COUSINS
Chapter 11: Torches

It appeared as though a dark presence was haunting the beach that night. Cheri, Olive and Cupcake heard indescribable noises coming from the distance and the grass was cold as a long winter's evening. With every minute that passed, the moon floated higher into the sky, which worried some of the animals until Dizzy explained that it was undergoing its traditional cycle. He substituted the sun as an example for the sake of better reception and understanding. All the girls unanimously laughed at his lesson, but it had indeed made sense.

The water was equally cold as the grass. Olive placed her hand in the rushing substance that was the ocean and instantly pulled it out. Its temperature likely matched the average it had hovered around in late April or early May, and she figured that it would have been as frigid if was daytime. Olive desperately wanted to swim and she was wondering if she still cared about how cold the water was.

"Let's walk over to Acre F-4. At least Penny will get home safely and soundly," Cheri said as she tried to breathe. "It would be for the very best. We wouldn't want her to get hurt since she's already been a bit bruised up." She choked on her last sentence.

Everybody agreed rapidly. They scurried to Penny's house intently and did not look back. As the mouse's house came into view, T-Bone's did as well. His lights were not on, leading the large group of animals to assume that he had gone to sleep, also because he was an early-riser. Penny sprinted forward and ran up to her door, which she swiftly unlocked. Her attention returned to her friends and she cautioned their entrance, fear obvious in her vocal tone.

Many of Penny's friends had yet to visit her house because she did not have a welcoming interior. She never told them this, but indicated it often. Her wallpaper was tearing and she attempted to repair it by splashing grey paint all over it, but its condition worsened as a result. The carpeting was steel and she had a modern bed resting in the house's bottom-left corner, while a desk sat at the northern end. There was a lot of paper on it. Two garbage cans were in the bottom-right corner of the house and a dying cactus sat in the top-right corner. Penny's life consisted of very few pieces of furniture in a relatively small house. There was not even a restroom.

"Oh... my..." Cupcake mumbled, stunned by what she was looking at. She was surprised. "You live in this little… shack? You could have asked some of us for help with money or something. After all, that's what neighbours are for, right? How could you live in such an unfortunate state?"

There was a momentary silence until Penny began speaking: "I have always loathed Veltron. Yes, that's right. From the day that I moved here, my life changed into something very puzzling. My loan was so high that I thought I'd be arrested for never paying the entire thing back. Since then, my room has had almost no furniture, and... at this point... I don't think I'm going to own anymore. It's very pitiful, I already know this. I'm worthless from head to toe and I can't fix a single aspect of it."

Vesta stepped forward. "I'll help you," she said. "Listen, I know you want to be able to do this on your own, but you've been crying. You're upset. You can't say that you don't want anybody's help, because I know you do. I know you want our help. I'm going to donate a solid... how does one-fifty grand sound? If you've got more of a loan, I'd be pleased as punch to help you erase more unwanted numbers. Hopefully it's around my total offering though. If it is, then there won't be much trouble, but if your loan is higher... well, I'll offer more!" The sheep chuckled. "You need the help, you do."

Penny sighed. She knew the animals were trying to help her, but she was uncertain. She sighed again and responded, "I need to think. My head has been played with so much lately that I can't seem to juxtapose the events. It's totally nonsensical!" She put great emphasis on her latter sentence, releasing another sigh and waving her hands about randomly.

All three cousins were mortified to discover that Penny had been living in a clustered house. Especially Cupcake. She could not grasp the concept of her friend ranking lowly on the social ladder, one whom had been overly kind, but lacked the appropriate funds to take care of herself. The pink bear shouted loudly and ran outdoors, retracing her trail halfway back to Mathilda's residence.

"We need to do something about this!" Cheri exclaimed, stomping her feet to attract everybody's attention. "Like, maybe we could donate some of our furniture to Penny? Or perhaps just come in and clean the place up for her? Wait! ...This pathetic steel floor should be replaced"—she jumped several times to overemphasize her suggestion—"and the wall needs to be fixed. I mean, who wants to live in such a dwelling? It's scandalous."

Vesta looked at the ceiling. "The ceiling fan is not preferable. A chandelier should replace it because they emit great sources of light. If not, a friendlier ceiling fan would be appropriate, if you catch my drift. There has to be something to brighten this already-dark presence in the house. A happier emotion!" The sheep looked at Olive. "A thumbs-up to the creation of unreal, but vital furnishings."

Olive nodded passionately.

Penny sighed once again. "Thank you. Since you won't allow me to protest, I guess I'll take your offer. To be bluntly honest, I could use a different house instead of this small hole-in-the-wall. I hate it a lot. But I'm sure you guys already knew that. Do what you want with it and I'll just accept the remodel for what it is. You're doing so much for me already." She laughed for the first time in a long while.

Cupcake was alone outside. She was sitting on the sand, watching the water repeatedly tickle her feet. The moon was shining beautifully that evening and it was beginning to descend over the horizon. Its glittering cream-flavoured display drowned the village in an amorous touch, the effect resembling a winter snowstorm in June. Cupcake thought it was dazzling, but the bear still would not permit herself to understand Penny's undesirable living situation. She had not asked for any help and those actions confused Cupcake more than any others had. Anger was occupying her face, burning her eyelashes and colouring her appearance deep red, similar to lava.

"I think I understand."

Olive sat down next to her cousin, who was startled by her abrupt emergence. They looked at each other in the eyes briefly before Olive sighed. "Cupcake, listen, you... you've always been one to find specific details difficult to accept, and, well, I respect that decision you tend to make." A sharp wind passed by, sending an extremely bitter chill up her spine, at which she shivered.

Another wind passed. "Sometimes you've got to suffer, that's what I've learned," Cupcake whispered, then rising her pitch by an octave. "Sometimes you've got to cry, which I've also learned. Finally, the last thing I've learned while living out here with you and Cheri is sometimes you've just got to open up wide. If I do that, there's nothing that can bring me down. I'm going to try to ignore Penny's struggle and view her as the mouse she was yesterday." Cupcake yawned, somewhat exhausted from the day's events.

"We all need to do something different once in a while," Olive said as she ascended from the ground. "If you want, you can come back. I do believe you've had the time to think about what you're going to accept and not. We're moving to Acre F-5—that's the dock, if you've forgotten—because according to Country Tribune, it's the town's best fishing location. Come on, let's go!" Olive returned to Penny's house, leaving Cupcake sitting in the sand, her eyes as large as volleyballs.

Later that evening, the animals started fishing at the dock. It was the most south-eastern acre in Veltron, and surprisingly not owned by Tom Nook or the government, but instead by a handful of fishermen that resided elsewhere, most likely on the island in the ocean. They had used the dock more than any inhabitant of Veltron. Because it was an impressive fishing area with many aquatic nutrients, the sea bass and red snappers were easiest to hook and collectively the animals caught twelve fish. The majority were sea bass, but this was expectant considering their massive population.

At 10:30, Vesta had fallen asleep on her fishing pole. Her early-to-bed schedule was contributing to this and she was prepared to hit the cold grass, from which Cheri saved her. The red bear looked at the others, holding Vesta, who was sound asleep. "Do you think we should move Vesta back to her house?" she questioned. "Leaving her here wouldn't be the wisest idea, would it?" She deeply breathed in the evening's fresh air and exhaled.

"Yes, that would be a good plan," Olive cried, dropping her pole and rushing over to her friend. She began acting immaturely. "Hello in there? Is anybody home? No?" She tapped on Vesta's head and giggled slightly. "Well then, I suppose we can move your precious, one-million Bell estate home! This means you will never see it again! Everybody, let's rob this innocent creature of her possessions!" The bear howled uproariously, which was followed by a mutant-like growl. Vesta awoke within seconds from these noises and emancipated an ear-splitting scream. After discovering she was still at the beach, Vesta stuck her tongue at them and bid them all a goodnight. The sheep began the short trek home.

Cheri eyed Olive suspiciously. "Olive, why did you do that? I mean, it might have been funny and whatnot, but..." Suddenly, the red bear was unable to control her wit and she burst into a blanket of laughter, her relative standing aloof at this alertness. Cupcake turned to see what was so amusing, but she brushed off Cheri's laughter because it sounded awkwardly daunting.

"You know, I don't like fishing!" Penny confessed after Cheri had settled down. "All it does is leave a pain in your back. And because of my body structure, I always end up ordering those stupid prescription pills from Tom Nook's. It seems that I'm always the one being obliterated..." Her eyes closed and she spoke softly to herself. "I could never leave Veltron, no matter what, even though deep inside I really want to. I've grown too attached to this village. I guess you'd try to stop me anyway, right?" She was referring to everybody fishing around her, but when she did not receive a response, she opened her eyes to find that they were involved in an intricate discussion concerning the approaching fireworks show, being touted as the "year's best".

"Oh, fine!" Penny cried. "Just let what I say flow right through your ears. That has never been a problem with me." Sarcasm filled her voice, along with aggravation. She paused hesitantly. "Perhaps leaving is the only way out... from this hellhole of a town." She decided to rest on her laurels.

It was 11:00 PM.

"All right, then," Olive moaned, lifting herself off the ground. "Come, girls, I'm getting sleepy. It's definitely time to go home. Tell me you don't want to sit out here all night staring at your fishing line? Only Dizzy has had some amazing catches and Vesta reeled in a few when she was still here. Come on, let's go!" The bear began hiking back to their house, which was not significantly far. Cheri and Cupcake said they would catch up to her.

A minute later, thunder growled furiously, shaking the ears of the animals still at the dock. At this point, the four remaining animals knew it was time toe head home. Cheri and Cupcake wished their friends a goodnight and turned in the direction of their house, departing quickly so that they were not caught in the forthcoming rainstorm.

Suddenly, Penny screamed, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Help, help, help!"

The two bears looked back to see what the mouse's sudden commotion was. They were alarmed by what they were staring at.

One of the trees had caught fire. The lightning had struck one of Veltron's tallest trees—as it began to produce a larger flame, thunder was bellowing in the distance. It had starting raining following the thunder.

"Wait, what in the world are you doing, Penny?" Cheri shouted at the house, who was being drawn to the flames that filled the smoldering tree. "If you want to die, just keep walking! Penny, Penny, Penny! What are you doing? Turn and run like a mad horse! Hurry! ...Wait, wouldn't that be old lady Cleo or somebody like that? Does Cleo run fast?"

Cupcake slapped Cheri across the face. "Does this look like the time to be joking around? That tree is on fire and—" She went speechless. The spectacle in front of her feet was the most unbelievable she had set her eyes on in her entire life. Was this really happening or was she living a nightmare?

Penny had picked up a branch that fell from the still-burning free. She had begun frantically chasing Dizzy, attempting to throw the charred thing at him. The elephant was running like a shot, shouting and provoking threats if the ginger fiery touched his chest or trunk. Penny was against what she had explicitly called "nonsense", failing to acknowledge her friend's words. She continued chasing him, laughing like a monster while she ran.

"...Oh, I ca-can't m-move," Cupcake stammered, clutching her heart forcefully. She was exuding nervous pants. "Oh, why can't I move my feet?" Her voice gradually rose with every word she said. "Has... has everything gotten to Penny? What's happened to her? Has she sincerely become this insane?"

Then it happened. The mouse threw the branch at Dizzy.

And it hit him.

Releasing a shriek as deafening as an earthquake, the elephant plummeted into the ocean, while the two bears screeched at the top of their lungs. Penny turned to them next and shouted, "There's no way that you're going to get away either! I promise both of you that your deaths will be as painful, if not more!" However, the flames on the tree had been extinguished by the pouring rain, which was falling rapidly.

"Perfect!" Cheri cried mysteriously, not necessarily afraid, but thankful. She had no idea what she was doing, blaming her adrenaline for sending her into the ocean as she began to search for Dizzy, who was not a particularly strong swimmer. She called his name. This left Cupcake standing alone face-to-face with Penny, the mouse who used to be one of her best friends. Giving her a dirty look, the pink bear moved back. She was ready to scream at her, but it seemed that the mouse read her mind. Penny whispered a series of words under her breath and Cupcake continued to move back.

"Oh, he never did anything to me!" she cried without warning. "It's just that you are right, Cupcake. My life is a mistake. Tom Nook, Mathilda, Susanna Ester, T-Bone, everybody. You're all nothing but worthless puppets in this game, and you have never been able to get away or get out. I wish that you would just hang yourself. Do us all that favour, won't you?"

Lightning flashed, this time closer to Veltron.

Breathing was becoming difficult for Cupcake, and her fear of retreating home was strengthening. She was afraid to see Penny jumping out and attacking her, which would likely lead to an unsuccessful safe escape. Perhaps because she was worrying herself, Cupcake tripped over a knee-level rock, and collapsed, hitting her head on the granite. She screamed and buried her face in the grass.

At that very moment, Cheri put her hands on Cupcake. Dizzy was resting on her shoulders. He had fainted. "Cupcake! Cupcake! Oh, Cupcake! You have got to get up! It will be too tricky for me to try and carry both of you! Please, Cupcake, please! Get up!"

Cupcake slowly turned to see the tears resting in her cousin's eyes. She was risking her life to rescue a friend who was possibly dead. There was the possibility that all of them were going to meet a devastating end if she did not pick herself up and run. With all the belief and strength she still had, Cupcake lifted herself off the ground moments before Penny had readied herself to throw a moderately-sized rock at her.

Both bears ran so fast that they could not see the rain falling in front of them. They located their house seconds afterward and knocked on the door excessively. They were nervous and began assuming that Olive was not going to answer the door, which would give Penny time to follow and likely attack them. They grey bear answered the door only seconds later, but it felt as though an eternity had passed. Penny had chased them to their house as they had expected—her feet carried her very quickly across Veltron that they ended up slamming the door in her face. Cheri collapsed on the floor and Cupcake sat on a kitchen chair, out of breath. Olive was incredibly confused and her facial expressions let them know this.

"Uh, what's this about?" Olive asked, rubbing her eyes.

Cupcake gasped for air. "Don't open the door, Olive! Do not open it! Something has gone wrong with Penny. Just do me one small favour: lock all the doors and windows. And before you ask why… just do it! Hurry! I'll explain when there's time."

Olive obeyed her cousin's orders, quickly locking the front door and all the windows.

At the same time, Cupcake moved to place Cheri—who had passed out on the floor—to her bed. Dizzy was placed on her own bed because she did not want to catch a cold or intimidate Olive by putting him on hers. The fire could have severely injured the elephant and Cupcake inspected him several times over. She even retrieved the first-aid kit to see if she could possibly put it to good use.

"I just... don't understand," Olive whispered when Cupcake had settled down. She read the clock—quarter to midnight. Her glance refocused on her cousin. "Cupcake, I don't understand what you're talking about. Did Penny really throw an ignited branch at Dizzy? To me that sounds almost preposterous! Why would one of our closest friends try to hurt one of her closest friends?" Tears formed in her eyes.

Cupcake responded unsurely, "Reality could be striking Penny in the face."

"You mean..." Olive paused, searching for the right words. "Are you saying that Penny has actually started facing reality, like, personally? She's trying to accept all the things she doesn't want to... her bodacious attempt at destroying that horrible debt of hers." She paused again, this time more solemnly. "There is no reason why she should have taken all of it out on Dizzy! Does she realize he could have been injured and possibly killed? Killed, I tell you!"

While rubbing a cold cloth over a bump on Cheri's head, Cupcake sighed. "You're right. You're absolutely right. We have to tell Officer Copper about this heinous crime. I'm not going to let that rat get away with this! Her actions were foolish—one will not solve anything by trying to take the life of their friend. If anything, she might be emotionally corrupted. Come dawn, the police will be notified immediately. I trust you have no objections, Olive? Are we agreeing on this?"

The grey bear nodded. "Yes. I'm not going to just sit here. Penny is in trouble for this."

Cupcake flicked her hair. "You stupid mouse!" she screamed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid mouse! You don't know what I want to do to her—that stupid mouse! When Cheri and Dizzy come around, bless their souls, I am going directly to Officer Copper and Lieutenant Booker! Oh, I am so full of repulsion! You just wait, Penny! You just wait!"

The rain had finally lifted.