As I re-passed Bill's shop, a strange man ran into me. He looked very nervous, he had one arm behind his brown jacket and the other dangled by his side. He looked up at me, his face was covered in sweat and his pupils were so small I could barely see them. Then rushed past as if nothing had happened. I turned around just to see him retreat into the shadows. But something felt odd, I looked down at my shirt and noticed a blood stain where he had hit me. Things were starting to get very strange, as if something was going on in Midgar that nobody told me about. While I had my attention to the stranger another hand landed on my shoulder, I spun around and punched the intruder without even thinking. They fell to the ground holding their hand to their now bleeding nose. It was Biggs.
"Shit! Biggs! Don't sneak up on me!"
"What was that for?" he said pulling himself up. He had been holding a box of supplies, but they lye spread out on the ground.
"…sorry…I've just…had a weird day." I said helping him gather his things.
"…you're never this jumpy…are you ok?" he asked picking up a wrench. I was about to answer when a low growl came from my stomach. I remembered then, that I had actually not eaten since two hours before my shower the other night. "Getting hungry?" he smirked grabbing the last piece of metal and shoving it in the box.
"…I guess…know any good places?"
"…yeah. Let's head over there for a bite. My treat." He pointed to a nearby restaurant. It would be the last meal I would have, I could feel it. We both stepped inside and had a seat next to each other.
"Here's today's menu." said the man behind the counter handing each of us a little list of food.
Biggs hardly glanced at it before saying, "Today's special." He always ordered that.
I soon followed his lead, "I'll have the same." I said handing the list back. Biggs looked at me smiling, but I could see straight through him. On the inside, I could tell he was upset, I was too, but I needed to get rid of the materia or shinra would come after them. But I pretended not to notice. I turned to the materia in my pocket and pulled it out, but not enough for Biggs to see. Quickly I slid it into the box with my new coat, and place it next to the spot where my plate would soon be. Yet he had notice something.
"What was that?" he asked eyeing the box.
I had to think of something fast, but something else hit me…literally! I felt a sharp pain in my back, and the next thing I knew I was face down on the floor. Whatever it was, it hit me hard, I struggled not to pass out, but things got too blurry and then…everything was dark.
I squinted my eyes through the darkness when I had awoken…but barely. I was still stiff, I couldn't move. Everything was still blurry, but in the midst of my confusion, I managed to hear a voice, it was frantic, it came towards me and jabbed something into my arm. I had only managed to notice the persons slick, black hair before passing out again.
The next time I had awoken, I was in a cylinder cage. It was a hell of a lot different than what my cell was. Instead of cement walls and a tiny window engraved into a cement door, and a dusty bed with a rusted toilet…there was noting. The walls were nothing but mirror all around me. It was driving me insane, yet I had taken a guess that maybe it was one of them two-way mirrors, and that someone was watching me. That thought creeped me out even more, because if someone was watching me, it had to have been shinra. I sat in the middle hugging my legs and rested my chin onto my knees and stared blankly at the mirror side ahead of me. Although I didn't admit it at the time, I was scared. I wanted to hold someone, I was alone. I missed my small home in Costa Del Sol, or my childhood in Wutai. But now…those were nothing but memories. Memories that I had to bury down and keep down in order to stop myself from going insane.
I froze, I actually didn't even feel my head jolt up, "what if they have the materia!!??" I frantically looked around, but it was still nothing but mirror. It was like being in a fun house, but I wasn't having any fun. All I wanted to do was scream, but my lungs just wouldn't let me. It was if I was muted here. After calming myself down, I sat down again, and scratched my middle finger which had begun to itch. In fact, it really itched. Actually…it wouldn't stop. If I dug any harder my finger would start to bleed. So I stopped, and tried to ignore it. But that's when I saw it. A horrific site right in my own flesh of my finger.
There was something living under my skin!!! I reached into all of my pockets, digging for my small knife with my opposite hand, but they were all empty. Just as I had thought, I was stripped of all accessories. So instead, I did what any person in a mirror chamber and a thing in their finger would do, I began to slam my hand into the wall several times, using my body as pressure. But the mirror didn't crack, and all that I had gotten was a sharp pain in my side. I didn't react. I stared back at my hand then dropped it to my side and stared into the mirror. "I bet they're getting a kick out of this." I figured.
I didn't want to please whoever was on the other side, so I moved back to my sitting position in the middle. I felt like killing myself. All I could do was dwell in my past or feel the small thing squirm around in my finger. Until something unusual happened. I stared at my hand as whatever it was…began to emerged It was wrapping itself around my finger, then around my hand. I tried to shake it off, but it was attached to me, and wouldn't budge. It was like a very strange dark glove, making its way up my arm and to my shoulder. Then my hand began to…change! It was reshaping into a…claw! With my mind focused on what was happening to me, I didn't notice the sound of a speaker come on until an eerie voice followed it.
"perfect." the voice hissed, "the janova cells are working!" I wanted to scream out to whoever it was, but I just couldn't. I was…scared. I had no idea what was happening to me. The thing made its way around my chest and slowly down my legs and up my neck. Pretty soon, my whole body was covered aside my face…for the moment. It was cold, and slimy. My body soon became numb, and I fell. I tried to wiggle my way through, fighting the numbness, but nothing worked, and soon, the thing had covered my face, and all was dark again.
