"COME BACK!!!"

Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

"COME BACK!!!"

"COME BACK!!!" You cry tearfully as the dog wrenches his leash out of your hands. "COME BACK!!!" You yell again, soon realizing it's futile to yell any longer. That was your friend's uncle's friend's daughter's dog, and she had entrusted you complete care of him. You'd better start looking for him, then. As you call through the streets, you see a brown streak cross the road and head right for you! It's Marty! Except... what's that in his mouth?! It's the neighbor's cat! No, wait, it's just a cat-shaped note. Grabbing it, you unfurl it to see that it says,

Hello, person! You have been selected to come to our private farm for a relaxing, looong getaway from home. Don't bother signing in, just show up! Max visitors is 24; we'll close the gates when the quota is met. Pack your CAPTCHAs and AEs; we don't want to be bored, now do we? Just pack a few items, and your dog will show you the way! 

                Signed,

               Abigail V., Vacation Manager of the Resort Farm

P.S. We aren't responsible for any deaths, injuries, ect.

----------------------------------------------------

Uh-oh. You've heard of these before. Do you want to risk it? It certainly sounds relaxing, so it may be worth it... 

-----------------------

 

submitted by Farmer's Assistant, The Resort Farm
(November 30, 2015 - 8:36 am)

back to the Pudding's Place

As a matter of fact, I do have questions:

Can I meet Ella of Frell? And Char and Mandy? And Areida? 

Can I meet Mary Poppins? Please?

And Cinder, and Iko, because Iko is the best...?

And Alice, and the Duchess?

And a million other people?

 

Also, are my book characters in here? Wow, it'd be awkward meeting the ones I wrote in fourth grade...no character development, no plot, nothing... But I'd like to meet some of my more recent characters/ideas come to fruition.  

Finally, please, no one go into that prison for "certain characters". I don't want Voldemort or Edward Hyde or some other awful thing on the loose. 

submitted by Sydney, age 13, The Pridelands
(January 21, 2016 - 9:46 pm)

If the Farmer will let you, I'm sure you can meet them!

~Farmer's Assistant 

submitted by Farmer's Assistant, The Resort Farm
(January 22, 2016 - 1:05 pm)

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Does Mr. Farmer Centaur Guy have dinosaurs, since he built this farm a thousand years ago? Does he? Does he?

[H.A.B.'s ghost] Uhh... dinosaurs weren't around a thousand years ago. Or two thousand years ago, for that matter. He might have taken in a few refugees from Khazaria, but... no.

Hmm... what about dodo birds, then?

[H.A.B.'s ghost] *slaps forehead* 

(That was quite a plot twist. I can't say I liked it, as I've never really been a giant fan of the "fantasy" genre as a whole, but hey, who could say no to a magical immortal talking centaur?)

submitted by Spyro
(January 22, 2016 - 7:34 am)

I love it! Farmers Assistant, you are priceless. You should be published. Honestly.

submitted by Booksy Owly
(January 23, 2016 - 1:18 am)

Aww, thanks, Booksy!

submitted by Farmer's Assistant, The Resort Farm
(January 23, 2016 - 7:08 pm)

Top! We must patiently await the assistant's next installment!

submitted by Top
(January 27, 2016 - 8:27 am)

Top! 

submitted by Top, age Toptoptop, The Top
(January 27, 2016 - 8:28 am)

TOP!

submitted by Top
(January 27, 2016 - 1:05 pm)

top

submitted by TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!
(January 31, 2016 - 7:52 am)

I'm making this story part of my shcoolwork. With any luck, I'll be able to post new installments every other day except on the weekends! 

submitted by Micearenice
(January 31, 2016 - 8:13 am)
Day 6
~ ~ ~
The CBers had slept fitfully that night, excited at the possibilities of the next day. At breakfast time, they had questioned the farmer, who had indeed joined them for their first meal. Turgon had kept his egg warm that night, and crafted a sling for it from his sheet.
"Don't you think you're going a bit overboard with that egg?" Dragonrider asked. The CBer and her AE had still been fighting ever since Turgon had found the egg.
"Nope," he answered matter-of-factly. "I want it to know who its Daddy is when it hatches. I stayed up till three last night learning how to hatch a dragon egg from the assistant. You know, she actually hatched from an egg."
Dragonrider snorted and turned back to her breakfast. 
"So, Farmer," Panda began from her seat just across from him, "what do you think we should do? We know some key factors of the farm now, so we need to talk about defeating the murderer."
"Well," the farmer thought out loud, "The murderer is right here with us. I say, we think about ways to fight her. We know she's in The Dining Room. We know she's a female. We know she's using animals to do her dirty work. And we know that she's trickier than Tigerstar from that book... What was that book called?!"
"Warriors," Moonfrost answered in a flash. "I'm a big fan. Yup. A big fan...OHMYGOODNESS, CAN I GO SEE FIRESTAR OR...OR LEAFPOOL?!!!!!" She exclaimed once realizing that her favorite book characters were now real. The farmer chuckled.
"Maybe soon. Actually, Joss has been raising a kitten from WindClan. The assistant informed me that you met up with our resident barn cats. Did you notice their long legs? Anyway, I'll have to take some field trips into my room someday, but don't you think we should ponder ways to defeat your murderer? I advise you all to be thinking hard about this in the near future. 
"Maybe now that the veil has been lifted, you can explore while you think about ideas. New things might help prod your imagination."
With that, the farmer marched into the living room. "Ahhh," the CBers heard him sigh. "It's been so long since I watched T.V. I'll be in here if anyone needs me! You must excuse my indulgence, but I fully believe somebody should stay home to guard, and it should be somebody who knows his way around the house."
The assistant rolled her eyes, grinning at the CBers. "I'd watch some too, but I've got a dragon mine, lion den, aviary, and you guys plus more to manage!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
The CBers had sorted themselves out for exploration. Nobody wanted the CAPTCHAs coming along, just in case of 'accidents', and the AEs chickened out and told the CBers that they'd watch the CAPTCHAs for them.
Dragonrider suggested that everybody stick together and explore the deep woods. The majority agreed that that was an excellent idea, and set off at a swift pace into the outdoors. The farmer's assistant was going to help the workers with the magical animal area behind the giant wall, and Poetic Panda and Booksy both wanted to go with her instead of visiting the place of Hotairballoon's death. At first, Turgon had wanted to stay behind with the other AEs, but the assistant urged him to travel with them so as to learn more about his new egg.   
The three braver CBers--Joss, Over the Rainbow, and Shadow Dragon--formed a whispered plan as they traipsed through the meadow with the others like sheep in a flock. They badly wanted to see the dragon mine again, as did everyone in the CBer group, but these three couldn't resist the nagging urge to glimpse it one more time. When the crowd reached the edge of the forest, the sly CBers ran off into the unusually tall grass next to the treeline. They pushed through it like they were being chased by the murderer herself; as that was the scariest thing they could think of to force themselves to run faster. 
Golden wheat stalks towered over their heads, bending and waving all the while as the three ran and ran and ran. Soon, ten minutes had passed, and the CBers could no longer see anything through the thick, stringy straw.
"I think we should be at the barn by now," Shadow Dragon panted, calculating the distance in her head.
"Yeah, I thought that the garden where we grew all those vegetables was next to these woods," Joss agreed. She had been the one to plan the route.
"Hmmm..." OtR spoke aloud. "Ya know, I don't remember this tall grass being here last time we were by the woods. When Spyro and Elsa were tied to that tree, we stood right at the treeline in short, mossy dirt! In fact, I don't think grass should even be this tall. Maybe now that the 'veil' has been 'lifted' we can see magical grass?"
The lost CBers shivered. They were all alone on a magical farm in some magical grass with no guide, no food, and no sense of direction. In their confusion, they had lost which way was back, and even their trail of bent, broken grass the jog had created was gone. 
"Well, I guess we can just walk," suggested OtR. 
"Wait a minute!" Shadow Dragon cried just as they turned to walk in a random direction. "I've got wings, don't I? I'll just fly up and see where we are. Then we can find the barn."
"Hey, good idea!" Joss and OtR complimented Shadow as she flapped up and out of the forest of grass. After a few moments of waiting, she landed back down with a thud, trampling a section of grass under her claws. 
"Good news! We're pretty close to the barn. I can see it from here! We're in a huge oval of really tall grass, around where that old tree fell with Spyro and Elsa tied to it. More good news: There's a cool tunnel in the center of the oval. It kinda seems like the grass is hiding the hole! Let's explore that instead of the mine! I mean, what's cooler than a hidden tunnel? I think I can lead us there from here."
The excited CBers followed Shadow Dragon through the grasses until, sure enough, they came across a crudely dug hole in the ground. They circled around it, peering down into its depths. There were small footholds leading down into the gloom, and, by the looks of them, they were well used. "There's not enough room for me to fit down there," Shadow whispered as if there was someone to hide from. "I'll wait up here. If you're in trouble, yell up. We dragons have very good hearing, you know."
"Yeah, Spyro can hear doughnuts being made from all the way upstairs," Joss joked. (She was really quite serious.) She and Over the Rainbow began the descent into the earth; Joss going down first and OtR following second. Shadow watched them until the darkness swallowed them up.
~ ~ ~
"It sure is dark down here," Joss remarked, being showered by dirt from OtR, who was a few feet above her.
"Yeah. Hold on a sec, I'll ask Shadow a favor." Over the Rainbow yelled up to the surface, "HEY, SHADOW DRAGON!" 
When she heard a faint, 'Yeah!!??', she continued. "Uh, could you please blow a little bit of fire down here so we can see!?"
Joss made sure to be looking down as the dragon CBer blew a plume of smoke and fire down the vertical tunnel. They had asked for her light not a moment too soon, as not two feet below the pair was a six foot drop, and a cave.
"Yikes!" Joss hissed as the two were plunged into darkness again. "How are we going to get down from here?"
"What? Joss, what is it?"
"It's a cave. How are we going to get down there?"
The two dirty CBers hung onto the damp dirt wall, deep in thought. "Okay, here's an idea," Joss suggested. "We can dig a bunch of dirt from behind us with our feet, and land on the pile we create."
Having no other alternative, the CBettes started scraping dirt and rocks from behind them until their feet could reach no more soil. Bracing herself, Joss released her grasp of the tunnel and dropped like a rock. There was silence, and, as OtR listened attentively, she heard the quiet 'plllt' of a body landing in freshly tilled dirt. 
"Joss...?" Over the Rainbow whispered into the dank gloom. She breathed a sigh of relief when Joss chirped cheerfully, "Oh, I'm fine. There's actually a whole lot of dirt down here. I think whoever made this tunnel had the same idea we did. There's lots of soft soil, come on down. I think it's safe to say that we can pile it up when we want to come back out. Here, I'll move out of your way."
One 'pllt' later, the pair was reunited on the bed of dirt. They appeared to be in what was a neatly carved passage, not unlike the tunnels of the dragon mine. To the CBettes' surprise, a faint light danced behind a faraway bend of smooth gray stone. Joss ran to fetch it from wherever it stood on the wall. While she waited, Over the Rainbow observed her surroundings more closely. 
From her viewpoint facing the tunnel Joss had just disappeared in, OtR noticed faint claw marks on the aforementioned smooth gray walls. Curiously turning behind her, she noticed with a shock a pile of rubble with wood and iron bars keeping it from collapsing. She wondered what could be on the other side...
The CBette stood up in the knee-deep dirt and waded closer to the rubble wall. A sickening lurch wiggled through her stomach. Pieces of firecracker shells were sticking out of the rocks. This must be the collapsed tunnel! The one where Will died! The light of a golden torch distracted OtR from her horror. Joss had returned.
"Joss! Look at this! This is the collapsed tunnel that...You know...Will..."
"Wow. And look! Somebody has been keeping thne dragons from clearing away the rubble!" Joss motioned towards the iron bars. "I wonder why... Gee, that's disturbing. Really disturbing. Let's just see what's at the end of the tunnel, shall we? I'm not too eager to hang around the murderer's workplace."
~ ~ ~
The two walked down the musty tunnel in silence, Joss holding the torch. The shadows made by the oil-soaked stick bounced off the imperfections in the stone. Their footsteps echoed down the hallway as if scouting ahead for danger. As they walked, the tunnel gradually widened until it was more of a long cavern than a tunnel. It was then that the CBettes heard a bone-chilling sound eerily whispering along the tunnel, cutting right into their hearts. 
It was a longing, mourning song, heard more by the hearts of the CBers than their ears. It was hopeful, but sad. Never ceasing. Wavering. Tears were brought to the CBers' eyes, and they stopped to listen to the mournful tune. 
Joss placed the torch on the harrowed stone. She felt that it would be best left behind. Hand in hand, the pair slowly made one last sharp turn and into a humongous, bright dome. The only words to describe it was awe-inspiring. Their eyes could barely take in the sights all at once. Animals of all colors sat in cages placed at random intervals throughout the cavern. Mats and whips lay strewn about. Cascading falls splashed at the end of the room. Torches, burning brightly, had been carefully placed on every inch of the rounded walls. Rubble and boxes had been stacked with caution in a sort of border from one section of animals to the next.
But perhaps the most wonderful, surprising, heart-wrenching sight of all were the ghosts of the deceased CBers. 
~ ~ ~ 
submitted by Farmer's Assistant, The Resort Farm
(February 1, 2016 - 9:24 pm)

WHOA! I was not expecting that! Farmer's Assistant, keep up the AMAZING work!

submitted by OtR
(February 2, 2016 - 7:14 am)

OOOH, THE SUSPENSE!!!

You are like THE BEST WRITER EVER!!! I can't wait for the next part! 

submitted by Joss
(February 2, 2016 - 2:20 pm)
submitted by Top
(February 1, 2016 - 9:32 pm)

The only words to describe it was awe-inspiring. Their eyes could barely take in the sights all at once. Cascading falls splashed at the end of the room. Torches, burning brightly, had been carefully placed on every inch of the top halves of the walls.Animals of all colors and types--sloths, birds, bicorns in stables, lions, cows--sat in pens placed at strategic intervals throughout the cavern. It seemed that large bovines and equestrians were in the back with their own corral and waterfall. Birds were tied to posts on the left part of the dome. Strange animals had been locked in cages and stacked neatly on the right side, and in the middle of it all there was a circle made of wood fencing where long mats and whips lay strewn about.

But perhaps the most wonderful, surprising, heart-wrenching sight of all were the ghosts of the deceased CBers. Micearenice, Abigail S., Hotairballoon, Cho Chang, Will, Chip, Holly, and Joan, all transparent, floated swiftly in and out of the different stations in the training room. They all looked normal; Micearenice and Cho weren't torn to pieces; Joan was human; Will had un-squished himself; Chip and Holly had lost their strangled appearances. All hummed that sad, mournful song. 

They crowded around a bicorn after leading it out of a corral and started cracking whips and clicking clickers. It was comical watching see-through CBers handle whips effortlessly like that. The ghosts didn't look happy, and neither did the bicorn. But when Micearenice floated around to get a rope off the floor, she saw Joss and OtR watching them with their jaws open, and signaled excitedly to her fellow spirits. When the ghosts spotted their friends, the tune suddenly ceased, and it was observed that their faces could hardly hold their ghostly excitements.

When they reached the pair of living CBers, they broke out in a silent conversation. Their mouths were moving, but no sound came out of them. Joss asked them with tears of joy, "Why didn't any of you come back to see us?!"
The ghosts shook their heads sadly. They all made motions frantically, but the CBettes couldn't decipher the sign language for the life of them. Joss settled for yes-or-no questions only.
"Are you real?" The ghosts nodded.
"Are you training these animals?" Another group nod.
"Are you doing this for the murderer?" Nod.
"On your own free will?" The ghosts shook their heads 'no' emphatically.
"Can you talk?" A shake.
"What about to each other?" A nod.
"Can you come back to the surface with us?" A shake. 
Joss and OtR sat on a box to think. The ghosts floated around, chattering excitedly. 
---
It's so good to see you! Micearenice said to Joss and Over the Rainbow, who looked on blankly. How is everyone up there?
I wish they could hear us! Cho said, turning to Hotairballoon.
How's Dolphin? And Spyro? Hotairballoon wondered.

Fnvu! Chip said.

How can we get them to understand us? Joan asked, perplexed.

I don't think we can. It's probably part of this curse, Cho speculated.

Shame we can't follow them to the surface. I'm getting tired of training these animals for you-know-who, Abigail said mournfully. Also, I'm tired of mouse stickers,

Well, you could've told me!!! I can tear them down right now! Mice said indignantly, looking towards the back where her beloved mouse stickers hung.

---

The Micearenice ghost swooped over to the horse and bovine station in the back and began tearing down papers from the wall. Joss and OtR had no idea what they were. They noticed the other ghosts looking relieved.

"Well, I think we should go before the murderer comes back," Joss said uncomfortably.

"I'm just gonna ask this to be sure, since you're in the Dining Room, Joss, and no offense, but is Joss the murderer?" The ghosts shook their heads. Both OtR and Joss looked relieved to hear the truth. They took one last look at the cave, bid goodbye to their friends, and ran back through the tunnel. Though they were sad to leave them, they'd promised to visit soon, and they most definitely did not want to meet the murderer and be stuck down there themselves.

--- 

When willl the murderer strike next?! What will she do? WIll Joss and Over the Rainbow make it out alive? Find out in Day Six, Part Two!!!!!!!!!!

--- 

I enhanced the cave at the beginning a little more. Forgive me for the repetition.

--- 

submitted by Farmer's Assistant, The Resort Farm
(February 2, 2016 - 8:25 am)
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