Red + Red + Rose : Chpt. Five : Caged Angel
Diary Entry: 0057 Date: 03-21-05
Squall came down to the Opium last night, he was near the front of the stage with Zell and I was incredibly surprised when I saw him. I told Zell about how I was trying to strike a friendship with Squall so I'm guessing that he had a bit of influence on Squall's decision to come. I suppose that's the only entertaining thing that happened to me in the past week. Seifer bought me a diamond pendant for my birthday, which I celebrated that night at the club. We were all sitting around a table – Squall, Seifer, Zell, Selphie, Irvine and I. We ate some cake, had a few shots and danced for a while. Nothing special, but my most eventful birthday in the past five years. I could tell that the tension in the room was probably high, Seifer and Squall were exchanging glares, however Irvine and Selphie were doing the exact opposite. I believe that they're a couple although I could be wrong.
Zell convinced me to open the Harvard envelope, it looks like I'll be going there next year so I'm rather pleased about that. I know that it will be difficult but I believe that I'm up for the challenge.
Yesterday, when I was outside in the park with the kitty, I saw a woman around my age walking a dog. I could have sworn that I recognized her from somewhere, though I could be mistaken because I've ever seen her at Balamb and I'm not even sure if she lives in the apartment.
"You have an online journal? Can I read it?" Zell asked. She was talking to him over ICQ and he was particularly talkative this evening.
"Of course you can't, I have all my private thoughts in…" She began typing, but bit her lip and pressed the backspace key until the entire row of text was gone.
"It's nothing interesting." She replaced it with, and clicked on the send button.
"I'll bet. You probably have in-depth details about you and Seifer."
"Hardly. What makes you think that I've ever even gone very far with Seifer?"
"Oh, I can tell. Just the way he acts towards you, like a husband and wife or something. You guys
know each other really well."
"Husband and wife? I'd die if that ever happened. I can honestly say that I hate Seifer's guts and everything he thinks he is. The stupid two-bit pimp thinks he literally "owns" the streets. You're correct in saying that we know each other well, though."
"Then why are you two together?"
"If I knew the answer, I'd tell you. GTG, bye."
"Later."
She signed off ICQ and shut her computer down. The oven beeped, signaling that her fries were ready. Grabbing her class of water from off of the computer desk, she strolled into the kitchen and shut off the heat dial while placing her glass on the counter. She grabbed a can of cat food from out of the fridge and shoved it into the can-opener. The cat pranced into the kitchen, eager for his dinner. She slipped an oven mitt over her hand, grabbed the fries out of the oven and dumped the contents of the tray onto a plate. Just as she was about to grab the can of cat food, there was a knock on the door.
Seifer didn't say he'd drop by, he hasn't called for the entire day. I wonder where he is…? Maybe that's him.
She forgot about the cat-food and strided over to the door, unlocked the multiple steel and brass locks that had recently been replaced due to Seifer's incessant bitching, and opened the door to see a very distraught-looking Irvine.
"Baby-" He started, Quistis slammed the door in his face.
"I'm not working today!" She shouted to him.
"Please, I'm desperate. My pair of cage-dancers left and I need you to fill in for them. I'm begging you Quisty, you're the only one I've got."
She sighed and gazed out the window, leaning her back against the door.
"What's in it for me?"
"A bonus in your paycheck and a special room with Seifer for later tonight."
"A special room? What exactly are you getting at?" She asked, very confused.
"He said that you didn't want to be disturbed today because you were tired and he wouldn't even let me come here to pick you up until I promised him something for later."
"That idiot has some nerve."
"Which is exactly why you should come with me, to tell him off!" Irvine pleaded.
Gritting her teeth, she turned around and opened the door.
"I'm not ready. Give me five minutes."
She slammed the door again and emerged, true to her word, five minutes later wearing a daring tight skirt and a tube top that showed off her athletic figure. Her legs were covered in knee high boots and fishnets while she had a light jacket around her.
"Let's go." She told him, leading him into the elevator.
"New outfit?"
She was silent.
"Uhm, I'm really sorry about this."
She didn't even speak a word.
"You know, on second thought, if you're really-"
"Just shut up and let's go. If it makes you feel better, I didn't exactly have anything planned for tonight anyway."
He grinned, relieved that she wasn't as angry as she had seemed a few seconds before. He led her out towards his car and she hopped in. As soon as he got in and turned the engine over the stereo came on, blasting punk music and shaking the entire car with the bass. It didn't bother her much, she was used to it in the club so why should it be a big deal if it was in a car?
"Yeah, baby, lets push this thing." They sped through the icy streets of Chicago, spinning and sliding as Quistis closed her eyes and prayed that they wouldn't crash.
"You reckless idiot, there's ice on the roads." She shouted,
"It's okay."
He pressed his foot down harder on the accelerator and they went speeding through a red light.
"This is the last, and I do mean the last, time that I'm ever driving with you."
"Don't you like skidding?"
She scoffed at the thought of skidding on a patch of ice and gripped on to the dashboard for the remainder of the drive.
"Hey, Quistis, wake up. We're here."
She looked up, sure enough they were parked in front of the Opium, however the car was crooked and in an illegal parking zone. Before she could say anything he jumped out and motioned for her to follow him inside. Opening the car door quickly and chasing after him, she almost fell on a patch of ice had he not grabbed onto her and ushered her through the door while flashing the bouncer a smile.
"Okay, now all you have to do is step into the cage and they'll pull you up, it's not that far, maybe thirty feet above the ground."
"Thirty damn feet? I'm not fond of heights."
"Yeah, well, it's not so bad when you're up there. Don't worry, it's safe."
She sighed but followed him to the stage where Selphie was waiting. Irvine lowered his mouth to hers and gave her a light kiss before jumping up on stage discreetly, pulling Quistis up, and leading her towards the cage.
"All you have to do is dance, that's it. Seifer's up there." He pointed to the upperfloor and she saw Seifer smirking at her as he usually did when she danced, "At around one, the cage will be lowered back to the ground and you can go with Seifer into your room."
"I-"
Before she had a chance to say anymore he gave her a light push towards the cage and gestured for her to step in.
"Must I do this? Why can't I just dance on stage? I don't trust this thing."
"Just go on, I promise that if you get really scared that I'll come and get you."
She nodded and stepped into the metal cage, regretting her decision the moment that Irvine closed the door.
"Relax, you'll do great."
"I know." She said and he gave her one more reassuring look before walking off and telling them to raise it.
The ride up was agonizing, she kept thinking that all of a sudden it would just drop to the floor, however it did no such thing and all thirty feet of the way up it was smooth. Forgetting about her small fear of heights and taking a quick glance around her to see how the other cage-dancers were moving to the music, she began to blend in with them. Moving her hands around her body and swaying her hips to the music, she was getting in to it, slowly but surely. The cage didn't even rattle as she did a few of the faster moves.
This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of, being trapped in a cage, thirty feet above the ground, dancing to music while everyone stares up at you. This must be the most degrading thing I've done in my entire career.
She glanced to where Seifer had been watching before and squinted as she made out two other people beside him. She wondered what was going on. They appeared to be chatting but she couldn't be sure. Seifer had an odd expression on his face, it seemed like he was angry and he was no longer paying attention to her. Carefully slowing down her dancing, as not to draw too much attention to herself or appear to be stopping, she watched him converse with the two other people. They were big, both in height and mass she noticed, and they wore long coats and visors that hid their eyes.
What's going on? Is he making a deal with someone?
She saw one of the men step forward threateningly and the other came closer to him as well. Seifer raised his hands and shook his head, protesting something. They both came in even closer and he got out of his chair then backed up slowly.
The song changed to a faster one so she had to move a bit more rapidly, however she never broke her gaze from Seifer and the two people.
Why on earth does he look so worried? Fuck, he probably has to leave. If he abandons me here I swear to God…
She saw that they were yelling now and narrowed her eyebrows. Seifer looked like he was about to punch one of them but he kept backing away from them slowly. He noticed one of the men advanced towards him and she saw him try to push the man back.
That idiot probably forgot to get cash from one of his whores and picked a fight with them. But why does he look so troubled?
Quistis pressed her hands against the bars of the cage and grabbed onto them, trying to get a closer look, completely forgetting about her dancing, she still swayed her hips though. Suddenly Seifer moved forwards and delivered a blow to one of them in the stomach, the man buckled for a second but countered the blow with a punch of his own, directed at Seifer's ribcage.
Her mouth was agape and she stared at him trying to figure out what was going on. Seifer charged towards one of them and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, catching the other guy off guard so he stumbled but didn't fall.
She saw one of the men coming up behind him and her heart began to pound in her chest, her breathing quickened and she found herself gripping onto the cage bars to support her so she didn't fall.
"Watch out!" She mouthed to him, choking on the words as she watched Seifer's attacker spin him around and punch him in the face,
"Irvine!" She shouted, looking around for him desperately, "Irvine get me out of here!"
Her heart almost stopped and her eyes widened as she saw one of the guys pull out a gleaming silver object. The music was too loud, the bass pounded. The lights blended together and she couldn't hear herself think. She didn't know what was going on, all she could do was stare at Seifer getting hurt.
The man with the silver object, which she could now make out to be a knife, put it up to Seifer's neck, he was now crouching on the floor, recovering from the blow to his face. The man pulled his head back and pressed it harder into his neck.
"SEIFER!" She shouted.
Why doesn't anyone notice?! He's going to get killed! Someone help, assholes!! Help him! Irvine where are you!
Her heart caught in her throat as she saw the other man kick Seifer in the side, aiming for his ribs.
"Help!" She screamed, now desperate to get down as she watched the man kick him again. She rattled the cage and it shook violently.
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a few people had turned to stare at her as the cage continued to rock and sway. Hot tears stung at her eyes but she blinked them back knowing that they wouldn't help anything. She saw a trail of blood on the floor near Seifer and raised a hand to her face.
Suddenly one of the men pulled out a dark object. It had a barrel and a trigger. It was a gun and it was real.
She rattled the cage even more, trying to get out or at least draw attention to herself.
"Watch out!" She yelled to him as loud as she could.
He was not that far away and turned to look at her for a second, he looked frightened, he reached out for her with his arm but curled into a ball as he was brutally kicked again.
"Irvine! You asshole, let me out of here!" She cried, her voice was strained.
She could only watch as one of the men put the gun up to his temple and said something to him. He nodded weakly and the man who had the knife grabbed the back of Seifer's coat and dragged him to his feet.
Please don't let him die. Please don't let him die. Please don't' let him die.
Her mind was swimming with worries and thoughts while her vision was blurred with another batch of fresh tears.
She shouted and pushed herself against the cage as hard as she could, making it creak and groan as it began to sway again. More people were staring at her and pointing.
You bastards, he's going to die!
Her voice gave out and she bit her lip, not knowing what to do anymore. She felt herself sliding to the bottom of the cage, she was scrunched up on the floor and her arm reached out for Seifer.
He was being punched and kicked while being dragged towards a set of doors that would take him outside. It looked as if he was on the verge of passing out but he reached out to her and mouthed something.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't go." She whispered.
The sound of her heart thudding in her chest droned out the music and the bass seemed to go in time with her heartbeat. She saw the men open a door and shove Seifer outside, however the other one turned to look at her, noticing that most of the people in the club were watching her now and the dancers had stopped. She saw him raise the pistol and stared at him, unable to will her limbs to move, she heard a deafening noise like an explosion and saw the man run outside, everyone turned to stare at where the sound had come from. Time slowed down and she saw the bullet flying towards her, it ripped through the air and got closer and closer.
I have to live.
She heard cries of terror and screams coming from below her but didn't even notice. Her eyes were fixed on the bullet. Thoughts, images, sounds raced through her mind, she saw herself with Seifer but he was too far away for her to reach him. She heard herself inhale sharply and she ducked her head, curling into a ball to avoid impact with the advancing bullet.
It came at her, racing through the air and full speed, and made a direct hit with the chain link that held her cage above the ground. The chain was severed, the cage shook and rocked before detaching from the chain and smashing to the ground. She saw the floor getting closer and closer as the small metal chamber dropped. People ran away from the stage and leapt off it.
I'm going to die. This is it. Goodbye… She closer her eyes and prepared for the earth shattering impact which came a few seconds later and she blacked out.
Forever? Is this hell?
Bright lights surrounded her, she squinted and tried to look around but everything was blurry and had a reddish tone to it.
Quistis was dimly aware of people shouting and sirens blaring but focused her attention towards trying to sit up. She realized that she couldn't move her arms or legs, she could not feel anything – pain, fear, anger...it was like being numb.
It was like travelling back to her childhood when she had been pulled away from the car, struggling and crying. Except this time she wasn't trying to get away. The sound of her heartbeat sounded in her ears and she heard herself inhaling, although her breathing sounded static-like.
The world wouldn't clear and her heart wouldn't stop pounding so she closed her eyes and allowed herself to be taken in by the inky blackness.
Am I dead? Why am I still breathing? What happened to Seifer? Too many questions, not enough answers.