Woody slowly opened his eyes and squinted. Where was he? His rag doll body hurt incredibly. He leaned forward but was pulled back. Then he noticed that his wrists and ankles were not only taped down with duct tape but also that the tape was stapled to its flat surface. His arms were extended out as if he was being crucified. How long had he been sitting there? He looked around him. He was sitting straight up against the wall of what appeared to be a supply room with a concrete floor. It smelled of chemicals and soapy water. He thought he heard a growl and glanced to his right. It was Slugger the dog. "Oh, it's you." Woody groaned. The dog stared at him. "You're wasting your time, Buster. I can't get away. Just look at me."
Woody, after Mitsy had been taken away, had been dragged on the floor and stuffed upside down by the hooligans into a long tin can with the lid closed. He was rolled back and forth in the extremely crammed space as the heartless toys shook him roughly, then decided to mercilessly play Kick the Can. Woody had never felt so seasick in his whole life! As if the extreme queasiness wasn't enough, they'd dropped him out onto the floor and started beating up on him with punches, slaps, and kicks 'til he'd lapsed into unconsciousness.
"You are a mighty hulk of dog, you. It's too bad you're doing nothing worthwhile." Woody sighed at the pooch who reminded him of Roscoe and Desoto in Oliver and Company. The dog growled at him. "You're a bad dog." Woody continued. "Why are you with these low-lives? You could be so much more than they're using you for. You're bred to guard and fight. But if only you'd use those skills to help people instead of hurting them. Oh, I'm just kidding myself. You're a dog, not another toy. I shouldn't expect you to understand. How could you possibly?" Woody hung his head.
Suddenly, the quiet of the room was broken when the door opened. All the crooks came in, and Spike was carrying Mitsy by the throat! What a sight she was: absolutely drenched, pale, and looking so miserable. What in the world have they done to her? Woody thought, his heart racing.
"We brought you some company, cowboy." Spike grinned.
"You should've been there." Puss agreed. "Boy, did we have a blast."
"Let her go," Woody begged. Spike tossed her like an old newspaper onto the hard, concrete floor. She landed on her back with a thud and was gagging.
"Here, maybe this will help." Puss said, and with that, he started stomping on top of her, making Mitsy choke!
"Leave her alone!" Woody shouted angrily. He tried to wiggle free but couldn't. Then Scar flipped poor Mitsy onto her side and started pouncing on her. Soapy water foamed and bubbles blew out of her mouth as she garbled from the cruelty. She coughed, winced, and yelped from their attack. "STOP, NOW!" Woody bellowed in the strongest voice his nonexistent lungs could pump. "Leave my daughter alone!" The antagonists stopped their torture. "Step away from her!" They groaned and backed up. Mitsy gasped loudly when they did.
"Aw, what's the matter, cowboy?" Puss whined. "We were just having a little fun."
Woody's eyes flashed instantly from fire to ice. "GET OUT!" He yelled in a dangerous tone. "GET OUT!" The criminals stared at him, unsure what to do. They couldn't decide whether to be amused or annoyed.
"Come on, blokes." Spike said. "Let's take a break."
"Aw, that's just real sweet of you, boss." Scar smirked.
"Watch them, Slugger." Spike ordered. And then just as quickly as they'd come in, they shuffled out.
Woody looked down, horrified at the abused princess. She was curled into a ball, shaking, gasping, moaning, and crying. "Mitsy?" Woody asked softly. "Honey?"
"Are...are t-they gone?" Mitsy wailed.
"Yes! Yes, they're gone, Little Bit."
"Ohhh!" Mitsy covered her face with her hands, still gasping and whimpering.
"Come here, Mitsy," Woody said sadly, and the princess slowly crawled over to him. "What happened, Sweetie?"
"I...I've never been on...s-so m-many Merry-Go-Rounds in...in my life," Mitsy said shakily, and had another coughing fit. "I feel sooo sick." She clutched her stomach, and grimaced from the extreme queasiness and the dizziness swirling around in her head. She fell forward and leaned on Woody's chest for support, wrapping her arms tightly around his form. The less movement, the better. "All I remember is that they threw me into the washing machine and," Mitsy shakily explained, "...and closed the lid. It was so dark! I felt like I was in a big, black pit. Th-then they opened the lid again, o-only this time they poured in a slippery goo, then left again." Mitsy shivered, and she felt cold and wet against Woody's cotton body. "I...I couldn't see anything! Then I heard w-water p-pouring in! It just kept coming! There was nowhere to run, but I still did. I was scared, I...I didn't know what to do! Soon, it was filled, and I tried swimming, but my dress pulled me down. But...but then the machine started its spinning cycle! It...it was..." Mitsy couldn't say anymore. Her head ached every bit as sharply as Woody's 'bruised' body did, and she began sobbing and Woody rested his chin on top of her head. It was all he could do to comfort her. She desperately needed an assuring hug from him, but he'd been deprived of the use of his arms. One hug, that's what he longed to give her, but he couldn't.
"Oh, Mitsy," Woody sighed. "I'm so sorry! I'll get you out of this place, somehow!"
"You don't know what's going to happen." Mitsy cried. She was so physically disoriented from the experience that she had forgotten about the other prisoners, their friends. It was at that moment, that she truly noticed Woody's predicament. The sudden movement still made her feel woozy, but she exclaimed, "Oh, Woody! What did they do to you? Are you all right?"
"I've had my share." Woody muttered. "I'm just glad they gave us some privacy, though there's no telling how long that will last."
"What if...what if we don't...what if they..." Mitsy stammered.
"We're going to get out of here together. I promise," Woody said passionately. He wasn't sure how, but he was determined to keep that promise. Mitsy wearily lay down in his lap, like an exhausted puppy.
"Oh, Woody," she sighed sadly. "I'm so glad you're here." Then she drifted off to sleep. Woody looked down at her sadly, appalled at what she'd been put through but thankful that she was near him, where he could keep an eye on her. He wondered how in the world he'd been so easily able to verbally declare that Mitsy was part of his family this time. He'd always hinted at it before, and they'd both felt it, but this was the first time he'd ever openly claimed what their relationship actually was. He gulped and was thankful that Bo Peep was not in a horrid place like this. She'd never survive! He shuddered and gulped hard at the thought.
The toys inside the duffel bag were telling each other ghost stories, enjoying scaring each other and laughing. Buzz had the fiercest-looking eyes, so he looked very intimidating, but it only made Jessie giggle. Potato Head did pretty good with his parts all out of place. Katan tried to act and look ferocious. Combat Carl kept everyone's full attention with his tales of some wild adventures, with input from Junior. But Jack did the best one. With the spiky armor he was wearing, he did a shadow skit of his story. And Buzz's green glow gave the whole atmosphere a spooky effect. Suddenly, there was a loud thud and the bag bounced really high then fell back down. The toys all laughed. "Just like a trampoline." Slinky stated.
"We must have hit a pothole," Buzz said.
"Ooo. I hope we hit another one!" Katan declared excitedly. The cub's enthusiasm did lift Matthew's spirits a little bit. He just hoped everything would be okay.
"Bullseye never bounced like that," Jessie smiled, scratching her horse's head. "Did ya, boy?"
"We should be there any minute." Jack stated.
"I can't wait." Slinky said.
Slugger had been sitting guard the whole time. Mitsy was now sitting up huddled against the wall close to Woody, leaning her sleeping head on his arm. Woody was restless. He'd tried to squirm out of his tape magnets but had failed. Well, as long as Mitsy was near him and in his sight, he hoped she'd be okay. Maybe she could search the supplies in this room and find some scissors to set him free. But, even if they made it out of this room, Slugger would stop them and they'd be caught again. The door opened and the whole gang walked in. Mitsy screeched at the sight of them and threw her arms tightly around his neck. Woody gasped and gritted his teeth. The gang stepped closer. "Woody!" Mitsy whispered in panic, gazing worriedly into his eyes.
"I'm right here, Little Bit," Woody shakily whispered back. "J-just stay close to me."
"We have some business to finish," Spike said, sneering at the princess. "You're going to come with us." Puss in the Boots stepped forward. Mitsy buried her face frightfully in Woody's shoulder and clung to her cowboy-her 'father'-for dear life.
"Oh, Woody! Don't let them take me away!" She wailed wretchedly. She knew his arms were taped, but she was terrified and desperate.
"DON'T DO THIS!" Woody yelled. He knew that they were most likely going to kill her. He couldn't even wrap his arms around the princess to protect her. Puss grabbed her and ripped her arms away from Woody's neck. She struggled and shrieked.
"No! No! No! Let me go!" She begged.
"Mitsy!" Woody cried out. "Take your bloody hands off my daughter! NOW!"
"Better say your good-byes. You'll be next, cowboy." Puss chuckled. All the crooks laughed at his remark, but that statement sent a flash of terror through Woody's heart! He was absolutely sick. He knew. It confirmed his fears: she was going to die! His little, happy Mitsy who liked to drive her friends crazy with her Sign Language, and adored the dogs in her life, was going to be murdered! Suddenly, Woody couldn't catch his breath and he started gasping. He felt like the air was being sucked out of him.
"NO!" He managed to yell, and he locked eyes with his terror driven young princess whose face was begging him to save her even though she knew he was helpless to do so. "Be brave, Mitsy," he said in a quivering voice. Be brave? Where the heck did that come from? Stupid cowboy! "And...and remember, I love you!" He yelled desperately.
Mitsy's small face broke with emotion and she sobbed. "Get back to Bonnie, Woody! I love you!" And they...they took her away.
"YOU!" Woody scowled with venom at Scar who was smirking at him. That sickening grin of his looked just as evil as it was in the movie, and gagged Woody down to his smallest parts. "You devil!" He squirmed under his restraints, wishing that his anger alone could boost him to burst from them.
"That's a little extreme, isn't it, Sheriff?" Scar whined, rolling his eyes. "You just don't understand. You think children make you and your friends happy? I'll tell you what makes a toy happy: Power! Kids will throw us away, they'll dump us, they maul us, they mar our images, they break us, and they'll outgrow us. If we develop mastery over ourselves instead of them ruling over us, we'll survive. And only then will we find true happiness. We're masters of our own destiny. Power, that's all that matters and we must do all that we can to achieve it."
"That's not true! Not all kids are the same, and they do love us. If anything happens to my daughter..." Woody snarled, his voice threatening to break. "You'll never get away with this!"
Scar shook his head, clucking his tongue. "Look around you, my dear Sheriff. You're not walking out of here. Ever! See, that's what happens when you receive power."
Woody glowered in fury. "Leave me be!" He yelled. "Get out of my sight! GET OUT!" Scar turned his back to Woody, then jabbed the cowboy's jaw with his plastic hind leg.
"I'm afraid you've got a lot to learn, cowboy. Pity." Scar grinned and finally departed.
Woody was left alone in a daze. Moments later, he could hear cries for help, Mitsy's cries for help. Spike had cleverly rigged a microphone tap through the ventilation system all over the building. Of course, he could only use it when the school was unoccupied by humans, but with it, a toy could be underground in the boiler room and would be able to clearly hear voices from the lobby. Spike knew that hearing Mitsy's torture would be more painful to Woody than his own death. Woody was sick, very sick. He was stuck here and couldn't close his ears to shut out the horrible cries. The heartbroken cowboy sobbed.
First, Woody had lost Andy's father, then Wheezy along with RC, Etch, Robot, Lenny, and others. Then Bo Peep, his beautiful first and only love. He and his friends nearly perished together at the dump, then he gave up his boy, Andy. And now, now he was going to lose Mitsy too! He couldn't stand it. It was too much, and he couldn't bear it! His thoughts went back to the last thing he'd told her, be brave. Be brave, ha! What had possessed him to say that of all things, in this devil's hole of malice, cruelty, and mercilessness? "I...I guess I'm so used to saying it to everyone that...that it was a force of habit." Woody gulped. As he imagined the worst and what would become of Mitsy when they showed her to him before it was his turn to be done with, his stomach churned. He gagged and retched, though no residue came out of his mouth. As he hacked, he wailed in hurt and frustration. "B-Buzz..." he moaned. "Buzz, please...find us!"
He suddenly felt a warm, leather-like stroke cover his face. Woody looked in disbelief: it was Slugger! The giant guard dog was trying to console him! Slugger panted and nuzzled his nose under Woody's chin. Woody winced. "Th...thanks, p...p-Partner," he whispered with a choke.
Of course, Woody would feel this way if this happened to any of his friends, not just my OC. Reviews are certainly welcome. Uh, a bit of advice, the next couple chapters will be T-rated for violence, and scary imagery, so I wouldn't recommend it for young children.
Things are so ugly. What will happen now?