Chapter 13: The Garden of Evil
The girls recently exited out of the tent right after Willie disappeared, saying he would later see them at the gates of the asylum for their new mission. They walked into the direction where Miriam had advised them to take, according to a wooden sign and Willie's footprints walking there. Still unable to recall how they defeated the Ringmaster, Miriam explained how she called to them in their minds when they were falling under the spell of his hypnosis watch, and couldn't take their eyes off of the evil device, but was able to get Grace to use the mirror against the spell, which caused the cannon to appear and shoot him into oblivion. Had the girls not succeeded in all four tasks, the same fate would have awaited them.
The road to the asylum was not too far away, yet what the girls saw was an unusual sight to behold: on a hilltop, leading down the asylum was a green garden of twists and turns.
"Oh no, not another garden," Maggie grumbled nervously. "I can't take that anymore."
"Maybe it's not as big as it seems," Grace suggested, shrugging her shoulders.
"And look, there is no way to go around the area," Maggie pointed out to the high stone walls, sealing off any other alternate routes into the asylum. "Oh well, here we go back to the garden of evil once more."
At the threshold entrance to the asylum grounds, the girls spotted a pair of black cats fighting and hissing, imagining that it was over a mouse, but the haunted hues of green in their eyes discouraged any thoughts of further investigation. Willie had finally appeared to the girls at the front of the gates, smiling with satisfaction, arms folded across his chest.
"Is this the gate to our next assignment?" Grace implied uncomfortably.
"Close enough Missy," Willie responded. "These are known as the asylum grounds one must pass through to get to the asylum. I almost forgot to mention about the gardens in these here parts o' this land. But it ain't too far or too long to pass through. Think of it as walkin' through a wonderland of flowers n' candy."
"You know that reminds me," Maggie stepped up to face Willie. "We got a bone to pick with you…well not a real bone, but it's more of a discussion."
"And that is…?" Willie said patiently.
"We know what happened to the other players from above," Maggie answered firmly. "The others that were here before us."
"Were there?" Willie said, unimpressed as he cleaned his guns.
"Don't play dumb with us," Maggie asserted. "The others didn't just vanish out of sight like that. It was you who trapped them, all because they couldn't finish the games like you wanted them to. We have reason to believe that you're plotting to do the same with us if we don't make it."
Willie smiled grimly. With one hand he opened up his gun to see if it still had bullets inside. With the other hand, he replaced them with some new ones, throwing the old ones aside into a thorny bush. Then he checked out his pocket watch.
"Who put you up to this?" he accused. "Was it the cotton picker, the white rose, or the mangy circus beasts? I should a cast a spell of silence upon them. Ya'll shouldn't believe anything them spirits tell yah. Those who listen will believe anything, which makes them thievin' liars and mischief makers. Why bring them up to me?"
"You like making deals don't you?" Maggie challenged. "We'd like to make a new deal."
"A new deal eh?" Willie's eyes flashed. "Go ahead, ask away."
Mrs. Calloway stepped forward next to Maggie. "If we don't make it before the hour glass empties, we'll stay here in this world and let you turn us into whatever you wish. We'll be your loyal servants, and follow your commands. Our souls…will be forever yours."
Grace felt the sweat run down from her forehead, listening to this. Even she herself could never have the guts to speak these words to any such dangerous enemy in this world.
Willie kept staring at the girls, eyes unblinking. "Not much of a deal to make, but I love hearin' it. And what should happen if you do win?"
Mrs. Calloway sighed reluctantly. "If we win, you send us back home, and set everyone else free. We mean everybody that has been trapped here."
"Now I love this new deal," Willie smiled at hearing this, triumphantly, throwing the pocket watch back in his jacket. "But how will you know where to find the source of these lost souls?"
"Oh we already know that," Maggie insisted. "Everyone from above knows."
"Ain't that a fact?" Willie questioned. "Looks like you won't be needin' my help on that if you're so clever."
Grace on the other hand felt unsure, but bravely spoke. "How do we know you'll keep your promise?"
Willie held up his right hand. "I swear on my own grave, that if you win, I'll send you home and set the others free. Didn't I mention this the first time we met by mistake?"
The girls could only respond with total silence, looking at each other as they shrugged.
"Look wherever you wish for them lost souls. They're bound to be hidden in the form of anything. And don't be worryin' about not findin' any in the first four levels o' the game. There were none to be found. See yah at the real gates."
At the moment he disappeared, the girls resisted the urge to shiver. They were not going to see Willie again anytime, unless he wanted to show himself, making it easier for the girls to be afraid of something they could not see. All three of them pushed the gates open and stepped past the walls, stopping only to gaze at their next destination at the end of the valley. A large building resembling a fortress towered beyond the great hedge maze, twelve towers crowned with a slightly sinister finish.
"Who'd want to live in a tower of darkness from the dark ages?" Grace cringed at the eerie sight.
The girls entered through the open gates, a low wind howling not so far away, but the force was enough to shut the gates well and tight, nearly startling them.
"This is the right path for the time being," Maggie said uneasily.
Leaves and weeds flanked the cobblestone path spread out before them, hesitantly crossing it and the first thing the girls saw was a gold chest sitting still next to a wooden sign: These are the gardens of the asylum grounds. In these parts are many hidden treasures to be found, other than weapons. To leave this maze, follow the green lanterns.
Not knowing what these green lanterns were, Maggie opened the gold chest by tapping it with her hoof, revealing a silver object that none of them knew how it worked, which left them inspecting it.
"That's a flashlight my friends," Miriam noted. "Turn it on by pressing that tiny black button and press it again to turn it off. One can only find it in the cities amongst random places."
Using her tail to click it, Maggie stood back at the beam of the yellow glow, penetrating most of the darkness around the garden. "Let's hope it can help us find a way out after this, and see if it's enough to save anyone trapped in here."
The girls followed the path further ahead when they came into a larger area split into three different paths. With Maggie keeping a firm hold on the flashlight, she looked up and saw something big. All three of them panicked and shrieked at the sight of large coils belonging to a mythical serpent, and dashed up a hill.
"It's alright girls," Miriam called out. "It's not real, it's just a fake."
Despite the shivering their bodies caused against the bush, the girls slowly peered over their hiding place, and saw what Miriam meant. The serpent wasn't even moving to begin with. It was only a trick of exquisite workmanship: six arches of shrubs and trees were trimmed and cut to resemble the large scales of a sea serpent. An elaborate decoration that added to the moss covered stone slates in the center of the particular area. Relieved at this discovery, the girls came out of their hiding place and moved to where Miriam was waiting, and transported herself back in the diamond rose pendant around Grace's neck.
"Don't worry girls," the ghost cow whispered. "You'll still hear my voice and I will do what I can to help you. This is where I need to be for your sake, and for mine. Keep an eye out for signs, and if you find more useful items with that flashlight, throw them in the air and I'll catch them. No point in being burdened with a heavy load till the end."
"Thanks Miriam," Grace whispered back. "We could not have done all these things without you."
"Which road do you think we should risk taking?" Maggie looked in the direction of the left path, feeling ill at ease from the sight of the minor fog floating around. "I don't know about that way, so how do you feel about this side?" The girls looked to the right where everything seemed too eerily quiet.
"You know what the sign says you two," Mrs. C mused. "To get out of here, we must follow the green lanterns. So whichever path we choose, they're bound to show up somehow. All paths look rather hollow to me, but let us try right first and see what happens. And if anything goes wrong, run for it."
All three of them agreed to this, never knowing if the new enemy they encounter might be too onerous for them to fight without knowing its origins first. From their last level, charging at a monster the first second would most likely be suicide and foolish. The right path would be the first to attempt exploration for useful items, including the colored stones with lost souls. Close by was a small gate of some sorts, bound by a silver lock. Above this cage was a round emblem depicting a compass.
Grace was a bit confused by the symbol. "I wonder what's inside that…LOOK OUT!" She jumped on top of her friends, shoving them to the ground.
Before Mrs. Calloway had a chance to scold her for scaring them like that, all three of them looked up to see another cut up dragon shaped shrub, eyes glowing red and smoke flaring out of its nostrils. Lucky for them Grace spotted a fireball of sorts coming their way, which alerted her to this, enough to save her friends from getting hit.
"Oh great, how do we pass through that thing?" Maggie moaned, turning the other way to avoid looking at the scowl on that creature, having its eyes on them.
"A fire breathing shrub?" Mrs. Calloway uttered uneasily. "What's next, carnivorous thorns from beyond?"
Hey, don't forget the carnivorous plant monster we defeated," Maggie specified.
"Wait, we got a chance," Grace finally assured. "It might breathe fire, but it can't even stretch its neck. We still have those hedge clippers from the plant house mission." Her hoof touched the rose pendant. "Miriam, Miriam, we need hedge clippers." Her call was answered once the object fell from a silvery light that appeared for a second before it disappeared. Picking it up, Grace dodged a fireball and made a jump to the side of the creature, holding the hedge clippers with her teeth to make a few choice cuts through the neck to sever the living shrub from its spot.
"Time for some weed killing," Maggie declared. "Miriam, Miriam!"
Two filled up jugs of weed killer appeared for Maggie and Mrs. C to use, while Grace kept a good hold on the flash light with her tail to light the way.
Passing safely through the next path, the girls jumped back when a deformed gardener waited in ambush with a pitchfork in one hand. However, Maggie was prepared for another of these zombie creatures, dodging the pitchfork as she charged straight at it, sending the creature into annihilation. It was a relief for any creature they fought with to disappear after its defeat. At the end of this road, the girls saw a bed of violets in the center of a circular dead end. But what really caught their attention was a silver key sitting on a stone rock. With nothing else coming at them, Grace reached out to grab the key with her teeth. With no new path in this area, the girls decided to go back the way they entered and try out the next path where they had first entered the gardens. But before they went back, Grace stared back at the same locked gate with the emblem above, and decided to try it out with the silver key. Luckily the gate unlocked, revealing a large golden compass and right next to it, a red colored stone the size of an orange fruit. With the flashlight in her tail, it kept glittering as if it was happy to be discovered, and waiting to be rescued.
With only one way to find out, Grace whispered Miriam's name twice and tossed the colored stone in the air, engulfed in a blue light. The ghost cow's voice whispered to them.
"Bless you girls, you found the first colored stone containing the soul of a young mustang. He is grateful to be found, but you must hurry for there are other stones to be found and Willie is not going to be happy about this."
"We're going to have to take that risk Miriam," Mrs. Calloway responded firmly. "Whatever it takes to get us out of this game, we have to risk it."
With the colored stone stored safely in their secret inventory, the girls found no trace of green lanterns in this first part of the path they searched so it was time to explore the left path and be super alert and quick on their feet as best as possible. Upon entering, the ground started to rumble and something else started to sting at their faces and bodies, like a sandstorm out in the desert, only this was a garden maze. The girls shut their eyes tight and moved forward, not knowing why there would be sand blowing in a garden zone.
"Do not stop girls," Miriam whispered hesitantly. "Keep moving and don't open your eyes until the wind dies down. You're going the right way, but Willie is furious."
The sand stings got worse, making it difficult to move any faster, as if the girls were now moving into a tornado infested area. The wind turned vicious and cold, infuriating Maggie, sharp as needles and hard as rocks.
"Alright we get it, you're enraged!" Maggie shouted furiously. "But how about learning to take a chill pill and play fair why don't you!"
There was no reply to her outburst, but the wind slowly dropped away, and vanished, allowing the girls to open their eyes again to look back and see that the opening area they had entered here was blocked by a brick wall. There would be no escape out that way.
"I guess that did the trick," Maggie shrugged. "Come on; let's go find those green lanterns."
Nobody said a word as the three now trekked down a graveled path, passing under hedge swans, the found that the road split two ways, each with a gardener or mutated plant eager to take a bite out of any intruder. The first to appear was a wandering dandelion, puffing out a pollen attack, only to be incinerated by the weed killer in a matter of minutes. A zombie gardener came at them with a pair of hedge clips, which were no match against the powerful kick coming from Grace, sending him against the garden wall, devoured by the thorny vines, grossing the girls out, cautioning them to stay as far away from any walls covered with thorny vines. Taking the left path first, there were no signs of lanterns here, but after walking down two short flights of stairs, there was groaning up ahead.
"Great, more zombies," Maggie snorted in irritation, getting ready for an ambush.
When two zombies appeared with shovels, a new item of some sorts appeared after the quick demise caused by the powerful kicks against the walls.
"Be careful girls," Miriam warned quietly. "That new object is a flame thrower, so watch where you aim it while fighting off those zombies and mutated plant creatures. It will annihilate them much quicker than using a simple kick."
"Perhaps I should carry this new weapon," Mrs. Calloway stepped in front of Maggie, not trusting her with how to handle the object, in case she made a careless act. Maggie could only frown as she watched Mrs. C throw the weed killer in the air to disappear, before taking hold of the flame thrower with her tail.
"Where do we go now?" Grace asked timidly, trying not to think of that weapon.
"Use the compass of course."
The same golden compass from the last area dropped in front of the girls.
"With this compass, you want to go north. The green arrow will let you know when you're going the right way. But if you should take a wrong turn, the red arrow will tell you."
Grace handed the flashlight to Maggie, picking up the compass by the handle.
Continuing forward, the compass turned green, giving the girls relief and hope that this was the right way to go.
"Look, a green lantern!" Grace cried out, pointing up at a lamppost ahead, shining green instead of yellow. "We're on the right lane for sure."
"One green lantern down," Maggie uttered, "Several more to go. I wonder what else we'll find hiding in here."
"I'm surprised to find that Pearl never considered a hedge maze for her gardening skills," Mrs. Calloway interrupted. "We'd all be lost in no less than five minutes."
"A maze this size would cost her more than the whole farm for purchase," Maggie looked around for any more signs of green lanterns and colored stones with the flashlight. "We'd be out of farm and home. And there's not a single other colored stone here."
"We'll find one," Grace assured. "It's bound to be here or in the next level...I hope."
Gardening was soon to be their least favorite hobby after this is over. Finding three paths before them, the first one lead to a small dead end, but not without another important discovery. It was an odd sort of water fountain, a statue carved into a fish like monster. Yet something else had caught their attention once Maggie shined the flashlight above where the water came out of the statue's mouth. Another colored stone in blue floated above the fountain, just out of their reach.
"We did it," said Grace, nearly jumping. "We found the next stone."
"But how do we get it down?" Mrs. Calloway debated. "There's no lever or ladder around to use."
Grace responded. "Who needs a ladder when you got speed?"
Before the other two could ask what she meant, they saw that Grace took several feet back away from the fountain and raced forward, long enough to do a high jump above the fountain and grab the blue stone with her teeth.
The other two stared in bewilderment at the friend once she made a safe landing. Grace was puzzled, wondering why they would do that.
"Thank you, for you have rescued the lost soul of a warrior native. Now hurry on before the next earthquake strikes."
Tracing their steps back, the girls stared down at the compass, deciding now whether to go to the center path or the right path. Having no time to waste, they decided to try out the right path, hoping that a red arrow only meant being far away from the exit, and not certain death. There was only one way for them to find out about this. It was a short walk before four zombies crawled out of deep holes and were crawling toward the girls. But with the flame thrower in handy, Mrs. C aimed it at the ghouls with fire coming out, roasting them quickly into black ember.
"I'm not one for violence," she admitted. "On the contrary, those things were already dark when we entered."
"Looks like you're getting into the action of combat," Maggie smirked at this.
Moving passed the burned decay; the girls found another sign before an open area. It read: This way to the blood roses, tiger lilies, and tickle tulips. Don't step in their bed.
"Tickle tulips?" Grace frowned in confusion. "Whoever heard of a silly thing called a tickle tulip?"
"Never mind the tickle tulips; I don't like the feeling of what a blood rose is capable of doing by a single bite from its hidden fangs of terror," Maggie shuddered at the eerie thought.
"Surely there must be something of importance in there," Mrs. Calloway alleged. "Word to the wise, we investigate to make sure of it. And if there isn't, we leave."
No further arguments were made as the girls went inside the open garden zone, with no clear openings, but a creepy stone water fountain in the very midst, surrounded by three flower beds.
"Maybe we've stepped into some kind of puzzle," Grace guessed, looking around her in case of enemies hiding.
"If it's a puzzle, where are the pieces?" Maggie implied.
"The piece you'll find here is not like the others. When I sense a lost soul nearby, you'll hear my voice. What I mean is that while every petal in this garden might attempt to attack intruders, only one of them is of a different color; search carefully."
"Only one flower of a different color?" Maggie rephrased that. "I don't know what that means, but let's investigate."
Holding the flashlight in her tail, the other two followed Maggie instead of searching separately with the possibility of one meeting their unexpected doom. The first flower bed to search was the tiger lilies, guarded by a large iron fence, more similar to a cage holding captive animals. The girls got their answer to why this cage was here when one of the tiger lilies woke up and tried to reach out through the bars with its pointy leaves, roaring viciously like a real circus tiger, revealing a row of sharp teeth.
"So that's the reason they call them tiger lilies!" Mrs. Calloway cried out in terror, sticking close to her other shocked and worried friends. "They must not like the smell of visitors!" They soon watched the other tiger lilies wake up to the roar, and were attempting to escape the unbreakable cage with their constant growling and scratching.
"Let's move out of here before they do manage to break out!" Grace whimpered, not wanting to find out what would happen if they got dragged in accidentally.
They walked passed the creepy fountain to see if there was anything unusual in the bed of blood roses, which were apparently white instead of red.
"Hold on a second," Maggie pointed out.
"What is it now Maggie?" Mrs. Calloway demanded, losing her patience with too many interruptions coming from her.
"These roses are white," the show cow implied, gesturing her head to the color. "I mean what other reasons they would be called blood roses if…" before she could finish, a dirty black bat flew down in the path, but missing them as it dived into the white rose bed, stuck. What happened next was sudden movement from several white roses wrapping themselves around the shrieking and squealing rodent, with only the sounds of munching and sucking to be heard which went on for moments. This horrific scene sent frozen waves of chills across the cows, even as the vines unwrapped; now leaving a bat skeleton and several RED roses, thorns dripping and soaked with blood!
"NOTHING IN THIS PLACE!" Maggie screamed and dashed out of the blood rose garden, followed by her two frightened friends, wishing not to meet the same demise as the bat.
With not a single unusual flower found in the first two beds, there was only one last area to search in the garden of the tickle tulips, with a device unknown and unheard of sitting on the brick floor. Maggie was able to keep the flashlight on, seeing that these tulips were all the same color of pink, but none of them showed signs of any life. Their hopes of finding anything were growing slim, until the flashlight caught something for Maggie to take notice of, glittering yellow in a flower pot, as rich and bright like a firefly.
"I think that's it girls," she whispered with relief. "Hold this thing Grace, I'm going in there."
"But Maggie, what if…"
"We're not leaving without that stone," she responded sharply. "It needs our help, and we're the only ones left alive to do the job. So keep that light up for me."
There were no words for Maggie's sudden courage attempt at the risk of what those tulips were capable of doing in a matter of minutes. For all Maggie knew, the poor thing trapped inside might have waited no more than a century or so calling for a rescue that remained unanswered. A small brick path lead straight to the glowing yellow rose, sitting on a circular stone pillar. Ignoring the steps caused by her hooves, Maggie kept her gaze focused on the rose, resisting the urge to look and see if any of the tulips were moving from their spot. But it only took no less than ten seconds for her to reach the spot and be able to grab the side of the flower pot with her strong teeth and shouted for Miriam to catch it once tossing it in the air. The rose transformed into a yellow colored stone before vanishing to safety.
"Well done, you are growing much wiser in this game than ever. Even the young Indian maiden trapped in that rose is forever grateful. Return to where you entered."
"Then that settles it," Maggie boasted. "No more monsters means no more…"
With a gasp of shock, the tulips had come to life and their vines started to wrap up around Maggie's four hooves and all over her body, dragging her into the flower bed.
"NOT THIS AGAIN!" Maggie shouted angrily.
"Maggie!" Grace cried out in fear.
Their attempts at trying to help Maggie were cut off by the growing number of tulips hissing and shaking their leaves like desert rattlers at the two, even snapping at their hooves every time one of them got close. At this rate, Maggie was growing horrified at what these tulips had in mind for her and knowing that her two friends were outnumbered by the dozens. She shut her eyes tight, awaiting for these plant monsters to eat her alive or worse. But what she didn't see were a dozen of the tulips moving up to her, only instead of using sharp teeth, thorns, or poisonous gas attacks, Maggie started to feel something soft and brushy tickling her face, neck, belly, and her hindquarters. Biting her lip, she tried so hard not to give in and embarrass herself like this in front of her friends. At the same time, the show cow never admitted to anyone that she was ever ticklish in these areas being targeted from the tulips, now understanding where they got their name. Maggie soon started to smile, still biting on to her lip, unable to hold it in any longer and began to laugh.
"Is that Maggie I hear laughing?" Mrs. Calloway shouted in confusion. "That's the first time I ever heard you laugh in this game! This is no time for pointless humor so stop that!"
"But Mrs. Calloway, I don't think that's Maggie!" Grace proclaimed. "It's the tulips behind this. Don't you get it, tickle tulips? That's what's happening!"
Mrs. Calloway became breathless, mouth open wide. "We got to do something before she laughs herself to death!"
"Stop that, I can't take anymore!" Maggie cried in between giggles. The tulips only ignored her as the tickling continued and she started to feel her bottom being targeted next, increasing her level of laughing louder than ever, her sides hurting. "Cut it out, you win! I'll admit that I'm ticklish everywhere!" She screamed in between laughs. "This is a humiliating way to die if you know what I mean!"
"Use the lawnmower you two, right over there!"
The other two stared at the same unfamiliar device they passed by and ignored the first time entering here.
"Push that thing by the use of the silver iron bar. Tickle tulips are no match against future progress!"
Miriam's voice faded before Mrs. Calloway gathered up her determination and courage to give that thing a try, holding the iron bar with her teeth firmly. She started to zoom off at a great speed, cutting those pesky weeds from the ground, sheared, scattered, and lifeless, now putting an end to the tickling and laughing. Maggie had collapsed to the ground, sighing and breathing heavily. Grace and Calloway ran over to check up on her.
"Maggie, are you alright?" Grace whispered anxiously.
"I hope so," she replied, taking a deep breath. "Just as long as none of us mentions this incident once we get back home. I'll be fine then. You hear that Calloway? I am not ticklish, not in the least."
Mrs. Calloway could only giggle and smile at Maggie's sudden denial, keeping her opinions about that to herself for now.
The girls were able to trek back to the where they were originally going to take the center path after snatching the second colored stone. This time, there was another green lantern inside, while the compass signaled them going the right way with the green arrow pointing north. Four more green lanterns followed, leading to a glowing yellow fountain for each of them to recover their lost strength. The end of the path stopped at a row of stone stairs leading down an underground tunnel.
AN: Looks like I must apologize again for such a long update on this and my other stories. Not only was I caught up in a cartoon project at home, but was working on some more art works for the Deviantart website that has become a successful site for me and my works on catching other artists attention. I always hate leaving my stories on a cliffhanger for those who are dying to see what happens next, so I'm going to see how much more of this story I can finish up.