I just have to quickly mention my English teacher as she happens to be
reading this story, and I said, as a little favour, that I would just
mention her and thank her for reading. (Oh, and when I said shut up in
class, I didn't actually mean it. Heh.) Thanks for all the reviews so far!
Chapter 32- Extravagant Thoughts
The tiny Headmaster nodded and answered into the holes of the handset
of the phone.
"I see, sir. Yes, sir. I'll get to it right away." He nodded, and the henchman that was holding the phone for him pressed the "end call" button and an electronic bleep sounded. The Principle stated his orders to the gathering of monsters that had been waiting silently in Waternoose's office.
"That was Harold Waternoose," he said, countering the question that the henchmen were about to ask. "He wants each of you to collect a dart-gun and position yourselves around the exits as you did before. But this time he is almost certain that you will catch someone, and do you know why?" he asked rhetorically. "Because this time you will be at ALL of the exits, not just the front entrance. Because this time your stupidity levels will have decreased and you will block all of the ventilation shafts, back doors and ANY other way out of this building. And how do I know you are going to do that?" He surveyed each and every individual that was in the room. "I know that because if you don't, you. Will. Be. FIRED!"
He ended his pointless speech. (It was pointless because the only word that the monsters at the back of the room caught was "fired." They got the general idea that it was very important, though, because when the Principle said something important, he usually shouted it.) The Principle stood up to his immense height of three inches.
"Go!" he shrieked optimistically. "Go and do your bidding!"
"He sounds like one of those villains that are bent on world conquest," thought the headmaster's personal guard before being ordered to pick him up and head towards the main entrance of the company. By then the henchmen had spread themselves throughout the building. That is, after the ones at the front had explained what their boss had said to the ones that had been at the back of the group.
The employees of Monsters, Inc. were very naïve; they thought that the henchmen had just been a precautionary measure and extra security after the break-in of the antiques shop down the street. (Though the residents of the area were secretly were secretly happy to see the owner of the shop sell up and go; he had been a bit of grump. Also, the antiques shop had been full of old bits and bobs that claimed to be things: for example there was candle wax inside that the owner had claimed to be from George Roarington's ear. Anyways, now that he had left, the shop would be bought quickly as it was right next to the supermarket, and might be made into something useful, like a vegetable shop or a bakery, for example.)
It didn't occur to them that it would be a bit over the top to have several nine foot security guards with cackling walkie-talkies and guns larger than one might reasonably expect on the prowl.
As the devilish Headmaster was taken to his destination, he thought hot- headedly about how the plan had gone wrong. Why couldn't it have all just worked out? The machine would get clearance by the Board of Administrators and they would go into mass-production, with him, one of the most widely- known monsters in Monstropolis getting a suitable 10% of the overall profits.
At first, when the older of the Waternoose brothers, Harold, had suggested to him 10%, he was disconcerted. But, in the end, Waternoose had convinced him that it would be quite a lot as profit would be, as Waternoose had said, "like no monster can imagine." After a lot of talk, the Headmaster began to realize that 10% wasn't a suggestion. It wasn't renegotiable. In short, it was a "take it or leave it" situation and the Principle was a very "take it" monster. He didn't want all his trouble of getting the hostages to go to waste.
Waternoose had said that they would make millions. Millions.
The Principle grinned. Imagine it; a giant mansion with an enormous pool surrounded by acres of luscious gardens.and at the front of the house on a driveway big enough to be an aeroplane runway, the flashest fastest car money could buy, and, in the passenger seat, a gorgeous stunning female monster waiting for him to come and take her for a ride.
"When I'm the richest monster in Monstropolis," said the Principle, completely ignoring the fact that Waternoose would be 90% richer than him, "I'll divorce my boring old wife and get a REALLY hot girlfriend. Yeah."
His extravagant thoughts made him drool as his tongue hung out of his mouth as a dog's would while its tummy is being gently scratched. He then thought to present himself. Waternoose had said that he was certain that the plan would work, but now here they were, trying to stop some hostages from escaping. If only Waternoose had kept his word. All the Principle's incredible (if not a tad unorthodox) dreams were so close to becoming reality. But now, all his plans were in jeopardy.
The slight bobbing of the Principle's bodyguard came to a stop as they halted in front of the door. "Wait here," the Principle instructed him sternly.
He needed to get out of the dump that he was living in; he wasn't sure if he could take all the damp and the loud music from the neighbour any longer. He wanted that money so badly that he would do almost anything to get it, even harm a bunch of innocent children.
Chapter 33- Encircled
The four ran down the hallways with no orientation of Monsters, Inc. In other words they had completely no idea, whatsoever, of where they were going. They had made a number of turnings; sometimes in vain as there were quite a few dead-ends. Hallway after hallway came and went and Randall was like a kid in a candy store. Everything seemed so perfect.
If they weren't on the run, Randall would have paused to look at the numerous rooms that they had passed, all of them named intriguingly. There was the old shredder room, the stimulator room, and many offices for some of the higher employees. At long last, they came out into a long corridor with a couple of monsters walking along it and a few comparing some paperwork in dread.
There was another hallway leading off of this one which went into Scarefloor C. As they flew by it, Randall halted briefly gawping at the Scarefloor and watching the professional Scarers roaring and doing their highly esteemed job while their Scare Assistants supported them with words of encouragement. Randall was speechless.
His first glimpse of a Scarefloor! He stopped the temptation of walking inside and having a thorough look around and instead pursued the others who had now reached the main entrance. Randall looked around. He thought he had seen a light-purple lizard-monster, but when he looked back it was just some other meaningless monster.
In a crazy way, he had a hope that he would see his father there, chatting to some fellow employees, but he soon stamped the thought impossible in bright red letters. Which it was. His parents were dead, and he had to put up with it. Either that or spend the rest of his life torturing himself about what could have happened, rather than accepting what had happened. He couldn't change fate, even though, at times, he wished he could.
But there was still that weird feeling, deep down inside of him in the warmest, most compassionate part of his heart. One that made him feel positive. One that flowed through his veins, day in, day out. One that told him that his parents were alive.
It was all nonsense, of course. His parents were dead, and he could guarantee it; he was there when it happened. The car-crash. Randall withdrew himself and flinched slightly at the memories. It had been seven years since it had happened, but he was still feeling the pain of the loss.
Now he thought about it, he felt lonely, in a way. The only person that had ever been there for him, that had looked out for him, was Marie, but she needed emotional help too. What they both really needed was an adult figure; someone to look after them, someone to tell them what's right and wrong and to help with decisions, someone to look after them at times of desperation, someone.someone to love them.
The other three were waiting for Randall near the Information Desk. He caught up with them but his eyes seemed far away and distant, and he wasn't paying attention to what was happening. He was just following everyone, only vaguely aware of what was going on as his mind was somewhere else. He only became conscious of everything when Marie gingerly held his hand. She graciously smiled and he smiled back. But it was barely a smile; he didn't have the energy.
They dashed up to the door and all of them were about to go through it when a large monster impolitely stood in their way.
"Excuse me," Sulley said, trying not to make the monster suspicious. But the monster apparently knew who they were; they could tell by the massive dart-gun that he pulled out from behind his back. The four swivelled round to be met by another large monster, also carrying this particular make of dart-gun. Another item that he was holding was a walkie-talkie in which he was speaking.
"Yes, they're here in the entrance. Come quickly. Over." He slipped the walkie-talkie into a strap which he wore around his stomach like a belt and held his gun up, deciding which one of the young monsters would be his victim. He aimed at Randall, but before he could fire, they were gone.
They had run forward about three paces just as several more of these henchmen came and encircled them. One of them being, Sulley noticed, the henchman that he had gotten rid of in the hideaway earlier on. He must have called for help. He was looking quite ferociously at Sulley who couldn't bear to keep eye-contact with him. Every way the group turned was blocked. The monsters had covered every exit. They were trapped.
Chapter 34- A Sly Lizard
Randall began to get flustered, but he was also very frustrated. The way out was in their sights. They would've gotten out of this situation if it wasn't for those cumbersome, dumb henchmen who seemed to chase them and try to hunt them down every step of the way. Keeping his cool, Randall thought of a sly yet intelligent and, actually most humorous plan. His trademark grin spread across his face and he folded his arms, his eyes narrowed and his tail, in pretend boredom, flicking from side to side behind him. One of the observant henchmen noticed this.
"What choo smiling at, lizard?" he grunted, trying to be tough.
"Oh.nothing," Randall said tantalizingly. Marie heard from his casual tone of voice that he had a plan. Sulley, who was standing behind Randall, leaned over his shoulder, his eyes asking a question. Randall replied with a wink. Sulley beamed. Mike was the only one left in the dark. In a way, he knew what was going on, but he couldn't quite grasp it. It was as though he was in the pitch black with a packet of matches that he couldn't light.
Another henchman, who seemed to have a slightly higher IQ, (and I MEAN slightly) was a bit more demanding.
"What is it? Tell us or I'll shoot," he threatened Randall. But the lizard- monster only chuckled.
"Well, shooting me would be pointless. Yep, a total waste of time and ammo." The henchmen exchanged baffled looks as Randall continued. "You see, one of my friends is on the phone right now. He's calling the CDA. Once he's done, the CDA'll come and arrest you idiots and whoever else who was stupid enough to be involved." One or two of the henchmen gasped at this and lowered their dart-guns. Randall was pleased with this reaction; it was exactly what he wanted.
He unfolded his arms for two reasons; he didn't want to seem too intimidating as he negotiated, and his injured arm still hurt as though the damage inflicted upon it had only just been done. Although he was suffering, Randall still managed to keep that devious, I-know-something- that-you-don't-and-I'm-not-going-to-tell-you smile intact. One of the henchmen ventured for a question just as Randall was about to continue, but Randall allowed him to ask.
"Is there any way we can get out of this? I mean, without you tellin' the CDA 'bout us?" Randall posed himself, hand on chin, as if in deep thought.
"Well.there is one way." he said, enticing the henchmen. They were beginning to get urgent now; passers by were stopping to watch. "Actually.no. No, that wouldn't work." The henchmen begged for more.
"Oh, tell us!" one said.
"Well." Randall abandoned his air of secrecy and got straight to the point. "If you let us go, we won't tell the CDA about you. Simple as that." The henchmen began nodding in agreement and the matched that Mike had recklessly been trying to light were stolen from him and someone gave him a burning oil-lamp. He understood what Randall was trying to do. One henchman was still unconvinced.
"How do we know we can trust you?" he asked. "You are a lizard-monster, and- "
"Look," Randall butted in, irritated. "Take it or leave it. Your choice. But hurry up; I do wanna get back home before the end of the universe, y'know." The henchmen huddled round and began to speak in whispers, leaving the doorway wide open.
"Good work, Randy! That's what I call quick thinking!" exclaimed Marie. Sulley piped up.
"That was a great idea." Randall looked down at Mike.
"Well, I guess that was good. For a lizard-monster, I mean." Randall accepted these comments with another one of his toothy smiles and headed up towards the door. There was nothing stopping them now. Or so they thought.
Chapter 32- Extravagant Thoughts
The tiny Headmaster nodded and answered into the holes of the handset
of the phone.
"I see, sir. Yes, sir. I'll get to it right away." He nodded, and the henchman that was holding the phone for him pressed the "end call" button and an electronic bleep sounded. The Principle stated his orders to the gathering of monsters that had been waiting silently in Waternoose's office.
"That was Harold Waternoose," he said, countering the question that the henchmen were about to ask. "He wants each of you to collect a dart-gun and position yourselves around the exits as you did before. But this time he is almost certain that you will catch someone, and do you know why?" he asked rhetorically. "Because this time you will be at ALL of the exits, not just the front entrance. Because this time your stupidity levels will have decreased and you will block all of the ventilation shafts, back doors and ANY other way out of this building. And how do I know you are going to do that?" He surveyed each and every individual that was in the room. "I know that because if you don't, you. Will. Be. FIRED!"
He ended his pointless speech. (It was pointless because the only word that the monsters at the back of the room caught was "fired." They got the general idea that it was very important, though, because when the Principle said something important, he usually shouted it.) The Principle stood up to his immense height of three inches.
"Go!" he shrieked optimistically. "Go and do your bidding!"
"He sounds like one of those villains that are bent on world conquest," thought the headmaster's personal guard before being ordered to pick him up and head towards the main entrance of the company. By then the henchmen had spread themselves throughout the building. That is, after the ones at the front had explained what their boss had said to the ones that had been at the back of the group.
The employees of Monsters, Inc. were very naïve; they thought that the henchmen had just been a precautionary measure and extra security after the break-in of the antiques shop down the street. (Though the residents of the area were secretly were secretly happy to see the owner of the shop sell up and go; he had been a bit of grump. Also, the antiques shop had been full of old bits and bobs that claimed to be things: for example there was candle wax inside that the owner had claimed to be from George Roarington's ear. Anyways, now that he had left, the shop would be bought quickly as it was right next to the supermarket, and might be made into something useful, like a vegetable shop or a bakery, for example.)
It didn't occur to them that it would be a bit over the top to have several nine foot security guards with cackling walkie-talkies and guns larger than one might reasonably expect on the prowl.
As the devilish Headmaster was taken to his destination, he thought hot- headedly about how the plan had gone wrong. Why couldn't it have all just worked out? The machine would get clearance by the Board of Administrators and they would go into mass-production, with him, one of the most widely- known monsters in Monstropolis getting a suitable 10% of the overall profits.
At first, when the older of the Waternoose brothers, Harold, had suggested to him 10%, he was disconcerted. But, in the end, Waternoose had convinced him that it would be quite a lot as profit would be, as Waternoose had said, "like no monster can imagine." After a lot of talk, the Headmaster began to realize that 10% wasn't a suggestion. It wasn't renegotiable. In short, it was a "take it or leave it" situation and the Principle was a very "take it" monster. He didn't want all his trouble of getting the hostages to go to waste.
Waternoose had said that they would make millions. Millions.
The Principle grinned. Imagine it; a giant mansion with an enormous pool surrounded by acres of luscious gardens.and at the front of the house on a driveway big enough to be an aeroplane runway, the flashest fastest car money could buy, and, in the passenger seat, a gorgeous stunning female monster waiting for him to come and take her for a ride.
"When I'm the richest monster in Monstropolis," said the Principle, completely ignoring the fact that Waternoose would be 90% richer than him, "I'll divorce my boring old wife and get a REALLY hot girlfriend. Yeah."
His extravagant thoughts made him drool as his tongue hung out of his mouth as a dog's would while its tummy is being gently scratched. He then thought to present himself. Waternoose had said that he was certain that the plan would work, but now here they were, trying to stop some hostages from escaping. If only Waternoose had kept his word. All the Principle's incredible (if not a tad unorthodox) dreams were so close to becoming reality. But now, all his plans were in jeopardy.
The slight bobbing of the Principle's bodyguard came to a stop as they halted in front of the door. "Wait here," the Principle instructed him sternly.
He needed to get out of the dump that he was living in; he wasn't sure if he could take all the damp and the loud music from the neighbour any longer. He wanted that money so badly that he would do almost anything to get it, even harm a bunch of innocent children.
Chapter 33- Encircled
The four ran down the hallways with no orientation of Monsters, Inc. In other words they had completely no idea, whatsoever, of where they were going. They had made a number of turnings; sometimes in vain as there were quite a few dead-ends. Hallway after hallway came and went and Randall was like a kid in a candy store. Everything seemed so perfect.
If they weren't on the run, Randall would have paused to look at the numerous rooms that they had passed, all of them named intriguingly. There was the old shredder room, the stimulator room, and many offices for some of the higher employees. At long last, they came out into a long corridor with a couple of monsters walking along it and a few comparing some paperwork in dread.
There was another hallway leading off of this one which went into Scarefloor C. As they flew by it, Randall halted briefly gawping at the Scarefloor and watching the professional Scarers roaring and doing their highly esteemed job while their Scare Assistants supported them with words of encouragement. Randall was speechless.
His first glimpse of a Scarefloor! He stopped the temptation of walking inside and having a thorough look around and instead pursued the others who had now reached the main entrance. Randall looked around. He thought he had seen a light-purple lizard-monster, but when he looked back it was just some other meaningless monster.
In a crazy way, he had a hope that he would see his father there, chatting to some fellow employees, but he soon stamped the thought impossible in bright red letters. Which it was. His parents were dead, and he had to put up with it. Either that or spend the rest of his life torturing himself about what could have happened, rather than accepting what had happened. He couldn't change fate, even though, at times, he wished he could.
But there was still that weird feeling, deep down inside of him in the warmest, most compassionate part of his heart. One that made him feel positive. One that flowed through his veins, day in, day out. One that told him that his parents were alive.
It was all nonsense, of course. His parents were dead, and he could guarantee it; he was there when it happened. The car-crash. Randall withdrew himself and flinched slightly at the memories. It had been seven years since it had happened, but he was still feeling the pain of the loss.
Now he thought about it, he felt lonely, in a way. The only person that had ever been there for him, that had looked out for him, was Marie, but she needed emotional help too. What they both really needed was an adult figure; someone to look after them, someone to tell them what's right and wrong and to help with decisions, someone to look after them at times of desperation, someone.someone to love them.
The other three were waiting for Randall near the Information Desk. He caught up with them but his eyes seemed far away and distant, and he wasn't paying attention to what was happening. He was just following everyone, only vaguely aware of what was going on as his mind was somewhere else. He only became conscious of everything when Marie gingerly held his hand. She graciously smiled and he smiled back. But it was barely a smile; he didn't have the energy.
They dashed up to the door and all of them were about to go through it when a large monster impolitely stood in their way.
"Excuse me," Sulley said, trying not to make the monster suspicious. But the monster apparently knew who they were; they could tell by the massive dart-gun that he pulled out from behind his back. The four swivelled round to be met by another large monster, also carrying this particular make of dart-gun. Another item that he was holding was a walkie-talkie in which he was speaking.
"Yes, they're here in the entrance. Come quickly. Over." He slipped the walkie-talkie into a strap which he wore around his stomach like a belt and held his gun up, deciding which one of the young monsters would be his victim. He aimed at Randall, but before he could fire, they were gone.
They had run forward about three paces just as several more of these henchmen came and encircled them. One of them being, Sulley noticed, the henchman that he had gotten rid of in the hideaway earlier on. He must have called for help. He was looking quite ferociously at Sulley who couldn't bear to keep eye-contact with him. Every way the group turned was blocked. The monsters had covered every exit. They were trapped.
Chapter 34- A Sly Lizard
Randall began to get flustered, but he was also very frustrated. The way out was in their sights. They would've gotten out of this situation if it wasn't for those cumbersome, dumb henchmen who seemed to chase them and try to hunt them down every step of the way. Keeping his cool, Randall thought of a sly yet intelligent and, actually most humorous plan. His trademark grin spread across his face and he folded his arms, his eyes narrowed and his tail, in pretend boredom, flicking from side to side behind him. One of the observant henchmen noticed this.
"What choo smiling at, lizard?" he grunted, trying to be tough.
"Oh.nothing," Randall said tantalizingly. Marie heard from his casual tone of voice that he had a plan. Sulley, who was standing behind Randall, leaned over his shoulder, his eyes asking a question. Randall replied with a wink. Sulley beamed. Mike was the only one left in the dark. In a way, he knew what was going on, but he couldn't quite grasp it. It was as though he was in the pitch black with a packet of matches that he couldn't light.
Another henchman, who seemed to have a slightly higher IQ, (and I MEAN slightly) was a bit more demanding.
"What is it? Tell us or I'll shoot," he threatened Randall. But the lizard- monster only chuckled.
"Well, shooting me would be pointless. Yep, a total waste of time and ammo." The henchmen exchanged baffled looks as Randall continued. "You see, one of my friends is on the phone right now. He's calling the CDA. Once he's done, the CDA'll come and arrest you idiots and whoever else who was stupid enough to be involved." One or two of the henchmen gasped at this and lowered their dart-guns. Randall was pleased with this reaction; it was exactly what he wanted.
He unfolded his arms for two reasons; he didn't want to seem too intimidating as he negotiated, and his injured arm still hurt as though the damage inflicted upon it had only just been done. Although he was suffering, Randall still managed to keep that devious, I-know-something- that-you-don't-and-I'm-not-going-to-tell-you smile intact. One of the henchmen ventured for a question just as Randall was about to continue, but Randall allowed him to ask.
"Is there any way we can get out of this? I mean, without you tellin' the CDA 'bout us?" Randall posed himself, hand on chin, as if in deep thought.
"Well.there is one way." he said, enticing the henchmen. They were beginning to get urgent now; passers by were stopping to watch. "Actually.no. No, that wouldn't work." The henchmen begged for more.
"Oh, tell us!" one said.
"Well." Randall abandoned his air of secrecy and got straight to the point. "If you let us go, we won't tell the CDA about you. Simple as that." The henchmen began nodding in agreement and the matched that Mike had recklessly been trying to light were stolen from him and someone gave him a burning oil-lamp. He understood what Randall was trying to do. One henchman was still unconvinced.
"How do we know we can trust you?" he asked. "You are a lizard-monster, and- "
"Look," Randall butted in, irritated. "Take it or leave it. Your choice. But hurry up; I do wanna get back home before the end of the universe, y'know." The henchmen huddled round and began to speak in whispers, leaving the doorway wide open.
"Good work, Randy! That's what I call quick thinking!" exclaimed Marie. Sulley piped up.
"That was a great idea." Randall looked down at Mike.
"Well, I guess that was good. For a lizard-monster, I mean." Randall accepted these comments with another one of his toothy smiles and headed up towards the door. There was nothing stopping them now. Or so they thought.
