"Oh...okay...I understand..." Penny said softly. She looked over at Rudy with a sad expression. "I'm sorry, Rudy, but I can't stay over. My mom insists I come back home."
"What? Didn't you explain..." Rudy started to say.
Penny nodded her head. "It won't sway her, Rudy. I could have told her more, but it would require...revealing ChalkZone." She lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Rudy. But I have to go home...mom says I'll be in trouble if I don't get home very soon."
Rudy sighed. He was hoping Penny could spend the night. He wasn't sure he could get to sleep easily not knowing what happened to Snap. And he wanted her company to feel safer in his own bedroom. True, Skrawl couldn't do anything, but he still felt uneasy around the zoner who wanted him dead.
Penny's mom, lately, was more adamant about Penny being home. He wondered if it had to do with the return of Penny's father. He had been absent for so many years. He didn't recall all the details, but Ms. Sanchez wanted Penny to reconnect with her estranged father. Since they were divorced, he didn't see any reason why she'd want Penny to associate with her father, unless she just wanted no tension between them or something.
He didn't try to make sense of it. It wasn't any of his business. Right now, what was of bigger concern was Skrawl and Snap, for different reasons of course. Penny assured him Snap would be okay. Penny had confidence in Snap and she believed that he got away from his attacker. She thinks Snap will be on the other side waiting for Rudy when he gets a new chalkboard from the store.
That was all fine and good. Rudy did feel a little better knowing he would be able to go back to ChalkZone soon. It wasn't like it was going to take a year. But there was still the matter of Skrawl.
He was careful not to look at him in the eyes. He didn't really feel like getting scowled at by the jellybean zoner. He felt exposed and unsafe around him. The connection to him was the only thing that would protect him. Skrawl didn't want to kill himself, so he wouldn't try to risk hurting Rudy. Yet he could still attack his parents. The thought hung over his head like a cloud. He would need to figure out something to do about that, and soon.
Skrawl was sitting in the corner of the room. He was mumbling something to himself and examining small objects on the ground with disgust. He had not really spoken to Rudy or Penny since he got there. He was clearly busy being bitter about the situation. Rudy wondered if Skrawl was kicking himself for not bringing his Beanie Boys with him, which could have turned the tide of the fight in the classroom. Oh well, at least he was being quiet. Rudy and Penny both didn't need to hear another of his egocentric speeches.
Penny slung an arm around Rudy's shoulder and pulled him close. "Tomorrow, we will return Skrawl to ChalkZone, we will find Snap, he will be fine, and everything will go back to normal. You will see."
Rudy nodded his head slowly. He forced himself to smile. Penny's comforting usually helped him. But not this time. Too much bad stuff was going on, and he was certain it was linked to Mr. Cosmo somehow. Still, he didn't want her to worry. As he smiled, he said, "You're...you're right...I'm sure... We'll get to the bottom of this..."
Penny's smile broadened a little. She placed her hands on Rudy's cheeks and gently pulled him into a kiss. After they parted, she whispered softly, "Things will turn out all right. Now..get some rest, okay?"
Rudy forced himself to reply, "Okay, Penny. I...I will try."
Skrawl watched this display of affection and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Or at least he would have if he had a nose. He turned his head away and muttered, "How revolting..."
Rudy and Penny glared at him, but they said nothing. It wasn't worth retorting back to Skrawl. He'd never understand the concept of friendship and compassion. The closest things to friends he has are the Beanie Boys, and he hardly ever displayed kindness to them.
Reluctantly, Penny left Rudy in the room alone with Skrawl. Rudy watched her leave. Oh how he wished she could stay. There was nothing he could do, though. Penny's mother was stern about her coming home. He wouldn't be able to say anything to sway her.
He shut the door and turned to Skrawl. He still needed to figure out a place for him to sleep without risking his parents walking in and seeing him. He couldn't make him be a statue again. If he fell asleep, and he was certain he would, he would topple over, which could make enough noise to alert his parents. There was no way he was sleeping in the same bed as him. There was hardly any room, plus his weight could break it down.
There was only one option left.
Rudy got up and went over to Skrawl. The jellybean glared at him, and he returned it. The two stared at each other for about a minute. They both took in the gravity of their situation. They both felt the tension of being in the same room together for an extended period weigh in on them. And they both understood there was nothing they could do about it for the time being. And that frustrated both of them to no end.
"Look Skrawl, I know you don't want to be here. I know you don't want to have anything to do with me." Rudy said sternly. "But right now, we're stuck together. So why don't you make it easier on yourself and go into the closet and sleep..." He pointed to the closet.
Skrawl chuckled halfheartedly. "You are joking right? You expect me to sleep in there?" He gestured to the closet. Rudy nodded at him. "Preposterous! There's no way I am sleeping in there! Why don't you sleep in there?"
Rudy said, "Because my parents didn't give birth to a giant jellybean monster, Skrawl. If they came in and saw you, there's a chance you could end up in worse trouble than you are already in. Go into the closet now and I'll shut the door so they won't see your face if they decide to come in."
Skrawl growled, "Why should I listen to you, little artist boy?"
"You know almost nothing about the real world, Skrawl. You don't know what kind of dangers for zoners there are here. Even something simple like water can kill you. Yeah, water. In your world, water is harmless. You wanna know what happens if you touch water here, Skrawl?" Rudy said, his voice raising slowly due to anger and frustration with Skrawl. "You will die! Okay? You will die! Is that a good enough motivator, Skrawl? Are you going to listen to me, for once in your life, and stay in the closet where you will be safe?!"
Skrawl's eyes widened at Rudy's outburst. This clearly hadn't been what he was expecting. Skrawl still didn't look happy, but he nodded his head slowly. "Okay, fine, chalk boy. I'll play by your rules..." He got up and went over to the closet. "But as soon as we get to ChalkZone..."
"I know, I know. You will try to destroy me." Rudy muttered. "Tell me what else is new..."
"Stupid human..." Skrawl muttered as he squeezed inside the closet.
Just like Rudy promised, he shut the door as soon as Skrawl was inside. He walked over to his bed and climbed up the ladder. He pulled the covers over himself and laid down to sleep. It was going to be hard getting to sleep, but he had to try.
sss
Rudy walked through the featureless landscape. It was dark, almost black. There was hardly a source of light. Just a dimly lit moon. He was walking on top of a large flat land, no features other than just the coloration. It looked greenish, but it was too dark to tell. The moon above him, so dim, was colored a pale red instead of its usual coloration.
He heard footsteps all around him. He stopped and looked around, trying to find the source of the sounds. It sounded like someone was coming at him from all angles. Tensing up, he brought out his magic chalk. Whoever was daring to attack him, he was going to be ready.
He froze when he heard a familiar voice cry out to him.
"Rudy!"
Rudy looked around frantically. "Snap? Is that you?"
"Rudy help me!" The voice called out to him again, sounding a little fainter.
"Snap!" Rudy ran towards the direction where he believed the voice was coming from. His heart pounded against his chest. His chalk almost fell from his hands as sweat covered his palm.
"Bucko, you gotta help me!" The voice sounded even fainter. No...to Rudy's horror, it wasn't fainter. It was weaker.
Rudy stopped after running for about ten minutes. Everything around him, including himself, shifted into a red hue. There was a glowing red light shifting through the area, spreading wider and wider. Rudy watched it as it slowly unveiled a sight he hoped he would never see. It took all his will power not to scream.
There, only about ten feet away from him, was Snap. But he wasn't alone. The big wolf bat creature from before was also there. Its jaws were opened partially, drool dripping from its jaws. A wing was slung across Snap's body to hold him in place. Rudy watched in terrified disgust as the beast licked Snap on the cheek.
"Let him go!" Rudy ordered.
This drew the beast's attention to him. It stared at Rudy, its teal eyes piercing through his. They did not break this staring contest for almost a full minute. Rudy started to move his magic chalk up to draw something. The beast's eyes practically twinkled with what looked like morbid satisfaction. A twisted, evil smile spread across its muzzle.
The beast roughly turned Snap around to face him. It held him still with its left foot. Snap winced as the talons started to dig into him. As its mouth opened wide, Snap understood immediately what it was about to do. His struggles increased.
"Rudy! Draw something! Quick!"
Rudy drew a pair of foot rockets and dashed over to Snap. "Hold on!"
The beast, with its jaws wide open, moved its head ever closer to Snap's struggling form.
Snap cried, "Hurry!"
"I'm coming!"
Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Rudy tried to reach Snap in time.
Suddenly, there was the snapping of jaws closing shut. A sickening crack sounded out. A cry of pain split through the air. Rudy stopped where he was, taking in what had just happened. He shook his head in disbelief. Why hadn't he moved faster? Why did this have to happen? Why?
"Snap!"
sss
Rudy jolted awake in his bed, covered in sweat. He panted so fast he was pratically hyperventilating. He looked around, as if trying to find the beast that killed Snap. His heart beat so fast he thought it was going to burst open in his chest.
It took a while for him to realize what actually happened. He looked at his surroundings and eventually realized he was in his bedroom, not in ChalkZone. His heart started to slow down as he calmed himself. He took in slow, deep breaths as his frightened trembling stopped.
He wiped his face, feeling a cool liquid staining it. He had been crying. His pillow and sheets were covered in tears. His nose was runny and he wiped it off. He sniffled as he turned to look at the time. It was early morning, but for Rudy, it still felt like night. It felt like he got no sleep at all, and the dream, it felt too real.
A sickening thought swept through his mind. Had that been what happened to Snap? Was that why he had screamed? Rudy couldn't stifle the chilling shudder sweep through his body as his mind contemplated the idea. The beast was wild and ferocious. He knew it was possible that it had done something like that.
Rudy tried to push the thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to be worried about what could have happened. He was still quite shaken up, but today, he will be finding a way back to ChalkZone and seeing for himself what happened. He wanted to believe Penny was right, that Snap escaped and was waiting for him to visit.
Rudy looked over at the closet. He let out a sigh. Looks like he will have to wake up Skrawl. He couldn't just leave him without giving him some sort of instructions while he was gone. Rubbing his eyes, Rudy got out of bed, down the ladder, and towards his closet.
As he opened it, he said, "Okay, Skrawl, time to..." He stopped and his eyes widened in shock.
Skrawl was gone.
Panicking, Rudy rushed into the closet and looked around. Maybe Skrawl was playing a trick on him or something. He looked around the closet, examing the walls and the ceiling. Being a chalk drawing, Skrawl could use his two dimensional powers to stick to the surfaces of almost anything, similar to Snap. But after inspecting the closet up and down, Rudy found no trace of Skrawl.
His heart pounding returned with a vengeance. Had Skrawl done something...unspeakable to his parents? Dread and anger filled his mind. When he saw Skrawl next, he would...
Then he heard his parents talking as they walked past his bedroom. Rudy felt an immense wave of relief sweep through him. So Skrawl hadn't made a move on them...yet.
But now he was confused. Where had Skrawl gone? Had he tried to go back to ChalkZone on his own? He couldn't have been hurt by water. He would have felt it, perhaps even not wake up at all. So wherever the jellybean was, he was in good shape.
Rudy grabbed his cellphone and called Penny. When he heard the click of her picking up, he said in a frantic voice, "Penny, have you seen Skrawl?"
Penny's confused voice answered, "N-No...I haven't. Why? What happened?"
"He's disappeared!" Rudy cried. He heard Penny gasp on the other end. "I looked in the closet when I woke up and he just..disappeared!"
"Did he hurt your parents?" Penny asked cautiously.
Rudy shook his head even though Penny couldn't see it. "No, they're both fine. I heard them walking down the hallway. I'm sure they are busy making breakfast right now." He glanced at the door as he heard footsteps heading closer to him. A second later, there was a knock. "Hold on Penny." He pulled his head away and called out, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Rudy." Mrs. Tabootie said in an almost sing along voice.
"Come on in." Rudy said.
Mrs. Tabootie opened up the door part way and stuck her head in. She smiled at Rudy, looking almost excited about something. "The renowned reporter Mr. Cosmo wants to see you." Rudy's eyes snapped wide. "He just called and left a message. He's told the principal at your school he loved your art work and he's interested in taking you in as an apprentice at his newspaper studio. Isn't that exciting?"
Rudy stared at his mother, stunned. Art? When did Cosmo see any of his artwork? When did Cosmo say anything about wanting him to work for his newspaper company? Something about this didn't feel right.
"I..."
"Now, hurry Rudy! We're going to take you to his office! You have to be there within twenty minutes!" Mrs. Tabootie said. She motioned with her hand for Rudy to hurry up."
"Mom...do I have to?" Rudy couldn't leave. Not now. What about Snap? And he still needed to find Skrawl.
"No buts, young man!" Mr. Tabootie chimed in, pushing the door wide open. He took a few steps into the room. "You cannot miss this opportunity. You know how much your mother and I appreciate your artistic skill, Rudy. So please trust us on this. Don't pass up this chance of a life time! You know how famous and well known Mr. Cosmo is."
"Yes, but..." Rudy tried to plead with them, but it didn't work.
"Be ready in fifteen minutes, Rudy." Mrs. Tabootie said as she walked away.
Mr. Tabootie did a thumbs up to his son. "Way to go, son! I couldn't be more proud!" He shut the door as he left.
Rudy started at the door, unable to comprehend what happened. His parents words began to sink in. They were obviously excited for him. But he couldn't feel the same way. Something stank about this whole thing, but there was nothing he could do about it. His parents obviously weren't going to let this go. When they were this determined, there was little he could do to sway them.
He let out a long sigh, filled with dismay. He didn't have any choice but to do what they said. He wouldn't be able to do anything about finding Snap. He stared at the phone. He knew of someone who could.
"Listen, Penny, I gotta go. My parents are dragging me off somewhere and they won't take no for an answer." He said. "Something with Mr. Cosmo... Do you still have that piece of magic chalk I gave you a while back?"
"Yes I do." Penny answered.
"Good. Go into ChalkZone and try to find Snap and Skrawl. Text me when you find either of them." Rudy instructed.
"Will do!" Penny said. "But...what about Mr. Cosmo?"
"I'll try to finish up this meeting with him as soon as I can." Rudy said, staring at the clock. "I will call you when I'm out of there."
"Okay, Rudy. Good luck..." Penny said softly as the phone clicked off.
Rudy nodded grimly at his cellphone. "Yeah...I just might need it..." He muttered to himself as he went to get ready.
sss
Rudy stared at the large building in front of him. This was the right place, but for some reason, it felt different. Almost foreboding. He shook his head. Was he really going to let his fear of Cosmo show through like this? His parents were with him, after all. He didn't want them to get worried about them. And with them at his side, what did he have to fear?
Rudy walked between his mother and father towards the massive building. It looked almost high tech with its chrome coloration. It was sickenly beautiful to look at. And when they walked through the automatic sliding doors and reached the interior of the building, it looked even more glorious than people had talked about.
The walls were sleek and curved at the end. The ground was a magnficient marble, shining brightly as the rows of florenscent lights above them shined. Potted plants lined some of the walls, and adorning some what appeared to be partial rooms were fancy-looking chairs. A cool breeze swept through the building, but despite its chill, it gave the building an almost warm welcoming feeling.
After getting directions, Rudy and his parents headed towards the elevator and headed to the lowest floor. Stepping into what was obviously a basement, there was less of a welcoming feeling here, but it wasn't terrifying by any means. A little dirty, but it still seemed to shine, beckoning them to come forth.
Reaching the last room, the doors painted a red color, Rudy paused, hesitating. He stared at the red colored doors. Red...just like in his dream...
He shook his head and followed his parents as they opened up the double doors...
...and entering what appeared to be a large, vacant room. It was massive, but also very dark. It was like the area had some electrical issues or something. It looked like the room could be housing some large printing presses. There were some shapes that looked similar to that.
Suddenly, there was the clank of something being pulled, and the scraping of something being moved. Before Rudy knew it, there was a scream from his parents. He whipped his head around and found they fell through what appeared to be a trap door. He rushed over as the hole closed up and pounded on it.
"Mom! Dad!" Rudy cried, panic overtaking him.
"Now now, dear sweet child..."
Rudy's heart almost stopped when he heard that voice. He turned around. A pale light glowed, revealing a desk with a too familiar man sitting there.
"They will be fine, I assure you." Mr. Cosmo said in a calm voice. "They've just been..shown the door. I couldn't have our little chat interrupted."
Rudy jumped to his feet and gritted his teeth. "If you think I'm staying here..."
"On the contrary, I know you are." Mr. Cosmo said.
As he finished that sentence, Rudy gasped in horror as a set of bars blocked his path out of the room. He turned to look back at Mr. Cosmo, and noticed the light got a little brighter. He saw Ms. Saffron standing next to the man, and, a little further to the side, he saw Skrawl. He was trapped in a large tank. His breathening quickening, Rudy looked back at Cosmo as he started to speak again.
"Why don't you just relax...and let's chat..."