CHAPTER 7: WHAT NOW?
Peppermint Patty was asked to come to the Van Pelt house. She wondered what was going on. She had Marcie, Franco, and Hans with her and they too were wondering what was happening.
"Did Lucille say anything to you over the phone, sir?' asked Marcie.
"No, she didn't say what was going on, Marcie," said a concerned Patty. "She said she'd tell me once I got over there."
"Hopefully there's no trouble," said Franco.
"Yah, hoffentlich ist alles in Ordnung*," added Hans.
Once the kids got to the house, Patty rang the doorbell. Linus answered it. "Thank goodness you guys are here. This pertains to all of us. Luckily, Charlie Brown, Frieda, Sally, Michael, Snoopy, and Woodstock are out of town so they don't have to deal with this like we do." And the kids went in and met up with Lucy.
"Glad you guys are here," said Lucy. "I don't know if you know already, but Tarantula has escaped the mental hospital!"
"No way!" said a shocked Patty. "How did you find out, Lucille?"
"Cobra, Rattler, and I heard it on the radio this afternoon," Lucy replied. "We are sure she will be looking for us; looking for revenge, to finish where she and the Lizard Ladies left off in that salvage yard where Python got shot!"
"Calm down, Lucille," said Patty. "She may just skip town and try to go to another state."
"I don't think she even has the mental capabilities to do that, Patricia," Lucy responded. "One thing she is capable of: total destruction!"
"What are we going to do, sir?" asked a concerned Marcie.
"I don't know, Marcie," sighed Patty. "I think all we can do is wait. What are the other Serpent Sisters doing right now?"
"For now Cobra said for us to stay in and only go out if we have to," said Lucy.
"Probably a good idea," agreed Patty. "Where's Rerun right now?"
"He's at Piper's house playing games," said Linus.
"Call him right now and tell him to head back here," said Patty. "With that nutjob on the loose, nowhere is safe right now. Now I wished we all went with Chuck and the others to Frieda's cottage. At least they're safe, until they get back and Tarantula is still out there then." And Linus proceeded to call Rerun at Piper's house. Lucy just paced back and forth with nervousness. Outside, Chameleon kept watching the house from a distance in some bushes.
At Rattler's house, she was rubbing Andy's fur. Andy noticed Rattler's nervousness. He licked her on the cheek to help her feel better.
"Oh Andy," she began, "if only you knew how scared I am right now. If I could I'd stay here until things were better. Until she gets caught and brought back to the nuthouse!" Andy looked at his owner with genuine worry. He didn't want to leave her side. They heard a knock at the door. Rattler was hesitant to answer, but then she heard, "Holly? It's me. Thibault!"
She immediately answered for her boyfriend. "Oh Tee Wee! I'm glad you're here! Tarantula's escaped and is on the loose!"
"I've heard," said Thibault. "It's been all over the news. I came over to see how you were doing."
"I'm better now that you're here," said a relieved Rattler. "With you and Andy around, I know I'm safe. Mom and dad are working late again, and I'm scared that someone from the Lizards will do something while they're gone."
"Well I won't let anything happen to you, Holly. Nor will Andy. Ain't that right, boy?" Andy saluted just like his brother, Snoopy, would. Rattler breathed a sigh of relief. With Thibault staying with her, and Andy at her side, she knew she'd be safe. Outside of her house in the bushes, Iguana was taking notes.
Meanwhile, Cobra was with Dominick, who had come over for a visit. Dominick also heard about Tarantula's escape. He was understandably concerned about his girlfriend.
"You okay, Sylvia?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Dom," said Cobra. "I just hope they find Tarantula before she and her Lizards find us. I talked to Widow, the leader of the Spiders, and she already knows about her escape, as well. She told us that she's planning ahead for an attack on them and for us to continue to lay low."
"Probably a good idea. I'd hate myself if anything happened to you."
"Oh, Dom. You are too good to me." And the two kissed and cuddled for a bit. Outside of Cobra's place, Gecko was also hiding in nearby bushes, watching. All three Lizards remembered what Tarantula said. For them NOT to do anything to the Serpents until she said otherwise, but to just keep an eye on them and gather information.
NEXT CHAPTER: CARNIVAL IN THE COUNTRY
(*) "Yeah, hopefully everything is all right."