Dark World

by George Ivanoff

  ‘Please.’ Bloom’s voice dripped with insincerity. ‘You might as well make yourself useful while I fill in our new guest on the situation.’

  Rowan was about to complain some more, when Newt pitched in, ‘I’ll come with you.’

  ‘Excellent,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘You are both irrelevant to the upcoming negotiations.’

  When they were out in the corridor, Rowan said, ‘I really don’t like this version of Ms Bloom.’

  ‘Me neither,’ agreed Newt. ‘She obviously doesn’t care about anyone or anything except her science. I mean… I think she really might have shot us with that Volt Cannon if that sphere hadn’t distracted her.’

  They found the kitchenette and went in. Brian was in the far corner, trying unsuccessfully to operate the espresso machine. He looked up and groaned.

  ‘I know I’m into science,’ said Newt, pulling a couple of lemonade cans from the fridge and handing one to Rowan. ‘But proper science. Careful science. Ethical science.’

  ‘Ethical science?’ asked Rowan, opening his lemonade.

  ‘Yeah.’ Newt opened her own can and took a sip, glancing at Brian. ‘Should we offer him one?’

  Rowan glanced over to see Brian spooning instant coffee into the milk frother. ‘Probably not.’

  ‘My parents are both science teachers at university,’ continued Newt. ‘And my mum lectures in the Ethics of Science. The idea that scientists should be responsible for what they do. That they should consider the dangers of experiments. That science should be for the good of the human race.’ They both stared at Brian. ‘And I don’t think Dr Bloom cares about the human race.’

  They both sipped their drinks in silence for a while, watching Brian poking the logo on the machine rather than the ‘on’ switch.

  ‘Dr Bloom has captured that bit of darkness,’ Rowan eventually said. ‘You reckon she’s going to … you know …’

  ‘Make it into some kind of weapon?’ Newt was angry. ‘Yeah. I think so.’

  ‘Good thing you stopped her from getting more, then,’ said Rowan.

  ‘Good thing you stopped her from zapping me,’ said Newt, blushing. ‘Um … thanks.’

  Rowan nodded awkwardly. ‘So … what do we do? Do we try to stop her?’

  ‘I don’t see how we can?’ said Newt. ‘And she is right about one thing. We’re going to need her help to get back home. It would probably be good to not make her any angrier than she already is.’

  ‘Maybe that wizard guy can help us instead?’ suggested Rowan.

  ‘I’m not sure I trust him either,’ said Newt, putting down her drink. ‘He did say something about being a mage of war. And now the two of them are …’ She waggled two fingers on each hand, forming invisible quotation marks in the air. ‘Negotiating.’

  ‘We should get back. If we can’t trust either of them, we probably shouldn’t leave them alone together. Who knows what they’re plotting.’

  ‘Yeah.’ It occurred to Newt that she and Rowan were agreeing about things. Perhaps they weren’t as different as she’d thought.

  Brian was now using his feather duster to brush away spilled coffee. Rowan grabbed another can from the fridge to bring back for Stygian, then reached over and flicked the ‘on’ switch on the espresso machine. He gave Brian a thumbs up.

  ‘The darkness will be difficult to control,’ Stygian was saying as they returned. He and Dr Bloom were seated on the edge of the dais, chatting away like old friends. Newt noticed that his hunch was even more pronounced now that he was seated. And … was it in a slightly different spot on his back? Weird, thought Newt.

  ‘You want to control it?’ said Rowan, approaching them.

  ‘Well, yeah,’ said Stygian.

  Rowan and Newt glanced at each other.

  ‘Control it in the sense that it needs to be stopped,’ explained Dr Bloom. ‘It appears to be even more of a threat than I realised. It’s not just seeping into this world. It’s pushing its way into others. Maybe yours.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ demanded Newt. Suddenly, she remembered seeing a dark patch as she crossed over into this world, and felt scared for her parents and friends. Had the menacing darkness already attacked her home?

  Stygian waved, drawing everyone’s attention. ‘Saw it. Felt it. I was trapped with it. I had lots of time to find things out. To communicate with the Darkness.’

  ‘You can talk to it?’ asked Rowan.

  ‘Yeah, sort of,’ said Stygian. ‘More like feel its thoughts. It’s hard to explain.’

  ‘The Darkness has thoughts.’ Newt hadn’t considered that up until now. She had just considered the darkness as a threat. Not as a thinking entity.

  ‘Tell us about it … the Darkness,’ demanded Newt. ‘Tell us everything.’

  ‘Okay,’ he said with a grin. ‘But can I have my drink first?’

  ‘Oh.’ Rowan handed it to him.

  Stygian turned the can over in his hands curiously. Rowan was about to explain how to open it, when the can opened itself. Stygian took an experimental sip. His eyes lit up and he guzzled the drink down.

  He grinned, then belched loudly. ‘Nectar of the gods,’ he said, eyes aglow.

  ‘You will excuse me if I continue with my work while you chat,’ said Dr Bloom, getting to her feet.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ asked Newt suspiciously.

  Dr Bloom pointed up to the hatch where the mechanical arm with the captured piece of the Darkness had disappeared. ‘I need to transfer that to a proper containment unit and begin my analysis.’ She glared at Newt. ‘Of course it is somewhat less than I wanted.

  Don’t think I’ve forgotten your sabotage.’ She headed off to her control dais.

  Stygian put the can down and rubbed his hands together. ‘Okay, explanations. Like I told the Doc, I’ve been searching for a way to help my queen defeat our enemies. Wasn’t having much success with the traditional methods of raining down fire and brimstone and inciting insect plagues, so I thought I’d have a go at something a little more outside the box. I had these old family scrolls about traversing worlds and opening doorways, so I thought … what have I got to lose?’ He sighed. ‘Turns out I had a lot to lose. I got a doorway open … but … you know … things didn’t really work out.’ He frowned and Newt got the distinct impression he was concealing something. ‘Instead of becoming the saviour of the realm, I got trapped.’

  Stygian arched his back, wincing.

  ‘You okay?’ asked Rowan.

  ‘Yeah, yeah.’ Stygian wiped the perspiration from his forehead and tried to laugh it off. ‘Just a niggling pain in the … back. Thought I had it … under control.’ He grinned amiably. ‘Anyway, while there, I figured I should, you know, look and listen. Turns out I could kind of tune in to the Darkness. It’s hard to explain. It sort of thinks. But it’s more like it was feeling and reacting to me.’

  ‘So, what’s it feeling?’ asked Newt.

  ‘Anger mostly,’ said Stygian, his brow furrowing, his eyes hardening. ‘Bit of hate. It’s never had visitors before. Never had to deal with anything other than its own existence. Now it knows there are other worlds, it’s been sending itself out. Pushing through. Wherever a doorway has been created, there’s a weakness. That’s where it’s pushing.’

  ‘So this is all your fault,’ said Newt, pointing an accusing finger at the mage.

  ‘Only a bit.’ He grinned again. Newt was beginning to find it annoying. ‘It’s the Doc who’s really set it off. What with all that electri-something energy.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’ asked Newt.

  Stygian lowered his voice. ‘Well, the Doc wants me to help her find a way to harness and control the Darkness. She wants to turn it into a weapon.’ He glanced over to where Dr Bloom now had the Darkness in a containment box attached to various scanners and probes. ‘But …’

  ‘But what?’ Newt’s voice was hopeful.

  Stygian regarded her carefully. She felt like she was being assessed. Then he shrugged.
>
  ‘I … want to –’

  Stygian threw back his head and gasped. He arched his back and contorted. His face was red with effort, his brow now covered in sweat.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ asked Newt, staring in horror at the boy.

  ‘Nothing,’ he wheezed through clenched teeth. ‘Fine. Will. Keep. Control.’ He thrashed about, his body racked with uncontrollable spasms.

  Dr Bloom came running over. ‘What the blazes is up with him? He’s not dying, is he? That would be inconvenient.’

  ‘He’s a human being,’ snapped Newt, her patience with the scientist wearing thin.

  Stygian’s face was now so red that it looked about to explode, his pimples standing out in a particularly alarming shade of magenta. He managed one last gasp of ‘Oh, no’, before collapsing facedown on the floor.

  Newt went to his aid, but Dr Bloom held out an arm to stop her. ‘Don’t!’

  ‘Why?’ demanded Newt. ‘He might be dying.’

  Rather than answer, she pointed to the hunch on his back.

  It was moving.

  Under the boy mage’s robes, the lump was writhing.

  Newt took a step back.

  Whatever was on Stygian’s back, was trying to get out from under the robes. It thrashed about, undulated and then strained against the fabric. Something sharp, like a shiny black tooth, poked through the material.

  The robes tore, revealing black, menacing mandibles in a brown furry body. It shuddered and squeezed itself out through the rip in the mage’s clothing, until it stood quivering on the boy’s shoulders.

  Rowan yelped and backed away.

  Newt held her breath.

  Dr Bloom scowled.

  But no one took their eyes off the massive spider.

  The spider was covered in brown fur, with a shaggy orange stripe of longer hair down the middle of its abdomen. Newt thought it looked like a mohawk. It was roughly the size of a large dinner plate.

  The most startling thing about this creature was its eyes.

  Newt was surprised that there were only two of them. They were a pale crystal blue. And so very human in their appearance. Unnervingly so.

  The spider squatted on Stygian’s unconscious body, looking from person to person before locking onto Newt. It shifted its head from side to side, but kept its eyes on her.

  Why me? thought Newt. Why is it staring at me like that?

  Below the mandibles, the spider’s mouth opened and hissed. It raised its two front legs and shook them. It looked like it was about to pounce.

  Then Newt noticed Rowan.

  He was backing away, face white, body trembling.

  Dr Bloom’s eyes darted about, searching for something. She made a grab for the discarded welding equipment.

  The spider jumped and somersaulted, web shooting out at Dr Bloom. The sticky substance hit her in the face and she fell over. Yelling, she frantically wiped at the web, trying to get it off.

  This spider seems to know what it’s doing, Newt thought. Is it intelligent?

  The spider now launched itself up into the air and over Dr Bloom to land on one of the oscillators. It scuttled up the mechanical arm and onto the ceiling where it clung to the dome and continued to watch Newt.

  Newt was frozen to the spot. Why is it watching me? she wondered. Is it out to get me in particular? She met its gaze – saw something in its eyes. I think it is intelligent. What do I do?

  She looked to Rowan, but he had backed away even further and was whimpering to himself.

  Dr Bloom, having finally got the web off her face, was igniting the welder. A tiny blue flame flared into life.

  What good is that going to do? thought Newt.

  But Dr Bloom flicked a switch and the flame billowed to a metre.

  It doubles as a flamethrower? Why aren’t I surprised?

  Dr Bloom aimed at the ceiling and gave it another burst. The flames fell short of the spider, but the creature hissed and skittered across the ceiling and down the wall towards the hole. It stopped and gave Newt a last lingering look before jumping.

  Brian chose that moment to step into view with a fresh cup of coffee.

  The spider landed on his head. Brian staggered back, slamming into the opposite wall.

  The coffee cup shattered as it hit the floor, splashing the contents over Brian’s uniform.

  ‘Restrain that creature,’ called Dr Bloom. But the spider leaped off Brian and scuttled down the corridor.

  With a sigh or frustration, and a muttered ‘useless’, Dr Bloom made to follow the spider.

  ‘NO!’

  Stygian was awake, trying to get up. He appeared weak and exhausted. His face was now deathly pale and he shook all over.

  ‘Don’t hurt Moppet!’ he begged.

  ‘What?’ Dr Bloom glared down at him. ‘Moppet?’

  ‘Need Moppet.’ Stygian’s voice was weak and strained – down to a hoarse croak. ‘Familiar.’ He passed out again, his face smacking down onto the floor.

  ‘What’s he babbling about?’ Dr Bloom looked around uncertainly. She obviously wanted to go and roast the spider, but the mage’s words made her hesitate.

  ‘A witch’s familiar,’ said Rowan, rejoining the others. Newt thought he seemed very jittery. ‘But did it have to be a spider?’

  ‘A witch’s what?’ spat Dr Bloom.

  ‘A familiar spirit in animal form,’ explained Rowan, warming to his subject. ‘Witches and wizards in fantasy books have them. They’re kind of like servants that help with the magic.’

  ‘What happens if we kill it?’ asked Dr Bloom.

  ‘I don’t know,’ answered Rowan. ‘If it’s anything like the books, it’ll affect Stygian’s ability to do magic.’

  ‘Great!’ The exasperation was evident in Dr Bloom’s voice. ‘So we need that creature alive if I’m to get this stupid boy’s help.’ She switched off the welder/flamethrower and tossed it aside. ‘And he’s unconscious.’

  Newt thought she sounded as if all these things had taken place purely to inconvenience her.

  ‘So, what do we do?’ asked Newt.

  ‘I’m going to get my medical kit and make sure he’s okay.’ Dr Bloom indicated Stygian with a flick of her thumb. ‘You two find the spider.’

  ‘I’m scared of spiders,’ whined Rowan.

  ‘So am I,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘But I’m a doctor and you’re not. So it’s probably best I look after our visiting mage, while you go find his familiar pet.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Newt, heading for the corridor. ‘I’ll go first.’

  ‘What do we do if we find it?’ asked Rowan.

  ‘Keep it contained until I get Stygian back on his feet,’ instructed Dr Bloom. ‘Then he can do whatever it is he needs to do.’

  Rowan joined Newt by the hole in the wall, and they peered through. Brian was still pressed up against the corridor wall. There was no sign of the spider.

  ‘Which way?’ Newt wondered out loud.

  Rowan shrugged.

  ‘We could split up?’ she suggested. ‘I know this way is full of elevator bits, but I could climb over it.’

  ‘No way!’ Rowan’s eyes were wide with panic. ‘I am not going off on my own in search of a giant spider. That’s the sort of stupid thing, stupid people in stupid horror movies do before dying horribly … and stupidly.’

  ‘Well then, let’s go this way,’ said Newt, indicating the direction free of debris. ‘The door to the warehouse is still open. It might have gone in there.’

  ‘Brian! Coffee!’ Dr Bloom’s voice echoed from the portal chamber.

  Brian jerked forward, straightening up as if snapping to attention. He moaned and turned towards the wrong end of the corridor.

  Poor Brian, thought Newt.

  ‘This way,’ she said, gently putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him in the right direction. ‘You too,’ she said to Rowan.

  They dropped Brian off at the kitchenette, where he went straight for the coffee machine. Newt and Rowan continued on
.

  ‘Do you think it’s all weapons?’ asked Newt as they entered the warehouse and gazed at the rows and rows of storage shelves.

  ‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ said Rowan. ‘I reckon she’s a bit of a mad scientist.’

  They began to wander up and down the aisles. There was shelf upon shelf of crates and boxes with serial number labels that meant nothing to them. Newt couldn’t help herself – she stopped and opened one of the boxes. It was full of grey armour.

  ‘Not just weapons. Stuff to protect you from the weapons as well.’

  Rowan looked across to a box on the opposite side and lifted the lid. He squealed and slammed it shut again.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Newt.

  ‘Music! Boy band CDs.’

  ‘Boy band CDs?’

  Rowan shrugged. ‘I suppose they could be considered weapons of mass destruction.’

  ‘Was that a joke?’

  Rowan shrugged.

  ‘Because I actually like boy bands.”

  They were interrupted by a scuttling sound from above.

  Newt looked up to see the spider disappearing over the top of the shelf. She saw Rowan cringe. This must be really hard for him, she thought. Not that it was easy for her.

  ‘That way,’ she mouthed to Rowan.

  They tiptoed to the end of the aisle and peered around into the next. No sign of it.

  Then there was another sound from two aisles along.

  ‘It’s fast,’ she whispered. ‘We’ll never be able to catch up to it. And even if we did … then what? How do we contain it in such a large space.’ She hesitated a moment, as if coming to an important decision. ‘Why don’t you go and tell Dr Bloom that it’s in here. Close the door on your way out so it can’t get away.’

  ‘What about you?’ asked Rowan.

  ‘I’ll stay here and keep searching. I’ve got an idea and I think it will work best if I’m on my own.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Despite what he was saying there was relief on his face. He was eager to get out.

  ‘It’s just a spider,’ said Newt, trying to sound confident.

  ‘A very big spider,’ corrected Rowan.

  Newt reached over to a shelf and grabbed a metal rod from a stack. She swished it through the air. ‘Just in case.’