Chapter 14: Escape
Aubri Naluri:
I awoke with a start. Gods tell me how I could sleep during a time like this. I glanced up to see Vincent smiling down at me as he handed me our little miracle. She whined softly as she sucked hard at her pacifier. I quickly brought her to my chest to feed. She latched on eagerly and relaxed in my arms. Vincent sat down on the bed beside me and draped his arm over my shoulders. It was then I noticed that while I was sleeping, Vincent must have cut my hair.
"How long was I asleep?" I couldn't even remember falling asleep. The last thing I remember was taking a pain pill Reno had given me.
"About thirty minutes." He whispered. Suddenly his smile faded and he looked down at Mila with sad eyes. He breathed a soft sigh before continuing. "Reno's getting everything set. We'll be leaving in a few shortly, but…"
Though the pause was short, my impatience cut in. "But what?"
"We'll have to separate. It's too risky travelling together." He let his arm rest on my shoulders for a few more moments before removing it and standing. He waved his hand to the vanity desk. On the chair were a big dark blue T-shirt and a pair of grey basketball shorts. On the floor was a large backpack. Resting on top of the desk was a dark blue hat. I would be disguised as a teenage boy it seemed. "You may want to start getting dressed."
I let Mila get her fill before placing the pacifier back in her mouth and handing her back to her father. I got dressed and took a glance at myself in the mirror. Vincent smirked. I turned to him with a mock glare. My expression then saddened. "Will I have time to see my family?"
Vincent shook his head no. "It may be a year or two before this subsides and I won't rest until I know Hojo and all of his accomplices are dead. Then, it will be safe to come home to your family. Perhaps we could raise Mila here in Nibelheim even." He finished with a small smile. He looked down at Mila. "My parents are dead. Yours are the only grandparents she'll know."
The thought of Vincent and I living here in Nibelheim as a family brought a warm feeling to my body. The warmth was instantly shattered with the ice cold feeling of panic as Reno rushed through the door. "It's time." I stared into his blue green eyes for the longest time before everything became a blur….
Vincent Valentine:
The suite was dead quiet. All I could do was wait here for Reno to return and tell me that Aubre and Mila had gotten away safely. Hopefully that moment would come before Hojo's return did. Myself alongside Aubre would be nothing more than a tracking device for Shinra. They'd find me eventually. It was unreasonable to think I'd ever escape Shinra. So… I had to let them go. I let the tears flow freely. My time was running short and I clung to any human emotion that remained.
Much to my relief, Reno walked through the door and took a couple weary steps towards me. I looked up at him with tears still falling from my eyes.
"She's on the train. She made it."
I stood and cleared my throat as I wiped away the tears. I bowed my head to him slightly. "Thank you. Who knew I'd end up owing my life to you…" I managed a small smirk.
He chuckled and returned the smirk. His expression then faded as he watched me pull my gun from its holster. "Whoa… man." He rushed forward to disarm me. But I flew past him. I stopped at the door and stared at the array of locks. I decided I would not just sit here and wait for Hojo to come for me. I'd give him the fight of his life.
"If I die tonight, promise me you'll do one more favor for me." I looked down at the three barrel gun I came to know as Cerberus.
"S..sure…"
"Find Aubre and take care of her." With that said I set off down the halls of the manor shooting every Turk or any other employee of Hojo's who dared question me. Finally, I entered the lab. It was quiet except for the soft melodic humming. Lucrecia….
"Vi..Vincent!? Wha…" she rose her arms and dropped the flask she was holding. It shattered and the blue liquid decorated the bottom of her white lab coat.
"Where is he?" I all but growled. Her eyes shifted to something behind me. I began to turn and look, but the cold hands were already around my neck.
"Why?" Lucrecia's voice sounded so far away and then everything faded to black.
Aubre Naluri:
Once the gates of Shinra Manor closed behind me, I felt myself returning to reality. I gathered my surroundings and hurried to keep up with Reno's fast footsteps. Walking alongside Reno, I couldn't help but wonder out loud.
"What's in this for you? Uh… I mean…"
He laughed. "Nah, it's a good question. Why trust a Turk who's this willing to help. Something's gotta be fishy, eh?" He looked down at me with a smile.
"Yeah…"
His smiled vanished. "If one person can look at me and see more than a useless, drunken, waste of a space on the planet… or look past this Turk uniform and see that I am human…" he didn't finish the answer, but I understood.
"Thank you. And can I ask you one more favor?"
He nodded.
"Get Vincent out safely. Don't let him do anything crazy. I know he's hell bent on killing Hojo, but now isn't the time." We both came to a stop in front of a bar that Reno frequented. He sighed heavily but then smiled.
"I'll do my best. But hey, this is Hannah." He said as a young girl approached us. "Your cover." I nodded to her and she did the same. "She's fleeing Nibelheim as well to escape prostitution. You'll both take a train to Rocket Town where my friend Cid will fly you out to Midgar where you can start your lives over."
Hannah and I fit each other well. We passed successfully as a young innocent couple on our way to vacation and boarded the train with no issues.
I unzipped the backpack as soon as I got on the train. The movement kept Mila in a deep sleep. Our trip was only a couple hours long up to Rocket Town. I was thankful to have made it out of that manor of terror alive, but something did not feel right. Vincent said he would meet me in the slums of Midgar. But he gave no further detail. No address, no phone numbers…. I had no way of contacting him and the slums were massive; separated into sectors. He did not even say when…
The brunette next to me was still too shaken to speak so I spent the hours staring out the window at the passing scenery.