The Making Of Zathura Chapter Three

Crag lay Zathura on a metal table and put something made of plastic over her mouth and nose. “Breathe deeply,” he instructed. She obeyed, and felt herself slowly grow sleepy... Her mind faded... “That’s it...” was the last thing she heard.





“Zathura?” A voice said. As she roused herself, she recognized it as Decenlis. “Zathura, are you awake? Are you okay?” he continued. “It’s been weeks since he took you...I was worried he’d done something bad.”

Not quite grasping the words yet, she fluttered her wings and instinctively opened her eyes. She froze, unable to comprehend what her brain was telling her. The blackness she was so used to was gone. Cautiously, she raised a wing, bringing it into her new field of vision. Fascinated, she moved it up and down, side to side, back and forth, amazed that she could see herself.

Of course, little Zathura still had about the worst vision ever. She was extremely nearsighted and all colors looked dull, but to her, it was better than she could ever have imagined.

She stood and turned, half dazed. She saw the tube that was holding her friend. She couldn’t describe what she was seeing, but it looked something like this. It was a tall glass tube that reached from the floor to the ceiling, and it contained a liquid of some kind. Small, flexible black tubes floated inside it, attached to Decenlis in many places, apparently giving him air and other nutrients. He looked a little like a human, but he had large, pointed ears that were a bit like Zathura’s. The strangest thing was that his ribs appeared to be growing on the outside of his body. Zathura had no idea what was wrong with this picture. She couldn’t care less about his looks. Any normal human might cringe away from him, but since he was the first face she saw, he was perfect in Zathura’s half blind eyes.

“Decenlis?” she yipped, hardly able to contain herself for joy. This was totally overwhelming. “Is that you? What is this...what is this called? This sense?” She was practically bouncing off the walls.

“What? You really couldn’t see?” Decenlis looked shocked, as though it were very odd that Crag could have told the truth about something.

Completely oblivious to his expression, she sang out, “I can see!” Her declaration bounced off the walls, causing the poor tortured creatures in the little cages to shiver and shake. Zathura scanned Decenlis again. “You look...so...” she tried to come up with a good word. Decenlis seemed to wince, expecting the worst. “Amazing!” Zathura continued.

She hopped around for a little bit, exploring the cell, and then came back. “A-aren’t you coming out of there?” she asked, tapping the glass and looking up at him with a look of innocence.

“Uh...Well...I-I don’t k-know how to,”

“Well...do you want to?”

“K-kinda,” Decenlis replied thoughtfully. “I always wondered what it was like out there.”

Zathura purred. “Then I’ll figure something out!” She began sniffing around the tube with confidence. After a few minutes, she noticed a red button just out of her reach on the wall. She was drawn to its brightness. Curious, she hopped onto an empty cage and stretched up to her full height. She had grown in the time she was unconscious, and it was just enough for her to touch the button with the tip of her wing.

As she pressed it, an alarm suddenly set off and the liquid in Decenlis’s tube lowered. He began to sink to his knees, weak and in obvious pain. A smokey fog spiraled into the glass and Zathura lost sight of her friend. A minute or so passed, and she was getting worried. She hopped down from the cage, about to investigate, when the glass suddenly shattered, spreading across the floor. She ducked with a yelp. As the fog cleared, she peeked back at where the tube had stood. Decenlis lay motionless at the center of the remains. Shards of glass were embedded in his fist, showing he must have broken the glass himself.

“D-Decenlis?” Zathura squeaked, afraid for him. She scampered over to him, careful to avoid the glass, and nuzzled his cheek, trying to wake him. “Are you alright? Have I hurt you?” She whimpered.

Decenlis began to smile and weakly opened his eyes, focusing on her. “Th-thank you. What was that you j-just did?”

“What, this?” She nuzzled his cheek again.

“Yes. Wh-what is that called?” He looked up at her in wonder.

“It’s called...ah..” she struggled for words, flustered that he’d never even been touched before. “It’s called touch.”

“T-touch? I...I like touch.” his eyes sparkled.

Zathura giggled. She moved to his fist and gently began removing the glass shards.

Just then, footsteps began rushing down the stairs toward them. “What’s going on?” A furious voice yelled.

Zathura yelped and pressed close to Decenlis. “Mean Voice!”

Crag rushed in and slammed the cell door behind him. He stood in silence for a moment, taking in the scene, his hands clenched into fists and his teeth gritted. “What...have you done?!” he snarled, seeming to vibrate with anger.

The little batgirl scanned him carefully. He was apparently human, rather tall and skinny. he was dressed in fairly simple clothes and wore a long white lab coat that reached to his ankles. His hair was blonde, with an odd brown streak running horizontally through it. His bangs were pushed to one side, and it looked like he needed a haircut. But the strangest thing about him was that part of the left side of his face was gone; replaced by a metal plate. A bionic eye that zoomed in and out like a camera lens replaced the eye on that side. It was glowing red. Crag was absolutely furious.

“I...I...” Zathura cringed. She couldn’t yet read expressions, but she could practically feel the tension in the air.

“I give you vision...” He continued, softly at first, then almost screaming. “And you repay me by destroying my life’s work? I should have thrown you in a cage at the start! You’ll pay for this...I’ll make you wish you were never born, you...you pathetic little wretch...” He stalked over and roughly scooped her up by the back of her neck.

“No! D-don’t hurt her! I...I told her to get me out!” Decenlis begged.

Zathura shook her head at him with wide eyes. “No, Decenlis! Mean Voice will get you!”

Crag snarled, almost animal-like, shaking her unmercifully until she cried. “Shut it, you little rat! I’m sick and tired of you calling me that!” he bared his teeth and hissed out the next words. “I...am THIS close...” he held up two fingers very close together, “From doing something I will regret heavily. DON’T push me.”

Decenlis weakly tried to get up, but he just fell back helplessly. “Stop it! You can’t do this! Y-you...you monster!”

“Me? A monster?” Crag seemed to be amused by Decenlis’s words. “Look who’s talking. Let me ask you a question. Can you tell me what you are exactly?” Decenlis was speechless. “Just what I thought. No. You’re nothing. Nothing but DNA fabricated into just another piece of flesh. You. Are. The monster.”

He sneered and turned back to Zathura. “Come on, little one...time to teach you a lesson...” He turned to leave.
Zathura, still crying, kept her eyes on Decenlis. “You are something, Decen. You’re my best friend...” She disappeared around the corner.