Hunted By The Shadows
Chapter Fourteen
In one moment, it changed everything. Before he was alone, fighting his inner demons along with the mysterious shadows that seemed to have been cast over his life ever since he was a child. It took one glance at a sketch for him to get this far, and he never truly thought he would. He supposed he would fall in the end; they would come for him eventually. The thought that if he died trying had always eased his mind, at least a little bit. A simple sketch had been the catalyst of the thoughts, which allowed him to confront Rinoa. Let her be a part of this. A fragment of him still questioned whether is was the right thing to do. Maybe if he had left her in the dark, ignored his thoughts to begin with. Never even went to the ball. How different would things be now?
The moment he saw her stood in his doorway he knew what it was about. Deep down, he knew that Rinoa would eventually push aside the dangers involved in this... hypnosis, or whatever it was. She was willing to take risks, even if it meant revealing what had been happening to her. What she dreams about. Squall sighed as he heard the words leave her lips. Not this time, he wouldn't let her do it to herself.
"I've been thinking about what Quistis said the other day," she said looking up at Squall with pleading eyes, hoping he'll understand. "If I don't do it, then we're not going to know anymore are we?"
"Not at the moment, no" Squall replied "but I'll find a way."
She had hardly been able to concentrate on anything recently, her mind had always been wondering back to the conversations with Quistis. What if she did the hypnotherapy? Maybe she could get answers and stop what was happening to them both. What if she didn't do it? She'd be left searching in the dark. How was one supposed to find answers to a situation such as this?
"Even if you do find a way, how long will it take?" she could see that look in his face, he knew where this was leading. "I don't really like this anymore than you do, but we might not have enough time before it happens to us."
Squall knew that, and as much as he told himself otherwise, he really didn't want it to come down to that. He didn't want to risk Rinoa's life, yet he didn't want to put it in danger either. The current subject was starting to irritate him; he wasn't going to do this. "What makes you think that this will help? She's just doing it to get a good story and a pay rise, she doesn't care about you or anyone else."
Hearing Squall's harsh voice was like stabbing knives into her. She tried to ignore the anger that was rising in them both. It's the right thing to do, she told herself. "I'm sorry Squall but I'm going to do this."
"No Rinoa," his voice was rising by every word. "I'm not going to let you do this."
"You really don't understand do you?" she spat back "I don't care what kind of grudge you have against journalists or what you don't want me to do, but can't you see I'm desperate here? I can't keep continuing with my life as if nothing is happening while waiting for some... whatever they are, to come kill me!"
He stood silently watching her, a little surprised by her sudden outburst. He was hurting her again; he could see it in her moist eyes.
"I'm tired Squall. I can't remember the last time I slept properly, and I'm scared" she said quietly, looking away from him "I know you don't want me to go, and I may not even be thinking straight at the moment, but I do want to go."
"I just don't want you to get hurt," Squall muttered under his breath taking a step away from her. "Have you got in touch with Quistis?"
Rinoa shook her head, "I was thinking," she started "maybe she'd be desperate enough to do the hypnosis my way."
Squall looked at Rinoa confused, so she decided it was best to continue, no matter how stupid she sounded. "I know a psychiatrist, called Alison Beck. She's working with my father and me at the moment, trying to sort out our relationship problems, but I spoke to her the other day, just out of interest and she said she is qualified to do hypnotherapy. I don't like the idea of strangers hacking into my mind either, so I thought that maybe Alison could do it for me."
"She's agreed to do it?" he asked, realising that Rinoa had obviously considered this a lot more than he first thought.
"I haven't asked her yet, and doubt she would if I asked her, but maybe she would consider if Quistis spoke to her." Rinoa smiled slightly, "Now do I have permission from Master Leonhart?"
Ignoring her playful tone he thought for a moment, "If you really trust that she'll take charge of the hypnotherapy and not Quistis... then I suppose."
Smiling at her victory she looked at Squall, "Thank you... for just being there," she said turning her attention to her feet, "I'd like you to be there as well, I know I'll feel safer with you there, making sure nothing goes wrong. Promise me you'll be there, even if you don't like it."
Nodding his head slightly, Squall watched Rinoa attentively. She looked so vulnerable, yet he knew that she knew exactly what she was doing. "I'll be there."
"It's just around this corner," Rinoa said leading Squall in the direction of her psychiatrist's office. Quistis had seemed quite happy to do the hypnosis with Alison; she had even said that she would explain everything to Alison before hand. They had arranged to do it the following evening, as it would be quieter around Alison's office. Rinoa had understood that Quistis had to pay Alison to do this, as it was an off record appointment, she just hoped that it wouldn't change her judgement as to how long she would be subdued to live her dreams, by her own choice this time.
Knocking on the wooden oak door, the middle-aged woman studied the two stood outside her small office before letting them in. "Quistis is just setting up some equipment, which will be attached to you to monitor your heart and brain waves during this process."
Rinoa looked around the room feeling a little anxious, but felt slightly comforted being with a doctor she trusted as she gave her a comforting smile. Alison seemed a little nervous herself, glancing over at Quistis every so often. "There's no good evidence that what you're saying is true," she said to Quistis.
"That's what we're here to prove, Dr Beck," Quistis responded before turning to Rinoa. "Would you like to sit down here, and we'll get this over and done with."
Turning around to face Squall briefly she walked towards Quistis and sat on the black leather sofa. Taking in a deep breath she allowed Quistis to attach the several circular pads to her head and at the top of her chest.
"Are you sure this is what you want Rinoa?" Alison asked compassionately.
"I'm sure she's had enough time to think about this, we better not drag this out any longer than necessary," Quistis interrupted before Rinoa could speak.
"Well Rinoa's my patient, so it's my duty to make sure she's comfortable with everything that's happening," turning her head towards Rinoa, she saw the young woman respond with a nod, signalling that everything was alright.
"You can wait outside if you want, Squall" Quistis stated studying the quiet man stood by the doorway, "It may be a little boring."
"I'm staying," he said simply, turning his gaze to Rinoa. He made her a promise to stay by her side even if he didn't like what was going on, and he was going to stick to that promise. Squall couldn't help noticing the tension between Alison and Quistis; he really hoped that this wouldn't lead to putting Rinoa in danger.
Taking his place leaned against a wall, he watched as Alison let Rinoa lie on the sofa and began the hypnosis process, although he wasn't really listening to what was being said. He was taken aback by the amount of equipment Quistis had brought along. A pin vibrated against a white sheet making blue marks as it travelled; in the far corner there was a screen monitoring her heart.
"Okay Rinoa, now close your eyes for me and picture a place where you feel safe. I want you to imagine that you're standing in this safe place..."
Alison was sat next to the sofa, which Rinoa lay on, a video camera focussed on her head. Recording the whole process. Squall glanced around the room with a bad feeling building in the bottom of his stomach; she was being treated like some sort of lab rat. Quistis didn't care about Rinoa, she just wanted a result, he observed as she sat quietly deep in concentration, while watching what was happening. It made him feel sick.
"Now imagine a doorway in your safe place, behind the doorway leads you to your dreams. I want you to walk towards the door and grab the handle to that door. Have you grabbed it? ...Good... now take a deep breath and when I say, you'll open the doorway that will lead you into these dreams. Okay... open the door and take a step inside... take another step closer until you are at the beginning of your dream."
A cool wind blew past her face, leaving a slight chill running along Rinoa's body, as she stood surrounded by green. In front of her stood a gravestone. Julia Heartilly was engraved in the stone. She watched as she saw a crowd of people stood looking down on the grave, a coffin, beautifully decorated with flowers was being lowered into the ground.
"What can you see Rinoa?"
She heard a few whimpers from the people surrounding the grave, obviously missing this woman, who they were paying their respects to as much as herself. Her mother. She stood frozen watching the scene unfold before her eyes. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, it was like a never-ending torture she was forced to watch.
"My mothers funeral... there are people crying..."
It wasn't until the coffin was lowered out of sight, that she was able to finally take her eyes away from the hole in the ground. She sensed someone beside her.
"Is there anything else you can see?"
The woman had a black cloak draped over her body, only revealing her eyes. Those cold, pale blue eyes. There was something different about her... something she hadn't seen before. A crystal liquid was visible on her only showing flesh.
"She's crying..."
Her unearthly eyes looked up at Rinoa remorsefully, before turning her gaze up to the skies. Where there was once a funeral, had now seemed to have just disappeared, leaving only the green grass being tormented and pushed by the wind.
"Who is?"
"... I don't know her name..."
"You've seen her before though?"
Rinoa watched as the icy woman continued to stare at the beautiful blue sky. How ironic that such a place was her nightmare. She felt cold; the hairs on the back of her neck were starting to stand on end as she helplessly watched this strange woman.
"My dear Ifrit, sacrifice this soul for our eternal peace."
Bewildered, Rinoa did the only thing she could do. Wait in silence, like always. However, she had never heard them speak in her dreams. Everything was silent, until now.
"She spoke..."
"What did she say?"
"I think... she's waiting for someone..."
Another loan cloaked figure entered into the scene. She couldn't see any of his features, yet she knew who it was, and what was soon to come. The woman turned to see the figure as he stood beside her and placed a hand tenderly on her face. For a moment, everything was tranquil. Her dreams seemed to be changing again; he stood with the woman for a moment, before the dreaded scene happened. She pointed at Rinoa.
"It's the only way, Ifrit."
"There's a man with her now... and she's pointing at me..."
"Do you know who this man is, or is he another visitor in your dreams?"
"I think she said his name was... Ifrit."
Turning away from the woman, he looked over his shoulder in the direction of Rinoa. A cool chill ran down her spine, and this time it wasn't from the cold. Holding out one arm, a fireball emerged from his hand, forming into the shape of the sword. She saw the sun glistening off the metal, enhancing the symbol carved in it.
"What are they doing?"
"He's got his sword out... it's what he stabs me with..."
Taking a step closer to her, he gripped the blade tightly with both hands. Rinoa's breath suddenly quickened as the fear took over, it happened to her so often, but it never made it any easier to go through this scene. It was the most terrifying thing she had to live through each night.
The world around him seemed to disappear, and he watched on in sorrow, hearing the words escape past her lips. She looked as though she was sleeping; yet her state of mind was obviously still awake. He never realised what she went through. Squall looked on feeling helpless as he heard her breaths quickening, her head jolted from side to side vigorously in an attempt to break free from the person who was after her. Ifrit... he was one of the five followers. Squall's mind seemed to be jumping from his thoughts to reality as he heard the rhythmic beeping sound of the heart monitor quickening. She was scared.
"What's happening, Rinoa?"
She was sure she was seeing things at first, none of this had happened before. More cloaked figures stood behind the man she realised was called Ifrit. All seemed to be following behind him attentively.
"There are three more of them..."
"Three more of these people?"
"...Yes..."
"What are they all doing?"
She ran. It was something that she had never had the privilege to do before, but here she was now. Running away, not even sure where she could go. As soon as her legs began to flee, she felt that she couldn't stop. Behind her she could hear their heavy footsteps, closing in on her. She could do this. She could run away, maybe they would let her go.
"Rinoa... what's happening?"
The green grass she was stood in seemed endless. Scanning her horizons quickly, she realised that there was nowhere she could run to. No help around, just the figures chasing her. Hunting her. Slowing down her fast pace, she realised that there was nothing she could do. Yet, she still needed to try. The air around her suddenly turned freezing, stinging her and numbing her body. A strong-gloved hand grabbed her and pulled her to the ground. She landed hard on the ground, her back aching in pain from the fall.
"Rinoa... listen to my voice. Tell me what's happening"
Struggling with all her might to get back up on her feet, both hands were grabbed by the figure, while her kicking legs were pinned down by the two other strange beings. A shadow was cast from above her, she looked up to see the forth figure with the sword held in hand. This was Ifrit, and he was going to kill her. Rinoa watched as he held the sword high above his head, everything was like slow motion again, or he was just testing her. Taking his time to see how much she could take before she broke.
"Squall..."
The words were like a trigger. Watching her helpless form was bad enough, but to hear her call out his name. Squall approached Alison, who was still trying to get Rinoa to speak. Whether it was a promise or not, he didn't want Rinoa to go through this. Not after hearing the desperate tone in her voice.
"Stop it," he said calmly. Alison turned to him with a look of understanding in her face, yet something seemed wrong.
"She needs to respond to me, I can't get her out. She needs to do that herself."
It was too much. He couldn't take it anymore. "Just get her out of there now," he said as he heard another muffled shriek escape past her lips.
"No"
The voice was stern. Squall turned around to face Quistis. "She's not staying in there any longer."
"She's got this far, she may as well wait until the end of the dream. I'm not having my chances ruined," she saw the anger rising in his eyes as she spoke the words. Yet she knew what she was doing was right, for research purposes. "Just a little longer, then you can take her out. There's no danger anyway, she's just responding to her dream."
"I don't care if it's dangerous or not, I want her out of there," Squall yelled.
"Can both of you be quiet?" Alison spoke up, "I need her to speak to me in order to do anything, so if you can't be quiet can you both please wait outside?"
Just like young children, the two stood in silence. Realising that neither of them was going to leave, Alison placed a hand on Rinoa's clammy forehead. "Rinoa, listen to my voice. Tell me what's happening."
The blue sky beyond them disappeared as she closed her eyes tightly. It was almost the end of the dream, she told herself. Just hold on a little longer, and then she would be okay. The swoop of the sword aiming towards her chest was heard cutting through the air. Just a little longer, she'll wake up soon. A sharp pain ran through her body, and her eyes shot open.
All three beings in the office stood silently in horror as they saw the young woman jolt up suddenly, a streak of blood trickling from her mouth and she collapsed back down on the sofa. Rinoa's slow and heavy breathing echoed around the room. For a moment, it was as if time had stopped, only Rinoa seemed to be moving. Then reality set in.
"Get her out now"
Alison was still frozen in shock when she heard Squall speak. How could this have happened? Behind her once again, she heard the pleas from Quistis, demanding her to continue. Then there was Squall's harsh tone arguing back. Bring a shaking hand to touch Rinoa, she turned and looked at her arguing companions. "Stop it, both of you. Just get out and I'll sort this out myself."
He could see it in Quistis' face as soon as Alison had demanded that they leave. She was going to refuse. Quickly grabbing the camera that had been recording the whole process, her threw it against the wall in anger. Satisfied, when her eyes turned to pure shock as she looked down at the broken pieces, he grabbed her and pushed her out of the room. As much as he wanted to stay, he wanted to make sure Quistis was as far away from Rinoa as possible, even if it meant going with her. Squall slammed the door closed behind him, while trying to calm down the cursing Quistis. He hoped everything would be all right.
She lay there in dismay, as she saw the sword struck through her chest. Her warm blood pouring out and staining the grass, which she lay in. Above her she saw all four figures stop still in front of her, turning to look at each other. There was something about the way they were acting. It was almost as if... this wasn't supposed to happen.
"Rinoa... please talk to me"
"...I don't want to stay here anymore..."
"I understand... The door that you went through to get into here, imagine it's there in your mind. You're going to step through that door and back into your safe place. Can you reach the door?"
"...Yes..."
"Take a deep breath and open the door. You can see into your safe place, now I want you to step inside your safe place and close that door behind you."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Quistis screamed pulling herself out of his grip.
"I could ask you the same question," he responded. "You lied, and put Rinoa's life in danger. How the fuck can you ask me that?"
Leaning against a wall to catch her breath, Quistis looked back at Squall. "Rinoa and me agreed that I'd let her know everything, and she would help me as well. I'm trying to help her out here."
"We don't need your help," Squall spoke, eyeing Quistis "I never wanted her to come to you in the first place. You're a journalist, you say you'll let her know everything, but you haven't told her anything, apart from what a damn symbol means that isn't even the same as she's seeing."
The blonde woman was silent for a moment, before responding, "You broke my camera, I could have used that as evidence. Then I would have let you know more."
"Whatever," he said quietly. "I think it would be best if you leave. I already said before, we don't need you."
Quistis studied Squall, a small smile on her face "If you care about this girl as much as you've shown me tonight, then you'll need my help if you want her to live. If you love her, you need me with you."
Love? He stopped in his thoughts for a moment. If he loves her? The thought had never even entered his mind. His was helping her to survive, but love? Dismissing the thoughts he remained silent, hoping that Quistis would leave Rinoa and himself alone from now on. "Please leave."
"You have my number if you need me," she said with a smile "Just remember what I said."
He watched as she turned on her heels and made her way out of the building. Once she was out of sight, he let out a sigh and leaned is head against the maroon coloured wall. A small click of a door was heard before it opened, he turned his head to see a tired looking Alison. "She's calling for you," she said softly.
Walking back inside the room, Squall saw a fragile looking Rinoa sat on the sofa. She looked up to him for a moment, before the sound of her weeping filled the room, as the tears broke free. Squall sat next to her and pulled her close, realising that he was giving in to his temptations. He stroked her hair tenderly in an attempt to make everything all right, yet he knew it never would.Authors note: Yeah, we're back! I hope that chapter was all right... and made sense. If you want, ignore the 'hypnosis speech' thing; I made it up as I'm not sure how it would be said. Well... yeah, this is the longest chapter I have ever written in my two years of being an author here. Yay! Thank you for reading!