Merfolk on Mars

Chapter 12

Corvus and Arai reached the gate and hurriedly pressed the spinning chains against the metal bars. I glanced back fearfully, but the police were catching up.

The chainsaws barely even hissed as they sliced through the soft brass like a hot knife through butter. The way both boys were cutting through it, we stood a chance at getting through.

"What are they using? Hey! Stop that!"

We all ignored the request.

"Hurry!" I urged them.

"Just a bit more... There!" Arai jumped back as some bars began to lean in his direction.

Corvus shoulder-checked the loose section – clearly a past football player – and sent the metal bars rattling against the floor.

We ran through the hole and searched for an escape route.

"Lower the next drop gate! Actually, lower the next three!"

Gears began cranking along the wall again.

"Are you serious?" I muttered under my breath. This was like some of my nightmares – no matter what you did or where you ran, the bad guys were always one step ahead of you.

"Here!" Isla pushed a side door open, revealing a staircase. "We can block the door!"

We all rushed through and pushed the door shut. There was even a lock on the inside! We locked it just as footsteps reached the other side of the door.

The doorknobs rattled. "They locked it! Alder, where are your keys for the Sir Cogsmith High School?"

"Right here!"

Seriously? We pick a random door, and they just so happened to have keys to it? I exchanged a disbelieving look with my friends before we began fleeing up the staircase.

"Quick!" Isla said. "Let's hide and double back when they run past!"

I opened the nearest door – which turned out to be a janitorial closet – and went in. Corvus came in behind me. Isla and Arai peered past him and realized the room wouldn't hold all four of us. They ducked into the room on the other side of the hallway.

Corvus closed the door, turning the brass knob so it didn't make a sound. The room was almost completely dark, only a bit of light coming in from under the door. I couldn't believe it. I was in a high school janitorial closet with my boyfriend.

My cheeks started to heat up, but there wasn't much room in here, and the chainsaw between us pretty much killed any sort of romantic notions before they could form.

The echoing slaps of footsteps running up the nearby staircase also pushed the reality of our situation to the front of my mind.

Their footsteps slowed as they entered the hallway. They stopped just outside the door, huffing and puffing.

"Which way did they go?"

"I don't know. They could be hiding anywhere in this place."

"How did those women run so fast?"

"They must not have had their corsets tightened up all the way. Otherwise, they would have run out of breath before we did."

"Did you see what they were using to cut the drop gates?"

"No. Something long. Like the Jedi lightsabers in the old movies."

"Star Wars? Please tell me you are referring to steampunk version?"

"Oh! Of course! I wouldn't have made such a comparison if their tool had been glowing like a light bulb."

I kind of suspected that this man had secretly watched a few shows his friends wouldn't approve of.

"They could be anywhere in here. Richard, go stand guard at the front door. Vince, head back and watch the lower door. We'll trap them in here until they get hungry and try to leave."

"That's a good idea. There is no tea here, and it's almost teatime. No one ever misses out on teatime. We'll catch them when they try to leave."

"What will you and Victor do in the meantime?"

"We are going to go to the Tea Gala and ensure there aren't any other people trying to disturb the peace."

The footsteps split up, with three sets going back down the stairs, and one continuing down the hallway. I waited until it had been quiet for some time before opening the door cautiously.

I tiptoed out, glancing at the door leading to the stairs. The door across the hall slowly opened to reveal Isla and Arai. We moved further away from the stairs.

"Were those real police or fashion police?" Corvus asked in a whisper.

Isla replied, "I don't know, and, as long as they don't show up again, I don't care."

We ducked into a classroom for an impromptu meeting.

"Let's take a look at the map," I said, unfolding it and placing it on a desk.

"Here we are." Isla pointed at the map, where a building was labelled 'Sir Cogsmith High School'.

"And this is where we want to go." I tapped the spot where the tower was.

On the map, they looked so close together. It was deceiving, though. Without being able to use the tunnels of shame, the last bit of the journey was going to be the hardest. Of course.

Isla moved her finger to the side. "There aren't any tea shops over here, or anything with a gear in its name. I bet it will be pretty empty. If we can get to this raised walkway, we have a better chance of getting to the tower undetected."

Arai put his chainsaw on a nearby desk and leaned on it. "I assume we'll be climbing out of the school windows to get out? Like we did back home?"

Isla absently nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard as long as we don't go near the front or get spotted."

"Getting to that walkway could be troublesome though," I commented, frowning at the distance between here and there.

"There's only about fifteen buildings and a street to get past."

"That's fifteen buildings and one street too many," I grumbled.

She shrugged. "We can always check some of the classrooms or lockers to see if someone left a coat behind. At least we could blend in better."

I perked up. "That is the best idea I've heard all day."