General POV

Since the next day was a Monday, Simon woke his brothers again, but this time, he wanted it to be as entertaining as possible. He quietly snuck downstairs and opened the freezer. I swear, some of Alvin's antics have rubbed off on me, he thought as he grabbed two handfuls of ice and tiptoed back upstairs. He set one handful on their side table and held the other as he quietly snuck to Alvin's bed. Pulling the back of Alvin's pajama collar away from his neck, Simon dropped the whole handful of ice down his shirt.

Alvin's eyes snapped open and became wide before he screamed and leaped out of bed. Still yelling, he began pulling on his shirt, trying to knock the ice out. He danced around, desperately trying to get it out. Simon was lying on the floor in stitches, laughing so hard. Theodore awoke to the commotion, and upon seeing his oldest brother dancing, pulling at his shirt, and his second-oldest brother laughing his head off, Theo could guess what happened and chuckled at it too.

Finally, Alvin got the ice out and it fell to the floor. He picked it up and hurled it at Simon, who quickly evaded it before running to his stash on the side table and throwing his own. Theo got in on the fun too.

Dave opened the door. "What in the world is going on in here?" He cried, looking around the room for an explanation. He saw Alvin and Theodore dancing around the room, pulling at their shirts. Dave raised an eyebrow, but when the ice fell out, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Alvin glared at him.

"Simon woke me up!" Alvin cried, pointing to his dead brother. Dave chuckled.

"Well, at least you're up," he said as he headed downstairs. Alvin gave Simon the evil eye then headed down himself.

School was a fairly normal day. No one attacked Theodore, Alvin didn't blow up the school, and Simon was able to help his brothers again. It was a really nice day. On the way back home, they passed the park they went to yesterday. Alvin begged Simon to let them go play for five minutes. Simon refused, saying, "No, Alvin. We need to head home. Dave might get worried." But when Theodore began begging too, Simon gave in. "Oh alright. But only for five minutes, okay?" Alvin and Theo cheered and ran to their favorite parts: Alvin to the play structure and Theodore to the swings. Simon sighed and sat on the monkey bars again.

He glanced at his watch. "Alright, got it. Exactly five minutes, only," he said. As the time ticked away, he watched one brother, then the other. Alvin was pretending to be both characters from a romantic movie, kissing thin air as the guy then pretending to be a girl and batting her eyelashes prettily. Simon rolled his eyes. As he watched Theo, he was just beginning to get very high, squealing when he would get airtime from the swing. Simon smiled. He liked seeing his brothers so happy.

Suddenly, as Simon was watching Theo, a man dressed all in black came up behind Theo. Simon frowned. Sure, there were other people at the park, but none of them bothered his brothers. Without warning, the man reached out and caught Theo mid-swing. Theo tried to cry out, but the man's dirt-stained hand clamped over his mouth. Theo squirmed and flailed as hard as he could, but the man held a rag over his face. Within seconds, Simon saw Theo's eyes become glazed as they rolled back and Theo fell asleep.

Simon leaped off the monkey bars, ignoring the somewhat painful jolt going through his body from the landing. He ran to Alvin, but kept an eye on the man in black. "Alvin!" Simon cried. Alvin either didn't hear him or he was purposely ignoring him. Simon scowled. "ALVIN!" He screamed. Alvin looked cross as he glanced down.

"What?" A very irritated Alvin asked.

"Theo, he's been taken by a man dressed in black!" Simon looked over his shoulder. The man put Theo in his tinted-windows car and was now walking casually towards them. Simon gasped. "Now he might be coming for you!"

Alvin frowned as he looked over at the man. "He took Theo? Then why don't I let him take me so I can find out where he went," Alvin suggested.

"No!" Simon cried. "We need another plan, a bit more... foolproof." Simon thought for a moment. He had to hurry; the man was right there now. "Okay, here's the plan. You have to get home and tell Dave what happened. I'll follow the man and see where he goes, then come back and tell you so you can tell Dave, okay?" Alvin was listening intently, nodding. Simon saw the man was climbing the play structure now. "But you can't let him catch you!" Simon cried. "He has this rag and if he puts it against your face, you fall asleep!" Alvin got the idea and ran down the slide just before the man could touch him.

The man growled like an animal before taking chase after Alvin. "Run, Alvin!" Simon cried. "RUN!" Simon watched as Alvin sprinted around the field, the man not too far behind. Simon was glad Alvin was in boy scouts as well as Little League, or else he would have run out of stamina, which was exactly what was happening to the man.

He was slowing considerably until he just stopped. Alvin slowed as well, but turned and began running towards the entrance of the park, hoping to get home as fast as possible.

Simon, understanding his brother's horrible sense of direction, quickly sketched a map home on a piece of paper from his notebook, and as Alvin trotted by, Simon fell into step next to him and handed him the map. Alvin was saving his breath to breathe, so he just smiled at Simon as he continued on his way. Simon slowed and watched Alvin escape. Now for Theo. Simon ran up to the car and put his hands around the window, trying to see past the tint.

After a few seconds, it became clear and Simon was able to see in the car. He saw Theo sitting up, banging on the window Simon was looking in, a terrified look on his face. Simon smiled reassuringly at Theo, but Theo desperately mouthed, 'Get me out!' Simon nodded, even though he wasn't sure if he could.

The man was coming back, panting hard, his face red. He angrily jammed the key into the lock and opened the old car door. Simon slipped in just before he did and slid into the back, next to Theo.

"I need to find out where he's gonna take you," Simon explained, knowing the man couldn't hear him. Theo nodded reluctantly. "Alvin went back to tell Dave you got captured, and after I find out where this man is taking us, I'll go back to Dave's house and tell them so they can get you out." At this, Theo smiled.