Disclaimer: See previous chapter.
Warning: if you're squeamish, don't read the last paragraph (It's right after the row of 3 stars)
Squall cautiously walked closer to the pit, checking for any more of the oozing creatures. Peering down into the hole, he saw a series of notches carved into the side leading to the black depths far below. He turned around to face his comrades.
"It doesn't look like we'll need a rope. There are notches leading to the bottom," Squall said. "Just be careful climbing down. It's a long drop." Zell gulped uneasily.
Squall lead the others down into the darkness. Every time he held onto the next handhold, dirt crumbled and fell into the nadir of the aperture and made his stomach lurch unpleasantly. He averted his eyes as dust and pebbles rained down from above him as his friends decended with him.
The decent seemed to last for and eternity. Squall's fingers were sore from gripping the notches for so long. Finally, his feet reached solid ground. He stepped aside to allow the others to finish climbing.
"Whew!" Selphie exclaimed. "I thought we'd nev-" Quistis silenced her with her hand.
"Keep quiet," she whispered. "We don't know what else is down here."
Squall surveyed the area around him. Dim, wispy blue lights gently illuminated the gloomy tunnel they stood in. The tunnel wasn't dirt or clay as Squall had expected, but rather a stone and mortar passageway. Just then, a faint murmur came to his ears. It sounded as though two people were talking. Squall took several steps forward and strained his ears.
"...has probably already experienced some of the side effects of the bite and has been lured here by you, thanks to my Griever...all we have to do now is wait..." Realization dawned on the young man. Whoever that was must be talking to Rinoa! Without regard for his own safety, Squall began to sprint down to the hallway.
"Squall, wait!" someone yelled, but Squall wasn't paying attention. He ran towards the voices as fast as he could. A stitch began to develop in his abdomen, and his breathing became ragged. Suddenly, white-hot pain lanced through his body once more. Unable to go on running, he collapsed as his body was wracked with suffering. Squall moaned in agony as the others caught up with him.
"Oh, sweet Hyne!"
"Squall, what happened?"
"Help...Rinoa..." He managed in between gasps. "...I'll be...fine..." Irvine shook his head.
"We're not gonna leave you here like this!" Suddenly, Squall turned vicious.
"I...said...LEAVE!" he roared. He drew a dagger from his boot and lashed out at Irvine, nearly missing his stomach. Blood bubbled up past Squall's lips as he growled at his comrades.
"We need to find Rinoa now," said Quistis, realizing how serious he was. Her and the others continued reluctantly down the tunnel, leaving Squall alone and screaming in agony.
Further underground, the woman with the dark hair continued to hold Rinoa captive. The young woman gasped in horror as several of the small, shriveled creatures came towards her with a set of chains and manacles. Rinoa drew back as much as possible while being held down by Griever as the creatures snatched her wrists. She flinched as their cold, wet skin came into contact with her own. The demons attached the manacles to Rinoa's trembling wrists and chained her to the large metal ring fixed into the stony ground.
"Do you like my little companions?" spoke the woman.
"W-what are they?"
"They are cave demons." Rinoa shuddered as one of the creatures peered at her through narrowed orange eyes and hissed. "Unfortunatly, they cannot cause any harm and are few in number. However, the ones that do exist do so to serve me alone. They-" The woman with pale orange eyes stopped in midsentence as Griever stepped off of Rinoa and growled, hackles raised.
"What is it, Griever?" She asked the lion. She listened carefully and her wine red lips curved into a wicked smirk. The woman had heard the SeeDs coming towards her.
***
Inside the stone tunnel, Quistis and the others had slowed down as they neared the exit. They had clearly heard Rinoa along with another husky-voiced woman. Zell squeezed forward and peered out the exit. He quickly came back and flattened himself against the cool wall, breathing heavily.
"What's out there? Did you see anything?" Selphie asked. Zell nodded rapidly.
"I saw a tall woman with dark hair, Rinoa, and a really big, evil-looking winged lion looking straight at me, and it didn't look happy." Irvine loaded his Exeter.
"Looks like we've got work to do."
***
Squall was a bloody mess. Bright crimson blood poured out past his lips, nose, ears, and even out of the corners of his eyes. It was caked in his hair and clothing. His bones audibly cracked and his muscles flexed painfully. Squall's stomach lurched as he vomited blood. His internal organs felt as though they were shifting, moving around inside him. He felt sick, worse than he ever felt in his life as his head spun. Squall moaned and wondered if he would make it out of this alive.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Also, I'm sorry if the last paragraph offended or sickened you, but I wanted to portray just how much Squall was suffering. However, it is a free country and we believe in a wonderful thing called freedom of speech. I don't want to hear any complaints about it as it was your choice to read it even though you were forewarned.