“He knows why he’s here then?” asked Mica.
“It’s been a bit of a baptism of fire for both of us. A tough few days, but I think he was coming around to the idea and being able to eliminate those Squalvolvans, sweetened the deal. I hope he’s okay.”
There was a thump on the side of the cage. Robin put his finger to his lips and then touched the side of his head. David had lapsed into speaking again. He wasn’t used to this mind stuff.
“I’d like to say that time heals all wounds, but not the kind Boroc left. Regardless of how we feel, we are also hoping he’s okay because he’s probably our only way out of this mess,” said Robin.
“You mentioned a planet called Vulsumar, but suggested that it might not be our final destination?” David thought the words and the answer came right back.
“There’s a lot we don’t know. The people you see here were once destined for that planet, but Vulsumar could be merely a smokescreen.”
Robin explained that he was waiting on an update from Qwamma and that some of their original group had gone elsewhere to discover more about the Formless Ones and what they might be planning.
Mica pointed to the thing on David’s wrist. “What’s that?”
Every human was wearing one and David described the moment it was fitted onto his wrist and shivered.
“It was alive!”
“It certainly looked alive when they pulled it out of this cauldron looking thing and put it on my wrist.”
“Robin?”
David lifted his arm so they could get a better look at it. “It’s organic,” said Robin.
“So it is alive!”
“You say they were pulling these things out of a cauldron?” asked Robin.
David nodded. “What does that mean?”
Robin didn’t know exactly and he looked at it closely and as pliable as it may have been, it was now as hard as steel.
“Oh, and that Shemo guy was joking about it being some sort of luggage label for my onward journey and now that I was wearing it, there would be no chance of me getting lost.”
“Luggage label,” said Mica, thoughtfully.
It was an odd thing to say, but maybe not, if everyone was being prepped for a journey.
Getting captured was allowing them behind the scenes access and these Squalvolvans were an organised bunch and escape looked impossible. They needed Boroc and perhaps it was time to try and make contact with him. Mica wasn’t exactly enthralled by the idea, although she was inclined to agree, but before they had a chance to put their plan into action, David refocused their attention. Alerting them to a potential problem.
“We’ve got company,” said David.
Animal was returning and this time, Scar was with it. The two of them came right up to the cage and stood staring at David.
“They have plans for me,” said David.
Now he knew what a caged animal felt like, its life in the hands of its captors and freedom a distant memory. Robin was worried for David and he wondered how he could distract these two, but someone beat him to it. A rock came out of nowhere and thumped into the back of Scar. Someone must have had a death wish.
Animal ran off in response to this. There was a bit of a commotion and they watched as someone was dragged out of one of the other cages by their heels. It was Shou. Had he lost his mind? He was pulled towards the fire and from out of the flames stepped Shemo. Shemo kicked Shou a couple of times and then appeared to be having a conversation with him, which seemed a bit of a contradiction. After a few minutes, Shemo instructed the Squalvolvans to put Shou back in the cage and everything returned to normal.
“How did that Shemo guy end up with this bunch?” asked David.
“The Formless Ones,” said Robin. “They work their way into people’s lives when they are at their lowest ebb.”
“I see,” said David thoughtfully. “So those two know each other?”
“Yes. That was Shou and he was lucky to have got off so lightly. I hope he’s okay,” said Mica. “He’s part of our group and we’ve been travelling together since the start.”
Robin agreed that Shou had risked more than a beating in his bid to take the focus off of David.
“If Shemo realises who you are, I’m not really sure what will happen,” said Robin.
It troubled David, knowing that people were putting themselves in danger to keep him safe and Robin quickly reminded him that no one was making a greater sacrifice than he was. The whole experience was playing on David’s mind, understandably, but he must have relaxed long enough to doze off, as he was awoken by the sound of someone screaming.
Still half asleep, he looked around, thinking he might have dreamt it.
In the cage nearest them, David could just make out someone waving their arms about. A woman, distressed about something. David couldn’t see what the problem was and he craned his neck for a better view. It was then that a couple of things flew out through the bars of the cage and settled above him. The light in here was so bad that it was impossible to say what they were, apart from small and winged. David automatically put them into the bird category and did his best bird whistle, but unimpressed with his attempts at communication, they flew off.
David could hear the woman crying, not that he could do much to help and tiredness must have got the better of him because he fell asleep again.
He stirred a few times, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground. He had no idea how long he’d slept, but when he opened his eyes he had an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong.
A sound beside him drew his attention, but in the darkness, he struggled to make out what he was seeing and then he smelt something. Was that blood?
He sat bolt upright and as his eyes adjusted, he could see the old guy beside him, lying in a pool of blood.
The birds were back, lapping at the blood, perhaps they had caused the wound and he could now see these things weren’t birds at all. They were more like bats and looked truly ugly. There must have been half a dozen of them and David froze for fear of becoming the next victim.
Everyone else was still asleep, but his movements had woken Mica and she moved up beside him. This spooked the flock of bloodsuckers and they took off, disappearing back into the shadows.
Between them, they tried to rouse the old guy, but he wasn't responding and fearful that those things would be back, David had no intention of falling asleep again. He sat there listening out for them, but thankfully they never returned to the cage.
The morning light confirmed Robin’s suspicions; they were in the mouth of a huge cavern.
From their encampment he could just make out the peaks of the Hazit Mountains and to get here they had travelled almost two thousand miles via the fire portal.
They received some fresh water. Their first drink since their capture, but the Squalvolvans didn’t want them to relax too much because they left Animal running around, tormenting everyone. The beast was enjoying itself and came to rest on top of the cage nearest them and urinated.
“Vile creature,” said David, disgustedly.
David wasn’t sure how keen its hearing was, but he wondered if it may have heard what he’d said, as it was heading their way. Robin grabbed David and they moved away from the side of the cage and moments later the beast was right outside. This panicked a few, which was no doubt its intention.
David kept his head down and after a lot of aggressive gesturing, the beast ran off and it seemed that its tormenting was over, only it wasn’t. Animal bounded back and this time it chose to defaecate and it rained down into the cage and everyone backed away. It hadn’t finished with them and with its hand covered in its own faeces; it ran around, smearing the cage. The smell was terrible and satisfied with its work, it ran off howling.
How could they possibly get out of this nightmare without some help? And Boroc was on Robin’s mind again.
“Okay, let’s do it,” said Mica.
Robin made himself as comfortable as he could on the hard ground, while D
avid and Mica sat on either side of him, acting as a shield. It didn’t take long for him to focus his mind and here he was, in the middle of a battle. Robin tensed at the brutality and tried to focus on something other than the blood-drenched sand. Boroc was in his element and easily staying on top of things and Robin was surprised to see that he wasn’t fighting alone.
There was a woman with him and Robin waited until the fighting was over and then attempted to make contact. Robin knew this was going to be a challenge and his first attempt didn’t go too well. He kept trying, but Boroc cut him off every time.
Robin finally gave up and rested against the wooden cage. If nothing else, he now had confirmation that the humans had released Boroc and were working together. He closed his eyes to recall the encounter and grimacing through the gory bits, he noticed the huge fire set in the entrance of an Awang. Robin could tell from Boroc’s reaction to it that he had seen similar fires before and was aware of their significance.
Using the fire element in such a way was nothing new, but keeping the portal open and stable for any length of time was difficult to master, a breeze it seemed for the Formless Ones.
Since he couldn’t get through to Boroc at the moment, his attention turned to Qwamma, only he too was otherwise engaged. He’d re-entered the sound crystal and Robin was getting the impression that a new discovery had been made and this intrigued him, but he was going to have to wait to find out what this was.
Robin opened his eyes.
“He’s alive then,” said David.
Robin nodded, still trying to get the images of death out of his mind.
“Is he close?” asked Mica.
“As capable as he is, I don’t think we can bank on him. If we’re going to get out of this, then it’s going to be down to us.”
“I don’t see how, not with all these Squalvolvans around. We might make it out of the cage, but we would only be freeing ourselves. What about everyone else?”
She was right and seeing how quiet things were, Robin felt ready to try again.
Using his mind hadn’t worked because of Boroc’s bad experiences with the Formless Ones, so this time he would try the direct approach. To accomplish this, Robin would have to slip out of this place undetected in his spirit form and that was going to be a feat in itself. Mica didn’t like it, but she was here to support him and agreed to project a protective shield, which would enable her to assist him should he get into difficulty. While they were both engaged, David would keep watch.
David felt a vibration through his feet and Robin was on his way. Time was of the essence and he was soon back outside the Awang, where he’d last seen Boroc and the mystery female. All he had to do now was find them and persuade Boroc to come to their aid.
Mica and David awaited Robin’s return and every movement outside the cage, drew David’s attention, but so far, so good.
Then he noticed something. “There’s that bloke again, Shemo and he’s walking straight towards us.”
“What!”
David was right and he had two Squalvolvans with him.
“Are they on to us?”
“Don’t even think it,” said Mica. “I’m serious. Wait there’s something wrong. I can’t feel Robin.”
Shemo was getting closer.
“Come on Robin,” whispered Mica. “Come back to us.”
Shemo was right outside the cage and Mica and David looked up as if they hadn’t expected him.
“He’s not coming back. His flying days are over, may he rest in peace. Not likely, if I have anything to do with it,” laughed Shemo, before he turned and walked away.
Mica didn’t react, at least not openly; she wouldn’t give that thing the satisfaction. She was devastated. Robin looked all right, he just hadn’t opened his eyes, but Mica knew that he wasn’t going to. Somehow his spirit form had been intercepted and the Formless Ones were preventing him from returning. He was in a comatose state and Mica had no idea how to help him.
Their gamble hadn’t paid off and within the hour, more people came through the portal, which pretty much confirmed that another outpost had fallen. Mica noticed that once these people had been caged, a lot of the Squalvolvans moved away from the camp, out towards the mouth of the cavern and she guessed they were getting ready for the next stage. Mica got the feeling that the people who made this journey were unlikely to return.
It was no good, they couldn’t wait for Boroc and as dangerous as it was to try something, she knew the human race couldn’t risk losing David. He was their only hope.
Mica hadn’t really spoken to David since losing Robin, because she’d been working out how she was going to hatch her plan and get him out of here.
“Escape!”
“Shhh. Yes. I have a feeling they’re getting ready for the final stage and you can’t be a part of that.”
David trusted her and listened while she explained what she had in mind. It would only work if they acted now, while there were so few Squalvolvans around camp. Mica had already looked over the cage for weaknesses and there weren’t any and the twisted steel bar that held the door closed, was doing its job. If there was a weak link in the construction of these cages, it was the bindings, but she would need something sharp or hot to get through them.
The fire was all she had and when it came to moving objects with one’s mind, she would normally nominate Robin. He always made it look easy. She had the ability; she was an Ammarla after all.
In her mind’s eye, she went to the fire and for some reason, she started looking around for a length of burning wood, only she’d forgotten one thing, this was no ordinary fire and it did not need a combustible material to stay alight.
Mica needed only a lick of flame, but how was she going to get it?
She could try isolating part to the fire with her mind, although she’d never tried anything like that before. She began by focusing her efforts towards the base of fire and this seemed to work, but any attempt to bring the flame closer, would result in it going out.
She was missing something and then it occurred to her that maybe she could create mini portals and she pictured this as stepping stones of flame.
Mica got started on this straight away because she knew she was running out of time and to her relief, it was working. From a distance these fiery stepping stones looked like a line of candles, stretching from the fire to the cage.
With her stepping stones of flame in place, she called over more energy and each of the flames flared as it bounced across. The fire was right outside the cage and they stepped back as the flames touched the bindings of the door, which began to crackle and spark.
The bindings were a natural material, a vine of some kind and being softer than the cage’s wooden construction, the flames made short work of them. The fire had burnt through the binding on the lower part of the door and Mica knew that David would now be able to squeeze through.
Satisfied, she extinguished the smouldering embers with a handful of earth and was about to return the element back to the fire, when a dark form leapt at her from the shadows. Mica jumped back from the door having been taken completely by surprise. It was Animal and the escape attempt had been rumbled. Mica kept her head and while Animal was still focused on her, she called upon the fire again. Just as before, its energy bounced across to her, only this time, upon reaching the cage, it set Animal’s fur ablaze.
“You didn’t see that coming, now did you,” said Mica.
The Squalvolvan leapt into the air, fanning the flames until the beast was a ball of fire and it tore off into the cavern like a hound out of hell.
“Quickly, David, it’s now or never,” and she pushed on the door and David squeezed through the gap. “Wait,” Mica grabbed David’s arm, having just remembered the thing attached to his wrist. “We’ll have to remove that before you use the portal.”
“But how?”
She had an idea. “Hold it over the flame.” Mica pointed to flickering flame beside him, which like the portal itself,
hovered a few inches off the ground.
David did as he was told, but the heat was too much and he could smell the hairs on his arm beginning to scorch.
“Not so close,” said Mica.
“It’s not working.”
Mica looked out into the darkness, worried that Animal would alert the other Squalvolvans.
All the while, David’s arm was getting hotter, but he bit his lip and endured it and finally felt movement. The wristband was coming to life, but it still wasn’t coming off. Then Mica thought she saw something, so David went for it and he felt the flames licking at his flesh. He held his wrist over the flame for as long as he could bear, which wasn’t long at all, but it was enough and the wristband fell to the ground, where it coiled like a snake.
“Oh my god. David!”
“I’ll be okay.” David’s wrist felt like it was still in the flames.
“Go. Go quickly.”
David hesitated momentarily and then took off towards the portal to the sound of everyone cheering him on. It was like coming to the end of that marathon he’d never run and their energy was what he needed because he still had to throw himself into the fire. Above the cheering, he heard the Squalvolvans returning and thought he was going to lose his nerve at the last minute, but he found the strength to go through with it and disappeared into the flames.
Now the camp was swarming with Squalvolvans and it wasn’t long before Shemo came knocking on Mica’s cage.
“Having fun are we, Ammarla? Your little escape attempt failed and now you’ve run out of time.”
The cage door opened and a couple of Squalvolvans entered and began pushing everyone towards the exit.
In another part of the cavern a second fire was burning and Mica knew she’d done the right thing. All she hoped was that David and Boroc would somehow find each other.
The caged emptied and Mica retreated to where Robin was still sitting. He looked peaceful and could have been about ready to open his eyes, but she knew that was wishful thinking. The door slammed shut because there was no room for an Ammarla where they were going, which came as no surprise to Mica. She had no intention of leaving Robin anyhow.
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