Monty's Master â Part 16
The tunnel seemed to go on endlessly and they hadn't hit any traps yet, which made him feel a little restless, as did the lack of any life form except for the rat munching on a bug or the rat being consumed by several other bugs. Perry was glad they had skipped Breakfast that morning.
A muffled whimper made him stop dead and extend his arm in front of Monty to hold him back.
Perry pointed the flashlight from the ceiling, where an unstable rock had broken off, to the ground below which instantly swallowed it whole. The quicksand spread like a carpet down the tunnel, and it seemed quite deep too considering the man was already half-buried.
"Looks like someone didn't watch their step," said Monty, crossing his arms over his chest.
Perry didn't say a word but dropped to one knee and began to rummage through his backpack.
"Let me guess, the others left you behind?" continued Monty. "I suppose it's true what they say: The bigger they are, the faster they sink! Right, Agent P?"
Perry just glanced at the struggling man before tossing him an end of the rope.
"Tie this on until you can still use your hands!"
Even though he couldn't make out his face behind the wooden walrus mask, Perry could tell that the man was carefully weighing his options. Finally, he did the only logical thing and tied the rope tightly around his bare torso.
"Uh, what are you doing?" asked Monty.
Perry just handed him the other end of the rope. "Put your back into it," he said.
Monty stared at him in disbelief. Perry began to pull hard, but the man kept sinking. Monty sighed and grabbed the rope.
Little by little, the sticky sand peeled away from the pale skin, and the man slid onto dry land like a fish freshly washed ashore.
Monty backed away and went straight into a defensive stance, but the man did nothing but stand up on shaky legs and stare at them in silence.
"Blue-Hair and One-Eyebrow saved Flipper's life," he murmured.
"Flipper? Is that what they call you?" asked Monty, dropping his arms.
"All the good names were already taken," said the man, taking off his mask.
Flipper had inky-blue eyes, black sideburns, and was missing one of his front teeth.
"You can thank us by telling us how Bringdown managed to get to the other side," Perry said, folding back the rope.
Flipper glared at the ground and grumbled, "I think he stuck that stupid stick of his in a hole here somewhere. I was already stuck in the sand by then, but I saw them skipping on rocks. He said he didn't have time to rescue me and that we'd see each other on the other side, whatever that meant."
"Ouch, so they really left you for dead," said Monty.
"Bringdown and the brothers have sworn allegiance!" Flipper said, thumping his chest with his closed fist. "Maybe he went to call for help."
Monty snorted. "What help? The Snake Guardians?"
Flipper shrugged.
"Well, you'll be able to ask him yourself soon," Perry told him.
"Wait, you don't mean we're taking him with us?" Monty asked, pointing his thumb at Flipper.
"We can't just leave him here. Hold this," Perry said, dropping his bag into Monty's arms.
"What are you going to do?"
"There might be a way to activate the crossing stones on the other side."
"Wait! We don't even know how far it goes. Are you sure you can make it there?"
"We'll see," Perry said with a determined look in his eyes, which didn't reassure Monty in the slightest.
He took a few steps back before plunging over the quicksand. The tunnel was narrow enough that he could skip from one wall to the other even if he had nothing to hold on to.
"Wow, he's good," Flipper said, watching Perry zip-zap across the wall.
"I know," Monty said in a quiet voice.
The moment Perry landed on the stone floor he caught sight of a small plinth on which stood the golden statue of a cobra with ruby eyes staring out into the sand. He twisted the snake's neck as if by instinct, and a series of broad, arrow-shaped stone slabs rose to the surface.
"Yeah! Good job, Agent P!" Monty shouted, waving his fist in the air, though Perry couldn't see him very clearly from where he stood.
While the others crossed the tunnel, he took another look at the golden snake. They had a flamingo lawn ornament at home that activated in a similar manner, opening the hatch of a tunnel well hidden under a patch of grass. He had never questioned the mechanism behind it since it wasn't his expertise, but the king's catacombs began to intrigue him and make him wonder how much of Grandpa Sharma's story was actually true. He was already convinced that the tunnel far exceeded the size of the palace as if its only purpose had been that of concealing it.
Monty walked close to him, glaring every now and then at Flipper who staggered behind them. Not before long, they reached a large, dark chamber, just as Perry's flashlight suddenly died out.
"Don't worry, I got this!" Monty's excited face took shape in front of him. He twirled his fire baton in a demonstrative fashion, both ends glimmering in his eyes.
He tossed the baton which spun over each torch holder lined up on the wall, and the room was soon filled with a warm, reddish light. The baton turned around like a boomerang and Monty caught it in his hand.
"One-Eyebrow is not so bad either," Flipper admitted.
Monty beamed and seemed slightly less wary of him. But Perry looked around uneasily, and just as they were about to reach the end of the chamber, his suspicion proved right. Not only was there no way out, but the torches began to flicker and sizzle, and when they turned to look at them, the flames grew until they merged into one and rose to the ceiling.
Flipper scowled, "Flipper takes that back."
"It was a trap?! How was I supposed to know that was a trap?" Monty said, watching as the flame meandered through the air like a giant serpent ready to strike.
"You guys find a way out, I'll hold it back," Perry said, stuffing his hat into his pocket and tossing his backpack into Flipper's unexpectant arms.
Monty nodded and followed Flipper, while Perry took off in the opposite direction. It had the desired effect, and the fire serpent turned as well, forgetting all about the others.
Monty groped at the wall, glad that at least they still had a light source. He came across a set of colored squares placed in a larger frame and figured out they probably needed to be rearranged in a particular order.
Perry soon hit a brick wall that certainly hadn't been there before. It appeared that they couldn't get out the way they came either. At least he could use it to bounce back and avoid the fire whiplash. It was like a jumping rope or rather a giant spring.
Monty took out all the pieces and lined them on the floor. There were no more than twenty but he had a hard time deciding what to make of them.
Perry found himself caught between the ceiling and a blazing spiral. He slipped through one of the loops, and the fire almost touched the tip of his nose. The serpent coiled around him once more. Perry jumped up but felt a sharp pain pierce his skin, like a chain of hot needles tightening around his ankle. He wobbled a bit upon landing, but quickly straightened up and carried on as if nothing happened.
"Hold on, Agent P," murmured Monty, his hands starting to sweat.
"No, I think that one goes here," said Flipper.
They would have long finished if they actually knew what they were doing. Monty thought it looked like a bird, but Flipper insisted it was a fish.
Perry stepped on the torch holders, wiping the beads of sweat from his brow. He wished the flames would simply return to their rightful place, but they continued to chase him showing no sign of retreat.
"Done!" Monty said, throwing his hands up in the air and looking with pride at what appeared to be the mural of a phoenix bird in the starry night sky.
The wall slid up with a loud clatter, and Flipper was the first to slip out.
"Agent P!" cried Monty, watching helplessly as the wall began to slump back down.
Perry dashed for the exit, dove, and rolled down, feeling a shake in the ground behind him.
He stood up and glanced over his shoulder. They would have to find another way out of the tunnel, but at least the serpent was stuck on the other side of the wall, probably doomed to haunt an empty room forever, if it hadn't already died out.
"Agent P, your leg!" Monty gasped, looking down at the scorched fabric sticking to the exposed flesh.
"It's not as bad as it looks," Perry said, retrieving his bag from Flipper's hands.
"But that's got to be at least a second-degree burn!"
"I'll live." Perry shrugged and walked on without so much as a limp.
That seemed enough to quiet Monty down, though he seemed far from convinced.
After activating a trap each, Flipper and Monty hardly dared to breathe as they carried on through the gloom. At least Perry's flashlight came back to life, but the next obstacle proved to be quite obvious anyway, the whirring of arrows stopping them in their tracks a few feet away. They were completely made of metal, bouncing between the two walls almost faster than bullets.
"This one's a classic, but what now?" asked Monty.
Perry turned to look at him, his eyes landing on his backpack.
"Can I see your fire baton for a bit?"
"Uh, sure," Monty said, reaching back, but his fingers stopped in mid-air. "Wait, what do you want to do?"
"Just trust me," Perry said, holding out his hand.
"Agent P, you're hurt! Whatever it is maybe you should let me try!"
"Monty, we don't have time for this right now," Perry said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"But there's too many of them even for you. Maybe we can find another way."
"We've already wasted far too much time," Perry said, trying to keep his voice down.
"But you can'tâ"
"Monty!" Perry snapped. "For once just listen to me!"
Monty flinched and stared at him with wide, unmoving eyes. He blinked a few times and hung his head. Perry was also still for a moment, his words now no more than an echo drifting between the cold stone walls.
Flipper shuffled his feet and suddenly became very interested in one of the cracks decorating the ceiling.
"Monty, I..."
But Monty simply pushed his baton into Perry's hands, not looking at him. Perry let out a silent breath. He turned to the arrows, deciding it would have to wait.
He moved a little closer and twisted the metal stick, hitting the tip of one of the arrows, which changed course and stuck into the floor, very close to his feet.
He positioned himself in the middle of the aisle and took a deep breath before making a run for it. With the stray arrow in one hand and the fire baton in the other, he never ceased twirling them, moving his arms up and down.
The arrows ricocheted in all directions, causing Flipper to step back and Monty to look up.
The aisle stretched for quite a bit, and Perry could feel the ache in his ankle raising to his knee, but he didn't let it slow him down.
When he finally reached the other side, he noticed another statue of a golden cobra so he knew exactly what to do. The arrows stopped, and Monty and Flipper quickly crossed the aisle, anxiously glancing at the tiny holes on either side of the wall.
They kept walking in complete silence. Monty looked down at his feet, probably not the wisest approach considering dangers were still lurking everywhere, but Perry didn't point that out. He wished he knew what to say to him, but all the exertion of the last hour was starting to catch up with him and he couldn't think very clearly. And if he had limped once or twice, then he was glad Monty didn't look at him anymore.
"Oh, look who showed up," said a drawling voice.
They had just entered the largest chamber so far.
Doctor Bringdown sat sideways on a richly-carved gilded throne on a high-stepped podium that took up most of the space. On each step, there was a masked man who stood with his hands behind his back, as if waiting for their arrival. Good. At least they could wrap this up quickly.
"Why, if it isn't Perry the Platypus. To what do I owe the honor?" The sneer on Bringdown's lips disappeared, however, the moment he caught sight of Monty. "And you are..."
"Um, Monty Monogram."
"Ah, I see. And here I thought O.W.C.A. was above nepotism."
Monty's face fell a little more and he took a step back, leaving Flipper in full view.
The doctor raised an eyebrow and said in a neutral voice, "Ah, and you, Flipper, I see you managed to join us after all."
Flipper froze as every eye in the room turned to him, then suddenly grabbed Monty's arm.
"Um, got them exactly where I wanted, boss!"
"You filthy rat! I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Monty said, elbowing Flipper in the stomach and pushing him aside.
Bringdown shook his head and gestured towards one of the steps at the base. Flipper took his post next to his so-called brothers, adjusting his mask over his head.
"Playtime is over, Bringdown," Perry said, assuming a fighting stance.
"Oh, but we've only just got here," Bringdown said, nodding to one of the men on the first level.
He pulled something from behind his back, and the object rolled like a ball to their feet, releasing a dense emerald-colored gas the moment it hit the floor.
Sleeping gas. Right. He should have probably seen this coming. Normally Perry would have been able to resist it until he made his first move, but this time his knees were already half-numb, and the doctor's figure grew blurry as if some mysterious force was pulling him away from him.
"Perry!" Monty's voice also seemed to be coming from afar, and the arms that caught him were growing limper by the moment.
He heard a faint thud and felt something rub against his shoulder before everything faded into darkness.