Hey. Um... this be the second chapter of three. Not much to say... reviewers!

Polydactyl: Thanks! Glad it was funny.

ADJL-DP-Freakazoid: Ah... I loves da Sprite.

CelloSolo2007: Yay! Ayla's back with... um, never mind.

Horseluver101: Yes, Bush should be gone. However, I still do not like Kerry. Neither, actually. I am Republican, though, and would much rather have John McCain run. But, yeah... Bush must die.

Mdizzle: Um... in my opinion, that was a pretty pointless review. Dude, three words ain't cuttin' it. At least tell me why it was bad, what I did wrong, and if I have fixed it in the new chapter! Constructive criticism! Not "...that was bad." And then be done. Can't really take your review seriously then.

Lavenderpaw: Ooh, impressive dialogue? YEAH! Thanks a million... plus two!

Their escapade (I'm using big words today) ended about an hour later. Spud had fled from the doorsteps of about half the houses they had visited.

Spud noticed that they were pretty much on the end of the city's boundaries when they reached the final house.

He recognized this place. It was...

"Chris Allman's house, right?"

Chris Allman was a cool guy. Wasn't exactly the best of friends with the three of them, but was definitely someone they could talk to.

"Yeah, Chris's house is, like, on the edge of town. He said he'd be home. We'll stop here and then head back home", explained Jake.

They knocked, and the door opened so quick, it was almost certain that someone had been waiting there by the door to open it.

And, as it turned out, there was.

"Jake! Trixie! Spud!", Chris greeted them warmly, "Wasn't expecting you guys tonight. And on Halloween! Come in, come in!", he widened the door so they could get through.

"So...", Chris motioned for them to sit down as he followed suit across from them, "What brings you here tonight?"

"It's about the one thing you were talking about to us at school", Trixie said, "Your... special... problem?"

"Ah, that", Chris nodded, averting his gaze to the ground, "Um... come with me, then...", he stood up and walked to his back door.

Following him, they stepped out onto a large back porch. And beyond that, a field, and a small grouping of trees. Still, even though there was only a few, it was still equally dark in it.

Now, Spud definitely knew he was far from home. Moments before, he had been in the city. And now... he was at a home large enough for a field and mini forest.

"Alright. See the mound of trees back there?", asked Chris.

"Yeah."

"Those trees were once part of a larger forest that covered most of New York City. But as time went on, the forest vanished. Those trees happen to be some of the oldest in the city."

"I didn't come here for a history lesson", Spud muttered.

"And that's not what you're getting", snapped Chris, "Listen, and you'll hear more."

"Legend has it that there was once a terrible creature that roamed the forest, making its home in the treetops. In fact, it was rarely seen on the ground, let alone at all. It didn't hate humans. Truth be told, it ignored them. Mostly, it went after peoples' livestock."

"It is a large thing, a sight to behold. It is a dark green color- which helps as camouflage in the trees- and has long legs that help it to jump from tree to tree with ease. It almost looks like... well, it's hard to say if it actually looks like any known animal. In addition to large claws and long teeth, it has blood-red eyes that glow in the night. That's the only way you know if it's there at dark."

"The residents of New York and this thing went about their business, most humans not even knowing the thing existed. Only a select few did, in fact. My great-grandfather, Warren Allman, happened to be one of them."

"But then, as the city expanded, trees were cut down. The creature, not wanting much trouble, continued to move back as the city limits stretched. But one day, it realized that there was nothing left."

"A man by the name of Harrison Monroe was given the distinct honor of chopping down the last few trees."

"He was alone, with only an axe to cut the trees down. A few other locals would be there in the morning to saw the trees and carry them off to the nearest paper factory, which at that time was in Connecticut."

"But just as Harrison had taken the first hack at one of the trees..."

Chris snapped his fingers, "The thing swooped down and carried of Harrison."

"In the morning, the workers came back- to see the trees still standing, and Harrison's axe still stuck in one of the trees. But no Harrison. He was never seen again."

They followed Chris as he led them to the trees, "And here", he pointed at one of the trees, "Is the mark from that axe.

Spud looked, and surely, there was a large chunk of bark taken out of the tree. This group of trees had been the trees Harrison had intended to cut down... but never did.

"Now, as you guys know, I moved here in third grade", Chris spoke again, "But only six months ago did we begin... seeing things. Hearing them, too."

"The creature still resides in that forest. Some claim to have seen it, including me. Some even claim that they have been attacked by it."

"Whatever your belief, one thing is for sure- this thing is back, and I'm fearing for not just our safety... but the city's as well."

There was a long silence that followed, but Spud broke it by saying, "Great story, Chris. But I don't believe it."

"What?", Chris looked alarmed, "What do you..."

"Honestly, if there was any creature, Jake would've told us already. He's..."

Jake's eyes widened, and he slowly mouthed the word 'no'. Chris, obviously, didn't know Jake's secret.

"Um... I mean, his Grandpa... he's an expert on this sort of thing. Yeah, that's it. And we haven't heard anything..."

"If you are so sure... why don't you go in there yourself?", asked Chris, smirking.

"Now why would I do that?", Spud said shortly.

"If there's nothing in there, there's nothing to fear, right?", Chris led him on.

"Um... okay, fine. I'll do I!", Spud finally gave in.

"Great. We'll be waiting for you out here!", Trixie called as Spud began to make his way into the forest.

He stepped rather heavily, leaves crunching underneath him, as he treaded forward. Oh, what he would give to find a place without dead leaves to step on...

There was definitely a lot more trees than Spud had originally thought. This was evident by the fact that he felt as if he had been walking for ages.

But then... a crunch.

And it hadn't come from him.

Because it wasn't a leaf crunch...

It was the crunch of a tree branch.

"Whoa!", he yelled as he jumped out of the way of a branch that had hurled at him from an overhead tree.

"What the...", he stared up at the tree...

And saw two glowing red eyes staring back at him

"Aah!", Spud screamed. He quickly turned in the opposite direction and ran smack into a tree.

That's the last thing he remembered... for a time, at least, as soon as he felt a cold plash of water on his face.

"Yo! Spud! Get up, homie", Trixie said, seeming to try and hold back a laugh.

"Wha?', Spud opened his eyes and quickly stood up.

"I saw it... I saw the..."

"...You saw what? This?", asked a voice above him. In the tree.

And there, up in the tree, was Chris.

"Chris? What the... how did you...?"

"Do you know what you can do with a generator, an extension cord, and two lights?"

"A double flashlight?"

"Besides that."

"I dunno..."

Smiling, Chris flipped a switch, and two lights came on. Red ones, at that, "You can make a surefire way to scare the hell outta Spud!"

Trixie and he began to laugh hysterically, and at that point Spud realized he had been tricked.

And he was not very happy.

"You guys... I... hate... you..."

At this point, he wondered two things- one, where Jake was, and two, what to do for revenge.

I'll answer the first question now.

Jake, claiming he was going to the restroom, had instead sat down to watch a baseball game on TV. Yankees winning. (Not a big feat considering they were playing the Royals. Oh, and congrats to the Cincinnati Reds on another losing season and five players with over 100 strikeouts. Great, guys.)

Anywho, part two. What to do to them.

But before he could, Spud noticed something.

Something in the tree behind Chris.

With glowing red eyes...

"Guys! There's something behind you! With..."

"Listen...", Chris stopped laughing, "I know you want revenge, but at least wait a few days. I'm not gonna believe anything you say the next couple of..."

And, as he spoke those words, the red-eyed figure leapt from it perch in the trees and snatched Trixie and Chris.

"What the... no!", Spud yelled.

The creature clamped its large hands over Chris and Trixie's mouths, turned, and carried them off into the trees.

As Spud watched hem disappear into the darkness, a few things raced through his mind. First, where was Jake? Second, where was it taking Chris and Trixie? Third, does SpongeBob really like other guys? And four, could he do something?

He decided that, although scared, he was going to have to face his fears and go after Chris and Trixie. For once, this might have to be a magical creature the American Dragon wouldn't be able to go after.

END CHAPTER

Look for chapter three soon, y'all! Peace.