"I think I'm stuck!"
"Alright, man, don't move. We'll get you out in just a bit!" Black Jack yelled down to his son underneath the slatted boards of the walkway. This wasn't the first time one of his boys had gotten stuck in the plumbing corridors. He wished they would listen to him and stay above ground.
Black Jack jumped down onto the grassy road that wove between the tall, darkened skyscrapers. To his right, an enormous wooden door prevented access to the areas beyond, and to his left the grass road led away a few hundred feet to a T-intersection.
"Hey, your son is stuck again," Jack explained to his black self, who had separated out and was looking disinterestedly through a small hole in the wooden gateway.
"I've got to take care of those," he said, gazing through the peephole.
"Uh, but, your son..." Jack trailed off in annoyance. It was clear his black self, for whatever reason, had decided to leave his son down there for a little while longer. No matter, the child wasn't in any mortal danger.
Jack walked toward the intersection and took the road on the right. The sky above was completely black, though the city below was naturally illuminated from some inner source, providing ample light for the strolling citizens. Jack looked ahead to see the old grandmother and her grandaughter together on the sloping, grassy road. The grandmother's condition was worsening; her head jerked from side to side in macabre disharmony with her limbs, her mouth working frantically. Despite this, the grandaughter was laying peacefully beside her, at the beginning of a nap.
Gradually, the elder moved from her chair toward the girl, seemingly for a hug. The embrace began gently, and was reciprocated by the girl. The machinations of the old woman's mouth became slowly audible.
"Fry...fry...fry...fry..."
Jack could see the girl's eyes go wide, shot through with an infusion of fear and panic. The old woman's grip tightened around the girl, squeezing her with demonic strength.
"Help! She's choking me!" shouted the grandaughter.
"FRY.....FRY.....FRY......."
Jack hurried over to the pair and started prying and kicking at the old woman. Without warning, the grandmother went limp as her head popped cleanly off and she released the girl. The condition had run its course.
The grandaughter, too, had gone rigid, her eyes closed, until suddenly her head took on the aspect of a skull. Jack watched in horror as the familiar refrain returned, this time from the mouth of the girl, the only part of her body that wasn't solidly paralyzed.
"Fry....fry...fry...No! I was just laying down for a nap! Fry...fry..."
