A Trick and A Nightmare Inducing Mouse
By Nicholas
“Pssst Green, are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Sure it is.” The mouse wearing black turned to his partner a red squirrel. “Help me with that bucket.” He held out his paw to the squirrel. Green looked at the blue bucket then reluctantly lifted it up.
The mouse snatched it from the squirrel with some impatience. “I need it too balance just right on this ledge.” He said and after a moment of shifting the bucket to the left then right started climbing down. “There is set. When somebody answers the door, the string will go taut, pulling the bucket of water over the ledge. This should give em a good dunking.”
“Faber, this won’t work.” Green whispered urgently. Faber was already carrying the small ladder to hide it away amongst the branches outside the Rescue Ranger’s main door.
“It’s too simple to fail.” Faber replied with annoyance.
“No, I mean these are the Rescue Rangers…”
“All the better the gag.”
“What if they catch us?”
“Let ‘em try.”
“Faber! What if!”
“Shush! What if? What if?” Faber repeated disdainfully. “It is Halloween. Tell them it is a trick.” Faber pushed the ladder under a few twigs. ‘Perfect,’ the darkness and the few twigs did a better camouflage job then he expected.
“Hit the door bell. And hide.”
Green glanced at Faber. Already the mouse had vanished into the dark.
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“Golly, the doorbell.” Gadget said and hurried from the couch to the door.
Since it was Halloween, Gadget let herself be persuaded by Dale to dress up. In exchange for her lavender jumpsuit, she wore a lavender one-piece gown. When asked what she was, Gadget couldn’t quite put a finger on an answer. “Something,” she said. Dale resolved that by labelling it a witch costume. Feeling his luck was on the role, Dale became particularly persistent or perhaps just a half step from plain suicidal. He managed to have Widget wear a similar dress.
Half way to the stairs, Gadget picked up a bowl of candy on a low table. Gimcrack stood there, a candy bar in his mouth. Gadget grinned at her nephew. He looked more like his father Jurger every day, maybe even a bit like grandfather Geegaw. Would he be a flier or a submariner when he grew up.
Gadget opened the door. The rope when taut, the bucket and its contents shifted “Gee, nobody…”
“Ohmigod…Ohmigod… You killed her.” Green stared down. Candy was strewn all over the place. Wet candy. It would become a sticky mess soon.
“What do you meant? You rang the door bell.” Faber replied. He was
second to come after Green had emerged from hiding.
“It was your plan!” Green glared at Faber.
“You didn’t have to go along with it.” He countered hotly and for a moment silenced Green. “ I wonder if she is alright?”
“Alright!” The squirrel exclaimed. “Alright! How can she be? The bucket hit her on the head!” Green took up the blue bucket and held it up at Faber accusingly.
“Will you keep that away from me.”
“She’s dead!”
A long shadow fell on them. The light from the open door turned dark. Faber glanced to the side and his eyes when wide. She was standing there, but she shouldn’t be. She was lying on the ground… dead!
Green turned. The figure was like a photonegative, drained of all its’ colour. Her fur was white. The gold from her hair had been bleached to grey. And her eyes were red, as if no other colour but blood filled them. Her dress had transformed to the darkest of black. But most terrible of all was the expression she wore on her face. Death!
“Ahhhh!!!!” The two screamed their head off.
“A ghost!” Green threw the bucket at the apparition. It flew for a short distance then froze in mid air. Her left arm shot out and caught the bucket. Slowly her paw closed into a fist, buckling the aluminium vessel. Faber gulped. The bucket dropped to the ground, an iron paw print on its side.
Green and Faber glance once at each other and did what came natural to rodents. They ran. Faber dashed into the dark, only instinct kept him from falling off the branch. Green yelped. He hadn’t gotten two steps. A quick look back saw his tail in the grip of the grey white mouse. He was caught and worst, her paw was cold as ice. Green closed his eyes and shrieked.
Widget picked up Gadget and slung her slimmer sister over her shoulder. And with a very cold grunt dragged the screaming squirrel into the Tree house.
Faber had his back to a tree branch. He was breathing hard. His heart was pumping so hard in his chest he could hear his heartbeats. Faber still heard Green’s screams. The Ranger’s door closed. Without light from inside the Tree house, everything became dark once more. Dark and now dead silent. Faber shivered. Nothing remained but sticky candy.
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“Do you want a candy?”
“Uhh?” Green murmured as he awoke. ‘Must have fainted,’ he though. He found himself just a snout’s distance from a young mouse, maybe just two years old. The young pup wore the uniform of an SSS officer. Gimcrack was eating an apple favour candy stick. Next Green noticed his arms and legs were tied to a table.
“You are awake.” Widget hovered into view. “Now we can being.”
“You are dead!” Green gasped.
“That was my sister.”
“She’s dead?!”
“Afraid so.” Widget turned around to hide her grin. “We must now discuss a means of retribution. I prefer crunchy revenge.” She grinned a horrible smile at Green. Any wits Green still had fled in a nightmare terror.
Green’s throat went very dry. “Bbbut .. you are a Rescue Ranger.”
“You must be mistaken, my sister was the Ranger.” Widget pulled off a cloth to reveal several objects of unknown function. None looked particularly pleasant.
Green twisted his head and caught a glimpse the silver tools. The fur of his tail puffed up in fright. “I don’t want to die.” He cried out.
“I’m sure my sister shared the same sentiment, just before the pail of yours fell on her.”
“It was supposed to be a joke.” Green pleaded.
“I’ll make sure that I have the last laugh.”
“Can I help, mommy?” Gimcrack tugged at Widget’s dress.
“Mommy’s little helper.” Widget petted her son’s head. “Sure you can. Now hold this.” Widget handed a box with several leads hanging from its side. “Watch mommy, while mommy clips these electrode to this naught squirrel. They’ll give his what he deserves.”
“You can even press the button!” Widget clapped her hands together and even smiled warmly, perhaps forgetting Green was tied to the table.
Green was horrified. He was going to be electrocuted! “I’ll talk! I’ll confess! I’ll tell you everything.”
Widget looked down, an evil eyebrow arched itself.
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Gadget opened her eyes and tried to get up. Immediately a throbbing pain like a hammer tapping on her frontal lobes racked her head. Gadget let a sorry groan and dropped back to the couch. She lifted her hand to her forehead and found an ice pack already there. ‘Gee wilickers, what happened to the candy?’ Or maybe she thought, the better phrase to articulate was, ‘Argh! My aching head! Wait until I find the creep that hit me with a 23 16 hammer.’
“Mommy, Aunty Gadget is awake!” Gimcrack rushed off to fetch Widget. Gadget turned her head slightly so she could see something besides the ceiling of the Ranger Tree.
Mr Furton and Mr Calvert walked in followed shortly by Widget. Widget had returned to her habitual black wet skin. But her two officers seem to have decided to dress for the occasion. They were dressed as two pirates. Mr Calvert, a red squirrel wore an additional eye patch to use outfit while Mr Furton, a bat wore a sword at his hip.
“What happened, Widget? And Jeepers why are my tools out? The spare electronic control box for the Ranger Wing wouldn't be lying around.”
“A practical joke. I caught the two. Faber Wood and Green Delilay. They won’t be playing anymore tricks.” She paused. "I borrowed some of your tools for a trick."
Suddenly worried, Gadget found the strength to push her self up. “Widget, I hope you didn’t do anything too drastic.”
Widget grinned and that was rather unsettling. “I’ll tell you when Chip, Monty and Dale return to the tree.”
-----
Halloween was a week ago and Faber Wood still dared not sleep. He stared at the ceiling of his room. There were seventy-eight holes in the panelling. It was true what they said about smile. Some smiles invite you to the heart. Some smiles are cruel without warmth. But some smiles, some very rare smiles induced nightmares.