Chapter Twenty One
I gripped onto the ledge of the window as tightly as I could. The deafening thudding of the helicopter blades, that spun only meters above my head, made me grimace in terror. The noise was too much to handle, and the thought that I was hundreds of metres in the air with a metal sheet between myself and steel circulating blades was not making me feel any better. The headphones that allowed us to speak to one another, and Ife the pilot, pressed hard into the sides of my skull. Combined with the sudden plunges that the vehicle made as it swooped through the air, the entire experience was almost unbearable.
“Are you alright?” Madzimoyo’s tinny voice echoed through the talkback system. I opened my eyes, which had been scrunched shut, and looked across at my brother, who seemed relaxed as always. He sat calm and still with his hands on his lap, and peered out of the window to his left.
“No!” I hollered at him.
“Just a few more minutes to go,” Ife told me with a crackling voice that pounded into my eardrums. I had forgotten that everyone could hear my answer, including the pilot.
Shasa placed her right hand on my left knee and squeezed it slightly. I wanted to smile at her, but I didn’t want to move my head, so I closed my eyes again and held on.
Gamba sniggered. “I didn’t think you were afraid of anything!”
I ignored him. I thought that if I opened my mouth again, I might be sick. The feeling in my stomach, as the helicopter dropped lower, made my head spin and my heart pound.
I tried my best to drown out the awful noise that leapt across every single synapse in my brain, making my head fizzy with disorientation. The Ventus Trio and Captain Harris had already completed this part of the journey: they had gone ahead of us, as the helicopter could only take five passengers. We all decided that we should go in our Elemental groups, mainly because my siblings and I wanted to have a conversation about the Ventus Trio. But that never happened. While everyone else was focusing on the thrill of leaving the island and the imminent adventure, I was trying not to vomit. And it was taking every ounce of energy I had not to.
“Oh wow!” I heard Shasa cry out, “You’ve got to see this!”
I didn’t open my eyes, but I heard everyone else exclaim in awe.
“There it is: Port Malabo.” Ife announced.
“It’s beautiful,” Shasa confirmed.
I felt a sudden fist smacking into my left knee, and knew that Gamba wanted my attention.
“Hey, Vee, open your eyes and look at this!”
“I don’t want to!” I screamed, continuing to clutch at the rubbery window ledge.
“Just do it!”
He punched me again, so I kicked out my leg at him and hit him in his shin. He cried out, but immediately laughed his pain away, like he usually did.
“Please Vee,” Shasa begged, “it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
I felt her hand squeeze my leg a second time, and I knew that she was right. I may never get the chance to see the capital city from this vantage point ever again.
I thrust my eyelids open and threw my head against the window. And there it was: Port Malabo.
The port itself was in the shape of a horseshoe, but looked like an open mouth, greedily beckoning us towards it. Directly behind the port, which was filled with ships of all shapes and sizes, was an incredibly built up city. Light brown houses and buildings were packed tightly together, and as we got nearer to the metropolis, I could see the beautiful architecture in much more detail. There were old churches with cathedral spires that dug into the cloudy sky above, huge government buildings with orange roofs and hundreds of windows and large white mansions. All of this was interspersed with tarmacked roads and thousands of green palm trees that swayed gently in the breeze. I was amazed. I was finally here: back in the city I was born.
The dark blue sea crashed against the jetties and piers, and as we made our final decent towards the giant ‘H’ that was painted onto one of the large buildings adjacent to the horseshoe port, I saw an enormous dark grey container ship called The Conqueror with the words ‘Price Industries’ adorning the side.
Ife began to talk into the headphones, but she was clearly communicating with somebody else, as she was beginning to lower the helicopter down onto the helipad. I gawped out of the window at all of the rows of houses, and watched cars drive up and down the roads and people mull about on the pavements.
I had never left Aqua Island before, and the feeling that I was landing on foreign soil was beginning to overwhelm me. Even though this was my country, my homeland, it didn’t feel as if I belonged here. It was different: strange.
The helicopter suddenly thumped down onto the helipad, and within seconds of Ife opening the sliding door, I had already untangled myself from the headphones and had leapt down onto solid ground. I almost wanted to kiss the hot black floor, but didn’t. It felt good to be standing on my own two feet, and not hurtling through the air.
As the helicopter engine began to die down, I turned to get a better look at the huge expansive cityscape. The crashing of the sea and the birds squawking overhead was mixed in with sounds of boat and car horns and other noises that were unfamiliar to me.
The hot, humid air weighed down upon my skin, and the thick exhaust fumes assaulted my senses. I hoped that a strong wind would blow so that I could smell the fresh air, rather than the city scents. As if I had willed it myself, a gust blew hard against my face, and the salty fragrance replaced the stifling stench of the city.
I heard my siblings clamber from the helicopter, and Ife slam her door shut, and then turned to notice the Ventus Trio, and Captain Harris, watching us. Aura was looking at me, intrigued, and then approached me, smiling warmly.
“It’s a really amazing place isn’t it?”
I nodded. “It’s beautiful. Are all cities like this?”
Aura shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not very well travelled. But London definitely doesn’t look like this. For one thing, we don’t have palm trees.”
I laughed and so did she. Shasa joined us.
“What’s so funny?” she enquired.
“We’re just admiring the view,” I told her, and then grinned at Aura, who mirrored my expression.
Why was she suddenly being so nice to me?
“So I take it that Assistant Director Ayres wants you to take the lead on this mission?” Niyol said. I turned and saw that he was addressing Captain Harris, whose face was a strange colour. He was probably travel sick too, which made me like him even more.
Captain Harris shook his head. “I’m just overseeing this one,” he addressed us all with a stern and authoritative voice, “but it is still your mission.”
Niyol smiled smugly. Gamba huffed.
“It’s our mission,” Niyol corrected, and then glanced over to Shasa, “although technically I think that it’s yours.”
Shasa looked shocked, and then composed herself. “Why?”
“You’re the Aqua Primus, and this is your turf. You’re also better skilled and better trained.”
He was right. She was. And she also had me and Gamba as her own personal bodyguards and Madzimoyo as a walking talking encyclopaedia and problem solver. We were a very good team.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” she answered, “Why didn’t Babajide just come with us?”
“I think he was scared. Sigwald too,” Aura speculated.
“Why should he be scared?” Gamba scoffed.
“Because of what happened in Southampton.” Aura’s voice was honest but resolved. It sent a shiver down my spine.
Shasa seemed to want to ignore what Aura said.
“So, I guess the first thing we do is get to the dock. Then we can get on board the boat and inspect it.”
“Do you really think they’ll just let us jump aboard?” Madzimoyo questioned.
Shasa shrugged. “How do I know? Do you know anything about boats?”
Madz’s eyes flickered from side to si
de desperately.
“Well I know how to build a boat…”
Gamba sighed. “That isn’t really going to help us this time, Madz.”
Captain Harris held his hands up.
“There’s a car waiting for us downstairs. It will take us to the docks. On the way, why don’t you all come up with a plan of action?”
We all nodded. He was right. We definitely needed to figure out how to get on board the container ship.
But how were we going to do it?