The Curious Adventures of Nigel & Viola: Book 1: Pricilla Pounding's Precious Puddings

By Cornelius F. Orris

The first installment of an exciting book series, this tale begins with an introduction of the main characters: Nigel and Viola. The two have been inseparable since the very first day they met, in the Happy Endings Nursery for Newborns and although they differ in size, appearance, and favorite pastimes, they are similar in many ways their strong sense of curiosity, their mutual love for ice cream and their equal dislike of pudding.

One hot afternoon, something new arrived to the perfect little town of Happy EndingsMiss Pricilla Poundings Precious Puddings and every child who had spoonful was left wanting more-all except for Nigel and Viola. Later that night, something strange happened to those who ate the tasty delightthey went missing! The only clue a peculiar trail of goo leading down the street. Where could they be? Will Nigel and Viola be able to find the children and solve the mystery? Arent you curious find out?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453551585

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Copyright © 2010 by Cornelius F. Orris.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

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Swoosh! Kaboom!

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They’re all asleep, and there is no one that can help us.

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Viola reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the small key she and Nigel found in Amber’s dollhouse. She held it up, examining it with her flashlight, a shivery chill washed over her that didn’t come from the cold winter’s night and the snowflakes that fell around her.

Well, Nigel, once we do this there is no going back. she whispered, not taking her eyes off the key as she slowly inserted it into the mausoleum lock.

Nigel looked up at his best friend. I know, he exhaled raggedly, fear swelling in his chest, pressing against him. It was becoming harder to breathe. But the entire town is asleep and there is no one that can help us, and if we don’t stop him, no one will. But if this is going to be the end, at least we have each other. Nigel looked at Viola with a happy kind of sadness. She returned the conflicting sentiment in a glance then gave the key a final turn in the lock.

There was a click and a slight hissing sound as if the mausoleum was exhaling after holding its breath for many years. Quietly the large elaborate, H carved into the ornate doors slid apart making way for them. The smell of wet earth and fungal decay overwhelmed them both, cutting through the frigid air and filling their nostrils and lungs with the pungent odor of mold, causing them to choke and cough. Nigel held his coat sleeve to his nose and mouth while Viola covered hers with the lace-edge handkerchief she kept in her coat pocket for occasions such as this. As they struggled to recover from this unexpected aerial assault, Viola’s flashlight began to flicker and dim in her hand. In a panic, she shook it violently, hoping to muster what little power she could from the dying batteries—but to no avail; the last of its light went out like a candle in the wind. But before it faded, leaving them both in darkness, they caught a glimpse of a stone staircase, just beyond the mausoleum’s entrance, leading down deep into the earth.

Viola let the now-useless flashlight fall from her hand and watched as it quickly sank and disappeared into the snow.

Shall we then? she said, trying to sound as brave as she could while staring into the darkness beyond the staircase. I’m very curious to see how this all ends.

So am I, Nigel replied, allowing an apprehensive smile to appear on his face despite the increasing tightness in his chest. He too was looking into the darkness, down the narrow stairway. Hand in hand, they stepped into the mausoleum’s entrance and began their descent into the unknown, determined to face whatever fate that awaited them. They were going to see this curious adventure to the end even if it meant their own.

Now, dear reader, this is not where the story of Nigel and Viola begins. In all actuality, the beginning of this chapter is the beginning of the end of Nigel and Viola’s tale, or the moments just before the end anyway. Now, if I were you, the reader of this book, I would find this very interesting indeed and would ask myself a few questions: First, who are Nigel and Viola? And second, why would two children, seemingly as smart and talented as they, be in a cemetery in the dead of night, about to enter an unmarked mausoleum marked with an H and descend a staircase leading deep into underground? I would then go on to ask, who is Amber, and why was there a small key hidden in her dollhouse, which unlocked a mysterious mausoleum marked with an H? Then I would wonder, what does the H stand for, and why would Nigel and Viola perceive that right beyond that unassuming letter might lay an uncertain end?

After asking myself these questions, I would realize that they just lead to many more questions, and I would be very curious to find the answers, very curious indeed. Well, dear reader, if you continue you will discover that the path leading to the answers of these conundrums begins within these very pages, and a good place to start is always