Chapter 1: "Save Me,"

Chapter 1: "Save Me,"

───── ❝ T H I R D  P E R S O N ' S  P O V ❞ ─────

"Fuck off, you bastards!"

With her crimson hands grappling on the steering wheel, Ruby silently cursed while glancing at her rear view mirror. Her bloodshot orbs was now wide opened, tears dangerously dangling within its edges. Her once enchanting face had bruised all over, and her whole body were tremendously shaking.

A look of 'I'm pissed' was in her attitude, but above all... she's actually terrified.

"Shit, shit, shit... " She ironically breathed, promptly glancing up to the dark sky. Without awareness of the road, her car moved over the highway, yet on her tail, two cars was persistently chasing up, their lights on full beam. She watched how the yellowed, yet bright light played in the droplets, showing this deluge, this flood from the sky, in apparently solitary drops.

The rain began to fall. Slow, at first, but then it steadily became faster and heavier, thus stirring typhoons in her heart and head.

With those screeching cars inching forward with her, Ruby could feel fresh drops of blood cascading down her forehead while her heart rate was dangerously skyrocketing.

"I didn't do anything wrong, assholes!" She chanted, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her breathing was ragged and her heart was pounding, but she forced herself to calm down.

"Please, please go away..." She whispered to herself, her voice shaking.

"Fucking go away!"

But as she looked in her mirror, she could see the anger in their eyes.

"Pull the car over, little bitch!"

They were yelling at her, shaking their fists, and she knew that this was not going to end well.

"Ah, darn it..." Brushing the trickles of her crimson blood off her face, her white hands was now painted with gore. Her perception was steadily getting hazy, and so does her wounded forehead.

Ruby had never felt so scared in her life, but right now, she didn't know how to handle this with her injured state. For the first time in her life, she wanted to run far, to go home, to curl up in a ball, and never come out again. But she knew that was not an option.

And so she kept driving.

Stepping onto the gas pedal as hardly as her strength can make through, her red vehicle glided to the slippery road-miles and miles further- attempting to pass along the dilemma she's been locked into.

Minutes have passed and she's barely made any progress. Every turn, every hill, seems to be more difficult with those men constantly tailing her from behind. She could feel the car swerving and tipping, the tires spinning mercifully in the wet road. She could feel the car slipping and sliding, the headlights shining weakly in the darkness.

"Why can't they just leave me alone?!" Her subconscious mind filled up, as she she's been stuck on an interstate, driving in circles. She has no idea where she's going, and moments from now, she know she'll be running out of gas.

But she won't give up. Not yet.

Just then, something in her perception hit her like a bolt of lightning.

Miles lane, she was able to decipher a sign that leads to the back road where no one hardly goes down. It was a sign that she had never seen before. She had a dreading sense of feeling that it will direct her to the back road, where no one went.

Welcome to Oakwood Veil Express

She took a glance on the mirror, just enough to notice that one car that had been chasing her, was now down. Only one was left for her. She took a deep breath and put on a brave face, before speeding up.

"Hah... guess my freaking guardian angel was still working night shift," she echoed on her own thoughts, breathing a sigh of relief as she quickly turned her wheels down that unknown road. She had never been so sure of anything in her life. This was it. The place where she would finally be able to find the freedom she so desperately needed.

Minutes later, her subconscious mind crowned her fears down. Right now, I'll call this Getaway Express, since this was probably my only ticket to freedom. I don't plan on going to hell today with those men. I have my whole life ahead of me. She said those words to herself, because she knew this was the moment she had been waiting for.

But as she approached the deepest and darkest lines of the road, she could feel something lurking in the shadows. It was as if the darkness was welcoming her, drawing her in. She shuddered as she skipped down the unknown trail.

Her journey stayed eerily quiet, the only sound she hear was coming from her car and those men's car as they were the only ones screeching across the seemingly abandoned road. On the right of the street, a line of bins that were standing along outside fences, desolate and absolute in the way they were just there, were eerily frozen, like soldiers ready for battle.

The streetlamps flickered, leaving dark shadows for monsters to hide in, enhancing the paranoia that surrounded the area. Her wet windshield glistened from the rain, picking up and reflecting the smallest amount of light back up into the night sky.

On one side of the road, behind the bins, was a dark fence, the rotting wood and the peeling varnish making the fence look like it could collapse at any moment. On top of one of the chimneys was a single crow, ominously calling to its friends.

She didn't know what was happening, but she shake her fear afar, knowing she had to get away and run from those men who was constantly chasing her before it's too late.

And so, she stepped into the gas pedal once more, this time frantically harder.

She almost made it. She almost lost the bunch of men who haunted her down.

Not until the devil decided to sabotage her escape plan.

"Fuck-" Ruby could feel the car start to move and she quickly jammed on the breaks, narrowly avoiding an accident. She slammed her hands at the steering wheel causing it to abruptly stop exactly inches away from the barb-wired gates.

There, at the end of the road, was a grey fence, blocking exit or entry from the street, forcing outsiders away, as if saying that it did not welcome people, it controlled them, forcing them to do what it wanted.

The sharp, shiny, silver barbed-wire gave a clear message that entry to the street was forbidden for outsiders and exit was not an option.

"No... no... no..." Without wasting any more time, Ruby tried to turn her car's engine back on frantically eyeing her rearview mirror hoping she lost the devil on her tail. Yet, the wheels on the car didn't seem to move, unlike hers, as she drummed and fidgeted on the car's system, trying so hard to revive it back.

But to no avail, the car shut down, with its last screen display saying its running out of gas. "Damn it!" she cried out of frustration, knowing that she was now stranded on this very side of the road.

Just as she's drowning in the dilemma she was in, sparks flew as a bullet ricocheted off of the doorframe. She froze, heart racing, as the gunmen outside continued to fire.

"Stubborn little lady, you'll go to hell with us this time!" A man's voice roared that washed dozens of terrified emotions upon her. She nervously hid on her seat, her dried bloody hands undeniably shaking tremendously now more than ever. She could hear them reloading their weapons, their footsteps ominously close. The doorframe splintered, and she scrambled to her wobbling knees and feet.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like forever since she'd heard the gunshot. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could hear her own gasps for air. She tried to curl into a ball, to make herself as small as possible, but she could feel the cold air and dust coating her skin and clothes.

In that moment, she knew she'd better left for dead. She closed her eyes and tried to summon the courage to die, but something inside her was fighting back. Something in her mind was kicking her terrified asses in to try and save herself.

"Damn this, actually erase that thought Ruby. You don't want to die yet..." She chanted to herself, making her quickly realizing she still had a chance to escape. She still had chances to get out of this hell-like situation.

Just then, it was clear for her that she doesn't have time to think, she just has to act fast, and so with the strength she had left, she got out of the car, letting the cool air wash over her. She quickly pushed herself up and sprints towards the door, throwing it open just in time to see a gunman pull the trigger on another gun. The bullet hits off the doorframe, just missing her nearly a death-like inch.

Ruby collapses to the floor, breathing heavily. But, she quickly regained her stance and sprinted towards a small opening of barbed wires, trailing down to the deepest of a seemingly-like forest, in hopes to runaway from the nightmare she's drowning into.

She didn't know what her future awaits for her, but at this moment of trouble, she knew she had to get away. She's saved by a miracle few seconds ago, but now she's in even more trouble as those men has clearly planned to chase her down till she's not breathing.

With adrenaline injected to her mind, she hurried down the muddy trail, her breath coming in short gasps. She could hear the men chasing her, their footsteps growing louder and closer, but she didn't dare look back.

Because if she did, she knew she would be too afraid to survive.

And so, she kept running fast, approaching the unknown wilderness that's waiting for her in every step. As she ventured through the deepest dungeons of the woods, through it's full of sharp, rusty barbed wires and thorny plants, and through the humming of the vines around, and the crackling of the leaves with her every step-she knew had to get out of this forbidden place, before she became lost in it forever.

Moments passed, and couple of her hiding tactics was cut to scatter, she still could hear the men chasing her, their footsteps loud and relentless. They had been hunting her for the longest agony of her time, and she knew she didn't have much time left before her body shuts down from pain, fear, and exhaustion.

She tried to run faster, but the trails was getting too dark and twisty, and she was getting drained worse than before. She could feel the darkness closing in around her, and she knew she will be in trouble if she can't find any place or hiding grounds for her to lurk in.

But where could she go?

The woods were getting darker and chilling by the minute, and she didn't know if how the hell on earth she was going to make it out alive. She had to find a way out before it was too late.

Suddenly, one men caught up to her perception and as a reflex, she ran deeper into the shadows she dread to enter. She had no choice. She was slowly but surely losing the battle against the darkness that was creeping up on her. She could feel her energy dwindling, and she knew that if she didn't take this unknown path, she would be completely and utterly defeated.

Just then, in the light of her shattering hope while standing further afar in her position, she unveiled a sinister-looking building mysteriously lurking in the deepest heart of the forest. The structure was so dark and foreboding that it made her skin crawl. She had never seen anything like it before.

Rozbite Lustro Academy

A campus gate with those words engraved on it, was sitting atop a large, flat hill, providing a breathtaking view of the surrounding forest. It appeared to be abandoned, and the windows were all boarded up. With it's imposing structure, made of a dark, polished wood, with vines growing up the side, she could feel it's eerie aura as a source of despair, a if being a reminder that she would never find her way out.

But as she looked closer, she realized that the building was a haven, a place of safety and refuge. In here, she knew she could finally be able to hide and rest, knowing that she was safe from the dangers of the outside world.

With a burst of speed, Ruby sprinted towards the entrance of the agape crimson velvet gate, but just as she thought she made it, she felt a sharp pain in her back.

She was shot.

A bullet pierced right through her poor trembling body.

Before she could even register what happened, she felt herself collapse to the ground, her breathing was ragged and hitching dangerously. She knew something was wrong the second she felt herself fall, her legs weak and shaky under her.

She tried to scream, tried to do anything to stop the pain that was building up in her chest, but all that came out was a weak whimper. The sharp pain in her back sent her sprawling to the ground, and she knew she was in trouble.

She tried to move, tried to get up, but it was as if her body was paralyzed.

As she lay there, helpless, she saw the gunman step out from the shadows and take aim at her, "Adios, bitch. Send our regards to satan on hell," the voices said as she tried so hard to keep her senses afloat just to see a group of jeers and laughter of men in front of her.

Just as the gunmen outside were about to reload, a voice echoed in the oblivions that made the other gunmen outside stopped, momentarily confused, "That girl is a student of ours. Please stay away for your own safety. If you did continue to harm her, we have no choice but to fight back."

They looked back down the scope of their rifle, scanning the darkness for the target. Yet, as if betraying their lives, they decided to not look for the target long enough, but to instead focus on Ruby and end her life in the very exact time.

The voice in the succumbed fogs seem to also had seen their plan course of action and so, they made their last call, "That means you want gores? Very well then, soldiers. But, remember that we had warn you~"

In the midst of the chaos, one lucky shot changed everything. A bullet ricocheted off the doorframe and hit one of the gunmen in the shoulder. He stumbled, firing off another shot in the process. The unexpected noise alerted the others to the arising danger, but they chose to not surrender and still fight.

"Where are those shots and voice coming from? Fucking find it!" Ruby heard them shriek and clamor in terror.

While she was pinned down with her bleeding back brushing against the doorframe of the cold gate as the bullets from the unknown ricocheted off through its metal, she heard the sound of distant gunshots pierced the air, echoing through her ears.

With her blurry vision, she can comprehend those men who shot her mercilessly earlier, go through the same hell she has been.

As she lay on the ground, bleeding and in pain, she can see the men hunt her down. They're laughing asses was now far gone, and it was changed by fear and agony while dancing through the bullets hitting them one by one in the darkness.

Moments passed, her surroundings and feet was now filled up with plenty of bodies of her enemies, now soaked in rain, mud and crimson blood.

And she won't deny it, for the first time ever-Ruby felt deep joy while watching those men suffering and dying. As if their deaths was a wonderful dream of her subconscious mind waiting to be fulfilled. She found herself rooting for them, wanting them to suffer as much as possible. It was as if their deaths was some sort of cosmic reward for her, a sign that everything was finally going to be okay.

Just then, as Ruby was dancing in her spectacular dreams and nightmares, a woman emerged in the cold thick fog and walked towards her. It was seemingly the headmistress of the school, an imposing figure clad all in black, her eyes cold and her face stern. As she was walking towards Ruby, her steps were disturbingly unhurried and her hands clasped behind her back, as her head was held high and her eyes piercing through her direction.

With the woman's long, blonde hair swinging behind her, she emanated power and authority. As she got closer, Ruby could see the strength and wickedness in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine as she stared at the woman, and she felt a sense of dread fill her heart, but she tried to whisk her disturbing thoughts away, because her aching body hopes that this woman will be her savior.

But, even before she could judge her further, the sinister-looking headmistress stopped in front of Ruby's helpless body, her demeanor unchanged, "Hello, little lady..."

Ruby felt her heart race as the headmistress's cold, emotionless voice echoed in her ears.

She tried to get up, but her body wouldn't respond. She could feel the blood seeping through her clothes and soaking into the ground. She tried to speak, but only mere three words came out of her mouth, "Please, help me..."

She didn't know what would happen to her, but she knew that she didn't want to die. She wanted to live and learn, but she didn't know if that was possible anymore with all these mess and hell she gone through.

Suddenly, the headmistress's face softened and she knelt down next to her. "It's okay, little lady. You're going to be okay." She started rocking her back and forth, as if consoling her. But, the pain was unbearable, and she could barely make out the headmistress's cold voice, so she recounted her last resort.

She clasped the lady's dress with her crimson hands, her voice a mere whisper. "Please, let me in. Please, save me..." she begged. It was a desperate plea, one that would echo through the woman's mind for the rest of her life.

The lady hesitated for a moment, but then reached out her hand to Ruby and said, "All right my dear. If that's what you insist. Our school is nevermore ready to accept new teens."

Ruby didn't say anything, yet she just let go of the lady's dress and sat still there, her eyes wide with relief. It was just a nightmare, Ruby, she told herself. Just a nightmare and nothing more.

With the presence of the headmistress, her shattered hopes healed up. But the fear was still there, lurking in the back of her mind, waiting to strike.

Yet, in the darkness, a light shone through a crack in the boarded up windows. It was a faint light, but it was the only thing that could save the Ruby's life for now.

Struggling to free herself from the slumber land that's pulling her in due to her bleeding gunshot, she felt her vision begin to fade as the forest around her started to spin in her perceptions.

But even before her consciousness takes its initial downfall, she heard the headmistress spoke something one more time that brought daggers and thoughts on her cloudy mind.

"Witamy w Krainie Czarów, Ms. Fridays. You will now play safe and sound. You are now part of Wonderland's survivor protection program."

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T O B E C O N T I N U E D...