Chapter 2, Dear Old ZYK, How Are You Feeling? I'm Fine, Thank You But We Have A Chapter To Start!
Disclaimer: Warning to ye who enter here: We own nothing
AN: Hallo! Yes, I spelled that correctly. It's so nice to be updating on a fixed schedule again! After we put up this chapter, there will be Chapter 4 of Mount Rancour, if anyone is interested. We'd like to thank our every faithful reviewer: Gypsy Rosalie, who waited for us throughout or weeks of absence.
And here's your chapter!
Esme looked carefully at each idiot Hinterlander's face in turn before speaking, "Well, it depends on what you mean by 'friend'. I did know her. That is our paths did cross. At school!"
We must now put our time traveling hats on and spin around in circles while singing the magic time travel tune:
TIME MACHINE! TIME MACHINE! TAKE US BACK IN TIME!
{for anyone who guesses where that bit was from, there will be cake}
We are now high in the Dandruff Mountains at the Central Headquarters of the secret organization 'ZYK'. It is eighteen years in the past.
Time for a relatively pointless song that does nothing but distract the audience while the set changes:
DEAR OLD SHIZ {from 'Wicked'}
{the lights brighten and we see that we are in the Front Courtyard of ZYK Headquarters. we see the mountains rising around it and the snow covered buildings within the walls. there are about fifteen to twenty Students milling about with books, equipment and other boring things}
Students: Oh, hallowed halls and vine draped walls. The proudliest site there is. When gray and sere our hair hath turned, we shall still revere the lessons learned in our days at dear old ZYK. OUR DAYS AT DEAR OLD—
{a random wheeled cart enters, stacked high with luggage and Esme. Esme is eighteen years younger, wearing her golden hair longer. she wears a white mink coat and matching cylindrical hat, see Veruca Salt's costume in the original 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' to see what I mean}
Esme: {vocalizing} Ahhhhh—
Students: Dear old ZYK.
THE CURTAIN FALLS
"Don't start with that, again!" Esme warned me. I rolled my eyes, "Most sincere apologies, Esme."
"It's Esmeralda!" she corrected me. I realized then that that would make sense, so I didn't shut her up.
"You can't just leave us here! That crappy two line song isn't half a chapter. It's an eighth of the chapter!"
"Okay, okay! Let's keep going!" I groaned.
Out of the one of the buildings stepped a tall, elderly woman with her faded hair in a bun and her blue eyes hidden behind wire spectacles.
"Good morning, new members!" the woman greeted them, "I am Madame Josephine Anwhistle: the Headzykistress at ZYK Academy! I hope you enjoy your time here and graduate to become the 'bee's knees' of ZYK society!"
There was a short silence, before Esmeralda waved her arms in the air and was helped off of her cart by a few male students who were staring at her cleavage.
"Ahem, Madame Anwhistle." she began.
The Headzykstress turned to her, "Yes?"
"I am Esmeralda Lowersham, of the Lower Lowershams!" She smiled as if she were waiting for Madame Anwhistle to bow before her. But she didn't.
"Lovely." she replied drily.
Esmeralda persisted, "I hope that you have received my thesis for your private," she whispered, "Sorcery Seminar."
"Oh? Oh, yes! You were the one who thought magic wands were sex toys and disregarded the ancient scholars, saying that they were 'Not nearly as orgasm-inducing as I'."
"That's me!" Esmeralda chortled like a five-year-old.
"Yes. Now, I get a lot of thesis' for my seminar and yours was easily the worst one I've read in my forty years here! I only take serious, reputable, mentally hinged scholars. I suggest you join the Shoe-making Club or something simple like that."
Esmeralda gasped, "What?"
"Shut up, you sniveling brat!" Madame Anwhistle silenced her, "Now, the dormitories are—"
But she was interrupted by a sound of footsteps on stone as a tall, bald man entered, followed by a pretty young lady. This lady was incredibly beautiful except for one odd little thing: SHE WAS BALD!
Everyone looked at the two newcomers in silence. Madame Anwhistle was the first to approach them, "Hello!" she greeted them, "You must be Edgarbear Caliban!" The man nodded, "Yes, I am. And this is my daughter."
"Oh, you must be young Beatrice!" Madame Anwhistle shook the girl's hand.
"Pleased to meet you." Beatrice said, kindly.
Madame Anwhistle turned to the other Students, "Edgarbear Caliban is President of the ZYK Sociological Society. He organizes all of our social affairs. Like the one I had with that traveling candy-maker in Majorca. But don't you have one other daughter?"
"Ah, yes!" Edgarbear seemed to have only just realized he was missing a child, "OLIVIA! Get your ass over hear right now!"
He reached into the pocket of his overcoat and distributed brown paper bags to himself, Beatrice, Madame Anwhistle, Esmeralda and the other students.
"What are these for?" asked Esmeralda.
Edgarbear answered, "My elder daughter is a little odd, Miss. You would do best to hold that bag."
Now, there was a sound of sharp hissing, as though hundreds of snakes were tangling together in their demonic fashion.
Another young woman passed through the gates and into the courtyard. She wore a heavy navy blue overcoat and gloves, but no hat. Her face was pretty enough but her hair was a mass of wriggling, squirming, live snakes. They were tied into a waist-length long braid going down her back but that did nothing to help disguise them.
Everyone promptly vomited into the bags Edgarbear had given them.
"My God!" gasped Madame Anwhistle, "What is that?"
"This is Olivia, my—thing." said Edgarbear, "She's only here so she can care for Becca." he looked lovingly at Beatrice, "Being bald is a heavy burden."
Madame Anwhistle looked from the bald Edgarbear, to the bald Beatrice and then to snake-haired Olivia, "Hair problems seem to run in the family." she muttered to herself.
"Well, I had better go." started Edgarbear, "But first:" he withdrew a velvet box from his greatcoat, "For you, Becca."
"Oh, thank you, Father!" Beatrice blushed, opening the box. "Oh, what beautiful combs!" she gasped, for there were indeed sparkling combs in the box.
"Pure silver." Edgarbear beamed.
"What a charming gift to give to a girl with no hair." remarked Madame Anwhistle coldly,"Now please go, you are interrupting my Orientation!"
"Of course, Madame Anwhistle." Edgarbear kissed her hand, kissed Beatrice on the forehead and gave Olivia a little nod before leaving through the gates.
"Now," Madame Anwhistle continued, "please meet the head boy, the head girl and the head thing."
Three children stepped out of one of the buildings. Two boys and a girl, each one clad in a smart gray suit.
"These are the children of Jacob Snicket." Madame Anwhistle presented, "The future rulers of our world!"
The children stepped forward one by one and stated their names, "Lemony!" started the boy to the left, "Kit!" announced the girl in the middle, "Jacques!" proclaimed the uni-browed boy at the right.
"They will tell you all you need to know about what goes on here." continued Madame Anwhistle, "Oh, and gentlemen. Sexy as Kit is, she is taken."
Every male in the area groaned as Kit's suitor, a lean figure with slicked up black hair and a uni-brow, took her hand, "Olaf's the name." he said with a wink, "Trains are my game!"
There was another moment of silence before Madame Anwhistle went on, "Now, as to dorms."
Olivia now spoke for the first time, "Madame Anwhistle, I'm dorming with my sister. I have to take care of her."
"My dear girl, I would never let a girl with venomous creatures of death growing out of her head dorm with such an innocent and hairless creature! You can sleep in the shed outside."
"But the snakes get angry when they're wet! If it rains or snows—"
"Hm." mused Madame Anwhistle, "Who do I hate enough—?" She thought for a moment before realizing, "Miss Esmeralda! Dorm with the snake chick!"
"WHAT?" screeched Esmeralda.
"Do it, or I kick you out into the snow!"
"Alright, I'll do it!"
"Good. Now..."
But once again Madame Anwhistle was cut off, this time by Olivia screaming, "I HAVE TO CARE FOR MY SISTER! SHE HAS NO ONE ELSE!"
The sky darkened and a wind blew. The wind brought Beatrice to the floor at Olivia's feet.
"Olivia, you said this would never happen again!" moaned Beatrice hysterically.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Olivia tried to explain, "Sometimes something just—comes over me."
"NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR TALENT!" roared Madame Anwhistle, she turned to the others, "Go on! Go! There's nothing to see here!" Everyone but Olivia promptly ran off, led by the Snicket Triplets.
"My dear girl. You are a sorceress!"
"I am?"
"Well, what did you think you were?"
"Snake-like?"
"Hm. Well, I'm giving up on the Sorcery Seminar! Instead of that, I will tutor you privately in the ways of magic!"
"Really?" Olivia was amazed.
"But of course."
THE WIZARD AND I {from 'Wicked'}
Madame Anwhistle: Oh, Miss Olivia:
Many years I have waited for a gift like yours to appear!
Why, I predict the Snicket could make you his MAGIC GRAND VIZIER!
My dear, my dear.
I'll write at once to the Snicket. Tell him of you in advance.
With a talent like yours, dear, there is a definite chance.
If you work as you should, you'll be making good.
{she bustles off}
Olivia: Did that really just happen?
Have I actually understood?
This weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide is a talent that could HELP ME MEET THE SNICKET?
If I make good.
So I'll make good—
When I meet the Snicket. Once I prove my worth. When I meet the Snicket, what I've waited for since...since birth!
And with all his Snicket wisdom, by my looks, he won't be blinded!
Do you think the Snicket is dumb?
Or like Bastardians, so small-minded?
NO! He'll say to me:
'I see who you truly are. A girl on whom I can rely!'
And that's how we'll begin! The Snicket and I.
Once I'm with the Snicket, my whole life will change.
Because once you're with the Snicket, NO ONE THINKS YOU'RE STRANGE!
No father is not proud of you. No sister acts ashamed.
And all the land has to love you!
When by the Snicket, you're acclaimed!
And this gift, or this curse, I have inside, maybe at last, I'll know why. When we are hand in hand: THE SNICKET AND I!
And one day, he'll say to me: 'Olivia, a girl who is so superior. Shouldn't a girl who's so good inside have a matching exterior?
And since folks here to an absurd degree seem fixated on your serpent-ry. Would it be all right by you if I de-snakify you?'
And though of course that's not important to me, 'All right, why not?' I'll reply. Oh, what a pair we'll be, THE SNICKET AND I!
Yes, what a pair we'll be The Snicket and I!
Unlimited. My future is unlimited.
And I've just had a vision; almost like a prophecy!
I know. it sounds truly crazy. And true, the vision's hazy.
But I swear, someday there'll be a celebration throughout Snicket Land that's all to do with me!
And I'll stand there with the Snicket, watching my life go by.
And though I'd never show it, I'd be so happy, I could die!
And so it will be for the rest of my life! And I'll want nothing else 'till I'm gone!
Held in such high esteem!
When people see me, they will scream for half of Snicket Land's favorite team:
THE SNICKET AND I!
THE CURTAIN FALLS
"NO!" roared Esmeralda, dashing once again onto the scene.
"What is it now?" I asked, bored.
"I get to sing in the next song! And since all I've sung this chapter was that crappy vocalizing in that puny little number, I EXPECT A DUET WITH THE SNAKE CHICK!"
"Could everyone stop calling me 'the snake chick'?" asked Olivia, exasperated.
"Alright! Let's do one more song. This chapter's so long and we haven't even gotten to the Baudes and the Quags yet!"
After a day of tours, unpacking, meeting the boring professors and having disgusting lunch. The majority of new Students retired to the writing hall.
ZYK Academy's writing hall was a large, dimly lit room lined with small writing desks at which students sat when they were doing homework, making lists or writing letters home.
The keeper of the writing hall was a wizened woman named Madame Winston-Hughes who was ODD!
Esmeralda was sitting at one desk, working on a letter. She turned to the side and noticed a short, bespectacled lad by name Bertrand Baudelaire eying her from across the room.
He waved at her with a sheepish smile.
Esmeralda awkwardly waved back.
Bertrand made kissing motions in the air.
Esmeralda threw up in her mouth a little.
Bertrand seductively stroked his chest.
Esmeralda changed her seat.
Olivia was also in the room working on a letter of her own. Let's do that third song so we can get to the kids' story and finish this incredibly long chapter!
WHAT IS THIS FEELING? {from 'Wicked'}
Esmeralda: {speaking}: Dearest, darlingest momsie and popsicle.
Olivia: My dear father.
Esmeralda and Olivia: {harmony} There's been some confusion over rooming her at ZYK.
Olivia: But of course I'll care for Becca.
Esmeralda: But of course I'll rise above it!
Esmeralda and Olivia: For I know that's how you'd want me to respond. Yes! There's been some confusion for you see my room mate is—
Esmeralda: Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe.
Olivia: {speaking} Blonde.
Esmeralda: {singing} What is this feeling so sudden and new?
Olivia: I felt the moment I laid eyes on you!
Esmeralda: My pulse is rushing.
Olivia: My head is reeling.
Esmeralda: My face is flushing.
Esmeralda and Olivia: What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame! Does it have a name? Yes...
{facing each other directly}
Loathing, unadulterated loathing!
Esmeralda: For your hair!
Olivia: Your voice!
Esmeralda: Your clothing!
Esmeralda and Olivia: Let's just say I loathe it all!
Every little trait however small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl, with simple utter loathing!
There's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation!
It's so pure so strong! Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last and I will be loathing, loathing you my whole life long!
Students: Dear Esmeralda you are just too good! How do you stand it, I don't think I could!
She's a terror, she's a tartar, we don't mean to show a bias, but Esmeralda you're a martyr!
Esmeralda: Well, these things are sent to try us!
Students: {Harmony} Poor Esmeralda forced to reside with someone so disgusticified! We just want to tell you we're all on your side! WE SHARE YOUR:
All: LOATHING!
What is this feeling so—
Unadulterated loathing—
Sudden and new—
Felt the moment I laid eyes on you—
My pulse is rushing—
WE LOATHE IT ALL!
Oh what is this feeling?
Every little trait however small makes our very flesh begin to crawl!
Does it have a name?
Ahhhhh—
Loathing!
Loathing!
There's a strange exhilaration.
Loathing!
In such total detestation.
It's so pure so strong.
Esmeralda and Olivia: Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last and I will be—
All: LOATHING, LOATHING FOR FOREVER!
Loathing! Loathing, truly deeply loathing.
Loathing you, my whole life long!
Loathing, unadulterated loathing!
THE CURTAIN FALLS
"Wait!" cut in Esmeralda.
"What is it now?"
"A little bit more dialogue first." she insisted.
"Very well, then."
Madame Winston-Hughes dashed over to the group, her eyes aflame, "What is all of this hullabaloo?"
"We were expressing our hatred for each other through song, Madame Winston-Hughes." said Esmeralda innocently.
"Alright then. Now you all be behaved and tucked into bed! You have your first day of classes tomorrow."
"Yes, Madame Winston-Hughes." said everyone in unison.
I made a rather rude hand gesture at Esmeralda as:
THE CURTAIN FALLS
Eighteen Years Later"
Violet stirred sleepily. Where was she?
She had felt a rather strange feeling in the night, as though she were being charged with some kind of poignant electricity.
She remembered the poison. Could she be dead?
Groggily, she opened her eyes and found that she was lying in a hammock in some kind of wooden box. Well, it was a big wooden box, kind of like a boxcar on a train.
There were three other hammocks strung from the ceiling as well as three bunk beds inset in the walls.
It was a rather cozy atmosphere. Perhaps she was in heaven, or on the Soul Train.
Suddenly, she felt a kind of jolt pass through her; she gave a cry and fell out of her hammock and onto the floor.
She struggled to her feet and chanced to see a reflection of herself in a mirror mounted on the wall. She looked tired and fatigued but HER HAIR WAS SILVER!
"SON OF AN UNMERCIFUL SATAN!" she swore.
"What's happened?" she murmured to herself. Did everyone have silver hair in heaven? Or was this hell?
"Awake are you?" came a scratchy voice and a stooped hunch-backed figure entered.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Violet, "Shut up! Shut up!" he told her, "Haven't you ever seen a freak of nature before?"
"Yeah, my Great-Aunt Tilda. But. Are you the Grim Reaper?"
In Violet's defense, the man was wearing a black cowl but he carried no scythe.
"No, I'm Hugo."
"Hugo?"
"It's pronounced Hug-O." he said drily, "And what's your name, hot stuff?"
"Violet." she began but Hugo cut her off, "Is that pronounced: Vo-Lot?"
"No."
"Ah! Well, where are the others?"
"I don't know, I just woke up! And I'd like you to explain what the hell is going on here!" she gestured to her silver hair to emphasize her point.
"You and your buddies were dying last night. My Mistress and I came upon you on our little evening ride together and she cast the Life Spell on you!"
"Life Spell?" Violet couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Yes, Life Spell! Of course, the thing comes with a host of side-affects. You and your fellows got struck with the 'Complete Physical Transformation' one!"
"Complete Physical—" Violet trailed off, "Wait, how is it 'complete'? I just have silver hair."
"Try to focus on something." Hugo urged her, "Look at the mirror and concentrate all of your energy into it."
Violet did as she was instructed. Indeed, she soon began to feel rather faint and her vision became blurry. She grabbed onto an end-table to keep herself from passing out.
Then, shock of shocks, the mirror shattered! The pieces soared into the air before reassembling and becoming whole once again.
"What...?" Violet's head was throbbing, what had she done?
Hugo took on a little, 'I'm smarter then you' air and began to explain, "Your Complete Physical Transformation has left you with the power of telekinosis...telekiseesis..."
"Telekinesis?" Violet suggested, she had learned the phrase from Chubs' days as Dirty Bastard's Biggest comic-book geek.
"Indeed! You can control things with the energy of your mind!" Hugo said this all while doing some ridiculous spaz-out.
"But my friends. They..."
Before Violet could finish her sentence there was a rustle in another one of the Hammocks and a figure rolled out, cocooned in a filthy sheet.
"By Jove, it's freezing." muttered a voice.
"Duncan?" started Violet tentatively, a little frightened as to what may have become of her lover.
"Violet! Is the AC on, or something?" Duncan emerged from under the sheet. He was COBALT BLUE! And his hair was PURE WHITE!
"Violet, did you die your hair silver, or are we dead?"
"Neither, sir!" chirped up Hugo, Duncan's eye fell on the hunch-back for the first time, "THE GRIM REAPER!"
"I just said that you weren't dead, you ass! Look at yourself."
Duncan looked down at his hands and saw his blue skin, "Good Lord!" he gasped, "I could be in the Blue Man Group!"
Hugo explained to him the exact same thing that he had said to Violet.
"Well then, what can I do?" Duncan wondered, Hugo suggested, "Just think solidly on something in particular and something will happen."
"Very well." Duncan closed his eyes and thought about something that was very important to him. He felt an icy cold explosion overtaking him. His blood running cold and his heart beat slowing. There was a cracking sound and when Duncan opened his eyes he saw that he had accidentally frozen Violet in a block of ice.
"Well, I suppose you can freeze things." Hugo stated the obvious, "Now, how are we going to get her out of there?"
"Do you smell smoke?" cut in Duncan, worriedly, Suddenly a hole scorched through one of the hammocks and a fiery red projectile tumbled onto the floor.
When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Duncan's sister, Isadora was the source of the smoke, her hair being on fire and whatnot. Wait, ON FIRE?
"Uh, is someone burning something?" Isadora stammered, before she thought of something, "Good God, I'm in hell!"
"No, no, you're alive, dear sister. You just happen to be engulfed in fire that somehow doesn't kill you."
Once again, Hugo explained everything to the distraught firebrand. It didn't take long for Isadora to figure out how to use her new power...she touched the block of ice that Violet was trapped in and watched it melt, releasing Violet.
After explaining Isadora's story to Violet, the last of their number woke up, Violet's brother, Duncan's best friend and Isadora's lover: Klaus 'Chubs' Baudelaire.
"My God, what a night!" came Chubs' voice as a figure lept down from the Hammock...well, it was a pretty damn awesome figure!
Chubs was suddenly six feet tall, olive skinned, rosy cheeked, heavily muscled, blue eyed and with waist-length inky black hair.
Everyone stared at Chubs, open-mouthed. Isadora started crying, "It can't be..." she gasped, "What's wrong Isadora, darling?" asked Chubs before noticing her hair...
"MY GOD, YOU'RE ON FIRE!" he screamed.
"MY GOD, YOU'RE SEXIER THEN TAYLOR LAUTNER!" she screamed.
Chubs looked down at himself and noticed that his clothes had been reduced to tatters {Probably attributing to Isadora's worshipful expression.}, "Oh dear! I'm a monster!"
He collapsed to his knees and wept into his large hands.
Violet and Isadora approached him, while Hugo whispered to Duncan, "What the bloody hell's he cryin' about? I'd give anything to look like that!"
Duncan replied, "He's used to being pale and chubby. Violet tells me his parents kept him away from good-looking kids so he wouldn't know how disgusting he was. That didn't stop my sister, though."
Then again, Isadora didn't seem to mind her lover's new form, "Don't cry, Chubs." she urged him while caressing his biceps.
"Yeah, it's alright." Violet cooed, "The bright side is, the poison didn't kill us!"
Chubs wiped away his tears and gave Isadora a light kiss {To which she clutched her heart in jubilation.}, "I suppose you're right. Why aren't we dead, anyway?"
Hugo explained for one last time and finally told them all where they were, "You're at the Carnival Where Social Services Don't Exist in the thick of the Hinterlands!"
"You mean to say," Violet began, "That we're in the middle of nowhere?"
"Quite so, in fact..."
But before Hugo could finish the door opened and in walked two people, a young woman with black curls and a middle-aged man with EIGHT ARMS!
"What the hell are you doing here, Hugo? We had to clean the loo all by ourselves!" snarled the eight-armed man.
"Yeah, and it was disgustingly gross and junk!" sighed the woman.
"Mistress said that is was my job to get acquainted with the noobs!" Hugo said curtly, he turned to the children, "This is Kevin, the Octo-Dextrous Man and this is Collete, the Elastic Woman."
"So...what, this is some kind of prison for deformed people?" wondered Isadora.
"Yes, it's a prison!" roared Kevin, "We're all doomed to die in this wicked, wicked carnival! Do you know who our keeper is?"
"Who?" the children chorused.
Collete burst out, "She's, like, the Wicked B*tch of the West!"
The Baudes and the Quags of course knew who the Wicked B*tch of the West was...hell, everyone in Snicket Land knew of her dramatic flight over Dirty Bastard in the days when Jacob Snicket was ruler of the land {Before his son, Lemony, took over after his death.}.
"Of course, that's on a need to know basis." Hugo said carefully, "We call her Madame Lulu around here...and she is actually very nice when you come to think of it."
"Nice?" Kevin scoffed, "You're only saying that because you're the favorite!"
Collete stretched herself into a knot and cut in, "No! I'm, like, the favorite!"
"No, you're a bratty, sub-service little..."
We'll leave them for this chapter and interact with the last set of characters that we need to meet for now.
It had been a hard trek through the night. Count Olaf had led his group of followers into the thickest part of the Hinterlands. He carried his infant lover, Sunny Baudelaire in his arms and motioned for his hench-folk to continue after him.
The hench-folk in question included: Fernald: a hook-handed man, Reggie the Bean: a bald man with a long nose, the sisters Flo and Tocuna, who had white powder on their faces to cover a genetic rash, Enya, a he/she, and the newest member of the group, Mr. Arthur Poe who was more
a slave then an assistant.
"Look, everyone!" Olaf pointed, "There's smoke! Smoke means fire!"
"So?" chorused the others. "So, either the wilderness is burning down, or there's civilization at hand!"
There was a half-hearted cheer and Mr. Poe passed out from exhaustion for the thirtieth time that evening.
"Wibilax!" cheered Sunny who was, I reiterate, a baby and so, spoke gibberish. Though as of the last story, she is picking up some words and phrases; for instance, 'Wibilax' means, "Yay! The fatass just peed his pants!"
"Indeed, he did, Sunny." Olaf agreed with her, "Indeed, he did."
With Enya dragging Mr. Poe, the group reached the settlement, a gathering of tents and wooden caravans.
"I smell hot soup!" remarked Enya excitedly, "Oh, we've hit the jackpot!" whooped Fernald.
"I hope they've got one of those Ped-Egg things that shave calluses." hoped Tocuna, "My feet are killing me!"
"Must you give us hourly updates on the state of your feet?" groaned Flo.
"Well, let's hop to it!" said Olaf excitedly stepping towards the rusty iron gate only to hear a sharp gunshot echoing through the night as a woman draped in woolen shawls approached them, carrying a shotgun.
"Get the hell off of my property!" she began as she stepped into the moonlight of that beautiful New Year's Night.
When she saw Olaf she stopped short, as did Olaf.
Reggie the Bean took a look at the woman and the woman looked at him.
Reggie couldn't help but smile.
He didn't think he would ever see Olivia Caliban again.
A/N: The plot thickens. Actually, it only just started! I know, we've sprung some unexpected surprises. If you wish, feel free to check out the MR chapter!
Update Coming Next Friday!:)
