Chapter 38: Jake's Last Story
With Jake...
FLASHBACK
Jake waited for a long while. When Simon came back a long time later, he had worry in his eyes and his lip quivering with anger.
"What's wrong, Simon?"
Simon breathed in sharply. "Nothing. Nothing at all." He sat down in one of the chairs. There was silence for quite a long time. Simon kept his eyes on the ground and did not look up frequently. Jake sat there wondering what had just happened.
Simon glanced at the time. It was a little before six. He sighed as a maid entered the room. Simon demanded, "Find Stella and bring her in here right away."
The maid nodded and inquired, "Where was she?"
"Outside next to the fountain. She should've come in a while after me."
"You came in around three, right?"
"Yes. Now find her."
The maid nodded again as she turned around and walked out of the parlor. About ten minutes later she came back into the room with a worried look on her face. Simon glanced eerily at her and interrogated, "Where is she, miss? Didn't you find her?"
"No, no one knows where she is at." The maid drew these words out sharply.
"WHAT?!! YOU CAN'T FIND HER?!!"
"No, no one could find her." The maid shuddered as Simon stood up and stomped past her. Jake jumped up and chased after him. They ran outside to the courtyard and glanced around outside. There was no trace of Stella.
One of the maids walked outside to Simon. Her face was pale and her paws her quivering. She looked into his eyes and whispered, "I saw the Bad Hams in the courtyard right after you came in."
Simon's jaw dropped. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not." The maid closed her eyes. "The leader and one of the Numbers were in the courtyard, and they took her..."
"SILENCE!" Simon paced around the fountain nervously. "No... You're not serious..."
"I saw them, too," another maid remarked as she walked up. "Yes, they took her. They walked her down to the end of the street..."
"..." Simon's eyes turned to cold glass as he walked back into the mansion.
Jake's green eyes were also glassy. He whispered to the two maids, "What do we do?"
The maids shrugged as they walked away.
END OF FLASHBACK