Hey, again! I know, this is a completely crazy idea, but nevertheless, I will continue to write. Well, here we go…

Between Heaven and Hell

Chapter 2: The Hopeless

"It's just you?" Rinoa said with a hint of disappointment.

"Hehehe." I heard the voice of another woman when I finally came to a stop.

- - - - - - - - v- v- - - - - - - -

The woman looks at us sitting, gasping for air, thinking that some sort of fiend was chasing us. I had my arms folded, just staring away at the ground. I don't want to look at any of them after that run.

Just a I had suspected earlier, the man with the silvery armband had partnered up with this woman because she too was wearing the armband and a dark blue shirt, which she without a doubt had turned into a vest. She smirks at Rinoa and turned to Seifer with the same grin, "You should've seen the looks on your faces."

"That isn't funny, Fujin!" Rinoa said as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead.

"I know. I guess I'm starting to realize just why the T-Rexuars have so much fun when they're hunting us down. But then again, I wouldn't want to eat anything that looks as hideous as you guys." She had laughed and covered her mouth.

"That's enough. So, what took you so long?" Seifer tried to change the subject.

"…I'm really sorry I scared you, okay? Anyway, I was preoccupied with the new arrivals." She said while motioning her hand behind herself. We all looked behind her, and didn't see anyone. I scratched the back of my head and turned to Rinoa, who had shrugged her shoulders while staring back at me.

"Hey, you're new!" Fujin said while pointing at me.

"Um…yeah." Yes, I'm one of the newest to arrive, but it's nothing to be excited about.

"Fujin, who exactly have you brought here with you?" Seifer said, obviously he was tired of waiting for the stragglers to arrive. For this one occasion, I agree with him.

"Fuj! Who's that you're talking to?" I heard the sound of that familiar deep voice from before.

"Yo, Raijin wait up!" And following behind the deep voice was that of Zell's, if I remember his name correctly.

"People! Just what took you guys so long?" Fujin said while turning around to face them.

Seifer groaned, "Seriously."

"We couldn't see the light from your shiny hair anymore and we lost you, ya know." Raijin, I'm guessing, said with a smile as he approached us.

"Well if you weren't babysitting, maybe you could keep up with me without having to look at my hair." Now that he mentioned it, her hair does look pretty shiny, it's almost a very light colored blonde, almost as bright as the sun. I feel my mouth forming a smile, and when I looked at Rinoa, she was smiling at probably the same thing.

"Fujin, is this the partner you've been rambling on about?" Seifer asked while flaunting his muscles again. Raijin is obviously bigger in build than Seifer, perhaps Seifer's intimidated?

"Yes, he is. Meet Raijin, my closest ally." She said while placing her hand on his shoulder.Raijin put his hands on his hips and smiled friendly at Seifer, who sneered in return. I quickly turned away, as the two were secretly competing with one another.

"What about you?" Rinoa asked the short, nervous blonde trembling beside Raijin.

"M-me? I'm Zell." He said nervously. Just how in the world is this guy still alive? "If you don't mind, could we get moving?" He spoke quickly and quietly as if a T-Rexuar were spying on us at the moment.

"Just a second Zell." Fujin said to him and walked away from Raijin. She stood between Rinoa and Seifer and smirked, "These cowards are Seifer and Rinoa, and the guy over there…whose name I don't know yet, you two may have already met."

"…Squall." I muttered.

Raijin had begun laughing and pointing at us, and I saw Seifer angrily hold up his fist. He was about ready to smite Raijin square across his cheek when Fujin pulled Rinoa to the side and the two began talking, both men stopped and watched the females walk away.

"Okay. Over the past few days, I walked as far as I could over that way." She pointed back to the direction she and the others and ran in from. "Now, I'm not too sure exactly which way that way is but, I do know that there's no where else beyond that point. So far it looks as though we're surrounded by mountains, except for…"

"Except for the shorelines we arrived on?

"Right. Now just how many shorelines are on this continent, I have no clue, but that was the most I was able to get from my little journey."

"Well, that's good. Thank you for taking a look for me."

"It was no problem. I happen to like that side a little better than I do these central parts. At least…this place feels like we're center everything." Fujin scratched the side of her face and sighed, "One thing though, the closer I get to those mountains, the more T-Rexuars start appearing. Its dangerous over yonder, so I advise you not to go wandering that place alone."

"…Thanks for the warning." Rinoa said while turning around from Fujin. I'm not too sure, but I think Rinoa may have a plan of her own.

"Rinoa, just what are you trying to do anyway? Don't you know it's pointless to tease yourself into thinking there's hope?" Fujin spat, but Rinoa only shrugged her shoulders. Fujin chuckled and shook her head, "Seriously, it's impossible. Do you remember that crew I came here with?"

"I only knew them for two seconds." Rinoa replied while folding her arms.

"Exactly! Those idiots were going to attempt swimming! …You know near the docking port there's a little shoreline, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, they decided to try and jump off the end of the bridge and swim until they reached land."

"…Go on."

"Unfortunately, there is an invisible force field surrounding the exits and entries of this continent, which will fry us if we ever attempted to escape from the forests on the shorelines. And about those guys… Need I say anymore?"

Rinoa sighed and looked at the ground, "Point well taken." She said in defeat.

"I can't believe this is happening." Said the nervous blonde. He looked around himself in fear. "So are we camping here or something? Wouldn't we need to start a fire?"

"There's no way to start a fire around here. Everything's too muddy and damp, and there's always a mist in the air." Seifer said while pacing and looking around.

"In other words, you'll have really cold nights here." Fujin started.

"Precisely." Rinoa finished.

"Give me two sticks and a stone, I'll make a fire." Zell said. I was just glad to hear that he was starting to calm down just a little.

"If you really think you can start a fire, go on and try it. And if you do manage to get a fire started, just know that the T-Rex will quickly come after you. Don't say I didn't warn you." Fujin said while smirking. She's just as bad as Seifer, maybe even worse. I wonder if these people were this way before or after they got here: extremely blunt and straight to the point. I'm not sure if they're all just plain crazy or…correct.

"Okay, so is everyone done? Too many bodies in one area tends to-"

"Incoming T-Rex! Run!" Raijin yelling as he ran toward us, and the screeching roar from afar, had cut off Seifer's words.

"Wha-?" All of us said together.

"No!" Zell panicked and was the first of us to take off running from the group. We all began to run and went our separate ways.

I could hear its breathing from behind as I ran, and I tried with every ounce of energy in my body to push all of my strength to my legs. I lost sight of everyone else, and I could hear its breath faintly in the background some distance behind me. I realized I was out of harm's way, and I stopped to catch my breath for a moment.

When I looked around and saw where I was, I completely forgot about the danger that lingered somewhere behind. There was a small pond surrounded by dozens of bushy trees, and birds were chirping all around. It was like some sort of haven for harmless animals, which was very peaceful and relaxing. I found myself walking to the pond and looking in its mossy, greenish waters.

"…It's so quiet here. I would never have expected to find a place like this on a continent full of chaotic beasts." I said while scratching the back of my head. From the entire run, my hair has gotten moist and unruly. It's been awhile since I've done any real grooming to myself. The only thing I was aloud to do was pick out a decent meal and clothes for my execution.

Now that I think about it, I didn't even get a decent goodbye from my family. I wonder if everyone's okay. Who am I kidding? Of course they're not okay. They must think that I'm dead by now. I'm sure someone lied to them and said I was killed soon after setting foot onto this devilish soil.

"Squall, we'll try to get you out! I promise!" My mother said as she embraced me for the last time, and I held onto her.

"I love you mom."

"I love you too, sweetie, but I...we will see you again. Okay?"

"Mom…thank you…for everything."

"Don't talk like that."

"Ma'am, we have to take him away."

"Squall!" She said again, "Laguna, do something! He's our son. We can't let them take him away." I looked at my dad and nodded to him slowly, and he did the same. He had understood my goodbye to him. He held out his hand, and I shook it, then he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm with your mother on this, son. There's no way we're giving up on you."

"…Dad."

"Sir!" The guard called to get my father's attention.

"I'm saying goodbye to my son! Do you have a kid! Is he still alive!" He yelled while letting go of me. He glared at the guard with heavily smoldering eyes. The guard tried to avoid eye contact with him, and pulled me away. I saw my sister crying into a dampened clothe as she reached out for me. I reached for her as well. For a mere second we touched, but again, the guard had pulled me back from my family.

Before I was led out of the room, I saw Selphie mouthing the words, "I'm sorry, Squall."

Sorry? How can she possibly feel sorry for me?

"…That bit-" I suddenly heard a monstrous roar from behind, which snapped me quickly out of my thoughts and swears. Whether it's the same T-Rex or another, I don't know, and I really can care less.

"Not again!" I yelled while running around the pond. Uncertain of the distance between the giant reptile and I, I ran as fast as I could, and then saw that the ground ahead of me had descended like a slope. The slope is similar to the hill I fell down last night, maybe even deeper. Deeper? This could be to my advantage.

The T-Rex is gaining speed on me, and I don't know what I'm planning to do. "Come on!" I told my legs and came close to the slope, and the T-Rex gave itself a boost from the ground. Before ever thinking twice, I slid across the ground like a baseball player to home base and caught hold of a loose tree root, and held on to it while I watched the T-Rex soar above me and descend down the slope. I could hear it screaming when it slammed into higher ground from the other side of the slope. My heart, it feels like it will explode.

"Get up…Get up." I kept telling myself, but I couldn't move. I watched the T-rex struggle to move its hind legs, and I realized something was not right about that picture. Something was definitely abnormal about the T-Rex; it's size for one. It whined and boosted itself from the ground again. After a few seconds, I discovered the horrible truth.

"Oh my god…that's just a baby?" I slowly pushed myself from the ground and stood to my feet. "…If that's the kid…then…where's it's mother?"

"Aaaaaaagh!" I heard what sounded like Rinoa's scream from far away. I scanned around quickly and ran toward her voice. She screamed again, and somehow I feel like there's no way I can catch up to her.

"Oh, no! Rinoa!"

Thanks for those reviews, everyone. They were really inspiring!

This chapter is a bit awkward, isn't it? Don't worry, I'm updating really soon. So…no worries, okay?

StardustRay