call the police?"

"I don't think that's what Alvin would have wanted us to do," Simon pointed out. "Besides, a person has to be missing for exactly 24 hours or more before further action can be taken by the law."

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!

Dave went over and put an arm around his shoulder. "Phelan, I appreciate your concern for Alvin. But there's nothing more that we can do. I have to go, so I'm leaving you in charge of things. You're the big brother now."

Too queasy to handle the situation, Phelan ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. But it seemed that the demons he created had taken on more subtle forms to haunt him.

As he sat down to catch his bearings, a large picture caught his eye. From the looks of the background and the picturesque atmosphere, it was taken after one of the chipmunks' concerts. Dave was posing with his three boys, looking as proud as any father could ever be. And Alvin was the happiest of the lot, beaming from ear to ear in happier times.

And then there were all those medals and trophies displayed on the walls like priceless treasures: Alvin was football captain and best athlete of the year, Simon's diplomas and his trophies from countless science conventions, and pictures of Theodore's dishes stood proudly alongside the platinum albums and other awards.

They were one small but happy family, and now those ties that held them together had been ripped apart into shreds.

Phelan put his head in his hands and sighed into his knees.

Oh bloody hell. What have I done?

The last remnants of sleep took hold of him, and he slipped away from the backbiting reality, crossing into the threshold of dreams.

Once he picked up the crashing of the waves against the shore and the crunchy feeling of sand wedged in between his toes, Phelan felt at ease to lower his guard a little – he could always rely on the sanctuary of his little beach.

"Welcome back. It's been ages since we last spoke, don't you think?"

Startled, Phelan turned around. The sanctuary had been tainted by the foreboding presence of the dark being that appeared as he pleased in the eyes of his tormented.

"Don't you have anything else better to do?" Phelan growled. "Why don't you just get a life and stay out of my dreams!"

"Haven't you forgotten? Being two halves of the same wholesome, it is my privilege to be a part of your life as you are trapped in mine."

The dark chipmunk leaned back comfortably on thin air. Phelan was seized with a sudden urge to tip him out from his centre of balance. One push, one shove, anything to wipe the smirk off that smug and despicable face.

"By the way, that was pretty smooth – those moves you pulled off with that Miller girl. I didn't know you had it in you, you sly Casanova. Especially the part when you stood her up against your brother."

The other Phelan chuckled darkly, and Phelan was seized by a sudden suspicion.

He jabbed a finger at his other smirking self. "It was you! You did this to me!"

"Look, I'm not responsible for your raging hormones. You have no one but yourself to blame for expressing your unrequited love!"

"Unrequited? I love her, and she loved me in return!" yelled Phelan.

"Deny it all you want, my innocent pup. Has it ever occurred to you that she might have been –what's the phrase – lying through her teeth?"

The silence that came from Phelan was that of complete resilience.

"Open your eyes, Phelan! It's obvious she still has feelings for Alvin, and she's using you to get to him!"

"If Brittany wanted to get to Alvin, they wouldn't have broken up over me being the third party! I'm sick of you filling me with your endless lies!"

"So the pot calls the kettle black?" challenged the other Phelan. "Look at how much you've accomplished in seven days! All those hatred spewing from the concoction of your lies – and you did it without me standing in your way!"

"SHUT UP!"

Remembering how Alvin had viciously attacked him, Phelan clenched his fist and lunged at his other self. His punch connected with the other Phelan's right eye, and the dark chipmunk went down like a stack of dominoes.

But just as he felt his fur come into contact with his other self, a sharp surge shot straight up his senses, exactly at the eye in which he'd been punched. Phelan fell to his knees, doubled over in pain.

Now it was the other Phelan's turn to relish in the moment of hurt as he got to his feet.

"Why are you hitting yourself? It hurts, doesn't it? You're not the only one in command of your dreams – and it looks like you can't even control your body anymore."

"What are you talking about?" asked Phelan, but he looked at his arms as he spoke.

The sight which beheld him now took him by surprise.

Instead of the usual mahogany brown fur, they were now turning into a lighter shade of black – almost as dark as a panther's pelt.

"Our time is growing closer, my little chipmunk. Soon, I will be in possession of a whole new body once more, and you, you will never live to see it happen!" the other Phelan sneered maliciously.

"No! I won't let it happen, and you can't stand in my way!"

"And how do you intend to stop me? For I am the bane of the night, the king of shadows, the lord of the darkness!"

"Stay here forever in my world of dreams, where you'll be all alone with nothing to accompany you but your cowardice."

He picked himself up and walked towards the light; not once did he look back as the dark chipmunk called out behind him.

"Don't walk away from me, Phelan! I told you, you can't escape your destiny forever. You were meant to destroy everything you touch, because that is who you truly are – a destroyer of life!"

The shouting meant nothing to him, but in that split second before the dreaming and the awakening, Phelan could almost hear the dark chipmunk's final threats.

"I'll destroy you first, and then you'll destroy everything!"

Tensions were rising in the Seville household.

And Phelan was already accustomed to it even before he sat down in the dining room; his brothers and their counterparts gathered together to support each other in their darkest hours.

Simon heaved a loud sigh. "I can't believe I'm saying this. It's been three days since Alvin left, and still we haven't heard a single word. I don't know how much more we can take this."

Theodore choked back a tear in agreement. He didn't say anything, but Phelan knew that the situation was too much to handle, even for the green-clad chipmunk. What point is there in the grief of losing someone you cared for; compared to the agonizing torment of not knowing when will you see him again, or if he will even come back at all?

After a few seconds, Simon continued to speak. "I've never seen Dave so worried before. He coops himself in the house all day long, and the only time he ever goes out is to look for Alvin. If we go on like this all week, I don't think we'll be able to sign any record deals at all."

The girls could do no more than to reassure the grief-stricken brothers with the simplest act of company and the comfort of their hugs, which left a weight of guilt inside of Phelan as he asked the question he was dreading to hear its answers.

"How's Brittany?"

Jeanette shook her head. "Terrible. She won't eat, she won't leave her room, and she's blaming herself for causing the fight between you and Alvin."

"Yeah, and every time she sees something that's red in colour, she cries herself to sleep. That's really bad, considering you know what her surroundings looks like," said Eleanor.

As if he could feel the pink-clad chipette's sorrow clouding him, Phelan covered his face, almost ashamed of having to ask.

Theodore noticed something was amiss. "Are you okay, Phelan? You don't look too good."

I took the bull by the horns. I invited the wolves to dine with the sheep. Surely there must be some resentment burning in their hearts by now.

"How can you guys not be mad at me, considering all of the things I've done to hurt you and tear this family apart?"

Simon rolled his eyes, but his dry wit was immediately replaced by that of concern.

"For the last time, Phelan, no one blames you for these things! We never wanted them to happen as much as you do."

Eleanor nodded as she looked at Phelan. "You've got to stop beating yourself up. You're still our friend, but you're like our brother now, remember?"

"But I broke the sacred code of brotherhood! It's bros before-"

"Okay, I think we all get the point," Simon hastily cut in. He gave Phelan a quick sharp look before Theodore could even ask what the sacred code really was.

They sat there drowning in their silence, each one unable to come up with a plan to salvage what could be possibly saved.

It took the wolf-like chipmunk less than a second to decide his next move.

Simon put himself between Phelan and the back door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Look, sitting here and moaning about our misfortunes isn't going to get us anywhere! If we want to see Alvin again, the only way to do so is if we take matters into our own paws."

"But Dave said not to leave the house until-"

The blue-clad chipmunk never got to finish his sentence as Phelan snapped out of his nerves, turning to face each chipmunk with pent-up feelings of his own.

"Simon, I know you're the smart one, so why can't you figure something out? Has it occurred to you that our brother could be in danger! He wouldn't have walked out if it wasn't for me!

"Theo, would you go looking for your teddy if he went missing? I know he's not like Alvin or Simon or even me, but I've seen how much you care for him when you tuck him into bed at night! Don't you feel the same way for Alvin?

"Jeanette, Eleanor, I know this is too much for me to ask of you, but wouldn't you rather see Brittany be her usual cheerful self again? I've seen her with Alvin, and those are the happiest times of her life! Don't you ever cherish those moments you have with Simon and Theodore?"

The four chipmunks stood there dumfounded, unable to give an answer. Phelan took a deep breath.

"Look, do what you want, but I'm going out to look for Alvin. You can try to stop me, but I'll still insist on going, because that's what brothers do – they stand up for each other."

Simon gripped Phelan's shoulder. "Wait."

"Simon, I told you-"

"If you're going, then we're coming with you."

One look of beaming confidence from Simon, Theodore, Jeanette and Eleanor was all it took to lift Phelan's spirits.

"Thanks, you guys. I guess I owe you big time, huh?"

Fuelled with a new sense of determination, they headed out the back door.

"What the-" was all Phelan managed to say before he hit the ground.

Soron's fist balled and struck out against the other side of his face. As Phelan lay there writhing and moaning in agony, the silver-clad chipmunk was already upon him, throttling Phelan with his bare paws.

"I told you I'll kill you if you ever stepped out of line." The words came out clearly, but without the slightest hint of emotion. "Right from the start, I always knew you were a traitor."

"Oh, I guess that's new huh, moron! Where'd you get your sources from, ten years ago?" gasped Phelan, struggling to keep his voice even under all that external pressure.

"Your egotistical brother made it clear to me, as he was trying to escape from you."

There was no mistaking the shock in the chipmunks' gasps, but no reaction was greater than Phelan's as he flipped Soron onto his back, grabbed him by his hoodie and pinned him down.

"You saw Alvin? Tell me where he is!"

Soron's laughs came in dry hacks. "You fool, what's the whole point? I can tell you the truth, but he's probably in a different place right now! Heck, he might not even be there for all I care!" he scoffed.

Rage filled Phelan; a rage stronger than feeling trapped and being blind in the dark. Without taking a second to realize his actions, he bared his buck teeth and clamped down hard onto Soron's shoulder.

The screams that rang from Soron filled Phelan's ears with the sharp vibratos of music. He could sense the pain he was creating, but he drank it in as he put his foot down on the silver-clad chipmunk's arm, in which the chorus rang louder and stronger.

Phelan was so caught up in the symphony of suffering that he didn't feel the pressure of being pulled away as it took the strength of all four chipmunks to lift him off a weary Soron.

"Stop it, Phelan! What's gotten into you?" yelled Simon, trying to slap some sense into him.

Jeanette looked like she was going to pass out any moment.

"Oh my gosh, he's bleeding! Eleanor, get me the first aid kit under the sink! Theo, bandages! Simon, don't just stand there, help me!"

As the thoughts of his sanity came rushing back to him, a cold wave rushed down Phelan's spine as he realized the cause of the dark deed he'd done.

He ran his tongue over his teeth. His heart missed a beat.

Was it just his imagination, or did he really feel a prick from his rapidly developing canines?

Minutes later, Phelan and Soron were seated on opposite sides of the living room, but they were still threatening each other with deathly glares.

The chipettes were able to stop the bleeding on Soron's shoulder, now his arm was tightly wound in a sling. Phelan held an ice pack which he dabbed both his eyes with, wincing from the occasional numbness.

"Holy freaking nuts!" Phelan swore. "Why is everybody out to give me a black eye?"

"It's because you deserve it, you jerk," muttered Soron, and Phelan knew it was wise not to cross any more paths with this smart-aleck. At least, not for today.

As the chipmunks watched, Soron reached out with his good arm and caught the light of a nearby lamp onto his paw. He then transferred it to his bad arm, which now glowed a warm and brilliant orange. In a few seconds, Soron had taken off the sling and was now flexing his arm, as though nothing had jumped onto it.

"That's quite a display of photokinesis there," remarked Simon, clearly amazed. "Do you think you could work your healing powers onto our sorry brother over there?"

While his arm was as good as new, there was nothing different about the way Soron spoke. He still treated you like dirt. And he thought of himself as a new broom.

"In case you haven't figured it out, smart guy, I'm a chipmunk, not some miracle worker!"

Jeanette shot him a dirty look, while Simon shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, at least I did ask."

Thanks to Soron's unforeseen intervention, Phelan had to call off the rescue party and decided to wait with his brothers until Dave came home.

Usually, cooking was the only thing that brought joy into Theodore's life, yet nothing that came out from the oven seemed to have the tiniest spark of a life of its own.

The green-clad chipmunk's presence may have been in the kitchen, but it was clear that his mind was elsewhere.

"Hi Theo, I just came in to look for something to eat. All that fighting does make me hungry." Theodore's vague concentration jolted back with a flash as he saw Phelan about to reach out for one of his cupcakes.

"No, don't eat that! It's not perfect enough, trust me!"

"Theo, I can't possibly hold a grudge against your food."

And before Theodore could protest, Phelan had swallowed the cupcake whole.

He pulled a face. "That's a little sour, don't you think?"

For once, Theodore didn't seem to pay attention to any constructive criticism of his food, so Phelan decided to change the subject. "You miss him a lot, don't you?"

A silent nod was all in reply.

Phelan took a second cupcake and chewed on it slowly. After a few bites, the taste didn't seem so bad; there was still something that was sweet and hopeful about those cupcakes, just like the chipmunk that created them.

"I know you're worried about Alvin, Theo. So am I. But hey, that letter 'A' on his shirt doesn't just stand for his name. You know what else it stands for?"

"What?" asked Theodore.

Phelan smiled. "It stands for awesome, adventure loving and filled with adrenaline. Because that's how he always manages to keep out of trouble."

The two chipmunks laughed heartily over that little joke.

"Theo, I'm about to let you in on a little secret, okay? Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

Theodore's ears drooped. "Is it bad? I don't want to be hated on like you and Alvin."

"Don't worry; this is just between you and me. It's important that I tell you anyway."

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "But why?"

Phelan gave him a gentle pat and ruffled his hair a little.

"Because right now, you're about the only person I can fully trust. And don't tell anyone I said this, but you're my favourite brother."

"Oh... okay." A smile formed on the corner of Theodore's mouth as he leaned in closer to listen to what Phelan had to say.

And the rest of the conversation was lost in a series of whispers, gasps and silent nods.

The darkness closed in on him again, which strengthened Phelan's resolve to make that link with the minds of the subconscious once more.

It would be difficult, having to find the connection from a source that came from an unknown distance, but the search was effortless.

Phelan picked up an aura of red in the midst of blacks and blues, and so he delved deeper, hoping to find what he was searching for.

And at last, he found the source of it all...

There was a red-clad chipmunk huddled in the corner, his cap shielding his face. His face was buried in his knees as he wept in silence.

As Phelan reached out to comfort him, he froze as he saw a shadow slowly creeping up behind the crying chipmunk. Before he could shout out a warning, the darkness had pounced on him and engulfed him, carrying him off into the endless abyss.

And then, there was nothing left save the dins of terror that echoed through the wolf-like chipmunk's ears...

Phelan didn't remember screaming when he woke up, but his pyjamas were drenched in a cold sweat and his paws were gripping tightly onto the bed sheets.

Simon and Theodore were by his side, flashlight beaming in his face.

"We heard you talking in your sleep," said a worried Simon. "What is it?"

Phelan allowed himself to catch his breath. When at last he spoke, his voice was edged with determination as he grinned confidently at his brothers.

"I know where Alvin is."

To Be Continued...

So, what do you think was the secret Phelan told Theodore? And will they be able to find Alvin in time before something bad happens?

Tune in to the next chapter to find out! ;)

- Winddragon