Chapter 32: Chapter 32

"Jasmine, you don't have to do this!" Uncle Tobias yells, desperately trying to free himself from his restraints. I continue holding eye contact with Jasmine, the blue in hers burning with a hatred for me. My eyes flicker to the end of the barrel and I swallow, my throat running dry as I picture her pulling the trigger on me.

"Go on. Beg for your life." Jasmine says icily, ignoring Woody's and Tobias' protests entirely. It's like her and I are the only people in the warehouse, her entire attention is focused on me. I scoff at her words, shaking my head in protest —

"Never going to happen. If you want to shoot me, shoot me. Begging for my life isn't going to save me." I respond back shortly. Jasmine sneers at me, unhappy with my response. I stare her down coldly, the emotion completely rid on my face.

"Ruby, are you crazy?! Don't tell her to shoot you!" Woody yells at me. I ignore him and continue staring down Jasmine, noticing her chest rising and falling from the adrenaline cursing through her body.

"This isn't a movie Ruby... Nobody is coming to save you. Nobody knows where you are." Jasmine says to me, thriving off the situation. I blow out a deep breath, turning my head slowly to the far end of the warehouse. A smug smile flickers across my face as my eyes fall on two shadows in the distance.

"That's where you're wrong... My entire life is a movie." I respond, turning to face Jasmine again. Her eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as she attempts to make sense of my words. . .

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Drop the fucking gun."

Jasmine freezes in front of me at the alien voice and the smug smile on my face deepens.

"Surprise bitch." I whisper. A micro-second later, the sound of a gunshot goes off in the warehouse and I jump, squeezing my eyes shut tightly and flinging my head to the side. I can hear my heartbeat thudding in my ears as silence eventually falls upon us. It feels like time stands completely still and I blow out a deep breath, wondering whether I'm still alive or whether this is the beginning of my afterlife.

I can't feel the flames of hell so I figure I'm not dead just yet.

"Oh god, Ruby! Are you okay?!"

I open my eyes and don't realise I'm crying until my vision blurs and tears run down my cheeks. Auntie Ivory runs towards me, her hands wiping at my cheeks and pushing my hair back in a motherly fashion. I cry harder at the sight of her, my eyes falling to see Jasmine withering on the floor with a gunshot in her right leg.

"You came." I whisper, tears invading my mouth. Auntie Ivory looks at me intensely, her eyes burning into mine. She leans forward and embraces me as tightly as she can, holding me close.

"Of course I did. . . I'm family."

I blink back the tears and notice Ben standing over Jasmine, his face the look of thunder. He's holding a gun in his right hand and he leans down, taking Jasmines gun from her. Jasmine cries out in despair, clutching at her leg as she desperately looks up at Ben.

"Please don't kill me." She whimpers, her voice full of fear. Wow, how the tables have turned...

Ben barely blinks in remorse, lifting his gun and aiming it at her head. I hold my breath as I wait for him to pull the trigger but before he does, he turns to look at Ivory for permission. She grimly nods her head, signalling for Ben to go through with it before I quickly yell out, stopping him —

"No, wait!"

Everyone turns to face me, a questionable look on their faces. Ivory leans forward, placing a hand on my cheek.

"She tried to kill you honey. . . She needs to go."

"She's the only person who knows where my parents are. We keep her alive, for now." I respond, turning to look at Ben. His dark eyes flicker across mine before he nods and takes a step back, pocketing his gun inside his jacket. I blow out a breath of relief, ignoring Jasmine's pathetic protests on the floor.

"Untie me please." I whisper to Ivory and she nods, signalling for Ben to do the same to Tobias and Woody. I turn to look at Tobias and find him looking completely speechless, the colour from his face drained. As soon as I'm free, I run towards him and embrace him tightly.

"Thank god you're safe." He whispers, running his hand over my hair. I sniffle into his chest, clinging onto him for comfort. After several moments, he pulls back, searching my eyes —

"How did Ivory and Ben get here?"

"I text her on the way here last night, just incase. I wanted her to know our location and I told her if she didn't hear from me again to come and find us because it meant we were in trouble." I explain. He nods slowly, the gears inside his head turning as he processes the information.

"You did the right thing Ruby." Uncle Tobias says, pulling me into him for a second time. Despite the pain soaring through my body, I smile, feeling proud of his praise. He gently pulls me back and inspects the cut on my head, his eyes filling with worry.

"You need to go to the hospital and get that looked at, you have a serious head injury sweetheart."

I gingerly lift my hand to my head, the sticky feeling of blood covering my fingers. Now that the adrenaline of being almost shot and rescued has wore off, I feel myself beginning to grow woozy again and nod my head at Tobias, agreeing with him.

Behind me, Woody charges upto Tobias and I, embracing us tightly. I breathe in his scent, grateful that we're all alive and breathing right now. If it wasn't for Ivory and Ben, I probably would be lying dead right now, still tied up. I glance at Jasmine from the corner of my eye and breathe a sigh of relief as she's being closely watched by Ben. He's making sure she doesn't move anywhere or try anything as we recover from our night of hell.

"That was a close call, right?" Woody says, blowing out a deep breath. He turns to look at me, his face full of relief. I give him a small smile in reassurance but find myself stumbling on my feet, losing balance.

The ringing in my ears and the woozy feeling takes over with no warning so I try to shout for help but the inability to speak has been completely taken away from me. Dark spots appear in my vision and I stumble forward again, holding out my hands for balance. It doesn't work and within seconds, I feel myself falling to the floor . . .

"Ruby?"

"Ruby?"

"Ruby!"

Ivory, Woody and Uncle Tobias all say my name in unison as I groan quietly, my legs buckling underneath my weight. I don't know whether I fall from exhaustion, mental strain or physical injury.

It could well be all three.