“You can’t let them go!” yelled De Coza. “They’re prisoners of war!”
McBride rounded on De Coza. “I’m a fireman, goddammit! Do you think I’m just going to stand by and watch a bunch of kids get burned to death?” He pressed a switch and Blast Furnace’s tentacles retracted, releasing its prisoners. Thumper and Kennedy helped Bubba and Billy-Bob to their feet, and the two old men blinked in confusion, unable to believe that they were free.
“This is mutiny!” cried De Coza. He turned to the Scannell twins and Gilbert and Kenneth eagerly stepped forward, raising their spears. McBride stood his ground, fixing the twins with a steely gaze, and they faltered. “You two freaks might be able to intimidate a pair of defenceless old men”, McBride said with quiet menace, “but you just see what will happen if you pull a stunt like that with me.” Thumper and Kennedy joined McBride, flanking him on either side, and the Scannell twins looked at the three men uncertainly. McBride grabbed their spears, bent them over his knee, then sent them spinning through the air like boomerangs. Gilbert and Kenneth glared at McBride murderously but said nothing. The fireman gave them a contemptuous look then turned to the others. “Come on, let’s get moving”, he said. The group started walking down the hillside towards the caves, Blast Furnace rumbling after them.
“I’ll have you all court-martialled!” shouted De Coza after them.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
THE CONTROLLER
Inside the rail network, the track moved again, finally giving the first Trailblazer access to the inner ring of track. It zoomed towards Toby and the others, its twin flamethrowers locking onto the group.
“Here it comes”, said Toby quietly.
Caitlin heard the defeat in his voice and looked around frantically for a way to escape. Several more Trailblazers were circling back and forth behind them, cutting off their retreat. She clutched Toby’s hand as the Trailblazer rushed towards them, nearer, nearer, until it was so close she could see the tiny pilot-light flame flickering inside the barrel of each flamethrower muzzle.
There was a sudden flash of silver behind the Trailblazer and Caitlin saw it was Eve darting out of one of the tunnels. She launched herself at the Trailblazer and grasped its flamethrowers, twisting the metal barrels upwards. The flames shot harmlessly over Toby and Caitlin’s heads. The Trailblazer careered around the track and Eve scrambled after it, finally clambering onto its back. The Trailblazer headed towards the caves and shot into one of the tunnels, then reappeared 30 seconds later out of the adjacent tunnel, now without Eve.
“She must have jumped off inside the tunnel”, Toby yelled excitedly.
“You think she’s found a way through?” said Caitlin.
“There’s only one way to find out”, Toby replied.
The disarmed Trailblazer speeded towards the group again and Toby stepped forwards, a wild look in his eye.
“Are you crazy?” cried Caitlin.
“If Eve can do it, so can we!” Toby ran forwards, grabbing onto the Trailblazer as it zoomed past, using the twisted barrels as a handle. He was dragged along the stony ground, kicking up great clouds of dust before he managed to haul himself onto the back of the speeding robot.
On the hillside, De Coza watched angrily as Toby zoomed towards the cave network, clinging onto the Trailblazer. “He’s getting away”, he yelled.
Inside the railway circuit, Toby tore down the track towards the network of caves, clinging grimly onto the back of the Trailblazer. They rounded a corner at breakneck speed and Toby wrapped his arms tighter around the torso of the Trailblazer, the wind rippling through his hair and buffeting his clothes. Despite the terror he felt, he had to admit the sheer speed at which he was travelling was exhilarating. They shot into the tunnel and Toby clung desperately onto the bucking Trailblazer as he was plunged into darkness. The track veered suddenly to the left, taking Toby by surprise and he was almost shaken free of the Trailblazer, his shoulder scraping the tunnel wall. The robot rounded a corner and started to slow as the track ahead took an incline. Toby caught a glimpse of Eve, further ahead, caught in the Trailblazer’s headlamps. He loosened his grip on the robot and prepared to leap off.
A second Trailblazer came at him from the opposite direction, headlamps blazing. Toby ducked, only just avoiding the spewing jets of fire.
On the hillside, De Coza saw Toby emerge from the tunnel, still holding desperately onto the speeding robot. “There he is!” he roared, pointing him out to the Scannell twins who were busy straightening their spears. He scrambled up onto the back of Dumpmaster and sat astride the robot, his legs on either side of its thick-set neck. “Switch to manual control”, he ordered Dumpmaster, then flipped open a control panel set in the back of the robot’s neck. He checked Toby’s progress and saw the route his Trailblazer was taking passed directly under the lip of the basin.
De Coza pushed a lever and Dumpmaster stomped towards the outer ring of track. Operating the robot like a mechanical digger he positioned Dumpmaster’s head directly over the track. The robot’s serrated jaws yawned open and then lunged forwards, snapping down on either side of the track. De Coza pulled back on the lever and Dumpmaster’s head pivoted upwards. With a shriek of rending metal, the entire section of track was wrenched off the ground, earth and wooden sleepers flying everywhere.
Gilbert and Kenneth ran forwards, waving their spears to get De Coza’s attention. De Coza spun around and saw a Trailblazer thundering towards him from the opposite direction. The robot ski-jumped the broken rails and Dumpmaster chomped down on it in midair, shearing off the upper half of its body. The chassis and wheels hit the other side of the track and kept rolling. Dumpmaster greedily consumed the upper half of the Trailblazer, the sorting mechanism in its gullet firing out chunks of metal sheeting, headlamps and flamethrower parts into the appropriate recycling bins. De Coza positioned Dumpmaster in the middle of the wrecked track, facing Toby’s direction, and the robot’s savage maw swung open expectantly.
Inside the centre of the rail network, Caitlin saw that Toby was heading straight for Dumpmaster. She impulsively prepared to run to him and Lloyd grabbed her arm. “You’ll never get to him in time!”
Caitlin saw he was right; there were at least eight rings of track between her and Toby, each ring containing several Trailblazers. “There’s got to be a way we can help him!” she cried.
She scanned the basin and her eyes settled on the glass dome in the centre of the network. The sun was no longer reflecting on the glass wall and she could clearly see the silhouette of the Controller inside, manipulating the rail network. She saw there were only two rings of track between her and the dome and that they were both currently clear of Trailblazers. Impulsively she darted across the track towards the control dome.
Lloyd looked after her in dismay. “Hey, you can’t leave us!”
“Now what are we supposed to do?” moaned Dale.
A Trailblazer whipped around the corner, flamethrowers levelling at them. They turned to escape and saw a second Trailblazer career towards them from the opposite direction. It zoomed nearer and Lloyd saw it was the sheared-off Trailblazer, its body hollow like a rollercoaster car. Grabbing Dale’s arm, he hauled him towards the track.
“No way, man!” said Dale, suddenly realizing what his friend had in mind. “No way!”
They hurled themselves at the sheared-off robot at exactly the moment the Trailblazer blasted at them. They dived under the twin plumes of flame roiling towards them, and landed head-first in the hollowed out Trailblazer, their shoes ablaze.
Caitlin turned at the sounds of shouting and cursing saw the Trailblazer speeding away, Lloyd and Dale’s protruding legs kicking in the air, trying to put out the flames. Relieved that they were still alive, she leaped across the final ring of track, Scotty scampering after her. She reached the control dome and hurriedly skirted around it, searching for an entrance. With growing frustration she realized the curved glass walls were sealed tight; the Controller was entombed inside li
ke a toy in a child’s snow globe. She impatiently snatched up a chunk of rock and hurled it at the dome. The rock rebounded, splintering the heavy glass. She picked up the rock again and using it like a hammer managed to smash her way inside.
The Controller swung round, its angular metal face registering alarm at its domain being invaded. It slashed a clawed hand at Caitlin, ripping open her tracksuit top and drawing five red stripes of blood. She screamed, clutching her shoulder, and Scotty furiously leaped at the Controller, his sharp metal teeth tearing at the main umbilical cord linking it to the console. There was a shower of sparks and Scotty was hurled backwards, yelping and whimpering. The Controller collapsed back into its chair and Caitlin elbowed the twitching robot aside, staring in bewilderment at the complicated console. She looked outside in panic and saw that Toby’s Trailblazer had now reached the lip of the basin and was on a direct course for Dumpmaster.
De Coza saw Toby approaching and swung the robot around, opening its savage jaws. He grinned maliciously as Toby hurtled towards him…
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
HOGZILLA ATTACKS
Caitlin panicked, pressing every button in sight on the console. She looked up and saw that she had sent the network into confusion, railway tracks switching back and forth. Toby shot towards Dumpmaster then was miraculously shunted onto an adjacent track.
Caitlin yelled in triumph, punching the air. “Yes!” Scotty barked excitedly and jumped onto the console, licking Caitlin’s hand.
On the track, De Coza stared in astonishment as Toby sailed past him. Toby grinned at De Coza’s gobsmacked expression and gave him a cheery wave as he passed. He turned back to the track ahead and his grin faded as he saw Hogzilla accelerating towards him on the inside. The robot-chopper drew alongside him like some futuristic Roman chariot and the three biker girls grinned maliciously at him. They looked cool and menacing in their black leather jackets and aviator shades, the wind whipping through their hair.
Hogzilla sideswiped him, the steel spikes puncturing the Trailblazer’s side. Toby threw a furious look at Roadkill and she saluted him with her can of beer.
Toby’s Trailblazer took a curve in the track, taking him towards the jungle. Hogzilla followed, taking the curve with ease. The polished black-and-chrome robot was now in its element, her engine growling with pleasure at finally being allowed to ride full throttle.
Hogzilla drew alongside Toby again and Roadkill drained her can of beer, crushed it into a ball then hurled it at Toby. It hit him with a glancing blow on the side of head and the three biker girls shrieked with laughter. The robot-chopper swooped towards Toby again, its spikes stabbing past Toby’s leg.
Inside the dome, Caitlin saw that Toby was in trouble. She studied the console, trying to familiarise herself with it. She pressed a button, switching Toby onto a new track — right into the path of Lloyd and Dale’s Trailblazer.
On the track, Dale and Lloyd screamed as they found themselves suddenly hurtling towards Toby. They clapped their hands over their eyes, waiting for the collision. Then just in the nick of time Toby’s Trailblazer flipped onto the adjacent track, skimming past them.
Toby’s Trailblazer sped onwards, now heading towards the mountain range. It approached McBride’s party who were nearing the caves and Marty signalled to Toby as he passed. “Head for that middle tunnel!” he yelled, pointing. “It goes straight through the mountain!”
Roadkill sped past on Hogzilla in time to hear Marty’s words. She swerved the robot-chopper into a screeching U-turn, spraying up a shower of gravel and dust, then accelerated towards De Coza. “They’re heading for that middle tunnel!” she yelled, pointing. “It goes straight through the mountain!”
De Coza nodded grimly. “Advance!” he bellowed. Dumpmaster stomped forwards, De Coza astride it like a cavalry officer, leading his troops into battle. Gilbert and Kenneth flanked the robot, jogging to keep up with its enormous strides.
Hogzilla roared after Toby, weaving between Trailblazers until they were level again. “Get him!” snarled Roadkill. Typhoid Mary held onto the back of Hogzilla one-handed and lunged at Toby. He dodged sideways and her hand snatched empty air. She reached for Toby again and managed to grab the collar of his shirt. She hauled him backwards and Toby was dislodged from the Trailblazer, his leg hanging off the side. Hogzilla pulled nearer, its savage spikes lacerating Toby’s leg. Toby screamed and recoiled, yanking himself free from Typhoid Mary’s grip. Hogzilla accelerated, overtaking the Trailblazer and Typhoid Mary and Uzi-Rider turned, now facing Toby. They leaned away from the rear of the robot-chopper, reaching out for Toby, and he shrank backwards. There was a sudden harsh grating sound and Roadkill snarled in fury; Hogzilla’s two rear wheels were trapped between the rails!
Inside the dome, Caitlin watched as Roadkill struggled to free Hogzilla from the railway track. She quickly flipped the controls and the rails shifted, rerouting Hogzilla towards the caves.
On the track, Roadkill, Typhoid Mary and Uzi-Rider stared in horror as the narrow tunnel loomed towards them. Roadkill hit the brakes, but the speeding robot was moving too fast. The biker girls leaped from the back of Hogzilla as the robot-chopper slammed into the tunnel.
SMASH!!! The roof of the tunnel sheared off the upper half of Hogzilla’s chassis. The robot hurtled through the tunnel with a shriek of tortured steel then reappeared from the adjacent tunnel, the jagged remains of its upper half dragging along the track after it. The debris caught on a boulder and the robot-chopper jumped the rails.
Inside the dome, Scotty gave a warning bark. Caitlin looked up from the console in time to see Hogzilla screaming towards her like a runaway train. She turned and hurled herself through the hole in the back of the dome, Scotty leaping after her.
KABOOM!!! Hogzilla ploughed into the dome and exploded on impact, its cargo of whiskey, brandy, vodka and gin bottles blasting in all directions like fireworks. Caitlin hugged the ground, protecting her head as shrapnel, glass shards and metal spikes thudded into the earth around her.
Toby’s Trailblazer ground to a halt. He looked around and saw that all the other Trailblazers on the rail network were now deactivated as well. There was a mass of confusion as everybody started running towards the centre tunnel.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
THE TRAP
Caitlin jumped to her feet and sprinted towards Toby, Scotty bounding after her. She passed Lloyd and Dale who were gingerly dismounting their Trailblazer.
“Marty knows a way out of here!” Caitlin yelled, pointing at Marty, Bubba, Billy-Bob, Thumper and Kennedy who were now entering the centre tunnel. Lloyd and Dale looked at each other resignedly then started following Caitlin.
Caitlin ran towards Toby who was painfully climbing down from his Trailblazer, blood seeping from a gash in his leg. She glimpsed movement further along the mountain range and saw the biker girls were clambering to their feet, covered in dust. Their heavy leather jackets seemed to have protected them from serious injury, although their hands and faces were badly grazed. She looked in the opposite direction and saw the Scannell twins running towards the tunnel, clutching their spears.
Caitlin grabbed Toby’s hand and they ran headlong into the tunnel. She could immediately see that it was different from the others, the rough irregular walls naturally formed. The tunnel abruptly broadened, opening up into a vast subterranean cavern. Boulders reared out of the gloom, eroded into twisted, mysterious shapes. They cautiously picked their way through them, Scotty’s glowing eyes reflecting on the beads of moisture on the granite.
“Where are the others?” whispered Caitlin.
“Must be further ahead”, replied Toby.
They continued walking, the only sounds their echoing footsteps and the distant subterranean drip of water. Toby approached an irregularly shaped boulder that loomed out of the darkness and Caitlin’s eyes narrowed. She checked behind her and saw the silhouettes of the Scannell twins blocking the tunnel entrance.
“Toby, it’s a trap!” Caitlin
screamed.
The ‘boulder’ came to life and Dumpmaster’s massive fanged head lunged out of the gloom towards Toby. The robot reared up to its full height and Toby saw with horror that De Coza had fitted the Trailblazer’s flamethrowers to the inside of the robot’s steel jaws. Dumpmaster threw its head back and bellowed in triumph, spewing huge gouts of flame into the air like a mechanical dragon. Toby caught a glimpse of De Coza astride the robot, his face cruel and demonic in the flickering orange light.
“Take me to the Toymaker”, he growled.
Toby turned to run and Dumpmaster’s head came swooping down. Its jaws opened and a column of flame rushed towards him…
CHAPTER SEVENTY
A TRUCE OF SORTS
Toby stumbled backwards, trying to protect his face as the blast of intense heat engulfed him. His body registered a brief moment of scorching agony, then abruptly the burning heat transformed into numbing cold. Toby opened his eyes and saw Blast Furnace rolling out of the shadows, McBride on the foot plate, training the robot’s water cannon on him. The pressurized jet of water propelled him backwards, smashing him into a boulder, and he collapsed to the ground, winded. McBride swung the water cannon towards Dumpmaster and both of the robot’s flamethrowers were extinguished, their pilot lights guttering out.
De Coza bellowed in fury and brought Dumpmaster round to face Blast Furnace.
“Ray, get off that robot before I blast you off!” shouted McBride.
De Coza ignored him, preparing to attack and McBride released a high-pressure jet of water. It hit De Coza squarely in the chest, dislodging him from his perch. He teetered precariously on the back of Dumpmaster’s hopper for a second, then crashed to the cavern floor, stunned.
McBride jumped down from his robot and ran over to Toby. “Are you okay?” he asked, helping him to his feet.
“Just about, thanks”, Toby said weakly. His skin felt taut and tender and he saw the front of his shirt and jeans was scorched a yellowy-brown.
The other competitors started emerging from their hiding places from around the cavern, eyeing each other warily. McBride stormed over to De Coza. “You nearly killed an innocent kid, Ray. What the hell were you thinking?”