“You’ve been a stubborn woman,” he growled.
Ruby’s mind went back to that day she showed Rae the patch of forest. The look in her sister’s eyes was priceless, but all Ruby did was laugh and abuse her. The green trees, covered in moss and butterflies, were heavenly. The unpolluted air had filtered through her lungs, pure and innocent. It made her sister see life through a different lens; she knew that.
Turning without warning, Ruby reached to her side and brought out a pulse wave grenade. She eyed her legion of alphas and remembered all the pain her regime had caused. The people didn’t need the old world or the new. What the planet needed was more people like her sister.
“Noah. Bring the children to us and run. Run as fast as you can,” Ruby warned. Of course, the man and clone did as they were told, and soon they were all near each other and headed for safety in the bunkers below.
“Godspeed,” Noah said.
So, with the children in safety, she clutched the grenade like it was her heart and held it close to her lips, kissing the iron ripples. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the pin and relaxed. Everything was going to work out, with or without her. She would make sure of it now.
Killian nodded with anticipation. “Hope is like a young sprout in the middle of a forest,” he said. “In the absence of it, we must find a way to cultivate it.”
“You know what to do, you twisted bitch,” Vash growled and clenched his jaw. “Release the lever. Lower your ego and set your body ablaze.”
Ruby’s forehead wrinkled and twisted in her dismay. She opened her palm and felt the calm turn into quick bursts of fear. What was it like to die? “You’re right. I am just
another weed, waiting to get eradicated.”
That and that alone was Ruby’s biggest fear, now realized and felt from within. For her, life was full of painful sorrow and disappointment. She couldn’t bear children. She couldn’t even hold a relationship. It was time for her to admit that she felt worn out and weary, but she didn’t merely wish to sleep. She hoped for the world to erase the memory of her embarrassing conquest.
Ten seconds until the grenade would detonate, sending small but effective electrical shocks through their limbs…
Killian ran forward and extended his arm, though he must have seen the erratic but familiar look of realization before death. He must have seen it too many times before. He said, “Anyone can change.”
Five seconds…
But Ruby shook her head. “Has the world changed since they let you out of your cage?”
“Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like it, but I have to believe. It’s the only thing I’ve got,” Killian said.
Three seconds…
Ruby tensed her shoulders. As the grenade rolled against her palm, she made a decision, allowing it to fall from her hands. With just enough force, it rolled across the platform, barely stopping at the edge, near the soldiers’ feet. She stumbled back as Killian grabbed and pulled her near to them.
The explosion was punishingly loud and violently vulgar. Body parts turned to mashed bits of bone and crags of meat. Cogs in a corrupt system—that’s what the soldiers were to her. If she let them live, one would naturally break away from the social order and fire at her head.
Smoke coiled and rose around her shoulders like a taunting snake. Ruby dropped into Killian’s chest and let out a shrill cry. She wanted to end it all, for this to be the grand finale of her wretched existence. But she was far too weak to take her own life. Instead, she would let her sister do the execution when the time came. For the next task, she needed to rescue her from her slumber.
Vash’s mouth still distorted with natural revulsion, and Lucas stepped away from her. She knew she’d have to use her time in this world to repent the right way, but for now, she needed to know one thing.
“Why did you save me?” she asked.
“Asking myself the same question,” Vash muttered. Killian threw a glance his way, and Vash let out a slow sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. I am still in a state of shock. This is the woman who left us to rot in dark cages for two years. It was hell down there… Pure and utter hell.”
With defiant confidence, Killian broke the cuffs from around his wrists. “The three of us lead this pack now. We don’t need to feel alone anymore, brother,” he said and turned to face Ruby. “Because there’s more to this story. I used to believe in nothing. Now, I believe that all of us are important, and I still need you alive, Ruby.”
“Important? I think you are speaking of someone else,” Ruby stuttered, unable to process any of it. Her men were dead. What else did they need from her? “Please. I won’t do any man’s bidding any longer.”
“From here on out, we answer to forces more unknown and mysterious than ever before,” Killian said, eyes facing Rae’s resting body. He placed his hand over the glass. Lucas and Vash eyed each other, but it was clear that Killian’s days spent underground had graced him with some great knowledge.
Ruby sucked in her cheek and bit down to stop the tears from flowing, but it was too much to handle. She lived an entire life trying to replicate the bond of humanity, always getting close, but never close enough. Even if she lived, she thought, what would be the point?
“There is no reason to keep me alive,” she said. “I can’t have a family like you do. No children. Nothing. I am hollow and empty. The lord didn’t make me in his image. He made me in a glass tube.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in any of that stuff,” Killian said.
“I’m beginning to realize that it’s more real than what we made here,” she said.