“Esme!”
I ignored the voice.
“Esme! Talk to me!” Someone slapped my face.
“Gerroff me,” I mumbled, trying to get back to sleep.
“Esme,” I recognized Lucy’s voice. “Wake up or I’ll tickle you.”
Besides being the meanest, leanest track racer in Britain, Lucy was also the most skilled tickler. I sat up with a jerk and felt pain shoot through the back of my head. Touching it, I found a crust of dried blood where Leon had kicked me. I wasn’t sure if I had opened my eyes or not.
“Is it dark?” I asked hesitantly.
“Dark? It’s bloody blacker than Leon’s wretched wings!” This had to be Amy.
“What’s going on? Where are we? Is this some kind of cell?” I asked. “Where is the decoder?”
“I’ve got it,” answered Wayne. “It was in your hand.” A small part of me relaxed. “We do seem to be inside some kind of prison. We all woke up in here a few minutes ago, except for Nathalie. She’s still sleeping in one of the corners.”
I missed my sight. I missed seeing Lucy’s laughing blue eyes, her golden curls. I missed seeing tall Wayne’s comforting face. I missed Amy’s mischievous grin, her silly dark eyes. I felt Wayne slip the decoder into my hand. I tried to open it, but in vain. I knew with certainty that Leon would enjoy playing with it. I had to hide it, but where? Not in my clothes, certainly. In my body, somewhere…
“Everyone, look away,” I said, standing up.
“From what?” Amy demanded.
“Oh – just keep your hands to yourselves, then. I’m hiding the decoder. Don’t touch me,” I said, feeling heat rush to my face. A few seconds of frantic pushing ensued.
“Er, where did you hide it?” asked Wayne. This was the worst.
“Eh…” I swallowed. “In my uterus, if you had to know.”
“What, like your vagina?” Wayne asked incredulously. “Can girls do that?”
My face burned in the cold air and I could sense Amy and Lucy collapsing into silent paroxysms of mirth. This suspicion was confirmed when I heard Lucy smothering a last snicker.
“Hello?”
The voice emanated from behind me. I turned – and saw nothing at all.
“Nathalie?” said Lucy.
“Yes,” said the angel, “how did you know? No mortal knows my name.”
“We come from a different world,” Lucy replied. “One where your name is well-known.”
“Oh, that’s fine, then,” she said. “We are in Leon’s keeping. He will torture you for information concerning me, then kill us all. Unless we can escape, that is.”
“That’s nice to know,” Amy growled. “How about one of those fireballs of yours, hmm? I’m sure you could destroy these walls.”
“Alas, no,” Nathalie said.
“Nathalie’s powers are broken. This cell has walls lined with asbestos, I suspect.”
“Oh yes,” Wayne said, “every superhero has a weakness. A key, one might say.”
“What is Leon’s key?” I asked.
“We don’t know yet,” said Lucy. I could sense Nathalie’s confusion.
“Why do you know so much? How did you find me?”
“We were transported here from a different world accidentally by an object currently residing – ouch! – ” I kicked Lucy in the shins.
“Since we all know you, and you don’t know us,” Amy said loudly, “allow me to introduce Wayne, Lucy, Esme and me, Amy. It doesn’t really matter who’s who, since it’s dark as hell in here!” She roared the last line.
Amy’s statement was at once contradicted as an unseen door swung open and we were instantly blinded. Squinting, I saw the dark angel striding in, holding a bright torch. He grabbed hold of Nathalie and, dragging her out, clicked a small band around her wrist. I suspected it to be asbestos.
“Everyone out, now!” he growled, turning around in the doorway. “And don’t try anything.”
It was a clichéed line, but we trooped out anyway. As I stepped into the passage, I realised that Amy was still standing, immobile, inside the cell.
“A little rebel, are we?” Leon snarled. “Get out, or your friends will pay.”
But Amy stood, arms folded, chin sticking out defiantly. Leon’s face darkened. He seized Lucy, who was closest, and hit her with the heavy light. Jagged shadows raced across the ceiling as Lucy whimpered and twisted in his grip. I tried to attack the angel, but an invisible, stinging barrier surrounded him. Looking back to Amy, I saw tears rolling down her face, but still she refused to move.
“Amy!” I yelled. “Get out! He’s going to kill her!”
She stood in indecision for a moment longer, then Lucy let out a piercing wail and Amy ran out of the jail. Leon released Lucy and Amy hugged her. Large, red welts were blooming on her skin. Wayne hammered on the barrier and shouted swearwords at the dark shape.
“Desist, mortal,” Leon growled, “or the next one feels my rage.” He conjured up a fireball for good measure.
“You’re evil!” Amy yelled at him over Lucy’s shaking shoulders. “I hope you die soon!”
“Me? Evil?” he laughed. “You are mistaken! I am not evil – you are!”
Nathalie drew herself up. She had distanced herself from the proceedings, but now her temper burst.
“You!” she shrieked. “You kill! You harm! You destroy! And revel in it!”
“But is that not the world as it should be?” Leon asked.
“No!” said Nathalie. “You’re hurting people!”
Leon looked confused. “And you are helping them. Chaos is the natural order of the world.”
I exchanged glances with the crew. This angel was certainly mad. Good and evil… Evil and good…
“Get up,” he snarled, back to his old self. “You are to appear before the Dark Tribunal, on charges of Goodness, Kindness and Being in My Way. Walk left. I shall follow.”
We turned and walked through airless, cobwebbed corridors, treading over discarded rubble and suspicious dark stains on the floor. Leon’s flashlight spilled light onto locked doors and boarded-up windows.
“Where are we?” Wayne asked, glancing around. “This place is creepy.”
“You are in the headquarters of the Tribunal,” Leon sneered. “There is no escape.”
My mind raced to find ideas. Leon was untouchable, this place was inescapable and there were more dark people around. Ideally we would escape without coming into contact with them. But without the decoder, we were lost.
“I need to go to the toilet,” I said. “Really bad.”
“Nice try, mastermind,” Leon said. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Now for the clever part. The part they never tried in the movies.
“Well then,” I said, “I’m just going to go right here.” With this, I started to pull down my shorts and underwear. Leon’s face contorted with distaste.
“All right, you can go. There’s a bucket on the right of the passage. But don’t try anything. I still have all your friends.”
I hunkered down behind a rusty sheet of iron and pulled out the decoder. I twisted. It opened. I smothered a scream of delight and opened it until it was almost flat. One twist and we were free.
I emerged from the corner and gave a small wink at Wayne, who raised his eyebrows. I nodded. Leon interrupted the silent communication.
“Move along, move along.”
As I rejoined the group, I joined hands with Wayne and Amy, who held hands with Lucy. After a moment’s hesitation, Nathalie was included. I flipped open the decoder with my free hand.
“What are you doing?” Leon growled. “Move!”
“Sorry, Leon,” I smiled. “We have better things to do.”
“State: Alpha
672.5”
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