Untitled
Chapter 2
By Maureen
Laughs jangled in the air. Shot glasses cracked.
"Hey! Lookie what we have here!" Quistis growled under her breath. They had been here already 2 hours, now she had to endure this? Zell and Adan gave curious glances from the pool table. Amie's dart missed bull's eye.
Quistis cocked her eyebrow.
"What's your name, sweetie?"
She hesitated. "Natalia."
"Can I buy you a drink, honey?" he grinned a toothy grin.
"Got one."
"You always talk so little, baby? Come on, let's have some fun." The guy threw back his long, brown hair.
"What kinda fun?" she asked with a bored expression.
The guy laughed. "How about secret meeting kinda fun?"
Quistis' face turned to meet his. She thought quickly. He probably likes the ditsy type, don't play too enthusiastic, and somehow send a signal to the others. She pitched her voice higher. "Really. Well, what's your name?"
"Lowe's my name and lovin's my game."
Quistis forced a smile. "Secret meeting sounds exciting. What is it?" She moved her body and adjusted the zipper of her top to show more cleavage. I can't believe I'm doing this.
"Oh yeah. You have any opinions about the new Parliament?"
Quistis' eyes flashed. She smiled coyly. "I dunno." She pouted. "Sometimes I think they're kinda…too excessive."
Lowe smiled sadistically. "Wanna come along?"
"Sure!" she tried to sound peppy. Gotta signal 'em. She whipped her hand to the table and the glass came crashing down. "Oh!" Lowe quickly bent down and started collecting pieces. She made eye contact with Zell and mouthed, "Going to meeting, you're in charge."
Lowe led Quistis out the back door of the bar and into an alleyway. Quistis anticipated a long walk, but Lowe just took her through the second door on the right. Quistis found this extremely aggravating. They entered a meeting room and quickly took a seat.
"Hear, hear!" a voice called attention. "The meeting of the Owl Hunters is starting! Alright, let's get serious!" Quistis surveyed the surroundings. She tried to stay still and not alarm Lowe, who had his arm draped around her. This group wouldn't be a problem. They were unprofessional and unorganized. There were only around 15 people.
"Come on, Natalia, go." Lowe was shaking her.
"What?"
"He just asked you a question."
Shit, she hadn't been listening. "I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?" she smiled sweetly.
"I said, are you willing to become a full fledged Owl Hunter?"
"Yes, I am," she said quickly. She scolded herself.
The man's eyes narrowed. "What do you do?"
"I'm a…waitress."
"At what restaurant?"
"…The Blooming Flower," she named a restaurant she had spotted earlier.
"Oh, really."
"Yep."
"That's funny, you know why?" the man asked.
Quistis shook her head nervously.
"That man over there-" he pointed to a man in the crowd, "-owns The Blooming Flower."
Shit.
She whipped out her Save the Queen and flicked her wrist, giving a blow that brought Lowe to his knees. She viciously brought down the Queen's wrath on another oncoming opponent. The remaining people scrambled to surround her. She let out a nervous yell, "Zell! If you're watching, now would be a good time to come barging in!"
No sooner were these words said when Zell and everyone else leapt through the doors and began attacking the circle.
Amie unsheathed her two daggers, aimed carefully and, suddenly, someone lost the use of their two hands.
Zell quickly pulled his gloves on and started bunching viciously at a man's face, which quickly became a mess of blood and broken nose.
Adan reached behind his back and gracefully pulled it out, twirling the blades in preparation. His moves were deadly. Of course, he was only using the flat of his blades, but Quistis could see the fatalness of his talent with the Swallow.
"This way!" the man shouted at the last few people that still stood. The 4 of them raced out the door. They were moving fast. After dodging citizens and tripping over curbs, they reached the edge of the city.
"Where'd they go?" Amie wondered.
Quistis inspected the surroundings.
VROOM! A car sped out of Timber.
"Quick, get in the car." They climbed into an empty jeep and Zell began to hotwire the car.
"Damn…" he muttered.
Amie reached above him, pulled out the keys from the overhead compartment, and dangled them in front of him.
He blushed. "Thanks."
And they were off.
"Come on, baby, move!" Zell demanded of the jeep. The two cars were pretty far apart, but they were gaining. Quistis caught a glimpse of a dark hole up ahead. Obel lake? She thought she saw a triangular shape, too, like…a tent.
"Holy shit!" she heard someone yell. "A bazooka!"
Quistis' face snapped around to see a dark hole. "Jump!" She shoved open the door and pushed off, landed on her side, and began to roll. She felt cold water on her leg.
"Zell, help!" a gurgling Amie screamed out. Amie sensed something crawling up her leg, dragging her into the water. She slashed at it with her dagger, but nothing was there.
Zell launched himself into the bitter water. "Amie!"
Quistis stood up and saw Zell's tattooed face being dragged down. "Zell!" Before she moved she saw a flash of movement, which was shaped like Adan, and a light flicker on.
"Ah!" Adan yelled. Before Quistis could examine what the light was, she dove in after Adan. She felt cold seaweed slither around her. She swam out to where she had seen Adan, took a deep breath, and dove. Her eyes stung while she flailed her arms out in attempt to grab Adan's hand. She caught hold of it and felt a jolt of energy go though her. She tried to gasp, but instead, engulfed a gulp of water. She felt something next to her, grabbing at her. She mustered all the strength she had and stole a glimpse at what had seized her. Blonde hair, piercing, green eyes…Seifer?
She felt the energy being transferred through her to Seifer. And then the world turned dark.
