Adventures of Captain Xdey (21 page)

Ramos brushed Xoey’s hair. She opened her eyes and the group cheered in victory. Ramos wiped his cheeks as he helped her up. Xoey lifted up her bloody shirt to find the wound healed. “What happened?”

Mal pulled the vacuum off of his arm and dropped it in the box. They’d deal with it later.

Nadine ran to Mal. “I knew you could do it!”

Mal chuckled. “Say it.”

Nadine rubbed her brother’s hair with glee. “You are smarter.”

He grinned a very prideful grin.

She looked to where their parents were and found that they were gone. “We should find them.” They all ran into the center of the circus and stopped at the sight of the red-headed woman who they saw sitting next to Nix earlier.

Rochelle moved forward. “Oh, my dears. It’s so fortunate that you have won for Grittle!”

Xoey wiped her brow. She knew better than to believe the girl of a bad guy. Rochelle’s red hair was fashioned to roll back from the brow. Her locks were then twisted in marvelous curls. Her ruby lips curled in a snake-like fashion. The green eyes transfixed upon Xoey. “Little one. You have my deep appreciation for our freedom.” She pressed a button at the end of her cane.

A loud bang came from the canopy above them, followed by a whirring sound, fast and deafening. Nadine stepped away from the bars. The canopy lifted up in the air. Every metal stake shot up toward the blue and yellow tarp forming a humanoid subject. A groan erupted from the exit of the canopy. Xoey turned to see her father hunched over. “Xoey, don’t!” Nadine cried out. It was too late. The pirate ran toward Bran.

The mechanical being landed behind her father. Xoey screamed. She tried to run faster in the boots. They caused her to stumble and fall right at the feet of the industrial beast that had her father in its hands. “Give him back!”

Rochelle laughed. “Oh, I think not.”

Mal crept behind the red-haired vixen toward the Mechanical Room. Rochelle turned her emerald-colored eyes upon the others. “It would be less than fair for the pirate to have all of the fun.” She pressed the button again. Soon, Nadine, Ramos, and Hiddle all had canopy covered beasts of iron to fight.

Xoey held out her sword toward her enemy. “Let him go.”

The metal thing of seven feet tall shook its head. She wasn’t certain how she’d be able to beat a creation that was taller than her. It rattled her father like a rag doll, crushed him, and tossed him aside as if he was trash. “No!” It laughed at her grief.

Nadine focused on her powers. She could feel the low vibration within her, but it was not enough to force outward. She’d drained everything she had upon Nix.

Hiddle looked back at Decyl’s crumpled form. He was up just a minute ago. Underneath his little pot belly was a familiar gun with a blue button. Rochelle was nowhere to be found. Neither was the Wonder-Vac. Hiddle used his size to his advantage. He ran under the legs of the creature. The slamming of metal on metal resounded behind him. Nadine watched Hiddle’s offensive maneuvers. She smiled. The beings were restricted by their size and not made for speed. “Run!” she cried out. “Run like the wind!”

Xoey zigged and zagged throughout the circular room. Nadine ran through the high rise seats. Hiddle rolled Decyl’s body over. His hand was tightly clasped onto the weapon. “Come on, Decyl. Let go!” Hiddle ran from him, leaving the gun behind to avoid being stepped on. Fortunately, Decyl’s head missed being crushed by mere inches. The beings stopped midstride and began to contort in a fashion that was, at first, misunderstood. They shifted, grinding in an annoying fashion.

Xoey covered her ears. “What is going on?”

Hiddle dodged past the one after him, and managed to grab Decyl’s gun. He must have loosened the gnome’s grip, as this time it was too easy. Nadine cried, “They’re evolving!”

Xoey barely managed to avoid the swift swipe of large clawed hand. When she ran, it was faster and more agile. “We have to think of something!”

Hiddle reared back and pressed the blue button on the gun. A large volt of electricity shot out and hit the beast right in the center of its chest. The being took a step back and the sharp metal points in its mouth grated together to form a growl. Nadine shook her head. “Metal is a conductor, Hiddle!”

He dodged a blue charged swipe from his opponent. “I don’t even know what that means!”

Nadine sighed. “Think of a…” She ran down the steps. “Ship’s deck. Every piece of wood upon that deck is tight. If you slide a ball across that deck, it simply moves from one side to the other with no issue. The ball is the electricity, the deck is the metal. If it wasn’t a conductor, the ship’s deck would be filled with holes and the ball would fall. So whatever you do, do not let it touch you. You are not a conductor!”

Hiddle dropped the gun with an, “Oh.” He wasn’t about to question why. Decyl was still on the ground, but clearly he had moved a few feet.

Mal dashed through tent to tent searching for something, anything to help. He ducked under the covered table at the sound of voices entering the room.

“I care not about the prisoners. The children won’t survive long enough to release them.” He peeked out from under the cloth to see Rochelle carrying the Wonder-Vac. He considered fighting her for it, but then he saw the large group of men with her. One of the guards was carrying the bodies of both Nix and Gesler. She grabbed a bag filled to the brim with cans of oil. “The ship is out back.”

They walked out of the tent. Mal groaned internally. He needed to stop them from leaving and save his friends and family. He crawled out from under the table. “What would dad do?” he asked. That’s when he spotted the Wind Tunnel in the corner.

Xoey climbed up to the web of the trapeze artists instruments of nets, poles, and cables. She stood on the thin wire that stretched from one end of the circus to the other. The cable swayed slightly at her weight. The mechanical beast jumped in a desperate attempt to reach her. Xoey kicked off one boot followed by the other. She wasn’t too scared being this high up. She was used to climbing riggings and shrouds. She wasn’t scared until the beast began to shift. It was slowly pushing itself up to match her height.

Nadine stumbled as she jumped over raised circular platform. It was meant for large animals to stand upon. The metal creature stomped and shattered it to pieces right as she landed. She plucked her suspenders off and threw them up on the wire that Xoey stood upon. “Slide across!” Nadine zigged past the creep chasing her and held out her hand. A beam of white energy shot out at the one taunting Xoey. It whirled around and gnashed its long teeth, and its chest began to melt. The hot metal oozed down, melting all in its path.

Xoey grabbed the suspenders, hoping that they would hold long enough for her to get to the other side. She wiped her hands for good measure before setting the suspenders evenly across the wire. The beast below her screeched in anger and in its anger, it hit the large pole holding up one end. Xoey reeled forward, swung under the line, and held tight to the suspenders as she slid down the wire. The pole crashed and she was thrown into the air right before she reached the platform of the other pole. one minute she was airborne, and the next she was clinging for dear life on the edge of the small platform.

Ramos dodged the attack of his opponent. His shoulder ached and throbbed in the worst way. He couldn’t lift up his arm past his waist. Exhausted, Ramos paused as the opponent pulled its fist out of the soft earth. He saw a flash of white above and there was Xoey. She struggled to pull herself up over the platform, but her feet couldn’t reach the pole for a boost.

Hiddle threw wood, metal, and water…whatever was necessary to try to pull the electricity from the beast that towered over him. He saw Xoey hanging for dear life. “Hang on!” he called out. With a quick adjustment of his boots, he jumped up on the platform. “Grab onto my hand.” She reached for his and he pulled her up just enough so she could bring her knee upon the platform and pull the rest of her weight.

Mal dragged the wind tunnel across the floor. It rested on its side, and he adjusted the lever for the proper angle. He set the knobs one for north and the other for east, and the number two. He picked up the microphone that was connected to all of the speakers throughout the circus. “Hold on the something!” With a long pole, he reached past the bars of the empty holding cell of some creature, and flipped the switch. The long cylinder machine roared to life. Bright blue lights lit up on the inside as the metal blades whirred with such an intensity. It was deafening. Mal covered his ears and pressed up against the makeshift wood that he placed on top of the iron bars as the wind sucked out from around the machine.