There are no limitations on guessing! It could be anyone! Even your own best friend...

Day 3, Part 2... The Reprimanding and Trail Ride~

The assistant glared at the CBers the whole way up to the house.

"Chatterboxers, I'm disappointed in you all," she said.

"Why?! We just saved two lives?!" Sydney C. exploded. "If you wanted us do do whatever we wanted, why are you so mad?!"

"You could've been killed! And that's not all. Don't you realize how close you were to the electric fence?"

"Uhhhh, no...," Critic A told her. The electric fence had been a whole meadow away!

"Hmmph. Well, I don't know why I'm so mad, then. But please be more careful next time."

Everybody was thinking the exact same thing: If there is a murderer, no one is safe. Not even you. 

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When the CBers had lunch, the assistant went upstairs to speak with the farmer. Sometimes they wondered if the farmer even existed.

"Sorry I was so angry, everyone," the assistant apologized. "I just spoke to the farmer and he told me that it was fine that you all ran off without telling me."

Suddenly Dragonrider gasped. She looked up, and mumbled, "Sorry. Go on, I just... remembered something." 

"So we are all going to do something fun now! I can't believe that the murderer snuck away, right under our noses, but since no one died we should celebrate! Has anyone discovered the hidden wall in the back yet?" She looked hopefully at everyone. Panda, Sydney, and Will raised their hands. The assistant smiled with relief, and resumed her speech. "Good. Well, we have all kinds of horses and others back there, and each one of you gets... a free horse!"

Everybody gasped. "What's the catch?" Gwen demanded.

"There is no catch. I wanted to do something nice for you. I don't know why I got angry. I guess I just don't want our first group of CBers getting killed. I've... I've grown kinda attatched to you all, I guess."

Ookz got up and hugged her. "Wust," (s)he said.

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

The two workers led the horses out of the thick-aired biome. All sorts of pretty colors and shapes appeared, and the CBers were once again recieving a free animal. ***Everyone can pick out their very own horse color, and type.*** 

Once everyone had picked out a horse and was finished talking, the assistant began leading them along the wall, into a patch of forest.

"We don't know how to ride!" most of the CBers yelled.

"Hah! I forgot to tell you! These are hybrid horses, half unicorn and half horse. They communicate by thoughts."

Sure enough, when Booksy Owly thought, Go forwards! Her horse followed the line of others clopping down to the woods. This method made things a lot easier.

"HEY, ARE THOSE CATS!!!!????" Joss suddenly yelled. Her horse took off to the side to follow the pinkish-brown cloud they'd seen earlier. "THEY'RE CATS! WITH KITTENS! LOOK! THEY'RE ADORABLE!" The hot-pink cats Joss had brought along had disappeared during the run up to the house back when the CBers had arrived, and it looked like they had merged with a-- I think flock best describes them-- flock of barn cats. And the girls all had given birth to kittens in, like, three days. Weird.

"Awww," Rosemary said, and scooped a kitten up. A brown barn cat hissed, and Rosemary set that kitten down like it was a hot potato and she was about to loose the game. "Um, they're like the CAPTCHAs, guys, let's not bother them."

Wistfully, the group stared back at the adorable magic kittens as they rode their horses into the woods. Joss heard a mewl, and looked on the back of her shirt to see an adorable baby kitten latched onto it. Lovingly Joss scooped it up and said, "Aww, I'm keeping you." She put the kitty into her jacket pocket where it yawned and fell asleep.

"Everybody, we'll be taking a right--oh! I mean a left, I guess. I could've sworn that sign said right just last week, but I guess my memory isn't that great."

The farmer's assistant took a left, but the sign had said take a right. That morning, that is. Someone had changed it. The CBers were heading straight for danger.

On the trail, everybody had a blast. The woods were green, though it was winter, and birds twittered in the branches. OtR and Will talked about their bedroom and the interesting squishiness it offered. Shadow Dragon and Rufus argued on the topic of which was harder: flight or blowing fire. Sydney was wondering when the veggie contest would be ready. Mortif and Moonfrost stared into each others' eyes, to see if they held guilt or sorrow (Mortif's idea), and the CAPTCHAs told funny stories about their CBers in the morning. Suddenly the assistant stopped cold. "Stand still, everybody! I don't know exactly how we got here, but just don't move."

Her heart was beating hard. Her blood roared in her ears. Her face was white, but the farmer's assistant dismounted her horse anyway. She called to the riders, "This is the quicksand pit. If you look down, you'll see your horses' hooves sinking into the sand."

They looked down. Sure enough, the horses' hooves were inches deep in the sand.

"The quicksand is much like the Devil's Snare from Harry Potter. If you stay still, it won't hurt you. The sign must have been switched around. Normally I'd say it was an accident, but now that I know there's a murderer, I know that it wasn't."

"You--you're sinking, though! Why don't you get on your horse?" Princess Icicle asked incredulously. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to suffocate.

"Well, it feels kind of good between your toes! Kidding. How should I put this... so, uh, the sand needs to claim one victim, so now that I'm sinking you are all safe to go home. But please understand, the sand won't kill me! So go back home, and I'll meet you for dinner. Bye!" She said cheerfully. "Go on! Really, don't worry about me."

Whether it was the look on her face or an instinct of running from danger, the CBers all turned around and headed home. They hoped that their tour guide and friend wouldn't die. 

---------------------- 

A scary maid prepared dinner: squash with spaghetti and green beans. One thing was for sure: the assistant could cook, and the maid could not. The farmer's assistant hadn't returned yet, and as the CBers choked down their dinner, they felt worried she would never return.

They all heard the door open, and a sand-covered assistant walked in. "I'm back!!!" she announced. The maid glared at the sandy tracks left on the carpet, but the assistant paid no attention to her. 

"How did you survive!?" The CBers all asked her.

"Well, I'll tell you someday. Just not today," she said mysteriously, and the vacationers could not help but be annoyed at her complete lack of informativeness. "The veggie contest will be tomorrow! Maybe the murderer will have the heart to take a break to celebrate. I doubt it, but no one has died in two days, so..."

~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~  ~ ~  ~

That night, the murderer slapped his/her face in frustration. He/she was supposed to be more dangerous with his/her new animal army! Maybe he/she would rest for a few days... and pop up when least expected.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joan was nearly fully grown. It felt weird being a pumpkin, but kind of cool. She definitely was the biggest veggie their. She wondered if the perosn who had planted her would win the award, or if she would. She wondered if the murderer had planted her as well as zapped her, or if her seed had been handed to someone else. ...Because Dragonrider had planted her, so maybe Dragonrider was the murderer. Or maybe not! Joan had no clue. 

Chip says Kept! I think my CAPTCHA is turning into an AE. 

Yeah, the CAPTCHAs can have horses. And the AEs. I knew you'd like the stowaway kitten!

My horse is a chestnut, with a blonde-colored mane and blue eyes. And her name shall be Alice. 

Mine is a cream coloured pony named Quill. I love your writting! You're amazing!

Moonfrost's horse is a black stallion. It has red eyes and looks light a nightmare horse it's mane and tail is red. It's wild and frisky and ansers to no one exept Moonfrost. 

Moonfrost are  you sure you want that horse!

Yup. He choose me not the other way around.

Ok if your sure.

Rosemary's horse is a light lavender purple. With a white mane and tail. It's name is Lavender.

Holly has a dappled gray and white pony named Dappled.    

My horse is electric blue (a dominant gene from her unicorn parent.) Her name is Shock.

YAY, HORSES! 

My horse is small, chestnut-colored, and extremely fluffy. She has bright white markings around her neck and hooves. I've decided to call her Cynthia.

Dolphin's horse is some sort of water elemental thing. He's literally made out of water with two glowing beams of light in his head for eyes. I don't know where the heck she got him, since I know for a fact he was NOT in the stables... although, I have heard some weird chanting at night... Anyway, his name is Poseidon and Dolphin won't let him leave her sights. 

Boy, H.A.B. would have loved to see this. 

HAB, Abigail S, Abigail V, Cho, and I are hard at work underground right now. I can't say any more than that, only that I'm very tired of working for -----------. So much for relaxation! I 'm sure someone will rescue us soon, maybe in a few days...

NO, THREAD! BAD THREAD!

You stay at the top!! 

TOOOOP PLEASE I WANT TO READ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

I'm sorry! I won't be able to post today and maybe even tomorrow! With Christmas on its way I'm super-busy.