Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, everyone. I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter, but our journey into the Twilight Zone has only just begun...
You unlock this door with the key of imagination, beyond it is another dimension...
... a dimension of sound...
... a dimension of sight...
... a dimension of mind.
You are moving into a land of both shadow and substance...
... of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into...
The Twilight Zone.
Sarah sat lazily in a large, purple chair as she stared into bright images that flashed before her on a television screen. She mindlessly tapped buttons in a remote she held in one hand, obviously disinterested in the offerings that the television had for her. She suddenly yawned, boredom finally getting to her. Despite this, she refused to leave the chair, and her eyes remained locked on the screen of the television. Her finger kept moving as if it had a mind of its own, still pressing buttons and changing channels. She was so out of it, in fact, that she almost didn't notice when the television screen was suddenly dark and devoid of the bright, flashing images that it held just seconds before. Her finger stopped moving and her eyes widened. She began to think of all the possible explanations for this sudden phenomenon in rapid fire succession. The power could've went out. The television could've died. She could've accidentally hit the power button on the remote. But no, her mind finally reached the only conclusion it needed, and it was a conclusion that she reached quite often. Sarah suddenly jumped out of her seat and threw the controller on the chair behind her. She gathered up a big breath of air in order to yell one thing: "Ed!"
Sarah, age eight, can be summed up in one word: a spoiled brat. Despite the fact that that is in fact three words, Sarah would likely throw a tantrum if any less were used to describe her. Of course, none of the adults are privy to her spoiled nature; in fact, they all think she is a perfectly normal, innocent girl. At the tip of a hat and in the absence of adults, however, she will transform into furious force to be reckoned with. But if there's one thing Sarah enjoys more than physically hurting those who do not bow to her every whim, it's tattling on them. A keeper and giver of secrets, she promises to keep her mouth shut as long as you do exactly as she says. Very soon, however, Sarah will learn many secrets, some that she will grow to wish she had never learned at all.
Sarah waited for a few moments for Ed to come running, but he never came. "Why that no good... I know he heard me..." she muttered angrily before exiting the living room and heading toward the basement door. Ed was really going to get it now; she knew that if he didn't come running the first time she called, he was likely to blame for the television not working. She threw open the basement door and descended the stairs quickly, each step creaking under her furious footsteps. When she reached Ed's door, she kicked it in, and then scanned the room; Ed's room was still as filthy and disorganized as ever. She finally spotted Ed kneeling in front of his own television, and quickly walked up behind him. "Ed, you come to me when I call you!" Sarah exclaimed as she stood behind him. She stood there with her arms crossed for a second before realizing that he still wasn't responding to her. She walked up beside him and saw that he was staring blankly at the blank television screen. He held a remote in his hand, and he was repeatedly tapping the power button over and over again.
"Must... have... movie..." Ed moaned as a line of drool slowly dripped from his lower lip. Sarah rolled her eyes before snatching the remote away from him, which seemed to snap him out of his trance. He blinked a few times as if he had just been awoken, and then slowly looked over at her. "Hello, baby sister!" he said happily as he stood up, towering over the much smaller Sarah. "Didya come to watch a scary movie with me?" he asked as he grinned down at her. Sarah sighed and rubbed her forehead with her free hand.
"No, Ed, but you did something to mess up the TV upstairs, and you're gonna fix it," Sarah answered, her voice much more level compared to before. Ed's smile faded a bit.
"But, Sarah, it wasn't me!" Ed began; most of his defenses started this way, and they usually ended the same way as well. "I was sitting here watching a scary movie, and there were mutant space gophers, and space soldiers, and laser guns, and-"
"I don't care about your stupid movie!" Sarah shouted angrily, her fist balled up in anger. "Just fix the TV upstairs so I can watch what I wanna watch!" she ordered as she pointed her free hand at Ed's door.
"But-"
"And if you don't do it, then I'll tell mom that you tried to force me to watch a scary movie," Sarah answered as Ed's expression shifted to one of fear. Her angry scowl suddenly morphed into a devious smile; she had him right she wanted him, as usual.
"Okay, Sarah, big brother will fix the TV for you..." Ed answered, although it was clear he wasn't happy about the turn of events. He walked past her and made his way toward the living room, his head hanging low all the while. Sarah watched happily from behind him as he left his room.
"That's more like it..." Sarah said to herself before tossing the remote to Ed's television carelessly aside. Ed walked into the living room and then stopped in front of the television.
"Hmm..." Ed said as he stared down at the television, which was still off. He didn't know what was wrong; he felt like he should call his friend Edd. After all, whenever there was a problem like this, he usually knew what to do.
"What are you standing around like an idiot for?" Sarah suddenly asked as she walked into the room. "Get to fixing it!" she commanded as she threw her arms up in the air. Ed scratched his chin and looked at her nervously, not sure of what to do. Although he was dense, he knew that if he tried to fix the television, he'd probably make it worse.
"Um... maybe Double D can fix it?" Ed suggested as he gave a nervous smile to Sarah, who began to rub her chin.
"Well..." Sarah said as she considered Ed's offer. A series of knocks suddenly issued forth from the front door, breaking her train of thought. "Why didn't he just call like I said..." she muttered as she gave up on thinking about Ed's suggestion. "You got lucky this time, Ed, but it better work when dad gets home or you'll be in even bigger trouble," she warned as she walked away and toward the front door, leaving Ed to worry about the problem further now that his dad was on his mind. Sarah walked over to the front door and then opened it to reveal her friend Jimmy.
"Hey, Sarah," Jimmy said as he stood on her front porch.
"Hey..." Sarah answered as she crossed her arms. "I thought you were gonna call," she commented.
"Yeah, but the power went out for some reason, so I had to come over here in person instead," Jimmy answered; Sarah realized that must be why the televisions weren't working.
"You do know that phones still work when the power is out, right?" she asked, causing Jimmy's eyes to widen.
"Oh yeah... that's right..." Jimmy responded as he rubbed the back of his head and frowned. "But I'm already over here now... so..." he recovered as he straightened up. "We should go over my house! I've got something really fun we can do," he offered as he beamed at her. Sarah looked over in the living room and saw that Ed was still staring at the television like an idiot, and then looked back at Jimmy.
"Whatever, anything's better than sticking around here with my fathead brother..." Sarah answered before walking outside and shutting the door behind her.
"This is what you call fun, Jimmy?" Sarah asked in a slightly peeved tone as she stared down at a moldy cardboard box that sat on the floor of Jimmy's living room. All manner of objects had been stuffed into it; there were old pictures, baseballs, books, toys, and a myriad of other things jumbled together within the confines of the cardboard box. Jimmy looked at Sarah as if she had deeply offended him with her question.
"Of course it's fun, Sarah! There's nothing like digging through old things and finding something cool!" Jimmy answered enthusiastically, causing Sarah to roll her eyes for the second time that day.
"If you say so..." Sarah responded hesitantly as Jimmy sat down on the floor and began digging around in the box. He stopped for a moment and looked up at Sarah, who was still staring down at the box apprehensively.
"Come on, Sarah, don't stand there doing nothing! Have fun!" Jimmy suggested as he went back to looking in the box.
"This is something I'd expect from Double D, Jimmy," Sarah complained before sitting down beside him and watching his hands move random objects around.
"Well you should expect the unexpected, Sarah, cause look what I found!" Jimmy proclaimed before pulling out an old record. Sarah felt like smacking herself on the forehead, but resisted the urge.
"Wow, an old dusty record..." Sarah responded sarcastically.
"Well, I think it's nice," Jimmy huffed as he laid it delicately in his lap. He stuffed his hands back into the cardboard box and started to look around again.
"Let's just go play outside or something, Jimmy, this is so boring," Sarah suddenly said as she stood up, tired of watching Jimmy waste their time on an old box of junk. Jimmy stopped and then sighed, his hands still in the box.
"Okay... I guess if this is no fun to you, then there's not a point in doing it..." Jimmy answered, although it was clear he was depressed about the way Sarah was treating him and his interests. Sarah frowned, a bit disheartened at his lamentation.
"Look, I'm not saying it wouldn't be exciting any other time, but it's a really nice day outside! We should be out playing jump rope and playing in the sandbox!" Sarah explained as she grabbed Jimmy by the arm and pulled him to his feet. He looked over at her and gave a little smile.
"I guess you're right... let's just put this old box away for some other time," Jimmy responded before reaching down toward the box. As he reached for the sides of the box, his hand grazed the edge of an old picture frame, causing him to recoil away from the box in pain. "Ow!" he exclaimed as he held his hand tightly, pain ripping through it.
"What happened?" Sarah asked, concerned that Jimmy might've seriously cut himself. He held his hand over to Sarah, trying his best to suck up the pain. There was a small red line where the picture frame had touched him, but not much else. Still, Sarah knew that Jimmy wasn't exactly the most resistant person to pain, so she knew this was probably a big deal for him. "It doesn't look too bad, Jimmy... you should just go put a bandage on it," Sarah suggested as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Good idea!" Jimmy answered before turning around and starting to head toward the bathroom to fetch a box of bandages.
"And hey, I'll even put this box away for you if you want," Sarah offered as she watched Jimmy walk away.
"Okay, well just take it to my room!" Jimmy called back to her as he walked into a different room. With that, Sarah reached down toward the box, ready to heave it to Jimmy's room. Sarah stopped, however, when something in the box caught her eye. "What's that?" Sarah whispered to herself before reaching down toward the object. Sarah had to move some things aside, but she managed to grab hold of the object. She pulled it out of the box and held it up in front of her. It was a dusty, black handheld tape recorder. Sarah knew that, although it was old, it was still technically Jimmy's, meaning that she shouldn't mess with it. But she was curious to see if there was a tape in it, so she popped it open, and, lo and behold, there was a tape in the tape recorder. "I wonder what's on it..." Sarah muttered as she closed the tape recorder back up. She looked up to make sure that Jimmy hadn't walked back into the room, and then looked back down at the tape recorder. Her thumb moved to the play button, and, with a little pressure, the button went down and the tape started to play. Sarah held her breath, not knowing what to expect.
"..." There was silence, save for a bit of ambient noise and static. Sarah sighed, not very surprised that it was a blank tape. She was hoping for something a little more exciting, but she figured it was no big loss. Her thumb moved to the stop button. "Jimmy doesn't wa-" Sarah jumped a little and her thumb hit the stop button. Her heart started pounding hard against her chest. She had to be hearing things... but no, she had heard it. A small, raspy voice had just started to say something about Jimmy, although she had stopped the tape out of surprise before it could go on any farther. She contemplated listening more, but the voice had unnerved her so much; it sounded so inhuman and warped that the thought of hearing again honestly scared her a bit. But curiosity once again began to wash over her, and she once again looked up to make sure Jimmy hadn't walked back into the room before moving her thumb back to the play button. She gave a little pressure, and the button once again went down. "-sh his hands after using the bathroom," the raspy, inhuman voice finished as she listened carefully. Sarah stopped the tape and then stood there for a moment, letting the information sink into her mind.
"Who would record something stupid like that on a-" Sarah began to whisper mindlessly to herself.
"Alright, Sarah, I'm all better now!" Jimmy exclaimed as he suddenly reentered the room. On instinct, Sarah moved the tape player behind her back, hiding it from Jimmy's view.
"S-So you bandaged it all up?" Sarah asked, although her mind was still locked onto the strange tape recorder and the mysterious voice that was on the tape.
"Yep, and I think I did a pretty good job," Jimmy answered as he held up his hand to show a bandage that was wrapped around it.
"Well I'm just glad that picture frame didn't hurt you too bad..." Sarah responded as she gave him a smile.
"Me too... I'm just lucky I didn't get a splinter from that thing," Jimmy commented as he looked down at the old picture frame that was sticking out of the box. "Hey... didn't you say you were gonna take this box to my room for me?" he asked, suddenly realizing that the box was still in the spot that he had left it. Sarah's eyes widened as she realized that he was right.
"Oh yeah... well... I'm... I'm sorry, I just started thinking about my idiot brother and some of the stupid stuff he said earlier... I guess I just zoned out, ya know?" Sarah explained as Jimmy nodded slowly.
"I understand, I do that sometimes too," Jimmy answered as he played with a loose part of the bandage on his hand; noticing that he was distracted, Sarah discreetly stuffed the tape recorder into her pocket.
"Now let's get this box to your room," Sarah suggested as she reached down toward the box and picked it up; although it was clearly heavy, it was no problem for Sarah, who, although much smaller, had a strength that rivaled her brother's.
"More tea, Miss Sarah?" Jimmy asked as he held a tea pot in his hands. He had removed the bandage from his hand about an hour ago after the pain had finally faded away. It ended up that the picture frame hadn't even pierced his skin, much to his relief.
"Of course, Sir Jimmy, more tea would be lovely," Sarah answered as she held her tea cup up to him. Sarah and Jimmy were both sitting out in Jimmy's backyard at a small pink table. Their favorite dolls, Mr. Yum Yum and Dolly Poo Poo were sitting in chairs beside each of them.
"There you go," Jimmy said as he carefully poured some tea into Sarah's tea cup.
"Thank you so very much, Sir Jimmy," Sarah said before lifting the cup up to her mouth and sipping some tea from it. Jimmy sat the tea pot back down and then took a sip from his own tea cup. Sarah looked over at Dolly Poo Poo as if she had said something, and then looked at Jimmy. "Sir Jimmy, Dolly Poo Poo says that she is just famished. When will the royal cupcakes be ready?" she questioned as she stared across the table at Jimmy, who had just sat his tea cup down.
"Ah yes, thank you for reminding me, Miss Sarah. Chef Yum Yum and I will go and fetch the cupcakes at once!" Jimmy proclaimed before grabbing Mr. Yum Yum and running toward his house. Sarah grinned as she watched Jimmy enter his house through his backdoor. She looked back over at Dolly Poo Poo and saw that she was slouching to the side a bit.
"Now now, Dolly, you must practice good posture if you are to be a queen someday!" Sarah explained as she reached over and sat Dolly Poo Poo back up.
"Chef Yum Yum and I have returned with a delicious batch of freshly made royal cupcakes, Miss Sarah!" Jimmy announced as he carried a tray of cupcakes in his hands, Mr. Yum Yum tucked under his arm.
"They smell just delightful, Sir Jimmy!" Sarah commented as Jimmy sat the tray of cupcakes down on the table. He put Mr. Yum Yum back in his seat and then looked over at Sarah.
"In that case, Miss Sarah, you may have the first cupcake!" Jimmy answered as he grabbed one of the cupcakes off of the tray and held it up to her. Sarah giggled and then reached for the cupcake. Jimmy doesn't wash his hands after using the bathroom. Her hand froze inches from the cupcake, and she stared at Jimmy's hand with wide eyes. It was just a stupid voice on a tape. It didn't mean anything. But she could hear the voice in the back of her mind, as if it was trying to leave a small reminder about his nasty little secret.
"Uh... actually, I'm not hungry anymore, Sir Jimmy," Sarah admitted as she quickly withdrew her hand from the cupcake. Jimmy stared at her for a moment, a bit perplexed by her sudden refusal to take a cupcake that she just said smelled tasty.
"But why not, Miss Sarah? I baked them especially for you!" Jimmy said as he continued to smile.
"It's not that I don't want the cupcake... it's just that..." Sarah began as her eyes shifted away from Jimmy's smiling face. She didn't know what to say, but she did know she had to get out. She couldn't take the cupcake; after all, she knew that Jimmy hadn't washed his hands, and she just couldn't bear the thought of eating a cupcake that he had touched. "I gotta get home and make sure Ed doesn't break the TV... yeah..." she finished awkwardly as she began to scoot back in her chair. Jimmy's smile faltered a bit.
"Then you can take the cupcake and eat it on the way," Jimmy suggested as he still held the cupcake toward her. Sarah stood up and continued to stare at the cupcake that was in his hand. "It's just a cupcake, Sarah, it won't bite," he added, still confused as to why Sarah was acting so strange.
"Look, I'm really not hungry... I should just get going..." Sarah answered, although she didn't take her eyes off of the cupcake. She reached for Dolly Poo Poo and snatched her out of the chair. Jimmy sat the cupcake back down on the tray and watched as Sarah began to back away from him. "I'm sorry, Jimmy... I'll... I'll talk to you later, okay?" she said before darting away from him and out of his yard. Jimmy did nothing but watch her as she ran, left to wonder why Sarah was acting so weird.
Sarah sat on her front porch as she stared down at the tape recorder, which she held lightly in her hand. She still didn't know why she had chosen to believe the voice on the tape; after all, it was an old tape from a box of very old things, for all she knew it could be talking about Jimmy when he was younger and first being potty trained. She began to feel very stupid, and she knew that she'd have to go apologize to Jimmy for being so mean. She also knew that she had to tell him about the tape recorder, since it did belong to him. "Hey, Sarah, what are you doing?" Nazz asked as she walked across Sarah's yard, causing Sarah to look up.
"Uh..." Sarah was at a loss for words for a moment, but she quickly recovered. "Just thinking about some things," she answered as she slid the tape recorder into her pocket, hoping that Nazz hadn't spotted it.
"Oh, well sorry to interrupt your thinking," Nazz apologized as she walked up to Sarah. "Anyway, do you mind if I go inside your house for a moment?" she asked as Sarah's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Sure, but why would you wanna go in there? There's no one but my brother inside," Sarah explained, remembering that her brother was still standing in front of the television. The power had come back on some time ago, but she figured that Ed had probably tried to fix it himself anyway and screwed it up further.
"Oh, I just need to see Ed about something," Nazz answered before shrugging. She then walked past Sarah and went into the house, shutting the door lightly behind her. Sarah stared at the door for a moment, still a little confused. Nazz wanting to see her brother? That was perhaps the oddest thing she had heard today, almost as strange as the tape recorder, which she still had in her pocket.
"The tape recorder," she whispered aloud, suddenly remembering the object of her thoughts. Sarah, seeing that no one was around, pulled it back out and began to stare at it once again. It was a bit scratched in places, and it was a little dirty as well. Even so, the light from the sun up above glinted off of it and caught her eye. She almost didn't notice the fact that her thumb had slid onto the play button. She stopped herself when she felt the muscles in her thumb tightening. "No... I can't..." she whispered to herself. She knew that this tape was probably just some family memories or something; after all, the strange sound of the voice on the tape could just be because it was old and the audio had been warped. Still, she felt an urge inside of her to hear more. What harm could it do? She slowly pushed the play button down and then let the tape begin to play. There was silence for only a few moments, but it felt like ages to Sarah as she listened closely, not letting a breath escape from her mouth.
"Nazz has a crush on Ed" the raspy voice issued forth, causing Sarah to gasp. She hit the stop button, and silence filled the air around her, save for the sounds of a summer day. She sat there for a few minutes, just letting the information sink in. Nazz... and Ed? Sarah couldn't believe what she had just heard from the tape. There was no way an old, dusty tape recorder with an old, dusty tape in it could possibly know anything about Nazz and Ed, especially not any sort of relationship between them. But she had heard it. In fact, it was as if she could still hear it. She could still make out the tiny, raspy voice repeating what it had said over and over again in some far off place, almost like a distant echo. She continued to sit there, not knowing what to do with the new found information. It could be a lie; after all, she still didn't even know if what the tape had said about Jimmy was true. But how could whoever made this tape know anything about Nazz or Ed? Sarah didn't recognize the voice of the person on the tape, and, although the possibility of distortion was still there, the voice sounded eerily clear, however inhuman it seemed...
Sarah suddenly realized that Nazz had just went inside to see Ed for some mysterious reason. It almost seemed obvious that she should think of it sooner, since the tape had just mentioned Nazz and Ed, but it took a few minutes to click for some reason. She stood up and looked at the door behind her. Nazz was in there with Ed, and Sarah had no idea why Nazz wanted to see him. Could it be that she was going in there for some one on one time with her crush? She couldn't help but let a sly little smirk creep across her face. This was almost too good; although she wasn't sure how it was possible, this tape seemed to know things about people, and it was time for her to see if it was telling the truth. She reached for the doorknob and carefully turned it. She peeked inside the house and, seeing that neither Nazz nor Ed were in the living room, she stepped carefully inside and shut the door quietly behind her. "Where could they be?" Sarah muttered to herself as she looked around the living room. Ed had left his post at the television, which looked like an utter wreck, and Nazz was nowhere to be found as well. She figured the only other place they could be was Ed's room, and, still wanting to see whether the tape was full of it or not, she began to walk silently toward the basement door.
The doorknob of the basement door turned slowly, and Sarah managed to open it enough for her to slip inside without making a sound. She began to sneak down the staircase, deciding to leave the basement door open behind her in case she had to make a quick escape. Once she reached the bottom of the staircase, she could hear Nazz and Ed talking softly from inside of Ed's room, and she could also see that his door was cracked open. She could feel sweat beginning to form on her forehead as she started to slowly make her way toward the crack in Ed's door; she didn't know whether the sweat was from excitement or fear. She stopped right next to Ed's door, debating in her head whether or not she could take a peek without being spotted. She suddenly realized that Ed and Nazz were no longer talking. She wondered to herself if something else was going on in Ed's room. Sarah, not able to contain her curiosity any longer, slowly moved her head toward Ed's door. She peered through the small opening, and slapped her mouth over her hand.
Nazz and Ed were standing next to his bed, and they had their arms tightly wrapped around each other in an embrace. Ed had his back to Sarah, but she could see that Nazz had a little smile on her face, and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. Sarah stepped back from the door, not believing what she had seen. The tape was telling the truth; Nazz did like Ed, and it looked like she had just told him or something. She could feel a despicable grin forming on her face; this was just the ammo she could use, against both Ed and Nazz. She knew she could tick off a lot of people in the cul-de-sac with this sort of juicy information. Kevin would likely blow a gasket over finding out Nazz had a thing for Ed, and he would probably beat Ed black and blue. And she also savored the thought that if Nazz ever ticked her off, she could go tell May Kanker that Nazz was trying to steal her man. She knew that May would likely strangle Nazz to within an inch of her life over something like this. Sarah smiled widely as she thought about the best person to tease with this information: Eddy. He would probably get so angry over learning that Nazz liked her stinky brother and not him.
Sarah was so busy fantasizing about the possibilities that she almost didn't hear the sounds of Nazz and Ed walking toward the door to Ed's room. She snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she had to get away, or this would look very awkward. She quickly darted toward Ed's stairs and scaled them quickly, trying her best not to make any sounds. She ran out of the basement, not bothering to shut the door behind her, and made her way into the living room. She opened the front door and shut it behind her, and then stood out on her front porch. She could feel adrenaline pumping throughout her entire body, both from the close call and the revelation that the tape had given her, which was still at the front of her mind. "I wonder what else this tape can tell me..." Sarah muttered to herself as she looked down at the tape recorder, which was gripped firmly in her hand.
Sarah looked around the cul-de-sac, which was still as empty as ever. She began to run along the sidewalk; she had to find a place to listen to the tape recorder in privacy. Sure, there was her room, but Ed or her mom could come barging in at a moment's notice. No, she had to find a secretive place that no one would bother her in. As she ran past Rolf's house, she suddenly stopped upon hearing some strange noises emanating from his backyard. It sounded like his chickens were going crazy back there; she could hear a lot of movement and clucking. She thought about whether she should keep on course and find a place to listen to the tape, or go and see what was up with Rolf's animals. "Come back here, Rolf promises it will be fast!" Sarah heard Rolf's voice shout from behind his house. That was the last straw; her curiosity once again took over, and she began to sneak across Rolf's front yard. She rounded the side of his house and stopped at the fence that designated the boundaries of his backyard. She peered into the yard and saw that Rolf was chasing around a pack of three chickens that were running wild throughout his yard.
"What a waste of time..." Sarah muttered, not realizing it was something so mundane. She watched as Rolf finally caught the three chickens that were running from him and gathered them up in his arms.
"I'm sorry, my feathered friends, but it must be done," Rolf said ominously as he walked toward his shed, which had an eerie light dancing inside.
"Okay..." Sarah said in a shaky voice, a little freaked out by the way Rolf was sounding. The strange light that was flickering inside of his shed unnerved her as well. Rolf reached the entrance to the shed and threw the chickens inside. He then turned around to scan his yard with his eyes; Sarah ducked down out of sight, scared that he might spot her. After a few minutes of being on the ground, Sarah decided she had waited long enough; she stood back up and looked at Rolf's shed to see that the door was now tightly shut. "That was so weird," she muttered to herself as she continued to stare at the shed in confusion. She suddenly realized that perhaps the tape could tell her what Rolf was up to. She looked down at the tape, debating on whether or not she should try it. After all, how did she know the next person it would talk about would be Rolf? She didn't wait to debate the question in her head; she moved her thumb to the play button and pressed it down. Sarah waited for a few moments, knowing that the voice seemed to be separated by some static every time. This time she could hear some strange noises in the background sound of the tape; she couldn't make out what they were.
"Every year, Rolf sacrifices his chickens to a pagan god," the raspy voice screeched, no longer sounding so small and weak. Sarah shut off the tape and looked up at Rolf's shed, afraid that he had heard the terrifying voice and its revelation. Seeing that the shed door was still shut, Sarah took this moment to process the information that the tape had revealed to her. She didn't know what the word "pagan" meant, but it sounded like Rolf performed some sort of ritual every year as part of his religion, although Sarah didn't know what it was, since she never really asked him what he believed in. Even so, this was almost too much to believe; sure, Rolf was weird, but he didn't seem like the type to needlessly murder the animals he cared so much for. Sarah knew she had to check this out and see if the tape was telling the truth. But this time she was actually a little scared; she could still hear Rolf's ominous words about what must be done, and she could still see the eerie red light that was emanating from within his shed.
Sarah gathered up all of her courage and hopped Rolf's fence. She felt her feet hit the soft dirt of his yard and sink in a little. Her eyes were locked on Rolf's shed as she began to take the first few steps across his yard. She could hear muffled noises within the shed as she drew closer and closer. She could feel her breathing getting unsteady when she was within a few feet of the door. Sarah stopped at the door and stayed perfectly quiet, trying to listen to what was going on within. She could hear the chickens inside struggling and making noises. She knew it was risky, but she had to see what was going on inside. She slowly brought her hand toward the handle on the shed door, and she held her breath as her fingers wrapped around the handle, which felt rusty and cold. Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting wood sounded out several times in quick succession and the clucking suddenly stopped. Sarah didn't know whether or not she should look inside or run now. But she took a chance and opened the door a little. She could see the strange light, which poured out of the doorway and washed over her. As the door continued to open, she saw that the light was coming from an old lantern on the floor. Sarah gasped when the door made a large creaking sound, but that's not what made her gasp; there was blood all over the floor, and it seemed to be running in everything direction like tiny little rivers.
"What are you doing here, sister of the Ed-boy?" Rolf suddenly asked as he appeared in front of her. Sarah looked up in fear at Rolf, who towered above her. Her mouth fell open when she saw the bloody apron that he was wearing, as well as a butcher knife in his hand that was soaked in blood. Something suddenly clicked in Sarah's mind, and one word popped into her head: run.
"Stay away from me, you creep!" Sarah screamed before racing off toward the woods behind Rolf's house. She ran into the twilight of the trees and kept running. She didn't look back to see if Rolf was following her as she crashed through bushes and jumped over logs. Trees whizzed by her as she weaved through them at blinding speed. She could feel briars and sticks clinging to her clothing as she ran, but she didn't care to stop and remove them; all she knew was that she had to get as far away from Rolf as possible. She burst through a line of bushes and kept running into a clearing. She finally looked behind her, and she could see that she wasn't being pursued. Sarah began to slow down, and she finally stopped after a few moments. She began to suck in large amounts of air, the wild dash she just did sucking the energy out of her. She felt her body slowly cooling down, and her brain started to function normally again. That was perhaps the scariest thing she had ever seen. She didn't know what to do, or whether she should tell somebody about it. After all, she didn't think it was against the law to kill ones own livestock, but that didn't make any less terrifying. she finally began to look at her surroundings, and she once again felt a tinge of fear within her: she was standing in the middle of the trailer park.
Sarah gulped down some saliva and then began to slowly look around her. There were several trailers of all shapes and sizes around her, but she was only looking for one in particular. As she turned around, her eyes locked on a familiar blue trailer. Kankers Sarah thought as she began to back away from it. Lucky for her, it seemed that the Kankers weren't outside. Still, she knew they could be inside of their trailer, and she didn't want to do anything to bring them out of it. She began to back away from the trailer, which was about a dozen yards in front of her, but she stopped when she noticed that the lights were off in the trailer. She stared at the trailer for a few moments, wondering what it could mean. "Maybe their power is still out..." Sarah whispered to herself. Her mind began to wander to another possibility: what if the Kankers were doing something strange as well? After all, it seemed that she was finding out strange secrets about everyone today, so it would make sense. Still, she knew she couldn't stand there and play the tape out loud. The last message it had delivered to her was very loud, so she wasn't sure if the voice would go back to a whisper or start screaming.
Finally deciding on what to do, Sarah once again cleared her mind and calmed herself. She began to move toward the Kanker's trailer, making sure to be extra careful this time; she knew if the Kankers caught her sneaking around their trailer, she would be in extreme trouble. She stopped a few feet from the door to the trailer, needing a moment before she continued. She could feel her body shaking in fear and her legs wobbling. If her experience with Rolf had taught her anything, she knew it would be stupid of her to open the door to the trailer. She looked up at the window on the Kankers trailer, and realized that was a better way to see what was going on inside. She looked around her for something that she could stand on; she saw an old tire, some cans strewn around, and a random crowbar laying up against a nearby trailer. She finally spotted a clothes bin that the Kankers had probably left outside. She ran over to it and grabbed it, and then returned to window on the Kankers' trailer. She put the clothes bin upside down next to the trailer and then hopped on top of it. Despite the additional height the clothes bin granted her, Sarah still couldn't get eye level with the window. She began to jump up and down on the clothes bin, trying to at least get a glimpse inside of the trailer.
"Feels weird to walk around here, huh?" Sarah heard someone say from nearby as she jumped up to the window and got a brief glimpse inside; all she saw was darkness. She landed on the clothes bin and whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Yes, well, I don't really see the point of us even coming to this place," Sarah heard another person respond. Acting fast, she jumped off of the clothes bin and flipped it back over. She quickly dived under the Kankers trailer to get out of sight. She then peered out from under the trailer, ignoring the nasty things she felt crawling around under the trailer with her. She soon saw two people come into view: it was Edd and Eddy. What are they doing here? Sarah thought to herself. It was stupid for a regular person like her to come to the trailer park, but it was suicide for the Eds to do so, for obvious reasons.
"Oh come on, Double D, don't you like the feeling of not having to run for your life?" Eddy asked as he and Edd stopped right in front of the Kankers' trailer. Sarah listened closely, suddenly realizing that they were talking about something very interesting.
"I suppose so... still, we shouldn't stick around here too long, Eddy. It could look suspicious," Edd responded as he looked around to make sure no one was watching.
"Aw, quit your worrying, sockhead," Eddy began as he smirked at Edd. "It's just you, me, and the worms; no one in their right mind would come out here," he explained as Edd nodded.
"Oh, you're probably right," Edd answered as he returned Eddy's smile.
"Of course I am!" Eddy exclaimed as he walked up to the Kankers' trailer, mere inches from Sarah's hiding place. He then reared his foot back and kicked the trailer, which caused a metal echo to sound out; Sarah covered her ears and closed her eyes at the loud sound. "I'm just glad those Kankers won't be a problem for our scams," he commented before turning back to Edd. "Now let's get the heck out of here," he suggested as he began to walk back the way they came. Sarah watched as Edd and Eddy strolled casually away. She was confused beyond belief. Why wouldn't the Kankers be a problem for their scams? And why would Edd and Eddy even come to the trailer park in the first place? Once Edd and Eddy were out of sight, Sarah crawled out from under the trailer and wiped herself clean of the bugs and junk that had clung to her clothes. She knew one way she could learn what Edd and Eddy were up to. She looked down at the tape recorder, which she had never let go of. She sighed as her thumb hovered above the play button. She wasn't sure if she wanted to listen to the tape recorder this time. The last little truth it had revealed was almost too much for her, and she hated to imagine what sort of secrets it could tell her about Edd or Eddy.
Sarah stared at the tape recorder, her mind debating with itself on whether or not pressing the button would be a good idea. She almost felt like she should just put it into her pocket and walk away. But the urge inside of her to know was so strong. It was almost like an addiction to her, and she had to feed it. Sarah felt her muscles tense up, and she pressed the play button on the tape recorder.
All was quiet in the junkyard. Piles of trash and thrown out valuables littered its surface, and massive piles of junk climbed skywards, almost looking like a mountain range rising out of the ground. Pigeons, seagulls, and other birds pecked at the ground and flew overhead, finding whatever food scraps they could. A lone figure moved through this wasteland of tossed out possessions, her eyes wild and her body coursing with fear. Her feet pattered on the ground as she scampered around the imposing hills of scrap, their sound echoing around the junkyard and scaring birds away. Her brain was working in overdrive as it clung on to the desperate hope that what she had heard on the tape was a lie. There was no way it was true, despite the fact that her precious tape hadn't been wrong so far. Sarah stopped in a clearing between two especially large piles of trash to catch her breath and think about where to look. She had searched around the entire junkyard, but she had found nothing, much to her relief.
A pigeon suddenly cooed, causing Sarah to look up. And her mouth fell open in horror at what she saw. She fell to her knees as she stared at three plots of freshly dug dirt that were hidden in a small alcove of junk. She could suddenly hear the raspy voice slowly repeating its revelation. It started out small, but began to grow louder and louder, almost as if it was coming nearer and nearer. She tried to cover her ears with her hands to shut out the voice, but it was no use; it simply began to scream with more force, causing Sarah to shake with a pain she could not combat. She felt like her head was going to explode if the voice kept it up. The voice suddenly stopped. Sarah looked around, her hands still on her ears. She slowly removed her hands, and put them into her lap. Her eyes returned to the three plots of dirt. The voice suddenly came back one more time, this time a quiet whisper:
"Double D and Eddy murdered the Kankers and buried them in the junkyard."
Sarah ran up the lane as fast as she could, desperate to reach the safety of her house. Her feet pounded on the hard dirt of the lane as she pushed herself to run faster and faster. She had to reach her house so she could hide. But she knew she had to call the cops first. What Edd and Eddy had done was horrible. She didn't like the Kankers herself, but taking their lives? It was just too much. She could feel tears trying to force their way out of her eyes, but she managed to keep herself under control. She reached the end of the lane and rounded the corner toward the cul-de-sac, but skidded to a halt when she came face to face with Jimmy, who jumped back a little in surprise at Sarah's sudden appearance. "Thank goodness I found you, Sarah," he began as he recovered from his surprised state. "I was so worried about you, you were acting really weird earlier and-"
"I'm sorry, Jimmy, but there's no time!" Sarah interrupted in a panicked voice. "I've got to get home to my phone!" she exclaimed before trying to run past Jimmy. He blocked her way, however, and a look of concern formed on his face.
"What's going on, Sarah? You looked spooked!" Jimmy stated as he stared at her face, which was ghost white.
"Look, I gotta go, and I've gotta-"
"And... are those tears?" Jimmy asked as he spotted small trickles of water running down her face. "What happened, Sarah? Did someone hurt you?" Jimmy asked, although he would certainly be surprised if someone actually had the guts to lay their hands on Sarah.
"No... no... please, I just have to get home and use my phone," Sarah responded as she continued to try and get around Jimmy.
"Sarah, I just want to help," Jimmy countered as he gave her a pleading look. Sarah was about ready to shove him out of the way and start running to her house, but she suddenly realized that it would be better if he knew the truth as well. After all, he was her best friend, and, even though he apparently didn't wash his hands when he went to the bathroom, that was nothing compared to the dark secret Edd and Eddy were harboring.
"Listen... Jimmy..." Sarah began as she tried her best to control her emotions. "Don't... don't freak out over what I'm about to tell you..." she requested as she took his hands into hers. He nodded his head slowly in response. Sarah cleared her throat and blinked a few times to clear her head. "Okay... I... I was in the trailer park and-"
"Oh no, those nasty Kanker sisters didn't do something to you, did they?" Jimmy interrupted as he stared at her in fear. Sarah winced a little at the mentioning of their name, but she quickly recovered.
"No, they didn't... and they won't be able to..." Sarah said as she lowered her voice, afraid that someone could be listening in.
"What do you-"
"Just listen this time, and don't talk until I'm finished," Sarah ordered. Jimmy once again nodded in response. "Okay... I was in the trailer park and I was about to leave when I noticed that the Kankers' trailer was dark... so I went over to it and looked inside, and they weren't there," she explained as Jimmy listened closely. "That was a little weird, but then it got even weirder when Double D and Eddy showed up and started talking about how they wouldn't have to worry about the Kankers ruining their scams anymore," she rattled on. Sarah didn't notice, but her voice was very shaky and weak and tears were running down her face like waterfalls.
"And... and what happened next?" Jimmy asked, forgetting that Sarah said not to speak until she was done.
"Then they left, and-" Sarah stopped for a moment when she realized that bringing up the tape recorder probably wasn't a good idea. She didn't know whether Jimmy knew of its power or not, since she did find it in a box from his house, but she knew that she couldn't bring it up. It would make her seem crazy, and Sarah needed Jimmy to be on her side for what she was about to say. "-I... I headed to the junkyard, and there were these three plots of dirt, and I just couldn't take it, so I ran back here and-"
"Oh my God," Jimmy interrupted as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. The realization of what Sarah was implying here had finally dawned upon him, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. he stood there for a few moments like that, and Sarah simply stared at him, tears still streaming down her face. "Are you trying to tell me that... that... that..." he stuttered, not able to get the words out.
"Double D and Eddy killed the Kankers!" Sarah exclaimed loudly, not being able to contain the secret within herself any longer. It took a few moments for her words to sink into Jimmy's brain. Sarah sniffled a bit as Jimmy began to breathe heavy, and he gulped down some spittle as he stared at the pale face of his best friend.
"What... what do we do?" Jimmy asked as his eyes began to tear up as well. Sarah didn't know how to answer; yes, she knew that she still had to go and call the cops, but the way Jimmy worded it made her specifically think about what the two of them would do about it. What could they do? Sarah could barely handle this shocking truth. She was only eight, after all, and the death of a group of people, even if they were a group of people that she absolutely despised, was almost too much for her to handle. She hoped that phoning the cops would put this situation into better hands than either Jimmy or herself could offer. She let go of one of Jimmy's hands and wiped her face clear of tears and then cleared her throat.
"Let's get to my house and call the cops... then we'll figure out what we should do," Sarah suggested to a scared and trembling Jimmy. "That sound good?" she asked, hoping that her plan was sufficient to calm him down a little.
"Let's just hurry, Sarah... we can't let them get away with this!" Jimmy exclaimed as his face scrunched up, suddenly feeling a need for urgency.
"Then let's go!" Sarah responded as she gripped Jimmy's hand tightly, ignoring the voice in her head that reminded her about his little secret. The two of them then went racing up the sidewalk and toward the cul-de-sac, their desperate mission burning in their heads. They quickly reached the entrance of the cul-de-sac and kept racing up the sidewalk and toward Sarah's house. As they neared it, they skidded to a halt when they spotted a strange sight: Rolf, Nazz, Jonny, and Eddy all stood in Sarah's yard, where Ed, Kevin, and Edd were all working on the television that Ed had broken. Rolf, Nazz, Jonny, and Eddy were talking to each other, Kevin was sitting next to the television, a box of tools sitting next to him as he worked on the television, Edd was telling Kevin something, and Ed stood by them, watching Kevin's every move fearfully. Sarah and Jimmy just stood there, unsure of what to do, as the kids chatted with one another, not yet noticing their presence.
"What do we do, Sarah? They're all in the way..." Jimmy whispered worryingly. "Even worse, they don't even realize that they're all standing right next to murderers," he added as he stared at Eddy and then at Edd. They didn't look any different to him, but he knew that, if what Sarah said was true, they were dirty, evil monsters on the inside.
"I don't think they've seen us yet," Sarah answered in a low voice as she looked over at Jimmy. "Let's just sneak over to your house and-"
"Hey, Sarah, I've got a bone to pick with you!" Nazz suddenly called out to Sarah, finally noticing her and Jimmy's presence. Sarah stared over at Nazz, who seemed to have a hard look on her face. All the other kids slowly turned to look over at Sarah and Jimmy as well.
"Sarah..." Jimmy whispered to her fearfully, scared to see what was going to happen next. Sarah looked over at Jimmy, who locked eyes with her.
"We've got no choice but to go over there now," Sarah whispered. "But I promise all the others will know about what Double D and Eddy did," she explained before turning her attention back to the kids, who were all still looking at her and Jimmy. Sarah let go of Jimmy's hand and began walking toward Nazz and the others. Her steps felt heavy and unsure. Even though she should be confident, she felt weak and scared. She didn't know how everyone would react to the sickening revelation she carried within her, and she was especially fearful of how Edd and Eddy would react when she spilled the beans on their evil deed. Jimmy, who had stayed behind, too nervous to move, suddenly found strength in his legs, and began to walk behind Sarah, also scared to see how this situation would play out.
"Sarah, why would make Ed do something like this?" Nazz asked as Sarah got within a few yards of her. All eyes were on Sarah as Nazz awaited her response. Sarah eyed the crowd of kids nervously, trying her best to think up a response. She knew the only reason Nazz cared was because she liked Ed, but she didn't know whether or not she should say anything about it; after all, she wanted to have Nazz on her side when she told the truth about Edd and Eddy.
"That doesn't matter right now," Sarah answered, much to Nazz's surprise. "But what does matter is that-"
"It matters to me!" Kevin chimed in as he got up from his perch in front of the television and dusted himself off. "I'm the one who has to sit here and use my dad's tools to fix this stupid thing," he explained, a tinge of anger in his voice.
"Not to mention the fact that Ed's going to get in trouble for this when it was your fault for telling him to fix it!" Eddy chimed in angrily. Sarah's fearful expression twisted into one of anger. It was one thing for Nazz and Kevin to be mad with her, but if Eddy knew what was coming, he would be shaking in his boots rather than angrily yelling at her.
"Yeah, well-"
"Enough arguing, I just want you to say sorry for the trouble you got Ed into," Nazz interrupted. That was the last straw; Sarah was tired of being interrupted, and she was just about fed up of Nazz's self-righteous behavior.
"The only reason you're defending my stupid brother is because you like him!" Sarah retorted as her face turned a little red; a few of the kids gasped at the revelation, while the rest just stood there in confusion. Silence fell over the group, and Sarah's words seemed to hang in the air for few moments.
"W-What?" Nazz finally asked, a bit taken aback by Sarah's accusation.
"Don't play dumb with me, Nazz, you know what I'm talking about!" Sarah added as she slit her eyes at Nazz. Sarah could see out the corner of her eye that Kevin was getting a little angry, and she could see that Eddy was staring up at Ed with anger. Ed himself looked confused and flustered, and he was blushing a little.
"Is that true, Nazz?" Kevin asked, trying to hide the jealousy that was swirling around inside of him. Nazz looked at him, a helpless expression on her face; she was obviously at a loss for words.
"I have no idea what she's talking about!" Nazz answered, trying her best to defend herself.
"Too ashamed to even admit it," Sarah commented as she shook her head in disapproval. "So you were going to keep your little love with Ed a secret, huh?" Sarah asked, enjoying the fact that she was finally getting to Nazz.
"And to think I trusted you, lumpy..." Eddy muttered as he crossed his arms and looked up at Ed, who looked even more dumbstruck than usual.
"But, Eddy, I don't know what Sarah's talking about!" Ed responded as he threw his arms up in the air.
"I can't believe you like that stupid dork, Nazz," Kevin seethed, not caring anymore that he was letting his envy get the better of him.
"B-B-But..." Nazz stuttered, feeling more and more helpless by the moment. Jimmy walked up next to Sarah, just as shocked as everyone else by this revelation.
"Are you for real, Sarah?" Jimmy whispered into her ear, wondering whether or not Sarah was just trying to start a fight or was actually telling the truth.
"You're darn right I'm for real, Jimmy," Sarah said loudly as she looked over at him. Ed and Eddy continued to bicker, as did Nazz and Kevin, all four of them getting heated and falling further into anger and confusion. Rolf, who had been standing next to Jonny, suddenly stepped forward.
"Rolf does not know why Sarah-girl accuses Nazz-girl of hiding a secret love for the bright-as-a-dim-bulb Ed-boy, but Rolf sees that he must put a stop to this petty fighting over love," Rolf announced, causing everyone to shut up. He then looked over at Sarah, a stern look on his face. "Does the sibling of the Ed-boy have any proof of this clandestine love?" he questioned, hoping to finally defuse the situation. Sarah didn't feel the need to answer Rolf's stupid question; not only did she have plenty of proof in the form of the tape recorder, but she also knew Rolf's little secret as well. In fact, she felt the time was ripe for him to squirm just as badly as Nazz and Ed had.
"Why ask me, Rolf?" Sarah countered as she smiled deviously. "Why don't you go sacrifice some more chickens and then ask your little friend in the sky?" Sarah asked, causing Rolf's eyes to go wide.
"Are you trying to accuse Rolf of wasting his own livestock for some petty ritual?" Rolf asked, obviously getting a little angry himself.
"I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just telling the truth!" Sarah exclaimed. "I guess you conveniently don't remember a few hours ago when you grabbed your chickens, carried them into your shed, and murdered them!" Sarah shouted angrily. Rolf backed up a few steps as all the kids suddenly looked over at them, shocked expressions on their faces.
"How could you kill those poor chickens, Rolf!" Ed exclaimed as his eyes began to tear up.
"But Rolf didn't-"
"What kind of freaky stuff were you doing, Rolf?" Kevin asked as he backed a few feet away from Rolf, feeling uncomfortable being near him.
"Rolf would never-"
"And you all call me and Plank weirdos!" Jonny exclaimed as he held Plank close at his side.
"Enough everyone!" Edd suddenly shouted, causing everyone to fall silent for the second time that day. He was breathing heavily as he stared at the group of kids, obviously getting tired of the constant bickering. He began to cool off from his sudden outburst, and soon he was calm. He looked from the kids to Sarah, who still had a look of dominance on her face. "Why are you doing this, Sarah?" he asked.
"Don't get angry with me, Double D, I'm just telling everyone the truth," Sarah answered.
"Look, even if everything you just said about Nazz, Ed, and Rolf is true, what right do you have to tell everyone's private business like this?" Edd questioned; Nazz and Rolf both nodded in agreement, and Ed just stared at Edd appreciatively. Sarah frowned, knowing that Edd was making a valid point. "All it does is open up a can of worms that will end up being very hard to close," Edd explained further as he looked back over at the group of kids behind him. "Now how about we all calm down and sort these things out... after all, I'm sure most of what Sarah said was simply a misunderstanding," Edd said, happy to see that he was successfully calming everyone down.
"A misunderstanding, huh?" Sarah suddenly chimed in, interrupting Edd's attempts at controlling the situation. "I don't think so, Double D... in fact, I think it's really fitting that you're the one who's preaching about opening up a can of worms," Sarah went on as she stepped towards him. Her heart was beating hard; she was about to blow Edd and Eddy's secret wide open, and she was taking a huge risk by getting near one of them. "Cause it reminds me of all the worms that must be crawling all over the bodies of your three victims," Sarah said, although her voice was starting to shake a little. Edd's face lost a little color as Sarah's eyes locked with his.
"What... what do you mean by that?" Edd asked, the word "victims" unnerving him. Sarah could feel her lips quivering. This was her chance to finally expose Edd and Eddy for the psychopaths that they were. Jimmy watched fearfully from behind Sarah, knowing full well what she was about to reveal. She looked at the faces of all the other kids as she tried her best to gather up the courage to say what she was about to say. They were all watching her, waiting for her to drop yet another truth bomb. But she knew they wouldn't be ready for this one. Nazz and Ed having a secret relationship had started a fight, and the revelation that Rolf killed his own chickens as sacrificial offerings had offended everyone and made them peg Rolf as a freak. But she knew what she was going to say next would likely cause an explosion like none she had ever witnessed.
"You want to know what I mean, Double D?" Sarah questioned as she stared up at his pale face. "Since your memory seems to be faulty, how about you ask your partner in crime, Eddy?" she suggested, causing everyone to look over at Eddy, who was looking at her in disbelief.
"Partner in crime?" Eddy asked as he walked up and stood next to Edd. "What are you talking about, you little brat?" he questioned, not liking the choice of words Sarah was using. Sarah felt like grinning, but she couldn't find it in her. While she would certainly enjoy Edd and Eddy getting sweet justice, what she was about to say was also saddening. She remembered when just minutes ago she was crying over it. In fact, she felt like crying a little right now. But she had to soldier on. She had to get vengeance for those that Edd and Eddy had silenced forever.
"I may be a brat," Sarah admitted as she stared down at the ground, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were getting a little puffy. She had to do it. She had to. "But at least I'm not a murderer," she charged as she looked up at Edd and Eddy, finally letting the tears slide down her face. Edd and Eddy gasped at the accusation, and all the kids behind them almost jumped back at what she had said.
"You're... you're joking, right?" Eddy asked in horror. "Me and Double D would never kill some chickens like Rolf did!" Eddy exclaimed in anger. Sarah shook her head.
"Chickens? No," Sarah answered as she swallowed hard. "I was thinking more along the lines of people," Sarah added.
"No way..." Kevin muttered as he and the other kids, including Ed, began to back away from Edd and Eddy.
"People? Sarah, what in Sam hill are you talking about?" Edd exclaimed as he stepped toward her. Sarah's sad expression twisted into a snarl.
"Don't you play dumb with me, you psychopathic freak!" Sarah screamed as she lunged forward and shoved Edd to the ground, causing everyone to gasp. "How can you take lives and then stand here and deny it!" she hollered, sick of all the denial.
"We didn't kill anyone, you crazy little goblin!" Eddy yelled back as he grabbed Edd by the arm and yanked him to his feet.
"Didn't kill anyone, huh? Tell that to the three girls who are rotting under some piles of dirt!" Sarah shouted as she stepped forward, her fists shaking in rage at her side. Edd felt his throat close up as he suddenly realized what Sarah was accusing he and Eddy of.
"Are... are you trying to say that you think Eddy and I... that we... that we..." Edd stuttered, the accusation clogging up his brain.
"That you murdered the Kanker sisters!" Sarah shrieked as tears exploded from her eyes. Edd and Eddy fell silent and just stared at the trembling, weeping girl in horror. Sarah couldn't control her emotions anymore, but she was glad the truth was finally out. And just as she expected, Edd and Eddy were speechless in the face of the truth.
"Those... those poor girls..." Nazz moaned as she covered her mouth in horror, her eyes beginning to well up with tears as well. Edd and Eddy whirled around to look at the kids, who all had expressions of terror, fear, and sadness.
"How could you dorks do that to them, man?" Kevin asked, barely able to process the information.
"We-We didn't! S-Sarah's lying!" Eddy retorted, although it was clear he wasn't getting through to the kids. Edd was too scared to even defend himself; he couldn't take his eyes off of Ed's face, which was filled with shame.
"You're just saying that because we know your dirty little secret, dorky!" Kevin suddenly yelled, his shock and horror replaced by fury. "Those Kankers might've been horrible, but that doesn't give you the right to freaking kill them!" he shouted angrily as he stepped toward Edd and Eddy, who backed away in fear. "Not only am I gonna beat the tar out of you dorks, but I'm also gonna call the police and get you two murderers locked up for life!" he yelled as his face turned redder and redder.
"Kevin's right, let's make them pay!" Jonny shouted in agreement as he joined Kevin at his side.
"Please don't, we didn't do it!" Eddy pleaded as the kids began to draw closer and closer. Edd looked over at Ed for help, but Ed just stood there, tears streaming down his face. Kevin reached for Eddy, ready to pummel the heck out of him, but Rolf suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Hold it, hot-head Kevin!" Rolf ordered as he held Kevin's arm firmly.
"What are you doing, Rolf? Eddy and Double D need to pay for this!" Kevin yelled in anger as he tried to yank his arm away from Rolf.
"The Ed-boys need not pay for this because Rolf believes that they did not murder the Kanker-girls!" Rolf proclaimed, causing everyone to look at him in confusion.
"Don't believe him!" Sarah countered as she stepped forward. "Rolf's only saying that because he's an animal killer!" she shouted in anger. She should've known that Rolf, of all people, would try to defend Edd and Eddy; after all, he was almost as bad as them when it came to taking lives.
"Rolf should beat you with his shoe, lying-sibling of the Ed-boy!" Rolf shouted, letting his anger get the better of him. "You have done nothing but spread lies about Rolf and the others, but now it is Rolf's turn, and Rolf shall reveal the truth!" he declared as he let go of Kevin's arm. Kevin stepped back and joined Nazz, Jonny, and Ed, who were all waiting to hear what Rolf had to say. Sarah stared defiantly up at Rolf. She knew she had the upper hand; after all, she had the truth, and all he had was a pack of lies.
"Go ahead then, " Sarah answered, confident in herself.
"Sarah-girl, you accuse Rolf of murdering his chickens, but Rolf did no such thing," Rolf began before sighing. "Rolf may have killed his chickens, yes, but it was with a heavy heart. The three chickens that Rolf killed were stricken with a horrible disease, and Rolf had no choice but to be rid of them, lest they cause Rolf's other chickens to become diseased as well," he explained as he lowered his eyes, obviously still sad about it. Sarah's mouth fell open a little at his story; he was a good liar, she had to give him that.
"Nice little fairy tale, Rolf, but I don't buy it," Sarah answered as she crossed her arms. Sarah was shocked, however, when Nazz stepped forward and joined Rolf at his side.
"I don't think Rolf's lying, Sarah," Nazz admitted as she gathered her thoughts. "In fact, I think that what you said about Ed and I was just a misunderstanding too... you might've seen me comforting Ed about what happened with the television and thought that I liked him or something," she explained as Sarah's arms fell to her sides. Nazz looked over at Ed, whose face was stained with dried up tears. "No offense, big g
ig guy, but I like you more as a friend than a boyfriend," she said as she gave him a smile. Ed wiped the tears from his face and smiled back. Sarah grinded her teeth together, anger building up inside of her. How could they stand here and make up these stupid excuses? They were all liars!
"I... I think that may be the case with Eddy and I as well..." Edd spoke up, finally finding some courage inside of him to do so. After all, what Sarah had said about Nazz, Ed, and Rolf was relatively tame compared to what she had said about he and Eddy. He looked over at Sarah and sighed. "I think you might've seen Eddy and I walking through the trailer park. If I remember correctly, we were talking about how the Kankers wouldn't be there to ruin our day," he explained as everyone listened closely. "Well, the reason the Kankers won't be here to ruin our day isn't because we... well... killed them, it's because they went on vacation and won't be coming back for a whole week," he revealed; he was relieved to see that many of the kids expressions softened at his explanation.
"See, Sarah?" Eddy asked as he looked over at Sarah, who had a dead expression on her face. "This was just one big, and I mean big, misunderstanding," he said, happy to see that this crazy train was coming to an end. Sarah couldn't believe any of this. They were all lying. They had to be. They were full of it, and it appeared that she and Jimmy were the only ones who knew it.
"Then what about the three graves in the junkyard?" Sarah asked, suddenly realizing that what she saw at the junkyard still hadn't been explained.
"Ah yes, that is where Rolf buried his three poor chickens after freeing them from their torment," Rolf answered solemnly.
"Sorry about your chickens, Rolf," Nazz said as she patted him on the shoulder. Sarah gawked at the kids, not believing the sudden turn of events.
"So now that that's all cleared up," Edd began as his breathing went back to normal, "let's all just settle down and-"
"No!" Sarah shouted furiously as she raised her fist in the air. She had had enough of this. She wasn't going to let any of them get away with their horrible lies. She knew what she had seen. She knew what she had heard. "Me and Jimmy both know that you're all lying!" Sarah declared as the kids all stared at her in shock at her renewed anger. Sarah turned around and looked at Jimmy, who had a scared expression on his face. "Isn't that right, Jimmy?" she asked, expecting him to be on her side. He looked at her fearfully, and he began to move around her.
"Actually... I think this is all a misunderstanding too..." Jimmy answered timidly as he continued to strafe around her. Sarah looked at him in disbelief as he suddenly rushed away and joined the kids at their side.
"Jimmy... how... how could you?" Sarah asked, feeling betrayed.
"Because, I think you just saw some things and took them the wrong way," Jimmy answered. Sarah began to breathe heavy, and her bottom lip began to quiver.
"Sarah?" Ed said in concern, finally breaking out of his silence. Sarah backed away from the kids, their stares making her uncomfortable. This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to come here and make Edd and Eddy pay for what they did. But now all the kids had turned on her.
"I... I know you're all lying..." Sarah whined, not understanding why this was happening.
"Just calm down, Sarah," Jimmy pleaded as he reached out towards her. She suddenly swatted his hand away, and he recoiled in pain.
"Keep your unwashed hands away from me," Sarah seethed as Jimmy looked at her in confusion. She then turned her attention to the group of kids. "You all think you're so smart... you all think you can fool me... but I know the truth! You're all a bunch of liars, freaks, and murderers, and I have the proof!" she shouted at the kids, who were all obviously concerned about her fanatic ranting. She reached into her pocket to finally retrieve the piece of evidence that would prove everything she was saying was true. Her fingers wrapped around the tape recorder and she yanked it out of her pocket. "All the evidence I need is right here on this tape recorder," she explained as she held it up for the kids to see.
"You mean someone recorded all of this onto a tape?" Edd asked, a little perplexed.
"Yes," Sarah answered as she gathered all the thoughts swirling around in her brain. "I don't know how they knew all this stuff, but I trust the person who recorded this tape because everything they said I saw with my own two eyes," she explained before looking down at the tape. "And now I'm going to let all of you liars hear for yourselves the truth, and maybe it will snap you out of your denial." The kids, although suspicious about Sarah's claims of a tape that revealed everything, stepped towards her, ready to listen to the tape in question. Sarah rewound the tape a little bit, wanting everyone to hear the part about Edd and Eddy's evil deed. She hesitated a bit as her thumb hovered over the play button.
"Play it, Sarah," Jimmy said, curious to hear what was on the tape, but also fearful at the same time. Sarah sucked in a breath of air as her thumb began to press down on the play button. She could almost hear the voice from the tape talking to her in her mind as her thumb pressed the play button all the way down.
Sarah, a person who is obsessed with secrets and the power she can wield with them, has eaten up every vile little secret her precious tape recorder has revealed to her. Little does she know, however, this particular tape recorder has one last secret to reveal, courtesy of the Twilight Zone.
"Double D and Eddy murdered the Kankers and buried them in the junkyard," the tape said as everyone listened. Sarah's thumb instinctively hit the stop button when it was over. This was supposed to be the part where Sarah laughed with triumph as the kids ripped Edd and Eddy to shreds. But instead, all she could do was stare down at the tape recorder with wide and fearful eyes. The kids all looked from the tape and then at Sarah's face, which was twisted into an expression of absolute horror.
"Sarah..." Jimmy began as he looked at her in fear and confusion. "The person on the tape is... you!" Sarah suddenly realized that the only secret the tape had revealed to her was that she was completely insane.