Chapter 8
Tangled in dusty Christmas lights, Woody crawled through the mountains of junk in the closet and finally tumbled out into the hall.
“Buzz?” he called out softly. “The coast is clear. Buzz, where are you?”
Buzz’s voice echoed from down the hall: “There’s a secret mission in uncharted space. Let’s go!”
“Really?” Woody heard Hannah coo. “That is soooo interesting.”
Woody crept toward the voices till he reached an open doorway. Hannah’s bedroom. He peeked inside.
Hannah was having a tea party. Several headless dolls were seated around a tiny table. And Buzz was propped up at the head of the table, dressed in a frilly apron and a stylish hat.
“Oh, no!” Woody thought hard and fast. Then he ran down the hall and cleared his throat. He tried to make his voice sound high and feminine—like Sid’s mom’s—as he called out loudly: “Hannah! Oh, Hannah!”
“Mom?” Hannah hurried out of the room. As soon as she disappeared down the stairs, Woody sprang to life and bolted into her bedroom. He saw that Buzz had fallen facedown on the table.
“Buzz! Are you okay?” He picked up Buzz’s broken-off arm. “What happened to you?” Buzz bolted upright with a glazed look in his eyes. “One minute you’re defending the whole galaxy”—he grabbed his arm from Woody and pointed it at the headless dolls—“then suddenly you find yourself suckin’ down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinetteand her little sister!” The headless dolls turned and waved.
Woody choked back a feeling of disgust and helped Buzz to his feet. “I think you’ve had enough tea for today. Let’s get you out of here.” Buzz grabbed Woody by the collar. “Don’t you get it?” he shrieked, laughing hysterically. Woody shook the spaced-out spaceman by the shoulders. “Snap out of it, Buzz!” He pressed the button to pop open Buzz’s helmet and slapped him just hard enough to startle him. Then he politely closed the helmet.
Buzz seemed to regain his composure. He shook his head as he and Woody walked out into the hall. “I’m sorry,” he said with a sigh. “You’re right. I’m just a little depressed, that’s all.” Suddenly, Buzz dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor. “Oh, I’m a sham!” he wailed.
“Shhh!” Woody hissed nervously. “Quiet, Buzz!”
“Look at me,” Buzz ranted on. “I can’t even fly out of a window.”
Woody stopped. He looked down the hallway. He could see through Sid’s open window—right into Andy’s bedroom across the way. “Out the window…,” he mumbled, thinking. “Buzz, you’re a genius!” He grabbed the strand of Christmas lights and dragged Buzz toward Sid’s room.
In Andy’s room, Hamm and Mr. Potato Head were playing Battleship when they suddenly heard, “Hey, guys! Guys! Hey!” coming from the house next door.
Mr. Potato Head got up and wobbled toward the window. “Son of a building block! It’s Woody!”
Hamm stared in shock. “He’s in the psycho’s bedroom!”
Bo Peep, Slinky, and Rex flocked to the window. “Woody?” Bo Peep said.
When he saw his friends, Woody waved like crazy. “Boy, am I glad to see you guys!”
“I knew you’d come back!” Slinky cried.
“What are you doing over there?” Bo Peep asked.
“It’s a long story,” Woody said. “I’ll explain later. Here! Catch this!” Woody tossed the string of lights toward Andy’s window. Slinky grabbed the end.
“Good going, Slink!” Woody called. “Now, just tie it onto something.”
“Wait!” Mr. Potato Head grabbed the lights. “I got a better idea. How about we don’t?”
“Hey!” Slinky said.
“Potato Head!” Bo Peep cried.
“Have you forgotten what he did to Buzz?” The toy shook his head in astonishment. “And now you want to let him back over here?”
Woody was stunned. “You got it all wrong, Potato Head. Buzz is fine! Buzz is right here. He’s with me!” He turned his head, calling back into Sid’s room. “Buzz, come over here and tell the nice toys that you’re not dead.”
But Buzz just sat on the floor, peeling the sticker off his wrist communicator.
Woody groaned. “Just a sec,” he called over to his friends. “Buzz!” he cried. “Will you get up here and give me a hand?”
Buzz tossed Woody his broken arm, with the hand still attached.
“Ha, ha. That’s very funny, Buzz.” Woody glared at the toy, then exploded: “This is serious!”
“Woody?” Slinky hollered. “Where’d you go?”
“He’s lying,” Mr. Potato Head told the crowd. “Buzz ain’t there.”
Woody rushed back to the window. “Oh, hi, Buzz,” he said, trying to act casual. He pretended he was talking to someone inside Sid’s room, but just out of sight from the window. “Why don’t you say hello to the guys over there?”
Woody held up Buzz’s severed arm and waved it in front of the window, careful not to let the broken end show.
“Hey, look!” Rex said. “It’s Buzz!”
Mr. Potato Head’s eyes narrowed. “Wait just a minute,” he said suspiciously. “What are you trying to pull?”
“Nothing!” Nervously, Woody threw both hands in the air and shrugged, revealing the broken end of Buzz’s arm. The toys all screamed in horror.
“That is disgusting!” Hamm said.
“Murderer!” Mr. Potato Head cried.
Woody realized his mistake too late. “No, it’s not what you think. I swear!”
“Save it for the jury!” Mr. Potato Head snapped. “I hope Sid pulls your voice box out, ya creep!” He flung the string of Christmas lights out the window. It banged against the side of Sid’s house, tinkling as a few bulbs smashed.
“Don’t leave!” Woody cried. “You’ve gotta help us, please! You don’t know what it’s like over here!”
One by one, the toys drifted away from the window. Only Slinky remained.
“Slink, please! Please listen to me!” Woody begged. But Slinky could no longer look Woody in the eye. With a whimper, he lowered the blinds.
“No!” Desperate, Woody screamed, “Come back. SLI-I-I-I-INKYYY!”
His voice was drowned out by the first rumblings of a thunderstorm.
Woody stood alone at the window, watching Andy’s house. Then he heard a noise on the floor.
The mutant toys were attacking Buzz! Woody watched in terror as they converged on the space ranger.
Woody rushed to the rescue, still holding Buzz’s broken arm. Suddenly, Babyhead turned and snatched Buzz’s arm with his Erector-set pincers. Woody tried to yank it back, but he lost his grip and went flying across the room empty handed. His stomach lurched as he watched the mutants swarm over Buzz’s limp body.
“He is still alive. And you’re not gonna get him, you monsters!” Woody shouted. He grabbed at the mutant toys, tossing them left and right as he tried to reach Buzz.
When Woody finally made it to the center of the mob, the mutant toys unexpectedly moved back into the shadows. He found Buzz sitting up, a puzzled look on his face. He was rubbing his newly reattached arm.
Confused, Woody reached out and shook Buzz’s arm. “Hey, they fixed you! But—but they’re cannibals. We saw them eat those other toys.”
Woody looked around the room. He watched as the mutant toys parted to reveal that the Janey Doll and the pterodactyl had been repaired, too. They all stared innocently at Woody.
“Uh… sorry,” he said. “I thought that you were gonna… you know, eat my friend.” Woody tried to apologize, but the mutants turned and scurried back into the dark shadows. He soon realized why: Sid was coming!
Woody grabbed Buzz and tried to drag him to safety. “Come on, get up!” But Buzz jerked his arm away and continued to stare at the floor.
“Fine!” Woody grunted. “Let Sid trash you. But don’t blame me.”
Woody left Buzz lying in the middle of the floor and ran to hide under a nearby milk crate, just as Sid opened the door and rushed in, carrying a big package.
“It came!” he shouted. “It finally came! The big one!”
He ripped open the package. Inside lay a large firecracker rocket with the words THE BIG ONE printed on its side. He looked around. “What am I gonna blow? Hey… where’s that wimpy cowboy doll?”
He shoved some junk off his desk, looking for Woody. Sid spotted the milk crate and picked it up, but he didn’t see Woody clinging to the inside. Sid suddenly heard the sound of a laser and looked down to see that he was stepping on Buzz.
“Yes! I’ve always wanted to put a spaceman into orbit,” Sid said. He put the milk crate down on his desk, grabbed Buzz, and picked up his toolbox. He threw the toolbox on top of the crate and opened it. The impact caused Woody to fall from his hiding place. Woody watched as Sid pulled a roll of electrical tape from the toolbox and strapped Buzz onto the rocket. Sid stepped back with a snicker.
BA-ROOM! A huge thunderclap, followed by a flash of lightning, stopped Sid in his tracks. Thick raindrops began to pelt the windowpanes. “Aw, man!” exclaimed Sid. But then his frown turned into a grin. “Sid Phillips reporting,” he said as if he were a TV reporter. “Launch of the shuttle has been delayed due to adverse weather conditions at the launch site. Tomorrow’s forecast: sunny. Ha, ha, ha!”
He smacked Buzz down on the desktop, set his alarm clock, and placed it, ticking, right next to Buzz’s ear. With a sinister smile he whispered to the spaceman, “Sweet dreams.”
Next door, Mrs. Davis tucked Andy into bed and handed him his cowboy hat. He had been searching everywhere for his two missing toys.
“What if we leave them behind?” Andy asked.
Mrs. Davis smoothed Andy’s hair back off his forehead. “Don’t worry, honey. I’m sure we’ll find Woody and Buzz before we leave tomorrow.”
Andy sighed and shut his eyes. Once his mother turned out the light and left the room, a box on the floor marked ANDY’S TOYS began to shake from side to side.
“Will you quit moving around?” Mr. Potato Head complained.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I get so nervous before I travel,” replied Rex.
“How did I get stuck with you as a moving buddy?” Mr. Potato Head retorted.
“Everyone else was picked,” sighed Rex. As the pair settled back down among the packing peanuts, Bo Peep peeked out of a nearby box and looked at the sleeping Andy.
“Oh, Woody, if only you could see how much Andy misses you,” she said with a sigh.
第 8 章
胡迪身上纏著滿是灰塵的圣誕彩燈串,爬過了櫥柜中小山一樣的垃圾,終于翻滾到了走廊上。
“巴斯?”胡迪輕輕地叫道,“安全了,巴斯,你在哪兒?”
巴斯的聲音從走廊另一頭傳來:“在未知的太空,有一項秘密行動!我們出發(fā)!”
“真的嗎?”胡迪聽見漢娜溫柔地說,“那太——有趣了。”
胡迪朝聲音的方向躡手躡腳地走過去,來到一個敞開的房間門口。這是漢娜的臥室。胡迪向里偷看了一眼。
漢娜正在開品茶會。小桌子旁圍坐了一圈沒有腦袋的玩偶。巴斯被立在桌子的一頭,身上系著褶邊圍裙,頭上戴著一頂時髦的女士小帽。
“噢,可不能這樣!”胡迪的腦子飛快地轉(zhuǎn)著。然后他跑到走廊另一頭,清了清嗓子,試圖把聲音變得又高挑又溫柔——就像阿薛媽媽的聲音一樣——然后大聲呼喊:“漢娜!哦,漢娜!”
“媽媽?”漢娜急忙跑出房間。她剛從樓梯口消失,胡迪就一躍而起,箭一般沖進了安娜的房間。他發(fā)現(xiàn)巴斯的臉朝下趴在小桌子上。
“巴斯!你還好吧?”胡迪抓起了巴斯的斷臂。“發(fā)生了什么事?”巴斯直了直身子,目光呆滯,開口說道:“前一分鐘,你還在保衛(wèi)整個銀河系,”接著,他又一把搶過自己的斷臂,然后用它指了指那些無頭的玩偶,“馬上,你就和法國斷頭王后姊妹倆在喝印度茶!”無頭玩偶們回過身來朝胡迪揮了揮手。
胡迪強忍住沒吐出來,他幫巴斯站了起來。“你今天的茶已經(jīng)喝得夠多了,咱們離開這兒。”巴斯抓住了胡迪的衣領(lǐng),“你沒聽明白我的話嗎?”巴斯尖聲問道,然后又瘋狂地大笑不止。胡迪抓著夢游般的巴斯,使勁搖晃著他的肩膀:“振作起來,巴斯!”胡迪按了一下按鈕,把巴斯的頭盔打開,在他臉上用力拍了幾下,以便把他叫醒,然后又幫他把頭盔合上。
巴斯的狀態(tài)似乎有所恢復(fù)。他和胡迪一起到了走廊,搖搖頭,嘆了口氣說:“對不起,你是對的,胡迪。我只是有點沮喪,就是這樣。”突然,巴斯雙膝跪倒在硬木地板上,又痛哭道:“哦,我是個冒牌貨!”
“噓——!”胡迪緊張地小聲說,“安靜點,巴斯!”
“看看我,”巴斯繼續(xù)大聲嚷道,“我連個窗戶也飛不出去。”
胡迪停了下來,朝走廊望了望。透過開著的窗戶,他能直接看到對面安弟的臥室。“飛出窗戶……,”胡迪邊想邊咕噥道,“巴斯,你真是個天才!”于是,胡迪撿起了圣誕彩燈串,拉著巴斯走向阿薛的臥室。
在對面安弟的臥室里,火腿和蛋頭先生正在下海戰(zhàn)棋,突然聽到隔壁房子傳來一陣聲音:“嘿,伙伴們!伙伴們,嘿!”
蛋頭先生起身搖晃著走向窗戶。“真見鬼!是胡迪!”
火腿震驚地直盯著對面:“胡迪在那個瘋子的房間!”
寶貝、彈簧狗和抱抱龍也聚到窗前。“是胡迪嗎?”寶貝問道。
看到伙伴們,胡迪瘋狂地揮著手:“好家伙,見到大伙太高興了!”
“我知道你會回來的!”彈簧狗大叫道。
“你在那兒干什么?”寶貝問。
“說來話長,”胡迪說,“以后再跟大伙兒解釋??催@兒!抓住這個!”胡迪把彩燈串拋向安弟的窗口。彈簧狗一把抓住了燈串的另一頭兒。
“干得不錯,彈簧狗!”胡迪說,“好,現(xiàn)在把它拴到什么東西上固定住。”
“等一下!”蛋頭先生搶過了彩燈串。“我有個更好的主意。我們能不能不幫他?”
“嘿!”彈簧狗叫道。
“蛋頭!”寶貝也喊道。
“你們忘了胡迪是怎么對待巴斯的了嗎?”蛋頭驚訝地搖搖頭,繼續(xù)說道,“現(xiàn)在,你們又要讓他回來嗎?”
胡迪大吃一驚:“你全弄錯了,蛋頭。巴斯很好!巴斯就在這兒,和我在一起呢!”胡迪扭過頭,沖阿薛房間里大喊,“巴斯,快來這兒。告訴伙計們你沒有死。”
巴斯卻坐在地板上,只是在剝手腕聯(lián)絡(luò)器上的貼紙。
胡迪嘆息一聲,朝玩具們說:“稍等一下。”他又回頭朝巴斯喊道:“巴斯,你能過來給我搭把手嗎?”
巴斯應(yīng)聲用好胳膊把斷胳膊扔給了胡迪。
“哈哈。這很好笑,巴斯。”胡迪瞪著巴斯,突然怒吼道:“但我可不是開玩笑的!”
“胡迪?”彈簧狗大聲叫著:“你去哪兒了?”
“胡迪在撒謊,”蛋頭先生對玩具們說,“巴斯沒在那兒。”
胡迪又跑回窗前,表現(xiàn)出很平常的樣子:“噢,嗨,巴斯,為什么不來和大伙兒打個招呼呢?他們可都在那兒呢。”他假裝在和阿薛臥室里的一個人說話,只是從窗口看不到這個人。
胡迪抓著巴斯的斷臂,小心地在窗口晃了幾下,他可不能讓大伙兒看見手臂斷了的那一頭。
“嘿,快看!”抱抱龍叫道,“那是巴斯!”
蛋頭先生瞇起了眼睛。“等等,”他懷疑地說,“胡迪,你又在玩什么花樣?”
“沒什么啊!”胡迪緊張地把雙手舉在空中,聳了聳肩,卻不小心露出了巴斯斷臂的那一頭。玩具們嚇得齊聲尖叫。
“太惡心了!”火腿說。
“殺人犯!”蛋頭先生大聲喊道。
胡迪也意識到了錯誤,但是太晚了。“不,不是你們想象的那樣。我發(fā)誓!”
“留給陪審團說吧!”蛋頭先生喝道。“真希望阿薛把你的語音盒挖出來,你這個卑鄙小人!”他把彩燈串的那一頭從窗口扔了出來,燈串摔打到了阿薛家的房子上,“啪啦,啪啦”碰碎了許多小彩燈。
“不要走!”胡迪哭喊道,“幫幫我們,求求你們了!你們不知道這兒是什么樣子!”
玩具們一個又一個從窗邊散開了。只有彈簧狗還沒有走。
“彈簧狗,求你了!請聽我說!”胡迪懇求道。但是彈簧狗再也不忍直視胡迪的眼睛。他抽泣了一聲,把窗簾放了下來。
“不!”胡迪絕望地尖叫道,“回來。彈——簧——狗——!”
“轟隆隆——”一場暴風(fēng)雨即將來臨,雷聲淹沒了胡迪的哭喊聲。
胡迪獨自站在窗前,雙眼盯著安弟家的房子。突然,他聽到地板上傳來一些響聲。
變異玩具們在攻擊巴斯!胡迪驚恐地看著玩具們聚集到了太空戰(zhàn)警的身上。
胡迪急忙跑過去救巴斯,手里還抓著巴斯的斷臂。突然,大頭寶寶轉(zhuǎn)過身,用他的建筑拼裝玩具鉗子抓住了巴斯的斷臂。胡迪想奪回胳膊,但是自己卻被扔到了房子的另一邊,兩手什么也沒抓到。變異玩具們涌向巴斯癱軟的身體,胡迪感到一陣陣惡心。
“他還活著。你們不能吃他,你們這些魔鬼!”胡迪大叫著。他開始抓這些變異玩具,朝左扔一個,朝右扔一個,試圖靠近巴斯。
當(dāng)胡迪最終殺到玩具們中間時,意外地發(fā)現(xiàn)大家又退回到了陰影中。胡迪滿臉迷惑,發(fā)現(xiàn)巴斯竟坐了起來,正在揉按他那新接上的胳膊呢。
胡迪十分不解,伸出手搖了搖巴斯的胳膊。“嘿,他們幫你接上了!但是——他們是食人族啊。我們見過他們吃其他玩具的。”
胡迪朝房間看了一圈,變異玩具們又分散開來,露出了玩偶珍妮和翼指龍的腦袋,他們也都修好了。他們無辜地看著胡迪。
“噢……實在抱歉,”胡迪說,“我以為你們要……要吃我的朋友呢。”胡迪試著道歉,但是變異玩具們卻扭過身,匆匆躲回了陰影中。胡迪很快就明白這是為什么了:阿薛來了!
胡迪抱起巴斯想把他拖至安全的地方:“來吧,快起來!”但是巴斯卻掙脫了胳膊,繼續(xù)盯著地板。
“好吧!”胡迪嘟囔著說,“讓阿薛再把你拆了。不過你可別怨我。”
胡迪把巴斯留在地板中間,自己藏到了附近一個牛奶箱子的下面。這時,阿薛打開門帶著一個大包裹沖了進來。
“來了!”阿薛大叫,“終于來了!超大號!”
阿薛把包裹撕開,里面是一個超級火箭炮,炮的邊上還印著“超大號”三個大字。阿薛看看周圍:“我該把誰發(fā)射出去呢?嘿……那個沒用的牛仔玩偶哪里去了?”
阿薛推開桌子上的垃圾,尋找胡迪。他發(fā)現(xiàn)了牛奶箱,拿了起來,卻沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)胡迪,因為胡迪緊貼在箱子的內(nèi)壁上。突然,阿薛聽到激光槍發(fā)射的聲音,低頭一看,發(fā)現(xiàn)自己踩到了巴斯。
“對了!我一直想把一個太空人送入軌道呢,”阿薛說道。他把牛奶箱放到桌子上,抓起巴斯,又拿起了工具箱。阿薛把工具箱扔到牛奶箱上,把工具箱打開。沖擊力把胡迪從隱藏的地方震了下來。胡迪看著阿薛從工具箱中取出一卷電工膠布,把巴斯綁到了火箭炮上。阿薛后退了幾步,陰險地笑著。
“轟隆!”傳來一聲巨雷,跟著又是一道閃電,阻止了阿薛的發(fā)射工作。大雨點開始敲打玻璃窗戶。“哦!糟糕,”阿薛叫道。但是他很快又轉(zhuǎn)愁為喜。“阿薛·菲利普斯現(xiàn)場報道,”阿薛假裝是電視臺記者說道,“由于發(fā)射場天氣不利,航天飛機發(fā)射推遲。明日天氣預(yù)報:晴。哈哈哈!”
阿薛“啪——”的一聲把巴斯扔到桌子上,定了鬧鐘,然后把嘀?作響的鐘緊貼巴斯的耳邊放下。他陰險地笑了笑,低聲對巴斯說:“祝你好夢。”
在隔壁另一間臥室里,戴維斯夫人安頓安弟上了床,把牛仔帽遞給他。安弟已經(jīng)找遍了各個角落,卻始終找不到那兩個失蹤的玩具。
“他們要是被落下了怎么辦?”安弟問道。
戴維斯夫人向后撫摸著安弟的頭發(fā),安慰道:“別擔(dān)心,親愛的。明天離開之前,我們肯定能找到胡迪和巴斯。”
安弟嘆了口氣,閉上了眼睛。媽媽關(guān)上燈,離開了房間。地板上有一個標著“安弟玩具”的箱子便開始左右搖晃。
“你能不能別來回晃動?”蛋頭先生抱怨道。
“抱歉。只是,要搬家了,我太激動了。”抱抱龍說道。
“為什么我要和你做搬家伙伴呢?”蛋頭先生又說。
“因為其他玩具都被選走了,”抱抱龍也嘆息道。當(dāng)這一對玩具重新回到包裝填充物中間時,寶貝從附近的另一個箱子里往外偷偷看了看熟睡中的安弟。
“噢,胡迪,你要是知道安弟有那么想你,該多好啊,”說著,寶貝也嘆了口氣。