Chapter 17: The Boat
Ruby waited silently around the corner of a small home. The only light she had was the setting sun and the people's lanterns. Her ears straight up, waiting for a sound. Earlier, she had been banging on the doors to the council's building.
Now, her green eyes watched as the residents in this town passed by as they usually did. They were completely unaware of her. That's exactly how I want it, she thought to herself.
The two reasons she stopped is because she was getting tired of banging on the doors and she thought she had heard Cheren coming her way. She just hoped Cheren was far from her.
Her left ear twitched. She quickly looked to her left with a cold glare on her face. She relaxed once she saw it was a goose with a little one on his back. She took a small step back, continuing to hide in the shadows.
Ruby needed to figure out a way to get to the place Zenghui and their parents stayed in. She tried to remember the name of the building. She didn't remember the name. But she did remember that it was close to the council's building.
She had a small picture of the little hotel she had dashed past earlier. Maybe they stayed there, she thought to herself.
Ruby began to come out of the shadows. She needed to act casual. She kept in mind that she shouldn't be noticed very much. Ruby walked towards the council's building and saw the little building up ahead.
She looked around. People weren't paying too much attention to her. It was just a small glance and then they continued on their way. She continued to go down the sidewalks and approached the place. She heard something. It souned like growling.
She quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw that it was Cheren. He was storming through the streets, tipping over carts, and pushing away people in his way. She quickly went inside the small building and closed the door behind her.
A female sheep swept the floors and stopped once she spotted the red fox. "Oh hello," she said in a sweet voice.
"Hello, is my family here? They go under the name Mr. and Mrs. Xiaolin. They even have a son named Zenghui," Ruby explained.
The sheep placed the small broom against the wall and said, "I'm sorry, sweetie. But they left awhile ago. They left in such a rush too."
Ruby moaned in frustration. She had come so close to finding her brother and parents. She looked around and found the desk for people to sign in. She slammed her fist on it and growled, "I can't believe it!"
The sheep saw that her desk now had a crack in it. "Please, ma'am. Calm down," she said, still in a sweet and calm voice.
Ruby began to have a meltdown. "I don't want to calm down! I shouldn't calm down! I deserve to lose my temper for once," she yelled.
The sheep saw the crocodile, continuing down the streets, pushing away everyone from his path, and tipping over carts. He had stopped after hearing someone yelling. He looked over by the hotel.
She covered Ruby's mouth and pulled her aside. She ducked down behind the wooden desk and waited. Ruby was beginning to calm down.
Cheren began to walk across the street. Bunnies, pigs, and geese ran away from the bandit as he walked by them. Cheren stared at the bamboo door and raised his fist. He was about to punch down the door when he heard someone move in the alley. He smirked. "Come out young one," he said walking towards the alley.
Ruby and the sheep sighed in relief. "I'm sorry," Ruby apologized. "It's been a long day."
"It's alright young one," the sheep replied, getting up and beginning to sweep the floors again. "But why are you here?"
"I'm looking for my brother and our parents. That croc bandit out there, Cheren, is looking for me. He's trying to hold me ransom so he can get his claws on my family," Ruby explained.
The sheep was surprised by this. "Oh my. You have had a rough time. How long has this been going on?"
Ruby looked down for a moment, trying to think of the entire amount of days she had been at this. Minus the days where she was with Valerie, Josie, and Peter. She just shook her head and said, "I don't know."
"Why don't you rest here?" the sheep suggested, gesturing to the dark hallway behind her. "This is a hotel after all."
Ruby bowed to the sheep palm-to-fist style and thanked her. "I deeply appreciate this. But I have to leave quickly. I can't stay in one place very long," she explained.
The sheep nodded. "I suppose I understand."
Ruby watched the sheep as she went out into the hall and came back out with a piping cup of tea. "Relax yourself, child. You need it," she told her.
Ruby thanked her again. She sat down on a small and wobbly chair and drank her tea, taking little sips at a time.
"So, your family is the same family that came here earlier?" asked the sheep.
Ruby nodded. "Yes, they're my family. I miss them so much."
"They're all the way from Gongmen City. It's a long journey from here to there. A couple of hours it is, I believe," she commented, pouring more tea for herself.
Ruby just continued to sip her tea. Her mother always told them to drink tea when they got angry. She said that it would help them relax a little bit. She especially told Zenghui to drink tea. She probably doesn't want him all hyper like me, she thought with a smile.
The sheep, Carol, then asked, "Do you like to travel?"
Ruby looked at her and nodded. "I like to travel around with my brother, Zenghui. He takes me to different places he wants to journey to," said Ruby.
"I know how you could get back to your family," said Carol.
Ruby's green eyes widened slightly, "You do? But I thought the only way back was..."
Carol cut her off. "The boat."
"The boat? What do you mean the boat?" Ruby asked. Then she remembered that there were docks in Gongmen City. There could be docks here in this city as well.
Carol continued on. She gestured down the street from where Ruby had first hid. "Down the hill past a lot of shops. There should still be workers down at the docks. You just tell them about the situation you're in and I'm sure they'll understand and give you one of the boats."
Ruby stood up and gave a bow to the sheep fist-to-palm style. "Thank you so very much, Miss Carol. Words can't express my gratitude," she said smiling.
Carol just placed her white and jade green tea cup on the table as well. "You're welcome dear. Why don't you go and run to the docks before it gets too late?"
She hugged the goat and ended up lifting her up off the floor. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
The squeezing got tighter and tighter and soon started to hurt. "Please, Miss Ruby. Put me down! I can't breathe."
Ruby immediately placed her down and took a step back. "I'm so sorry, Carol. And thank you once again for the information."
"You're welcome, Ruby."
The fox opened up the door and looked around. Ruby didn't spot Cheren or any other bandits. She tip-toed out of the small and comfortable hotel. She listened for any kind of suspicious sound close by. After awhile, she quickened her pace.
Still no suspicious sounds. She went faster. She soon found herself racing through the streets behind houses. While running on all fours, she glanced up and looked at the black tile roofs. She hopped on a few crates that were stacked to climb up onto the roofs.
She started to get carried away and began jumping from house top to house top. She approached the shops and saw that they only had tarps on top of their stands. So jumping onto them wasn't an option for her.
She jumped down from the rooftops and stood with her back against the wall. She looked around the corner, realizing what she just did was careless. She waited in the dark for any sounds. Any slight movements that would indicate someone was close by. Nothing.
She began moving slowly, her back still towards the wall and her green eyes looking everywhere. She wanted to be very cautious. The last thing she wanted was to be captured and the slightest mistake would lead to that. Why do I get so caught up in running? she asked herself in her mind.
After a few nerve-racking minutes, she could see the docks in view and her ticket out of this city just a short walk away. She felt herself get caught up in the moment once more and stopped herself. She crouched down and started walking on all fours. She stopped once the alley she had lurked in led to an open intersection. With the people walking about and the lights gleaming so brightly, she was bound to be spotted.
She tried to think of another way. She was hoping there would be another alley she could go through to get to the docks. She didn't see any. She sighed quietly in annoyance. She would have to go out there despite her chances of being spotted.
Maybe Cheren won't be around this area, a voice in her head suggested optimistically. Then, she spotted the crocodile looking around, seeing if he could spot her or anyone else he could torture. She could picture slapping that voice in her head for speaking.
The fox swiftly went out into the crowd. She tried to walk behind the stands when she could, although some of the people gave her glares whenever she tried walking behind them. They whispered nasty comments like, "Beat it kid," or "Scram will ya?" and also the occasional, "Are you trying to rob me?"
She then bumped into a child who stared at her with wide eyes. She tried to move around the bunny without being noticed, but the bunny kept asking questions. "Are you a thief?"
"No," Ruby replied, trying to move quickly. A group of people walked in front of her, much to her misfortune. Now, she had no way to avoid this child, which would just draw some attention to her.
"Then why do you wear that dark robe?"
"It was a present."
"Did you steal the present?"
Ruby looked the child straight in the eye. "No, little girl. I didn't steal it. I'm a long way from home and I just want to get back there. And to get to home, I need to get to the docks," she said.
The bunny was silent and then whispered, "I can help you."
Ruby's ears went straight up, her green eyes wide, and her attention focused on the child. "You can?" The child nodded with a sweet smile. "Thank you so much!"
"No problem. My daddy can help," the girl said sweetly. But what the bunny did next wasn't so sweet to Ruby. "Hey Daddy!" the girl shouted at the top of her lungs.
Ruby felt like her eye would start twitching, just like Valerie's did when she got stressed out. This bunny wasn't helping at all. She noticed that Cheren was now looking her way and his eyes narrowed as a sly grin formed on his face. Ruby bolted for the docks. She was determined to make it there if it was the last thing she did.
She heard the sound of footsteps behind her as she sprinted down the streets. It probably will be the last thing you do, a voice in her head commented sharply.
She wished she had her bow and arrow so she could quickly turn back and fire them. It would give her lots of time to get a boat and get back home. Cheren was too strong for her to handle on her own. If she had fought with a friend or her brother, they could defeat him. But sadly, she was on her own.
She soon approached the docks and saw an old goat asleep on a brown rocking chair. "Mister!" she cried out.
The old goat was startled and fell of his rocker. He looked around wide-eyed, trying to find who had shouted and saw her. But the goat's eye sight was bad and it was dark out, despite the lights that seemed so far off. He saw something red and purple running his way. It looked eerie to him. The first thought that came to his mind was that this was a thief! He ran into the small wooden home of his and closed the door shut. He tried to block the door the best he could before this 'thief' got to him.
"Wait! Sir! Please open up!" Ruby begged.
She saw through the dark, Cheren, who was coming straight at her. She needed something to stall him so she could get on the boat and get away safely. He would be able to steal a boat and follow after her still. Snapping out of her thoughts, Cheren was now only a few feet away, his scaley green hands outstretched to grab her. Without thinking, she kicked his snout and did a round-house kick, hitting his stomach. He took a few steps back and rubbed his sore snout.
Ruby quicky ran over to the end of the dock, to the last boat tied to it. She quickly tried to untie it and to her surprise, it was loose. She stepped in the small boat and pushed against the dock to give her a head start.
Cheren ran her way and was about to dive in, when something hit him on the head. He made a face and he fell forward, into the water. Ruby blinked a few times, still trying to process in her mind what had just happened. She could just barely see the image of the person who had saved her through the sound waves in the water. They soon became clear.
"Valerie!"
The snow leopard stepped onto the boat and gave Ruby a hug. Ruby began to cry on her shoulder. "It's okay Ruby. It's all over," Valerie told the red fox.
"I was so n-nervous. He just k-kept c-c-coming," Ruby sobbed.
"It's okay," Valerie reassured her. Soon, after a few minutes, Ruby's crying ceased. "I'm sorry I've been mean to you these past couple of days."
"That's alright. I've dealt with troublemakers before," Valerie replied to her. In her head she thought, But none as tricky as you.
Ruby then paused and looked around her as she felt the ground beneath them shifting awkwardly. "Valerie," she said, still hugging the snow leopard.
"Yeah?"
"We're not at the docks," Ruby said seeing the lights in the distance get smaller and smaller.
"What do you mean? The docks are right he-," Valerie had stopped hugging and looked back. She stood there silent with her eyes wide. "Oh no."
Ruby sat down, facing the opposite direction of the city. "We'll be fine. We're going home," she said with a smile.
Valerie slowly sat down and tried to think everything through. She looked over her shoulder to the young vixen. "Your brother was close by. He was searching the woods," she told Ruby after a few quiet minutes on the water.
Ruby didn't reply. Her attention was on the two paths up ahead. She didn't exactly know which one to go down. "Do you have a paddle?" she asked suddenly.
"Didn't you hear me? I said that your brother was nearby," she repeated herself. She then noticed the two paths as well. "No. I don't have a paddle. Maybe we could try using our hands to get back to the docks," the snow leopard said, looking back at the city.
"No turning back," Ruby said. She smirked. "I guess we'll just go wherever the water current leads us."
Valerie sighed. She tried her best not to fret about all of this. Ruby was away from danger. At least, the danger of being armed by Cheren. Now, Valerie had to think of where they were going and how they would get back safely. She crossed her arms and watched as the lights continued to get smaller and smaller, until they seemed like a speck in the distance.