Numbered

Chapter 1: Ruby Lue-anne Hulman

Her life came by in flashes. It was one of the telltale signs that she was dreaming again. That didn't stop it from being or feeling any less real.

A three year old version of herself was playing dolls with her sister. The door opened and Ruby looked up to see a beautiful woman. She had long straight white-blonde hair that went down to her waist, forest green eyes and light skin. She wore white 'cleaning clothes'. It was their mother.

Ruby smiled and went to go hug her mother's left leg as her twin Amber, went and hugged her right. Their mother bent down and hugged both of them and the two toddlers failed to see the tears in her eyes as she clutched on to her babies.

It was their 4th birthday and they were tugging on their mother's sleeves trying to get her to hurry up so they weren't late as their mother tried explaining to them that there wasn't a need to rush.

They could barely hold in their excitement. Today was the day they'd manifest their abilities. And to top it off, their father (and his wife) who never really interacted with them would be attending. This would be the first proper time that either of the twins met their father.

Amber was a 5, Ruby ran up to her sister congratulating her and their mom picked her up, twirling her. Ruby could've sworn she saw tension in her mother but couldn't quite understand why. This was supposed to be a happy time.

It was her turn and as she tried and tried to do anything that could indicate what her ability could be she began to worry. What if she was a 0. She had heard awful, nightmarish stories of kids who on their 4th birthday hadn't had any abilities and their families had disowned them and they were left on the street.

She felt like tearing up. What if her mother disowned her like the stories. As Ruby got more and more worked up she started to get a headache. It grew louder and louder and voices were all fighting against each other.

Ruby put her hands on her ears trying to blot out the noise when everything erupted into chaos. One moment she was complaining that her head hurt and the next the air started feeling constricting (no doubt her mother's doing) and she was running.

Somewhere along the way she got separated from her sister and somewhere even farther along the way she found her mother who was quick to scoop her up and make a run for it. Ruby tried to ask what happened to Amber but her mother didn't say. Ruby heard what sounded like her mother's voice worrying even though her mom never opened her mouth.

The 11 year old Ruby was worried. Her and her Mom had been captured by the authorities. She looked up at the podium at which her Mom was being tried knowing that if she was found guilty for harboring a 6, (she most likely would be) it would mean the death penalty.

Many people showed up for the hearing, however the most prominent were her father, sister (she had never seen Amber look more numb and removed from the situation in her life), her stepmother, her younger half-brother by the looks of it and a baby cradled in her stepmother's hands, no doubt another half-sibling.

It was decided. Mom was found guilty. She, Mom, Mother, Momma, Isabel Hulman, was sentenced to death. Ruby noticed how her sister and half-siblings were escorted out of the room. Ruby didn't get the chance. As she pleaded and begged for her mother to be spared, for her father to do something, for the people restraining her to let her go, the judge, a miserable looking man in forest green attire (symbolizing his rank as a 5) made the earth shift into a pointed, jagged, death trap that went straight through her mother's stomach and out her back while another, sharper chunk of earth went and pierced her back, went through her heart and exited through her chest.
Her mother's eyes soon turned dull all life exiting immediately and leaving a shell.

Ruby straight up broke down, collapsing in a heap sobbing. This is what she got for being a 6, what her mother got for trying to protect her. This was done as an example to keep people in line, to keep the rank system the way it was, the way it always had been. And soon they would put her where all the other 6s where. Wherever that is.

"Wake up Ruby it's just a nightmare" came a gruff voice from the darkness.

As Ruby slowly opened her eyes blinking away the grogginess, she saw she was in the cave the group had been camping out in for the past few days after their escape. She then saw Emel.

Emel Friks was by far the oldest member in the group despite looking physically 25, something that happened to everyone, they simply didn't age physically past the age of 25 anymore. Despite being the quietest of the group, speaking only to give advice or to inform someone of something (sometimes he would telepathically speak, seeing as he was a 6), he sort of acted like the grandfather of the group showing he cared in the most subtle ways possible. If you didn't know him it was easy to miss.

Ruby thanked Emel and looked around the room, everyone was still here. Emel sometimes reminded her of her mother, especially when she had those nightmares.

He had the same straight white-blonde hair that went down to his waist as her. He had the same light skin as her. He had the same stubborn streak as her. In fact, appearance wise, the only thing different from the two besides gender and nose shape (Isabel had a button nose while Emel has a slightly crooked nose) was eye color.

Emel had ice blue eyes and despite them being ice blue his eyes never had a trace of coldness when he was around the group.

Ruby checked the group once more just to make sure everyone was there. Emel was keeping watch, his pink clothes in contrast with the dark night (to be fair Jay and her pink clothes were also in contrast, they would need new clothes, they all would). Jay was fast asleep next to Leanne and Oedipus (their teal clothes blended in slightly better but they still needed to be changed). Everyone was accounted for.

"You should get some sleep, don't want you to be exhausted and unable to walk tomorrow, we'll be leaving, can't stay in one spot for too long" Emel called out just loud enough for Ruby to hear but not loud enough to wake up the others.

"I will, and you?" Ruby asked cautiously knowing how stubborn Emel could be sometimes and how he could forget to take care of himself.

"I will, eventually, someone has to look out for the rest of you young people" he called back his gruff voice getting slightly louder but still relatively quiet.

"Okay, just don't push yourself too hard" Ruby called back resting her head on the cave's floor.

As Ruby felt sleep overcome her she could have sworn she heard a faint, quieter "I won't" from Emel but she couldn't ask him about it to confirm it because he would just deny it ever happening.

1255 words.