Chapter Seventeen
Darkness everywhere. He tried moving a little further. There was something under his feet, yet he couldn't see anything. Just that taunting thick black around him. He searched all around. Nothing. There was nowhere he could run to, he had to keep walking forwards. Maybe if he walked a little further, he would be out of here.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been walking for, it seemed an eternity to him. A pointless eternity, where he wasn't actually going to get anywhere. His pace quickened into a run as he saw a small dot of light in front of him. Maybe if he kept walking that little bit further, he would get out of the darkness. Away from all of this. He just had to try.
The sound of his footsteps and quick breaths was the only sense that seemed to be working properly at that moment in time. Just a little further. The small dot of light was still ahead of him; he tried to quicken his pace again, this time sprinting as fast as his legs could take him. His heart was thumping deafeningly in his ears, while he felt the blood pulsate around his veins as he forced himself forwards. He could see something ahead of him now. What was that? He wasn't sure, as it was too far away.
He slowed down slightly as the object on the floor became more visible. There was someone there. A girl? He took a few more steps forward to take a closer look, and then he suddenly wished he hadn't. Her body was lying limply on the ground, as the blood flowed out of the corpse. He looked on, feeling bile rise to his throat as he saw the scene unfold before him.
The darkness seemed to thin slightly as he saw a door appear ahead of him. He was stood in a familiar hallway, watching down on her lifeless body. The once white nightgown was now soaked with the thick crimson, which was spilling out onto the floor. Her hair dripped into the liquid as it ran out in streams towards his bare feet. Everything looked familiar now.
It was warm. He looked down to his soaked feet, feeling the blood surround him, just like it did to her. He closed his eyes, unable to witness the scene in front of him. For the first time, he cursed himself for wanting to get out of the darkness. At least in the dark he couldn't see what was around him. Slowly he dared himself to open his eyes again; her body still lay where it had been before. He was only glad he didn't have to see her motionless face.
He stood silent for a moment, unsure of what to do. A part of him wanted to stay with his sister, be with her body, even if she wasn't alive. He still missed her deeply, but another part of him didn't want to stay in this crimson house any longer. He wanted to scream and run away. He couldn't take any of this for much longer.
Slowly he turned his head away from the girl, until eventually his back was facing her. With his eyes fixed on the floor, he stepped away from her body in a slow walk. His feet left crimson footprints on the wooden floor as he made his way back in the direction he came from, until he bumped into something. He saw darkness as his eyes trailed up, and eventually he caught glance of a black-cloaked figure looking down on him. Ifrit...
With haste he turned on his heels, in an attempt to run away from Ifrit but instead felt his body being pulled back and slammed against a wall. Squall looked up at Ifrit as he saw him take out a short sword, already smeared in blood. A small symbol was engraved inside the blade. A mourning eye was the last thing he registered seeing, until he felt the blade slice down his forehead, letting the blood fall from his wound and covering his face. He looked up to see a dark shadow disappear. Now he was alone again with her.
Silently he made his way towards what used to be his room, and closed the door behind him as if it was some sort of safety. Leaning against the door he let out a sigh of relief, then a panic suddenly thrust through him as he studied his surroundings. He was back in the hallway. How was that possible? He should be inside his room.
A sudden noise startled him out of his confusion. He looked forward to where Ellone lay. Her body was still in the same position, yet her head had turned to the other side. Her emotionless face was now turned to him. Her eyes seemed to be fixed upon him, as if some sort of trance. He knew however, that she was in no trance. He noticed her face was a pale colour and her lips were a light shade of blue. And it pained him to see his sister like this. It had been so much easier to think of her as some nameless body when he couldn't see her face. But now he recognised her features clearly.
He looked down at her in bewilderment; positive he just saw her move slightly. Taking a step closer, he heard a shallow breath escape past her lips. She blinked, and then a low tone escaped past her lips so unfamiliar to what he could remember her sounding like.
"Go."
Squall's eyes opened suddenly, and he gasped for air as he awoke from his dream. He sat upright in bed to collect his thoughts. She had been there in his dreams again, unfolding the past once more in his mind. He turned his head back to the direction of a young woman sleeping peacefully. But this time she had spoken. Stepping out of his bed he slowly walked in the direction of his bathroom.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Squall let out a long sigh. Usually his dreams weren't so torturous for his mind, but seeing her face. It still haunted his mind, sending shivers down his spine. Her blue lips imprinted in his mind. There was something more, Ifrit had appeared before him. He had never come face to face with any of the followers before. Squall thought back for a moment. Or had he? Turning his gaze back to his reflection, he studied his scar for a second. What if that was what had happened? He couldn't remember how he got the scar, only that the injury had occurred on the night his sister had died. After seeing her body, he seemed to have forgotten what had happened. His dreams were always changing slightly, but he never once had dreamed much further than after he'd seen her body. Something always seemed to happen, but it always faded away as if he couldn't remember.
He traced a finger down the scar on his face. Ifrit. Suddenly everything made sense now. He had killed Ellone, but he was still there when Squall came. He had attacked him, and then left. Why hadn't he remembered this before?
Squall turned around suddenly as he heard footsteps from outside the bathroom. Walking out the bathroom he looked around for Rinoa, but he couldn't see her anywhere. He waited in silence for a moment, but after hearing nothing he supposed his mind was playing tricks on him. Entering back inside the bathroom he let out a yawn. He really hadn't slept much these past few nights; he had been too worried about Rinoa to sleep. He realised that she couldn't sleep alone anymore, she was always too afraid by the time nightfall came. He always saw that look of fear in her eyes as the sun was setting in the sky showing it would soon be dark. So he did the only thing he could do. He always stayed with her until she fell asleep, just to give her at least a little bit of comfort knowing she wasn't alone. Then he always felt the need to be there when she had her dreams. He wished he could be there to stop them, but he knew he couldn't, so instead he watched over her as she dreamt. Trying to calm her when she cried out in fear. It was all he had left to do.
"You should go back now..."
Again the footsteps proceeded, this time he caught a glimpse of the dark haired woman as she walked past the doorway. In confusion he walked back out of the bathroom and looked out again. "Rinoa?" he spoke. Turning off the light he closed the bathroom door behind him, trying to find where Rinoa went. He was sure that she was asleep when he left her. Maybe he had awoken her.
"Don't speak."
Squall turned to the direction of the voice. It seemed to come from his room. He looked towards the room in confusion, he had thought he heard Rinoa, but thinking back now, the voice seemed different. It wasn't Rinoa's voice, yet it seemed so very familiar. Through the dullness of his apartment, he watched as a young woman walked into the bedroom. This time he was sure it was Rinoa, yet another part of him was thinking otherwise. How could it not be Rinoa? There was no one else inside his apartment.
Quietly he made his way back towards his room, a strange feeling engulfing his body. If it wasn't Rinoa, then who was she? Looking into the doorway, he couldn't see inside his room at all. He was sure he was being paranoid, but the whole room was pitch black. It seemed so much darker. Stepping closer, he leaned against the doorway for a moment as an attempt to try and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. For a moment he couldn't see anything, then he saw something move slowly. His eyes fixed on two darker shadows. Stood over what he thought to be the bed.
At first he simply passed off the scene as paranoia again, but still he stayed quiet. Just in case. He heard two voices, their low inhuman like voices. He could just make out one to be male, and the other female. Squall stayed in wait as he watched intently on the two unwelcome figures in his room. His eyes adjusting to the light more, he saw as the pair was stood watching over Rinoa. He guessed that she was still in her peaceful sleep, unaware of all that was happening, by the sound of her slow rhythmic breathing. The thought sent shivers down his spine. Why were they here now?
The taller figured reached down as if to collect something. He couldn't figure out what the man held in his hand at first. Then he saw that little bit of light in the room reflect off the metal. The sword. Squall felt as if his heart had just been thrust up towards his throat as he tried to stay quiet. Ifrit was here. He only guessed that the female voice he heard was from Shiva. He stayed in wait for a little longer, until he saw Ifrit slowly raise the sword.
Squall stepped forward into the dark room, his feet moving silently as he moved closer to the cloaked figures. Ifrit had now raised the blade above his head, the sword pointing downwards towards the ground. Slowly the man began to make his advance towards the bed. Squall realised what was soon to be done.
Quickly he ran towards Ifrit, his body moving swiftly among the shadows. Before Ifrit had time to react to this intruder Squall leapt towards him, his arms trying to pull the blade away from Rinoa's direction. As Squall's hands grabbed Ifrit's wrists he landed on Ifrit's back. The cloaked figure quickly turned, trying to shake this man from his back. Squall attempted to hold on but soon found his grip failing him as he slipped to the floor, landing against the wall to the right of the bed.
Ifrit turned to face his attacker; his veiled eyes stared down at him. His stare focused on one feature. That scar. He thought back to an earlier killing. There had been a boy he had attacked where he had caused a similar wound. He threw the thoughts from his mind, as he spun the blade around in his hand. His footsteps crept closer to the fallen man, his eyes looking up in anger as he waited.
He raised the blade quickly, his arm stretching over his shoulder. It froze for a moment before it began its descent. The blade cut swiftly through the air, accelerating towards its victim. Squall watched the attack and stumbled out of the way of the weapons path. The blade struck the floor hard and Squall took the time to reach a kneeling position. Ifrit didn't waste time in his attacks and had already pulled the blade back. He swung the blade horizontally, close to Squall's head. Squall ducked backwards close to the bed. He now stood between Ifrit and Rinoa.
The shadowed figure stood up straight; his height was much greater than that of Squall. The hood looked down upon Squall, as if examining his opponent. Squall took the time to regain his composure; breathing hard he waited for the next attack to come. No one had ever stopped them but he had to try. That is what he had promised and he would do whatever he could to prevent another death.
Ifrit pulled the blade back to a high position once again preparing for a downward strike. He quickly stepped forward; closing the gap towards Squall, then brought the blade down towards his chest. Squall ducked under the oncoming sword and grabbed at Ifrit's wrists, trying to remove the blade from his possession. He pushed Ifrit's arms sideways and worked on loosening his hands from the sword. Taking advantage of a close by wall, he smashed Ifrit's hands against it. His grip loosened slightly so Squall repeated the action again, and again, until the blade finally fell from his grasp.
He heard the metal fall from Ifrit's grasp and land on the floor. Squall made sure that he was stood in front of the sword as he saw Ifrit stop in his tracks, as if shocked by the loss of his weapon. He averted his eyes towards where Shiva was stood; she was still in the same position she had been since he first caught sight of her. Stood over Rinoa's sleeping form, unfazed, almost as if nothing was happening between Ifrit and himself.
Glancing back Squall saw Ifrit look over his shoulder quickly, then moments later three other figures seemed to emerge from the darkness at the far end of his room. The three cloaked men stood around Squall, trapping him in his place. Squall took a quick glimpse behind him briefly to be faced with the wall, and the sword behind his feet. Watching the four intently as they slowly closed in on him. If I die, they'll kill Rinoa.
Taking his chances, he quickly ducked down to grab Ifrit's sword. As far as he could see, none of the other figures had a weapon at hand. He wrapped his hands tightly around the blade. Then he screamed in pain. Squall released his hands from the metal and looked in bewilderment as he held his burnt hands close to him. How can that be...? The sword had felt as if it were on fire in his hands. He wondered how even Ifrit could even hold such a thing?
Squall looked up helplessly as the four figures stepped even closer to him. They seemed to be taking their time, as if enjoying his moment of desperation to do anything. Like they knew that he would attempt to grab the sword, and then let go in weakness. He gritted his teeth. He hated these five followers so much. They took his sister away from him, and now they were coming for Rinoa. Everything all seemed too slow. As if taunting him. I hate you.
Once again Squall ducked down grabbing the short sword in his hands. The sword that had cut through his sister's chest, causing her to bleed to death. He could feel the blade scold his skin, yet at this very moment in time, he didn't care. Don't take Rinoa away from me. He looked around at the four figures, now feeling like he was taunting them. He wasn't going to let them win. Not this time.
His breaths became deeper as he held the blistering sword in his hands. The room seemed to be getting lighter. So light that he couldn't see anything anymore. Everything went white. For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. He looked all around him, but there was nothing. Then the white surrounding him seemed to fade slightly. The first thing he saw was a blue sky. It felt warm as the sun beamed down on a field. Squall studied his surroundings. There was a field burning. Within the fire was a small village. Screams could be heard from inside the thick black smoke rising into the sky. He saw a young boy huddled on the ground. A taller man stood over him.
Everything happened so fast. It was as if a wave of fire has washed over the young boy. His panicked form ran through the fields as his skin set alight. He screamed and cried in agony, while the man stood watching him with an emotionless face. It seemed like a small eternity, but eventually the boy's cries died down, and his body lay still in the field. It was then that the man walked away. As if nothing had happened.
Squall felt sickened at the sight. He turned his head away, not wanting to witness anymore of the scene set before him. Once his back was faced to the boy, he could no longer see a field. The scenery had changed. As if he were somewhere else. It was a lot cooler and dark. He saw a blonde man being stabbed to death. The scene changed once again and he saw a young woman being stabbed by the same sword. Even more deaths flashed before his eyes, all from the same sword. Squall felt a pain emerge within him as Ellone's death was flashed before his eyes. The last death was of a man he recognised, although he wasn't sure how. He suddenly realised who it was, as he caught sight of a sleeping woman beside the terrified man. It was Selphie's husband. Finally, everything went dark again and he was back in his room.
The four followers were still stood around him, as they had been before. Only this time, he felt ready to attack them after witnessing everyone they had brutally murdered. Narrowing his eyes, he saw Ifrit take a few steps forward until he was almost directly in front of him. The other three soon followed suit.
Squall braced the sword in his hands, the metal still burning into his flesh. His eyes switched quickly between the four shadows, attempting to keep track of each opponent. A figure on his left stepped forward, his arm reaching close towards him. He quickly spun the blade in a horizontal arc forcing the man to step backwards as the blade cut through empty air. With his attention turned to the left, the two shadows on the right made advances towards him. Squall twisted the blade backwards, sending the blade in the opposite direction to which it had just come. The first shadow ducked backwards avoiding the sharp metal. The sword continued to travel towards the second but just as the blade should have struck, the figure dissolved into the shadows. A few seconds later, he reappeared on the opposite side of Squall.
Seeing that the other three followers were not as close, Squall locked his eyes on to Ifrit. Stepping forwards, he thrust the blade towards Ifrit's stomach. Ifrit dodged back just in time, taking a few steps backwards to examine Squall, who was adjusting his stance to attack again. Thrusting his sword towards Ifrit's direction again, once more his attack missed his adversary.
"Careful Ifrit," a voice called.
Momentarily Squall looked over to see Shiva walking away from Rinoa. He quickly turned back to Ifrit, glancing around at the other shadows every so often just to make sure he wasn't going to get attacked.
"He's just prolonging his death," boomed a male voice, coming from Ifrit's direction.
A small sound of someone breathing caught Squall's attention, and he looked over to see Rinoa starting to stir in the bed. He only hoped that she wouldn't awake. He just wanted this over with, so she would only have to live with seeing the followers in her dreams, instead of seeing them all stood over her like this.
His fears came true as he heard a scream escape past her lips. The sound of her fearful scream made him even angrier that they should come for her. Taking the opportunity at seeing the other followers look towards the direction of the shriek, Squall lunged forward with the sword.
The next few moments happened so fast, and then time seemed to stop. He felt his sword plunge into something, looking up he saw the blade stuck inside a cloaked figure. But it wasn't who he expected it to be. Stood in front of Ifrit was Shiva, her form now looking frail from the injury. The last few moments replayed in Squall's mind again, and he suddenly realised what Rinoa had said was right. Shiva had thrown herself in front of his sword to save Ifrit. Maybe she was in love with Ifrit.
Pulling the sword from within Shiva, Squall stepped back in shock and watched the scene unfold as she fell to the ground. Ifrit, like a human being ran to her side. The thought dawned on Squall, that what he had been fighting against all his life still had feelings like everyone else. He didn't know why, but the thought surprised him.
"Shiva..." the cloaked figured said, crouching down at Shiva's side.
The woman raised a hand to Ifrit's cloaked form. "I can see it," she said weakly, "I can see an end to all of this. The death we have searched for so long... is finally coming."
For a long time, the room was quiet, until Shiva became eternally still as her arm limply fell from Ifrit. Squall watched in awe as he saw her body slowly fade away back into the shadows. It was then Ifrit stood once more, taking a look at Squall for a brief moment before walking away into the shadows. The other three soon followed after him.
Squall stood in disbelief, looking at the empty shadows for a moment, before turning back over to Rinoa. She was sat upright in bed, also in a state of shock. "Did we win?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"I... I don't know," Squall stated. He looked down at the sword in his hands, and finally let the weapon drop to the floor. He briefly recalled Rinoa walking past him to turn on a light, before seeing the blistered burns in his hands from wielding the sword. It was then that the rest of the pain set in as he tried to move his reddened hands. Looking back up towards Rinoa, his head began to feel dizzy. The last thing he saw was the floor closing in on him, and the world going black.
Authors note: At the beginning of this chapter I think I'd been playing too much Project Zero 2, and it was really hard to write then because I was disturbed by the ending of that game. I hope my feeling of being disturbed has been shown through my writing at the beginning of this chapter, because I wanted this to be emotive as well as having a lot of action involved. Last chapter will be updated soon! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed since the beginning of this story. MyNameIsMoe644, Dark Angels, Ysuran, lady-rinoa, c-kai, Glycerin, Karaoke Risa, Keiry, The Welsh Dragon, lendmemoni, angelofthelions, Renegade Seraph, phrozen-heart, Phoenix Blade and finally zantesuken09. That's everyone since chapter 1! Thank you!