It All Started with Baseball

Chapter 18: Ideas

The Beast had just crushed metal with its bare teeth and paws.

I was in shock as we all surrounded the very bent and unusable invention.

"I think we've seriously underestimated The Beast," Ham sighed.

"Obviously," Squints said, pushing up his glasses. "We're dealing with a superior intelligence."

I hated to agree with him, but...boy was he right.

The Beast wasn't called The Beast for no reason.

I was starting to think that maybe Squints's little scary story might be true.

After a while, the boys and I had fully made a new invention to try to get the ball back.

It was a robot but powered by three vacuum cleaners.

Scotty and Bertram sat in the treehouse by the vacuums. Ham, Yeah-Yeah, Kenny, Timmy, Benny, and I stood at the top of the treehouse, holding the giant hose connected to a baseball glove and the vacuum cleaners. We slowly lowered this contraption into The Beast's territory.

"Power," Squints said.

"Okay, guys, almost ready," Bertram said. "We're connecting power now. Power connected."

"Okay, we're ready," Squints said. "Initiate retrieval suction."

"Initiate retrieval suction," Scotty said, pressing a button on all the vacuums.

The boys and I all grunted at the top of the treehouse as the pole we all held jerked in our grasp.

"Ha! You got it. Haul it up," Squints smiled.

"All right!" The boys and I cheered at the top.

"Pull it up," Squints commanded.

The boys and I shouted as we watched The Beast chomp on the metal pipe holding the ball, causing it to seal shut, dropping the ball.

The vacuums began to make alarming sounds, making all of the boys and I start giving worried looks.

"What's going on, Squints?" Scotty asked from inside the treehouse.

"The pipe-it's pinched shut," Squints said, holding up his fingers to show the pinched visual of the pipe.

Smoke began to fill the treehouse.

"Turn it off, man!" Squints commanded.

"I can't! They're shorting out!" Scotty shouted back.

"What the hell is that noise?" Ham asked, looking below us at the smoke filling the treehouse.

"The vacs are clogged," Bertram said, making his way down the treehouse ladder. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting outta here."

The boys and I immediately dropped the invention we were holding and made a run for it, sliding down the pole of the treehouse.

Squints and Tommy shouted as they quickly made their way to safety.

Scotty yelled as he slid down the firepole, Yeah-Yeah and Timmy following close behind.

Ham started down the ladder as Bertram yelled and jumped over him to the ground, doing a front flip in the process. Benny jumped after Bertram, following close behind.

I jumped over Ham, after Benny, yelling as I flew to the ground with a thud.

Ham yelled behind me as I lay on the ground, aching in pain from the impact.

Ham fell from the ladder with a thud, barely missing me.

Benny had fallen on his back too, which had probably hurt a lot, but he quickly ran up to me and offered me his hand.