During The Hour Of Joy, DogDay finds himself trapped in a real nightmare; being imprisoned by CatNap and tortured for years.
He never knew what became of his friends. He never knew if they really died, as CatNap told him numerous times during his to...
Despite what CatNap said, the Smiling Critters had narrowly escaped death at the hands of CatNap during the Hour of Joy. For years they were together in the worst of misery and tried to keep their bonds stronger, but time passed, and their personalities were affected, and therefore, it affected their relationships. They matured, they learned to be ashamed, to lie, to hide things from each other. They never heard from DogDay again; They had to convince themselves that he was dead, or at least, they would never see him again. Perhaps DogDay's absence was what caused the group to weaken even more. The Smiling Critters group, in the absence of the leader, dissolved, but they remained together not out of concern or affection, but because they had a deeply rooted habit of being together.
But it would change without them knowing.
That day, Bobby Bearhug woke up screaming. She had had one of the horrible nightmares of screams, mutilated bodies and blood. It wasn't the first; For years, she had those kinds of nightmares. To her screams came Hoppy Hopscotch, who had got used to her friend's nightmares and took the role of comforting her.
Hoppy Hopscotch: Bobby! Bobby, snap out of it!
She sat down next to her, until Bobby calmed down.
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Hoppy Hopscotch: Another nightmare, right?
Bobby Bearhug: Yeah...
Hoppy looked at her and sighed. She knew that over the years, Bobby had become hopelessly sentimental, almost dependent on the company of another person. Anyway, Bobby just wanted to support and help her friends. She was determined, sure of herself, with no fear of anything except of her being alone. Bobby, on the other hand, started thinking about Hoppy. The situation accentuated the bad temper she had when she was in a bad mood; When she wasn't angry, Hoppy was just as charismatic and encouraging as she was before, but she had adopted a slight realistic posture over certain problems. And of course, she was more impatient. She was unable to sit still in one place.
They both supported each other, respected each other, and loved each other. They had developed a friendship in which they protected not only their own backs, but also each other's backs.
Bobby Bearhug: Have I slept a lot...?
Hoppy Hopscotch: Several hours. But you better get up; we may have to move.
Bobby Bearhug: Okay...
Hoppy Hopscotch: See you now, okay?
Bobby Bearhug: Are you all awake?
Hoppy Hopscotch: No; I think us two are the first to get up.
Bobby Bearhug: Okay. I'll go wake up the others.
Hoppy Hopscotch: Okay, I'll worry about rationing the food.
Bobby stood up and started looking around; That area of the tunnel had become their temporary refuge for almost two weeks; They did not usually last more than a month in the same place. Bobby felt it in the pocket of her jacket and sighed. She had obtained that clothing several years ago, along with that phone. It never worked well until recently, the night before, when she came into contact with a guy named Austin. To avoid being detected in case of a trap, she made up a pseudonym and kept the phone as a secret for others.
