Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
Soon there was nothing left for JC to do.
Zombi and Skellii had gone to get the bones for the trap. Wolfey had also gone with them, since he was heading over to where Witchie‘s house once stood. He was going to dig a hole there, and in that hole they would place the cage-trap.
Franky and Vam Pea were done with drawing up the plans and had started cutting up the twine and branches they needed.
Mum-Z and Gho-Stee were helping Witchie to make the sleeping-potion-candy. Witchie was very careful when she was squeezing the droplets of sleeping potion into the candy, because she didn’t want her friends or herself getting super-sleepy by mistake.
It surprised JC how quickly and how well Zombi and his friends worked together. When JC’s teacher made his class do group projects, the kids always argued for at least half the time about who should do what before they even got started. When JC mentioned this to Witchie, she explained that since the group of them had been friends for so long, they had worked on lots of different projects before, so they worked like a “well-oiled machine” (whatever that meant).
But now JC was just standing there, in the middle of the kitchen. He had already stacked the latest batch of candy in a pile on top of a tightly-knitted cobweb sheet. The new batch wasn’t done yet, so he turned to Franky and asked, “Can I help you guys with something?”
"Nah, we're good," replied Franky. "But you could wait outside and give Wolfey, Zombi, and Skellii a hand with the bones. They should be back any minute now.”
And no sooner had JC stepped outside, when he saw the three returning. Zombi was carrying a sackful of bones, while Skellii was wiping the dirt off Wolfey. He was still dusty from the hole he had just dug. The three were all laughing because Skellii’s bony hands were tickling Wolfey, and he kept yelling, “Stop it! You’re tickling me! No, don’t stop! I gotta get clean! No, stop it! You're tickling me! No, don't stop!...”
JC held the door open for them and soon everyone was helping to assemble the trap or stacking up the candy in the kitchen.
The trap itself was very simple and was built quickly. It consisted of two parts:
1. a square cage without a top; and
2. a top.
Both parts were made from a cross-section of bones and twigs, all very tightly secured with twine and homemade screws. As soon as the friends had assembled the trap and had finished making and wrapping up the sleeping-candy, they set out to where Witchie used to live.
On the way there, they talked about what kind of new house they should build for Witchie. Everybody had their own ideas about what the perfect house would be like.
Wolfey said he knew of a really cool secret cave near him that would be totally safe and cozy.
Mum-Z suggested they could easily build a nice, big pyramid made of mud bricks, and that would be the most sensible thing to do since most of it would be underground, like his, and that would keep Witchie much more safe and secure.
Gho-Stee thought that maybe they should build a nice, big ship for Witchie, because living on a nice, breezy lake would keep Witchie in touch with the spirits of The Dead Tree Forest.
Skellii, though, couldn’t think of any better place to live than in an old Victorian house, where Witchie could have a nice, big kitchen to cook up all her potions. Plus, she could have lots of different rooms filled with all types of wonderful, lovely cats.
Vam Pea and Franky wondered why they shouldn’t build a nice, small castle for Witchie since she seemed to be quite happy in their castle.
It was only Zombie, who had lived in a crypt, in a graveyard, under a bridge, and in a closet in a little boy’s room, who suggested that maybe Witchie should decide for herself what her next house should be like. Because, even though it’s good to have friends and to be part of a group, it‘s also important to remain an individual and to be true to yourself.
Then, before they knew it, they had arrived at the site of Witchie’s old home. They all paused a moment, taking it all in. They had returned to the scene of the crime - where the candy house had been eaten. And it felt a little creepy.
But there was work to be done before it got dark, and so they swung into action.
Wolfey had already dug out the hole near the tree in Witchie’s front yard earlier. And now Franky, Witchie, Zombi and Vam Pea were lowering the cage into that hole.
Wolfey then climbed up the nearby tree and Gho-Stee flew up it as well. Together they secured the top of the cage to a branch with ropes and vines, exactly as planned.
Once the cage was set in the ground, Skellii unrolled a large, square, thick cobwebby cloth over the hole. Mum-Z and JC helped her secure the cloth tightly to the ground around the hole by hammering spikes around the edges. Then they all scattered leaves and twigs over it to camouflage it. After that, they scattered the sleeping-potion-candy on and around the cobweb-cover. Gho-Stee was already flying around and dropping some of the candy onto the paths that led to the trap.
And so the trap was set for TCM.
Now the only thing to do was to wait.
And as they hid behind another nearby tree, they started to wonder...
What would they do with the monster, once they captured it?
Vam Pea said he wanted to suck its blood.
Witchie said she wanted to cook it in stew.
Zombi said he wanted to eat its brains.
Mum-Z said he wanted to mummify it and then study it.
Franky said he wanted to dissect it and experiment on it.
Gho-Stee said she wanted to possess its body and make it do scary things.
Skellii said she wanted to bury it alive in a coffin and then dig it up for her cats to play with.
Wolfey said he wanted to bite off its leg and eat it.
JC pointed out that none of them ever actually did any of those things, so why would they want to start doing them now? But Witchie explained that they were just joking - and that was the point. They were all just making fun of stereotypes: How creatures often get the wrong idea of other creatures, based on silly and untrue stories.
And then they all laughed.
"Although, sometimes those stories really ARE true," Wolfey reminded them. "Just look at what TCM did."
And then everyone got real quiet again. They started to think seriously about what they would actually do with the monster, once they caught it.
"You know, we never did discuss what we would actually do with the monster, once we caught it," stated Franky.
"Well, once it eats the sleeping-candy, it'll fall into a deep, deep, deep sleep, so we can probably decide THEN what to do with it, depending on how big it is and what it looks like," suggested Zombi.
“Yes, more data points are always better than less when considering and devising a plan of action,” agreed Mum-Z.
The others agreed as well, and they all started thinking to themselves about what to do next.
And soon it grew dark. Before they knew it, the full moon started to rise in the sky.
The friends had fallen into a comfortable silence, just thinking and waiting. But then, all of a sudden, something rustled the leaves nearby.
Everyone jumped!
“Shhhh...” whispered Zombi.
But Wolfey suddenly leapt to his feet and cried, “Aggh!” And then he ran... in the opposite direction!
“Figures,” mumbled Mum-Z under his breath.
But what exactly was the noise? Were they finally going to see The Candy Monster in person?
(for Chapter 15, click here)
Soon there was nothing left for JC to do.
Zombi and Skellii had gone to get the bones for the trap. Wolfey had also gone with them, since he was heading over to where Witchie‘s house once stood. He was going to dig a hole there, and in that hole they would place the cage-trap.
Franky and Vam Pea were done with drawing up the plans and had started cutting up the twine and branches they needed.
Mum-Z and Gho-Stee were helping Witchie to make the sleeping-potion-candy. Witchie was very careful when she was squeezing the droplets of sleeping potion into the candy, because she didn’t want her friends or herself getting super-sleepy by mistake.
It surprised JC how quickly and how well Zombi and his friends worked together. When JC’s teacher made his class do group projects, the kids always argued for at least half the time about who should do what before they even got started. When JC mentioned this to Witchie, she explained that since the group of them had been friends for so long, they had worked on lots of different projects before, so they worked like a “well-oiled machine” (whatever that meant).
But now JC was just standing there, in the middle of the kitchen. He had already stacked the latest batch of candy in a pile on top of a tightly-knitted cobweb sheet. The new batch wasn’t done yet, so he turned to Franky and asked, “Can I help you guys with something?”
"Nah, we're good," replied Franky. "But you could wait outside and give Wolfey, Zombi, and Skellii a hand with the bones. They should be back any minute now.”
And no sooner had JC stepped outside, when he saw the three returning. Zombi was carrying a sackful of bones, while Skellii was wiping the dirt off Wolfey. He was still dusty from the hole he had just dug. The three were all laughing because Skellii’s bony hands were tickling Wolfey, and he kept yelling, “Stop it! You’re tickling me! No, don’t stop! I gotta get clean! No, stop it! You're tickling me! No, don't stop!...”
JC held the door open for them and soon everyone was helping to assemble the trap or stacking up the candy in the kitchen.
The trap itself was very simple and was built quickly. It consisted of two parts:
1. a square cage without a top; and
2. a top.
Both parts were made from a cross-section of bones and twigs, all very tightly secured with twine and homemade screws. As soon as the friends had assembled the trap and had finished making and wrapping up the sleeping-candy, they set out to where Witchie used to live.
On the way there, they talked about what kind of new house they should build for Witchie. Everybody had their own ideas about what the perfect house would be like.
Wolfey said he knew of a really cool secret cave near him that would be totally safe and cozy.
Mum-Z suggested they could easily build a nice, big pyramid made of mud bricks, and that would be the most sensible thing to do since most of it would be underground, like his, and that would keep Witchie much more safe and secure.
Gho-Stee thought that maybe they should build a nice, big ship for Witchie, because living on a nice, breezy lake would keep Witchie in touch with the spirits of The Dead Tree Forest.
Skellii, though, couldn’t think of any better place to live than in an old Victorian house, where Witchie could have a nice, big kitchen to cook up all her potions. Plus, she could have lots of different rooms filled with all types of wonderful, lovely cats.
Vam Pea and Franky wondered why they shouldn’t build a nice, small castle for Witchie since she seemed to be quite happy in their castle.
It was only Zombie, who had lived in a crypt, in a graveyard, under a bridge, and in a closet in a little boy’s room, who suggested that maybe Witchie should decide for herself what her next house should be like. Because, even though it’s good to have friends and to be part of a group, it‘s also important to remain an individual and to be true to yourself.
Then, before they knew it, they had arrived at the site of Witchie’s old home. They all paused a moment, taking it all in. They had returned to the scene of the crime - where the candy house had been eaten. And it felt a little creepy.
But there was work to be done before it got dark, and so they swung into action.
Wolfey had already dug out the hole near the tree in Witchie’s front yard earlier. And now Franky, Witchie, Zombi and Vam Pea were lowering the cage into that hole.
Wolfey then climbed up the nearby tree and Gho-Stee flew up it as well. Together they secured the top of the cage to a branch with ropes and vines, exactly as planned.
Once the cage was set in the ground, Skellii unrolled a large, square, thick cobwebby cloth over the hole. Mum-Z and JC helped her secure the cloth tightly to the ground around the hole by hammering spikes around the edges. Then they all scattered leaves and twigs over it to camouflage it. After that, they scattered the sleeping-potion-candy on and around the cobweb-cover. Gho-Stee was already flying around and dropping some of the candy onto the paths that led to the trap.
And so the trap was set for TCM.
Now the only thing to do was to wait.
And as they hid behind another nearby tree, they started to wonder...
What would they do with the monster, once they captured it?
Vam Pea said he wanted to suck its blood.
Witchie said she wanted to cook it in stew.
Zombi said he wanted to eat its brains.
Mum-Z said he wanted to mummify it and then study it.
Franky said he wanted to dissect it and experiment on it.
Gho-Stee said she wanted to possess its body and make it do scary things.
Skellii said she wanted to bury it alive in a coffin and then dig it up for her cats to play with.
Wolfey said he wanted to bite off its leg and eat it.
JC pointed out that none of them ever actually did any of those things, so why would they want to start doing them now? But Witchie explained that they were just joking - and that was the point. They were all just making fun of stereotypes: How creatures often get the wrong idea of other creatures, based on silly and untrue stories.
And then they all laughed.
"Although, sometimes those stories really ARE true," Wolfey reminded them. "Just look at what TCM did."
And then everyone got real quiet again. They started to think seriously about what they would actually do with the monster, once they caught it.
"You know, we never did discuss what we would actually do with the monster, once we caught it," stated Franky.
"Well, once it eats the sleeping-candy, it'll fall into a deep, deep, deep sleep, so we can probably decide THEN what to do with it, depending on how big it is and what it looks like," suggested Zombi.
“Yes, more data points are always better than less when considering and devising a plan of action,” agreed Mum-Z.
The others agreed as well, and they all started thinking to themselves about what to do next.
And soon it grew dark. Before they knew it, the full moon started to rise in the sky.
The friends had fallen into a comfortable silence, just thinking and waiting. But then, all of a sudden, something rustled the leaves nearby.
Everyone jumped!
“Shhhh...” whispered Zombi.
But Wolfey suddenly leapt to his feet and cried, “Aggh!” And then he ran... in the opposite direction!
“Figures,” mumbled Mum-Z under his breath.
But what exactly was the noise? Were they finally going to see The Candy Monster in person?
(for Chapter 15, click here)
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