Chapter 3. A Brave New World. (A Rubber Ducky at the End of the World)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Peace Lenrow was hungry. The door to his room hadn’t been opened in days. He had heard loud noises but had seen no sign of life. The electricity seemed to be down too. Something wasn’t right but he had not cared until now.

He stood up, flexing muscles that had not seen much use lately. It was beginning to dawn on him that he should be in pain. By now the hunger should have been eating at his stomach and seeping his strength. Instead he only felt a slight pang, almost a craving for flavour more than sustenance. 

“Hey! Anybody out there? Nurse! Anyone!” he shouted to the door. 

There was no answer. It would have been a surprise if there had been one since the building was empty except for Peace and another patient who was enjoying the solitude. The staff had ceased coming to work and most of the other patients had left. Super strength and a sound mind had done wonders for them.

His door was locked every night and had not been unlocked since his last visit from the nurse days before. He knocked then paused. His knuckles had left dents in the wood. He knocked again, harder this time, and the door shook in its frame. He shrugged then stepped back before ramming into it with his shoulder. 

The door burst open and Peace staggered into the corridor beyond. His concerns were confirmed as he took in the state of his surroundings. It looked like a storm had passed through the building. There were broken doors, shattered glass and several large holes in the walls. 

He walked over the debris in his cotton pajamas and fluffy slippers without feeling a thing. Glass crunched but no pain registered. A vague sense that his soul must finally have died washed over him slowly. He was truly numb to the world.

Only, he wasn’t. In reality he was more in tune with the world than ever before in his life and the reason that he could feel no pain was due to the strengthening of his body after the Change. It is strange though that reality has a tendency to bend itself around the beliefs of particularly delusional individuals. Personal reality trumps actual reality so often that you could be forgiven for thinking that we actually live in a truly chaotic world.

As such, it was not important what the universe had done to Peace Lenrow but what Peace thought that the universe had done to him. For all that he knew, the world could have been in perfect order and all of this was a product of his own delusional mind. 

Peace felt surprisingly happy. Whether it was the breakdown of society or the breakdown of his sanity, he was free. His biggest problem with life had always been other people so any reality without them was close enough to Heaven for him.

That sense of liberation didn’t last long though. No sooner had Peace left the hospital to be greeted by the ruins of his town, than his dream of escaping humanity was shattered. Swaggering down the centre of the road was a group of men who laughed loudly among themselves. Peace felt a vein twitch on his forehead.

I, as an omnipotent narrator, can tell you that the men had been washed up wrecks sustained by drugs and alcohol after never achieving anything in life. A successful football career cut short from an injury, a young love brought to an end by uncontrolled anger, and children born too early in life were the kinds of hallmarks worn by these bitter individuals.

“Old Jonesey didn’t know what hit him,” one cackled. “How many times had he and his lads beat us up? Then wham! I hit him with a car. Just picked it up and smacked him like it were a cricket bat. The look on his brother’s face. Ha!”

“They didn’t stand a chance,” sniggered another. “We run this town now.”

Another man suddenly noticed Peace and pointed him out to the others. “Hey look. Someone’s just come from the loony bin.”

Peace suppressed a sigh as every head in the group turned to focus in on him. He wasn’t very good with people. They had a tendency to annoy and confuse him. He tried to ignore them and keep walking but they had other ideas.

“What you doing out of your comfy little pillow cell, eh?” grinned a bald man with the build of a rugby player and the face of a crashed plane. 

Peace didn’t respond, instead changing his direction to try and avoid the group. One of the men grabbed his arm and pulled him back around.

“It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re speaking to you, boy. Maybe you’re a bit behind on the times. See, things have changed. We are the top dogs around here now. You do as we say. Got that?”

Peace frowned. “Sorry. What did you say? I zoned out for a minute there. Something about dogs. I like dogs.”

The man’s grip tightened on Peace’s arm. “Who the hell do you think you are, retard?”

“Who do I think I am?” Peace mused aloud. “A better question would surely be who do you think I am? I know who I am. I think.”

Cogs were turning inside the man’s head. Understanding dawned on him with about the same speed as an English sunrise in December. Anger sparked at the boy’s insolence and he lashed out his fist with a grunt.

The fist connected with Peace’s face with the force of a freight-train. The man, who was called Nicolas Drager but still thought of himself as the lad about town ‘Dray’, expected one of three things to happen. The boy could be sent hurtling backwards through the front wall of the hospital, his head could be torn off and bounce across the roofs like a stray football or his skull could implode under the pressure. Dray had seen all three happen. 

He had never seen somebody stand and take it though. He took a quick step back after letting go of the boy’s arm. Peace stood still, his eyes unfocused. Blood dribbled from his lips and nose. His brain felt like it had been put through a blender. Agony crackled through him. He laughed. To feel anything brought a sense of euphoria to him.

The sunrise effect was again spreading through the group of men. Common Sense screamed that perhaps the best thing to do would be to leave the area as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, common sense is in fact one of the rarest of human traits despite its misleading name. Fight or flight battered at the instincts of the men but it was testosterone that ultimately led to a scrawny man yelling “Get ‘im!” Mob mentality took over from there while Common Sense looked on in disgust and facepalmed.

Five fully grown men with plenty of fighting experience versus a seventeen year old fresh from a mental hospital. It should have been over very quickly. It was.

Peace felt as though he existed beyond the usual confines of time and space. He saw the men move, not exactly in slow motion, but as though he had seen each action a million times before like a favourite movie. He knew where their fists would land and where they would leave themselves open. Images filled his head, processing all of the information around him so quickly that he didn’t understand what was going on. 

He wove around the flurry of attacks without a care in the world but never fought back. Peace disliked fighting. Not because he was afraid of getting hurt but because it was a situation where all of the emotions that he tried to suppress came venting uncontrollably to the surface. Showing emotion made him less human. Pure rage would consume him and strip him of his humanity.

It had been a fight that had sealed his fate to be committed to the mental hospital. Self harm could be hidden, ignored, but biting off someone’s ear was somewhat more visible. It didn’t matter how horrible the person in question was. How many times they had bullied others, disrupted lessons and made life hell. The second someone snaps and puts them in their place they suddenly become the victim and you are a psychopath. 

One of the men caught him a blow across the back of the head with a brick that shattered on impact. Blood bubbled from the wound. Seeing that he could be hurt the men redoubled their efforts. Peace took a deep breath.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he said in a voice that was too calm. 

Peace’s fist drove hard into the gut of the man in front of him. It didn’t stop until it had passed straight through his body. Blood splashed across Peace’s face. The man screamed and flopped to the floor. He was still alive but couldn’t move due to the hand sized gap in his spine. 

This moment marked the second important decision for the men to make. Common Sense stood up to make its case again then decided that it wasn’t even worth the effort and left to find a can of beer and a good seat to watch the show.

The men dove at Peace and he offered them a feral grin. His conscious thoughts stepped away from his brain and took a seat beside Common Sense. 

Every punch that Peace threw connected then continued on its merry way unhindered by such simple obstacles as flesh and bones. Screams and blood filled the air in a symphony of pain and suffering. It was only a matter of seconds until five writhing, bloodsoaked bodies littered the floor and Peace stood in their centre panting as he wrestled to regain his composure. 

It was a scene of utter carnage. Peace surveyed the damage with dead eyes. A butterfly fluttered past the groaning mess, catching Peace’s attention. The sight of it lifted his spirits and cast any memories of his actions from his mind. He wandered after the butterfly with a smile on his face, everything else forgotten.

Previous – Chapter 2. A Father’s Duty.

Next – Chapter 4. A Flock of Faithful.

Chapter 2. A Father’s Duty. (A Rubber Ducky at the End of the World)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Humans are surprisingly dim for such clever creatures. It took them a while to work out that they had changed. People no longer got ill. They didn’t tire as easily, and they were stronger and faster than ever before. Lots of things happened that could only point toward humans having become more powerful, but people don’t like to connect the dots if the bigger picture is one that they don’t want to acknowledge. 

Even so, it was only a matter of days until the governments of the world were forced to announce that the experiment may not have gone entirely to plan. It went something along the lines of: “Somebody forgot to carry the one in the calculations and now the Earth and everything in it is atomically unstable. On a side note, you are all basically superman now. Please don’t use these powers and continue with your life as normal.”

If you think that anybody took that advice then you are more naive than I gave credit for. When confronted with power, human minds reach for extremities. They realise that they have no need to work when they could take anything that they want, or they develop a hero complex. Only, neither works when everybody is the same. 

How do you use your newfound powers to rob an old lady when she turns around and slaps you straight through a building? How do you protect the innocent when they can fully protect themselves?

Just like in nature though, not everyone was affected in equal measures. Some became stronger than others for reasons that nobody could tell. Many great stories of tragedy, triumph and the like rose during this time. There were millions of tales, such as Mrs Baker, and elderly woman who had been on her deathbed. After the Change she stood back up and took her poor dog on a long overdue walk in the park. Then there was Mr Dale who had thrown himself off of a skyscraper moments before the Change only to crash down onto a car and walk away unharmed, much to his own chagrin. 

None of these events factor into this particular narrative though. Instead we must shift our way through the chaos and miracles to a small terrace house in a rundown neighbourhood. It had always been run down but of late had been reduced to crumbling ruins.

Damian Smithson stood in the center of his living room with a crying baby cradled in one arm. He stared at his free arm, held out before him with fingers splayed, and watched tendrils of smoke curl around it. Before him on the ground lay a mound of charred bones.

Things had happened quickly. The bones belonged to a man who had broken into the house. This was a very literal statement too since there was a wide hole in the wall that marked the man’s entrance. He had come to steal from the single father, and Damian had done what he had to in order to protect his daughter. Only, neither man had expected Damian to fire a laser beam from his hand. People were stronger, faster, and could take more damage, but lasers? That was something new.

Slowly, Damian lowered his arm and tried to sooth the baby absentmindedly. He had always been weak. He was scrawny and had never advanced his career past being a supervisor at a fastfood restaurant. He had been bullied throughout his youth and had been unable to save his wife when she had been hit by a drunk driver two months ago. 

So why was he suddenly so powerful? Since the Change he had outclassed those around him. The man at his feet had not been the first to cross him. People could survive gunshots now but Damian had broken bones with a childlike ease. Only one explanation came to his mind.

He had been chosen.

“Hush Amelia,” he whispered to the child. “Don’t cry. Daddy is going to make the world a better place for you. Don’t fear the chaos, for I’ll bring order. Just you wait and see.”

Previous – Chapter 1. A Good Day for An Apocalypse.

Next – Chapter 3. A Brave New World.

2. (Something Like Life)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Something Like Life.

The walk home passes by in a blur. I rest my chin on Tink’s shoulder as I cling to his back. Every now and then I mutter some half remembered Star Wars quote in a very poor Yoda accent and giggle to myself. Tink suffers me in silence. It’s close to the dinnertime rush, so the streets are packed with people who cast glances at us ranging from amusement to disgust. It’s only when he drops me on my doorstep that I become remotely aware of where I am. 

Tink moves to knock on the door and I quickly manage to grab his arm. He looks at me, sighs, then steps back.

“Steph’ll kill me if she sees me like this again,” I say as I fumble for my keys. “I’ve got to stealth this. Be real sneaky. Quiet like a ninja.”

“She’s watching you from the window, you know?”

I squint at Tink, then at the window where my sister’s face is glaring at me like the visage of God’s wrath through the clouds. My mind immediately thinks of Monty Python’s Holy Grail and I laugh before remembering that I was a ninja. I put a finger to my mouth and shush Tink loudly. The keys are finally in my hand. Fuck knows how. I put them in the lock on my eighth or so attempt, still shushing dramatically the entire time. The door swings open and I pat Tink’s face clumsily as a way of goodbye. Closing it slowly behind me, I tiptoe down the corridor and crash straight into the coat rack, knocking it over.

Steph storms into the corridor, her face red. Part of it is anger, the other a blotchy redness from a heavy cold that’s keeping her out of work. She is wearing a bathrobe and clings to her hot water bottle, swaying as she confronts me.

“You’re drunk again.”

“Excellent deduction, Sherlock. Ten points to Gryffindor!”

“You can’t keep doing this. I said you could stay here if you tried to get your shit together. Being drunk before twelve isn’t getting your shit together.”

I know she’s right, but that just makes me angry. 

“What’s the point? I’ve spent years trying and look where that’s got me. Unemployed and living with my sister. Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t be like this if things went my way for once.”

“You can’t just keep blaming everything on the world. Everyone else seems to get by as a functioning member of society.”

Her words sting. I grit my teeth. Steph is an accountant, a studious sort of person with a friendly charm and a slightly plump figure that gets called ‘full-bodied’ rather than fat. She has always done well at anything she tried. Then there’s me, the black sheep of the family. Scrawny, cynical, and easily bored. At best I can be called plain looking, and no matter how hard I’d tried as a kid, I found that other people were just more effort than they were worth. If something or someone bored me, I found something else to do. How else do you stay sane? Still, it was a recipe for failure, and everyone knew it.

I don’t answer her. Even in my drunken state I know that I have nothing good to say. All the fight leaves me in a wave and I can feel myself sagging, being pulled down into the blackness of my inner thoughts. I stagger past her and she doesn’t stop me. I can’t bear to see the look on her face, so I keep my head down and stare at my shoes as I open the door to my room.

It’s little more than a cupboard with a bed, but it’s mine. Well, technically it’s Steph’s, so I don’t even have that. The walls are a sickly lime colour, a holdover from the granny who lived here before, and the bedsheets haven’t been changed in months. The back wall is barely visible through a swarm of sticky notes that have been built up over time, each one covered in my messy scrawl. I call them my lost futures. Each one recalls a moment in my life that could have been pivotal, then explores what could have been if I had done things differently. There are hundreds now. Every time I look at them I feel sick. So many points of failure…

I fall onto the bed without bothering to change. This is my life. I exist. Sometimes though, I get the distinct feeling that things would be much better if I didn’t.

Steph’s words haunt me. Does everyone else get by as a functioning member of society? Does Corgi get by on his failed apprenticeship and current unemployment? The old ex-miners and steelworkers that became the detritus of drinking holes? The ever increasing number of homeless on the streets? The food banks buckling under demand? Are we all victims of our own arrogance, or is the world just increasingly filled with fuckups? More likely, the world always had fuckups, but with an exploding population and diminishing job market, the fuckups just can’t coast by anymore. 

These thoughts echo around my head, driving any thoughts of sleep away. I can’t even close my eyes without feeling like the room is spinning. So instead, I stare at the sheets of paper on the wall and try my best not to think about them. I, of course, proceed to do nothing but think about them.

I trace a finger across the paper threads of my life, wondering what decisions could have been made differently to not be laid drunk in my sister’s house on a Tuesday morning, alone, jobless, and miserable. Could I have tried harder? Set more realistic goals for myself?

Having optimism, that was where it all went wrong. Everybody you’re told to trust as a child sells you on grand dreams. They all say ‘Work hard and you can achieve anything’, and ‘Follow your dreams’. Only, the truth is, that’s not how the world works. Everyone dreams of being an astronaut, a famous band member, or a footballer. You can’t have a society of rich and famous celebrities, even if every last one of us had the pure talent and dedication. For ninety nine percent of us, those words of encouragement are the world’s biggest lie. We believe, but can never live up to those beliefs, so are instantly shackled with self-doubt and feelings of failure right from the starting line.

When do you give up? How are you supposed to know when you should pick yourself up and try again or give up and move on to something new? I asked that question a lot, but nobody ever had an answer, so I stopped asking.

I’m so tired. My body runs through cycles where it’s either too tired to sleep, or sleeps too much and never feels awake. Opposing sides of the same coin. I reach for the box of sleeping tablets on the bedside table and fumble with it until two pills rest in the centre of my palm. Vaguely, I wonder how many of those tiny capsules it would take to kill a man, then pop them into my mouth. My hand paws at the table until I feel a can still half-filled with liquid. Several empty cans and bottles clatter to the floor. I wash the pills down with Monster that’s become flat. 

My head hits the pillow and I stare at the poorly plastered ceiling above without any real semblance of thought drifting through my mind. My curtains haven’t been opened for a long time, but light still filters into the room, stealing even the darkness from me. The light seems to highlight the sheets of paper on the tiny corner desk. They’re mostly manuscripts and story notes. Countless hours of my life that I’ll never get back are condensed into the dark lines of text. I roll over to avoid looking at them, then roll over again. I’m pretty sure I could generate enough power to run a small commune with the amount of restless spinning I go through. 

My pocket starts vibrating. I immediately assume it’s a spam call, so am surprised to see that it’s actually an alarm. It was, ironically, alarming. Somehow, it’s already six in the evening. I double check the time then glance at the grey glow that spilled out from the curtains just to be sure that it wasn’t an elaborate prank. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t get any sleep. I certainly don’t feel rested. 

Sitting up feels like a Herculean task, so instead I just roll off the bed and slam into the floor with a dull thud. I’m out of bed now, but the downside is that standing up from the floor is even more effort than from the bed. It’s the thought that counts.

Like the evolution of man, I slowly rise from the primal dirt of the carpet and stand upright on my own two feet. I don’t feel up to leaving the house, but when do I ever? As I shuffle past the desk I pause and study the small chess board that occupied the back corner. Nobody ever plays it with me. Most either don’t know how, or simply don’t care. Still, I enjoy playing, so have set up a long running game against myself. It was the match of the century: drunk me versus hungover me. Occasionally, the impartial sober me would observe the progress of the board and wonder what the Hell the other versions of me were thinking. Somehow it was the drunk who was currently winning after some creative manoeuvres that my cripplingly hanging self had been too groggy to comprehend.

I examine the board for longer than is needed. I’m well aware that I’m stalling for time. Having another confrontation with Steph is the last thing that I want right now. I’m smart enough to know not to get caught in a battle I can’t win, and any battle that revolved around my personal failings was certainly something I would lose. I just need to get ready and leave without crossing her path. What happens when I get back afterwards is drunk me’s problem, and that guy is a dick who frankly deserves it.

Wasting time is getting me nowhere, so after a quick check at the door to listen for any sign of Steph, I slip out of my room and make a better attempt at sneaking through the corridor towards the bathroom. From here I can hear the supposedly gentle noise of a chainsaw mowing through a family of piglets that was my sister’s snoring, somehow made more demonic by her blocked nose. I could drive a lorry straight through the house and still be the quieter of the two of us.

The bathroom is clean and clinical, all in spotless white, but it’s still little more than a cupboard. Not even room for a bathtub. That said a lot really. Work yourself to the bone and just maybe you’ll be able to afford paying rent to some rich prick for the use of a property where I can stand at the front door, start pissing, and hit the back door with the stream.

I quickly shower then lather myself in enough deodorant to suffocate a small gas chamber’s worth of your chosen minority. Using toothpaste isn’t an option, so I brush my teeth with only water. Alcohol tastes awful after toothpaste, and the way I see it, the alcohol itself is a disinfectant, so will probably kill any bacteria that’s in my mouth. I certainly hope it does, because I’m fairly sure that nothing short of medical grade disinfectant is suitable for washing away the sins of late night kebabs made from questionable meats in even more questionable conditions.

Steph’s snores still reverberate through the house, so I cross back into my room without bothering with a towel. Dressing probably takes me less time than brushing my teeth took. The heap of clothes that are clean has no sense of order, but then neither does my style. I put on the first things that look remotely suitable. That’s the beauty of men’s clothes: almost everything is universal. Jeans and a shirt. Lounging around the house? Cool. Going to a party? Still perfect. I throw on a coat and I’m ready. 

I don’t bother taking my wallet. There’s no money in there, or in my bank account. The food and drinks this morning used the last of my limited funds. Luckily, it’s a house party tonight, so I plan to be a liquor leech and rely on other drunken fucks providing the drinks. It takes me a moment to even remember whose party it was. Tink’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin. That’s the one. 

There’s a bottle of Jack in the kitchen that I take a swig from on my way out. I need it to prepare myself for the pre-drinks. Any conversation with Corgi requires a healthy level of alcohol in your system to tolerate. Happy that I have nothing worth remembering, I take a sweeping look over the house that will never be a home, then step out the door.

Previous – 1.

Next – 3.

Chapter 1. The Hard Life of A Hero.

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Daisy Nightingale watched the criminal through the window as she leant against a lampost opposite the small, semi-detached house he called home. He only occasionally came into her view, and at no point had done anything incriminating, but that wasn’t enough to put off a young woman like Daisy. She knew he was guilty, and was determined to prove it.

Daisy’s network of eyes and ears was vast, possibly the biggest in the world. She knew a lot, and was always eager to know more, but knowing alone wasn’t enough. She needed to be able to act. And so here she was.

She tapped the screen of her phone a few times then spoke.

“It’s time. Let’s find that evidence.”

A crackle of static answered her, accompanied by what sounded like a faint squeak.

“I’m going to have to ask Yamina to work on your gear. But that’s a job for later. Are you ready?”

Another garbled squeaking noise came from the phone. 

“Yeah, I don’t like it either. I’d much rather swap and be out there doing this myself, but I can hardly just waltz over there, can I? We have to be sneaky. Now, let’s have a better look at this house.”

Daisy tapped her screen again and a grainy picture of a fridge appeared. The image swayed slightly, then wobbled forward until the camera was at the foot of the grey plastic door.

“Focus! No, I don’t care that you can smell cheese. Look, I’ll buy you some afterwards, okay? Fine. You can have an apple too. Deal.”

The camera reluctantly turned away from the fridge, clinging to the edge of the room as it moved towards an open door that led into the living room.

“Attaboy, Brucie,” Daisy said encouragingly.

To most people, Daisy was known as a smart, resourceful, and very passionate girl, who had always dreamed of being a detective. She had been solving little mysteries since she could totter around on her own two feet. Although she could still hardly believe it, she was very close to finally achieving that dream too, but none of that was what made Daisy truly special. No, the thing that really set her apart from the rest of the world was a closely kept secret that only her best friend Yamina knew.

Daisy Nightingale could speak to animals.

At first she had thought that this was perfectly normal, and that everybody could do it. As she had grown older though, she had realised that nobody could understand animals. The creatures around her quickly noticed she was different, and very soon Daisy was always surrounded by birds and little critters of all types. Animals loved her, and she loved them all dearly.

In her childhood, she had been enthralled by movies of beautiful princesses who were friends with animals just like her, and she had tried to emulate them by getting the local animals to do her chores. Only, as it happens, squirrels can’t pick up plates, hedgehogs can’t reach the buttons on the washing machine, and birds poop all over everything. 

What the animals were good for though was gossip. They could go where they like and humans mostly ignored them. They could also reach places humans couldn’t. At first, Daisy had used them to get dropped items from behind furniture, or to find out what her classmates and teachers did outside of school, but from the moment she discovered crime scene investigation shows, her friends’ true potential finally dawned on her.

So here she was: hot on the trail of a notorious bike thief. The investigation had been simple. A social media post had reported a brand new red bike stolen from Maypole Avenue, so Daisy had taken the short trip over there and had spoken to a magpie in a nearby tree. Magpies love shiny things, so the black and white bird had taken an interest in the bike. He had described the thief and pointed her in the right direction. It had taken a lot of questioning to pin down the final location, but a tabby cat was eventually able to confirm that a man matching her description had returned to his house with a new red bike. Everything had been coming together.

She watched as Brucie slipped into the living room and hid behind the sofa as the bike thief crossed the space back and forth while talking on his phone. Compared with little Brucie, the man looked gigantic.

“Yeah, chief, I got it. Real beauty. Easily £300 from shops. I’ll sell it you for £200 if you come up here to collect it. Do we have a deal? Cool. See you in twenty minutes then.”

That confirmed that the man had the bike, but it didn’t tell her where it was. She needed to act fast. 

“Brucie, do a quick check of the ground floor. I’m going to make a move.”

She glanced around and quickly spotted a fat pigeon plodding across the grass of someone’s front garden. She made a cooing sound and the bird raised its head towards her before waddling closer.

“‘Ello, pretty lady,” the pigeon said with the characteristic bobbing accent of all his kind. Of course, he didn’t actually say those words, instead making the usual sounds you would expect from a pigeon, but somehow the coos made perfect sense in Daisy’s head.

Daisy reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of seeds. She held it out to the bird.

“If I give you these seeds, could you make a quick flight over that house there and tell me if there is a red bike in the garden?”

Unlike the bird, Daisy did speak in English. Most animals had an innate ability to understand humans to some level. They all seemed to understand Daisy perfectly.

“Seeds from pretty lady? Sure. Sure. I fly there. I excellent flier. The best. Yup yup. Just watch.”

The pigeon flapped his wings clumsily, seeming to struggle to lift his bulk off the ground, but he managed it and flew low over the garden fence before circling back around and landing heavily at Daisy’s feet.

“No red bike. Job done. You proud? You proud? Seeds, seeds, seeds!”

Daisy scattered the seeds on the ground for the pigeon, then checked back in with Brucie. There was nothing in the house either. That left only one place: The garage.

“Brucie, the bike has to be in the garage. There isn’t much time until the buyer gets here. Cause a distraction while I try to get in. Maybe it’s unlocked.”

The pigeon tilted his head and stopped eating. “You want distraction? Gilbert help! I be hero for pretty lady, yes!”

“I don’t have any more seeds on me.”

No seeds, no. I brave pigeon. Bravest. Hero pigeon known across lawn. I distract real good!”

“Okay, Gilbert, you’re in. I’m relying on you. Go do your thing.”

Daisy walked towards the house while watching the pigeon out of the corner of her eye. He flapped up into the air then glided past her while loudly cooing what she could only assume was a battlecry, before crashing straight into the living room window with a loud bang.

Daisy dove behind a hedge as she heard a shout of surprise through her phone, then a moment later saw the man standing at the window, staring at a pigeon shaped smudge on the glass.

“That dumb pigeon!” Daisy hissed to herself. “I need the man away from the window, not drawn to it. Brucie, you have to salvage this for me. Yes, I’ll throw in some grain too!”

A clattering of pans came through her phone and the man whipped around, disappearing back into his house. This was her chance. Daisy double checked her surroundings then jogged up to the flaking green door of the garage. She gave it a pull and felt it lurch upwards with a shrill squeal of metal scraping against metal that hurt her teeth. 

She paused and listened. From inside the house she could hear the sounds of shouts and bangs, most likely from the man’s attempts to catch poor Brucie. He hadn’t seemed to have noticed the garage. Daisy lifted it a little more, then slipped inside. 

The garage was dark and dusty. Piles of boxes and bulging bin bags filled the room, and there, in the middle of it all, was the bike.

“Bingo.”

Without hesitating, she grabbed the bike and wheeled it out of the garage, only stopping to drop a business card on the floor where the bike had been. It showed a photoshopped picture of a nightingale sticking its tongue out with the words “No crime escapes the Knightingale” printed below. 

As soon as she was on the street, she swung herself up onto the bike and began to pedal back towards Maypole Avenue. She fumbled with her phone as she tried to steer.

“Mission accomplished. Get yourself out of there, Brucie. Meet back at mine for your payment.” She thought for a moment. “Actually, see if you can watch the sale. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he realises the bike’s gone. Yes, of course I’ll pay you extra. Right, see you soon.”

It felt good bringing justice to the world. A thief wasted his time and the bike’s owner would be happy to have it back. All in all, it wasn’t a bad morning’s work. Daisy left the bike on the owner’s doorstep then ran as soon as she rang the doorbell. She didn’t stop until she got home. It was important to get her cardio in, after all. 

She unlocked her door then went straight to her room. Her parents were already at work so the place was quiet. Her room was small, and every surface was covered in books and DVDs. Well, all of them that weren’t taken up by the large glass tank that housed her snake, Beethoven. 

“Welcome back,” Beethoven hissed softly. “I take it you were sssuccessful?”

“Of course,” Daisy said, grinning happily as she collapsed onto her bed. “One crime solved before breakfast. Not bad, if I do say so myself.”

“Yesss. About that. Don’t you have a ceremony you’re sssupose to be at?”

Daisy froze. She felt panic flare across her body, pumping her full of adrenaline. 

“Oh my gosh, you’re right! Aaaah! It’s not even my first day yet and I’m going to be late! How can I be late to my own introductory event? Where’s my uniform? No! No! No!”

“The life of a sssuper hero isss never sssimple, eh?” 

“This is not the time, Beethoven. Look, no one’s home, please nip downstairs and fetch up some food while I get ready. I can’t be late! I’ll just prepare at double speed! Determination always succeeds!”

“Double ssspeed ssstill can’t turn back the five minutesss you’re already late by.”

“Eeeeeeek!”

1. A Book and a Dog. (Bobby and Belle: Heroes of Time)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

It was a bright, sunny day outside. The perfect kind of day for a grand adventure filled with daring deeds. Or it would have been if Bobby and Belle weren’t stuck inside doing homework. They were at the library to do research on the Romans and were already bored. Their eyes kept drifting to the window to stare longingly at the green grass and blue sky of the nearby park.

What Bobby and Belle didn’t know though was that many a great adventure had begun in a library. 

They sat together at a small table with a pile of old books between them. Belle was trying to keep her eyes open as she read while Bobby had already given up and slumped back in his chair. 

“I don’t see why we have to do this,” Bobby muttered. “Mrs Henson only yesterday told us that we need to go outside and be active because children are getting too fat, but then she gives us a whole list of homework to do so we can’t go outside. Talk about mixed messages. It makes no sense.”

“Adults make no sense,” Belle agreed absently. “It’s what makes them adults. All of the school work and getting a job overloads their brains, turning them from kids to adults. That’s how you tell.”

“You’re right. Like, why make us learn about the Romans? They’re all long dead. Anyway, what did the Romans ever do for us?”

Belle looked up from the book and thought for a moment. “The Romans made gladiators. They’re pretty cool.”

Bobby nodded his agreement. “True, gladiators are cool. Mrs Henson barely mentioned them though. Instead we have to learn about boring stuff like roads and aqua ducks. They aren’t cool. We feed the aqua ducks every week. How different can Roman aqua ducks be? Now if it were fire ducks or lightning ducks, that would be something worth learning.”

“Yeah. You could make them fight the gladiators. There’s no challenge fighting a water duck but a fire duck might give them a run for their money. Or maybe a swan,” mused Belle.

“No doubt,” Bobby said with a shiver. He was remembering a few summers ago when a swan had pulled him into the pond. “Nobody wants to fight a swan.”

Belle sighed and closed the book. “Nothing in that one. We need to find another if we want to finish our work today.”

“Please. No more,” Bobby begged. Belle dragged him out of his chair and he reluctantly followed her.

They wandered through the aisles, bobbing and ducking like yo-yos as they looked at the titles of books on high and low shelves. Bobby squinted up at the top shelf then climbed up slightly to pull down a large, faded book. It looked ancient. Not the impressive type of old that looked valuable but the tatty sort covered in stains and ripped pages.

“Centurentha,” Bobby read, struggling with the work. “He was a Roman soldier, wasn’t he?”

“You mean a centurion? They were a sort of soldier not a person,” Belle told him.

“Maybe it’s his cousin then,” Bobby answered, not really paying attention to what his sister had said. “Look, it’s all written funny too. If it isn’t English then it has to be Roman, right?”

“Latin,” Belle sighed. “Romans spoke and wrote in Latin. Did you not listen to anything Mrs Henson said?”

Bobby wasn’t listening to his sister either. He was flicking through the pages with wide eyes. The words seemed to form pictures that moved when he turned the paper. Seeing his face, Belle joined him and stared at the flowing text. 

“Put it back, Bobby. Books aren’t supposed to do that. We can’t read it anyway. You’re wasting time when we could be outside playing. Come on,” Belle said, trying to close the book. Bobby didn’t move.

Belle tried to wrestle the book from his hands. She finally managed to pull it free but gave Bobby a papercut as the book slid from his fingers. A single bead of blood dripped down the page and began to swirl around with the dancing letters. The ink pulsed and rose up out from the paper.

The book fell to the ground. Words span faster now, growing and stretching into strange shapes that struggled to free themselves from the open tome. A dark figure reached out of the page and began to pull itself out like a swimmer climbing out of a pool. First came a clawed paw, then another, followed by a fanged snout. 

Belle and Bobby watched in horror. A moment passed and the fear on their face became a frown. The book shuddered and the creature stepped fully out into the world, baring its fangs and bristling it’s pure white fur. It would have been a scary sight if the creature hadn’t happened to look like a small, fluffy puppy.

“Cower mortals for I have arrived to return that which was stolen. Who are you that summon me to this wretched plain?” growled the puppy in a voice much more squeaky than it expected.

The children didn’t move. They stared at the dog with mixed feelings.

“Bobby, that dog is talking to us,” Belle said slowly without looking away from the pup.

“Dog?” growled the dog. “I am a spirit of time and space, a creature of the abyss feared by men and beasts in every dimension. You dare call me a dog?”

“Look, its little tail is wagging,” pointed out Bobby, completely ignoring what the dog was saying. “It’s so cute. You think we can keep it?”

The dog bristled with anger, its fluffy fur sticking out further to make it look like a cotton bud. Growling, it trotted away to a window to check its reflection. Seeing himself, the dog yelped and froze. 

“I should be a fearsome wolf! A giant canine of legend! Not this fluffy runt!” It made a retching noise in its throat. “I look so… cute. It’s sickening.”

“I think you look lovely,” Belle told him sweetly. The dog made more disgusted sounds.

“Why were you in that book?” asked Bobby. “Funny place for a dog to be.”

“Listen closely, tiny human. I am not a dog but an ethereal being of great power forced into the form of an impure mutt. That book is a very important magical artifact. The only problem is that some of the words were lost. Without them the book is useless.”

“How do you lose words from a book?” Belle wondered aloud.

The dog lowered its head. “It was the work of a man known as Teller. The book must be read every hundred years in order for reality as you know it to continue. Teller wants to shatter reality so tried to destroy the book. As its guardian, I tried to stop him but was locked away inside the book instead. Teller only managed to take a few words but he scattered them across history.”

“A hundred years is a really long time,” said Bobby.

“It is a blink of the eyes to the universe,” the dog replied knowingly. “This current century cycle only has a few months left.”

Belle reached down and picked up the dog, cuddling him like a baby. “That is horrible.”

“Put me down, tiny human! Let me go or I will destroy you!”

“We should take him to Dad. He always knows what to do,” Bobby announced. “Maybe he’ll even let us keep him. I’ve always wanted my own dog.”

The dog glared at him. It struggled and squirmed for a moment before escaping from Belle’s grip. He trotted away and jumped up onto a table where he stood tall and proud to address the children. Or, as tall and proud as a foot high ball of white fluff with legs can look. 

“Listen closely, tiny humans. I am called Eldrik and it is my job to keep the world safe. As the holders of the Centura, I task you both with finding the missing words.”

Bobby and Belle looked at Eldrik, then at each other, then back to Eldrik.

“Sorry,” said Belle with a small shake of her head. “Can’t. We’ve got to be home by four o’clock or we’ll be in big trouble.”

“Yeah,” agreed Bobby. “Plus our mum told us not to talk to strangers and you are really strange.”

Eldrik showed them his fangs. The children weren’t sure if it was supposed to be a smile or a snarl. His tail wagged side-to-side so fast that it was a blur and his big black eyes began to glow blue.

“There isn’t time to argue. I have chosen you. Now come. We have a job to do.”

“But there is an adult right around the corner. I can’t even tie my shoelaces,” Bobby tried to argue. 

The light from Eldrik’s eyes grew wider, spreading across his body until the dog looked fully blue. His grin grew wider then he jumped, landing between Bobby and Belle with a bright flash of colour.

The world fell away from them.

Chapter 32. New Waves. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Sunlight glimmered across crystal waves, giving the impression that the sea was filled with colourful gems. Shapes darted around just below the surface, while the usually static sky was filled with squawking birds of one kind or another. The world felt alive in a way that most had never known before.

Bucc watched the animals lazily from the bow of The Lady Hope. It had been a month since the Battle of Frindor, although little more than a week had passed since they had left the Nexus. A lot had happened since then, but then, not a lot had happened at the same time.

With Neri’s guidance, the young pirates had made it safely back, but they hadn’t been the first ones to arrive there. When Captain Pyrefist had opened the seal inside the Nexus, thousands of animals had begun to pour out from the riftways. Some had been beautiful, others filled even the sturdiest of pirates with terror. Rumours of the legendary leviathans had already spread across the seas.

Milla had been returned to the care of Lord Captain Steeledge’s surgeon. The man had his hands full since the battle, but Captain Steeledge himself had told him to focus on the girl’s care, despite his own terrible wounds. Against all odds, she was showing signs of recovery already. As Bucc had hoped, it turned out that she was simply too stubborn to die.

“Would you believe that the number of riftways we can access has more than doubled since the seal was opened?”

Bucc made a sound that was neither interested nor bored. Adward joined him, a notebook and quill in his hand and a look of excitement plastered across his face. Bucc had been on the receiving end of several of Adward’s new discoveries already. They were all interesting, but there was only so much wonder that Bucc could process at any one time. Adward continued unperturbed.

“I expect that they are all of the invisible passages that the blanks used. The navigational possibilities that this opens up are near endless.” 

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a very good thing. Before, rift travel was the danger while sailing was perfectly safe. Now we’ve already had reports of shark attacks, and even a sighting of a leviathan. The open seas have suddenly become a very dangerous place.”

“Have you heard anything new about Pyrefist or the Ashenna?”

“Nothing. Still no sightings in southern waters since they pulled back their fleet. That can only be a good thing, right?”

“Who knows? We haven’t won the war, and I don’t even know if we won the battle. This is all too confusing for me. Pyrefist did what he wanted to do, and what he did will potentially save everyone. Were we wrong to fight against him? Ah, it hurts my head just thinking about it. I’ll let the captains decide that kind of thing. On that note, where’s Jesse?”

“Where do you think? She’s overseeing the rebuilding of The Phoenix. I’m still amazed that they think they can piece those splinters back together into a sailable ship. There are plenty of other ships left to take parts from though. It’s the only peace she gets. Any time she steps out in public she gets swarmed with fans. Beating Captain Pyrefist has done wonders for her reputation.”

Bucc laughed. “She’s welcome to it. As long as she keeps all of that attention away from me.” He turned back to the sea and stared off into the sky. “I still can’t believe that we did it.”

“Let’s just hope that we don’t have to do it again,” Adward said with a tired smile. He placed a hand on Bucc’s shoulder. “You did pretty well for a pacifist. Just like you said, you protected everyone without hurting anybody. If only Kaz could have seen us fighting together like that.”

“What do you think the future is going to be now?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s up to us to decide. We’re going to have a lot of struggles, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, but we’ll overcome them. I still want to be a farmer, but while my family and friends are being threatened, I’ll try my hardest to get stronger. Who says I can’t do both?”

“Exactly.”

The two pirates stood in silence for a few minutes, lost in thought as they admired the new beauty of the world. Neri wiggled up onto Bucc’s head and bathed in the sun. The future was scary, but here and now, Bucc felt content. 

There was a bustle from the stairway. Bucc’s mum half jogged over to them. “Milla has just woken up. I thought you’d like to know straight away.”

A relieved grin spread across Bucc’s face. “Adward, go and get Jesse. It’s time to welcome Milla back.”

“Aye aye.”

Tomorrow was filled with uncertainty, conflict, and fears, but today, Bucc knew exactly who he was and what he needed to do. He was Buccaneer Jones, the pacifist pirate, and all he needed to be was a good friend. 

He cast a last look up into the sky as a flock of seagulls passed overhead. The squarks added a sharpness to the constant rolling slosh of the waves that Bucc had known his entire life. The world was full of movement and noise, and hundreds of colours punctuated the monotonous blue that he had grown to resent. It was the same world, but somehow it had changed beyond recognition.

“Let’s go, Neri. It’s time we show Milla that she does have a home. It’s all new waves out here, but me, you, Jesse, Adward, and Milla, will find a new way forward and face whatever tomorrow brings together. That’s a promise.”

The end.

Thanks for seeing this through to the end! I hope you enjoyed being a part of Bucc’s world. Feel free to leave your thoughts or feedback in a comment. 

If you enjoyed the story and have some spare money, please consider supporting my work through one of the links below, or by buying a version of this book. If not, thank you for giving me your time. Spread the word if you can, as that always helps massively!

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Previous – Chapter 31. Here at the End of it All.

Chapter 31. Here at the End of it All. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Bucc shouted wordlessly. Without conscious thought his body became covered in his own fire. He ran through the wall of flame, dimly aware that the pain inside his chest had eased slightly. On the other side he came face to face with stark reality. Milla lay slumped on the golden block that was now slick with her blood. Pyrefist stood over her, his face as blank and unreadable as ever. His daughter stood a few steps away. Her eyes were fixed on Bucc and her body was ready to spring into action. 

Bucc couldn’t pull his eyes away from Milla’s pale face. Even as the dome beneath their feet started to shift and move, he stared helplessly at her closed eyes. He took an uncertain step forward. It was hard to walk. Whether from shock or the lurching of the dome, he couldn’t tell.

The dial lowered into the ground, leaving Milla in a pool of her own blood over the glass window into the shadowy well below. Pyrefist handed the sword back to his daughter without a word and they both turned to climb down the dome. Bucc’s eyes flitted between them and Milla. Then the dome began to open, its centre curling upwards and over like a blooming flower. The flat ground was quickly becoming a steep slope.

“Bucc! Stop them!” shouted Jesse. The wall of fire had disappeared now and Jesse and Adward were sprinting towards him. “I’ll get Milla. You two go after them!”

The order took any indecision from Bucc’s mind. He charged down the slope, gravity lending him a breakneck speed. Adward ran at his side. The gap between them was closing quickly. 

“I hope you have a plan,” Adward yelled between heavy breaths. 

“Stir the wind to move the sand. That’s going to be our advantage here.”

They jumped the last few steps into the soft sand a few steps behind Pyrefist. He turned to face them.

“Do you still wish to fight me? How awfully aggressive of a pacifist. Has anger and revenge clouded your morality?” He looked away from Bucc to the now vertical surface of the former dome. Shimmering light was shooting up from within it to connect to the riftway. “Even so, now isn’t the time. We are about to witness a once in a lifetime event. Though I wonder if your body can last even that long.”

The captain was right. Bucc’s heart felt close to bursting and his head was light. The moment of relief that using his power had brought him had given him an idea. He faced down the larger man. 

“Now!”

Adward moved his arms and a wind blew across the static landscape. The sand, which had never known a breeze, was swept up and swirled around the two Ashenna pirates. Bucc let his anger build, tentatively tapping into the excess heat that was on the verge of destroying him. He hoped that things were as simple as he thought they were. He had taken in too much heat, so he just needed to vent it back out again.

Bucc braced himself then let loose. Fire ripped through him in a torrent of raw power that blasted the landscape in scouring light. He screamed as lances of pain stabbed through his muscles and nerves. All of his own power and that of Pyrefist’s daughter poured from him in a wave of pure carnage that burned his hands.

Adward sent as much sand into the inferno as he could manage, angling eddies of sand from every direction until his powers failed him and he sagged onto his knees, breathing heavily.

Bucc felt the last of his power splutter and vanish without warning. Smoke billowed off him as he stood numbly swaying in place. Before him was a scene of devastation. The ground was a lumpy patch of misshapen glass that must have covered almost a mile of the Nexus. Everything steamed gently, filling the air with swirling mist. 

The air suddenly felt unbearably cold. A fierce chill cut deeply into Bucc. Finding that he had no strength left, he collapsed backwards into the sand. He turned his head slightly to stare into the glass wasteland. 

Both Pyrefist and his daughter were still standing. They were encased in the glass up to their knees, with lumps of glass dotting the rest of their bodies where it had rained from above. Just as Bucc had hoped, it seemed that both had used their affinity to avoid taking any direct damage from his blast. The woman was struggling wearily to free herself but didn’t have the strength left. Pyrefist himself simply stared at Bucc, showing no discomfort at all.

The lord captain rolled his shoulders and glass cracked and fell from his torso. Calmly, he placed his hand on the glass around his legs and released a quick but intense burst of heat. The glass shattered. He began a slow walk towards Bucc, completely ignoring the struggles of his daughter.

“Good effort. Your reluctance to hurt me is a deadly weakness though. You were resourceful enough to save your own life and power up your attack in a single move, yet you threw it away for your morals.”

Bucc couldn’t move. He had nothing left to give. Pyrefist’s words washed over him, barely registering in his exhausted mind. He had hoped that the effort needed to defend against the blast would have drained the man, but now he could only watch helplessly as the man’s hands began to glow with power.

Jesse came charging from the side and tackled Pyrefist. She hit him and bounced back, not moving the man an inch. She recovered fast and stood between the captain and Bucc. Her pistols were empty and she had no weapons but she stood there with fierce determination.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone else!”

Pyrefist looked down on her scornfully. “You’re no captain, girl. You are a weakling hiding behind a mask, a child playing dress up.”

He reached out a single finger and pressed it against the wooden mask. A surge of flame passed through it, shattering the mask. Jesse stared in horror at the captain, her determination draining from her face to be replaced by fear. 

“Your words lack bite now that you can’t hide away from the world. Those scars, and that face of a shy little girl, they are who you are. You can’t run away from that. You pushed all of your passion into a mask, and now without it you are worthless.”

He backhanded her across the face with enough force to send her skidding across the sand. She lay there, unmoving, surrounded by the fragments of her broken mask. Pyrefist turned his attention away from her and back to Bucc.

“Turn your head towards the salvation of our world, Buccaneer Jones,” Pyrefist intoned, motioning towards the pillar of light that flared up out of the hole beneath the dome like a blazing beacon. Shadows dotted the light by the thousands, some small, others large beyond imagining. They were all floating upwards towards the tangle of riftways where they disappeared from sight.

“I’m not a sentimental man, but even I can see the beauty in this. Believe me, Buccaneer, I would love to say that my work is done, that humanity has been saved, but our people are simply too narrow minded to protect themselves from their own greed. You’ve seen it too. Everything revolves around instant gratification. They want to feast, fight, and consume in an endless cycle of waste. It seems to be a part of being human. They need someone to tell them no. Please tell me you can understand that?”

Bucc couldn’t answer. His mouth was too dry to form words. 

Pyrefist sighed, almost sadly. “I will be remembered as a villain and a tyrant, but at least there will be people left to remember me. That is enough.”

Flames once again appeared in his hand. He held it out, the light filling Bucc’s vision. There was nothing he could do. The flame grew then vanished suddenly as Pyrefist lurched forward with a grunt. Jesse clung to his back with one arm around his throat, a feral snarl on her lips. In her other hand was a shard of her mask that she drove into his back repeatedly with savage cries. 

Pyrefist tried to pull the girl free but she wouldn’t let go. Again and again she stabbed him, plunging the mask into him until the rough wood shredded her hand and her own blood mixed with the stream flowing down the captain’s back. 

“These scars are my mask! It’s a part of me! I’m not worthless, and never was!”

He finally grabbed onto her and threw her hard into the ground before staggering away. The captain moved with a drunken clumsiness as he lurched away from Bucc. A trail of blood followed him as he took laboured steps towards the pillar of light. Nobody moved to stop him. Nobody could. He clambered up onto the golden ramp then fell, the metal slick with his blood. On hands and knees he crawled up the ramp, only standing when he reached the edge of the light. He looked down at them, then tipped back into the riftway. The light pulled him away and his shadowy shape vanished from sight. 

Adward appeared at Bucc’s side. “Are you okay?”

“Breathing hurts,” Bucc rasped. 

“That’s probably not good.” Adward observed dryly. “Come on, we have to get back. We need water and medical attention.”

As Adward helped him up, he stared in wide-eyed amazement at Jesse. She stood nearby, drenched in blood and panting heavily. Bucc took a few faltering steps towards her but she shook her head and pointed towards the base of the dome.

“I’m fine. Go to Milla.”

“Milla!” Bucc said, his thoughts snapping back into place. 

They stumbled over to where the girl was laid. Bucc dropped to his knees at her side. Her dress was soaked in blood and her skin was sickly and pale. Somehow she was still breathing though.

“The plants tried to seal the wound,” Jesse told them as she slowly limped to join them. “I don’t think it’s enough.”

Bucc pushed away the adrenaline, and all of the doubts and fears that fought for control in his head. He felt a strange sense of clarity through the exhaustion. His fire wasn’t a weapon. It was a tool for creation and for survival. 

“Sit her up,” he told his friends. They lifted her slightly. Bucc placed one hand on Milla’s chest over the wound, his other on her back. He had seen surgeons seal bad wounds that would kill the unlucky pirate by using heated iron to cauterise the injury and stop the bleeding. Looking deep within himself, Bucc grasped at the last reserves of his strength and summoned his fire one more time. 

Milla hissed and writhed even as Jesse and Adward tried to keep her in place. Seconds passed, then Bucc laid down beside Milla with a quiet groan. Jesse and Adward slumped into the sand too, and for a moment, there was nothing but a peaceful silence.

A sharp cracking noise sounded nearby, followed by unsteady footsteps. Adward was the only one with the energy to lift his head.

“That woman is getting away.”

“Let her,” Bucc said tiredly. “The fight’s over for today. I don’t know how different the world will be, or even if we won or lost. Either way, it’s over.”

Jesse was the first to stand. “We have to go back. Milla needs proper care. We can’t stay here.”

Bucc nodded slowly. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

Previous – Chapter 30. Shores of the Nexus.

Next – Chapter 32. New Waves.

Chapter 30. Shores of the Nexus. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Adward frowned. “Even if we can fight our way to the riftway, it’s going to take too long. There are too many Ashenna ships. We need a shortcut.”

“How are we supposed to find a shortcut through a battle?” Jesse asked.

“Leave it to me,” her brother answered with a smile. He ran over to Captain Ackeridge and began to explain his idea to her. She nodded and Adward returned a few seconds later. 

“Help me lower the boat then hold tight. We’re about to go for a ride.”

They clambered into the boat and lowered it until they hung just above the rolling waves below them. Captain Ackeridge appeared at the railing and leaned down.

“Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” Bucc asked.

“This.”

The waves rose up to meet the boat and swept it forward. The ropes fell away as the boat lifted up above the ship’s railing and was pulled in an arc over the deck atop a bridge of flowing water. Every wayfarer concentrated on controlling the torrent of water, directing it out across the Ashenna fleet and upwards towards the floating riftway that The Phoenix had fallen from a short time ago.

“Neri, you’re up!” Bucc shouted as they sped towards the riftway. The familiar leapt into action as the three pirates huddled closely together. She expanded quickly, her slimy body absorbing the three until she formed a large bubble that was only slightly smaller than the boat. 

They hit the riftway and Neri bounced out of the boat, leaving it to be lost to the raging current of lights. Bucc floated within Neri and couldn’t feel any of the usual strain brought on by the riftway. Jesse clung to one of his hands while Adward gripped his other. Usually the familiar felt cold but now she was uncomfortably warm. 

Neri zigzagged through the riftway erratically, twisting and turning at high speeds without ever slowing. Every second that passed seemed to increase the tempo of the rhythmic pulsing that passed through her body. Bucc could feel her excitement mixed with apprehension, both underpinned by the constant sting of burning.

“Not long now, buddy,” Bucc whispered. “We just have to hold on a little longer, okay?”

There was a sound like scraping glass then the rainbow of colours inverted and saturated in an instant so that only blue and white remained. Neri shuddered then burst, reforming as her usual shape and clinging to Bucc’s shirt. 

All of them screamed. They were falling through the sky high above the white sands of the Nexus. As the wind tore at his eyes, Bucc tried to get his bearings and saw the glint of gold in the distance. They were so close. All they needed to do now was not die.

“Neri! You can’t rest yet! I need you to spread yourself out like a sheet. You can do that, right?”

The familiar made a weary moaning noise then shuffled up Bucc’s back and wrapped a slimey tendril around his neck. She stretched out across Jesse and Adward, attaching herself to their necks too before reaching down to do the same around their feet. The wind caught beneath her and Neri opened out like a parachute, slowing their fall.

“So this is the legendary Shores of the Nexus,” Adward said breathlessly as they stared out at the endless white expanse. “I’ve got to admit, I expected more. How many people have dedicated their lives to finding this empty place?”

“I think there’s more here than meets the eye,” Bucc told him weakly. While Adward’s eyes wandered over everything in sight, Bucc’s were focussed entirely on the metal dome before them.

“Look!” pointed Jesse. “They really are here!”

Bucc could see them too. Three dots beside the shining gold dome could only be Milla and her capturers. Thousands of blanks circled the dome and even from that distance Bucc could hear their high-pitched chittering.

“They must be able to see us, right?” Adward pointed out. “We aren’t exactly being discreet gliding down like this. So why haven’t they just burned us up while we can’t avoid attacks?”

“You’re right. We’re open targets up here,” Jesse added. “Hey Neri, can you speed this up?”

Bucc felt a ripple of his familiar’s thoughts. He didn’t have time to ask her to stop. The familiar snapped back into a small ball, letting the three pirates free fall towards the sand. Neri accelerated and sped past them. 

Bucc closed his eyes and braced for a bone-breaking impact. An impact came, but it was soft and caused him to bounce slightly. It took him a moment before he dared to open his eyes. He, Jesse, and Adward were all laid safely atop of Neri. The familiar groaned loudly then reformed once more into her usual shape. He hugged her tightly and sent a mental message across telling her not to scare him like that again. Neri simply nuzzled his cheek innocently.

The three stood up and faced the golden dome. They could see that Pyrefist was already nearing the summit. They set off at a sprint to catch up, their feet churning up the pale sand with each step. The light that reflected from the dome seemed to grow brighter every second until it was almost blinding. 

Then they were at the foot of the golden hill. Pyrefist had crested the dome, disappearing from their sight. Bucc placed a foot on the shining metal and could feel it vibrate through his boot. Neri shook at the same frequency. The air hummed. Jesse and Adward stood frozen at the base, entranced by the scale and majesty of the mound of gold.

“So much gold…” Jesse muttered in amazement. “The treasures of every ship in the south seas couldn’t match this.”

Adward stared at it with tears in his eyes. “Captain Dread’s treasure. It has to be. He didn’t hide it, he brought all of the gold here to build this.”

“Come on!” Bucc encouraged. “We’re so close.”

They started up the rise, pushing themselves step by step up the steep incline. Bucc needed his friends’ help half way up, so together the three stumbled up the last stretch to crest the dome. There was no time to catch their breath. Pyrefist stood beside the central dial waiting for them.

The pirate lord watched them, no trace of emotion on his hardened face. His daughter stood at his side with a blade to Milla’s throat. 

“You exceed my expectations, boy. I knew you’d come, but this was fast. If not for your morals, I think you could be a great force for change.”

“Shut up! I’m here to stop you, not impress you.”

“To do one would achieve the other,” Pyrefist answered simply. “But that doesn’t matter now. Something like this requires witnesses. That’s where you come in. Or, your friends at least. You might not have the time to return home. Such a waste. I could save you, if you at least try to see reason.”

“I don’t need another of your lessons about false compassion. You hurt people and do everything in your power to control them. Your actions speak louder than my words.”

“Good. They always should. Such violence was a heavy burden to bear, but now I’ve found a better path. All thanks to you and your friend here. Tell me, do you know where we are?”

“The Shores of the Nexus.”

“Correct. This is the centrepoint of our world, a doorway between us and elsewhere. The blanks are connected to here, while every other animal disappeared fifty years ago. I did my research and found that the leviathan threat was becoming too big to deal with so one crew took it upon themselves to seal the creatures away at their point of origin. I’m sure you know of the legends surrounding Lord Captain Dread?”

Bucc remembered the shapes that swam beneath the golden seal. Was that really where all of the animals had gone?

“You saw them, didn’t you? The shadows that swim through the darkness below our feet. This seal has all the answers to our current problems. Our so called hero failed. He didn’t only seal away the leviathans but every animal. All I have to do is open the seal and life will return to the world and the balance of nature will be restored. Humanity will still need to be better managed, but none should feel the pain of starvation.”

Bucc was trying his best to keep up with what the man was saying. So far it all seemed too sensible, too reasonable. He didn’t like it when somebody he had happily categorised as an enemy sounded… right.

Adward was the one who answered. “But wouldn’t that unleash the leviathans back into the world too? That would be very bad.”

“Nature has no concept of good and bad. It has balance. If any one animal is too good at hunting and repopulating then they run out of food and die off until a sustainable amount remain. Most animals had natural predators to keep their numbers in check. That is why we need the leviathans. Humanity needs a challenge greater than ourselves for us to unite against. Otherwise we turn on one another as we have these past fifty years. Humans revel in the thrill of the hunt, but if nothing can kill us, our very souls grow bored. Boredom leads to destructive tendencies. By locking them away, all we did was break nature’s cycle.”

“Enough talking!” Jesse cut in. “I don’t care about any of that. Just give us Milla back!”

Pyrefist stepped closer to Milla and raised her head to look him in the eyes. Even with the blade to her throat, she struggled against his grip.

“You will have to wait a moment longer for her return,” he told them flatly. “She has a purpose to fulfil first. 

“What purpose!” Bucc shouted. “You need a key. Milla knows nothing about it!”

“I am aware of both these facts. Lord Captain Dread didn’t rely on a key of iron though. That could be lost or stolen. That paranoid fool somehow made a lock that would only respond to his blood. Most of his kin were members of his crew and disappeared with him. Dread had a handful of illegitimate children scattered across the seas though. One such line leads straight to your friend here.”

Bucc didn’t like where this was going. “Get away from her!”

Pyrefist ignored him. He shoved Milla against the dial and pushed her down by her hair until her chest lay against the raised golden pillar. Milla tried to lash out with her vines but Pyrefist grabbed them and wrapped them in place around his fist. Without a word he took the sword from his daughter’s hand.

“No!” 

Bucc ran forwards, pulling all of the fire within him together. Light blazed and a scorching wall of flame reared up in front of him. Without slowing, Bucc tried to open up a gap or lower the temperature of a small patch, but Pyrefist’s will was as unmoving as iron. He skidded to a stop inches away from the inferno and staggered back.

Bucc could hear Milla struggling. She shouted and kicked at her capturer. He could see their heat-warped figures through the tongues of flame. Pyrefist held her firmly in one hand and positioned the swordpoint over her back with the other. Bucc’s mind was blank with panic. He started to push forward again through the heat. He had to do something.

There was a sudden movement through the flames. The sword stabbed down. A scream echoed across the empty landscape of the Nexus. Milla tensed then sagged across the dial, pinned in place by the blade.

Previous – Chapter 29. Dreams and Resolutions.

Next – Chapter 31. Here at the End of it All.

Chapter 29. Dreams and Resolutions. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

The biting chill of the ice sent a spark of consciousness through the fried circuits of Bucc’s brain. He coughed then threw up acidic bile that burned his throat and mouth. Every part of him felt dried out and sore. Neri flopped from his chest and sagged across his knees. Bucc carefully scooped her up and cradled her in his arms as she wheezed loudly. 

Milla approached the frozen woman. Bucc made a move to stop her but doubled over in pain at the smallest motion. Nobody else dared to stand in her way. She glared at the siblings just to be sure and both took a quick step back. She tried to stand face to face with the woman but Milla was younger and the Ashenna was naturally tall. Milla had to look up to stare into her closed eyes.

A moment passed as Milla just stood there. Then she pulled back her arm and slapped the woman as hard as she could. The sharp sound rang out across the ship, piercing the dull roar of the fires that burned across the battlefield. Red’s eyes shot open. They darted around frantically then settled on Milla with a burning hatred.

“You think you’ve won?”

“Well, we aren’t the ones encased in a block of ice after being outplayed by a group of nobodies,” Jesse answered snidely. 

“You beat me. I can’t deny that. But I’m just another nobody too. Your fleet is scattered and the rest of the world is still in the hands of my father. Even if you want to consider winning me as a victory, it all counts for nothing. My fleet will regroup and Father will find another weapon to replace me. At most you’ve bought yourself some time.”

“We’ve bought ourselves hope,” Bucc said weakly. “We proved that we can win if we try. And we did it my way. We’ve done it once so we can do it again.”

The woman snorted through chattering teeth. Her skin was turning a sickly blue colour from the cold. “You won’t be doing anything. I don’t know how you did it, but you absorbed my flames. That’s all still inside you. All that heat will dry you out and burn you up. You’ve sentenced yourself to death in order to trap me, a flamecaster, inside of something I can easily melt.”

“I don’t think you’ll be getting out any time soon,” he told her. “To you, victory is the only thing that matters, right? That means you’d have used up all the strength you had to avoid losing to a bunch of nobody kids. I expect any strength you have left is going straight to keeping your body warm right now.”

“That doesn’t matter. You’re still surrounded by my soldiers and you have nothing to contain me in once this ice melts. The more you think about it, the less it looks like you’ve won anything. That is, unless you’re planning to kill me?”

“I’m not,” Bucc answered simply. “I’m in no condition to stop anyone else from giving it a go though.”

At that moment, Captain Ackeridge and Captain Steeledge limped over to the group. Ackeridge was supporting Captain Steeledge from one side while her familiar, still in its larger form, supported him from the other. Steeledge’s own familiar, a large bird with metallic feathers, sat on his shoulder and nestled its head into his cheek affectionately. One of his arms was heavily bandaged, the other gripped a sword tightly. Behind them were a small cluster of other pirates, including Bucc’s parents.

“Come to gloat now that a group of children have done what you couldn’t?” The woman said sneeringly.

“No. I’ve come to execute you.”

A spike of pressure impacted everyone at the same time. Bucc looked up to see a spot of sky shimmer then warp in a rainbow of colours. The colours crackled, condensed, then split, parting to reveal a hole in the world that led straight into the riftway. Bubbles began to bleed out, slushing down and weaving through the air until they reached the deck beside the block of ice. 

It took Bucc a moment to realise they were blanks. Hundreds of them span in a tight column, a low, sad moan being emitted by each until the sound was overwhelming. They lingered there for a few brief seconds then scattered, revealing a sight that nobody could have expected.

“Pyrefist!” Milla shouted. She was a blur of movement as she charged at the man. Everyone else was too stunned to move. 

The lord captain stood there, looming over the other pirates without any effort on his part. His impassive, angular face could very well have been carved from stone. He didn’t react to Milla, allowing her vines to lash against him without the slightest hint of flinching.

Pyfist made a sharp whistle and the blanks regrouped and converged on Milla. She cried out in surprise as they wrapped around her and locked her limbs in place. Jesse swung two pistols up to aim at him but the metal heated up to a bright red colour in an instant. She dropped them with a hiss of pain. 

Without taking his eyes off of Milla, Pyrefist reached out his hand and rested it on the block of ice that surrounded his daughter. It shattered at his touch and she fell to the floor. 

“Stand,” he ordered her without looking around. Shakily, she obeyed. 

He took a step forward and grabbed a large handful of Milla’s hair. “Come. We have work to do.”

Bucc managed to pull himself to his feet and stumbled towards the Ashenna leader. “Leave her alone!”

“You’re still alive,” Pyrefist stated dismissively. “Not for long by the looks of it. I have no interest in you. Everything I need is right here.” He tugged on Milla’s hair to emphasize his point. 

“What do you want with Milla? I won’t let you take her!”

“You are inconsequential. As for the girl, she is the key to everything. You have no idea what you’ve had under your nose. I must commend you, girl, for escaping me twice. Having the blanks push that barrel off my ship in the riftway was one thing, but having them whisk you away before my eyes was quite another. I took the time to study the blanks and run experiments on them. I worked out their connection to the riftway, and found my own way to command them. It turns out that my goal and theirs are actually one in the same. They led me straight to you, and now they will take us to our destiny.”

He clicked his fingers and the blanks started to rapidly circle the two Ashenna and Milla. Bucc ran for them but in the second it took to close the distance between them, they were gone.

Bucc fell to his knees. Raw emotions tore through him then drained away as fatigue and pain overcame everything. He collapsed to the deck, breathing heavily. His parents rushed to his side, closely followed by Jesse and Adward.

“Everything we did was for nothing,” he panted miserably. “Pyrefist’s daughter escaped and they took Milla.”

“But why Milla?” Adward asked. “If Pyrefist was here then I’d imagine he has full control of the Northern Seas. He could have wiped the last of the resistance out just now but all he cared about was taking a young girl. Why? What could the blanks want that line up with his goals?”

Bucc clenched his fist. Neri nestled into the crook of his neck and purred loudly. He stroked his familiar and took a calming breath then rolled over. He stared into the infinite blue above as his mind went into overdrive.

“The blanks took us to the Shores of the Nexus. They keep wanting to take us back. Or take Milla back, and I’m always at her side. They wanted us to open that golden seal that was locked. Pyrefist must want to open the seal too.”

“But you said it needed a key. Do you think Milla knows where the key is?”

“She didn’t seem to. It has to be related though. We know where they’re going.”

Bucc’s mum placed a hand on his forehead then pulled it away quickly. “You’re burning up. We have to get you some help.”

“There isn’t time. I have to follow them.”

“Follow them?” she exclaimed. “Bucc, you’re dying. We need to save you first. Pyrefist is too strong. We can’t fight him but we can help you.”

Bucc shook his head. “You can’t. It isn’t an illness you can medicate, or an injury you can bandage. There’s nothing you can do. But there is something I can do. I can follow my friend and do everything in my power to protect her and bring her back. Milla has nobody. If I don’t go, nobody will. She deserves somebody to have her back. I don’t want her to fight alone any longer. I’m sorry.”

“I won’t lose you again. I forbid you from going.”

Bucc smiled at her. Mischief glinted in his eyes. “You can try to stop me from going, but I’ll still go anyway. I’m a pirate after all. Breaking the rules is kind of what we do.”

Bucc’s father placed a hand on her shoulder and softly shook his head. “We taught him to do what’s right. It was always us that misunderstood what that exactly meant. Fighting with all of your heart for something you believe in, that is the true way of pirates.”

His wife didn’t look convinced but she sighed and stepped back. Adward and Jesse helped Bucc to his feet. He could barely keep his balance without his friends holding him up.

Captains Steeledge and Ackeridge approached them, both looking pale and worn down. Steeledge looked even closer to passing out than Bucc himself did. He offered Bucc a small, respectful nod of the head.

“How do you plan to follow them? I’ve never seen anyone just disappear like that.”

“Neri knows the way,” he answered simply. His familiar was still an angry red colour but she bounced and chirped her agreement. 

“You know that you don’t stand a chance of winning?”

Bucc shrugged. “That’s for the Noodly One to decide. Milla needs me, that’s all that matters. I don’t abandon my friends.”

“Then go with all the luck and best wishes that the South Seas can offer. Though judging by the state we’re in, that probably doesn’t mean much.”

“Thank you, Lord Captain.”

Bucc motioned with his head towards Neri and his familiar jumped up and started to cover Bucc’s entire body. Neri had to stop though when Adward and Jesse placed a hand on Bucc’s shoulders.

“Don’t think you’re leaving without us,” Jesse told him sternly. “You did say we’d never leave each others’ side again. The three of us going off to face an overpowered tyrant for the fate of the free world is exactly the kind of thing that Kaz had in mind for us. And anyway, Milla is a member of my crew now. That means she’s my responsibility. We’re her family, so she’ll always have someone to rely on.”

Tears formed in Bucc’s eyes. He tried to blink them away. This wasn’t the time for that kind of thing. He needed to focus.

“You think you can manage the three of us?” he asked his familiar. Neri swayed uncertainly then whistled a determined little trill. “I guess it’s settled then. This is officially a rescue mission. Let’s go get Milla back!”

“Right!”

“Okay, we need a boat and a clear path to a riftway. Lord Captain, do you think you can clear the way for us?”

Steeledge eyed the Ashenna fleet that still dominated the ocean around them. “I reckon I can do that. Let’s give ‘em hell. Everyone to your stations! The battle isn’t over yet!”

The pirates ran across the deck to man any undamaged cannons and do what they could to salvage the sails. Slowly, the ship gained momentum and began to ram its way through the debris and milling vessels. This reignited the battle and an erratic beat of cannonfire began to sound.

“Are you guys sure you want to come?” Bucc asked Adward and Jesse as they found an undamaged rowboat. “It’s not like I have a plan for how to make this work out.”

“I know. That’s why we’ve got to go with you and make sure you don’t get yourself killed. We’re a team. Where you go, we go. Together we can overcome anything.”

Bucc tried to laugh but a sudden pain flared in his chest and caused him to double over. He was running low on time. Jesse and Adward rushed to his side but he waved them away and motioned at the rowboat.

“We have to hurry. I don’t know how much longer I can keep going.”

Previous – Chapter 28. Who We Really Are.

Next – Chapter 30. Shores of the Nexus.

Chapter 28. Who We Really Are. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Milla rushed forward and launched herself into the air using her vines. She lashed out from above but she deliberately aimed too short to keep her vines away from the Ashenna woman’s sword. 

In the brief second that the woman was focussed on Milla, Jesse worked her affinity to pull a stream of water up from the ocean and onto the ship. Bucc directed his power towards it, superheating the liquid until it became steam which Adward spread across the deck using the wind. The entire deck became shrouded in warm clouds of mist.

A burst of fire appeared from where Red had been standing but the fire spread itself thin then faded. She tried again and got the same result. Bucc smiled to himself. Just like they had planned, Milla had spread her pollen into the steam while she was unseen. The fire consumed the pollen, spreading itself thin in a way that no caster would expect before being extinguished by the damp air. 

Nothing moved in the grey sheen of the steam. Bucc could feel sweat beading across his skin. He had no idea how Red would react to having her sight and flame robbed from her. From everything that Milla had told him, he didn’t expect such a simple trick to fluster her.

As though in response to his thoughts he heard a whoosh of flame and saw the steam light up again, this time bigger than before. As it faded there were sounds of a scuffle then somebody hit the deck. Milla whistled from near where the fire had come from and Jesse and Adward began to constrict the steam down into a smaller area until it was all contained in a globe a few feet in length. Bucc placed his hand on the steam and upped the temperature.

The heat and humidity within must have been torturous. The air would have been difficult to breath and the warmth was dizzying. All they needed to do was make the woman pass out and they wouldn’t need to fight her. 

Milla stood to the side, her vines disappearing into the steam. Bucc knew that they were wrapped around Red tightly, keeping her in place and restricting her breathing even further. The wet air was keeping everything too damp for her to use her flames. 

The ball began to shimmer and distort. Adward’s face creased in concentration.

“She’s heating the steam herself,” he grunted. “It’s expanding faster than I can stop it.”

Milla staggered back with a curse, her vines returning to her side. They looked dark and limp. Adward’s concentration finally gave out and the globe collapsed. 

Red sprang out and slashed at Adward. Her face was flushed but she looked nowhere close to passing out. Adward brought his own cutlass up in defence but was knocked over and skidded across the deck. Jesse unloaded her pistols at the woman, her affinity keeping the water away from the gunpowder, but the woman dodged one shot then deflected the second with her blade. 

Milla struck as the woman started towards Jesse. The Ashenna pivoted and drove her heel into Milla’s gut without missing a beat. She grabbed the girl by the throat with one hand while she blocked another volley of bullets from Jesse with the other. Milla kicked her in the stomach but it was like kicking a wall. 

“Was this your big plan?” she asked in an impassive tone. “All of your hopes were riding on a cheap trick?”

“Nothing’s cheap if you try your hardest to achieve it!” Bucc told her. “Don’t think you’re so high and mighty just because power comes so easily for you!”

“Easy?” She slammed Milla into the deck then hurled her at Jesse before starting towards Bucc. “What do you know of ‘easy’? I know your story. Buccaneer Jones, the boy who didn’t want to be a pirate. A boy who grew up on a floating village surrounded by people and never going hungry. A boy who only unlocked his affinity a year ago but now tries to stand against the power I’ve spent my life learning. You are the one who has lived an easy life and doesn’t deserve to be standing here!”

“Yeah, I have lived a pretty good life, and that’s exactly why I want things to stay the way they are.”

She grabbed him by the throat. Fire flared around her and blazed along the length of her arm until the flames brushed against Bucc’s chin. It took all of his effort to resist the heat.

“You say you want things to stay the same, but your precious society is on the brink of starvation. You must have noticed. Maybe it doesn’t feel bad today, but in a few years time your lives will be wretched. My father is driven by a single goal. His every action is made to forge a better future for everyone. He doesn’t see himself as an emperor but as a tool for change. I’m not his daughter but a weapon to be turned against those that don’t want to change. My father came from nowhere and had nothing, not even a name, but his convictions forged the man you know today. When I was born he raised me just as he had been raised, without food, shelter, or name, fighting tooth and nail every day to survive. I stand here stronger than you because I fought for that strength. So don’t you dare assume my worth.”

Bucc was running out of air. His vision started to blur and he could feel the heat rising as his concentration slipped. He looked into the woman’s eyes but found no hint of emotion other than a deep burning anger. 

The woman jolted and dropped Bucc as Milla punched her in the back of the head. She staggered and whipped around, sending a wave of flame at the younger girl. Jesse had been prepared though and a wall of water rushed between the fire and Milla.

“Now!” Bucc yelled in a hoarse voice.

Milla leapt through the water then through the flame in one swift movement, delivering a vicious blow to Red’s stomach. The sudden attack winded her and she gasped for air. Even as this was happening, Milla released a cloud of pollen spores straight into her face which she inhaled and began choking on. Water came rushing around the woman in a raging spiral that quickly closed in on her before she could catch her breath again. 

Bucc once again placed his hands on the globe of water. He was focused on the fire within and the heat of the world around him, but he was approaching this awareness from another angle. Fire came from a stirring of energy, by whipping it into a frenzy. Bucc’s own inner energy caused movement, which in turn caused heat. That process could be reversed.

He felt the energy in the water, but he didn’t try to make the tiny particles move faster. Instead, he drew the existing energy from the water, slowing down the particles’ movement to reduce the heat. He could feel his insides growing hotter but pressed on, chilling the water as quickly as he could.

Wind began raging, spinning around the orb of water in a great upwards draft. Adward nodded his head to Bucc as he fought hard to keep the wind tunnel stable. This updraft further cooled the water, pulling any excess heat upwards like a chimney. Particles of ice were beginning to form in the water.

A look of pure rage burned on the woman’s face. The water around her began to froth as she started to heat it. Bucc ignored it, focusing all of his attention on draining the heat before it could build up. He felt like he was burning up but he couldn’t stop now. 

It was easier to heat the water than freeze it. This was a losing battle and Bucc knew it. Fortunately he wasn’t trying to win. All he had to do was hold out longer than her breath. Judging by her face, that wouldn’t be too much longer. He just needed a little more time…

The woman snarled and the water shook with violent energy. She was unleashing all of the power she could to break out. The heat burned through Bucc’s body in a wave of constant pain now. His skin was flush and prickled with beads of sweat. His heart beat heavily in his chest. 

“Bucc!” Jesse shouted. Her posture was starting to slump and her arms shook as she maintained the water orb. “You’re burning up!”

He tried to answer but the words came out as garbled nonsense. All he could feel was blistering heat. His body couldn’t hold on much longer but he refused to be the weak link. If he gave up now then all of his friends would be hurt. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

He felt his mind slipping as the pain overwhelmed him. There were shouts from his friends but he couldn’t understand the words. The world was fading to black.

A jolt ran down his spine. Neri slid around his body until she rested over his heart. Ghostly fire was beginning to spread across Bucc’s skin but the familiar ignored it. She plastered herself across his chest then started to make a high whistling sound. A soothing cool sensation cut through the scorching heat. Neri quivered, her grey skin shifting tones towards a deep red.

The moment of relief passed as the blazing pain spread like a returning tide. Neri’s pain reflected through his mind, the feeling hurting him more than his own pain. She was growing a brighter red by the second as she channeled some of the heat away from him. Steam rose from them, causing the air above the fire to shimmer sickeningly.

Then the water stopped getting hotter. Bucc blinked away the darkness just enough to see a bubble of air escape from the Ashenna woman’s mouth and her eyes flicker closed. His brain felt foggy and it took him a moment to realise what was happening. Without the woman heating the water, the liquid globe quickly began to frost over with ice.

Jesse was quicker to react. She quickly reshaped the water so it freed the woman’s head before the whole thing froze solid. Bucc still showed no signs of stopping so she staggered up to him and shoved him away. She recoiled at the touch, his skin burning her like heated iron. His eyes were blank and unseeing. Despite the heat she hugged him tightly as she tried to pull him over to the ice. Adward and Milla ran to her side to help. Together they managed to lean him against the block of ice.

Previous – Chapter 27. Strike Back.

Next – Chapter 29. Dreams and Resolutions.