Rolling Chamber

Part 2 of 3

"Oh, holy shit," I said under my breath. So Phelps was part of Scarlet's troop too, eh? I dunno why, but I was almost shaking. I guess I was really scared of the guy. But of course, I wasn't gonna let him find out about that. Phelps was staggering around the barracks. I don't even think he saw me. I threw him into that neon sign not too long ago, and I knew he wanted some retribution.

He finally lifted his head up and saw me. "Y--You pussy-fightin' motherfucker…" he growled.

"Well, I guess you already know Phelps, eh," said Vazquez, curious as to why.

Phelps teetered some more, then collapsed on the floor. His uniform was all ripped up on the back and I could see he had an Ifrit tattoo all over it. I guess he believes in those stupid summoner gods.

"Oh, Jesus, that was a close one," I sighed, thankful that he fell.

"How do you know Phelps, Harlan?" asked McKinley.

"Yeah…well, I had this initiation test, and Scarlet had me fight Phelps. I…kinda pulled a dirty move on him. I guess that's why he's so pissed."

"Nah, it wouldn't've mattered," replied McKinley. "Phelps is a sore loser anyway. He can't stand getting beaten."

"Uh…right."

I shot the shit with McKinley and Vazquez some more. They say Phelps is the toughest guy in Scarlet's troop. McKinley was pretty cool, but he had these freaky lookin' scars on his cheek. They looked pretty recent. I asked him about it, but he didn't wanna get into it. He was also the oldest of us, at 22. Phelps was 21. Vazquez, I guess, was Spanish and closest to my age. He was 19 and I was 17. But I told them I was 19 too, since I got the feeling that maybe Scarlet was bending the age requirement by letting me join. Since it was it was getting dark, we turned in for the night. I was still a little scared that Phelps might wake up in the middle of the night and try to kill me, so I tried to stay up as long as possible.

***

"B--Barret…"

I just barely opened my eyes. That was Myrna calling for me. I looked out at the sky. It looked like it was just a little after midnight. The hospital folk allowed me to stay inside the room with Myrna for the night, they even got me a blanket.

"What is it, baby?" I asked her.

"I…I really don't…feel so good…right now…" She could barely speak anymore. It really hurt to see her in such bad shape, but I had to be strong. If I couldn't even be strong for her, how could she possibly find the will to live?

"You want me to get you something? Water? Another pillow?"

"No, no…"

"Don't worry. I'm doin' the best I can with Dyne. I talked with Eleanor earlier today…or was it yesterday…? I dunno, anyway, I talked to El and she said she's gonna try to convince him to go with the Mako plan. We're also gonna be havin' a meeting later today with the Shinra. It'll all be over pretty soon, baby."

"No…I mean…my hand…it…"

I took her hand. It was wet. I looked at it, but I couldn't tell what was the matter since it was so dark. Then I realized what it was. Her hand was covered in blood.

"Oh my god, no…" I said. I ran out of the room. "Someone! Help me! There's a patient who needs some help here!"

"Calm down, Mr. Wallace," said one of the nurses. "What's the problem?"

"My wife, she's bleedin'! Get a doctor to Room 6!"

The nurse went to a doctor and told him about it. We rushed back into the room and the doctor wrapped some cloth around Myrna's bloody hand. They said she was gonna be okay, at least for another couple of weeks. At that point, I knew I had to get Dyne to listen. I just had to…

***

I still couldn't get to sleep. The idea that Phelps could wake up at any minute and pounce on me was absolutely frightening. But I was slowly drifting off. I closed my eyes and began to unwind. That's when I felt someone grab the fly of my pants and unzip it.

"Whoa, holy fuckin' shit!" I screamed. The only thing scarier than the idea of Phelps pouncing on me was the idea of him mounting me. Whoever was fuckin' around with my pants immediately let go. I zipped my fly back up, got out of bed and ran over to the light switch. That's when he pounced. He grabbed something metal and swung it across the back of my head. I was out cold.

The next morning, I woke up with a splitting fuckin' headache. I was slumped over near the light switch. Everyone else was awake, too. McKinley and Vazquez were holding Phelps back from killing me.

"Harlan, you little fag," he said, with clenched teeth. "Pullin' dirty tricks on me, eh? You're gonna regret it, boy."

"I'm the fag?!? You were the one messing with my pants last night!"

"I got no clue what you're babblin' about, Harlan! I was out cold all night."

"The hell you were!"

"All right, calm down, the both of you!" yelled McKinley, taking charge of the situation. "Look, I don't what happened to you last night, Harlan, but Phelps is tellin' the truth. He was left unconscious in exactly the same position he was last night."

"Oh, so it was Vazquez!" I said, seeing the situation more clearly.

"What was Vazquez?" said Vazquez, with a low, menacing tone of voice.

"…I don't know what kind of pranks you guys pull in the Shinra army. I mean, I 'm a good sport about practical jokes and all, but fuckin' around with my cock is goin' too far!"

"You actually think that was me?!?" said Vazquez, getting pretty irritated.

" Enough! Nobody seems to know what you're talkin' about, so maybe it was just a dream."

"Maybe a good dream…" Phelps snidely retorted.

"Go fuck yourself," I replied.

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!" shouted McKinley, as loud as he could. "We're not gonna get anywhere yelling all morning, so we might as well put this aside for another time. Everyone get dressed. Scarlet's gonna need some bodyguards later this afternoon."

I reluctantly walked back to my bed and got into the Shinra uniform. I just realized that whoever knocked me out probably raped me. I was getting really scared, and at the same time really angry. My ass wasn't hurting or anything, but I decided thinking about it too much would make me gay. I dunno who did that, but I'd get them worse.

About twenty minutes later, we walked over to Scarlet's office where she had called for us. When I walked in, I could smell her perfume. I began to realize that the person who was messing with my pants last night actually had perfume on. The same perfume Scarlet did. This got me really weirded out. It's not that I don't want Scarlet, but the way she acted was creeping me out.

"All right, men, I'm going to North Corel today to talk with those hicks about building another Mako Reactor over there. I originally planned on bringing Phelps and McKinley with me, but it seems Phelps will have to rest up due to his injuries from fighting Harlan yesterday. Ah, I think I'll take Vazquez and McKinley with--"

"Ma'am," interrupted McKinley. "I think it would be best if you took me and Harlan for this one. We probably won't be doing much fighting, and he can learn what do as your bodyguard without being bogged down with information like 'which weapon to use' and 'who to protect first'. "

"Hmm…" said Scarlet, to herself. "I suppose you're right. Fine, we'll take you and Harlan. Now leave me alone until you receive further notice. I still need to do more research on these filthy North Corelians," said Scarlet, spitefully.

"Yes, ma'am," we all replied.

After we left her office, I decided to talk to McKinley. "Hey, McKinley, thanks for hookin' me up with a mission," I said.

"I wasn't getting you a mission. I was saving you from Phelps. If we leave the two of you alone in the barracks, God only knows what'll happen to you."

"Hey, I can handle myself. I took him down in the initiation test, didn't I?

"Sure, rookie. Sure."

***

"All right, is everyone here?" asked the Village Headman.

"Everyone except…Dyne," I said, sadly.

"Where could he be?" asked Headman Jacob Farber. "We're lucky that the Shinra are running late. We can't look foolish in front of them."

"Sorry I'm late folks," said Dyne, at the doorway of the Headman's home. "I…had a little argument with the wife."

"Aw, no," I said to myself. I didn't want Dyne and Eleanor to get into a fight over this.

"Well, take your seat," said Farber. All the most respected townsfolk were there. Me, Dyne, Headman Farber and two elders. We all agreed that the reactor should be built. All of us, except Dyne.

"Where's the Shinras?" asked Dyne.

"They should be coming any--"

"Sorry to keep you…people…waiting," said Scarlet, just arriving. I really didn't like the way she emphasized "people". Almost like she was holding back from saying something else. But I decided to ignore it. Scarlet also had two Shinra soldiers with her.

***

God in heaven, Scarlet wasn't kidding when she called the North Corelians "filthy". They smell like they've been through hell. If it wasn't for Scarlet's perfume, I think I might've choked to death. In fact, the more I smelled that stuff, the more I wanted to ask her if she was the one who snuck up on me last night. But then again, maybe one of the guys like to use women's perfume or something. McKinley didn't seem to have any problem with the filthy Corelian smell, though. I guess he can control himself better.

***

One of the soldiers seemed a little shaky. I was guessin' he was a new recruit or something. It looked like he was about to faint.

"Thank you for coming, Scarlet," said the Headman. "We do appreciate your patience with our decision. It is a bit difficult to let go of our coal mines, since they've been with us for so long…"

"I can completely understand," assured Scarlet. "I, myself, had grown up in Nibelheim, where they are especially famous for their mountains. It would kill me to lose Mt. Nibel for the new Mako Reactors, but luckily we got to keep both."

***

I looked over at McKinley when Scarlet said this. Vazquez told me that she grew up in Midgar. I could read McKinley's eyes. He was telling me Scarlet was bluffing, trying to get the townsfolk to think that she knows where they're coming from.

***

"I am glad you can see things from our standpoint, Scarlet," said Headman Farber. "So, surely you can understand why Dyne is having so much trouble with the Mako Reactor. We don't want to lose our coal mines, but most of us realize the helpfulness the reactor could provide."

"I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable with Mako replacing coal," said Dyne, holding back his contempt for Shinra. "It just doesn't seem right…"

"You've got to understand, Dyne," said Scarlet, sympathetically. "Everything is Mako now. Gongaga, Nibelheim, there are even a few on the Northern Continent…"

"Myrna's got a terminal illness," I pleaded with him. "With the Mako Reactor, we can cure it."

"That's right, we--"

"Damnit, Barret," interrupted Dyne. "You know how much I care about you and Myrna. So you know how painful it is for me to hold my ground like this."

"Dyne…her hand was bleeding last night. She lost a lot of blood. I don't want Myrna to suffer no more."

When I said that, Dyne's lower lip started quivering. He couldn't take it anymore. Everyone had turned against him, even Eleanor. Dyne broke down in tears, covering his face. "All right, fine! Why don't you answer this question, Scarlet! If you can make a special healing potion from your machines to cure Myrna's sickness, why don't you just make one from one of the existing reactors and bring it to us. A life is in danger, God damn it!"

***

Wow, I had no idea what the problem was with that guy. Mako's done nothing but good for Gongaga. But we all knew why Scarlet never made a healing potion somewhere else and brought it here. To pressure the yokels into agreeing. And it looked like it was working, until the crying guy put the pieces together.

***

Dyne was right. Were these Shinra people tryin' to play God with us? Let someone die to get a piece of North Corel? This was making me sick, and I didn't know who trust.

"…Well, you see, there are no nearby reactors," replied Scarlet, coolly. "And my employer had told me that I couldn't leave the camp area we set up on this continent until we got a response from you…people."

***

Another bluff. This time I didn't need to read McKinley's eyes, and this time, I don't think it was quite as successful.

***

She did it again! Paused before she said people. That wasn't no accident. Maybe Dyne was right. We need--

"All right, fine!" said Dyne, as he threw his arms up in the air. "Do it, just do it. But the first thing you do after that thing gets built is make the healing potion, you get me?"

"Perfectly," said Scarlet, with a smile that made my skin crawl. Dyne finally agreed to the Mako plan, and now I'm the one with doubts. But…we need to get that thing built quick, before Myrna loses too much blood.

***

When the hicks finally agreed to have the Mako Reactor built, Scarlet whispered to me and McKinley, "Let's get out of Dodge, fast, before they change their minds." Why would they change their minds? Is there something wrong with Mako that I haven't found out about yet?

***

The next day, they brought a scientist to North Corel named Dr. Hojo to make the healing potion for us. It took half a day, but it was a lot faster than I thought it would take. We brought the potion to Myrna. When she drank it, she started getting better immediately. I hugged her. Almost started crying. I wouldn't let anything like that happen again. We don't even know how she got sick, but I'm glad they could cure her. I felt like God was watching over us that day, the shepherd protecting his sheep. Dyne was still upset about giving up the coal mines, but at least we could try and patch up our friendship again. But I still couldn't get that feeling out of the back of my head. Like we'd made a deal with the devil…

Concluded in "Rolling Chamber, Part 3"