CHAPTER 44: EARN YOUR HAPPY ENDING-
Rudy stood outside of the hospital. He examined it up and down. He could see signs of what had happened to the hospital, what he was certain Cosmo had done. Smoke still pillowed out two sides. There were still some faint burn marks where he believed Cosmo used explosives or whatever other awful device he came up with.
The hospital was still operational, which was a great relief to him. Penny likely helped out and fixed up a few things. She was good with technological stuff like that. Her efforts would have saved not only Snap, but other zoners who had been injured recently.
He remembered that he still needed to get those other zoners back. He would do that as soon as he was able to. Once back, some of the zoners, like Lars, would need to come to the hospital to get that thing out of their heads. He hoped that none of them will have to suffer what Snap was going through right now.
Rudy bit his lip. He had no idea how well Snap was going to do after this. Sure, Cosmo was gone and could never hurt him again. Sure, the device was probably out of his head by now and could no longer do any further damage...but then that is provided he made it through the surgery. He was in such a weak state... And even if he did pull through, what were the odds that he would even recover completely? What if some terrible scar remained? He hated the idea of Snap permanently losing the ability to walk...
Rudy then thought about his parents. He was going to go to his parents right away to let them know he was okay, but after being gone for a while, he doubted they would let him leave anytime soon. They would see his wounds want him to stay home. They would want to know what happened to him and call the police and get an investigation. Being stabbed three times was nothing to sneeze at.
Rudy looked down at his own injuries. They were bandaged up by now, pretty tightly and the bleeding had somewhat stopped. He hadn’t gone to the hospital like Biclops told him to, though. Again, if he had done that, he would not have been allowed to leave. The doctors would have wanted to know what happened to him, and have his parents called in. Then he wouldn’t be able to get back to ChalkZone for a while.
So instead, he opted to go the one person who could offer some medical treatment who would understand his need to go back to ChalkZone. Mr. Wilter. He was able to find him at his house, bandaged up. He had been horrified to see Rudy stumble in, bleeding from several places. Rudy had lost a lot of blood, and he started to feel slightly lightheaded.
Mr. Wilter did what he could to help him. He was reluctant to let Rudy go back to ChalkZone like that. But he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to stop Rudy anyway. And he understood how worried Rudy was for Snap. Mr. Wilter decided to let Rudy use his chalkboard, rather than go all the way back to the school and use it.
Rudy was grateful for this. The portal did lead into Rapsheeba’s large home, which was far from the hospital, but that was no problem for Rudy. He just used the magic chalk to drew a mode of fast transportation. It still took a while, probably twenty minutes, but he did reach the hospital where Snap had been taken to.
Rudy stepped into the hospital and looked around. He didn’t see Penny or Rapsheeba waiting for him. They must be up in Snap’s room. That was a good sign. It meant that Snap did make it through surgery. But..no it didn’t automatically mean that. What if they had left because Snap...no, he couldn’t think like that. Everything was fine. He just had to keep believing that. He couldn’t jump to conclusions. He had just arrived. He had no idea if he was okay or not.
He went up to the receptionist desk. The zoner there looked at him.
“Yes?” She asked.
“I’m...looking for Snap.” Rudy said hesitantly, fearful of what the response might be.
Her eyes widened a little, and they filled with sympathy. Rudy tried not to shiver. He didn’t want that to be bad news.
“He’s on the second level. Room A12.” The receptionist said, her voice empathetic. “He survived the surgery, but he is not awake yet...” Her voice trailed off, like she wanted to say more, but thought best she didn’t.
Rudy nodded his head slowly. “Thank you...”
As Rudy headed to where Snap’s room was, thoughts swam through his mind. He wasn’t awake yet? Of course he wouldn’t be. He just had surgery and was probably still out from the anesthesia. But the way she said it... It almost sounded like she, and none of the doctors, knew when he was going to wake up.
Was...was Snap going to be stuck in a...a coma..? Was he going to remain out cold for the rest of his life? Rudy felt tears fill his eyes. This was an even worse fate than just losing his legs. This was a fate worse than death. Being stuck in bed, unable to perceive the world around him, just...laying there. That was a horrible way to live out the rest of anyone’s life.
And with Snap being a zoner, and thus living much, much longer than any human, it was even worse...
Rudy found Snap’s room. He could see the number A12 in gold emboss on it. He gently pushed the door open and looked inside. He could see Rapsheeba and Penny sitting beside Snap, who was laying on the bed. Both looked like they had been crying for sometime. Rudy slipped into the room, being careful not to startle them.
The silence of the room was haunting to him. Although he could hear Penny and Rapsheeba breathe in and out, and though he could hear the heart monitor beeping, it did nothing to push out the horrible silence all around him. He felt like the walls were closing in all around him, and he had nowhere to escape to.
The heavy smell of medication and cleaning supplies filled his nostrils. He snorted a little, trying to get the scent out. He looked down at his best friend, laying on the hospital bed. His lip quivered as he looked at Snap in such a horrible state.
Snap was bandaged up. He could see a bloodstain on his head, where he assumed the doctors had to get the nail out. His eyes were closed, but they looked a little wrinkled, unhealthy. His face was paler than usual, which was surprising considering his skin was very light to start with. Parts of his face were flushed read, telling Rudy he still had a bad fever. His mouth was open and he took in shallow, irregular breaths. Each one reminded Rudy more and more of how frail his condition was.
Rudy pulled up the third chair and sat down next to Penny. He took in a deep breath and turned to her.
“How....how is he...?” He managed to choke out.
Penny shook her head slowly. “His fever isn’t going down. They’re trying to stabilize it, but nothing they tried so far is working. And the infection is still ravaging his body and there’s no signs of that slowing down either.”
Rudy took in a shuddering breath as he let this sink in.
Penny looked at him, her eyes wide with sadness. “They...they said that the infection and fever will interfere with the healing process. If they can’t get rid of it soon... He might...” She shed more tears and put her hands on her face, covering it. “I’m sorry...”
Rudy felt like the world around him shattered. He didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be true. He looked over at Snap. He watched as his chest weakly moved up and down. He looked at the IVs stuck in his arms, putting liquid and medicine inside of him. He could see the heart monitor continuously beeping. Snap’s heartrate was irregular, and sometimes spiked while other times dropped low.
His eyes slowly moved to the bloody spot on his head. If Snap was having a hard time fighting off the infection, then would that mean that the opening in his head was... Oh no, if he got another infection, he didn’t know if he was going to make it.
Tears filled Rudy’s eyes. He wanted to speak. He wanted to say something, anything. But emotion choked all his will to talk out of him. He turned to Penny and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Rapsheeba turned her head briefly, to look at them, before her gaze turned back to the ground. Chalky tears dripped onto the floor.
sss
Although they had been reluctant to leave, Rudy and Penny knew they had to get things settled with their families. They both here gone for a while and both of them had been injured. If they waited too long, their parents would call the police and then they’d be dragged off and interviewed, and neither of them felt like dealing with the cops right now.
Rudy was not prepared for the emotional embrace of his parents. When he walked through that door, he could see them pacing back and forth in the living room. When they saw their son walk through the door, they immediately rushed over and hugged him. He could practically feel their joyful tears hit him, very happy and relieved that he had finally come home.
They had been worried so sick about him. Rudy felt horrible about it. He never meant to make them worry. But what could he have done? He had been trapped at Cosmo’s place this whole time. And his cellphone wouldn’t work. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t contact his parents, yet he still couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about the whole thing.
When his parents noticed his injuries, they were understandably horrified. They immediately guessed that he had been attacked. They wanted to call the police and inform them of this and get an investigation going. But Rudy knew this could come close to exposing ChalkZone. After what happened, he couldn’t afford to let something else potentially happen to it. The last thing ChalkZone needed was someone else finding out about it.
Rudy managed to convince his parents that it was okay now. He came up with the story that he had been attacked in the alley and stabbed. He didn’t come up with a reason for why he was stabbed, but that wasn’t necessary. He explained that he got away from his attacker and how he saw his attacker fall to his death during the chase. He really drove home the point that his would-be kidnapper was gone and wouldn’t bother him again.
Though reluctant still, his parents agreed not to call the cops. They embraced their son again, glad that he was finally back home. Rudy was happy to see them too. He never thought he’d see them again. He didn’t think he would get out of that situation alive, or at least as himself. He was scared to think of what would have happened to his parents, had he joined Mr. Cosmo...
When Rudy was able to speak to Penny a few hours later, she informed she got similar treatment from her mother and estranged father. She had come up with a story about being attacked by a wild animal and had to hide for hours before it would leave. They both bought the story, but because of how worried they were, they wouldn’t let Penny leave the house for the rest of the night.
Rudy got the same treatment. He could slip into ChalkZone to go check on Snap, but that would be risky. His parents could come in, see that he was gone, and call the police. So instead, when he opened up a portal, he called out to a zoner that was strolling nearby and asked them to deliver a message to Rapsheeba for him. He told the zoner to let Rapsheeba know that they wouldn’t be able to get back into ChalkZone until the next day. The zoner went off to deliver the message.
Rudy crawled into his bed. He pulled the covers over him. It was hard for him to close his eyes at first. He thought, each time he did, he could see Cosmo’s face or hear Snap’s scream. He almost believed that, if he dared rest, something else bad would happen. He spent some time just staring up at the ceiling, his mind reflecting on all that had happened today.
Finally, at long last, he went to sleep.
sss
The next day, Rudy and Penny managed to get back into the building they once been trapped in. They didn’t want to go back in this horrid room. It brought back the haunting memories of what they been through. But they had to come back. Zoners were still trapped here and they had to get them out.
Navigating the building was hard without the guidance of Ms. Saffron. But they managed to locate where the zoners were being kept. Before they found it, they came across two rooms that sent chills down Rudy’s spine. One was where Snap was being held and tormented, the same one with the vat of vinegar he was almost dropped in. And the other was the same place where they had been forced to fight Snap, under Cosmo’s control.
Rudy felt bad that he didn’t get here sooner to get the zoners out. But there was no way he would have been able to come. Not with how worried his parents were. Even now, his parents were worried, and so where Penny’s. It took a lot to convince them to let them go out on their own. They would have taken their parents with them, but it would mean exposing ChalkZone. How would they even explain the zoners without doing that?
Rudy drew a new portal and ushered the zoners through. With the machine turned off, all the zoners reverted back to normal and became fully aware of what was going on. They were worried, frightened, but in the end immensely relieved to be going back home. Rudy didn’t close the portal until all the zoners had been brought back safely into ChalkZone. He and Penny removed the control braces from the zoners who were lucky enough to be stuck with them. Others, like Lars, were sent to the hospital to undergo surgery to get it removed.
Then it came time to erase the evidence. A lot of technology Cosmo had used were created with chalk. So the vast majority of his stuff were erased using water. The more areas they placed, the more normal, though rundown, the place started to look. By the time they were done, except for a few machines, the place looked like how it should have, old and worn but still functional. The machines that remained looked like they hadn’t been used in years, and only about two looked new.
Rudy realized that, with a lot of the machines, he never knew just what they were for. He didn’t know what purpose they had fulfilled. And he didn’t care. All he knew was that they were created by Cosmo, and that was good enough reason for him to have them destroyed. Nothing good would have come out of them.
Then the most gruesome part came. What were they to do with Cosmo and Saffron’s bodies? They couldn’t leave them in ChalkZone. They would need to bring them both back into the real world and come up with a story about how they died and how they found them like that. Cosmo was going to be the most disturbing one to move. He had been crushed by the rocks, so his body would be completely distorted and unrecognizable. Rudy didn’t think he had the stomach to see that.
They moved Ms. Saffron’s body first. The image of her pale face and the feel of her cold skin etched deep into Rudy’s mind. He was never going to get this horrid image out of his head. It was worse when it was time to move Cosmo. Just as he had predicted, he was unrecognizable, and there was so much blood... The stench of it hung heavily in the air.
Rudy wasn’t sure what kind of story he would weave to explain what happened to them without risking exposing ChalkZone. Penny said she would figure something out and to not worry about it. Rudy wanted to believe her. But he wasn’t certain just what excuse would be good enough to explain why Cosmo is a pancake and why Saffron’s neck is cut open.
The story Penny managed to come up with was that Mr. Cosmo was planning some kind of major conspiracy and was trying to get Ms. Saffron in on it. When she refused, he killed her, but then shortly after, a piece of ceiling crashed onto him, crushing him to death. And that she and her friend Rudy had witnessed the whole thing on the way home and were both horribly scarred by it.
They were relieved that everyone at the station bought it. Whether or not there’d be an investigation, the police wouldn’t say. Rudy and Penny hoped there wouldn’t be, just in case they missed a spot and evidence of ChalkZone was found. But they had been thorough, so those thoughts were shrugged out of their heads.
The only person who did not buy their story was Terry, who had come back to town. She had gotten word about the deaths of fellow reporter Mr. Cosmo and Ms. Saffron. She had tried to get an interview with them to get them to spill the beans on what really happened. But neither Rudy nor Penny were in the mood for her and managed to get away. Terry did try again, determined to get to the bottom of it. Again she was ignored. Infuriated, she left, but not before saying that now that ChalkZone is a safety hazard, she would do whatever she could to expose the truth.
As much as the two were irritated by the woman, they were somewhat relieved that, if any more trouble were to happen, it would be from her. They knew Terry was not as bad as Mr. Cosmo and would not stoop to the same level as he did. They were more used to having to deal with her, knowing what she was capable of and how to combat it. So in an ironic way, they were glad to have her back.
All this had taken up quite a bit of the day. They didn’t want to worry their parents. So they both decided to head back home. Rudy promised Penny he would call her once he gets an update on Snap’s condition. Penny thanked him and returned home. He went back to his place, greeted his parents who were relieved that he came home this time, and headed up the stairs. He said he was going to take a rest and not disturb him, an attempt to ensure they didn’t open the door and find him gone.
Rudy opened up a portal to ChalkZone. He took in a deep breath, mentall preparing himself for what might await him there. Then he went into ChalkZone.
sss
Rudy entered Snap’s hospital room. Just like he thought, Rapsheeba was still there, and Snap was still out cold. Rudy walked up and sat down in the seat next to Rapsheeba. He looked over at his friend. He didn’t look too much better. A little color returned, but it was very hard to tell. The heartbeats were slightly more regular. But it wasn’t a vast improvement by any means. And it didn’t mean that Snap was going to pull out of this anytime soon, if at all...
He thought about Mr. Cosmo’s words. About how Snap was going to die soon... No, he refused to believe that. He was not going to let that man get the last laugh on him. He would not believe that Snap was going to die. Mr. Cosmo was not going to take his dear friend away from him like this. He couldn’t lose Snap again. No, he couldn’t. And he wouldn’t.
He turned his head towards Rapsheeba. Her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying. Her cheeks were clearly tear-stained. It looked as if she had cried the entire time she was here. Rudy was certain that she was going to run out of tears soon.
He himself had been crying, too. Even when he tried to be as positive and determined as possible, even when he told himself that everything was going to be okay, that Snap would wake up and recover, he couldn’t help but cry. The negative emotions, the horrible ëwhat if Snap dies’ weighed so heavily on him, he was unable to shake it off.
The silence of the room was starting to get to Rudy. He felt uncomfortable being in a room with Snap and not hear him say something. He was always such a talkative guy...
“How is he doing?” Rudy asked, breaking the silence.
A sniffle and he heard her blow her nose. She looked up to Rudy and said, “A little better. Fever went down a tad. But he’s still in danger. They don’t...they don’t know if he’ll make it.”
Rudy bit his lip at this news. He tried to hold back his sob. It wasn’t exactly the kind of news that would brighten up anyone’s day, unfortunately. No, it was horrible news, because it meant Snap was still not out of the woods, and nowhere near being out. It meant that there was still a chance that he could die in this bed, in this very hospital, and this might be the last time he’ll ever see him alive.
Yet, despite it all, Rudy still hung on to hope. He wanted to truly believe Snap stood a chance of making it. He was a tough little guy. A fighter. If he knew Snap well, he would pull out of this. He would recover, and things would go back to the way they used to be, as if nothing had changed.
Rudy put a comforting hand on Rapsheeba’s shoulder. “He’ll pull through... I’m sure of it.”
Rapsheeba’s eyes widened slightly. “But, Rudy..how can you be so sure? What if...”
“Don’t think like that. I believe Snap will make it. And so should you.” Rudy said, doing his best to smile despite the sadness overwhelming him. “It’ll be okay, Rapsheeba... It will be all right..”
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the zoner and pulled her into a hug. Rapsheeba was surprised by this embrace at first. But she soon returned it back. The two hugged for several minutes. Rapsheeba cried into Rudy’s shoulder. He gently rubbed her back, trying his best to calm her down.
As they hugged, Rudy opened up an eye and stared over at Snap’s unconscious form. He felt tears well up in his eyes. His words might be good enough to cheer up Rapsheeba, even just a little. But a part of him couldn’t feel much better. A part of him nagged at him, reminding him of Cosmo’s words and actions. The kick to his head, and Snap almost instantly losing consciousness, becoming still as stone. A part of him wondered if the kick really had been meant to be lethal, and that Mr. Cosmo’s words weren’t just a cruel statement to get to him, but fact, a promise.
He hugged Rapsheeba tighter and squeezed his eyes shut, tears flowing through them rapidly. He was careful not to let any drop on the zoner. He stared at Snap, his vision now distorted by his tears. This really couldn’t be the last time that he’ll...no... No he had to believe it would be okay. He had to push aside these negative feelings. He had to remind himself of who Snap was. He would make it.
He would pull through...
sss
Two days passed by and still no positive change in Snap. Rudy felt his heart ache, making him feel sick. The infection slowed down and his fever started to lower. But that was pretty much eat. There was no indication that he would wake up. And there was no way to know, even if he woke up, if he would regain the use and feeling in his legs.
For him to stay this long unconscious, Rudy knew that the kick had done a lot of damage. The doctors mentioned stuff about brain swelling and how the back of his brain was bruised a little. That made his blood freeze, as well as Penny’s. Depending on the extent of the damage, the possibility of Snap never waking up was possible. If not, then permanent damage to his legs was an even bigger possibility. The doctors haven’t been able to get a positive reflex text out of Snap.
Snap had some visitors the past two days. Zoners like Blocky, Bathtub Granny, and Chalk Dad all came to visit him. They wished him well and hoped he would be back on his feet soon. They even left behind some presents for him for whenever he woke up. Or if he woke up...No, Rudy told himself to push those thoughts back.
What surprised Rudy was that even Skrawl came to visit. Understandably, the other zoners were wary to have this zoner around, and some wondered if he was up to something. Skrawl didn’t stay long. He just dropped something off and left with his Beanie Boys. Rudy and Penny checked it to make sure it was safe. It was a Snap plushie, the kind that Skrawl usually used to train his Beanie Boys with. They were surprised that he was giving one as a gift to Snap. But before they could question or at least thank him, Skrawl was gone.
Rudy decided not to question Skrawl for the time being. He can always ask the jellybean later why he decided to do that, without any incentive or reward either.
Rudy stared at Snap, who still hadn’t woken up yet. He refused to give up hope on him. It’s only been a few days. Surely something would change soon. Very soon yes, something would happen. He just couldn’t give up on Snap. He never gave up on him. He had to return the favor.
“Hey Rudy...?” Penny whispered.
Rudy had almost forgotten Penny was sitting next to him. Rapsheeba had left to use the bathroom and to get a drink of water. He had been so worried about Snap, he forgot he wasn’t the only one in the room with him.
“Yeah, Penny?” Rudy asked.
“Did the doctor say anything?” Penny asked, her voice filled with hope undeniably, hope that sounded like it would shatter at the sound of any slightly bad news. “Is there...is there an update on Snap?”
Rudy hated to break her heart. He wanted so much to tell her that Snap was going to be okay. But that would be the worst possible thing to do. He couldn’t lie to her like that. It would be wrong, and it would make things a lot worse.
Rudy, reluctantly, shook his head. “Nothing new. The only good thing that’s been going on is his fever is slowly returning to normal and the infection is going down. The medication is fighting them off. But as for if he’ll wake up, or if he’ll walk again...I just..don’t know...”
Penny seemed to sense what he was going through. In a second, she had put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. “It’s okay, Rudy...” She whispered in an attempt to soothe him. Rudy started to cry. She held him tighter. “It will be...”
Then suddenly she paused. Rudy wasn’t sure why she had gone quiet. Her body had stiffened up, as if something had shocked or scared her. Rudy felt his heart beating faster in a panic. Did Draow escape and come into the room to attack them? But wait, Penny wasn’t moving to get away. So what had happened?
“Rudy...” Her voice whispered, incredulous. He saw her arm rise up. “Look...” She held her and out and pointed.
Rudy turned his head and almost instantly, he sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Snap...had moved. He had moved... His head was now tilted to one side. But that wasn’t all that he could see. His eyes were moving under the lids. His mouth had closed, teeth clenched. Escaping his mouth was a low groan, the first verbal sound he made since he was knocked unconscious by Mr. Cosmo.
Snap turned his head left to right a few times before, slowly, ever so slowly, opening them. He immediately flinched at the light, turning his head away. He slowly looked over and saw Rudy and Penny. He blinked at them at first, as if he did not remember who they were. Then, slowly, he gave them a weak smile.
“H-Hey...B-Bucko..Buckette...” He whispered in a gravelly, dry voice. He attempted to wave at them, but the pain stopped him, and he flinched. “Wh-what happened...?”
Rudy stared at Snap, unsure if what he was seeing was real. He couldn’t tell if it was some horrible hallucination, if his mind was playing tricks on him. The longer he stared at Snap, seeing his eyes open and looking right at him, the quicker he started to realize that yes, this was indeed taking place.
It took a while for the news to sink into the two. Then, overwhelmed with joy, they cried out Snap’s name and rushed over to him. Rapsheeba, who arrived shortly after, soon joined them. Snap was confused at first, but he was quite happy to have three of his closest friends with him. He allowed his friends to embrace him, and they started to fill him in on what happened.
sss
It took a while for Snap to remember what happened. The blow to his head didn’t do much to help him recall all the details. But when his memories did return, Rudy was not surprised at what his first question turned out to be.
“Where’s Mr. Cosmo...?”
That question was asked in a cautious tone. Some fear to it, but not as much as he used to display. Snap stared at Rudy and Penny with wide-eyes, and he looked like he was worried that the evil man would burst through the door at any minute and take him away or hurt his friends.
Rudy gave a small smile to him. “It’s okay, Snap. We defeated him. He won’t be hurting anymore zoners anymore... He won’t be able to get to you.”
Snap smiled back. But there was still some worry in his eyes. “Are you..sure he won’t come back?”
“Yeah... I saw him get crushed to death underneath some rocks.” Rudy shivered at the memory. “Unless he comes back as a zombie, we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Snap gave a weak chuckle at the zombie comment. It wasn’t much, but it lifted his friends’ spirits. It was nice to finally hear Snap do something other than cry and sound afraid. It was nice that they could hear him laugh again, to display some positive emotions. The laugh brought him closer to how he used to be like, before this whole mess started.
Snap stared down at his legs. His happy expression was replaced with a more solemn one. “I still can’t feel my legs...” He said sadly. He looked over at his friends. “Did they say if I have a chance of getting them back?”
Penny shook her head. “No...sorry Snap. They don’t know if you will or not.”
“The fever is going down, so is the infection. So you’ll feel better soon.” Rudy said, wanting to give a little bit of good news.
But Snap didn’t look like he was cheered up too much. He stared blankly at his feet. Rudy could only imagine the thoughts running through the blue boy’s mind. The idea of never being able to use his legs must be terrifying for him. Rudy wished he could do something to help. Yet what could he say to cheer up someone who might have permanently lost their legs? It takes time to adjust.
And it would take Snap a long time to get used to this.
sss
A week passed, and there was still no change in Snap’s legs. Though his fever and infection disappeared, and the pain in his head started to diminish a little, there was no improvement in the condition of his legs. It got to the point where the doctors discussed getting a wheelchair for him to use.
That did not settle well with Snap. He was adamant about not using the wheelchair. He wanted to be able to get around on his own, not having to rely on some basic machine. It took a lot of convincing from Rudy and Penny to finally convince Snap to give the wheelchair a try.
It took some time to get used to the wheelchair. Snap had some trouble getting in and out at first. He wasn’t used to moving around without his legs. His arms weren’t exactly designed to pull his weight. For the first few times he used the wheelchair, he had to have Rudy, Penny, or Rapsheeba help him. This included when he had to use the bathroom, which he was quite embarrassed about. But no one shamed him for it. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t walk.
Rudy was a bit surprised when the doctors decided to release Snap from the hospital. He spoke to them. Dr. Urso answered his questions. The lion bear explained that they felt Snap would be able to recover better if he were in his own home. He did warn Rudy that Snap may have to get used to the wheelchair because it was becoming more and more unlikely, as each day passed, that he would ever regain the use of his legs.
When Rudy told this to Snap, the blue guy shrugged it off. Snap had become quite hopeful that he would regain the use of his legs. He felt he just had to give it time, and in the meantime, he could still go with them through ChalkZone in the wheelchair, albeit not as much.
Just being back in ChalkZone, without the fear of Mr. Cosmo, cheered Snap up. He regained a lot of his confidence back, and he almost completely returned back to the same Snap they used to know, minus the legs.
But that didn’t last long...
When two weeks passed and no sign of change in his legs, Snap started to become a little anxious. There were times when he would try to jump out of the wheelchair before reminding himself he couldn’t use his legs. There were times he wanted to run, but again, he had to tell himself his legs were of no use to him anymore.
It was becoming more and more likely that the loss of feeling and loss of movement in his legs was going to be with him forever. This crushed Rudy and Penny’s hearts. They were absolutely devastated. And the toll it was taking on Snap was unbearable to watch. Slowly, Snap melted down, his sanity no longer being able to take being stuck in the wheelchair.
“I can’t take it anymore! I have to get out of this thing!” Snap cried out, his eyes wide in horror. He tried to shift himself out of the chair. “Get me out! Get me off of this thing!”
Rudy and Penny rushed to Snap’s side and grabbed his arms. They held him down, trying to keep him from falling out.
“Snap! Calm down!” Rudy cried.
“Please, don’t make this harder on yourself!” Penny begged.
Snap continued to struggle. His wide eyes began to drip a little with tears. He fought against his friends’ gasps. He tried to move his legs. He tried to push himself out of the chair. He kept calling out in desperation.
“No, please! Get me out! I want to walk! I want to run! Please!” Snap begged. Slowly, he started to calm down, the emotional toll starting to take effect. “No..please...no...” His voice shrank down into whispers. Soon he became still and he started to cry. “No...”
Rudy and Penny wrapped their arms around their trembling friend.
“Shh..it’ll be okay...” Penny whispered. “Everything will be okay...”
“Yeah...you’ll see.. You’ll be fine... Please, don’t cry Snap..please..” Rudy said in a low voice.
Snap just trembled and cried. He soon returned the hug, and the tears just kept coming down. Seeing Snap like this broke their hearts even more. It was clear just how much of an impact this was having on his psyche.
sss
Two days later, Rudy walked around in ChalkZone looking for Snap. He didn’t meet him like where he usually would. He wondered if something was wrong. At first, he thought something terrible happened, but he pushed those thoughts aside. He had to keep reminding himself that Cosmo was gone for good and that Snap’s fever and infection had completely gone away.
After a while of not seeing Snap anywhere, Rudy tried to locate a zoner who knew him and ask them what happened. He soon found Blocky and Rapsheeba coming up to him. They both looked really worried. Rudy felt his heart start to pound.
“Rudy, you have to do something!” Blocky cried, his voice filled with worry. “Snap hasn’t left his house all day!”
“What?” Rudy asked.
“Yeah. He’s usually out and about by this time. But we found he is still in his house. And he won’t let us in.” Rapsheeba explained, her eyes brimming with tears. “He..he says he doesn’t want to be a burden to us. We tried to get in, but he kept yelling at his to get out.”
Rudy’s eyes widened. His thoughts went back to the outburst Snap had a few days ago. He looked in Snap’s house’s direction, his eyes filled with concern.
“Please, Rudy. You have to help him!” Blocky said. “He can’t stay cooped up in his house all alone like that.”
Rapsheeba nodded in agreement. “If there’s anyone he’d listen to...it’s you, Rudy.” She took a step towards Rudy. She put her hand on his and said, “Please..help him..”
Rudy went to Snap’s house as fast as he could. When he found it, he was shocked to see that all the curtains were closed and there were no signs of light inside. This wasn’t light Snap at all. Rudy came up to the door and knocked on it.
“Go away.” Snap’s voice came.
“Come on, Snap. It’s me, Rudy.” The 15 year old knocked on the door again, this time a little harder. “Open up!”
“Leave me alone!” Snap shouted at him. “I don’t want you to fuss over me! I can do things on my own!”
“I never said you couldn’t! I understand you want to prove you can still be independent, Snap. But this is not the way to do it! Blocky and Rapsheeba are worried sick about you!” Rudy continued to pound on the door. “Now open this door! You are not going to shut yourself up from ChalkZone like this!”
“Oh yeah? Watch me.”
Rudy growled under his breath. He was not going to let his best friend torment himself like this. He was not going to allow Snap to push away his comrades this way, the ones who just want to help him feel better. He was going to get into that house, whether Snap liked it or not.
Rudy attempted to turn the doorknob. Like he predicted, Snap had locked it. Rudy quickly drew a key and turned it. He heard the click and then he pushed the door open. He quickly saw how all the lights were off. Snap never bothered turning them on, maybe to make his house feel less welcoming, to drive others away.
Rudy found Snap in his living room, facing away from him. He was staring at his TV, which was shut off. He looked absolutely lost, like he had been robbed of a piece of himself. Which is very much what had happened.
When he approached, Snap growled at him, “Go away...”
“No Snap...I won’t.” Rudy said firmly. He went over to Snap and stood in front of him. He winced when Snap scowled at him, but he did not budge. “You can’t keep acting this way. You can’t push others away when all they want to do is help...”
“Help huh? You want to help?! Try getting my legs back! Can you do that?!” Snap shouted, holding out his arms to emphasize his point. His eyes were wide with anger.
“Snap...I...” Rudy tried to say.
“But you can’t, can you, Bucko?!” Snap snarled at him, showing his teeth as he spoke. “Because you, despite being the oh-so-great creator, can’t give me control of my legs back! No one can! So if no one can do that, why should I listen to any of you?! There’s nothing anyone can do for me! Nothing!”
Rudy was frozen, staring at Snap in shock. He had never heard his friend...snap like that before... It was horrible to watch. The rage and sadness in his eyes mixed very well, showing clearly in his large white eyes. Snap looked like he wanted to bite Rudy’s head off if he took a step closer to him.
But he knew that it was not him Snap was really mad at. It was fate. Cruel, twisted fate that took away his legs through Cosmo’s actions. He was also clearly angry that others had to help him from time to time, because he had not fully adjusted to live in a wheelchair yet. He truly did feel like a burden, and that was something Snap hated to do.
Without saying a word, Rudy lunged forward. He wrapped his arms around Snap and pulled him into a hug. Snap froze, clearly not expecting this right after his little temper tantrum. Rudy hung on, whispering comforting words to Snap. And slowly, Snap’s expression softened, and sorrow started to take hold. He started to whimper as the reality of what he said sank in.
“Oh B-Bucko..I’m...I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...” Snap hugged Rudy back. He tried to fight back his tears. “I was just so...angry and... I’m sorry...”
“I understand Snap...This is a hard thing to go through... You didn’t ask for this. You didn’t deserve this. I’m so sorry this happened...” Rudy said, gently rubbing Snap’s back. “But you can’t hide from the others like this... They want to help you too. Please, Snap...don’t be like this. Don’t push your friends away. It will hurt us just as much as it hurts you. Let us in...talk to us. We want to be there for you. Please...”
“Y-Yeah...I know...” Snap said. His body trembled like a leaf. “I know...”
Trying to think of something to lighten the mood, Rudy said, “How..how about I invite Penny over to your place and we play some chinese chalkers? Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“Yeah...sure...” Snap said, trying his best to smile.
sss
Rudy decided it was best if he tried to spend the night at Snap’s. He called Penny on the phone and told her about what he had in mind. He explained to her about Snap’s outburst and how depressed he had gotten, and that maybe he’d feel better if he had company over and played some games. It took a while to convince both their parents, but under the guise of staying over at a third friend’s place, they went into ChalkZone.
Snap’s mood hadn’t brightened up too much. But this time, he didn’t shout at Rudy when he knocked on the door. He even opened up the door for them instead of forcing them to open it themselves. The two headed into the living room where they began to play the game.
At first, Snap didn’t look like he was having a very good time. He tried to sound excited, but his attempts at enthusiasm were noticeably fake. This worried Rud and Penny. Chinese chalkers was one of Snap’s favorite games, and for him not to fully enjoy it... It made them both sad.
Slowly, Snap started to warm up and he started to look and act a little happier. It took some more time still, but within an hour, Snap seemed like he was back to his old self. He began to genuinely enjoy the game, shouting congratulations to his friends while enthusiastically making his moves. They played a few rounds of chinese chalkers and didn’t notice how late it was getting.
When it came time to call it quits and get to bed, Snap thanked Rudy and Penny for the wonderful time and said he was feeling much better now. That made the two happy. It was nice to hear that Snap’s mood was lifted, even if it was just for today. Tomorrow was a whole different story.
The three went off to bed. Snap asked if he could sleep on the floor, just so he could feel ënormal’ again. Rudy didn’t like this idea at first, but Snap said he promised he would wake them up if he needed to use his wheelchair for something. Eventually, Rudy and Penny agreed to this. Rudy drew them each sleeping bags. They crawled into them and settled in for the night.
Rudy found it was still hard to get to sleep. Even after all this time. Mr. Cosmo really left an imprint on them all. So had Ms. Saffron... He flinched as he thought of her name. Snap had been very upset when he was reminded of her death. Penny was saddened by it too. Even though none of them knew her for that long, they were hall hit hard when they found out she had been killed.
But Rudy did feel some relief. That Ms. Saffron’s sacrifice had not been in vain. Mr. Cosmo had been stopped, and he could rest easy knowing that her spirit would be at peace with this fact. And he knew Penny and Snap both felt the same way.
Slowly, Rudy managed to get himself to sleep.
sss
“Hey? Bucko? Wake up.”
Rudy mumbled and shifted his head away from the source of the voice.
“Rudy!”
The boy mumbled, “Just five more minutes...”
“Move your leg! It’s hurting me!”
Rudy slowly opened up his eyes. He saw Snap staring at him. He was using his arms to hold himself up. Rudy turned his head and saw where his leg was. It was resting across both Snap’s legs. It must have been there for so long that it was starting to irritate them.
Half-asleep, Rudy grumbled, “Oh...I’m sorry Snap...”
Then, reality set in. Rudy’s eyes snapped wide open. He shot upwards, startling Snap.
“Whoa! What is it?” Snap asked, waving his hands in front of him. “There isn’t a fire, is there?”
Rudy stared at where his leg was. He rubbed his eyes and looked to make sure he hadn’t been hallucinating. No..his leg..was stretched over Snap’s legs...
“S-Snap...” Rudy whispered. He pointed down. “Look...”
Snap turned his head and saw what Rudy was pointing to. He froze, his eyes widening in shock, mouth agape. “My...legs...I can...I can feel my legs...”
Penny stirred in her sleep. She lifted up her head and looked up at the two. “What is it...?”
“It’s Snap...He can feel his legs!” Rudy cried, his voice filled with relief and enthusiasm. “He can feel them!”
Penny stared at them for a few seconds before suddenly letting out a scream of joy. The trio engaged in a group hug, crying and laughing in immense relief and elation. Rudy never felt this much happiness before. The feeling overwhelmed him, and it felt great.
sss
Over the next few days, Snap’s condition slowly improved. It didn’t happen overnight. Only some feeling had returned to his leg at first. Just enough that he could feel a little bit of pain if pricked. It was still something. The burns were starting to look better, and the fact that Snap could feel them at all was good news, even if the burns were still a little painful.
Movement in Snap’s legs didn’t return until a few days later, after complete feeling had returned to his lower part of his body. And the movement itself was gradual, similar to how it took a while before he no longer suffered blanks in his sensories. At first, he could only move his legs a little bit. As time went on, the range of motion increased. And by a week later, he had regained full movement of them.
And yet, Snap didn’t try to walk. He had wanted to wait until his burns completely healed before he attempted to set them on the ground. The burns wouldn’t heal for another couple days, at least enough that he didn’t feel the pain anymore. And even when he could try to walk, he was a little afraid, wondering if time off his feet had weakened his muscles a little.
But Rudy, Penny, Rapsheeba, Blocky, Lars, so many other zoners, they all were there for him, and they all helped the best way they could. They helped him out of the wheelchair and aided in him walking. Slow and steady at first. Snap was wobbly on his legs and he stumbled about. But two people were always holding his arms, keeping him steady so he wouldn’t fall down.
Every day, there would be a therapy session of sorts, with Snap’s friends helping him to walk again. They kept it simple at first. Just a straight line from one person to another. The distance was slowly increased, encouraging Snap to put some strength back in his leg muscles. Then they started challenging him, having him go up a small hill that slowly increased in height, having him make quick turns on a path, and even trying to get him to jog a little.
The process of regaining the use of his legs was quite long. It took almost a month of all this walking and running practice for Snap to finally no longer need the wheelchair. It was returned to the hospital. The doctors, especially Dr. Urso, were very happy to hear that Snap has made a full recovery, and they even sent him a ëhappy you are well’ card in the mail.
Snap’s mood took a turn for the better. He no longer suffered mood swings, or nightmares, or anything. The scars on his body faded, and eventually vanished. Even the mark in his head, symbolizing the terror bestowed upon him by Mr. Cosmo, had disappeared. Snap had returned back to how he was before Mr. Cosmo struck.
It was like nothing happened to him at all.
sss
Rudy stood on the icy slope. He looked around, trying to find any sign of Snap. He couldn’t see him anymore. He wondered where he could be. They were going to be late if he didn’t hurry up. He also wondered where Penny was. She said she was going to be here soon.
He looked down at his watch. He winced when he realized they were already late. They could still catch the good stuff if they hurried up. He looked around again, trying to see if he could find his friends. Just where were they?
“Hey Rudy!”
Rudy turned and saw Penny rushing up to meet him. He was disappointed that Snap wasn’t with her. Where could he possibly be?
“Hi, Penny!” Rudy called back to her.
Penny turned her head left and right. “Where is Snap?”
Rudy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. He should have been here twenty minutes ago. I don’t know what’s keeping him.”
“Maybe he forgot?” Penny suggested.
“No way!” Rudy shook his head, waving his hands. “He wouldn’t forget something like this! It’s one of his favorite sports!”
“Then I’m sure he will be here soon. We just have to wait.” Penny said, smiling.
Rudy knew she was right. He smiled back at her before turning his attention back towards ChalkZone. He continued to look around, but five minutes later, he still didn’t see Snap anywhere. He was about to take a step forward and go find him when he heard the sound of something sliding along the snow, heading right for them.
He and Penny turned to see Snap coming at them with a sled. He came to a stop between the two. He gave them both a huge grin and motioned with his hand.
“Come on! Hop on! Polar bowling has already started!”
Rudy climbed into the front while Penny sat behind Snap.
“Where were you?” Rudy asked. “I was waiting for you for a long time!”
“I’m sorry, Rudy. I had to take care of a few things first.” Snap said apologetically. “I guess time kinda got away from me.”
As Snap eased the sled over the edge, Rudy realized something familiar about this sled. It was the same one that Snap had used when Penny first went into ChalkZone. And this was the same formation they used when they went down the hill, although this time, Penny was not flying behind, holding onto his scarf.
“Now lets go!” Snap called out and he began to push the sled. “We don’t want to miss more of the game!”
Soon, the sled moved over the edge. The trio slid down. They let out whoops and yells of joy as they went down the hill, going straight to where the polar bowling was to take place. And as they slid down, Rudy felt a wave of relief hit him in the face as everything had truly returned to normal. After all their struggles against Cosmo, after they had almost lost everything they held dear, they had perservered, and they won.
They had truly earned their happy ending.
