Wakko took a deep breath as he sat on the bed, his ears pricked for any stray sound. In his mind, he ran through every scenario he could think of, any mistake or slip up that might complicate the escape. He was uneasy at the fact that he had no real idea of what means these creeps were using to monitor them, but now that he and the others had their toon abilities back the odds in their favor were far better.
A faint buzzing sound interrupted Wakko's thoughts. The lights out signal. With another deep breath, he eased the bracelet off his wrist and placed it on the bed. Before separating, he had convinced Alex that it was better to leave the bracelets in their cells rather than smash them; odds were there were trackers in them, and this might at least buy them time. Moving to the door with soft footsteps, Wakko hesitated to gather his nerves before using his toon abilities to slip through the tiny crack at the bottom of the door. This ability was a pretty basic one, so luckily both Alex and Jarod could do it as well. They all knew the way to the main hall by now, so that was where they'd agreed to meet up.
He slipped underneath the door with ease and took a quick look around.
Darkness. Nothing but darkness filled Wakko's vision. He blinked a few times and let his eyes adjust, barely able to see a few feet infront of him. He bit his lip as he silently started to creep his way to the main hall. Fear filled his heart as he was able to hear the faint sobs of the other children. Fear and sorrow, for not being able to help them. He knew that having anymore than three people escape would raise a red flag, and that was a risk that he was simply not willing to take. He knew in his mind that he would be able to get help and save them, he just hoped that it wouldn't be too late by then.
The sobs started to fade as he got closer to his goal. All that was stopping him was two guards, one on each side of the entrance. He sighed; the darkness keeping him hidden. He didn't want to have to use his mallet yet. He knew that violence would only alert other guards, and that was something that he wanted to wait until they were closer to escaping.
He looked at the giant light hanging above the guards. He figured he could pull a slingshot out of his hammerspace and shoot it out, enabling him to slip by undetected. A slingshot wasn't something that he used often, but he still carried one around just in case.
He sighed with relief as his hand entered his hammerspace. This was a feeling that he had longed to have again, and finally having access to all of his weapons and gags meant that escape would be that much easier.
Pulling out his slingshot and a small pebble, he pulled the tight rubber back and placed the pebble in the pouch. Taking aim, he fired directly at the center of the lightbulb.
Wakko bit his tongue as the pebble flew through the air, hoping that the lightbulb wouldn't shatter and that it would merely break as to not make the guards think that someone shot it.
With almost perfect accuracy, the pebble pierced through the glass of the bulb, causing a loud 'dink' sound. Wakko cringed, hoping that the guards didn't notice.
Like a match into water, the light illuminating the area was instantly shrouded in darkness. Wakko smiled as he began to creep his way past the guards.
"Maintenance, we're at the entrance to the main hall. The light crapped out and we can't see shit, you think you could bring us a replacement?"
"Sure thing. I'll be right over."
Wakko took notice of the walkie-talkie. He knew now that the guards could communicate with each other, and that they would have to be especially careful not to be detected. Taking a deep breath, he darted past the guards on silent feet. There was a brief moment of fear that they'd heard, but no sound came from behind.
He tip-toed through the dark corridors. Large potted-plants and benches lined up again the walls. Doors leading to unknown locations appeared between each bench. Wakko squinted his eyes as he tried find his two friends in the darkness.
Suddenly, a hand from behind covered his mouth as he felt the breath of another person on his neck. He almost screamed, but he quieted once he realized who it was.
"Shh, don't make any sounds." Alex whispered. "There are guards behind each of these doors."
Wakko made a faint whimper as Alex tightened his grip on his mouth. He slowly guided Wakko to a small janitors closet that was in the corner of the main hall.
"Listen to me. I'm going to let go of your mouth, and when I do, you will talk as quietly as you can manage. Jarod is in that closet and he's scared shitless, so I need you to calm him down so his crying doesn't alert anyone."
With that, Alex removed his hand from Wakko's mouth.
"Why didn't you calm him down?" Wakko whispered with annoyance.
"Believe me, I tried. Comforting isn't one of my strong suits." Alex responded as he slowly creaked open the door.
"I hope you never have kids." Wakko muttered under his breath.
Alex grumbled as Wakko slipped inside, his ears pricking at the sound of whimpers and sniffling. Scanning the dark space, he spotted Jarod curled up in a corner. As he approached, the younger boy looked up. His tear-filled eyes widened and Wakko smiled.
"Hey, don't be scared... it's gonna be okay."
Jarod sniffled, wiping his eyes.
"B-but... I-I can't do w-what you guys can."
Wakko patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You've got basic abilities, and that's all ya need. And you're quite talented, especially for your age." He smirked. "Trust me, I know."
"But... w-what if we get c-caught?" Jarod whimpered.
Wakko sighed. He too was absolutely terrified at the thought of getting caught, he just tried his best not to think about it.
Wakko crouched down so that he was at eye-level with Jarod. "That's not something you're gonna have to worry about, because we are NOT going to get caught."
He knew his words weren't certain. He knew that there was a chance that they could get captured. He doubted himself just as much as Jarod did.
Jarod sniffled and wiped away a tear. Wakko stood up and held his hand down to Jarod. "Come on buddy, we have to go now."
Wakko tried his best to sound comforting, but fear made that almost impossible.
Jarod nodded and took Wakko's hand, pulling himself up to his feet.
As they emerged from the closet, Alex diverted his attention from the hall and glanced at them with impatience.
"Can we get going already?"
Wakko gave him a warning glare before looking down at Jarod. The younger boy bit his lip, then nodded. After giving him a quick, reassuring smile, Wakko looked back at Alex.
"Ready."
With that, the three of them creeped their way down the main hall. They had no idea where they were going; they figured they could find a map of the facility or an exit to the outside. They would have to be quick though, sunrise was only a few hours away.
They came across a large door, similar to the one that Wakko entered to get into the main hall. They sighed, knowing that they found an exit.
Just as Alex was about to open the door, Wakko stopped him.
"Wait, what if someone is guarding the door?" Wakko said.
"You don't have to worry. I already used my mallet on those two guys."
Wakko glared. "What? Why?! That's just gonna cause attention!"
Alex crossed his arms. "Look, if there's one thing I'm really damn good at, it's using a mallet. Those guys will be lucky to wake up within six hours."
Wakko rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine."
With that, the two of them slowly pushed the large wooden door open. They peaked through, the small lightbulb illuminating the area around the door.
"Wait, what did you do with their bodies?" Wakko asked.
"Easy. I stuffed them in the air duct." Alex replied.
Air duct...
Wakko's face lit up. "That's it! We can crawl through the air ducts!"
"Did you not hear me? I already stuffed two fully grown men in there." Alex exclaimed.
"Alex, we're toons. We can still get by them."
Alex smirked. "I like your thinking, Wak."
Wakko felt a small twinge at the nickname... that was what his brother would call him. He felt tears threatening to fill his eyes, but pushed them back with a hard determination. It wouldn't be long now. They'd get out of here, and he'd see his family again.
Sorry for the wait! I hope everyone had a great christmas and a very happy new year :). How has everyones 2016 been? Mine has been INCREDIBLE so far.
By the way, it is totally possible to stuff a body in an airduct. I've seen airducts that could probably fit 10 people in lol.
