MURDER!

Chapter 11: Hostages

A/N: My classes were cancelled today due to a reckless blizzard! Much like the blizzard happening in this story. So, I'll be uploading this chapter for you fans out there. Have fun reading and don't forget to REVIEW! They are always appreciated.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HEY ARNOLD!

xXx

"Grab onto me!" Arnold yelled.

Helga did as she was told at once before the bottom of the vent collapsed beneath them and they landed on the third floor below. The two blondes were choking as the dusty air began to dissipate.

"Oh my god!" Helga screeched.

"Are you ok, Helga?"

Helga coughed and spat out more dust before she slowly turned to him and nodded. Arnold started feeling around him for the flashlight. When he found it, he turned it on and aimed it at Helga.

"Helga! Your arm!"

Helga looked down and found her upper arm was covered in blood.

"Dammit!"

Arnold hurried to get a closer look.

"It must have been the metal from the air duct passage."

Arnold untied his bow tie before wrapping it tightly around her arm. Helga hissed at the pain.

"Sorry," Arnold said, "but the pressure from my tie will keep it from bleeding for now until we can get you bandaged properly."

There was a muffled sound coming from the opposite side of the room.

Arnold whipped the flashlight around to find two figures sitting in two chairs and tied together with rope. Their mouths were sealed with duct tape.

"Eugene! Sid!" Arnold hurried to the tied up young men and started tugging at the ropes.

Helga ripped off the duct tape holding Eugene's lips together. He let out a muffled scream before spitting out a rolled up black sock. She then ripped at Sid's duct tape. He flailed his arms before spitting out a matching sock.

"You bitch!" Sid yelled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sid," Helga said sarcastically before pointing to Eugene. "Would you rather stay tied up in this chair next to this loser?"

"What happened?" Arnold asked.

"We don't know!" Eugene snapped. "Sid and I were just trying to explore and suddenly a mysterious figure leapt on Sid and he passed out! I tried to run, but whoever did this caught me before I got too far! We woke up tied to these chairs!"

"We need to get out of here!" Arnold suggested.

Arnold ran to the door, but it was locked. Helga suddenly began to cry.

"This maniac shows no mercy!" she said. "We're done for!"

xXx

This is all just a bad dream, Rhonda told herself. A really bad dream. If I open my eyes, everything will go away. I'll be back in Paris at the University, my secret is still safe with me.

Her head was pounding. She wanted to lift her hand to her head, but she couldn't. She had no strength. Or maybe she did, but couldn't somehow. She was too groggy to even think straight. Whenever she tried moving her arms, her wrists hurt.

I broke my wrist. That's it. I was running around University and slipped and broke my wrist – but, why can't I move my arm? Ugh, why does my head hurt so much?

"Do you know why you're here?" A loud, deep voice called to her.

Rhonda flinched at the horrible sound of the voice. This is not a dream. Rhonda tried to open her eyes, but she could not. Instead, she opened her lips.

"Curly?" she almost whispered. She felt too weak.

"THADEUS! My name is THADEUS! CURLY! GAMMELTHORPE!"

A chill went down Rhonda's spine. Curly never liked his real name, not unless he was being absolutely serious. Her chin quivered. Her lips seemed extra dry. She hesitated before she licked them.

"W-why am I here… Thadeus?" she could barely say his name.

A disgusting cackle escaped from the body before her. She could just smell his rancid breath. She gathered that his face was mere inches away from hers.

"The moment I saw you walk into Slaussen's Ice Cream Parlor with Harold yesterday, I knew your time was up! He has had a hold of you for far too long, my precious!"

"We were never together, Harold and I."

"No, but you were getting too close. I told you not to get too cozy with him, Rhonda!"

He put his hand on her thigh.

"Too many dangerous things could happen."

Rhonda thought about the events of the evening.

"But you did everything tonight… by yourself? How did you do it?"

Another cackle escaped him.

"I'm so glad someone appreciates my handiwork, thank you for asking."

Curly let go of her thigh. Rhonda heard a bustle of movement and footsteps moving farther away. He must have gotten up, she thought.

"You see, I wanted tonight to be spectacular, better than anything I have planned before. The boys were getting ready at Harold's, see. I came only slightly later than the rest of the boys so no one would be able to see as I switched the front doorknob so that it can only be unlocked from the outside. I also swiped the keys by the front door for later. I then got ready with the rest of the boys, yes, but that's what made my motivation for tonight absolutely soar! You might not know it, my dear, but many boys have had their eye on you, but none for so long as I! After getting ready, I quickly made my way around the house, checking locks and such. Brainy almost caught me cutting the phone lines, so I had to do away with him first thing. Luckily I brought the exact chemical for the job. Chloroform!"

Chloroform. That's why she was groggy.

"Where on earth did you get that?"

Rhonda could feel Curly's presence getting closer to her once more.

"I own Gammelthorpe's Dry Cleaners on Lexington. We use plenty of chemicals there. If you know where to order one chemical, you know where to order them all."

There was silence as Curly had to think about where he left off.

"I shoved Brainy into a closet before making my way to the kitchen downstairs, where I found live poultry. Perfect for playing with under the circumstances! Stupid chickens, they don't die right away, you know. You almost have to wait it out. I drained the last of its blood in a little baggy for myself – just in case."

"That's why the kitchen was covered in blood."

"Yes, and I couldn't have planned it better myself when Nadine and Sheena had walked upon it. I had the group running scared! Anyway, I barely made it out of the kitchen unnoticed when the boys came downstairs. I had to wash up in the bathroom before heading back to the living room with the rest of them. It was after you ladies arrived when I locked the door with the key… just before taking your coat."

Curly leaned into Rhonda's ear and whispered, "You looked ravishing, by the way."

Rhonda tried jerking away from Curly, pain surged through her arms and chest. She realized then that he must have tied her up. He chuckled in delight before continuing.

"I couldn't have planned the night better, but in the cellar, it was I who drew the 'murder' strip of paper from Sid's hat! It would have been much easier, though, if Harold didn't have such a thick skull. He went down when the lights were off all right, but it's a good thing I had a plan B. When the lights went off the second time I went straight for the breaker box and stole most of the main fuses."

"You hit Harold," Rhonda whimpered.

"It was my pleasure, darling! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Now, allow me to continue – I purposely made sure you forgot about your tote of goodies by hiding it by the breaker box until I could get to it again and take complete control over everyone once they thought I went 'missing.' I volunteered to grab it for you once we were upstairs if you don't remember. Mind you, I was never too far away from anyone at this point. It's easy to walk in shadows when you wear nothing but black. I found Sid arguing with Helga about his feelings for you. I couldn't have so many people running after you all night, so I followed him and Eugene up the stairs and tucked them far away, into a room on the third floor. I came down just in time to lock Harold in the cellar. I'm so glad I have him kept in one place so I can get to him later tonight."

Rhonda could hear Curly rubbing his hands together. She could feel her eyes becoming moist, but no tears were rolling down her cheeks yet. It was then that she realized she was blindfolded.

"At this point I had to move fast. Everyone left to find Nadine and Sheena in the bloody kitchen. I ran as quickly as I could to the fireplace and dumped my entire stash of photos of you and Harold, something about having Harold in the same photos as my beloved was rather irritating. And what better way to get rid of them than at this party? I was hoping you would get the hint not to mess with someone like me after seeing those photos burning. I'm glad the guys blamed the event on Iggy. He was arguing with Harold about you before you came, so naturally they picked him out. But this was the perfect set up to keep you quiet about me, yet what do you do? You go on to tell Helga about what happened Senior year! It was then that I took it in my interest to slow everyone down because you all were starting to get too curious! I followed Helga and her group to the second floor. I knew eventually they would go into one of the rooms to explore, so I planted myself in the library behind a desk! It was a good thing I had stored the chicken blood! I dumped it onto the floor, lied down, and waited. Sure enough, Helga was the first to find me dead!"

Curly released an uncontrolled laugh.

"Everyone thought I was dead! My plan had worked!"

His laughter suddenly ceased.

"Everyone except for you! You weren't in the library! I figured there was only one place you could be, and as it turns out, I was right! After everyone proceeded to the living room, I took it upon myself to check the cellar door! And who would I find there but YOU!"

Curly slammed his fist into something hard and something began hissing. A cat maybe? Rhonda was trembling with fear.

"You were there far too long, my precious! You had finally given in and confessed to Harold that your heart had always belonged to him! Tsk tsk…"

Curly leaned into her ear once again.

"Worst decision of your life!"

xXx

Harold finally found what he was looking for. In the storage room, he had found a large crowbar. He skipped out of the storage room and ran up the stairs, crowbar in hand. He hacked at the door for several minutes. Satisfied with the large, splintered hole he had made, he squeezed through.

"Rhonda!" he yelled into the darkness. He followed the dim glow of the fireplace far across the first story of the house.

Half of his friends were by the fire. Stinky was the first to see him come from the darkness.

"Harold!" he called out. Everyone turned to see Harold, glistening with sweat.

"Where's Rhonda?" Harold boomed.

"Sh-she's not here," Park said.

xXx

"Do you hear that?" Gerald's ears perked up.

"It's Harold! Quick! We must warn him!"

Gerald grabbed Phoebe's hand as they ran all the way down to the first floor and made their way to the fireplace. They found Harold holding Park by his collar.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Harold cried.

"Harold!" Phoebe squeaked.

"Harold, my man!" Gerald pulled the two apart.

Harold looked at Gerald and Phoebe.

"Curly!" Phoebe cried. "It's been Curly this whole time!"

xXx

Yes, I'm sure all of you figured out who was pulling these shenanigans from the beginning and truthfully I wasn't trying too hard to hide it. We all know Curly is a whack job. =) It's all about the drama! I hope you enjoyed this chapter because the next one should be published shortly! Three more chapters left! Don't forget to REVIEW! They are greatly appreciated.