SC: Sixty One Part Two And Sixty Two Part One

Chapter Sixty-One Part Two: In Which Someone Appears Unexpectedly

    The second Jack heard footsteps coming, he panicked, threw the invisibility cloak over himself, and pressed against the wall, trying his best to stay still and not make a sound, though he couldn’t control his frantic breathing.

    Stay calm.  It’s probably not Dad, it might be… I don’t know, but surely it can’t be anyone too bad, could it?  But on the other hand, who else could it be-

    Then the person came into view.

    “These are the bedrooms… so where is the laboratory?” Snow muttered to herself.  “This is so confusing…”

    Wait… why is Snow here?  Should I ignore her?  Should I let her know I am here? Jack thought.  His instincts decided for him.

    “Hey, Snow!  It’s Jack!  What are you doing here?” he exclaimed, throwing off the invisibility cloak.  It came out much louder than he meant to, but fortunately, no one heard.

    “Aah!” She jumped back a little in surprise.

    “Ssssh!  We need to be more quiet!” Jack whispered.  “And when did you get your voice back anyways?”

    “Well, Dr. Blossoms found this remedy… but that’s not important!  Do you know where the laboratory is?” she asked.

    “Yeah… but why do you want to go there?  It’s dangerous!”

    “Because Flake was taken there!” she said urgently.  “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

    “Wait, what?” Jack said, not quite registering what Snow said.  “You know, maybe you should explain it in a safer place.  Come.”  He went to Flint’s bedroom and knocked on the door, Snow trailing from behind.  The door opened and they went in.

    “Who is that?” Snow said nervously, looking at Rose, who was sitting on the bed.

    “Oh, right, forgot you guys haven’t met,” Jack said.  “Snow, this is Rose.  Rose, this is Snow.  I’m sure you guys have heard about each other, so let’s not bother with formalities and focus on whats important here.  Snow, you said Flake is where?”

    “Well, you see, I was going to Flake’s room to tell him something, but he wasn’t there,” Snow said.  “The door was unlocked though, and the window was open, which I found strange so I looked out the window and then I saw that there was the kidnapper guy and he was holding a big bulging bag that maybe had Flake in it but I don’t know, and he was somehow climbing down from the window and then I got worried so I followed him all the way across the forest through this underground thing and then I came to this room and got sort of lost but-”

    “Yes, I think I get it,” Jack interrupted.  “So… you think Flake got kidnapped and was brought here?  And that he’s probably in the lab?”  Snow nodded.

    Great timing.  We can go rescue him now, Rose wrote on a piece of paper.

    “Easier said than done,” Jack said.  “We have to make a plan first.  We can’t just storm in and expect everything to go well.  And also there is Chief Alya and Windy to think about.  We haven’t rescued them yet, but they are probably not in any immediate danger so we don’t have to get them now, while Flake is probably in danger.  However, once we rescue Flake, we would most likely have to flee the area immediately, meaning that there would be no time to get Chief Alya and Windy, especially since we have no idea where they might be.  So… we’re kind of stuck.”

    I think we should probably rescue Flake first, Rose wrote.  After all, we can’t just waste time knocking on every door around here.  By the time we get to the lab, it’ll be too late.  Who knows what would happen to him?

    “He’ll probably lose his voice or something like that.  After all, that’s what happened to you and Snow,” Jack pointed out.

    “Oh, that reminds me,” Snow said.  “There’s something you might want to know.  I kind of forgot it in all the stuff that happened.  It’s the thing I went to Flake’s room to tell him in the first place.”

    “What is it?” he said.

    “It’s Flint,” Snow answered.  “He woke up.  And there’s something wrong with him.”

Chapter Sixty-Two Part One: In Which Someone Else Appears Even More Unexpectedly

    “What’s wrong with him?” Jack asked.

    Who is he anyways?  Rose wrote.

    “He’s acting really weird.  He’ll stare at certain things for long periods of time and hum random tunes and ignore everyone and wave his hands in the air for no particular reason.  It’s like he’s possesed or something.  It’s kind of scary being in the same room as him,” Snow said.

    “That’s… creepy,” he said.  “That doesn’t exactly answer any questions either.  If anything, it makes more.”

    But who is he? Rose wrote again.

    “So what’s the plan?” Snow said.

    “Maybe we can use the cloak and-”

    HELLO?  Rose wrote in full caps and waved the paper in Jack’s face.

    He flinched.  “What?  What is it?”

    Who’s Flint?

    “Oh.  He’s just one of the people kidnapped, along with Windy and Snow and now Flake I guess.  Kind of temperamental, but a great guy once you get to know him.  He likes sitting in his room, walking around the hallways, sulking, and throwing stuff at walls,” Jack explained.  He turned to Rose to see whether she was listening, but her attention was focused on someone behind him.  He looked at Snow, but she was staring at the same place with great alarm.  He slowly turned around.

    And there, standing in the open doorway, was Flint, holding a bobby pin and a big book.

    “Hello, friends!” he singsonged.  “It’s playtime!”

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