Standard disclaimer: I do not own the Happy Tree Friends; they are the property of Mondo Media. I own only my own characters and this story. Now here's chapter 16:

16 – LEFT BEHIND

What happened to the people left behind by the city's departure is quickly told, although perhaps the less said about it the better. As was mentioned earlier a few thousand residents had been foolish enough to defy the mayor's order and were outside the city when noon struck and the city took off. When the rumbling of the Code Zero first began many of those outside thought it was an earthquake. When the loud cracks of the disengaging foundation supports happened they didn't know what it was. In the silence that followed most people at first thought that whatever it was had ended.

By this time pretty much all of the people who had gone outside were running back towards the city. Not knowing what was going on they thought the Marauders might be attacking. However when the first of them arrived at the nearest gates they found them sealed – and rising upward.

Although the bottom levels of Metramegopolis were below ground level the sides of the hole that was left behind when the city ascended were not sheer. They were slanted, somewhat steeply, but not so steeply that they couldn't be climbed. At the bottom of the crater were large square holes where the city had anchored itself to the ground. The field on which the city had sat was completely flat, very large, and totally barren.

Up, up, up climbed the city, and as it did those who had missed the flight stood where they were and watched, mouths hanging open, unable to say or do anything.

Then all at once the city zoomed away to the east and was lost to sight, leaving a vacuum in its wake that immediately filled in with a booming sound. Fortunately the city was several thousand feet up by then so all that the people on the ground felt was a sudden eastward rush of air that was soon gone. Then silence.

Slowly the stranded people climbed down into the sunken field where the city had been. They gathered together in a crowd and looked around at each other. The full reality of their situation was starting to sink in. They were alone, without shelter, food, or water. They were also very much sitting out in the open in case –

"I knew it!" came a loud voice from the top of the southern ridge leading down to the field. There stood XL-Jack-3 looking down at them. On either side of him stretched long lines of fully armed Marauders. The lines stretched all the way to ends of the southern side and then spilled on to the western and eastern sides, continuing on to the northern side and along that, making a complete ring around the field.

"Even if the city should fly" said XL-Jack-3, "there will always be those left behind to momentarily satisfy us before we resume the pursuit."

(To Be Continued)