Upbeats

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  We climbed out the basement, one by one. It was a lot harder to get the door open, standing on the ladder, but we somehow managed it.

  When we were all out, Smithy and Ned helped me to lower the heavy concrete trapdoor, sealing the dark basement shut.

  We stood in the dark warehouse, solemnly. There was nothing more to be said.

  Huge sculptures and props gazed down at us in disappointment. They weren’t real, but I could still feel them watching us as we walked, defeated, among them.

  I stopped at the door to take a good long look at my team. I didn’t know how far we’d have to go. I didn’t even have the faintest idea of how long we were going to be gone.

  Hopes were depleted. Enthusiasm was left behind in the basement.

  "Guys . . ." I started but something interrupted me.

  I could have sworn I heard footsteps. I thought we’d gotten rid of the guards . . .

  "Quick, hide!" I ordered, urgently.

  No one hesitated, which was just as well because moments later, Gemini, the real deal, burst in, followed by two armed guards.

  We scattered like broken glass. It struck me that none of us fled in the same direction. Ned crawled under a mass of velvet material, hanging from a rod running along the length of the warehouse roof. Smithy teleported behind a fake marble pillar, Brooke grabbed System and sprinted for a faded purple cardboard castle, Robyn slipped, stealthily, and was completely hidden by a tower of crates and I took refuge behind a huge, pink, foam teddy bear.

  (Believe me, if I had had time to choose, I would not have chosen the bright pink bear. But it was good coverage.)

  Gemini surveyed the scene, silently; a stormy expression set on his half-human, half-metal face.

  "I can’t believe you let this happen!" Gemini suddenly erupted at the guards. I could feel the silence shatter.

  "He looked exactly like you, Sir," the guard we saw earlier said, shakily.

  Gemini glared at the guard. "Look: I don’t want to be messed with right now. The Monmia are angry and I do not want to have to deal with those unreasonable idiots right now. Just find that imposter and deal with him."

  Gemini walked slowly, confidently but calmly. He didn’t look evil. He looked like some guy I might know. My neighbour. My teacher. My friend’s father . . . he just didn’t strike me as someone sinister.

  But the metal side of his face was the cold reminder of who he really was.

  I searched, frantically, for an escape route.

  As my eyes furiously scanned the cavernous warehouse for an exit, my eyes fell on Ned. He was covered by the folds of dark velvet but I could just see the faint movements he made that resulted in the curtain waving and trembling. He was fiddling with something. I regret now that it was too dark for me to see or else I would have stopped him. But, I also have to admit that I am glad he did what he did.

  As I watched, I saw a tiny flame flicker into life and the velvet slowly caught alight.

  The matches. They weren’t all soggy!

  Ned held up a corner of the velvet curtain to let himself out.

  Gemini’s back was turned. One of the guards had only just noticed the velvet on fire.

  Ned crawled to a new hiding spot, struck a match across the sole of his shoe and held the match to a bunch of rags that made up the clothing of an oversized Roman soldier.

  It caught alight, immediately. The fire consumed the soldier’s uniform faster than the velvet had been taken.

  A warm orange glow brightened the room, getting brighter by the second. It was strangely comforting. There’s just something about fires . . .

  "Boss!" one of the guards yelled, realizing how serious the fire was, serious enough to alert his already furious boss.

  Gemini spun around and saw the flames. "What do we have here . . .?" he said, not perturbed in the least. He sounded puzzled, rather.

  He slowly made his way over to the burning prop. As he did, I saw Smithy run, fast as an Olympian, from his hiding spot.