The Magic Factory

Several suited men emerged from around the side of the wall. Confirming Oliver’s suspicion, Lucas was amongst them. Then, with absolute horror, he saw that Lucas was holding the little patch of fabric he’d made invisible. Lucas was selling his invention! To a chemical company!

Oliver had seen enough. He darted through the shadows as quickly and quietly as he could, making a beeline for Armando’s office.

He reached the closed door and began to knock. There was no answer from inside but Oliver opened the door anyway. Everything was in darkness. He flicked on the lights and let out a horrified gasp.

The room was in utter disarray, with papers everywhere and books fallen to the floor. Then Oliver saw something that made his blood run cold. Sticking out from beneath pieces of paper were two feet.

“Armando. No…!”

He hurried forward and began shoving paper out of the way, revealing more and more of Armando’s body as he did. He uncovered Armando’s face and drew back with a gasp. Armando’s eyes were open, staring upward, and he was gasping for breath like a fish out of water.

“Oliver,” he croaked.

Oliver leaned forward, resting his hands on Armando’s shoulders. “Let me help you. I’ll call an ambulance.”

He went to stand, but Armando grasped his overalls in a tight fist.

“Oliver…” he murmured again.

Oliver realized then that the old man was trying to tell him something. He fought his urge to run for the phone and crouched back down, bringing his ear closer to Armando’s mouth so he didn’t have to strain his voice.

“I always knew you’d come.”

Oliver squinted at the old man’s face, his gaze darting from one eye to the other. “What do you mean?”

“I knew. I was waiting for you. You have a destiny.”

Oliver shook his head. There was no time for this. He needed to get Armando help. But the old man would not let him go.

“The room…” he mumbled.

He was becoming incoherent. Oliver tried to pry his hands off his overalls so he could escape and call for help.

“The room…” Armando said more insistently.

“What room?” Oliver asked with increasing panic. “Please, Armando, let me get you some help.”

Armando was shaking his head. “No time. No time. Remember the time.”

“Remember the time? What do you mean?” Oliver couldn’t make sense of his words.

“Don’t forget!” Armando cried with urgency. “Don’t forget the time…”

Then the light left him completely. He slumped back, his clasp of Oliver releasing.

Feeling like he was in a nightmare, Oliver shook Armando. This couldn’t be real.

Then he let out a strangled wail. Armando was dead.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The tears came instantly. Oliver fell forward against Armando’s chest, overcome with painful sobs. His whole body shook as he wept. He’d never felt grief like this.

What had he been trying to tell him with his dying breath? Something about time and destiny. It hadn’t made any sense to Oliver at all.

Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from behind. He glanced over his shoulder, terrified. Through his tearstained vision he saw the formidable figure of Lucas.

“What did you do to him?” Oliver screamed. “You killed him!”

Lucas’s expression was cold. He looked almost delighted by the scene before him.

“Me?” he questioned with faux innocence. “If anyone had a hand in his death, child, it’s you. The stress you’ve put him under, with your constant questions and incessant demands. Not to mention all the extra work you’ve created for him, with that coat. No one his age and frailty could endure that. Anyway,” he said with a nonchalant sigh, “the ambulance will be here shortly to take him away.”

Oliver felt very scared. He began to tremble. But his arms were locked around Armando protectively. He didn’t want anyone to take his hero away from him. And he didn’t trust Lucas to have really called an ambulance.

“What about the secret invention…” Oliver stammered. “The future of mankind…”

Lucas barked out a laugh. “Oh, that. Armando was prone to flights of melodrama. Honestly, he did suffer somewhat from self-importance.” He shrugged. It was as if the passing of his lifelong colleague was nothing more than an inconvenience to him. “Don’t worry yourself about any of that. It was all mumbo-jumbo. The factory is mine now and so are all of Armando’s inventions. About time too. There’s plenty of things to sell but Armando always kept them secret and hidden.” He rolled his eyes.

“You can’t do this,” Oliver cried. “You can’t sell everything Armando worked on!”

“Yes, I can,” Lucas replied coldly. “And I will. Your inventions too. They all belong to me. And what I will also do is get rid of the riffraff Armando brought with him. You and that mangy dog are no longer welcome here. I’ve already called the police to report you trespassing on my property and your theft of my inventions. You’re going to jail for a long time.”

Oliver felt as if his whole world was collapsing upon him. Suddenly, he saw that Lucas was no longer alone. Two burly security guards had appeared behind him.

“Seize him!” Lucas bellowed.

Oliver had to do something, to escape somehow. In desperation, he leapt up and raced toward the guards at the door. He barreled straight through their legs, his small stature proving beneficial in eluding them just as it had that time with Chris and his cronies.

Out in the corridor, Oliver raced along, weaving through the labyrinth in hopes of losing his pursuers. But he could hear their clattering footsteps not far behind, chasing him through the network of rooms and corridors.

If he could make it to the factory floor he’d be able to escape through the mechanized wall. But that part of the factory was completely exposed and he’d give away his location. And worse, the wall rotated slow enough that they’d be able to grab him before he’d even made it ninety degrees. He had to hide. But where?

It struck Oliver then. There was one place that Lucas couldn’t chase him, one place that he didn’t have clearance to enter. And that was Armando’s secret room. The only problem was, Oliver didn’t have access to it either. But he did have something Lucas didn’t. He was a Seer. He had powers. Maybe he’d be able to open the steel doors with his mind.

As he ran for the secret room, he could hear the security staff behind him, their footsteps pounding. The steel door came into sight. Oliver knew it was locked and almost impenetrable. And he didn’t know enough about being a Seer or how to wield his powers on command. But he was going to have to try.

Concentrating very hard, he tried to switch into the mindset needed to conjure them. A feeling of immense energy flowed into him.

He concentrated his mind on the steel doors, imagining them opening, succumbing to the power of his mind. But nothing happened. As he drew closer to the steel doors they remained shut.

Oliver could hear the security guards gaining on him. Panicking, he looked behind him. He saw the guards and Lucas at the other end of the corridor. But to his surprise, the three of them were held back by Horatio. The dog was growling, gnashing his teeth, and snapping his jaws.

With Horatio distracting them, Oliver turned his focus back to the door. He gritted his teeth. His heart pounded. He channeled everything he could muster into focusing on the doors opening. Then, suddenly, he heard a squeal. Something in the metal was starting to give.

With another sound of churning, twisting metal, the doors suddenly flew open like two metal jaws inviting in their prey. Oliver didn’t even stop to wonder whether he really had done that with his mind. Instead, he hurried straight into the secret room. The doors snapped shut behind him.

Though he’d been afforded a moment of reprieve, Oliver wasn’t about to relax. There was hardly any time to take in what he was seeing. The room was dome-shaped and a series of steps led down from the door he’d entered to the lower level. Here there was a barrier, a sort of fence that encircled the strangest sight Oliver had ever seen.