Yikes! I can't believe how long it has taken to get back to this story. It would be hopeless to try and describe how mad I am at myself for going on such a long hiatus, and how sorry I am to any readers who had been fretting over what would happen next. Unfortunately, Reno won't get much of a "Welcome Back" in this chapter, as I kept him out of it entirely; for those who enjoyed reading how I portrayed Reno, you'll just have to wait for the next installment.
Now you're probably asking, "Well how long will that take?" I want to assure you that I particularly hated writing this chapter, which is quite obvious when you take a peek at how utterly short it is; in fact, it's approximately half of what I've been writing. That's not to say you won't enjoy reading it, it's more of what you've been reading already, except for the fact that Reno isn't in it. The next chapter should be extremely easier to write; at least, that's what I'm hoping.
Anyway, read on. This is the first chapter focusing entirely on the Turks sans Reno, so go easy on me; it'll take some work to adjust to their personalities, though I feel that I did a passable job.
Adrift on the Tides
Written by: Viewing Pleasure
They were still speaking. I kept my eyes closed as I listened in. Their voices droned like a dull buzz through my skull.
"Well where are we supposed to go?"
"I'll go where the boss tells me—"
"But Tseng—!"
"Enough, what do you think he'd say if he heard you talking like this?"
"He'd probably tell me I'm not acting like a Turk, but instead like a whiny little child." The poor girl seemed disappointed, had Tseng's words struck a chord?
"Exactly, Elena, now I don't—we're being followed."
The nauseating aroma of bile reached my nostrils, in the back seat Rude was grasping at his chest. A quick bump from behind threw him forward out of the seat, and me straight into the dashboard. I managed to keep a curse down as my nose made a painful collision.
Elena pulled me back just as I was about to go unconscious, "Sir, speak to me, are you okay!"
"Fine—just a little shook up, that's all." With a quick glance out the back window, as foggy as it was, I whispered, "Tseng, what exactly is on our tail?"
"From what I can tell it looks like one of those wraiths. The damn things don't know when to quit, do they? I don't understand what they want with us."
"I never thought it would come to this—do you think we were right to rebuild Shinra?"
"Sir?" Two unsure gazes were cast upon me in unison.
"That's why these things are here—not to mention to punish us for banishing Sephiroth."
The unstable van vaulted harmlessly into the air as we hit another bump in the road. "But who would possibly—" Tseng cocked his head to see our pursuers; we were still being followed.
"Hojo—it's too much of a coincidence. He shows up just after you Turks run into the army of wraiths, the two have to be related."
Rude began vomiting once again, followed by a violent cough. Was there anything left in his overturned stomach? His face was as pale as a sheet, and the little inconveniences that kept sending the vehicle flying weren't helping matters. "What's the nearest place we can head to?"
My question was met with silence—possibly due to my waning voice—until suddenly Rude himself managed to spit out, "Junon—!"
Truly these were the thoughts of an insane man. Why, to get there we'd have to—"To get there we'd have cross over the mountains."
Tseng was quick to voice his opinion, the same problems recognized in my own mind, "But, sir, we're not properly equipped to attempt such a feat."
"Don't we always carry hiking supplies in the back of the van?" The only female Turk's words echoed for a few moments, suddenly she began to realize, as was plain on her face, that this particular Shinra vehicle had not been subject to any of the usual checks for a long time.
Clearing his throat, Tseng continued, giving an apologetic glance as Elena used her hands to hide any shed tears, "As I was saying, without any gear we won't be able to get to Junon at all. I suggest that we simply wait for—"
Blood poured onto the carpet; Rude's breathing became silent.
I had nothing left but to hope for the best, "Waiting is something we just can't do at the moment. To Junon."
There was no reply, no fear, no suggestions—my words would soon be following the wishes of a dead man if any time were wasted frivolously. We could only yearn that by some stroke of luck the river leading out of the mountains had dried up.
A high-pitched screech threatened to pierce our eardrums as a claw tore through the steel plating on the back of the van. As it forced itself inside, it almost seemed to grow to a larger extension of the creature's arm.
We swerved to the left. A wail so painful sounded through the night as the wraith lost its claw, dark blood pouring in mass amounts into the back of the vehicle.
Time seemed to freeze as the wraiths neared closer and closer to us, but all of a sudden they disappeared in thick clouds of black mist. The van slowed to a stop, the tires trying to gather friction on the loosely packed gravel.
My eyes turned to Tseng.
He returned my gaze as his hands moved down to the stick shift, the gears grinding as he put the vehicle into park. A feeble wind rocked against the paneling on the outside, bringing forth a very foreboding noise.
The door slid carefully open at Elena's touch, and a brisk air seemed to rush over her; she shivered in response, "B-boss, the coast is clear. Those monsters have disappeared without a trace."
"It could be a trick," My words of warning went unheeded.
Tseng, surveying the area momentarily, wandered off in search of something.
"We don't have time to be dawdling about, Rude is in danger of dying!" I watched helplessly as my shouts were stifled by a nearby waterfall as it pounded relentlessly on a gathering of boulders.
In a similar lack of common sense, Elena began to flee the vehicle, stopping not far off to kneel before a miniature field of flowers. I could just barely hear her singing a melodic tune as she yanked a few flowers away from their stems, setting the remainder of the beautiful flora into the pocket at her side.
I turned in my seat and started the arduous task of patching up Rude's wounds as best I could; pouring water from a nearby canteen down his throat.
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Such pretty flowers, I had to take some with me on the trip, maybe I could even give them to the one I pined for. I blushed at the thought, clutching my reddening cheeks. My heart started beating faster just imagining his lips brushing up against mine.
"Oh, Tseng, why can't we just get away from all this? I'm tired of this constant chaos, I don't even think you notice me anymore," Tracing a circle in the dirt at my feet, I stared off into the distance.
For a moment, my mind went completely blank, but then suddenly an icy gust of wind thrashed against my shoulders. I rubbed my arms to try and warm them up, but to no avail. Hopefully focusing my attention on picking flowers would help me forget how cold I was.
"Daisy, Daisy—give me your answer true—" The sound of young children singing filled the area. Although the song wasn't meant to be a threatening melody, it was so out of place that an uneasy feeling started to awaken in my stomach.
I stumbled backwards into the dirt, and my left leg cried out in pain.
"I'm half crazy over the love of you—" They were getting much closer. Is this why the wraiths retreated so quickly?
While hightailing back to the van, I bumped my head against the door frame. Tears coming to my eyes, I held the spot in pain, shouting at the top of my lungs, "Tseng! Get back here! We have to go!"
Rufus looked me over as if I had grown a second head, "What's the matter with you? Did something happen out there?"
Ignoring his question, I raised my voice, yelling yet again, "Did you hear me! We have to get out here!"
"Daisy, Daisy—give me your answer true—" Even Rufus heard their eerie chorus this time around.
"As much as it pains me to say it, we can't wait for Tseng to get back."
"But—!"
"We saw him head off west, start the van, maybe we can catch up to him."
With a bit of reluctance, I shifted over into the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel with both hands. My foot pushed down on the accelerator, and for a moment I was shocked to find that we weren't going anywhere.
"You forgot to put the vehicle into drive—" He crouched down onto the carpet, holding tightly onto a nearby handle.
Slowly moving the stick shift, the sound of the van's mechanics soothed my fear. Then disorder entered inside as the window of the passenger seat shattered into multiple shards of glass, decorating the floor in a hectic manner.
"Go! Go!" The boss' finger hovered inches from my face.
The screeching of the tires as we took off shook my nerves for a moment.
"What if we can't find him, sir?"
"Then we'll just have to keep going. Tseng is tough; he can fend for himself out there. Right now Rude is our top priority, I won't let him go knowing that I didn't try my hardest to save him."
My grip on the wheel grew tighter and tighter, causing the skin on my fingers to become taut. Nothing escaped my watchful eyes as I raced to find Tseng.
My eyes darted right—nothing.
They darted left—nothing.
All around us was a field of nothingness caught in a disorienting mist of dull grey. The voices of the children still followed after us, becoming sort of an omnipresent being; I couldn't exactly tell where it was coming from.
Deep in my heart, the realization that Tseng had gone missing was finally noticed. I drove onward, trying to escape from whatever meant us harm.
Why were we always caught up in chaos? Why?
That's it, did you enjoy it? I certainly hope you did, considering the annoyance this chapter caused me. Tseng's gone missing, eh? Well, he won't be too sorely missed; at least, not for very long. I have plans for him, so you can be sure he'll be back.
As always, I love reading your reviews, especially if they have criticism on how I can better myself, so please, if you have the time leave me a little something. It would be wonderful to know how I've been doing.