Star Wars: The Jedi Chronicles:Enter The Shadows (Books 1-4)

Chapter Two: Josh

Chapter Two

Josh

The group lands on the cold icy planet of Hoth near the mountains. The group manages to find a cave for shelter.

Ben: Does anyone else smell anything funny?

Aria: Ugh! It smells awful in here! Like... dead things!

Paul: What do you guys suppose is further down the cave?

Nathan I.: I don't know. We should go find out!

Aria: Focus! We're here to find Joshua, not to go exploring!

Jacob: Yeah! The sooner we find Joshy, the better.

Nathan gets a fire going and everyone is trying to get warm.

Dudley: Uh, guys? I think I know why it smells like rotting flesh in here.

Willie: Why is that, Dudley?

Carl: Maybe it has to do with them!

The group looks down the hallway to see about fifteen big, white, furry, angry looking Wampas standing only a few yards off, quite ticked that there are intruders in their cave.

Aria: (quietly) I suggest we get out of here.

Nathan I.: Let's go!

The group gets up and heads for the exit when suddenly a hooded figure drops from the mouth of the cave. His face darkened by the brown Jedi cloak he is wearing. He opens a ice blue lightsaber and lifts his head, smirking at the group and lets out a creepy laugh.

The Jedi come to a screeching halt as they slide across the snow and ice. Paul and Dudley, who were in back, turn around and Force-blast the wampas down the cave. Josh raises his right arm, commanding the ice and snow to rise from the ground and block the entrance.

Ben: Wait! Josh!

Ben slams his fist into the ice wall.

Aria: We have bigger problems than Josh right now, Ben.

The group turns around to see the wampas getting back up.

Dudley: Can't you control them, Aria?!

Aria: It's a Shadow world, and I don't think I've trained long enough even to--

Paul: No time for long explanations!

Paul sends a few bolts of electricity down the cave to stun them.

Jordin: That works...

Paul: That will do it for a while. Now, how the heck do we get out of here?

Suddenly, spikes come out of the ice barrier Josh created.

Twins: Uh-oh...

Nathan: Don't panic...

The wall starts moving toward them. Nathan starts heating the temperature of the tunnel. The ice wall melts about six feet before it reaches them. Nathan's hands start glowing red-hot, and he starts melting his way through the ice.

Paul: Can't you go any faster?

Nathan: Not really. Why?

Willie: 'Cause them wampas are getting back up!

The twins, Paul and Dudley rush down the hall way to fight off the wampa's. Benjamin runs straight for the wall of ice that is getting thinner and thinner.

Aria: Benjamin Cole Purinton, don't you--

Benjamin teleports through the ice wall to the other side of the wall. Which is just what Josh is waiting for. The snow and wind is blowing Ben's hair everywhere as he searches the whiteout for his brother. He takes his glasses off and hooks them through the top of his shirt.

A giant block of ice rises out of the ground. It turns to a powdery snow and blows away. There stands Joshua, a dark brown Jedi cloak framed by the white snow. Ben grabs half of his split staff and opens it. Josh raises his arms and Ben freezes where he stands.

Josh P.: This is going to be too easy.

Ben teleports out of the ice, leaving a perfect ice sculpture of himself.

Josh P.: I don't think that was very smart of you... I'm going to enjoy this.

Ben yells his battle cry and rushes his brother. When Ben gets close, Josh opens his lightsaber and rolls it around in his wrist. He steps around him and shoots a ice spear into Ben's back. Ben hits the ground seconds later, dead.

Josh turns to the wall of ice and puts up another wall behind Carl, who is closest to the door. Carl whips around and hits the thick wall of ice

Carl: Hey!!! What's the big idea?

Willie: Carl! Nathan, hurry up!

Nathan stops heating the ice.

Nathan: (tired) It's too thick... I can't.

Carl and Sara starts getting pushed toward the wall of ice Josh originally put up.

Carl: No! No, no, no, no!!!

Sara screams. They put their arms out and shut their eyes. Josh melts the rest of the wall down; the wall pushes Carl through the hole and Sara is crushed by the two walls. When his feet hit the snow he falls on his face. Josh laughs at Carl.

Carl looks up and sees Josh standing over him. In one motion, Carl gets to his feet, spinning his green staff lightsaber. Josh steps aside and goes to stab him with an ice shard. Carl, continuing forward uses the Force pull out his single blade out and turn it on.

The ice melts right into the saber. Carl puts his saber back on his belt without ever touching it. He turns around, towering over Josh. Josh opens his lightsaber; his crystal ice blue reflects off the snow. Carl slams the right side of his saber down. Josh blocks above his head with both his hands.

Carl jerks his left half of his saber around to strike Josh's side. Josh spins around and blocks the blow. Josh uses the Force to push Carl backwards. Before he lands, Josh makes a big ice crystal with many different sharp parts and it stabs into him. Blood start running all over the ice and snow, melting it.

Josh P.: Next?

He turns around when all of a sudden, his ice wall explodes. There stand the twins, Paul, Aria, Jordin, Willie, Nathan, Dudley and one of the wampas.

Twins: Ben!!!

Willie: Carl!

Aria: Oh, no...

Paul: (darkly) Get him...

Paul and Dudley rush forward as the first wave. Josh takes some ice and forms it around one of the two's feet, tripping them up. Josh twists his wrist and the ice shifts, breaking Dudley's and Paul's ankles. They both holler. Paul, who's now ticked off, uses Force lightning on Josh.

Josh spins backwards through the air after getting hit by the shock. Paul can't focus due the excruciating pain in his ankle. Josh is still lying in the snow; he grips his hands together and pushes down on the snow, getting up. At the same time, he shoves Paul's arms deep into the ice.

The twins both use a mind trick on Josh to make him think they all are attacking at once. Josh pulls snow and ice around himself and steps back into the blizzard to cloak himself. The twins lose track of him and lose their mind trick.

Aria: Stay on guard. He's sneaky.

Willie: We know he's sn--

Suddenly Willie is frozen in a solid block of ice. Nathan starts heating Willie but the more he unthaws him, the more frozen he becomes.

Aria: Stop! We have to think this one through!

Jordin: Sh!...

Josh has built up ice spikes on his arms that come to a razor sharp point. Jordin shuts his eyes and listens. He shuts out the loud noise of the blizzard and hard winds. For a moment, he hears each individual snow flake hit the ground.

He quickly silences them and can hear everyone's breathing. He can almost see everyone that's present. He hears the crunching of Joshua's footsteps getting closer and harder. Then suddenly they are silenced with a breeze.

Jordin spins to his left three-hundred-sixty degrees and uses the Force to pull Josh away from Aria, whom he is about to stab in the back, assassin style. Jordin slams Josh into the ground head-first. Jordin uses the Force to pull his master's blue lightsaber-knife to himself and cuts off Josh's necklace before Josh can heal himself.

Aria: Thanks, Jordin.

He rolls Josh over, picks up his crystal and throws it to Aria. She steps aside and lets it land in the snow.

Aria: Sorry... I'm never touching one of those again.

Jacob scoops it up out of the snow and sticks it in his pocket.

Jacob: I'm cold.

Jordan: Me, too.

Jacob: Can we go back to the ship and make some hot chocolate?

Aria: As soon as we get everyone in their ships.

The group gets everyone to their ships, They get what they can of Sara and programs the auto pilot for the Rebellion for Josh and Sara. Aria makes sure that those who were killed or injured go first, so they don't lose any more teammates.