Ruby

Chapter 33

I woke up just as the sky was beginning to turn light pink at the edges. I had forgotten about falling asleep on the roof. I look at David, who is still asleep. His head is tilted to one side. His arm is still wrapped around me, just loosely. I curl up to him again, feeling the rhythm of his even breaths.

A little while later, David wakes up. He moves his head around, looking with sleepy eyes.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey," he grins at me. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept pretty well," I reply. "What about you?"

He props himself up on one elbow and replies, "Oh, I slept wonderfully." he smiles. "Well, we had better get going. Someone might start to think that you got kidnapped again. Plus, we need to change your bandage," he points to my injured arm. He pushes himself to his feet, then helps me into a standing position. I roll the blanket up and put it under my arm. He takes my hand and we head back down the stairs, back down into reality.

The hallway is mostly empty, apart from a few people wandering around. David puts the blanket into a supply closet, and together, we walk down to a medical room.

"Can I see?" He asks quietly. I put my arm out for him, and his gentle, quick fingers unwind the old bandage from my arm. I glance down at the wound. I can't look at it for long without flashing back to the day I got it. I close my eyes.

I feel David's fingers brushing my arm lightly. "It's healing up pretty well," he says. "But I think it's going to scar."

All I can do is nod. The thought of having a reminder of that day,of the things Ruby did to me, etched permanently into my skin was terrifying. Carefully, David wraps it in a clean bandage. Once it's on, I open my eyes again.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks. I look into his eyes and start to nod, but I stop myself. I'm not going to lie to him. Not anymore.

"No. I'm not. I hate what they turned me into. I'm a freak. I thought that maybe I could forget about it if I didn't think about it. But now I have a mark that reminds me every day of what I am, what they made me. Now I can never forget. And I hate it," I say. Tears are pushing at the edges of my eyelids.

"Ron, you are not a freak. It doesn't matter what they think of you. They're wrong. They did some terrible things to you. That does not define who you are. I don't care about who they think you are. All I care about is who you really are. And I think that the person you are is perfect," he says. He takes my hand in his, lacing his fingers in with mine. He lightly kisses my forehead. "Perfect," he whispers, the word tickling my forehead. He pulls me into a hug, and I go willingly into his arms. He rests his chin on my head as he sways side to side, comforting me.

He holds me close for a while, then lets go, keeping my hand in his. "We should go. Breakfast is getting cold," he says.

Together, we walk to the cafeteria, where we eat a quick breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. Just as I finish my breakfast, Chris comes over to where I'm sitting and drops a slip of paper in front of me. He doesn't wait for me to open it.

"What's that?" David asks through a mouthful of oatmeal.

"I don't know. Let's find out." I unfold the paper and read it quickly to myself.

Ron-

Meet me in the meeting room as soon as possible. I have some very important news to tell you.

Love, Momma

I fold the paper up and stand. "I have to go. My mom needs me," I tell David.

"Okay. I should probably get going, too. I have guard duty over the two Rubies we caught. I'll see you later, okay?" he says.

"Okay," I smile and turn around, heading for the meeting room. David walks the other way, heading for the prison. I look back at him, and I smile when I see that he looked back too.

************************************************************

I walk into the meeting room, and I see my mother seated alone in the room with some papers. She smiles when she sees me. "Hello, Ron."

"Hey, Momma." I say, taking a seat. "You said you needed to see me?"

"Yes, I did. I've decided that you're ready to go back out into the field."

"Already? It seems very soon."

"Yes, I know. But you've been doing well. Very well. I think you can handle it. It won't be anything too serious at first, but we'll build up as you get better."

"Okay. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we believe that the government has gotten a hold of some of our files. We can't have them snooping around in our business. I need someone to go and take the files back."

"I'd be willing to bet that someone is me."

"Yes. Would you be willing to do it?"

"Of course, Momma. I can handle it."

"Wonderful. Oh, and your partner already knows about this assignment. He's agreed. You know David, don't you?"

I smile. "Yeah, I know David."

"Good. You two should work well together. Thank you, Ron," She gives me a quick hug. Then she leaves the room. I don't blame her. She probably has a lot to do. I hang back in the room, though. I turn the new information over in my head, processing it. I'm not sure if I'm ready. I don't really have a choice now.

I pull myself out of the chair and head out the door. I walked a few steps, but Alec comes speeding up to me.

"Ron! Come on! The Rubies have escaped! They're saying that all of the guards are dead!" He calls, running.

I break into a run, following him.

David was on guard.