Ruby hadn't slept for almost thirty hours.
Her hands shook while she worked, her gloves were stained with ink and faint drop blood from yet another extraction from one of the sick patients. The infirmary smelled of sick patients, sweat, and antiseptic.
Maren had pleaded with her to take a rest, even for an hour.
But Ruby refused.
She couldn't stop.
Not when the latest patient, a boy barely, fifteen years of age was already having his third seizure.
Not when the virus had spread to more people in the past few days.
She bent over the lab table, blinking her eyes awake to keep her vision clear. Her handwriting on her note was so messy that only she could read what she wrote. She wrote whatever went down...she had pages of chemical reactions, energy breakdowns, and unstable compounds. Even her newest formula was written on a fresh page. It looked promising. The calculation looked hopeful
It was risky. It was unapproved and untested.
But they were running out of time.
With her shaky hands, she filled the syringe and walked toward the boy's room. Maren stood beside her, her eyes hopeful.
"Are you sure about this?" she whispered to Ruby.
Ruby nodded slightly. "It's all we have left."
They gave the injection to the boy, carefully monitoring the boy's system on the monitor.
For a moment, it was all quiet. The numbers were stable. His breathing leveled a bit.
Ruby let out air. A breath of hope. Tiny hope she had found.
Then… …almost as Ruby had exhaled the boys body convulsed violently.
The monitor gave a high-pitched beep.
"his heart rate are spiking!" Maren shouted. "He's seizing again...even harder!"
"Get the sedative," Ruby snapped almost immediately.
But it was too late.
Within seconds, the boy's heartbeat slowed and then stopped.
"No... no, no!" Ruby put her hands on the boy's chest and began doing compressions. "Come on. Breathe."
Maren pulled her back after a while. "Ruby. He's gone."
Ruby stood frozen, looking at the boy's lifeless body.
Her formula didn't just fail, it had increased the speed of the virus in the boy.
She slowly backed away from the boy. Her head was ringing. Her vision blurred from the tears that formed in her eyes, the walls spinning around her.
She turned and ran out of the room, almost falling as she ran across the hall, pushing past healers and guards until she came out into the open courtyard. The night air clinging to her skin almost immediately.
She fell near the edge of the training field, her breath was fast and tears had already formed in her eyes.
"I killed him," she whispered to herself. "I killed him."
"Ruby?"
She looked up from the grass.
Han stood not too far from where she was, a concerned look on his face as he stepped closer to her quickly.
"I heard shouting," he said. "What happened?"
She shook her head, wiping the tears in her eyes with the hand of her coat. "The antidote...it didn't work. It made things worse."
He bent beside her, his voice came low and gentle. "You've been pushing yourself too hard."
"I have no choice," she struggled to speak. "They're dying. I thought…I hoped this would work."
"You're only one person," he said while pushing back strands of hair from her face.
"But I promised I would save them," she whispered.
Han wrapped his arms around her and brought her into his warmth.
She didn't refuse. She didn't have the strength to.
For the first time since she returned to Vestia, Ruby let herself crumble from everything.
She held his shirt, hiding her face in his shoulder, the feeling of her failure expressed in her cries. Han held her closely, his hand gently rubbing her back.
"You've done more than anyone has done." He whispered to her. "You're the reason some of them are still breathing."
She didn't respond to his words. Her tears continued soaking his shirt.
His scent was familiar.
Warm.
Comforting.
It reminded her of something in her past. A feeling. A place .
Han brought her back just enough to see her face.
Their eyes locked almost instantly..
Ruby's breath skipped as he came closer, his gaze moving to her lips.
Her heart pounded faster in her chest. Her eyes slowly closed.
And then she stopped.
She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back gently.
"No," she said, her voice low and tender.
Han froze…. Confused.
Ruby shook her head, her voice composed now. "You're married, Han. To her. This…whatever this is ….it can't happen."
Han looked like he wanted to argue with her, but he didn't know the words to use.
He just nodded slowly, got up and stepped backwards from her. "You're right."
Ruby also stood and straightened her clothes. "I need to get back to work," she murmured.
Han nodded and they both went different ways.
Ruby didn't just return to the lab immediately. She stayed and stared at the moon. The sad moon which hovered over Viesta.
Many thoughts came into her mind.
A new antidote.
The girls.
Before her mind could begin racing she turned and returned to the lab alone.
She knew she would not be able to sleep. Her mind was still racing, not just from the failure of the antidote, but also from the kiss she almost had.
Something within her wished she hadn't pulled back.
She entered the lab, putting on the small lantern above on her desk. The pile of reports waiting for her to return from wherever she had gone to.
Just as she picked a report she heard the faint sound of movement.
She turned almost immediately, her sensing becoming alert.
Someone was in the lab.
A figure stood beside her storage cabinet, struggling to hide in the shadow of it.
"Who's there?" she called, walking forward.
The figure froze.
Then straightened itself.
Chris.
Ruby's heart sank immediately.
He walked out from the dark corner.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.
Chris blinked looking confused then almost immediately gave her a cool smile. "Didn't think you'd still be awake."
She walked forward. "That doesn't answer my question."
"I was just...checking on the samples," he said smoothly. "I thought I'd help organize things. You've been under a lot of stress."
It was a lie. And she knew it.
Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Those samples are restricted to me and me only. You shouldn't even know they exist."
Chris's smile faded a bit.
She walked closer to him, each step with caution. "You've been watching me. Asking me questions. Hanging around late. And now you're sneaking into my lab?"
Chris forced a laugh. "Ruby. You're being too tense. Must be the lack of sleep."
"No," she said calmly. "I'm being careful. Because something's wrong. And I think you know exactly what it is."
He said nothing.
"Get out!" Ruby ordered him.
He looked confused at first but after a second he walked past her and went out of the lab.
Ruby knew he was up to something. She didn't know what.
But she would find out. She had to.