Chapter 11
David was in a state of panic. He had been to the Forest a few times before as a youngster; he thought he could rely on those visits to figure out this dense place easily enough. As he turned down one dead end, then another, he knew his time was marked. Days. Hours. Maybe even minutes.
'I thought this was the way out' he presumed to himself as he seen a ray of light around a corner. Realizing that he failed again, he sucked it up to maintain his composure. 'Well, I can't lose it now. I need to get back to Lisa. Got to make sure she's alright.'
David turned back and crossed an enormous painting on a cavern wall along the way. The sight of it amazed him. Being a bit of an art enthusiast, he knew great work when he seen it. He noticed the signature on the bottom right corner of the painting and smiled. Henri de la Possum works were always near the top of his favourites list.
He finally found his way back to the secret hide out in the caverns. With the sight of broken planks and twisted swords, it looked like it had been trespassed before. Being so far away from any entrance, David figured it was a great spot to hide Lisa and not get caught. Little did he know, Bert and Cedric knew all about those hidden traps that came with the previously buried treasure. Lisa was so emotionally drained and stressed that she nodded off hoping this nightmare would end. To her disappointment, she awoke to the dank, damp smell of dirt and hardened rock. She rubbed her eyes to see the sight of David in front of her, making her realize it wasn't over yet.
"I had hoped that the vultures would have gotten you," snapped a stressed out Lisa. "You asshole!"
"I was just scoping the place out..." David said trying to seem confident.
"And you couldn't find your way out, could you?" asked Lisa, boldly. Lisa knew David well, and noted his weak body posture assuming that even he didn't know what to do next. "You're worried that they might find us soon."
David wasn't a very good liar, so this situation took a mental toll on him. Even though he wanted Lisa so badly, he wanted this to end almost as much as Lisa. "Okay, okay. I can't keep up this charade anymore. I can't find my way out of here. I'm freaking out!" screamed David. "I just don't want to lose you again."
Lisa's eyes widened. "I just thought that this was all a ploy to get Delilah and Bert back together. I never knew that..."
"Yes Lisa Raccoon, I still love you," as David's brave face turned into one of sadness and anger, mostly with himself. "Remember the great times we had growing up together? The weekend parties. The first year we went to the prom as a couple. Watching the sunset on the swings in the park." The reeling raccoon gently grabbed Lisa's hand and looked deep into her eyes, hoping for acceptance. "You know me better than this. You know I would never put your life in danger."
"You could of fooled me," snapped back Lisa, throwing David's hand away. "Do you know what I have been through since I moved away with my family? This was a big, open place with no friends. I had to start over. I was a lonely, sad raccoon. You never did call me after I moved away. I needed someone to rely on. Bert was always there for me in those dark times."
"I have been such an idiot," replied David as he lowered his head. "I didn't know how much I missed you until you were gone. Even Cynthia misses you. Delilah on the other hand..."
"Somehow, this all comes back to Delilah," cracked Lisa. "How about standing up for yourself and being your own man? As much as Delilah might be the blame for all of this, you have to take some responsibility for what's taken place."
"She just...she just has so much control," stuttered David. "I have a real weak spot in my heart for my niece; she is really the loser in all of this. She has a right to know her father; but not for the reasons that Delilah wants her to know him."
'I just hope that Bert is strong enough to fight off Delilah's advances' Lisa thought to herself. Little did she know, this would be tested sooner rather than later.
After meeting up at George and Nicole's, the gang decided to get some rest. Although many of them will probably not sleep tonight, they had to try to recharge to forge ahead with the search tomorrow. Bert was caught in an awkward position. Should he stay with Lisa's family and comfort them? Or stay with Delilah and Cynthia so he could catch up a bit with his daughter?
"I have a plan for tonight if it's okay with George and Nicole," spoke up Melissa as the gang was sitting around the kitchen table. "Ralph and I will stay over here, and you three can go back to the Raccoondominium. That way, there is enough room for all of us."
"But I want to..." started Bert.
"I know you want to be there for everyone, Bert," said George. "But we'll be fine for tonight. You have to spend some time with your daughter."
"Thanks for giving us a place to stay," said Delilah.
"Anytime," said Ralph. "You are definitely welcome here."
Bert, Delilah and Cynthia enjoyed the cool, crisp evening as they walked to the Raccoondominium. But all three of them were exhausted as Bert opened the door. They have had a pretty long day.
"Would you be up for a nightcap, Delilah?" asked Bert as Cynthia ran upstairs to the bunk beds.
"That would be nice," said Delilah.
After Bert poured them, he heard a bang upstairs, followed by a little whimper. "I'll go check on our little girl," said Bert, hoping that Cynthia didn't fall off the top bunk. This was the opening that Delilah was looking for. She reached into her purse and pulled out a vial. She grabbed a teaspoon by the sink and starting mixing the contents of the vial into Bert's drink. Bert came back down with Cynthia a few moments later with some paper and crayons.
"Are you okay?" cried Delilah, noticing the dejected look on her daughter's face.
"The suitcase closed on her fingers, but she'll live," said Bert, kissing Cynthia's fingers, making her giggle. He walked over to the fridge and poured her some chocolate milk. "Here you go, sweetie. You can draw for a little while, then it is bed time, little darlin'."
"Okay daddy," replied Cynthia, as she ran to the coffee table by the couch with the paper and crayons.
"Whoa! Either this nightcap is strong or I'm tired!" chuckled Bert as they started catching up on their past few years gone by.
After taking in the nightcap, they decided to turn in. Bert sang Cynthia a favourite lullaby of his that made her drift off into dreamland rather quickly. "I can never get her to sleep that quick," said Delilah. "You must have that magic voice."
Bert smiled and said good night. He was staying in Ralph and Melissa's room tonight, so Delilah could sleep with Cynthia on the bunks. As Bert lied in bed, all he could think about was Lisa. Tossing and turning, not even thinking about sleep, he just couldn't get out of his head why she was kidnapped. 'Even if David wanted her that badly' thought Bert, 'I just can't shake the feeling that there is more to this.' His head was spinning with all the angles in his mind at first, but then realized that the room really was spinning, with the ceiling fan not helping matters much. He stepped up off the bed to reach for it, but could barely stand on his own power. He fell to the bed, dazed. Just as his body was reaching a very relaxed state, he could hear a slow creek of the door opening.
"Lisa, is that you?" asked a zoned-out Bert, staring at the ceiling.
Delilah was standing in the doorway looking rather risqué. "I just thought you would want to talk about Lisa, offer a little support." Just then, she slid the shoulder straps of her nightgown down her shoulders. She wasn't talking about her support.
Bert looked over to the door, noticing the stunning raccoon. His mind was still on Lisa, mixing fiction into reality. "Lisa, I think your nightgown is..."
Delilah paused for a moment, but decided to roll with it as she knew the drug must have kicked in by now. "Oh, don't worry about that Bert. You just need to relax. Here, let me massage your shoulders."
Before Bert had a chance to respond, Delilah came and sat next to him on the bed. "Oooh, aahh," Bert moaned as Delilah worked his knots.
"Here, take your sweater off," said Delilah. "I feel a knot in your back that I need to work on." Delilah helped him pull his sweater off, and felt more passionately than ever about her former beau. 'Just like I remember him' she thought.
Delilah's hands just felt so good. His mind slipped into a dreamy place; she was just setting him totally at ease. Delilah knew this was her opening. "Bert, kiss me."
Bert started to pucker. His mind was long gone. He wanted Lisa so badly tonight, and the drug wasn't helping. The last thing Bert would remember is the long, passionate kiss.
The sunshine was warm and glowing the following morning as Bert awoke to a pounding headache. He slowly dragged himself to the bathroom for some aspirin to get the day started. Closing the door after reaching into the medicine cabinet, he looked at himself in the mirror. He noticed he was completely naked, and he couldn't remember taking his sweater off. "What happened?" asked Bert to himself. His mind started to switch into Luke Warm detective mode, whether he wanted to or not. He walked back to the bedroom to grab his sweater. It was crumpled at the foot of the bed, with a faint smell of perfume on it. He didn't like where this was heading.
Cynthia was just finishing her breakfast as Bert rolled downstairs. She hugged her father, and bolted upstairs to clean up. Delilah was smiling at Bert as he sat down to some coffee at the table.
"Well well, I didn't think you would get up this morning!" kidded Delilah.
"Yeah, we need to get going," replied Bert, still trying to clear his mind. "How did you sleep?"
"Great. I think the nightcap helped," said Delilah.
Bert smiled as she turned to the stove to prepare some breakfast. Bert looked around until he noticed the two small glasses by the sink from the night before. He then remembered the time he visited Lisa after David had drugged her. 'Oh my God!' shouted Bert's mind, piecing the clues of this morning together. 'It, it, it can't be...'
"I gotta go, Delilah," said Bert, pushing away his coffee and heading for the door. He didn't know what Delilah did last night, but he knew now that she was in on this horrible ordeal with her brother.
"Bert, your breakfast!" shouted Delilah to the open door. Her face began to sour as her gut started tying into knots. "Oh, #$t, he knows!" she said under her breath to herself. Now the time bomb was ticking; there was not much left she could do. Besides, she wants Cynthia to know her father, not drive him away.
The cool winds of autumn were starting to howl through the Evergreen Forest this morning; the leaves were turning into the colours of a sunset. This new day couldn't come soon enough for the gang, as they all met at George and Nicole's and were just about to set out for the Endless Echo Caverns when Bert strolled in.
"Bert? You look like hell!" said Ralph.
"I know we had sleepless nights, but did something happen?" asked Melissa.
"Remember when I told you that I had a feeling that Delilah was in on this?" asked Bert to the gang at the table, most of them nodding their heads. "I'm pretty sure now."
"What do you mean?" asked George.
Bert started to tense up and get embarrassed, as the gang noticed this wasn't like Bert. "There's no easy way to say this. I can't remember going to bed last night."
Some of the gang started to chuckle, but George and Nicole remained very serious.
"Dammit Bert! That was my twenty-six!" joked Ralph.
George came over and glared at his brother, ready to cuff him one. "Ralph, that's not very nice!"
"What do you remember?" asked Nicole.
"After going home, Delilah and I decided to have a nightcap. I heard a bang upstairs and went to check on my daughter, hoping she didn't fall off the bunk beds..." Bert tailed off realizing the timing that Delilah probably capitalized.
"What made you realize that she drugged you?" asked Melissa, becoming increasingly curious.
"I woke up to a throbbing headache. I noticed my sweater smelt like perfume this morning, crumpled on the floor. Then I saw the glasses by the sink..."
George was starting to become furious. "Bert, you didn't..."
"I hope not, George," replied Bert. "But I can't remember. The last thing I remember is falling onto the bed and someone coming to the door. The only one who would know is Delilah, but she would probably never tell the truth. We got to find Lisa." Still rattled, Bert walked outside.
"That's horrible!" said Nicole. "Wez better gets going. I zon't think Bert should be alone."
The gang looked worriedly at each other as they headed out the door. "I knew that Bert liked to live on the edge, but this is getting ridiculous," said Ralph.
"I did say I was willing to live with his faults," said George, sighing. "I might end up eating a healthy dose of crow."
Meanwhile, David knew that Lisa's family and friends were getting too close for comfort, so he took Lisa towards the echo opening of the waterfall. It was there that David's last shred of confidence melted away into complete fear. As he approached the entryway, he noticed a group of raccoons outside beside the stream. "Lisa, there's no way out of here," exclaimed David as he turned back towards her, trying to cover up his tracks.
"Yeah, there is," said Lisa, pointing to the edge of the waterfall. "I've been up here before, it's over here."
"No, it isn't," said David, becoming increasingly more jumpy. As she started walking over to the waterfall, he grabbed Lisa's arm, and a struggle ensued. Just as she escaped David's grasp, Lisa slipped and hit her head on a rock in front of the opening, knocking her unconscious.
"Oh, no!" yelled David as he rushed over to her motionless body. "Lisa, Lisa speak to me! I'm so sorry!" Immediately, David knew the jig was up. Lisa needed immediate medical attention. He hurried to the outside of the opening to yell for help. It was a lose-lose situation for David; it both involved losing Lisa.
Luckily, Ralph, Melissa, and Nicole were still beside the stream.
"Hey, do you hear that?" asked Melissa, looking up. The two other raccoons turned and seen a young raccoon yelling and waving his arms to get their attention.
Bert, Bentley, Cedric, and George went into two teams inside the cavern. Both teams had two-way radios to keep close contact. Static started coming over the radios. "Hey guys, we got something," said Ralph over the speaker. "I think David is at the top of the waterfall opening of the cavern. I think something's wrong."
"Cedric and I are the closest ones to the waterfall, so we'll be there as soon as we can," replied Bert, whose mind snapped into complete focus. They arrived in about five minutes to the sight that they only thought was possible in nightmares.
"What HAPPENED?" yelled Bert as he ran towards an unconscious Lisa.
"We sort of had a disagreement," choked up David. "She slipped and hit her head. We need to get her to the hospital."
Bert radioed back Ralph to go get help. Bert and Cedric did what they could to keep Lisa comfortable and try to slow down the bleeding until help arrived. There was so much blood lost, they weren't sure that she was going to make it. The response team was there in half an hour, but her pulse was weak. The paramedics wasted little time air lifting her to Evergreen hospital.
Just as fast as Lisa was taken to the hospital, David showed little resistance as he was taken into police custody. Bert wanted to pummel him so badly, but with Lisa's condition, his mind was elsewhere.