Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Gemma held tight to the arms of her chair as the small submersible spun upsidedown. They sped past a reef, schools of fish miraculously moving out of the way in time. Her brother, reckless at the controls, laughed. He couldn't hear her pleas to slow down over the loud blasting of the song "I've got the power".
"Toby!" she cried.
"What?" he said innocently, righting them again and turning the music down. "I'm taking you to Atlantis like you asked."
He looked at her, and as their eyes met, he smiled kindly. She felt relief wash through her until he smirked and rolled them again in the opposite direction.
She screamed and her hair whipped across her face.
Toby sped through along the top of a trench, ducking and weaving down through the depths every now and then. He was an expert at the controls, the small vehicle like a second skin.
Gemma squeezed her eyes shut and was surprised when her brother suddenly announced that they'd arrived. He gently docked them against a hatch, there was a shudder through the vessel as it suctioned on, drained the water in the antechamber and formed an airlock.
Still reeling, Gemma followed Toby into the underwater city. Thankful she didn't have to listen to his terrible music choices anymore.
"Brother/sister road trip over," he said. "Welcome to Atlantis. Home of suck."
She gave him a rueful look. "It's not that bad. I've come to get my powers, remember. And we're all together as a family again."
"Nuh, I'm not staying, Gem. You know that my powers are dampened down here until my sentence is served. Tell mum and dad—"
WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP
A loud siren sounded and the lights dipped momentarily, switching from bright daylight to a pulsing orange.
"What's going on?" Gemma asked, barely able to be heard over the alarm.
"ALL RESIDENTS WITHDRAW TO THE INNER CIRCLE," repeated an automated voice three times.
Gemma's eyes widened and she grabbed Toby's hand in fear.
"There's a portal breach," he yelled and dragged her up an empty corridor and around a corner.
She stumbled to keep up. "What's that mean?"
"Furions."
An icy dread slashed through her chest. Furions.
"Here? But I thought they couldn't reach beyond the veil?"
There was a loud crackling sound from above and Gemma slammed into Toby as he stopped to stare. In front of them, a swirling red tornado was coming up the corridor. It was made up of hundreds of screeching bat-like creatures with sharp talons and long barbed tails. They circled around a taller, darker monster whose footsteps reverberated with an ominous thud.
A Furion.
It was like a dragon with a massive snout and rows of terrifying black teeth. Its head brushed the ceiling as it's heavy body moved with rapid and lithe steps towards them.
Toby lurched towards a door to the left and then another, desperately trying to find an unlocked refuge. Gemma stood frozen. The Furion snarled and its eyes locked onto hers.
Her heart hammered in her chest and she began to hyperventilate.
"Gemma! Toby! Get behind us," called a familiar female voice.
In a superhuman flash, her parents and another five adults wielding flaming swords took up positions between her and the beast.
She watched in horror as the group began to advance towards the tornado of bats. Two people held up their hands, and from their palms blasted a shockwave that caused half the bats to shriek and fall dead to the ground. Yet more kept coming. They blasted again, and caught only a few as the teeming whirlwind of claws and teeth reached them, slashing against everyone.
Gemma screamed as the tail of one whipped past and cut her arm. By now most of the bats had been cut down by the flaming blades until all that remained was the Furion facing down their group.
It let loose a blood curdling roar, blasting their ears and drowning out all thought. Gemma's parents darted forwards. Each one flanking either side of the massive Furion, swords at the ready. Another member let loose a bright fireball that careened down the hallway and into its chest. It roared and fell backwards for a step before launching on again.
The team of Atlantians circled and attacked. Several attempted to distract it while another slashed with their fiery sword from the rear. As the blade slid into its rump, its heavy tail whipped around sending the assailant flying across the hall and into a wall. His body slid to the floor and fell forward in an unconscious heap. The offending sword slid across the ground and landed at the Gemma's feet. She tentatively picked it up and held it out towards the beast.
"No!" yelled Toby as it lumbered forwards and bore down upon his sister.
Gemma felt a tingling sensation running down her arms and suddenly from the point of the sword erupted a torrent of purple energy. It hit the Furion right between its eyes, and it howled. Gemma screamed too, dropping the sword. Toby ran in and picked it up, waving it high over his head as he madly sped forwards and brought it down across the Furion's neck. With superhuman strength, the head of the creature was felled in one clean swoop. It landed on the ground with a sickening and meaty thud.
Everyone stood and stared at Gemma, Toby and the decapitated monster.
"Well, I think I've got my powers back," he said with a chuckle. "And, I think Gemma found hers too."
Their parents rushed in and hugged them both.
"You two slew a Furion. That was impressive," said their father.
Their mother laughed. "I'd expect no less from our children, John."
He smirked in reply, sheathed his sword, and took Toby's from his grasp. "Well, he mused, "I guess the next family road trip will be beyond the veil, then?"
___
This is my entry for the Team Up Challenge by ChallengeCorner
