Chapter 3: Hide and Stuff
Later that night, Crystal was wandering around a residential area of Station Square and was starting to tire when she heard a car go by. This wasn't unusual, she'd seen several cars pass by the sidewalk where she was waking. Only a few humans were out on foot this late it seemed, so she could hear them coming and hide from them. However, this car stopped a few feet in front of her. She could see it was black and white with the words "Station Square Police Dept." painted on the back. An adult human got out of the car and walked over to her. "Its awfully late to be out by yourself, where are your parents?" he asked. Getting a closer look, he added "Did you run away from a costume party or something?" Crystal still didn't respond. "Come with me to the station and we'll find your parents" he said, trying to sound kind. Crystal didn't need another vision to know what to do next. She turned and ran. The officer ran after her but after he realized that she was faster then she looked, he retreated to his car and spoke into his radio "I spotted a lost child in a white fox costume on 6th Street. She ran away from me and she's faster then she looks. Requesting backup." The dispatcher responded. "Roger, I'll send 2 more officers to help." and the officer thought he heard someone say in the background "Did that hedgehog have a friend or something?"
Crystal ran until she thought she'd lost her pursuer, then she hid behind some bushes when she saw a car with the same markings as before drive by. She thought she'd escaped notice, and then she stepped on a twig. A nearby voice said, "What was that?". Crystal ran before the humans could surround her. She heard sirens and saw the black and white cars were chasing her and gaining. She noticed a road ahead was full of other cars and turned down it. Luckily she'd run to the shopping district and the officers couldn't get their cars through the traffic. Unfortunately, they were still chasing her. Crystal considered turning invisible again, but knew it would be too tiring if she had to keep it up for too long. Since humans were blocking the sidewalk in front of her and the ones behind her were still chasing, she ran through the door to a large building. Inside was a sign saying "Welcome to Station Square Mall". Crystal knew she couldn't run forever and looked around for a place to hide. Then she saw one. A store with a teddy bear in the window and the worlds "Bobby's Stuffed Animals" written above it. She ran into the store and jumped into a bin labeled "assorted stuffed animals. Sale 10% off". The officers came and looked around but left when they didn't see her.
The store wasn't too busy, so Crystal breathed a sigh of relief and started to sneak out, but stopped when she saw a young girl and her mother approach the bin. The girl was looking at and touching seemingly all the stuffed animals in the store. Some of them played voice recordings when she touched them, others danced in a clock work fashion, some did both. The girls' mother looked bored. The girl approached the bin and started sifting through the contents. She was part way through the bin when she felt Crystal's fur. "Mommy can I have this one? Its fur is sooo soft." she said. "Does it talk?" Her mother asked. She continued, "You said you wanted one that talks." The girl pulled Crystal's ear and Crystal said, while trying to move her mouth as little as possible: "Albuquerque Superficial Fleetway Sensationalism." The girl looked confused and her mother led her away mumbling something about getting what you pay for. Crystal escaped the store a few minutes later. She was hiding behind a banner advertising cell phone plans wondering what to do next when she saw Timmy and his mother walk by. Crystal figured that she'd need somewhere to rest very soon so she secretly followed them.