It's night. You'r
Chatterbox: Pudding's Place
It's night. You'r
It's night. You're sitting in your bed, staring out the window, searching for something lost. But you can't remember what it is, or was. All you know is that it's out there...it's important...and it was once yours.
Perhaps you never used it, perhaps you did--once, maybe twice. Or more. But for some strange reason, you can't remember if you did or didn't. Or what effect it had on you. Or...where it is now.
As you awoke from a particularly bland and boring dream, the memory that you were missing this...thing slid into your head. As you sat in a haze between asleep and awake, you stared outside, scouring the landscape that, for one fleeting moment, was no longer the familiar world you saw every day.
So here you are, staring outside, searching.
And then you finish waking up.
And here you are, trying to remember what you were just doing.
Hm, you think, smacking your dry lips. The covers rustle as you reach for your water glass, which sits by your lamp on your nightstand like it does every night. That's really wierd...I can't remember my dream. It seemed important--almost real. Your hand meets cold glass and you close your fingers around it. You bring it to your lips for a satisfying sip, but you realize that it's empty.
"Darn," you whisper. You'll have to get out of bed to fill it up--but it's really cold, and you don't have socks on.
Eh, it's no big deal. You'll fill it up.
Throwing the covers to the side, you haul yourself out of bed. With every footstep towards the kitchen all memory of strange dreams and searches leaves you, and by the time you return to your comfy nest of blankets with your full cup of water, the night seems almost normal. That is, until you glance outside the window.
Something moves across the front of the moon, which is full and shines right through the middle of your window, lighting up your comforter. What could it have been? It seemed familiar...And perhaps it's the fact that you're still half asleep, half awake that you can sense it, but a powerful force beats from it. Calling you. Presenting opportunities that you absolutely cannot miss.
Without any hesitation you get back out of bed, but before you can even leave your bedroom you notice a puddle of water near your nightstand.
So that's where all my water went, you realize. I must've knocked it over. Upon closer inspection you realize that there's writing on the carpet, glowing faintly yellow from under the patch of wetness.
The writing is so interesting you don't even realize how strange it is that the puddle isn't soaking into the carpet, or wonder how the words got there. In fact, the words don't even seem scary to you, despite their suspicious nature.
Hello, person! You are one of the lucky few CBers to be chosen to go on a nice, relaxing, beautiful vacation over Lake Lelillo! (Lay-LIH-loh) If you do indeed come, and we absolutely hope you do decide to, you will be given a free getaway from work, school, and empty water glasses! Here at Lake Lelillo, you will have all-day access to the lake itself, the fun attractions, the ice cream stands, the hot dog stands, the hamburger stands, the steak stands, the spagghetti stands, and any other stand marked with a silver star. (Which is all of them, so please don't forget!) Your rooms will be huge and most of them will even overlook the lake! They will of course be inside our one and only Luxury Lake House, which you will live in until your stay comes to a close. Remember this is all completely free, free free! Please pack your things, bring an AE and/or CAPTCHA if you'd like, and wait with them by the nearest stream at sunrise tomorrow morning. As we always say: All inlets lead to Lelillo!
~Your Soon-to-be Chaperones,
Cassy and Lily of Lake Lelillo
How you read all that small print was beyond you. Will you go? It certainly seems relaxing enough. The choice is yours to make.
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I'll tell you all when the spots are closed, so join while you still can!
Please note that this is my second ski lodge, and it's kind of linked to my first. In a sense, it's the next part. I don't know if I should call it a part two, or what, but some things might reference the first ski lodge. Don't worry--I'm not going to make things super confusing. I'll explain things as I go--and I really need new CBers to join in. But I also need some CBers from my previous ski lodge to come. ('Course, they don't have to join if they don't want to; I'll understand.)
Here's another clue (if you didn't catch the others...) for the CBers who were in my first ski lodge, or read it, and wanted to be in this one:
What do you get when you cross a scorpion and a sloth?
Hehe, my alias isn't going to last the day. :D
(January 1, 2017 - 11:51 am)
THIS IS SO SCARY
(June 22, 2017 - 11:03 pm)
(June 5, 2017 - 7:32 am)
I must be really unobservant, cause i didn't see any clues xD and usually i am pretty alert with stuff like that... great writing and plot twists again!!
(June 6, 2017 - 8:25 am)
Thank you! You'll probably find more hints/clues in the next installment.
(June 6, 2017 - 11:09 am)
Well, now I'm even more confused!! Somebody help me figure this out, and LilyCat! Stay alive!
(June 5, 2017 - 3:04 pm)
This is the part where previously harmless phrases become suspicious:
Day Seven--Part Three
Briar kept feeling like there was someone behind her, which is why she wanted to hide against a wall so that she could be sure that wasn't a possibility. Nighthawk's AE had been hiding in a small room for most of the game, but when she heard first scream, she'd grown uneasy and left to find a more suitable spot. A closet proved both comfortable and extra dark, and that is where she stayed until something large and heavy fell on her toes. She held back a shout of surprise, pulled her throbbing toes out from under the large and heavy thing, and decided to leave that horrible, mean, nasty, bad closet.
That proved to be a mistake.
Out in the hallway, Briar heard someone walking down the hall to her left. She considered going back into the closet, but the person was sure to have heard her. She squinted to see if she could tell who it was, but all of a sudden, a flashlight was glaring into her eyes. It turned off a moment later, leaving her disoriented and seeing white spots. Abruptly, something knocked her feet out from under her and she fell to the ground. A split second later, someone came crashing down on top of her, and the person who had tripped her retreated quickly into the depths of the darkness.
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"MURDER IN THE DARK! MURDER IN THE DARK!" screeched September, but the lights, for some reason, didn't turn on.
"WHERE?!" screeched Briar, squirming and writhing underneath September's weight.
"YOU'RE ALIVE???" September gasped, toppling off of Briar as the AE sat bolt upright.
"I THINK!" Briar screamed, looking left and right. "I THINK I MIGHT BE ALIVE!!! YES! I AM! I AM ALIIIIIIIVE!!!"
"Shhh," September said, coming to her senses. Briar was too hysterical to calm down.
"THEY WENT THAT WAY," she declared dramatically, pointing down the hall. It was too dark for September to see which way Briar was indicating, and the CBette placed a hand on Briar's mouth to quiet her down.
"We don't want them coming back!" hissed September. She let Briar take deep breaths through her nose before removing her hand so the AE could speak.
"Then let's get out of here!" Briar whispered frantically, standing up and knocking foreheads with September. The two stumbled around in the darkness for a moment before grabbing each others' hands and tearing back the way they came.
"Come on!" September said, pulling Briar down the hall. "I have to find the person who screamed!"
"You're the de--"
"SHHHHHHHHHHH!" September practically screamed. She turned a particularly hard corner and the two narrowly avoided smashing into the wall. They continued onwards without slowing.
"Which way is the right way?" Briar asked, tripping over a rug as September dragged her faster.
"Down," September answered. "But you're going to stay up here."
"Wha--?! Don't leave me!" Briar exclaimed.
"Look, if I don't find that body, the game will never end!"
"B--but--but if you die...then it will!"
September stopped running immediately, and Briar crashed into her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Um...nothing. I take it back," Briar said nervously. "Um...maybe I'll just stay here actually..." She hesitantly loosened her grip on September's hand, but a second later, it tightened tenfold. "Uh...Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked an annoyed September.
"T--there's something over there," Briar said, turning to look behind her.
Suddenly September heard it too--a subtle swoosh farther down the hall. And the sound was definitely getting louder.
"Hide!" Briar said, yanking September into an empty billiard room.
"NO!" protested September. "We'll be cornered! YOU'RE GOING TO GET US KILLED!" she shouted.
"SHHH," Briar ordered bossily. "Now hide."
"...this room is empty," September said flatly.
Briar blinked, peering through the formless gloom. "Oh." She shivered. "Oops."
September sighed angrily and sped out of the room. Briar squeaked and darted out to follow her. The two ran down the first hall they came across and emerged in a large living room, which was old and musty and slightly brighter than the rest of the house, most likely because it had more windows and was larger than any of the other rooms they had been in. Unfortunately, this was an old-fashioned living room and only had one door--the one Briar and September had just gone through.
That door closed. September looked back to see Briar locking it up.
"We're safe," breathed September.
Don't be too sure...
Many things happened at once:
The room became seemingly darker.
There was a swishing noise, followed by a thud.
Of course, there was some scuttling, confused foosteps, and someone asking what was going on.
Then came the chilling moan, pained and helpless, quiet and mumbled: "M...urderer...wins..."
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Rest in peace, September. :(
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All throughout the house, the lights flashed on with sudden insensitive certainty that the game was over. Everywhere throughout the house, CBers, AEs, and CAPTCHAs were feeling relieved, anxious, and blinded all at the same time. They sought each other out slowly, tentatively; unsure whether or not this was a false alarm.
"W--where's--what's going on?" asked Poetic Panda to Nighthawk, Autumn Leaves, and Cinderpelt.
"I dunno," Nighthawk replied. "I guess the game is over."
Autumn Leaves walked over to the four CBers they had caught during the game: Kate the Great, Dragonrider, Puck, and Joan. Sitting on their laps were most of the CAPTCHAs, excluding Holly and Luna. "We had to tie you up for safety," Autumn Leaves explained. "But we can untie you guys now. Sorry."
"It's totally fine," Joan replied cheerfully. "I'd much rather be safe in here than dead out there."
Autumn Leaves untied them, and the group made their way out into the hall.
As if by some unseen cue, the CBers all rejoined in the living room where the games had begun. There they murmured nervously among themselves, waiting. Waiting for what, they did not know, but they were most definitely waiting.
"...and then I decided to go all the way up into the attic," whispered Elvina. "That's when I heard the scream."
"I wonder who it was," replied Nighthawk.
"Is everybody here?" asked Booksy Owly. "Who's missing?"
The Chatterboxers did a head count and determined that Briar, September, Shadow, Brooklyn Newsie, Luna, and Wordsy were all missing from the group.
"Surely they aren't all--" Moonfrost spluttered.
"No, no, they can't be," Owlgirl said. "They're coming. They have to be out there somewhere."
"We should go look for them," suggested Cinderpelt.
"Some of them aren't out there," said Jayfeather angrily.
"Okay, Mr. Hopeless, you can stay behind while we go look for them in case they come here wondering where we are," snapped Cinderpelt.
"Fine. Ariel, are you staying with me?"
"Sure," Ariel shrugged.
Jayfeather huffed and sat down on an armchair.
Suddenly, Brooklyn Newsie walked in. "I thought I might find you guys in here," she said, looking slightly bewildered. "What's going on? Is the detective here? Who won?"
"...We don't know," Owlgirl said. "Is anyone here the detective?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Didn't think so."
"Oh. Well...Luna and Wordsy are on their way," Newsie said. "Wordsy really had to use the bathroom and refused to be left alone, so Luna stayed to guard the door." Brooklyn Newsie attempted a halfhearted laugh, but when that elicited no response, she frowned and shrugged. "Maybe one of them is the detective. I never asked."
Booksy sagged with relief that her Alter Ego was okay. Autumn Leaves was glad to hear that Luna was safe and sound, but there was still the question as to where Briar, Shadow, and September were. When they asked Brooklyn Newsie if they knew anything, the CBette could only shrug. "I didn't see them on the way."
Not surprisingly, everyone heard her unspoken message: It's probably pretty safe to guess what happened to them.
A few moments of anxious silence passed when they heard footsteps approaching in the hall. No longer did they shy away from footsteps, as they would've done had the game still been in progress, but rather did they run to see who made them. Wordsy, Luna, and Briar entered the living room.
"Hi," said the CBers. Wordsy and Luna didn't answer. Instead they looked to Briar, who looked down and instead of replying, mumbled, "September's dead."
Everyone gasped.
"She was the detective," Briar added.
Everyone gasped.
"How do you know she's dead?" asked Puck.
"Duh, I saw the body."
Everyone was silent.
Suddenly the phone on the side table began to buzz. Brooklyn Newsie went to answer it, and as soon as she touched it, a text bubble appeared on the screen. Brooklyn Newsie began to read out the words.
"'Good game, Chatterboxers. I guess that's one point for me, then.'" Brooklyn Newsie's face was one of disgust. "'You did well on your first try. Have you gotten any clues yet? Nevermind; if you haven't you surely will soon. I'm giving you the day off to sift through your information.'"
Newsie read on, and the murderer went on to announce September and Shadow's deaths. After that, the phone recieved another text. It was a screenshot of a scoreboard; a sheet of paper with a line going down the middle. To one side of the line was the word 'me' and on the other side was the word 'Chatterboxers'. 'Me' had one tally mark below it. Then the phone went dark.
The CBers sat in silence to register this information.
"How do you kill a shadow?" Moonfrost asked numbly.
"Probably with bright lights," suggested Elvina.
"I guess so."
"What should we do?" asked Ice Wolf.
"I think...some of us should find Lily and Cassy and the staff and see if they're okay," said Dragonrider. "Some of us should look for the...erm, the bodies. And then some of us should probably start unblocking the windows."
The CBers split up into three groups and ran off.
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(June 6, 2017 - 11:21 am)
*gapes* wow. that was incredible Micearenice!
i can't believe i freaked out like that.
yea you were hysterical xp
shut up.
anyway, can't wait to see what happens next!!
(June 7, 2017 - 8:48 am)
Thank you so much, Nighthawk!
Chip says, "Cbbb." I think you're on to something, Chip!
(June 22, 2017 - 6:23 pm)
Ohmygoshohmygosh you are simply remarkable!!! My heart was pounding during that. Ahhh!!! I'm alive!!!!
(June 22, 2017 - 11:13 pm)
(June 13, 2017 - 8:56 am)
(June 15, 2017 - 8:05 am)
That was SO GOOD!
(June 21, 2017 - 3:17 pm)
Thanks!
(June 22, 2017 - 6:24 pm)
Wow......so I forgot I was in this ski lodge. And I forgot I was the first to join....this has literally been going since the beginning of 2017. I am going to read now from the beginning....who knows, maybe by the time I get to this comment something terrible will have happened to me. *shudder* No idea!
(June 21, 2017 - 3:27 pm)
Hello, me from the past.
(June 22, 2017 - 11:15 pm)