The Adventures of Kid Combat 3: Jones Strikes Back by Christopher Helwink Page B

well.
    Wedge’s hand raced up and down the side wall
as he entered the room, looking for a light switch. With a couple
of swipes – he finally found it.
    The single light bulb hanging in the middle
of the room by a metal chain sprung to life. It didn’t produce much
light, but it was enough for one to see what was going on.
    As the light came on, there was a rustle in
the room. Wedge turned his attention to the area where the noise
was. It almost sounded to him like someone quickly moving into the
remaining shadows of the room.
    Wedge proceeded with caution. He didn’t know
what to expect. The barrels were randomly placed in the room and
there was no order to them. Wedge would have to fight his way
through the maze to look behind all of them, and to make it to
where he thought the noise came.
    Wedge snaked around the first barrel –
nothing. He kept looking left and to the right, just to make sure
no one was moving about in the room. He didn’t see anyone.
    Another noise. Wedge whipped his head around
again. It came from about the same place. Wedge continued in
deeper.
    He made his way around another barrel. Then
another. His heart raced inside him as he made his way up to the
noisy barrel.
    Another noise.
    With a gulp, Wedge raised his arms up as if
to try and catch something – or someone – if they ran out from
behind the barrel. With a deep breath, Wedge jumped around the
barrel, ready to find out what was making his noise.
    As he landed, he landed with a “Ha!” With a
quick look around, he found himself alone. A second later, he found
his noise scurrying over to the next barrel. A rat.
    “Ugh,” Wedge said out loud to himself. He was
disappointed he didn’t find anything.
    Just then, a barrel in the front of the room
tipped over and spilt all over the ground. From behind it emerged
the Boy in Blue. He didn’t waste any time looking back at Wedge, he
just bolted for the door.
    “Hey, get back here!” Wedge ran out and
started to fight back through the maze. But, it was too late. The
Boy in Blue made it out of the room and slammed the door behind
him.
    “Rocket,” Wedge yelled, “he’s heading right
for you!”
    Hearing the call over his communicator,
Rocket ran out of his last room and saw the Boy in Blue, across the
mill, running away from him. The Boy in Blue looked over, saw
Rocket, smiled, and continued down the hallway.
    Rocket took off in the direction of the Boy
in Blue, but he was well behind him. The Boy in Blue had a
comfortable lead as he reached the end of the museum and ducked
into the room directly above the waterwheel. Without even
hesitating, the Boy in Blue opened the window, flung himself out
it, and onto the small ledge.
    Below him, about two feet, the waterwheel on
the side of the mill was hard at work. Water came crashing over it,
turning the wheel very fast. The wheel, about ten feet wide, was
covered with water as the Boy in Blue made his move.
    Taking a running step, the Boy in Blue went
off the ledge and hit the center strut on the wheel. Not even
resting on it for a millisecond, the boy completed his move as he
leaped off the wheel. Diving into the cold waters of Pepper Creek,
the Boy in Blue started to swim to the far banks of the creek.
    Rocket reached the window. He looked out it
to see the Boy in Blue swimming away. There was a commotion in the
room as tourists tried to figure out what just happened. They all
looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces. Rocket,
disappointed, retreated out of the room. Walking up to him, was his
brother Wedge.
    “He got away,” Rocket said disappointed. His
voice came in low and distorted over The Playgrounds intercom. Kid
Combat, dejected, hung his head low.
    “How?” Wedge asked of his brother.
    “Dude, he jumped out of the window and into
the creek. There was nothing I could do.”
    “What do you want us to do now, Kid?” Wedge
asked.
    “Get back here. There’s nothing you can do.
We will have to think of another