Am I a total wacko? I asked myself. I don’t think so.
I waited till Mom and Dad went out. Then I left the house.
The afternoon sun was falling behind the trees. I leaned into the cool breeze as I made my way to the bus stop.
I knew where that abandoned swimming pool was. I took swimming lessons there when I was in preschool. Officer Rawls didn’t believe me. So I had to check it out myself.
Did the comic strip tell the truth?
The bus ride took nearly half an hour. It gave me a lot of time to think about my crazy plan. Was I really following a comic character that I made up? Could it really lead me to Sam and Brooke?
I found myself in a neighborhood of run-down apartment buildings and abandoned stores. It didn’t take long to find the old brick building that held the swimming pool.
I started to the front door — then stopped. Maybe Dr. Maniac was inside. It might be a lot smarter to sneak in through the back. I remembered a back door that opened onto the pool.
At the corner, a big dog was nosing around in an overturned trash can. I slipped past him and made my way to the alley in back.
The building blocked out the sunlight. I walked carefully through the darkness. I grabbed the knob and tried the back door. To my surprise, it pulled open easily. Light poured out onto the alley.
I opened the door just a crack and peeked inside.
The bright glare of the white ice made me blink. Yes. The frozen pool. Just like in the strip.
I pulled the door open a little wider. Then I took a deep breath and crept inside.
A blast of icy air greeted me. My eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the glare. The yellow-tiled walls glowed like sunlight.
I gazed at the giant ice rink. “Hey!” I let out a shout when I saw the two kids.
Yes! A boy and a girl, skating together. Leaning forward. Skating away from me.
“Hey!” I leaped onto the ice and began running after them. “Sam! Brooke! It’s me!” I cried.
They didn’t turn around.
Dr. Maniac suddenly appeared on the ice just ahead of me. I uttered a startled gasp. He was shorter than I’d drawn him. And his belly bulged inside his tight costume.
I tried to stop — and slid for four or five feet. “NOOOO!” I shouted as I lost my balance and fell. I landed hard on my knees and elbows on the frozen surface.
Before I could scramble to my feet, a heavy net fell over me.
It sent me sprawling onto my stomach. My face hit, and I got a mouthful of ice.
I struggled onto my back. I tried to kick and thrash free. But the heavy net held me down.
Sweeping his cape behind him, Dr. Maniac stood over me. He grinned down at me. “Join our show, Robby!” he exclaimed. “The more the merrier!”
“Let me GO!” I screamed. “And them, too!”
I raised my head as Sam and Brooke skated up to me.
Whoa. Wait. Not Sam and Brooke.
Two kids I’d never seen before.
I shoved the net with both hands and sat up. Behind the two kids, I saw a young woman gliding toward us over the ice. She had red hair and sparkling blue eyes.
She wore a bright red mask, a very short red skirt over red tights, and a red top. And a red cape that flowed down to her shiny red boots.
“The Scarlet Starlet!” Dr. Maniac cried. “Glad you could join us!”
“Where are the spotlights?” The Scarlet Starlet demanded. “Where are the cameras? Where are my adoring fans?”
“I’m trying to keep it quiet,” Dr. Maniac replied. “Until I fill my ice rink with kids.”
She tossed back her long red hair. “But I need a lot of attention,” she said. “Don’t forget — I’m the Scarlet Starlet!”
“Don’t worry,” Dr. Maniac said. “When our twenty-four-hour ice show begins, you’ll get LOTS of attention! More attention than a hamster in an encyclopedia factory! Hahahaha!”
That didn’t make any sense to me. But it made her smile. She slapped him a high five. Her long fingernails were also bright red.
Still smiling, she lowered her gaze to me. “Maniac,” she said, “I see we have a new skater!”
“Please call me DOCTOR Maniac,” he scolded. “I have a college degree in Maniacal Studies.”
“Well, who is our new skater?” she asked.
“I’m NOT going to skate!” I cried. I pushed at the net with all my strength. “Let me out of here! You two can’t get away with this!”
Dr. Maniac and the Scarlet Starlet both laughed. “He’s a funny one,” the Scarlet Starlet said.
“What have you done with my brother?” I screamed. “Where is my friend Brooke?”
The Scarlet Starlet’s red smile faded. She leaned down close to me. Behind her mask, her eyes turned to ice. “Just forget about them,” she said. “You’ll never see them again.”
Never see them again?
Her words sent a chill down my back.
“I — don’t understand,” I stammered. “Where are they? What have you done with them?”
The two supervillains didn’t answer. They each took an end of the heavy net and lifted it high.
I scrambled out from under it. I tried to run. I had to get away from them. I had to get help. Maybe Officer Rawls would believe me now.
I took four or five running steps. Then my sneakers slid out from under me. And I fell facedown on the ice again.
Dr. Maniac moved quickly to pick me up. He brushed ice off the front of my T-shirt.
“Don’t worry. I have skates in your size,” he said. “You can join the show.” He pulled a pair of skates from a large box and handed them to me. “Start skating twenty-four hours. You’ll get used to it. Good exercise!”
“I’m not going to skate,” I said. “Not until you tell me where Sam and Brooke are.”
Dr. Maniac’s face twisted in anger. “If you don’t skate,” he said, “I’ll tickle you till you puke!”
“You’re CRAZY!” I cried.
“I’m not crazy — I’m a MANIAC!” he screamed.
The Scarlet Starlet patted my head. “Better put on the skates,” she said softly. “I’ve watched him tickle people. It isn’t pretty.”
I gazed over her scarlet shoulders to the door. Could I dart past them and make it out of there before they grabbed me?
The other two kids had started skating back and forth again. No way I wanted to join them. I knew once I started, they’d never let me stop.
Then I saw a blur of purple at the other end of the ice rink. The two supervillains saw it, too. We stared as the blur grew larger.
I blinked in disbelief — as the Purple Rage came sliding over the ice to us, both fists raised.
“Know what really BITES my GIRAFFE?” he boomed. “Having to rescue kids and battle you two skunks again!” He let out an angry roar.
“Yaaaay!” I cheered. But then I heard Dr. Maniac whisper to the Scarlet Starlet. “Don’t worry. I know how to handle this red-faced rooster.”
“Let these kids go!” the Purple Rage shouted.
Dr. Maniac put his hands at his bulging waist, tossed back his head — and laughed.
The Scarlet Starlet copied him. She opened her red lips wide and laughed, too.
The Rage’s face grew redder. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me!” he screamed. “I said, let these kids go! Or you will face the rage of the Purple Rage!”
Dr. Maniac shook his head and giggled. The Scarlet Starlet hee-hawed, slapping her knees.
The Rage’s face was bright purple now. His cheeks puffed out. His nostrils flared. His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe. “Feel my RAAAAAAGE!” he boomed.
The two villains laughed and giggled. They laughed so hard, their faces were wet with tears.
The Purple Rage shot both fists high above his head. His chest ballooned out. His eyes bulged. He let out a furious roar.
And he EXPLODED. Just like that. POP.
And he b
urst apart into a million icky pieces.
The pieces flew all over the ice.
Dr. Maniac grinned at the Scarlet Starlet. “I told you I knew how to handle him. Easy as sitting on a lemon meringue pie! Just make him really, really, really angry — and he’ll bust! Hahahahaha!”
He shoved the skates back into my hands. “Okay,” he said. “We don’t have to worry about him anymore. Start skating.”
I pulled on the skates and started to slide back and forth across the big rink with the other two kids. I had no choice.
I had a million questions I wanted to ask. But the three of us didn’t talk. Too scared, I guess. The only sound was the scrape of our skates on the hard surface.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Sam and Brooke.
If Dr. Maniac had grabbed them both, why weren’t they here skating with us? Why did the Scarlet Starlet say they were gone for good?
Just forget about them. You’ll never see them again.
Every time I heard those words in my mind, my stomach tightened. My legs became weak. I felt sick.
There were big blobby pieces of the Purple Rage all over the ice. We had to skate carefully around them.
It was totally gross. If only he could have controlled his anger …
I let out sigh after sigh. Was he our last hope?
How long did I skate? Maybe an hour. Maybe two hours.
More kids joined us. The two supervillains were keeping their promise. They were busy grabbing all the kids in town.
Soon, the skating rink was mobbed. It was a horrifying sight. Dozens and dozens of sad-looking kids, skating … skating silently … all too terrified to stop.
Sweat poured down my face. My long hair was soaked. My legs trembled with every move.
I pushed my way through the crowd, skating slowly, painfully. I felt exhausted. I knew I couldn’t skate much longer.
“Sam? Brooke? Where are you?” I muttered to myself.
How could I get out of there? How could I find them?
Finally, I began to think clearly. There were at least two hundred kids trapped there. And there were only two supervillains.
We had them totally outnumbered.
If we all stampeded for the exit, some of us might get stopped. But a lot of us would escape. And we could get help for the others.
I raised my eyes to the back wall. A huge video screen hung high on the wall. On the screen, the Scarlet Starlet and Dr. Maniac gazed down at us. Their eyes sparkled happily as they watched us skate.
Maybe I can wipe those smiles off their faces, I thought.
An enormous round clock — black numbers against white — hung next to the video screen. The clock said eight-twenty.
I lowered my hands to my knees and began gliding through the skaters. “At eight-thirty, head for the door,” I whispered. “Pass it on.”
I crisscrossed the rink, trying to reach as many kids as I could. “Eight-thirty, we escape,” I whispered again and again. “Head for the door. Pass it on.”
Kids gazed up at the big video screen with frightened looks on their faces.
“Keep skating. Keep skating,” I whispered. “Pass it on. At eight-thirty, we head for the door.”
My legs ached. My heart pounded in my chest. My skates scraped the ice as I kept my eyes on the clock.
One minute to go. I could feel the excitement build among all of us trapped kids. A hush fell over the rink.
I tensed my leg muscles and prepared to burst to the exit.
The seconds ticked away.
At first, I thought the cracking sound was coming from outside.
But then I heard kids scream. I saw a girl slide onto her back. Her feet shot straight up into the air.
The cracking grew louder.
I slid to a stop as chunks of ice sank in front of me.
“It’s MELTING!” a boy screamed. “It’s all MELTING!”
A deafening roar rang out. The ice cracked and fell away.
All around me, kids were sinking into deep, bone-chilling water. Screams and startled cries echoed off the tile walls.
I raised my eyes to the video screen. Dr. Maniac stood at a computer, typing frantically as the Scarlet Starlet looked on.
He was melting the ice.
He had it all set up. He knew exactly how to block our escape.
The surface cracked beneath me. I let out a groan as I went plunging down.
The icy water rose up over my knees. Shuddering and shivering, I thrashed my arms helplessly. I sank to my waist and kept dropping.
The water was so cold, I could feel my whole body going numb.
All around me, kids shouted and cried and splashed and kicked. Kids tried to swim out of it, but chunks of ice blocked their way.
“G-gotta move,” I muttered to myself, shivering and shaking. “B-before I’m totally numb.”
Too cold to swim. Too deep to walk.
I hurtled forward … pulled myself … used every bit of strength I had. Finally, shivering, my teeth chattering, I crawled from the freezing pool.
Dr. Maniac stood nearby at the computer controls. Could I get to him before he saw me?
With a shudder, I climbed to my feet — staggered toward him, water running off me. Lurched ahead, shivering and shaking — and dove at Dr. Maniac.
I didn’t think. My brain was totally frozen.
I had no plan. I just threw myself at him.
With a groan, I grabbed him around the waist. He struggled. Tried to spin out of my grasp.
But I held on. Held on tight. Gasping for breath, I pulled myself up on him.
I grabbed at his cape. My wet hands slid off.
He started to duck away.
I raised both hands — and grabbed his face.
“Yes!” I uttered. My whole body shuddered and shivered.
I tightened my fingers around his face — and it came off!
His face came off in my hands. It was a MASK!
I tossed the mask down and stared into his real face. And screamed at the top of my lungs: “SAM! It’s YOU!”
Shivering from the freezing water that soaked my clothes, I stared at my brother. “Sam?”
He grabbed the mask from me. “I’m not your brother anymore,” he said. “I’m Dr. Maniac.”
“But — how?” I choked out.
The Scarlet Starlet stepped between us. “Don’t ask questions,” she snapped. She lifted her mask so I could see her real face.
“Brooke!” I gasped. “You, too?”
“I told you to forget about us,” she said. “Sam and Brooke are gone forever.” She pulled the scarlet mask back over her face.
My mind was spinning. I felt dizzy.
Meanwhile, kids were screaming and crying. I turned and saw terrified faces, thrashing arms and legs. Kids were swimming and splashing, trying frantically to get out of the ice-clogged pool.
On the big video screen on the back wall, I glimpsed myself standing between Sam and Brooke. I could see the totally shocked expression on my face.
I grabbed my brother by the shoulders. “But why, Sam?” I asked. “Why did you choose to be evil?”
Sam’s dark eyes locked on mine. “You said it first, Robby,” he replied. “You said the villains are always more interesting.”
He pulled the mask down over his head. “I’m a maniac now. I’m not your pudgy kid brother anymore.”
“But, Sam —” I protested.
“You were always the talented one,” he said, sneering. “Mr. Talented Artist with his awesome comic strips. And I was just the chubby joke. Well … not anymore. I’m evil, Robby — and soon I’m going to be RICH!”
“No, this is wrong!” I cried. “This is totally WRONG! Sam, you have to come home!”
He and Brooke stepped close and sandwiched me between them. “Are you with us or against us?” Brooke said.
“With us or against us?” Sam demanded. It wasn’t a question. It was a threat.
They pressed against me. I could feel thei
r evil.
“With us or against us?” Sam demanded.
I couldn’t believe it. I felt terrified. Terrified of my own brother and my friend.
They glared at me, waiting for my answer.
I took a deep breath. “AGAINST you,” I said finally. “Now what are you going to do?”
Before they could answer, the back doors crashed open. All three of us turned and saw a group of black-uniformed police officers swarm into the rink.
“NOOOO!” Dr. Maniac let out an angry cry.
The Scarlet Starlet gasped and took a step back. She tripped over her cape and nearly fell over.
At least a dozen cops ran in. Some waded into the pool and began pulling out the freezing, frightened kids. Others came running to the front of the pool.
I recognized Officer Rawls. He led five or six other cops toward us. “Good work, Robby!” he shouted. “You led us right to them!”
Dr. Maniac and the Scarlet Starlet were too stunned to move. The cops surrounded us.
“You two villains are going away for a long time!” Rawls shouted.
Dr. Maniac tossed back his head and laughed. “You loser cops will never take us!” he cried.
The cops made a grab for them.
I heard a soft pop. And Dr. Maniac and the Scarlet Starlet vanished.
The cops grabbed at the air.
“Where did they go?” Rawls cried. “Don’t let them get away!”
I pointed to the huge video screen at the back wall. “There they are!” I shouted.
Yes. The two villains stared down at us from the big screen. “The world will NEVER be safe from us!” the Scarlet Starlet shouted.
Dr. Maniac laughed his hyena laugh again. “She’s right!” he declared. “When she’s right, she’s right! She’s as right as a mongoose at a picnic! You are all DOOMED!”
I glanced at the computer near the wall. And suddenly, I had an idea.
A frightening idea. But an idea that just might work.
I moved to the computer keyboard. I hesitated. I didn’t want to do it. I really didn’t.
But I knew I had no choice.
I raised my finger to the keyboard. And I pressed the DELETE key.
And with another pop, Dr. Maniac and the Scarlet Starlet vanished from the video screen — vanished for good.