Hello!!!!!! I'm on holidays!!!!! Yay!!!!!! More time now to devote to other pursuits such as swimming, sleeping, reading and feasting on too much chocolate and Christmas ham.......my Nan makes a great Golden Syrup Pudding, too. Aaaah, the silly season is once again upon us. Anyway, enough babbling. Merry Christmas, everyone......happy holidays, and try not to stuff yourself senseless like I probably will.
Oh yeah, thanks so much for the reviews and emails!!!! Please continue, by all means.
A little (more) swearing in this chappie: I'll apologise in advance if Wheeler offends anyone. Tamer expressions such as 'Gosh' or 'Oh, Darn' don't seem to do justice to his personality..........
The Tunnel
Chapter Seven
"Wake up, monkey-boy!"
Roused from a restless sleep, Ma-Ti sat up suddenly and looked around urgently, unable to sense where the voice had emanated from. Not that he could see much: a dull glow in the far corner of the room cast some sparse threads of light in most directions, however not enough to make out objects or more importantly, people. Squinting and silent, Ma-Ti waited for another sign from his mystery visitor, 90 sure that it had been Gi who had whispered his name. After several minutes of listening to the laboured breathing of the other prisoners, Ma-Ti scratched his head and leaned back, feeling frustrated and helpless. His stomach rumbled yet again as he realised it had been around 18 hours since he had last eaten.
Resigning himself to the knowledge that he had probably dreamt it all, Ma-Ti sat back against the wall, aware that a guard had entered and was leering unpleasantly in his direction. Ma-Ti chose to take on one of Wheeler's bad habits and flipped the guard a middle finger salute. Unfortunately, he began to regret his decision when the guard became incensed and moved towards the cage at high speed, yelling at Ma-Ti and brandishing a baton-like weapon.
"Uh-oh" Ma-Ti thought, panic rising and now looking around desperately for something to defend himself with. Unlocking the gate to the cell, the man entered jauntily, face and ears bright red and still yelling at Ma-Ti in a guttural, foreign language. Bracing himself for impact, Ma-Ti closed his eyes.
"WATER!"
Numerous jets of of water burst out of the tunnel walls, hitting the guard's legs forcefully. Jumping to his feet, Ma-Ti moved away just in time as the guard crashed head-first onto the floor, rendering him unconscious. Stepping over the body, Ma-Ti turned and grabbed the keys from the lifeless warden. Exiting the cage, he moved cautiously across the room, noting that a few of his fellow prisoners were awake and alert. Grabbing the only lantern available, he found Gi immediately: smiling and waving insanely at him through the bars of her cell. Grinning back, he tried a couple of keys in the padlock before finding the correct one. Swinging the doors open, Gi jumped out and hugged her friend fiercely.
"I'm so glad you're OK, Ma-Ti! Sorry about scaring you, the opportunity was too good to pass up!"
"Where is Kwame? Is he here? Injured?"
"He will be after I'm through with him..." Gi muttered venomously. "I'll fill you in later. We'll let everybody else out and then find the others."
Several minutes later, the thankful captives were making their way up through the winding tunnels in droves, hoping to find their way out of the hot, oppressive environment.
"Uh, should that be happening?" Ma-Ti asked in a worried voice. The water that Gi had summoned earlier was still streaming out of the walls at a steady pace, now sloshing around their feet.
"I wasn't thinking that far ahead, to tell you the truth." Gi replied, also concerned. "C'mon, we'd better....."
"WHEELER!"
Linka's distinct voice echoed piercingly through the tunnels, followed by two sharp cracks: gunshots. The pair stood frozen in horror, unable to move.
"No...." Gi breathed in shock as Ma-Ti attempted to summon his power, forgetting that his ring was no longer on his finger. The Planeteer of Heart stared uncomprehendingly at his bare hand as Gi began to run in the direction the scream had originated. Shaken from his daze, Ma-Ti followed Gi, grabbing the lantern and following the frenzied splashing sound of her footsteps.
Wheeler had also heard Linka's screams as he ran. He slowed down, desperately wanting to return for her but knowing he'd be flattened in an instant by the Steroid-Pumping freak still actively pursuing him. As the gunshots rang out, the American came to a full halt, momentarily forgetting about his own problems. Wheeler held his breath, panic building up and now pervading his heightened senses. Turning blindly, he disregarded his own safety by re-activating his ring and tearing back in the direction he had just come from.
Upon rounding a sharp corner, Wheeler collided with what felt like a Mack Truck. His ring made contact with oily skin as an almighty roar erupted from the momentarily surprised muscle-bound villain. Briefly hunched over in pain, Wheeler's pursuer recovered quickly and grabbed the Planeteer's wrist. Still bellowing, the furious bald man smashed the American's hand twice against the wall above their heads to prevent him from summoning his power. Pain exploded through Wheeler's limb as the fragile bones were crushed in an unrelenting grip. As the remaining hand closed around the Planeteer's throat in a vice-like grip, a flood of water rushed past them, pooling around their ankles and continuing downwards.
'Muscle-Man' failed to notice not only this, but the sound of splashing behind him as Linka launched herself onto his back: scratching, tearing and biting whatever flesh her fingers and teeth came into contact with. Climbing up further, she dug her nails into the man's eyes, swearing at him in both Russian and English. Wheeler was dropped immediately to the ground, choking and gasping for air as his rescuer was thrown bodily into the water now flowing just below their knees. Dazed, Linka was dimly aware of an arm grabbing her round the waist and heaving her to her feet as the Muscle-Man's' fingers grasped blindly towards the place she had fallen.
The water now up to their waists, Wheeler held on to her tightly as their pursuer was swept past them in the rising waters, still bellowing in pain. Grabbing onto whatever supports he could find, Wheeler struggled to keep them both afloat as various guards and workers raced past them, screaming in terror.
"I think we're going for a swim, babe!" Wheeler yelled in her ear, observing the wall of water and mud heading their way. Whimpering, Linka held on to him, burying her face into his chest and tightening her grip, terrified that they would be buried alive. A familiar face headed towards them, yelling out to them. Unable to hear above the roar of water, Gi and Ma-Ti passed them at a rapid pace.
"LET GO!" was Gi's barely-heard command before she was swept away and out of sight.
"You've gotta' be fuckin' joking!" Wheeler bellowed after her, not receiving any reply whatsoever. "Shit!" he cursed, turning to face Linka who looked both frightened and utterly miserable. Sighing, he searched her face for confirmation that he could let go. Foreheads touching, she nodded, eyes downcast and sobbing quietly. Removing his injured hand from her waist, he gingerly touched her cheek with the pad of his thumb, wincing slightly in pain. Leaning in closer, he kissed her gently for several moments before drawing back.
"You ready, hon?"
"Not really." Came the barely audible reply, evidenced by the fact that her arms were still firmly wrapped around his neck.
"You go first, babe: I'll follow...."
Nodding hesitantly, she kissed him again briefly before disengaging herself carefully, aware of his injuries.
"See you soon, Wheeler."
With that, she was carried away, twisting and turning wildly until she disappeared from view. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off from the wall and let the flood waters carry him to an unknown destination.
Aaaaah, that's it for now: I'm going shopping!
Next chapters: Ba'ra is a little steamed about all the internal redecorating he'll have to do due to Gi's unintentional 'Wacky Waterworks!'. Seriously, she should charge admission, she'd make a killing! William's mum makes an appearance (Haha guess who? If you've read any of my past fics, namely Revelations, you might have an inkling). Cheyla also returns, and where did Kwame go?? No seriously, where did he go???
Sarah :-)