Escape from Binkoid Village: Ch12 Garthoid

I woke up in the morning with a sore throat. The sky wasn’t as bright and sunny as usual, and Edwin was muttering in his sleep, which I had never seen him do before. Well, I dedicated that day to trying new things.

“Edwin… Edwin…” I said, tapping his shoulder.

He yawned, stretched, and smacked his lips together.

“Huh?” he asked, dozing off again.

“No Edwin. Get up. Breakfast.” I said, it was his day.

“Ohh alright.” He said annoyed, and got up. I was so tired, I didn’t even feel like getting up myself, but since I told Edwin to, it wouldn’t be fair I got to snooze again.

Edwin went in the direction to go get the Nanaboids. He always got the Nanaboids first, then the little fruits from the All-Around-Tree-Ba-Doid.

“Jolieeeee!!” he bellowed.

“Huuuuuhhh?” I bellowed back.

“Well you don’t need to yell.” He said, when he trampled back, without the need for me to even get up.

“What? You-were… Oh never mind!” I said, wiping my face.

He laughed and playfully kicked my shoe.

“Ouch! That actually hurt Edwin!” I laughed.

He made a sad face and then giggled.

“So what did you want to tell me, that you were soooo eager about?” I asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Oh. I was just going to say that there are no Nanaboids left.” He said, looking away.

I rolled my eyes and went to go check for myself.

“Oh.” I said, when I realized there were actually none.

“Mm hmm, and you didn’t believe me. What a shame.” He said, and shook his head.

“Stop it!” I giggled.

I sent him off to get some fruits, and he came back with fourteen fruits; seven for him, and same for me.

“Thanks.” I said, patting my stomach.

“Yup.” He said, talking with food in his mouth.

We both got up as soon as we were finished, and headed off to explore the rest of the bad half of Binkoid Village.

“Hey look! A store!” I said, pointing at a rectangular building, with one big window, and a gigantic automatic door.

“Cool!” he said, putting his nose up against the glass of the window to get a better look.

Something, or someone didn’t like the idea of him making a face print against there shop window, so they scratched against the glass, and it made Edwin shoot back like a rubber band.

“Yikes!” he laughed.
The shop was called Shatter-Goid shop and it was just like a normal store, except for the fact it sold guns and knives, and rope in the window. We took two large steps back, and walked away.

Then, all of the sudden, the very ground I happened to be standing on, collapsed, under my feet.
I fell with great speed, and I heard Edwin calling after me.

“Joooooolieeeee!” he screamed, hands cupped around his mouth. His whole voice echoed against the dirt walls, and I didn’t see how they even did.

The, I hit the ground with a thud, and I grunted. This is great, I thought. I’m stuck in a ditch, or a trap, my butt hurts, I have dirt in my hair, my throat hurts, and now I have a headache! What a wonderful feeling! I thought sarcastically.

All of the sudden, I heard Edwin screaming too, and I felt a thud next to me.

“Edwin!” I said, “You came to save me!” I hugged him around the arm.

“Uh… yeah… mm hmm… that’s what I did alright!” he said, looking away.

“Uh… you didn’t exactly come here on purpose.” I said, beating my fingers against his arm.

“Well! I was getting to that! Except, when I was yelling for you, I lost my balance.” He said, and I could tell it was hard to him to tell the truth.

“Well that’s okay.” I said, patiently.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a mysterious voice said, a voice so terrible, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

I looked at Edwin “Was that you?” I asked.

He shook his head and asked the same for me.

“It was me you idiots!” a floating head said, as it floated around the corner.

“Heh?” I said, confused.

“Silence!” it screamed, “I am Garthoid, home of this trap you fell into. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You see, I am the keeper of all mistakes, and the owner of the Zipper of Torture.” It said.

“What are those?” I yelped, bravely.

“Oh. The keeper of all mistakes, is I. If you make a mistake, I own it. I will make you feel guilty, and others in this village, call me the Guilt Master. It tickles my side, if I say so myself. Now, the Zipper of Torture is something you don’t want to mess with. If you do something to displease me, you and all of your little friends will be shoved down it without remorse!” it said, laughing evilly.

“What?! You cannot do that! By law, I say you are evil and totally corrupt! Someone needs to arrest you immediately!” I yelled.

“Jolie! Shut up! We are going to go-” Edwin whispered, but he was cut off by the Guilt Master.

“Ha ha ha! Now, I don’t think you want to make the mistake of shouting like that now do we? Now do me a favor and SHUT UP like your good little friend told you to.” It said, and blinked annoyingly.

I crossed my arms and made a face at Garthoid (The Guilt Master).


“Heh. Looks like we have a sassy one, eh? Now, I am just about to ram you and your little friend down the Zipper of Torture. One more move, and I don’t care how much you plead and cry.”

“Listen Mr.” I said sassily again.
“OKAY THAT’S IT! YOU ARE YOUR LITTLE FRIEND ARE DONE IN HERE! THE ZIPPER OF TOTURE YOU GO!” It bellowed, and then in an instant, a floating zipper appeared. Garthoid opened it with his teeth, and then sucked in an enormous amount of air, which brought Edwin and I an inch away from the open zipper. Then something behind me, yet I don’t know what, pushed us into the zipper, and it closed right behind us.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” we both screamed.

We were falling, and it took about ten minutes! There were floating eyeballs with sticks through them, knives and guns, ropes, and pain. There was an enormous amount of pain. It felt like someone was shooting us all over, over and over again. It felt like hunger, thirst, rope burns, getting stabbed; all of those combined. It was so odd, because when we hit the ground, we were back in our fort. Our peaceful fort, and the pain stopped.

“I am so glad that’s over.” I said, breathing hard. Neither Edwin nor I really wanted to talk about it.

We were shaking, as we continued to take a straight path through the town.
Then all of the sudden, we saw a little, old sign. The paint was chipping, and we could barely make out the words that said

“Welcome to Binkoid Village. (The Good Half)”

“Edwin we made it!!” I screamed, “We made it to the good people! No more getting attacked! No more getting trapped, and hurt! We can make a new fort here! This is where we really belong!”

“This is great! We did! We DID make it! It’s going to be hard to make a new fort, but I will do it quickly, just to celebrate.” He said.

We walked together, to go explore around that half of town.

We walked to a neighborhood, where all of the houses where either painted a light pink, yellow, or a bright red.

“Whoa. It is so much more light and airy over here!” I beamed with excitement.

Edwin nodded his head, as he knocked on a door that was labeled,

“Tinkoid Residence.”

It was the biggest house out of all, and was completely made out of diamonds! They must be rich! I thought.

The door opened quickly and a normal looking creature, that was pink, and had wavy dark pink hair, smiled at us.

“Welcome to my house! My name is Cee-Ta-Boid, and I am the owner. What brought this pleasure to having you here today? Would you like some juice and cookies? I just made some. Here, have a seat.” She said, pointing to a diamond covered couch.

“Thank you!” I said kindly.
Edwin looked at me in approval.

“Here you go! Have as many as you desire! I have a whole other batch in the kitchen!” she pushed a little juice container towards me, and I grabbed the diamond made cup she also nudged towards me.

“Thank you!” I said graciously, “ I am so hungry! The only thing I have eaten since we have been here, is fruit, and a dead bird, some kind of tiny critter.”

“Oh really? Why don’t you tell me all about it while I go get the other batch. Looks like your friend here really worked up an appetite!” she said, looking kindly at Edwin.

When she left to go get more snacks, I looked at Edwin and clasped my hands together, to show it was some kind of miracle that we had made it over here.

“I have more cookies! I hope you all like chocolate chip!” she said, as she lay down a diamond-splattered tray full of moist, and delicious looking cookies.

“I do!” we both chimed.

“Now, you were saying. Tell me all about your wonderful adventure of coming here. You look like someone from Earth. Those are wonderful people. I am delighted when they visit. Of course, it doesn’t happen often, but I have been alive for six billion years, so of course I’ve seen it a numerous amount of times. I would be honored to hear all of the details. I have all day!” she said, taking a cookie herself, and pouring some juice into a small bejeweled cup.

Edwin and I took turns sharing about everything, from the minute I walked into his lab, until we came here. It took about a half an hour or so, maybe even an hour, to tell her everything.

“Oh my! That is so interesting! I love hearing a good story every once in a while! My, it’s magnificent that you made it this far! If I say so myself, it is brutal in the bad half of Binkoid Village. I love it here in the good half, because, everyone is so kind. And… oh never mind.” She said, covering up what she was about to say.

“What? What is it? What were you going to say?”

“Oh. I don’t know if you are aloud to know. I would be punished and thrust into outer darkness if I shared it with you.”

“What? You don’t have to tell!” Edwin said.

“Yes, I don’t have to, because Mayor Ba-Dee-Da-Doid will already know. Now, he has such a sweet spirit, but rules are rules, and he will have to thrust me into outer darkness if I spilled. I will wait another time to tell you.” She said, regretfully.

“Okay. We don’t want to push you any further.” I said, smiling.

“Thank you for understanding. Does anyone want more cookies?” she asked, looking at the empty tray.

“Oh, no thanks. I’m stuffed. Thank you so much for having us over, but we’d best be going. We have a ton to do! We need to make a fort, and need to find a water and food source. Thanks again.” I said, getting up.

“Wait! You can live with me!” she said, looking at us in the eye.

“Really? For real?” Edwin asked, looking at me.

“Yes! I have two children, and the sweetest husband you will ever meet. They would be delighted to accept more people, especially a human! The last time I ever hosted a human here, was three million years ago! The rest were too afraid to come any closer!” she said kindly.

“Well… okay! That’s an offer we can’t beat up!” I said, and Edwin nodded his head.

“Now, let me show you around the house.” She said, gesturing us to follow her.

We followed her all around. She showed us the bathrooms, the three main hallways on the first floor, the office, the theatre, and the three playrooms.
The second floor had three bathrooms, one playroom, nine bedrooms, two kitchens, and a bowling alley.
The third floor was the floor I stayed on, and it had a dance room, a recording studio, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms.
The fourth floor was the last floor, and the floor Edwin would stay on. It had a kitchen, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, another bowling alley, and a basketball court that led up to the roof.

The house was completely astonishing. “It’s, it’s. Your house is amazing!” I said.

“Oh, thank you! You are too nice!” she said.

“We are nice? You’re the one letting us live here for as long as we want!” Edwin thanked.

“Oh, but you are the ones who let me reunite with a human! Oh, Ba-Lem-Oid will be so pleased! He is my husband, and my little girl Rose-Boid and son Chi-Coid will be so excited!” she said, clapping her hands together.

“Such lovely names!” Edwin laughed.

Cee-Ta-Boid took it seriously, “Thank you!” she exclaimed. They must be normal where she lives.

She took me to my room first. The doorknob was made of diamonds, followed by the bed frame, and the vanity had crystals covering it.

“Oh it’s simply beautiful!” I said.

“Thanks!”

Then, she walked over to Edwin’s room, while I got to have a close up look at where I would be staying for who knew how long.

“Whoa” I whispered to myself.

Everything was covered in some kind of rare jewel. There were diamonds, and crystals, and gold, and rubies. Some I couldn’t even name, but they were still amazingly and shockingly beautiful.

“Hello? Jolie?” Cee-Ta-Boid yelled.

“Yes?” I bellowed; I had to yell loud, because she was on the first floor, and I was on the
third.

“I was just wondering if you needed anything and if you liked your room!” I could tell she was running out of breath as she yelled.

“Oh. Thank you! I don’t need anything at the moment, but I love my room! It’s completely astounding!”

“Okay! Thank you! Edwin!!” she yelled, probably asking Edwin the same.

It took Edwin a while to respond, considering he was on the highest floor, and she was on the bottom.

“Edwin! Edwin! Edwiiiiiin!” she yelled.

“Yeeeeeees?” he bellowed.

“Oh I was just seeing if you needed anything!” she screamed.

“Oh. No, I don’t but thanks for asking!” he said.

I exited my room, and decided to check out the rest of where I was staying. It was cool, because I got my own floor, Edwin got his own floor, and the family got the first and second. Now of course we were allowed down there and they were allowed where Edwin and I stayed, but still, it was cool. I did feel a bit guilty for taking their floors, because each of their two kids got a floor, and then Cee-Ta-Boid, and Ba-Lem-Oid (the parents) got their floor to share. So I guessed the bottom floor was the family floor.
When I walked into the dance room, it was like old times. When I was a child, I was a major ballerina. I had dance six times a week, all except Sunday, and I went for two to six hours each day. I begged and begged my parents for a dance room, but time and time again they refused. They didn’t want me to become “addicted”. This was like the dream I never got. I spent most of my days here in the dance room, because it made me feel so nostalgic. As I was retrying the splits, I heard Cee-Ta-Boid come around the corner into the dance room, where I was in.

“Oh!” I said, surprised, and jumped up.

“Oh I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you! Continue! I’m just going to Big Buck-Oid bank. Wanna come with? I could show you around!” she offered.

“Oh okay! May I please bring Edwin! He would love to come with too!” I asked.

“I would be delighted!” she said, looking in the mirror and fluffing her pink frizzy hair.

“Edwin!” I bellowed, “I’m going to the bank with Cee-Ta-Boid! Come on! Do you want to come too?”

“Sure! Let me get my shoes on!” he yelled back.

“Oh. I feel disgusting. May I please take a shower when we return? I haven’t showered in oh; I don’t even remember the last time I showered! It has had to have to been at least a month. Gosh.” I said.

She smiled and nodded her head.
Edwin came running downstairs, the back of his shoes were crushed by his heels.

“Edwin. Put your shoes on right. You are going to break them. It is the only pair you have.” I scolded.

“Kay.” He said.

As we walked down all the flights of stairs, I heard Edwin panting.

“You okay, Edwin” I asked.

“Yeah. Whew!” he said, “I hope I don’t have to do this all the time! I’m tired. Although it does give me a workout! I need to get this extra flab off my belly.”

“Edwin. We have been lost in a little jungle city for long enough. We have barely eaten anything but fruit. You have nothing but bones now.” I laughed.

He snorted and I realized I couldn’t see Cee-Ta-Boid anymore.

“Cee-Ta-Boid?” I asked, worried.

“I’m down here!” she chimed.

“Whoa. She’s fast!” Edwin laughed.

“She has lived here forever. How many years of practice do you think she has?” I said.

He shrugged his shoulders.
We finally reached the bottom stairs, and I realized I was sweating like a hog. I quickly wiped my underarms, and forehead, so she wouldn’t notice.

“Okay. Hop in the Time Needle.” She said, and opened the back of some kind of car they would call it. I would call it a car from the future. It long, but very low to the ground and short. It had a tip on the end of it, which probably helped it cut through air faster.

“Buckle in.” she said, as we all climbed inside.

“Oh… my….gosh.” Edwin said, looking at all of the buttons and things inside., “You must be a rocket scientist to turn this thing on!”

“Mm hmm. Yeah.” she said as she pushed the biggest button that said ON.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!” I laughed, “Yeah. A rocket scientist!”

“Here we go! Buckle up! It’s on your right! Just tap the button that says BUCKLE. It will strap you in automatically.” She said.

Both Edwin and I tapped it at the same time, and in an instant it strapped us in all tight and secure.

“Here we go! It’s a little fast for newcomers. If you need to throw up, press the button with your foot on the floor. It will swing a big bucket right to your mouth.” She laughed, and pushed ON.
The Time Needle roared to life, and then in a blink of the eye, it went flying into air. My cheeks went back and my hair flew into my eyes and face.

“Wheeeeeeeeeres theeeeeeee buuuuuuttooooooon?” Edwin struggled.

“Puuuuush iiiiiit wiiiiiiiiith yoooooo-” I didn’t even get to finish, because it stopped.

“We’re here! By foot, it would have taken fifteen minutes, but by Time Needle, it only takes twenty seconds.” She said proudly.

I looked at Edwin, and his hair was completely slicked back by the wind. He had spit across his cheek, and he could barely open his eyes. My heart was still beating fast, when we got out, and headed inside the bank.

“Welcome to Big Buck-Oid bank. Are you entering cash or check?” said the creature formally, behind the window.

“Diamond.” She said, “A big one.”
All of the sudden, Cee-Ta-Boid pulled out a diamond the size of my head, and grunted as she lifted the heavy rock to the lady.

“Ommph!” the lady said, as she struggled to hold up the heavy weight.

“Heh heh. That’s what they all do.” Cee-Ta-Boid laughed.

“What name would you like to put this under?” the bank lady asked.

“Hmm…. How about Cee-Ta-Boid. Is my bank full yet?” she asked.

“Full yet?” I whispered, “I didn’t even know you could fill up a bank! Dang, she must be filthy rich!”

“Yes. Your new bank is already full.” The lady said annoyed.

“Oh boy. I don’t want to open a seventy-second bank account! Can’t you open a huge well for me to store my money in?” Cee-Ta-Boid laughed, humbly.

“Afraid we already did. And you filled up seven of those already!” she chuckled.

“Hmm…. I guess I’ll just open another account. Okay, I want the username to be CookedSalie and password to be one-three-six-seven-two-two-nine.” She said.

“Okay! It’s all ready! Thank you and return soon!” the lady said.

“Oh boy.” Edwin moaned, “Another ride in that car of doom. Do we have to?”


“You don’t have to do anything!” Cee-Ta-Boid said kindly, “But I recommend you do. You’ll get used to it. Come on. You can sit in the passenger seat if you’d like. It is more fun in the front.”

“Oh, that’s okay. More fun isn’t my thing.” He rejected.

“Oh, okay! Suit yourself!” she said as she lifted the back for us.

I climbed in, trying to stay brave, but my teeth were rattling and I was shaking more than a scared mouse in the middle of an alley full of cats.

“Edwin. It’s okay. Come on.” I said, my voice shaky.

“Umm… okay. Hold my hand!” he pleaded, voice like a little girl.

“Edwin! You are a grown man! You shouldn’t be afraid of the little things in life. You have been on a roller coaster, haven’t you?” I asked.

He shook his head nervously.

“Buckle up!” she warned.

I pushed my button, and I pushed Edwin’s for him, so he couldn’t jump out.

“Here we go!” she screamed over the loud engine.

We went again, spit flying, hair in face, and screaming.

“AAAAAHHHH!” I screamed, I was having the time of my life.

I looked over at Edwin and his eyes were closed. I wanted to laugh, but the wind closed up my throat, enabling me to do so.

“Okay! We’re home!” she said, “Was that ride less scary?”

“Uh uh.” Edwin said, shaking.

“Oh Edwin. It’s all over. You don’t have to go in it if you don’t want anymore.” I laughed, trying to change his mind.

“Do you guys want anything to eat?” she offered sweetly.

“I’m fine, thanks. I think my stomach isn’t ready for food yet after that ride of a lifetime. That was awesome! Thanks for letting us come in!” I thanked.

“No problem! Anytime! All you have to do is ask, and I will be happy to!” she said.

“Oh! Tarter!” Cee-Ta-Boid squeaked, “I forgot to go to Merigo-Doid Market and pick up the Goolp-Oid for tonight’s dinner!

“Oh that’s okay! Why don’t Edwin and I pick it up for you!” I beamed.

“Oh, you two are too nice. I couldn’t though, because since you’re new, you wouldn’t know how to get there! Why don’t you all come with.” She said.

“Noooooo! Never!” Edwin screamed.

We both turned our heads to look at him, and he saw us and acted embarrassed.

“Okay. I guess it’s just Jol and I, huh? You sure you don’t want to go?” she asked one more time.

“I’m sure.” He said, as we walked out the door.

“Here we go again! Here, why don’t you hop in the passenger seat.” She said.

“Oh, thanks!” I thanked.

I pushed in my seatbelt, and again, we went flying into the air. It only took about thirty seconds to go two whole miles to get to the market.

“Whew! That was fun!” I exclaimed, she laughed.

We walked into Merigo-Doid and all of the workers there greeted us with smiles and waves.

“Who’s this lovely human?” one of the workers asked, with an accent so heavy, I could barely understand him. He had white stripes and a tail.

“Oh. This is Jolie. She lives with me now! Isn’t that special? Her friend Edwin didn’t want to come to the market. Maybe he was busy.” She said, trying not to embarrass him.

“Ah. I see. Well if you need anything, let me know! Bye Cee-Ta-Boid! Bye Jolie! “ he waved goodbye as Cee-Ta-Boid took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Oh! Nothings wrong! Nothing at all! I’m just tired!! Whew!” she said, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

“Well that’s good! Say, what is Gooslp-Oid?” I asked.
“Oh! You mean Goolp-Oid? It is like a potato. It’s really yummy. You will love it.” She said smiling, “Oh! The kids are going to be home soon! I better hurry!”

“Yup!” I smiled.

“Okay…” she mumbled to herself, “I might as well pick up some paper towels while I’m here, and maybe even some more powder to the juice you all loved so much.”

“Oh, yes! The juice would be marvelous! I loved it! Is It just that powder kind that you pour into a cup of water and stir?” I asked.

“Why, yes! It is! Let’s see…. Goop-Oid, Gleper-Oid, Galash-Sloid, ah! Here we go…. Goolp-Oid!” she said.

It came in a cute and tiny little container, but when we got home, and when she started to make it, the little tiny substance in the little tiny can, turned out to be the size of a car wheel!

“Whoa! That-that-that’s bigger than I thought!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah. That’s what they all say when they first see it! Isn’t that funny?”

“It is!” I replied, not thinking it was funny in any way whatsoever.

I heard Edwin stumble down the stairs, and I felt him tap my back as I jumped over to scare him.

“Boo!” I teased.

“Ah. You. Got. Me.” He laughed.

I rolled my eyes and continued to look at the long string of goopy, yellow stuff they called Goolp-Oid.

“It looks kind of icky now, but when you get a taste of it, you will be grabbing for seconds before you even finish your first bite!” she teased.

“Oh I bet I will!” Edwin said sarcastically, making gagging faces behind her back.

“Edwin! We are the guests! Do you want it or not?” I scolded.

He turned away from me, and headed for the stairs. I followed him up and went into my glorious room to check it out once more. I felt so lucky to have the opportunity to live in a mansion! I have always wanted to go inside one someday, and I guess, this is the ‘someday’ I imagined! I touched everything, and felt the cool sensation on my hands, as I rubbed them back and forth on the cool, crystal vanity. I looked up to touch the diamond-covered chandelier and to pull the light switch off and on. I loved when I turned the chandelier on. The amazingly beautiful diamonds glimmered and glistened as the light bulb shared its cozy warmth. Even the light switch was made of solid granite. It felt cold, and hard, as I turned off and on the main light. The lampshade was pink and white, and to top it all off, it little pink crystals, and little clear diamonds shimmering as the hung beneath it.
I walked into Edwin’s room, to take a look at what his looked like. It was completely granite. Everything was; his light switch, his bed frame, his dresser. Even the chandelier had a granite stick like thing that held it all up.

“Hey Jol.” Edwin greeted, “You like?”

“Yup! It is way different than I imagined. I mean my room is covered in precious jewels and what not! Yours is… so cold. But I love it! It is totally you! At least it is a boy room. Wait… do you like it?”

“Of course!” he said, “What’s not to like? I mean, it is freezing, but, I like it!”

I smiled at him, and pretending to shiver as my barefoot touched the floor.

“Hey Edwin. I’m going to go shower. You can after me. I can’t wait to be clean again!” I said excitedly.

“Okay. Have fun!” he joked.

I ran back to my floor, and jumped into the bathroom. It was so nice and toasty in there, because of the heater they installed to make it feel much more luxurious.


“Whoa.” I whispered to myself.
There was a tiny little machine, which had four buttons, and a dispenser.
The buttons were labeled:
“Conditioner” “Shampoo” “Soap” “Warm, Scented Towel”
If you pushed any of the buttons, what ever was labeled, would come out! I pushed three; conditioner, shampoo, and soap. I didn’t push towel, because I didn’t need it yet.

I jumped into the warm, steamy shower, and it felt wonderful on my dry, dirty skin. Layers of dust, and dirt, and bugs just flooded off. Everything that was caked onto my skin, was now gone, with the bar the soap.
After I bathed, I grabbed the shampoo, and squirted it onto the palm of my hand. I lathered up my dirty, greasy hair, and scrubbed it all around. Leaves, and sticks, and flies came out and washed onto the shower floor.
Next came the conditioner, and I did the same with that. Even when I was done with washing, I still stayed in the shower, to keep warm, and to enjoy the hot water trickle down my body.
I started to feel guilty for wasting their water, even if they were filthy rich. I twisted the nozzle, and the water slowly thinned, soon was gone. I shivered and pressed the button to receive my warm, and scented towel. It smelled of lavender, and felt soft and smooth against my shivering skin. It was so warm, and soon, I was hot as when I was in the shower.
After I dried myself off, I stuck all of the conditioner, shampoo, and soap, in the “used” slot. I tossed my towel in the “dirty towel” slot, and I looked for lotion. You can’t possibly shower without lotion. For me, it is a pet peeve.

“Ah. Here we go.” I said, as I looked on the counter to find a basket full of scented body lotions.

I squirted a small amount on my hands and smoothed it evenly on my stomach and chest. Then, I put some on my back arms, and legs. It felt so cozy and luxurious in that bathroom. It was better than a day at the spa.
I looked in the corner, to find eight big baskets. They were labeled from oldest to youngest. They were:
“Baby Girl” “Baby Boy” “Child Girl” “Child Boy” “Teen Girl” “Teen Boy” “Woman” “Men”

“Hmm…. They must have guests often.” I said out loud to myself.

I reached into the “Woman’s” basket, and pulled out a lovely pink shirt, and a lovely pink skirt. I found a bra and underwear somewhere in the pile too.
It fit just right, except the little hole in the back for a tail.

“Ha ha. The weirdest town ever. A tail?” I laughed.

As I walked out of the bathroom, I heard Cee-Ta-Boid call Edwin and I down for dinner. The kids were home from their friends house and they were pleased to meet us.

“Edwin, Jolie, these are my children Rose-Boid, and Chi-Coid. Chi-Coid and Rose-Boid, these are our new guests, Edwin, and Jolie. They will be living with us for a while.” Cee-Ta-Boid announced.

“Hi Edwin, hi Jolie!” said the littlest one, Chi-Coid (the boy)

They were both blue, with white stripes, and had large ears, but no tail.

“Hi Edwin, hi Jolie! We are very pleased to have you here in our homes. I hope you feel comforted, safe, and welcome! We will try our very best to make our home, your home.” Said Rose-Boid.

“Dinner will be ready in forty five minutes! Rose-Boid, will you please set the table? Chi-Coid will you please phone Daddy to come home from work now? Then, after dinner, Rose-Boid, you can collect the dirty dishes from the table, and Chi-Coid, you can wash and put them in dishwasher.” Cee-Ta-Boid said.

“Yes Mommy.” They both said at the same time.

Chi-Coid grabbed a phone that was plugged to the wall, and Rose-Boid opened the cupboard to get the dishes out so she could set the table.
When Cee-Ta-Boid left to use the restroom, I went up to Rose-Boid.

“Your so cute! Thank you for being so welcoming!” I said.

“Oh shut up!” she said sassily, and stepped on my foot purposely.

Edwin looked at me wide-eyed, as I grabbed my foot in pain.

“Ouch!” I squealed, “What was that for?”

She laughed and skipped away form me to do the same to Edwin. Then, Chi-Coid came in.

“Hee hee hee. I see you got them. I’ll go get the rope. You hold them down! Make sure Mommy doesn’t come in!” he laughed.

“What? No rope! What are you doing? You were so nice to me in front of your mom!” I said.

“Yeah. That’s in front of our Mom. Unfortunately, we are not so nice and good. MY mommy and daddy think we are angels. This is usually why all of our guests leave early. No one takes away my room from me.” Said Rose-Boid.

“What? You’re crazy! I’m telling your mom!” I threatened. The only response I got was a laugh.

“Now hold still when we tie you up. My mom takes a long time in the shower, so I’m not worried about time.” Rose-Boid giggled.

“I’m here with the rope! I brought duck tape too, just in case.” Chi-Coid said, as he carried in supplies to torture us with.

“You aren’t strong enough to pin us to these chairs!” Edwin laughed.

“Oh I beg to disagree.” Rose-Boid laughed, as she shoved me and Edwin down with one hand.

“Oh yes she can!” I yelped.

Chi-Coid wrapped us with rope, back to back against the chairs, and then taped our mouths shut with duck tape.
I tried to wiggle myself free, but surprisingly, the little guys were right. They were strong.

I thought to myself “ How could such sweet parents give birth to such rotten, and unwelcoming kids?

“Now stay there!” they both spit.

I tried to move as best as I could, but the rope held me still. The kids both ran out of the room to greet their father.

“Daddy!!” they both screamed.

“Hi kids! Oh! Are these our guests? Why are they all tied up?” he asked suspiciously.

“Oh! We were playing…uh…. Cops and robbers?” Ch-Coid made up.

“Oh! That’s nice! That’s good you were all playing! Good kids!” he said, kissing them on the cheeks.

The dad was green, with blue stripes, and he ears, like the rest of the family. He was somewhat handsome, of course, except for the colors.
He walked out of the room to greet his wife.

“So. How do you like my dad?” Chi-Coid asked.

I rolled my eyes.

“Oh yeah! You can’t talk cause why? Oh yeah! Cause you’re tied up!” he said sarcastically.

I remembered what to do if you have duck tape on your mouth. You lick it, until it becomes not sticky anymore. Then, eventually after licking it for some time, it will fall off. I did it, and when I mine off, I whispered for Edwin to do the same. He did, and both of our duck tape was off.

“CEE-TA-BOID! CEE-TA-BOID!! HELP! HELP!” I yelled.

She came running in, a towel wrapped around her.

“Oh my goodness! What happened in here? Are you guys alright?” she had a worried look on her face.

“Umm…. I-well… yes. But your kids-they-they” I stuttered as I tried to tell the story.

“They did what?” she asked.
“Well…. They. They are the ones that kinda tied us up.” Edwin said, nervously.

“They did? I just can’t imagine them doing such things! They like you! They really do!” she said in shock.

“Well…. Try to imagine it cause it was them alright!” I said.

She felt her head and called for the kids.
They skipped in and acted all innocent.

“Kids? Did you tie our guests up like this?” she asked, tapping her foot.

They both gasped and grabbed for their chest acting like they would have never done such a thing.

“Mommy! We would never!” they both said at the same time.

“Okay kids. I don’t know. You have been acting sort of suspicious lately. Now, I don’t know who did it, but just I case you did, and you are telling me a fib, I want you to both go to your rooms. No games, no video games, no reading, no dolls. Sit on your beds and think about what you did.” She said, disappointedly.

“Yes Mommy. But just to let you know, we would never have done a thing like that. But, since you ask of us to go to our rooms, we must.” Rose-Boid said, acting innocent.

“Okay guys. Remember, Mommy loves you. Now, Edwin, Jolie, how are we going to get you out?” she asked, after the kids walked away.

“Umm…. Maybe you should use a knife.” I suggested.

“Or scissors.” Edwin chimed in.

She smiled and opened a drawer.
Cee-Ta-Boid called in her husband, and he helped us out.

“Thank you so much.” I said.

“Yeah, we really appreciate it.” Edwin also said.

Cee-Ta-Boid set dinner on the table, and invited us to sit down.

“Are the kids going to come downstairs?” Cee-Ta-Boid’s husband asked curiously.

“Oh. They are in big trouble. I will bring them up some food after we finish.”

I smiled and looked at Edwin.
Dinner was surprisingly delicious. I was nervous about eating it, but it turned out to be pretty good.

“Mmm. Thank you so much for dinner! It was delicious! Now, I have to talk to Edwin in private. Edwin? Come here really quick.” I said raising an eyebrow and smiling.

“Umm… why?” he asked

I gave him a dirty look and he jumped up from the table and followed me.

“Edwin”, I whispered, “We need to leave. I know this house I completely wonderful, and uh! You need to shower! Okay, we will leave after you shower. These kids, they are stronger than we are. I don’t know about you, but I want to leave. Now just this house, but this world. I have hope that we can get back to Wacksville. Are you with me?” I asked.

“Yes. Now… where is the shower?” he asked.

“On every floor! Go on your floor, head straight down, and take a left.” Cee-Ta-Boid chimed in.

I rolled my eyes, and we both headed upstairs.

I heard the shower turn on, and then I heard Edwin go “WOAH!”
I laughed, and started to get my dirty clothes, and pack them up in a little plastic bag.

“Knock knock!” Cee-Ta-Boid said.

“Oh. Come in!” I said, startled.

“Hey, listen. I’m really sorry about what happened earlier with my kids.” She apologized.

“Oh! No worries. Anyways, I think it is time Edwin and I head off. He is taking his shower, and then we are just going to leave. But, hey; Thanks for everything. I really appreciate it.” I said, sad.

“Really? You didn’t even stay for a night! Why don’t you just stay here for the night? It will give me time to pack you all a suitcase full of food and supplies you will need. Also, it will reassure me you are going to have a safe place to sleep. Does that sound good?” she offered.

I nodded my head, and she gave me a big hug, acting as if she was my mom.

I heard the door open again, and it was Edwin, wrapped in a towel.

“Oh hey Edwin.” Cee-Ta-Boid said in a sad voice, “Clothes should be in a basket labeled Adult Men. You can go grab an outfit if you’d like.”

“Oh, thanks.” He said, and ran off to go get some clothes.

“I see you already found your basket.” She said, giggling.

I smiled, and tapped my hand on her leg.

“Well, I’m going to go make you and Edwin a suitcase to bring along on your journey. Don’t bother bringing it back. Consider it, a present.” She said, as she walked out the door.

I looked down at my feet, and felt sad. I couldn’t believe what had happened in the last month or two! I had made it past Edwin’s lab, past the genie, past the Toegars, past the evil mushroom maniacs, past the Swampsters. I had made it past Garthoid, and past the little devil children! I was a warrior, and Edwin too.

“Hey.” Edwin said, as he walked into my room.

I told him the plan, and what Cee-Ta-Boid had said to me. He agreed, and he went back into his room. I fell asleep on my bed, and didn’t wake up until morning.