The Forgotten Hero

Chapter 5

            A sudden knocking on the door awakened Verna from her slumber. Groaning, the girl sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She glanced towards the door to whoever was still knocking on it persistently.

            “Coming,” Verna called out and the knocking ceased. She opened the door to see a man dressed in what would be a tourist get up. “Can I help you?”

            “The bus is leaving! Are you ready to go?”

            Verna blinked, “Hang on.”

            Verna left the door open as she poked her head into the room’s restroom. Her appearance wasn’t all too shabby, even if she did sleep in her non-Turk clothes. She ran a hand through her hair once more just to make sure it didn’t look like she just woke up. When it was good enough, she grabbed her purse that was lazily lying on an end table and walked out of her room. The tourist grinned at her as he quickly walked down the stairs. Verna followed him, silently cursing the tourist and all of his kind.

            Upon getting on the bus and finding a relatively empty area, the drive spoke over the intercom system, “We will be heading for Junon, but we’ll make a quick stop at the Chocobo farms on the way. We’ll be there for lunch. Then, we’ll go through the marsh.”

            “Marsh?” Verna questioned quietly. Wasn’t the Zolom there? She gulped slightly, that monster wasn’t something to mess with. What was this tourist company thinking?

            Verna glanced over at the tourists. They seemed to grow excited about going across the marsh. None of them looked scared. That’s when she realized something. These tourists seemed eager to meet Sephiroth and they were at Midgar shortly after President Shinra died. These weren’t just your everyday tourists, these are extreme tourists.

            Verna stood up and walked to the front of the bus as it began to drive off. She stopped when she was just behind the bus drive, “Exactly what are we going to do at the marsh? Are we planning on stopping?”

            “Probably,” The bus driver nodded. “These folks will just want to see the Zolom for themselves. They didn’t just come to this continent for no reason after all. Other tourists tend to just go to Costa del Sol or the Golden Saucer, even Wutai.”

            “And will we be in any danger?”

            “Probably not, we won’t slow down enough for it to attack us, but if we run into head on there’s not much we can do.”

            “And can anyone on here fight it?”

            “Well, you’re a Turk, so you can fight it, can’t you?”

            “But I’m not a Turk!”

            “Right, right, you’re on vacation,” The bus driver rolled his eyes, “Just sit back down.”

            Verna glared at the man before retaking her seat. Was this man insane? She crossed her arms and glanced out the window. Maybe she should have gotten a weapon or some Materia. Then again, she wasted all of her money on Yuffie.

            Sighing, Verna checked her cell phone for the time. It was just past 8. Having nothing better to do, she dialed her boss’s number. It took a few rings before there was a gruff hello on the other side.

            “Hey,” Verna paused and allowed her boss to do the proper introduction for when anyone talks on the phone. “Listen, I don’t have my laptop with me. You sort of sent me out of Midgar before I could grab it. Do you have any way that I can get it?”