Waiting for the Reaper

[Fiori]

((Ruby Forrester continued from Tell No Tales))

Ruby had no idea how many hours she had spent cleaning her gun. Long enough to wonder whether or not there was even any point in doing so.

Seeing as she was never particularly fond of guns in the first place, she hadn't a clue whether or not her firearm would work after being drenched in water. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. In hindsight she probably should have tested it out before she began dismantling it, cleaning in inside and out using a towel she found in the house she was residing in.

She didn't think she'd ever find herself back in the weird suburbs near the nuclear power plant. Given that it was the nearest settlement that wasn't a dangerzone, it seemed as though she had no other choice apart from the airstrip. Maybe. Either way, walking down the same streets brought back unpleasant memories about dead bodies and a certain killer by the name of Miranda Millers. Wasn't she dead now? Jesus Christ, who wasn't dead by now? At least half the class must be gone by now. And somehow she was amongst the half who were still alive.

Woo fucking hoo.

Ruby lied back in her chair, staring down at the disassembled gun in front of her. She thought back to the ship, about everything that had happened back there. Why, oh god why had she not brought the rest of her stuff with her? She had to leave her bag back on the boat, didn't she? Had to forget to bring it along with her. Then again, she never had any intention of getting shoved overboard by a fucking pirate either.

Not to mention Ami. Dear god, why did she let Ami get away? After everything they had been through, it pained Ruby to know that chances are she would never see her again. Sure, they hardly knew each other, but after all they had been through she couldn't believe that they could get separated so easily. It was just nice having someone to talk to. Someone she could confide in, someone to lean on. Someone who reminded her of...

Well, maybe it was for the best that they separated. Ruby hadn't exactly proven to be the most useful partner, what with the whole 'antagonising every living person you meet' tactic she had adopted. She was surprised at how cathartic it felt to take the gun apart, given how much she despised the damn thing. Back in the beginning she actually kind of liked having a submachine gun all to herself. She had felt powerful, invincible almost. Like she could handle anything or anyone in her way. Looking back though, all the gun ever did was give her an excuse to piss off the wrong people and get her friends killed. Without it, she would never have threatened Lana and Stephanie. She probably wouldn't have antagonised Sean either, and put Ami into a situation wherein she was forced to kill someone who was only trying to defuse the situation.

Not that any of it mattered now. It was too late for her to do anything to change her situation. She wasn't mad, or upset or anything. She just felt empty inside. Like nothing really mattered anymore. If the microphone declared the area she was in to be a dangerzone, she probably wouldn't feel too bothered about leaving. It's not as if it would make any difference whether she died right now or at the hands of some jackass. Either way her days were numbered.

So for now, all she did was wait to see what fate would throw in her direction.

[Fiori]

Eventually, after god knows how long the announcement rang out, informing her as to who had passed away the previous day. At this point however the news of her classmates dying failed to shock her. They were all going to die eventually anyway, it was only matter of who would be the one lucky SOB who manages to get away.

And of course, the area she was in was declared to be a dangerzone. As apathetic towards the idea she had been previously, now that she knew that staying put would get her killed she couldn't help but take the opportunity to take her hastily reconstructed gun and leave immediately. Maybe a part of her still thought she had some chance to surviving this mess? Who knows. Either way, she at least didn't want to go out this way, that's for certain.

((Ruby Forrester continued in Hunger for Freedom))