Evening fell quickly and Damien left before the ceremonies as promised. He walked home in the cool air towards home, thinking about what had happened that day and of the excitement. [Note--I long ago noticed the "walked home in the cool air towards home," when reading the in-progress story out loud to my friend Mya, back when I was still working on it. I remember her stopping me several times during my reading and asking me to read it again. I kept reading it, growing more and more irritated, until I finally noticed what it said. Much laughter ensued. In the notebook, "towards home" is lightly crossed out and "ha ha ha!" is written in the margin with an arrow pointing to it.] Little did he know that the excitement was just beginning.
Amid the festivities, Tokky was growing tired. It had been a long day. So he went to Chernobyl and said, "I want you to take care of things while I'm gone. I have to get some sleep."
"Me? Wow!" Chernobyl exclaimed.
"I must be ill," Tokky agreed. He trudged away, yawning.
"The Grand Pooh-Bah's gone!" Chernobyl shouted. "Party time!"
There was a cheer. The Masons looked at each other uncertainly. Their names were Zachary, Castler, Ray, Popsy, and Zoot. [Note--WTF.] Ever since they arrived the Shriners had been testing them behind Tokky's back. And the tests were scary! They had walked tightropes, ridden unicycles, faced wild animals--they feared for their lives so badly that they almost considered going back to the Masonic lodge. But they didn't.
Tokky reached home. He unlocked the door and went inside, shutting it behind him. He went into his bedroom, laid [sic] down, and dozed off.
With a quiet click, his door was forced open. Two people entered and began to look around silently. They crept into Tokky's bedroom. Tokky opened his eyes in time to see the person point a gun at him. His shout was stifled by the second person bringing a rope around his neck. He gasped for breath and struggled, but soon his eyes closed and he fell limp, crashing his head against a huge vase as he dropped to the ground.
The next morning, Chernobyl went to visit his friend Katrina and another friend, Sandy, who were both members of the new Lioness Lodge. [Note--no, they're not.]
"I'm going to Tokky's to see how he's doin'," he said. "I'm not sure if he's doing okay. Would you like to come?"
"Sure," Kat replied, shrugging. "Why not?"
They rode on their bikes to Tokky's house. Chernobyl got off and went up to the door.
"That's funny, it's open," he said. "Oh well, he must have forgot [sic]." He knocked on the inside door which was closed.
"Hello?" he called uncertainly. As soon as he entered the living room, he was shocked. Books were strewn about, papers scattered, glass broken. Nothing had been missed. This was the same for every room. He finally made it to Tokky's room. He picked his way through the awful mess gingerly. He picked up Tokky's diary and read the last entry. It said,
July 1, 1990. Today the Masons are coming. We'll welcome them tonight and perform the ceremonies next week. [Note--written in cursive, not italics.]
Chernobyl skimmed over the entry to the ending.
I brought the ceremonial book home with me and put it back on the shelf. I'm going to bed early tonight. [Note--written in cursive, not italics.]
That's odd, thought Chernobyl. I wonder where he is? There's no entry for today!
He put it back down, then noticed that the sheet was nearly torn off the bed and that the headboard had claw marks, as if someone had grabbed out desperately at it. The vase lay shattered upon the floor, and there was a faint trace of blood next to it.
Kat and Sandy jumped when Chernobyl ran out, shouting, "He's gone!"
"What? What?" the girls asked.
Chernobyl caught his breath, then gasped, "Tokky's gone. The house is torn apart and there's blood on the floor!"
They had to see it for themselves. And they were appalled.
"What do you think the robbers wanted?" Kat asked.
"Something top secret?" Sandy suggested.
Chernobyl gasped again. "The book of ceremonies! It should be on the shelf!" They rushed to see if it was.
The book was gone.
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