Chapter Eighteen
(Hey, y'all.
I just got back from my athletics trip and everything is kind of running smoothly.
If any of you were scared of the clown from the previous chapter, I'm sorry. I try not to add any more clowns from now on.
So anyway, here is the eighteenth chapter.
Enjoy the story and life as it goes!
-imaginarytoon1
PS: The next upcoming story is going to be both a Thanksgiving and Christmas Special. This is just a heads-up.)
Beatrice:
As Greasy and I walk out of the house, Greasy asked me,
"Is it true that you don't like horror movies?"
"What I said about horror movies was true. I don't like them." I replied. "Well, it's not the plots or the villains that I'm afraid of. It's the violence and gore. I can't stand violence and I'm afraid that I might turn into a person who can commit acts of violence."
"If you say that you don't like horror movies, then why do you read stuff about trying to survive in them? Horror movies, I mean."
"It kind of began when I was about eight or ten years old. I was about to watch my first horror movie and thanks to my dad, he made me read a book at least as thick as three ice cubes and it talked about surviving a horror movie. I knew that everything that happens in a horror can't really happen in real life and when I told my dad that, he said that he just wanted me to remember in case if some part of my life was like a horror movie."
"What was your first horror movie?"
"My first horror movie was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
"Wasn't that about a man who digs in the graveyard and creates a monster from different parts?"
"No, that's Frankenstein. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a movie about a man who transforms into a monster after drinking something."
"Oh, yeah."
Then, there's a brief pause.
"Muchacha, how fast can you build things?" Greasy asked.
"Depending on the object, I can build things pretty fast. Like that decoy in the woods, it took me either six or ten minutes to build it." I replied. "Why? Are you on to something?"
"In fact, I am."
"Well, tell me what you're thinking."
Greasy looks around the area for a brief second and then, he says,
"I'm going to distract Armageddon while you try to build a decoy of yourself. Since I was completely fooled by your other decoy, I thought that your skill of making decoys is exceptionally well for a person like you. I think that in this part of challenge, your skill of making decoys can be a useful tool."
"So you're saying that you'll try to keep Armageddon occupied by your distractions while I make a decoy." I said.
"Yes, that's what I'm saying."
"Greasy, that's a really good idea! I think that it can work! What kind of distractions can you do?"
"I'm good at shadow puppets and noises."
"Show me one of your shadow puppets."
Then, Greasy quickly makes a shadow puppet version of me on the wall. I don't have any idea on how he can do that but I have to say, the shadow puppet looked really convincing.
"That looks really good." I said.
"In that horror movie survival guide that you were talking about earlier, did it say anything about getting trapped on another floor of a building?" Greasy asked.
"Yes. In a horror movie, if you're in a building with more than one floor, never run upstairs and hide in a room on the floor above the first. If you do, then you're trapped with the killer. And never take a shower if you're a horror movie. There's a big chance of getting killed."
"All right. So the plan is that I'll distract Armageddon long enough for you to build a decoy and take it up to the shower on the second floor. How does that sound, muchacha?"
I thought over the plan pretty quickly and I smiled at the plan.
"Greasy, that's a perfect plan! I knew that we could come up with something." I exclaimed.
As Greasy and I got closer and closer to the main entrance of the house, we immediately acted like we didn't have our conversation and stepped outside.
Armageddon, Smarty and the other weasels (except for Psycho) were looking at me and Greasy with looks of impatience. In front of an impatient Wheezy, who's not smoking his cigarettes, was a nervous Lexi. Wheezy's hands were on Lexi's shoulders and I don't think that Lexi liked the sight of Wheezy's hands and the smell of burning cigarettes that lingered on his clothes. I even noticed that there was another weasel in the group. He wore a green shirt, blue pants with suspenders attached to it, and a newsboy cap that matched his pants. The new member, along with Psycho, didn't look impatient.
"Greasy, what took you so long?!" Smarty exclaimed angrily.
"We gave you five minutes!" Wheezy said.
"It's not Greasy's fault, Smarty." I said. "It's my fault. I gave Greasy a really long lecture and it took me a little longer than I expected."
"Is that true, Greasy?" Smarty snapped.
"It's true." Greasy replied, completely playing along with my lie. I'm only going to say this once: I don't have a crush on Greasy. I didn't want him to get in trouble and friends don't turn their backs on each other.
"Are you ready, Birchwood?" Smarty asked.
"Yes, Smarty." I replied.
Greasy walked away from me and stood in between Psycho and the weasel who was new to the group. I guess that he (Greasy) wanted to wait for the right moment to begin his distractions.
"Before we begin," Wheezy said, "Armageddon is going inside the house first and he's going to pick his starting point."
Armageddon flashes an evil grin at me and walks inside the house.
"I bet that Armageddon is going to find a hiding spot faster than you can spell 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'." Flasher said.
Then, while Psycho, Smarty, and Stupid struggle to spell that really long word, I looked at Lexi and in her language, I asked her,
How are you doing?
I'm fine, I guess. Lexi replied. How about you?
I'm okay. I'm almost done with the challenge. I'm getting us away from here. Just hold on for a few more minutes.
"Hey, Birchwood, I can bet that you CAN'T 'spill' that long word." Smarty said to me.
"Boss, I wouldn't say that if I were you." Greasy said and gave me a sly smile. "Muchacha can definitely spell that word."
Hold that thought, Lexi. I said.
"Oh, I can definitely spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." I told Smarty.
"Prove it." Smarty and Wheezy said in unison.
All of the weasels watch me as I spell:
"S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-I-F-R-A-G-I-L…" I rubbed my fingernails from my left hand on my right shirt sleeve and blew on them. "…I-S-T-I-C-E-X-P-I-A-L-I-D-O-C-I-O-U-S." I chuckled. "That was way too easy."
Smarty, Wheezy, Flasher, and Slimy groaned in frustration.
"Birchwood is just too smart, Boss." Wheezy said.
"Yeah." Slimy said.
"That's enough testing her." Flasher said.
"And Armageddon's ready. Are you ready, Birchwood?" Smarty asked.
I looked at Lexi and surprising me and the weasels, she said,
"Good luck, Beatrice."
I nodded at her and I told Smarty that I'm ready.
Then, after a brief pause, Smarty says,
"The fifteen 'millets' begin now and…you may begin."
I ran into the house with an abrupt take off.
I disobeyed one of the rules on surviving a horror movie: If you're lost, stranded, or in a dare contest with your friends, NEVER EVER GO INSIDE A HAUNTED HOUSE.
But I'm a challenge and in times like this, I sometimes have to step out of my comfort zone and break the laws of surviving a horror movie. I thought.
Because of Armageddon eating a lot of cinnamon in the meeting room, I can smell cinnamon and see small traces of cinnamon as I walked around the first floor.
I think that in a house like this, the kitchen has many useful objects. I thought. I think that I have to go to the kitchen and gather all of the things that can make a good decoy.
The cinnamon smell was growing stronger all of the sudden and to my left, I saw Armageddon's shadow growing larger and larger on the wall of the hallway. I knew that it was him because I heard Armageddon laughing evilly.
Then, behind Armageddon's shadow, another shadow takes the shape of a four-fingered hand and it transformed into the shape of my shadow. I heard a smashing noise and I figured that Greasy was doing his part of the plan.
Armageddon chases after Greasy's shadow puppet and I walked down the right side of the hallway.
In front of me was a wooden sign with scratch marks and it said 'KITCHEN'. On the sign, an arrow points to the left. I followed the sign and entered the kitchen.
It was really big inside. The kitchen looked like one of those kitchens from a summer camp. Pots, pans, and cooking tools were hanging above the tables and every single bit of food was organized by what they are, like potatoes go with the potatoes…and so on. The tables, floor, and the stoves were covered with dust and underneath the tables were dust bunnies and a ball of string. I grabbed the string and placed it on one of the tables.
As a weapon in defense, I grabbed a frying pan. I placed it next to the ball of string and looked for a large and empty burlap sack.
My new decoy will be named 'FYI'. I thought and picked up a giant burlap sack.
As I looked around the kitchen, I found and picked up some interesting things as I tried not to attract Armageddon. The things that I found were: An old manual drill, ten wooden spoons, a couple of fishing hooks, a butcher knife, a giant pineapple, fast-drying glue, a mop, four door hinges, loose doorknobs, and two bricks. Every object that I found was put in to the burlap sack, even the ball of string and the frying pan.
That should be enough. I thought. But how am I supposed to carry all of this stuff without getting caught by Armageddon? Does this house have any dumbwaiters, hidden doors, or elevators?
At that moment, I found a dumbwaiter right next to the entrance of the kitchen. Although dumbwaiters aren't really meant for a person, this one was big enough for me and the burlap sack to fit in.
I opened the sliding door and inside the dumbwaiter, there was a rope that dangled from the ceiling of the platform. I'm guessing that I have to pull myself up to the second floor.
I jumped into the dumbwaiter and closed the sliding door as soon as I heard heavy footsteps walking to the kitchen.
If I make another deal or become a part of a challenge that's created by toon weasels, I thought, I better think twice before accepting.
Quickly, I pulled on the rope and the platform begins to move up. I was panting and worrying that Armageddon was going to come in to the kitchen and get me with a knife or paralyze me with his eyes of evil.
Okay, so not only cinnamon is my worst fear in life but— I began to think.
BEATRICE! My dad's voice shouted in my head, interrupting my thought.
What?! I thought.
Beatrice! Settle down! You're going to be all right! Dad's voice shouted in my head.
Beatrice! Wake up! WAKE UP! Tommy's voice shouted in my head.
Then, like I was in a comic strip in a newspaper, a thought bubble began to appear before my eyes. An image begins to display itself in the bubble. I am seeing…Tommy…Dad...and myself…in…where am I? I am in…a hospital room?
What Birchwood doesn't know is that a neighbor just caught her and her cousin wandering down the street and called the police on her! Wheezy's voice echoed in the bubble as I saw myself, in the real world acting everything that happened while dreaming. The police tried to wake her but when they couldn't, Birchwood's cousin tried to tell the officers that Birchwood needed help. Since the officers couldn't understand Birchwood's cousin, they called Birchwood's parents and took Birchwood to the hospital to be stopped. The hospital staff tried to stop Birchwood and twice, Birchwood's father had to shock her with something. Still, Birchwood kept on dreaming. She's got ten minutes or we'll teleport her to Toon Town and bring her brother there after things settle down. Another thing, Boss, is that if Birchwood discovers that impossible things can happen in this dream, then she'll try to wake up and we're out of her mind.
The bubble disappeared and I continued to pull myself up to the second floor. As a door became visible on the wall, I carefully pushed it. My heart began to beat at a fast pace and then, it settled down after I found out that Armageddon was nowhere to be seen.
I slipped out of the dumbwaiter with my bag of decoy materials and I walked down to the last door to the right of the hallway. I tried to not make my footsteps sound real heavy but I walked at a really fast pace.
Carefully, I took out my frying pan and entered the room. I was in an all-white room with muddy footprints, a dirty sink, a bathtub with the curtain opened up, a dangling pipe, and a door that probably led to a closet.
Immediately, I began to construct FYI. For arms and hands, I grabbed four spoons and for two spoons each, I glued a hinge in between them, making the elbows. The hair and head were made out of the pineapple and the stringy bottom of the mop. With the knife, I cut the bottom of the pineapple and started to twist the tip of the knife in the center of the yellow part of the tropical fruit. After I twisted it long enough, I filled the hole of the pineapple with glue with the top part of the broom. I broke off the bottom of the mop and glued on top of the pineapple.
Oh, I hope that I'm not too late! I thought.
I grabbed two spoons and glued them at least two inches away from the pineapple. Those spoons were the shoulders.
With the knife, I used it to make the burlap sack look like my T-shirt. I pulled the sack over FYI and 'she' looked very convincing.
I glued the doorknobs on FYI's 'shoulder's and I glued 'her arms' on to them.
It's been four minutes! I thought. I don't have a lot of time!
Quickly, I created the legs, fixed FYI's 'shirt', glued the bricks on the bottom of FYI's 'legs', drilled in a couple of holes in FYI's 'hands', added a couple of drops of glue on the hooks, and tied two long strands of string on to the hooks.
FYI is completed and let's make her look like she's taking a shower. I thought.
FYI and I broke another rule on surviving in a horror movie: Never take a shower at night. That has 'death' written all over. How do I know? The bathroom scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho has the answer.
I threw the ball of string over the dangling pipe and pulled in FYI. Thank goodness that the string that I'm using is that type of string that looks invisible from a good distance.
Before moving on with the plan, I checked to see if there was no one in the closet of the bathroom. Thankfully, no one was in the closet.
To catch Armageddon's attention, I walked around with heavy footsteps and turned on the shower. I closed the curtain, grabbed the frying pan, and hid in the closet.
Four minutes left. I thought.
I didn't have to wait too long because I heard Armageddon coming and I got my frying pan ready.
Then, I heard the door open and then, Armageddon screaming in pure evil murder. The sound of the curtain opening up was my signal to run out of the closet.
While Armageddon occupied himself with FYI, I burst out of the closet and with a war-like 'AAAAAAAAGGGGGH', I began to beat Armageddon on the back of his head with a frying pan. I beat him five times on the back of his head until, like a Toon, cracks were becoming visible and Armageddon breaks into a million pieces and gets washed down the drain.
I panted with terror and fear and I turned off the shower.
Armageddon…is dead. I thought.
"Muchacha, are you doing all right?" Greasy called from outside of the room.
"I'm good, Greasy." I replied.
Greasy walked into the bathroom and sighs in relief.
"You're done with this part of the challenge." He said. "Way to go."
"I don't want to beat somebody with a frying pan again." I said and put the frying pan down. "Let's go back and tell Smarty that I'm done."
Greasy went to his own exit as I went down the hall and walked the stairs. I made a reminder that I am never going to beat somebody with a frying pan again. Although no stabbing is or was involved, beating somebody to death is considered an act of violence. I hope that I won't do that again.
After approaching the main entrance of the house, I re-tied my shoes and took a deep breath. I walked out of the house and almost every weasel looked at me with shock. Lexi smiled a small smile at me and Greasy did the same.
"That's-! What happened to Armageddon?!" Smarty exclaimed.
"Armageddon is dead!" I exclaimed as I walked towards Smarty. "He is no longer alive."
"And you passed this part of the challenge." Wheezy said.
"We're going to give you one more, Birchwood." Smarty said. "If you pass this part, then you and your little 'cushion' can go back home. And you know what will happen to you if you lose."
Flasher reaches in to his coat and takes out a blindfold. He hands it to me and Wheezy told me to put on the blindfold. I did what he told me and I wasn't feeling very comfortable.
"What do I have to do in this challenge?" I asked.
"Hold on just a second, Birchwood." Wheezy said.
Then, I heard shuffling and clanging as I waited. After those two noises, I heard the sound of some objects getting put down on a table.
"All right, Birchwood, here is your last test." Wheezy said and exhaled. "There are three kitchen knives on this table in front of you. If you pick the longest knife, then you and your little cousin can go back home. Your cousin goes and you stay if you picket the shortest knife."
Then, there's a pause of anxiety for me.
"You may begin when you're ready." Smarty said.
Immediately, my right hand begins to search for the biggest knife. I didn't want to cut my hand and I slowed down a little bit. I took a deep breath and went back to the challenge.
I grabbed the handle of a knife and picked it up.