Chapter 11 – Beginning Again
10 years prior…
"Home sweet home!" Ruth exclaimed as she collapsed on the hotel bed. "What a ride over, am I right?" Her parents nodded as they started to unpack their entire luggage. "I don't think that pilot knew how to work that thing! We were bumpin' all around the place!" Jimmy suddenly jumped on the bed making Ruth bounce around.
"Did it feel like this?!" They both started to laugh when their mother opened the curtain covering the window to reveal the North Sea.
"Wooooaaahhh." They both exclaimed.
"Jimmy, I don't think we're in Texas anymore."
"Can we go down to the beach, can we, can we, can we?!" He asked their parents desperately.
"Unpack your suitcase first Jimmy." Their dad stated. He rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Can't I do that later?!" The dad looked at him then smiled.
"Alright, why not? What's it going to hurt to go down there and preview what we have in store? Honey, can you take them? I'll get the luggage unpacked." The wife nodded as Ruth and Jimmy both jumped with glee. They all ran down to the beach to see the blue, sparkling water splashing against the white sand as people of all ages walked along the shoreline. Only a few people were in the actual water due to it being late March but that didn't stop Jimmy from running straight into it. Their mom had to run in after him to pull him out and scold him for getting his regular clothes wet and doing such a thing without a life jacket. Ruth giggled and went to turn around when she bumped into someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She looked up to see it was a teenage boy with short, spikey brown hair and hazel eyes. He was tall and lean, and his skin was pale. He looked down to see her and just started staring. "Umm…I'm just gona go this way…" She said uneasily.
"Wait." He spoke up. "Sorry, you just remind me of someone I once knew." She looked around.
"Oh, were they nice?" She said jokingly. It was awkwardly quiet.
"You're cute." He said starting to grin. Ruth was caught off guard by this. She never thought of herself anything more than just normal and never really thought about relationships yet this teenager was calling her cute!
"Wh-what?" She said.
"Never seen a girl so dazzling as you." His British accent made her chuckle. "What? I'm not trying to be funny."
"You're accent…it's different." He looked around confused.
"I have an accent? You're the one who speaks differently."
"Sorry, I just ain't ever had anyone compliment me like this." He looked at what she was wearing and saw that she had on some Nikes.
"I also wear Nikes." Ruth looked at him confused then stared at their shoes.
"Oh, uh…yea! They're my favorite brand. I always wear these pair too, most comfortable things I've ever had." He continued to look her over and saw that she was also wearing a black Gorillaz shirt and some blue jeans.
"You like Gorillaz?"
"Boy, you sure jump from topic to topic." She mumbled. "But yea, I love them! Met them once and got a poster signed! They are my inspiration!"
"Well then good thing you met me!" She raised an eyebrow. "You see, the main guitarist guy and my dad are tight."
"You mean Murdoc?!"
"Yea him, and well I had to do this school project of interviewing people I saw as my heroes so I asked my dad if he could ask Murdoc to get his band together and let me do an interview!"
"No way! Man that sounds awesome! You are one lucky guy! What I wouldn't give to meet them again and show them how much I've improved in a month!" The boy smiled.
"Well, you could come with me." Ruth gasped.
"Are you for real?! You would really let me come with you?" He nodded.
"Yea, I'll pick you up tomorrow evening, that's when it's all going down."
"Alright, you can just pull in front of that hotel tomorrow." She pointed to the massive building beside them. "That's where I'm staying."
"Cool, it'll be at 7:00pm, my car is a navy blue Honda."
"Ruth! Let's go back to the room now!" Her mom yelled as her brother started squalling.
"Ok, I guess I'll see you then." He nodded. "Oh! Never got your name?"
"Alex. You must be Ruth?"
"Ruth McDonald at your service!" She said smiling.
"Ruth come on!" Her mom yelled again.
"Whelp, gotta go! See ya tomorrow Alex!" She turned and ran toward her mother.
"Who was that you were talking to?" Her mom asked.
"Alex, he's really nice."
"Ohhhh, he wasn't trying to get with he was he?" She chuckled while saying this.
"Ooooo, Ruth's got a boyfriend! Wait till dad finds out!"
"Shut up Jimmy! He's not my boyfriend! He's like…16 or something."
They finally got to the room when the mom started to tell the dad about Ruth's "new friend".
"16? Oh no, he's way too old for you. But that's nice you are starting to talk to new people instead of being in a shell all the time." The dad said.
"I'm glad you agree because tomorrow night he's taking me to see meet to Gorillaz!" The parents stopped and looked at each other than at Ruth. Jimmy turned the TV on and said,
"Can I go?!"
"No, he can only take one other person and he asked me since I was wearing this shirt." Jimmy sighed.
"Darn, oh well…I don't really like them anyways!"
"He asked you to go with him to meet that band you talk about?" The dad asked unsure.
"Yea! I was thinking they were still back in America on tour but I guess they're here! He has to do this heroes project and his dad and Murdoc are real tight so they're gona do him a favor and let him interview them!"
"Well…that's nice of them." The mom said.
"He's picking me up tomorrow at 7!"
"Ruth…I know you really like the Gorillaz but I'm not letting you go with some strange teenage boy to something I'm not even sure is real." The dad said. Ruth was heartbroken.
"What? But he's really nice!"
"No Ruth! That whole story just sounds fishy. What's a teenaged boy want with an 11 year old by himself? That's just creepy!" Ruth was angered.
"But dad!"
"NO!" Ruth looked down away from him and let it go; maybe she could convince him otherwise tomorrow.
"Fine…" She just sat down with Jimmy then and watched TV.
Alex however still planned on meeting her the next day. After she had departed from him, he had drove over to his friend's house and knocked on the door. The parents answered and let him in; he walked up the stairs to his friend's room and busted the door open.
"GOUGE!" He said happily. A younger Gouge looked up at him from his bed. He was a little hefty but muscular with black hair down to his cheeks and blue eyes.
"Alex? When did you get here?" He replied.
"Just now mate!"
"How you…holding up?" Alex shrugged.
"The trials were long and time consuming but they put the bitch away." Alex looked down.
"I'm so sorry that you went through all that and I never knew, I would've done something if I-"
"Stop talking man!" Gouge stopped. "It's over and done with." Gouge looked down at the book he was reading. "But, you can do something for me if you want make it up?" He grinned.
"Like what?"
"Well…" He started. "I'm taking this girl out tomorrow night and I need you to come along, so she doesn't feel so intimidated by me."
"You? You don't look scary; I'm the scary looking one." Alex chuckled.
"She's a frail girl; I want to earn her trust." Gouge looked at him weird but shrugged.
"Sure man, I guess I'll come with you." Alex smirked.
It was the next evening and Ruth began to get ready to leave when her dad asked,
"What you getting all spruced up for?"
"To go with Alex to the Gorillaz thing." She replied, the dad was shocked.
"I told you no!"
"You still haven't changed your mind?"
"What do you think 'no' stands for?!"
"Dad! This band means everything to me! I want to show them how much I've improved! How I am making my own band!"
"Ruth! You are not going! That is final!"
"Why do you want to stop me from my dreams?!" He scoffed.
"Stop over reacting!" The clock turned 7 and with anger Ruth opened the room door.
"I'm leaving!" She slammed it behind her and ran down to the lobby.
"Ruth! You get back here!" He started running after her. She got to the lobby and ran outside but tripped on the steps. She caught herself and saw the navy blue Honda waiting for her. She looked back and quickly got up as a door opened from the car.
"There you are!" Alex exclaimed from the driver's seat. She quickly got in as they sped off right as the dad came down. He screamed for her name at the car then ran back inside.
"Man, I'm pumped!" Ruth exclaimed. That's when she looked back and saw Gouge.
"Man, we're going to get in so much trouble Alex!" He exclaimed. "Neither one of us is legal to drive and I can't believe you stole your grandpa's car!" Alex glared at Gouge through the rearview mirror.
"Wait what? What's going on?!" Ruth exclaimed. "You can't drive? This is stolen? Oh my god…"
"No my grandpa loaned me the car…" He said gritting his teeth. "…but don't worry about my driving capability, I drive well." Ruth kept looking back at Gouge. "That's Gouge, he's my friend, he's just coming along with us." Ruth started thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"How old is she, Alex?" Gouge asked concerned.
"I'm eleven." Ruth replied.
"11?! Danm Alex, what the hell?!" They started to get away from the congested city and to the outskirts. It was quiet for a really long time.
"So umm…where exactly are we meeting them again?" Ruth asked. He pulled off and around a building.
"Here actually." They all got out of the car. Ruth started to feel uneasy as he opened a door. Alex smiled as Ruth slowly went in, they continued down a flight of stairs, around some corners until they got to a room. "They're right in here." Ruth stopped.
"Ya know…I think I'm just going to walk back home." She said. Alex cocked his head.
"But they're right in here!"
"I know but this place just gives me the hebee Jeeves." She started to back up when Alex pulled out a gun and shot her in the shoulder. She screamed in pain and started to yell for help when he put it to her head and whispered,
"You're not going anywhere mommy…" She stared at him and his face had turned from normal to psycho looking, like something had just snapped.
"Mommy?! What the hell, Alex?!" He turned to Gouge.
"This is what is going to happen! I'm going to beat the living shit out of her and you're going to watch Gouge! I'm going to beat mommy up and you will do nothing just like you did when she would beat me!" Gouge stared in horror. "And if you try to leave, you're dead! You're fucking dead, you hear?!" Gouge nodded slowly as he started pistol whipping her and beating her till she couldn't speak anymore. She finally passed out and Alex drug her into a room.
"Alex…?" Gouge said hesitantly.
"You're going to watch her…" He said hanging his head. "There's a first aid kit over there, patch her up."
"You beat her to almost death and you want me to help her?" he said confused.
"If she dies, then you die!" He pointed a gun to him, his eyes were crazed. Gouge grabbed the first aid kit and ran next to the little girl. "I'm going upstairs to talk to my grandpa, if I come back and you're gone or if I hear sirens, you are dead!" He chuckled then slammed the door behind him. Gouge looked at the beaten Ruth, profusely bleeding from her gunshot wound and started to wrap her up in gauze.
Present day…
Ruth stared at her left shoulder. "That's what the scar is?" She asked as she showed everyone the mark. Gouge nodded.
"I never meant for it to…"
"James!" An unfamiliar man's voice came booming from the other side of the door. "Open the door!" James looked at the 3 telling them to hide as they went back in the closet.
"Oh no…it's him." Gouge whispered.
"Who?" 2D asked. They shut the closet door as James opened his.
"Yes pappy?" He asked innocently.
"Pappy?" Ruth whispered.
"Where are they?" The man demanded.
"Who?"
"You have been sitting on the walkie button, where is the singer and that trader?!"
"I….I….uh…" He said scared backing up to his bed. "Did you really hurt a little girl when you were young daddy?" He said abruptly. That's when 2D and Ruth started figuring out who this man was. He stared at James then spotted the closet and started to march over to it. "No! Don't go over there!" He pulled on his pants. He pushed James over then. 2Ds heart started to race. He opened the door and Gouge started to attack him. He punched him and they started to have a brawl.
"I will not stand idly by any longer, Alex! This has gone on for far too long!" He yelled.
"I knew you were always against me!" Alex was able to push him over on the ground and pulled out his gun, aiming it to his head.
"Alex..? I'm supposed to be your best friend!" He squinted his eyes and fired, killing him instantly. James screamed as the blood splattered all over his floor. Derick, Martin, and Ned gasped as they watched. Ruth and 2D held onto each other paralyzed with fear.
"Gouge!" Ruth exclaimed. 2D started to shake,
"You….you killed him?" Alex stared at the singer then grinned. James ran to 2D and covered his eyes. Alex frowned at this.
"Choose him over your own father, James?" James just kept crying, Ned spoke up, still in pain from the stab wound.
"Sh…shit man you didn't have to do…" Alex turned around and shot him in the chest making him fall to his knees. He was being supported by Mr. Martin and Derick but they let him go out of fright they would be shot too. "Gah!" He exclaimed holding his chest.
"That's for being useless and starting these rumors that Ruth is a ghost." Ned looked up at Alex as he put the gun next to his temple. "And…I just don't like you." Ned stared at him with fear as he shot him as well, also killing him instantly. His body flung to the floor as everyone in the room just froze. "Any more comments?" Derick and Martin shook their heads. "Good, now take the singer and the boy back to the room."
"The boy too?" Martin asked surprised.
"He's chosen to be with the blue haired freak instead of his own blood, so yea…the boy too."
"But…he's your son." Alex glared at him.
"Do you want to join Ned and Gouge?!" He shook his head and grabbed James as he started to flail.
"No let me go!" He cried out. 2D tried to help but Alex pointed the gun toward James.
"Try something stupid and he joins the others." He then nodded his head and went with Derick. Ruth quickly figured that they couldn't see her and was going to do something to help but was scared that if something abnormal were to happen then harm would either come to 2D or James or both. 2D and Ruth shared a stare as she just followed them.