*Four more days till Halloween*
Buzz opened the vent top and they all looked down.
"Trixie?" Buzz called out.
"Potato Head!" Woody whispered.
"It's too dark to see anything." Rosetta said.
"It seems we have crossed the threshold. Pricklepants said. Every horror movie has one, and once the heroes enter, there is no turning back."
"Rex, come on!" Jessie snapped.
"Coming!" The dino said.
"We just have to find a way down." Woody said. Suddenly all of them jolted forward because Rex had run into them. They all fell down into the dark vent. Woody coughed. "Well, that will do the trick." He turned to help Rosetta and Jessie to their feet.
"I don't like this, daddy." Rosetta said, clinging to his leg.
"We'll be alright, Rosie. Buzz said. As long as we stay together." Buzz started walking with Jessie, Woody following close behind with Rose in his arms. Rex and Pricklepants lagged behind, talking.
"So, what happens now?" Rex said, looking around.
"Well now, this is usually when each character gets separated one by one, falling victim to the..." In a puff of dust, the hedgehog disappeared, making Rex cry out. The others turned around and saw only Rex standing there.
"Um...Where's Pricklepants?" Jessie asked.
"He was standing right here! He was the only one who knew what the heck was going ONNN!" Another cloud of dust went by as something shuffled across the floor, taking Rex. Jessie looked at the boys and Rosetta. Screaming, they ran down the dark tunnel, hitting a wall on the other side. Rosetta had crawled to her dad's back, clinging to him. They heard a shuffle sound and turned.
"What was that?" Buzz asked. They heard it again. Jessie grabbed Buzz's laser arm and pointed it to the right.
"It's over here!" She cried. But nothing was there. They heard it again and Woody yanked Buzz's arm to the left.
"No, it's over here, this way!" Again, they saw nothing. They heard it one final time, in front of them.
"There! It's staring right at us." Jessie said, shaking.
"Get behind me." Buzz said. Jessie and Woody did as Buzz advanced forward, laser at the ready. Something came out of the shadows, forcing Buzz to jump back, shielding his family.
"Dad, look! It's Potato Head's arm!" Rosetta said. The hand pointed to something above them. Jessie went over to the hand and saw an exit vent.
"Guys, I think it wants us to go up here!" Jessie said. Working together, they shimmied up the vent, finding themselves in a bathroom. Using a clothesline and Potato Head's hand, they made a zip line over to the counter. They jumped down to the floor, trying to figure out where the hand was leading them.
"Out the door and.. to the left." Buzz said, walking forward.
"What? The hand looks like it's pointing left to me." Woody said, going over to him. Just then, Rosetta jumped.
"Aunt Jessie, did you hear that?" The girl asked. Jessie listened and heard the sound of someone hissing.
"Stay close to me, baby girl." She said. "Guys, wait up." She looked out in the hallway where Buzz and Woody were standing only to watch them disappear in seconds.
"Daddy! Uncle Buzz!" Rose yelled. Jessie scooped her up and went to run under the sink when something grabbed her, lifting her up onto the water pipe. Jessie went to scream, but something covered her mouth. In front of her was a tall muscular toy wearing an army outfit.
"What are you doing out in the open, soldier? Do you want that thing to come back here and get us? Combat Carl is going to remove his hand. You scream, we're done for, got it?" Jessie shook her head to show that she understood and Carl removed his hand. "Combat Carl has seen terrible things. I've avoided this creature for many years, protecting toys that pass through, all in the hope that I'll see my owner Billy just one more time. But Combat Carl never gives up, Combat Carl finds a way. You and that little girl down there better turn back now, or else you'll be next."
"But we need to find our friends, and my father!" Rosetta cried. Carl jumped down and showed her his arm that was missing a hand.
"This is what happens when you try to find your friends!" Carl yelled. Jessie jumped down and put herself between him and her niece.
"Hey, ease up, bucko! You're not going to stand there and terrorize my niece, okay? Now we are..."
"Shush!" Carl said, holding up his hand. They heard movement above them and saw a shampoo bottle hit the floor.
"It's found us!" Rosetta cried.
"No time to lose, grab my arm!" Jessie grabbed Carl's arm and took Rosetta's hand. He pulled them along with him out in the open. He went out to check if all was clear when he too was snatched by the creature.
"Carl!" Jessie cried.
"Don't worry about me, just go!" Carl yelled as the creature took him away. Jessie picked up Rosetta and climbed up into the tub. Suddenly she heard footsteps again and jumped back when something clawed at the shower curtain. Shielding Rose, she was surprised to see that the creature stalking them was an iguana. The iguana crawled into the tub and licked Jessie's face before grabbing the two of them by the scruff of their necks.
"Hey, let us go you dirty varmint!" Jessie said. She tried to hit the iguana with her hat to make it drop them, but the iguana wasn't fazed. The reptile brought them to another room and dropped them in a wicker basket. Jessie adjusted her hat and took Rosetta's hand. "Well that was fun, but we should be going now." She went to leave, but the iguana yanked them back and hit a small bell sitting beside him. Jessie saw the manager, Ron, of the motel walk in and she and Rosetta froze. Ron picked both of them up and examined them.
"They seem old, but could be worth something. He said. Excellent finds, Mr. Jones." He petted the iguana, took pictures of Jessie and Rosetta, and then placed them in a glass case before leaving the room. A pez dispenser with a cat head jumped over to Jessie, starling her.
"All clear!" She said.
"Jessie! Rose!" The girls turned and saw all their friends, safe and unharmed. Jessie ran and hugged Buzz, Rosetta hugged her father.
"I'm so glad you're safe. Buzz said. Both of you."
"Glad to see you ladies made it here in one piece." Carl said. Someone cleared their throat and Carl jumped. "Oh, Combat Carl would like to introduce you to his 1/3 counterpart, Combat Carl Junior."
"Ma'am, miss. We're on a tight schedule. Pocketeer, You're up!" Junior said.
"Pockets away!" The toy said. he reached into a pocket on his front, pulled out a paperclip and tossed it to Carl, who pulled it into a hook. Junior took it and tried to pull the handle on the case for them to get out. But the hook slipped from Junior's hand and fell to the floor. They all groaned.
"That was the last one! I'm next!" Pocketeer cried.
"Calm down, pockets, we'll get out of here!" Junior said.
"Oh we'll get out of here alright, in boxes." An old toy clock said. Jessie began to panic at the thought of being sealed shut in a box. Buzz and Woody put an arm around her to calm her down. Just then a sound came from the computer sitting on the desk.
"You have a sale." The computer said.
"Heads up, he's coming back!" Pez cat cried. They all froze. Ron came back in, checking the computer, coffee cup in hand and went to take a sip. Ron spit out his coffee immediately.
"Two thousand dollars!? Jonesy, we're rich!" Ron yelled.
"Do you see who it is, Pez?" Carl asked.
"Oo, it's hard to make out. Pez said. But it looks like..." She hissed. "A cowboy." They all turned and looked at Woody. Woody didn't have time to react because Ron had come to the case and took him out. He placed him in a box filled with packing peanuts.
"Happy trails, cowboy Andy." He put a packing slip over him and closed up the box. He left the room and the toys went into panic mode.
"Dad!" Rose gasped. They saw the box move, indicating that Woody was trying to bust the box open.
"What do we do now?" Rex said sadly. The computer chimed again, letting them know another sale had come through. This time, Ron came back too fast for them to see who it was, but found out when Ron opened the case once more and took out Jessie.
"Looks like you're going on a little trip." Ron said holding her. The bell on the lobby door dinged and a tow truck driver walked in, asking if he had a guest who needed a flat tire fixed. Ron placed Jessie on the counter and walked out to show him which car it was. Immediately, the toys started talking all at once, trying to figure out what to do. Jessie begins to panic when a delivery woman walks in two seconds later and takes the box that Woody is in.
"Woody! Oh no, what do we do? Now we're all gonna end up in boxes!" She cried.
"Wait a second. Jessie that's it! Carl said. That's how you'll save Woody! You've got to get in a box!"
"What?!"
"It's the only way. You can do this. Remember my mantra: Combat Carl never gives up, Combat Carl finds a way. Use it. Repeat after me: Jessie never gives up, Jessie finds a way. Say it!"
"Jessie never gives up, Jessie finds a way?"
"Again! Really mean it!"
"Jessie never gives up, Jessie finds a way! Yeah!" She jumps up and makes her way out to the lobby. She spots a box her size and frees the toy that's it. She then tells the toy, a transatron, to seal her back in. Reluctantly, he does. Scared of what she's about to do, she eases her way into the box and has the transatron close the lid, but not to put tape on it. He does just that and leaves her when the delivery woman comes back for her second trip. Seeing the box with no tape, she grabs a tap roll and seals the box shut, making Jessie freak out. Outside, the tow truck driver has already finished repairing Mrs. Anderson's flat tire.
"All set to go." The guy said.
"Oh thank you so much. Don't forget your bag, Bonnie. We're leaving in two minutes." She said to Bonnie.
"Coming through!" The delivery woman said. She brought the rest of the packages to the truck and tossed Jessie towards the back. Inside, Jessie was freaking out more, wondering how she was going to get out. Her hands curled up into fists and she held them against her head.
"Oh What do I do, what do I do?" She remembered the mantra Carl had told her. "Jessie never gives up, Jessie finds a way." She kept repeating those words, searching all around the box for something when she saw a paperclip on the packing slip. "Jessie finds a way!" Folding the clip into a long straight stick. she poked a hole through the tape and cut it along the box, kicking the lid open. "Woody? Woody! Where are you?" She heard rattling at the front of the truck.
"Jessie? Jessie, over here!" She heard Woody call out. Putting her hat on her head, she put the clip in her mouth, jumped out of the box, and climbed up toward her brother.
"Woody, move to the side of the box!" She told him. She heard him shuffle inside before puncturing the tape, ripping it down the length of the box. Opening the lid, she reached out a hand to Woody and pulled him out into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Come on, let's head back." They ran together out of the truck and across the parking lot. They found an entrance back into the vents and dove inside. Back in the case, Trixie was watching the old clock.
"They've been gone for a while. " She said.
"Patience. Pricklepants said. Cinematic dictates that it's always..."
"Oh for the love of Pete, shut up!" Rosetta cried. Pricklepants was taken back by the little girl's remark.
"Excuse me, missy!?"
"I'm with her, pants. Enough is enough. Life ain't a movie, alright? If they haven't come back by now, they aren't coming back at all!" Potato Head said.
"Look! They're coming back!" Rex cried happily. They turned and saw Woody and Jessie coming back through the vent grate. They cheered. The two ran towards the case when they heard Ron speak.
"Well I hope you enjoyed your stay..." Ron said, closing the curtain.
"Come on, Jess. Let's move." Woody said, turning back to the case again. Jessie went to follow him, but heard Bonnie ask her mom if they were going to grandma's now.
"Bonnie." Jessie whispered. She took a deep breath and turned towards the curtain. Woody had climbed up to the case, waiting for his sister, but saw that she wasn't with him.
"Jessie? Jessie!"
"What is she doing?" Rex cried.
"That wasn't part of the plan." Buzz said. Jessie was almost to the curtain when Mr. Jones grabbed her by her foot and started to drag her back.
"Aunt Jessie!" Rosetta cried. Buzz tried to wedge open the case to help her. On the floor, Jessie fought with the iguana and used her heel to kick him in his belly. The iguana was startled and started choking on something. Combat Carl's missing hand flew out of the lizard's mouth, which made the solider very happy. Jessie looked and saw Potato's head's hand in his mouth as well. Yelling, she dove into the iguana's mouth, took out the hand, and used it to grab onto the curtain.
"Come and get it!" She yelled. Mr. Jones pulled on her once more, this time taking Jessie and the curtain with him. Bonnie and her mom were just walking out the door when she heard the curtain move, revealing her toys in the display case.
"My toys!" Bonnie yelled. She ran into the backroom, Ron following close behind her. He got in between her and the case.
"Are those my daughter's toys?" Her mom asked. They heard a bell ding and saw Jessie in the basket with Mr. Jones.
"Jessie!" Mrs. Anderson glared at Ron. She went past him, took the toys out of the case and walked out with Bonnie. Jessie looked over Bonnie's shoulder and winked at Carl. Ron ran after Bonnie and her mom, trying to get her to give back Woody, offering her two hundred dollars for him. Carl and the others took that opportunity to make a break for it, escaping the display case once and for all. Out in the parking lot, Bonnie's mom placed the bag and the truck and closed it. The toys came out, sighing with relief.
"Ah, and we are back to where it all began, safe and sound." Pricklepants said.
"Never thought I'd miss the trunk." Woody said.
"Way to go, Jessie. You got us out of there." Buzz said. Jessie smiled big.
"Jessie never gave up, Jessie found a way." She said proudly.
"Well Woody, wants to say thanks." Woody said laughing. Jessie beamed.
"Thus ends another classic horror film. Ah, how riveting this was." Pricklepants said.
"Can it, pricklepants!" They all yelled. Pricklepants scoffed.
"Everybody's a critic." That made them all laugh. Soon they settled in Bonnie's suitcase and rode out the rest of the drive, hoping to never go back to the Sleep well motel ever again.
*Cue the credits! That is the end of that. A few changes here and there, but otherwise still the same. I will have a short coming soon about how Carl got back to Billy, and then another one about Carl meeting Jack and Wheezy as well. Till next time partners!*
