CHAPTER 6: Picky Piggy

Alex took a step to move towards the frightened toy, but a swipe from the spatula in her hoofed hand made him pause. Under her other hand, the pink pig clutched the battery protectively. She had a dirty and worn backpack thrown over her shoulder, a couple kitchen implements sticking out like an eggbeater, and a long fork. Suddenly getting a spatula smack didn't seem so bad.

"Another step and you'll get another whack!" she threatened. "Don't think I won't!"

"Picky, what are-" Alex began.

"This is your fault! I bet it is! What did you do? I bet you did it cause he asked you, that purple monster!" she said accusingly.

"W… I… what are you talking about?" Alex asked.

"Don't play dumb!" she said, stepping back, putting some distance between Alex and herself. "I'm just hiding down here, quiet as can be, keeping myself safe from the others because that freak's god won't stop whispering in my sleep to eat my friends… then all of a sudden, the whole kitchen gets smoked out! It's a wonder I got out of there at all! You did it to flush me out, I'm sure of it!"

"I'm not! I swear!" Alex saif huffing, this whole event felt completely stupid. "Look, I need that battery. Bubba has a plan and-"

"Uh no way! I need this battery. There is a backdoor to this place, it's blocked by battery locks. I gotta get out before you bring that murderous cat to me!" she said, before turning and running into the darkness.

"Hey! Picky! Wait!" Alex cried.

But there was no reasoning with the pink pig as she disappeared into the darkness. It took a moment but soon anger and annoyance burst in his chest and he gave a frustrated growl of his own. In his frustration he gave the wall a punch.

"Damn it! I finally find a battery, and instantly one of the critters snatches it away! Why is she even here? Why isn't she with the others?"

The anger fading from his mind, Alex stopped to think over what the pink pig had shouted before fleeing. "That freak" was obviously directed at Catnap, but "God?" Then he recalled other details that had somehow slipped his mind. Bubba had called Playcare his "church", some nameless entity his "flock," even the beastly kitty said "his Lord."

"Oh this is just great, a toy who worships something as his god," Alex muttered. "Religious fanatics are the worst."

Whoever Catnap's god was, it was clear that the demented cat would do anything to appease it. Even so far as killing his own friends it seemed. The importance of this was instantly dismissed: what good would this do to getting back that battery from the runaway critter? And why was she here instead of with the others? She'd said that Catnap's "god" was whispering in her ear while she slept, to eat the others.

"Either she's really leaning into her character, or something else is going on," he thought.

First the tape with Bobby, and now this? Alex rubbed his head, already feeling the stress of his situation become overwhelming. All the problems he had to deal with before, and now this one too? There might be more than 2 batteries in this building, but he couldn't know for sure. He'd need to figure out how to get Picky to return that battery. Clearly she wasn't in the mood to converse, even treated him as if he was the enemy. She'd smacked his hand, but at least it hadn't been from a rusty fork or a knife. He'd have to draw her out, but how? Then a random sentence came back to him.

"Secretly, PB&J's are her favorite food."

"Hmmm… could it be that simple?" he wondered.

After some thought, and realizing he didn't have a lot to lose for trying anyways, Alex stood up. Batteries were not his only goal, now he had to find the ingredients for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Story of my life," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Leaving the nursery room, Alex headed down another hallway.

.

Investigating the hallways upstairs revealed little more. Not even a second battery. As he'd crossed the foyer, he'd seen Picky's cutout. But given Catnap's proximity, he decided against pressing the button to hear what it had to say. Rounding a corner down one of the far hallways, he was met with a blocked path, and a hole in the floor. Below the room was filled with red smoke which he could see leaking out of a broken pipe that emptied right through the hole in the floor. Looking up, he saw part of the ceiling had broken to reveal a solid looking pipe that was perfect to GrabPack to.

"Alright, at least there is a way back so I won't get trapped this time," he thought.

Snapping a hand to the overhead pipe, Alex winched himself up over the hole and then carefully let his weight lower him down again. The swirling red smoke made the view through his gasmask all the more difficult. The dim lighting did little in the way of helping him see. Moving closer, shapes become clear to Alex what they were; large wood cabinets, big shiny industrial stoves and prep counters. Alex couldn't help but smile a bit as fortune seemed to smile on him for once as he found where he needed to go.

The mix of an industrial kitchen clashed with the homier looking touches. In the attempts to make even the kitchen feel like part of the house, they couldn't escape the fact that this was an artificial world these children were living in.

"Okay, just gotta find the ingredients for a sandwich," Alex muttered to himself.

Checking the fridge, he found it empty and warm. Anything edible had long since been removed. A thought then came to him; any of the ingredients for a sandwich of any kind would have rotted already. Bread didn't last that long at all. Canned items or bottled items might but only if they weren't opened. And while it was possible to make any item from scratch, that would require items that had to be fresh like eggs or fruit.

"Hmmm maybe some of her favorite foods from what she's eaten before will work," he thought.

Moving to the back of the kitchen, Alex saw a bunch of food wrappers on the floor outside a cabinet. One of the doors was propped open by the corner by some kind of cloth from within; a washcloth or maybe oven mitts. Opening it, he saw a very cramped looking "bedroom" with a blanket and pillow stuffed inside. There were also lots of wrappers. Reaching down and picking them up Alex looked them over.

"Freeze dried tomatoes… freeze dried strawberries…. freeze dried fried rice and artichokes? Why would Playcare be using all this stuff?" he wondered.

Looking at the packets, he became aware of the fact that all the labels looked the same. The freeze-dried food packets had come from one supplier: Armor Plated Meals. A bit of their slogan on one packet read "Supplying the US Military for over 50 years, with food that lasts just as long." Looking into the cabinet further, Alex saw it wasn't all simply freeze-dried food, but canned items too, from other branded suppliers. Under one of the blankets, Alex found some cans all wrapped in Ziplock bags, bagged so they wouldn't get wet and rust.

"Hmmm Picky is quite the prepper."

Glancing through the wrappers, Alex began to look through the provisions. As he did, he kept straining his ear to hear something over the sound of the smoke hissing out. Namely the sound of heavy cat paws on the floor. The cat seemed to have vanished, but Alex had a suspicion that he was still lurking around, moving quieter than before.

This was confirmed when he heard a crash from within the dining room behind him. Thinking quickly, Alex climbed into Picky's hideout and closed the cabinet doors behind him. He held his breath as well as he could, mentally cursing how this gasmask was so loud. He listened as the kitchen doors were thrown open and the heavy footsteps thudded on the floor. They slowly moved around the kitchen, claws crunching on the tiled floors. Then came an ear-piercing shriek that made Alex hold his ears. It was the sound of claws on sheet metal, ripping long massive gouges in it. No doubt this was an attempt at the feline to get him to make noise. Thankfully any movements he could make were muffled by the number of blankets Picky had stuffed in this cabinet.

THUD!

A huge paw thudded on the top of the cabinet above him! Now Alex dared to not even move a muscle! Silent or not, it was too risky. All he could do now was wait until the big paw slid off the counter and Catnap thudded out of the kitchen. He waited for what felt like hours, straining his ears to hear the sound of the feline returning to search the kitchen one last time. Only when he was sure the coast was clear, did he uncurl himself from the cabinet. Quietly he stretched his muscles, everything ached from the strain to remain still.

"God damnit… I hate that cat!" he mentally cursed.

Returning back to the cabinet, Alex began grabbing as many food packets as he could. He also grabbed some mixing bowls and found some bottles of water Picky had stored in reused drink containers. He'd at least had the time to read the packets while hiding to see that the only way to properly prepare freeze dried food was by rehydrating it. Thinking ahead on how he might need to mix some of these, he saw a rack of stainless steel kitchen utensils hanging from hooks. A ladle, a whisk, a pasta fork, and others hung there, though one utensil was missing; a spatula perhaps. The sight of the out of place wooden cooking spoon hanging by a simple loop of string caught his attention and pocketed it. He placed all the items into the bowl, it was the easiest way to carry them, and turned to leave.

Heading back the way he had come; he was greeted with the closed wall of the kitchen that closed it off. A single serving window, at least twice the length of one seen in a diner, opened into the dining room beyond, and the doorway leading out was blocked by two massive freezers that had been pushed to block it. But it seemed that was far from effective as the door was smashed open. No doubt Catnap's doing; he was the only one big enough to do so. Alex figured he'd missed where he'd dropped down and as he was turning back to backtrack to where the hole in the ceiling was, he saw a faint green glow under one of the counters. Looking down he saw it was another battery, plugged into an apparatus that resembled a can opener. The wear on it hinted that Picky made regular use of this device and it made sense as her hooves looked like they wouldn't be able to grip a can opener even.

"But wait, how do Crafty or Bubba lift anything?" a passing thought whispered in his mind.

"Not now," he thought, silencing this intrusive thought. "We have work to do."

Leaving the battery where it was, figuring he'd just return for it later, Alex soon found the hole. He shot his GrabPack and winched himself up and out back into the upstairs floor.

"Now it's time to get cooking."

Finding an empty bedroom, he set to work. There wasn't much preparation as all the food needed was to be mixed with water. Picking a packet of freeze-dried strawberries, he quickly added the water and stirred it together. It smelled almost like fresh berries, but it was very faint. All he needed to do was give it some time for the water to soak into the berries. Closing the door behind him to provide some privacy from any wandering cat, Alex sat down on the crumbling child sized bed, leaned back against the wall, and decided to close his eyes, just for a moment.

When he heard the sounds, it was almost impossible to get his limbs to move. But he managed to wake up, somehow. Opening his eyes Alex saw the door was open, and the pink pig critter was standing on a chair pushed over to the table, wooden cooking spoon in hand (or hoof), enjoying mouthfuls of re-hydrated strawberries. The battery sat at the foot of the chair, it would be in range for a GrabPack hand to snatch it away. But Alex felt his body's slowness to react, and he felt that if he tried that, he might either scare the antsy critter away, or make her attack him as he tried to claim the battery for his own. Maybe both would happen. His body had gone stiff and was slow to awaken, the natural instinct of one's brain to lock their body in place to prevent sleepwalking. No way could he run. He needed a new plan.

The ghost of a plan came and Alex didn't pause to think it over. He raised the cannon and fired a hand out. Not at the battery, or at Picky herself, but at the door. The hand smacked the door hard enough to push it closed forcefully yet silently enough so no one, especially a certain cat, could hear it.

Picky heard it though and screamed, throwing herself off the chair and backing into the opposite corner of the room. The battery tipped over and fell onto the floor. Alex felt a panic rise in his awakening heart that maybe Catnap would hear all of this. But then a thought struck him: these rooms were meant for test subjects. They'd need to be sound proofed so no-one else could hear that their neighbor was being removed from his bed in the middle of the night, bound for a cruel fate somewhere in the factory above. Whether this was true or not, he couldn't say. He just needed to hope it was… and work fast. Fast as his sleepy mind could. Picky already reached back into her backpack and brought a weapon out to brandish it protectively. Alex saw it and couldn't help but give a sleepy laugh.

"Are you gonna whisk me to death?"

Picky looked and noticed her weapon choice was the most ineffective one. She groaned and dropped it.

"You got me. Just make it quick, okay?" she said, defeated.

"Uh… quick?"

"Just call that monster in here, I don't care anymore. I'll be with Hoppy and Kickin' soon, I'm sure."

"Picky, I'm not going to surrender you to Catnap," Alex sighed.

The pig critter gave Alex a look of confusion, though she kept herself as far from him as possible.

"But… the smoke..."

"I tried to explain that it was something that happened by accident. Bubba told me moving the gas from one container to the other is the only way to get out through the only exit he knows of. I got it moved to the center tank, and that's as far as I got. That's when it started leaking into Playcare."

"Wait, Bubba? You spoke with him?"

"Yes. He's been helping me get around here. But Catnap destroyed the power source for the computer so I can't move the gas into the last container that should clear it completely from Playcare. But Bubba has a plan."

"Heh, that's not surprising," Picky mumbled, half sarcastically.

"If I can turn on some generators and send the power to the bunker, Bubba can make a battery to power the computer up for that last step. But for me to get to the generator, I need to gain access through the locked generator door. And I need that battery to do so."

Picky turned to look at the dropped battery. A thoughtful look crossed her face as if she was thinking deeply.

"But I need that battery too. With my sanctuary smoked, nowhere else is safe, except outside Playcare. That's where I have to go. I need to… to keep them safe."

Alex still wasn't sure what she meant, why she was so insistent that this was the only way forward. She seemed sane; scared, but sane all the same. Why should she want to flee? And besides, what other horrors would be out in the factory? If Huggy Wuggy, and the monsters in the Game Station had still been alive, what else could be out there? He needed that battery, Catnap was hunting him and he couldn't wait to retrieve a battery from Picky. But if he said no, he worried she'd never give him the battery. He thought; and soon an idea came.

"How about I just borrow that battery? I only need it to access the generator. After it's started and running, I'll give the battery back," he reasoned.

"I… don't know… how can I trust you'll give it back?" she asked.

"I promise I will. If you want to go your way, I won't stop you. But I need to use it first. Catnap wants me, not you."

When Picky didn't answer and seemed to ponder her answer, he quickly offered, "You let me borrow that battery, and you can have all the food packets here I managed to collect from your sanctuary. Sound like a good trade?"

To show he was serious, he held up a bowl full of packets and water bottles. Picky stared at the offer hungrily, clearly enticed, though she still seemed hesitant. Soon she spoke.

"Slide the bowl over first… then you can have the battery."

Alex stood and quickly shuffled the bowl across the floor until it was in arms reach for Picky. She grabbed it and pulled it close quickly as if she was still expecting to be jumped by the human. It was clear her trust was surface level for Alex still. He stepped back and picked up the battery. Slowly he went to the door and carefully opened it. Peeking into the hallway he found nothing awaiting him. He turned back to the scared pig.

"I'll close the door behind me," he said. "After that, you're free to go anywhere you want. I'll leave the battery by the gate at the bottom of the stairway when I get back."

"Uh… okay," came the response.

Alex gave a comforting smile then left, quietly closing the door behind him. Immediately backtracking to the staircase he'd come up; he passed a buzzing power node. Using his green GrabPack hand, he popped the charge into a power node, dashed down the stairs before the charge dissipated and carefully made his way back to the gate blocking the generator access. Quickly he slapped the battery into one port. A bulky computer screen flickered to read a half charge.

"Okay, one down, one to go. And I know where to find it."

Continuing down the hallway, passing archways that lead into the same large bedrooms, he came to the dining room. The room was twice the size of the bedrooms and half of it was filled with the red smoke. It looked very much like a cafeteria with bench seating at big, long tables, which at this moment were piled high at the other end of the room, blocking one of the doorways. Pulling his gas mask back on, Alex headed into the haze. He soon found the serving door, and the green battery still glowing where he'd last seen it. A quick shot of the GrabPack captured it, ripped it free from the port it was in, and brought it back to him.

"Okay, now things are moving along," he thought, daring to think optimistically for once.

Hoofing it back to the door, he slapped the battery home into the last battery port. The screen flickered to read a full charge and the gate rose upwards, clearing the pathway forward. A grin spread across his face as things were actually going really swimmingly. Opening the door, it revealed a brick lined passageway with concrete steps going down.

"Alright, just head down here, turn on a generator. Can't be that hard, right?" he thought as he descended the steps.

Turns out, even simple tasks such as turning a generator on required some thought. Another power pole puzzle had greeted him with those strange power poles that redirected the GrabPack hand in new directions that stood in his way of getting the generator to kick on. However instead of using his own GrabPack for the task, Alex had needed to make use of a fixed GrabPack cannon that was permanently mounted to the ground and adjustable. It was strange but the novelty of it was useful for creating power lines.

"Wonder if I'll come across that elsewhere," he had thought.

After completing the puzzle, the generator had kick started to life. His task finished, Alex returned back to the first floor. Pausing at the door he GrabPacked a battery and yanked it free from the slot. The charge dropped to 50% and the gate slowly rolled closed.

"Okay, now to uphold my end of the deal," he said.

It was a short walk back to the stairway gate, and when he got there, he found Picky already waiting there for him.

"Whatever you did made the lights flicker. I guessed that means you did it," she said.

"Right. And a deal is a deal. Here you go," he said, handing the battery through the bars of the gate, which Picky took. "So, you're serious on trying to get out of Playcare, huh?"

"Hi there! I'm Picky Piggy! Let's eat!" came a sudden cheerful, electronic voice.

The two turned and looked back up the stairs, where the voice had come from. Alex then looked to Picky who turned back to him with worry in her eyes.

"T-that wasn't me," she said.

"Roast beef? Delicious!" came the voice, closer now.

Alex thought he knew what that was… it was Picky's cut out. But that was up in the foyer… and it was getting closer. Someone had to be moving it. There was only one other creature who would do that. They knew who it was, and Picky was trapped behind the gate. She looked back at Alex, fear and pleading in her eyes. Alex took a deep breath and held a hand up in a "wait right here" motion. He turned and ran down the hallway.

"Grilled chicken? Down the hatch."

Even down the hall, he could hear the electronic voice talking. The electronic probe seemed to stretch away from him, getting further away.

"Seared elephant? Yum!"

He shot his hand out, grabbed the probe, and the electricity transferred. The green plastic hand glowed with the aura of electricity, crackling and buzzing.

"Flayed unicorn? Mmmmm…"

Alex turned and ran back, His feet thudded on the floor. The words the electronic cutout speaking out a cruel and twisted meal plan. It had started innocent enough, but quickly it was becoming gruesome.

"God… if she's hearing that, no wonder she wanted to keep away."

"Still hungry… Hey, what do you say you and I be friends?" the electronic voice said in a sinister tone.

"Why of course, Picky! And I have just the perfect snack in mind: ham with a side of fileted rat!" came the bellowing demonic voice.

"NO!" Picky wailed, pressing herself against the gate.

Alex shot the hand onto the node to transfer the charge, the charge midway through its warning buzz. The gate gave a groaning whine and rose upwards. It felt like it was slower than normal, or maybe it just seemed that way because of the panic he was in. Alex wasn't sure why, but once the gate had risen enough, he reached under, grabbed Picky's arm and yanked her back.

ZAP!

The charge dissipated and the gate rapidly began to descend. Picky, realizing what was happening, ducked under and pushed herself free from the gate before it closed back down. The THUD of the gate meeting the floor was mixed with an earth-shattering THUD on the gate! Catnap had darted down the stairs, cleared the last 20 feet before either could blink! It was only thanks to the steel gate that human and toy were still alive!

"DAMN YOU RAT!" the big cat snarled!

"Run!" Alex said, letting Picky go.

The pink pig ran one way, and Alex went the other. He ran down the hallway, then turned sharply down the other hallway that led back towards the foyer. Above him, he was sure he could hear the sound of massive feet thudding on the upper floor had to be Catnap racing around, racing back to cut him off. He had to get out of here, and in a hurry.

The hallway became a dead end with a closed gate with two archways on either side. One was blocked by bunk beds, so he went to the right. It was yet another bedroom. In the middle of the room was another Pull-N-Go Rideable Drag Racer. It was facing a set of closed gates.

"It worked before, it should work again," he thought.

He GrabPacked onto the rear pull tab and pulled back with all his might. The thudding of the footsteps above were blending with his heartbeat, he couldn't tell where the monstrous cat was now. The car revved and the tires spun leaving trails of smoke on the floor before Alex let go. VRRRRRRRRRRRROOM-CRASH!

The car did as he'd hoped: it shot across the floor, smashed through the gates, and managed to bury itself in the wall. Alex didn't stick around, he ran back into the foyer and through the sitting rooms. Behind him, he heard a very heavy THUD, one that made the floor shake. No question what that was. He didn't look back, and he didn't slow his pace down. He took the stairs 2 at a time.

"Just get outside. Back to the bunker."

Alex burst out through the double doors and thudded along the porch. He had enough time to notice that all the lights had turned off, leaving the Playcare in the pitch black before he leapt off the stairs at a full sprint! Suddenly something caught him midair and knocked all the breath out of his lungs as he was suddenly driven to the side! The feeling of fur against his face made him scream, a muffled scream. It was Catnap! Somehow he'd gotten ahead of him! Found a shortcut, got ahead of him and now he was going to die! He struggled but the big furry beast carrying him held tighter, restricting movement! He opened his mouth to scream but then a big mitten covered his mouth! He began to become aware the direction he was now moving was slowing, there was a rustle of bushes as whatever held him leapt behind one of the fake bushes.

There was another bang a distance away, followed by the loud slamming of two doors. Then came the growling roar of Catnap as he came to a stop and became enraged.

"GRRRRRR! WHERE DID THAT RAT GO!? HOW COULD HE ESCAPE ME AGAIN!? GRRRRRRRAWWWWWRRRRR!" he bellowed in complete fury.

It didn't last long before the angry feline ran away again. Alex turned as much as he could to see what had grabbed him and felt the blood in his face drain away. The big red lips, the flat, shapeless face, and the big staring eyes…

"Huggy!"