Between Heaven and Hell
Chapter 7: Unlikely Entity
Together we ran hastily through the forest and back to the old tree. We occasionally heard the loud stomps from T-Rexaurs walking around in the forest as well, but Rinoa and I were quick to change direction and had also tried to avoid splashing in the mud puddles on the ground, as any movement could be detected by the T-Rexaurs.
Maybe when it rains, every scent that once was is now gone and washed away? That's probably why it was so easy to lose them like we had just a few moments ago.
I looked up and saw the tree within running range and I smiled: Finally, something to look forward to!
"There it is, Rinoa!" I spoke aloud as we approached the tree. And when we came near to the mountainside, I stopped and dropped down to my knees to look around again.
"…What are you looking for?" She asked quietly.
"…There's something here. I know it." I said while moving my hands across the soggy, dirty rocks.
After a few moments, I heard her drop down to the ground also and she began to help me in my search. I looked at her when she turned to me with a smile, and I smirked while nodding my head, welcoming her to my pursuit.
Within minutes, the two of us had searched under every rock and inside every crevice we could fine, but nothing came of our search. I sighed and leaned my forehead against the wall of the mountainside, purposely allowing the sharper rocks to injure my face; such was the reward for not being able to find anything. I complained, "…It's not right…"
"…What did you say you saw and where did you see it?" Glad to see someone's still determined…
"…Seifer was walking somewhere around here before…and today…there was something in the crevices of this wall…he tried to change the subject and make me forget about what I saw, but it was too obvious...I need to know what's he's keeping from us…"
"…Let's keep looking."
I took a deep breath and looked at her, "…Right, but we'll have to go down a little further where Seifer and me fought."
"Fought? …So he threw the dagger at your head before or after?" She said with a slight chuckle, and I laughed with her.
We had finally reached the area where I was certain I saw that crevice in the wall. It was also distinguishable because the waxberries had been abandoned on the ground; obviously, Seifer must not have taken a liking to the fruit either.
I heard Rinoa laughed a little when she saw the scattered berries, "…So that's what happened to breakfast…"
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled, "Sorry…" She giggled and turned her attention back to our situation.
I walked about and scanned the walls intensively to ensure no small crevice passed my eye. Rinoa followed me and did the same. And then, I saw it; hidden behind the bushes and rocks, but obvious enough to pick out from the rest: it was the crevice from before.
"There it is!" I yelled and went down to have a look inside.
Rinoa stood back as I bent down and stuck my finger between the crevices of the wall. I was surprised to see that it crumbled upon contact. I pulled out every piece of loose rock that had easily broken away, and after much yanking away at the rocky crusts, I soon discovered a little hole in the wall. "What the hell…?"
"…What do you see?" Rinoa asked as she stood over my shoulder and peered inside the hole. When she witnessed it for herself, she questioned, "What is that?"
There was an opened bag with four pouches, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a map, and two daggers similar to the kind Seifer nearly killed me with.
"Bravo!" A voice yelled from behind us. It was Seifer, and he was clapping while approaching us. "So you found my stash! Now put the rock back and step away."
"Seifer, what is this?" Rinoa asked while standing from behind me. She folded her arms, "How did you get these things?"
"…Amateurs." He spat at us. "…What do you do when you get sentenced to death?" He paced around as if awaiting our answers, but we both remained silent. He sighed, "You pay off contacts so they supply you with essentials that'll help you survive!"
"…You really think cigarettes will aid you?" I asked and stood to my feet.
"No, Mr. Funny Man, but they calm my nerves whenever I need them to." He said while glaring at me.
I looked at the ground and closed my eyes. All this for what, some rusty old daggers?
"Seifer…who did you contact?" Rinoa asked.
"…Just some guys I knew back in Esthar. …Actually, this was way back before I even got here."
"I want to know…" She demanded, "What's in those bags?"
"Deadly powders…""Powders…? You mean…." She touched her mouth as if unsure of his meanings, but she surprised me, "I haven't seen those since…since my-"
"Since your dad made you blow Deling to smithereens…eh?" Seifer teased with a sly grin. …Is it true? Did she really…?
"Shut up! I told you before, I had no idea he was tied to a chair inside!""That's absolutely right! So, it's not your fault that he died…"
Rinoa shook her head and sighed heavily, then changed the subject. "…So what does my father have to do with you and that stash?"
Seifer looked at her and smirked, "…You'll see soon enough."
"Just tell me!" Rinoa snapped.
"Fine…" He stretched his arms and took a seat on the mushy, muddy ground with a yawn. "You there!" He pointed to me. "I guess it's okay if you listen in too. Not that you'll know what I'm talking about, anyway."
"Whatever." I said with a wave of my hand.
He laughed and looked back at Rinoa, "…Have you ever done something a thousand times, learned and memorized your own pattern, and mastered it? You get used to doing it so much that it becomes natural to you, yet you somehow know that at any moment, everything you're so talented in…could instantly be shattered."
What is he talking about? I put my hand on my hip and sighed hoping he'd get the picture, but I held my peace. …Maybe he'll get to the point soon?
"I was a criminal mastermind, I knew the game…every aspect of it. And one thing that every master criminal knows is that someday, he'll get caught." He smirked, "As an intuition, I…called around a few times for some help from people I had done business with from long ago. One of those people was your dad, Rinoa."
Rinoa turned away from him slowly and looked at me. She looks scared…worried. …Does she want me around to hear this?
Seifer gestured his hand in the air, "All I asked was that he lend me some gil so I could pay my other contacts in Esthar for their help."
"…Okay, but what about the powders?" She sounded a bit agitated.
"…Those? I suppose those are for you."
"Why?"
He chuckled, "What in the hell can I do with them? You're the arsonist, so you figure it out."
"…For one thing…there's a lighter and cigarettes… Using heat sources with those powders can be lethal." She looked at Seifer quizzically, " I'm surprised you haven't tried to blow anything away."
"That's why you're supposed to take them. I can't do anything but waste them…"
"…Why didn't you tell me about any of this before?" She said while walking to him slowly."…That's for me to know, and you to find out."
Rinoa snarled, "How can I find out if you're the only source of information I have!"
He smirked again, "Well then I guess you'll just have to wait, see…?""You're impossible!" She yelled angrily, but he laughed.
"Unlike you two, I happen to enjoy this place!" He said, as he laughed a bit. How I just wanted to kick him. I couldn't allow Rinoa to work her nerves up over this creep.
"Oh yeah?" I asked and stepped into their conversation finally. "So then why are you running for your life every time you see a T-Rex?"
"Listen little man, I'm not stupid. I know how to survive here, and that's that." He said while standing, preparing to take his ground again, I suppose. Rinoa looked back at me worriedly, she must not want to witness us fighting… I managed to avoid his advances and focused my attention to her instead.
"…What's wrong?" I asked her softly, and she sighed.
"I lied to you…" She said, lowering her eyes to the ground shamefully.
"…What do you mean?"
She scratched her wrist and walked closer to me, "My dad is a businessman in the professional world, but a crime lord by night. He's only trying to make money…it was all he could do after my mom left us. …I had to help him or else, they would come after me too. …Yes, I am a murderer…I guess I did kill Deling, but I never shot those men…"
"So you took the fall for him?" Seifer interrupted with a question that sounded more like a statement, a true statement.
"In a way, yes." She ran her fingers through the loose strands of her hair, nervously. "…I'd hate to talk about it."
I don't blame her one bit. Who would thrive this topic anyway?
But I wonder…how they can easily recall whatever it was they endured yet I'm…so lost. …I'm angry with myself. How can they know who they are and what they've done…and yet I'm still, "…Confused."
"…What was that Squall?" She asked while looking up at me.
"Oh…nothing. I was thinking aloud…"
Seifer laughed, "Talking to yourself, eh? Only psychos do that. You're not psycho, are you?"
…Am I?
"…Squall?" Rinoa asked as she touched my shoulder.
Odine…? Odine, why did you come to the pub that night? Why…?
Why...?
I took my fifth shot and slammed the little glass hard onto the counter as I sat in the Pub. "Ah…I'll take two more of these chief!" I said with a smile to the old woman. I might have been on the verge of hurling, but I managed to order a couple more drinks for myself. I had been inside drinking all day long, and for all I knew, it could've been pitch black outside by now.
"You'll only need a few more and that's it. You won't make it home if you drink anything beyond that."
"…How do you know, lady?"
"I'm an experienced bartender. I know even before you take a seat at this counter, how long it will take you to lose control."
"Oh really…? So you determine how much any man can take, just by looking at him?" I asked sluggishly.
"That's what I said." She smirked, " …For example, I can look at you and easily see that you can only hold so little." She said with a laugh and turned away to take the order of someone else.
"Go ahead and laugh, but for your information, I'm not getting…drunk." I said, feeling a bit woozy from the liquor and my own rotten feelings. A man sat down beside me and ordered just a regular shot of whiskey.
"…What's wrong with you? You look like you've just been dumped by your girlfriend." He said, right on target.
And we talked for who knew how long after that…
The more I drank, the more I felt myself talking about Selphie and me; how we met, how I felt about her, and more talk about my relationship with her, but not one word of love came from my mouth. I remember that much, even if my memory is blurred from that night.
"Well, I should be on my way now." I said while leaving a tip on the counter for the bartender and standing from my seat.
"You be careful out there, young man." She said with a friendly smile.
"…I...I will." I somewhat stuttered, "I know how to avoid…stuff…" Like I avoided slaughtering those two in my own house, yes, I find that I've somehow mastered the way of peace throughout my entire life…
"Hey Squall, which way are you going?" Odine said as he left a tip also.
"…Um…Uptown?" I said while scratching my head slowly, unsure if I were even still in the same building.
"Me too, my hotel's up that way. Mind if tag along with you?"
"Not at all, the more the merrier." Yes…obviously I was drunk.
It had been some time since we began walking home. Odine was talking gibberish, smack talk about who knows what, and I comforted my head with my hands. The next thing I knew is that I blanked out to someone, most likely Odine… screaming… Yelling…and screaming in agony---
"Squall?" Rinoa was holding onto my T-shirt and shaking me violently. I shook my head and snapped out of my trance.
"Oh my god. I'm a murderer…"
"Seriously…? Don't you know that already?" Seifer said with folded arms and continued, "You moron! If you've made it this far, you're guilty!"
Rinoa looked back at him, and probably glared, I couldn't tell because I saw the back of her head; although, Seifer did flinch a little when she looked at him. She faced me with sympathy in her eyes…sympathy or a strange softness…
I sighed and looked at the ground, not wanting to give her eye contact. I don't deserve sympathy from anyone. Rinoa released my shirt as I finally decided to answer Seifer's sarcastic questioning, "Not really…I don't know." I said as I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair.
"What?" Seifer questioned.
My heart began pounding in my chest, and I couldn't calm myself down. I struggled to speak, "…I was accused of…killing Ralph Odine."
"Odine! He's dead!" Seifer exclaimed and Rinoa nodded. That's right…earlier today, I was on the verge of telling her just how the man had died…and who killed him.
I managed to force out my words, "Yeah. I happened to be the last person everyone saw him leave the Pub with in Timber; unfortunately, I was drinking…and I…I don't remember anything of it."
Seifer laughed and covered his face, "I can't believe that idiot is finally dead. He got what was coming to him. …Well you're lucky you were drunk…"
I groaned, "Will you shut up! …Odine died because of me! My hands are stained with his blood, and I've brought shame upon my own family! So don't you speak to me about what was coming to him…we all have to pay the price for what we do!" I closed my eyes and turned away from them while rubbing my forehead, " …And that's why we're here now…we have to die…don't we?"
It was what I had recently begun to believe…something I told myself a thousand times as I rode the vessel to this wretched place.
I felt my body ready to crumble apart as I stared at the ground. All this time I've been denying myself…when it's so obvious that I killed a man. I moved my hand to my face and covered my eyes.
"Squall…" Rinoa said, I could hear her stepping closer to me, but Seifer pushed her back.
"Don't touch him, Rinoa. …Give him some space." He said as he pulled her away from me. And I continued to stare at the muddy ground. For once…if only for once…I was agreed with him, with Seifer.
In the murky forest the fog loomed throughout the atmosphere, creating a deadly silence, which plagued every waking second…and the ominous sky remained its gloomy gray.
After the rainfall, the grounds were muddier and brought about a stench that reeked of old soil and human remains. The rain had rinsed and uprooted the broken human bones that had been left behind by carnivorous T-Rexaurs and buried by the earth as time passed on; left to stare at those amongst the living in mockery.
A murderer could look down at the bones and sigh when he truly realized his absolute fate, and then he would stare…contemplating every possible action at the moment, undoubtedly blaming himself for murder…
"Squall!" Rinoa said while running to me, she seemed to be excited, but for what I wonder. "Squall, I think there's a way…"
"What are you talking about?"
She looked over her shoulder as if hiding from someone, and then turned back to me, whispering with a smile, "There's a way out of here, and I've got a map to prove it…"
Author's Little Corner: (lol)
Hey people! Got through with another chapter after much editing! (Honestly, you guys don't know how many versions of this story I have! lol)
Anyway, if you're a little confused about the powders, I'll explain everything in the next chapter! Thanks to our Arsonist:snickers: I know, it's a little weird, isn't it? Don't worry, they're essential to this story…there was no way I could leave them out! …Gotta tell myself to shush, otherwise... I'll leak valuable secrets! Yeah right, like I'm really going to…haha!
SO...
Thank you…
Pretty Like Drugs- Hehe, sorry if you were confused, I do hope you've understood by now. Not to worry, it won't be all that confusing when everything begins to bloom! I'm glad you like too, and don't worry, I'll update often. (It's summer…I have a lot of free time on my hands. lol)
Yae-Thank you! I love challenging myself with weirdplots like this,and I'm glad it's paying off. And yeah, Seifer's crazy, indeed! lol I hope he's not scaring you, lol.
Well, I'm going to get started with the next chapters.
Guys, thanks for the feedback! It really means a lot. I don't want to feel like I'm working in vain, lol.
And thanks to you others out therefor taking the time to read as well! lol
StardustRay : )