by S. R. TABONE
Olivia and China Joe felt helpless to do anything to escape from the ring of giants. Olivia was distraught about might have happened to her parents. She stared to cry. Joe in her direction his concern split between what the giants were about to do and about how she was feeling. He couldn’t think of anything to say. The unipegs were restless, they reared up, they circles, they made neigh sounds. The giants closed in. The unipegs and their two human riders were properly trapped.
The wings of Blaze and Chatterbox went into their bodies, their horns remained and glowed yellow and blue. Together they charged at the giant’s feet and ankles. Their horns pierced the giants. The unipegs pulled back and turned and again charged forward attacking other giants. They had managed to strike damage the giant’s veins. Their blood, at least 5 litres per injured giant poured out on the ground. The blood bubbled and sunk into the earth. The attacked giants were concerned and moved to try and check their injuries. The unipegs continued to attack others. The wall was broken. Large gaps began to appear. Gaps wide enough for the unipegs to try and escape.
One of the giants saw what was going on and he boiled up in range and bent over and waved his huge arms trying to smash the unipegs. Chatterbox saw the giant’s hand coming; its line of direction was going to strike Blaze in his side. Chutterbox nudged Blaze forward just in time, the hand waved past. There was no time to loose, not even a second, the arm would either return like a massive pendulum rod and with it the giant’s hand like a pendulum bob. The unipegs wings appeared in a split second and they took off flapping hard and fast up toward the giants faces. The attacked the giants eyes. Piercing then still flapping their wings pushing away using their front legs. The giants shook their heads violently side to side trying to shack off the unipegs’ horns that were like needles to their great size.
The giants whose eyes had been attacked raised their hands towards their faces. Blaze and Chatterbox stopped flapping their wings and fell away to get out of the way of the giants hands. Once the giant’s hands had reached their faces the unipegs resumed their attack on some of the other giants.
Morning-Star carrying Olivia and Little Jewel who carried Joe flew out of the gaps between the giants legs and then up high up out of their reach. Chutterbox and Blaze followed leaving the chaotic scene they’d caused.
“Thank you O thank you.” Olivia said to the unipegs tears steaming from her eyes, the wind blowing them around her face into her hair.
“What do you want us to do now? Morning-Star asked Olivia.
“I don’t know.” Olivia replied in panicked voice.
“We can take you home or…” Morning-Star was interrupted
“Home, what home? I don’t have any home…my Mum, my Dad, they are my home. She said.
“What about Nathan? Your Dad came here to save him and the other children.” Morning-star asked. She’d forgotten about Nathan since her parents went missing. Nathan had slipped her mind. Part of her wanted to help. Another part wanted to just leave get away far away from the island and try and forget all about what had happened. She was being offered a chance to save Nathan and she liked Nathan a lot. If she refused the unipegs offer then Nathan would probably be killed too. I worse tortured to death. Morning-Star was waiting for her answer. The unicorns circled the island waiting for instructions. The longer they stayed up in the sky around the island the more vulnerable they were to a counter attack.
“Okay if you can try and save him.” Olivia decided. But a little too late because unknown to the unipegs until shortly after her words left her lips some 6 dragons swooped down from the clouds breathing fire.
“Look out!” Joe spotted one of them first. The unipegs raised their wings and their bodies fell fast towards the sea. They gained distance from the dragons. They flew again just above sea level towards the island, the dragons followed. Morning-star and Chutterbox went one way around the island and Little Jewel and Blaze the other way. The dragons didn’t know what to make of the unipegs spitting up but continued to follow.
The unipegs sped up faster and faster round and around the island the dragons followed. Suddenly knowing that Olivia and Joe wouldn’t be able to endure supersonic speed Morning-star and Little Jewel took off up into the clouds evading the dragons. Blaze and Chatterbox continued speeding up as close to the island as they could, they could almost feel the rocks on the feathers of their wings. They did this so that the dragons would be following slightly away from the island. As they passed each other they Blaze travelling clockwise and Chuuterbox anticlockwise they pulled away from the island slightly in the dragons line of flight and lowered their heads so that their horns were ready and waiting. Right away they crashed with the dragons. There was an almightily crashing sound as the unipegs horns entered the dragon’s skulls. Two of the dragons were killed and fell into the sea. The unipegs flight brought to a halt they also fell into the sea.
The unipegs fell head first; their bodies went under the water, the giants and the dragon’s blood washing off the white unipegs bodies and wings. They swam up to the surface and flapped their wings dry and took flight again. They went after the other 4 dragons but the dragons had left the areas around the island. Morning-star and Little Jewel flew down to join the two victorious creatures.
The unipegs flew into the empty courtyard. Olivia and Joe dismounted. Joe ran through the open doors towards the carriage. He picked up the other shotgun and filled his pockets with shells. He walked back into the courtyard to join the others. Olivia heard screaming like a cry for help emanating from within the castle. Joe heard it too. Olivia walked toward the castle to investigate. Joe followed loading the shotgun with multipellet shells.
On of the doors leading inside the castle was open. Olivia proceeded inside. Joe followed. They walled through a fluorescent tube lit corridor and passed a number of closed doors. The cries continued and they followed the sounds as they grew louder. The corridor came to a left bend Olivia heard other noises emanating from just around the bend. She continued walking cautiously feeling the stone walls as she moved forward.
Three monsters moved in the opposite direction towards Olivia. A few more step and she saw them and they saw her, all of their horrible wanting eyes dripped with thoughts of what they wanted to do to her. Joe pushed in front of Olivia and BANG…BANG he reloaded but it rushed towards him and jumped him. He fell back landed on his backside, he arched his back and rolled onto it. The monster belly buried over the end of the barrel. Joe rolled to his right side as the monster fell back against the wall to its left, the end of the barrel nicely snug into his stinking belly button. The monster turned his head to the right, looked at Olivia suggesting he was going to eat her as he and his kind had previously had the honour of enjoying.
When the monster had got a good look at her it salivated, the slime dripped from its mouth. The creature poked out its blue tongue and licked up the dripping slime and swallowed it. It opened his mouth. His teeth like carved rocks of coal craved her flesh. His blue-yellow eyes sparkled inside the red veins that filled the whites of his eyes. Its deep, black pupils searched her soul. She stood still, her face facing the ugly creature. Her gaze fixed on the monsters mouth and eyes.
BANG the pellets were blasted into the monster. Its mouth closed, its eyes closed, it appeared to smile. Joe moved back and reloaded. The monster collapsed onto the stone floor and its body began shacking. It pulled out its hands searching for anything it could get a hold of. Joe placed the barrel on the shotgun on the monsters forehead.
Joe asked Olivia to come and pull the rigger. She took her time but in the end she walked over and pulled it. The shot cracked the monster’s skull and splattered its brains over the wall and Olivia’s and Joes’s tights and their shoes.
The pair continued around the bend of the corridor. Maybe Olivia might find her parents. Maybe they were still alive she thought. She recalled the Headmasters laughing at her and thought that the pieces of fabric she believed were her parent’s clothes might be some kind of trick, some s
ick joke. She held some hope and this gave her the strength to carry on.
They came to a flight of stairs and ran up them, Joe slower than her. The cries continued but were less frequent. They waited at the top of the stairs. When they heard sounds emanating from behind a door facing them they looked at each other. Joe told her to open the door. She tried and it opened easily because some of the glass panes in the tall window inside the room were broken allowing air to flow. Nathan was tied to an operating table on one side of the room and Stokes was also tied to a similar table on the opposite side of the room.
Joe put the shotgun down to help Olivia untie the two. WOOSH-SlAM Olivia turned towards the door. It was closed and lined up behind it and the wall it was connected to she and the others saw four monsters looking and waiting as if waiting for instructions. She screamed. One of the monsters was holding the shotgun. She screamed again and so did Joe.
CRASH, BANG, BASH,…together Morning-star and Little Jewel flew into the window landing on the floor and continuing to horn two of the monsters. They pushed off and horned the other two. Joe helped Stokes onto Morning-star’s back and the unipeg flew off through the window. Joe jumped on Little Jewel and off they went following Morning-star. Olivia cuddled Nathan as they waited to be rescued. Blaze flew into the room and carried the pair away Olivia sitting in front of Nathan. The unipegs landed near the carriage.
“Let’s get out of here!” Nathan said.
“What about the treasure. The gold.” Stokes said. “Where is all the treasure?”
“How can you think about gold at a time like this?” Nathan replied. “Where are your parents?” Nathan asked Olivia.
“I don’t know. The Headmaster’s monsters took them away.”
“Then we should try and find them.” Nathan said.
“And find the gold too.” Stokes chipped in.
“And whilst we’re at it we should try and save some of the other children in this hell hole.” Nathan added.
Rex found out that the unipegs were having a real impact upon the defences of his castle. He ordered his creatures to retreat to the lower levels on the castle and the 400 foot bunker at outside of the castle. He feared there might be more unipegs than there actually was and didn’t know what powers they had. Truth was the unipegs had been lucky up to then. They had been heavily outnumbered by the giants, dragons and monsters. They owed much of their good fortune to the disorganised nature of the Headmaster’s creatures and his inability to conduct proper instructions.
While the castle was largely undefended though they did encounter a few monsters and dragons mostly spies they managed to save as many of the children the unipegs’ backs and the carriage could hold. They promised to return for the others.
Stokes found out where the gold and all the treasure he’d been promised was being hidden. Though there wasn’t enough time or fighting power to remove it he planned to return one day. He thought about returning with a fishing boat to collect it.
Joe was happy to be leaving. He was happy to be alive and thanked God, making the Sign of the Cross. He couldn’t wait to get back and reunite with his cat. But Olivia and the unipegs had other plans. The unipegs flew towards Austria to talk to Professor Habetowski. The unipegs wanted to find out where they came from and Olivia wanted to ask the Professor to help her to find out what had happened to her parents and help her to save the other children left at the castle. If she had her way she’d destroy the whole castle and if it were possible, the island itself.
Chapter 8: The Professor’s Creation-Machine
They left Vonberg Island with eight children they’d managed to save. One was called Charlie and another Ella. The unipegs headed east towards Europe. Having arrived in the country the unipegs seem to know where they were going just like how racing pigeons know how to find their way back home. They flew directly to the Professor’s laboratory in the Bohemian Forest Region of northern Austria. They landed in the car park.
The professor was in his lab and was looking at of the long side tinted window adjacent to the car park. He saw the unipegs arrive. He went outside to meet them and was amazed at their fully developed wings. He wanted to know how and why their wings had grown so well. He had created other winged beings similar to the unipegs whose wings came out of the Creation-Machine faulty. He’d kept the creatures to monitor the any growth but the wings didn’t grow at all. He tried various medicines he’d thought might do the trick but nothing he tried worked.
The Professor soon forgot about the wings when he was overwhelmed by the children belonging to his brothers Foundation. They had concerns and needs, the unipegs had questions, Stokes wanted to know what the Professor was all about, Olivia was thought about her parents, Nathan thought about how Olivia risked her life in going back to save him and China Joe still missed Snobby. The Professor suggested they wash, eat and sleep and then and only then should they meet to talk. They, including the unipegs agreed and the Professor showed them the washrooms, bedrooms and where the kitchen was. The Professor led the unipegs to a wooden outbuilding where they spent the night.
Properly rested, fed and feeling nice and clean the next day they all met up with the Professor. They told him their stories and he listened to everything they had to say. Up until learning of what had gone on he didn’t realise how the Foundation was being managed. He didn’t imagine that his brother, the Headmaster had lost his mind and treated his students so badly. He felt some responsibility for not having known he thought he should have known. He blamed himself but didn’t let on his thoughts and feelings to any of his guests. The last thing he wanted was to be blamed for the mad actions of Rex, his brother.
“There are fire breathing dragons at the castle, how can we fight them?” Ella one of the children rescued from the castle asked raising her hands in frustration.
Professor Habetowski walked to his desk and sat on a white topped stool that had chrome legs.
“If we don’t fight, if we don’t try and do something, Rex will unleash thousands of them from the Vonberg abyss to come after us.” Nathan said.
“Professor!” Olivia said standing beside the Creating-Machine trying to get his attention.
“Yeeesss” Professor Habetowski replied trying to fit some glowing coloured crystals into a glass tube.
“You created these creatures…so can you like, turn them off, shut them down or something…you know like kill them?” Olivia said. Annski the Hamster-snake stopped running on his wheel, he froze in shock at the thought that he might be killed as he knew he was one of the creatures that came from the Creation-Machine. He slowly moved off the wheel and lay in the corner of his cage on his bed. His long snake-like tail curled over his head and around his back turning into a ball shape.
“WHAT! WHAT! WHAT!” Bobbibot the African grey kakrobot parrot said immediately flapping his yellow coloured robotic wings and swooping down from the top of a hanging fluorescent tube light he was perched on. He landed onto the Professor’s desk his robotic blue coloured veins within his wings glowing with energy.
His concentration interrupted, the Professor dropped the crystals he’d been trying to organise. “Now see what you’ve done…all this talk of death and killing. You’ve upset my lovely creations. He gently reached towards Bobbibot who stepped back, his sense of unease rising up again, this time more strongly unsure of the Professor’s intentions.
“Remember your promise – remember your promise” Bobibot said. “You told us you’d never harm us or forget us.” the parrot added before flying back to his perch. Professor Habetowski retracted his hand, placed his elbows on his desk, he looked down at his desk and held his head in his hands.
“Well Professor, can you control this situation and put a stop this mess?” Olivia asked walking towards the glass wall of the Creation-Machine.
“Yes, no, I mean I can’t, not externally, not from here.” The Professor replied.
“Professor, is there anything you could do to eradicate those demons”? Mr. Stokes asked,
looking at the wound on his leg. The Professor looked at him and noticed the swelling on his wound which seemed to glow a deep orange colour like lava.
The Professor stood and removed a small electronic device from his a pocket in his white knee-length laboratory overcoat. He approached Mr. Stokes and using the device scanned his wound. He walked towards a very large glass panelled machine that looked like an oversized snack vending machine which was set into a wall behind him. On the other side of the glass were 288 barcode labelled drawers. He held his device up towards the glass, pressed a button which sent out a green laser beam onto the glass.
From the edge of the glass a metal robotic hand appeared and began pulling opened a number of drawers. Inside each drawer were small plastic shovels. One by one the hand picked up each shovel, scooped different quantities of various powder grains and dispensed them into a chute that led to a blending machine. It replaced the shovels and closed each drawer then returned to its starting position. A liquid substance was automatically squirted into the blending machine. The finished honey like mixture was pumped from the blending machine into a pouch and dispensed into a collecting area.
The Professor picked up the pouch and walked over to Mr. Stokes, and said “hold up your leg.”
“What is that stuff?” Mr. Stokes asked.
“Trust the Professor and all will be well.” A squeaky woman’s voice said. Who was that? Ella, Nathan and China Joe questioned silently looking at each other with confused looks on their faces? The voice emanated from above the Creation-Machine and was broadcast through ceiling speakers throughout the laboratory.
“That’s Jill, the administrator of the Creation-Machine.” The Professor answered. “She’s involved in everything that goes on here.” The Professor added. Mr. Stokes didn’t say anything but held up his leg. The Professor squeezed one end of the pouch and a yellowy–green coloured substance emerged. The Professor spread it over Mr. Stokes wound and as soon as the substance made contact his leg began to heal. The orangey glow of the swelling settled down and his skin returned to normal.
