Ruby Redfort Fanfiction: Look Into His Eyes And Take Your Last Breath

FINALE (PART FIVE)

Ruby gaped. No words came out. It was Clancy, in the flesh, perfectly fine save a few cuts and bruises on his skin and a deep slash down his right cheek and his hair was tangled with pine. Hitch looked as calm and neat as usual. The Count stared. He couldn't believe it either. Dan fainted promptly. No one noticed LB with a slight smile on her face behind them.

"We gotta park the chopper kid!" yelled Hitch, "Hang in there!" The Count looked desperately up at the moon. It was still behind a cloud, but it would be out in full in just a few minutes. Ruby began furiously shaking her chair around, but she suddenly felt her ropes lessen, and a gravelly voice behind her whisper,

"Go." Ruby did not wait to check who was her savior, she sprung up and took off at top speed down the mountain. Ruby heard the Count roar as she entered the trees and heard a gunshot, but Ruby was already deep into the woods. She heard the helicopter blades overhead and heard Hitch yell for her to go to the clearing. Ruby ran on, ignoring the burning pain in her legs and her ragged breath blowing up clouds of steam, for it was cold on the mountain. She was forced to slow to a jog after about five minutes, but heard the helicopter landing just a few hundred meters away and broke into the clearing. Hitch was inside the helicopter, presumably stocking up on weapons and gadgets, and Clancy stood a few meters from the chopper, face pale and drawn, eyes searching. Ruby started to run,

"Clancy!" she cried. He turned around just in time to have the wind knocked out of him by a charging Ruby Redfort. Clancy hugged Ruby as tightly as he could as she cried into his shoulder. "I thought you were dead!" she said. Clancy grinned,

"I was climbing a tree when Hitch suddenly appeared on an adjacent one. I had to jump from my tree to his, but almost slipped and a wolf got my ankle. That was the scream you must have heard, but Hitch got me up and told me to keep quiet." Ruby froze,

"A wolf got your ankle?" Clancy looked quite proud,

"Yeah, look." he drew up his trouser leg to reveal a bleeding bite. Ruby drew a sharp intake of breath. Clancy winced. "Sorry-" he was interrupted by Ruby's lips on his. Getting over the initial shock, Clancy pulled her closer.

"Hey!" yelled Hitch. He looked tired. "Passionate embraces are only permitted when we've dealt with the Count. No kissing till then!" Ruby broke away.

"Yeah, we gotta go back for Dan."

"Right." said Clancy. There was a rustle in the trees. Hitch tensed.

"In the chopper!" He called. Clancy and Ruby dove inside the cover just in time. Gunshots chipped the paint on the side. Hitch loaded his rifle and turned the safety setting off. Leaning out of the cover, he let off a string of shots. One hit the mark, Ruby heard a roar of pain. But the Count wasn't down. The shot had just clipped his waist. Moments later, the helicopter windscreen shattered.

"It's not safe here." murmured Hitch. "They're advancing. Look, I'll try creeping up behind them." he handed Ruby the gun. It was heavy and she almost dropped it. He looked her in the eye. "Don't use it unless absolutely necessary. If the Count sees me, then he'll think you're sneaking round as well. It's a win-win situation." Ruby frowned,

"But if he sees you, he might-" Hitch drew a finger over his mouth indicating 'zip it'.

"Irrelevant. It's your safety and Clancy's that I have to ensure." Ruby knew what Hitch was going to do.

"No." she said, shaking her head, "I won't let you." But Hitch was gone. Ruby leaned against the wall and took deep breaths.

"What's he going to do?" asked Clancy fearfully. Ruby took another breath before answering.

"He's going to let the the Count see him." Clancy looked perplexed.

"Why?" Ruby looked at him,

"To 'ensure our safety'." Clancy understood and he groaned.

There was a gunshot and a cry. A tear ran down Ruby's face. Her fist clamped into a ball and she bit her lip. LB said,

"Redfort must be going to get the boy. We can catch her in the act." They disappeared back into the trees. Ruby and Clancy waited a minute before climbing carefully out of the helicopter. They saw Hitch's body on the ground, surrounded in a pool of blood. Clancy moved towards it. Ruby stopped him.

"Not now." she said in a tight voice, "We promised to save Dan first. It's the least we can do." They moved in silence up the mountain. Suddenly Ruby stopped like she had been delivered a blow. "I can't save anyone." she said. "I couldn't save Hitch, I don't have a plan to save Dan. I didn't even save you." Clancy stopped too and moved to Ruby. Looking into her green eyes, he said.

"I would have died Ruby. I had nothing to live for. But you know what kept me going to climb that tree? You. I wasn't even thinking about my family, or how'd they feel. The only thing that really cared that much about me was you." He squeezed her hands. "You saved me. I think you saved Hitch too. He cared about you as much as his family, maybe more so. You were his world, Ruby. He had seen a lot of stuff that he wished he didn't. He cared about you to the point that he gave his life for you. You did save him Ruby, he could have been a lot worse." Ruby stared at him, "You can save Dan. I know you can. This whole thing isn't planned. But we didn't really have a choice." Clancy half smiled. "They always say the best Ruby Redfort is the one under pressure." Ruby half smiled back.

"You're right. We've got to pull through." And suddenly she stood up straighter. There was one more card to play. And if she wasn't mistaken, the card could be an ace.

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FIVE DAYS