"THE MAILMAN!" Dave yelled, gasping. Eleanor and Theodore exchanged glances. "NO!" Eleanor yelled. "But he knows Alvin and Brittany answer the door. And people hate the mailmen…especially dogs. Maybe they could help," Dave said. "The answer was far off, the theory doesn't even make sense," Simon said, standing by the door. He walked in the room. "Toby's trying to calm himself down. I just told him." "How'd Julie take it?" "Pretty well. She's upset, but she took it well." Toby walked into the room.

"I'm mad…angry…sad…upset…mad…infuriated…angered…," Toby began. "We get it. Don't bore us to death…," Dave said. Toby's phone rang. He took it out. "Ian Hawke?" he asked. "I'll take that! If it's one thing I learned from Alvin, it's how to trash talk to Ian," Simon said. He took the phone. "Oh! I didn't know I dialed 1-800-LOW LIFE!" Simon said. "Si…?" "Alvin? Wha-where are you?" "Does the caller ID ring a bell? And hey…you said my line. Sure, now you act like me…" "Alvin. Where at Ian's?" "We just got out of a recording studio. He's going to bore us with his 'how I got into music business' speech. He already bored us to sleep with his life story. I gotta go!" "Wait, Alv-" But the line was cut. "At least I'm not there right now…

At Ian's house…

"And when I was four years old in my preschool we had a talent show and…" Alvin and Brittany looked at each other with annoyed, wide eyes.

Two hours later…

"When I got to be twenty-one I tried out for American Idol but - ARE YOU LISTENING?!" "Huh, what?" Brittany asked. "You guys fell asleep again!" Ian said. "If you want a good story to watch or listen to go rent us a movie. Preferably 'High School Musical Three,'" Alvin said. Ian rolled his eyes. "Alvin," he muttered.

Back at the Seville house…

Dave paced around the living room. "Dave, when is this boy meeting getting started?" Simon said. "Now," Dave said. Simon sighed relief. "Toby, Theodore, Simon. It's going to be hard without Alvin. Especially because he comes up with good rescue plans. But now we need to think like him. If I were Alvin, where would I go…?" Dave mumbled. "I got it!" Simon yelled, pulling out a diagram of Ian's house. "See all the vents? Dave, Claire, Toby, and Julie may not be able to go through them, but Theodore, Eleanor, Jeanette and I are able to! Get the girls, NOW," Simon said. Dave ran out of the room and came back two minutes later with everyone else. "Have a seat everyone," Simon said. They all sat down.

"Simon, what's this plan going to do, exactly?" Julie asked. "Very good question. These vents are too small for humans, you notice. But they are big enough for chipmunks. If we split up we can find them." "Perfect…but what are we going to do?" Claire asked. "I still haven't worked out all the kinks, but I'll think of something before we put it into action."

-------

Alvin lifted up his head, only to see he was tied to a chipmunk-sized chair. There was duct tape all over his mouth. I'm a chipmunk…and this tastes disgusting…ugh, did he dip it in the garbage or something? Alvin thought. He looked around. Where was Brittany? There were a few moans from somewhere. Alvin slightly turned around. Behind him in a second chair, Brittany was in the same state as he was. Ian's way too persistent. A door opening was heard, and Alvin and Brittany turned their heads to see what it was. Ian was coming in. "Well little rats, I see you seem to have forgotten I knocked you out after the whole 'bored to death thing…' and tied you to there chairs. And now, I need a…word…with Brittany…," Ian said, grinning deviously. He untied Brittany and carried her into another room. Brittany tried to rip off her duct tape, but Ian had a hard grip on her. Alvin watched her. There was nothing he could do.

In the other room…

"I have a deal to strike with you and Alvin. You sing for me, and I'll let Alvin go back to the family. He phones the police, and you're never seen again. EVER." Brittany's eyes widened. She couldn't bear never seeing Alvin again, and she couldn't bear to be Ian's either. She shook her head. "RAT!" Ian yelled, throwing her across the room. Even through the duct tape she could be heard.

With Alvin…

Silence filled the room. Alvin sat deep in thought. His thoughts were only about destroying Ian and getting Brittany back home…and as a bonus, landing Ian in prison. There was a scream from the room with Brittany and Ian. "Mriii!" ("Britt!") Alvin yelled. He cut the ropes with his claws and ripped the duct tape off. "I'M COMING BRITT!" Alvin ran and broke the door's window. Brittany, scared out of her life, was in a corner against two walls as Ian approached. "Say 'buh-bye,' you little rat!" Ian said. Rage tore through Alvin. He jumped onto Ian's face and clawed at him, not caring about the consequences he would suffer.

Brittany, still on the floor, slowly stood up and carefully took off the duct tape. She weakly made her way to Ian, and, with all the strength she had left, bit him in the leg. Ian yelped in pain and fell to the floor.

Alvin finished clawing Ian. Ian was left unconscious. "Let's leave, now!" Brittany said. "We can't. You know that electric wiring on fences?" "Yeah…" "And these braces he put on our ankles?" Alvin asked, gesturing to the metal things on their ankles. "They're connected to the fencing. We'll get electrocuted." Brittany sighed. "You're right."

Back at the Seville house…

Dave muttered angrily to himself as he waited for the police to pick up. "When I get my hands on Ian…" A voice suddenly came on the phone.

"We're sorry, but the line is dead. Please try again later…" Dave looked at the phone strangely and hung up. "If it's dead, why could I hear that person?"

With Ian…

"We're sorry, but the line is dead. Please try again later…," Ian said, making his voice sound like one on an answering machine. He was too smart for Dave. "I wonder if those rats are up yet…"

With Alvin and Brittany…

"You can't stay and sing for him!"

"I know, but…"

"You're doing it for me…"

The two sat in a silence. "Brittany, if you do, I will phone the police right away…" "NO!" "Why not?" "Ian…Ian said I'll never be seen again if you phone the police…" "Oh, Britt…" Alvin's sadness was replaced by anger. "If he lays another hand on you, he's dead. If he looks at you in a harmful way, he's dead. If he talks to you in a harmful way, he's dead. If he even THINKS about harming you, he's dead," Alvin said. "You sound like Ryan the jock," Brittany said. "If he's not in a bad mood, he's actually a pretty nice guy."

Brittany looked at Alvin, confused. "Really?" "Really." There was silence.

"We've got to get out of here," Brittany said.

"I know. I'm hungry," Alvin replied. Brittany gave him a weirded-out look.

Will they be free? Will Ian keep fooling Dave? Will Simon's plan work? Will Alvin get his food? All that answered in the next chapter.

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