by Paul Cude
Frozen
to the
Core
Paul Cude
A haze of brilliant, bright, white light haunted him, even in his dream state. It was inescapable and all he’d ever known.
“Man, Man... wake up, we’re late,” echoed a husky voice, as dirty nails on the end of emaciated fingers dug in, attempting to shake him awake.
Mirroring every single day of his life so far, pain flooded his very essence, startling every atom of his body into life. It was all he could do not to cry out, but he’d learnt the hard way, long, long ago that that really wasn’t an option. A wave of numbing, ice cold needles washed over him as he tried to peel his lips apart with his tongue, his eyes still closed.
“Man, Man... come on, we have to go!”
Applying all of his considerable will, he commanded the muscles in his arms, legs and back to move, ignoring the excruciating agony coursing through him.
“Alright, I’m coming,” he uttered, his breath freezing in front of his face, something so commonplace there that no one would give it even a second thought.
“We’re so late,” reflected Josh. “Boy are we gonna get it!”
“I’ve already told you Josh... I’m coming. And don’t worry, it’ll be alright. We won’t get into trouble.”
“How can you say that? You know how they can be.”
“I’ll deal with it, alright?”
“What about if we skipped feeding him? Missing one meal wouldn’t hurt and that way we’ll be on time for lessons.”
Ragged scraps of clothing tore huge slivers of frost off the makeshift block of chilly ice that he slept on, night after night, as he bounded to his feet, standing nose to nose with his brother Josh.
“What have I told you? He’s our responsibility. If something happens to him, it’s on us,” admonished Man, quietly.
“But if we go and feed him now, we’ll be late and you know the consequences when that happens,” emphasised Josh anxiously.
“I do. But I also know about responsibility and so do you. Let’s go feed him, and scoot off straight away to join the others. Don’t forget... we’re important to them... a new generation if you will. They regard us as such and are constantly saying it. So believe it! They need us more than ever, particularly if we’re going to leave this place.”
Nodding in agreement at his sibling’s wise words, Josh knew his brother was right. It was just that they scared him, and more than a little. At that exact moment, a huge smile broke out across Man’s smooth jaw, the chill of their surroundings forgotten momentarily, along with the others and any punishment that might be forthcoming. After punching each other playfully, and with all the grip they could muster on the slippery, cold, reflective surface they found themselves on, both shot off at speed around the corner, determined to fulfil their duties to the best of their abilities and live up to their responsibilities, no matter what the cost.
In a small, walled off, icy chamber about a mile away, in another part of the strength sapping prison, rage, anger and fury bubbled dangerously to the surface. A one hundred and eighty degree roundhouse kick, followed swiftly by a sharp punch splintered a delicate formation of stalactites into a thousand pieces. A roar of immense frustration accompanied the act.
“Aaarrrrghhhh...” reverberated off the walls.
“Feel better now?” asked a ragged male voice.
“Not really.”
“What a surprise! Surely there must be a better way?”
“And just what would that be?
“Honestly, I don’t know. I just hate seeing you like this,” stated his second in command.
“Don’t you think I hate it too? The way this damn cold suppresses everything that we are frustrates the hell out of me, even after all these years. Every time I delve inside myself, I can feel it there... the tiniest of sparks, frantically zipping about, always just out of reach. I can’t tell you how many times each and every day I reach out to try and capture it, always to be denied. I know that if I can grasp that tiny inkling, then it will all come rushing back and I will be as powerful again as I once was.”
Downcast, the other face in the room soaked up all the words.
“Don’t you think it’s like that for all of us? Everyone here does exactly the same thing, probably on a minute by minute basis, with the same degree of success as you have. They took it away from all of us, and I hope one day to make them pay dearly. But I know that day is a long way off. Because of your plan though, we at least have a smidgen of hope, even if we do have to bide our time.”
The cool, calculating dragon stuck in a depressingly dull human form listened to his friend’s words of encouragement, briefly buoyed by what he had to say.
The plan... that was all they had. It was that, or nothing. Those superior idiots assumed they’d thought of everything, assumed they’d be contained, controlled, deemed no threat whatsoever and that they would eventually die in this frosty hellhole. Boy was he going to prove them wrong. Of course it might take decades, centuries even, but one way or another he would have his revenge, and when he did, the world itself would pay dearly for their incarceration.
Panting heavily, the brothers, Man and Josh, slid to a halt alongside one of the row of magically contained hydroponics bays. Ten metres by ten metres, a dazzling sparkle encompassed the entire circumference, a warm, yellow glow threatening to seep through from the inside. But it never did. Standing up straight, their hands clasped together behind the back of their heads, desperately trying to pull in a deep breath despite the pain that accompanied it, the two of them stood admiring the supernatural miracle in front of them that was filled to the brim with vegetables. Beetroot, beans, broccoli, cabbage cauliflowers, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, leeks and lettuce were just a small sample of what was being grown in this particular section of this underground, frozen domain. In all honesty, it was an absolute marvel, one immensely complicated to pull off, and one not of their making. And unfortunately for everyone there, it worked flawlessly as designed and had no scope for alteration or tampering... goodness knows the best of them there had tried, all to no avail. You see, the mantras used to provide the heat for the soil within were designed to recognise a pulse or heartbeat of any sort. The moment one enters the area of heat generation, immediately the powerful magic cuts out, thus denying any of the beings there a fleeting taste of the warmth they all so long for. Despite being awed by the cleverness of the power sustaining them all, to Man and his brother it was just one more reminder of the injustice they rallied against, and the cruelty of their long gone jailers. Both of them found it best not dwelt upon.
Without hesitation, both grabbed a sack from a pile on the floor nearby, and stepping onto the fertile earth, began gathering as much as they could each carry. Instantly the warm yellow glow disappeared as the magic kicked in, the cool of the surroundings rushing to fill the tiny space. In the matter of minutes that it had taken the brothers to fill their sacks, frost had started to appear on greenery, forming tiny little icy pockets between the undulations of the earth. Understanding the need to be swift, the two of them scurried out across the dirt, a sense of relief washing over them as the heat from the magic resumed. Although they couldn’t touch or feel it, it felt good to know that it was there, both could agree on that. Sacks slung over their shoulders, the two of them followed the winding path that meandered up and over a slippery rise, before cutting down at quite an angle beside a rocky wall. The sound of gurgling water told them that they were close. Struggling to stay on their feet, the two rounded a cold and treacherous corner, finally reaching their destination.
Curled into an almost perfect spiral, a brown scaled appendage with just a hint of dark green, the caudal spade (the tip of the dragon’s tail) resting
perfectly on top, was the first things the brothers noticed.
“Ahhhhhhh... so nice of both of you to join me. I was beginning to wonder if I’d be fed at all today.”
Rising up from an icy shelf below the level of his tail, an elegant, slightly brow beaten and undernourished dragon body appeared, as if from nowhere. The tinkling rattle of chains accompanied his movement.
“We always turn up, don’t we?” announced Man, cheerfully.
“I suppose you do, I suppose you do,” thundered the dragon.
“I should count yourself lucky if I were you. You get ten times more than any of us,” scoffed Josh, unhappy at how his day had started.
“Yes... I can see how that would be some sort of burden. I have asked numerous times to be put out of my misery. All of my requests so far have been flatly ignored.”
“You don’t want that... not really,” cajoled Man.
“On the contrary, I want nothing else. The cold tortures me with such mind numbing pain, every second of every day, that death would be a welcome release. These chains and the temperatures prevent me from doing it myself. Perhaps you’d care to oblige?”
“I’d do it in a heartbeat,” bragged Josh, taking two steps forward.
Man held out his arm to stop the brother he loved.
“Nobody’s doing anything like that,” he announced. “This is all rather depressing for the start of a brand new day. Why don’t you let us show you what we’ve bought you?”
“As you wish,” replied the dragon, one of its huge prehistoric eyes constantly focused on the threat one of the two brothers posed.
Crunching across the ice, both of them came to a jagged line of rocks, jutting out from the ground. Careful not to move beyond them and into the dragon’s reach, they threw the contents of their shabby sacks in the direction of the prehistoric beast.
“Still no meat... I’m stunned,” observed the beast, its mighty neck bent over on itself in an effort to inspect the contents of its latest meal.
“At least you know what meat tastes like,” fumed Josh, his ire starting to rise.
“Enough!” commanded Man, much to his brother’s displeasure. “It’s not his fault. Just like us, he’s stuck here as well, and so we’ve all got to make the best of a very bad situation.”
‘Wise words indeed,’ thought the dragon, having enough common sense not to say it out loud, lest he antagonise the younger of the two any more than he already had.
About ready to turn and walk away, their first chore of the day completed, it was then that Man spotted something unusual.
“You seem to have hurt yourself. How’d you do that?” he asked.
Running down his arched, scaled back, two diagonal lines of dripping, dried green blood glistened in the brightness of the only stuttering electric light in this whole section. The wounds looked beyond painful, and most certainly hadn’t been there yesterday.
Straightening up and unfurling his well muscled tail, the dragon stood as tall as the chains would allow to address the two beings in front of him.
“It’s nothing... only a consequence of falling asleep on the ice. It must have torn the scales off when I awoke and stood up this morning. So inconsequential that I didn’t even notice... that’s the cold for you.”
The way in which the words were said was upbeat, or about as upbeat as it got around here. But there was something else, something very wrong, or at least that was Man’s instinctive reaction. But what could it be? Having been squirreled away in the icy confines of this tortuous prison since his birth, he had very little real world experience to draw on, making him, like his brother, unbelievably naive. Spotting a lie for him was much like sighting the Loch Ness monster. You had a sneaking suspicion that it was there, but until it reared its ugly head and was pointed out by someone else that that’s what it was, there was just simply no way for either of the brothers to recognise it. That was something that would change much later on. And so with a strange niggling feeling eating away at the pit of his stomach, Man turned on his heels, along with Josh, leaving the dragon to his vegetarian diet, the upshot of which could be heard resounding in and out of the rock formation he was chained to, for the next few minutes. Dragons really were meant to be carnivores, something the noses of every being incarcerated there could surely attest to.
It was shoddy, unkempt, filthy and of course, devastatingly cold, but it was all that they had as a community. Over the course of a decade, intense manual labour had been used to carve out what could only be described as an amphitheatre. Glistening white mounds of frozen water had been carved into level, semicircular benches, in rows that fed up the sloping mound on which the construction of epic proportions sat. It truly was a marvel. Directly at the front lay a smooth circle of stone in the middle of which lay a plinth made of rock. Currently a thin, frail, old, white haired human shape stood beside the pedestal, addressing sixteen or so much younger denizens dotted about the different tiers of the amphitheatre. The subject of discussion was that of harnessing a being’s own innate magical ability, and calling forth the power from deep within a physical body. Of course, it was all theoretical at the moment, because being constantly subjected to these kind of temperatures wouldn’t allow even the most formidable amongst them to access what was rightfully theirs, something the very disappointed and angry leader could attest to. Hypothetical was all they had left, but all was not lost. Everything did, however, rest on the plan blooming into fruition. Luck needed to play its part. If it didn’t, they’d be stuck here for all time.
With the kind of stealth and precision normally only associated with ninjas, two pairs of eyes peeped out from the end of one empty tier of the amphitheatre. Taking note of the impromptu teacher’s positioning, they waited patiently for him to turn in the opposite direction. When he did, Man and Josh slid silently out into the tier, the tatty rags covering their bottoms sliding seamlessly and silently to a halt on one of the glossy, white benches about a quarter of the way in. Exhaling a sigh of relief at having arrived unnoticed, the small moment of joy was quickly and very publically quelled.
“WELL... IF IT IS’NT OUR FITTEST AND FINEST! HOW FANTASTIC OF YOU TO JOIN US. I THINK I CAN SPEAK FOR ALL OF US AND SAY THAT WE FEEL WELL AND TRULY HONOURED!”
Josh quaked uncontrollably, while Man just shook his head. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
“So which one of you would like to come down to the front and explain some of these principles to those among us that have deigned to turn up on time?”
Josh’s hands were a blur, they were quivering so hard. Man’s choice had already been made for him. He’d always stand up for his younger brother, of that there was no doubt. And so with a confidence that hid how truly terrified he really was, he jumped to his feet, and announced cockily,
“I will!”
With all eyes on him, Man negotiated the tricky, sloping stairs and walkways, quickly arriving at the plinth next to the still glaring teacher, a being by the name of Meeks, who was renowned for having a quick and vicious temper.
“So boy... what have you got to say for yourself?”
Although relatively naive, as previously mentioned, Man recognised a trap when he saw one, and remembering a student having been hurled halfway across the auditorium less than a week ago, by this very same being, from a blistering punch that had come out of nowhere after a wrong answer had been given, he very sensibly chose to remain silent, something he hoped would serve him well.
“Basilisk got your tongue?”
Readying for anything that might come his way, he remained silent.
“Very well then... we shall continue where we left off. Before we were so rudely interrupted, our topic had been...”
Meeks left it hanging in the air.
“Recognising, and bringing forth the power of our birthright!” one student sat up high, shouted out.
“Precisely!” praised Meeks, much to the particular scholar’s glee.
‘Suck-up,’ Man thought, glad telepa
thy was cancelled out by the chilly environment.
“And so perhaps you could give us your thoughts on the subject young man? Deeming to turn up so late, you must of course already know everything pertaining to the subject at hand.”
‘Here we go,’ he thought.
And so the apparently weak, frail old man stood there in silence, piling on the pressure, determined to show up this upstart for what he was in front of his peers. From on high, Josh cringed at seeing his brother in this precarious position.
The tiniest bead of sweat rolled down the side of Man’s neck, no mean feat in the icy hellhole they found themselves cooped up in. Struggling to think of a strategy, or even a lie to save a little face, Josh’s brother fell back on the only thing he could think of, the very last thing a politician would trust in. The truth!
Despite the adults all thinking him a no good waster, but having to be careful about saying exactly that because of just who his father was, in fact he was a quick and studious learner. Although appearing on many an occasion not to have paid attention at any of the right times, nothing could be further from the truth. A desire to learn and constantly improve was ingrained in his very DNA, which was more than could be said of his brother, who had to be helped and prompted in most of the work that they participated in.
Closing his eyes, ignoring those all around him, he sought out the memory of those illicit late night practices that nobody else knew about but him. Lying there, pushing the devastating cold off to one side, he would centre his mind, slow his heart and delve deep within himself. Time passed slowly, his breathing reducing to almost nothing. Pinpricks of cold stabbed at his exposed flesh, determined to waylay his focus. But he’d almost found the solace he was looking for, and continued on unperturbed. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried this, but on no other occasion had he got this far. And then out of the blue... it was there, almost within touching distance. A blazing blue, purple and green perfectly spherical ball of what looked like fire, but was clearly ethereal energy, danced before him, calling to him, tempting him, offering up itself completely. Totally mesmerised at first, he just studied it intently, a mixture of pleasure and relief running through him. They’d been told magic would be theirs, that the creative way they’d sidestepped their captors’ objectives would work, and that they would be the key to escaping this unforgiving confinement. And so it proved to be, there and then there could be no doubt. Over time, he’d discovered how to access it, and despite knowing that it was forbidden, had come to use it, even in the bone chilling temperatures that surrounded them all, something he was pretty sure no other being there could do. It was both exhilarating and frightening and something he kept completely under wraps, even from his brother.