Chapter 52

The Stalker

They walked in silence through the dark tunnel, barley able to see what was two feet in front of them. The strange noise kept following them, but they couldn't tell where it was coming from. They continued walking down the path, until it suddenly branched out into two sections.

"Now what?" Helga whispered.

"We'll go to the right. The noise seems to be louder on the left."

They tiptoed down the right passage, but the strange noise only kept getting louder. The tunnel branched out into four new tunnels. The noise seemed to be coming from every one of them. It was all around them. There was no escape.

"We're gonna die! It's gonna come and pounce on us and tear us limb from limb and-"

"No, it's not, Helga! Come on!" He grabbed her hand, and they ran down a random tunnel. This too branched out, but they kept running down tunnel after tunnel, heading deeper and deeper into the cave, constantly trying to flee from the ever-present noise.

Suddenly, they came face to face with a wall.

"Dead end!" Arnold shouted.

"Now what do we do?" Helga cried in dismay.

The noise kept getting louder and louder, coming closer and closer to them with alarming speed. Now they could hear footsteps moving slowly and deliberately through the tunnel. Closer and closer…

"There's nothing we can do," Arnold said nervously. "Except wait."

They stood in the dark, their hands tightly clasped together; waiting for whatever terror might come.

Suddenly, something scampered across Helga's foot.

"What the…" She peered through the darkness, and her eyes came to rest on…

"OH, MY GOSH! A RAT!" she screamed, jumping into Arnold's arms. She started to scream uncontrollably.

"Quiet! Do you want to noise to find us?" Arnold whispered.

Helga continued to scream.

"Boy, she wasn't kidding when she said she was afraid of rats," Arnold thought. "I've got to get her to be quiet! She's in my arms." This last thought surprised him a bit. "Oh, great, is she going to kiss me again or something? Hmm…maybe that's not such a bad idea. It would keep her quiet anyway." Quickly, before he could change his mind, he pulled her towards him and firmly pressed his lips to hers.

Helga immediately became silent. She opened her eyes wide in shock but quickly closed them.

"Oh, my gosh! He must love me!" she thought deliriously. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with as much passion as she could muster.

"Oh, man, I shouldn't have done that!" Arnold thought, blushing fiercely. "Now she's not gonna let go."

They were so lost in their kiss that they didn't notice the figure coming towards them.

"Uhhh…get away…uhh…from her."

They both quickly pulled back and looked at their intruder.

"BRAINY?!"

"Uhhh…"

"Oh, you've gone too far," Helga said threateningly. "Interrupting my daydreams is one thing, but interrupting this?!"

"Uhhh…"

"What did you have to do that for?!"

"Uhhh…I love you."

"Oh, gee, I'm so flattered," she said sarcastically. "You're too late Brainy, cause he loves me too," she said happily, gesturing to Arnold.

"No, I don-"

"Uhhh…okay."

"Wait a minute…what the heck are you doing here?!"

"Uhhh…something."

"Helga?" Arnold asked.

"What? Oh! Sorry," she said, slightly embarrassed, jumping out of his arms. "Um…thanks for saving me. And for ki…um…shutting me up."

"Oh, uh…no problem," Arnold said sheepishly.

"What the heck am I saying?!" he thought to himself.

"Uhh…how dare…uhh…you," Brainy wheezed, turning to Arnold.

"How dare I what?" he asked, confused.

"How dare you…uhh…steal her from…uhh…me."

"I didn-"

"Oh, come on, Brainy, like there's any chance of me being with you. Get real. You of all people should know that the only one I could ever love is Arnold."

"Uhh…"

"I mean, criminy! You were spying on me practically every second of my life! You probably know more than anyone else!"

"Uhh…but I…uhh…love you."

Helga sighed. "Look, Brainy, if you really love me so much, then you'd want me to be happy, right?"

"Uhh…yeah."

"And the only way I'll ever be happy is if I'm with Arnold."

"Uhhh…"

"So, if you really love me, then you'll want me to be with Arnold. Get it?"

"Uhh…okay," Brainy said dejectedly.

"Good. Now that that's settled, why the heck are you here?!"

"Uhhh…I don't know."

"Brainy, there has to be a reason you're on this island," Arnold said, jumping into the conversation.

"Yeah, you couldn't have just appeared here…wait a minute, if you're here, then you must have some sort of transportation, which means we're saved! Right? Please tell me I'm right."

Instead of answering her, Brainy shouted into the darkness, "I found…uhh…them…"

Suddenly, two men dressed in sunglasses and army uniforms ran into the tunnel.

"Good work, son," one of them said to Brainy. "Your country thanks you."

"Uhh…"

"Okay, let's get these kids back home!" the other man shouted. Turning to Arnold and Helga he said, "Follow us."