Star of Fantasy

by Jacky Qian

  The three fire dragons jumped into a lake and played in the water as if they were dogs. They drank heavily to quench their thirst and washed all of their burnt wounds. After a few minutes of frolicking, they flew toward an embankment, sending a spray of water outward with the agitation of their wings.

  "Come here," said Darwin as he opened the cabin and extended his hand to Silverstar, "Let's try a simple method."

  "What method?" asked Silverstar, obviously perplexed. Nicholas and Catherine followed them.

  Darwin grabbed the leather strap used to secure the cabin and pressed his feet against the dragon's heavy-scaly exterior. Then he began to slide down very slowly. "Hey!" shouted Darwin. "Now it's your turn!"

  "What!?" said Silverstar, astonished. "You must be kidding! It's forty meters high! I'm not a professional climber, and I certainly don't have a death wish!"

  "I'll go first, then," said Nicholas without a hint of hesitation. He stepped forward bravely and said to Silverstar, "No problem, I climbed mountains in Alps and Tibet China." He then slid down, just as he'd seen Darwin do.

  "Psst!" Catherine whispered as she approached Silverstar. "You need learn from him."

  "Oh boy, oh boy," Silverstar complained. He rolled his eyes and imagined her sarcastic facial expression even without turning to confirm it. "All right, I'm coming down," said Silverstar. He grabbed the hard strap. Because the strap was too broad for him to touch both sides at the same time with one hand, he had to hold it tightly with both hands lest he fall to his death. Then, with a deep breath, Silverstar slid down gingerly. His palms perspired. Time slowed, and all that Silverstar could hear or feel was his pulse. He was extremely nervous. The wind swept up from below and blasted his face, making it tingle. His head began to feel heavy and his vision blurred, as if his hands were melding with the skin of the dragon. Suddenly, with a slip of the foot, he was shocked back into reality. He had actually touched down on solid ground, when all along he had wondered whether he'd make it. Then, with a brisk leap, Silverstar landed on the ground. His feet made an authoritative thud as he hit the primeval soil. Darwin patted Silverstar and said, "I called to you all the way down. Why didn't you respond to me? I thought there might be something wrong with you. Are you all right?"

  "Yeah, I'm…fine!" replied Silverstar in a shivering voice, "I was just too nervous. I freaked out. My teeth are still chattering." Silverstar gave himself a smack on the back of the head and, stepping in close to Darwin, he whispered, "Would you do me a favor and keep it a secret from Catherine?"

  "Oh, sure. I get it!" replied Darwin with a laugh. "No problem!"

  "Hello!" cried Catherine, "I'm already halfway done! Am I doing okay?"

  "You rock!" shouted Silverstar. Jack came over and asked Darwin, "Boss, why are you doing this? These kids were as slow as snails. Why didn't you summon the fire dragon to lower its head? Wouldn't that have been much quicker?"

  "Jack, don't forget that all newcomers need some training. After all, didn't you need help when you were new here?"

  "Uh, yeah," Jack replied. "You're right about that."

  "Darwin," asked Silverstar as he approached. "Where's Dr. Runt? I need to talk with him."

  "Well, when we reached the base, we left him behind with Hicks. Anyway, it's too much adventure for a bookworm like him."

  "Yeah," agreed Simons, "just like Nemo. He said he needed to take a bath in the lake. I guess he must have peed in his pants. So, he'll need to wash those, too. Ha-hah!"

  "Wow!" Catherine arrived as they were talking, "That was terrifying. I mean, it was challenging in a very real sense."

  At the same time, two big men were talking in German in the distance. "Hey, Erhard, did you see that group of Americans?"

  "I did, but I didn't see the three kids before. They must be new ones."

  "Shall we report this to Colonel Bernhardt? There has been short of hands on the arena. Consequently, Veele started eating too much again. He is eager for another real fight!"

  "If that's the case, send for the troops! They will have newcomers at the arena!"

  Silverstar luxuriated in the shallows as the cool water lapped occasionally against his cheek. He even opened his mouth and allowed the clear perfection to trickle in.

  "Darwin," said Silverstar as he sat upright. "I've had a question ever since I was first here."

  "What is it?" asked Darwin.

  "I heard a story before." continued Silverstar, "It says that there are gigantic scorpions in this era, which isn't black. They are roughly five meters tall. I've been here quite a while, but I haven't seen any of them. Why?"

  "That's because you stayed on an island, which is miniscule in comparison to the massive continent in the ancient era," Darwin explained. "Although I've lived here for almost a century, I haven't seen many of them. Actually, it's rare to encounter beasts in the wild."

  "That explains it," said Silverstar. Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a roar, only to see a dragon staffer for a couple of steps before collapsing on the ground. If Darwin hadn't leaped in and pulled Silverstar away, he would have been crushed.

  The collapse of the great beast brought up a thick cloud of dust. Immediately after, they heard the sound of two other fire dragons falling. Silverstar sloughed the dust off himself with his hands, whereupon he saw that each of the three fallen dragons had a huge syringe stuck in its neck, body and tail. Obviously, they'd been anaesthetized. There were roughly six people standing nearby, and one of them bore the dreaded Nazi emblem as a tattoo on his face. Each of them held a bazooka. They were led by the man whose own tattoo read "Bernhardt."

  "Surrender immediately and follow us," he instructed, speaking English.

  Darwin quickly hefted Darren onto his back and gave Silverstar the order, "Run!" The group of Nazi soldiers said nothing. They simply fired at will. Darwin jumped into the water, followed by Nemo and Simons. At that moment, a bullet shot across Jack's face, and it left a burning-hot gash. Bernhardt roared like a Roman general: "Follow the order or be killed! Forget about the four who've escaped. Let's take this man and the three kids to the arena. Pay no attention to the dragons."

  Nicholas intended to approach Silver and say something, but instantly he was caught. He was then bound with his hands behind his back. Several Nazi soldiers stood there, ogling Catherine and making lascivious remarks. Silverstar picked up a stone and surreptitiously hurled it at one of the soldiers, hitting him in the head. The soldier yelled in pain and surprise, and then he cursed as he scanned the area for the culprit.

  Silverstar was satisfied with himself for that little victory. The feeling proved temporary, though, when suddenly a hand seized him by the shoulder. He felt a sharp prick in the neck, after which the pain spread rapidly. Seconds later, his nerves were numb. As he lost consciousness, Bernhardt whispered into his ear: "Would you really think I didn't see when you did that? Aren't you Silverstar from 2026?"

  Although Silverstar struggled to remove the needle, the anesthetic had spread throughout his body. Dizzy and powerless to do anything about it, he passed out.

  The Arena

  The effects of the anesthetic were wearing off. Silverstar drew a cold breath and opened his eyes. His blood was flowing downward. He was dizzy and nauseated. He found that he was hanging upside down from a weird plant, and his hands were bound behind his back. Everything was in a chaos.

  The boy vomited a mouthful of well-digested food, after which he was hit by a musket butt in the face. His vision blurred and dimmed. Bernhardt appeared before him and said in English, "You're tougher than I thought. The powerful anesthetic didn't harm your central nerves. So, vomiting is the best result one could hope for."

  "Where are my friends?"

  "Over there," said Bernhardt, "They're all hanging, like you."

  Nicholas had a tired, somewhat desolate expression, but Jack had been beaten beyond recognition. When it came to Catherine, Silverstar understood why Nicholas had such a look. Those Nazis who hadn't seen a beautifu
l girl for decades were gesticulating at her. Nicholas was powerless to stop them. Silverstar swallowed his saliva and said, "You motherfuckers! Is that the way you treat a lady?"

  "You tend to bite more than you can chew," Bernhardt answered contemptuously. "Malier, teach him a lesson."

  The guy named Malier approached Silverstar with a clenched fist and a frightening facial expression. Silverstar felt his gut twist. Meanwhile, he continued to the work at the rope with his dragon-fang dagger. Just as Malier raised his fist, Silverstar shot out with his right arm and punched his opponent in the crotch with all of his might. Malier dropped to his knees in anguish, panting heavily. The move was neither elegant nor dashing, but it was effective.

  Silverstar, with a swing of his left arm, slashed through the rope at his ankles before falling onto the muddy ground below. He quickly regained his stance, but immediately Malier came in and picked him up by the collar. He drew his musket and, taking aim, prepared to shoot Silverstar. Bernhardt, however, arrested his hand and said, "Malier. Relax."

  "You little brat!" Malier bellowed. He gave the boy a ferocious stare and threw him to the ground. "You're lucky!"

  "You do know how to use tricks!" said Bernhardt with a fiendish smile. "It seems we've found our opponent for Veele."

  "Boss, you think this kid could be a match for Veele? You must be kidding!" asked another of the Nazis.

  "You didn't see it. This kid will have a great fight with Veele!"

  "What are you talking about, you filthy warmongers!?" asked Silverstar boldly with unusual courage. "Why'd you bring us here?"

  Bernhardt gave him a swift punch in the gut and said, "You won't back down easily. A good choice for the challenge! Bring him to the duel! Tell Veele to get ready!"

  Silverstar looked around and found himself among an assortment of strange, otherworldly plants. There was a glass cover a dozen meters above his head. Given the stifling humidity, he assumed that he was in a sort of greenhouse.

  Bernhardt stopped and suggested that his two men release them. "You're still concerned about your friends, even though you know perfectly clear that you can't protect yourself."

  Catherine rubbed her aching back and gave Silverstar the thumbs-up, hoping to show him that she was fine. "If I lose, they won't end up well, will they?" asked Silverstar in the kind of monotone meant to hide his concern. "We've braved untold dangers here. How could I not try to take care of them?"

  "Very well!" smiled Bernhardt, "How about this? If you win, I'll let you go."

  "Does it count?" answered Silverstar.

  Bernhardt put on a facial expression meaning, "I'll definitely eat my words."

  "You follow me, but your friends will stay behind."

  Nicholas silently mouthed two words to Silverstar: "Good luck!"

  Duel

  Silverstar swallowed nervously as he left the greenhouse together with the others. The place for the competition – the arena – was located in the center of the vast Nazi base, and a twenty-meter iron wall surrounded it. The greenhouse was within the inner circle of the base, separated from the arena at the core by a wall of huge trees. A passage with an iron gate in the wall interconnected the greenhouse with the arena.

  "Don't look around!" demanded Bernhardt as he struck the back of Silverstar's head. "They all made of wood except for this metal door." It seemed that Bernhardt had read Silverstar's mind and answered his questions without being asked.

  "I wish you could keep your head.” the man admitted. Seconds later, he abruptly shoved Silverstar into the pitch-black of a new, unknown place. It was the entrance to the arena. Immediately, a door slammed behind the boy.

  He struggled to adjust his sight to the dark, and after a few moments he saw lights. He heard human voices, too. They seemed to be shouting someone's name. He took a deep breath, steeled his nerves and walked toward the source of the light. With each step, his pulse quickened. The moment he walked out of the entrance, he was overwhelmed by thunderous laughter instead of the previous shouting. He saw an arena set up in emulation of the ancient Roman style, surrounded by more than twenty people who sat atop a seven-meter-high wall. He was to be the slave as dinner for the lion.

  Bernhardt took his customary seat of honor in the audience, and the crowd quieted down. Heavy footsteps were heard from the opposite corridor. Seconds later, a man nearly three meters tall, bulging with muscles and liberally covered in scars, trotted into the arena. Roaring like a tyrannosaurus, he stamped on the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

  Silverstar gasped with mouth open, wide enough to insert in an egg. It dawned on him what Bernhardt meant when he said, "Don't lose your head."

  "I give you our invincible champion," said Bernhardt with an evil smile, "the exterminator Veele!" Silverstar simply could not believe that he would fight this behemoth. It was a joke. By no means were they in the same league.

  "Three! Two! One! Fight!!" shouted Bernhardt. At that command, the exterminator leapt forward. Sitting cross-legged, Bernhardt said leisurely, "Take your time, Veele! We have time to enjoy your work as you kill him."

  The exterminator roared as he took his first swing. Silverstar dodged it with a quick jump to the left. Another punch from the huge fist followed. Silverstar dodged it with another brisk leap. However, before Silverstar could roll away, the exterminator kicked him. Silverstar flew nearly five meters and slammed into a stone wall. He crumbled to the ground and lay there momentarily. There was an intense ringing in his ears, and everything before his eyes was a blurry gray. He was experiencing visual impairment caused by an insufficiency of oxygen, just as astronauts encounter in gravity testing. Silverstar was in a seminoma.

  Nicholas and Catherine were in the greenhouse. He asked, "Do you think Silverstar can handle it by himself?"

  "Probably not, but of course I hope he'll make it!" she said. The worry was obvious.

  "In that case," suggested Nicholas, "Give me the treasure stone. I knew it was the most valuable one among all the exhibits from a catalogue before I boarded the ship. I think you still have it with you."

  "How did you know?" asked Catherine, clearly surprised. "What do you want it for?"

  "In exchange for an opportunity to help Silverstar in the arena. Life is more important than a stone, right?" Nicholas replied with a smile.

  "Yes ... Well, sure!" Catherine said. She reached into her pocket, pulled something out and gave it to Nicholas. "Good luck!"

  Silverstar spat bloody phlegm and struggled to get back on his feet. He posed to fight again, shouting, "Come on!"

  "You little son of a bitch!" the exterminator said condescendingly, now speaking German. "Watch now, as I rip off your legs." He punched Silverstar hard, but at the instant Nicholas appeared and shouted, "Hör auf! Sind Sie immer noch der Hüter der Loyalität des Führers?" (Stop! Do you still consider yourself loyal guards to the Fuhrer by doing this?)

  "You?" questioned Bernhardt, "Who let him out?"

  "Chief," Malier replied. "He asked us to bring him here. In return he gave us a rare treasure, which I present to you now."

  "Oh, this is good!" said Bernhardt with a smile. He stood up and asked Nicholas, "Why did you want to come here to help Silverstar? Where did you get this?"

  "As the thirty-third generation of the Veitchs," Nicholas answered. "I boarded Titanic II with Silverstar." He paused a moment and then said, "If I dare not uphold justice for my friend in this unfair fight, then won't I become a coward? Today I'll fight side by side with him against your monster, and I'll be there till the last moment!"

  Bernhardt twisted his expression into a sneer and said, "Well, this way it'll be more interesting! Veele! Continue!"

  "Buddy, it's good to have a friend like you," said Silverstar in his exhaustion. "Thanks for coming!"

  "It's okay," said Nicholas, "You can rest a bit and let me deal with this bastard."

  "Come on, kid!" said the exterminator ferociously in German. "Are you frightened?"

  Taking a deep breath, Nicholas
closed his eyes and felt the shaking ground as exterminator started for him. Nicholas opened his eyes and launched himself forward. The exterminator rushed toward him with hands rolled into rock-hard fists.

  With a nimble jump, Nicholas did a three-sixty mid-air and kicked the exterminator hard in the face. Instead of falling down as a normal person would at such a blow, the man-machine seized Nicholas' legs and gave him a good smash. Seeing this, Bernhardt whispered to one of his soldiers nearby, and moments later the arena was sprayed with saltwater. Upon contact with any cut, it would cause burning, stinging pain. With the support of the wall, Silverstar stood up. He felt something in his pocket. He took it out and found an electrical current launcher designed for time travelers. The launcher had a spike that could penetrate the blue gold, though it was diamond-hard, and release electrical current leading to the reaction of the blue gold. The device – a technology from Nina's era – had already saved them several times before. Silverstar was mystified as to why it would be found in his pocket.

  It wasn't the time for questioning. Silverstar was shocked to find that Nicholas had been knocked out of his senses during his momentary absence of attention. Just as the exterminator was going to stamp down hard on Nicholas, Silverstar jumped and tried to kick the enemy as Nicholas had done. However, he kicked a hard object on the exterminator and sprained his ankle. Just as the exterminator was about to punch him, Silverstar jabbed the electrical current launcher into the monster's thigh.

  The exterminator let out a cry of anger, pulled out the launcher and tossed it to the side.

  He beat his chest like a drum and roared with rage. He picked up Silverstar and threw him onto the ground. The exterminator raised his fist and got ready to punch. Such a blow would be deadly to Silverstar. When the fist was about ten centimeters from Silverstar's face, the brute was stopped by a shout: "Hey!"

  Exterminator turned and found it was Nicholas who had covered his left arm with his right arm, one knee on the ground. Nicholas continued, "I haven't kicked the bucket yet!"