Iridescent
Chapter Thirty
~Leavin’~
After the
Fall
Chaud sat by
himself on the roof. He gazed out on the tourist city as the sands of the
desert started to reclaim what was its own. The desert winds pushed the sand
into the streets of the city. Chaud was quiet, his hands folded under his chin
as he thought to himself. He waited patiently for something but in the meantime
he was alone with his thoughts.
The door to
the roof opened and Zara walked out. She spotted Chaud on the edge of the roof
and walked up to him. Zara lowered herself and sat down beside him. For a
moment, they didn’t say anything. She simply watched Chaud for a moment. Zara
smiled and shook her head.
“I can hear
the gears grinding from here,” she said. Zara leaned back, “Trying to figure out
the answers to the universe?”
Chaud looked
over at her and smiled, “Ah, yes, the age old question: Just how angry are my
folks going to be when I tell them what has happened?”
Zara looked
at him, “I think they’d just be happy to see you and Amber alive.”
Chaud raised
an eyebrow, “You don’t know my mother.”
“She can’t be
that bad,” Zara said.
Chaud stared
at her with disbelief. He just could believe what came out of Zara’s mouth. His
mother was probably the most frightening person he knew. Granted she was nice
when she wanted to be but if she found out you ate the last piece of
cake…well…let’s just say you’d have to buy her a wedding cake if you ever
wanted be on her good side again.
Zara narrowed
her eyes at Chaud, “What the heck are you looking at me like that for?”
Chaud shook
his head, “Sorry, its nothing.”
“How’s
Amber?” Zara asked.
“She’s doing
better than I thought she would,” Chaud answered.
Zara nodded,
“You doing okay?”
Chaud smiled,
“Doing a lot better than I thought I would.”
“Good,” Zara
said and looked out over the view.
There was a
moment of silence between them as they sat quietly. Chaud sat and watched Zara.
He opened his mouth and was about to say something when the rooftop door
opened.
Tempi walked out and crossed her arms, “There
you idiots are! Come on you two! Fang and his tagalong found the way out of
here. Let’s go!”
“I want to
kill her,” Zara muttered to Chaud.
Chaud
whispered back, “Come on now; don’t be like that.”
Together they
walked down to the lobby. They passed by a room where they kept Dante and his
crew. There were a few men keeping guard to make sure that they didn’t try
anything. After the battle went down the people who were sent away for their
safety returned and made themselves at home at the resort.
Chaud and
Zara followed Tempi outside. Fang stood off to one side with Shadow
nearby. Crow and Crane sat on a ledge
while Puppetmaster sat in the sand with Shuppet in his lap. Amber sat close to
him and talked to Shuppet as if she could understand. Miwa and Jekyll sat off by
themselves separately.
Zara walked
up to Fang, “You found the sub?”
“Surprisingly,
right where he said it’d be,” Fang looked at Chaud.
Chaud smiled
and shrugged, “And you ever doubted me?”
Fang glared
at Chaud, “You’d be surprised on how much I don’t trust you.”
“Who’s
coming?” Zara asked.
Tempi looked
over, “Most of you guys. Crow and Crane are staying along with my crew. Someone
needs to keep an eye on these civilians and keep them safe.”
Zara looked
at her. She sensed that there was a deeper reason to why Tempi wanted to stay. “I
hope you find them.”
Tempi looked
at her, “You worry about your own business. Get the Tower back. I’ll worry
about my own team.”
“Alright,”
Zara backed off.
Chaud walked
off toward his sister. She looked up at him, “Are we going soon?”
Chaud smiled
and crouched down, “Soon.”
“Will we get
to see mom and dad again?” Amber asked.
“We’ll see,” Chaud
said, “We’ll just have to see on that one.”
“Can you
teach me how to shoot a gun?” Amber smiled.
Chaud laughed
nervously, “No.”
“But Chaud!”
Amber cried, “Why?”
“Anyone who’s
going, pack your bag and let’s get on the road!” Fang called.
Zara walked
back into the resort to get the rest of her team. She listened as Chaud and
Amber had another argument about why he wouldn’t teach her how to use a gun. Puppetmaster
to took his leave. He walked beside Zara with a smile on his face. Zara looked
at him with curiosity.
“What are you
smiling about?” she asked.
Puppetmaster
smiled and waved a hand, “Nothing, just something Shuppet said.”
Zara sighed, “You
do realize they don’t say anything right?”
“That’s not
what they say,” Puppetmaster laughed.
Zara rolled
her eyes, “Are you coming with us to the mainland?”
“Well,
someone needs to keep an eye on you,” Puppetmaster looked down at her.
Zara crossed
her arms, “I can take care of myself.”
Puppetmaster
leaned into her, “Without blowing buildings up?”
Zara looked
at Puppetmaster with shock, “Did Chaud tell you!? I’m going to kill him! He said
he wouldn’t tell anyone!”
Puppetmaster
held her with one firm hand, “It wasn’t Chaud.”
“Then who?”
Zara stopped, “Miwa!! That little—!”
“Come on now,”
Puppetmaster pushed her along, “We need to get your things so we can get off
the Island.”
“But he—”
“Come on,”
Puppetmaster said, “Let’s go get ready.”
<<<>>>
The ocean breeze
blew in Zara’s face. They stood where the desert met with the ocean. She stood
on the beach and breathed in the salty sandy air. A set of cliffs rose to the
left of the beach. The rock eroded by the salt water to crate caves and
caverns. She heard the crunch of footsteps behind her. Amber ran past her and
ran to the water.
Amber splashed
in the water. The white wolf, Wini, stood nearby and watched with a stoic
expression. Chaud walked up behind Zara.
“We’re one step
closer to getting off the Island,” Chaud said.
Zara jumped
slightly. He was in her blind spot and hadn’t noticed him come up behind her.
She turned and glared at him.
“Unfortunately,
you might not be able to get off because I’ll shoot you,” Zara threatened.
“Do you
really not hear me coming?” Chaud asked. Zara was about to answer but Chaud looked
out at his sister, “Come on, Amber! Let’s get going!”
Zara looked
behind her at the top of the rise. The bus was currently empty as all who were
going were on their way down the hill to the beach. Crow and Crane stood by the
bus waiting for everyone to leave. Tempi and the rest of her gang were back at
the resort guarding it from anyone who thought it a good idea to attack. Dante
and his crew were chained together by the ankles. The idea was that they could
go free only after the submarine left the Island. Since their target would be
out of their reach, they wouldn’t be a threat. They stood together in front of
the two birds, Crow threatening them with a shotgun.
Zara waved at
them and Crane waved back. Crow simply nodded. Amber ran up to her brother. She
waved one last time to the wolf that had been with her. the wolf turned to her
before turning around and walking away into the desert. Chaud took her by the
hand and started walking to the network of caves. Miwa led the way, creating
light for the others to see where they were walking. Fang brought up the rear. They
followed the water as it flowed in and out of the caves. It reached an open
cavern where there was a large pool of water.
“Wait here,” Chaud
said to his followers.
He dove into the
water with Miwa close on his heels. The others sat around the edge and waited. Zara
sat on the ground and joined Amber in getting her feet wet. Several minutes
passed and nothing happened. Amber leaned out to look into the reasonably clear
water. Lights turned on in the water. Amber jumped up and stood by the edge.
Zara remained sitting.
The submarine
rose slowly to the surface, taking up the entire length of the cavern. It
looked like a giant black stingray with its shape and without the tail. The hatch
slid open and Chaud popped out.
“Sorry to
keep you waiting,” Chaud smiled, “It’s my first time driving one of these.”
Zara smiled
and rolled her eyes. To hide her smile, she stood up and walked on one of the
wings to the hatch. Chaud offered his hand in assistance but he waved it away
and dropped down into the sub. It was a lot larger than she thought. Though the
top was reasonably flat there was defiantly more under the surface. Miwa met
her when she landed.
“This way to
the women’s cabins!” Miwa’s tail waved as he walked off.
Zara followed
him. The rooms were small. It was expected in a submarine. There were two bunk
beds on either side. Zara turned and saw that there were a few more rooms as
well. There were four girls so they could have a room to themselves. The boys
on the other hand might have to share. Zara threw her bag on the bed and walked
out to explore.
There was a
gym and a cafeteria, a medical bay where Dr. Jekyll would probably spend most
of his time as the only doctor. The intercom crackled to life and Chaud’s voice
came on.
“Hello,
everyone. It’s a balmy 97°F today with a light brease. The ocean temperature 62.6°F but that will drop real fast as we descend
into the depths of the ocean. Please turn off all electronic devises and return
your tray tables to their original upright position. Thanks, this is your—oww!”
“This is you’re
captain speaking,” Fang’s voice said, “It’s about time we get the heck out of
here. Let’s get this thing running.”
“I was going
to say that,” Chaud could be heard saying quietly.
“But you’re
not the captain,” Fang stated.
“I led you
here, I swam for it, I got the engine started and I’m driving it! I think I deserve
to be captain,” Chaud argued.
“Not in a
million years,” Fang said. Fang talked into the mike again, “Either way, you
all might want to hold on to something.”
The sub
started moving forward through the caves and out to the ocean. The initial
start caused Zara to loose balance. She nearly knocked Amber over. They stood
against the far wall and smiled. Amber looked up at Zara.
“Sorry I didn’t
see you there,” Zara apologized.
“It’s
alright,” Amber smiled, “I can’t wait to see mom and dad.”
Zara smiled, “I’m
sure they’ll be happy to see you.”
Amber looked
up at her, “Do you think we can come back one day?”
Zara thought
a moment, “We have to. No matter what, we have to make things right again.”
“Good,” Amber
walked down the hallway, “because I would love to pass 6th grade. I had
my project ready and everything!”
Zara smiled
and walked after her, “We’ll get right on that.”
Amber ran off
to try to find her brother. Zara walked a few paces behind her watching her
carefree attitude. They had to fix everything. Even if it was only to make the
little girl happy again.
