Final Fantasy VIII: Vigil of the Fates
By PeterEliot (egmont76@hotmail.com)
21. The Three Musketeers
Ward cocked his bulky head and looked sideways at the slim man at his right "Is he spacing out?" he said.
"His pupils are wide as a saucepan… I'd say so," Kiros replied, narrowing his eyes. He leaned in close to the subject of his scrutiny. "Laguna?" he called. "Hello, lieutenant?"
Laguna's blue eyes remained dull as they shifted in the direction of his addresser. When he spoke, it was in a soft, almost hallucinatory monotone.
"Who's Laguna?"
Kiros and Ward stared at him. Laguna stared back.
Silence descended upon the three men.
"What did you say?" Kiros said.
Laguna blinked then. "Er… did I just say that out loud?" he said, shaking his head full of long umber locks. His men stared at him once again.
"My God," Ward breathed slowly, his body stone-still. "It's happened. He's gone around the bend."
"Maintain calm, Corporal Zabac," Kiros said, eyes trained on the lieutenant. "This is an emergency we were fated to deal with sooner or later."
"Fated, maybe, Corporal Seagill," Ward returned. "But hardly prepared."
"Quit it," Laguna said, annoyed. He looked up and around, taking in the thick undergrowth that threatened to impose onto the narrow mountain path where they stood. Frowning, he shrugged. "I just thought I heard something… Maybe it was just in my head."
"He admits to hearing voices in his head," Kiros said grimly.
"All right, Kiros," Ward said, "I'll restrain him. You go for his sidearm."
"Will you quit that?" snapped Laguna. "So I drifted for a second. Don't you sometimes have an epiphany or something like that? It happens, you know."
Kiros folded his arms. "Are you saying you just had an epiphany about who you are?"
"Sounds to me more like a mid-life crisis," Ward said.
"And he only twenty-seven."
"He's been through a lot."
"Shut up," Laguna said. He started along the grassy path, motioning to the men to follow. "We're moving."
"Which we were trying to bring up at the moment of your ill-timed revelation, lieutenant," Kiros said. "Have you at last decided where we are going?"
"We're going where I say we're going," Laguna barked.
"Petulant," Kiros said as he fell in.
"Confess it, Laguna," Ward said from his position at the rear of the company. "We're lost, and we aren't getting anywhere. We'd be better off camping somewhere inconspicuous and wait till the radio link is back up."
"We are not lost," Laguna said. "We're on the only road in the area, and we're heading north. That's all there is to it. We'll be back in civilization in no time."
"Assuming that we manage to survive the uncivilized local population," Kiros said.
"So we'll do some more wild hunting on the way," Laguna said with a flippant wave of his hand.
Ward grunted in distaste. "God knows it's the only action we'll see on this damn excursion," he said harshly, readjusting the weight on his backside of the equipment pack. Of the three men he carried the most, and the gear added to his already daunting size. A great harpoon, its end wrapped in a leather sheath, hung from his shoulder next to the rifle.
"How do you mean, Ward?" Laguna said, glancing back.
"I mean for once I'd like to get some real use out of all this stuff I'm breaking my back carrying. I mean it'd be nice for a change if we got to fight some real enemies. We are here to fight a war, aren't we?"
"What do you expect me to do about it?" Laguna said. He wiped his moist forehead with his sleeve. Though the afternoon had begun to wane, the summer heat lingered unabated, clinging to every square inch of the skin. "It ain't my fault that we weren't assigned to the frontline."
"It ain't his fault, he says!" Ward cried. "You know, sometimes I think you get us lost on purpose so you can slack off. But that's probably overestimating your shrewdness."
Laguna sent a sour grin in the burly man's way. "I appreciate your confidence in my integrity, Ward. But come on now, would you rather be fighting an army of peasants and livestock keepers?"
"Sure as hell beats fighting livestock."
"You should have settled your moral compunction at home, Laguna," Kiros interjected. "It only spawns trouble on the battlefield. We are the living, perspiring proof of that."
"Let's keep a little optimism, boys," Laguna said. "We can't be separated that far already."
Kiros sighed. "Much as I hate to say this, my friend, you misjudge your capacity for misfortune. We haven't seen our people for miles. We haven't seen the enemies for miles. We're the only intelligent bipeds in this God-forsaken forest swarming with critters."
"I don't know, Kiros. I'm kind of enjoying this place."
"In that case, Ward and I are the only intelligent bipeds in this God-forsaken forest."
"Well spoken, Kiros," Ward said.
"No, honestly," Laguna said, laughing. He lifted his gaze to the unending legion of pines that besieged them. Majestic and soaring, they seemed to buttress the sky itself. "Forests in Galbadia have to be parks compared to this. Too bland to have a real flavor of the wild, you know what I mean?"
"They don't call it Timber for nothin'," Ward said. "Nothing but woods and woods and still more woods. And I'm lost in it and tired and stuck with a lieutenant who has epiphanies."
"We are not lost," Laguna insisted. "We'll be out of here before dark. You'll see—"
"Quiet!" Ward said sharply.
Laguna and Kiros started and turned on their track to regard him. His giant frame stooped in concentration, he was holding the receiver of the squad's sole radio unit close to his ear, and his other hand was intently adjusting the frequency dials. "We've got incoming signals."
Laguna ran with Kiros to the corporal's side. "Is it the others?"
"Shh."
Static noise grew louder from the speaker, interrupted momentarily by unintelligible jumble of sound barely recognizable as human voice. The two noises continued in discordant tandem as though fighting for dominance. Ward's fingers—one would have thought them too thick to be nimble—were busy on the row of tiny dials. Suddenly, the voice was sharp and clear from the speaker. "…Respond. I repeat: This is Timber Occupation H.Q. Anyone from 2nd Squad, 5th Platoon, 4th Division, if reading please respond."
"Way to go, Ward!" Laguna cried, showering rough pats on the corporal's bandana-clad head. "C'mon, lemme have the receiver."
With an air of sullen acquiescence Ward relinquished the machine to the
lieutenant.
"Yes, this is 2nd Squad and we read you clear," Laguna spoke into the receiver. "Awfully glad to hear from you. We've been trying to reach the headquarter ourselves with no success."
"Is this Lieutenant Laguna Loire speaking?" the voice said at the other end of the channel.
"That would be yours truly," Laguna said cheerfully. Ward rolled his eyes at Kiros, who shrugged.
"We've been trying to locate your company, lieutenant. Eight more hours and you'd have been officially missing in action."
"Well, then we're found men now, aren't we?"
"Oh, brother," Ward groaned. Laguna shot him a glare. Switching on the cordless mode, he took the receiver and walked away from the men.
"Hey, you're wasting batteries," Ward said to the lieutenant's backside.
"You should be grateful—they'll be lighter for you to carry," Laguna shot back.
"Are all your men with you, lieutenant?" the voice said on the radio.
"Yes, they're both well and grumpy as expected," Laguna said. He lowered his voice to just a notch above whisper. "I'd sure appreciate it if you could get a reading on our position. We've been a bit lost here."
"I heard that," came Kiros' shout from behind, and with it Ward's deep chuckle. Laguna shot them another glare.
"Activate your homing radar, lieutenant," the voice said. "The trees will interfere somewhat, but we should be able to locate you on the grids."
"That sounds excellent," Laguna said, turning back to the squad. "Ward, the radar."
"Already on it," Ward replied.
"See, I told you. We're home free now."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Come in, Lieutenant Loire," the radio buzzed again after a few minutes.
Laguna snatched up the receiver. Kiros and Ward huddled close behind to listen in. "Loire here. What do you have for us?"
"Sir, we've got you on the grids. Write this down and consult your map. The coordinate is N 14" 34' 28 by W 31" 23' 62. This should place you near the eastern end of Roshfall Forest on the map. Have you got that?"
"Kiros, are you getting this down? Wait a second… yes, I got it. Roshfall Forest," Laguna said, studying the map the corporal held up for him.
"That's good nine miles off the route. Even for you this is impressive," Kiros said.
"We don't have any major units near you, sir," buzzed the radio. "But a patrol unit is posted at approximately two miles to the northwest, by Obel Lake. I've informed them to hold their position and wait for you. Keep your link open and watch for friendly frequency as you move. The patrollers will transport you to the nearest base where you can take the train to Deling City."
"Whoa, whoa, hold for a second," Laguna said. "Maybe I didn't hear you right. Did you say Deling City?"
"Yes, sir. The 4th Division was ordered home two days ago. Your squad are the last three men in the division still left in Timber—excluding those killed in action, of course."
"Oh," Laguna said.
Ward clapped his hand to his forehead. "Good going, Laguna! I can't believe this. We were supposed to be home yesterday."
"Thanks much for the direction," Laguna said into the receiver. "We'll… uh, proceed as advised. Thanks again. I don't know who you are, but buy yourself a drink on me at the pub, all right?"
When the channel was terminated, Laguna faced his men. He coughed lightly. "Well, then, gentlemen," he declared, "we're going home."
The announcement was met with the cold gaze of his companions.
"What's with that look? Come on, it's an honor to be the last to pull out of an enemy territory. Didn't you learn that in training?"
"All right, Kiros," Ward breathed, "I'll restrain him. You go for—"
"Oh, shut up, Ward. Let's get moving," Laguna said, marching off.
* * * * * * * *
Laguna halted. "Wait, I see something."
He spied the western woods through his binoculars. The pines were behind them, and they now trod a sea of grass that buried them up to the chest. Their each step was a weary struggle against vegetation. The insects chirped all around them, their songs fused into an amalgam without melody.
"What is it?" said Kiros.
"A vehicle. One of ours," Laguna replied. "I can see it just beyond the meadow. We've made it, boys."
"You see anyone?" Ward asked.
"No. I can only see the top half of the car."
Ward consulted the radio. "Their channel is open."
"That's strange," Kiros said. "They should have detected our signal. Why aren't they talking to us?"
"Ward, call them up," Laguna said.
"This is Corporal Ward Zabac of 2nd Squad, 5th Platoon, 4th Division," Ward spoke into the machine. "We're approaching your unit. Please respond, over."
The three men listened to the speaker for a long interval. It remained silent.
"I repeat: This is Corporal Ward Zabac of 2nd Squad, 5th Platoon, 4th Division. We believe you've been notified of our arrival. Please respond, over."
No reply came. Ward looked at the others questioningly.
"What do you think?"
"Let's go. Be on your guard," Laguna said. He took up the machine gun that had been slung on his shoulder. Ward and Kiros followed suit.
The squad continued across the grassland. Soon they arrived at the clearing where the small armored vehicle stood. The clearing was ended by a wall of gray bluff that arced like an amphitheater. A boulder pushed up tall from the red earth, and the car's distorted front bumper was flush against it. The steel hatch at the top was open. There was no other sign of the patrol unit.
"Oh, no," Laguna said, surveying the site. "Do you see anyone around?"
"No," Kiros answered.
"Stay close to the vehicle. Ward, check the inside."
"Affirmative."
"They must have been ambushed," Laguna said to Kiros while they investigated the immediate vicinity of the car. "But why are there no bodies?"
"They might have been captured."
"All of them?"
"Or they might have retreated on foot. Perhaps the car is inoperable."
"The car is fine—or at least it looks that way," Ward informed them as he climbed out of the vehicle. "Can't say the same for the chap who used to drive it, though."
"What happened to him?" asked Laguna.
"I don't know. But he left a pint of his blood in the driver's seat."
"Crap."
"Laguna," Kiros called from the other side of the car. He gestured to the border of the grassland they had just left behind. A familiar machine gun was on the ground. Kiros retrieved it for the others' inspection. The weapon was almost fully loaded.
"Is this blood?" Laguna said, touching the dark, irregular stripes on the barrel and the handle. His fingertips were red when he withdrew them.
"So it would seem," Ward said.
"Look, there's another one." Kiros pointed to the root of a tree a few dozen yards away.
"What kind of enemies take the bodies but leave the rifles—and the car?" Laguna said.
Kiros considered for a second. "The uncivilized kind," he said.
"What do we do?" Ward asked.
"I don't think there's any question," Kiros replied. "The car appears intact. We drive it out of here immediately."
Laguna glanced about, brows gathered into a frown. "There might be survivors."
"No, Laguna," Kiros said quickly.
"We must look for them."
"Laguna, this wasn't an assault—it was a hunt. Do you understand? Whatever did this came specifically for the meat. Hence the absence of the bodies, and also why they wouldn't have left anyone alive."
"You think this was a group effort," Ward said.
"The unit likely had at least four troops. It would have taken multiple predators—large ones—to remove them all from the site. Yes, I believe it was a coordinated attack."
Laguna gazed out into the forest. "I don't know what these things are. But we can't just leave men behind without determining what happened to them with reasonable certainty."
"I understand what you're thinking," Kiros said, "but what could we three do that the other men couldn't? The creatures must be back in their lair with the kills."
"Fat chance finding that," Ward said.
Laguna thought while his men waited. He sighed. "All right. Ward, contact the H.Q. Report the casualties and inform them that we're pulling out."
"I'll use the radio in the car. It'll be quicker," the corporal said, walking back to the vehicle.
Laguna sauntered restlessly while Ward worked in the car. His eyes wandered across the scenery, moving from the meadow to the trees to the slanted bluff, whose rows of jagged protrusions folded upon one another to create the impression of a demolished building full of sharp, quiet shadows. "I just don't feel right about this," he said to Kiros.
Stretching his long legs on a flat rock, the olive-complexioned corporal drank from a canteen. "We've been telling you that for the past week, as I recall."
"Real funny, Kiros."
"You wanna put it to a vote which of us is the funny one?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Come, my man, you're practically the division mascot. The men will be happy to know you made it home alive, I'm sure. Bring the fun back to the army, you know?"
"Home," Laguna murmured.
"It's been over three months. We're lucky—I know men who've been stuck here for over half a year."
"It's madness," Laguna said with a frustrated groan. "It's not enough for the ass of a general that he's got the country in his palm and renamed the capital after himself. No, he has to go and bully a country of farmers so he can take over the whole damn continent. We should all pack up and go home."
Kiros took another swig. "Good to know you look forward to the trip, lieutenant."
"Ahhh…. I'm not sure how to feel about going home," Laguna said, fiddling with his weapon. "It hasn't been a pleasant neighborhood since Deling became the guy on the block."
"The piano girl's there, though."
"Watch it there, fella."
"All right, all right. But a hundred gil says I know where you'll be headed the moment we get off the train."
"Julia…" Laguna scratched his jaws and looked away. "Gee, it has been three months, hasn't it? The idea doesn't really get to you until you start thinking about the people you're gonna be seeing again…" His sentence drifted off, and he was quiet.
"Don't wrack your poor head over a pickup line you'll never get to use, Laguna," Kiros said, replacing the canteen at his side. "Who knows, maybe she isn't available anymore."
"Kiros," Laguna said sharply.
"All right, all right, all right."
"Kiros," Laguna called again. Kiros looked up. The lieutenant's gaze, alert and intent, was somewhere high on the precipice. Levels upon levels of uneven rocky platforms, not unlike the one he sat on, were piled towards the sky. Meandering down from one such platform was a thin strip of cherry-red, stark against the backdrop of gray. Following the band's descent, Kiros saw that it ended at the bottom of the boulder, where it formed a succession of crimson beads that dropped down below. A puddle formed on the stony surface beneath.
Kiros rose from his makeshift seat. He retraced the trickle to the source. The area was shadowed by a jutting boulder still higher up. He squinted. He turned next to the lieutenant, who was examining the same spot through binoculars.
"Is that…?"
"A boot tip," Laguna said. He dropped the binoculars and the rifle. Scrambling onto the conglomeration of rocks, he began to climb. "Get Ward, Kiros."
"Wait, Laguna!" Kiros called after him. "He's probably dead—"
"But then he might not be. You go and get Ward."
Kiros sprinted off. Laguna continued the climb.
"Ward!" Not waiting for Ward to open the back door, Kiros leapt onto the armored car. "Ward, start the engine!" he yelled into the opening of the top hatch.
Ward's head appeared through the roof. "Huh?"
"We've got someone up the cliff. If he's alive we'll need to move him into the car."
"Where's Laguna?"
Kiros pointed to Laguna's distant figure, engaged in his laborious task.
"What the… what were you thinking letting that fool do that? With his luck he's gonna break his neck!"
"Start the car."
Ward lowered himself down to the driver's seat. As the machine sputtered to life Kiros, perched atop the roof, peered inside. Blood was spattered across the seats, the dashboard, and the floor. The stain was smudged thin on the narrow windshield where Ward had wiped most of it away.
"My God."
"I know," Ward said, backing the vehicle away from the boulder it had crashed into. He turned the car around smoothly and started towards the bluff.
"What did this?"
The car screeched to an abrupt halt. Kiros nearly fell off, only avoiding it by clutching the hatch.
"What the hell!" Kiros cried. "Ward, what was that!"
"Kiros, get in here!" came Ward's voice.
"What's wrong…" He stopped the sentence unfinished. He saw the cause of his friend's panic. Squarely in the path of the vehicle was the crouching form of a creature on four. It was nearly as large as a bear, but with scales in place of fur, and its eyes shone with reptilian glint. Shoulders hunched and head lowered, the creature appeared to be poised for a dash. Only its tail wagged slowly from side to side in a menacing swing. It was long, and sharp as a scorpion's.
"Shit," Kiros said before he jumped into the car. He closed the hatch above him.
Ward looked out the window at the creature that remained motionless. "It's one of them, isn't it?"
"I'd say it's an excellent suspect. What's it doing?"
"Just staring right at us. Wait, it's moving. It's coming closer."
The creature ambled unhurriedly to the vehicle. Its front paws grasped the bumper, and it raised itself on hind legs so that it was looking directly into the car. The soldiers matched gaze with the creature, with only the windshield and a few scant feet of distance between them. A forked tongue snaked out of its jaws and licked the dusty glass. An orderly row of sharp teeth gleamed dull. They were flanked by a pair of hooked tusks.
"I think I recognize it," Kiros said over Ward's shoulder. "It's supposed to be called, er…"
The creature's black claw slammed against the glass. Kiros jumped back. The glass held, unscathed.
"I'll be real impressed if you break through that, pal," Ward said.
"We don't have much room for complacency. Laguna's still out there."
Ward nodded. "Hold on, I'll just run this critter over flat."
The car lurched forward violently. The creature did not vanish under the steel mass as Ward had intended. Instead, it lifted the rest of its body effortlessly onto the car. Its bulk now covered the windshield.
"Damn it," Ward swore. "We gotta shake it off."
The creature then moved again, and the windshield was clear. It was now out of their sight entirely.
"Where did it go?" Kiros said.
Shrill noise of claws grating on steel came from above. Kiros identified the origin of the disturbance just as a band of light appeared under the top hatch. It was being lifted open. He grabbed the handle and yanked it down. The creature's growl was close. He bolted the hatch. The grating continued above the roof. Ward rose from the driver's seat, rifle in hands.
"It's all right; I've locked it," Kiros told him. "Sorry, I should have known it would try opening it."
"It's still trying to open it," Ward said, listening to the scraping and the snarls that grew increasingly vicious outside.
"It doesn't understand that the hatch's locked."
The sound ceased. There was a slow series of bumps, and the car shook gently.
"It's strolling right on top of us," Ward said.
There was a final, more weighted quiver. Then all was still.
"Is it gone?" Ward said. "It jumped off, right?"
Kiros looked out through one of the palm-sized windows on the walls of the car. "Oh, hell," he said. "To the wheel, quickly, Ward! It's spotted Laguna."
* * * * * * * *
For all its ungentle appearance, the cliff's jagged façade abounded with convenient footholds, making for a relatively comfortable climb. Laguna found that it was more a very steep hill than a cliff per se. And so it was that in his arduous and resolute ascent the lieutenant discovered himself fifty feet closer to the heavens in no time at all. He chanced a peek down. The terrain behind him was full of places to crack one's head against. It was a very steep hill. "Bad idea," he muttered to himself and returned to the task. The exertion intensified the heat of the air. Sweat drops hung under his chin. He had to rub his palms on the dry rock face frequently to rid it of the slippery moisture. The trickle of blood was just a few feet before him, and the boot—he had no doubt now that it was army-issued—seemed almost within reach. Footsteps from far down informed him of the men's arrival.
"I'm almost there," he shouted. "Kiros, Ward! One of you get ready to come up here. Once I know he's alive, I'll need hands to move him somehow."
A high-pitched bark greeted his order, echoing against the stony hill.
Laguna swerved his head. On the ground, something big and unfamiliar and four-legged was observing him out of bright green eyes. It released another bark, displaying teeth.
Oh, shit, was Laguna's first thought. His second was: Can it climb?
The creature placed two paws on the rock that Kiros had sat on. The other legs followed with an agility that belied the animal's bulk. In a second it hopped onto the next stepping stone. All the while its eyes remained fixed on his.
"Oh, shit!" Laguna groped for his pistol. He secured himself with one hand gripping a ledge and raised the pistol at the animal. It was about to make its next jump. He aimed for the head.
Below, the car charged into his vision with a roar. It collided with the tier of stumpy rocks covering the ground and sped over it, bulldozing into the creature. Shrieking, the creature toppled sideways off its footing. The car rushed over the fallen victim. Squeals and the sound of metal crushing flesh and bones tore through the air.
"Excellent, boys!" Laguna cried. He could see the creature under the car disintegrate in red vapor. "Spooks me every time they do that," he said to himself. The pistol still in grip, he resumed the climb in greater haste. The goal was only a few steps up.
Kiros opened the top hatch and called out to the lieutenant. "Laguna, get back down here!"
"Chill, Kiros. I'm almost there!" he shouted back.
"Down, now! We're not out of danger. These things move in packs!"
Grunting, Laguna pushed his upper body onto the stone platform. "Hey, are you all righ…" He stopped, eyes wide. Under shadows the boot for which he had labored lay in a pool of blood. There was no trace of the owner. "What the…"
He picked up the bloodied footwear. It was unusually heavy. Then the animal, swift as a fox, was in his face.
Half in reflex Laguna fired the pistol, unaware of his aim. One round hit, drawing a cry from the attacker that had sprung out of the shadows. A massive and fast something moved before his eyes. It impacted against his chest and pushed him off the platform. Laguna went tumbling down the hill.
* * * * * * * *
"No!" Kiros cried. The corporal lifted his rifle and began firing at the second creature. It was hidden by the rocks, though the high-raised tail was visible. Stone fragments flew amid smoke. "Show yourself, you bastard!"
"What happened?" Ward cried, joining Kiros at the top of the car. "Another one?"
"Laguna fell."
Ward saw the lieutenant's unmoving form, sprawled thirty feet down from where he had seen him last. His face was turned away. "Oh, hell."
"We have to get him," Kiros said. He continued to fire at the predator.
"I'll get him. Stay here and cover us, and be ready to drive."
Ward leapt off the car and ran. Laguna was still at some height on a slab of rock that had caught him on the way down. The rock did not break his fall gently, Ward thought as he ran. It's uneven and rough-edged—dropping face down on top of it like he did, he may easily have busted some ribs, if not his skull. "Laguna! Hey!" Ward called out, clambering up the hill. "Answer me, partner. You all right up there?"
The gunshots were quick and intermittent behind him. Reaching the lieutenant, Ward kneeled at the fallen man's side. Laguna was breathing but still as a corpse. Coarse mountain dust coated his body. His long hair was splayed across his face and the rock he lay on. There was something about the angle of his bent waist that Ward did not like. He rolled Laguna carefully to note his injuries. If he hurt a backbone, carrying him over the shoulder could make things worse—
Underneath the locks that fell over most of his face, Laguna's eyes snapped open. He lifted his head and beheld Ward's startled face. "Get away!" he screamed. He scrambled to his feet, lashing out blindly at the corporal with his arms.
"Hey, hey, hey! It's me!" Ward cried.
Laguna pulled the hair away from his eyes. "Ward?"
"Yes. Damn it, why don't you get yourself a haircut already?"
"Uh, sorry," Laguna said, rubbing the side of his head that throbbed. "Couldn't see."
"Make my point for me," Ward spat out. He dragged an incredulous gaze over Laguna's grimy figure. "Hey, aren't you injured?"
Laguna began dusting himself. "I don't think so. Bruised some, I think—throbs here and there."
Ward glanced at where Laguna had fallen from. He shook his head, unconvinced. "Come here. Let me take a look at you."
"I'm fine," Laguna said, batting the corporal's hands away.
"You're fine?" Ward echoed.
"Yes."
"You're fine," he repeated.
"What's wrong with you? I said I am."
"No, you're not."
"Excuse me, corporal, I think I'd know if I were hurt."
"Do you realize how far you just fell down?"
Laguna's eyes trailed up the rocky slope. "Whoa, from all the way up there?"
Ward stared at him. "What're you, a freak?"
"Hey, thanks a lot for being overjoyed at my survival!"
"For the mercy of…" Ward grumbled and shook his head again. "What's that in your hand?"
Laguna held up the boot he salvaged by the string, which had become tangled with his fingers. The foot that wore it was still inside, severed crudely above the ankle.
"Oh, hell," Ward said, cringing.
"I guess they couldn't figure out a way to untie it."
"Oh, that's sick, Laguna."
"I meant the critters!"
"Gentlemen!" Kiros' call startled both of them. He waved frantically from the car. "Gentlemen, get your hides in the car, now! It seems we're in somebody's house."
Laguna and Ward cast a look about themselves. They froze. They were at the center of more than a dozen pairs of eyes scattered across the hill. Laguna had not realized how much space the rugged surroundings could hide. One by one the creatures emerged out of the shadows that dappled the craggy arena, treading the steep slopes as skillfully as mountain goats.
Laguna gulped. "We found that lair after all," he muttered.
Ward's glance moved from one beast to another. Thus far they were betraying little aggression. A kind of orderliness marked their movement, like spectators filling an auditorium. "Think we should just walk away? I heard that sometimes works."
"Considering their last meal I doubt it'll work on these guys. Ooh, dear," Laguna whispered, "they're coming down."
Together they bolted down the hill. The arena came alive with a collective growl, and multitude of footfalls followed.
"Hurry, hurry!" Kiros cried. Most of the creatures were at some distance away, but a few were within alarming proximity. He fired at the closest target. The animal squealed, but it did not abort the chase. A wounded foreleg notwithstanding, it launched itself into air in a tremendous downward leap to crash close behind the two men. It got up and began limping furiously after them.
Ward, not sparing a look at the pursuer, drew the harpoon from his back.
"Laguna, Ward, get out of the way!" Kiros yelled over the sight of his rifle. "Out of the way! It's right at your tail—I can't shoot!"
The creature closed upon Laguna. He went down with a grunt. He could feel the fierce, hot breath on his cheeks. Then Ward swung the harpoon, and the creature stepped back, screeching. Laguna raised himself in time to see Ward thrust the harpoon, its tip still sheathed, between the creature's eyes.
The animal made no sound this time. It was as if Ward had driven not a harpoon but a cannonball through its skull. There was a brief sizzling hiss when the weapon found the target, and the next moment saw the victim collapsed and dead. No trace was left of its head; it was blown off clean—obliterated.
Laguna witnessed the scene agape. Ward stood before the dead creature, his expression bedazzled. He looked at the victim and his hand, not believing what he had done. The predators seemed to share the sentiment. At the violent demise of their comrade they ceased the charge, withheld by an instinctive caution. While the carcass grew faint and dispersed in crimson miasma, the rest of the pack held their places and watched the humans warily. Ward retrieved the harpoon. It was impossibly cool to the touch. The leather covering, which he had not had the time to remove, was nowhere to be seen; it had been vaporized in the blow along with the creature's head, leaving the metal bare.
Laguna tugged at Ward's arm. "Come on, let's go!"
They resumed skipping down the slope. The creatures looked at one another as though uncertain of their next course of action. Kiros pulled the car in front of the men. The rear hatch dropped open like a drawbridge and hit the ground, and the men scurried onto it. Immediately the car took off. The hatch dragged and sparked against the soil before a pair of crankshafts started to pull it up slowly.
"What was that back there?" Kiros cried. He had to shout to be heard above the engine blare.
"I think Ward has been working out," Laguna shouted back.
"That ain't it," Ward barked. He ran a hand down his sweat-drenched face. "Something weird happened back there when I harpooned that lizard. There's just no way…"
"They're called Grendels," Kiros said. The car rocked severely on the bumpy forest trail. He steered cautiously.
Laguna plopped down to a seat. "Drive us out of here, Kiros. Ugh, it's like an oven in here."
"I don't care what they're called," Ward hollered. "I'm telling you, I felt something strange when I killed that thing. Like something flowed down my arm." He looked out to the rear through the thinning gap of the door.
Something plunged through the gap and grabbed the corporal by the shoulder. It pulled, slamming him into the door. When he had recovered from the shock enough to see that he was in the clutch of a black paw, a tusked snout wedged its way in before the hatch could shut completely. A long, flailing tongue almost touched his nose. "Shit, we've got one on the car—"
"Ward!" Laguna cried, jumping out of the seat. Ward was pinned against the door, thrashing to free himself from the claw that dug into his shoulder. His free hand was holding off the creature by the tusk, keeping the jaw away.
"What's happening?" Kiros shouted.
"Keep driving!"
Laguna rushed to the corporal. The Grendel was trapped squarely in the closing door, having managed into the car only the head and a foreleg. He needed to force it off the car. Laguna raised the boot he still held in his hand and brought the steel sole down on the animal's head—and then again, and again. The Grendel did not let go of the car or the corporal. All the while, the automatic hatch labored to close over the obstacle, emitting furious mechanical whine as it ground into the animal's neck. Still the claw refused to release the prey. The Grendel's snapping jaw inched closer to Ward's throat. The predator and the prey exhaled strained breaths on each other's face. "Let go of me, you shit!"
Ward's side pistol at his belt caught Laguna's eyes. He pulled it out of the holster and, aiming it point-blank at the crown of the Grendel's skull, emptied the clip. Fluid splattered onto the two men. The creature groaned. Its eyes quivered and slid shut, and the grip on the corporal grew loose. Laguna smashed the boot one final time into the snout. The creature fell away. So did the door. The hatch broke open, granting to the men an unobstructed view of the rear vicinity. They gawked.
In the dusty wake, a pack of Grendels stampeded over the cadaver in pursuit of the car.
"Shi-it," Ward said.
"Floor it, Kiros! Floor it!" Laguna cried.
"Now what?" Kiros said from the driver's seat.
"We've got the whole community migrating after our asses! Faster, faster!"
"Great," Kiros muttered as he accelerated the car. "Hold on tight, people!" The engine's scream rose by an octave, and the car began flying off every bump it hit. Laguna and Ward gripped the side posts and gauged the pack's distance anxiously. The door dragged on the soil again, sending sparks flying. They made no attempt to close the door; they wanted to keep their eyes on the chasers. "God, how can they be so fast?" Ward said.
"Gun—I need a gun," Laguna said, throwing down the empty pistol.
"Here." Kiros held up his rifle. Laguna took it and opened fire at the creatures. Ward retrieved his own rifle and began shooting.
Kiros squinted over the steering wheel. Not far ahead on the track beyond the badly shaking windshield was a shimmering blue light. No, it's not on the track, he corrected himself. It was floating above it. The car's tremor made it difficult to focus his vision, but it was slim and upright, looking for all the world like…
"The hell!" Kiros cried, stamping on the break pedal.
The car skidded a long while before it came to a rest. Laguna and Ward were both thrown forward by the unwarned stop, so that they found themselves just behind the driver's seat when they groggily picked themselves up.
"What the hell was that, Kiros?" Laguna cried, still unsteady. "We crashed?"
Ward fumbled for the rifle that had fallen on the floor. The Grendels' footfalls were near, as well as their roars. "Forget that. They're almost here!"
"Look!" Kiros said.
The vehemence of his call directed the others' eyes to the sight ahead. What they saw riveted them.
The feet, being at their eye level, were the first thing they saw. The feet were ghostly white. The feet glowed. In fact, the feet were all but invisible, transparent as though belonging to a glass sculpture. Laguna and Ward traced up the slender legs to which the feet belonged and which gained greater definition and solidity as they went up. And they saw the figure enshrouded in blue glimmer that hovered in front of the car.
"…A… woman?" Ward mumbled, dumbstruck.
She's floating in the air, Laguna thought in amazement. She stood before them tranquil and radiant, a portrait of cool dignity that overrode her utter nakedness. Her face was pale as the rest of her body, her gaze level and calm.
While the soldiers watched speechless, the woman stretched apart her arms, assuming a cruciform stance. As she swung them back the pale glow that wrapped her form flared. The men were wholly ignorant of what was to follow. And so with a panicked cry they shielded their eyes when the spectral blaze flashed, white and blinding and cold, and engulfed them.
* * * * * * * *
They stepped out of the car after the quiet returned.
The figure they had seen outside the windshield was gone. The growls of their chasers were gone, too. They looked about the forest path that suddenly seemed deserted.
"Why does everything look so white?" Ward said. He knew he sounded dazed.
Laguna placed a hand on one of the many crystalline growths that covered the ground, the rocks, the branches and the shrubs, the Grendels, and everything else that had happened to be within a hundred feet behind the car when the figure had appeared and hit them with what they didn't know what. It was cold and quickly grew moist under his palm. He applied some weight on it, and the lump cracked and fell by his feet. He picked up a piece. "Ice," he said.
The three soldiers spoke no more for a while. Each surveyed the catastrophic scene in quiet disbelief.
"Hey, Kiros?" Ward said at length. He rubbed a chunk of ice against his face gratefully. The day was still hot, and he needed to wash off the Grendel's blood. It was not a pleasant-smelling substance.
"Yes," Kiros said.
"Which one was that?"
"What was what?"
"That ghostlike thing. The woman. What kinda monster was that?"
"Er… None that I've heard of. I'm not even sure that it was a monster."
"This place is just full of strange inhabitants," Laguna said. "Let's get out of here before anything else shows up."
"That's the nicest thing you said all day," Kiros said. He earned another glare from the lieutenant.
The soldiers returned to the car and made ready to depart. Kiros steered again. Briefly they worried that the inexplicable ice storm had damaged the car, but the machine seemed unaffected. They took the shortest course out of the forest.
"What have you got there, Ward?" Laguna asked, noting that the corporal carried a hefty burden in both arms.
"Heat relief," Ward said. He broke off a small piece of the ice and crunched it in his mouth.
"That thing's gonna melt in twenty minutes," Laguna said.
"It'll be in my stomach long before then. Ask nice and I might share. Hey, what the…?" Ward said, dripping repugnance from his voice. He pointed to the object that sat by Laguna. "What're you still holding onto that gross thing for?"
Laguna glanced down at the army boot he had snatched from the Grendels' lair. "I'm taking it to Deling City," he said.
"You gotta be joking."
"What are you two talking about?" Kiros said, peering back.
"It's that gross boot he rescued," Ward said.
"Boot? Oh, right—so what happened with that boot up there? He was dead, wasn't he?"
Laguna lifted the boot so Kiros could see into it. Kiros winced. "Oh."
"Should've just thrown it back to the animals," Ward said.
Laguna put down the boot and leaned back. "Be grateful, corporal. That footwear contributed to preservation of your ass."
"All right, all right—now throw it out, please? Just looking at it is ruining my snack."
"I don't think so. That foot is getting a proper military burial befitting a soldier of Galbadian Army in the memorial cemetery."
"And how are they gonna I.D. who it used to be attached to? By the footprint?"
"Shut up, Ward. And gimme some of that ice."
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Some explanations:
1. My apology for the month-long hiatus. Life has been hectic with all the end-of-term drudgery.
2. I was puzzled by the way we are introduced to the Laguna gang in the game. The sequence in Timber is extremely brief, and we promptly travel all the way across the continent to Deling City. I tried to think of a good scenario to make this sudden change of locale plausible, and this is what I came up with. It was supposed to be short, but after a few pages it sort of took on a life of its own. Sorry. I apologize about the gore factor, too.
3. The game doesn't tell us the trio's ranks in G-Army, so I took the liberty of making Laguna a lieutenant, and Kiros and Ward corporals. Normally soldiers would never speak to their commanding officer the way Kiros and Ward do to Laguna, but then of course these guys aren't your everyday soldiers.
4. The deal with the man-eating pack of Grendels: I thought this might be an interesting way of acquainting the Laguna gang to the "fairies" who lend them power in combat. In case you got confused, Laguna survived the fall unhurt thanks to junction spells, and likewise for Ward's super-harpoon. And no, Shiva wasn't summoned, exactly—she just appeared somehow. (Lately I've been feeling the need to develop the GF's as more solid characters, since they'll be around throughout the story.)
5. You may be wondering why the monsters in this chapter disappear in red vapor when they're killed. This has to do with my personal theory about Lunar Cry that will be addressed later.
