Here we go, the next arch of the story. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Four: We're Not in Louisiana Anymore…

From the top of the tree, Randall could see the basic outline of the town. He squinted hard, and the blurry image was all wrong: it was a simple skyline, with no tall buildings at all. The houses were too old, and didn't match the residential homes of New Orleans. The place where they had escaped from was on the run-down side; the backyard fence had been very rickety when they jumped over it. He twisted around on the branch to scan the surrounding landscape. The trees were far fewer; the one he was in was amongst a small cluster of them. And none were draped with the familiar hanging moss of the swamp. What were most predominant were the vast open meadows of marshy grass and other plants with narrow rivers in between. Another thing bothering him was the chilly temperature. There was a definite lack of humidity, too. He pulled his jacket closer in a vain attempt to keep in body heat. Actually, that was kind of pointless, since he sensed a fever arising, courtesy of the infected wound.

"Something's wrong here…" he mumbled.

"I'm coming up," called Suzie's voice. She climbed up as well to have a look around. Something in the sky grabbed her attention straight away. "Hey, the sun is setting! The light isn't right for it to be a sunrise. I thought those people in the house were having breakfast!"

"So did I. Must've been their dinner." Randall half-listened as thoughts zoomed through his head. When they first ran into Chester Duffy back in that toddler's safari room, he remembered Chester ranting about 'door glitches.' Upon sighting Suzie, the puny sasquatch had said something like: 'What are you doing in here? The door glitches were supposed to be fixed!' Maybe some sort of malfunction had occurred, and that was the reason he and Suzie had come out someplace else…Randall didn't like that theory. If that was true, then where were they?

The two monsters climbed down, back into the long shadows that stretched across the grass. Both were really beginning to feel how tired they were; neither had slept in nearly twenty-four hours, what with the trek from camp into the city, staying up all night during the raid, and hanging out in the Monster World afterwards.

Suzie was sharing similar fears. She slumped against the trunk of the tree, too fatigued to think clearly. "They all seemed so nice! Baboso said he'd send us to the outskirts of New Orleans. This doesn't look like New Orleans to me…You don't think the whole thing was a setup, do you?"

"That's possible, I guess," Randall couldn't believe any of them would do such a thing, especially when it was obvious their group of outcasts needed help. He couldn't picture Fungus taking part—the guy was too much of a 'do-gooder,' and such a plot didn't suit him. Randall concluded that this hadn't been a setup. "No. Those three—Baboso, Fungus, and Nick—they're not the sort of monsters who'd do that. They actually wanted to help us, so why would they send us here?"

"But where is 'here?' I don't recognize anything!"

Randall squinted into the orange, gold, and yellow sunset. "Some other time zone, it looks like."

"Oh, goody. The others are going to eat us alive! All this travel-by-door really gives you jet lag, doesn't it? How did you ever manage when you did it for a living?"

"You get used to it, and you're never in a kid's room for long, anyway. I only wonder how long we're gonna be in this place," he looked through a gap between the trees at the town's edge. "It's too late to go back. They'll have deactivated the door by now."

"Ugh. So what now?' Suzie pulled her feelers in frustration.

"Let's eat and get some sleep. We'll figure it out in the morning." He knew she was only frustrated because of lack of sleep. He was unbelievably exhausted, too, and a bit of rest would help clear their heads.

A lot of wild mushrooms were scattered around this patch of trees. They would satisfy their hunger at least a little. After resting, they'd be able to focus more on their new problem. It was wise to take turns keeping watch for people or wild animals. But neither had the energy nor the will to stay awake right now, so they resolved to find hidden spots for sleeping. Randall got up on a sturdy branch, and Suzie nestled among the roots, hidden by the thick bushes.

"I'll brave the snakes," she vowed, settling in. "Randall, I know I try to find a bright side for everything, but to be honest, finding one here is really, really hard." Despite the ground of prickly, wild grass, she fell asleep fast and was as still as a rock. The lack of shelter didn't faze her; she was too tired to care about such luxuries. Sounds of nocturnal birds singing their songs helped to lull her to sleep, wrapped up in one of the stolen hospital blankets.

Randall curled up on the branch, trying to get comfortable. The fresh bandages under the jacket were a relief to have on again. The pain was numbed slightly with the soothing pressure. There was one opinion on his mind that he was keeping to himself—perhaps they should have taken the offer to stay in the Monster World.

…

When the sun rose, Suzie was confused as to where she was, but quickly remembered. "Oh, right," she said to herself, looking out at the vast, marshy meadow. The sunrise bathed it in soft pinks and yellows, and whole flocks of birds flew around in search of bugs to eat. Many of the birds were species she didn't recognize. "We're really off course, if none of the animals look the same—hey, Randall, are you awake?"

There was no answer from the tree.

"Randy?" Suddenly in a panic, she scrambled up to the wide branch where he was lying.

She exhaled upon finding him alive. But he was out like a light. Even when she shook him, he barely stirred. That's when she noticed his dangerously high fever. The pulse accompanying it seemed unnaturally fast. The symptoms worried her. Deciding to check on the wound, she unzipped his jacket and cut open the wrappings.

"Oh, God…" the scales were in such bad shape; some of them looked close to dead. It looked like a fresh gunshot wound instead of one that was several days old. Swollen and glistening with violet-red blood, streaks of dark veins spread out far from the wound. It was located just above his lower set of arms, and now his whole torso was looking mangled.

Suzie hurriedly replaced the bandages, which was hard since Randall refused to wake up. She bit her lip and tried to stay calm. How were they supposed to get ahold of medicines when Nicholas, Baboso, and Fungus would be heading to the bayous? It was obvious to her that she and Randall were nowhere near Louisiana.

Seeing Randall like this was very disturbing. He was the most adaptable of the group—no matter where he was he always found a way to survive. Seeing him this ill and weak; it was amazing he had held out this long. Then again, they were monsters. A mere infection wasn't too hard to deal with—unless it was as bad as this.

She perched on the edge of an adjacent branch when she saw Randall beginning to stir.

He instantly felt the fever and sighed without words. He could tell he had gotten worse overnight.

"Don't try to move, just lie there. There's no way Nicholas and those other factory guys will find us now. It's time we took matters into our own hands," Suzie announced. "I'm going to head back into town to try and find something. I know human medicine isn't made for us, but maybe something super-powerful will work."

Randall admitted she was right. "Anything's worth a shot at this point…Hold on, you're heading where? Now? It's daylight, you'll be seen!"

"It's early, still. The sun is barely up. If I leave now, I can be back before the rush hour. Maybe I can find out where we are."

"No. If you're caught—"

"What other choice is there?" the shudder in her voice revealed how scared she truly was. "Besides, how can you go out raiding like this? Can you even sit up?"

Randall gritted his teeth and adjusted so that he was sitting upright against the trunk. The movement was slow and excruciating; pain coursed through his torso relentlessly. "OK, maybe you're right…but try to find some sort of disguise if you head into town. And stick to the roofs and alleys; keep a knife on you, just in case. That town looks pretty small; who knows how they'll gang up on a monster?"

Suzie hopped down the tree and removed every knife from the backpack to store in various jacket pockets. She left a few water bottles for Randall and tossed him some more wild mushrooms. "I'll eat later. I wanna get going before people start filling the streets."

"Well, it's the weekend. Maybe everyone'll want to sleep in," Randall hoped. "Promise me you'll try to stay safe, OK? And don't do anything stupid."

"Promise." Suzie wasn't so sure of herself. I promise I'll try, at least. Supply raids had never been her specialty. For fear of chickening out, she set off on a flat-out run through the trees.

Randall was left alone; left for the horrible waiting game, up here in a tree. If anything happened to her, he'd never be able to forgive himself. What would Bernard, Becca and Naomi say if they knew he had let her go out on her own like this? The girl was an expert forager and a mountain of knowledge, courtesy of her bookworm status, but a solo supply raid? He had a hard time convincing himself this would go smoothly.

…

Suzie kept running until reaching the houses. With the rising sun, and no people out yet, she could take a moment to have a better look around. She squatted by a fence and gazed down the street.

This community was on the older side; a few houses were rundown, in need of repairs. All were simple one- or two-story places—the oldest ones with moss growing on their roofs. This particular road was not paved, so she resolved to brush out her footprints if she had to walk on it. Or better yet, avoid it entirely. Judging by the various tools, boat, and farm equipment lying around, this town was comprised largely of farmers and fishermen.

She set out on a journey through the backyards, unsure where to go. There must be a doctor's office somewhere…

When she passed through a backyard, she found a full clothesline. Someone must have forgotten to bring in the laundry last night, for everything was bone-dry. She swiped a long, women's skirt and an oversized sweatshirt with a hood. "Not the most fashionable disguise, but whatever works." She pulled them on and used the hood to hide her feelers before moving on.

There were some early risers driving around, but they were easy to avoid. Suzie ducked nonchalantly between houses whenever a car came. By the third time this happened, though, she noticed something odd—the cars all drove on the left side of the road! Also, the license plates looked different from most vehicles she was familiar with. "Oh no…oh no, no, no, no…" she panicked. "The left side of the road—what continent are we on?! Oh, Becca, if you only knew how we ended up here, of all places!"

This new piece of knowledge scared her. If they were somewhere in Europe—which now seemed very plausible, given the landscape—the rest of the group was an ocean away! How were they supposed to get back to camp with an obstacle with that?

She took several deep breaths. "Focus, Suzanne, focus…Find some medicine, first. Then deal with the next problem."

She stuck to the shadows on her way deeper into town. The cars drove slowly, but more and more of them were appearing. Eventually the dirt roads transitioned into paved ones, and the houses were more pristine and tidy-looking. She found herself venturing into a town square, where a few small shops were located. Good. Maybe there was a drugstore or something. She wandered down the sidewalk, keeping her eyes peeled.

A lot of buildings here had a strange, medieval look to them. Some were actually made entirely of stone or even crumbling near the rooftops. Suzie would have stopped to look around more, but was in too much of a hurry. One of the most interesting sights around was a tall church built of stone bricks. It was an ancient-looking structure, with a tower housing a bell, and was architecturally old, as if it had been built in the Middle Ages. She paused to gaze at it in admiration. "Wow. Once Randall is better, we've got to look around inside." She had no plans whatsoever to steal from a church, but such a fascinating building would be worth exploring.

She made sure her tail was tucked under the dowdy skirt while strolling around in the open. It was so quiet and deserted that there didn't seem to be much need to hide. At this early hour, all the shops were closed. There had to be something here…she wandered further down the street, reading the shop signs.

"Oh, dear…" Everything was written in French. "We're definitely not in Louisiana, Randall."

She didn't know much French, but found a tiny clinic wedged between a dentists' office and a little grocery store. "This must be a small town. I could probably walk from one end to the other in just a few minutes."

The clinic was one of a long row of shops all joined together. The front entrance she didn't want to risk breaking into; that would be more noticeable from the street. So she went around back in search of another entrance. She did find one, but instead of a red-painted emergency exit, the door was plain, without any sign of a security alarm. She pulled out two knives to use as lockpicks. "Oh, please don't have an alarm. That's the last thing I need!" Her hands shook so badly that the task was made all the more heart-pounding. When a 'click' was finally heard, she held her breath while opening the door…just a crack…

The silence within was too good to be true.

Suzie adjusted the hood before slipping in. If there were cameras, she'd best keep her face hidden. The lack of alarm system was making her very wary—this must be a close-knit community if the owners of this place didn't feel the need for tighter security.

The dark corridor was carpeted; her feet were muffled as she crept along; she could almost hear her own heart thumping! Any moment, someone might come waltzing through the front door to open up for the day. This was why she didn't do many supply raids. It was impossible what to expect.

Locks were picked like crazy, as she broke into every room. The examination rooms had useless things like tongue depressors and cotton balls, but some had sterile bandages ripe for the picking. Locked up in cabinets were medicines like mild painkillers and things for headaches. Suzie was sure she was getting close…in a rural, remote town such as this, there had to be emergency antibiotics on hand. But with every break-in, she was met with disappointment.

"C'mon! Give me something!" she cried out in desperation, slamming a drawer closed.

The final door turned out to be a godsend.

It had multiple locks, which made short work of one of the knives. Suzie squinted in the dim light to find important-looking bottles, all neatly lined up along the shelves. There were syringes and needles, and heavy-duty first aid supplies, perfect for dressing serious wounds. She immediately zeroed in on the most potent antibiotic there: penicillin. From what she knew, it could be taken to fight infected wounds. The label was written in multiple languages, and English was one of them. She grabbed a couple of bottles, most of the syringes, and the bottles of rubbing alcohol. Human medicine didn't a huge effect on monsters—this she knew. But penicillin was pretty strong stuff, and this particular kind had to be injected, not swallowed. It was worth a shot.

Suzie stuffed the findings into the backpack and hugged it. Lives depended on this stuff! Namely, Randall's. Finally! After all this hassle, we've got something going right! She was so overwhelmed with relief that she almost cried. She didn't, though; now was not the time.

Before making a getaway, she couldn't resist exploring the clinic's waiting area in search of something to read. Every book she owned was back at camp, and she would die of boredom without some good literature.

Unfortunately, everything was written in French. "Hmm…might as well learn the language if we're stuck here." She grabbed a dozen of the children's picture books, having no interest in the magazines. As an afterthought, she took all the coloring books, crayons and stickers, too. Maybe they would help lighten the mood out in the strange wilderness of this countryside. A couple of tourists' brochures lined a wall, many of them with copies in various languages. Suzie recognized a few like Italian and German, but French was the most predominant. She grabbed a copy of everything. To her astonishment, the local brochures contained a few small maps of the area. These were not the best at pinpointing their exact location, but they might provide a few clues.

This is a disaster. Help is on the way, but we're not even on the same continent! Nick and the factory guys will never find us now…Hang in there, Randall. Don't die and leave me here all alone…She went back down the carpeted hall. Randall was probably in a feverish fit by now and she couldn't leave him for too long.

Quite a bit of time had passed, and it was almost full daylight. Even more cars drove around, and a lot of people were out and about, bundled up in fall coats and scarves to fight the chill. Suzie had a lot of trouble getting back onto the wild plains of grass. The disguise proved to be the best defense. When she pulled her hood forward, stayed several feet away and walked all hunched over, the humans passing by only gave her funny looks. They thought she was a harmless old lady, huddled over, completely incapable of breaking and entering.

However, a man caught a glimpse of her eel's tail. Before he could turn for a double-take, Suzie had already dashed out of sight.

…

She tripped over rocks and jumped over hollows in the ground, bypassing the town completely. This way was a lot longer, but safer. Very few roads led out of town. She kept to what bushes and trees there were, in hopes she wouldn't be noticed. Such a fear had been unnecessary thus far. By going out of town, Suzie was able to get another look at the landscape. Stretching all the way out to the horizon were marshes, fields of grass, and hills. In the distance were a few farms with herds of pretty horses or cattle. The air may be on the chilly side, but it wasn't too bad for early winter. Suzie wasn't sure what the weather in France was like this time of the year; if she and Randall were close to the sea, maybe they could expect a mild winter.

Along the way, she examined the local plants in search of something to forage. Most of it consisted of reeds, and plants that normally bloomed in spring and summer. She tasted a bit of everything but most of the roots had a bitter flavor. Not very appetizing, but at least it was nourishment. Monsters could eat practically anything, anyways, so she gathered up as much as she could carry. The birds flying across the sky would end up as a regular food source, it seemed.

"There's so much to do," she spoke aloud. "Except for a couple of knives, we don't have any tools or weapons. I should've looked for some in town when I had the chance."

When she re-entered the little grove of trees, the tiny brochure maps had been studied multiple times. Randall was still conscious, but looking extremely ill. He had managed to climb down to the trunk's base, despite the physical pain he was in. A bunch of broken twigs were scattered around, as if he had been trying to build a fire. It seemed the pain had overcome him, so he gave up and just sat there against the tree to wait for her.

"You shouldn't be moving around." Suzie said once she reached him.

He was looking very weary, but relived to see her returning without a scratch. Not wanting to appear sentimental, he went straight to the point. "Well? What did you find? Maps, medicine, what?"

"You're never going to believe this. Check these out!" she showed the bottle of penicillin and the other findings. "This place is pretty isolated; I bet that's why this stuff is kept in a doctor's clinic at all. I think I know where we are too: somewhere in southern France."

The news was incomprehensible. Randall blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me! I'm positive. Here, look at the maps I found…"

He was astounded by the news. He listened as she explained all the clues and evidence, courtesy of brochures and shop signs in the town. At the same time, she unpacked the valuable medicine and began rubbing one of his arms with alcohol. Ant amount of penicillin would do Randall some good. They decided on using a medium-sized dose to start with.

"How did we end up in Europe?" Randall questioned to no one as Suzie fiddled with a syringe. "That's practically on the other side of the world…" He frowned. "The guys in Scream Industries must have sent us here on purpose, or gone back on their word. I can't think of any other explanation—no one could make a mistake this huge."

"No, that can't be it! You thought differently a little while ago. Baboso was too friendly and eager to help us from the very start. And I thought you said that Fungus guy could be trusted. You worked with him before, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…" Randall trailed off. Fungus knew the door mechanisms too well to make such a mistake. But if this wasn't a set-up, what had happened? How could such a 'door glitch' occur, anyway? It was a mystery he longed to solve.

"So, what now?" Suzie asked. "The others will be worried sick! It's already been a whole day, maybe longer, considering the different time zone. Becca and I have never been apart this long; never in our whole lives!" The whole idea of being lost, so far away, made her hands shaky with nerves.

"Relax! Relax. Nicholas is sure to go to the Human World now that he knows where Bernard is. I mean, after so long, he's bound to go looking for his father, right? The factory guys know where to find the campsite; once they realize we're missing, a search will be launched…maybe. I doubt Carrie will bend the law even more and risk getting herself banished."

"Do you really think anyone will look for us?"

Randall sighed quietly. Being stranded here without anyone's knowledge was not fun to think about. "…I hope so."

Suzie filled up half a syringe with medicine. Her hands still quivered, but managed to minister the stuff. It was like an enormous weight being lifted; all the hassle and panic of the last week had been too much to handle. But at least one problem was taken care of.

"This had better work," Randall winced, clutching his bandaged gunshot wound. "If no one comes for us, we'll just have to get back on our own. Best if I take it easy until this heals up…stupid gator hunters."

Suzie bit her lip and looked between the trees towards the town. There didn't seem to be immediate danger there, but this landscape was so much more open. Hunting for food would have to done discreetly and carefully. How long would they have to hold out here, anyway? "You know, Becca would really tear your head off if she knew where we are."

"Of that, I have no doubt," Randall groaned as he lay down on the grass. "Ambushing Chester in that kid's room was my idea in the first place."

"This isn't your fault…you just stay there and let that medicine work. I guess I'll try to bring down some food. I'm starving!"

"Same here…leave me one knife, in case something comes along. I don't know what predators to expect out here, so we'll just figure that out as we go."

Just before Suzie crept deeper into the grove of trees, she turned to him. "Hey, thanks for coming back. If you had stayed in the Monster World, I'd be here on my own."

Randall wasn't sure how to respond to this bout of gratitude. So he simply said, "You're welcome."

When she was out of sight, he tried to stay awake, but the fever was making him drowsy. The infection wouldn't heal if he didn't rest, so he tried to get comfortable amongst the tree roots. He decided to take a quick look at the tourists' brochures. They told him that the vast countryside around them was near a place called the 'Camargue,' a natural wetland region in the south of France. From what he could tell, the nearby town was at the northernmost point of the Camargue; just south of here was a safe haven of wilderness. Once he was better, perhaps they could travel there and figure out what to do next.

All this stress was driving him crazy, and Randall soon succumbed to his exhaustion. But it wasn't easy to relax his mind. "Stranded in some marshland in France—how do we get back now?" The theory that this predicament wasn't some accidental 'door glitch' still bothered him.

This arch of the story was fun to write because I got to do lots of research on geography and actual places to make things more or less accurate. The Camargue in France really does have a lot of bird species, and the town Suzie goes to is inspired by the real-life town of Aigues-Mortes, which has well-preserved medieval buildings. I've never been outside of my Canadian home before, so doing the research was lots of fun.

Only 10 more chapters to go! We're making good time. :)