The Omega Children - The Return of the Marauders (A young adult fiction best seller): An Action Adventure Mystery

by Shane Mason

  Melaleuca dug her heels in. ‘I want to know. Now!’

  Lexington shook with cold and even the boys having cooled down, now felt the icy wind bite into them.

  Argus shook his head. ‘It’s bloody freezing! Argue later! Let’s move!’

  ‘I AM IN COMMAND,’ Melaleuca shouted.

  ‘L..let’s move, M..M..M..Mel,’ Lexington said, ‘please.’

  Antavahni spoke in a quiet voice - his tone though weak was as commanding as hers. ‘What will you do if they are the men who attacked?’

  ‘I will...I will...’ Her words petered out and she cursed him in her mind.

  ‘Exactly,’ Antavahni said. ‘Cannot pursue them, cannot capture them. What will you do? Commander?’

  ‘Move downhill then,’ Melaleuca said relenting on her refusal to move.

  Lexington smirked though Melaleuca pretended not to see.

  They descended in half the time and under the night sky walked in line with the mountains on flat land again. The thunder grew quieter and quieter and then became silent, though the rolling clouds on the mountain lay as a permanent fixture and occasional unseen lightening lit the clouds silently from the inside.

  After the empty tedium of walking all night, the smell of the coast hit them at dawn - bracing salty air filling their lungs. Seagulls flew overhead and they could hear waves crashing, and a washing feeling of restlessness passed over them.

  ‘We are going to see the sea,’ Quixote said excited. ‘Buried treasure, pirates, adventures to faraway lands.’

  If he had been a wave he would have swirled and crashed all over the place. Melaleuca knew she would eventually have to find a way to control him.

  ‘We are already going to a faraway place,’ Lexington said. ‘I imagine that should be enough. Though,’ she sniffed the air, ‘I do agree. There is a certain feel in the atmosphere.’

  ‘It’s better than the land we woke up on,’ Ari said. ‘It felt like nothing.’

  ‘You liked the mountains,’ Melaleuca said.

  ‘Yeah, but this is...is...is stirring in a different way.’ He cocked his head to the right to stare at the mountains again. The mountain range, complete with its cotton-wrap of clouds ran all the way to the coast, where they formed an almost sheer drop of thousands of metres into the sea.

  Antavahni prodded them.

  ‘Move.’

  They headed into some large sand dunes.

  ‘Wait here,’ Antavahni said. ‘Argus, come with me.’

  No sooner had they planted their bottoms on the sand and got comfortable when Antavahni returned.

  ‘Listen carefully. There are two speedboats. One is on the beach and the other is moored at a disused wharf. Argus will...ah...commandeer one for our purposes. When he gives the signal we need to run to the speedboat. The coast has given me enough strength for this one last thing I must do.’

  Antavahni propelled himself up with a startling suddenness and a charge of lightening flew out of him, throwing the cousins backwards. It crackled and soared high into the sky, and swollen clouds gathered around it, boiling like mad.

  Antavahni let out a wild cry and his body trembled. Unintelligible words poured out of him and he carried on uttering them until it felt like the earth and the sky would split in two. The clouds exploded and a bolt of energy hurtled down hitting Antavahni with full force. A blinding flash of light erupted and the soil around him exploded into tiny fragments, coating them with dirt.

  A burnt tang hung in the air, smelling like something sweet had been crisped. In the middle of a large splayed out burn mark Antavahni hunched his body over and wheezed as he made gurgling noises while blood oozed from underneath his robe.

  ‘Antavahni?’ Melaleuca said. What do we do now?

  ‘He’s hurt,’ Ari said.

  Melaleuca shook the dirt off her and knelt before Antavahni.

  ‘What do we do to help you?’

  He said nothing and Melaleuca searched the faces of her cousins. Quixote smiled wryly and she could tell he wanted to make a joke though an unknown emotion stopped him.

  ‘Lex?’

  ‘None of us have ever been this hurt. Maybe stop the bleeding, though what if his anatomy is different?’

  ‘Antavahni,’ Ari said louder.

  ‘Quixote. Go find Argus,’ Melaleuca said.

  Antavahni thrust his arm out and though wincing yelled, ‘NO WAIT,’ and then said, ‘Wait, just wait.’

  Under his body a weak blue glow pulsated. It grew stronger and stronger until it glowed as strong as a neon light. He pushed himself upright and his eyes seemed to spin in his sockets and blood dripped out of his mouth. In his hands he held an iridescent blue gloop. Round in shape, it looked like it had a bright light inside.

  ‘What is it?’ Lexington said no longer concerned for his injuries.

  ‘Silverquick,’ Antavahni said exhausted. ‘Help me up, help me to Argus. We are close.’

  This is madness. Melaleuca lifted his head up so she could see eye to eye with him.

  ‘If you know us you will know I hate being left in the dark. We could have been hurt.’

  A weak smiled beamed at Melaleuca. ‘Trust,’ he said and his body started to become transparent.

  ‘That should not be happening,’ Lexington said. ‘Bodies decompose not fade.’

  From behind the sand dune Argus’s head shot up.

  ‘What happened to him?’

  ‘We don’t really know,’ Ari said.

  Quixote jumped up and threw his body into the air. ‘The sky exploded and made that.’

  The silverquick still lay in Antavahni’s weak grip.

  Lexington growled at Quixote’s excesses and then said, ‘My guess is he caught lightening and made that or released it from something he had it stored in.’

  Argus cursed. ‘That’s all we need. A body to carry.’

  Melaleuca stepped forward putting her cousins behind her. ‘He is hurt and needs our help.’

  Argus screwed his face up at her, though she could tell he would comply.

  ‘Once you’re a gonner, you’re a gonner,’ he said. ‘You Ari. Come.’

  At the top of the dune Argus pointed to a dilapidated wharf.

  ‘See that?’

  Churning in a gentle breeze, the wide-open sea spread out before Ari. Waves caressed the beach and to his right at the southern end larger waves smashed in to the cliffs. Like a vortex, the magic of the sea sucked on Ari’s soul and his mind peered across the ocean’s width to the horizon, a thousand adventures crying out to him.

  ‘Oi!’ Argus said. ‘Sight-see later. Can you see that really obvious wharf? You know, wharf? Do you know what a wharf is? The one made out of wood, falling down, sticking out to sea. The large jutting out thing?’

  ‘Yes. I see it,’ Ari said unsure what Argus’s tone meant.

  ‘Gather the others and wait here. I am going to get us one of those speedboats. From what pale face tells me this is one of the first wharves the British used when they settled in these parts, not much used these days. Rarely is there one speedboat let alone two. So wait here with the others. When I signal, run to the speedboat like crazy. Got it?’

  ‘Yes. What about Antavahni?’

  ‘Try waking him, carry him, whatever.’ With that Argus hopped over the top of the dune and Ari rolled back down to his cousins.

  Melaleuca helped Antavahni stand. He coughed and swayed - woozy and trembling. Disoriented he said, ‘Where are we?’

  ‘By the sea,’ Ari replied.

  ‘Good. Good. Ah yes. I can smell it. For my people this was hallowed ground. Every morning the departed souls of those that died left from here.’

  Antavahni toppled onto Melaleuca and her cousins pitched in to help carry him to the top of the sand dune.

  Melaleuca poked her head over the top and her cousins did likewise, and although Argus sauntered onto the wharf and made his way to the speedboat, the expansive sea drew their attention away from him. The deep-green mesmerized them and
its hypnotic churn swelled inside them. Quixote shouted and yelled like a wild man strapped high on a crow’s nest, and Melaleuca felt his want to dive in and feel the ocean all over him.

  Argus leant over into the speedboat and a man popped his head up and hopped out. Older and stooped he watched and listened as Argus waved his arms around and pointed out to sea.

  ‘Who is that? Why is he here?’ Lexington said.

  ‘Maybe they are pirates,’ Quixote said.

  The old man beckoned Argus to follow him and they walked to the end of the wharf and Argus suddenly pushed him into the sea.

  ‘RUNNNNN,’ Argus screamed, sprinting for the speed boat.

  Melaleuca screamed at her cousins to move and as if the hounds of hell chased them, they scrambled for the speedboat carrying Antavahni. Their cloaks flapped behind them and they kicked up sand as they tried to move faster.

  Argus dived into the speedboat and floundered around with the controls. The motor burst into action with a high pitch scream.

  ‘MOOOVVVVVEEEEE,’ Argus screamed.

  They neared the wharf, though slowed down when they saw the wrecks of many ships under the water. Half hulls, broken masts, railings and propellers broke the water’s surface, giving off an eerie sensation almost similar to the plains they had woken up on. Onto the creaking wharf they trod entranced by the sunken ship graveyard. Incoming waves bashed against the loose mooring posts and shook the wharf.

  The old man hauled himself halfway onto the wharf and Argus pulled his pistol out and took aim at him.

  ‘HURRRYYY OR I WILL HAVE TO SHOOT HIM!’

  Spurred on, they ran as fast as they could, jumping over the missing planks in the wharf until they reached the speedboat, and together they lifted Antavahni up and leapt in.

  The old man spluttered and pulled himself fully on to the wharf and yelled at them with a croaky voice.

  ‘Come back you *@#%&$.’

  Argus gunned the speedboat and it smashed its way through the waves, heading out to sea, while Melaleuca watched the old man jump up and down hollering in the other direction.

  ‘There,’ Ari said, pointing to the far end of the beach.

  Another speedboat lay moored there and another man ran down to it.

  ‘I think you will have to hurry Argus,’ Ari said.

  Argus wrestled with the controls. He pushed the throttle to full speed. The motor screamed at him, and the speedboat tried to slice its way through the choppy water.

  ‘This is going as fast as it can. Tide’s against us.’

  The speedboat rocked in all directions and Lexington tried to stand but ended up sprawled in the lower keel at the bottom of the cabin steps. Quixote laughed and Melaleuca held on tight while motioning to Ari to check her.

  ‘I’m okay,’ Lexington said from below.

  Melaleuca worked her way forward to Argus

  ‘There’s another speedboat coming after us.’

  Argus looked back. Two men sat in a similar speedboat that had just left the beach.

  ‘And we appear to be heading out to sea,’ she added.

  Quixote yelled and screamed in ecstasy, trying to hang his head over the side but kept on being pushed back by the speed.

  ‘Grab that rope,’ Argus said. ‘Tie him in. We won’t have time to fish him out if he falls over board.’ He muttered to himself, ‘Can’t believe I’m doing this.’

  Melaleuca tied the rope to Quixote’s body as his light frame jiggled up and down, threatening to stay airborne.

  ‘What about them?’ Ari yelled, pointing back to shore.

  The pursuing speedboat appeared sleeker and faster.

  ‘All will be fine. All will be fine,’ Argus said. ‘Hope what moon face said is true or we will be caught,’ and turning to Ari said, ‘Can you steer?’

  ‘I will,’ came Quixote’s voice.

  ‘Show me,’ Ari said.

  ‘No other choice really,’ Argus said. ‘God I hope this works.’

  Argus pulled the throttle back and told Ari to hold the wheel and steer straight ahead. Argus rummaged through his bag and pulled out a sextant and a compass. He pointed it at the sun and then took a reading off the compass.

  Argus grabbed Antavahni and hauled him upright.

  ‘Okay paleface. Time to shine. What next?’

  Antavahni stirred and though weak, peered over the side. ‘Good,’ he said and reached into his robe. He pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment and handed it to Argus. ‘It is all there.’

  Argus unfurled it and ran his eyes across it.

  ‘This is so precise.’ He poured over the parchment. ‘Secret lands my arse. Can’t miss it by an inch my arse. What the...’ he said and then looked around and yelled at Ari, ‘Steer a little to your right.’

  Argus carried on staring into the sky and barking directions to Ari while Quixote yelled out he wanted a turn at steering the speedboat.

  Antavahni chuckled a little and spoke, slurring his words. ‘Just spin spin spin spin. That’s all heh heh heh. Spin spin spin. Through the photaic wall.’

  ‘The other speedboat is catching us,’ Melaleuca said.

  ‘Shut up all! I muck this up and...well, just shut up!’

  Argus squinted and appeared to measure something back on land. ‘We are nearly there.’

  He leant over Ari and pushed the speedboat’s accelerator to idle. The motor died away to a spluttering noise, idling and surging forward from the speedboat’s momentum. The ocean washed all around in a slow-forming, giant-green swell that rose and fell. The mountain range still looked large and foreboding, though the south side appeared to have clouds tumbling down from its obscured peaks to the sea, rendering it as hidden as the top.

  ‘When the two lands meet and the valley closes,’ Argus read from the parchment with doubt. ‘Then spin and travel upward.’

  A resolved expression fell across his face.

  ‘Let me take over Ari. Okay here goes. It either works or we are sunk.’

  Argus swung the speedboat’s steering wheel hard right and slammed the accelerator to full speed. The motor screamed a high-pitched whine and it started to turn a tight circle in the same spot over and over and over again, smashing and crashing through all the swells and white foam it churned up. The drone of the approaching speedboat got louder and louder, sounding as if it would soon be upon them.

  The spinning halted and the speedboat lurched forward. It felt as if something yanked them out of the water with great force. They fell backwards onto each other and all at once the choppy sea flattened out, becoming still, and a sense of calm descended. Argus latched onto the steering wheel again and the front of the speedboat tilted up as if travelling up a hill.

  Finding her trust tested, Melaleuca gripped the side of the speedboat and thrust herself up. What on earth is happening? The ocean slanted upwards for a vast distance and beyond it only the blue sky could be seen.

  ‘Everyone. Look,’ she said.

  While Antavahni lay facing upwards lapsing in and out of consciousness, they pulled themselves off one another and gazed at the phenomena. The calm seawater behaved like normal water except it clung to the seabed at an angle, and as far as the eye could see the ocean stretched out before them like a huge sheet dropping down from between two tent poles.

  ‘Water runs downhill,’ Lexington said. ‘Not...not this.’ She took her notebook out to write but paused unsure what to jot down. ‘Can I see that parchment?’ She reached past Argus and grabbed it.

  The pursuing speedboat cruised past the point where they had spun around in circles. It sped back and forth several times, stopped and searched all around.

  ‘They can’t see us,’ Ari said. ‘And look at that. That fuzzy line.’

  Like a force field, a faint visible line where the sea tilted upwards appeared to stop the other speedboat from seeing them. Without questioning, Melaleuca accepted the strange nature of the sight and felt they were headed exactly where they needed to go, not that she knew for a second
where that was.

  Trust.

  Lexington looked up from her notebook and Melaleuca saw that she did not trust at all.

  Antavahni lay on the floor too helpless to tell them anything. Lexington examined him with her eyes only, dying to ask him questions but instead looked to Argus though he shrugged his shoulders at her.

  ‘Not supposed to tell you anything,’ he said.

  ‘You won’t need to. I will work it out.’

  Melaleuca heard the excited sincerity in Lexington’s voice. Yes. Yes you will. You are suited to this.

  Ari held the side of the speedboat, giving off the air of an explorer approaching a new land, and Quixote waved and yelled, making gestures at their fast shrinking-into-the-distance pursuers.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Ari asked Argus.

  ‘Don’t know. He said to just go up.’

  They settled into waiting as the boat sped up the inclined sea water.

  After pondering it, minutes later Lexington pointed to where they had started travelling upwards. ‘It’s the photaic wall he mentioned,’ indicating toward Antavahni.

  ‘You mean a magic wall,’ Quixote said.

  ‘No. Something is affecting the light and the water, and changing its behavior.’

  ‘Yeah. Magic.’

  ‘There is no such thing as magic.’

  ‘Then explain it.’

  ‘Given time, I will.’ Lexington buried her head in the parchment.

  Quixote leant in close to the side of Lexington’s face.

  ‘Seems the impossible is possible.’

  ‘Quixote,’ Ari said and whacked his leg.

  ‘What? Lex is always telling me that what I think cannot ever be true.’

  ‘Anything CAN be true,’ Lexington said over her shoulder. ‘Though it must stick to the rules.’

  ‘Once people could not fly. And now they can,’ Quixote shot back. ‘So there. Something that was impossible was made possible.’

  ‘They simply discovered the laws of flight that were always there.’

  ‘Well then.’ Quixote folded his arms. ‘There are probably a bunch of laws doing this to the water.’

  Lexington shifted her weight around and faced him squarely.

  ‘Yes and...’ She tapped her forehead. ‘...if you let me, I will work it out.’