~RUBY I watched in horror as the fire spread slowly in the lower floor, the smoke drifting upwards. I had jumped out of Ash’s car before he even got the chance to properly park the car. I dashed through the crowd that had begun to form. “What happened here?” I yelled, hoping that someone would give me an answer. But people were too worried or in panic to respond to me. Every employee of my father's were outside, some with singed clothes. Apparently, the people working on the top floor had come close to getting burnt or injured when they were escaping. No one got killed though, so that provided some relief. But my relief didn't last long when I discovered that among the throng of people outside, my father was not there. I grabbed a man by his arm, stopping his frantic conversation with another employee midway. “Where is my father? WHERE IS MY FATHER?” The air felt suffocating now, and I couldn't breath. Dad. Daddy. My father's company was on fire, and my
~RUBY My blood was humming with anger. Such audacity! To think the shifty anonymous man, who is somehow blackmailing my father into doing what he ordered, had the guts to speak to my father this way. “Damnit. Daddy give me your phone,” I said and grabbed it from his hands before he could react. “Ruby. What are you doing?” He called out, the alarm in his voice was clear and sharp. It got the attention of Ash and Ella too, and they marched toward me. I copied the number and gave my father back his phone, dialing the number on mine instead. Ash grabbed my wrist, trying to stop me. “What do you think you're doing, Ruby? Why the hell are you dialing that man's number?” His coldness seeped into me and I hardened my resolve. “I am doing exactly what I should have done earlier now that his sim is active. If he isn't such a coward, that fool should be able to show his face. I have found that I rather prefer a face to face battle,” I said back, my voice matching his col
~ASH I watched the interaction between Ruby and the girl, and it was not until I heard Ella scream, a short, panicked scream that turned my blood into ice. I scrambled down from the car, pushing my body to run, or fly, anything to reach Ruby as she hit the ground. The flower basket tumbled from Ruby's hands and fell to the floor, flowers spilling everywhere. I got to Ruby, shoving Ella, who had been hovering over her, away. She was entirely unconscious. Ruby was wheezing quietly, her eyes rolling in and out of her head as she struggled, tethering between consciousness and unconsciousness. I gathered her up in my arm, not knowing what to do. “Shhhh. Shhh. It's okay,” I crooned helplessly, my heart breaking as I watched my fireball struggle. I was halfway to my car, deciding to go to the hospital, when Ella called me. It felt as though we had been spending a lot of time in hospitals these days, and I hated how Ruby fell victim to the hospital victim, too. I tu
~ASH Men filtered in from nooks and corners, surrounding us as they formed a circle. Ethan, Cole and I both stood back to back, trying to decide on a stance that was formidable enough. The men didn't wear masks, so it was pretty obvious that they were young. Scars marked their faces, and they held batons with a quiet confidence that suggested regular usage. These people were a gang. A slightly older man, who seemed like their leader stood slightly apart from the others, watching us with an unreadable expression. Someone stood behind him, the form of the person was small and slight that it was almost not noticeable. “Sweetheart. Come on out. Are they the ones chasing you?” He called out and the small form I noticed stepped out, turning out to be the girl who delivered the flowers. “Yes,” she nodded in affirmative. The man nodded and gestured for her to leave. He didn't speak until the girl was out of sight. “You wanted to kidnap my daughter,” the man stated, his v
~ASH I watched Cole tense as the siren continued to blast, and frowned when his shoulders became rigid, his body going into a stance that didn't convey comfortability. The door was blasted open, and a police officer strode in, his minions flooding in behind him to surround us. The man surveyed the room, and stopped short when he saw Cole. His eyes flickered to the gun Cole was holding and I saw them harden. “You. What are you doing here?” He spat out the question as he stared at Cole with anger. “I…we were just asking some questions, sir,” Cole shifted uncomfortably. The man, clearly a superior, sighed. “After clearly asking you to stay out of trouble. Look at you, in the midst of a gang, sporting bruises. You don't ever listen,” the man sighed. He turned to face the gang. “We won't be coming here for a warning anymore. Keep your activities down. The damned paperwork keeps piling on my desk. I'll round you up when next I come here,” he warned and turned bac
~ASH Cole didn't waste any time in producing an handcuff, and I was amazed at how fast he was at grabbing the man while his victimstruggled against his hold in total confusion. We watched as he handcuffed the man after saying whatever he had to say to bring him inside, and waited with anticipation for our detective and the man with a scar. Cole half dragged, half walked the man inside, and as soon as the door locked behind them, he whirled around to face the man. Before Cole could speak, however, the senior officer cleared his throat. “Hold your tongue, Cole,” the senior officer glared at him who promtly held his tongue. “Matthew? Check if this man has any criminal record,” he ordered the tech guy. The hooded man, who was watching us with a great deal of fear and wariness, immediately became alarmed. “Oh man. This is not good. Not good at all,” Mathew murmured and like moths to flame, we all crowded around him. Yeah. This hooded guy was in a whole lot of troub
~RUBY I opened my eyes and the first thing that struck me was the wrongness of it all. My body felt wrong. I felt slow and sluggish, like I was dragging myself through mud just to move. I've only ever felt this way when I come in touch with something. A flower. Chrysanthemums. Damnit. After managing to sit up, I found a very puffy eyed Ella dozing on a chair beside my bed. I reached out to touch her. “Ella,” my voice was hoarse and her eyes flew open, settling on me immediately. “Thank goodness. You're awake,” her voice was scratchy, like she had been crying for long hours and my mind immediately flashed back to what happened when we got back from father's company. Ah. Right. The flowers. Chrysanthemums. I narrowed my eyes. Mr. A. That bastard. He must have done this. “Hey. Babe. You look terrible. You shouldn't have cried, my love. This is not my first time dealing with a chrysanthemum attack,” I smiled and she sniffed. “How do you
~RUBY Ash walked to the door wordlessly, and we all waited patiently to know who was behind it. When the door came open, the voice that floated into the room was familiar, but I could not place who it was until Ash stood at the doorway, resuming his former position, and the lawyer walked in. “Richard? It's you, did something come up?” Ethan asked and Mr. Richard smiled. “I just came here to chec on Ruby. I heard what happened,” he sounded sincere, too sincere, that it had me feeling slightly uncomfortable. Ella glared at him. “This late though? You could not have come to check up on her tomorrow? It's past ten pm, Mister,” Ella shook her head with disapproval and I frowned. Ella was right. He could have waited till tomorrow. “Easy, Richard is more like family now. He's worked for us since I was a child. He truly cares,” Ethan cut in. But I frowned slightly because I still found it strange. Why would he insist on checking up on me by this time of the day? W