Ruby

Chapter 23

At first, I'm disoriented. Gradually, I realize that I'm in my body, except I'm about five or six years old. And I'm not in control. The me from the past is. I'm just along for the ride.

I run around a house, which I assume is mine. I go into the kitchen where two people are waiting for me. They're my parents. My mother brings out a cake, and I squeal in delight. My father smiles at me. They both look so happy for me.

"Happy birthday, my little Ronnie," my father says.

"We know it's not much, but it's what we could afford with the community managers taking control of everything," my mother tells me.

"Oh, Momma, it's great! Thank you so much, both of you!" I wrap my little arms around both of my parents. Then the dream changes.

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I'm outside. The sky is gray and crying, and I slip around on the mud outside my house. I'm about ten, and my father is walking away.

"Papa!" I cry out, running towards him in the rain. "You can't go!" I say, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He draws me close. "I have to go, honey. If I don't, they'll come hurt you and Momma. They'll take you away from me."

"But I don't want you to go! I don't want you to go build things for the government and the community managers! It's dangerous! I want you to stay here!" I sob.

"Ron, I have to. You have to be brave for me. Be brave for Momma. I'll be home before you know it. Goodbye, my little Ronnie." he says, and then he's gone. Vanished into the rain and mud. I turn around. My mother is standing on the porch, waiting for me. I run to her, sobbing. I run into her open arms, and I see that she's crying too.

"We have to be brave, Ron."

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My mother is sitting at the table, crying.

"Momma? What's wrong?" I ask.

She looks up at me, her eyes shining with tears. "Papa isn't coming home anytime soon, honey," She says. I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her, and we both cry.

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"So, who are these people?" I ask. I'm about 13.

"We call them Rubies. They don't have an actual name," My mom says.

"And they're the people who killed Papa?"

"Yes."

"Then let's destroy them."

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The next memories pass quickly. I'm in the building that I'm in now, and I'm training myself and other people. I suppose that I'm an important person here. I can sense that the dream is about to end. Then I'm in the meeting room again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course I am, Momma. These people killed my Papa. If risking, and maybe even losing my life is the price I have to pay to bring them down, then I'm perfectly willing to make that sacrifice."

"And what if you're caught? They might notice that you don't have pupils like they do. Yours are just contacts."

"Then I get caught. I'm just one person, Momma. We have plenty of other agents."

"Yes, but none of them are my daughter. That's why I have backup ready for you at all times. The contacts have a camera in them, and if you run into trouble, we'll be there. We'll know, " She says. "Now, Ron, I want you to meet your backup agent. We'll send him in to help you."

A blonde boy with stormy grey eyes comes into the room.

This boy's name is David.

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The next thing I know, I'm back in the prison. And I'm reliving the hellish memories from that hellish place.

I wake up screaming. I can't seem to get a deep breath in, and my hands are cold and clammy.

David jolts off of the chair he was sitting on and rushes over to me. "Ron! Ron, what's wrong?!?" he cries. But I can tell by the look in his eyes that he knows that he's part of the reason I'm like this. He tries to comfort me anyways by taking my hands and holding them inside of his.

"I remember!" I gasp out.