~*~ When Did This Happen? ~*~
:: Seiftis. Squffie hints. (Quistis x Seifer, Squall x Selphie) ::
Chapter Twelve: Impatience is a Virtue.
~Silverium~
Disclaimer: Squaresoft. Not Silver.
Squall had never run so fast in his life. He knew Selphie wasn't in trouble but she had to be getting scared by now. Dashing down the empty streets of the near-ghost town he spent half an hour searching for the hidden general store.
"I need rope!" Squall burst out as he exploded inside the place,
"Well…what kind a rope?" The grizzled man peered at Squall,
"Thin!"
"Corded?"
"Doesn't matter!"
"25 ft?"
"Sure!"
"Maybe jes' a ten footer…"
"All right!"
"Oh, wait, I think we ran out a tens…"
"Then the 25!" Squall stared at the man in exasperation,
"I'll see if we have a five footer…"
"JUST GIVE ME A ROPE!" Squall shouted at the top of his lungs, his fingers curling around his gunblade and the fire in his eyes burning to an inferno.
The man hit the back wall quickly in shock and Squall slumped over the counter, "My friend is trapped, I just need a rope…"
"Well no need to shout…I have one somewhere…"
By the time Squall, lividly, walked back up the staircase it had been a full hour and a half. He dropped wearily to his knees at the side of the hole and frowned. Selphie was crying, and Zell was no where to be found.
"Selphie?" Squall leaned over, peering uncertainly down into the black depth,
"Squall! Squall! They took Zell away!"
Squall heard Selphie leap to her feet and beat against one of the shelves. Her voice cracked and another sob tore from her throat. The sound of her in such fear and pain made Squall dizzy,
"Who took Zell?" He asked calmly,
"I d-don't know! They said he was tres…trespassin' and they took him away and he c-called my name but I couldn't answer because I was so scared!" Selphie fell to her knees, shaking, "I'm sorry Squall, I hate being in the dark, I hate it so much. I tried tossing my flashlight up to Zell, so he could remove the blockage but he couldn't catch it, it smashed against a vent and it's so black in here I don't know what to do!"
"Hey! Who's there?" A voice shouted, footsteps pounding up the stairs,
Squall hissed and looked around for a place to hide. There was no avoiding it, he had to jump down to where Selphie was and hope they would be able to make it out. Inching over the ledge he wedged his body between a broken pipe and the smashed vent. Pain seared his ribs as the metal tore across his abdomen and then he slipped down into the storage room, right beside a curled up Selphie who shrieked in surprise. Clamping his hand over her mouth and bringing her against his chest, Squall winced in pain but managed not to make a sound.
"I guess it was just something falling, maybe the wind whistling through the pipes. Sure did sound like voices though. All right, let's get that kid to the security building."
"Sure thing."
Squall let his hand drop away and he looked around in the darkness. Selphie was still trembling at his side, curled up in his lap, her face buried in his shoulder. Keeping an arm around her Squall fished out the rope and looked up to the tiny space he had crammed his body through. His side hurt just looking at it.
"Selphie, it's all right,"
"I was so scared you weren't going to come," She whispered, a little hiccup dotting her words,
"I wouldn't leave you in the dark," Squall soothed.
It felt awkward, saying this to her. Holding her like this. The only person he had spared any affection to was Rinoa. And that hadn't worked out well at all. Squall only knew that the bubbly girl was now terrified, and he had to calm her down, otherwise they'd never get out.
"Selphie, is there a lock on our side?"
"No." Selphie replied softly,
"All right. Do you think there might be a grate on the floor somewhere, for a vent to open up to?" Squall asked evenly, wishing they had some source of light,
"There…there could be." Selphie managed, then Squall could actually feel her brighten, "If we found a grate we could find some vents and I could use my multi-tool to open them up! We could drop down to the floor below us!"
She sighed in relief, her tiny body falling against Squall's, "Why didn't I think of that?"
"You were worried, that's all," Squall assured her.
They began to feel over the floor, it was a small storage room but they wanted to make sure they hit every corner. It was near the back that Selphie let out an ear-piercing shriek of victory.
"BOOYAKA!"
