CHAPTER SEVEN: SHADOWS IN THE MIST
The spaceship ploughed through the trees. Like the blade of an axe, the wings of the craft sheared off the top of the tree trunks of the dense forest. Jack struggled as he tried to keep control, but to no avail: The ship collided with a much larger trunk that would not yield, ripping off its left wing, sending the craft spinning head over heels. It flipped over once, and once more, making everything that had not been tied down inside fly everywhere. The ship had hit the ground now, bouncing and skidding, carving its way through the dense vegetation. It finally came to a brutal halt, having splashed into the middle a small bog-like lake.
Mirage and Jack were both stunned by the force of the landing. Emergency sirens now blared in the cockpit, urging them to abandon ship. The sounds shook them up, making them realize they were not out of trouble yet.
"Are you okay?" Mirage asked Jack, who looked more dazed that she was.
"Yes," he said, nervously.
Mirage looked outside. The gentle swaying of the spaceship and the fact the cabin was now tilted on a steep backwards angle told her they had not landed on solid ground. "We're floating," she said.
They had both turned around as she had said that, attracted by the creaking metallic sounds that the broken ship's hull made as it was starting to fill with water.
"We're sinking fast. We have to get out of here," Jack said as he pushed himself out of his seat. He went behind to assess the damage. He came back very quickly. "We can't get out from there, it's flooded. We'll have to go through the escape hatch."
Jack went behind the cockpit. A ladder there lead to the ceiling of the craft. Climbing it, Jack pulled the emergency opening lever, unlocking a small hatch. As soon as it popped open, a blast of air rushed out of the ship. They were now sinking even faster.
He helped Mirage climb out of the hull. They both now stood on top of the angled ship which rumbled as it filled with water, slowly going down.
They looked around. They had landed into the middle of what appeared to be a deep marsh. Its edges, lost in a thick fog, appeared to be within reach but far enough that they would have to swim to safety.
"I can reach the edges, but I can't take you with me," Mirage said to Jack. "You're going to have to swim for it." Jack just nodded as he looked at the water.
In a flash of light, Mirage disappeared, then to rematerialize on the edge of the bog. She stood there, waving for Jack to come over, as she saw the ship had not much time left above the surface.
What's taking him so long?, she thought, as she looked at the Lieutenant.
Jack had not moved. He still stood on the wavering ship, looking at the water as if he had been entranced by a spell. The ship then unexpectedly shifted as it sank, making him lose his balance. He struggled to stay up, but he slipped on the wet hull and fell off. He came bouncing hard on the edge of the wing that still protruded from the water. He gasped in pain and surprise as he loudly splashed in the water, and he disappeared under the surface.
Mirage had witnessed the whole incident: She now looked at the spot were the Lieutenant had fallen, only to see bubbles coming to the surface. She waited for a second, expecting the Lieutenant to reappear, but he did not.
Mirage glanced at the sinking ship again. In a flash, she transmutated across the marsh to reappear back on the top of the hull. She desperately looked through the murky waters, trying to locate the Lieutenant. She could not find him. Not wanting to wait any longer, she dove in.
The hot, foul smelling tropical waters were mud filled. Mirage could not see a metre in front of her. She instinctively swam down towards were she thought the Lieutenant might have been. She frantically groped around her. She went deeper, trying not to panic, as her hands still had found nothing.
Suddenly, her right hand felt she had finally caught up with him, as she felt hair underneath her fingers. She instinctively grabbed on to it, not taking the chance of losing him again. She grabbed Jack's collar with her other hand, securing a better grip, surprised that the Lieutenant had not reacted to her grasp. With all her strength, she swam towards the surface.
As she broke the water, gasping for air, she realized to her horror that the Lieutenant had lost consciousness. She struggled to hold his head above the water as his body was completely limp, feeling like a dead weight.
The ship was sinking much faster now, and had only a few seconds left before going completely under the surface. Mirage had wanted to get away from it as soon as she could. She swam on her back, holding the Lieutenant's head above the water. She reached the edge of the marsh. Mirage pulled hard to take Jack's body out the water, as the marsh's border had a very muddy and slippery slope. She had finally dragged him to safety.
The sinking ship's final moments then caught her attention: The cockpit of the ship had lifted to an almost upright position. It stood above the surface for a moment, bobbing up and down, and then slid down in the dirty waters in a horrible, gurgling sound. A moment later, the waters of the marsh had returned to stillness.
Mirage stood on the shore, trembling out of fear and disbelief. She now looked at the still unconscious Lieutenant. She did not understand what had happened to him as she saw him hit the wing. He should not have had such a reaction…
She examined him more closely. She gasped as she realized the Lieutenant's fall into the waters had more serious consequences that she had hoped for: Mirage had looked down at Jack's left leg. As he had slipped off the ship's hull, he had bounced hard on the leading edge of the wing. This had badly broken his tibia, as Mirage could see blood oozing from an open fracture, through the torn fabric of his suit. Jack seemed to have regained consciousness as he shivered and moaned now, his eyes still closed.
Mirage's heart was pounding hard now. She looked again at the Lieutenant's wound.
"Okay, hold, on," she said. Ripping away the torn fabric of his suit, she could now clearly see the broken bone's edge coming out of the skin. She now knew she would have to do something immediately. Not having the Lieutenant's help in such a place meant certain doom for both of them.
Mirage kneeled besides the Lieutenant. She held out her right hand, outstretched her fingers and gently placed her palm on Jack's face. He reacted for a second, like he would have had been complaining, but he then fell unconscious again. Mirage knew that her particular power could have a hypnotic, almost anaesthetic effect on whoever she applied it. But she also knew its effects would be short lived. She quickly moved to Jack's feet. She then grabbed the broken leg, lifting it up.
"You're going to have to forgive me for doing this, Lieutenant," she said.
Mirage leaned back, holding Jack's foot. Giving a sharp pull, she forced the broken bone back into position, trying not to cringe at the cracking sound it made. She put his leg back down on the ground.
Mirage kneeled besides him again but this time to focus her attention on the open wound. She held her hands open in front of it, fingers spread. She took a deep breath.
As she did that, a golden halo enveloped her hands. The radiation then spread over the gaping wound. Mirage breathed deeply, totally concentrated on the task at hand.
In a moment, the wound in Jack's leg had stopped bleeding. The scar thinned out, and disappeared completely. Mirage wiped the remaining blood away. There was no mark to be seen. Relieved, she sat besides him. She took his hand, waiting silently. The glow around her fingers faded.
The Lieutenant opened his eyes after a moment. He seemed pleasantly surprised to see Mirage looking over him, a kind expression on her face. He smiled at her as he then realized she held his hand.
"Where… Where were you all my life?" he asked her, weakly.
"Somewhere else," Mirage said softly, obviously relieved. "How do you feel?"
"I'm okay, I think," Jack said, although still unsure about what had happened exactly.
Mirage had a sigh of relief. "You know," she said hesitantly, "that for a moment, I thought I had lost you, Lieutenant..."
Mirage helped him sit up. "I don't understand, Jack... What happened?"
"It's the water, Mirage," he said. "It's my weakness. I can't…" He hesitated. "I can't swim. Water drains my powers. Too much of it, and I collapse. I'll sink like a rock."
Mirage raised an eyebrow. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Why… Why did you not tell me this?"
Jack acted aloof. "Nah," he said in a dismissive tone. "I guess it slipped my mind."
"Men…" Mirage said, rolling her eyes.
He looked flustered. "Hey," he said. "All Supers have weaknesses, you know. What's yours by the way?"
"I'm half human," Mirage said. "And that's enough."
Jack got up slowly, wavering a bit as he stood up. He rubbed his leg and gave Mirage an astonished look.
"You know, but… I feel… Fine," he said, as if in a drug induced daze. "Actually, I feel very, very, good." He put his hand on her shoulder as his legs were still wobbly. "I think you just saved my life, Mirage Moresso…" He seemed to have trouble speaking. "Thank you. You're quite a gal… I like you a lot, you know?" He smiled. "Hey, that makes us even now."
Mirage smiled. "It's one of the side effects of my healing powers. They should dissipate pretty soon. And by the way, I wasn't counting," she added in a slightly reproaching tone. "Like I said, I wish you would have told me about this."
He sighed as he looked at the marsh where the ship once had been. "It's sad," he said, "I really liked that ship."
He glanced at the portable computer on his left wrist. "According to my GPS marker, we are about three days away in walking distance from our destination. There's nothing for us here, now. Might as well be on our way."
"But what about getting back?" Mirage asked him. "We've lost the ship. How are we going to return to present time Earth? I don't dare think we have to return here after the mission." She looked around, "It would be most unpleasant..."
"No, we're very fortunate," Jack said. "We can calibrate the machine to store enough energy to take with us for a return trip back to our time, but also back to a place of our own choosing. I'll program it to return us to our city. The machine will be strained, no doubt about that."
"Then let's be on our way, shall we?" Mirage said, as she had started walking with a brisk pace in the direction Jack had pointed to.
Only as Mirage had stepped inside the thick jungle that bordered the marsh that she became aware of her surroundings: She and Jack had landed in the densest of forest Mirage had ever seen: All around them, gigantic trees -almost pre-historic in their appearance- grew everywhere, shrouded in a hot and sweltering fog. A slippery moss covered the soil Mirage and Jack walked on, as they struggled to move forward, their path blocked by vegetation that had sprouted everywhere. The foliage had grown out of control and seemed menacing, as some of the plants leaves looked as sharp as razor blades, and others, prickly as cactuses. Mirage looked up at the canopy of the trees, listening. They were surrounded with life. The more Mirage's ears became accustomed to the sound of the forest, the more she heard: A bird in the distance. The chirping of what could have been on Earth an extremely large cricket. The snapping of a twig, the rustlings of leaves, and not too far from her, the sound of something slithering below the bush.
Mirage remembered the island of Nomanisan. It had looked like paradise in comparison to where they were now.
"Mirage, hold on," Jack said, trailing behind her. "It's getting darker." She stopped to wait for him. "You can still see far ahead. Can you tell me anything about what's around us?"
"There isn't much there," Mirage said, as she glanced around. "Only shadows, in the mist."
"I would advise you to stay with me. This place is not very friendly," Jack said, as he had approached her.
Mirage seemed reluctant to heed his word of advice. She walked on, leaving the Lieutenant trailing behind her. "I seem to have the advantage right now, Jack. Just tell me where to go," she said.
Jack warned her again. "Look, this is not the time to be brash here, but I can tell you this, you don't know what you're up against right now…"
Mirage halted and turned to him. "Lieutenant, I'm fine. I know what I'm doing... I'm familiar with jungles. I'm not an amateur, you know. I'm not going to start wandering around and touch everything I see. Like I said earlier, I have the upper hand, here. So for once," she said as she crossed her arms, "Just tell me the GPS direction and we'll be on our way…"
She had not noticed the slithering vine that was silently creeping towards her. The tentacle-like appendage froze for a second as it came in contact with Mirage's foot. It did not move for a moment.
And then, with blinding speed, the vine wrapped itself around her ankle. Mirage screamed, as she was violently pulled off her feet, crashing face forward to be then dragged towards a large, prickly bush behind her. Jack stood where he was, totally petrified by surprise.
Mirage screamed again as the plant that had grabbed her had now lifted her completely off the ground. She stood suspended in mid air by her ankle and the tentacle had brought her to hang above the base of the very large plant it seemed to belong to.
Jack had rushed towards her but he suddenly stepped back, to avoid being caught in the grasp of other vines that had sensed his presence. The tentacles groped around blindly on the ground, trying to find their next prey.
"Jack!" Mirage cried out, terrified. To her horror, the plant below her had suddenly opened: It had split in half to reveal an enormous open mouth. It seemed to salivate, as an acrid, viscous ooze flowed abundantly, covering the myriad of small worm-like tentacles that lined its insides. As Mirage struggled to try to free herself, more vines whipped out, to wrap themselves around her body, making her escape even more impossible.
Mirage panicked even more as she realized she could not transmutate to safety. Terrified, she now knew her transmutation powers were still rendered useless by being in contact with a sufficiently large living organism.
Jack had assessed the situation and quickly knew what to attempt: He pointed his finger at the base of the carnivorous plant. A bolt of electricity came out of his hand, and struck the ground. The plant jerked and contracted, visibly hurt by the electric shock, but Mirage had been affected by the bolt also. That made Jack change his plans.
He stepped forward and stamped hard on the ground. In an instant, the threatening vines rushed out towards the source of the vibration he had caused. He pointed his finger again. This time, a bluish halo came out of his hand, enveloping the vines. As soon as he had captured them, Jack yanked his arm hard away from him. The plant emitted a deep, gurgling shriek as its hunting appendages were ripped out of the ground.
The plant had now drawn Mirage into its gaping mouth. She felt the plant's mouth slowly close on her, the small, cold tentacles grasping at her skin, pulling her down towards the belly of the monster that held her.
"Hold on," Jack screamed, as he had approached the edge of the plant's mouth.
"Jack!" Mirage yelled. "Get me out!"
"What do you think I've been doing? I'm trying, damn it!" the Lieutenant said, as he frantically looked around the base of the large vegetable. "I can't use my powers, I'll fry you if I try…"
The Lieutenant paused for a second. He had just noticed that the plant he had been fighting with had been growing on the side of a steep rock covered slope. As he looked down, he could see the plant grew on a large stem, coming out of the ground below.
Jack did not wait a second. He tumbled down, crashing to a halt beside the exposed base of the plant. He got up, to create immediately a zero point energy force field aimed at it. With all his force, he yanked his hand outward. The force field he had created ripped the root of the plant right off the ground.
The monstrous vegetable shrieked again as it had been mortally wounded. It wriggled and twisted on itself, its severed stem spewing a foul smelling, pus like liquid.
Jack had climbed back just in time to see the dying plant spit Mirage out. She now lay on the ground in a pool of fluid, the plant behind her deflating slowly, expiring in its own foulness. The vines that held Mirage had now loosened.
Jack helped her to get untangled. "I've told you to wait up," he said. "This place is really dangerous. You just shouldn't trot out like that. We need to stay together around here." He looked at her, nodding his head reproachfully. "Well, at least, you're not hurt." As he got closer, he suddenly lifted his nose at her. "Whoa, I'm sorry to say this, but, Mirage, you don't smell very good right now…"
"I hate you," Mirage said, as she pushed the last dead vines off from herself.
The Lieutenant seemed unfazed by her comment. "No you don't," he said, "You actually like me, but you'll never dare admit it…" Mirage's face was turning slowly turning livid now. "Oh, yes," he added in a sarcastic tone, "Princess Moresso can't like anyone... It's that 'I'm a Super… I work alone' thing…"
Mirage burst out at him. "Lieutenant," she said, exasperated, pointing a finger at him, "you… are the most pompous, cocky, foolish, immature, crazy, suicidal lunatic I've ever met!"
"I'm a nice man, I know, thank you very much," Jack said with a wry smile. "You forgot to mention that I'm an excellent pilot," he added with a cocky smile.
"You are calling what we've been through flying?" Mirage said, amazed at his audacity. "I would rather call it falling with a lot of luck".
Jack was obviously ticked off by her comment. "You… Are so… Difficult, you know that? You've been a major pain in my lower side ever since the moment I was assigned to you." He frowned at her. "I should have reconsidered and left you with Zordel…"
Mirage looked outraged. "How dare you say I'm difficult?" she said. "How dare you say this to me?" She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "I am now regretting saving your life earlier also," she said, still snapping at him. "I should have let you drown… It would have been a service to both of us."
"Of course it's not important that you would have had become plant food by now, if it wouldn't had been for me," Jack said.
Mirage raised her chin in defiance. "I had everything under control," She said. "I would have been perfectly capable of getting out by myself. I was just about to succeed when…"
"Mirage, your suit…" Jack said, unfazed by her angry comments as he had pointed out to her suit.
"What!" She yelled.
"Mirage, you should control your emotions a little bit more." Jack said with a smile. "Your suit… It's glowing right now…"
Mirage was embarrassed as she had now noticed. The glow from her suit had been strong enough to illuminate the small part of the forest they were in. It had started to attract a myriad of nocturnal insects, which now buzzed about Mirage's head. She suddenly jumped as a very large moth, attracted by the light, came flying in from the darkness to bump her straight into the face. Jack laughed.
Mirage suddenly felt as she had been beaten. She slowly kneeled, to sit on the ground, staring at the darkness in front of her. The glow of her suit had faded. She held back tears.
Jack had come up to her. He kneeled down, to put his hand on her shoulder. "You're safe," he said quietly. "And that's what really counts. We're going to be okay. We just have to be careful…" Jack looked around. "I don't think we should move during the night. There is a small clearing right over there. I think we should camp. I'll make a fire. It will keep the nasty stuff away... We needn't worry about the moths. They are annoying, but harmless." Mirage agreed to that.
They were on the move again at the crack of dawn. Following Jack's GPS device, they walked slowly through the dense vegetation, stopping only at nightfall. The forest was unyielding: Jack and Mirage lost count of the number of times they had to go through wet, waist deep marshes that they could not find other ways to cross. The deeper the water was, the weaker the Lieutenant became. Mirage supported him as much as she could, always relieved when they reached dryer land.
Mirage had never complained to Jack about the dreadful conditions they were in. She did not want to diminish the fact that he also had been relentlessly optimistic about their situation. She admired that he seemed totally unaffected by what was going on. It was to Mirage as she needed his optimism, for as time went by, and their struggling in the forest having no end in sight, she had more and more difficulty resisting the dreadfulness of despair.
They had been walking upward for quite a while now. It suddenly dawned on Mirage, reviving her hopes, that the oppressive humidity and density of the jungle had faded a bit as the trees and vegetation around them had become thinner, and the ground dryer and more firm. The fog had also lifted partially, enabling them to see further ahead. Jack walked quietly besides Mirage, and he had noticed the improvement also. Coming upon a clearing, they suddenly stopped, freezing in their tracks. Looking ahead, they both saw it at the same time: They had reached a path.
There was no doubt to be had over the fact it had been intentionally built: The trail was paved with cobblestones, all even and meticulously placed. The small paved road snaked away from them to disappear in the surrounding trees farther ahead.
"We're almost there, Mirage," Jack said, relieved. "This path will lead us directly to the machine. It's higher up in the mountains. The worse is behind us now."
"It looks ancient," Mirage said as she looked at evenly worn out stones. "Did humans build this?"
"No," he said. "It was built before our first exploration team came here. We have no idea who did this... It stops at the base of the mountains. Where the machine is now."
"Follow the yellow brick road," Mirage said lightly, as they headed forward.
The vegetation around them disappeared completely, leaving bare rock, after they had been walking up for a few hours. The altitude air had become brisk and a cold wind blew from time to time, sending shivers up Mirage's back. Night had fallen long ago. Lamps, erected here and there on the edge of the walkway, gave off a faint bluish light. Upon looking closer at one of them, Mirage noticed they were actually tall, luminescent mushrooms, as old as the path itself, gently and gracefully arched above it.
After climbing even more, the thin atmosphere beginning to slow down their pace as they struggled to breathe, Jack suddenly came to a halt. He looked relieved. Pointing up, he showed to Mirage that the path they were on ended just a few hundred meters away from them. It had led to a closed massive bronze door encased in the side of the mountain. Besides its frame, a familiar hand recognition keypad glowed.
"We're. We made it. All we have to do is get inside," Jack said, slightly out of breath.
They had reached the door. Jack had stepped in front of the keypad. He put his hand on it, waiting anxiously for the door to react. As nothing happened for a few seconds, Mirage and Jack were becoming worried. But before panic had set in, they suddenly heard the rumble of heavy mechanical parts being set in motion behind the stone walls. The door opened, and a rush of warm, stale air blew out. The opening led on to a long, darkened corridor. Jack and Mirage stepped in.
They were walking straight into the steep mountain side. Having gone forward for a few hundred metres already, they were engulfed in total darkness now. If they turned around, only Mirage could see the door's opening, as a faint dot of light. They walked with assurance, Mirage clearly seeing that there were no obstacles to avoid.
They had reached another door now, closed like the first one, with another keypad besides it. Jack put his hand on it. Once again, they waited a moment before the rumble of the opening mechanism was heard. Mirage had stepped back as the door had opened, astounded by what she could now see before her.
The door lay on the edge of an enormous cavern. Its walls were bare rock, carved directly from the mountain. But what stunned Mirage the most was that a large pyramid had been erected there and like the cavern around it, the pyramid had colossal proportions.
Jack and Mirage stood on a small platform from which stone stairs led to the base of the pyramid, way below. Having nowhere else to go, they started walking down. Mirage guided Jack as he could not see. The steps having no guardrail, he could have had fallen off easily, to certain death.
"There is a light source we can activate," Jack said. "Somewhere around here, it should be on a keypad."
Mirage had already found a small pedestal with a human hand drawn on it. She put her palm against it. The ground shook slightly as the rumble of machinery resonated on the cavern's walls. Mirage had activated the pyramid's systems. The structure had started to glow with a warm yellow light that slowly had started to fill the whole room. Jack was impressed as he could now actually see the cavern they stood in.
"This is it, Mirage, our own time portal," Jack said, talking loud above the sounds of the machinery. "We wouldn't have been able to do this back on Earth. It would have taken too much energy." He looked up. "It's the pyramid, Mirage... The ancient Egyptians were on to something when they built them. We still don't understand what it is, but it acts as a power concentrator."
Jack took Mirage to the edge of the pyramid. It had an opening in the middle of its side, leading to a chamber directly in its center. It was an intensely lit area, its highly polished walls reflecting the brightest of white light. Jack walked to a control panel embedded in one of the walls. He quickly manipulated its virtual controls. As soon as he did so, Mirage felt the chamber they were in fill up with static electricity.
The air started to crackle as sparks flew out of nowhere. Jack and Mirage had stepped back, looking at the center of the chamber. The electrostatic charges seemed to converge towards it. A sphere of light had now materialized, growing in size as the bolts of electricity came into contact with it.
"We're almost ready, Mirage," Jack said as he grabbed her hand. The sphere had stopped growing in size, being large enough to let them both in. It now hummed loudly. The violent electrical charges had stopped.
"Come on," Jack said. He and Mirage walked over. Jack put his hand on the sphere, making a door silently slide open.
Mirage looked in. The sphere's insides were bathed in a warm light. It had two comfortable seats and on the opposite end of the door, a small control panel. Jack hopped in, Mirage in tow.
As soon as they had settled in their seats, the opening sealed itself. Jack had not touched anything and Mirage felt the sphere jerk forward. She grabbed her seat, as she suddenly felt the sensation of falling, faster and faster, in a similar fashion as when they had jumped through the worm hole.
The sphere shook more and more as they accelerated. Mirage tried not to mind the discomfort she felt as the sphere ripped through space and time. Jack pointed to the walls of the sphere. They had become translucent, and once again, the vastness of space visible beyond them stunned Mirage by its magnificence: As they traveled through hyperspace, she could see galaxies stretching, as if being made of rubber, their white light separating into its full spectrum, a rainbow of colours, from red to blue.
Suddenly, it felt like they were slowing down. Mirage thought that for a second she had been able to catch a small glimpse of a planet that she knew could not had been any other than the Earth. But they were still moving so fast, that when Mirage blinked and opened her eyes again, she could not see star filled galaxies anymore. Mirage's heart raced, as she could now see that they had reached their destination: Daylight now flowed through the sphere's transparent walls. Jack and Mirage had landed in the middle of a field.
"Come on," Jack said, reaching out to Mirage who looked slightly stunned.
The sphere's door had slid open. Mirage held her breath for a moment, before inhaling deeply. The air was cool and refreshing. She stepped out to put her foot on the soft ground. She had not been dreaming this: The time machine had brought them into the middle of a grass covered knoll filled with wild flowers, surrounded by large trees that had leaves floating in a gentle breeze. The mid afternoon sun that shined felt good as its rays warmed Mirage's skin. Not a sound was heard, except for the chirping of birds amongst the rustling of the leaves.
"Welcome home, Mirage," Jack said.