The Action Man Series

X’s Dream

Chapter 3

Grinder woke up the next morning and looked in the back seat of the convertible. Fidget was there, sleeping comfortably. Grinder shrugged and quietly got out of convertible.

Might as well see how the town’s doing, he thought. He yawned as he walked down the sidewalk. Adorer was a town of about 15,000 people. It was a nice, quiet town that had probably had its typical gossips and rich people. Grinder sighed.

When Fidget wakes up, I’m going to have to ask her a few more questions. He shivered at the thought. He glanced at his watch; 9:39. Maybe I should get a little more rest.

Grinder shrugged. This would definitely be a long day.

Grinder walked back to the convertible and gently woke up Fidget. When she was awake, she looked down at her belly and cried, "Vinny!" Grinder sighed. "Its dead Fidget…"

Her face sagged with sadness. "I forgot," she mumbled. A sort of growl erupted from somewhere nearby. Grinder looked at Fidget and she blushed and said, "Breakfast?" Grinder patted his pockets. He had spent the last of his money on the sickening movie yesterday.

"Nope," he replied. "Just traveling."

Fidget frowned. "Poor Alex. And Ricky…and if I ever get my hands on Grey I’ll squeeze him so tight that his brains’ll pop out." She smashed her fist into her palm and made growl-like noise. "Cool down Fidget."

She sat back as the convertible started up and left Adorer. "So where are we going," Fidget asked as she plopped into the seat next to Grinder. "We’re going back to Grey’s place. We might find some hints as to where Alex and Ricky are."

She nodded, thinking, I hope Alex is okay…

-

BAM!

The fist drove into Alex’s stomach harder than the last ten times. Alex cried out in pain. "Didn’t know I was this strong did you," teased Asazi. Alex shook his head. He couldn’t talk; there was too much pain…BAM! Asazi drove in another fist.

"That’s more than enough 12," said a deep, eerie voice from the darkness.

Asazi stepped away and Alex fell to his feet. He had the wind knocked out of him, not to mention his ribs were bruised. "Who- (pant)- are you," Alex asked in between breaths.

"Its not who I am," replied the man. "Its what I am that counts. You see Action Man-," he sneered the words ‘Action Man’, "-I have been watching you and Dr. X bicker and fight over the dumbest, and I do mean that, stupidest things. You Alex, trying to save the world from my own lab rat." The voice laughed.

He stayed in the shadows but Alex could here him pacing. "Dr. X never really tried to do anything. He merrily did something, then waited for you to show up and then he would try to carry out the rest of his plan." He paused. "Alex, do you understand? No? I’ll explain. X could’ve started his neo-human revolution a long time ago. But since he really wasn’t trying, he didn’t."

What, Alex thought. That voice sounds…familiar.

"Dr. X was a test subject for the Council of the Thirteen. Asazi has been placed at 12, and I hoped that the man named Simon Grey would join us but…he had a…change of pace."

Alex slowly got to his feet and looked around him. Nothing but shadows. He was in a circle of light but other than that, it was pitch black. "The Council of the Thirteen have decided that you are a threat to them. Personally, all I think you are is a professional stunt man wimp, but the AMP Factor is a little dangerous to mess around with."

"So after testing you and watching you deal with Dr. X, the Council has declared you… dangerous. And that means…death."

Asazi stepped out of the shadows with her crossbow in hand. Alex frowned and yelled, "Who are you? That’s what I want to know. Who would be smart enough to think of all that junk you just told me?"

Lights suddenly came on in the room and Alex could see all around him. It was a computer room, filled with high-tech machinery. There were a few windows and Alex could see a mountain outside, snow covering it. There were also magazines and computer disks scattered around on the floor.

"Don’t move pretty boy," said Asazi, her crossbow aimed at his head.

The voice was now behind Alex. "So you didn’t recognize me, did you? It figures that my rival wouldn’t remember me, since he didn’t CARE ABOUT ME!"

Alex turned around and gasped…Brandon!?

"How the…why," Alex started to say but shock was completely controlling him. A million thoughts flying around his brain.

"Yes, your old friend Brandon," Brandon said, sneering the word friend. "And now, Action Man, face the wrath of the Council…" Brandon laughed as Asazi pulled the trigger, firing a knife straight Alex’s head. But Alex had his own plans. He had already triggered the AMP Factor.

"AMP IT UP," he yelled. He back-flipped away from danger, the knife only grazing his arm. He grabbed the knife in mid-air and landed on the ground. Still twisting around, he let go of the knife and it flew towards a window, breaking it apart.

Alex heard gunfire as he jumped forward, diving through the window-frame. He fell for a few seconds; his eyes closed as freezing cold air surrounded him. SPLASH!

COLD was Alex’s first thought and then, water.

He had landed in a body of water, freezing cold water. He swam up and up, trying to reach air. His lungs started to burn. He opened his eyes and saw that the surface was at least thirty feet above him. Swim Alex, he told himself, trying to survive. Swim up! You can do it!

His lungs now screamed for fresh, new air. Only fifteen more feet…

He started to let out his air as he drove himself up. Cold water filled his mouth and lungs; cold, salty water…Alex stopped swimming and let his hands float above him…I guess this is it, he thought as the water filled his lungs and-

His hand surfaced. He looked up and saw that his head was one foot from fresh air! Alex propelled himself up as his vision started to darken…splash! He took in fresh air! Fresh AIR!!!

He choked and hacked out the water and breathed in more air. Precious, wonderful-

Something whizzed by his ear and hit the water next to him. He started to turn and look when another one hit an inch from his chest. Bullets! I’m getting shot at!

With a determined look on his face he dove under water. Shoot me if you can, he thought, diving deeper. When he was about twenty feet deep he swam for about thirty seconds and then surfaced. He had no time to see what building he had jumped from because Asazi was still shooting.

He dove back under after he regained his air. He repeated this several times, not looking at where he was going. Then, quite suddenly, he realized his body was shutting down. His arms and legs were going numb…too cold, he realized. He swam back to the surface and looked around him.

There was an iceberg floating by him a few feet away. He swam toward and climbed onto it… rubbing his arms. He shivered and looked back at the direction that he had jumped from…, "Whoa…"

He was nearly speechless. It was a huge building. About fifty stories high, a hundred yards wide. He could see the open window where he had jumped. It was about thirteen stories high. There were very few windows on the building and it was painted black.

Alex’s eyes looked down to what the building was standing on. Fields of snow and ice…a glacier. He shivered again and wondered where am I?

-

"WHERE IS HE," screamed Fidget to no one. It echoed through the area and Grinder shook his and rolled his eyes. "You know, that won’t help," said Grinder.

Fidget slowly turned and glared at him, raising one eyebrow giving him a look that just made him laugh. "What are you laughing at," she asked in her detective-tone-of-voice. Grinder stopped laughing.

Fidget suddenly fell on her butt and started crying. "Grinder, what's going to happen to me if they are gone? I’m an orphan and you all are the only family I’ve ever had…" Grinder slowly sat down next to her.

"Don’t worry Fidg," he said. "Knowing Alex, he’s already gotten away. Besides, Dr. X is our worst enemy and he’s gone, so don’t worry, Alex can handle it."

She shook her and cried harder. "That’s my point Grinder. Whoever took Alex got him while he was doing his super-hero thing. They know he can do that and…" She cried.

"Oh," said Grinder. That simple…so she…loves Alex? Grinder’s eyes rose in surprise at his own thoughts…then he asked, "Fidget…do you…like Alex?"

For a few minutes she didn’t answer. She just buried her head in her hands and cried. Then she put her head on Grinder’s shoulder and stopped crying. "Yeah…I guess so. But what do we do now?"

"I don’t know Fidg," replied Grinder, looking at the sky. I honestly can’t answer that…" Clouds were forming in the sky; they had been moving in since the morning but now they were dark, as if threatening to rain.

"I hope that they are okay," Fidget mumbled. Grinder nodded. "Me too Fidg…me too."

-

They’ll never understand, I thought, shaking my head. The Council just doesn’t get it. I tried-

"AAAHHH," I yelled in pain as another surge of electricity went through me. I heard Asazi’s voice say something about ‘them’. I shook my head even though I didn’t know what she was talking about…

"AAAHHH," I yelled again. This time it was more of a scream.

"That’s enough Asazi," said a…strangely familiar voice. "Release his chains." My vision was blurred by pain but I felt the shackles that were holding me to the wall let me go. I fell to the ground. I had burn marks all over me.

"Simon Grey. Trying to save the world again, eh?" The voice snorted. I know that voice, I thought, trying to place whomever it was. "You thought you knew everything, didn’t you? Well, you didn’t. You don’t even know half of what there is to know." I slowly started to get.

My vision was beginning to clear. I looked up and saw Asazi next to me, her crossbow armed with a simple, small spear, aimed at my head. I looked in the direction that the voice was coming from. Shadows.

"You see, we just finished off Alex, and the Council now finds you, Mr. Grey, as a threat to us too. Since you know more people that can trigger the AMP Factor, you are to be…terminated. But since you’ve interfered with the Dr. X plan, you are to die…a slow death." The voice changed tones when it said, "Asazi, go open the windows."

She got up and went into the shadows. I realized that there was window back in the shadows. Two windows. The voice continued. "We were testing Alex to see if he were a threat to us and YOU interfered. If you hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t have died a few minutes ago."

Dead! Alex is…dead! "You LIE," I yelled at the hidden man. I could picture him smirk at me. "Do I?"

Cold air was blowing in through the windows and I shivered. I realized I didn’t have a shirt on, only a long pair of jeans.

"You are to die by…freezing," the voice said, the coldness of his sentence matching his voice. Then someone turned on the lights in the room and my face went from anger to utter shock, and then confusion.

It was Brandon!?

He smirked at me. "Have a nice day Mr. Grey." He started to head for the only door in the room when he added, "By the way, the forecast says its there’s going to be…a blizzard. So be careful Mr. Grey." Brandon left the room, Asazi following him. They locked the steel-reinforced door and I was alone.

I stood up and looked around the dimly lit room. The walls were barren, there was a dresser but I found nothing inside the drawers. The wind blew into the room giving me a cold chill.

I aimed the one lamp that lit the room toward me, hoping to get a little extra heat. More wind blew in and I thought why don’t I just shut the windows? I shook my head and laughed.

I walked over to one and tried to…whoo! It was stuck or something. I put all my weight on it but it didn’t budge. How…, I started to question and then realized it was pointless. They may be terrorists, but they weren’t stupid. I walked back to my corner with the lamp and sat down… knowing that my life was over…

-

Alex shivered as the wind picked up. He had to keep his muscles moving, had to find a way into that…fortress. But I would have to swim, he thought. Another icy wind hit him and shivered again.

His eyes scanned the skies around him. To the south, or what he thought was the south, there were dark clouds approaching. It was snowing over there, Alex could see it. And the clouds were coming his way…that meant that there was a blizzard coming.

Alex looked at the water, then back at the clouds. Then he looked at the huge building. What have I got to lose, he thought, and dived into the cold, freezing water.

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