Roger sat on one of the many chairs on the plane. He looked over to his left to see Ruby sadly looking out one of the few windows the plane had. Ever since Manning had gotten a hold of her, she had seemed very depressed and nervous. Before he and Abe had left her in Manning's office, she had seemed happy. Bubbly even. Now she looked as if she could burst in to tears on a moment's notice. Kate had said she almost refused to speak, like if she opened her mouth something terrible would happen. Liz told him that she seemed to be getting really friendly with the floor, since it was the only thing she seemed to look at. Roger had considered going over and talking to her, but he wasn't sure what to say. So he just sat there, watching her from afar.
He watched as Abe went and placed a reassuring hand on Ruby's bare shoulder. She turned around and faced him. He saw her full lips form a slight, but sad smile. Abe was doing what he was too fearful to; he was speaking to Miss Ruby Redde.
"Are you feeling okay?" Abe was looking down at the sitting Ruby.
"Not really," she didn't look directly up at him, instead she half looked out the window of the plane.
"Nerves?" Abe pulled a nearby chair next to her. She seemed to move her body slightly towards him, but maybe it was just his imagination.
Ruby shook her head, white curls swaying from side to side.
"Not really. Well, maybe. I think." Her hand closed around the red stone hanging from her neck.
"Was it something Manning told you?" he watched her lower her head down. He figured he had hit the nail on the head, so to speak. "What did he tell you?"
"He told me," she looked straight out the window, "He told me things."
"What kind of things?" He moved in closer, intrigued.
"I can't tell you," she looked at him with her clear eyes, "I'd like to, but I can't. Not yet anyway." She clenched her fist in a tight ball over her necklace, "Not until I can figure it out first."
"Alright then," Abe looked as she turned her head towards him, "I won't pry if you don't want me to. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here."
A bright smile lit up her previously sad face, "Thank you. I appreciate that." Her eyes seemed to get brighter as they looked at each other. Roger wasn't sure why, but for some reason, seeing her and Abe talking made him feel angry. For whatever reason, he just didn't like seeing Ruby with Abe like that. Was he jealous? How could that be possible? He barely knew Ruby and he had known Abe for nearly a year now. She was the girl who flipped one of his best friends onto his back for seemingly no reason.
Ruby got up from her chair and slipped on her jacket. She had started to feel the bitter bite of the cold air permeating through the airplane despite it's several high-powered heaters. She walked over to Roger and sat down next to him on the cold hard floor. She had thought he looked a little lonely. And like she always believed, misery loves company. Judging by how she felt right now, she'd need an entire baseball stadium to feel any better.
"Hey." Ruby tried, but with no avail, to make herself more comfortable on the hard floor.
Roger looked at the small girl sitting near his feet. She looked…beautiful. He had never really felt like this before. He thought he had what Kate called a crush—a crush on Ruby Redde. Granted she was very pretty, with her rainbow colored skin and snow white curls that cascaded around her face. But they seemed to have something in common. Something that went deeper than what was on the surface.
"Hello," she looked at him with wide eyes; he could clearly see his face entirely as he looked into them. He could only wonder what would happen if he looked any deeper.
"Hi."
"So what exactly are we going to be doing there? In Sweden?" she looked so innocent. Her body language reminded Roger of a little girl he had met once. But that was a long, long time ago…
"I'm not too sure. I guess we're going to try and capture what ever is terrorizing those churches," he was extremely nervous around her for some reason. He wondered if he should stand up or sit down with her. These kind of social situations always had him very confused.
"Why do we care?" Ruby tugged a little at her necklace, "I mean, they're all abandoned aren't they?"
"Yeah, but two priests were injured in trying to exorcise it out," Roger rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that she didn't know he never got cramps or sore muscles.
"Oh, I see," Ruby said very softly as she rubbed one finger over the face of her necklace.
"So then catalyst has awoken?" the voice was that of a man who had lived many lives.
"Yes. She is with the Right Hand. They are coming together" a women's voice responded.
"We failed once, we will not again. With her there, we will not fail. It is impossible."
AN: Well, there it is. Thank you again for proofing this chapter Beth! I reallyappriciate it again for the hundreth billonith time :) . And thank you for all the great reviews everyone. I'll try to have the new chapter up soon!