A/N: WOOT! Just had the first half of my art exam today, so i got a little bit of spare time on my hands. this chapter was so automatic for me lol.

Enjoy

Chapter 8

"You stay put. We'll come back for you later." The tattooed woman said viciously. She and her accomplices left Elena alone in the dingy prison cell. It was dark, dismal, and made Elena wonder even more what the hell had just happened.

"Hello." said a timid voice behind her. Elena jumped and turned to see a small girl sitting on the dirty floor.

"Who are you?" Elena said, relieved that it was only a child. There was something that bugged her a little though, but she moved closer to the small girl to listen more comfortably to her.

"My name's Kayla." She said with a suspiciously happy smile on her face. Then Elena realized what it was about her that she was bothered about. Her skin was pale, almost pure white, and her hair was dark, with a bluish shine, and her eyes were a dull red.

"You're one of them, aren't you? What are you doing in here?" Elena asked her.

"They threw me in here because I'm not pure." She replied simply. "My father was a human."

"What… what are you people?"

"I shouldn't really tell you." Kayla said, almost mockingly.

"Please… just tell me; have you seen my friend? He had red hair…"

"Oh… listen to me; just promise not to tell, 'kay?"

"Oh… okay." Elena said, even more suspicious now. Why had the girl agreed to help her as soon as she had mentioned Reno?

"Her name is Rei." The girl practically spat. "The whole tribe is called Shiso."
"Shiso?"

"They are a group of disgusting, near-human beings who seem to be under the delusion that the only purpose in life is to resurrect the rest of the woman who were killed from their tribe… and who wants to know?" another voice said quickly. Elena looked sharply to her left to see a tall young man. Elena couldn't help but notice that he was very attractive, however he didn't look very happy. He too had the dark hair and pale skin of a Shiso, but his eyes were a bright blue, almost like Mako eyes.

"I… I can't tell you who I am." Elena said nervously. She knew this man could hurt her if he wanted to, and she had the feeling he did.

"So they got you too? Well, the bitches will get what they deserve, you just wait and see." The man said triumphantly, sitting down next to the little girl.

"Daddy, you know we're stuck in here…" Kayla said to the man.

"You… you're her father?" Elena stammered. "So you both got punished…"

"That's right. I'm a pure human, I had no idea my wife was one of these Shiso. She was beautiful, and she was a great woman, that's all I cared about."

"What happened to her?" Elena asked.

"She was killed." The man said simply. "By the same woman that just threw you in here. She seemed to think that throwing me and Kayla into this cell was a more appropriate punishment."

"Oh…"

"Now, if you were to tell me who you are young lady, I might be able to help you."

"Elena, my name is Elena." Elena said nervously. She wasn't sure how much she could safely tell these people.

"Hmm…" The man stared at her with scrutiny. "Shin-Ra? I'm guessing Turk from the uniform."
"Uh… erm… yeah." Elena said, giving up. She had never been any good at lying.

"Ah, I see. So what were you doing here?"

"We… me and my friend were doing some surveillance here. We've had things stolen from us."

"Oh. Where's your friend?"

"I don't know." Elena said, "That's why I'm here. I need to find him, then get out of here."

"Well, that's not gonna happen any time soon. If Rei doesn't want someone to leave, they won't get away. Why do you think we're still here?"

Elena didn't reply, just sat examining her surroundings. She could see that there was no way out, even though there was a window above them, it was too high, and the metal bars were tightly fixed across it.

"Psst… 'Laney." a hushed whisper from the prison door caught her attention. "I'm pushing the key under the door."

"Reno?" Elena said, a little too loudly. The key slid quickly under the door.

"I can't stay 'Laney, they're after…"

"Ah, there you are." a familiar voice said. Elena heard Reno stutter, then that was followed by a sickening crack, then silence.

"Reno…" Elena muttered. Her heart was beating too fast, and she felt sick. The key was cold under her fingers, and she hadn't dared open the door yet just in case there was someone keeping guard.

"I'm going." Elena said, deciding the longer she left it, ultimately it was going to be more obvious that the key was missing. "Do you want to leave as well?"

"Of course we do." The man said as Elena clicked the key in the lock. The man stood up and held his hand out. "Give me the key; I'll put it back where it was to give you some time… I've spent a long time in this place, I know things." He added, noting Elena's odd glance.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Elena said.

"Tell your friend we said thanks." The man replied, accepting the key. Elena nodded and exited the cell.

It was extraordinary dark outside, and Elena didn't like it one bit. Everything was silent and there seemed to be no one around. She couldn't help but think of that man; she was a little suspicious of him, since he was so willing to do something so dangerous. Elena cast the thought to the back of her mind, and set her goal to finding Reno. She looked around at her surroundings. It was basically a primitive village, with loads of small huts built close together. There were a few more structured buildings, like the one she had just exited.

There was just one thing; where would they have taken Reno? It seemed odd that he had been allowed to roam free while Elena was locked away, but knowing Reno, he had escaped from a prison cell just as secure as hers. But how had he found the key?

Elena shook her head, deciding she could ask Reno all this when she found him.

"That's the last of them."

Elena turned to see the tattooed woman again, with a sly smirk on her face. Several women were keeping Kayla and her father from escaping, three of them were struggling with the man.

"Take them back." the woman named Rei ordered the others. She turned back to Elena and smiled. "Since you seem so keen to be with your friend, I'll be nice."

Elena stared into her red eyes, for some reason not liking what she heard. Maybe it was the expression on her face, or the tone of her voice, or maybe just the fact that she was sick enough to lock away a man and his daughter for being human, but Elena didn't trust that this woman could be 'nice'.