Hamish X and the Hollow Mountain

by Sean Cullen

  King Liam laughed. “Your concerns for my health are laughable, Mr. Candy. Don’t you remember me? It was you and your experiments that made me this way.”

  Mr. Candy and Mr. Sweet tilted their heads to one side in unison and stared at the King. “You don’t seem familiar,” Mr. Candy said after a moment.

  “But we have had so many children through our laboratories over the years,” Mr. Sweet added.

  King Liam smiled grimly. “I assure you, I am well enough to defy you and repel your invasion of our home. There will be no terms. There will be no surrender. You must leave immediately or face the consequences.”

  The Guards roared their approval. Mimi roared along with them. Mr. Kipling merely drew his saber and held it loosely at his side.

  Mr. Candy held up a hand for silence. When the jeering stopped he spoke. “All this ugliness may be avoided. We will pack up and leave, never to return. You can live in peace. All we ask is that you give us Hamish X.”

  There was silence. Mimi suddenly realized that Hamish X was nowhere in sight. She looked all around at the Guards gathered on the field and she didn’t see him anywhere. In fact, she hadn’t seen him since the reception started. She was about to say something but held her tongue, not wanting to give anything away to the Grey Agents.

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but he isn’t here. I’m afraid you are out of luck.” The King smiled sweetly.

  “You’re lying.”

  “No, Mr. Candy, I am not. I know that for someone such as you, for whom lying is a matter of habit and necessity, you imagine that others are equally deceitful. No, I am not lying. But know that, if he were here, I wouldn’t hand him over to you. You will never let us live in peace. As long as the ODA exists the world is not safe for children anywhere. If you seek to come any further we will resist with all our strength to the last boy and girl … and raccoon.”

  “Raccoon?” Mr. Candy cocked his head and frowned. “How ridiculous.”

  As one, each of the George raccoons on the stairs made a rude noise. The Grey Agents blinked in surprise.

  “Very well,” Mr. Sweet said, regaining his composure. “We will destroy you utterly.”

  As he finished speaking, a stone ricocheted off his jetpack with a loud clang.

  “Go stick that in yer utterly, ya creep!” Mimi held a bigger rock and cocked back her arm for another throw. Her second rock sailed through empty space as the agents dropped quickly down through the hole.

  “Prepare yourselves,” the King shouted. He tried to hurry back to the cover of the fountain but stumbled and fell. Aidan and another Guard ran to his aid, pulling him to safety as the first Firebird’s menacing snout poked through the hole. The Guards opened up with their pistols, firing blue stun bolts at the flat head of the mechanical beast, but they had little effect. The creature sprayed a tongue of liquid fire in a deadly arc around the hole. The Guards were forced to drop behind their meagre cover. A few unlucky ones had their hair singed or set alight. Fortunately, their fellows patted out the flames before any real injury occurred.

  The wedding tent and all the flowers withered and caught fire. The wedding cake slumped in the sudden heat, dissolving into a pool of marzipan and molten sugar. The mechanical bird rose up out of the hole, to be followed by another and another.

  The Battle for the Hollow Mountain had begun.

  Chapter 22

  When the alert had sounded Parveen and Noor set off at breakneck speed, forcing their way up the stairs to get to the workshop. They burst into their workroom and looked around at all the projects they had been tinkering with.

  “If only we had more time,” Parveen panted. “So many things have not been tested satisfactorily.”

  “Just grab everything we can,” Noor cried, twisting the end of her ponytail in her fingers. “It’ll have to do.”

  They gathered up all the gadgets they could carry, hanging them on belts and stuffing them into backpacks. Thus equipped, they took off as fast as their legs could carry them back against the flow of panicked children being herded by raccoons.

  When they returned to the stairs, they looked down to the floor of Frieda’s Cavern two hundred metres below and were dismayed.

  Fires raged everywhere. At least a dozen Firebirds were marauding through the Royal Park. The Guards were trying to contain the mechanical beasts, but their stun guns had no effect at all. They were forced back, reduced to serving as distractions as they tried to draw the things away from the children retreating up the stairs.

  The children were on the verge of hysteria. A solid wall of terrified faces looked up at the brother and sister. As desperate children reached the top they flooded past, tumbling out into the safety of the open courtyard that was the Workshop level. Going against the flood of orphans seemed impossible.

  “There’s no way for us to get past them,” Noor shouted over the chaos. “The elevator’s tied up. What do we do?”

  “Watch,” Parveen shouted.

  He reached into his pack and pulled out a remote control. He raised the aerial and pointed it out into the cavern. Out of the corner of the ceiling the Orphan Queen emerged into the light. Under Parveen’s guidance it cruised towards the top of the stairs. In such dire circumstances its decorations seemed totally inappropriate, but Parveen had no time to worry about appearances. The children began to shout and point, afraid that this was some new element of the assault.

  “George!” Parveen shouted. One of the raccoons nearby turned to him, eyes glittering. “We need room to board the airship.” The raccoon nodded, and soon a dozen of the little creatures were forming a cordon by linking arms and pushing gently but firmly against the flow of children.

  Parveen and Noor stepped into the space the raccoons had created and waited for agonizing seconds for the airship to approach. Parveen cast a worried eye below, but the bird things hadn’t noticed its passage. The two children held their breath and waited.

  MIMI PULLED CARA behind the statue of Queen Gerta just in time to rescue her from a gout of flaming liquid. The Texan girl covered the Guard with her own body as the searing heat scorched her back. Cara rolled Mimi away from her.

  “Just get off, will you?” Cara snarled. Then she saw Mimi’s smoking uniform and felt ashamed of her anger. “Are you all right?”

  “Ain’t nuthin’,” Mimi said curtly. “Them fire things are gonna bake us all like chimichangas, make no mistake.”62

  Cara nodded. “What can we do? The pistols are useless.”

  Mimi scowled. She looked around. Everywhere, the birds were pushing them back. There had been some injuries but nothing serious yet. Mrs. Francis was still hurrying kids up the stairs. She wasn’t at the bottom any more but she was a long way from the top. Just one of those mechanical creatures could wreak havoc. Mimi had to do something.

  She looked at her belt and saw the loop of climbing rope that was standard equipment for the Guards. The rope was terrifically strong, reinforced with synthetic fibres to make it less prone to fraying and breakage. She smiled. Taking the rope from her belt, she tossed one end to Cara. The other, she began tying into a noose.

  “Tie that around the base o’ that statue but good, got me?”

  Cara nodded and did as she was told, doubling the knot and tugging to make sure it was secure. Satisfied, she asked, “What’s the plan?”

  “Watch!” Mimi ran out into the open, into the path of the nearest Firebird.

  “Hey! Over here, ya big stupid thing.” The creature’s head swung around, following the sound of Mimi’s voice. The deadly funnels dripped liquid fire. “Yeah, you. I’m right here, you big ugly turkey.”

  “You’re insane!” Cara shouted. Mimi ignored her.

  The creature started towards her, its long neck straining in her direction. Mimi raised the rope and spun it around her head. As the creature prepared to spout flame, Mimi hurled her makeshift lasso around its neck and pulled. The head of the metal monster was yanked sideways and the flames sprayed wide of Mimi to fall
harmlessly across the lawn.

  Mimi let go of the rope and ran. The beast took off after her, its metal talons sending clods of earth flying. When the creature reached the end of the rope, secured to the statue, its head was jerked violently back. The cord was so strong and the force of the creature’s movement so great that the head of the mechanical bird was severed neatly by the tightening noose. The head went spinning through the air to land with a sizzling splash in the fountain pool. The rest of the machine fell flat on the grass, carving a furrow in the soil, liquid fire dribbling out into a pool at the top of its neck.

  Mimi leapt onto the mechanical carcass and crowed, “Don’t mess with Mimi Catastrophe Jones!”

  A ragged cheer went up from the beleaguered Guards. Everywhere, the defenders reached for their ropes and hoped to imitate her achievement. Mimi looked up and pointed.

  “Look!”

  The Orphan Queen approached from above. The cargo doors hung open and Noor stood in the hold.

  Inside the bridge, Parveen manned the wheel. A raccoon stood at the trimsman’s post, manipulating the levers with its tiny paws. “We have to go lower,” Parveen shouted.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Aye. You’re supposed to say ‘aye.’”

  “What’s wrong with your eye?”

  “Nothing … On a ship you don’t yes you say—” Parveen realized he was explaining ship’s etiquette63 to a mechanical raccoon and shook his head. “Never mind. Just take us lower.” He clicked on the speaking tube attached to the wheel and shouted into it. “Noor! Get ready to drop the payload.”

  “Understood,” came the tinny reply.

  Below, the Firebirds were all gathering to greet the airship. They raised their snouts in unison and sprayed gouts of fire up at it, but the vessel stayed just out of reach.

  “That’s as low as we get, Noor!” Parveen shouted down the tube.

  “Okay!” Noor shouted back. “Bombs away.”

  Noor tipped a sack of orange and white spheres out of the cargo door. The objects dropped down among the gathered bird machines, clattering like hail against their metal skins. Some of the spheres shattered, but most landed on the soft earth in the midst of the Firebirds.

  In seconds they turned into a swarming mass of hamsters, pink ears flickering, pink noses quivering. The furry creatures skittered up the towering legs of the Firebirds and along their squat bodies, traversing the long necks and finally reaching the blunt heads. Several simulated rodents latched onto the skulls of each creature. Once they were all in position, they detonated.

  The scene was awe-inspiring. The birds, invincible only moments before, were reduced to flailing helplessness. They spun and danced, jittered and strained, smashing into one another as they collapsed into bizarre convulsions. Fire spewed from their snouts in uncontrolled bursts, showering everything in their path with flame. Fortunately, the Guards had pulled back out of reach.

  In less than a minute the Firebirds lay on the scorched lawn in a heap of wreckage. Here and there a metal limb jerked involuntarily, but there was no doubt that the birds were out of the fight.

  The Guards cheered loudly, waving to Noor in the airship. Mr. Kipling raised his hand and gave the thumbs-up. Parveen, in the bridge, saw the gesture and returned it.

  The King called, “Everyone! To the foot of the stairs!”

  The Guards took advantage of the momentary lull to regroup around their King. When they had gathered at the bottom step, King Liam, coughing from the smoke from the many fires raging around them, addressed his troops.

  “Everyone accounted for?” The Guards nodded. “Well done, Mimi. You’re an inspiration.” Mimi blushed as Guards slapped her on the back. Even Cara nodded. The King continued. “Parveen and Noor have given us a moment’s reprieve. We must take advantage of it. I want half of you to go up the stairs and help Mrs. Francis now. The rest stay here. We hold the stairs as long as we can. I am going up. I have to prepare for the departure. The rest of you, good luck. Aidan is in charge. Be brave. I’m proud of all of you. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Stay only until the children are free. We’ll be sealing the next cavern as soon as you are through. Let’s go.”

  He turned and hobbled up the stairs. Aidan took control. “Platoons one through eight go with the King. The rest stay here.”

  Cara stepped forward. “I’m staying.”

  “No you aren’t. You’re in charge of those platoons. You go.”

  “I can’t leave you behind now.” Cara looked close to tears, her usual haughty scowl dissolving under some softer sentiment. “I can’t be alone.”

  Aidan hugged her. “You won’t be. I’ll be up in a moment. You’ll see. I need you to lead. Understand?”

  Cara looked into his brown eyes and nodded at last. Blinking away tears, she turned and led the Guards up the stairs.

  Mimi watched her go and called, “I’ll keep an eye on ’im!”

  Smoke was still curling from the twisted hole in the plating that led below to Heinrich’s Cavern, but so far the bird creatures were the only things that had come through. Aidan and the rest of his Guards checked their equipment and prepared to hold the line. “Okay, people,” he said grimly. “They’re gonna send their worst. We have to do our best.” They ranged themselves around the hole and braced for the onslaught.

  What came out of the hole was the last thing they could have expected.

  THE GREY AGENTS stood on the stairs below, in neat rows, their jetpacks idling, waiting for the next phase in the attack. Mr. Candy and Mr. Sweet huddled over a small television monitor at the head of the line. They watched in growing disbelief as the Firebirds were defeated, first by the girl from Windcity and then by the strange little hamsters dropping from the airship. Mr. Candy tossed the monitor aside to fall hundreds of metres and crash on the rock platform below.

  “Mr. Sweet, it would seem that the first wave has been repulsed.”

  “Indeed, Mr. Candy. What’s next?”

  Mr. Candy looked over the edge of the stairs and saw the CCTVs labouring up the stone steps to join the assault.

  “Shall we release the next wave?”

  “Yes, Mr. Candy. Let’s.”

  Mr. Candy pressed a long finger to his temple and said in a clear voice, “Open CCTV cargo doors.”

  Immediately, all the cargo bins on the back of the lumbering vehicles opened. Out of the bins came a swarm of colour that massed into a gigantic cloud in the middle of the cavern. Once all the tiny objects were congregated they moved in concert towards the opening, flocking past the watching agents with a sound like a hundred electric fans and sweeping up through the hole into the cavern above.

  THE GUARDS HEARD the swarm coming, a hum that grew steadily louder. Out of the hole came a throng of fluttering … butterflies. The tiny creatures were of myriad hues, delicate and beautiful. The Guards watched as the butterflies wafted up into the air and formed a sort of cloud of hovering colour.

  “I don’t get it,” Mimi breathed. “Butterflies? What’s the idea?”

  The swarm emerging from the hole petered out, and finally all the butterflies were massing together in the air metres over their heads. As the Guards watched, one of them delicately fluttered down. The creature flitted above them as if deciding where to alight. The little butterfly was so beautiful, tinted in the most delicate shades of blue and green, that one Guard, a girl with straw-coloured hair, held out her bare hand.

  “No,” Aidan said sharply. Too late. The little butterfly landed on her palm. Instantly there was a flash of blue light and the girl went rigid. She slumped to the ground, unconscious.

  “Hoods on! Gloves on!” It was all Aidan had time to say before the swarm descended.

  Chapter 23

  Noor joined Parveen in the bridge. They hovered close to the stairs, watching the progress of the refugees. Children scrambled up the stone steps with the help of the George raccoons and the Guards.

  “We seem to have bought them some time,” Noor said. She pinched Pa
rveen’s cheek. “Well done, little brother.”

  Parveen squirmed away from her hand. “Please. No pinching.”

  “We make a good team, Parv. I’m so glad we found each other.”

  Parveen nodded. “Indeed. But the name is Parveen. You’ve been listening to Mimi too much.” He turned his gaze to the stairs below. Mrs. Francis hustled children along. “We can’t win this fight.”

  “I agree,” Noor said, her quick nod sending her ponytail bouncing. “The escape pods are on the upper levels. We have to get everyone up there and away before the Grey Agents overwhelm them.”

  “Escape pods?”

  “They’re capsules that can be launched down tubes hollowed out of the mountainside. They lead to an underground river. We can all float to safety, but we have to stall the ODA long enough to get all the kids away.” Noor’s attention was drawn to the swarm of colour down at the base of the stairs. “What is that?”

  A couple of hundred children were still on the stairs as the butterflies entered the cavern. Some of them stopped to look at the new arrivals in wonder.

  “Am I seeing things?” Parveen said. “Are those butterflies?”

  “It would seem so,” Noor answered. She picked up Mr. Kipling’s binoculars from the map table and took a closer look. She saw the butterfly light in the Guard girl’s hand and the girl fall stricken. “Oh, no. Those aren’t real butterflies. They’re a trick.”

  Parveen took the binoculars from her and looked. He watched in horror as the butterflies descended en masse on the Guards around the breach. Some Guards were able to cover their exposed skin, but he saw many fall motionless to the ground.

  “We’ve got to help them,” Parveen cried. “But how?”

  MIMI WAS ONE of the lucky ones, pulling her hood down over her face and adjusting her goggles. She already had her gloves on and so was immune to the butterfly effect. The light before her eyes was suddenly blotted out by a flurry of tiny flapping wings. She flapped her hands around her face, but it was no use. She staggered blindly, heading in one direction and hoping it wasn’t taking her straight into the hole. Several panicked steps took her out of the attacking swarm at last. She burst into the light and ran straight into a statue, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She gasped through her breathing mask and looked around.