Thanks everyone for the reviews! I loved and appreciated them all. And yes, I admit I do have a problem with over detailing and I'll try to cut down on that. Thanks for pointing it out for me. Now onto the story!
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The clop of boots echoed off the metal walls and steal walkway. Nigel urged his legs to stay their course, as Father demanded they stop. Loosing balance he caught himself on the walkway's railing.
"Numbuh 1!" The worried voices from behind turned his head. He frowned, why had they followed him?
"Stay away!" He stuttered.
"We just want to help you!" Numbuh 3 called to him.
The charcoal red glow overtook him once again as Father's scowl stole his mouth.
"You can't save him. He's mine!"
The evil grinned and lifted a flaming hand out, ready to blast the squad.
"No!" Nigel gripped his wrist redirecting the flame onto the walkway, burning a molten hole to block the path for his friends. It was for the best that they couldn't follow.
Mouths remained gaping as he fled from sight.
"Poor Numbuh 1." Numbuh 2 bowed his head.
"We gotta do something!" Numbuh 4 looked just about ready to chance jumping the gap.
"Do what?" Numbuh 86 pointed at the hole, "He made it pretty obvious he didn't want tah be followed."
Numbuh 3 looked to her commanding officer with moist eyes.
"But…" her lips quivered, "He's hurting…"
Fanny glanced to the others with uncertainty. She knew the options were slim, but Numbuh 1 was still a Kid Next Door, and a friend, and no kid deserved such torment.
"We have to follow him." 362 stated, "He can cause a lot of damage in his condition. To the moon base and to himself."
Abby stared across the break.
"But how are we gonna…?"
Her question was cut short by the clink sound of Tommy's of grapping hook gripping a steal pipe above the walk way. He smiled at her, flaunting his ambitious grin smugly.
"Bet you're glad you brought me along now, huh?"
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After the group was safely and successful over the gap a trail of scorch marked walls and flickering embers indicated where their friend had gone.
"He's headed towards the garbage disposal unit." 362 deduced.
"Wot's e gonna do there?" Numbuh 4 quipped, "Burn some trash?"
"We only use that unit to jettison our garbage into deep space." The explanation given brought Abigail's eyes to swell.
"The one place colder then ice cream…" She whispered.
Numbuh 2 took notice of her stationary expression, not hearing what she had murmured. Whipping around, her face snapped to an unnatural amalgamation of knowing horror and uncertain determination.
"We have to stop him!"
She took the lead drawing the others behind her. They were amazed by her sudden burst of speed. A speed that had desperation in its wake.
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His hand trembled forcing it to the override command. By punching in the right sequence he would be able to control the outer airlock door from the inside.
"What good will running do you boy?" Father's voice asked from within his head.
"I'm getting rid of you once and for all."
Father laughed at the child's response as the inner airlock door slid open.
"I cannot be defeated so easily."
Nigel wouldn't believe the bluff, Father was afraid. Why else would he be putting up such a struggle? The squall of blood raged inside him, boiling in his chest. The heat threatened to haze his mind, but he entered the enclosure and shut the barrier behind him.
Fighting the heavy strings, he pulled off the protective panel. The weight of Father's current nearly drowning him.
"It's useless Nigel." The deep voice echoed in his skull, "As long as there are adults that seek domination over kids, I will never be destroyed."
Only the pull of an emergency leaver stood between cold victory and smoldering defeat. Nigel strained to reach it.
"As long as there are kids who fight tyranny… I will not give up."
His fingers grasped the handle.
"Numbuh 1!"
He saw the frightened eyes of his second in command through the tiny window of the inner door. He hadn't wanted any witness, but at least now he had a chance to tell her…
"Goodbye."
The gravity of the room shifted 90 degrees as he was yanked out the open door, plunging him into the sparkle-speckled ink.
And he wasn't the only one suddenly feeling no air in their lungs.
"Get that airlock open Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 5 ordered. He was already one step ahead of her, rearranging wires trying to override his leader's previous locks.
"I'm on it!"
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Cold. So very cold.
Father couldn't stand it. It gripped him in a stinging paralysis, ebbing away his concentration and power. His grip on Nigel began slipping, the body growing as cold as the lack of air around it. With no heat to cling to, the amorphous cloud of black and crimson expelled itself from the child's mouth with only two things on its mind. Get someplace warm, and then get revenge. Father snarled inwardly. Defeated again. How could children defeat him? All his plans, all his studies and calculations, why did they have all the luck? He eyed Nigel's body floating nearby. At least the boy was out of the way. The most meddlesome of the Kids Next Door menace drifting helplessly, lifelessly, drifting… towards the moon base?
It took a moment to register the grappling hook that was now latched to Nigel's boot, reeling him back towards the open airlock of the moon base. Back to where eager and hopeful friends were waiting.
The Gilligan brothers shared a huge grin as the tether pulled Numbuh 1 back towards safety. Tommy held his winch firmly as his brother anchored him to the wall. The rest of the team gripped anything bolted down to keep from being flung out into the vacuum, resisting the storm of air and debris flowing past them.
"We almost got him." Numbuh 2 encouraged, anticipating the body wafting towards them.
"Be ready to close that airlock Numbuh 86." Numbuh 5 ordered to 86 poised at the leaver, small hands grasping it tightly.
Father snarled into the void. How dare they? He would not allow them another victory; Nigel had to die!
Taking his solid form he reached for the senseless boy. Swimming after him in ungraceful flailings. The children saw this unwanted fish coming, stuck with panic and fear for their helpless companion.
Numbuh 4 braced himself behind Tommy and gripped the tether in his thick hands, pulling with all his energy and determination.
"Can't you reel this thing any fasta'?" He criticized; tugging the rope, drawing it in tides, faster then the electric winch could on its own. The added burst of speed snatched Nigel from the fingertips of evil intent.
Father stretched his reach furiously after Nigel. So headed with rage he had forgotten the cold. He lunged toward the open airlock, murder in his eyes. Straining to grasp the pale, dangling hand, Father was shocked to discover brittle crystals forming on his own. The ice spread over his digits, creeping up his arm at horrific speed. His pursuit immediately forgotten as his stiff limbs became encapsulated in a thick cold shell. As it crackled from his chest over his neck and face he let out an anguished cry that was lost to the silence of space.
Numbuh 4 gripped Nigel's leg and in one last yank pulled his friend back into the sanctuary of the moon base. Numbuh 86 threw up the leaver, slamming the airlock with a snap. The impact of the sliding panels thrusting Father's frozen form backwards. The inertia causing it to drift aimlessly away from the extraterrestrial tree house, vanishing into the endless beyond.
"We did it!" Numbuh 3 cheered, hugging the two nearest people. Wally and Fanny grunted under the embrace. Numbuh 362 exhaled for what felt like the first time in forever. Her relief however was fleeting. Casting her eyes on Numbuhs 2 and 5, who looked over Numbuh 1 with widened, terrified eyes.
He laid in their arms, motionless, pale blue lips framed with the permafrost blood trailing from his nose. She brushed her dark hand over the chilly white dust lacing his skin. Numbuh 2 gently shaking his head, hoping his eyes would open. 362 lowered her head. Tommy found himself silenced. 86 bit her lip. 4's jaw dropped. 3 watched with curiosity.
"Wake up Numbuh 1." Hoagie pleaded. Kuki giggled.
"Aw, let him sleep. He's had a rough day."
Wally took her hand, fighting all his emotions.
"e's not sleepin' Numbuh 3."
Her smile morphed back to confusion.
Numbuh 362 placed her hand on Numbuh 2's shoulder.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft. "We did all we could. He'll be remembered for his sacrifice."
Numbuh 5 knew she was about to cry, but she sucked it up. A wave of resolve taking control.
"No. He didn't give up, and neither are we!" She ripped off her hat and laid the body prone, cleared the airway, and pressed firmly down on the ribcage.
They watched silently as she pumped his chest. They gave their prayers as she sealer her mouth over his and gave him all the precious air in her lungs.
"Come on Numbuh 1." She urged, repeating the process. "Please Nigel."
Pea soup tension and gelatin nerves dominated the room. Everything shattered with a cough. The once still chest now rising and pulling down with determined struggle.
Numbuh 1 wheezed and choked, his muscles aching terribly. His senses returning to him, he pulled in on himself, huddling into a fetal position against the shivers that wracked his body. Numbuh 5 held him close for warmth, bracing herself against his sputters and shakes. Numbuh 2 snatched the cape from his brother's shoulders and draped it over his leader like a blanket. Pink tinged saliva dribbled from Nigel's mouth, slowly grasping where he was through sounds and hunches, his eyes still frozen shut. Relief caressed the children's hearts, wicking away all fears and sadness. Nothing but cheer and peace.
TO BE CONTINUED
One more chapter to go