“This is her, boys!” the “statue” cried out in glee. His accomplices leaped from their pedestals, surrounding me & Cricket. “Two of you go find the old man,” the leader ordered.
“D’ya think we’ll get a bonus for the three of them?”
“We better.”
I glanced to Cricket. How are we gonna get out of this?* I thought.
Slowly, but rather suddenly, he stood up. He swayed groggily, his head lolling around.
He looked down at me, & I could’ve sworn I saw a wink. Discreetly reaching into his pocket, he peered bleary-eyed at our blockade.
Then, without warning, the area was engulfed in dark smoke. Cricket picked me up by the arm & we tore out of the cloud, running into Master on our way.
We scrambled up a hill, but I felt something grab my ankle. I turned to see one of the “statues” had snatched my ankle & tried to pull me back down the hill. I clawed at the dirt to keep moving, but he kept pulling. Then, he froze & collapsed.
A spoon lay next to him. I looked up to see a smirking Lin.
“Told you I have my ways.”