Piper, The Frozen Islands 11-12 Autumn Writing Competition Winner

The Frozen Islands

Prologue: The end of the world

Terror flashed across Amina’s face as the tornado rampaged toward her. She could not move, her legs were jelly, her arms would not respond, even though every fibre in her being wanted her to turn and run. A stream of lava plagued the sky again. The ground trembled ominously underfoot. And a girl cursed her ancestors’ foolishness.

200 years later…

The Castle floated in his dreams again, impenetrable and menacing. But it wasn't the Castle he watched; it was the figure on the edge. A Knight stepped out of the Castle. The figure stepped back and slipped slightly, then tumbled over the edge, screaming.

Helios woke up, heart pounding, drenched in sweat. His golden hair was plastered to his forehead and his blue eyes darted around wildly. He sat up gingerly checking the bed beside him. A figure. Lumos. She was safe. ‘Of course,’ he thought ‘why wouldn't she be?’ but the uneasy feeling the dream had given him still lingered.

Lumo hated the new world. All the floating islands and the big cities suspended by an invisible force and everything they could not do. Of course, she would not remember the old world, that was more than 200 years ago, but she still had badmouthed it (that was the sort of person Lumo was). At present she was doing just that, loudly saying how she never believed in the school and wished their mother would let them take a Conet. Helios was more concerned why their school had not turned up. So, he distracted himself with their home island. The yellow walls of the house. The faded roof. The crumbling dirt below and the patches of dead grass. He was so distracted, he did not see the shadow, or the Knight, or anything until Lumo screamed.

Lumo watched in horror as the mega island floated towards them at breakneck speed. it slammed into the island, now dwarfed by comparison. A knight stepped on to their home, silver armour glinting in the sun. The island rocked, and twisted, crumbling to pieces. Adrenaline kicked in, and Lumo shoved Helios off the edge, jumping down with him.

Falling through the air, he only heard one thing Lumo said. “GRAVITY”! Helios panicked. Gravity? Gravity? A burst of understanding fire through his brain, and he ripped off his gravity watch.

Now suspended in mid-air, he wondered how he would get up to Lumo, some three metres above him. The downside of no gravity was that without something to pull yourself up by, you are virtually stuck. Lumo flipped upside down (the one thing you could do) and call to Helios. “My hair!” He grabbed the end of her long, dark, braid and hauled himself up it till he reached her. “Good thing I never cut it” she grinned, violet eyes twinkling.

Lumo now noticed the increasing drop in temperature, and the dwindling patches of sunlight. Shivering, she looked East, but the Sun had disappeared and was now replaced with a huge rock wall. The last rays of sunlight glinted off silver, alerting her of another presence. “The Knight”, she gasped softly. He was standing at the top of what must be his Castle, carrying a remote that looked like it was holding the wall up. People flocked out of their houses onto their islands dressed in warm clothes, fighting against the cold. Snowflakes began to fall, and soon snow was piled up everywhere. “He-e-e-e-lio-s-s” Lumo chattered, “W-w-we have to h-e-e-lp the-m-m-m”. Helios nodded slowly. They began to try and pull themselves through the air. “This is ridiculous”, Lumo muttered and she brought her fingers to her mouth, a shrill whistle escaping her lips.

A Conet was a tiny island (about the size of a queen-sized bed) and it was super-fast flying through the air, because the bigger the island, the slower it moved and vice versa. One was zooming toward them right now. Helios floated over, pulling himself up onto it and yelled “To the Castle!”. The Conet sped off, Helios and Lumo holding on for dear life. It then deposited them right in front of the Knight. “Stupid Conet”, Lumo cursed.

The Knight grinned wickedly. His whole body was encased in metal, apart from his eyes, which were an empty, soulless, black. “Hello” his voice slithered, “It’s so…nice to meet you”. Lumo crouched and launched herself at the Knight. He threw her off himself like she was no more than a sack of flour, and she fell through a trap door tumbling inside the castle. The Knight raced after her. Helios gripped the wall of the tower, looking over the edge, praying for Lumo’s safety. She ran out of the front door, all the way to the edge of the mega island. The Knight stepped out of the front door. Lumo stepped back. And she toppled over the edge.

 2 minutes before…

Lumo shook her head at the Knight’s foolishness. He had just yelled his whole master plan to her because he was just as stupid as every other villain. “Listen to me BRAT! The wall will freeze the whole world over, leaving everyone weak and at my mercy. I will reign forever; I will be the ultimate ruler!”. Bursting out the front door, Lumo ran to the edge of the island, as the Knight stepped out. She stepped back and fell over the edge screaming.

Helios ripped off his watch and jumped down from the tower. Floating down behind the Knight, he punched him in the back of the head. Naturally, the Knight punched back. Removing a sword from his sheath, the Knight raised it, about to strike Helios. Suddenly a shockwave knocked them both over. The wall dropped slowly towards the ground. Lumo floated up from below the island, her hair out and rippling behind her, storm clouds crossing her face, a smashed remote in her hands. Her watch was abandoned on the ground and she was now fully weightless. Rain began to fall softly crumbling the wall to dust. Lumo winked. Helios grinned and punched the Knight once more in the face.