Fries Alive

CHAPTER3

“Freddy, are you really sure this is a good idea?” shouted Howie.

“It’s the only way that I can see to do it,” Freddy yelled back.

It was very early the next morning. They both had sneaked out of their houses to go on this very special mission. They were on the Pookesville Lake, steering their raft closer to the top of the Pookesville Dam. Piled under a tarp on the raft were the five Fries and some special equipment that Freddy had brought.

Howie looked at the dark sky. “Looks like a storm’s coming in.”

“I checked the weather forecast. We should be long gone before it hits.”

The raft touched a stone barrier at the side of the dam and the boys tied up there.

“Okay, Howie, there’re the stairs to the control room. That’s where the turbines are, right?”

“Yep. And there’s no one there right now. My dad doesn’t get in until nine.”

“You got the key?”

Howie held it up. “The spare from my Dad’s desk at home.”

“Roger that.”

“Over and out, up and down. BINGO!” yelled an excited Howie.

They carried the Fries and equipment down the stairs and to the control room. Howie unlocked the door and they went in.

“Wow,” said Freddy, looking around at all the shiny equipment. “This is so cool.”

“Yeah, and it’s got almost as much stuff as your lab.”

“Okay, let’s go. I’ll re-program the control board to divert the necessary power from the hydroelectric operations to the Fries for one-point-two milliseconds. According to my calculations, that should be all that we need.”

While Freddy reprogrammed the controls, Howie hooked up electrodes to each of the Fries and then attached these by cables to the massive turbines where the electricity gathered from the dam was collected.

They heard a rumble of thunder outside.

“Wow, that storm is really moving fast,” observed Howie as he looked out the window.

“You ready, Howie?” asked Freddy as he finished pushing buttons.

“Ready.”

Freddy and Howie put on safety goggles and lead vests and moved behind a wall. In his hand Freddy held a small remote. “Okay, Howie, keep your fingers crossed.”

“Finger, toes, but don’t pick your nose,” recited Howie, who took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Freddy took his own deep breath, and hit the button.

At first nothing happened and Freddy thought something had gone wrong.

But then there was a low humming sound, and then a louder one, and then an enormous CRRAAACCCKKK! This was followed by a blinding flash of light. And then there was a burning smell. And then everything became quiet again.

Freddy slowly opened his eyes and looked around the corner.

The Fries were still there, their heads still attached to the electrodes. However, other than being slightly singed, nothing had changed. They were still lumps of lifeless potato and carbon.

Freddy stared at his remote control. “We hit them with a million jiggy-watts and it didn’t work. I… I can’t believe it.”

Howie looked at his watch. “We better get going. My dad will be here soon.”

They packed up their gear and the Fries and carried them back out to the raft.

“What am I gonna do, Howie?” muttered a depressed Freddy. “This was my last chance.”

“Here, have a cheese cube. It’ll make you think better.”

The boys put on their life jackets, and while Freddy chewed on his cheese cube Howie steered their raft back out onto the lake.

“Better start paddling, Freddy,” barked Howie. “That storm is right on top of us.”

Freddy started paddling halfheartedly. But then the wind picked up. The waves got bigger and the rain started falling hard like millions of BBs. Then Freddy started paddling really fast.

Howie’s face grew very pale. “Uh, Freddy?”

“Yeah?”

“Is that what I think it is?”

Freddy looked to where Howie was pointing. A wave ten feet high was bearing down on them fast.

“AAAAHHHH!!!” both boys screamed together.

“Abandon ship,” yelled Howie.

“What about the Fries?” screamed Freddy over the claps of thunder.

“We can always make more. But there’s only two of us.”

Both boys jumped in the water and swam for their lives. Freddy looked back as he was swimming. The raft was heading right for the big wave.

“Fries!” screamed Freddy. He turned around in the water and started swimming toward the raft, but the current was so strong that the raft was pulling farther and farther away from him.

At that instant a bolt of lightning so big it looked like a wall of electricity coming down from the heavens hit the raft full force. A split second later the wave washed over the Fries, pushing the inflatable raft underneath the water. There were no more Fries. There was no more anything.

And then the wave kept on coming, right at Freddy!

“Swim, Freddy, swim!” called out Howie, who was already on the shore and waving to his friend.

Freddy took one last look at where the Fries had been and then turned and swam as fast as he could. But still the wave grew closer and closer.

Howie danced along the shoreline, waving his hands and yelling, “Swim, SWIM!” He was so scared he kept stuffing cheese cubes in his mouth between screams.

But Freddy couldn’t swim any faster than he was. The wave was now twenty feet high and right on top of him.

“NOOOO!” screamed Howie.

“NNOOOOO!” yelled Freddy even louder.

The wave crashed right on top of Freddy.

Howie stuffed all his remaining cheese cubes in his mouth, swallowed, and then passed out.