A/N Hey guys! This is NOT my story. It's a story by my best friend, the brilliant Toni (who sadly doesn't have a fan fiction)! Okay, this story is based a circle of our friends, Andy (Jake), me (Hattie), and Toni (Carter). There will be a few author notes in between some chapters, and you can tell who's it is by the K or T. On to the story!
Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitors
Hattie Days, Carter Krueger, and Jake Tremor were just ordinary students at Lone Hill Middle School until the last day of school, when everything changed.
Hattie Days is so hyper, and cheerful. She loves coffee, she rock climbs, and sings in the concert choir at their school. Her famous quote: "So I'm eccentric, and I own it!" Sometimes she's sarcastic, but doesn't realize it. She's the hardy, act now ask questions later type of person, but she's really down to earth at the same time. Her real name is Harriet.
Jake Tremor is rowdy, funny, energetic, and friendly. He likes being psycho, lives off of cafeteria food, and is into hardware. His famous quote: "I have a special power!" He says he can absorb energy from anything and shock you; it doesn't really work, at all. He's the strange; really out there type of guy. He thinks spitting in the wind is cool.
Carter Krueger is shy, quiet, and pretty negative. She sings in the advanced choir at their school, fences, and writes novels and poetry. Unlike her two friends, she isn't energetic or hyper, though she isn't emo. Her famous quote: "Um…yeah." She's the reserved, waits for the right moment type of person. She can act like a guy, and is mistaken for one a lot.
All three of them are twelve.
They were at Jake's house, they were watching Coraline, Hattie hadn't seen it yet, neither did Jake, but Carter has seen it around nineteen times.
When the movie ended Carter took out the disc and asked, "You wanna watch it again?"
"Did Coraline defeat the Beldam?" Hattie asked.
"Then put in the disc and hit play!" Jake yelled.
Carter put the disc back in and the familiar doll came through the window and was changed to look like Coraline, no surprise there. The real surprise was another doll was sent; it had wavy light brown hair, freckles on its nose, orange buttons, a music sheet patterned shirt, tan capris, orange converse, and its tongue sticking out jokingly.
"That looks like…" Hattie's voice trailed off, she was about to say,' me.'
Another doll was sent; it had really short shaggy black hair that was kind of spiky, light gray buttons, a large army jacket that reached its knees, baggy cargo shorts, a black cast on its left arm, gray converse, a floppy fisherman's hat, and a worried look on its face.
"What?" Carter half whispered.
The last doll was sent; it had wild spiky sandy brown hair, electric blue buttons, freckles on its nose, a blue t shirt, baggy jeans, red basketball shoes, and a glass lollipop.
"What –"
"The-"
"Heck!"
The needle hands came off the screen and pulled in the three kids. They ended up at the entrance to the Pink Palace, it was raining and they were soaked and covered in mud.
"Are you Wybie's weirdo friends?" a voice asked from behind them.
They turned around and saw a blue haired girl looking at them like they were oozing slime or something.
"Well, we are weird but we don't know Wybie," Hattie said standing up.
"What are you doing out here?" the girl asked.
"Um…we kinda…um," Carter stammered nudging Jake to make something up.
"We... Uh, we, I don't know," he said giving up.
"We're not from here, and don't have anywhere to stay," Hattie said.
"Okay, you can stay here for awhile," the girl offered.
They shrugged and followed her inside, the girl asked;" you got names?"
"I'm Hattie Days."
"I'm Carter Krueger."
"And I'm Jake Tremor."
"I'm Coraline Jones, "she shook their hands," you can stay in the parlor."
Hattie gulped, Jake scratched the back of his neck, and Carter bit her lip.
The little door.
Chapter 2: The Other World
The next day Coraline and Hattie were in the kitchen, Jake was hunting for bugs, and Carter was helping Mr. Jones with his article.
"I almost fell down a well yesterday mom," Coraline said scratching he hand.
"Mm-hm," her mom said uninterested.
"I could have died," Coraline went on.
"That's nice," she said the same way.
"So…can I go outside?" Coraline asked," I think it's perfect for gardening."
"No Coraline, rain makes mud, mud makes a mess," Hattie said before Mrs. Jones could.
I'll come back in about two minutes, and then I'll come back, Hattie thought.
"Hey, Hattie, Carter, Jake, come here!" Coraline yelled.
They entered the kitchen and Jake said, "Let me guess Wybie gave you a doll."
"Not just me," she answered, she handed them dolls that looked just like them.
"Oh man," they groaned in unison.
Coraline gave them a weird look and looked back at her mom. Hattie grabbed Jake and Carter by their wrists and dragged them to the foot of the stairs.
"I get it now; we have to go along with the storyline until the end of the movie," Hattie said using a lot of hand gestures.
"Apparently we've been sucked into this by…you know, her," Carter said.
"Well, we know she's gonna beat her anyway," Jake said.
Coraline walked in and went into the boiler room, and then she was out halfway.
"Don't hit the-"they started to say, but the lights flickered and then Coraline hit the other button. She shut the door behind her and walked off trying to look innocent.
They rolled their eyes and followed her to the parlor; a large box blocked the small door.
Hattie left the room, though no one noticed. Coraline finished counting the doors and windows and reached for her doll, but – of course- it wasn't there. She looked around and saw her doll in front of the little door. She moved the cardboard box and saw the door behind the wallpaper. Hattie came in and cut out the door with the key and unlocked it.
"Bricks?" Coraline looked disappointed.
Hattie stuffed the key in her pocket and Coraline closed the door.
That night Hattie slept in the doorway, Carter slept by the fireplace, and Jake slept against the wall a few inches away from the small door. Jake woke up and saw the blue and purple tunnel.
"Guys, come on!"He threw his doll at Hattie who bolted upright, she glared at him.
"You didn't have to throw your DOLL at me!" she half yelled, half whispered.
"Guys," Carter cut in.
Jake and Carter made their way in the tunnel, and then the bricks started to pile up. Panic surged through Hattie; she jumped through the door just as the door was sealed. She breathed hard, though it didn't take much exertion.
"She…was trying…to block us out," she wheezed.
"Come on, we gotta confront a witch," Carter said pushing Jake forward.
They reached the other side and walked into the dining room, the Other Mother was setting the table. When she saw them she glared and said," I wonder who let in these vermin."
"Save it," Jake said.
"Yeah, we know what you're up to!" Hattie said stomping her foot.
"Do you know what I could do to you?" She said looking at them dangerously, her buttons gleamed angrily.
"We are not scared of you," Carter said crossing her arms. This was out of her character, she was usually so shy.
They glared at each other until the Other Mother stood up straight and smiled creepily.
Coraline and Other Father walked in and they all sat down, except for Hattie, Jake, and Carter.
"What's the matter you guys?" Coraline asked while eating her chicken.
"Nothing," they muttered.
The scene played as normal until the Other Mother said," It's great for poison oak." Coraline jerked her hand away and yelled," How did you know I had, um… I'd love to play but-"
"She has to get home to her real mom," Hattie said.
Other Mother turned to them and said," Carter dear, how's your arm." She rolled up Carter's sleeve and held her cast.
"No, don't-"she winced then said," You fixed my arm." A small dull pain went away.
"You should be more careful when saber fencing," she said.
Carter had been saber fencing, the toughest type of fencing. She had taken a wrong step and was knocked down, falling on her arm at a dangerously vulnerable angle. She shuddered, how could she know that?
"And Hattie honey, don't drink too much coffee, you drink too much," she said to Hattie who was getting iced coffee from the chandelier. She froze the coffee spilling from the cup.
All of her friends and family knew she was a coffee addict, but this was way out of that league. The evil witch knew she was a coffee addict, but how?
"Jake you're wasting away, why don't you eat, we all know about your big appetite," she said.
He could scarf down a large pizza with room for a two foot long sub with a slushie, but he couldn't contemplate how or why she knew that. The only thought he had was, stalker!
Other Mother smiled and walked Coraline to her room, followed by the Other Father. Hattie dragged Jake and Carter up the stairs. She was much smaller than them but she was strong. When they got to Coraline's room she was asleep and beginning to fade back to her world. Soon the four of them were in Coraline's room in her world.
Chapter 3: Danger?
Coraline was in the kitchen telling her parents about her 'dream.' Hattie was pouring coffee for Mrs. Jones, Mr. Jones, and herself. Jake was swallowing bowl after bowl of cereal, and Carter was putting her utensils and bowl in the sink.
"It was incredibly real mom," Coraline went on," only you weren't you, you were my Other Mother."
"Buttons for eyes huh?" Mrs. Jones asked uninterested," Coraline you only dreamed you ate all that chicken, take your multivitamin at least."
Mr. Jones walked in picking up his coffee.
"You were in the dream too dad," Coraline said," You had wild pajamas and orange monkey slippers."
"Orange?" he asked," my monkey slippers are blue. Hey, can you get me some of that magic mud you were talking about, 'cuz I have a terrible case of writers rash on my-"He almost scratched his- um- personal area until Mrs. Jones cleared her throat.
"If the real Charlie Jones wants his pages edited," Mrs. Jones threatened," then he better wrap them up asap." He walked off.
"Coraline, why don't you go tell your dream to those actresses down stairs?"Her mom offered.
"Miss Spink and Forcible?" Coraline said.
"But you said they're ding bats!" Jake complained, he hated this part in the movie.
Mrs. Jones gave them a look that said, 'Uh-huh,' and exited the room.
Coraline finished her breakfast, changed her clothes, and went outside. Hattie changed into her regular clothes, got her jacket and left. Carter and Jake did the same.
"Why do you always wear your army jacket?" Jake asked.
Carter shrugged and they arrived at where Mr. Bobinsky tells Coraline, 'don't go into little door.'
"The one behind the wall paper?" Coraline asked," but it's all bricked up."
"Ah. So sorry," Mr. B said jumping up to the stairs," The mice get mixed up sometimes."
Mr. B turned around and said," They even get your name wrong, they call you Coraline. Not Caroline at all! Maybe I work them to hard?"
"Okaaaaay," Hattie said skeptically, "that was weird."
Coraline walked toward an old car and plucked the suitcase from it, inside was a conductor's hat. She put it on and walked toward Miss Spink and Forcible's flat, Hattie knocked on the door and dogs barked at the door. Miss Spink opened the door and yelled," Settle down boys!" Then she saw Coraline and her friends," Oh how nice to see you Caroline!"
"Still Coraline Miss Spink," she said entering and taking off her coat and hat. Hattie took off her Nightmare Before Christmas hat and her choir jacket, Carter reluctantly took off her fisherman's hat and her army jacket, and Jake took off his baseball cap and jacket.
"April, I do believe your being followed,' Miss Forcible said looking through her glasses.
"It's the new neighbor Miriam, Caroline," Miss Spink said.
"What about them?" Miss Forcible asked pointing at Hattie, Carter, and Jake.
"I'm Hattie."
"I'm Carter."
"I'm Jake."
"They'll be having the oolong tea," Miss Spink said.
"No, I think they'd prefer jasmine," Miss Forcible said.
"No, oolong."
"Jasmine it is then," then she left into the kitchen.
Miss Spink palm slapped herself in the forehead and sat down at the small table.
"Don't look the dogs in the eye," Jake whispered to Carter.
"Alive or stuffed?" Carter whispered back.
"Either one," Hattie whispered.
They didn't realize that Coraline and Miss Spink were talking, then Miss Forcible came with tea and hundred year old taffy.
"Go ahead,' she said to them, "it's hand pulled taffy from Brighton, best in the world." She made a pose and stood next to Miss Spink.
Jake grabbed for one then his hand was stuck to the candy, he tried to lick it but the taffy was old and dusty. He tried to pry it off and it ended up stuck to the ceiling.
"Way to go," Hattie said sarcastically elbowing him in the ribs.
"I'll read them if you like?" Miss Spink asked.
"Huh?" Coraline asked.
"Your tea leaves,' Carter said," they can tell your future apparently."
Coraline drank with instruction from Miss Spink and handed the cup to her.
"Well?" Coraline asked.
"Oh, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline you are in terrible danger," she answered ominously.
"Oh, let me see that cup, your eyes are going!" Miss Forcible said grabbing Miss Spink's hat.
"My eyes?" Miss Spink grabbed her hat," you're blind as a bat!"
"Come on!" Jake yelled, "Granny fight!"
Hattie and Carter glared at him and he stopped.
Coraline cleared her throat and asked," So what should I do?'
"Never wear green in your dressing room."
"Acquire a very tall step ladder."
"And be very very careful."
Miss Forcible pushed Miss Spink off her chair and smiled touching her hair. Miss Spink got back up and asked," is there anything you want to tell us?"
"No, I guess not, thanks for the tea," Coraline got her things and left.
Behind her the taffy fell on the table and surprised the dogs and the old ladies.
She walked up the stairs and saw that there was a strange fog hiding the ground. Hattie, Carter, and Jake hung back and just watched Coraline from a distance.
"Is this the part where Wybie tells Coraline about his gramma's twin sister?" Hattie asked.
'Yup," Carter answered.
"I hate this part," Jake complained.
"You hate every part," Hattie said.
"No, I don't hate the part when Cat tears out the Beldam's button eyes," he stated.
"Let's just wait this one out, we'll wait for her at the porch," Carter suggested.
"Kay," Hattie said, and then they sat down at the porch steps.
Coraline came with Wybie who mounted his motor bike.
"I don't know maybe she-"Wybie stopped when he saw the three kids on the porch, "Uh Jonesy, who are they?"
"That's Hattie, that's Carter, and that's Jake," Coraline said pointing at each of them.
"Hi I'm-"
"Wybie, we know," Hattie answered.
"How do you do that?" Coraline asked looking at them like they were aliens or something.
"Wybourne!" a voice called.
"Look, I gotta go," Wybie started the motor and rode off.
Coraline looked off, "What did he mean 'danger?'"
Danger?
Chapter 4: A New Friend
That night they woke up when the mice came through, they made it to the other side just as Coraline entered the parlor. They snuck to the back and saw Other Wybie looking sad, standing outside the door.
"You know don't you?" Carter asked.
Other Wybie nodded.
"And your scared of what she'll do to you," Hattie continued.
Other Wybie nodded.
"That's tough," Jake said sympathetically.
'How do you know?' Other Wybie's thoughts spoke in their minds.
"We aren't from either world," Jake answered.
'Wait you can hear me?' Other Wybie asked.
"Yeah, we can," Hattie answered.
'So you know what she's going to do?' he asked.
"Yeah, and we're going to stop her," they said together.
He walked over to the door and it opened, other Wybie walked inside. The other Mother didn't know it, but he was truly smiling.
They walked in and stood behind Other Wybie, the Other Mother's buttons gleamed dangerously.
"Why don't we go now, the Amazing Bobinsky is waiting," Hattie said hiding her glare from Coraline.
When the five of them got up to Other Bobinsky's flat, Hattie Carter, and Jake stood back. The door flung Other Wybie and Coraline inside.
"This part annoys me so much," Carter said.
"Fine you stay out here, Jake and I'll go inside," Hattie and Jake stood in front of the door and were flung in.
Inside Other Wybie was covered in cotton candy pointing at the tent. Coraline and Other Wybie went inside the tent. Jake was getting cotton candy, he handed one to Hattie who chomped off a big piece.
They got in the tent saw the mice jumping off the large structure. When all of them jumped off the structure revealed Other Bobinsky, with metals and a top hat. He lowered his hand and the mice went in his sleeves, the last one went inside his top hat.
I never really liked mice, Hattie thought, 'cuz that was disgusting.
Coraline on the other hand clapped and cheered.
"Thank you, thank you, ladies and gentlemen," he bowed.
"We loved it Mr. B, it was… amazing!" Coraline cheered.
"Come anytime you want along with your good friend," he said taking her hand," Das Vidanya Coraline." He kissed her hand and Jake looked like he wanted to barf, he also did when they watched the movie the first time.
He didn't say friends, Hattie thought, he must know.
'Obviously, Other Mother controls and knows everything,' Other Wybie said to her.
You can read my mind? She asked.
'I guess,' he answered.
Okay then, she thought back, that's kinda creepy.
Back in Coraline's other room, her Other Mother tucked her in, Other Father the last cotton candy from Other Wybie's hair and she fell asleep.
The next morning Coraline woke up and groaned out of disappointment.
Hattie, Jake, and Carter looked at her through the doorway seeing her sad look," um, Coraline, your mom said you're going shopping with her, I think it's for school uniforms," Carter said.
"Oh man," she muttered.
Chapter 5: Advice
While Coraline, Mr. and Mrs. Jones were out Hattie, Jake, and Carter were left at the Pink Palace.
"What should we do?" Hattie asked.
"Do you mean do something or DO something?" Jake asked.
"The second one," Hattie said holding up two fingers.
"I think we should ask for help from the neighbors about…" Carter's voice trailed off.
"Good idea," Hattie said.
"We are not going to Mr. B though," Jake said.
"Why?"
"One, he's freaky, two he's practicing with his 'jumping mice', and three he'll try to give us beats!" He said.
"Fine, but who else is there?" Hattie asked.
They thought a moment then Hattie said," why not Wybie's grandma!"
"Yeah, let's just go straight to her," Carter said.
"Yeah," Jake said.
They got their hats and jackets and left for the Lovat residence. It took awhile to find their house since it wasn't shown in the movie. Finally they found the house, Jake knocked on the door and Wybie answered it.
"What're you-"
"We need to talk to your grandma, it's important," Hattie said.
"Okay," Wybie leaned inside and yelled, "Gramma, you have visitors!"
They were invited inside and went to wear Mrs. Lovat was sitting.
"Why hello," she greeted them.
They nodded and Hattie said, "we know about your sister."
"Oh."
"And we need your help," Carter said.
"She's trying to take another, the Coraline Jones," Hattie said.
"We're trying to stop her and we need some guidance," Jake said.
"I think I can provide that," Mrs. Lovat said getting up.
She led them to the attic and went up. In the attic it was cluttered with old furniture, boxes with items spilling out, and other items they didn't have names for.
"What is all this stuff?" Hattie asked.
"Things I've collected over the years," Mrs. Lovat said looking through some boxes.
Jake picked up a pile of bones that were tied together; when he lifted them they took the shape of a small dog.
"Did you have a dog or something?' Jake asked, putting it back.
"Don't tell Wybourne, he still thinks Kibble ran away," Mrs. Lovat said.
"I'm guessing Kibble was the dog," Hattie muttered.
"Oh, here we go," Mrs. Lovat stood up and handed them each one thing.
Jake got a wooden whistle with vines engraved on it; he turned it in his hands.
"Use that when you need it, you can only use it once," she said.
Hattie was given a small pouch with a long string; she put it around her neck and looked in. Inside were pieces of wood and scraps of metal.
"Open the bag, then throw it into the air, it'll work for you," Mrs. Lovat winked and sent an uncomfortable shiver down her spine
Carter was handed two stones, rough and jagged in her hands.
"Hit those together and it'll do the rest," Mrs. Lovat said.
The three followed Mrs. Lovat downstairs and sat in the living room. Hattie grabbed the whip cream for the hot chocolate and started squirting it in her mouth. She nearly drowned in the whip cream until Jake elbowed her to stop.
"So what else did you need?" Mrs. Lovat asked leaning back in her chair.
"First of all-GET OUT OF HERE WYBOURNE!!!" Hattie yelled, Wybie jumped, so did Jake and Carter. Mrs. Lovat sat calmly, waiting for her response to what she had said.
Once she was sure he was out of earshot she said, "anyway, we're going to the Other World, what should we do?"
"What do you think you should do?" Mrs. Lovat asked.
Of course.
"Well, we think we should go before Coraline goes, so that we can confront the Other Mother, but we're not sure if that's the right thing to do," Hattie said, pouring some hot chocolate for her and her friends.
"We also think we should wait but if we wait we might be too late," Carter said picking up her mug.
"Did you put coffee creamer in this?" Jake asked Mrs. Lovat. He was really good at getting off topic.
"Why yes I did, french vanilla," Mrs. Lovat said.
"Awesome," he said and sat back in his seat.
"Anyway, we want to know about what you think we should do," he said, changing topic again.
"This isn't my fight, this is Coraline Jones' fight and you're caught in between," Mrs. Lovat said.
Around the corner Wybie was listening in on what they were saying," what does this have to do with Coraline?" he muttered a bit too loud.
"GET OUT OR I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU INTO A SMOOTHIE AND MAKE YOUR SOUL DRINK IT!!!" Hattie yelled again, Wybie ran into his room and slammed the door shut.
She is so scary sometimes, Jake thought.
"Sound to me you're saying we're going through the door," Jake said.
"What I'm saying is, your saying you want to go through that door," Mrs. Lovat said.
"Thanks, I think, you really helped us, sort of," Hattie said as they stood up.
"My pleasure, now good luck," Mrs. Lovat said as they left the room.
They walked down the hill and headed to the Pink Palace.
Destination: The Other World.
Chapter 6: Separated
They got inside and Hattie got the key from the drawer where she put it back. On the way she went to the fridge and got the whip cream from the fridge, when she got back Jake asked, " what's with you and whip cream?"
"This could come in handy, in case of an emergency," she remarked.
"What emergency, we're going into the lair of an evil witch who steals your soul," Carter said.
"Maybe she'll invite us to tea and Hattie can whip cream her to death," Jake said sarcastically.
"Oh, and I'm the sarcastic one,' Hattie muttered.
From behind them, when they turned around a familiar black cat with icy blue eyes appeared.
Hattie threw the key to and it landed a foot in front of him, "can you lock the door behind us?"
Cat slowly nodded and they nodded back.
After they entered the tunnel a click was heard," I don't even want to know how he did that," Jake muttered.
The door opened in front of them and a strong force pushed them out of the tunnel. They landed right in front of the Other Mother, she smiled evilly at them, her buttons gleamed dangerously.
"Look what I swept up,' she said, "Two sewer rats and a mouse." They knew who was who.
"That's nothing, we're staring at a giant black widow," Hattie said getting up.
The Other Mother grabbed her by her shirt collar and lifted her off the ground. Her gaze turned from dangerous to alarmed, "she's here," she dropped Hattie and snapped her fingers. They were gone in an instant.
. . .
Jake was in Coraline's garden, the bright pinks and purple flowers made him sick to his stomach. Behind him a vine rose up slowly and snapped at him, he dodged it but jumped in front of a giant Venus flytrap that suddenly sprouted. It snapped and caught his jacket; he jerked away and landed on the ground. The vines pushed him up and snapped at him with great force.
I'm being bullied by a garden, he thought.
One vine snapped at him and he staggered back, falling into the pond. His feet touched the ground, but as soon as it did it disintegrated under him. He fell fast, struggling to resurface. He and water are like, Hattie and apples, they didn't get along.
He was a stone sinking deeper into the water.
. . .
Carter stood in the middle of the stage, ironic because she had stage fright. A sandbag fell a foot away from her, another fell behind her. This time a rope came down and wrapped around her cast arm, lifting her high above the stage, ironic again because she's scared of heights. A loud screech came from all around her, dog bats flew at her from all sides. They bit at her with their dog teeth and scratched at her with their bat claws. Her only protection was her other arm, and it was injured from their bites and scratches. The rope lost hold and she plummeted to the stage, the bats stayed overhead.
Now she was the falling sand bag.
. . .
Hattie ended up outside Other Bobinsky's flat, the door creaked open and she walked in. The door shut behind her, the small tent was where it originally stood. Hattie stood at the door, and then the strong force pushed her into the tent. Inside, the mice stood in a circle formation, some jumped at her. Hitting her with their instruments, shooting out of little cannons, anything. She picked them off like berries and threw them down, they stood again and transformed into their hideous true form. They jumped on her, clinging on to her clothes, biting her and scratching her. They seemed to multiply, they over weighed her and she fell to the floor. They just kept biting; Hattie felt like they were chewing off her flesh, she felt blood coming from her million bites and cuts.
She was a puddle of what kids don't see at the circus.
. . .
From her sewing room, the Other Mother looked down at the things she had done, Jake was in the garden, Carter was in the theatre, and Hattie was at the circus.
She smiled evilly and continued working, her plan was working.
. . .
Chapter 7: Help from the Dead
From inside the pond Jake saw two murky hands out stretched to him, he grabbed them and they pulled him out. He crawled away from the pool, coughing up most of the water her swallowed. He looked around but no one was there, in his hand was the ghost boy's eye. The world around him didn't turn gray, must only work when Coraline has it, he thought. He shook the water off him like a dog and his hair returned to its uncontrollable state.
He walked to the other side of the garden and a row of rose bushes sprouted up and lashed at him. They grabbed his arm and his leg, he struggled to get away as the thorns dug into his skin.
"Use that when you need it, it can only work once," a voice said.
With his free hand he went through his pocket and got out the whistle, he brought it to his lips and blew it, loud and shrill. The roses withered away and so did the Venus flytrap, all the other plants seemed dead but also alive.
"Mom always did say I was a plant killer," he muttered to himself.
Jake looked at the gate, it was locked and he didn't want to climb over the wall. Don't or can't? He thought to himself.
He sat on the bridge; his legs were dangling over the water. Cat appeared next to him and said, "You did well."
He pet cat on the head and watched him disappear over the wall.
. . .
Something stopped Carter from falling and set her down on the stage gently. She looked around and no one was there, she looked in her hand and the tall ghost girl's eye was in her hand. In a flash of light the theatre was full of dogs, she saw a girl in blue, she rushed behind the curtain and watched from there. She went to the back and the bats descended and trapped her in a corner. Their howls and screeches were drowned out by the song out on the stage.
"Hit those together, and it'll do the rest," a voice said.
She went through her pockets, finally her hand found the two stones she hit them hard, they shattered into daggers and a huge flame erupted from it. The flame touched her but it didn't burn, the light scared the bats and they flew off in all directions. They got tangled in ropes, and scared the dogs moving the curtain and the back drops. Everything fell apart, Carter pulled the rope and the curtain closed, hiding the mess that she had created.
She sat down on the floor, her back against the wall, her face was smeared with soot and her arms and legs felt weak from exertion and the numerable bites she had taken. Cat came up and she scratched him behind the ears, she wasn't a cat but this cat was okay. She just sat there, waiting for the scene to end, then everything faded.
. . .
Hattie struggled to get up, the rats clung to her and when she moved she got bitten. "Open the bag then throw up, it'll work for you," an uncomfortable shiver went down her spine. She tried to get to her pouch but she couldn't, the best she could get was her can of whip cream. She stretched her arms out in front of her and squirted as much whip cream as she could, across the room. The rats sprung off her and went for the sugary substance almost instantly, Hattie hot on the knees, opened the pouch, and threw it. Everything spilled out and the pieces assembled together and sprung at all the rats. In the next second all of them were caught in mouse traps.
"I knew this would come in handy," Hattie said before squirting some into her mouth.
Cat meowed and Hattie squeezed him like he was a stuffed toy, he hissed angrily and Hattie let go.
"Sorry, I'm a cat person," she said putting him down.
Cat said," Coraline has escaped and is preparing to leave for here, stay here and be careful."
"Wow, that was fast," Hattie said.
"Time moves slower than it does out there," Cat said.
Hattie nodded and said, "Makes sense."
And with that Cat went through the tent flap and was gone.
. . .
Chapter 8: Nowhere is Safe
Hattie looked at one rat, it had the ghost eye. She grabbed it and the ghost eye spoke, "Be tricky and be alert for the Beldam has other plans." Hattie put the ghost eye in her pocket and thought; I'll put that into context, whatever she means.
Then behind her the traps snapped, she whirled around and the rats were gone. So that's what she means, Hattie thought.
A green glow went around her and a slight wind blew from under her feet. She staggered back and the glow shot to the empty mouse traps, they sprung to life and shot at her, they caught at her clothes and she shook them off her fingers, rats rose up from underground like daisies. Behind them the beldam stood in her Mel Jones form.
Sheer terror rose in her, she ran to the doo but it was locked, she stood, her back to the door. The Other Mother's hand tuned to needles and she reached out to Hattie, motioning her to come closer. Hattie resisted, the spider motioned her again and she was pulled to her. The Other Mother looked Hattie in the eye dangerously, she hissed," you're just a little mouse caught in a spider's web, your helpless."
"Do not call me little," Hattie said then round house kicked the Beldam and then pushed her into a pile of cannons. She kicked at the rats; they dripped saw dust, which made killing them a lot easier for Hattie. While the witch was getting cannon off her-um- personal area Hattie ran out the door and nearly fell down the stairs in the process. The collapsed on the grass, she picked up herself up and ran to the only safe place, the empty part of the world.
. . .
A/N K: Woo! I would so do that! Back to the story!
. . .
Jake heard a creak come from the gate; he stood up and slowly walked over to it. Nothing was there, he felt a cold shiver down his back, he turned around and the Beldam was there. He staggered back and she smiled wickedly at him.
"Hello Jake, you killed my plants," she said ushering to the dead flowers around them.
"The-they'll grow back," he stammered, he slowly backed away from her, trying to make it to the gate.
The Spider outstretched her hand and he froze, dead in his tracks.
"You wouldn't," he half whispered.
"Yes, I would," she hissed, a blue light came from in front of him. He started to run, behind him the pray mantis plower came to life and swung at him. He felt a sharp pain in his back, but he kept running. He ran on to the bridge, the plower followed him, he struck at his feet. Jake sidestepped past it and the plower fell into the pond, which was still deep from when he fell in. The Other Mother was gone; she probably went back to the house or something, he thought. He left the garden and wandered aimlessly for anywhere but the house.
. . .
Carter woke to a loud crash; she shakily stood up and peered through the curtain. It was pitching black; she walked cautiously on the stage. A red light came from above her; something swung at her and lifted her off the ground. She drifted farter from the stage, a spotlight came on and the Beldam appeared under it.
"I never liked your friends or you, I've tried and tried to get rid of you but you always come back, like a virus that lurks around you," she went on.
"Speak for yourself," Carter muttered
She made the mistake of looking down; under her there was no net, nothing to cushion her fall., just rows of empty seats and a dangerous fall. She was on the trapeze, far from the ground, bats circled around her. She tried to pull herself up but one of the bats bit at her and she stopped. The widow on the stage pulled out knitting needles and started throwing them. Most of them missed but they came back to the Beldam with every throw. Carter started to swing the trapeze, moving it and pushing herself closer to the exit. The Other Mother caught on, she kept throwing the needle, when they hit her pain was sharp but went away quickly. Carter let go and was pushed out the door.
A/N T: Let's just let the imagination deal with how that was possible, because I am having major writer's block on Carter and I have a dead line. No flames.
She ran up the stairs and behind her the theatre disappeared behind her, she slowed when she came up to the orchard. The world started to fade and she knew she was the closest to safe that she could be in the Other World.
. . .
A/N T: in the next scene I'm going to skip a few things, this scene is boring to read and to write.
Chapter 9: Together
The world was empty, nowhere was somewhere but still nowhere. Nowhere was refuge for the three strangers, they walked in different directions, until their paths met.
Hattie looked off, she saw a figure in the distance, it had wild sandy brown hair and a confused look.
"Jake?"
Carter stopped in her tracks when she saw a splash of color in the empty world.
"Hattie?"
Jake ran toward a dark speck in the distance, it started to take shape.
"Carter?"
The three ran up to each other, Hattie gave both of them a giant hug that cracked their spines. Carter and Jake shook hands awkwardly, something happened between them in sixth grade that they didn't want to relive.
"What happened to you?" Hattie asked Jake when she saw him.
"I fell into a pond and got attacked by killer roses," he said, "just your basic adventure, what about you?"
"I was attacked by rats, snapped at by mouse traps, and got away from a black widow," she shrugged, "what about you Carter, you look terrible."
"Speak for yourself," Carter said, "I fell to my death, was attacked by dingbats, and swung from a trapeze, no big deal."
"Did you get the ghost eye?" Jake asked.
Hattie and Carter nodded and showed him, they heard a Cat behind them.
"Those are the real ghost eyes," Cat remarked, "the ones Coraline are hunting are fake."
"That means," Hattie started, "the witch is trying to trick her, so even if she succeeds, she still won't win."
"That sucks," Jake said, "we gotta do something."
Cat nodded and the four of them ran through the empty world and ended up in front of the Other Pink Palace. They heard the sound of grinding metal, and the cries of a young girl. they ran toward it and they saw Coraline crying on the grass, Cat meowed and Coraline looked up.
"Those eyes aren't real," Hattie said, "but these are."
They handed them to her and she took them, "thank you."
The world turned gray, and started unwinding. Hattie scooped up Cat and they ran inside, Jake slammed the door shut and they were inside. The wallpaper peeled off the wall and the floorboards creaked in agony. They entered the spider room and the Beldam appeared on the couch.
"So your back and you brought vermin with you."
"No, I brought friends."
So she agrees that we're vermin? Jake thought.
"So where are they, the ghost eyes?"
Coraline showed them to her, she pulled them back when the Beldam tried to grab them.
"We aren't finished here, are we?" Hattie said.
"No, I suppose not, you still need to find your old parents," she said, "To bad you won't have this." She showed Coraline the eye candy and threw it into the fire.
'Be clever miss, even if you win she'll never let you go,' the sweet ghost girl said.
"I already know where they are," Coraline said.
The Beldam turned around, "Oh really, so where are they?"
"They're behind that door," Carter said, Coraline looked at her strangely, like she read her mind.
The Beldam coughed up the key she had swallowed, behind her Jake handed Coraline the snow globe that had her parents in it.
"Your wrong Coraline, they're not there," The Beldam hissed, "now you're going to stay here, forever."
"No, I'm not!" Coraline grabbed Cat and threw it at the Beldam.
She scrambled for the door; Jake watched as Cat clawed out the Beldam's buttons, he is so immature that way.
"You horrible cheating girl!!" The Beldam yelled, she waved her arms and the floor unraveled.
They fell in, the Beldam jumped down yelling angrily. They split up and climbed up, the witch looked around frantically yelling out. Hattie got to the top first; she pulled in Carter, then Jake, then Coraline. They pulled the door, the Beldam reached her hand in and they closed the door. Coraline locked it and they crawled through.
"NO DON'T LEAVE ME!! I'LL DIE WITHOUT YOU!!!" The Beldam yelled.
The tunnel shook, the door kept getting closer and closer, and Hattie pulled Coraline out and locked the door. The key popped out and Jake caught it.
Coraline welcomed her parent, she tried to tell them about what happened, but Carter stepped in and said, you better get ready, you have to celebrate, didn't your catalog go well?"
"Why, yes it did," Mrs. Jones said then left with Mr. Jones.
Coraline followed behind, on her way out she gave them the same look she gave them when they first met.
. . .
Chapter 10: Almost Over
That night Hattie woke up to Coraline leaving the house.
"Guys, wake up," she hissed.
"Already up" they said together.
They snuck out and headed for Wybie's house, Hattie knocked on the door. Wybie answered and jumped in surprise when he saw Hattie.
"What do you want?"
"You need to help Coraline," Hattie said.
"Why, she's crazy, she said something about a world with button eyed people, or something."
"It's true," Hattie argued.
"You're crazy then" he said.
"Did your grandma show you a picture of her twin sister?"
"Yeah" he shrugged.
"What was her sister holding?" Hattie went on.
"A doll with buttons" he answered then realized what he said, "So the doll was..."
"Come on, Coraline was right, she's in danger, life threatening severed hand, evil witch, come on!"Hattie rushed; Wybie ran out the door and mounted his bike. He rode down the hill, in the distance
an air horn blew.
. . .
The next day at the garden party, everything was going how it was supposed to be going, Coraline and Wybie were talking to Mrs. Lovat, Mr. B was planting beets, and the dingbats were babbling on about something.
Outside the Pink Palace Cat, Hattie, Jake, and Carter were standing next to the sign. They walked behind it and disappeared.
Epilogue
Hattie's Point of View
The three of us know our trip into the Coraline's World was real. For one thing, we had faint reminders of what the Beldam left on us, scars. Carter got her cast taken off a week early, Jake's mom almost had a heart attack when she saw the thick ugly scars on his wrists, and I told my mom and dad that I was in a rock climbing accident then they sued the club I go to and won. I know, weird.
We also found something else; in my pocket there was a note. On the note it said:
VERMIN.
Fin(The End)
A/N
K: Hey peoples! I am now doing a character A/N!
H: At the end of the story?
K: Yeah. If I did it in the beginning, they wouldn't know who you guys were!
T: Why'd you have to say the 'brilliant' Toni?
J+H+K+C: Because you are.
T: Um…Yeah…
K: EIGHT!
J+H+C: What?
K: I count the number of times in a week she does that. Oh, and just so you know, these characters are based on real people, me, Toni, and a friend of ours! Now here is Coraline and Wybie!
J+H+C+T+K" *claps*
W: Thank you, thank you.
K+H: Oh, shut up.
T: Wow, I made you perfectly. It's creepy.
K+H: I guess so. YAY! Whipped cream and coffee!
T: Yep, I made her perfectly. Coraline, I hope you liked the story.
Co: I loved it!
K: Well, that wraps up the story, so review! And NO flames. Toni can't take the criticism, but I can. But it's her story. Bye peoples!
K+T+Co+W+Ca+H_J: BYE!