Time's Scars
Chapter Eight: Shattered
"Dammit!" yelled Cid as he slammed his fist on the desk. "What do you mean he got away?!"
The young soldier shifted uncomfortably, "We tried to capture him, sir. Ex-Instructor Quistis Trepe took down thirty soldiers in a few seconds. She gave him an opportunity to escape."
"What? Quistis was working for me! How dare she! Where are they? Did you see the direction of escape?"
The young man nodded, "Yes sir. They boarded a train headed to Balamb."
Cid smiled, "Good. I want troops down at Balamb's train station. Capture Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly alive. Kill the others if they get in your way. If they don't, capture them also."
"Yes sir!"
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Squall sighed and fidgeted nervously. He knew their escape was far from flawless. Soldiers had to have seen them board the train. They'd be waiting for him, no doubt about it. But how could he get off the train without being noticed?
Quistis watched Squall's movements, knowing he was nervous. Of course he was, and so was she. Garden would no doubt punish she and Zell for helping. They'd be lucky if they weren't killed.
"How are we gonna pull this off?" Zell whispered, breaking the tense silence.
All eyes were on Squall for a plan.
Why me? Why do I have to know? What am I supposed to say? I have no idea what to do!
Squall shook his head, "I don't know."
Quistis' eyes widened a bit. Never was there a time that Squall couldn't think of something. "What? You have to know!"
"Keep it down." Squall snarled, "You'll get us all caught if you blow our cover."
Quistis took a deep breath, then spoke again. "Squall, you've always been the leader, the one with a plan. Think. You can think of something."
"No, I can't. Listen, Quistis, I'm not a superhero, okay? I can't just magically pull the answer out of my ass whenever we need it."
Silence fell once again, and the four teenagers faced the realization of what was going to happen.
"We're going to die." Rinoa whispered.
Squall grumbled in frustration, "No, we're not. There has to be another way off this train!"
"Like where?" Zell asked, "They'll be surrounding us on all sides, Squall. We can't just run."
A small smile crossed Squall's face, "I think I have a plan now."
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"Where is the boy?!" Nekura yelled.
The man before him put his hands forward, urging him to calm down. "We'll have him soon. They said he's on a train to Balamb and that he'll be captured momentarily. Cid is a good puppet for us. He'll get Squall."
Nekura smiled, "Good. I need him for my work to be a success. Make sure to keep the spell strong on Cid, until we get Squall."
"What then, sir?"
"Don't worry. The Uruk-Hai are already on their way over. They'll kill the lot of them, and leave the boy and the sorceress with me."
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It was a bumpy ride off the train, but at least they weren't visible to the eyes of the SeeD soldiers that had swarmed onto the train platform. They checked every passenger coming off the train, and kept a full watch all around.
Squall watched through a crack in the crate. When the train was unloaded, the SeeD soldiers moved in, tearing it apart to try and find him.
"He's not in there? He has to be! Look again! Look until you find all of them! They're on that train." An angry commander shouted at his troops.
Squall almost cracked a grin. His plan was working well so far. It wasn't likely that they'd think of checking the cargo crates coming off the train. Balamb Garden soldiers might be good, but most weren't very smart.
Nearby, Zell and Quistis shared a crate as well. Rinoa was in his. He'd figured it would be better to pair up so that they could keep one another silent. If even a cough was heard, it was all over.
He had to get to the agency. The Elves needed to know about this Galbadian psycho. They could defeat him.
The soldiers looked and looked, but still couldn't find Squall. Just as they were about to give up looking, Squall heard a small sneeze nearby. Though it was quiet, it caught the attention of one of the squad leaders, who motioned for the others to come near.
"The cargo crates. They're in them." He whispered.
But even with the men talking quietly, Squall's exceptional hearing picked it all up. He turned white.
They had been found. There was no where to go.
He looked at Rinoa, who was huddled up next to him, terrified. She looked up into his eyes, hoping he would tell her it was okay.
But he simply shook his head. She knew what he meant. It was over for them all.
The troops quickly moved to the crates, breaking the lids off to check the contents thoroughly. It was only a matter of time now until they reached their crate. He squeezed Rinoa's hand gently and kissed her softly on the cheek. He knew they may very well never see one another again after this. Even if they fought, there was no way they could escape. At least, not with this many soldiers.
And finally, after a few tense moments, Squall heard Zell and Quistis cry out as the soldiers threw them out of the crate and tied them up.
Just as it happened, the top of their crate burst open. The soldiers reached in roughly and grabbed them both by the chest, throwing them on the ground.
Squall felt the weight of many soldiers piling on top of him, pinning him down. Of course, it didn't matter anyway. He had no intention of fighting back now.
He could see as the solders tied Rinoa up as well.
After his ankles and wrists were bound, a group of three soldiers lifted him up, carrying him to a Garden vehicle. They threw him roughly inside, slamming his head against the metal paneling of the walls inside. Still, he showed no reaction.
To his surprise, Rinoa was also thrown into his vehicle. A few armed guards followed, keeping them both at gunpoint.
In the front seat, Squall could hear one of the soldiers talking through the radio to Cid.
"We have him, sir. We also have the sorceress, instructor, and martial artist."
"All alive?"
"Yes sir."
A pause, then Cid's voice came back strong, "Take the elf and sorceress over to Nekura, bring the instructor and martial artist to Garden."
"Sir, why do you want to give him to Nekura?!"
"That's an order!" Cid screamed back.
Rinoa looked at Squall, eyes wide. He looked back at her. "It isn't Cid, it can't be."
A soldier slammed him in the stomach with the front of his gun. "Shut up."
Squall growled in anger, but didn't move. He looked up at the three armed men in the vehicle.
"You know, you don't need to point those things at us. It's pretty obvious that we aren't fighting back, don't you think?" Squall said.
"I said shut up!" yelled the soldier who'd hit him.
Suddenly, the vehicle came to a stop, and a soldier opened up the back doors. He handed the men two vials, and two syringes. "Use this on them. They'll be asleep the whole way."
They struggled, but couldn't escape the needles. Squall looked at Rinoa and mouthed, "I love you."
She smiled weakly, but both were quickly overcome by the medicine, which sent them into a dark, dreamless slumber.