Guardians of the Light: The Red Phoenix

by Alex Carter

  Chapter 23

  Following the disappearance of our Hunter, I decided to travel to Columbia myself along, with three of my fiercest Hunters. I am the leader of my species and my name, in human language, is Drax Black.

  We morphed into our human disguises and boarded a plane to Bogota, Columbia. We attempted to keep a low profile however this was difficult as we are giants compared to most humans. All four of us are over seven feet tall and weigh over 250 pounds. We boarded the flight and watched as the plane filled with noisy, obnoxious, stinking humans. The very sight of so many humans filled me with immense hatred. It took all my self-control to not unleash my anger and kill every single one of them on board the plane.

  Once in Bogota we departed the airport and made our way to the taxi rank. We picked the largest vehicle we could find and informed the driver that we needed to travel to the mountain where the Phoenix was seen. The driver advised us that the mountain was over 400 miles away and that the journey would cost $1,000. He also told us that the fare had to be paid in cash. We agreed to his terms and climbed into his vehicle. Before joining us in the car the driver made a phone call. As he got into the vehicle, he informed us that he needed to stop at his house to pick up some provisions for the journey. He asked if we had the cash for the cost of the journey. I nodded to confirm that we did.

  The journey was slow and chaotic. The roads were all heavily congested and all the drivers were constantly beeping their horns and gesturing violently out of their windows. Our driver fitted right in with this crowd. He drove like a maniac and was constantly shouting and swearing at the other drivers. We eventually left the main road and he took us to the middle of a shanty town where the houses were a myriad of colours and materials. All the buildings looked like temporary, unstable structures and were leaning against each other at awkward angles. Very few of the windows had glass in them and humans swarmed everywhere around us. The whole place had a wretched stench about it.

  The sight of the large black vehicle filled with giant strangers caused excitement amongst the locals. Large groups of children attempted to peer in through the tinted glass windows as they ran alongside the car. We sat motionless in the vehicle, ignoring the noise and excitement outside. The driver was sweating profusely and appeared nervous.

  “Didn’t anybody warn you about travelling around Bogata on your own?” He asked in Spanish with a maniacal laugh.

  We ignored his question and sat in silence. The car turned through a succession of sharp turns and the swarm of people surrounding us disappeared. We eventually came to a halt in a deserted street of makeshift houses. As soon as the driver stopped the car, he flung open his door and ran off down a side alley.

  There was an eerie silence as we waited for something to happen. None of us moved a muscle. Suddenly a group of seven men appeared in the road in front of the vehicle. As they approached the car another group of men appeared behind the car. All the men were carrying weapons. At the front of each group were two large men carrying baseball bats. The remainder were carrying a variety of implements including metal poles, bars and knives.

  I nodded to my companions. We slowly climbed out of the vehicle. Two of us exited to the right side and two of us to the left. We said nothing but raised ourselves up to our full seven feet height. We stood motionless facing the two approaching groups. All the men stopped dead in their tracks when they saw our size. After a momentary pause a guy at the back of the crowd shouted encouragement in Spanish to one of the men with the baseball bats. We understood every word. He instructed the man to take out the largest one of us first. The man with the bat said nothing but shrugged to confirm he was relaxed about the threat we posed to him.

  We all morphed before they had a chance to attack. Our disguises fell away as we changed from our human form into our natural demonic shape. Our original form, with giant leathery wings, red eyes, horns, claws and razor-sharp teeth, is a truly terrifying sight for humans and I watched in delight as a collective look of horror appeared on the men’s faces. Some of them froze with fear whilst others attempted to run away. The braver ones amongst them continued moving slowly towards us. The guys with the baseball bats launched their attack but we reacted far too quickly for them. We are killing machines and we attacked violently. We showed no mercy as we used our giant clawed hands to rip their bodies to shreds. Our immense strength and razor-sharp claws enabled us to decapitate the men with a single swipe of our hands. The battle was over in less than a minute. This was not a fight; it was a massacre. We had barely broken into a sweat. We stood and waited, in silence, for a second wave of men to arrive. If more had been waiting, they were too scared to come forward and if they were watching they had just witnessed fourteen men being viciously torn apart by four wild, ferocious beasts. We once again proved that we are better than the humans.

  After the excitement of the conflict we returned to our human form and climbed back into the car. One of my Hunters took the wheel and we set off for the highest mountain in Columbia; Pico Cristobal Colon.

  Chapter 24

  The storm has moved on and it is gloriously sunny again as we head back in the direction of the Big Harbour. A sea eagle glides majestically above us, decides that we are too large to be prey and swoops down to sea level in search of lunch. Angus’s hand drawn map shows the Church Cave to be located within a large inlet. We arrive at a point where the coastline cuts in sharply and agree that this could be the place that Angus has mapped. The ground is rocky and there is no obvious path down towards the sea. The sea spray has made it wet underfoot and we take extra care as we scramble down the rocks. Around halfway down we spot a large cave.

  “That must be it” I shout to Arty.

  The cave is situated above sea level and is set back from the waterfront. It looks dark and foreboding from this distance. As I stare into the mouth of the cave, I’m convinced that I see a face staring back at me from the darkness.

  “Did you see that?” I shout to Arty. She is a few paces ahead of me and turns back to face me. I can see from her expression that she didn’t see anything. I quickly look back to the entrance of the cave, but the face has gone.

  “See what?” Arty asks.

  “I think I saw somebody in the cave” I reply.

  “You saw somebody?”

  “Yes. I saw a face. I couldn’t make it out clearly but I’m sure I caught an outline of a face in the darkness.”

  “Really? I didn’t see anything” Arty replies.

  As we make our way further down the coastal path an eerie whistling noise emanates around the cove. I know it is probably just the wind echoing around the bay, but the sound sends a shiver down my spine. Thick cloud cover rolls in and the temperature drops as we get closer to the cave. I am feeling anxious as we make our way down the final part of the cliff. I can’t get the image of the mysterious face out of my mind.

  We climb down the last section of the hillside and reach the mouth of the cave. The place doesn’t really look like a church or a place of worship and I wonder to myself if anybody really came here for that purpose in the past or whether it is just a nice story for tourists. Boulders have been lined up into neat rows at the entrance. Angus said the boulders were used as pews during church services. Other than the boulders there is nothing of interest to see outside the cave.

  “Hello?” I shout into the cave. “Is there anybody there?”

  My words echo through the cave but there is no answer.

  “There’s nobody here Angel. It was probably just a trick of the light or your imagination” Arty says.

  I would love to agree with her but I’m positive that I saw a face. Added to my concerns about a mysterious inhabitant the cave looks dark and scary.

  “What do you think we are going to find in there?” I ask.

  “I have no idea Angel. Somehow all of this must have something to do with the Blackout Comet, but I can’t think what relevance Rona has or what we have been sent to find here” Arty replies.

 
“Do you think it’s safe to go in?”

  “It’ll be fine. We certainly haven’t come all the way here to give up now.” Arty says as she takes her torch out of her backpack.

  “Ready?” Arty asks as she turns her torch on and nods towards the heart of the cave.

  “Ready!” I reply as I take my torch out of my pocket and switch it on.

  “Hello?” Arty shouts. Her voice echoes around the cave like mine did earlier. There is still no answer. She walks slowly into the darkness. I take a deep breath and follow her.

  We are enveloped in darkness when enter the cave as our torches only illuminate a small area in front of us. It is cold and damp and the wind is whistling in from the sea behind us. The sound of the waves roar around the place and there are lots of sloshing and dripping noises. The acoustics in here are incredible and every single sound is amplified and bounces around inside the cave. The floor is uneven and scattered with rocks making it difficult to walk quickly. A drop of water lands on my shoulder and makes me jump. I shine my torch up to see where it has come from and my light picks out an enormous white stalactite hanging directly above me. I scan my torch across the ceiling and reveal a myriad of milky white stalactites. As I shine my torch around it picks out a myriad of different coloured rock on the walls of the cave.

  “This place is cool” I whisper to Arty. My whisper is amplified and reverberates around the cave.

  Arty shines her torch up to the ceiling and we both stand in awe looking at the beautiful scene that nature has created within this pitch-black environment.

  A loud thud suddenly emanates from the depths of the cave.

  My heart misses a beat. My immediate instinct is to turn and run back out into the daylight.

  “Did you hear that?” I whisper.

  “Yes” Arty whispers in reply. “That definitely wasn’t your imagination.”

  “Hello?” Arty shouts. “Is there anybody there?”

  No answer.

  “Do you think we should carry on?” I ask.

  Arty nods.

  We huddle closer together and make our way deeper into the cave. The sound of running water is now louder than the sound of the waves. The floor slopes upwards toward the rear of the cave and we have to climb up onto boulders and rocks as we make our way further into the darkness. The air feels cold as we reach a vertical rock wall. We are at the back of the cave.

  “It looks like this is as far as we can go” I say.

  I scan my torch around. We are surrounded on three sides by walls. The light beam from the torch bounces over the uneven rock surface of the walls. As I sweep the light around the rear of the cave it momentarily picks out a small black object. I walk over to inspect and see that it is the mouth of a tunnel. It is just large enough to crawl through. I shine my torch down the tunnel and poke my head in. It’s too long to see the other end but I can feel a breeze on my face and hear and a trickle of water flowing from the other side.

  “Is there anything else of interest in here other than this tunnel?” I say to Arty as I try to work out where the water is coming from. “I don’t really fancy crawling through here.”

  Arty doesn’t answer.

  “I said is there anything else of interest in here?”

  I turn around to see Arty standing with her torch pointing up at the cave’s rear wall. I can’t quite make out what she is looking at from this angle. I aim my torch on the same part of the wall and step back to get a better view. As our torch lights combine, they reveal a huge carving of a giant bird in the face of the rock. The bird has both wings outstretched and is flying out of a fireball. The exposed sections of the rock, where the image has been carved, are a vivid red. As we move our torches around the bird appears to be glowing red under our lights.

  “Wow! That is amazing” I say.

  “Incredible” Arty replies.

  “Do you think that this is what we are meant to be looking for?”

  “There doesn’t appear to be anything else down here so it must be.”

  “Is it a Phoenix?” I ask.

  “I believe it is” Arty says with a nod.

  “What does it mean?”

  “I’ve absolutely no idea” Arty replies.

  We continue staring at the magnificent image for a few seconds in silence.

  “Is there any connection between a Phoenix and the Blackout Comet?”

  “Not that I recall. I can’t remember a Phoenix ever being mentioned or linked to the Blackout Comet.”

  The carving is incredible. The flames and the Phoenix’s wings look like they are moving under our torchlight. I take my phone out of my pocket and take a video of the Phoenix. As I do so something touches my ankle. I look down and see that both of my feet are submerged in water. I turn around and notice that the whole of the cave is now underwater. The sea level has risen so much that it is now above the mouth of the cave. Arty and I are standing at the highest point at the back of the cave, but the water level has already reached us. More waves are sweeping in and throwing water up onto the walls of the cave. At this rate it won’t be long until the entire cave is filled with water.

  A wave sweeps up and drenches me up to my waist.

  “We need to get out of here right now” Arty says from behind me.

  “How? If we try to swim back towards the entrance, we’ll be smashed against the walls by the waves.”

  “The tunnel” Arty replies.

  “What?” I say in disbelief.

  “There’s a breeze coming from the other side of that tunnel so it must lead to a way out. We’ve got no choice but to go through” Arty says as she takes off her backpack and heads towards the mouth of the tunnel.

  The water level has risen over the past few minutes and the mouth of the tunnel is now underwater. Arty takes a deep breath, holds her backpack in front of her and dives down into the tunnel. The water is absolutely freezing and is now up to my chest. I can feel the current in the water trying to pull me back towards the mouth of the cave. I remove my backpack, take a deep breath and plunge under the water. The freezing, salty water stings my eyes and rushes into my ears. I see the entrance to the tunnel and swim towards it, fighting the pull of the current as I do so. I push my backpack into the tunnel and follow head-first. It is pitch-black and freezing inside and the combination of the dark and the ice-cold water is terrifying.

  The tunnel is narrow. I push against the sides with my hands and feet. The tunnel is entirely submerged and is claustrophobic inside. The reverse swell of the water attempts to pull me back into the cave. I’m not making much progress and I start to feel that I can’t hold my breath for much longer. Just as I’m about to panic Arty’s hand grabs my arm and pulls me out of the other end of the tunnel.

  I desperately gasp for air as I stand up.

  Arty gives me a reassuring hug.

  We are now in a second cave. The water level in here is around waist height. There is a small shaft of light coming in from above which makes it light enough to see. I glance down towards the tunnel, but it is now completely submerged. The only thing that is visible around us is the rising sea water.

  “Are you OK?” Arty asks as she puts her hand on my arm.

  “Yes” I say as I continue taking deep breaths.

  “We need to find a way out of here. Our best option is to head for the source of the light” Arty says as she points towards the top of the cave.

  We wade through the freezing water towards the rear of the cave. The slither of light coming in from above is just enough for us to see where we are going. The rear of the cave is steep but should be climbable. The water level is continuing to rise and is now up to my armpits. I assess the climb out as we reach the rear of the cave. The slope is steep and covered with running water. It looks slippery but there are cracks and fissures in the rock which should give us something to grip and use as footholds. I’m cold and tired and my arms and legs feel heavy. I can’t give up now and need to find the strength to make this climb.

&nb
sp; Arty puts on her backpack and nods at me as I do the same. She starts the ascent and makes rapid progress. Her determination and drive spurs me on.

  ‘Come on Angel, if Arty can do it then so can you’ I think to myself as I start climbing. I remember the mantra ‘push with your legs and hold with your hands.’ There is no rope to save me now, so I make a point of following Arty’s route.

  The water level is rising almost as fast as I am climbing. We only have another couple of minutes before this cave will be full to the top with water. That should be enough time if there is an exit hole but what if there isn’t?

  “Can you see an opening?” I shout up to Arty who is almost out of my sight.

  “Yes.”

  “Is it large enough for us to climb out?” I ask. I am desperately trying to stay ahead of the rising water.

  “I’m not there yet but I think it looks big enough to climb through” Arty says.

  “It had better be large enough or we’re both toast” I mutter to myself as I consciously increase the speed of my climbing. As I rush to get up, I make a mistake and miss a foothold. My right foot slips off the rock and my leg skids down the rock into the water beneath me. A flashback of my fall on the Inaccessible Pinnacle shoots through my mind. This time Arty can’t save me if I slip.

  ‘Don’t panic Angel’ I say to myself as I try keep my composure. My left leg and both hands hold firm and I manage to maintain my position without falling. I quickly reposition my right foot and find the foothold I have just missed.

  ‘OK, let’s press on’ I whisper to myself. My stumble has given the water time to catch me and I am now knee deep in freezing sea water.

  “I can see the hole clearly now” Arty shouts down. “The good news is that it is definitely large enough to climb out of.”

  “What’s the bad news?” I automatically shout back whilst continuing to clamber up the rock face.

  “The final part of the rock face beneath the exit hole is a sheer wall with no hand or foot grips. It’s impossible to climb” Arty replies.