Chapter Ten

Nora's hands tightened on the steering wheel as she caught sight of the obstruction on the road ahead. She and Hope were headed toward one of the more remote towns. From what she could tell, things had been worst in the cities and larger towns. Perhaps in somewhere more remote, things would be better. And even if they didn't find somewhere entirely safe, they could probably still find some supplies. Most of the towns they'd passed through lately had already been stripped bare.

But blocking the narrow road up ahead of them was a car. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but this car wasn't abandoned. The hood had been popped open and next two it were two people. For a moment, she considered simply flooring the accelerator and trying to push through, but then the people began to wave and yell. Clearly, they weren't Infected, which meant that she and Hope had a very big decision to make.

"Are we going to stop, mom?" Hope asked. She could see the worry in his eyes, and reached out to squeeze his shoulder with one hand. The last person they'd met had been Fang, and the other woman had warned them very clearly about the dangers posed by other people. Honestly, as if the Infected weren't bad enough.

"I don't know." Nora slowed the car a little to give them more time to think. They had no way of knowing if those two people were good or not, but at the same time, she couldn't quite bring herself to turn the car around and drive away. What if they really were good people? And what sort of person would she be if she left them out there to die, because it wouldn't be long before some Infected found them? "What do you think?"

Hope frowned. "I… I guess we can't really be too sure about them. If they're bad, then we could really get into trouble, but if they're good…" He pursed his lips. "We'd be able to travel together. It might even be safer that way."

Nora nodded and bit her lip. "All right. We'll stop. But I want you to have your gun out and ready. If they try anything, Hope, then we need to just treat them like they're Infected." She might be willing to stop, but she was not going to take any unnecessary chances beyond that.

"You mean… shot them?" Hope swallowed thickly. "That's what you mean, right, mom?"

Nora sighed. "Yes, that's what I mean. But let's hope it doesn't come to that. They might be good, like Fang was. Maybe they just need some gas. Whatever happens, stay alert and if you're not sure, then shoot first and ask questions later." She eased her foot off the accelerator. "Understand?"

She stopped the car about ten yards away from the two people. It was a good distance, enough that if they tried anything, she and Hope would have enough time to get back in the car and go. Ten yards was also close enough for her to get a good look at the two people. One of them was a woman with long blonde hair and glasses, while the other one was a sharp looking man with silver hair. Both of them wore Sanctum Security uniforms, and both looked to have seen better days, if the battered state of their uniforms were anything to go by.

"Thank the Maker you stopped," the woman said warmly. She reached up to adjust her glasses and gave a great sigh of relief. "We were beginning to think that we'd be stuck out here. It's been a while since we've seen anyone else and there are Infected everywhere."

Nora glanced at Hope for a moment to make sure he had his gun out and ready, and then looked back at the woman. Behind the glasses, the woman's eyes seemed warm and friendly, and there was a mix of tiredness and belief in her voice. Nora relaxed a fraction, but kept her shotgun trained on the other woman's chest. "What's the problem?"

The other woman glanced at the shotgun and then shrugged. "It's something with the engine. We had some trouble back in the last town we were driving through and we had to make a run for it." She grimaced. "You must know how the Infected can get. We ended up almost crashing a few times, and we must have damaged it during one of those."

"I see." Nora frowned. A damaged engine complicated things. She didn't know the first thing about how to fix an engine, and if the two people did, they'd have done it by now. It was one thing to maybe offer them some fuel, but if they asked for a lift, could she really give them one?

"Look," the woman said, putting both hands up in a placating gesture. "I get it. We're strangers and you don't know if we're safe or not. That's fine. I'd be worried too." She glanced at the man beside her. "My name is Jihl Nabaat, and he's Yaag Rosch. We are – or rather we were – with Sanctum Security. We were manning the blockades a few miles out of Eden City, but then things went bad." She gestured at the car. "We've got plenty of food and water in the car and we'd be happy to share it with you if you could at least give us a lift to the next town. We'd be able to find another car there, and if you want, then we could all go our separate ways from there." She smiled. "We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves at a time like this."

Yaag nodded. "That's right. These are dangerous times, and the only way we'll make it out alive is if we all pull together." He shrugged. "If you want, we could even turn over our weapons until we go our separate ways."

Nora paused for a moment to think their offer over. It was a reasonable one, and she and Hope could definitely use some more food. They still had some of the food that Fang had given them, but it wouldn't be too much longer before that ran out. Besides, if Jihl and Yaag were willing to disarm, then it would be much harder for them to try anything. They were Sanctum Security too, so that probably counted for something. Slowly, she lowered her shotgun.

"All right," she said. "I suppose we could give you a ride to the next town."

Jihl smiled. "Thanks so much. It's good to know there are still some decent people around." She tilted her head at the car. "How about you come and give us a hand with our supplies? There's a lot there, and it'll be quicker this way – I really don't want to stay out here any longer than I have to."

Nora smiled back. "Neither do I." She glanced back at Hope. "My name is Nora, and my son over there is Hope."

Jihl led her over to the boot of the car and popped it open. "See," she said, "We've got more than enough to share with you."

Nora stared. The boot of the car was crammed full of canned and instant food. If she and Hope could get even a fraction of this from Jihl and Yaag, they'd be set for at least a fortnight, probably longer. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hope follow Yaag over to the front of the car. He was probably going to take a look at the engine, she thought. He wouldn't know how to fix it – Hope had always been interested more in computers than cars – but he would probably find it interesting to look at.

Nora took a closer look at the food, thinking over what she and Hope might want to ask for. "Jihl, we could definitely use…" she trailed off as she saw a flash of movement reflected in the shiny barrel of her shotgun.

She spun and ducked just in time to avoid a gunshot that ripped through the space her head had been in only a moment ago. The bullet tore through the rear window of the car in a shower of glass and she heard a scuffle break out between Hope and Yaag. Frantic with worry for her son, she tried to stand, but Jihl was there, a pistol levelled straight at her. The woman had taken off her glasses and the warmth that had been in her eyes was gone. Instead, there was nothing but cold, ruthless determination.

"I didn't think you'd see me." Jihl's gaze darkened. "But that doesn't matter. You won't dodge this one."

Eyes wide, Nora jerked one leg out. The kick caught Jihl in the ankles and the other woman went down, dropping her pistol. As Jihl tried to scramble to her feet, Nora brought her shotgun up and fired. Somehow, Jihl managed to roll out of the way and the blast tore a gouge in the road. Nora pumped a second shell into the barrel, but before she could fire, Jihl lunged right at her. They slammed into the car and the shotgun tumbled from Nora's grasp.

A punch caught Nora in the cheek and stars danced across her vision. Blindly, she clawed at Jihl's face and then shoved away from the car. They hit the ground and rolled, punching and kicking, but it was Nora who got the worst of it. Whatever else she had lied about, Jihl almost certainly hadn't lied about being Sanctum Security. Jihl landed an elbow across Nora's forehead and then slammed her head against the ground.

Nora cried out and struggled to stay conscious as pain rippled through her head. Her ears rang, and she lashed out blindly with a wild haymaker of a punch. The blow was awkward, but it caught Jihl on the side of the head with enough force to knock her off. Nora staggered to her feet as Jihl reached for a second pistol holstered at her side. She had just cleared the holster when Nora threw herself forward. Nora grabbed Jihl's wrist and banged it against the ground. Jihl grunted with pain and thrust one elbow up into Nora's chin to try to knock her off, but Nora was frantic, banging Jihl's hand against the ground until finally the pistol clattered loose.

"Get off!" Jihl growled, as she finally managed to wedge one leg up between her and Nora and kick the other woman off. Nora hit the ground with a thump and Jihl scrambled after the pistol.

At the same time, however, Hope sailed over the hood of the car. A bruise was already forming on his cheek, but as he came to a stop on the ground, he caught sight of Jihl's pistol and dove after it. Jihl tried to do the same, but Nora had found her feet again, and she grabbed Jihl by the ankle. Jihl turned and landed first one kick, and then a second kick to Nora's head, but Nora refused to let go. Jihl gathered herself for another kick, but there was a bang and suddenly she was knocked back as a wave of pain rippled through her shoulder.

"Mom!" Hope screamed, "Come on!"

Nora fought a wave of dizziness and glanced over at Jihl. Blood was pouring from her shoulder – she'd been shot. Then her eyes went to Hope and to the gun that he held. He'd shot Jihl… her son had just shot someone.

"Come on!" Hope yelled as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to her feet. "We need to go!"

She heard the desperation in his voice and staggered with him toward their car. He looked back and suddenly he was shooting again, wildly. She turned and saw Yaag huddled behind the other car, his own gun poking out over the hood as he tried to fire back. A bullet shot past them, and then another, before one of the windows of their car shattered.

"The shotgun," she muttered, "We left the shotgun…"

Hope shook his head. "We need to go, mom." He fired back, his shots going wide of Yaag, but doing enough to keep him down as Jihl crawled for cover. "We've got another in the car. Come on!"

Head clearing a little, Nora nodded. Of course, what they needed to do right now was get away. She tumbled into the driver's seat and waited just long enough for Hope to get in before she floored the accelerator. The car jerked forward and she saw Jihl and Yaag jump clear before they rammed right into the other car. Metal screeched, and Nora jerked forward as their car shoved past.

Then they were pulling free, the car picking up speed as it hit the open road. In the rear view mirror, she saw Yaag get to his feet and fire a final, desperate salvo at them. The windshield shattered in three places before it simply came apart and then she felt a white-hot burst of pain from her mid-section. Eyes wide with disbelief, she glanced down to see a vivid splash of red spreading quickly across the side of her shirt.

"Mom!" Hope screamed.

Nora clenched her jaw against the pain. "Don't worry." She groaned. Sweet Maker, she thought, there was so much blood. "I'll be fine, we need to get farther away."

She managed to go for another ten minutes before her hands were no longer strong enough to stay on the steering wheel. She hit the brakes and the car skidded to a stop in the middle of the road. Dumbly, she fumbled at her side, but her hands refused to do what she wanted, and they were so very, very wet with her own blood.

"Hope…" She glanced up at her son. The horror was clear on his face and she tried to reach out to reassure him, but her hands wouldn't move. "Hope… I…" Her vision started to darken. "I… I…"

X X X

Hope watched his mother slump forward and struggled just to breathe. It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. They'd only been trying to do the right thing, and even after what Jihl and Yaag had done, they'd still managed to get away. It wasn't fair. They should have been fine after they'd got back to their car, Yaag shouldn't have been able to shoot her. What was he supposed to do now? Nothing made sense any more, nothing except his mother and now she was bleeding and she going to die and he'd be alone and the Infected would get him and –

Stop.

He forced himself to just breathe. In. Out. In. Out. His mother wasn't dead, not yet. Her breathing was shallow, but it was there, and that meant he could still save her, but first he needed to calm down. He'd taken first aid courses – everyone at school had – so he just needed to try and remember what to do. They hadn't taught him what to do if someone got shot, but there had to be something he'd learned that could work.

The bleeding…

Of course, the first thing he had to do was stop the bleeding. With trembling hands, he tugged at his mother's shirt. It was sticky with blood, and he felt bile burn at the back of his throat. No. He absolutely could not afford to throw up now. Swallowing thickly, he tugged harder, until her shirt finally loosened.

This time the urge to retch was almost overwhelming. Blood flowed from a wound in her side. There only seemed to be one hole, so the bullet was probably still in there. He gagged. How was he supposed to get a bullet out of her? He shook his head. No. Worry about that later. First, he had to stop the bleeding. He needed to get something to put over the wound, but what?

Bandages – they'd picked some up a few weeks ago. He threw open his car door and dove into the backseat. Come on, he thought, he'd seen them there yesterday. They had to be there. A few seconds passed before he found them, but they felt like hours. He tore the packaging off and nearly dropped the bandages in his haste. Flailing wildly, he managed to catch them before they fell and then he ran back to his mother.

He folded the bandages up and pressed them against the wound. She gave a low moan and thrashed, but her struggles were frighteningly weak. The bandages soaked through almost at once and he gave a desperate cry. Dear maker, the blood – he had his own mother's blood all over his hands. Heart in his throat, he stumbled back to the backseat and grabbed every packet of bandages he could find. He went through at least three before the flow of blood finally began to slow. Pulling open the glove box, he grabbed some tap and used it to stick a fresh roll of bandages over the wound.

His mother was pale now, and trembling, and he just knew they couldn't stay out here much longer. The scent of blood filled the car and it wouldn't be long before any Infected in the area picked up on it. Jihl and Yaag might even catch up to them. He needed to get her somewhere safe, but where? They had been headed for a town, a small village really, but it was still another half hour away. His mother had shown him how to drive in case something ever happened to her, but he'd never driven that far before. But what choice did he have? There might be a place in that town where they could hide. He had to at least try.

As gently as he could, he eased his mother into the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat. He felt a fresh wave of nausea sweep over him as he felt the blood there soak into his clothes. Focus, he thought. Hands on the steering wheel, foot on the accelerator. Do not crash.

What should have taken half an hour turned into the longest forty-five minutes of his life. His mother had gone even paler, but sweat had broken out across her brow. Shivers wracked her body, and he tore his jacket off and draped it over her. Shock, she had gone into shock, so he had to keep her warm.

He reached the outskirts of town and looked frantically for somewhere, anywhere that might offer refuge. There didn't seem to be any Infected, but he couldn't be sure. The town was very small, little more than a village, really, so maybe the Infected had already moved on. He hoped they had. He glanced out the window and saw a sign 'Doctor's Surgery'. The car screeched to a halt and he grabbed the shotgun out of the backseat of the car. He ran up the steps to the doctor's surgery and tried the door. It was locked. Yelling, he threw himself against the door once, twice, and finally a third time before it broke open. Inside, it was empty, and he hurried back to the car.

"You have to help me, mom," he said as he threw one of his mother's arms over his shoulders. "I can't carry you, so you have to try to walk. Please, mom, please."

She was barely conscious, but she seemed to understand what he was saying as she staggered away from the car, her weight firmly on him. He groaned as he struggled to support her weight and then guided her through the foyer and into the doctor's surgery itself. There was a bed there, and he helped her up onto it.

"It'll be okay, mom," Hope said as he ripped out cabinets and scoured the shelves for something, anything that he could use. Almost everything had been stripped bare, but he found more bandages and several bottles of disinfectant. He stripped away the bandage he'd taped onto her side, horrified at how utterly red it was, and then began to pour disinfectant onto the wound. She kicked and thrashed, but he held her still. He didn't know much, but he knew the wound needed to cleaned.

"Stop it, mom, please!" he sobbed. "You're going to make it worse. Please, you have to lie down!" She went limp and he pressed more bandages to the wound before he used a second roll of bandages to tie them in place. "I'm sorry, mom," he said as he fell to his knees by the bed and pressed his face into the cold, hard metal frame. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have stopped. It was stupid. Just… just, please, please don't die. Don't… don't leave me alone."

He banged his head against the frame. What he supposed to do now? He didn't know anything about how to treat people who'd been shot. Why did it have to turn out like this? On the table, he saw his mother's hand twitch, and with nothing else to do, he wrapped his fingers around her hand. "Please, mom, please."

He fell asleep like that, clutching at his mother's trembling hand as the bandages he'd put in place slowly turned from white to red.

He awakened some time later as the door to the doctor's surgery crashed open. He jerked to his feet and pointed the shotgun at the door. It was dark, so night must have fallen.

"Don't come any closer!" he shouted. "I swear I'll kill you if you come any closer! Just leave us alone!"

There was a flash of light and suddenly he was blinded as a flashlight was shone directly into his eyes. He fired the shotgun toward the source of the light and there was a muttered curse before someone grabbed the gun from his hands and tossed him into the wall.

"Stop it!" a woman shouted. "Damn it, Gadot, stop!"

Hope scrambled to his feet and put one hand up to shield his eyes from the light. "Go away, leave us alone!"

The flashlight went out and then someone turned on a lamp and set it down on one of the shelves. When Hope's eyes adjusted to light, he found himself staring up into the eyes of a tall, powerfully built man. He had fiery hair and thick cords of muscles were clearly visible through his slightly ragged clothing. Beside him, with her hand on his chest to hold him back, was a woman with black hair. Had things been different, Hope might have stared for the woman had a sultry sort of beauty to her. Right now though, his only concern was for his mother.

"Stop it, Gadot," the woman growled. "Can't you see he's scared?"

The big man, Gadot, growled back. "He almost blew our heads off, Lebreau."

"I know," Lebreau said. "Believe me, I know, but look at that." She pointed at Nora. "That's why."

Hope tensed as Gadot's eyes drifted over to his mother, but slowly, the anger seemed to drain out of the big man. Gadot shook his head and then relaxed. "You there, is she Infected?" He frowned and tapped the gun at his side. "If she is…"

"No!" Hope cried, throwing himself between them and his mother. "She's not Infected. She got shot. Some… some people shot her. We just stopped to see if they needed help but… but they were bad and they shot her and now she's dying and…"

Lebreau frowned at Gadot and then reached out toward Hope. He flinched away, but she took his chin gently in one hand and made him meet her gaze. "It's all right." Her voice was soft, gentle, warm. "It's okay. We're not here to hurt your or her." She looked back at Gadot and gestured for him to put his gun away. "I'm Lebreau and he's Gadot. Now, what's your name?"

Hope trembled. "Hope."

"All right, Hope," Lebreau said. "Tell us what happened. I promise we're not going to hurt you. If we wanted to do that, we'd have done it by now. We just want to know what happened."

"Okay…" He blinked back tears. "Okay."

By the time he was done explaining things, Gadot's face was drawn into terrible scowl.

"You ran into some real bastards. I hope the Infected get them." Gadot shook his head. "As if things aren't bad enough and now we've got people like that going around…"

Lebreau sighed. "Well, here's hoping they get what's coming to them." She glanced at Hope. "Can I take a look at your mother, Hope?"

His eyes widened. "Are… are you a doctor?"

She chuckled dryly. "A doctor? Sorry, but no. I used to own a bar. Let's just say things sometimes got out of hand." Her lips twitched. "And sometimes people got shot. I can't promise to work any miracles, but I can try."

Hope looked at her. "Why? Why are you helping me?"

Lebreau shrugged. "Why not? You and your mother must be tough to have lasted this long. I figure if she makes it, we can all stick together. That's how Gadot and I have lasted this far, by sticking together. We even picked up two strays along the way." She grinned. "In fact, this isn't all that different from how I met Gadot."

Gadot pulled up his shirt to reveal a scar along his stomach. "I used to work as a bouncer at her bar. When things went bad, I stuck it out on my own for a while. I managed to keep clear of the Infected but then I had a nasty run in with some bad people, just like you, Hope. I was hurt pretty badly, but Lebreau found me and patched me back up."

Hope nodded slowly. "Okay… but please, be careful. She's my mom and if I lose her…"

Lebreau smiled gently. "I'll do my best."

X X X

Nora groaned and opened her eyes. Pain jolted through her and she bit back a scream. She felt almost like she'd been cut in half. Hissing, she took a look around, but she couldn't recognise where she was. Eyes wide, she tried to sit up, but the pain was so bad she could barely move, and this time she wasn't able to stifle a cry of pain.

"Well, it's good to see that you're awake. I was starting to worry."

She turned her head slowly as a black haired woman moved to stand beside her. Too weak to do much else, she could only lie there as the other woman took her temperature and then took a closer look at her side. Nora's eyes widened. Her side… she and Hope had stopped and there had been a fight and then she'd gotten shot! Where was Hope?

"Easy," the woman said, seemingly reading her thoughts. "If you're looking for your son, he's right there." She pointed to a chair pushed up against one corner of the room. "He's a good kid, you know. It's been two days since we ran into you, and he's been by your side the whole time. We practically had to pry him off you just to get him to eat." She smiled. "I'm Lebreau, by the way."

"Lebreau?" Nora winced. "What's… what's going on?" Her voice was hoarse, and her throat felt absolutely dry.

Lebreau offered her a small drink of water and then began to explain. "Like I said, we ran into the two of you two days ago. You can imagine the surprise we got. We saw the doctor's surgery and thought we might try and look for supplies, but instead we ran into Hope." She chuckled. "He almost blew our head off before realising we weren't trying to do anything to hurt you." She sobered. "You got lucky though, really, really lucky. You've lost a lot of blood, but the bullet didn't puncture anything too vital." She fumbled around in her pockets and held up a mangled piece of metal. "Here's the bullet. You can keep it if you like."

"No thanks." Nora took another sip of water. "How… how long until I can move again?"

"I don't know exactly. Probably another few days." Lebrea shrugged. "It's not too bad here. There are a few Infected, and I'm sure more will head this way now that we're here, but for the time being we should be safe." She glanced over at Hope who had begun to stir. "I'll leave you two alone. Someone needs to make breakfast, and I don't need Gadot poisoning you after I've just finished patching you up."

Nora felt a smile slip across her face as Hope yawned and stretched. He was a growing boy, and sleeping in a chair couldn't have been comfortable. And then he saw her and his eyes lit up. He was by her side in a flash.

"Mom!" he yelled. "Mom, you're awake!"

Nora swallowed the lump in her throat as Hope pressed his face into the crook of her shoulder and cried. "It's okay, Hope. It's okay."

He pulled back and scrubbed at his cheeks. "I was so scared, mom. There was so much blood and I didn't know what to do and –"

"It's okay." She said firmly. "What matters is that I'm here now. I'm fine." She reached out slowly and put one arm around him. "I love you, Hope."

He smiled shakily. "I love you too, mom, so, so much."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I know. Now, tell me about Lebreau and this Gadot person. What sort of people are they?"

Hope nodded. "They… they seem like really good people, mom. They helped us even though they didn't have to, and they've been really nice to me so far." He paused. "There are two more people travelling with them that I haven't met yet, but, mom… when you get better, they said they'd like it if we travelled with them. I think… I think maybe we should."

Nora pursed her lips. She was still in a lot of pain, but the important thing was that she was still alive. "That sounds like it might be a good idea." She grinned. "That Lebreau seems nice, and it would be good to have some female company for a change. You're my son, and I love you, but you're not really one for girl talk."

Hope laughed. "Mom!"

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.

I've been wanting to introduce Jihl for a while now, and when the opportunity arose to have her cast as a villain, I just couldn't resist. In case it wasn't clear, she and Yaag really did have engine trouble. Nora and Hope were just unlucky enough to show up at the wrong time. If things had gone to plan, Jihl and Yaag would have killed them and taken their car and supplies. As I write these author's notes, I find myself wondering what would have happened if Jihl and Yaag had run into Vanille and Lightning, or possibly Fang. Lightning would probably have put them in a box (i.e., in coffins, i.e., killed them) for what they tried, and Fang would probably do the same.

With Nora hurt and Hope freaking out (as most people would under those circumstances, I think) it also seemed like a good time to introduce NORA. Yes, I'm aware of the pun (Nora meeting NORA), but I did want to bring Lebreau and the others in. No prizes for guessing who the two strays that Lebreau and Gadot picked up are.

As a side note, I'm kind of glad that I didn't post this up last Sunday, what with it being Mother's Day and all…

Finally, I'm still chugging away on my other stories. I've got the next chapter of Ordinary Heroes sort of half done (I was actually working on it until the last chapter of Whispers of the Gods decided to slap me over the head), and the next chapter of Whispers of the Gods is also kicking around somewhere in my head. It helps that the last chapter featuring Vanille was kind of split in half. And on the subject of Whispers of the Gods, it's beginning to get a bit strange to write. When I started, I really only had an image of Lightning in her crystal armour in my head, but then I started tossing around ideas for an original story involving gods and demons and that sort of thing, and Whispers of the Gods kind of turned into a crossover between that original story (which I am working on) and Final Fantasy XIII. Sigh. Keeping the three different continuities straight in my head is beginning to take up a fair amount of brain space, to say nothing of keeping track of what's going on in some of my other stories too. Still, I have to say, having a lot of ideas is a much better problem to be having than having too few ideas.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.