Between Heaven and Hell

Chapter 3: Reflected Memories
The more I ran, the more I was able to see the T-Rexuar's figure up ahead myself. The only thing that I felt glad about was the fact that I had run in the right direction.

"Rinoa!" I heard someone else call to her from her left side. Quickly, Rinoa cut through some trees and caused the T-Rex to lose its sense of direction. When she tricked the beast, it had slowed down running for a bit. Rinoa quickly ran to the person, who I think could be Seifer.

As the two of them ran off, I found myself still jogging behind a confused T-Rexuar. I stopped quickly and caught my breath, but made sure to stay as quiet as possible.

I felt like my lungs were closing up because of the running I had done. I have never ran so much in my entire life. I gripped my shirt and pulled it from my chest to create a cool wave of air, and leaned over to take in some oxygen.

"Rraaaagh!" I heard it roar again, and when I looked up, I saw the T-Rexuar running after Rinoa and Seifer once again. They were a good running distance ahead, but the T-Rex began to outstretch its legs and move faster. I didn't think it could move so fast.

"Rinoa!" I instinctively called out to her, and regrettably got the beast's attention instead. It quickly reared its head, changed direction, and charged after me all because of my big stupid mouth.

I was frozen stiff as I watched that beast hastily run toward me with razor sharp teeth and penetrative claws. I felt my body trembling with fear, also.

"Run! Squall, Run!" Rinoa yelled as she and Seifer had stopped to watch me save the day.

Here I stand, watching that beast lunging to me with a grand appetite for human flesh, and I'm unable to move. "Squall, get out of there!"

Rinoa, as much as I want to move, I can't! That's all I can think of saying to her at a time like this…

"Rinoa, come on before you distract it and it'll come after us again!" I heard Seifer yell to her as he pulled her arm, but she pushed him away and screamed at me.

"What are you waiting for, dammit? Move!"

Now that I think about it, if I make a move to my right, the T-rex will just cut me off at the angle. If I run toward Rinoa, it will just result in an even bigger chase that will be the death of one of us. …I don't want it to get her…she needs to get away from here, as quickly as possible.

"Run!" She shouted again.

"You first!" I yelled while continuing to stand, planted into the ground.

"But-"

"You heard me! Go, Now!" Just as I yelled, the T-rex quickly entered in deadly range with me. I looked around myself and saw a stone about the size of my fist lying on the ground. I quickly reached down for it and looked at the T-Rex once more as it charged at me.

"Run and don't look back!" I said as I hurled the stone at the beast's face. When the stone struck its eye, it roared in agony, which seemed to have resounded throughout the entire forest. As soon as it became distracted, I took off running to the right, completely avoiding Rinoa's direction.

And I ran…

I don't know where the T-Rex is now, but I have been running for a while now. There aren't anything but thick leafy trees up ahead, and no way out of the danger zone. "This is hopeless." I said as I began to jog. Then I saw it, my ray of hope; there stood a large, low and climbable tree just screaming for me to jump aboard.

I managed to pick up my speed and make my way to the tree. I leapt into the air and clung, desperately trying to pull my body upward onto its thick branches. I grabbed branch by branch swiftly to escape the wrath of that beast.

In the distance, I could hear its loud stomping through the forests as it ran after me. I watched as it made its way closer to me. Even though I sat high above the ground, the T-Rex could still sense me in the tree.

It screeched from below me while putting its claws into the tree trunk to climb, but couldn't penetrate long enough to hold up its own body weight. It looked at me and became quiet, and I stared into its eyes from where I stood hanging onto the branch of a tree, supported by two others underneath each of my feet.

They say a person should never give an animal eye contact; otherwise the beast would become insulted and strike harder. But as I stare into this T-Rex's eyes, I sense something more. I was already breathing heavily as I continued to stare, and I watched as sweat dropped from my face and landed onto its face. Surprisingly, the T-Rex had not flinched.

"…You're…you're a prisoner here too, aren't you?" Just as I asked, it roared aloud and scrambled away. I don't know what it was, but I was thankful it had given up on me.

I watched as the beast ran deeper into the forest and vanished from my view. I sighed in relief and fell back into the support of the tree.

Now I see why Rinoa said what she said before. "Another day."

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've just been dumped by your girlfriend." An older, familiar looking man says to me.

"…Is it really that obvious?"

"I've lived a long life, so I shouldn't have to second guess, you know what I mean? Besides, what other reason would a kid like you be in a Pub like this anyway?"

"…I don't know."

"Tell me son, what's on your mind?"

"Sorry, it's a long story."

"Well." The stranger put his finger up and ordered a few rounds of drinks for he and I. "Drink?"

I sighed. "…I guess."

"I'm Ralph, Ralph Odine."

"Oh…" Then I remembered his face, I knew he looked familiar, "Mr. Odine, head of the Criminal Justice staff in Esthar, right?"

"Yep. You really do know your news."

"…Yeah."

"Alright, what's bothering you? We're here till the end of the night, which means, we've got all the time in the world." He said with a smile.

A dream? Or was it for real? I don't remember anything that happened; why can't I remember? Was the experience so extreme that I have…blocked it from my memory? …No, no, I could never do something like that. It's ridiculous!

I sat up and opened my eyes. I don't know how long it has been since I climbed this tree, but when I opened my eyes, darkness greeted them. I sat in my new safe haven and outstretched my arms while yawning.

Because of its width, I was able to fit most of my body onto a single branch. No, I wasn't comfortable, but I did manage to get a good rest. The truth is, I don't remember when I actually fell asleep.

"…Geez, my leg's gone numb." Of course it's numb, its been hanging in mid air for who knows how long. I should really get down now, but then again, I really don't want to. It's taking my eyes quite awhile to adjust to the darkness, so maybe I should wait just a few moments anyway.

"…Another life, lost." I heard someone say from the darkness beneath me. When I looked down and scanned the area, I saw Rinoa walking alone in the dark. What is she doing out here by herself? "What was he thinking?"

"Rinoa." I said while climbing down. I certainly don't want to have her thinking that I'm dead, that's what my family thinks of me already. The little hope she has might be crushed even more if there's more pain on her heart, but…would she even think of me that way?

"Squall? Is that you?" She said while looking around herself. Maybe she thought I was on land somewhere.

"Yeah. Over here." I said, not wanting to shout, otherwise a T-Rex might hear us. She turned around and smiled when she saw me. I was trying to rub my hands together to remove the tree crusts that stuck to them from climbing down.

"Squall!" She said while running to me. I was surprised when she practically jumped on me. "Thank god you're alive! I didn't know what happened to you after you told me to run." She said and pulled away from me.

"Well, I'm fine now."

"Obviously. Where did you go, how did you escape it?" How did I escape it? Does she really want to know?

I pointed to the tree behind myself and smirked, "That tree saved my life."

"The tree?" She looked at the tree and began walking toward it. "Are you serious?"

"As serious as trying to stay alive."

She laughed and shook her head, "Help me up, I want to see your hideout."

"Oh. …Okay." I walked to the tree and knelt down before her, and put my hands out so she could step on them. When she did so, I boosted her up from the ground and she grabbed hold of the tree branch. She climbed on the tree and pulled her body up quickly. I stood at the bottom and watched her go. It sure is taking her awhile to get up there…and it took me about two seconds to climb this tall tree. I guess I was terrified in the chase…

"Hey, what are you waiting for?" She called from the top, and I looked around at our surroundings as if searching for the other person she might have been talking to. "Come on, Squall. Get up here quickly, you don't know what's down there this instant."

"…Right." I said unsurely and began to climb. By the time I made it to the top with her, she was staring away in her own world. I took a seat on the opposite branch from her on the other side of the tree, which was a little lower in height than where she sat.

"For as long as I've been here, I never thought once about climbing into a tree for safety."

"Not once?"

"It never occurred to me to look up here. This is the first tree I've seen that's climbable."

"Perhaps you weren't looking hard enough?"

"Maybe."

Rinoa probably became scared and took comfort in the fact that there are others going through this the same way. That could be it, or maybe…just maybe, she never saw any trees because the people she's relying on wouldn't let her seek higher ground. I have already heard the way they were talking to her today…I wanted to say something, but then…it's really not my place, isn't it?

"That was some chase we had today, eh?" She said, and I could tell that she was smiling.

"Yep." …It really was something. I was never so sure in my life that I would die. I sighed, "…Will every day be this way?"

"…Pretty much." She huskily said with a sigh of her own, and we both stood quiet for a few moments after that. I think I'm beginning to warm up to idea that death is the only option. "…Squall?"

"…Yeah?"

"…What were you…before all this? Who were you? I mean, I've never heard anything about you or ever seen you before in my life."

"…Well…" I realize now, I haven't actually talked to any of these people. We all only know one another by name. "…Not many people know me. I was an editor at Timber Maniacs."

"Timber Maniacs?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that the political magazine?"

"There are other worldly related articles, but yeah, we mostly have political articles inside."

"Wow, that's pretty interesting."

"…On the surface."

"You didn't like it?"

I groaned, "It was an okay job, I guess." Okay? No, I hated it. All I wanted was to be able to travel and write about things that were more than business and politics. Growing up, I never tired of the stories my dad told my sister and me about his traveling adventures. Ellone used to always say she wanted to travel the world, but eventually she grew out of her fantasy and accepted living in the real world. "As an editor, I had to read through tons of stuff, which was mostly crap by the way…and edit each sheet of paper. I had to point out what was useful information, and what was too much for the public to know; unfortunately, most of the things my co-workers wrote about went against Esthar's main principles." …How much I hate Esthar right about now…

"That sounds like fun. You get to know more than other people about what goes on behind the scenes then?"

"You could put it that way, yes." I looked at the sky above, but most of the trees blocked my view.

"Then you must know all about me?"

I closed my eyes and sighed, "…Just a little."

She laughed, "Tell me about myself. I want to know how I am from the public's opinion."

"Um…" I really have to dig deep for the articles that were turned in pertaining to Rinoa. The only one I can recall is of her father. "…I'm not too sure, but I think I only edited the articles about your father."

"Oh really?" I heard her voice become louder; she must have been facing me from her side of the tree. "Do tell."

"…Caraway." I opened my eyes and looked down into my hands, "…I read in a report that you died by mastication of the T-Rexuars. Apparently, Caraway found out about it too…and he had been trying to help fight off this sentencing for everyone else." I leaned my head back against the tree while folding my arms. "…He managed a research base holding info about this continent, labeling it F.E.A.R., in other words fear. The acronym stood for the Forest of Esthar's Atrocious Reptiles. Unfortunately, Esthar got a hold of his base before anymore serious data was learned."

"…You're awfully well informed."

"…I…uh…took a special interest in this case." I said nervously. It was because she was the first woman sentenced to death…that's why I became obsessed with the article.

"Well I'm surprised you learned that much. I wonder how they got a hold of all that information. That man has never told anyone what was on his mind."

"Is that so? Wasn't he a dedicated businessman? …He probably had to fully explain himself to others in order to get his point across."

"…Even the best businessmen have their share of secrets."

"Secrets? …Anything to do with you being here?"

"…Weren't you the editor for the magazine, shouldn't you already know?"

If she could see me, I would have only shrugged my shoulders. "…I skimmed through most of it the article."

"…Just as I thought, my father's as boring as paint drying."

I found myself laughing a little with her as we sat in that tall tree. After a bit, she became quiet. Maybe she was thinking about her father? I don't know…

- - - - - - - - -

From up here, everything looks dark and green. This forest is covered with uneven earth and thick trees. I only wonder what it would look like up here in the morning.

I did manage to see that this place is near the mountain range. I guess I'm closer to the place Fujin took a look around from before. She said the place is flooded with T-Rexuars…I wonder why? How in the world did an animal so hideous ever come about? Odine had to have been a very bitter man in order to suggest such a punishment like this. No one in his or her right mind would put another human being through this much hardship.

Looking down at the forest, I wonder what could possibly await me tomorrow. Will I even survive another day?

I know Rinoa has a plan to escape…I wonder what she's pulled together. It seems like the others have all given up trying…their hopeless. I don't want to become like they are. I can't die here.

"Huh?" I hear something farther away. When I looked around the area, over near the mountain range…there's a figure. I can't really tell what it is…or…who? I don't want to call out to them because it might be danger, and I've learned my lesson about calling out to people when there is something lurking near by.

My eyes begin to adjust to the far away distance, and I can tell that it's a person, but in an instant, it vanishes.

"What the…?"

Hey guys, I'm having a great time writing. Let me know what you think of this story so far. I hope you had a great read. Thanks!

StardustRay