Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) (20 page)

Oliver felt the heat coming off them as they warmed the entire cave and a sleepy feeling washed over him.

"How are they alive? They're on fire," a young boy asked the guide.

"They have a thick layer of oil on their fur which allows an almost constant fire to burn. The oil runs out when they reach an old age and the fire consumes them," the guide answered.

The boy gasped, looking sympathetically up at the creatures.

"It's just how they've evolved. The fire protects them from predators and keeps them warm throughout the cold winters. When they're born, they're lit by their mother's fire and don't stop burning until they die," the guide said.

"This is as far as we can go. When we start the race we go through the exit over there." Rogan pointed.

Oliver followed the direction of his finger towards a cavern that led out to a narrow passageway. It was cordoned off with a guard stationed there.

"At the end of that corridor is the entrance to several rooms. We have to choose one at random and hope it works out," Anna explained excitedly.

Oliver couldn't help but feel a little excited despite the circumstances they would be racing under. The inflated feeling dispelled as he remembered that they didn't have a full team together yet.

"And what if it doesn't work out?" May asked.

"You can go back and try another room but you might end up wasting time. If you can't get through the caves in the allotted time, you'll be disqualified," Rogan answered, looking grim.

"How much time do we get?" May enquired.

"Two hours," Anna said excitedly.

"That's all?" Oliver asked in horror.

"Yep, it's gonna be tough," Rogan said, bouncing a little with anticipation. "I can't wait."

"I wish we were racing with you guys," May said thoughtfully.

"I don't blame you," Quinn muttered, placing a hand on her hip.

"Quinn, you're such a cow sometimes," Rogan said, nudging her. "I'd rather be racing with them. Larkin was such an idiot last night."

"I'm sure he was just joking," Quinn said. "Argh, I have to take these off. I can hardly see." She pushed the sunglasses up onto her head.

"Yeah, it's probably more suspicious to be walking around with sunglasses on in a dark room," Rogan agreed, laughing and pulling his own off.

A couple of teenage girls appeared behind them and Anna took the opportunity to talk to them. "Excuse me, are you competing in the race?"

"Yes, why?" one of them asked.

"We're just looking for team members," she said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well you've left it rather late haven't you?" the girl said loftily and walked further inside the cave with her friend.

Anna made a face at them as they went.

"Okay, strike one," Oliver said, nudging her and she smiled.

"Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way," May suggested.

They spent the next couple of hours approaching people. Oliver soon realised that anyone who was competing already had a team and those who didn't, didn't want to compete anyway. He spent fifteen minutes atrociously attempting to flirt with a girl before she bluntly rejected his request. After a few more failed attempts, he decided to take a break.

He found Anna and May looking equally disheartened.

"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." Oliver sighed, feeling the afternoon slipping away.

"I told one girl where I was from and she said she didn't want an
Earthy
on her team even if she did have a place for me. What's that supposed to mean?" May asked, indignantly.

"Don't take any notice. Some stupid people still have stereotypes about people from Earth," Anna said, throwing a knowing look at Oliver.

May pouted and glared across the room at a girl.

"Where's Rogan and Quinn?" Oliver asked, looking around for them. He spotted them a little way away talking to a group of teenagers.

They walked over and joined them.

"I swear I know you from somewhere," a buck-toothed boy was saying to Quinn.

"I don't think so, bunny boy," Quinn replied coolly.

Rogan frowned at her. "Don't be rude. Sorry about her," he said to the boy.

"I know you too," the boy said, narrowing his eyes at Rogan.

"You're mistaken," Rogan said, stating it as a fact.

The boy's friend, a pretty girl with black hair, looked closer at Rogan. She gasped suddenly, clapping her hands to her mouth.

"Time to go," Rogan said, attempting to pull Quinn away into the crowd. The girl gripped his arm.

"Rogan Ganderfield," she whispered. Then she screamed so loud it echoed around the entire cavern. "ROGAN GANDERFIELD'S HERE!"

17

Fragmented

T
he girl pointed and bounced up and down as if she was on a pogo stick. The rest of her friends shouted out and started pointing too.

One of them looked straight at Quinn. "And Quinn Thorn! Quinn Thorn's here too! Ahh!"

The crowd in the room swung around to face them. Within a second they were mobbed. Oliver reached for Anna nearby and gripped her arm so he didn't lose her. May was forced aside by a boy who stepped on Oliver's feet then tried shoving him.

"Get out of my way!" Oliver snapped, losing his patience.

The boy frowned but stopped standing on him. Oliver couldn't see May anywhere amongst the swarming crowd. He forced his way through to Rogan and Quinn, still gripping Anna's arm tightly. He elbowed a boy in the ribs who tried to actively rip Anna's arm out of his hand to get through.

A group of girls were practically climbing Rogan. Quinn signed pieces of paper that were being waved in her direction, looking delighted at seeing her fans. Oliver used the space around Quinn to get to Rogan.

"You alright?" he asked Quinn as he passed.

"Just peachy," she said with a glare that gave away her real feelings on the situation. "Help Rogan will you." She rolled her eyes at the girls climbing him.

"I can't exactly stop them," Oliver said, frowning at them.

"No, but we can," May said, appearing at Anna's side.

Anna agreed readily and the two of them forced their way over to Rogan, shoving the girls aside. They managed to create a space around him next to Quinn.

A girl lunged forward and Anna stopped her with a look. "Take one more step and I'll stop you myself," she said threateningly.

The girl frowned at her but didn't step any closer.

"CAVE'S CLOSING! Please make your way towards the exit unless you want your hair set on fire by the bats!" a guard shouted as he waved people towards the exit.

Oliver sighed with relief. The guard helped usher the crowd out of the cave. Their group held back so they could get some distance between them and the fans.

"You guys go ahead," Rogan said. "I'll see if we can persuade the guard to let me and Quinn out a different exit."

"Okay, see you back at the hotel?" Oliver said.

"Yeah, see you later," Rogan said, walking over to the guard with Quinn.

The firebats were getting restless on the ceiling and the bright fireball was growing as more of the creatures gathered in the centre. Oliver, May and Anna hurried towards the exit and up the hill. A group of guards cordoned off the entrance as the first of the firebats flitted out of it, up towards the sky.

They reached the top of the hill and turned to look back at the cave, the sky had dimmed to a pale pink as the sun began to set.

"How are people gonna watch us in the race if we're down in that cave?" May asked.

"With Survision cameras. They film the race so the crowd outside and people at home can watch the action. It'll be broadcast all over the world," Anna explained.

"It's kind of exciting," May said.

Oliver smiled at her. His mind was taken off the race completely as he looked back and saw the hot, red glow of fire growing brighter from inside the cave. The glow was accompanied by the screeching of bats that sounded like air rushing through burning wood.

The fireball of bats burst from the cave, warming Oliver's face with the heat of the swarm. The noise was deafening. They came in a stream of fire and, as they rose, the mass of bats swirled and cartwheeled in the sky, leaving sweeping trails of light behind them.

The stream began to thin until the final bats left the cave and joined the flowing river of red and orange in the sky until they disappeared into the distance.

Oliver exhaled slowly.

"Wow," May said, her eyes wide.

"I forgot how incredible it was to watch. I came here to see it with my mum and dad when I was little," Anna said, leading the way towards the pod station.

* * *

Night had completely fallen by the time they arrived at the Ganderfield Hotel. The yellowy light of Aleva's dusty-looking moons shone down over Crome and the stars glittered in the navy sky.

They walked through the revolving doors and the noise of arguing filled Oliver's ears as he emerged in the empty lobby. He looked over to see Rogan and Quinn bickering in the lounge, their hair now returned to normal.

"I can't believe you've done this," Quinn was saying to Rogan. "What are we going to do now?"

"Why can't you just talk to him. He's just doing it to make a point," Rogan reasoned.

"He's not. I already
tried
talking to him," Quinn snapped.

"Do you know what? I don't even care. I'm sick of that idiot," Rogan said angrily.

"He's our friend," Quinn said, sounding offended.

"He's
your
friend. I never liked the guy much," Rogan said.

Oliver glanced at Anna and May. "Maybe we should just go upstairs?" he suggested quietly.

The girls nodded and they hurried towards the lift.

"Hey,
you
. Oliver!" Quinn barked, making him cringe.

Oliver walked over to them with a resigned sigh and heard Anna and May following him.

"What's up?" he asked Quinn brightly and Rogan shook his head at him in warning.

Quinn jabbed Oliver in the shoulder with a sharp fingernail. "
You
have made Larkin ditch us from his team," she hissed.

"How's that
my
fault?" Oliver asked indignantly.

"Because he doesn't like you and Rogan decided it was a good idea to side with
you
over him," Quinn said.

"Again. How's that my fault?" Oliver asked, glaring at her. She was slightly shorter than him so he was glad of having the advantage of looking down at her.

Quinn huffed angrily. "Because you're a stupid Earthy," she responded wildly.

"Seriously?" Oliver said, cocking an eyebrow in amusement.

"Guys, can I join your team please?" Rogan asked them politely.

"Course you can," Oliver said, ignoring a look of venom from Quinn.

"Please tell me you're joking? I'd rather sacrifice myself to a hogtrout than compete with
them
," she said, scowling at Oliver, Anna and May.

"Who said anything about you?
I've
got a place on their team," Rogan said, walking around to stand beside May.

"
Excuse me?
You are not competing without me," Quinn demanded.

"Well, I seem to have a team right here, do you?" Rogan asked, folding his arms. "I'd love to meet them, are they around here somewhere?" He looked around Quinn with exaggerated curiosity.

Quinn's face turned red with fury. "YOU ARE NOT COMPETING WITH THEM!" she screeched so high pitched that Oliver only just caught the words.

"Yes. Yes, I am. And if you ask really nicely, they
might
let you join their team, too," Rogan said, raising an eyebrow at them.

Oliver shrugged and Anna seemed stumped for words.

"You can join us if you want, Quinn," May said and Oliver glanced at her, his anger with Quinn dissolving as he was reminded of how much his sister needed a team.

Quinn didn't even acknowledge her. She shoved Rogan out of the way, stormed past him with a noise like an angry tiger and disappeared into the lift.

"Don't worry, she'll come around," Rogan said.

Oliver shoved his hands in his pockets, hating how much they needed her.

Silence hung in the air for a moment then Anna said one word that brightened his mood by a mile.

"Sumi's?"

* * *

They arrived at Sumi's and took a seat in the corner. Rogan's bushy beard was firmly back in place, only partially concealing the moody frown on his face.

"You okay, man?" Oliver asked as the girls went off to order them some food.

Rogan grunted. "She is the most infuriating person I've ever known."

"Yeah, me too. And I've only known her for half a day," Oliver said with a laugh.

Rogan joined in, breaking his bad mood.

"So, did you meet Larkin on your way home then?" Oliver asked with a flare of annoyance on Rogan's behalf.

"Yeah, we got a pod pretty quick with the guard's help then bumped into Larkin outside the hotel. He'd come over especially to tell us that he'd replaced us with two of his mates. Git," he said, gritting his teeth.

"Are you sure you want to compete with us? I know we're not exactly the strongest contestants," Oliver said, hoping he wouldn't back out on them.

"No, seriously, this is so much better. You guys aren't weak anyway. Did you see the way those two handled themselves back in the cave?" Rogan said, nodding to Anna and May who were chatting together in the queue.

Oliver smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

"Yeah. And I doubt you'd let anything happen to those two in the race, either," Rogan said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Especially
Anna
," he goaded.

"Shut it," Oliver said, feeling the blood rise under his cheeks. "You've got the advantage with your magic anyway."

"Nope. Magic's banned in the race, it'd be an unfair advantage," Rogan said, leaning back in his chair so it balanced on two legs.

"Oh," Oliver said in surprise. "I guess that makes sense."

The girls returned with some drinks and sat down, placing them on the table. May sat beside Rogan, leaving a sizeable gap between them.

Rogan glanced at her with a crooked smile and she returned it shyly, her cheeks colouring ever so slightly.

"Do you think Quinn will really join our team?" Anna asked Rogan.

"Yeah, she hasn't really got a choice," Rogan said, sipping his drink.

"Do you think she'll be okay getting on with us? If we race together we'll have to work as a team to get through it or we won't stand a chance," Oliver said, remembering Ely's pointers about the race.

"Don't worry she'll be civil. She wants to get a key as much as the rest of us and she'll do what she has to to get one," Rogan said.

"So, we've got a full team?" May said slowly.

"Looks that way," Anna replied with a grin.

"Cheers to that," Oliver said, raising his glass.

* * *

The next morning a knock sounded at the door in Oliver's hotel room. May turned down the survision as Oliver answered it to find Ely and Laura there. He let them in and they sat down together in the living room.

"What happened to you two last night? Laura asked them with a smirk.

"Please don't just wander off without mentioning it," Ely implored. "I have quite enough to worry about."

"Sorry, we went out. But we have good news," Oliver said.

"What's that then?" Ely asked.

"We found our last two team members," May revealed excitedly.

"Really?" Laura asked in surprise.

"That's fantastic. Who are they?" Ely asked.

"Rogan Ganderfield and Quinn Thorn," Oliver announced.

Ely and Laura both laughed.

"Yeah, right," Laura said disbelievingly.

Oliver and May looked at them straight-faced.

"Wait, how do you even know who they are?" Laura asked with a look of confusion.

"We didn't 'til we met them. And now they're on our team," Oliver said frankly, enjoying watching the expressions on their faces.

"Yep," May said with a smug look.

"Please tell me you're being serious?" Ely asked, his round eyes bulging at them.

"Yeah, we are," Oliver said with a smile.

"That's fantastic news!" Ely said, looking at Laura in astonishment.

"Come on. They're not being serious, Dad," Laura said, shaking her head.

"How about they come here for lunch?" Ely challenged them.

"Okay, I'll ask them," Oliver said brightly.

"The only problem now is getting you a place," Ely said thoughtfully.

"Have none of the teams dropped out then?" May asked, looking panicked.

Ely shook his head. "Not to worry, there's time yet." But the looked he gave Laura left Oliver with a sick feeling in his stomach.

* * *

Oliver and May took the lift down to Anna's room, knocking on the door marked
303
. Anna's mum answered the door, looking curious at the sight of them. Oliver was glad that she was no longer angry as she seemed like a woman you didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

"Hi, is Anna around?" Oliver asked politely.

"Yes she's about, come on in."

They followed her inside to a room that, although cosy, was noticeably smaller than the rooms they were staying in. Doors led off to bedrooms from the living area.