Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
String Theory and the theory of the Multiverse are not connected. Many people think String Theory is about multiple universes, but that is not correct. However, after everything that’s happened to me, I’m beginning to wonder if String Theory at least has some bearing on Multiverse theory. I don’t know or really understand String Theory. It is basically a way to unite and explain physics; theorizing that particles of matter are string like rather than point like. In this you can have open and closed strings. If the string is open, the two ends have to be connected; stretched between something called Branes.
What if this worked for the Multiverse? The Multiverse Theory suggests there are a multitude of universes out there. Bubble universes are where scientists propose that space stopped expanding after the big bang; little pockets of space exist that can have their own unique laws of physics while the rest of space expands around them. There is the theory of parallel universes which state that other three dimensional universes float alongside our own, just out of reach on a higher dimensional space; like we’re a big cosmic loaf of bread.
Daughter universes occur when we are met with crossroads. Something like taking a walk in the woods and coming to a fork in the road would create two Daughter Universes; one where you go left and one where you go right. Rolling a six sided die would create six Daughter Universes; one for each side of the die to land upright. You can even create them just getting dressed in the morning. Imagine two universes side by side. In both you are sitting at your desk in the morning doing the same work you always do, except one of you is wearing jeans and the other a skirt.
Knowing what I do now, I wonder if all of these theories are right in some way. Perhaps instead of a cosmic loaf the universes are just long drawn out strings stretched through space and time, weaving in and out of each other, stretched between two giant cosmic Branes. What if instead of some cataclysmic bang when they connect, resulting in resetting the universe, it instead tears a hole; allowing things to pass from one universe to another? What if catastrophic events in one universe could tear holes in it and any nearby universe, thus also allowing people to pass through?
I say this because I think Stephen King passed through these holes. I think many authors, movie writers, game creators, have passed through these holes. If they haven’t done it in person, perhaps they’ve done it in their dreams. I think King hinted about it in his books, because the tear I fell through can only be described as a Thinny. I fell through a Thinny into a world I thought was only fiction.
My name is Beatrix Lombardi and I fell through a Thinny right into the world of Final Fantasy 7.
Chapter 2: The Crossing
Chapter Text
Sometimes Sam could be a real prat. I was already bogged down with preparing contracts, sending out purchase orders, and updating job reports; and he waits to tell me the morning of that Black Thunder had work for us. Black Thunder was what Nick called a continuous client. Our prices and our work were exactly what they wanted so we never had to bid to get jobs from them. Whenever they needed something they just gave us a call and we’d head out to take some pictures, design the building, send out a proposal, and boom we’ve got the job. Sam, the estimator assigned to them, wanted me to go out and take the pictures for him today.
Jackie and Mark were both missing from their desks as I walked by. Both men had managed to get injured on the job and were out on leave. Jackie fell down a set of stairs because our idiot steel contractor didn’t install a railing correctly and Mark wasn’t watching where he was going and fell down a hole being dug for a septic tank. They were okay but would be out for awhile. That brought us down to two project managers. Both were busy as were two of our estimators, one of which was Sam. The third was on vacation.
I could ask one of the other administrators but Mary was two weeks from retirement and Delilah was training her replacement, Carla. Mary handled the estimators while Delilah and I helped the project managers, but we helped each other whenever we could. All three women gave me sympathetic looks when they saw my face. Dee leaned on the short wall separating our desks once I flopped angrily into my seat.
“What’s got you in such a foul mood so early?”
“Five bucks its Sam.” Camilla, the payroll clerk, tossed a donut hole in the air and caught it in her mouth.
“Sam? No! He’s an angel.” Mary snarked.
“Black Thunder called yesterday. They want their break room redone for the truck shop, and the awning for the smoker’s patio.” I took a vicious bite of my breakfast sandwich as I pulled steel toe boots and a hard hat from under my desk. “If I had known I’d be traipsing through coal town I wouldn’t have dressed so nice today!” I waved a hand over my black skinny jeans and purple v-neck sleeveless blouse.
“Sorry Bea. At least you have your boots here.” Delilah said. My lip twitched at the nick name. I earned it because of my name, the fact that I can beatbox, and because I blush red as a beet whenever the foreman David Friedman comes through the door.
“I’m not even mad that I have to go. Just that he waited until the last freakin minute to tell me.”
“Understandable.” Mary said. “Make him buy you lunch. The Greek food truck is coming by today.”
“Oh sweet!” Gyros and falafel!” I did a little happy wiggle in my seat, and then stood with my bag and purse. “Will you have him get me my favorites if I’m not back in time? You know how I get to talking with them sometimes.”
“You got it, hon.”
“Thank you, ladies! I’ll see you when I get back.”
“See you later!”
“Drive safe.”
“Bye!”
Black Thunder was the second largest coal mine in the United States, spanning a total of 35,700 acres and employing over one thousand people. There’s buildings for processing, shipping, and offices; plus shops for fixing minor equipment and vehicle issues. That meant there were plenty of areas ripe for renovation or repair and plenty of work for the guys and gals at Edward Schwartz and Sons Construction. In fact, we did so much work for them that our employees were quite familiar with most of their office personnel.
On more than one occasion some of us had gotten together for Hibachi or Karaoke. Kelly and Carl attended a Stephen King book club with Delilah and I; and Joey and Ellie-Grace usually gamed on Twitch with me. So it was only natural that once I was done taking pictures I stopped back at the office to chat. Perhaps things would have been different if I hadn’t. I was leaning on Kelly’s desk talking to her and Ellie-Grace when it happened. We were all hit with a strange wave of vertigo and then…
“Oh my god! What was that?!” Kelly gasped.
“I don’t know, but I think I’m gonna be sick.” El did look pretty green.
“Maybe the guys should check and see if the canary died.” I joked. Their mine was open air.
“What. Is. That!?”
Following Kelly’s finger we looked out the southern windows. A strange greenish glow was building rapidly into a blinding flash and a loud ripping sound, like someone was tearing a hole in denim accompanied it. When we were able to see again the green glow was gone. Silence blanketed the office as we tried to work out just what the hell we had seen.
“You don’t think it really was gas, do you?” Ellie-Grace was watching the windows warily.
“No. I feel like there would have been more of a whoosh and boom than a ripping sound.” Kelly said. I walked up to the glass and tried to see what might have caused the strange event.
“Do you think we should get Daryl?” Kelly had already picked up the phone when Ellie shook her head.
“After he dropped Beatrix off he went down to the processing plant. You’ll have to radio him, but if something happened he probably already knows.”
“Not that it matters. The phone is out.”
That was odd. What the hell was going on?
“Kelly, Bea, El! You guys have to see this!”
Carl burst through the lobby doors, scaring us half to death.
“What? Did you see what caused that weird glow?”
The brunette grinned at Kelly’s piercing glare. She was massaging her chest in an effort to slow her heart rate.
“Yes I did and you’re not gonna believe it. I was driving up the road when it happened. Come on!”
The three of us looked at each other as the man practically bounced out of the office. Carl was normally a reserved quiet man. Ellie shrugged and led the way out of the office. Carl was waiting on the sidewalk out front looking eager. He grinned like he had a great secret and beckoned us towards the shed out past the power generators.
“Do you hear that?” Kelly asked.
Carl’s grin grew wider as I tried to listen for what Kelly was hearing.
“It’s like a really weird kind of warbling right?” She nodded.
“Oh I hate it!” Ellie rubbed her arms. “It makes me feel awful!”
“Wait until you see what it is! I only wish Delilah was here to see it.”
Something about his attitude was wrong and I started to shiver. Despite that, I found myself following behind him almost as if I was compelled. Kelly and Ellie-Grace linked arms with me, huddling close, and I could feel them shivering too. This was such a bad idea. Why the hell were we doing this?
“I couldn’t believe my eyes at first, but it’s really here.”
“What is it?”
“That noise is getting louder. It sounds like one of those musical saws.”
The sound was nearly unbearable by the time we walked around the back side of the shed. It was incredibly unsettling and left me feeling as if someone were driving a nail into my skull. That was nothing; however, compared to the spine chilling feeling that was brought on by the sight of what sat behind the small building. A large, thick, undulating mass, like mercury, was pulsing in midair.
“Oh my god!”
“What the fuck Carl?!”
“What? What is it?!” Ellie pulled back slightly at our horrified reactions.
“I knew it! I wasn’t just seeing things. It’s a Thinny isn’t it?!”
“That’s what it looks like, but I don’t see why you’re so excited about it!” I snapped.
“What the hell is a Thinny?”
“But I don’t understand!” Kelly said. Her grip was so tight my right hand was going numb. “They’re not real! They’re just fiction from a book! How is it here?”
“What?!”
“Well apparently not because that looks pretty fucking real to me! Carl will you please stop getting so close to it?!”
“What is it!” Ellie snapped.
“It’s from Stephen King. They kill you or take you to another world.” Kelly said.
“Seriously?!” Ellie let go of my arm and started backing away slowly.
“I don’t understand why you guys are so upset. I thought you’d be excited.” Carl almost looked annoyed. “Stephen King wrote about these and they’re real!”
“Yes and I remember what they do, as we just told El; things like killing your or spitting out mist and monster with tentacles, giant killer mosquitoes, and nightmare spiders!”
“Pfft! How likely is that?”
“How likely is a Thinny?!” Kelly shouted.
“Come on! Can’t you see how awesome this is?” Carl looked almost desperate for us to understand. “We just found out something our favorite author wrote about is real! What if other things we thought were fiction are also real?”
“While that is an exciting prospect, I’m not exactly sharing that sentiment with a Thinny. We should get out of here before something starts pouring out or we’re pulled in.” I said. Kelly nodded vigorously and started pulling me back towards the office.
“Wait!” Carl seized my bicep. “Aren’t you curious at all about where it could take us?”
“Considering Roland was spit out in The Stand no, I’m not.” I snapped. “Why are you acting like this? You’ve read the same books we have. I don’t know why you’re so excited about this.”
“Can we please just go?!” Kelly pleaded. “That sound is really starting to get to me. I feel like my teeth are going to fall out.”
“Oh come on!” Carl was starting to get irritable and that bad feeling was creeping up on me again. I tried to tug my arm free but his grip was firm. “Don’t you want to see where it goes?”
“Not really!” Kelly cried. “This isn’t The Dark Tower and we’re not part of Roland’s group. Are you forgetting that most people don’t make it through a Thinny alive?!”
She tugged desperately on my arm, trying to move us back towards the office. Carl pulled back and Ellie bounced on the spot, biting her nails nervously.
“You’re being dramatic!” Carl snapped. “I bet it could take us to Roland’s world or maybe a parallel universe to ours.”
“Carl, please!” Kelly was in tears now. “Let’s just go back to the office. We can discuss it there; after we’re sure nothing dangerous comes out. Then maybe we can explore it.” Her eyes were quickly darting to mine. She’d come to the same conclusion I had. The Thinny had gotten to him.
If we stay much longer it might drive us mad as well. If I hit him hard enough with my camera will it knock him out?
“It might disappear by the time we get back! We should do it now!” He jerked me hard in the direction of the silvery mass. Kelly dug in her heels, trying to pull me back, and Ellie grabbed on too.
“Will you stop?! You’re going to pull my arms out of their sockets!”
“You’re being crazy Carl! Can’t you see that?! It’s driving you mad! Don’t you remember how these things work?!”
“I know exactly how they work!” He shouted. “We could be famous! Imagine it! If we go to the past or a different world we could come up with songs or inventions we have that they don’t!”
“You’re fucking insane! Let go of her! We’re leaving!”
It was the wrong thing to say. Carl’s eyes flashed angrily and he struck El before Kelly and I could stop him. She hit the ground hard and stared up at him looking shocked. He had always been so mild mannered. It was frightening to see just how much the Thinny had affected him.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” I was only five foot two. I didn’t know how much I could do, but I would do something. Both Kelly and I put hands on him but he laid her out too and nearly pulled my arm out of my socket as he jerked me sideways. “Just run guys! Get help!”
“Go! I’ll stay and help.” Ellie shouted. Kelly nodded and ran back to the office.
My arm was tingling, but I pulled back as he started dragging me towards the Thinny. Ellie took off her platform sandal, heavy and hard, and used the strap to swing it and strike Carl’s arm and head. I stomped on his foot and punched him in the face, but the Thinny seemed to be strengthening him somehow. He jerked me around hard and sent me sprawling across the ground near the Thinny. Ellie’s sandal was ripped from her hands and he grabbed her and hurled her to the ground.
“Asshole!” He grabbed my wrist as I came at him with a large rock, pulling me around to wrap me in a bear hug.
“We’re going! Like it or not!”
“Beatrix!”
“Don’t Ellie! Just stay back!” I didn’t want her getting pulled in too. “Please don’t do this Carl!”
“Carl please stop! Beatrix!!”
He didn’t listen and stepped forward, losing us in dark empty space and swirling lights.
Chapter 3: Arrival
Chapter Text
Falling through a Thinny was quite disarming
Destinations unknown are very alarming
Musical saw band amplifying
Vibrant deadlights are fast-flying
Are we there
Are we here
Are we anywhere
Not a speck of hope is showing
The fall is still not slowing
All the fear of this unknowing
Just which way you are a going
Frightening mists are flowing
These eldritch deadlights are a glowing
The danger ever growing
And still were aren’t a slowing!
Stop! Please stop!
I was sure I was crying and screaming but I couldn’t hear it over the cacophony of musical saws. It was overwhelming and between the warbling and the lights streaking past I was sure I would go mad. Terror clawed it’s was up into my throat and I couldn’t be sure if it was my imagination or not but I could have sworn I saw a smile appear within what could only be a cluster of deadlights. Crazed cackling rose up over the musical saws and I pressed my hands against my ears, screaming, tears streaking from my eyes past my temples.
Stop! Please stop! Please someone make it stop!
And it did. Light exploded around me as I tumbled from the Thinny and landed flat on my back. The impact knocked the wind from me, metal grating scraping my hands and the back of my skull. My bag and purse, miraculously still crossed over my shoulders, dug into the small of my back painfully. Somewhere behind me Carl thudded against the catwalk too. Tears continued to pour from my eyes and I pressed a hand to my mouth to muffle my sobs.
I’m alive! Oh my god I made it through alive!
This all just didn’t seem real; like it had to be some horrible nightmare. There were several times through the fall where I wondered if this might just all be a dream. But I clearly remembered waking up this morning, even hitting the snooze button and falling back to sleep. I remembered getting ready. I remembered my drive in. There wasn’t a single moment of the day I didn’t remember. In dreams you usually didn’t remember how you got places. You just showed up somewhere.
That means this is probably all real. That fucking bastard! That fucking Thinny!
A wave of anger came over me and I rolled onto my stomach and looked up to yell at Carl. Wide empty eyes stared back at me.
“Oh my god.” I sat up and wished I hadn’t. He was missing from the waist down, blood and bits of intestine dripping through the catwalk into a green glowing substance beneath us. I heaved once, twice, and scrambled backwards away from him. We had been right up against each other until we were spit out the other side. How had I made it and not him? Clinging to one of the railing supports I gave a light sob.
“My god. Carl!”
Another round of crying was interrupted by a large splash, causing a wave of the green liquid below me to graze the bottom of the catwalk. That finally snapped me out of my shock and I took in my surroundings for the first time. I was in a three story octagonal room that looked like a bomb had gone off in it. There were platforms in the front and back of the room with a catwalk between them, covered by the liquid. Piping twisted up the wall from the front platform, framed by gigantic cooling fans built into the wall. Two sets of three massive pipes protected by metal cages sat on either side of the room, rising out of the fluid. A catwalk from the second story had fallen and now lay with either end on the cages. This was where Carl and I had landed and someone else too.
I know this place.
Cold fear seeped into my bones. I knew what the sea foam neon green substance below us was, just as I knew there were two platforms beneath the slowly rising liquid. I knew what this building was. My eyes went to the front wall looking for the symbol I knew would confirm my suspicions, but the reactor was so badly damaged. The panel holding it was gone, a big hole in its place. Looking down it was likely that was what had fallen. As if to prove it another piece of reactor fell off to the right of me, splattering the walls and the figure at the end of the fallen catwalk with mako.
That’s right. I’m not totally alone here. Well I might not be. If he’s alive.
Saying a silent prayer I closed Carl’s eyes and crawled to the end of the walkway, too afraid to stand. I didn’t want to risk falling through by putting too much weight in one spot, like thin ice. The figure at the end was dressed in the snazziest, shiniest, softest black suit I’d ever seen. It was a male with short cropped auburn hair. His suit was another sign of where I’d likely ended up but I needed to know for sure.
His pulse was quick but steady under my fingertips, so I rolled him over and dragged him away from the edge of the broken end and closer to the center. He didn’t so much as twitch when I moved him or when I search his pockets for ID. His clothes were damp from the waist down and I suspected he’d pulled himself onto the catwalk out of the mako. That would explain his state of unconsciousness despite the lack of visible injury. It made me glad to find his wallet in an inner chest pocket. I didn’t want to touch mako if I could avoid it.
“Now let’s see who you are.”
There was no surname. His Shinra ID said Rodney and I laughed without humor.
“Rod. You’re Rod. Fuck. FUCK!”
I slammed my fists down on my knees and cradled my head in my hands. The Thinny had spit me out in Final Fantasy VII. Just how many things that I thought were fiction were actually real? Was anything I believed to be fiction actually fiction?
“I’m fucked. I am so fucked.”
I flipped his ID over to see if there was an expiration to give me some idea of the current year. Before Crisis wasn’t a game I had played but I knew a little bit about it thanks to Ellie-Grace. The extra Turks had disbanded before the events of Final Fantasy VII. If Rod was still in a suit then I had time to find a place to hide out and hunker down far away from Midgar. I had no desire to be caught up in Meteor. Him being unconscious at the bottom of a reactor also meant I was in Corel after Rufus got caught funding AVALANCHE. My brain froze.
“Oh fuck… Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!”
I scrambled to my feet and started looking for a way out. This place was about to be crawling with Turks looking for their lost friend. I couldn’t be caught here. If they didn’t kill me on the spot thinking I was AVALANCHE I would be detained for questioning. Worse yet if they found out I was from another world I’d be turned over to the Science Department.
No thanks! No fucking thanks!!
Things were not looking good. The platforms and gangway at the bottom level had already disappeared beneath the rising mako. I knew better than to touch the green liquid let alone try to walk or swim through it. Either way it was moot as the ladder leading up to the second level had broken. The catwalk from the second level, and the platforms it had been connected to, were down here with me. I was standing on the walkway and the platforms were either destroyed or sunk.
The walls the exhaust fans were built into had giant mullioned squares over them to protect the fans from being struck and prevent pieces of blade being sent everywhere. I might be able to climb those and escape through the HVAC system. I could go to the end of the catwalk, climb across the cages protecting the intake pipes, and climb through one of the squares. Rod was rescued in the game. I didn’t have to feel bad about leaving him here.
Decision made I started heading for the end of the catwalk, until something large crashed into the make too close for comfort. Everything, including myself, was sprayed with mako. A wave of it came up over the grating and soaked my boots. I was so startled I screamed and recoiled.
“What the hell was that?!”
Staring out I was shocked to see the front half of a large navy pick-up truck sinking into the mako. It wasn’t one of the janky looking things from the game either. It was a massive Ford F-150, the inside of the windows painted red. The driver hadn’t made the journey.
“Oh my god…”
I was terrified to do so, but I had to. I looked up. About half a dozen Thinny floated at varying heights all around the third level. Taking notice of them was like flipping an invisible switch. Their hair-raising cacophony of musical saws from hell filled the room and I slapped my hands over my ears. It did nothing to block the sound. It was unbearable and I dropped to my haunches, curling in on myself and willing the sound to go away. For a moment it did.
Looking upwards, I could see one of the Thinny was undulating and pulsing faster than the others. A teeth rattling whine like scraping metal filled the air before it spit out a man and vanished from sight. The poor man, god bless his soul, made it through alive. His exit; however, was three stories up right over the mako. He shrieked wildly, his arms flailing as he pin wheeled through the air, before hitting the liquid with an almighty slap. His body floated languidly for a moment before it sank into the depths.
A second Thinny vanished, spitting out the bucket of an excavator, and the musical saws started back up worse than before. A low whine built up in my throat and I hunched in on myself, pressing my hands as tightly to my ears as I could. Whispers were joining in with the warbling now. My eyes burned as tears welled up in them. The mako was getting higher, lapping at the bottom of the catwalk now, its sickly green glow illuminating Rod’s face. As I stared at him I could swear I heard his breathing, his heartbeat. The saws, the breathing, the heartbeat just kept getting louder.
I squeezed my eyes shut and hot tears trailed down my cheeks. A woman was whispering about an anniversary and a child laughed. My ears and skull were beginning to hurt from the pressure I was exerting on them. Dual whines broke out and there were two small splashes. Droplets struck my face. Rhythmic pounding began somewhere, growing louder and louder. A man called someone a bitch and a whore; shouted that dinner was awful. That god awful chorus of saws was so fucking loud!
“Please!” I sobbed. “Please stop!”
“Is someone there, yo?”
That one sentence spoken in an eerily familiar voice cut through everything. The whispers silenced and the remaining Thinny became almost imperceptible. I nearly snapped my neck with how fast I whipped my head around. A story above me a handsomely pale man with vibrant red hair had climbed down to a portion of destroyed catwalk. For a moment my mind went blank. He looked relieved at first as his eyes landed on Rodney. When he saw me that relief darkened into something sinister. I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out. I was dead. I was so dead.
Evidence! I need to get rid of anything showing I’m from a different world! I’d rather die accused of spying than end up with Hojo!
I started scrambling to throw anything damning out of my bag.
“Hey Tseng! I found Rod and a rat and a half! Bottom of the reactor core. Be quick, yo. It’s filling with mako.”
Reno stepped off the twisted metal and landed on his feet with a bang, unfazed as if he’d just stepped off a curb. My jaw slackened. How in the hell…? He leered at me with eyes like aqua quartz as he darted forward with his trademark move and seized the camera in my grasp.
“What do we have here?” He turned the camera over lazily. “Usually you AVALANCHE scum like to blow and run. What are you still doing here, and why try getting rid of the camera? You’re already caught.” His gaze raked over my bag and purse, a small frown creasing his brow when he met my eyes.
“Or maybe you’re something else. You trying to steal Shinra secrets and get caught in the crossfire?”
My tongue felt swollen and stuck to the roof of my mouth.
“Well?” He shouted.
I shook my head vehemently.
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you!” He leaned over me menacingly. God I missed the goofy dope from Advent Children.
“N-no! I’m not AVALANCHE and I’m not trying to steal Shinra secrets.”
“Oh? Then what are you?” He tossed my camera in the air and my eyes tracked it, hoping he’d drop it in the mako.
“Just a stupid innocent bystander exploring where she shouldn’t and seriously wishing she’d have just stayed in bed today.” My eyes followed the Nikon as he tossed it again. That didn’t escape his notice.
“What? You worried about your photos?” Reno laughed. “Can’t have pictures of the reactor getting out. Maybe I should just…”
The camera sailed through the air in slow motion and my heart soared.
Yes! Let it go! Sink those blasted photos in the mako!
I’d shown my hand. Reno caught the shoulder strap just before it was out of reach. He frowned slightly, then the grin was back.
“Don’t want me seeing what’s on here, huh? Don’t want me to see the evidence of your crimes?”
“Since when do Turks need evidence to kill someone?” My eyes widened and I slapped a hand over my mouth.
He didn’t look angry though. In fact he seemed amused.
“That’s right little lady; and don’t you forget it.”
Before he could turn it on the whine of a dying Thinny split the air. Both our heads snapped up at the sound. There were three Thinny left. One winked out without anything coming through. The second tossed out a very familiar sign for Hanks Roadside Bar and Grill, and the third dropped the bottom half of a person. A maxi skirt flapped about the legs as they tumbled through the air before splashing into the mako. With all the Thinny gone it was blessedly silent and it felt like a great pressure had lifted from me.
My shoulders slumped unconsciously and it took me a moment to realize Reno was staring at me.
“Do you know something about those things?” I stayed silent, keeping my eyes down, and edged away slightly. “I’m talking to you, yo! What do you know?” He seemed almost madly desperate. He seized my arms and pulled me to my feet. His grip was firm but surprisingly painless. Despite that I felt almost lightheaded with panic. “I saw the way you looked at those things! What are they?”
“Are you done?”
We both jumped slightly and looked up. A tall tanned man with a shaved head and sunglasses stood leaning over a railing two stories up. Just as suave and debonair as he was in the remake, Rude stared down at us looking grave.
“Did you even check to see if Rodney was alive?”
There was a moment of silence, Reno staring dumbly, and then he dropped my arms and dashed over to his fellow Turk. I slowly sank back down on my ass.
There’s the movie Reno we all know and love.
“He’s alive. I checked when I pulled him away from the edge. You’re welcome.”
Reno gave me a quizzical look, but I was too busy staring dazedly at the mako that was now even with the top of the catwalk. We’d be standing in it soon. It was something that should have alarmed me, but the whispers were back and I was maxing out on stress. I couldn’t handle much more. I couldn’t really focus or think the way it was. I gathered up my purse and bag from where I’d dropped them and hugged them to my chest.
I want to go home.
“Hey, you still with us?”
I stared up into aqua quartz. I must have zoned out for a while. Reno was wearing a climbing harness now, my camera slung across his chest. Behind him Rod was being hauled up on a stretcher.
“Just leave her. The mako will do our job for us.” A voice came through what could only be an earpiece.
Damn Tseng. So cold.
“Nah. Don’t think I will. Something’s special about this one Tseng.” Reno gently took my bag and purse. “I’ll carry these. Come on. Up you go. You’ve had enough mako for one day.”
I was unsteady on my feet and he had to support most of my weight. A rope was dropped down and he hooked it into his harness.
“You’re gonna have to try and hold on, yo.”
“Mm hm.”
He rolled his eyes and put my arms around his neck, wrapping his own around my torso. I tried to hold on tight as I could, but he ended up having to carry all my weight.
“Please don’t let me fall.” My voice was barely a whisper as I muttered drunkenly into his neck.
He chuckled humorlessly.
“I’ll try, yo.”
“Please don’t give me to Hojo either.”
“What?”
“Please don’t give me to Hojo.”
My face felt wet against his neck.
“Why would I do that?”
“Please, Reno.”
I squeezed as tight as I could, pouring all my emotions into it.
“How the hell do you know my name!?”
Bluestar98 on Chapter 3 Tue 20 Feb 2024 10:29PM UTC
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