The Brimstone Tower
Chapter 10
The logic of dreams
The path was abandoned, though another had tread it some short time ago. Looking up he could see thin lines of black against a starless night sky. Impossible, perhaps, since there was no contrast between the two blacks, both were so stark they hurt and melded in his vision. But for the time being such mundane impossiblities such as physics and vision were irrelevent.
Such is the logic of dreams.
Spying darkest black on darkest black was the least of this dreams illogical points. The earth was sheathed in glass, fragments and chunks had rained from above, a rainbow rain that had fallen around him without making so much as a line of red on his skin. He'd watched, numb, at this glitter color's fall. It was as if every piece of glass, every panel upon the world, ever window of the Tower, had been broken only to fall down.
Looking up he could see the fall, could see the red and green, the yellows and blacks, the blues and indigos descend. And in falling they caught the mao light, from color to irridescent flash. The sky was alive with falling stars, some silver tinted, some green edged, a few -so few- were streaked with the supposed purity of yellow-gold...
Looking down the fragments of the world, all the looking glasses, the televisions, the ruins of his Tower, all of it condensed before to meld into a winding jagged road. Unprompted, he began to walk the offered road. Setting his feet against the razor edges and grinding down the images still caught in the glass under his heel.
Such were the peticulaities of his little stroll.
About him, above, lost in black so dark there could be no splicing pillar from dark, was the charred fondations of the world. He couldn't see them, never that, but he knew they were there. And that was enough for now.
XXX
"The door has opened."
Lifting her head she looked around. But at this place and time she was without sight, not merely blind... but denied vision by some maligant force beyond her comprehension. As a child would, she reached for the warmth at her side. What she expected she did not find, and she shivered, not from chills, but from fear.
"A door to the darkness..."
She turned to confront the speaker. Aching to let out some bravado to prove to herself her own courage if nothing else. But like sight, speach was denied her. She was smothered by the impenitrable dark, smothered... and drowning.
"This world has been conected, tied to the..."
The dark... For that was all that was left of this world, dark upon dark, until life and light were ground out.
XXX
Back to back, stone stood between them. Featured stone marred with compasionate faces made mad by wisdom's weight. But those facades of gentle sorrow and those all knowing mad eyes were lost to him. The sun was setting, he sighed at the dark, tracing the remaining lines of crimson that had become his horizon. The door was a red rimmed blur, with his pulse came th bluring of vision, the loss of coherance.
Footsteps cut a hard stacato... it's rythm a stark contrast to his own faultering heart. Annoyed he looked up, wondering what she wanted now.
"You're rather snippy for someone who just came over to say hi."
"This visit... was unintended."
Old words said between them a lifetime ago in slate skied Midgar. Or rather his old lifetime... lifestyle... ago. It was his end and her begining. How ironic that it was the end of his old way and the dawn of his new and for her this meeting had been the morning of her final year.
Always they traded in old conversations, nattering at each other, subtly fencing, bantering, and always the stone pillar stood between them. Some of thier conversations were clearer than others, some were red hazes, snippits of talk exchanged as he patiently died and a few -so very few!- took place in the chapel, in a when and where where they were both whole and young.
Always they talked, thier lines prearanged like actors in a play.
"You'll take her home?"
"Only if you come without a fight."
"We're friends, right?" She murrmurred, uncertianly. Loking beyond him, past him, as if he didn't matter. Her choice of words were damning, for they were ironic and iconic.
"I am a Turk, I may only have aquaintences."
"It's the same thing." She insisted."
"Hardly."
"We're friends, right?" She repeated, a hint of steel in her tone.
"Fine." Letting his Wutai reserve drop, the words came out in a rush. "If it makes you so damned happy, yes we are friends. Just-"
"-don't call me that in public!" She cheered, finishing his scentence for him.
She laughed, he sighed, it was the way things were between them, here, now, and always.
"You know... Tseng."
Hesitance, that was new. Even before being sent to the labs she hadn't been hesitant. Defiant, reluctant... but never this timid. He meant to rise, but could only lean back against the stone. The red that ran from his abused side was rushing out in a crimson torrent.
"The dark... it's not so bad to the north."
XXX
Fists couldn't dent what you couldn't see. Rage coudln't bring down the undefinable no matter how much you hated it. Sides heaving, he gulped and gasped, feeling whipped from slugging at the air around him and hitting something that hit back hard.
"You who knows nothing, can learn nothing. An ironic little delema, isn't it? We are all born ignorant, and thus we all die impotent. Every single one of us."
It laughed and he roared. This time he'd throtle it! To hell with punching!
Hands closed around his throat before he could make his move.
XXX
"Easy... easy."
He always talked to the helicoptor, as if it were a thing influneced by charisma, as if he could sooth it to better flight with words and tone... Perhads he could. Or rather, maybe he had. Touchdown was smooth, with a minimal amount of skid, a second later the blades began to slow. For better or worse they were grounded. A look at the fuel gauge telling him that they weren't going to be get off the ground again until they'd filled the tank. Acting ignorant of thier situation, Tseng had had snapped open his cell phone as if it was anyother day. A few taps of the keypad later and he set the device to his ear, listening. In listening the Turk relaxed, leaning against the steel side of the helicoptor even as Rude and Elena took thier places be either side of the door. A few moments Tseng shook his head, folded the phone and put it in his pocket even as he pulled away from the steel wall.
"No signal. It's not busy, or down, just dead."
Ominous words considering the scene they had abandoned last night. Turk and President considered the what they had seen and what they could expect. It should have been a scene out of some macho movie. Two alpha leads contemplating who would lead and who would finally settle for his position to beta. There should have been friction, tension, a sense of forboding, an overcast sky...
That's the way the world ended in all the movies.
The skys were clear, sunny even, and the only thing that screamed "unnatural" was the silence. The quiet was easily explained though considering that either the whole airport was abandoned... or worse.
"Mr. President?" Tseng prompted always the image of perfected posture. Arms were clasped behind his back the Wutia met the eyes of his lord and waited for orders.
"We'll take a look. Weapons out, comunications open." Talking hurt compliments of Rude's fist last night. Hurt meant living, and living meant not dead, so Rufus wasn't complaining.
"Shoot any who attack you first, ask questions later." Tseng added grimly. "Elena, you finished college, did any of those courses involve helicoptor refueling?"
"Computer sciences, Masters." Elena explained, Tseng only shrugged, indicating his ignorance and indifference in one move. "If I can find the master control I might be able to work out something." She clarified.
"Rude, go with her. Tseng and I will scope out the rest of the airport, look for survivors and supplies." Rufus ordered, then rubbing his jaw to hide the slight quirk of his lips the President looked from his Turks to his Panther-hound. "Lane, you get to walk 'Nation."
Ears perked up at that promise... well one set of ears anyway.
"Why me?" The Rookie whined.
"Because he likes you."
Dark Nation wagged both tail and tenticle high as if to illistrate the point. Muttering a curse Elena snatched the leash from where it lay on the floor. Feeling the familiar tug of the leash Nation looked over his shoulder, his blue eye tracing the path of leather, seeing that the loop ended in Elena's hand the panther hound let out a happy bark. Seeing all was in order Rufus let himself out of the grounded chopter first, Tseng only one step behind.
"He likes electricuting me." The Turk growled under her breath.
"Don't scream." Rude suggested.
"What do you mean, don't scream? How can you not scream when you get electricuted?"
"Bite your tongue."
"It'd bite right though it." Elena protested.
Rude's wordless shrug and minimal smirk made Elena wonder if she was having her leg pulled. Rude, not one to let on either way, hopped out of the helicoptor and waited for his team mate to disimbark.
XXX
Once members of an unique society the had dined and wined with the most powerfull people of thier time. Renowned as gunslinger of the highest order, a Turk with thier gun drawn was a sight that inspired terror.
That was then, the past, a once upon a time agone, and the present was as bitter and stark as the world about them.
It was a new world that they found themselves thrust into, a newness protracted by a limited view. The helicoptor's windows were glazed, bullet proof, and at the best and brightest of sunny days added a gloom grey skin to the world. So it was double the impact, double the shock when they disembarked. Gaia was difficult to recognise as thier own, the corners of the sky were licked with a purple haze, the sun was distant and dim. As they made thier way the thinest skins of shade stirred as they approuched, stirred and reached... Little wonder after a few moments of wandering that one order was reconcined, another added on.
"No wandering, we stay together as a group."
Wending thier way down an abandoned runway, they skirted around the edges the long shadows cast by the still, silent, planes. In the place of guns were flashlights. Caloused hands gripped the plastic with a hold so tight that the fingers clasped over them went ached.
XXX
In the end they hadn't needed thier guns, not once. Everything was silent, still, the airport all but abadoned. Only the many many piles of clothes left strewn about had made them forsake the fond delusion that the place was new built and had been unstaffed. Compost of the human sort was... non existant. That was one of the particularities of thier world. There were no goulish sights of half decayed corspses of any nature on Gaia. The lifestream was a quick acting entity that absorbed it's lost children with shocking speed. The prone form of the fallen would begin to unravel even as a hardned survivor, a triumphant victor, a grieving soul, could begin to even realize the other's death.
Thus the strewn piles of clothes weren't an omen of some derrainged laundry lady's break down. The discarded garments bespoke of tragedy, it's scope easily calculated if one bothered to count the clothes. A hastily done sweep confirmed the obvious, there were no survivors. Either killed by the shadowy creatures or by thier own hands once they saw death approuching, the people of Palma Costa's airport were gone. And they weren't the oly to simply vanish. Animal carriers stood empty in neat little rows, some in the plane, others in the waiting area.
Claw marks - from within the cages and without- left little doubt of what had caused the animals passing and that flight had been atempted. Dark Nation curiously sniffed at the on of the empty cages. It was large enough to hold a creature twice the panther hound's size. Doggish face pressed against, black nostrils flaring, the panther hound sniffed and snuffed at the metal until his nose left a wet smudge on the bars.
Elena had called him back then, tugged at the leash until the pantherhound had abandoned his sport of sniffing. With a subdued whine Nation pulled away, his blue eyes still curious and hurt. Once sure that no one was looking Elena set her hands over the creature's head, scritched at one pointed ear.
With a deep rumble Nation leaned into the petting his tenticle lashing out in pleasure it smacked into a small cage and sent it tumbling down.
After incident that Rude was given the leash, nevermind Dark Nation's howls of protest.
XXX
From main computer tower to convience store, they wandered, a tight nit pack of sorts. Stealing what they dubbed nessescary and taking all they could carry. Fuel wasn't the only thing they lacked. Tseng had managed to put a few days worth of clothes, medicine, and food in the helicoptor before lifting off, but he'd been pressed for time.
Even at the world's ending the Wutia Turk berated himself for every oversight, no matter how small. And ever the opportunist, Rufus teased and mocked his Turk, and found a way to have some fun.
XXX
Reeking of gasoline with a tang of mako -the fuel of Rufus Shinra's helicoptor was hardly WRO approved- hanging about them the boarded the helicoptor an hour before sunset. The shadows now danced whether any walked by them or not. The last half mile across the runway had been a hellish run with the dark tugging at the soles of thier shoes with every foot raised. The boarding had been a scramble to sanctuary, rank, station, forsaken in that last rush.
Only when the door had slammed shut and the lights had flickered to sullen life did they pause to consider. Weary eyes looked to grim faces for something... maybe hope. Finally, when the dark smashed against the steel of thier sanctuary Rude spoke.
"Now what?"
"We go North." Tseng sighed. "Up and North, and we don't look back."