“What happened?” Daniel asked, trying to move, but he couldn’t. His legs and arms were trapped between two upturned seats.
“It seems there was some structural damage,” Pyros replied. “To the capsule, I mean. The doors are not opening, and since the walls are opaque, we can’t see anything outside. It was expected, I suppose.”
“What was?”
“That some damage would be there to the capsule. Well, this seems to be a day full of surprises.”
Daniel racked his brain. “What about our Elemental Powers?”
“Tried them. My Elemental Powers are working but in a limited amount,” came the voice of James. Daniel looked to his right to see a small pool of water forming in James’s palm.
“That means we’re in the Dark World, right?” Daniel asked. “Our plan worked!”
“Not so fast,” James reminded him. “We still have to get out of this capsule.”
James’s legs were trapped under Daniel’s seat. Although no one was hurt, everyone was stuck inside in strange ways.
“Maybe I can try my magic, assuming that we’re in the Dark World,” Archer said. He raised a hand at the door, focusing hard. A small wave of fire slammed into the door. Nothing happened.
Archer lowered his hand. “My powers are not working at their full potential.”
“What do we do now?” Daniel asked.
“Wait,” James said, pointing to the door. “Look.”
The door had budged. The nose of a drill poked through, boring a growing hole into the door.
Help had arrived… or was it a sign of danger?
The drill moved further, until there was a large hole. A face appeared – the face of a human.
“Are you all okay?” the face asked. “Is anyone hurt?”
“No, we’re all right,” James said. “Can you get us out?”
The face, instead of replying, disappeared, and a second later, the door was kicked apart.
Two huge men walked inside and, with grunts, lifted the seats. James was freed, and he moved out of the capsule.
The men then proceeded to help the others. A short while later, they were all standing outside the capsule.
The capsule looked wrecked. Its metal hull was dented in various places, and its entire outer steel grating had crumbled.
They were standing on a beach. A blue sea stretched out endlessly. Daniel turned to see
people – humans – waiting for them.
The humans were dressed in regular clothes – some
in office attire, some in robes, some in coats.
Daniel felt saddened and looked at Pyros. “The mission failed. We have landed somewhere on Earth.”
Before Pyros could say anything, an older man stepped forward, steadied by a staff. “Welcome,” he said. “To the Island of the Humans... in the Dark World.”
The expression on Daniel’s face changed from despair to excitement.
“Thank you for helping us,” Pyros said, moving forward to shake the man’s hand. Pyros introduced himself and the children.
“I am Thomas,” the old man said.
“Wait,” James said. “Thomas Arthur Garner?”
Thomas looked surprised. “How do you know that?”
“I read about you,” James said. “You disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle along with eleven other crew members, in a patrol -”
“Seaplane, yes,” Thomas completed. His face had a curious expression. “What year is it on Earth? People here are old and young. We have persons from the year 1452 and some others from 2015. It’s confusing.”
“It’s 2020,” James told him.
Thomas nodded, surprised. “I came here in 1945. I feel like I have lived here an eternity. But it’s just been seventy-four years? Strange.”
“It’s not,” James said. “Let me explain. One month in the Dark World equals an hour on Earth.” He ran some calculations in his head. “You have been here for seventy-four years. Meaning 648240 hours. One hour means one month, so you’ve lived...” He paused. “473215200 hours in the Dark World. Meaning... Oh my God! You’ve lived here fifty-four thousand years!”
Thomas gasped. “Wow! Anyway, thanks for enlightening me on the time issue. The island we live in is humongous, and there are luxuries abounding. No one would want to leave such a place. How did you get here anyway? Did you enter the Bermuda Triangle?”
“Yes,” Pyros said. “But voluntarily.”
“Voluntarily! Why would you do that?! It’s insane.”
“We are on a mission,” James said. “We have to rescue a friend. And to do that, we need to meet another friend of ours, named the Scavenger. He should be here, but I don’t see -”
“The what?!” Thomas looked surprised.
“The Scavenger,” James clarified.
“You mean the warrior for whose capture there is a reward for tens of thousands of gold coins? The warrior for whom every other person in the Dark World is searching?”
Before James could reply, a voice came from behind Thomas. “Yep, that’s me.”
Everybody was pleasantly surprised to see the Scavenger. Their plan had been executed perfectly. They all walked down a narrow path through a small forest area, where crops were being grown everywhere. As they walked, the Scavenger told his story to the curious children and Pyros.
“When you disappeared,” the Scavenger began, “things went according to plan. At Cotton Village, I seized control of the distraction, fought through the warriors and raced away from the scene. The warriors followed me for days, but I managed to avoid them. With the support of these humans, I had been in hiding just outside the Island of Humans for several days, waiting for you all.
“I consider it an achievement that I have avoided being captured so far. Osay has got my pictures circulating all around. The Dark World is no more a friendly place for us. Several orders from the Castle of Fate, in the name of the Kings of Necron, have communicated to the Dark World that we have committed treason. It says that as a punishment, the Elemental children have been banished from the Dark World forever. There is a big bounty announced for anyone who captures me. Osay is playing the entire game very well. In just two months, the tide has turned against us.”
“Two months?!” Archer exclaimed. Then he understood. “Oh, that’s right. We spent two hours back on Earth.”
“Anyway, so here you are,”
