Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ I Know What Lies Beneath the Snowfields ❯ Chapter 39 ( Chapter 39 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields"
Chapter 39

Vincent thought his back had slammed against a thick concrete wall.
Instead, the violent explosion had merely hurled him at full force into
a tough, knotted tree across the road.

He immediately lost all sensation in his body.

Surprisingly, Vincent had managed to hold onto Aeris, even as they spun
wildly through the air. He had embraced the screaming girl tightly
against his chest, so that on impact (and what impact!), only Vincent's back
took the brutal blow. He never let go of her.

At the same instant Vincent slammed into the sturdy tree, Davoren came
skidding clear across the gravel road, having himself just barely
escaped the woods unharmed. Crouched down with bent legs set wide apart, the
gunman at last came to a halt. He stood only a few yards away from the
distraught two.

The earth-shaking explosion had also sent all sorts of debris flying
out of the woodlands: burning tree branches, clumps of dirt and snow, even
blasted bush tops. A huge fire roared some distance in the woods,
lighting up the entire area in orange brilliance. That was the bombsite.

When he had thus been so ruthlessly slammed and all sensation lost,
Vincent slumped weakly down to the ground. Still clinging onto Aeris as
if to dear life, he lay wearily against the knotted tree. Aeris lay
slouched in his lap, much shaken by the violent blast, but otherwise unharmed.
Vincent's hand held the gun in a rigid, tight grip. His head bent
sharply down, so that much of his lustrous black hair dangled before his face.
He gasped loudly for air.

"Vincent!! Vincent!!" cried Aeris in horrified alarm. She frantically
pushed back his long hair, then held his haggard face between her
trembling hands, "Vincent!! VINCENT!!!!"

The man simply lacked the strength to respond.

He found himself struggling against unconsciousness, with his head
swimming around in a sea of confused chaos. The loud explosion still
rang in his numb ears; he could barely hear Aeris' tearful voice. He could
not move his aching limbs, not even flinch his finger. His head felt as
heavy as lead, his eyesight far too blurry.

A splitting headache trampled all over his already battered brains. His
lungs howled in pain.

Frantic beyond reason, Aeris immediately slipped out of his lap, then
crouched down infront of him. She sobbed out his name repeatedly, patted
his hot cheeks, anything to win a reply from him. Indeed, he looked
like he would pass out any moment.

Vincent slumped to the side in exhaustion, but Aeris instantly grabbed
him by the shoulders. The girl pulled him towards herself to steady his
balance again. Vincent sat slouched forward, with Aeris' cold hands pressed
against his cheeks.

"..V..Vincent..oh God, Vincent! Please, wake up!" she pleaded,
completely at her wits' end.

"I'm all right..I'm..all right..," he whispered hoarsely to calm the
tearful girl. With that lie, he pressed his burning fingers against his eyes. He
needed to dispel this horrible dizziness somehow.

He wondered why Davoren hadn't attacked yet. He could feel those pink
eyes laughing at his ordeal.

It took Vincent perhaps a minute just to gather his scattered senses
again. He sat hunched over, his heavy head supported by Aeris' hands.
Most of his hearing had finally cleared up. He finally realized the stinging
pain tearing every inch of his battered body.

At long last, after many tearful entreaties, Vincent forced his
blood-shot eyes open. Despite hazy eyesight, grievous injuries, and
clinging weariness, he would not abandon this crazy battle; not with
Aeris at stake.

Aeris' anxious eyes told him how haggard, sickly, and ghostly pale his
face looked. It seemed Davoren would beat him within an inch of his
life, then let the cruel illness finish off whatever remained.

"..ah..I..I'm all right, Aeris..I'm fine..," he reassured before the girl
could burst out crying, "..you... were you hurt at all?"

"..I..uh..n-no..I'm..," Aeris faltered out confusedly. In her anxiety,
she had simply forgotten about herself, "..I..I'm okay...but you, Vincent!
y-you're.."

But Vincent abruptly turned his eyes to the side, at the same time
touching the girl's arm to silence her. He glared hatefully at Davoren,
who stood a short distance down the road. The gunman gazed back at him so
mockingly, with one hand impertinently propped on his hip. His other
hand held the semi-automatic gun by his side. He had been patiently waiting
all this time for Vincent to recover.

The brilliant fire raging in the woods lit up one half of Davoren's
face, while the other half remained obscured by darkness. His strange pink
eyes blazed with an evil fire, even more intense than the one in the woods.

He looked like a demon just crawled out of Hell. The stray white hair
strands dangling before his face only added to his sinister appearance.

Nobody spoke a word.

Vincent wasted no more time wallowing in his own ordeal. With a sharp
grunt, he struggled to one knee, then up to his feet. He nearly
staggered back down, but somehow steadied himself in time. He protectively shoved
Aeris behind him, letting her hold onto his claw while his hand gripped
his gun. He breathed hard. His eyes shone in crimson brilliance.

The two men stood face to face.

"Still able to move, huh?" Davoren marveled with malicious mockery,
"My, what incredible endurance you have! I was hoping that blow would at
least shatter your spine, if not knock you out cold for another thirty years."

Vincent made no response except scoff under his breath. He felt the
tearful Aeris clutch his shirt from behind, then bury her face into his
back. She seemed desperate for shelter from this horrific nightmare.

"But of course, I should have known you'd be tougher than to let a mere
tree kill you," the ruthless gunman smiled amusedly, "Still, I've never
seen anyone look so sick and beat-up. You look like a bloody pulp,
Mr.Valentine."

Davoren told no lie. Vincent looked three times more battered than when
this crazy shoot-out started. His black overcoat lay in filth and
tatters; his pants and sleeves torn with bullet wounds. His whole chest, ravaged
by the repressed coughing fit, heaved in agony; so much so that he still
gasped for air. Sweat poured down his feverish, blood-spattered face.
His feet felt so wobbly, he himself wondered how he could stand at all.

"I'm surprised..you didn't kill me just now," Vincent remarked
composedly but with deep resentfulness, "I was such an easy target...dizzy,
stunned, and wide open for any attack."

"Oh now! We have the whole night ahead of us, so what's the rush? What
fun would it be if I just killed you without watching you suffer a bit? Even
blood-thirsty gunmen like me need some entertainment once in a while."

Vincent made no answer, completely disgusted with this man's sense of
"fun". So, Davoren had only spared his life out of good-humour.

"But now that you mention it, I suppose I should end this and just kill
you," the callous man playfully mused aloud, "The Professor's been
getting on my case all this month, yearning for the girl again, screaming for
your head, and how much he needs to finish his wonderful experiment. 'It's
all for the experiment! The experiment!' he says. Geez, what a miserable old
grouch!"

At the mention of the "experiment", Vincent narrowed his red eyes on
Davoren's face very keenly, but said nothing.

In return, Davoren smiled at the piercing look. He carelessly ejected
an empty cartridge of bullets from his gun, then shoved a new one into the
hollow chamber.

"I'm impressed you've survived this long, Vincent. I know it's not easy
fighting me all-out and having a little cry-baby weighing you down. But
unfortunately, I fear your condition has deteriorated so much, you can
barely defend yourself, let alone protect the girl. In case you didn't
notice, you can't even stand straight."

The gunman slowly began advancing towards the two. Vincent tensed in
his spot, expecting an attack any moment. Poor Aeris edged closer against
his back.

Vincent internally agreed with the gunman. That last explosion had
really knocked out what precious little energy he had. His senses dizzied by
exhaustion, his agility reduced, his health plagued by the fit...he had
no chance of surviving this fight with Aeris involved.

But nevertheless, he pushed the girl further behind him, while at the
same time gripping his gun very tightly.

"I can't stand straight, you're right," Vincent replied, glaring
straight back at the approaching Davoren, "..but there's still breath in my body.
And as long as I have that, not you, your mercenaries, or even your
mighty 'Professor' will have her."

"Defend to the death, eh?" Davoren pronounced viciously, a cold
expression replacing the smile, "My, my! How chivalrous of you!"

He stopped. The two stood facing each other, with Aeris nervously
tucked behind Vincent's back. The raging fire blazed on in the forest; the
short crackles of burning wood and twigs filled the air.

"..chivalrous, yes," the gunman remarked before suddenly lunging
forward at an incredible speed, "...chivalrous, but not very smart!!!!"

Vincent had anticipated this attack. Grabbing Aeris very roughly around
the waist, he flipped to the side, just before a fresh surge of bullets
attacked them. He tumbled over a few times amidst the wild gunfire, but
soon scuffled back to one knee. He dumped Aeris by his side, then
returned full fire at Davoren, who easily dodged behind one of the trees.

Vincent knew better than to fight on an open road, with no shelter,
and a frantic girl huddled by his side. Therefore, he furiously shot a round
to push Davoren back, then immediately picked up the girl again. He darted
away as fast as his feet could carry him, down the road, then straight
into the woods.

He could hear Davoren's quick footsteps rapidly closing in from behind.
Vincent flew past the trees along the roadside, persued by the ruthless
gunman, who never hesitated to fire away. He avoided the deadly shots
only by wrangling his hearing senses to the very extreme. Vincent dodged
behind trees, skipped over bushes, and tumbled to the side as he ran to escape.

Aeris had embraced his neck and buried her whole face against his
shoulder. Her trembling fit doubled with every shot that whizzed by her.
Whenever Vincent returned a few shots, she gave a faint cry but
immediately suppressed it.

Vincent's brain raced to form a plan, no matter how ludicrous or
difficult. Escape was impossible: his leg injuries had significantly
reduced his speed. He couldn't just turn around and fight all-out:
first, he lacked the strength for a counter-offensive; second, he could never
carry Aeris around and fight. Then what should he do? Abandon the girl?
Never! Leave her someplace safe while he fought? She could be
discovered, and if Davoren happened to be her discoverer, she would be killed.

He grit his teeth to restrain a violent curse: Davoren had him
cornered in every direction. He couldn't go on running like this forever. There
must be SOME way out of this wretched trap.

He narrowly escaped a crazy shower of bullets by dashing to the side.
Vincent dodged behind a tree just as the savage gunfire tore the bark
off the unlucky barrier. He tightened his grip around the girl (who was
futilely battling hysterics), then dashed at full speed amongst the
throng of trees, regardless of mad gunfire.

Davoren showed no mercy in his pursuit: either he killed Vincent, or
died in the process.

The chase raged on through the woods. The two men raced along the
trees, one persuing with such evil doggedness, the other struggling to stay on
his feet. Vincent had no time to notice his new injuries. His mind fought
for a solution to this dilemma.

Finally, Vincent reached the very end of the woods. He tumbled out onto
the gravel road, dumping Aeris behind him again. At the same time,
Vincent opened full fire back into the woods. He shot straight at Davoren with
such fierceness, the gunman could only huddle behind a tree, and return a few
shots.

Vincent wondered how long he could hold back the gunman; he was down to
his last cartridge of bullets. He wondered more how long he could hold
down the coughing fit. It raged inside his hot, tight chest, screaming for
release.

Suddenly, Vincent detected heavy footsteps rushing towards him. Much to
his alarm (and annoyance), three heavily-armed men emerged onto the
road, then raced straight for him. They called to each other, shouting angrily
"THERE!! HE'S THERE!!" and "SHOOT!! NOW!!!!"

The last three mercenaries had finally arrived to aid their leader.

"Yes, just what I need right now...more company!" Vincent muttered as
he scuffled back to both feet.

He yanked Aeris off the cold ground with his claw, then bolted down the
road. The mercenaries automatically opened fire on their target,
hurtling
curses and shouts as well as deadly bullets. Vincent only returned a few
shots as he dashed away. Otherwise, he darted at top speed without
glancing behind.

An insane torrent of bullets ripped through the air, straight at the
running target. Vincent miraculously escaped by tumbling into a huge,
thick forest along the roadside. He struggled back up to his feet immediately.
Without hesitation, he ran further into the black labyrinth of knotted
trees, brushing past bushes and frozen twigs.

The cries of the three mercenaries grew fainter until he could no
longer hear them. They probably wanted to consult their leader before making
any attack.

After perhaps five minutes of running and scuffling, Vincent slowed
down. Gasping loudly for air, he made his way to one tree, then collapsed to
his knees. He released Aeris.

His hard gasping nearly changed into an outright fight for air. His
limbs twitched in pain. The fever burned him all over, from his forehead to
his fingertips. Vincent's eyesight had blurred again; fuzzy grey objects and
shapeless shadows surrounded him. He could hear his hot blood gurgling
inside his aching lungs.

Just like their situation, the illness couldn't possibly get any worst.

Aeris forcefully repressed her fears again, and somehow withheld the
urge to break down into tears. She immediately crawled over to Vincent's
side to ease his ordeal. The girl rubbed his shaking back, whispering hurried
words of encouragement into his ears. She steadied his balance again, then
patted his cheeks and burning hand to restore his senses.

A whole minute dragged by.

When Vincent had recovered whatever remained of his strength, he looked
around himself in silent curiosity. Thick trees and entangled bushes
clustered around the two intruders, their barren branches and twigs
stretched out overhead. Indeed, Vincent had stumbled into a very, very
heavily-forested area.

It wouldn't be long before those men discovered this hideout. And with
him in such a battered state, he'd never last long against their guns. In
his anxious frustration, Vincent could only think of one plan.

"Aeris, I want you to run away from here," he ordered gently.

The girl gaped at him in astonishment.

"I'll distract those men, and hold them back for a while, you run
away.... get out of this park," Vincent explained as he checked his ammo: only
ten bullets left, "Now, I'm going to go back there, you run.."

"V-Vincent..how...w-w-what are..," Aeris faltered, horrified by his
idea, "..I..I can't just leave you here! You're hurt, and sick! You don't
stand a chance against Davoren and his men!! What if they..."

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"But, Vincent..."

"I said I'm fine," he repeated sternly. He peered very intently at her
frightened face as he instructed, "Now you go on further down these
woods until you.."

"No! No, I won't go!!" the girl tearfully refused, shaking her head.

"Aeris, I can't handle this! It's too much for me," Vincent reasoned
vexedly, "I can't protect you AND fight Davoren at the same time. He's
not holding back anymore, so I have to focus all my concentration on him.
But I can't, Aeris; you're a distraction. I have to watch your back as well as
mine; and every time you cry and scream, I slip off my guard, like just
now. Do as I say. Go to..."

"No! No! No!" she insisted stubbornly, "You either come with me, or I
stay! but I won't leave you!!"

"You know I can't go. Somebody has to push these men back..."

"But you're hurt! Look! Look, you're bleeding!!!"

"Forget me. It's..."

"..and Davoren swore he'd kill you...slowly and painfully!! Didn't you
hear him?!! You..you'll die if you face him again! You can't fight him
in your condition! He'll kill you on the spot!!!"

"I'll be all right. Aeris, you..."

"No, I won't leave you!! because if I leave now, I know I'll never see
you again!! He'll murder you in cold-blood!! I don't..."

"JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!!!!" Vincent shouted in anger, glaring
furiously at the poor, frantic girl.

Dumbstruck by his angry words, Aeris stared back at him in mute shock.
She had never heard him raise his voice like that, not even against his
worst enemies.

Vincent paused a moment to soothe his enraged temper, then resumed with
forced calmness, "If you stay here, you'll either die or get captured.
I'm too battered...and the explosion knocked a lot out of me...I can't even
see that clearly anymore. That's why I want you to leave. Because I can't
protect you from the bullets and fight back at the same time. It's too
much for me to handle. Now Aeris, do as I say, and don't argue back; I
haven't the time to hear it."

The girl said nothing.

"Go through the woods, until you reach a little road. Run down the
road, take the first turn, and you'll find the exit. Run as fast as you can
away from here."

Poor Aeris covered her mouth to suppress her anguished tears. Her
shoulders couldn't stop shaking. She bowed her head in pained
submission. Cocking his gun, Vincent staggered up to his feet again. Both legs ached
miserably.

"The minute you leave this place, go get help," Vincent instructed in a
business-like tone, "find a policeman, a police station, a phone,
anything. Call Tifa and Cloud. They'll help you right away."

Aeris only nodded her head, but did not stand or look up at him. Many
bitter sobs escaped her. She only restrained them out of fear Vincent
might lose his temper again.

"No matter what happens to me...no matter what you hear, do NOT come
back for me. Do you understand?"

She feebly nodded her head again.

"Aeris, do you understand?"

"....y..yes....."

A very awkward moment of silence followed. The tearful girl sat
trembling on the ground, overcome by wretched misery. Vincent gazed down at her
very thoughtfully.

What he intended to do probably came very close to suicide. Against
Davoren's ruthless brutality, he had little chance of survival,
especially in his desperate condition. But he had to buy Aeris some time to escape,
even at the risk of his own life. And at least with her safely out of
the way, he could focus his attention on the fight better (and maybe
actually survive).

Vincent helped the poor girl up to her feet, then turned around to
leave. He avoided her eyes.

"Go now," he dismissed gently. His tone sounded much softer than
before.

Immediately, Vincent dashed away back towards the enemy. He didn't look
back at Aeris.