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Drum roll please, it’s the second part of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC! For those of you who have not read the first part, Aberdeen recommends you go to page 1 of this topic to read it (otherwise this part will make no sense).

@josiah @christieaton @daeus-lamb @hope-Ann @gabriellepollack @brandon-Miller @gracelivingston @cindy @sierraret @supermonkey42 @overcomer @corissa

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC PART 2

“State the password.” A dark-haired girl guarded the basement doorway.

The curd woman squinted. “Password? Corissa, I told you it was a passmove, not a password.”

“Oh.” Corissa smiled. “Okay, so what’s the passmove?”

The curd woman did a sweeping bow and Corissa opened the door for them. The curd woman spread a map in front of Pennsylvania. “I found this near Kayla cove. I believe the arc is somewhere nearby.”

Pennsylvania’s hands grew clammy. “Hey, isn’t that right in the middle of—”

The curd woman nodded. “The Gnatsees took over that area last week.”

Pennsylvania stared at the character figurine. Was it worth the risk? They were in the middle of Word War II and the arc was located in the thick of enemy territory. The arc was said to grant the holder unlimited power, enabling the person to create worlds and bend human hearts to their will. He could do so much good for the world—maybe he could even stop this war. He clenched his fists, chomping defiantly on one of the woman’s cheese curds. “I’m in.”

“Meet me at the Cheesecake Factory in Saudi Arabia.” The woman saluted, then vanished in a puff of smoke. Pennsylvania sighed. No one’s ever gonna take me seriously about this being an action-adventure story.
<p style=”text-align: center;”>***</p>
Pennsylvania unlocked his front door and stepped in to see the twins, Ann and Dan, huddled by the radio, eating.

“Hey, what are you eating?” Pennsylvania set his briefcase on the floor.

“Pizza.” Dan stuffed some more in his mouth.

“Hey, then why does it smell like chocolate?” Pennsylvania picked up a slice off the table and sniffed it.

Ann crossed her arms. “Because it’s chocolate covered.”

Pennsylvania facepalmed. This was a worse monstrosity than pineapple on pizza.

Dan raised a finger. “But tomatoes are a fruit and people are always covering fruit in chocolate—then there’s cheese, which is just like chocolate cheesecake—and the crust, well, that’s like putting Nutella on toast or something.”

“What’s that you got there?” Ann peered at the character figure in Pennsylvania’s hand.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a clue to the arc—”

Crash!

Storm and Christi broke through the window, riding a purple four-wheeler with a lightning bolt on the side. Storm stomped on the broken glass, creating even more broken pieces. “What do you think you’re doing? How dare you go  traipsing off to Gnatsee territory without us!”

“Yeah.” Christi crossed her arms as Edna tossed a random nut at Pennsylvania’s head.

Storm pulled out a list from her satchel. “Don’t you know that you’ll need digging equipment, plane tickets, room reservations, weapons for impalement—”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that…” Pennsylvania frowned, realizing all the things he had forgotten.

“That’s what I’m here for. To remind you.” Storm put her hand on her hip with an enthusiastic nod from Edna.

“But it’s too dangerous!” Pennsylvania argued.

“That’s why we brought reinforcements. Come in, ladies!” Christi whistled.

Two girls climbed through the window, one wearing a huge sunflower bonnet and the other snowshoes.

Christi gestured and the two girls bowed in unison as if they’d spent the entire day practicing the proper way to lean over. “Pennsylvania, I’d like to introduce you to Sierra, Cindy, and…”

Another girl burst out of the closet wearing a bright blue cape with a small dog yapping at her heels. “Zikergirl at your service!”

“Hey, superheroes don’t belong in action-adventure stories!” Pennsylvania furrowed his brows.

“Oh, no problem!” She tore off her cape, converting herself to a duller mode. “So, what’s the plan?”

“The plan was to go into Gnatsee territory alone.”

All the girls glared at him. Pennsylvania covered his face. I feel like an endangered species…

Dan raised a slice of chocolate-covered pizza, trying to save his brother from the doom of these damsels. “You aren’t being very hospitable, Pennsylvania. You haven’t offered our guests any refreshments!”

The girls all reached for a slice, but after one bite they concluded that Pennsylvania’s brother was deranged when it came to food preparation.

Dan squinted at Edna. “Nice chinchilla.”

Edna’s cheeks puffed out and she started to hiss. Dan backed away. “What’s wrong with that chinchilla?”

“What’s wrong with that chinchilla is that she’s not a chinchilla, she’s a piguirrel!” Storm spat as Edna pounced on Dan and started plucking his hair out.

“Tell her to stop!”

“Not until you apologize!”

“Okay, I’m sorry!” Dan wheezed. Edna hopped off and walked back to Storm’s feet and sat down, glaring at him for his impertinence.

“Alright, I guess you guys—or girls—can come.” Pennsylvania sighed.

“Yippee!” they shouted, popping open an bottle of awesomesauce.

“Hey, aren’t you two coming?” He glanced at the twins.

Dan rubbed his chin. “I’d like to come, but I got hired to manufacture microphones.”

Pennsylvania looked at Ann.

“I got hired to destroy those microphones.”
<p style=”text-align: center;”>***</p>
After a long plane ride and a short trek across the desert, they arrived in a bustling Arabian marketplace. Pennsylvania prodded Berfurd on, scanning the town. He didn’t see any cheese or any factory. There was a beggar sitting at the end of the corner; maybe he’d know.

The beggar plucked a harp, singing the ballad of some man called Graham Jackson.

Pennsylvania leaned over. “Excuse me, could you tell me—”

A trumpet blasted. The merchants panicked, running around madly.

“Hey, it’s the Gnatsees! Everybody hide!” Pennsylvania and the girls dove behind Berfurd, because everybody knows that hiding behind a triceratops is the inconspicuous thing to do. They watched the soldiers march past them to the town square. The soldiers halted as another trumpet sounded, followed by a deadly silence.

Everyone froze and held their breath as drums began beating. A door opened and the two most foreboding bodyguards stepped out, inspecting the platoon.

Pennsylvania pulled out a telescope. One of them had long dark hair, like a villainous Rapunzel. Her tall, dark boots matched her hair and made her loom over everyone, making them feel like tree stumps. Pennsylvania zoomed in on the other bodyguard. He was a muscular Arabian who was at least 6 foot 6, and when he smiled, his teeth sparkled like Lightning McQueen.

The two bodyguards stood erect as a general sauntered out with a spectacle over his right eye. Pennsylvania gasped. Never in a million years did he expect to run into him! He was known across the world for being the most crafty, evil general in the entire Gnatsee army. His name was General Raspberry. What have I gotten myself into?

“Brandon and Gabrielle at your service, sir!” The two bodyguards saluted as the general paced through the lines of his men. He paused in front of one whose shoe was untied. General Raspberry whipped out a butter knife and held it against the man’s head.

“What do you have to say for yourself, Ben Putty? You know very well that The Unofficial Berry Handbook clearly states all soldiers must be—”

“Please be merciful, sir!” the man begged, throwing himself at the general’s feet. General Raspberry shook the man’s hands off.

“Who gave you permission to touch me? Off with his toes!”

Brandon tapped the general’s shoulder. “I beg your pardon, General, but I believe the expression is off with his head.”

General Raspberry peered at him through his eyeglass, and Brandon backed off.

Snore!

Pennsylvania, Storm, and the rest looked at Berfurd. A triceratops’ snoring isn’t exactly the quietest thing in the world.

“Tell him to hush!” Storm whispered, noticing the villagers starting to look their way.

Pennsylvannia shook Berfurd, but Berfurd didn’t wake up, and he let out such a loud snore that the natives all the way back in KP would have felt the vibration.

General Raspberry looked straight at them and pointed. “Intruders!”

TO BE CONTINUED…

The next few weeks will be a bit hectic for me and Aberdeen, so if it’s a little bit till I post the next installment, that’s why. But never fear, Aberdeen will get back to this by June at the latest (maybe sooner). In the meantime, enjoy the suspense. *evil laughter*