The Three Enigmas: The Diamond of Strength

Chapter 7-

Dashing away from the scene, Rupert, Rebeckah, and James made their way quickly out of the perilous city filled with doom and terror. They might’ve gotten tired and grown weary, but pure fear and adrenaline pumping through their veins kept them going despite cold air seeping into their lungs and their legs seizing from the knees down. After darting through the forest, having to shove branches out of the way, and jumping over logs, they found the boat to be left in the same place they left it.

Not knwing what she was doing and scared half to deat, Rebeckah began running in the water. The waves of the mouth of the river crashin against her, pulling her down and drenching her. James was about to go after her, and give her heck for being stupid, but Rupert’s disgruntled choke from behind him signaled him over. “Help me!” James spun around to see him hoisting up one end of the boat and trying to pull it over. James bolted over to him, lifted up the ther end of the boat and lifted it in the water. Meanwhile, Rebeckah was still trying to thrust herself against the rolling waves. “Rebeckah! Get back here you, dumb shit!” Already safely placed inside the boat, James and Rupert paddled out to where she was. She was soaked from the thighs down and waiting for them to come pick her up, still showing an expression of extreme terror on her face.

Taking both her hands, they managed to pull her up out of the water and into the boat. Shaking, and lips blue from the cold, James placed  blanket around her shivering body. Rebeckah, turned to James. “How dare you!” she said angrily, the feelings of fear almost diminished. “All those people, those children…they’re going to die. Or worse…be tortured and then die! And…you did nothing but watch! You just sat there and let the HS haul them away! Why Rupert? Whatever happened to saving the people of Regnum?”

            She rambled on, her face red and James could’ve sworn he saw smoke billowing out of her ears. After two minutes, Rupert finally moaned, “enough! Enough Rebeckah! You know why I couldn’t save them? The HS thinks all of the Regnumese government officials are dead! We can’t show them you’re alive, let alone put you two out in the open! That would crumble the whole Master Plan completely!”

            After having apparently shed her skin of fury, Rebeckah was silent and ignored him. But James was the only one who appeared to be listening. “What is this Master Plan and why would our existence ruin it?”

            “The Master Plan…”mumbled Rupert to himself, appearing as though he was contemplating something. “I’m planning to tell you tomorrow. When you meet the Court.”

            “The Court?” asked Rebeckah, now attentive.  “You mean this infamous Regnumses court you’ve mentioned?

            “Yes the Court,” said Rupert. He explained, “Lots of thm were killed in the same invasion and same day that your father was. Now,  the only ones that made it out alive, and some of their children are in the Court. We have to operate secretly.”

            “Why?” asked James.

“It’s just easier this way,” said Rupert casually. “There’s nothing forcing us to to it this way, but we don’t want the Hostibans knowing we’re plotting against them until it’s absolutely necessary.”

            Working against the current, James and Rupert pulled over into the mouth of the Flumen River which sucked them in and they proceeded down the river being pushed by the strong and sloppy current. Water knocked against the side of the boat, spitting water all over their faces and sloshing water onto their laps. As they passed, the trees aligning the edge of the river smiled a deep and content smile while waving their beanches at them in welcome. “even the trees know who you are,” said Rupert.