Jack could see the moon as a glowing orb behind the clouds through the holes in the roof of the attic. He sat up with his back to the wall.
The noise of a sleeping figure came from the opposite corner of the room.
The activities of the day flooded back to him. He had a silent sob to himself in his corner of the room.
The sleeping figure seemed to stir and sit up.
"What are you doing Jack?" Asked a sleepy female voice.
Jack stopped sobbing and sighed.
"Nothing." He was glade that it was too dark so that Nelly couldn't see him crying.
There was a long silence in the attic before Jack asked something.
"What did they decide on me and Mr. Jones?"
Nelly didn't reply straight away.
"Your free to go, and Mr. Jones...he's to be executed in the morning." She finely said, Jack couldn't see that she was smiling.
The dark seemed to be overwhelming in the little attic with holes in the roof. Jack felt lost and confused and very thirsty.
"Oh." Was all he could say.
After an hour of silence Jack got up and started to head for the staircase.
"Where are, you going?" Nelly asked alarmed.
"I am going for a walk to think things over." He replied.
Nelly rolled over and fell back to sleep.
Jack walked slowly down the steps.
A person was snoring at the bottom of the stairway.
He crept passed them and out the glass door. The moon appeared from behind the clouds and was shining on the building. Jack could see the big faded golden words "Museum of Antiques & Collectibles". He started to head towards the edge of town where clover meadows once grew.
As Jack walked by the neighboring buildings, he could hear voices coming from within the broken buildings.
How could Mr. Jones be so bad? Through Jack. They must be wrong.... must be wrong. His heart torn in two.
The tarmac road felt rough under his bare feet. The night was warm, but that was to be expected for it was in the middle of summer.
The edge of town grew closer and closer. The wind blew over the barren land.
"Jack!" A voice whispered that sounded a lot like Mr. Jones.
Jack focused his eyes on the direction it came from. The shadows shifted into a figure of a man standing with his hand by his side.
"Mr. Jones, is that you?"
The figure came into the moon light revealing Mr. Jones covered in blood. He placed his finger to his lips.
"Shhh." He stood there staring at Jack.
"Is it true? What they said about you and being the founder of this hell!?" Jack stammered.
Jones shook his head.
"It was Apis, the head Councilor." Jones said softly.
"Then why are you covered in blood and whose is it?" Asked Jack still angry at him.
"It was the guards."
Jack seemed to sway at hearing the answer.
"He's alright, just out cold." Jones added seeing Jack's reaction.
"We must leave. Find the car and head towards Virtutem Spei before dawn." Jones continued as he grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him along the edge of the road.
Jack pulled from his grasp and started to walk backwards.
"I don't believe you. What about Nelly? What you did to her you could easily do to me!" Jack shouted. He was angry at how Jones, the only person that he trusted and the only person he passably could ever call his father, was a liar.
"Shhh, please Jack, I only had to do what I had to do to survive. She was going to tell." The sweat could be seen running down Jones's face in the moonlight.
Jack looked at him with a glare.
"Tell about what?" Jack asked.
The noise of running feet could be heard from up the road coming towards where Jack and Mr. Jones were standing.
"You can't stay here with these, these rebels, come with me and together make things right again." Mr. Jones said with urgency, keeping one eye on the direction of the running feet.
Jack shook his head. "I wish I could trust you, but no, you have broken that, I don't want you as my Tutor or to be part of the QC." Jack said, backing away.
Mr. Jones looked saddened at hearing Jacks answer. "Your mother told me to give you this when you graduate from studying the ways of Bee Keeping." He said. He tossed an object at Jack that landed at his feet with a metallic sound, he them turned and fled into the darkness.
"Wait, what did you know about my mother!" Jack called but there was no answer.
The running feet came nearer and nearer. Jack knelt and picked up the metal object to find it much like a coin, with silver in appearance. He placed it in his pocket.
"Who are you talking to?" Asked Nelly puffing coming up to where Jack was standing.
"No one." Jack said. "Jones has escaped. You might want to tell the villagers." He said sadly, turning away and started to head back to the antique store.
"And you didn't try and stop him?" Nelly called out. Jack just carried on walking. So many unanswered questions floated around his confused mind.
The villagers were starting to emerge from there broken buildings.
"What's going on?" A female figure asked approaching Jack.
It was Ailith.
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know what is going on any more." He said.
Ailith gave a lough.
"Neither do any of us." She said. She briskly walked passed him and down the road to the pig pen. The sound of her angry yells brought Ric running pass Jack and down the road, out of sight.
Nelly walked up to where Jack was standing and placed an arm around him.
"I don't think I want to go back to Prata or my family, instead stay here and help these people out, with the bees gone there's no future back at Prata...."
Jack just stood there like a statue, not listening to Nelly's blabbing's, instead his thoughts wondered. The QC did this, killing the bee? Maybe he could go and change their minds.
"I'm going to Virtutem Spei." He said, Nelly stopped talking for once in her life and looked surprised.
"You going to Virtutem Spei? I don't think so. You wouldn't get as far as this towns out skirts." She said laughing.
Jack ignored her comment.
Ailith and Ric appeared in sight carrying a man. By that time the villagers had gathered around in a group waiting to know what was happening.
"Right, we need to have a meeting." Ailith said looking annoyed.
"What, now?" An old lady asked surprised.
"I don't see no reason not to, after all we are all hear. Might as well have a meeting." Mustache Rogers said rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Ric laid the bloody body down on the road.
"Is he...?" Asked a man. Ailith nodded. There was a shiver that rippled through the small group. Jack wasn't surprised at the news, nothing seemed to surprise him anymore.
"Jack and Nelly, 'Ailith said, "you both can go back to Prata. And we will see what we can do to help you if need be, meanwhile me and Ric will hunt down Jones."
Nelly rolled her eyes. "I don't want to go back to Prata, let me help you hunt down Jones." She said.
Ailith looked surprised at Nelly's reply. "Sure, but what about your parents? Wont they be missing you?" She asked.
"Sure, they will, but that's life." Nelly said with a smile.
"Fine whatever." Ailith said. "What about you Jack?"
Jack was still deep in thought. "I have no one in Prata, I am going to the QC to try and change their minds."
The villagers laughed. "Good luck with that, it would be suicide for you to try that." Mustache Rogers said.
"But there's still bees left in the world, we can't just sit by and watch as they kill the last remaining bees for a reason that they are hiding from us?" Jack said, annoyed at the people's thoughts.
Ailith looked pleased at Jacks atheism to help stop the plague of dying bees. "Jacks right, we must try to do something, or we will be facing the same fate our ancestors faced." A plan slowly was forming in Ailith head.
"Then what are we to do?" Asked the elderly villagers.
"We must rebel." Ailith replied.
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