The Petpet Detectives: Case of the Runaway Raindorf - Part One

      Comet, the Raindorf, pranced around the small Neohome, pushing his Purple Petpet Ball all over the cream rug. He looked up at his owner with big green eyes: a striped Cybunny called Sabra and went back to his game. Sabra frowned and came down from the chair at the table. She carefully started towards Comet, but he snorted and shot across the room, the Purple Petpet Ball in his mouth.

      "Hey," said Sabra playfully, "you bring that back!"

      Comet took a few steps toward her and ran right into Sabra's outstretched arms. She gave him some praise and threw the ball into the other room. Comet ran after it and retrieved it a moment later, knocking into one of the wooden walls.

      "What a good boy!" Sabra said in her singsong voice. She turned to the room across from her and called, "Kara?" Moments later, a yellow Wocky appeared in the doorway. She smiled at Sabra and sat down next to Comet.

      "Hmm?" the Wocky asked after a moment.

      "I'm meeting some friends at the Slushie shop," Sabra replied. "I was hoping you could keep an eye on Comet for me?"

      "Right," Kara answered, "sure."

      "Thanks!"

      Kara and Sabra were sisters who lived near Happy Valley on a small and quiet street call Blizzard Lane. It was the 14th day of the month of Awakening and the weather was terrible. All around the wooden house the wind howled and flurries of snow surrounded them. Of course, this was typical Terror Mountain weather.

      "I'll be back before dark, okay?" Sabra rose up and put on a hat to cover her long ears. She picked up Comet and kissed him on the nose before gesturing towards the table with a striped-colored paw. She said to her sister, "I've made some dinner when you're ready to eat."

      "Great," Kara echoed. "You should put on a jacket, it's getting chilly."

      "That's okay," the Cybunny answered. "My fur will keep me warm." She thanked her sister again and headed out the door.

      Kara sighed, happy and warm, listening to the quietness of the house. Comet had given up on his game and went to take an evening nap in his Raindorf Petpet Bed. She went to the table and began to eat.

      In the fireplace, a fire was crackling merrily and the house was peaceful. Kara took a bite of the Carnupepper Soup and it warmed her entire body. She took a sip of the Strawberry Achyfi that had been poured for her and leaned back in the chair. Comet was sleeping and the wind outside had calmed. After a few more spoonfuls of soup, Kara didn't feel hungry anymore. She took another sip of the Achyfi.

      Comet looked up from his petpet bed. "Maybe I'll just rest until Sabra returns," Kara thought, suddenly feeling tired. She got up from the table and took a few steps towards her bedroom.

     Her yellow paws were very heavy and hard to lift-Kara tried to walk to bed but she stumbled. Swirls of white fog blurred her vision. Kara moaned as she lost her vision almost completely. Before she could get up, tiredness overcame her and she collapsed.

     ***

     The yellow Wocky on the ground stirred an hour or so later. Kara tried to open her eyes but a bright light made her close them. Her head pounded and she rolled over on her stomach. She used her paws to push herself off of the ground but ended up collapsing from the lack of energy.

     The front door was wide open. Kara could see that it was close to dark and snow was coming down lightly. She sat up, shaky for a few minutes before looking down at the tan jacket that was warm on her fur. Kara looked outside through the open door feeling the still night air. She could see Sabra hopping towards the house, a cheerful smile on her face.

     Kara felt a burst of adrenaline. She frantically looked around the room, but it made her head spin. "Oh no," she whispered to herself. "Where's Comet?" Kara didn't have much time to think about it--Sabra was coming this way and Comet was nowhere in sight! A voice called out her name.

     "Kara? Kara?"

     Kara slowly turned around and tried to lift herself to a standing position but her legs were still feeling heavy. Sabra appeared in the doorway wearing a confused expression. It turned to shock when she saw Kara on the floor.

     "Kara!" Sabra shrieked, helping her sister to her feet. "Why was the door open and what were you doing on the ground?"

     "Sabra," Kara said panting a little from panic, "Something's not right. Comet's gone… I collapsed after dinner and woke up to find him missing."

     "He's gone?" Sabra repeated, taking her sister by the shoulders. "Kara, what happened to you?"

     Kara swallowed trying to make her voice sound less hoarse, "I don't know. I woke up and he was gone. Honestly, I can't remember anything… I must have passed out."

     Sabra looked down at her sister and said, "We have to find Comet. He must have run out the front door but-" she stopped when her eyes discovered Kara's jacket. All over it were pieces of light brown fur…Comet's fur.

     Sabra's blue eyes grew round with disbelief. She took a few steps back staring at the jacket covered in Comet's fur. "What have you done?" She managed to whisper. Her soft features twisted in fury.

     Kara opened her mouth not sure of what to say but Sabra interrupted, "What have you done, Kara? What have you done?"

     ***

      It was cold.

     No, not really cold. More like it was freezing. My white wings felt numb and my orange beak was icy. Eyries were certainly not meant for the cold I decided.

     It was the 16th day of the month of Awakening and the three of us must have been trekking up this mountain for hours. The only thing we left were footprints but the swirls of snow made them vanish shortly afterwards. It was late and I knew we should have waited until morning to fly to Terror Mountain but this case sounded important and Luna said we had to get there as soon as possible.

     Luna likes to be punctual. She has this take-charge attitude and basically just tells us what we need to do. But she's not too bossy or pushy to the point where it becomes annoying. She just likes to keep organized. I glanced behind me and the shadow Yurble, Luna, squinted against the wind and adjusted the straps on her Faerie Backpack.

     She pressed on, almost looking cheerful. Of course, Yurbles have thicker fur so it's easier for them to withstand the cold. Luna passed me as I looked back waiting for Damien.

     I saw him coming, looking very tired. He was wrapped in a green jacket. I stood at the top of the small rift and he peered up at me. The royal Aisha looked like an icicle.

     "Where's Damien?" Luna asked, almost yelling to be heard over the wind.

     I looked back and saw the Aisha climbing up the rift, "He's coming," I assured her and I held out my white paw for Damien to grab. He did and I pulled him effortlessly up the rift. I was very large and strong compared to most Eyries. My wingspan reached almost fifteen feet and my paws were the size of dinner plates. I was also very tall. Almost as tall as the Rubbish Dump in Meridell, and that's saying something.

     When Damien and I caught up with Luna, I asked, "So, why'd we have to climb up this mountain in the evening? You don't think this could have waited until tomorrow morning?"

     "Oh, quit whining," she scolded. "This sounds really important. If your petpet was taken wouldn't you want relief to come as soon as it could?" Luna tunneled into the snow probably not wanting to know my answer to that question. She popped back up a few moments later and called, "Oh, look, I think I see the signpost for Blizzard Lane!"

     "Thank Fyora," Damien shouted, because the wind had picked up again. I squinted and could see that the signpost read: Blizzard Lane. Boy was I glad to see that.

     "Can we take a break?" I moaned, "My paws are killing me."

     "No way!" Luna yelled to us encouragingly, "We're almost there. Petpet Detectives to the rescue!"

     Great. Not only we were not stopping for a break, Luna was trying to make us out as some kind of superheroes. Whatever. I just wanted to get out of the cold. Luna stopped and pulled out a piece of paper from her Faerie Back Pack. She read through it quickly and said, "We're looking for number 5536; it's coming up soon."

     Up ahead there were lots of pine trees that surrounded the small houses on the street. The houses looked like they were made from wood and most were small. Who would want a home on top of Terror Mountain anyway, completely surrounded in the cold?

     Lucky for us house number 5536 was just ahead and to the left. A warm feeling washed over me-soon I could put my feet up, maybe drink a hot cup of Borovan and listen to the story of how a Neopet's petpet went missing. My favorite way to spend the evening!

     "Remember," Luna said, as we stepped up to the door, "We're looking for someone called Sabra."

     We nodded and Luna knocked three times as Damien reached into his shirt pocket. Charlie, the pea Chia, looked up at us.

     "Well, that was a nice nap," he remarked, yawning.

     "Yeah, while you were curled up and fast asleep in a warm pocket we were hiking our tails up this stupid mount-"

     "Shh!" Luna nudged me because we could hear footsteps coming to open the door.

To be continued…