Happy Belated New Year! :) Whew! Finally, I got this part finished. We're picking up right where we left off, so no more delays. There's a bit more excitement in this chapter and I worked super hard on it, so thanks to all my readers for being so patient! I sure hope this was worth the wait!
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Birthday Wishes
"Wow! I can't believe I missed out on this room." Suzie exclaimed as she leaned far over the railing to admire the view at an extremely dangerously angle. Of course, being in the not-alive state she was, there was no fear of falling. The noise of the machines in the factory's door vault certainly was new. "I mean, I know this is the inner hub of the factory, but there was never any reason to come in here before."
"Yeah, it's pretty big, isn't it?" Samuel agreed. The sight always marveled him as well.
The two of them were on a high, elevated system of catwalks that intertwined throughout the door vault of Monsters, Inc. The massive room took up most of the factory's heart, and all around were sights that Suzie had never before seen. The sheer height of the ceiling was almost dizzying. On every inch of the walls hung closet doors, all in storage and waiting to be called to stations on the Scare and Laugh Floors. Suzie couldn't even comprehend how many there were; so many that there must be a million potential portals into the Human World in this single room alone. Machines were clanking, whirring, and clattering as they worked. Although doors were flying along the suspended rail tracks, there weren't many doing so. This was still very early in the morning; only so many workers wanted to rack up their scare or laugh numbers at this time. But the vault was so big that even a single door on a track echoed tremendously.
Suzie suddenly burst out, "ECHOOOOO!" To her disappointment, her ghostly voice stayed the same. "Aw, I wanted to hear how loud it would be."
Sam enjoyed the enthusiasm, but reminded her why they were here. "OK, it's time to focus. Randall told us where to look, so this shouldn't take long."
"Right. Amazing how much trouble he's going to for this little mission." Suzie started moving through the vault at remarkable speed. The way she could just pop in wherever she wanted at a moment's notice came in handy. All along the catwalks she went, sticking to the ones along one particular wall. The duo's job this morning was to double-check that the exact door Randall needed was still here. (The older ones were sometimes lost in the system, and with the factory's new upgrades, he wasn't even sure it was in storage.)
Sam followed much more slowly. He still hadn't gotten used to the whole 'disappear, reappear' concept. The sheer number of rows and columns of doors facing them like some weird painting was a bit overwhelming, but he had a basic idea where to look. The numbered sections helped considerably. He eventually found the correct row and called Suzie over.
It was a rather neglected section of the vault. A lot of the doors were kind of weathered, as if they belonged to run-down closets and older houses. Suzie took careful note of the one Randall had described: a simple, faded wooden one with chipped green paint and many cracks around its edges. The knob looked like it was about to fall off. "There's even dust gathering. This must be a barely-used door. Good thing, too; someone could miss it, otherwise."
Sam nodded, but voiced his fears. "I'm more worried about Randall getting caught…" He trailed off, unwilling to go on.
Suzie was concerned about her fellow ghostly companion. He had been awfully sad the last few days, ever since Randall had informed them of the plan to smuggle this door to the workshop. She tentatively asked, "You alright, Sam?"
"I…think so?" He questioned, not really looking at her.
"What's on your mind? You've got all the time in the world to tell me, you know."
Sam sighed. The girl had already accepted their fate; he had yet to do so. "…We should get back to the Floor, first. My brother's waiting for us."
She nodded, still worried, and followed as he sped away in a blur of pewter grey scales.
…
They materialized on a Laugh Floor—which just so happened to be the final one to be renovated. The station control panels were the last things to be replaced. Strewn about the area were assorted boxes of tools and other equipment, all set for the job. The big reveal to the newspapers had all been arranged by James Sullivan and was only a few more days away. Randall had been pretending not to be excited for the project to finally be complete, but all of his friends sensed he was more than ready to show off the hard work off to the press.
Since Randall wasn't here yet, Suzie strolled about to admire all the gleaming silver chrome-plated stations. But she kept tabs on Samuel's distracted behavior. He was being quiet and leaning against a desk, pulling at his long grey fronds as Randall so often did when something serious was on his mind. She finally asked, "Sam, something's bothering you. Are you sure you're OK?"
"No…" He said after a long pause. "Just look at me! This wasn't supposed to happen. Perhaps I'm still in a state of denial…" He was referring to his many, many injuries sustained from the crash. Only his face and tattooed arm had healed up; the rest of him still looked like it had literally been crushed. Sam then saw, from a distance, some monsters he knew walk by the entrance to the Floor. All of them were friends of his, most likely on their way to the cafeteria to grab an early-morning bite to eat. "On a normal day, I would be having coffee with them; look, there's Horatio, and Evelyn, and Gary; we always had time to chat before the first whistle of the day."
"I'd be careful about who you allow to see you." Suzie warned. That lonely feeling was oh-so tempting; it was very hard to resist. "Trust me. It only causes more problems, showing up in the state we're in when we're supposed to be gone."
"Yeah…" Deep down, Sam truly wanted to speak to Rex. If Suzie was allowing the boy to see her, there was no reason he couldn't do the same. After all, he was Rex's father…But with all these injuries still present, the last thing he wanted to do was give his young son nightmares. Sam became somber at the very thought. He looked up again to see even more friends passing by the Floor—alive and well. It was hard to bare.
Suzie smiled kindly. "It gets easier. Just give yourself some time."
"Yes, I know. Of course I would know…But it sure is different being on the other side of things. Usually I'm the one telling that to other monsters." The brief heart-to-heart helped him feel better, if only a little.
Randall soon arrived, coming onto the Laugh Floor and pushing a flatbed cart with some boxes stacked upon it. He walked over casually so as not to arouse suspicion from anyone. (Even though it was still an early, quiet morning and the Floor was empty.) "Don't ask me how I managed to pull this off," he whipped out a card key from his tool vest pocket. "That Roz was impossible to sneak past; Mike always said she had a sixth sense." He swiped the card on the soon-to-be replaced control panel to call the door. "You two are sure the numbers match? A lot of these older card keys are unreliable. Good thing they'll be a thing of the past once this Floor is done with renovations."
"We're sure." Suzie reassured. "This door outta be shredded soon; it's about ready to fall apart."
Randall nodded. "Still, I shouldn't be caught with it. Sullivan already bends the rules by letting me keep all those banishment doors. An actual closet is out of line and I don't want to risk ruining my reputation yet again. Breaking more rules is too risky."
"Randy, you mean you're actually trying to follow rules? What a concept!" Sam teased.
"Har har, you're hilarious." Randall smirked in amusement as the gleaming silver station went into action. The lift system rose smoothly to grab the weathered door and brought it down. The station clamps holding it in place moved so seamlessly that they actually made no noise at all. Working quickly, Randall flipped a switch to shut down the whole machine. The old door lost a few more chips of paint as he detached it and placed it carefully onto the flatbed cart. The boxes from before were then stacked on and around it, hiding it from view. If no one looked too closely, it would appear as just an ordinary load of tools, laugh canisters and boxes of other engineering knick-knacks.
Randall glanced over his shoulder at the Floor's entrance. All was clear. "OK, I thought we'd be caught by now, so this is going great. Now, you two have to help me get this thing to the workshop. So warn me if anyone important comes my way!"
They came up with a simple plan: Suzie walked ahead and Sam walked behind him to keep a lookout for large groups of monsters. They would wave a signal or call for Randall to fall back or turn a corner to avoid as many coworkers as possible. And for the most part, it worked. He pushed the loaded cart at a steady pace, acting totally normal. A large success rate came from his acting skills; the trick was to act like he was going about a regular routine and not up to anything questionable. Through many hallways they went, and everything was going fine. Sullivan never showed up, and no one passing by took a second glance. Randall made it confidently all the way through an entire wing of the factory, coming ever closer to the hidden workshop…
Yet after crossing the foyer and moving down another tile-floored hall, things took an unexpected turn. From behind, Randall heard the familiar voice of Mike Wazowski. He kept moving; hopefully the talkative guy wouldn't notice him.
"Catch ya later, Sulley! And I'll see you at lunchtime, my Schmoopsie-Poo! Farewell to theeeee!" Wazowski called in a happy, sing-song voice. There was a pause as he turned to glimpse Randall about to head down the next hall. "Oh, Randall, wait up!"
Randall groaned with annoyance. Just when the plan was going so well…he frowned at Sam, who shrugged an apology for not noticing the one-eyed cyclops.
"You're here early," Mike said, jogging to catch up. "Only one more Floor to finish before the press! Sure is exciting."
"Yes, I suppose," the lizard slowed down, but did not stop walking. If Wazowski noticed what he was smuggling, there might be trouble. "The last one won't finish itself, and Fungus and I are the only ones who can rewire—"
"Wait, is that a closet door?" Mike did a double-take.
Ugh. So much for the plan. "An old one, yeah. I was dismantling the old control panel—those things tend to glitch, still—and this one just came out from the vault. It's scheduled to be shredded, anyway, so I'm taking care of it. I've got a few extra minutes." That must be the lamest excuse you've ever come up with. Bravo. He thought sarcastically to himself.
"But there are three shredders stored on that Floor already." Mike reminded. His one eye then squinted. Suddenly the story didn't make sense. "Curse you for bein' an actor, Randall. What are you really up to?"
Whoops. Randall had forgotten about that little detail about the shredders. Out of the corner of his eye, his saw Sam and Suzie glance nervously at one another before blinking out of sight. Thanks for ditching me, guys. Well, no point lying about it, now. "Hmph…OK, you caught me. Here's what's going on: Becca wants to go out to Iceland on her sister's birthday, and going via this door—" he pointed to the old thing underneath the many boxes. "—is the fastest way. So off to the workshop its going. Any more questions?"
Mike blinked. "Uh—no, that summed it up." There was an awkward silence as they each waited for the other to speak. Randall partially frowned, as if daring Mike to go running off to tell someone. When Mike finally spoke, it was surprising: "I won't tell Sulley, if that's what you're wondering."
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that." Randall said neutrally. "So, can I go now? Gotta sneak this back into Roz's office before she notices it's missing." He waved the card key around.
"Good idea. She's nuts. And kind of scary, the way she just knows everything. It's like a sixth sense." Mike reminded. He gave a comical salute. "Carry on, then! I saw nothing."
With much relief, Randall went on his way. But Mike didn't leave; he kept accompanying down the hallway to press for more explanations. It was all to feed his curiosity. "Why use a closet door for a day trip into the Human World? You sneak your friends off to the wilderness often enough, right? And why does Becca want to go to Iceland in the middle of winter?"
"This situation is a bit different. She wants to see the cave where Suzie died; I promised I'd take her there."
The truth was rather surprising to Mike. "Wow, that's dedication. You really do bend over backwards for her, don't you?"
"Of course, I—she's my friend! After everything she's been through this year, it's the least I can do to give her closure." He glared at Mike, tired of all these questions. "This conversation is over, Mike. Tell Sullivan and I'll put you through a shredder."
Panicked, Mike raised a hand in the air to oath, "I solemnly swear to clam up and not say a word!"
The two parted ways, and Randall finally made it to the corridor where his workshop was located. His college friend's pestering sure got annoying from time to time; but having him as a friend again sure felt nice. Like an enormous weight being lifted. That last part of the conversation got him thinking, though. 'Bend over backwards,' humph. What was he implying?...I think I already know…He pushed thoughts about Becca aside for the moment and focused once again on being covert.
The hidden door swung open and he wheeled the cart down the dimly-lit passage. The private workshop was very much a safe-haven. Not many monsters knew about the place, and the ones who did rarely came in here. Yes, this was truly his own little sanctuary. The stash of banishment doors had grown. Leaning against the walls in tidy stacks were many wild-looking doors that led to all manner of random wilderness in the Human World. His personal favorite was the one that led to Louisiana; to the very place where he had lived on his own for an entire year before running into the band of survivors consisting of his friends. That old grove of trees held a lot of sentimentality for him.
The workshop's silver chrome station was the first prototype he'd made several months ago. It sure was handy, having one all to himself. The weathered wooden closet door was set up right away, though not brought online. There. Everything was all set for the trip.
Randall pulled the card key out of his pocket, rethinking the plan to return it. "On second thought…" He found a pair of scissors and cut it up.
"Is that a good idea?" Suzie wondered.
"Without this key, there's less chance of Roz finding out what we're up to." Randall turned to see both her and Sam sitting on a table, having reappeared soundlessly.
"I am so tagging along on this trip! I promise not to get in the way; those Northern Lights are still calling to me! I never got to see them when I was alive…" Suzie went on, her excitement causing her to babble away. "All this talk about Iceland reminds me of a new joke, too. 'What happens when an ice cube gets angry?...It boils with anger before letting off some steam!'" Suzie waited for some sort of reaction from the brothers. "Anybody? No?"
Randall made silent eye contact and tilted his head towards Sam. She instantly made a face of regret, smiling apologetically. She took the hint and blinked out of sight to leave them alone to talk.
Sam's broken limbs matched his spirit. He just looked so…depressed was the only way Randall could describe it. He came over to sit beside him on the table. "You doing OK?"
"Well—yes, for the most part. It's just…" Sam's words trailed off and he gestured at his own injuries, and waved at the surroundings.
"I know…" Randall understood. His brother was in the midst of all of this, and yet not here at all. Accepting his predicament would be a long, difficult road. He reached to place a hand on Sam's shoulder, but it only went right through.
The elder Boggs brother chuckled sadly, appreciating the gesture nonetheless.
…
The day of Becca's birthday was a cold, crisp winter day. Still no snow in the city, though. Yet the air was fresh and she actually looked forward to the party. It would be a welcome change from the wilderness days of last year. Bernard had suggested holding the event on one of his family's boats, which suited everyone just fine. A small get-together on the ocean sounded great. But apparently Naomi had planned all the details…this made Becca worry ever so slightly.
It wasn't all that bad. The yacht was decorated with far too much pink, but the added Christmas lights were a nice touch. The boat was very much like a house on the water: there were multiple rooms, fine furniture, even a fireplace and what resembled a full-fledged living room. This meant there was more than enough space for games, food, and socializing.
Naomi had slaved away to bake a big fruit-filled cake covered in slimy blue frosting with the thirty candles on top. Becca had always like cakes that had some sort of filling, so that was a thoughtful touch. The rest of the party was a tad too fancy for her taste, but she decided to make the best of it. All of her friends were here, and had gone to all this trouble just to make the day special. And with the sun setting brilliantly over the winter sea, all the glowing lights and decorations were very nice to look at.
The evening voyage held only a small number of party-goers. Nicholas, Lucy and Penny Brennen were here, along with Rex, Jeffery Fungus, Mike Wazowski and his girlfriend, Celia Mae, and a few other friends from the factory. Mike had asked his best friend, James Sullivan to come, too, but the head of the factory was too busy with work this evening. (Privately, the gang was glad of this. With all the secrecy going on amongst their tight-knit group, it would be best if Sullivan wasn't around too much.)
The yacht even had staff members to wait on them. There was punch served, food spread out—the elaborate spider-egg and silk-worm casserole was a big hit—and games played. Everyone was having a good time! Even Randall was caught smiling. The talking and casual hanging out was just the thing they all needed to find something to enjoy after the recent rough times. The bus accident was still fresh in memory, but this was a happy day and having something joyous to celebrate lifted their spirits.
At one point, Becca took a break from all the socializing and slipped out through the yacht's glass doors onto the deck. She walked out of the sight and didn't come back for several minutes. And when she did, she was dripping wet with sea water. Every fin-tipped feeler was plastered to her, and her scales glistened from the fresh hydration. Despite a slight shiver, she was all smiles.
Naomi freaked out, "OMG, did you fall overboard?!"
"Yes. On purpose. It was very refreshing and I needed a break." She laughed, stretching her gills.
From nearby, Randall was glad to see that this was going well. It was a nice sound, hearing Becca laugh. It happened so rarely. The way her forest green scales practically lit up was nice, too; the gold speckles on her face and limbs seemed much brighter with the party lights illuminating them. Randall found himself staring for several moments longer then he meant to and quickly turned away upon Becca noticing.
Just before the next round of games got started, Becca pulled her closest friends aside and dragged them out onto the deck. The winter sea air was cold, but she didn't really mind. "This really wasn't my first choice for a party—let's face it, luxurious yachts and being waited on by staff members isn't really my style—but I'll admit this is pretty great. Thanks for doing this for me."
"Told you so!" said Naomi. "All the planning was worth it. Much better than last year's birthday, right?" The girls both groaned in remembrance. Last year's rough winter in the wilderness hadn't exactly been memorable.
Bernard had his granddaughter Penny perched on one shoulder, and was trying to keep Rex out from underfoot. He sensed the others wanted to speak without the children around, so he lowered Penny to shoo them both back inside. "You two go on in for the next game; we'll join you in a minute."
"Okay! C'mon, Rex, let's pick the best players for our team." The strong yellow monster pulled her best friend along. But Rex kept looking back at the grown-ups, wondering what they were talking about.
Now without prying ears, Becca asked Randall, "So, is everything ready for the trip?"
"Yes, I found a door that'll lead straight to the town—are you guys coming, too?" He realized Naomi and Bernard were listening keenly.
"Of course!" Bernard proclaimed. "Becca told us about the plan. It would be an honor to come and pay last respects to Suzie. Plus, I'm curious to see what the island looks like; I've heard it's a very scenic place."
Naomi wasn't as enthusiastic. "It'll certainly be sad, going to the place she died…I'm not sure I can handle it, but I still want to come."
"Once again, guys, I'm not forcing anyone to come! You don't have to if you don't want to." Becca insisted. "But this is something I have to do. Call it final closure or whatever, but the idea of going there has been on my mind for ages. Now feels like the right time."
Going into a human-filled town with one extra monster would be hard enough, but with three? That made things a little more complicated. Oh well. It's not like the whole gang has never done this before. Good thing my ribs have healed up from the accident, or this wouldn't be happening at all. Randall thought before blasting into the serious talk. "In that case, we'll need to be a bit more inconspicuous. Fungus is going to help, so listen up," He pulled Bernard and Naomi in closer. "We're heading out on Suzie's birthday; that's the day after tomorrow. But since you two don't work at the factory, we should all meet there extra early to avoid questions…"
It was normal for them to sneak into the workshop when they fancied going into the wilderness to hang out, but things might play out differently this time. After all, this was for an entire day. Once the entire plan was laid out, everyone was ready.
"And remember, Princess," Randall pointed to Naomi. "Not a word to another soul about this."
"Just 'cause we're at a party, you think I can't keep my mouth shut?" Naomi crossed her heart in promise. "I won't ruin our chances of getting caught. Even if the reason why we're going out there at all is a little sad." She took a side glance through the glass doors at the party-goers, who were choosing teammates for a few rounds of charades. "Shouldn't we join them? I mean, this is still a birthday party, after all!" She led the way back inside, with Bernard following closely. His old limp was completely gone, now; the prosthetic had truly made a difference in his quality of life.
Becca and Randall began to follow, but as she began to turn around, she suddenly froze in place. She then craned her neck to stare at something over his shoulder, so fearfully that he became concerned. "Hey, what's—" Then he recognized that familiar alarm in her eyes. So with a touch of dread, he followed her gaze.
Becca was staring wide-eyed down the length of the deck. There was some other monster out here as well. A smallish young woman, almost a girl, really, was leaning over the railing to admire the moonlight shining on the water. She turned to face them and nervously smiled at Becca.
Now still isn't the time, Suzie…Randall thought. The girl was playing with her dreadlock-type feelers, unsure if she should speak or not. Becca remained frozen, terrified, and stared as if she was looking at a nightmare. Randall's green eyes darted from one sister to the other. He didn't know what to do! He settled on glowering at the ghost and shook his head in warning. It wasn't much, but it was the only thing to do in a tight spot like this.
With a heavy heart, Suzie sighed and blinked away reluctantly.
Relief washed over Randall like a tidal wave. Now, to stop Becca from freaking out too much. He carefully asked, "You alright?"
"Um…yes! Yes, I'm fine, I just—" she stuttered, breathing hard and running a hand through her feelers. "I thought I just saw—Nevermind. Ugh…this trip can't come soon enough! Has…has the moonlight ever played tricks on you before? Like making you see things that weren't there?"
"Nope. Can't say that it has." He lied convincingly. Then, to change the subject, "That reminds me, the Northern Lights should be visible in Iceland this time of year. You wanted to see those too, right? Squeezing it all into this one day trip would be convenient."
"Yeah—two birds, one stone kind of thing…" Becca kept looking around the deck. She even walked over to the spot where Suzie had been standing. But there was no one else in sight. The moment was over. She had recovered enough, it seemed, so Randall reached for her hand to coax her inside. But she shook her head and leaned on the deck rail instead. "No, not yet. I'm so worked up about seeing that cave that I'm seeing things, is all. Think we could talk out here for a minute?"
"Sure. So long as it doesn't take up too much of my time." He said jokingly. "Rex is bound to come dragging me into charades any second, now."
"True." She agreed as he came over to the railing as well. She began shifting strangely from foot to foot, awkwardly. "Hey, um…there's something else I've been meaning to talk to you about. Now that we're alone, this seems like a chance to bring it up. It's a bit off-topic, but kind of important. Just don't mock me later, got it?"
"Everyone learns not to do that the hard way."
"True again. Well, here's what's going on…" she trailed off, not sure how to begin. She settled for a quick statement, "You and Naomi and Bernard are the best friends I've ever had, right?"
"The flattery is nice."
"No sarcasm; this is serious." She said. "But over these last few months, you've become a lot more than that, Randall—I mean, ever since we were all 'unbanished,' you've changed for the better; becoming a better monster, and helping me through my depressed funk—by the way, sorry about that—not to mention being there for my sister. And stopping me from jumping off buildings and into lagoons of alligators…" She cringed with regret at her two suicide attempts, but pushed them out of her mind, for they were too emotionally painful. "It all really means a lot to me; you have no idea how much…Anyway, what I'm trying to say is—"
Knowing she also wasn't one to voice her thoughts, Randall raised a hand to stop her. "I think I know where you're going with this."
She looked immensely relieved. "So…you too, then? This isn't just one-sided?"
He hesitated, but forced himself to go on. "Actually, ever since my father invited the gang out to the observatory—"
The glass door suddenly burst open and Naomi's head popped out. "What's keeping you guys? We're all picking teams! I think the kids will win, no matter what, though. Charades has never been my—"
"Do you mind?!" both Randall and Becca snapped angrily.
"Sorry! Sorry! What did I do?" Naomi jumped. "The plan's already set! Did I miss some big detail that could be important later?"
Visibly annoyed, Becca groaned. "Nevermind, Princess. We're coming!" Turning to Randall, she said in a lower voice. "Don't worry; there'll be time later. I've got a feeling this'll take longer than a few minutes to talk about."
"Good point." He agreed. They both followed Naomi to join the party games. But now Randall had a strange, happy feeling inside; at last a step had been taken to talk about the odd feelings that had been plaguing him for quite some time, now.
…
When Randall got home from the party, he had to practically drag his nephew inside. The boy was completely worn out from all the excitement of the evening. It was very late by now and far past his bedtime. Randall switched on the hall light to better see Rex comically 'faint' onto the floor. The party had gone so well that Randall was in a wonderful mood and didn't even mind his nephew's fooling around. "Aren't you going to walk, at all?"
"I caaaaan't! My body is so tired it doesn't want to move!" Rex whined, lying there in the middle of the floor.
"OK, then. I'll just leave you there. 'Night!" His uncle played along, starting walk off.
Rex was disappointed the ploy hadn't worked. "Aw. That always worked with Dad." He said without thinking.
The words had an immediate effect on both of them. Rex sat up, realizing what he'd said and now feeling guilty. His uncle was silent too, for a time. But he eventually responded, "I'm sorry he's not here." Randall scooped him up, anyway. "This whole 'being a guardian' thing is all new to me; you know I'm still on trial, right?"
"Yeah, I know. Grandpa's giving his 'report' in three months." Rex reminded what they both already knew. "I love Grandpa, but I wanna keep living here. The loft is real nice."
Really feeling the pressure now, Randall carried Rex upstairs. There were no stories tonight; both of them were far too tired. As Rex was settling down into bed, he asked something just as his uncle was about to go back downstairs. "One more thing, Uncle Randy—what were you and your friends talking about at the party?"
"Grown-up stuff." A classic line to silence kids' questions. But Rex wasn't buying it and tilted his head to one side, unconvinced. So Randall elaborated, "We were just making plans to hang out later."
"And don't even think about eavesdropping!" Suzie suddenly blinked into sight, startling both of them.
"No eavesdropping? Then what were you doing just now, Miss Suzie?" Rex smirked slyly.
"The rules don't exactly apply to me, anymore." She blushed at their raised brows. "What? I was here the whole time! You guys just happened to come home before I left!"
Downstairs in the living room, after saying goodnight to Rex, Suzie got a very stern glare from Randall. He had every arm crossed in a no-nonsense way and demanded an explanation for being at the party earlier. She finally confessed, "OK, so I showed up at the party. It was my sister's birthday! I didn't want to miss it. But I didn't let anyone else see me; isn't that enough?"
"Becca's mental state won't exactly be great if she sees her dead sister on the very day she goes out to the place where that sister died." He scolded. "Look, Suzie, if you really want to talk to her, that's your business and I won't stop you. I'm only trying to warn you! Please be very careful when and where you do it, alright?"
"Alright. I'll be careful. I guess showing up on a crowded yacht wasn't the best place, huh?...But it's great to see Becca so close to acceptance, though, isn't it? Maybe this infernal dent on my skull will finally heal." She traced the large break with her blue-scaled fingers.
"And Sam…" Randall turned to face his brother, who had appeared on the sofa. "You don't have to keep on hiding like this. Do you ever plan on letting anyone else see you besides me?"
Sam silently shook his head forlornly. All the breaks, bruises, and gashes on his body were too much even for him to bear. There was no way on earth he could allow his young son to see him like this.
…
On the day of Suzie's birthday, the gang met at the factory extra early. The sun was barely even up, and it was long before the first whistle was due to sound off. Rex was tired and practically staggered through the front doors, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was so early that the receptionist, Celia, wasn't even at the front desk. But there were a few monsters wandering the halls; probably having gotten here on odd bus schedules or other such reasons.
None of the early-birds gave Naomi or Bernard a second glance; it was normal for Randall and Becca's friends to visit the factory, so nothing looked suspicious. Though Naomi's getup was a bit different then her usual girly style today: a puffy parka and thermal trousers with snowboots. The others had on average winter wear consisting of coats, scarves, and hats. As for Randall, he wore a special heated jacket, made specifically for reptilian monsters who suffered in cold seasons. The group was more than ready for a day out in Iceland.
Before going to the workshop, Randall told them to wait in the foyer so he could drop off Rex at the daycare. The ladies who ran it looked after the youngsters of the early-bird workers even at this hour. And with Rex being so sleepy, it was doubtful he could cause trouble with his tendency to wander off and explore.
Bernard watched Randall lead the boy away; who was complaining that he wanted to be carried. The sight made the older monster wonder, "Becca, how do you think he's faring? Randall, I mean, taking care of his nephew?"
"Oh, he's stressing out over the whole thing. Ever since Sam—you know—he's trying to be like his brother. But I don't think acting like somebody else is the best way to become a guardian."
Naomi agreed. "Maybe if Randall's own father was nearby, it would be easier to learn how to be one, too…hey, Bernard! Why don't you give some pointers? You're a parent, too, right?"
"Only if Randall asks for help. Just remember, you two," Bernard cautioned. "It's better to let them figure it out on their own. Being a parent is more of a 'learn as you go' process."
After Rex was safe in the care of the daycare workers, Randall took them all to the hidden workshop. Fungus was already there, with the old closet door set up and ready to go online. The single backpack carried by Naomi was packed with basic supplies: enough food to last the day, a few knives, and some rope. (Just in case a little extra help was needed around the rocky cliffs.)
The anticipation of the coming journey really got the group excited, now that it was actually happening. It had been a while since they'd gone into the wilderness, and this trip had a special purpose: to find Suzie's final resting spot and pay their last respects. Everyone adjusted their scarves and hats, getting ready.
Bernard asked Becca, "Won't you be missed if you're gone for the whole day?"
"Nah. Today's a day off for both of us," she pointed a thumb at Randall, who was talking to Fungus." No one will ever know we were gone. By the way, Naomi, what's with the getup? You look like a mountain climber with bad taste."
"We're going to Iceland, and this is also a disguise! I can pass off as a human if we land in a tight spot. It's worked before, remember?"
Randall was giving Fungus some final instructions. "…and the last whistle of the day is when you bring the door back online. Got it?"
"Got it. The station's working perfectly; much better than the old one we used to have in here." Fungus flipped a switch and brought the silver station to life. "Have a good trip!"
"This isn't some vacation, you know." Becca reminded.
"R—right. S—sorry. My condolences, all the same." He stammered at her fierce temper.
Randall was the first to poke his head through the closet door. Just in case the kid on the other side was staying up late. Popping back into the workshop, he announced in a whisper, "All clear. Let's go!" He slipped through without a sound.
The light was nonexistent on the other side. With the time difference, and Iceland's far-north location, it was sometime after sunset here. There was not even the hint of a light-night in the room. That wasn't quite normal; kids usually had one to fend off nightmares or the monsters that kept coming out of their closets. (The scary monsters, at least. Funny ones would likely be welcomed, instead.)
The four monsters emerged from the closet door one at a time. The room in which they found themselves was very much threadbare: it had had a recent coat of fresh paint, and the smell lingered over so slightly in the air. Not much furniture was here. Apart from the bed, a dresser, side table and floor lamp, it was very much free of toys and most other kid-friendly items. Instead there were a number of video games lying around. The bed itself held the shape of a sleeping messy-haired boy; he had to be nearly twelve years old, which explained a lot about the room's décor. This kid was probably too old to be scared by monsters anymore, which was why his closet was due to be shredded soon.
"Woo, it's cold here…" Naomi whispered. The bedroom window was half-open, letting in the biting nighttime breeze. "Why's that thing open?"
The reason for that was unknown; maybe because of the light smell of paint, or maybe the boy was used to the cold and just wanted some fresh air. He kept on snoozing soundly. The cold didn't seem to bother him at all. Randall was half-camouflaged to match the surroundings, which left his jacket hovering strangely in mid-air. He took a quick peek through the window and realized they were on the second floor of a house. This was a problem he didn't call for. "We'll have to climb down; there's a drainpipe right here."
"Hold up! I won't fit!" Bernard hissed. Indeed, his huge, gorilla-esque frame wouldn't come close to fitting.
Another problem uncalled for. "But you can fit through doors. C'mon, I'll guide you through the house. You two head across the street and wait for us," Randall told Naomi and Becca, "Study what the house looks like so we can find it again later, and brush out any footprints as you go, would you?"
"Sure thing, Your Majesty." Becca teased and promptly reached out the window to grab the drainpipe. She nimbly slid down out of sight. Naomi was a different matter: her bulky parka disguise certainly got in the way, but she somehow managed. She let out a soft squeal of delight upon sliding down.
Randall handed his jacket to Bernard so as to become fully hidden. The idea was to move ahead and check that all was safe for the larger monster to move through the halls. Heaven forbid if someone was still awake in the house…Bernard braced himself for the short bout of sneaking. He was a big, red-skinned monster who, even now, made the floorboards creak loudly. It was hard to keep quiet in that regard as he tiptoed towards the boy's bedroom door. Sneaking had never been his strong suit…
Meanwhile, the girls made it to a gap between two houses across the street. It was snowing silently in the darkness; luckily there weren't any nearby street lamps. "Ugh, I should have worn boots, too." Becca complained, having brushed away the last trace of her footprints using her eel's tail. "For once, you had a good idea, Princess."
Naomi was nice and warm in her winter getup. She was hopping up and down to shake off nerves. "Oh, this is exactly like the old supply raids. Only this time there's a proper home to go home to."
For several minutes, the girls studied everything about the little house, from its paint job to the numbers on the front door and what the homes on either side looked like. For this was going to be their ticket home in several hours' time. To their relief, Bernard and Randall soon emerged from the house's backdoor unscathed. They all reunited in the alley and came up with a plan to move through town by the alleyways, where there was less chance of being noticed by prying eyes. Naomi was the only one wearing boots, and so had nothing to worry about when it came to leaving tracks. Most monsters handled cold weather just fine, and wearing shoes and clothes was mostly for aesthetic purposes in the Monster World. It was a minor flaw that none of them had thought about until now.
It was lucky that snow was falling heavily. Any tracks would be covered up long before dawn, they realized. Randall decided to use this to their advantage and walked directly in the snow itself. The night was so silent that it was almost seemed like a ghost town. Any trace of monsters would be gone by the time any humans woke up.
The quartet moved in single file between buildings. They had to get out of town in order to stay on track. This was the first time Bernard, Naomi and Becca had ever seen this place and, now that they were out of the kid's room and immediate danger, took a moment to admire the surroundings.
This Icelandic town was definitely on the small side. Many of the buildings were plain and simple; colors of white, orange and brown seemed to dominate the house's paint jobs, but there was a lovely look to it all courtesy of the thick layer of snow. All the streets were like scenes from Christmas cards. Snow blanketed positively everything, and many houses had strings of colorful lights decorating them. The red, green and gold glows illuminated onto nearby surfaces to create a perfect scene.
Despite the idealistic town, the monsters all kept quiet; all in order to stay safe. During the past supply raids, it was a golden rule to keep as quiet as possible when out in the open like this. Randall soon brought them to a stop in a sheltered alleyway. "We should probably head for the beach. There's a direct way out to the cliffs from there if we go around town instead of through it."
"Good call. Lead the way, then. You know this territory better than us." Bernard pointed out, relinquishing his role as the group leader.
Being back in this town was very surreal for Randall. Yes, the place looked pleasant in wintertime, but it was full of bad memories. Terrible memories…last time he was here was the day Suzie had died. A dozen flashbacks filled his head: how he'd carried her all the way out to the cliffs to find shelter. How he'd raided the town's hospital in search of medical supplies and even for clues on how to fix broken skulls. A human ally, the cargo-ship worker Mateo, had even offered to go find a doctor. Randall had almost taken the offer, but there just hadn't been enough time to save Suzie's life.
It was all very hard to relive. Still, the rest of the gang all sensed Randall's inner turmoil, due to his serious frown and quietness.
Reaching the rocky beach took only a few minutes of sneaking through the neighborhood. The streets gave way to wide, open spaces where several docks and a shipping yard could be spotted in the pitch darkness of the night. The sound of the ocean lapping at the shoreline was the first sound the monsters had heard since arriving, apart from their own footsteps in the snow. A sea breeze made them all even colder. (Save for Randall, whose heated jacket gave him lots of energy.)
Becca noted the silhouette of a huge ship at the docks. She squinted down the beach's length to see the outline of some cliffs in the landscape. Extremely dark against the night sky, but they were there, all the same. "How did you manage to carry Suzie all that way? That's gotta be a couple of miles, at least."
Randall shrugged. "Maybe I was running on adrenaline? She was also light to carry. That was a terrible day…if Mateo hadn't helped us I never would have gotten her off the ship."
"Was it a ship like that one?" Naomi pointed at the towering height of the cargo ship currently docked.
"Yes, but bigger."
"Amazing," Bernard marveled at the mention of the story. "You know, I never thought I'd hear of a day when a human would help a couple of monsters. It's completely forbidden to even talk to the adults. The first time you told us about him, I thought you were making it up."
"Well, it happened. He even tracked me down out in the highlands a few days later…all because he was concerned about us and wanted to check on how Suzie and I were doing. Hard to believe, isn't it? 'Course when I say it out loud, I have trouble believing it myself…" As the group kept moving, he retold in greater detail how Mateo had helped.
The rocky beach wasn't as friendly to their feet as soft snow, but it was very dark here and thus safe enough to be out in the open. Becca walked close enough to hear Randall's tale, but soon became distracted. She kept squinting at the hills and cliffs rising looming on the far side of town. The beach would lead them there soon enough, but it still looked to be a very long way. The idea of being unarmed and underprepared in the Human World for that length of time was worrying…
"Hey, do you guys want to make a pit stop for better weapons? You know we've never been out here without them. And the few knives we brought aren't going to cut it if we run into trouble."
"Why didn't you bring anything?" Naomi patted the backpack, which had only been packed with the essentials.
"Gee, I dunno. Maybe because no one should waltz into Monsters, Inc. carrying a weapon? That would be just plain idiotic." Becca stated the obvious, not wanting to imagine how others would react if she did such a thing.
"Well…" There was an eventual nod from Bernard. "If there's any place we can raid along the way, I suppose we could make a detour. What do you think, Randall?"
"There aren't many wild animals out here; the worst I came across was an arctic fox. It's not really necessary to go on a supply raid—"
"No, I think it's a good idea, too." Naomi interrupted. "You may be able to hide anywhere at will, but the rest of us can't. Plus, I'd rather be safe than sorry, and when it comes to voting, it's majority rules!"
Randall slumped his shoulders at being outvoted. Rather than argue, he relented. "…OK, fine. Let's find some place…if only to stop everyone from nagging and saying 'I told you so' later on. But this better not take too much time!"
He was somewhat familiar with the layout of this town. The hospital rose up in the center of it all, and everything else just sort of spread out from there, with residential houses on the very outskirts. Since the gang was on the beach already, they had to backtrack quite a ways to find where the stores were. It was only ten minutes later when they found a small sporting goods shop. It was sure to have weapons of some kind.
The place was a two-story building with security bars on the front display windows. But the second floor had a balcony, a telltale sign that the shopkeepers lived above it. Christmas lights were strung up in abundance on this block, bright enough to be a problem when it came to hiding. So Randall didn't want to spend more time here then they had to.
Of course the store's back door was locked. Bernard ended up using the smallest knife to pry the hinges loose; meanwhile, Randall got to work on the security system panel to avoid a firestorm of noisy alarms. As they did this, Naomi and Becca kept watch for any late-night cars or people. The gang's expertise on breaking-and-entering was still as strong as ever. They worked silently and as a team, for they had done things like this countless times before. The backdoor freely fell inward and was caught by Bernard before it had a chance to clatter onto the floor.
"Let's be quick about this. Only take one thing each—we'll be back in town by the end of the day—er, night." Randall advised, remembering the time differences between dimensions.
The store may have been small, but it was packed to the brim with all manner of things; racks of hunting clothes, baskets of sports equipment, workout gear, and a huge selection of hunting weapons, fishing gear, camping supplies, and anything one could ever want to fare in the wilderness. It was like a small treasure trove. Some of the more valuable items were stored in glass cases. Becca made a beeline for these, since it was where the firearms were kept. She was stubborn and insisted on having one even when advised against it. "It's just a small one; look, it even has a silencer!" She immediately got to work on picking the lock.
Naomi looked around for a minute or so, trying to decide what to pick. Suddenly, from deeper inside the shop, she heard a quiet scuttling. Almost like an animal scurrying about. "Shh…no one move." she signaled for the others to keep still while nodding to Randall.
He took the hint and went invisible, slipping off his jacket at the same time. Then he carefully crawled on all eights to search the room for signs of a watchdog. If the shopkeepers kept any animals, things could get ugly real fast. It was a tense minute…and he reappeared with a shrug. "Nothing here. Now hurry up!"
Becca finally got the lock and pulled out a lightweight shotgun with ammo. (Always her weapon of choice, that was.) Naomi and Bernard only chose a collection of long, sturdy hunting knives to better defend themselves should an emergency arise. Just as the group prepared to leave, the same scuttling sound made them all flinch. This time it was more noticeable and sounded just like a pair of feet that were trying to keep quiet.
Reactions came instinctively. Randall dropped his jacket again and camouflaged into the wall's green color, while everyone else took cover the best they could. In Bernard's case, that was kind of pointless; he was just too big to hide anywhere and made do behind a tall display of hockey sticks. The girls ducked into a sales rack of hunting clothes. Everyone remained quiet, eyes darting every which way to see who was stalking them. Without knowing where the watcher was, it was risky to just make a mad dash for the backdoor. The exit suddenly seemed very far away…
Randall had climbed like a gecko onto the wall to have a vantage point. But there didn't seem to be anyone here besides them. No pets, no people, nothing…perhaps a breeze from the broken door was messing with their nerves. He was about to climb down and usher everyone out with haste, until Naomi suddenly jumped up in alarm. Something had caught her eye and she instinctively made a move to defend her friends.
Underneath the hood of her parka, she hissed and all three eyes glowed red with malice. She raised her claws in a threatening stance and lunged forward across the aisle—even Becca gasped in surprise.
There was a small yelp of fear and the sound of a stranger falling into a pile of boxes—knocking over a glass case at the same time. It shattered into a hundred pieces onto the floor with a piercing sound. "OW!" the voice cried out. It was a high-pitched yell; almost like a child's voice.
Naomi's scare tactic vanished when she saw who the stalker was. Her eyes returned to blue and widened in shock. "Wha—?"
It was Rex tangled up in the cardboard boxes. He materialized out of nowhere, having been camouflaged the entire time.
Randall, Becca and Bernard all exclaimed, "Rex?!"
The boy looked incredibly guilty at being caught.
Before the adults could begin a tyrant of angry questions, a light flicked on from the shop's stairwell. No doubt it led upstairs to the owners' living quarters. "Who's down there?" yelled a firm and authoritative man's voice. The noise of shattering glass had woken him up, apparently.
Time to go! Bernard moved fast on his prosthetic leg and squeezed out the backdoor as fast as he could manage. Becca carried the shotgun and followed close behind. The sudden light from above seemed to make Naomi freeze; she actually put her hands in the air and wildly whipped her head around for a place to hide in panic. She glanced from the stairs, to Rex, and then to Randall, who ushered her to follow the others. And quickly! She finally snapped out of it and ran towards the back of the shop.
"Move! Stick to the alleys and get back to the beach!" Randall hissed in her ear as she darted past. "And you," he took the boy's hands and pulled him out of the pile of boxes, snatching up his heated jacket with another hand. "Just what do you think you're doing here?!"
Rex sheepishly hunched his shoulders with regret as his uncle ran, pulling him along by several hands. Shouting throughout the shop was the man's voice with threats of calling the police. Now a dog began to bark as the monsters escaped the building. They didn't bother putting the door back on its hinges. They only fled back into the snowy night in desperation. Along the way, Randall made sure to brush away their out-of-the-ordinary footprints using his tail.
There was no time to scold right now; they all had to run to safety. But that didn't stop Randall from being very angry. He pulled his trouble-making nephew along to catch up with the others. "You are in serious, serious trouble, Rex!"
AND...Cliffhanger!
Up next, we've got an adventure chapter, now with Rex included. Won't that be fun?! (laughs mischievously.) Poor Randall's abilities as a guardian will be put to the test. Also, we've got an unexpected reunion for the monsters, so there will be major references from HW: An Adventure, but there's probably enough info here to follow along if you haven't read my first Monsters story in a while. :) I know my Randall/Becca pairing is probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm truly listening to my readers to make this story worth reading and making it more about friendship, family, adventure and drama; then I can also include the things that I've been wanting to add in for literally, many many years. That way everybody's happy! Yay!
Special shoutout to reader Scaridise: Aw, thanks so much for the nice review! I'm so flattered you and your sis are enjoying my work. Hope the long wait was worth it! You guys are awesome. :)