𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄⼁Vida

FIFTEEN

Ruby was laying on the ground, completely frozen and stiff, just like Lee had been. Chubs and Clara raced forwards, pulling one of her arms over their shoulders.

"When you're able to move, say so," Chubs said in a rush. The second they stepped out of the room a PSF was on them. Chubs threw them to the side like a ragdoll, a simple flick of his hand.

The three of them stumbled down through the camp, heading for the lake. They almost dropped Ruby a number of times but they kept fighting, pulling her frozen form to the dock. When they reached the water they slipped in slowly. It was freezing, chilling them all to the bone in seconds. Clara and Chubs pulled Ruby under the dock, all three of them gripping the rotten wood for dear life.

Clara's muscles were stiff and aching by the time they let go of the wooden planks. They waited until an hour after the last scream to pull themselves out of the water, their teeth chattering.

They trudged their way up to the camp figuring it was the best place to start looking for Liam.

Trudging their way back up to the camp they could see the aftermath of the night. It was utterly destroyed. Smoking remains of the cabins could be seen everywhere, some still burning. Smoke was clogging the sky, casting a dark gloom over the area.

They decided to check for Liam, even though the chances of him returning were slim. Clancy's office building was the only structure remaining. Ruby pushed the door open, wincing at the loud creaking sound it made. The room was deserted, Clancy must have been long gone. They combed through the room, double checking for anything suspicious before making their way up to the office.

The room had been cleaned since the last time Ruby had been there. Clancy had no doubt combed through it for anything 'classified' before he left. Ruby waked over to his desk, Clancy's computer laying perfectly in position with a note sitting next to it.

Ruby,

I lied before. I would have run

—CG

"I would have run, what does that mean?" Clara asked, her voice still extremely hoarse and tender. She didn't receive an answer as Ruby was too focused on the laptop.

"Chubs!" Ruby called. The laptop had fifteen minutes of power left in it. Chubs didn't waste a second of it, searching up Jack's fathers new address and posting his cryptic message to his parents. He received an answer from his parents, they told him to meet them at his aunt's restaurant.

Clara and Ruby sat quietly on the bed, waiting for Chubs to finish on the computer so they could head out and start searching for Liam. One second Ruby was looking out the window, playing with some ash that had been blown inside, and the next she was streaking past Clara, running full speed at the door.

"Ruby!" Chubs called, but she was already gone.

Chubs and Clara ran out of the room, trying to catch up with Ruby before something happened. When they exited the building they could Ruby, her arms around Liam in and embrace, tears falling down both of their faces.

"Lee!" Chubs called, Clara running over at the same time. Liam pulled away from Ruby, taking one look at Clara's bruised neck before pulling her in for a hug too. He was okay, he was safe, they all were.

❊❊❊

They all set off with the purpose of delivering Jack's letter. They had the address and a car with a reasonable gas mileage and that was all they needed. They decided to deliver Jack's letter, meet Chubs's parents at his aunt's restaurant and then start making the trek over to California in hopes of finding Zu.