Author: Douglas A. Taylor
Category: Suspense
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/douglas-a-taylor/page,20,27622-attack-doll-3--protocol-black.html
Chapter 20
If the place where Padma and I materialized was hell, then I sure hope I go to heaven when I die, because this was not at all pleasant. It was dark, with a sort of ruddy glow ahead of us. Dark shapes were moving nearby, but I couldn't make out anyone or anything clearly. There was so little light that even my force shield was having trouble compensating.
We were completely submerged in water that was probably close to freezing. I didn't feel wet, thanks to Wizzit's one-way filter, but I could feel the water pressing in on me on all sides. This was probably something like what scuba-diving felt like, although scuba-diving is supposed to be a fun thing. I'm not exactly sure how I was able to breathe, but I'm happy to leave those kinds of problems to Wizzit.
I had taken hold of Padma's hand before we teleported, not out of any romantic notion, but so that I could maintain contact with her even if I didn't know where anyone else was. I squeezed her hand just to check, and she squeezed back.
"Blue and Indigo, reporting for duty!" I said, in case no one knew we were there yet.
"Yeah, we all felt you come in, Blue," Mike said dryly, although I had no idea what he meant by that. "How's it going, Black?"
"Not well. Mister Yeti is freezing all the water around him. He was doing that up on the surface as well, but there he affected only himself. Down here, he's affecting me, too. My hands are presently encased in the ice surrounding him; I can't get free."
"Teleport out to the surface, then. This was a bad idea; I don't want you permanently affixed to this guy."
"I don't think so, Red. I'd have to take him with me, and I'd still be frozen to him even up there."
"That's an order, Black."
I heard Bill chuckle. "I was recently reminded that I'm operating outside the chain of command, so I don't have to follow orders. I'm staying right here."
I heard Mike sigh. "Fine. What's your position, then? I can't see where you are."
"Well, I'm sort of stuck looking at the back of Mister Yeti's head, so I can't see a whole lot --"
"There isn't a whole lot to see," I put in, just to be helpful.
"-- but I can make out sort of a reddish glow up ahead. I assume that's the fire monster. My legs are free, so I'm kicking to try to steer him thataway."
"Sounds like the best plan we've got, Black," Mike said resignedly.
"What's he doing up there?" I asked. "The fire monster, I mean."
"We are not sure," Trina answered. "Red and I have been keeping close to him, but not too close. He heats the water around him beyond the ability of our force shields to compensate."
"I think I have an idea what he's up to," Wizzit put in. "He may want to drain this water out of the crater so he can have better access to the rock underneath. If that's true, he may be trying to punch a hole in the side of the caldera."
"Oh, great!" I muttered. "And who is going to be the happy recipient of all the water that comes gushing out of here?"
"The town of Vik i Myrdal," Wizzit said cheerfully. "The whole place would probably be wiped out."
"Getting a little stuffy in here, Wizzit," came Mike's voice. "Any fresh air pockets up ahead?"
"I can't locate any," Wizzit replied. "Prepare for teleportation topside to replenish your air."
"Red, take Indigo with you," I suggested. "We brought you a replacement weapon."
"Sounds good. Whenever you're ready, Wizzit."
I let go of Padma's hand. There was flash of indigo light and a muffled thwoom! that shook me to my bones and made my head ache. "Ow! What was that?"
"Decompression wave caused by water rushing in to fill the void where Red and Indigo just were," Wizzit explained. "Same thing that happens in the air when you folks teleport in and out, except that the effect is magnified here because the medium is so much denser."
"Oh. Thanks, I think. Does that happen every time someone 'ports in or out?"
"Correctamundo!" Yeesh! No wonder Mike acted so sour when we popped in.
I could see something up ahead now, something that was blotting out the glow from the fire monster. "Black, I think I've spotted you in front of me," I told him. "Coming up to help push you forward."
"Bad idea, Blue. I'm still not sure how I'm going to get myself free from this guy; I don't want to have to worry about you getting stuck, too."
I pulled my sais from my belt. "I'll push using my weapons. If the ice moves up past the hilts, I'll abandon them." I kicked forward; it was nice to see that all those swimming lessons at the local YMCA were good for something.
I could make out the ball of ice containing Mister Yeti up ahead now. Soon I made contact and started trying to help Bill steer our mini-iceberg toward the only light we could see. "I see it now, too," Trina said. "I do not have a weapon that I can push with, though. What can I do to help?"
"Stand by for now," Bill told her. "We seem to be running into some interference. What can you tell me about it?"
"You're getting close to the fire monster. He is boiling the water in front of him, which is pushing you away."
"Wait a minute," I broke in. "You said in front of him? What about behind?"
"No, only in front. The water behind him is not boiling."
"Hmm. I think I see what you're getting at, Blue," Bill said. "Red, can you hear us?"
"Loud and clear, Black." Mike sounded mad, for some reason. "Just whose bright idea was it to have Indigo bring me Shelley's sword?"
"I-it was mine," Padma said nervously. "I thought it would be a good idea. It was the first weapon I saw, and it works much like your club, so . . ."
"Shelley used this thing for over ten years, Indigo," Mike snapped. "It was her own personal weapon. What made you think you could just pick it up and bring it out here? Did you even think at all?"
"Red, I -- I'm sorry!" Padma sounded close to tears. "It seemed like the best choice."
"Don't be an idiot, Red!" Bill said sharply. "Shelley can't use it any more, and I know for a fact that she wouldn't want it gathering dust in a trophy room somewhere if we could be using it to fight Enclave. Now tell me something, Red and Orange: When you were attacking this fire monster earlier, did either of you try to get to it from behind?"
"No," Trina said firmly. "It was impossible to sneak around behind it. And Red, I agree with Black about the sword. If I had to quit, I would want someone using my blaster if it would help."
"Orange is right," Mike said. "About the monster, I mean. We couldn't get behind it, and I don't think we even tried. Is that important?"
"It may be."
"We discovered that Mister Yeti is pretty dangerous from the front," I explained. "Black and I were each able to get at him from behind, though. And Orange mentioned just now that the fire guy was boiling only the water in front of him."
"I take your point," Mike said.
"If Orange lays down some covering fire," I said, "I think I can swim around in back of him."
"No good, Blue," Mike objected. "He'd spot you first and you'd be parboiled. I'll take him on myself. Wizzit, can you 'port me directly in back of this fire guy?"
"Can do! Just give me a moment to calculate the coordinates based on what Orange is seeing . . ."
"Fine. Get me as close as you can, and I'll try to get him in a stranglehold."
"Using what?" Trina demanded. "Your bare hands?"
"No, Shelley's sword." He sighed. "Look, I know I can be an idiot at times, but I do recognize sense when I hear it. Sorry, Indigo. You did make a good choice; it's a good weapon."
"Ready for teleportation," Wizzit announced.
"Then let's go!"
I felt the thwoom! again, and there was a flash of red over near the fire monster. "Be careful, Red," Trina said worriedly.
I held my breath, waiting, and then I heard a whoop of excitement. "Got 'im!" Mike shouted.
"All rig
ht, kids, this is no place to fight," Wizzit announced. "Prepare for a change in venue!"
I felt the familiar teleportation tingle. I had to squint when the haze faded from my vision. The sun was bright overhead in a clear blue sky. Looking around, I saw nothing below the sky but sand and a few scrubby bushes.
"The Sahara Desert!" Wizzit announced happily. "Hot and dry instead of cold and wet. Perfect antithesis to the Katla volcano!"
My eyes (and force shield) adjusted quickly. I could see that the fire monster and Mister Yeti were positioned in approximately the same positions relative to each other that they had been. Mike was dangling from the fire monster's neck; great gouts of flame were shooting out from the beastie's paws.
"I hate to complain, Wizzit," Bill said, "but it's getting a little hard to breathe in here."
"Sorry, Black, can't separate you from the ice monster yet. You're still sealed in ice, and that means you're still stuck to him."
Bill sighed. "Understood. Stand by; I'm going to try something to get myself free."
"In the meantime," Mike said, "how's about the rest of you just stand around and watch? Assuming, of course, that you don't want to help us or anything."
"Coming by to help, Red," Trina said. The five of us separated, with three running over to help Mike and two going over to Bill.
Five? Yes, you heard right. Wizzit had sent Padma along with us, and I guess he decided that Nicolai and Toby were fit for duty as well, because Prime Yellow was running along beside Padma, and a tall, green-glowing figure was right next to me.
"Yellow and Green, glad to see you're back," Mike noted -- rather calmly, I thought, seeing as how he was currently clinging to the back of a fire-breathing monster.
"I'm glad to be seeing anything!" Toby quipped.
"Let's take these guys down!" Nicolai added.
I heard a muffled boom from the ice encasing Mister Yeti. I looked and saw cracks spread all along the ice that covered the monster's back, right where Bill's legs were protruding.
Bill must have created a shock wave, I decided. That was good, because it had nearly broken him free. Unfortunately, it also meant that his force shield was now almost completely out of power and not currently protecting him from the cold of the ice or the loss of air.
"Come on, Blue!" I heard Toby shout. "We've got to get Black out of there!"
"I'm on it." I hurriedly tucked my sais into my belt and drew on my sap gloves. My fists started slamming into the cracked ice. It was a lot easier to break through than I anticipated; I actually had to stop myself after a few punches so I didn't accidentally hit Bill. Then Toby and I each grabbed a leg and pulled him the rest of the way out.
Bill collapsed onto the sand, breathing hard. "My bo is still in there," he gasped.
"We'll get it, one way or another," I assured him. I called out to the group at large, "Black is free now, but Black is pretty well spent."
"Right," Mike said. "Wizzit, send Black back to HQ if you please. The rest of us, let's, umm, just shove these bad boys together and see what happens?"
"You got it, Red!" Toby said, with what sounded to me like undue enthusiasm. I think he was feeling bad about having missed so much of the battle and wanted to get his hands dirty. "Let's start pushing, Blue."
Mister Yeti, now that he wasn't just a big block of ice, was starting to become more restless. Nevertheless, Toby and I put our shoulders into it, and we forced him forward. The ice around him melted rapidly as we approached the fire monster. I heard a small thump, and then Toby reached down one long arm. "Snagged Black's bo," he commented.
A few seconds later, Wizzit called out, "All right, kids, just one more push and they'll be giving each other lotsa hugs and kisses. One, two, three, heave!"
I gave a mighty push, and I felt Toby straining beside me. Suddenly, Mister Yeti lurched forward, and the ice that still clung to his head and shoulders sluiced down over us, completely melted now.
"Back up now, kids!" Wizzit said. "In fact, a little running would be in order if you want to stay to watch the fireworks!"
I could see now that Mister Yeti and the fire monster seemed to have melded into one another. As I jogged backward, watching the shifting blue and red flickers as their various energies mingled and fought, I suddenly remembered the computer thumb drive in my pocket. "Wizzit," I said, "when this is all over, could you send me to the stronghouse instead of HQ? I'll explain when I'm there."
"Roger-dodger, Blue. In fact, I'm sending you there now. Playtime's over, kids. This is going to be too big of a mess for you to stick around for." And, as I felt the tingle of an impending teleportation at the back of my neck, I saw the two joined monsters erupt into an enormous flash of light.