Morning Patrol

Chris adjusted his blue mask as he stood atop the highest crayon tower at Crayon Base. The morning sun painted Canvas Metropolis in brilliant shades of gold and orange. Below him, the city bustled with life—humans hurried to work while friendly deer-people chatted at coffee stands, and goat families walked their kids to school.

He pulled out his phone to check the morning news. Everything seemed normal. Too normal.

"Another quiet day in the city," he said to himself, summoning his giant blue crayon. The familiar weight felt good in his hands.

A gentle breeze carried the scent of fresh paint from the art district. Chris smiled, preparing to take his usual flight around the city. He loved these peaceful mornings when he could simply enjoy being Canvas Metropolis's protector.

But as he stepped forward to launch into the air, something caught his eye. In the distance, near the old fountain plaza, a small patch of color seemed... different. Duller somehow.

Chris squinted, using his X-ray vision to get a better look.

The Gray Spread

Chris zoomed his X-ray vision toward the fountain plaza. What he saw made his stomach drop. The bright red roses around the old fountain had turned completely gray. Not just faded—totally colorless, like someone had drained every drop of red from their petals.

"That's not normal," he muttered, launching into the air with his giant blue crayon.

As he flew closer, Chris spotted a woman with short black hair kneeling by the fountain. She wore a gray jumpsuit and held what looked like a strange vacuum device pointed at the remaining flowers. Before his eyes, the yellow marigolds began losing their color, turning ash-gray one petal at a time.

"Hey! Stop that!" Chris called out, landing with a thud on the plaza's stone pathway.

The woman looked up, her green eyes wide with surprise. She couldn't have been older than thirty-five. "You're too late, Crayon Chris. The color harvest has already begun."

"Color harvest?" Chris stepped forward, but the woman pressed a button on her device.

A beam of gray light shot out, hitting the blue tiles beneath his feet. Instantly, they turned the same lifeless gray as everything else she had touched.

Chris watched in horror as the gray spread outward like spilled paint.