Chapter 6: What Happens in the Dark

There was no care for those in his path, no polite "excuse me" or "pardon me" as he pushed, shoved, and threw down anyone who was unlucky enough to be in front of him as he ran to the infirmary. Plenty of Shinra employees glared at him as he passed and helped up the ones who had fallen. They all mumbled obscenities under their breath, none that they would dare say to his face given his frantic attitude at the moment.

Zack had gotten the call this morning from Kunsel. There had been an incident, Senna's mission had gone wrong, and she was unresponsive. That was all the information he was given because that's all that there was to give. His mind raced with questions. What had happened, how bad were her injuries, who was involved with the mission, and more importantly… why was he not told sooner by the medical staff? Why did he have to hear the news from a friend who heard it through word of mouth? Why was he the last to know? A hoard of behemoths wouldn't stand a chance against his raw temper right now as he marched his way to the Medical Ward.

The medical staff seemed so calm as he barged through the door, none of them even flinching as he stomped to the front desk. They were like robots, mindlessly eyeing their clipboards and screens. The receptionist didn't even glance away from her computer as he approached her desk.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked dryly, completely void of emotion.

"No-" He stared, but was quickly interrupted by the robotic woman.

"Please have a seat over there and someone will be with you shortly." Her speech was well practiced, like this is what she says all day long and just lacks the ambition to give any kind of emotion anymore.

"What? No I need to-" Zack was stopped short again by the woman.

"Sir, if it's not an emergency, I must insist you wait your turn to be seen." Never once did she stop typing or glance away from the screen.

"You don't understand, I need-"

"Someone will be out to see you in a moment."

"Damn it!" He yelled as he slammed his fist on the marble desktop. The receptionist gave her first human response since he's been standing there by nearly jumping out of her seat. Her hand to her heart, she looked at him in shock like she had never had someone cause an outburst like his in her presence. "My sister is here! Senna Fair. Where is she?!"

After a couple of startled blinks over wide green eyes, the receptionist quickly typed Senna's name into her computer and pointed Zack down the hallway.

"Room 616." She said quickly.

Without so much as a thank you, Zack took off like a bullet down the hall. He stopped when he reached her room, controlling himself just enough to not burst open the infirmary door on the chance she was awake. Shaking hands opened and closed by his sides as he pictured the worst condition his little sister could be in. Kunsel didn't give him any details on what he should expect to see when he got to her, and he was in such a frantic state that he didn't even stop to think about what he might walk into. Standing outside the door wouldn't give him any answers, that's for sure. With a quick whisper of confidence to himself, Zack grabbed a hold of the lever for the door and opened it enough to peek his head in.

"Senna?" He asked, hoping beyond hope she was awake to answer him.

No such luck. Completely entering the room, he felt his heart drop to his stomach. It was a difficult sight to take in. She looked so frail and broken lying there. Tubes and wires connected to her at every angle, machines beeping and whirring like clockwork as they checked her vitals and helped her breathe. Various cuts and bruises marred her skin, the larger gashes were stitched and bandaged. Tears welled in his eyes at the sight of her and he took in one large hiccup to keep himself under control. Gulping back his sorrow, he pulled a chair next to the hospital bed and cautiously grabbed a hold of his sister's bandaged hand.

"Oh Sen…" he breathed, "what happened to you?"

The sound of Senna's screams echoed through the cave, her voice breaking in agony and filled with terror. Noctis ran blindly through the darkness, following nothing but the sounds of his friend being tortured by the monster they were sent to capture. There was no thought or caution on his mind as the screams got closer. He could see the faint glow of Senna's glow stick on the stone walls, shadows thrashing around the light. The muscles in his legs burned in agony as he pushed himself to run faster, fearing the worst if he got there too late. Silhouettes appeared closer and closer, the screams piercing his ears, and the most terrifying growls he's ever heard were within his grasp.

Noctis readied his gun, but aiming in the dark was impossible. With a curse under his gasping breath, he ignored Alexander's earlier warning and powered on the flashlight attached to his weapon. His heart nearly stopped in fear as he caught the brief glimpse of a ragged, ancient monster between him and Senna. The skin on the creature looked like leather, white and wrinkled. Eyes rolled back into its head, red veins protruding and angry. As soon as he saw it, it was gone, a wide fang toothed smile burned into his memory that would haunt him forever.

Senna collapsed to the ground, still screaming and thrashing. Wide gashes covered her body, blood soaking through her clothes and staining the ground. She clawed at her chest and neck, tearing new wounds into her skin.

"Senna!" Noctis yelled, throwing his gun to the darkness, and diving to grab her wrists before she tore her throat open, "Senna stop! It's gone!"

Tears ran from her eyes as she fought against him to continue her attack on herself. Terror flashed through her eyes and she thrashed in panic. Noctis had to pin her underneath him, kneeling on her arms to control her. Even with all of his weight keeping her down, he could barely keep her contained as she kept screaming and thrashing.

"Senna!" He yelled.

"It's inside me!" Senna screamed, causing Noctis's blood to run cold, "I can feel it! It's inside me!"

"Wha-"

In one quick motion, Noctis was shoved off of Senna and Alexander appeared in the light. He pushed a cloth over her mouth and nose. Her clawing and thrashing slowly stopped, and when her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she finally passed out, Alexander removed the cloth, throwing it to the abyss. He straightened his lab coat as he stood and adjusted his glasses.

"Get her up." He said, "We need to leave. Now."

"What about the others?" Noctis asked, slightly frozen on the ground in shock.

Alexander walked into the darkness, not paying any mind to the two members left on the team or if they were following him.

"They're dead." He said coldly, "Get her up and let's go. We're done here."

Apologies for the short chapter. This is basically a filler for events to come, and I didn't want to drag it out any longer than I needed it to be. For those who left reviews for me, just know I appreciate you all so much! I hope you're enjoying my story as much as some enjoyed the original before I decided to revamp it. I gotta say though, I'm having a much better time with this rewrite than I was with the original. Anyways, thank you all for sticking with me for so long and putting up with my procrastination! You're the best!