Chapter Eleven

Beatrice:

Walk down the "Long Hallway"

Go to a door that's labeled "The Dark River"

After opening the door, walk down the staircase.

Walk down two more staircases

Climb into the raft at the end of the second staircase

Row down the river until you come by a door labeled "The Histories"

Open the door and walk in

Walk to the bookcase with the top end touching the wall

Follow the sign that says "ROPE"

Get the rope

Open the door that's under the bookcase (There's a hole)

Slide the rope down into the hole

Stop adding the rope when you see a ring of red paint

Wait twenty seconds

Pull the rope out of the hole (There will a bucket tied on to the end)

Gather your information and wait for a DING

Use the elevator

Those are the instructions that the toon badger wrote on the sheet of paper.

I know that it sounds like of instructions but hey, I'm not familiar with the Toon Town Library and I have to follow the instructions so that I can get that information and go home before the library closes.

Right now, I'm walking down the Long Hallway.

Thank goodness that I have the lantern.

It's so dark in the Long Hallway.

Although the lantern is lit, the flame's not bright enough to give me a better view. It's really, really, really dark…and creepy.

I feel like I'm in a mystery-horror movie.

No, make that an Indiana Jones-like movie.

I feel like I'm—

Wait a second.

I see a door.

It has something written on it.

It says: "Raven Falls".

The toon badger's list says that I have to go to a door that has Dark River written on it.

I'm not supposed to go to the door that has Raven Falls written on it.

I have to go to Dark River.

I see more doors.

They all look like they have something written on them just like the Raven Falls door.

I might as well just continue to walk down the hallway and find the right door.

…Doing that…right now.

…Wonderland…

…The Quiet Room…

…Lit Candles…

…Poe's Poetry…

…W. Shakespeare…

…Magic Books…

…Super Scary Horror Stories…

…The Dark River…

Oh! There it is!

"Just what I was looking for." I said to myself quietly.

I reach for the knob…and I twist it very carefully.

I exhaled.

"Come on, Beatrice." I whispered to myself. "Just open the door and follow the toon badger's directions. You've made it this far and there's no turning back. Just keep going."

I open the door.

I see the staircase.

According to the directions, I have to walk down this staircase and walk down two more.

"Okay, here I go." I said.

The first step creaked after I stepped on it.

I exhale and step on to the second…third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth…and fourteenth step.

I am now…in a strange room.

It's dark in this place…I'm hearing a running river…and it's kind of humid in here.

Now why is this place—?

Oh, duh!

I'm in a place where there's a running river and I did see a door with The Dark River written on it.

"The toon badger's directions did say that I have to climb into a raft and row down the river until I reach a door that has The Histories written on it." I said to myself out loud. "The river happens to be at the end of the second staircase. I might as well go on ahead. I can't stop now."

I held the lantern in front of me.

I gasp.

I see the river.

Despite of the mild brightness from my lantern and the reflecting glare on the top, the color of the river was pitch black. It looked like somebody dump a lot of oil into the river without thinking about any consequences and left it like that.

"The Dark River's called the 'Dark River' for a reason." I said as I walk to my left.

There's another staircase.

It looks wet.

How do I know?

The stairs look like they are covered with water drops.

I wonder if there's a hole somewhere in this place and water's leaking out of it.

Suddenly…

"WHOA!" I exclaimed.

Oh, no! I'm slipping!

Gotta…be…more…CAREFUL!

I flatten my hands…the lantern just slid down to my right shoulder…and I fall…towards the wall.

Whew!

That was close!

If I didn't do that, I probably would've slipped to the bottom of the staircase and hurt myself.

I sighed.

"I'm not going to mess around anymore." I said. "I need to get that information before the library closes!"

I carefully stand back up…and I slowly walk down the staircase.

…Just…five…four…three…two…one more…

Made it.

Now where's the—?

Oh, there it is.

Just one more staircase…

There are at least…sixteen stairs…and some of them don't look as wet as the other stairs from the other staircase.

Despite of that, I still have to be careful.

…Okay…stepping on the first…second…third…fourth…fifth…sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth…eleventh…twelfth…thirteenth…fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth step.

"Whew. I made it." I said.

And I see the raft.

Hmm, it's not exactly what I had in mind.

This raft that I see in front of me is a log raft.

It's called a 'log raft' for an obvious reason.

…Yes, it's a raft made out of logs.

But I can't get carried away with explaining the features of the log raft.

I have a "mission" to do right now.

I carefully step on to the log raft.

Whoa! It's tipping!

Without thinking, I leap on to the log raft and land on my knees.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed softly.

Then, I notice a little hook sticking out on the front part of the log raft.

Hmm, it looks like it could be useful for the lantern.

I can just hang the lantern on the hook and I can row the raft without having any complications.

I smiled to myself.

"I can even see where I'm going." I said.

I carefully stand back on my feet, pick up the lantern and slid it on to the hook.

Almost immediately, thanks to the light, I can see that I'm about to row into a long, dark, cave-like tunnel.

Then, I pick up a long stick and I use it to push the raft away from the staircase.

"Okay." I said to myself. "Now I have to row down that long tunnel until I come across a door with The Histories written on it."

I began to row towards the long dark tunnel.

…

*TWO MINUTES LATER*

*DRIP*

…*DRIP*

…*DRIP*

I sigh in exasperation.

"It's been two minutes of rowing for me and I don't see any doors." I said out loud.

I probably don't have enough time right now.

If I keep rowing down in this tunnel, the library's going to close and I won't be able to get out.

So I need to find the door FAST.

…Wait.

Wai—I think I see something on the left side of the tunnel.

It looks like—

Why, yes, it is!

It's a door!

YES!

But is it the door that I'm supposed to go to?

…Yes!

That's the one!
It's the door with The Histories written on it!

…Hold on just a second.

I have to figure out a way to stop the log raft and reach the door.

…

*TWENTY FIVE SECONDS LATER*

"Yes, I got it!" I exclaimed after grabbing the doorknob.

I twist it and pull the door open.

Ooh! The light…from behind the door! It's burning my eyes.

I blink twice.

Almost immediately after blinking twice, my eyes quickly adjust to the bright light.

I step in to the room and close the door.

After closing the door and turning around, I gasp in shock.

"WHOA!"

This room…that I'm in right now…looks like something for Alice in Wonderland.

Why?

On every white wall, there were several hanging bookcases that were either a completely typical rectangular shape with bizarre features or just plain bizarre bookcases without anything special to be seen.

There were also bookcases had long and short legs.

"Wow." I whispered.

I start to look for a book case with its top touching the wall.

Now where can I find a bookcase like that?

As I look around, three toon books fly off of their shelves, open up, and fly around the room like birds.

Hmm, that was strange.