The Solid Hold (The IQ Testing Book 4) Read online

  The farmers gasp.

  Rincon sneers. “I agree. You are the thieves of merchandise. The disruptors of property. The stealers of metal. The destroyers of justice. You are criminals in the land of Colfax…”

  The farmers gasp along with Ketona.

  Marsilla yells, fingering Jara. “You are the thieves of merchandise. The disruptors of property. The stealers of metal. The destroyers of justice. You are convicted as criminals in the land of Colfax. You will be punished…”

  I gasp with the farmers.

  Buffo leans into Ketona, snarling. “It was a trick, not a treat. Rincon trapped both Hatch and Jara….”

  I whisper. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Believe it. Look it. They’re trapped, there, inside Colfax. And, we can’t rescue them, ever.” Buffo sneers.

  The mayor walks around the couple, staring and sneering at them. “Confess, now, here. You stole the cookies from the bakery in Montag? Tell me, how did you enter Montag?”

  Buffo leans into Ketona, sneering. “How does she know that information?

  Hatch laughs, struggling with the binders on his hands “We didn’t steal any cookies from the bakery in Montag.”

  The mayor walks around the couple, staring and sneering at them. “Confess, now, here. You walked through the barrier wall from Dandine into Colfax…”

  Buffo’s family members and the farmers gasp with surprise.

  The mayor sneers. “Then, you walked through the barrier wall from Colfax into Montag. Tell me, how did you walk through the barrier wall, without dying?”

  The farmers gasp.

  Hatch yells. “You can’t walk through an electromagnetic field, unless you are an electron.”

  The farmers laugh.

  I exhale. “She doesn’t know about the magnets. She’s trying to learn my secret…”

  The mayor sneers. “Tell me, how did you escape from Dandine?”

  Hatch exhales, saying. “No one can escape from any outer township surrounded by an e-field. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that…”

  The mayor snarls. “You are here, in Colfax, not there, in Dandine. How is this possible?”

  Hatch smiles. “We’re visiting our parents, who live here, in Colfax, not there, in Dandine.”

  The mayor sneers. “Tell me, how did you escape from Dandine?”

  He smiles. “We didn’t escape from Dandine.”

  She sneers. “Tell me, what happened to the me-chee machines surrounding the e-field?”

  Hatch frowns then grins. “They fell through the wall…”

  The farmers laugh.

  She frowns. “They fell through the wall?”

  Hatch nods, laughing. “They fell through the wall. The wall created a hole. The hole created an opening. The opening created a passageway from Dandine into Colfax. Then, we walked through the opening into the barrier wall.”

  The mayor sneers. “That’s impossible!”

  Hatch laughs. “That is possible! We did it. We are here, not there. Ta-da!”

  The farmers laugh.

  The mayor sneers.

  I grab Buffo by the arm, pulling him into the outdoors. “Hatch is fibbing for a reason. We walked from Burrville into Dandine. Hatch knows that, clearly…”

  Buffo snarls. “He’s protecting us. You used the magnets, creating a hole in the electromagnetic field. The hole enlarged, allowing us free passage from Burrville into Dandine.”

  I nod. “Yeah. I know that. You know that. Hatch knows that. But, the mayor doesn’t know that. She doesn’t know my little secret. So, why’s he protecting us? No. What’s he telling us? He’s telling us something. Hatch knows that we are watching and listening…”

  Buffo views the plasma. “Hatch isn’t telling us something. He’s making it up, keeping up his good spirits, because the mayor will…will do something…”

  I exhale, tossing my arms. “The mayor has no authority, here inside the outer townships or there in Colfax. She can’t do nothing. She is nothing but hot air. She can’t punish Hatch and Jara, only, send them back into Dandine.”

  Buffo views the dirt then Ketona. “For a smart girl, you’re really dense. She doesn’t want Hatch. She wants the knowledge of the magnets. She’s just too stupid to figure it out for herself, along with Marsilla and Rincon and Duchie…”

  “Rincon is not stupid or dumb. He said. He told me, before the opening closed, they didn’t have a choice…”

  “Rincon was fibbing to ya, Ketona.”

  I shake my curls. “I disagree. Rincon was being truthful. Hatch and Jara didn’t have a choice. They left the safe disclosure of the Dandine territory. They had escaped from their prison cell. So, they didn’t have a choice…”

  “Rincon conned ya, Ketona.” Buffo studies the plasma.

  The mayor yells at Hatch, snarling. “Tell me, how did you escape from Dandine?”

  Hatch smiles. “We didn’t escape from Dandine. We walked through the wall.”

  The mayor sneers. “Tell me, where are my me-chee machines?”

  Hatch grins. “They fell through the wall.”

  Rincon stands, fingering Hatch, grins. “I believe…the wall can be parted for a short moment in time. The me-chee is nothing but charged ions, part and particles of an e-field. Therefore, a me-chee can accidently or purposefully touch an e-field, then the e-field will absorb the me-chee mineral. Eat it, like a monster.” He chuckles with Nephella, viewing Marsilla.

  Marsilla stands, fingering Rincon. “I said that. Eat it, like a monster…”

  Rincon sits, nodding. “So, you did, intern Marsilla!”

  Duchie grins. “I agree with Marsilla. The me-chee was eaten, like a monster. Therefore, an opening had been created inside the barrier wall…”

  Nephella nods, cleaning her nails, wrinkling her facial piercings. “Mama, we are not a violent society. We are a peaceful one.”

  The mayor nods to Nephella. “You are correct, as usual, daughter.” She views and sneers at Hatch. “Tell me, where are my me-chee machines?”

  Hatch grins. “They fell through the wall.”

  I walk back into the archway of the barn, studying and staring at the plasma, whispering. “Why does Hatch keep repeating that particular phase? They fell through the wall.”

  Buffo whispers. “The me-chees fell through the wall.”

  I shake my curls, whispering. “No. That’s not correct. The me-chees didn’t fall through the wall. Hatch and I pulled them through the wall from the other side then stomped the kill switch. They all powered down…”

  Buffo drops his mouth. “What?”

  I exhale, shaking my curls. “The night before, Hatch and I sorta, kinda kidnapped the me-chees machine, running along the barrier wall. Ya know, like we did, when we first visited Montag. I created an opening, then we allowed the me-chee machines to fall inside. Then, we slapped their kill switch…”

  Buffo gasps. “How many me-chees in total?”

  I exhale. “All of them.”

  “You sorta, kinda kidnapped all the me-chee machines, surrounding the barrier walls around Dandine and Burrville.”

  I giggle. “Actually, Hatch and I sorta, kinda kidnapped all the me-chees, surrounding all the barrier walls of Dandine, Colfax, and Montag, inside the Burrville dirt. I don’t understand why the mayor hasn’t figured out that the missing me-chees are inside Burrville.”

  “They’re here!”

  I nod, saying. “Yeah, they’re machines. They’re here. They’re big and heavy machines. I can’t disassembly a me-chee, without some big powerful piece of equipment…”

  Buffo studies the plasma.

  The mayor sneers. “The me-chees fell through the wall…”

  Hatch nods and smiles. “They fell through the wall, creating a big hole…”

  Buffo frowns then says. “What else did Rincon say to you, Ketona?”

  I view the plasma. “He repeated, twice. They didn’t have a choice. But, they have a chance.” I shake my curls. “I do not unde
rstand the meaning, either.”

  Buffo grins. “I do.” He dashes to the squatting male teen, who watches the plasma, too. Then, Buffo whispers into his face.

  The teen nods, smiling.

  Buffo nods, slapping his arm.

  The male teen leans into the next female teen, whispering. She nods, smiling. She leans into the next female teen.

  Buffo dashes to Ketona, grabbing her hand.

  They race into the night towards the flier.

  Buffo stops at the first one as Ketona stands. He lifts then straps it onto his body. “No. Take the second one. We gotta find out if the mayor has replaced all the missing me-chees.”

  I exhale, tossing my arms. “Of course, she has. The mayor thinks she’s a general in charge of her metal troops. What are you doing, Buffo? Where are we going, Buffo?”

  Buffo yells. “Follow me!” he places the hat over his skull then lifts from the dirt.

  I dash to the second fliers, strapping it onto my body. I place the hat over my curls then lift into the air, too.

  10:45 pm

  barrier wall of Burrville and Colfax

  Buffo lands, first. He removes the flier, gently lying on the dirt. He walks to the barrier wall, kneeling and touching the object. The wall doesn’t burn his hands or feel heated.

  I land then remove the flier from my body. I jog to Buffo, kneeling the dirt. “What’s going on, here, Buffo? What are you looking for?’

  He says. “Gimme a magnet! I wanna see, if there are any me-chees along the boundary wall of Colfax.”

  I frown, shaking my curls. “The magnet creates a black circle, rotating along the wall. The mayor will see it then will issue an alert or something…”

  “Naw. She’s too busy entertaining Hatch. And, Hatch is entertaining the rest of Colfaxians and the outer townships. Everyone’s watching the plasma.” He chuckles, extending his palm.

  I jerk out the magnet then hand to Buffo.

  He stabs it into the wall then wiggles the magnet around and around, creating an eyelid sized opening. He leans into the hole, spying on the other side. He jerks the magnet from the hole.

  The ions collapse into a solid form, again.

  He stands, nodding. “The mayor did. She replaced all the missing me-chee machines with new ones. She doesn’t understand that we kidnapped all the me-chees. How did you destroy them?”

  I giggle. “Ya can destroy a me-chee, with 3,000 degrees of liquid heat and heavy equipment to rip apart their metal limbs…”

  “So, where are they hiding at?”

  I nod. “I just told ya, boy. Inside my farm house, upstairs, in one…two of the bedrooms…”

  He gasps. “They can be traced to you, me, my grandfather on our farm…”

  “Naw.” I shake my curls, giggling. “I deactivated the tracking flag and placed them under my evil command…”

  He nods. “Okay. That’s good. That’s great!”

  I frown with confusion. “What are you doing, Buffo?”

  He chuckles. “Exactly, like you, we’re going to kidnap all the me-chees around the barrier walls of Colfax, Montag, and Dandine, a second time...”

  I gasp. “Right now, this moment in time!? The mayor is…”

  “…busy. Hatch is entertaining her with his smartie answers. Rincon and Hatch have worked out a plan. A me-chee is a machine. The machine taps the wall then the electrons collide and then collapse, together. Then, the me-chee machine is part of the barrier wall, melting, like candle wax. The machine is made of lead, a component of the e-field, too. They fell through the , literally, open the walls then allow all the guarding me-chees to fall through the walls, again, like you and Hatch did the other night…”

  I drop my mouth. “Then, we have to power down each me-chee, manually, before it runs away from us then tattles on us. This will take hours, or days, or weeks, working, only, me and you. We need more help. There’re literally hundreds of me-chee machines, lining the ten miles of barrier walls inside the perimeter of Burrville…”

  “Help has arrived.” He smiles and nods, fingering the sky.

  I swing around, viewing the night sky. I narrow my eyelashes, seeing hundreds of fliers. I gasp. “Who are they?”

  He nods. “The other farm teens, here, in Burrville, my friends from my childhood.”

  The first flier lands along with the other flies.

  The teens remove their hat, nodding and smiling.

  Buffo grabs Ketona by the hand, walking to the first row of fliers. He nods. “Did ya’ll bring your secret weapon?”

  The first row of teens presents a handful of three black strips from the refrigerator magnetic strips.

  I giggle, nodding. “Good show!”

  One of the teens yells, flinging the magnet strips in the air, laughs. “My daddy’s going to be so mad that the refrigerator door doesn’t close, anymore…”

  “Buy a new one, Swellton!” Another teen yells, laughing.

  The teens laugh.

  I toss my arms. “Gather around! We can’t use the head gear repeating with our secret plan, in case of air wave spying. So, repeat my verbal instructions to your buddy then pass it around by mouth and tongue. Now, we work in teams of two. One teen stabs the three magnets into the wall. The second teen hits the kill switch on the me-chee. The kill switch…”

  “On a female, it’s the left breast. On the male, it’s the left…uh, huh. Ouch, boy!” One of the teens yells.

  The teens laugh.

  “The left of what?” Another male teen yells. The female teen giggles, whispering to the male. He chuckles. “The left of…”

  The other tall male teen punches on the short male teen, yelling. “Shut up, Reddy!”

  The teens laugh.

  I exhale. “Okay. Split into three groups. One group lines along the Dandine wall. A second group lines along the Colfax wall and a third group is along the Montag wall. Now, elect a leader. Leader, you stand in the middle of the field with a flashlight. Turn the flashlight on. When the flashlight is on, the first teen will stab the three refrigerator magnetic strips into a 90 degree angle…”

  One of the tall male teens yells. “What’s that?”

  “Don’t worry about it! Ya slap the me-chee dead,” the other tall female teen yells at her tall male teen friend, giggling.

  The tall male teen nods. “Okay. I can go do that.”

  The teens laugh.

  I giggle. “Okay. When the flashlight is powered on in a bright light, the first teen stabs the three refrigerator magnetic strips into a ninety degree angle, along the e-field. Then, the me-chee falls through the wall. The second teen slams the me-chee on the appropriate body part, activating the kill switch. Then, ya’ll be done with your assignment, helping to save Hatch and Jara from the mayor. Now, get going. Good luck!”

  The teens return to the filers then lift from the dirt.

  I watch the fliers cover the black sky with a shiny silver tinting and then view Buffo. “We have one more thing to do.”

  Buffo frowns at her. “One more thing?”

  I nod, walking to my flier. I lift it, strapping over my body. “The lead molecules inside the me-chee wouldn’t dissolve every single part of the machine. There could be tiny and big remnants of melted and burnt metal. Therefore, we need to create a me-chee graveyard, along the barrier walls of Colfax, Montag, and Dandine, appearing like about ninety nine percent of the metal melted into the e-field. I want some broken and burnt body parts from the me-chees scattered in different cold dirt spots. Then, the mayor will see and believe Hatch’s fairy tale. They fell through the walls…”

  Buffo frowns. “That didn’t happen in the first round.”

  I nod. “I know. But, there were a smaller number of me-chees that could have been hundred percent melted into a big hole, leaving no physical evidence. Rincon would figure that out, too. I’m certain. Go and get some soldering equipment. We need to create an eternal memorial cemetery for the poor dead me-chees,” I giggle. “I’m going to start re-progr
amming the machines to my personal voice command, before the rain starts.”

  Buffo nods, lifting from the dirt. He flies towards his farm house.

  I soar into the night sky, looking below.

  The first teen stab the wall, when a me-chees falls onto the dirt. Then, the second teen slaps the metal. The me-chee stills.

  I land, strapping off and then unloading the flier. I walk towards the first dead me-chee, exhaling. “This is going to take all night long…”

  Colfax

  11:51 pm

  nighttime.

  map room

  Hatch and Jara sit behind each other. Their hands are tied and bound.

  The mayor walks around the couple, staring at them, sneering. “They fell through the wall.”

  Hatch nods. “They fell through the wall.”

  Nephella eye rolls then says. “We know the question and the answer, Mama. They fell through the wall…”

  The mayor halts in front of Jara, sneering. “Yes. We know the question and the answer. The me-chee fell through the wall, creating a hole. The hole allowed a person or a couple to walk through the wall. Then, the machines were eaten up by the heated and sizzling electrons. So, why did the chicken cross the road? So, why did you escape from the Dandine? So, why did you cross into Colfax?”

  Jara sobs then pants then stares into the eyeballs of the mayor of Colfax. “I am pregnant with my first born baby. I went to see my mama,” she cries.

  The farmers gasp.

  The mayor along with the interns gasps.

  Marsilla screams, fingering the map room then her personal cell then the mayor. “Ms. Mayor, all the me-chee machines are missing from the interior wall of Colfax. They have melted into the barrier wall…”

  The mayor swings and gasps at Marsilla.

  Nephella stands, raising her arms. “As the mayor-in-training, here, tonight, I declare Hatch and Jara free of all criminal charges. Release them, now! Go home, Hatch and Jara. Have a great day!”

  Rincon and Duchie dash to them, ripping off the binders.