Neiko's Five Land Adventure (Neiko Adventure Saga Book #1)

Chapter 25

Neiko woke up the next morning and got ready to go do the final touches. Quickstrike came along in the purse, and the first place they came to was Wal-Mart. As soon as they got finished with the needed stuff, Neiko and Quickstrike headed to the toy department. Neiko went to the aisle with the water guns, and then she unzipped the purse. Quickstrike poked his head out and looked at all the guns.

"Wow!" said Quickstrike.

"Hmm. Look here. There's a pistol and a tiny gun just for you, and it's only $3. Super Soaker 200 is $15. Do you like this small gun?"

"Yeah, it's perfect. Well, that's that. Now all we need is those two things for the Pharaoh Spray to make it."

Neiko zipped the purse then her mom came up. "Do you need all of those? Are you about to have a war? How much is all that?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's only $18 for the whole shebang, and it's fun in the pool, you know," she said casually.

"Alright, honey."

They arrived at the grocery store a few minutes later. Neiko ran and got the pepperoncini peppers and the Tabasco sauce, while her mom shopped. Neiko put them in the buggy. Her mom asked, "What are you doing with those? We have hot sauce at home."

"I've been wanting some of these peppers, and I want some real hot sauce, I'll pay for these, mom. Please?"

"Alright, but I'll pay for these," she said.

They returned home, and Neiko was sent to get the mail. Neiko got the mail out of the mailbox, and she found the local paper. She unfolded it to read the cover story. Neiko's hands went cold, and her stomach went numb when she read it. The pictures on the front were the two boys at the gas station.

DOUBLE MURDER CASE

Toby Jackson and Bobby Vaughn's bodies were found in the ditch on Rabbit Farm Road and the causes of death were different. Bobby died from a dagger wound to the heart. Police say it was a fourteen-inch blade, razor sharp and curved from the autopsy report. Toby was evidently tortured by cuts with the dagger and horrible burns all over his body, but the cause of death was the neck crushed by strangling. The bones were crushed to tiny pieces, and both boys had a frozen look of terror on their faces. Police say the murderer had to be abnormally strong in order to crush Toby's neck, and there were no traces of any evidence to convict the killer.

Neiko's mouth flew open as she read the article. "Toby, that's the one that looked as he was gonna kiss me; he was tortured and then killed. That's an awful way to die," Neiko said shaking her head. "Man, I didn't want them to die. I just wanted them to get lost, and I know who the killer is, but I can't turn him in because more people will die." Neiko ran in, gave her mom the mail, and ran down the hall with the paper to show Quickstrike.

"What's with you?" he asked seeing the look on Neiko's face.

"Read about the dirty work of Ramses," she said tossing the paper on the bed.

Quickstrike read the article, and when he finished, he replied, "Those are the guys from the station, and that one that was tortured was the one doing most of the stuff; he died slowly and painfully."

"They deserved a spanking at most, but not to die like an execution from the Comanche, and this is all my fault. Maybe if I gave myself up, then they would be alive today," Neiko said hopelessly.

"Now, don't go blaming yourself!" Quickstrike scolded. "Being held by Ramses with no hope at all is much worse than the way this boy died, and people will have died trying to free you. Ramses kills without a care, and people and beasts die all the time because of him, so don't even think about giving up."

"Has Lydia always had hope?" Neiko asked wiping away a tear.

"Yeah, she always had hope, even when one hundred thousand years came around she didn't give in to his demands, and she had never given up hope. See, if you surrender, then you won't have any hope. Lydia always had fame to back her up and searches sprang up, and she knew it. but I'm the only one that knows about you, besides Ramses. If you give in, I'll be stuck here with no hope, and nobody will save you because Ramses will make sure of it. No one will ever know you exist, and he'll be the only one you'll ever see. How can anyone save you if they don't know Neiko Kidd exists but Ramses, hmm?"

Neiko shuddered. "What does he want with me anyway? I mean, he's really going through a lot of trouble to make that scenario you just pointed out, and it'll be that way if I get caught."

Quickstrike shrugged. "I wish I could answer that. You'll find out when he takes you, I suppose. You're right, that's exactly how he wants it to be, and we must make sure that he never gets you."

"Well, when my parents go to bed, let's make the Pharaoh Spray. Tomorrow is the eve of the great battle, and my destiny is on the line here. If I win this, then it'll be hard for him to make another flawless attempt, and you know what will happen if I lose," Neiko said with dread.

"Yeah," Quickstrike said in the same way.

It was about twelve o'clock when Neiko could hear her parents snoring. Neiko tiptoed into the kitchen and found the bowl she laid out. She flipped on the light and found all of the ingredients to make the concoction. First she put in the Tabasco sauce, Texas Pete hot sauce, and all of the pickled pepper juices. Then she added the chili powder, black pepper, and red cayenne powder pepper to the mixture and stirred it well. The solution was thick, so she put vinegar in a large pan, dumped in the mixture, and stirred it. Neiko bent over and sniffed, and the pepper smell was so strong it took her breath. "Whoa Mama! Ramses will be hurtin' for sure! Get a whiff o' that, Quickie!"

Quickstrike obeyed and coughed. "Oh my, this will definitely do the trick."

"Well, now let's put it in the guns because it's hot and ready to go, and it'll get hotter as it sits."

"I'm glad I ain't Ramses!" Quickstrike said playfully.

Neiko giggled as she put on her rubber gloves. "I'll do the small guns first, then I'll get the humdinger," Neiko undid the plug on Quickstrike's gun and dipped it in the Pharaoh Spray then she did her pistol. Neiko looked in the cabinet and found the funnel. She poured the rest of it in the bottle of the Super Soaker, and she closed the hole. She put the dishes in the sink, washed them, and sneaked back into her room. "Now I'll hide these so that no one will Pharaoh Spray themselves and be in for pain, especially my nosey sister," said Neiko playfully. Neiko hid them under the bed, and they went to sleep that night.