Paintshark

by Kingsley Pilgrim

  Kimberley looked over the side of the boat into the calm water.

  “I don’t see any.”

  Denton did the same. “Me too, that’s odd, it’s mating season as well, there’s usually loads of them, maybe they tried your cake.” Kimberley wasn’t impressed, so he tried something else. “Speaking of mating season…” Denton stood up in the small boat and wobbled his way towards Kimberley, she stopped rowing as he lifted her from the seat and held her by the waist.

  She protested sternly at first but he kept hold, she finally giggled and tried to wriggle free from his hands.

  “Stop it, Denton, not here,” she grinned.

  “Why not?” he cooed.

  Kimberley protested. “Because I said so.”

  Denton went back to her waist. “Nobody’s going to see us.”

  Kimberley elbowed him in the stomach.

  “We’re on a game show, dummy, with millions of viewers…of course people can see us.”

  Denton stood up straight and turned around, still holding his guts, Kimberley put a finger to her mouth and shushed him.

  “Denton please, I hear something.”

  He stopped and went quiet, trying to hear whatever his girlfriend had heard. “I don’t hear anything, you’re imagining it.”

  He went back to squeezing her waist and kissing her neck, not caring about the TV audience but Kimberley was pre-occupied with the sounds she heard earlier, she sniffed the air which had become stale all of a sudden; she had become totally oblivious to the amorous advances of Denton and held her hand to her nose. “Can’t you smell that?”

  Denton had his hands all over her now but gave a reply. “I can’t smell a thing.” He sniffed just to make sure and whether or not there was a smell…he was going to lie about it anyway just to keep her quiet.

  “Yeah, I can smell something now you mention it, smells terrible too!”

  Kimberley knew when she was being humoured. “Don’t lie; you can’t smell anything really, can you?”

  Denton put up his hands in mock surrender. “I can’t win, can I?” He gave an even bigger sniff and this time something putrid hit his senses, his face turned. “Yeah, I can now and I’m not joking, smells foul whatever it is.”

  Kimberley looked nervously over his shoulder.

  “I don’t like this, it’s getting worse.” She sat back down to continue rowing. “The sooner we get out of here the sooner that smell will go away.”

  But Denton wasn’t convinced and bent down to pick her up again. “One more kiss before we get going then?”

  “NO!”

  He wobbled in the boat as he went to her, still pleading amid the expanding pungent smell, then Denton made a grab at Kimberley’s bottom, she shrieked. “I SAID NO!”

  The shove she gave him was strong was enough to send Denton tumbling backwards out the boat and into the cold murky waters. He yelled, “What did you do that for? It’s freezing in here!”

  Kimberley couldn’t contain her laughter and it filled the late evening air, Denton wasn’t amused. “Don’t just stand there, Get me out!”

  He was keeping his head above water and wasn’t struggling, but the water was beginning to feel too cold for him, Kimberley watched him with aplomb and her arms fully folded, just wobbling slightly.

  “I should let you freeze in there,” her voice as cold as the water keeping Denton company.

  “Come on, Kimberley, joke’s over now, pull me up.”

  For the first time Kimberley detected a hint of fear in his voice.

  “Are you going to cut the crap?”

  All Denton could manage was a slight nod and Kimberley decided to end his premature swim and pull him out, she leant down over the boat’s edge and reached out her hand and paused and then pulled it back, her hesitation worried Denton, with teeth chattering he stammered a question. “What’s wrong?”

  Kimberley peered in to the abyss of the ocean and said nothing, her silence worried Denton.

  “What do you see?” there was some distress in his voice and Kimberley put him out of his misery.

  “It’s nothing, I thought I saw something, must be imagining things.”

  Her arm went back out to Denton’s aid; a gigantic shiver rode through his body, which made Kimberley smile, he grabbed her hand and stole a stare at her big blue eyes and then seemed puzzled as they widened in unmistakable terror.

  Kimberley let out a deafening scream as Denton was flung high above the water’s surface. As he fell back down screaming, two massive black tentacles shot from beneath the cover of water and caught him in mid-air, one had hold of his arm and the other his leg, the tentacle holding his arm let go and went for his chest, wrapping itself around and beginning to squeeze, his leg was pulled violently and Denton screamed in a frenzy.

  In the boat below Kimberley watched, transfixed at the horror happening above her head, she had screamed enough but it wasn’t going to help Denton, she had fallen backwards into the boat and struggled to get back up, but where could she go? She was stranded in the boat and then came the panicked realisation that she was to be next.

  One tentacle had entangled itself all over the upper part of Denton’s body, his head was completely covered and he was losing consciousness, powerful suction cups stuck fast to his skin, more tentacles rose from the water and the suction was only released momentarily in order to toss Denton back into the air like a discarded rag doll. The creature was playing with him now and two tentacles were playing tug-of-war with him, and with an almighty crack that sounded like a tree branch being snapped, Denton came apart in two and fell back down in the water.

  Kimberley threw her head forward and vomited into the lake. What came from her mouth next was an agonising cry for help as the tentacles came crashing down on the boat, sending the girl hurtling in to the water, which by now, was slightly warmer with the flow of Denton’s blood on the surface.

  She bobbed up and down in the water; it was still very quiet. Whatever that creature was it didn’t make that much noise, the only noises which filled the night now were that of a girl almost eighteen years old, sobbing.

  Something brushed past her leg; she tried to kick out but only managed to ruin her rhythm of treading water. Kimberley couldn’t see anything, frantically looking in to the blackness of the lake, she took short sharp breaths and looked to shore. She had to make a swim for it.

  Kimberley’s strokes at first were erratic and clumsy, composing herself and trying to subdue her past emotions away until she was safe, starting again these new strokes were strong against the now choppy waters, she didn’t know how far away the shore was, a few hundred yards maybe?

  A sudden urgency to live swelled inside her and with each crawl through the waves was another chance of safety. Kimberley dared not to look back, the body of Denton was still etched in her mind and wherever he was…she didn’t want to see him ever again, only remember him how he was before it happened.

  She just wanted to go home and be safe in her parents’ arms; all she wanted was a cuddle and someone to tell her that everything would be fine. But her plans of a safe, quick reunion with her family were premature, she wanted to know why they didn’t fight to get her off this show. As her mind drifted away, she felt a little tug on her leg, Kimberley froze instantly and took in water, spitting it out immediately she waited and then mouthed silently, please no.

  The waters parted like a huge hot knife ploughing through butter as Kimberley was dragged screaming through the lake by another of the large tentacles, it had wrapped itself around the same leg it touched earlier, but now its grip was much firmer and Kimberley was being dragged certainly to her doom, the tentacle wasn’t squeezing that hard, but it had submerged enough times as her lungs began to take in too much water, it wasn’t going to pull her apart…just drown her.

  Each time she penetrated the surface she had time to scream before her mouth was filled with water and she gasped for breath.

  The waters danced around her so fast it was as if
they were celebrating her oncoming demise, each time she was sent under water, Kimberley thought she could see bright colours spinning around her, they looked so beautiful in the late evening sky and she wanted to tell everybody about the sights she could see, her head began to hurt.

  The tentacle pulled her backwards through the water and away from the shore at great speed, it lifted the poor girl up in the air and crashed her down again as if it was playing the drums but with one stick, she was flung left to right by the huge tentacle.

  Her eyelids began to fade and it felt as if her lungs were on fire, another tentacle attached itself to her and tightened around her waist with a vicelike grip; she was being dragged to her death by two squid-like tentacles which would not let her go until her body was lifeless, and whatever the tentacles were attached to, they knew Kimberley was close to death and at greater speed they dragged her down beneath the water’s surface for the last time. She had earlier pleaded with the beast to let her go, and with the water filling up inside her she had begged for her life to no avail and now she was going to die.

  Heading deeper and deeper to her watery grave Kimberley was almost gone. Her eyes were glazed and for some reason she thought, I should be dead by now.

  Kimberley had been tossed along the waves for what seemed an eternity and yet her small frame survived the ferocious onslaught of the waves, she was being dragged down again which probably was for the final time.

  The host to the tentacles flipped her over and now Kimberley was being carried through the waves on her back, and submerging quickly, with no more frantic wiggles left in her body, she was underwater and was resigned about dying.

  She could feel lots of smaller sea inhabitants brushing over her body as she went deeper; there was no chance of seeing them as the water was so black, she could see nothing and her final thoughts beneath the waves were no longer those of despair or fright, but anger began to take her. Anger at not being able to see her best friend Cassandra again, to see her parents and learn the truth about why they let her go on this show which could ultimately kill her or be with Denton as a proper couple – despite what he had done., he was her first love and he was taken away from her too soon and in a way so cruel she could never repeat it to anybody else if she survived. If she survived.

  She was blacking out and heading for her end. But she was not going out without a fight. Something welled up inside her, an essence she had never felt before as the cold waters were about to claim her for their own pleasure, Kimberley could just about feel a tingling sensation in her fingers, they felt warm. It seemed like they were glowing.

  A white pulse was beating within her fingertips, she thought what was left of her mind was playing tricks on her, teasing her before it finally shut down, but she could see the white, and feel some new found energy inside her, something strong…something god-like and powerful maybe?

  Marbles of what seemed like pure energy dripped from her fingers, leaving white light trails in the water behind her, little balls were flowing from both hands now, which flailed behind her head.

  Instinctively, Kimberley gathered what little strength she had left in her as she had only seconds left to pull her stunt off, flinging both arms forward she released the balls in front of her praying they’d hit their desired target.

  She couldn’t see where the shape was that had her entangled; the white marbles hurtled toward something…and hit it.

  The waves were sent high into the almost moonlit sky as the explosion sent Kimberley shooting skyward, the tentacles attached to her were severed and a huge black mist from the creature began to envelop the lingering yellow light which followed her ascent into the sky.

  She was unconscious by the time she came crashing back down to the lake. The light from her hands had gone out and there was nothing to illuminate the waters now, the explosion had served its purpose. Some heavier bits of tentacle were beginning to sink towards the bottom of the sea whilst the others floated around the body of Kimberley, illuminated by the still full moon, scything a white gap between the water and the shore.

  Millions of people watching at home, thousands in the street and hundreds in the studio yelled for more.

  Elias was being led up through the house from the damp prison below, the horrors he witnessed with the Hustle beetles and the Cockatrice still burned deep in his head.

  Two security guards pushed and prodded him through various floors, the higher they went, the more people appeared and they were easy on the eye as far as their appearance, too.

  Scantily clad beautiful women adorned the upper rooms; some were waitresses, serving food and wine to the many studio executives working for ‘Big Man’ and others just walked around hand in hand, if these girls were captive then they made no show of their desire to leave the Network king.

  Elias was pushed into a large plush room with a very high ceiling, and huge windows. There were paintings with horses and children on most of the walls, there was another big TV like in the main office and by the biggest window stood ‘Big Man’, clean-shaven and with dark shades on, even in the evening. His build was slight, but he did work out with weights on his arms. He wore his attire well-pressed and he did look very presentable, only his yellow jagged worn teeth spoiled his otherwise pristine appearance.

  Apollo walked in with Mr Tidy and Big Man waved his forefinger at them as soon as they appeared and shouted angrily.

  “YOU, MR TIDY, YOU CAN TURN AROUND RIGHT NOW AND GET THE HELL OUT OF MY OFFICE.”

  Mr Tidy seemed confused. “Why? What did I do?”

  “WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU LOST ME MY FISH AND CHIP VAN AND THEN YOU SOLD MY MUM A POGOSTICK.”

  Mr Tidy looked to the ground sheepishly. “How is your mum?”

  “HOW IS SHE? SHE’S BROKEN BOTH HER LEGS, WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN? AND WHERE’S MY FISH AND CHIP VAN?”

  “I can’t remember where I parked it.”

  “WELL, I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN UNTIL YOU FIND IT.”

  “But Boss–”

  “GET OUT AND DON’T COME BACK UNTIL YOU BRING ME BACK MY FISH AND CHIP VAN.”

  Mr Tidy nodded solemnly and left the office. Big Man almost forgot Elias was in the room, and when he turned to him, his mood changed he was extremely happy. He seemed genuinely pleased to see Elias and pointed to the TV screen excitedly. “DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT WAS FUNNY AS SHIT, MAN” OH MATE, THAT WAS AWESOME!” He ‘Hi-fived’ with Apollo, then realised Elias hadn’t a clue what he was talking about, he waved his hands at the prisoner and pointed at the TV screen. “Oh I forgot, you didn’t see what happened, check this out…one of your students just took out my Leviathan live tonight, great battle, she used some of her freaky powers to burn off its tentacles.”

  He turned to Apollo. “Did she survive?” Apollo shrugged his shoulders. Elias glared at Apollo, oblivious to Big Man’s words.

  “Your student was remarkable, you know.” This time he caught Elias’s attention.

  “What are you talking about?” he muttered under his breath.

  Big Man looked on in astonishment and pointed again. “THE SCREEN MAN, LOOK AT THE SCREEN, THE GIRL, THE GIRL.”

  Elias strained his eyes to the screen.

  “SHE’S ONE OF YOURS, SHE’S GOT SUPER POWERS, SHE’S ON MY SHOW…I THINK SHE’S DEAD…WHO KNOWS?

  Elias recognised the girl being dragged beneath the waves on the TV replay. “That’s Kimberley, she’s in my class, what did you do? What have you done to her?”

  “We’ve probably killed her if I’m honest, we’ll see if it was worth it when the ratings come in.”

  A shockwave of anger overcame Elias and quickly turned to rage as he went for ‘Big Man’.

  “I’LL KILL YOU, I’LL KILL YOU, SHE’S JUST A KID!” He fell to the ground in tears and the security guards hauled him up and held him still; they were getting tired of his antics.

  Big Man sat down at the desk.

  “Hey Dude, sorry about your student but she did her job well, put up a go
od fight and

  I must apologise for keeping you in that foul dungeon, sometimes the smell wafts its way up here and it is most unpleasant on the nose.” Big man’s voice was very crisp and direct but wasn’t raised in anyway, the more he talked the quieter he became. “My interference into your life was very necessary and I trust you would like to know why?”

  Elias barely moved but kept listening. “As you can imagine, my job is all about ratings and popularity, if I could have every school shut in the district and all those kids were at home watching my show and voting for my show, then imagine my ratings…and then suddenly these new kids showup with these strange powers…and we just have to get them on the show, you must understand, right?”

  Elias spoke up. “Kids?…There’s more than one?”

  Big Man nodded in excitement.

  “How many?” Elias spoke through gritted teeth, seething in anger.

  “Another girl called Cassandra Paintshark who definitely has powers and a little nerd who to be honest was in with you in the dungeon, surprised you didn’t see him…not sure if he has powers or if he even survived the beetles.”

  Elias whirled around. “YOU’VE KILLED MY STUDENTS?”

  Big Man smiled and Elias noticed his wrinkles move above the eyes. “TV did.”

  Elias roared. “Why are you doing this? I SAID, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?”

  Big Man paused for a moment. “Because I’m scared of you.”

  The whispers in the room stopped. Picking up the TV control, Big Man turned it off. “What do you think really separates men from gods? It is fear? Men have none whilst fear eats the Gods from the inside, the Gods used to live on mortals’ reliance on them, the praying, the sacrifices, the statues, but this is a new age where we are no longer respected, no longer worshipped, no longer loved. We are fading away as kings and queens…we’re just like everybody else, and I’m afraid.”

  Elias watched as The Big Man shook his head.

  “So you really think that you’re gods?”

  “No, TV is the god, I am just a lowly disciple. You’re the danger, the teachers, the musicians, the artists. You can learn, you can breathe and you think for yourselves and that is what scares us, those who think, those who have an opinion, they’re the threat.