Care Bears III: The Search for Timid Heart
Chapter 3:
Time came and went. Spring turned into summer. Summer became fall. Fall was defeated by the frozen bite of winter. Finally, spring returned once again...
The sun had not yet woken up. The forest was cold and still, mellow fog hung sleepily below the frosted trees. The veil of fog hugged the trunks of the trees and concealed the boulders in its cold blanket. The green ferns and bushes slept under the frozen dew that clung to the leaves, waiting for the sun to melt it. Silence graced the slumbering wilderness, with the exception of the occasional croak of the stirring woodpecker or the calm hoot of the horned owl settling in the shadowy branches above the fog.
It started as a distant rustle, then grew into solid, fast-paced footfalls. The still forest was disturbed suddenly by a hooded blur of purple, gray and green, followed swiftly by a blur of blue. The duo zoomed by, leaving behind a small trail of disturbed underbrush that fluttered briefly before settling back on the forest floor, and sending the frozen drops of dew raining into the dirt.
The hooded blur glided effortlessly through the fog, gracefully dodging and leaping over the hidden boulders and branches. The speed of the figure filled the hood with wind, causing it to fly off, revealing Colette's grinning face and flowing black hair; her cheeks red from the exhilarating run through the cold mountain air. Ahead, a massive log. She narrowed her eyes, her smile growing. She lifted her eyes to a branch above. She leapt, grabbing the branch, freely swinging her body over the large log. She landed on her feet on the other side, continuing her dash without breaking stride.
Keeping up from a slightly elevated mountain trail, the blue blur galloped through the ferns, leaping logs, scaling up boulders and finally leaping down and joining Colette's side. A stream suddenly appeared through the fog, but the duo simply increased their speed and lifted off at the same time.
For a split second, time seemed to stop as the team flew over the water. Colette looked over into the big, happy, yellow eyes of her companion. Her baby. Timid Heart had grown into a beautiful wolf; his deep azure fur long and flowing around his face, back and tail.
Their bond was evident, and unmatched by any other. And for those few seconds, they seemed to be the only two creatures in the world.
Within moments, the rest of the world returned, and they caught the ground under their feet as they fleetly continued their morning run. Up, up, up, they went, Colette now needing to incorporate her parkour skills to efficiently scale the mountain's obstacles. Timid Heart made it to the top first, panting heavily. The breeze felt good as it blew through his long coat, briefly parting the thick white fur on his tummy, revealing flashes of color from his now hidden and still mysterious symbol. He focused on the pink horizon.
"Hurry, mommy! You'll miss it!" He called out behind him, his eyes locked on the beautiful sky.
"I'm trying!" Colette called breathlessly, losing steam as she approached the top. "Cut me some slack, Timmy. I only have two legs!"
Fatigued, she dragged herself up the last few feet, collapsing by Timid Heart's side. He rubbed his head against her arm. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her lap and hugging him tightly. Now, they both watched the sky in silence as the sun crept out from behind the distant mountains, shedding golden light on the forest and hills below. The beautiful beams of fresh sunlight glimmered off the rivers and streams, washing them in a sea of gold and bathing the barren parts of the surrounding mountains in a majestic purple glow.
Finally, the beams reached the team. The silvery, frosted forest around them transformed into a vibrant shade of green as the frost melted into dew and began to drip off the leaves. The warm rays kissed the chilly faces of the duo. They both closed their eyes and sighed simultaneously, contently absorbing their spectacular surroundings and the delightfully mild warmth offered by the burning star. Colette buried her face in Timid Heart's head fur and breathed in his lupine scent. Timid Heart leaned back, staring into the eyes of his protector, his love. His mommy.
In the early morning sunrise, an invisible pulse of love burst into the sky and disappeared into the clouds. Unbeknownst to the duo, it wasn't the first time their love was so strong it could be felt above the clouds.
Back in No Heart's castle, everything was dark and cold, shrouded from the sun. Over the course of the year, Cold Heart, No Heart, Shreeky and Beastly had been working tirelessly to gather the ingredients for the Spirit's mysterious spell. They didn't understand the plan, nor did they know what the purpose was of the concoction they were being forced to create. No Heart had faith in the Spirit and didn't question her. He made the others do the same. Even Dark Heart, still imprisoned in the bottle, remained quietly suspicious but never again questioned the Spirit since he agreed to her deal.
The perpetually exhausted villains slept heavily in separate rooms. The Spirit remained on the table in the main throne room; Dark Heart slept contently on his own shelf in the same room. The castle was filled with the snores of the others. The Spirit opened her eyes slowly, her face no longer green, but gold, indicating weakened power.
She listened to the sleeping sounds of her associates and gazed over at the sheet of ice on the wall that Cold Heart had made. They had used it to watch their enemies, making sure none of them had yet found the prize.
She whispered an incantation to herself, causing the ice to crack, glow and show her what she wanted to see. She watched intently, no sound came from the magic "window"...she kept that to herself. No need to wake the others, after all...
The sun hung higher in the sky now, shedding light on the lower parts of the valley. Colette rested on her back, watching the clouds, playing with a long stem of grass between her teeth, while Timid Heart stood at the edge of the mountain, looking at the valley below. He perked his ears at the sight of some distant cabins near a lake. He wagged his tail.
"Mommy, look. Is that another summer camp?"
Colette sat up and looked over the edge. "Nah." She pulled the grass stem from her mouth. "That's a mountain resort."
Timid Heart leaned forward and sniffed the air. "Something smells good down there." He sniffed again. "Mmm...I smell bacon! And muffins!"
"Oh they only serve the best food to their guests." Colette nodded, replacing the grass stem between her teeth.
Timid Heart's belly rumbled. He patted it. "I sure am hungry. Wish we could get some of that food."
Colette smirked. "I might be able to work something out for us."
"Oh boy!" Timid Heart jumped up happily. "What're we waiting for?! Let's go get something to eat! I'm hungry as a wolf!"
Colette rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Timmy, you are a wolf!"
"...oh yeah..."
Colette laughed as she got to her feet, tussling the fur tuft on Timid Heart's head. "C'mon. I'll race ya!" She took off down the mountain, grabbing tree branches as she descended and swinging to the next tree.
"Hey no fair! You got a head start! Wait for me!" Timid Heart leapt down after her.
Suddenly, the pulse of love reached the castle, shaking the walls and causing the mirror to shatter.
The Spirit moaned, trying to remain quiet. More color faded from her face. Those bursts of love were weakening all of them, except, seemingly, Dark Heart. She gasped and sighed, trying to hold her tongue. Once the initial pain wore off, she listened. After a few moments, the snoring sounds returned. The pulse had not awakened her exhausted companions. She looked over at the shattered ice wall, recalling what she had just seen.
The Spirit's eyes widened. "The wait is over..." She whispered to herself. "It's time..."
Her eyes glowed yellow, and she mumbled another incantation. Within moments, glowing red eyes on black shapeless shadows appeared around her. Their eyes slowly started turning the same color as the Spirit's, absorbing her telepathic instructions. After a moment, her eyes returned to normal.
"Go." She demanded in a quiet growl.
No Heart's shadows obeyed and floated out the nearest windows, an important mission to complete.
Alone, the Spirit smiled weakly. "Finally." She sighed.
On the shelf not too far away, Dark Heart opened his eyes into very slender slits, and glared suspiciously at the book.
In Care-a-Lot, most of the Care Bears and their cousins were already awake and preparing for the long day of work ahead. Tender Heart was still at home, preparing for his day as well. The Caring Meter boasted low notes as it fell several points. Few paid it heed, accustomed to its frequent down tones. Everyone's morning routine was suddenly interrupted by a random cloud quake. The sudden pulse caused the Meter to ping an upbeat note and go up a few points. Brave Heart passed the Meter, scratching his head.
"Dog-gone thing just can't make up its mind." He said, crossing his arms at the glitchy machine.
Everyone seemed to have grown accustomed to the random but brief quakes, and all were far too distracted by their missions to feel the burst of warmth that accompanied the quakes. But Tender Heart knew better. He quickly ran to a drawer and pulled out a rolled up map. It was a smaller version of the giant map that hung in the Hall of Hearts, and he marked areas on it with stickers instead of pegs.
He unrolled the map and pulled out his GCS device. It blinked for a moment, a digital map appearing on the screen. A pixelated heart appeared blinking on the location of the burst of love. Tender Heart looked at his paper map and placed a sticker on the spot the screen displayed. He stared at the map, the love bursts were indeed coming from the same general area; a 1,000 acre wilderness. He sighed. He felt deep down, his cousin was still alive somewhere in that forest.
A knock on his door snapped his attention off the map. He quickly put it away and ran to the door. He gasped when he saw True Heart. Her face seemed perpetually sad since the wolf pup had disappeared.
"Oh...good morning True Heart." He said politely.
True Heart forced a half-smile. But the sadness in her eyes remained the same. "Good morning Tender Heart. Here's today's schedules." She handed him a clip board.
He took it gently and looked it over. He frowned.
"There must be a mistake. Everyone is scheduled for Care Missions today."
"Yes." True Heart said stoically. "We're falling behind on our Missions. So we're going to focus on that today."
Tender Heart swallowed before asking. "What about...the search for Timid Heart?"
The pain in True Heart's eyes became even more evident, and Tender Heart immediately regretted asking.
"We...we need...to focus on our duty." She answered in a shaky voice. "We simply have no more time for...lost causes." She whispered the last part, dropping her head so that she stared at the ground. "It's been a year, Tender Heart. There's no sign of him. He's..he's gone."
She turned and started to walk away. Tender Heart watched, eyes wide. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He looked back at the drawer that contained his map. The last hope. He looked back at True Heart, who was almost out of view.
"True Heart!" Tender Heart called out to her suddenly, shocking himself.
She stopped and turned slightly. "Yes?" He could hear the cry in her voice.
He wanted so bad to tell her about his map. That there might still be hope if they all searched that forest. He wanted to tell her, 'True Heart, I think I might know where we can find him.'
But he hesitated. What if he was wrong? What if those bursts of love came from an unrelated source? What if it was nothing at all? True Heart's hopes would have been crushed all over again. Tender Heart bit his lower lip and sighed.
"I...just wanted to tell you...have a good day, True Heart." He finally coughed out, feeling silly.
True Heart half smiled again. "You too, Tender Heart." She answered, her voice portraying the same pain as her eyes. With that, she disappeared into the Hall of Hearts.
Tender Heart sighed again, looked back down at the Mission schedule, then closed his door and headed for the cloud cars.
True Heart wandered to the upper balcony of the Hall of Hearts, watching the others climb solemnly into their cloud cars and rollers, heading out for the day. They were all disappointed and confused by True Heart's sudden disinterest in continuing the search for their little cousin. She watched, her entire body full of sadness and defeat. Alone, she folded her arms against the railing, buried her face in them, and cried. Something she'd been doing a lot of over the past year.
"I'm sorry..." She wept to herself. "I'm sorry I let you down Timid Heart. Now we'll never know where you are."
Timid Heart peeked from behind a tree. Colette peeked out above him. They eyed the resort from several yards away, the scent of the food was tantalizingly close now, and both of their stomachs rumbled.
"There's the main building. I'll go in and grab us some food. You stay here and don't let anyone see you, okay?" Colette whispered.
Timid Heart held his roaring tummy. "Okay, mommy. But hurry! I'm starving!"
"You're always starving." Colette giggled. "Just wait here and I'll be back in a little bit."
With that, she started towards the site, disappearing among the cabins and reappearing as she started up the steps to the main building.
Timid Heart watched her go, his stomach's demanding growls were deafening. He moaned, gripping at his belly fur. He was insatiable. And the close proximity of the scent of food was torturous. Some people exited one of the cabins, throwing what appeared to be muffin wrappers in the trash can behind the cabin. They took off towards the lake, leaving those tempting smells in the waste bin. Timid Heart eyed the bin, his stomach demanding food.
Colette had told him to stay hidden, and as much as he wanted to obey her, his stomach had other plans. There didn't appear to be anyone else around. He couldn't take it anymore. He made a beeline for the trash can.
A couple of young boys; around 12 years old, wandered the woods behind the cabins.
"My father owns a modeling agency." One of the boys bragged. "We get to come here every spring and summer. See that cabin there? That's the one we rent every year. One of the best ones here."
"Big deal." The other boy shrugged. "See that cabin? That one has a hot tub and...a wolf?"
The other boy looked at him strangely. "A...what?"
"Look!" His companion pointed.
Both boys stared, intrigued, at what appeared to be a wolf with a coat as blue as the sky, digging through a garbage can.
Behind the boys, 2 dark ghostly shadows appeared, eyes aglow.
"Whoa!" The first boy gasped. "Should we tell someone?"
One of the shadows lurched forward, disappearing into the second boy. The boy's eyes glowed for a brief moment, then narrowed into a scowl.
"What, and ruin the fun we could have?" His voice suddenly sounded scratchy.
The other boy looked at him, confused. "Huh? Fun? What do you...?"
The second shadow torpedoed into the other boy, causing him to go through the same transformation as his friend. He suddenly felt like doing something...cruel.
"Oh, I get it..." He smirked. They exchanged knowing glances and quietly made their way to the very preoccupied wolf.
Timid Heart was far too distracted to hear the approaching boys. One snuck up behind him while the other disappeared around the side of the cabin, grabbing some rope used to dock the boats. A snapping twig made Timid Heart whip around. He locked eyes with the one boy, and he cowered in fear. He was about to run, but the boy pulled a muffin out of his pocket. Timid Heart eyed the pastry, licking his lips.
"Hungry, big guy?" The boy asked with a conceded snicker. "I got something you might like..." He held the muffin out in all its tasty glory. Timid Heart licked his lips and cautiously stepped forward.
He spotted the other boy too late. In a flash, the rope flew over his ears and settled around his neck. Timid Heart pulled back; the rope grew tight. He tried to yelp, but the rope dug through his fur into his neck, disabling his ability to cry out. His heart beat wildly in his chest as they began dragging him into the woods. Timid Heart gasped and choked and pulled back with all his might. But that only made the rope tighter. Within moments, he was breathless, and unable to draw in fresh oxygen. He tried in vain to scream, but only succeeded in making a muffled gurgle as he was dragged into the shadows of the trees.
"What're...we gonna...do with him?" The boy doing the pulling asked between breaths.
The other boy sneered and ate the muffin he used to tempt the naïve young wolf.
"How 'bout a little...target practice?"
He and his companion chuckled maniacally, dragging their gasping victim out of sight of the resort.
True Heart lifted her head to the faint beeping of her GCS device. She reached for it and hit the button. A digital map appeared on the screen, and a blinking pixelated broken heart appeared, showing the location of the problem as well as some other pertinent information.
There seemed to be 2 boys near a resort in a 1,000 acre forest who had been influenced by No Heart's shadows. No other information was provided. True Heart sighed. She was the only one there. She'd have to take this mission.
"Oh dear." She moaned as she pocketed the GCS and headed towards a cloud car. She didn't feel as though she was in any condition to help anyone care. But she couldn't turn away from 2 kids that could get into trouble for being influenced by No Heart's shadows.
She hopped in and headed down to Earth, feeling very unsure.
Colette inconspicuously made her way back to the treeline, her pockets and arms full of muffins, fruit and other goodies.
"Hey, Timmy!" She called excitedly. "I hope your tummy is ready for some tasty treats!"
She looked around, but saw nothing. "Timmy! C'mon, I got your favorites!" Again, no answer. "Come on Timmy, I thought you were hungry!" She set the food down, keeping an apple and taking a big bite out of it. "If you don't come out I'm gonna have to eat all of this by my..." She noticed paw prints on the ground leading towards one of the cabins. "..self." She finished, setting the apple down and following the prints to the knocked over trash cans.
Her eyes bulged and she gasped at the sight of claws marks in the dirt, along with shoe prints, leading into the forest. Her heart pounded, but it felt to her like it stopped completely. "Timmy..." She whispered, the feeling of dread washing over her.
"TIMMY!" She screamed before she took off in the direction of the prints.
They tied him so close to the tree that he couldn't move. The rope was so tight around around his neck that he could hardly breath. Pain shot through his neck and back with every labored breath he tried to take.
CRACK
The sound of a large rock hitting the tree made him clench up with fear. That one missed him. But the next one didn't. A shock of pain shot through his hip and down his leg as the rock connected with his thigh. He he tried to cry out, but only succeeded in making his voice even more raw.
CRACK
Another rock hit the tree, causing some leaves to fall. He flinched again, terrified of when the next one would strike. CRACK. They hit the tree again, but it only made the wolf's heart pound in his chest, anticipating another hit but never knowing when it would come.
THWACK
There it was. Right on the side of his head. His eye and temple throbbed with pain. He tried to scream again, but to no avail. He attempted to make himself as small as possible, doing his best to protect his head and face. But every time he moved, the rope tightened. A barrage of rocks came; some hitting him; stinging his face and body. Other clacked against the tree, terrifying him. He huddled against the tree in a ball, bruised and frightened, as more rocks rained upon him. All sounds around him were drowned out by the pounding of his heart and the laughter of his tormentors.
True Heart landed the cloud car in some dense foliage, and started scouring the area. She checked the GCS again. Just about 100 yards ahead is where she would find the boys. Sure enough, there they were. The entire area where they stood and beyond was shrouded in shrubbery. She squinted her eyes. They were laughing as they threw some rocks at a tree. True Heart shook her head disapprovingly.
"That's not right." She said. "Trees have feelings too. I better go talk to them."
She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and started towards them.
"Excuse me..." She started but was completely overshadowed by a strong, angry, "HEY!"
The sharp command made True Heart freeze. From nowhere, a tall black-haired girl in a hoodie and cargo pants approached the boys, a scowl on her face and her hands balled up into fists.
"What the-who is that?" True Heart said to herself, confused.
She opened her mouth to ask, but then something happened that shocked her into a complete halt.
The girl jogged up to the boys and punched one of them dead in the face. He howled in pain as her fist collided with his jaw, blood sprayed into the air. He dropped to the ground, holding his face and moaning loudly.
True Heart stood, aghast at the scene before her, her paws covering her mouth, which hung open in astonishment. The girl wasn't done yet. She stood over the fallen boy and punched him in the face AGAIN. He dropped face-first onto the ground, and stayed there. The girl then turned to the other boy, grabbed him by the sides of his head and ripped it down, bringing her knee up to meet his nose.
More blood. True Heart could feel her stomach churning and knotting up at the mere sight of the red droplets staining the grass. The second boy huddled over, holding his bloody nose and crying. The girl lifted her leg high in the air and landed her foot on his ribcage. He, too, collapsed face first in the grass. Invisible to both the girl and True Heart, the shadows quickly left the boys' bodies and took off into the sky. Even they seemed terrified.
Standing over the 2 sobbing boys, the girl grabbed them by the back of their shirts, lifting them off the ground.
"IF I EVER SEE YOU DOING THIS AGAIN, I PROMISE YOU'LL GET WORSE THAN THIS!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
The boys shakily nodded, tears streaming down their bloodied faces. Without another word, she dropped them. They scrambled to their feet and stumbled away, crying. The girl watched them go, her face stern and full of anger.
Once they were no longer in view, she turned and left, leaving True Heart standing, shaking violently at what she'd just witnessed. Her legs felt like rubber, as though they could give out at any second. Every strand of fur stood up. Her eyes were wide and moist, pupils shrunken into the white. Never before had any Care Bear been witness to such volatile behavior. Such violence.
"Such...such a horrible, horrible girl!" True Heart shouted, covering her face in a fruitless attempt at trying to forget what she just saw. "People like her are what make our job harder and harder!"
She turned towards the cloud car, stumbling but quickly catching herself. She forced herself to run to it and crawled inside. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Out of severe frustration, she wept violently into her palms, her sobbing muffled.
"Just...just take me home! Now!" She commanded.
The worried looking cloud car wasted no time in setting off towards the clouds to get the traumatized Care Bear home.
Colette rushed over to the cowering and bruised Timid Heart. Seeing him like that made her even more upset.
"Don't worry baby." She tried to sound confident but her trembling voice told otherwise. "I'll set you free."
The rope was very taunt and it was impossible to untie. She pulled out her pocket knife and cut through it quickly. The moment he felt it slack, Timid Heart wasted no time in exploding away at top speed.
"Timmy!" Colette called and took off after him.
After a few yards, she had lost sight of him. She called out for him again, her voice drenched with worry.
"Timmy, wait! Please come back! Timmy!"
Her voice sounded so distant to him. He wanted to stop and go back to her so bad. But the fear and trauma drove him further and further away. Instinct overpowered him this time. He sped through the forest, no idea where he was going. He didn't care. He just wanted to get as far away from that place—from that memory- as possible.
Unfortunately, Timid Heart didn't realize that, in separating from Colette, he was putting them both in great danger.