The Adventures of Phineas Frakture Read Online Free PDF Page A

suspended in them. Every so often, they would come upon a pile of discarded clothing, torn and covered with dirt and blood.
    “This is their fate. Now we know. The taken are transformed into Dolonites,” said Phineas. He touched one of the containers and the being inside reacted by thrashing around. This time, Phineas didn’t flinch. Instead, he dropped to one knee and began examining the pedestal on which the tank rested.
    Phineas removed a screwdriver from one of the pockets on his belt and opened a panel on the base of the pedestal. Shining his light inside, he examined the clockwork mechanism, the order of gears, the directions pipes were leading. Mechanisms that he could only dream of were here to study and this had been here for more than thirty years. Whoever had created these must have been a genius in his time. But why down here, and for what purpose? He jammed the screwdriver into the gears and was rewarded with a squeal and a snap as the mechanism shattered. The pneumatic pump on this unit stopped, and the being inside began thrashing around again, this time more violently.
    Phineas stood back and watched, showing no emotion whatsoever. Then, as quickly as it had started, the Dolonite-to-be stopped moving and then floated listlessly in its transparent grave.
    “One down and a few hundred more to go,” Abigail said.
    “Let’s find William and get out of here,” was all Phineas said in reply.
    His mood seemed to have darkened since this discovery, Abigail thought. She had never seen him this serious, even when he was intent on a project in his lab. This was personal to him now. That much was obvious.
    They traveled through the maze of tubes expecting to find William suspended like the others; but still, there was no sign of him. Neither was there any sign of the Dolonites themselves. They had expected to meet at least some resistance by now. Then, as if in response to their apprehension, a howl of despair echoed from somewhere in the complex.
    “Which way did that come from?” asked Phineas.
    Looking around, Abigail couldn’t pinpoint the source. “It’s coming from all around…I don’t know…there is too much of an echo down here.”
    “WILLIAM!”
    “What are you doing?” hissed Abigail. “They will hear you!”
    “And so will he, if he is conscious. Would you rather wander around here until he is wearing one of those suits, hooking you like a slab of meat? WILLIAM! GET OFF THAT LAZY PLUMP RUMP OF YOURS AND TELL US WHERE YOU ARE OFF TO! AND YOU HAD BETTER HAVE MY COIL OR I AM RETRACTING YOUR FEE!”
    “You are so tactful.”
    “Would you rather him think that he is hallucinating? At least he will know that it is me.”
    “Good point. Even hallucinations are not as pompous as you are.”
    “There you go calling me that again. I am not pompous, I am…well spoken. WILLIAM…MRS. POPKISS HAS SOME CRULLERS FOR YOU!”
    Nothing.
    Phineas began running, looking every which way. Abigail raced behind him and then slammed into his back as he stopped suddenly. Without a word, he stalked off to the left and stopped again in front of what looked like a typical street front building.
    “This doesn’t seem to belong here,” he said as he tried the door. It swung open partially and then stopped as the door struck something within. He pushed with all his strength and finally had enough room to squeeze through.
    Rocks, he found, were the cause of the barricade. The ceiling had collapsed from the weight of rocks falling on the roof of the building. Before the collapse, from what he could see, the front room had served as a parlor just as it would in any normal household. There were paintings on the walls of men and women in various poses, a fireplace was set off to the side, and remnants of chairs and a sofa were crushed under the rubble. A decanter of red wine lay untouched on a table next to a wall.
    Phineas picked it up, tasted it, and spit it out. “Past its year.”
    They moved onto the next room, a