CHAPTER 11: Hoppy & Kickin'

Playcare was silent, the night sequence running as usual, though it was clearly off as the sounds of birds kept playing for an hour after the lights turned off. After the children had been removed from the Playcare through the gas production area, it just left the critters themselves. Catnap insisted that the critters could sleep in the Toy Store with him and what he called his flock, but they all refused and clung to Dogday instead. The orange canine assumed his adult size to keep the child-sized critters in line, making it so that rather than sleeping in Home Sweet Home, or in the Playhouse, they'd sleep in the courtyard. None of the critters complained, there were fewer reminders of the Hour of Joy out there. Fewer, but not none.

Opening her eyes, peeking out through the gloom, Hoppy looked over at their leader. The tall canine had Bobby and Craftycorn in his arms while Picky snuggled against his leg. She sighed, he was their leader, but she could feel something was wrong. Catnap often patrolled the Playcare, watching them as if he was a prison guard while Dogday kept the group together and would speak with Catnap for hours on end. This left them wandering around the place, not doing much. For the first few years, they'd played all the games they knew to pass the time. But lately the days were spent waiting for the day to end before going to sleep only to do that all over again upon waking up.

Waiting. The one thing she hated, just as much as her cartoon counterpart. But it wasn't only that, it was the memories of the Hour of Joy. The screams of the people they'd killed… the cries of the children who were confused that their "friends" had suddenly turned bloodthirsty, and how those memories came right back when she looked at anything that had been their home.

"No more. I don't care if this is our home as Catnap says it is. How can this be our home? How can he even sleep knowing what we did here?" she thought, before looking at her friends. "How can they even sleep, knowing all that?"

As she thought, she heard Bobby give a loud whimper and cry before she was held closer into Dogday's chest, which made her relax again. This was too much, she couldn't wait any more. Silently, Hoppy got up off the grass and made her way towards the Playhouse. A memory from her days running it had been gnawing at the back of her mind like Dogday would on a bone (which he didn't really do, despite his claims before the Hour of Joy.) The elevator might be locked off, and the tram gone, but Hoppy remembered a sign on a door at the far back of the Playhouse labeled as an employee only space. She'd had to explain to kids many times they couldn't go through that door because it was the rules. Now? Forget the rules, wherever that door led, it had to be a way out of this prison.

Stepping to the door of the fake tent, Hoppy yanked on the door. It was stuck though, and she had to use as much of her child-strength as she could. She was so busy concentrating, she was taken completely off guard by a big hand grasping her shoulder, while another covered her mouth.

"Shhhh rad rabbit," came the whisper. "It's me."

Breaking free, Hoppy turned and stared at Kickin'.

"What are you doing up?" she hissed.

"Could say the same about you," Kickin' retorted.

"I'm getting out of here."

The yellow chicken stared at the bunny before he gave a soft chuckle.

"You're joking, right?" he said. "I mean, we all want to leave but there is no way out. Catnap said there wasn't and besides, he said-"

"I don't care WHAT he says the original told him, or what that freak says!" Hoppy hissed in a low voice. "I can't stand it here! How can anyone stand it? How can you stand it, Kickin'? Huh? How do YOU stand it, knowing what WE did?"

Kickin' frowned, looking down. It was clear to Hoppy he was putting up his facade. The facade of being cool and unbothered. But he was bothered by it, fiddling with his fingers.

"I want to leave… I want to see what the kids would talk about; going outside," he said.

"Well come with me and we'll find outside together," Hoppy said.

Kickin' looked back at the others and then back at Hoppy.

"But… what about the others? We can't leave them. That's just… the uncoolest thing we could do to them," he said.

Hoppy huffed, she'd not been thinking about them. If they wanted to live like prisoners in this fake world, they were free to do it. Catnap wouldn't let them go, Dogday tried but it was clear nothing he said stuck. No way Kickin' would leave them if she said no. But then again, they had been the closest thing to a family she'd had. Most of the adults hadn't cared about them, and the orphans would eventually be adopted or taken by the doctors. The other Smiling Critters as they were called, they'd been there for her.

"Look, we'll come back for them. We're just going to find the way out of here first. Then we'll come and get them out. Maybe if we can find our way up to the Game Station, maybe we can ask the toys there to help us. Remember how some of the kids said Mommy Long Legs was super stretchy? Maybe she'll help us," Hoppy reasoned.

"lf she's not like Catnap," Kickin' said.

"Right, if she's not like Catnap."

Hoppy turned and shoved her way into the false tent. Kickin' frowned, looking as she sunk into the pitch black before he quickly followed behind. Despite having been a real child once years ago, he was as afraid of the dark as his cartoon counterpart.

The Playhouse, once a place of wonder, had become a twisted nightmare. During the Hour of Joy, few adults had tried to take cover here and Catnap had thrown them against the plastic play structure to destroy them. So many broken, bright colors smeared with black stains of old blood. The lighting used to be brighter, but a lot of the lights had broken, burned out or become dim thus adding to the nightmarish appearance. Hoppy gulped, she hated being reminded of better times because they were gone and tainted. She and Kickin' had actually helped to run the Playhouse to make sure kids played fair, and to make sure the kids would go back to class when their recess was over.

Kickin' shuddered nervously, already panicking as the interior was pitch black. Hoppy looked back at him and could see fear had already taken a hold. She sighed as she unzipped her internal pocket and reached around inside. She soon found her special flashlight. It would only work with her unique trait. Besides having the potential to be three different sizes, all the critters had special traits. Her trait was a special electric touch she could control. This would allow her special access to power nodes and power switches. Because the lighting in the Playhouse was set to always fluctuate so the play structure was never the same way twice in terms of lighting, she'd been given an "accessory" so the scientists had called it, her special flashlight. Turning it on a bright white beam of light illuminated their way forward. Kickin' instantly relaxed and he shuffled to follow her.

"Thanks Hoppy," he said nervously.

"Hey, think nothing of it, bird boy," she said back.

They began to make their way through the Playhouse. The whole structure was a maze of tunnels leading to a few central nodes that contained a big attraction of some kind. One was duck boat rides; another contained a rotating beam that the kids had to work together to operate. Although Hoppy started to remember that the duck boats lead to… their holding cells.

It was part of the narrative, the orphans were guests in this wonderful world, and the Smiling Critters were their friends and teachers to help them achieve great things before they were adopted. And the Smiling Critters lived in the Playhouse because the playhouse was a circus, and they were the performers who lived there. If only they had known….

"Hoppy?" Kickin' asked.

"W-what?" Hoppy asked, her voice quivering.

"Are you crying?"

Hoppy became aware of the tears she was starting to shed at the thought of going through that place again. There had to be a way around.

"We have to find a way around it. I… I can't go back there again," Hoppy said.

Kickin' didn't ask what she meant, he knew all too well. What hadn't been as miserable to him, was hell for her. He just did as he was told because he didn't want to be denied his time outside…it had happened once and he'd vowed to never risk that. This had led to a few snarky remarks from her directed in his direction. Of how he was such a people pleaser he had no morals. She'd come to notice this.

"Okay, I think I know a way," he said. "It's a slower way, but it'll be better for you."

Hoppy sniffled and dried her cheek. "Thanks, Chick."

.

.

Slipping out of the vent, the two critters looked to see the spiral staircase that led up to the room just past the duck ride. It had worked. They had avoided that space perfectly.

"We're almost there, just past this node is where we'll find it," Hoppy said.

"Good, this is a really long way to go," Kickin' panted. "We need to remember this way for the trip back."

They galloped up the stairs and then after pushing their way into the platform room, they jumped into the maze below. As they did the lights suddenly dimmed as if something had damaged the lighting to plunge the whole room into a noticeable twilight. Kickin' hugged Hoppy so tight she couldn't get her flashlight out from her pocket.

"What was that?! What was that?!" he whispered panickedly.

Hoppy could hardly gasp out a word before the two critters saw a big black object crawl along the ceiling! It made its way across the room, the pale light illuminated it enough for them to see the object wasn't black… it was PURPLE! It was Catnap!

"HOW?! HOW DID HE KNOW?!" she thought in horror.

But this thought didn't last long as she knew they had to hide! Looking around she saw a critter tent. It would have to do! She pulled Kickin' along who was frozen in fear, which was a struggle, but she made it. They critters huddled in the tent, holding their breaths as they heard Catnap walking along.

"Now, this is interesting….." Catnap cooed creepily. "The two athletes couldn't follow the one rule I set: Playcare is our home. The original says to stay for our own safety. We have no place in the world of the monsters who enslaved us. This is ours now. Our world."

Hoppy and Kickin' couldn't stop shuddering in fear. They couldn't believe this would end like this! The monster who insisted on staying there KNEW there were exits had known they were going to be here! Did they even have a chance? Had they ever?

"Now, I'm nothing but merciful to my fellow monsters. I'm going to give you both a chance to redeem yourselves. If you will emerge from your hiding place, I shall escort you to your confinements for the next two weeks Only then will everything be forgiven between us. I highly recommend you join because…. I will show you how I will deal with heretics," he said with a viciously serious snarl.

Kickin' and Hoppy stared at each other. They wondered what they were going to do. Kickin spoke first in a whisper.

"Hoppy, I can't do two weeks in the cell, I'll go mad!"

"I'd rather die than go into a cell!" Hoppy whispered back.

"But.. I.. I also don't want to die…"

"We have to stand up to him or else he'll never take us seriously. He'll destroy our reserves and we'll be loyal to him if we give in once."

"But.. but…"

"But nothing. He just wants to assert his control over us. We stand together, we fall together."

Kickin' seemed to struggle to come up with an answer for a solid minute before he sighed deeply. He couldn't argue with that. It was the only way forward. The silence hung in the air like an ominous cloud, Hoppy and Kickin' knowing Catnap was listening. Besides his claws came enhanced hearing. After many countless minutes, a deep and frustrated sigh broke the silence.

"Fine…. FIiIiINE….. you two want to have it be this way? Fine. You've made youRrRr choice!" he bellowed, his voice trembling occasionally. It almost sounded like he was sorry.

Hoppy and Kickin hugged each other tightly as the monstrous form of Catnap crossed the room across the ceiling.

"MY FLOCK SHALL DEAL WITH YOU HERETICS!" bellowed Catnap as he left.

For a minute, there was not a sound. Hoppy strained her hearing to the max, she needed to know what was happening out there. She heard nothing. The sounds of Catnap's footfalls had gone away entirely. Then… there was a click and a creaking sound of a door opening. But it was far away. Behind them, back towards the duck pool. Then she heard something that confused her.

A giggle.

A happy hungry giggle.

"...hehehehehehehe…"

Then suddenly she heard more of them… hundreds more! She gasped as she then heard the pitter pattering of hundreds of limbs. Like rolling thunder coming up the stairs…

"RUN!" she cried and she dragged Kickin' out of the tent by the hand.

"Whoa!" he cried in shock as he tried to keep up. "What are we doing?! What is it?"

"It sounds bad!" Hoppy shouted.

This was all she could think, and she had to trust her gut or else! A couple turns later she heard the noise break through the door leading into this node. This time it was loud enough that Kickin' heard it clearly now! He picked up his pace and the two ran hand in hand abreast out of the room as the enemy at their backs. The maze continued for a little way beyond here before they would be at the end of the Playhouse.

"Look for the staff door, it's got to be near!" Hoppy cried to Kickin'.

He began to look, not entirely sure what he was looking for but he hoped he'd know when he saw it. The noises behind them continued to get louder and louder, whatever it was, it was faster than them by a long shot. Kickin' looked back and almost screamed as he saw what was coming after them. An army of more living toys… toys that looked like them! They giggled in these high pitched voices and buttons dangled on their faces, still attached by the thread inside the glowing eyes.

"Hoppy?" he said nervously.

Before the bunny could respond, she tripped on a raised piece of the floor! Hoppy worried she was going to pull Kickin' down with her. But she was surprised by the chicken critter when he not only didn't fall, he stopped and began to pull her to her feet again in record time!

"COME ON! HURRY!" he cried.

Hoppy wasn't sure what was behind them, but if it was making Kickin' this scared, she had to find that door! Leaping down to the lowest level in the maze, Hoppy got back on her feet and she knew where they were!

"There! "Hoppy cried!

Kickin' followed behind as well as he could! The staff only door was unlocked.

"Just as I hoped, the playhouse was closed for a week before the Hour of Joy. They had left the door unlocked because of the number of workers constantly in and out at all times," Hoppy thought.

They exploded out into a small room just barely bigger than a closet! They stopped and shut the door behind them. Hoppy got a look at the wave of filthy tiny versions of her and her friends. She watched as one mini-Hoppy leaped up incredibly high in the air, possibly hoping to grab their faces before the door closed shut. This was followed by hundreds of angry yowls and thuds on the door that just grew in volume.

"That should keep them back," Kickin' gasped.

Then, from the other side of the door, they began to hear the high-pitched growls and snarls as the mini-critters began to sing.

"...dear holy one, we require assistance, dear holy one, Give us your presence … lend us your might to clear our way, and your task we'll repay…. Come Lord Catnap lend us aid, our loyalty forever and ever repaid..."

"They're calling him!" Kickin' squawked in fear.

Hoppy swiveled around the dark room; she had to figure a way out. But it was dark, the light so dim it was hard to see. Raising her arm she expected to see her flashlight, only to realize it wasn't in her hand! Reaching up she undid her zipper to feel in her pocket. Only she found no light.

"I must have dropped it!" she thought in horror.

Turning to look around at the room a small blinking green light caught her attention. It was a green hand node the workers would use to push to open this door. Hoppy knew these were used to open special staff only doors that needed higher clearance as it used the green power hands on those doors. She looked at her green hands and felt the energy sparkle in her palms. She thought and then she decided that she was going to try. She put both hands on the button and she began to discharge the energy into it! Her palms instantly heated up and smoke rose from somewhere. But it didn't last long before the button gave a chirp, followed by light spilling into the room when the electric door rose! The light spilling in managed to snap Kickin' out of his fear and he became aware of the heavy thuds echoing down the hallway right to this door. Catnap was here! He took off and he grabbed Hoppy by the arm, peeling her off the button. The door was slower to close as the power drained from it. The critters ran through easily. A loud crash came out as they got past the door. It was Catnap smashing through the wall, taking down the door, frame and all, to the floor and destroying the wall in the process. The moment this happened, the wave of ravenous toys began to flow like water after them!

The door lowered completely but a few of the ravenous mob made it through. Hoppy and Kickin' couldn't stop running! They raced up and down the catwalks present; the corners and the unfamiliar surface made them run slightly slower. They didn't know for how long they ran; it felt like forever. But soon their path came to an end.

"And you know the rest from there," Hoppy sighed.

"Whoa… so… that's what I saw in that closet…." Alex murmured, remembering the first thing he'd done upon arriving in this hell.

In this time the trio had zig zagged their way along the remaining structures that hadn't fallen into the pit below Playcare. Kickin' rode upwards, holding onto the cable of the GrabPack up onto the ledge with the other two. They had just gotten up to join Alex after having to let the former employee jump first to the higher ledge before winching them up one at a time.

"Yeah, the critters chasing us stopped and were trapped up on the walkways. They left us alone and eventually we heard Catnap retrieving them and he never even thought to look for us. Maybe he thought they'd gotten us," Kickin' added.

"Jeeze, I'm hoping my one encounter with them is the last," Alex said.

"They are loyal to Catnap, they'll still be around. Make no mistake," Hoppy said with a shudder.

Once back on the trail, Kickin' was offered a ride on Alex's shoulders as he was becoming exhausted from all the climbing. The three kept walking, with Hoppy starting to lead the way as some of the catwalks became familiar to her. Eventually the catwalks came to a stop as it encountered the wall of the cavern that Playcare had been anchored into. The only way forward was through the area a sign painted on the wall reading "Playhouse Staff Entrance. "

"Oh no… this looks like the only way forward." Alex said.

Hoppy and Kickin' embraced each other tightly. Even if it had been years, the memories of that night were still fresh in their minds. They hid and shuddered behind Alex.

"Come on, it's the only way forward. And if you say Catnap could get back here, he may find us if we don't keep moving," he said as he walked over to the door.

The door control to get inside was simple, a blue hand scanner. It seemed access to get inside the Playcare was lower security. The door clattered loudly up and then they entered with the two critters running behind him.

Looking around the closet, it was clearly more open than Hoppy and Kickin' remembered. They figured it was because the stress of the moment had clouded their memory. An old TV sat in a small alcove with a VHS tape sticking out of the VCR, ready to be played and it had been hooked up to the power on the wall. Probably to rewind it. Beyond that was a small storage space and some pipes that carried wires or water or gas. The wall where Catnap had broken in was still a mess, the door left on the floor where it had fallen.

"Sheesh, they did not build this place very well," Alex said, admiring the complete destruction of the wall.

"Or Catnap's stronger than we all thought," Hoppy said nervously.

Alex didn't respond, he looked around and upon noticing the tape, he pushed it in. As the take played it showed an image of Catnap behind bars. It was then that Leith Pierre spoke, performing what sounded like an interview or diagnosis reading to Catnap. He heard the name of Harley Sawyer and wondered who that was. He'd learned many names of the people who he worked with, but none had mentioned him. But his blood began to boil when the subject of the Prototype came up and Leith smacked back with no hints of his staged and forced cheerful tone. He claimed Catnap was where he belonged, and he was never going to get out.

"He had them created, and he treats him like filth," Alex growled. "No wonder he thinks this place is his home; someone made that clear to him and now he believes it."

Hoppy and Kickin' had barely focused on the tape, they were keeping their eyes peeled for any of the mini critters hiding in the darkness. Seeing their nerves Alex decided that he should make his way into the hallway first.

"I'll go in front. If any of them come towards us, I'll shoot a flare at them," he said.

The two critters made a move to join him but a sudden creaking sound made them run back. It was wise they did because part of the damaged wall section suddenly collapsed! The rubble of the padded walls created a barrier between the two groups.

"Shoot! Not now!" Alex cried as he came back to the pile and shouted, "Hoppy! Kickin'! You okay?"

"Yeah, we're good, man!" Kickin' called.

"But there's no way we can get to you!" Hoppy cried.

"And I can't see a good place to begin dismantling this without bringing more of this place down on me!" Alex shouted back.

"Wait, we have a vent on our side! We're going to try this way," Kickin' said.

"No, not a vent! If one of those things is in there…" Hoppy whimpered.

"We don't really have a choice, rad rabbit," Kickin' said.

Things were silent for a moment before Alex could hear them heading towards a vent.

"Be safe, Alex. And… thanks for you rescuing us," Kickin' cried.

"Think nothing of it. You two be safe, please!" Alex said.

"We will… you too," Kickin' said slowly, his dialog sounding unsure and worried. Then Alex could hear him follow after Hoppy.

"Okay, I'm on my own… again," Alex said to himself.

Turning he headed further into the Playhouse.

.

.

Upon finally reaching the door leading out of the rotating platform room, Alex sighed heavily. Every step he'd take until this moment had been incredibly tense and worrying. The way Hoppy and Kickin' had described their escape told him more than he already knew about the mini-critters. And fair to say, he hoped to never cross paths with them. He'd found Hoppy's dropped flashlight and was carrying it. As she had said, it only worked with her, so he'd needed to resort to using his flares to light up the dark room. At the door of the room, he came across the spiral staircase. Signs on the wall said the lower levels were staff only areas and no orphans or unauthorized were allowed past a painted line on the floor. Figuring it wouldn't help him, he headed up the stairs. It didn't take long before he pushed into the empty pool. Slightly bigger than the pond placed near the tram, all the water had since drained out of the pool, leaving the ducks beached. Coming in here, Alex saw lots of red blood stains on the floor. But a closer look revealed this had been caused by the remains of ripped apart toys. It was like the countless Boogie Bots, Catbees and Brons, only none of those toys were in sight. It was all mini-critters. Many remaining limbs sat around, but there were not enough to make a complete body.

"God… what happened here… who…. what did this to these things?"

Despite the massive blood smear on the doors leading out of the room, Alex pulled them open. The room on the other side was plunged into pitch black, but small red flickering lights inside provided weak light. Stepping over to look closer at them, Alex blinked in confusion: the lights were from small candles. Candles that had to have been lit recently. In the dim light, Alex saw the actual cells Hoppy and Kickin' had been afraid of. Prison cells lined both sides of the dark candle-lit hallway. A filthy plastic sign with the pendent for each critter sat on the open doors of each cell. Looking into one cell whose door was laying on the floor, inside was a paw shaped bed with hundreds of scratches all over the inside, Alex knew this had to be Catnap's cell. And by the pile of mini-critter corpses, it was clear he came here often!

"Oh crap… I'm in his bedroom! If he comes back…."

Not wanting to stay here longer, Alex quickly turned and began to head towards the partially blocked exit out of this room. His mind buzzed with wonder as to why this place existed. Casting a look at another cell, he caught the appearance of a shower head and a drain in the floor. Thinking back to the empty pool, Alex remembered ladders all along the edge, as well as what looked like steps leading into the pool with ease.

"Maybe this used to be a locker room or shower of some kind before they changed it to be cells. Before the critters were created. But why would they do this to their subjects? They'd felt it was safe to let them interact with the children, but rest periods were to be spent locked away? … How many red flags did I purposely ignore to work here?"

From the darkness of the last prison cell came a loud and ragged cough that nearly made Alex jump out of his skin, distracting him from his musings. And the moment he turned and looked; he cupped his hand over his mouth in horror. He wanted to scream and cry all at once. The cell's occupant looked up and spoke in a strained sickly way.

"You…. you're Poppy's angel… come to save us…."