Númer níu
(Number Nine)
By 18lzytwner
Chapter 1
It was a dark and stormy day and Stephanie wondered when it would clear up. It had been doing this for three days and she was starting to get cabin fever. She had called Pixel to see if they could play video games together and they had, but it had gotten old after two days in a row. Today she wondered what she would do.
She had already made a playing card replica of the Empire State Building. Uncle Milford wasn't too thrilled when he found out she had used all the cards, when Bessie Busybody had come over to play cards with him. When Uncle Milford took a deck to play with, Stephanie packed up the rest and called Trixie. Trixie didn't pick up so she called Ziggy. When he didn't pick up, she found it odd and then called Stingy. No one answered at Stingy's house either. Lastly, she called Pixel and the answering machine kicked in. She was just about to hang up when Pixel picked up.
"Pixel here go." He said.
"Hey it's Stephanie." was the reply.
"Oh hi," he replied "What's up?"
"I can't get a hold of Trixie, Ziggy, or Stingy. Are they over at your house?"
"No, why?"
"Can I come over? " Stephanie asked.
"Sure if you can avoid the raindrops." Pixel said
"Be there in a minute." Stephanie said.
She hung up, put her sneakers on, and went to go find her Uncle. She found Uncle Milford and Bessie still playing cards at the kitchen table.
"Uncle Milford, I'm going to go over to Pixel's for awhile." Stephanie told him.
"Ok, but be careful in the rain. I don't want you to catch cold." was Uncle Milford's reply.
"I'll wear my raincoat and goulashes."
"Good then I'll see you later." Uncle Milford said.
"Goodbye Uncle. Goodbye Bessie." Stephanie said as she made her way out the door and around the corner to Pixel's house.
Stephanie realized that the water was up to her ankles and was getting inside her goulashes. Feet soaking wet and hair going on the frizz she rang Pixel's doorbell and he let her inside. She left her soaked goulashes and raincoat by the door and popped on her sneakers. She and Pixel then went upstairs.
"You're right about Trixie, Ziggy, and Stingy. I can't get a hold of them either." Pixel told her.
"Should we go over to their houses?" Stephanie asked.
Just then, the wind picked up and the rain increased. The visibility dropped to about nil.
"On the other hand, it might be a good idea to stay inside." Pixel said.
Then thunder boomed and lightening cracked across the sky. The clouds darkened and it became so dark that it looked like it was the middle of the night.
"Staying inside sounds like a good idea to me." Stephanie said.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Pixel and Stephanie rushed downstairs and opened the door. The wind gusted and the rain began to come in as Ziggy made his way inside.
"Ziggy!" Stephanie cried. "You're soaked. Come in."
"Are you ok?" asked Pixel.
"Yes, but I'm wet and scared. I hate thunderstorms and the power went out at my house." Ziggy replied.
"Is that why you didn't answer when I called or when Pixel tried?" Stephanie inquired.
"Yes. I was afraid. When the power went out I decided to come over here." Ziggy replied.
"Well, let's dry you off and go upstairs." Stephanie suggested.
Ziggy nodded and the three went upstairs. Stephanie called her uncle and told him that she would be at Pixel's until the storm outside calmed down. He agreed that it was a good idea and that Bessie was going to be over with him until it broke as well. After she got off the phone, she turned to Pixel and Ziggy and they decided to call Trixie and Stingy again. No one answered at Stingy's but Trixie picked up at her house. She told them that Stingy was with her and that they were safe. However, in the middle of the conversation the phone line went dead. Pixel tried to raise them again but got total silence.
On the other side of town, Robbie Rotten was having his own problems. The rain continued to come down and the leaks in his roof continued to get worse. He had been emptying buckets for the past three days. "Well," he said to himself "at least those darn kids and Sportacus haven't been around. Now if only I could plug up all these holes in the roof I could get some sleep." He hadn't been able to curl up in his big fuzzy orange chair for the past three days and he was absolutely bushed. It looked like he had enough bags to fill three shopping carts under his eyes and was exhausted from emptying the buckets. "How can I be lazy if I have to keep lifting buckets?" he grumbled.
Meanwhile, Stephanie, Pixel, and Ziggy were deciding what to do. Stephanie suggested they go over to Trixie's and see if they could help their friends. Ziggy said that he was too scared and refused to budge. Pixel said that the rain was coming down hard and that they shouldn't leave because it could be dangerous. Stephanie said that if she and Pixel went out and left Ziggy to hold the fort that they could save Trixie and Stingy. Pixel caved and the two started down the stairs. However, a surprise was waiting for them at the bottom. The last three steps of the staircase were covered in water. What would they do now?