A/N:
Kanneola: Thank you very much! One of the reasons I decided to go for the sequel was my curiosity about the struggles and recovery process post-Meteor, so I'm glad to hear you enjoy it too!
w: Sixteen times? Whoa, that's like... Well, I don't have the words for it, really, except that it's both incredibly flattering and encouraging. :D Thanks so much!
11. The Badlands
On Monday, I received a delivery from Junon. It was my hazardous environment suit, polished to a shine and better than new. I tore the package open with all the patience of a kid on Christmas and strapped on the suit straight from the box, right there in my living room. The lines of the startup sequence, spoken in the suit's monotone, felt like a greeting from an old friend.
The only visible clue of the Mako shielding at work was an iridescent shimmer that caught the light, like an intangible film of oil covering the surface. It was a little disappointing, I mused. I had half-expected to be engulfed in tendrils of shiny magic.
Tuesday had a less auspicious start. Ignoring my protests, Grigori assigned me responsibility for sample analysis. On the one hand, I couldn't blame him. It was a necessary task and of all the employees at the station I was best suited for it. On the other hand, the work he had dumped on me was time-consuming, tedious and a complete waste of my abilities. More than ever, I was grateful for my impulsive decision to contact Orin at the Edge branch. If nothing else, the acquisition project would be a more meaningful use of my time while I figured out how to convince the professor that I could do more than the lab equivalent of sorting mail.
On my way to the lab, I ran into Chelsea.
"Tess, hi," she greeted. "I was hoping I'd find you here. Are you still up for a stroll through the countryside?"
"By which you mean a grueling expedition into the badlands?"
"That's right," she grinned, eyes glinting. "Jonuel and I are heading out tomorrow morning."
"Perfect timing. I just got my suit back from maintenance, so I'm ready to go."
It was something of an understatement. I was itching to go. My experiences with Cosmo Canyon's wildlife had made me leery of heading out of town without my suit, but now that I had it back, I couldn't wait to explore my new surroundings.
"All right," Chelsea said with a nod. "We'll take care of equipment, water and all that, so you just need to bring yourself and this suit of yours. A gun isn't a bad idea either, if you've got one."
"I do, yes."
"Good. We'll meet up here tomorrow at seven in the morning."
I grimaced. "I guess I was right about the grueling part."
The woman's raspy laughter was infectious, and I caught myself grinning after her.
It felt good to have a day in the field to look forward to, and even better to put the suit to use again. The strange looks from passers-by didn't affect my mood in the slightest as I made my way to the WRO station. I found my companions in the backyard, waiting next to our transport: a quad bike with trailer, both painted an earthy green. The stunned expressions on their faces amused me.
"Damn!" Chelsea snorted once I had removed my helmet. "I'm not sure what I expected, but this isn't it."
Clad in khaki shorts and a loose linen shirt over a white tee, she made me think of old-school adventurers. The hunting rifle slung over her shoulder completed the look.
"Pretty cool, huh?" I grinned, then waved to the intern. "Good morning, Jon."
Jonuel was a handsome guy in his early twenties, with olive skin that owed as much to his Costan roots as it did to having practically lived in the field for the past couple of months. My greeting made him blink a few times and stand up straighter.
"M-morning, Doctor."
"Tess," I reminded him.
He flashed a row of white teeth in a sheepish grin. "I mean Tess. Sorry."
"Well, no time like the present," Chelsea announced, donning a pair of sunglasses and a cap, turning the visor backwards. "Shall we?"
The drive to our first checkpoint took about forty minutes. The intern and I sat in the trailer, so I spent the time learning more about him and his hometown. Jonuel's shyness meant I asked most of the questions. It was a relief to be in control of the conversation.
A dirt road cut through the grassy fields outside the nearest gate and led straight to the edge of the Midgar wasteland. The transition was startling. The grass came to an abrupt end as fertile soil was replaced by dust and blackened sand. The occasional hardy weed ventured to reclaim the badlands by the border, but a few steps in the dead zone took over, desiccated and lifeless as far as the eye could see. I recalled the picture Reeve had showed me back at Shinra HQ all those months ago. He had been right to worry. This desolation wasn't natural.
The goal was to gather soil samples at specific locations. My role was to use Sparky for preliminary analysis. The results would later be compared – and hopefully confirmed – by equivalent tests in the lab. We began sampling along the rim of the dead zone, continuing the task Chelsea and Jonuel had worked on for weeks. The physical labor was light and most of the time was spent traveling, giving us all a chance to enjoy the sunny weather. Half of the scenery wasn't bad either.
Some four hours later, Jonuel and I secured the latest batch of samples in the trailer while Chelsea checked her list of target locations.
"Okay, that's the perimeter done. Time to head into the badlands. Keep your eyes open, because this is where it gets dangerous."
I scanned the bleak landscape, pursing my lips in concern. Our trip had been peaceful so far, but if something happened, they would be the ones in greater danger.
"Maybe I should go alone? I know the procedure by now."
Chelsea had already taken the driver's seat, but sat back and raised her eyebrows, giving me a dubious look.
"That suit of yours is pretty fancy, but I doubt it makes you invincible."
"True, but I've been told it doesn't smell very delicious. Back in Cosmo Canyon, most of the wildlife ignored me."
Chelsea shook her head.
"There's plenty of territorial critters out here that don't care how you smell, only that you're wandering into their turf. No, I say we all go. Safety in numbers."
I shrugged and climbed onto the trailer.
"Well, you know the area."
As Chelsea steered us to our next checkpoint, I checked my rifle then let it rest on my knees as I sat on the edge of the trailer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the intern mimic my actions and couldn't help but notice the unsteadiness of his hands. The poor guy looked decidedly pale.
"Have you ever run into trouble out here?" I asked him.
"No," he admitted, wetting his lips, "but we've never been this deep into the badlands before."
"Don't worry. We've got each other's backs, right?"
As soon as I said it I winced and looked away, hoping he hadn't noticed my expression. I had made the mistake of paraphrasing one of Reno's favorite lines. I had been doing so well, too. I had gone half a day without dwelling on him.
The first and second sampling inside the dead zone went without a hitch. Our third and last location was a new environment, an old river bed. Instead of fine hard-packed dirt, the ground consisted of pebbles interspersed with larger rocks, some as large as boulders. Jonuel stayed at the top of the bank near the quad bike, while Chelsea and I dug through the gravel to get at the soil below.
I had just finished a preliminary analysis, when Jonuel called out.
"Bugs!"
The panic in the man's voice made us both snap our heads up. Following his outstretched arm, I saw a group of insectile creatures about waist-high, their blue-black segmented bodies gleaming dully in the sunlight. They slithered like snakes, occasionally using two serrated limbs to push themselves off the ground and lunge forward with startling speed, and were advancing on us down the riverbed in an undulating wave.
"Grashtrikes!" Chelsea shouted, alarmed. "Start shooting!"
Jonuel ran to the edge of the bank as I yanked the rifle off my shoulder. He fired two shots, but they went wide. Chelsea had already taken a couple of steps up toward the quad bike, but swore and changed direction, heading toward her intern. I kicked my feet deeper into the gravel for a firm footing and raised my rifle, turning my attention toward the threat. I couldn't worry about my companions right now. It was better to have them at a safe distance anyway, in case I needed to set off Sparky's power surge.
My first shot missed, throwing up a spray of dust to the left of my mark. So did the second. Just after, a shot rang out on my right and the impact flung one of the beasts backward. Another sent a grashtrike thrashing on the ground. Chancing a sideways glance, I found that Chelsea was now wielding the other rifle.
"Get to the bike!" she yelled to Jonuel, reloading. "Start it up!"
As the intern obeyed her command, I took aim and fired for the third time. Luck was on my side. My target exploded, splashing black gore across the rocks and sending its screeching companions skittering to the sides.
"Keep going! Scare them off!"
My fourth was another miss, but the fifth resulted in another bug explosion. That was enough for the grashtrikes. They scattered, disappearing among the boulders as quickly as they had appeared. I lowered my rifle, peeling my tongue off the top of my dry mouth to draw in deep gulps of air. That had been my last round.
A scream rang out behind me and I whirled around to see Jonuel crash to the ground, pushed off the quad bike by one of the giant insects. Two more followed close behind, knocking over the bike as they lunged for the defenseless man. Jonuel scrambled backwards in a frantic panic to escape the claws of the first grashtrike, yelling in a language I didn't understand.
I dropped the rifle and ran. I heard Chelsea shout something and crack off more shots, but my eyes were riveted to the man on the ground. I was seconds away when the insect plunged its pointed tail into his stomach. He wailed as it went in. I screamed. I grabbed its tail and hooked my arm around its neck and tore the hissing thing off its victim.
Now what?! I couldn't let the creature go, but Chelsea couldn't shoot it while I was so close. Acting more on desperation than rational thought, I adjusted my grip on the thrashing tail and pulled. The grashtrike screeched and pummeled my torso with its clawed appendages, but it had no room for leverage. I kept pulling. The suit's servos began to whine and the insect writhed in a wild frenzy, a wordless yell tore from my throat and then there was a horrible, wet ripping sound. I flung the tail away, dropped the dying grashtrike and brought my foot down on its tiny head, ending its agony.
The next second I was clawing at the seal of my helmet and yanked it off, dropping my head down between my knees to fight the nausea. I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the still-twitching carcass, but the smell was almost too much for me. I coughed and sputtered, but in the end I kept my lunch down.
When I was able to look up again, Chelsea was kneeling next to Jonuel.
"How is he?" I croaked, straightening up.
"He needs healing," she said in an even but urgent voice, pulling off her shirt and pressing it to the intern's abdomen. "Stay with him. I'll get the first-aid."
She got to her feet and ran toward the upturned quad bike. Jonuel lay on his back, staring up at the sky with unfocused eyes, his breath coming in shallow, panicked gasps. His hands pressed down on Chelsea's shirt, the beige fabric already turning red.
Once I stepped into his field of vision, his gaze locked with mine.
"Holy shit," he panted as I dropped down to one knee. "You... Th-the thing..."
"It's all right, Jon," I soothed as best I could with my raw throat, placing a hand on top of one of his. "It's gone now."
"Yes! Y-you... You just..."
He stared at me as if he was physically unable to tear his eyes away.
"Shh, don't speak. Just – breathe in..." I inhaled, and to my relief he made an effort to copy my example. "...and out. Yeah, just like that. Just keep breathing. It'll be okay."
His brown eyes were huge and fixed on my face, making it easy to see that his pupils were dilated and the whites were becoming bloodshot. He was pale as a sheet, his skin clammy with sweat. I glanced over toward the quad bike and saw my colleague hunched over by it, trying to reach something underneath the vehicle. I schooled the frown off of my face, then turned back to the young man.
"I'll help Chelsea find the potions and then we'll fix you up, good as new. Just breathe and keep the pressure on here, okay?"
I patted the hand holding the bloodied shirt in place and he nodded.
"I'll be right back," I promised.
A grim-looking Chelsea was on her way back to us, though. As soon as we made eye contact, she stopped and waved me over. I met up with her halfway to the bike and took the bottle of water she offered.
"The first-aid kit was knocked open when the quad bike fell over," she informed me in a low voice while I rinsed my mouth."The potion vials broke and we don't have any Cures."
"Shit!" I took a few shaky breaths, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. Despite my efforts to show a calm face in front of the intern, my mind was racing as madly as my heart. "The ampoules! My suit has hi-potion ampoules, we can use them!"
It was too risky to remove my torso armor in the open like this, so I instructed Chelsea on how to open the panel over the gadgetry housed in the back. Within a few minutes, she had retrieved the ampoule rack. It was shaped like a trio of revolver cylinders side by side, each with six chambers. I popped out one of the green ampoules and handed it to Chelsea, who gave it a dubious look.
"There's not much of it, is there?"
"It's supposed to be injected, but try pouring it straight into the wound," I suggested. "He won't like it much, but it's better than bleeding out."
"All right."
She kneeled down beside her intern and pushed his hands and her shirt aside.
"Okay, Jon," she said, "this will sting a lot, but it's a good hurt."
By now, Jonuel was barely conscious. I took up position by his head, placing my hands on his shoulders. When I nodded, Chelsea broke the seal of the ampoule and let the contents trickle straight into the wound.
Two seconds later, his whole body went rigid and his back arched up from the ground. Holding him down was easy with Sparky's help, but Chelsea had more trouble with his arms.
"Easy, Jonuel!" she urged, raising her voice to be heard over his pained groan. "Stay still!"
He likely never heard her, but a few moments later he went limp. Chelsea checked his pulse, then pulled up an eyelid.
"Out cold, poor thing," she mumbled, then turned her attention to the wound. The flesh was knitting itself back together before our eyes, the skin stretching to reseal the tear. It was one of the freakiest sights I had ever witnessed.
"Well, that took care of one problem," she sighed. "Now we need to figure out what to do about the venom."
"Those things are poisonous?"
"Yeah, and the venom's a nasty one. He needs a hospital and fast."
"The purple ampoules have remedy," I said, pointing at the rack on the ground. "That's a general antidote, right?"
Chelsea shook her head.
"The trouble is, it's not a real poison as such. It's more like digestive fluid. Remedy won't work on that. The hi-potions keep the damage under control, but it won't be over until the grashtrike juice is out of his system."
"So how long will that take?"
She was quiet for a while, watching the unconscious intern on the ground.
"Too long," she whispered, then cleared her throat before continuing. "We'll run out of ampoules long before we get back to Kalm, or before Grigori can send someone for us."
Her shoulders sagged and a broken look had settled in her eyes. The woman looked ready to admit defeat already. I wasn't about to let her. I spun in a restless circle, scanning the desolate scenery for anything that might offer ideas, until my eyes landed on the silhouette of a manmade structure, nothing more than a ragged dot on the horizon. The ruins of Shinra HQ.
Call him.
"Let's head for the main road," I suggested. "We'll flag someone down. They might have a first aid kit or a faster car."
The trailer would only slow us down. With an unconscious Jonuel cradled in my arms and my colleague driving the quad bike, we aimed for the road between Kalm and Edge. We didn't get far before he started convulsing and we had to stop to give him another dose of hi-potion.
"It won't work!" Chelsea wailed, halfway between anger and desperation. "We can't get him there like this. We don't even know if anyone will come by!"
Call him.
I didn't need him. I didn't want his help. Why would he help us, anyway? Reno had better things to do. Too busy with "work". There had to be another way.
But Jonuel lay still on the ground and his face was ashen. Frothy saliva leaked from the corner of his mouth and dribbled down his chin.
Call him!
"Keep an eye on him," I growled, shooting up to my feet. "It's not over yet."
A glimmer of hope crept into the other woman's expression.
"What are you up to, Tess?"
"Edge!" I called over my shoulder, grabbing my bag from the quad bike. "Edge is closer than Kalm!"
To my relief, the phone was intact. I dialed his number, then paced in a tight circle as the dial tone kept ringing. I didn't dare breathe, until I heard the lazy drawl come in over the phone's speaker.
"Hey, babe, whassup?"
His voice was flirtatious. He hadn't noticed my silence over the past few days. Of course he hadn't. Why would he? I swallowed hard, forcing down my pride.
"Reno, I need your help."
There were a couple of seconds of silence. When he spoke next, the playful tone was gone.
"Tell me."