Pudgy watched as the ground around him began to glow with an unearthly green light. Alabaster was holding onto him with his good wing. Argente was saying something, but she quickly disappeared. The transportation was different this time, instead of the world being cast in a blue or purple light, and the ground speeding below his paws, a new scene unfolded. He appeared to be moving at great speed through the earth. The rocks surrounded him, and sped quickly by in all directions. There was no breeze, nor a sense of gravity. It was as if he was floating in the green ethereal light. The hedgehog could feel the owl holding onto him with his good wing wrapped around his body.
There was a brilliant flash of white light, which temporarily blinded the two animals. Pudgy took a deep breath, and immediately felt sick. He pitched forward, and the contents of his tummy were expelled. Alabaster was holding his head, “ley line travel is always like this Pudgy. That is why I did not eat with you this morning.” The hedgehog felt better now that his tummy was empty, and started to stand up, as the world returned to focus. “Where is Argente,” the critter asked his owl companion. Alabaster shook his head, “sadly, the stone can only transport 2 at a time. We left her behind, I am sorry Pudgy.”
The hedgehog turned to look at his snow owl companion, “Pudgy have to go back to get her!” The owl shook his head, “that will not work, Pudgy. The stone can be used once per day, so we would need to wait 1 day, you travel back, wait 1 day, then travel back here. It would double the time to travel to the great tree, and thus delay you finding your human friend.” Pudgy grumbled as he wiggled his nose, the owl had a point. He wanted to bring Argente with him, because he did not fully trust the owl. Pudgy recognized the fact that the sapphire was attuned to him, so it would be useless to the owl. If Alabaster did pull something, then he could teleport back to his home and leave the owl stranded. “Pudgy understand Alabaster, let us figure out where we are?”
The two animals had arrived at a large boulder that was jutting out of the ground. There were tall oak trees everywhere, full of green leaves. It was much warmer than Pennsylvania, but the trees shaded the area from a bright sun that floated in a cloudless blue sky. Sounds of traffic were coming from the south, so Pudgy motioned for Alabaster to follow. The two critters scampered along the forest floor, until they came up to a couple robins that were digging worms from the ground. The hedgehog waved, and started to whistle. He could speak robin, but he would get some words wrong because he couldn’t whistle high enough. Alabaster waved his wing at the birds, and was amazed Pudgy could speak to them. “Hello, my name is Pudgy, and this is Alabaster. We are lost, do you know where we are?” The robins turned their heads and waved their wings at the two travellers when the hedgehog spoke to them. “The humans call place Texas. Something is wrong, humans go away. Big lake boats empty, and floating with wind.”
Alabaster nodded, “we think we may know why. Have there been any large glowing stones found here?” The one robin nodded, “Sky Feather found one. She listens to Gaia, and turns stone on. It glowed like a sign at a human food place over there, and then was absorbed back into the ground.” Pudgy looked at the owl, “Alabaster, you said that only the owls were looking for the stones?” The robins shook their heads and the other spoke, “owl friends told us to look for stones also. All birds searching, and turning on when they find stone.” Pudgy nodded, but was silently angry at the owl. The owl had omitted this, but perhaps it was because he didn’t know. If the owl knew and didn’t tell the truth, then what else was he lying about?
The robins waved their wings, and then started to flap quickly. In a short period of time, they had quickly flown off to the east. Pudgy looked at Alabaster, and then started to scamper again towards where the human food place was mentioned. The owl bounced along the ground behind the hedgehog, and was glad that he was not moving as quickly as the fox did. Alabaster avoided the subject of the Gaia stones, “the ley lines are not connected. They are separate, and run unknown distances. Your owl’s tear should start to vibrate when we get close to another one.” Pudgy nodded, and stopped when he reached the edge of the forest.
There was a clearing of tall grass, which then led to a line of elm trees that swayed in the wind. There was a slight breeze, which felt good. Beyond the elms was a large gray aluminum sided building. A large picnic area was set up around the building, with a large black smoker going. Pudgy could smell the scent of the barbeque in the air, and he bounced happily. He still had the money that Cobalt gave him for the last adventure, so he could buy food if need be. But his tummy was still feeling a bit off, so he did not want to eat. Perhaps they had something to drink though, that would definitely help?
The two travelling critters scampered through the tall grass. While they did come across a snake slithering along, they left her alone and it did the same with them. Upon reaching the line of elm trees, they could see another wide grassy field. Though this section was mowed down, so it would be easier to traverse. After Alabaster had a chance to recover, Pudgy started to scoot along again. As he drew closer to the picnic area, he could see a split rail wooden fence lined the outskirts of the picnic area. The owl stopped at a wooden fence post, and leaned against it out of breath. Pudgy turned to him, “you stay here and let Pudgy scout ahead.” The owl did not argue and nodded. He watched the hedgehog scamper closer to the human area, which made him shake his head. Humans needed to be left alone, yet this strange critter heads right for them?
Big signs were everywhere in red lettering: Cedar Creek Brewing. Pudgy knew that meant this place served the giggle juice that Cobalt drank sometimes. Cobalt could not drink too much of it though, because he would get sad. It was for that reason, his friend rarely drank the beverage. The picnic tables were not full, and groups of humans were busy eating and drinking. So, while Pudgy skirted the outside of the picnic area, he saw two very familiar female humans. They were throwing bean bags onto a board with a hole in the end of it. The hedgehog bounced happily, and ran up to a bare foot clad in a brown leather sandal. He looked up a long leg, and waved, “Hi Mrs. Waffles!”
The woman looked down and shrieked a tiny bit because she was startled. Then a big smile formed on her lips, as curly brown hair blew in the wind around her face. “PUDGY! What are you doing back in Texas?” The hedgehog hugged her ankle, and turned to wave at the other woman. There was a woman dressed in a fashionable outfit from the 50’s with red pants and a white blouse, with bright orange hair. Samantha waved, and started to walk over to Mrs. Waffles. Pudgy scampered over to hug Samantha’s ankle, and bounce happily. The woman did not wait, and knelt down, then quickly scooped up the hedgehog into her hands. Samantha could not help but smile, and hugged the hedgehog properly and gently.
Pudgy returned the embrace, and looked up at her while wiggling his nose. Samantha giggled, “I drive to Cedar Creek to have lunch with Mrs. Waffles here, and look what happens? Pudgy hedgehog arrives to visit too. What are you doing down here Pudgy?” There was a loud speaker that was attached to the side of the building, and it called out, “TABLE 4 YOUR ORDER IS READY.” Mrs. Waffles smiled, “I’ll go get it Samantha. Grab us a table please?” The woman smiled and waved at Pudgy, then headed to a large window in the side of the building. Samantha carried Pudgy to a nearby table that ran along the edge of the fencing, and sat down. Setting Pudgy onto the table, the hedgehog watched her styled orange hair did not move in the wind. She was using the no hair move stuff in the can sold in the girly aisle at the store.
The hedgehog watched as Mrs. Waffles carried a red plastic tray back to the table, and set it down. She walked around the table, and Pudgy noticed her blue jean shorts and white patriotic american flag t-shirt coordinated. As she swung her legs over the picnic bench seat, she sat down and giggled again. It was her time to scoop up and hug the hedgehog, which drew a smile from Samantha as she picked up a clear cup full of an amber colored beer. Taking a sip, “Pudgy, I feel bad, we didn’t get you anything.” Pudgy looked up at Mrs. Waffles, then Samantha as he was being hugged, “that’s ok. Pudgy tummy not good, so not hungry. Maybe Pudgy can get bubble water later though.”
The hedgehog was set down nearby the tray, and watched as the two women picked up their respective plates of food. This was a BBQ place, so there was brisket, ribs, smoked sausage, and coleslaw. It all smelled wonderful. So while Mrs. Waffles started to eat, Samantha petted Pudgy gently. “So, what brings you back to Texas Pudgy? I heard you just got back from your trip to Poland?” Mrs. Waffles coughed, “POLAND? Why on earth did you go there?” Pudgy nodded, and explained what had happened on his most recent adventure. As the two women ate, they listened dumbstruck and worried. Their little friend had gone to the worst possible place, fought demons, and freed trapped souls from the infamous prison camp.
Cobalt had arranged a conference call with all of the affected people from the Kaiser attacks, and had given a broad overview of what had happened. The monsters were dealt with, and they would be safe once more. But the missing details provided by Pudgy, made the two women only worry, and start taking turns hugging the hedgehog once again. After setting Pudgy down on the table again, Mrs. Waffles spoke. “Pudgy, I am glad you are healed. I don’t want you to go on another adventure like that again! Wait, why exactly are you here?” The hedgehog turned and looked out towards the fence line. He pointed with his paw, and the two women turned their heads. A snow white owl was peeking at them from behind the post. Pudgy waved his hands that it was alright to approach. The owl nodded, and gingerly stepped forward.
With his good wing, he was able to get enough lift to make it to the bench seat beside Mrs. Waffles. After a slight moment to rest, he flew up again to reach the table top. The two women looked at the snow white arctic owl that was beside Pudgy. His feathers were pure white, with a slight brown marking in places. Golden eyes almost seemed to glow, and his one wing was splinted. The owl was nervous, but Pudgy signalled that it was safe to approach. If the humans did do something, he would risk full flight. He could not speak to the humans like Pudgy could, but noticed the female humans kind expressions as they looked at him.
Pudgy motioned to the owl, “This is Alabaster. He arrived recently in Pudgy forest. He was hurt, so Pudgy helped him.” Samantha smiled, “this is just like that magical school show, where the owls bring letters. Nice to meet you Alabaster,” Samantha giggled. Mrs. Waffles smiled and waved, “hello Alabaster, nice to meet you as well. Pudgy, what is going on?” The hedgehog frowned, “Cobalt disappeared. He came over to fix things, and bring supplies. He was just standing there, and said he didn’t feel well. He went translucent, and then disappeared. There was no sight, smell, or sign of him being in the forest. Then Pudgy watch on news, humans all over have been disappearing. Alabaster tells Pudgy of magical stones, that are the cause of this. Pudgy has to get Alabaster home, so can talk to Grand Claw. Can help Pudgy and Alabaster.”
Samantha nodded, “I saw that news story too. It is weird, people are just vanishing all over. So far it seems to be random.” Mrs. Waffles was about to speak, when her purse started to buzz and a muffled telephone ring sound could be heard. She reached down to her side, and unzipped the white purse’s zipper. She pulled out her black cell phone, and saw it was the work site where her husband worked. Answering the call, “Hello, yes this is, what is going on?” Pudgy watched as the color drained from her face, and her eyes started to tear up. “Oh no, yes please, call the police!” Samantha’s expression changed to that of concern, and then looked at Pudgy. Mrs. Waffles ended the call, “that was my husband’s work site, he was working on the floor assembling scaffolding. He vanished before the eyes of the other workers, and the scaffolding collapsed. Someone was pinned under the steel, but before they could rescue him, he too disappeared. Pudgy …what … is going on?”
The hedgehog frowned and sniffled, “oh no, not Mr. Waffles too! Alabaster tells Pudgy of magic stones, and they can make humans go away. That is why Pudgy has to get to Mt. Rainier, where Alabaster is from.” Samantha nodded, “why can’t you just fly there like Poland?” The hedgehog frowned, “Pudgy planes are destroyed, and the magic talisman Pudgy used is also gone. Pudgy has a magic stone, but has limits. Plus no Cobalt, he helps Pudgy with all adventures, so Pudgy on own now.” The two women shook their heads, though Mrs. Waffles was crying now. “We can still help you Pudgy,” Mrs. Waffles stammered out between sobbing. The owl watched the two women, and the hedgehog. He could not believe that Pudgy just revealed everything to them?
Alabaster started to hoot, which the women did not understand. Pudgy turned to him, as the owl shot him a look. “Do not tell them any more, they do not need to know this. Knowledge is power, and humans can not be trusted with this.” Pudgy shook his head, “Pudgy knows them, and they are nice humans. They can help,” the hedgehog said while shaking his head. The owl gave Pudgy a look, and then watched as Samantha got out her phone. She was calling home, “Lizzy, this is Mom. Is Everything alright there? Wait .. slow down!” Pudgy watched as the woman’s face also contorted, “Jeff vanished? I do not know what is going on. I will be home soon, stay there till I get back!”
Pudgy frowned, “oh no, not Jeff too!” Samantha nodded, “Lizzy said that it happened earlier, he was painting the gutters, and she watched as the paint fell past the window. He just faded away …” She started to tear up, and dabbed at the side of her eye with a tissue from her red purse. In the background loud country music played over speakers, which helped muffle the sounds of the crying women. After a couple of minutes passed, Alabaster noticed there were other humans nearby that were watching them. They were putting these strange sticks to their mouths, and then would blow smoke out from inside. “Pudgy, it is not safe here, we need to go.” The owl said, and watched as the male humans started to approach. As Samantha was about to speak, she shrieked as the two men slowly faded away with each step. Mrs. Waffles’ mouth fell open, as she watched it happen before her eyes.
“Pudgy, this is not good. Whatever is happening, it seems to be speeding up! What do we need to do to help you and your owl friend?” The hedgehog nodded, “There is a place that Pudgy has to go to, but unsure where it is. Pudgy magic stone will vibrate when close, “ he said while rubbing his chin with his paw. The owl waved and hooted at Pudgy, “I just remembered something. When my mother and I flew here once, there was a big lake here. In the center of the lake was a human road I think they called it, and an island. Humans would gather there, and floating boxes would surround the island. There is a big tree there where we roosted for the night. I think that is where we should go next?” Pudgy nodded and translated for the human women. “Alabaster told Pudgy, there is an island in the big lake nearby with a road through it. Do you know where that is?”
Mrs. Waffles sniffed her nose, and nodded. That is Tom Finley park, I drove through there to come here. It is maybe 10 minutes down the road by car. I can drive you there, but what then?” Pudgy bounced, “will have to wait awhile, before can use stone. Then Pudgy and Alabaster will use the magic stone to teleport to the next location.” As the two women nodded, they finished their meals. The formerly happy meeting had changed to an awkward silence. It was not that Pudgy had done anything wrong, but the disappearance of the husbands had placed a damper on the situation. It was just a silly thing happening on television, but when it actually happens to someone you know in real life, is when things become clear.
Samantha gathered the plates, and empty cups on the red plastic tray, and then swung her legs out from underneath the picnic table. She carried the red tray back to an iron barrel trash can that had been painted red with a dinosaur on it. The red plastic trays were stacked on top of the barrel. After she had thrown away the trash, the woman came walking back and looked at the table. “Shall we head to the park?” Before Pudgy or Alabaster could say anything, the hedgehog was picked up by Mrs. Waffles and the owl were picked up by Samantha. They were carried gently by the women, around the side of the restaurant. Pudgy stayed still, but the owl was not pleased at being carried, so he was squirming a bit. Samantha squeezed his body gently, “you stop that Alabaster.”
The owl made a face, and stayed still until he saw two strange things sitting beside each other. Mrs. Waffles had borrowed the white pickup truck, so she could take it to the shop this morning. When she received the text message from Samantha for lunch, she decided to head to the brewery instead of driving home. Her husband got to drive her small gray car to work, which just thrilled him to no end, since it has flowers and animal decals on the back windows. Samantha was driving a red vehicle, and she followed behind Mrs. Waffles. Artfully the pickup truck passenger door was opened, and the hedgehog was placed onto the gray tweed seat. The woman stepped aside, so Samantha could put the owl beside Pudgy. As the passenger door was shut, Alabaster started to get worried.
Pudgy placed a paw on his side, “It will be ok, they are nice humans.” Because of their size, they could not see over the dash, and looked expectantly at Mrs. Waffles when she opened the driver side door and climbed up into the cab, and slid into the driver seat. “I would say buckle up, but I don’t think seat belts would do you two any good.” The woman said with a small laugh, as she pulled the seatbelt across her body and clicked into the seat connector. A white purse was set beside Pudgy, and he watched as she got the truck keys out. Placing the key into the ignition, she started up the truck’s engine.
The white truck would lead the way, and backed out of the parking lot. Pudgy could see a big 334 sign in black and white outside of his passenger seat window as the truck pulled out onto the road. The owl was tensed up, but was surrounded by all new sights and smells. He watched the trees quickly pass by through the glass. And soon the truck had reached Cedar Creek lake. There was a road that was built over the lake, that connected the towns of Seven Points and Gun Barrel City. The bridges over the lake connected to two islands, with the first having nothing but large lake homes on it. The truck quickly passed the first island, and was on the next bridge that led to the next larger island. Depending on the rainy season, either this was a very small island, or this was a large island. The island had a restaurant on one part, and the rest was a park. There were a couple pavilions, as well as a boat dock to launch boats from.
Pudgy watched as his human friend pushed the clicking button that caused the right arrow to blink on the dashboard. The truck leaned to the right, and started to bounce slightly. The woman put the truck into park, and then shut off the engine. “Ok, you two, we are here. And so is Samantha, she is pulling up now.” Pudgy bounced on the cloth seat, “thank you Mrs. Waffles for taking us here.” The woman smiled warmly at the hedgehog, and then put the keys into her purse, and opened the driver side door. After grabbing her purse, she shut the door. Muffled talking could be heard outside, but Pudgy could not hear what was being discussed. Alabaster was looking around, starting to get a bit frantic from being cooped up inside the truck.
Though the owl’s fears were short lived as the passenger side door was opened and the woman from earlier helped both critters out of the truck and onto the stone covered ground. He watched as the big door shut and the woman smiled weakly at him. As Samantha walked up to the assembled group, “Ok Pudgy we are here, now what?” The little hedgehog reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out the tiny sapphire. As the hedgehog turned around in a circle slowly, he could feel the stone start to wiggle in his paw. Alabaster nodded, “did it move?” Pudgy waved at everyone, “follow Pudgy, stone says this way!” The hedgehog put the stone back into his vest, and secured the clasp. Soon Pudgy and Alabaster were scampering under the truck.
Samantha rolled her eyes, “hey you two, wait up!” The two women laughed, and walked quickly around the vehicles to see that the critters were heading up a small grass covered hill to the center of the park. When they had reached the crest of the small hill, Pudgy started turning around again. Mrs. Waffles giggled, “hedgehog position system recalculating.” Samantha laughed too, and watched as the hedgehog started off again through a chain link fence that ran through the center part of the island. The women were easily able to get around it, as there was an unlocked gate. They had crossed through the children play area of the park. The owl was hopping along behind the hedgehog, and was seemingly helping him point the way.
As the group passed by several small picnic pavilions that were scattered around the island, they reached a land bridge. This led to another part of the island, but Pudgy seemed to be indicating that the magic stone was pulling in that direction. As the critters scurried across the narrow strip of land, the two women realized that they would have a problem. The strip was maybe a foot wife, so they would need to keep their balance. There were also a couple spots where the lake water had washed through, so they would need to hop across, thus adding to the possibility of falling into the lake. But they were on a Pudgy adventure, so it was ok to take a chance or two. The hedgehog was first to cross the land bridge, and when it got to the first gap, he fell into the water. Swimming furiously, he made it across to the next section of land, and shook the water off.
The owl was able to gain a bit of altitude even with one wing, and was able to coast over the gap. Once both animals were across the land bridge, they turned and waved at the two women. Alabaster chuckled, “they’re going to fall in.” Pudgy shook his head, “Pudgy hope they don’t.” The owl laughed, and watched as Mrs. Waffles walk carefully across the land bridge. She had her arms out to each side, so she wouldn’t lose her balance. While she did not fall in, she did miss one section and step into the water. Once safely across, she turned and waved Samantha to cross over. The woman followed suit, with her arms out to each side, and was doing good until she missed a step and started to fall into the lake. She caught herself, but stepped into the lake mud, and sunk up to her knees. Mrs. Waffles shrieked, and ran over to help pull her friend out of the lake. With some effort, Samantha was freed, and her shoes squeaked while she walked. She didn’t feel too bad, because Pudgy also fell into the water as well.
After checking the stone again, Pudgy led the group to the center of this part of the island. There was a thick grove of oak trees growing in the area. As Pudgy was about to stop, Samantha passed him to look at an oak tree. The bark had been stripped clear of one section, and a silver chain was tied around the diameter. There was a silver pendant that looked like a three fingered hand with an eyeball in the middle. “I have seen this symbol before. This is a wiccan symbol, usually used for protection. I wonder …” She trailed off, and pulled out of her pocket a silver chain with a tiny crystal at the end of it. Letting the crystal dangle freely from the chain, she started to mutter something. The crystal began to swing around in a circle all by itself. Mrs. Waffles looked in amazement, “are you doing that, Samantha?”
Samantha smiled, “no. My Wiccan friends taught me a few things, and I never had the chance to try it out.” She took a few steps towards another tree, and the crystal pulled straight up, and pointed to the left of her. Pudgy looked in amazement, and then using his stone, it too wiggled in that direction. With Pudgy scampering forward, he could feel his teeth wiggling. As Samantha approached, the crystal swung straight up into the air and pointed directly upwards. “Well, I think we found it. Pudgy, what is this?” As the hedgehog put his stone away into his vest pocket, he looked up at the two women. “This is where Pudgy and Alabaster can use stone to head to the next part of the trip. Pudgy thinks this is called a ley line,” he got a thoughtful look and rubbed his chin with his paw. The owl had given up at this point trying to teach tact to the hedgehog, and just stood there listening.
Mrs. Waffles smiled, “well, I have nowhere special to go today, now that magical forces took my husband away from me.” Samantha giggled, “I want to stay too, but my daughter needs me. She sounded like she was a wreck, so I need to head back to Dallas. Alabaster, please keep Pudgy out of trouble. And Pudgy, please be good, but figure out a way to bring everyone back.” The orange haired woman knelt down and picked up the damp hedgehog. She hugged him gently, and then set him back onto the ground. She stood back up, and then laughed when she saw there was a path that connected to the road. “I will take the long dry way back this time.” Mrs. Waffles laughed and walked over to hug her gently, and then waved as Samantha headed through the grove towards the main road.
After Samantha had disappeared from view, Mrs. Waffles sat down and leaned up against the tree. She took off her sandals and wiggled her toes. Pudgy scampered up beside her, and took off his backpack and mining helmet. He started to check the contents of his pack, and the inside of the pack was still dry. The woman was crying softly, and looking at her phone. She reached down and petted Pudgy gently. “I miss Pope. We have been married for a long time. I knew at one point he might leave, but I figured that would be in another 30 or 40 years, not today. Pudgy, what is going on? First Cobalt, then randomly people all over the country, and now at least 4, just today.”
Pudgy looked up at her and sniffled too, “Pudgy misses Cobalt terribly. But Pudgy knows that Pudgy will find a way to bring Cobalt back. Pudgy thinks that the same process can bring everyone else back, but Pudgy needs to find out first what is happening. Alabaster told Pudgy things, but missing details.” The owl was standing where the ley line node was located, but looking up into the sky through the treetops. He softly hooted, and turned to face the hedgehog. “Pudgy, I believe this will take us into the desert. I am unsure where we will wind up though. Usually I would just fly, but with both of us being grounded, we will be exposed.” Pudgy nodded, “Pudgy understands, has water and food in the pack. Pudgy will share, but have to not waste it.”
Mrs. Waffles was reading something on her phone, “oh my god, the Governor disappeared now? The Lieutenant Governor has assumed emergency powers, and has been sworn in. Half of the state house is now missing, and part of the state senate. News reports indicate that the disappearances have accelerated …” The woman started to flip through the various news applications she had on her phone. “Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor disappears while driving, car crashes off the bridge and into the Schuylkill river. State police are investigating … Pudgy, this is getting really serious. People might start to panic now …” The woman said while scrolling through the news stories. She stopped and rubbed her chin for a moment, “I wonder what happens to the power plants if no one is around?”
That was something that had crossed the hedgehog’s mind too. Cobalt told him how a power plant worked, and some systems like nuclear / wind / solar could still operate with minimal interaction. But the natural gas and coal fired plants definitely needed people, and that formed 80% of the nation’s power supply. If the plants went offline, that meant many parts of normal life would disappear. There would be no internet, no cell phones, no refrigerators, and all of the wonderful human sweet foods would go away. The hedgehog snuggled up against the woman’s leg, and hugged her. He could hear a soft giggle escape her lips, and then found himself being petted gently again.
Alabaster was bouncing around the ground looking at things, and then headed back over to the human woman. He saw the hedgehog snuggling against her, and the woman smile softly at him when he approached. Maybe all humans were not bad per se, but they still should not be trusted. He had spent too many years listening to the stories of his Parliament, and the terrible things the humans did. But yet, in the last couple of days, he had seen and met three nice ones. Was this all an act, or was it genuine? The owl could not help but feel conflicted and confused. The sun was starting to set in the western skies, and the area was cast in an orange light. The woman watched as the ground started to almost glow. “Oh my Pudgy, look at that.”
The owl started to hoot, “Pudgy, get over here quick. We have a chance to leave now!” The hedgehog nodded, and put on his pack and helmet, then hugged Mrs. Waffles again. He scampered quickly up to Alabaster, and into the center of the glowing area. The owl wrapped his good wing around the hedgehog, while Pudgy waved at the woman. “Thank you again Mrs. Waffles, Pudgy need to go now. Pudgy promises to find a way to bring everyone back.” He withdrew the sapphire from his pocket, and clutching it tightly, he summoned the teleportation once more. The woman watched as the hedgehog and owl started to glow brightly orange, and then disappeared into a bright flash of light.
Standing up and putting her sandals back on, she grabbed her purse. While placing the phone back inside of it she spoke softly, “goodbye Pudgy, I hope you find a way to bring everyone back. Oh Pope …how I love you, and miss you.” She trailed off as she started to walk the way that Samantha had gone. She didn’t feel like falling into the lake at sunset, so she walked up the short pathway to reach the two lane road that ran through the center of the island. It was a short walk along the side of the road, to reach the main part of the park once more. Upon reaching the park, she headed through the winding pathways back to the parking lot.
Samantha’s red vehicle was still parked beside Pope’s truck. Quickening her pace, she called out, “Samantha are you around?” The vehicle was locked up, “oh no, not you too!” It was as she had feared, on the way back from the ley line node, Samantha had disappeared somewhere along the way. Mrs. Waffles started to cry again softly, and leaned against the truck’s tailgate. “How many more people have to go? Uhhhgghhhh … I don’t feel so good.” It felt like something was turning inside of her body. Looking at her hand, it was starting to go translucent. “No, not me, not yet! I have to find my husband!” The woman cried out, and started to turn, but saw her legs disappear. As she started to fall towards the stone chip parking lot, she completely vanished.
Pudgy's Adventures 
One reply on “Moon Cry: Chapter 3: Island”
Great to see Samantha & Mrs. Waffles. I thought at first the disappearance phenomenon was only happening to men, so the ending really surprised me.
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