CHAPTER FOUR: RHINESTONE EYES
Noodle knew that time was running out. The sun was high and bright in the sky, and her stark, yellow inflatable boat was painfully visible. The three planes that had been tailing her the whole morning had been joined by two others. The planes were sleek and military, painted a camo green and decked out with machine guns. The words written on their sides appeared to indicate they were Chilean. Noodle knew that she had to somehow get rid of them. She didn't want the Chilean military getting to her friends on Plastic Beach.
Sweat rolled off Noodle's forehead. She threw down the oar in frustration. 'Tawagoto!' Noodle cursed. There was nothing for it. She'd have to face off with her pursuers. Whirling around to face the oncoming planes, she hoisted the AK-47 upright and let loose a volley.
Four of the planes parted to dodge the shells, but the fifth one's wing was clipped and it fell behind its companions. Noodle reloaded the gun and fired a second round, all without wasting a second. This time, the damaged plane was struck head-on. Smoke spurted from its nose, and the aircraft plummeted into the water. The resulting waves knocked Noodle's boat completely over.
The cold water struck her like a blow, while simultaneously the nearby wreckage of the army plane assailed her with waves of burning heat. Noodle frantically kicked to the surface, gasping with relief when her head cleared the quivering waves. Then she felt a hand close hard around her neck, and a voice hissed menacingly in her ear, 'Where's the package, girlie?'
'What package, sir?' Noodle spluttered, trying to play dumb. She realised with a jolt that the package was still in her rucksack, which itself was probably sinking to the bottom of the sea as she spoke. The words of the old sea captain came back to her. 'You fail to take that package to Plastic Beach, Noodle, and the world as we know it will be over…'
'Shattup, girl!' the fallen plane's pilot, dark skinned and decked out in khaki, growled in her ear. 'I know that you have that package, and I wants it! Now, I'm sure a nice lass like you…'
'Hiiii-yaaaah!' Noodle hollered, gifting the pilot with a hard uppercut, followed swiftly by a sharp right hook.
The pilot let go of Noodle's neck, and sank beneath the sea. But she wasn't out of trouble quite yet. The four remaining planes were circling in for an attack, and she had to find that package…Then she saw it: a brown rucksack, bobbing just beneath the surface. Her rucksack. Noodle kicked out to the bag, eagerly opening the top. The brown paper package was still inside, and it was barely damp.
Noodle's joy was short-lived, however. For she felt a new hand grip her neck, and a new voice whisper in her ear, 'Give me the package, girlie!' The pilot of the plane had a co-pilot!
Before Noodle could resist, the co-pilot reached over her shoulder and snatched up the package. He then removed his other hand from her neck, and Noodle felt a sharp pain in her arm. The corners of her vision began to go blurry, and her mind began to slow. The co-pilot's triumphant laughter seemed to come from several light-years away.
'Yyou…druuuug..ed me…' Noodle slurred her words, and began to slip beneath the waves.
The co-pilot gripped her arm. 'Whoa there, girl! We can't have you drowning on us now, there's still lots we need to know…'
Noodle heard no more.
The gargantuan, mutated individual that was powering its way through the ocean was beginning to pick up its pace. Its seagull passenger assumed this meant that the creature was nearing its destination. Far, far in the distance, the seagull could just make out a small black dot that could have been an island.
The thing motored past a large rock outcrop with the words 'PLASTIC BEACH- 500 KILOMETRES' hacked into it. The seagull blinked. The mysterious giant had nearly arrived…
2-D threw aside his oil-stained gloves and filthy overalls. After many hours of smoke-filled tinkering and many bruises, he'd finally completed the adjustments to the Jellyfish. Humming to himself, 2-D climbed into the cockpit of his bizarre vessel and swung the top shut. He could not wait to try out the Jellyfish and prove Murdoc wrong…
Wiping his stained hands on his jeans, 2-D cautiously reached out and pulled an important-looking lever. The engine gradually purred into life, the glowing outside plates of the craft vibrating gently to the rhythm. 2-D let out a sigh of relief. So far so good, he thought to himself. Scratching his unruly blue mop of hair, he gazed at the newly reconfigured navigational equipment in puzzlement. Maybe if I…2-D pondered, stretching his hand out towards a bulging blue button.
With a roar, the Jellyfish shot out of the garage and down the tunnel, smashing the tunnel gate to smithereens as it did so. The vessel streaked out of the tunnel and skimmed over the seabed, sending a shoal of tuna and a tiger shark fleeing for cover. Gripping the sides of his seat for dear life, 2-D pulled a second lever. To his relief, the Jellyfish slowed to a steady, ponderous pace. Chuckling in relief, he leant back in his seat.
'Murdoc will kill me for destroying the gate!' 2-D shook his head. 'But at least I know the Jellyfish can withstand that much force.' He stroked the metal sides of the craft lovingly. 'I knew you'd make me proud, old girl…or new girl, depending on how you look at it…'
All of a sudden, the submarine began to shake and judder violently. 2-D was thrown from his seat and straight into the porthole, the impact ripping two of his teeth right out of his gums. He desperately pulled several levers, causing the metal tentacles of the Jellyfish to spring open and rocket the craft upwards through the water. The submarine eventually reached the surface. 2-D threw open the top of his craft and stuck his head out.
The waves were swelling metres high, the breakers crashing against the shore of Plastic Beach and buffeting the windows of Murdoc Manor. 2-D shaded his eyes with one hand and peered into the distance at the source of all the water's wild movements. Something was heading through the sea for Plastic Beach. Something big…
'What the…?'
Noodle's dreams were bizarre and dark. She dreamt she was running through a black landscape, with shapeless, wraith-like forms in constant pursuit of her. She screamed, though no sound came out. Something grabbed her from behind and thrust its face into her own.
Her tormentor was an exact likeness of herself, down to everything except the eyes. The eyes were coal-black and completely emotionless, as well as being slightly shiny and flickering with a distinctly robotic light…
'Rid us of the Rhinestone Eyes…' a voice whispered to Noodle in her dreams. The voice was deep, but soft.
Then there was a flash of bright green light. She saw three glowing gems, set into a slab of smooth black marble. 'SUN MOON STARS…' the words echoed around and around in her head. Then she was falling, falling…
Noodle woke up with a jolt.