When Fern noticed Buster gaping at her, she shut down the treadmill and leaped
off.
"How did...how..." stammered the incredulous rabbit boy.
"You were right, Buster," said Fern, smiling gleefully. "Something about this world gives us superhuman abilities."
"You...you ran on the treadmill all night?" Buster looked at the treadmill panel again to make sure his eyes hadn't been deceived somehow.
"Yes," said Fern, "and I can bench-press 500 pounds. At least."
"Whoa." Buster pondered for a second. "That's...that's..."
"I could lift all of Mr. Ratburn's class put together," Fern boasted.
Buster grinned. "So what are we afraid of? When those creeps come after us, we'll just send 'em to the cleaners to get their clocks cleaned."
"Enough with the hard-boiled detective talk," Fern complained.
Moments later, all the Elwood kids were gathered in the fitness room, each taking a turn on the bench-press machine and treadmill. To their amazement and delight, each one of them proved to possess strength and speed comparable to Fern's.
Bella entered the room and addressed them. "I think we should go back to my apartment now. I called my mom last night, but I'm afraid she'll worry about me anyway. And those kidnappers won't dare come around during the day."
"And if they do," said Francine, making a fist, "we'll clobber 'em, as Binky would say."
"I wouldn't be too confident," Bella warned them. "After last night, they probably know all about your powers now."
"Bella's right," said Muffy. "What if they send an army of Arthur robots against us? They could be as strong and fast as we are."
A startled expression briefly passed over Brain's face.
"Alan, what is it?" asked Bella, concerned.
"Uh...nothing," said Brain, but Bella could easily tell that it was more than nothing.
"Get ready to go, guys," said Bella as she started to leave the fitness room. "I'm going to thank Trix for her hospitality."
Seeing that Trix wasn't in the living room, but that the door to her bedroom was partially open, Bella quietly slipped through the doorway into Trix's bedroom. Trix was talking on the phone, her back turned to Bella.
Bella was about to leave the room so as to not distract Trix from her phone conversation...until she overheard what the red-haired girl was saying.
"...and there's a dog girl, and two monkey girls. They spent the night here. What exactly are they wanted for, if I may ask?"
"Trix, who are you calling?" Bella blurted out.
Trix lowered the receiver and turned to face Bella. "Why didn't you tell me that your friends were fugitives from the law?"
Bella gasped, not believing what she had just heard. "What...? Fugitives? The law?"
"You didn't know?" said Trix incredulously. "Go take a look at the telephone pole outside of my house."
As Francine, Muffy, Fern, Buster, Brain milled about in the living room, they were surprised to see Bella rush past them and through the front door.
"What's gotten into her?" Francine wondered aloud.
"Let's go find out," Brain suggested.
The five Elwood kids exited Trix's house and noted with surprise that Bella was staring at a poster attached to a telephone pole, an expression of horror on her face.
"What is it, Bella?" asked Brain as he drew closer.
Bella turned to him. "We've got to get to my place right now!" she cried with alarm.
Standing in front of the pole, Brain, Francine, Buster, Fern, and Muffy were startled to see their own faces, in front and side views, printed on the poster. Above the pictures, in large capital letters, appeared the word WANTED.
Brain recited the words that were written underneath the pictures. "These fugitives are extremely dangerous. If you see them, do not attempt to apprehend them. Call the police immediately. Emergency 911."
"Trix is calling the police," said Bella anxiously. "We have to get out of here!"
"Wait a minute," Fern observed astutely. "Binky isn't on the poster."
"You mean..." Buster started.
"The police know that Binky was kidnapped, and maybe killed."
"Oh." Buster became worried. "Then the police are in cahoots with the people who kidnapped him...and maybe killed him."
"Elementary, my dear Buster," Fern quipped.
Bella took a few steps away from the pole. "What are you waiting for?" she called frantically. "The police will be here any minute!"
"The police are here now," Brain stated matter-of-factly.
Indeed, two police cars were speeding down the street in their direction-- followed closely behind by two black station wagons.
"RUN!" cried Francine at the top of her lungs.
"Alan, wait!" said Bella to Brain as he was assuming a running position. "I can't run as fast as you can!"
"They're not after you!" Brain exclaimed.
Bella's voice became desperate. "Please, Alan!"
Without a word, Brain grabbed Bella around the waist, lifted her effortlessly, and laid her atop his shoulders. Then he ran after the fleeing Muffy, Buster, Fern, and Francine.
The kids ran with all their strength, but could hear the approaching sirens growing louder. Bella pointed at a field overgrown with weeds located next to the sidewalk, roughly a block ahead of them. "We can get away from them through that field!" she cried.
They ran and ran. Suddenly the sirens stopped. Muffy briefly glanced backwards and saw that the police cars and black station wagons had pulled over to the curb, and several police officers and black-clad men and women were climbing out.
And Muffy saw something else. Fern had fallen significantly behind...
"Fern!" shouted Muffy, coming to a halt. Francine, Buster, and Brain, with Bella on his shoulders, also stopped and turned.
A look of consternation was on Fern's face as she ran more and more slowly toward them. Her joints appeared to become increasingly stiff. In a matter of seconds she was clumsily lurching forward, struggling to make progress.
Buster suddenly became terrified. "Omigosh! She's turning into a hopping ghost!"
"Buster! Francine!" Brain ordered. "Go get her! We'll carry her!"
Francine started to run towards Fern, but Buster blocked her path. "Stay away from her!" he cried. "She'll strangle you!"
"Buster, get out of the way!" Brain barked.
But it was too late to rescue Fern. Almost completely immobile, she was snatched up by a pursuing police officer, who started to carry her toward the parked police cars. Two more officers, accompanied by two men in black, sped past him in pursuit of the other kids.
"Come on!" shouted Brain. He, Muffy, Francine, and Buster turned and raced toward the field, quickly outpacing their pursuers.
Upon arriving at the edge of the field, the four kids and Bella charged into the midst of the weeds, zigzagging back and forth in the hopes that the officers would not be able to follow their trail. Their flight took them past a dozen homes and in the direction of a creek, on both sides of which grew numerous palmetto trees.
Suddenly Brain tripped over a cable that had been left lying on the ground, obscured by weeds. He plunged forward on his face, and Bella fell from his shoulders, landing in the weeds and rolling several times.
Brain pushed himself up. "Bella!"
"Keep going!" Bella cried, her hair and blouse disheveled.
Brain leaped to his feet and started to run again, soon clearing the gap between himself and Buster, Muffy, and Francine.
They reached the creek and ran along its edge for what seemed like half a mile, before Francine called on them to stop. "I think we've lost them," she said.
Brain looked at Buster angrily. "What kind of idiot are you? There's no such thing as a hopping ghost!"
"In that case," Buster retorted, "why don't you explain what happened to Fern?"
Brain's expression turned to one of frustration. "I don't know. I have a suspicion, but I hope to gosh I'm wrong."
Muffy heard a faint rustling noise. "Someone's coming!"
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Francine. "They can't run as fast as..."
Before she could finish, she saw two figures approaching them through the unkempt weeds.
They were Arthur and Binky...
(To be continued...)
"How did...how..." stammered the incredulous rabbit boy.
"You were right, Buster," said Fern, smiling gleefully. "Something about this world gives us superhuman abilities."
"You...you ran on the treadmill all night?" Buster looked at the treadmill panel again to make sure his eyes hadn't been deceived somehow.
"Yes," said Fern, "and I can bench-press 500 pounds. At least."
"Whoa." Buster pondered for a second. "That's...that's..."
"I could lift all of Mr. Ratburn's class put together," Fern boasted.
Buster grinned. "So what are we afraid of? When those creeps come after us, we'll just send 'em to the cleaners to get their clocks cleaned."
"Enough with the hard-boiled detective talk," Fern complained.
Moments later, all the Elwood kids were gathered in the fitness room, each taking a turn on the bench-press machine and treadmill. To their amazement and delight, each one of them proved to possess strength and speed comparable to Fern's.
Bella entered the room and addressed them. "I think we should go back to my apartment now. I called my mom last night, but I'm afraid she'll worry about me anyway. And those kidnappers won't dare come around during the day."
"And if they do," said Francine, making a fist, "we'll clobber 'em, as Binky would say."
"I wouldn't be too confident," Bella warned them. "After last night, they probably know all about your powers now."
"Bella's right," said Muffy. "What if they send an army of Arthur robots against us? They could be as strong and fast as we are."
A startled expression briefly passed over Brain's face.
"Alan, what is it?" asked Bella, concerned.
"Uh...nothing," said Brain, but Bella could easily tell that it was more than nothing.
"Get ready to go, guys," said Bella as she started to leave the fitness room. "I'm going to thank Trix for her hospitality."
Seeing that Trix wasn't in the living room, but that the door to her bedroom was partially open, Bella quietly slipped through the doorway into Trix's bedroom. Trix was talking on the phone, her back turned to Bella.
Bella was about to leave the room so as to not distract Trix from her phone conversation...until she overheard what the red-haired girl was saying.
"...and there's a dog girl, and two monkey girls. They spent the night here. What exactly are they wanted for, if I may ask?"
"Trix, who are you calling?" Bella blurted out.
Trix lowered the receiver and turned to face Bella. "Why didn't you tell me that your friends were fugitives from the law?"
Bella gasped, not believing what she had just heard. "What...? Fugitives? The law?"
"You didn't know?" said Trix incredulously. "Go take a look at the telephone pole outside of my house."
As Francine, Muffy, Fern, Buster, Brain milled about in the living room, they were surprised to see Bella rush past them and through the front door.
"What's gotten into her?" Francine wondered aloud.
"Let's go find out," Brain suggested.
The five Elwood kids exited Trix's house and noted with surprise that Bella was staring at a poster attached to a telephone pole, an expression of horror on her face.
"What is it, Bella?" asked Brain as he drew closer.
Bella turned to him. "We've got to get to my place right now!" she cried with alarm.
Standing in front of the pole, Brain, Francine, Buster, Fern, and Muffy were startled to see their own faces, in front and side views, printed on the poster. Above the pictures, in large capital letters, appeared the word WANTED.
Brain recited the words that were written underneath the pictures. "These fugitives are extremely dangerous. If you see them, do not attempt to apprehend them. Call the police immediately. Emergency 911."
"Trix is calling the police," said Bella anxiously. "We have to get out of here!"
"Wait a minute," Fern observed astutely. "Binky isn't on the poster."
"You mean..." Buster started.
"The police know that Binky was kidnapped, and maybe killed."
"Oh." Buster became worried. "Then the police are in cahoots with the people who kidnapped him...and maybe killed him."
"Elementary, my dear Buster," Fern quipped.
Bella took a few steps away from the pole. "What are you waiting for?" she called frantically. "The police will be here any minute!"
"The police are here now," Brain stated matter-of-factly.
Indeed, two police cars were speeding down the street in their direction-- followed closely behind by two black station wagons.
"RUN!" cried Francine at the top of her lungs.
"Alan, wait!" said Bella to Brain as he was assuming a running position. "I can't run as fast as you can!"
"They're not after you!" Brain exclaimed.
Bella's voice became desperate. "Please, Alan!"
Without a word, Brain grabbed Bella around the waist, lifted her effortlessly, and laid her atop his shoulders. Then he ran after the fleeing Muffy, Buster, Fern, and Francine.
The kids ran with all their strength, but could hear the approaching sirens growing louder. Bella pointed at a field overgrown with weeds located next to the sidewalk, roughly a block ahead of them. "We can get away from them through that field!" she cried.
They ran and ran. Suddenly the sirens stopped. Muffy briefly glanced backwards and saw that the police cars and black station wagons had pulled over to the curb, and several police officers and black-clad men and women were climbing out.
And Muffy saw something else. Fern had fallen significantly behind...
"Fern!" shouted Muffy, coming to a halt. Francine, Buster, and Brain, with Bella on his shoulders, also stopped and turned.
A look of consternation was on Fern's face as she ran more and more slowly toward them. Her joints appeared to become increasingly stiff. In a matter of seconds she was clumsily lurching forward, struggling to make progress.
Buster suddenly became terrified. "Omigosh! She's turning into a hopping ghost!"
"Buster! Francine!" Brain ordered. "Go get her! We'll carry her!"
Francine started to run towards Fern, but Buster blocked her path. "Stay away from her!" he cried. "She'll strangle you!"
"Buster, get out of the way!" Brain barked.
But it was too late to rescue Fern. Almost completely immobile, she was snatched up by a pursuing police officer, who started to carry her toward the parked police cars. Two more officers, accompanied by two men in black, sped past him in pursuit of the other kids.
"Come on!" shouted Brain. He, Muffy, Francine, and Buster turned and raced toward the field, quickly outpacing their pursuers.
Upon arriving at the edge of the field, the four kids and Bella charged into the midst of the weeds, zigzagging back and forth in the hopes that the officers would not be able to follow their trail. Their flight took them past a dozen homes and in the direction of a creek, on both sides of which grew numerous palmetto trees.
Suddenly Brain tripped over a cable that had been left lying on the ground, obscured by weeds. He plunged forward on his face, and Bella fell from his shoulders, landing in the weeds and rolling several times.
Brain pushed himself up. "Bella!"
"Keep going!" Bella cried, her hair and blouse disheveled.
Brain leaped to his feet and started to run again, soon clearing the gap between himself and Buster, Muffy, and Francine.
They reached the creek and ran along its edge for what seemed like half a mile, before Francine called on them to stop. "I think we've lost them," she said.
Brain looked at Buster angrily. "What kind of idiot are you? There's no such thing as a hopping ghost!"
"In that case," Buster retorted, "why don't you explain what happened to Fern?"
Brain's expression turned to one of frustration. "I don't know. I have a suspicion, but I hope to gosh I'm wrong."
Muffy heard a faint rustling noise. "Someone's coming!"
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Francine. "They can't run as fast as..."
Before she could finish, she saw two figures approaching them through the unkempt weeds.
They were Arthur and Binky...
(To be continued...)