Ruby

Chapter 26

She smiles, her eyes misty. "Hi, Ron. It's... It's so wonderful to see you again. I thought that I never would," She says, hugging me. It feels so right, like I'm home. Happy memories of her flood through me, and I hold on tighter.

"It's good to see you too, Momma," I whisper. She looks a lot like me. Same nose, skin, and blonde hair. Mine is just a bit lighter. Her eyes are different, though. Hers are a deep chocolate brown, and mine are a deep emerald green.

"There's so much we have to talk about later. But first, I have to speak to these people. Wait a moment," She lets go of me and turns toward the crowd. They applaud loudly. She clears her throat and begins to speak. "My fellow people of the Eule, it's a pleasure to speak to you. I'm glad to see that so many of you are here on such short notice. We have a short, but important meeting. As you know, we sent one of our members and some backup to the headquarters of Ruby. For the longest time, we thought she was dead, and that the mission was a failure. We have just learned that she is alive, as well as her backup agent. They both escaped and are here. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to meet this agent, my daughter, Veronica Leill!" She gestures toward me. The crowd cheers for me. I step under the tiny microphone that hangs from the ceiling. My mother nods in approval. She obviously wants me to talk to them.

I take a deep breath. "Uh, hello. I'm Veronica, but I usually go by Ron. I went to Ruby. I almost died there. They performed experiments on me, torturing me. I'm not sure what these experiments were supposed to do, but I have an idea. Once I escaped the prison, I began developing strange abilities. I could move things without touching them. At first, I just thought it was a strange coincidence, but then, my friend and backup agent, David, told me that he had been having visions of the future ever since he had escaped. Neither of us can control these abilities. I think that is what Ruby is doing," I finish, stepping away from the mic.

The room bursts into hushed whispers. I see a few people get up and walk out of the room. Others sit frozen to their seats, unmoving. My mother moves back up to the mic.

"Quiet!" She calls out, and everyone shuts their mouths. "Now, we have an idea of what Ruby might be doing. However, this does not mean that we go charging against them, and it does not mean that we know exactly what they're doing. Is that understood?" the crowd grumbles their understanding. "Good. Then this meeting is dismissed," She turns back to me. "Come this way. I have a lot to tell you," She grabs my arm and pulls me out of a back door. We walk quickly for a while until we reach a small room.

"A lot has changed since you went missing, but one thing will never change. You will always be incredibly important to this operation. You have given us a huge amount of information. In the past, you trained countless agents. Ron, we need you. We need your skills. We need your mind. We need you to be a leader. I need you to be a leader. Do you think you can do it?" She says, her eyes searching mine for an answer.

I smile, pretending to be more confident than I actually am. "Of course."

I'm surprised my voice didn't shake saying those words.

"Thank you, Ron. Eule will be so much stronger with you as one of our leaders." She rests her hand on my shoulder. "I believe that you'll be great." then, she leaves me alone in the room. I push the door open to follow her, but she is nowhere to be found.

"Hello?" I call out. No answer. Then I feel two hands grab me roughly and yank me back inside the room. The attacker slams me against the wall, and my head smacks against it. I see stars, and then I start fighting back. I squirm and kick. I try to yell for help, but a second set of hands press a rag firmly against my mouth and nose.

I know that I've got a few minutes before I'm out. So I keep fighting. I catch glimpses of my attackers, but they both have masks covering their faces. I can only see their eyes. They're cold and wicked. But their pupils aren't rubies. They're strong. I realize that there's no way that I'm going to get away from them. I feel my strength slipping away. I'm going to be unconscious soon. I can barely move my legs.

Please, someone help me... I think. Then I slip to the floor, unconscious.