Two Nights at Crazy Carl's - Part One

"No, I understand. Thanks Pete," Tom ended the call and sighed, crossing out another name from a very long list. This wasn't looking good. He laid his head down on the kitchen table, banging it softly a few times, until the last time, when Sonic managed to slip a whoopee cushion under it.

"PBBBBBBBTTT..." It deflated loudly under his face, but Tom only reacted with an even louder sigh.

"Man, you're no fun today, are you?" Sonic said, peering over the kitchen counter and poking at his face, "I'm bored."

"See? This is exactly why you need a babysitter," Tom mumbled, sitting up and checking how many names were left on the list. He was down to two, and he wasn't excited about either of them. He threw the empty whoopee cushion aside and Sonic caught it before it hit the floor. He had already fully re-inflated it somehow. "Put that thing away," Tom said, and Sonic stuck out his tongue before doing so.

Ozzie barked, coming up to Tom and Sonic with his leash in his mouth, tail wagging furiously. Tom looked at the clock. Of course, it was that time of day.

"Sonic, can you please take Ozzie out for his walk?"

"Sure! A run sounds like fun, doesn't it, buddy?" Sonic clipped on Ozzie's leash, "Yes it does! Yes it does!"

"Not a run," Tom grabbed his shoulder, "A WALK."

"Fun killer," Sonic responded, but then added, "I'll walk him at a reasonable speed. I promise!"

"And make sure you pick up after him," Tom added, "I don't want another call from Mrs. Watterson."

"That was one time!"

"And let's keep it that way," he ruffled Sonic's quills and gave him a smile.

"Alright, Oz, let's go!" Sonic opened the door and, true to his word, he didn't run at full speed. He let Ozzie set the pace and followed easily behind. It was still pretty fast for a walk, but Tom knew he wouldn't go supersonic, and that's what mattered as he watched them go.

"We'll be fiiiiine!" Sonic called, waving at him as they turned onto the road.

Now that Sonic was out of his hair, he could finally concentrate. He looked at the list. Two names left. Might as well get this over with, he thought and pushed Wade's name on his contacts, holding his phone up to his ear as the dial-tone rang.

"Hey Tom!" Wade's cheery voice was a little loud. He lowered the volume a few ticks. "What's up?"

"Hey Wade, I was wondering if Sonic could come stay at your house for the weekend? Maddie and I are going to be out of town for her sister's wedding."

"Wait, why isn't Sonic going with you? He's part of your family, isn't he?"

"Yes, but Rachel said he wasn't invited, and, to be honest, I agree with her. This wedding is her special day and Sonic is already a handful under normal circumstances. You know how he likes to steal the spotlight."

"Gee Tom, I mean, you know how much I love the little guy. I really would-"

"But," Tom finished for him with a sigh. Even Wade was unavailable?

"But," Wade continued, not even noticing he had said anything, "I can't. I'm going fishing up at Flathead with Dave and Stanley this weekend, remember?"

Tom didn't remember (and was kind of hurt that he hadn't been invited but Wade had) but he shrugged it off, "Yeah, I remember."

"Why did you ask me if you knew I was busy?" Wade was genuinely confused.

"Because I'm desperate!" Tom muttered angrily and hung up, without even a goodbye, scribbling Wade's name off the list.

There was only one name left, but "Crazy Carl" didn't believe in owning a telephone, so Tom was going to have to drive out there to his property to ask him personally. Fun.

At the very least, he figured he'd have enough time to make it back before Sonic and Ozzie were done with their 'walk' around Green Hills.

Tom pulled up his pick-up alongside a rickety fence along a dirt road. He got out and cupped his hands around his mouth yelling, "CARL? YOU HOME?"

He waited, leaning back on his truck, arms folded. Part of him was hoping Crazy Carl wasn't home, but on the other hand, it would be even more of a headache trying to figure out what to do with Sonic if he didn't take him for the weekend. Tom certainly couldn't leave him alone and unsupervised for three whole days. Who knows what trouble he'd get into?

"Sheriff!" Crazy Carl came running out of his house, a large folder of instant photos cradled in his arms, a few were leaking out and leaving a trail behind him. "You're just in time! I've got something to show you!"

"Carl, wait, before you-" He tried to stop him before he literally leapt the fence to meet him.

Carl thrust the manila folder into his arms, more photos spilling out on either side of the fence. On the front it said "GHOST" in big, messy letters.

"Look at this!" Carl opened the folder and pointed at the blurry instant photos, "See? I told you!"

"Told me what?" He couldn't tell what Carl was trying to show him.

"It's HIM! The Ghost of Pumpkin Hill!"

"Ghost?" Tom picked up one of the photos, "What ghost?"

The photo he was holding was showing one of the tall Ponderosa pines that ran along the back edge of his property. Tom squinted, but he didn't see anything of note in the photo.

"The ghost that's been prowling around my property!" Carl threw his arms up in the air, pointing all around them, "It's been flying around, making all kinds of groaning in the middle of the night, keeping me awake at all hours!"

"Carl, I think we-"

"See, I set up a bunch of them hidden cameras - like on them ghost hunting shows!" He dragged Tom over to a stump where a camera had been placed. It was rigged up to a Rube Goldberg machine that would make the camera shoot whenever something touched the white strings, which were strung up all over the place like some kind of spider web.

"I still don't-"

"Here!" Carl pulled out a red permanent marker and circled an object in the top photo. "Little sucker is fast, so it's hard to photograph."

Unlike the other photo of the tree, Carl had indeed taken a picture of something, but what it was, Tom wasn't sure. It was a smeared, white blob that seemed to be hovering in the air.

"And this one!" Carl set another on top, "He's got one big RED EYE, see?"

The next photo showed another view of the white blob, but this time he could see something red and glowing. The lighting was horrible, even for an instant photo.

"This is probably just a flashing red light bouncing off a window-"

"I was right about the Blue Devil," Carl reminded him, "Wasn't I?"

"Yes, Carl. You were."

"I have never lied to you. You think I'm lying about this ghost?"

"No, Carl. I just think there's a rational explanation for what's causing this."

"You always think it's something rational! Paranormal phenomena are not rational like you and me!"

Tom had to bite his lip not to laugh. "Carl, I promise I'll look into this ghost, but... I need your help first."

"My help? At last!" Carl took back his folder from Tom and slung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close, "Well then, Sheriff! Why don't you tell old, reliable Carl what you need help with?"

"Carl, can you babysit Sonic for the weekend while Maddie and I are out of town?"

Carl seemed to mull this over, his face contorting into several strange shapes, before replying, "Well sure! He's a good kid. Pretty quick too…" He began to mutter to himself, "Hmm, maybe he can help me catch that ghost?"

"Actually, yeah, I think he'd love that." Tom was legitimately relieved. Sonic would get a kick out of going 'ghost hunting' with Carl, and then he wouldn't have to deal with this so-called ghost problem when he got back home. Two birds with one stone. "I'll bring him over tonight after dinner."

"Great! I'll get the spare bed ready for him!"

"Would you mind if Ozzie comes over too? Sonic will take care of him - feed him and what have you..."

"Of course! Ozzie's a fine dog. Probably a natural at ghost hunting too, I'd wager! Dogs have the sixth sense, you know!"

Tom smiled. Maybe this would all work out after all.

"Okay, so whose house am I staying at?" Sonic asked as he rapidly ran back and forth between his cave, loading his backpack, sleeping bag, and bean bag into the back of Tom's truck.

"Carl's."

"CARL!?" Sonic lurched to a halt with a stack of comics in hand. He looked freaked out.

"No way!" Sonic took the comics back up to his room and zipped back. He was about to grab the bean bag, when Tom blocked his way, grabbing his wrist.

"Now Sonic, just hear me out..." Tom certainly wasn't expecting this kind of reaction.

"Carl hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you."

"He tried to kill me - multiple times! You can't leave me alone with him! I'd be safer with Robotnik!"

"Hey, calm down. For one thing, you won't be alone, because Ozzie is coming with you," Tom said, lifting up a duffel bag filled with dog supplies to the bed of the truck. He whistled sharply and Ozzie came running, hopping up into the truck bed.

"Besides, all of that happened back when he thought you were some kind of urban legend. You should give him another chance. He even said you're a good kid, and I actually think he meant it."

"How come you can't stay home with me?" Sonic asked, sitting on the open tailgate.

"Believe me, I'd like to," Tom said, putting an arm around him, "You know Rachel and I don't get along that well, but I want to be there for Maddie. She's already been out there for a week helping Rachel plan everything and she needs a break."

"What if... I need something?"

"Then you run back home and give us a call. Maddie and I will have our phones on us."

"How come I can't have a phone?"

"How about this? If you prove you can behave yourself this weekend, I'll get you a phone."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. But only if there's no trouble, got it?"

"Yes sir, Sheriff Wachowski, sir!" Sonic saluted.

Soon enough, it was time for Tom to leave for the airport. As Tom drove them along the forest road to Carl's house, Sonic looked out the window, hugging Ozzie, and scratching behind his floppy ears. At least Ozzie was coming with him. He'd definitely miss sleeping in his bed too, but at least he got to bring his bean bag too. Having a bit of home always helped.

As Carl brought in the last bags from the back of the pick-up, Ozzie trotted along behind him, and Tom bent down to give Sonic a tight hug.

"Bye Sonic. Be good," Tom said.

"I will. Tell Jojo I said hi," Sonic said.

"You'll see her soon. She's gonna stay with us while Rachel and Troy go on their honeymoon."

"What's a honeymoon?"

"It's uh…" Why did Sonic have to ask something like that at the worst possible time!? "It's a special vacation that people take after they get married… to get to know each other better."

"Uh, don't they already know each other?"

"Yes, but… Look, it would take a while to explain, okay? I've got to catch my flight. Maddie and I will be back with Jojo on Sunday night to pick you up."

"Okay," Sonic folded his arms behind his head, trying to look relaxed as Tom climbed into his pick-up.

"Remember, stay out of trouble, or no phone."

"I know! Have a safe flight!" He waved.

Tom gave one last wave before driving off, watching Sonic waving in his rear-view mirror. He had a bad feeling, but he was hoping that was just some pre-trip anxiety kicking in before his flight. Surely Carl and Sonic couldn't get into that much trouble together, right? Right?

Author's Note: I can tell already that this tale is gonna have a couple parts too, so I hope you enjoy!