Chapter 8

The wormhole opened and the kids were flung into the sky, the portal shut closed as they fell to their deaths. A rushing river was below them, surely, they would all drown without a chance of out swimming the waves. They all landed head first on a deck of a passing ship, several inches over and they would have met an unlucky traverse.

They groaned pitifully. Jonah rubbed his dazed head, his legs were wounded around two of the others, his left pocket pressed under someone's weight but it was empty, he looked up frantically, the elucidator was flung away from his reach. He gave up trying to reach it and instead pushed against the butts of the other piled on each other.

Fred and Sam tried to untangle themselves Fred shouting, "hey! Get your bolbous glasses off me."

"Believe me I would if I could, your breath stinks all kinds of hell."

"Guys." Jo gasped through trying to free himself from Katherines trapped arms, "don't start fighting. It's not helping." They instantly stopped arguing but strained still more.

"Ugh get your hands from there." Katherine squirmed.

"My hands aren't anywhere." Joe sucked his teeth. There were footsteps then three people showed up two with spears pointing at them.

The man without a spear stepped closer than the other two and stooped down and stared at them. He turned to the two guards and spoke…

"What? What language are you speaking bub?" Fred grunted at him. Sam clamped his free hand over Fred's mouth and Joe shushed him harshly, "stop making things worse!" The stumpy man glanced at them confused, he said something to them but they had no idea what he was saying, Fred still silenced they said nothing and tried sitting up. Katherine got off of Sam; Sam stayed near Fred; Joe picked up Sam's glasses; Jonah snatched up the elucidator, it instantly changed into a sheathed shank emblemed with symbols of the sun and jewels and suddenly they caught the end of the man's sentence. "Throw them in the river then continue searching."

The men with spears simultaneously retracted the spears placing them to the side and picked up one kid in each hand. Jonah was left on the ground as they walked the others to the side of the boat. The stumpy man looked down and gasped. A bewildered shock inflicted a sharp glare in his face. He got down on one knee in front of Jonah. "Your Highness, you are alright. We have been looking for you since we left shore." He glanced up at the others stull being held midair, the guards having stopped moving. Jonah swore he saw a smirk flicker across his face. "These tyrants! They tried to kidnap you! Mutiny, a threat to the chosen one of Ra. Guards diminish them at once while I get his Highness into better robing." He grabbed Jonah's arm rather rushed and shaky and directed him to the other side of the deck while the guards followed behind them. Jonah was sat into a golden chair and thrown a red clothe over his shoulder, the man saw the slate in his hand as Jonah tried to tuck it back into his pocket. He snatched it and threw it away over the side of the river. Jonah could only stare in disbelief. Katherine saw as well and struggle the be released, the guard shook her until she stopped.

The man stooped down to meet the gaze of Jonah. "Whatever these intruders have inflicted on you they will be punished twice fold by the gods. You did not need that trinket; your guards will be replaced by more capable simpletons to do their jobs."

"But- but I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why King Tut," Hotsnot threw his arms open. "We arm but servants at your command, and as of this morning you have an execution scheduled."

Jonah got a sudden chill. "Who's?" He reached his hand up to his throat, realizing that if the King's advisors thought he was the king, and if the king was around this age, knew fully well what happened in the present-future time of Jonah's history class to the young king.

"These mutineers, of course." Hotsnot motioned his head at the kids, the guards marched to the side of the boat. Jonah unable to help suddenly remembered the Nile was filled with crocodiles.

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