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Part 43: There's a Man in the Woods

The face moved closer to me. I was horrified to find that I was staring at a very, very ugly human man. His features were far from human.

He had large eyes that bulged. His pupils were so dilated that his eyes themselves looked black. His entire face was very rat-like thanks to his gaunt, pinched face and his large eyes.

He stared at me quizzically, almost as if I was the intruder. He did not belong here. I heard Wally's excited voice. I turned. There was another. He had much softer, more pleasant features to look at. I did not care about how they looked, though. I wanted out. I wanted Wally.

(The rat-like man giggled quietly. He found this quite amusing...)

"I have found Barnaby, my dear!" Wally called out.

"Then, who are these two?" I asked shakily. I felt Wally pull me to my feet. He held me defensively as he looked down at the two men I had come across.

"I don't know, but I am disgusted. Who are you two?" Wally spat. Barnaby appeared behind Wally. He placed a paw on Wally's shoulder.

"So sorry, 'lil bud. Those two are Barnaby."

Wally and I paused. What? Three Barnabys? Barnaby grabbed the two scrawny men by collars of their shirts and began marching back to his house.

Wally scooped me up and followed closely behind.

"I'm terribly sorry. I never expected this," he muttered to me. His eyes were fixed on the Barnabys.

We made it back to the house. Wally and I sat on the couch opposite of the one the three Barnabys sat on.

The dog Barnaby sighed and looked at us thoughtfully.
"There are Barnabys. The rat one only ever appears fer scenes where I'm seen walkin' in the background of episodes. The round one switches out with me sometimes.

Usually, you two only ever talk ta me. I've been quite tired recently, though, so these two were brought it. It was Home's doin'."

That explained why Barnaby's speech pattern and accent shifted ever so slightly sometimes. I wasn't even talking to Barnaby back then. I was talking to some weird guy.

Wally looked at the three with a disgusted face. It was a curious sight.
"How deceitful. I knew you were having problems, but I really didn't think it was this," he pinched the spot where his nosebridge should have been angrily.
"You could have told me."

"I'm real s'ry, 'lil bud. I jus' figured you'd be disappointed ta find out i was too lazy to appear in front of everyone ev'ryday. I'll have them pick these two up right away," Barnaby sighed. I stayed quiet, for it was not my battle to fight. This was between Wally and Barnaby.

Wally crossed his legs. "Don't show up to the tea party later. I fear that you'll be nothing but stuffing if you do. I'll get over this soon, but right now, I'm not sure I can handle talking to you anymore. You better hide that extra suit well."

He stood up and held my hand. "We'll be going now. Don't speak until we have left."

Wally exhaled slowly as soon as we were far enough from the house. He looked down at his shoes.
"..I'm sorry. I apologize for my behavior. You didn't ask to see me like that or to see those three."

"It's alright, Wally. I agreed to go with you, after all," was all I could manage to say before my voice stopped working. Yes, the sight was disturbing indeed. Despite that, I needed to move past it. Dwelling would do me no good.

"Let's head home," Wally said softly. His tone was light and careful. I nodded and walked beside him quietly.

That night, I felt uneasy. What if the rat man was watching me? It was an irrational fear, but I did have the tendency to have such fears.

As if on cue, Wally knocked on my bedroom door. I rose and opened it.

"Would you like to read some books with me..?" Wally asked hesitantly. He was wearing his dramatic robe over his usual pajamas. It looked a little funny.

"I would enjoy that," I sighed, relieved. I didn't want to be left alone for now after learning that one of my neighbors was essentially a flesh suit. I also just enjoyed reading with my friends.

Wally nodded and walked over to his bedroom. He sat on one side, and I sat on the other. I pulled the comforter up so we were both warm while we read.

"Today has been quite odd, hasn't it? At least we can do some reading before bed," Wally tried to soothe both of our nerves. I felt bad for leaving that responsibility on him.

"Yes. Thank you for inviting me to read with you," I yawned. Wally smiled softly.

"Of course," he yawned after me. "I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep, but you should certainly try. I'll be right here if you need me, too."

(Wally hoped he was helping. He hadn't expected such a weird situation to occur. Fortunately, he did not feel like the event was entirely his fault. He has not predicted Barnaby to reveal himself to be three different people: two men and an actual puppet-like thing just like Wally.)

"Thank you...." I muttered quietly. I slowly snuggled beneath the covers and leaned against Wally, who was still sitting upright, reading.

Somehow, I managed to fall asleep.

(Wally was pleased you had fallen asleep. You needed it.

As the night went on, Wally found himself hoping that Barnaby would explain the situation a little more. He was not satisfied by the earlier explanation. Right now was not the time to be worrying, he reminded himself. He looked down at you.

You looked so peaceful sleeping. He was glad you didn't seem to be having any trouble. He wrapped his arms around you and hugged you slightly. He couldn't really hug you, but he tried. He held you softly as he continued reading.)

The following day was fine. It was the day of the tea party. Everyone was alerted of it, even Barnaby, though he had been uninvited.

I spent the day over at the bodega. I gathered supplies with the help of Howdy, Sally, and Julie.

"How is Wally as a roommate? He's an oddball, y'know!" Julie laughed. She passed me a package of napkins. I placed them into the basket.

"He is fine. Wslly is very nice, too! We mainly spend our time reading or dancing."

"Aw, I'm so jealous! Most of my friends aren't interested in either," Sally exclaimed. She squinted mischievously at Julie. Julie bopped her nose.

"Hey! I dance plenty," she sang. Julie got up and twirled about. Sally chuckled and continued grabbing supplies.

"What about you, Howdy? What do you like to do with us? I like to read with Wally, stalk Frank and Eddie with Julie, party with Sally, and go on walks with you," I smiled up at him. Howdy looked up at the ceiling and thought.

"Um.. I enjoy talking with everyone, I guess."

"That's a good choice. I'm very fun to talk to you!" Julie cheered. Sally punched her arm.

"Nuh uh!" Sally teased.

"Mhm! It's true. Frank looooooves talking with me! Every time I go on some rant, he wears these awesome headphones! He likes to read books while I talk, too!" Julie stuck her tongue out defiantly.

"I think he's trying to tune you out politely, Julie," I raised a brow. Julie sighed.

"If that's what you all want to believe, so be it! I have faith in my tube-shaped friend," Julie replied. Sally shrugged. She didn't really know what was going on. She had gotten distracted a few sentences ago.

We spent a few more minutes gathering supplies before marching out onto the large dirt patch in the center. Sally and Julie laid out the giant cloth on the ground.  Howdy helped me set the plates and cups down on the cloth.

We made the area nice and pretty. All that was missing was food and tea. We would get those later because the tea party was planned to start later that day.