Finding the Lost Journey
Composed By ~*Silver Kitten*~
A/N: I owe everyone reading this/has read this a serious apology. I did not mean to "disappear" and not update for SO long. July 5th-16th I was gone in California for a Christian Youth Conference called DCLA. I was really planning on being able to update either right before I left or right after I returned, but I got hit hard with writer's block, I quit my previous job, got a new job, barely had time to write, and when I finally did have time I didn't know what to say. Luckily, I've overcome writer's block, and, for those of you whose interest in this story hasn't been lost, I've managed to whip this up in hopes it will meet your expectations (as well as mine). Granted, I hate the beginning, I think this story gets better as it goes along.
Disclaimer: I'll keep it short and simple: I don't own Hey Arnold!
"In dreams until my death
I will wander on
In your house I long to be
Room by room patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone, I'll wait for you there,"
Like a Stone- Audioslave
Finding the Lost Journey
Part Four: Easier Said Than Done
~*Arnold's Point of View*~
The car ride was excruciatingly long and it wasn't even the anticipation that was making it so terrible: I had no idea where we were going.
Helga and I sat quietly next to each other, silently amused for no reason at all, as Duke drove in his classy yellow convertible that looked as though it'd driven through swamplands without being properly cleaned. He, for himself, had been terribly quiet.
"So where exactly are we going, anyways?" Helga inquired politely.
"Well, first I'd like to show you one of my most favorite places"—there was a quick interruption of some electronic chiming. "Oh, excuse me," he continued, answering his cellular phone. "This is Channing. Yes, all is in order…no…right now? Fine, fine, give me five," he said, anxiously clicking off his phone and shoving it in his jacket pocket.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, taking notice of his sudden change of speed in driving.
"No, actually, nothing is wrong. Some things have just come up that I need to take care of. There's another town a couple miles this way. I'll drop you two off at a nice, cozy motel for a bit," he explained.
Helga and I glanced at each other.
"Where do you have to go?" I asked, but more so demanded, seeing as how his agenda was already set to include my entire trip down here and he had "other stuff" to take care of?
"Oh, it's just a meeting with another…client. I won't be too long," he said. That was a shame…
"When do you plan on finishing your obligations with your other client?" Helga asked in a suspicious tone.
"What other…" he looked at me, "Oh, after this." He muttered something under his breath and continued driving.
Within minutes we reached the outskirts of a simple city. We parked in front of a carefully sculpted building, rather tall but not tall enough to be a skyscraper. Duke walked in as though he'd lived there and consulted the desk clerk.
"Good day, sir. How may I help you today?" the clerk asked, readying his hand to reach for a room key.
"Just a room, today,"
"What about your other room? Is there something wrong with room thirty?" the clerk became anxious and Duke was suddenly aware of something. There was a flash in his eyes as he looked to me.
"No, no," he insisted in a hushed tone, "Forget all that. The room is for these two. Put it on my tab. Thanks," he said, quickly snatching a set of keys from the appalled clerk.
"Uh, it's room twenty-seven!" he called, but Duke was already half way up the stairwell, and Helga and I paid no mind otherwise but to follow.
"Make yourselves at home. I'll be back within no longer than an hour," he explained, handing me the room keys. I didn't feel like arguing with him and his secretive notions, so I nodded. He left, shutting the door on his way out.
Helga sat on the large bed oversized for one person and let out a sigh, looking out at the city's grand view from a sliding door's window that marked the entrance to a balcony.
"He gives me the creeps," she said, almost laughing.
"I know what you mean…something tells me he's up to something,"
"You get that feeling around him, too, huh?"
"So it's unanimous. We'll search the other room of his he seemed so annoyed about when the clerk brought it up,"
"What!" Helga stood up. "Don't get me wrong, but isn't that…I don't know…breaking an entry?"
"Helga, something isn't right here…and I want to find out what that is. I'll understand if you rather stay here,"
"No! I mean, of course I'll come. It's just…what you're talking about doing…it's so not like you," she said, nearly frowning.
"I know…I can't really explain it, though. I think it's just the fact this guy is…somehow standing in the way of me completing what I came here to do…and, the way Mr. Smith was talking about how vital this was…I don't feel so comfortable just sitting in some hotel room while he's out having some mystery conference,"
"What are we waiting for then?" She began heading out the door and my smile widened.
We went back down the stairs to the main lobby and eyed the busy clerk carefully.
"Um, exactly how are we planning on getting the room key?" Helga whispered.
"Good question…"
"I think I have an idea," she said, and sprang forward and walking casually to the front desk. I walked closely behind her.
"May I help you?" he asked while straightening up a few papers.
"Yes, actually, we were wondering if you'd give us a spare room key for room thirty?" she inquired; fixing the tone of her voice so it sounded more formal.
"Uh…well, I would, but you see, I don't think I can do that unless Mr. Channing consented," he said meekly and firmly.
"Oh, he has! It's just he had to step out for a while, and I forgot something in his room. You see, he's my cousin and everything, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind," she lied but made herself out to be believable. The clerk seemed to buy it for a moment but then his eyes wavered towards me.
"Of course, but, who is this young man, then?" he questioned.
"Oh, uh, this is Arnold my…um, fiancé." She stated, pulling me closer to her.
"What?" I said under my breath as she shot me a go-along-with-it glance. "I mean, yes, we're to be married and our vacationing here is like a…pre-honeymoon,"
"Ah…very well then, why didn't you say so? Here you are," he said cheerfully, tossing Helga the key. She flashed a quick smile.
"Thanks so much,"
"Yes, thank you," I said, and we hurried back upstairs.
"Fiancé?" I mentioned as we strode to room thirty.
"Pre-honeymoon?" She said, smirking as her eyebrows rose. I blushed and decided to leave it at that.
"Okay, here we are," she put the key in the lock and twisted it forcefully, opening the door.
We entered quietly and shut the door behind us, looking around the average room. The bed was made perfectly, a single suitcase atop its unwrinkled sheets. There was a closet across from the bed, a desk by the large window revealing the tops of many other buildings, and even a small balcony, much like the one we had in our room.
I walked to the bed and cautiously turned the suitcase around.
"It's locked…"
"Maybe there's a key somewhere," Helga said, wandering off toward the desk and beginning to rummage through it.
I watched her amiably at how careful she was in doing such a precarious job.
"You know…you act as though you're used to snooping around in other people's rooms," I stated jokingly. A quick blush came to her grinning face.
"You have no idea…oh, what's this?" she wondered, lifting up a board in one of the drawers. I walked over to the desk. Beneath the board revealed a few messy envelopes, some scattered papers, and a wallet. Helga picked it up curiously and opened it.
A terribly confused and ghastly look shot across her face.
"What? What is it?" I asked. She looked up from the wallet and then handed it to me.
"He's…he's not him…He's not who he says he is!" she said.
"What do you…?" I looked at the picture I.D. of a Mr. Duke Channing and froze. The picture depicted someone completely different than the "Duke Channing" I had been acquainted with. It showed someone who would be of a lanky build, scraggly red-orange hair and green eyes—certainly not the Duke I knew. "I knew something was up…why didn't I see it before…"
"There was no way you could have known…Right now we have to figure out what we're going to do," Helga reminded me and I nodded.
"You're right," I snapped the wallet shut, placed it back into the drawer and Helga helped me to get it looking as normal as possible. "Okay, firstly, we can't let him know that we know that he isn't who he says he is,"
"Easier said than done…but possible,"
"We know he's a fraud but we really don't know exactly how dangerous he really is…if only we could find out a little more of his background…then we'd know how to handle him…" I sighed.
"Did you hear that?" Helga whispered. I turned my attention to the door. "Someone's coming!"
"Quick, in the closet," I took her hand and guided her to the closet with me. We both stepped in and shut the door quietly just as the entrance door opened.
~*Helga's Point of View*~
We practically stopped breathing while hearing the anxious thumping of boots wandering around the room.
Through the door we heard a muffled ringing of a phone. Arnold slowly cracked the door open to better hear what was being said.
"What is it?...Not now, no……They don't suspect a thing! There is nothing to worry about….Do you remember my name? Sergio Chase- the man who has never not completed an assignment. I'll get the job done soon enough……What about Smith? No I haven't heard from him yet. I'll be contacting him shortly. I'm sure he'll want to know all about his nephew…" he then cackled some form of dry laughter. "I really do owe him one. Well, I'll be in touch. As soon as I…square things away with the desk clerk I'll be retrieving Arnold and Helga, and we'll head off to our destination as planned. You'll be ready, won't you? Fabulous, see you then," and we heard him click off the phone.
There was some more rummaging in the room before he finally left. Arnold and I nearly jumped out of the closet.
"Smith is in on it, too," Arnold looked desperately confused.
"We don't know that for certain…" I tried comforting him, although at this point it seemed useless.
"I know. Nothing is certain right now, except the fact we have got to get out of here."
"And go where?" I asked.
"Anywhere, until we can figure out what to do. I don't care, as long as I get you out of this alive. Come on, let's head back,"
We entered our room and locked the door.
"We really can't just walk out of here since…Sergio, I guess his name is, said he'd be talking to the desk clerk. Unless we try to find some sort of basement or something,"
"It's a good idea," I cut in. "And the only one we've got."
"Is your luggage…um, expendable?" He inquired hesitantly.
"In a time like this, of course it's expendable. The only thing to make sure we have is your dad's journal."
"Right," he quickly grabbed his suitcase, tearing through everything until he found it.
I searched through my suitcase and found a lightweight, white jacket and threw it on.
"Here, I can put the journal in one of these inside pockets," I offered. I made sure it was in securely and wouldn't fall out.
"Thanks. Okay, I guess we should get going before he sees that we're gone,"
He opened the door, looked down the hall and once he saw it was clear motioned me to follow him. Luckily there was an elevator at the end of the hall, the opposite end of the stairs. We stepped in cautiously and pushed the button to the lowest floor- the cellar.
It was fairly dark and neither Arnold nor I knew exactly where we were going. There were long rows of storage areas filled with shelves, boxes, and assorted products. We finally reached what appeared to be the end of the cellar.
"Finally…an exit door," I gave a sigh of relief.
Arnold and I smiled at each other. It was a sure sign of escape, and one more step closer to home, and to freedom of this insanity. But perhaps we were getting ahead of ourselves. We heard rattling on the other side of the door, and a loud clunk against it.
"We shouldn't be seen," Arnold stated in a low voice, and pointed to an open storage area. We ran and hid behind a large shelving unit so not to be seen.
By then the door had opened and familiar sounding steps were heard, along with a low sliding sound as if something was being dragged. Arnold and I slunk lower behind the shelf. Panic struck me as whoever entered this cellar was now entering the storage room we were hiding in. There was a loud thump. Something was thrown down. Arnold slowly rose and peered through a few small boxes. I looked up at him as he mouthed the word "Sergio" to me.
The door opened again. There was another loud smash, a clank on the cement ground, and the same footsteps that grew fainter and fainter as the door shut. When we heard the door slam shut we both stood fully up and looked around.
"That bastard…he dismantled the doorknob!" Arnold said with frustration.
"Why would he do that?" I asked, puzzled.
I then took notice of a fine, red liquid sprawled across the floor, marking a path of blood.
I then jumped at the sound of a hideous groan coming from behind us. We both swung around to see a body slumped over on its side. Arnold immediately rushed to their aid, carefully turning the figure on its back.
"Oh my God…it's the clerk…" I covered my mouth so not to scream. The desk clerk was covered with blood, so much that I couldn't tell where it was coming from. He then coughed, and with a couple of heaving breaths managed to spit out some more blood.
"Why would he do this to you…?" Arnold wondered aloud. The clerk then struggled to speak. His eyes looked solidly into mine.
"He is a…a…mur…a murderer…and I might…have testified against him…"
"Testify for what?" Arnold asked.
"Testify for…your disappearance…he pla…planes to kill…to kill you…" and then he coughed a few more times.
"Don't give up; we can still get you help!" Arnold pleaded but to no avail. The clerk's eyes widened, his trembling blood-covered body became stiff, and all life fled from him with one final second of pain.
Arnold had a determined look in his eyes. Neither of us had to speak to know what the other was thinking. We headed back to where we came into the cellar and slowly, cautiously back to the empty lobby where we stood still staring out the doors.
"Helga…the real Duke Channing is probably dead; killed by Sergio. That clerk is dead now, too. Even if we escape from this place and make it back home…He'll still come after us, and if Smith is on his side…our friend's and family are in danger also. I can't just walk out of this building knowing that. I'm going to stay, play along with this sick and twisted game, and hopefully find a way to stop him. I will completely and entirely understand if you want to leave."
I stared out the doors to my last chance of escape, but those doors weren't what was stopping me from leaving.
How could I abandon him at a time like this? How selfish could I be? Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he needed my help. And besides, he made a good point. Why would Sergio stop here? No borders could restrain him from coming after us even if we managed to escape. The choice was simple.
"It was hell for me to leave you once. I won't do it again," I told him.
"Helga…I…"
"Well, there you two are. I was afraid you had…run off." sounded a familiar, jagged voice. It was Duke's impersonator.
"The thought didn't even cross my mind," Arnold spat.
"Good…good…Well, are we ready to go where we need to go?" He asked.
"Yeah, let's go," Arnold said quickly. All three of us headed out the doors.
"We'll be walking to our destination, it isn't too far. We'll be going straight through the jungle," Sergio explained to us, pointing straight down the dirt road we were on, past the outskirts of this small city was a jungle of sorts.
I made sure to walk as close as I could to Arnold as we followed Sergio, maintaining as comfortable a distance as we could.
"If something happens to me…I don't care what, I want you to get away from him as fast as you can," Arnold whispered to me sternly. His words were a shock to me and I was almost offended by them.
"Don't talk like that,"
"Neither of us knows where he's really taking us. Your best bet would be to run away from the city because he's probably expecting you to go there,"
"Arnold, stop it,"
"And if he catches you, I want you to take this," he persisted, and inconspicuously placed a pocket knife into my jacket pocket. I was dumbfounded.
"Are you planning something? Planning something stupid that might get you killed?" I asked in a harsh manner. All this talk about preparation for the worst wasn't usual for someone who possessed optimism like Arnold did.
He had a strange look in his eyes that didn't suit him at all, and I was worried for him.
"There are plenty of heavy rocks around here," he paused, looking around the jungle floor. "All I need is one strong enough to knock him out from behind, if I could just get close enough to him,"
"That's crazy! What if he turns around before you can do anything? He probably has a gun, not the mention the fact he's like twice as big as you are!" I protested.
"Ah!" we heard Sergio yell in frustration several feet ahead. He had apparently stepped into some sort of trap and was now a few feet in the air contained in some old-fashioned net.
Arnold and I stopped and looked around, and suddenly a can landed in front of us, seemingly falling from the trees. Immediately it started releasing a thick fog of smoke.
From no where a figure emerged from the smoke, taking both Arnold's and my arm.
"Please, quickly, come with me," he said, leading us through the smoke and into a thick area crowded with trees.
After maybe five minutes of running we reached a clearing, and just past a shallow river there was a rocky mound. The strange man led us around the hill to where there was an opening and he urged us to go inside. I looked at Arnold for some kind of assurance. Really, neither of us could know whose side this man was on, and at the present time we really couldn't afford to guess. We obeyed his offer.
Once inside the cave like area, and migrating around a small pool of river water, Arnold and I huddled close together, waiting for some answers.
"I am sorry for having to act so drastically. That man is not who he claims to be," he spoke. His olive skin had beads of sweat and there was a weary look in his black eyes.
"And…who might you be if I might ask?" Arnold inquired. The man appeared shaken upon hearing Arnold speak.
"What is a name but a keepsake of reputation? You would do better not to know, my friend, at least for this time being. But, I will tell you this. I am the one you were sent here to meet. I am the one who unintentionally has put in danger, and so now I am the one who is going to save you. Do you have your father's journal?"
I took the journal out of my jacket pocket and handed it to Arnold.
"I have it…but how do I know I can trust you? It seems everything Helga and I have encountered here has been a lie,"
"I am not sure what I could say that could make you trust me, but I will say this. If you don't want to trust me, I will not blame you, my friend, but if you do not trust me, then seek out the many poor and sick villagers of this land, and counsel their trust, that they need a cure for this terrible sickness. Go and look into the eyes of the children who would only ask for a serum so that they might live to grow up. But should you trust me, know that I will do all that is in my power to help these people. I did not ask you to come here to trick you into a death trap. I asked you to come here because…I knew that you would come…and these people would have their cure," the man told us.
Arnold glanced at the journal and then back at the man. He took a step forward and hesitantly placed the journal in the man's shaking hands.
"Their lives lie in your hands now, then." Arnold stated with a hopefully twinge in his voice.
"Thank you, Arnold…" the man spoke with glee. At the entrance of the cave, a young boy came in and started speaking to the other man in some foreign language. He handed the journal over to the boy and then the boy left.
"That is one of the villagers. I have just sent him to get the journal searched for something your father may have written about, about how to cure this sickness. The answers will come all in due time. For now, my friends, we are safe, but I need to get you out of this place,"
"Wait, earlier you told us the man we were with wasn't who he claimed to be. What's going on here?" Arnold questioned him.
"That man goes by the name Sergio Chase. He had an ambush waiting for you just outside of this jungle. That's where you and I were to meet at first. I arrived early, to make sure the conditions were followed, that no one else would be there. But there were several men, setting up weaponry, communicating with some outside source through radios. I kept myself hidden pretty well, and then I saw him…I saw Sergio. I knew then things were not right.
The man I originally made contact with was a man by the name of Duke Channing. He was visiting someone in the city's hospital, discussing the strange illness. I approached him, seeing it was a good chance as any to say I knew of someone who could bring a cure. I told him everything I knew, and he agreed to do what he could. He made his contacts, and an arrangement was made, though I asked to have my name kept secret.
Somehow, Sergio must have found out our plans…and took Duke out of the equation."
"But," I interrupted, "Why would Sergio fake an identity?"
"It was the only way he could get to Arnold…and Arnold was the only way to get to me."
"What's in it for Sergio?" Arnold asked. The man took a deep sigh.
"Revenge…"
"Oh! This is my favorite part of the story! Please, continue,"
Everyone gasped at the sight of Sergio standing at the entrance of the cave, along with four other men holding us at gunpoint.
"Sergio…"
"Oh, you look so surprised to see me, Eduardo." Sergio exclaimed, almost laughing. Arnold tensed up.
"Eduardo? Your name is…Eduardo?" Arnold inquired of anyone willing to answer.
"Tsk tsk tsk…you didn't tell the boy who you were, Eduardo? This should make a good impression!" Sergio said sardonically.
"Arnold, let me explain," Eduardo attempted to speak.
"You betrayed my parents…" Arnold cut him off, his eyes on the verge of tears.
"That's who Eduardo is: A Betrayer! In fact, he's a betrayer of betrayers! And for that, he will pay…" Sergio stated. "Go on, Eduardo; tell them…why I'm out for revenge." He continued.
Eduardo looked frantic and hapless, staring at Arnold with remorse plastered on his face.
"Tell them!" Sergio yelled.
"Because…I…killed La Sombra…and La Sombra was…Sergio's father." Eduardo said dejectedly.
"Yes, that's right. You are a filthy scoundrel. My father trusted you…but, it doesn't matter now. I've always had some thought of vengeance in the back of my mind. But I must say overhearing the conversation between Duke Channing and Eduardo…I never expected it to be so easy. Everything was arranged and all I had to do was show up. I'd get the man who killed my father…and the kin of the people my father sought revenge on. What I'm doing is…fulfilling a destiny…finishing what's been started…and no one is going to stop me…" Sergio spoke with contained fury in his voice. "Now," he continued, "Grab the girl and Eduardo. We'll need someone to translate the local dialect. We have a journal to retrieve,"
Two of the gunmen stepped forward, one held the gun to Eduardo and motioned him to follow and the other stepped towards Arnold and me.
"What do you want to do about the boy?" the gunman asked. Sergio came forward towards us.
"He is of no use to us any more," he answered, grinning maliciously.
Arnold stood in front of me protectively.
"I swear, if you touch her,"—
"What? What can you do about it if you're dead?" Sergio cut in. He lifted up a gun and aimed it directly at Arnold. "You've always been an annoyance to me…but you're not worth a bullet," he struck Arnold on the side of his head, knocking him down into the pool of water.
"Arnold!" I screamed, and Sergio grabbed my arm.
"Come, my dear, we have things to take care of," he claimed, pulling me out of the cave along with Eduardo. I struggled to get out of his grasp but to no avail.
"Let go of me, you sick bastard!" I yelled. I suddenly remembered the pocketknife and quickly grabbing it from my pocket and opening it, I stabbed him in the shoulder as hard as I could. He barely winced in pain and the next thing I knew I was on the ground and my face was numb with tingling pain. I tried to ignore it and make a run back to the cave but he grabbed my hair and pulled me up by it, dragging me further back from the cave.
"Stupid girl. There is something I want you to see now," he spoke gravely into my ear. I fought back tears as hard as I could. I then noticed two of the gunman placing something by the cave entrance. One of them had a match, lit it, and lit a long cord and then ran, taking cover.
Within a matter of seconds, the crackling flame of the cord spread and dynamite had been ignited, exploding violently. By the time the smoke cleared the cave entrance was completely blocked by fallen rocks and boulders. The entrance had collapsed.
I thought nothing of the dangerous hands holding me back. I thought nothing of the pain pulsating through my body. I thought nothing of where I was. I could only think of Arnold, trapped inside that cave with no way out…
"No…" I tried to get my voice to cooperate but I couldn't scream. "Arnold!"
My tears were falling freely now.
As Sergio held my arm tightly, preventing me from escaping his grasp, as we walked further and further from the site, I could only watch it get smaller in the distance and blurrier through my tears. A tremendous fear pounding in my chest; a single question burning through my thoughts:
Arnold…are you still alive?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Please leave a review to let me know what you think; I'd really appreciate it, good or bad. I hope this hasn't confused anyone, with the whole Sergio/Duke thing, and so on. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask them in a review or e-mail and I'll be happy to answer them. Other than that, I really hope you enjoyed reading it and that I'm not letting any of you down with where I'm taking the story. Oh, and I'm sorry for spelling/grammatical errors, I was just in a rush to get this posted A.S.A.P…even though that's no excuse for an author lol…oh well, sue me…no wait, please don't…hehehe
Oh, and no worries, I plan on updating a LOT sooner this time. Well, thanks for your time, and till next time, take care,
~*Silver Kitten*~