Chapter 4

[Part 13]

"How you holding up?"

"What? Oh, yea, I'm fine," Selphie shakily answered. The night rolled in with a frost as she hugged her jacket tightly around her slender figure. Her breath fogged the air before her as she walked softly through the quiet night. The sidewalk was somewhat smooth unlike the bumpy pathways she was used to walking on at home. She looked behind her to see an empty road lacking of dangers nearby, yet she felt troubled.

The pair had just returned from Doctor Kadoka, a poor family doctor exiled into Trion from the corruption of ravenous vultures seeking out the reality behind their avaricious reverie. Vincent had carried the cashier over the shoulder down three blocks until they finally reached Doctor Kadoka's office, which was a building located in the safest part of the perilous city scuffed with ferocious dogs. Families all around created a funding with whatever money they were able to provide for him. After venomous sicknesses began to worsen in Trion, Doctor Kadoka was summoned from the depths of a dark alley along with his deprived family to create Trion's health clinic.

In their haste, they were only able to give the struggling body to a few nurses that worked in the health clinic. Walking into the building, they were drawn to the sight of the bleeding body and carried him away. Doctor and Mrs. Kadoka were both operating on a gun wound of one of the most recent victims of the Red Wolves and couldn't attend the two visitors as they idly worked hours away into the night to revive the patient. Vincent and Selphie rushed out through the crowding lines that awaited treatment outside the clinics corridors.

The night air seemed to grow foggy with a crisp scent that hung on to each wisp of coolness stinging the delicate skin of her face numbing the tip of her already red nose. Her eyes watered with the unstoppable dryness and her ears oblivious to any sounds except for her sniffles and short breathing. The air before her mouth was even smokier than before, a non-gravitated spiral of a blank whiteness to graze her cheeks.

"Are you cold?" Vincent began to take off his jacket when he realized he wasn't wearing one. Patting his blood-stained clothes, he said, "Oh shoot, I left my jacket in the garage."

"Oh, it's all right, I got my own," she replied. She held her hands together blowing on them for warmth. Her nose and ears were numb with coldness. She kept walking until she heard his footsteps cease to a stop.

"It's not just that," he told her. "My keys are in it too."

"Oh..." she whispered thoughtfully. "Well let's go back then. I'm sure the others...um, the Red Wolves, I mean, cleaned the place out by now."

"No, you stay here."

"Why can't I go?" she complained.

"What if they're not gone yet?" he asked her. "And what if they come after you? It'll only take a couple minutes, I'll be back in no time."

"Hello? What about me? What should I do if something happened to you?" she said defensively. "I wouldn't know till they find me standing around here waiting for you to just show up!"

With a sigh, he put his hands on his waist. Oh hell. "Fine, but stay close to me. If one of them spots us, run and don't worry about me, ok?" She was about to argue but he stopped her. "Either you say you'll run or you don't come at all."

"Fine," she shrugged.

"Fine," he nodded.

He went back the way they came with his hands dug deep into his pockets. It was freezing, especially since it's winter. He was glad it wasn't windy. The last time he was out on an extremely windy night, he was drunk and nearly fallen off Faro's Crossing, one of Trion's main bridges.

They continued walking until they reached the intersection between Carbora Boulevard and Tapioca Avenue. The night was dark and lonely, but interrupted as soon as they heard a large uproar around the corner.

"Jeez! The station!" Vincent ran towards the intersection as he froze in his tracks raking his hands through his long dark hair. Selphie was in the same state of shock as she saw what the Red Wolves had done to the gas station's diner.

There were pieces of glass lying scattered about the gas pumps from the smashed windows. Soda machines laid cracked on the ground while the diner's contents spill around the diner's curb. The undisturbed night had been broken with fierce flames barking at the crystal gems flickering in the black velvet sky. A blast from the diner caused a balloon of fire to expand from the gas station's base towards the foggy clouds of black smoke. Breaking glass rang in her ears as she covered them with her shaking hands. She shook her head side to side wondering how she could ever let this happen.

"Oh...my... God," Selphie sobbed sorrowfully. "Vincent, I'm...God, this is my fault, I'm so sorry! This wouldn't have happened if...if it weren't for... I'm so sorry!"

"Selphie!" Vincent put his hand on her shoulders. They jumped from her hiccups as she watched guiltily at the flames that engulfed the station. "Selphie!" he yelled out again. The fire was sparking and snapping loudly like broken twigs crushed under one's foot with an angered cry of devastation. He shook the fragile girl with force until she came out of her trance and looked him in the eye. "Listen to me, this," he pointed to the flickering flames, "isn't your fault. All right? Look at me, no," he had to grab her cheeks in his hands to pull her gaze away from the light. "Look at me! This isn't your fault. The Reds did it; you're not with them. You got nothing to do with what happened here."

"But I," she began. "This...? The fire...again?" she was a lost soul gone in her eyes as Vincent paused.

"Again? What do you mean—?

A deafening blow from the gas station's diner interrupted him as the flames grew wildly waving its harsh flames teasingly at its victim. It came into contact with the oil-stained concrete that led to the garage door.

"Oh hell no!" Vincent's grasp let loose as he rushed forward into the street. "Ah! Damn it!" He screamed as a car sprung on him and nearly collided into his knees as he toppled forward onto the car's hood.

"Vincent!" Selphie cried in horror but breathed at ease as the car squeaked to a stop. He ignored the driver's comments as he regained balance pushing his palms off of the hood of the vehicle and jogged to the sidewalk. "What are you doing? Vincent!" she called out to him and stepped off the curb to follow him.

"No Selphie!" he told her. "You stay there!"

"This is a gas station Vince!" she cupped her hands over her mouth as she shouted. "You're fucked if you go in there! Forget the keys, we can just break into your house!" The fire exploded again making them both jump. Cars began lining up in the close distance. They stood behind their opened doors watching in wonder.

"I'll just be a minute!" he made his way towards the garage. It's not just my keys I'm worried about... Vincent thought.

"It better be a minute," the girl mumbled with a sigh. She watched his sneakers pump against the pavement as he sprinted towards the front door. It was blocked with flames as he searched for any object he could break glass with. He found large pieces of rock set on the grass near the sidewalk. Running to them, he took two heavy chunks of stone and thrashed them through the garage's cracked glass. He jumped in rolling on the floor.

"Ah!" he let out as his hand was slit with a sharp blade. "Son of a..." he paused as he saw it. The box. It sat above the shelves over the cluttered counter almost hidden behind dancing ribbons of bright orange and yellow light. Cringing, he took the nearest piece of cloth he could find and slammed it onto the fire. It was covered in oil, a fact he did not notice until it caught on fire and stung his fingers. He searched through the thick smoke of blackness as he spotted a red canister. "Fire extinguisher..." he said to himself as he blew the smoke away from the label with the wave of his hand. "Yes!" He pulled it off the wall nearly falling backwards from the force.

He ran quickly jumping onto his main working table kicking aside the numerous binders filled with valuable paperwork. He put his hand over the handle that was almost too hot to hold as a foamy liquid sprayed. from the black tube out onto the fire. Some of the fire was put out just enough to give him time to run towards the counter. He climbed above the clutter using the wooden shelves attached to the walls as a balance as he grabbed a large metal box locked tightly with a combination. He held it preciously when an explosion made him fly off onto the tile floors. Picking up the box, he ran towards his desk where his jacket hung on the back of a chair and in it his house keys. He ran towards the window but a large ball of flame once again expanded like ripples in the sea. He coughed heavily covering his eyes with his arm. He squinted through the combination of bright light and a thick layer of smoke cloaking his vision of an exit. He clutched onto the box tightly backing away from the threatening arms blazing to capture his existence and burn him at stake.

[Part 14]

A young woman stood by a light post in the corner of Carbora Boulevard leaning against it as support. She was hyperventilating like she always does when she's in panic, however, this time she could hardly breathe. Vincent had been gone much longer than a minute. She knew for she had counted every second that's passed since he left her sight. It' been nearly five minutes, and although it was just a short amount of time, waiting there to see the figure of a man walk out safely from the fire nearly killed her with suspense.

"Vince...?" she cried softly. She couldn't take her racing heart much longer. "Vincent!" She screamed at the top of her lungs through her red swollen eyes. The people of Trion waited in their cars to see what would happen next. So many people, yet not one came forward to offer a hand.

A man nearly went to get a hose to water down some of the fire for Vincent at least, but was stopped with fear by the flames that were far to intimidating to be close to. After he stepped away, no one offered assistance. Even Selphie knew there wasn't enough hope to stop the fire. It was large enough to be seen from miles away, but the garage hadn't been fully taken over yet. It gave the young woman a light of hope that maybe he is in one piece.

"Ah!" her shriek panicked the drivers as she felt a hand grab her shoulders. She shook it off and turned around half expecting to see an angry Irvine ready to shoot a bullet through her brain. "You...it's you!"

[Part 15]

"Somebody!" The ceiling was falling in clusters breaking off onto the floor. Beats of sweat strayed down his face as he backed into a corner. There were no emergency exits in the garage, only the front door that was blocked fully by the fire and the windows that were too far for him to get to unharmed. "Somebody! Help me! Please!" he sobbed gulping the large knot tied in his throat.

So this is it...he thought. I'm a goner, there's no way I'm getting outta here alive. Just no way... He looked down at the box. He cast his eyes towards any escape, but eventually gave up with regret. He threw his body onto the walls in the far corner of the garage as he shrunk down onto the floor scuffing the tiled floor with black marks while the box lay peacefully against his lap. He ran his fingers on the carving, a picture of a dove. He smiled sadly as he awaited death.

"First my parents...and Zidane...then you?" Vincent's eyes swelled with tears threatening to spill down his blackened cheeks. "I'm just the luckiest guy ever, aren't I?" he laughed sarcastically as the tears poured. "You didn't deserve it... I'm sorry I have to break our promise, but hey, we'll finally be together again, right? Just you and me, like old times."

The flames seemed drawn to his despair as it inched forward. "I'm going to die Dove..." he coughed painfully through his dry throat. He needed water desperately. What for? He realized watching the keeper of death creep towards him. "I miss you so much, you know that Dove? But we're going to see each other real soon, ok?" He put the box down in front of his crossed legs.

He twisted the combination until the lock clicked softly unlocking the metal box to unleash the secrets stored within. His hands shook with uncertainty as he placed his hands on the top and opened it. He blinked and swallowed unable to get rid of the knot that choked him even more as the flames came closer. He wiped away his tears clearing his vision to see a smiling face glaring at him with mischievous eyes.

His mouth hung loose as his heart skipped a beat. His sobs became gasps; his lips quivered with a mixture of emotions; his eyes clogged with pain. He slammed the lid shut as he let out a weak cry of agony. His insides hurt badly from an internal explosion of anguish held in for far too long.

"Dove! I don't wanna die! I want us to be together, but how? How!" He screamed at the top of his lungs choking from effort. He cried in misery suffering from a darkness begging to walk the runway to freedom. A brisk wave of cool air whirled around his face when the presence of sweet harmony calmed his torn soul.

"A heart of despair is a heart of stone."

"Huh?" Vincent looked up with confusion. His blurred eyes saw a smeared figure standing before him. He squeezed them shut rubbing them dry. He looked to his amazement to see the figure of a young woman. She stood tall between him and the fire as she looked at him with a face fixed with serenity.

"Without hope, the heart would drown in sorrow." She was a beauty. Although she was barefooted, she was tall and had a slender figure with a hint of grace in each limb. She wore a unique garment that fluttered over her smooth ivory skin. Her shiny almond colored hair hung loosely in relaxed curls that flowed tamely down to her waist that rounded around her exotic face. Her features were delicate yet confident. She had lips as red as a rose and bright emerald eyes that were calm and loving. She really was a beauty.

"Are...are you an angel?" he asked.

She simply smiled. The fire seemed to have gone at ease around her as she peered into his soul. "Vincent, you are a magnificent being. Your heart is full of love and life. Although faced many hardships in the past, you are able to shine with the joyous person that you are."

"Joy...?" he asked. "You call this joy? How many people have to die until I find peace? Tell me, how many?"

Taken back with his angered sorrow, she leaned down and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. Her hand felt oddly cool that had a fall of tranquility pour fluently through her soft fingers. Vincent was spellbound as he gazed into her crystalline green eyes. There was something so mysterious and captivating about them. "You cannot dwell in the past Vincent. That you must learn. Once it has taken its course, it will forever be gone. You must not look back on life, but forward. That is where your answers are stored, that is where you must take hold. It is your future, yours and only yours. You are the key to your destiny, and you must keep hope in your heart that your faith will unlock it. Without it, sorrow will prevail over your soul."

With that, she got up to leave. "Wait! You're telling me about hope and all this crap about my future, but look around! I don't exactly have much of a future to look forward to!" She smiled once more. "Vincent, I cannot help you. I am merely a dream."
"Oh God, I'm going mad," he said straightforwardly. "No, you are not. I am real, if that is what you ask of me," she explained to the young man. "However, I am only with you in spirit. To live, you must rely on your hope. Only then can He save you."

"He?" Vincent asked. "He who?"

"You needn't concern yourself of such matters," she replied. "He cannot save you if you do not have the will to live."

"I... I'm not ready to die," he told her sadly. He looked back down onto his box with the dove carving on top. "But... I'm not really into the living part."

"To tear the wings of a broken angel...it is callous, is it not?" she eyed the picture on the box as she asked. His stunned reaction caused her to continue. "She pleaded that I void you from losing hope. I am here because of her, Vincent. If you depart this life tonight, she will be far more wounded than the affliction that has scorched your heart all these years."

"Dove..." he whispered.

"I must take leave. He arrives," she turned to depart as Vincent shouted out.

"If you talk to Dove, please tell her I love her..." the girl spun around as he whispered softly, "And that I won't give up."

With another smile, she replied, "I will see to it that she pay a visit to you. I sense a great bond between you and she, even in death."

"Yeah," he whispered. "She's my girl."