CHAPTER 10: DESTRUCTION BEGINS
Word was getting around about the Lizard Ladies terrorizing the kids and residents of Sparkyville. People were not going out as much, as a result. The movie theater was filled to the brim with Lizard Ladies disrupting the movie, kids left even without asking for a refund. And they were heckling folks who had come out to enjoy a nice summer day at Sparkyville Park. Nowhere was safe from Lizard Ladies anymore. But all of that was just a prequel of events to come.
One night, Lucy was asleep in bed when Linus came running in. "Lucy! Wake up! Cobra's on the phone for you!"
"I'd pound you if it wasn't important for waking me up," groaned Lucy. "Luckily a call from Cobra this late is important." And Lucy went to the phone to answer the call.
"Cobra?" she began. "What's going on?"
"Sparkyville's on fire, girl!" said Cobra, not mincing words.
"Wait, what's going on?" asked a confused Lucy.
"The whole town, Mamba!" said Cobra with urgency. "Joe's Café, the theater, Ace's Ice Cream Shop! Everything's up in flames as we speak!"
"Good grief!"
"What's going on, Lucy?" asked a concerned Linus.
"The whole town's on fire, Linus!" said a shocked Lucy.
And everywhere buildings were burning. The fire department had their hands full that night. Residents and kids came out to see the carnage. Police told everyone to stay back. Luckily, Charlie Brown's father's barber shop was spared in the inferno, but not too much else. It was like Hell itself came to Sparkyville that night.
The next morning, folks went out to survey the damage. Joe's thankfully, didn't have much fire damage, so it could be rebuilt. Although it would remain closed for the rest of the summer pending repairs. Luckily, the owner of Joe's had a food truck that he used during festivals and carnivals. He would use that to serve the customers and set up picnic tables in the parking lot while the building got worked on. The movie theater also didn't suffer much fire damage, though it, too, would remain closed for repairs. The Brown family's barber shop was spared from the fires so they could operate as normal. The library was also spared from the fires. For the most part, all that burned down were vacant buildings that didn't have anyone in them to begin with. But the biggest casualty was Ace's Ice Cream Shop, which burned down to the ground.
Lucy, Linus, Eudora, Schroeder, Rerun, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Franco, Hans, Cobra, Dominick, Rattler, Thibault, Franklin, and Melanie looked over the burned remains of Ace's. They couldn't believe that one of their hangouts was gone. Linus planned to call Charlie Brown to update him on the carnage later, but for now, he was looking over everything.
"There's nothing left," he said, with a sigh. "It's completely destroyed."
"I think I know who's responsible," said Patty, now getting angry. "You're old rivals, the Lizard Ladies!" Patty pointed at Lucy and the Serpents. "They're doing this to get revenge on you girls! You need to end this once and for all!"
"We don't know if the Lizards are responsible or not, Patricia!" argued Lucy.
"She may be right, Mamba," said Cobra. "All of this coincides with Tarantula breaking out. Plus with all the attacks on the residents before these fires broke, it makes sense. Patty's right, we may have to end this thing. But we're going to need help if we go against the Lizards again."
"Who will help us?" asked a worried Rattler. "The Spiders? We haven't heard from them in days. They may have split for all we know!"
All of the sudden, Violet walked up with Shermy, who looked awful and sad. "Guys," she began. "Shermy needs to tell you something. Go ahead, Shermy. Tell them what you told me."
"There's no way to say this easily," said Shermy. "Tarantula is my cousin."
"WHAT?!" shouted everyone.
"Her real name is Hilary Wilson," Shermy began. "Her father is my father's brother. I had no idea she was the one responsible for your friend Margaux getting killed until now. I only recently learned about her being the leader of the Lizard Ladies. I found out after some of her gang heckled us at Joe's a few days back. One of them mentioned her by her handle. I knew about her being a member of the Spiders before, but I had no idea she was the one who formed the Lizard Ladies."
"Do you know her whereabouts now, Shermy?" asked Cobra.
"No, I don't," he said. "But I do want to help stop her. She's not right in the head and I want to put an end to her reign of terror."
"Well, we may need your help, Shermy," said Lucy, "because as bad as it is now, things are going to get much, much worse!" And the kids looked over what was left, or not left, of Ace's Ice Cream Shop. They were pondering what their next move would be.
NEXT CHAPTER: WHAT IS MANDY UP TO?