The Ruby Stone

Age 7, me, I ran excitedly into the lab where my twin brother Markus lives. "Eldar! Eldar! Look at this great helmet! It's blue with a shiny star on it," Markus exclaims! I wish one day we can play outside together. "Me too," he mourningfully says. Being a twin is fun, but it would be more fun if we could be outside together. I spent so much time visiting him; that I really began to enjoy coming to the lab.

Age 24, me, I slosh around in my twin sized futon. My room is dark. There's light but no light; it is my perception. I'm shaking like crazy. How will I be able to even present my proposal tomorrow? I want to sleep some more. I am super worried. Dr. Ruby is a pretty confident woman.

My alarm is buzzing at me. I hope I slept. I groggily put on some khaki slacks and a nice, icy blue button up shirt. I wear my white lab coat on top. I fluff my short blonde hair and head out.

I proceed down the long empty hallway of our lab. The smooth linoleum floors greet me. The ticking of my watch feels absurdly loud. The air is perfectly cold to allow Markus to move freely without having to worry about too much heat. It's programmed to keep cold all day long. We do not get too many visitors, as that could be problematic if they don't know Markus' situation.

I reach the end of the hallway somehow. Markus is chatting up with Dr. Ruby. "See this helmet. It securely fits around my head to act as an additional protection against the sunlight," Markus tells Ruby excitedly. Ruby nods and shows interest. I don't get what he sees in her. Today, Ruby is outfitted with her closed toed red high heel shoes, khaki slacks, and an orange sophisticated blouse peeking out her white lab coat while her brown locks are pressed upward in a messy bun. I guess with the lack of time Markus spends with her he doesn't truly know how annoying her personality is like I do. Both Markus have a pretty fair complexion, but I feel guilty that I can go out into the sun and he cannot.

"Dr. Eldar, come on!" Ruby says agitatedly. I focus back on my environment and realize that it is already starting. I rustle quickly through the open door that lay open ahead of me. Great! Now, I'm accidentally late to this whole thing when I was actually early. "Ahem," barks quietly Ruby, "Dr. Eldar is not like this all the time." I feel Ruby is trying to make the best of things even though I'm her competition right now. The room appears to be a little dusty lecture hall. Seats are staggered but leading downward to the middle where Mr. Prisard stands waiting.

Carl Prisard addresses both of us attentively, "Today, I am here to grant one of you the right to start human experimentation on the prisoners. Dr. Elder, we will start with you." He gestures me front and center. I'm shaking but excited, while quickly making it down there and turning around to face both him and Dr. Ruby. "I..I would like to perform skin observations on the prisoners and run tests in order to cure sensitivity to too much sunlight;" I say it with confidence, aside from the first little stutter. Carl addresses me inquisitively, "Is this a selfish act to cure your brother? You do realize that whoever I go with will help to cull the prison population going forward; don't you?" Quivering in my sneakers, I plead "This research can help cure many people, not just my brother Markus if we would have more time afterwards I could show you more detailed files." I slowly edge back to my assigned seat. Dr. Ruby heads forward to the center.

I lose focus in and out. Dr. Ruby quickly comments about how her research is better suited as there will likely be more pain involved or more chances that a prisoner could die from her experiment. Carl looks interested and says "I see"; a glimmer peeks through his eyes.
The proposal meeting ends. Carl steps away while dialing his phone. I breathe out. I finally take a sip of water. I grab a handkerchief out of my pocket and wipe my sweaty brow. Carl comes back into view and places his phone on the table. "It's settled. We are going with Dr. Ruby's proposal to experiment on the human prisoners to expand life as we know it using heads instead of hearts. Dr. Eldar, you will assist Dr. Ruby in her research. Dr. Ruby, this research grant will last 1 year. If you don't provide results in that time, you will be binned. Have a good day." Carl hands Dr. Ruby a check and leaves the room in a steady stride.

Dr. Ruby's face looks red. Her breathing seems uneven and her hands seem to be balled up in fists. She pushes out the door, heading what looks to be toward the lab.

Several months later, "Earth, to Dr. Eldar?" barks Dr. Ruby. I jostle forward as she carefully hands me Roegan's heart to place in the cooler behind me. I find it odd we still put it in a cooler, but I'm not here to question her during this procedure. I hear "click, clack, click, clack," overwhelming on pristinely clean white tiled floors. I will surely never get used to Dr. Ruby's insane desire to torture me with her closed toed red heeled shoes. A petite little woman, she is. The lab shelters four black tables, a silver operating table and chair, lots of counter space and an absurd amount of rock smells. From mudstone to granite to shale to sandstone, we have experimented with numerous rock compositions. The smell of muddy water, chalky dried blood, and just a notion of death and ruin fill the air, or that is how it seems to me. "Eldar stop zoning out! I need you!" I rush over. I slide open the red capsule that Ruby already placed into Roegan's heart zone. The capsule idea came from seeing my Markus' helmet all the time. I gently grab Jackson's baby face head from the medium sized cooler unit located on the nearest counter on the left. Sweating profusely as I feel it never gets easier for me, I nearly lurch forward, barely making it back to the table. I rest Jackson's head in the capsule. The head needs to be connected to the capsule wires to then connect with the rest of the body. Ruby is so much better with the meticulous wires than I am. But at the same time, she doesn't feel that it is wrong. "Clunk" I hear; that is the sound of the capsule closing. Dr. Ruby then takes her pen and taps lightly in a small pinhole above the left eyebrow. Theoretically that is supposed to sync the newly formed body together.

I wash off all the blood on my hands in the little bathroom adjacent to the lab. "Hello?" That sounds Jackson. I turn and dash quickly back to the lab. There in Roegan's body, Jackson is looking around. His eyes are piercing light blue against his black short hair. Roegan is more muscular from their time as inmates with medium black hair, hazel eyes, and some freckles. He stands up and gazes into a mirror sitting in the corner of the room near one of the doors. "Eldar, it worked!! I'm tall!" Jackson squeals. Looking into the face I saw a very different view. There was Roegan's face but no words came out. It seemed as if he wanted to say something. Dr. Ruby suddenly appeared back in the room with a clipboard in hand taking notes. Roegan/Jackson furiously grabbed a sheet of paper from her clipboard. I want to calm him down, but Roegan's aggressive behavior seems like it might still be there. I walk awkwardly around at a distance to see what he is writing. But nothing, there is nothing comprehensible drawn. I grab Dr. Ruby aside. I lead her roughly into the small bathroom where I close the door. She's gleaming with excitement. "I told you so it would work; admit it," she jokes playfully knowing how cautious I am about things regarding people's lives. "Roegan can't speak or write! How does that solve or extend someone's life? I demand, though I try to not be too loud as Jackson/Roegan could hear. "So a granite outside and sandstone inside have worked..." she utters as she writes aggressively fast on her clipboard notes. "We can work on a better reflection later on, but right now, success!!" She spoke with more life than I had seen from her in awhile. "But Ruby still the vessel looks to have limited control if any; I don't see this as a win." I'm trying to reason with her. "You're just trying to bring me down after not getting to work on your proposal," she lets out frustrated and storms down the hall. I mean I get her frustration, but we are basically murdering someone here. Yes, they are prisoners that will get a shorter sentence by participating, but Roegan had dreams to help Jackson go to college. I really doubt he had this in mind.

Days come, and days go. Today, Jackson was released into society as a new man despite my objections. "Are you sure you don't want to go for drinks?" Ruby calls to me from down the hall. "No thank you," I say. I retreat into the lab. "Why? Why? Why?" I scream to myself. "This is immoral and wrong. I don't want to do this." I just need to talk with Carl and get things straight. But then what would happen to my brother if I left. He can't live without funds. I'm stuck. I knock over some beakers. I at least clean them up, but still "Why couldn't I have just focused better? Or why does society want to get a leg up on living longer? We shouldn't be messing with that. It doesn't feel right!" My eyes feel angry. I'm sick to my stomach thinking that Roegan is probably alive in his own body that doesn't act like his body.

I exit the lab. I walk a full right angle; that squarely takes me to the door leading to Markus' room. "Hey Eldar, thanks for stopping in. Ruby told me you guys were successful today; is that true?" He is still cheerful as ever. "Yep, one guy has made it out alive." I don't have the heart to tell him differently. That's at least a little hope I can maybe give him that one day he'll be out of here too. "So I was thinking Eldar, this year for my helmet birthday present, could you make me a red one?"Markus looks at me all puppy dog eyed. I give in. "Sure thing," I say. Almost every year so far it has been blue, his favorite color. "Red is Ruby's favorite color," he squeaks happily. I leave the door slightly ajar how he likes it.

Sleep isn't coming. The fan is blowing, but it isn't as cold as some nights, which is odd. I can't stomach this reality. Why did Pisard agree to this? Why am I even on this research project? Yes, Dr. Ruby has failed to make an impact to some in the past, but it doesn't sound like they are binning me? I don't know. My eyes are heavy. I want to dream and forget. I toss over my blanket, go to the bathroom and roughly splash water up and down my face. I put on a hoodie to match pj pants, and walk down the lab hallway. Something feels off. I'm too tired to assess things. It's warm. It shouldn't be warm. Markus' room is around the corner from mine, like a half a circle. "Help! Help!" I hear him screaming. I feel on the verge of tears. My feet are moving I think. I get to the room. Burns cover his body. I quickly scamper to put on a protective suit. I fumble a little bit. I drag him onto his rolly chair and push him speedily to the lab. I have Markus sit down in the shower as I run water over all his wounds. I get up to go try to fix the air. There's a shadow in this dark room in the corner of my vision. I turn almost round. I feel a sharp pain in my neck. I tumble to the floor. Blackness.

In a distant silence, I hear "trickle, trickle, trickle" like a shower dripping a little after it is over. I try to move. The ceiling is bright on my eyes. "You're awake" a familiar voice says. Er a um...Dr. Ruby. My eyes shock incredulously. "Click, Clack, Click, Clack." I don't see much, but I know that annoying sound too. Her petite body is still standing high with heels. I lay strapped into the operating table. I try to look down towards my body, but I think I regret that. Sandstone is already lining my body. I think my heart is still there or for now. I hear a recording playing in the background. "Why? Why? Why?" "This is immoral and wrong. I don't want to do this." Or why does society want to get a leg up on living longer? We shouldn't be messing with that. It doesn't feel right!" That's me. "Click" I think she paused the recording. "So you hear, even if I were questioned about your part in this, I could have easily turned you over to the authorities," she remarks matter in factly. "I find this approach more satisfying." She mumbles while moving downward I think. I see her holding a red heeled shoe and sticking the heel into my face a little bit above my left eyebrow. I feel a warm liquid, probably blood, slide down my face. I still can't really move. She must have used a paralytic. "Eldar, still zoning out I see. I guess you don't want to hear about my latest finding. The vessel actually drains energy from the head. So you see, Roegan will probably live longer than Jackson." She says it coldly, as if I'm ruining a moment or something. "Is Markus okay?" I whimper. "Yes, he'll be fine. Anyways, so long Dr. Eldar" she clears her throat as another needle pierces my neck.

Darkness. I dream. With shaky instruments and a stiff, leaned over back, I prop upright and frantically tread back away from the table and slam them down. Dr. Ruby's steady hands cut methodically around Markus' heart. My heart thuds rapidly. My gloved hands are sweaty. I smell blood. Time is slow. I rush outside the room. My legs buckle, and I bang on the bathroom door in a furious rage. "Dr. Eldar, stop that..." Ruby barks to me.

I am sick. My legs are flimsy heavy weights. I urge them forward in doopy sliding fashion. Right hand yanks the door; left hand sloppily drapes to cover my face. There is a thick mudstone coating everything beneath my brother's neck, aside from a clear cylinder at his heart. The monitor beeps erratically.

I awake, feeling dazed. I don't feel exactly like how my body should feel.

I'm in the park on the other side of town from the lab. The park is lined with a brick grid of pavement. I'm heavy. I can't move. I feel moisture in my body. I hear a rough opening sound that feels close. "Thud", I feel something in me that wasn't there before. "Clunk" sounds like a capsule shutting. "Tap", I feel something hit my skull. I think my body is syncing. Crap! I'm in a Ruby Stone. I feel disgust for her. I feel a familiar lab coat being hung around me.

"Ruby!! I'm outside!!" I hear Markus' voice. My body relaxes. Dread sweeps over me. Ruby is cooly on a forest green bench. Markus leads our body to sit down next to her. Markus leans the red capsule forward and winks at Ruby. He grabs Ruby's hand with my hand and smiles. I look down in horror at the scene as her eyes line up with his eyes in his capsule. Dr. Ruby speaks, "I know it's hard for your Markus, but your twin brother was willing to do anything to save you. He would have wanted to be with us right now. To a longer life with the Ruby Stone", she cheers. In a dark realization, she probably burned my brother too. I can't look at them anymore. I stare upward and out. Lines of statues cover this park, both in a granite and mudstone variety. People are pushing shopping carts and tagging the statues they want. I just sit in horror as Ruby smiles cleverly at me.