I fought against the strong arms hanging onto me – I was biting, scratching, kicking; anything that would free me. But I had no chance. The person was strong and muscular, and his arm was probably as thick as my neck. I was panicking, but I forced myself to take deep, fortifying breaths and focus my thoughts. Looking up at the lift, I could see it had stopped at the top, but as it melted out of view, I hadn’t had time to notice whether or not it was going to come back down.
I decided to stop struggling. All the energy flowed out of me, and I forced my muscles to relax. My whole body just deflated. However, the strange man pulling me along did the opposite of what I expected; rather than stumbling, faltering or maybe even letting go of me, he just kept walking, and hoisted me into a fireman’s lift over one shoulder. My mind froze again, and I beat my fists on his back, but he barely even seemed to care. The only way I knew he had even noticed was that he turned his head slightly to smirk at me. I saw a wild shock of blonde hair and a streaking, black tattoo on his face, and jumped. He matched the description of Riku’s attacker perfectly. Had he planned this all out perfectly? What was his plan? All these questions were drilling into my brain, resulting in a killer of a headache.
Quistis lead us forward to the desk, and coughed. The black leather chair on the other side swirled round, revealing a man with greying hair and large, round glasses. “Headmaster Cid. I apologise for the intrusion, but here with me are esteemed Black Mage Vivi,” Here I nodded slightly, “And King Riku of Lindblum. We come to speak to you about a member of Garden who is-” The Headmaster held up his hand. “I know about Zell, believe me. He’s been causing us trouble for a while now, what with the Cafeteria raids-” Quistis looked shocked. “That was Zell?” The Headmaster nodded. “Of course, I’ve already got some theories about his behaviour. It is my belief he is acting on the orders of another.”
Quistis looked as if something had finally dawned on her. “Of course… Zell was always a good student, boisterous, yes, but good…” She began muttering to herself, “If someone… pulling the strings… but, why… Of course, he’s… but then…” She snapped her fingers. “That’s it! His mother!” I looked confusedly up at her. “Zell’s mother isn’t just a good cook, she’s an Apothecary on the side, to earn more money! With her inventory, she could make anything, even…” She breathed in sharply, the realisation plain on her mature features. “Draught of the Living Dead! The drinker falls into such a deep sleep that they may never wake from it, it’s the perfect assassin’s tool!”
I wasn’t sure how long we were walking for, but it felt like hours – the fact that I could see nothing but the mossy floor probably did nothing to help that. Then, Zell just suddenly stopped, and dropped me to the floor. The word ‘dropped’ is actually literal here; he just leant forward and let go of me, so I thudded down heavily. I tried to regain my regal airs (failing miserably) and stared up at him, affecting a careful look of disgust. He ignored me completely, though, and looked around our surroundings. So did I. There were no people around, and it looked like we were in the middle of a jungle or forest, but it was far from quiet. I could hear distant, bestial cries and the rustling of the foliage – which confused me; we were inside, where there was no wind. So what was causing the trees and bushes to sway and dance?
Zell bent down and peered into my face. His eyes seemed dazed and unfocused, and when I looked closer I could see that the edges of his irises were actually jagged and rough. I shuddered, and he laughed loudly to see my discomfort. He pulled out a small, glass bottle, and held it up. The light filtered through, showing a green, sludge-like liquid in the bottom. The bottle was pushed into my mouth, so the thick substance trickled down my throat, making my eyes water. I tried to cough it up, but his hand stopped me, and with his free hand he pinched my nose, so that I would have to swallow the potion to breathe. Once he knew the contents of the bottle had been swallowed, Zell straightened up again.
It felt like something had flown into my brain and made it go all fuzzy. I felt my eyelids trying to fall shut, and even though I fought against it, I couldn’t stop it. The very last thing I saw was a flash of a familiar red coat and the glint of a metal object, before I was wrapped in the darkness, Zell’s inhuman laugh rebounding in my head.
Quistis looked worriedly at the Headmaster, and then at me. “We have to go. Squall and Freya won’t have the antidote, but Dr. Kadawaki might!” Riku flinched again, he was obviously worried about his… well, his wife. He bit his lip slightly, and Quistis looked back at the Headmaster. “Thank you, sir. You always have a knack of helping these little brainwaves.” She bowed, and began walking back to the elevator. Riku and I followed at a quick pace.
As soon as we reached the elevator, Quistis jabbed the Ground Floor button. The elevator doors closed swiftly, and the machine sprang into life. Passing the Second Floor, I noticed the students had gone to their classes… This whole “school” idea was totally new to me. I’d always wondered what it was like to go to a school… I guess it’s a little hectic for me. I know all I need to, anyways. We reached the Ground Floor, and Quistis began walking at a fast, steady pace around the school to a white corridor, the same se had lead Squall down before. The white tiling shone in the light, and as we reached the Infirmary, Dr. Kadawaki was sorting out some paperwork.
“Quistis, good of you to drop by. To what injury do I owe this pleasure?” The woman stood up straight, her hair tied back in a tight bun. She adjusted her glasses, fixing Quistis with an odd stare. Quistis was apparently used to this, for she spoke in an instant. “We need an antiserum. It’s vitally important we get it now.” The doctor simply smiled, heading over to her cabinet. “Let’s see… We have Softs, Echo Herbs, plain Antidotes, or Remedies, but they’re expensive. You’ll need…?” Quistis shook her head. “We need something much stronger. We need Jolt Tonic.”
Everything was so dark, so suffocating…And my body felt so heavy. I couldn’t lift my arm or leg, no matter how hard I tried. So I concentrated on something simpler; moving my fingers. But even though I struggled with all my energy, all I succeeded in doing was making my headache worse. I couldn’t even open my eyes. I hated the dark – it wasn’t that I was still scared of it, but I’d rather be somewhere light than somewhere dark.
I couldn’t see, but I could still hear. There were voices nearby, but I had to really concentrate to be able to hear what they were saying, and even then they were still muffled. “What happened, do you think?” It was a man’s voice…it kind of sounded like Squall? But that was impossible, he still hated me – and I couldn’t blame him. “I could not even guess, but I would suggest we move, and with haste.” That resembled Freya. Relief flooded me, and I tried to smile. Of course I couldn’t, but I knew I was safe now. That would be enough for me at the moment.
Dr. Kadowaki’s mouth opened slightly and she shut it after a few seconds. “Jolt Tonic?” Quistis nodded, and the doctor opened her cabinet door right open, looking a little frantic. She pushed the bottles to the side, and pulled one out from the very back. There were a few drops of bright yellow liquid at the bottom, not even a mouthful. “This will be enough, if she is less than an hour induced. After an hour, this amount won’t be enough to save her.” Quistis took the bottle, bowing slightly, and began to run out, followed closely by Riku. I ran as fast as I could, just managing to keep up with them.
As we reached the centre of the building, Quistis looked around hurriedly. “Why are there so many students out? Lessons are still on.” An announcement rang from the loudspeakers. “STUDENTS OF BALAMB GARDEN. THIS IS NORG. YOUR LESSONS ARE FINISHED! GO BACK HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES OR DIE LIKE YOUR HEADMASTER!”
It felt so lonely in the darkness…I couldn’t feel anything physically, so my emotions were running riot in my head. All I wanted was to just shut everything off, stop thinking, stop feeling…I wanted to know that I was okay, and yet in a sick sense I didn’t care. It didn’t matter to me then if I had died, as long as this pain stopped soon. I thought about Riku – and our life now. Did he want to go back to Destiny Islands as much as I did? I thought about Vivi and Freya, and how much pain had been caused by Zidane’s death. I could have stopped that if I had just done something more, surely…And Squall was still so shocked; that had been all my fault…
I wanted it to be over. I wanted it all to finish. As long as all this ended, I didn’t mind what happened to me…I think, at that point, I gave up all of my will to live, just so that I didn’t have to think these suffocating thoughts anymore.
Quistis swore under her breath, and ran to the top of the stairs. “Excuse me! Students, your attention please!” A few confused students looked up to her, but many others simply continued talking. “HEY!” She shouted at the top of her voice, and everyone turned around. I grabbed Riku’s leg so as to not be pushed away from him, and listened to Quistis, her arms held high, the bottle still in her hand. “Selphie Tilmitt? Are you here? And Irvine Kinneas, I need you too!” A boy and a girl, holding hands, pushed their way to the stairs. “Just stand here for me.” The boy nodded, and the two stood next to Quistis. “Okay, listen up! NORG has decided to run riot in the Garden again and I need you to rally beside me once more! Last time, we fought off the coward and drove him from this place, but now he’s returned, and I need your help!”
“Please, could all female students between the ages of Seventeen and Twenty-three gather to the west, led by Selphie-“ Here, Selphie left the stairs and jumped down to the west, “And all male students of the same age report by Irvine to the east!” The male and female students split, leaving a few teachers and the younger students in the centre. Quistis stood by this last group, and addressed the Garden once more.
“For all I know, Headmaster Cid may indeed be dead. But please, do not panic and follow my orders. Boys, follow Irvine to the emergency stairs, and take them down to the bottom floor of the Garden. NORG will undoubtedly be there. Girls, find any remaining students on this, and the second level, and once Selphie is sure that everyone is okay, bring the young ones here and follow the boys. Go!” The Garden students scrambled and left their various ways, and Quistis turned to us. “I’m sorry. The Garden needs me. Here,” she gave the bottle to Riku, “Take this and find Squall and Freya, they’ll surely have found Haru by now. I have to get these young ones to safety.”
Quistis lead the group of children away to the Garden entrance, and the Teachers split off, some aiding the boys, whilst some finding other students. Riku looked down at me, the bottle in his hand, and nodded. Now…where was that green walkway?
It was still dark. Still painful. Still un-ending. Nothing was happening. I hadn’t heard any more voices, and I still couldn’t open my eyes. Maybe I really was dying…I almost welcomed the idea, before thinking of Riku and the others. Their smiling faces pushed their way into my thoughts, and somehow I dragged myself out of the dark hole I had buried myself in. I still couldn’t open my eyes, but I felt better. I knew that I would be okay now that Freya and Squall were nearby. They would know where everyone else was, too. That thought comforted me as I finally managed to stop thinking.
I ran to the left, and stopped, realising that Zell had gone left from the viewpoint of the elevator, and ran back right. It had to be nearby… There! Green! Riku and I continued running into the centre, and things became less like a school and more like a… Jungle. Riku pulled out his sword and slashed the air before me just in time, as a plant-like monster jumped out to attack me. We were still in the school, but… this was a dangerous place.
A flash of red. Freya landed in front of us, Squall running behind and carrying a pale Haru, who looked very ill, and didn’t seem to be breathing. Riku rushed over, the bottle in his hand, and placed his head on her chest. He smiled quickly; she must have still had a heartbeat, and unstoppered the bottle and carefully parted his wife’s lips. He placed the bottle to her open lips and we waited in agony as the viscous liquid slowly dribbled to the end of the bottom, and the two drops fell slowly into her mouth. Haru shuddered, and her eyes flew open. She was okay!
