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

  The plasma turns into silver and black lines.

  Chapter 6

  Sunday

  Colfax

  10:01 am. morning.

  map room. rain. 100% participation. 4 mph winds. no sun. red clouds. black sky. 66°F

  The rain pours from the sky over the manicured lawn, the metal rooftops, and down along the city streets.

  Rincon holds the umbrella, running across the bridge, first, in the rainstorm. He dashes into the room, when the yellow lightning bolts strike over the ugly black sky.

  Duchie holds the umbrella over her hair roots, slowly walking across the bridge then inside the map room.

  They sit inside their individual desks, yawning with sleepiness.

  Nephella enters, flinging the wet droplets from the umbrella and her body, too. She sits inside her chair.

  The mayor looks terrible with black bags under her eye sockets. She stands in the middle of the room. Her golden suit is wet. Her hair is dripping with water, too. And, her facial piercings crinkle into her wrinkles. “Report!”

  Rincon stands, wiggling his arms, flinging off the water. He says and smiles. “I examined the barrier wall along the Colfax boundary in the rainstorm. All the me-chee machines are missing, again. They’ve been completed melted and burned into the wall opening, like my buddy Hatch had described. He is innocent of any wrong doings.” He nods, sitting inside the chair.

  Duchie sits on top of the desk, wiggling her feet, smiling and nodding. She had accompanied Rincon into Montag.

  The mayor sneers.

  Nephella wiggles side to side, flinging water from her body. She smiles and nods. “I looked at the Montag wall. All the machines are missing, too, melting into the barrier wall, too.”

  The mayor sneers.

  Marsilla smiles. “I studied the wall in Dookie Town…”

  “Stop it, Marsilla!” Rincon growls inside the chair.

  Marsilla grins. “Ms. Mayor, I found something interesting…”

  Rincon frowns. “Sit down, Marsilla! There is nothing to find. The wall ate all the me-chees. Then, the me-chees all melted between the collapsed solid edges of the ions composed of the same natural earth minerals. The end.”

  The mayor exhales, shaking her wet hair roots.

  Marsilla fingers the electronic map. “See, I took numerous colored photographs with my new cell. There is a me-chee graveyard of parts and pieces of metal body parts scattered along the manicured grass.”

  Rincon frowns. “So’s!?”

  Marsilla swings to Rincon, sneering then smirking. “So’s, where are your numerous colored photographs of the me-chee graveyard, along the Montag barrier wall, Rincon?”

  Rincon drops his mouth then views the floor. He views the mayor. “There wasn’t a graveyard of me-chee body parts along the Montag wall.”

  The mayor gasps. “Where are your numerous colored photographs, daughter?”

  Nephella views the desk surface then her mama. “I didn’t find a graveyard of me-chee body parts, either, along the Colfax barrier wall.”

  The mayor frowns. “Why not, daughter?”

  Rincon views Duchie, nodding and smiling. He views the mayor. “Marsilla photographed the garage bins.” He laughs with Nephella and Duchie.

  Marsilla sneers then flashes the photographs over the electronic map along the four walls.

  The pictures show various dull silver metal parts, scattered along the manicured grass in the rain, consisting of severed hands, fingers, feet, elbows, legs, kneecaps, torsos.

  Marsilla fingers the pictures, saying. “Here! This is the me-chee graveyard of body parts, located along the barrier wall of Dandine. We, including all of us, have never seen this before, today. Why is that, Rincon?”

  Rincon narrows his eyelids, studying the wall of photographs. He nods, snapping his fingers. “I know, I have an explanation. The previous wall of machines numbered less than twenty, allowing for numerous feet of free space between each me-chee. Therefore, each me-chee didn’t touch each other, only the barrier wall. And, we’ve already theorized, when a me-chee touches something, it could accidentally slam and then be eaten into the wall. So, there were shoulder to shoulder me-chees, making for the very first ever me-chee graveyard. And, I hope that I don’t have to clean it up,” he chuckles with Nephella and Duchie.

  The mayor sneers. “All the walls were shoulder to shoulder with numerous me-chees in Montag, Colfax, and Dandine.”

  Nephella eye rolls then exhales. “It is so obvious, Mama. Inside Montag, the me-chees lined their metal boots on top of the garbage piles. Therefore, the garbage me-chess had collected the body parts, thus no me-chee graveyard. Here, in Colfax, the me-chees are always cleaning and collecting scattered trashy litter and stinky garbage along the streets and the walls from the lazy Colfaxians. The garbage me-chees got them, too. The end!” She grins and nods, viewing Rincon.

  The mayor exhales, nodding. “An excellent solution, daughter!”

  Marsilla fingers the wall. “Here, inside Dookie Town, I have found something. The scattered me-chee body parts are almost exactly five feet apart, not more and not less. Interesting!”

  The mayor nods, frowning at the photographs. “How interesting?”

  Marsilla fingers the walls of photographs. “And, I have found, not one single head unit is present. Or, one single head unit did not drop from one of the numerous machines. Out of seventy me-chees lining the wall, not one single head unit fall off. Interesting!”

  The mayor nods, frowning at the photographs. “How interesting?”

  Marsilla fingers the electronic map. “And, I have…”

  Rincon growls. “There is nothing else interesting, here, Marsilla.”

  Marsilla grins at the mayor. “And, the garbage me-chees have performed their duties for the morning, collecting all the garbage inside Dookie Town, but not the me-chee body parts from the manicured lawn. Why is that, Rincon?”

  The mayor growls. “Why is that, Rincon?”

  Rincon opens his mouth then closes it.

  Marsilla sways side to side, smiling. “I know, I have an explanation. All the me-chees inside the outer township of Montag fell through the garbage hills and all the me-chees inside Colfax were cleaned from the walls. However, inside Dandine, the me-chee machines were attacked, sabotaged, and violated in defiance of the mayor of Colfax…”

  Rincon stands. “Naw.”

  Nephella stands, fingering Marsilla. “No.”

  Duchie slides off the desk table, shaking her bun. “You’re loco crazy, Marsilla.”

  “I’m correct. And, I can prove it.” Marsilla sways side to side, grinning.

  Rincon sours. “Prove it, Marsilla?”

  Marsilla sways side to side, smiling and nodding. “Jara is carrying a baby, her first child. She wanted to tell her mama, in person. She wanted to show her mama, in person. She’s smart, too. She knows that the me-chee minerals are part of the e-field. So, she and Hatch, somehow and someway, figured out how to tap…or bang the me-chee against the e-field. Then, the hole was created. And, then the hole allowed them to escape. And, then one smart teen shares that brilliant idea with another mischievous teen then another and another, making progress…”

  “The teens make a revolution.” The mayor sneers. “This is a dangerous concept for all the smart teens to possess. The teens can open the e-fields with this new knowledge. They can take over the outer townships with this new knowledge. They can take over Colfax with this new knowledge.” She views the floor, snarling. “I can’t stop the smart teens. I can’t stop their smart neurons…”

  Rincon frowns at Duchie. She smiles and giggles, twirling fingers around her temple, indicating the mayor is crazy. He nods, softly chuckling.

  Nephella frowns with puzzlement. “Mama, you can’t stop the growth of teens, or youth, or children, or new ideas coming from others.”

  The mayor fingers her daughter. “Yes. I can’t. Yes. You’re right, daughter. Yes. I must…”

  Nephella frown
s with confusion. “Mama, you must. What must you do?”

  The mayor swings, moving towards the closed door. “Intern Duchie and Marsilla, come with me…”

  Marsilla frowns at Duchie. “I can go with you, Ms. Mayor. Duchie can stay here.”

  “She must come, also. Dandine is her home township.” The mayor grabs the umbrella, exiting into the rain. “Daughter, you and Rincon stay here, until I call for your assistance…”

  Duchie hugs Rincon then frowns. She spins around, grabbing an umbrella, too. She disappears into the rain.

  Nephella shouts. “What must you do, Mama?”

  Dandine

  10:15 am

  cesspool. rain 100% participation. 4 mph winds. no sun. red clouds. black sky. 65°F

  The wall opening expands, both vertically and horizontally, admitting two rows of me-chees. The me-chees march in a straight line then split right and left. The me-chees form a solid line along the barrier wall. They continue to roll from posh Colfax into sweet Dandine, covering the length of the solid barrier wall in the rain.

  Then, the travel car rolls through the e-field, parking over the wet grass.

  The mayor doesn’t slide from the car. She sits inside, ordering into her cell. “Me-chee captain, built me a wooden platform with an umbrella roof about fifteen feet high from the wet ground with sitting chairs. I do not want to get wet, either. Use whatever materials are available around the complex, including any houses.”

  Duchie wiggles side to side, slamming her hand into the closed door. The door of the travel car is always closed, traveling through the e-field. And, a travel car contains no windows, protection from the bombardment of electrons inside the e-field. The me-chee chauffeur drives using sonar equipment built into its metal head frame. Duchie yells. “What are you doing, mayor? Open the door, now!”

  “No. I will get wet. No. You are staying here. No. I am in charge.” the mayor sneers, watching the action of the me-chees through her cell.

  Duchie sneers, viewing the closed door then the mayor. She exhales. Her cell is wrapped around her hair bun, since the mayor objects to the electronics inside her eyesight, except for Marsilla’s.

  The me-chees spread and scout around the soil in the rain. They advance to the tall nature trees and the row of man-made pink colored houses. The group of robots stabs then saws at the tree bark and the house wooden planks, ripping the elements apart from the objects. They construct a high platform, quickly.

  The mayor smiles, watching the construction. She winks at Duchie. “It is all done, now!”

  Duchie gasps. “What’s all done, now? Your platform? Where did the materials come from? Why do you need a platform? What’s happening here, mayor?”

  The mayor smiles, rapping on the door. “Me-chee, hold an umbrella over me then open the door. I…we are all getting out. Get underneath the umbrella, girls, I don’t you missing the action….”

  Duchie gasps. “What action?”

  Marsilla giggles. “I look forward to some action rather than some dull moments, here.”

  The mayor, Duchie, and Marsilla slide out the travel car and under the large three umbrellas.

  The me-chees walk backwards, leading the mayor towards the new platform.

  The platform is roughly and ugly composed of both the pink wooden planks and natural tree limbs with a set of wide steps for the stomping shoes.

  The rain pours from the sky over the manicured lawn, the white rooftops, and into the dark cesspools. The sky rain helps the dookie process through the underground pipes, feeding both the trees and shrubs.

  The me-chees walk backwards up the wooden steps then stands along the opposite sides of platform, like a tower of guards.

  The mayor, Duchie, and Marsilla walk over the new level wooden floor of the fifteen foot platform. The mayor sits in the middle chair. She pats the chair next to her. “Duchie, sit on my right. Marsilla, please, sit on my left. Me-chee, please, open your microphone.”

  The Dandine workers halt their individual jobs, gathering around the platform in the rain, viewing the mayor.

  Duchie gasps, viewing the cut down natural trees. The healthy green leaves drown in the rain storm. The healthy brown bark grows dark from the wet droplets. Then, she sees the last house, belonging to Hatch and Jara. The house has been cut and sawed on the outside, removing the pretty pink planks, exposing the steel frames. She realizes the platform was built from both the natural trees and the house wooden planks.

  The mayor clears her throat, placing her hands inside her lap. Her legs are crossed. She smiles, saying into the microphone. Her voice echoes from the platform into the eardrums of the workers. “I am the mayor of Colfax and your mayor of Dandine. I am both pleased and displeased. I had supplied a line of me-chees, since Monday…”

  Marsilla smiles. “Tuesday.”

  The mayor smiles and sits. “Since, Tuesday evening, the line up of me-chees have been guarding the barrier wall for your protection of any type of invaders…”

  One of the Dandine workers shouts. “What invaders?”

  “Go away, mayor of Colfax!” Another worker shouts.

  “Who cares?” A third worker yells.

  A fourth worker yells. “Leave our township, mayor of Colfax…”

  The mayor says. “However, one of your kind or kin has infiltrated the wall and has harmed my me-chees…”

  One of the Dandine workers shouts. “One of your kind or kin, woman?”

  “Who cares?” Another worker shouts.

  “Who’s she talking about?” A third worker shouts.

  A fourth worker says. “The young couple on the plasma, yesterday. She wanted to see her mama in Colfax, being pregnant with her first child….”

  A fifth worker yells. “Leave our township, mayor of Colfax…”

  The mayor smiles, ordering into her microphone. Her hands lay inside her lap. Her legs are crossed and her facial piercings crinkle into her wrinkles. “Therefore, I am forced to punish my children, here, in Dandine, like a mother punishes a child for misbehaving.”

  “Who cares?” The Dandine worker shouts.

  “Go away, mayor of Colfax!” Another worker shouts.

  “Who cares?” A third worker yells.

  A fourth worker yells. “Leave our township, mayor of Colfax…”

  The mayor says. “Me-chee, provide an opening through the barrier wall between Dandine and Tonkey.”

  Duchie gasps. “You can’t do that.”

  Marsilla gasps, watching the me-chees march towards the barrier wall on the opposite side of the manicured grass. The opposite wall is the entrance into the outer township of Tonkey. She whispers with fear. “Tonkey is filled with radiation pits. The radiation will attack...me.”

  The mayor grins, watching the me-chees work. “The e-field consumes any bits of radiation outpour, engulfing around the e-field. No one will be harmed. The me-chees march in a pair, holding a horizontal cylinder of rusty colored lead. Lead is one component of the e-field. The lead cylinders will not be harmed.”

  The me-chee pair halts in front of the glowing yellow barrier wall. Together, they raise each cylinder over their metal naked skulls and then violently stab the wall with each cylinder. The two me-chees explode into bright yellow colors then disappear into fiery red flames and then gray ashes.

  The crowd gasps along with Duchie and Marsilla.

  The mayor smiles, clapping. “I knew the me-chees would do that, too.”

  The two lead cylinders stick into the barrier wall then suddenly crack open, displaying a horizontal opening. Then, the opening collapses into a vertical shape, displaying a perfect rectangular.

  The workers gasp then back step from the platform and the barrier wall opening.

  Chapter 7

  10:31 am

  map room

  Nephella stands behind the console desk, pressing the knobs and buttons. She accesses the camera inside her mama’s cell. She gasps. “Rincon! Come here, now! Come here, quick!” She presses the button. />
  The fours wall illuminate in a pandemic new image of Dandine.

  The rain falls from the black sky. The rows of pink houses are in the background. The crowd of yellow colored uniforms huddles into loose small groups. Some wear their yellow helmets. Some do not wear their helmets. The groups of huddled workers are growing larger.

  The green grass is wet and glittering from the rain. The naked cut tree stumps pepper the pretty colorful flower garden. The glow of pink emits from a rectangular opening inside the barrier wall.

  Pink bubbles float through the opening and then flutter in the air, burning and sizzling from the fiery radiation pits of Tonkey.

  Nephella gasps, fingering the wall. “My mama has gone crazy. She’s opened the barrier wall into Tonkey. Do something, Rincon!”

  Rincon drops his mouth, whispering. “I’m thinking. I’m thinking, trying to do something...”

  10:35 am

  Dandine

  barrier wall opening

  The mayor smiles, ordering into her microphone. The voice microphone controls all the me-chees. No other person can control the me-chees, only by physical force. She says. “I will not have the development or creation of new ideas, within the outer township of Dandine. I will not allow the youth to develop or create new ideas, within the outer township of Dandine. So, the workers of Dandine are not longer needed, here. The me-chees will do all your work, here. Therefore, the outer township of Dandine is terminated, now. Thus, the Dandine workers will work with the other workers, inside the radiation pits of Tonkey. Me-chees, escort every single Dandine worker and their family unit towards the barrier wall opening, now. The Dandine family unit will enter the opening, moving to their new residence, now…”

  “You’re crazy. The wall’s radiated.” The worker shouts.

  “We’ll die.” Another worker yells.

  “Flee to your homes…,” the third worker screams.

  The mayor smiles, saying. “Me-chees, please, escort each worker into the pit.”

  The line of me-chees from the barrier wall both gather and block the crowd of yellow colored uniforms.