by S.J. Armato
“And remember, in my pocket I have my cell phone with Maggie’s phone number already punched in. When I need you guys, I’ll press send.”
While the rest of the group hid, Mr. Oddley hobbled over to the door and rapped on it with his cane. It swung open slowly.
“We’ve been expecting you, sir,” said a polite but sad faced clown. “Please come in.”
“Now, we need to wait,” whispered Maggie nervously as the door swung closed. “And we also need to stay alert and ready. Ellie, stop drumming. Molly, stop whistling.”
“And M-maggie, said Tim. “Lighten up, will you!”
***
“Wait here, please,” said the clown. “I’ll let Mr. Merless know you’ve arrived.” As he left, Mr. Oddley quickly surveyed the room; but aside from two of Merless’ people, a table and several chairs, the place was empty. No signs of Liza or the crystals. And from his last visit, he knew the place was deceptively large, quite like a maze in its layout. He could only hope Liza was nearby so they could make a quick escape.
***
After the appetizer, Liza would not touch any more of her food, but Merless continued to happily gobble away. Then somewhere between a butterfly-bread-stick and the tomato-bug-salad, a fire had sparked to life within Merless’ smoldering mind, and that ember of an idea soon grew to a blaze. He was, of course, destined to be a god, right? Right. And every god needs? Well, the answer’s obvious, isn’t it? A goddess! To help him rule the land, rule the world. And who better to be his goddess than the lovely lady Liza? No one!
“I’m so sorry you lost your appetite,” he said to Liza, as he stopped to read a message from the waiter. Merless wrote a note of his own and passed it back. The waiter took it, nodded, and immediately left the room, with Merless calling after him, “PT-99 should do the trick.” Liza frowned at this new cryptic turn of events.
Merless rose. “You’ll excuse me now, please. I must attend to business. The waiter will be back momentarily to escort you back to your, uh, room.”
***
“Ah, the book, the book. I had wanted the book,” sang Merless merrily when Mr. Oddley handed it to him. “But no longer... I no longer give a rat’s behind for the book. I no longer give a rat’s tailbone for using the crystals to make money. That was just a small dream for a small man... but look at me now, I am no longer that small man. I am a super man, a god. Don’t you understand, Oddley? I am power personified. I can do anything!” And as if to accentuate the thought, he smacked Mr. Oddley to the ground and tossed the book aside.
He stood over Mr. Oddley and mused, “My crystals may not work as reliably as yours do, but mine are so much more powerful. Look what I’ve become! Look at my hands. I could crush a brick like an egg! No Oddley, forget the book, forget money. As a god, my destiny is to rule, with the beautiful Lady Liza ruling beside me.”
Then Merless moved his arms in a theatrically grand gesture, and in a deep resonant voice commanded, “Come Liza, look at this worthless mortal. See how inferior he is to us.”
He’s getting worse, thought Mr. Oddley. Sicker and more demented by the minute. And then, she appeared. It was Liza, but her eyes were glazed over, and she wore the expression of a lifeless mannequin. She moved as if animated by a puppeteer... and she was wearing a cheap plastic child’s tiara (Model number PT-99 from the Universi-Toy catalog) crusted with at least a dozen of the altered Incredimite crystals, each of which was pricking her scalp. He could see tiny droplets of blood along the perimeter of her tiara.
Still on the ground and shaking with anger and fear, he reached into his pocket, fumbled for his phone, and pressed send.
***
Maggie’s phone was on vibrate, and the shock of the sudden buzz made her jump up and generate a loud and embarrassing high pitched “eek.” Molly giggled and Tim whispered “Maggie, shhh!”
“Damn, I hate that.” Then Maggie’s voice dropped an octave and she said, “OK, gang... like we practiced... let’s do this... for Mr. Oddley and Liza. Rob, you’re up. We’re counting on you. Don’t let us down.”
Rob walked up to the back door and knocked. A moment later it swung open and a surprised clown-guard said, “You’re back? I didn’t think we’d be seeing you again. Hey, what’s with the skateboard? Oh hell, who cares. Just close the door. It’s freezing out there.” Rob paused and, in several tense and uncertain moments, looked over his shoulder and opened his mouth as if to speak. But he didn’t. The kids outside all breathed a sigh of relief. Rob shut the door. He was in.
Rob coincidentally echoed that thought with a slight twist. Hopefully I’m not in over my head, he silently prayed, gulping when the guard cackled and slyly said, “The boss will be sooooo happy to see you.”
The kids tiptoed their way down the path and waited by the door... waited... waited... waited... until, it flew open and they were greeted by a wild-eyed Rob, unable to mask his panic. “NOW,” he screeched. And in everyone flew. Yes, he was scared but he was holding it together. Behind him stood the bewildered guard sipping hot cocoa.
Maggie took charge and yelled, “We’re here for Mr. Oddley and Liza, and you’re going to tell us where they are. Am I making myself clear?” She had been rehearsing that little speech since they’d left the shop, and in spite of her young voice, the words (along with the hockey mask) somehow combined to make her appear somewhat menacing. Molly gave her two thumbs up.
But then again, menacing looks aside, she was still a skinny kid with big feet who stood a towering 4 feet 9 inches tall. Not exactly a gladiator. The guard took one more sip of his cocoa, stood and called for security. And in less than a minute the room was packed with people blocking their path. It came down to this; the kids needed to battle their way to the door across the room. The door that led to the rest of the facility. Because somewhere through it were their friends.
“Why don’t you kids go on home,” said one security guard, who was a Mount Everest of a man.
“No way,” said Maggie, not quite able to keep her voice from shaking. “We’re on a mission!”
“A suicide mission,” sneered Mr. Mountain. “If you won’t leave, we’ll just have to throw you out.”
“Yeah? You and w-w-what army” said a surprisingly defiant, if not obviously terrified, Tim.
“Wow, that’s original. And what’s your name, mini-man?”
“T-Tim...”
“Don’t tell him our names!” screamed Molly.
“Well, T-Tim,” said the guard as he wiggled a come here finger, but Tim did not move. The big guy snickered. “To modify an old expression, since Tim won’t come to the mountain, the mountain must go to Tim.” He lumbered forward.
Suddenly, Ellie squealed, “Attack,” as her little arms smacked a puck into the guard’s stomach. He keeled over, the breath knocked out of him. The fight was on!
Adam, Brett, Chris and Deanna started shooting pucks along with Ellie. These modified pucks were incredible. They flew like missiles, always found their mark, and bounced back, ready for the next shot. Pucks whizzed everywhere, hitting their opponent’s knees, shins, and ankles, and basically, knocking their legs out from under them.
And that’s where Rob and Daphne came in: to finish things off. They zoomed around the room on their skateboards, riding the floors, riding the walls, and utilizing their secret weapons... pea shooters. After being knocked unceremoniously to the ground by the hockey players, the stinging bites of the peas kept Merless’ men at bay. They were on the ground trying their best to cover themselves from the relentless attack of pucks and peas.
In spite of their powerful hand strength, they could do no more than grab an occasional puck and snap it in two. One managed to snatch Daphne’s board out from under her but she was able to land on her feet and kept firing away. Three clowns were down – puck shots to the head – and the rest were stunned and cowering in a heap in the middle of the room.
It was time to move. As they had planned, Maggie, Molly, and Tim ran through the far door, leaving the
ABC kids, Rob, and Daphne to hold off the guards while they searched for their friends. With the noise and confusion of battle fading behind them, they found themselves walking down a long poorly lit corridor lined with doors. Too many doors. Doors that could open at any moment and spit out more of Merless’ men. They ran up and down, not knowing where to go, which door to try, until Maggie noticed one door was not an ordinary door, but an elevator. They pressed the button to summon it.
Thirty seconds or half a lifetime later, as each moment hung before them like an eternity, the elevator door slid open. The kids rushed in.
“There’s only one way to go and it’s down. And as far as we know this elevator’s the only way back. You guys ready?” asked Maggie.
“Sure, I love the idea of being trapped underground to hunt for a maniac,” whined an anxious and hyper-ventilating Molly.
“All we want to do is find our friends and get out as fast as we c-can.” countered Tim. “Molly, are you still in? Because you can wait up here if y-you need to. It’s OK.”
“Tim’s right. But there’s one other thing we need to do,” corrected Maggie. “We also need to take back our crystals. Honestly though, right now I don’t see how that’s gonna happen. Anyway, Molly, are you in? We need to get moving.”
“All any of us can do is try, right?” said Tim.
“You’re right, and I’m still in. Sorry, I wussed out,” apologized Molly. “It’s just being underground... I... I’m OK. Let’s go.” She pressed the DOWN button, the door slid closed, and the elevator slowly descended.
***
It was simple enough in design. A plexiglass cube, the size of a walk-in closet, with a door, a chair, two powerful fans, and what appeared to be a modified electric coffee grinder. Modified with a large funnel that could feed large quantities of something into the grinder; presumably not coffee beans. And, oh, there were boxes of Incredimite crystals neatly stacked right outside the door.
And admiring this odd contraption stood Merless and his goddess. He in a state of elation, she in a state of numbness. “You will be first, my pretty,” cooed Merless. “Soon, you and I will be the first of a new powerful breed of humans. And it all begins here. Of course I’m recording all of this for posterity. Smile for the video.” Liza’s eyes shifted slowly upward, but without any signs of awareness.
***
The elevator door slid open. It was even darker down here than it had been on the floor above. Molly gripped Tim’s arm. He whispered several words of encouragement, then the three stood for a moment wondering which way to go. When their eyes adjusted to the light they realized it wasn’t much of a decision. There were several doors, but one at the end of the corridor had a faint purplish glow emanating from around the door frame. They walked toward it, Maggie taking the lead.
“Maybe we should knock,” said Molly somewhat absurdly.
“Oh, of course, so we c-can let Merless know we’re here. How considerate!” replied Tim.
“Look, I just meant...”
“Guys, guys, don’t start fighting again. This really isn’t a good time,” interrupted Maggie.
“Yeah, yeah, but listen,” said Molly. “What’s that noise?”
“Strange, sounds like a howling wind and sleet hitting a window,” suggested Tim. “But we’re indoors.”
Maggie tested the doorknob. “It’s unlocked,” she whispered. “We need to go in. Everyone ready?” Tim and Molly nodded.
The door swung open to a horribly bizarre scene. There was Mr. Oddley lying in a heap in the corner of the room, and there was Merless, facing away from them, pouring something into a large funnel situated on top of a coffee grinder... which itself was situated within a shower-sized transparent cube. And as they approached they saw the something was purple, was being ground up, and was being released into the tiny chamber. And on a chair within the cube sat Liza wearing a tiara. Seems, the sound they’d heard wasn’t ice crystals, after all. It was ground up bits of Incredimite being swirled around the chamber by two high speed fans. Liza was being buffeted by a crystalline sandstorm. No way this could be a good thing.
Then Merless paused and turned his head toward the intruders. His eyes were now mere slits, his jagged face expressionless. He managed a grotesque grin then turned back to pouring the crystals. Obviously, he did not deem the children a threat.
“We’ve got to stop him!” yelled Maggie. She shot a puck and it found its mark. Smack, into Merless hand. He grunted and dropped the box of crystals and once again turned toward the kids. Maggie shot another puck, but Merless caught it and snapped it in two. Then he leaped, leaped halfway across the room, and landed directly in front of Maggie. He grabbed for her but she ducked, ducked and skated away as fast as she could. But he leaped again and they collided. Maggie got the worst of that collision. She was floored and stunned. Molly and Tim started their pea shooter attack. But it was useless. While the hard dried peas hit Merless hard, he was harder. They had no effect whatsoever.
Tim tried to skate past Merless and get to the cube, but got knocked off his board for his troubles. Peas scattered everywhere. He tried to stand but an injured ankle told him no. He fell back down.
By default, it was now up to Molly. She was breathing quickly. A dual response to her fear of Merless and the panic that was building from being in a windowless underground. She gritted her teeth, zipped over to Maggie, and picked up her hockey stick. No puck! “OK, Morgan,” she told herself, “Think. Improvise.” She found a ceramic coaster. It would have to do. She built up speed and jumped from floor to wall and back again, nicely avoiding Merless, and then whacked the coaster into his midsection. It shattered... but it had an effect. Merless staggered back and fell. This was her chance. She jumped off her board ran into the cube. It was blinding in there She shielded her eyes and nose the best she could and kept her mouth tightly shut. Thankfully, Merless had so far only been able to add a small amount of the crystals. And thankfully, these minute pieces of crystal were much less poisonous than large pieces would be. But then again, what’s an acceptable amount of poison someone can be safely exposed to? Hello, it’s called poison for a reason!
Liza was just sitting there like a zombie. The skin on her hands and face were taking on an angry, red, scrubbed-clean look. And it was a scary clean. Like the top layer of her skin was being sanded away clean. Molly had to get her out of there... and quickly. She shook Liza but got no response. She saw that Merless was getting to his feet. Tim saw it too and threw his skateboard at him, but Merless paused and the board skittered harmlessly past him. Still, that pause had given Molly another precious moment or two. In frustration she tugged at Liza’s arms, trying to get her to stand, to move, and in doing so she unexpectedly knocked the tiara off Liza’s head. Her eyes flickered in a dull awareness. Liza was coming back from lala land. They fled the cube.
Maggie was up and helping Tim to his feet. Merless ignored them and continued after Molly and Liza. Then Maggie had an idea. They would bait Merless. She and Tim made their way to the boxes of Incredimite sitting outside the cube and started emptying them onto the floor. That made Merless snap to an angry attention. He ran toward them in an effort to protect the crystals. Maggie and Tim scattered, but Merless was able to grab hold of a hobbling Tim before he could get away. He struggled in vain as Merless stood over him lifting a massive fist, and then... Merless came down hard with a thud, face first onto the floor. Tim looked up and saw Mr. Oddley standing there, cane in hand. He had whipped it around Merless’ leg and yanked him down.
Merless rose and stood in place, stood guard, stood ankle deep in his crystals as if afraid to leave them. “Go,” he screamed. “Get out, all you insects. That’s what all of you are, mere insects. Get out before I crush you like insects. Go!” They did not linger. Maggie, Molly and Mr. Oddley helped the injured Tim and Liza make their way out the door and toward the elevator.
As they left, they could hear the door bolts snap into place, could hear Merless gathering the scattered cry
stals, could hear him laughing maniacally, and could only imagine what he was thinking or doing in there. But they left those thoughts behind like a bad dream, as they rode the elevator to the main floor.
***
After the kids had reached ground level Merless opened the door and walked to the elevator. He opened the switch panel and ripped out the electrical wiring, severing power to the motor. No one would be riding that elevator for a while.
He walked back to the cube and finished pouring and grinding the crystals. Then he revved the fans to high and sat inside the cube, waiting.
And there he rested, feeling the stinging thrill of the crystalline storm swirling around him, feeling an overwhelming joy in anticipation of being reborn: stronger, better; and feeling the calculated contentment of standing at the edge of a fantasy, ready to leap into a new reality, a new role, a new purpose. And there he sat and smiled, basking in this wild purple storm, feeling his body turn to crystal and feeling every inch the god he would soon be... as the man slowly slipped away.
His last thoughts were happy ones.
Chapter 29
Deanna, a reasonable child, had called for an ambulance, because it seemed like the reasonable thing to do. Merless’ people had unexpectedly dropped to the ground writhing in pain, clutching at their monster hands. The kids watched the transformation take place... watched the hands return to normal. The rogue crystals had finally died.
Mr. Oddley and crew needed to leave, now! There was too much here that would need to be explained, and it was better to let the authorities piece things together the best they could rather than have the kids involved in any investigations. They made their way to the van and drove off only moments before the EMS vehicle arrived. It was followed shortly by a half dozen squad cars.
Merless’ people were dazed but otherwise fine. Their memories of recent events were foggy and their collective assessment was that “some people” had broken into their complex and attacked them... a conclusion, which in essence was true, I suppose, if not a bit skewed.
And no one could remember seeing Hugh Merless that day, so as far as everyone was concerned, he had not been involved in whatever it was that had happened here. The elevator, they determined, was out of order, and they looked no further.