Chapter 15: History
As darkness surrounded Mira, she leapt into the air and tried to spread out to protect herself, only to find that she was even more solid now then when she had first landed on the island.
Mira backed up, panicking, as the creature moved towards her, dragging long sharp claws against the wall. Sparks fell from the trail it left, outlining the monster's arm up to its shoulder in flickering light.
Not paying attention to where she was going, Mira backed herself up into a corner of the cave as the creature advanced. Without warning it lunged, sending even more sparks flying, and Mira sat down, throwing her hands up in front of her in self defense.
Mira blinked in surprise as the warm light washed over her. Dropping her hands, even though she didn't really need to, she looked up to see what looked like a miniature, much older Tom, holding a torch and gazing down at her with an unreadable expression.
Mira just stared up, not moving, in fear of what ever it was bringing the heavy-looking torch down on her head. She couldn't see any eyes on the face of the creature, only dark shadows beneath a heavy brow of moss that grew on its forehead. Where Tom often looked off kilter due to the misshapen rocks that made up his body, this creature seemed off balanced do to the amount of moss, grass, ferns and tree-roots it had growing over it's entire body.
It stood perfectly still, staring at her. Mira didn't move. She just sat there unable to breath, gulp, shiver and too terrified to say anything.
The silence was overpowering except for the subtle whoosh of the flames. After a solid minute of silence Mira tried cautiously sliding to the side without making a sound.
Though her movements were more silent then an owl's wing-beat, the ominous figure moved with her, shadowing her sideways slide. Mira froze again. The 'creature' moved like a robot, silent, precise and completely unexpected. Again, everyone in the room reverted to a state of motionlessness.
Then suddenly the figure raised its foot and slammed it down on the cave floor with a violent crash that reverberated through the cave. Mira was so frightened she felt like she could snap but she couldn't move.
As the echo from the impact died out, Mira thought she could hear music in the distance slowly getting louder.
"...Δυο πόρτες έχει η ζωή, "Life has two doors,
άνοιξα μια και μπήκα, I opened one and entered,
σεργιάνισα ένα πρωινό walked one morning
κι’ ώσπου να 'ρθει το δειλινό, and by the evening
από την άλλη βγήκα..." I had left by the other"
Finally the voice became so loud that Mira was certain the singer was standing inside the cave right in front of her. As she listened, still too terrified to move, the singer transitioned from the first song into a completely different one in Russian.
Again the being slammed its foot into the stone floor, Mira tensed up (figuratively speaking) and the music stopped.
"Today is the night of music my friend,"
"Сегодня ночь музыки, мой друг," said the strange voice from somewhere nearby, almost in a singsong, "La luna crea locura y misterio."
"The moon creates madness and mystery."
Mira had taken a little Spanish in school and recognized something about the moon and mystery. Though frightened, she took hold of the only semblance of reality she could and whispered.
"¿Hablas ingles?"
"A voice in the dark? The moon sends a messenger..."
"¿Una voz en la oscuridad? La luna envía un mensajero..." The voice seemed to wander through itself like it was exploring it's own words, then it snapped back like a rubber band and Mira was certain whoever was speaking was right in front of her, speaking directly to her. "English? English it is then! Lovely day tonight isn't it? The moon sings so sweetly..."
Mira had no idea what to say to this. First a monster, now a crazy person... so she remained silent.
"Straighten!"
"Выпрямить!"
It was the same voice but with a different inflection and more focus this time, almost like there were two people sharing the same voice.
Mira also noticed the creature lean forward slightly as if to punctuate a remark.
"Umm... Hello?" said Mira in the quietest voice she could muster.
"-Guests are always welcome. Yes, indeed, but I'm afraid it's far too dangerous right now. You'll have to come back later." said the first voice, suddenly, as if having just drowsed off before it started to hum some unrecognizable tune to itself.
"They are like us. Pay attention!"
"Они похожи на нас. Обращать внимание!"
Now Mira was really confused.
There was some more humming and what sounded like some grunts, then the voice returned clearer and slightly more sane-sounding, "English... You are American?"
"I'm from England, actually" she said, pushing herself up against the wall.
"Are you ummm..." Mira couldn't come up with a polite way of phrasing her giant observer.
"Where are you?" she asked instead.
"I am in front of you and behind you, on your left and right, above and below," said the voice in the cheerful first tone before changing to a lower register and saying simply, "You are sitting on him."
Mira ran her fingers over the moss that covered most of the cavern floor, including where she was sitting and said, raising a cautious finger in the creature's direction, "And ... him?"
"I am me" said the voice in the second, deeper tone.
"But who are you?" asked Mira, slowly standing up.
"I am Nathaniel Chloros, and my quiet little friend is called Alexei," then the second tone of voice cut in, saying, "Алексей."
There was a brief silence before the first tone of voice returned, saying, "I take it you don't speak Russian?"
Mira shook her head, but before she realized whoever was speaking probably couldn't see her, the voice returned.
"That's what I thought. You can just call him Alexei."
A deep grunt rumbled through Mira's mind as she realized that the words weren't vocal but mental.
"You communicate telepathically?!" she said, shocked.
"So do you," replied the deeper tone.
"Right," said Mira, "But does that mean that you are also Elementals?"
"Elementals... Of the elements- of the sun and stars, the moon and the sea, whither I go? Not far from thee. Mother earth, and father ocean ever to thee my great devotion. Singing sweetly-" the second voice grunted an unintelligible interjection in Russian and the first voice returned to a its previous sanity, "So that's what we're calling ourselves now? I always just called myself Mr. Moss and frankly my friend only answers to Алексей. Isn't that right my friendly little friend?"
The creature raised the torch and knocked it against a patch of moss growing near its left ear with an audible "THUNK".
"Ow!" said the first voice.
With that small gesture, it all began to come into focus for Mira.
"So Nathaniel, you're the moss?"
"Yes."
"And you are..." Mira pointed to the giant, hesitating, "A...lex...ey?"
There was a long mental sigh and Alexei nodded slowly.
Mira smiled and began to relax, "My name's Mira. There are three other Elementals who couldn't come here with me. There's Thomas, he's stone, Lucas is water, and my brother Michael, who's fire. Wait... Are there only two of you?"
The torch wavered as neither being replied for a second then, "Yes, there are only two of us," said Nathaniel in a quiet voice.
After a long pause Mira asked cautiously, "What happened to the others? Did the monster-"
She never finished her sentence. At the word 'monster' Alexei's posture changed dramatically. He slammed his hand into the cave wall right above Mira's head, shoved the torch right up next to Mira and his deep voice thundered through her head, "What do you know of it?!"
She cowered against the rock once again thinking as fast as she could, "There was a prophesy that it was coming, and my friends and I are supposed to stop it and I thought there might be something on this island that would help us."
The torch was pulled away and Mira could swear she saw Alexei fighting with himself over the torch. Listening, she could hear Nathaniel fighting with Alexei.
"Give it here -- LET GO OF ME! -- Not until you stop frightening -- SHE COULD BE SENT BY -- she hasn't been sent by anyone. Now drop that torch! -- LET GO OF MY ARM! -- She's looking for answers. -- SHE DESERVES NOTHING! WE DO NOT KNOW HER. -- Not if you don't put down that torch and stop threatening -- I DO NOT THREATEN, SHE IS LIKE US. LOOK. -- Fine, but keep the torch away from her. We aren't barbarians."
Mira saw the roots around Alexei's left hand loosen as he stepped back up to her and raised the torch again. As the light from the wavering flame moved, Mira could just make out the outline of her fingers.
"Why is everything so different here?" she pondered.
"In what way?" asked Nathaniel, much calmer after Alexei's outburst.
"Back in Equestria my body was like air, not solid. But here, it's semi-airy, and I can SEE things, almost as if I had eyes."
"So that is what they meant..." muttered Nathaniel.
"What?" asked Mira.
"Those on the island who have been off the island have told us that this island is not like the other lands. How long have you been on the island?"
Mira was about the answer, when she realized she wasn't sure. How long had it taken to climb up to the cave? A few minutes, an hour?, "I'm... not sure." She said.
"Time, shadows, like and dark. Memories, thoughts, they all move with mystery here. Many a night, madness brings the moon. A silver light-" Alexei grunted and re-railed Nathaniel before he could derail again.
"You go out of the cave too much."
Mira was inclined to agree.
"Well... as it is. However, to ask you a question, what do you know of the monster?" returned Nathaniel.
"Besides what Zecora told us. Very little."
"Who?" he said.
"Zecora, the zebra," said Mira.
Dead silence.
"Zebras do not talk," intoned Alexei.
"Neither can moss," returned Mira, realizing that Alexei probably wasn't a Brony.
"She's got you there-" started Nathaniel, but Alexei cut him off, "Explain."
Then a thought crossed Mira's mind, "You guys seem different than the others. Hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you and where and when are you from."
"The moon took that knowledge from me long ago," said Nathaniel, "But I remember growing up in Thessaloniki, Greece. I think I attended the Aristotle University, that's where I learned to speak French and some Spanish. I... remember my mother congratulating me at graduation, 1975."
"6023 years, Georgiyevsk, Russia. 1946," said Alexei.
Mira stared at them in utter shock.
"6023!? How have you not gone insan-" Mira stopped herself before she could finish her sentence. However she knew it was too late.
Nathaniel started to laugh.
"Trust me sometimes I think I am fighting a losing battle. But I do my best to keep him just as sane as me." He said.
"Time feels different here," returned Alexei, "And as he says, the moon does change things. The day is better."
"OK," said Mira, still mentally kicking herself for her blunder, "But why have you stayed here? The mainland's not to far away."
"Cannot swim," said Alexei.
"But you've had over six thousand years to learn," said Mira.
"You don't understand," cut in Nathaniel, "It's not that he doesn't know how. Alexei is the Iron Element. Saltwater isn't good for him, and I can't breathe without air."
"Why not build a boat? You've got the wood."
"We are outlasting a lineage," said Alexei, "Guarding the weapon."
"Is the weapon... the monster?" asked Mira, cautiously.
Both Nathaniel and Alexei were silent for a while, then Nathaniel said, "Mira... before I tell you anything, where and when are you from and how much do you know about this island?"
"Bristol England, 2014, however I've only been here a couple days, and everything we know about this island we either got from Zecora's prophesy or from the royal Canterlot archive."
"What archive?" said Alexei.
"OK so I take it you two have never heard of the show My Little Pony?" asked Mira.
Alexei nodded.
"Well right now you are on the Dead Island just off the coast of Equestria, near Zebra territories. Equestria is a country not located on Earth. It's part of a fictional universe from a TV show back home. The inhabitants are all cartoon, anthropomorphic ponies and mythical creatures. So yes, the Zebra's talk."
"That might explain a great many things," said Nathaniel, quietly.
"Anyway my companions ended up here in our new bodies, Zecora gave a prophesy saying that we would defeat a monster from this island and I decided to check it out."
"Well then I suppose it's only fitting that you know our story..."
With that Alexei and Nathaniel began; their voices together weaving a tale long since ancient, each helping the other to remember.
"Many, many, many years ago, Nathaniel was just a college graduate looking for work, Alexei was a metal worker in Georgiyevsk, Ambre was working at a daycare center in Paris and Chanming was painting by the Hai River when we each of us was grabbed and dropped here.
Nathaniel came first. I was dropped several thousand feet up as a spore, and landed near the top of the mountain where I spent a month or two growing and integrating into my new form. It's not just moss I control. I can control fungus too, which means that through symbiosis I can control many different varieties of flora.
Ambre was the second. She found herself trapped in a solid glass crystal on the beach, and spent a week watching the sunsets alone, unable to move, until Chanming joined her.
Chanming came third, in the form of light. From what he told us, he saw the most of this world. When he landed, he traveled all across this land several times before he ended up back here and trapped himself inside of Ambre's crystal. They kept each other company for a couple more weeks until Alexei came.
Alexei was the last to arrive and the only one to arrive here unconscious. When I woke up I was chained in this very cave. Unable to talk I was forced to remain trapped without any explanation for four days. All the while a strange creature in a dirty cloak would shuffle in and out of the cave with different ingredients that it would mix into a giant stone pool in the corner."
Alexei led Mira over to a particularly dark corner of the cave and, holding the torch up, showed her what was left. A giant crater, previously unnoticed, glared back at Mira from the wall. The dark indentation seemed to swallow up the light cast by the torch, like a black hole.
"I couldn't quite see what was going on because the light is never very good in here and my eyes couldn't adjust, but I could hear fine. The creature was constantly wheezing and even though I only saw its face once, it looked neither human nor animal.
It was missing most of the left side of its face, had only one eye, half a nose and the mouth was constantly dripping drool because it couldn't fully close its mouth."
At this point in the story Alexei interrupted, saying, "Looking back, I think it could have been Zebra. It did have stripes."
"Well anyway while the Zebra never looked or even talked to me, it did constantly talk to itself. It would ramble on and on about revenge, justice, power and fame. At least Nathaniel's mind is lost to the poetry of the moon. This zebra only left the cave on moonless nights. From what I gathered the Zebra was trying to create some sort of monster. I was unable to escape until after it had accomplished its task.
I was asleep at the beginning and awoke to the sound of thunder and the image of lightning combined. The zebra and I were both stunned. However, the monster was not. Somehow, I couldn't see, it consumed its creator but, when it grabbed me, it ripped the last of my chains from the wall. I lashed out with all my might and escaped the cave to hide in a nearby forest that night. The next morning I spotted something sparkling on the beach and when I investigated I found Ambre and Chanming. Chanming explained that he had seen many lives that would be harmed by the monster if we didn't stop it, so I picked them up and climbed back up the mountain to the cave, only to discover that the monster had retreated deeper into the spiderweb of caverns that run through the mountain.
With the help of Ambre's light-storing abilities and Nathaniel's growing presence on the mountain we found each other and I helped the group locate the monster through my network of roots, tendrils and spores.
We fought together, deep within the mountain, Ambre and Chanming blinding it, while I slowed it down and Alexei pummeling it with everything he had.
The creature managed to find a passage outside and Alexei knocked it off the mountain to its death, but not before it struck down Ambre and Chanming. They worked together and they died as one. We buried what was left of them in the quietest clearing we could find and then continued on to locate the remains of the creature. We found it, split in two, on an outcropping of rock near the base of the mountain, and that's when Nathaniel realized the terrible truth.
The creature was capable of parthenogenesis. It could reproduce asexually, and we had no idea if there were any offspring. Since then we have been searching through the mountain for any signs of the creature's offspring and guarding against the lineage of the creature that spawned the monster in the first place.
Only two have ever come to the island. Shortly after the battle, one moonlit night, a small boat carrying two hooded passengers came near the beach and one of the hooded figures called out to us. We answered as best with could by writing with charcoal on stone. The two figures said they were the parents of the one that created the monster. He had been exiled for his past crimes and his future plans, which we now knew he had accomplished. We told them this and they warned us to be wary of others for their lineage was supposedly cursed. Their boat vanished back into the fog and we never saw them again.
The only other visitor was, what I assumed to be, a gryphon. But he too, only stayed a short while to explore the island before leaving. Even with the monster dead this island isn't a very hospitable place."
"I know. That must have been one of the explorers who documented the island," said Mira, "And the monster that's coming, must be the creature's offspring. Did the creature you fought seem aquatic? What was it like? Did it have any weaknesses?"
"The creature we fought," said Alexei, "Was six stories tall, and bore resemblance to a large crab-spider. We do not know what it fed on inside the mountain but it grew fast."
"He's right" said Nathaniel, "I would describe it as similar to a scorpion spider, but with shorter legs, a larger carapace and long tentacles where the mouth should have been. If it possessed either mandibles or proboscis, we never saw them. The only thing it did was burrow into the walls of the cave to get to these crystalline minerals. But it never ate them, it just left them scattered throughout the cave. It wasn't aquatic, and the only weakness we used against it was to blind its many eyes with light that Ambre and Chanming supplied."
"It feeds on magic," said Mira under her breath, then to Nathaniel and Alexei, "I bet those crystals were magic gems and the creature was feeding off of them."
"Sounds possible-" started Nathaniel, but he didn't finish as a rumble shot through the cave and everything began to shake.
"What's going on?!" yelled Mira over the noise.
"Quakes," said Nathaniel, "They happen every so often. They usually only last a couple seconds. The volcano is dormant after all; we've checked."
The rumbling continued.
"-Although, it's never lasted this long before" continued Nathaniel, his voice wavering.
"Why don't we head down to the beach and start building a raft or boat of some kind?" said Mira, "According to the prophesy what you were guarding is already on its way. I don't think you need to stay here any longer."
Mira listened as the two conversed and the rumbling seemed to die down.
"OK," said Nathaniel, just before the rumbling began again, much louder.
Alexei turned left and right as stones began dropping from the ceiling and a crack opened up in the middle of the cave.
"Go!" yelled Mira, "If worst comes to worst, we can float Nathaniel on some bark and Alexei can go underwater."
"The salt-" started Nataniel.
"We can rinse him off when we get to shore."
Alexei headed for the cave entrance, and pulled aside the boulder blocking the way. Mira jumped out and sailed down the mountain. Now that she was leaving the island some of her airiness seemed to be coming back. She leapt from stone to stone, jumping over the traps Alexei had laid to keep people away. Behind her she could hear him barreling through them, not paying any attention to the thorns or trip wires. She could see several stones toppling over behind him but he was moving too fast to care.
As she made the last jump and soared out over the ocean, Mira felt full flight return to her and she quickly gained altitude before looking behind to see something she would never forget.
There was no giant wave of lava, for this wasn't a true eruption. More black smoke was leaving the mountain than when she had first arrived, and here and there it was laced with white streaks of steam leaving vents and cracks in the mountain. Then suddenly the cave mouth they had just left exploded, spraying steam and red hot shrapnel everywhere.
Mira watched in horror as a large fragment of the cave came soaring through the air leaving a great parabolic steam trail in its wake. It stuck Alexei's shoulder separating it from the rest of his body even as it sent him spinning out of control.
Alexei's body toppled down the mountain of stair-like stones to land in the shallows of the ocean. With a bone-jarring crash, towers of stone and what remained of the cave's entrance buried the two ancient guardians alive.
Just as Mira started to head towards where they lay, there was another explosion and the top of the mountain began to roll down towards the beach, taking tree's and everything in its way with it. A tremendous cloud of steam billowed up into the sky after the explosion, and then there was silence. A terrifying, deafening silence the likes of which Mira had never heard before. A gaping hole where once had been two beings like herself.
Mira hovered over the pile of rock and stone that marked where the two had fallen and looked around, moistness filling where her eyes should have been.
Something green and slimy floated to the surface and Mira reached out to grab it, only to discover she couldn't.
Thinking fast, she started batting and blowing it towards the shore. As it washed up on the sand, she placed both hands over it and listened, praying Nathaniel was OK.
"Greece is lovely this time of year." came a tiny voice from the small patch of green.
"Nathaniel! Please, don't..." begged Mira, her voice choked, the silence rushing in to fill what was left.
"It's OK" he replied, "My little friend and I just overstayed our welcome. We're... going... home... now... - "
"You can't..."
"Look up Mira..."
Looking up, Mira could see the moon as the clouds of steam rolled off. Like a great eye watching from the night sky, a far off, but not silent observer.
A purpose fulfilled,
a memory left,
a torch passed,
and many blessed.
Mira could feel something leave the shred of green and she was left sitting there on the black sand, alone.
This truly was the Dead Island.