64 THE LEAP

CHAPTER 64 THE LEAP Roz and Brightbill and Glimmer were still in the hallway when they heard screeching and stomping, and then the seabirds came flapping around the corner. "Look, Roz is free!" "Great, now let's take off!" "Move! Move! Move!" Close behind the seabirds was BOSUN 10. He saw Roz standing outside her jail room, and his robotic voice boomed, "Stop! Prisoner! Stop!" Roz didn't stop. Instead, she and the birds scrambled away from BOSUN 10, down the hall and into the stairwell. Thick smoke was rising from below, so they hurried upstairs and exited onto the roof. The seabirds scattered into the sky, but the robot and the geese couldn't stop staring at the chaos on the station. Broken equipment was strewn across the platforms. Clouds of smoke floated between buildings. BOSUNs sprayed jets of water at a roaring blaze, but the flames were too ferocious, and the robots were quickly engulfed. That's when Roz noticed the ocean. It was calm. The

sea creatures had stopped thrashing. The whales had stopped making waves. The glowing haze of zooplankton had drifted off. Victory had soothed their anger, and the army of animals was pulling back to let the Juggernaut sink into the sea. "The humans need my help," said Roz, looking up at the control room. "They might have caused the poison tide, but I will not leave them to die." Behind her, a robotic voice boomed, "Stop! Prisoner! Stop!" And there was BOSUN 10, stepping out of the smoky stairwell.

Brightbill and Glimmer took wing as Roz sprinted to the edge of the roof. The robot leaped high into the air, up toward the control room balcony, but the distance was a little too far. It looked like she would fall to the fires below. However, as she passed under the balcony, her long arms reached up, and with her fingertips she grabbed one of the support beams. Dangling, she turned her head and watched while BOSUN 10 made the same leap. The industrial robot was bigger and stronger than Roz, but he was also heavier and slower. He launched up through the air, rising higher and higher, but not high enough. His bulky body crashed against the control tower and plunged down into the smoke and flames. With that, the last of the BOSUN robots was destroyed. Roz pulled herself onto the balcony. Brightbill and Glimmer landed nearby. Worried faces were staring at our friends through the control room windows. Akiko stepped outside, pointing a rifle. "Did you do this?" she yelled. "Did you order the attack?" "I tried to prevent the attack," said Roz. "But the animals were angry and out of control. If you had suffered as they have, you would understand." "Why are you here?" said Akiko. "What more do you want from us?" "I only want to get your crew to safety." Akiko grunted and lowered her weapon. "The airship

is gone, and the life rafts are in flames. We're out of options." Roz made a few animal sounds to the geese, who nodded and flew away. Then the robot said to Akiko, "I can get everyone to safety. But I must carry each of you down to the main platform, one at a time. Who would like to go first?"