Chapter 2
Suzume looked down into the chasm, tears streaming down her face. "No..." She was whispering to herself. "No... Please don't be dead..." She choked out. It then dawned on her that she could grieve and mourn later. The heartless were still on her tail. She stood, and began to run. I'll come back... I promise! She thought. Her mind remained on Radan the whole time she was running. A shadow formed in front of her, and without even thinking, her spear sliced through it. Seconds turned t minutes. She ran constantly, Finally, she noticed a distinct lack of heartless. She turned, and saw that there were none. Either they had given up, or she had lost them. She wound her way through the twists and turns of the canyon, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Finally, after quite some time, Suzume came to a small cave. Not very large, and only going back enough for about six people standing abreast to fit. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow on the blue stone. Suzume sighed, and sat down inside of the cave. 'Would it be too much to ask for a bit of wood?" She wondered aloud. Then she figured out that if she DID light a fire, the smoke would no doubt draw heartless to the area. Suzume tucked her legs in, and rested her chin on her knees. For quite a while, she remained motionless, thinking about Radan, and everything the had been through trying to run from the heartless. Radan had saved her life more than once. But now that he was dead... Suzume began to cry.
He had saved her life who know show many times now, ad she couldn't even return the favor. Eventually, she lay down, and fell into a cold, sobbing, restless sleep.
Suzume raised her head as the sun shined on it. For but a moment, she thought that it had all been a dream. Then, when she saw no signs of Radan, she dipped her head, and sighed. Slowly, she stood and made her way away from the cavern. The way was long, and winding. She was trying to reach the town she had seen before. More than once, she caught herself trembling at the thought of Radan. As she rounded another corner, she saw the way she had chosen was a dead end. Looking up the wall, she spotted what appeared to be a a more structured, gray-stone wall. No doubt the wall of the town she was trying to reach. Suzume sighed. "I can't jump that..." She muttered. She suddenly turned, drawing out her spear. "Whose there!" She barked.
"Easy, Put away your spear. I'm not here to hurt you." A man's voice said. Said man walked out from behind some boulders. He was wearing black pants with 3 red belts, a black sleeveless vest over a white shirt, and bore a scar that ran down from his forehead, to past his eye line. He held a weapon that looked rather unusual. It appeared to have it's blade tilted forward and said blade was attached to a gun handle. The man had brown eyes, and medium length, messy brown hair. "My name's Leon. Now, tell me, are you a friend, or a foe to Hollow Bastion?" He asked. Suzume hesitated.
"I don't want to hurt anybody... I just..." She began to tremble at the memory of Radan. She suddenly dropped her spear, and began to sob. "Please, help me... I can't run like this anymore... I just..." she found it impossible to choke out anymore words. Leon looked around briefly.
'Come on, then. It's not safe out here. You can tell us everything back at the HQ. Follow me." He turned, and began to walk away. Suzume quickly picked up her weapon, and followed after him. They walked for quite some time, climbing, winding through small canyons, before finally arriving a the gates to the town. The gates were ram-shackled, makeshift stone slabs thrust together to make what could pass for a defensible wall. There was a lot in the way of construction going on all around. Suzume hardly noticed, as her mind was still on Radan. Finally, she looked up to see Leon entering a building. She figured that the 'others' would be here, so she followed him inside.
At least I'm safe... She thought.