Chapter II
The ghost on the second floor
Tifa sped up as the orphanage came into her view. She desperately hoped that the children were alright. They had to be; she could never forgive herself otherwise. She had left them with Elmyra just to get a few items this morning, and felt horrible for leaving them. To her great relief, the orphanage and the bar stood unharmed. It was a two story house; the bottom for the bar while the top worked as a home for her and the kids. It was darkened but still intact.
Above the sign of 7th Heaven were the three windows of the three bedrooms. The martial artist glanced up and saw them also pitch-black. The fear rose in her and she nearly broke the door when she dashed inside.
"Elmyra!"
Tifa panted, partly by lack of oxygen but mostly by terror. Books, cutlery, plants and almost everything else were knocked to the floor. Her heart pulsed madly in her chest as her ears were strained for any reply or sound. She held her breath as no answer came but exhaled in relief when the older woman yelled from the kitchen.
"Tifa, we're in here!"
The bar hostess strode to the kitchen and hugged her friend; they were safe. She looked at her and the children, scanning for any injuries.
"They're alright, Tifa." Elmyra spoke calmly, displaying a tender smile and Tifa smiled back. Elmyra looked a little shaken but otherwise was fine. The children chatted as usual and helped Elmyra with cleaning up the things that lay in a mess on the kitchen floor, acting rather excited through the shocking episode.
Johan.
Nicholas.
Emily.
Teddy.
Freddy…
Tifa's smile faded. Only six…!
She turned to Elmyra. "Where's Elle?"
The other woman pointed to the living room. "It's alright Tifa, she's upstairs."
With a nod, Tifa left for the seventh child. Once she began to climb the stairs, she raised her voice.
"Elle?"
No reply.
People…cry when they are sad…
Though Elmyra told her that the girl was fine, Tifa still felt fear rise in her chest. Elle was special to say the least; you never knew when she was okay or upset. The girl never spoke to anyone else besides Tifa and Elmyra. Ever since Elle had arrived, Tifa found that understandable. Many children of different ages act in their own way to heal from the condition they were unfortunately given. But as time passed, the child's wounds would heal to an amount and light shined through the dark.
However, Elle had not changed and that worried the fighter.
People…kiss when they love…
She tried again. "Elle!"
People………kill… when they are mad…
Tifa reached her destination and knocked, calling out her name again. When no reply came, she opened the door. Burgundy eyes scanned the dark room and soon fell on the figure by the window, holding a small black book.
…still.
"…they keep on living."
Tifa frowned at the girl and silently walked towards her. "Who keeps on living, Elle?"
The girl called Elle stayed silent for a long time, and Tifa waited patiently. She never pressed Elle, the 14 year old girl spoke when she wanted to, no more or less. She had been living here for three months with them, and all Tifa knew was how she mentally worked. No background, no family…no close friends. The older woman could still remember that day when Elle first arrived at the orphanage.
A young boy with fiery orange hair and green eyes smiled mischievously as he ran through the living room to the kitchen, his once white shirt smeared with colorful dots. A woman in her early twenties looked up from her book and caught the sight of the boy's hair before he disappeared. Not long after, she saw a smaller girl with dark blond hair and baby blue eyes, wearing a green jumpsuit dashing after him.
"Give it back Caleb!"
"Nah ah!"
"Caleb, you big meanie. GIVE-IT-BACK!"
They continued screaming at each other until the kitchen door stifled the yells with an unceremonious slam. Tifa Lockheart sighed and massaged her temples. Those two were always picking on each other. She glanced around the living room, surveying the other children with a careful eye. Johan and Nicholas sat by the bookshelf, silently working on their homework they had just received. The six year old girl, Emily, sat by the coffee table, drawing colorful pictures of flowers. On the couch next to the armchair Tifa settled in, sat a girl with similar appearance as the angry girl in the kitchen. Freddy; Teddy's twin sister. Both girls had blond hair, blue eyes and green jumpsuits but their personalities were totally opposite. Freddy was the calm one while Teddy was the energetic; they were rather distinct.
Freddy had been reading the same book, for over three hours in a row now.
Tifa smiled and went back to her own book, ignoring the odd noises that came from the kitchen. She would take care of those two later.
Only one minute after, there was a knock on the door. The woman sighed and answered it. Her expression turned to surprise when she found her old friend standing in the horrible rain.
"Bill?"
The old man lifted his hat and nodded. "Good evening Miss. Lockheart. I assume you had a great day, no?"
Tifa smiled warmly. "Indeed I did, Bill. What's brought you here?"
Bill smiled, but not as happy as usual; this time it held a hint of sadness. He turned and motioned to a figure behind him. Tifa's eyes landed on the dark figure as it moved towards them. Once the figure touched the light, a young girl was revealed.
The dark skinned man turned back to Tifa with the girl standing beside him. "I know that you already have a hard time Miss. Lockheart but I don't know anyone else I should turn to."
Tifa stared at the girl and took in her appearance while the old man spoke. The girl looked to be in her early teens, very slim and pale. Hair divided in very long dreadlocks of different tones of black, blue and purple, most of it tied up in some kind of a ponytail. The face was ghostlike pale and smooth while her lips were colored black. However, Tifa found the color of her eyes more shocking than anything else in her appearance.
Blood red.
She could not help it, but images of a certain comrade flashed in her mind.
"Tifa, I would like you to meet Elle."
-
His still looked around in disbelief at what he saw. Papers, books and other obstacles laid scatter all over the place. An oak desk was knocked over along with its continents and items. A bottle of ink lay in pieces while the black fluid stained the crystal-like glass and floor. Cloud walked around the apartment, cautiously avoiding the objects while searching for any possible clues.
Reeve was gone and his room showed signs of struggle. Probably kidnapping but it frightened him to know that it could most likely grow into something more severe than just abducting. Cloud was still glad when he had received the distress call from him. Once he heard his friend's voice and the rustling noises in the background, he knew that something had happened.
A crushing sound of wood brought his mind back to reality and his blue gaze downwards.
On the floor, by the desk, lay the half destroyed box of the toy. Cloud recognized the plaything from his own childhood. The jester, the colors, the box; it all was fitting the description of his memory.
Jack-in-the-box.
The Ex-SOLDIER grimaced at the sight of it. One glance at this clown and children would have cried themselves into sleep. He lifted the toy to inspect it. Why would Reeve have such a toy like this? He knew that Reeve loved children and had a heart for toys and other playable things, but why this…insane thing?
Mako blue eyes scanned the box, silently trying to avoid the penetrating gaze of the plastic eyes, when he found a crumpled piece of paper stuck to the doll. Gloved hands took it and golden brows furrowed when he found it stained with something in the tone of brown.
Blood.
Cloud feared the worst. Next thing he knew, he would find a corpse in the closet. He unfolded the paper and read its message.
If you think the world is safe, that you won the war
Then I tell thee, how wrong you are
A war is never won, I'm afraid
For in the future, blood will stain the blade
Blue eyes narrowed. Someone had contacted him, someone who knew all of them. An assassin perhaps. His eyes tore away from the note and landed on something else. Tucked in a small gap of the box was another crumpled piece of paper. Though when Cloud read this one, his mind went blank with confusion which quickly disappeared when he understood what it meant. He knew that he did not have much time and strode forcefully out from the wrecked room, dialing Tifa on the way.
Reeve's clock was ticking.
Unbeknownst to him, another clock's countdown had already begun.
-
Alta nox erat; sedebam tædio fessus gravi,
Nescio quid exoletæ perlegens scientiæ,
Cum velut pulsantis ortus est sonus meas fores -
Languido pulsantis ictu cubiculi clausas fores:
"En, amicus visitum me serius, "dixi, "venit -
Inde fit sonus- quid amplius?"
Tifa snapped awake from her thoughts and stared at her. "Hm?"
The girl closed the book with a snap, the sound bouncing between the walls of the dark room. Tifa inwardly shivered. Elle regularly sat in her room, reading or staring out through the window; all alone. She never played with the others, never even paying attention to them. It was like she was in her own world. Still, Elle had a heart for poetry. Tifa could tell since all the books of poems frequently vanished from the shelves. That seemed like the only thing that made her a member of reality.
Tifa recognized the part of the poem she had been reading aloud; it was one of her mother's own collection.
The Raven.
"Elle?"
"…it was Caleb." Low and cold; straight to a new subject.
"What?"
Elle did the slightest move to her right, speaking with a clear voice. "Caleb broke the vase, not the tremor."
'How do you know that?' would have been her regular question to ask, but thought better of it. Elle was different from the others. Whenever things occurred in a place when Elle wasn't present, the girl talked like she had. Thoughts, poems, dreams…nightmares, those were things she often talked about. Once Tifa was alone with Elle, she could find herself in the middle of a conversation based on simply nothing.
"Are you alright?" Tifa asked tenderly.
"…who is he?"
She frowned. "He?"
"The one who was kidnapped."
Again, Tifa's mind was filled by the prior question, but since it was Elle, there was no surprise.
"A friend, who helped us." Her voice echoed, low and quite painful. Reeve was a dear friend who helped them on their quest, despite the spying act. She remembered the days when Reeve would pay a visit, playing with the children, making them laugh. In her point of view, the man looked years younger when he smiled or laughed.
Tifa blinked back from her thoughts when Elle's voice again broke the silence.
"…is Cloud still there?"
It took a moment until the older woman understood. She was a fast learner and had an easy way getting back on track, but the teen made it difficult. "At the apartment, yes. Maybe he could find some clues of why Reeve was kidnapped."
For some reason, Elle's head twitched in her dark silhouette. "…you don't know?"
Tifa ignored the ringing sound downstairs and focused her attention at the slim girl. "What…?"
"You don't know the reason why Mr. Reeve was kidnapped?"
Tifa frowned at her voice. For once, she seemed worried.
"No, we don't know."
Elle stayed silent.
The martial artist felt the urge to ease the sudden silence. Her mind drifted of, replaying the words the girl had spoken. Just as Tifa was about to reply or to start another conversation, Elmyra's voice rang down stairs.
"Tifa, Cloud is on the phone!"
"Coming!"
With one last glance at Elle, Tifa reluctantly left.
The door closed and a black book fell to the floor.
"…Lily."
-
"You found anything?"
"As a matter of fact, yes I have, but I think I might need some help. Do you still keep contact with Red XIII?"
"Yeah."
"Call Red XIII, I think his knowledge about the Ancients may come in handy."
Tifa's brow furrowed in confusion. "What's the Ancients' story in this?"
"I found notes and other facts about them in Reeve's apartment. Whatever happened; it all happened suddenly, and everything was left in chaos not entirely from the earthquake." Cloud paused, biting his lip before continuing. "I found bloodstains on the floor."
Like being drained of energy, the woman took deep breaths and slumped against the wall, totally aware of several pairs of worried eyes watching her. "Alright Cloud, be careful, we don't know what we are up against."
Though Tifa could not see or know, Cloud nodded.
"Thanks Tifa, I'll call you later."
He hung up.
Tifa sunk to her knees, with the phone dead in her hand.
-
A small breeze entered the darkened room, as white curtains started swaying. The moon shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the shadows that covered the city's forgotten alleys. Neon lights glowed in all kinds of color, either moving or staying still. A large sign of a glowing rose flamed with intensity, casting a red hue in hopes of luring costumers like flies to the nightly café. The equally red eyes cast their own hue on the girl's white face, while she stared into the dark abyss.
Even though she was only clothed in a thin white shirt and the black slacks, Elle was not bothered by the cold. She welcomed the cool air in the midnight sky. But tonight was not a relaxing night with a full moon.
Never again…mark my word.
Elle glanced towards the ocean to the north. She could not see it but knew what lay beyond the watery depths.
"Tick…tock…"
To be continued
Thanks for all the encouraging reviews
And I'm sorry for my small mistakes
As well as I have nothing but a silly excuse
This is just a small piece of the cakes
With help and inspiration
It could have been taken by the armadillo
So now with thanks and appreciation
A small gift for the charming Cendrillo…
I got potential, now that's a scary thought
People say that I 'm much of a darter
And to think of the reactions that I caught
You are one of a kind dear C. R. Carter…
I'm really confused, where is this potential you speak of?
As far as I can see, there's not much to tell thereof
What can I say but thank you?
Until then, miss Ann2…
Quick and short, straight to the point
I must correct the small mistakes
With one last gesture of no disappoint
Hope you like it, Crystal Snowflakes…