The concrete halls seemed to go on forever, and it was making it really hard for Wakko to keep his courage up. Not just because he had no intention of giving the guard any satisfaction, but because of the younger human child being forced along beside him. Under the echoing footsteps, he could hear the little boy sniffling. Even if Wakko feared what might be waiting for them, he could at least try not to scare him more.
His thoughts kept swirling with questions, especially that of who these people were. He'd been pretty sure it was the TC, but now he wasn't so sure. If there was one human here, odds were there others, and what kind of toon hating agency went after humans too? Not to mention ones who were just kids.
Of course, it wasn't a guarantee everyone who worked here didn't have one or two loose screws rolling around upstairs.
"Watch it, Bub!" The Guard spat.
Wakko picked up the pace. He was trying to have a look around, examine his surrounding, plan an escape...
Wakko sighed. There were no windows, no crawl spaces, nothing that he could escape out of. He couldn't even find a door or any exit at all.
He thought about making a run for it, but with no idea where he would go, he figured it would only make his life even worse. The last thing he needed was to upset the guard and get himself and possibly the other boy in trouble.
Wakko gritted his teeth as he flexed his tied hands; if he just had his toon powers, he would be able to break free with no trouble. That was his biggest problem. For toons, almost every physical ability came from their powers. Without them they were vulnerable and easily controlled.
Wakko glanced behind him at the bracelet that was restricting his powers, cursing it in his mind. The first thing he would have to do to escape would be to get the bracelet off.
But that wouldn't be as easy as it sounded. The bracelet was metal, and he couldn't just break it off. The only way was to somehow unlock it. It would be a challenge, but he might be able to trick someone into telling him how…
"Here we are."
The guard's gruff voice broke into his thoughts.
There sat a large wooden door, with patterns cut out of the wood. The guard approached it, cautiously turning the golden knob.
The door screeched as it push its way open, revealing the rather large room that was hidden behind it.
The room was big, but not huge. It was rather decorative, with paintings hanging on the walls and a fancy looking carpet that was sprawled out across the majority of the room.
In the center of a room was small round table, with three men sitting around it. It appeared they were playing a certain card game.
Wakko could hear mumbling between the three men. They were too quiet for him to make out any of what they were saying. None of them seemed to have noticed Wakko and his fellow prisoner entering the room.
"Umm, I believe you asked to see them?" Said the guard, capturing the mens attention.
"Ahh, of course!" Excitedly said one of the men. The man jumped up from his chair, abandoning his game of cards. The other men did not take any interest in speaking to Wakko or the boy.
"Finally. Wakko Warner! It's a pleasure to meet you! I would shake your hand, but, well, that probably isn't a good idea."
Wakko gave him a confused look. He'd never seen any of these people in his life, but still this guy knew his name and who knew what else. How could they have figured this stuff out? Were they spying somehow?
The show, of course!
Wakko mentally slapped himself for not thinking of that. He was a mini celebrity after all.
"I can't really shake hands anyway, mister," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
To his surprise, the man burst out laughing. "Of course! I apologize for that, young lad. Let me get these blasted cuffs off of you two."
Wakko eyed the key that was pulled from the man's pocket, wishing he could just take it without getting caught. He sighed with relief as the tight handcuffs were stripped from his wrists. He looked down at them, noticing red marks from where the cuffs left an indentation.
Wakko glanced at the other boy that was next to him. He seemed to have calmed down, though he wasn't exactly smiling.
"Wakko, have you met Jarod Williams?" Said the man.
Wakko shook his head.
"My boy, Jarod is the young fellow next to you! He's all the way from Florida!"
What?!
Wakko grew even more alarmed. This boy was from across the entire country. Why would they take people form across the country? He forced himself to keep a straight face; even if these people weren't acting nasty, he didn't trust any one of them.
"Why're we here?" he asked, only a slight catch in his voice. "What do you want?"
The man chuckled again, flicking a dismissive hand in the air.
"Now, no need for concern. Your questions will be answered soon enough."
Wakko clenched his fists, barely resisting the urge to snap back that he wanted them answered now. He didn't have his mallet to convince them. Beside him, Jarod spoke up in a trembling voice.
"Wh-when can we g-go home?"
"Do not worry, my young boy. Your time here won't be as unpleasant as I am sure you believe."
Wakko was uneasy; for people who had snatched him off the street, made him cry and almost believe that his family didn't care about him, they were being awfully nice.
"Oh, how rude of me! I haven't introduced myself! You can call me Jenkins. I am the overseer for this whole project. I am also the General. I make the majority of the decisions."
Wakko frowned.
"What decisions?" he asked slowly.
Jenkins glanced at him, and his look changed. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make him shiver.
"Oh, nothing to concern you."
As fast as it came, the weird look was gone.
"Now then, I think it's time you learned a little about our facility. Follow me."
With that, Jenkins marched out the door.
Wakko looked around. The two other men had continued their card game, seemingly forgetting that they were still standing there. Jarod wasn't crying anymore and he looked more at ease, even if a bit melancholy.
Wakko felt a little bit better himself. He was still scared, but felt a little more at ease now that he'd seen a little more. He was already formulating ideas of how to get out of here, though none were getting very far yet.
The door slammed back open. "Come on!" Jenkins yelled.
"Oh shit, sorry boss." The young guard said, as he slipped his cellphone back into his pocket.
Not wanting to risk making anyone mad, Wakko hurried toward the door. He glanced behind him to see Jarod scurrying close behind. Hoping to encourage him, Wakko gave him a quick smile before turning back toward the doorway. The more he saw, the easier it would be to figure out how to escape, and the sooner he could do it.
Sorry for the longer wait. I've been rather busy, but I came back! Anyway, make sure you thank KaylaMicael for helping again.
