Ruby
Zack trailed the girls down the busy streets. With his ordinary appearance he attracted no extra attention. The friend never stopped trash talking the cheating boyfriend, but Ruby was not convinced.
"Jane is a slut. Don didn't know she'd get him drunk, so it's not really his fault." Ruby argued softly. It seemed, like her light and bright sundress, Ruby was just a sweet kid who didn't understand people very well.
"Everyone knows Jane is a slut of the highest order. Some guys are so convinced she's a future hooker they tried to book her in advance. Don went with her alone to a hotel bar, let her get him drunk, and cheated on you with her - but you say it's not his fault? Ruby, love, you need to stop being such a pushover and get yourself a better man." The friend announced, and Zack had to agree.
How naive was this girl? It was really starting to make Zack feel terrible, having killed such an innocent.
"Don't talk nonsense. I can't break up with Don." Ruby said sadly.
"Why? You love him that much?" Friend asked sarcastically.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Ruby asked, and looked around furtively. Finding a quiet spot nearby, she dragged her friend out of the crowd and into the shadows.
These actions raised Zack's curiosity like crazy, so of course he followed the pair.
"Okay, Tanya, I'll tell you the truth - I'm not dating Don because I like him. His dad is my uncle's supervisor at work. Uncle made a massive mistake on a project and nearly got fired. Don said if I dated him, he would ask his dad not to fire my uncle. You know what it's like trying to find a job these days. Uncle has been working at that company for 15 years - he's got no hope of finding a job if they fire him without a reference. So, yeah, even if Don is a cheating son of a b*tch like you said, I can't break up with him."
Ruby hugged herself and leaned against the brick wall of the corner alley. Even buried in shadows, her cheerful dress still shone brightly, printed flowers full of laughter. The friend was left speechless, not knowing what to say. After a few moments, she chose to say nothing and simply pulled Ruby into a hug.
Zack watched the pair quietly. He thought about everything Ruby said, and found that - if he told her about tonight, and the rain at 8 pm, Ruby would be able to break up with that trashy Don bloke.
It also explained what happened that night - a nasty guy who casually cheats forces a sweet girl to be his girlfriend just for one reason.
A phone rings suddenly, play Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London, breaking the tension in the shadows, but what should have been a comical tune made Ruby visibly shudder. She picked up the phone.
"Hi Don, Honey, I'm with my Bestie." Indistinct words mutter through the speaker. "What? Tonight? But you know I don't like bars, or drinking." More words from the phone. "I, okay, I'll be there at 5. I won't be late. See you later." The phone hung up abruptly, and Ruby's face crumbles into tears.
"He wants to do stuff tonight - and only yesterday he was with Jane like that. It's so disgusting! What do I do?" Ruby broke down, and her friend hugged her soothingly.
"I don't know. But you can't go tonight. That place is a really nasty club. There's rumours that drug dealers hang out there. Ruby, if you walk in there, I'm scared I'll never see you again."
Zack frowned sadly. There were 3 hours between 5 and 8 - what did Ruby encounter that forced her out into the street to die in the rain? And why didn't he find her there a second time? With all the horrors Zack has seen since the start of his resets, it wasn't hard to imagine.
As the girls left the shadows and rejoined the crowd, Zack kept following them. A strange urge was pounding in his conscience to save Ruby from her fate - but he fought it back.
It was only 2 pm now, and approaching Ruby rashly, without a plan, would do more harm than good.
And even if he saved her tonight - would he save Ruby again tomorrow? Could he even find her a third time?
Zack's eyes fell on his finger, where he had cut and sliced before, and finally came up with a plan.