It felt like forever before morning finally came, and it didn't bring much relief. Wakko had barely slept at all after that nightmare, and he was paying for it. He tried to suppress a yawn as he trudged on stiff legs into the common room behind Jack.
"Rough night?"
Startled, Wakko glanced at the guard, wondering if his tired mind was playing tricks on him. Jack shrugged, his face impassive.
"It'll get easier."
With that he turned and left. Wakko stared after him until the doors slid shut, then shook his head and headed for the food counter. At least he might feel a little better with a full stomach.
He took a tray and got the usual grub. He made his way to the table where he, Jarod, and Alex usually sat, but he stopped and cringed at the horrendous sight of them.
Both Jarod and Alex had dark circles and bags underneath their eyes. None of them were eating, they were only sitting there like tired and unfocused zombies.
Wakko clumsily plopped in the seat next to them. "What's wrong with you two?"
Alex groaned. "Couldn't sleep... bad dreams... ugh."
Wakko sighed and glanced at Jarod, who was currently resting his head on the table. "What about you? Bad dreams also?"
Jarod sighed and nodded his head. Wakko patted his shoulder and looked around at the other kids nearby. Not everyone looked as worn out as others, but as far as he could tell no one had gotten a full night's sleep. A feeling of unease clenched his stomach… whatever was going on here, he didn't like it.
"Me too," he said, then glanced at Alex. "D' you think… the shots did something?"
Alex gave him a tired glare."How the hell should I know? Hope you're smart enough not to go around askin' everyone that."
Wakko shot him an annoyed glare.
Alex cringed. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm tired as fuck, and you should know by now that I'm very easily irritated."
Shrugging it off, Wakko turned his attention to his tray. He couldn't make sense out of any of this. If the shots had caused the bad dreams, what was the point of it? Why would these people want them sleep deprived? And, of course, it all came back to the main question… what did they want with them?
I bet Yakko could've figured it out by now...
The thought came almost unbidden, and Wakko blinked as his eyes welled. He wanted so badly to see his siblings again, even if it would just be for a little bit. He tried not to think that he wanted them here… they would only go through the same things he was.
"Just sit down and eat your food. Starving yourself most likely won't help our situation." Alex said, somewhat sarcastically.
Wakko sighed and began taking small bites out of his food. Usually he enjoyed food, he loved it as a matter of fact, but this time he had to force himself to eat anything. With every bite he took, he could barely swallow. He sighed.
"So now what?"
Alex looked up, a blank look on his face.
"What?"
"Now what?" Wakko repeated. "What are we gonna do?"
Alex scoffed, his voice cold.
"Nothing. We're gonna sit here like a bunch of helpless children, because that's exactly what we are."
Wakko closed his eyes and rested his head on the table. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that was all he was… a stupid and helpless child.
Faint humming from the metal cuff on his wrist suddenly buzzed in his ears. Lifting his head, Wakko looked at it and a feeling of loathing filled him. If this thing was just gone, he could get himself and the others out of here with no problem. In a rush of frustration, he whacked it against the table.
"The only thing your gonna damage by doing that is your wrist. Trust me, I've tried." Alex deadpanned.
"Well we have to do something!" Wakko fiercely stood up. "I'm not gonna just sit here and accept this. We have to figure something out!"
"Oh really? And what do you want to figure out, wise one?" Alex said mockingly.
"Well... uhh..." Wakko felt his face heat. "Umm… Well, what do we all have in common?"
"Oh, pick me!" Alex exclaimed, raising his hand. "We're all full of shit and we're all screwed?"
Wakko glared at him. "If you're not gonna be any help, why don't you go crawl back in the hole that you came from?"
Alex sighed and crossed his arms.
"Thank you." Wakko calmly said. "Now, these people must've picked us specifically. I doubt they were just snatching random people off the street, and that means that we must have something in common."
Alex rolled his eyes, but then frowned in thought.
"Well, we're all damn good with toon powers… maybe that's it?"
Wakko thought for a minute, then then shook his head.
"No… that can't be it. Jarod's a human, and we all know it's way harder for humans to learn to use those powers."
"Actually, my mommy's a toon," Jarod said softly. Wakko and Alex stared at him; he looked down shyly, but continued. "I was born a human, but my mommy always told me I'm gifted with toon powers."
Alex squinted at him.
"Wait a second... Your dad, a human, is married to a toon? Isn't that against the rules of nature or something?"
Wakko glared at him.
"Shut up… it doesn't happen a lot, but it's perfectly fine." He looked back at Jarod. "Sorry, as you were saying?"
Jarod shifted in his seat.
"So, yeah… I have a human body, but I can use toon powers. My mommy taught me."
"Well, then Alex was right. We're all good with toon powers. But what would they want with that?" Wakko asked. Alex shrugged.
"Who the hell knows? To get back at someone, make us into a bunch of damn secret agents… Hell, maybe they wanna take it away. We all know there's people that hate us."
Jarod looked up, his eyes wide.
"But why? What'd we do t' them?"
Alex glanced at him, his eyebrows raised.
"You don't know much, do ya, kid? We were who we are. They think we're freaks and some people can't stand freaks, cause they're just so damn perfect."
"B-But why? W-Why would they think t-that?" Jarod shyly asked, with a small hint of hurt etched in his voice.
"Because I'm a talking shit-colored rabbit, thats why." Alex said harshly.
"Okay, that's it!" Wakko yelled. "It's no wonder you're so miserable all the time Alex, you're just a walking source of pessimism!"
"Oh yeah?" Alex stood up from his chair and got closer to Wakko. "Don'cha think that I might have a reason for being so pissed off all the time?"
Wakko stood too, glaring angrily at him.
"Well, it better be a really good one!"
"Trust me," Alex sighed and sat back in his chair. "It is."
Wakko looked at him for a moment, then slowly sat down.
"It's your family, isn't it?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Alex softly spoke.
"Come on, tell me." Wakko said comforting.
"I said, I don't want to talk about it." Alex said sounding slightly annoyed.
"You can't keep it in forever." Wakko said, trying his best to sound trustworthy.
"What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' do you not understand?!" Alex snapped as he stood up. "Leave me alone, Warner. I didn't ask to be interviewed by you."
With that, Alex walked off into a large crowd of children.
Wakko sighed. He was only trying to help, but he figured now wasn't the best time to act like a psychiatrist. Alex would be forced to tell him once they escape.
If they escape, that is...
AUTHORS NOTE:
Well then, I hope you have all had a wonderful last few days. I certainly have. When my Grandma died, I expected to be miserable for several weeks. The sadness went away after only a few days, and that was such a wonderful surprise. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'm excited that we're finally getting somewhere with this story!
