User blog:Heronimbus/On the Run: A Loud House Story - Chapter 3

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Lincoln just kept running. He'd had enough. He was going to find that lost brother, even if he had to do it himself.

Then again, he thought, maybe I could use some backup.

He went over to Clyde's house and climbed up to his window. He saw Clyde cuddling a small plush of Lori in his arms -- obviously custom-made. He did have a weird obsession with her, after all.

Lincoln tapped on the glass, and Clyde swiftly woke up with a snort. "L-Lincoln? Why are you all the way out here this late at night?"

"You know that rumor Chandler mentioned at the party?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm gonna take a trip and find out if I really do have a missing brother. And I need you to come with me and keep me safe... in case anything happens."

"Um... okay..." Clyde picked up as many supplies as he could and brought them out the window with him. He ran down the street with Lincoln, and they passed Chandler and Cristina's house into the woods nearby.

Cristina was playing with a yo-yo in the front yard and saw them running. "What could they possibly be doing...?" she asked herself as she chased them into the woods.

"Lincoln..." Clyde began as he gasped for breath. "I don't even know where we are anymore... how long have we been running?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Lincoln replied, obviously more focused on the path ahead.

Cristina caught up with the boys, and was nearly out of breath by now. "What are you boys... doing?"

Lincoln had no choice but to answer. "We're looking for my missing brother."

"All the way out here? Are you nuts?"

"It's our only option for now."

"Alright... I'll help you out."

The three of them continued to look around for any possible hints as to where the brother could be, but they didn't get very far before they heard the honking of a car horn.

"W-what was that?" Clyde yelped with fear. Lincoln shushed him, prompting them to listen more closely.

They heard the car coming closer, with music and a few voices getting more clear every second.

The car came to a stop a few yards away from them, and they hid behind a bush. Then they heard the voices.

"Is this door seriously jammed again?"

"Yo Shelly... can you help a man out here?"

"Ugh... fine, Jay."

"I really need to fix that thing..."

Four adults stepped out of the car and started searching the woods for anyone who could stand in their way.

The leader was pale with a decent frame. He sported a faux mohawk and a bristly short beard, and wore a black flak jacket with a plaid red shirt underneath. Further down were a pair of khakis and brown army boots.

Then there was a large man, possibly African-American. He had a sort of Fat Albert look to him, but looked much more aggressive. His goatee covered a large portion of his lower face, and his light grey coat and somewhat saggy pants made him seem like a city renegade.

The woman was about as tall as the man with the mohawk, with a slender figure and a light blue tank top and skinny jeans to go along with it. Her hair was jet black, and her skin was fair -- somewhere in the middle of white and black.

A shorter man stood alongside them. His curly hair was a contrast to his allies' straighter, more organized hair. He wore a yellow baseball cap to conceal it for whatever reason, and most of his clothes were purple to complement the cap.

A lanky man soon leaped out of the car on all fours and joined the others. He had sickly green skin, pale yellow teeth, and a goofy appearance, something like the animals you'd see in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Regardless, he still seemed like he could be a threat.

As Lincoln, Clyde, and Cristina remained in their hiding spot, the gang started another conversation.

"So, Elijah..." The large man spoke to the one with the mohawk. "What are we doin' tonight?"

"Eh, I dunno, Jay," Elijah responded. "I think you guys should make a decision."

"I say we rob Flip's," the woman declared. "Who knows how much money he could have there?"

"Sounds like a good heist to me, Shelly," the shorter man said. In his case, anything could go well.

"Of course it does, Norman. It's Flip's."

The "wild man" was sniffing around as the discussion went on, and suddenly he saw the bush and started barking like a strange dog.

"Hey, Elijah," said Norman. "I think someone's behind that bush!"

"Well, why don't we go check it out?"

The kids saw the criminals heading towards the bush, and Lincoln started sweating rapidly. "Guys... run!"

He and the other kids dashed away as the gang started chasing them. "Let's split up!" Clyde yelled. "If they catch one of us, the other two can escape!"

And so they did, with Lincoln rushing to another bush while the gang wasn't looking.

"Alright, Gator," Elijah told the wild man. "Keep sniffin'!"

Gator sniffed all around the area, and Norman pulled a flashlight out of his pocket.

"We know you kids are out there!" Elijah called out. "It's only a matter of time before we find you!"

Lincoln knew he couldn't make a peep; otherwise, those criminals would capture him. But there was something about that bush that made his nose itch more as each second passed.

He tried to hold it in. He plugged his nose and did whatever he could to hold back. But--

Achoo.

It all failed.

Jay charged over to the bush and grabbed Lincoln, throwing him into the middle of a circle formed by the gang members.

"So... where'd you come from, huh?" Elijah questioned Lincoln, hoping to get some answers as to why he was here.

"What do you want from me?"

"You were spying on us, kid. We gotta do something about it before you run off and tell the authorities."

"I don't even know you!"

"That's the point, man... but I guess it wouldn't hurt to introduce ourselves. We're the Stoneface Stealers. I'm Elijah, and I'm the leader of this crew."

Jay crossed his arms. "Call me Jay. I'm Elijah's second in command and a close friend of his too."

Shelly stepped forward with her hands on her hips. "I'm Shelly, Jay's sister and Eli's girlfriend." She gave Elijah a quick smooch on the cheek, and he smiled as he put his arm around her waist.

Norman compared his height to Lincoln's and realized he was shorter than him. "Dang it," he muttered. He cleared his throat and got serious again. "Anyway, I'm Norman. I'm the gang's resident science nerd. I invent things."

Elijah left Shelly's side comfortably and crouched down in front of Lincoln. "Now listen here, kiddo... I need to ask you something. Gator here, he's all sad and lonely. He collects animals and goofs off with 'em." As Elijah made this statement, Gator grabbed a squirrel and stuffed it into a large garbage bag with a few other animals.

"So," Elijah went on, "we're gonna take you with us and you can be his best friend. Keep him company, if that makes sense."

"I'm not going anywhere with you freaks!" Lincoln wanted absolutely nothing to do with these criminals. All he wanted was to find his missing brother.

"Well then... I guess we'll have to hold you hostage." Elijah was about to grab Lincoln and throw him into the trunk, but Cristina came up behind him with a large log and whacked him in the back of the head.

"I like muffins..." Elijah murmured in a daze before falling forward onto the ground.

Lincoln quickly joined Clyde and Cristina and escaped through the darker side of the woods.

"Ah man..." Shelly was irritated that Cristina had knocked out Elijah. "We gotta take him back to the warehouse and make sure he's alright."

"I'll drive!" Norman announced as he snatched the car keys out of Jay's hands.

"Can't reach the pedals," Jay reasoned.

"You'll drive!" Norman handed the keys back to him, and Shelly carried Elijah into the car with her. They all drove away, with Gator smiling at all the animals he found.

Lincoln watched the car leave from behind a tree. "What are those guys up to...?" Clyde asked him.

"I don't know," he answered. "And at this rate, I don't even want to know."

The kids ran to the nearby motel, which glowed in contrast to the midnight environment of the forest.

The Loud sisters were devastated by the fact that Lincoln had just run away. Lily was bawling, and everyone else was arguing in a tense environment.

Lana was the first to yell at Lori. "If I didn't wanna punch you before... I do now."

"That was uncalled for, Lori!" Lola exclaimed. "I don't even do things like that!"

"Actually," said Leni, "you kinda do..."

"Oh, whatever!"

Lynn threw as many of her sports balls as she could at Lori, hoping to convince her to apologize.

Lucy just sat there on the couch, silently.

Lori went upstairs into her room, locking and blocking the door so her sisters couldn't break in. She opened her drawer and looked down at her photo with the boy from her younger days. He made me happy, she thought. Shouldn't I be doing the same for my siblings?

She finally moved her things away from the door and opened it. All of the other sisters were glaring at her -- except Luna. She was probably drowning out the noise with her music.

Lori sighed and declared, "We're gonna get Lincoln back."

But her sisters continued to glare. Lisa in particular was furious. "No, you're gonna get Lincoln back."

As the oldest out of all of them, Lori knew she had to reason with them. "Well... he went out looking for a missing brother, right? If he was real... wouldn't you guys want to meet him?"

"Is he real?" Lynn questioned. "You sounded really defensive about that photo."

"That's not the point. The point is, I know we need Lincoln in this house more than anyone."

"Except our parents," said Leni. "Don't forget our parents."

"Again, not the point," Lori responded, although Leni's statement did seem rather thoughtful, which was something she never expected out of her. They could surely use their parents' help right about now. But she couldn't tell them -- who knows what they would do to her?

"We all care about Lincoln in a way, and... if you guys could help me, that would be nice."

"What's that?" Luan asked with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"I'm just saying, I could really use your help..."

"Say what, now? You're sounding kinda full of yourself, y'know."

"I need your help."

"Ooohh! Well, why didn't you just say so?"

Lori facepalmed, then gave all the sisters a serious look -- but it was more sincere this time. "Listen, guys... I can find Lincoln, but I can't find him alone. I'm gonna need backup... people who are good with different things."

The girls' dirty looks started to loosen up, and they seemed to be listening more closely.

"You guys have different personality traits that could help," Lori continued. "Lana, you're a great mechanic and you're good with animals. Lynn, Leni, your positivity may be just what we need. And Lisa, you're just... really smart."

The other sisters gave each other confident looks. They knew what Lori was trying to say.

"Your help won't just benefit me... it'll benefit this family as a whole."

They all smiled at Lori. "Alright," Lynn announced. "We're in."

"Wait," said Lola. "What about Luna?"

Sure enough, she was in the garage with her headphones on, listening to heavy metal at a high enough volume to block out outside noise while also not hurting her ears. Lynn came over and waved her hands in front of Luna's face, prompting her to turn off the music.

"Come on, Luna," Luan cried out. "We need to band together!" She chuckled at her pun.

Lori knew Luna was the only remaining sister she needed to convince. "Luna... we're gonna find Lincoln."

"You... you really mean it?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

Luna grinned and put her arm around Lori's shoulder, saying, "Anything to keep the family together."

The next morning, the sisters met up with some of their friends in their garage to ask them if they'd seen Lincoln anywhere.

"I'm sorry," Carol Pingrey answered Lori, "but I haven't seen him since the day before school started back up."

"No word from the Morticians Club," Haiku told Lucy and Lynn.

"Not from the Royal Woods Roosters either," said Margo, who was standing next to her.

"I hate to break it to ya, girl," Sam answered Luna with a sigh. "But... I have no clue whete your brother went."

"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh..." Leni's boyfriend, Chaz, sat in a chair with a puzzled expression.

"Awww, Chaz, you're so adorable!" Leni hugged him tight with a cheerful smile.

"Last place I saw him was in detention," said Rusty Spokes, a friend of Lincoln's, as he entered the garage with Lisa.

"May I ask what you were doing there?"

"Uuhhh... spray painting my locker."

Rusty's brother Rocky followed him in. He approached Lucy, knelt down, and took her hand into his with a solemn expression. "I deeply apologize for your loss, my dark princess..." He kissed her hand gently.

"Rocky... this is serious."

Rocky's voice shifted to a more childlike explanation. "I know. I was, uh, trying to be serious." He giggled nervously.

Lana brought in her best friend, Skippy. He was all geared up with mechanic tools in case something needed to be fixed, and they seemed to have been joking all the way to the house.

Darcy Homandollar skipped into the garage as her shoes flashed, and she approached Lisa with glee. "Hi, Lisa! Have you found your brother yet?"

"No, we're just getting started. I'd like to thank you for your assistance, however."

"Aww man..."

Luan was dressed in a mime outfit. When Lori gave her a weird look, she just smirked and said, "Trust me. The girl I invited will recognize me right away."

Darcy gazed at Luan's outfit with wide eyes and called out, "Maggie! Maggie! It's that mime from your birthday party!!"

Maggie, an obvious emo girl, sulked into the garage. "I don't have time for this, Darcy... wait a minute!" She did recognize Luan after all. "Huh... she really is that mime..."

"Girl, you need to mime your manners!" Luan laughed once more, and Maggie groaned at her pun.

"Alright, I'll ask one more time," Lori announced. "Have any of you seen our brother Lincoln?"

Carol, Chaz, Sam, Maggie, Margo, Rusty, Rocky, Haiku, Skippy, and Darcy all shook their heads.

"Hmm... there's gotta be someone who can be useful."

Lynn thought for a moment, then gave her a determined grin and said, "I've got an idea."

Within ten minutes, they were spying on Chandler, who was practicing his basketball skills in his front yard. As he made a slam dunk and started cheering and bragging, Lucy slowly approached him.

"Aw yeah! I'm cool, cool! Very cool!"

"Cool."

Chandler yelped as everyone else charged towards him swiftly.

"Alright, listen up, twerp." Lori grabbed him by the collar. "We've heard you've been harsh towards our brother."

"Hey, isn't that your job?" Chandler sneered.

Maggie glanced at Lynn. "You can punch him now."

Lynn rolled up her sleeves and put out her fist, getting ready to knock Chandler out.

"Wait! Wait!" he yelled. "Lincoln can be a real pain, at least from my point of view... but why are you interrogating me, of all people?"

"Because you were the last person to talk to him before he ran off," Lisa answered. "Other than us, of course."

Haiku was first to ask questions. "What did you do to Lincoln? Like, exact details?"

"I didn't even do that much. I said one thing about his girlfriend, and he went all psycho on me and punched me. I punched him back in defense."

"I mean," Luna reasoned, "boys normally get defensive about things like that, but OK..."

"Girlfriend?" Lori asked. "You mean Ronnie Anne Santiago?"

"Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I think Lincoln running off might have had something to do with her moving away."

"Oh gee, you really think that, don't you?" Lana remarked sarcastically.

Luna knew she had to ease the tension before it grew, so she asked the next question. "So tell us... have you seen a girl named Cristina around town?"

"Uhh, of course!" Chandler was sweating nervously. "I mean, it's not like she ran off with Lincoln or anything! She's my sister. I should know."

"Oh really?" Lori challenged him. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"Uh... 9 PM? She probably went to a slumber party or something."

"Then why do you think she hasn't come back?"

"Wait a minute... are you saying she did run off with Lincoln?"

"I dunno, Chandler. She's your sister. You tell us."

Lori could almost see the fire in his eyes as he growled, swearing revenge on Lincoln.

Lola dragged Lindsey Sweetwater outside by the wrist. "Oh... I see your brother is getting all angry."

"Why are you bringing me here, Lola?!" Lindsey yelled.

"Because we need to know if the disappearance of Cristina is connected to our brother running off."

"For the last time, I don't know where she is!"

Chandler gestured towards Lindsey. "This girl knows what she's talking about!"

"You're coming with us, Chandler," Lucy declared. "You're part of the reason Lincoln ran off, so you're coming with us."

Chandler let out a final breath of surrender. "OK, fine! What are you gonna do? Throw me in the trunk?"

"No, but you're still our prisoner," Lynn scolded.

This statement left Chandler confused. "........what?"

A few moments later, Lana and Skippy had gotten Vanzilla set up and ready to go. It had been breaking down from all the summer travel the Louds did, so it made sense to fix it up a little.

The Loud sisters and Chandler got into the van, and their friends stood next to them waving goodbye. "Good luck out there, guys," Carol called out. "We'll keep in touch."

"Thanks, Carol," said Lori as she adjusted the mirror and gave her sisters a confident smile. "Alright, guys... let's get Lincoln back."