"It's okay, Marlene. I had Dana go after your dad. Don't be afraid. Chris is just trying to help."
The blue-eyed man nodded. His goggles were back over his eyes, but the image of them were burned into her retinas.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
The man smiled. "I'm Chris." He put his hand on her arm but she jerked it away. His hands were cold. His touch frightened her. She grasped for her pendant but it wasn't there.
"Where did it go?" she asked as she frantically felt around on her chest for the necklace.
"You mean this?" Chris held up the pendant. His smile was strange. She snatched it from him careful not to touch his hand.
The heavy footsteps of her father thudded into the room and stopped just above her. He kneeled by her side, pushing Chris out of the way, and took her hand.
"Are you all right baby?" Without waiting for an answer, he looked up at Cid, "What did you do to my little girl?!"
The pilot held his hands up in defense, "I didn't do a goddamn thing. I was just giving the crew instructions and she screamed like crazy and fell over. I swear!"
"He's telling the truth daddy. I'm fine. I just wanna go home now." She reached up toward her father and he took her in his arms.
"I'm puttin' you to bed, darlin'. You just relax."
Barret put Marlene in her room and tucked her into bed.
"You rest now and I'll bring you some pancakes in the morning with blueberries on them. How's that?"
She smiled brightly and nodded. "I will, daddy."
"Good girl," he pushed her bangs out of her face and kissed her forehead, then left her to the evening's darkness.
The blue eyed man's name wasn't Chris. She knew that. She was possitive of it, but she didn't have the faintest idea why she was sure of it. Her pendant felt cold on her chest, like his hand had. She turned on her side and pulled the covers over her head. She didn't want to think anymore about anything ever. She wished for her childhood again, but it had left her behind long ago.
She took a deep breath and forced her muscles to relax. All she had was a bad feeling. Maybe she had just imagined it. She began to drift into sleep.
The window rattled. Marlene's eyes snapped open. She listened for a long time, staring at the curtained window above her bed.
Nothing.
She let herself doze again, and again the widow rattled.
It's just the wind. She assured herself. I'm getting too paranoid.
The window slid open. Wind swirled into the room. Before she could move, a man was upon her. He grabbed her wrists in one huge hand and covered her mouth with the other. She struggled, but she was no match for the man three times her size. Another, smaller man slipped through the window. He was dressed in a navy blue suit and a black ski mask covered his face. He took a piece of stationary from her little desk and wrote quickly on it, then nodded to the man holding her. He pushed her out of the window to another large man. The new man held her gently against him, and whispered in her ear, "It's all right. We won't hurt you."
But being hurt was the last of her worries.
Barret swung the door of his little girl's room wide open.
"Pancakes!" he said merrily. "Come out to the kitchen everyone's eating and having a good--."
The bed was empty but for a single sheet of her pink and lavender paper. He set her plate aside shakily. He read the note several times before his mind was able to comprehend the meaning behind the words:
"Your daughter is on Mount Nibelheim. If you do not come and get her, she will die."
