MOUSE OF COMMONS. MOUSE OF LORDS.: PART 10 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!

Friday, November 23, 2007

PART 10 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!

GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!! - PART 10

Part 10 of a 15 part internet-exclusive mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, set in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, back outside of the pie factory Claud was feeling pretty miserable; as it stood he didn't have Gladstone McWhiskers autograph and he'd just let the mouse's best friend; Oliver Louse slip away from him by being too cowardly to accompany him into the haunted pie factory.

"I'm going to rgeret this..." he muttered to himself furiously. but then he reasoned that if he didn't get back to work pretty quickly he was going to lose his job as head waiter and then he would also regret that too.

Claud was half way between the restaurant and the pie factory down a dark, dark alley when he paused - for suddenly he was having second thoughts about what he should do...

"You're a coward, Claud - go back and help Senor Louse..."

He had almost decided to do this; to go back and assist Oliver, when there came a noise from the shadows - a shuddering, shaking noise from the belly of the earth beneath his feet. The sound caused a dustbin lid to crash to the street and something tall and dark skittered off down one of the side alleys; scared by the sudden crash. The sudden movement made him jump; but he reasoned that it was probably just a rat. That said, Claud didn't much like Spanish rats - for they were mean and bullying and they didn't have very many manners and had been known to beat up cats. Still the chattering noise continued beneath the streets - it sounded like something coming up from the sewer.

There was only one thing scary enough on the streets of Barcelona to scare a Barcelonian rat - that the pie man was back in town and on the loose...

Meanwhile, down in the cellar somewhere beneath Claud's pie restaurant - having followed the wires from the speaker through the crack in the wall; Gladstone had emerged in a most peculiar room and one full of all sorts of pie making devices; although he couldn't tell what everything said as his Spanish simply wasn't good enough.

The ghostly noises were still playing, but now he was in the next room it appeared that not only was the recording of the woooowoooowoooo-ing ghost being used to scare people off - but also that it seemed to be disguising some other sound; although he couldn't yet, quite make out what it was.

"It rather sounds like someone is doing their washing and the machine is on it's last legs - although having said that, I'm pretty sure that it's not a washing machine, at all..."

As he explored the room he noticed that there were quite a lot of drawings of bears wearing frightening masks and costumes upon the walls and there was one costume that seemed to be half bear half... Well, quite frankly he wasn't sure - for the head appeared to be missing; but the twisty sharpness of the claws alone were enough to send a chill down his spine.

All of a sudden Gladstone decided that he really did need to get out of ther cellar and he was about to retrace his steps when he remembered the potentially cross spiders in the basement of the restaurant and noticed a ladder that seemed to lead up to a vent that hopefully would lead out onto of the cellar and so he decided to hurry his wau up that way towards fresh air and street lit civilisation; away from the peculiar chamber of horrors below.

"OLLIE!?" he called - recalling suddenly why he had first entered the cellar - wondering if his friend might have come this way too. "OLLIE!?" he cried as he neared the top of the ladder.

All of a sudden, something large and strong punched out at him in the darkness - Gladstone swayed - tried to avoid the thing and lost his balance...

With a frightened cry; Gladstone fell back down towards the cellar floor...

TO BE CONTINUED, ON MONDAY.

What will become of Gladstone? What is going on back at the pie factory and what is the truth behind the legend of the sinister pie man phantom?

Find out all this and more next week on GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!

This instalment was originally written in Barcelona on Saturday 10th November 2007.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL

To finish our second week of this current serial I am putting up a whole range of photos from our time in Barcelona. Hopefully they're less scary than yesterday's pictures. Next week I have some Barcelonian animals to introduce you to and one of them has a very odd hair-style!!! More on monday, then...