The Island of Fear (complete)

Chapter 23) Trapped in Caves

isobeljones2000

Shellington's POV: Ivy. Now that I knew what I was looking for it was obvious. Berries grew all over the rocks, looking luscious and red. My heart lifted as I nearly ran over to them, pulling them off in handfuls and gathering a large pile of them in my hands. Would these cure Dashi?  Was Peso right? 

I found a rock and began to mush up some of the berries into a poultice in my hand, pouring the liquidated mixture into a pouch I kept on my belt. It actually smelled quite good, but maybe that was my wishful thinking.  Collecting some more berries in my pockets just to make sure, I started off down the mountain, almost skipping in joy. I desperately wanted to sprint down the hill, to get to Dashi as fast as I could, but one look at the dizzying drop below me put me off that idea. What use would I be for Dashi dead?

The mountain wasn't rising any more, as I was pretty calm. I knew the fears on this island must work by your level of fear, the more scared you were, the worse it became. Now I was focused on saving Dashi, the drop didn't seem so important any more.

I'm coming, Dashi.

KateSeleneMelody3OCS

Tunip's POV: I knew all about Selene's relationship with Lupo Wolf, though no one had ever told me about it. The Octonauts hated him for it, and so did I. Selene was kind of like a mother to us Vegimals, after all.

We darted through the tunnels back the way we had come. Even timid Codish looked more determined then I had ever seen him before. Grouber had stopped complaining about hunger, Tomminow had stopped rambling, and Eelean... She was the one who was beside me, the one who helped me lead the charge. I had only just met her, but I knew she was a natural leader. Perfect for the Vegimals.

We were about to round a corner when we all stopped. In the corridor, standing face to face with Selene and...Christian? Either way, standing face to face with Selene and Christian was someone I had only heard descriptions of, but recognized all the less. Lupo Wolf!

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Barnacles' POV: The radio beeped to indicate Kwazii was there. I begun babbling, unable to help myself.

"Kwazii! Are you all right? I'm so glad the radios are working! Is Tweak with you?" 

There was silence on the other end. I could just hear Kwazii's laboured breathing. "Kwazii?"

Then another familiar voice took over. "Cap?"

"Tweak! What's wrong?" 

Her voice sounded scared and immediately set alarm bells ringing in my head. "We're trapped in a cave and I'm staring at a massive spider right now. It's spun webs all around us and the webs are moving in. And er, Cap?" Her voice was quieter. "It's a black widow."

"But that's impossible -" I murmured, horrified and hating the knowledge that I couldn't do anything about it. It also explained Kwazii's silence. He would be terrified beyond speech.

"Oh my goodness - we're going to get stuck to the webs! Oh me, oh my -" Then Tweak's radio cut off and I was left wide eyed holding a crying toddler and knowing my crew were in more danger than I had ever seen before. And I couldn't do a thing.

KateSeleneMelody3OCS

Peso's POV: I was Orpheus, and Kate was Eurydice. I had to get her to the world above. Gently, I picked up the limp, delicate, body of Kate, whom I loved with all my heart. She was a lot lighter then I had expected, and I almost threw her up into the air.

After I regained my composure, I peeked around the boulder, very cautiously. There were no more darts coming at us. I guess whoever was controlling them was satisfied that Kate had been hit....The thought made me furious. Who would be so sick as to do something like this? It didn't matter to me right now. Right now, I had to get Kate out of here. She was - she is - claustrophobic. And I didn't want either of us to die in this place.

I started to walk through the catacombs. For a few minutes, the terrain was relatively flat. Then, the ground began to slope upward. We were nearing the surface. "We're almost there, Kate! We're going to make it!" I said, hope building up inside of me.

I looked down at Kate in my arms and stopped. What if I was too late? No, not 'what if'. I was too late. Kate was gone. If I had just seen that stupid dart, she might still be here!

 I sobbed into her fur. "She's gone! She's really gone!"  

Then I heard a voice. "Peso?! What's going on?! Who's gone?!" I looked up, realizing I had accidentally contacted Captain Barnacles.

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Kwazii' s POV: I was distantly aware of my radio ringing on my neck, but it was like it was a very long way away as I stared into the massive bulbous eyes of the spider. The world was overwhelmingly slow around me as I and the spider stared each other down. I could hear Tweak talking urgently into my radio, but the words escaped me. Then my radio cut off as the webs moved in, and Tweak pulled me closer. Half because we were both terrified, but half because the webs were only a few feet from our position.

"Don't - move," Tweak hissed to me. I was paralysed anyway, why bother telling me? "Oh me oh my..." She whispered again as the spider crawled right up to us, still pulling the webs together with its hairy legs. It was barely a few centimetres from Tweak. 

"Don't move," she hissed again. Was I moving? I couldn't tell. She kissed me gently, for her benefit or mine I didn't know. Still, that was the only thing that I could respond to. Then - I felt a hairy leg brush over mine - and I screamed.

Thrashing about in the web that was now sticking densely to our clothes and skin, I couldn't help moving now. Tweak was speaking  urgently in my ear, but I was too far gone to comprehend her speech. All I could focus on was the massive form of the spider now moving around me as I thrashed desperately in the web, moving around, choosing an angle, it felt like, crawling slowly forward, and -

And sinking its teeth into Tweak's waist.