Imprisoned toys are a sad and hopeless lot. But whenever a new favorite is brought in, they rouse, just a little. The newbies always gave them a glimmer their former lives. Now, with the arrival of this new favorite, Ollie, they started asking him about “his boy.”
“Is he nice, your boy?” asked Carrot Bunny.
“Oh, yeah!” Ollie said enthusiastically. “He is major nice. Nice. Nicer. Nicerest!”
“What size is he?” asked an octopus who was missing at least one leg.
“Well, he started out a little bigger than me, but that was six birthdays ago. Now he’s six birthdays and a half big.”
All the toys said things like “aaaaaah” or “uh-huh” or “hmmm,” as if they understood. As if they remembered. So Ollie told them all about Billy. How he had been very leaky when he was little, and how they were always together, and what color Billy’s hair was—sorta like dirt mixed with sand—and how Billy smelled after a bath, and about tuck-ins, and slobber kisses, and he told them about huge A-ventures and yum, and the more he talked, the more the other toys liked it, and Ollie realized that he liked it too. Talking about Billy made him feel safe and happy and less unheroic, even though he was tied up here in this strange toy prison.
And that feeling was somehow reaching out and helping all the poor sad toys feel and remember. Then Ollie began to explain how Billy had a hole in his heart, but how it was gone now. The doctor had said so. Then Ollie proudly told them that he had a heart too; it was a bell, sewn into his chest by Billy’s mom. He thumped his chest with one free hand, and the bell tinkled just loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone, including Zozo.
“Where did the bell come from?” asked One-Eye Teddy.
Ollie was about to answer when they heard a terrible smashing sound from Zozo’s chamber. It was followed by an explosion of shouting so loud, the toys quaked, dust and grit falling from them and adding a dirty haze to the already dark chamber.
“BRING ME THAT HOMEMADE!” Zozo was bellowing.
Ollie could hear the clamor of the Creeps bumping into one another and bumbling around, and he knew that they were coming for him. At the same time, he felt something tugging on his foot. He looked down and his eyes went wide. A tower of other favorites, balancing one on top of the other, like in a circus, were reaching up to him.
“Is this a plan?” Ollie asked One-Eye, who, at the top of the tower, was pulling his foot.
“Yep!” One-Eye said. “It’s our plan for your escape!”
“Well, okay, then.”
Then One-Eye yanked Ollie’s leg really hard and pulled him free. The force of the yank, however, sent the whole stack of them tumbling to the floor. Zozo was still yelling, and the Creeps sounded just steps away.
“Hurry!” Carrot Bunny urged Ollie. “We’ll hold them off!”
Elephant pointed to a dark place in the wall. “That’s the tunnel. It’ll take you out of here.”
Ollie didn’t need to be told twice. He rushed toward the opening. It took him a moment to realize he was the only one running. He swung back around.
“It’s too late for us! We’ve forgotten too much. You still remember!” Elephant insisted. Ollie looked from Elephant to the others. They were all nodding. The Creeps were swarming into the prison room.
Toy after toy broke their bonds. They jumped and slugged and threw themselves at the Creeps.
“Go!” Elephant yelled.
“I’ll come back, I promise,” Ollie told them, meaning it with all his heart. Then he turned and ran.
The tunnel was twisted and dark. Ollie could hear the Creeps screaming for him in the midst of the sounds of struggle and fighting. The Creeps were on to him! They knew he had escaped, and they were chasing him! The echoing was like a nightmare. Sometimes it seemed like the Creeps were right behind him, and sometimes it seemed like they had somehow surged ahead.
Ollie kept running. He ran until he didn’t think he could run anymore. Then the tunnel ended abruptly, without warning, and he was pitched forward, into the darkness, until he landed—thud—in a patch of soft, oozy sludge and water. Ollie swam toward what little light he could see up ahead until he came to a muddy bank of grassy land. He didn’t like water. It reminded him of being in the washing machine. And this time, he felt even more alone.
Ollie struggled to stand in the mud. He looked up and saw the starry night sky. He was aboveground again! That was good. Then he heard the distant rumble of thunder. Not so good. The stars began to dim as black clouds swept across the sky. He had to keep moving.
He turned to look behind him from where he’d been, and saw a giant smiling head staring down at him, with a sign that said TUNNEL OF LOVE. And drifting in the shallow water at the mouth of the tunnel was an old, sad-looking swan boat. He was in the Dark Carnival Place. He was sure of it! The place where kids were never supposed to go.
Now all he had to do was face the huge, dark night and somehow find home and Billy.