Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 38

Chapter 38 

*Saket Bikmal*

“Well, we’re here,” Dean announces.

It’s the first sentence anyone has uttered since we embarked on our journey to Christy’s fortress, and I can’t help but notice how tense his voice is, as if he’s waiting for something terrible to happen.

“So what do we do?” Jack inquires. “Just wait until the two of them come out?”

“Follow me,” Dean responds, advancing towards the fortress.

We stop where the forest ends abruptly and gives way to the sea -- or, now, the ice covering the sea.

“Uh, Dean? Are you sure this is safe?” Sophie asks.

“Of course it’s not safe,” he answers. “But we have to go over it to actually reach the fortress.”

Sophie and I glance at each other. I shrug, then tentatively take my first step onto the ice.

“Careful,” Dean warns. “See that massive hole over there? That’s where Sid escaped from the temporary prison Rachel created when she died.”

When he speaks her name, the shadows around us start to twist and writhe, as if the memory of their former commander reinvigorated them.

“They should be coming out any time now,” Dean murmurs.

“Who?” I ask.

“Christy and Sid.”

Suddenly, as if on cue, the ice between us and the fortress erupts with a ferocity rivalling Mount Vesuvius. Bits and pieces of razor-sharp ice rain down upon us and an explosion of icy water bursts forth like a geyser.

“Run!” Dean shouts.

Dodging the spears of ice, we scramble away from the site of the blast, but a lone figure dives down in front of us, blocking our way. Through the haze of chaos, I make out Sid’s unearthly smirk. His stentorian laugh easily carries over the maelstrom.

“Miss me?” he sneers.

 

*Sophie Koh*

Sid comes straight at us like a bullet on its path to murder. I look wildly around for an escape route, but there is none. And on top of that, I notice that the patch of ice we’re standing on is starting to crack.

“Get back, we have to run!” I yell, pointing at the gash in the ice.

But before any of us can take this advice, Sid is upon us. He swoops down and slams into the ice, enlarging the hole.

Then he kicks Jack hard, square in the chest.

Jack stumbles back a few paces, his feet slipping on the slick surface, but it’s no use; he can’t regain his balance. He falls backward -- straight into the icy water.

“Jack!” I scramble towards him, but Sid pounces on me before I can get there. I hit the ice hard and my vision starts going black around the edges.

No, Sophie, you have to stay conscious, I tell myself. Get to Jack. You promised to take care of him.

The weight on my back suddenly lifts, and I hear Saket screaming, “Get off of her, you slimy piece of ----!” The sound of punching and a loud wail follows.

I gasp for air, trying to clear my head, and see Jack bobbing in the water only a few feet away. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I crawl over and grab hold of his wrist.