I lay there for a long moment, trying to gather my senses and ease the pain in my body. Black flowers bloom in my vision and I feel the phantom pressure of countless impacts. When I can finally see the sky and breathe more regularly I try twitching my fingers. The metal arm is fine, only dented. I may have to re-work the wiring of the little finger. My human arm had cracked. I can feel bone protesting at any movement. Not broken, at least. It would hurt, but heal on its own. Not a bad situation. Could be worse. I sit up painfully and look around. Everything in the forest seems undisturbed. I don't want to attract any large attention in the state I'm in. I'm alright, just in considerable pain. I can still faintly hear the Highwind in the distance, and then it's gone. Cloud knows I fell, they would come back.
My back is bruised pretty badly, my head hurts and I am a little dizzy. Still- nothing to worry about.
An attempt to get up makes me happy there is no one here to see me. I fall back down so fast, my cape flips over my head. I angrily toss it back and look at the offending leg that would not support my weight. My glare is lost on the grass, as my leg seems to have been torn right off. Not too worrying, by itself, just annoying. It's not like it hurts. You see, my legs, for the better part from the shins down have been replaced. Thank you, Hojo. Torn metal and wires greet me where my ankle and foot should have been. I sit down and make myself comfortable. I'm not going to get very far on one foot. If a glance around didn't reveal any severed limbs, hobbling around looking for it would be an invitation for unwanted company. I prop myself carefully against a tree and wait.
As I stare at the night canopy, with a few stars daring to twinkle through the leaves, I find myself starting to wonder if they would really come for me. I like to think that they would, but that was just because I am a selfish person. Nothing said they would. I couldn't hear the Highwind anymore, and nothing ever indicated that our relationship was that that they would stop their plans to look for me. I wasn't worth it. They had a good heart and good intentions; I had a bad heart and selfish intentions. I knew that, they knew that. Nothing said they'd come back.
Logically thinking they had to come back, because otherwise they'd be deserting someone, and they'd never do that. Good intentions, remember?
Maybe they thought I was fine? They have no way of knowing that I was… 'broken'. "Vincent can take care of himself." I heard Cloud say one time, when the odds were badly against us and we had tried to cover each others' backs.
What was the nearest town? I don't even know where I am. Damn. I should stop daydreaming.
Damn kid, damn leg, damn Hojo and damn me.
I even lost my bandana.
Two hours later I am very bored. I am tired, but the pain in my arm prevents any sleep, and the pain in my head prevents clear thought. I wouldn't want to be a midnight snack for anything, either, so I try and stay awake.
As time stretches even the pain in my arm isn't enough, and I find my eyelids becoming so heavy. Sleep sounds so sweet. The night is quite, the air chilly. Nothing will try and eat me. There's hardly enough meat on me to eat, anyway. My head throbs, and my brain swims in a sea of led, dizzying and numbing.
The night seems to carry on forever. The trees sway in the cold wind, and then I feel it caressing my cold face, chilling the blood from my cuts.
Almost a conversation: First the trees move, then me. Questions in the wind, answered in falling leaves. I spend my time listening to the forest, to the creaks and cracks of dead leaves and branches. One sound in particular starts drawing my attention, awakening me from my half-slumber. A steady beating on the leaves, like heavy footsteps. With it a swishing in the trees, like something playing touch-and-go with high branches. I straighten. The sound grows near and far intermittently, but at one point it starts to come in my direction.
It grows stronger and stronger. A steady beating and a swoosh of leaves. I reach down slowly and draw my gun, my numb fingers flinching against the freezing metal. Three barrels, three chances to die. I grip the handle and stretch a finger beside the trigger. A deadly roulette awaits anything that thinks Vincent is an easy meal. I load it painfully, and wait. I don't usually keep it loaded around allies- a recipe for disaster. Especially with kids around…
It takes a few heavy blinks to clear my vision. My head feels like my brain is too big, nothing is really clear. Details appear and disappear as my eyes lose and regain focus.
Very close now... Very close... The swooshing of leaves in the branches stop, but the heavy thumps continues a bit of a ways off. So, it isn't one creature. I feel I am being watched. Something was in the trees, watching me. Very close. I close my eyes lightly and listen. I heard breathing, huffing, ready muscles.
I know what it is. I know where it is. You can tell these things in your veins, see them with your ears.
With eyes still closed I aim up and fire a single barrel. Yuffie screams as she crashes down. If I wasn't so tired, if my head didn't hurt so much, I would have pointed and laughed. Internally, at least. She swears loudly as she picks herself up.
"What the hell d'you think you're doing, Vince!" She stomps. "We're here to save you!" The thumping became faster and louder immediately after the gunfire, and now reveals itself as Cid, dragging heavy feet through the leaves.
"What happened?" He asks. She tells him I shot her. I say if I shot her she'd be dead. Cid says "He has a point." and Yuffie claims she could have dodged it.
"Let's get you back to the ship, Vince." says Cid. Reaching towards me to help me up.
"Good idea." I reply, trying to sound as fine as they want to believe I am, "Spare a leg for me?"
Cid blinks at me a moment. Not the brightest crayon in the box, that one. Brighter than most on board, save Nanaki and Tifa. He looks me over then, notices the way I am clutching my arm with my metal one, notices the tattered cape, and then his eyes widen at the sight of my new amputation.
I hate my body. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.
"Holy #)!"
"If you say so." I say with a tilt of my head. I am cold, numb, everything hurts and it just makes me more tired and more numb. I want sleep. "I'd rather not leave without my leg. Spare biomechanical parts are hard to come by, these days." I can barely finish saying it before Yuffie exclaims,
"Found it!"
If nothing else, that girl is good at locating shiny objects. She hops back into view and brandishes my foot triumphantly.
"It was way over there." She says, pointing vaguely in a nondescript direction. I consider thanking her for finding it, but a wave a dizziness makes me keel over. The night forest around me dims suddenly, the world tilting a funny angle. Cid is there beside me when I come to, holding me up, looking worried. Had I collapsed? Seems that I've just slid off the tree. How did that happen? I feel my grip on my senses loosen. Damn. I hate being so weak. At least it's just Cid. At least I always know where I stand with Cid. He thinks I am a freak and a weirdo, but he accepts it. I shake my head to clear it, but it doesn't really help much. I reach up and gingerly touch the aching part of my head. My hand comes back smeared. I've been bleeding all this time? I only had time to think 'Dammit, Valentine. You're getting sloppy' before I disappeared into the infinity point that is unconsciousness.
Thanks for those reviews, guys! You have no idea how much you cheered me up! You're the best.
You might expect the next chapter fairly soon, since this one might not have been as exciting as one would hope. I hope to have the next chapter up within tomorrow or the day after. Tell me, please, do you think this story's pace is ok so far? I'm afraid it's a little slow. Self-narration style tends to do that to me. I try and go with the whole 'stream of consciousness' thing… Gah. I have no idea what I'm doing!
Go with the flow- that's what I'm trying to do- maybe you should try it, Vincent!
Please review if you have a moment!