Effloresce
********************
********************
The silence was split by a terrifying cacophony of thunder. A massive explosion rose from the front of the stage, in the direct centre of where the students and SeeD's sat. It was a few seconds before another noise was made. It was a deafening scream. The whole area was filled with dust and many more people began screaming. Squall raced from the stage and into the crowd. He saw a spot of blood on the ground, followed by another, followed by a body, lying motionless.
At that moment it seemed everyone forgot about their own pain, and began to shout for friends and loved ones. Squall was perhaps the only one not shouting. He was searching through the bodies to find anyone he recognised. He found Zell laying face down in a pool of blood.
Squall-"Zell?…Zell?…Zell?"
Squall turned Zell over and recoiled in horror. His mouth was bleeding heavily and one of his eyes had been blown from his face. The other looked distantly into space, into heaven.
Squall let out a scream of angst and began searching for others. The dust was clearing and Squall could see the full horror of what had happened. Dozens of bodies lay obliterated in the middle of the seating area near the stage. Further back, the dead were joined by those screaming in agony, who had survived the blast but were in great pain. His immediate thought was to search for Rinoa. He ran to the place where was was sat. Underneath another body he saw her. He sat beside and held her hand.
Squall-"Come on Rinoa, answer me. Please"
Squall felt a faint pulse but received no answer. He looked around at the wounded and took Rinoa in his arms raced for the infirmary. As he left the quad he released how little of his speech was true to him…
*************************
Squall was the first to enter the infirmary but it was now overflowing. Rinoa had been hooked to a life support machine and her condition was critical, but for the moment at least, stable. Rinoa was in one of the few private rooms in the infirmary. It was perhaps the only please to escape the chaos gripping the garden. Squall moved his stool closer to Rinoa and held her hand.
Squall-"Rinoa, please wake up. Show me a sign that you can hear me. Please, Rinoa…"
Squall held his head in his hands. He looked at the floor and tried to some up what had happened. Squall heard the door open and saw Cid standing in the doorway.
Cid-"How is she?"
Squall-"Critical but stable"
Cid-"Thank Hyne. Squall, this may seem a little heartless but I want you to forget about Rinoa for a moment. I'm trying my best but I can't keep control of what's happening. I need you to help me."
Squall looked at Rinoa and nodded.
Squall-"I understand…"
He bent over to Rinoa and kissed her on the forehead softly. He then left the room with Cid.
*************************
Squall was stood in the middle of the now blood-soaked Quad. He, Cid and Xu were in a state of controlled shock. They could not come to turns with what happened, so they forgot about it.
Cid-"It seems one of the new students was carrying a bomb. We are going through the records of the sign-ups, but I doubt we will be able to find out who it was."
Xu-"When will find out what has happened to our friends?"
Cid-"Soon, but I wanted to leave the infirmary, all those except paramedics and those seriously injured have been ordered to.
Squall-"A bomb…why would someone do this?"
Cid-"It is far too early to know that. The importance is that we need to stay calm and clear-headed. A lot of people are going to be turning to us for help."
Squall-"Zell is dead, Rinoa may die. I don't know if I can take this"
Cid-"I know that you can Squall. This attack horrifies me as much as it does you, but we must try not to worry. There will be a time to grieve, but now is a time to help those around you. I told you that I trust you Squall. If it is my last act here at garden, I swear to you that we will get though this"
Xu-"So what now?"
Cid-"I'm going to make an announcement over the tannoy. Those who are fit enough to do so must leave the garden immediately. Balamb is sending over transport as we speak. Xu I want you to phone Laguna immediately. Squall…check on Rinoa quickly then report to the cockpit…"
*************************
'If this is our last embrace
Why must I dream and always see your face
Why can't we overcome this war
Maybe its because I didn't know you at all'
Jeff Buckley 'Last Goodbye'
When Squall entered her room Rinoa was barely awake. She had been passing in and out of consciousness. When she saw Squall she gave a weak smile and began to talk.
Rinoa-"Squa…OK…"
Squall-"Don't try and talk Rinoa, save your strength"
Rinoa-"Wha..what…happened?"
Squall-"Someone had a bomb in the crowd. We aren't sure who yet, but we are working on it"
Rinoa-"Friends…"
Squall-"Zell is dead"
Rinoa-"…and others"
Squall-"I don't know, but try not to think. There will be a time to grieve but for now concentrate on healing yourself…"
The tannoy clicked on and Squall heard Cid shouting-
Cid (Tannoy)-"Squall, Squall, get to the cockpit ASAP. Squall, get to the cockpit immediately"
Squall looked at Rinoa then bowed his head
Squall-"I better go…I love you"
Squall kissed her then left the room.
Rinoa-"I…love you…too"
*************************
The cockpit was packed. Cid, Xu, Nida, Laguna, Ward and Kiros were stood in a small circle. Ward gave Squall a solemn look, instead of his usual thumbs up, which fitted the mood perfectly.
Cid-"Squall, we have just received a message through the Cockpit fax machine."
Squall-"Who from?"
Cid-"I think you'd better read it…"
Cid handed Squall the sheet of paper like it was a bomb itself. Squall began reading…
'To whom this may concern
How are you doing at garden? Not good? Then I take it our messenger has reached you. You may have forgotten us. After all, with no wars currently raging, there is no need to remember us.
Or so you may think. You see, while you have been receiving billions of gil in funding we have withered and died. Until now. You see the powers of a sorceress are never removed, just passed on. And when someone close to us received that power, we ourselves inherited a great power. It was so easy for us to infiltrate you, and it will be even easier to destroy you. Do not search for us, in time we will surface.
Always yours
The White SeeD's
Squall looked at the paper, surely this must be a sick joke. The White SeeD had seemingly disbanded after a period of inactivity. Some of its members had joined the garden, some had become peacekeepers. The White SeeD's contained no members capable of such an act. Squall looked at Cid, hoping for an explanation
Cid-"This is certainly troublesome. I do doubt the authenticity of this message but…"
Laguna-"Groups do evolve. The White SeeD has become inactive through lack of funding, as was mentioned, but maybe a few of their members have reenergized it…"
Squall-"But the White SeeD's have never been known for hostile attacks"
Ward-"Until now. Many terrorist groups are formed in wholesome groups. But people with grave intentions joined and they find reasons for other members to turn to negative acts. And as a group evolves it becomes more sinister"
Laguna-"Ward is right, sort of. Maybe some of its members took offence to its treatment and they have gathered momentum"
Squall-"Who do you think could be the person close to them…you don't think?"
Laguna-"It can't be"
Squall-"It has been a long time since I last saw her, and she was close to various sorceresses"
Cid-"Ellone…"
********************
********************
Not as long as previously planned, but it has been kind of hard to keep things rolling without losing the intrest of the story. I'm not sure how the next chapter will turn out, but it will probably be a little slower, as I've finally laid out the bones of the story. Thanks for the reviews up to yet, and keep reviewing peeps. Comments and ideas are always viewed and appreciated J