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Chapter Nine

"Bring me the Magician Merlin. He grew up in this area maybe he will be of some help to us now." Said the Captain of the guard.

Four riders head off toward the castle to escort Merlin the Magnificent back to this place of rock and doom. This could easily be a full day's journey for the riders in a round trip.

The Captain begins pacing just at the end of the track "It's almost as if he disappeared into this rock but how? Could the rumors be true, this new man a more powerful magician than even Merlin?"

He leans against the rock wall, feeling its coolness against his face and listens, whispering, "Could they have walked into this wall?"

Inside the rock fortress Marlin begins shouting "I did it, I did it! Wake up, I have made the gasoline!"

Marshall snaps awake and reaches for the cup of liquid Marlin is dancing around with. "Gimme that, lets go check it out. We will se what ya got here" Looking at the liquid in the cup and then looking at the little cup they began with on the table.

"Grab that cup. I have to drain the carburetor on the bike and fill it with this to see if the bike will run on it. We may need to strain it one more time or add something. How well does it burn?" looking around for something to use for a seat.

Marlin retrieves the cup of Marshall's gas, as Marshall begins removing the needle valve so he can drain the carburetor. Soon they have caught all the precious gas left in the carburetor and begin adding the mixture Marlin made.

Marshall twists the throttle, then kicks the bike through once, "There are going to be fumes in the intakes and cylinders so I know the bike will start on them." Marshall reaches down and turns on the key then presses the little black button on the handle bar next to the throttle. The bike makes a chirping noise for every bit of two seconds then roars to life. It almost immediately idles down. Marshall has never heard it idle down so quickly yet sound so strong.

"I suppose I need to see what she does, how far can I go that way?" he says,pointing down a long dark cave.

Marlin squints his eyes trying to look into the darkness "A few hundred meters, Milord, if memory serves me."

Without another word, Marshall twists the throttle hard. The engine screams and the front tire jumps off the ground as the back tire squeals, desperately trying to gain a grip. Marshal's eyes widen and his knuckles go white as he kicks gear after gear. The speed just keeps climbing; then he realizes he is running out of room. He stomps hard on the brakes, tires screaming. The smell of burnt rubber is almost suffocating. The bike stops and idles as it did before. Marshall turns the bike around and eases into the throttle to return to Marlin. He notices it takes half of what it should to reach this speed. He eases up to Marlin stops the bike, shutting it down as always and gets off.

"What the hell did you put in this stuff?" Marshall says excitedly."I mean, this shit is fucking awesome! How much did you make?"

Marlin looks a little unsure of himself and stammers "I only made a few pints, Sire." bowing his head and pointing towards the table with the black cloth on it. On that table there are twenty one-pint containers.

Marshall smiles broadly, "Are they all full? I mean, of this exact same thing? And now that you have the recipe how long before we can go into full production?"

"Full pro-duction, Milord? How much gasoline can one use?"

Marshall then looks at him slyly, "I have another project for you also..." Reaching into his jacket, he draws the Colt. Removing a cartridge,he tosses it to Marlin.

Outside, the scene is different. The Captain of the guard is calling for his men to try to move this stone. "The tracks cannot just stop this way. They must have gone under this stone wall some way or other. Bring ropes and horses! I want this wall moved now!" The Guards bring horses and begin lashing away at the wall, tying their ropes tightly to it. The horses strain and pull but the rock does not move. The Captain grabs a whip from one of the guards and begins flogging the horses, but still, the rock does not move. In desperation, he turns and begins whipping one of the lesser armored guards. The man shrieks out in pain but this just feeds his fury as the Captain strikes him over and over again. The man has curled up into a tight ball of quivering bloody flesh, crying from the unwarranted beating.

Back inside Marlin is looking at the bullet in his hand, flipping it over and over, feeling its weight and how well the casing is made.

Marshall raises his brow looking over his shoulder as he fills the tank of the bike with the newly concocted gas mixture.

"Well, do ya think ya can make some of those too?"

Marlin, still looking down at the bullet, smiles. "Yes, Milord I beli--" His words stop suddenly, his head pops up, his face turns white.

In a very panicked voice, he yells at Marshall "Oh my Gods, he is here! We, you, need to flee now, Milord, there is no time, you must go now! I will hold them off as long as I can." Marlin begins to hurriedly look for some unknown something.

Marshall, still casually filling the tank of the bike, smirks "Who's got you so frightened, little man? I mean no one knows we're here and so what if they did, they can't move that fuckin' rock! It must weigh tons. Relax, dude, chill out! You're beginnin to bug me up, too." He reaches for another pint bottle on the table beside him.

Marlin stops searching for a few seconds, takes a deep breath. Then, as calmly as he can, he begins again. "We Gasolinous' have a gift. It allows us to feel when we are in close proximity to one another in the family. I, for example, can now say I know where Merlin is almost exactly. I can also tell what he is doing at this moment."

"Oh. Well, where is the great one and what's he doing then?"Marshall smirks.

The ground begins to shake, very gently, like when a large vehicle passes with a heavy load. Dust falls silently from the ceiling and the liquid in the bottles makes those swirly little designs, as they are disturbed.

Marlin, with a sad look and one of desperation "He is outside opening the doorway and soon the guards will swarm in on us. We cannot escape he can feel me as easily as I feel him."

Marshall quickly puts the gas cap on the tank of the bike. He grabs several bottles of the gas and crams them into the saddlebags, then starts the bike. He spins it around right there in a 180-power turn knocking over the remaining bottles of gas, breaking them and spilling the contents on the floor. Pointing the bike down one of the hallways, he yells,

"Get on, we are making a run for it."

Marlin takes his place behind. Marshall lets out the clutch and down the hallway they travel.

The cave splits into two pathways. Marshall stops, turns around and draws the Colt, firing it at one of the old shields lying close to the table where the gas was. A spark... BOOM... the gas ignites.

He jams the bike into gear and as he starts to go into the left cave, Marlin shouts NO!! GO RIGHT! The left takes you back to where we just were."

Marshall whips the bike right and again they travel down the illuminated cave as fast as they can.

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