"You've got it all wrong! Please...let us explain!"
"Don't just walk away! Come back! Let's talk!"
"You can't do this! You just don't understand! Get back here!"
But try as they might, they just could not get Darling to come back. The mayor stick figure zoner had already made up his made, clearly. There was nothing that they could do to deter him from doing this. He already knew exactly what he felt about them and what should be done. There was nothing more that they could do except just watch him walk away from them as if they were nothing.
They couldn't help but glance at each other as they were left alone in here. They could feel their hearts racing against their chest, pounding heavily off the walls all around them. They could feel the weight of everything just pushing down on them relentlessly like a cinder block that was being lowered. And no matter what they tried, they just could not shake it off. Everything just became stiff and time was no longer recognizable to them. It was just one big blur and everything stood still.
They became chillingly aware of the fate that lay before them. They heard what Darling had said. They knew that they didn't have much time left remaining. If they wanted to live, if they wanted to have any sort of change of getting out of there, they needed to find a way to break themselves free. They needed to leave this place and get out of here as soon as possible. Biclops was right; this was not the best place to go.
But there was no time to feel guilt. Rudy knew that he and the others wouldn't make any progress if they did little more than just sit around, complaining and crying out in fear of what was to happen. And they definitely couldn't get out if they paid too much attention to the whole 'if only we did that' shtick. They needed a plan.
But...just how were they going to do that..? They had absolutely no way out of here. Rudy was not an idiot. These bars were not big enough to squeeze through or bend or break. None of them were particularly that strong. And he could not try to hope to draw anything; how would he be able to without any magic chalk? If only they had stopped by Biclops's place sooner... Now it was too late and now they were trapped here for who knows how long before the zoner would return, ready to kill them.
Kill... Rudy swallowed hard as he let that word hover over his mind. This was not the first time a zoner tried to kill him, although such a thing was still pretty rare. But it was the first time that it had more weight to it than just being one-sided. After all, he and Penny both had participated in this killing, whether they liked it or not.
Rudy thought back to all those zoners that they had killed. He recalled in excruciating detail how he had played the game. He recalled not really caring too much; it was all so nonchalant, so without care. He hadn't stopped to think about the stick figure. He didn't stop to wonder how the zoners in ChalkZone were afflicted. He just cared about the game. A game that was about killing someone for some stupid word... Rudy flinched at this. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to let himself live this down.
There was nothing that he could do to change this, however. He couldn't go back in time and stop himself from playing the game, no matter how guilt-ridden he got about it. The only thing he could do now was either try to escape, or plead with Darling to let them go.
Not that he would. Rudy had his doubts that he would be convinced now. Darling, at first, seemed to have wanted to offer them help, or at least be cooperative. He must have been believing that they could stop this from happening. He probably thought that he was paving the way for improved life for his people in Scrapbook City. This realization hit Rudy in his gut hard, causing a bitter taste to spread all through his mouth. It was this dawning realization that caused something to click in his mind.
Darling must have felt betrayed. And why wouldn't he? He probably had seen Rudy as some great savior of ChalkZone. But now he knew that Rudy's 'kind', his species, the ones that could use the magic chalk, they were the ones who had caused this for a game. Darling now knew that Hangman was just a 'children's game', something done for fun. And that must have really been a major blow to his psyche, especially when he probably made the connection that both Rudy and Penny had played this game as well. Darling must think that humans are sociopathic bastards who relished in tormenting others in rather gruesome ways. Darling must believe that creators don't really care about the well being of anyone else, and thus they aren't trustworthy.
Rudy realized, with a heavy heart, that he had just given Darling a reason to go after all creators should he have the power to do so. Oh no... It was worse than that... As his heart skipped several beats, he realized that it was not just Darling... Those stick figures, the Razorskulls.. If they heard about this, they would use it as further justification. They already believed that their creators were purposefully being jackasses to them. Now they had another reason to believe that.
No doubt Darling was going to ally himself with them. Not just him, but his entire city. Darling was now more than likely convinced that the Razorskulls were correct and no longer consider them rebels. Maybe it would not happen. Maybe it was just being paranoid. But there was nothing stopping Rudy from thinking that Darling would ally his entire city with the Razorskulls, aiding them in their conquest to make all creators pay. If they ever found a way into the Real World...
It was true that some of them would be knocked back. Real World water would erase them easily, and if it's raining, forget about it. But some of them would still make it. Some of them would still be able to land some kind of a blow. Some of them would be able to get their hands on some innocent human and do all kinds of terrible things to them.
And Rudy could not blame anybody but himself for that. This was all his fault. If only he had...
He should have just lied. He should have said something different. As disgusting as he'd feel afterwards, he should have lied. At least then, Darling would be an ally still and they would not have to worry about what an entire city of scarred, pissed off stick figures would do. At least they could have managed to hang onto them and convince them that they would help them out. The only thing the truth gave them in this case was more enemies, an inescapable prison, and looming death.
Oh gawd... what were they going to do now...?
Rudy put his back to the wall, feeling the urge to just slide down. The muscles in his legs felt incredibly weak. He was surprised that he was still standing. As he leaned against the wall, he turned his head to look at the others, biting his lip firmly. Seeing his friends like this did not make him feel any better. And he couldn't stop blaming himself for this.
Rapsheeba looked like an absolute mess. She still didn't seem to fully grasp this Hangman game, but what she did know was that they were about to be executed. She was crying and pleading to nothingness to get out. She must be having horrible flashbacks of what had been done to her, and Rudy couldn't help but wince at how she was looking at him and Penny. He could not tell if she was blaming them for this or not. But if she were, he would not really blame her for it.
Penny was doing her best to cheer her up. But the girl couldn't think of what to say. That really hit Rudy in the heart right there. If Penny could not think of what to say... He growled as he turned his head away, feeling his stomach churning. He could hear Penny continue to whisper soft words of comfort to Rapsheeba, but they were devoid of any strong meaning. There was not anything any of them could do. They were trapped and nothing would change that. Not unless some blooming miracle came and...
But weren't they giving up a little too easily? Shouldn't they at least...try? Rudy glanced at the bars before him, his eyes moving along them carefully. He hadn't really tried to do anything with them. He had not tried pulling the bars apart. He had not tried to push or yank the bars or anything like that. Sure he could not squeeze through them, but what if he...
That was just getting his hopes up too high. It was going to be nothing more than a huge waste of time. If he and Penny tried anything, they would not...
...but what of Rapsheeba? Would she fit?
Rudy glanced down at the zoner, staring at her, studying her carefully. He wondered... Would she be able to something? It seemed unlikely at first. He wondered if he was just being too hopeful, too unrealistic, too desperate to get out of here. What if this was all just a huge waste of time?
And yet... She did seem thin enough. She did seem like she would fit through if she tried. Maybe if he and Penny helped her through, they...
Or what if he was just being too optimistic again? What if he was just trying to...
Rudy shook the thought out of his head, feeling his stomach sink. He was just making things more difficult than they had to be. This wasn't like him. He didn't give up this easily. He and his friends always found a way out of sticky situations. This was not a completely hopeless situation. They had some time to figure out a plan. They still had time to get out of here. He needed to stop being so down in the dumps, fight against this pessimism, and find a way out of here.
Without another thought to himself, he pushed himself away from the wall and started to make his way over slowly. He watched and listened as Penny just managed to calm down Rapsheeba. His shadow casted over them, causing the two to freeze and look up at him. They looked startled for a moment before recognizing Rudy. They each let out a sigh, relaxing their tensed up bodies. Rudy felt some guilt at scaring them, but that didn't stop him from keeping his eyes narrowed at them, focusing mostly on Rapsheeba.
"Rudy, was it it?" Penny asked. "Why are you looking at Rapsheeba like that?"
"Yeah, man... I don't like it..." Rapsheeba admitted.
Rudy turned his head slightly, one eye on Rapsheeba, the corner of his other one noticing just the bare minimum of the bars, their shape and just slightly, their color. He got straight to the point. "Do you think you can try squeezing through the bars..?"
Rapsheeba blinked at this. "What? You want me to...?" She looked over at the bars, licking her lips rapidly. "Rudy, there's no way that I could..."
"Can you at least try?" Rudy cut her off, sounding a bit more firm than he had intended.
"I..."
"Please, can't you at least try?" Rudy felt his fingers arching a little, tension filling him up inside. "We don't have a lot of options... Please try."
Rapsheeba spent a few moments just staring at Rudy, looking unsure of how to react to this. Penny was also looking at Rudy, her eyebrows cocked, looking very confused. The two of them looked like they really wanted some answers, and were silently asking questions. Rudy, however, just looked back at them, his attention mostly focused on Rapsheeba, and just waited.
After what felt like several long moments, Rapsheeba finally decided to do something. Although still looking clearly confused, she made her way over towards the bars. She stopped in front of them, her hands on her hips, and looked at them up and down. After examining them for a short time, she looked over her shoulder and looked back at Rudy.
"I don't think I'd fit through."
Rudy gritted his teeth. "Oh come on..." He tensed his fingers up as he moved his hands down in a sweeping motion. "You haven't even tried! Just.. try to get through! Make the effort!"
"Rudy..." Penny moved in close, putting her hand on his shoulder. "If she says she can't do it, then..."
Rudy jerked his shoulder away and glared at Penny. The girl was taken a back, taking one small step away from him. Rudy was not about to let Penny deter him from trying what could be their only option left. If he turned out to be wrong, then okay. He would admit it. But he would only do that after an attempt was made. He looked back at Rapsheeba and, his eyes narrowing a little further, determination washing over his face, he nodded his head curtly. He stood there and waited for her to try.
Rapsheeba bit her lip as she looked back at the bars. She moved in closer, reaching out and grabbing them with her hand. She appeared to try to stretch them out a little. No surprise that it didn't work. Rudy growled at this. Was she purposely trying to delay this? All she had to do was just try to push her way through the spaces. How fucking difficult could that be?
Apparently quite, considering Rapsheeba was still pacing back and forth after a few minutes, trying to figure this out. She hadn't even tried to move her arm between the bars; she just stood there and stared, as if nothing was coming to her mind. It was enough to make Rudy grit the sides of his head nearly to the point of bleeding. He couldn't believe how slow Rapsheeba was being. What the heck was she afraid of? She had seen him grab the bars before, right? What the fuck could possibly happen?
It seemed to take forever longer before Rapsheeba even tried to go through the bars. She put her arm through slowly and she got up to where her arm was fully out... only to move back in quickly, holding her arm to herself. She bared her teeth nervously as she looked down the hallway, her eyes darting left and right.
"Oh come on...! What kind of an attempt was that?!" Rudy snarled.
Penny shot him a glare. "Don't push her so hard, Rudy."
Rudy glared right back at her. "Need I remind you that we don't have much time left? We can't just..." He raised his hands up, fingers bent almost like claws. For a brief moment, he almost felt like slashing something like he were a wild animal. It took him a while before he could settle himself down, preventing himself from going too crazy. But the energy was still there and it needed a way to exit out of him. "We have to get the fuck out of here! If we wait around for her to try to go through the bars, then we will die!"
Rudy panted a few times, trying to settle himself down. He had not meant to yell that loudly. He did not mean to sound so...so... He wasn't sure what term to use. He just knew that he might have laid it a little too thick there. And judging from the expressions the others were giving him, he might have thought correctly. Penny was glaring harshly at him while Rapsheeba was rubbing her arm and looking away, looking as though she were ashamed of herself.
A part of Rudy wanted to apologize. He wanted to let them know that he was just being desperate. They didn't know when Darling would be back and he knew that when they were, they would stand little chance of escape. And yet at the same time, his determination and focus to leave overridden his logical side. The only thing he could think of doing, fueled by tension and fear, was just getting out as soon as possible. And if that meant being a little harsher than usual, then so be it.
Rudy did not wait for another answer. He did not wait for them to reply. He was tired of just standing there, doing nothing. The only thing that he cared about was just getting out of here by any means necessary. Since Rapsheeba seemed a little hesitant in trying to leave, then he would just have to offer some help.
A low growl escaping his mouth, Rudy made his way over towards Rapsheeba. He ignored Penny's statements for him to stop. He ignored Rapsheeba's questioning cries. He just went over to her, his hands tightened in fists, his mind filled to the brim with grim thoughts of what could happen to them if he did not do this. He soon had her cornered, the singer zoner backed up against the bars, nearly hyperventilating. Her fear-filled face did not trigger anything from him. He was far too caught up in his determination to take note of what she was doing. Then, finally, he grabbed onto her.
"R-Rudy...! What are you doing?!" Rapsheeba cried out in horror. She instinctively struggled. "U-Unhand me...!"
Before Rudy realized what he was doing, he lifted Rapsheeba up from the ground and then thrusted her against the area between the two closest bars. He managed to get her partially through, but she was still not in all the way. She still had about half to go, and then her head. He let go of her so he could reposition himself. He lifted up his foot and, despite Rapsheeba's pleas for him to stop, he pushed his foot against her body, practically kicking her further out.
Now only her head remained. Rudy narrowed his eyes as he grabbed onto it roughly. He tried to push on it as hard as he could, trying to force it through. He could hear Rapsheeba's repeated cries of pain, but he paid no attention to them. He had to get this darn head through. After that, Rapsheeba could...
"Rudy! Stop it right now! Let her go! Don't you see what you're doing?!"
Rudy jerked at the sudden shout from Penny. He had never heard her screech that loudly before. He turned his head just in time to see Penny rushing at him. She grabbed onto him and started to push him away. He instinctively tried to fight back. Penny's higher strength prevailed and she soon found himself on the ground, groaning a little in pain. He looked up at Penny, his mouth open and eyes narrowed as he was about to ask what she was doing. But she beat him to the punch.
"What is with you?! This isn't like you! Look at what you've done to poor Rapsheeba!" Penny motioned her hand towards the singer zoner.
When Rudy looked over, that was the first time in the past several minutes that he really, really began to notice what Rapsheeba was doing. He took notice of how she was still only in the cage by her head, the rest of her body out. He noticed her scared facial expressions, the tears staining her cheeks, the low sobs and whimpers that were coming out of her mouth. He could see she was trembling as she was trying to get her head unstuck, but no matter what she did, she just could not get free. She was trapped like that.
Slowly, Rudy's facial expression softened up, becoming loose for a moment before horror began to wash over his face. He listened to Rapsheeba's crying and he stared at her predicament. The one that he had pushed her into. He took in a few rapid breaths as the realization dawned upon him and he could feel his blood running cold. His own body began to shake, his hands tingling, his mind racing.
"I-I didn't...I mean..." He swallowed hard, his eyes bulging wider than they ever did before. "Oh my gawd.. R-R-Rapsheeba.. I'm... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to... I never wanted to..." He closed his eyes and took a step back. He turned his head to the side. "I'm so very sorry."
Penny marched towards him, her body tense. The very air around her was... Rudy moved back a little more when she got too close. With her body straightened up, as though trying to make herself look taller, she growled, "Just what the heck did you think you were doing?!"
"I-I.." Rudy tried to say.
"That's right! You weren't thinking!" Penny pointed accusingly at him. Rudy flinched and he tried to turn himself away and head towards Rapsheeba. Immediately, Penny got in front of him, blocking his path. Rudy nearly jumped and he took a few steps back from her, staring at her with widened eyes. She bared her teeth and growled at him, "Don't bother. I'll take care of her."
Rudy didn't say anything as he watched Penny head on over to Rapsheeba to help her out. Rudy didn't say a word. What could he say? He understood why she was upset. He felt disgusted with himself. He didn't bother trying to do anything about it. He allowed himself to become entangled with his nausea as he slipped to the ground, to horrified by his own actions to do anything at that point.
Oh gawd, Rapsheeba... What the hell had he done to her...? How could he do that to her...? How could he treat her that way..? He bit his lip firmly, almost breaking his own skin. He could feel hot tears forming in his eyes as he stared down at his trembling hands. Had he really just... He was just desperate... Wanting to get out. Was that wrong? Well he still ended up hurting one of his friends and...
"Oh no... Oh my gawd..." Rudy whispered in a low voice. He put his hands to his face and trembled harder. "Oh gawd no..." He became silent, and soon the room was filled with Rapsheeba's crying, Penny's reassurance, and had the echoes of Rudy's own guilt.
sss
Randar peered over the corner of the hallway. His eyes darted left and right as he tried to see if there was anybody coming through, if anyone was looking this way or not. He was able to see a group of zoners standing around, discussing things amongst each other. Slowly, Randar moved in closer, turning his head to the side so that he could hear what was being said.
"I can't believe they did such a thing."
"I knew that brat couldn't be trusted!"
"Settle down. Darling knows what to do."
"Yeah, he'll make it better."
Randar narrowed his eyes at this. They must be referring to the human hostages. He had caught wind of it just a few minutes ago. He and his comrades were just sitting down, having a nice drink, when the announcement came over the intercom system. Apparently Darling wanted to execute these humans and their zoner buddy on accusations of attempted murder or something like that. He didn't know for sure if this was the case or not. But he did know that, as silly as Darling could be at times, he would not joke about this.
Randar gritted his teeth tightly, trying to keep himself from from rushing over and demanding more information. He didn't want to get himself into trouble. And he didn't want to make such a commotion that his pals find out. They probably would not appreciate what he was doing. They were busy talking with their families and expressing fear and horror. Which was understandable, given the situation. But as for Randar himself? He had a different view that he was certain others were not going to like.
He could hear the zoners talking more. Their voices were so filled with emotion. Anger, hate, fear, sorrow... They were all there, and they weren't getting any weaker, no matter what they would try. This just made him form a tighter fist with his hand, feeling even more determined than ever to succeed.
"So what does Darling want us to do?"
"He will prepare things. Then he wants us to help him bring those monsters to the execution room."
Randar widened his eyes at this. The execution room? That place? Was Darling really going to... He shook the thought out of his mind. He shouldn't be surprised. That guy had gotten some level of paranoia in him lately. He had seen one too many dead bodies and he was getting desperate. If he were allowed to continue, he would more than likely go through with this.
That is...unless he himself intervened.
It was going to be a risky thing. He knew what would happen if he were to get caught. He knew that if he slipped up just once, he could end up in that execution room as well. But he was not going to just sit here and take this. He had enough of these zoner's attitudes about this and he wanted it to stop. There was no reason to kill those humans. Even if they had something to do with the dead bodies, he was certain that it was just circumstantial. He would rather ask them than just take the word of his paranoid leader.
But if he was going to do anything, if he was going to have a chance at this, he was going to need to act quickly. There was not much time left. He knew that Darling would want to get this done quickly, but at the same time, he also knew that Darling would want this to be public. So he would delay things as he sets it all up. While the mayor did that, he could take this chance to go find those three and get them out of here. Perhaps even talk to them if it were at all possible.
Perhaps he should consider this for a moment. Perhaps he should stop and think about what he was about to do first. It might be a good idea if...
No, there was no time. If he didn't do something now, then it was going to be way too late to do anything. He needed to get those people out pronto. He just...didn't know how he was going to do it. He had to think of something and fast. Would anyone help him? He had his doubts. He did not think anybody in this city trusted those three. They would rather see them captured and dealt with. But surely there was some way to...
Hmm... that just might work. He was well aware that there was something else to this city that he knew, but not a lot of people did. Something that just might give those three an edge in surviving this. If he could get them out, then he just might be able to lead them there and they could escape. He just had to be quick about it so that no one figured out what he knew. If word got out, then those three could be chased down and he himself would be charged with treason. He was taking a huge risk for these people that he didn't even know.
But it was all in the name of trying to help his city. He was trying to stop a horrible mistake from being done. He wanted this senseless violence to stop. He wanted the city to wake up and realize just how terrible Darling has been lately. He has made poor choices that were either on one end of an extreme.
His first plan? Pretend everything was all right and be happy.
And now this plan? Kill off these three without a fair trial.
It was all so disgusting. Radar could not believe that anybody would elect somebody like him as mayor. It made him grit his teeth, his blood burning, that anyone thought it was a good idea to let him continue to run this place. Did they not see what they were doing? Did they not see what they were allowing?
Apparently not. If they did see this guy for how disgusting he really was, they wouldn't have let this happen for so long. They would have done something. They would have ejected this guy out of here. They would have made sure that he couldn't make another big decision again. They needed a better leader for this place. But...he had no idea who. The only thing that he could do right now is just...
He looked down the tunnel once more, narrowing his eyes deeply. He knew that those guys were down there somewhere. He knew that if he took this tunnel and made all the correct turns, that he would find them. Once he did, he would get them out. Then he would expose Darling for the fraud that he truly was. This nonsense was going to end here and now. He was tired of this bullshit.
But he needed a way to get them out. How was he going to do that? He needed some kind of a key. Without that, then there was little way that he could help them escape.
He narrowed his eyes. He would find a way.
Somehow.
sss
Penny had no idea how much time had passed since that incident had occurred. And right now, she did not really care. She was focusing on doing what she could to help out Rapsheeba. The poor zoner was quite scared and frightened. And why wouldn't she be? Rudy had gone too far.
Penny gritted her teeth and tried to shake off her anger towards Rudy. She wouldn't do herself any favors if she tried anything with Rapsheeba while she was furious. Oh gawd, that would be quite the disaster. She bit her lip as she looked at this situation up and down, examining it from every angle that she could think of. And the more she looked at it, the more she realized that...yeah this was definitely going to be a problem. How was she going to get Rapsheeba out of this?
She at least managed to calm her down, so that was good. Rapsheeba was wriggling around way too much and that was only going to get her more stuck and that's not what Penny wanted. Oh gawd no. She didn't want Rapsheeba to hurt herself. It would be even worse if she accidentally choked herself or broke her neck or something. Penny didn't know if she would be able to forgive herself if that happened.
And she wasn't sure if she could forgive Rudy so quickly. She couldn't believe just how angry and forceful he had become. This was not like him at all. She would not be surprised if he was just as shocked as she was. But that did not mean that she was any less angry about this. Rudy should have known better. Rapsheeba was pleading with him to stop. Did he not hear her? Was he really so...
Grr... She didn't have time for that anyway. She needed to try harder on figuring out how to help Rapsheeba get her head unstuck from here. She looked all around once more, trying to get an idea of the situation.
Rapsheeba's body was fully out. But her head was still stuck. It was wedged in pretty good, and with the way that it was, it would be very difficult to push her the rest of the way out and even pulling her back in. Penny could feel her heart twisting at this realization. Poor Rapsheeba... It was horrible that something like this had to happen to her. She had already been through so much and...
Well she was going to get her out somehow. There had to be a way to...
She suddenly froze, her eyes widening up. She felt as though she had been struck in the face with a brick as a realization came to her. She could not believe that she hadn't thought of this sooner. She could feel her mouth wetting already as she stared at the bars, the thoughts dominating her mind. That was right. She could...
Penny leaned forward, trying to act now before her mouth became too dry. She gripped into the bars tightly for balance and she began to use her tongue to slowly lick away at the bar. At first, there didn't seem to be any results other than Rapsheeba whimpering and trying to move away, and there was some steam rising up. Well that explained the wriggling. Penny kept on going though, hopeful that something would come about this.
And her patience turned out to be worth it. As she licked the bar, more and more of it began to be eaten away by her saliva. It was not as efficient as, say, water. But it was still something, and continuing to do this yielded more and more results. The bar was gradually growing thinner, losing its thickness and strength. As she was able to move further away from Rapsheeba, Penny began to lick harder and faster, trying to speed up the process a little.
And then, finally, the bar broke. It clanged against the ground, and it took a few seconds before she and Raspheeba realize what had happened. They just stared at one another in shock before Rapsheeba even tried to move her head. Slowly, but surely, Rapsheeba pulled back away, signs of relief etched all over her face.
"It... It worked..." Rapsheeba whispered softly. She moved her hands all over her head, massaging it and pushing at it at different angles gently, as though making sure that she really was free. "It really worked..." She looked at Penny, her eyes twinkling with delight and relief. "Thank you..."
"You're quite..." Penny was taken aback when the zoner suddenly latched onto her tightly. Penny remained frozen for a while before she moved her arms around her and pulled her close. "..welcome."
She stayed like this for a while, holding onto Rapsheeba. She didn't try to say anything else. There was no need right now. She just wanted to cradle her and reassure her that it was all fine and good now. She could feel the zoner still trembling against her, serving as a reminder that Rapsheeba was still mentally damaged from all of this, so scared and frightened. It would take a while before she would calm down completely.
But the good news was she was safe now. She was no longer stuck. She was no longer trapped here against her will. She was free.
...wait a minute...
Rapsheeba was free...
Penny pulled back away from Rapsheeba to take a good look around. Rapsheeba raised an eyebrow, confused by all of Penny's maneuvering around, like she was trying to see something. Rapsheeba's small voice filled her ears, but Penny did not react just yet. She was too busy fully realizing the situation they had on their hands now.
Rapsheeba was out of the cage... And if she's out of the cage, then that meant that...
"Rapsheeba, you have to go find help!" Penny cried out.
"Wh-What..?" Asked a perplexed Rapsheeba. "Wh-Why do you want me to..."
"There isn't much time! Just go now, please!"
"But there's no reason to..." Rapsheeba started to say.
Penny stared at the zoner in shock, unable to believe what she just heard. "What do you mean there's nothing to..." Penny tried not to do what Rudy did. She tried her best not to lose her cool and get too desperate. She pointed out behind Rapsheeba, jerking her hand, hoping that the female zoner would get the point. "You're free now! Why aren't you running for help?"
"Well because..." Rapsheeba looked over at the tunnel before slowly turning back and staring at Penny. "You're free, too."
"No I'm..." Penny suddenly froze as she took a moment to look around. It took a while before it dawned on her. But then it clicked in her head and she took in a sharp gasp as she finally realized that Rapsheeba was correct.
They were all free.
Penny couldn't believe that she had been so focused on getting Rapsheeba to find some help that she had failed to notice the fact that the removal of one bar had made an opening wide enough for even her and Rudy to fit through. She stared at the opening, blinking her eyes slowly, and then started down at Rapsheeba, who smiled back at her, nodding her head. Penny didn't say or do anything for several moments. It was just...all so much to take in at once.
Penny realized that they were free now. She, Rapsheeba, and Rudy could get out of here and flee. They still had time. None of the zoners had started to come back here for them yet. If they run now, they would have a chance to get out.
But where do they run to? That was the question. She didn't know which path they should take. She didn't know which way would lead them to freedom and which way would be a dead end. There was no map here and they could not ask for help. They had only themselves to rely on. She cursed to herself. Why hadn't they tried to get a map earlier? They didn't think to do that apparently and now they were going to pay for it. She refused to believe they were out of options though. She just needed to think harder on this situation. Something would come of this. She just knew it.
She stiffened up when she heard the sound of footsteps beginning to approach. She swung her head over and tried to figure out where it was coming from. She noticed Rapsheeba was looking around as well. The sound came back, more clear than before. Did Rudy hear this too? He must have, though Penny couldn't bring herself to look over her shoulder to find out. So instead she just focused on looking out this way. And slowly, surely, steadily, the sound got louder and louder and louder...
And then she saw the shadow on the wall.
Penny's heart nearly stopped at this. Oh no... Someone was already coming.. She remained frozen for a few moments before the situation finally caused her mind's gears to turn. She shook her head once and she felt her feet wobbling. She took in several quick breaths. They had to get out of here. Now.
Penny turned her head to where Rudy was. She was about to say something when she noticed that he hadn't really moved at all. He was still curled up against the corner, and it looked like he didn't even realize there was anything going on. Penny narrowed her eyes at this before marching forward. She reached out and she grabbed onto Rudy's arm firmly.
"Get up, Rudy! We have to get going!"
But there was no response. She hissed softly and she started to pull on him harder. There was no way that she was going to let Rudy get away with feeling sorry for himself right now. This was not a good time for him to be beating himself up over this.
"Rudy, get your ass up!" Penny shouted at him. She saw that he was still not responding, prompting her to grip his shoulders and shake them. "Rudy! Get a move on!" She could hear the footsteps getting closer. She began to pull him harder...
...and then she froze in shock when Rudy just sort of tumbled to the ground. She let out a loud gasp of shock as she jumped back, her heart pounding in her chest. She took a few seconds to register what happened, and she stared at the boy's crumpled body by her feet. He was still not moving, and she only just now noticed that he didn't seem to be breathing right either. All of a sudden, her anger towards him melted away, becoming replaced with pure horror.
"R-Rudy...?" Penny whispered, sounding more gentle than she had before. She reached over and she gently shook him by his shoulder. "Rudy, c-come on now... Wake up..." She gave him another gentle shake, hoping to get some kind of response from him. "Rudy, you have to get up... Come on, please..."
"Wh-What's wrong with him...?" Rapsheeba asked as she approached slowly. "Why isn't he...?"
Penny stared at Rudy's unmoving form for several seconds. She could feel a heaviness weighing down on her shoulders, feeling as though something was going to break. She took in a trembling breath as she shook her head slowly. "I-I don't know.." Her voice cracked as she said this. "I really don't know..."
Penny couldn't stop staring at Rudy, her mind continuing to spin around in circles. She tried to think of what could be wrong with him. It had all happened so suddenly. She didn't know if it related to their argument, his previous fury, if some external force did anything... She just had no fucking clue. The only thing that she was aware of was that someone was rapidly approaching and her best friend was laying on the ground, not moving a muscle. It happened to fast that even now, she had a hard time processing it.
But she had little time to do that. If they just stood around here doing nothing... She lifted her head up and she looked over her shoulder, glaring at the tunnel where the sound was coming from. Well if that guy wanted to get Rudy, they were going to have to go through her first. She was not going to let anything happen to him...or to Rapsheeba either.
Without saying a word, Penny crawled up onto her feet, her eyes narrowed into slits. She glared in that direction for a few moments before she started to move on out. She squeezed through the bars, ignoring Rapsheeba's cries of confusion, asking her what the heck was going on. Penny took a few steps forward in front of her and she stood there firmly, her hands slowly spreading out. She was going to make sure that she was the first person these people saw. And she was going to make sure that they knew that if they were to try to get to her friends, she was going to put up a fight.
As she stood there, she could see the shadows moving along the walls. She stiffened up, sucking in a deep, sharp breath. She tensed her body up, every muscle poised to attack if she had to. She tried to make herself look taller, hoping that this would at least delay an attack, even stop it if she were lucky. She knew that she stood little chance against a whole group of stick figures. But darnit, she was going to give it her all.
Then the shadow seemed to cave into the form of a single person. Penny felt her body loosen up a little. If it were just one person, then maybe she stood some chance against them. But... No, she still needed to remain on high alert. She didn't know these stick figures. She didn't know what they were capable of. It was best if she stayed prepared, just in case that...
Soon the figure came into full view. A lone stick figure standing not far away from her. Tired-looking and panting, as though he were running. He was holding some kind of item in his hands, and he was staring right at her. For whatever reason, he froze, stopping in his tracks. He looked at her up and down, and they just...stared at one another. Penny half expected someone to be coming around the corner. But the longer she waited, the more that nothing happened. Was this guy really alone?
Penny stared at the stick figure before her. Just as with the others, there was little variation to him aside from maybe being a little taller and skinnier than the other stick figures she had seen. He also seemed to lack the same level of hostility, although she didn't know if that was supposed to comfort her. He might just be really good at hiding his intentions.
"What the...?" The stick figure was the first one in the area to break the silence. "You mean I didn't have to..."
Penny spoke up, cutting him off. "You're not going to get to them!"
The stick figure seemed a little startled by her shouting. He instantly moved back away from her, his eyes scanning her body up and down as though trying to figure out what was going on. He soon narrowed his eyes and he growled, "So is this the thanks I get for trying to rescue you?!"
"Rescue us...?" Asked Rapsheeba.
"Yes!" The stick figure held up his hand. In it, a key was very clearly visible. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get this thing?! And to think you didn't even need my help in getting out of that wretched cage.. Ugh..." The stick figure slapped himself in the face and shook his head. He looked rather defeated for a moment, as though he must have run all that way with that much urgency for nothing. Then the stick figure looked over at Penny once more. "Well I suppose there's no use crying about it." He said with a sigh. "We should get going. The others will be here very soon."
Penny couldn't help but glare at the zoner. "Now hold on here... We don't know who you are. How do we know that you're really here to help us out?" She cocked her head to the side, her lip curling upwards in the process, growling deeply. She recalled how they were treated before with such bitterness. She was not going to let this zoner win her trust so easily. "Give us one good reason why we should trust you."
The stick figure stared at her long and hard, his eyes narrowed as well. He didn't look angry. More like just frustrated and wanting to get a move on. The stick figure looked behind him for a moment, probably hearing encroaching footsteps. Then he glared back at her and lowered his head slightly. He gave her a stern upwards glare that she found difficult to turn away from. His next words were few but cutting. "Because I'm the only chance that you've got."
Penny blinked at this, and she soon realized that he was right. That didn't mean that she felt comfortable with this idea. But if this zoner really did come over to help and if he was really going to get them to safety...
Well, this did seem like a better option. It was either stay here and risk getting dragged to their deaths without any hope of escape...
...or she could take the risk and go with this guy. At least with this stick figure zoner, they may stand some chance of getting out of here alive.
"A-All right then... We'll go with you..." Penny said. She narrowed her eyes a little further as she added, "But I'm going to keep an eye on you. One wrong move and..."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hurry it up!" The stick figure zoner sounded a little more urgent than before. He was moving his hands faster as he looked from him to Rapsheeba. "Get your legs moving so we can run! And...where is your other friend? Wasn't there a third person here?"
Penny looked over her shoulders as she stared at where Rudy was. She felt her teeth pressing against her lip, her heart skipping several beats. Rudy still didn't look any better, nor had he moved at all on the ground. For a few moments, she forgot her uncertainties with the stick figure and she could only think of what had happened to Rudy. He was still breathing at least, but it didn't look good still. She wished she knew what was wrong with him. She wished that...
"Well?" The stick figure cut her out of her thoughts. He put one hand on his hip while the other motioned to her. "Is he there or not?"
Penny didn't even try to talk back to the zoner. There was no point to. She couldn't allow herself to become so angry about this, especially when they had something more serious to worry about, and that was getting them all out of here. So instead of replying, Penny turned around and walked back into the cell. She ignored the stick figure's shocked cries at this, likely believing that she was choosing to give up rather than go for a possible escape route.
Penny soon reached Rudy and she reached out and gently touched his face. She caressed it carefully, looking for any sign of movement, anything to indicate that he was still with her. But all she could see was a still, unmoving body that seemed to only be just barely breathing. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. Had she caused this? Did she make it worse? Was this all brought on by the stress of the situation? She really hoped that this wasn't the case, but then...it's not like anything was going to make this better. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know the truth.
She shook her head, snapping back to reality. She realized that she had wasted too much time just staring at Rudy. She also realized that, if he was not going to get up, then she was just going to have to do something to make him move on her own. She was not going to just stand around and waste time trying to awaken what was possibly a seriously injured Rudy. So she lowered herself down, pushed her arms underneath his body, and she lifted him up. Cradling him in her arms, she turned and slowly walked out of the cage.
"It's about time you came out of there..." Growled the stick figure. He motioned quickly with his arm. "Now come the fuck on!"
Penny glared at the zoner, but she said nothing. She knew that he was right. This was no time to just stand around and diddle dally. She would have to save any of her distrust or uncertainty of this particular zoner later. She turned her head and she gave a quick nod to Rapsheeba. Then she returned her head to look in front of her. Without any further hesitation, she, and long with Rapsheeba, began to move quickly down the hallway, following close behind the stick figure zoner.
Penny kept Rudy pressed up against her, looked down at him sadly. She hoped that they would figure out what was wrong with him and soon. She could not bare to see him like this. What if he wouldn't wake up at all...? She shook the thought out of her head. He would wake up. He just needed time.
Yeah, only time...
sss
Snap watched Zibble carefully. He wanted to say something to her. Anything... He wanted her to know how sorry that he was. He wanted her to understand that he had never meant for any of this to happen. But it didn't seem like she was going to listen to him. She was busy keeping her arms folded and keeping her back turned to him, showing no sign or interest in wanting to hear him out.
Though frustrated, it wasn't like Snap could blame her that much for being this angry. He could understand why Zibble would feel so betrayed by him. Just because Blotz was more understanding, that didn't mean that Zibble was going to be the same way.
But he still wished that she would at least try to see things his way. He wished that she would give him more of a chance to explain himself. He wished that she would see that this was not some big grand scheme to betray her. He really did still care about her, and Blotz, and Rapsheeba... He would never truly turn against them. Yet here she was, blaming him like he was a permanent enemy. He bit his lip at this, feeling his stomach churning in his stomach. What evidence did she need to understand that he didn't mean to...
He let out a sigh. It was useless. She was never going to listen. He pushed himself away, flinching at his pain, and leaned up against the wall. He blinked his eyes, oh sorry, eye, slowly, as he contemplated his situation. Trying to shake off the pain was difficult enough, but the biggest wounds were mental.
He remembered what had happened. Thanks to talking to these two, well mostly Blotz, he managed to regain the memories of what had happened before. And he was utterly terrified of what had taken place. He licked his lips slowly, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He still had trouble believing that he had given away information to save his own skin. Granted, he was in a lot of pain and not thinking clearly, and he was still quite firm about not really betraying his friends. It was more... he was forced to do something in order to... He wasn't even sure how to finish that sentence right now.
He flinched when he felt a jolt of pain against his face. He put his hand there, rubbing up and down carefully. He flinched as his damaged eye still stung him horribly. He looked down at his hand. Well at least he was not bleeding anymore. Though that was of little comfort to him. What if he never regained sight in this eye again?
He struggled to push that thought aside for the time being. There was little reason for him to keep dwelling on that matter right now. Especially when he had no idea what was going to happen to them. He didn't know what the stick figure zoners wanted with him, now that they already got the information squeezed and beaten out of him. But what if Zibble and Blotz? Weren't they only put in here temporarily? When would the stick figures come back for them? And what would they do if they keep refusing to talk? He swallowed bitter bile as the thought hovered over his mind.
Well, at least they still had a little bit of time. They might as well use this time to try to think of a way to...
He had spoken too soon. In a matter of moments, the sound of foot falls filled the air.
Snap narrowed his eyes as he turned his head, watching as the stick figure zoners approached slowly. There were at least five of them. Possibly six or seven. It was hard to count at this angle. The stick figures were not look at him. Just as he had feared, it was clear that they were here for Blotz and Zibble.
Blotz had moved closer instinctively to his sibling, or creation-mate, whichever term he happened to use. He took a protective posture in front of her. Zibble, on the other hand, still looked like she was trying to ignore what was going on. But judging from how she was starting to shake, it was made quite clear that she was all too aware of what was going on. She looked absolutely frightened under the shadow of these stick figures.
"Time's up..." Said one of the stick figures. "I hope you two will be more cooperative now. It would be a darn shame if you still refuse to listen."
"G-Go away...! I-I mean it...!" Blotz snarled as he spread his hands outward, trying to block access to Zibble. This did not really have the result that he wanted, given how the stick figures just looked at each other before breaking into a laugh. Blotz growled at this, narrowing his eyes, but he didn't attempt to fight them. He knew that he would lose.
"Ain't this sweet? He's protecting his little girlfriend!" Taunted one of the stick figures.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Shouted Blotz.
The stick figure sneered. "Well she is a girl, right? And she is your friend?" He held his hand up in gesture at this. "That sounds like a 'girlfriend' to me."
Blotz's teeth grinded across one another. "She's my sister!"
If that was going to deter the stick figures from their taunting, Blotz found out the hard way that this was not the case. Instead of backing down, the stick figures made mock shock faces, hands to their mouths and looking at one another. Some of them had sly smiles etched onto their faces. It was enough that Snap wanted to punch them, but he was in too much pain to even think of getting up, let alone try to attack.
"Oh ho ho! So you're into incest, are you?" A third stick figure jeered. "Your friends must be so proud of you!"
"What...?" Blotz was taken aback by this statement. Realizing exactly what the stick figures were implying, he shook his head and shot his fists downward at his sides, trembling hard. "Th-That's disgusting! You wretched, disgusting pieces of shi..." Blotz was silenced when one of the stick figures grabbed onto his mouth, gripping it tightly so that he could not continue to speak. He struggled and he writhed. But he could not get himself free. He glared daggers at the zoner, trying to be defiant.
The stick figure zoner who held onto his mouth simply raised his other hand, finger pointing up into the air. "Why don't you hold onto that thought? We really should be going." He looked over his shoulder, nodding to the others. "Isn't that right? We have quite the journey ahead of us and..."
Blotz jerked his head away. "Not on your life, you..."
"Before you finish that thought.." The stick figure's voice darkened just slightly, showing a level of seriousness that was not there before. Blotz was clearly a little taken aback by this and he formed fists with this hands, ready to fight back. "Why don't you think of your... 'sister'.." He made those forced quotations with his fingers, causing both Blotz and Snap to growl. "I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate it if something happened to her on your watch."
Blotz tilted his head. "What do you..." His eyes widened in horror when it finally dawned on him. He straightened himself up, putting a hand to his mouth. "You..." He gasped. "You wouldn't..."
The stick figure just stared at him.
Blotz took a step forward, keeping his posture in front of Zibble even more evident. He hunched his body, and he brought up his fists. "If you want to take her, you will have to go through me."
The stick figure just continued to look at him. It didn't look like he was at all affected by what he had said. It was as though he had something else on his mind. Something that Blotz didn't know about. Like he had another way to...
Snap's remaining eye went fully wide, going so fast that he ended up flinching in pain from accidentally moving his damaged eye. He swiftly turned his head, looking at the one direction that Zibble and Blotz were not paying attention to. He took notice of one of the stick figures having moved around this way. This stick figure was positioning themself so close, out of their field of view. Did these two zoners not see this movement in the corner of their eyes? It was becoming rapidly clear that this was not the case.
At first, Snap wasn't sure what was going on. He was hardly paying attention to the conversation that Blotz was having with the stick figure zoners. He was too busy watching this one stick figure with the corner of his remaining eye. He tried not to make it too obvious that he was looking. But as he watched, dread began to rise up inside of him, a burning sensation spreading throughout. There was something really wrong here...
And that's when he saw it. As plain as day, this stray stick figure pulled something from their side and positioned it next to them. There was something sharp and glinty, a triangular thing. When he realized what it was, Snap let out a sharp gasp.
A spear...
And it was pointed right at Zibble...
What happened next, Snap hardly had time to register it in his mind. He was already taking action, his feet propelling him from the ground. Before he realized what was happening, he was already rushing forward, ignoring his own pain as he launched himself at where Zibble was. He registered her shocked face as he grabbed onto her, and then he pushed her out of the way...
His eye bulged wide open as he then registered a flash of pain in his side. He could feel something digging into his flesh, his body stiffening up and quivering. He could taste something iron-like in his mouth and seconds later, he felt his body crumpling to the ground. The sharpness seemed to twist around, making him gasp loudly, his cries becoming wet. Then there was a sharp tug, another even stronger flash of pain, and then it gave way into a constant dull pain that branched of from his side.
"Snap!" The call sounded so echoey and distorted, that he had no clue just who had said it. "Please get up! Snap! No!"
He lifted his head up, trying to see who was speaking to him. He could see a blurriness of what looked like yellow and green, maybe some other colors. But that was about it. He could not recognize the face. Then he felt some kind of dreariness pushing down against him, his mind feeling like it was becoming nothing more than a mere anvil dragging him out to some invisible sea that he could not see. He felt himself wobbling a little as he tried to get up, only to immediately collapse back into the ground.
His vision rapidly darkened, and he could no longer focus. The cries for him grew fader and fader, and soon they were so distant... It was like... Snap felt so tired and dizzy all at once. He could feel his remaining eye blinking and struggling to stay open. But it was so heavy that he just...
Soon his eyes shut completely. Darkness descended upon him. And there was the sweet relief of pain just melting away. Then all was silent.
sss
No... This couldn't be happening... She kept shaking her head rapidly, trying so much to deny what she was seeing. But no matter what she did, no matter how hard she shook her head, nothing would change what knew had happened.
Snap had... sacrificed himself for her...
Zibble stood, or rather kneeled, in utter shock. Her wide eyes kept staring at the body at her feet, her mouth open and panting heavily. She could feel her mind spinning around in circles as she tried to comprehend what had just happened here. She felt like she was going to fall to the ground at any given moment, and yet she still remained frozen like a block of ice. She darted her eyes from left and right and then looked back at him.
Zibble's eyes focused on the wound on his side that the spear had given him. The hole was deep and bloody, dripping with the red fluid. She could soon smell the scent of blood in the air, making her feel quite sick. She licked her lips slowly and she swallowed hard. She leaned herself forward, reaching out with her hand to touch Snap. Her trembling hand was soon retracted to herself and she rubbed it up and down. She looked at her hand for a moment and then back at Snap. She could not bring herself to say anything for several moments.
Then finally, she tried to speak in a trembly, shaky voice, "S-Snap...?" Her voice was so whispy, she was not surprised when Snap did not answer. She tried again, this time sounding more forceful. "Snap...?" But there was still no reply.
No... This couldn't be happening... She shook her head slowly, not wanting to accept just what had happened. She had to be imagining this. She had to be thinking of this wrong. There was no way that Snap could be...
When she saw how shallow Snap was breathing and her heart nearly stopped beating. She felt a cold chilliness crawling up her spine, making her hair raise on end. She felt her body shiver a few times and she struggled not to throw up or fall over. She gritted her teeth tightly and she tried once more to speak. But her voice was caught in her throat and she did little more than just hiccup.
Guilt soon washed over her body. She could feel a horrible burning sensation in her mind and chest and stomach, eating away at her insides. This was her fault. Snap had pushed her out of the way so she would not get hurt. Why would he do that? After what she did to him, he still... Oh gawd... Snap, no... Tears dripped rapidly from her face as she lowered her head to the ground, shaking and gasping for air.
She soon turned her blurred, teary-eyed head over to the stick figure zoner who had attacked him. She clenched her teeth hard and took in several heavy breaths, her mind feeling like it was a thick brick block. Then things seemed to almost spin into nothingness as she stared intently at this zoner. She snarled angrily and she felt her body filling up with adrenaline. She felt the urge to launch herself at this zoner and tear them apart for what they did.
But when it came right down to it, she ended up doing something else entirely.
She began to plead.
"Please... D-Don't hurt him anymore..." Despite her glare and bared teeth, her voice sounded more broken than anything. Hot tears pooled from her eyes as she sniffled, wiping them away. "Just don't do this anymore.. Please..."
The stick figure looked at their comrades for a moment. They all either smiled or looked indifferent. They then looked back at her, tilting their head to the side. "Why should I? Maybe I will put him out of his misery. He looks so awful..."
"N-No!" Zibble cried out, her voice intermixed with horror and fear and guilt. "Please! Can't you just.." She stumbled over her own words. "J-Just..." She shut her eyes tightly, lowering her head. She could not believe what she was about to say next. But it ended up slipping out of her mouth without her being able to stop it. She lifted her head up and shouted, her eyes still closed tightly. "Can't you save him?!"
This caused the stick figures, as well as Blotz, to freeze and stare at her in shock and confusion. Zibble could feel their stares penetrating her soul, yet she still remained firm. When she opened her eyes, she felt as though they were like daggers, piercing through all those who were watching. She took in a few more heavy breaths, each one sounding like she were releasing unwanted weight. Then she continued.
"Please save him... Don't let him die..." She pleaded, her voice squeaking a little. "I-I don't want him to d-d-die..." She looked at the stick figure zoner before her pleadingly, her eyes wide and filled with fear and dread and all kinds of other mixed negative emotions. "Please help him... Please.."
"Well, this is quite... interesting..." Said the stick figure zoner who had attacked Snap. They looked over and gave their comrades a sideways glance. "It would seem this cute little zoner wants us to throw her a bone, so to speak." They released a small chuckle. "Shall we do it?"
The stick figures talked amongst themselves. They chattered and whispered, grinned and laughed, groaned and glared. All the while, Zibble and Blotz remained silent, unsure and curious about what the stick figures were going to say or do. There was little they could do at this point but wait for an answer. They both hoped that the stick figures would choose to do something more...helpful. But they both also knew how slim of a chance that this was.
Still...maybe a miracle would happen.
The head stick figure was the one who answered next. "Why should we help your friend?"
"C-Come on... You can't just leave him like this... Please.." Zibble whimpered. Any sign of defiance melted away from her voice, dissipating into more soft cries. She looked up at the zoners before her, silently pleading with her eyes for them to do something for Snap. "Don't let him die... Please.. I'm begging you..." She realized that she was sounding like a broken record right about now, but she couldn't help it.
Blotz licked his lips slowly and he swallowed hard. Zibble turned her head and watched silently as Blotz walked forward, soon situating himself closer to the stick figure zoners. He looked at them up and down, as though trying to see if they had any other weapons with them. His voice soon came out of his mouth, though it was quite trembly and shaky. "Please listen to her... Snap... He doesn't deserve this... Can't you find it in your hearts to help him?"
Both children zoners knew how unlikely that this was. They both knew that there was little reason for these zoners to care for Snap. They probably would just spear him through the heart and kill him just to spite them. And their twisted smiles on their faces did not help matters. They could feel their hearts racing inside of their chests as they dreaded what the response was going to be.
But despite that, they both still stood firm. They kept themselves in front of Snap to the best of their ability. They didn't know what to expect, but at least with them standing here, these zoners were going to have one heck of a time trying to get past them. They were not going to let them get through so easily.
The stick figures looked at one another, looking as though they were trying to contemplate an answer. They talked with each other once more, but it was different this time. It looked more like they had agreed already on what to do. This chattering, this discussion, it had the look and feel of something that was more deliberate. Just a show of sorts. Their expressions when they looked back at them seemed to coincide with this theory, much to their dismay. Despite that, the two zoners still tried to remain where they were, undeterred as possible.
"Oh sure... I think we can arrange something..." One of the stick figures said.
The two children zoners raised their heads up further at this. But they did not get their hopes up. They both recognized that tone. These stick figures wanted something. And exactly what, they had an idea. They wanted to be proven wrong, but the only way to find out was...
"If you tell us more about Rapsheeba, we will consider helping your friend."
Blotz spluttered at this. "S-Seriously?! You're... You're making us choose between two of our friend?!"
The stick figure who spoke just sneered. "I'm sure you care about both... But one of them you care about even more." He turned his head to the side, giving them a sideways glance. "Just pick the one you love the most and discard the other one. That should not be too difficult, right?"
Zibble could feel her mind burning. These... These monsters... They were trying to blackmail them... These horrible, terrible creatures... How dare they do such a thing.. She felt adrenaline rising inside of her a second time and her teeth ground up tightly against one another. She felt her fingers flexing and arching, the tips feeling like they wanted to drive into them and tear them to shreds. And this time, she was not going to hold back. The only thing keeping her from doing this was Blotz, who had his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, warning her not to do anything drastic.
The two children glared daggers at the stick figures, both sickened by this proposition. Being forced to choose between two of their friends.. That was just downright cruel. They couldn't believe how low they were willing to stoop. What did they hope to gain from this? Or was this just for 'fun'? How disgusting...
But should they be surprised? These stick figures had not really been the nicest to them and they had proven time and again just how cruel they were willing to be to get what they wanted. Zibble and Blotz had hoped that they wouldn't have been this pointlessly cruel, to hurt Snap and then refuse to save him unless they caved in and told them what they wanted. There was no reason to do that. This wasn't... Snap hadn't done anything to deserve this...
But in the end, they were just..so torn between what to do. What was the right thing to do here? What should they do? They looked at one another, their minds filling up with so many questions. They then looked at Snap, their minds filling with thoughts on what they should do. They had to make a decision and fast. They had no choice but to choose between their two friends. Who did they want to save more?
Rapsheeba... or Snap..?
Argh.. It was going to be so hard to choose... How could they choose between their two friends...? This wasn't fair...
"Tick tock..." One of the stick figures said. Her face was twisted up into a hideous smile. "Time is running out... Choose wisely."
Zibble growled at her, but said nothing. Staring at the stick figures, noticing how similar they were, for a brief moment, Zibble felt as though she were staring at a set of clones. That made this whole thing even more creepy. She swallowed nervously and arched her body up a little, her head lowering. She released a small growl as she tried to figure out what she was going to say. Her body filled up with so much energy and she was shaking so hard and her mind was spinning so fast and...
Suddenly she felt herself deflate as her head lowered. She couldn't take it any longer. She knew there was only one choice that she could make. It was not going to be an easy one. She knew that she was going to hate herself for it. Then again, she would feel the exact same way no matter which she chose. But she had a feeling that, if she did not choose, something worse was going to happen.
Like losing both of them...
After she swallowed hard, forcing herself to collect her thoughts, she managed to make herself speak, "I-I... We've..." She looked over at her brother. Blotz looked at her sadly as he slowly nodded his head. She looked back at the stick figures, her voice taking on a much more solemn tone. "We have made up our minds..."
"Good little children..." The stick figure tapped her fingers together, smiling eagerly. "And which friend did you choose was worthy of your help...?"
It would take a while before either of them could wash away the guilt of what they were about to say. But they knew that they had no choice, and that in the end, the others would understand. Even if they themselves never let themselves forget, their friends...they would get that they were forced into this.
Nonetheless, saying the sentence was so difficult. They had to practically force it out of their mouths. It was so shaky and so dampened with emotion, it was a miracle that it was still coherent.
"We have chosen..."