She
By: General Quistis
Author's note: …No, this isn't like this: this story is about a letter, if you read it, you'll die in 7 days… and Tifa Lockheart will stagger out of the well, out of your TV set going to you and she's dressed in white and her hair's covering her face and then she'll kill you… no, it's not like that… you get what I mean? This is not a scary story… -.-
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THREE: Recovery
First it was darkness… then there was light. He could not see it because his eyes were shut, but he could feel it.
Light?
"Where would it even come from?" he thought in total confusion.
Then, his auditory senses began to return to him, and he could clearly hear voices instructing one another to do this and do that.
"Do what?" he thought mindlessly.
"Get him out of here! Take him to a hospital." Said a female's voice.
"I can't believe he's still breathing… and it's been several months already ever since we thought we'd lost him!" replied a man's voice that sounded a little slurred.
He could feel hands grasping his legs and his arms, and he felt himself being lifted up.
Surprisingly, his reflexes returned and his eyebrow twitched, causing those people who were lifting him up to almost drop him. "I told you he's alive, let's take him to the nearest hospital," the female instructed.
"No, we can't take him to the hospital here in Midgar. They won't admit him. Kya~…" another female remarked.
"Then let's take him to Nibelheim. It's a small place; he will be safe there. Nobody must know that he's Rufus… for now." A man's voice said.
"Reeve, Elena, Scarlet and Reno…" he thought silently, though he cannot move. "Why can't I open my eyes?" he thought angrily to himself, feeling his heart racing.
The four placed him in the backseat of a small van. "Let's hurry up. He's bleeding to death." Reno told them.
Rude was not saying anything but he started the engine.
Rufus could feel the vehicle moving after he heard several doors shutting.
***
It was quite a long trip to Nibelheim, but he had managed to make it through the whole trip alive. Before Reeve could get him out, he had managed to open his eyes.
Reeve was startled so he moved away a little. "P…President Rufus?" he asked, making sure.
Rufus moved his hand to his forehead and felt some blood. He looked at his hand and he raised an eyebrow when he saw too much blood. "I'm… I'm bleeding… my head…" he stammered in shock as he repeatedly touched his head.
"Let's get you inside, President Rufus." Reeve said as he and Elena helped him out of the car.
"Are you sure they'll let him inside this hospital?" Elena asked.
"They should!" Reeve stated flatly as he hurried up a little "Can you walk, sir?" he asked.
Rufus uneasily nodded his head as he staggered inside the hospital.
Scarlet was with a nurse and a doctor. "Here he is," she said to the two.
Rufus stared at the doctor and then at the nurse before he felt so dizzy that he could not stand up anymore.
"My God… he's losing too much blood… go get the team,"
Those were the last words he heard from the doctor before he collapsed.
***
He woke up moments later, feeling so much better. He gazed around and he was inside this big hospital room. He looked down at his left arm and he realized that a blood transfusion was being done to him. He could feel the bandages wrapped tightly around his head, his legs and his right arm. "Oh man…" he moaned uneasily.
Elena looked at him from where she is seated. "Oh, President Rufus! You're awake!" she said cheerfully as she got up and ran to him. "How do you feel now?" she asked.
Rufus raised an eyebrow. "They let me in?" he asked in disbelief.
Rude and Elena exchanged confused glances. "Of course, they let you in, President Rufus… it's part of their service: to heal people." She replied with a silly smile on her face.
Rufus looked away. "I thought they wouldn't… because I'm a ShinRa." He thought miserably, deciding that he would not say it out loud to prevent further arguments.
"How long has it been?" he asked, remembering when he saw the clock and the calendar on the bedside table.
"3 months, sir." Elena replied.
"I thought Reeve, Scarlet and Reno were with you?" he asked, turning back to them.
"They had to leave so that they could talk to some carpenters, architects and engineers and the other construction people about the rebuilding of your mansion here in Nibelheim, sir." She replied with a pleased look on her face.
Then, Rufus's eyes grew wide when he realized something. He was wearing the hospital gown. He almost got up, but Rude and Elena held him down, refusing to let him stand up. "President Rufus, what's wrong?" Elena asked in panic.
Rufus frowned at them. "Where are my clothes?" he demanded with too much force in his voice which made the two jerk and let go of him.
"We… we hung it inside the closet over there… we'll have it dry-cleaned later on when the others return. Why?" Elena asked.
"Wh…where are the…" Rufus trailed off when Rude spoke up, "The stuff in the pockets?"
Elena and Rufus turned to him with questioning looks on their faces.
Rude pulled out a white handkerchief and a picture of a lady from his pocket and handed everything to Rufus. Rufus took those with his right hand since it was the only one that could move freely despite the bandages. He ignored his handkerchief but he stared at the picture and smiled.
Elena recognized the girl in the picture and she blinked, frowning curiously, "Is that who I think she is?" she asked.
Rufus did not answer, he just continued to stare at the picture.
Elena and Rude exchanged troubled looks. "Eh… President Rufus," the former began, but she stopped when Reno entered with a proud smile on his face. "They're starting to reconstruct the mansion… oh he's awake?" he asked.
Rufus ignored him. He just stared at the picture.
Reno approached him, keeping an eye on the picture. "Hey, President Rufus, what's up?" he asked.
Rufus did not speak. He just continued to stare at the picture.
When Reno saw it, his mouth dropped open in awe. "Isn't that Strife's girlfriend who fell inside the well two days ago?" he asked.
Rufus's eyes grew wide in shock as he turned his gaze to Reno. "What?" he demanded with a low but stiff tone.
Elena and Rude swallowed hard. "We tried to tell you but…" she stammered.
Rufus dropped the picture and grabbed Reno's hand. "Did you say Strife?" he demanded angrily.
Reno was stunned. "Well… she appears to be so…" he stammered uneasily, seeing the angry look in the President's eye.
"And what happened to her?" Rufus asked with a sneer.
"She… fell inside a well…" Elena stammered with fear in her eyes.
The next thing the Turks knew, President Rufus ShinRa was already being given some tranquilizer…
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-end for now-