CHAPTER 3
The Horstachio was laid out in a makeshift hospital bed, one leg wrapped up in a bandage cast and hoisted in the air by a rope. His arm also given the same treatment, minus the hanging. He was in pain, but it was subtle pangs by this point. The crash landing he sustained in the desert wasn't very pretty, leaving a candy filled trail in his wake. He hadn't had time to get used to the wingsuit, seeing as Pinata Central Forces had many eyes in the sky as well. There wasn't much room to hone his flying and landing skills. Luckily, it had worked out for him in the end. However, it was probably only a matter of time before Pinata Central sent more soldiers to his last known location. He wouldn't be able to stay here long…
Getting to Paulie was top priority at this point. Hudson hoped that his message would travel to the pretztail swiftly, there wasn't a second to lose. He would have gotten to Paulie himself, but within these sandstone corridors and halls, he was as good as lost down here… Not to mention the crowd of pinatas that surrounded his bed, begging and pleading for pictures and autographs. The horstachio hid himself under a pillow, hoping to drown out their noises. "We're in a crisis right now, and all they can think about is me?!" Hudson thought, almost willing to humor just to make them to go away, but to do so would be indulging in a side of himself he wanted no part of.
"Move outta the way! Commander coming though!" The grumbling voice had parted the sea of pinatas straight to Hudson's bed. The sudden silence had stirred the horstachio from his hiding, even raising him up right in a sitting position.
"P-Paulie?" Hudson murmured, wondering if his ears were deceiving him. It had been years since they last met, it was a mystery how he could still recognize his friend's voice.
"Hudson!" Paulie had hopped up onto Hudson's bed. Their eyes had immediately locked into each other's. They were lost in silence for a few moments, their eyes soaking in as much as they could before Paulie bolted to Hutson for a squeezing hug. "It's been forever buddy!" Hudson was taken off guard from the pretztail's back-breaking embrace, seeing as Paulie lugged around a sniper-rifle twice the size of himself and was wearing desert raider styled gear.
"Glad to still see you in once piece!" Hudson returned the gesture the best he could. The crowd around them awed in forced unison, reminding the duo that they weren't alone.
"Uhhh… Little privacy?" Paulie politely asked, but not a soul obeyed, "...That's an order!" He shouted out, every pinata instantly booking it out of the room, with the pretztail slamming the door behind them all. "Ugh…" Paulie grumbled with a sigh, turning around to face the horstachio. "...You look like you've seen better, did you drag yourself over here?" The pretztail had concerns over the wellbeing of his friend.
"Not quite…" The horstachio blushed, recounting the remarkable landing he performed over their hideout. "Anyways!" He redirected the conversation over to important matters, "there isn't much time to explain!" Paulie watched as Hudson, ripped his leg from the rope that elevated it and scooted over to the side of the bed. "Pinata Central Forces are on their way!" He warned the pretztail.
"I was just outside keeping watch, and didn't see a single thing out there. What makes you say that?" Paulie didn't know whether to trust Hudson's words or not. But the horstachio clearly wasn't joking around in the slightest.
"Well about that… I kind of flown myself in… VIP first class," the last bit was added in out of habit. His face hiding every bit of guilt the horstachio had with a nervous, broken smile.
"You did WHAT?!" Paulie grabbed Hudson by the scruff of his chest, dragging him closer, muzzle to snout. "Do you realize what you just did to us!?" The pretztail paused for a moment, only to continue again, "You've jeopardized our whole civilization!" He threw the horstachio back onto the bed.
"But it was urgent! Paulie, you don't understand! I need your help! ...Everyone's help," Hudson begged, hoping to get Paulie's assistance. The horstachio waited a few moments before giving the pretztail puppy dog eyes.
"And why would I do that?" Paulie glared fire into Hudson, looking for a damn good reason to aid someone who sabotaged their way of living. But before the horstachio could answer, an emergency siren rang throughout the halls and rooms, frightening both pinatas.
"What choice do you have now?!" Hudson replied, yelling over the blaring noise. Paulie hated to admit it, but Hudson was right, it would be suicide to stay and fight. The pretztail was better off cutting his losses and making his escape with the Horstachio.
"The choice to kill you now or later?" Paulie's sarcasm was showing. Under other circumstances, Paulie wouldn't have thought twice of beating some sense into the horstachio, but right now he could use all the help he could get.
"We need to get out of here! I'll tell you more on the way!" Hudson hopped out of bed, shedding off the casts without any repercussions. Paulie agreed with a grunt and a nod, taking lead of their escape.
"So what do you need my help for anyways?" Paulie glanced back at the horstachio he asked. The duo galloped along on all fours, getting more speed than conventional running.
"It's about Pinata Central!" Hudson answered back, breathing between every other word. Paulie stopped at a hallway corner, Hudson nearly plowing into him. The pretztail pressed in a certain brick combination before a wall gave way to a hidden passage.
"What about it?" Paulie knew Hudson was beating about the bush. The pair zipped through the doorway, the wall closing up right behind them. The dimly lit hall seemed to go on forever. The distance didn't halt their pace at all.
"Well, I took a grand tour of the place, and what I saw I knew I had to tell you all about it!" Hudson exclaimed, retelling his story with much enthusiasm, almost getting excited over it himself.
"Just get on with it!" What did you see?" Paulie grew impatient with Hudson's storytelling. He hoped in the back of his mind that this would all be worth it. There were lives on the line for this one little detail that Hudson had saved away just for his ears alone.
"I saw Fergy there…" The horstachio began, not knowing how to put it.
"Fergy?!" Paulie was nearly shocked out of his mache. "I thought he was space dust by now!" The pretztail vocalized his thoughts, though thankful the fudgehog was still alive… Or at least Hudson made it sound that way. "Why are they keeping him there?" It didn't take the sly pretztail long to figure out that this didn't add up at all. Pinata Central never kept prisoners for more than a day, and Fergy was long gone for years within their clutches.
"That's where I need your help…" Hudson reminded Paulie of his intentions, knowing in the back of his mind that Paulie wouldn't like what was coming. Regardless, Fergy's best friend needed to hear it.
"Of course Hudson! Anything to help Fergy! ...But can you tell me why Fergy's locked away in Pinata Central? What do they want with him? He not exactly VIP material," Paulie assumed they were holding him hostage in an attempt to coax the pretztail out of hiding. Mulling it over for a few seconds, it still didn't even add up. If they wanted to oust Paulie, they would have made Fergy's imprisonment national news. And even though the two were show stars, they really didn't matter in the great scheme of things, at least not like Hudson and not in today's time.
"It's worse than that…" Hudson kept the pretztail going through hoops, hoping he could avoid telling Paulie entirely. The horstachio believed the pretztail couldn't handle the truth, but he knew if he really needed Paulie's help, he would have to tell him sooner rather later and especially before the pretztail found out for himself.
"What could be worse than being a prisoner? Are they doing experiments on him?!" Paulie's imagination began to wonder into the horrific possibilities that the fudgehog could be in. "Cloning him? Interrogating him? Using him as bait? Tell me Hudson!" The pretztail required answers, but he wasn't ready for what information Hudson tried to hide.
"Well… He's sort of in charge of Pinata Central now…" Hudson tried to drop the bomb casually, but it hit Paulie hard… Real hard. The pretztail stopped on a dime, the answer only providing him with countless questions. Hudson stopped soon after, retracing his steps back to Paulie, waving a hoof in front of the pretztail's face. "Uh… Paulie, you okay?" He spoke to the petrified pretztail.
"...It's all my fault," immediately the tragic memories of Fergy's capture flooded Paulie's thoughts. He fell to his knees, fighting back the tears. Hudson was at a loss for words, wondering how this all could be Paulie's fault to begin with. He could only watch as Paulie muttered the same thing over and over again as the tears flowed until the pretztail passed out, curled up in a ball.
"Paulie?" Hudson stooped down to shake the pretztail with a hoof. No response, "Paulie, come on! Get a hold of yourself and wake up!" He shook him harder, still no response. The horstachio would have to hurry, the walls that were behind them began to close up one after another with a loud shutter. It was only a matter of time before they were flattened like paper. There was no snapping Paulie back awake. Hudson would have to throw the pretztail onto his back and make a run for it.
It wasn't too much longer before the hallway gave way to a dank, murky cavern, just as brightly lit as the hall that closed up behind them. The place wasn't much bigger than the hallway either, only providing the duo a mine trolley with tracks leading into the dark depths below. As much as Hudson's fear kicked in to tell him otherwise, it was the only option that presented itself. The horstachio bucked the pretztail off into the trolley, soon hopping in himself. Disengaging the brake, Hudson prepared for the ride of a lifetime. One hoof gripping onto an edge of the trolley and another wrapped around the drooly pretztail for emotional support more so than keeping him inside the trolley. The horstachio let out a howl of a scream has the plunge took them into the darkness, the fright causing him to fall into unconsciousness as well.