"So you put some solvent on the brush, then brush all the parts. Like this, slow and steady. After that, wipe them clean with this piece of cloth." Sam holds up something that seems to be cut out from one of his many flannel shirts, "Don't forget to lubricate, just a little bit goes a long way so you don't need a lot. Then wipe down the rest with some more lubes, using this clean rag, and you're done! Now show me how you do it with this one." Sam points to another gun on the table. "You remember everything, right?"
He steps back after Kye nods. Sam folds his arms and watches Kye disassemble the gun with a proud smile on his face. The girl does it well considering this is only her second time ever getting to touch a gun.
Every time Sam is off duty—which is not very often—he makes sure to provide Kye with some needed self-defense knowledge. Even when everything seems fine around here, nothing is ever guaranteed in this time and age. It's always good to know the way around weapons.
No one has taken the time to teach Kye these things, and it makes Sam uneasy. People are either too busy or just don't care. Frankly, it's not anyone's responsibility. Everyone has their own set of problems to deal with and being an ex-domesticated companion—for archangel Michael no less— doesn't help Kye's case. People want to stay as far away from her as possible. It's a stigma that will stay with Kye for as long as she lives.
Kye always seems lost when she is not with Ruby. The camp can be terribly boring when you don't have a job to do or friends to hang out with. Everyone needs a purpose, and as noble as it is, taking care of Ruby should not be Kye's whole life.
Sam hopes Ruby will get back on her feet soon and won't need her sister's help anymore, but he knows it won't happen today or tomorrow. Acting as a parent for an adult is exhausting, and it shows on Kye. It is painful to watch how neglectful the girl is to herself sometimes.
Sam glances at Kye, who is now staring out at nothing while wiping the gun. Her hair is a messy brown rope, and she wears the same shirt Ruby poured soup on last night.
Sam clears his throat, "Remember to clean it regularly, especially after you use it, and always make sure that it is not loaded."
"Noted, Dad."
They both chuckle at what Kye says. Kye turns to Sam. His dimples deepen and his hazel eyes twinkle as he smiles. Even with the ridiculous yellow-framed safety glasses covering half of his face, Sam is a good-looking guy. More importantly, he has the personality to match.
Sam can brighten any room he walks into. It is easy to spend time with him, and Kye realizes she has done so more and more often in the past two or three months when Sam didn't have to go on as many assignments as before. Their relationship started out as a necessity when Kye desperately needed someone's help and guidance around the unfamiliar environment of the camp—one she has been thrown into—but it quickly turned into a genuine friendship.
Ruby has not been 'there' even when, physically, she lives in the same cabin as Kye. Ruby has been busy fighting her demons while trying to adjust to life without Gadreel. It's tough for Kye to see how broken her strong sister has become. Ruby has struggled with her drinking habit a great deal and the nightmares from her old trauma have come back full force. They reduce Ruby to a ghost of her old self. She lost a lot of weight and refused the treatment from the camp healer—an angel from what Kye heard—stating she didn't want anyone to go "poking around" in her mind. She even threatened to disappear if Bobby pushed her too much. The poor old guy was frankly up to his neck in the organization's business and also not too hot with the angelic treatment, so he let her be, on one condition that Ruby went with the traditional route instead, taking medications and meeting with the camp counselor once a week, to which Ruby half-heartedly agreed.
What makes it so hard is Ruby constantly tries to push Kye away with her hurtful words and actions. Kye knows her sister can be notoriously hard to deal with, especially when she is not herself so Kye refuses to believe Ruby means any of that.
She stays right where she is supposed to. Kye has no other choice after all. Ruby needs help, and no matter how close Bobby and his adoptive sons are to her, they can't be there 24/7 the way Kye can. That was the reason she asked to be moved to this camp in the first place.
Kye always jokes that her sister is her baby, and that is true. Nothing can make her lose patience when it comes to Ruby. The girl can call her all kinds of names and kicks her out of their shared cabin in the middle of the night for no particular reason, but Kye will come back the next morning, with a smile on her face and coffee in her hand. She makes sure Ruby's stash of alcohol stays empty, and the girl eats and takes her medicines on time. The only person who can match that level of devotion to Ruby is Gadreel, but the guy doesn't really count. He is not a person, so to speak. Angels are obsessive, Kye knows that all too well. Gadreel is just another creature who saw something in a human and decided to stick with that human.
Like he did at one point. Until she ruined it.
Gadreel is also not here, but things will be different when he is back. Kye believes so. Ruby will agree to let him heal her, so Kye prays day and night to an absent God for Gadreel's return.
YOU ARE READING
Until The End Of Time
Fanfiction-REWRITING- 20 years ago, the angels decided to show themselves and carried out God's Judgement Day. After the war between the two species, humans were kept as pets and servants to the angels. Under this new order of society, Kye - a normal human gi...
