Red

Chapter 4

Many, many years had passed since Red and Ruby had first come to the orphanage. Red was now 11 and Ruby was 6. Much had changed since they had arrived. For one, Red's accent had evolved dramatically. From the soft tone she use to speak with, to a much a harsher one. She had grown up near the Transalvainian border portal, so picked up on how they spoke. There was a deep melody to her voice now and her words curled up at the end, like a snake. She was also a much more frightened person. While she was always a little timid due to her Fathers abuse, now she was terrorfied with every move she made.

It of course did not help when she got assigned her job, like she had been told when she first came. Her job instilled fear in her that she never knew existed. There was a room on the top floor, where the owners would carry out punishments to childern who disobeyed them. No one went near the top floor for this reason. Their job was to sit outside the room and wait until they were finished, to go and clean up the blood and whatever else they left. Sometimes, if a child was brought in there after 12, they could be beaten to death. It would be up to Red and the other girls to dispose of the bodies. There was a rubbish shoot in the back of the room down near the floor. They had been instructed to shove the bodies in their down the shooy and they would land outside on a rubbish heap and be burned. They never had the heart to do this though. They would always carry them out and inform any siblings of their passing. Without the knowledge of the owners, they would have a small funreal. One last act of respect.

This obviously changed Red. Having to sit by, unable to do anything, as she listened to the childs screams of agony and pleas of help. On the occasion when the child survived, they would go in after and tend to them. They would offer their blood to help the child heal and carry them to bed. The worst would be when silence came that was a ckear indication that the child was dead. Red hated cleaning the blood and other substances up, but eventually it becamd a part of life and she learned to tolerate it. Red had snapped into a mindless servant.

One thing that had not changed however, was her love and utter devotion to Ruby. She had somehow managed to raise Ruby into a kind and happy little girl. She had given her everything she could, protecting her and teaching her about the valuble things in life such as love, courage, kindness, perserverence and hope. With no one else, Ruby believed Red whole heartedly and trusted her like a parent. It was not long before Ruby found a purpose in life. Carrying for small helpless animals.

Red watched one day as Ruby sprinted down the hallway. Red had just come from cleaning the little room and was carrying a bucket of soapy water. The other girls had gone to clean clean themselves up, but Red wanted to go check on Ruby. She knew she was playing outside in the courtyard. She was schocked when she saw Ruby running as fast as her small legs could. It seemed she was carrying something in her hands, as she them clasped together and held them close to her chest as she ran.

"Red!" She called out between her pants.

"They saw tiny," She panicked, as she ran past her and down the corridor.

When she said they, she meant Andrea and Bella. Red had learned over the years she had lived there, that they had a liking for tourturing and killing small animals. For someone like Ruby, who had such a love for animals, this was traumatising and intolerable. She would often resuce them and set them free, without the knowledge of Andrea and Bella. Tiny was the latest. They were a small grey mouse who Andrea and Bella had captured and took turns burning it. They had managed to burn half of his right ear off. Ruby had rescued it and begged Red to let her keep them. Red was reluctant at first, for fear that they would only find him again, but decided to let her. They had so little, Red wanted her to have everything in the world, but she would not be able, so allowed for things like this.

Ruby named him Tiny and kept him in a box with holes in the top, under their bunk bed. Tiny must have got out and not only did Ruby recognise him from his burnt ear, but clearly so did Andrea and Bella. The fear was clear on little Ruby's face as she sprinted away. Red watched as she ran down the hallway and turned a corner, which lead to the back gate near the rubbish heap.

"Hay!!!" Red heard someone scream.

It was Andrea. Usually Red would try get as far away from them as possible or stand up against the wall, to stay out of their way, but Ruby needed her to do something. Thinking quickly, Red took out the rag she uses for cleaning and threw the soap out across the floor. It went right across the hallway, leaving no room to get by. Red quickly dropped to her knees and began to scrub the floor, keeping her head down. When the two girls ran up to that part of the hall, they skidded to a halt, for fear of slipping on the floor.

"Damn it," Said Andrea.

"Who was that?" Bella asked Andrea.

"I don't know. I only saw the back of them as the y ran out of the room. It was deffenitly a girl anyway," Andrea said.

Red left releief wash over her. They did not know it was Ruby.

"You!" Snapped Bella, pointing and Red.

Red looked up at the two girls. She left the rag on the floor and stood up, keeping her head down.

"Did you see a little girl run by here?" She demanded.

Lying to those girls has resulted in many childern being dragged up to the little room and punished. Red knew this all too well. But Ruby needed her. She shook her head, while keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Oh to hell with it anyway. We'll find a different mouse. Come on Bella," said Andrea.

Both girls turned around and made their way down the hall and out of sight. Red let out a sigh of relief. She opened one of the hall windows, so that the floor dried quickly. She tossed the rag into the bucket and picked it up by the handle. She then followed Ruby outside to where the rubbish heap was. When she got out into the dark back yard, which was always empty, she walked around the rubbish heap to see Ruby sitting there. She held the mouse gently as she stroked its head. Red went over and knelt down beside her.

"Are they gone?" She asked Red.

Red nodded and smiled down at her kind little sister.

"Is Tiny ok?" Inquired Red.

"I think they frightened him. He probably remembered them. I think mice are just as smart as us you know," Ruby told her older sister very matter-of-factly.

"Wow! Really?" Encouraged Red, to which Ruby nodded, turning her attention back to Tiny.

"Sometimes I ask him to blink once for no and twice for yes and I swear he's done it before," she insisted.

"That's amazing," smiled Red.

Of course she did not believe it, but if it made Ruby happy she would play along.

"Come on. Put him back to bed, in case they do see him," Instructed Red.

Ruby agreed and they both made their way back inside. Red would walk a few feet a head to keep a look out and usher Ruby on when it was safe to go. Once they finally reached their dorm, Red stood watch at the door, while Ruby ran to the end of the room, to their bunk beds. She got down on her knees and reached under her bed, grabbing Tiny's bed and pulled it out. She slipped him inside and made aure the lid was closed tight before, slidding the box back under the bed. She then went and joined Red. The two were about to go outside and play when suddenly they heard the screams of a child. She knew someone was being brought to the room. She let of a sigh of defeat. Turning to Ruby, she put one arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, as her other hand was holding the bucket. Ruby hugged her back and Red places a kiss on the top of her head.

"I have to go. Go and play and stay as far away from-"

"Andrea and Bella. I know. Love you Red," said Ruby, as she pulled away.

Red watched as she skipped down the hall, in the opposite direction of the screaming child. Ruby gave one last wave to Red before running off to play. Red turned around and began walking off to get water and soap to clean the room. She felt comfort knowing that Ruby was nowhere this and Red would do everything in her power to keep it that way.