Chapter 3

As Midnight Approaches

Later that night after an hour passed in which they played through parts of Half-Life and Gizmo squirmed at the sight of headcrabs, Billy collapsed in the sofa totally shattered after what seemed a long day.

Gizmo swiftly snuggled up close to Billy, he was still startled by what had happened earlier that evening and looked at Billy inquiringly and asked if everything will be fine.

Billy replied, "First thing tomorrow, we'll decide what to do with them, but don't worry it'll be different this time, we've dealt with them before".

Billy knew though he would have to prepare himself for the worst, just in case... as they were very hostile, "I feel so tired" he said. Gizmo accepted this and was feeling happy in Billy's company, "I just don't want you getting hurt anymore Giz" he finished.

Gizmo curled up into a ball resting against Billy and fell asleep, the warmth from Gizmo made Billy feel sleepy too and he soon dozed off.

Meanwhile back in the garage one of the mogwai was stirring, it was the vicious one who Billy had left unconcious, his name was Raptor and he was full of rage.

"Gizzzmooo got away and that Billy hurt me, I'll get dem" he snarled however he could not find his clan mates.

"Slashhh!", "Kopek!" he called out in a harsh voice. No answer. "What has he done?, Billy I'll get you!", he cried, then he received a bit of a surprise, he heard Slash and Kopek's voices nearby.

Raptor slowly approached the place where he heard them squeal, squinting in the penetrating darkness, he was partially blind compared to most mogwai yet he navigated himself across the garage floor using his other senses as a guide in an attempt to reach the place where his comrades where trapped, his figure casting a dark shadow over the pitch black floor.

He approached the box and slowly climbed up onto it as he heard movements inside, he tried to wrench open the box but it wouldn't budge. "Great" he thought, "So it's locked".

The two other mogwai tapped against the inside wall of the box and yelled out. Raptor spoke softly to them, "I'll get you outta there, someway".

Raptor shuddered he hated being isolated from his friends and was determined to rescue them. He was observing the room and taking in the entire surroundings so he could plan an escape routine.

As he crawled round the dark obstructed areas of the garage he could make out some of the objects that was left lying around, all he really wanted right now was something to release his comrades from the box and as the minutes went by he became increasingly frustrated and angry.

Raptor continued to move forwards and then his head banged straight into an obstacle, he bounced of what seemed to him like a wall and fell backwards.

His head was soar from the collision and he lay on the ground disorientated, whilst trying to figure out how he had picked up the knock to the head.

As he focused in front of him he noticed a toolbox on the ground which was half open, Raptor crawled to it and rummaged around inside it retrieving a bolt cutter that he then grasped tightly in his hands and roared his approval, "Now i've found the tool to rescue my clan".

He squeezed between random objects as he sped back towards the box in the far corner, he positoned the bolt cutters ready to slice through the lock and get to his fragile friends, he held it close and then, "click" the lock snapped and the lid flew upwards knocking Raptor back onto the floor.

Impatiently he dived straight in and landed on top of their heads, he crawled off them and collapsed in a cosy spot to himself.

Slash and Kopek gathered round Raptor eagarly, greatly relieved that their leader was there. "Spikehead!" they whispered as that was his nickname.

"Hey are you guys alright, they didn't do anything to ya?" Raptor spoke softly.

"We're okay" Slash responded we were just worried about you cuz we need your help, your our leader, we want to get out of here".

"We are going to escape and we'll get hold of gizzmo too, HA HA! Gizmo were coming for you!".

"I feel weak in this form" Kopek chipped in.

"Come here comrades" Raptor called out to them, "I have a plan, we're getting out of here very soon, now there's a hatch that's positioned right in the middle of this room, we find it, get up there someway and it should take us to an escape route".

"Kopek!, you are right we are weak, we need to change out of this form, we'll find out how as soon as we make our mark".

The other two looked up at their leader and grunted their appreciation, they were getting away from this place.

"Let's go" Raptor gave the call and he slid down the box first then beckoned the other two to follow, they edged up close to him as he made his way across the floor in which he was now familiar.

Raptor seemed to have everything mapped out for them, he sped towards the very back end of the room where a pair of stepladders were propped up against the wall. Using all the strength in both his arms he managed to gently pull the stepladders along the floor very slowly as he didn't want to disturb Billy or Gizmo.

He worked tirelessly to shift it as far across the room as he could, this took several minutes and progress was slow, his comrades waited patiently hidden from view behind some wooden crates.

Finally Raptor pulled the ladders into position, and his energy gave way, he fell and his muscles were aching. Kopek and Slash came running over to support him.

"Job done, just" he gapsed and rested silently on the cold hard surface of the floor whilst he regained his strength.

After calming down, he grabbed the foot of the ladder and pulled himself up onto it, "Come and we will apprehend the target". Slash and Kopek followed him up the ladder.

Raptor pulled out a screwdriver and went to work unscrewing the entrance to the vent, this took about a minute and as the last screw came loose the hatch fell to the ground making a loud metallic clattering sound. "Shit" Raptor blasted and he yelled "Get up here now!".

Slash and Kopek hopped up the ladder in a rush and dived headfirst into the vent, Raptor caught up with them and they moved forwards swiftly to avoid discovery, they kept moving throughout the infinite darkness.

Gizmo suddenly awoke and his mind was in deep thought, he was reflecting on the terrible events that had occured that night and Billy arriving just in time to save him from the horrible atrocity he had faced, he was thankful for that and he loved Billy for being there for him. "I feel sorry for Billy cause he too has suffered at the hands of those evil monsters" he said to himself.

He recalled the time that the smart, dangerous gremlin Stripe had hurt Billy, slashing him with his claws as they chased him down right here in Kingston Falls, he would never forget everything those gremlins put them through.

"I know I'm innocent and helpless most of the time, but I can fight for survival can't I" thought Gizmo. "Billy protects me but if anything happens to him I need to get in there".

He shivered as he could feel a cold breeze circulating around the room and he snuggled up to Billy feeling his warmth and thinking about how affectionate Billy was to him.

Gizmo closed his eyes and tried to return to sleep but his senses were wide awake.

He heard a scuffling sound in the distance he couldn't quite make out where it was coming from but it made him feel slightly disturbed, he frowned as he had a bad feeling about something and he smelt the air, all he could pick up was the food that Billy had cooked for them that night, then he vaguely caught the scent of other mogwai, it seemed close like they were present in the same room.

Gizmo began to panic and he reached out, touching the smooth fabric on Billy's shirt and was clinging onto Billy tightly knowing if they were going to come they would have to sneak up on Billy first.

Gizmo pushed all his bad thoughts and worries to the back of his mind and he meditated on a peaceful place, where Billy was guarding him and taking him around beautifiul surrounding, lakes, mountains and a beach with palm trees embedded. These pleasant thoughts calmed him and he descended into a deep sleep.

Gizmo was laying in the warm sand, sunglasses protecting his eyes from the sunlight, Billy was talking to him about places in the world he wanted to visit and how they could get a holiday home somewhere like here, Gizmo walked over towards a forest and took in all the wildlife that inhabited this tropical paradise, birds, reptiles and mammals of many species.

They went for a cruise in Billy's speedboat and explored the entire landscape of the island and Giz smiled as the the cool wind swept gently across his face.

Gizmo emerged from his dream as a wave of chilly air closed in on him, he heard a crash and then there was a commotion deep in the ventalation duct that linked up with the living room, he stared in absolute horror as the mogwai lead by Raptor approached the exit.

He nudged Billy who woke with a start, "What's the matter Giz" he asked and then he saw what he was dreading and it sent a shiver down his spine.

Billy instinctivly rushed to find a torch whilst in wild panic, "I thought I had them in containment" he gasped.

He grabbed his torch and turned it on thrusting it directly into the vent, the bright light emitted close to where Raptor and his clan were facing and they shrieked and shielded their eyes from the flash as pain spread through their bodies.

Raptor gritted his teeth and turned back looking for another way out, there wasn't one so they headed back towards the garage, Raptor gave the announcement, "I'm starving let's get something to eat, we'll get away tomorrow". He saw some dog biscuits in the garage and decided they could have a little snack between them.

(This story is starting to come along nicely for me now, so please send in your reviews, Chapter 4 to follow)