Paintshark

by Kingsley Pilgrim

  Her eyes focused hard on his and she started to gasp in fear, her chest ached and her nose flared.

  The punch she threw struck Apollo hard on his jaw, knocking him off his feet, Apollo had walked away from having a mountain land on top of him, but the punch from an enslaved girl with a whole year of rage built up was too much, he didn’t move again.

  “Bastard,” she muttered.

  A few more prisoners who had also been knocked out were wide and awake and eager to leave.

  The ship hovered over them and let down some rope ladders for them, Sabrina now included. As Elias looked down he felt a big hand on his shoulder, he turned around to see Nayan standing with an almighty grin behind him, Elias looked deep into his smile and hugged him and squeezed with all his worth in his friend’s arms, he then broke his hold and stepped back.

  “You made it,” Elias said.

  “We made it,” Nayan corrected him.

  As one by one the young teachers entered the ship, Nayan called to Kay, still trying to find his way at the controls.

  “IS THE COURSE STILL SET FOR OLYMPIA, KAY?

  An unconvincing reply came from Kay. “Yeah I think so, just hope the Navicom is still functional.”

  “THEN LET’S NOT HESITATE A MOMENT LONGER.”

  He turned to look at all his brothers, and promised to mourn the ones they lost on return to Olympia.

  He put his hand back on Elias’s shoulder. “Does that sound good to you?”

  Elias nodded. “It’s a good start.”

  “Well let’s–”

  Nayan didn’t have time to finish as the war ship was thrown to one side, it tried to pull forward but something wasn’t letting it, pressing for more altitude Kay eased off the control stick.

  “SOMETHING’S HAPPENING, WE’RE NOT MOVING.”

  The young pilot fumbled with the controls and pressed buttons in hope and desperation but to no avail, banging the control panel with her fists, she turned around. “WHAT’S GOING ON?”

  The ship was being rocked from left to right and the passengers found it hard to control the insides of their stomachs, struggling with effort to stay on her feet Kimberley after the last ship jolt, managed to cling on to one of the frames of a window to look outside, and screamed a scream that echoed around the ship.

  Gigantic vines, bigger than before had sprung from the cracks in the earth and had wrapped themselves around the ship, stopping it from taking off and they were beginning to tear the ship apart.

  “How many are there?” asked Felcey.

  “All of them I think,” said Faris.

  “We have to break free or they’ll tear this ship apart, is Cassandra awake? Maybe we could use her dragon power?” pondered Elias.

  “No, she’s completely out of it again; the fight with Apollo must have taken more out of her than we’d thought,” said Felcey.

  Kimberley cradled her friend to keep safe and to calm herself down from the terror outside, Kimberley thought back to the Leviathan squid, the Chimera, the vines in the tunnel, Hammersmith and now the king of all horror vines…she thought she’d never ever be safe again and she pulled Cassandra closer to her and rocked herself back and forth like a frightened child…which she indeed was, she was a teenager who had spent the last year asleep in a prison…she was still a little girl deep down.

  She looked at all the prisoners in the ship panicking just like she was, desperate for ideas. Even Elias was struggling.

  “WHAT ABOUT THE LOWER THRUSTERS?” he asked in Kay in desperation.

  “THEY’RE ON MAXIMUM LEVEL POWER, ANY MORE WILL TEAR THIS SHIP APART, THE VINES ARE TOO STRONG.”

  The vines began to crush harder down on the ship and now everyone knew that if before they had been lucky, it was now coming to an end.

  “I think these vines are the true and final guardians of Gommerstall,” said a very solemn Nayan, his words struggling to sound straight. “I don’t think there’s any escape for us this time.”

  Felcey hit back, “We defeated one guardian so I’m damn sure we could beat another one.”

  Nayan pulled him up. “This is no ordinary guardian, lad.”

  “AND WE AREN’T ORDINARY PEOPLE, NAYAN, I WAS AFRAID BEFORE BUT I’M NOT AFRAID ANYMORE.” His voice trailed off. “I’m going to jump down and free us.”

  “What can you do?” Nayan asked, who obviously hadn’t seen Felcey in his clay form.

  “NO, IT’S TOO DANGEROUS,” Elias cut in. “We’ve lost too many men today and I don’t want to lose anymore.”

  “SO WHAT DO WE DO?”

  Elias shook his head with little expression. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know.”

  The supply ship wasn’t going to withstand much more as the gigantic, terrible vines battered its body.

  As Kimberley gazed at the men shouting and banging their fists against the walls of the ship, she closed her eyes and concentrated, she breathed out and tried again until her hands glowed white.

  She let out a squeal of concentration and her cheeks turned white also. The realisation of her transformation took her breath away and she carried on, her whole body shook as she concentrated building and storing the energy in her.

  One by one the others noticed her changing and the brightness emitting from her tiny frame. Elias stepped up.

  “Kimberley, what are you doing?”

  It was a question she didn’t want to answer, her eyes were wide open but the pupils were black, she was shining bright like a young star that had fallen from the heavens, very bright now and the others shielded their eyes, she had always liked the way Mr Glaucas explained things at school and how to solve problems. He had always made things so easy and he was her favourite teacher; she was going to miss him but it was her turn to solve a problem, she sent him her final charmed smile.

  “I can stop this thing, sir; I’m the only one who can.”

  Elias had to shield his eyes from the powerful glow whilst trying in vain to keep eye contact.

  “What do you mean?”

  Kimberley gently placed the still unconscious Cassandra into a free chair and strapped her in tightly; she kissed her on the forehead and made the motion of wiping away a tear. “I haven’t felt safe for a long time, sir, bad things keep happening to me.”

  The ship jerked violently to the left. “You see that? I have the power to stop that, I have the power to make things right for all of you.”

  Felcey pushed his way forward.

  “Kimberley, please don’t do this, don’t leave me, I left you once, I won’t do it again…I need you.”

  Tears began to sting her eyes. “I saw what you did today, that was so brave of you…well now it’s my turn to be brave.”

  “But you are brave, LOOK AT THE LEVIATHAN, THE CHIMERA…LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE.”

  He loved her with all his heart and his words weren’t going to fail. “Please don’t leave me, please don’t go out there.”

  Nayan was at the front now. “You don’t have to do this, girl.”

  Kimberley couldn’t hold back the tears when she saw her protector. And she wept openly. “Thank you for saving my life, Nayan; it’s my turn to save yours, since the arena my bombs are sticking to me, I can’t throw them I’m going to have to hold them to the vines myself…it’s the only way.

  The big man turned away, choking back his tears. Cassandra stirred in her seat. “What’s happening?” No one answered her.

  Felcey grabbed Elias. “What if we hold her? Grab her, stop her from going. WE MUST DO SOMETHING!”

  Elias stumbled on his words. “I think we could try to do–” He couldn’t finish. Kimberley pressed the button to open the entrance ramp, her body shone so bright that nobody could touch her, even if they tried, she had time to look at the face of Cassandra Paintshark, her rock, her comfort, her laughter…her best friend. “Goodbye, girlfriend.”

  Cassandra’s eyes were alert enough to see her best friend fall out the ship. “NOOOOOOOO!”

  The cry shook the c
rew with its intensity. Cassandra struggled with her harness but managed to get free to look through the still open entrance hatch, she saw the giant vines entangled with the ship, but there was no sign of Kimberley, she had fallen straight through the cracks in the ground and was at the base of the vines, her light shone upwards.

  “I’VE GOT TO SAVE HER.” She tried to change into the dragon creature with the power to stop the vines and save Kimberley, with tears spilling down her face and falling from her chin she concentrated harder. “I CAN’T CHANGE, I CAN’T DO IT.” She sobbed uncontrollably. “ I CAN’T CHANGE. I’M TOO WEAK.”

  She went to jump, but was held back by Nayan. “LET ME GO, I HAVE TO STOP HER.”

  “You can’t stop her; she has made up her mind.”

  “NO.” Cassandra struggled in his arms. Nayan placed her to one side and turned to Elias. “I was meant to protect her, Elias, keep her safe.”

  “I know, but you heard what she said, she’s doing this to save us all.”

  Elias searched the gaze from Nayan, but could see nothing in his eyes.

  “My friend Elias, it has been a true honour to journey and fight by your side, but this is where my journey ends, I made a promise and intend to keep it.”

  “What about your wife and kids? You have to get back home and see them.”

  Nayan wiped a tear away for the last time. “My wife and children are dead, the morning she left me with the kids, I tried to ring her on her mobile phone, as she went to answer it, she drove straight into a truck. They died instantly – because of me.”

  Elias opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. “But you speak to her all the time on your phone?”

  Nayan gave him his signature wry smile, one side of his lip rose. “It’s just her voicemail, that’s what I listen to, I need to…feel…hear her voice, could you do something for me please?”

  Elias closed his eyes as he nodded. Nayan took his phone from his pocket and closed it into Elias’s palm. “I won’t be needing this anymore, I’m going to see them now.”

  He turned to look at the prisoners in the ship, still trying to keep on their feet from the ship rocking. “Look after my brothers, Elias…look after our brothers.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Nayan didn’t wait to answer Elias, he just took a step out of the ship and fell like Kimberley through the hole in the ground, crashing onto the earth at the foot of the terror vine, landing heavily on his side, breaking his arm.

  Kimberly spun around, her powers protected her from the fall, Nayan looked up to see more vines spring from the ground and start circling her.

  “What are you doing here?” uttered Kimberley, surprised.

  Nayan dragged himself over to her like a wounded dog to its master, his hip was hurt too. “I said I’ll be there for you, Kimberley, and I meant it, I couldn’t let you go through this alone.”

  “But what about your family? You keep speaking to them on your phone, you have to go to them.”

  Nayan wiped the new tears away from his eyes. “I am going to see them, thanks to you…my wife is dead and so are my children.”

  He wasn’t going to explain again. Kimberley stood silent. “But I’m going to die, Nayan, there’ll be a big explosion in a minute, my bombs are sticking to me, I can’t release them anymore.”

  Kimberley choked back the tears.

  “I have the power to blow this place up and release the ship…hopefully – you must get out of here, save yourself.”

  He managed to get to his feet and hobble to her side. “How can I get out of that big hole? Looks like I’m stuck down here with you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Her light was keeping the smaller vines away, as the huge thick one was still dragging the ship down Kimberley dropped her power so as not to blind Nayan and then the other vines began to wrap themselves around them both. Slowly and cautiously they probed up and around their legs and then around their waists as the young girl and her protector held each other close.

  Tears flowed down her mascara-stained cheeks, she sniffed a smile. “Today was a total waste of make-up.”

  Nayan held her tighter.

  “I’m going to start the countdown now, Nayan, you’d best close your eyes.”

  He did so as the black horde of vines twisted and turned around them, he stood in pain behind Kimberley and held her waist with his injured arm and held her hand with his other, the green snake-like vines curled all over them now, sliding higher and higher, Kimberley’s light didn’t stop them now as they edged around her glowing neck, she could feel them roaming around her throat and now was the time before they got into her mouth and her tongue, she glowed again and became the energy once more, became hot again and now became the living time bomb, she had survived everything thrown at her but she was tired now.

  “Five. Four. Three. Two…”

  “Can I be safe now, Nayan?”

  “Yes child, you’re safe now.”

  She turned to him and mouthed quietly. “Thank you.”

  The vines had completely covered them from head to toe and now were going to constrict them before attempting to devour their bodies, dozens more of the monstrosities clung to the couple; one vine stalk prised open the mouth of Kimberley and was about to head down her throat, she spoke first.

  “…One.”

  The explosion rocked the network of tunnels and cracks the vines had sprung from, causing a chain reaction throughout, a blinding flare of orange light tore into the gigantic vine, obliterating it in an instant. The shockwave shot the supply ship hurtling into the sky and then it began spinning out of control, higher and higher into the sky as below them Gommerstall Prison burned a yellow oblivion.

  Kay, flying the ship, focused all her concentration on trying to get the ship flying normally; she took big deep breaths and luck was with her again as she managed to straighten the ship and get it back on course.

  Cassandra wailed on the floor as Kay checked the flight destination just to make sure they were heading towards Olympia.

  The supply ship soared effortlessly through the clouds, and despite the damage caused by the giant vine, the ship didn’t seem that affected. Elias stood in the large passenger cabin with Jago and Faris.

  “I can’t believe what just happened,” he told the old man.

  Jago sighed; he had seen some good people die in his life, but never that many in one day.

  “He was a good man, Nayan, led from his heart.”

  “But he’s not here, he’s not with us…I need him to be here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Elias looked over Jago’s shoulder at the restless ex-prisoners. “I promised these men freedom, I promised them the way home.”

  “You’ve given them freedom; you and Nayan gave them hope.”

  Elias hit back. “AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED.”

  The ex-prisoners looked over and just as quickly went back to their business. “What do you want then, Elias?” Jago studied him all over.

  “I want to go home and find my daughter; I want things to be like they were.”

  “Things are never going to be like they were, that’s the past and we can’t dwell in the past, no matter how fun or bad it was, we all have to move on, these men have to move on and you’ll have to help them.”

  Elias took a step back and swallowed hard. “I’m not a leader, Jago.”

  “No, but you are a teacher…they’ll listen to you.”

  Faris cut in. “Sure they would, I mean what the difference from teaching fifteen year old girls to ex-convicts. It’s a no-brainer to me.”

  Elias wasn’t convinced. “What about Big Man? He’s the reason why most of us are here.”

  “You must do what you feel is right when it comes to Big Man, my friend.”

  “Then I want revenge”

  Elias’s reply shocked Jago. “He took everything away from me; he took me away from my daughter, school and destroyed my life…”

  Jago’s expr
ession was one of grave concern. “You can start again, my friend; once you find your daughter you can start a whole new life.”

  “I will, once I’ve broken his life.”

  Cassandra entered after hearing most of the conversation.

  “How are you feeling?” Elias asked.

  “My head hurts and I can’t change anymore and I still can’t remember much about before.”

  Elias pattered her on the shoulder. “Your memory will return soon, I’m sure of it.”

  “I overheard you talking about Big Man?”

  Elias grew uneasy. “Yeah, what of it?”

  “You going back to Olympia to get him?”

  “Yes I am.”

  Cassandra’s next breath was overtaken by pure hate. “THEN COUNT ME IN, THAT BASTARD PUT ME IN HERE AND TOOK AWAY MY LIFE TOO…” Her voice trailed off. “If it wasn’t for him then Kimberly would still be alive.”

  “They’d all be alive,” said a serious Faris.

  Aubrey, Felcey and Sabrina entered. “I say old boys, what’s occurring?”

  Elias looked him in the eye. “Once we get back to Olympia we’re going to track down Big Man and make him pay for he’s done to us, you up for it?” Aubrey grinned. “I say I am, that prison malarkey was an absolute disgrace.”

  Sabrina, fully clothed now, was finding it hard adjusting to communicating with people after a year as a Reptile, but she too wanted vengeance.

  “I think Aphrodite works for Big Man, she tricked me, led me to him and then I was beaten and put in prison, I’m not sure if I’m going to kill her, but I know I’m definitely going to beat the shit out of her.”

  Jago tried to be the voice of reason.

  “But you can’t ill Big Man surely?”

  Elias paused and the others waited for a response. “No, I just want him to see what he did to us, want him to suffer like we did…to break him like he broke us, he thinks he’s the Network king of Olympia, well every king can be broken, and that’s what we’ll do. Break him.”

  The realisation of the seriousness of Elias’s intent made Jago more concerned. “Do you really think you’re strong enough to take down Big Man?”

  “I’m man enough to try…and that’s all it takes.”

  The concern in Jago’s voice disappeared and was replaced with something more cold.