I turn and run down the hall, almost knocking the girl off of her feet. I'm going to go find him, and I don't care what anyone says about it. I run towards the exit, dodging around the people coming in and out. I hear the girl yelling at me to stop, but I ignore her. I glance down at my watch. About 10:30. He didn't give me much time. I toss the door open, sprinting towards the closest vehicle. Almost there... Then long fingers wrap around my arm and snatch me, dragging me backwards. I whirl around, looking at the person who stopped me. Mom.
"Let me go, " I spit the words out.
"No," She replies with the same intensity I have.
I try to pull my arm away. "Let. Me. Go."
"I know where you're going, and why. And I'm not going to let you," She says.
"I don't care. I'm going to get him back," I growl.
"He's just one boy! We can fill his place!" She raises her voice in frustration.
That makes me snap. I slam my first into her gut, and she lets go of me with a sharp gasp. I snatch her keys off of her belt.
"He's not just a tool you can replace. He's a living, breathing boy. He's my boy."
Then, I turn away from her and jump into her vehicle.
***************************************************
I park the car a ways away from the building, trying to stay out of sight as I approach. They'll be waiting for me to negotiate with them for David, but I'm planning on us both leaving tonight. I kick a window in, and slide inside. I pull my gun out and run through the halls, looking for him.
Finally, in the farthest, darkest corners of this place, I find him.
He's sitting in a chair with his wrists tied, and he's blindfolded. They didn't want their bargaining chip running away. Gently, put a hand on his shoulder, and he jumps.
"Shh, David, it's me. It's Ron, " I say, pulling the blindfold off of him. He looks at me with his tortured, stormy eyes.
"Ron, you never should have come," he says.
"But I did, and I'm getting us both out." I saw my way through the cords on his wrists with one of my throwing knives, then pull him to his feet. "Can you walk?" I ask.
He takes a few wobbly steps. "Yeah. I think so."
"Then come here." I throw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You scared me," I whisper.
"I'm fine. But we need to get out."
"Yeah," I nod, then turn around and hurry down the hall, David behind me. I hold my gun, ready. I turn the corner quickly. I'm almost to the window I crawled through. Then I hear the sound of a gun cocking. Slowly, I turn around. Someone is holding David back, keeping him from me. The barrel of a gun is pressed firmly to his head.
"Ron, " he says, the pain in his voice palpable. "You never should have come." I look at him, feeling almost helpless. Almost.
"Let him go," I demand.
"Hm, no," a voice that I recognize as Krej's says.
"He's not the one you want. Leave him alone."
"that's true, but if I do let him go, you have to promise that you won't go running after him. Not that it would do you much good. I've got you surrounded." I look around, staring into the dark, looking for people. I can't see them, but I know they're there. I can hear them.
I set my gun on the ground, along with my knives. I hold my hands up. "You've got me."
"Ron, no-" David starts, but I cut him off.
"I don't have any other choice, David," I tell him, then I address Krej. "Promise me that you'll leave him unharmed."
" I give you my word, " he grins and pulls the gun away from David's head. Then I feel forceful hands pulling mine behind my back and handcuffing them together. David is struggling against Krej, and I give him a look, trying to make him stop. The hands begin pushing me forward, and Krej is pushing David towards the exit.
"NO! RON! Let her go! I swear if you hurt her I'll rip all of you apart!" David screams. Then, Krej injects him with a sedative, and he crumples. Krej takes him to a group of Rubies, and then he's gone. All I can do is pray that they don't hurt him.
I let them take me down the hallway a little farther. Then, suddenly, I swing my arms over my head, slamming my elbow into the jaw of the guard just behind me in a last-ditch attempt at escape. I pull out the small throwing knife I had carefully tucked away in my belt and swing it hard and fast at the next guard, but I'm not fast enough. He stabs a needle into my neck, and now I'm falling.
I'm falling, falling, deeper and deeper, into blackness.
END OF BOOK ONE
YOU ARE READING
Ruby
Teen Fictionin a futuristic world, sixteen-year-old Veronica has been abducted, had her memory of her old life taken from her, and she's been tortured, all by an evil group with rubies for pupils. when she manages to escape, she must learn who she is and what s...
