Jack Strong and the Red Giant

by Heys Wolfenden

  He skirted the outside of the molten lake as best he could, the path narrow and uneven. One slip was all it would take. The heat was intense. He mopped his brow furiously. The glare was so bright he had to shield his eyes from looking at it. His skin burned and seared. Now he knew how a turkey felt at Christmas…

  He hadn’t walked far when he came upon a wide platform of rock that jutted out over the lava. At first he thought that it was covered in piles of ash, like the ones in the tunnel, but upon closer inspection he realised they resembled figurines. Their twisted, stuck-in-time poses reminded him of the photos he’d seen of the Pompeii ruins, only these weren’t human: one of them looked like the creatures he’d encountered in the valley, its face set in a permanent snarling grimace. There were others too: huge behemoths of claws and tentacles and a ten-legged freak of an insect that was twice the size he was. He reached out a hand and touched one. It crumbled at once, flakes of ash swirling away on a draft of wind. What is this place?

  He shuddered and moved on, going deeper and deeper into the ash labryinth, noting the statues and all their misshapen forms: here some kind of barnacled fish-monster, frozen in its death wake, there a three-eyed lizard, its face contorted in pain. Then he saw one that was his size, though its eyes and head were bigger, and its teeth...

  He reached out a hand and touched its head. It felt rough, but brittle; like a plaster cast. He rapped it once with his knuckles – it cracked immediately, crumbs of ash flaking to the floor. The skin underneath was a light grey, its surface marked by long green canals. Next he cracked the film of ash that covered its eyes. Two jet black marbles peered back. He’d recognise those eyes anywhere...

  Jack furiously began to tap and tug at the ash, ripping it off in huge clumps, revealing first the chest, then the arms, legs, and finally the whole face. When the last of the ash fell to the floor a long wisp of smoke uncoiled itself, before drifting off to the top of the crater. He was just about to check for a heartbeat when the figure awoke with a gasp, teeth clenched and hands clawing for his face.

  “Ros! Ros! It's me!” yelled Jack.

  Still Ros hacked and scraped, his face black and scarred.

  A row of dagger-like teeth lurched towards his neck, grinding and snapping.

  “Ros, stop. It's me, Jack. I'm here to rescue you,” he pleaded again, trying to push him off. But he was too strong, too powerful. He felt like he was fighting a leopard.

  He closed his eyes, expecting to feel at any moment Ros' teeth clench the veins in his neck, but nothing happened. He looked-up, half-expecting to have his head ripped off, only to see Ros looking down at him, a quizzical look etched on his face. “Jack,” he said, relaxing his grip, “is that… is that you?”

  “Yes, of course it's me!” said Jack, getting to his feet. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “I’m sorry, I…”

  “Look forget about it,” said Jack, trying to hide the irritation in his voice. “What happened to you anyway? How did you get here?”

  “I… I can’t remember,” said Ros, running his fingers across his scars. “There was an eruption, some smoke and then and then…”

  “Yes?”

  “I don’t know. After that it’s a blank.”

  “Well it doesn’t matter now,” said Jack, trying to mask the irritation in his voice. “Let’s get out of here and find Vyleria.”

  “VYLERIA'S ALIVE?” Ros gasped.

  “She was when I last saw her, but I’ve not heard from her in quite a while. She woke up about a day or two after you left. It was her that found you in this volcano.”

  “I'm sorry I doubted you Jack. Without you I'd be...”

  “A fossil by the looks of it,” said Jack, pointing at the statues of ash. “Hey, what happened to your face?”

  “My face?”

  “You mean you can’t feel the pain? It’s all gashed and scarred. It looks like you lost a fight with a tiger.”

  “My people don’t feel pain the same as you do. But now that you mention it it does tingle. I wonder what did it? If only I could remember…”

  “We can leave that for later. Right now we’ve got to work on getting out of here,” said Jack, looking at the frothing lake of lava.

  “Hang on, how did you get here in the first place? I thought your space boots didn't work.”

  “They don’t,” Jack shrugged. “I climbed here.”

  “YOU climbed here … for… for… ME?”

  “Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to do – let you die?”

  “But it has to be miles and miles, Jack. And there were earthquakes and cliffs and volcanoes. And look at you!” he said, seeing the cuts and the bruises and his ripped spacesuit for the first time. “You're a mess. I'm surprised you didn't die.”

  “Well, don't tell Vyleria,” he winked, “but on a couple of occasions I nearly did.”

  “Thank you Jack, I – I underestimated you. I'm sorry.”

  “Don't mention it; now let’s get out of here.”

  “Wait. What’s that?” asked Ros, gesticulating towards the top of the crater. “I thought I saw something move. A shadow.”

  “It’s nothing,” said Jack, looking at where he was pointing. “It’s just some smoke, that’s all. This is a volcano, remember.”

  “Why’s it coming this way then?”

  “It’s not…” started Jack, but then as he watched the cloud of smoke began to drift down towards them. Slow at first, but then quicker and quicker. When it was a few feet above them it let out a huge, ear-piercing scream as the black cloud separated into a series of wings, beaks and talons – each one made out of ash and smoke.

  Then one of them swooped down towards him, snapping and lunging at his head. He ducked just in time, stumbling into Ros.

  “What do we do?” he shouted, only to see Ros ignite his rocket boots and screech out of the volcano like a Saturn V moon rocket.

  Jack couldn’t believe it. After all he’d done for him he’d gone and left him for dead.

  Then something sharp slashed across his chest. He looked down to see four bright red claw marks in his spacesuit. His skin flashed with pain immediately. But before he could do anything about it a dark, wing-like shape thumped him in the chest, sending him flying. He tried to get up, only to be thrust back down again. He looked to see what was wrong only to see a black phantom wrap itself around his feet, snaking up his body like an anaconda. His skin burned. First his feet, then his ankles, then his knees.

  Jack writhed and kicked, but then a shadow of ash landed on top of him, a pair of rock-like talons crushing him to the floor, cutting into his chest.

  Jack stared helplessly into its coal-like eyes as its long, iron beak dived in for the final bloody kill.

  Chapter 35: Blood and Fire

  Jack closed his eyes as the shadow engulfing him leeched up to his thighs. He was being eaten alive, mummified. Then something grabbed hold of him and he felt his body rise through the air. He opened his eyes, half-expecting something to poke them out, only to see two black eyes instead.

  He couldn't believe it. It was Ros. Before he knew what was happening they had whooshed out of the mouth of the volcano and were zooming through the blood red sky. The shadow larvae disappeared soon after, vanishing in a wisp of smoke and ash.

  “Sorry,” said Ros, the wind whipping about their ears. “I forgot that your rocket boots didn’t work. I came back as soon as I realised you weren’t behind me.”

  “That’s okay,” said Jack, still trying to catch his breath. “I’m just glad to be alive. I thought I was dead for sure.”

  “It should be me thanking you Jack. You saved me. Without you I would never have escaped. I… I... I’m sorry Jack.”

  “Sorry? – what are you sorry for?”

  “I’m sorry for judging you the moment I set eyes on you and for making your life on the spaceship harder than it should have been. I find it difficult to trust other people – I wish that everybody was like you Jack. I hope you can forgive
me.”

  Jack didn’t know what to say. Half of him wanted to tell him how unkind he’d been, whereas the other half was just glad that he was finally being nice to him. In the end the more human half won. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “You had your reasons. I find it difficult to trust other people too, so I know what it's like. Maybe if we survive all this we can hang out and be friends?”

  “Yes, that would be great. Because if we don’t I may as well just drop you now.”

  Jack span around immediately, the sharp rocks below suddenly coming into focus.

  “I had you there for a moment, didn’t I?” laughed Ros, a big grin etched across his face.

  “Yes, you did,” said Jack, chuckling along.

  Jack realised that he had never seen Ros laugh before. It’s funny how everybody looks alike when they laugh, he thought. Maybe there is hope for us after all…

  Jack peered into the blood-red distance. They were heading back towards their spaceships, the sprawling desert looming ever larger before their eyes. He kept checking behind them but as yet none of the creatures from the volcano were following them. This made him breathe a little easier, but the lack of immediate danger made him think about Vyleria again. He hadn’t heard from her in over a day now. Anything could have happened to her, especially on a wild, freaky planet like this one.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s fine,” said Ros as if reading his mind. “It’s probably some malfunction with your spacesuit or something. She’ll be there waiting for you when we get there.”

  “Yes, but it’s not because I fancy her or anything,” said Jack, blushing like a tomato.

  “No?” asked Ros.

  “She’s just a good friend that’s all,” said Jack, his face redder than ever. “Besides, I doubt she would see anything in a boy like me.”

  “Well, you never know Jack. Don’t be shy.”

  “I’m not shy, I’m… I’m just trying to be a good friend, that’s all. She would do the same for me.”

  “Yes, I’m sure she would,” he chuckled.

  Jack wondered if Ros was right. Do I like Vyleria like that? He laughed at the idea that a beautiful girl like Vyleria would see anything in a dull, simple boy like him. Not when she could have any boy in the universe…

  “Are you sure that’s the place?” asked Ros, looking at a huge, crooked gash that stretched on for as far as the eye could see.

  “Yeah, that’s where the cave was over there,” said Jack, pointing at a clutch of jagged rocks below them. “And there’s the entrance to the valley. They have to be here somewhere, or else…”

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s not…”

  “Well then where is she?” asked Jack, a little louder than he’d intended.

  “She could’ve moved to a safer location, she…”

  “No, she would’ve stayed exactly where she was in order to stay in touch with Kat.”

  “But that means…”

  “That she’s down there,” said Jack, looking eerily at the planet’s new canyon.

  “We better go down for a closer look,” said Ros, his tone strangely somber.

  Jack stared into the bottomless, black depths and screamed Vyleria’s name over and over again. But there was no reply, only the shrieking wind and the distant sound of a volcano rumbling into life.

  “Ros,” he said, his heart racing like a space car. “Give me your boots! I’ll fly down and look for her, she’s probably just…”

  “You’re crazy Jack – can’t you see – she’s gone - there’s nothing you can do.”

  “Look, I’m not asking you,” he shouted. “I’m telling you – GIVE ME YOUR BOOTS NOW!”

  “No,” said Ros. “It’s too dangerous; I’m not losing you too.”

  Jack was about to protest further when a bright orange glow suddenly appeared at the bottom of the canyon. It was small and isolated at first, but then it began to spread and rise, until the entire canyon became a ribbon of molten lava, bubbling and frothing at the surface. He stared at it for what felt like forever until he felt something grab hold of him and try to drag him from the edge of the cliff.

  “Come on Jack,” Ros screamed. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

  VYLERIA’S DEAD. The thought whirled around his head like a tornado.

  Still Ros dragged Jack back. Still Jack struggled against him. He couldn’t leave her, not now, not after all they’d been through together.

  Then he felt the ground give way beneath his feet as the earth vibrated like a pneumatic drill.

  Huge tears opened up in the rock, out of which spat streams of molten lava that seared and burnt the earth like it was one big steak. The lake behind them had also burst its banks and was now rushing upon them like a tidal wave. The whole planet was ripping itself apart. They had nowhere left to run.

  Jack felt Ros lift him up as they tried to escape the fiery carnage, only for them to fly straight into a black cloud of scraping talons.

  They ducked left and right, but it was no use. There were too many of them - their beating wings and snapping jaws forcing them back down towards the blanket of lava now covering most of the planet.

  Down and down they went, the clouds of ash and smoke following like aerial blood hounds, until all they could see was a sea of red. The heat gnawed at Jack’s face, singing his hair and his eyebrows. Immolation beckoned. They had to find a way up or else they were doomed.

  Ros made one last feigned dive before immediately arrowing vertically upwards.

  Jack closed his eyes as a shadow of ash swooped towards his head, its great, wide beak snapping away ravenously.

  Then there was a shrill squawking sound and Jack’s face was sprayed with ash.

  He opened his eyes to see the bird monsters exploding all around him, the rapid fire of a sonic cannon shredding them into millions of pieces. Then he saw a large, silver hawk zoom towards them, scooping them up in its talons.

  Chapter 36: The Core

  The crimson skies faded away, replaced by the white walls of the control room. There Jack met Padget and a young, brown-skinned girl he at once took to be Kat. He hugged them both immediately.

  “Did you find Vyleria?” he asked.

  “You have to let her go,” said Ros. “It’s time to accept the truth.”

  “She’s not dead!” Jack shouted. “Have you scanned the planet for her ship?”

  “No… I wasn’t sure how to … listen Jack … you need to.”

  “I need to what Padget? I NEED TO FIND HER – That’s what! We all do.”

  Jack thrust Padget aside and started scanning the planet for signs of life. He expected to find her immediately. But there was nothing. Nothing at all. What was he going to do?

  Without thinking Jack jumped into the pilot’s control and took the ship back down towards the planet.

  “JACK!” They all screamed at once. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU’LL KILL US ALL!”

  But he wasn’t listening. He was going to find Vyleria no matter what. Everything else was immaterial.

  They plunged into the sizzling sea of lava like a silver dart. Ros, Padget and Kat recoiled, expecting to burn up at any moment. But nothing happened. It was like they were flying through air, not one of the hottest substances known to exist.

  At first Jack couldn’t see anything, then he pushed a button which made the lava transparent. Before his eyes he could see giant rocks and boulders melting and exploding into nothing. But there was still no sign of Vyleria or her spaceship. Where is she?

  “JACK!” he heard Ros shout. “You’ve got to hurry up. This ship might be able to withstand lava but if this planet explodes it won’t be able to stop a flying continent.”

  Jack went quicker and quicker, determined to find her. Still nothing. More searching. Desperate now.

  Then he saw something.

  Something small.

  Something silver.

  Her ship was at the bottom of a long, deep gash that stretched all the way from the surfa
ce to the core of the planet. Her ship looked to be still intact, but there were no signs of life. He checked his instruments again just to be sure. Still nothing. His heart sank. Maybe she was dead after all?

  He transported her ship on board, placing it into one of the rooms next to theirs. Then he turned the spaceship around and shot out at a thousand times the speed of light, the planet exploding behind them as tens of thousands of volcanoes erupted all at once, showering the entire surface and much of outer space in a splurge of lava and red hot rocks.

  As soon as they were well away from both the planet and the red giant Jack ejected himself from the pilot's control and ran to where he’d beamed Vyleria’s spaceship.

  Ros, Padget and Kat were there when he arrived, Vyleria cradled at their feet.

  She was missing one leg, covered head to toe in cuts and bruises, and she was horribly thin. Jack had never seen her look so weak and vulnerable.

  “You’re alive,” he whispered, as he gently held her head in his hands. Her forehead was on fire, sweat pouring down her cheeks.

  With heavy eyes Vyleria looked up at him and smiled. “Jack,” she croaked, “I… I thought you were dead. So… so happy.”

  Then she went quiet, closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

  Chapter 37: New Horizons

  Death.

  Jack had never experienced this before – at least not with any one close. It was something dark and vague that happened to other people. Both sets of his grandparents had died before he was born and all his other relations were still alive. Once a young girl at his school had been knocked over and killed by a car but he didn’t really know her so he hadn’t really been affected by it. But now he had.

  Grunt’s death hit him like a battering ram. He pressed Padget again for the details, still not understanding. “Tell me what happened again, are you sure there’s no mistake?”

  “I’m sorry Jack; I saw them shoot him right before my eyes. There was blood everywhere.”