CHAPTER 33

VIKKI CAN COOK

          The pirate, Crow, lost control as the gravity generators failed.  His lunge for Vikki became a slow floating roll through the narrow corridor cluttered with drifting crates and sacks.  Behind him pirates clawed their way in; they were a floating tangled mass of arms and legs as the men tried to grope their way through.

          Vikki floated backwards.  She twisted and reached for any object that she could throw at her attackers.  As she threw boxes and sacks the reaction propelled her further away.  A box bumped her head; she grabbed it and threw it at him, next a sack, then a bucket of lard.  Sometimes she struck him or the object flew past to collide with the men behind. 

          Vikki searched hastily for a door, but it was yards away.  Frantically kicking the walls and throwing everything she could she made slow progress.  White cloth sacks labeled "sifted flower" floated around her.  They ripped as she threw them- filling the corridor with a fine white powder.   The haze thickened as she ripped more sacks and clouded the passage with their contents. 

          "OK, Girly, Now you die." He coughed,

          She could no longer see him through the white cloud but knew he was near.  He coughed. 

          "Crow," the voices behind shouted. "Don't shoot in here it's too dangerous.  You can't see her anyway."

          Vikki reached the door.  "Hey, Crow, sorry you feel that way big boy."  She teased as she batted every sack she could find toward him.  She had her hand on the edge of the door. "Go ahead, you ugly, snot covered, petty thief.  Shoot me.  I dare you."

          "Shut up,"  He yelled coughing.

          "Oh. You are such a big man." she teased.  "But those guys behind you know what a yellow ass coward you are.  You don't have the back bone to shoot."

         "Shut up!" 

          "OK, prove me wrong you pansy, you granny.  The cockroaches here are more of a man than you."

         The coughing in the cloud stopped.  Several pirates yelled, "Crow, nooooo!" 

         Vikki tried to pull herself through the door to the bakery but the exploding blast of ignited flower dust was more than she had bargained for.  The walls, floor and ceiling revolved around her as she spun down the passage.  Boxes, sacks, crates and buckets clattered against the walls as they tumbled with her to the end. 

          Hitting the far wall was like landing in a garbage dumpster sideways while trash was raining from the side.  Boxes, bags and buckets that that leaked slimy food covered her.

          "Ugh!  They cook this stuff and serve it?"  She pulled sauce out of her red hair and wiped grease off of her face without much success.

           "Ahhhhhh!" Men were yelling. "Help me, I'm on fire!"

           Throwing the trash aside she swam out of the trash pile.  The bright white light had gone hot red.  All down the length of the passage doors were swishing shut.   At the far end yellow flames reached in all directions; over the roar of flames she heard the cries of tormented men whose faces were smeared with soot, and with smoke wafting off of burnt hair.   Doors tried to close across the passage to suffocate the flames but debris prevented complete closure.  She watched a door slip between her and the men.  They still coughed.

          Sprinklers on all sides sprayed water.  "Really?  You've gotta be kidding!  More water?"  After a moment the sprinklers spit and sputtered to a stop, water limply dripped from nozzles.  "Oh, oh. Somebody left the faucet running." She snickered. 

          She tried to imagine the trapped men behind the doors in a narrow passage filled with smoldering and burning supplies.  She should have felt sorry for them or even tried to do something to save them, but all she could do was laugh as she tried to float to a door. 

          The door wouldn't open.  Beside the door a sign glowed.  "Fire suppression in effect.  Portal may be opened by authorized personnel only."

          "No, not again!"  She looked down the hall to the door that separated her from the burning pirates.  "If this door opens at the same time as that one I'm going to be in for it.  If I don't suffocate first."