When the Zombies Come -- a Cottoneye Decadynasty (COMPLETED)

[MarianT]

Chapter Twelve – Nooboo Boom

   Even with the rooftop garden and a new basement in which to store nectar and do laundry, the Cottoneye house was crowded. With the arrival of Chasseur (now nicknamed Chase by everyone except Cherie), Shannan was feeling cramped. One solution would be for her to move out, but Cherie said she couldn’t ask her sister to do that. Another solution was to convert the garage. Shannan was delighted with that, especially when she realized she could lock the door when she wanted to be alone.



   Her old bedroom became the nursery.



   Even though Shannan was a loner, she couldn’t resist coming upstairs to rock Chase when he got tired of being in his swing.



   Jaeger was enjoying his promotion to mad scientist. He liked his new eye protectors.



And he especially liked the new ray gun with which he could perform experiments.



   It wasn’t long before little Chase became a toddler.



He promptly threw his first tantrum when he was told that he couldn’t have cake for breakfast.



   His hair soon grew, and he applied himself to the onerous tasks of a toddler – potty training and learning how to walk.



   Given Chase’s virtuoso trait, Jaeger thought he had a good chance at becoming a guitar star in the music career. According to the Schlueter Guide to the Guitar, it was important to channel all skill development  into one instrument. Therefore Jaeger decided not to get Chase a pegboard, any books, or even a xylophone. Luckily, Chase had a rag doll to play with.



   Neither Jaeger nor Cherie was getting any younger, so they decided to have another child right away. Cherie thought that labor would be easier the second time around. She was wrong.



Both Jaeger and Cherie had been hoping for a little girl. Even without watermelons, their wish was granted in Grace.



   The pleasure of rocking her was one compensation for becoming an elder, Jaeger thought.



It almost made up for his back going out.

[SimBlip]

Simple, but beautiful!
Jaegher looks really distinguished as an elder. But when I saw cheeky Cherie laughing at him, it was hard to suppress a smile.

[saltpastillen]

I like Jaeger's eye protectors too. Good luck with guitar star, it can be done!

Welcome to Grace. It will be interesting to see how much of their father they inherit.

[MarianT]

Chapter Thirteen – Stasis

   Time seems to stand still when looking after toddlers. Your chief source of excitement is going for a walk.





   Dinner time is fraught with excitement – both lows…



…and highs.



   Sometimes there’s a moment of panic when you think one has disappeared – only to find that she’s just been hiding.



   Slowly they begin to develop the ability to carry on a conversation…

Jaeger:  “Yes, you may see an alien in your lifetime.”

Chase:  “Alien.”



Jaeger:  “However, the chance that you’ll be abducted is about the same as your being struck by a meteor.”

Chase:  “Me too!”



Jaeger: “No, sweetie, you probably won’t see a llama, not even one that’s a mascot for a university. But you might be able to make friends with a unicorn.”

Grace:  “Want llama!”



   But all of a sudden, they begin to grow up.



They require new beds and new clothing.



   Time doesn’t stand still anymore; instead it rushes forward with frightening speed.



Even if you go back to (almost) your real hair color, you can’t stop being an elder.

[SimBlip]

Just a little comment to say that I think you're awesome. I love the way you give us info about the family and your progress in this challenge. You have a knack of covering a lot a ground, yet every post has soul to it.

[MarianT]

Aww -- you're making me blush. Coming from you, that's real praise.

[Toni]

I have to agree with SimBlip. I love the emotion you can put into your stories.

[MarianT]

PART IV -- CHASE

Chapter One – Not Chasseur

   Hello. My name is Chase Cottoneye. The only people who call me Chasseur are my mother (she likes the way it sounds) and any teacher who hasn’t been informed yet that I prefer Chase. And my cousin Prudence before we reached a truce in which I agreed not to call her Prude.



   After we made peace, she asked me if there were any monsters under my bed and told me I should look. I did, even though there’s not much “under” to my bed. No monsters. When I told her, she said I was supposed to wait until it was a full moon.



   Anyway, I’m the heir in a decadynasty. My dad told me all about it when he was explaining why it was so important that I get on the honor roll. It sounds like it’s mostly a pain. I can’t start playing the guitar until I graduate from high school. I can’t have a Multitab 6000 in case I pick up points in other skills. I can’t get married until I’ve completed all my tasks. And so on and so forth.



   Yeah, I even know about the tombstone. Dad muttered something when Aunt Shannan died about her not having a large enough one for the dynasty, and then had to explain.



   Don’t get me wrong – I was really cut up about her leaving because she was always kind to me when I was little and always ready to make waffles for us. But Dad says she wasn’t upset about dying and even shook hands with the Grim Reaper.



   My dad’s pretty cool because he’s actually friends with the Grim Reaper. Plus, he’s fixed the chair in the bedroom so it makes you feel like a winner when you sit in it, and he’s got a gadget that cures zombies. We’re descended from the first and greatest zombie-fighter, Hunter Cottoneye (whom I’m named after, only in French).



   Dad works at the Soil and Water Research Center, which is where we went for a field trip the other day. So far I’m the only boy in my class.



   What’s funny is that pretty soon there will be three Cottoneyes at school – me and my cousin Prudence (who suffers from alopecia), and now my little sister Grace. She had her birthday yesterday. On the whole, this is a good thing because she won’t be waking me up in the middle of the night anymore because she’s hungry. (I was there at her party, but you can’t see me because I’m behind the counter.)



   On the other hand, she and my cousin Prudence and the other girl, Kristal something, might decide to conspire against me. I don’t know.



   At least I have my buddy Pat. I’m the only one who can see him (I really hope it’s a him), and that’s fine with me.



Chase Cottoneye here. Over and out.

[SimBlip]

I love Chase's 'voice'. I smiled all the way through his report.

[RainBeau]

Indeed, Chase is cute. Question, I'm late to the party on this but how did you manage to get Jaeger to move in with Cherie?

[MarianT]

Ombradellarosa, Metro and Rica gave permission to switch households in Edit Town and then have Cherie ask Jaeger to move in.

[MarianT]

Chapter Two – A Short Childhood

   I mean, it just doesn’t last long enough. I should have had time for a dozen pillow fights with Pat.



I should have had time to explore a dozen different planets. (I should have had a treehouse, but Mom and Dad didn’t want to destroy the garden.)



   But I’m not complaining too much because I did get to go to China and that’s sort of like a different planet.



   I got the call for my first black op – Archeology Exhibit. I asked Dad if he had any relics from his trips, and he said no, he had to leave everything behind when he married Mom. He suggested that she and I go. Mom wanted to go to France, but the rules said China or Egypt. But it’s a weird op because I wasn’t allowed to buy any relics in the store – I read a book while Mom haggled.



   Then we found an excavation site, but I wasn’t allowed to dig – Mom had to do that for me.



While she was digging, I went farther up the road and saw the Terra Cotta Army. It was impressive but spooky, especially as it was getting dark and a full moon. I wasn’t scared of the soldiers, just worried about zombies because we didn’t think to bring Dad’s gadget with us.



   When we got home, Grace started teasing me because Mom had to do the digging. She “excavated” a toy rabbit in the sandbox – maybe I should have tried that, she said.



   I was mature enough not to destroy her pathetic excuse for a sand castle, but I did go and skip stones while she was fishing.



   She managed to catch something, but she said I scared all the “good” ones away.



   Good times – short times. My birthday came too soon.



   I think the Watcher-Above-the-Watcher hates the children of Riverview. As evidence, I offer the non-hair of my cousin Prudence and Kristal with her helmet. There’s the hairstyle Grace was given initially.



   And then there’s this.



   There are other rock stars besides Elvis, you know. I might go in for a wilder look when I actually become a star, but in the meantime I want to look normal.



   I guess there’s one advantage to being a teen – I get my own room. Of course, Grace gets her own room now, too, but there’s a difference between having the room that used to be the nursery and having a “teen cave.”



Chase Cottoneye here. Over and out.

[RainBeau]

Hmmm, he's always going with an astronaut and "over and out" motif...wondering what his career is going to be

[SimBlip]

On the one hand, Chase says 'mum had to to do this or that for me". On the other hand, he says his birthday came too soon.
I love it when children love being... children. In my opinion it's a sign of a 'golden youth'.
I hope Chase's next life stage will be just as happy. Lovely update!

[MarianT]

Chapter Three – Monsters and Prom

   This past full moon was a lively night. I had honestly forgotten that I’d told Grace she might find a monster under her bed if she looked when the moon was full.



   The poor kid saw something and ran from the room screaming. Even though we told her there weren’t any monsters, she still insisted on sleeping in Mom and Dad’s bed.



   And I guess there’s a reason why she wouldn’t believe us. That same night, Dad was out doing battle with the evil Dr. Iniquitous. Dad said he foiled Dr. I’s plan to send Riverview spinning into Lunar Lakes, but later on I overheard him telling Mom that he fears we’ll have to deal with weather change in the future and that Dr. I may have succeeded in summoning beings from a distant and unknown planet.



   I’m really proud of Dad and only wish I could follow in his footsteps. I’ll never save the world like he did, but I do hope to inspire people with my music. And to make enough to support fine charities like Toilets for Tots.



   Aunt Shannon also visited us that night. All in all it was quite lively.



   The next day I went to the prom. My cousin Prudence came home with me, so Mom could help her get ready. With all this talk of aliens, Mom wanted to do something about her alopecia lest anyone think that Prudence was one. She looks a lot better with hair.



   Once I arrived at the prom, I didn’t see Prudence at all. I spent most of the evening with Kristal, who’s a lot more fun to be with than when we were in grade school. She nominated me for Prom King, and no one was more surprised than yours truly when I won. We’re kind of an item now, although we’re not going steady.



   Grace became a teenager while I was at the prom. She says we’re all going to have to get warm weather and cold weather outfits now.





   She says we’ll even need snowsuits. I don’t know about that, but I do realize I have to hurry up and get my driver’s license. No way is my little sister driving the Bwan Speedster before I do.



Peace, Chase Cottoneye