Chapter 2 – Mystery Box

The next morning Buzz awoke to an empty room, and an empty space beside him. He sat up and stretched, more dust removing itself from his suit as he got to his feet. His eyes searching the room, he noticed Amber's satchel was gone, meaning she had gone to school.

Glancing at the desk, he saw Woody and Bullseye must have vacated it, for the space occupied by the cowboy and the horse was now empty. Buzz jumped down onto a packed box, then to the floor, before going in search of the cowboy duo and their steed.

"I can't believe we're leaving it all behind," Jessie sighed. She was sitting with Woody on the bed, flipping through a old pop up baby book that Amber had found under her bed and discarded onto the nightstand.

Woody flipped another page and nodded. "I know. This area's so familiar to me Jessie. I mean, it's where Andy lived, and then we got moved to where Bonnie was, and now Amber's house not so far from where either of them grew up."

"But Nebraska, Woody." Jessie said softly, tracing the outline of a rabbit on the page in front of her. "It's so far away."

"You sure it's the distance that's bothering you?" Woody asked, raising a brow, and Jessie shrugged.

"Partly. I guess the other is the..." she broke off and bit her lip.

"The storage?" Woody guessed, and the cowgirl nodded.

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't worry, Jess. You know Buzz will be there too. He's practically a walking light bulb when it comes to dark places."

Jessie giggled. "I know." She thought fondly of her boyfriend, who had helped her through so many long nights in the darkness of Andy's toy box, Bonnie's wicker chest, and now the various places they wound up in when in Amber's room. Storage in a box to move cross country would be interesting, to say the least. But she comforted herself with the fact they'd all be together.

The sight of the space ranger climbing over the edge of the bed made her perk up even more. "Morning Buzz," she called, as he made his way over to settle down beside them.

"Morning, you," Buzz grinned at his girlfriend, then looked at Woody. "Morning, cowboy."

"Mornin'." Woody smiled at the space ranger, who had already wrapped an arm around Jessie's waist, pulling her into his lap as she squealed, her hat tumbling to the bedspread.

"Hey Jess?" Woody asked. "What happened to your hat?"

"Huh?" Jessie turned her attention from Buzz to her hat, and sighed. "Oh. Yeah. The string broke on it two days ago. I tried to fix it but I'm not as good at knots as I used to be...so I decided to just leave it until Amber gets around to fixing me up at our new home."

Woody gave a little smile. He knew what Jessie meant. He pulled at his shirt cuffs, noticing how the white was slowly turning grey and the yellow waistcoat was faded. His denim was grubby too, and his boots, once so well looked after, were scuffed now from years of playtime. The only reminder of who he was – who they all were – was etched into the sole of his left boot, which he'd occasionally turn over on a particularly lonely, sleepless night.

"Where's Bullseye?" Buzz suddenly asked, realising that the cowboy was minus the horse.

"Oh, he's down on the floor with Slinky. He's trying to learn how to play fetch." Woody grinned, indicating over the side of the bed. "I swear that silly stallion turns into a dog every day."

"You just leave Bullseye alone," Jessie said from her place in Buzz's lap. "I think it's cute what he does."

Woody rolled his eyes, and subsided, watching his little sister in the arms of the space ranger. He was so looking forward to getting to Lexington. He couldn't stand this hanging around waiting for much longer.

"Amber honey, don't forget to finish up those boxes. We need them sorted out in time for tomorrow," Mrs Marshall called from down the hall, and Amber groaned from her place on the bed. It was an hour after she had come home from school and she had spread her books over the blanket in preparation to complete her homework.

"Yes mom," She called, hauling herself up, walking over to the boxes scattered around the bookcase.

Buzz watched the young girl picking up a stack of books from her bookshelf below where he sat with Jessie. He was still amazed at how quickly Amber had grown up. She had shot up to five foot two in what seemed to be a very short space of time, and her hair had grown too; it fell in shades of blonde around her shoulders. Her blue eyes roved over the shelves, selecting various ornaments which she was wrapping in newspaper to protect for the journey ahead.

Buzz suddenly had a thought as he continued to watch her pack the box, and was confused by it. Did Mrs Marshall say the boxes needed to be ready for tomorrow? He thought they weren't moving until the weekend.

Before he could peruse the thought any further, Buzz found himself in Amber's clutches, and she put him into a box. Jessie joined him a few moments later, her big green eyes blinking at him questioningly when it was safe to do so. Amber left the box open, and after a short while, more paper wrapped parcels joined them, and after this, the familiar figures of Bullseye and Woody entered the box from above too.

"All done, Mom," they heard Amber call some time later, and then the sound of her bedsprings creaking could be heard as she jumped back onto her bed, presumably to continue where she'd left off with her homework.

"This is it!" Woody whispered, as Bullseye flicked his tail happily. "We're finally moving."

Buzz nodded, and clutched at Jessie's hand. But even though it seemed to be the case, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that settled over him.

The night passed in a blur. The toys, surrounded by books and paper wrapped parcels, couldn't move too much, so instead they sat and whispered together about what the move would be like. Woody had been on Amber's computer, researching pictures of the state, and filled Buzz and Jessie's minds with images of dusty windswept plains, hot sunshine, green grass, and quaint little wooden houses. The capital cities were obviously more built up, but the area they were moving to would be less so, he advised them, so there would be more fresh air and outdoor life than they were used to.

Jessie, Buzz noticed, had a dreamy look on her face, no doubt she was imagining it to be more like the cowboy ranch type home she'd never really experienced firsthand. He grinned at her as she rambled on about all the fun they were going to have, and how great it would be to see the other toys again.

However the feeling he'd had from when they'd first been put into the box wouldn't leave him, even as he listened to his friend's excited chatter. He didn't know if it was merely nerves, or whether it was the brashness with which Amber had packed them.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Jessie leaning her head on his shoulder, whispering to him that she was sleepy. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close as she settled down. He noticed Woody had leaned back on the side of the box, and Bullseye had lain on the floor, his head on his folded hooves.

With a soft sigh, Buzz allowed his own eyes to drift closed, wondering what the morning would bring.

He didn't have to wait long to find out. He was awoken by something dropping into the box above him, and he sat bolt upright. Next to him, Jessie had jumped awake too, and she was staring at whatever had entered the box. Buzz exhaled, his heart hammering from the rude awakening, realising it was only a book.

Across from them, Woody suddenly spoke. "Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't this the book we were looking at yesterday?"

Buzz glanced at the cowgirl, who had tipped her head to one side, deciphering the writing on it.

"I think it is. Why would Amber be packing her old baby bo-" she began slowly, but she was cut off as the box lid suddenly closed on them without warning.

Startled, Buzz groped for Jessie in the dark, suddenly feeling her wrap her arms around his waist. "I'm scared of the dark, Buzz," she whispered, and the nerves he'd felt the previous night returned full force as they felt the box being picked up and carried somewhere...he didn't know where...

It felt like déjà vu to him, he realised, as he felt the box be placed down a few minutes later.

The box was placed down, and brilliant sunlight flooded through the top as the lid was opened. Buzz was his guard instantly.

This wasn't right.

He could hear various chattering and children shouting, cars coming and going down the road. He could see the blue sky, the tops of the trees in the garden belonging to Amber's parents, and as Amber pulled him from the box, the tables with possessions strewn on them.

With dismay, Buzz realised exactly what was going on.

This was a yard sale.

They were being sold.

I do LOVE a cliffhanger, don't you? Bwahaha.