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Erik wakes up and knows something is wrong. The first thing he does is search for Algernon beneath his blankets. When he finds the stuffed animal, he places his hands along the edge of the bed and peers over, looking for Charles in his sleeping bag.
The sleeping bag is empty, half unzipped, and entirely empty of Charles. Erik knows for sure something is wrong when he sees Charles' slippers still next to the bedroom door, half-cracked with a sliver of yellow light shining through. Charles always wears his slippers around the house. He's not like Erik who needs to be reminded to wear his slippers. Charles wouldn't go anywhere in the house without his slippers; he doesn't like being cold, which is why he was in a sleeping bag in the middle of July.
Erik climbs out of bed, still clutching Algernon. "Charles," he whispers. "Are you here?"
There's no response, so Erik unzips the rest of the sleeping bag, looks under his bed, and even in his closet. Charles isn't anywhere, so the only answer is that he's gone missing.
The first place he checks is with his mom. She's in the living room watching a movie with Charles' mom.
"I can't find Charles," he says.
His mom turns down the volume, and turns to him. "Have you searched the house yet?"
"No."
Mrs. Xavier looks at his mom. "He's rather cute with that scowl of his isn't he?" which only makes Erik frown even harder.
"Well, I'm pretty sure he's in the house somewhere." She glances to her right, where the bathroom is.
"Did Charles fall into the toilet again?"
Mom smiles. "I don't know, you should go check."
Erik looks in the bathroom, pulling aside the green shower curtain and lifting the toilet seat. Charles isn't anywhere there.
He goes back to his mom. "He's not there."
"Well," she ponders. "Maybe he's been kidnapped by a pirate."
"A pirate?"
She places her finger against her bottom lip. "Yes. You see Toothy the Shark knows the location of hidden treasure, and the pirate king wants to find it."
If Charles is in need of rescuing, Erik is going to need more than just Algernon. Algernon can chew through the pirate's peg leg and rotten heart, but Erik needs a helmet.
He tramps down the dark hallway towards the kitchen. The colander will make a good helmet, and his mother's small mixing bowl will protect Algernon's head.
The kitchen light is on though, and since it can't be him, his mom, or Mrs. Xavier, there's only one person it can be.
Erik holds Algernon tighter, and opens the door, preparing for battle.
He's about to yell, "Give Charles back you nasty Pirate King!" but instead sees Charles sitting at the table feeding Toothy peanut butter.
"Hi Erik!" he beams. "Is Algernon hungry too?"
Erik stares at him. "But you were kidnapped by the Pirate King! You're not wearing your slippers!"
Charles looks a bit embarrassed. "I actually got hot. And since your floors are cold..."
Erik frowns, entirely put-out at not being able to have his heroic battle with the Pirate King and Charles getting to see Erik be a hero.
Of course, his stomach decides to growl right then, ruining his moment.
Charles hops off his chair and takes Erik by the hand. "Here," he says, giving Erik a butter knife. "I'll go get the jelly, and we'll make a sandwich for all of us!"
Erik's mom hears their laughter, but when she goes to check on them later, they're already asleep at the table, their stuffed animals standing watch over them and their half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
"To bed with you boys," she says, and carries them back to bed.