Ruby stared at the floor in horror. The edges of her vision shook, shrouded in a black haze.
"Let's start with the basics," he drawled, arms crossed lazily over his chest. "What's your name?"
Gasps began pouring out of her mouth when she attempted to form words, her eyes still trained on the lines racing across the floor. She balled her fists and closed her eyes. In the back of her fragmented mind, she thought, I'm Ruby Rose. But I can't tell you that because you wouldn't even believe me. No one would. What else could I say? Make up a name and hope he wouldn't be able to find anything? "I can't tell you," she murmured. "It's compli—"
Ruby suddenly jumped, teeth clenched as she felt the same bolts spiraling back through her again, freezing her in time until the pain finally ebbed. Ruby huffed and her body collapsed, head falling into her lap. In the daze, she saw the red sores on her skin, two pooling blossoms of angry red flesh.
"I'll ask you again," he sighed, fiddling with the taser in his fingers. "What is your name?"
"I'm not lying," she sprayed, pulling herself back up. "What do you want me to do here? Tell you a fake name?" Ruby paused, suddenly out of breath. Her entire body felt heavy, and there was a weight on her lungs.
Roman rolled his eyes and prepared to tase her again. Ruby flinched back, "Stop, stop, stop!" she spluttered. "I'm telling the truth!"
Roman leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, brows knitted. "You have not told me a single thing."
Ruby huffed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Her leg shook from the resonating pangs of pain.
"Try me," he said, lowering his voice. Ruby knew she was agitating him, but she hardly cared. She would not have been able to lie.
Ruby laughed. "Okay then, I'm a huntress assigned to saving your life."
"And why, pray tell—" Roman scoffed. "Would a huntress do that?"
"Your genetics," she said. Her body folded inward on itself. She stared in her own lap, hoping that it would be good enough.
"Explain. Now." He brought the taser up to her eyes, Ruby jumping back and shuddering at the thought of being tased again.
"It's a long story," she muttered.
"Then sum it up." His face contorted again, clearly showing the anger boiling beneath the surface. Ruby's eyes softened. He has no idea what's coming for him. And as much pain as he has caused and is causing to me right in this moment, he can't die. And if she did tell him the full truth, he would only be confused.
"You apparently have a genetic marker that prevents you from contracting one of the most devastating pandemics in Remnant's history. Your specific genome is the only one of its kind, and we haven't been able to replicate it."
Roman's features changed from that of anger to confusion, and he paused before speaking again. "First of all, my medical records have all been scrubbed. Any and all bloodwork and dentristy in Vale's archives are now gone. So how would scientists even know that I would be a suitable candidate?"
Ruby paused. How much could she afford to give away? "They didn't get it from pre-existing records," she started.
Roman squinted, appearing genuinely confused. "If you're trying to talk your way out of this, you're doing a terrible job."
Drawing in a deep breath, Ruby listed her head to the ceiling and tried to think of ways to phrase it, but she had never been very good at getting herself out of trouble, especially when lying was involved. Ruby had to laugh at the irony, trying to save a man's life when what she was trying to do could very much condemn it. "I'm a shitty liar," she said.
"Explain before I get aggressive with this," Roman said.
Ruby set her jaw, facing him head on. "Fine. They got it from your autopsy."
Roman drew back for a moment, processing what she had said, and then laughing to himself. Ruby stared, unwavering, fingers wrapped around the armrest.
He lurched forward, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pressing the metal prongs on the taser into her throat. Ruby's eyes widened in alarm, shaken by the sudden motion. "You know," he spoke, lowering his voice. "I am almost glad that you're still determined to lie—"
"None of it is a lie." Ruby's eyes harden. "I can identify the exact genome in your genetic makeup right now—not that it would do you much good, but it would say that I at least know what I'm talking about."
"I'm not stupid," he growled. "You want me to run off and try to verify this bullshit so you can slip out and run away?" His hand wrapped around her throat, pulling her even closer.
She could feel his hot breath on her face. "How about we make a deal?"
"You are not in a position to negotiate with me."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Ruby jerked her right arm, catching his attention. "Cut this one off and I can prove to you right now that I'm not lying. If you aren't convinced, take your stupid cane and blow my head into a bunch of stupid pieces."
"You really think you can get out of your restraints in the time it takes me to cross the room and grab it?"
"No, I know I can't. But you have made it abundantly clear that there's no other way out."
Roman faltered. The grip on her neck loosened, and she tried to detect any signs of hope within his face, but he was exceedingly good at masking it, even as he removed a pocketknife from his pocket. He extracted the blade with a flick of his thumb and stuck it underneath the zip tie. "Keep in mind, I am more than close enough to kill you with this."
The edge of the blade pressed into her skin, causing her to cry out softly. Roman shuddered a breath onto her cheek. Ruby looked up at his skin, inches away from her face, realizing that she had moaned directly into his ear. Ruby blushed.
The zip tie snapped away from her skin, and Roman moved away. Ruby dipped her head to hide the flush on her face, instinctively cradling her forearm.
"Well?"
Ruby's arm shook as she reached up to her eyes. She paused, controlling the shaking in her fingers before she removed the contacts. She blinked a couple of times, raising her face to look back at his.
"Wait." Roman's cool demeanor washed away, replaced with surprise. "You're—"
"Ruby Rose," she finished. "The person responsible for your death."
Helloooooooo! Mima here. I'm gonna be taking over the story for Sera because she has a whole bunch of shit on her plate-especially medical paperwork. She gave me the original direction for this story, and I have made a couple of adjustments to the original plotline, but I think you'll like them :) I'm excited to see what you guys think! Until next time ~
