Crystal Guardian

5

Aldric separated himself from the group and slashed at the air, warning the Jagophites not to come any closer. They continued to approach nonetheless, but much more slowly. They edged away from the group and moved towards Aldric instead, whose legs were wobbling uncontrollably. Scolding himself, he firmly clasped his father's sword.

Before he could do anything, a strident bang resounded, bouncing off the four walls that confined them. A bullet had shot through the air and bounded upon one of the Jagophites. It didn't even leave a mark. Aldric spun round to see December, looking awkward with her large old-fashioned handgun. No-one used guns anymore. She clipped it back onto her belt. They had reached the entrance of the tunnels and were waiting for him. He ran over to them, chased by furious Jagophites. He felt snapping at his heels so leapt through the air, through into the tunnels. The door slammed shut and everything went black.

'Are you alright?' December asked. Aldric felt a hand brush through his hair as if someone was trying to reach for him.

'Yeah,' he muttered as he tried to get his breath back. December's lamplight lit up the cramped tunnel with an orange glare. Aldric kicked the door behind him in a feeble attempt to scare the Jagophites hammering from the other side. Evie glared at him.

'Don't antagonise them,' she said. He kicked the door in objection and Evie sighed exasperatedly but he didn't care. He backed away from the door to follow December, Evie and Jaireth down the shadowy tunnels. Perhaps they would catch up with the others. But the tunnels twisted and turned. It was almost as if their efforts were hopeless. They weren't going anywhere. As they reached a corner they found themselves trailing backwards in the same direction as they had come from. Voices from the others echoed from inside the walls. Aldric tried to figure out what was being said but all he could figure out was: 'we're lost' and 'we're dead' neither of which were very reassuring.

December stopped. Evie and Jaireth staggered to a standstill, almost colliding into her back.

'Why have we...?' Aldric began but he saw the fear in December's eyes as she turned to look at him. She put her finger to her lips and listened. Aldric looked around the small interior of the tunnel as if trying to pinpoint what they were all listening for. Scratching, followed by a low rumbling growl.

'They are more of them?' Evie whispered. December said nothing and felt the rocky walls either side. She knew the tunnels better than anybody.

'We're safe for now,' she said with a hint of relief as the scratching diminished into the distance. Evie was also running her hands along the walls until she came across a loose rock. As her hand knocked it away, a beam of dark sun poured through. Aldric breathed in a huge gulp of cold fresh air and felt it reinvigorating his lungs which had grown so accustomed to the dusty, musty air. Evie replaced the rock and glanced apologetically at the others. She gripped Jaireth's hand and pulled him to her left so that she was a barrier between him and the outside.

'Are we any safer in here than out there?' Evie asked. No-one answered. They shuffled down the cold tunnels, the walls closing in on them as they wandered further than was comfortable. Aldric felt the rocks rip through his jacket as he squeezed past. After what could have been hours, he felt water seeping through the soles of his worn out boots.

'Don't worry,' December whispered as Jaireth made a sudden exclamation of disgust, 'It's just a bit of water, it means we should be reaching the exit.'

'But is that a good thing,' Evie replied, 'Those things are out there, waiting for us!'

'If we get out of here, we'll get a signal for this,' said December as she held up a communicator. 'Then we can call for help.' She stopped. Eager to escape the tunnels, Aldric was on the verge of complaining. He felt like shouting at December though she was just being cautious.

A scream echoed from behind them.

'Quickly,' December exclaimed. 'Back the other way.'

'What about the others?' Evie cried. 'We can't just leave them. What if they're being attacked?'

'Evie's right,' said Aldric, 'we can't let them die!'

'Trust me,' December stifled, 'We have to.'

'But the children,' Evie cried even louder. Aldric creased up his face as he listened to the ever increasing screams and howls coming from deep within the tunnels, 'That baby you were holding...' December kept on hurrying back and Aldric knew she was not going to change her mind. Even though he never cried, he could feel tears stinging through. Why was December being like this?

'But December,' he protested, gasping for air. 'If we leave them, we'll be just as guilty as the Jagophites.'

'If we go back, we will all suffer the same fate,' she said sternly, 'There's nothing we can do.' December smacked a smooth wall with her hands and slid them across the mossy rocks which let light shine through the gaps between them. She picked one of the rocks up to reveal that there was yet another tunnel on the other side of them.

'We must go this way,' she said, 'it is the only way through.' The four of them helped to clear away the rocks one by one. It was a very short tunnel, more like a cavern or some sort of animal's cave. They ran towards the light that was almost too bright but the reason for it became apparent as, confined within the space of a woodland clearing, lay a burning fiery wreck.

At first, Aldric was worried that it may have been another Jagophite carrier but a grand symbol, originating from LendoZiya, was etched onto the side of the ship in elegant silver and it dispelled his fears. At a closer look, the ship was smaller, less bulky. Although, it also looked as if it had been ripped apart, it was just a section of a much larger ship.

Eba crept behind them all, cowering from something in the sky. Aldric looked up too but the limited amount of sky he could see was covered by smoke. Next he glanced all around looking for a sign to where the rest of the ship could have fallen but there was no smoke and no signs to be found, just what was lying ahead of them. Something was clunking on the metal from within. Evie made a move towards the wreckage but Aldric lunged forward, holding her back by her shoulders. He looked up at Evie who, for a moment, made no attempt to retaliate.

'It's too dangerous,' Aldric shouted, surprised by his own actions for he too wanted to go and investigate. Perhaps he would when the fires died down a little... he loosened his grip on her shoulders and a child's voice called out. It cried for help. Evie glanced at the wreckage with tears of fear glistening in her eyes, but before she had the chance to shake Aldric off, December had leapt forward. She called comforting words to the trapped child. Aldric stepped back and Evie scampered off to assist December in breaking open the compartment in which the child was trapped. As it was opened up, a cloud of smoke burst out as if it had been waiting to escape. A young girl, her face scratched and sooty, hurriedly clambered out of the compartment, stumbling and almost tumbling to the floor. December lifted the girl into her arms and ran back towards where Aldric and Jaireth were fixed to the spot. Tears poured down the girl's cheeks. She screamed.

'No, he's still in there, my cousin's still in there!'