Hi guys, welcome to this new chapter.
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Chapter 4: The Devil's Bayou
The trees are mostly bare with gnarled branches, and their roots reach into the murky waterways underneath while the complete moon above just barely illuminates the ground from behind the cloudy heavens. A subsequent cut of the half-sunken river boat revealed Penny sneaking around while looking around cautiously. She ran down from the catwalk and glanced back as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, her escape was soon noticed, and several lights were lit as Medusa called Penny.
"Penny! Oh, Penny? Penny, respond to us! Penny?"
As she heard Medusa's voice, Penny stopped for a moment and then accelerated her escape, wanting to take as much time as she could in her escape.
She stumbled on a root and fell into the water, but rose quickly before anyone could notice her. At that time, Medusa descended on the pontoon of the boat riding her horrible crocodiles, which turned out to be Brutus and Nero.
In a terrible rage, she called her henchman somewhat clumsy.
"Snoops! Snoops, get down here!"
Snoops, a chubby man with curly brown hair, round glasses and a little mustache, wearing yellow coat and pants with a dark beige shirt, black tie and brown shoes, ran to the upper balcony.
"Wh-Wh-What's up, Medusa? What's–What's going on?" He mumbled in amazement.
"That little brat has escaped again!" shouted the redheaded woman.
She hugged her big domestic animals hard, as if she were cuddling children.
"Nero, Brutus...bring her back, boys!"
Immediately, the two crocodiles went down the catwalk and threw themselves into the water in search of Penny. Meanwhile, Medusa got on a makeshift airboat just in case the crocodiles didn't find the girl. Medusa tried to start it while Snoops joined her, but the craft didn't start, content to spit black smoke.
"Oh, why won't it start?" Medusa got angry when he tried to start the airboat.
When her henchman joined her, she yelled at him with rage:
"SNOOPS! What's wrong?"
The clumsy Snoops adjusted his glasses shrugging his shoulders.
"Wh-Wh-What's wrong? I don't...I don't know. It was working well yesterday."
But Medusa was even more angry.
"Oh, shut up! Send up flares! Light up the swamp where I can find her!"
With another backlash, the swampmobile took off in search of Penny. Meanwhile, Snoops went down to the basement of the boat and placed a rocket in the old boiler. He lit a match on the rocket and it crossed a chimney.
Meanwhile, up there, Orville flew over with the mice that were beginning to wake up. With the arrival of the rockets, the dark sky began to take colors.
"W-w-why is the sky changing color?" remarked Gus.
Having noticed nothing, Orville made his announcement.
" Well, folks, we'll be landing at Devil's Bayou in just a moment. Your crew thanks you for flying Albatross... AIR!"
The rockets passed right by the mice who startled with fright. Gus uttered a cry of terror.
"Are we under attack? Wh-Wh-What's going on?" cried anxious Jaq.
Then, the fireworks broke out around Orville which moved in all directions to avoid being hit by the rockets.
"What in the–––?" exclaimed the panicked bird, moving in all directions.
"WHO IS ATTACKING US?" added Gus, completely frightened, clinging to his seat, startling at each passage of rockets.
A rocket just missed Orville at the front, but another touched the feathers of his tail.
"Suffering sassafras! My rudder's on fire!" continued the panicked albatross.
Bernard and Jaq tried to fan the flames on Orville's feathers, but the bird no longer controlled its flight.
"BAIL OUT! BAIL OU-U-U-U-T!"
Orville was now upside-down and the mice hung over the void. Jaq clung to the can of sardines with one hand and the other grabbed his friend Gus by his yellow shirt.
"HANG ON, GUS-GUS! HANG ON!"
"WE'RE GONNA DIE! FAIRY GODMOTHER, HELP US!" screamed Gus terrified who saw only the void
Bernard clung to Bianca by her coat, but she was torn from it.
"HELP! BERNARD!"
Jaq, holding his friend by his shirt and clinging to the sardine box with one hand could only watch the female mouse fall into the void.
"MISS BIANCA!"
"OH, NO!" cried Gus, frightened.
Bernard threw himself into the void to catch up with Bianca. Once he managed to reach her, he used his umbrella as a parachute to slow down their fall. As Orville spiraled past them, with Jaq and Gus clinging to him, completely out of control and with his rear end still smoking.
Meanwhile, right next door, at the foot of a tree, was a cottage. In a hammock, a male musk rodent was lying down while a large female came out to see what was happening. It was Ellie Mae and her husband Luke.
Ellie saw the bird fall into the sky, zigzagging in terror.
"Buffering catfish! What on earth?"
She called her husband who was sleeping in his hammock.
"Luke! Luke, wake up! Get down here!"
Just awake, Luc took a sip of his juice from the swampjuice coughed strongly.
"It's Orville," said his wife, worried.
But Luke made a casual gesture.
"Oh, that Orville."
"No, Luke, no. He's in danger! You get down here right now!" said Ellie.
Luke took another sip, but was struck from behind by Orville and turned into a puddle. On the ground, he brandishes his gourd with ecstasy.
"Wowee! This new batch really packs a wallop!"
Jaq and Gus had ejected from the albatross and landed in a large puddle. They came out painfully and coughing.
Jaq helped Gus get up, then twisted his clothes to remove the water.
"Bad swamp! No place for mice! We were better off at Cinderelly's Castle!" he groaned, twisting his clothes and tail.
Luke approached them with his gourd. He spoke to Gus who was coming out of the water completely soaked.
"Say, cousin, you look like you could use a swig of this." (He put his jug in Gus's mouth.) "It's nice for what ails ya."
After drinking in spite of himself, Gus coughed and breathed.
"So it's better, boy?" asked Luke in ecstasy. "Where did you two come from?" (He showed Jaq his jug) "Do you want it too, cousin?"
"No thanks." replied Jaq, politely embarrassed. "Not thirsty. We're from Cinderelly's Castle!"
"Cinderelly's Castle? What is it?"
Before he could delve deeper, Jaq saw Bernard and Bianca clinging to the umbrella that lowered them to the ground.
"Bernard! Miss Bianca!"
Unfortunately, Bernard's umbrella turned, and the two mice fell into the water, just beside Orville who used the water to extinguish the flames on his feathers.
Bianca crawled blindly before being helped by Ellie Mae who made her come out of the water. And Luke made Bernard drink his pitcher as he had done for Gus. Bernard coughed loudly, while Luke acted as if nothing had happened.
"There. Where are you folks from, anyhow?"
Bernard cleared his throat and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"We're... we're from New... New York."
Orville got up and adjusted his glasses.
"Now, stand back, folks! I ain't gonna hang around this creepy place long. Clear the runway!"
He tried to take off on a nearby ramp, but instead of flying away, fell into the water. Suddenly, he saw Medusa on her swamp bike rushing towards him and went in the opposite direction to escape her.
"Grand balls of fire!"
Orville floated as fast as he could, whistling and losing several feathers in the hydrofoil engine. Finally, his helmet exploded as he was sucked inside the swamp vehicle. He uttered a loud and anguished cry as he was thrown through. The swamp bike finally spit the slightly burnt albatross, and he stopped to shout after the mad and reckless driving of the evil shrew.
"Holy smoke! Why don't you watch where you're going?!"
Orville coughed again as he left the Bayou.
Meanwhile, Penny was sneaking into the tall grass, looking around to see if the way was clear. Then Medusa turned around near her. She made the lighthouse of her hydrofoil shine on the grass when Penny hid. She sent it away, but no longer saw her. Penny flees into the woods, unaware that Brutus and Nero had spotted her. Then the two crocodiles swam in her direction. Meanwhile, the shrew drove side by side while our heroes ended up seeing her from large marshy grasses.
"Bernard, Jaq, Gus, it's that horrible Medusa!" cried Bianca.
"It's… it's… it's… her!" Gus said, stammering.
"This horrible lady came here before us!" said Jaq in horror.
Ellie Mae gave her a hateful look by waving a rolling pin over her head.
"I'd love to give her a few whacks with my rolling pin."
Even Luke didn't seem to like the horrible woman.
"We swamp folks would love to run her clean out of the Bayou."
Then a rustle caught the attention of the mice.
"Hold it, hold it! Somebody's coming this fashion." said Ellie
Our heroes stooped into the grass and saw the crocodiles of Medusa appear, one holding Penny frustrated in his mouth, and her teddy bear in the other.
"Oh, it's that poor little young'un. She's trying to run off again." said Ellie, sighing with helplessness.
"Penny! The girl we need to help!" said Jaq.
"How are we going to help her?" Gus was surprised.
Then the crocodiles took Penny back to the boat.
"Oh, how terrible!" exclaimed Bianca, panicked. (She grabbed Bernard by the hand, and motioned to the other two mice to follow her.) "Hurry up! We have to find out where they're taking her!"
They ran towards Brutus and Nero, but stopped at the level of a vast stream that prevented them from going further.
"Miss Bianca, how can we cross all this water?" asked Jaq, not being used to swimming.
Gus cautiously approached the stream and put his finger in the water, trying to find the bottom of the marsh, but did not find it.
"S-s-s-s-so deep! Can't swim!" he moaned panicked.
Ellie Mae came to them and proposed a solution.
"You'll need a boat. Evinrude has the fastest boat among here."
Evinrude was a dragonfly wearing a blue sweater that slept on a large tree leaf in the water.
When Ellie called him, the dragonfly woke up, grabbed the stem of the leaf and buzzed him wings.
"Evinrude, wake up! Start up your engine, boy!" said Ellie Mae. "Send Evinrude back as soon as you need help. I'll round up the neighbors!"
The four mice climbed on the leaf, then Evinrude set out, pushing the leaf into the water.
They crossed the swamp. While clinging to the leaf, Jaq raised his head to try to see the crocodiles. But he saw nothing because the tall grass prevented him from distinguishing anything.
"Anything, Gus-Gus?" he asked his friend.
"No-thing! Just big grass!" replied Gus, clinging to the leaf.
"Faster, Evinrude, faster!" pressed Bianca to the dragonfly.
Evinrude gained speed. They were very close to the crocodiles that were taking Penny, but a thick bank of fog prevented them from seeing them. As the mist thickened, they decided to stop.
"Slow... slow down, Evinrude!" said Bernard.
The dragonfly stopped, and breathed out, while the four mice looked for any sign of Penny or the fangs.
"They must be s-s-s-s-s-somewhere around h-h-h-h-here." said Jaq, turning his head in all directions.
But they saw nothing.
"Oh dear!" exclaimed discouraged Bianca. "We've lost them!"
Bernard turned and almost fell into surprise.
"Jehoshaphat!"
As he announced, Brutus and Nero carrying Penny passed between them, raising many waves. The current caused by the crocodiles moved the tree leaf as Evinrude tried to balance himself.
"Zugh-zugh ! We're going to drown! Hold on!" shouted Jaq, clinging to the leaf.
Suddenly, another wave threw Bianca and Gus into the water.
"MISS BIANCA! GUS-GUS!" cried panicked Jaq.
"BIANCA!" added Bernard, horrified.
Evinrude pushed the leaf to where Bianca and Gus were wading. Bernard threw a rope at them and brought them back to him. The two mice climb aboard when the crocodiles crossed among them, creating a wave that almost threw them into the air. After which the water calmed down and the waves stopped.
The dragonfly was too exhausted by the effort to keep moving the leaf.
Meanwhile, the crocodiles had taken Penny back to the old river boat. Snoops received them sneakily.
"Bring her right on in, boys. C'mon!"
He passed Brutus who was lifting Penny upside down. Snoops laughs insidiously while addressing the girl.
"Well, you tried to run off? Well, it didn't work, did it?"
"Put me down, Brutus!" exclaimed Penny, swinging.
The crocodile lowered his jaw to the ground.
"Creepy old dragon!" said Penny.
Proud, Snoops patted Brutus's head.
"Nice work. Nice boys!"
But the two crocodiles advanced towards him with a menacing look.
"W-W-Wait, boys. Easy now, boys. D-Down...down, boy. Heel, heel!" cried Snoops while retreating on a sofa.
Soon after, he sent the girl back to her room and warned Medusa with his rockets that he held Penny.
Meanwhile, the mice had docked the tree leaf on a small beach not far from the river boat.
"Stick around, Evinrude. We'll signal if we need you." said Bernard as they were about to reach the boat.
Then he saw to his horror, Medusa running on her airboat towards them.
"WATCH OUT! HERE SHE COMES!"
"DEMON!" said Gus, frightened.
The swamp vehicle flew just above the mice, and ran aground on the deck of the boat. The airboat spewed black smoke, before Medusa pulled over.
She returned to the boat, taking off her black jacket from the swamps.
"Where is she? Where is she?"
"Uh, uh, where is she?" stammered Snoops shrivelling in front of her. "Oh, uh, I sent her up to her room."
But Medusa didn't calm down. She landed on a couch, scolding her assistant.
"Why did you let her escape? What is your alibi this time, nitwit?"
Snoops removed her boot, while justifying himself with an outraged air.
"Nitwit? Well, d-d-don't blame me, Medusa. These leather-headed lizards of yours. They're supposed to be patrolling the island. They let her get away."
But instead of scolding her crocodiles, Medusa cuddles them with tenderness.
"My precious pets. We know who caught that ungrateful little brat, don't we, huh?"
As Penny's captors chatted among themselves, the mice ran to an air pipe on the upper deck. From there, the four of them listened to the conversation while the mice climbed into it.
Snoops pointed out to the shrew:
"Well, it was your brilliant idea to use the little girl for this caper. If you'd left it to me, I-"
"Snoops!" interrupted Medusa. "You're not thinking."
"I know, I know. She's the only one small enough to squeeze down the black hole."
"Yes, but why can't she find my big diamond?"
The mice then arrived inside and hid under a large chest of drawers, as Snoops headed to the commode where they had hidden.
"I don't know," he replied to Medusa. "But just look at these beauties that she brought up from the cave. Oh, they'll sell for a lot of cold cash—"
He showed her jewels, pretty gems. But Medusa was not interested in these jewels. She hit Snoops hard with her stick, knocking over the jewels that nearly hit the mice. Jaq had to shoot Gus to avoid being hit by a gem.
"I wish you wouldn't do that!" cried Snoops, rubbing his injured hand.
"She's insane!" said Bianca, stunned.
"She's utterly mad!" added Jaq in a low voice, as shocked as Bianca was.
"I want that diamond!" roared Medusa, waving her cane at Snoops in a threatening tone. "I've had to have the Devil's Eye! You didn't leave the girl down in the cave long enough."
"She won't take orders!" replied Snoops, wanting to justify himself.
Medusa stroked his nose with a bad look.
"You are too soft!"
Snoops couldn't help but get upset.
"But the water was rising and the tide was coming in, and all she did down there was fuss about her teddy bear getting wet."
In a very calm tone, Medusa replied gently:
"Snoops, you don't have a fashion with children. You must gain their confidence, make them like you."
"Yes?" wondered his accomplice. "How do you do that?"
"YOU FORCE THEM TO LOVE YOU, IDIOT!" replied Medusa, taking up her angry gaze and waving her cane, scarcely missing him. "At the next low tide. I am going to put her down there myself and keep her there until she finds it. And it's as simple as that."
"Oh, it's as simple as that, is it?" replied Snoops, looking stupid. "Well, you're the boss... uh, boss!"
Finally, Medusa left her couch and left the room.
From their hiding place under the furniture, the mice had seen everything.
"What are we doing?" Jaq asked his friends.
Gus clenched his fists and began to come out of hiding wanting to confront them.
"Gus-Gus handle 'em!"
But Jaq caught his friend by the tail preventing him from getting out.
"We must get Penny out of here tonight." replied Bernard in an urgent tone.
They went out when they had to recant again when the crocodiles passed by them. Bernard made the lookout, waiting for them to be far away in order to get out. But suddenly Brutus stopped walking and started sniffing the air. It was like he was smelling something.
With horror, Bernard understood.
"Oops! Bianca, they smell your perfume."
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Bianca, horrified.
"What are we doing, lads?" asked worried Jaq.
After a while, the crocodiles crawled to the table where the mice were hidden. Brutus' muzzle picked up Bernard and Gus by their shirts. Gus uttered a cry of terror while Bernard used his umbrella to hit Brutus on the muzzle and released the two mice.
"Gus-Gus!" cried Jaq, afraid for his friend.
Bernard and Gus ran to save their lives. The two fangs pursued them. Bernard and Gus pulled up the curtains, but Brutus and Nero unhooked them, and all were covered by the curtains. Bianca and Jaq watched them fight under the curtains down.
Under the fallen curtains, Bernard and Gus tried to escape the fangs. Bianca and Jaq ran to help them. They pulled them out of the curtains, while the crocodiles tried to find them, still covered by the curtains.
The mice, without a word, fled and hid in an old organ. Meanwhile, the crocodiles came out from under the curtain and looked for them. A sudden shudder from one of the pipes of the organ answered their question. Bernard glanced out the front slot, but was forced to retreat until Brutus' eye looked for him and Bianca, Jaq, and Gus. Not seeing them, he backed down. Thinking themselves safe, the mice sighed with relief. But suddenly, the air began to push them out of the pipe they were in. Turns out it was Brutus playing the keys. Nero tried to bite them, but missed them. He swept the air with indignation as Brutus played more notes. Bernard and Jaq tried to hold on, but the jet of air was too strong for them and they ran to the spot clinging to their hats and those of Bianca and Gus. Just as Nero was about to attack them, they fell back. Then he, Jaq, Gus, and Bianca went up and down another pipe while Brutus played a single note in small bursts. They ended up flying and landing separately, Nero still failed to catch them. Bianca and Jaq glanced out of their hiding place, but Brutus spotted them and knocked his muzzle at them. Bernard and Gus, seeing their friends in danger, ran across the front of the organ pipes towards them. By the time they reached Bianca and Jaq, Brutus pushed his «fingers» into the opening of the pipe, but still could not reach them. Then he started playing the organ again while Nero tried to block the top of the pipes.
Meanwhile, as Brutus continued to play the organ, Medusa examined a map leading to the Devil's Eye. At that moment, she noticed the sounds emanating from the organ. She got up and left the room, completely furious. Meanwhile, Brutus struck the keys with his front paws and Bernard and Gus were ejected from the pipes. Then Nero jumped through, breaking them all while Brutus grabbed Bernard and Gus in his jaw. Bianca and Jaq could only look desperately at their friends trapped in the crocodile's mouth.
"Brutus! Nero!"
Medusa approached the crocodiles with his stick.
"Stop that infernal racket! I mean NOW!"
Medusa hit Brutus in the head with her cane, freeing Bernard and Gus from his jaw. The two mice landed on the floor both very dizzy. At the sight of the two mice, Medusa screamed in terror and jumped on a chair.
"AH, MICE! SNOOPS ! DEAR GOD! MICE! SNOOPS ! MURDER THEM!"
Bernard and Gus jumped to run but stopped their escape and changed direction when Snoops arrived at them with a broom. He tried to hit the mice with his broom, but only missed them. He tried again, but broke the chair where Medusa had taken refuge, causing her to fall to the ground. Bernard and Gus joined Bianca and Jaq and all four fled. Medusa spotted them immediately.
"AH! THERE ARE TWO OTHERS!"
"Run, Gus-Gus!" cried Jaq, taking Gus by the hand and running away on all fours.
Snoops, accompanied by the crocodiles, pursued the mice. He tried to hit them with the broom, but hit Brutus's head instead. After several more attempts, he decided to trample on them, but only missed each time. Medusa, deciding to kill them herself, took a shotgun and fired on the ground, almost touching Snoops. The terrified mice ran to safety while Medusa continued to shoot. Finally, the rifle clicked and she shook him.
"Oh, what is wrong with this stuff?" she got angry, waving her shotgun.
All looked at her with anguish. Crocodiles hidden behind furniture. Snoops behind a closet was frozen like a statue. The four mice hesitated to flee. Then Jaq addressed his friends.
"C'mon! Let's go!"
Immediately, the mice ran to the balcony.
Medusa continued to shake his weapon with rage.
"SNOOPS! WHAT'S WRONG?"
"I don't..." replied Snoops with a silly look.
But before he could finish, the gun suddenly dropped a shot that brushed his hair and broke the railing of the outside balcony.
Nearby, Evinrude waited at some reeds near the boat. Sensing danger, the dragonfly came to fetch the mice out of the reeds. The four mice had dipped into the water narrowly escaping the shot. Bernard and Jaq beckoned.
"Evinrude! Over here!" called him Jaq, trying to float in the water holding Gus by his shirt.
"Water! Drowning!" moaned Gus scared.
Evinrude joined the mice as he advanced the tree leaf. Bernard got on board and helped Bianca get on. Jaq got on the sheet and helped Gus get on.
"Gus-Gus, are you alright?"
Gus spit water and takes off his soaked cap.
"You… You… you were right, Jaq." he stammered. "Bad swamp! No place for us!"
Jaq smiled at him with compassion. While Bernard took care of his co-agent.
"Miss Bianca, are you...are you alright, darling?"
Bianca was still shaken by what she had just experienced.
"Gosh! She tried to murder us! That... th-that horrible woman! Oh, if I was only a ten-foot mouse, I'd show her!"
"But we are mice, Miss Bianca," sighed defeatist Jaq. "This horrible woman, this fat man and these two swamp monsters are much bigger than us!"
"W-W-W-We can't beat them," added Gus, as shocked as Bianca.
Bernard nodded, as defeated as Cinderella's mice.
"I agree. It's no use, Bianca. Perhaps Rufus the cat was right. What-What has four little mice done?"
Jaq sighed completely exhausted and distraught and dropped on the leaf. He agreed to help someone because he was bored. This situation had nothing to do with Cinderella. Saving a little girl from the clutches of dangerous kidnappers exceeded him skill level. How could four mice make a difference?
Then he remembered the words of the Fairy Godmother: "If you feel that the situation is beyond your control: even the smallest thing can change the course of things."
"We can change the course of things," said Jaq, as if the Fairy had just spoken to him.
"W-What?" asked Bernard, intrigued.
"Penny needs our help," he said with determination. "We cannot abandon her. We have to do something for her!"
"Jaq is right, Bernard." approved Bianca. "The Society's counting on us. We can't quit now." (She looked at the boat with dismay.) "Oh, and that little girl. We've just had to rescue her."
"P-p-poor Penny!" said sadly Gus looking at the boat in turn. "We're gonna save her!"
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
We find Medusa with her accomplice Snoops and her ugly crocodiles who are more stupid than bad.
I'm going on vacation for two weeks in Greece. And when I come back, I will continue this story until the end.
See you soon for a new chapter.