Young Writers Society

Yet another soldier scoffed. "And I thought we were taking it to the Prime Minster. Like we're paid to do."

The original soldier rolled his eyes. "Prime Minister Harris doesn't expect llyfants anymore. We can keep this one to ourselves. And what would we even do with it as a slave?"

Jeremiah shrugged. "I don't know. They could be used to clean the bottom of ships. Can't they breathe underwater?"

"That's ridiculous."

"What, like just killing the Ukayan's any better? There's no profit in that at all." Jeremiah glared at the others, his fluffy hat bobbing as he waved his hands angrily.

As the soldiers bickered, Raina edged closer to Neptune. "Any ideas for how to get out of here?"

Neptune nodded. "I have an idea, but you'll have to be very quiet. They're paying the most attention to me, but they'll still be watching you."

He gestured to the left with his cane. "Check his bag for fishing line, and reach into my coat pocket for two wooden pegs. Quickly now."

Jeremiah groaned. "Do you want to eat it?"

"Hey! Frog legs are a delicacy. I'd be willing to at least try it."

"You're an absolute hog, Christopher," another soldier groaned.

"Ohh no, you didn't. Argh!"

A couple of soldiers held Christopher back from lunging at the one who'd spoken.

Meanwhile, Raina nodded and snuck over to the bag. She quietly opened it and crouched beside it, keeping one eye on the soldiers.

Neptune leaned on his cane. He always hated standing for this long. It was always a little hard to breathe. Maybe they wouldn't mind if he just sat down for a moment.

He gently sat down, laying his cane over his lap. Maybe if he pretended to faint, he could distract the soldiers a little longer.

"We could sell some of the good meat! Like a butcher, Jeremiah!"

"Or, we could use it for labour!"

Raina fished around in the bag and drew out a length of fishing line. Bingo. She sidled over to Neptune and got the two wooden pegs from his coat pocket, then whispered, "I've got the line and pegs." She placed them gently into Neptune's hands.

"You feel like dueling this out?" A soldier growled.

"I have a third proposition, everyone. Let's just kill both of them and be done with it."

"Ugh, that's the worst idea yet."

Neptune sighed. “Put that first peg in the ground beside a tree. Then, take the smaller peg and tie the fishing line to it, then tie the fishing line to a branch. Bend the branch and put the small peg inside the peg in the ground and use the remaining line to tie a noose. Then, we’ll lure them into the trap. They’re angry enough to not notice anything.”

“We’re mercenaries, damnit! We hunt them do to sell them!”

“What the hell do you know, Jeremiah?”

Raina nodded, making a mental note of Neptune's instructions. She took the pegs and line and snuck over to a tree that had a branch she could reach. Okay, so first is putting the larger peg in the ground. Raina pushed the peg into the earth, driving it in with one shoe.

Then tie the line to the peg and a branch. Raina double-knotted the fishing line to the smaller peg and reached up to tie it around a sturdy-looking branch. She flinched as the leaves rustled, but the mercenaries were too busy bickering to notice.

Finally, Raina tied a noose-- it seemed like the larger version of a slip knot. She snuck back to Neptune. "Done. What now?"

Neptune took a deep breath and walked towards the trap. "Come on, Raina, let's leave."

One of the guards perked up. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Neptune kept walking. "Away."

"You wouldn't dare," a guard hissed. He took a menacing step towards them and alerted his fellow soldiers.

Raina took a hint from Neptune. "Oh yeah? Watch us." She smirked. "Thanks for all your bickering. You gave us a head start."

Neptune waved. "Have a great day!" He turned around and kept walking.

The guard growled. "Get back here llyfant!" He charged, chasing after Neptune.

Raina walked a little faster, still grinning cheekily at the guards. She passed the snare.

A couple more guards charged at the two, and Raina breathed a little faster, hoping the trap would work.

The guard stepped into the noose, and instantly the noose tightened, launching the guard into the air. He dangled by his foot. "Hey! Get me down!"

Neptune tapped Raina with his cane. "Now, we run."

Dakota

Dakota woke up to the sound of voices. They blinked and groaned. There was an awful pain in the side of their head, and they just wanted to go home and take a nice bath and-- Wait, who was talking? Dakota's eyes opened fully and they saw a circle of mercenaries, laughing and roasting skewers around a fire.

Dakota looked around in a panic. They were still in the forest, but... They turned their attention to their hands and realized they were bound. Oh, great. We're hostages now.

Artemis

Artemis whined, sounding more like an injured dog than a person. "No me digas. Estella Fay?"

She looked around, spotting Dakota. "Oh, right. How are you feeling? Your first time getting attacked is always the worst."