Balamb was too tiny to merit it's own police force, so they shared with two other towns close by. It worked quite well, the police headquarters were located a point between the three, and to take care of small everyday things, a sherif was appointed, one for each township.
In Balamb, it was a man named Martine. If anything ever happened, he was the one to call, not the police. The police were a half hour drive to the edge of town, so things usually got done faster if you called Martine. Instead of telling children to call 111 when in danger, they were instructed to call Martine.
And that's exactly what Rinoa intended to do, after seeing if the person who owned the arm sticking out from under her car was alive. She hurriedly crouched down, and peered into the small gap.
She couldn't make out any distinguishing features in the dark, just a tangle of Limbs at awkward angles. She swallowed, and willed herself not to throw up, the smell of blood was over-powering.
Then she heard something, a tiny clicking noise. Rinoa got up slowly, her eyes darting backwards and forwards through the darkness, trying to pinpoint any kind of movement.
"Who's there?" she called. There was a loud bang. Rinoa acted on instinct, quick as lightening, ducking down into a ball, and covering her head with her arms. There was a tinkling shattering sound, then it rained glass on her head. There was another bang, and Rinoa felt a something whizz past her ear.
'Someone is shooting at me!'
She let out a yelp and scrambled behind the car, as two more shots were fired. Breathing hard, she pressed herself flat against the door, bending low so whoever it was couldn't see her through the shattered window.
'Arr! My car!'
There was another bang, and more broken glass, then the the clicking sound of an empty magazine.
'Crap! Crap! Crap! What do I do?!" thought Rinoa frantically. There was more clicking, the gun was being reloaded. Rinoa opened her car door, and flicked off her headlights. Everything plunged into darkness.
'At least it won't be able to see me now...' thought Rinoa. There was another bang. It didn't even hit her car.
'I need to make a break for it ... but where can I run? I could drive ... but what if he shoots me before I can get the car started? And what about the body? If I just sit here he's bound to walk round eventually and finish me off ...' thought Rinoa erratically. She had just decided that driving was the best option, when she heard another engine revving. A motorbike came around the corner, flooding the road with light.
Like a possum in headlights, she was rooted to the spot as the motorbike sped straight towards her.
The biker must have spotted her, because they managed to skid sideways to avoid her, just as another shot was fired.
The biker fell from their bike, the momentum keeping them rolling as the bike itself toppled over and sent sparks up as it skidded over the road. Both rider and bike came to a halt a few moments later.
The biker lay on their back, spread-eagled. They groaned, which Rinoa took as a good sign. Whoever it was, was still alive.
She scrambled over to them, fervently hoping she hadn't caused another death.
"Are you alright?" asked Rinoa anxiously, as the person attempted to sit up. She heard footsteps behind her, and the clicking sound of a gun.
She stood up, and span around. Just beyond her line of vision, stood a figure dressed in what looked like a white trench coat, shrouded by darkness. Rinoa couldn't catch any features of the person in the dark, but she could see the black gun in their hand. It stood out starkly against the white.
Rinoa watched with a horrible sense of impending doom as the figure raised it's arm, and pointed the gun straight where her heart would be. Everything went numb. A number of thoughts flitted across Rinoa's mind as she stared down the black barrel -
'I'm going to die ... like this ... I wonder if it hurts ... Sorry Dad ... I'll see you soon Mum.'
She looked away and waited for the mysterious figure to pull the trigger.
There was no loud bang, only a strange clicking noise, which Rinoa took to mean that the gun had ran out of bullets. The person seemed to get frustrated, and he tried to shoot her again. It didn't work. Rinoa let out the breath that she thought would be her last.
The figure took a step towards her, and it was then that Rinoa realized that the person didn't necessarily need a gun to kill her. Not when they could strangle her, or simply beat her to death. She took a step back, but was meet with what felt like a brick wall. She glanced behind herself and gasped. The biker was up.
(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)
Squall liked riding his motorcycle. Especially at night when there was nobody around. The wind again his leather jacket, the road rushing past underneath him, were all sensations that he savored.
He mostly enjoyed the solitude. He was alone when riding, and he didn't over analyze things or think to much or too deeply like he usually did. He could almost melt into nothingness.
He entered the business district. It was called the business district because there were a couple of small office buildings located there. It was a deserted part of the town, a place people only went if they worked in one of the offices, or if they were passing through.
Around the buildings was lots of undeveloped land, just grassy plains, and the reserve which ran along the edge, like a spine.
He came to a sharp corner, turned, then found himself looking at the most bizarre scene imaginable. He had enough time to think,
"What the- Rinoa!?" then he was slamming on the brakes, and skidding sideways. There was a loud bang, something searing hot grazed past his arm, overbalancing him sideways, then he was falling. He rolled with the momentum, then finally came to a stop.
He groaned. He was dizzy, and it felt as though he'd bruised every bone in his body. He attempted to sit up, but felt nausea rising in his throat. He let himself fall back.
"Are you alright?" asked Rinoa anxiously. Squall gazed up at her through his helmet.
He wondered dazedly why she'd been crouching behind a car in the middle of the road like that, where she had come come from, and why she had three heads.
There was a funny look on her face, a kind of blind panic, she was terrified. It struck Squall then how vulnerable she looked. He didn't like it. Someone was approaching, Squall could hear them.
Rinoa turned suddenly, and her whole body went rigid. Squall sat up slowly, as the nausea ebbed away, and the world slowed it's spinning. He shook his head experimentally, as if trying to rid it of water.
He focused on the approaching figure. They were holding a gun, and aiming at Rinoa.
Squall felt an inexplicable anger rise in him. The world stopped spinning abruptly, and Squall got to his feet. There was a curious clicking sound. The figure had tried to shoot, but evidently there was no ammo left.
They took a step forward, as Rinoa took a step backwards, straight into him. She gasped and span round, as he pulled off his helmet.
"Squall?!" She squeaked He stared straight at the figure, and pushed Rinoa behind him. He and the figure stared at each other for a few moments, then suddenly the figure fled, sprinting off into the night.
Rinoa and Squall stayed completely still for a moment, until the sound of footsteps faded. Squall turned to Rinoa, and broke the silence.
"What happe- oof!" but he was cut off as Rinoa let out a chocked sob, and flung herself at him. He was knocked back a few steps, as Rinoa threw her arms around him, and hugged him round the middle tightly.
To say he was startled was a gross under-statement.
Her shoulders were shaking - she was crying. Squall smelt a faint trace of strawberries in the air.
He felt all the adrenalin leave his body, and he went back to feeling exhausted, and battered. Then his shock subsided, and common sense returned.
"Rinoa, let go." he said quietly. She did as she was told, and stepped back. She was standing closer than he liked, but he decided to let it be under the circumstances. His vision blurred, and he took an unsteady step forward.
" ... What happened?" repeated Squall, blinking away the sudden lightheadedness that had taken over him.
"I ... I ran over someone then that psycho tried to kill me." said Rinoa steadily, but the way her hands shook, and the fact that tears were still gathering in the corners of her eyes gave her away. Suddenly she was peering into his face, clearly concerned.
"Are you alright Squall? You look a bit ... out of it ..."
'Of course I look out of it. I fell off a motorbike.' thought Squall
Rinoa gasped, and pointed at his arm.
"Squall you ... you got hit!" Squall gave her a bemused look, until he looked down for himself, and saw a tear in his jacket, just above his elbow.
"Call the police." he mumbled. He was really having trouble focusing now. Rinoa's face swan in and out of focus before him.
He stumbled slightly to the side, then found himself on the ground.
He felt a pressure on his shoulder.
"I need you to take off your jacket Squall." said Rinoa, then she was helping him shrug it off, and he was powerless to stop her.
"But why ..." he mumbled. She shrugged off her own light jersey, then grabbed his elbow. Squall flinched as a sharp searing pain ran up the length of arm. He looked down to see a nasty wound, a deep long welt at a diagonal slant along his upper arm. It was bleeding profusely.
'So that's why I feel so ... lightheaded.' thought Squall dully.
Rinoa draped his jacket across his shoulder.
"I'll be back in a second. I'm calling the sherif." said Rinoa, then she was gone.
Squall sat quietly, trying to form coherent thoughts. He heard Rinoa open her car door, then rifle around for something.
She dialed. The phone seemed to ring forever, then Squall heard it. A faint jingle. He got up unsteadily, and followed the sound. It lead him back to the car, then under it. There was a phone ringing, underneath Rinoa's car.
"Squall, you shouldn't be-"
"Rinoa it's under the car." interrupted Squall.
"What? What's under the car?" asked Rinoa. She took her cell phone away from her ear and listened.
Her phone sounded loud as it made contact with the ground, it sliced through the think silence of the night like a knife. Horrible realization drew over her features.
"Martine! He had amber eyes!"