I never knew a snake could fall. I mean.. when your stomach is so close to the ground, where is there to go? However, I know of no other way to describe what happened when he pried his tail under the base and lifted it up. I watched him over-balance and fall into the dirt but can’t say a small part of me wasn’t delighted to see his grin bite the dust. After all, everything was normal until he showed up.

The snake pulled himself back up, somewhat chagrined. “So.. back to the bases, eh.”, I joked. Fluffy groaned behind me.

The base had opened like a hatchway. I cautiously approached and saw a ladder descending to a concrete room, approximately 15 feet in length.

We went down into the room which I first thought was empty. The cat and snake looked expectantly at me, and then toward the locker on the far wall.

“Wait.. Don’t tell me. You put your leader in a locker and forgot the combination. That is why you need me in this crummy tale.”, I laughed.

“You are not punny.”, said the snake.