Time......... (Part 2)

The two boys froze in horror: the cloud was making a noise. And not any noise; it was an eerie squeaking noise.
The cloud paused quite suddenly, right in front of the broken time machine. Frank gasped, "What do you think they'll do?"
"They? How do you know it's a they?" Peter whispered back. The dust was clearing away, revealing an oddly shaped vehicle. It was deep blue, had antennas of wire, and twelve wheels on each side. It reminded the boys of a machine gun.
"What is it?" Frank whispered. Peter clapped a hand over Frank's mouth quickly. They watched the blue vehicle with anxiety. It started driving in circles, around the time machine. The circles started out small and close to the broken machine, before getting farther and farther away from it.
"I think it's a robot," Peter breathed into Frank's ear. Frank nodded.
"Is it trying to send signals?"
"Could be."
"Why? Did it know we were coming?"
"I don't know."
The vehicle seemed satisfied with its work, and started making its way back to a large, rocky hill.
"I think we're okay now," Frank said aloud.
"Maybe," Peter said uncertainly. He started to stand up. "My legs are so tired!"
"Mine, too. They don't like being cramped up for long periods of time!" Frank stretched himself out.
"I suppose we should go back to the machine and -" Peter froze suddenly. "Down, Frank! Get down!"
The hill was moving. A large door on one side of it opened up, and another blue vehicle came out. It joined the first one, and the two of them kicked up an even bigger dust cloud as they came back to the time machine.
"Oh, great!" Frank groaned. "Now there's two of them?"
"Two? There might be more in that...hill thing," Peter said slowly. His face had turned suddenly pale, and he grasped the rocky ledge with a shaky hand.
"What is it?" Frank asked anxiously.
"Didn't you wonder why this hole here seemed so much like a window?"
"No, not really. But now that you mention it...."
"And feel this rock!" Peter interrupted.
"I have felt it. It feels like any other rock, though maybe it is a little different...." Frank's voice trailed off as he examined the rock closely. "It has a kind of metallic sort of look to it."
"I'll say! And look at that "hill" over there."
"It's metallic-like too."
"Yes, can you guess what I'm getting at?"
"Couldn't the rocks here just naturally be like this?" Frank asked, but even as he spoke, his hand started to shake.
"No, it isn't natural. As we were running here, we had to clamber over rocks. And they sounded like rocks when we walked on them. Not these." Peter demonstrated his point by stamped on the floor of the hollow. It sounded like metal.
"Great Scott!" Frank cried. "It can't be!"
"But it is," Peter shrugged. "I think we ought to leave this place as soon as we can."
"Right," Frank agreed.
"We'll have to risk those vehicles and get to the time machine."
Frank looked uncertain. "I'm not sure which is worse; being stuck on top of a metal hill that might contain robots, or-or-anything, and being stuck in a broken time machine with those same vehicle-robot things bearing down on top of you!"
"Or having your only hope of getting back home be taken away," Peter interjected. He pointed to the time machine. The robots had already started lifting it.
"No! they can't do this to us!" Frank yelled. Peter grabbed his friend as he started to run towards the robots.
"Don't be stupid! If you run down that hill side, you'll meet certain death, if not by those vehicles, than by those sharp rocks- metal things- whatever they are."
"But they can't just take it!"
"We have no choice!" Peter gripped Frank's arm tighter. "We've just got to get out of here."
"Like, how are we going to that?" Frank said sarcastically.
"We'll get of this hill for starters."
"And meet those vehicles? No thanks!"
"Silly! Not that way! We'll have to climb down the other side of this hill."
"Then we'll have to finish climbing this side first," Frank sighed. "I'm so tired already! How can we make it?"
Peter was already climbing. Frank looked one last time at the spot where the time machine had been. The machine was being carried into the small hill by the two vehicles, and Frank saw the heavy door close behind them. The time machine was gone. He had no other choice but to follow Peter.
The friends struggled up the side of the hill. The "rock" was slippery and it was getting hot. Finally Peter let out a sigh and said, "Well, we're here."
"We're where?"Frank asked. "It looks like we're nowhere!"
"We're at the top of the hill," Peter clarified. Frank gasped as he looked down on the way they had come.
"It's just one big desert!"
"I'll say. Red and orange and brown and -" Peter stopped suddenly. He had looked down the opposite side of the hill. "Great Scott!"
"What now?"
Peter could only point. Frank turned about quickly and stood speechless in horror. The other side of the "hill" was one sheer drop. And at the base of that drop was not two vehicles or even three vehicles. There were twenty!
Peter came to himself in a flash, and started running back down the way they had come, dragging Frank after him. Frank saw his friend's plan, and started running as fast as he could. He felt himself slip, and at the same time Peter yelled,
"Run the other way!"
It was too late. The two of them slid into the gaping hole that had just opened in the hill. They heard a loud click, and found themselves concealed in the black depths of the hill.

Copyright - 9/17/2008 - Curious Cognitive Content (CCC)
Please do not reproduce without permission from the author(ess).