| Chapter 4 |

When Woody woke the next morning, Bonnie was still asleep. He looked over to check on Forky, but their new friend was gone. Woody sat up in a panic and crawled to the edge of the bed. “Forky!” he said in a loud whisper.

He peered into the trash can, and there was Forky, fast asleep, cuddled up with some bits of trash. Just as Woody was about to fish him out, the bedroom door opened.

“Rise and shine!” sang Bonnie's dad.

Woody fell off the bed in toy mode, knocking the trash can over and spilling its contents, including Forky, onto the floor. Bonnie's dad didn't notice.

“Who wants to go on a road trip?” he asked, full of enthusiasm.

Bonnie sat up. “Me!” she said. “I'm gonna bring Dolly and Buttercup and Forky and—” Bonnie looked down and realized Forky was gone. “Forky? Where are you?”

“He's gotta be here somewhere,” said her dad. While their backs were turned, Forky flew onto Bonnie's pillow.

“Forky? Forky!” she exclaimed, grabbing him.

“Come on,” said her dad, scooping her up and carrying her out. “Let's eat some breakfast and hit the road.”

“Let's go, Forky!” said Bonnie, smiling at him.

The door shut, and Dolly approached Woody. “Whoa,” she said. “He's quite a handful, Woody. You need help with him on the road trip?”

“No, I got it, I got it,” said Woody. “We'll just be stuck in an RV, he can't get far. I got this.”

After breakfast, Bonnie and her parents climbed into the RV and headed out for their family road trip. Bonnie sat in her booster seat at the table inside the RV, coloring, with Woody and Forky beside her.

Forky's eyes lit up as he watched Bonnie crumple one of her drawings and toss it into a small trash can by the RV door. When Bonnie turned to get more paper, Forky bolted toward the can! Woody grabbed him and pulled him down just as Bonnie turned back to begin another drawing. When she went to look for glue, Forky tried to escape to the trash again, but Woody snatched him up before she noticed.

As the day went on, Woody continued to stop Forky each time he tried to get into the trash. When the family made pit stops, Woody's job got even more challenging. Forky tried to jump into the restaurant and gas station trash cans. Woody stayed on constant alert and always managed to tackle, lasso, or grab Forkyin the nick of time.

By the end of the day, Woody was exhausted. That night, while Bonnie's dad drove and her mom slept in the passenger seat, Bonnie fell asleep clutching Forky like a teddy bear. Down on the floor, Buzz made his way over to Woody.

“Hey, Buddy,” said Buzz.

“Hey, Buzz.” Woody sat up and shifted his weight as he tried to stay awake.

“You doing okay?” whispered Buzz.

“I don't know,” said Woody. “I know you weren't around when Andy was little, but ... I don't remember it being this hard.”

Buzz offered to take a shift for Woody, but he refused. “No, no,” he said. “I need to do this. That little voice inside me would never leave me alone if I gave up.”

“Hmmm,” Buzz said thoughtfully. “Who do you think it is?”

“Who?” asked Woody.

“That voice inside you. Who do you think it is?”

“Uh. Me,” said Woody, confused by his friend's strange question. “You know, my conscience?” Woody looked at Buzz and was surprised by his blank expression. “The part of you that ... tells you things? What you're really thinking?”

“Fascinating,” said Buzz, taking in his friend's words. “So your inner voice ... advises you.” Buzz tapped Woody's pull string and then looked down at his own voice-command button. He pressed it, and the recorded voice said, “There's a secret mission in unchartered space.”

Woody gasped and jumped up, trying to quiet him. He glanced at Bonnie and was happy to see she was still asleep. But when he looked at her arms to check on Forky, he saw that the little guy was gone.

“Oh, no!” said Woody. He and Buzz scanned the RV as Woody called for Forky in a hushed voice. Woody's eyes popped when he spotted Forky climbing toward an open window!

“I am not a toy!” announced Forky. He pulled himself up to the window ledge. “I'm a spork.”

“Be quiet!” said Woody, scrambling after him.

“I was made for soup, salad, maybe chili, and then the trash. I'm litter. Freedom!” he cheered—as he jumped out the window!

Woody froze, stunned. “Hamm, how far to our next stop?” he asked.

“Five point three two miles, give or take,” answered Hamm.

“I can make that. I'll meet you at the RV park,” said Woody, heading toward the window, determined to find Forky and get back before Bonnie's family left the RV park the next morning.

“Woody, hold on a minute—” started Buzz. But the cowboy had already made up his mind. Determined to retrieve Forky, he jumped out of the moving vehicle and landed on the rear bumper. He tried to balance and ready himself for the jump, but the RV hit a pothole and he went flying. Woody screamed as he hit the pavement. After a moment, he took a breath and shook it off, rising to his feet. He straightened his hat and started walking along the highway, calling out Forky's name in the darkness.