CHAPTER FOUR: THE ART AND THE CRAFT
Mirage plunged head first in the murky waters. The shock, similar to hitting a brick wall, almost knocked her out. Disoriented for a few seconds, not knowing where the surface was, she struggled in the dark, trying to gain a grip on anything that would tell her where she could be. She eventually touched the bottom, soft with mud and algae floating about. The plants, viscous and cold, enveloped her like the icy fingers of a dead hand. As she kicked frantically to try to get back to the surface, the muddy bottom just stirred, and the plants, like tentacles, wrapped themselves around her. Terror started to fill her mind.
Then through the mud, she saw the surface a meter away. Instead of reaching out instinctively to inhale precious air, she held herself back.
Mastering her emotions, she focused on the near surface and projected an Avatar. The image created lay motionless, floating like a ghost beneath the surface.
Mirage started swimming away from her copy.
As her head breached the surface, she managed to remain quiet taking her first breath. Looking behind and up, she saw the guards staring into the water below, pointing at her inert image. Inhaling quietly, she went underwater again, to swim farther away to a patch of water lily shaded by the trees.
Struggling through mud, she slithered silently out of the water, fighting not to slip back. As soon as she touched dry land, she got up to throw herself forward to crouch behind the nearest palm tree.
Mirage turned to look, and saw her double illuminated by the flashlights of the men higher up. Backing away slowly, staring at herself, she tried to keep the image from disappearing before she had reached the deep jungle.
Mirage was ten meters away, when her image dissolved into nothingness, even though she tried to keep it from vanishing. It was a futile attempt, for she knew she couldn't be further away than a certain point before losing control of what she had created. She tried again, but failed. There was no time for frustration.
Letting go of the image, Mirage turned and dashed into the now dark jungle.
The adrenalin flowing through her veins kept her going through the brush. Running as fast as she could, she could barely feel the pain coming from her bare feet as they were cut open from sharp rocks. The jungle was lashing at her as she ran, scratching and bruising her skin, branches and prickly shrubs like whips on her arms and face.
Coming suddenly upon a steep drop, Mirage couldn't stop in time. Losing her balance, she tumbled down to the bottom, a few meters below.
Bloodied and still dizzy from the fall, she managed to get up and move forward. Getting away was her only concern, knowing that if they didn't find a body, they would resume the hunt.
The fear she felt made her become totally aware of her surroundings; her senses were in high alert, keeping an ear and an eye for any sound or anything that moved. She wasn't even conscious that the darkness didn't matter. For her, the forest was lit by what could have been floodlights, leaving nothing to hide.
Anything sounding or looking remotely human would make her duck for cover.
Mirage rushed forward. Not knowing what direction she was taking didn't matter. Moving from harm's way was her only goal.
Coming upon a small clearing, Mirage looked up to see the large volcano that dominated the island. On its flanks, the compound was spread about like mushrooms growing on a tree. Had long had she run, she couldn't tell, but she could judge the distance crossed by eyeing the structures visible in the distance.
She realized she couldn't travel fast in the dense vegetation, and that, in a way, was reassuring; her pursuers would be struggling too.
Hope came upon her, for she now knew where she was.
In an instant, she decided where to go…
After running a few strides, she stopped abruptly. Grabbing the bottom part of her damaged skirt, she tore the fabric upward a few centimeters to remove a strip of excess silk. In a different situation, Mirage could have liked a mini skirt.
Mirage knew her steps led to the river…
The Temple would be her destination... It would only be a temporary haven though. She would have to move on, as she was still far away from safety.
Mirage was exhausted, running for what seemed hours in the dense jungle. Her legs were numb, but she felt her body burning from the ordeal of rushing forward through the brush. She was starting to be scared now, as she expected the river to be within reach.
But she still couldn't hear it.
Wondering if she hadn't run in circles, she started imagining what would happen if she'd been found. Forcing herself not to panic, she ran faster, almost blindly, pushing herself.
Her body had reached its limits. Stopping to take her breath, leaning against a tree, she heard above the pounding sound of the blood in her veins a reassuring, faint, rumbling sound.
She had reached the river.
She was just a few meters away from the water now. Feeling relief as she heard the water flowing somewhere in front of her, she ran again. Hope came back as she felt the sound of the water growing stronger.
Passing a tree with a very low branch, Mirage heard a voice that made her blood freeze.
"IDENTIFICATION, PLEASE."
Mirage had crossed the path of a Spy Parrot, one of Syndrome's lesser toys, spread randomly on the island. She immediately stood still, knowing these robots had limited visual acuity and were not able to discern a slow moving object. The thought of projecting herself away through an Avatar crossed her mind, but she decided against it, knowing the robot would pick it up.
Very slowly, Mirage started backing away from the mechanical bird.
The robot repeated its command: "IDENTIFICATION, PLEASE."
Mirage tensed up, and looked behind her. She had been out in the open, the protection of the trees a few meters away.
Stopping again, she held her breath. The bird stared blankly in her direction, its internal scanners seemingly confused.
Mirage stared at the robot.
The bird barked its order one more time. Mirage backed up again slowly, moving as smoothly as she could, towards the edge of the woods.
Not seeing the root of a tree sticking out of the ground behind her, Mirage stumbled backwards. Trying to regain her balance, her arms flailing in the air, she fell down.
The parrot suddenly straightened up. Mirage saw its eyes focus on where she stood. It opened its beak, and unfurled its wings. A loud intense shriek, strident and anxious, like a thousand police sirens combined, came out of its beak. The robot changed color, from bright blue to crimson red.
In the compound, a watchman jumped to alertness.
"Sir, we have a visual in sector Three G Five."
Saunders looked at the screen. What he saw made him clench his fists as he ran to the intercom.
"Team One, I thought you told me you had the target terminated! She's in the jungle!"
Saunders was screaming, boiling with rage.
The guard looked puzzled.
"Sir, we are still searching the perimeter down below the tarmac, we saw her body floating. The men should find her soon."
Saunders barked at the screen: "You idiots! Stop your search and head for sector Three G Five. She's alive!"
He was shaking with anger, but also with anguish. Saunders would have preferred it if she had been dead, certain things would have been easier.
Mirage was a Super, and that scared him.
But there were also advantages of having her still alive…
"Bring her back to me, and Team One, bring her back unharmed. She's worth a lot to me. That's an order."
Saunders stared at the screen:
"Don't mess up or I'll have your head."
"Yes, Sir." The guard looked worried as the screen went blank.
Mirage covered her ears to protect them from the deafening sound the parrot made. The sound was so loud it was disorienting. Spotting a loose branch on the ground, she rushed and grabbed hold of it. Aiming at the bird, she swung as hard as she could. The branch crashed into the robot, shattering it into pieces. As it fell to the ground like a rock, springs and cogs flew everywhere.
Silence fell on the forest again.
Mirage ran toward the river ahead.
She finally reached its edge. Its waters were rough, the current fast. Mirage looked around, and saw a branch large enough to hold onto in the water. Picking it up, she carefully started wading into the river. As the water got deeper, her feet finally lost contact with the bottom. She grabbed hold of the slippery branch, but it was difficult not to go under. She hung on to it like a buoy.
The current accelerated slowly, taking her to the middle of the river.
Mirage heard a familiar rumbling sound coming from higher above. Taking a deep breath, she ducked underneath the branch, just as three velocipods came in flying above her, hovering for a moment, and then moving on towards the forest.
The current would take her to the ocean in about an hour. There, she would just have to swim briefly to the Temple.
The Temple was the nickname given to a small cottage by the ocean that Syndrome had built, a retreat from the island when everything else was too much for him. It had the advantage of being very low profile, barely equipped. He had taken Mirage there a few times. She had liked its simplicity…
The current was slowing down now. Mirage was approaching the mouth of the river. The water started smelling salty, turning slowly to a cool shade of blue. She finally floated out to the open sea. The warm tropical waters were beautiful, like dark transparent crystal in the near ending night. She let go of the branch as she felt the current taking her too far away.
About one hundred meters down the beach the cottage lay quiet, enveloped by palm trees.
Mirage didn't have the luxury of enjoying her tropical swim. In her escape attempt, her feet were cut by the rough terrain, as her body was bloodied and bruised; sharks could smell a drop of blood from miles away. She only had a couple of minutes to get out of the water.
Her heart was pumping when she reached the beach. All was quiet and empty, just the gentle wind through the trees. The beach of golden sand stretched to infinity.
The Temple was reassuring in its stillness. Syndrome had never mentioned its existence to any of the lesser personnel on the island. He took pride in having secrets of his own, it made him feel stronger, enjoying the satisfaction of deceiving everyone in such a simple way.
Mirage knew she would have about twelve hours of peace, before Island Security would eventually come around as they searched the island. Having lost her track a few kilometers up into the forest, they hadn't figured that the river was a fast and discreet way of travelling. She knew, that because of the parrot, probably all personnel had been mobilized in the sector where it had sounded the alarm.
She would have to prepare…
The small cottage, humble in comparison to the lavish architecture of the compound, was still well furnished and accessorized: complete kitchen, large bedroom overlooking the ocean. The bathroom was luxurious, delicate, covered in hand-made tiles with fine engravings. A Jacuzzi bath lay in one corner. A large shower, enclosed in unpolished glass that let daylight seep through, dominated the room.
Mirage walked slowly inside the bathroom. Her body was tired, aching, hurt. She longed for comfort. Turning the shower on, she adjusted the temperature of the water. She slowly removed what was left of her skirt, took her dark top off. As she unclasped her small silk brassiere, she massaged her aching arms. She took off her underwear and entered the shower.
The water felt good running down her body. Mirage took a bottle of shampoo, opened the cap, and enjoyed the fragrance. Her fingers ran through her hair as she massaged her scalp slowly. The pressure of her fingers, after a while, helped her forget where she was. Grabbing a sea sponge and covering it with body soap, she lathered herself absentmindedly.
Staring into nothingness, letting the sponge be the guide, she began to feel reassured.
She was far away… Far away from herself and the tropical hell she was on.
Mirage heard a faint sound coming from the outside. Grabbing a towel, she got out of the shower to listen furthermore. She looked out the window. What she had heard was a group of dolphins playing a few hundred meters off shore, in the now barely risen sun. In as much this was a false alarm, the sound brought her back to reality.
A surge of despair went over her.
She would have to go back.
Mirage looked inside the bedroom again. Everything seemed still for a moment.
Catching Mirage's attention, in one corner of the bedroom, laid a full body mirror tilted on its stand. Mirage walked to it. Staring at her reflection, she looked tired, bruised all over.
Mirage felt rage, slowly unleashing itself.
"Why me? Why… me?" She said out loud. "What have I done to deserve this? Why me?"
She could have been shouting now.
The reflection in the mirror seemed to want to answer…
"Because," it said, softly.
"I'm tired," she muttered angrily. "I'm tired of this goddamn game. I'm tired…"
She felt defeated.
"Tired of being me."
"You have no choice," said the mirror, calmly. "You must go back and finish what you started. You will never, never find peace if you don't."
Her reflection leaned closer. It whispered to her.
"Mirage Moresso… You have to go back..."
"Don't call me that!" Mirage yelled at herself.
"You know who you are," the reflection said, defiantly. "You know..." The image smiled.
Mirage backed away from the mirror. She felt blood rush through her veins as she made a fist and slammed it in the glass surface. Pieces shattered and fell to the ground. Her image lay multiplied and fragmented in the broken shards. Her fist was bloodied; she looked at it, but felt no pain.
Stumbling backward, Mirage slowly collapsed to the floor and started sobbing.
Elsewhere on the island, Saunders was raging. They had lost her trace.
Mirage got up. Opening a chest of drawers, she took out clothes she had left for herself. She loved to exercise outdoors, and the pristine beach was the perfect setting. She took out pale yellow Lycra and Spandex gym pants, with matching short sleeve top and sport bra, putting them on quickly. In the closet, was a pair of sturdy running shoes, light and comfortable.
Mirage then hesitated. She went to the kitchen, opened the drawers and looked at the assortment of knives available. None of them seemed appropriate. She finally put them down and walked outside the cottage.
There was a small shed a few meters away from the house. It contained an assortment of tools, and most important, complete scuba diving equipment.
Mirage found what she was looking for…
In its sheath, near the tanks and wet suit, lay a large stainless steel diving knife. The highly polished blade, serrated on one side, was heavy in her hand, but comfortable. She took the sheath and tied it around her right upper-leg.
Let's hope I don't ever have to use it, she thought.
Taking a small backpack, she found a full water bottle and put it in.
Mirage walked outside in the morning sun. A whole day was left, she would leave at dusk. She stopped to feel the stillness in the air. How ironic that her surroundings could be perceived as a perfect match of space and time. The sea was beautiful, gentle waves coming to the beach. The wind was perfumed with the scent of wild flowers growing about. The palm trees, shivering slightly in the wind when it picked up, made moving shadows on the ground.
Mirage stood there, but simply could not enjoy the moment. Reality soiled it, destroying its beauty.
So be it, she said to herself.
As she stood there, she focused on a point in front of her. She wasn't angry anymore, nor scared. She was at peace, as much as she could be in the moment. She concentrated.
A thin silvery halo formed about ten meters away. Like coming out of a haze, Mirage's Avatar materialized in front of her. She looked at it, as it looked back at her. Instantaneously, without even thinking, Mirage was transported within her image as the image took her original place. She now looked upon where she had stood a second earlier. She then took a breath, focused, and felt projected back to where she had been.
Mirage tried again, projecting herself in her avatar back and forth, as fast as she could. She succeeded for about twenty times before collapsing into exhaustion, never being able to go beyond that point in one try.
What strange powers I have, she thought, frowning as she looked at the sea.
I can't even transmutate through a wall, even less if I'm touched by anything or anyone…
She thought of Syndrome, and cringed.
I wish I could fly, just that… Then I could get the hell out of here…
She felt helpless.
Mirage went back to the cottage. Sitting down on a lounge chair overlooking the ocean, she looked up to the sky. She secretly prayed that she would see daylight again.
Mirage knew where she had to go.
Waiting for night to fall, she would head for the north side of the island. She would try to reach the volcanic mountain side.
There was only one way back in.
She would have to go through the sewers…