“You’ve changed so much in so little time,” Rachael said. “For years, you were all Petunia this and Petunia that, but now you’re all Lukeson this and Lukeson that.”
“I guess I can see the error of my ways much quicker than someone can.”
The crocodile growled. “There is nothing wrong with the way I am.”
Kathy chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong. Everyone has flaws, but those who say they don’t need to improve anything about themselves are usually the ones who need improve themselves the most.”
Rachael fished her knife out of the inside of her jacket and charged for Kathy, but she heard something fast approaching. Before she could turn to look, something big hit the crocodile on the back of her head and she fell back into the water unconscious. Kathy saw that it was an airboat that knocked the aggressive crocodile out and the driver was... Larissa.
“Croc you!” the young penguin yelled, as she stuck two phalanges at Rachael.
Kathy got in the boat and took over from the controls. “Well done, Larissa,” she said proudly. “Plan nicely executed.”
While she was talking to Rachael, Kathy quickly spotted the distanced, abandoned airboat not too far away. When she let go of Larissa, she hoped she could trust her to get to it while she distracted Rachael with her talking. She did not enjoy speaking one bit to her ex-best friend, but she was glad it paid off now that they were sailing away. Kathy knew Rachael wasn’t very bright, but what she and Larissa did showed her the croc was a lot dimmer than she thought she was.
Kathy was pleased to notice that Larissa was also proving herself to be trustworthy. Between her and Pedro, Kathy always found Larissa to be the most trusted, but this war was proving her worth more than anyone at G.C.A. could imagine. She liked Pedro as well; she liked his wellbeing and his sense of humour, but the only reason she never said so was because she didn’t want to encourage him against Paula’s discipline. She was merely a friend and a soldier, not his mother or his aunt or a relative or even a godparent.
* * *
Despite leaving Rachael far behind and the boat having plenty of fuel, Kathy and Larissa still had no idea where they were going. There were still no roads or signs of life. They also had no sat nav or map with them.
“I think we might be going in circles,” said Larissa.
“Rectangles in my book,” said Kathy. She was good at many things such as her skills for aerobatic, cooking and nursing, but navigating had never been one of them.
“Watch out!” Larissa yelled.
Kathy looked ahead and steered the boat away from the nearest lightning bolt attack. That was way too close, she thought. Then another lightning attack made her steer the boat away from it. She looked up to see the sky had a flock of impundulus birds above them.
More attacks followed and they did best to dodge them. Neither of them could look up to check on the lightning birds because Kathy was focusing on her driving and Larissa was focusing on the attacks. The little penguin didn’t have a great deal of strengths, but Kathy noticed that pointing out danger and recognising bad guys were two of them.
After dodging twenty lightning bolts, the zebra stopped the airboat and explained to Larissa that they were two unarmed creatures on an airboat and those lightning monsters had all the power and the advantages to strike them down and yet they were not hitting them. They weren’t even getting hit by the water mixed with the lightning below them.
“Probably because we’re too fast for them,” said Larissa.
“Or maybe Petunia wants us to be kept alive for some reason,” Kathy said.
“Only one.”
Before Kathy could turn around, she was thrown to the back of the airboat and found herself wrapped in very tight metal chains, this time around her whole body except her face. She couldn’t break free and she didn’t have another small bomb to help her escape this time. All she could do was face her evil-smiling former mentor. “What do you need me for?”
“I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise, would I?” Petunia started to chuckled. Then she laughed. Then she started to laugh out of control.
Kathy saw the reason she was laughing not because of her success of spreading sadism across the world, but Larissa tickling her feet with one of her own feathers. “Larissa, stop!” Kathy cried. “That won’t help anything! Just get off the boat!”
Larissa immediately stopped. “But, Kathy!”
“No buts!” yelled the zebra. “Now, get off! Go! And watch out for Rachael!”
Larissa finally decided to obey the older, more experienced soldier’s orders. She dived before Petunia could catch her.
The witch lifted her hands up and bubbles were bubbling on the surface. “I got you now, bird brain!” But it wasn’t Larissa she fished out of the water. “Croc brain,” she muttered.
“Hi, ma’am,” said Rachael.
Petunia released her hands and her loyal crocodile soldier fell on the boat, bumping her head.
“Rachael, get after that little bird!” Petunia ordered.
“But she’s only a little penguin,” Rachael protested, rubbing her head.
Kathy could not believe what she just said and smiled. “I’m surprised that you have a soft spot for children, Rach, especially when they’re endangered birds.”
“No,” Rachael said. “It’s just I’m so tired that I can’t be asked to do it.”
“Not even if I decide to roast you for my dinner if you don’t?” said Petunia.
Rachael quickly dived back in.
The witch smiled. Works every time.
“Neither you nor Rachael will get her, Petunia,” said Kathy. “She is a young, bright and brave soldier, trained by the great Rhys Lukeson himself.”
“Well, let’s see how well her training has paid off,” said Petunia.
* * *
Larissa had been underwater for about ten minutes. So far nothing bad happened and felt nothing was ever likely to happen. She didn’t want to swim fast because she was trying to save her energy and focus on where she was. She was also trying to avoid making stupid mistakes, like popping into Rachael’s mouth by accident. Also she was not a very energetic penguin herself, whereas her brother had more of the energy of a killer whale instead of a penguin.
Then Larissa saw some bubbles appearing in front of them. They smelled like someone had eaten a whole bean salad without the lettuce and tomatoes. She looked behind and saw Rachael surrounded by a few bubbles.
“Man, I got to eat less beans,” the crocodile muttered, feeling embarrassed.
Larissa zoomed on ahead. She swam as fast as she could, but she could hear Rachael getting close to her. She didn’t need to turn around to check. She could tell her mouth was open by feeling her smelly breath behind. She kept dodging the crocodile’s snapping teeth as much as she can, but there was no way she could swim faster or hide in the long grass. Even though there were no other crocodiles in the water, since Rachael could walk, talk and think like a human being, this one terrifying crocodile alone was worse than a whole pack of crocodiles before the Great Mutation Storm.
Then Rachael saw Larissa swimming towards a long oasis of long grass and going in it. She knew there was no point wasting time swimming through the long grass so she decided to swim over it. As she swam over the grass, the crocodile kept her eyes peeled for Larissa. She peered closer but couldn’t see a single feather. Then she thought the young penguin was trying to hide her breath so she could swim past her. That gave her an idea. She got out a handful of small Mk 2 grenades. They were her last she smuggled from G.C.A. It was her favourite weapon because she loved to blow up things and creatures rather than save them; that was her biggest secret she kept from her whole time at G.C.A. She smiled as she took the pin out and threw it into the long grass.
“It’s been a blast, Larissa!” Rachael chuckled, as she swam back to the surface.
* * *
“Come over here,” said Petunia, grabbing Kathy by the throat. “I want to show you somethin
g.” She made her face the water.
Kathy could see nothing except water… getting exploded. She gasped in horror. She anxiously hoped that Larissa had escaped.
Rachael appeared back on the airboat.
“Well?” asked Petunia.
“That little flightless bird is D-E-A-D!” Rachael laughed. “Not a single grass not burnt and it is now full of feathers!” She held out in her hands a bunch of penguin feathers.
If Kathy wasn’t wrapped in chains, she would run and kill both of them. All she could do was yell angrily at them. “N-N-N-O-O-O-O!”
Petunia just chuckled calmly as she walked to her former student. “Pity you never learnt how to pick your battles more carefully.”
“Well, whose fault is that?” asked a sneering Kathy. All she got from the witch was her snapping fingers. Unconscious overtook her.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
“Stop moving, you stupid bitch.” Rustom was holding Sarah by her wings. He and his friends were standing on the one hundred foot wooden bridge close to the castle. He held Sarah at the edge and pulled her wings down so hard as if they were about to snap off. She was hovering over nothing as Rustom was aiming to drop her from the Fortitudo clouds if she didn’t co-operate with G.C.A. She couldn’t fight the rhino because her hands were in tight metal handcuffs. She tried kicking his feet, but they were so strong he barely felt them. To him, his feet getting kicked by hers like dry sand touching them if they were standing on a warm beach.
“You won’t be doing anything magical for, like, ever,” Rustom went on. “So don’t waste your time trying to resist or escape. Now, tell us why you wanted to wipe out your own species or you’ll be thrown down to Earth without your wings.” Then he pulled her wings back even further.
“Fine, fine, I’ll talk!” Sarah screamed. “I SAID, I’LL FUCKING TALK!”
“Rustom!” Lukeson yelled.
The merciless rhino eased her wings off, but still didn’t let go.
“I’m just like you, Louise,” Sarah panted.
Louise glared at her, finding that hard to believe. “I am zero percent anything like you!” she screamed. Though she knew she still loved her only sister, she was feeling ashamed to be related to her after all the unforgivable things she had done.
“Get to the point, Sarah,” Lukeson ordered.
“We both have one goal,” Sarah said. “We are both fed up of hiding in the clouds and waiting for the humans to destroy our future. But, unlike you who wanted to do the impossible task of changing the way humans think and act, I believed the easier and quicker task of getting rid of them for good would be more productive.”
“How did you make contact with Petunia?” Lukeson asked.
“Louise was not the only wing-person to fly down to Earth and meet its land creatures,” said Sarah. “I was a little bit sick of staying in the clouds so I flew down to the Earth one day and saw how the humans were destroying the Earth with their wars, landfills, deforestation and overpopulation. I knew it wouldn’t be long until the humans will discover us and then wipe us out because I know how their minds work.
“Then one day, a hail storm made me crash into the Canadian Rockies and my wings were broken. I was soon discovered by a witch called Petunia. As she cured my wings, we discovered we had a lot in common: yearning more out of life and hiding while the humans carry on with their despicable ways. Then Petunia told me with my help we could make the world a better place. That was when I became her apprentice and a member of the Cult of Kishpu. She gave me that ring this idiot rhino crushed and told me to wait until the time was right.
“And for years and years, I waited until nine nights ago when I got word from Petunia that Akins had been killed, thanks to G.C.A. Squad J, and it was time to save the Earth for good. You know the rest of the story.”
“And so does Father,” said Louise.
“What?” Sarah just felt like laughing. “Father is twenty thousand miles away from these clouds. Even if you told him to come back here, it would take him –”
“Only a few seconds!”
Sarah gasped in horror as she saw her father and his army landing on the bridge. “You didn’t go to Earth, Father?”
The king jumped off his dragon. “We didn’t even leave the shield protecting this city.” He turned to his youngest daughter. “You were right about everything, Louise. Well done.”
Louise bowed. “Thank you, Father.”
“Where were you when your own city was under attack?” asked Rustom.
“We were trying to destroy the magical purple cloud where the mothmen were coming from, but those monsters kept getting in our way,” explained the king.
Pedro was confused. “Let’s start from the beginning. You knew we were friends all along?”
“Correct,” replied Strigiformes. Then he explained that when Louise met Rhys all those years ago, she told him straight away as she believed it was right thing to do. She also convinced him that not all the humans were bad. Some of them were peaceful and wanted to make the world a better place for all species, not just their own.
“Your Majesty,” said Lukeson. “Pardon me for interrupting. If you knew Sarah had me thrown into that dungeon, why did you leave me there?”
Louise flew in. “I thought you would be safe and we would be able to fool Sarah by letting her think she was making progress.”
“And what about us?” asked Rustom. “Us being chained up in the clouds in the sky? And those chainsaws cutting the chains?”
“That was all Sarah’s doing,” Louise told him. “And we had no idea that happened at all, let alone how it did.”
No wonder Lukeson was surprised about how we got up here, Stu Pot thought.
Rustom quickly turned to Strigiformes. “So, King, does this mean you will drop the charges against us?”
“And secure peace with the land people below?” asked Louise.
“The charges dropped, yes,” said Strigiformes. “The peace below, we will see.”
“Sir, my question earlier was,” Lukeson went on, “did you know about our part?”
“Of course,” said Strigiformes. “Nothing happens in these clouds without me knowing. Not even Sarah’s plotting schemes.” Then he noticed Stu Pot, Rustom and Pedro staring at him. He quickly realised he was blind to their actions since they joined up. “Okay, almost nothing. Happy now?”
“I didn’t know wingmen could look into the future,” said Pedro.
The king laughed. “Well, that’s very kind of you to say so, little penguin, but what I mean is that I hear rumours and, as a king, I have to take each and every one seriously, even the ones that I believe are folly. Also, I grew more suspicious about Sarah’s behaviour whenever she got older. She always acted like she was up to something.”
“But where did those rumours about me even come from?” asked Sarah.
Everyone looking at her just made her think either they didn’t know or they didn’t want to tell. Then she angrily looked at her sister. “I should have known it was you,” she said sinisterly in Danish.
“I knew you would try to have me imprisoned and try to kill anyone who would stop you being queen,” Louise said in Danish. “I even knew that you were planning to kill your witch friend after the war was over so you could be queen of the whole planet.”
“That is why I am banishing you from the Capital, Sarah,” Strigiformes said in Danish.
Sarah couldn’t believe her eyes. “What?”
Her father sighed heavily. “With a mind, attitude and a passion for murder and world domination, you are not worthy for the throne. I never want to see you or even hear about you as long I breathe.” He was sadder when he saw that she was not even heart-broken that he had to banish her, just very angry at him.
“You heard your dad,” Rustom said to Sarah in Danish. “Now, bugger off!” Then he threw her over the side and watched her fly away.
King Strigiformes rubbed his eyes as tears poured down his long beard. He wondered if he could
still live with himself after what he had to do to his oldest daughter.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy,” Louise sobbed in Danish, hugging him.
“On behalf of the Earth,” Lukeson said in English, “I offer you my deepest apologies, Your Majesty.”
The king dried his eyes with his fingers and flew over to Lukeson and the G.C.A. soldiers. He said in English, “And I have nothing to offer you, but my deepest gratitude for finding out the truth about my daughter and for protecting my Capital and the skies. As a reward, you, Rhys Lukeson of Global Creature Alliance, are from now on my Land Ambassador to these skies.”
Lukeson bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” As he slowly straightened up, he thought he could see something and pointed to the sky.
Everyone saw Sarah had returned; her arms were free from the cuffs. She was holding a shiny dagger with a golden handle on it.
Lukeson wondered if it was that dagger that she used to free herself.
Sarah chuckled evilly. “If I cannot rule the skies, then no one shall!” she yelled in Danish. She zoomed down again towards her father and readied the dagger for striking him down, but then she screamed loud enough for the whole sky to hear as she immediately fell down. Everyone ran to the edge of the bridge and watched the wingless Princess of the Skies fall down past the lower clouds. The further she fell, the lower her screaming got. Then it went absolutely silent.
Everyone looked up to see Sarah’s wings landing next to the feet of Rustom, holding a giant sword that was bent like a bow saw and was dripping with blood. He called it Boomerang Sword.
Louise and her father couldn’t take their eyes of the clouds that Sarah had fallen through. Both of them knew something had to be done, but they were not handling what happened to her very well.
“Your Majesty,” said Lukeson. “I know this is not the best of times to request this, but we do need some help with the Earth down below to stop the rest of the Cult of Kishpu.”
The Cult of Kishpu Page 25