Bio Hazard

Hope

"Well? Spit it out, Paul," The woman commanded, her voice echoing around the cold, dark tunnel beneath the city, "You should know my soldiers have a tight schedule."

Ruby squinted past her temporary blindness towards the voice. She couldn't make out any details, but surrounding her she could see countless green pinpricks. All of these people were infected. Either that or they had really green eyes. The majority of them also seemed to be carrying very large weapons, oversized almost. With her limited knowledge of firearms, Ruby couldn't see why they would need such powerful weapons. Although, if they were going for the intimidation factor, they certainly had it. Ruby couldn't guarantee to herself that if she was asked to do something ridiculous, she would be able to deny the commander their request. 

The voice of Paul was somewhat of a relief, Ruby half expected him to have run away and left her standing with these people, "You know I wouldn't do this without good reason, remember everything I did for you?" His voice was half begging, he was obviously as intimidated by this woman as Ruby was, maybe even more, but his voice's undertone suggested that he knew she couldn't do anything to him, "Besides, it was her idea,"

For a moment, Ruby forgot all about the other people and their weapons, turning on him, "My idea?" She scoffed, annoyance instantly nearing boiling point, "I told you to contact them, not to lead me into a tunnel where we'd be surrounded by guns! You're such a f-"

"That's enough, the pair of you." The woman sounded bored, "Yes Paul, you've done a lot for us, I won't forget that. You know you can come here whenever you want."

There was a release of tension in the atmosphere and Paul exhaled his breath that he must have been holding in anxiety.

"The girl, however, is not permitted to come and go as she pleases," The woman went on, "Two guards will escort her to my office and I will deal with her myself."

Almost instantly, Ruby felt two strong hands grip each of her arms, pulling her away from Paul and out of the light. At first, she struggled against the guards, wriggling and tugging with her arms in an attempt to get free, but a sharp hit in the stomach with a baton forced her into submission. She allowed the guards to drag her through the darkness towards a door that had once been the entrance to a service corridor for the city's electric systems and water systems, but was now decorated with posters and flags, all of them sporting bright, acidic green as their primary colour. 

The guards were silent as they roughly pushed and pulled Ruby through the service corridors. One let go of her arm briefly to open a door, which Ruby assumed was the office. She didn't like the sound of what the woman said she would do, not that Ruby knew exactly, but she didn't want to find out. Using the opportunity to her advantage, she twisted her other arm and threw a punch at the guard still holding her. He dodged it, but released her in the process. With a grimace of angered determination, Ruby launched herself back at the guard who had dodged her last attack, this time landing a powerful hit on his chest, knocking him backwards. 

Adrenaline pumped through her acidic veins as she spun, drawing her knife on the second guard who had left the door. She didn't know why she was fighting these men, she was quite obviously outmatched. She swiped the blade in the guard's direction, three slices in quick succession, forcing him to step back. The first guard grabbed Ruby from behind and brought a knee to her back with a grunt, the small girl following with a backwards elbow strike into his side. Again, she was released, but this time, both guards drew their batons and beat her down to her knees before picking her up and throwing her through the door into the office. Mid-flight, Ruby threw her knife in a final desperate attempt at an escape, but it hit a wall and landed on the ground, where it was ignored by the guards. The door slammed shut and the sound of a lock turning signified Ruby's sealing in the room.