The Ruby Hunt

Beyond the duffer

After everything that had happened, everyone had pretty much lost hope. With the journey coming to an abrupt end, Fletcher knew they had to head back first thing in the morning. It was getting darker, and they needed to take a break to clean up Oliver’s wound and rest.
Now, Mrs. Wilson was carefully cleaning the wound on Oliver’s neck, while his friends sat around him, offering support. Captain Fletcher was drinking outside, trying to clear his mind.
“Is it normal to bleed this much?” Peter asked, grimacing at the sight of blood on Oliver’s neck.
“Yes, Partridge, it’s normal! This is the third time you’ve asked!” Mrs. Wilson snapped, her frustration barely contained.
“I’m going to the bathroom. When you’re done, I’ll be with Fletcher—or Atlas, or whatever you call him now,” Eddie announced after a few minutes of waiting.
The group nodded as Eddie left, then turned their attention back to Oliver and Mrs. Wilson.
“I still can’t believe we’ve lost everything,” Peter muttered, staring down at the floor.
“The real question is, how did the pirates even know about it?” Rose wondered aloud, her mind racing.
Suddenly, Mrs. Wilson dropped the Betadine bottle on Jade’s leg. Jade instinctively pulled her legs back, looking confusedly at Mrs. Wilson.
“You okay?” Jade asked, handing her the bottle.
Mrs. Wilson seemed startled but quickly recovered. “Oh, I’m fine, dear. It’s just... all of this is so sad, you know? Losing the journal and not being able to get the treasure... it’s heartbreaking,” she said with a sympathetic smile. Peter gave her a small one in return.
After another few minutes, Mrs. Wilson finished cleaning and bandaging Oliver’s wound. “Alright, dear. You should be better now. I’m done,” she said, then began cleaning up the couch from all the bits of plaster and cotton.
Oliver walked straight to the mirror to check his wound, with Peter and Jade trailing behind him. Rose, however, remained seated, staring silently at the floor.
“Are you okay, dear?” Mrs. Wilson asked, noticing how quiet Rose had been. But Rose didn’t answer.
Mrs. Wilson stopped cleaning and looked at Rose more closely. “Rose, dear, are you alright?” she asked again.
“We haven’t mentioned treasure before, have we?” Rose finally murmured, lifting her gaze from the floor to her friends in front of the mirror, looking for confirmation. They glanced at her, confused.
“What, dear?” Mrs. Wilson asked, either not understanding or not hearing properly—she wasn’t known for catching everything.
“You said... it’s sad we lost the journal and can’t find the treasure. But we never mentioned treasure to you before, have we?!” Rose’s voice grew louder as she sought answers from her friends, who now wore expressions of shock and confusion.
“Oh, well, dear—” Mrs. Wilson began, but Rose interrupted.
“Don’t lie!”
Suddenly, Mrs. Wilson’s demeanor changed. She started looking around nervously, her eyes darting about before settling back on Rose. Rose and the others stared at her, suspicion and realization dawning.
“I’m so sorry, dear,” Mrs. Wilson said softly, though no one understood what she meant.
“What do yo—” Rose began, but she couldn’t finish. In a sudden, brutal motion, Mrs. Wilson grabbed Rose’s arm, twisted her violently, and began choking her with surprising strength.
Rose struggled, but Mrs. Wilson’s grip only tightened. Peter, Jade, and Oliver watched in horror, too stunned to move. When they tried to rush to Rose’s aid, Mrs. Wilson brandished a dagger—the same dagger that had injured Oliver. It was clear now: the pirate who threatened Oliver had dropped it for her. But why?
Without hesitation, Mrs. Wilson pressed the dagger against Rose’s neck, mirroring the same cruel act the pirate had inflicted on Oliver. Peter and Jade froze, reliving the horrifying déjà vu. They couldn’t just stand there and let it happen again—but how could they stop her?
As they scrambled for a solution, Mrs. Wilson began backing out of the room, dragging Rose with her as Rose gasped for air. The kids followed, but Mrs. Wilson threw a pile of boxes in front of the door, blocking their path.
“You, captain! Take me to the closest island!” Wilson barked at Fletcher, who looked up in confusion.
“Wait, wha—Edna?” Fletcher stammered, completely thrown off.
“Fletcher! Fletcher! It’s Mrs. Wilson—she’s with the Höllenloch pirates!” Peter shouted, breathless after pushing through the boxes.
Fletcher blinked, still processing, while Mrs. Wilson snarled, “Didn’t you hear me, Atlas? I said take me to the nearest island. Now!” She pushed the dagger deeper into Rose’s skin, causing her to wince and tear up, though she bit her lip to contain the pain.
Fletcher signaled the kids to stop moving. He couldn’t risk their friend’s life. Begrudgingly, he turned to the steering room to comply with Wilson’s demands.
Just then, Eddie returned, looking confused by the boxes in front of the door. “Guys, what’s with the boxes? And who—” Eddie’s voice trailed off as he spotted Wilson and Rose. “Uhhh...”
“Oh, Eddie, always the last to figure things out,” Wilson mocked, as a crow swooped down and landed before her.
The crow was the same one from before, and now they understood why Mrs. Wilson had been so quick to get rid of it—it had been a spy all along.
Oliver grabbed Eddie’s arm, pulling him to stand with the others. Fletcher navigated the ship as Mrs. Wilson moved toward the exit, dragging Rose, who was still gasping for breath, blood trickling down her neck, though less than what Oliver had experienced.
After a few tense minutes, Fletcher stopped the ship and called out that they had reached their destination. Mrs. Wilson was at the exit, and as soon as Fletcher opened the door, she shoved Rose back into the ship and ran off.
Everyone rushed to Rose, their faces filled with worry and guilt.
“Rose! Rose, are you okay? Please, say something!” Oliver begged, kneeling beside her.
“No need to talk now, let’s get her to the room,” Jade insisted, helping Rose to her feet and supporting her as they moved her to safety. Fletcher soon appeared, visibly shaken.
“Can someone tell me what happened? Why did Edna do this?” Fletcher asked, watching as Jade tended to Rose’s wound.
“Yeah, someone please explain,” Eddie chimed in.
“The bloody old duffer was taking the mickey out of us!” Peter grumbled, but neither Fletcher nor Eddie understood what he meant.
“She’s... she’s the one who... told the pirates,” Rose explained as Jade carefully bandaged her neck.
Fletcher stood there, stunned. “No... No, that can’t be. She couldn’t do that to us—to me. She’s been with me since I first started this job...” He trailed off, unable to accept the betrayal.
“She was cleaning my wound with the dagger that caused it,” Oliver muttered, breaking the silence.
“She was cleaning my wound with the dagger that caused it!!” he repeated, his voice rising to a yell as tears filled his eyes. He stormed off, kicking a box in frustration.
Eddie quietly followed him, offering a comforting hug as he, too, began to tear up. Oliver joined in, wrapping his arms around Eddie, their bond deepened by the harrowing experience they had just survived.