“Please…don’t search the island. She’s not here, I swear!” Luke begged the Dueglesteiner, who straightened up with realization.
“Of course!” he shouted, “You’ve been hiding her here this entire time!” The Dueglesteiner gave Luke another kick in his side, then turned to his men. “Men, we will search this island at once! Nobody comes back to this camp until we find the girl!”
The men moved out at once, splitting up into different directions and searching the island for Skylar.
When they were gone, Luke started to laugh. It was silent at first but began to grow in volume as the laugh continued on. Sitting himself up, Luke laughed and smiled at the others. “Oh, they’re in for a real treat,” he said, his signature crooked smile coming to his face once again, “They’re on a wild goose chase!”
“Luke?” Helen asked, “What will happen when they don’t find Skylar on the island?”
Luke shrugged. “I told them not to search for her.” His arms moved behind his back, and he smiled as he said, “And besides, by the time they find out she’s not here, we’ll be long gone.” Luke’s arms moved again and this time he took them away from their spot behind his back, revealing he’d broken free from his bonds.
Richard’s jaw dropped. “How did you-”
Producing the cut rope, Luke also produced his hunting knife. “Those Dueglesteiners don’t search us well enough. Thank God for my father’s jacket, it’s so thick it hid the blade. And Skylar taught me how to draw a knife and cut the rope from behind my back without anyone noticing.”
“Well good for you,” Alice said happily as Luke walked over to her and cut her bonds.
As Luke went over to Peter, he helped him into a sitting position. “You alright there, Pete? You sure did take a beating.”
Peter clutched his head after he was freed, but said, “No, no, I’m fine. He beat you up, too.”
“Well, we’ll get you fixed up on The Bowen,” Luke said anyway, as he moved on to Helen.
“Sure does bring back old memories, does it?” Helen asked, smiling, “It feels like forever ago since we all first met.”
“Tell me about it,” Richard grumbled, but he smiled all the same. “I got kidnapped and almost killed by goblins all in the same day. But it was you who saved me, Helen.”
“Nothing any of us wouldn’t have done,” Helen said humbly, but everyone knew that at the time, they had left Richard alone, considering how bad he was.
“Vell zis trip down memory lane is real nice, but if you haven’t noticed, zis island is still crawling vith Dueglesteiners!” Adalene said irritably, still being tied up. “Vat do you plan to do, Luke, since you said you vere ze leader?”
Luke thought about it for a second, then said, “We sneak up on them. Get our weapons and get the hell out of here.”
“Where are our weapons, exactly?” Peter asked, still rubbing his head.
“I thought they had them over there, by one of those trees,” Alice pointed out, remembering what they’d done to their weapons after sneaking up on them, holding Peter’s unconscious body.
Sure enough, the weapons were in plain sight, unguarded.
“Sometimes I think they can’t get dumber,” Richard muttered as he picked up his dual short swords, strapping them to his back.
“Or maybe we just get smarter,” Helen said as she picked up her kopis.
“Eh, I prefer it the other way,” Richard shrugged as he handed Luke his sword.
Alice grabbed her dagger, once again hoping she wouldn’t have to use it. Praying that her parents wouldn’t scold her in the afterlife for holding a weapon, Alice prayed that after they escaped, she’d ask Adalene how to use it.
“Hey!” came a shout, and everybody tensed up, ready for a fight.
There were a few Dueglesteiner running towards them, their weapons drawn.
One of them held up a horn to his lips, and blew into it, sending a deep sound throughout the island, alerting the other Duegelsteiners that they’d escaped.
“Well, there goes our element of surprise,” Luke sighed, and they all began to run for the beach, hoping to find The Bowen unguarded.
The Dueglesteiners were on their tails in a moment, chasing them to the beaches. They were bigger and stronger than the children, and Alice found them getting closer and closer the closer they got to where The Bowen was docked.
“This is going to be close!” Alice shouted to everyone, and she risked a glance back to see the Dueglesteiners within an arm’s length of Alice.
They caught sight of The Bowen now, so close to the ship. There were only a few Dueglesteiners guarding it, but they looked bored and distracted.
A smile crossed Alice’s face as she realized how close they were to freedom once again. For a moment she thought of her time in the Dueglesteiners’ camp with Peter, every day feeling like torture. When she had looked back at Boromir’s face pinched in anger as the flew away on Ajax, that was the safest she’d felt in a long time.
“We’re almost there, just a little longer!” Luke shouted to them, and as they got closer a few of the Dueglesteiners guarding The Bowen stood at attention, noticing they had escaped.
But the Dueglesteiners were too late. The gangplank was already out, and Luke and Adalene were the first to board The Bowen, followed by Richard and Helen. Peter limped up the gangplank, and turned back to Alice, ready to offer his hand to help her.
Alice reached out to take his hand, glad he was offering to help. Her fingers grazed his hand when something pulled her back.
Alice felt a hand grab her hair, pulling her off the gangplank and into a Dueglesteiner’s arms.
“Let go of me!” Alice shouted, trying to stamp on his heels.
But she couldn’t do anything to make him let her go. He began to walk away from the ship, Peter yelling at the Dueglesteiner.
“Let her go!” Peter shouted, and he limped down the gangplank but was pushed back by another Dueglesteiner holding a sword.
The others, who had been oblivious to Alice’s trouble, were already getting the ship ready to leave. Its sails were up and Adalene, Luke, Richard, and Helen began to row, pushing The Bowen away from the coast.
Alice pulled the dagger from her dress pocket, trying to stab the Dueglesteiner in the arm like she had before Peter and she had been captured weeks before. But he saw what she was doing and lifted her arm above his head, pinching her wrist which made her involuntarily drop the dagger.
“Alice!” Peter yelled, still fighting the Dueglesteiner blocking him from getting to Alice.
The ship was still leaving shore, almost twenty feet from the shoreline. The gangplank was gone, and the others now realized that Alice wasn’t on the ship.
“Peter!” Alice shouted back to him, scratching at the Dueglesteiner’s arms which locked her in a vice grip. “I’ll be okay, just get out of here!”
Peter stared over the railing, his face torn between jumping off The Bowen and letting her go.
“No. No, I can’t lose you too, Alice! You’re the only one I have left!”
He looked broken, staring at her from twenty feet away. Alice could feel the tears welling up in her eyes but she pushed them away. She had to be strong.
“I’ll be fine, Peter. But you need to get out of here! Now!” Alice kicked the Dueglesteiner in the shin, making him grunt and stumble for a moment.
“Alice-” Peter tried, but Alice interrupted him.
“Peter Webster, I swear on everything I believe in, you have to go! Now!” Alice wrenched her arm free from the Dueglesteiner’s grasp and blindly poked at his eyes, hoping to blind him.
“I-” Peter tried once again, his face falling.
“Go!” Alice shouted, bending one of the Dueglesteiner’s fingers back until he screamed in pain and let go of Alice.
She risked a glance back at The Bowen, which was escaping the island fast, and prayed that they would be safe and not be chased by the Dueglesteiners.
Alice took off for the woods, avoiding any Dueglesteiners that came her way. She would have to be strong, holding her own against so many opponents.
She stumbled through the woods, tripping over roots and fallen tree branches. Once Alice was sure she had lost them, she hid behind a tree, her back against the trunk. She was out of breath, fear rising in her chest. She couldn’t possibly run away from them forever. They would eventually find her.
But she would not let herself be held captive again. She had to fight. As much as it was against her religion, she had to fight her way out of this situation.
She heard someone trampling through the woods towards her, farther away from the Duegelsteiners who had lost her trail.
Holding her breath, Alice looked at where the sound was coming from. It was a young Dueglesteiner, probably not much older than Alice. He stared at her wide-eyed, mouth agape with surprise.
Alice widened her own eyes, putting a finger to her mouth, pleading with him not to yell.
He didn’t yell. He just stared at her.
“Please,” Alice whispered, “Don’t let them find me. I beg of you if there is any good in your heart, get away from here and take anyone who will go with you. Please,” Alice begged, staring into his dark eyes. There was fear in his, but she could see the good in them. He seemed like he was in a bad situation, forced into this war just as Alice was herself.
The boy nodded, and turned away from Alice, running out of the woods.
Alice relaxed, the breath she was holding deflating her chest. She risked a glance around the tree trunk, seeing the Dueglesteiners were still chasing her in the wrong spot.
She knew her friends would come back for her, but right now she just needed to survive the night. The sun was setting soon, and the Dueglesteiners would be just as blind as her.
Right now, she needed to survive this on her own...
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