A Final Stand

Chapter 2: Stories Told

<Jesse's POV>

I'm still surprised that Lukas came and followed me, but it's not important now. He has a point, too. He almost always does.

"What do you want here?" I ask. Something seems off about Ruby, and I can't figure out what.

She shrugs, revealing a strange marking on her jacket shoulder. An orange circle topped with red flames, over the word "Cintamani".

"The same as anyone; safety, shelter, maybe more people. Now, it's safety in numbers, not alone as before, no matter what anyone wishes."

I nod. "Can we trust you?"

"Depends. Do you think you can?" Ruby answers lightly.

"I'm not sure." I answer, truthfully. That's what's unnerving me about her. I can't tell if I can trust her or not.

"Good. Stay that way. You will live longer." She nods and stands, careful not to disturb the sleeping boys, and walks over to me. "You want to know if you can trust me?" She asks as she halts in front of me.

I nod. "Yeah. Why?"

She grabs my hand and presses two fingers against my wrist.

~Lukas's POV~

I'm standing right next to Jesse when she starts screaming, and I clap my hands over my ears and screw my eyes shut. When the screams die down, I slowly begin to open them again. Both the girls' eyes are closed, but with very different expressions. Ruby seems simply focused on a mental struggle, and Jesse has pain etched across her face. If it's a battle, it's clear who's winning.

Jesse shudders and collapses, breathing heavily, and I grab her under her arms, wrapping mine around her chest. Ruby just opens her eyes and mutters, "That was new."

"New?! You nearly killed her!" I cry, not caring who heard. "What was that? Some sort of mental attack or something?!"

"I just showed her why she can trust me. I've never seen someone react like that to a transfer before..." she trails off, clearly lost in thought.

"A transfer?" I ask. I have to admit, I'm curious. Even though this... "transfer" thing nearly killed Jesse, it sounds interesting.

"Well, I call it a transfer. Not sure what anyone else calls it." She shrugs. "It's where I show specific thoughts and memories to a person if I touch them in a certain way. Like this," she says, pressing a spot on her left wrist with her pointer and middle fingers.

"That's crazy," I say. Then my focus returns to Jesse. "Will she be okay?"

"She should be. No one's died of a transfer. Not one of mine anyways," she adds. "And I don't know anyone else who can transfer. So...yeah, probably."

"Helpful." I mutter, then feel Jesse shifting. "So, we can trust you and your friends?" I ask.

She nods, once. Straight to the point.

"Good. Wake them, and have them follow me. We need to get back to the others."

She nods again and shakes the boys awake. They wake quickly, and with only a few words from Ruby, understand the situation. I carefully shift Jesse onto my back, holding her gently by her forearms the way she had carried Petra back up after defeating PAMA, and we begin heading back up to the others.