Drake felt like they had been running for hours. He looked at his friends, who were breathing heavily. They had been running nonstop, trying to catch up to the ones who took Nelly before they were able to get her on a boat. Renn was long gone, out of sight. She was far quicker than they were. She remained uninjured, boosted by the familiar bond.

Throughout their journey, images flashed through his mind, telling him that Renn was fine. She was still following the red thread. She even fought a few beasts on her way, but was doing well.

Drake and his friends ran for as long as they could before they had no choice but to stop and rest. They knew they couldn't stop completely. They had to keep moving. They continued to walk forward instead as Chad pulled food out of his storage ring. They ate while they walked. He had stocked his ring with food and bottles of water.

As they walked, another image flashed through Drake's mind. Renn had found Nelly. From what he could tell, they weren't that far from them. "We need to keep running. Renn caught up to them," Drake informed his friends.

Nodding, they began running again. Drake gave Renn a silent message. If those who had Nelly made it to the beach, she had to do everything she could to keep them from putting Nelly on a boat.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Renn flashed an image of the men hiding in some trees, taking a break. In the distance, the beach could be seen. She was close already. "Shit!" Looking at the image carefully, he realized that there was no boat anywhere near the beach. There were no boats at all in the water that he could see. "There's no boat. They must have stopped to wait for it to arrive," Drake stated as they continued.

"What is it?" Chad asked, concerned.

"They're not far from the beach. Right now, they're taking a break. I think they're waiting for their ride to get there. We need to get to Nelly before they can reach the beach and get on a boat when it arrives. If they make it, it's all over. I don't know how we can get her once they put her on a boat."

Drake kept running. His chest was tight with panic. He worried they wouldn't get to her in time. The dull pain in his gut remained. So did the sense of urgency. He knew he had to get there. There was worry that he wouldn't get to her in time to save her.

As they ran, they heard a high-pitched sound. Something was coming after them. When they looked, it was a beast. It was a very large one. Its eyes glowed orange, telling them it was a level 2 beast. It dove at them, teeth bared. It looked like a large scorpion. It flashed its tail, pounding it toward them, trying to impale them.

"Can't you tame this thing so it can give us a ride?" Chad complained as he blocked and moved in zigzags, trying to stay out of range of its large, bladed tail.

"I don't know. Let me see what I can do. If we can, it's large enough to fit all three of us on its back," Drake panted. He was out of breath from running. He let his eyes glow a bright green and tried to link with its mind, trying to make it an ally. It wasn't working. The beast was in a frenzy, trying to kill them and not paying attention to the thoughts that were being transmitted into its mind.

Drake let his eyes glow brighter as he pulled his staff out of his storage. He had stored it in his cuff, not even in the book. He wanted to be able to pull the staff out quickly if he needed it in an emergency. With the intention of taming the beast, he let the large emerald on top of it glow brightly, as he attempted again to link their minds.

He blocked each strike the scorpion made, but tried not to hurt the scorpion beast as he tried to link minds with it. After several excruciating minutes, finally, the beast halted, backing away slightly. He had done it; their minds had linked. It had realized that Drake wasn't trying to hurt it.

Drake stood still, his eyes glowing brightly, looking toward the beast. The normal, serene expression crossed his features as he stared at the beast. It took several minutes before the beast's eyes began to glow a bright green, and it lowered its head. Drake stepped forward, pressing his hand to the beast's head. He stayed that way for a while before he lifted his hand and backed away.

The beast turned to its side, lowering its body. Drake mounted its back, ushering Mike and Chad to follow. They did it quickly and carefully. Both boys were amazed at what Drake had done.

"Is it a he or a she?" Mike asked, banting between breaths. He was wondering what it was. Renn was a girl, Protector a boy… he wanted to know what the scorpion was.

Drake smiled. "She… and her name is Ruby. She is also a familiar," he said, smiling, then gave her a silent command on where to head. Ruby dashed down he road, taking only minutes to get where they needed to go. She was incredibly fast.

In the distance, they could see Renn, inching closer to Nelly, who was locked in a cage that hung on a tree.

Drake silently conversed with Renn, who immediately looked toward her master. The men were taking a break to eat dinner. Nelly was in a ball, hugging her knees with her thumb in her mouth. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She barely fit in the cage.

Drake had the scorpion hide, so that the men wouldn't see her. Then quickly dismounted and inched their way to Renn. The scorpion watched from her hiding place.

When they reached the cage, Drake carefully lowered the cage from the tree. He couldn't unlock it; he didn't have a key. He would have to break it when he got her out of there.

Nelly opened her eyes, seeing Drake. He immediately pressed his lips with his finger, telling her to stay quiet. Renn inched up, took the top of the cage in her mouth, and backed away from the camp.

Drake gave Renn a silent command, telling her to take the cage to the scorpion, Ruby. The feeling in his gut was still there, letting him know that they weren't out of hot water yet. He needed to get her out of the cage and home, or at least safe.

It was already starting to get dark. The men were sitting around a fire, ignoring Nelly and her cage. It made it easier to get her away from their camp.

When Renn reached Ruby, Drake had her place the cage on Ruby's back. She did so quickly. The men still hadn't noticed.

Drake and his friends mounted the scorpion while carefully holding the cage. "I'll get you out of that cage as soon as I can, Nelly," Drake whispered. "We have to get away first."

The little girl nodded. Her thumb was still in her mouth as her tears fell. She looked relieved but still scared. He understood. Drake told Renn to follow as he had Ruby rush off. They went all the way to where the green line was for the quest. Turning toward it, they followed it until they got to the clearing where it had stopped.

Quickly pulling out the cabin, he opened the door and had Renn carry the cage to the door. She did as she was instructed. She then changed into her rat form and entered the cabin, letting Drake, Mike, and Chad carry the cage inside.

Drake spoke again to the scorpion, who bowed, rubbing its massive head on his shoulder, and then turned, disappearing into the trees.

After closing the door and locking it, Drake closed and locked all the shutters, hung all the bells, and then worked on opening the cage. In the end, Mike had slammed his sword into the lock, breaking it to pieces.

Drake carefully opened the door and pulled Nelly out of the cage and pulled her into his lap. "Chad, can you give her something to eat. I don't want to cook anything. The smell might attract them here."

Chad pulled a bag of sandwiches out of his ring, handing each of them one while taking one himself. "I made a bunch, just in case," he stated, shrugging. "I found out that as long as they stay in the ring. They never go bad."

"I'm glad you did," Drake nodded. "That was good thinking."

They ate quietly, keeping the lights out, fearful of attracting the kidnapper's attention. Nelly stayed close to Drake, refusing to leave his lap. This was the second time he came to save her.

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