“These mirrors will be your eyes. If a mirror is shattered, your eyes will also be destroyed,” Mary said. How was this happening? Ruby tried to steady her shaking hands that clung to the mirror. Suddenly, this little mirror had become the most precious thing in the whole world. All around her, she could see the other dolls holding their mirrors, looking around with bewildered expressions. Slowly, she tilted her mirror up. Blossom, Ivy and Mia were still standing behind her. Knees shaking, Ruby got to her feet. This new perspective was going to take some getting used to.
“Hold it close to you, not away from you. It’s much safer that way,” Ivy whispered to Ruby. Ruby obeyed without any hesitation.
“Tilt it to the left and up,” Blossom ordered. Ruby did so. Now she was looking at a building. It was a very old building. She could make out large cracks and chips in the walls. Perhaps it had been abandoned, and the overseers hadn’t bothered rebuilding it. “You’ll hide there with Mia. Ivy and I will guard you from the outside,” Blossom said. Ruby swallowed the questions that were filling her mind. This wasn’t the time to question orders.
“A-alright,” whispered Ruby. She was adjusting to the mirror much more quickly than she had expected. Already, she felt much calmer and more in control. Mia took hold of Ruby’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Right, her job was to protect Mia. Ruby had to be strong for her. With a few deep breaths, Ruby was able to swallow most of her fear. Her legs had stopped shaking. Any minute now, the timer would begin. Now Ruby was only aware of three things. One was Mia’s grip. The other was the building, and the last thing was the blade in Mia's bag. She had never used a dagger. Ruby also had never had any proper combat training. Combat of any kind is risky when you’re made of glass.
“Alright, here we go!” Mary called. “Three… two… one! The timer is running!” Briefly, Ruby met Ivy’s eye in time to see a reassuring smile. That gave Ruby a small boost of hope as she sprinted towards the building, dragging Mia with her. They flung the door open and dashed up the stairs. It was extremely dark. To Ruby, that was both a blessing and a curse. Her head was spinning again. She wasn’t totally lost but the mirror perspective was making her feel borderline sick. The girls reached the second floor and darted into the first room that they saw.
Ruby could already hear the sounds of glass breaking and people screaming outside. Hopefully Blossom and Ivy knew what they were doing. Did either of them have any powers? How different were their stats from hers? These questions were just a waste of time. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand. This room was full of half-destroyed pieces of furniture. Ruby set her mirror on a nearby shelf. Now she could see the whole room clearly. She could also see herself moving around below the shelf.
“Okay, that is freaking me out,” she whispered.
“I know, I really don’t like this, Ruby,” Mia said.
“Yeah, I don’t either.” Ruby closed the door and began the difficult and tedious task of pushing furniture in front of the door.
“Here, let me help!” Mia piped up, rushing to Ruby’s side.
“No! Stay far away from the door. Do you see that closet over there, Mia? I want you to hide in there while I work on this,” Ruby ordered.
“But I want to help!” Mia whined.
“You can help me by staying safe and hidden!” Annoyance and stress were tainting Ruby’s focus. After a long struggle, Ruby managed to push a small desk in front of the door. That was one thing done.
“But I don’t want to stay in the closet! That sounds boring. Can I play hide and seek with you?” asked Mia. Was this kid out of her mind? Probably. Everyone in this city was probably semi-insane.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Not now. Please, Mia, we can play later,” was all Ruby said. Now Ruby was looking around for things to stack on the desk. She needed lighter objects that would be easier to lift. A sudden and sharp pain shot through Ruby’s hand, and she sank to the ground. She had just chipped a finger. Her stamina was plummeting.
“Ruby! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“H-how can I help?”
“Just hide. Please!”
“But… I… I…” Mia trailed off. The child reluctantly headed towards the closet, dragging her feet as she went. A sigh of relief escaped Ruby. Things were going to be okay. She had done this before, and she could do it again. With clenched fists and gritted teeth, Ruby pulled out her dagger. Now she could hear people fighting and yelling in the level below. Were Ivy and Blossom fighting down there? What had happened to them? Were they okay? Ruby didn’t get a chance to think over these questions, because a scream from the closet made Ruby spin on her heel.
“Ruby! Help!” Mia shrieked. Then she was sharply cut off. Ruby was across the room in an instant. She flung the door open to find nothing. Dang it! This wasn’t in the mirror’s field of vision. “Ruby, watch out!”
Stumbling back, Ruby barely managed to dodge a blow. Now that they were back in the main room, Ruby could see her attacker. This girl must have reached the building before Mia and Ruby had. Wow, how fast had she ran? The doll didn’t hesitate. She flung herself at Ruby.
Desperately, Ruby ducked this way and that, trying to keep a good distance between herself and the doll. But the doll was fast. One blow after another, sharp and direct attacks kept Ruby stumbling back. Her stamina wouldn’t last much longer. The attacks didn’t seem to end; they just became faster and faster. This doll wasn’t going to let Ruby so much as catch her breath, let alone fight back.
There was no denying that this girl had the upper hand physically. So, Ruby focused in on the only advantage that she had. Her mirror allowed her to see the whole room. Meanwhile, this doll was holding her mirror. This allowed Ruby to just barely stay ahead of the girl. Out of the corner of her eye, or mirror, or whatever, Ruby noticed a small glass stool sitting by the window.
That was something that she could lift easily. Ruby saw the chance and took it. Flinging the practically useless dagger aside, Ruby grabbed the stool and hurled it at the doll with what little strength Ruby had in her body. There was an ear-piercing scream, and the girl stumbled back, dropping the mirror as she did so. Without really thinking about what she was doing, Ruby stamped down on the mirror.
More pain shot through Ruby as both her foot and the mirror shattered. Her enemy fell to the ground, clutching at her face in a panic. Before she knew what was happening, Ruby had the dagger in her hand and was stabbing the girl again and again. What the heck was she doing? The dagger slipped from Ruby’s hand to the ground. A soft whimper of pain stabbed at Ruby’s heart. That hurt more than any blade ever could. But the whimper came from the closet.
“Mia? Mia, talk to me! Are you okay?” Ruby grabbed her mirror and rushed back to the closet. “Oh, Mia!” The child was lying on the ground. Her left hand had been snapped clean off. Her whole body was shaking. No matter how long Ruby lived, she knew that she would never forget that look of agony on Mia’s face.
“I-I think I’m okay. I’ve been through worse.” A weak smile appeared on Mia’s face. Those words only made Ruby hurt more. She reached out, crossing her hands as she did so. How much had Mia been through? No wonder this kid was crazy. This cheerful little ball of sunshine had probably lived through things that would break most people’s souls.
“Don’t worry, Mia, I’m going to help you.” Ruby’s eyes closed. Hopefully, she still had enough stamina to fix Mia. The moment that Ruby’s eyes closed, all the fear left her body. She wasn’t alone. Robert was by her side once again. That deep warmth filled Ruby once again as a gentle joy replaced all her sadness.
This was a nice kind of focus. It was a deeply relaxed and slow focus. It required no stress and no pain. All that Ruby needed was Robert’s instructions. Did she have to open her eyes? Why couldn’t she just stay here, in this state of calm? After all, Robert was here. The city was the last place Ruby wanted to be right now. But that was a choice Ruby didn’t get to make. Mia’s voice pulled her back to the present.
“Oh my gosh! How did you do that, Ruby?” Mia asked. She had done it. Mia was fixed… and Ruby’s stamina was almost completely gone. Ruby sank to the ground and closed her eyes. Even breathing had become draining. Now she just needed rest. “Are you alright?” Mia was asking. Her voice sounded faint and distant now. Ruby was far too tired to answer her. Pain throbbed across Ruby’s whole body as her eyes closed. Wait, she wasn’t dying, right? She couldn’t die. Well… at least Mia had been saved. Robert would be proud.