Kringl (Rescued by the Alien)

Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

T ami's words hung in the air: The events of the past hour —their narrow escape, the frantic run through the village, and Tom's unexpected rescue—had left Joy so shaken that she'd momentarily forgotten why they’d sent Tami inside the workshop.

Tom gaped at Tami. “You went into the workshop? No one is allowed in there unless you're an elf."

Joy lowered her voice even though the doors were locked and the blinds drawn. "We suspect that the workshop isn't what it seems. It must house whatever Velsnickel uses to block communications off the planet.”

“And keep the village hidden from sensors so you can’t be found,” Kringl added.

Joy snapped her fingers, having forgotten that for a moment. “Exactly. Why else would it be so forbidden to us?”

Tom stroked his mustache slowly, twirling the ends with his fingers. Then he picked a pastry off a nearby baking tray and leaned closer to Tami. “What did you see in there?"

Tami accepted a golden brown crescent roll from Tom, taking a big bite before answering. Crispy shards of crust crumbled around her as she chewed and savored both the treat and the attention. Tom offered pastries to everyone, but Joy found her stomach in knots.

"It didn't look like a workshop at all," Tami began, licking sugar from her fingers. "There were no toys.”

“No surprise there,” Joy grumbled. “No presents. No toys. No fun.”

“There's a big kitchen where it looks like they make the feast each night,” Tami continued, “but I've never seen those elves before. They weren't wearing red-and-green outfits like the others. There was also a big machine producing ingredients out of thin air.”

“Elf magic,” Joy said. “It’s how they can produce all the toys in the North Pole and deliver them in one night.”

Kringl crossed his arms as he listened. “Or a replicator, and a big one if it’s producing all the supplies for the entire village.”

Joy thought that probably made more sense, even though she wasn’t ready to entirely discard the idea of elf magic. She’d been on spaceships with replicators, although the colonies she’d lived in had never used them or needed to rely on energy being converted into matter for food.

Tom stroked his mustache. “That explains my butter and flour.”

Tami finished her pastry and licked some crumbs from her fingers. “That wasn’t the most interesting part. There was a big red door, and I snuck in.”

Everyone held their breath and stared at Tami.

“There was a huge orb sitting by itself,” the girl said with a loud whoosh of breath.

Kringl cocked his head. "An orb?"

Tami bobbed her head as she eyed the closest tray of pastries. "It hummed and vibrated, like it was giving off power."

Was this how the Velsnickel kept their village from being detected on sensors? Was it more elf magic or just impressive shielding technology?

Kringl placed a hand on Tami's shoulder. "You've shown incredible bravery, Tami. You're as courageous as any warrior I've ever met."

The girl beamed at the compliment, accepting another pastry from Tom with pink cheeks. Joy noticed that Kringl had taken a pastry but was giving most of it to Snowball in little bites as the snow squirrel sat on his shoulder.

Joy’s pulse quickened at the sight of the alien feeding her pet, but she squared her shoulders to keep focus. ”We need to figure out how to destroy the orb.”

Tami frowned. "It looked pretty sturdy to me—and big.”

Snowflake made some sounds that sounded like he was agreeing with the girl.

Joy glanced at Kringl. He might have military experience, but no one else in their group did. Were they in over their heads? Should they just wait for Kringl's ship to return? But she pushed the thoughts aside, steeling herself. This was the closest she'd ever come to escaping, to taking down the twisted elf who’d ruined Christmas for her. She couldn't let him get away with it, and she couldn’t leave the rest of the villagers behind.

"Maybe we could—” Joy began, but her words were cut off by a series of loud knocks on the bakery door.

Everyone went rigid.

"Open up! By order of Velsnickel!"

The voices were shrill, high, and distinctly elf.

Despite the steamy heat of the kitchen, a chill slithered across her skin. What now?