One Man Band System

A few moments later, Eric stepped out of his car, with the six girls piling out right behind him. They immediately marched into the lobby of the apartment building displayed on the system’s holographic screen. As soon as they exited the elevator, Eric spotted Jade and Mike standing in front of an apartment door, looking completely stressed out. Eric approached Jade.

"What’s going on, Jade?" Eric asked.

"Mike and I came over to grab the rest of my stuff from inside... but when we got here, it looked like they were throwing a party... and you saw the video, right? I saw a bunch of guys inside, and Ruby is all by herself... I already contacted Caleb too," Jade answered frantically.

"He’s on his way here as well," Mike added, continuously pounding on the door with a tense expression.

"Hmm... so they came straight here after school... that means they’ve been inside for a few hours already, since we went out for a bit before heading home," Monica noted.

"Oh man... this is bad... what’s happening to Ruby in there?" Priya asked.

"She’s a girl all by herself," Heidi added, deeply worried.

"What do we do?" Emma panicked.

"I’ll call in backup," Laura said, pulling her smartphone from her pocket.

"We don’t have time for that, Laura, but call them anyway," Chloe replied, equally anxious.

Watching everyone scramble, Eric kept a completely calm face. He checked in with his own emotions, and the scary part was, he didn’t feel anything at all. But even so, he couldn’t just stand by and let someone suffer through something against their will.

He stepped forward and knocked on the door, but got no response. Pressing his ear against the door, he could hear the thumping bass of a fast-paced song blasting inside.

A moment later, a middle-aged man and a security guard showed up. They pushed right through the crowd to open the door. Eric glanced at Mike.

"The landlord and security. I called them before you got here," Mike said.

"Got it. Good call," Eric replied.

As the door swung open, they were immediately hit by a thick wave of cigarette and marijuana smoke, mixed with the heavy stench of an absurd amount of booze. Stepping inside, everyone, including Eric, covered their noses, their eyes widening at the scene.

Eric could see Ruby slumped over, weak and helpless, her school uniform half-ripped open. Three guys were hovering over her, looking up as the door opened, right in the middle of stripping her down. Two other guys stood up to confront the landlord and the guard at the front.

"Yo... what’s the deal here? This is a private party," said a fierce-looking young guy, oozing arrogance as if he were completely untouchable in this world.

Then, the guy spotted Jade, Mike, Eric, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura standing behind the landlord and security. His smirk widened. Completely ignoring the landlord, who was busy rattling off the building policy, the guy stepped forward to eyeball the girls.

"Well, well... looks like we got some extra guests," the guy said, chuckling.

Naturally, the girls instantly formed a defensive line, and Mike stepped out in front of them all. But the guy immediately shoved Mike, catching him off guard and sending him stumbling back.

Meanwhile, Eric locked his eyes on Ruby. He was shaking, definitely feeling a surge of emotion now as he watched his sister being actively stripped, the guys showing no signs of stopping.

He noticed Chad passed out right next to her, and then he recognized one of the three guys pawing at Ruby. It was the same bodyguard who had helped Chad harass Emma before.

Before Eric even realized what he was doing, he launched himself forward. His fist smashed right into the face of one of the guys pulling at Ruby’s skirt, sending him flying backward onto the sofa.

"Hey!" the other two guys snapped, instantly standing up, but Eric spun on his heel, catching one square in the cheek with a backhand before taking a small leap to swing his leg around, planting a kick flush against the other guy’s head. The two men dropped instantly, out cold.

"Hey, what the hell..."

The two guys who had been confronting the landlord spun around and rushed Eric. But Eric charged ahead without a second thought, driving his knee hard into one guy’s chest. The moment his foot touched the floor, he unleashed a vicious uppercut right to the jaw of the guy next to him before the man could even react.

All five men were laid out cold and motionless, completely caught off guard by Eric’s sudden, brutal onslaught while they were wasted.

"Huff... huff... huff."

Eric’s breathing turned ragged. His heart hammered violently against his chest, a look of sheer panic washing over his face. His eyes were wide, practically bulging out of their sockets as he gasped for air. Slowly, he turned his head toward Ruby, who seemed completely unconscious.

Moving on pure instinct, he stepped over, scooped Ruby up in his arms, and turned around to carry her straight to the hospital. But suddenly, Mike stepped right in front of him, blocking his path.

"Eric... calm down... don’t do anything reckless... Chloe already called an ambulance, they’ll be here any minute. Let’s just get Ruby out of this room and wait for the medics, alright?" Mike said, trying to steady him.

"Oh... right," Eric muttered, snapping back to reality.

He looked down at the unconscious Ruby. He stared at his little sister, the girl who had grown up right alongside him until everything fell apart, until she turned into an annoying, selfish brat who always demanded things from him without ever caring about his feelings, even joining in on the blame when he was framed.

But then he also remembered her coming to see him during the school festival, their chat in his apartment lobby, and everything the girls had just told him about her in the restroom.

For some reason, he felt a spark of connection toward Ruby again. Not exactly as the sister he used to know, but as something else, even if she was still his little sister at the end of the day.

Tears began to stream down his face without him even realizing it. Seeing Eric holding Ruby like that, the six girls immediately rushed over to help him carry her, some of them wrapping their arms around Eric to comfort him. Jade watched the scene unfold with a smile, tears spilling over her own cheeks as Mike wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders.

After that, they all left Ruby’s suffocating apartment together and gently laid her down in the hallway outside. Before long, the paramedics and the police arrived. The officers headed straight inside to check out the scene, while the medics examined Ruby.

"She’s drugged... we’re taking her to the hospital for a full evaluation," one of the paramedics said, radioing his team.

"Alright, please go ahead," Mike said.

A few moments later, several medics loaded Ruby up and took her down the elevator before placing her on a rolling gurney on the first floor. Mike glanced back at Eric, who was sitting with his back against the wall, surrounded by the six girls hugging him, with Jade standing right beside him, holding his head comfortingly. Shortly after, a police officer stepped out of the apartment and knelt down in front of Eric.

"Excuse me, can I ask you a few questions? According to the landlord and the security guard, you’re the one who took down everyone inside. Could you come down to the station with us to give a statement?" the officer asked.

Hearing that, Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura immediately jumped in, shielding Eric from the officer.

"He didn’t do anything wrong, officer! He was just saving his little sister!" Emma shouted.

"Yeah, exactly, officer! Don’t arrest him!" Priya added.

"I’m the one who called the police. I’ll cooperate fully, just please don’t take him away," Chloe chimed in.

"I’m willing to give a statement too, sir. Besides, the landlord and the guard saw exactly what happened," Heidi added.

"You can’t just arrest him just because he fought them off. If he hadn’t stepped in, our friend would’ve been ruined. Please try to understand, officer," Monica added.

"I’m calling my uncle right now, sir. Hold on a second," Laura said, pulling out her phone.

"Um... hey, I think you guys are misunderstanding. The officer just wants Eric to give a statement, he’s not trying to arrest him," Jade said with a smile, finding the six girls’ reactions kind of adorable.

"Huh?" The six girls blinked, looking at Jade as their faces instantly turned bright red. Eric then stood up, his face completely calm again as he looked at the officer in front of him.

"Sure, officer, I’ll go with you. You girls head home... or go hang out at Jade’s place for now, and I’ll pick you up later," Eric said, gently patting Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura on the head one by one.

Eric then handed his car keys to Jade and asked her to drive the six girls home, while Mike volunteered to tag along with Eric and the police. They left Jade and the girls standing there, anxious and red-faced.

"Alright... you guys don’t need to worry, Mike is with him. Do you want to head to the hospital?" Jade asked.

"Yes... please take us there," Emma said, speaking for Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura, who were all just as eager as she was.