RUBY
..
STOP!
Please don't do this.
Help!
I'm startled awake from an all too real nightmare. I shake off the horrid images of my bad dream and sit up, but quickly realize I'm already in the seated position. I'm not in my bed. Shooting pain radiates inside my head, and I tug at my arms, but they're pinned behind me.
Oh God.
Where am I?
How did I get here?
My mind is so foggy. I can't seem to focus.
Everything hurts.
Panic sets in when I realize I'm tied to a chair. I pull at my arms again, and severe pain erupts up my back. Fabric holds tight around my eyes, blindfolding me. I try to listen for sounds, but it's eerily quiet. I don't know whether to scream for help or stay silent.
I fight the fogginess for any memory.
Flashes of yelling, struggling. The pain. The blood.
"What are you doing here?"
"What the hell is going on—?"
"Put me down!"
Oh God! The hotel. The attack. Them.
"Let me go!"
"No, please don't. Please!"
It's all starting to come back to me. The text from Jisoo asking to meet me. Texting back my location. When I opened the hotel door, it all happened so fast.
"What are you doing here? Where's Jisoo—?"
I don't finish my sentence. He attacks me. His arms wrap around my waist, trying to secure a hold on me. I fight him hard, but my feet leave the ground. I start to scream, but his large hand covers my mouth. I struggle, throwing my head back. I meet bone as he howls and drops me, and I fall to the ground, landing wrong on my ankle. I moan as the pain shoots up my leg.
Fear consumes me. I attempt to crawl away and get to my feet, but he catches a chunk of my hair.
"Where the hell do you think you're going, you little whore?"
I scratch at his arms, fighting against his tight grip. I have no choice but to scramble to my feet unless I want him to rip out any more of my hair.
Screaming, I swing at him, and my nails dig deep, leaving a long scratch down his face.
"Bitch!" He throws me forward. My injured ankle lets out, and I stumble and fall into the nightstand. My head makes contact with the corner of the wood. I bring my fingers up to my head. It's already swelling, and when I pull away, my fingers are covered in blood. I try to stand, but the room spins. I throw my hand on the mattress to steady myself, leaving a red print.
Two hands from behind me thrust into my back, and I slip, landing on the floor. I yelp in pain but force myself to roll over and avoid his hands as he reaches for me. I try to keep most of my weight on one foot and hop to the bed, jumping up to crawl over it. He manages to get a hold on my ankle, but I kick my other foot back, hitting him in the face.
"Fuck! You're gonna pay for that." He dives over the bed. I grab for the lamp on the nightstand and tug it hard, ripping the plug from the socket. I bash it over his head and watch in horror as the impact slices his head open, leaving a gaping gash. He rolls off the bed, hitting the floor like a bag of bricks.
I hear a noise and turn away from him. I take one step forward when I'm tackled from behind. He's on me, taking me to the ground. This time, his weight and strength overpower mine. I scream again, but he puts his hand over my mouth. I get my teeth around skin and bite down. He grunts and backhands me across the face. I lose focus for a few seconds, but when I come to, I feel him yanking at my sweatpants. My hands go wild trying to fight him off me, but too quickly, they're locked between his hands, and he's pulling them above my head. He's so heavy on top of me, I'm struggling to breathe. My stomach threatens to expel at the feel of his erection jamming into my stomach.
"Please, don't do this. Please!"
He's crazed with anger. He doesn't hear my plea. His hands begin to fumble with my sweatpants again when the door opens.
Thank God. Lisa's back. In mere seconds, she's going to save me from this nightmare.
"I didn't say you can rape her, Jesus. Do I have to do everything myself?" My body goes rigid. No… It can't be. But then I see her face. "Night, night, freakshow." And she jams a long needle inside my flesh.
Fucking Rosé.
Whatever she stuck me with knocked me out. It's still lingering in my system because I can't seem to fight off the grogginess. I try to nudge the blindfold off with my shoulder, but no luck.
"Well, look who's finally awake." The blindfold is ripped off my head, and pain from the gash on my forehead turns my stomach. I look around, trying to figure out where I'm at, but the pain and dizziness prevent it. It's dark, so it's hard to see, but it looks like we're in the woods.
I tug at my arms, but the bindings are so tight, it's scraping away at my skin. "You're a special kind of crazy, you know that? And you're so fucked when they find me," I snap.
Rosé just laughs, leaving me with an unsettled feeling. I try not to let the fear show, but it's impossible. She's a loose cannon and I have no idea what else she has planned for me.
"Honey, I'm not worried about anyone finding you. Probably ever." She turns to walk away into the dark.
Fuck, how did I get here? How did they get me out of the hotel? There has to be surveillance. Someone had to have seen me. Lisa would come back. She would see the room. She would come for me.
My throat starts to lock, but I fight down the emotions. Don't cry. Don't cry, I coach myself. I need to stay strong. "Lisa cringes at the thought of you, and when she finds you took me, she's gonna come after you, and she's going to destroy you when she does."
Rosé turns gracefully as if we're at a sorority ball. "Oh, honey. You have it all wrong. See, this isn't all for nothing. You going bye-bye is going to open so many opportunities for me."
"You're nuts. Lisa despises you. Getting me out of the picture won't get you shit."
She laughs some more, and chills run down my spine. "That's where you're wrong. She certainly enjoys me. Before you showed up that night, which I must take credit for that, she and I had a pleasantly good time. Naughty girl she is. Very needy with her hands. I have to admit, she definitely seemed to prefer blondes over ratty brunettes."
I don't hide the confusion in my eyes. I know nothing happened. She's lying.
"Oh, she didn't tell you?"
"She wouldn't willingly touch you. You're lying."
Rosé skips over to me, putting her face directly into mine. "She's going to do so much more once you're out of the picture. What we can be together…" She smiles, looking as if she's lost in mental thought. Bringing her eyes back to focus, she continues. "It's going to be magical." Then she twirls around and skips into the darkness.
Bat. Shit. Crazy.
She has absolutely lost her mind.
I look around, trying to find a way to escape. The binds around my wrists are too tight. Fuck. I'm fucked. I don't know how long it's been, or how long I've been here. It's dark outside, which tells me a while, and that worries me. I've been missing for some time, and no one's found me.
Not good.
I try to remember how long Lisa said she would be gone. What if work took longer than she imagined? What if she sent me a text saying she would be late and to go home or eat—or get kidnapped by a psychopath and die in the woods!
"Fuck!"
"What was that?" Rosé returns, holding a phone. Phone! Oh my God, is that my phone? The tracker Lisa put on the bat phone. Oh, please let it be the bat phone.
"You calling to turn yourself in? Realizing she aren't into crazy—"
Her fingers wrap into my hair, and I scream as she yanks down. "You stupid bitch. You think I would have your phone just sitting here? No, no…this is your pathetic friend's phone. Just sending a little message from her phone to yours. I mean, who would they suspect first? The jaded best friend, ya know!" Her evil smile does nothing to assure me I'll make it out alive.
"You won't win in the end. Lisa won't want you."
"I always get what I want!" she yells. "This will be no different. It's you who loses here, freakshow. Not me. I win. I win!"
She tugs hard, trying, and possibly succeeding, at ripping half my head of hair out. My eyes blur from the pain and my scalp feels like it's on fire. A shadow appears from beyond the trees and she lets go as someone comes into view. Rosé turns around letting off a grade A sorority level huff. "Where have you been? How long does it take to light a match?" she snaps.
"I had to stop at an urgent care. That bitch broke my nose. Not to mention the four stitches I had to get in my head." Chanyeol walks onto the landing, showing a bit of wear and tear.
"Oh, poor baby. Did you get your ass kicked by a girl?" Gone is the kind smile he tricked me with at school. In its place is anger and resentment.
"Bitch, you're the one tied to a chair in the middle of the woods. I don't think you should be talking shit. If you want, I'll let you suck my dick as your last dying wish." He laughs, and Rosé rolls her eyes.
"Hard pass," I respond. "Curious, though. How did Rosé get you to do her dirty work? Or have you always been a fucking psychopath like her?"
He comes at me, and my eyes shut as I wait for the blow. Nothing comes, and when I reopen them, Rosé is on him, with her tongue down his throat.
"Oh my God, seriously? I thought you didn't like her? Jesus, your cheesy letter-wearing club cults confuse me."
Rosé pulls away and wipes at her pink lipstick. Chanyeol looks like he wants to finish me off. "Well, when I told him what a conniving little slut you were, and how you were just stringing him along, I took it upon myself to do what you couldn't. Please him. And you know men. They'll do anything for a fuck. Little ol' Chanie offered to kidnap you for a simple blowjob. Isn't that cute?"
All I was worth was a measly blowjob? Gee. Thanks. "Hope it was worth it, douchebag, 'cause your freedom's coming to an end soon. Lisa will find me. And you're both fucked!"
Chanyeol comes at me. "You lying bitch," he snaps, but the nervousness in his tone tells me he's not so sure. He turns to Rosé. "She's lying, right? We're good? You said this couldn't be traced back to us."
Rosé scoffs, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Chillax, she's just trying to mess with you. No one saw us. We took the back way and she was covered in a sheet."
They covered me in a sheet?
Okay, I take it back, she's not batshit crazy, she's a lunatic.
"Oh yeah? Did you clean up the blood bath? DNA, pal. Your blood is all over that room." I dig at him some more, hoping they'll turn on each other. Chanyeol's head snaps to Rosé. I've succeeded in freaking him out.
"Don't look at me like that," she hisses at him.
"Then tell me she's fucking lying. Is she lying? Can they track that shit?"
Rosé shrugs her dainty shoulders, trying to come off unfazed, but she's failing at not looking nervous herself. "Well, how should I know? I don't watch those FBI shows."
"Rosé—"
"What! I didn't tell you to get whacked in the head with a lamp and bleed everywhere!" Chanyeol starts to flip out, pacing back and forth. Rosé looks like no one's home. I try to sway back and forth, hoping to fall over and break the chair. I'm an okay runner. I can run into the woods and hide.
"This was all your idea. If we get caught, this is your fault. I won't fucking hesitate to tell them—"
A horrified scream leaves my throat when Rosé picks up a log and bashes it against the side of Chanyeol's head. I watch in horror as he goes down like a tree. "Jesus Christ, what'd you do that for!" I shout, but I don't think she hears me. She certainly seems to have forgotten about me. "Rosé!"
"It's fine. Daddy will fix this. Daddy will fix this. It's fine. Everything is fine."
What the fuck? "Rosé, your dad can't fix this. He's bleeding. You need to call for help, or he's gonna die."
"It's fine. Daddy will fix this. Daddy will fix this. Daddy will fix this."
"I don't think Daddy is fixing any—"
"DADDY FIXES EVERYTHING!" Cocking her shoulders back, she raises the log, readying herself for another deadly blow.
..
..
LISA
..
Beep, beep, beep…
Ruby's soft body lies under me as I open my mouth, cover her nipple, and suck hard without remorse. She wiggles, her back bowing off the bed.
"I'm going to take you, push you, bring your body to the deepest edges of insanity, do you hear me?" A place I feel I already am. Her soft laugh seeps into my veins. My dick hardens even more if possible, and I can no longer play. I need to be inside her immediately. "Laugh now, my little pet, because soon, I'm gonna be fucking you so hard and deep, you won't be laughing, but screaming my name as my cock owns you."
"Where are you, Lisa?" she asks as I pull her other breast into my mouth.
"I'm right here." I suck hard, knowing she loves the pain mixed with pleasure.
"Where are you, Lisa?" she asks again.
I release her nipple and pull away to gaze at her. "Baby, I'm right here."
She stares back at me, not hearing anything I say. "Baby, I'm here. What's wrong?" I ask, concerned. Her body heat rises. Her skin is becoming too hot to touch. "Ruby. Jesus, what's wrong?" I panic, having to jump off her to avoid getting burned. "Ruby!" I call her name again.
"Where are you, Lisa?" she asks one last time, then explodes into a burst of flames—
The beeping sound brings me out of my nightmare. My eyes shoot open, and I sit up from the bed I'm soaked from my own sweat. I look around for Ruby, but she's not here. The bright lights send a shooting pain to my head and severe dizziness blasts me back against the bed. My hand goes up to touch my forehead and it's met with cloth. A bandage? Confusion strikes as I open my eyes again and look around. I'm in a hospital room.
"You're finally awake. Welcome back, Ms. Manoban." My eyes whip to the nurse entering my room, causing another wave of dizziness.
"Why am I…What happened?"
She's at my bedside, checking the machine. "You were in a fire. You sure are lucky." Her hands are cold as she checks my pulse. "How are you feeling? You got yourself a pretty nice concussion there."
My eyes squeeze shut, fighting to remember.
The fire.
The blood.
Ruby—
"I need to speak to—"
I make another attempt at sitting up, but my head spins and my stomach threatens to expel from the pain. I go back down, cradling my head. "I need to—"
"You need to rest, Ms. Manoban. You've been out for the past seven hours. It's in your best interest to lie back. Would you like something to help you sleep?"
Seven hours?
I need to get out of here. "Ruby…have they found her?"
The nurse offers a kind smile. "I'm not sure. Is this a family member? Would you like me to contact anyone for—"
"No! She was kidnapped. Have they found her? Where's Commissioner Stephens?"
She's oblivious to what I'm asking. "Ma'am, you really need to calm down. It's not good—"
"HAVE THEY FOUND HER—?"
"Hello, Ms. Manoban."
I give my attention to the doctor and officer entering my room. Relief floods the nurse's features, and with a quick nod to the doctor, she scurries out.
"Ms. Manoban, I'm glad to see you're awake. We were starting to get worried about you."
"I'm fine. I need to get out of here."
The doctor walks up to the end of my bed and takes a look at my chart. "I understand that. Mr. Heywood is here to answer any questions you have, but for now, I would advise you against leaving. You've taken a bad hit to your head."
"I said I'm fine," I repeat even as the pain shoots through my frontal lobe.
"I understand, but your head scan says otherwise. You should be thankful for just the head injury. The other gentleman brought in with you suffered severe burns."
Other?
Kade?
Fredrick?
"Where are they? Are they okay?" The doctor's expression changes. The fear of his next words, like a noose around my throat, choke me. "Are they—?"
"Your friend, Mr. Turner, suffered third-degree burns on his back and legs. He's been in and out of surgery. They're doing the best they can to clean the wounds and remove any debris out of his back. Next steps are skin graphing. But he's stable and awake."
Fredrick.
"What about Kade? Kaden Forth?"
The doctor checks the chart in his hands. "I don't see that a Kaden Forth was brought in with you."
No. Fuck. No.
"He had to have been. Check again. He was in there with me. He was going to grab…"
Fuck.
The pain in my chest explodes. This is my fault. His death is on me.
"There was a woman in there as well. Was she…" I don't finish. The officer steps forward. "Ms. Manoban, my name is Officer Heywood. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about the fire."
"Answer mine first, dammit!"
The officer nods. "You and Mr. Turner were the only ones brought in. A body was retrieved from the building, but it was too badly burned to identify. It may be some time before we are able to know if the remains are Mr. Forth or Jihyo Park."
"I need to see Fredrick." I need to know what Jihyo had planned. I sit up, forcing myself to fight through the dizziness. "Do you know who started the fire? Where's Commissioner Stephens? I need to talk to him."
He pulls out his pad of paper. "From what we know from the surveillance we've recovered, it shows a young man setting low-grade explosives around the building. They shouldn't have been powerful enough to do the damage they did, but unfortunately, one struck the gas line, which caused a whole lot of damage. I don't have to tell you the building is old, which didn't help the impairment to the structure."
"And Ruby? What's the update on Ruby Jane?"
My stomach threatens to heave, waiting for his response. I already know by his expression he's going to tell me they haven't found her.
Seven hours.
"There've been no leads. Mr. Turner was questioned. His story pans out at this time. There was no reason to list him as a suspect. We put out a missing person's and notified the university. We're doing everything we can—"
"If you were doing everything you could, you would have found her by now!" I snap. I've been held up in this bed for seven hours while she's been enduring God knows what. She could be—
"Excuse me, Ms. Manoban?"
Everyone turns to the girl standing in the doorway. She's well put together, but looks scared, nervous maybe. Her face is stained with tears.
"Can we help you, miss?" The doctor questions.
She looks unsure, but after a few seconds, steps into the room. "Yeah, uh…my name is, uh…Kim Jisoo."
Anger rises inside me. Jisoo. The friend who blew her off. The one who caused all this mess. "What the fuck do you want?" I bite out, and she physically sinks into herself.
"I'm…I think I know where Ruby is. I know how to find her."
I force myself to stay conscious. "Where is she?"
"R—Rosé asked to borrow my phone yesterday. I didn't think anything of it, but when she never returned it or came back to the house, I thought it was strange. Not long after, all the news came out about the club fire. Then the school posted about a student missing. Rosé hates her. I know it. I think…I think she has something to do with it."
I throw my legs over the bed, grabbing the railing as a rush of dizziness threatens to throw me back.
"Ms. Manoban, lay back down. You are not permitted to leave."
I push him away and stand. Fuck, the nausea is about to win this one. I shut my eyes until it passes, then reopen them to search for my clothes. "Where are my things?" I ask.
"Ms. Manoban, I highly recommend against this." I don't give a fuck what he recommends. I need to save Ruby. I did this. Fuck, I'm the cause of everything she's going through.
I walk to the small closet in search of my clothes. Thankfully, I find a set of scrubs. I don't give a fuck who sees as I drop my hospital gown, and with every last bit of energy in me, change.
I bring my searing eyes to the girl. "How do I find her?"
"My phone has a tracker. My dad put it on there. He just wanted to make sure, if I ever lost it or got stolen, he'd be able to find me." Her voice is laced with panic. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner. I just didn't know. I thought Rosé was nice and—"
"I don't give a fuck! How do I track your phone?"
"I called my dad. He sent me this location. It's in Morrison Woods, just outside the city."
I don't bother with her a second longer. I don't care that she's a crying mess right now. She's the reason Ruby is in this mess. So are you, asshole. I turn to Officer Heywood. "Call Commissioner Stephens. Tell him she's here." I hand him the tracker location.
"Ms. Manoban, you can't seriously think you are well enough to leave this hospital and go on a search and rescue. That's just absurd. Let the law enforcement do their job."
I ignore the doctor's pleading demands and turn back to Jisoo. "Do you have a car?"
"Yes," she whimpers.
"Let's go. You're fucking taking me there."
She complies instantly. The doctor still yells for me to return as I make my way down the hall. I need to save my girl.
..
..
RUBY
..
Life's a bitch, and then you die.
I feel like that saying fits me pretty well right about now. When planning out my dreams and goals, I seem to have failed to add in being kidnapped, tortured by a lunatic, and tied to a chair in the middle of the woods. I thought my biggest struggle was living in a home where money was scarce. The hardships of having to manage on one income. I wasn't spoiled with all the newest trends. My outfits were mostly hand-me-downs from family friends, and I just didn't shine like most kids at school. I learned from a young age if I wanted something, I was going to have to work hard to get it. I always labeled myself as a go-getter. A self-starter. I busted my ass, turned down dates and social gatherings—okay, maybe those were never put on the table—but I sacrificed those so-called things to make sure I rose above.
Basically, I spent my entire adolescence holed up in my house like a bookworm all so I could die at the hands of a psychopath.
I'm not sure what time it is. It's still dark. And thankfully, I still have my face and all its parts in place. Just as Rosé was about to rearrange my nose with the log, I convinced her blood splatter would ruin her pretty dress and Lisa hates blood. Loathes it. Luckily, for me, that swayed her to drop it. The bad thing, she left immediately after to change because naughty Chanyeol may have gotten some on her clothes. So that leaves just me and possibly dead Chanyeol stuck in the woods.
"Chan?" I whisper his name, but nothing. "Chan!" I yell this time, but he doesn't budge. The heebie-jeebies quickly set in at the thought of a dead person just inches away from me. I start to have trouble breathing. "Don't panic. Don't panic." I'm totally starting to panic. I open my mouth to start screaming bloody murder when Rosé reappears.
"Jesus, where did you go! You can't just leave me here tied up with a dead guy!" I snap. When she comes into better focus, I notice she's changed. "Dude, are you wearing my green dress?"
She smiles and spins like goddamn Cinderella wearing the dress Lisa bought me on the first night of our arrangement. "It looks way better on me, don't you think?" She does another twirl. She's been in my room. In my closet. And how has no one found me? This is not looking good for me. I'm hungry, weak. My running ability has diminished terribly since I can barely feel my ass from being stuck in this chair for so long. Not to mention my horrible headache.
"Rosé, don't you think you're taking this too far? I mean, hoes before bros, girl. Let's talk about this. Lisa's just not that into you."
Okay, so maybe the reason I don't have many girlfriends is because I suck at the whole girl bonding thing. I basically agree to my own reasoning, because she comes at me and slaps me across the face. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"For being such a poor sport. You're supposed to tell me how beautiful I look."
Maybe I should ask her where her pills are and suggest she take the whole bottle. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. You look amazing. Wow, I looked like a fat, ugly cow in it. Good thing you're gonna do us all a favor. I think Lisa is going to just…wow, yeah…go nuts for you in that."
Her smile is so cuckoo and bright, it may just light the entire woods. It also makes me realize I've been taking the wrong approach. "So, what do you think you'll say to her once she finds me dead and you're there to save her? I bet she's gonna be so happy to see you. Now that I think about it, she did tell me once she has a thing for blondes." The words are sour coming out of my mouth.
"Oh my God, really? You think so?" She comes at me again, but instead of slapping me like a bitch, she kneels in front of me. "She would never be happy with someone like you. I can fulfill anything she wants."
"Oh, I agree, girl. This is a much better idea." God, she's nuts. Her smile is telling me she is actually feeding into all of this nonsense. "I wish you two the best. You know Lisa did mention you when I was with her, thinking even more about it. It pains me to admit this, but she did say she couldn't love me, but someone like Rosé, she saw a future with."
Her eyes twinkle. "She did?"
"Yeah. You didn't even need to do all this. You see, she actually broke up with me just before. Telling me I wasn't what she wanted. She wanted you."
She squeals and stands. She dances around the wooded area, with no care of the possible dead guy on the ground.
"So, what do you say you let me go? I'll just disappear, and you two can live happily ever after!" I smile, like we're two besties who just made a cute little pact to play nice.
She turns, smiling. Yes! I did it. She's going to let me go.
"Not a chance, freakshow. I'd love to, but you see, your ugly face is all over campus now. Seems someone cares you're missing. That's a problem for me."
"There is? Is it a good picture, at least? I was never good at school pictures. Senior year, I had—"
"Shut up!"
When a crazed sorority sister tells you to shut up, you do. I zip my lips. Time is running out. She's quickly falling back into her mental zone. She starts pacing. She reaches for her purse, and when she pulls back, there's a knife in her hands. "Um, what do you plan on doing with that?" I ask, feeling pretty fucking nervous.
"I need to get rid of you. But blood. She doesn't like blood. I need to think." She's back to pacing. I'm back to panicking. I need to get out of this. I was a Girl Scout for seven embarrassing years, it had to have taught me better survival skills than how to start a damn fire or what berries not to eat. Think, Ruby!
Then it hits me.
"Hey, Rosé, I have an idea."
She turns to me, curious. "What's that?"
It's now or never.
"I get it. I have to die." My eyes widen as she nods in agreement. God, fuckin' nutso. "Yeah…um, so we know Lisa doesn't like blood, so you can't get dirty. I have a great idea. How about we use some of that rope over there and maybe I hang myself? No blood. I'm dead, you live happily ever after." That was the most morbid thing I've ever suggested. And creepiest, since Rosé's eyes light up like a Christmas tree.
"Oh, that is a fantastic idea!" She swings the knife, and I do a little dance in my chair, avoiding any too close lashings.
"So, how about I help you, and you help me?"
There goes that smile. "And how would I help you?"
"Well, you might need help making a noose. Girl Scout champion over here. If you grab that rope over there, I can help you, but you would need to untie my hands to do so." She stares at me in question as we sit in limbo—this could be the moment my life may go on, or she sees through my lies and just stabs me and does another outfit change. What feels like forever passes before she finally speaks. "Okay, fine. But no funny business. Tie the noose, then it's night-night for you."
"Got it." I nod.
Smiling, she walks behind me and starts cutting off the rope around my wrists. I wince a few times as she nicks me. Once I feel my hands are free, I bring them forward. The pain from being stuck in that position for so long is worse than the gash in my head. My muscles restrict, and the tingly feeling causes a wave of nausea.
"You better not get sick on me."
"Nope. Not getting sick. Just gonna get up and grab that rope." I feel the knife stick me in the back, and I yelp. "Ouch!"
"Try anything and you're dead."
"Yep. Got it." I try to stand, but fall and meet the dirt. "Shit," I groan. My legs are almost numb, not to mention the swelling in my ankle. I roll over and sit up. I guess trying to make a run for it is out of the question.
"Get up. I don't have much time. Lisa is probably wondering where I am."
Same here. I hope. I laugh, not sure why. Maybe I'm losing it just like Rosé already has. I use all my strength to lift my body and limp over to the rope. I have to step over Chanyeol, which makes my skin crawl. I try not to cry, because even though he was a douche and on his way to Nutsoville alongside Rosé, I wouldn't want him dead.
Rosé, on the other hand, skips over him with ease, keeping right on my tail. My nerves cause me to trip over my own two feet, and I fall again, cutting my knee on a rock. I moan at the pain, but Rosé takes no pity on me.
"Get up. You're stalling." No, actually, I'm just trying to enjoy my last moments alive. I push off and get back to my feet. A few grueling steps later, and I'm down on the ground, grabbing the rope. "Now, do your thing. Then we can tie you up to a tree. You don't mind also taking the blame for Chan, right? We'll call it a love gone bad murder-suicide." She giggles like a five-year-old child. I know if I don't make a move soon, I may miss my opportunity. I wouldn't put it past her to forget our plan and just start sawing my head off.
I inhale a slow, deep breath, silently praying for the strength I'm going to need, and reach for the rope. Wrapping my fingers tightly along the flow of the braiding, I lift it slowly, as if I'm going to begin working it into a bow. "Shit, I don't think this is going to work. Look at it."
Rosé bends forward, leaning her head over my shoulder to inspect the rope. "Why not?" Distracted by the rope, I catch her off guard. I twist around and slam her in the head with the rope.
I don't do as much damage as I hope. I'm weaker than I thought, but it at least throws her off her axis. She stumbles back, falling into a pile of dirt. Her screech almost deafens me, but I get up, ready to run. "You bitch!" she yells, whipping the knife at me. I try to block it, but it still makes its mark, slashing the side of my forearm. One would think my pain tolerance should be pretty high right now, but this one takes the cake. I yelp as blood begins to seep from my arm
"You're so dead for this!" She's up and coming at me faster than I have time to react. I assume she's no longer worried about getting her—or should I say my—dress dirty since she tackles me. I try to guard myself from any further injuries but fail. Every single part of my body hurts. We wrestle until she somehow gets on top. Her hand starts to lash, taking swing after swing at my already injured head. I can't stop the waves of dizziness. Fuck, this isn't going well. A few more hits and I'm going to pass out.
Do something, Ruby.
I suck in a deep breath, and with every ounce of strength I have, I flip her. She goes flying, and I swing my body on top of hers. I take my fist and punch her in the face. I moan at my own pain as the cut in my arm tears wider. I just need to get away from her so I can run. I need to run.
I take another swing at her, but I forgot about the object laying right next to her. The one she picks up and slashes me right in the thigh with. I scream in agony and fall to the side. When I realize my head hits a body, I turn and see Chanyeol's face staring back at me.
I scream so loud, Mars can hear. Sheer panic hits me. I'm going to die. I'm bleeding from all sorts of places, I can barely see straight, and Rosé is simply not gonna let it go that I dirtied our dress.
Fight through it. You have to fight through it.
That's a lot easier for you to say, conscience. You're just in my mind. I'm the one who has to do all the physical stuff.
Okay, I must already be dying because I'm arguing with myself right now. With nothing left to lose, I scramble to my feet and start running. I have no idea in what direction, but I push my legs to move. Rosé's screams are close. Too close. I can't do this. The throbbing pain from my head and cut is too severe. Tears pour down my cheeks from the overwhelming sense of defeat. I thought I could push myself, but I'm too hurt. My ankle gives out, snapping to the side, and I fall, screaming the whole way down. I roll on my back, so I can defend myself from the ground.
She's up on me quick, raising her hand, when a voice of God sounds behind me.
"Don't do it, Rosé."
She freezes, mid-stab, and looks to where the voice is coming from. "Oh no, you weren't supposed to see me like this." She smiles and drops her arm.
"It's okay. You look just fine," Lisa says, her voice sounding closer. Tears fall down my cheeks. I'm so relieved to hear her voice.
"Oh, I do? Do you like my dress?" Rosé takes her free hand and begins matting down her hair. She starts to adjust her dress when she notices the tear and blood stains caused from my wound. "Blood. She doesn't like blood. You—"
She points the knife at me, and I hear the crunching of movement getting closer. "Don't! Just put the knife down. She has nothing to do with this. It's just you and me, okay?"
Lisa's speaking crazy talk.
"You and me?" Rosé asks, full of hope.
"You and me. Just put the knife down and walk away from her. Can you do that?"
Her smile is so big, like she just won homecoming court at prom. She hesitates, but then tosses the knife and starts to skip over to Lisa. That's when two officers appear from the shadows and tackle her. She screams and hollers for Lisa.
A third officer pops out from the trees to block me from any further attack when Lisa races to my side. She drops to her knees, cradling my wounded body. "Jesus Christ. Are you okay?" It's still dark and hard to fully see. Her hands roam my body, and I scream out when she hits my thigh. "I need a fucking medic! Now!" she howls, practically shaking the ground beneath me. "Tell me you're okay. Please speak."
I start to cry. I'm so relieved she's here, but it settles in too quickly where I am and what I just endured.
"I need a fucking medic!" Lisa shouts, her voice shaky. Bright lights explode around the woods, lighting up the area I've been a prisoner in. The brightness sets a pulse to my head, but I force myself to look around. Two officers kneel next to Chanyeol's body. In the far distance, someone is forcing an unstable blonde's head into a police vehicle. I think I spot Jisoo, but I'm also very dehydrated and concussed, because I also think I see Elvis standing next to her. I inhale a ragged breath and bring my eyes back to the one person I worried I would never get to see again. Her eyes are on fire, that amber glow making me feel safe.
Then I look at what she has on.
"Why are you in a set of hospital scrubs?"
"Long story."
I try to sit up, but it's impossible. The wooziness hits and white spots blur my vision. "Don't try to get up. Please. Baby, just don't move."
I listen for once because I don't have another choice. I feel so weak, and tired, and I just kind of want to sleep.
"Hey, Lisa?" I call for her, using the last of my energy.
"Yeah, baby."
"If I make it out of this, I just want to let you know I'm not opposed to role-playing. Keep the scrubs." Before I get to hear her response, I black out.
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