I've missed some of my loyal reviewers last week! I hope that's not a bad thing and everyone is still enjoying the story :D

Kei: His flirting is smooth too :P I wouldn't be able to handle it either! Eden's had years of experience with him though! The ad rice part made me laugh too XD I couldn't resist. Thanks again for your review! You were the only one !:O Heading into the action, yes!

Chapter 188

I was the last to leave the house and closed the door behind me, hoping I would be back soon to get some well deserved rest. Also, some peace and quiet. As I watched everyone make their way down the hill, I decided there was no way I was about to get in a truck with them. I had my limits.

My trusted machine came alive underneath me, its familiar purr was like music to my ears. Slowly, I followed everyone down the hill, where Cloud and the others were already climbing aboard the monster truck. The Turks and Rufus, however, remained on the grass, and my eyebrow rose involuntarily when I saw Rude offer Tifa a hand to step inside.

"Must you always do things differently from everyone else?" Rufus asked me in a bored drawl, his back towards my point of interest. "Can't you simply get in the truck like everyone else?"

"I don't see you getting in there," I pointed out as I came to a stop beside the small Shinra troop. "You should know by now that I'm not a pack-animal."

"I'm aware," Rufus said while the Turks waited for him to get on the move. "We're heading back to Healin', perhaps we'll find some information there."

"Good for you," I replied indifferently, while the others had finally piled inside. "Didn't ask. See you later," I saluted him, before stealing a look from Reno, who rolled his eyes at my attitude in amused resignation. He was about to walk off with Rufus and the other Turks, when there was a sudden shrill screech cutting through the sky over our heads, and a massive explosion in the mountains close by.

"That's Healin'," There was alarm in Tseng's voice, something I had never witnessed in him before. He was a man of control and serenity. "They've attacked Healin'!"

"Charly!" I gasped, just as Ollie stuck his head out of the truck so see what was going on. Others leaped from the truck to do the same. "Ollie, come with me!" I shouted at him "It's Healin'!"

"Shit! Eva!" He cursed loudly.

"Get on!" I quickly maneuvered the motorcycle, spinning the rear end his way.

He stared wide-eyed at the bike with a look of utter horror. He had vouched never to get on again, as he truly hated every single ride. "No, no...hell no!"

"Get on the goddamn bike, Ollie!" I didn't have time for this, our friends could be in danger.

After a second of hesitation, he ran over to me and hopped on without any further argument, clinging to me for dear life. "I hate you!" He complained, but I ignored him.

"Eden, be careful!" Tseng called to us as I revved the throttle and shot off.

Ollie had somewhat composed himself, but still had a death grip on me. Not long after we took off, a giant helicopter passed right over us, hovering above Healin' Lodge. It had the shape of a jet, with a massive rotor on the top, keeping it airborne. Rufus had told us that Deepground was in possession of some state of the art aircrafts, but this was beyond anything I had ever encountered. Not even Shinra had toys like this. From our current location, we were able to tell it was the Shinra Cabin that had been hit, and not the Lodge, thankfully. Still, the fact that the aircraft had approached, told us that Deepground was up to something. There was still a chance they would invade the Lodge, and all the patients currently residing there. Right after the aircraft had arrived, a Shinra chopper followed, but landing close to the other craft would be dangerous. So, they went to find a safe spot some distance away. Halfway to Healin', we came across a red car standing still in the middle of the road.

"It's Eva!" Ollie shouted in my ear. "Stop this infernal machine!" I hit the brakes and came to a halt, seeing two women standing beside the car. One, I easily recognized as being Eva. The other must be her friend Ollie had referred to. They spun around at the sound of my motorcycle. Surprise washed over Eva's features, closely followed by relief.

"Ollie!" She cried, throwing herself into his arms, barely giving him a chance to step off.

"Eva, thank the Gods you're safe." Ollie embraced her tightly, as if he would never let her go. I couldn't manage to suppress the sudden jolt of jealousy I felt at the interaction.

"We were just underway," Eva explained as she pulled back from him. "Where are we supposed to go now?"

"Go to Eden's house," Ollie told her. "Wait for me there, we have to go see if Charly is all right."

She nodded and hugged him again. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," She said to him, making me look away from them. "We'll talk about this when all this is over. I promise everything will be okay."

"I know, love-bug, I know." Ollie buried his face in her lush hair for a moment and then kissed her full on the mouth.

Now I really had to turn away in embarrassment, my eyes meeting Eva's friend. She seemed to be feeling equally awkward. I tried my best to patiently wait for him to finish saying hello and goodbye, but when I felt it took too long, I simply honked my horn, making them both jump in surprise. "I don't wanna be rude," I pressed. "But we kinda have an emergency, you know."

"Right," Ollie's cheeks turned red and he let go of his girlfriend. "I'm sorry, but Eden's right. Go to her house, you'll be safe. I'll be back before you know it."

"Wait, why are you wearing an apron?" She frowned at the checkered fabric hugging his form. "Never mind," She added, knowing some things with Ollie were simply too random to explain. He ripped the thing off his body and hurled it into the car, apparently wishing to keep it for later. She gave him one last, wet kiss and let him take a seat behind me again.

The Shinra cabin was alight with roaring flames, and if anyone had been inside at the time of the assault, there was no way they were still alive at this point.

"There's nothing we can do," Ollie said as I halted beside the building, hoping that everyone had made it out before the inferno got to it. "Let's get to-" With massive force, the windows suddenly exploded outward, followed by a giant fireball. The explosion knocked us both over, sending us rolling across the mountain path, through the dirt. My bike slid over to the edge of the pass, coming to a stop only an inch from the abyss. I sat up on my hands, glass raining off me like a waterfall, feeling a little dazed at the sudden impact my body had made with the hard ground. My eyes sought Ollie, finding him only a foot away from me, staring at the building with shock on his face.

"How are you always so lucky?!" He shouted in astonishment over the noise of the blazing fire. There was nothing left of the cabin now; the windows were missing, as was the door, and the very structure was caving in on itself from the immense heat. We got back up, brushing ourselves off and slapping shards of glass off our clothes. I walked over to my bike and pulled it upright. Ollie appeared by my side as I checked it over. Against all odds, it didn't even have a scratch. "Seriously, you can't go anywhere without shit blowing up, or people getting shot." Ollie complained, but I knew he was only half serious. Stuff blowing up and shoot-outs were his thing.

"It's not like I try, you know." I replied, feeling happy that my machine was all right and still running, and not at the bottom of the pass. "Let's go check out the Lodge. We'll leave the bike here and walk. We can use the trees and rocks for cover."

The giant helicopter was still hovering over the Lodge, and by the looks of it, troopers were gliding their way down onto the rooftop.

"I don't get it," Ollie said as we started walking towards the trouble. "What do they want with Healin'?"

There were a few possible answers to that question. Either they were after Rufus, and by default, Shinra itself, or they thought that this new medical facility harvested more experiments. Or maybe they were looking for something else all together.

"My guess would be Rufus." I replied, thinking this was the most logical answer. If there were experiments being done at Healin', what would Deepground have to do with them? We got closer, skimming the rocks and taking cover behind the large boulders. The grass and path around the Lodge were also crawling with troopers, dragging people outside and throwing them down on the lawn none too gently. "Well..." I said when I counted at least twenty troopers, all armed with guns. "We've had worse."

"Yeah," He replied, knowing I was referring to our assault on Shinra HQ in Midgar four years ago. "Only, this rock won't move as easily as that dumpster. We could've used a hand-"

"Are ya sayin' we ain't good enough?"

I spun at the sound of Reno's voice and in a reflex, slapped a hand over Ollie's mouth to prevent him from screaming in shock, which he did. Fortunately, the sound was muffled by my hand and no harm was done. The Turks must have parked the chopper somewhere down the slope and walked the rest of the way. This stealthy approach would only work in our benefit. Not only were there four very skilled Turks behind us, but Rufus had also decided to join the frenzy. Wasn't he too valuable to get mixed up in a gun-fight? Especially if it was him they were looking for. It seemed however, that he was ready for it, because his weapon was already in his hand, his eyes set on the Lodge.

"Ifrit's sweaty balls!" Ollie cursed after I had removed my hand. Then he grinned widely. "Nah, you guys are perfect."

"We will work together on this," Tseng said as he handed out ear pieces. "Keep these in at all times and remember, the safety of the patients and the staff is priority."

"And Charly." I prompted, earning me a nod from his end.

"In the meantime," Rufus added. "We take down as many as we can, while Cloud and the others handle things in Edge. This uprising will be quelled as quickly as it arose."

"Ollie, go do your thing," I ordered him. He didn't complain and simply pushed the device Tseng handed him into his ear without comment, he knew the drill by now. Besides, if he ever wanted to work things out with Eva, it was important for him to be where he was most safe and most skilled. Which was at a distance. "I think you should take Rufus with you." I added.

"Oh?" Rufus asked me in surprise. "Are you concerned for me?"

"Hardly," I replied while I checked my guns and ammo, and made sure my blades were loose on my back. "But I figure it's you they're looking for. Do you really want to make it so easy on them?"

"Don't bother, Eden," He smiled at me. "My Turks have already tried to persuade me. I am joining this fight."

I sighed and shared a look with Tseng, who seemed to think this a bad idea too. "Fine, do whatever the hell you want." Truthfully, I couldn't care less what happened to him. "Ollie,"

"Yeah, got it," He replied and started crawling up the steep mountainside to look for a perfect vantage point.

Once he had disappeared from view, I said nothing more and waited for someone to tell me what to do. After all, Reno had reprimanded me for making my own decisions instead of working as a team and I had promised him I would try and adapt. Now was the time to prove to him that I could be a reliable team-player if I wanted.

"Elena and I will remain with Rufus and do a sweep of the first floor," Tseng instructed as everyone checked their weapons. They seemed to have brought some guns taken from the troopers we killed earlier, in addition to their rods. "Reno, Rude, Eden, ground floor. We will then proceed to second and you to third. We will commence until we reach the rooftop. Be careful up there. That aircraft is no ordinary helicopter."

"Copy that," Everyone apart from Rufus said. It surprised me to hear the words coming from my own mouth. It seemed Elena was surprised about that too, since she eyed me in wonder for once, instead of with hatred.

"In position." Ollie's voice spoke in our ears.

I smirked while loading a bullet into my chamber. "Let's go mow the lawn."

When we arrived, troopers were already going down one by one in a hail of Ollie's unparalleled aim. He was like a surgeon with his rifle. Brain matter sprayed across the gravel path that Reno and I had walked down only a few hours ago. At least six went down before we joined in the frenzy, Ollie cheering along with each hit. Rufus ran at the very front, positively surprising me. He was firing off rounds left and right, dropping even more enemies than Ollie. There was a sudden chaos of gunshots when the troopers finally saw us coming and started firing at everything that moved. Patients and infirmary staff screamed in terror, running for their lives, passing us like a herd of chocobos. We scattered across the path and grass, giving the enemy no steady target to follow. They were less organized than I had thought, and their lack of direction and plan made it easy for us to take them down. I had barely ever seen the Turks with guns in their hands, but they handled them like they handled everything else; like pros. Their aim was near perfect, they picked targets with the right priorities, and they moved swiftly to avoid being hit. Twenty troopers had seemed like a lot before, but with the combination of Ollie's perfect eye and highly skilled people on the ground, this had been a walk in the park. The lawn was soon littered with enemy bodies and blood, the surroundings now abandoned and quiet.

"That was actually a little disappointing," I pouted as we stood side by side across the lawn, facing the Lodge entrance. "I was looking forward to a challenge."

"It's not over yet," Tseng said. "Check your weapons and get ready to infiltrate."

We moved inside silently, Reno once again pressing the button to open the front doors. One by one, we stepped inside, guns at the ready, eyes scanning the lobby. The nurse's desk was abandoned, blue back-up lights dimly illuminating the foyer. The power seemed to have been cut. There was blood smeared on the walls and a chunky trace of it leading off down the dark hallway, towards the rooms and cafeteria. When we moved closer, we saw the desk wasn't actually abandoned. Two nurses lay on the floor behind it, their bodies torn open as if ripped apart by claws, entrails spread out around them.

"What in the name of Shiva..?" Elena whispered in horror, her soft voice echoing through the seemingly empty building.

A soft crash sounded from further down the hall, but my eyes found nothing but darkness that way. An uneasy feeling came over me as Rude spoke softly, "This wasn't done by anything human."

"What's going on, guys?" Ollie asked, also in a whisper.

It's funny how people start to lower their voices at the sense of imminent threat, and right now, it hung in the air like a thunderstorm.

"Chief?" Reno's eyes were glued to the mangled corpses on the floor, a dark, disturbed look passing over his generally untroubled face. "You sure about splitting up?"

"Hmpf..." Tseng replied equally hushed. "Hancock is still here somewhere. We have to extract him."

"Dammit," Reno cursed under his breath, tearing his eyes away from the maimed remains. Suddenly, a phone buzzed in the otherwise silent entrance hall, making Reno hiss. "What the hell, Elena?!"

"Oh, shit! Sorry!" She apologized in alarm, but at the sound of her cell phone, a sudden deep, guttural growl reverberated from the far back of the building.

Our heads snapped in that direction simultaneously, a feeling of dread rising up inside me when my eyes fixed on the darkness beyond. We all stood motionless for a moment, waiting for something to happen, or for some inhuman monstrosity to emerge from the black hallway. When nothing happened, I looked over at Tseng, who nodded at us. "Go," He whispered. "Which floor is Hancock's room?"

"Third," I replied with a sense of urgency. "Hurry."

With a last look of encouragement at his two best men, Tseng lead Elena and an eerily calm looking Rufus away towards the stairs.

Rude, Reno and I made our way towards the dark hallway slowly, minding our footfalls. The last thing we wanted, was to alert whatever was lurking in the shadows of our presence. We took it step by step, guns raised, eyes sweeping left and right. The trail of blood was easy to follow, leading us further and further down, closer to the cafeteria. The hallway was too dark to see the end, and my imagination ran a little wild at the thought of what might be waiting for us down there. My heart thumped in my throat and I had trouble keeping my breathing even. I placed one foot in front of the other, prowling along silently with the Turks. Their faces were set in resolute dedication, but the apprehension in their body language was hard to miss. I felt my own anxiety press against the back of my skull. At least Ollie remained silent, sensing something was going on. The others remained silent as well, though I heard Elena's elevated breathing in my ear, not making it any easier for me. When we reached the wide open space of the cafeteria, I quickly rolled across the floor to the other side of the large glass doors. They stood wide open, providing no safety from anything that may reside in there. We had no lights with us, and the only light was coming in through the windows along the back wall, showing off their magnificent view. Only this morning, I had sat there with Jolene. Jolene. I hoped she was all right. A swift look inside showed upturned tables, scattered chairs, and worst of all, more dead people. Some wore the white coats of medical staff, smeared with crimson and black, giving me the sensation that I was looking at white swans drowning in oil. Others were clearly patients or visitors, people who hadn't managed to make it out in time. Whatever had swept through this infirmary, it had been quick and most of all, relentless. There were at least as many bodies in there as there were troopers outside on the grass, and that fact was suddenly a lot less disappointing. After a short, distraught look between the three of us, we pressed on down the dimly lit hallway, the feeling of dread getting stronger. The first door we reached was open and I pressed my back against the wall beside it, lowering my gun to take a peek. Reno and Rude took up position behind me, giving me a sense of security. After closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, I leaned in, risking a careful glance around the corner. I only just managed to smother the gasp that left my lips. Limbs were spread around the room, an arm dangling from a bed, a foot laying on the carpet by the door. At least three more disemboweled bodies were spread around, one of them hanging off the side of the infirmary bed, dead eyes staring at me in agony. Blood was splattered everywhere on the walls, an arch of it creating a disturbing city-skyline mural. But what unnerved me the most, was the creature hovering over the corpse on the bed, feasting on its flesh. I drew back, for the first time in my life having to press my lips together to keep from being sick at the sight of something.

"What is it?" Reno's carefully whispered words were barely audible over my heart beat. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, not trusting myself to open my mouth. I moved away from the door so he could see for himself. The scene was too horrendous to describe in words. He took up my vacant position by the door and peered into the room, before he too retreated and blanched. "That'll expel your pancakes," He joked darkly, making me cover my mouth to keep them down and slap him on the shoulder in dismay. "And definitely not human." He added to Rude with a knowing wiggle of his brow. Rude's teeth gnashed in discontent.

There was a sudden bloodcurdling scream from the upstairs floors, echoing all around the building and even louder in our ear pieces. We froze in panic, knowing it was Elena who'd screamed, along with another female. At the same time, the creature in the room behind us screeched in reaction, followed by more screeching from further down the hall and up the stairs.

"Grab him and go!" I heard Tseng shout into my ear, accompanied by a chorus of gunshots.

Panic erupted inside me when a door down the hallway burst from its hinges, and two of the horrible flesh eating creatures came crashing into the hallway, skidding to a halt against the wall opposite. From inside the room, the other emerged, prowling and growling, sniffing for us. Their bodies were elongated, clothed in trooper uniforms, but they weren't human anymore. Far from it. They moved on four legs, large claws on their paws. Bloody saliva was dripping from between ten inch long teeth. A helmet covered their heads and eyes, but something told me they didn't need eyes to locate us. These predators hunted on scent. Reno stood rooted to the spot at the sight of these mutated humans, Rude shouting for us to move and already bolting down the hallway. I snatched Reno by the sleeve and dragged him along with me, praying we had chance to make it out alive. We ran as fast as we could, the creatures behind us screaming at the smell of fresh meat. I let go of Reno and fired off a few rounds over my shoulder at the oncoming beasts, but the bullets ricocheted off their helmets. Over in the foyer, Jolene came rushing down the stairs, looking absolutely terrified. I didn't have the time to feel the relief. Tseng and Rufus came stumbling down after her, carrying a cursing Charly between them. His legs were dangling uselessly, but fortunately, Rufus and Tseng were strong men. Elena came last, firing off round after round into the hallway above them. We tore down the corridor and almost caught up to Rude, but I felt the creatures coming closer and closer with each thundering step of my boots. Reno was faster than me, and I fell back. For a moment I feared I might not be fast enough. The hallway hadn't felt this long when we'd first walked down it, but we were almost back in the foyer now, where Rude slammed his fist into the console and opened the doors. Rufus and Tseng dragged Charly outside, Elena following right after.

"Hurry!" Rude urged us on.

Reno grabbed me by the wrist and flung me forward just when a sharp claw slashed out for my back, missing me by a hair's width. The creatures from the upper floors met with the others in the lobby, their bodies slamming together when they met at the crossing. They snarled and came after us, still hungry for blood. We bolted outside, meeting with Tseng and Rufus as they tried to haul Charly's dead weight, but they were moving at a dangerously slow pace.

"Down!" A voice suddenly yelled, and it only took a millionth of a second to see Ollie standing ways down the gravel path, his shoulder supporting an enormous bazooka.

Elena and Rude dove to the right on instinct, Rude hugging his arms around Jolene in protection as he did, while Tseng and Rufus tumbled down into the gravel with Charly. Reno ducked in reflex, pulling me down with him, and just in time too. The bazooka fired off with a swoosh, sending Ollie flat onto his ass. The giant rocket flew over our heads with a shock-wave of violence that pressed me into the hard pebbles below me. Reno covered both our heads with his arms, keeping us close to the ground. There was a howl and a screech, succeeded by an explosion that rocked the very mountain, and my eardrums with it. A wall of fire passed over us, I felt the heat singe my bare arms. Then chunks of skin and bone rained down on us, and for the second time in an hour, I was showered with glass. The inferno receded, and we carefully lifted our heads to see a slow rain of ash descend on us. Reno groaned and rolled onto his back, stretching himself out over the path as if he were about to take nap. Or simply pass out.

"Wha' da hell, boy?!" Charly scolded Ollie when all was silent again.

"You wouldn't believe what some people leave laying around in a chopper," Ollie replied proudly. "Who saved the day, huh? That's right, bitches, it's Olliver Bullseye Vermont."

All I could do was laugh nervously as the adrenaline levels in my veins depleted, leaving me with nothing but raw alleviation.