Between Heaven and Hell

Chapter 9: Wishful Thinking
"It's Zell!" Rinoa said and moved off me so I could stand. I stood to my feet and helped her up from the ground. She wiped her face and smiled, "He's alive."

I nodded and we walked over to find him lying on the ground, covered in mud. He looked up at us and chuckled slightly, embarrassed maybe?

"I haven't seen her since that night. Is she okay?"

"…I hope so." Rinoa said and looked at the ground, "She got hurt badly the night you three were ambushed by T-Rexaurs."

"What do you mean? What happened to Fujin?"

"…She's blind in one eye now."

"No…" He said and looked at the ground. "…It's all my fault. I should've gone back for her."

"Where did you go?" I asked while folding my arms.

He scratched the back of his neck and looked at me, "…I don't really know. I was running, and I slipped down a hill or something. I thought I was a goner!"

"…Fujin thought you died because she heard you scream so loud…" Rinoa said while sitting on her knees to join Zell as he sat on the ground also.

"…I…uh…I was scared." He said nervously.

"That would explain it." Rinoa and I said in unison. She looked up at me and smiled while shaking her head.

"…Well, falling ended up saving my life. I fell into some mud, and the T-Rex was coming in close, but…he passed me up. He didn't even turn around."

"…You fell into mud…?" Rinoa asked while rubbing her chin.

"Yeah! That's what I discovered…and it's…also why I'm so dirty." He said while pulling down on his shirt to emphasis his discovery. "…For some reason, those things can't pick up our scent when we're in mud. That's all I was able to find out. Ever since I rolled around in mud, I've managed to slip right passed T-Rexaurs." He smiled confidently.

So that's why he doesn't seem to be as nervous as he once was. He's found a way to beat the odds. Mud…another defense against those beasts.

Wait a minute, Fujin said the beast sniffed around for her, and had stood over her body acting as if he hadn't even seen her. A few moments before that happened…she had crawled around in the mud.

"…I see." I said and looked down at Rinoa, "…Fujin was able to survive because she was in mud too, remember?"

"That's right, I was just thinking that." Rinoa said while looking back at me. I stooped down on the ground beside her.

"…Where's everyone else?" Zell asked us. "It's not like I'm worried about them…I just…where are they?"

"We have no idea." I said slowly, "Fujin is somewhere looking for you, Seifer's gone nuts, and Rajin seemed to have disappeared."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what did you say? What about Seifer and Rajin?" He asked, sitting up to assure his ears hadn't heard wrong.

"Seifer can't be trusted." Rinoa said while standing from the ground. "He knows something about this place, but he's refusing to let us in on it."

"…I knew that guy was a bad egg." Zell groaned. "He and Rajin…I didn't like either one of them, but its Fujin I'm worried about." He stood from the ground and looked at his fist, "…She was the only one who seemed to be concerned about me, and now she's injured."

Rinoa looked back at me, and we both faced Zell, who seemed to be lost in his own world now. "Zell?" Rinoa said as he stood before us.

"Oh…" He faced us and sighed, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Rinoa said and walked toward him, "…We know you're worried about Fujin, but-"

"Don't tell me to forget about her. I'm tired of letting people become forgotten. There are too many T-Rexaurs around to just let a blind woman wander alone! Take it from me, the farther south you go, the slimmer your chances are of survival. …I came back from that way when I saw three T-Rexaurs traveling together." He balled up his fist once more and stared at it angrily, "…I've got to get to Fujin before they do!" With that, he took off running.

"Zell!" Rinoa called out to him and started to run, but stopped when he disappeared in the darkness. She turned back to me; even in the dark, I could see the disappointment in her eyes, "…Squall." She said, her voice sounding as if she wanted me to run behind him, but…

"…I know." I said, knowing she wanted to save him. Rinoa wanted to have him aware that there was possibly a way to escape. I'm thinking that even if he was aware of there being a way of survival, Zell wouldn't care…he would go out and look for Fujin anyway.

It was at that moment I recalled Fujin quoting Zell saying: "Anything can happen when you're not feeling like your normal self."

When he told her that, she said his words were so true that night. And now that I think about it…they're exactly right.

Still, the more I think about it…the more I feel like his words are bothering me. Whatever it is…I don't even want to think about it.

Rinoa sighed and folded her arms, fighting off the night's chilliness, but maybe she was afraid for Zell. "…Rinoa, don't worry about him."

"…You're right…I should keep my mind on our plan."

"…Yeah." What plan? I wanted to ask, but I shooed off my bad thoughts and put my hands in my pockets. "…Sleepy?" I asked her instead.

"Not anymore." She looked at me and smiled, "Thanks."

I nodded my head with a smirk, "Anytime."

She laughed and waved her hand; I'm glad to hear her laughing again…

Approximately twenty minutes after Zell parted from us, we began our journey to find whatever it was that had been marked on the map. If it were brighter out, we would be able to spot a climbable tree and could have easily found our way provided the map was drawn accurately.

Though the rain left the ground soggy, I was surprised to find that most of its muddiness had dried due to the cool winds gusting through the forest in the night. I wondered if things would be different in the morning; would all of the mud suddenly become moist because of the searing heat? I shook my head quickly in an attempt to rid the thought from my mind. Why was I thinking so much about mud? Maybe I'm a little afraid, and have taken comfort in the fact that mud can be our best friend in the fight against the T-Rexaurs…

I sighed and changed my focus to the sky. Even through the tree's leaves, I can see the stars all lit up in the skies above. I felt myself smiling when I fell into a daze with the heavens.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Rinoa asked, snapping me out of my free moment.

Without looking at her, I replied, "Sure is." My eyes dropped from the sky and became occupied with the death path we walked.

"The first night I came here…I looked into that sky." She took a deep breath, "…and I saw a shooting star." She smiled and pointed up, "It went quickly to the south, the same direction we're going now, and in an instant it had vanished!" She put her hand down and grabbed the strap of her bag. "I think it was a message…"

I smirked, "A message from beyond?"

"Maybe… I mean, we are looking for something that's south."

I couldn't help but to laugh a little, and she pushed my arm, "Hey, that's not funny!"

While laughing I said, "I'm sorry!"

"You wouldn't be laughing if you were sorry!"

I managed to contain my laughter and became serious, "A message from beyond? …It could've been a mere coincidence; the star just happened to shoot to the south."

She sighed. "No, it was not just some coincidence." Rinoa looked at me with seriousness in a desperate attempt to get my understanding, "That star was showing me the way out of here that night." She said softly.

"Bull-"

"I'm not kidding!" Rinoa chuckled and slapped my arm this time. I laughed a little and shrugged my shoulders.

"I know, I know…" I said while waving my hand. "At least you have a ray of hope, right?"

She smiled and faced forward, "That's right. Now let's see how long I last."

I flinched, "Don't say that."

"…Squall?"

"Um, nothing…" I scratched my head and focused on our trail, even without looking at her, I knew she was smiling at me. What came over me? Why had I spoken so suddenly?

After a long while of walking, I began to smell the freshness of the morning air swirling about and around us. Though the sun hadn't risen, the thought of its arrival soon brightened our expectations.

Rinoa held her stomach and sighed, "…It's really time for me to leave. I haven't eaten food…in a very…very…"

"Rinoa, you're only teasing yourself."

She smirked, "A girl can dream."

Before we had the chance to laugh, we both heard the stomping of a T-Rexaurs' heavy feet nearby. Rinoa hastily grabbed the bag and reached inside. She took out the two daggers and handed me one.

I swear, I could have laughed at that moment realizing that there was no way a tiny dagger could take down a giant T-Rex; nevertheless, I took the blade into my hands and quieted my walking. The things we do when we're afraid…

Rinoa looked at me while throwing the bag over her shoulders, and looping her arms through. She whispered, "I guess that means we're getting close…"

"Perhaps." I whispered back, and we hid behind a tree to study the pattern of the beasts' steps.

Rinoa stood behind me as I peered around the side of the tree, hoping the T-Rex would just reveal itself so we could find a way to sneak about, but the reptile seemed to have stopped.

I muttered, "…Where did it go?"

"I don't know, I can't see it either." Rinoa whispered also, placing her hands on my shoulders and peaking out from behind me.

"Rraagh!" It made a loud shriek, and Rinoa and I pulled back and placed our backs against the tree as the sound of another T-Rex' stomping came about from the opposite direction of the first one. I closed my eyes and nervously whispered aloud, "There's two!"

"No way!" Rinoa did the same. "…If that's the case, we're definitely close." She said inaudibly lower than when she had whispered while calm.

Within a few seconds, the two beasts had parted and walked away.

"Are they gone?" Rinoa asked as I peered around the tree again.

"I don't see them anymore. …Yeah, they're gone." I said while stepping out from behind the tree.

"Good grief…" Rinoa said; releasing a breath she probably had held since we caught sight of those T-Rexaurs. "What were they doing; discussing the weather?"

"I have no idea." I have to admit, seeing those things meet up and communicate was a bit…unusual. I guess we're so used to being chased around by these idiots to realize that they're still animals…they have feelings too…right?

"Oh well. Let's keep going."

I nodded slowly and started up the path again. If there were only two T-Rexaurs just now, I wonder how many are waiting for us up ahead. I gulped and saw Rinoa quickening her pace. Obviously, Rinoa's in no mood to wonder, she wants to find out. "Rinoa…"

"We have to…if we really want out, we have to get to that place quickly."

"Yeah." I agreed and sped up my walking as well.

Somewhere nearby, we could hear running water. I had become thirsty just by hearing it sparkling so naturally. I began to picture the crystal liquid flowing coolly into my mouth and quenching my thirst, but I had stopped myself upon remembering what I recently told Rinoa: You're only teasing yourself.

Rinoa suddenly froze in her steps, and when I looked up ahead, I could not believe my eyes either.

We saw that up ahead, the darkness of the forest ended, that there was a great field of light. All this time, we had been thinking the forest was never ending, and yet here we are, about to take our first steps through. The sky had gotten brighter as we approached the illumination, and we both placed our hands in front of our faces to block out its radiance.

"Can you believe this?" Rinoa said as we got near the exit, and she smiled, "We're here, Squall. We made it."

But when I looked through…all that excitement flushed right out of my system. And I took a step into the light. "Rinoa…" I muttered underneath my breath as she took a step beside me. She gasped aloud and covered her mouth.

We were standing about twenty feet away from the mountainsides, and could see that trees had stopped growing before the rocky cave. Were we thrilled? Of course not! We saw an orange mass of reptile skins together, as if herding sheep, fighting and feeding on an injured T-Rex that had been lying on ground.

We saw the dampened grass, filled with puddles of water that had formed due to the unevenness of the green field. We saw giant T-Rexaurs and medium T-Rexaurs biting at each other's legs, shoving each other down in those puddles, and chasing after the birds that landing for a bath. We saw it all.

Rinoa stepped back, placing her hand on her chest and sighing, "Where are we?"

And I just couldn't help but thinking back to my first day arriving here when Zell cried aloud from the ground that same question; and even back then my answer remains unmistaken, this place is indeed…hell.

As we walked back into the forest, Rinoa strayed off and pushed her forehead against a slim blackened tree. She groaned deeply, "This was not supposed to happen."

What more can you expect? It's hopeless…hopeless.

"No wonder no one ever escaped, they killed themselves when they saw all those T-Rexaurs!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Rinoa…"

"I can't believe this Squall! I cannot!" She screamed without looking at me, "Now what are we supposed to do, just die!"

I touched her shoulder and looked at her as she fumbled to hold back a few tears, "…No…we'll survive." I lied. I lied terribly, and I know it. I only want to make her feel secure, but…

"…We have to, Squall. We have to fight them." She looked at me and quickly wiped the few tears away with a smile, "It's our only chance."

Fight? But how can we…? I know we have those explosives…but…even those can fail us in times of danger.

Then it struck me like fiery lightning striking an old dried up tree in a desert: "You'll never win in a fight against those T-Rexaurs."

Seifer's words; His words began to boil my anger to its fullest. I was already sick of seeing him, but when his words came back to haunt me…I just couldn't take it any longer. I will not allow him to win. I can't.

"Rinoa…did you hear a stream of water somewhere back there?" I asked her, a smile forming upon my lips as the idea flowed easily into my head.

"…Yeah, why?" She looked at me, curiousity seeping from her eyes.

"…Let's take a mud bath." I said with a smile, and Rinoa's eyes lit up as bright as the moon.

Author's Grotto:

Me again! Finally, the T-Rex action kicks back in! Woo! lol

:wipes cookie crumbs from her mouth: (lol)

Thanks Ittan Momen, and I shall never lower my head in shame again, haha. No way are your reviews lame! Oh yeah, I hope your exams go well, I took my finals 2 weeks ago, so this story is my way of burning off the extra steam! Burning steam is pretty swell!

Thanks Yae-I'm keeping to my word. I'm working on the update after this one, I promise you'll wait no longer than 2 days for it. (BTW- Seifer was rushed to the hospital, he almost killed himself with the sewing needle-lol)

Thanks all, and Review! …please.

My new years resolution…was to stop using lol so much…but… :coughs: …

EDIT: I had a ruler problem, but its taken cared of, haha.