Hi everybody! Thankyou VERY MUCH for the reviews! After a busy, stressful day at work I really love to come home and read them. Puts a smile on my face and motivates me to keep writing. Keep reviewing, by all means............
The Tunnel
Chapter Three
Wheeler sighed loudly and leaned back in his uncomfortable wooden chair, bored out of his skull. Gaia had scheduled a meeting that afternoon and was currently reporting on the recent activities of all major Eco-Villians. After an hour of listening to the Earth Spirit's droning voice however, Wheeler was now wishing he'd left with Linka. The others were obviously feeling the same . Gi's head was resting on Kwame's shoulder, Kwame had yawned loudly three times in as many minutes, and Ma-Ti was scratching his initials into the armrest of his chair (and attracting glares from the speaker). Only Cheyla (Linka's replacement) was sitting upright, her brown eyes locked in Gaia's direction. Wheeler noticed with amusement that Cheyla was even taking notes in a black, leather-bound file and asking questions every once in a while. Cheyla was from a small town in Spain, and had surprised the others with her confident, almost aggressive manner. Tall and slim, with dark brown hair that cascaded into tight ringlets and flawless olive skin, Cheyla was talented with computers and had apparentlyworked with a conservation company for the past 4 years.
With Gaia's ever increasing glare now focused on him, Wheeler wisely chose to maintain eye contact and listen to the remainder of the meeting. Ten minutes later they were filing out of the Crystal chamber, tired and restless. Gi strode past Wheeler quickly and slapped him over the head painfully, as she had done every afternoon since Linka had left four days ago. Grabbing Gi around the waist, he picked her up and carried the protesting girl towards the compost heap.
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry....." she gasped, not wanting to become an addition to their recycling efforts. "But seriously Wheeler..." she added when he dropped her to the ground, "You're an idiot for not saying goodbye. You can be such a stubborn bast......"
"Hello," Cheyla interrupted loudly, staring at Wheeler unflinchingly and almost ignoring Gi's presence. Narrowing her eyes, Gi shot a look of contempt towards Cheyla and walked back to her living quarters, hands in her pockets and eyes downcast. Wheeler felt sorry for her, since Gi had lost her best friend, and the new girl was doing nothing to endear herself to the others. Since arriving, she had complained about the size of her room, physically threw Sutchi out of a window for jumping onto her shoulder and had criticised Kwame several times during a mission, something that the others would never dream of doing to the quiet, knowledgable African man.
An unsubtle cough plunged Wheeler back into reality. With a small amount of resentment, he realised Cheyla was still standing next to him, waiting for acknowledgment. "So.....you settled in yet?" he asked politely, not really caring for the answer. Cheyla clearly appreciated his question, and launched into her life story: family, school, ex boyfriends who were lazy, unmotivated so-and-so's with few redeeming features. "But i'm single, now." she finished happily. "No wonder..." Wheeler thought sarcastically, before yawning loudly and announcing he was going to watch TV in the common room. To his frustration Cheyla followed alongside him, before settling down next to him on the sofa and placing her bare legs on his lap. Ma-Ti and Kwame watched in amusement, obviously relying on Ma-Ti's ring to communicate with each other (Kwame had burst out laughing during an ad break, drawing a surprised reaction from Cheyla.) Soon after she announced she was going to bed and strutted out the door.
"Don't tell me. I don't wanna' know." Wheeler threatened after they were sure she couldn't hear them. Wiping tears from his eyes, Kwame explained." We were just thinking that you can't catch a break, my friend! Cheyla and Linka are exact opposites...."
"Damn, Kwame." Wheeler retaliated. " Don't even compare Linka to that man-eating, psychotic, self-absorbed wacko."
"Anyone I know?" asked Gi who had returned from her room to join them. After several minutes of bitching about Cheyla andpondering their future, Kwame asked the question they had all been thinking. "Anybody heard from Linka?" The three Planeteers shook their heads, Ma-Ti adding that he no longer had a direct link with her, and for some reason was unable to even partially reach or receive her.
"She lives in a mining town, though. Might be related to the iron minerals interfering with the signal. It's happened before." Gi pointed out to Ma-Ti, who nodded in agreement but continued to look apprehensive.
"I shoulda' been there to say goodbye...." Wheeler muttered, regretting his decision to take off. "YOU RECKON?" Gi exploded, venting her anger on the surprised American. "My God, Wheeler, you selfish idiot! Why the hell didn't you? There was no reason for you to take off like that! It was already a hard enough decision for her to make. She was devestated that you weren't there. She's been trying so hard to improve her self esteem and confidence lately and you shattered it on Sunday night in 5 minutes!" Gi ranted, red faced and on her feet now. "So why didn't you see her off?" she yelled as Kwame and Ma-Ti waited for Wheeler to explode with his customary, short temper when confronted by someone. Instead, Wheeler stayed seated, maintaing contact with Gi's defiant gaze. "You know why." Wheeler muttered quietly as Kwame and Ma-Ti took their leave, obviously expecting more verbal fireworks from the fiesty Asian girl.
Gi sighed and sat down beside him, understanding his predicament. "Wheeler, I know how you feel about her, but that's no excuse. You let her down, Yankee." Nodding his head, he pondered his next move. "I think Ill ring her tomorrow." he decided aloud, earning a hug from Gi. "Good idea Wheeler. And if she doesn't forgive you, you always have Cheyla!" she laughed, dodging Wheeler's light punch and bounding back to her room
"Not bloody likely...." Wheeler muttered in response to Gi's last words. Feeling slightly happier now, he grabbed his cell phone and strode back to his room with it, ready to call Linka in the morning.
"Is she living the high life yet?" Gi inquired, stirring Wheeler from his troubled thoughts. Having just returned from a mission, the group were now seated outside in the warm sunshine, enjoying the rest of the day. Shaking his head, Wheeler explained: "I can't get hold of her. I've tried her cell four times, her pager....... her home phone line is busy all the time, too."
"Maybe she gave you the wrong number?" suggested Kwame hopefully, starting to feel concerned himself. It was out of character for Linka to remain out of touch for so long. Ma-Ti opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Gaia with one of her never-ending 'Planeteer Alert's.' Cursing, the group stood and walked quickly to the Crystal Chamber, Wheeler dawdling hesitantly behind the rest.
Entering Gaia's 'office', Wheeler's irritation increased when Cheyla practically shoved Gi out of the way in order to stand beside him. Steam was practically billowing out of Gi's ears as she glared at the Spanish woman, who calmly levelled her eyes on Gaia. Feeling utterly overwhelmed with resentment and worry, Wheeler was totally unable to concentrate on the information being relayed to him.
Having finished speaking, Gaia ushered them out the door towards the Geo Cruiser. As they were strapping themselves in, Wheeler suddenly felt violently ill. "Are you OK, my friend?" asked Ma-Ti, seeing how pale Wheeler had become. "Not really" he replied quietly, before standing quickly and clutching a roof beam for support.
"You might be better off staying here," Gi said, opening the door and grabbing his arm. Despite his protests, the others seemed to agree. Feeling hot, dizzy and ready to pass out, Wheeler allowed Gi to help him off the vehicle. "Ma-Ti can reach you if we need a Team Beam." As he sat down heavily on the grass, the Geo Cruiser took off without him, with Cheyla's pointed, arrogant face looking out at him from one of the rear windows.
As the plane moved out of sight, Wheeler got unsteadily to his feet, turned and unwittingly walked straight through Gaia who had floated over to meet him. "Arrgh! Don't bloody do that!" he exclaimed in fright, loathing the sensation of her form moving through him. Smiling hesitantly, the spirit apologised and beckoned for him to follow. Hurrying to catch up, Wheeler noticed that the sick feeling had gone as quickly as it had come. Entering the chamber once again, Wheeler looked on in surprise as the spirit closed the huge, glass doors for the first time everwith a wave of her hands, bathing the room in darkness. The area surrounding Wheeler glowed red as he used his ring to provide some light, afraid he'd impale himself on a sharp piece of crystal if he stepped the wrong way.
"I'm sorry I had to make you sick, Wheeler. It was the only option I had without raising suspicions." Opening his mouth to interrupt, Gaia's dimly lit form shook her head before continuing. "I need to be quick.He'll be aware I've closed the doors by now." Motioning towards the heavy glass panels, she went on.
"My elders cannot hear us when they are shut. I believe that something has happened to Linka. I have been unable to reach her telepathically, which is impossible unless one of my superiors has been BLOCKING MY EFFORTS. Linka's replacement was arranged by one of these spirits and I feel that Ba'ra is the one responsible. I believe that Cheyla is working with him, to what purpose I don't......"
"BOOM!" A loud crack shook the air, before a devastatingly bright light shone through the transparent glass, momentarily blinding the shocked American. Wheeler felt a strong force pulling him roughly to the floor as the cracking noises continued, then Gaia's calm voice continued in his ear. "The other Planeteers will have to fend for themselves.You're on your own, Wheeler. You need to get to Linka's house and find where they took her. Rely on your instincts! They will have taken her somewhere underground: newly earth-bound spirts need to be as close to the earth's core as possible. It's where Ba'ra gains his power. Find the tunnel and you will find them both......"
"BOOM!" Another loud crack resonated through the chamber, before the glass doors shattered, showering them in crystal. Yellow light engulfed the room as Gaia fearfullywatched the shadow emerging from it . Turning to face Wheeler, she smiled down serenely at him. "Good bye, Wheeler. Good luck." Her voice echoing through his brain, she made a motion of her hands towards him, before defiantly rushing at the shadow that had engulfed half of the chamber by now. Wheeler vaguely experienced a feeling of falling, before a mauve light surrounded him and he blacked out.
Sorry guys, I seem to like the old cliffhanger ending!!! Next week: What the hells going on with Linka, more Wheeler and Gi exacts revenge on a certain someone. Please keep reviewing, or I'll get disheartened and stop!