P.I.E. Operation: PARASITIC

XXXVI: Bright Day

"What did you do to Mama Gertrude?!" The giant red-headed teenager yelled at Johnny, causing the miniature Brit's ears to ring.

The boy's voice was so loud it seemed like blood was rushing out of Toast's ear canals. He felt numb with fear and confusion. "I-I didn't d-do anything, s... sir...!" His voice cracked in the middle of his sentence.

"Then how do you explain this?" the boy lisped, pointing at but not touching Gertrude's bloody green shirt with the needle.

Johnny started up with stuttering again, his face turning pale. He wasn't sure how to explain what happened. "I-I swear it wasn't--"

"Shut up! Until I get this mess fixed, I'm putting you up here."

Johnny felt himself being lifted much higher onto a shelf. He couldn't object to what was happening because his stomach was unbearably squished until he was finally kneeling on the flat surface. He looked around and saw many figurines piled up in glass or plastic showcases. Specks of cobwebs and dust floated around every time he breathed.

"Hmm..." The teenager said, squinting. "Now that you're not squirming around I finally have a clear view of you, and I must say... You look familiar..."

"She needs... water... I think..." Johnny said, not relating to the boy's remark.

"What?! You're too small and I can't hear you!"

"Gertrude needs--" Before Toast finished speaking, the giant interrupted.

"I said I can't hear you! Ugh, I guess I'll have to keep you down here then." He threw the needle and magnifying glass on the table next to him and reached up with the hand opposite of Gertrude, separating them.

"She needs water!" Johnny screamed somewhat angrily. His expression softened when he realized he had accidentally riled up an attitude.

"How is that going to help a bleeding wound?" The boy argued.

"Please, sir, just listen to me.. I-It's hard to explain..." Toast's voice wavered.

"Sir? I'm Spencer. Anyway, back to the point." He pushed up his glasses. "If this will help her recover, I'll go upstairs and try to find something small to put water in."

Spencer dropped Johnny into his other hand with Gertrude to rummage through another drawer. He found a pair of dust-speckled sunglasses and blew them off. Toast flinched at the spit that followed the air, but Spencer rubbed it off the lens with his shirt.

Johnny couldn't hold back his curiosity. "What do you need those for?"

"I haven't been upstairs in a long, long time, so it's obviously going to hurt my eyes, you dummy. I haven't eaten a whole lot for the past few days without Gertrude bringing down anything, so... Might as well not wait any longer." Spencer said with a straight face. He put the sunglasses over his regular ones and headed up the creaking carpeted steps leading from the basement to the living room.

He cracked the door to the living room open, squinting at the blinding... regular daylight.

"Si--Ah, Spencer, I don't mean to be rude, but can you go a little faster? We're in a situation where someone we both know is slowly dying... W-Uh, we don't have the time right now to be staring out the windows." Toast looked down shyly, hoping the boy wouldn't get angry and try to kill him or something.

"I'm just trying to adjust to the bright lights in here again!" Spencer said.

"But... The lights are off..." Johnny said quietly, but Spencer couldn't hear him anyway.said quietly enough that Spencer couldn't hear him. At least he had no chance of starting a fight, then.

He fully opened the door and flinched when his foot hit the cleaner carpet that wasn't like his own. "In all honesty, I have no idea where I'm going."

"You don't know the layout of your own house?"

"I could so easily crush you right now." Spencer said without looking at Johnny. "I have more important things to worry about, like remembering how many gold pieces I have in World of Warcraft."

"Please don't." The paranormal investigator said a little quieter.

They passed the living room and two men in matching overalls and hats walked by. One hat was green with an embroidered "L" on the front. The other was red with an "M." They constantly talked of different recipes for spaghetti in higher pitched italian accents.

"Those two were ghosts!" Toast said in a talking whisper to Spencer when they had moved to the upper floor. "Why would you freely let them roam around?!"

"They're not my problem. I rarely come up here." Spencer said. "Stop asking so many questions!"

From the doorway to the living room, a door on the left led outside. On the right was the staircase where the strange italian spirits went up. The kitchen was straight ahead.

The kitchen area was a sight to see. Canned tomato paste was splattered on every wall, making it look more like a crime scene than a food accident. There was hard spaghetti spread out on the marble counter covered in a pile of cheese and a pot of not-yet-boiling water leaked on the tiled floor.

"This must be the work of those suspicious entities we saw a bit ago. Unfortunately, I don't really have much P.I.E. equipment on me at the moment... I... wasn't expecting a journey like this..."

"You really don't need equipment to know that they don't belong here. They look like cartoon characters!" Spencer rolled his eyes. He stepped on the kitchen floor and immediately slipped forward to the sink. "Great, how convenient." He said sarcastically.

He was barely able to get enough grip to lift himself so he could see the inside of the sink.

When he fell again, his feet ended up poking something. Hanging from the sink's edge with one hand, he looked back and saw Papa Acachalla with his entire head shoved into a cabinet.

- - - - - - - - - -

Who knew going up a set of stairs and going through a small living room (that's right across from the kitchen) could take so long?