Chapter 42: DogDay's Kidnapped!

It was night time. DogDay was staying up late while CatNap was fast asleep. DogDay looked at the clock hanging up on a wall.

"Oh, it's almost Midnight." He said, "Better brush my teeth and head to bed."

Then, DogDay heard a knock on the front door, outside of the apartment building he and CatNap are living in.

"Huh?" He wondered, "Who could be at the door at this hour?"

DogDay then went to the front door and opened it, but no one was there.

"Hmm…" He wondered, "I could have sworn someone answered the door."

As DogDay turned around, someone in black and red and masked, appeared out of thin air and covered DogDay's mouth and injected some sort of syringe into his neck. He collapsed without waking CatNap up. The masked critter then slowly and quietly shut the door to leave with a fainted DogDay.

It was then the next day, morning to be exact. CatNap woke up from his sleep, stretched his arms and yawned.

"Wow, I sure as hell slept well." He said as he looked outside the window while raising an ear, "...Is DogDay still sleeping? Usually he would be awake after me, but now it's the opposite…"

CatNap got up, brushed his teeth and changed into his clothes. He then knocked on the door to DogDay's room, which was closed.

"Good morning, DogDay!" He hollered, "Rise and shine, pal!"

Silent.

"...Uhhh, DogDay? CatNap continued to holler, "It's Monday! We don't got school today due to a holiday, but that doesn't mean you get to sleep late! You know that, right?"

Silent, once again.

"Uhhh, DogDay? Are you alright?" CatNap continued to holler, "You didn't catch a fever or anything, did you?"

CatNap opened the front door to reveal that DogDay wasn't in his room. He gasped in horror.

"DogDay?!" He shouted as he looked around, "Shit!"

CatNap rushed to the kitchen and to the living room. DogDay wasn't there.

"DogDay, where are you?!" CatNap shouted as he heads outside of his apartment, but DogDay wasn't there, "Oh shit! DogDay's gone!"

CatNap started to panic.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He shouted, "Ok, CatNap, don't panic! You need backup in order to find your best friend who's all of a sudden missing! I gotta call Bubba and gathered him and the ladies!"

Later, CatNap was with Bubba, Hoppy, PickyPiggy and Bobby as they were gathered at the park.

"So DogDay really is gone, huh?" Bubba wondered,

"Yes!" CatNap replied, "He just disappeared this morning when I woke up!"

"So that explains why he hasn't picked up my calls…" PickyPiggy said,

"Well, we gotta find him! And I need you guys to help me!"

"Don't worry, CatNap, we'll help you find DogDay." Bubba said with confidence, "But we need to split into groups to talk to people around here."

"I'll go with CatNap." Hoppy said,

"Ok, then I'll take Bobby and Picky along with me."

Bobby hugged PickyPiggy tight. PickyPiggy patted her head.

"It's gonna be ok, babe." She said to Bobby, "We're worried about DogDay too…"

"It's not only that I'm worried about DogDay going missing, it's just… What if he was kidnapped?" Bobby wondered,

"Hmmm, we'll just have to ask whatever questions are necessary." Bubba said, "Come on, let's go!"

CatNap and Hoppy were on a town square in Crittopia as they spoke to a few people there.

"Have you seen DogDay or whoever took him if they took him somewhere?" CatNap asked one, "Orange Dog, Sun collar as a charm, darker orange spot on one of his eyes?"

"No, not at all." They replied,

"Ok then…"

Hoppy asked someone next.

"You've seen an orange dog with a collar and a sun charm?" She asked another,

"I haven't." They replied,

"Well shit, thanks I guess…"

Hoppy then received a text from someone, being Holden.

"Hey, CatNap!" She hollered to get him her attention,

CatNap went over to Hoppy.

"Holden texted you?" He asked her,

"He did." Hoppy replied, "I asked him about DogDay's disappearance and he has asked KickinChicken about it, of all people."

"And… What did KickinChicken say?"

"...He had nothing to do with DogDay's disappearance. He was sleeping throughout the whole morning until Holden texted him that woke him up."

"Right… I still have my eye on him…"

Hoppy puts her phone away.

"Come on, let's go ask more people whether or not they saw DogDay going with someone." She said, "If we're unlucky, then we're gonna have to regroup."

Bubba meanwhile was with Bobby and PickyPiggy as they were asking people questions on DogDay.

"Do you know DogDay?" Bubba asked a butcher near a deli truck,

"That orange dog that visit here for lunch meat?" The butcher wondered,

"Yes, was he wearing a collar with a sun charm on it?"

"Seems likely."

"I just want a yes or no."

"Yes, I did see him, but like a week ago."

"Huh, well have you seen him recently? Like someone taking him somewhere dangerous?"

"Nope."

"Well, I'm not gonna argue about it. Thanks for your help, sir."

"You're welcome, I guess…"

Bobby was asking someone.

"Do you know anyone named DogDay?" She asked them,

"No, but I do know someone named Dogpressed." They replied,

"...I rather not go into that rabbit hole…"

"Suit yourself, I'm gonna be late for work."

PickyPiggy was chatting with someone, being an old critter.

"Orange dog named DogDay, wears a collar with a sun charm and has a dark orange spot on one of his eyes." The old critter said, "I think I've seen his body being driven away in a car last night before midnight."

"Really?" PickyPiggy said,

"Yeah, some critters masked in red and black took him out for whatever reason and put him in the trunk of a car from the apartments and drove off. I was at my house, watching it all go down while outside on my rocking chair."

"Oh my God, well, I appreciate the help, sir! This really means to me and my colleagues!"

"You're welcome, young one. Look after one another, ok? Things get weird at night all of a sudden."

"I gotcha!"

PickyPiggy went to Bobby and Bubba to gather what she got.

"So I've had a chat with that old man over there and he told me that he saw some masked critters in red and black took him down to their car and drove off." PickyPiggy said, "And it happened last night before midnight."

"Of course those masked red and black critters took him!" Bubba said,

"And… They're the same ones that beat Holden up, yeah?" Bobby asked her,

"Could be the case." PickyPiggy replied, "But other than that, come on, let's find CatNap and Hoppy and tell them what's going on!"

As they head back to find their friends, a critter wearing shades and a floppy hat reads a newspaper after hearing them talking and then starts to smile.

"Hoppy, ehh?" She said as the critter was a woman, "My masked goons are no different from the masked critters, even though we're in the same ballpark… I'm gonna have a word with Hoppy Hopscotch, if that's the case then…"

The shaded critter laughed a little sinister.