(dances crazily) Whoot! This story's coming along great. ONWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!
Disclaimer: See last chapter.
(This chapter isn't very funny. Sorry)
"Fine, she can stay! Just keep her away from me and the office." Eliah growled as she retreated into the solitude of Bobbie's former office.
"That's not even your office!" Natalie called after the coyote, "It's Bobbie's!"
Bark, Bean, and Nack glanced at each other. It was time to tell Natalie what they suspected. "Uh, Natalie..." Bark said as he approached the counter. "We need to tell you something very important..."
The black cat vaulted over the counter. "Not now, Bark. I need to get Elsie checked into a room. Things have gotten a lot harder since Bobbie's disappeared..." The cat trailed off as she grabbed Elsie suitcases and walked up the stairs.
"Hi, I'm Elsie!" The ditsy cow introduced herself.
"So we've heard..." Nack said.
"Why did you come here?" Bark asked curiously.
"In Cyberland, we only drink... Diet Coke." Elsie said once more. Nack rolled his eyes.
"I came to visit my good friend Eliah! Why do you ask?"
"Good friend...?" Nack asked in disbelief.
"Um, Elsie could we talk to you for a second?" Bark asked as he clamped his hand over Nack's mouth.
"Okay!"
The four of them retreated into the shadows of the hallway just in time. As soon as they vanished, the office door flew open, and Eliah stormed out, her shovel clutched in one hand. "Damn cow..." She muttered as she exited out the front doors.
Bark breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to talk to Elsie. But before the words could escape his mouth, he witnessed a very strange sight. Shade Hunter's head poked out from behind the check in counter. "She's gone; this is our chance!" The foxbat hissed. "Hurry up with those lights!"
A few hours ago, the emergency power generator had clicked on, allowing the lights in the building to work, but now it looked as if the lights were going out again. "Found the switch!" A voice that could only be Heather's whispered hoarsely. The was a faint click and the lights flickered out.
"Uh oh." Bean said, "This doesn't look good." In the darkness besides the duck, Bark agreed. Night had fallen so the hotel was pitch black. Until Natalie stumbled onto the switch again, they would be living in total darkness. Heather and Shade Hunter could get away with anything and Bark would be powerless to stop them.
In the distance, the office door clicked open. "Very interesting," Nack murmured softly.
"What's going on!" Elsie asked quiet loudly.
"Ssh!" Nack hushed the bovine, "Shut up would you!"
"Hey, your not that nice!" Elsie stated, pointing out the obvious.
On the other side of the room, the voices stopped. "Did you hear something?" Heather asked Shade Hunter.
"D'oh!" Bark slapped himself mentally. They would have to keep Elsie quiet if they did not want to be noticed. "Elsie, this is Bark talking. Please be quiet!" The polar bear whispered urgently.
"Hi, Bark! That's a mmf scmph!" The rest of Elsie's sentence became incomprehensible as Bark clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Ssh!" Nack hushed her again even though Bark had everything under control.
Something jingled in the darkness. "It was probably nothing." Shade Hunter snapped. "Hurry up would you!"
From somewhere in the office, Bark, Bean, Nack, and Elsie heard Heather screech out several profane words. "What's the matter?" Shade Hunter asked, safe in the doorway.
"There's a flicky in here!" Heather whispered angrily.
"So what? It's just a damn bird!" Shade Hunter whispered loudly.
Back in the hallway, Elsie turned to Bark and Bean, "So what are you two doing here?" She asked, totally oblivious to the situation that they were in.
Bark winced. They really needed to keep quiet... "The usual." He grumbled.
"Yup!" Bean agreed, also oblivious to the situation, "Solving mysteries, talking to bones, and fearing for our lives."
"That sounds fun!" Elsie said, "Can I help? Please, please, please!"
Nack covered his ears. "You can if you shut up!" He hissed.
"Okay, deal. So what-"
"Oh what is it again?" The flicky shrieked, interrupting Elsie, "What is it again? Six-one-one-one-five. Six-one-one-one-five... two! That's it, two! That's it, two!"
"That's it!" Another voice echoed from the office.
"My gosh!" Elsie yelled, "What's going on here?" The bovine's voice shattered the silence like a sledgehammer. Whoever had yelled fell silent.
"Six-one-one-one-five-two!" Nack cried, "That spells fakeb! Eliah is a fakeb?"
"Would some one please tell me what's going on?" Elsie shouted, "I'm as confused as a coyote in a tree!"
At that moment, there was a loud crash followed by a feminine grunt. Bark and the others saw a quick flash of bright light before it extinguished itself. "Ouch!" Someone in the darkness shouted. Bark heard the office door slam shut. "Hello?" The voice shouted, "Is anyone down here?"
"Over here!" Bean shouted. The duck heard the click-click of shoes against marble tile as the voice made her way over to the hall.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Bark, Nack, and Elsie." Bean stated. "Who am I talking to? A ghost?"
"It's Natalie you idiot!" The black cat said as she crouched down besides Elsie. "I was upstairs putting Elsie's luggage away when the power turned off."
"Heather turned it off. We saw her." Bark said.
"Well, I had a candle and a cigarette lighter with me so I lit a candle." Natalie continued. "Then I tripped down the stairs, and the candle went out."
"We saw you, er- heard you." Bark stated. "Heather and Shade Hunter broke into the office once Eliah left. What's in there that they would want?"
"Well," Natalie said, "There's a safe in there, but only Bobbie knew the combination, and there's an old staircase that leads to nowhere. That's about all."
"So there's nothing worth stealing?" Nack asked.
"Nope. I don't know why that foxbat and that cat are in there." Natalie said. "There's nothing to take. Except the flicky, but who would want to take her?"
"In Cyberland, we only drink... Diet Coke!" Elsie recited from the darkness.
"Huh? Are you alright?"
"She does it all the time." Bark assured.
"Oh. Okay..."
"Natalie, do you have a key to the office?" Nack asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because we need to get in. Now."
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