Here you go, another friggin' chapter! Enjoy it, hate it, smack it, eat it, I don't care. Just read it.
We last left our… Umm… Heroes, lost and asleep in the middle of the road! Oh, but what's this? Night is coming! Will they be able to fend off the creatures that crawl in this town's dark, if there are any creatures at all?
I can't tell you. That would be cheating.
Please leave a review! If you don't, I'll procrastinate and never write again. Peer pressure is what always gets me going! :D (Or even if you're not my peer, if you still yelled at me that'd be cool.)
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Heloise awoke to the sound of screams.
"AUUGGGGGHHH!"
Confused, she opened her big eyes and squinted towards the sound. Beezy had fallen back away from her, and was now leaning back against the curb, a look of pure terror slapped across his face. Upon seeing this, Heloise smiled and stretched coyly. "What is it?"
Beezy pointed a trembling finger at the girl. "Y-you were… We were… I was…"
"You were what?"
"Not me! You! You were…. Laying next to me!"
Heloise smothered a shiver. She hadn't thought about it very much before, but choosing to lie next to Beezy was kind of creepy, and she could no longer remember why she had chosen to do so in the first place. But that didn't matter too much. Beezy was disgusted and vulnerable, and after the bus ride she just had she figured that she deserved to make him suffer.
"Oh, but Beezy, I had to!" She made a sweet face at him. "It was starting to get dark, and the nights are always so cold." Her expression became serious. "Besides, I don't know anyone else here. And you looked so big, and warm, and cute…" She began to slowly inch closer to him. "I needed someone to cuddle with." She purred.
Beezy shrieked in horror. "NO! Heloise, don't do this! Snap out of it! Get a hold of yourself! Don't be drawn in by my rugged good looks! Please!" He jumped to his feet and ran off, sobbing in fear, only to smack into a light pole shortly after. Giggling deviously, Heloise turned away from the teen and looked around her new, dim surroundings.
Night had crept over Lendsville, with it bringing a dark blanket of sky with which to cover the town up and tuck the citizens into sleep. Heloise couldn't help but notice that the ever present moon and stars that usually resided high in the sky above Miseryville were absent here, replaced by a few large, heavy clouds so big they practically ate the sky up. In fact, there was hardly anything to be seen past them at all. It was gloomy. She liked it.
A faint rustling came from behind one of the street lights, a sound almost like crinkling paper… Or a candy bar. Heloise turned back to where Beezy was, thinking that he had pulled out a treat and moved when she wasn't looking, and instead saw him doubled over on the sidewalk, nursing an injured nose. She sighed and returned her attention to the pole. "I had hoped that I wouldn't have to deal with this. I'm not in the mood…"
Something small and green flickered out from behind the lamp post for a second, returning as soon as it had appeared. Heloise blinked and bared her teeth. "Okay, I'm just going to nip this in the bud. It's time to make my mark on this town; I am not going to be messed with just because I'm new."
She jumped up to her feet and charged at the concealed creature. Before the night crawler had any time to react, Heloise was on him and screaming with insane fury. The predator shrieked and squirmed beneath her, desperate for escape, but Heloise would have none of it. She quickly flipped the monster onto his belly, positioned one knee on his spine and one foot on the ground, grabbed his arms and yanked them across the sidewalk above his head and pinned them to the ground with one hand, then slid her arm underneath his head and wrapped it around his neck, effectively restraining and choking him.
Heloise giggled horridly at the small, green creature. He could only sputter in reply. Heloise's dreadful grin widened. "What's the matter? Aren't you going to say hello?" She craned her neck so that she could look him in the face. "Hello."
"H-hel-llo." He stuttered.
Heloise frowned. "Sammy? What are you doing here?"
"Le-t-t my wh-windp-pipe go, a-and I'll t-tell y-you. I-I-I c-can't b-breathe."
Heloise released his throat and climbed off him. "Okay you big baby, you can breathe now. Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to keep an eye on things at Misery Inc…"
Sammy stood and brushed himself off. "No, Horian is doing that," He rubbed his neck. "After what happened the last time I was in charge," he cringed, "Lucius and I decided that maybe I'm not ready to be watching the factory yet."
"I was the one in charge!" Heloise put her hands to her hips.
Sammy grunted, "Never mind, it doesn't matter. I was sent to come get you…" He looked at Beezy, who had found some gum stuck to the side of the lamp post and was busy chewing it off, "… two." He sighed.
"We didn't know where to go," the little girl chuckled sheepishly.
"Chuck was supposed to guide you. Where is he?"
"The toll booth operator wouldn't let him through."
"And he didn't give you any directions?"
"No."
Sammy sighed darkly. "Chuck…"
Heloise turned to Beezy. "Hey, lard-for-brains, let's go!"
"Coming!" Beezy started to run to them, tripping on a small rock and dropping his gum on the way. He stared at it for a minute then shrugged, dusted it off, and threw it back in his mouth. Heloise shuttered.
"Let's just go."
Welcome to 'Factory B'!
"Welcome to 'Factory B'!"
Sammy gestured around grandly. They were standing in what was going to be the main floor where all of the assembling would be done. Heloise nodded and smiled. "Things are looking good. We should be able to start moving the conveyer belts in soon."
Beezy yawned and scratched his stomach dully. "This is lame. Look it, that wall isn't even finished."
Sammy scowled at him. "It's still under construction, Beezy. And, Heloise, as I'm sure you probably already know, you won't be working on any of this. Your obligation isn't with the factory. You ha-"
"-I know, I know, I have to speak with the mayor's therapist." Heloise sighed. "Why do I have to talk to him, anyway? I'd do better working on construction, or finishing my stupid machine. I can't talk to physiatrists, they drive me crazy! It's like they think they know everything!"
Beezy laughed, "Yeah, I bet ten Beezy Bucks that you won't last one second with him!"
"I will too!"
Sammy shook his head. "No you won't. He's gonna say one thing and you'll punch him in the face."
"I will not!"
"It'll be, 'hello, my name is," and then KApOw!" Sammy chuckled.
"No, it won't!"
"You won't be able to ask one question!"
"I WILL!"
"Not one question."
"Yes, I will! And I'll prove it to you! I'll ask him every question, get everything I need to know, and I'll do it all without freaking out and hurting him. I guarantee it! In fact, I think pizza face over there had the right idea. Let's make this a bet."
"Okay," Sammy agreed. "I bet… Um…" He searched through his pockets, coming up empty-handed. "Uh, it seems that Mr. Heinous forgot to pay me this year."
Heloise grinned. "Poor Sammy. That's okay, you can bet something else, like, oh, I dunno, your loyal servitude for the next three years?"
"No, not three years! It's my bet! I'll do uh, one month." He turned to Beezy. "What will you bet, pizza face?"
Beezy pulled off the pizza box he randomly had on his face. "Can I bet Beezy Bucks?"
"What? No!"
"Fine, then I bet, uh, ten pepperonis!" He declared proudly.
Heloise sighed. "Well that's no fun. You guys are cheap. Alright, Sammy pools his slavery to me for three years, and Beezy pools a few pieces of fake pig meat. Wonderful."
"I didn't say three years, I said a month!"
"Whatever. I guess I bet the same as both of you."
It was Sammy's turn to grin. "Really? My, you sound confident."
"I have more self-control than most people would like to think. This will be a piece of cake."
Sammy thought for a moment, and then smirked deviously. "You don't mind if I change my bet, do you? I'd like to go to one full year. I know you're going to fail, and it'll be fun to force you to do whatever I want."
The little girl shrugged. "Yeah, okay. It'll be fun to watch you lose."
He quirked a brow. "We'll see."
His ears perked up suddenly, and he pushed Heloise aside to see something behind her. Ignoring the fact that Sammy had just shoved her, Heloise turned to look, too.
She blinked. "Who's that?"
For a moment, Heloise thought that it was Morello. Tall, curly black hair, pale skin, and a lemon head, he looked almost exactly like him. The only contrast he had from the toll taker was a slightly longer nose, a black pinstripe suit, shorter hair, and a pair of stunning bright green eyes.
Sammy smiled at him. "Hello, Dr. Stokes." He gestured to Heloise, "This is Heloise. She's going to be asking you a few questions to ask you. Heloise, this is Dr. Grehiel Stokes, the mayor's therapist."
"Wonderful."
Dr. Stokes studied Heloise with little interest. "I will meet you here in half an hour to take you to my private office so that you may conduct the interview."
"Magical."
"Until then, Lucius has requested for the three of you to meet him in his new office. Mr. Garvin, I trust you already know where that is?"
"Second floor, first hall, at the very end. I've got it."
Dr. Stokes nodded. "Young Heloise, I will be seeing you later on."
"Lovely."
The lemon head nodded once more and then walked away. Sammy turned to the kids. "This way – BEEZY! STOP EATING THE TOOLS!"
Up to the second floor, down the first hall, and all the way to the end.
In other words, Lucius' office.
Lucius sat at his desk, fiddling with a pen. Bored of waiting for Beezy and Heloise, he had been busying himself by trying to stand the pen straight up. After a few failed attempts, he finally got it to stand on its own. He was congratulating himself when suddenly the door slammed open. In entered Sammy, Heloise, and his son.
Sammy stuck up his nose proudly at his boss. "I have found Beezy and Heloise, just like you asked, sir!"
Sammy closed his eyes and held his hands out towards the children, waiting for a sign of approval. Nothing happened. Confused, Sammy opened his eyes and looked at his boss. Lucius was staring at the pen on his desk, looking very disappointed. It took the tyrant a moment to find his words.
"You made it fall over."
Sammy blinked. "What?"
Lucius bared his teeth at the goblin menacingly. "You. Knocked. My pen. OVER!" In a fit of rage, the devil snatched up the pen, snapped it in half, and threw the pieces at Sammy. "HOW DARE YOU?"
"Um, yeah," Heloise interrupted, "so Lucius, what do you want?"
Lucius sat up in his chair and grinned. "How do you like my new office? Notice anything different from my old one?"
"Yeah. This one's covered in ink." Heloise smirked.
"Not that."
She thought. "Umm… No? This one's exactly the same."
Lucius laughed. "HA! Wrong! There is a key difference here: my computer is slightly bigger." He pressed a button underneath the desk and a white computer popped out.
"How was I supposed to know that if I couldn't even see it?"
Lucius waved a hand impatiently at her. "Shut up, I'm trying to hear this!" He leaned in to the computer in interest. Heloise came around to the side of the desk that Lucius was on and looked over his shoulder.
A live-video from a security camera in his office in Misery Inc. played on-screen.
"I want a status update!"
Horian was sitting at Lucius' desk, looking extremely ticked off. On the other side of the desk stood a nervous Dr. Scientist.
"Status update?"
"That's what I said," Horian growled. "Let's hear it."
The doctor chuckled slightly and looked down at the clipboard he was holding. "Um, it would appear that my plan has… Eh…"
"Don't tell me that it's failed." A threat.
"No! No, it has not failed! It is just experiencing a few… Minor setbacks."
"Like what?"
"It would seem that someone has been befriending some of the -"
"Is it Two-Shoes?"
The doctor didn't even need to reply.
Horian dug his claws into Lucius' chair angrily. "I don't believe this… You let a fourteen-year-old human boy stop a -"
"No, no, H-Horian. I didn't let him! He just ran out into the street and started giving them high-fives!"
The serpent glared death at him. "Never interrupt me again…"
Dr. Scientist gulped.
In a flash Horian's tail flew out, wrapped itself around the scientist, and threw him into the air. The basilisk leapt across the desk and stood under where Dr. Scientist would fall and began to open his mouth as wide as he could. Before the scientist even came close to landing, Horian flicked out his long tongue, caught the man in mid air, yanked him down, and ate him. "And that's sir, to you."
Horian cleared his throat and walked calmly over to the large windows looking out over the production floor. Then, coughing a bit, he spat Dr. Scientist out. Dizzy and confused, the scientist stumbled backward trying to regain balance, only to end up tripping over his own feet and crash straight out the window, falling to his, and a few unlucky monsters beneath him, doom.
Horian shook his head and sighed. "Damn cone headed idiot. If you're going to unleash an army of savage bloodthirsty monsters all over the city you have to do it yourself." He walked over to the door, then stopped midway and grunted. "'Mass of unstoppable killing power' my ass. They couldn't even stop a simple child. Time to try something new…"
Back at factory B, Lucius was cracking up. "Oh, I love Horian!"
He looked at Heloise, who stared back in confusion. "When Sammy said that you had left Horian in charge, I didn't think that he was being serious. You always bring him with you!"
Lucius shrugged. "I wanted to try something new. Horian is more than qualified to keep an eye on things, and he was practically begging me to let him. It was pathetic, I couldn't stand to watch."
"Horian was begging?"
The dictator thought for a moment, then shrugged again. "In his own way. Besides, I couldn't leave Sammy in charge. I have something different planned for him."
Sammy smiled naively. "What is it?"
Lucius grinned dreadfully. "Oh, it's nothing really. We just have some new products that we need you to try out."
"W-what?"
"I would have someone else do it, you know, get an assembly of product testers like we usually do, but they're all too busy working on the factory. I've made a list of the products here." He pulled out a notepad from one of his drawers and held it out it Sammy. The goblin reached for the list, but at the last moment Lucius, snickering, changed directions and handed it to Heloise.
The girl looked the list over eagerly. "'The amazing collapsible furniture'? 'The fantastic home-made panjandrum'? 'Water Torture For Dummies?' 'Baby's first Guillotine'? Electrical pizza'? I remember inventing this stuff! I wondered what you did with them."
Sammy snatched the notepad away from her and read it anxiously. He flipped to the next page. Then to the next. Then to the next. Then to the next. He looked up at his boss franticly. "But, but sir! There are so many!"
Lucius nodded. "Yes, I know. It'll give us a head start on production here, and I want to get the testing for this done as quickly as possible, which means no breaks for you, Sammy."
Sammy read a page over again. "But sir, some of this stuff has already been tested and sold in Miseryville! I remember, I was there!"
The tiny tyrant smirked evilly down at him. "I know."
Heloise giggled, and Sammy shot her a scowl. "I don't know what you're so smug about. You think that as soon as you finish talking Grehiel you're all done here, and you can just go home and be all hunky dory? Huh? Well, guess what? You don't!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Aww, Sammy! I wanted to tell her! Just for that, I'm making you test each product twice!"
"What's going on?"
Lucius cleared his throat. "Well, as you already know, you are one of the most intelligent people in Miseryville. Not many people can think the way you can or do the things you are able to do. But don't take that as a compliment. You're a nerd."
Heloise scoffed.
"Now," Lucius continued, "if for some reason I found myself in a position where I would have to find a replacement for you, well, things would probably go as well as last time. I'd get nowhere. The same goes for finding someone to… I suppose I'm over-explaining things. What I'm trying to say is that if we're opening up another factory here in Lendsville, we are going to need another inventor. Unfortunately, it's going to be a while before I can find someone worthy enough to work here. Until then, you're going to be inventing for both factories and will be creating different products for each town."
"What?"
"For the same pay."
"WHAT?"
"Okay, half your pay check. I need to use the extra money to continue with the construction."
"Lucius… I might kill you…"
"Oh, don't be so testy." He chuckled. "Ha, ha, get it? Testy? 'Cause you're in charge of testing? Oh, I crack myself up."
Heloise was struggling to contain her agitation, but her anger was starting to mess up her thinking, making it slightly difficult to do. "Okay, now I'm trying to understand what's going on here. Why do you need different products for each town? Why can't we just produce the same stuff in each factory?"
"Well that wouldn't be very creative, would it? Besides, I want to create a delivery system between the towns that I wasn't able to create before. You see, people don't want to buy stuff from where they live, they want to by stuff from faraway places! They like it because it feels exciting, exotic, and new! Plus, they'll pay more! I'm also not sure that the products that work well with Miseryville's citizens are going to work well with… These people. I also just like messing with you."
"Wait, what did you say?"
"That I like to mess with your mind?"
"No, not that. It sounded like you just said that my products won't work here."
"Oh, that. Yes, yes I did."
"You're mistaken." Heloise crossed her arms and glared at Lucius defiantly. "My inventions always work, all the time, on everybody."
The tyrant just frowned. "Not on these people they won't. You may have noticed that these citizens aren't all there…"
"Yeah, I did notice! They're weirdoes!"
Everyone turned their attention to Beezy. Sammy raised an eyebrow. "Yes, they are strange."
"What's wrong with them?" Heloise asked.
Lucius rubbed the back of his neck. "They are, um… What's the word? Oh I've got it! They have no emotion."
"That's not one word," Beezy pointed out.
"Shut up Beezy, I'm not talking to you."
"That's crazy!" Heloise shook her head. "How can they have no emotion? Even I can feel!"
Sammy's hands went to his heart. "Really, Heloise? That's so sweet! I didn't know you were capable of love!"
"Shut up Sammy, I'm not talking to you. Lucius, that is ridiculous. Everyone has emotion, and even if they somehow don't my inventions can bring them out. They'll be pissing their pants by the time I'm done with them."
"That's what we hope…"
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing, never mind." He waved his hands around in front of him, as if washing away the topic. "It has to do with this whole crazy thing, just forget about it."
"But Lucius –"
"Dear misery!" Sammy jumped suddenly and checked his watch. "Did Grehiel say half an hour? You're going to be late!"
"But I –"
"You can talk to Lucius about this later, but right now you have to go, go, go!"
"Alright, but this isn't over…"
"GO!"
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
To be continued.
NOTE: Sorry for not updating in a while. My procrastination problems were getting the best of me… This chapter's much longer than my other ones, so I hope it makes up for that.
YAY! REVIEW!