Disclaimer: Man, we're on the 18th chapter! Can you believe it?…Thank you my loyal fans who have stayed with me in this pahetic little storyline…lol its actually not really very "little" it has what 20 000 words? But oh well…I'm thinking of making a sequel to this one but I've had a different fic on hold scince about january so its not fair to make it wait any longer after im done this…lol it's not as long as this though so don't worry! P And in case you were wondering, I actually sort of got the idea of having a girl go to CGL by myself…and then I saw how many other people were doing it so I'm just like…woah! LOL! Now I guess you people don't care. You just want to know which doorknob won? (lol) It was…………dum dudadump dum dum…duuuuuuuuuum! Number two! Congratulations number two come on down for your prize. Now some of you guys said…number one! And some of you were smart and went hmm well why would the warden lock her own room? And she would have to have something to hide cough cough so she would lock it. So it must be the basement. But unfortunately, that is ALSO wrong. Why you ask? Well it's locked! DUH! So they would have to go to door one. But they would also have to check door two to make sure it wasn't locked so technically they also have to pick both because if they don't pick one they have to pick the other which results in confusion and picking the one that you didn't pick but picked before when you decided not to pick it but really did pick it instead because you know it would have been picked…Raise your hand if you got confused! Raises hand Just raise your hand somewhere in the next review. )
Chapter 18: Bye Stanley
Squid reached for the cold metal handle. The brown paint was chipped and flaked in many places. He turned it partway, and it gave a soft 'click.' Not the kind of opening clock, the kind of 'it's locked' click. He jiggled it some more and then turned around, sighing.
"Well we know it's down there. Now we need to get down there."
(A/N: Lol…SORRY! I'm listening to Green day's Hitchin' a Ride…Awsome song gotta love them!)
"Well she'd be an idiot to leave the key out in the open…"
He finished the sentence for her.
"So it has to be in her room."
"We are NOT going into the warden's BEDROOM!" She said almost a little too loudly.
"SHHHHHT!" He clapped his hand to her mouth.
"Not so LOUD!"
"Well look who's talking …er…whispering." They both giggled from the remark and then instantly clapped their hands to each other's mouth with wide eyes. There was a grunt from inside the warden's room. And a creak of the bedsprings. The two dashed into the living room and ran for cover. Terry crammed herself under a desk while Alan squeezed behind the sofa. They waited for a few minutes, and didn't hear anything. Terry unfolded herself from the uncomfortable hiding spot and stood up again. Squid was peeking from behind the couch.
She motioned him over.
"I think she just rolled over or something."
"Yeah."
They exchanged relieved nods and returned to the hallway. (Of doom.)
"Guess there's only one way to really get the key."
Terry bit her lip nervously. She watched Squid reach for the shiny brass handle that he would probably only touch once in his life. As the door opened, she looked into the dark room. It was warm and smelled of…sunflower seeds? 00
Who cared about that…it was time to look for a key. After scouring the tops of everything silently, they concluded it had to be hidden in a drawer or under a lamp. Or something…Terry pulled a drawer open. WOAH! And instantly slammed it shut (As quietly as slamming is possible!) That was…not right. She would let Squid look in the drawers.
I'll check around here! She mouthed to him. He gave a nod and Terry went closer to the sleeping lump in her King sized bed. Creeping around it, a reflected flash of light caught her eye. Something small and shiny was resting on the warden's chest. When she looked closer, she saw it was the key!
"Squid! I found it!" She whispered. Looking up, he was staring into the warden's drawer with a look of utter revolt. His nose was wrinkled as he pointed at the contents.
"Yeah never mind that, just come here!" She waved him over. The key was on a string around her neck. Great, this was just too perfect. Like in the Mickey Mouse shows where the sleeping guard has the key around his neck. Squid rolled his eyes and plucked the toothpick from his mouth (he always seems to have one) and snapped the string. He picked up the ensemble and grinned. He was only holding one end, while the small silver key slid off the other. Terry made a dash and tried to grab it, but it slipped through her fingers at the last second..
Ting!
The small piece of metal hit the floor. And there was a groan from the lump.
'SHIT!'
'SHIT!'
They both dashed under the bed and squeezed in between some heavy cardboard boxes. Above them, the springs creaked some more. Then a lump sagged downwards as the warden sat up.
"Marian? Is that…you?" She asked drowsily.
"Yeap, go back to bed honey." Came a voice from the living room. It was Zigzag! Except he tried to make his voice sound like Mr. Sir.
"Kay." Luckily, the warden was too sleepy to care. So she slumped back into bed and soon a light snoring sound could be heard.
Meanwhile, Squid and Lazer were being crushed underneath, between the weight of the warden and the boxes.
"Let's..get outa here…" grunted Squid. The two shuffled and squirmed their way out, grabbed the key off the floor, and headed for the hallway.
"If this doesn't work…I'm leaving." Said Terry with a pout. But it didn't matter. Squid had already turned the handle and opened the old door. There was a loud creeeeeeeak of the hinges which sent a shiver up the girl's spine.
"Careful Mare…" Said a subconcious voice from the warden's bedroom. Squid smiled.
"I didn't know Marian was a man's name!"
Terry was focussing her attention on the old wooden stairs below them. They appeared to be very old, being a withered shade of grey and, cracked in places. (Which did not add any bonuses.)An icy cold draft swept up from the depths of the cellar.
Terry suddenly tried to think of every excuse possible to keep from going down.
"I…uh…have to keep watch What if the warden wakes up? What if Zigzag sends us a signal and we can't hear! What if…what if.." Squid stomped on her toe.
"Eeeeeee! What was THAT for!" She hissed, hopping up and down.
"For being a wuss. We've some this far! And don't you want to find the trunk? Besides…you can't let me go down there all alone." He grinned.
'The guilt factor…works every time! Hehehehe…'
Terry squinted at him and crossed her arms.
"I am not a wuss. And you know that."
"Fine."
"Ok?"
"What?"
"Well…aren't you going to…go?" She motioned towards the stairs.
"Ladies first." He gave her a light shove which she wasn't expecting. She stumbled onto the creaky old staircase, startled.
"EEUGH! There's moss-
"Shhhhhht!" He covered her mouth.
"Keep your hands away from me!" She was getting a little irritated, and grabbed his wrist, shoving back at him.
"Well then shut up and go!"
"If you're so eager why don't you go first then!" She pulled his arm down but he resisted, pulling back. Then she tried to grab his neck, but he let go of her arm and his foot slipped. Terry started to slide down on the slippery old steps and she grabbed his pant leg.
"Woah!"
"Ouch!"
"No stop! What are you do-oof-oof-oof-oof…"
They both tumbled down the stairs in a big tangle of arms, legs, and shoelaces. When the two were at the bottom, they rolled in a ball on the floor until they hit something hard and cold. Most likely the wall.
"Oh god…"
"Oh god…"
It was kind of funny how they muttered it at the same time, but the pain they were in was not funny.
Terry's brain felt like it had gone for a ride in the dryer. The world was rattling around in shaky circles. Normally she would rub her head, but it was being squashed by Squid's butt. Her legs were tangled up with Squid's arms, and her other arm was behind her back somewhere. And there was something tightly wrapped around her neck.
When Squid dared open his eyes, he was in a world of confusion. The majority of Terry was on top of him. His leg was hooked around what he thought was her neck, it was rather hard to see. And his arms were twisted around to the side. His left leg was being crushed against the wall. All in all… it was very uncomfortable.
There was some skittering from the floorboards above and a shriek.
"Get out you filthy varmint!" Boom boom boom boom…Someone was whacking different places on the floor while something skittered around in circles. There was a crash, a chittering sound and then some more banging. Suddenly, there was a crack and it was silent. Then footsteps storming back into the warden's room.
"Blasted racoons…"
Terry giggled.
"Did she think there was a raccoon up there?"
"I don't know. Just get off me!" He grunted, while trying to push her off.
"Sorry. I can't exactly move with your leg strangling me…" She grabbed his shoe and pulled his leg off."
"Well then get your legs out from under my back!"
With a few painful moments, they untangled themselves and sat quietly in the dark, wondering what to do.
"Now what?" Said Terry softly. It was awefully creepy down there. Not to mention freezing cold.
"I think we should look around. That's what we came here for."
"Correction- that's what YOU came here for!" She rolled her eyes and stood up, brushing herself off. "Uhh, Squid? Where are you?" She looked around, but all she could see was black.
"Right here." She heard a voice beside her.
"How are we supposed to 'look' around when it's so dark?" She asked, trying to see. She felt a cold hand grab her arm. "EE!" She pulled away instantly.
"Relax! We can just grope around for somethign…in the shape of a treasure chest!" He snickered.
"You can. But I can't see so I'm staying right here!" She planted her feet and crossed her arms.
"Fine, but I'm gonna go." She heard footstep walking away.
She stood alone in the black silence. The hair on the back of her neck prickled up as the heard a 'ccccrunch' behind her…
"Don't leave me!" She dashed away from the sound and crashed into him.
"OW! Would you quit it?"
"Sorry….I thought I heard something…"
Crrrrunch…
"Woah….what was that?" He stopped walking, which caused another crash.
"S-see? I t-t-told you!"
"That's creepy."
"N-n-no kidding."
"Holy crap!"
"What?"
"LOOK!" She turned her head, and just about yelped. There was a dim light shining in midair across the room…or whatever you would call it. It was coming slowly towards them.
"Oh my gosh…" Squid said. Terry started to back away.
Suddenly, the light went out. It was pitch black again.
"Hey" Said a voice.
"EEEEEEEEEK!"
The two were very startled, and they instantly jumped into each other's arms, squeezing tightly.
"Guys it's me!" Said Zigzag, shining his light at them. Squid and Terry opened one eye, peering at him sheepishly.
"Are you sure all you were doing was looking for the trunk?" He asked, raised his eyebrows.
"Errr…"
They quickly jumped apart, avoiding eye contact with each other.
"Well…we couldn't exactly see." Said Squid.
"It's fine now. I found a light up keychain in the warden's office but as you can see…it is having some difficulties." He held up the small green piece of plastic that was flickering slightly.
"How come there was such a ruckus up there? I thought for sure the warden would hear us and come down." Asked Terry, twiddling her thumbs.
"Well I heard quite a thumping and banging so I knew it had to be you. And I also knew the warden would go and see what happened."
"Soo…"
"There was a little racoon trotting along…and I, well…threw it into the window."
"Aww!" Terry frowned.
"Why?" Asked Squid, scratching his head.
"I heard a bunch of thumping and banging and I knew you guys would run into trouble. So I…devised a 'cover up' operation. Even though it was very dark, Terry could see him grinning.
"Man, you are the only one crazy enough to think of throwing a raccoon into a window for a distraction."
"It was all I could think of. And I couldn't climb up and distract her myself! Besides, in the end, she thought all that noise was the raccoon."
"Yeah Squid, give him a break. Besides, who knows what would have happened if she found us snooping around at…(She grabbed his wrist and checked his watch) 12:18 at night!"
Zigzag elbowed Squid in the ribs.
"Yeah…jeez!" He said sarcastically.
"Whatever. Let's just look around."
So for 29 minutes, the three clumsily scoured the basement with Squid's watchlight and Zigzag's key chain. Every so often one of them would A: Stub their toe, B: Bump their head on a low beam, C: Trip, or D: Crash into one another.
'From the smell of this place, it must be a root cellar…'
Terry stumbled on a bump in the ground a fell onto a hard wooden object.
"OW!"
"Shhhhhh!"
"Shhhhhh!"
Squid and Zigzag made their was over to her, turning their lights on her.
"Lazer look!" Exclaimed Zigzag.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." She said grumpily, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She was shoved aside as the two boys rushed to the discovery. They scraped the mud off of a worn nameplate on the front.
'WTF?'
'WTF?'
'WTF?'
The teens stared dumbfounded at the trunk. The nameplate read:
STANLEY YELNATS
"How the hell does that work?" Said Squid, very confused.
"He-he-he….isn't he like…Yelnats the fourth or something?" Suggested Terry, scratching her head.
"That makes perfect sense." Muttered Zigzag with an inscrutable expression on his face.
Terry and Squid exchanged unknowing glances.
"Magnet said that caveman is going home tomorrow. But he is supposed to have another twelve months to go. The warden must have figured out he and his family has the rightful claim to it, but sent him packing 'cause she don't want him to figure it out."
There was a short silence as it suddenly clicked.
"So this chest isn't really his, it's his great-grandfathers?"
"I think so. His great-grandfather has exactly the same name as him, so it can't be just a coincidence."
Terry frowned deeply.
"The warden is a horrible greedy woman. And she is getting away with Stanley's money!" Exclaimed Terry.
"Well if this is Stanley's, than where is your stuff?"
…….
Terry fiddled with her pinky finger.
"Maybe it's still out there."
(A/N: I would love to end on that mysterious note, but there is still a lot to get through in this chapter, and the plot is chugging along quite slowly.)
Squid sighed.
"Let's get out of here."
There was silent agreement as they shuffled around and found a small, high window to crawl out of. Zigzag gave boosts to Squid and Lazer, then they both pulled him up and out.
"It is much easier to see now." Whispered Terry, taking a look around the dark camp. The cold night air bit at their exposed faces and hands.
"We have to tell Caveman," Said Squid quietly, stating the obvious.
The three silenly tiptoed back to their tent, unaware of the person watching from the window. (A/N: :D )
Next Day-------------------
It was a chilly morning, and breakfast was watery porridge and a greasy bagel.
They sat at their table and ate, watching the D-Tent table longingly. Aero and Axle sat together and chewed, not saying a word.
Terry felt a foot tap her shoe. She looked up from her bowl and saw Aero. She raised an eyebrow. He curled his lips into a smile and winked.
BOOSH!
"HOLY F---
Aero fell over backwards onto the floor, holding his left shin and rocking back and fourth. Axle and Zigzag laughed. Squid just scowled at him.
'I guess heavy steel-toed work boots come in handy sometimes.'
Terry got up with her empty dishes, walked around the table and stepped on Aero. (On purpose.) She heard more laughing behind her as she walked over to the counter. Setting her dirty dished in a rack, she saw Squid coming up behind her.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Squid tossed his dishes in the rack and followed her out.
"Let's go talk to caveman," Said Terry quietly.
"Good idea." Agreed Alan.
They trudged up the path to their old tent. Inside was Stanley, looking glum and packing clothes into a big brown duffel bag.
"Hi guys," He murmered, still looking down.
"Cavema- err…Stanley. We have some important things to tell you."
"Not now guys, can't you see I'm busy!" he grumbled, stuffing a plastic bag in.
"Well that can wait." Said Terry sharply, grabbing his arm.
He shook her off.
"Fine, what is it?"
Squid looked at Terry indecisively.
"Last night we were in the warden's cabin." He began.
"You WHAT?"
"Shhhhhhh!"
"It's a long story. But we found a trunk that said Stanley Yelnats on it. You're Stanley Yelnats the fourth right?"
"Yeah…what's your point?"
"We think it belonged to your grandfather or whatever. But the main thing is, the warden is hiding it from you! And she's also hiding something from Terry, except we haven't quite figured that part out yet."
"So you're saying that the warden is hiding a trunk that belongs to my family?" Said Stanley, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes." They both said at the same time.
From outside:
"COME ON BOYS LET'S GET A MOVE ON!"
Well I'm really sorry for the long update. I've been pretty busy with school (Exam mania) so it's hard to find time P I've pretty much got the whole storyline figured out now, so be happy. Now, if you want ME to be happy, then REVIEW! YAY! I love getting reviews. And as you all know, every last one gets saved in a special folder for all eternity for me to enjoy.
