Chapter Forty-One

Loss of a Loved One

The General Hospital car park was swarming with activity as Nathan Furrow led Ruby through the front gates. There were patients that had been evacuated, some still on their gurneys, some bandaged, some bleeding, all wearing the same expression of shock and dismay on their faces. The men and woman that treated them were a mixture of nurses, doctors, and even civilians. One doctor in particular seemed to be making the rounds, giving directions to the civilians about how to wrap bandages or apply pressure to the wound.

Ruby's eyes looked past the throng of people in front of the ruined hospital to find a fire engine spraying down the flames as best as they could. There were a couple of police cars and an ambulance as well, though the emergency services were spread thin throughout all of Eastbourne. Certainly the road she and Nathan had walked down had been full of burning homes, crying children, and destroyed property. Whatever had happened was clearly a disaster the likes of which the town had never seen.

Suddenly Nathan put a hand in front of Ruby's chest to stop her and Ruby looked at him, too exhausted to get irritated. The events of the car crash and the Nectar that she still felt in her veins had taken her down a very dark road in her mind. After Zach had left and Ruby herself had been shot by Nathan, the shock of it all froze her. Feeling the skin stitch itself back together and the bullet popping out as if it were just a toy was disconcerting at best. Knowing that Nathan had shot to kill was also particularly worrying but Ruby knew that she hadn't been an angel either.

"Something's wrong…" Nathan said as he peered behind one of the fire engines. Ruby followed his gaze to spot two black SUV's nearly hidden in the shadows of the ruined ambulance bay. They were big monsters of vehicles, clearly from American origin. A man leant on the front of the first car, watching the doors of the hospital with a gleam in his eye. He was a strange one, Ruby could tell instantly. It wasn't just the fact that he was wearing a strange t-shirt that depicted the twisted faces of drama, nor the fact that a small smile seemed to be playing on his lips despite the ruins of the hospital in front of him. It was the way he held himself, the aura he exuded. To see that in such a young man was peculiar.

"Who are they?" Ruby asked, her voice raw. All that shouting and screaming at Zach had taken its toll. "Some kind of police?"

"Those aren't British vehicles," Nathan said, his eyes peering suspiciously at the vehicles and the young man. Then, more to himself than Ruby, "…Not Secret Service, either."

Before they could contemplate any further as to who the man represented, a voice called out over the crowd, drawing their attention. Ruby turned and managed to break out a weary smile as Naomi approached. Naomi herself seemed in pain as she hobbled over to them with a limp. She stopped in front of Ruby and for a moment grasped on her knees in pain before straightening up. "Ruby…" she breathed.

"What happened? Is everyone okay? Where's Tanzi?" Despite her exhaustion, Ruby found the questions firing out one after the other. "You're not…?" A lump formed in her throat as Ruby searched around Naomi for any sign of the others.

"No, I am not the only survivor," Naomi answered Ruby's unfinished question. "Jade is over there," she gestured with her hand to one of the lampposts jutting out in the car park. Jade was leaning against one, a phone to her ear, talking rapidly. "She got out safely. Zach is still inside the hospital, trying to save the others. I-I am afraid I do not know the situation. I was with Tanzi and Carol and they were fine when I last saw them. Tanzi ran off – she wanted to find the rest. We were split up but… but I am not sure if they are alive. All I know is Carol ran after Tanzi and the two of them were at least alive last I saw them. Zach followed and he asked me to find you."

"Does he have the Nectar on him?" Ruby asked carefully. She was relieved that Tanzi was okay but extremely worried about the fact that everyone was still in that hospital that was still letting off black smoke into the air.

"One," Naomi informed her. "Zach had to take one in order to make it to us in the first place… then Jade and I took one."

"One…" Ruby repeated and for one brief, terrifying moment, she wished against anything else that Tanzi would take the last Nectar capsule – even if that did mean the deaths of the others. Then she shook her thoughts away. It wasn't fair to think like that.

"Ruby, those capsules, this Nectar… What exactly is it?"

"I don't really know," Ruby admitted. "The Oracle, the man in the lighthouse, he claimed it was the Nectar of the Gods. He claimed it would get us off the List and, at the very least, that seems to be true."

"I saw Zach put his hand in the flames," Naomi said, her eyes wide. "I saw his skin burn and blister and then I saw it go back to normal. When I escaped the hospital, I myself was burned but I healed. How is that possible?"

"The world is always expanding," Ruby said. "I experienced the same sensation of being healed from my injuries. The Nectar is the cause of it. It feels ridiculous to say it but it may be some kind of ma—"

"Look," Nathan's sharp voice interrupted them. He had been watching the man by the SUV's all throughout Ruby and Naomi's conversation and the man had finally made a movement by putting a phone to his ear. At that same moment there was activity at the hospital doors. Slowly and surely, the conversation in the car park started to quiet down as heads turned towards six figures emerging from the flames.

Four of the figures were dressed completely in black and easily drew the majority of the attention. They wore the same black suits with the same black masks though had different identifying marks. A small figure had yellow highlights and yellow-tinted goggles, another was huge like a great oak tree, one strode smoothly, and the other wore a black hood pulled tight over their head. While the civilians and staff alike ogled these men in black, Naomi and Ruby's attention was drawn to the two other figures.

The man in the black hood was grabbing the arm of a bedraggled man who was covered in ash and whose clothes were burned in spots and frayed at the edges. For a moment he seemed a stranger and then they both realised that it was Zach. But it wasn't the Zach they knew – the teenager who always seemed confident was a glint in his eye. In fact, there was no feeling at all in his eyes. They were hollow and blank and seemed to stare straight ahead into nothingness. His free arm was twitching at his side and he had to be pulled along by the man in the hood to move at all.

"Zach…" Naomi breathed in horror, unable to take her eyes off of his devastated state. Ruby, however, could look past Zach to see a form held like a babe in the arms of the biggest member of those men in black.

It was Tanzi and she was clearly in worse shape than Zach. Her eyes were closed, her skin was mottled with burns, and her hair had been burnt short. With her pale skin and the fact her chest didn't seem to be moving, Ruby felt like the weight of the world had suddenly slammed upon her shoulders. She felt her legs buckle and found herself falling to the floor, all strength seeping from her body. "No…" she moaned, her head bowed. "…Tanzi… No…"

"The others," Naomi managed to say, unable to move herself. "I do not see the others…"

In their shock and their grief, neither of the two women could move themselves. Naomi standing and Ruby on her knees. Nathan himself had his fists clenched, looking for any sign of Timothy or Carol. Timothy was one of the finest officers on the force and Carol had been a good friend – truly, one of Nathan's only friends – in his career. She was perhaps the only person to chip through his ice-cold exterior to see the man within.

All three could only watch as the men in black approached the sole ambulance, guiding Zach and carrying Tanzi. The small figure opened the back of the ambulance and the big man stepped inside with Tanzi. The man in the hood gently forced Zach to sit on the curb and crouched in front of him. While they couldn't see any mouths moving because of the masks, they knew that the man in the hood must have been talking to Zach.

"Only going to watch?" A voice rang out, seeming obscenely cheery because of the circumstances. Nathan's head was the only one that turned to the young man in the strange shirt. Ruby's head was bowed as her emotions overcame her and Naomi could only stare at the near-comatose Zach. "I would have thought you would have been rushing to your friends?"

"Who are you?" Nathan words were thin and full of venom. He had no idea of this strange man and he disliked that fact.

"Joshua Valentine, at your service, Detective Inspector," the young man, Joshua, tipped his head. "We will have to speak shortly." Then he knelt down in front of Ruby and a sympathetic expression filled his face. He gently placed a hand on Ruby's back and leaned in close. "Ruby… Tanzi is alive. She is… hurt, but she is breathing."

Ruby raised her eyes towards Joshua for one long moment. Joshua Valentine straightened back up and offered a hand. Ruby took it with her own shaking hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "A-Alive?"

"Go," he glanced to Naomi. "The both of you. Go on, my men won't hurt you."

With that, Naomi and Ruby needed no more prompting. They walked fast enough that they were practically jogging across the car park, towards the ambulance, relief flooding their faces. It was a selfish relief for both of them. For Ruby, Tanzi was alive and at the very least breathing. Tanzi was alive! Naomi was relieved that Zach had come out again even though he looked absolutely terrible or, Naomi would even go so far as to say, traumatised. Neither spared a moment for the missing members of their group.

"Zach!" Naomi called as she reached the curb. The man in the hood only looked at her briefly before laying his eyes on Ruby. "Zach! Are you okay?" Naomi knelt down in front of Zach and looked at Zach. Zach's eyes at least flickered towards her but it was clear whatever had happened in the hospital had broken him. Those eyes, the gaunt face, the pale skin… It hurt Naomi to see him like this, the man who only twenty or so minutes ago had been full of confidence and bravado. "Zach…" Naomi repeated sadly.

"Let me see Tanzi!" Ruby demanded of the small figure with yellow highlights that was standing by the hospital. "Please!" The goggles-wearing figure, who was a woman now that Ruby was close enough to see, glanced at the other man for a moment. Ruby's gaze turned to him and he looked at her. "Please…" Then the man nodded slowly and the woman opened up the back of the ambulance door.

Ruby climbed into the back of the ambulance frantically and found herself staring at the huge man who had been carrying Tanzi. He had squeezed himself in the corner and was peering down at Tanzi's face. He only gave a glance to Ruby before continuing to survey Tanzi. Ruby herself followed his gaze and stared in amazement at Tanzi.

It was slow going but it was at least obvious enough to see with the naked eye. The burns across her face were slowly disappearing, fading away at a snail's pace. The black on her hands disappeared as did the small cuts and bruises. For a moment Ruby was confused. These effects must have been that of the Nectar but it wasn't happening as fast as it did for her. But that confusion gave way for absolute relief as she stood over Tanzi.

"You're okay…" Ruby croaked to the unconscious Tanzi. "You survived…"

The huge man glanced to Ruby one more time before nodding to her and squeezing his way past to exit the ambulance. He closed the door behind him, leaving Ruby alone with Tanzi.

"Tanzi, I…" On the way to the ambulance, Ruby had a hundred things to say to her. But seeing her on that gurney, unconscious, healing but still in pain, Ruby felt all those things disappear. Instead, she reached down and grabbed Tanzi's hand, clutching it tightly. There were no words and for a long moment Ruby allowed herself to simply hold her close friend, wishing that this had never happened, that Tanzi had never had the vision and that the accident never took place.

Then finally, it hit her. The others… If these strange men in black had brought only Zach and Tanzi then that must have meant… Ruby fell back into a plastic seat on the wall of the ambulance, still holding onto Tanzi, and looked up at the white ceiling. Lucas… Jeffrey… Lacey… the policewoman, Carol… even Jeremiah who wasn't on the List… all dead. All names for Ruby to add. The survivors of Epsilon that had died and the survivors of the road accident on the bridge that had died… more names, more guilt, more pain.

"…It-It isn't fair…" Ruby said slowly, squeezing Tanzi's hand. "It isn't… Isn't fair… I tried so hard… We tried so hard and in the end… In the end they still died… With Paige and now… the others… still… still failed to save them." Ruby had started shaking. Though it wasn't the shaking of anger that she had felt when the Nectar had taken a hold of her. It was the shaking of grief, the shaking of sadness, the shaking of absolute failure to save the lives she had promised to save.

Again, she had failed. Just like Epsilon before.

For a while Ruby sat staring despondently at the ceiling with Tanzi lying beside her, the wounds all healed yet her eyes still closed. She barely moved when the ambulance door opened again and the man with the hood climbed in. He closed the door behind him and then sat without a word on the other fold-down plastic seat. He looked to Ruby closely and finally Ruby looked back at him.

"What?" She croaked. "What do you want?"

Once again, the man didn't say anything. Then he raised one gloved hand and pulled off his mask – revealing a surprisingly young man with a handsome face complete with a square-jaw and dark amber eyes. His hair was long for what Ruby presumed to be some kind of a soldier, curling past his eyes and nearly touching the nape of his neck.

"Do you know me?" The man asked in a gentle voice.

Ruby looked at him, brought out of her misery for a moment to be surprised. Know him? She was certain she'd remember a man like him. She shook her head. "No. Should I?"

"I suppose not. We never met." The man admitted with a small sigh. "Yet my life was changed because of your actions, Ruby."

"You know my name?" Ruby asked suspiciously.

"I do," the man nodded. "And you know mine." He paused for a moment then breathed out loud. "Jason Ryan."

Ruby stared at him for a long moment. "…Jason…" She played the word on her mouth. "Jason Ryan?" Her eyes widened. "No, you're supposed to be dead. We never found you. At the building site, when the accidents continued, when the List continued… you had to be dead."

"I was saved at the last moment," Jason said. "By chance, I suppose, in a way. I was researching the DSI."

"Them?" Then something within Ruby seemed to click. "Is that who you are? You and those others? Are you part of the DSI?"

"We are though I can't talk much more about them. Truly, I shouldn't be talking at all while I am on a mission though Berlin has granted me at least this much. To see you Ruby, there was no way I couldn't thank you for everything you did at Epsilon."

Ruby pressed her lips tightly together. "I didn't do a whole lot of anything. Everyone at Epsilon died."

"Everyone but you and me. Yet you pulled that fire alarm and you made me leave the concert hall. That set in motion a chain of events that led to the man I am now. And Ruby… The man I am now is a man that I never thought I would be." Jason glanced to the door for a moment then let out a sad smile. "My journey has been one of learning and tragedy yet it has been one of self-discovery. I was but a boy at Epsilon but because of you and what you did – despite the people holding you back – that boy is gone. I've accepted my faults… admitted my sins… and I've been able to move forward.

"Ruby, I know what you are feeling. After what happened at the hospital, the deaths of the survivors… I know you must be thinking that you failed." Jason leaned forward intently. "Let me tell you, from a survivor you saved… you haven't failed." He gestured towards himself. "You didn't fail me." He gestured towards Tanzi. "You didn't fail her." Then he gestured to the window. "…Naomi, Zach, Jade… You didn't fail them. You saved their lives and because of you they will get to live for a very long time without the risk of injury or death. Do you know what people would do to get a hold of what you had? The Nectar of the Gods…" Jason shook his head sadly. "A rarity… One that could have its uses."

"I didn't make the Nectar," Ruby said stiffly.

"No. Yet you accepted it from that so-called Oracle. You trusted Zach with it and he got it to the rest. It all goes back to you, Ruby. Going to the school and saving Jeffrey. Helping Tanzi with her vision. Your experience meant that instead of two survivors… this time there are four. Four human lives is amazing when it comes to this List, Ruby. I've learnt a lot about it in my time at the DSI and do you know have many people have died to the List? Eighty-seven percent of survivors are killed. Visionaries included. But that thirteen percent is because of people like you… People who never gave up, who kept on fighting, and who found a solution.

"I am truly sorry for the deaths of those survivors, but don't let their deaths weigh you down, Ruby. Let the survival of Tanzi, of Naomi, Jade, and Zach, of me, let our survivals bring you up. You've fought so hard even when you weren't on the List for you to give up now. Don't." Jason looked down to Tanzi. "You need to keep smiling. For Tanzi. For yourself. Keep smiling and keep moving forward. Don't let Death have the upper hand. Don't let him have the last laugh."

Ruby found herself looking at Jason for a long time. Once again she was unable to form the words she wanted to say. Instead, she found herself bowing her head and feeling the weight finally sliding off her shoulders. "Thank you." Then she looked up. "But why are you here? I didn't call Lisa."

"We were on a mission," Jason said. "Well, two missions, really. The first was to capture a high priority target, though that's impossible now. The other was… well…" Jason glanced away for a moment as he spoke. "To acquire Tanzi Sakamoto."

"…Excuse me?" Ruby's voice was quiet yet deadly.

"I understand this may come as an unwelcome shock yet… you realise that Tanzi Sakamoto has a power, correct? That her visions aren't just like normal visions."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked with narrowed eyes.

"She takes on the personalities… the memories… the lives… of those in her vision."

"I think you're speaking out of your—"

"He's right, Ruby…" Her voice was timid and quiet yet Ruby heard it all the same. She turned to look at Tanzi on the bed and her eyes were open. "He's right."

"Tanzi?"

"I didn't tell you… I didn't want to worry you. You had so much on your plate." Tanzi tapped her head. "You said it was strange that I… experienced… all those deaths in my vision in the first place. Well, over the course of the visions I've had regarding the List… each time I became more and more like the people I saw. For a while I saw their memories… then I experienced them… then I became them… I saw into Jade's mind… into Paige's…"

"…Tanzi, you… you dealt with that… all on your own?" Ruby's voice cracked slightly.

"Naomi found out as well so I was able to tell her…" Tanzi said. "Nathan Furrow, the Detective Inspector, he knew as well. In the end, it was because of my… my ability that he even agreed to find you. Seeing me change my personality so suddenly intrigued him. I think he got more than he bargained for though…" She chuckled weakly then glanced to Jason. "What do you want to 'acquire' me for, if I may ask?"

"That ability of yours is more than the Vision. Is more than the List. It is something else." Jason peered at the door again for a moment before nodding. "You are not the only one with abilities like these. We, the DSI, have discovered a smattering of people who have strange powers over things that should not be possible, that break the rules of all known logic. Truth be told… I am one of those people."

"How so?" Tanzi asked.

"I see ghosts…" Jason admitted quietly before correcting himself. "Though, not all ghosts. The ghosts of those-those that I've killed." He looked at the door again. "You can't see them but there are two more ladies in this ambulance, watching over me. Both of them I love. Both of them I killed. I didn't know what these ghosts were until the DSI explained it to me. They helped me understand it. Helped me control it." He turned to Tanzi again. "That is what we want to help you with, Tanzi. We want to help you control your power, to understand it and to develop it. We want you to come to the DSI. We want you to join us."

"No!" Ruby stood up but Tanzi touched her on the arm, sitting up herself.

"Ruby…" She said. "I thank you for standing up for me but please, let me make this choice. I know you want what is best for me… but so do I, though I fear they may be two separate things."

"Don't," Ruby said, looking into Tanzi's eyes. "Please, don't… I just got you back… I just…"

"I have to go with him," Tanzi said firmly. "I have to go to the DSI and understand these powers. I think this Nectar is helping me deal with the pain but in that hospital I could barely move. Each time I had a vision I had those memories. Every vision gave me a new set of memories and my brain couldn't hold onto them. I started to lose sight of who I was and what I was and that…" Tanzi shivered. "That scared me more than anything. I thought I was becoming like my mother. Not knowing who I was. Not knowing who the people around me are." She stood up off the gurney and faced Ruby. "I am scared, Ruby. I am scared that this power of mine will make me forget about my life. I am scared that I will wake up one morning, see you and not know who you are."

Ruby dropped back into her seat, defeated. Tired, she looked to Jason. "When… When would you go… When would you take her?"

"We would have to leave immediately," Jason said. "We can pick up your things later but the DSI are a quiet organisation. Our presence here has already been noted by that Detective Inspector. Our handler is weaving a story as we speak, though I doubt he'll be utterly convinced."

"Immediately…" Ruby whispered, shaking her head.

"Jason… Can you leave us?" Tanzi asked.

"Of course. Don't take too long. Are handler will get antsy." With that, Jason pulled back on his mask and left the ambulance, once more leaving Ruby and Tanzi alone.

"Ruby—" Tanzi started but was interrupted by Ruby suddenly standing up and pulling her in for an immensely tight hug.

"Thank you!" Ruby croaked. "Thank for you for being there for me. When I came to Eastbourne I wanted to run away from everything that happened to me in London. To run away from Sabrina, to run away from it all. You were there and you were brilliant and you were able to make me continue living my life. After Sabrina… after seeing the sky split open… I thought that my happiness was over. Never did I think I would find it again. Tanzi… Tanzi, you are my happiness… I appreciate… appreciate everything you've done for me… So much more than you know… I understand why you have to go. This world is so crazy right now so I understand… so thank you."

"I should be thanking you," Tanzi said, pulling away slightly so she could place her forehead on Ruby's own. Her hair was still burnt short yet what little remained intermingled with Ruby's own red hair. "Without you to guide me I would never have acted upon that vision and we would have all died on that bridge. Without you to keep me going I would have given up a hundred times over. Without you I would have been so lonely, so immensely lonely. I ran away as well and there you were, ready to listen to my problems and be there for me. It was amazing beyond words. You have nothing to thank me for. Nothing at all. I don't know how long it will be but I will come back. When I do, I hope you're there, smiling the greatest smile you can possibly manage." Tanzi put a hand against Ruby's cool cheek. "Jason was right. You don't deserve to be unhappy. You've done so much for so many people. Ruby, it goes without saying but… you're a hero. A hero to the people you've saved. A hero to me."

A brief knock on the door interrupted them and Tanzi pulled away. She looked sadly at Ruby before letting the sadness disappear and smile widely. "It's a new chapter in our lives. Yet no matter what happens, you need to smile!" And with that, Tanzi left the ambulance and for the second time in only a few short years, Ruby Ascot had to watch someone she loved dearly leave from her life.

A/N:- And so, once more, Ruby is left alone. Tanzi, Ruby, Zach, Naomi and Jade. They survived the Elimination Game and will move forward with their lives - lives which have been changed dramatically. One more chapter to go - the Epilogue - and things'll come to a close! Thanks as always for reading and see you next time!