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Chapter 9
Everyone ready for the Challenge of Air? Will they get to go free after this?
Read and Find out!
Rick steps up to the door, “This time I’ll go first.” He spins the wheel unlocking the door and pulls it open with a pop. Through the doorway they see a large empty room with a similar door at the far end and holes in the floor.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” Maria said and frowned. “Then again, there’s no way I would like it regardless of what it looked like.”
Rick steps in and they all follow one at a time. Once they are all in a wall drops down from above and seals to the floor behind them with a hiss.
“Welcome to the challenge of Air,” says the voice they have come to hate.
“You must get to the other side and open the door before all the air in the room is removed.”
“What? You frigging bastard!” They were running for the far door as soon as they heard he’d be evacuating the air.
“Of course I might be persuaded to stop halfway if you can make it worth my while,” he said with an unnatural eagerness.
“I doubt we’d enjoy whatever you have in mind,” Rick said.
There came a nasty chuckle, "Oh you might. It depends on what you like."
"Keep your mouths open," Bobby said. "If not the pressure difference might damage your lungs." He was clearly ignoring the bastard above them and the others decided he had the right idea.
Their run became a jog about halfway there and then a walk with about a third of the way to go. Suddenly Rhonda staggered and fell to her knees. Rick didn't waste breath asking her how she was he just helped her up and put her arm around his shoulder and together they walked on. Bobby came up and put her other arm around his shoulder and she smiled.
"Hey Maria? Come join us. All for one and one for all," Rick gasped out. She nodded and soon they were all linked and supporting each other.
"No one will take my offer? You don't even want to hear it? Too bad. Well if you make it out that door you're free of the test and out of our clutches. However you'll still be naked and have quite a long walk to the nearest town. Maybe you want to make a last deal? I would love a video of some foreplay." He snickered sleazily, "Anyone up for that?"
They all ignored him and walked closer to the door.
"You don't even want to know what information I'd give?" The voice was distorted and hushed because of the thin air but the nasty, teasing tone still came through.
Finally they reach the door and Bobby got it open helped by the air pressure on the other side once the seal was broken. They were free!
Well there was actually a smooth tunnel leading upwards to Daylight but it was large enough to stand in and not too steeply sloped. They staggered out of the airlock still gasping and the door shut behind them.
As they wearily walked up the slope the air kept getting warmer and they felt odd sensations now and then, as if their surroundings were moving but the floor under them seemed solid. When they finally got to the mouth of the cave they received a shock.
"Well now we know what info he wanted to sell us," Rick said.
"If I ever get my hands on that bastard I'll squeeze his neck until his head pops off!" Bobby's hands rose in front of him and squeezed in demonstration.
"Oh, I'm so there with you man," Rhonda added. "Before you kill him I want you to hold him up while I kick his balls repeatedly."
Before stretched desert and behind them rose a stone ridge. The opening they'd walked out of was already gone.
"That must have been some sort of teleporter or something. It's probably why nobody has caught the damn bastard yet. We will find him though. I will look for him each summer until I graduate or find him. Are you with me?" He stuck out his hand and the others each put theirs on top. "One for all and all for one!"
"Just like the four Musketeers!" Rhonda said smiling.
"I recognize this place," Maria said looking around. "It's Furnace Creek, inside Death Valley National Park. My mom is half Timbisha Indian. I've been here often to visit Grandma during Christmas but never in the summer. It can get to 120 degrees here in the summer!"
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Comments
Definitely NOT a good place
Definitely NOT a good place to be, especially in the summer, and especially with no clothing or supplies to keep you hydrated or covered from the sun. I do hope Maria can help everyone be safe in this unforgiving landscape. Jan
I dont get it
here they are in a room without any apparent traps except noisy toilets why not knock a hole in the wall they go an get the tapes and beat the crap out of the tormentor. After all they do have a brick.
So much to read, so little time and only one of me :)
The English Teacher
So much to read, so little time and only one of me :)
The English Teacher
Well mostly because they
Well mostly because they would have had to go up. Sideways would have have trashed the video screen but aside from some plumbing, electrical cable, and hydraulics all the rest on the sides and below is stone.
I suppose Bobby could have trashed the pumps but could he have done it in time? He decided not to try it. Remember they are still new to their powers and haven't had any official training yet.
They WILL get the bastards eventually though. First they have to survive summer in Furnace Creek.
You know what they say
Turnabout is a fair play - did the a*****e run through this himself?
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Surviving
Well, it turns out that Furnace Creek isn't in the middle of the desert. It's actually a resort, although most of the lodgings are closed during the summer, as temperatures can reach over 50°C.
Assuming the place is deserted, then I imagine a spot of breaking and entering into one of the lodges, and 'acquiring' clothes from the resort shops should set them up with a long, boring, hot but survivable summer. Well, at least until they can start hitch-hiking their way East until they find someone who knows Whateley's telephone number...
I'd imagine the journey will be an adventure in itself, although the action won't be quite as intense as over the past few hours.
Afterthought: What's happened to their initial escort? They were told when they entered the facility that the adult helpers would be revived once they'd finished being tested...
EAFOAB Episode Summaries
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Well Furnace Creek Ranch and
Well Furnace Creek Ranch and Inn is actually two locations only one of which is open year 'round. So if they find it they have 50% chance of a deserted Inn where they are still isolated but have a chance to get supplies and clothing unobserved and 50% chance of showing up at a still active Ranch where they'll make quite an entrance but at least will get any needed medical care and a chance to call the Empire City Guard.
Yes they were promised that their escorts would be unharmed and waiting for them. However they were also promised that all their belongings would be returned so who knows? If the two escorts weren't killed were they dumped in Furnace Creek or elsewhere? The answers will be revealed so keep reading!
Thank you for all your comments! :)
Average precipitation there
Average precipitation there in July is .11 inches.
Average daytime high is 115 F or 46C.
The second highest recorded temp on Earth was recorded at Furnace Creek, 134 F (57C), in July, 1913.
A Very Eventful Summer Chapter 9
They can visit Maria's Grandma and find out if the Indians know about the a$$hole. It's possible that he has passed through and can be found out because he did not arrive at any other settlement, or pass through.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine