With The Boxtrolls

Chapter Three: The White Hat

The guild door opens and the two sisters cautiously peeks out of the Guild. The light behind them casts a long strip across the empty Market Square. Mist swells in the small pools of light from streets lights. The rest is swathed in dark shadows. The hat is clear across the market square.

Steeling herself, (Name) creeps out and down the stairs followed by her little sister holding her hand, their fancy satin slippers are silent. They gets to the bottom of the stairs and looks around. Nobody there. The white hat looms from a distance. Winnie gasps, realizing how far they have to go.

(Name) creeps forward a few more steps and hears a noise making her sister quickly go beside her. She hears something skittering along out in the fog and Winnie makes a terrified squeak. The little sister covers her mouth. Something is watching them.

"Hello? Can you please reveal yourself?" The older sister, scared but she knows she have to brave for her sister. She goes in front of her shielding her for whatever is in the mist.

A shape steps forward from the darkness of a nearby alley, but is obscured by mist. Two little lights cut through the vapor. (Name) scrunches her face slightly, focusing intently on the figure.

The shape creeps a little closer. A hunched-over silhouette, with glowing round eyes. It's a boxtroll! Winnie gasps but (Name) remains calm. They stay put and turn their head to the side, screwing up their face with curiosity as the figure stands upright.

The figure takes another step towards the sisters. He lifts his goggles. The light from the street lamp reveals his face. He is guarded but curious and mimics (Name)'s expression and then Winnie's.

Winnie gasps in wonder, the hat momentarily forgotten by them. (Name) calls out in a friendly tone. "Who are you, boy?"

The mysterious boy looks confused at what she asked. "Boy?"

A boxtroll labelled Fish and Shoe suddenly grab him from behind and pull him out of Market Square. The sisters hear from the boy being pulled away. "Why would she call me that?"

Suddenly, bright lights hit them! It's the Redhats' truck approaching them the boy with wearing cardboard labelled with eggs and the boxtrolls sprint around the square, chased by the Redhats. Mr. Pickles points from the truck. "They're right there, Mr. Trout!"

The girls watch as Eggs and the boxtrolls sprint out  of the square just a few steps a head of the Redhat’s truck. Mr. Gristle the other redhat laughs. "We’re right behind you. HA hahaha!"

"That was a boy... Winnie, go take the hat." (Name) says and Winnie who stares, slack-jawed as the truck’s lights disappear down the hill nods, then turns and reaches for their father’s hat, but it’s gone, instead she sees- a big shadowy figure holding the hat and staring at it lustily Archibald Snatcher. Winnie gasps and hearing this the olde sister also turns around.

"Hmm. Someone’s out past curfew. Very dangerous."

(Name) thinks for something to get them out of the situation. "Right, we're sorry about that Mr. Snatched but please give us the hat so we can be on our way." She holds out her hand so the redhat can give it to her but he just stares at the hat.

Winnie who is speechless for a moment, decided to speak about what they saw. "We... we saw a boy."

Snatcher still stares at the hat. "All I saw was filthy boxtroll monsters." Snatcher finally looks at the girls with an oily, false smile which creep them out. "Little Miss Portley-Rinds. Allow me to escort you girls home. Snatcher leans down and offers his arm to any of the girls.

(Name) shakes her head and also gives him her own fake smile. "You don't have to do that Mr. Snatcher."

"We can escort ourselves, thank you." Winnie snubs and turns her back to Snatcher and he gives a grunt of frustration and restraint as the older sister watches in amusement. She turns back to collect the hat. "If you’ll just give us our father’s hat back."

Winnie grabs for the hat. Snatcher swishes it out of her reach and heads for the stairs into the Guild leaving the two girls to chase after him. "Yes, how did this hat find itself aaaaall the way out here?"

"The... wind! Blew it, right out the window. Very windy tonight!"

Snatcher looks doubtful. He licks his finger and holds it up. "Hmmm. Must’ve died down. Suddenly!" Snatcher heads right to the front door.

"There’s no need to go inside."

"Please just hand us the hat." 

"Oh, but as a gentleman, I insist." Snatcher shoves open the doors, pushes his way into the foyer-

The two sister looked at each other. "We're dead..." Then they go to chase the man wearing redhat.