Author’s Note: This story takes place in Requiem, 100 years after the events in Choke Hold. All recurring characters (Copper, Booker, Tortimer, etc.) are descendants of the characters in Choke Hold. (In other words, they’re not over 100 years old now. ) Prologue
“Look, I know how this sounds,” I muttered, pulling my fingers through my choppy brown hair. I gazed across the table at Copper, who managed to keep his expressions completely neutral as I explained my theories to him. Booker, however, who was normally shy and lacking in the confidence department, was quite clear about just how insane he thought I was.
“Ridiculous!” Booker sputtered. “What you’re suggesting is simply preposterous! Why you would fathom such a thing is beyond me.”
I glanced up at the stout bulldog that was standing over me. I raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. “Preposterous? Fathom? Since when have you been a walking poster boy for Mensa?” I asked caustically.
“I’ve always been this smart,” Booker bristled visibly. “No one has ever bothered to speak with me long enough to find out, that’s all.”
“See what I mean?” I snapped my gaze back to Copper. “Booker has never acted this way. It has only been since his sudden reappearance last week.”
Copper sighed, “Alright. Let’s take it from the top, Eve. What do you suspect has been going on?”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair, preparing myself for yet another retelling of my story. Monday Morning
I hate Mondays. I hate having to wake up early. I hate having to go to school. I hate having to sit through class, listening to my teacher prattle on about gosh knows what. Most of my time is spent watching the clock, counting down until the bell rings, yet knowing that there are still 4 more days left until the weekend.
“Would you like any more pancakes, Evie?” my mother’s voice snapped me out of my sleep deprived stupor. I simply nodded in reply. She loaded another three pancakes onto my plate. I doused them with maple syrup and shoved each one into my mouth, whole.
My father sat across from me. He was reading the Requiem Gazette, his nose buried in the business section. From my position I was able to read the headlines on the front page. “Another villager missing! The search for our loved ones continues!”
“Who’s missing now?” I asked my dad, pointing to the newspaper with my fork.
My father raised an eyebrow and glanced at me from over the paper. “It looks like Booker has gone missing. That makes three: Booker, Pelly and Mabel.”
I frowned, setting down my fork. “You’d think that more people would be concerned. Three missing villagers? It sounds like a serial kidnapper.”
My father rolled his eyes. “Honestly Eve, you can be so melodramatic. There’s probably a completely rational explanation.”
“Yeah, a completely irrational psycho is running around kidnapping town’s folk. How’s that for a rational explanation?” I shot back. My dad fixed me with a withering glare. One that said, “don’t test me young lady.” I decided it was time that I headed for school anyway. I pushed away from the table and rinsed my plate. It was time for another exciting day of school.
Signature-------------- [u]Goodness me[/u] no need for [colour=red]glorification.[/colour] [spoiler]___[/spoiler] [i]All[/i] I need is a good [u]r[/u]eputation.
oooooo a sequel!! I didnt read you first one, for I was too lazy. I hat ebeing behind stories But I shall read through this one. Good luck, CrazyOldLady!
It's not exactly a sequel. It only takes place in the same town. All the characters will be different. They're just descendants of the characters in Choke Hold. So it'll be like...there will be a few connections, but it's mostly a story on it's own, if you catch my drift.
How cool! Another CrazyOldLady Original! I loved it, Ashley! Like a pancake soaking up maple syrup I thoroughly enjoyed that piece of the story. I also loved the sarcasm of the main character at the end. Oh yeah. Welcome to Monday. Almost makes you wish that whoever is "disappearing" villagers would make you disappear for the day.
Great read thus far. I look forward to seeing where you take us with this.
Signature-------------- This is my Signature. It isn't much... but it's mine.
Cool! It's actually a great story that I don't have to spend years catching up with! I'm flagging this, for catching-up-with-someone-else's-story's sake.
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I traipsed down the path leading to my school, the straps of my backpack secured to my shoulders. I felt the warm rays of the sun against the crown of my head. Today would be a scorcher, which was a welcome change from the showers that had poured down upon the town throughout the month of April. May would definitely prove to be unseasonably warm. I could feel it in my bones. As I walked I stopped every so often to admire the hybrids that had sprouted up along the path. I was particularly taken with a purple pansy. I knelt down to take a closer look, my nose brushing against the petals as I inhaled the sweet scent.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a closet horticulturalist,” I heard someone announce from behind me. I recognized the voice immediately.
“Coco, how on Earth could you tell that I was smelling that flower?” I asked. This wasn’t the first time I’d been impressed by Coco’s ability to take in what was going on around her. She had been born blind, and as a result her other senses had become razor sharp.
“Easy,” she replied. “I heard you sniffing, and the sound came from down low. I simply concluded that you were sniffing one of the flowers. Either that, or you were getting up close and personal with the dirt.”
I smiled, “Alright you got me.” I stood and sauntered over to Coco, draping an arm around her narrow shoulders. “So, do you think Ms. Pinky will dole out that pop quiz she threatened us with on Friday?”
Coco shrugged. “I doubt it. With everything that’s been happening, I’m surprised we’re even going to school.” Despite Coco’s vision impairment, she still attended a school that didn’t specialize in special needs. Requiem was a relatively small community, and therefore the demand for a special needs school wasn’t exactly a top priority. To the credit of the town’s school, every teacher that had Coco as a student went out of their way to accommodate her needs. They supplied all of the books and tests in Braille, and Coco was always able to ask for accompaniment should she require it.
We bantered for the rest of the trip, discussing current events and of course gossip. By the time we’d arrived in class, everyone had already taken a seat. Coco, who was more than familiar with the classroom layout, navigated her way to her desk. I plopped down in the seat next to hers. Ms. Pinky sat at her desk. She was reading a piece of paper and at one point rolled her eyes at the content. She crumpled the sheet up into a ball and tossed it into the waste basket next to her desk. When she finally looked up at the class, her eyes widened. She seemed surprised by our presence. She carefully ran a paw over her dazed shirt, straightening it out. She was visibly affected by what she’d just read, and took a moment to gather her thoughts.
“Good morning class,” she smiled widely. “Normally I would begin by having you all study your vocabulary booklets, but today I’m afraid that we’re being inconvenienced by an announcement on the radio. You see Principal Admiral has left me a note informing me that Mayor Tortimer has something he wishes to tell us all. Instead of waiting until the evening when everyone is warm in their homes, he’d rather interrupt my lesson.” Ms. Pinky’s smile remained pasted to her face. I’d never seen her quite so irritated before. Normally she didn’t divulge her misgivings about the town’s mayor, so this was a bit of a trip. She leaned down and picked up a radio that she kept under her desk. She switched it on and fiddled with the dial. Eventually she landed on a station that was in the midst of playing KK Ska. “The announcement will probably come on after this song.” She told us. Once the song ended the DJ informed us that they would be streaming live from town square. After a brief pause the station crackled and we heard Mayor Tortimer’s voice.
“Good morning citizens of Requiem,” he began. “As I’m sure you’re all aware, there have been some recent problems concerning the safety of our villagers. To date, 3 members of the community have gone missing. The police are positive that they have been kidnapped. So far, there are no clues as to where these villagers have been taken, or what the kidnappers have planned. As a result of these kidnappings, I am imposing a curfew for the entire town effective immediately. No villager is to be outside of his or her residence after 7 p.m. I want to avoid any future kidnappings. I apologize for the inconvenience. I will announce once the curfew has been lifted. Until such time, please be sure to travel in groups for your own personal safety. Thank you very much.”
The classroom was buzzing with conversation. I leaned over to Coco. “I don’t think this new announcement is going to go over too well.”
“No kidding!” she whispered back, “especially for those that make a habit of staying up late.”
I frowned and leaned back in my seat. Coco was right on target and knew full well that I frequently visited the museum at night to do a bit of star gazing with Celeste. This new curfew would definitely put a damper on my plans to map out some new constellations. I was quite mad that these kidnappers were so selfish as to make me miss out on my shooting stars. Jerks.
The rest of the school day went by without incident. Ms. Pinky made good on her threat to dish out a pop quiz, and I was certain that I’d failed miserably. By the end of the day I was in a terrible mood to say the least. Coco and I walked home together, parting ways when we’d reached our respective houses. Upon entering mine my mother announced that my father was running late, and that we’d be eating dinner without him. I wondered idly if he’d get home in time for our new curfew, which led me to another thought: what would happen if we were caught breaking curfew? I didn’t want to find out. After supper I helped my mom with the dishes. I glanced at the clock and frowned. It was past 7 pm.
“Mom, shouldn’t dad be home by now?” I asked.
“You read my mind, Evie,” she replied. “If he’s not home in the next hour, I’m calling Copper.”
Posted: 7/9/2009 4:59pm Edited: 2 
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I like her =P]
I can't wait for more!
But I shall read through this one. Good luck, CrazyOldLady!
How cool! Another CrazyOldLady Original! I loved it, Ashley! Like a pancake soaking up maple syrup 
I thoroughly enjoyed that piece of the story. I also loved the sarcasm of the main character at the end. Oh yeah. Welcome to Monday. Almost makes you wish that whoever is "disappearing" villagers would make you disappear for the day. 
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