The Home Run

Getting the Ball.

Benny's POV

       It was the next day. We were sitting in the treehouse in silence with the occasional sigh and pop of bubble gum. We were all thinking of how to get the ball back.
       "Hey, I got it!" Smalls said suddenly, "Why don't we just go over and knock on the door and ask Mr. Mertle if he can get it for us?"
       "That's a great-" Izzy was cut off by Squints.
       "Are you out of your mind? Mr. Mertle's the meanest old man that ever lived. He's the one who made The Beast eat that kid. It's not an option, Smalls. Forget about it!" Squints said. Izzy sighed and leaned her head on my shoulder.
       "Oh, okay. Sorry. I- I will." Smalls said, putting his head down as we all went back to thinking.
       "Let's just look out the window." Squints said.
       "Good idea," Timmy said as we all stood up.
       We all stuck our heads out the window and looked over into Mr. Mertle's backyard. There was a doll with an arrow through its eye, broken toys and model airplanes, a torn-up kite, The Beasts dog house, and loads of other junk. Suddenly The Beast started growling and the ball popped out of his house and landed in the middle of the backyard. We all backed away from the window and sat down.
       "He's daring us," Timmy said.
       "We're on his territory now," Ham said.
       "Anybody got any bright ideas?" I asked, looking at everyone.
"I think I've got something," Izzy said, looking at all of us.

*~*

"Why do I have to do it?" Ham asked.
"Because you pulled the short straw," Izzy said as Timmy and Tommy pulled a board off of the fence that separated us from Mr. Mertle's backyard. We had planned for Izzy's idea yesterday and decided to do it today. We all got down and looked under and into the yard. We all squatted and kneeled around Ham as he poked a hole in Mr. Mertle's fence.
"Go." Squints said from the treehouse. Ham started reaching for the ball with a broomstick, "Farther."
"Farther, okay," Ham said
"Just a little bit farther." Squints said
"Farther. Farther." the boys said.
Suddenly a large paw came down on the broomstick. We all began screaming as The Beast bit into it. We all pulled on Ham as he played tug of war with The Beast. Then, The Beast bit the broomstick in half, leaving us with a slobbery, splintery end.
"Oh, no!" Ham said as all continued screaming. The first attempt failed.

*~*

"Farther." Squints said as Ham pushed a metal pole with a bowl on the end through the hole. It creaked slightly.
"Go to the right a little bit," Ham said.
"Put the back to the right," Timmy said as it continued creaking and we moved the back end.
"A little bit farther." Squints said.
"Farther?" Timmy questioned.
"Guys, I see it. Turn, turn." Ham said.
"Almost." Squints said as Ham turned the bowl over on to the ball. "You got it. Pull it back."
"I got it!" Ham said.
       "He got it, guys," Timmy said getting us to relax as Ham started to pull the pole back.
       Then, The Beast put his paw on the bowl crushing it.
       "Oh, my God!" Ham yelled.
       "Pull it back!" Squints yelled.
       We all pulled the pole but the beast pulled it right from our hands. We all started screaming as the beast snarled and growled. We were helpless. The next thing we knew the pole flew over the fence, it was all twisted and mangled. We all got up to go look at it. Squints came down from the treehouse and we all gathered around the mangled metal.
       "Holy shit..." Izzy and I said in unison.
       "I think we've seriously underestimated The Beast," Timmy said, we all nodded in agreement.
       "Obviously, we're dealing with a superior intelligence." Squints said, pushing up his glasses. The second failed attempt.

*~*

       "Power," Smalls said, plugging the vacuums into one cord.
       "Okay, guys, almost ready. We're connecting power now." Bertram said to us (Ham, Kenny, Yeah-Yeah, Timmy, and myself).
       "I've got a bad feeling about this," Izzy said, looking out the window and down at the ball.
       "Power connected," Smalls said. Bertram went and looked out the window with Izzy as we lowered today's invention over the fence. Several vacuum pipes all connected to three vacuum hoses, at the end of the pipes was an old catcher mask.
       "Okay, we're ready," Ham said.
       "Initiate retrieval suction." Squints said to Tommy from the ground.
       "Initiate retrieval suction," Tommy said to Timmy from the steps of the treehouse.
       "Prepare to initiate retrieval suction number one," Timmy told Ham as he walked back to us.
       "Okay. Get ready, guys." Ham told the guys.
       "Initiate retrieval suction number one," Timmy said to Bertram, Smalls, and Izzy.
       "Initiating retrieval suction number one, now!" Bertram said, turning on the vacuum. The hoses jerked a bit when the vacuum was turned on.
       "Initiate number two." Squints said to Tommy, who repeated it to Timmy, who repeated it to Bertram, Smalls, and Izzy.
       "Firing two now!" Izzy said. The hoses jerked again.
       "Fire number three." Squints said to Tommy, who repeated it to Timmy, who repeated it to Smalls, Bertram, and Izzy.
       "Number three now!" Smalls said.
       "Whoa!" Kenny said as the hoses gave another jerk.
       "Ha! You got it. Haul it up." Squints said loud enough for us to hear.
       "All right!" Timmy said, looking at Kenny, Ham, Yeah- Yeah and I
       "Pull it up," Ham said to us. Then the beast walked out of his dog house and bit the pipe, we all started screaming. The ball fell out of the mask.
       "What's going on, Squints?" Ham asked.
       "The pipe... it's pinched shut." Squints said.
       "Turn it off, man!" I yelled.
       I heard the clicking of switches and buttons. "I can't! They're shorting out!" Smalls yelled.
       "What the hell is that noise?" Squints asked as the vacuums whirred angrily.
       "The vacs are clogged. I don't know about you, but I'm getting outta here." Bertram said causing panic.
       "Let's go!" I yelled at everyone.
       "Oh, no!" Squints said as everyone's yells and screams overlapped.
       We all got out of the treehouse as quickly as we could. Some of us took the stairs, the ladder, or the fire pole. Others just jumped right over the ledge. We all ran away from the treehouse, screaming, and fell to the ground. Suddenly, the vacuums all exploded, we were still screaming.
       We all got up and looked at the treehouse. It was clouded in smoke and dust and it smelled of burning dust.
       "You guys okay?" I asked. They all nodded breathlessly as I took Izzy under my arm.
       "I'm okay..." she whispered into my shirt. I sighed in relief and squeezed her. I planted a kiss on her forehead and she rubbed my back. We all looked at Tommy with jaws dropped and eyes wide. He was covered in a thick layer of dust.
       He shook his head causing dust to fly everywhere and let out a sigh, "We've been going about this all wrong. I blame myself," he sighed again, "We need total surprise. An airborne attack. The Beast will never expect it."
       We all nodded in agreement as he sighed again and walked away. The second day and third failed attempt.