Survival
Chapter 9: On the Hunt
"Good morning Jack." There was no warmth or "good" in that voice emanating from behind him. It only promised more pain. "I see you are recovering well. Too bad the Guardians have no idea where you are. I am sure they are searching now in a blind panic. Poor fools."
"What are you talking about?" What did his healing have to do the Guardians looking for him?
"You don't know... Well, let me explain it in a way your simple mind will understand. You are a parasite. You are leaching energy and magic from your fellow Guardians to heal yourself. You are being a burden to them and they must be desperate to put a stop to it before they are all drained as well, unable to complete their jobs or protect those innocent children they hold so dear. You are endangering them all and everything they protect. If anything happens to them, it will be all your fault."
"No. I can't be. How do I stop it?! What have I done wrong?!"
"Calm yourself, little snowflake. I am holding off my new fearlings for the moment, but the duration all depends on you."
"What do I have to do?"
"Hold still."
"... That's it? Hold still? Done!"
Pitch could not hold back his chuckle as the next phase of his revenge was initiated. 'Too easy.'
"Bunny! Sandy! Did ya find anything?" North was questioning them mid stride even before they could all properly sit down for a discussion. They were all back in Santoff Clausen; well, all but Jack. "We check all around the pond, tree and Burgess. No sign of anyt'ing! Not even frost!"
"Pitch. It was Pitch. That bloody demon has Jack."
Tooth's wings hitched then started fluttering at supersonic speeds in terror. "Pitch! You sure!"
"Yes we're sure! Sandy, show 'em."
Holding out a golden palm, several black grains of sand were visible for all to see. The images of a mare, a fort and a moon formed above his head.
"They were formed a fortnight ago? Two weeks? That's impossible!" North was still in denial, but his hope was fading fast.
"'Tis true, mate. There wa' also evidence of a battle. Pitch's back. Don' know how, but he is. An' he's got Jack."
"We must find Pitch's layer! The hole it used to be in by Burgess was still sealed! What do we do?! We must find Jack! Pitch must be doing terrible things! Where do we start?!" Tooth was hyperventilating and zooming in circles above their heads. Her motherly instincts were in overdrive. "What if he hurts his teeth!" That last thought caused a look of horror to cross her face.
"Tooth, teeth will be fine. Is rest of him we need worry about. Now calm down. Sandy, where was that dream that was transformed into nightmare destined?" Backtracking was as good a place to start as any. Any clue would be helpful.
The image of China formed above the diminutive man's head. A country rich in history and the ghosts of war and long dead rulers.
"China? Ya sure Sandy? A tad warm there las' month for a frostbite."
He nodded his head. It had been destined for the dream of an elementary school girl who had a rough home life. 'Poor girl. She really needed a peaceful sleep that night; a break from her family and school to recover. I should have checked.'
"Right! Then to the sleigh!" Aster groaned as the jolly Russian made his pronouncement of doom upon the heads of the other guardians. Sure it was fast, but it was no guarantee to get there in one piece. To his surprise, Sandy was waving at them.
"Sandy what is it?" Tooth asked.
He made the image of his airplane above his head followed by a compass.
"You wan'a take us 'cause you know where it is? Sound good ta me. You North?"
"Da, would be best. Tooth?"
"I'm so excited! I've never ridden in a plane before!"
"Right, 'tis settled then. Sandy, to the window!" North bellowed changing direction and leading them all to the giant window. Opening it, he stepped out of the way so Sandman could work his magic. A marvelous enclosed aircraft formed out of the tendrils of glowing sand. Enclosed so as to ease Bunny's discomfort with the idea of flying. The short guardian donned his classic goggles and scarf nonetheless; no reason to dispense with tradition completely.
Once Sandman was settled in the cockpit, he motioned for the others to board. The craft was spacious enough for the brute of a northern warrior to fit comfortably. The engines started and they were off. Once clear of Santoff Clausen, he motioned for North forming a snow-globe image followed by scenes of Deqen, Yunnan. Luckily North was well versed in all towns of the world from his yearly excursions. In understanding, North pulled a globe and whispered their destination: a secluded mountain village near roaring waterfalls in the heart of China. Once through the portal they continued to fly until arriving at a tiny home where a little girl and her parents were sleeping.
It was a risky idea Sandman had come up with, but it may work. He formed a tendril of dream sand and sent it through the window to the slumbering child. Once it made contact it transformed into images of little boats on the river. They watched in horror as after a few moments the ships turned black and the river rose to swallow them, the swirling chaos shifting and solidifying into that of a glistening nightmare. She pranced in glee around the girl, sniffing at her cringing form before letting out a whinny and galloping off into the night.
Without a second to loose, the plane shot off after the elusive mare. She galloped and swirled, melting into shadows only to emerge again up ahead. Tooth summoned a swarm of her daughters to surround and head off the beast as Sandman brought a glass jar from his satchel. The tiny faeries were valiant and stuck together so as not to be swallowed as easy targets and corralled the fearsome nightmare as a lasso of dream sand settled around her neck causing the nightmare to dissolve into a stream of darkness being channeled into a clear prison.
Now, to somehow tinker with this nightmare to make her lead them to Pitch.
A/N Sorry for the delay, ILM is coming to take a few of us animation majors to intern next semester to work on the new Star Wars films so I have been slaving over my portfolio. Interview is October or November. Priorities!