CHAPTER TWENTY
Ruby followed Emerald over to the building where Anastasia was being held. She took a look around the square, at the lack of activity that was now occurring. We captured all those soldiers, she thought. Are there any more around these parts, surely there are? But I don't see any at the moment, so they aren't here, in this square. Maybe they're out on patrols. As for us though, all that stands between us and Anastasia is the men in this building. Ruby looked at Emerald for guidance, but she had lost all sense of fear. She had just watched her sister demolish an entire crew of soldiers, in her mind now anything was possible.
“As before,” Emerald said, “just follow my lead.”
Ruby nodded her agreement. “It's time for more magic,” she said, excited for what was about to occur.
“Yes it is,” Emerald agreed. “When I say, I want you to open that door and walk in there, and tell them that you are here to collect the woman they have, and if they cooperate then there'll be no trouble. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I can do that,” Ruby said. “I'm ready whenever you are.”
“Okay then, let's go,” Emerald said, giving Ruby the signal to start proceedings.
Ruby put her hand on the door handle and turned it. She could feel her heart beating, but it was due to excitement. She felt no fear. Emerald had shown Ruby such a sense of control that she felt as light as a feather, able to just float in there and rescue Anastasia, and they would be powerless to stop her. She loved the way that made her feel. So strong and powerful, she thought. But not ruthless like these soldiers. We're rescuing people, not killing them. Emma didn't even kill any of those other soldiers.
The handle turned slowly as Ruby focused herself for the next part of the plan. She opened the door and walked a few steps into the room. Looking around she could see what seemed at first glance to be a small room, but in hindsight she wondered if perhaps the number of people in there made it seem that way. There were six men all staring at her, but she was unable to see Anastasia. She did however notice another door at the back of the room. She must be through there, Ruby told herself.
The men started to awaken from their sense of surprise. They had all felt themselves frozen into inaction at the sight a small child walking unannounced into their headquarters.
“I am here to collect the woman you captured earlier,” Ruby said, before any of them had enough time to pounce on her. “If you hand her over now then no one will get hurt.” Ruby delivered the words with complete meaning. She knew the statement to be complete truth, after witnessing what Emerald was capable of. But she wondered at how these men would respond. This is where it gets interesting, she thought.
She was met with howls of laughter. First from the main one, from what Ruby could ascertain. A large bald man, with the roughest meanest expression Ruby had ever seen. He laughed and scowled all at the same time. Ruby stared in amazement. The rest of them joined in, as if awaiting the command from the first one. Ruby noticed the other's lack of commitment in their laughter. They are nervous, she thought. But of who, me or him? Why would it be me, they have yet to see what is coming their way. So their boss must be a tyrant, Ruby told herself. Emerald put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, “You did really well, Ruby,” she told her.
“So if we don't hand over your friend then you are going to hurt us, are you?” the large man barked at Ruby. She could smell his breath from across the room. That's just horrible, she thought. All of him is horrible. She winced as it wafted towards her.
“It wont be just me,” Ruby answered. “I have an army too.” This is so much fun she thought. I can't wait to see what happens.
“Army? You have an army?” The large smelly soldier started laughing even harder than before. So much so that he started to lose his breath, and needed to lean on the desk beside him. Emerald walked over to him and placed her hands over his eyes. Ruby watched, interested in what Emerald was about to do.
“My eyes!” he exclaimed. “What's happening?” His eyes were wide open, as if desperately trying to comprehend the frightening events that were beginning to unfold. “I can't see anything,” he continued. “What have you done to me?”
The other soldiers all looked to their boss unsure of just what was happening. Ruby turned her attention to them. One of them grabbed his hand gun from his waist and attempted to point it at Ruby, but before he could even point it half way Emerald had caused it to fly out of his hand.
“What the hell is happening?” he said, looking to his colleagues. “Who is this girl?” They all slowly started to show the panic they were now feeling. Their boss was blinded, and one of them had lost his gun in unusual circumstances. Trained to use weaponry to handle any and all situations, the rest of them grabbed their guns and attempted to take aim at Ruby. Again Emerald removed their guns, in what appeared to all who could see as some sort of magic.
“What is this witchcraft?” one of them managed to spit out.
Emerald had kept the last lot of guns floating in the air, and decided to have them all point back at their previous owners. The men instantly froze. They had now become the captives. The boss was stumbling around beside them aware that they were rapidly losing control of the situation, but unable to see exactly what was happening.
Emerald whispered in Ruby's ear the next statement to make. “I did make a simple request,” she told them. “Where is the woman?”
The men all pointed to the back room. Ruby told one of them men to bring her out here with us. “And remember, I have these guns pointed at your friends,” she added.
“You're getting good at this,” Emerald told her. “You're a natural.”
“That's because I have a good team,” she replied.
The soldier returned with Anastasia. She had the large bruise on her face where they had hit her earlier. She walked over to Ruby, taking in the situation that was developing around her. She looked at Ruby, at the guns hanging mid air pointed at the men. She noticed the large man holding his head in his hands starting to wail at the thought of his blindness. There was so much for her to take in. Ruby gave her a moment. Wait until she see what we did outside also, she thought. One thing at a time though.
“Are you okay?” Ruby asked Anastasia. “Did they hurt you?”
“No they didn't hurt me, apart from this,” she replied, pointing to her face. “They were threatening to hurt me, but you got here so quickly, it didn't allow them time.”
Ruby was glad they had managed to get to her quickly enough. Soldiers do bad things to woman, she thought. I have heard the stories, I know enough. Even for a child I know what these men were thinking. She held back a tear starting to form, not from fear of these men, but out of gratitude that they had been able to help Anastasia. This is how it feels, she thought. This is why she helps so many people.
“Did Emma put you up to all of this?” Anastasia asked light heartedly, in reference to the surreal situation she now found herself in.
“I wanted to do it,” Ruby replied. “I got to see her magic.”
“These soldiers got to see her magic also. By the looks of their expressions I'd say they've seen enough.” she said, starting to get her smile back. “So what now, does Emma have a plan?”
Ruby turned to Emerald to find out the next steps. “Same as before,” Emerald replied. “We tie them up, hands and feet. But then we need to contact the army in the main city. Let them know what's going on here.”
Ruby relayed the message to Anastasia. They located the cable ties and proceeded to tie the soldiers.
“Where is your communication device? What have you got here we can use to make contact?” Anastasia asked the main soldier. He remained silent, unwilling to assist them in what he knew would be his forced surrender.
Ruby had a chat with Emerald who instructed her on exactly what would work to coax him into cooperating. “Do you wish to see again?” Ruby asked him.
“Yes,” he replied hesitatingly. “ Of course I want to see.”
“Well you will, in exchange for the information we requested.”
Anastasia looked at Ruby as she spoke so confidently to these soldiers. She couldn't help but feel impressed by how she was handling this whole situation. “I've seen Emma's magic,” she told Anastasia. “These soldiers no longer frighten me.”
“Tell them which of these is the phone system,” the large soldier said in the direction of his men. He knew they were there, somewhere, but didn't address any specific one.
“But we can't help them, they'll call in the army,” one of the other soldiers said, trying to dissuade him.
“It's an order,” the main soldier barked.
One of the soldiers was helped to his feet, hands and arms still tied. He turned and faced the desk with the required item on it. Anastasia sat down facing it, and lifted the large metal covering that had been hiding it away. Dials, knobs, buttons and lights all stared back at her. She finally noticed the headphone and microphone. No fancy videophone set up here, she noticed. Still a little old school, but so long as it works.
“Do you know how to use it?” Ruby asked her.
“I think so,” she answered. “We had something very similar back at the charity centre.
Anastasia proceeded to place the headphones on, press several buttons, and waited. She knew the dial code for the main city, but would any communications still be working. The army had been known to take control of the airwaves, with all communications being directed to them. Was that still the case, she wondered? Or will I dial directly to these soldiers head quarters. She continued to wait for a response.
“Hello,” she finally said.
“Hello, who's on this line?” Anastasia grew concerned about who she was talking to. Good or bad she wondered.
“My name is Anastasia,” she started to explain. I am in a small town.” She remembered she had no idea where she was. “What is the name of this town?” she asked the soldier still standing.”
“Kallamantan,” he replied.
“I am in the town of Kallamantan,” she continued to tell the voice on the other end. “Who am I speaking with?” she asked.
“You have been directed to the Army Communications Centre. All communications outside of the city come through to us. You say you are calling from Kallamantan?”
“That is correct. We got here yesterday, after leaving Kirban a week ago.”
“How are you able to communicate with us?”
Anastasia proceeded to explain how the events had unfolded over the last few hours. She chose to skip over the parts involving magic, not really knowing how that would be received. “So you're telling me you captured enemy soldiers that were preparing a raid on the coast here, and the main city.”
“It would appear so,” Anastasia answered.
“Could you hold the line for just a moment?”
“Sure.”
The dispatcher was silent for what seemed like a couple of minutes. Anastasia waited patiently, and found herself relaxing for the first time, as she had a moment to collect her thoughts.
“Okay I have spoken with my superiors. A helicopter will be sent up there immediately. You should see it within a couple of hours. They will bring you back here. Fast track you into the refugee camps as necessary. So just hang tight, we'll be there very soon.” he proceeded to end the call, leaving Anastasia to marvel at this turn of events.
“This really is magic,” she said to Ruby.
Chapters One and Two (Part One)
Chapters Three and Four (Part Two)
Chapters Five and Six (Part Three)
Chapter Seven (Part Four)
Chapter Eight (Part Five)
Chapter Nine (Part Six)
Chapter Ten (Part Seven)
Chapter Eleven (Part Eight)
Chapter Twelve (Part Nine)
Chapter Thirteen (Part Ten)
Chapter Fourteen (Part Eleven)
Chapter Fifteen (Part Twelve)
Chapter Sixteen and Seventeen (Part Thirteen)
Chapter Eighteen (Part Fourteen)
Chapter Nineteen (Part Fifteen)
This fiction is my own work, written for Steemit
Image Credit: Unsplash.com
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