Chapter One

"Tell me again why we're here?" I frowned to Biskit, dropping my ears so that anyone who saw me would know I wasn't enjoying myself.

Biskit grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Labelle, who was glaring at us. He gave a small smile. "We're just seeing how expensive everything is for the fun of it." He had dragged me here to GracieGrace, telling me we'd see Rosie and her gang here to make fun of, but they hadn't shown up yet.

I glanced back to make sure Labelle couldn't see. Of course, she was still staring at us. Since we were the average villagers who would buy whatever happened to be at Able Sisters, it seemed suspicious for us to be there.

I took a deep breath, pulling him behind the Gorgeous Bed. Labelle sighed, and turned to greet a gorilla I didn't know.

"Lolly, we're not going to trash this place..." Biskit told me, with an impatient eye roll.

"I didn't say that yet!" I said as loud as I could without anyone noticing. "Besides, I was gonna say something else. We should just have some fun; you know, just complain and ask questions about everything and stuff 'til the purple chick kicks us out." I gave a childish smile.

Biskit shrugged. "As long as copper wont take us to jai--"

"He wont." I interrupted. "We'll just seem like two annoying kids, nothing else."

Crawling out, I wandered over to the nearby lamp. "Ex-excuse me!" I called, waving my hand.

Labelle reluctantly stomped over. "What?" she asked bitterly.

"If I threw this lamp against the wall, would it break?" I asked, holding back laughter.

"Listen, kid, don't get any ideas," Labelle barked.

"Oh, no," Biskit came in. "We're just wondering."

Labelle sighed. "We--"

"A good quality lamp wouldn't break," I said.

"Yeah," Biskit agreed. "And what happens if you spill soda on this carpet?"

"Does it stain?" I asked, trying my best to sound clueless.

"No duh it sta--"

She was interrupted, but not by us this time. "Nobody move! The Colosseum is coming!" Copper's voice was heard before he was seen bursting through the doors. All faces turned to him.

"The what?" I asked, glancing to Biskit.

"The Colosseum," Copper said panting, his words rushed. "This group. They've chosen our town. Fights. Don't move." He ran off the he next store.

"What?" Biskit asked aloud. Everyone was full of panic, including Labelle.

I took a deep breath, realizing I'd have to be nice to fork information out of these people. "Excuse me, ma'am, but what was that the police man said?" I asked, trying to sound as cute as I could.

"A group of people. They make animals fight. I don't know much, but they were choosing a new town." Labelle was breathing fast. "They chose Hallton."

Biskit looked angry. "Why weren't we informed?"

Labelle's anxiousness turned back to anger. "Because nobody was supposed to tell bratty kids like you!" she barked. Tears were flooding from her eyes. She was shaky, and turned to the bed, shoving her face in the silk pillow. She let out a shrill scream that made me cringe.

Booker then waddled in. "Their here. Now," he said seriously. "Stay here. If they see you outside, you'll be captured for sure." His face looked somber.

I glanced to Biskit, searching for words. We just stood there, silently in our spot. Everyone did. It seemed like hours, bu glancing at the clock, only twenty minutes passed. "Does everyone know?"I tried to break the silence, but my voice was too low, and I choked on the words.

As time passed, my grey cheeks became stained with tears. Suddenly, the dog grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the store. "Come back!" I heard Booker call, running towards us.

"Where are we going!?" I demanded to Biskit, as he pulled me to run next to him.

"Elsewhere." It was all he said, sending a shiver down my back. His fur was stained with tears, as well.

We were stopped by a large elephant, towering over us. She had kelly green skin, and a pure black eye staring at us, piercing through me. "Hello, kids," she grinned.