Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
( 58 一 ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST. )
A gasping breath escaped Clara as the ringing in her ears faded.
For a few lonely moments, the only sound in the room was her desperate panting and Ruby's cries. Terror was trilling in every cell of her body, her form stiff with shock.
It was a blank. They'd fired a blank. She was alive.
Thank you.
When her mind finally caught up with her body Clara couldn't keep the sobs from falling, nor could she keep the tremor from her hands. They were loud and painful, ripping a part of her away with each terrible noise.
"The next shot won't be a blank, three-two-eight-five," O'Ryan taunted.
Clara couldn't focus on them. She was bent over, her head leaning heavily against the floor as she continued to wail.
"Ruby."
"What was that, three-two-eight-five? You ready to talk now?" O'Ryan asked, the gun pressing back against Clara's head. At the feeling, her cries grew louder, fear saturating every inch of her body.
"My name is Ruby."
There was a crash and suddenly four gunshots were let off, glass shattering and blood splattering the floor beside Clara. She scrambled back, away from any more possible shots.
A mix of O'Ryan's blood and brain matter had stained Clara's skin and clothes. She resisted the urge to gag at the coppery smell. With the other PSF dead in the corner, nothing was stopping Clara from grabbing the keys off O'Ryan's belt and running as far away from that place as possible. But she couldn't move.
She tried to tell herself to move, to walk over and free herself, but her body didn't listen. Instead, she felt her eyes focusing on the blood in front of her. The way it inched towards her before finally leaching onto her pants.
She wanted to turn away, but she couldn't. Her body wasn't listening to her mind. She could faintly hear someone yelling, calling for her, but the voice was too far away for her to focus on it. Like someone was yelling at her from a car that was driving into the distance.
When she felt hands on her bare skin Clara snapped out of whatever strange daze she'd been trapped in. She scrambled back, preparing to fight them off when their voice found her.
"Clara? Clara, get up," Ruby's voice demanded after she'd finished removing the handcuffs. "You need to get up now."
Her hands held Clara's face delicately. Clara could see the strange way Ruby's leg was twisted and how she refused to put pressure on it.
"What's happening?" Clara found herself asking.
"You're in shock, Clara," Ruby's soothing voice told her. "We're in Thurmond but we need to leave. Get up and help me with the window."
