Ace of Spades

The Ace of Spades

A/N: This is a short story that I wrote last year for the Young Author's Conference, so it might not be all that good.

Cover by strawhat_pirate

Airville. A safe place. Most of the time.....

A new resident, who goes by the name of Ruby Dobot, had just moved into the small town. Around the same time, a criminal who was known as Ace of Spades had just escaped his prison cell. He had been traveling from town to town, stealing money, electronics, jewelry, and anything else he could get his hands on.

A week after the breakout, Ruby found an Ace of Spades in her mailbox, with only two words on it:

"I'm coming."

Naturally, she was shocked and scared but thought there had to be an explanation, so she was usually found pacing her sitting room since that day. She had told no one else except a few close friends who didn't live anywhere near Airville. So, no one else knew exactly what was happening to Ruby. Some neighbors called specialists to try to help her or talk to her, but she refused to say anything in fear of what would happen. So, with nearly no expectations of what would happen, Ruby started plans to move back to her old city.

It took two weeks before anyone saw or heard from her. When they finally did, Ruby was only announcing her move. Everyone came to dismiss her, and they all wished her VERY safe travels.

After they all left, they expected her to be gone the next day, but she wasn't; if you looked through her window, you would see Ruby pacing the floor once again. One worried neighbor knocked on her door and asked if she was still going to move. Ruby answered with a small frown.

"Of course I'm going to move! Why wouldn't I?...hmmm..."

Her face suddenly changed from confused to annoyed.

"Umm...actually, I think I don't want to move...okay? Go away!"

The door was slammed in the neighbor's face. The neighbor, now more worried than ever, told the other neighbors in the area to be cautious of Ruby. Everyone followed the advice because from what they had seen and heard, Ruby was a very strange person. She seemed to get more... robotic. She hardly ever blinked, her mouth didn't move with her words, and she looked like she was constantly fighting with herself, as if she was trying to do something but her body wouldn't cooperate with her.

Ruby had nearly forgotten about the Ace of Spades because she had another thing to focus on: controlling herself. She tried to do certain things, but something kept her from doing it. She tried to say certain things, but her tongue wouldn't cooperate. She didn't know what was happening, and she hoped it would end soon.

The only thing Ruby could do that would calm her nerves was to sit, relax, and try to remember.

Remember how she got here.

Remember her parents.

Remember everything that happened before the move to Airville. 

The truth was, she couldn't. She couldn't remember how she got here. She couldn't remember her parents. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember her life before she moved to Airville.

Then, the night came. It was around 12:30 at night, and Ruby was in her bed. Suddenly, she sat up for no reason in particular. At this point, she couldn't move where she wanted at all. So, filled with fear, she let her legs walk her outside and into a blinding light. It was the Ace of Spades, and he was sitting in a running RV with the headlights pointed toward the door.

"Hop in, my dear," 

he said, but Ruby strained with all her might and managed to stay in one place.