There are good guys. There are bad guys. Then there’s me.
Moving to a new school sucks. I don’t care about being cool and I have no filter – not exactly a recipe for success. Thankfully, the “geeks” welcome me in with open arms, including Zoe. For the first time in my life, I have a female friend, and I kinda like how this feels.
I’ve always been the girl who had to fight to keep going. My friends have always been guys, and the dorky kind. I’ve simply never known anything else, so when Zoe needs my help, I’m all in. I’m not afraid of picking a fight – or breaking a few rules. After all, bullies get to do it all the time.
And this jerk is taking his abuse to a whole new level. Worse, no one seems to care – except us. One rag-tag group of “losers” who have just the right set of skills. But who knew that spending so much time with these guys might make me look at them in a different light? Zoe, that’s who.
But it doesn’t matter if I like them, does it? We have a job to do. Zoe is depending on me, and that’s a hell of a lot more important than some feelings I don’t know how to deal with anyway. What really matters is that my first female friend deserves a little revenge. I’ll throw everything away – even my own future – for the girl who has become my ride or die bestie.
So, I’m going to make sure she gets her vengeance.
And she’s going to make sure I fall in love.
I will take revenge. Their day of disaster will arrive. I am their Ruin.
I need to believe that, because someone has to push back against the crap in the world. That someone is us. What happened to my best friend may have formed Ruin, but fixing it didn’t break our group. If anything, the seven of us are stronger than ever.
But the bad guys still exist. They’re also getting worse. When I find out they’re tormenting a group of girls at school, I have to act. Women are supposed to help each other, after all. At least that’s what my “girl lessons” have taught me.
Unfortunately, these guys aren’t stupid. The proof of blackmail is nowhere to be found. That means it’s time to go analog and do this “old school.” Because if we can’t tear them down legally, I’m more than willing to destroy them socially.
As the situation escalates, I’m drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. These guys are brutal, think they’re untouchable, and they have no qualms about hurting people to get what they want.
So I’m going to have to take a few risks.
After all, I have nothing else to lose – or do I?
I made one stupid mistake. That will never happen again.
This crap isn’t just cyberbullying anymore. What started as mere cutdowns and blackmail has become something much worse – and I can’t seem to stop it. Dylan and his friends are a step ahead of me.
These bullies are cruel and sadistic. They think they can get away with anything. Once, they were right, but they’ve also never met anyone like me before. I’m not afraid of them, and I will not stop. I don’t know how.
I also know their weakness. See, in today’s world, technology is everywhere and information is the real power. Hacking makes me the threat they won’t see coming. And I must find a way to stop these guys before any more girls are hurt!
The clock is ticking and the stakes are too high for a group of high school kids working on our own. When the conventional methods won’t work, it’s time to break all the rules. Maybe I won’t fix everything, but it’s not like I can make things worse, can I?
So screw being nice.
It’s time to get vicious.
The past has made me a little fragile. Not like glass. More like a bomb.
Who knew breaking the law to bust a group of serial rapists would work out so well for us? The FBI has taken note, and now we’re in their sights. In a good way! This is not what a hacktivist group like us would have ever expected to happen.
But, trying to manage college, our new chance with the feds, and my crazy love life? Yeah, it’s a lot. Of course it can’t be easy. Yet if we want to make sure this works out, then we’re going to have to break a few more rules – because even the good guys need someone to protect them.
So when one of the few people to give me a chance is being dragged down for it? There’s no way I’m going to ignore this. Maybe I’m going overboard, but that’s my usual, right?
When push comes to shove, I will always be the one shoving. I will not lose anyone else. There’s a reason we named our group Ruin. I just hope that trying to fight back won’t destroy all the good things I already have.
I made the mistake of caring.
Now I’m waiting for it all to explode.