The Forgotten Hero

Chapter 6

            “Ms. Lane!” Verna woke up with someone shaking her. “Thank goodness you awoke. There are some people who would like to take a rest, so I thought you should know.”

            “Huh?” Verna rubbed her eyes and looked at the old woman. “Alright.”

            “I’m going to let them in, if that’s alright,” The old woman paused and looked at her. “You look like you could use a shower. If you go down the hall to the left you’ll find the restroom. Go ahead and wash up there, deary. If you’d like I’ll wash your clothes and leave you a fresh change of clothes. Your boss managed to send you some. Oh, and I’ll also leave you a towel to use!”

            Verna tried to process everything that the old lady was telling her. Absent mindedly she nodded and shifted her legs so they were dangling over the bed’s side. She then stood up. Finally, she realized what the lady said, so she quickly made her way to the bathroom.

            Gently, Verna closed the door so she wouldn’t make that much noise. Verna quickly stripped from her clothing and placed them on the counter, so they were somewhat folded. Quickly, Verna glanced at her reflection. Her face was covered in dirt – most likely courtesy of the chocobo farms. Under the dirt, however, she was still rather pale. Living in Midgar would do that to anyone. There wasn’t any sunlight, after all. Her eyes trailed down her body. She was average, nothing special. Sighing she looked back up to her eyes. That was the only attribute about her physical appearance that she actually liked.

            Her eyes were green with a blue ring on the outside. Perhaps her eyes were blue with an inner green ring. She couldn’t be certain. Still, she enjoyed her eyes, even when others called her freaky for having them. She didn’t mind, being different was something to treasure.

            Noting that the elderly woman would return soon, Verna jumped into the shadow and hid behind the curtain. She then turned on the water. A string of curses flew out her mouth as she was met with chilly water. Verna hugged the tile wall, refusing to let the water touch her. However, as the steam started to appear she eased herself into the water. Sighing, she felt blissful as the dirt was removed from her skin.

            After a few minutes she heard the door open and then closed. Verna poked her head from behind the shower curtain to see a change of clothes and a towel. Realizing she was in the shower long enough, she turned off the water and got out. She quickly wrapped the towel around her body before examining the clothes in front of her. Her eye twitched, was this a soldier’s uniform?

            “What on Gaia is he thinking?!” Verna yelled at the clothes. “Shiva! Can’t he realize that I don’t want people thinking I’m a part of Shin-Ra!?”

            “Is everything alright in there, deary?” The elderly woman sounded from behind the door.

            “Peachy!” Verna replied through gritted teeth. “I just have to call my boss and tell him how much I appreciate the new clothes!” Sarcasm was a venomous leech stuck to her words.

            The old lady chuckled and walked away. Verna sighed and dried off before putting on the new clothes. She glanced at the mirror. In these clothes one couldn’t tell if she was a male or female. She better just keep her mouth shut so others wouldn’t realize who she was. After all, females aren’t allowed to be soldiers. If they want to be in the war they could be behind the scenes; snipers, medics, engineers, Turks even. Though, they couldn’t be soldiers.

            Verna walked out of the bathroom and into the main room. There, she was met with a sudden movement. A barrage of weapons was pointed at her. Her eyes widened and she stumbled backwards.