Shocker!
Well, here's Chapter 14. Lots of excitement. Hard to write. Gah. But I did it. I'm aiming to write for thirty minutes a day, so maybe I'll pump 'em out quicker soon. :)
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CHAPTER 14
Matt laughed. “Did you follow me all the way here? Quite an achievement. Oh, but you had Ellah to help you.”
“No we didn’t!” Marcy exclaimed. Matt looked at her curiously and she blushed. “Um, we didn’t, we actually just met her here.”
“Shut up,” whispered Ellah. “The more you say the more you could give away.”
“Yeah,” Alex chimed in. “Listen to her.”
Give away? Give away what? Marcy thought frantically. Wait, they’re trying to trick him. Oh, okay, I can play with this. “Sorry,” she muttered dejectedly, hanging her head.
“Well, you may have a plan,” Matt said, “but I have a better plan. And my better plan includes Alex. Come on,” he addressed him. “I raised you. You can help me get what I need.”
“Unlimited power?” spat Alex. “Yeah right. You wish. Find another healer to open the stupid vault.”
“Oh so you’ve been eavesdropping, have you?” Matt asked with mild interest. That’s the worst thing, Marcy noted. He goes around like he doesn’t really care about anything and he’s planned for everything. It’s intimidating. “You have done your research. So you know about the Well?”
“We know about the Well.” Ellah rolled her eyes. “And you’re crazy.”
“Yes, perhaps a bit,” Matt admitted. “There are many things that could go wrong, but that comes with taking risks. Which reminds me…” Suddenly he flung his hands toward the trio. Marcy felt herself being lifted up and thrown backwards by a huge, powerful gust of wind. Her back slammed against a tree and she wheezed. As she slid down the trunk, groaning, she held her middle. “Ow! Ugh, oh, ouch!” I hope I didn’t break anything! Pain wriggled up and down her spine like a worm. Writhing, she fell completely to the ground. “Agh!” she screamed. Through the blur of pain she realized that Alex and Ellah were hurt too. Matt is doing something to us--ow! she thought. I’ve got to help!
Gritting her teeth, she tried to stand up. Another stabbing pain shot through her midsection. “Ugh!” I can’t do this! It’s too much! How did I ever get into this? Turning her head painfully, she saw Alex thrashing back and forth, holding his head and middle. His face was contorted in an expression of pure horror and torment. She looked to her other side and saw Ellah. The elderly woman had fallen with her back toward a tree, clutching at the bark to help her stay up. She looked determined to stand, but the agony flashed through her expression and she stumbled.
“Keep it back,” Marcy saw her mumble. “Keep the pain back, block it out.” How can she do that? she thought as another spasm shook her body.
“Think it, of course.” The thought was not hers. Marcy might have screamed if her teeth hadn’t hurt so much. She blinked multiple times and that hurt too, so she stopped. What in the world? she thought forcefully. Who are you? Matt? Is that you? Get out of my head!
She sensed the presence softly chuckling. It might have been cool if she hadn’t felt a double pang up both her legs. “It’s not Matt. Listen to me. The key is to think that the pain isn’t there. Actually, it’s knowing that the pain isn’t there. It will block it out.”
And how do I know that you’re not--UGH!--Matt or someone who wants to hurt me? Marcy thought.
“Do you really think that?”
She pondered the question, lowering herself down to the ground without making a sound. I didn’t know it was possible to be in this much pain, she thought. Okay, I’ll try to know the pain isn’t there. She thought as hard as she could. The pain isn’t there. I don’t hurt. I don’t feel anything. In fact I feel--OW! It’s not working! she panicked. It’s not working!
“Try again, but don’t say the word ‘pain.’ Instead, think the words you need to feel,” the voice said gently.
She tried. There is no pain. Whoops, not that word. No, I feel fine. I’m not sore from playing volleyball--I mean, I feel perfect. My arms and legs are working perfectly. I am loving life right now, everything--owch!--is fine. I had a great day today, my head feels clear and my mind is empty, I just woke up from a nap and I’m rested. There’s nothing on my brain. She felt the pain recede, and then surge again. Agh! What’s wrong?
“Don’t break your concentration. Hurry, Marcy!” the voice said urgently.
Okay! I’m going! Okay, I feel awesome today. It’s been an awesome day. I’ve never felt better in my life. The cramps lessened. I love life today. I feel great. My legs are working perfectly. My arms are loose and I can’t believe I feel so good. I want to jump and sing. Where’s Olivia? I need her to enjoy this day. How about it’s a spring day? Maybe I can run somewhere and never get tired. She felt her head stop throbbing. Her vision cleared. Matt was standing on the edge of the clearing. He had not moved. His mouth was quirked to the side in a strange smile. He likes hurting people. He likes hurting my friends. He likes hurting my family! Marcy felt rage bubble up inside her. That’s my grandma right there! You’re my dad but you’re a jerk! Her anger fueled her desire to stop Matt. She felt strength flow through her body. Slowly she began to stand up.
Matt noticed her. “Oh, look at you!” he exclaimed in a sarcastic tone. “Following after your father’s footsteps. You might be a powerful wizard after all.” He focused all his attention onto her and Marcy heard Ellah and Alex collapse with groans. Oh no. What do I do now?! He advanced toward her, a smile on his face. “Let’s see how you can hold this.” Flinging his hands forward, he cocked an eyebrow at her.
She felt another wave of pain. No. No pain. I’m not hurting. I feel awesome. My strength is coming back. It feels like a bucket of cold water over my head on a hot day. Wincing, she withheld the barrage of torment in her veins.
Matt nodded. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” He swirled his hands around in a tornado formation and a foul wind shook the trees. “But how about this?”
A gust flew toward her, with leaves caught in the whirling wind. Marcy stood her ground. It was coming closer. What do I do? she panicked suddenly. It was a tornado now. Help! I need a shield! She threw her hands up to block her face from the wind and--
She didn’t feel a thing. Looking up, she saw the wind going around her. Did I just throw up a forcefield? What? How did I do that? The leaves swirled around her and bits of debris bounced off the invisible shield. It finally passed. Eyes wide, Marcy examined her hands. “How did I do that?”
“Instinct. You’re good.” Matt took a step forward and suddenly made a pulling motion from the ground upward. She felt the earth beneath her begin to shake. No! she screamed in her mind. I will not be defeated by him! He hurt my family, he hurt my friend--no!
She closed her eyes. She’d never felt this way before, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Clenching her fists, she thought with all her might. I think I know what will happen to the ground if I don’t stop this. Matt will make it come upwards and I’ll go flying. But he’s not going to succeed. I’m going to try knowing that it won’t happen.
So she knew. She knew the dirt wasn’t even going to move. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and squinted at Matt. He looked furious. The ground wasn’t moving an inch. It’s not even shaking, she realized.
“Sometimes magic can’t do everything,” he snapped. Dashing over to where Alex lay prostrate, he grasped him roughly and dragged him to the edge of the clearing.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Marcy recognized a bit of what Jenny had said about cleaning in Matt’s statement. She didn’t think about it for long, because she realized what he was going to do. “No!” she yelled. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you even think about taking him!”
Matt laughed. He had lost the outraged look and was his calm, indifferent self again. He leaned forward like he was about to share a secret. “Watch me,” he hissed, and snapped his fingers. Instantly a portal opened up in front of him. He stepped through.
As the rest of him vanished through the swirling oval of purple and black stars, Marcy heard a bang from behind her. A small flash of light rushed over her head and hit the edge of Matt’s heel. The portal abruptly shut.
“Ahah!” She turned to see Ellah leaning against a tree trunk, looking exhausted. “Got ‘eem!”
“What?” Marcy asked, confused.
“Tracking bug. Magic one. He won’t be able to get it off.” Ellah winced and tried to lift herself up, but fell back to the ground.
“Oh no! Are you okay?” Marcy rushed over to her friend--whoops, grandma--and helped her stand. Ellah put a hand to her head.
“My goodness. He has gotten more powerful. Oh, not good. And he’s got Alex. Very not good. We have to hurry.” She hobbled out of the clearing. Marcy followed her.
“What do you mean? He’s gone, with Alex!” She felt ready to cry. What are we going to do? Now he can open the chamber and everything, oh, oh no!
“Matt is very dramatic.” Ellah shook her head. “He vanished to get away quick, but remember, he’s still got the rest of the wizards and witches that he needs here. In his cave thingy.”
Marcy gasped. “You’re right!”
“Of course I’m right,” Ellah said with a wink. “I’m always right. And I never lie.”
Sarcasm in the midst of a terrible situation. I like her. She jogged beside Ellah. “Right. So do we have a plan?”
“Of course not. Plans are overrated,” her grandmother huffed. “I’m joking. It’s very hard to open a portal that can transport more than three life forms. Matt has to move a little over fifteen. I’m guessing he has a ship of some sort.”
“Wait, so ships work here? Like spaceships?”
“Well duh!” Ellah shot her a smile. “Not everyone can make a portal. Spaceships can travel really really fast through the stars--not like what all those people on Earth have made. Those are slow. And most of the spaces are grouped together in little clumps so it doesn’t take much time to get there. Especially if you have a fast, nice ship.”
They were approaching Matt’s cave. Marcy glanced around nervously. “Where is he?”
“Inside, darling. Wonder where he keeps this ship?” mused Ellah. “Let’s stop here and wait for him to come out. He certainly can’t keep a giant ship inside his house.”
“Right. Okay. What if he sees us?” she asked. I don’t want to fight him again. I don’t know if I can do it alone.
“He won’t,” her grandmother reassured her. “I can work a pretty good invisibility spell. Come here, closer to me. It works better. Oh, I wish we had Alex, though. I need a strength potion or something.” Ellah hugged Marcy to her. “Watch and try to figure out how I do it.” She waved her hand overhead. Several streams of silver light scattered around them. “Now we’re invisible to anyone who didn’t know we were here,” she explained. “If I had tried to work the spell when someone was here looking at us, they would have seen us. But hush! It doesn’t work with sound!”
I wasn’t talking, Marcy thought. But oh well. I hope this really works.
Suddenly the ground began to rumble. Marcy and Ellah looked at each other questioningly. Then it began to shake. The two wobbled back and forth, trying to keep their balance. “Oh no,” Ellah muttered. “I think--I think the ship actually is in his house.”
Pieces of earth began to break apart with loud cracks. “What are we going to do now?” Marcy yelled. “We can’t just stand here!”
“We’re going to have to get inside or something!” her grandmother yelled back. “Just stand back and let’s get a good look at the ship first!”
They scrambled over to the edge of the clearing. Marcy noticed Ellah was wincing. We have to find Alex so he can heal her or something! she thought. Oh, if only I had stopped him!
The trembling had gotten more violent and it was now very hard to stand. The duo gripped a tree to try and help, but it didn’t do much. Finally, with a splintering crash, the ship burst up from the ground. Ellah was right.
It was big.
The ship was bigger than most of the ships she had seen on Unologe, although it wasn’t silver. She was vaguely aware of being thankful that it wasn’t silver, for some reason. Instead it was a deep and very dark black. There were little silver dots painted on it as well. Camouflage, Marcy realized. It’s supposed to look like space! He really must not want anyone to see where he’s going!
The ship hovered above the new hole in the ground, then began to turn to the left. “Oh no,” Ellah gasped before they became face-to-face with the large glass windshield.
And face-to-face with a very surprised looking Matt. Marcy saw his mouth move in what looked like a curse, judging from his facial expression. “What do we do now?” she whimpered.
Matt hit some buttons and pulled some levers on the dashboard and the ship began to move forward. “Run!” cried Ellah as she grabbed Marcy’s hand and pulled her to the side. The ship hit the tree where they had been, knocking it over with a resounding snap.
The ship began to turn to face them again. There were two wings on the top of the ship, connected by one long piece at their top. So sci-fi, like Star Trek. I’m glad they aren’t on the sides of the ship because they’d chop our heads off, Marcy absentmindedly mused as she ran for her life.
“Ahah!” Ellah suddenly dashed under the ship, still dragging Marcy. The ramp open, but was slowly and steadily closing.
“Are we going to--?” Marcy yelled in terror.
“Yes!” Running like never before, both of them jumped into the small space right before the ramp slammed shut. Marcy’s messenger bag had gotten stuck in between the ramp door and the ship. Carefully, they pulled it out. “Good thing it wasn’t your leg,” commented Ellah softly as the bag came free.
Marcy shuddered. “Thank the Giver,” she whispered, then realized what she had said. Wait, now I believe in the Giver? Um, no! I’ll give thanks to any being that helped me not have an amputated leg, though, and the Giver works.
“Indeed.” Ellah stood up, wincing. “Wow. I think I have time for a strengthening spell. Keep watch for me while I do it.” She sat down on a wooden crate and closed her eyes. Marcy took a look around while she worked the spell.
The inside of the ship was pretty boring. There were wooden boxes like the one on which Ellah sat stacked all around the room. Marcy walked over to one and took a peek. Nothing was in it. Huh. Strange. Why would he have empty crates? That’s weird. “There’s nothing in these boxes,” she commented.
“He probably thinks there’s going to be treasure or something in the place where the Well is,” Ellah grunted. She sounded like she was concentrating, so Marcy decided not to say anything else. With a sigh, she lowered herself to the floor and leaned against the wall. It’s been a long time since I slept, she thought. Suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion, she tried to keep her eyes open but, despite her efforts to stay awake, drifted off to sleep.
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“Wakey wakey,” Ellah whispered as she poked Marcy. “Come back to the real world, you’ve been in Slowtown for too long.”
“Slowtown?” Marcy mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “What’s that?”
“You wake up in Slowtown when you fall asleep.” Her grandmother pulled her to feet. “It’s from a song.” She started to hum a tune. Marcy interrupted her.
“How long have we been here?”
“About an hour. I let you sleep. Matt came in here one time but I had time to do an invisibility spell. I think he suspected but obviously didn’t see us. I have this feeling…” Ellah trailed off.
“A feeling? What feeling?” asked Marcy. “Sounds like a bad feeling by the way you said it.”
“Yeah.” Her grandmother nodded. “Usually a powerful wizard can sense another wizard using magic in a close vicinity. You can’t tell where they are, but you know they’re there. It’s like a tickle in your brain. Matt is definitely powerful enough to sense me, but he didn’t try a revealing spell.” She chewed her lip anxiously. “I don’t know, something’s not right. Like he knows we’re here and wants us to be here.”
“That’s frightening.” Why did my dad have to be a crazy psycho killer dude? Marcy pleaded in her mind. Why not just some plain guy who’s even uninteresting? Like my…uh, uncle, I guess. He was pretty uninteresting. What is up with my family?
“Don’t worry about your family,” Ellah said gently. “I know everything is happening at once. It’s a lot to take in.”
“You’ve got to stop doing that mind reading thing,” Marcy said, sniffing. Not gonna cry.
“Sorry. It’s unconscious.” Her grandmother hugged her for one quick second, then let go. “Well! I wonder where we are.”
“I’d guess somewhere in the universe. Maybe space. Is there a--there’s a window. Perfect.” Walking over to the circular window, she gazed out.
Her eyes crossed. “Woah! Do not look out a window when time and space and stars are going by at the speed of light!”
Ellah came over to the window anyway. “Owch!” She rubbed her eyes. “Yep, you were right.”
“Why didn’t you listen to me the first time?” Marcy laughed.
“I’m stubborn.” Smiling, Ellah abruptly plopped down on the floor, legs crossed. “Let’s play a game to pass the time.”
Marcy sat down slowly across from her. “Uh, okay. What game?”
“Ever played cat’s cradle?”
---------Did I just make a twenty øne piløts reference? Yes I did. I've discovered that Regional at Best is my writing music. Haha. But who cares? I nailed it.
Hopefully.
Input maybe? :]
~~Zoë Wingfeather
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