Stuffed Up

3. Attack of the Icky Stinkys

Collapsing onto the elongated bed after kicking off her shoes by the suite door, Lorelei stared up at the ceiling above her while her best friends all laughed over stories of their first night out and about. They all each collapsed into a fit of giggles in turn until they were all lying together on the beds with their stuffys clutched tightly to their chests.

"I can't believe that guy actually thought he had a chance with us," said Joelle. "He gave me such icky, used car salesmen vibes."

"Oh, he really did, and he wouldn't stop staring!" added Talulla.

"There are weirdos in the world," said Iris, "But we all knew that. Or at least we should."

"Lorelei would know that better than all of us," said Allegra. "How many handsome bachelors have ended up being mister icky stinkys?"

"Icky stinkys?" asked Loreli with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Someone who has a pretty face on the outside and an ugly heart on the inside," explained Allegra. "In other words, an Icky Stinky."

"You just made that up," said Iris.

"So what if she did? I like it," said Zelda. "Makes me picture them all as skunks."

"Well, this icky stinky tonight looked like a skunk," piped up Enya, "what with that moppy black hair with the white strip down the middle. Like when did that become a good look?"

Lorelei tore her eyes away from the ceiling to look over at her friends as they continued to talk about the creep they had encountered that evening. They had had a relatively good time enjoying all the views and tourist attractions. One of the last things they had done that evening was to enter a karaoke bar. They had had a fun time singing their hearts out to the tunes and just being themselves. However, they all couldn't help but to notice this man that seemed to be watching them the entire time even though he kept trying to pretend he wasn't.

"He'd make an awful spy," said Joelle as Lorelei was brought out of her thoughts and back to the conversation.

"At least we're safely back in our room. That's what matters," said Iris as she let out a yawn, stretching her arms over her head as she moved to curl around her stuffy. "I'm calling it a night, girls."

Slowly they all began to feel the same way; the buzz of their first night out morphing into sheer exhaustion. Lorelei was the last of them to fall asleep, moving to shut the lights off and making sure the door was locked before crawling back amongst her friends on the beds. She tugged Cooky tightly to her chest as she laid in the darkness, listening to the steady breathing going on around her. Moonlight slipped into the room, capturing the glitter in the friendship bracelet that Cooky still wore on his wrist. Lorelei couldn't help but to smile at the sight, cuddling Cooky tightly to her before allowing herself to fall asleep.

Lorelei didn't know how long she was actually asleep before she was jarred awake by the sensation of a cloth over her mouth. Her eyes shot open in panic, but she couldn't do anything more than mumble as she was violently dragged off the bed and towards the door. Whoever had their hand over her mouth was keeping it so she couldn't turn her head to try and see who her captor was. Soon a blindfold came down over her eyes, knotted roughly into place.

As Lorelei was dragged out into the hallway, she started to feel all the fight drain from her as a sensation took over her body that left her feeling lightheaded. Right before she passed out, she could hear the struggles of her other friends as they all more than likely suffered the same fate.

'It's the attack of the Icky Stinkys...' was the last thought that passed through Lorelei's mind as she passed out.

Within a matter of minutes, all seven of the girls had fallen unconscious. They were dragged out of the hotel to where a van waited. Having disarmed the security system in the hotel before the kidnapping, no one witnessed the crime besides the stuffys that had been haphazardly left on the bed; the ball charms on their bracelets shining as bright as the moon.