Captain Black Shadow

by Janina Franck

  As the troll slowly advanced toward him, Griffin edged farther and farther away, trying to figure out a scenario in which he could survive. He couldn’t think of anything else, so he tried pleading.

  “Maco, don’t do this, please don’t. We’re friends, remember? I know you don’t want to hurt me. And it’s going to be alright, okay? Can you hear me? Maco? It’s me, Griffin and I…”

  Griffin fumbled on, encouraged by the slight hesitation the troll showed at the sound of his name. Its eyes lost some of the animalistic madness, and the face its beastliness.

  “Griffin?” Maco asked uncertainly, seemingly shrinking to his normal size.

  “Yes, yes! It’s me! It’s Griffin, I’m right here Maco!” the boy assured him quickly.

  “Vat… haffened?”

  Griffin rubbed his aching forehead in search of an accurate reply.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I have no idea where the others are, either. All I know is that I tripped and suddenly you were all gone, and I was dead, only that I wasn’t.”

  Griffin realized that this explanation probably didn’t help to clear things up at all, but he didn’t know what else to say.

  “It’f fo dark…” Maco mumbled.

  Griffin looked around in surprise, still seeing perfectly.

  “What are you talking about? That glow is…”

  It dawned on him.

  “You can’t see the glow, can you?”

  “Vat glow? Vere if… no… noffing vut dark…neff here. Am I… vlind?”

  Griffin shook his head. “No, the same thing happened to me. I’m not sure what changed, but suddenly everything started glowing. It still is. It’s all around us. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

  Just then, something pounced from out of the brush onto his shoulder and started purring.

  “Aestiva! Am I glad to see you! Are you alright?”

  More purring.

  “You can see, can’t you, Stiva? Is it the blue glow?”

  Confirmation.

  “Do you know how it works? We need to help Maco.”

  Darkness and Fear; Light and Courage.

  Griffin thought back to when the glow had started for him and it clicked.

  “I understand.”

  He turned to Maco.

  “You will have to be brave. There is a pond a couple of steps behind you. To help you, I need you to run into it. Not walk, run. Will you do it?”

  The troll looked small and unhappy.

  “Vut I …can’t fvim,” he whispered.

  “Will you do it?” Griffin asked again. He did his best to make his voice sound cold and unempathetic.

  Maco nodded sadly. He turned around and started running. But after just a couple of steps, he stopped.

  “It… it’f glowing!”

  Griffin grinned.

  “And there is no pond,” he added. “I’m sorry to put you through that, but the place seems to influence our senses depending on our emotions. Fear makes us blind. Courage gives us the ability to see, but not necessarily those around us. It’s weird.”

  Maco nodded slowly, still astonished by the sudden change in his surroundings.

  “You’re really afraid of the dark, aren’t you?” Griffin asked. He didn’t need an answer. “I’m afraid of bricks falling on my head. And dying. And having to go back. And the new electrima-thing, I forgot what they call it, but it freaks me out with all that artificial lightning.” Griffin shuddered. “What I’m trying to say is: everyone’s afraid of something, and that’s okay. I mean, just look at me, I’m afraid of almost everything! So don’t worry, okay? Your friends are always going to be there to support and strengthen you. And there’s no one who can blame you for disliking darkness after what you’ve gone through.”

  Maco nodded gratefully.

  Griffin grinned again.

  “I guess courage is different than stories make it out to be. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the will to overcome it. Courage is facing your fears.”

  “Fomeone …vidout fear can never ve coura…dvof,” Maco added, looking at Griffin in a manner the boy hadn’t seen before.

  Griffin laughed with relief.

  “Alright, now let’s go and find our friends!”

  They walked for another while but came across none of their friends. There was only the forest with its blue glow and silvery shade. After a while longer, Griffin noticed that it had stopped smelling like a forest. Instead, it was almost… minty.

  Eventually, they stopped to rest. Maco still didn’t look happy about the situation, despite being able to see now. Aestiva appeared in lower spirits than usual, and Griffin was frustrated as well. There was still a distinct lack of other sounds, nothing to indicate the time, nor the presence of any other living creatures. To escape all of this even for a little while, they decided to get some sleep.

  CHAPTER 17

  Griffin was woken up by shouting and screaming. Maco and Aestiva were already awake and listening. The shouts were distant, but nevertheless clearly audible, along with the sound of splitting wood.

  “Refrain from hunting me any further, foul beast!” The words rang through the forest between incoherent yelling.

  “Joe,” Maco stated. “He needf… our help!”

  They set off, hurrying toward the chaotic noise. Judging by the ferocity of the crashing and smashing sounds, a lot of trees – probably those hindering the “foul beast’s” path – were being utterly destroyed.

  What was chasing their friend? None of them had come across any kind of animal or beast, so what was it Joe had angered? A feral dragon perhaps?

  When they reached him, they stopped dead, hardly believing their eyes. Joe was running from something with long, glowing, serpentine limbs – like spikes; Griffin counted nine. They stabbed into the ground with every step, though the holes disappeared as soon as the limb was retracted again. The creature moved with surprising speed, making Griffin’s blood run cold.

  Joe fled past them, grabbing Maco and Griffin, pulling them with him.

  “It has lost its mind!” he screamed.

  “I didn’t even know trees had minds!” Griffin yelled back. “Since when do they chase after people? They’re supposed to stand there and do nothing!”

  “I would enjoy observing you relaying that notion to this one!” Joe grunted, jerking his head backward.

  Griffin dared to throw a look over his shoulder. It was definitely a tree chasing them. Its bark was twisted and appeared to be covered in scars. It didn’t seem to care how many other trees it was destroying in its pursuit of them, but even so, the cover of leaves didn’t part to allow a view of the sky. The tree’s leaves rustled in anticipation or anger – or perhaps some other emotion. Griffin couldn’t tell for the lack of face. Just like the rest of the forest, it glowed electric blue.

  “What did you do?” Griffin asked, still running.

  Joe attempted a shrug.

  “I merely picked some herbs I thought useful! One of them was attached to its trunk and I suppose it must have been fond of it!”

  “And how long are we supposed to run away?” screamed Griffin.

  He was running out of breath. Talking probably didn’t help, but how else was he supposed to figure out what was going on?

  “Mew!”

  “Aestiva? What are you–?”

  She jumped off Griffin’s shoulder and faced the tree, her paws rooted to the ground. Her body was tense, like she was ready to fight. Griffin skidded to a halt, turning back to her. He needed to get to her before the tree did. Another burst of adrenaline shot through his system. The tree lifted one of its roots and was about to stab it down toward Aestiva. The world seemed to slow down. Griffin had to run just a little faster to get to her in time. He was almost there!

  The root darted toward her like a scorpion’s tail lashing out. Griffin tripped. He found himself with his face in the dirt, too far away to reach her. He presse
d his eyes shut. He couldn’t watch this. No!

  All noise ceased.

  Slowly, Griffin opened his eyes.

  The root had stopped, inches away from Aestiva’s face, still braced, pointing directly at her. She calmly sat back, relaxed.

  “Mew,” she said.

  The tree slowly retreated its root and planted itself back into the ground. Within mere seconds, it looked no different from any other tree in the forest.

  “How did you–?” Griffin began, but he couldn’t finish the sentence. He got back to his feet. Aestiva trotted to his side and rubbed lovingly against his legs. He picked her up and patted her head.

  “You really are something, you know that? But please don’t do that again. You had me really worried there!”

  “Mew!”

  Joe and Maco rejoined them after a few minutes, looking around cautiously in case any other plants decided to follow the example of the first one.

  “What… haffened?” Maco asked, ogling the tree which was now behaving like a tree should.

  Griffin pointed to the little cat on his arm.

  “Aestiva happened.”

  They needed to rest after all that running, but they decided to put a little distance between themselves and the tree first.

  “So I expect that you don’t know where the others are either, huh?” Griffin spoke the words they were all thinking.

  Joe shook his head.

  “One moment you were all present, the next I was engulfed in utter darkness without a soul to guide me. I blinked and everything had begun to shine, yet none of our companions were to be found.”

  Griffin nodded absentmindedly. He worried about their friends. Who knew if there were more strange plants waiting to attack? This forest was huge. There was a chance they wouldn’t find each other again for days, even weeks. On the other hand, he couldn’t imagine Selene running into any trouble she couldn’t handle. Ryo’s toughness was also unmatched. So there was no reason to worry too much, Griffin knew. But even that knowledge couldn’t loosen the tight knot in his stomach. He would feel a lot better once they were all back on the Bat.

  Leaning against a tree, hoping it wouldn’t start walking away, he let his gaze wander over his dozing companions. He was getting a little tired as well.

  The volcano. That was where they needed to get to. That was where Selene would meet them. And with any luck, Ryo as well. Once they were all back together, things would work out and they would be back on the Bat before they knew it. Holding on to that comforting thought, Griffin joined his friends in sleeping.

  After what felt like mere seconds, he jerked awake with a single thought filling his mind: Climb.

  He still didn’t like the idea, but there didn’t seem to be another option. It was the only way they could be sure which direction to go.

  Carefully, he lifted the sleepy Aestiva off his legs and got up, looking around to find a tree he could use. There was a tree with low branches just a little way off, still within view of his friends. Griffin approached it cautiously. It might have a temper like the other tree. Did he dare find out? If pulling a weed off a tree’s trunk made them angry, climbing on them would likely also not be regarded kindly.

  “Excuse me,” Griffin said in hushed tones. “Um, I’ve never spoken to a tree before, so I’m not entirely sure how to approach you but, uh… Would it be alright if I climbed on you to get a clear view of the island? If you could just… uh… rustle your leaves if you’ll let me… that would be very nice.”

  He felt stupid. He was talking to a creature without a face. It didn’t have any ears; could it even hear him? Even if it could, there was no guarantee it could understand his words. Besides, who even knew whether every tree on this island had a consciousness? Maybe he had completely misunderstood the situation. He would have liked to bang his head against the tree for his stupidity, but he feared it might get angry at him doing so. Just as he was about to return to the others, something above him rustled. He stopped and stared. The rustling ceased.

  “Uh… was that a yes?”

  The leaves began again.

  “Okay… What’s a no?”

  The leaves stopped.

  Griffin waited for a moment. Nothing else happened.

  “Alright… Thank you! Thank you very much! I’ll try not to break anything!”

  The leaves rustled again.

  Griffin pulled himself onto the first branch and from that one, he proceeded to climb farther and farther up. It took him some time to reach the thickest part of the leaves and for several moments he had to force himself through it, not being able to see farther than a couple of inches. The bark under his hands felt smooth and almost soft.

  Finally, his head burst through the blanket of leaves into the clear night. He breathed in deeply. A little breeze brought him the smell of the sea. How wonderful it was to have this luxury again. The stars shone brightly, but Griffin felt like it was rather dark compared to the glowing light down in the forest. He couldn’t make out much. The moons couldn’t be seen, but the starlight was enough to hint at the outline of a mountain. It was too dark to be certain, but Griffin estimated that they could reach it within a half day’s march.

  After taking one last deep breath, he slid carefully down through the leaves again. Not seeing what his feet were doing, he blindly searched for footing. His foot connected with a branch, but once he put his weight on it, he slipped off. For a short moment, he fell, whipping through branches and leaves, desperately trying to hold on to something, without even enough air in his lungs to scream. He grasped wildly into the air until after less than a second, his hands found a branch, stopping his fall. He clung on to it with all his might but could not find the strength to pull himself up. Instead, the branch itself moved toward the forest floor in one slow, gentle motion until Griffin’s feet touched the ground. He clung on for another moment, just to be certain he wouldn’t fall any farther, and then dropped to his knees.

  “Thank you,” he gasped to the tree, which was still bent over beside him. “Thank you so much!”

  The leaves rustled in a presumably friendly manner, and the tree returned to its upright stance.

  After catching his breath and a moment of quiet contemplation, Griffin got up and placed his hand on the tree’s trunk for a moment. He hoped his gratitude could somehow reach it without words. Then he returned to his friends, who were waking up.

  He pointed in the volcano’s direction.

  “We need to go that way. We should reach the volcano by tonight.”

  He received only exhausted nods from his companions. The constant uncertainty and possibility of danger was taking its toll. It was gnawing on their strength and willpower.

  Joe straightened himself up and forced a cheerful smile.

  “Then let us go, my friends, and venture to rejoin the company of our remaining comrades!”

  Without wasting any further words or time, they set off.

  They walked for hours with only the bare minimum of communication and without any interruptions, aside from a few water breaks. Griffin wasn’t sure how long they had been on the move, but the edge of the forest came suddenly and unexpectedly; they had to crouch and crawl through a hedge, with leaves and branches blocking their view until the last moment. Once they broke through, the light and warmth hit them hard, blinding them for several minutes. They could smell the mountain and sea air.

  Griffin squinted up at the bright sky. The sun was high in the sky.

  “There you are!” A joyful voice cheered. Ryo was walking toward them from the nearby slope, followed by Selene.

  Griffin could feel a weight slipping off his shoulders. They were safe. They were all there, together again!

  “Took you long enough,” Selene stated. But even she couldn’t hide the hint of relief in her expression. “Are you all ready to climb? I want to get to the top before nightfall.”

  After a short break, during which Joe and Ryo shared t
heir recent experiences with everyone, they began their hike. At first, the hill was covered in little scrubs, surrounded by loose scree. The slope wasn’t steep at this point, so while it took more effort than walking through the forest, it was still relaxing, especially with the relief of proper light and fresh air to lift their spirits. As they proceeded, the ascent grew steeper, though it was still manageable.

  Griffin was surprised at the speed with which they were climbing the mountain – within a few hours they had made it more than halfway. Walking became more difficult as they went on, but the slopes formed nearly diagonal paths. Following them made the hike easier.

  Spots to rest a while were sparse and any breaks were kept short, all of them being driven by the desire to reach the top.

  Not far now.

  Griffin felt his excitement rising. They could get this done quickly and then they could return to sea. And… more than that: they would finally be able to gaze upon what lay beyond the Veil. His entire future lay in this mountain. Every step brought him closer to it.

  After several more hours, they reached the plateau at the summit. Paying no attention to their surroundings, they all sat, fell, knelt, and dropped down to catch their breath and feel the joy of having reached it.

  “Mow,” said Aestiva.

  Griffin looked over to the cat. She stood, staring down what seemed to be some sort of drop. He got to his feet and joined her. It was deep. Not exactly bottomless, but near to it. With sudden crystal clarity, Griffin remembered that this mountain was a volcano, and this hole… the hole led nowhere else but a pit of deadly, liquid fire. Staring down into the abyss, he saw only black. Black… and in the depth, an orange glow. Like an eye, it stared up at him. He shuddered and stepped back to rejoin the others. His euphoria had ceased and been replaced by a knot in his stomach. The quicker they could get away from here, the better.

  “We’re going to split,” Selene announced. “I want some of you to wait here in case we receive word from the Bat – and as backup if needed. Griffin and Aestiva, you’re coming with me. The rest of you… Make sure nothing follows us.”