Toyland- the Legacy of Wallace Noel by Tony Bertauski

Author:Tony Bertauski [Bertauski, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DeadPixel Publications
Published: 2019-12-01T22:00:00+00:00

13

“Where’s Pip?”

“With your mom,” Corey said. “She came back and you weren’t here. I said you went to the workshop to look for more plans because you were bored. I’m supposed to wait for you.” He waved at Pando. “Surprise.”

Tin stripped off her coat and warmed her hands by the fire without taking her eyes off the new toy. He stood six feet tall on stumpy legs, with black and white fur and arms ready to hug. The green button eyes followed her.

“What’s he doing down here?” she said.

“I’m glad you asked. I was on the couch having a tickle fight with Clyde, and your sister was telling her monkey a story about carrots that made a home in a compost pile, when it sounded like someone was hitting the wall with pillows. I think maybe it’s your mom and my dad having a pillow fight or something. I’m nervous because I got to lie about you and not tell them you were going to dump an elf hat outside the invisibility shield that’s surrounding us.

“I look up and I don’t see your mom and my dad. Nope. I see a living dead panda bear lumbering in the hall. I’ll be honest.” He squeezed Clyde. “I thought he was going to eat us.”

Tin circled around Pando.

“He came wobbling in with those big green buttons on his face and stood in front of your sister’s half-dead tree and just stared. I mean staaaaaaared. No one moved. Not Clyde or me or Baby Doll. Well, Soldier did. And your sister. But the rest of us, ready to pee.”

“Is she all right?”

“Your sister? Oh, she stopped reading for like a second and went right back to it. Like she’s seen stuffed pandas all her life.”

Pando followed her approach, the head turning on a thick neck. Piggy squeezed her tightly. Pando was in good shape. He didn’t smell moldy or have any matted patches of fur. He smelled like the loft, green and earthy.

“Did Mom say anything?”

“Uh, no. But then he wasn’t moving when she got here. This is the new normal, Tin. Toys walking around. I’m not totally digging it.”

Pando turned his head almost in a complete circle.

“The million-dollar question,” Corey said, “is why you put the hat on. Because I thought the plan was to leave it out there. But that’s just me, so—”

“How did you know?”

The evidence was six feet tall. Every time she put it on, there was a noise and something else. Where was Pando when the other toys woke up? Maybe it took him longer to get here.

She pulled the hat out of her coat. Pando’s head turned quickly. She twirled it on her fist.

“I think I know where all the power is being diverted.” She told Corey about the hat being yanked from her hand, how she was nearly knocked out going through the wall. “It was different than before.”

“So then you put the hat on. Makes total sense.”

“I was looking for answers.”

That was sort of the truth.

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