Space Cadet

Chapter 4 – A Little Bird Told Me

Wednesday morning, an hour before school. Most boys at eleven would be playing video games… Well, actually, most boys at eleven would probably still be asleep. But not Rudy. He'd been awake for at least three hours, trying to get back to sleep, but still contemplating something in his mind that he needed to confess.

He trudged downstairs, not particularly looking forward to breakfast. You have to remember his dad owns the place that makes cheeseburger smoothies and cinnamon hot dogs.

"Ruuuuuuuudy?" Mrs. Tabootie called out in that weird way that she did, making her sound like some kind of opera singer. Rudy, half-asleep and barely comprehending the things he was doing, entered the room, rubbing his eyes. "You don't have to yell; I'm right here."

"Goodness, Rudy, it looks like you haven't slept at all." She noted worriedly; there were visible bags under his eyes and his hair was disheveled and unkempt.  "Something been bothering you?"

"No… it's nothing."

"Regardless, you don't look well. Maybe you should stay home-"

"I'm fine!" He suddenly snapped, way more aggressively than he had meant. Everyone always asking him if he was alright… it was beginning to get irritating. He sank back in his seat, wondering if she'd scold him for his attitude. Luckily, she took his irritability for lack of sleep.

"Someone's a little cranky." Mildred mused in a tone she hadn't used on her son in years. "Maybe some breakfast will fix that-"

The phone's ring interrupted her. "Well, who in their right mind would call at 7:00 AM?" She wondered aloud. "Rudy, can you get that?"

"Sure, mom."

He walked over to the phone, still semi-conscious. "Hello?"

"Rudy?! Is that you?! Oh, please tell me you know where she is-" Came a hurried, panicky voice in the other end. Rudy, now fully awake, stared at the receiver, eyes wide. "Who?"

"Penny, of course! She's missing!"

"WHAT?!?" He exclaimed, so loud that someone's car alarm went off outside.

"Rudy, what's wrong?" His mother asked, also startled at his outburst.

"Penny? She can't be missing!" He argued, mostly to convince himself, unintentionally answering Mildred's question. "Are you sure that you checked EVERYWHERE?"

"Yes! I was in such a hurry last night that I forgot to check on her, I assumed she came home already… but when I woke up this morning, I realized she was missing. I searched absolutely everywhere! I hoped she'd be over at your place. You're the first I thought to call." 

Rudy stared down at the counter, his eyes starting to hurt. He tried to speak, but he failed to find his voice. All at once, millions of horrible mental images flooded his mind, and he couldn't rid himself of them.

"Penny's… missing?" Mrs. Tabootie asked, eyes wide. Both women blabbed on for a while about how horrible it was, but Rudy was a different story. He stood there in silence, trying to think.

He couldn't remember much after that happened. Mrs. Tabootie took over the phone conversation while Rudy took some time to get a grip on reality. So mortified he was, he temporarily forgot to check in the one place the adults couldn't.

"Woah… Well… I'm sorry, bucko, I, uh…" Snap tried not to show too much worry. "But, uh, if Penny was here, wouldn't she have to have magic chalk to get in?"

"She's had plenty of opportunities to get some for herself… I mean, if I was in her situation, I'd have done the same thing." Rudy sat on a giant blue rock beside Snap, his voice shaky and sounding as if he could burst out into sobs at any given moment. I'd say Snap was trying his best to calm his friend, but that'd be an overstatement. He was never a very emotional drawing, and wasn't really sure what to do in that particular situation.

"Maybe she's just lost." Snap suggested. "You know, ChalkZone doesn't go on indefinitely, but it's not exactly a small place either. If that's the case, we should go looking for her."

"We don't even know that she's in ChalkZone… What if she's been… I don't know, kidnapped in real life, by some psychotic maniac-"

"RUDY!" Snap grabbed his friend by the collar and shook him roughly. "You're thinking too hard! Besides, if she was in the real world when it happened, you're practically powerless to help her. Now, in ChalkZone, you're equipped with something that can defeat anything here. I think we should take our chances and assume she's here, right?"

Rudy stood up. "You're right, Snap. Let's go look. But-"

"No complaining."

"I'm not complaining! I'm just a little shaken-up… I still can't believe all this has happened. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm waiting until I wake up from this nightmare…"

"Well, if it is a dream, Rudy, then we're both havin' the exact some one right now. Come on. Draw something. A hang glider, perhaps. Binoculars would help. Or hows about-"

Snap paused. "You hear something?" He asked. Rudy shook his head.

GUSSHAW.

Out from the grass stepped an odd chalk bird. Its head and neck were bright green and the rest of its body was light blue and black. It spoke in a nasal voice, emotionless and almost automatic.

"The great creator, Rudy Tabootie, I presume." It announced, blandly. "I've been sent from the Overlord Skrawl to inform you that your female counterpart has been taken hostage. If you want to save her, you'd best try your luck at the Dome of the Future. Skrawl wishes to see you again. He speaks of revenge…" The bird suddenly started to shake uncontrollably. "This message will now self-destruct."

There was a blinding white light and an explosion of blue and black feathers. Rudy and Snap shielded themselves as best they could, and when they looked back, there was nothing left of the chalk-bird but a small green egg. Eyes wide, they stared at each other in confusion.

"I've heard of those guys." Snap finally explained. "They're Messenger Birds, that's what they-"

"SNAP!" Rudy interrupted, starting to tremble. "It's Skrawl! He's got Penny!"

It took Snap a while to re-wind his thoughts for a while and think about what the bird had said. "Oh… Ohhhhhh!"

"We've got to save her!" Rudy quickly drew them a two-person plane as Snap watched, still a bit confused.

"You know this is a trap, right?"

"Duh..." Rudy replied, hopping in the cockpit and drawing the controls, barely paying attention to Snap. "But there's no way I'm just abandoning Penny like that! Come on!"

"Something tells me I'm going to regret this, but…"

Snap climbed into the back of the plane, worried as to what would become of them. But he saw his friend was determined, and he wasn't going to interfere.

A/N: Sorry for not posting earlier. I had it on the back of my computer and just kept contradicting myself again and again… Le sigh.