CHAPTER 1
Riley felt as if her body was suspended in time as she hovered in a murky dream. A continuous droning noise filled her ears as every muscle in her body ached with the pain of a thousand knives jabbing her. Suddenly she felt awake as she lifted her head to look around at chocolate brown walls and rushing water. She looked down to find herself standing in a small pool of water that was waist high on her.
She felt a rush of fear as she spun around to see that a drainpipe had been broken and it was now spilling water into her 3m deep hole. She pushed her way to the walls and grabbed onto it only to find a clump of mud break off in her hand. She dropped the mud and tried to climb the walls unsuccessfully as the water breached her chin.
"Help!" she screamed out as she began treading water trying to stay afloat. She looked up and felt fear stab her coldly. A grate was sealing the top of the hole stopping her from climbing out at the top.
"Someone help me!" she screamed clasping her fingers around the gate trying to pushed it but her hands felt weak as her arms were hurting from something that she had done before, that she couldn't remember. She tried to breathe through the small gaps in the grate but nothing could stop the inevitable.
"Hel." she screamed as the water covered her head and flooded out of the gaps she had tried to breathe from. She shook the gate with them mall energy she had left but failed. Her eyes burned as she felt herself sinking into the murky water unable to see what was above the surface clearly.
She tried to avoid the urge to breathe that was overwhelming like something crushing your ribs. Her legs stopped kicking and she felt herself sinking further deeper into darkness. Suddenly something clasped around her wrist like a tourniquet binding her. She felt herself rising up to the surface; she was pulled from the water and onto the ground above the hole.
She breathed hard looking up to see two guys and one girl looking at her puzzled.
"Are you OK?" the girl asked with her long brown hair that was tied loosely in a ponytail swishing behind her. Her red like eyes were welcoming but hard as she looked concernedly at Riley.
Riley noticed that she was wearing a pair of boots but one had a steel cap o it. Her two gloves had studs on them making it obvious that she relied on hand to hand fighting. She was also wearing a tight white top and a short black skirt with a belt that held it up to her top.
She looked over at a very tall and beefy looking guy who had a tattoo on one of his dark skinned arms. His jacket was torn and green pants were loosely hanging from his metal chest plate. Riley looked over at one of his arms that had a prosthetic gun arm on it. His eyes were dark and mean as he frowned at her. She read his dog tag that read 'B. Wallace' before looking over to the guy who had pulled her from the hole.
He was wearing some kind of purple suit with to gloves and one shoulder pad. His giant sword was beside him resting on the ground that was probably bigger than him almost. His blonde hair stuck out in every direction and his blue eyes were like the inside of a glacier: cold and mysterious.
"Are you OK?" the girl repeated and Riley nodded.
"Yeah sorry I just got a little shocked to be alive" Riley said drawing in a deep breath. "I take it that you are avalanche?" she said and they all looked startled at her. "Don't worry I wont tell"
"How did you know?" the beefy guy asked.
"What sort of people walk around in a small group with studded gloves, steel capped boots, gun-arms and buster swords?" she asked smartly.
"What sort of girl is trapped in a 3m hole with knives strapped to their thighs?" the blonde guy asked and she looked down to see two iron knives with almost fork like two extra curves. She ran her hand on the blade and almost felt it cut her hand as a flash of before she was trapped came back to her.
She could see herself fighting someone, a dark image. Screams and flashes of weapons make her jump slightly.
"Are you alright?" the girl repeated for the third time and Riley snapped out of it looking at her hard.
"So are you avalanche?" she asked again.
"We can't answer that," the beefy guy snapped walking off whist almost dragging the girl with him. She hit him before turning back.
"What's you name?" she asked as they other blonde guy picked up his sword holding it over his shoulder.
"Riley Kaminari" she lied, if these people were really from Avalanche she didn't want to tell them who she really was as it was as much an embarrassment to her as it was to the planet. "Yours?" she asked glancing at all of them and they looked stunned by the fact that she asked.
"Tifa Lockhart" the girl smiled winking, the guys hesitated turning to walk. "And this is Barrett Wallace and Cloud Strife" she pointed first to the beefy guy and then to the big sword guy.
"Please to meet you bye" Barrett snapped walking off.
"I would like to help you" Riley blurted out and they all turned to face her.
"Help us? Why?" Cloud snapped. "You probably wouldn't be able to defend yourself and would rely on us all of the time" he said coldly shrugging.
"Oh you have no idea" Riley stood tall but he was still a fair half head taller than her. He suddenly rose his sword and swung it at her, in a flash of where-is-your-grandmother Riley drew her knives from her leg bands driving them on either side of the sword holding it still with the fork like spokes.
"Hmm" he raised his eyebrow and tried to pull it back through the knives to get it out but she turned it around to stop him. He kicked out and she jumped over him pushing down his shoulders to allow her to flip over him pulling his sword away from him. Riley put her knives back in her belts quickly and picked up the buster sword holding it as if she were ready to swing at him.
"She is good" Tifa grinned and Barrett scoffed.
"He is after all an X-SOLDIER" Barrett scoffed and Riley handed Cloud back his buster sword and he said nothing just staring at her with a cold look in his face.
"I had to prove you wrong" Riley smirked, walking past him to Tifa and Barrett. "So can I help you? After all I do owe you"
"I don't have a problem with it, Cloud think of Aries" Tifa said and Cloud shrugged.
"I don't care, this is not my battle, I am here for the money and just to help Aries out of what I got her in." Cloud snapped and she rolled her eyes as he walked ahead of them leading them with Barrett behind him but not next to him.
"Is he always like that?" Riley asked.
"I have known him for a very long time and he has always been somewhat like that to people he even knows. I believe he just can't express his emotions" Tifa answered and Riley nodded looking ahead.
"He has a big sword," she laughed and Tifa laughed back.
"Yeah, that was pretty cool what you did before, where did you learn?" Tifa asked running her fingers over her gloves.
"I taught myself." Riley answered lying again and Tifa nodded.
"Well if you fight as well as I think you can after your little performance it will make it easier to defeat Shinra" Tifa laughed and Riley half- heartedly laughed along shortly.
Riley felt as if her body was suspended in time as she hovered in a murky dream. A continuous droning noise filled her ears as every muscle in her body ached with the pain of a thousand knives jabbing her. Suddenly she felt awake as she lifted her head to look around at chocolate brown walls and rushing water. She looked down to find herself standing in a small pool of water that was waist high on her.
She felt a rush of fear as she spun around to see that a drainpipe had been broken and it was now spilling water into her 3m deep hole. She pushed her way to the walls and grabbed onto it only to find a clump of mud break off in her hand. She dropped the mud and tried to climb the walls unsuccessfully as the water breached her chin.
"Help!" she screamed out as she began treading water trying to stay afloat. She looked up and felt fear stab her coldly. A grate was sealing the top of the hole stopping her from climbing out at the top.
"Someone help me!" she screamed clasping her fingers around the gate trying to pushed it but her hands felt weak as her arms were hurting from something that she had done before, that she couldn't remember. She tried to breathe through the small gaps in the grate but nothing could stop the inevitable.
"Hel." she screamed as the water covered her head and flooded out of the gaps she had tried to breathe from. She shook the gate with them mall energy she had left but failed. Her eyes burned as she felt herself sinking into the murky water unable to see what was above the surface clearly.
She tried to avoid the urge to breathe that was overwhelming like something crushing your ribs. Her legs stopped kicking and she felt herself sinking further deeper into darkness. Suddenly something clasped around her wrist like a tourniquet binding her. She felt herself rising up to the surface; she was pulled from the water and onto the ground above the hole.
She breathed hard looking up to see two guys and one girl looking at her puzzled.
"Are you OK?" the girl asked with her long brown hair that was tied loosely in a ponytail swishing behind her. Her red like eyes were welcoming but hard as she looked concernedly at Riley.
Riley noticed that she was wearing a pair of boots but one had a steel cap o it. Her two gloves had studs on them making it obvious that she relied on hand to hand fighting. She was also wearing a tight white top and a short black skirt with a belt that held it up to her top.
She looked over at a very tall and beefy looking guy who had a tattoo on one of his dark skinned arms. His jacket was torn and green pants were loosely hanging from his metal chest plate. Riley looked over at one of his arms that had a prosthetic gun arm on it. His eyes were dark and mean as he frowned at her. She read his dog tag that read 'B. Wallace' before looking over to the guy who had pulled her from the hole.
He was wearing some kind of purple suit with to gloves and one shoulder pad. His giant sword was beside him resting on the ground that was probably bigger than him almost. His blonde hair stuck out in every direction and his blue eyes were like the inside of a glacier: cold and mysterious.
"Are you OK?" the girl repeated and Riley nodded.
"Yeah sorry I just got a little shocked to be alive" Riley said drawing in a deep breath. "I take it that you are avalanche?" she said and they all looked startled at her. "Don't worry I wont tell"
"How did you know?" the beefy guy asked.
"What sort of people walk around in a small group with studded gloves, steel capped boots, gun-arms and buster swords?" she asked smartly.
"What sort of girl is trapped in a 3m hole with knives strapped to their thighs?" the blonde guy asked and she looked down to see two iron knives with almost fork like two extra curves. She ran her hand on the blade and almost felt it cut her hand as a flash of before she was trapped came back to her.
She could see herself fighting someone, a dark image. Screams and flashes of weapons make her jump slightly.
"Are you alright?" the girl repeated for the third time and Riley snapped out of it looking at her hard.
"So are you avalanche?" she asked again.
"We can't answer that," the beefy guy snapped walking off whist almost dragging the girl with him. She hit him before turning back.
"What's you name?" she asked as they other blonde guy picked up his sword holding it over his shoulder.
"Riley Kaminari" she lied, if these people were really from Avalanche she didn't want to tell them who she really was as it was as much an embarrassment to her as it was to the planet. "Yours?" she asked glancing at all of them and they looked stunned by the fact that she asked.
"Tifa Lockhart" the girl smiled winking, the guys hesitated turning to walk. "And this is Barrett Wallace and Cloud Strife" she pointed first to the beefy guy and then to the big sword guy.
"Please to meet you bye" Barrett snapped walking off.
"I would like to help you" Riley blurted out and they all turned to face her.
"Help us? Why?" Cloud snapped. "You probably wouldn't be able to defend yourself and would rely on us all of the time" he said coldly shrugging.
"Oh you have no idea" Riley stood tall but he was still a fair half head taller than her. He suddenly rose his sword and swung it at her, in a flash of where-is-your-grandmother Riley drew her knives from her leg bands driving them on either side of the sword holding it still with the fork like spokes.
"Hmm" he raised his eyebrow and tried to pull it back through the knives to get it out but she turned it around to stop him. He kicked out and she jumped over him pushing down his shoulders to allow her to flip over him pulling his sword away from him. Riley put her knives back in her belts quickly and picked up the buster sword holding it as if she were ready to swing at him.
"She is good" Tifa grinned and Barrett scoffed.
"He is after all an X-SOLDIER" Barrett scoffed and Riley handed Cloud back his buster sword and he said nothing just staring at her with a cold look in his face.
"I had to prove you wrong" Riley smirked, walking past him to Tifa and Barrett. "So can I help you? After all I do owe you"
"I don't have a problem with it, Cloud think of Aries" Tifa said and Cloud shrugged.
"I don't care, this is not my battle, I am here for the money and just to help Aries out of what I got her in." Cloud snapped and she rolled her eyes as he walked ahead of them leading them with Barrett behind him but not next to him.
"Is he always like that?" Riley asked.
"I have known him for a very long time and he has always been somewhat like that to people he even knows. I believe he just can't express his emotions" Tifa answered and Riley nodded looking ahead.
"He has a big sword," she laughed and Tifa laughed back.
"Yeah, that was pretty cool what you did before, where did you learn?" Tifa asked running her fingers over her gloves.
"I taught myself." Riley answered lying again and Tifa nodded.
"Well if you fight as well as I think you can after your little performance it will make it easier to defeat Shinra" Tifa laughed and Riley half- heartedly laughed along shortly.