The Green Beans, Volume 5: The Phantom of the Auditorium
Page 23
The noises escalated at an alarming rate, with much rattling and clambering and screeching and crashing. Within a matter of seconds, the worst possible scenario became a reality: the gremlins began to breach the area.
“Not good. We have to evacuate!” Double H cried out. “Immediately!”
There would be no argument from the sisters. Witnessing the invasion of mecha-monkeys was a disturbing experience, and they wished for nothing more than to depart the area as quickly as possible.
Ceiling tiles were being wrenched free at a rate that implied a considerable number of the rowdy rascals were en route to their location. The girls would rather not be present when that bizarre horde of Jasper’s mechanical creations arrived.
Unfortunately, it appeared that the ceiling wasn’t the only surface that was being compromised. Sparks and dust were flying through the air as what looked to be saw blades burst through the walls, creating holes with jagged edges.
“They’re coming through the walls, too!” Maria yelled, her eyes bulging with alarm.
Even over the buzzing of the saw blades, the scuttling and scraping and giggling could be heard in the walls and ceiling, assaulting the girls’ ears from all sides. The result was a terrific, growing clamor, as if the pack of mechanical monstrosities was working itself into a frenzy.
It was, quite possibly, the most disturbing sound the sisters had ever heard. Given their considerable experience in all things weird, that was really saying something.
“Lead on, Double H – get us out of here!” Sara shouted.
The caped weirdo had already turned toward the door of her quarters, and with the girls close on her heels, she sprinted back into the workshop of the Espionage Department. Behind them, the trio could hear the ruckus of the mecha-monkeys as they continued their onslaught, breaching the walls and ceiling of Double H’s living area.
“And to think, they used to be so cute,” Double H lamented of the gremlins gone awry. “You wouldn’t believe how adorable they were!”
As Double H spoke of better days gone by, she never slowed, her cape whipping behind her as she ran at full speed. She made a quick cut to her left, and barreled through the third door in the workshop, the one they had all passed by earlier, marked with the sign that read: “This Way To Exit”.
Not even bothering with the door’s handle, Double H simply lowered her shoulder and barreled through it. The door was forced wide open by the collision, and the girls scooted in behind her.
“This way,” Double H gasped, continuing forward. “Don’t fall behind. And stay alert! If these machines have committed themselves toward rebellion, there’s no telling what they’ll do. I would have never anticipated their behavior would get this erratic, so all bets are off.”
She proceeded through another service corridor that accessed the innards of the school, though this one was much roomier than the pathway that had led to the furnace room. This was clearly the way by which Jasper must have gained entry to the workshop of the Espionage Department, for it would be able to accommodate his broad shoulders and unusual height.
As they hustled through the passage, the girls could hear noises above them – unsettling noises. The mecha-monkeys had continued their pursuit, remaining unseen as they scuttled above and around the humans.
There was a sudden, shadowy blur of movement, and then something dropped onto the floor, directly in front of the sisters. It was a smallish shape, dim in the low lighting, and it moved toward the girls with an agile, monkey-like gait, releasing a weird, warbling noise as it scampered closer.
Reacting on pure instinct, Maria sprang forward, swinging her wrench in a gesture that was meant to defend herself and her sister. She stepped into the swing perfectly, wielding the oversized wrench like a baseball bat, swiveling her hips and rotating her core.
Her aim was true, and the blow was solid. She whacked the strange creature with her wrench, and there was a clang of impact as metal struck metal.
The gremlin went flying, soaring through the air in a dark blur, engaging in a brief flight before crashing against the wall and falling to the floor with a dull thud. Before the girls could get a solid look at it, the mecha-monkey got to its feet and scuttled away, disappearing into the darkness and warbling in an uncanny manner.
“Whoa,” Maria gasped. She was breathing heavily from the excitement of the moment, and she wearily lofted her wrench, ready to dispense further mechanical justice, should the need arise. “Did you see it?”
Sara patted her sister on the shoulder with gratitude. “It scrambled away before I could get a really good look at it, but in the brief glimpse I had, it looked pretty… well, freaky.”
“Of course! It was manufactured by Jasper, after all,” Maria said, panting from the rush of energy that had surged through her system.
“You really walloped the heck out of it,” Sara commended. “I mean, that thing went flying when you bashed it! I suppose that’s one thing we can be grateful for – they might be many in number, but at least these gremlins are small.”
“That was a pretty great swing,” Double H agreed, grinning from ear to ear.
“Coach would be proud,” Maria giggled, twirling the adjustable wrench with flourish.
“I’m certainly glad I have the two of you at my back. Be ready for more!” Double H warned.
The caped illusionist turned on her heel and continued making her way through the service corridor. Sara and Maria remained close behind her, watching for additional threats. Their senses were on full alert, their bodies tensed and ready to spring into action.
It seemed that the defeat of the first mecha-monkey, which had been so thoroughly thwarted by the swing of Maria’s wrench, had stirred the rest of the creatures to greater agitation. With every passing second, their clamoring increased.
The scuttling and scampering intensified, as did the weird, warbling noises the mechanical creatures used for communication… not to mention the sporadic buzz of saw blades at work. Shadows danced and darted, and peril seemed all but guaranteed. The overhead ductwork rattled and thumped with the activity of the looming gremlins, their presence weighing heavily on the humans as they passed through the darkened, dangerous territory.
A sense of desperation had descended upon them as the agitation of the mecha-monkeys had swelled. To remain here, with the countless, unseen foes, would mean certain doom.
The sisters and Double H felt they had to escape from the confined space of the service corridor, if they were to have any hope of surviving the rebellion of the mechanized creatures. Keen to leave the underground place, they pressed on, breathing heavily from the high temperatures, which weighed upon them like an oppressive, stifling blanket.
The air was thick and humid, like that of a jungle, and stinging drops of sweat ran into Double H’s eyes as she led the way. She passed the back of her hand across her brow, in order to clear her vision, and then flinched in surprise.
The sight of another shadowy shape as it dropped to the floor had startled her, and she took a step back as it began scampering toward their position.
“Look out!” Double H cried.
“I’ve got this one!” Sara assured her companions.
She stepped forward to meet the mecha-monkey, and with an underhand swing, she administered a blow from her hammer. Supremely clobbered, the creature went flying toward a distant corner of the service corridor, warbling in protest as it did so.
“Good job, but that’s not the last of them,” Maria said. “It looks like they’re preparing for a full assault!”
With a chorus of robotic howling noises, the mecha-monkeys descended en masse, attempting to swarm over the humans they had deemed intruders in their territory. They sprang from the walls and dropped from the ceiling, emerging from between pipes and shadows and electrical conduits. They leaped from newly cut holes in the ductwork with giggles and warbles and the scuttle of claws.
The sight of such a thing nearly sent the sisters into a panic, but calling upon their experi
ence and resolve, they managed to keep their cool. As the mecha-monkeys came at them, scampering along on all fours, the girls wielded their improvised weaponry to great effect.
Again and again, the ring of hard metals striking one another sounded, as hammer and wrench met target. Soon, the sisters were panting with the exertion of their efforts, swinging left and right, over and under, just to keep up with the relentless onslaught of Jasper’s diabolical gremlins.
Despite being confronted by so many of the strange creatures, the girls still couldn’t quite get a clear look at them, since they were moving so fast and the lighting was so dim. All they knew for sure was that they were creepy, quick, and mighty aggressive.
While they were fending off the swarm of mechanical beasties, the girls continued pressing forward, desperately trying to make their way to the end of the corridor. Double H led the way, squawking in alarm, dodging and rolling to avoid the leaps of mecha-monkeys, tearing her cape free from their reaching claws.
“There are so many,” Maria gasped.
“Keep it up!” Sara shouted, swatting her way toward a clear path, hammer tightly gripped in her hand.
“Here we are!” Double H called from ahead. She began ascending a ladder that was mounted against the wall at the end of the corridor. “This will take us straight to the auditorium. We just have a little farther to go!”
Maria and Sara required no encouragement. With a final, sweeping blow from each of their tools, they took advantage of the split-second break in the mecha-monkey’s assault, clambering up the ladder as fast as they had ever before climbed in their life.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Swarm Takes Form