>>><<<
Footsteps echoed against the racks, and Brad couldn’t figure out which way to go. He paused next to a huge acrylic box with a live miniature sheep in it. The little fuzzball seemed happy enough. It even bleated at him.
A loud rumble assailed his ears, forcing him to grab the nearest rack in order to remain upright. Or wait–that rumble wasn’t just teeth-chattering sound–the floor was shaking.
Brad jumped to his right as a jar of shrunken–or just really little shriveled–heads slid off the shelf, nearly landing on his big toe as the glass shattered on the floor. More glass broke throughout the warehouse as the mini-heads grew spider legs and twiddled around. Brad hopped and jumped out of the way of mouths with surprisingly large teeth. Yikes! He bit his tongue to keep from yelling.
Swiftly tiptoeing beyond a pile of somewhat reconfigured human hands, hoping they won’t start chasing after him too, Brad nearly lost his balance. Teetering between the hands and equally grotesque feet, he came to the sudden realization that the floor was still moving–swaying as though floating.
Floating? Oh no. He refused to think about it, instead refocusing all of his energy onto Jeuley and getting her out of there…and himself, too, if possible…hopefully…wherever this place was going. Hell, perhaps?
Brad continued through the warehouse, dodging several creepy-crawlies–most of which were pretty small, but a few of the rolling ones were fast, sticking to his pant legs but not actually doing any damage.
At the sound of voices, he froze.
“Where are we going?” Julie asked.
“I’m not telling.” Ordal grunted.
“You can’t get away with this!”
“J–Jeuley?” Brad called out, barely above a whisper.
“Yeth, I can! You jutht watch me!” Ordal shouted in response.
Brad took off running toward the corner, toward Jeuley. After a struggle and a loud thwoomp with a grunt from Jeuley, Brad called louder, “J–Jeuley!”
“Brad!?” She blasted out of one of the aisles and smacked right into him. At least she wasn’t hurt.
He swept her into his arms, holding her close as though his life depended upon it. Hell, at this point, maybe his life did depend on her. He barely remembered how he got there. But Jeuley would know the answer. She always had an answer. That was one of the reasons Brad loved her. “How do we get out of here? I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore.”
“Oh Brad. Yes, you do. You know what you’re doing and that’s why I love you.” She struggled within his grasp. “Get this tape off me and let’s go.”
Without hesitation, he grabbed the tape binding her wrists and tore it off. She’d already gotten it started. “I love you, too.”
She smiled up at him like he was the most wonderful man on the planet even though he begged to differ. “Come on.” Jeuley tugged Brad’s arm as clackety footsteps headed toward them. “I clonked him pretty good, but he grabbed some kind of gun.”
“Gun?” Brad looked back and saw Ordal charging as fast as his tiny feet would carry him. There was a big, strange, tube-shaped thing in his hand.
“I’m gonna get you!” Ordal shouted. There was an odd thoop noise that Brad had never heard before, but knew it had to be bad.
Ducking between two rows of boxes, he narrowly escaped a blob of jelly as it splattered against a pile of prosthetic arms with two hands. The jelly oozed and drizzled into a puddle, flowing toward Jeuley.
“Ordal, give it up,” Jeuley hollered. “We’re not scared by jelly. No matter how gloppy it is.” Looking at Brad, she motioned toward his tablet. “What the hell is that thing?”
“I think it’s a gun.”
“Then try using it!”
Oh yeah. “I’m such a lousy hero.”
“No, you’re not. I don’t see anyone else with enough guts to rescue me.” Jeuley placed a reassuring hand on Brad’s shoulder. “Shoot that bastard, or I will. Believe me, he deserves it.”
“Here goes.” Brad put his quaking finger over the trigger button as he slid a jar of eyeballs over. Ordal was still in motion, but Brad’s shot was clear. He took quick aim and tapped the trigger.
A blue lightning bolt blasted toward Ordal as another blob of jelly flew from his tube and struck the jar of eyeballs, knocking it to the floor and shattering. Little legs sprouted from each eye. They started hopping around, causing Brad to jump back. What was it with Ordal and little things sprouting legs?
“Did you get him? I don’t hear him anymore.” Using a prosthetic leg with two feet, Jeuley swatted at the eyeballs.
“I don’t know. I lost him.”
They stalked cautiously out into the aisle and Brad discovered that his tablet really was a gun–and set on stun. Ordal lay on the floor, his eyes twitching and watching as Jeuley kicked his tube thing away.
So this was the evil mastermind? Brad found it difficult not to laugh.
“Let’s tie him up or something.” Jeuley tapped Brad’s shoulder with the back of her hand while scrutinizing all the racks.
Spying a roll of tape on a hook, Brad pulled it and quickly discovered that it wasn’t any normal kind of tape. It was like glue stretched between two strips of paper. He shrugged his shoulders, then glommed it around Ordal’s wrists.
Jeuley pulled some of the little globs off of Brad’s pant legs. “Are these lumps of chewing gum?”
“I have no idea, but we might as well add them.”
She followed his lead, yanking off all the gloopy little critters and sticking them on and around Ordal’s wrists.
The little man gained control of his vocal chords. “You will never out-thmart me! We’ll be half way acroth the world!”
“We’ll see about that.” Jeuley stood up and beckoned to Brad. “You should see what that jerk has done.”
They hustled to the far corner. Brad was running on pure adrenaline and instinct. And instinct was telling him simply follow Jeuley, wherever she went, whatever she did, follow her. So, when they reached the corner and Jeuley started banging on a panel in the wall, Brad looked around for something to help out.
As he picked up an iron wiffle-ball-bat-like club, Jeuley stepped out of his way. With one swing, he’d dented the panel and the bat’s recoil sent him flying backward about ten feet, landing and skidding on his ass, the bat flying further past him.
Jeuley laughed. Reaching out, she helped him up. “Thanks, sweetie.”
Brad just stood there, grinning, rubbing his ass. It was going to hurt in the morning. What the hell was in that bat, anyway?
Jeuley pried the panel open and frantically tapped a small screen. “I don’t know what he was thinking, but I do know we have to counteract everything.”
“What?” I got the girl, it should be time to go. Why can’t we just go?
The building jolted, but Brad kept his footing.
“I stopped the boat, but we have to stop the Blue Root.”
The zombies.
She rushed away before Brad could get in a word edgewise.
“Jeepers!” Danny shouted from the warehouse doorway as Jeuley pushed past him. “What’d you say this time, man? You have zero luck with the ladies.”
“‘Bout time you got here.”
“Hey, the fuckin’ building set sail. And Mike and his polished turd…”
“Tie that guy up…better.” Brad pointed toward Ordal. Without waiting for a reply, Brad followed Jeuley upstairs. There was no way he would let her out of his sight now. He’d come way too far. Where was she going?
He caught up with her in the office. Her fingers were practically a blur on the console keyboard.
“Y’know, Brad. You’re the best hero I could ever ask for, actually. I mean, without you, I don’t think we could crack this thing.”
“Does ‘this thing’ have anything to do with why there were a million zombies chasing after me?”
“Zombies? Cool.” Jeuley glanced up at him before returning to her screen. “Skintite technology isn’t just something that makes the Blue Root stick. It’s addictive. It makes a better orgasm, but it also makes you always want it in contact with your skin.”
“And Ordal can use the controllers to control where people go and what they do, right?” Good grief what a creepy, creepy thing to do.
“Yeah, while I was stuck here, I found Ordal’s notes and got him to talk about some of it, too. I think we can get all of his orders recalled and neutralize the Skintite before the whole world falls apart.”
“Good.” Brad knelt next to the other computer on the console, ready to stop Ordal’s evil empire.
“After that, I plan on flinging myself into your arms and hoping you never let me go.”
Yes! “I would never, ever let you go…but can we hurry up? I don’t think I can wait any longer?”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Jeuley laughed and nodded. “Hey, hack into the main grid. That’s where he controls everyone manually. Just look for the sheep and you’ll find it okay.”
“Sheep?”
“Yeah. You’ll see.” She nodded. “Well, not the sheep.”
“A sheep?”
“Never mind. You’ll figure it out.”
“Okay.” Brad did as directed, hoping it wouldn’t take too long. His thoughts were stuck on her flinging herself at him after they did all the hacking.
A computer-generated voice filled the room. “Hello, Jeuley. I’m glad you’re here. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Who the hell was that? Brad scrutinized the room. He wasn’t afraid to use his gun-tablet again if he had to.
“Second Thought?” Jeuley sounded happy, but Brad was suddenly suspicious. Had she met someone new while she was held captive?
“At your service…” The voice continued.
Was it a man filtering his voice to sound like a computer? Where was he hiding? Brad typed with one hand and curled the other around his tablet.
A set of icons appeared on Brad’s screen. He let go of his tablet as he navigated to the sheep and brought up a portal. How twisted could Ordal be? He’s got some guy sweet-talking Jeuley while sheep run across the computer screens. How insane can that get?
“Second Thought, will you override Ordal’s Blue Root command matrix, please? Brad–Magneton–just knocked Ordal out and we’re gonna have the enforcers deal with him once we get to land.”
“Anything for you, Jeuley. I love you.”
Brad’s hands fell onto his keyboard, accidentally closing his portal. “What?”
“I love you, too, Second Thought. Make it so.”
Brad’s jaw dropped. He shook his head, really wanting to bang it on the keyboard instead.
“Relax, Brad. Don’t give me that look. Second Thought is just a machine and I’m its favorite programmer.”
“Oh thank God.” Relief flooded through him.
“By the way, Brad…” Jeuley leaned back in her chair. “I’m wondering if you’re interested in another partnership with me. A more permanent one. Hopefully with lots of…ummm…testing.”
“I accept! Of course I accept!” There was never a doubt in his mind.
She launched herself into Brad’s arms. He swung her around and kissed her. Could things get any better? She tasted like sunshine…and garlic? But she was his. Somehow, through some stroke of luck, he wasn’t the loser this time.
Brad was clearing a space on the console to show Jeuley just how glad he was to have her back when Danny’s voice emerged from the stairway. “It’s called a Petlock? What?”
“People were allergic to my mini-sheep, so I created a playroom, hoping that people would buy it and live in harmony with their new pet. But it never caught on.” Ordal’s hands were still bound behind his back–with both goop and rope–and he shuffled as he walked into the room.
“Wow. That’s bitchin’. I can’t believe no one wanted it. Can I have it?”
“Why? Do you have a mini-sheep, too?” Ordal studied Danny with sudden interest.
“No, my fiancé–girlfriend–has a cat.”
“People are allergic to cats?” Ordal lifted an eyebrow.
Jeuley broke in. “Uh…yeah… Where the hell have you been?”
“Living in a box,” Second Thought supplied.
“Oh yeah, never mind.” Jeuley turned back to Brad.
Ordal was still lost in thought. “You mean I could’ve been rich and famous from this?”
Danny chuckled. “Well, yeah.”
Not missing a beat, a crooked grin overtook Ordal’s face. “And I could’ve been even richer if I had it thelectively release the cat dander so people would have to conthtantly buy upgrades.”
“Damn, what a…what a…” Brad couldn’t find just the right word.
But Second Thought chimed in once more. “Nincompoop? Creep? Moron? Idiot? Nutball?”
“Yeah, Second Thought, all those.” Jeuley laughed.
Danny led Ordal to the ladder and then turned toward Brad and Jeuley. “You guys coming? I left the heliflyer hovering on auto-follow, so let’s hurry up and get out of here before it leaves without us.”
Brad smiled at Jeuley. “Yeah, hang on. We gotta take care of something first.”
Hoisting Ordal onto his shoulders, Danny started to climb the ladder. “Well, don’t take too long, okay? I mean, I know–”
“Go!” Jeuley yelled at Danny as he and Ordal disappeared through the trapdoor.
She pushed Brad down onto the console and Second Thought’s voice rumbled through the speakers. “Can’t you guys power me down before you do that? I don’t want to watch. It’ll make me jealous. Or wish I could help.”
