Levi stood there, too shocked to move. "Levi!" The purple light was at the bottom of the hill, racing across the field. He shook from his trance and jumped into the driver's seat. I looked to the side, seeing Lucas was already in the boat, making sure  his wife Aria was warm. The Triops were using their powers to make the middle of summer cold. Although it probably wasn’t the worst thing they’ve done. Everyone jerked forward as Levi put it in reverse as fast as he could go. "I can't get the gem into the cup holders!" I shouted to Evelyn. She looked up from Claire’s ankle and came over to me. Both of us pushed as hard as we could to get it in, but it was too big. "It's not worth breaking it, just hold it!" Then she raced back over to Claire. As I watched her wrap Claire’s ankle in one of the blankets, I realized we were still idling. "Levi! Speed up!" 

"I can't! We aren't allowed to go faster than an idle at night! We will look suspicious!" Darn it! The Triops could easily catch us now. They weren't afraid of looking suspicious, they weren't the ones being chased!

 I looked around, no matter what happened to me, these generous people couldn’t be harmed, even if I died in the process. They had taken me in and been so kind, they were just caught in the middle. I suddenly thought of Zach, the Triops brainwashed him, he’d almost killed me while I stole the gem, and he thought I was the bad guy; how would I save him now?! No, I wasn’t going to lose hope for him, he couldn’t die, I was going to save him somehow. Boom! Everyone in the speedboat screamed as a bomb shook us from overhead, but too high to burn us. I looked up, no, not a bomb. A firework! Why was there a firework going off on Lake Loveland?! "Wait…What day is it?!" I whispered to myself. If Sunday was the 2nd, then today would be…. "It's the 4th of July!" I shouted. "Stop the boat." The engine stopped and just now did I notice all of the boats around us. Each one was simply watching fireworks, nothing suspicious so far. "We need to drop the anchors, it would be peculiar to be moving while all these other boats are stopped." 

Lucas jumped out of his seat and grabbed the anchor beside my feet. It cut my ankle, but I barely noticed because my feet were so numb from the cold. Levi shouted commands at Lucas from the driver's seat while he dropped the anchor off the front of the boat. It sank to the bottom with no difficulties; the back one took longer. He tried over and over again but it kept going wrong. I took a small note of the party boat in front of us and the large house boat behind us while I was waiting for it to work. When they finally got it settled, everyone turned to the fireworks. Some got pretty close to us, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I looked back to see the houseboat behind us had also dropped its anchors. But was unnaturally close to us. I looked back at the giant gem, which was glowing through the towel; not good for us. I put it under the blanket wrapped around me for extra covering. I checked back to the houseboat behind our speedboat, no one was on it except for one person, sitting on the roof covering the patio, looking straight at me. And in the light of the next firework, I saw the glint of a gold scepter. My breath was sucked out of me and I fought to stay conscious. It was him, it was my kidnapper. "Levi, behind us, it's-" I tried to warn them but a firework landed directly beside our boat into the water with a stunning, BOOM! 

Everyone in the boat screamed, covering their ears, and Claire almost fell out. The boat managed to stay upright but the anchor lines had been cut right off and we were drifting away. Another one landed behind us, shaking the boat vigorously. A fountain of water rained onto us and I tried to spot the houseboat with my kidnapper through it. It was like it had disappeared! "There must be a tracker somewhere in the boat, so they know where to aim the fireworks! Someone is on shore, see?!" Lucas yelled. I looked toward the beach, and he was right, I could just make out a pink dot holding a bright red flame lighting fireworks aiming directly at us! "Everyone check the boat for the tracker!" I said. I don't know why everyone wanted me to lead them, why they all looked to me for directions! I was only 14, they were all adults! But nonetheless, I was good at leading, better than I ever thought I could be! I scoured my area on the boat, thinking we were looking for a little red light, but I couldn't find anything. I looked up to see everyone else running around looking down like chickens with their heads cut off. 

Another firework landed beside us, almost throwing me off the boat. Luckily I was caught by the back of it, which had soft padding to protect the motor. "Levi, start the boat!" 

"I can't, the tracker must be messing with the engine!" The last word echoed through my head, engine, engine, engine…. "The engine!" I opened up the back where I’d just fallen, and low and behold: the scepter. It was here. Right in front of me, but I couldn't grab it, all the painful memories came flooding back into my mind. Chains, whips, magic. Everything. I picked it up slowly. "I found it." I whispered. "What?" Claire asked beside me. "I found it!" I shouted on the top of my lungs, sharper than I meant it to be. Pain and anguish filling my voice in ways I will never understand. I raised it into the air while standing on the back of the boat. Tears streamed down my face, I had it, his source of strength, his everything. Everyone looked up at me, slightly afraid. 

Before anyone could say anything, another firework blew up in the front of the boat. I started to fall off the back but Claire grabbed my foot. The gem came flying towards my face, and it was coming fast. In a moment of panic I tried to lift my right hand but it was stuck in between my back and the foam seat! I let go of the scepter and put my left hand in front of my face instinctively. I closed my eyes and hoped my face wasn't smashed. When I opened them again, I saw that I'd caught it! I caught it! But wait, if I'd caught it then…I gasped and turned around, the gold scepter was sinking into the water. I dived in after it, throwing the gem back behind me as I did it. I couldn't let it sink, I needed to possess the scepter, to be in control of him for once. Opening my eyes in the water was impossible, but it was warmer than the chilly wind outside, it was going to be awful to rise out again. I felt something hard and smooth touch my fingertips, I kicked harder, trying to grab it. But my ears felt like bleeding and I was running out of breath. Soon I was getting too tired, my brain was swirling, I was blind, I had to go back up. There was no other option. I let it sink to the bottom as the air in my lungs brought me back to the top. When my head popped up, I gasped for breath and opened my eyes. Everyone was sitting on the back, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw me. But something was off… "Where's Evelyn?!” I asked after realizing she was missing. Everyone looked at each other, it was Aria who finally spoke. "She went after you." Just then, another head popped up beside mine, it was hers. "Faith!" She swam over to me and squeezed me so tight my ears popped. (Although it felt good after being submerged for so long.) 

She helped me swim back to the boat as everyone wrapped us up in blankets and towels. "Did you get the scepter?" Aria asked me gently. She knew what it meant to me, they all did. That's why they all understood why tears started coming down my cheeks as I shook my head. "Oh Faith…I'm so sorry." She hugged me, and I hugged her back. That would have been our advantage, and my way to prove that I could be stronger than him. And now, it was gone. When Aria finally pulled away, I wiped my tears and looked around. No one met my gaze and they had finally got the boat started again. Which reminded me this isn't about the scepter. It wasn’t about me or my past trauma, we were doing this for the Queen, and for Zach. "Where is it? Where is the gem?" I asked. Lucas handed it back to me as we rode to Claire's gazebo in utter silence. Which felt weird after all the explosions. 

When we got to the dock, Isaac was waiting for us. "Do you have it?" He asked me. I nodded my head and showed him the gem wrapped in a towel. "Good, I-" He began, but just then a large VROOM came up from behind us as that same houseboat I had seen came speeding toward us. However, this time it wasn't just my kidnapper. The Prince and the Phoenix were sitting there too. The kidnapper had his scepter again, smirking evilly and I almost cursed. Of course he had it again! It was clearly some form of a tracker. "You guys need to go!" Isaac yelled at us. Everyone started jumping out, but I just stared at Isaac as he pulled out his sword. "Isaac you can't beat them!" He turned and smirked at me. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me up and out of the boat. I grabbed his arm protectively, keeping the gem in the other hand, and he tried to shake me off. "I don't intend on beating them, just keeping them busy." 

"Isaac, they'll kill you!" 

"I'm okay with that. As long as it protects you." 

"Me?!" He turned back to me and looked me dead in the eyes. "Faith, if you die, the world crashes into chaos. If that gem doesn't get to Zach and Zara, then there will be no reason to live. And they are counting on you to bring it to them, now go!" 

He turned back to the Triops that were getting off their boat onto the dock now. He shoved me in the direction of the gazebo and my legs somehow kept moving. I caught up to everyone waiting for me. They were standing at the edge of the concrete, where a single line of the same kind of fountain fireworks ran all the way to the neighbor’s yard. I looked up at Ben, holding a lighter, smirking at me as he started to light them one by one. We jumped over the fireworks and began to run to the car running for us in front of the house. He made quick time and as soon as we were at the top of the hill, they were all lit. I was amazed, but something else caught my eyes. A limp body lay on the edge of the dock, blood running into the dark water. Tears sprang out from my eyes, Isaac was dead, that was his lifeless body. I gave him a silent prayer, saluting his life and death. Before I could collapse in exhaustion and grief, I looked back to the end of the gazebo. The Triops were standing at the entrance, looking as angry as ever. The Phoenix was trying to put out the flames, but judging by the way the fountain was light pink instead of gold, Ben put his own magic so it wouldn’t snuff out. Also meaning that they were trapped inside the gazebo until Ben released them, or the flames went out. 

Evelyn grabbed my hand, "Come on we have to go!" She shouted over the sound of the neighbors shooting off fireworks. I looked around to find everyone else had gone, and Evelyn pulled me up the hill beside Claire’s house. Levi had already started the car and everyone was packed in. Once Evelyn and I were in the van, we raced down the street. Levi was speeding, and there were probably tons of cops out since it was the 4th of July, but no one else was noticing. We were all going over the events of the night. It happened too fast! The gem, fireworks, the scepter, Isaac. Isaac…Did anyone else know? "Guys…" I started wearily, I’d cried so much that night I had no more left to shed. Everyone turned to me, "Isaac, he-he's…Isaac is dead." A couple seconds of silence followed my statement. No one talked but tears shed from Claire and Levi's eyes. Everyone else bowed their heads solemnly. 

After a few minutes of quiet, Aria tried to change the subject by asking, "Where are we going?" 

"We are just staying on the road tonight." Levi said with a slight voice crack. Everyone nodded, but my mind was made up. "No, we aren't. Someone died sacrificing their life for me today. We have been surviving on 5 hours of sleep a night since Sunday, and I am too physically exhausted from today to hold this gem. We. Need. Sleep." Everyone looked sluggishly to Levi who was too exhausted to even respond, just turned around. After another few minutes of peace and quiet, he broke the silence. "We'll stay at me and Evelyn's house. It is hard to find, not too far away, and big enough for everyone." I couldn't tell if he wanted responses, but he sure as heck wasn't getting any. Evelyn and Claire were asleep. Lucas and Aria were only half awake themselves. I wasn't going to respond, the gem was the only thing keeping me awake; always sliding out of my hands just as I was about to drift into unconsciousness.