1.14: First encounter


The gremlins were smaller than the gnome children and they had strange oblong heads and gnarly, jagged teeth.  They gripped make-shift weapons in their veined, wiry hands. Gremlins were known to create sloppy and shoddy contraptions, and their weapons showed a disdain for detail and fine craftsmanship. The murderous items had been hammered from the available raw materials found in the Lower Factory Floor. The edges were jagged and dull. The metal was rusted and twisted.

The gremlins, rushed at the defending group in murderous and chaotic rage.

Groawn and Fimf, the largest two children, glanced at each other and hesitantly shrugged. Each of them was at least twice as large as the other gnomes, which made them about four times the size as the gremlins. While the two big kids were scared,and their hearts pounded, they knew they could take the beasts in a fight. They raised their broken hammer and rusted wrench and began wildly swinging at the villainous gremlins.

The gremlins were fearlessly protecting their nest, and did not hesitate to meet Groawn and Fimf in combat. The two big gnome children stood on one side of a battle line, and the three snarling gremlins rushed into the other. Fimf raised his rusted wrench and brought it down hard upon one of the filthy and misshapen gremlins. knocking the foul devil into one of the dusty racks of refuse.

Groawn used the large mallet to do the same, hitting both the other gremlins in a single swing. All three gremlins were thrust into the racks in less than a second, and debris and dust fell from the upper shelves.

Everyone coughed. As the cloud of dust settled. The gremlins had been pulverized, and were laying, unmoving, in the broken and dilapidated racks, among the rotted wood and barrels of expired lacquer.

Groawn stood up, holding his back, and limping. One of the gremlins must have stabbed him with something, as there was a sharp pain in his back, and blood dripped onto his hands as he inspected. His hip was more than sore, and his ribs hurt with every breath. He limped over to his hammer and picked it up with a low growl of pain. He would be able to heal himself once he rested, but for now, he would need to endure the pain until he escaped the Lower Production Floor.

The children gathered the items the gremlins were using. They were not much better than the useless weapons given to them by the Gnome Resource officers. However, the points were sharp enough to use for combat if they encountered anymore danger.

As the children were picking up the items, Billie remembered, “Wait, weren’t we supposed to just drive the gremlins to the Gnome Resources Officers? We were supposed to run if they got too close, not fight.”

Metalmouth was inspecting a gremlin sword as Billie spoke. Then he quickly looked up. The calm of the battle’s quick ending instantly vanished. There was a sudden rustling in the racks around them all. The sounds were coming from all directions, and the children knew it was the sound of more gremlins. They could see the strange heads of the beasts moving in the racks. They were surrounded, and not by just three gremlins, but by the entire pack.

Then, the children heard a sound that took the air right out of their chests. It was the crashing and whirling of a heavy device, and it sounded like hard and thick metal rubbing and twisting together. The gremlins had a contraption among their defenses. They had built a tank. Whatever it was, it was large and heavy and ready to kill, and it was coming right at them.

next page

previous page