Captain Planet does not belong to me. Just thought you oughta' know.
The movie "Euro Trip" is also briefly mentioned in this chapter. I don't own that either. Funny movie, though!
Alternate Destination
Chapter Three
She stood quietly, unseen to all at the edge of the bay. As the survivors boarded the plane, she painfully cast a glance over to the lovingly arranged grave, a mass of colour on an otherwise cloudy day. Gaia closed her eyes. A lone tear slid down her cheek, making no impact whatsoever on the grass beneath her.
The Earth spirit was utterly bewildered. This was her fault. Why hadn't she foreseen this catastrophe? How could this happen? Why were her beloved Planeteers leaving her, never to return? Why would Linka remain on the island for the rest of eternity? There was no sense or purpose in this outcome. This wasn't how it was meant to be.
She had glimpsed their destinies so many times over the years. Gaia took pride in the accomplishments they were yet to fulfill.
Gi would return to Shanghai and teach science to high school students. She would go on to marry a fellow teacher and have three children. She would found an action group dedicated to prohibiting whaling in International Waters. Laws would eventually be rewritten, guidelines sought and agreements reached.
Kwame would return to his tribe, but eventually settle in Capetown. He would remain single, but would continue educating his people about deforestation and self-sustaining practices.
Ma-Ti would find contentment working with the poor and needy throughout South America. He would eventually be elected into higher ranks of government, then end up working for the United Nations. He would meet his future wife through Kwame.
Wheeler and Linka. Gaia exhaled shakily. It pained her now to recall their futures. Bright, smiling faces. Adoration. They would travel the world before settling in the US. Together.
She was the Spirit of Earth. She didn't make mistakes. There were no second chances in this line of work. She knew each future like the back of her hand. She certainly hadn't foreseen this.
Something was so very wrong. Gaia began to pace restlessly, floating haphazardly over the debris, mind racing as she contemplated this unexpected turn of events.
The future had obviously been changed. Re-written. Someone had purposely altered the natural progression of time. Gaia was adamant that the storm they had experienced last night was an integral part of it. It was unnatural in it's ferocity and magnitude. Supernatural.
She was aware of one entity that could travel through time using self-created meteorological means. Zarm. Could he be responsible for this devastation? Why take Linka out of the equation? The answer hit her so fast that she had to steady herself.
Captain Planet. They can't call him without the power of wind.
Then where was the entity? Why hadn't he made his move?
That answer also became apparent. Her intuition screamed the only possible explanation. Zarm obviously planned to strike sometime in the future.
Gaia sighed heavily. She couldn't bring people back from the dead: even Zarm wasn't capable of this. She glanced again at the grave overlooking the bay. She had a decision to make. The consequences of her choice would be disastrous.
If she didn't act, Zarm would prevail.
If Gaia herself interfered with the time continuum, she would lose everything. Position. Power. Immortal status. She would be banished from the spirit realm, forced to live out the rest of her days as a mortal. It was forbidden.
The decision was reached with little regard for her own future. She had a responsibility to fulfill.
She knew that Zarm would materialize in the same area he had originally directed his fury. She needed to bide her time. It could be a matter of months or even years before the next storm appeared, carrying the entity with it
Gaia smiled. Zarm had indeed underestimated her.
Five Years Later
Intense flashes of light. A sensation of movement. A dozen hands pulling her in all different directions. A voice. Familiar, soothing but an urgency that shakes her out of a deep sleep.
"Linka...it's time to wake up."
Contact. She fell heavily, landing on a slight incline of hard earth. She rolls several times before coming to a sudden stop against a towering tree. The girl is now lying at a most uncomfortable angle, one leg bent around the trunk and the other stretched painfully to the right.
She doesn't move for several minutes while catching her breath and waiting for her heart to resume its regular beat.
"Ouch."
A flock of birds that were disturbed by the racket have taken flight. They rise into the air in a blur of black shapes, squawking angrily at the interruption.
Linka gingerly sat upright, rubbing her head. Her clouded vision took several seconds to clear: she's in the forest now, a far-cry from the comfortable bed she had fallen into only moments before?
Lunacy prevailed. She was reminded of yet another Hollywood movie Wheeler had made them watch last week. One of the main characters kept turning up in unusual places, using a catchphrase that Wheeler had found hysterical.
"This isn't where I parked my car," she murmured to no one in particular with a nervous grin. Wheeler had repeated the line over and over again for several weeks after watching it. Linka now appreciated it's relevance to the situation at hand.
She carefully got to her feet, using the tree trunk as support. She was still wearing her pyjama shorts and singlet, but she was now freezing with cold. She rubbed her arms vigorously for warmth, trying in vain to reduce the goose pimples forming on her skin.
She found the path after some searching and stumbled along awkwardly, her bare feet barely making an impression in the long grass. Somewhere in the distance, a loud crashing sound captured her attention. She froze, watching another flock of birds take off abruptly, followed by anguished yells of pain and abrupt swearing. She did not recognize the voices.
She glanced at her ring finger as if to gain comfort from its presence. Her minor burst of confidence was short-lived.
Her index finger was bare. Damn, she cursed, realizing that she'd left it on her bedside table.
Linka looked nervously in the direction of the noise before increasing her speed to a brisk walk. Linka checked her watch, giving the dial a few small, sharp taps: it seemed to have stopped at 02:07 am. She stopped in her tracks again as the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. A feeling of anxiety and fear washed over her as she realized that the sun was setting, not rising as it should be. Dusk had settled. The sunset bathed everything around her in an eerie red glow.
How long have I been out here? All day?
She stood frozen to the spot, a cold breeze blowing her long green tresses around her face. A million thoughts passed through her mind, none of them making any sense. Why was everything so overgrown? She could barely see the path. Again, loud yet unfamiliar voices echoed from the other side of the island, prompting her to move.
Her breath comes in short bursts as she picked up speed and ran along the path, the bay visible beyond the trees. She broke through out into the open, however her relief turned to tangible fear and confusion
There was nothing there.
No cabins.
No Planeteers.
No chamber.
No basketball hoop: the tree that it was attached to was no longer present either.
Her entire life had been erased, replaced by an untamed field of grass, long stalks of paspalum weeds and the odd protruding shape poking out of the earth
Linka fell heavily to the ground, more scared than she'd ever felt in her life. Her mind was utterly blank, devoid of thought: she was unable to process what she was seeing. The goose bumps returned to her pale skin as she sat, dumbfounded and at a loss to explain where everything has gone.
"Bozhe Moi..." she whimpered, trembling. Her analytical mind was now racing, desperately trying to rationalize this new discovery. The storm.
Where are the others?
Linka immediately moved into action at this thought, realizing that they may have been injured during the course of the night. She sprinted towards where the accommodation once stood, running blindly. The panic deepened as her bewildered mind couldn't seem to locate anything tangible. She sunk to her knees in the soft grass, her vision limited. There was nothing here. Nothing but grass and timber. No evidence that the buildings had ever been there at all.
Undeterred, Linka jumped to her feet and bolted towards where the Crystal Chamber once stood, before tripping over something and sprawling face-first into the dirt. Tears sprung to her eyes as her leg immediately flared with pain: she had cut herself. She carefully extracted a large sliver of glass from her calf muscle before throwing it as far as her tired body would allow. There was glass all over the ground: she could feel the pieces underneath her.
The tears began to fall as she sobbed quietly, the hysteria starting to build in intensity. As she glanced around the island, her right hand settled on something hard. The shape was partially covered in soil and weeds so she began to dig, moving the earth aside so she could glimpse what was underneath. Linka's actions became more frantic as she broke through, touching the yellow fiberglass structure that was now covered in rust and dirt. The Geo Cruiser. Linka realized with dread that the glass she had cut herself on had come from the windows.
As the last of the sunlight rapidly dwindled, Linka lowered herself carefully into the interior of the craft. It took Linka a second to adjust to the darkness, realizing immediately that the cruiser was indeed upside down. She also knew that there was no chance of flying off the island. The cruiser was obviously unsalvageable.
Linka attempted to scramble up and out of the craft, succeeding on the third attempt. She sat beside the wreckage, a million questions and observations now assaulting her.
Where were the others?
The accumulation of rust on the Geo Cruiser...
The neat, organized pile of bricks and timber to her left... Debris from the storm? Why was the wood mouldy and rotting, as if it had sat there for...
She couldn't finish the sentence. Part of her already knew the answer. She just wasn't prepared or ready to admit it yet.
She knew the others weren't here. She was almost certain. Had they been evacuated? Had they been unable to find her?
Were they already dead?
She was numb. In shock, waiting to wake up from this nightmare.
Linka scrambled over to the pile of bricks, seeking shelter for the night. She settled herself down as best she could manage, scraping her calf muscle in the process. She winced in pain and curled herself up into a fetal position, feeling cold, hungry and scared. She remained awake, however: alert and watchful. One terrifying thought would prevent her from sleeping tonight.
She couldn't account for the voices she had heard earlier in the forest.
There were strangers on the island with her.
Hi chickens! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Poor Linka is certainly in for some surprises next chapter:
Those unwanted guests will reveal themselves.
She'll find a way off the island and begin searching for the others.
Nothing will prepare her (or them) for the inevitable reunion.
Prepare yourselves for heartbreak, people. There wont be a happy ending in this reality...