Perfect Sacrifice (68 page)

"I didn't mean to," he began as he put his head in his hands.  His voice was shaking from fear.  "I let them see me."

"You what?" questioned Brian rather loudly.

"They were able to see me…before I punched out," he continued.  "Ramirez…probably knows that I'm still alive."  He sighed deeply, his hands falling back to his side.  "He'll come after me now.  I'm not safe here anymore."

"Nonsense," stated Gordan, drawing everyone's attention.  "You're safer here than you are anywhere.  Let's not forget that Ramirez doesn't know where this base is.  If you stay here, he won't find you."

Aaron said nothing to that, but his mind wouldn't let the subject rest.  He just didn't feel safe anymore.  His nightmares could very well come true now.  And if Ramirez were to find the base, he'd be putting them all in great danger.  After all, Ramirez never let his pray escape, and Aaron had just found himself a place on his hit list.

* * * *

Later that day, the Solaris family and Ray had all returned to their isolated desert base.  Ray was happy to be back to the place she knew as home.  She had never liked hospitals, but she tended to spend a lot of time at them.  She was forever getting herself hurt.  That or she ended up getting someone else hurt.

Everyone had retired to their rooms, not having too much to really do.  After all, the day was starting to unwind, and they had just eaten dinner.  The sun would be setting soon, and then night would set in.  It was time to just relax or even get a head start on sleeping.

Leon was lying on his bed, staring at his ceiling.  His mind was running at about a hundred miles a minute, his head feeling overwhelmed with thoughts.  For some reason, what Abby had said was really making him think.  If Ramirez was killed, Ray would have no reason to stay with them.  She'd leave and go back to the GRC headquarters, and he probably wouldn't get to see her so regularly ever again.  He hated the idea.  He wanted her to stay with them, but she needed a reason to.

Leon sighed deeply, his mind once again returning to the conversation he had had with Abby.  She had told him to give Ray a reason not to leave.  What had she meant by that?  The very last thing she had told him still left a soft shade of red on his face.  He knew she was right though.  If their relationship was going to go anywhere anytime soon, he'd have to take the first step.  It's not like this was his forte or anything though.  He barely knew how to interact normally with other people.  How was he supposed to treat Ray if their relationship was bumped up a notch?  It was all so confusing.

Then again, did he even want to take this further?  He kind of liked things the way they were.  What if he did something wrong, and she ended up hating him?  He wasn't sure if he wanted to go through something like that.  If they were just friends, then maybe they'd be safe.  Then again…something inside of him just wouldn't let that be.  He knew it with every fiber of his being.  He loved her, and friendship alone wasn't going to fulfill that feeling.

He sighed again as he got up and off his bed.  He glanced out his window and noticed that the sun was just starting to set.  Sunsets were always so fun to watch, and they were incredibly beautiful.  That one thought quickly struck an idea, and he knew just how he wanted to spend the rest of his day.  He left the room and walked down to his dad's study.  He normally wouldn't have to ask permission for something like this, but he needed to use the car.

"Hey dad?" he asked as he opened the door, drawing Dr. Solaris's attention.

"What is it?" David asked as he looked up from the book he was reading.

"Can I borrow the car for a while?" Leon asked, praying that his dad would say yes.

"What for?" he asked, going back to reading his book.  There was a smirk on his face though.  He had a pretty good idea as to what Leon was planning.

"Just for a drive," he answered as he reached for the keys that were hanging on a hook by the door.

"By yourself?" his father asked him, his smirk only increasing as he awaited his son's response.

"Not exactly," he answered, seeming perhaps just a bit nervous.  He didn't want to have to tell his dad exactly what he was planning.  After all, it was embarrassing enough the way it was.  All he wanted was to spend a little time with Ray without his father and Chris around.

"Fine, take the car," Dr. Solaris said as he turned away from his son.  He missed the huge smile on Leon's face as he grabbed the keys and tore off down the hallway.  Now there was just one part left of the plan.  Leon had to get Ray to go with him.

Leon ran down the hallway until he stopped at Ray's room.  He was hoping that she would be willing to go on a drive with him.  There was something he wanted to show her, a place he needed to take her.

"Ray?" he called as he knocked gently on the door.  In a matter of seconds, the door opened, and Ray smiled up at him.

"Hey Leon," she greeted.  "What is it?"

"Do you want to go for a drive?" he asked her with a smile, hoping that she wouldn't turn him down.

"Sure," she said as she stepped out of her room, not forgetting to grab her blue jean jacket off the back of her door.  She quickly slipped it on and followed Leon down the hallway.  She wasn't going to bother asking any questions.  She didn't really care where they were going or if they were even going to any actual place.  It would be fun just to get out of the base for a while, and even though she'd deny it till the end of the world, she enjoyed spending time with Leon.  She knew she'd probably go back to headquarters after killing Ramirez, but she would spend as much time as possible with him until then. 
And who knows?  Maybe I'll find an excuse to stay here longer anyway.

* * * *

They had been driving for at least an hour now, and Ray wasn't sure just where they were going.  Then again, she wasn't sure if Leon even had a location in mind.  He had only asked if she wanted to go for a drive.  He had never stated where to or for how long.  It's not like it bothered her any.  She liked seeing the desert during a sunset.  The sky was always so incredibly beautiful.  It was something she had watched many times with her family when she was younger.  It held a lot of memories for her, some better than others.

They were now going a direction that Ray had never once traveled, and she wandered the desert quite often with her Geno.  She was starting to get curious about Leon's intentions.  Just where was he taking her?  It would start to get dark in another hour or so, and it really wasn't safe to travel anywhere at night.  Exactly where were they going?

Suddenly, Leon began slowing down.  They were apparently near the location of their trip, but Ray couldn't really see anything important.  They weren't really by a city or anything.  It was just a place out in the desert.  What was so special about this place?

"Come on," said Leon as he stopped the car and opened his door.  "There's something I want to show you."  They both got out of the car, and Ray began following Leon.  They were walking out towards what appeared to be a cliff ledge.

They eventually reached the top, and Leon pointed out across the setting.  There was a smile on his face, his eyes shining.

"Look out there," he told her, and she obeyed.  What she saw took her breath away.  The setting was unbelievably beautiful.  She could see the sun falling behind the horizon, painting the sky in reds and yellows, even a splash of purple in the northern skies.  It was like looking at a picture or even a painting.  However, what made it so very breathtaking was the setting below the cliff they were on.  There was a forest, a lush green forest with a beautiful crystal blue lake in the middle.  This was probably one of the few areas like this still left.  Most of Des was nothing but deserts, but this place was green and full of life.  It was beautiful, and Ray was happy that Leon had decided to bring her out here.

"Amazing," she whispered as her eyes gleamed in the fading sunlight.  They didn't miss anything as they scanned over the setting.  It was in every way a paradise, an isolated utopia, untouched by any human hands.  It was nature's creation, and it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her nineteen years of existence.

Leon smiled as he watched her admire their surroundings.  He had been hoping that she'd find it as breathtaking as he had the first time he had seen it.  He had come here quite often as a child.  His mother would take them all to this very cliff edge, and they'd watch the sun set.  Once they even came out to see it rise, and he wasn't sure which one was more fun to watch.  It was a glorious sight to see either way.

As Ray stood there, still admiring the area, Leon came behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.  Strangely enough, she didn't pull away or even tense up.  In fact, she relaxed against him, reaching up to hug his arms closer to her body.  She was comfortable like this.  She was comfortable just standing and watching the sunset with him.

"Ray?" he asked her softly, drawing her attention away from the scenery.  He gently turned her around to face him, a question in his eyes.  He dropped his arms back to his sides, his expression now one of seriousness and curiosity.

"What is it?" she asked him, noticing how intense he looked right now.

"There's something I've been wondering," he began, but he didn't say anything after that.  Ray didn't question him either, wanting him to just tell her without having to ask.

Leon's eyes held hers for a while, and he slowly began to reach out with his right hand.  As it approached Ray's face, she quickly knew what he was up to, and she turned away a little.

"Please don't," she begged him softly as she closed her eyes, and he actually hesitated for a moment.  However, curiosity got the best of him, and his hand continued on its path.

Leon gently touched the left side of her face, and he began to push back the hair that concealed it.  He had to know why she insisted on hiding like that.  Just what didn't she want people to see?  He was surprised to find that she wasn't trying to stop him.  She didn't pull away or swat at his hand.  Instead, she let him push her hair behind her ear, and he gasped at what he saw.

Ray opened both of her beautiful cherry eyes and stared up at Leon.  It pained her to see the shock and horror in his eyes.  This was exactly why she hadn't wanted anyone to see.  She hated what he was staring at, and traces of tears quickly began to cling to her eyes.

On the left side of her face was a large scar, one that stretched from her temple to the side of her chin.  It was a wide cut, and the blood red color had never faded from the wound.  It just barely touched the corner of her left eye, and she had been lucky that it hadn't damaged her sight.  It was a horrible wound, and it was no wonder why she kept it covered.

"It's hideous, isn't it?" she asked him sadly, refusing to meet his eyes.  He was quickly snapped from his trance, and his attention went to Ray's eyes instead.

Before he could say anything to her, she turned away from him, her attention going back to the beautiful scene before her.  She walked away from him, her head still down.

"Do you understand now?" she asked softly.  "This is why I couldn't let people see me.  This…thing draws too much attention…too many questions."

"Ray, why…how did this happen?" he asked her out of pure concern.  He wasn't all that curious anymore, but he wanted to know just why she had such a large scar.  She was lucky it hadn't gone any deeper, or she may have died from the wound.

"I got it from the one man who has tormented my life from the beginning," she told him, her voice lacking the malice that was usually there when she spoke of the silver haired devil.  "You see, it happened just a few months after my parents died.  Lee and I were at a different base with Gordan since he needed to take care of something there.  During our stay, Ramirez came.  His goal was to kill Gordan, but he attacked everyone there, including Lee and I.  Ramirez was about to kill me, but Lee managed to pull me away in time.  I didn't see what happened next, but I remember feeling something slide down the side of my face, and then the burning started.  I ended up passing out, and when I woke up, I had this."

Ray's eyes filled with tears as the memory hung down on her.  She could see it all so vividly.  At least Gordan had made it out alive, thanks to Lee and the other officials.  It had still been a horrible experience though.  Why couldn't Ramirez just leave her alone?  Why did he have to keep destroying her world piece by piece?

"Afterwards, the people in Torran looked at me differently," she told him.  "They'd stare at the scar on my face and shake their heads at me.  Not one of them knew how I had gotten it.  They stared at Lee differently too, as if they blamed him for what had happened.  They probably thought he was in some kind of gang or something.  He ignored them, but I hated the way their eyes followed me, so I covered my scar.  Not even Abby and Brian know about it."

Ray slowly turned around to face Leon, and he could see the teardrops playing in her eyes.  They lined the bottoms of both, just waiting for her to let them fall.  It was as if everything she had gone through was concealed in those small drops, and she was determined to keep it all inside.  They signified all of her pain, all of the horrible memories that that scar held.

"This scar is like a reminder," she told him.  "It's a reminder of the hell that Ramirez put me through.  It reminds me…of just how hideous my life is."  She hung her head, her eyes focused completely on the ground.  She was sick of this.  She was just so tired of everything that she had been put through.  Ramirez had to be killed.  She needed to resolve this conflict, or she would never be at peace.  Nothing would ever bring her the content that killing him would.