Final Fantasy VII 1. Dreams

Chapter 1: Dreams  
  
Through the towering of the bare trees rang out a frightful blood curlting scream that lifted the jet-black crows from their slumber in their nests. The moon was held high in the dark misty sky, shrouded with the dull grayish clouds that slowly moved inward, closing in and devouring its savor able rays that projected from its surface.  
  
Rusted colored dead leaves littered the area on top of the lifeless piles of twigs and branches; struck down during that month by unmerciful winds and unforgivable storms that seemed to push themselves until they had nothing left to give but the smooth dusty winds and dense fog.  
  
The only sounds that vibrated through the thick deadly forest were that of a woman, lost, confused and frighten. She ripped through the woods; grabbing spare branches to help her stay balanced and pulled through each inch of the dense forest. Breathlessly, the young woman fell to her knees in pain and exhaustion, her long brown hair draping in front of her face as she let her head fall into the dry lifeless leaves. Her eyes, a pale lime green, almost illuminated from behind her bangs as she lie silently upon the ground, but really all she wanted was to just get up and sprint, screaming for as long as she could back to her home.  
  
"Katrina.." Came a whisper, its voice stained with a foul evil stench.  
  
With her name sounded to her though, she quickly received her second wind and through herself up to her feet from the cold infested ground. Her thin pale blue blouse was torn around the bottom seam, but almost shaped beyond recognition around her neck, with blood trickling down from her pale lips to her chest.  
  
Katrina's jeans were now blacken from the dirt she had kicked up earlier when she had raced through her friend's yard to escape the same fate that befell her. She limped slightly from the harsh cramp in her right leg, dragging it along side her in pain, and her left hand was firmly pressed against her stomach, with her own blood spilling down and over the backside of her hand from moving around with the wound so much.  
  
Frighten tears streamed down her white cheeks, dripping at the corners of her lips as she moaned with each step in anguish.  
  
Finally, a second of hope came to her as the faint sounds of car engines passed her ears from her left. Katrina's expression swiftly flipped around as her eyes brighten and a small smile began to curl on her pink lips. Limping over, she quicken her pace as a small glimpse of car lights came into her view as well as a street post nearby that lit up the area brightly.  
  
"Katrina, come play with me.." The same voice beckoned followed by a hollow devious laughter. Ignoring the plea, Katrina pushed herself further on, only being a couple feet from her destination now.  
  
Feeling confident now, she relieved her right hand from the branches and clasped it over her left to help to stop her bleeding as she began to apply more pressure against her open wounds. Yielding now, Katrina passed the last hideous tree that she felt she needed to get from and stopped onto solid black pavement.  
  
Glancing about, she realized that there were no cars approaching and soon began to feet dazed from her loss of blood. Falling back into the ground, the soft dewy grass cushioned her fall but her head smacked against the hollow metal post behind her, instantly giving her a splitting headache.  
  
Katrina lay limp and nearly lifeless against the pole, her head swinging over to her shoulders like a loose rag doll's would if disturbed; her eyes as dim as a nearly burnt out bulb. With her vision becoming blurrier by the second, she gently closed her eyes to avoid a worse headache. Her head was still pounding but in the back of her mind she could still her the crunching of leaves and harsh breathing becoming louder by the moments as slow footsteps approached her calmly.  
  
Katrina's mouth gaped open, her lips pale and caked with dry dark blood that still pushed itself down her face. Breaking her eyes into slits, she looked up dazed to make out a black shadow above her, as the footsteps ceased. It stood for but a moment and then slowly began to lift its right side out and up passed it chest.  
  
Liquid dropped from the edge of its side and she could hardly make out what it was carrying until it fell into the glare of street light while casting a cold shadow over her body. It gleamed deadly silver, drunk with blood along its side and tip, curved at the point deviously.  
  
Then, in pure swiftness, the demon shot itself forward, as fast as lightning to a gray metal rod. Katrina sat still, jolting slightly, as the hot blade touched the skin of her neck but was relieved of it in seconds, without a single mark left behind on her. Moments later, a smooth deep red ring began to form circularly around the center of her neck, starting from the sides and touching at the front and back.  
  
Small streams of blood trickled from the ring as her head silently slipped off her shoulders and fell with a sickening thud into her lap, spilling over more blood onto her lifeless body from the cartridge wound.  
  
Then demon raised its arm then in fury and plunged it fiercely into Katrina body again, carving out her stomach's interiors in anger, allowing them to spill over into the ground and onto her as well, staining the areas around her.  
  
In a swift motion it then launched its other hand into her chest deeply and ripped back her still throbbing heart from its safe haven beneath her ribs. It then gripped it tightly, causing her heart to burst from the pressure and pour more blood around her and now itself, as it licked its lips in satisfactory at its victory and pulled her broken heart towards it to feed on its spoils.  
  
Sucking deeply on the exposed organ, it drank the blood till the heart was nothing more then dust which it crushed in the palm of its black hand. The fiend groaned in splendor while it curled its lips into a small smirk as the hot liquid blood dripped from the edges of them carelessly.  
  
At that moment, sparks of light quickly began to produce themselves through the wicked creature and it shrieked in pain as it disappeared quickly into the nearby shadows of the condemned trees and out of sight while a car began to approach the scene.  
  
The music was blaring, shaking the vehicle slightly as they drove down the road in silence through the darkness. Their headlights illuminated the area around them but nothing really showed. A young woman dressed well it what seemed like a homecoming dress sat beside, hand in hand with her date that was well dressed as too.  
  
They both smiled at each other, their eyes gleaming in happiness from the their formal night, and then the young girl turned her gaze away to look up ahead of them. A shiny substance caught her brilliant illuminated blue eyes and she squinted to try and understand what it was.  
  
"Brian, what's that?" she softly asked as she pushed her light red hair back behind her ears gently.  
  
"What's what? I don't see anything." He quickly replied as he started to squint now too.  
  
"Pull over.." She commanded as she lifted her gaze a few feet across from the shiny substance, noticing there was a deep black shadow that stretched out in front of them, her voice was soft though, filled with concern.  
  
Brian looked at her strangely as he started to slow a little, but still going straight down the side, not even trying to stop.  
  
"What? Diana, there's nothing th-,"  
  
"Pull over!" she demanded again as she went for the door handle, ready to leap out any second.  
  
Fearing that Diana would hurt herself, Brian quickly pressed his right foot into the break pedal, causing his wheels to lock and skid slightly to the left.  
  
Diana tightened her grip around the handle and pulled it back towards her to release the door from the frame. Sweeping her pale blue heels from the car, she touched them down against the cold black pavement, clicking with each step she took. Her eyes were blurry from trying to stare up at the lamppost but she could swear there was something there.  
  
A deep creaking like a rusted iron chain on a swing set that gently was pushed by the tender winds to increase curiosity among many other species. Carefully, Diana started to move closer towards the deep shadow and Brian did the same, but focused clearer on the object.  
  
"What is that?" she asked confusingly and as she finally got right beneath it several drops of a warm thick liquid fell onto her pale smooth face. She recoiled quickly in reaction from the swift drops and lifted her soft hand to retrieve them from her cheeks. The pellets of liquid felt as if they were scorching her perfected facial features and they seemed to burn her fingertips as she brushed them over the substance. It felt hot to the touch but she refused to wipe them from her hand as she rubbed her two fingers together to spread it around. Foul putrid air seemed to sweep around her nostrils, soaking up the smell quickly and she swiftly shot her other hand to her lips to cover her nose and mouth in disgust.  
  
Looking to the ground she instantly noticed a puddle of pure wet deep red blood that continued to be added upon by more small drops that fell slowly after one another carefully. Her eyes instantly lit up when she began to examine the little lake closer and noticed a deep reflection of something swinging softly above them.  
  
"Oh my god." Brian started, his mouth seeming to fall as his eyes grew as large as Diana's when he finally caught site of the object of their curiosity. Diana shook violently at the vicious site as she stumbled backwards into the car, gripping it with her free hand that carried the dead woman's blood that smeared against the vehicle. She turned around to hide from the site but she looked into the reflection and quickly screamed and clutched her eyes shut when she saw the vulgar hanging body clearer.  
  
Blood seemed to pour around the exposed flesh, dripping mindlessly to the ground, the corpse's insides were tied around the iron pole, holding it up while the head laid slightly on the opened stomach, the neck lodged inside the center of the body. The eyes of the lifeless decapitated head were wide open, but rolled back inside the skull, exposing its whites.  
  
Brian rushed to Diana's side, wrapping his arms around her neck in comfort as he buried his own head into her soft shiny hair to shield his vision from the hideous site. The creaking seemed to grow louder, as if something was pushing the body around playfully, back and forth. Brian forced himself to look up to see what was going on, shaking in fright at the thoughts of what he might discover. A substance seemed to shroud the body, spinning around it causing it to swing fierce fully as if it was trying to pull it down. The intestines didn't seem as if they could stand the restraint on the body's pull any longer as they started to stretch downwards. The substance shrieked violently in response to the swinging body, pulling it harder towards them, and suddenly the cord snapped and the body fell into the pavement with a sickening thud.  
  
Swiftly, Brian pushed Diana over to the back of the car to avoid the blood that shot out in every direction as the corpse struck the ground. Still shaking, Brian pushed his vision towards the top of the lamppost again and noticed the black substance was gone.  
  
A sudden rush of wind caught him by surprise behind and they both swiftly turned as the substance shot towards them, instantly swallowing their horrified screams both up into the darkness along with them. 


	2. Setting Out on Morning’s Light

Chapter 2:Setting Out on Morning's Light  
  
Shooting out of bed, eyes wide with sweat pouring down the sides of her face, her pale green eyes were large in fright and she brought her hand to her face to wipe herself down while she placed her other over her heart, gripping it tightly. Breathing heavily, and shaking she laid herself back down to calm herself. She stared at the ceiling still in fright of her deep and gruesome nightmare.  
  
Sunlight poured into her room, exposing the bright blue wallpaper she had recently put up the night before in hopes that it might save her from another nightmare.  
  
"Ahh. it didn't work." she whispered to herself as she fought to not close her eyes again. She sighed aloud as she slapped her hand onto her forehead, slid it down past her neck and rested it upon her chest in exhaustion. Her eyes were slitted, trying to hide them from the deepening bright sun that glittered through the thin glass doors next to her. She gently rolled her head to the side to glance out into her backyard to discover it was as she left it the night before. Taking in a deep breath, she carefully slipped her hands to her sides and pulled herself up into a sitting stance to get a better view. Pulling her left hand delicately to her face to hide it from the sun, she looked out across her yard into the neighbors, noticing that the back doors were both slide wide open.  
  
She plopped back into her soften warm pillow, staring up at her ceiling again in dizziness from her sudden upraise. Her face was red, showing how the blood must of rush to her head when she was asleep. It was the middle of July and no one around seemed to work very hard anymore, it was all computers and space now. The town was practically empty except for their one main attraction, the sturdy old rocket that had been lying there, tilted for what seemed over a decade. Moss and vines grew along its bronze sides, while rust ate away at its once brilliant shiny metal. Dust covered their once great green trails that ran from the city and into the fields that lead to the mountains. The wind was silent, hardly blowing if anything at all, reassuring her thoughts of a blistering day.  
  
It was just a couple weeks after she had moved into her new home that she had beginning having these dreams, no nightmares and they were only getting worse everyday. She had high hopes that this home would take all her fears of the planet from her mind, but for some reason, everything was getting worse. Silently, she pushed herself up again and slipped herself off the right side of her bed, wobbling slightly from her last night's uneasy sleep. It had been years since she last saw any newcomers inside the town in just a tour or an adventure, and even though it was a boring life, she was just glad that the people of that town had instantly accepted her when they first found her lying outside their homes, unconscious and stabbed through her stomach.  
  
Quickly, she undressed and pulled on a pair of blue jean shorts, and bright rose pink short-sleeved blouse. Slipping her shoes on, she started out the front door of her home and headed out into the town. The familiar towns people turned and smiled at her, admiring her beauty and kindness as she smiled back brightly, her long chocolate brown hair braided flowing behind her tied with a neat pink bow that matched her shirt. The young woman walked slowly up the path towards the edge of the town, where no one dared to venture because of the treacheries the mountains bared. Just looking at the top of their peaks sent chills down her spine, knowing that she must have either come from there or..  
  
She turned towards the other side of the town where you could faintly see the nearby ocean that softly touched against the shore, spreading light foam over it from the ice continent that remained over the side. Shaking her head from the thought of being washed ashore, she turned back to the mountains looking deeply at them and took in a deep breath.  
  
"I'm going to up there today." she whispered to herself and started to take a foot out in front of her.  
  
"Feline!" a young man cried as he ran up to her and grabbed her shoulders, turning her instantly towards him.  
  
"What is it Jack?" she asked, her brilliant green eyes looking confusingly up at him in concern. "Uhh, well. you can't leave the town!" He cried, letting go of her as well as his gaze as he swung his head over to his shoulder with his arms falling back behind him.  
  
Jack and her never really got along, ever since they met. He always told the people that she was nothing more then a troublemaker that would only cause them harm if they brought her in, but never the less, he still looked out for her as an older brother would.  
  
"Why, Jack, what ever gave you that idea?" she asked sarcastically rolling her eyes and swinging her own hands back behind her, holding them together playfully.  
  
"Don't start that shit with me! You're not leaving the town!"  
  
"Whatever, I'm tired of being stuck here, I'm going to find out where I came from and that's that!" she screamed and swiftly turned, her hair whipping him in the face.  
  
Jack recoiled at her swift but gentle attack and charged up after her, grabbing her arm and holding to it furiously.  
  
"You're not going!"  
  
Feline turned around, whipping out a glowing ball, no bigger then a jumbo marble. It swirled with a silverish tint that intermixed with a pale green liquid inside softly.  
  
"Don't mess, Jack or you're going to have chip yourself out of an ice block.." she warned, and a smile crossed her lips when she realized she had achieved what she wanted.  
  
Slowly, he released her and took in a deep breath turning to the town slowly and then back to her.  
  
"Well, if you go, I have to go.." he replied sadly as he shoved his hands, without trouble, into his jean's pockets.  
  
"You don't HAVE to do anything. that's your own choice," she whispered as she turned around and started towards the mountains, steady in pace.  
  
"NO! You can't leave me with this burden! If you leave, and they know I let you, they'll all go after me!" he cried out, pleading towards her.  
  
Smiling, Feline turned and responded, "Watch me.."  
  
"No! AH! Come back! Agh. this isn't fair." he whispered as he charged after her trying to keep up with her.  
  
"And what happens when you do find out where you came from? What then?"  
  
"Well, I don't know really,"  
  
"See! You can't leave unless you think this through!"  
  
"But I don't really care either, my main concern is, I want to know where I came from, why I was wounded, where I went, and I want to meet the people I knew then."  
  
"But what if they're not the right kind of people, like evil or something?!"  
  
The two seemed to argue the whole way towards the base of the mountain but unknown to them, an older man, entering his mid-forties, was eyeing them carefully. A small chuckle escaped his lips as a smiled took over his expression. Dressed in ragged jeans, a dusty white shirt and topped with a blue jean jacket, the old man seemed to enjoy what he saw quite thoroughly. His rugged short blonde hair was massed downwards, as if with gel and a headband like pair of goggles were wrapped around his forehead, as if he were a pilot.  
  
"Aeris Gainsborough has come back to us.." 


End file.
