Chapter 5: The Woolies

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves"

Abraham Lincoln

A couple of days had passed since Jack had fought the beetle drones and won. Both Evie and Jack had said goodbye to Rothchild, Angus and Drifus before starting their long and unforgiving journey to find a way back home. They had crossed the empty terrain without a clue on where they were going or where they should go. It was far more preferable than being stuck at the pub, in Evie's opinion. At least this way, she felt safer and more secure- considering that Jack was not only a skilled fighter, but a human like herself who sought the same goal of finding a way back home.

Striking a conversation with Jack wasn't as easy as Evie had hoped. She asked about his injuries, which he brushed off as 'not serious'. She made a comment about the weather to which he politely agreed on her opinion of it. And most questions that she had asked him ended with simple "yes" or "no" answers. Evie didn't blame Jack for it. He wasn't a talker and neither was she, so small talk was an instant failure. Evie had always considered herself to be more of a listener and Jack seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Perhaps he was thinking of a way to defeat Aku. In any case, the silence was making Evie ansty.

And if that wasn't uncomfortable enough, Evie found herself slowing Jack down. Every so often, she'd get a side stitch or her legs would hurt and she'd have no choice but to ask Jack if they could stop for a break. Being the gentleman that he was, Jack always conceded without a fuss. He never once gave the hint that these stops were hindering him, but Evie was most certain that he was just being nice. When they did take a break, Jack usually ended up scouting ahead while Evie caught her breath and massaged her legs.

It appeared as if Jack could have easily gone for hours without taking a single break because he never once looked winded. Evie supposed that the reason why he was being so kind to her was because they had not been able to find a place to eat or sleep. The barren wasteland had stretched for miles and they could do little with surviving off a few vegetables and a single pocky pack. Evie fished out a water bottle from her rucksack and swished it around. There was less than half left. They would have to find some water soon. Evie took a few sips before sealing the cap. It wasn't fair for her to hog it all, so when she saw Jack return- she offered it to him.

Jack glanced down at the water bottle and handed it back to her without opening it.

"What? Aren't you thirsty?" Evie protested. "We've been walking for hours."

"That water is yours. You need it more than I do," Jack replied. "Besides, we can find some food and water there," he pointed to the distant trees behind the cliffside. By the looks of the grand density of it, Evie concluded that it was probably a jungle. "If we leave now, we should make it before nightfall."

"Oh, good!" Evie nodded eagerly, perking up. "I'm starving!" Her stomach growled in agreement and Evie flushed pink. She gave a slight chuckle, avoiding Jack's eyes. "We should probably get going then," she stood up and stuffed her water bottle back into her pack.

Inside the jungle, Jack found a river- allowing Evie to refill her water bottle. Jack used his hands to scoop up the water and drink. Evie looked up at the trees above them and smiled. She could hear the birds chirping and the leaves rustling. This was so much better than the smog-stricken city and the dusty ruins of the dog mines. She took a deep breath and let it out. She spread out her arms and spun in place. "The air is so clean here! I guess there are some places that Aku hasn't even touched."

While looking around, Evie spotted a berry bush and she jogged over to it. She plucked a few and grinned. Finally! Something to eat! She was about to pop the berries into her mouth when a hand smacked them away. Evie looked up at Jack with an offended expression, "Hey… what gives?"

"Those are pokeweed berries. They are poisonous."

Evie sucked the air sharply into her lungs, ran to the river and quickly began to wash her hands, trying to get rid of any berry residue off, "Ugh!"

Jack sighed, realizing that Evie was going to be higher maintenance than he had expected. "Just… don't eat anything that you do not recognize."

Evie sat back in a cross legged position and stared at her reflection in the water. The reflection's dark eyes stared right back, a disappointed look on its face as if saying, 'You should have known better.' Evie's gut twisted uncomfortably. If Jack wasn't with her at this moment, what would have happened to her? Would she have started vomiting and foaming at the mouth? Would she have gotten a seizure? Would she have died? "And it would have served you right. Where is your common sense? Even a child wouldn't have done what you did," she muttered to herself.

The sound of snapping and cutting broke Evie out of her self-deprecating state. Looking over her shoulder, Evie saw Jack cutting the vines off the trees. Not understanding what he was doing, Evie silently watched as the samurai trimmed off the leaves and evened the vines out so they were tightly pressed against one another. Then with a shake of the wrist, the vines began to wind themselves around each other until they formed a sturdy looking rope. When that was done, Jack began to make a noose at the end of the rope.

"What are you doing?" Evie asked.

"I am making a trap. If everything goes well then we shall have dinner tonight."

Evie nodded dumbly. Hunting. Jack was hunting. The idea felt so strange to her, archaic even. But it made sense. It wasn't like they would come across a grocery store in the middle of the jungle, even if secretly she wished it.

Jack placed the trap rope onto the ground and covered it with leaves. Then he placed a carrot in the center- one of the last few provisions that they had thanks to the generosity of Rothchild. He ran into the bushes while holding the other end of the rope. Evie quickly followed and crouched next to him. And so they waited… and waited… and waited…

Time passed slowly and Evie quickly began to get bored. She tried to entertain herself by drawing in the dirt with a stick. Half an hour later and losing the seventh tic tac to game with herself (how she manages that, we will never know), Evie sighed. "Is hunting always this long and tedious?"

Jack shushed her- his posture suddenly becoming tense with anticipation.

Evie straightened up and peeked through the bushes. A large boar with rather impressive tusks came trudging across the clearing, its snout twitching and snorting. Catching sight of the carrot, the animal cautiously approached the trap. It was completely unaware of the two humans watching it. Jack's hand tightened on the rope as the boar took another step closer. Evie chewed her bottom lip, knowing that the timing had to be just right before Jack could spring the trap. She was surprised to realize that she didn't feel as sorry for the animal as she probably would have normally been. The thought of deliciously cooked pork chops overruled any sense of compassion for the sake of necessity.

Another step…

Both Jack and Evie found themselves salivating. They could almost smell the meat sizzling.

But then the jungle shook with a deafening roar. Evie gasped in fright, covering her ears. Their potential dinner jumped away from the trap and ran away squealing. "What the heck is that?!" Evie exclaimed.

The ground shook with impending large footsteps. Jack and Evie turned around to see a giant mammoth-like creature burst through the trees. The two of them scrambled out of its path before it could trample them to death. Following the creature were two more 'mammoth' things with little men riding them. The lead 'mammoth' crushed the carrot bait and accidentally snagged the rope onto its leg. Jack and Evie looked down at their rope to see that Jack's foot was tangled up in it. Before either of them could react accordingly, the rope tightened around his ankle and Jack was swept off his feet.

"Jack!" Evie yelled as he disappeared through the bushes and was dragged away. She scrambled after them, running as fast as she could.

Jack cringed as his back grated against the ground. He felt each and every rock and root as he passed over them. Grinding his teeth together, Jack grabbed the rope that was tied around his foot and loosened it. Then he repositioned himself so that he was dragged along his front instead. Jack dodged a few rocks and fruit but was incapable of avoiding a thick branch.

Jack winced at the pain in his jaw and glared at the creature. Using his upper body strength, Jack pulled himself along the rope until he reached the giant animal. Then he hauled himself upwards by the fur until he was sitting atop it. Still holding onto the rope, Jack lassoed the beast- bucking its front legs out from beneath it.

The 'mammoth' whined pathetically as it skidded towards the edge of a cliff. Luckily for both the creature and Jack, they managed to stop before reaching it. Jack jumped off the animal and secured it just as the little men jumped off their mounts and ran towards it. Jack was shocked when they began to prod the creature with their harpoons, using an electrical current to subdue it. Over and over they struck it. Finally, the creature groaned in defeat and collapsed.

"Jack!"

The samurai turned around to see Evie stumbling over to him, at last having caught up to them. She was breathing heavily and flushed from sprinting so hard. She looked like she was about to collapse. Her bangs were damp from sweat.

"Evie, are you alright?" Jack approached her with concern.

Evie looked at Jack like he was crazy. "Me? I should… be asking… YOU that…" she managed to wheeze. "You're… *gasp* the one who was *wheeze*… dragged… across the *gasp*… jungle! Ugh..."

Jack caught her by the shoulders as she practically fell into him, face first into this chest. She muttered a few words into his gi, too muffled to be understood. Jack didn't know what to do, so he just stood there, letting Evie use him as support as she regained her breath.

The little men in white suits approached them with smirks on their face. "Nice job with the beast," the lead one with orange shades addressed Jack.

"I guess…" another one added with less enthusiasm. He had the exact same nasally voice.

"We would have caught him anyway with our modified tridental incapacitators," the third one snarked proudly, again… with the same voice. If Evie wasn't watching them from the corner of her eye, she would have assumed that it was only one person speaking.

Evie pulled away from Jack and stared down curiously at the little men. They were very strange looking with blue skin and drooping mouths that reminded her of a vacuum hose. What really was odd was that they all looked identical. Were they brothers?

"Whatever," the leader rolled his eyes. He pointed at the 'mammoth' creature and yelled, "Secure the beast!" His subordinates shot beams of light at the animal from their weapons. The light turned into shackles that bound around the animal's legs. "This beast is always trying to escape. Your days are numbered, wild one," he scoffed at the 'mammoth.' "Thanks to this brave warrior, you'll never escape again."

Evie looked up at the creature and felt a sliver of pity for it. It just looked so… sad.

"We must celebrate its capture! Come back to our village with us," the small man invited Jack. "Your boyfriend can come too."

Evie's mouth fell open in astonishment. Did she hear him correctly? "What? No… I'm a girl," came her weak reply. In what manner, shape or form did she resemble a guy?!

"Oh, sorry." The little man did not sound sorry at all. "You humans all look the same. Really, how do you tell yourselves apart?"

Jack and Evie shared a look.

"Well uh… I don't know if, uh…we should..." Jack tried to think of a way to refuse the invitation without offending anyone.

"You should!" the second one insisted.

"There will be a feast," the third one tried. "With rare delectables."

Jack and Evie's stomachs both growled in unison at the mention of food. Evie covered her stomach with embarrassment and peeked over at Jack from the corner of her eye.

Jack glanced down at her and saw her pleading expression. He pressed a hand over his own empty stomach. He could not turn away the offer of a free meal, especially now that he had a mouth other than his own to feed. "Well, we haven't eaten in days," Jack admitted. "I suppose no harm could come of it."

"Yes!" Evie leapt into the air, pumping her fist into the air. "Food!"

The small blue men smirked at each other. Now that that was settled, they offered them a ride on their mounts. Jack sat behind the leader and Evie sat behind Jack, clutching at his fabric. They had no saddle and even though the creatures moved steadily, Evie still didn't want to risk falling and breaking her back.

"Our people have dwelled in this land for many decades," the leader spoke to them monotonously. "Much of it was barren wasteland when the first settlers arrived. Our ancestors worked long and hard for many seasons to cultivate it into the beautiful place it is now. These woolies as we call them, used to roam the land, wild. These bloodthirsty creatures threatened the survival of our early settlers."

"Nearly driving us to extinction!" the little man behind them added with a sneer.

Evie shivered. They all had the same voice and it was creeping her out.

"Anyway," continued the leader, as if he hadn't just been interrupted. "With our great courage and determination, we managed to tame these savage beasts. It took many years. Now they are docile and cooperative, helping us with our everyday duties. And in turn, we provide them with the shelter and safety of our village."

Evie patted the woolie beneath her, marveling in its soft fur. "They hardly look bloodthirsty to me," she commented. "I think they are adorable."

"Don't let their meek appearance fool you," the leader looked back at her. "They might look cute and cuddly, but they will kill you the second you let down your guard."

Evie retracted her hand quickly and she stared at the leader with confusion. "But I thought you said that they are docile and cooperative now?"

"As much as wild beasts are capable of being. Have you tried taming lions, tigers or bears? They will maul you if they get the chance. These beasts are no different."

"Oh my…" Evie looked back at the captured woolie behind them. His eyes were sad and hopeless and his head hung low. Was he really as dangerous as these little blue men claimed?

"Well, here we are," the leader announced and Evie peered over Jack's shoulder. "Pretty impressive huh?"

What stood before them was a village that certainly would have been impressive… if it didn't look like it was falling apart. The towering marble domes were dull with age and neglect. Some of the rooftops were cracked and broken. Nature was already in the process of swallowing the village. Vines and trees were growing around and out of structures.

"If you say so…" Evie muttered.

Jack didn't say anything at first but the expression on his face indicated that he wasn't entirely sure of the state of the village either. This looked more like a historical ruin than anything that could be used as a residence. "These buildings look… quite old," he mentioned carefully as if not to rouse conflict.

But the little blue man did not take offense. In fact, he seemed quite proud of the fact that his village was falling apart. "Thank you."

Evie saw several woolies working on the field, some hauling heavy wagons while others walked in circles, turning a wooden wheel. All of them looked absolutely miserable. She flinched as she saw one being zapped with a harpoon, forced to pull a bunch of logs up a hill. The rest of the population, Evie noted… all looked exactly the same. Same sized and identical shaped little bodies. Same white suits. Same blue skin. Same voices. It was… eerie. It was like someone went clone-crazy.

The leader whistled, alerting a few of his men over. "Secure the beast until I devise a punishment for his escape."

The men began to jab at the captured woolie mercilessly with their harpoons. "Ya! Ya! Move it! Let's go! Go on, fatty!"

Evie watched as the woolie was led away, all the while being poked and zapped. She frowned. Did they really have to go that far? They forced the woolie into a stable… which looked more like a jail cell, and slammed the door on him. The woolie looked out the small barred window, meeting Evie's eyes. Feeling horrible for the poor creature but unable to do anything about it, Evie looked away and down at her hands.

"Let's eat!" the leader turned to them with a grin, completely unaffected by the woolie's treatment. Hearing the mention of food, both Evie and Jack perked up.

Night fell and the festivities began. The little blue creatures who Evie soon learned were called Chritchellites, had set up a giant bonfire out in the open where food and drink was provided. Evie sat next to Jack as the woolies blew into giant musical horns. It was an experience unlike any that Evie had. She smiled politely when she was handed a steaming drink and she looked around. She saw two Chitchellites playing chess while another one was offering advice. Another group was discussing some… junga figurines… or jenga? Junga? Janga? Evie had no idea.

"This future is so strange," she told Jack as he graciously accepted his own hot drink. "I can't tell if it grew advanced with technology or if it reverted into primitivity."

Jack shrugged and took a long swig of his drink. His eyes widened and his cheeks bulged. The samurai barely stopped himself from spitting it back out. He forced himself to swallow and tears of revulsion leaked down his face. "Ugh!" he clutched at his throat.

Evie stared down at her own drink with horror. What the hell was this? She carefully brought it to her nose and gave a tentative sniff. She cringed back as her nose began to burn from the steam. Making sure no one else was watching, Evie quickly dumped her drink into a nearby bush and set down her cup far away as possible. To her surprise, the bush began to cough and choke before it plucked out its roots from the earth, lifted its leaves like a skirt and lumbered away while saying in a miffed manly voice, "Shrub don't need this kind of abuse. Shrub out."

…

"Did you see that?!" Evie pulled on Jack's sleeve, completely freaked out- but he was too busy trying not to die from the drink. Evie patted him on the back, hoping that it would help.

The horns sounded and the lead Chritchellite stood up onto his throne. "Bring on the entertainment!"

The little blue men cheered as two woolies dressed up in Arabian attire were forced into the circle. Evie winced each time they were zapped with a trident.

ZAP!

A woolie lifted a leg.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

The woolie stood up straight on its hindlegs. The other woolie walked on its forelegs while balancing a giant red ball on top of its back legs. The Chritchellites cheered.

Recovered from the horrific drink, Jack thoughtlessly brought a green apple towards his mouth as he watched the show. He stopped himself. Jack eyed the fruit suspiciously and sniffed it. Concluding that it was just an apple and not some imposter, he smiled and bit into it. He pushed the tray of fruit towards Evie. "Here, try this."

"Thanks." Evie eagerly began to pluck the grapes and she hummed with joy as her mouth was filled with the sweet juice. "I never thought I'd be so happy to eat grapes again." It wasn't meat, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She tried not to focus on the circus that was in front of her. The poor beasts looked downright miserable. But then it all went wrong. One woolie shakily tossed the ball a little too high and the other tried to catch it, only to topple over and crush his rider into a bunch of wooden barrels.

Evie gasped, a grape falling from her fingers. That looked painful for both parties!

Pissed off, one of the blue men ran up to the woolie and stabbed it hard with his trident, shocking it. "Up you worthless beast!" he yelled. Several more ran in to join him with the zapping. The woolie trembled from the pain.

Jack clapped slowly as he looked around with uncertainty at the cheering Chritchellites. This wasn't the type of entertainment he was hoping for… but he was too polite to try and offend their hosts.

Evie wasn't above it though. Instead she jumped to her feet and shouted, "Stop! What are you doing?!"

Her outburst made the Chritchellites stop and they all turned to stare at her in silence.

"Must you torment the woolie so? It was an accident!"

The Chritchelites blinked. One of them snorted, "Oh great. We've got a woolie activist over here." The others muttered to themselves. They were not pleased by Evie's outburst.

"Yeah, and what if I am?" is what Evie wanted to say. But she didn't want to antagonize her hosts so she just merely frowned and crossed her arms.

"We mean no disrespect," Jack interjected before things could go downhill, "but your treatment of the woolies does seem a bit harsh."

The Chritchelite who was sitting next to Jack said, "Not really. How we handle the woolies is no different than how you humans treat… What do you call them? Horses?"

"We don't stab or electrocute our horses," Evie argued. "We treat them with love and respect. In return they listen to and aid us."

"Hmph," the Chitrchelite next to Jack sniffed and looked at Jack. "There's no pleasing your mother, is there? It's no wonder you humans are facing extinction."

Evie gaped at him. "I am not his mother!" They didn't even look alike!

"Tomato, tomato…" The blue man rolled his eyes.

The leader shrugged his shoulders, "In any case, I can see that our entertainment offends you." He yelled to his servants, "Take the woolies away! We shall entertain ourselves for the night."

The Chritchelites groaned and yelled protests but did as they were told. The woolies were taken away and the banquet continued without further torture. Yet, there was only so much of the party that Evie could take, especially with all the stink eyes that she received. She excused herself from the party while Jack stayed to finish his meal. Evie kicked at a small stone in frustration and watched it bounce off a wall. She didn't like the Chritchelites. Something about them rubbed her the wrong way.

Evie tossed her apple up into the air and caught it. Toss and catch. Toss and catch.

They were rude, dismissive and had no sympathy towards the woolies. Even if the woolies were violent animals they were still animals. They deserved some sort of respect.

Toss and catch. Toss and catch.

Evie came to a stop in front of a prison cell. This was where the runaway woolie was held. Her eyes softened in pity as it stared at her through the bars with large sad eyes. Evie approached the door and grabbed at the bars. The woolie backed away from her, shaking. "No, no… it's okay," Evie cooed gently. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The woolie gradually stopped shaking but did not approach.

Evie glanced down at the apple in her hands in thought. Figuring that she no longer had an appetite, Evie held it out for the woolie. She remembered how Jack taught her to feed a horsefly, perhaps this will be no different.

It looked at the apple in her hand and then back at her with uncertainty.

"Here, take it," Evie coaxed. "You must be hungry. Have they been feeding you?"

The woolie hesitated and sniffed at the apple. For a split second, Evie wondered if maybe the woolie was a carnivore. In that case, sticking her hand through the bars wasn't exactly a smart move. Just as she considered pulling back, the woolie chomped down at the apple, her hand and all.

Evie yelped and pulled her hand out of the woolie's mouth. It was covered with saliva yet unharmed. She let out a breath of relief. Evie smiled at the beast and pat/wiped her hand off on the woolie. "There, that's better isn't it?"

The woolie seemed to smile and lean into her touch.

Evie's eyes grew soft, "Look at you. You're not monstrous at all. You're a gentle giant, aren't you? Had you wanted to bite my hand off, you would have done so already." She leaned her head against the bars as she continued to pet the woolie. "I don't know about you, but those little blue creatures seem to be more vicious than a woolie. Honestly, I wish there was something that I could do but I doubt that there's a humane society here. Besides…" Evie pulled away, earning a sad moan from the creature. "This is hardly any of my business. I wish you the best of luck, buddy. Perhaps try not to escape next time?" Evie gave him a small wave and began to walk away when…

"Wait- please, don't go!"

Evie stopped in her tracks and she gave a loud gasp. She turned back around and instantly grabbed the bars, pressing herself tightly to the door. Her eyes were wide in horror. "You can talk?!"

"Hey you get away from there!"

Evie yelped when a couple of Chritchelites ran at her. She was shoved to the size and the little blue men charged into the prison cell and began to taser the woolie. Evie made a move forward but was blocked by the leader.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The leader snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Evie.

"I was only… I thought-" Evie stammered. She was so shocked that words escaped her. She winced as the sparks flew out of the window and she could hear the woolie bellow with pain.

"You should be careful! The beasts are tricky! Their mind control will fry your brain!"

At this point, all Evie heard was lies. Mind control? Really? But even so, there was nothing that she could do right at this moment. Evie frowned angrily but stepped back away from the door.

The leader grabbed her arm and dragged her off, "You females are more trouble than you're worth. Always snooping around and getting yourself into trouble. Come, I'll take you back to your master. Dessert is being served and I don't want to miss it."

Evie didn't even process the insult and allowed herself to be taken away. Instead all she could think was this: The woolies were sentient. They weren't animals, they were people. This whole situation transformed from animal abuse into outright slavery! She had to tell Jack. He had to know about this!

They soon arrived back at the party and the leader dragged her over to Jack. The samurai raised his head in surprise to see Evie being pulled along like a punished child with the leader looking irritated and Evie looking… furious.

"You should keep a better eye on your woman!" The leader scolded as he released Evie's arm. "She almost got us all killed!" He stomped away to his throne as the dessert was being brought out.

Jack turned his attention to Evie who sat down next to him with a huff. She crossed her arms and glared heatedly at the ground. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," Evie grumbled angrily and ignored the rest of the festivities. She could tell that Jack was concerned because he kept sending her inquisitive looks. To her relief, he did not press the subject. She wanted to wait until she was certain that they could talk in private.

The party eventually ended and it was time to turn in for the night. Jack had looked expectantly at Evie, hoping that she would talk to him but the young woman simply laid down on the hard stone floor with her back facing Jack. Evie heard Jack sigh deeply out of his nose and heard him lay down too.

Evie did not sleep. She kept her eyes open and stayed still until she was certain that each and every last Chritchelite was sleeping soundly. She wasn't sure how long she lay there awake, but it felt like hours. Slowly she sat up, glancing around. The coast was clear. She looked down at Jack who was fast asleep with his back turned to her. Jack's face was scrunched up and sweat was trickling down his temple. He was having a nightmare.

The blonde grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "Jack," she whispered. "Jack, wake up."

The samurai's eyes burst open and he sat up with a sharp gasp. Evie flinched away as his hand gripped his sword. He breathed heavily and looked around wildly as if trying to find the enemy but then his eyes landed on Evie. Realizing that he was only dreaming, Jack let out a sigh and wiped his face with his hand.

"Jack, are you okay?" Evie whispered worriedly.

"Yes, it was just a bad dream," He muttered. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Evie shook her head and once again looked around to check to see if everyone was still asleep. "I couldn't sleep."

Jack looked at Evie worriedly. She was acting very agitated since she was brought back by the Chritchelite leader. "Evie, if something is wrong-"

"Something is wrong, Jack," Evie grabbed his wrist, squeezing it tightly. "I had to wait until everyone was asleep. Jack, the woolies aren't animals. They are people!"

"What?" Jack was taken aback.

"The one that was imprisoned, he spoke to me. The woolies are an enslaved race! You've noticed how this place doesn't seem to add up, right? All these large and grand buildings, they don't belong to the tiny Chritchelites. I bet this land belongs to the woolies!"

The expression on Jack's face became really serious as he listened to Evie. Enslavement? If this was true, then this changed things. "Are you sure?" He asked, grabbing her shoulder firmly.

"Yes," Evie nodded, desperation written all over her face. "Jack, we need to do something. This… this is all wrong!"

Jack was silent for a moment before standing up and reaching out a hand to help Evie. She took it and he pulled her up. "Then let's pay a visit to the woolie. You're right. Something about this place doesn't add up."

A relieved smile lifted Evie's face. He believed her!

Jack peered over the side of the building, checking to see that the coast was clear. He then motioned Evie to follow him. They quickly scaled down the large and very steep steps- well… Jack quickly jumped down from step to step, avoiding the sleeping blue men. Evie slowly crawled down backwards like the uncoordinated human that she was. Once they were in the clear, they both ran towards the prison cell that held the woolie.

"Hey," Evie called out softly, grabbing the bars. "Psst, hey!"

The woolie blinked his large sleepy eyes open, but then they widened with excitement at the sight of Evie. He smiled and quickly walked over to her. "You came back!" The woolie noticed Jack standing behind her and he suddenly flinched back. He remembered how Jack had captured him.

"It's okay," Evie told the woolie. "Jack's my friend. He can help."

"Really?" The woolie hopefully looked at Jack. "You will free me?"

Jack nodded, looking astonished that the woolie was talking. Evie had been telling the truth. He opened the door, letting the woolie out.

"Follow me," The woolie said quietly. "Everything will be explained to you both."

A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys! I hope you didn't wait too long for this chapter. My favorite part was with the shrub. xD I was giggling the entire time I wrote that random little scene. I'll see you again in the next chapter.