Slade and Ruby: Arriving at The Mall
The drive to the city had been longer than Slade had expected, or perhaps time simply dragged on in his mind because he was so worried for Ruby. A couple of times after strapping her on to his back in Liberty she'd slumped to the side, forcing him to reluctantly pull over to the side of the road and readjust everything. She was barely breathing, shaky gasps of air, it sent a chill of panic through Slade, and he simply readjusted her and tightened the straps and got back on the road. It was now that he wished he could fit three people on his bike, someone to hold Ruby up, but he couldn't, and he didn't, and all he could do was get back to the City as fast as possible.
Now, Slade knew better than anyone how much Ruby didn't want to ever live in the City, but he wasn't intending to live there, surely once Ruby was back to her old self she'd want to go right back to Liberty, fix things up, or, if that wasn't possible, maybe she'd want to move on to Sadieville. Living in Sadieville wasn't exactly Slade's idea of a fantastic new life, and it was further away from the City, Slade's only chance of ever finding Josh, but he'd go where Ruby needed to go, and truthfully, losing Liberty broke his heart just as much as he knew it would Ruby's.
Sliding into the City, Slade paused to get his bearings, trying to remember the streets and how to get to the Mall, the place where the hospital was. He didn't generally drive his bike through town, Slade preferred to drive it to a certain point, hide it, and walk around the city, but this was not the time to worry about things. Ruby was his main, and only, concern.
Driving up the street towards the quay, Slade turned onto the street he remembered the Mall being on and felt relief pull through him as it came into view, picking up his speed just a bit. Coming to a halt, he eyed the Militia standing outside, surely they'd let him in, but Slade didn't want to leave his bike out in the open either. Yeah he was worried about Ruby, but he wasn't stupid, if they took his bike there'd be no way to get back to Liberty, or to Sadieville. Pulling up to the carpark and idling the bike, Slade waved one of the Militia boys over, talking to him about his hurt friend, the fire, and asking if there was a quick way into the Mall.
After being informed that the gates were down, he took the kids suggestion and swung into the carpark, driving up the deserted pathways to the second floor, finding a militia standing guard outside of a door. Slade pulled to a stop and unstrapped Ruby, moving to take off her helmet and his, tossing them next to his bike before picking Ruby up and cradling her in his arms. "It'll be ok Ruby," he told her softly, walking up to the boy at the door.
"Please, you gotta let us in, we had a fire back in our town, she got hurt, please, I know you have a hospital, and that it's late, but it's an emergency," he spoke softly with his calculated tone, not sounding scared or trying to impede the boy's authority. Slade was relieved when the Militia boy simply opened the door and led him into the Mall.
Slade's eyes came to a tight close as the inside of this building hit him, the lights, it was, well it was a home, he could tell, the smell of fresh laundry, of a dinner, some conversations going on, kids in bright clothes looking happy, and he felt like he'd invaded inappropriately. "Hey man, I just wanna go to the hospital," he told the Militia boy, being shocked when he was told they had to go through here to get to the hospital. Following his lead, Slade simply carried Ruby down the stairs, past the people standing around, and into the hospital.
Now, Slade knew better than anyone how much Ruby didn't want to ever live in the City, but he wasn't intending to live there, surely once Ruby was back to her old self she'd want to go right back to Liberty, fix things up, or, if that wasn't possible, maybe she'd want to move on to Sadieville. Living in Sadieville wasn't exactly Slade's idea of a fantastic new life, and it was further away from the City, Slade's only chance of ever finding Josh, but he'd go where Ruby needed to go, and truthfully, losing Liberty broke his heart just as much as he knew it would Ruby's.
Sliding into the City, Slade paused to get his bearings, trying to remember the streets and how to get to the Mall, the place where the hospital was. He didn't generally drive his bike through town, Slade preferred to drive it to a certain point, hide it, and walk around the city, but this was not the time to worry about things. Ruby was his main, and only, concern.
Driving up the street towards the quay, Slade turned onto the street he remembered the Mall being on and felt relief pull through him as it came into view, picking up his speed just a bit. Coming to a halt, he eyed the Militia standing outside, surely they'd let him in, but Slade didn't want to leave his bike out in the open either. Yeah he was worried about Ruby, but he wasn't stupid, if they took his bike there'd be no way to get back to Liberty, or to Sadieville. Pulling up to the carpark and idling the bike, Slade waved one of the Militia boys over, talking to him about his hurt friend, the fire, and asking if there was a quick way into the Mall.
After being informed that the gates were down, he took the kids suggestion and swung into the carpark, driving up the deserted pathways to the second floor, finding a militia standing guard outside of a door. Slade pulled to a stop and unstrapped Ruby, moving to take off her helmet and his, tossing them next to his bike before picking Ruby up and cradling her in his arms. "It'll be ok Ruby," he told her softly, walking up to the boy at the door.
"Please, you gotta let us in, we had a fire back in our town, she got hurt, please, I know you have a hospital, and that it's late, but it's an emergency," he spoke softly with his calculated tone, not sounding scared or trying to impede the boy's authority. Slade was relieved when the Militia boy simply opened the door and led him into the Mall.
Slade's eyes came to a tight close as the inside of this building hit him, the lights, it was, well it was a home, he could tell, the smell of fresh laundry, of a dinner, some conversations going on, kids in bright clothes looking happy, and he felt like he'd invaded inappropriately. "Hey man, I just wanna go to the hospital," he told the Militia boy, being shocked when he was told they had to go through here to get to the hospital. Following his lead, Slade simply carried Ruby down the stairs, past the people standing around, and into the hospital.