Post by Pally on Nov 23, 2017 17:48:34 GMT
I almost couldn't believe it when it finally happened. The Mayor had sent for me! I was supposed to meet him at his house one afternoon. I was so excited on the bus ride there, I worked up a powerful sweat and was really murky. No worries though, I had brought a jar of deodorant cream. I had a good stock pile after my work at the gym. I happily slathered it on while day dreaming about my next set of tasks. I couldn't wait to see what was waiting for me now, that is until the Mayor showed up. He looked at me and nervously cleared his throat.
"Now Miss Style," he started at me, shaking a finger,"You have been a very naughty young lady!" He then began to yell at me for not paying my bills, and how Murkland depends on that revenue to continue to thrive. I tried to explain about how it wasn't much and I was only doing it so I could save the 15000 he wanted faster. His wife had come out to see what all the commotion was, I guess we were both talking in a loud angry voice. Nothing I said mattered though. I tried to reason with him, but he would not hear it.
He even claimed he had heard rumors of me living at the gym. I told him I was just trying to get in shape and help some friends, who knew what he would do if he really knew what I had been up to there, even if I was only trying to help him. In the end, he demanded all the money I had saved from selling my collected items and he sent me to the Murkland Jail. I was no longer allowed to be part of the Burner Faction. I didn't even get to go home that night, my stuff was collected and waiting at the jail for me. When I arrived, I lit a bonfire in the little court yard and tried to stay positive. Things always looked better in the day light....right?
Well, I don't know about 'better', but the sun did come up so it was 'brighter'. I had just finished looking around some, when I was greeted by Mad Mud. He was the leader of the faction I now was part of. The Mad Mud Faction. I had met him a couple of times before during my work for the Mayor. He seemed...nice? I listened to him ramble on about all the tasks he required of me now that I was part of his faction, but I couldn't really focus. Things had changed so quickly for me. "I will be checking on you from time to time," he was saying, "you will need my permission to travel outside of Murkland." Then he looked at me with a cold stare before adding, "I can be a generous man to those who obey me and, well, let's just say if you value living you will not disobey my commands." Then he left.
I was really creeped out after my visit from Mud, so I wandered around the jail looking for distractions. I found an old box of clothes which I figured use to belong to the prisoners. I managed to find a few good things to wear. Later that night I went to the Puffer Dome wearing one of my new outfits. Mud owned the Puffer Dome and one of his demands was I eat here once a week. While waiting for my fish, the Mayor and his wife showed up. They kept looking at me and whispering to each other. I tried to ignore them and pretended to be happy. I really was happy after I made it through my meal, alive!
A few days passed. I had collected a bunch of seeds to plant in the garden boxes on the roof top of the jail. Mud demanded I pay the bills for use of the jail. I could have electric and water, but it would cost me nearly 11000 a week! I would need to get all these plants to perfect if I was to make enough to keep up with that. I could also sell anything I found or made except paintings, so I hung all the ones I made during my library work up around my plants. I hoped the bright colors would make them grow faster. That evening Mud summoned me to his home he told me of his love for grilled cheese, of all things. And took me to his rooftop to show me a strange plant. He told me I must find six seeds of the Cowplant and grow my own to make cheese.
This proved to be a harder task than I thought. After a few days of searching, I decide to see if I could find any information about these strange plants at the library. I had just finished browsing the computer files when, Veegan sat down next to me."Hey Pally," I could tell something was wrong by the tone of his voice,"have you heard about Sunshine?" I shook my head. I hadn't seen Sunshine for days. He was on a mission for the Mayor at the time I was sent to prison. "He's missing," Veegan told me, "he never returned from his last mission." We chatted a little more before he left. He told me people were looking for him and to try not to worry. But that was all I could do. I tried reading a book about Mad Mud I found, but couldn't seem to see the words.
The next couple of days I had visitors. They both snuck over while Mud was at the Puffer Dome checking on his business. The first visit was from Forest Tree. He told me that he and a group of others had just returned from looking for Sunshine and that they could find no trace. It was like he had completely vanished. "But that's impossible!" I told him,"there has to be clues somewhere. We just have to keep looking." He told me he would try and then left. The next night Heather B. Simster stopped by. She worked at the Puffer Dome and said there were rumors there that someone had wanted Sunshine gone and that this wasn't an accident. I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. Who would want to hurt Sunshine?
The following morning I headed down to the gym to look around for clues myself. Sunshine loved the gym. It was like a second home to him. Surely someone here would know something about where he was sent. I ran into Veegan there and we talked some more about how no one could seem to find any trace of where he went. I was so worried I had worked up a murky smell and had to use a jar of my cream. Veegan looked serious and told me,"You may just have to prepare yourself for the worst." I felt like I couldn't breath so I took the next bus to Granite Falls. I didn't care about anything at the time, not even about getting Mud's permission. I just wanted some fresh air and time to think. I didn't even notice the strange group I was fishing with that afternoon. Later that evening, I sadly ate a trash fruit. It made me think about Sunshine. My lost love.
I spent the rest of that week trying to not think about stuff and just focus on my tasks. I looked for Sunshine when I could, but for now I was only limited to travel within Murkland unless I got Mud's permission first. I had already disobeyed that rule once and hoped he wouldn't find out. I wrote a song about Sunshine and had it published. It made a good profit. I made sure to pay my bills. The secret 15000 I'd saved during my gym days came in handy those first weeks. I also did my best to stay in shape by practicing yoga, and I even had a few yard sales. But I couldn't stop thinking about where Sunshine was. As each day passed it was getting more and more depressing.
I almost couldn't stand to go to the Puffer Dome. I mean, this was the place Sunshine always took me on dates. I had showed up for my weekly meal but was about to leave, I didn't have the stomach for fish that day, then I heard Mud's voice,"So you went to Granite Falls without asking me first?" I was scared and nervous,"I uh, was just um, looking for cowberries to grow your plants," I managed, quickly. He narrowed his eyes and said,"I will consider this your first warning, remember my rules next time. Or else." "Yes sir," I grinned nervously as he walked away. He left me covered in a murky sweat.
Even after using a jar of cream, I was still seated in the back of the restaurant. The Mayor was there again and walked by glaring at me from over his shoulder. I almost hated that man. I had a suspicion that he was behind Sunshine's disappearance. I made it through my plate of fish again that night. Mud said it proved our loyalty to his faction by eating here and he demanded loyalty from all his people. I wasn't sure I wanted to be one of his people, but at the moment I felt I didn't have the choice. When I got home that evening I was still hungry. I used some of the strange cow plant cheese I was given by Mud and practiced making grilled cheese. For some reason he wanted me to learn how to make a perfect sandwich. I ended up cooking and eating most of the night.
The next morning I was eating them for breakfast and talking about them to everyone that walked past the prison. I felt like I was a little obsessed with them so after lunch the next day I went out to look for cowberries again. They were hard to find and I had read that they could be dug up sometimes while looking for gems. But I had no luck so far.
I was heading back to the jail when I saw the Mayor walking toward me down the sidewalk. I don't think he recognized me at first. But I knew it was him. "You have a lot of nerve showing your ugly face around here mister!" I yelled at him. "Don't you talk to me that way, missy!" He snapped back at me. "I don't take orders form you anymore, this isn't your faction!" I was so angry now,"And just what have you done with Sunshine!?" I demanded. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about! And if I did I'd never tell you! You,..you mad mudder! You belonged here all along!" Then he stormed off down the sidewalk.
A couple more days had passed and I was beginning to feel like all the grilled cheese I was eating was going straight to my thighs and hips. But the good news was I had almost mastered my baking skill by cooking all the bread. I was heading out that afternoon to look for more berries, I had found one but hadn't planted it yet, and I saw Mud approaching. "Going berry hunting?" he asked me. I told him yes. He then began eyeing my hips,"I see you have been eating grilled cheese. Good girl," he grinned at me and I felt myself turn red. He kept smiling and since I figured he was in a good mood that I'd ask him if I could have some time away from my tasks to look for Sunshine. That was a mistake. He turned angry and yelled at me,"I have told you to forget about those Burners, all of them! Never ask me this again!"
After my run in with Mud, I went to the Oasis in the middle of Murkland to do some fishing. While exploring I stumbled upon a boarded up mine looking sort of thing. It looked freshly nailed shut. The first thought to my mind was that maybe someone sent Sunshine in there and then trapped him. I tore off the boards as fast as I could and made my way inside. After a few times of retracing my steps, I found myself in a huge cave. It was almost beautiful, but it was Sunshine free. In fact it looked as if no one had been here for ages. I did some fishing and then sadly ate a trash fruit before heading back to the surface.
After my cave adventure I felt like I needed some social time and headed down to the old CDC building. It had recently been turned into a nightclub. There was an old rocket on top of the building that needed repaired. Mud had told me he wanted it in working order and that I had to eat a grilled cheese in space, of all places. I wondered if this was just a joke or another of his strange tests of loyalty. The Mayor made the requirement of hiring a worker for one of the food stalls in order to have access to the bar. So I spent my 100$ and then got to work repairing the rocket. Ronni Gurlz showed up and started to help me. It was nice to spend time with one of my old friends.
When I was leaving that evening, I ran into Autumn. She told me some more about the search for Sunshine and her theory behind his disappearance. "You know how clumsy he could be and how he always had to use the bushes. What if he used the wrong ones?" "He is smarter than most give him credit for," I told her. She looked down at her feet, "Oh Pally, I just think we may never see him again," she said sadly. I told her I wasn't going to give up just yet. Later that week I went back to the cave and found a couple more cow berries. I was up to three now. I still hadn't told Mud about them because I secretly used my berry hunting time to look for Sunshine. I didn't want to give that up just yet.
But a few days later I was feeling like maybe I should. I walked gloomily into the library. Myzuki, the librarian was back in town. She had been on a book hunt to grow her library's collection. We had been best friends during the time I helped out here so I wanted to catch up with her. I told her about Sunshine. She was shocked. I told her all I knew so far and that by now most people had given up on looking for him. They just accepted that he was gone. She told me to let her do some snooping and to not give up just yet. That made me feel so much better.
I felt energized after my visit to the library so ran next door to work out some at the gym. After putting on my old clothes, I was ready to get sweaty. I hit the old punching bag for a little bit then I found Eli. He wondered why I was in such a good mood. I guess I had been more depressed than I thought if others had noticed. I told him about what Myzuki had said. About how she was going to help me look for Sunshine. I leaned closer and whispered, "She has amazing hacking skills and is going to hack the Mayor's computer. But don't tell anyone." He looked surprised and nodded his head. I knew I could trust him. He'd kept my gym secrets.
A couple of nights later, Myzuki came to see me at the jail. "Have you found anything out?" I nervously asked her. She told me she had made some progress but that there were some strange firewalls she had never seen before blocking things. She had also found some hidden coding that was connecting the Mayors computer to some other computer hidden here in Murkland. "I think I know why they have such strange tech," she exclaimed,"and I think maybe that was why someone wanted Sunshine gone, maybe he discovered it too." Her eyes grew and she smiled widely,"I think it's aliens!" "Did you just say ALIENS!?"
I hope to catch up on a few chapters today