Chapter 10: Computers, Windmills, and Dog Food?
"This will be the most difficult part of the preparations, for the both of us." Computer spoke.
It was now pretty late at night and Courage had wasted no time returning to Computer as soon as he could. He stared up at the glowing screen intently, trying not to think about what would happen if things went wrong.
"I've thought about this for some time now and I believe I've come up with the safest possible solution. It still imposes a very large risk however. I've already got things set up on my end, I just need you to do your part."
'Well, what do you need me to do?' Courage asked.
"Its simple enough, but still, listen closely. You need to overload the power entering the house. It should create a situation similar to the one we had the night of that storm. It should allow me to move about like before but if I've miscalculated, well, every appliance in this house, including me, will overload, start on fire, and very likely explode."
Courage's stomach dropped at those words. He didn't think he could go through with this but he knew he was doomed if he didn't try. Computer really was putting himself in a lot of danger for his sake...
"I probably shouldn't give you the exact odds, but they aren't particularly good. This is the only option we have and while I am wary about doing this, I am willing to go through with it if you are." He gave a halfhearted chuckle. "I normally wouldn't trust you with my life, not even for a second, but these are extraordinary times, wouldn't you say?"
'How am I supposed to overload the house though?'
"It's simple enough. All it really requires is spinning the windmill blades much faster than normal. You do that until too much electricity is generated and it overloads the house. The only real problem is your condition. I'm having my doubts that you'll be able to keep up at it long enough to..."
Now he realized why Computer had been so obsessed about him getting enough rest. This task would require a lot of strength, a lot of strength he probably didn't have. He couldn't remember the last time he had run without exhausting himself in a matter of seconds. He would have to do this though, there wasn't any other choice. Do or die.
He internally reminded himself about how close they were to curing his sickness. Now wasn't the time to give up. He took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. 'I'll do it. It's not like I have much choice, I'm doomed if I don't. Besides, I feel like I've got enough energy for this.'
"I'm sure after your experience with those ghostly vandals, however long ago that was, you shouldn't have any problems with the windmill. Outside of your own condition possibly hindering you, you should be fine. So long as the windmill doesn't break while you're spinning it, of course. You obviously don't want to summon those ghosts again after all."
'I'm more worried about what will happen if this doesn't work the way you planned.' Courage admitted.
"Look on the bright side, twit. If this doesn't work out right then you won't be the only dead by Friday."
Courage's ears drooped. How could the machine joke about dying at a time like this? He could already imagine Computer exploding into a thousand pieces and that only managed to make him feel worse about all of this.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot about something else too." Computer spoke, pulling Courage out of his thoughts. "There is one other issue that might get in our way."
'What else could possibly go wrong?' Courage typed, feeling even less enthusiastic.
"When the overload occurs, I'm certain the power will go out as soon as it's over. Knowing the way the farmer is I'm sure the first thing he will do is go check the windmill for the problem. If he sees you up there after the power outage I don't think he'll take very kindly to it. Your best bet is to find a way to get your owners out of the house long enough to mess with the windmill unhindered."
More possible problems. Courage cringed at the thought of it. He wished he didn't have to be so sneaky around Muriel as of late. She'd never really understand what was going on though.
'I don't think they would go do something like shopping the day before I'm about to be put to sleep.' He typed. 'I'm probably going to have to come up with something to get them to leave.'
"Whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it fast. We've only got tomorrow after all."
Courage stood there, thinking for awhile. What could he do to make Eustace and Muriel go out to town without him? He was just about to tell the machine that he was stumped when an idea hit him.
'Hold on, I think I have something!' He typed out quickly.
"Oh, really? You actually came up with something without my help for a change?"
He frowned and joked, 'Well if you're going to be that way then I just won't tell you.'
"Humor me, twit."
Courage grinned. 'You're just going to have to wait and see because I'm keeping it to myself now!'
"And this is the thanks I get for saving your life?" Computer sighed.
'I need to go get things ready. I'll be back tomorrow as soon as I can get Muriel and Eustace to leave.'
"Well, aren't you confident all of a sudden? Oh well, just leave me in the dark then." The machine replied in a rather sarcastic tone.
'Be back in a bit!' Courage typed before hopping off the bucket. He didn't exactly like what he was going to have to do to Muriel, but it would be worth it in the end...hopefully.
He made his way back through the hall and tiptoed down the stairs. Eustace was fast asleep in his chair and Muriel appeared to be gone. He headed into the kitchen and was glad to find that Muriel wasn't there either. Something was cooking on the stove but Muriel was out doing something else at the moment. He went over to the sink and began pulling out several bags of dog food that they kept stored down there. He knew they also kept some canned dog food around but that would be higher up. He jumped up onto the counter and used several pots sitting in the sink to get him high enough to pull the canned dog food out from the shelves. Once he was certain that he had cleaned out the entire kitchen of dog food, he jumped back down onto the floor and scrambled to get the food outside before Muriel came back.
He began to dig. It wasn't easy, given how tried he was, but he still managed it. Once he felt the hole was big enough, he tossed all the food inside and burred it. He patted the dirt down with his paws and headed back inside.
So far so good. Tomorrow he would beg Muriel for some dog food to eat and since there would be none around she and Eustace would have to go to the store and get him some. If she were to offer him human food he'd be finicky about it. He knew Muriel would get him anything he wanted on his last day and felt horrible about it. He hated the idea of manipulating her like this, especially using his illness as a means to get her to do what he wanted, but what choice did he have? He'd die if he didn't. Well, it wasn't stopping him from feeling any less guilty about it.
Once back in the living room, he plopped down in Muriel's chair and began to doze off. There was nothing else he could do until morning. He didn't feel like eating supper and he didn't particularly feel like getting up again either. He had to force the imagery of exploding computers out of his mind before he could finally relax enough to fall asleep.
He had a dream of Muriel dressed up in that ridiculous blue Mega Muriel get up. She spoke with Computer's voice. He was trying to tell him something but Courage couldn't understand, no matter how hard he tried. Muriel's face looked worried and Computer's voice sounded urgent. There was a bright flash of light and Muriel vanished right before his eyes. He ran forward, screaming out in anger for some reason he could not understand. His body suddenly became very heavy and he collapsed. He felt someone walk up to him but he couldn't see who it was. They said something comforting to him and he began to feel at ease, even though he couldn't understand.
He woke from the dream and blinked several times. Tears were rolling down his muzzle and he wasn't quite sure why. Not thinking much of anything in his sleepy stupor, he yawned and fell fast asleep again, forgetting that he ever had the dream in the first place.
End Of Chapter