Chapter 42 – Safe
The men on the ground stopped their battle and turned to look in shock as Kadj's body spun high in the air and disappeared in a rain of feathers. Loz and Yazoo both screamed in rage and turned to run to their bikes. Reno was the first to recover. He rushed Yazoo and threw his leg out to trip him. Yazoo leaped easily over Reno's leg and landed on his bike. They both kicked their bikes to life and roared off before the others could get to them.
Reno picked himself up from the ground and brushed off his coat.
"Dammit," Cid swore under his breath. They all thought the same thing; where were the two remaining brothers going now and when would they make their next appearance?
Red ran up to them. "She needs to get to a hospital, now!" he yelled. They turned to see Cloud walking towards them carrying a bleeding Tifa in his arms. His sweater was stained dark and wet where she lay against him. He walked directly to Barret's SUV and placed Tifa gently in the back seat. Without saying a word, Barret ran to the truck and jumped in the driver's seat. Cid threw Rude's car keys at Reno and jumped into the seat next to Barret. Red and Reno ran to the car and climbed in, firing up the engine. Vincent followed them and squeezed into the back seat.
"We take her back to the ship. We have to find a hospital quickly. This town doesn't have one anymore," said Barret.
They arrived back at Sierra and loaded both vehicles on the craft. Cloud lay Tifa carefully down on a bunk in the crew quarters and ripped away the cloth surrounding her shoulder wound to expose her bleeding flesh. Tifa groaned in pain and struggled to remain conscious. She looked up at Cloud with pleading eyes and reached out to him. She clutched his arm in a vice-like grip. This was her life-line. This man. She would never let him go again.
Cloud grimaced at the pain Tifa's fingers left on his arm. He gently pried her hand loose and held it in his. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and on her lips.
"You're safe now, baby. We're taking you to a hospital. Just hang on Tifa. Please just hang on a little longer," he whispered.
Reno stood behind them, watching. The events of the past few hours and his own actions confused him. For the first time in his life, he wasn't so sure of himself. This is not how things were supposed to happen. He was supposed to kill Cloud and Kadj and bring Tifa back; he knew that. But something had started a change in him back in Rufus's office. His mention of helping Tifa regain her sanity brought the memory of his visit to the veteran's hospital back with a jolt. Suddenly all the feelings of hate and loathing he had so effectively pushed out of his conscience came flooding back. Reno sighed and walked away to find Rude. He had some explaining to do.
Cid stood at the controls of his ship and punched some keys on the console in front of him. He searched for the nearest hospital. After a few minutes, he found one.
"Nibelheim," he said to the others standing on the bridge. "That's the nearest city with a hospital. It's about two hours away." He punched the coordinates into the ship's navigation system and started the engines. Sierra shuddered slightly as she lifted into the air, free of her earthly bonds.
Beneath them Cloud and Tifa could feel the ship lift into the air. "They must have found a hospital," Cloud said to himself. He looked back down to Tifa and smiled as he rubbed a stray strand of her hair between his fingers.
"It won't be long now, Tifa. Just hang on a little longer."
She closed her eyes and smiled. She was very tired and in a great deal of pain from her shoulder wound and the fall from the building. She started to drift off to sleep and heard Cloud's voice from a great distance. She felt the pain in her shoulder and back fade as she floated weightless on a soft, warm cloud.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw her daughter before her. "She's safe," Tifa thought. The unborn child opened her eyes to gaze at her mother and Tifa saw that they were a dark burgundy color, just like hers. Tifa smiled and closed her eyes again to drift off to a deep sleep.