IV
As I got some things together to catch the little rat, including a net, some bait, (which was just Triscuit crackers, but who knows what those things eat?) and rubber gloves, a tingle of excitement ran through me. Not only was it totally cool that Pikachu actually existed outside the video game, there was one right here in my neighborhood! How cool is that?
Finally, all the preparations were made. I strode out the front door, and after a short while, Donald showed up, and I laughed. He was dressed completely in black, with a black wool cap pulled over his face.
"Ha, ha, ha! Don, someone might think you're out to rob a house!" I laughed.
"Just wanna make sure it doesn't see me." he said. "Do you got everything?"
"Yep. Net, gloves, bait… we're ready!"
"Great." He said, "Now where do we start looking?"
I was silent for a moment, thinking. "Well, I first saw the yellow light in that bush over there. Let's start there."
And so we crept up to the Rhododendron bush and parted the branches, to find…nothing! We then checked the bush under the bay window, also to find nothing. We even looked in the big bushes on the side of the Cattle's place, to no avail.
I thought for a moment more. "You said you also saw the light in your backyard, right?" I asked him. "Let's look there."
And so we took a leisurely stroll up Sanford Avenue until we came to the Hoffer Residence. We quietly opened the gate to the backyard and stole in. We split up to check the whole yard, and we still found nothing. Until, that is, I inspected the little plastic kids slide in the corner of the yard. I saw something that made me excited and sick at the same time.
"Yo, Donald!" I called, "Come look at this! Bring your flashlight!" He tiptoed over, and I said, "Point the light there." When the light hit the object, we saw what it was. Small lumps in a pile, glowing very faintly.
"Pikachu droppings," I whispered.
"Are you sure? Maybe it's from a dog or something."
"Does dog doo glow like that, man?" I whispered fiercely.
"Well, no, but…"
"And look how small it is! No dog I've ever seen leaves dung that small. I'm telling you, this is from that Pikachu."
"Okay, let's say it is." Said Don, "Now what?"
"We follow the trail." I said quietly, pointing. Little footprints in the soft soil led away from the slide and out the gate. "Let's go."
We crept across the grass, following the tracks. However, soon the path was lost because the prints led out into the street. So we had to check the four corners of the intersection, trying to pick the tracks back up. Finally, we found them, in the soil of the only part of First Street with no sidewalks. We traced the footprints all the way up First Street, and then I got a big shock. The tracks turned abruptly, leading right up my front lawn!
"Don!" I whispered, "He's back at my house! This is nuts."
"Let's go get him." He said. "We've flushed him out, now."
"Right."
We quietly climbed up the little hill and followed the trail, which led to the gate that led to the backyard. I softly opened the gate, and to my surprise, we couldn't find the footprints again. The soil was soft, and any animal would have left clear tracks, but there were none.
"Man… we've lost it." I said.
Don was quiet for a moment. "Well, I think we should…"
Suddenly, a brilliant light was cast upon us, shining from above.
"Aw, crap!" I moaned, "That stupid motion sensor light!"
Suddenly, I realized something else. If that light was on, the alarm in the spare bedroom would be going off as well.
"Damn it! Don, get out of here! My parents are gonna get woken up! I'll handle this."
"But what about the Pikachu?"
"We'll look for it tomorrow. It's late, anyway. Now, go!"
He turned and ran, and soon his black sweatsuit ensemble was swallowed by the even blacker night.
As I got some things together to catch the little rat, including a net, some bait, (which was just Triscuit crackers, but who knows what those things eat?) and rubber gloves, a tingle of excitement ran through me. Not only was it totally cool that Pikachu actually existed outside the video game, there was one right here in my neighborhood! How cool is that?
Finally, all the preparations were made. I strode out the front door, and after a short while, Donald showed up, and I laughed. He was dressed completely in black, with a black wool cap pulled over his face.
"Ha, ha, ha! Don, someone might think you're out to rob a house!" I laughed.
"Just wanna make sure it doesn't see me." he said. "Do you got everything?"
"Yep. Net, gloves, bait… we're ready!"
"Great." He said, "Now where do we start looking?"
I was silent for a moment, thinking. "Well, I first saw the yellow light in that bush over there. Let's start there."
And so we crept up to the Rhododendron bush and parted the branches, to find…nothing! We then checked the bush under the bay window, also to find nothing. We even looked in the big bushes on the side of the Cattle's place, to no avail.
I thought for a moment more. "You said you also saw the light in your backyard, right?" I asked him. "Let's look there."
And so we took a leisurely stroll up Sanford Avenue until we came to the Hoffer Residence. We quietly opened the gate to the backyard and stole in. We split up to check the whole yard, and we still found nothing. Until, that is, I inspected the little plastic kids slide in the corner of the yard. I saw something that made me excited and sick at the same time.
"Yo, Donald!" I called, "Come look at this! Bring your flashlight!" He tiptoed over, and I said, "Point the light there." When the light hit the object, we saw what it was. Small lumps in a pile, glowing very faintly.
"Pikachu droppings," I whispered.
"Are you sure? Maybe it's from a dog or something."
"Does dog doo glow like that, man?" I whispered fiercely.
"Well, no, but…"
"And look how small it is! No dog I've ever seen leaves dung that small. I'm telling you, this is from that Pikachu."
"Okay, let's say it is." Said Don, "Now what?"
"We follow the trail." I said quietly, pointing. Little footprints in the soft soil led away from the slide and out the gate. "Let's go."
We crept across the grass, following the tracks. However, soon the path was lost because the prints led out into the street. So we had to check the four corners of the intersection, trying to pick the tracks back up. Finally, we found them, in the soil of the only part of First Street with no sidewalks. We traced the footprints all the way up First Street, and then I got a big shock. The tracks turned abruptly, leading right up my front lawn!
"Don!" I whispered, "He's back at my house! This is nuts."
"Let's go get him." He said. "We've flushed him out, now."
"Right."
We quietly climbed up the little hill and followed the trail, which led to the gate that led to the backyard. I softly opened the gate, and to my surprise, we couldn't find the footprints again. The soil was soft, and any animal would have left clear tracks, but there were none.
"Man… we've lost it." I said.
Don was quiet for a moment. "Well, I think we should…"
Suddenly, a brilliant light was cast upon us, shining from above.
"Aw, crap!" I moaned, "That stupid motion sensor light!"
Suddenly, I realized something else. If that light was on, the alarm in the spare bedroom would be going off as well.
"Damn it! Don, get out of here! My parents are gonna get woken up! I'll handle this."
"But what about the Pikachu?"
"We'll look for it tomorrow. It's late, anyway. Now, go!"
He turned and ran, and soon his black sweatsuit ensemble was swallowed by the even blacker night.