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Setting: 6 years have passed since the last chapter. Gaia Hospital, about 250 miles from Balamb.
"How long has she been there"?
"Too long!"
The two nurses smiled at eachother over their morning coffee. The hospital smelled of cleanness, and there was a reassuring bustle around all the tables in the pleasant hospital canteen. The younger nurse tossed back her chestnut hair, fiddling with the strings on her white muslin apron.
"She came in about…I don't know, five, six years ago. The famous commander, Squall Leonheart…" Both nurses smiled knowingly and pressed their hands to their hearts, giggling. "Well, Squall brought her in all the way from this tiny place in the middle of nowhere, because we were the only place with a specialised department for her kind of condition. Apparently she was attacked by a tall man – I remember seeing a picture of him – horrible, dark man in a trenchcoat – on a dark lonely road, well into the night. Squall happened to be in the right place in the right time. He was, at the time, accompanied by Nick, a police officer from across the border. They caught the guy – there was some enquiry, and he got life in jail for two other counts of murder – but they never caught the other guy under suspicion. Seifer, I think his name was. You should have seen Squall's face when he was talkin' bout him – almost as if he hated him too much to even talk about him, y'know? Well, this girl came in in a coma, almost paralysed in one arm, and she's been in a coma ever since. A few years ago they moved her from Balamb all the way out here in Gaia, because of demand for bed space, and the third Worker's Gaia Hospital strike, you know? Squall has given orders that her life support machine never be turned off. He's paid a helluva lot of money to keep her here for so long, I can tell you. I guess he hopes that one day she might just wake up…I guess he'll never know, though. He went off to fight in the Second Gaia War, and won't be coming back for at least a few years…"
"That's tragic…imagine, the poor young girl. I can't even see her face…her eyes and her nose are covered by those horrible, white bandages."
I'm in a field. I don't recognise it, though. The flowers are all black, instead of different colours. The sky is blue, but there's a big scar across it, a red scar, like the scar on someone's arm, or a scar on someone's face. Someone's coming towards me. I don't recognise him. I can't remember what I look like. I can see golden hair flying on my arm, but it stirs nothing. Is my hair red, or black, or gold?
Now I see a man, a man I knew once long ago, coming towards me. I feel words, although words are spoken and not felt.
But that doesn't matter. Scars don't matter either. Who said that to me? Flashing lights -
The man coming towards me is smiling. His eyes are empty though, just sockets. I'm afraid, but I can't run. Then, the lovely fair face turns dark. The features are a blur and I can't make them out, but I can see evil emanating from him. I fall down, and I can't pick myself up again – I just keep falling down again, to my knees.
Who can I call for? I know nobody. I know nothing. Who am I and where do I come from? I don't love anybody!
I see a face but I can't see the eyes. The eyes are the key! I'm so close…I almost can see him, it's almost clear! Something is stirring deep inside. If I stretch a little further…if I climb another mountain…then I will see…
But I know I love him…
Ah!!…What's happening? I feel pain, pain suddenly searing through my body. I've been numb for so long..
"My God…". Her voice came out as a weak croak., startling herself. Was that HER voice?
"Where am I…?"
She looked around the room. She saw black. She lifted her hands and clawed at her face. Her hands were heavy, and clammy, and something was holding them back down. Something warm and dry got in the way between her hands and her face, like a cloth or bandage. Tears burned her stinging, sore eyes, dampening the bandage.
"What's my name?"
Silence answered her.
"WHAT'S MY NAME!!!!???"
Seifer Almasy crossed to his living room and stared out of the window. Grey sky, grey sky, grey sky. He picked up the newspaper and stared at it, but hardly got past the date. Was it coincidence that today was the day he felt the most miserable, the most grey? Or was it the memory of the day, exactly six years ago, when he left Quistis Trepe alone and abandoned on a lonely dark road in the middle of nowhere, and never heard from her again?
He walked slowly into the bedroom, almost mechanically opening the bottommost drawer next to his bed. He pulled out a well-thumbed piece of crumpled newspaper and stared at it for a few minutes, his mind almost a complete blank.
"Man jailed for life by Commander Squall Leonhart"Last night, a man was jailed for life by Balamb Court on two counts of murder and a third of attack, as well as numerous imports of drugs and drug smuggling. It appears that the man was importing drugs from an accomplice in India, who obtained them from a third accomplice free of charge. These drugs are highly dangerous…(Seifer skimmed this area)
…It also became apparent that the man had killed two people, one man and one woman, who will not be named as of this publication, in connection with this drug ring. He was as of yesterday under suspicion of having killed another woman, who was romantically linked with the head agent leading the case, who worked with Commander Leonhart.
It later transpired that the man was caught just after he made yet another attack. This young person was in intensive care last night, but cannot be named or described. The gender of the attacked person has also not been released. Further details of the victim's condition have not been released. Leading up to the arrest, Commander Leonhart and Agent Spira had been tracking the man in a helicopter for a number of hours. They then managed to overcome him and brought him to the county prison. The sentence was imposed upon him last night. However, no comment was made on the case by either of the men.
Another man is being sought in connection with the case. Seifer Almasy is under direct suspicion of being linked with the drug ring and in connection with a number of other attacks, and three counts of murder. He is of medium build, Caucasian, with short blonde hair and a distinctive red scar, much similar to Commander Leonhart's, on his forehead. He…"
Seifer put down the paper. Who had Jeff attacked the night he had been jailed? It couldn't have been Quistis, or there would have been news in the papers, as she had been wanted for murder in the first place. Unless Squall had hushed up the press…he had enough money, after all. After Seifer realised that he was wanted, he moved to Gaia, 250 miles from Balamb. He dyed his hair a dark, ochre brown, and covered his scar daily with special makeup. By now, however, it no longer stood out an angry red, and he had no need to cover it. He also went by an alias; Quiaty Trebor. It was an outlandish name, but he felt it paid some homage to Quistis's name…
Quistis…
He delved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled picture he always carried around with him. Quistis' face smiled up at him, unmarred by fear, or terror, or pain, or tears…He remembered her as she was in the photograph, happy and radiant, not as she was when he left her, alone, terrified, crying from the pain and fear and frustration of it all. He had loved her, and he would never love again.
Dear Mr. Trebor
As you are no doubt aware, when you moved to Gaia, you signed a county form binding you to community duties. At the time, when the Third Worker's Strike was in motion, you agreed to take in invalids from the hospital who were recovering, but yet needed bed space and care.
While we realise the strike is over, we have severe overcrowding in our hospitals. We would like to implore you to take our plea into consideration. A coma patient has recently, and unexpectedly come out of coma. She is still delirious and is very weak, but we now need as much of the hospital facilities free for other patients as possible. Under contract you are very much obliged to take in the young woman, for security reasons named only as Miss X, under your roof until she is able to display independence and is much recovered.
She also appears to suffer from amnesia: please do not attempt to hurry her as her memory may not recover completely.
Please come to Gaia Hospital on Thursday next to collect Miss X, who is wheelchair bound and must remain in bed upon arrival at your place of residence.
Thanking you sincerely
GAIA STATE COUNCIL COMMITTEE
No prizes for guessing where I'm heading with this one! I hope you don't mind that it moved on the story so far into the future. There will be drama, plenty of it. Also I'm not an expert on the legal system, or on hospitals/medicine, so there are likely to be logic holes here. If there are any really glaring ones please tell me so I can rectify them!