Don't Try to Save Me
Chapter Eight
By Sniffles
Don't Try to Save Me
Chapter Eight
By Sniffles
"Squall?"
I squeeze my eyes tightly shut, trying to block out the voice. But it persists.
"Squall?"
Reluctantly I blink my eyes open, I stare up at the man leaning over me. He smiles, his face looks strangely ethereal. Am I dreaming? I move my hand over my stomach and pinch lightly. No. Not dreaming. This is all too real.
"How did you get in my room?" My voice sounds... strange. What happened last night? Wait... How does this guy know my name? I've never seen him before in my life.
"Well, you let me in." He respond easily.
"No shit." I sit up and run my hands through my hair. Oh man. My eyes ache. My head... Feels like someone spent the night repteadly hitting it with a sledge hammer. I rub my eyes vigorously. Nothing to take your mind off pain than by causing more pain. "Who are you?"
"My name is Tier." The man stands, the bed shifts as his weight leaves it.
Why the hell was he sitting on my bed? Watching me while I slept? Freak. I glower at him, "What happened last night?"
"You don't remember then?" He asks with the slightest smile.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. This one is sharp. About as sharp as a blunt nail. "I was drunk!" I snap angrily.
He laughs, turning his back and walking across the room to the window.
"What are you laughing at?" I demand sharply.
"You act more like your friend." He comments idly. He turns to face me again, "I was expecting someone cold and impassionate. Someone apathetic."
I swing my legs off the side of the bed and get to my feet. I find myself swaying as the pain in my head increases. "Here, let me help you." Tier walks over to me and raises his hands. I watch warily as he summons a cure spell.
The gentle spell wafts over my body, leaving a sweet scent in it's wake. The pain immediately eases in my head. Suddenly I can think quite clearly, and I'm not too happy about the memories that flood my tired brain. I had been drunk, and I acted like a fool. I glower at Tier, "I wasn't the only one drunk last night."
He smiles, "I was completely sober."
I snarl at him. "You said Seifer-"
"Is alive. Because he is alive. I wasn't lying when I said I could take you to him."
I feel the anger growing in my belly. The lying bastard. Seifer is dead. I hate it, I hate it so much but he's dead, and there's no way to bring him back. I grab Tier by the scruff of his pure white shirt and shake him roughly, "Then take him to me you bastard and when you can't I'll rip your tongue out myself."
His eyes widen. He's surprised at my anger I suppose. I'm a little surprised at my anger. I haven't... I haven't acted like this in all my life, but I'm beyond caring. Seifer is dead, how dare this man flaunt with my emotions by trying to raise hope. There is no hope. Seifer is dead... Maybe if I say it enough it'll finally sink into my unresponsive brain.
I don't want Seifer to be dead. I want him to be alive.
"Very well. Let's go then, shall we?" He pulls away from me and straightens his shirt. He smiles, then turns and walks out of the room.
/Squall, you're friggin' insane! What were you thinking going off alone with that guy??/ I can just see Zell screaming at me when I get back from this little...journey. I can't help but smirk as I imagine his incensed reaction. And Quistis... She'd stare at me with that little disapproving frown of hers and make some terribly sensible comment that will irritate the Hell out of me. She always does that.
Rinoa would just look at me with sad eyes and shake her head. That's all she ever does lately. I hate those sad eyes of hers. They make my stomach ache... And I can't figure out why.
Am I insane? At this point, I almost feel insane. I don't feel like...Me. Everything is strangely numb, all I can feel is anger. I'm so angry with Seifer. How dare he die? How dare he die when I was finally starting to... To feel love?
He had no right.
If he were here right now I'd kill him. I'd kill him for dying and leaving me alone. I'd rip his heart out for making me love him. I shake my head hard and run a hand over my eyes. Gawd... I don't feel good.
"Here it is." Tier stops walking. His voice is soft, hushed in ... Reverence?
I look up. It's a small, modest home. Nothing special. I glance at Tier and shake my head again. Part of me keeps telling me this is a dream. It has to be. I'm so out of control... I just...
I don't know what to do. What to feel.
Tier walks to the house, I follow him, feeling reluctant. Now that I'm here, I'm not sure if I want to go in. It's almost like... Almost like there's evil in the air. It's strange. The last time I felt this way was... When we fought Ultimecia.
He hops onto the porch and stops. He turns to me and gestures to the door. "Go on in."
There's a strange tension in the air as I step onto the porch and approach the door. My hand lifts and as I touch the doorknob a strange electricity runs up my arm. I want to jump back. I want to flinch and... But I don't. I grip the doorknob tightly, fighting the fear that's quickly blossoming in my heart. I feel as if... If I turn this doorknob, something big is going to happen. Something life-changing.
The electricity grows. My fingers twitch. I want to pull away. I want to turn and run. I grit my teeth and with a vicious tug, twist the knob and pull the door open. I will fear nothing. I will not live in fear. Living in fear is what stopped me from telling Seifer how I felt about him before he... Before he died.
A rush of air brushes past my skin as the door opens. The hair on my arms stand on end. I glance at Tier, he looks tense. He's biting his lower lip and staring at the door as if it has life and is about to eat him. I look inside the small house and see nothing but stairs and a hallway. All right Leonhart. Enough. You're being scared by phantoms. Lift your foot and enter the goddamned house already.
With an angry snarl, I enter the house.
Tier lets out a soft sigh and hurriedly follows me in. The moment the door shuts behind him all my fears vanish. What was I afraid of in the first place? This is just a house. A house like any other I've been in. Hell, it isn't even half as bad as Ultimecia's castle had been. That had been one freaky piece of architecture.
"Right this way." Tier murmurs, stepping past me and down the hall.
I sniff the air curiously. There's an odd scent. Almost like, sulfur? I frown and follow Tier down the hall and down a set of stairs into the basement. I don't like this, and yet I feel oddly right about it all. This almost feels like something I should be doing. You know, written in the stars and all that crap.
We travel down a set of halls that seem too long and too large to fit into the little house I entered. We come to a stop by a set of large, iron doors. Tier turns to me and holds up a golden object. I stare at him, my eyes crossing slightly. As they focus I realize he's holding out a key. "Open it." He says softly, he looks... Anxious.
I take the key from him and sneer, "Why? Is he in there?"
Tier smiles widely, his eyes flashing with something I don't like very much. "Oh yes. He's in there. Go on."
"Why don't you open it?" I snap, even as I fit the key into the lock.
"Because you have to."
As odd as that sounds.. It seems right. I turn the key in the lock and push the door open. I can't see anything inside the room. It's dark, there's a musky scent that wafts out. I curl up my nose. More sulfur? And blood. I can smell blood. "He's in there. Go see him." Tier urges, he's trembling.
I glance at him suspiciously. I glance back at the room. Dark. I don't like this. I don't like this at all.
"You first."
Tier jerks, his eyes growing wide. "Get in there!" He snarls suddenly. Before I can react his hand is on my back. He pushes, he's a lot stronger then he looks.
I lose my balance and fall into the room. He kicks my feet out of the way and slams the door shut.
The stench is overwhelming.
I place my hands over my nose and get to my knees. "YOU BASTARD!" I scream, rolling and kicking the door with all my strength.
"S... S-Squall?"
The weak voice sends tremors down my spine. I carefully get to my feet and turn. My heart leaps as I gaze across the dimly lit room.
A body is pinned to the wall. A very familiar, very beautiful body. Even in the darkness those brilliant blue eyes wink at me.
"Seifer?"