Chapter 12
Tillamook Cheese Factory was closed for the day. Actually, it was closed for a while. The snow was so deep, the parking lot was covered in endless snow. There were no cars in sight. No sound of crowds either. The cheese factory looked empty. Much to Destiny's dismay, the doors were closed.
"Now how are we going to get water for Bubbles?" asked Destiny aloud.
Tyrone and Matt shrugged, but they didn't look worried. "Right now, it looks like the whole state of Oregon is having this long winter. This means wherever we go, we will find closed places." said Tyrone.
"Which is not good." said Matt.
"But in these moments of crisis, I think it's definitely okay to bust inside and get what we need, if we put money on the cash register," said Tyrone.
Destiny nodded in agreement. "I agree. But we have to be careful. We don't want to set up any alarms or something like that." said Destiny.
"We can get the Mothman to help us with that. You see, he's got these people called Sword Warriors. They handle memory wipes and stuff like that." said Tyrone.
"Oh? That's a little scary." said Destiny smiling awkwardly.
Matt on the other hand paced back and forth while holding Bubbles in his hands. "Yeah. Only we don't know how this whole thing works. Remember Ty, you and I are still rookies when it comes to the hidden world. We don't really know much about it. I don't want to put all my hopes up on something we're not so sure about. Plus, I'm Mexican. If they catch me in one of those cameras, they will call immigration for sure and they will kick my ass back to Mexico. You want that to happen ese?!" said Matt, speaking without taking a single breath.
"You're not born here?" asked Destiny.
"Nope. I was born in Mexico and brought to the states when I was only dos anitos." said Matt.
"But Sam and Natalie legally adopted Matt and the Mothmen sent Sword Warriors disguised as lawyers to make paperwork for Matt, making him legal in the country." said Tyrone quickly to Destiny.
"I don't take my fortune lightly. I'm so happy to be adopted, but I'm also very cautious. You know, some bad thing might happen and I can get the boot." said Matt.
"No, don't talk like that." said Tyrone.
"But Matt is right. We do need to be careful if we're breaking into the cheese factory." said Destiny.
"Leave it to me." said Tyrone with a sly smile. He led Destiny and Matt towards the other side of the factory.
"What is this?" asked Matt.
"Well…. Many summers ago, I used to come here with my Dad. He worked as a garbage man once. He picked up some things right in the back. We will need to be careful though." said Tyrone as he pulled out some keys from his pocket.
"I didn't know that! Awesome possum!" cried Matt.
"Awesome possum indeed! And you still have the keys!?" cried Destiny.
"My Dad never got the chance to return them. He forgot all about it, then he passed away a few years later." said Tyrone as he opened the gate leading to the back door.
"This door will lead us into the plant, where the cheese is being processed. There are ways to get inside the factory and into the store." said Tyrone.
Matt put on his hoodie and Bubbles got on his shoulder.
"Don't fall off now." whispered Matt.
"I'll cover you sweetie." said Destiny, placing her arm around Matt. He blushed and puffed out his chest to look tough.
Tyrone opened the door and the three friends entered. The factory may have been closed, but the lights were still on. Some of them at least. Some machines were still humming with mechanical noises and the smell was very sweet.
"Yummy. It smells like Ice Cream." said Matt.
"I think it's butter." said Destiny.
"Whatever it is, it's delicious." said Tyrone.
The three of them continued walking into the factory until they reached a door.
"This must be it. This must lead us back inside the store." said Tyrone.
The three of them silently walked inside, not knowing they were being watched by something hiding on the air shaft.
"Oh boy. That was close." said the fuzzy white creature who was hiding. He jumped off from the first air shaft he was on and landed on a lamp. He then made a series of not so great jumps and landed on the ground.
"Humans returning to the factory on a snowy day. They got a death wish. The only thing left to do is wait a little longer, then I'll shove my face on the leftover cheese samples." said the creature. Just then, he felt something funny in the back of his neck. He turned around and saw a shadow form from the ground.
"What the honk!?" he cried.
The shadow was the cloaked woman and she pulled out her hands and whispered some words.
"Oh no! I'm not going to stick around to find out what you're gonna do!" he cried. He turned around and ran towards the door.
The woman then removed her cloak, which fell to the ground and vanished into thin air. The woman was tall and very beautiful with long purple hair. Her skin was light brown, and she was wearing a very revealing dress with black leather. She made a few stretches and smiled as two shadow creatures formed from the ground.
"Find the children. Bring me the small one in the orange hoodie." said the woman. The creatures bowed their heads and they flew into the air, going through the wall.
"Peace and profit."
The woman did not flinch or move a muscle. She heard him speak. She heard him. He was there. He was right there with her in that same place.
"Peace and profit. Those are the words I live by."
The woman turned around and saw the Dark Master. He was wearing his iconic black cloak with that terrifying horned helmet of his. His eyes were orange with yellow pupils and he was holding his hands, covered in red gloves that made his nails extra sharp.
"My dear Violet, it has been far too long," said the Dark Master.
"This winter we are having. Is this your doing?" asked Violet, the mystery woman.
"Isn't it obvious? All on account of destroying Rood Bridge Park." said the Dark Master.
"How did you escape your prison?" asked Violet.
"One of my servants gave his life for my freedom. Such a useful tool he was." said the Dark Master.
"Brion, you are not destroying the hidden world. You're destroying the human world. Rood Bridge Park is safe as we speak." said Violet.
"True. I did trap the hidden world with a powerful force field. But it won't last forever. This power I performed has its unfortunate limits and I had to kill most of my worshippers to ignite both the force field and the Eternal Winter." said the Dark Master.
"Magic?" asked Violet eyeing Brion.
"Oh no my dear. Not magic. Alchemy!" said the Dark Master.
"It's the same thing." said Violet.
"You insult me. Alchemy is science and magic combined. A forbidden power in Rood Bridge Park. Imani saw to it that all the books were destroyed, but I managed to save a few pages." said the Dark Master.
"By the way, what is going on back there? I heard something about an outbreak of sorts." said Violet.
"It is of no concern to me what happens to Rood Bridge Park. Either it still stands or falls, I will take it over and recreate it. And with my force field still blocking the hidden world, the Eternal Winter will just destroy the rest of this land. Then all of the Pacific Northwest will be mine." said the Dark Master.
"Why not the world?" asked Violet as she suggestively walks up to the Dark Master.
"I have my reasons. But I do wonder why you are kidnapping children. What is your purpose?" asked the Dark Master.
"I got my reasons." replied Violet.
"Of course you do. You should tread carefully my dear. Should you prove to be a threat for my glorious new future, I will step in and finish you." said the Dark Master.
Violet smiled and went over to kiss the Dark Master on the cheek.
"I'm not after your Pacific Northwest. I'm after something else. Something that can never be obtained." said Violet.
"Ah, I see. Something that not even the Dark Master can obtain. This is a very curious case." said the Dark Master stroking his chin.
"Yes. A most curious case indeed." said Violet.
Just then, there was a scream coming from the store. And of course some things falling over and voices that were heard.
"Quite the commotion back there." said the Dark Master.
"Indeed. It seems that my shadows are succeeding." said Violet.
"Pity that the factory will remain closed for the rest of this winter. According to the weather forecast, we will experience heavy snowfall." said the Dark Master.
"Where are you going?" asked Violet.
"I made my appearance for now. I shall return to Rood Bridge Park and watch everything unfold behind the curtain. The plague in the village, the winter that never ceases… my what a chaotic world we are now living in." said the Dark Master.
"Chaos that you caused. Thanks to your winter, my plans are slowing down." said Violet.
"Then you better get used to this my dear. For you see, this snow will never melt. Oregon, as the humans call this majestic land, shall be in winter everlasting." said the Dark Master Brion has spread two terrifying black wings from his back. He then flew up into the air and vanished, leaving black feathers floating in the air.
