UNDERGROUND LIBRARY

                   Chapter 8
The Rebel Gang, who set off later, had succeeded at getting to the middle of the sea of rage and the journey was smooth so far.

Kiko was completing an underdone sculpture while sporadically checking around them, the twins were doing their own thing and Miya was lost in the middle of Flynn's sixteenth lecture about the sea of rage.

Kiko had not spoken a word to her since her "crazy firing" incident. He did not even look at her when he was giving the final instructions before they set off.
Whatever had happened after was an unforgettable memory and she couldn't help but nostalgically reminisce them anytime she had the chance.

As she did, grunts and and moans cut through her memory and she came back to life. The noises got closer and louder.

Then she knew it.

Underwater Cannibals.

Now she was scared, more than how she was when Flynn had on told them about it.

     "These creatures can devour you in a single bite. Their long sharp claws are no match for any physical medium, not even the hard cypress the ship is made from."

She saw a head emerge from the water. The head had huge glistening eyes, long ears and canines that were too long to be called fangs. This creature looked like a vampire -except ugly - with too large ears and a rough face.

More heads appeared and the once quiet sea came alive with loud grunts - of hunger and anger.

Miya and Flynn, already standing, steadily but quickly moved towards the opposite edges of the boat and readied themselves for attack.

     "Do not fire yet, until I tell you to", Kiko told them.

As she waited as for Kiko's signal, their cue, sweat slided down her back, like a snake, tickling her a little.
As if being instructed, all the cannibals began to rise out of the water at the same time, exposing their naked, human -like bodies that glistened from the late afternoon sun. Miya clasped her hands together, ready to create fire.

     "Fire!"

The power was being drained out if her, she felt it. Never in her life had she shot that much fireballs. The sea was darkening with blood. Fortunately, their strategies were working out as planned.

She saw Flynn at the other end of the ship. Just like her, he was struggling to keep up with the creatures as he was becoming weak. But the creatures couldn't beat them because their strategies were working as planned.

     "Aim for their chest, that's their weakness", Flynn had told her countlessly.

Suddenly, the sea became calm, quiet. Flynn collapsed on the hard wooden floor, but Miya stood still. Contemplating on whether to stay put or fall, she abandoned herself to ambivalence.

Her thoughts were right.

Before she could realise it, their ship was hit very hard and each of them was thrown into the water.

Yuck. Salty bloody water.

Luckily, they could all swim. She looked around to see if they were all safe.

     "Is everyone alright?" Kiko shouted from behind her.

     "Yes!" They all chorused.

Before Miya could do anything else, Flynn's screams echoed through the air.

The clawed hand that surrounded his neck was lifting him high above the water, suffocating him also.

     "Cannibals are very strong creatures, Miya."

She looked around to see Kiko and the twins looking from the scene to her and back.

Understanding what they meant, she mustered all the courage in her and fired at the creature just before it could slit Flynn's throat with it's clawed index finger.

With the supernatural dexterity if the twin telepaths, the five youngsters were finally back on board, away from the danger and heading towards Matanceros.

     "Matanceros, here we come", a voice she quickly recognized as Kiko's breathed behind her as they all stared ahead.

                *************
     "Matanceros, here I am."

The place looked looked old but smelt magical. He began to sense the power the moment he stepped on the land.

From his research, the Matanceros insignia was a very significant symbol, as it was seen on almost every object he passed by.

Broken houses, some barely standing, some in shambles - all of them had the symbol on them. As he walked further through the quiet kingdom, the number of standing buildings proliferated and he became more hopeful.

Soon the palace -the largest building which was still in good shape - came into view.

Its marble walls, still shiny, the huge golden doors and the seven statues displayed the royal reverence this building had.

Wait.

The Seven Statues.

The book had said nothing about statues.

The statues showed seven men each holding something in their outstretched hands. Looking closer, he realized there were writings under them.

SOLEIL

LUNE

CIEL

VENT

TONERRE et ECLAIRS

FEU

NATURE VERTE

The first statue was holding the sun, the second the moon. The third had a perfect illustration of the night sky in his hand and the fourth was holding the wind. Pierre saw thunder and lightning  in the palms of the fifth and fire in the hands of the sixth.

The seventh statue was holding a shrub.

He walked past the statues and stood at the front of the huge gate. He pushed it lightly and it opened wide - to his surprise -
wide enough for him to see the interior before stepping in.

The palace looked empty. There were no people but everything was in place, like its inhabitants left just a minute ago.

Pierre found himself drawn to the golden throne, where Matano used to sit. Sitting on it, he felt like a king. He savoured every feeling his position was giving him now.

Then he began to daydream.

     "Your Royal Highness, Your Royal Highness,.........", was  what he kept hearing.

Suddenly the old voice came back.

     "Don't forget why you are here, Pierre. All these and more will be yours when you get the crown."

Succumbing to the voice, he rose from the throne and set his mind on finding the underground cave, his footsteps making no noise on the shiny marble floor.

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Thanks for taking your time to read UNDERGROUND LIBRARY. It really means a lot to me.

A big thank you to those who vote, comment and add to their reading lists. I'm very grateful.

I will like to dedicate this chapter to Jhosphyn, a very good friend of mine. Her support and encouragement has contributed immensely to bringing me this far.

Gracias girl

Please do your best to also check out Fading Away, her book. It'll mean a lot to both of us.

Thank you all.

Merci.

Gracias.

Maraming Salamat.

 
                                        - R.A.S