Oh well hello my readers. Eager to get back to business?
Just so you know, I would have gotten this chapter up either right after or a day after posting the previous one. However, there was one review that made me decide to put it off. It was this review:
UM...YEAH. U JUST TOTALLY LOST ME THAT CHAPTER WHERE IS FLAKY? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER? ='( I JUST SKIMMED THROUGH THAT CHAPTER LOOKING FOR FLAKY'S NAME. COULD'NT FIND IT. I'M UPSET RIGHT NOW. - FXFCRAZIEZ
I don't need to explain why this review irritates me to no end, and it's why I kinda ditched you guys. It's just stupid - it's stupid to complain about a chapter not having your favorite character because the chapter might, oh well, I don't know, HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PLOT. I've decided I hate anonymous reviews. Well, specifically anonymous reviews that are like THIS, the ones I want to respond to but can't because they're ANONYMOUS.
Sorry. Instead of ranting about how much this review ABSOLUTELY ANNOYS ME, I suppose you've all suffered punishment enough. I give you chapter twenty-one of Blissfully Ill. I just hope you all have something intelligent to say about it if you have an opinion at all.
And also, Mr. or Ms. FXFCRAZIEZ, I suggest you go back and actually READ the last chapter because if you don't YOU WONT KNOW SHIT!
Alright, I'm done. Sorry. Go ahead and read.
Ignore Evil's spontaneous bouts of Spanish rage. ;P
"No me gusta la nieve. No me gusta el frío. ¿Por qué estoy haciendo esto? No he tenido quecaminar a través de esta agua congelada tanto desde el ataque contra los osos polares estúpido." Evil chuckled, shaking his head and repositioning the very large, very heavy bag on his shoulder. One hand was holding onto the bag, and the other was pulling a wheelbarrow full of food. The bear grunted, pausing for a second and then turning left. He'd re-entered the forest leading to the hospital-tree in a different direction and was relying on his internal compass to lead him back.
"Fucking osos. Nunca nos enteramos por qué estaban trabajando para General Tiger. ¿Cómo secontratar osos polares? ¿Sobornar a les? Probablemente podría darles algunos peces y seríabuenos. Stupid fucking osos polares. FUCK MIERDA HACE FRIO!"
Evil gritted his teeth together, trying to control his anger. He wasn't even sure why he was so pissed, but the reason must have been a good one because he'd been like this most of his trip. Maybe it was the feeling of being isolated in an abandoned town for nearly two days that reminded him of war, or the feeling that he got when scavenging – it reminded him of having to scrounge around for food back in the war.
Then again, maybe it was his sudden, irresistible urge to take something by the throat and slit it into ribbons. Just the thought made Evil's fur shiver in pleasure. He imagined his fight with the polar bears, one he'd gone through over and over again in Flippy's memories. He'd been up against this one really big guy, with bloodstains all over his blinding white fur, and Evil had the pleasure of breaking the creatures jaw, climbing into his stomach and then cutting himself out from the inside, effectively killing the bear in what was probably the most painful way possible.
Now, Evil wasn't one for such showy kills, but he liked to keep things interesting, and with so many idiots willing to run at you and get themselves skinned, Evil had to keep his creative juices flowing as to keep himself from getting bored. Besides, going into the bear's stomach was an interesting way to kill it and had driven a solid fear into all of the other polar bears (their fear made it easier to catch them off guard, and Evil had always enjoyed the smell).
Suddenly, Evil decided he wasn't going in the right direction. He turned right again, and after a few yards he was able to see one big, snowy clearing amidst the smaller trees. Instantly the green bear felt much better. He hurried out into the moonlit patch and grunted as he forced the wheelbarrow through the thick layers of ice and snow. For some reason the concentration of snow was at its worst here.
Approaching the front doors (which were open for some reason), Evil began to hear voices coming from inside. He first chalked it up to Flaky or Flippy trying to get food ready, or maybe Sniffles had woken up and was trying to get back to work (not that Flaky would allow it), but once Evil was about to climb inside with the bag of food, leaving the wheelbarrow behind for later, he saw the skunk girl – Petunia right? – shakily launching herself from the kitchen area and towards the front door.
Petunia paused when she saw Evil with the bag. The bear was standing still, half in and half out the door, when the skunk suddenly jumped at him. The bear took a step back in alarm. "Hey, hey, hey! ¿Estás demente? Dejar de tocarme!"
"Where is she?" Petunia demanded, her eyes sparkling with what looked like worry. At the volume of her question, others from the kitchen heard, and Flippy, Handy, and the chipmunk's mother all came out into the hallway. "Did you do anything to her?"
"No hacer nada! Yo a obtener alimentos!" Evil shoved past her and addressed Flippy. "¿Qué está mal? ¿Quiénes son todos ustedes en busca de?"
Flippy rubbed a knuckle against his temple and growled, "I can't understand Spanish, Evil."
"Oh yeah.Who are you all shouting about? I brought the food and it's sitting outside in the cold, so you might want to get on that."
"We can't find Flaky," Petunia said to him, her words bitter. Evil didn't spare her a glance and asked Flippy if she was serious, which she was.
"We've been looking everywhere for the past twenty minutes," Flippy said. "A few of us woke up because of a tremor. We thought there might have been an earthquake, but it ended after a few minutes. I came down here to check on Flaky – she fell asleep in the kitchen again – and she wasn't here. I checked all of the wards, her bedroom, and when Handy and Ms. Giggles started helping me we checked the basement, attic and bathrooms. She's not here. Petunia's been checking outside but it's too cold to go beyond the front."
Evil nodded, he couldn't argue with that. It was storming on his way back, in fact, though it had died down a bit since he'd returned. It was still dark out, and flurries of snow had stung against his fur. "You sure you searched everywhere?"
"Yes!" Petunia said. Evil finally bothered to glance at her and was surprised to find she'd been crying – her cheeks were stained and her eyes were bloodshot. She snorted, turning away in an attempt to hide her shame, but Evil didn't bother to say anything about it. He was simply surprised that the skunk seemed to care about anyone other than that hyped-up squirrel.
"I'll look around outside," Evil said. Flippy opened his mouth to protest, but Evil only ignored him and headed out the door. He gestured a hand to the large bag of food. "Handy, you get that. Flippy get the barrow down by the stairs. I'll search around the tree."
The bear with the large teeth grinned as he heard an indignant huff behind him, probably from the beaver, before he managed to slip away into the harsh outside world again. Snow instantly stung any exposed surface, but those were few other than his face. Evil had made sure to go out with thick networks of clothes all over his body, and though he'd stripped a few once entering the building he still had enough layers to keep himself relatively warm.
Evil went around the house counter-clockwise, checking the forests surrounding the clearing a few feet in, calling for the red porcupine. He'd been calm inside, but the bear was displeased to find that he was actually a bit worried about what had happened to the female. He was surprised as well to find her missing – she wasn't one to run away, he didn't think, though he had to admit she'd been under a lot of pressure lately. As Evil searched around he wondered what could have happened.
Sleepwalking? No, that had never come up before. Maybe she'd been kidnapped? But by what, Evil asked himself, mentally giving his thoughts a punch in the gut. That was just his battle paranoia starting up again. It seemed to get worse whenever he stepped outside.
Eventually Evil made it to the right side of the hospital, and there he saw something actually interesting. There seemed to have been a tiny earthquake, like Flippy said, because the large, stupid moose's truck was gone. At first Evil couldn't see it because snow had fallen into the hole, but as he draw closer he could see the front of it sticking out like a sinking ship from the ground. The bear ran closer. Pausing, he listened very carefully, through the snow and wind. There were sounds; they were dull thuds, cushioned beneath the inches of snow. Evil fell to his knees and began digging around the front of the truck.
The process was slow, as the snow had swiftly turned to ice beneath the coldness of the night and Evil had to use his machete to cut through the remaining layers. Once he got to the front window of the car, he could see what was making the noise.
It was Flaky. She looked battered and bloodied, her hands had bits of glass sticking out of the palms and wrists, and he saw deeps scratches going along her yellow underbelly, but it was her face which alarmed him most. She was the epitome of panic – her eyes were wide and her entire body was shaking. Tears were collecting at the edges of her lids as she pounded desperately against the glass. Something moved behind her.
Flaky finally noticed Evil, as if fear had been obscuring her vision. She called his name and he could hear it through the thin glass.
Just then the thing behind Flaky pulled – Evil hadn't seen it wrap a hand around her ankle, and Flaky screamed. She was dragged between the front seats, but she was using claws Evil had never seen to cling onto the passenger seat for dear life. Evil growled deeply in his throat and tried using his machete to break through the glass. The tip drove through, but it didn't shatter.
Flaky's grip slipped. She screamed again as she was dragged almost into darkness, tears streaming down her face. She was kicking, trying to wriggle out of the grasp of her capture, but Evil was shocked when a large, purple hand suddenly slid through and took hold of Flaky's long red hair. The porcupine tensed and the hand flinched away; she'd used the spikes hidden within her locks to denture the creature and kicked again. But the hand simply placed itself against her back and gently pulled her away from the seat.
Evil was punching against the glass now, and with each impact he could feel the glass give way beneath his fists. Just as Flaky's form was pulled into darkness, Evil's right hand finally broke through, and the bear tore it back out before throwing himself against the glass again, making sure to grab hold of his knife before doing so. His body weight crushed the glass below him, and the bear tumbled into the half-hidden vehicle.
Evil landed roughly between the two seats, but, ignoring any injuries from the glass, he twisted himself so that he fell between the front seats and slid straight down into the back of the truck. Bits of glass crunched beneath his boots as the bear landed beneath ground, and he looked up, green eyes flashing.
Flaky was being dragged away by the same oversized beaver that Evil had seen eating their food only a few nights ago. The creature heard him approach and made a groaning sound before picking Flaky up off the ground. Screaming, the porcupine's hair was sticking out in all directions, but the quills were simply too small to keep the beaver away. The creature placed her torso in his mouth and gently held it against his lips with this oversized teeth. Flaky was shaking too uncontrollably to try to fight back.
There was another creature, Evil saw, with a large club covered in ice. The creature was smiling, and as Evil approached, knife twirling in his right hand, the frosty creature charged, club swinging.
Evil used his machete to deflect the attack, and grabbed a fistful of the enemy's hair. He smashed his knee in to the opponents face and then used the blunt of his knife to knock the creature out, leaving him lying unconscious in the dirt behind him. Evil smirked, slowly walking towards the beaver which held Flaky in its jaws.
The beaver had gotten much larger since Evil had last seen him, almost by six feet, and hardly fit in the tunnel; it was hunched over, and the creature's mouth wasn't too high above Evil's head. Flaky was still struggling, but her efforts were sluggish and weak – she'd lost too much blood from the gashes on her stomach and Evil was aggravated when he saw the how pale she was slowly becoming. He needed to get her out fast.
The bear leapt, but the beaver was surprisingly swift and turned, hitting the bear with the side of his large tail. Evil crashed against the side of the tunnel; the window as knocked out of him and he was pretty sure one or two ribs had been broken beneath the massive weight. The war bear didn't give up, however, and skillfully threw his machete at the beaver's face, managing to catch it right in the eye.
The creature screamed in pain, effectively dropping Flaky from its jaws. The porcupine landed roughly against the ground on her stomach, but Evil was already up, pushing her onto her shaky feet. "Out, now! Tenemos que ir rápido!"
Flaky obeyed, and ignoring the pain they both hurried past the unconscious creature and back to the truck. Evil managed to push Flaky up first, and watched the porcupine climb through the front window first before starting his way up.
Only to have the stupid beaver wrap a massive paw around his waist.
"¡Mierda!" Evil turned to face the creature. The knife was still sticking out of his eyeball and bleeding heavily, but it didn't seem nullified – if anything, Evil had only succeeded in making it angry. The beaver growled lightly and tugged Evil away from the truck before scooping up his companion. The purple beaver turned and started for the end of the tunnel.
"Evil!"
"¡Corre!" Evil gritted his teeth but managed to make a shooing motion at Flaky before she left his vision. He shouted, "Get back into the hospital! Tell Flippy! Don't come after me!"
"Evil!"
"Do not come after me, Flaky!"
Evil allowed himself to be carried away, and Flaky's cries followed him down into the cold, where the darkness smelled of dust and wind.
I apologize if any of the Spanish phrases are inaccurate, but most are unimportant anyway...
Review, please, I'd love you forevah!