~ Watch Me ~
The Bodies
For a moment neither Rose, Kunsel, or Sephiroth spoke, their attentions held by their morbid discovery.
Rose stared numbly at the two dead bodies on the ground. They'd both been shot cleanly through the head, the exit wounds obvious. Rose shook her own.
"What the hell happened here?" She breathed, casting the light of her phone cautiously around her. "And where's Sarah?"
Instinct told her to call out blindly into the woods, the Troop could be nearby, hurt or in trouble, but Rose pushed instinct forcefully to one side. Whoever had shot these men could still be nearby, it would be idiotic to alert them.
"Where indeed." Sephiroth murmured in response, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Rose shifted uncomfortably, hearing the unspoken accusation in his words. "You think Sarah did this?" She questioned, her gaze snapping up, horrified. "But..."
"Look at the wounds, Rose." He said matter of factly, crouching down to get a closer look. "The entry points for both bullets are the back of the head. There's no evidence of a disturbance, nothing to indicate that they tried to defend themselves. It all suggests that they trusted their attacker."
"Maybe they were outnumbered?" She offered feebly, not enjoying the feeling that someone she should have been able to trust, had suddenly betrayed them all so viciously. She looked at Kunsel. "How well do you know her?"
"Sarah?" He said, still clearly troubled by the bodies. "Not well. I know she was asked to join SOLDIER and refused – preferred the army apparently. Angeal probably knows her best. He's worked with her quite a lot, and Zack – not sure how close her and her cousin are..."
Rose nodded. "Yeah, she mentioned that she'd worked with Angeal." She sighed, another point suddenly troubling her. She glanced down at the two dead Troops. "What are we going to do with them?"
"Nothing." Sephiroth replied flatly, already stepping over them to move on ahead.
Rose's mouth dropped, mortified. "But... we cant just leave them. They have families, they need to be put to rest."
He stopped and turned, his gaze eerily reflected in the light of her phone. He considered her for a moment.
"What would you have us do?"
Rose's lips parted in response, but nothing came out. It wouldn't be practical to carry them, what if they were attacked? There was obviously no time for a burial, they needed to press on, but the thought of leaving them there, so fragile and alone... Her gaze flickered pleadingly to Kunsel, hoping he would offer something of some consolation, but he merely lifted his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Rose. I know it's shitty, but there's really nothing we can do."
Rose nodded, dropping her head sadly in defeat. She looked around again. "Can we at least move them into a bush? Offer their bodies some protection, until someone can come back and collect them?"
Sephiroth sighed, his slender features mirroring the same look as Kunsel's, telling Rose her priorities were wrong.
She didn't care.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Kunsel answered resignedly, bending to carefully lift one of the guys up beneath the arms. "She'll only worry over it."
Reluctant, Sephiroth nodded, clearly believing it to be a wasted effort. Despite this, he followed Kunsel's lead, tentatively hiding the bodies beneath the over-growth, respectful where they could be. When they were done, Rose pulled a small hair-tie from her pocket, bundling sticks together to make a thick rod – she jammed it into the ground.
"They'll be able to find them easier this way." She said, happy that the spot was clearly marked for someone who was looking for it. "We can at least make sure they get home."
They set off again after that, Rose careful to not lose her footing again, and the three of them strangely silent. It was Kunsel that broke it first.
"So, have you always been able to that?" He said to Rose, running beside her shoulder.
Rose glanced at him, confused. "Do what?" Her eyes were on Sephiroth, he was at least six foot ahead, she didn't want to lose sight of him, or she was bound to get herself lost in the dark.
"Tame monsters." Kunsel said.
Rose scoffed, caught off guard. "What are you on about?"
"The little red things." He said, referring to the Fire Nymphs she had all but fallen on, back at the embankment. "I've never seen them act like that around people. Normally they just try and kill you, but it was like they trusted you."
Rose frowned, not having really thought about the encounter.
"They probably weren't hungry." She said, but she already knew that was a lie.
They had definitely wanted to eat her at first, but when she caught their fireball, something switched. They'd sensed something in her, a bond, and Rose had absolutely no idea where it had come from.
"If you say so." Kunsel replied, clearly calling bullshit on her answer. He pressed further. "So, nothing like that has ever happened before?"
Rose thought back. "Not that I can think of." She said, honestly this time. "Animals tend to like me, maybe it's that."
"Right." Kunsel murmured, obviously thinking something different. "We'll go with that for now."
Rose rolled her eyes, but she caught the curious glance Sephiroth had thrown over his shoulder, and she worried. Did he think she was a freak too?
Rose sighed, she really wanted to get out of the woods.
[-]
Eventually, they found Angeal and Zack waiting patiently in yet another small clearing. They looked up when they approached, curious and confused by their slow arrival.
"Finally I've beaten you at something." Angeal joked half serious to Sephiroth, his gaze shifting briefly to Rose's, a flicker of concern lighting behind his eyes. "What kept you? Have you seen Sarah and the others? They were supposed to set up base here."
"Sarah is M.I.A." Sephiroth answered quietly. "The Troops that were with her are dead; shot in the back of the head."
Angeal took a moment to digest this. "I see."
"There was no evidence of a fight."
Angeal nodded slowly. "You think she did it."
"I think it is the most likely outcome."
When Angeal said nothing, it bothered Rose that he had accepted her betrayal so willingly. Were Shinra operatives really so untrustworthy? The way Sarah had spoken of Angeal, she clearly thought highly of him, did that count for nothing? Was there really no loyalty in Shinra?
"Why would she betray us though? It doesn't make sense." Rose thought out loud, looking around their group for some support. "Were there any signs she was going to do something like that?"
Angeal sighed. "It's not always easy to know what someone else is thinking, Rose. People can find a reason to do anything these days."
Rose frowned, wanting to argue, but dropped her gaze. She didn't know Sarah, she didn't really know Shinra, or how it worked. She folded her arms.
"Regardless." Sephiroth cut in, his tone even and unshaken. "The Troops are dead, someone else will have to keep this area secure."
No one said anything, and Rose looked up. All eyes were on her.
"Me? But..." She stopped. Yes, she wanted to go further into the mission, but she was the least experienced SOLDIER there, it made sense that she be the one to stay behind. Defeated by her own logic, she sighed. "Fine."
"I'll stay with her." Kunsel said, before anyone could interject. "You need two people to secure an area this large, and the Director did say we were over-manned for the mission."
Sephiroth inclined his head. "We shouldn't be more than a couple of hours. We'll meet back here. Call if something goes wrong." Hesitating, he shifted his gaze unwillingly to meet Rose's. "Don't do anything reckless to draw attention to yourselves. Listen to Kunsel, he'll take the lead here." He turned to her red-haired friend, ignoring Rose's affronted frown. "Understood?"
Kunsel nodded. "Yes, sir."
Sephiroth reciprocated, gesturing to Angeal and Zack. "Ready?"
"Always." They said in unison.
"Be careful." Angeal murmured to her, breaking into a run as he headed off with Sephiroth and Zack.
Rose and Kunsel watched them disappear into the trees.
"You didn't have to do that you know." She said, refusing to remove her gaze from the heavy thicket.
Rose knew from what she had picked up in small conversation, and comments from the others, that missions like this often offered up the chance for notoriety and promotion. Kunsel had thrown all that all away by offering to watch her back.
He shrugged. "Ah, I've never been much of a glory hunter. Leave that to the big boys, and our little Zack."
She smiled. "He really does want it all, doesn't he."
"Wants to be a hero; just like Sephiroth. That's why he joined."
"Mm." Rose murmured thoughtfully. She tilted her head, looking up at Kunsel suddenly. "What about you? Why did you join, if it wasn't to become a hero, mister Kunsel?" She teased, her lips lifting playfully.
"Oh that's easy." He grinned, though Rose didn't miss the new sharp steeled edge to his tone. "My Brother insisted I was too much of a faggot to make it in the Shinra army. So I enlisted with him, kicked his ass in almost every test and combat situation, and eventually I was hand-picked for SOLDIER, and he was kicked out for being a drunk, and that, m'dear, is how you prove someone wrong."
Rose studied him, his voice was smug, but there was a quiet sadness in his face, one he was determined not let her see. She touched his arm.
"I'm glad you're here, but I'm sorry your Brother had to be a massive asshole to make it happen."
Kunsel chuckled. "Thanks, lil miss. Your words, as always, are appreciated."
She smiled, but before she could reply, something disturbed the trees behind them. They both spun on their heels, instinctively drawing their swords, and suddenly someone broke through the thicket.
"H-help...me...I can't..." The person gasped, stumbling forwards.
Their clothes were filthy, absolutely caked in dirt, it took Rose too long to realise it was a Troop uniform they were wearing.
The person collapsed.
"Sarah!" Rose gasped, running forward.
Kunsel tried to stop her. "Rose, wait!"
But she'd already dropped to her knees beside the fallen Troop, carefully turned her onto her back, as she began to examine her wounds.
"Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me? What happened?" She pressed, worry knitting her brows tightly together, as she took in the woman's features. Her normally rich chocolate complexion had greyed, her skin clammy to the touch. Rose shook her head, feeling Kunsel crouch down quietly beside her. "She's lost a lot of blood." She murmured, looking at what appeared to be a gunshot wound in Sarah's side. Rose touched the woman's forehead. "Sarah? What happened, can you tell us?"
Sarah tried to stir, her eyes opening, but her gaze wouldn't fix on anything in particular. Rose knew that couldn't be a good sign.
"The two I was with...Smith and MacDonald...they're traitors." Sarah breathed, her voice catching when she spoke. "Once we were clear of you, one of them... shot me, and... kicked me down an embankment. They left me for dead."
Rose frowned. "How do you know?"
"I heard them talking. They were arranging to meet someone, someone from Wutai. You have to do something. You have to warn the others..."
Rose's gaze widened, panic clutching at her chest. "What... what do you mean? Warn the others about what?"
But Sarah had already passed out, her pulse barely registering upon checking.
Rose turned desperately to Kunsel, and he pulled out his Healing Materia. "I guess we better hope this works, or it sounds like the shit is really going to hit the fan."
R&R! Thanks for reading again guys! Sorry for the update delay. Last week was a trial. Hope you're all okay? Thanks for the favs and the follows. If you can review, I'd really like to hear what you think?
Take care xx