Snow Way Out: Part Four by Duplica13 |  |
Dr. Sloth put Dani and me in a cage. It was a lot like the glass box we’d been
captured in, only with small bars. "Ha! Does he really think that’ll hold Dani
the great?" said Dani, heading for the nearest set of bars. Just as she touched
them, she was thrown backwards into me.
"I think the bars are electrified," I said mildly.
"Well, duh," replied Dani.
"So, who’s laughing now?" Dani spun toward Kyle. "Why, I think it’s me. You’re
not getting out of this one as easily. This time your every move has been calculated.
I’ve been watching you, and I know exactly what you’re going to try. Ha! There’s
no way you can escape!" he laughed.
"Duplica, what are we gonna do?" asked Dani nervously.
"Hmmm. Let’s see. He said my every move was known, so we have to do the
opposite of what we’re gonna do," I replied.
Dani looked confused. "What? Did you even understand that?"
"Of course. It’s simple. Now, normally I’d try to escape, right? By jumping
out a window, or across the roof or something, right? Well, that’s what he’s
expecting."
"Oh, so we’re just walking out the door?"
"No. You see, he expects us to try and escape, or at least get you out,
before tomorrow. Instead, we wait. Kyle knows I’m impatient, so I’ll be patient.
It’ll completely throw him!"
"Oh. I see." Dani yawned. Both of us curled up and promptly fell asleep.
I was dreaming. Dani was in front of me. I was in the Snowager’s cave. Dani
was facing the Snowager all alone, and I couldn’t think of a way to help her.
I raced forward, to stop the icy breath of the Snowager. I stood, prepared for
the huge monster’s freezing breath, but it never came. Instead, the Snowager
had turned from Dani and me and toward Kyle. The Snowager was about to blast
him, and I again raced forward...
"Duplica, wake up!" Dani voice, not in my head, but from her mouth.
"Hmm?" I replied.
"Duplica, if you’ve got a plan now would be the time to use it!" Dani said
worriedly.
"Of course I’ve got a plan. Just give me a second to think of it." I sat back
and thought, aware of Dani’s fear behind me. "Hmmm..." Then, I thought of the
perfect plan. It was simple.
"Dani?"
"What? You’ve got a plan?"
"Yup. It’s simple. I give you my psychic powers. Then, I won’t have any
powers for Dr. Sloth to take."
Dani shook her head. "No way. You said YOU would get us out. Besides, I
don’t want your powers. You keep them. I’d probably blow something up." At
this I had to smile. Still, Dani persistence meant I’d need another plan. Then,
I remembered my dream. It had been so unlike my usual dreams, which made a weird
kind of sense. This one had been more like... a prediction.
"Of course!" I said. "The dream."
"Uh, I don’t mean to sound rude, but what are you talking about?" asked Dani.
I quickly told her about my dream, then explained my plan.
***
Kyle was the one who’d come to get Dani to bring her to the Snowager’s cave.
He looked surprised to see us, a sign I took as my being right about his guess.
I was surprised when he took both of us, but covered it up.
"Why are you doing this?" Dani asked, just like in our plan. "It’s not like
you have to listen to Dr. Sloth. I’m sure you have some good, deep down, and
I’m sure Duplica would adopt you again."
Kyle looked surprised again. As I’d predicted, he’d predicted that I’d be raging
and very upset, and Dani would be trying to pick a fight. Instead, Dani was
trying to be nice and I was waiting patiently. "You wouldn’t understand. Now
let’s go."
In just a few minutes, we were in what appeared to be a large underground labyrinth.
Kyle seemed to know the way, but I was lost after just a few turns. The path
we took twisted and turned this way and that, ensuring that anyone that didn’t
know the right way would soon be lost forever.
Soon, we came to a trapdoor. I quickly flew Dani and myself up into it, and
Kyle leapt up after us. Then we were in the Snowager’s cave. The Snowager was
sleeping, but I figured that that wouldn’t last long. As I’d suspected, Dr.
Sloth was there already.
"What? They didn’t try to escape?" Dr. Sloth turned angrily to Kyle. "I thought
you said there was no way she’d stay with the pet in danger! Then, this would
have come a lot sooner."
"I thought she’d leave too. Honest! I watched her all the time and it was obvious,"
Kyle said, his voice shaking.
I stepped in. "I don’t really care. I know Ry’ll understand if it’s for the
good of Neopia. I’d rather have her do the same thing, if it were her in my
place." I grinned inwardly, enjoying the look of rage and confusion on Dr. Sloth
and Kyle’s faces.
All our noise had, as I’d thought, woken the Snowager. At the first growl,
Kyle and Dr. Sloth raced away to hide behind some old battle items.
The Snowager turned and saw Dani, who was now trembling with fear. At least,
that was how it looked. I could tell, though, that she was excited. The Snowager
reared its head, inhaling. It was preparing for the icy blast of wind it used
on all pets it found in its cave. Just as we’d planed, I raced in front of the
Snowager. I knew that the Snowager took one, large breath, and by then, it was
too late. If I rushed to stand in front of Dani at just the right time, I’d
get frozen instead, and Neopia could be saved. It was just like my dream. And
yet, there was one thing I’d forgotten. I looked at the Snowager; its head no
longer was aimed at Dani and me, it was aimed at Kyle. Dr. Sloth had obviously
abandoned him when danger was eminent. I couldn’t let Kyle get frozen. In the
time before I’d realised he was evil, he’d been kind and polite. If one of my
pets, or one of Ry’s pets, got sick, he’d take care of them. He’d been kind
and generous. Even though it had all been an act, I couldn’t forget it. I sprang
forward to protect him, deaf to Dani’s warnings, only hearing and seeing Kyle.
Just like in my dream, I protected Kyle from the icy breath of the Snowager.
I knew in a few seconds, I’d be the one to get frozen, to be added to the Snowager’s
collection of frozen pets. And yet, I didn’t care. The only thing I could think
of was protecting Kyle. Time stretched. I wasn’t sure if I stood for a few seconds,
hours, days. I finally got up the courage to open my eyes and look. The Snowager
was just staring. Then, to my surprise, it spoke.
"Little Neopian, I have never seen such bravery. You were willing to sacrifice
yourself, all for the one who brought you here. He would not have blinked if
you’d been frozen, and the Kougra, too, and yet you felt compelled to save him.
Why?"
I was uncomfortable, not from fear, but because I didn’t know myself why I’d
saved Kyle. The Snowager was right, he wouldn’t have cared, why had I saved
him? "Um, I’m not sure," I answered honestly. "When he was my pet, he acted
kind and caring. I guess I just wanted to repay him, and to show, well, I really
care, and that," I faltered, not knowing how to put my feelings into words,
"and that, well, he has friends," I finished.
The Snowager nodded. "Well said, small one. Now, for your honesty and caring,
I have a gift."
"Oh, no. I couldn’t take any of these things," I said; looking around at the
wonderful treasures the Snowager had collected.
It laughed. "No, no. Not one of these small trinkets." Dani’s jaw dropped at
the thought of calling these things, some very rare and expensive, small trinkets.
" My gift to you is much more worthy of bravery such as yours. It is my ability
of Icy Breath."
"Wait," I protested. "I can’t learn any abilities. I’m not a pet."
"No," it agreed, "but with the Nimmo powers you received, you gained the ability
to lean abilities. I can give you Icy Breath, and you can use it. You will be
able to shoot frost from your fingertips, freezing pets and people in their
tracks."
The giant ice worm gently breathed on me, its breath suddenly visible as a
gently shimmering mist that hung around me. Taking a breath, I felt the mist
fill me up. Looking at my fingers, I saw the frost was gathering at their tips.
Searching my mind, I found I knew how to use this new power. I shot a blast
of frost at the trapdoor’s faintly visible outline, forever sealing it. Then,
I retracted the frost, so my fingers were normal again, at least, normal for
me.
Dani and I reached home a few minutes later. We had left Kyle in the Snowager’s
care, and were very glad at the thought of finally being free of him for good.
The first thing I did was call Jess, to tell him to reschedule the shoot for
next week. He ranted and raved for a bit, mostly about the fact that I hadn’t
been to the shoot today, then agreed to change the schedule. Moonshine and Starshimmer
were asleep, and Ry said they’d been good. When I told her about everything
that happened, she was surprised I’d only been a day. I was surprised too. So
much had happened, it seemed hard to believe only yesterday, we’d been going
to the pound and eating at Pizzaroo’s, just like any other Neopian. I thanked
Ry for taking care of my pets so well, and sent her home, to get some sleep.
Then I headed to my own room. I padded softly, and checked on my pets quickly.
I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t, so I headed to my golden room. It had been
here, really, that had started the whole adventure. I sighed. " I’m just an
adventure magnet." Then I grinned. With the new knowledge of the fact I could
learn abilities, life around here promised to be more interesting. "Now, more
than ever, will I get into trouble," I whispered to myself. I sank into
the softest chair with a yawn. "The future is gonna be fun. That’s for sure.
I dunno what’ll happen, but it’s bound to be exciting." Yawning again, I fell
asleep, dreaming about adventures to come...
The End |
