The Guardians of Gaia

Chapter Thirty-Four

Marshall sat on the edge of his bed after dinner, tracing his scars with his fingers. If there were scabs he would have picked them off. He liked to pick off the scabs until his body grew them in a way that he couldn't pick them at all. He had always picked his scabs as a child until Beaster beat that habit out of him. Or at least he thought he had, but the roots were still there.

Two knocks sounded on the door. "It's InTell."

Marshall edged away from the door and opened it, InTell stood there with a rare smile on his face. He was handsome in a classic, other-timely way. His eyes were grey, his smile flanked by dimples, his caramel coloured hair was always gelled back and he dressed in a three piece suit every day.

 "You look so distraught," InTell whispered. "I really hate to see someone so beautiful glum." He took Marshall's face in his hands and bent down to kiss him. The younger man pushed InTell's hands away.

"NO," Marshall said firmly. "No. Move, let me pass." Marshall started to walk around InTell forced Marshall back all without ever moving his hands. Marshall walked backwards and stood with his arms tight at his side like a soldier.

"I know exactly what you're thinking," InTell said enunciating every word like he was speaking to a child. "You cannot run off to see Faust. The aliens will kill you effortlessly. Stay put, for the love of all that is good."

Marshall knew it was true. So he played into InTell's hands. He sighed, "You're right," he said trying to look as downtrodden and rueful as possible. Yet when InTell walked off, he was plotting his escape. His stomach wambled loudly but his mind was focused on other things. He didn't want to eat until he achieved the goal he set out to accomplish. He waited until mostly everyone was asleep and then he dressed himself in his blue and white Cryocastor costume. He left his hood off, and covered his eyes with the visor.

He eased open his door before walking out into the hallway. Ophelia and Invisibella were in the living room, in their pyjamas – and also their masks - talking loudly. "Do you know how I got this?" Ophelia asked, pointing to a scar on her arm. "One of Marshall's ice knives sliced me."

Invisibella scoffed. "Take a look at this," she said, rolling up one of her pant legs.

Marshall had no idea how he was going to get around the girls, who were sitting in the open space living room. There may have been three elevators in the G-Force Head Quarters but the doors were located on the opposite side of that couch. Invisibella wouldn't care if he wanted to go out, but Ophelia would certainly care and berate him for ever even wanting to go out.

He had to distract them, but how? He wondered. If he made it cold would they go back in their rooms or would they just reach for the faux fur throw over on the other couch? (Probably the latter, Ophelia's too smart for any other course of action, Marshall mused). So he focused on the wall facing Ophelia, which was behind Invisibella's back so it was out of her sight. He wrote a message slowly in frost; Found some actual food in the second fridge. And the entire time Ophelia played it cool, not calling Inivisbella's eyes to the wall by not focusing on it too much. When the message was finished, Marshall slipped back into his bedroom. "Can you show me where the actual food is?" Ophelia asked
Invisibella. "I'm still starving from dinner."

Invisibella laughed. "That's how everyone feels after Lady Earth picks dinner." They waltzed back into the kitchen talking happily. Marshall nearly fell flat on his face as he hurried out of his room, down the hall, and past the living room. He couldn't wait until he was at the elevator door to call for a car, he shot a button sized ice cube at the DOWN button. By the time he stopped the elevator doors slid open, he rushed inside and frantically pounded the closed button. His heart was thrashing in his chest. The elevator looked clear down the hallway and Marshall could see everyone's room doors. If anyone walked out now, he'd be entirely through. He prayed no one would look out, his thoughts were silenced by the elevator doors sliding shut. Marshall didn't bother pressing the button to let him off at the lobby, he pressed P and hoped it was parking. It'd be easier to sneak out that way.

The elevator descended slowly. Marshall put his hand over his thigh, right where Faust had first put the shadow patch. It seemed like everyone else had forgotten about Faust, but Marshall hadn't.

The G-Force's parking garage felt cool and dark to Marshall, as he strolled out of the elevator and into the stale air. Right in front of him was a seemingly endless array of luxury vehicles. Aston Martins next to Lamborghinis, Cadillacs and even a Bugatti. Marshall wanted to laugh. He wondered which one was InTell's just as his eyes landed on a black E-Type Jaguar. He laughed to himself. If being part of the Beast Squad had taught him anything, it was how to hotwire a stolen car.

Marshall hadn't been in a car this expensive in a long time. He felt like he was playing some sort of video game, zooming along the empty, phantom streets of Northbury. The closer he got to the city centre, he realized how dire things had become. There was a line of military personnel, weapons aimed at the Skiv's ship.

"Where are you going?" One solider asked as Marshall's car came to a halt. Suddenly glad he wore his Cryocastor costume, Marshall stepped out of his vehicle. Everyone's eyes went wide at the sight of him and Marshall smirked. "I'm going through there."

"Have you lost your damn mind?" The soldier screamed. He hurried over to Marshall. "You can't cross, they'll kill you. This is war, not some game. What could you possibly want on the other side?"

Marshall narrowed his eyes. He hadn't been stopped by the G-Force and he wasn't about to get stopped by a little group of ordinary humans, weapons or no. Nothing could deter him at this point.
"You better move out of my way," Marshall intoned, climbing back into the car.

"No! Don't!" The soldier scrambled for a walkie talkie in some last ditch attempt to call for back up. Marshall turned on the car and revved it. They'll part or else, he thought. He slammed down on the gas and the car lurched into the motion. As the car sped forward, several soldiers leapt out of the way of the speeding vehicle. Over in No Man's Land, it was quiet. Even the air felt different. Moist and humid. Gelatinous tension laid thick. All the soliders strained their necks waiting to see if anything was going to happen.

Marshall just kept driving. If he tuned everything out, he felt like he was go karting, all alone, no cars at his side, no lights and rules to obey. Marshall gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel harder trying to swallow down his fear. He had to find Faust, no matter what it took. He stepped on the gas pedal and drove deeper into No Man's Land. The feeling of Northbury's new downtown core was so foreign to Marshall now. The Skiv's enormous ship had crushed several iconic Northbury skyscrapers. The sky scrapers propped up the ship, keeping it suspended hundreds of feet in the air above the ground. Debris and dust blanketed the road like dirty snow. And in the climbing darkness there were no glittering lights winking from the tops of buildings. No cars whizzing by, no people walking and talking amicably on the streets. Marshall felt like he was in a world by himself.

Up above his head was the Skiv's ship. The hulking silvery thing was almost beautiful if Marshall didn't think about the Skivs it encased. There's got to be an entrance somewhere, Marshall thought as he brought the car to a stop close beneath the centre of the ship. He climbed out of the out of the car and stood firmly as an ice hand lifted him from the ground and upwards toward the centre of the ship. He'd freeze a hole in it if he had to, and he was preparing to do so when a deep thrumming filled the air. It sounded like singing from the lowest baritone Marshall had ever heard, he looked down and there was an eight foot tall, muscular grey Skiv, scaling the side of his ice arm with relentless speed.

The ice on the arm came alive then. A smaller arm shot out of the side and grasped onto the Skiv's calf only to be shattered with a firm kick. Two more arms shot out and clutched the Skiv's head, drawing him into the block. The Skiv howled his battle cry and wrenched away shattering the ice.

Marshall gritted his teeth. He would have to take this Skiv down the hard way. He was preparing to split the ice arm, sending the side that the Skiv was holding onto tumbling when he felt something wrap around his waist. He looked down and saw a black, glistening rope. It wound around his body like a thin, dark anaconda. First his arms were trapped, then his legs. When he tried to freeze the rope, another one just split from an unfrozen junction in the rope and wrapped him up further. "Let me go! Let me see Faust and I'll go!" Marshall cried through grit teeth as the ropes climbed further up. Marshall looked behind him and saw another eight foot Skiv, this one looked to have green scales. When Marshall looked back, the grey Skiv was up on the hand, his black eyes blazing. "Let me see Faust!" Marshall cried.

The Skivs stared at Marshall and sang in their full-toned voices and Marshall figured they were singing. The green Skiv hissed at the other one and then he lunged at Marshall.

Marshall screwed his eyes shut and braced for whatever was about to come.