I attached the flashlight to my belt. “Is your super strength gone already?”
“Mostly. I heard you calling me, though. And I answered. Didn’t you hear me?”
“No. It was too noisy.” I laid a palm on her forehead — feverish. Compressing lightly, I felt her arms and legs for signs of broken bones. When I touched her right ankle, she groaned.
I pulled up her pant leg. A bruise colored her ankle purple and black. As I wiggled her foot, her grimace tightened. “It might be broken,” I said. “Or maybe badly sprained.”
She inhaled dramatically. “Princess Queenie Unicorn Iris Ponyrider Buttercup Olive Lover Rosey Is Posey has been injured. What will she do now?”
“Why did you go back to the original name?”
“Go back? It’s been the same all the time.”
“No, it hasn’t. You changed it to —” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
“My other ankle hurts, too.”
As I pulled up her left pant leg, I said, “So what will the princess do now that she’s injured?”
“Princess Queenie is a humble lady. She would ask Damocles for help.”
“You’re right. Let’s ask him.” After examining her other ankle, also bruised, though not as badly, I pulled my backpack off, withdrew the computer-projector unit, and turned it on.
When it powered up, Damocles appeared. He stood next to me, his cowl mask in place as he looked around. “Where are we, Eddie?”
“Under the Stellar building, I think.” I gave him a quick rundown of recent events. Sam added her side of the story, including her fall into the gorge. Since she landed flatfooted, even her super strength couldn’t keep her ankles from getting hurt.
“I heard a motor running and followed it to this room,” Sam said. “I felt sicker every minute, so when I saw this sofa, I knew exactly what to do. Collapse.”
Damocles looked up at the rocky ceiling. Deep, jagged cracks zigzagged from corner to corner. “This chamber is too primitive and fragile to be Mephisto’s hideout.”
I kicked a stray pebble and watched it roll into the hole I had seen earlier. “Since this place is underground, could it be a parking spot for his magna-gopher? It could be a central location to send it out to carve up the city.”
Damocles pointed at the hole. “Then what might that be?”
I walked to the edge and looked into the depths. Shining the light into it revealed nothing but darkness. “It’s pretty big. Maybe the gopher left that way. Part of a network of tunnels.”
“An excellent thought. Mephisto is preparing for the biggest shake yet by undermining the foundations, making it easier for buildings to collapse.”
I looked again at Damocles. “But how will you meet him now? The Stellar building’s just a shell.”
“He’ll have to send another message, and he won’t wait long. If he uses a sky hologram to give us instructions, he won’t know that we can’t see it.”
“Then we have to get out. And fast. Sam’s too weak to climb, and there’s no way I can carry her up my line.”
“Can’t you auto-reel the spool?” Damocles asked.
I shook my head. “I detached, and I can’t reload the spring without tools. I have another spool, but throwing a claw that far up is impossible.”
“And if you stay here when the quake comes, you’ll get crushed.” Damocles looked Sam over. After a couple of moments, he gestured for me to come close and whispered, “Based on your explanation, it looks like her superpower charge didn’t last as long the second time, and her sickness increased. If you give her a third dose, it would probably heal her and give her enough strength to get both of you out of here, but her power would be even shorter lived. I’m afraid she would get sicker than ever or perhaps die. The effect of the ionization on the body is unpredictable.”
I nodded. “Either way, I don’t have the superpower generator, so no use worrying about that.”
Sam piped up. “I hear someone coming through the tunnel.”
I spun toward the passage. A shadow appeared in the depths, growing larger as it approached.
“Do you have Mastix?” Damocles asked.
“Right here.” I pulled it from the backpack and held it tightly as if ready to strike, but the thongs stayed dark.
Damocles furrowed his brow. “It still doesn’t recognize you as a superhero. We’ll need to find another option.”
I returned Mastix to the pack. “Like what?”
“Turn me off for now. If this person causes trouble, then turn me back on. That should scare him away.”
I switched off the projector and aimed its lens at the tunnel. Seconds later, Milligan walked in carrying my superhero generator by its top handle.
I gulped. “Milligan?”
He skirted the hole, stopped a few steps out of reach, and set the unit down. Now wearing jeans and a baseball jersey and cap instead of his gangster suit, he looked almost normal. With a fist on one hip, he took on a parent’s scolding posture and tone. “Eddie, what are you doing down here?”
I squared my shoulders. “I was going to ask you the same question.”
“I was just making sure you’re safe. Climbing down that line wasn’t easy, but I promised your mom I’d find you.”
“Where is she now?”
He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. “Back at Magruder’s. She saw you leave but couldn’t keep up when you took off like a rocket. I have my motorcycle now, so I followed. Took some time to get past the obstacles, but I finally made it.”
I nodded toward my superhero invention. “Why did you take my stuff?”
“Thought you might need it.” He nudged it with a shoe. “And seeing that your sister is as weak as a tadpole, I guessed right.”
“You know what it does?”
“I’m not stupid, Eddie. I can see results, even if I have no clue how it works.”
I took a step toward the unit, but Milligan snatched it up. “Not so fast, my young friend. I’ll be glad to let you supercharge your sister again, but after that, I’m hanging on to it. Just show me how it works, and I’ll let you borrow it. Then I’m going to sell it. Ninety percent of the cash goes to your mom, and I’ll keep the rest for commission. Someone’s gotta watch out for your family’s finances.”
Keeping my stare on Milligan, I slid my finger toward the projector’s power switch. “This is no time to make a deal. Mephisto’s trying to destroy Nirvana, and Sam and I are the only ones who can stop him.”
“The only ones? I thought this little feud was between Mephisto and Damocles. Why are you two kids involved?”
I flipped the switch, but nothing appeared. Either the computer or the projector had run out of power. My legs trembled. I had to stay calm. But every option was terrible. If I zapped Sam again, she might die. If I didn’t, a quake would kill us both. Or would it? I couldn’t be sure exactly what damage the quake might do. I couldn’t be sure of anything.
I looked at my watch — 3:41 a.m. If Mephisto kept his word, we had about nineteen minutes left. Trying to keep my voice calm, I raised a hand. “Listen, Milligan. Mephisto is about to zap the city with the biggest earthquake yet. We might have only a few minutes to get out of here or we’ll be crushed by a million tons of rocks.”
A slight tic twitched Milligan’s lip. “Then I’d better be going.” He turned and walked into the tunnel, my invention still in hand. “You’ll follow if you know what’s good for you.”
“Wait!” I pulled Sam to her feet, but her legs buckled and she crumpled to the floor. I called out, “Milligan, you said you promised my mom —”
“That I’d find you.” He pivoted toward us. “And I did. Now I’m putting pressure on you to leave this place. I’m not gonna carry you, and I’m not gonna beg.” He turned again and walked into the tunnel, disappearing in the shadows.
I stu
ffed the projector and computer into my pack and knelt next to Sam. Lying on her back, she looked at me and whispered in a lamenting tone, “Eddie, I don’t want to get crushed by a million tons of rocks.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here somehow.” I detached my flashlight and pushed it into Sam’s hands. “You’re in charge of the light.”
She gave me a weak grin. “Coolness.”
After putting the backpack on, I slid one of my arms under her shoulders and the other under her legs. Grunting with the effort, I lifted her as I straightened. My arms shook. Either she was heavier than I remembered or I was weaker. Maybe both.
I staggered around the hole and into the tunnel. As darkness enfolded us, I whispered, “Shine the light just a step or two in front of us.”
“Easy peasy.” She pointed the beam at the tunnel floor exactly where I needed it.
“Perfect. Now stay as quiet as possible.” As I walked, every muscle ached. The sound of cascading water echoed, making it impossible to tell how far away the exit was. Every footfall sent a shockwave up my leg, a constant reminder that an earthquake could strike at any second.
When we finally arrived at the waterfall, I leaned around it and whispered, “Sam, shine the light a few steps past the water.
She aimed the beam in that direction, illuminating my superhero invention balanced on a ledge in the gorge’s wall, my spool line tied to the top handle. The line began lifting, taking my invention with it.
“I’ll be back.” I laid Sam down, leaped through the waterfall, and grabbed the handle. The line jerked, but I held on. As I began untying it, Milligan cursed from street level and called out, “Stop it, Eddie. You can’t carry that thing out of here. Let me do it.”
“I don’t trust you.” I focused on my fingers while Sam’s flashlight beam wavered and water dripped from my hair to my hands. When I finished untying the knot and released the line, the end dangled near the ground.
Milligan called again. “Now what’re you gonna do? Climb the rope while carrying that gadget and your sister at the same time? Maybe I could pull you guys up one at a time, but you’ll have to send the gadget before you come. Otherwise no one will be down there to tie it to the rope.”
I fumed. Milligan didn’t want to help us. He just wanted my invention. Once he got it, he would take off. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll get out of here without your help.”
“If that’s the way you feel about it. I guess I’ll just have to find your mother and tell her you chose to get crushed to a pulp. She’s sure to die of heartache.” After a short pause, he added, “By the way, there’s a hologram message floating in the air. It says the next earthquake is coming in twelve minutes and five seconds, and the numbers are counting down. It also says, ‘Meet me in the Dead Zone, or else.’”
“The Dead Zone? Which part?”
“Beats me. I’m heading for Magruder’s. I can get there in less than twelve minutes.” Seconds later, a motorcycle engine revved a few times before fading.
I pulled the rope. It reeled down and collected in a pile at my feet.
The flashlight beam shone in my face. “Eddie?” Sam said with a mournful tone. “What are we going to do? I don’t want Mom to die of heartache.”
I patted my belt and touched the one remaining spool. “Even if I could throw a claw to the top, attaching to something sturdy up there is a one-in-a-million chance. Then I’d have to carry you while climbing. We’d never make it in time.”
Still holding the flashlight, Sam staggered straight through the pouring water and into my arms. As I held her up, she looked at me. “I heard what Damocles said about me maybe dying if you make me a superhero again.” A tear spilled from her eye and joined the water streaming down her cheek. “If I have to die, I wanna die a superhero. A superhero like you.”
I bit my lip. As I gazed into her fear-widened eyes, my own tears welled. “You’re right. I guess it’s our only chance.”
She smiled. “Goody. Let’s do it.”
Moving quickly, I guided her to the dry side of the waterfall and set her on her bottom, then aimed my invention’s lens at her. “I’m not sure how much power it has, but … here goes.” I flipped the power switch on.
Once again bright light shot out and covered Sam with an X-ray wash. As usual, the power shut off on its own, but the exposure time seemed shorter than before. Maybe my mind was playing tricks with me.
Sam leaped up and flexed her swelling biceps. “I feel super. Even my ankles don’t hurt anymore.”
“Great.” After reattaching the flashlight, I reeled out my last spool line and attached the claw to her belt. “Now see if you can climb to the top.”
She backed up, then sprinted toward the wall and jumped way over my head. Reaching with both hands, she grabbed a protruding pipe, swung up to a standing position on it, and jumped again, this time out of sight.
“I made it,” she called from above.
“Okay, now attach the claw to the hydrant.”
“All right.” After a few seconds, she called down again. “Ready.”
I stuffed the superhero device into the backpack and pushed the auto-reel button on the spool. The line tightened, and I zipped upward, pushing against the wall with my feet. When I reached the top, I scrambled over the edge and looked around.
Milligan was nowhere in sight. In the sky, huge lights spelled out 09:33, 09:32, 09:31. I hissed, “We have to get to the Dead Zone.”
Sam detached the claw from the hydrant. “But shouldn’t we tell Mom what’s going on?”
“She’ll be fine. Stopping that earthquake is more important.” After reeling the rest of the line into the spool, I grabbed her bike and scanned the wheels, pedals, and chain. Nothing was bent or broken, but the seat couldn’t possibly hold both of us. “How’re we going to do this?” I asked.
Sam hopped onto the bike. “Get on my shoulders, and leave the rest to me.”
“On your shoulders?”
“You’re wasting time. Remember I’m Princess Queenie Unicorn —”
“Never mind.” I set a foot on the back tire and vaulted up to her shoulders with my legs draped over her chest. “Comfortable?”
“No. You feel like a dizzy gorilla with a sharp butt bone.”
I laughed. “Is my coccyx toxic?”
“What?”
“Forget it. Just go.”
She wrapped an arm over my legs. “Which way?”
“Straight ahead for now. I’ll guide you.”
Sam pedaled furiously. The sudden surge made me lurch backwards, but her strong arm kept me from falling.
As we zipped along, I called out directions. The little squirt did everything right, from weaving around holes in the street, to hopping over curbs without a pause, to dodging sparking electrical wires. Princess Queenie was on the ball.
I shouted, “You’re doing great. We really make a good team, don’t we?”
“The best.”
As she continued pumping the pedals, I kept glancing at the timer in the sky. It dropped under seven minutes, then five minutes, then three. We wheeled into the Dead Zone with one minute and twenty-eight seconds left on the clock.
“Sam, stop.” When she did, I hopped off the bike and shouted, “Mephisto! Damocles is here! Stop the countdown!”
In the sky, the clock marched on — 01:20, 01:19, 01:18.
“He doesn’t believe you,” Sam said.
I shed my backpack, withdrew the superhero device, and set it to the side, allowing me to reach the computer and projector. I had no way to recharge the batteries, but maybe …
With only moonlight to guide me, I set the projector unit down, detached the flashlight, and unscrewed the base. Two batteries slid into my hand. Jack had said the unit could use regular batteries, but were these the same size?
I glanced at the timer ??
? 00:58, 00:57. “Sam, watch for bad guys while I try something.” I knelt, opened the computer’s power-source compartment, and replaced the batteries with the ones from the flashlight, then turned the unit on. But how long would they last? We had used the flashlight quite a bit.
“I see someone,” Sam said, pointing. “No. Two someones. They’re coming this way.”
I straightened and looked. A pair of men sauntered toward us, hoods shadowing their faces. “Maybe Damocles can scare them off, but get ready to fight anyway.”
The projector flashed Damocles’s hologram. He looked around as if assessing the situation. I glanced at the timer — 00:40, 00:39. “Damocles, the big quake’s going to hit in thirty-eight seconds. I already shouted for Mephisto, but he hasn’t shown up.”
When Damocles spotted the two men, he whispered, “Sam, you’ll have to do the fighting. Just stay with me and do what I do. Eddie, send me at them and keep shouting for Mephisto to meet us. Got it?”
“Got it.” I looked at the two men. They had stopped and stared at us. One drew a long knife.
Damocles whispered, “Now.”
I guided his hologram toward the men and shouted, “Mephisto, Damocles is here!”
Damocles moved his arms and legs as if running. Sam dashed alongside him. When they reached the men, the one with the knife jabbed it through Damocles’s image. Damocles threw a punch into his gut. Sam copied the motion and drilled her fist into his stomach, making him double over and collapse. Damocles kicked the second man in the groin while Sam leaped and did the same. He, too, crumpled in place.
While Sam and Damocles stood guard over the fallen thugs, I looked again at the timer, now down to fifteen seconds. I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Mephisto, stop the earthquake countdown! Damocles is here!”
The projector blinked off. Damocles disappeared. The batteries had died.
As the timer ticked under ten seconds, the thugs struggled to hands and knees and crawled away.
Sam backed toward me, still watching the thugs. “What do we do now, Eddie?”
When she arrived, I grasped her hand. Only eight seconds till the destruction of our home and all of Nirvana. “Just hang on tight. We’ll get through this together.”