Chapter Four- The Tree House
The next Saturday morning, Geoff, Bridgette, Trent, Gwen, and DJ all met at Cody's house. They each had brought a few tools and other accessories along with them to assist in constructing their tree house. Cody, on the other hand, had numerous bags with him loaded with a wide variety of tools. He looked a little ridiculous carrying all those bags, but he insisted that they were all necessary in order to build the perfect tree house. After a few extra minutes getting their supplies ready, the five friends set off with Cody and Thunder into the nearby woods.
"The first step in tree house construction, which I shall refer to as 'Step One'," Cody began, trying to sound important, "is the selection of a perfect tree; one that will be big and strong enough to hold off any attacks from any type of advancing enemy."
"Hey, how about this one?" Trent said, pointing to a large maple tree nearby. "It looks strong enough."
"To the untrained eye," Cody smirked. "But the selection of a tree is based on more than just looks! Observe."
Cody walked up to the tree Trent had pointed out and began to sniff at it. He then put his ear next to it and knocked on it, listening carefully.
"See Trent? Put your ear next to that and listen," Cody said.
Trent did as he was told and put his ear to the tree. Cody knocked on it again and Trent could hear a deep, hollow sound to the tree.
"Too much base," Cody explained. "This one's no good."
"How about this one?" Geoff called over from another tree.
Cody and the others walked over to the tree Geoff had selected. Again, Cody began to observe the tree. He gave the tree a knock and there was no sound.
"Hmm…this one could work," Cody said.
Geoff smirked at his own success and patted the tree he had selected. But the instant he did, the tree began to crack violently as it fell to the ground. Everyone had scattered away just in time and no one was hurt.
"Then again, I think that tree had one too many termites," Cody nervously chuckled.
"Hey! This looks like a good one!" Bridgette called.
Cody walked up to the tree she had selected and began to study the tree. He gave it all the tests it needed.
"Yup! This is a good one," Cody exclaimed as he looked up the tree.
Bridgette smiled as she began to grab her tools out of her bag. Suddenly, everyone heard a terrible squawking noise and looked up just in time to see a family of pigeons poop on Cody's face.
"Never mind," Cody exclaimed trying to wipe the crap off his face. "This one's inhabited."
This was the way it was for hours: the campers showed a tree to Cody they deemed to be perfect, but Cody would always find something wrong with it and insist that they search for another one.
"Man, what's the big idea?" DJ demanded after a couple hours. "Let's just choose one already! A tree's a tree!"
"We've got to find one that's big enough and strong enough to bear an attack from the Ottomans," Cody explained as he continued to march forward.
"Ottomans?" DJ exclaimed. "What do they have to do with…" DJ was cut off when the other four threw their hands over his mouth.
"Please! For the love of God, don't get him started on that again," Gwen pleaded.
"Guys! Come here!" Cody called out in excitement. "Look at this!"
Immediately, the five others raced over to where Cody and Thunder were standing. When they got there, a magnificent sight stood before them. In front of them was the largest oak tree that any of them had seen. It was easily forty feet in diameter at the base of the tree. The great branches spread out in all different directions and stretches to the sky. It was easily the largest tree in all the woods. Quite possibly, it was the biggest tree in all of Wawanakwa.
"This is it!" Cody exclaimed. "This is the mother of all trees! The one we need!"
"Wow…look at that thing," Trent smiled in awe.
"It…it's possible the most beautiful tree I've ever seen!" Geoff choked wiping a tear away from his eye.
"See? What did I tell you?" Cody boasted. "Did I find the perfect tree or did I find the perfect tree?"
"You found the perfect tree all right," Gwen replied, seeming very impressed.
"The scenery's not that bad either," Bridgette sighed as she huddled close to Geoff.
"Well then what are we waiting for?" DJ thrillingly asked. "Let's get this tree house construction under way!"
Everyone agreed with this decision and pulled out the tools from their bags and their equipment. Bridgette and Gwen began to pile up lumber next to the tree while DJ and Geoff carried it over to Trent and Cody, who were busy planning the layout for the tree house.
"Yes sir," Cody spoke as he held a board to the base of the tree, "just as the journey of a million miles begins with a single step, the construction of a tree house begins with a single nail!" With that, he licked the end of his hammer and began to pound the nail into the tree.
The Gypsy's Residence
The gypsy was inside sitting at her table. She had her eyes closed and was concentrating heavily on communicating with the spirits of the afterlife. She seemed to be at peace for a few minutes as she listened to the spirits. Suddenly, she became uncomfortable in her chair and her face looked as though she was greatly disturbed by something. Then, with a loud gasp, her eyes shot open. She looked horrified and extremely scared.
"The spirits have become restless!" she whispered. "Why? …No…who would dare go near that tree?"
Not wasting another minute, she grabbed her jacket and raced off towards the woods.
Meanwhile, back in the woods, the tree house construction was nearing its end. By now, all six teens were up the tree adding the finishing touches to it. Cody, Bridgette, and Gwen continued to hammer boards to the tree while DJ, Geoff, and Trent were hard at work bringing some chairs and a table into the tree house they had gone back for. The tree house was the size of a king-sized bedroom and strong enough to support the weight of all six teens and a few extra accessories they had brought along for decoration. It had taken them nearly the entire day, but at long last, the tree house was complete.
"Whew! Finished," Bridgette puffed as she stared up at the final project with a big smile on her face.
"That, ladies and gentlemen," Cody smiled, "is your high ground! You're in the power now!"
"I've gotta hand it to ya, Cody," DJ smiled as he patted Cody's back, "you and your idea really pulled through for us!"
"Well, enough standing out here just looking at it," Trent exclaimed. "Let's get in it!"
"I brought lunch!" Gwen replied as she and Trent headed for the tree. Following them were Bridgette, Geoff, and DJ. Cody came up soon after as soon as he found a way to carry Thunder up into the tree with them. Gwen then pulled out some sandwiches and distributed them amongst the six of them along with some apples and sodas. And for Thunder, she pulled out a few raw hot dogs and placed them in a bowl for him that she brought along with some water. The seven of them just enjoyed the moment in the new tree house as they ate their lunch.
"Ah, this is the life," Geoff sighed. "An awesome tree house with an awesome view of the woods...and your girl by your side."
"Kind of romantic, if you ask me," Bridgette giggled as she cuddled with Geoff.
"Whoa dudes, save the make-out sessions for later when the rest of us are gone," DJ replied, seeming annoyed with how close the two were.
"I knew it! I knew it!" a voice whimpered just below them and the tree. All six teens glanced over the side and looked to the ground. At the bottom of the tree staring at it with a horrified look on her face was the gypsy.
"Oh, the prophecies have forewarned us of this! Oh, the nightmares are becoming to come back to me! The terror will roam this world once again. The nightmare will begin again. Oh, dark days are ahead of us indeed," she continued to whimper.
"Hey!" Cody shouted down to her, seeming offended. "I know this isn't the greatest tree house to ever be built, but calling it a 'nightmare' is a little much, don't you think?"
The gypsy turned her attention to the tree house when Cody spoke. When she saw him, she became shocked, scared, and furious at the same time.
"ALLEN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE TREE?" she demanded. "A WHOLE WORLD FULL OF TREES AND YOU HAD TO PICK THIS ONE!"
"What's the matter?" Cody asked, seeming confused. "Is it on your property or something? We didn't know. Otherwise we would've asked for your permission."
"OH, THE CURSE THAT WANDERED THESE PARTS IS GOING TO COME BACK!" the gypsy hollered. "SOON, THIS TOWN AND ALL ITS CITIZENS WILL BE THE PREEMPTIVE STRIKE FOR THE BEAST THAT WILL BE REVIVED! FLEE! FLEE THIS TOWN! FLEE!" As she bellowed out this last part, she began to run back to her residence as fast as she could.
"Dude! Was that the gypsy?" DJ asked, seeming shocked.
"Wow! I've never seen her come out of her house," Gwen added, seeming just as shocked.
"Boy, she sure seemed mad," Trent shivered.
"Don't worry guys," Cody replied. "She's probably just upset about us building a tree house on her property. I'll take care of the problem."
"Cody! Are you sure that's a good idea?" Bridgette asked, seeming worried as Cody headed for the ladder.
"Relax! It's all good," Cody assured as he slid down the ladder. Everyone watched as Cody raced after the gypsy calling out to her, "Wait a minute, ma'am! We're not technically on your property. We're more above it. Can't we discuss air rights?"
That was the last thing they heard from Cody as he raced after her, trying to calm her down.
"Oh, I hope he's going to be okay," Bridgette said, seeming very worried for her friend.
"It's all good, babe," Geoff assured Bridgette as he massaged her tense shoulders. "Cody may not act like it all the time, but he's no idiot."
Bridgette let out a long sigh. For some reason, Geoff's words weren't very assuring.
An hour had passed and the five remaining teens hadn't left the tree house. It was starting to become dark out and they were starting to become very worried about their friend, who hadn't returned yet.
DJ was standing watch, looking for any sign of Cody's return. Bridgette was cuddling Thunder, who was very anxious for his master's return. Geoff was cuddling Bridgette, who was also just as anxious. Trent was trying to keep Gwen calm as well.
"It's okay Gwen," Trent assured his girlfriend, who was looking very upset over Cody's disappearance.
"I swear, if that crazy gypsy lady does anything to hurt Cody," Gwen said as she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, "I'm going to kill her."
"Yo! Someone's coming," DJ exclaimed pointing out towards the distance.
Immediately, all four of them and Thunder raced over to where DJ was standing and looked to where DJ was pointing.
"Cody?" Geoff called out.
No answer.
"Cody! If that's you, answer us!" Trent called out.
At that moment, a rotten tomato flew towards them, hitting the side of the tree house followed by the sound of four familiar voices laughing.
"Aw man, not again!" DJ moaned as another tomato hit the side of the tree house.
"What's the matter, losers?" Heather called out as she and Izzy, Lindsay, and Beth approached the tree house carrying more rotten vegetables. "Are you scared of being out here in the dark?"
"What have you witches done with Cody?" Gwen barked.
"Cody? Is that garbage-loving man here too?" Izzy chuckled.
"Sorry to disappoint you , freaky goth girl," Heather laughed, "but we haven't seen him."
"Yeah! Even if we did, we wouldn't waste rotten tomatoes on him! He's not worth the trouble!" Beth scoffed.
"You take that back!" Bridgette demanded.
"No way!" Lindsay taunted. "You'll have to make us take it back…uh, right Heather?"
"They can try, but I doubt they'll be able to…with tomato sauce in their hair!" she laughed as the barrage of rotten tomatoes came at the teens in the tree house again.
"Dudes! Why are you doing this?" Geoff asked, seeming to want to try and reach through to them. "I mean, we're not in your territory or anything. So what's your beef with us?"
"Well, it was so much fun yesterday, that we decided to do it again today!" Izzy laughed as she grabbed a banana and threw it at Geoff, striking it in his face.
"Oh, that's it!" Gwen hissed, crawling over to her backpack and grabbing some supplies.
When she returned, she passed out some groceries to the other teens. These groceries consisted of spoiled meat, expired milk, and eggs that had gone rotten. At that same moment, Thunder came over, carrying a bag of dog food that Cody had brought along. Gwen understood what Thunder was doing and after scratching him behind the ear, passed out the dog food too.
"Today…is payback time!" Gwen hollered as she stood up, ripped open the package of spoiled bologna and hurled it down to the four mean girls.
The bologna struck their targets, making the mean girls squeal in disgust. Ignoring the slimy, smelly meat, they continued to throw their vegetables at the tree house. They were hitting the tree house itself, but they couldn't make it high enough to strike the five teens in the tree house.
"Aw, come on!" Trent taunted "Surely you can throw higher than that!"
With those words, Trent grabbed a gallon of expired milk and dumped it out onto the mean girls. All four girls shrieked and gagged as the rotten milk drenched them. They tried to throw their ammo up the tree, but the smell of the milk became too much for them to bear and they had to hold their noses to block out the odor.
"Hey Heather, you were right about one thing the other day:" Bridgette shouted down to the mean girls, "I don't eat meat! Here, why don't you have this stuff since I won't be eating it!" Then, laughing, Bridgette poured the cans of dog food onto the four girls below, who were gagging and shrieking, mortified that they were being doused in rotten, expired food.
"And now, ladies, I present to you the finishing touch!" Geoff roared. He then grabbed a carton of eggs and began to throw them at Heather, Lindsay, Beth, and Izzy. Some of the eggs struck the girls and others hit the ground. But it didn't matter to Geoff either way: the eggs he was dropping were all rotten, so the smell would get to them if they missed.
"That's it! I am SO out of here," Lindsay gagged, racing away from the mess.
"Me too!" Beth shrieked, trying to wipe the rotten eggs off her clothes as she ran away.
"Izzy cannot take it anymore!" Izzy shouted, throwing the slimy meat off her clothes and storming away.
"You five are so dead when we come back!" Heather swore as she stomped off after her friends, still hacking and gagging over the spoiled food that was covering her.
The five friends in the tree house waited for their four opponents to be completely out of sight. Once they were gone, the celebration began. All five of them gathered in a group hug and began to jump up and down in joy. Thunder, who was standing on his hind legs, was also jumping up and down. They may have lost a battle yesterday, but they gained sweet revenge on their attackers.
A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter everyone because the monster that is known as Baganista will finally be resurrected and wreak terror amongst Wawanakwa. Also, someone is going to lose their soul to the monster!