Fear Stalks
“Who said that?” Ty demanded.
“We’re alone Ty. But I’m sure that cloud followed us. But that’s impossible!” remarked Chilli.
“How typical, typical of the human mind,
Why, you might as well be blind,” the voice mocked.
“And you’re rude!” replied Ty.
“And rude would you be too,
Should you be seen, but looked right through.”
“We haven’t got time for this game!” Chilli remarked irritably.
“If you only believe in what you think you see
There will be much that will be hidden from view.
For it is only when you believe that you will see
A world you never knew.
So I will therefore assume a shape and form
That will conform to your idea of the human norm.”
“You were right, Chills! It is something to do with that cloud. It’s starting to spin!”
The friends stared at the cloud as it spun into a tight circle and then began to rearrange itself. It stacked itself up into a tall shape; then puffed out arms, legs and a head that sprouted hair made of thread-like lightening. Then, finally, a long dress formed to cloak a feminine body made of a hazy mist glistenening with billions of tiny crystals. A puddle of water collected at of the hem of the dress as the cloud-being hovered a few inches above the ground.
She was beautiful, but her face was marred by a twisted smile on her misty lips. One of her cloudy eyebrows was raised and a mocking expression emerged as her face took shape. This was one unhappy cloud!
“I knew there was something strange about that cloud,” Chilli whispered.
“Let that teach you that your feelings and the instincts in your gut,
Are always superior to the thoughts and ideas that inhabit your nut.”
“Who are you?” asked Chilli the strange being.
The cloud sighed impatiently. She was clearly fed up with having to deal with imbeciles. The lightening crowning her head crackled with irritation.
“I am Elementia, sent by Gaia to lend a hand
For the task that she and you have planned.”
“You don’t seem happy about it” Chilli remarked sourly. The cloud-being glared at Chilli with ice blue eyes and her hair crackled in anger as she pointed a finger at the young girl. A tiny bolt of lightening shot out from her finger tip, hitting Chilli on the forehead.
“Ouch! Was that necessary?” Chilli complained, rubbing her head.
“Humans, I find, only pay attention to me
When they experience discomfort to some degree.”
“Now that you’ve got our attention. Why are you here?” Chilli asked, hoping to avoid another lightening bolt.
“I am Elementia, the Four Elements made one,
Who has existed since what you know as time had even begun.
I am the Wind and Water and Earth and Fire
That gives life to she who is known to you as Gaia.
Time for humans I have little
For their faith in me is, at best, brittle.
But it would do you well to pay attention to me,
For my fury is felt as earthquakes, snow storms and the odd tsunami.
I require only that your kind have a balanced view
And not take for granted what Mother Nature can do.” A light dusting of snowflakes began collecting beneath her feet.
“My gran always used to say there was no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing” remarked Chilli.
“Her wisdom speaks of one who understands that what is, just is,
For it is up to you to decide upon which point of view you choose.
Whether life is magical and wonderous,
Or arduous and wretched and full of fear for what you may lose.”
BOOM!
Ty chanced getting a bolt of lightning to the head and interrupted Elementia.
“We’ve got to hurry. Morbidius is getting stronger all the time. What did Gaia ask you to give us?”
“Then straight to business we must progress
So that we may prevent Morbidius from destructive success.”
Elementia held out a small box to Chilli. The box had been carved from a single crystal to form facets that refracted the weak rays of Effluvia’s sun into the colours of the rainbow.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” exclaimed Ty. He had experimented with prisms, but he had never seen anything that spectacular.
Chilli took the box from Elementia and held it up so see what was inside it.
“What’s in the box?” asked Ty peering at the box. All he could see inside were objects distorted by the faceted edge of the crystal.
“Open the crystal and remove its contents one by one,
I shall then tell you its nature and what is to be done.”
Chilli opened the lid and took out a pair of flat black stones linked to each other by a gold chain.
“These are the Fire Element - flintstones,
A symbol of the heat of enthusiasm and passionate drive
That quickens the heart, lightens the mind and infuses one with the joy of being alive.”
Chilli reached into the box again and took out a lump of dry red clay.
“The Earth Element – clay,
A symbol of knowledge, the foundation of the beginning of all great acts,
That will let nothing get in its way in its search for the facts.”
Chilli next lifted up a tiny golden Flute, about the length of her little finger.
“The Air Element - a flute,
A symbol of Inspiration, the breath that fills your mind with ideas, thoughts and dreams
That gives you the power and belief in yourself to fulfil those schemes.”
Finally, Chilli took a snowflake out of the box and cradled the lacy white flake in her hand.
“A snowflake - the water element,
A symbol of that which links all of Life to Life –
The ocean, the sea, a lake, a molecule - you are all of the very same stuff,
And that, for you, is certainly more than enough.
For one is all and all is one,
As is a droplet in the sea a part of the sea, yet apart from the sea.”
“Thanks for all these... these things” said Chilli, “but how’re we supposed to use them?” They seemed pretty useless to Chilli, especially when she thought of the arsenal at Morbidius’s disposal.
“Fear and hesitation fills your heart and fills your mind,
But you only have to ask the right questions, and you will find
That all you thought you never knew
Really lies deep within the heart of you.
And now I have given you the tools that you will need
To deliver the earth from Morbidius’s destructive deed.”
“But we still don’t...” None of the stupid poetry made any sense to Ty.
“And should there come a time when your heart should shatter
You may craft a new one from the cold and clay matter.
And it is thus, that I bid you good luck and adieu
To carry out the task you have set out to do.”
“Hey! You can’t go! You can’t just leave us! We...” But Elementia wasn’t listening to Chilli. A white flame shot up from the bottom of Elementia’s cloud body. The flame reached up until it covered her head, transforming her body into a wisp of fine steam. The column of vapour then floated into the sky until it caught the full force of Effluvia’s weak sunlight. With that, it evaporated into nothingness.
“That’s just great” Chilli remarked sarcastically, “another deserter. They seem to disappear when we need them most.”
“We’ll just have to do it ourselves, Chills. We’ll find a way to use what’s in the box; and this” Ty remarked, tapping his head.
BOOM!
“We’d better get moving. What do we do next?” Chilli hoped her friend had an idea lurking in that head of his.
“Murkslime and Mudrot said the generator may be somewhere inside the mountain. So... we have to get into the mountain.” Ty thought a pick axe would be handy right about then.
“Maybe there’s something in the box that’ll help us,” Chilli suggested. “Let’s see... Elementia said that if we asked the right questions, we would know the answers. Okay, so... the mountain is a giant ice crystal aaaand... ice melts. So how can we melt the ice? We’ve got a snowflake, a lump of clay, a flute and two flintstones.”
“You’re a certified genius Chills! We can use the flintstones to melt the ice!” Ty exclaimed. “And there’s a way we can get in” he said, pointing at a small crack in the mountain.
“Where?” Chilli asked, squinting at the ice.
“Here” Ty answered, sinking to his knees. Chilli knelt down beside him and saw a small fissure caused by the tremors.
“Try the flintstones,” Ty urged his friend.
Chilli took the flintstones out of the crystal box. “Fingers crossed” she said nervously, “here goes.” She held the stones close to the crack and flicked them sharply together. A tiny spark shot out and landed on the ice with a sizzle.
“It’s working! Keep trying Chills!”
Chilli’s heart pounded as she struck the stones three times. On her third try, the spark glanced off the stones and fell into the gap. Satisfied the flintstones had worked, Chilli shoved them into her pocket.
Ssssshhhhh. The ice started hissing and fizzing as the spark cut straight through it, sending a column of steam into the air.
BOOM!
Crrraaacccck! A sound like a rifle shot rang out. The ice started to give way and the crack started splitting further apart.
“It’s working! Get back! It’s breaking wide open!” But Ty’s warning came too late.
Ccrrraaack! The fracture split wide open, making a crevasse that ran the width of the mountain and twice as deep.
“Eeeeeek!” Chilli screamed. She felt her feet slip on the ice, sending her careering to the edge of the crevasse. “Heeelp Tyyyy!”
But it was too late. She lost her footing and slipped over the edge of the opening. Chilli frantically grabbed the edge of the fissure and scrabbled frantically to get a foothold, but the surface was too slippery.
“Hold on! I’ve got you!” Ty grabbed hold of one of her hands.
BOOM! The next pulse tore the gap open wider.
“Aarrgh!” Ty shouted. The mountain claimed another victim as he slipped into the wide crack. At the last moment he managed to grab the edge of the chasm. They both held on desperately as chips of ice tumbled into the black depths below.
Frightened for his friend, Oubaas leaped into action. He grabbed Ty’s hand and tried to pull him up with his one paw. But the baboon’s bare feet were numb from the ice, and he went skidding across it and into the crevice.
Skreeeeeee! Oubaas screamed in terror. He managed to grab hold of Ty’s neck and wrapped his legs around his body. He hung there whimpering, too scared to look down.
“My arms are getting tired. I can’t hang on much longer! And my hands are freezing!” Chilli wailed.
“Hang on! I’ll try and pull myself up” grunted Ty, as he tried to haul himself and Oubaas back up.
BOOM!
“No!” screamed Chilli as she felt the vibrations in her bones. But this time nothing happened. It was silent again.
“I think we’re safe” said Ty. “I’ll try and climb back up.”
“Hurry up!” pleaded Chilli.
“Aaargh!” grunted Ty as he began pulling himself up.
Crrraaaack! This time the noise was almost deafening.
“The mountain’s breaking up!” yelled Ty.
The slab of ice they clung to gave another sickening jolt as it split open further. Then it groaned as it slowly broke away from the mountain face.
“We’re going to fall!” Chilli screamed in terror.
“Hold on!” Ty shouted.
The huge shard of ice snapped away from its frigid moorings, then spun elegantly in mid-air before plunging head first into the inky abyss.
“Aaaaarrrrrgh!” The children and Oubaas screamed, screamed, and screamed again as they plunged headlong to the heart of the mountain far below. It looked like Morbidius had won the battle and the war.