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After a fantastic day of playtime, Jessica sat up and looked happily down at her fully restored body. Playtime had been a gentle, loving experience that had kept her intact, and she was all smiles as she got to her feet.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Buzzard asked, as he walked toward her.
"Yeah, a lot."
"Good. I have a favor to ask of you. I would appreciate directions to the toy store where you were fixed."
Jessica grinned at him. "I can take you there myself."
"You're leaving?" Rex asked, as he and the other toys approached.
"I coulda sworn you just got here," Slink added.
Jessica smiled. "I can tell you, but it's a secret."
"Then why would you tell us?" Woody asked.
"Because I know how good toys are at secret-keeping."
The toys nodded and murmured agreement; and that was how they ended up huddled together inside the cabinet of the washroom sink. Jessica pulled the door shut, and the two Buzz Lightyear toys nicely illuminated the full interior.
"What's all this fuss about?" Mr. Potato Head asked.
"Shut up and she'll tell us," Hamm answered.
Jessica grinned, pulling nervously on her loose hair; which Buzzard found very endearing. "No one else knows it, but we are surrounded by entrances to another world; where humans don't exist. It is populated with nothing but monsters, the kind children look under their beds for. Every closet will take you to that world. So, Buzzard, you don't need directions to any store. We can go all around the world in one day."
"What? That's insane," Mr. Potato Head began.
But Buzzard shook his head. "No, listen to her. I think I've already seen them."
Jessica nodded. "It has to be activated from the other side for it to work. But it will be a lot faster than traveling."
Buzzard nodded, unable to deny the memory of seeing the hulking monsters in the human's bedroom. "I believe you. I would appreciate your guidance on this trek."
Buzz mimicked the nod. "I couldn't have said it better myself."
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A light rain was falling as Buzzard and Jessica fled from the daycare, running across the street to the neighboring houses and stopping under the shelter of the porch of the nearest home. Wiping himself semi-dry with a leaf, Buzzard said, "I do find the toy crosswalk very fascinating, but that cannot be safe."
"We're more safe than ever, Buzz. Before, we would just go without any caution...just hoping we wouldn't get hit..." Jessica sounded like she was choking on the words.
"What happened to you?" Buzzard inquired, his voice quiet with concern.
She looked at him, her loose wool hair lifting in the gentle wind. "I survived."
"Well, obviously. But it seems like you wish...you - "
"Buzz, you're in rough shape and it can get worse. Don't push boundaries."
He raised his hands in submission, and she crept deeper into the darkness, her boots tapping lightly on the hard, cold soil. Coming to the opposite end of the porch, Jessica looked around the backyard. A dog slept soundly in its doghouse. Children's toys were scattered haphazardly through the wet grass.
"I don't suppose you can fly."
"Not a chance."
Jessica motioned for him to follow as she crept into the backyard. Pausing in front of the window, she looked through the Venetian blinds, at a teenage boy who was watching television.
"We need a diversion," she told him. "I'll sneak in. Go to the front and make some noise; I'll let you inside."
Buzzard ran to comply, and Jessica pushed the John Deere toy up against the window. When the little boy got up and hurried from the room, Jessica opened the window a crack and rolled neatly down the back of the couch, bounced off the cushions and landed on her boots.
Hiding behind various furniture, she was able to sneak right past the boy as he came walking back into the living room. Then she started running through the house, trying to find the porch door. It took her several minutes, but she finally located it, beside the kitchen counters. Ducking through the doggy door, she swiped the skipping rope as she ran to the rails. Peering through, she saw Buzz standing in the rain, looking at her.
She hopped up onto the chair, then onto the table, then onto the grill; and finally she began typing the skipping rope to the porch rail. Tossing the ends down, she watched as Buzzard grabbed onto the end and started climbing. Looking up between the balusters, she gasped as the dog awoke and looked at Buzzard.
"Buzz, hurry," she urged, as the dog bared its teeth and began to sit up.
"I'm climbing as fast as I can," he strained, as he kept pulling himself upward. The dog began trotting toward Buzzard. Looking frantically around, Jessica saw the chew toy on the porch, beside the house and in the shadows. She ran to it, retrieved it and hurried back; watching as the dog jumped up onto its hind legs and clamped its teeth onto both of Buzzard's legs. As Buzzard began yelling wordlessly, Jessica lunged closer and fed the chew toy between the rails, knocking the dog on the snout.
"Go! Let go!" she yelled, whacking him over and over. The dog ripped the chew toy from her hands and looked up at Buzzard, who finally hoisted himself over the rail and landed with a heavy clunk beside Jessica. They stood close together, watching the dog snarl and growl at them.
"Does the front door have a doggy door?" Buzzard asked.
"I didn't see." Breathing hard, she looked at him. "I'm sorry, Buzz. This was a terrible idea."
"It was a good idea. The execution was terrible."
As the dog ran away with a bark, Buzzard grabbed Jessica's hand, and together they ran into the house.
"Where are the bedrooms?"
"I didn't see!"
Running past a washroom, they lunged into a bedroom, and worked as a team to shut the door. Before they could feel relief, a lamp came on. As one, they turned around to see two adults staring at them.
"Oh, no," Buzzard muttered.
The humans began sitting up straight, looking at them.
"Toys?" the woman asked.
"Yep," the man answered.
As the woman lay down again, Buzzard and Jessica exchanged a hopeful glance. "You know, too?" Jessica asked.
"Yeah, a bunch of 'em attacked me when I was a kid," the man grumbled. He wouldn't look at Buzzard. "How'd you get in?"
"The doggy door."
"Yeah, speaking of attacks and dogs," Buzzard cut in, "We're trying to avoid yours."
"She wouldn't be attacking if you hadn't broken in, which brings me to the question; why did you?"
"To, uh, escape a cat," Jessica said hastily.
The man got up. "I'll chain him up. Get out of my house."
"Thank you," Jessica said, and peered past the door after he was gone. All was quiet, so murmuring a quick goodbye to the wife, Jessica led Buzzard down the hallway - and into the child's bedroom.
"I thought we had to leave," he whispered as she led him under the bed.
"We will," she answered, and pulled the blanket down to conceal them. Walking to the opposite end, she sat down where there was a clear view of the closet. "Through there."
"Now this is a bad idea," Buzzard murmured, as he sat down beside her. They looked up as the child above them turned over in his sleep; then Buzzard looked back at her. She still didn't seem very talkative, but what else could they do while they waited?
"You know, I can't help but notice that only Jessie Anderson has a Bullseye, a Woody, and at the very least memories of a Prospector. 'Course we all know what happened to that one."
"Woody may not have known they're seen as family; but he knew they were part of the same collection. He could have said no." Jessica focused her eyes on the closet, refusing to look at him. "If he feels bad for one second, it's his own fault."
"Well..." Buzzard said eloquently. "One has to wonder what happened to the rest of your collection."
"One can keep wondering."
Buzzard drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, and they kept waiting.