Chapter 2

Rising Tension

Sniffles sat at the Bank Teller, staring at a document detailing the debits and credits of the transactions of the previous day. He made a satisfied sigh as he balanced, double-ruled, and finished it, looking it with satisfaction before tucking it away in the drawer of his table.

Sniffles was the most intelligent of the Tree Friends, and as such, he was given the job of manager of the bank. It was not the most exciting of jobs for the anteater, but he plunged joyfully into the world of finance. His mathematical talent, his memorization skills, and his knowledge of logic immediately enabled him to master accounting. Still, it was only a job, and his real joy is inventing and doing scientific experiments during his free time. However, the world of banking at least is intellectually challenging, and the anteater could exercise his mental muscles while working. Another bonus is that he didn't die in the bank as often as he did at his other jobs, as it was relatively safe.

The bank teller called in sick that day, so Sniffles, having nothing to do at his office, elected to do the teller's job. It was a pleasant and easy job, since there are only a few customers on a typical day at Happy Tree Town.

The door to the bank opened, and the bespectacled anteater by habit greeted, "Good Morning Ma'am, to Happy Tree Bank! How may I help you?" Petunia entered, but what surprised Sniffles was her companion, Lifty, a raccoon, who with his brother, attempted to rob the bank a few weeks ago. What is Petunia doing with Lifty in this bank? Sniffles wondered.

It was not unusual for Sniffles to see Petunia at the bank. On the contrary, ever since she started her cleaning service, she would always deposit her earnings at the bank just before closing. Not only would it be safer, it would also earn interest, Sniffles advised.

No, what was disconcerting was Petunia's attitude. She was always happy and cheerful, chirpy and energetic, yet she was sullen, sad, and fearful. "Hi Sniffles," she greeted. Even her voice was fearful, shaken and creaky. Lifty was besides her, snickering.

"Not that it's my business, but is anything wrong with you?" asked Sniffles. "You look like, well, you don't look well at all."

Petunia looked at Lifty, and stated, "No, nothing's wrong. Just watched a sad soap on TV and caught a cold."

Now Sniffles knew she was lying, yet decided it was not his business. "So how may I help you?"

"I would like to make a withdrawal," she answered.

Sniffles nodded and gave her a withdrawal slip. Petunia filled it up, and gave it, along with her bankbook, to Sniffles.

Sniffles was shocked when he saw the amount. "Why it's your entire account! You're withdrawing all of your money?" Sniffles cried.

"Yes, I.. uh… want to buy something expensive," Petunia answered.

Sniffles was not convinced, yet he had to grant the request. "Okay. You'll just have to accompany me to the office, since this is a special kind of transaction."

Petunia nodded, and went with Sniffles. Lifty followed, but was stopped by Sniffles.

"Sorry sir, but unless you could establish your interest in Petunia's account," the anteater said, "Petunia would have to go alone. This is confidential."

"Look here," Lifty spat, "I'm sure Petunia here could establish my interest in her cash."

Ordinarily, Sniffles would have granted such a request, but he does not trust Lifty, so he would enforce the rules to the letter in this case. "Sir, are you married to her? Are you her close relative? Do you have a joint account with Petunia? Are you his legal guardian? Do you have a written contract? Do you have written proof notarized by a lawyer? Because if you don't, you have no right to inquire into her transactions!"

"I don't care. She won't leave my side. I'm coming with you!"

"Then she won't get a single cent. And sir, if you persist, I'll call the sheriff, and you'll be spending the night in a cell for disturbing the peace," Sniffles replied menacingly.

"It's okay, he's with me," Petunia tried to reason.

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules," Sniffles said sternly. "Either you come along with me without Lifty, or the bank would not honor the transaction."

Lifty had not expected the bank to be obdurate. He decided to let Petunia go alone rather than not get a single cent. "Okay, I'll let you go, but don't try anything, or you know what will happen," Lifty growled as went to a bench on the side of the wall to wait for them to finish.

Sniffles was now sure that something sinister was afoot. He is good friends with Petunia, and he vowed that he will get to the bottom of this.

"Right this way, Petunia," Sniffles said, as he led her not to his office, but to the basement below, which to Sniffles' reckoning, is soundproof.

"Thank you," Petunia replied.

"Now, you can tell me the truth," Sniffles said. "Yes, I know something is up. Don't worry, this room is soundproof. He won't hear a thing."

Petunia looked around, fearful, then suddenly, collapsed in tears, hugging the anteater, and burying her face in Sniffles shirt. "Oh it's terrible, Sniffles, terrible!"

"Calm down. You're safe now," said Sniffles. "He can't hurt you here."

"But they can hurt Giggles. Oh please don't tell anyone. I beg you. Please. If Lifty finds out, he'll tell Shifty and Giggles will get killed! I know she'll come back, but I don't want her to die if it can be avoided!"

Sniffles was surprised that Giggles was involved, but considering that they are partners in business and close friends, maybe he shouldn't be.

"What? How is Giggles involved in this?" asked Sniffles as he wrapped his arms around Petunia to try to calm her down.

Petunia looked at Sniffles face, and suddenly detached herself from Sniffles. "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ruffle your shirt," she said as she sat on a nearby chair.

"It's okay. But what happened?" Sniffles demanded.

"Promise me you'll help? That you won't let Giggles die?" the blue skunk plead.

"I won't," the anteater replied.

And the skunk told him all that happened.

The anteater was silent as she finished, thinking of ways to solve Petunia's little problem.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Petunia. "I mean if Lifty finds out, he'll gonna call his brother and well, I don't know what will happen to Giggles."

The anteater stopped, looked at the blue skunk, and said, "Petunia, you have to trust me on this one, but we'll make Lifty think I've released the cash."

Lifty had fallen asleep in the bench waiting for Petunia. He suddenly was woken up by somebody shaking him. "Alright, I'm up!" Lifty said as he looked on Petunia. "What took you so long?"

"You know banks. So much paperwork and red tape. I've had to sign a million documents," Petunia replied as she showed him a large moneybag.

Lifty greedily grabbed it and eyed its contents. Yes, there were large, fresh, crisp hundred dollar bills on the top.

He got his cellphone and called Shifty. "Hey bro, I got it! It took awhile but the cash is ours!" Lifty triumphantly reported.

"Good. Bring the girl back. We'll count the money here. We might need another trip to the bank just in case she did not take it all," Shifty instructed.

"Right," Lifty said as he put the phone back into his pocket. He looked at Petunia. "Come on, let's go back."

Petunia looked at Sniffles at the counter, who nodded and smiled.

"Okay, just don't hurt Giggles or me," Petunia whispered.

With that, the raccoon and the skunk left the building.

Lumpy sat in his office, hot coffee on his left hand, his feet on the table. He was sheriff on that day, and it was an easy job. There are almost no crimes committed at Happy Tree Town, and although there was a high rate of gruesome deaths, almost none, except those committed by Flippy, were murder. They were almost all pure accidents, and a good number of them were caused by Lumpy himself. The only regular criminals on the town are Shifty and Lifty, and they usually get themselves killed in the process.

There is something about Lumpy which, despite his lack of common sense and his below average intelligence, compelled the authorities of Happy Tree Town to give him jobs which require authority over a lot of people. He was variously a minister, a scoutmaster, a bus driver, a school play director, a ringmaster, a heart surgeon, a newspaper editor, etc. He has enough intelligence to get by, to do the job competently, most of the time. His work is mediocre, average, yet at times, he approached his job in such a way that would lead to disaster and death to a lot of people. Yet no one could question his heart, even if he could be a bit selfish at times.

He has that easy authority over the ordinary Happy Tree Citizens that make most of them willing to follow Lumpy, even if they had previously suffered death because of an act of the blue moose. A big factor is his height. He towered over all of the inhabitants of the cursed little village. He can easily intimidate most by his sheer size, if he chose too. Thus, he could be a bit bossy in some of his jobs. Thus, most of the time, he can make those under him do what he wants them to do. Plus, he genuinely enjoyed being in charge, even if he might die in the process.

Lumpy was enjoying his cup of coffee when the phone suddenly rang. He put his coffee on the table and answered the phone. "Sheriff Lumpy," he greeted, "how may I help?"

"Lumpy—" Sniffles said.

"That's sheriff Lumpy to you, pal," Lumpy interrupted.

"Sorry, Lumpy, I mean Sheriff Lumpy, but I've got to report a robbery and kidnapping incident," the anteater said.

"Somebody robbed the bank again?" Lumpy asked.

"No. Shifty and Lifty kidnapped Petunia and Giggles to get their money!" Sniffles replied.

"Oh my God! You're in the bank right?" Lumpy asked.

"Yes," Sniffles answered.

"I'm on my way," Lumpy said as he rushed toward the car.

Ten minutes later, he was at Sniffles's office. He listened as the bank manager told the sheriff what Petunia told him and what he had observed. "That is serious," Lumpy said, with a serious face. "Anything else you might want to tell me?"

"Handy came in—"

"Wait a minute, we're talking about Petunia here, not Handy—"

"But Sheriff, he knows where those two are!"

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Handy had been following the pair ever since he met them at the road on their way to the bank. He talked to me shortly after I talked with Petunia, and he's following them right now," Sniffles informed.

"Aha! That's one lucky break! Where are they now?"

"Wait a minute, I'll call Handy," Sniffles replied as he got his cellphone. "Hello Handy? Where are they now? Still on their way? Okay. Thanks."

"What did he say?" asked Lumpy.

"Lifty's taking his sweet time going back to Petunia's house," Sniffles replied. "They're less than halfway there."

"Well, it's obvious what we have to do! Since we already established the identity of the suspect, and his whereabouts, the only thing we have to do is go there and arrest him on the spot!" the blue moose stated authoritatively.

"You can't do that! Lifty will know that Petunia squealed, and Giggles will be finished!" Sniffles begged. "We should just follow them, and wait for an opportunity to grab his phone. Then we can take him."

"That's a bad idea! It's better to simply go and run him out of town! However, Giggles is in danger. The best plan is simply to follow them, and wait for an opportunity to grab Lifty's phone so he can't call Shifty!" Lumpy blurted.

"But that's my—"

"No need to thank me for thinking out our plan," Lumpy replied. "We've got to save some lives!!" He ran to the car followed by Sniffles.

Sniffles shook his head. Maybe it was mistake to call Lumpy, Sniffles thought. Knowing him, they might all be accidentally killed before the day is out because of his clumsiness, bossiness, and carelessness.

Flippy struggled to control himself, but blacked out as he stared at Toothy's bloody corpse.

Evil Flippy quietly laughed, took out his bowie knife, and was about to pounce on Cuddles, who was still staring at Toothy, when they heard Flaky shout their names.

"Toothy! Flippy! Cuddles," they heard, and Flippy at once shook his head. He was frightened at the knife at his hand ready to carve Cuddles' back. He made a silent gasp, thanking that Flaky arrived just in time, and put the knife back to its sheath.

A scream rang across the house as Cuddles and Flippy looked at the door of Toothy's room. Flaky was screaming hysterically at the corpse of Toothy. Flippy immediately went and led her away from the room, followed by Cuddles.

"It was a bloody accident," Flippy explained. "He accidentally impaled himself on one of those closet hooks ."

"He'll be back tomorrow," Cuddles added. Cuddles and Flippy were used to death, and though sad, quickly put it out of their minds. Flaky however, still hasn't reconciled herself with the spectre of daily death.

Flaky sobbed at bit at the arms of Flippy. "I really wish that death comes less frequently," Flaky stated to no one in particular.

"So what brings you here?" Cuddles asked, changing the topic.

"Petunia is in trouble. I saw her with Lifty, and she looked so scared, so frightened!" Flaky explained. "She told me it was a date, but it's obvious that she was forced."

"How about Shifty," asked Cuddles.

"I didn't see him." Flaky answered.

Shifty and Lifty were the two critters in all of Happy Tree Town to whom the nice Flippy didn't warm up to. In fact, he downright disliked the duo after they attempted to strip his house clean one Christmas night. Heck, they might have succeeded if they weren't too greedy. Among all the kills of Evil Flippy, it was the gruesome deaths of the raccoon brothers that he was least sorry for. In fact, after that incident, the two thieves have a deathly fear of even the normal Flippy.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to make sure Lifty stops harassing Petunia," Cuddles said.

Flippy lifted an eyebrow in wonder. "And how do you propose to do that?"

"I'll simply find him and knock the teeth out of his snickering mouth," Cuddles said, showing his fists at the two.

The remark surprised Flippy and Flaky. Not that it would be impossible. Cuddles was bigger than Lifty after all. And Flippy would help Cuddles if he got in trouble. No, what was surprising was to him was his willingness to engage in physical violence with Lifty.

"As much as I would like to beat the snot out of that hatless moron," Flippy replied, "we should go to Petunia's house."

"Petunia's house?" Flaky asked.

"Yes. It's obvious that Shifty is the one doing the robbing and Lifty was just getting Petunia out of the way," Flippy replied. "We should first stop Shifty so that we wouldn't have to look for stolen items. And I don't think Lifty would hurt Petunia anyway."

"What about Lifty and Petunia?" asked Cuddles.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Lifty would return at the scene of the crime to make sure Shifty wouldn't cheat on him," replied Flippy.

"That settles it then. Let's go!" the cuddly bunny said. Both boys stood and went for the door, eager for the new adventure. Flaky just stood quiet and did not move.

Cuddles noticed this. "Come on Flaky!" he said. "We need an extra pair of hands! Besides, I know you wouldn't want to miss out on helping Petunia."

"Isn't what you're doing dangerous?" asked porcupine in her timid voice. "I don't think—"

"You don't have to go Flaky," Flippy answered. "We won't force you. But if you come with us, I promise that you'll be safe."

Flaky thought a bit. She was afraid that things might go wrong and they will all be killed. Cuddles was there always urging her to be more adventurous, braver, but a lot of the attempts ended in either or both of their deaths. Flippy is not the type to force someone to do something they don't want to, something she liked about him that she disliked about Cuddles. Yet, Flaky thought, most of the time Cuddles urged her, she went. And this time, Flippy was with her. She felt safe with the veteran besides her, and she just knew in her heart that he would not let anything happen to her. Besides, even if he flips, she just knew, even if it is not reasonable, that the evil Flippy would kill everyone but her.

"Um, I'd like to help," Flaky said, a bit uncertain and afraid, "I'll go with you."

"Perfect!" Cuddles said. "Let's go. We better take Flippy's jeep."

Flippy nodded as he took Flaky's hand and went to the vehicle.

Note: I got a couple of ideas from the episodes of Happy Tree Friends. Lumpy being sheriff I got from Don't Yank My Chain. Flaky's shout snapping Flippy out of his trance I got from Double Whammy.

Thanks to deadliving and fridix95. I really appreciate your reviews.