“Please… If I knew where he was I’d tell you…”
De Coza turned to the Scannell twins. “Do it.”
The dentists raised their spears, their expressions carnal with bloodlust.
“Wait!” Toby yelled suddenly.
De Coza signalled for the twins to stop then turned to Toby.
“He’s on the ship”, said Toby, pointing at the cavern opening and trying his best to look defeated.
De Coza rushed to the cliff edge and saw the ship moored in the harbour hundreds of feet below. He grinned triumphantly then wheeled round on Toby. “Your attempts to protect your evil master have failed, traitor.” He grabbed Gilbert’s spear and dug it cruelly under Toby’s chin. “By rights I should kill you now for your treachery”, he growled. “But I’m a soldier, not a murderer. But this I promise you. I’ll see you stand trial in a war tribunal for your crimes.” He turned and strode towards the steps leading to the harbour. “Follow us and the girl dies!”
Toby watched helplessly as the Scannell twins carried Caitlin after De Coza. He stepped after them and saw his robot standing in a shadowy recess next to the steel door. “Eve, stop them!” he yelled.
The robot didn’t move.
“Eve, didn’t you hear me? Stop them!”
“Current situation not strategically advantageous for combat”, Eve stated, eyeing Dumpmaster doubtfully.
De Coza roared with laughter. “You don’t say!”
“Do it!” yelled Toby angrily and Eve reluctantly stepped before De Coza and Dumpmaster, blocking their way.
Dumpmaster glowered down at Eve as if affronted by the puny silver figure standing defiantly before it. “I’m gonna enjoy this”, grinned De Coza. He glanced at his watch and frowned. “But make it quick.”
Dumpmaster sprang forwards, spitting out a massive gout of fire at Eve. Caught off guard, the android staggered backwards, her body ablaze. Her blades retracted as she valiantly tried to beat out the flames. Dumpmaster saw that Eve was now defenceless and stomped forwards, savagely smashing her to the ground. Eve tried to stand, her paintwork still burning in several places and Dumpmaster’s fist powered out like a piston, sending her crashing into the cavern wall. Eve desperately tried to escape, scrambling along the ground towards the mountain steps, but Dumpmaster hauled her up by her hair and pinned her against the cavern wall. Taking its time, the robot methodically bludgeoned Eve again and again, using brute force to smash the life out of the android.
De Coza called out impatiently. “Finish her!”
Dumpmaster reluctantly obeyed, seizing Eve with both hands. The robot’s massive jaws opened, its masticators began to rev up and Dumpmaster prepared to feed Eve head first into its mouth…
Lloyd’s voice suddenly floated up from the mountain trail outside. “Where the hell are you guys? We’ve been waiting for you down there, like forever!” His face rose into view, hot and grimy from his climb back up the cliff-face, followed by Dale and Marty.
Dumpmaster paused, momentarily distracted and Eve seized upon the diversion to make her move. Swinging her legs upwards, she slammed both feet into Dumpmaster’s chest, powering away from the robot and somersaulting high into the air. Her arm extended outwards, blade gleaming in the sunlight as she span towards Lloyd, slashing open his jacket pocket with surgical precision as she landed besides him. The nanobot syringe dropped neatly into her outstretched palm and she pirouetted round to face Dumpmaster.
“Current situation now strategically advantageous for combat”, she announced grandly, then pounced on Dumpmaster, slamming the syringe into its main hydraulic pipeline.
Dumpmaster let out an agonized electronic howl as billions of nanobots flooded through its hydraulic system. The robot staggered backwards, claws erratically flaying back and forth as the nanobots surged towards its hydraulic pump and were then propelled upwards into Dumpmaster’s central processing unit.
The robot convulsed as the swarm of ferocious nanobots burrowed into its brain, turning it into Swiss cheese within seconds. It clawed wildly at its head, trying to stop the horrendous pain, its jagged blades gauging and tearing, inflicting terrible damage to itself. The nanobots consumed Dumpmaster from within and the robot began haemorrhaging hydraulic fluid internally, coughing up quantities of frothy green gunk.
The maddened robot lurched sideways towards Toby, Dale, Lloyd and Marty, its claws scything in every direction like an out-of-control threshing machine. They retreated back down the tunnel and the robot staggered in the opposite direction towards De Coza, Caitlin and the Scannell twins. The twins dropped Caitlin and hastily retreated, joining De Coza by the mountain steps.
The robot stumbled towards Caitlin, bellowing like a maddened bull, threatening to trample her underfoot. Abruptly it changed direction, lumbering towards the edge of the cliff. For a brief moment it stood teetering on the very brink of the abyss. Then the rock shelf gave way and Dumpmaster plummeted to the rocks below.
Eve stepped back from the cliff edge with quiet satisfaction. “All robot competitors destroyed”, she stated.
Toby ran forwards from the other side of the cavern and joined Eve on the cliff edge. He saw De Coza’s robot was smashed to pieces on the jagged rocks surrounding the harbour. He started to turn away, then saw movement on the trail below. De Coza was scrambling down the mountain steps, the Scannell twins following, Caitlin’s wriggling body carried between them.
“They’ve got Caitlin!” Toby cried.
CHAPTER EIGHTY
THE MOUNTAIN TRAIL
De Coza scrambled down the mountain towards the harbour, slipping and sliding in the dust and gravel. The steps were steep and treacherous, some eaten away by landslides and others obstructed by fallen boulders. He lost his footing and slithered down a smooth part of the mountain. He grabbed hold of a scrubby bush and steadied himself in the nick of time. The trail ahead was littered with twisted hunks of metal, the mangled remains of Dumpmaster. De Coza carefully skirted around several blade shards embedded lethally in the rock, then hoisted himself over Dumpmaster’s smashed-up carcass. He looked regretfully at the remains of his robot and gave it a respectful pat as he passed.
He neared the bottom of the cliff and paused to catch his breath. The sun was blazing down on him, directly overhead, and he guessed it must be approaching midday. He checked his watch then impatiently turned to Gilbert and Kenneth who were laboriously carrying Caitlin between them down the path.
“Get a move on”, he grunted. “We’ve less than half an hour.”
Kenneth glared mutinously at De Coza and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Why don’t we just kill her? They’re coming after us anyway.”
De Coza looked up at the mountain trail high above them and saw that Toby, Eve, Marty, Lloyd and Dale were climbing down towards them.
“Kill her now”, agreed Gilbert, raising his spear.
De Coza looked at Caitlin dispassionately, who was trying to wriggle and squirm away from the two dentists. “No, she might still be useful.”
He turned and resumed hiking down the trail. He reached the bottom and gazed out to sea, frowning. From the top of the cliff the ship had appeared deceptively close. But now they were at sea level he could see it was moored far out to sea, at least half a mile away. He scanned the rocky coastline and to his delight saw three small boats bobbing nearby in the turquoise water, each one equipped with oars and an outboard motor.
“Over there!” De Coza yelled to the Scannell twins, pointing at the boats. He ran towards the water’s edge, clambering over boulders glistening with seaweed and sloshing through rock pools. He reached the boats and climbed into the middle one. It was small and compact, the outboard motor tilted up out of the water. He watched impatiently as Gilbert and Kenneth manhandled Caitlin’s body into the boat then checked the progress of Toby and the others. To his consternation he saw that they had nearly reached the bottom of the cliff.
Snatching Gilbert’s spear, he turned to the boat next to him and slammed it int
o the motor, buckling the propeller. He disabled the second boat, puncturing its fuel tank, then tossed the spear back to Gilbert. He started the motor and it caught with a throaty roar, just as Toby reached them.
“Adios amigo”, he grinned, then revved the engine. The boat shot forwards, leaving Toby standing at the water’s edge in a cloud of exhaust fumes.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
ESCAPE TO DANGER
Toby watched in dismay as De Coza steered the boat out of the harbour into the open sea. He jumped into the nearest boat and swung the outboard motor down into the water. He yanked back on the cord and the motor coughed, refusing to start.
“Try and get the other one working”, he yelled to Lloyd and Dale. They nodded and ran towards the second boat.
Toby furiously worked the throttle but the motor refused to catch.
“Let me try”, said Marty, elbowing Toby aside. He angled the motor in the water then pulled firmly on the cable. The motor sputtered into life, with a metallic clatter. Eve jumped into the boat as it surged forwards, roaring out of the harbour.
“Hey, what about us?” cried Lloyd as the boat sped away.
“We’ll come back for you!” shouted Toby. Marty set a course for the ship, cutting through the foaming white wash left by De Coza’s boat.
Inside De Coza’s boat, Caitlin had been dumped near the bow. A waft of choking diesel fumes blew past her face and she tried to change position. The plastic flex binding her wrists and ankles dug cruelly into her flesh and she winced in pain, her limbs fizzing with pins and needles.
Caitlin heard Gilbert’s voice shouting over the roar of the outboard motor and she cautiously turned her head. All three men had their backs to her and were looking at something past the stern of the boat. She raised her head further and to her delight she saw a second motor boat was in pursuit, its bow high in the water, slicing through the waves. She caught a glimpse of Toby sitting at the front of the boat, the wind whistling through his hair and her heart surged.
De Coza turned towards her and Caitlin quickly ducked down again, feigning unconsciousness. She surreptitiously wriggled her wrists, trying to free herself but the plastic cord was tied securely. She pushed her hand forwards so that it was free of the binding, then carefully flexed her wrist. The spring-loaded blade snapped out of her hand like a flick-knife, the tip of it hitting the fibre-glass hull with a sharp thud.
Caitlin glanced round and to her relief saw her three captors were now all focused on the ship that was now looming ahead. She awkwardly angled the blade, careful not to cut herself and sliced through the plastic cord.
She inched the blade towards her feet and a shadow fell over her. She looked up apprehensively and saw De Coza glaring down at her. “She’s free!” he roared. He lunged forwards, trying to pin Caitlin down and the boat rocked precariously. She tried to squirm free, but De Coza was strong, kneeling on both of her arms. “Grab her legs”, he grunted and the Scannell twins ran forwards. Caitlin arched her back, bringing up both legs and slammed them squarely into Kenneth’s chest. He sailed backwards, crashing into his brother. The boat rocked violently and Gilbert grabbed the tiller to steady himself. The boat abruptly changed directions, veering away from the ship.
Toby watched in amazement as De Coza’s boat suddenly headed out towards the open sea. He saw the struggling figures on board and grinned when he saw Caitlin slice through the flex that was binding her feet. “Follow them!” he instructed Marty.
Marty leaned forwards to change course and the motor abruptly lowered in pitch, starting to lose power.
“What’s wrong?” yelled Toby.
Marty inspected the motor and saw that diesel was pouring from a jagged hole in the side of the fuel tank. “We’re out of fuel!”
The motor coughed and sputtered then cut out altogether. Toby watched in frustration as De Coza’s boat changed directions again, now heading towards the island. He reached for the oars and Marty looked at him in disbelief. “We’ll never catch them!”
“No, but we will in that!” Toby pointed behind him and Marty saw that the tide had carried them alongside the ship.
Toby tossed Marty an oar and they both started paddling. They drew nearer and Toby saw the vessel was reminiscent of a 19th-century brig; only its gleaming steel hull and sleek minimalist bridge hinted at a more contemporary origin. They drew up alongside the landing ladder bolted to the side of the hull and Toby reached out, grabbing it. He signalled to Eve and she nimbly leaped onto the lower rung and started climbing.
“You next”, Toby yelled.
Marty shot him an uneasy look then started scaling the ladder. Toby tied the boat to the bottom of the ladder then followed him up the steps. He clambered onto the deck and immediately knew something was wrong. Everything about the ship looked too neat, too new. He stamped hard on the deck and it buckled slightly, echoing hollowly underfoot. Growing increasingly suspicious, Toby looked around him and saw the tell tale sign of concealed cameras embedded in the masts, trained on the water. His eyes travelled upwards and saw a flag fluttering from the top of the main mast emblazoned with the Toymaker’s emblem.
Toby rounded on Marty, his eyes blazing with fury. “You son of a bitch, this is a set!” He raced to the rail and saw De Coza’s boat speeding towards them, Caitlin still struggling with the three men. As he watched, Caitlin broke free and sprinted to the side of the boat.
“Caitlin, no!” Toby screamed.
But Caitlin was too far away to hear him. She leaped from the boat in a graceful dive, plunging cleanly into the ocean.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
TERROR IN THE WATER
Caitlin surfaced, her long auburn hair plastered to her head and shoulders. She heard Toby’s voice shouting distantly and turned, salt water stinging her eyes. It took a second or two for her to see him, a dark figure standing at the deck-rail of the ship, signalling frantically.
She started swimming towards him, taking deep, athletic strokes, cutting through the tide that was trying to carry her back to the island. Toby started shouting again, his finger pointed right at her, and Caitlin stopped swimming, confused. She suddenly realized he wasn’t pointing at her, but behind her. She turned and saw nothing but open water. She turned back to Toby, mystified.
She turned again and saw a ripple pass her a dozen feet away. Then another. She felt the current abruptly shift as something big moved underwater, disrupting the rhythm of the tides.
Growing uneasy, Caitlin resumed swimming towards the ship, faster now. She stopped again, seeing more ripples, only now in front of her. She stared in horror as the water began to bubble and then suddenly the tip of a steel fin broke the surface. It rose up, roaring like a power-tool and she saw that the fin was a spinning chainsaw blade!
It sped towards her and Caitlin turned and ploughed through the water towards the island, blind terror giving her the extra push. She was no longer swimming against the tide, the waves propelling her towards the shore and for a moment she thought she had a chance of making it. Then she heard the abrasive roar of the chainsaw blade sounding impossibly close and she turned.
The chainsaw fin rose out of the water as something started to surface. First the steel snout, gleaming dully in the water, then a spiked band of metal teeth. It was an enormous steel shark, hurtling towards her like a guided missile!
Caitlin struck out for the shore, forcing her fatigued muscles to work beyond the point of endurance. Her mind was numb with terror, and she had the strange sensation that she was a machine, arms and legs powering to their fullest capacity, every ounce of her being focussed on her survival.
Behind her, the steel shark accelerated forwards, its gunmetal grey snout sinking lower into the water to reduce resistance. Dead black eyes were fixed upon Caitlin, the robot’s programming mimicking the shark’s single-minded predatory instinct, in every respect a killing machine. It submerged, Caitlin’s coordinates locked and targeted, and roared towards her, the chainsaw fin leaving a long trail of froth i
n its wake.
Caitlin felt the throb of the shark’s engines as it approached and realized with terror that she wasn’t going to make it; the coastline was too far away. She looked around in panic and saw De Coza’s boat in her peripheral vision, zooming away from her, clearly having seen the steel shark. Gasping for breath, she span round again and confusingly the boat seemed to have changed position, now coming towards her from the island. It sped nearer and with a thrill of joy she recognized the two figures at the back, squabbling over who was going to pilot the boat; it was Lloyd and Dale. “Hey!” she screamed, signalling with both hands.
The boat changed course and drew up besides her, its propeller making an unhealthy grinding noise. Caitlin desperately tried to haul herself onboard, her fingernails scrabbling on the smooth fibreglass hull.
Dale leaned over the side of the boat, all the time in the world. “Hey, take it easy babe—”
He saw the chainsaw fin hurtling straight towards him and gave a little scream. Grabbing a hand each, Lloyd and Dale pulled Caitlin onto the boat. The chainsaw fin screamed past, the blade tip missing Caitlin by inches. It roared down the length of the boat, shaving off a fine spray of white fibre-glass shavings, then the flank of the shark violently clipped the boat, almost capsizing it. Everyone was flung to the floor and the outboard motor sputtered out.
Lloyd staggered to his feet, dazed and terrified. He stared after the shark, not believing his eyes and Dale impatiently pushed him aside and ran to the motor.
Behind them the fin lazily circled off, preparing to make another pass at them.
“It’s coming back!” yelled Caitlin.
“Start the boat!” yelled Lloyd.
“What do you think I’m doing?”, yelled Dale. He frantically pulled the cord but the engine refused to catch.
“Come on!” screamed Caitlin. She elbowed him out of the way, yanked the cord and the motor roared into life.
She gunned the engine, setting a course for the ship. She checked behind her and saw the steel shark was beginning to surface again, first the raised dorsal surface, then the gaping maw. Its undulating tail lashed back and forth through the water, propelling the shark forwards. Sunlight caught the shark’s mouth and it seemed to grin at her, the rows of barbed metal teeth gleaming like smashed mirror shards.