Chapter Twenty Seven
(Hey, y'all!
I hope that y'all are having a wonderful Christmas Day!
Oh, man! The holidays came by quickly!
Fun Fact:
Roger Rabbit was listed at the #35 mark for Empire Magazines 50 Best Animated Characters, due to his heartbroken reaction to the news that Jessica, his wife, cheated on him. The character who made it to the #1 mark was Gromit, the clay-animated dog from the Wallace and Gromit films, because of a chase scene in The Wrong Trousers, his ability of communicating with facial expressions and body language instead of words.
How cool is that?
Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and here is my gift to y'all (heh, heh, that rhymed): This chapter!
Enjoy the story, life as it goes, watch a Christmas movie, and drink a Dr. Pepper…or a cup of hot chocolate!
-imaginarytoon1)
Beatrice:
The cold wind began to blow in the forest. Dead leaves covered the ground, the sun was hardly shining, as the Wizard said, and very few trees had green leaves on their stiff branches. As TW, Lion, Scarecrow, and I walked through the forest with a pistol (Head Number One is holding it in his right hand), a giant wrench (TW was holding it in his right hand while his axe was being held in his left), a spray gun full of 'Witch Remover' (Lion is holding it in his left hand), and a giant net (Lion is holding it in his right hand).
How we managed to get those things is really not that important now.
Anyway, Scarecrow, TW, Lion, and I were walking down a long trail and we came across a sign that had its message written with glowing green paint.
The message said:
HAUNTED FOREST
WITCH'S CASTLE ONE MILE AHEAD
I'D TURN BACK IF I WERE YOU!
"'I'd turn back if I were you'." Lion read.
He immediately nodded in agreement with the last part of the sign but Scarecrow disagreed. As soon as Lion was about to turn around and leave, Scarecrow and TW stopped him and made him turn around the other way. Along with Scarecrow and TW, I shook my head no at Lion as he smiled sheepishly.
As we continued to walk, Lion began to growl and roar. He does this a couple of times and I rolled my eyes.
After the last roar, everyone stopped after hearing a squawking noise that's combined with a whistle. TW, Scarecrow, Lion, and I looked up at a tree branch and saw two toon owls with glowing red eyes. They stand still like garden gnomes in a flower garden while they watch me and my group of friends.
Immediately, Lion began to run away. Scarecrow and TW catch up with him and hook their arms with Lion's. They lift him off the ground to prevent him from running. I spotted a couple of vultures who were watching us from one of the trees.
"Guys, I don't think that owls are the only creatures that are watching us." I said as TW and Scarecrow was carrying Lion back to where we stopped last.
"What makes you think that?" TW asked.
Lion freaked out and pointed at the vultures. TW and Scarecrow looked at them and they looked really nervous.
Both Head Numbers One and Two gulped.
"I do believe that there are spooks around here." Head Number One said nervously while his hand (with still holding the pistol) twitched.
"That's ridiculous!" TW scoffed. "Spooks! That's SILLY!"
"Don't you believe in spooks?" Lion and Head Number Two asked in unison.
"Not really." I replied.
"No." TW said. "Why only-."
TW's sentence was cut off after he was…GETTING LIFTED OFF THE GROUND MYSTERIOUSLY!
Lion, Scarecrow, Toto, and I watched in horror as TW was going higher and higher. He was carried so high up that neither Lion, Scarecrow, nor I can see him.
For six more seconds, I couldn't see TW. Then, all of the sudden, TW dropped down from the sky and lands on the ground at least seven feet in front of me, Lion, and Scarecrow. His axe and wrench fell from the sky two seconds after his hard landing.
Scarecrow and I ran towards TW in concern but Lion is just standing two feet away from the sign, paralyzed by fear.
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Scarecrow and I asked in unison.
While we struggled to get TW back on his feet, Lion begins to say this over and over and over in complete fear:
"I do believe in spooks! I do believe in spooks! I do, I do, I do, I do!"
….
Tommy:
As soon as Smarty was about to leave with Greasy, Psycho, Wheezy, Stupid, Slimy, Flasher, and Sleazy, the front door slammed open with a loud BANG.
"SEE! I TOLD YOU THAT BEATRICE WAS GOING TO ESCAPE!" Mom exclaimed as she walked in.
"Oh, no. No la madre del del muchacha! Por favor! Cualquiera menos ella!" Greasy whispered.
"Well, it's not my fault!" Dad said.
"IT IS YOUR FAULT! Ever since Beatrice, that little loud mouth, that little bluestocking, began to read at a college student level, you have been teaching that little bookworm about things that shouldn't be taught to children! Because of that, Beatrice is constantly getting in to places where she shouldn't be and is always getting in to trouble!" Mom exclaimed.
"It's not Beatrice's fault that her curiosity can get the better of her! If she wants to know something, then she should go ahead and look for the answer!"
I was sitting on the floor of the living room when Mom and Dad finally came to the living room with their arms full of bags with groceries in them and frowns on their faces.
"I agree with Dad." I said to Mom after standing up with my arms crossed.
"How can you say that, Thomas James Birchwood?" Mom yelled as she and Dad placed the groceries on the kitchen table (The kitchen and the table were close to the living room.). "You're my only son! You're supposed to agree on everything that I say about your sister!"
"I never agreed with anything that you said about Beatrice. I never did and I never will!"
"What did you say about Beatrice, your only daughter?" Dad asked Mom.
"Nine months ago, I heard Mom say that Beatrice was a curse."
I heard Greasy gasp. Thankfully, Mom and Dad didn't hear him.
"Ella no es una maldición! Ella es un milagro!" Greasy exclaimed angrily to Mom, although she couldn't hear him.
Greasy said: "She's not a curse! She's a blessing!"
Wow, he really DOES love Beatrice.
"Scarlett, did you really say that?" Dad asked.
"Yes, I did." Mom immediately replied.
…
Beatrice:
While going back on the walking, I heard another noise.
"Do you guys hear that?" Lion asked me, Toto, Scarecrow, and TW.
"Yeah." I replied.
That noise didn't sound like it was coming from one creature. It sounded like it was coming from many creatures of the same species.
What is that noise, you might ask. That noise was the sound of hooting and chattering monkeys.
"Did the Wizard say anything about monkeys in this forest?" Head Number Two asked.
"I don't think so." I said.
"GUYS! LOOK UP AT THE SKY!" Lion exclaimed and pointed at an empty gap of space where we can see the clouds. Thanks to the moon, I saw some flying creatures that almost looked like birds. I'm probably guessing that there's fifteen or maybe forty-five of them.
"Birds?" Head Numbers One and Two asked in unison.
As the flying creatures came closer to us, a look of horror began to spread on my face.
"Those aren't birds!" TW exclaimed.
"Those are…monkeys with wings!" I exclaimed in fear.
"What do we do now?!" Head Numbers One and Two and Toto cried.
"RUUUUUUN!" Lion immediately replied.
Immediately, we began to run but we didn't stick together. Scarecrow and Lion ran towards a path on the left while TW, Toto (who was still in my bag), and I ran towards a path on the right.
It was too hard for me to run down the path with the ruby sandals on my feet. I was afraid that I was going to trip on a branch or something was going to slip in and poke the soles of my feet.
If you were me, you would be horrified by what the Winged Monkeys looked like up close. If you saw the 1970 version of Horton Hears A Who and saw the Wickersham Monkeys, then that's what the Winged Monkeys looked like. Over their 'Wickersham bodies' were outfits that were probably a combination of a Cossack's 1917 outfit, a knight's armor, and a German soldier's WWII outfit and they all share the same colors: dark blue, red, and white. Then, you add the wings and a soldier's cap as the finishing touches.
That's it. I'm going back to the story.
Anyway, TW and I continued to run. Although I was a fast runner, the Winged Monkeys were catching up pretty fast. What I'm going through right now is one of those very, very few times when someone would actually catch up to me.
"RUN, BEATRICE, RUN!" TW shouted to me as he tried to make the Winged Monkeys back away.
I continued to run.
The wind blew harder and harder and I ran faster and faster than before.
Unfortunately, my luck of having a long distance away from the Winged Monkeys didn't last very long. Two Winged Monkeys immediately caught up with me and Toto.
"HELP! HELP, HELP!" I exclaimed as the two Winged Monkeys were catching up to me.
"RUN, BEATRICE!" Toto exclaimed. "RUN FASTER!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!"
I jumped over a log and I continued to run but those dang Winged Monkeys still caught up with me. My luck was running out.
Come on, feet! Help me out here! I thought.
Then, I tripped over a log and the Winged Monkeys grabbed me as I was about to land face first on the ground.
"GOTCHA, DARLIN'!" The Winged Monkeys exclaimed with evil glee.
While holding on to me, the Winged Monkeys flew up in to the sky and before I knew it, I was already at least sixty six feet above the trees.
All of the other Winged Monkeys that were on the ground and chasing Scarecrow, Lion, and TW caught up with the Winged Monkeys that caught me.
I don't think that it's not going to be a pleasant experience whenever I arrive to wherever the Winged Monkeys are taking me and Toto.
…..
Tommy:
"Why do you not like Beatrice? What do you have against her?" I exclaimed at Mom.
"She's been a thorn in my side since she ruined Angie's piano performance!" Mom yelled. "Beatrice is not the obedient little girl that everybody likes! She's a self-centered rebel! A little brat! Everyone who knew Mrs. Cartsens would walk up to me and say that Beatrice is spotlight-stealing pig who kicked Angie in the shins and slapped her after her performance!"
"That was because Angie and her mom were being really abusive to Beatrice! Beatrice didn't want to teach Angie how to play piano and you forced her to do that after you paid Angie's mother thirty five dollars, which still doesn't make any sense, a day while she gave you triple the amount you gave her. Plus, you didn't even know how much Beatrice had to go through with Angie and her mom!"
"And may I interject something here?" I asked. "Angie's mom's last name isn't 'Carstens'. It's actually 'Pikowski'. She preferred to be called by her maiden name after she was married."
"Anyway, you're the one who's being selfish!"
"How am I being the selfish one?" Mom exclaimed.
"You gave Beatrice away when you wanted to save the house! You can't give away family!" Dad said.
"Amen." The weasels said in unison.
"Thomas, help me out here!" Mom said to me.
"NO, MOM!"
"Why?!"
"I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF YOU ABUSING BEATRICE! She's one of the nicest people that most people know! She even told me that she wanted to start a better mother-daughter relationship with you! Beatrice even tried to impress you! She would get good grades at school, go to church every Sunday, and Beatrice even cleaned the whole house when you went on your Las Vegas vacation! You're constantly rejecting Beatrice and how she's being nice to you!"
"Thomas, that's enough!"
"Scarlett, I think that you've had enough to talk about!" Dad exclaimed.
"SHUT UP, YOU TWO!" Mom exclaimed. "We are all continuing our lives without that bad-luck penny! She won't give us any more problems now that she's gone!"
I heard Greasy growl and I saw him stand up from the couch. He attempted to run towards Mom but Wheezy and Psycho held him back. As Mom continued to talk, my frown was growing bigger by the word.
"Now that Beatrice is in the Houston Juvenile Institute, our lives will be back to normal! In this house, I'll be the head and I will never give you two permission that'll allow you to visit Beatrice!" Mom exclaimed.
The lights from the living room lamps and from the kitchen chandelier began to flicker. Plus, two mirrors that were hung up on the living room walls began to act like they were waving like ripples in ponds.
"AHH! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Greasy yelled at Mom.
Wheezy and Psycho still hold him back.
"YOU'RE FORGETTING SOMETHING, MOM!" I exclaimed. "Beatrice has escaped and she hasn't been found yet!"
"She better be found tomorrow by Mr. D because I've had enough with Beatrice and her plans!" Mom said. "SHE…IS…NO LONGER…A PART…OF…THIS…HOUSEHOLD!"
All of the sudden, the groceries inside the bags burst open with an explosion, as if someone stuck a stick of dynamite in the bags. Fruit, vegetables, canned foods, boxes of cereal, yogurt, cheese, salsa, sushi, soup cans, and sodas flew everywhere.
"HIT THE FLOOR!" Wheezy, Greasy, and Smarty exclaimed in unison.
As soon as the weasels got on to the ground (like they were doing a tornado drill), the mirrors cracked and the shards fell down on the floor. The lights from the lamps and chandelier flickered a few more times and one by one, the bulbs explode, as if someone was shooting them with a pistol.
"What's going on?!" Wheezy, Mom, and Dad exclaimed in unison.
"I don't know!" I said.
Then, the TV exploded and thankfully, I wasn't hit by the sparks that came from the explosion. Bits of the TV flew everywhere with the exploding groceries and lights. The living room looked like a tornado flew in and destroyed that got in its path.
Three minutes later, the chaos ends. I was breathing hard.
Mom, with her clothes stained with the exploding food, turned on the ceiling lights of the living room and she and Dad gasped in horror. I looked around in horror and Greasy became the first of the weasels to gasp at the sight of our living room.
"Caramba, ¿qué ha pasado?" Greasy whispered.
"That was quite an experience." Wheezy and Sleazy said in unison.
"I've never seen anything like that since the bombing of Hiroshima." Slimy said in awe and shock.
Then, lightning flashed outside and it began to rain.
"We're going out to eat." Mom said and walked to her bedroom to change clothes.
After a brief pause, all of the weasels were back on their feet.
"We'll see you tomorrow, Thomas." Wheezy said as he walked to the front door.
"When should we meet tomorrow?" I asked.
Wheezy looked at Smarty and he did a brief moment of thinking.
"Nine-thirty?" Smarty asked.
"That'll work." I replied.
Then, after nodding in agreement, the rest, except for Greasy and Psycho, left the living room and walked to the front door.
"I'm sorry." Greasy said.
"Sorry for what?" I asked.
"I mean, I feel sorry for your sister. Your mother shouldn't treat her like that."
"I know."
"And Thomas, before Psycho and I leave, I would like you to tell muchacha this…if she's found."
"What is it? What do you want to tell Beatrice?"
Greasy took a deep breath.
"Dile que la quiero." He said.
A look of unsureness and concern grew on my face.
"Do you really love Beatrice?" I asked suspiciously.
"I truly do. I just want her to trust me." Greasy replied.
"Greasy, I'll tell Beatrice that you do love her but I have a feeling that she's probably not going to believe that."
"Why not?"
I looked back to see if Mom or Dad was eavesdropping on me. They weren't behind me, thank goodness.
"Don't tell Beatrice that I told you but…" I said and took a deep breath. "…Beatrice told me that she doesn't want to date anybody anymore."
Greasy crossed his arms and gave me a look that tells me that he's not going to believe that.
"Did she really say that or did you make that up yourself?" Greasy asked.
"No, Beatrice said that to me. She doesn't want to date any more boys." I replied.
"Why?" Greasy and Psycho asked.
"Come with me."
I led them to Beatrice's room.
When we walked in, I told Greasy and Psycho to sit on her bed while I grab something that was in her closet.
After digging through some old hand-drawn pictures and blankets, I found it. What's 'it'? A book, as thin as a Froggy book, of pictures of the boys that Beatrice dated with previously. In German, this was the title: Die Schmutzigen, Doppelstreifen, Bilge Ratten.
"What's that?" Psycho asked after I handed Greasy the book.
"It's a book that contains the pictures of the boys who Beatrice dated with previously. I know that Beatrice would be a little bit angry if she found about that I showed you that but I just think that it's about time that somebody else should know. Greasy, this makes you and Psycho the first."
As Greasy opened the book, he made it flat enough on his lap so that I can have a better view of the pictures. Page by page, the concerned and confused look on Greasy's face was growing more concerned and confused. Psycho's face was doing the same thing as the pages were flipped.
After fifteen pages, the final page gave me shivers down my spine.
"Austin Jakobe." The final page said.
"That boy right there was the worst." I said to Greasy.
"Who is he and what did he do?" Greasy asked.
"That's Austin Jakobe. Beatrice was a sophomore and he was a junior when they were dating. Beatrice thought that he was nice but he really wasn't as nice as she thought. When spring came, Beatrice and Austin had to do a project and they were partners. Three weeks passed, Austin did nothing on the project and he left Beatrice to do all of the work. Then, on the day that the project was due, Austin threatened Beatrice that if she doesn't mention that they both worked on the project together, then Beatrice would have to give up her lunch money for a full week and do all the homework that Austin had to do for the rest of the semester. After that, Austin tried to make Beatrice smoke a cigarette. He went crazy after she told him that she didn't want to smoke it. He taped her to a wall and he threw eight oranges and all eight of them smacked Beatrice on the head."
"Poor Pretty Girly." Psycho said.
"After stripping off the tape, Austin took Beatrice to a staircase and he pushed her. Beatrice fell down four flights of stairs but thankfully, she didn't break anything. When Austin came to Beatrice, she, in defense, punched him on the nose and kicked him on the stomach. After Beatrice came home with bruises all over her, she told me that she will never, as she continues with her life, date another boy ever again. She told me that she was tired of getting used, taken advantage of, and beaten. Been that way ever since that day."
"Oh, my gosh." Greasy said in horror. "That-that's terrible."
"I'm really sorry that I told you and Psycho about this but somebody else had to know."
Greasy slammed the book shut and threw it down on the floor.
"Even if I did tell Beatrice that you love her, she's not going to buy it. Her trust and chances on dating boys are really slim." I said to Greasy. "I know Beatrice. She has problems with trusting people unless they are very honest with her."
Greasy sighed sadly. Then, he, along with Psycho, frowned after Mom walked in with a blue V-neck shirt, black skirt, and black leggings as her new outfit. They weren't frowning at me. They were frowning at Mom.
"Thomas, are you coming with me and Abbot or not?" She asked, still in a bad mood after the exploding foods, lights, and TV.
"Yeah, Mom. I was just walking around Beatrice's room, that's all." I said.
I watched Psycho walk up to Mom and his right hand was moving towards her left leg. He pinched his sleeve-covered fingers together and lifted up a part of Mom's legging. Psycho stretched it out and released it. The legging made a faint popping noise after it hit Mom's leg.
Although she didn't see Psycho do that, Mom looked down at her leg with a confused look on her face.
"What on Earth just happened?" She mumbled.
"What happened?" I lied.
"Eh, never mind. Change into a clean shirt and go to my car."
As soon as she walked out of Beatrice's room, Greasy and Psycho followed Mom. I peeked from Beatrice's room and I watched Greasy roll up one of his sleeves and pinch his forefinger and thumb together a couple of time. His hand crept over to Mom's arm and I heard Mom exclaim, "OUCH!"
"Tell muchacha this, Thomas. Along with what I said about how much I love her, tell muchacha that I would never do anything like what those boys did to her. She needs to trust me and I would never EVER hurt her or put her in danger." Greasy said.
Then, he reached into his jacket and pulls out a business card.
"If muchacha is found, here is my office number." He said and then, he and Psycho left the house.
Well, Beatrice. I thought. Greasy really does like you and although that you said that you never wanted to date boys again, I believe that you should give Greasy a chance. Just give this…'boy'…one chance.
