43 The Ladder

Chapter 43 The Ladder Hang on,' said Rockwell. 'Where's 72? They told us to look up when we got here, and all we've seen is that massive terrifying airship!' Then, perfectly on cue, 72 appeared, hovering just above the steel cables spanning the lake. ' Josephine Engelberger, Rockwell Riley, is that you?' they said, loudly. ' Yes,' shouted Josephine. 'We're here! Now what?' 'We are going to go to the other side of the lake,' the robot explained. 'There, you will collect the Jones family, and together we are going to find and capture RAZER 67.' 'That sounds great,' shouted Rockwell. 'But I think you might have forgotten a few things. I will list them for you now.

Number one: what do you mean we are going to go to the other side of the lake? In case you hadn't noticed, you are above those massive steel cables, and we are below them. We will not be going anywhere together. Number two: it's way too high for us to jump down out of this chute and run across the lake. Number three: even if we did manage to jump down without breaking our legs, it would take us much too long to run through the crowd and get to the Joneses. Number four: there is plaster all over the floor. We would almost certainly get stuck in it. Number five: even if we did manage to jump down, run over to the Joneses, grab them and then run back here, there's no way we could climb back up to get into the chute and crawl back to the Spire.' Have you finished going through your list, Rockwell Riley?' asked 72. 'Not quite,' said the boy. ' Number six: there is a gigantic black airship above us and I am very scared of it. Just thought I'd tell you, in case you hadn't spotted it. 'To be fair,' said Josephine to the robot, those are all valid points.' Suddenly, 72 rotated ninety degrees, a flap opened up in their base and a long, angular object began to descend from inside, straight through two of the cables and towards Rockwell and Josephine. ' It's a ladder,' said Rockwell.

'Affirmative,' replied the robot. 'Listen to me. When the ladder is level with you, I will stop lowering it. At that point, I want you both to climb onto it and hold tight. Do you understand?' 'You want us to climb onto it?' said Rockwell, aghast. 'Affirmative. You should be able to stand on the rungs quite comfortably.' 'We can do that!' shouted Josephine. 'Can we?' asked Rockwell. ' Yes,' said Josephine, confidently. 'We can. Before they knew it, the descending ladder stopped right in front of them. After you,' said Rockwell. Josephine shuffled forward and stretched out her arms. She grabbed the sides of the ladder and then pulled herself out of the chute, landing her feet on the rungs with impressive agility. 'Your turn,' she said to the boy 'I'll climb up a bit to give you some space.' Rockwell grabbed the ladder, took a deep breath and swung his legs out. Unfortunately, his landing wasn't quite as elegant as Josephine's had been and he missed the rungs. As he scrambled to get a foothold, the shoe that Peanut had drawn for him back in New York fell off, landing in the lake with a small, plaster-y splash.

'What is it with me and shoes?' he wondered aloud. Once Rockwell and Josephine were securely on the ladder, 72 spoke again. 'Are you ready?' they asked. As we'll ever be,' said Rockwell. 'OK Hold tight,' shouted the robot. With a jerk, the three of them shot across the lake. Since 72 had dropped the ladder between two of the cables, they could use them as a guide to move with speed and precision in a straight line towards the other side of the lake. Just like 72 had promised! When they were about halfway across, Rockwell spotted the bright orange of Peanut's topknot. In that moment, he was super thankful that it was such a beautiful, distinctive colour. He was also thankful that they appeared to be heading straight for her. Dang, 72 is good! he thought.

When they were about ten metres away, Rockwell began to try to get the Joneses' attention. 'PEANUT! LITTLE-BIT!' he bellowed. He could barely contain his excitement upon seeing them, even under the circumstances. The girls didn't react. They probably couldn't hear him above the panicked noise of the crowd, which had grown to a roar after the shock of seeing the Giant X in the sky. 'IT'S ME! ROCKWELL!' he shouted, as 72 slowed down. They were just a couple of metres away now. Peanut looked up and saw Rockwell. The two friends' eyes locked; hers were filled with a mixture of surprise and fear, his with hope, friendship and a touch of worry. Maybe she's still mad at me, he thought. 'We've, er, we've come to rescue you,' he said, more tentatively now. 'That is... if you'll let us?' Suddenly, a huge smile spread across Peanut's face. ' Oh, Rockwell,' she said with tears in her eyes. 'Thank goodness you're still here! I can honestly say that I've never been more pleased to see anyone in my whole life.'