Disclaimer: Oh look, TV...

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Chapter 5: Carl's Plea

Carl wasn't very athletic. He hated running. But when a friend was in danger, it was amazing what a boy was willing to do, because Carl now was sprinting in the direction of Cindy Vortex's house, wheezing and panting and raising holy hell, but not giving a damn, because Sheen was counting on him. This wasn't some mission that Jimmy's high IQ could solve; this was a life or death situation, and his best friend was involved.

This realization only made Carl run faster.

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Carl knew as soon as he reached Cindy's door he should have slowed down and knocked; that was proper etiquette. However, he was in a situation where etiquette really didn't matter, and practically bulldozed said door into the ground, running right into the middle of Cindy's party; and ended up nose-to-nose with none other then Nick.

Oh boy.

On a normal day, Carl loved avoiding Nick. Now, Nick was the last person Carl wanted to see, but as his eyes darted around nervously he saw no escape.

"Hey, who invited you?"

Cindy's sharp voice cut through the air like a knife, and the crowd of kids (giving Carl odd looks) parted as the golden-haired girl and Libby emerged to stand on either side of Nick. Carl's voice hitched, missing a beat at the sight of Libby. "Oh thank God," he whispered hoarsely. "You're here."

A look of confusion flashed across Libby's face, but it was Nick who spoke, towering over Carl. "What do you want with her? Why are you so happy to see her?"

Carl had gone over the confrontation millions of times in his head, but he still hadn't been prepared for it; he stood, scared into silence, trembling, retreating back into his happy place with all the llamas.

"Well? Will you talk, or are you gonna just stand there like a frog?"

Happy place, happy place, with the llamas, the soft llamas, the smiling llamas… NO! I can't go to my happy place! Sheen is counting on me, now is NOT the time for me to go to my happy place when Sheen needs me the most! NO HAPPY PLACE!

"SHEEN NEEDS HELP!"

The scream had burst from Carl like a roar within a lion, just awaiting its chance to come out; dead silence reigned in the party as kids exchanged looks, trying to absorb the meaning of this message; the next instant Libby shoved Nick aside so she was eye-to-eye with Carl.

"Carl, what do you mean? What's wrong with Sheen?" Her voice shook oh-so-slightly.

Carl was shaking now, trying to keep his emotions in check and failing miserably. "Sheen's gone," he moaned. "Sheen's disappeared, and Jimmy's laser gun is gone, so Jimmy said we should check Sheen's room to see if he was there before we jumped to conclusions…" tears were running down Carl's face now. "… And we got there, and we were looking, and I looked through Sheen's clothes, and… oh, God…"

"Carl! Carl, what did you find?" Definite desperation in Libby's voice, fear shadowing the eyes of Cindy and Nick and the kids at the party.

Carl swallowed, trying to fight back his tears, failing. "… And I felt something sharp, something smooth, so I pulled it out… it was a knife, and it had these faded stains on it…"

Nothing, not a word, as the meaning of Carl's plea began to sink in, the dark truth behind his words.

"… And Jimmy told me to get help, before Sheen hurts himself, so Jimmy went to find him… I came here, to find Libby, because you're the only one… the only one he'll listen to right now…" A sob escaped Carl.

"You know what he's gonna do, Libby. You know. And we need you to stop him."

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I think this is my longest chapter so far for this story...

This chapter is a birthday gift for Jimmy's 1 Fan, who reminded me in reviews that his (or her) birthday was the 22. I know I got this up a little late, but I worked really hard to get it done on your B-day, so... I hope you like it, and happy birthday.