by S. R. TABONE
They landed on an island not too far from Vonberg. Two weeks later the Professor sent a container ship full of battle ready creatures. There were 15 lion looking animals, their backs had large blades that had grown out of their spines and extended 7 inches above their coats. Their tails were made up of 6 one inch strands of glowing fibre optics that could fire stunning lasers out of their ends. Their teeth looked like fountain pen nibs. When they bit they injected a large dose of morphine into their victim so that its heart would stop working within a few seconds.
There were a number of other creatures all with unique powers and abilities. Rex had surprises in store for Olivia and those who dare to try and liberate the castle and put a stop to his plans.
Olivia and the others boarded the ship and it set sail for Vonberg. They left the spacecraft behind covering it with tree branches they’d cut down.
They found Vonberg it was unhidden as if expecting them. It was raining heavily and but the crew managed to secure the large vessel against the rocks using mooring cables.
The group and the creatures began to disembark onto Vonberg. Nathan prayed for protection. They all headed towards the castle. Olivia and the others dressed in battle clothing the Professor’s assistance had made. They walked in the centre of the lion hybrid creatures who organised themselves up front like a spearhead.
The other smart car sized creatures, were rhinoceros beetles that had backs made of lead and dual horns, one at either end made of sharpened steel. They continued to disembark and arranged themselves in clusters of 100 behind the leading group. In total there ware 8,000 of them and the sound they made as they walked was a rumple of engine pistons thumping on the ground as if beating drums into battle.
The giants were the first of Rex’ defences that saw Olivia and her creatures heading towards the castle. She held a knights sword, shield. Her top was blue and it had leather padded shoulder and lower arm protection with inner steel meshed wire to stop arrows, sword strikes and teeth bites. Her green cape had powers only she knew about. She’d cut her nails short, and her expression was serious and determined. It’s stopped raining and a gust of wind was blowing her long auburn hair.
Unusually there were no dragons patrolling the sky and land of the island. What was Rex planning? What did he have up his sleeve to counter this massive first move? Rex struck the largest bell at the castle and the sky turned dark blue, so blue it glowed below causing the whole island to darken blue. As fast as this occurred Rex ordered 1,000 dragons to take to the sky over the island. They came up out of the abyss breathing fire and gnashing their teeth. They roared loudly as they shoot out of the opening in the ground into the sky.
The sound of a thousand roars scared the lion hybrids. Their eyes moved left to right fast as did their heads. What this it were the dragons about to swoop at any moment? The lions wondered?
“Stand firm!” Olivia shouted over the lions. She turned looking down the hill at the beetles moving up and shouted “On my command…when I give you the order to fire! When you see our flag raised then open fire!” Nathan carried a flag tied to the end of a lance. Its colour was red with a white cross with arms of equal length which broaden from the centre and have their ends indented in a shallow V-shape. The cross had a green outline the same green colour tone as her cape.
Chapter 10: Beginning of the First Battle
Olivia and her forces were two miles from the castle and were approaching from the south. “Stand by!” The Headmaster standing on top of the tallest tower shouted. “On my word!” He could see the massive forces moving closer up the hills. Below the castle lined up in 20 rows of 900 were almost all of the monsters that were ready to fight for his cause. Surely 18,000 monsters will put and end to this. Rex hoped.
As Olivia and her forces advanced closer to the castle the ground was muddy and this slowed the beetles. With the passing of the rain the gases that came up through the ground became stronger.
“Now!” Rex ordered the dragons. 100 dragons swooped down and meters from the lions breathed fire. Olivia and the others took cover behind their fire proof shields. The Professor had made shields that had a thin layer of sand within the metal to withstand heat. The lions roared and jumped towards the dragons in an attempt to bite them. But the dragon’s flight was too high. The as the lions landed they raised their tails and fire lasers as the dragons flow lower over the beetles. Their flames ignited the gases and there were several explosions from the ground blasting under the beetles bodies. About 700 beetles had been destroyed. The lasers shoot from the lion’s tails had destroyed 44 dragons.
Olivia and her forces advanced forward and had nearly reached the top of the hills. She saw the monsters and they could see her. They couldn’t help salivating and the lions salivated some of their morphine ready to put some of the monsters out of their horrible misery.
“GO!” Rex ordered. And the monsters ran towards Olivia’s advancing forces. When she saw the monsters heading towards her she looked up at the hundreds of dragons above and told Nathan to raise the flag.
“NOW!” she shouted. And the beetle’s horns sprung upwards firing dragon stingers; tennis ball sized wasp-blades that b-lined for the dragon’s necks, their most vulnerable areas of their bodies. About 130 wasp-blades had succeeded in embedding their stinger probes into the dragons. The poison caused the dragon’s nervous system overheated and the dragons flew into the sea to try and cool. They struggled to take in air. Their breaths became shorter and shorter. Their chests tightened. They swallowed seawater and drowned.
As soon as she gave her command as she’d planned the lions turned their spearhead shape, the beetles parted around them and Olivia entered into the centre of the beetles that closed in around her. When the lions and Olivia and the other were safe among the beetles she turned with the lions again and watched the as Rex’ monsters clashed with the beetles. Some of the monsters turned the beetles and attacked their underbellies. The beetles moved their horns down into lock position and drove the points into the monsters. Some of the beetles dropped centre poles and spun fast which caused the sharp ends of the horns to spin and fly off of their bodies like throwing stars. They sliced into the monsters and cut them badly, their guts pouring out over the battle field.
The monsters were getting closer and they overpowered the beetles. Though more beetles advanced forward to protect Olivia and the others.
“God be with you!” Joe making the Sign of the Cross shouted to the beetles. Stokes drove a lance into a monster. It was a lizard hybrid. Green juices squirted out through the hole in its body over Stokes' face. Joe laughed. In that moment one of the monsters grabbed Joe’s body and went to take a chunk out of his neck.
Olivia drove her sword into the said monsters thigh and pulled it clean out. The monster froze in shock, its mouth remained open in a disbelieve expression. It dropped its arms, Joe stepped back. The monster stared to feel the pain and hopped off squealing like a chicken, blood pouring down his leg.
Afraid of the intense battle and thinking about his cat, Snobby again, Joe stepped back between the beetles unable to get over how close to death he’d just been. Olivia told him to go back to the ship and wait there. She ordered two lions to accompany him.
Olivia climbed on the neck of a lion and went after the monster she’d drove her sword into. She caught him trying to dig under a rock to hide. She poked him with the end of her sword and asked. “Tell me where the crystal sword is?”
“No one can get to the crystal sword.” The monster said.
“I’ll ask you one more time.” she pressed on her sword against the monsters neck. “Where is the sword?”
“It’s in the tombs below the sea.” The monster said.
“Take me there.” Olivia said.
“You cannot go there. Only the dying can go there. It’s no place anyone human would want to go to let alone a girl.” The monster said.
“I’ll be the judge of that. Your dying…you will take me there.” But then she remembered
the seeds she held inside her cape. It was time to plant them. “Stokes!” He couldn’t here her call. “You wait here!” She told the monster. “Take me to Stokes” She instructed the lion. The lion ran through the battle and found Stokes lancing more and more monsters. “Stokes! A lion will take you to the sea. Get a 25 litre plastic container from the ship, fill it with sea water and meet me in the castle garden.”
“As you wish.” Stoke said pulling out his lance from a monsters upper leg.
Olivia stepped off the lion, took the side of her cape and wrapped it over her head. She thought about Rex, she could hear his laughter, she could see her parent’s faces. She closed her eyes and was transported. She opened her eyes and lowered her cape. She was in the largest tower in Rex’ room.
Rex saw her and was slow clapped as she raised her sword and said “I’ve been expecting you. But had no idea you’d mater the art of travel jumping in such a short time.”
“I had a good teacher.” Olivia replied.
“Yes I know. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?” Rex asked.
“Tricks? I’m not here to entertain. I’m here to put an end to your sick plans.” Olivia said. Rex moved onto the balcony and looked down at the battle. He laughed. Olivia moved forward holding her sword in two hands at head height. She stepped carefully ready to turn to her left or right expecting an attack at any moment.
“Well my dear girl…by the looks of it you’re not doing to well.” The monsters had reformed and advanced toward the beetles overpowering them. More dragons were swooping in breathing fire over the beetle’s backs. They heated up and burned within the lead shell.
“I’m not your dear girl and the battle isn’t over. Give up or be defeated.” Olivia said. Rex laughed and laughed more.
“Join us and together we can be as one, a family, a true fighting force.” Rex said.
“I’d never join your madness.” Olivia said.
“My other is always open to you.” Rex said walking back into his room. He pulled the rope and the largest bell rang out. Olivia hid under her cap and was transported into the castle garden.
She took out the container of seeds from a pouch on the back of her belt. She unscrewed the lid and scattered the seeds on the soil amongst plants. She waited for Stokes to arrive with the seawater. When he made it back riding on the neck of the lion with the container of seawater balanced between the blades on the lion’s back she instructed him where to pour the seawater.
Rex continued the sound the largest bell. The Stokes and the children fighting the monsters and dragons were slowly being hypnotised. They felt their body movements slowing and their thinking slowed as if trying to remember something they had forgotten to do a long time ago.
Chapter 11: The Tombs of Dragons, Monsters and Pirates
Olivia returned the monster she’d injured and forced him to lead her to the tombs. Nathan saw her leaving the battle and followed her. Ella and the other children retreated back towards the ship. Charlie made his way to the castle.
They climbed down the rocks towards the entrance of the tombs. “We have to go into the sea to reach the entrance.” The monster said.
“Wait here.” She said to Nathan.
“I’m coming with you.” Nathan replied. The tombs were no place for any human to visit let alone a boy or girl.
“Get going!” Olivia told the monster. The monster jumped into the sea, the waves pushed him against the rocks, the foundations of the hills under the sea. He caught hold of the rocks and climbed down a few feet to the entrance. The monster felt the slimy entrance; it was full of thick blue and bright yellow gooey gel. The gel prevented the sea from flooding the caves.
The monster pushed itself into the cave. He dropped about ten 6 feet landing on a pool of murky water that was full of snakes.
The snakes survived by feeing themselves on those that had died in the tombs. As a dragons and monsters were dying, the snakes that slithered all throughout the tombs within the caves tormented them. The injured monster did not know this because no monster or dragon had ever left those caves.
“On the count of three hold your breath and jump.” Olivia said to Nathan. “Wait here.” She said to the lion and placed her sword on the rocks beside him. They jumped and found the entrance. Nathan pushed her through the entrance. The monster pulled her in. They helped to pull Nathan in.
“No funny business.” Olivia said to the monster. They ventured deeper into the cave it lead to another cave. They passed tombs of half-eaten beings and other tombs where only bones remained. They heard cries and screams emanating from deeper beyond the second cave they had reached.
The injured monsters and dragons would enter the caves and search for a place to lie down and die horrible lonely deaths. As monstrous and ugly most of the monsters and dragons were, they still had feelings. They still felt pain, still had memories, and even within the bitter emptiness of their wickedness they still could love. The creatures that had not been formed in the Creation-Machine had parents, they were part of families. The dragons that had hatched out of eggs were real fleshy boney beings. The monsters that’d been born—though in the most ugly and horrible way conceivable—they too had skin, hair had brains within their skulls just like the children of Vonberg.
They came across a dragon. It was Dusur. Nathan recognised him but he did not recognize Nathan since he would only ever known Nathan’s spirit. His spinal wounds now healed the dragon came closer. Olivia moved her cape to one side and reached for her sword, the monster gulped. What would he do he thought, join the dragon against Olivia and Nathan, kill them and try with the dragon to escape? He was injured but still stood a chance to get out alive and survive. Her sword was not with her, she quickly remembered she had foolishly left it behind.
“Dusur!” Nathan cried out. He ran towards the dragon. Dusur lowered his head and Nathan placed his arms around the dragon’s neck and placed his face on the dragon’s flesh feeling its body heat and its pulse. “I’d thought you’d never make it.”
Olivia looked on. As the monster witnessed their friendship, regret filled its mind. He had never thought it possible that a human could be friends with one of them. Nevertheless, he was skeptical. Was Nathan putting on a false show of friendship because he was trapped in the caves and needed the dragon to help him escape? He wondered.
“This is my punishment for helping you.” Dusur said as Nathan pulled away with tears in his eyes. The friendly dragon received a lighter punishment. Rex banished him into the tombs and said he did not want to hear the dragon's name again.
“This is my entire fault. If I hadn’t have asked Achodon for help this wouldn’t have happened.” Nathan said. When Dusur heard the name Achodon, he hoped Nathan would not ask of the monsters whereabouts. He did not want to explain to Nathan how he had been tortured to name names. How he had told Rex that is was Achodon that had caused him to help Nathan. He did not want to tell anyone that Achodon had been put to death. However, when Nathan asked Dusur, the dragon did not have it in him to lie.
When Nathan found out his joy turned to mourning. He had promised to help Achodon but now it was too late.
“Before he was killed he gave me this and asked that if I ever saw you to give it to you.” Dusur handed him a lock of his hear. Nathan cried over the hair.
Olivia searched the caves for what she’d come for. She found a chest, open it and an array of jewels on top of gold coins sparked. It was the treasure Stokes had creamed about. The only reward Olivia wanted was to destroy Rex and his castle. She removed the jewels and coins from the chest onto the floor looking for the crystal sword. It wasn’t there. She went deeper into the caves looking for it but she couldn’t find it.
“The crystal sword isn’t here.” She said. The monster tried to look innocent but its ugly face couldn’t hide the fact that it’d led her here for nothing.
The monster’s leg was hurting more and more. He couldn’t stand anymore and felt dizzy having lost a lot of blood. He sat on
a bench that had been cut into the rock. He sat on top of the bones of a pirate. The brittle bones cracked under his weight. But something sharp dug into this back. He reached behind and pulled out a sword. It was the crystal sword she’d been looking for.
It had a pure silver handle with gold and platinum spiral designs. The blade was an icy, cold, frosty, pearly, silvery colour. Olivia took sword from the monster and touched the blade. It glowed, blue and bright yellow. A wave of electric excitement filled her thoughts, her skin tingled, her muscles flexed and tightened.
“This sword responds to me. I shall use it. I shall go into battle and my enemies shall flee or be destroyed.” She said out loud to herself.
The monster had left a trail of its blood on the floor and where it sat a pool of it. The snakes that’d gathered near the entrance were making their way to the source of the blood. They climbed the rocked and covered the monster. The monster moved trying to get away, to shack them off. He stood on the bench and hit his head on another bench above him. A mummified pirate’s face rolled towards Olivia. She screamed and again when the head fell onto her and onto the floor. Nathan took a touch from the wall that was being lit by the oil that came from the end of the dragon’s tails. Nathan removed some of the oil and threw it over the floor where most of the snakes had gathered when the monster shook them off. He lowered the touch to the oil and the floor caught fire, some of the snacks rolled in the fire and were cooked alive.
“I’ll help you get out of here.” Nathan told Dusur.
“And me…what about me?” the monster said. “Are you going to leave me here?” he asked. Nathan looked at Olivia for an answer.
“I’m not taking any prisoners.” She said. The monster rushed her and tried to take her sword. She stretched out her arm and raised the sword away from the monster. She turned around, the monster slips and let go of her other arm. She turned back and struck the monster’s head with the sword and killed him. The snakes on the bench slithered to the floor over the monster. “This is war and in war I trust no one least not a monster.”
