Chapter 28: Burning

"Pheebs! We have a problem!"

Helga was pacing around her empty boarding house room. After Miles had come back downstairs, he had discovered Arnold was not in his room.

Helga had texted him, but he still had not responded. So, Phil and Miles just came to the assumption that Arnold had gone for a quick jog before school. However, that is not how Helga looked at his sudden disappearance.

"Helga. May I ask what sudden conflict has upset you so much to call me this early in the morning?" Phoebe asked in a very tired voice.

"I'll tell you what it is Pheebs!" Helga said in a voice full of panic as she continued to pace." Arnold is missing!"

Phoebe suddenly gasped." Arnold is missing?!"

"Yeah you heard me! He's gone. Left without a trace! He never told me he was going anywhere!"

"But, that's so unlike him." Phoebe said, sounding a bit more awake now." Arnold tells you everything!"

"I know, I know!" Helga said, starting to bite her nails now." Which is why this is so weird. He wouldn't just go out and not tell me where he's going! Something bad must've happened!"

"Oh Helga." Phoebe said in a disappointed voice." Please don't tell me that you're assuming something drastic has happened!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying Phoebe!" Helga said as she started to pace back and forth in front of her bed. Before she had just been frantically pacing all around the room.

"Helga! Don't assume that! Maybe Arnold is fine! Maybe his phone just died or-"

"I'm sorry Pheebs! But this is not the time for your enthusiasm!" She said as she paced to her right." I think he's in trouble! I mean, today is the big day and all!"

"Oh my gosh Helga! I almost forgot!" Phoebe said with another sudden gasp.

"Well I didn't!" Helga replied. Suddenly, she stopped pacing, coming to a screeching halt right in front of her bed.

"Pheebs! Call Gerald and get him to meet us in the park!"

"Are you trying to play hooky?" Phoebe said, sounding a bit shocked by her friend's sudden decision.

"Well doi!" Helga replied, sounding annoyed." We gotta find Arnold!"

"Right! Me and Gerald will meet you in the park. Say, 8:00?"

"Okay, I'll be there ASAP Pheebs!"

However, just before Phoebe hung up the phone, Helga spoke one more time.

"Oh and Pheebs?"

"Yes Helga?"

"Thanks. For everything. You really are a great friend."

For a moment there was silence between the two phone lines. Then, Helga heard Phoebe take a deep sigh.

"Anytime Helga. Now come on! Let's go find Arnold!"

"W-where have you been all this time?! W-why did you t-tie me up?"

Arnold had so many questions. He just wanted answers. He came here for answers and by God he was gonna get some!

To his left, Curly was digging through the drawers of the small workbench.

"Oh Arnold." Curly said in a voice full of enthusiasm." You ask way too many questions!"

He then went back to digging through the drawer. He had been singing some annoying upbeat song for a while now and it wasn't helping Arnold's headache one bit.

He tried pulling at the ropes that were still restraining him once again. And like the many times before, he wouldn't budge. The ropes were starting to burn and cut into his wrists.

"The more and more you restrain. The more and more painful it gets Arnold." Curly reminded him in almost a singsong voice as he continued to dig through the workbench.

"Well, I'm anxious!" Arnold answered as honestly as he could. He needed to get up, he needed to move. He was tired of being tied up like some kind of prisoner. And the worst part was, he didn't even know what he had done!

He still didn't know why Curly seemed to have fallen madly in love with Helga out of nowhere! He still didn't know what time of day it was because the room he was tied up in had no windows or any way of telling the time. And he still didn't know what Curly was going to do to him.

"Well Arnold. Good things come to those who wait." Curly said in the same annoying singsong voice

Arnold just rolled his eyes and looked forward again. He was annoyed beyond the brink now.

"But." Curly said as he suddenly stopped digging in the drawer." I'll answer all your questions when the time is right. You must be patient Arnold!"

"Whatever you say Curly." Arnold said in an annoyed tone as he turned to look at Curly. He was just standing over the workbench, looking at something laying on top of it.

"Looks like your girlfriend is trying to call you again." He said in a sly tone." I wonder if I should answer the phone."

'She's calling me again?' Arnold thought to himself.' Does that mean she's been calling me all day?!'

"I'm asking you a question Arnold." Curly said, turning around and looking at him annoyed." Should I answer the phone or no?"

"You answer the phone and I'll make you pay, you son of a bitch." Arnold replied angrily. What else was he gonna say?

"Ohhhh and what are you gonna do?" Curly asked, taunting him a bit. He wanted Arnold to get angry. And he knew that talking about Helga would do the trick.

"I'll kill you!" Arnold replied back, his tone still very bitter and angry.

"Hmmmm." Curly said in almost a hum. He then picked something up off of the workbench.

He turned around to face Arnold. What Arnold saw in his right hand was enough to scare him. It was a small and silver knife that looked like it was around five inches long. But with no way to defend himself, Arnold was frightened by the sight.

"Let me ask you something." Curly said as he slowly started to walk towards Arnold. He was still about five feet away.

"Do you love Helga?"

Arnold almost looked back at Curly like he was stupid." Well of course I do. With all my heart." He replied back honestly.

Curly snickered to himself as he continued to inch closer." So your saying that you'd willingly die for her?"

"Of-of course!" Arnold said with a stutter. Why was Curly asking him all of this?! Was he fixing to kill him?!

Curly was now just a couple of feet away." Even if it was a slow and painful death?" He said, his voice sounding as sinister as ever.

"Ye-yes! No-now what's your po-point!" Arnold finally got out.

Curly snickered, he was just inches away from Arnold now. Arnold could practically feel the heat radiating off of the maniac.

"Look at you." Curly said, walking around Arnold to face him." You're practically shitting your pants where you sit. You're so pathetic. Why would Helga want a guy like you?"

"Why would she want a guy like you?!" Arnold spat back. He wanted to just knock the sly grin right off of Curly's face.

"Because I have dignity." Curly replied, almost sounding proud of himself." You on the other hand. Oh boy Arnold. Where do I even begin?"

He then started to pace around Arnold's chair in a counterclockwise motion.

"You've always been the golden boy your whole life, but me! Ha! No one has ever noticed me!"

"That's not true." Arnold said, feeling Curly's presence behind him now." I've always noticed how great of a guy you are."

"That's a lie and you know it." Curly said in a low voice to Arnold's right now." You've never noticed anything I do.I saved the animals from those terrible zookeepers at the zoo! I broke up with Rhonda so she could be happy again! And I also helped everyone escape from La Sombra's prison back in San Lorenzo."

Arnold watched the crazy boy continue to rant. He was now back to Arnold's left." I've never been noticed for any of the good deeds that I do. But you! Oh my goodness Arnold! You have always been the golden boy."

"T-that's not true!" Arnold said as earnestly as he could." R-remember back in fourth grade when I promised Iggy that I'd keep his secret and I-"

"And you got your punishment!" Curly said from behind him." You got what you deserved!"

Arnold almost blushed in embarrassment. That bunny costume incident still haunted him to this day.

"But that's one mistake Arnold! Just one!" Curly said to his right. He was still wielding the knife in his hand, like it was some kind of trophy.

"But you've always been noticed for everything you've done. And you've always gotten what you wanted!" Curly said, now turning to Arnold's left again.

"Your parents magically came back home! But me, I was kicked to the curb by my parents! They were so disappointed in me dropping out, that they didn't wanna take care of me anymore! Can you believe that! I found my calling, and they shunned me for it!" He suddenly stopped pacing, right behind Arnold.

"You got the girl. The girl I started having feelings for just after 8th grade! Just when I dropped out! I had completely forgotten about Rhonda! You have a family! You have a beautiful girlfriend! You have everything I don't have! And I hate you for it!" He suddenly yelled out, causing an echo throughout the room.

Before Arnold could react, a strong arm wrapped around his neck. He could feel the cold feel of metal resting right on top of his Adam's apple.

"I could kill you right now Arnold. I could just pull back this blade right now. Feel the tear of your flesh." Curly replied in a sinister and almost snake like voice.

Arnold meanwhile, didn't dare move a muscle.

Meanwhile…

"Arnold! Hey Arnold!" Helga yelled out. She was now at the docks all by herself.

Once she and Phoebe had explained everything to Gerald this morning, they had split up. They figured two search parties were better than one.

Helga would search the Eastside of town while Gerald and Phoebe searched the west side. It was a big task, but they couldn't stop looking for Arnold. Not yet.

She still remembered the shocked look on Gerald's face as Phoebe basically drug him off to go look for Arnold. He hadn't said much while they explained everything to him, but he also didn't seem mad at them for keeping a secret.

Secrets.

It's amazing how all of this started with just one simple secret.

Helga plopped down on an empty bench. She was facing the water. She looked at the glow from the warm sun on the surface of the water.

It was beautiful.

But that was the last thing she was focused on. She had been so stressed about finding Arnold all day, that she was too exhausted to keep walking.

Walking. It was all she had done all day.

She then took out her phone. Still no calls back from Arnold. Thirty seven times now, and no calls back.

Yup. Something was definitely wrong. There was a missed call from Miles, along with a text he had sent her about fifteen minutes ago.

She didn't bother to call him back, but she opened his text.

It read:" we still haven't heard from Arnold all day! Me and dad have just contacted the police! They will start searching for him immediately! But, we need you back at the boarding house! Be back here ASAP!"

Helga huffed a small sigh." Okay." Was all she could reply back with.

She then turned her phone on and dug the palm of her right hand into her face.

6:00 P.M. and no sign from Arnold all day.

She had literally looked everywhere. All the alleyways she could find, all the abandoned buildings she could find and now the docks.

Anyplace she thought the maniac might try to hide Arnold.

And yet, here she was, losing daylight with still no answers.

This day couldn't get any worse.

'Oh Arnold!' She thought to herself as a tear slid down her cheek.' If only I had opened up to you more. Maybe, just maybe! We wouldn't be in this situation right now!'

Meanwhile…

"But, I'm not going to kill you. Not yet at least." Curly said, smoothly removing the knife from Arnold's neck.

Arnold let out a short breath of relief. He looked up just to be faced with the maniac once more.

"But let me ask you something Arnold." He said in a low voice. He then suddenly brought the knife back up to Arnold's face.

Arnold winced as he felt the cold metal press hard against his chin.

"When she kisses you right here…" Curly said, his tone still low. He then slid the knife down Arnold's neck, keeping the pressure just light enough from breaking the skin.

"And right here…" He said as he circled the knife around his collarbone. He then slid the knife back up Arnold's throat, making the tip of the knife sit right on Arnold's Adam's apple.

"Does it make you feel warm inside? Does it make the butterflies fly on your stomach?"

Arnold looked right into Curly's crazy eyes just a few inches away from his own. They were looking at him full of interest.

"Y-yes." Arnold replied honestly. He could feel the tip of the blade scrape against the gentle skin of his neck as he spoke.

"Let me ask you." Curly said as he made a circular motion around Arnold's Adam's apple with the knife, causing him to flinch in response.

"When you're laying in bed, and her hot little body is laying on top of you. How does it make you feel?" He asked as he made the knife suddenly stop right on his Adams's apple again.

"What?! Well I-" but she suddenly stopped talking.

'Wait a minute? How does Curly know about Helga sleeping in my bed? Has he been stalking me?!"

"Wait." Arnold said, shooting Curly a cold look. This caused Curly to take the knife away from Arnold's throat for just a moment.

"How do you know that Helga sleeps in my bed? How do you know what we do?!" Arnold asked with anger in his tone now.

Curly noticed the anger in his voice and smiled." Let's just say I know a few things." Curly said, his voice still sly.

"What exactly do you know?" Arnold asked quietly, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Curly snickered." Well, I know that she loves to kiss your neck real gentle like and I know she has nice tit-"

WHAM

Before Curly could say what he wanted to, Arnold quickly headbutted him! He had given Arnold the perfect opportunity to take advantage of him. Curly quickly fumbled backwards and grabbed his nose in pain.

"YOU SON A BITCH!" Curly screeched as he took off his glasses and wiped his nose, which was starting to leak blood.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" He yelled as he suddenly lurched forward towards Arnold!

However, just as he was reaching for Arnold, he froze.

"Damnit!" He muttered as he fumbled in his right pants pocket. He brought out a small cellphone.

"Hello?" He said in a calm voice." Am I busy? No not really. You need a shipment?! Now?! How much are you paying?"

Arnold released a heavy sigh of relief while Curly dealt with his current issue.

"Okay. I'll be there in five." Curly muttered as he hung up the phone.

As he put the phone in his pocket, he shot a glance at Arnold. For a moment, the room went silent. The green tinted light above them blinked for just a moment.

Curly just sighed and walked forward towards Arnold.

However, when he was just a few inches away, he stopped." Listen here." He said in a calm voice." I gotta go make a business deal. I'll deal with you later."

Before Arnold could look up, he was suddenly hit by something blunt, knocking him out cold once again.

The cold wind blew all around Helga G. Pataki. She shivered as she hugged herself tightly.

7:30 P.M. and still no sign of Arnold.

A full day of searching for Arnold and still nothing good happened. She prayed that he was still alive. Hell, it's all she could do at this point. Surely if he was still alive then something would have come up by now. Right?

She suddenly felt her phone buzz in her pocket as she rounded the block. She took out her phone to see that Phoebe was currently trying to call her

"Hey Pheebs." She replied in a calm but still stressed voice.

'Please say you found Arnold. PLEASE say you found him!' She thought to herself.

However, no such luck.

"Hey Helga." Phoebe said, sounding depressed." Still no luck?"

"Hell no." Helga said with a huff." Pheebs, whoever this guy is, he must've taken Arnold to another state! I searched every nook and cranny of the east side of the city. I asked around. Nobody had heard or seen of a teenage boy with a football shaped head."

"Same here." Phoebe said with a sigh. Helga suddenly heard Gerald tell Phoebe something.

"Hey Helga. Is it okay if Gerald talks for a minute?"

Helga thought it over for a moment." Yeah, sure."

She then heard the phone go silent for a moment.

"Hello, Pataki?" She heard Gerald say through the phone. He sounded just as tired and stressed as she was.

"Hi Geraldo." She replied as calmly as she could. It was taking a lot just to keep from going into a full mental breakdown right now.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I know this hasn't been easy on you. Hell, it hasn't been easy on any of us." He said in a very sincere tone.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Helga said with a huff.

"And, just know that I'm sorry Pataki. But, we're going to find Arnold. I promise you that!"

She actually felt a little shocked. Gerald was sorry for her and was trying to make her feel better?! Now that was something she thought she'd never hear.

"W-well it's okay Gerald. Thank you for your concern." Helga said earnestly through the phone.

She then looked up from the pavement to see the boarding house slowly coming into view.

"Well, hey I'm gonna let you two go. I'm gonna see if the cops can help us out any."

"Okay Pataki. We'll let you know if anything comes up from Arnold. Just keep your phone nearby."

"Will do Geraldo." She said as she hung up the phone.

Thank God she had friends that cared. I mean, Arnold was the light of her life. Hell, he always had been. But without people like that in her life, she would not still be here today.

She looked at the police cars parked in front of the boarding house as she climbed up the stoop. Looked like Harvey was the one who would be questioning her.

'Good! Someone I actually know!' She thought herself relieved.

However, Miriam's car was missing.

'Must've gone to go pick up Olga. Criminy… that's the last thing I need!'

She slowly knocked on the door. After a few knocks, she turned around while she waited on someone to open the door for her.

She noticed the creepy looking building across the street. It wouldn't be able to be seen in the daylight, but there was a hint of a glowing light on the top floor. The building was only about three stories high, but it still puzzled her. Why would there be a light on?

Just as she was about to question herself. The door opened up from behind her.

Arnold groggily shook himself awake. He had no idea how long he had been out. Once again, he had been knocked out by Curly.

He took a deep inhale of air when he noticed something weird. The room had always had a mildew smell to it, but now it almost smelled like gasoline throughout the room.

He looked up to see Curly standing in front of him, smiling sinisterly at him.

"Welcome back Arnold. Nice of you to join us again." He said in a sinister tone.

"Yeah, it's my pleasure." Arnold replied back in a cocky tone. He really was getting tired of Curly at this point.

"You know, you really pissed me off." Curly said, giving him a sour look now." That was a dirty move, breaking my nose like that."

"Well, it was a dirty move to lie to me and tie me up." Arnold replied back, his cocky grin still on his face.

Curly then leaned back and smiled." Arnold, do you remember what we talked about earlier?"

Arnold thought for a second." Ummm, no. I can't remember much after you knocked me out."

Curly smiled at him. He then started walking back towards the door." Well, we talked earlier on the fact that you always get what you deserve. And when you make a mistake, you must be punished!"

"What's your point?" Arnold replied back, his tone cool.

Curly snickered a laugh. He was now standing at the doorway to the room. It was directly in front of Arnold, just a few feet away.

"You did something bad Arnold, you hurt me."

He then took a small match out of his pocket. He took the match in his right hand and struck it against the wall.

Arnold watched in shock as he waved the lit match in front of his face." And now Arnold, you're gonna get the punishment that you deserve."

"No Curly wait!" Arnold yelled, but it didn't work.

Curly dropped the match and the floor instantly lit up into flames. Then suddenly closed the door, entrapping Arnold in the room with the fire!

Arnold watched as the flames instantly flew up with a huge WHOOSH! He felt the intense heat on his cold skin. He was still in his blue jacket, but he was still freezing in a building that had no heat.

"Shit!" Arnold yelled, realizing the flames were coming his way!

He had to think of something fast!

With a grunt, he stood up with the chair still tied to his back. Thank God Curly had not decided to tie up his legs.

Quickly, he ran backwards with the chair on his back. He jolted to a stop when the chair hit the wall behind him. He could feel the chair start to crack from beneath him.

"Come on!" He grunted to himself as he ran forward and repeated the process again, the chair cracked once again, but still no break.

He ran forward again, the flames were now just inches away from him.

His skin felt like it was about to start melting now. The heat was getting more and more intense.

"One… more… time." Arnold groaned as he quickly ran backwards. If the chair didn't break this time, there was no way he could escape!

"Look Helga." Harvey said from across the table." We are just trying to help you. Now, when was the last time you talked to Arnold?"

'Man! Harvey can really be an idiot sometimes.' She thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

"Look, I already told you." She said in an annoyed and stressed voice." It was last night before we went to bed! Now why are we sitting here talking about this when we should be out there looking for the-"

"Oh my God look!" Helga suddenly quit talking when Stella Shortman stood up from her right side of the table.

She dried the tears from her eyes as she pointed towards the window. Harvey, Helga, Phil, and Miles all did the same. What they saw made their jaws instantly drop.

"Why is that building burning?!"

Author's Note: So, that was a very crazy and spastic chapter! I covered a lot of ground in this one chapter, so so hope things didn't get too confusing.

Also, just wanted to thank everyone for sticking along with this story. Trust me when I say, I had no intention on this story being nearly this long. But, things happened and it just ended up this way. I had originally planned for this story to be like seasons of a teenage drama show( because I love shows like that) And I still plan for it to be that way, but this story is way longer than I expected it to be!

So, anyways, thank you all so much for all the continued support! It always means the world to me! Don't forget to review and I'll see you guys next time!