A spark from the legends...

A spark from the legends…

Dedicated to the "INNOCENT DEVIL"

The cabbie steered around the city slowly. For the first time in Nelson's life, the thought of home didn't give him contentment. He sat in the backseat and pondered about the bicycle his son had asked him to get, but working as a waiter in a roadside restaurant hardly permitted him two meals a day and buying a bicycle would have made him go without any food for two days. He was feeling dreadful, half because of the bicycle and half because his wife thought that he had found a job in some big company. Ciara will surely find out the truth today. A tear escaped his eyes and dropped on his hand.

The Indian cabbie whistled as he drove. The night was very dark, darker than usual. Suddenly, a black cat crossed the road. The driver rammed the brakes and the car stopped. The cabbie had heard of a superstition that said cats crossing the road brought bad luck, but practice had taught him to never believe in them. "Easy man," Nelson said. "Sorry sir, I didn't notice the cat before," replied the driver. He keyed the engine once again and accelerated slowly. The speedometer rose to ten. Then something hit the underside of the car. Before the sound could reach the cabbie's ear, the car blew up.

Jove stood in the foyer. "Come back in. It is cold outside. Your dad must be on his way," said his mother Ciara from inside. Jove was very excited for his father was coming back home with his new bicycle. Each time a car passed by, Jove would run out of the house to check if it was his father. "Where is dad?" Jove asked slowly. "He was supposed to be home half an hour ago" said Jove. "He will come back soon" said his mother.

Ciara's ears cocked up. She had sensed a disturbance in the air. "You go to sleep now," Ciara said to Jove, now looking concerned. "No, no, no. I won’t. I will sleep only after father gets home." Ciara, using her fingers, motioned Jove's eyelids to drop down. "Only after father is back... Only after he is..." Jove drifted off.  

Out of the blue, seven people appeared in the Hall Of Illusions. They quickly seated themselves.

"The waves have helped," said Madonna. "Ciara's trick has worked."

"There are five of them. The Black Hoods, this time they are far more powerful and determined." Ciara said.

"We are seven. What do you say?" Sophie nodded.

"We have to be quick. Madonna, you will go for the metro. Clara, you have to defend the city mall. The airport will be packed. It will be for you, Jolie and you, Marga; Katy, the movie hall. Sophie and I will try to save the Intelligence Corps Department. We have three hours and then we will report here," said Ciara.

"There is one more problem," said Clara. Everybody's head turned towards Clara. She sighed and then said, "Today is Christmas eve."

The City mall was looming with people that night. All the stores were open. There were two big Christmas trees flanking both sides of the main entrance. A person dressed as Santa Claus was distributing sweets at the entrance. The snow had gathered on the trees and on the path. Two people were busy cleaning the path of the snow. They were piled it into a heap at one corner of the road.

A person with a black hood stood watching all this from the terrace of a nearby building.

Clara was speeding to the city mall. She jumped from building to building, dodging the lines upon which clothes were hung for drying, stepping on the window panes and bracing against shadowed areas whenever anyone would glance at her figure. She stopped at a distance from the city mall and began walking. She didn't enter the mall but ambled around on the outside. She scrutinized the place. Three people were eating hot dogs, quite a number of people were resting on the seats and some children were chasing each other around the place where a mass of snow had been collected. I can sense some turbulence. There are so many people out here. It will be tough to get hold of the brute.

The boy who was chasing the other kids followed a girl past the mound of snow. At that moment, the top of the snow spilled out itself. The boy fell down hard and blood flowed out from the back of his head. Oh no! The girl who had been running away stopped dead in her tracks. There was a short pause as everyone watched the spectacle awed. The next moment, the snow spurted out and everybody was falling down. The road had become dangerously slippery. A hurrying van, which was passing the spot, crashed into another van that had turned around the corner. Clara, too, fell down with a thud. She quickly got up and looked around. She noticed a figure disappearing from the terrace of the building that stood opposite the wall. "Clear out!" she yelled.  

The black hood turned and vanished. He had a cruel smile on his leaps.

Sophie and Ciara were the only ones left in the Hall of Illusions. "Let us go," Sophie said, turning to go. "No," said Ciara. Sophie turned back and raised an eyebrow. "You move out. I will be there after some time. Nelson hasn't returned home. I fear something is wrong," Ciara said. Sophie had an alarmed look on her face. "What happened?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know. I will go and check out. You see that nobody trespasses the department."

"Sure. Won't it be closed today?"

"Yes and that makes our work all the more easier!"

Ciara blinked and disappeared.

Sophie rushed to the Department. It was locked shut. Everything was quiet and still. She sighed. Everything had happened so fast that she had been stunned. Nick had been dating her for the first time in her life and, much regrettably, it was that moment the Black Hoods had chosen to invade the city. She remembered Nick, his deep and persistent gaze, the way he looked at her for hours long without speaking a word. How he would always ask if she was feeling uncomfortable and the way she would always deny. At that moment, Sophie felt that Ciara should have never put on the protection around the city- an invisible wall which when touched by a black magician sends disturbing waves rippling through the whole city. In the Hall of Illusions, they came to know those five places the Black Hoods had targeted. Dirty guys, but smart. They have targeted the four most crowded areas of the city, and this Department which is the backbone of the Security Team against Criminals.

Ciara half ran, half flew to the mess. Nelson lay under the debris, scorched and scarred, and- she gulped- dead. She began feeling it then. It was an itchy feeling; it turned into a scratch; then it became a wound; then turned into an indelible scar.

All was quiet inside the building. Silently, she trod around the rows of computers that contained all the information on the city's miscreants. She tiptoed forward, all senses alert. Something flicked on the left. On the spur of the moment, Sophie hurled a chair at the figure. It dodged the chair and motioned the chandelier to come down on Sophie. Sophie threw up her hands and barred the chandelier from crushing her. She threw it sideways and it crashed into the wall. "Ciara stop! It’s me!" Sophie yelled. There was a deafening silence. "Oh no! We have created a hell lot of noise," whispered Ciara. Both of them fell silent.

Three security guards rushed inside. They were sure they had heard something bang. Their flashlights scanned the whole room but they could see nothing disturbed. Bewildered, they returned to their posts.

The Black Hood came before long. Ciara was the one to notice him first. He tiptoed towards Sophie, and Ciara followed her lightly.

Sophie turned around and saw Ciara crouching. She yelled, “Hurry Ciara! He is behind you!”

Ciara halted perplexed. Slowly, the brute in front of her vanished into thin air- it was just an apparition! Then something tugged at Ciara from behind. After a second, Ciara was hurtling through the air and outside the window.

Sophie dived under a desk. The Black Hood did not want to play and hide and seek. With a wave of his arms, he sent all the tables, chairs, computers and wires flying. In a moment, the hall was emptied of everything, except Sophie.

“Oh!” Ciara exclaimed, “all is lost,” she said as the computers, wires, chips and cables fell through the window and made one huge pile. It was a horrifying spectacle to see all the years’ job damaged and lost in few minutes. The chain of falling machines, outlined against the dark sky, looked ominous.   

Sophie tried to stop the flow of blood from her right foot, but it was futile. Ciara appeared right there. “He is gone,” she murmured in pain. “We must leave right away!” And they disappeared.

Because it was Christmas, the metro would be running till midnight that day. Madonna checked if the tracks were clear; not a speck of disturbance could be seen. She waited. The metros were running smoothly. It would be tough to prevent an attack. Her heart was palpitating. She leaped through the tunnels, always on the alert for the slightest hint of trouble. She caught it then. It was a shriek, a soft one, but it was enough to tell her which metro had been attacked and where it was.

The Black Hood leaned on the subdued girl. "Leave her alone!" somebody beat him with a handbag from behind. He leaned in closer, almost touching her face. The death bite. All of a sudden, the metro began shaking. The Black Hood stood up straight. The shaking stopped. Sophie burst in through the door. The Black Hood raised the girl and hurled her at Sophie. Sophie caught the flying body and laid her down. She was unconscious.

Sophie ran towards the brute and used the pole to swing herself. Her legs hit the crook hard and he fell backwards, crashing through the train and thudding against the wall. "Move it!" Sophie screamed to the driver.

Sophie flew out as the train turned round the corner but the beast was no more there. “Back to the Hall of Illusions,” she said to herself.

Even though it was Christmas, the movie halls were not quite empty. Katy didn’t enter any of the halls but lingered outside and kept watch. “I hate fighting”, she whispered to herself. “But I don’t, and- oh that’s sad- because we are going to have a good show right now!” Katy wheeled around just in time to dodge a flying car. The Black Hood was uncovered, his abominable and unsightly face showing all its horrible gashes and repulsive scars and its single nasty smile that could scare anyone to death.

Katy sped towards the brute, her sword drawn out. As soon as she reached him, she tried to hit him towards the left, but quickly changed direction and thrust the sword straight in him. The beast staggered and screamed, but the pain was all fake, because the Black Hood pulled Katy up with her sword and thrust her onto the ground. Blood ran from Katy’s mouth.

Something kicked Katy in the head, Katy got up slowly. The blow had left her giddy. There were people all around her and they were running away from something. When she regained her calm of mind, she saw that all the movie halls were on fire.

Jolie and Marga kept watch from a distance. “It will not be easy,” Jolie whispered. “You go and secure the airplanes. I will take the care of the other passengers,” Marga said.

Jolie stood and watched from the side of the runway. A plane was about to land. It was descending slowly. Jolie noticed that the plane had come very close to the ground and yet the wheels had not come out. She was alarmed! When the airplane was dangerously close to the ground, Jolie acted quickly.

Soon, the plane had landed safely and all the passengers were saved.

Marga was caught in the chaos that followed the accident. People were elbowing and pushing to get to their relatives. Marga thought it best to leave the spot and go and find Jolie.

Marga's decision proved to be wrong because as soon as she left the building, a huge quarrel arose between two groups. It all started when one man thudded against another in the hustle and bustle. The bigger man had, accidentally- well that was what he said later on- stepped upon the other man's foot, and they began grappling with each other.

Marga couldn't find Jolie anywhere. By the time she returned, there was a commotion raging inside the building. Everything was being torn, burned and ransacked.

The Hall of Illusions lit up. All seven of the magicians returned, having failed in each of their tasks. Jolie was lying down, badly injured due to the overexertion. "She has only a bit of energy left!" Ciara exclaimed, bending down upon her. "Heal yourself!" she commanded, "and do not waste your energy… Don't breathe and don't speak. Just heal!" Jolie parted her lips. "No Jolie! Don't speak!" Ciara screamed but it was too late, "The Black Hoods are here," Jolie said.

Ciara didn’t flinch. She could now sense their presence suddenly. There weren’t just five of them, she could say that for sure. Her fears were confirmed when she stood up and looked around. There, standing in front of her with their hands up ready to strike stood thirteen Black Hoods.

That same night, Ciara said to Jove, “Hey, dad isn’t going to come back.” “Why?” asked Jove. “Listen Jove, this world is made of dark things,” Ciara said as she pulled Jove closer. “And each pf us, you, me, and every stranger you see, have a light in them which is just a spark. You have to provide the fuel to the spark. You must shine and let your light defeat the darkness that is all around you. I may have to leave you and go, but then in those times you must believe,” she continued, “Believe in the light that is shining within you and unreal things will be made possible. It is all very easy, you just have to believe… Mark my words, just believe,” said Ciara. “Mommy, where is dad?” asked Jove, perplexed. Ciara collapsed. “Mommy!” he shouted. He pulled at her and pushed her, but it was of no use. Ciara was dead but the legend was not over. ‘Believing’ was the fuel and it kept the spark of the legend alive.