Ruby

Chapter 35

I sprint towards him and drop to my knees by his side. The side of his head is covered in blood, his blonde hair turned red with it. His eyes are closed, and he's terribly pale.

"No, no, no, no..... " I whisper, shaking him. He doesn't respond. My fingertips graze his side, and they come away covered in blood. He has a tear in his jacket about the size of a knife. I pull the tear open to reveal a gaping wound in his side. I rip the end off of my shirt and press it to his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Stay with me, David, please... I can't lose you too...." I say, thinking about all of the people that I lost in the prison.

"Help! Please, somebody help us!" I scream out. No one answers. I keep pressing on the cloth, hoping to slow the bleeding. It doesn't seem to be making that much of a difference.

I hear a faint groan. I see David's chest moving up and down more strongly now, and his eyes are moving behind their lids. "Come on, David. Stay alive," I whisper, encouraging him.

Alec comes running in, bringing a group of people behind him. They're all carrying some sort of medical equipment. Most of it is stuff I've never seen before. They crowd around David, each of them trying to see what happened. I stay close to him, not wanting to leave his side until I know that he's okay.

"You need to move," a woman says. Before I can respond, two hands grab my arm and yank me out of the way roughly. A larger man takes my place. I stand next to Alec, my arms folded. I try to peer around the medics to see what's going on, but I can't see anything.

"I came as quickly as I could. It took a while for these people to gather all of their equipment," Alec says.

"I know. Thank you," I say. I try to keep the lump in my throat from forming. He has to pull through. I don't know what I'll do without him.

The medical group gently lifts David on to a stretcher and rush him out. I hurry behind them. I'm not letting him out of my sight unless I have to. Alec trails along at the back of the group. We climb the stairs and wind through long hallways to the hospital wing. They transfer David from the stretcher to a bed. I try to follow the group into the hospital room, but a man with dark hair tells me I have to stay out.

"You're not allowed to be in the room as we care for him. We will tell you when he's strong enough to have visitors," he tells me, then he shuts the door. I stand numbly in front of the closed door. There's nothing I can do for him now. He's in the hands of a group of strangers. I can only hope that they make sure he's okay.

I stand in front of the door for a long time. Someone wanders up to stand beside me.

"Hey, " She says.

"Hi, Cinda," I say, turning to face her.

"How's he doing?" She asks.

"I don't know. They won't let anyone see him."

"Oh."

"Do you know what happened to the two Rubies?"

"They got away. We don't know how. We confiscated all of their weapons," She sighs. "We're hoping that David can tell us more about what happened. If um... If he lives." I can see the tears forming in her eyes. She's scared. I've never seen her look this way. And if she's scared, then I should be terrified. And I am.

"We can't lose him," I choke out.

"I know. We need him," She says. I wonder how she keeps her voice so steady. "I just wish there was more we could do."

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Eventually, I am sent back to my room for the night. I curl up under the covers with no intention of sleeping. I'm too worried.

I lay awake, hoping that he's okay.

After some time, sleep grabs me and drags me against my will into its deep blackness. There, nightmares flutter across my eyelids like a film flutters across a screen.

In the dream, I watch as David is shot. He crumples down to the ground, his eyes blank. I can't do anything to stop it, no matter how hard I try.

But the most terrifying part of the dream is that I'm the one pulling the trigger.

I wake up screaming his name.