"𝘔𝘺 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯.~"

Chapter 1

Friday, 12th January.
3:29p.m

I ran my fingers through my curly hair, sighing as I stared boringly at the clock. 'How is this so slow...' I thought, tapping the desk with my pen. The teacher's blabbing muffled as I focused on anything BUT her.

Finally, the bell brings me back to reality, 3:30 strikes on the clock. The teacher, Mrs. Murray, dismisses the class and assigns homework as she always does. I picked up my bag, shoving my books into it with rapidity. "Bye, miss." I say before walking out the classroom. A sigh of relief escapes me as I felt the chill air of the outside, calming me of the previous headache of Chemistry

Just as I touched the exit door, a voice called behind me,

"Ruby! Wait up!"

I turn around, the tired and panting form of my best friend behind me. She sighs and straightens up, fixing her glasses. "Take your time, I wasn't jumping off a cliff." I joke. Victoria rolls her eyes at my joke, "Yeah, yeah. I wanted to ask if you wanted to hangout later, with the group?" She points to a group of people behind us, all waving as I looked up. I return the wave and look back down at her.

"Sorry, Vic, but I wanted a little me time tonight." I say as I rub the back of my head, slight guilt in my voice. A hand wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me into their chest.

"Oh come on, Ruby. We could have fun tonight, us and the group." Our friend, Jay, chuckles, giving my arm a good squeeze. His maroon eyes, sparkling with a deep wonder as it gazed into mine. I blush heavily, looking away as I tuck a curl of hair behind my ear. "Well..."

Victoria interrupted almost immediately, "Alright, lovebirds. Ruby, you don't have to join us if you don't want to, it's perfectly fine to decline." She explains, pushing Jay's arm off my shoulders. "Even though, I will miss you dearly, I was hoping to beat Mister Jay over here in smash bros."

"Although, she's lost every time now." Jay whispers, making me giggle. "Yeah, yeah, today is a new day though, so get ready to get your ass beat!" Victoria smirks. The two stares are each other with competitive glares, almost like children fighting who's the best runner.

I laugh, pulling them apart. "Alright you 4th graders. Just have fun, okay? I can voice chat later, before my mom comes home." Victoria hugs me tightly just before I walk off, causing me to laugh and hug her back just as tight. "Are you free Sunday?" She asks.

Humming, I nod, "Yeah, we can all hangout then!" "Yay!" Victoria yells, soon being interrupted by Jay again. "Uh, actually, I have something to do on Sunday, so I'll pass by you tomorrow, Ruby."

"Oh, alright, I'm fine with that." I reply, smiling at the thought of being alone with just Jay. Victoria side eyes me, her eyebrow perching with sass. I notice and scoffs, "Oh, shut up, you have your own boyfriend."

We all share laughs after my statement, Victoria letting me go as we do. I said my goodbyes and walked out of the school gate, feeling the weekend breeze flow through my hair and clothes. 'Finally,' I think. 'I can't wait to binge watch my show.'

???

Ringing, that's all I hear. The sound of my heartbeat ringing in my ears as I fly as fast as I could. I dodge every bullet, every stone, everything that they try to hurt me with. I don't know where I'm going, but hopefully it's somewhere safe, anywhere away from those wretched men.

Soon, the tall, ugly buildings of the city came into my view. I hate the sight of them, but right now, I think it's the only place well enough for me to hide. While I gaze for a place to dive, a sharp pain shot through my entire body, driving me to the ground at insane speeds. I reach my claw out, hoping to grab onto anything, a branch, a wall, anything to keep me from hitting the ground, yet the hard soil collided with my back, causing me to yell out in pain.

The pain felt like a million nails puncturing my back, my spine clearly fractured from the whole instance. I gasp for breath as I tremble to find my vision, my mind clear of what was happening. I hate this, I hate running, but for her I need to go on.

I sit up as best as I could, hissing from the pain of my twisted ankle. Opening my wings again, I gasp as I see what caused me to fall. An arrow pierced through my wing, ripping the tissue while being stuck. Before I could react, I heard approaching footsteps, quick ones.

I go to my knees, trying my best to stand up. Pain exploded all over my body, making me bite my lip in pain. I slowly limp towards an exit of the forest, a nearby house close enough for me to hide out in. I feel my body about to give out, but I force myself through an open window, struggling to climb in.

Tumbling into the room, my body hits against a table, causing a vase to fall and crash against the ground. I look up at the dimly lit room, my brain pulsing in my head as my vision slowly turns. The last thing I saw was a human watching over me with a long stick, just before it all went black.

.

.

.

.

"...What the?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YAY ITS DONE FINALLY