Sentari: ICE (12 page)

Oonuk reached down into the river of lava below, wrenched out a steaming hot rock and held it above his head. The rock pulsated red from heat, but Oonuk did not feel any pain.

Pain and suffering was the only real language the Sigamante seemed to understand. For hundreds of years they had been preparing themselves but, somewhere along the way, they had lost their true purpose. They were formed to help fight the threat of the cold dragons and defend the dragons that had not yet succumbed to the cold, however, like so many men, they had been seduced by the power. Now all they saw was what they could gain by leveraging the power of the dragons.

This misguided pain and suffering was unfortunately passed down to each new generation. As she began her training, Sky was pulled further towards the same fate. Although her heart was strong, she suffered tremendously every day and got no love or encouragement in return. Her memories of her parents slowly started to fade from her mind, just as the Sigamante intended.

***

Worrying about her children kept Gaia awake at night. For weeks she had been locked in a cell not far from Damon. Her cell was close to the lava and, at times, the noise could be quite loud. She could also see the comings and goings of both the men and the women of the Sigamante.

She had seen her children on a few occasions, but the noise from the lava flow blocked out any attempt she had made to get their attention. She knew that if she was to ever hold her children again, she had to escape.

In the spare time she had, she hatched a scheme to escape and rescue her family. As the Sigamante women were more caring than the men, she decided to plead for them to let her join their community, help raise the children and serve the men. At first they were reluctant to help her, though they felt for her. The families of the kidnapped children were usually executed, so seeing them in person was a strange scenario for the Sigamante women.

Oonuk’s wife, Noola, a beautiful woman with a strangely deep voice, brought her what little scraps of food she could get from the men each day to try and make her life more enjoyable.

“You’ve been visiting me for two months now, yet you have never once spoken of my children. Why is that?” asked Gaia.

“Your children are doing well. The girl is especially strong. Oonuk has spoken of her in glowing terms, which is unusual for him,” said Noola. “I have not spoken of them because I did not want to get your hopes up. I have pleaded for your release with my husband but he will not hear of it,” she continued.

It was at that point that Gaia realised that Noola would be her best chance of escape. “What about my husband, Damon? Is he ok?” asked Gaia.

“The men do not receive quite the same treatment as the women. They are seen as a threat and are kept locked up with no food or human contact for very long periods of time. I have seen men lose their minds in the cells,” replied Noola.

“What of Damon?” pleaded Gaia.

“I will do my best to find out. Now I must go,” replied Noola, as she quickly scurried away. Although Noola was her captor, Gaia had grown quite fond of her.

Another two weeks passed without so much as a visit from Noola. Gaia feared that she may have asked too much of her, and that she would not be coming back. But it was not long before Noola was back at her cell again. This time she had come with two men.

“What’s going on?” enquired Gaia.

“Quiet woman!” snapped one of the guards, as he opened the door to the cell.

Gaia stepped out. Her legs shook. She had not stood up properly for months. Noola put Gaia’s arm over her shoulder and helped her walk. “I have talked Oonuk into letting me bathe you once a week,” she whispered.

Noola and Gaia hobbled their way down the darkened tunnels. The two men walked closely behind them, each carrying a large sword in one hand and a torch in the other. They headed down the hallway where all the men were kept. The sounds of men wailing echoed throughout the tunnels. Some of the newer prisoners called out for help, but the Sigamante men quickly banged on their cells, sending them scurrying back to the wall.

Noola dropped her wash gear on the ground. “Oh dear. Let me just pick that up,” she said. As she did, she nudged Gaia and pointed in the direction of one of the cells. Gaia looked across and saw the shape of man in the shadows. She looked closer and, as she did, he stepped forward into the light. It was Damon. He was much thinner than she remembered. His face was covered in hair and his skin was dirty. Their eyes met and, for a moment, they were together again. A tear rolled down her face as one of the Sigamante men kicked her from behind, forcing her forward. “I will come for you,” said Gaia softly, before she was forced away. One of the Sigamante guards smacked her with the end of his torch quite violently. “No talking,” he said.

Gaia was returned to her cells, feeling refreshed. The Sigamante had a very elaborate bathing system set up for their women. With a mix of the nearly endless supply of water from above and the heat from the lava rivers below, they could make the most wonderful warm baths.

For the next seven weeks, Noola continued to take Gaia past Damon on their way to the baths. With each visit, the guards became less and less concerned with Gaia and, eventually, stopped coming with them all together.

Having been in the cells for nearly four months, Gaia could not wait any longer to escape. Two weeks before, she had broken a piece of rock off the wall of her cell and had been sharpening it every day. Right on schedule, Noola came to her cell alone and opened the door.

Gaia had become so fond of Noola that she didn’t know if she could hurt her. Then she remembered the smiles of her children.

“You know I am very fond of you, my dear,” said Noola.

“And I you,” replied Gaia.

“I only wish things could be different,” said Noola sadly.

The two walked in silence; as they neared Damon’s cell, Gaia closed her eyes and steadied herself. She thought briefly about stabbing Noola, but she had a change of heart. She turned the knife sideways and whacked Noola on the head, knocking her to the ground. “I’m sorry,” she said.

She searched Noola for the keys, then quickly opened the door to the cell. Damon stepped out of the cell for the first time in months. His arms and legs were weary, his face dirty and covered in hair. They looked each other in the eye. Their love for each other bubbled to the surface and they hugged with tears of joy.

Their moment was quickly interrupted by the sounds of guards walking nearby.

“Quick. Help me move her aside,” said Damon.

They pulled Noola into Damon’s cell and closed the door.

Gaia left the keys to the cell next to the door.

“What are you doing?” asked Damon.

“She was good to me, Damon. It’s the least I can do. Now follow me. There is a tunnel we can climb up in the showers that leads straight to the surface, but first we need to get the kids.” The two hurried off down the hallway.

They stopped at a junction and Gaia took Damon by the hand. “Te’oma is down that hall. He should be easy to get to as the babies sleep alone. I’ll get Sky and meet you back here,” said Gaia.

“Be safe,” said Damon.

“I will. I love you,” replied Gaia.

Damon quickly ran down the hall. Gaia’s path led her in the other direction. She knew her job was going to be more difficult than his, as she would have to get past Oonuk.

Gaia ran down the hallway, making sure that she was not seen. She jumped from shadow to shadow. Each room she passed was full of young children learning the ways of the Sigamante. She wondered to herself how many parents had been separated from their beloved children to create this small army.

Gaia entered the final room. Sky stood alone in the middle of the room. The river of lava bubbled and spat all around them. Gaia slowly approached Sky, unsure what reaction she was going to get. Sky turned around and saw her mother. She instantly smiled with delight, then her training kicked in and the smile was replaced with a cold stare.

Gaia got down low and stretched her arms out towards Sky. “Come on, Sky. We’re leaving,” she whispered.

Sky looked at her mother, unmoved. From out of the shadows, Oonuk walked up behind Sky and put his hands on her shoulders. “She is Sigamante now,” he said.

“Please,” said Gaia. Sky was clearly conflicted. Her eyes welled up with tears. Oonuk walked in front of Sky. “She is Sigamante now and you will die,” he said, taking a knife out from under his clothes. Oonuk approached Gaia. His eyes were dark and cold.

Sky was torn. She had been brainwashed by the Sigamante. She visibly wrestled with her thoughts. She took Oonuk by surprise and knocked him to the ground. Incensed with rage, Oonuk got to his feet and stormed towards Sky.

Sky backed away from Oonuk in fear. She backed closer and closer to the river of lava behind her. Sky fell to the ground and covered her face in anticipation of the thrashing she was about to receive. She closed her eyes and winced then, suddenly, she heard Oonuk’s scream. She opened her eyes as Gaia picked her up and threw her over her shoulder. As they ran out of the room, Sky saw Oonuk standing waist deep in the lava, screaming in pain.

Gaia and Sky ran down the halls as fast as they could. She was no longer worried about being seen. She just wanted to get them out of there. Luckily for her, Damon was standing waiting for her at their meeting point, holding a sleeping Te’oma. Gaia’s eyes lit up as she saw her son, but she forced herself to suppress those feelings until they escaped.

Without saying a word, they ran down the hallway and into the bathroom. The walls were lined with jagged rocks, making for easy climbing. Damon held Te’oma with one hand and carefully climbed the rocks with the other. Gaia and Sky climbed behind him.

The caves were eerily silent as they ascended the tunnel. They reached the top and Damon passed Te’oma to Gaia. She smiled with delight as her son looked at her for the first time in months.

Damon pushed away the snow at the top that was blocking the path, and climbed out into the daylight above. Even though it was cloudy and lightly snowing, Damon covered his eyes to shield them from the bright sun.

He quickly helped the rest of the family out onto the snowfields. They were not far from the ocean’s edge, where the king’s boat still floated in the water, waiting for their arrival.

Damon took Sky by the hand and Gaia held Te’oma while they hurried across the snowfields. They reached the water’s edge and jumped straight in, taking no time to prepare themselves. The water was icy cold and the rocks below were sharp. Damon swam, holding Te’oma above his head.

Sky and Gaia were the first to reach the boat. Sky grabbed onto the chain from the anchor and climbed up. On the deck of the boat lay dozens of barrels of wine. The king knew how to take care of himself. In amongst the barrels was an old rope ladder. Sky quickly threw the ladder over the edge. Damon carried Te’oma up the ladder and onto the deck, Gaia followed closely behind them.

The four took a brief moment for a family hug. They all smiled whilst shivering from the cold; none of them wanted to let go.

Damon broke the moment and quickly pulled the anchor up from the water. Gaia pulled the sail up and the boat almost instantly began to sail out to sea. Sky moved to the back of the boat and stared back at the snowfields.

Damon and Gaia walked up to their daughter and put their hands on her shoulders.

“What is it?” asked Damon.

Sky pointed back at the ocean’s edge and, there, standing defiantly, was Oonuk. His arms and legs were badly burnt, his face disfigured. He stared at them with venom in his eyes.

“It’s ok, Sky. He can’t hurt you now,” said Damon. At that very moment, the boat shook, knocking them all to the deck. A large moan came from the ocean as the boat rocked again.

Damon got to his feet and ran over to the edge of the boat. He looked out at the water, but there was nothing to see. The boat bobbed up and down. Gaia carefully looked over the other side, but again there was nothing to see.

Suddenly, a giant octopus-like creature surfaced. It had fifteen eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Four of its tentacles slowly surfaced and wrapped themselves around the boat, squeezing it tight. Some of the wood the boat was made of began to split and break.

Two more tentacles burst out of the water at an incredible speed and knocked Gaia and Damon to the ground. Another tentacle wrapped itself around Sky and lifted her high above the boat. The creature opened its mouth. Saliva dripped down its teeth as it prepared to eat her, but before it could, a giant burst of fire came from the sky, burning two of the octopus’s tentacles. The creature reeled back in pain and, in doing so, sent Sky flying into the water. A dragon appeared in the sky and continued to attack. The octopus sank under the water to try and evade the dragon, but it simply dove in and continued its chase.

Sky tried to swim back towards the boat, but it was sailing away too fast on the wind. Gaia and Damon stood at the edge of the boat, screaming out to her. Out of the water, Oonuk appeared. He wrapped his burnt arms around Sky and dragged her back to the shore.

Damon dropped the anchor and prepared to leap into the water. Just as he was about to, the dragon burst out of the water with one of the octopus’s tentacles in its mouth. The dragon ripped the tentacle clean off. The octopus squealed in pain as blood went flying everywhere. One of its other tentacles got caught in the boats anchor chain and, as the octopus swam for its life, it pulled the boat away from the shore at a terrific speed.