The Hour of Joy is at Hand

Chapter 4

Jack woke up and Home Sweet Home was completely empty. "Is there anybody there? Hello?" Jack called out, but no response. Silence ringed in his ears. He got out of bed and looked around, nobody. He left and went outside onto the porch, still nobody. He looked around the monument a bit and still nobody. He decided to head back into Home Sweet Home and look there a bit more.

Then suddenly, the front doors on Home Sweet Home flew off their hinges, and a monster came out. The monster looked very similar to CatNap, but they were smaller, colorless, and their mouth was much bigger than his. They also looked a lot like a lizard in some ways.

 The monster started to sprint at Jack, so his instincts told him to run away from it. Jack tried hard to run, but his legs only allowed him to walk quickly. The monster caught up to Jack and grabbed him, threw him on the ground, and lifted his hand up to crush him. Jack couldn't move.

Jack was woken up by the other orphans talking to each other and getting ready for the day. His eyes darted around the room in fear and anxiety. "Was all that a nightmare?!" Jack thought.

"Hello? Jack, are you in there?" Hallie asked Jack to get his attention. "Oh, sorry Hallie. I just had the worst nightmare in my life, but it looked so real." "Oh, sorry that that happened to you. Anyway, we gotta go to the Game Station after lunch." Hallie said and left to go somewhere.

Jack decided to not go back to sleep because he might have that same nightmare, or just a nightmare that could be worse than that.

"How was that nightmare even possible? Why was it so sudden? What if it was the red smoke CatNap gave me? That might just be it, because I didn't have any nightmares that bad until he gave it to me. Okay Jack, no more of the red smoke."

Jack got his day clothes on and left to find some of his friends. He checked the Playhouse first. He wandered a bit too far into the place and entered an off limits area. He looked around and found a VHS and a player. He put it in and listened. There was a scientist speaking for the majority of the VHS.

"Okay, this is... CatNap. Uhh, Experiment Number One One Eight Eight. What's his real name again? Ah, okay. Heya Theo, how you doin' bud! Normally I'd have Dr. Sawyer do this but he's uhh, out, lets say, so you got me until they find his replacement. First off, congrats. This is officially your fourth year in your new body, and you've made some real progress pal. I was told that when you and the others, Smiling Critters, ya'know, DogDay, PickyPiggy, yadda yadda yadda were added into Playcare, that you weren't really getting along too well with the kids like everybody else was. But look at you now, the kids love ya, and that red smoke! I mean that's fantastic isn't it?" Then there was a small quiet pause until the scientist asked another person, "Is his uhh... voice thingy still broken?" Then CatNap stated, "THE PROTOTYPE, WILL SAVE US." "Theo, nobody's gonna save you. This prison is where you belong. We'll let you out here and there to see the kids in Playcare but your home is here. And as for The Prototype, his home is in the labs. This is your life now, get used to it."

Jack's theory was right, CatNap was an orphan. Then that must've meant that the claw under the bed in Theodore's drawing was The Prototype since he said that he'll save us, or them. That means he was right about everything.

Jack ran out of the Playhouse and ran all the way back to Home Sweet Home. He couldn't believe that all of this happened, so much info took in in just a short period of time. "Maybe a little rest would help." Jack thought.

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