“Come in, please.” Snaggletooth gestured for her, whispering. “He won’t be able to hear us inside here.”

Kid couldn’t imagine anyone being able to hear with all the machines running above, but she stepped inside quietly. The doors shut. She glanced at the panel of buttons. There were too many of them to count.

“Where’s my class?” Kid asked him. What about Tristan? Admittedly she had a little—just a little!—crush on him. And her best friend, who insisted on going by her last name, Bowker, had she been captured too? Not to mention her neighbors, acquaintances, and the teacher herself, and the bus driver, who had always been so kind. “Did you betray them?”

“No,” he pleaded. “I would never. I have to play along, or he’ll kill me. Decades of camaraderie went down the drain for this.”

“How can I know?”

“Because I can help you. I saved you from the tunnel. You were stuck against the grate…” He sounded terrified, and shook his head. “If I were against you, I would have given you to Sangre. As for your friends—he captured them. I have to tell you what’s been going on. It’s a bit of a story. I should have opened up to you earlier, but how was I to know that you’d get so involved?”

“Tell me,” she said, still whispering.

He pulled out his pipe and a lighter. “Well—”

In the oily elevator, the flame alarmed her. “Fire hazard?”

“No. It will all make sense when I’m done, but don’t worry for now.” He began smoking. “So, the abattoir. It used to provide so much money for Axeblade. The town could barely handle the boom. But when the mines ran out of fungus to harvest, the whole operation shut down.

“Bats—lard—fungus—all are inextricably connected. They feed the bats the fungus, and they produced processed lard. You remember that red stuff you drank? That’s one of a few last supplies, and I meant to keep it safe.”

“Sorry I stole some,” she said, rubbing a hand on her elbow.

“Don’t worry about it,” he winked. “You’ll be having plenty more before this endeavor is over. Regardless, the lard is so powerful that it can give great strength to whoever drinks it.”

“Did… Sangre drink too much?”

“Yes. He sold most of what he had in tiny portions as a kerosene alternative. And he fed tiny bits of the fungus to the bats—just enough to make them produce a medicine, not enough to give anyone superpowers. He turned a tremendous profit, which he squandered at a casino in Reno, amongst other things. Then they ran out of fungus, and the operation shut down. He himself gained powers, but which ones, I don’t know.” He blew a ring of smoke and his mustache quivered. “But he found more of the fungus recently. Old geezer’s been digging for forty years!”

“What does this have to do with my class?” Kid asked, squinting up at the tall man.

His voice caught in his throat. “It’s not just bats. Anything—anyone—who’s fed the fungus produces the processed lard. Anyway, why waste it on mere bats, when humans are more efficient? He’s going to fatten your class for the slaughter.”

Kid stood in shock for a moment. “Why?”

“For money, of course. To return Axeblade to the jewel that it was, as he likes to say.” He puffed thoughtfully for a moment. “What’s more, humans are supposed to produce extra refined lard. Super-sluice jelly-juice, as he calls it. This will be his first batch. There’s someone, a very wealthy client, that wants the lard so he can be immortal. Sangre himself won’t use it, not yet, but eventually he will succumb to his own madness and eat more. When that happens, it’s over. What’s that look on your face?”

Kid sniffed and held back bile. “I went to the chicken farm once. I saw what happens.” To this day, she still couldn’t eat chicken. To imagine that happening to her friends, to Bowker especially, turned her stomach.

Snaggletooth stopped smoking and patted her on the head. “Then you know what you must do.”

“Me?”

“Yes. The adventure of a lifetime. Save everyone, kill Sangre, and burn this place to the ground. I’ll be helping, of course.”

“Why me?”

“Sangre already knows my displeasure. And a frail old man is no match for him.” He shrugged. “I’m just too afraid of the risks, as well. I can’t gain enough power to bring him down, not without going mad, and I can’t fit through the vents and crannies here to sneak about. Believe me, I don’t risk your life lightly. But I see a spark in you, Kid.”

“It’s Elisa.”

He nodded. “I’m William.”

“I prefer Snaggletooth.”

“And I prefer Kid.”

In the silence, a bond continued to form between the two. Then Snaggletooth, after a long drag on his pipe, shook it out and put it away. Little embers flickered down.

Kid flinched, expecting the room to burst into flames. “Careful.”

He chuckled. “Can’t go burning the place to the ground just yet. Besides, we need something to do that. The Catalyzer 9001. Only it can get hot enough to destroy the whole place. Small fires? The robots put them out. You’ll know it when you see it, or so I’ve heard. But before that, we ought to get everyone to safety.”

“How?”

“I know where the key is, but I can’t reach it. There’s a spare hidden in Sangre’s room. It’s on a much lower floor, B 48, I believe. You can only reach it by going through a vent. The face scanner that unlocks the room wouldn’t let you in.”

“How am I supposed to get a whole class out of there without anyone finding out?” Her mouth went dry.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He shrugged. “I have no idea. The children can fit through the vents and tunnels, but the teacher and bus driver… I don’t know.” He pulled his pipe back out and chewed on the mouthpiece, worried. “Is it better to sacrifice a couple to save the class? It can’t be, and I’m sure you’d agree. There has to be another way…”

“I’ll figure it out. I have to.”

“You’re smart, Kid. I believe you will.”

She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Well… if I don’t, and I don’t make it out of here alive…”

He frowned. “You will. I know you will. Believe in yourself.”

“Okay.” She turned to leave the elevator.

“Wait. Take this.”

He handed her a tarnished silver penny. “You might need this. Keep it somewhere safe. When you gather everyone, lead them to an elevator. The elevator signs are green, not red. The red exits lead to stairs.”

She put it in her pocket. “Thank you.”

“Godspeed.”

***

Kid devised a plan as she went through the vents to find her class. She wanted to talk to them first, give them hope, and make sure everyone was still alive.

She couldn’t leave Ms. Renaldo and the bus driver, Tom. But she couldn’t leave her whole class because of the adults. There had to be a better way!

Maybe the kids would have an idea, if she could talk to them. They might know a way out.

But why would they? Was she lying to herself again? They were frightened, no doubt, and how could they remember every turn to get back to the elevator? Since the exit signs were flickering, how many of them had gone out? Argh! And those green elevator signs that Snaggletooth mentioned? She hadn’t seen any but one.

Irritated by her thoughts, Kid picked up the pace on her crawl through the vent. The sounds of whispering drew close. She heard Tristan talking to someone and her heart fluttered.

The vent ended at the cell, but this one was blocked by a firmly attached grille. Peering through the gaps, she didn’t see Sangre through the group of children. She couldn’t hear his gurgling breath either, so it was safe.

“Psst,” she whispered. One of her classmates jumped. “Hey. It’s me, Elisa.” She cringed saying her own name. “Is everyone okay?”

“Elisa’s here!” he cried to everyone.

“Ssh! I don’t want Sangre to know.” She waited as the class huddled around the vent. “Act normal, please. Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah. We’re all still alive.”

“What about Miss Renaldo?”

“She’s sleeping in the corner. The bus driver is in the other corner.”

“And Bowker?”

Bowker drew close enough so Kid could see her dark face and curls. “It’s me.”

“I’m going to blow up this popsicle stand,” Kid whispered to her. “I’ll get us all out of here first. Don’t talk about it, okay?”

“Okay.” Bowker reached a finger through the grate and they made a pinky promise.

“Good. I just have to find the key…”

“Couldn’t you call the police? Your mom gave you a phone for your birthday last week, right? Ours were stolen.”

“I dropped it.” Her gaze turned downward. “Besides, there wasn’t any service before then.”

“Elisa.” In Bowker’s tone, the name was almost bearable. “I mean this in the nicest way. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“I won’t,” she grinned, though her stomach dropped. Her predictions almost never were wrong. “Listen, there’s some… fungus. I don’t know how to explain this, but…” She did her best job to describe the situation. “If he brings it, don’t eat it. It’s for your own good.”

“He’s gonna fatten us up with mushrooms? Don’t you know how few calories are in those things? Are you okay?”

“I know it sounds absurd. Just trust me. Bowker,” she looked into her friends eyes, and then glanced at Tristan. “Keep everyone calm. It’s your specialty. And warn them about the mushrooms, but don’t let Sangre know I’ve been here.”

“I promise.”

“Good. I have to go now.”

Unable to break her heart by saying goodbye, Kid left without another word.

The trek through the vents was uneventful. Once she got out, she took the elevator to floor B 48. The further down the abattoir went, the bigger the space became. She imagined the space to be shaped like a traffic cone, with the very top being narrower and smaller. How in the world could she ever find Sangre’s room?

Not to mention the dirt! If the oil had been too much before, the dirt clung everywhere. It was like the unrefined lard drew it in and glued it all together. She peeled off her jacket, as it was getting hotter, and hid it in the vent she had left behind. Down further, the air was humid, and everything had rusted. It wasn’t hard to pick apart the vents or find a place to enter and exit where it had fallen apart completely.

It concerned her that the vents were in such a state of disrepair. What if she cut herself on the rusted edge or it fell apart ten feet above the floor? Her hearing was a major boon here. She could tell by putting weight on it if she should go back, because the vent would creak.

The bats were another issue. They roosted in every little nook and cranny, and their nasty corpses, not to mention the guano, littered the inside of vents.

A few hours later of crawling, backtracking, and exploring, she found Sangre’s room. Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to discover. The man himself was in there, making a heck of a lot of noise. He huffed, puffed, clanged, and raised an almost supernatural racket. Then, it got quiet. He left the room, shut the door, and walked down to the elevator while Kid hid behind a pillar.

Now, to find the vent that led there… that wasn’t hard either. She crawled inside and slid down. Luckily, the grate on the end wasn’t attached either. The blessing of her lucky penny still worked, even though it was long gone!

The man’s room was utterly filthy. Bats hung above the bed, and burst into a flurry of chirps when she neared. A bucket in the corner caught dripping water from the ceiling, and overflowed towards a weightlifting set. Dirty newspaper and a yellow milk jug sat in the corner and smelled horrific. She plugged her nose and looked for the key.

It was on his desk, next to a metal dog cage. She grabbed it and left the room as quick as she had entered. But crawling up the vent was trickier than crawling down. As much as she hated to do it, there was no better way than to risk the rust and put her hands in the holes on the side of the vent. She used her handkerchief to protect one hand, but the other got cut.

When she reached the top, she checked her hand. It’d probably get infected, if she couldn’t find a way to wash it off. But her classmates came first, and she could handle that later.

She returned to the room, careful not to make noise, even though Sangre must have been on a different floor. There was no telling how powerful his super-hearing was. So, better safe than sorry.

With a shaking hand, she unlocked the door. “Wake up,” she whispered as everyone cringed at the sound of the door. “It’s just me.”

When the metal door swung open, her classmates gave a cry of relief.

“Quiet. Let’s get out of here.” She scanned the crowd. Everyone was accounted for, except Lin, who was missing. “Where’s Lin?”

“She was taken. You were gone for hours,” Bowker explained. “He came back with the mushrooms and when we refused to eat them, he took her away.”

Her eyes squeezed shut. In a way, it seemed like Kid’s fault. “I’m sorry.”

“We need to save the rest of us,” another person said. “Maybe we’ll run into her on the way.”

“Yeah,” Bowker said, reassuring. “Don’t worry. Once we get out, we can call the police. We can’t be too far of a walk from the gas station.”

Kid balled her fists and felt the cuts on her palm sting. “Then let’s go.”

We’ll find her again. She shook her head as they began to walk. No! She was lying to herself. Is that all that hope was—a lie? It couldn’t be! They would find her. But she couldn’t sacrifice the class to go looking for Lin, not now.

Even though Lin was a bully, she still deserved to live. To see her thrown to the machinery would be a tragedy. Perhaps this little experience would change her ways, if she could be saved.

They walked down, down, down the walkway. It seemed to go on forever, and snake off in all directions. It was dark, and Kid kept them quiet. The adults seemed too shocked to make a sound. A little green elevator sign flashed and they followed it. Next to it was a red EXIT sign for the stairs. When they reached the elevator, Tristan ran forward and pressed on the button.

Nothing happened.

Above them, hundreds of lights came on with a loud click!

Kid looked around and saw a walkway above them, and heard the stomping of steel-toed boots. Sangre was up there, holding his controller. And by his side stood Lin.