Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; Square does. Only the situation is my own.
This is my first attempt at a horror story. Sorry if I failed miserably. Happy Halloween, everybody.
WHEN DARKNESS FALLS
Part One
The Transformation
Death was a corona of red-on-black fire. It flitted through the shadows on swift, silent paws and was armed with dagger-like claws and slavering fangs. It stalked the darkened corridors of the mind, leaving torn and bloodied bodies in its wake. The dying screams were like music to the monster's ears, and the sharp tang of blood left it lusting after more.
It would kill and kill and kill until its hunger was sated. It would destroy all life it encountered, rending and tearing with its claws. It would show no compassion, no mercy. The creature thrived on death.
Its pleasure in the killing was dampened by the fact that it wasn't yet real. The people it mutilated would be back the next night, and the next. But the barrier was weakening, it sensed. It faded a little more every day, and was nearly gone. Soon, the dream would become reality. But for now, it would satisfy itself with the illusion of death.
When the time came, it would make the corridors run red with blood. It would feast upon real flesh. And no one would ever be able to contain it again.
* * *
Squall woke with a start, but the dream that had so frightened him was already fading, the disturbing images that he'd been seeing for several nights eluding his grasp. They had to be the same dreams, though. He'd never had any others that left him feeling so helpless and vulnerable…
…and so violently angry. He clenched his hands in an effort to control his inexplicable rage, trembling at the effort. His nails bit into his palm, drawing blood.
Squall stared at the throbbing scratches for a moment, each a line of black in the dim light. He absently licked the blood away, shivering at the strange thrill the taste gave him, then decided to try to get back to sleep. He'd already had the dream once tonight; it wouldn't come to disturb him again. Not until tomorrow.
* * *
In her room a few doors down from Squall's, Rinoa awoke, clutching her sweat-soaked sheet to her body. A vague feeling of unease intruded upon her sorceress senses, but she couldn't identify the source. All she could tell was that something was about to happen.
A burning visage, red shot through with black, imposed itself upon her mind. Fiery eyes glowered at her, boring through her straight to her soul. It grinned at her with vaguely canine jaws before vanishing from her mind.
What the hell…? she wondered. It was a vision, she realized. It had to be. But what did it mean?
A cold lump of fear formed in her stomach. Something was coming. And it had set its sights upon her…
* * *
"Are you feeling okay, Squall? You look a little pale."
Squall ignored Selphie's concerned look, concentrating on his untouched breakfast as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. Beside him, an equally concerned Rinoa waved a hand in front of Squall's glazed blue eyes.
"Earth to Squall," Rinoa said. "Are you there?"
Squall blinked, turning to face his friends finally. "I just have a slight headache," he mumbled.
"Maybe you should see Dr. Kadowaki," Selphie suggested brightly. "You want to be okay for the Spring Festival tonight!" she continued enthusiastically. Rinoa just gazed at him, a thoughtful look on her face. Something was bothering her, Squall noticed. Her normally friendly and cheerful face had a withdrawn look, as if something were on her mind that she didn't want anyone to know about. Squall had worn that look often enough to recognize it in someone else.
She met his eyes, and an unreadable look darkened them before she turned away. Something was definitely up with her.
"I don't need a doctor," Squall said. "It's just a small ache. I can probably get rid of it with a potion."
"But-" Selphie began.
"I don't want to hear about it anymore," Squall said sharply.
Rinoa was looking at him again, her eyes searching his face. She looked as if she wanted to protest, but was wisely keeping silent. Good; he didn't want to deal with her concern too!
But the silence was very unlike her. He wondered if she might not be feeling well, either. Squall dismissed that though. If something were wrong with Rinoa, she would tell him whether he wanted to hear or not. Besides, he had other things to worry about, like the pounding headache that was making it difficult to concentrate, and the red haze that clouded his vision whenever he looked at anyone. If it got any worse, he promised himself, he'd go see Dr. Kadowaki. But not right now. He had too much work to do.
Squall excused himself from the table, missing Selphie's troubled look, and Rinoa's expression of thinly veiled terror.
* * *
She had seen it again. The creature that had haunted her dreams had peered out at her through Squall's steel-blue eyes. It had been so small she'd almost missed it, but she'd spotted two glittering points burning like embers in the depths of Squall's pupils.
What was going on? Was a sorceress trying to gain control of Squall? Somehow Rinoa doubted it could be anything that simple.
* * *
The day passed normally, with nothing occurring to justify Rinoa's fears. Squall seemed a little more withdrawn than normal and had excused himself from dinner early, but that could have been explained by his headache. He still wasn't feeling well and had actually gone to see Dr. Kadowaki, who had advised that he sleep it off.
Which left Rinoa without a date to the Spring Festival. Without Squall, she didn't really feel like going.
So Rinoa spent the rest of the evening fretting. Her sense of foreboding increased as the sun went down and the sky blackened. She was standing by the second floor balcony, watching the stars twinkle into existence and searching for an elusive shooting star.
What had she seen in Squall's eyes? Had it been her imagination? She'd never seen anything like it before. Perhaps she was the one with the problem. She was the sorceress, after all.
Rinoa toyed with the rings strung around her neck, her fingers caressing the savage lion head of Squall's ring. He'd chosen such a fierce creature to honor. Was he fascinated by the creature's glinting jewel eye and the razor-sharp teeth?
The feel of strange, evil magic washed over her, overwhelming her senses. Rinoa cried out and staggered against the railing as the assault continued. Something was wrong! She could feel an edge of rage and hatred attached to the invading emotions, and the power of it nearly blinded her to everything else.
It's happening! she thought desperately, clambering to her feet. Whatever it is, it's happening now!
Rinoa ran through the door into Garden's empty hall, one thought on her mind. She had to help Squall because he was at the center of this!
* * *
Pain! It ripped through Squall's body with claws of fire, tearing into his mind. He shrank from the invading presence and found himself a prisoner of the agony that was molding his body into something new and terrifying. He tried to scream, but he was cut off from the rest of the world, shut off from his own body, which was now under the control of something malevolent. All he had was the pain…
* * *
The creature gave a roar of triumph. The barrier was down! At last it was free to take flesh and satisfy its craving for death!
It had been alarmed earlier when it had sensed the female who smelled of the power that had birthed it, but also had the same powers of the one who had trapped it so long ago. This unknown girl with sorceress powers could be the only one able to hurt it at this vulnerable stage.
But she hadn't done anything to it, though she obviously had sensed it. That was a very foolish move. Now it was free of its confines, free to roam the night and hunt and kill the female with its powerful form!
The creature swelled outward, forcing its puny host's body to change with it. The pitiful host fought the change, but was soon incapacitated by the pain. When it had finished, it raised its jaws in a howl that rocked the room around it.
* * *
Where was everyone? Rinoa wondered as she raced down the dormitory corridor. They couldn't all be at the festival, could they? Except for the eerie cries that echoed down the hall, no one was around to make a sound. Were they too frightened to face whatever was making the noise?
Squall… Please be okay, Rinoa willed as she picked up the pace, her hurried steps echoing around her. A chill went down Rinoa's spine.
She felt as if she were being watched. She could almost feel those smoldering eyes, burning holes in the back of her neck. Where was everyone?
She should turn around right now and find someone to come with her. She didn't know what was going on, but it was likely to be dangerous. She needed help.
But what if Squall was hurt? Dying? What if, in the time it took for her to retrieve help, he died? She wouldn't be able to live with herself if Squall was lost because she was frightened. She was a sorceress; she should be able to handle anything!
Rinoa paused to cast a Protect on herself, and a Shell just in case. She readied a powerful offensive spell, the words to activate it on the tip of her tongue. Hesitantly, she began to walk towards Squall's room, this time keeping her steps silent.
She couldn't contain the gasp that slipped from her mouth as she caught sight of Squall's door. The sliding panel had been pushed outwards, its edges ripped and bent. Inside Squall's room, it looked as if someone had unleashed a Tornado: furniture was laying splintered, papers were scattered around… and Squall's gunblade, the weapon he was so proud of, had been snapped in two and carelessly tossed aside.
Rinoa's fear intensified as she found Squall's clothes. His jacket lay untouched across his chair, but his shirt and pants lay in a tattered heap on the floor. There was no blood anywhere she could see, but there were long gouges in the tile floor that resembled claw marks. Big claw marks.
Rinoa was ready to fetch help now. Whatever had done this was too powerful to face on her own. She turned and cautiously went out the door, fighting down the panicked urge to run, run, run!
Her heart was beating rapidly and her blood roared in her ears. What had happened to Squall? What evil force was loose in Garden? Could it be stopped?
So lost in thought was she that Rinoa almost didn't hear the skittering of claws on tile. She stepped up her pace, on the verge of running down the dark corridor. She was barely able to keep herself from sprinting; the noise was echoing strangely down the empty hall and she couldn't be sure where the monster was. It could be ahead of her and she could run right into it…
The beast seemed to appear out of nowhere. One moment, Rinoa was alone in a pool of shadow, the next, a pair of burning eyes opened in front of her and a monstrous shape reared up out of the darkness. Rinoa barely had the chance to glimpse a demonic dog-like head before the creature slammed in to her, its claws digging into her left shoulder. She hadn't even had time to snap off a spell before the breath was knocked out of her and she was left helpless.
Through a haze of pain, Rinoa realized distantly My Protect isn't working… It got through my spell! What was this creature?
It seemed content for the moment to hold her pinned beneath it, its monstrous jaws with their slavering teeth just inches from her face. She nearly choked at the overwhelming fetid odor of its breath.
She had to escape. No one in Garden knew about the creature! She doubted her screams would pierce the party music, which meant she was entirely on her own. Under the creature's body, she tensed, then suddenly pushed her body forward and twisted to the left, trying to break its grip.
A searing pain ripped from her shoulder, across her breasts, and down her right side as she spun in the monster's grasp. The creature's claws had torn through her, instead of letting go!
Blood dripped down her torso, soaking her torn clothes and staining the marble below her. She tried to get to her feet, but the shock of being ripped from shoulder to thigh was too much and she fell forward. She bit her lip in an effort to keep from screaming.
Keep your head! Attack it! her instincts screamed.
But I hurt far too much… she thought, watching the creature advance towards her, an almost bemused look on its lupine face. It was coming slowly, realizing its prey was too helpless to put up a fight.
As it neared, it crossed a patch of moonlight that sharply illuminated its features… and brought Rinoa's attention to a glint of metal at the creature's throat.
Squall's Griever pendant… Her eyes met the creature's, and now she could see its face was marred by a familiar scar. Great Hyne… It's Squall!
The creature bared its fangs in a deadly smile as it leaned forward for the killing blow.
To Be Continued…