Enid walked through the city, looking around. As she saw Biddy's small, tattered house come into sight, she heard someone calling her name. Enid turned around, her eyes widening as she took off, quickly lunging into the arms of her beloved.
"Oh, Mamma, Mamma!" Enid cried out, holding onto Hilda tightly. What a pleasant surprise! She'd missed Hilda ever since she left the house on Isle One, and being with her again helped calm any nerves that she might have had.
"Enid, my dear, I can't believe you're here already! This means that soon you'll be able to make yourself at home once and for all," Hilda said, kissing Enid's cheek softly. Enid nodded excitedly, never wanting to exit the embrace that they were in.
Little Enid spent ages talking to Hilda about everything that had went on in Isle Two and what had happened so far in Isle Three, the woman smiling and patiently listening to her surrogate daughter's ramblings. This was truly when Enid's ability to speak ridiculously fast paid off. Hilda tried to comprehend everything she could, but sometimes, it honestly felt as if Enid was speaking in a foreign language. She occasionally heard a name or two, and tried to laugh when Enid did to give her the feeling that she understood every garbled word that was spoken. Enid was happy, and that's what made Hilda happy.
Finally, after Enid explained that she was heading to Dr. Kahl's house, Hilda smiled upon learning that the girl was finally done speaking. "Ah, that's lovely, dear! Dr. Kahl is a loved and respected man around here, that's for sure. He can be quite squirrely sometimes, but he's absolutely brilliant! I was just off to visit Biddy and some other girls...I could walk you to the house if you'd like?" Hilda asked as she held out her arm to Enid.
The girl took her arm, just as she would her own mother's, and they continued. Enid missed the feeling. She missed having a mother who cared for her and wanted the best for her. Though, she smiled knowing that her real mother was all right. It was as if she never existed. Besides, even if the girl wanted to go home, she couldn't. She figured that the process was irreversible.
Eventually, Hilda left Enid at the Kahl household, but the young girl was reluctant to let go. Biddy walked out, grouchily mumbling something about King Dice had cancelled on her, even referring to him as a "potato-headed git."
"Don't worry about her. She's just a bit grouchy," Hilda smiled, and the women were off, leaving Enid to freely enter the house...and when she did, she was amazed with what she saw. She expected it to be disgusting, moldy, and smelling of rotten eggs...but she saw a home! It wasn't disgusting at all! She walked in through the kitchen entrance, and it smelled of freshly cooked food. It appeared that Dr. Kahl wasn't home, however. Sure, Biddy could have made her own dinner, but...why would she make dinner without her father?
Next, Enid walked into the main room, which appeared to be both a living room and a dining room. She noticed that by the dining table, there was a very peculiar looking carpet that was pink and fuzzy. Whenever she was going to walk on it, she almost fell through! This carpet turned out to be covering a massive hole in the floor! She caught herself, but this caused her to fall on her knees, and that was when she heard snickering coming from a hole in the wall.
"Hello?" Enid called, sticking her head near the hole. She heard scampering coming from inside, and that's when she heard a high pitched "Yaaaaaaah!" and she'd been hit right between the eyes with...a bean?
"How do you like zat, Mädchen?" A rat said as he exited the hole, snickering again. He was definitely a scruffy looking thing, a tiny cigar sticking out of his mouth as his arms were crossed sassily. Enid immediately recognized his thick German accent, as one of the shopkeepers back in Port Royal moved to South Carolina from Germany with his family. He was creepy. He wasn't one that she liked to think about. He was creepy.
"I'm sorry to say this, but that didn't hurt," Enid chuckled, the rat scampering up her leg and onto her shoulder. He grabbed her by her hair, holding her face to his and shivering. "You do not understand, Mädchen! You do not understand! Nein! Nein! Ever since ze var, mein life has neffer known peace. I can still hear ze firing. I CAN STILL HEAR ZE FIRING!" The rat screamed, shaking the locks of hair that he was holding. "Mein tank was no match for zem, zough. Verner Verman rose victorious for das Mutterland! VERNER VERMAN WILL NOT FALL TO ZE WRATH OF ZE BEAST! YAAAAAAAH!" He screamed hysterically. Enid originally assumed that his name was Verner Verman, but upon closer look, she saw that his name was actually engraved in the hole. It was Werner Werman; his pronounciation was just his accent.
"Oh, I can't be the beast you're referring to! I'm tellin' you, Mr. Werman, I mean no harm!" Enid smiled, watching as the rat on her shoulders shuddered, shaking his head.
"Nein, nein! Ze beast is over zere! OVER ZERE!" Werner screamed, pointing at a cat, who was sitting and licking his paw sassily. "Zat beast is Miss Kahl's Katze, and he chases me around zis whole house! I am telling you, vith ze doctor's brains and mein braws, we will overcome zis! You vill help me, von't you?" Werner asked, shaking Enid's hair again. He seemed to be so overwhelmed right now. The cat hissed at them before going upstairs, probably to Biddy's room.
"Oh, you're friends with Dr. Kahl then?" Enid asked, smiling.
"Of course! Ze doctor and I go back ages! Ze doctor and I met when he and his Frau-er, his vife, moved into zis house, given to zem by Missus Kahl's parents. Zey had just gotten married and didn't know zat ze house vas occupied! I knew zat ze doctor was a man of science, so I thought zat he would try to use me as a lab rat!" Werner started, beginning to calm down now that the cat was gone. Enid listened politely.
"Luckily, ze doctor and his vife took me in as a friend und companion. Vithin a few months of zeir marriage, Missus Kahl announced zat zey were going to have a baby. Ze doctor, who, at ze time, actually worked vith medicine, vas overjoyed, making sure zat everyone, including me, vas taken care of, and prepared ze house for ze new arrival. Zere vere definitely hard times, but finally, Miss Kahl was born...and Verner Verman vas zere, yes he vas. Zey named ze little Mädchen Bridget. Mutter und Vater absolutely adored her. Zat same year, I vent to zat dreaded var…" Werner paused, shuddering again as he looked as if he was about to break down into another fit of violently shaking Enid's hair and screaming, but he tried to stay calm, sighing.
"Vhen I came back years later, it was just ze doctor and Bridget. Shortly after I left, Missus Kahl had vent and given herself up to ze Devil. Little Mädchen vas deathly sick, too. It seemed zat ze doctor's life vent downhill vithout old Verner Verman," Werner finished. Enid looked down sadly. The news almost made her shudder.
"Oh, that's terrible! That's when he built the robot, wasn't it?" Enid asked.
"Nein, not exactly. Ze robot vas originally very small, and vas used to take care of ze household. I do admit, it was very nice having a robotic housekeeper. Vhenever Missus Kahl vas out of ze picture and Miss Kahl vas ill, ze robot's primary purpose vas taking care of her vhile Vater vorked. You know who also helped?"
"Werner Werman?"
"JAS! VERNER VERMAN! ME! I decided zat I vould make myself useful after ze var," Werner replied, nodding to himself.
"Zen...Miss Kahl found zat dreaded Katze. Vhenever she vas around zhen years old, zey found zat thing on ze streets. Miss Kahl asked her dear Vater if zey could keep it, and ze doctor, knowing vhat his daughter had been through, agreed. I believe zat she named him Garfunkel or something like zat...but Mein Gott, she should have named him Lucifer! Does he not look like a Lucifer?" Werner asked, looking like he was thinking.
"So, uh, Mr. Werman? You mentioned some kind of tank that you had in the war you were in. Do you still have it? Do you have pictures? I'd love it if you'd show me...if you're comfortable, of course. I've just never seen a tank before!" Enid smiled, Werner nodding and scurrying back down her leg.
"Just you vait! Zis tank is ze ultimate veapon! Vhenever ze var was over, ze tank became somevhat of a hobby of ze doctor and myself. Vhenever ze doctor decided to leave his medicine career because of poor pay, he decided to pursue his hobbies of building and science. Zis is vhen he started to upgrade zat robot of his, and he began to sell little trinkets zat he made. Zere still isn't much money coming in, but he tries as hard as he can. Ze house is already paid off, all he pays for is bills und food. One day, ve vere both bored, and Bridget vas asleep, so I showed him mein tank, and he added his scientific touch to it. It may not look scientific, but mein tank is UNSTOPPABLE! YAAAAAAAH!" Werner screamed, running back into the mouse-hole as fast as his legs would carry him. As he was getting inside the tank, Enid heard a low rumble, as well as Werner continuously screaming...for no apparent reason.
"What a queer little man. He's nothing like Mr. Sauer, though," Enid said to herself. Mr. Sauer was the previously mentioned German shopkeeper that made his way to South Carolina. He was about the roughest looking thing she'd ever met. She and Harry would constantly bump into him when they would run errands or take joy walks together. Mr. Sauer was horrible obese, dirty, and guzzled about five bottles of whiskey a day. Mrs. Sauer was his equally ugly wife, and they had four scruffy children. Enid would often play with Magnild, his youngest, out of pity, since she had trouble learning English and was often bullied by other children, including her own siblings. As much as she didn't care for Mr. or Mrs. Sauer, Magnild was a human being, and what she truly didn't care for was Audrey's constant sneering as she constantly made fun of the poor thing for not being able to pronounce some words.
"Leave her be, Audrey. She's learnin'. I've been givin' her lessons; she'll be fluent in no time," Enid remembered saying as Audrey went on one of her rants about how the other three Sauer children learned English perfectly while Magnild still struggled. Did Audrey listen? Of course not.
Enid was interrupted by having yet another bean flung at her head. Upon looking down, she saw that Werner had brought his tank down, and like he said, it didn't look scientific at all! It was an old soup can with wood attached to it!
"Well, Werner, what's the science behind it?" Enid asked, leaning down to get a better look at it. Werner seemed excited to show off.
"You'll see, you'll see!" Werner said. Putting a new cigar in his mouth, as he'd used up his last one during their conversation, Enid watched as an arm, which was holding a match, lit his cigar for him. Mr. Edwards would have loved that. Enid was going to praise the feature, but Werner immediately began to talk again.
"Zat's not all! Back up, Mädchen!" He said, going inside the soup can so only his eyes were showing through cutouts in the tin. Enid did as she was told, backing up. Suddenly, small bursts of fire started coming out from either side of the can, similar to what Grim Matchstick breathed! Now Enid saw the science behind it!
"Oh, Werner! Impressive! That would've been mighty useful in the war, don'cha think?" Enid asked, clasping her hands together. Werner nodded, the thoughts of burning his enemies to a crisp sneaking into the back of his mind.
"Ja...it vould've been...but ze real veapon here is ze catapult!" Werner shouted, and a third bean was flung at Enid's head. Of course, she was assuming that Werner put something other than beans inside of it. Beans didn't even hurt her. Imagine them trying to hurt a soldier.
For a while, Werner and Enid talked about the tank, the morality of war, and life experiences. When not provoked and shouting about his apparent PTSD, Werner could actually be a decent person to talk to. He made himself comfortable on Enid's shoulder, and their conversation was only interrupted when the door was opened. Dr. Kahl was home!
