Just then the Scare ship did another scream right in his ear forcing him to fly forwards straight into a mysterious well of light that had suddenly appeared like a ghost ahead.
Within the depths of this light a strange and unexpected vision suddenly took form. For no good reason, there appeared to be the figure of a man sitting at a table which its self was perched in the middle of nowhere on top of a stone column. Never mind why the man had appeared out of nowhere in the first place, this character looked terribly lonely and out of place. From time to time a shadow of another person would walk past this lonely seated figure and his somber face would come back to life with the most amazing smile directed at the other. At this point the passing shadow mumbled something dismissive to the smiling man before walking on and the man would be left looking empty and hollow again as if all he was living for was someone to talk to.
Temporarily distracted, maybe even moved by this imagery, Ether Deek continued to fly towards the figure at a table, until he realised, as it’s light faded away, that he was about to fly straight into a slab of rock behind. With a holler, he really had to slam the air brakes on to prevent a broken nose deck.
‘There are phantoms on the air down here!’ He declared after it seemed as if the man and table had evaporated into the dark air of nothing.
‘That was strange, I agree!’ TMH couldn’t deny it.
All the time he was investigating their surroundings with his eyes trying to look for some reason for such a ghostly apparition.
Not moments later the Scare ship screamed out of nowhere again, now driving them towards a another well of light that had once again appeared ahead. The same man who had been at the table a moment ago now appeared to be on a factory floor in the middle of nowhere. There were apes in tartan-shirts heaving things on their backs all around him. The man looked like was trying to reach out to his working companions, cracking jokes trying to get some camaraderie out of them but all the apes did was to continue to grunt and frown as if he didn’t even exist.
‘You’d almost think we were being shown somebody’s life story.’ TMH mused.
‘But who’s showing us it?’ Gally wondered from his headdress balcony, ‘the light feels like it’s coming from behind.’
The image faded again, revealing the vast pair of pincers of a cave anemone who had been hidden behind the image.
‘This scare ship is trying to kill us.’ E-Deek cried after another close call. ‘That’s it, I’m dialling 999!’
‘Why don’t you call yourself?’ Gallabee sniggered. ‘You’re suppose to be a security guard soulship! You need to face it head on like you’re suppose to do at work!’
‘Most of my work consists of floating around trying to look tough. That keeps most the scumbags at bay! Anyway I’m off the clock right now, this is supposed to be my down time!’
Just then the scare ship screamed down from above, forcing E-Deek into free fall towards the earth below. Yet another image of the same man now lying on a park bench in a sleeping bag, the night of parkland all around him. The figure looked homeless, looking for some warmth but he just couldn’t get comfortable.
‘I know its not real! I know its not real!’ E-Deek tried his best not to be drawn towards this image.
Moments later the park and man faded uncovering the top of a Walking-Talking-Tower who was mostly all beard trying to grab at E-Deek with its bony stone hands, talking in some ancient language.
‘Why does that keep on happening!’ E-Deek cried as he flew upwards and out of the tower’s reach.
‘Hmmm’ TMH was becoming wise to these apparitions.
He’d noticed how every time these pools of imagery came to light there appeared to be a beam of light coming from behind as if the image was being projected from elsewhere.
‘Hey, E-Deek. Here’s what I want to do! Just fly up into the middle of the cave again and float like a sitting duck for moment until I figure something out.’
Before E-Deek could even ask why Gallabee had mounted her own opposition by briefly turning her self back into a duck.
‘Anyone can be a sitting duck!’ she declared with a quack. ‘E-Deek needs to go find the scare ship right ASAP! Enough of all this floating around like an idiot just waiting to be scared!’
‘That’s all part of my plan,’ TMH grinned skrewdly, ‘give it a chance will ya?’
E-Deek found it easy to go along with TMH’s plan, particularly because he knew Gallabee didn’t approve. And, much to TMH’s delight, not moments after he’d gone into a hover in the middle of the cavern there came another incoming scream from the Scare ships thrust as it closed in on them once again. This time TMH was ready to do some detective work. The moment a new protection appeared ahead of them he followed the beam back to its source only to find two chains of glowing eyeballs coming from behind looking like a flying movie projector with multiple lenses.
‘Thats it!’ TMH put two and two together, ‘The Scare ship is projecting the image with its eyes! Gallabee is right! You need to about-turn hard now and face it head on! It will never leave us alone if you don’t!’
‘Really? Alright, with pleasure! I’ve had enough of being played like the donkey!’
E-Deek felt so humiliated for being fooled into flying into brick walls, any fear was now replaced with red hot rage.
With an angry snort like a bull he swerved around with a 360-spin of his wings and poured all the hatred into his search-lamp eyebrows, pointing them right at the blinding rows of eyes coming straight at them. The Scare ship continued to scream at the top of its thrust coming in fast until it was almost on top of him. But instead of trying to avoid it’s scream, this time, E-Deek began his own roar, stretching his hands out like a rugby player about to charge into a scrum.
‘This is more like it!’ Gallabee was in a happy place now she knew something exciting was about to happen.
The Scare ship was game too. It had no intention of steering out of the way of this angry incoming soul ship, it just screamed faster and faster towards a head on collision.
Just when it looked like this might turn into a jousting match and one skyship might knock the other clean out of the sky, E-Deek had grabbed the scare ships bullhorn like front teeth sending the two of them into a spiral out of control as he tried to give it a piece of his mind.
‘Just what is you problem, just what is it?’ He was fuming. ‘D’you think it’s groovy to scare other ships into crashing to their doom? Just what is your problem? Do you know how many hours I spent doing up my paintwork? Do you think I want to ruin my face job?’
The scare ship seemed to want for nothing more than to scream right back at him in the most ear busting howl.
‘What’s he doing?’ Gallabee was already getting impatient,
‘This is no time for an argument. I want to get on board!’