Screams rose up from all of the dolls. Ruby flinched back as several other nearby dolls shattered. What had happened? Had those dolls done something wrong? Maybe they had been caught cheating or something like that.
"Surprise!" Mary burst out. "This time, if our lists match, you will be shattered!" The sugary sweet and almost condescending tone in Mary's voice was enough to make Ruby feel sick. "See, isn't this SOOO much more interesting?" For a moment, Ruby forgot how to breathe. The city around her was spinning in a beautiful, awful blur of colors and screams. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Blossom had been right to be suspicious.
"I guess this is probably a little more entertaining," whispered Blossom.
"Now, we'll do it again! We'll play this game for the rest of the day. Then in the morning we will introduce some totally brand-new games! But every morning and every evening we'll play this game again! This way things should move by much, much faster. I guarantee that everyone will be on the edge of their seats for the rest of the week!"
Ruby could clearly make out the terror that was written all over the faces of the other dolls. Blossom was the only one who didn't look shocked. There was a sad and hopeless look in her eyes. She just stared down at the ground, not meeting Ruby's gaze. Mia just looked very confused and unsure of what to say. Ivy on the other hand was glaring up at the sky as if she wanted to burn the whole world to the ground. Ruby could see Ivy's hands shaking as she gripped Mia's shoulders. Even if they made it through this round, this would happen in the morning and evening. No matter how hard they fought, all that Mary needed to do was snap her fingers and they would be gone.
Even the most powerful and skilled dolls didn't stand a chance in the face of this. The worst part was that this would happen again and again and again. Would it ever end? Now Ruby felt so foolish for daring to hope. Yesterday she had felt so powerful and in control. Now she saw exactly what she was. She was nothing more than a glass chess piece that Mary could flick off of the board if she wished.
"Now! Let's try it again!" Mary sang out. Ruby could tell from the way she spoke that Mary was very proud of her twisted and cruel idea. With a heavy and imaginary heart, Ruby turned back to her list. Even if she ended up escaping the city, Ruby knew that she would probably never be able to look at a pen the same way again.
Somehow this game felt even worse than hide and seek and the mirror game had felt. At least Ruby had been able to do things to protect her friends. With this game there was nothing to do but wait to die. Her fixing powers were totally useless here. She could fix a totally shattered doll. That would probably take about five times her stamina. With each round Ruby would hear a new doll shatter and she would flinch.
Did the humans really find this more interesting to watch? They were just standing still for the most part. Well, this game did have higher stakes than the last. Maybe that was why they liked it more. Or maybe they were all just sickos and couldn't go two rounds without seeing more dolls break.
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The day passed by slowly, painfully slowly. As the minutes slipped by, Ruby's fear grew more and more intense. She felt as if she were looking right into the face of death itself. Or rather, death was looking at her. It was all around her. She was surrounded by it. There was nowhere to run or hide. There was no way to fight or resist. There was nothing to do but wait and pray. Ivy didn't flinch through the whole day. She barely moved at all. Ivy's eyes remained fixed on the sky. Her teeth remained gritted and her whole face glowed with rage.
When the day finally came to an end, Ruby felt no relief. But she knew that this would happen all over again in the morning. She would have to sit through this awful, awful experience all over again. This would never end. More dolls would die, and the loop would go on forever. Silence and darkness fell over the city as Ruby followed Ivy and Mia back to their apartment. Normally reaching home would leave Ruby feeling a little more relaxed. But nobody spoke. Most of the dolls just headed straight to bed. The first thing that Ivy did was tuck in Mia.
Ruby stayed in the main hall, thinking over how meaningless her life had become. It was only a matter of time before she lost her mind. This was no way to live. Soon the fear of danger and death would be the only thing keeping Ruby motivated to live. And she knew that if she lost Ivy and Mia, she would lose the only things that had brought any real joy to her life.
"I hate this!" Ruby looked up at the sound of Ivy's bitter voice. "I hate this more than anything that Mary has ever done before! All the skills that I took the time to earn are useless now. It doesn't matter how hard I work to survive the game. I could still die at the end of day thanks to a list! I could lose Mia just as easily!" Ruby felt guilty for using Ivy's anger to pressure her. But this was a chance to persuade her. Clearly, Ivy didn't want to live like this either. Perhaps she could finally get Ivy to see eye to eye with her.
"So, don't you think at least trying to fight back might be a good option at this point?" asked Ruby.
"B-but I have to protect Mia... I-I can't risk putting her in danger," Ivy's voice cracked. Ruby took a deep breath and softened her tone. She reached out and placed a hand on Ivy's shoulder. She could feel her trembling. But Ruby wasn't sure if it was because of fear or anger.
"What if Mary kills us and Mia is left alone with no one to take care of her?" Those words seemed to burn Ruby's mouth. But it was true. "I don't know how her powers work. You understand her better than anything else. Do you really want her to grow up in a world where survival is all that she has to live for?"
"Of course I don't! Can't you see I don't have a choice, Ruby?"
"But that's what the overseers have told you to think. I made it out of this place once. Escape is possible!" There was a long pause.
"If... if we wanted to escape, we would need Blossom's help," whispered Ivy. Ruby's heart soared. She had done it. They could work together now. "Blossom knows this city much better than I do. She also knows other dolls who have attempted escape before. But... But I doubt she'll want to help us. I think she's given up on the idea of leaving this place. You have to understand, she has been through a lot. That last escape cost her more than you can imagine." Guilt swallowed Ruby's hope. How much had Blossom suffered because of her? No, that was no way to think. She had to stay focused. Ruby was doing this for her good, for Blossom's good and for the good of all the dolls in the Glass City.
"We can at least try. She might be more willing to listen to you than to me," said Ruby.
"Okay. We'll talk to Blossom as soon as we get the chance," whispered Ivy. Ruby fought to keep herself from beaming and jumping up and down. This was it. The fight had begun. Or at least, it would begin very soon. They didn't have a lot going for them. But at least Ruby wouldn't be fighting her fight alone.