From The Dark

by Tobey Alexander

  ‘Hopefully, it will be the end of all this for both of us.’

  Gabe adjusted the strap of his bag and watched as Archy tightened his satchel across his shoulder. They had travelled light, and as they left the small hotel, something left Gabe wondering if he would ever see this place again.

  The hanging dread of uncertainty at what lay ahead was not lost on him. Whatever happened next would mark the end of this journey, but Gabe was in no doubt that his journey would never be done.

  It wasn’t time to think of that now, Gabe needed to concentrate on the task at hand, and as he took control of the battered Kawasaki quad bike, he looked towards the towering volcano dominating the skyline.

  34

  To The Top

  The journey from Rukoko to the summit was a little shy of ten kilometres, but the way was painful and even straddling the quad bikes progress was slow. Labouring through the vegetation the tyres fought with the rocky ground. Struggling for traction Gabe had been forced to push Nahem and Archy out of a divot more than once.

  Archy had straddled the quad behind Nahem. In his words, the weight of himself and Gabe combined would be too much, and he hadn’t wanted to cause Claudia any extra effort on the journey. Nahem had offered, and Archy had accepted.

  ‘The land is rough to ride up high, how much longer ‘til we touch the sky?’ Yebot said as he held onto the handlebars of Gabe’s quad.

  ‘No idea, doesn’t seem to get any closer!’

  Gabe looked up and realised the summit of the volcano still seemed an impossible distance away. Moving up the slopes their view of the volcanic stone that jutted from the lush green vegetation was obscured from view. The contrast of dark grey and black against the lush vegetation was an impressive sight. Almost as remarkable and hypnotic as the billowing cloud that clambered from the as yet unseen crater of the volcano.

  Gunning the engine Gabe’s wheels fought for traction before the tread found grip and he was propelled faster than he had expected upwards. Gripping the handlebars, Gabe navigated the winding path that had been trodden between the rows of trees and wallowing plants that danced in the gentle breeze.

  ‘How much longer?’ Claudia bellowed over the rumbling engines.

  ‘An hour or two at most I’d hope, I don’t know if we will get all the way up on these.’ Gabe answered as he once again looked towards the summit.

  Although the climb was steady at the moment, the slope became steep towards the top. As they inched closer, the winding path offering them what felt like an indirect route upwards, Gabe could make out more detail of the landscape ahead of them.

  The volcanic rock was uneven and jagged. For the top third of the mountain, there was no sign of life or vegetation. Volcanic heat had scorched the natural shades of green, and the lifeless primordial rock offered plant no life and sustenance. There was nothing but rock and outcrops clambering skywards towards the crater peak.

  Much to Gabe’s relief there had been no sign of any others attempting to ascend the mountain. Having sped from Rukoko and along the uneven main road there had been no sign that the Veks were following them. He could not shake the feeling their crossing of paths was inevitable, however, for the moment at least, he felt they had the edge at that moment in time.

  Leading the trio of batter machines upwards they made good progress for the next forty minutes.

  As Gabe fought to weigh the back end of his quad down to find traction, it was proving fruitless. They had passed the last of the vegetation and were about two hundred metres up the steep volcanic rock slope when they struggled to make progress.

  Killing the engine, Gabe shuffled the vehicle down and left it resting against a jagged rock that protruded from the face of the volcano. Looking down towards Claudia, Nahem and Archy he could see there were a reasonable distance behind him and facing the same problems.

  The back end of the remaining two quads bucked and skidded as they fought their way towards him.

  ‘Not much further,’ Gabe shouted in encouragement but was silenced by the stern look thrown at him by his daughter.

  After a few minutes, drenched in sweat, Claudia killed the engine to her own quad and huffed a sigh of relief.

  ‘That was harder than it should be,’ Claudia sighed as she rested her head on her arms on the handlebars. ‘I need a rest.’

  ‘We won’t have much time to rest,’ Gabe apologised. ‘We need to keep moving, and Archy will not find this part easy at all.’

  As Nahem made the last few metres of ascent on the quad both Gabe and Claudia looked towards the crest of the crater above them. The air was rich with the fumes from the bubbling volcano, but the wind was dragging the clouds away from them. The sulphuric smell burned their nostrils, but it wasn’t anything unmanageable.

  Gabe tried to estimate the remaining ascent as he looked towards the unseen summit. Having glanced at a weathered topographical map back at the hotel, he guessed they had another four hundred metres of climb left to achieve. Between them and the edge of the crater, it looked almost vertical and the climb would challenge them and be far from easy.

  ‘You’ll not be finding me scrambling up there at my age.’ Archy declared indignant as he peered towards the sky.

  ‘You will have to!’ Gabe replied as he turned back to look at the old man. ‘We’ve come this far.’

  ‘There’s only so far some of us can go, Gabe,’ Archy remained seated on the quad looking at his three travelling companions. ‘I’ve already climbed mountains in my life, Gabe, I don’t think I have another one in me.’

  Gabe could see the wariness in his face, Archy looked old and tired perched on the tattered leather seat of the bike.

  Stepping back to his own silent quad Gabe unhooked the gladius sword from the side and walked back towards Archy. Standing in front of his aged ancestor Gabe took the old man’s hand and thrust the handle of the sword into it.

  Archy’s eyes went wide as he tried to pull back away from the weapon, but Gabe held him firm.

  ‘I saw what this did to you when you held it last time,’ Gabe scolded. ‘If it will help you to the top, then it’s what you must do.’

  ‘It’s not that I don’t want to Gabe,’ Gabe cut Archy off before he could finish.

  ‘We can’t do this without you. I know it will be hard, but we need your help, you’ve spent more than your lifetime immersed in this world of monsters, Claudia and I aren’t prepared on our own.’

  Archy could have cursed Gabe at that moment. Holding the sword, he had long ago forsaken Archy could not deny his great grandson’s logic. Both Gabe and Claudia had been dragged into this world later, and there were things that Archy had seen and knew things which would help them when it was needed.

  ‘Damn you!’ Archy barked and snatched his hand from Gabe’s grasp. ‘You leave me no choice do you?’

  Gabe suppressed the smile from his face as he watched Archy once again transform in front of him. The cobwebs of age seemed to disappear in the gentle breeze, the lines on his face seemed to become shallower, and his eyes glinted in the mid-morning sun.

  ‘It’s been too long since I felt the power of this sword coursing through my veins,’ Archy exhaled. ‘I feel younger again.’

  ‘You look it.’ Claudia beamed.

  ‘I will harness the Feng until we reach the top and then my part in this journey will be done. The mantle will once again be yours Gabe, and I will help where I can.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  Not wanting to give Archy a chance to change his mind Gabe tightened the straps on his rucksack and turned to hike his way up the last half a kilometre of the volcano.

  The final ascent was as troublesome as Gabe had expected. By the time they reached the row of corrugated steel-roofed cabins that sat near the crater’s edge, his hands were chapped and scratched. The jagged, rough stones and scuffed against his skin as he had fought to hoist and pull himself up the final ascent.

  Heart racing and breaths ragged the four of them emerged onto
the shallow flats that led to the edge of the volcano.

  They found themselves alone on the mountainside. All of them stood in awe at the sheer magnificence of the volcano before them.

  ‘I’ve seen nothing like it.’ Nahem remarked as she ambled towards the sheer drop at the edge of the crater.

  Looking down the swirling pool of molten rock swirled and bubble in hypnotic swirls far below them. Even in the daylight, the bubbling red lava glowed bright. The colder parts had solidified into a viscous black layer that drifted as the lava beneath bubbled and boiled.

  ‘She’s here.’ Yebot declared as he dropped from Gabe’s shoulder and balanced himself on the edge of the precipice.

  ‘Where?’ Archy asked as he dropped to his knees beside the miniature Nivag.

  Yebot closed his eyes, and all attention turned from the crater to him. Taking in a series of long breaths the three human observers waited.

  ‘Her heart it beats beneath the ground, the heat of the mountain all around. I hear her sing and hear their clatter, with a bone on stone the rock will shatter.’

  Raising his boned hand, Yebot pointed out across to the far side of the crater.

  All eyes followed his bony finger, but they could see nothing through the constant billow of steam and smoke from the bubbling volcano.

  ‘They know we are here.’ Yebot exclaimed and opened his eye.

  Archy handed Gabe the sword and stood himself.

  ‘My journey is done Gabe, you need to face her without me. I’m afraid.’

  ‘No.’ Gabe protested, but Archy was having none of it.

  Once again using the cane for support Gabe watched as Archy descended the level ground and walked towards the nearest of the curious cabins that sate on the plateau.

  ‘I need you, Archy,’ Gabe shouted and the old man turned to look at him.

  ‘You’ve proven that isn’t the case. I’m grateful that you brought me here, but even with that, I wouldn’t stand a chance against her. She may not even be grown, but my body is too old, too broken to fight her again.’

  Gabe looked down at the sword in his hand and felt its weight in his palm. The pressure was both physical and metaphorical as Gabe knew Archy had passed him the mantle of the protector. It wasn’t something Gabe thought he could do, but he knew the old man well enough to know there could be no arguing.

  Returning his gaze to Archy Gabe was filled with dread and fear.

  ‘Archy!’ He yelled as two masked figures appeared from the now open door of the cabin Archy was stood in front of.

  Archy had no time to react as Vincenzo thrust out his arm and grabbed the old man around the neck.

  ‘At last, I get to meet the infamous Archibald Skevington!’ He sneered beneath the mask. ‘It is an honour.’

  Archy fought against the younger man’s vice-like grip but could do nothing to free himself.

  ‘Let him go!’ Gabe bellowed, and he charged down the plateau towards the two Veks.

  ‘Stay where you are!’ Vincenzo warned as he tightened his grip around Archy’s throat.

  Gabe skidded to a halt and watched as a third masked Veks emerge from inside the cabin.

  This one looked different. They stood a little shorter than the others and unlike the ivory and red masks Gabe had seen before this was different. The mask seemed to be made of metal, and across the gap between them he could make out the detail of the spider-web cracks that spread from the right eye.

  The third Veks did not speak as he emerged from the hut and stepped towards Archy. When he did speak his voice was too quiet for him to hear.

  Whatever was said to Archy enraged the old man and much to everyone’s surprise he mustered enough energy to kick back against his captor and free himself from his grip.

  Spinning around Archy swiped his cane through the air and sent the wood crashing into the metallic mask of the third Veks. The sturdy cane shattered on impact and sent the Veks staggering backwards.

  What came next happened too fast for anyone to foresee.

  The injured Veks landed on his knee but was quick to steady himself. Removing a sword from behind his back the Veks lunged forward and thrust the blade upwards and outwards. They aimed the tip of the blade at Archy’s chest, and the old man could do nothing to stop it.

  The attack was precise and delivered with incredible speed and grace. As the Veks planted his front foot on the ground, he drove the sword upwards and felt the slightest hint of resistance as the metal pierced Archy’s flesh.

  ‘NO!’ Gabe screamed as he stood powerless on the mountain.

  The sword passed through Archy’s flesh until the tip erupted from his back in a spray of blood. The old man felt the fiery sting of the blade as it passed through him severing flesh and bone with ease.

  Archy’s body went limp almost instantly.

  ‘Why?’ He gasped as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it was the right thing to do,’ a familiar voice sobbed from behind the mask. ‘If it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t be here, they wouldn’t be here, and she would be alive.’

  Archy’s brow furrowed as he fought to put a face to the voice. Blood flowed down his arm from the jagged wound as Archy raised a quivering hand to claw at the mask of his killer.

  He had no strength as life left him. Archy’s blood-soaked fingers slid down the metallic mask leaving two streaks of blood down the face of the mask.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Archy gasped, his final words as his body went limp and his life was gone.

  Gabe’s knees went from under him as he watched Archy die. Dropping to the floor tears streamed down his face. Yet again this cursed destiny had ripped someone he loved from his grasp, and he had been powerless to stop it.

  35

  Vengeance At Last

  Atop the mountain, it was silent. Gabe remained on his knees glaring across at the metal masked Veks as he withdrew the sword from Archy’s chest and allowed his body to slump lifeless to the floor.

  Gabe could not pull himself to speak as his mind swam with what had happened.

  Here he was again once again facing the Veks at the expense of someone he cared for. First, it had been Sara and now Archy, a man that had re-emerged from the shadows to guide him. This adventure had brought them closer, and they had fixed the differences between them.

  Now, however, there was nothing as Archy’s body lay on the ground across from him.

  ‘You bastard!’ Claudia growled and sprinted across from the edge of the crater.

  Gabe watched as she crossed the barren ground and hastened to stop her. Standing up, he wrapped his arm across her chest and turned her to face him.

  ‘No.’ He hissed, met with a look of bottled anger and confusion on her face.

  ‘He killed him!’ Claudia screamed, and Gabe remained calm.

  ‘I know that, and I will address that but for now,’ Gabe wiped the tears from his face. ‘For now, you and Nahem know what you need to do.’

  ‘But I want to stay with you; he was someone to me too.’

  ‘You have another job Claudia, I will keep him here, and you must do what we came here to do.’

  ‘But...’

  ‘That will be your honour to his memory my daughter, finish what he started with us.’

  Claudia looked as if she wanted to protest but thought better.

  Unseen by Gabe the three Veks had exchanged words and the two that wore the regular masks turned and moved out of view behind the shack. Turning his attention to the remaining Veks, Archy’s murderer, Gabe knew they had to act.

  ‘I’ll join you when I’m done.’ Gabe declared and glared at the Veks. ‘I have business to finish here.’

  Taking her cue, Nahem moved and took hold of Claudia’s arm. Snatched back from her protest Claudia turned to look at the dark-skinned woman and knew what she had to do.

  ‘Go.’ Gabe instructed and turned his back on the two women.

  Hearing the footfalls of Claudia and Nahem, he knew th
ey had done what he had asked and focussed all his attention on the masked Veks in front of him.

  ‘You have my undivided attention.’ Gabe snarled and pointed his own blade towards his opponent. ‘Nothing to say?’

  The Veks remained silent, his own sword hung limp by his side as he looked across at Gabe. Behind the mask, Logan could not pull himself to speak, seeing the rage in his father’s face pierced his heart all the more. How was it that now, at the falling of an old man, did his father now seek vengeance?

  Why hadn’t he done it for his mother?

  Why had he let his only son disappear into the wilderness in search of a vengeance they should have found together?

  Anger boiled up inside him, and Logan raised the sword in front of him allowing droplets of blood to fall to the ashen floor.

  ‘A coward with no words?’ Gabe growled as he stepped towards the Veks.

  For the first time, Gabe looked at the weapon the Veks held in his gloved hands. The curved blade was familiar. Decorated in the style of a Russian Shashka Gabe had seen the weapon before.

  ‘Where did you get that?’ Gabe demanded as he came to a stop mere meters away from the silent Veks.

  Logan still offered no answer, his mind raced as he tried to decide what to do. Vincenzo and his companion had already gone to seek the Magdon within the mountain, and now he stood alone face-to-face with his father.

  ‘I don’t want to fight you.’ Logan spoke, his muffled voice unrecognisable to Gabe. ‘This isn’t about you.’

  ‘It wasn’t about him!’ Gabe spat.

  ‘It was. He was the reason you were here, he caused all of this.’

  ‘All of this?’

  Gabe had had enough of words and his first attack caught Logan off-guard. Slicing the gladius through the air Logan moved only just in time to avoid the sting of metal against his skin. Casting the blow aside Logan parried to one side and planted himself.

  ‘I don’t want to fight you.’ Logan pleaded, but Gabe was having none of it.

  Against the distant sound of bubbling lava, the only other noise to disturb the tranquil silence was the clash of metal as Gabe drove down another mighty blow.