Birthday For A Lost Hero
Jackie wakes up with something under his pillow.
“What the...” He sits up, grasping the item under his pillow. It’s a chicken drumstick. Needless to say, he’s bewildered.
“Well, it was left for me. May as well eat it!” Jackie takes a bite, climbing out of bed. He found a note on his door, and he picks it up to read it.
“Jackie, there’s food scattered about the house. Find it all, and then find us!” There was no name left, but he knew Chase’s chicken scratch better than anyone.
Jackie finished the piece of chicken in his hand, tossing it into a trash can, and opens the door. He’s greeted with smells all over the place. Some is simple, like chicken or beef, others are harder to pinpoint, or are sickly sweet. He smirks, taking his old running stance and holding it; charging himself up.
“Wanna play food hide and seek? Let’s play!” Jackie takes off, running around the house. He grabs the items as he finds them. Ribs, steak, cotton candy, sodas, even. All laid out for him. He savours each bite, which is unusual for him. Then again, all of this is unusual.
It takes him about four hours to find everything. When he does, he finally wanders his way into the formal dining room, and is greeted with his six friends, decorations, and a large cake on the table.
“Happy Birthday, Jackie!” They all say. Marvin summons some glitter and confetti canons, letting them go off and cover the birthday boy. Jackie gives a big, warm smile to them.
“Thank you, guys. It means a lot.” He presses a hand to his mask. Totally not crying. Nope, not even a little.
“Of course, dude! Not everyday you turn three!” Chase gives a goofy grin, running behind him and pushing Jackie towards the cake.
“Time to make ze wish, Jackie” Henrik smirks, taking a glance at Jackie and back to the cake. German Chocolate, the entire thing. Of course it was his.
He steps in front of the cake, closing his eyes. He says something under his breath, and blows out the candles, smiling brightly. The Hero finally felt a little less lost.