RED DIAMOND

Chapter Five - Sam

Avi, Zac and I sat in the Red Diamond lounge; just relaxing while we were on break. The lounge had a dark grey carpet floor and white walls, a few leather couches placed around a large coffee table, and some large bright green plants in certain corners of the room. Beside a long white marble counter where there lay a microwave and coffee machine was a large double-doored metallic silver fridge and near the sitting area three huge windows facing towards the sunset. The sky displayed a beautiful transition from purple to a vibrant glowing orange.

Zac's feet were resting on the coffee table, Avi was sitting in the chair across from me, and we were shooting weird looks back and forth between each other. Zac seemed amused by us.

"Hey Sam, what do you think about the progress RD has made?" Zac asked, sipping steaming liquid from a large brown mug.

"I think I like dolphins!" I replied.

Zac laughed at the reference, but Avi just looked confused. She hadn't seen the video.

I laughed, "Seriously though, I think they've made pretty good progress in the few months that they've been active."

"Yeah," Avi said, "it's crazy how much has been done in just a few months! Like, they've already built this base and have fully functional divisions!"

I pursed my lips, "I mean, they did have a bunch of materials and stuff before RD. So..."

Zac nodded, "It's pretty surprising how fast everything went by."

"And what about you Zac, do you like dolphins?" I said as a smile crept onto my face.

Zac groaned, "Do you really expect me to answer that?"

Avi looked at me confused.

"It's from a video Harmon, Logan, and I made. Dumb things we do part two." I told Avi, laughing as I remembered what was in it.

Avi nodded, "Of course."

I shook my head, "I feel so dumb making that video."

"That's why it's called dumb things we do." Zac remarked matter-of-factly.

I nodded, covering my face in embarrassment.

"You know what I find kinda scary?" Zac asked.

"A cheese shortage?" I asked enthusiastically.

Zac rolled his eyes, "No ... but that would be horrible. What I find kinda scary is that RD has all this power." Zac gestured around him, "Just think, RD could turn against the world and build an evil empire with us as their tools or pawns or whatever."

Avi nodded, "That's a really good point Zac..."

"Yeah, that is a good point," I agreed, "what makes you think that though? Richard and Dawn are good people."

Zac sat up, "Sure, they look and act like good people, but don't you remember that Richard ordered us to kill P.O.T.A.T.O agents?"

"That's true..." I replied.

"So, Richard could easily do it again." Zac said.

"He could," Avi responded, "but Dawn wouldn't let him."

"Richard could easily do it under her nose!" Zac argued, "Or he could remove her from the picture."

"That's a little dark Zac." I said.

"I know. But think about it." He replied.

"Really good points Zac, but I can tell that they really love each other. I can see it in their eyes." Avi added.

Zac nodded, "Right..."

"But wait, in that case, they would both be plotting evil!" I exclaimed.

Avi laughed, but to my confusion Zac merely managed a weak smile before staring thoughtfully out the window at the glorious sunset. A moment later - as if it had been timed specifically - a deafening boom rang in our ears, shaking the entire building. The shaking knocked all of us out of our seats.

By the time I had regained my wits, there was a small light flickering towards the window. I squinted at it as I got to my feet. The light kept getting closer, and looked like it was flying towards us. Zac yelled, and before I really knew what was happening, I followed Zac's actions out of reflex and we both rushed towards Avi at the same time.

I tackled Avi, throwing us to the far corner of the room and Zac crashed to the floor beside us. The missile smashed through the glass and exploded on the other side of the room. The shockwave threw us up against the wall. My ears rang and my thoughts were clouded. I groggily opened my eyes to see debris everywhere and the walls blown open. Avi and I weren't hit, but we were a little scratched up. A bombing? Why hadn't the alarms gone off!? What happened to the Red Diamond defences!?

Zac got up, and it took a moment before what he said registered in my mind. "Sam, I need to go, you help Avi." Why? What was he doing? I shook my head, I could think about that another time. Struggling to hoist Avi to her feet, who looked fairly confused and dazed herself, we began to make our way towards the exit after Zac.