Ruby Read online

  Chapter Five

  “We’ll be safe for a little while. At least until they figure out where we’ve gone,” Charles said. He turned to walk forward and the ground disappeared beneath him.

  “Charles!” Sammie exclaimed.

  A groan from below let them know he was alive. “I’ve fallen on a sharp rock.”

  “Are you cut?”

  Mawri had started to cry after witnessing her daddy fall.

  “It’s okay baby, Daddy just has a booboo,” he yelled back up for her. Sammie clutched the toddler and bounced her.

  “Okay girls, come with me,” Ruby said, leading them away from the scene and trying to look for more booby traps. “Sammie, do you have blankets?”

  “Yes, I do.” Sammie reached into a bag she’d taken from their cell and pulled out three worn blankets.

  Ruby spread them on the ground and picked Mawri up.

  “You two are going to have a slumber party. I know you need sleep so you’re going to nap while we fix daddy’s booboo, okay?”

  The two girls didn’t argue. They lay down and allowed her to cover them with the blankets. Mawri stuck her thumb in her mouth and started to twirl Rori’s hair around her finger. She was out within a few seconds and after about a minute Rori fell asleep as well.

  “I’m going to come down there and see if I can help,” Ruby yelled down to Charles.

  She slowly climbed down the hole to Charles, and examined his leg. There was some blood but it didn’t look deep. She moved the pant leg out of the way, where they’d become soaked and stuck to his leg, and found a nasty gash.

  “Sammie, I need some water and a clean cloth,” she called up to her.

  “Got it,” Sammie said.

  “What happened to your friend?” Ruby realized they hadn’t returned with the man they’d gone to save.

  “We were too late.” Charles looked down. “How bad is it?” he asked, pointing to his leg, which he’d not moved since falling in the hole.

  Ruby leaned over Charles and put pressure on the wound. “It’s not that bad, we’ll have you fixed in no time.” She smiled.

  He sat up and groaned. Charles looked over at her, his blue eyes shining with gratitude. Her stomach clenched. He was a very attractive man and he was brave, which made him even more so. She tucked some hair behind her ear.

  He reached over and moved it back in her face.

  “I like your hair framing your face,” he said, “it’s pretty.”

  “Thank you.” Ruby felt the blood rush to her cheeks. He reached out and did the same thing on the other side.

  She stilled as his hand brushed over her neck on the way back down. When she looked up at him, he was staring at her, a smile on his face. Was she reading this wrong? Her stomach tightened even more and she licked her lips. Leaning forward she moved her head towards his. Hesitating, she waited to see if that’s what he wanted. His hand went around her neck and pulled her the rest of the way. His lips brushed hers first and then he pressed their mouths together, his fingers digging into her neck. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she parted her lips.

  His tongue thrust into her mouth and the tightness in her stomach was replaced with sensations that went all the way down her abdomen. Throbbing ensued between her legs and she threw a leg over him before she knew what she was doing.

  She pressed against him, pushing her tongue back into his mouth. The sensation at her core intensifying as she moved against him. She felt him harden beneath her and gasped, wetness pooling between her folds.

  What was she doing?

  The kiss gained fire and intensity and she moaned deeply, feeling overtaken by desire until a small throat clear brought her back to herself.

  She looked up to see Sammie looking down at them and jumped away from him quickly. She was ashamed but her desire had not been extinguished.

  “Throw a rope down to help us out of this hole Sammie, please.”

  Sammie disappeared and a vine came down a few minutes later. Ruby didn’t want to go up to the surface, but Charles encouraged her with a nod. She wrapped her hand around the vine and pushed her up by her butt. His fingers grazed over her mound. Surely he felt the heat from her body. The fire ignited deep inside her again. She would have glared at him but she was busy climbing to the surface to face the music.

  Sammie didn’t say anything, just turned away and dropped the vine down for Charles. The two women helped him up, pulling the rope. His injured leg made it hard for him to get a grip on the wall of the trap with his feet.

  She washed and wrapped his wound not looking him in the eye. She also didn’t look at Sammie.

  Once he had been doctored, she sat on the ground beside him studying a stick. “I’m so sorry, Sammie. I don’t know what came over me, I think it was the fact we were almost killed. I never touch married men, I just don’t know what came over me.” She realized she was repeating herself.

  “Ruby, it’s okay,” Sammie said.

  “No, it’s not okay,” Ruby stated. She didn’t really know what else to say. They were running for their lives and she let her stupid sex drive get in the way of what should have been happening.

  “It is, listen. Charles and I have what some would call an open relationship. We welcome other women, and men into our bedroom. Both of us are attracted to you, he just made the first move.”

  For a minute she wasn’t sure she’d heard her right. Her parents had taught her while they were polyamorous not a lot of the universe was. Most people, they’d said, would not agree with the way they lived.

  “That’s such a strange thing,” Ruby said.

  “I know, and most of the people where we’re from think so, too. We aren’t open about it and we’ll completely understand if you aren’t into it.”

  “No,” Ruby said, “I should say it’s a strange coincidence.”

  The two looked at her confused.

  “I have two moms and two dads.”

  “Really,” Charles exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

  “Yeah. They all love each other, but they’ve always told me their way is not the way of everyone.”

  Sammie leaned in closer to her and smiled. “It’s the only way.” She brought her face close to Ruby’s and the ache returned in her stomach.

  They heard angry voices nearby and heavy footsteps. The Hallaw had found them.

  Charles sprang up a little too fast and fell back down.

  “Stay, I’ll go see,” Ruby said. She got up and stayed low to the ground. She ran towards the entrance they’d come into the forest through and hid behind a large tree. There were only two Hallaw’s and she surmised this might be a hunting spot for them, with the trap. It made sense. They could take on two. The weapon she had was set to stun and kill. She thought long and hard about whether she should kill them or not.

  “Mommy,” Mawri’s small voice caught her attention and she rushed back towards the others. A shout and Sammie’s screech pierced the air. The other two Hallaw were alerted and Ruby had no choice. She shot them.

  When she made it back to them, Charles was standing over one on the ground with his gun pointed at it. Sammie lay on her back with Mawri and Rori standing over her.

  “Once came up from behind, and scared the baby. Sammie rushed him and he shot her. We have to help her.

  Ruby took a deep breath and hoped the wound wasn’t too bad.

  Chapter Six

  Ruby moved Mawri and Rori back to their blankets.

  “I need you two to stay here so we can help Sammie, okay?”

  The two girls nodded, their eyes wide. Ruby hoped the commotion wouldn’t draw any more attention.

  She made her way over to Sammie and Charles.

  “The girls okay?” Sammie asked between moans, as she tried to fight the urge to scream from the pain.

  “They’re fine, I’m worried about you,” Ruby said as she pulled the material free from Sammie’s wound. The shot had hit her on her lower belly. She hoped it had jus
t grazed her and not gone through. She was saddened to see a large hole in her abdomen.

  Ruby pointed at Charles and directed him. “I need you to keep pressure right here. Can you do that?”

  “Of course,” Charles said. Sammie went in and out of consciousness from the pain.

  “We are going to have to seal the wound and hope she isn’t bleeding internally. We can cauterize it with the laser gun. It’s going to hurt. But if we don’t seal the wound, she will die from blood loss quickly,” Ruby said as she wiped the hair out of her face.

  Charles had a pained expression and nodded, “Do what you have to do, I can’t lose her.”

  “Okay. We have to get this done fast and get her moved somewhere safe. We really need to get out of here. Take off your belt, she will need to bite down on it,” Ruby said to Charles.

  Charles nodded and began to undo the belt. Ruby examined the laser gun, making sure it was set to stun. It would be just strong enough to seal her wound, but not strong enough to burn all the way through. Charles handed his belt to Ruby and kneeled down next to Sammie, taking her hand into his to comfort her. Ruby doubled his belt and placed it in Sammie’s mouth.

  “Sammie, I’m going to have to cauterize this. Or you will bleed to death. It doesn’t look like there is any internal bleeding. But we need to get you into a body scanner. Are you ready?” Ruby said to Sammie, then took her hand and squeezed it.

  “This is going to hurt, prepare yourself,” Ruby said as she let go of her hand, placed the silver laser against her abdomen and squeezed the trigger. Sammie screamed and bit hard into the belt. The smell of burning flesh wafted up and assaulted Ruby’s nose.

  “I need you to help turn her over so I can seal the other side,” Ruby said to Charles, knowing there had to be an exit wound. Charles let go of Sammie’s hand and helped roll her over. Ruby pressed the end of the silver laser against her back and pulled the trigger. She moved the light up her back until the open wound was sealed with freshly burned skin. The exit wound was much larger than the entry wound. By the time Ruby was done sealing her wound Sammie had passed out from the pain. Ruby looked over her back and double checked everything was sealed.

  “She should be good. Now we need to get her out of here,” Ruby said as she put the laser away.

  “I’ll go get find a ship so we can get her out of here,” Charles said.

  “No, you should stay here with Sammie. She can’t wake up without you here. She could easily go into shock, so you need to keep her warm, and watch for bleeding. We’ll know within the next twenty-four hours if she has internal bleeding or not.

  Ruby rushed away from them to go find a ship. They had planned to all go together, but now things had changed. She needed to get a ship and get back to them fast.

  She ran through the woods until she arrived at what looked like a scavenger yard. It was funny how certain things brought back memories. She and Sca had been looking for a part for Baston on a strange planet in just such a scavenger yard. The difference was those ships had been protected by worgles.

  A worgle was as tall as her waist with teeth the size of her fingers. They had skin like a furry rug, and it was soft. Some had them as pets on the planet. The owner of the scavenger yard had them as guards. They were not a friendly creature and her dad had the bite marks to prove it. This scavenger yard seemed to be worgle free.

  A large fence surrounded the yard but she didn’t see any signs of life. Ruby stuck her fingers in the fence and started to climb up and over the other side. She ran behind a large grey ship that had obviously been in some kind of collision. There was no front end.

  She moved on looking for something in one piece. She saw an older ship in the corner, it looked like the one she’d left on Manta Ray. She wondered if it was possible it would actually work.

  She slid into the pilot’s chair and started the process of starting the ship. At first, nothing happened when she pressed the buttons, but slowly it started to power up. The display lit up as the engine roared to life. She almost cried with relief, they were going to escape!

  Ruby pulled the handles back, the ground started to get further away. She pressed the ship up and over the ridge, and looked for a clear landing spot. It was a pure miracle she was able to find a ship that worked. The thought crossed her mind that she’d probably stolen the owner’s personal ship, but she couldn’t worry about that. Their lives, especially Sammie’s, depended on getting off the planet.

  Ruby landed the ship next to the tree line, only a few yards shy of the others.

  “I’ll get the girls,” Ruby called out as she ran out of the ship. “Get Sammie.” She ordered Charles.

  Charles picked up his wife and walked her onto the ship while Ruby picked both girls up. She grabbed the blankets. “We’re getting out of here girls!”

  The two cheered and she carried them onto the ship just as more Hallaw spotted them and started running their way.

  She hurried. The Hallaw were shooting at them as the ship door closed. She tossed the blankets to Charles to cover Sammie and jumped into her seat.

  “Buckle in girls,” she yelled as they lifted into the air. The Hallaw continued to shoot but Ruby was on the fast track from their planet and happily broke through the atmosphere, into space.

  Once they were a good distance she leveled the ship and leaned back in her chair. Sammie moaned from the back and Ruby’s heart went out to her.

  “There has to be something on this ship we could use to help her with the pain. Look for a vial of medicine or alcohol. Maybe in the cabinet over there,” Ruby said as she pointed to a cabinet on the side of the ship.

  “There’s something marked kill the pain in here.”

  “That’s it? Let me see.” Ruby held her hand out. The bottle’s label had worn off. Inside there were pills of an unknown origin. “Look for something else. They might make it worse not knowing what they are.”

  Ruby set the ship on auto-pilot and went looking for ration packs. The girls hadn’t had water or food in a long time and she wanted to make sure they didn’t get dehydrated. She found some water and gave it to Rori. “Drink this sweetie then make sure the little one gets some, okay?”

  “This one says oxycodone. It’s in vials for injection,” Charles said.

  “Yes. Give her half a vial.”

  Charles pulled out the pre-stocked shots and administered one to his wife’s arm. After a couple of seconds, she slipped into a restless sleep. It was all they could ask for. Ruby set a course for the closest planet. It was called Tomlin. She could only hope it was friendly. According to the navigation system, they could be there within the day. She hoped Sammie would be able to rest until then.

  “In four hours you can give her the other half.”

  Chapter Seven

  After a few hours of auto-pilot, where Ruby dozed off a few times she stood to stretch her legs. The ship flew just like her father's, the one she'd trained on and she was glad. There were some things she was sure she wouldn't have been able to do with a new ship. The old girl knew where it was going and steadily made its way there. She was walking back and forth checking on everyone realizing she was the only one awake when something caught her eye out the front window. A small craft appeared in the distance seconds before the ship recognized it. It was at least twice as big as their ship and the shape was unfamiliar to Ruby. It was possible the Hallaw had come up after them, but it seemed unlikely they'd deploy a craft for three measly prisoners and two children.

  The ship did appear to be heading in her direction. She hoped the combat styles of the ship were the same as her father's as she turned them on and checked to see if the ship had scanned them. It was actively scanning them and appeared to have made a turn to come their way. She became wary they would be in trouble.

  “Charles, wake up,” she whispered.

  “What. I'm not asleep,” he said and immediately fell back asleep.

  “Charles, I'm not kidding. Get up.”

  This time she said
it a little louder and he popped out of his chair.

  “You see that. What do you think that is?”

  Charles looked at the radar and his eyes widened.

  “It a Craintor battleship. It's not like the one that took us. This one is strictly for bringing people in.”

  “So, us. It's been sent after us.”

  “It would seem that way. Does this ship have hyper-drive?”

  “It does, but if it's anything like the ship I fly, it only works half the time.

  “We might have to risk it. We don't stand a chance unless we run. If we can make it to civilian airspace near Tomlin, they will help us get down.”

  As if the ship had heard them and figured out their plan, they engaged their own hyper-drive. Where the ship was still hundreds of miles away one second, the next it was right beside them. It was indeed twice as big as their ship and Ruby was staring right into their bridge where the Craintors stood. As she weighed their options, they started to power up a weapon. The whole ship pulsed with its energy and glowed a bright green.

  “We need to go now,” Charles said.

  Ruby flipped the plastic box that covered the hyper-drive button, making sure they were still on course for Tomlin, and pressed it. The ship shook for a minute and there was a slight delay that seemed to last an eternity before the ship shot off into space. The Craintors were right behind them. She could see them in the mirrors that showed the back window of the ship. Taking off had momentarily stalled the charge of their weapon but she could see the ship had started to pulse again.

  She turned the cameras where she could see the front of their ship.

  A large green beam shot out towards the ship and she dodged it just before it hit them. The blast made the ship jerk sharply and the girls woke up. Mawri started to cry and Rori started to unbuckle her belt.

  “Stay buckled love. We're hitting a little turbulence,” Ruby said.

  “Charles, the gun is up top. You'll have to return fire to slow them down.”

  Another beam shot out and she dodged it again, but this time it caught one of the ship’s side panels. The ship shuttered and almost fell out of hyper-drive. She briefly considered letting it so the enemy would just keep going, but decided the ship was already under too much pressure and that might cause them to kill the engine.