CHAPTER 2

The Dark Shape

The dark shape loomed near the edge of the over-grown jungle. Concealed by the darkness, a pirate, Hurky, one of Captain Hook's men, waited and watched till all of the children were gone from the beach. He remained there in the jungle, not wanting to go into the bright blaze of the afternoon sun. He detested light (one could almost say he feared it). When the pirate turned away his back was to the sun casting no shadow.

The thing, inhabiting him made a deep moaning sigh. He had come close to being discovered. The boy's little bright friend was clever, too clever. She had felt his presence immediately. The boy however, had not been smart enough to listen to her. But what worried him was that fairy who was always with the boy. If he could get rid of her, then, he could get the boy. And, would he would get him.

But first he would find out what the savage chieftain had to tell the boy that so important.

Hurky took off at an impossibly fast speed through the jungle, though what he was doing could barely be considered running.

The jungle of the Island was huge, it wrapped all the way around, from the Mollusks' side, to the Pirates' side. It was to the Mollusk village that Hurky was heading towards. Upon being inhabited by this dark thing, he had no control over his own actions, except for one instant, he stopped at the edge of the clearing. Hurky hesitated to take another step. A Mollusk guard was positioned at the gate only ten yards away.

"Move!" the moaning voice inside his head ordered. The pirate strode towards the gate, his eyes were blank, there was no expression on his face.

Flaming Hand was on guard duty that afternoon. He was one of the younger warriors. He sat on a wooden stool outside the wall. There was nothing really ever to guard against though. That of course was his own opinion. But this afternoon something did happen.

Flaming Hand looked toward the jungle for the umpteenth time that day. He was about to go complain to the chief that he had seen nothing for hours and what was he supposed to see in the first place! But hold on a minute, Flaming Hand looked back a second time and grew completely alarmed. He sounded a warning on his horn made from a shell, the young Mollusk he jumped to his feet eyeing suspiciously the pirate who stood at the clearing's edge. Pirates never came to their side of the island! The pirates were well aware that if they tried to harm the boys they would be greatly outnumbered on the Mollusks' side.

The Mollusk man's eyes grew wider as he saw the pirate stride right out in the open. Flaming Hand grunted a warning for the pirate to stay back but he kept coming, walking right towards him! The Mollusk stared at the pirate bewildered. Now it looked as if the pirate was going to bump right into him!

Hurky stopped one foot away from the warrior. Flaming Hand's shadow wavered behind him. As the darkness consuming the pirate's body, in a horrifying scene, a dark fog flowed out of the pirate's mouth and floated towards the Mollusk's shadow. Hurky fell backwards, the life coming back into his face. He stared up at the Mollusk with a look of terror and confusion.

Flaming Hand's eyes had suddenly been drained of all awareness. The shadow that was lying behind him across the grass was now gone.

"Go, I have no more need of you," the Mollusk said to the pirate in plain English, his voice sounding like a deadly moan.

Hurky, with one glance at him turned and ran off as fast as he could. He wanted to get as far away from that horrible thing as possible.

From the information the thing had gathered from the man he now inhabited, he now knew which hut the meetings were held in. But the young warrior had apparently not been told who was to be there.

Another warrior named Running Snail, came running out the gate, he had heard Flaming Hand's signal and came as fast as he could. Running Snail came up and stood beside his best friend, laying a hand on Flaming Hand's shoulder. Running Snail felt a cold chill around him.

"Is everything all right?" he asked him in Mollusk.

Flaming Hand moaned in reply. He turned to Running Snail and asked him, "Who is to attend the meeting?"

The warrior only stared at his friend for a long time before replying; there was something wrong with his friend, his face was blank of expression, and his eyes were black as coal. "Are you sure you are all right?" he said in his head or at least, thought he did.

"Yes," came the moaning answer, which Running Snail felt he was hearing from inside his own head, rather than out loud. Flaming Hand addressed the question again, this time more slowly. "Who will be at that meeting?"

The Mollusk looked questioningly at his friend, "Why does he care so much?" he thought.

"Never mind why," moaned the voice.

The sun had begun to set. Both Mollusks were standing in the shadow of the wall so he hadn't noticed that his friend cast no shadow. Nor was the Mollusk able to take Running Snail's shadow for that matter.

Running Snail finally answered him, but he was staring down at the ground as he talked. "The chief is, of course, his two sons, and Peter, and three other men." He hoped that answer would satisfy Flaming Hand.

"I see," he moaned. Without another word Flaming Hand walked past him.

Running Snail asked him where he was going? But Flaming Hand didn't answer, he entered through the gate and was headed for the hut by the wall farther back on the left.

There was only one person around that part of the village. He was standing outside the hut. Fierce Clam was the warrior's name. He was a much older man than Flaming Hand. In fact the only one older than him, was their chief Fighting Prawn. Flaming Hand walked straight towards him. And then the same horrible scene from before repeated itself, the darkness inside Flaming Hand transferred quickly to the older man. Fierce Clam left Flaming Hand behind him falling to the ground. The young Mollusk stood up. Wondering what had just happened.

Fierce Clam positioned himself in a dark corner of the hut as he waited for his enemies to arrive.