Super Mario Sunshine

Chapter 6 - The Light in the Hills

   The distressed cries of the fallen beast echoed in his ears, bouncing off the enclosed walls long after he had silenced. Tumbling rocks and showering dust crashed to the ground in all directions, at last giving way momentarily to a deadly silence. When the rubble finally stilled all was calm once again in the big windmill.

   Then, at last, something moved. Amid crumbling shambles and a great cloud of settling dust, Petey Piranha slowly emerged from where he was half buried beneath the fallen wreckage, shaking off shingles and sheet rock from his battered body. Bursting up through the heavy slabs of roof, he threw back his head and roared.

   A great, single beam of golden light fell in upon him from the great wide opening high above, where the sky far away was just visible. It filled the round building with a kind of enchanted light, illuminating dust and debris littering the floor. Fluttering to his feet, the overgrown piranha flapped his dirty arms and glanced around.

   He had fallen down into the windmill, he knew: this place was small and strangely peaceful. Aside from himself, it was oddly empty. The thick stone walls and floor still stood undamaged, forming a seeming prison around him; and further up the wall were numerous windows beneath the now-absent ceiling. It was just an empty chamber.

   Sniffing through the ancient dirt that had been strewn all over the hard floor, he tossed his big head and peered curiously at the pile beside him. He knew this mess wasn't his fault; so where was the one responsible? He had to be around here somewhere...

   Curiously, Petey began rooting and pushing his way through the debris, hoping to unearth something. With a snort of surprise, he fluttered back as a large slab of sheetrock almost crushed his nose. It was only after a moment of fruitless searching that a tiny sound – nothing more than a buzz, really – came to him from elsewhere, by the far wall. Instantly aroused, the piranha looked up – and bellowed.

   "RAAAWWR!"

   There was his intruder: partially hidden between the wall and an enormous piece of roof propped against it, a young human lay facedown on the windmill floor. The strange machine on its back had been moving, emitting the sound; and through the crumbling dust around him the man began to stir.

   "Mario!"

   With an uneasy cough he seemed to suddenly come to life. For a moment his scrambled mind tried to place where he was. He was lying on a hard surface; almost every part of him stung fiercely, as if he'd taken a terrible hit. But he was alive; he was alright!

   Eyes slowly coming open, he focused on the gray wall inches from his face and frowned. What...?

   Then a familiar voice right behind him sounded alarmingly in his ear. "Mario! You must get up!"

   A huge ground-rattling thump behind him made him snap to attention, and it all came back in a rush. The windmill; he and the piranha had fallen!

   With a groan, Mario pushed himself up and blinked rapidly against the dusty glare. Battered as he was from the tumble, there was nothing to get you moving quite like the sight of a giant angry-looking plant stomping towards you.

   As quickly as he could Mario shoved the enormous sheetrock aside – which by some miracle hadn't crushed him – and jumped to his feet, letting it crash to the ground behind him. Ignoring the still throbbing pain – he almost felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him – he faced the giant piranha squarely. For a second the two were still again, both a little tossed and worn, but ultimately undeterred.

   Petey, delicate as he might appear, seemed none the worse for the incident, and Mario knew his job was by no means done. And look what had become of the windmill!