Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 1: Descent

THIRTY-SEVEN

It was quiet when we finally entered the collapsed expressway, and I didn't like it. I drew my handgun, my eyes going from one shadow to the next as I led the guys forward. I hadn't brought the A32 along with me because, despite all the practice I'd been putting in, I still didn't feel totally confident with it yet. I didn't always take it with me on my trips across the slums for work, either.

We made our way slowly down the ruins, checking every corner as we went and looking around every piece of rubble. The acrid stench of mako filled the air, and although it ate at my throat and made my eyes water, I knew it had to be a lot worse on Lena, wherever she was. While much of this place was underground, the mako fumes still found their way in here more often than not.

The red ladders leading to the lower sections of the road had been extended, which meant someone else had gone through here recently. I kept my eyes open and my ears alert as the guys and I descended. Huge mechanical arms stood here and there along the way, old construction equipment that had been left behind long ago along with several of the big cargo containers they were used to move.

"Sure she went through here?" Wedge wondered.

I nodded. "Positive. She knows the way, and she knew how much I needed the chip. But still, I wonder why she was in such a hurry to get it to me today. I never told her to rush."

Biggs shrugged. "Dunno. Somethin' must've scared her."

"Could be," I agreed. "Come on."

We moved on, checking another tunnel nearby. It split off from the main portion of the highway until it hit a dead end, but Lena wasn't in there. So we went back, climbed up the next ladder, and kept on going down the wide, broken road, Biggs on my left and Wedge on my right. We crept along as quietly as we could, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves. A pair of terpsicolts—weird monsters that looked like giant, flying seahorses—floated across our path, but between the three of us, we made short work of them.

"Well," Biggs grimaced. "I think we pretty much just announced to anything else around that we're here."

"Can't be helped," I told him.

He reloaded his gun. "I know. Let's just hope that's all we'll run into in this place. And that nothing found Lena."

Wedge adjusted his grip on his rifle. "I hope she's okay..."

"So do I, Wedge," I agreed. "So do I."

We went on, making our way into another sunken area of the road. I recognized it as the place where Lena and I had run into Beck and his idiot friends, but fortunately, they weren't there. But I did see the same abandoned campsite in the middle of it. Wisps of smoke rose from the remains of a small pile of wood, meaning it had been used recently. But if not by Beck's gang, then by who?

Bits of trash lay scattered around the area, and off to one side was a dirty blanket stained with blood in several places. My mouth went dry when I saw it. And then a shiver swept down my spine when I noticed something familiar next to it. A black fingerless glove with gray lining, just like the ones Lena often wore.

I picked it up. "No..."

"Shit!" Biggs swore. "Somebody's got her... or did a while ago. And she's hurt. We've gotta save her!"

"Look!" Wedge pointed ahead of us.

Biggs and I followed his gaze and saw a trail of blood drops leading away from the campsite toward another side tunnel and away from the ladder leading back to the upper part of the highway. Abandoning our focus on stealth, we raced across the clearing and sped into the tunnel. It was rough and uneven, made from the crumbling ruins of the Sector 6 plate, which had collapsed years ago, and curved slightly to the right as it descended further underground.