ACADEMY FOR THE DAMNED

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Dee was immediately responsive. She ran about the screaming, cowering teenagers.

"Link hands, form a chain."

Despite their terror, Dee's commands had an effect and the teenagers grouped into a ring linking hands. Some protested but Dee silenced them, barking orders at them. The commands pierced through the collective terror. Dillon understood the girl wanted to protect the teenagers, and he urged the rest to follow her lead.

Or it may have been simple self-preservation on his part, the group goes, they all go.

Who cares?

Juliette's prone body lay in the centre. The teenagers looked out at the monster. It had almost finished its meal and that single eye regarded them all.

"Imagine a shield, imagine it as a big red shield over you, over us all. Do it! Now!"

Naked terror compelled them to do as Dee said. Though Dillon strongly doubted he had psychic ability he nonetheless linked hands and pictured in his mind a huge red shield like an umbrella over them all. If it did not work they were all dead but if it did ...

The monster shot out its tongue once more and the tongue struck something solid and bounced off an invisible barrier and then Dillon saw it, a glimmering red cover over them all. The tongue leapt out again and was stopped in mid-flight by the shield. The group gasped,

"Hold steady!" cried Dee. "Don't lose concentration."

"We gonna stay like this forever?"

"No we walk slowly, maintain the shield," said Dee.

"That thing will follow."

"We go to the dimensional gate. Come on people, work with me!"

A hundred reasons why Dee's ideas could not work all crashed into Dillon's mind at once. Yet as soon as he doubted Dee's leadership a switch seemed to open inside Dillon's head and he felt himself reaching out, calling to some primitive mind in this world, a mind separate from his own, He found the mind and it responded to him.

"Help is coming!" he shouted.

"What?"

There was a flurry of grey mist close to them and within, a gigantic form emerged. Something appeared that was like an elephant with great thick legs like tree stumps and its hide was covered in dense white fur and a whip like appendage snaked out from its rear holding a single eye. Two more whip like appendages held small necks with snapping crocodile like jaws.

The elephantine creature crashed into the giant toad and both beasts twisted and spat and snarled at each other. The crocodile heads snapped at the mound of multi coloured flesh and tore pieces of it. The circle broke up. Dee stared at Dillon.

"You did this!!"

"Let's move!" cried Dillon. "Let's go." He looked around. "Where's Juliette."

"I'm here," she said. She was upright, but a little unsteady. "What did I miss?"

"That!"

Dillon pointed to the clashing monsters. Juliette nodded and took charge of the group leading them away quickly.

"You alright?" said Dillon.

"Fine," said Juliette. "I overexerted myself and passed out. Those two creatures back there. Ythih Ghuggl'ingh and Zoth Syra."

"How far from the opening?"