Chapter 6 Escape
Seifer looked back at Quistis as she began talking to the other men.
"Jace did you get a look at their position" she asked looking at him.
"Yeah, I just got a short look while we were up front but they appear about 50 yards over to the left in the trees." Jace pointed in the general direction.
"Good" she replied nodding at the SeeD's answer.
"Good?" Seifer snorted "good? You know they're just waiting until dark to rush us." Seifer ran a hand through his hair in frustration then added "We're sitting ducks."
Quistis looked at the bruised man for a moment before asking him "Seifer do you remember what I always told you when you were my student?"
"What, pay attention?" he said mockingly.
Quistis ignored his tone of voice. She knew he'd been through a lot and was in pain. "No the other thing" she smiled "Always be prepared."
She gestured to Xi-Wang, who leaned over to another compartment and popped the latch on the door. The other three watched as he reached in with both hands and grabbed something bringing it out into the open.
Seifer looked from Quistis back to the object in Xi-Wang's hands with an amazed expression on his face.
It was a state of the art missile launcher. Seifer raised an eyebrow and looking over at Quistis once more said, "My, that's a big gun. Where'd you get it?"
Quistis just shrugged "We acquire things here and there." She smirked then continued "Well now that we've evened up the odds of getting out of here alive-----"
Seifer listened while the three SeeD's decided on a plan to get them out of the trap they had landed in. He hoped it would be soon because he was becoming light headed and wasn't sure he'd be able to fight if it came down to it.
He missed having his gunblade at his side. 'Not that I have the strength use it now' he thought bitterly.
Quistis leaned over and shook Seifer's shoulder when she noticed his attention had slipped away.
"What" he jumped then winced in pain.
Quistis noticed how haggard he looked as she repeated the question she'd just asked, "Do you think you can make it?"
"I'll manage," he answered dryly.
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Quistis strapped the gun to her hip and checked to see that Save the Queen was secure on the other side. She then handed a similar gun to Seifer, which he took and following her previous action fastened his gun down.
There was little talk as the four mercenaries prepared to fight. When they were done Quistis nodded to the two men she commanded.
"Alright Xi-Wang, you and Jace go ahead and get into position. When you're ready launch the missile. Jace" she looked over at him "you cover him. Shoot anyone that survives the blast and comes after us."
She then looked back at Seifer "Seifer and I will get into the woods and cover for the two of you while you get out." She looked back at Jace " then the two teams will separate and get to the Esther border where the Ragnorak is waiting. If you get there first get back up. Don't wait for us." They nodded their agreement moving forward to take their positions.
"Oh, and good luck." She said before moving to the back of the transport where Seifer was waiting.
When she heard the first blast Quistis grabbed her survival pack, kicked out the back window and crawled out. With Seifer following behind her she ran for the trees at the edge of the road. As she reached the cover of the woods Quistis heard the first signs of the enemy.
Someone was yelling orders and gunfire was being exchanged as she looked back to see Seifer Limping badly across the road.
Seifer looked up in time to see Quistis raise her gun and point it in his direction. He dropped to the ground as he heard the gun go off, his mind screaming 'she wanted me dead all along'.
It took a moment lying there in the mud listening to his heart pounding to realize he hadn't been hit. That she hadn't been trying to kill him.
The bullet hit it's mark and the soldier behind Seifer fell to the ground with a thud. Quistis barely waited to see if the man had gone down before she darted out into the road to where Seifer was lying.
"Seifer?" she asked touching the back of his head when he didn't move. He looked up slowly grimacing. "Seifer? Are--are you all right?" He just nodded.
Quistis helped him up and putting her arm around his waist propelled him to the trees. Hearing another explosion Quistis let go of Seifer and turned with her gun ready. She saw Xi-Wang and Jace come out the same way and escape into the trees on the other side of the road.
Quistis turned to Seifer who was leaning heavily against a tree. She was worried about the way he looked "We need to get away from here. Are you able to go on?"
"Of course I am" he looked out beyond the trees and continued "I'd crawl before I let them take me again." He looked at her with hurt and pain in his eyes before looking away again.
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The forest grew denser the farther away from the road they got. It was slow going but at least so far they hadn't had to fight any monsters.
Quistis was worried about Seifer. He hadn't complained once but looking back at him she could see how pale he was. "I think we should stop and rest for a minute," she said to him.
She could see from the look on his face he was going to argue so she held up a hand to stop him. " I need to double back and make sure there's no one following us. So just stay here and rest. I'll be right back." Seifer nodded as he slid to the ground.
He sat on the cold wet ground listening to the night sounds of the forest, waiting for Quistis to return. He wasn't sure how long she had been gone when he heard a twig snap and even in his exhausted state had his gun trained on the spot when she stepped out of the undergrowth.
Seifer lowered the gun when he saw it was Quistis. "So you didn't get lost," he quipped.
"Were you worried?" she asked sarcastically.
"Hardly" he answered turning away before he could see the slight smile on her face.
"Well I think we got lucky. There's no sign of anyone following us. At least not yet." She told him. "We need to keep moving though."
Seifer tried to get up by himself but his abused muscles had stiffened up while he had been resting on the ground.
"Need help?" Quistis inquired.
"No. I'm fine" Seifer snapped at her.
He looked up as Quistis stepped forward holding out her hand. Seifer stared at the offered hand for a minute before accepting her help.
He hated people seeing him as weak and didn't like to admit to needing help. Ever. But even he knew when to admit defeat.
Seifer gritted his teeth and stood with Quistis's help. He swayed for a moment and then jerked forward when she put a steadying hand on his back.
"What-what did I do" Quistis asked looking at his pale face. He had his eyes squeezed shut.
"Just DON'T touch my back" "Please" he breathed.
Quistis looked at him for another minute before muttering a "sorry."
....................................
They moved through the trees and into a small clearing. They had traveled most of the night and dawn was slowly approaching. It had started to rain about an hour ago and the two people were tired, cold and wet.
Quistis stopped and looked around. She was so tired it took her a full minute before she realized what she was looking at. There at the other side of the small meadow was a building. It appeared to be some sort of cottage.
She moved forward cautiously, leaving Seifer to rest. As she got closer she could see the back portion of the building had fallen in on itself, but the front part looked stable. She tried the door and it swung open with a creak.
What she saw caused a tear of relief to slip down her cheek. Quistis rubbed it away as she stepped into the room. "Oh thank Hyne," she whispered.
It was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. Obviously no one had lived here for a long time. It was empty and dirty, but it was dry and there was a small stone fireplace in the corner. They could get warm, dry and rest. Then she could find out what was wrong with Seifer.
She let the pack she'd been carrying drop to the floor. Now all she had to do was go get Seifer.
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Authors' notes: Thanks again for all the great reviews. Happy Holidays to all of you.
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Seifer looked back at Quistis as she began talking to the other men.
"Jace did you get a look at their position" she asked looking at him.
"Yeah, I just got a short look while we were up front but they appear about 50 yards over to the left in the trees." Jace pointed in the general direction.
"Good" she replied nodding at the SeeD's answer.
"Good?" Seifer snorted "good? You know they're just waiting until dark to rush us." Seifer ran a hand through his hair in frustration then added "We're sitting ducks."
Quistis looked at the bruised man for a moment before asking him "Seifer do you remember what I always told you when you were my student?"
"What, pay attention?" he said mockingly.
Quistis ignored his tone of voice. She knew he'd been through a lot and was in pain. "No the other thing" she smiled "Always be prepared."
She gestured to Xi-Wang, who leaned over to another compartment and popped the latch on the door. The other three watched as he reached in with both hands and grabbed something bringing it out into the open.
Seifer looked from Quistis back to the object in Xi-Wang's hands with an amazed expression on his face.
It was a state of the art missile launcher. Seifer raised an eyebrow and looking over at Quistis once more said, "My, that's a big gun. Where'd you get it?"
Quistis just shrugged "We acquire things here and there." She smirked then continued "Well now that we've evened up the odds of getting out of here alive-----"
Seifer listened while the three SeeD's decided on a plan to get them out of the trap they had landed in. He hoped it would be soon because he was becoming light headed and wasn't sure he'd be able to fight if it came down to it.
He missed having his gunblade at his side. 'Not that I have the strength use it now' he thought bitterly.
Quistis leaned over and shook Seifer's shoulder when she noticed his attention had slipped away.
"What" he jumped then winced in pain.
Quistis noticed how haggard he looked as she repeated the question she'd just asked, "Do you think you can make it?"
"I'll manage," he answered dryly.
....................................
Quistis strapped the gun to her hip and checked to see that Save the Queen was secure on the other side. She then handed a similar gun to Seifer, which he took and following her previous action fastened his gun down.
There was little talk as the four mercenaries prepared to fight. When they were done Quistis nodded to the two men she commanded.
"Alright Xi-Wang, you and Jace go ahead and get into position. When you're ready launch the missile. Jace" she looked over at him "you cover him. Shoot anyone that survives the blast and comes after us."
She then looked back at Seifer "Seifer and I will get into the woods and cover for the two of you while you get out." She looked back at Jace " then the two teams will separate and get to the Esther border where the Ragnorak is waiting. If you get there first get back up. Don't wait for us." They nodded their agreement moving forward to take their positions.
"Oh, and good luck." She said before moving to the back of the transport where Seifer was waiting.
When she heard the first blast Quistis grabbed her survival pack, kicked out the back window and crawled out. With Seifer following behind her she ran for the trees at the edge of the road. As she reached the cover of the woods Quistis heard the first signs of the enemy.
Someone was yelling orders and gunfire was being exchanged as she looked back to see Seifer Limping badly across the road.
Seifer looked up in time to see Quistis raise her gun and point it in his direction. He dropped to the ground as he heard the gun go off, his mind screaming 'she wanted me dead all along'.
It took a moment lying there in the mud listening to his heart pounding to realize he hadn't been hit. That she hadn't been trying to kill him.
The bullet hit it's mark and the soldier behind Seifer fell to the ground with a thud. Quistis barely waited to see if the man had gone down before she darted out into the road to where Seifer was lying.
"Seifer?" she asked touching the back of his head when he didn't move. He looked up slowly grimacing. "Seifer? Are--are you all right?" He just nodded.
Quistis helped him up and putting her arm around his waist propelled him to the trees. Hearing another explosion Quistis let go of Seifer and turned with her gun ready. She saw Xi-Wang and Jace come out the same way and escape into the trees on the other side of the road.
Quistis turned to Seifer who was leaning heavily against a tree. She was worried about the way he looked "We need to get away from here. Are you able to go on?"
"Of course I am" he looked out beyond the trees and continued "I'd crawl before I let them take me again." He looked at her with hurt and pain in his eyes before looking away again.
....................................
The forest grew denser the farther away from the road they got. It was slow going but at least so far they hadn't had to fight any monsters.
Quistis was worried about Seifer. He hadn't complained once but looking back at him she could see how pale he was. "I think we should stop and rest for a minute," she said to him.
She could see from the look on his face he was going to argue so she held up a hand to stop him. " I need to double back and make sure there's no one following us. So just stay here and rest. I'll be right back." Seifer nodded as he slid to the ground.
He sat on the cold wet ground listening to the night sounds of the forest, waiting for Quistis to return. He wasn't sure how long she had been gone when he heard a twig snap and even in his exhausted state had his gun trained on the spot when she stepped out of the undergrowth.
Seifer lowered the gun when he saw it was Quistis. "So you didn't get lost," he quipped.
"Were you worried?" she asked sarcastically.
"Hardly" he answered turning away before he could see the slight smile on her face.
"Well I think we got lucky. There's no sign of anyone following us. At least not yet." She told him. "We need to keep moving though."
Seifer tried to get up by himself but his abused muscles had stiffened up while he had been resting on the ground.
"Need help?" Quistis inquired.
"No. I'm fine" Seifer snapped at her.
He looked up as Quistis stepped forward holding out her hand. Seifer stared at the offered hand for a minute before accepting her help.
He hated people seeing him as weak and didn't like to admit to needing help. Ever. But even he knew when to admit defeat.
Seifer gritted his teeth and stood with Quistis's help. He swayed for a moment and then jerked forward when she put a steadying hand on his back.
"What-what did I do" Quistis asked looking at his pale face. He had his eyes squeezed shut.
"Just DON'T touch my back" "Please" he breathed.
Quistis looked at him for another minute before muttering a "sorry."
....................................
They moved through the trees and into a small clearing. They had traveled most of the night and dawn was slowly approaching. It had started to rain about an hour ago and the two people were tired, cold and wet.
Quistis stopped and looked around. She was so tired it took her a full minute before she realized what she was looking at. There at the other side of the small meadow was a building. It appeared to be some sort of cottage.
She moved forward cautiously, leaving Seifer to rest. As she got closer she could see the back portion of the building had fallen in on itself, but the front part looked stable. She tried the door and it swung open with a creak.
What she saw caused a tear of relief to slip down her cheek. Quistis rubbed it away as she stepped into the room. "Oh thank Hyne," she whispered.
It was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. Obviously no one had lived here for a long time. It was empty and dirty, but it was dry and there was a small stone fireplace in the corner. They could get warm, dry and rest. Then she could find out what was wrong with Seifer.
She let the pack she'd been carrying drop to the floor. Now all she had to do was go get Seifer.
....................................
Authors' notes: Thanks again for all the great reviews. Happy Holidays to all of you.
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