Tuesday, Winter 3. The plan was set in motion at 5:00 AM as Ellen was getting ready to cook breakfast for Carl and the crew. She carefully woke up her father with a smile and then set out her ingredients. She preheated the oven and stepped out of the house at 5:12. She made it to the cafe at exactly 5:30. She knocked on the door and waited patiently for Carl to come to the door. It took thirty seconds, but Carl was ready to go. He smiled and offered his arm, and Ellen took it. Together they walked up towards her house. Even if they were arm in arm as friends, Ellen felt like everything was all right in the world. As they turned the corner, Ellen looked towards Jaime's house and gave a nod. Something in the window moved, and Ellen knew that they plan was in motion.
Jaime ran out of his house with the note and silently made his way to Carly's chicken coop. One chicken out of five clucked nervously as Jaime reached out and grabbed it. He dropped the note and ran the chicken to the front of Carly's house. He pounded on Carly's door exactly five times and then hid behind her house. The snow was already falling faster than Jaime had anticipated. He hoped she wouldn't go to great lengths to find all of her chickens. Some of them she wouldn't find, and he didn't want to have to save her. This part of the UBP was just to distract Carl long enough for him to find Ellen a more supportive friend than Carly.
Carly yawned and stretched as she heard the loud knocks at her door. She hadn't ordered any buildings lately. Still in her pajamas, Carly slipped her snow shoes on and opened the door. Carly gasped as she saw Ion, her third chicken, clucking coldly in front of her door. Carly picked up her chicken and ran it back to her coop. Carly collapsed when she saw that all of her chickens were gone. She scrambled for the piece of paper and started to cry. Who would do this? Carly read it out loud in a shaky voice.
"By the time you read this, your chickens are cold. Can you find them before they freeze? It's been a long time since this village had fried chicken." Carly wiped her tears away and stood up shakily. "One's floating all alone, another one the farthest away from home. One is afraid, as high as the sky, the other one is ten floors down in the mine." Carly ran out of the coop and looked around frantically. She ran across town, trying to find her first chicken. She thought she could be in the pond, or maybe in the lake. She would check the pond first.
Ellen watched as Carl enjoyed her veggie omelette. "It's hot in here," Ellen said happily, "I'm going to go outside for a minute." Carl nodded happily and Ellen walked outside. She saw a note on the back of her sign. She walked over and read it. 'The hunt begins...' Ellen thought to herself. She smiled and walked inside. This was perfect. Even if anybody suspected her of something, the person Carly trusted most was her alibi. Ellen sat down across from Carl. "It's pretty chilly." Ellen said with a laugh. Carl nodded. "This omelette warmed me right up, though!" Carl said excitedly, "You're really good at this!" Ellen blushed. "You think so?" Ellen questioned, "My Dad and my cousin have to put up with it every day." Carl shook his head. "I would love to eat this every day." Ellen smiled. "Well, why don't you stay for lunch then? I have something special planned." Carl looked outside. It was still snowing heavily. He nodded. "Sounds good! I don't want to venture out there anytime soon."
Jaime ventured into his chicken coop. There were six chickens inside. Jaime sighed and calmed down one of Carly's missing chickens with some feed. It was still nervous, but Jaime didn't want to purposely make any chicken sick. She could find the other three in time, and then go check for the fourth one. Jaime wondered how many chickens she had found. It was ten o'clock now. Jaime walked off of his farm and making sure nobody was around, peeked into her chicken coop. There were three chickens... that meant she would have to find one more and then try to scale the mountain. But, she wouldn't try to climb in this weather. That was when Jaime would intercept and say he had heard a chicken while going to visit the Goddess. He had taken it down to his coop. Then she would be able to go back inside. Jaime quickly walked over to Ellen's house and knocked on the door. Hank answered.
"J-jaime! What brings you here?" Hank questioned. Jaime gave a smirk. "You have all your chickens, don't you? I found one wandering on the mountain this morning." Hank shook his head. "All of our chickens are in nestled up in the coop! It's no kind of weather to be letting your chickens out." Jaime nodded. "It must be Carly's, then." Jaime turned around and started walking towards his house. Carly ran by at the speed of life. Judging by the smudges on her face and pajamas, she had just retrieved her chicken from the mine. Now was his chance to tell her about the chicken. But, something held him back. Seeing her determined face and knowing that she had already found four of her chickens in just a few hours made him hold back. He remembered how she had saved the Goddess with no emotional investment, how he had tried for years to find a way and she had waken her in a matter of months.
Carly headed for the mountain and Jaime just watched. She would scale the mountain... and he would make sure that she knew what failure felt like. Jaime felt the bitterness in his heart like he had never felt it before. She would scale the mountain. She would fall, and nobody would be there to catch her. Jaime didn't owe her that kindness. He walked back to his house and slammed the door behind him, sitting in front of his roaring fireplace. It warmed his bones, but seemed only to kindle his anger. Jaime clenched his fists. He refused to go up. Jaime laid down on his couch and crossed his arms. Slowly but surely, he willed himself to sleep.
The snow was lightening up by the time Carl had finished lunch. "Wow, today was great." Carl said with a jolly laugh, "I'm glad you invited me over!" Ellen blushed. "It's no problem. I thought you probably hadn't had a break from cooking since you started the cafe." Carl smiled. "Actually, usually Carly comes over on Tuesdays and cooks supper." Ellen sobered up quickly, but quickly put a smile on. "Really?" Ellen asked, "I guess you two are pretty great friends, huh?" Carl blushed. "Yeah... I like her a lot." Carl smiled and waved goodbye, "It was really great! I hope you have a good rest of the day. I think I'll go see what Carly's up to." Ellen half-heartedly waved goodbye and then closed the door. She clenched her fists and walked to the kitchen. He had the audacity to say that he liked another girl right in front of her face?
Ellen breathed heavily and grabbed the edge of her counter top. It hurt. She was trying her best. But, maybe she wasn't trying hard enough. Ellen walked outside and was about to talk to Jaime when she saw a note on the back of her sign. 'She went up the mountain. I'm not going after her.' Ellen looked up and saw Carly's legs disappearing into the cloud that blocked the top of the mountain from sight. Normally, she would have been concerned, but as she watched Carl turn to knock on Carly's door, she crumpled the note and walked back into her house.
Carl knocked on Carly's door. There was no answer. It was odd, but he knew that Carly liked to sleep in on snowy days. She might have gotten a late start on her chores. He shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the cafe. He knew she would probably come to the cafe around 4:30. Maybe he would cook for her this time. It would only be fair, since Ellen had cooked for him for most of the day. Carl smiled and started thinking about what he would make. Maybe he would have her taste test the Carly Cake. If there was no way to make it better, he might even propose. But, maybe it wasn't time for that quite yet. He didn't know how much Carly liked him... was it enough to want to marry him?
Carly started to climb the mountain. It was slippery. She was up only five feet when she fell the first time. But, knowing that Duck was up there, probably freezing and scared, motivated her to keep going. She didn't fall anymore when she passed twenty feet. But with forty feet left to go and rocks careening past her faster than she could see through the snow, it would be a miracle if she made it to the top without splitting her head open. Carly's hand slipped one more time, a rock zooming past where she had been before she regained her grip and pushed forward to the top. She was tired. The snow was so heavy she couldn't see the edge of the mountain.
"Duck!" Carly cried, "Duck, where are you?" Carly looked around, kicking the snow with her feet. She saw no sign of Duck. Carly sank to her knees and started to cry. She had done everything to try to find her chickens. There was no way that the clue on the paper meant anywhere else but here. Carly took the sheet out of her pocket, but it was soaked through. The writing blurred on the paper and she couldn't read it. It was cold up here, and she was still in her pajamas. Carly knew that she couldn't stay up here for long. She was sure that wherever Duck had gone, she had never been up here. Carly wiped away her tears and looked down the mountain. It was a long way down. Carly assumed the position and slipped back over the edge of the mountain, making sure she had a firm grip.
She managed to make it thirty feet down before the rock she was standing on crumbled beneath her feet. She was hanging by her fingertips, but the grip was icy. Her fingers were slipping... Carly fell over forty feet and landed in the snow at the edge of the mountain. She hit her head and started to bleed, unconscious upon impact. Carlos, one of the sprites, quickly came bounding through the snow. "Oh no!" he whispered, "I must get the Harvest Goddess." The snow stopped the bleeding quickly, but lowered her temperature minute by minute. It would only be so long before her breathing would stop. Carlos quickly bounded towards Harvest Goddess Cave. Maybe the Goddess could save her before it was too late.
Jaime's eyes snapped open. His wall clock said three in the afternoon. Carly would be in her bed, mourning the loss of her chicken. She would know what it would feel like to go to great lengths to find something you couldn't achieve by yourself. Jaime rubbed his eyes and stood up. He looked out of his window, seeing Carl come up the street. Happily, he knocked on Carly's door. A look of concern came on his face and he scratched his head. He knocked one more time and then started walking towards her barn. Jaime crossed his room and looked out of his back window towards the mountain. He saw a little yellow beam of light at the base of the mountain. What if she had fallen? That would teach her a lesson. But... she couldn't learn anything if she were dead. Jaime suddenly felt scared, like he had done something bad.
Jaime rushed outside and started to run towards the mountain. Carl turned around and saw Jaime running. "Hey!" Carl called out, "Where are you going?" Jaime stopped in his tracks. If Carl saw him going up the mountain by himself and found out that he knew where Carly had been, he would be pegged as the culprit behind the chicken fiasco. Jaime turned around. "I thought I saw something fall from the mountain. I wanted to make sure everything was alright up there." Jaime said. Carl nodded and then seemed to register the possible connection. "Wait!" Carl shouted, "I'll go with you." Jaime waited for Carl and then they both moved up the mountain as fast as they could.
Jaime was the first to arrive. He saw Carly collapsed on the ground, unmoving. Carl soon followed and immediately ran to her side. "Carly!" Carl shouted, "Carly wake up!" Carly's eyes fluttered open. Carl reached out to hug her, but Jaime stopped him. "Don't. She might have a spinal injury." Carly mumbled something, and Carl leaned in close to hear her. "Are they all back? My chickens, are they all there?" Carl started to cry. "What were you doing up here? You could have died?" Jaime knelt down and looked into Carly's eyes, "They're all back. I found one this morning. I asked the ranch if it was theirs, but they said no. So, I put it back in your coop." Jaime said. Carly seemed to be satisfied with the answer. Jaime took off his poncho revealing a black shirt underneath. It clung to his skin as he draped the warm garment over Carly. Carl stroked her face. "We have to move her." Carl said, "She can't stay cold for this long." Jaime nodded, and took Carly into his arms. He stood up and followed Carl back down the mountain.
"Why did she climb a mountain to look for a chicken?" Carl questioned, "That's just stupid. A chicken isn't worth your life." Jaime was unsettled by this side of Carl, but he could understand why he felt protective of her. Carly shuddered in Jaime's arms. "In a manner of speaking, chickens are her life. They're her pets and her providers. She loves them with all she's got. Could you imagine your favorite pet scared and lonely on top of a mountain in the middle of a snowstorm?" Jaime asked. Carl sighed. "I never really liked animals. They're just necessary for cooking, which is another reason Carly is so great. She loves animals so well that her products are the best. She loves the animals, and I would never have to see another animal in order to cook the best sweets I ever have." Jaime huddled Carly closer and walked down the final stretch of the hill leading to the mountain.
"My fire's going. Why don't we head there first?" Jaime suggested. Carl nodded and walked into Jaime's house. Carl moved the couch closer to the fireplace, and Jaime set Carly on it, taking off his cold poncho and grabbing a blanket from his closet. Carl looked around at the place while Jaime draped the blanket over Carly. Jaime felt her head and took out her ponytails so that her hair could dry. Carly was actually pretty cute with her hair down. Jaime walked over to his cabinet and got some herbs for her fever.
"I've never actually seen the inside of this place," Carl said, knocking on his table, "So this is the bachelor pad." Jaime blended the herbs into some juice and then knelt by the couch to feed it to her. "You don't talk much, do you?" Carl asked. Jaime sighed. "I'm just trying to get her well enough to move." Carl sighed and held out his hand. "Here, give me the glass. I'll do it." Jaime continued to do it, before Carl grabbed the glass from his hand. Carl lifted her head and slowly poured the liquid down her throat. Jaime went back to the kitchen and brought a glass of room temperature water. Carl played with Carly's hair with one hand and held her cold hand in the other. "I think she'll be here for awhile..." Carl said, "I'm going to go make her some warm food." Carl hurried out the door, leaving Jamie alone with Carly.
Jaime waited until Carl was far along the road before he knelt down in front of Carly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you for so long." Jaime waited, expecting her to wake up. But, her eyes were still closed. She looked so pale, too pale, as the light from the orange fire danced across her skin. Jaime wondered what it was like to love something so much you would climb a mountain in the snow for it. Jaime slowly reached out and stroked her hair. It had dried quickly, and Jaime was relieved. She seemed to be warming up already. She was starting to regain color now. Jaime noticed the rosiness of her cheeks first, and then realized how long her eyelashes were. "Won't you wake up?" Jaime asked. He reached out and held her hand. It twitched slightly in his grasp, but slowly weaved itself among his fingers. "Your hands are warm." Carly whispered. Jaime held both of her hands in his and gave a small smile. His heart started beating faster. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jaime quickly dropped his hands and walked over to his door.
As soon as the door clicked open, Carl barged in with a bowl of stew and a piece of cake. He immediately sat down in front of Carly. Carl placed his hand on her shoulder and lightly shook her. Carly's eyes opened. "You look terrible... are you alright?" Carl asked. Carly took a deep breath and tried to sit up. She quickly sank back down onto the couch. Her hand reached up to her head where her hair was matted with blood. "What happened?" Carly asked. Carl shrugged. "I'm sure you'll remember sometime. I don't really know." Carl sighed, "You were mumbling something about chickens." Jaime remembered that her chicken was still in his coop. He walked outside and grabbed Duck from his coop. Duck squawked, but quickly settled down as he took it into the warm house. Jaime walked over to Carly and gave a small smile. "Apparently this was the one you were looking for. Carly gasped and Jaime set it in her lap. Carl cringed away from the creature, laughing nervously. Carly only noticed the chicken in her lap. "Duck... I found you..." Carly whispered. Duck clucked happily in Carly's arms.
Carl stood up and sighed. "Well, it's been quite a day. I think I need to go prepare for tomorrow." Carl said. Carly waved goodbye and Carl left. He left his cake behind, hoping she would remember to eat it. Jaime took Carl's spot in front of Carly and reached for the chicken soup. "You need to eat this so you have strength tomorrow." Jaime said. Carly nodded. She reached out for the spoon, but she couldn't hold it for very long. Jaime ended up feeding her. He saw the cake by his knees, but swiftly nudged it under the couch. The UPB was in progress, and by the end of the month, Carl and Carly's relationship would never be the same.
